“There is one god, greatest among gods and men, similar to mortals neither in shape nor in thought.”

—  Xenophanes

Fragment 23, as quoted in Notes on Greek Philosophy by Anthony Preus (Global Academic Publishing, 1996), p. 10

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "There is one god, greatest among gods and men, similar to mortals neither in shape nor in thought." by Xenophanes?
Xenophanes photo
Xenophanes 5
Presocratic philosopher -570–-475 BC

Related quotes

Pythagoras photo

“Holding fast to these things, you will know the worlds of gods and mortals which permeates and governs everything. And you will know, as is right, nature similar in all respects, so that you will neither entertain unreasonable hopes nor be neglectful of anything.”

Pythagoras (-585–-495 BC) ancient Greek mathematician and philosopher

As quoted in Divine Harmony: The Life and Teachings of Pythagoras by John Strohmeier and Peter Westbrook. (1999)
The Golden Verses

John Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton photo

“Before God, there is neither Greek nor barbarian, neither rich nor poor; and the slave is as good as his master, for by birth all men are free; they are citizens of that universal commonwealth which embraces all the world, brethren of one family, and children of God.”

John Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton (1834–1902) British politician and historian

1870s, The History of Freedom in Antiquity (1877)

John Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton photo

“Before God, there is neither Greek nor barbarian, neither rich nor poor; and the slave is as good as his master, for by birth all men are free”

John Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton (1834–1902) British politician and historian

The History of Freedom in Antiquity (1877)
Context: Before God, there is neither Greek nor barbarian, neither rich nor poor; and the slave is as good as his master, for by birth all men are free; they are citizens of that universal commonwealth which embraces all the world, brethren of one family, and children of God.

“The greatest danger that threatens us is neither heterodox thought nor orthodox thought, but the absence of thought.”

Henry Steele Commager (1902–1998) American historian

Freedom, Loyalty, Dissent (1954)

Thomas S. Monson photo

“The wisdom of God oft times appears as foolishness to men, but the greatest single lesson we can learn in mortality is that when god speaks and a man obeys, that man will always be right.”

Thomas S. Monson (1927–2018) president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

Decisions http://byub.org/findatalk/details.asp?ID=4343 BYU Devotional, February 6, 1977.

William Wordsworth photo

“Whom neither shape of danger can dismay,
Nor thought of tender happiness betray.”

William Wordsworth (1770–1850) English Romantic poet

Source: Character of the Happy Warrior http://www.bartleby.com/145/ww302.html (1806), Line 72.

Oriana Fallaci photo

“You belong neither to God nor the state nor me. You belong to yourself and no one else.”

Oriana Fallaci book Letter to a Child Never Born

Source: Letter to a Child Never Born

George Granville, 1st Baron Lansdowne photo

“Happy the man, of mortals happiest he,
Whose quiet mind from vain desires is free;
Whom neither hopes deceive, nor fears torment,
But lives at peace, within himself content;
In thought, or act, accountable to none
But to himself, and to the gods alone.”

George Granville, 1st Baron Lansdowne (1666–1735) 1st Baron Lansdowne

Epistle to Mrs. Higgons (1690), line 79; reported in Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations (1922), "Contentment", p. 133-36.

Stephen Vincent Benét photo

“I knew then that they had been men, neither gods nor demons. It is a great knowledge, hard to tell and believe. They were men — they went a dark road, but they were men.”

Stephen Vincent Benét book By the Waters of Babylon

By the Waters of Babylon (1937)

Martin Luther King, Jr. photo

“All men are made in the image of God. All men are brothers. All men are created equal. Every man is an heir to a legacy of dignity and worth. Every man has rights that are neither conferred by, nor derived from the State — they are God-given. Out of one blood, God made all men to dwell upon the face of the earth. What a marvelous foundation for any home!”

Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–1968) American clergyman, activist, and leader in the American Civil Rights Movement

1960s, Why I Am Opposed to the War in Vietnam (1967)
Context: We are presently moving down a dead-end road that can lead to national disaster. America has strayed to the far country of racism and militarism. The home that all too many Americans left was solidly structured idealistically; its pillars were solidly grounded in the insights of our Judeo-Christian heritage. All men are made in the image of God. All men are brothers. All men are created equal. Every man is an heir to a legacy of dignity and worth. Every man has rights that are neither conferred by, nor derived from the State — they are God-given. Out of one blood, God made all men to dwell upon the face of the earth. What a marvelous foundation for any home! What a glorious and healthy place to inhabit. But America's strayed away, and this unnatural excursion has brought only confusion and bewilderment. It has left hearts aching with guilt and minds distorted with irrationality.

Related topics