“[The sophist] is concerned with wisdom, not for its own sake, not because he hates the lie in the soul more than anything else, but for the sake of the honor or the prestige that attends wisdom.”

—  Leo Strauss

Source: Natural Right and History (1953), p. 116

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 "[The sophist] is concerned with wisdom, not for its own sake, not because he hates the lie in the soul more than anythi…" by Leo Strauss?
Leo Strauss photo
Leo Strauss 78
Classical philosophy specialist and father of neoconservati… 1899–1973

Related quotes

Aristotle photo
Gabriel García Márquez photo
Epifanio de los Santos photo

“Principles for principles' sake -that is not wisdom; that is obstinacy. Principles should be fluid because life is fluid.”

Epifanio de los Santos (1871–1928) Filipino politician

As quoted in “Don Pañong – Genius" by A.V.H. Hartendorp in Philippine Magazine (September 1929), p. 211.
ULOL
Context: If by sticking to the moral principles you have followed all your life, you jeopardize your happiness and that of others, throw over your principles. Principles for principles' sake -that is not wisdom; that is obstinacy. Principles should be fluid because life is fluid.

Alan Hirsch photo

“Building community for its own sake is like attending a cancer support group without having cancer.”

Alan Hirsch (1959) South African missionary

Source: The Faith of Leap (2011), p. 117

Shashi Tharoor photo

“A philosopher is a lover of wisdom, not of knowledge, which for all its great uses ultimately suffers from the crippling effect of ephemerality. All knowledge is transient linked to the world around it and subject to change as the world changes, whereas wisdom, true wisdom is eternal immutable. To be philosophical one must love wisdom for its own sake, accept its permanent validity and yet its perpetual irrelevance. It is the fate of the wise to understand the process of history and yet never to shape it.”

The Great Indian Novel
Variant: A philosopher is a lover of wisdom, not of knowledge, which for all its great uses ultimately suffers from the crippling effect of ephemerality. All knowledge is transient linked to the world around it and subject to change as the world changes, whereas wisdom, true wisdom is eternal immutable. To be philosophical one must love wisdom for its own sake, accept its permanent validity and yet its perpetual irrelevance. It is the fate of the wise to understand the process of history and yet never to shape it.

Kuruvilla Pandikattu photo

“The reward of joy is joy itself; not for its own sake; but for the sake of others.”

Kuruvilla Pandikattu (1957) Indian philosopher

Joy: Share it! p.134.
Joy: Share it! (2017)

Adam Smith photo

“It is not for its own sake that men desire money, but for the sake of what they can purchase with it.”

Adam Smith (1723–1790) Scottish moral philosopher and political economist

Source: (1776), Book IV, Chapter I, p. 471.

Jenny Han photo

“I hated him more than anything. I loved him more than anything. Because, he was everything. And I hated that, too.”

Jenny Han (1980) American writer

Source: It's Not Summer Without You

Related topics