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Euripides Quotes (-480--406)
Playwright
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Explore our curated collection of the most famous and impactful Euripides quotes.
“Man's best possession is a sympathetic wife.”
“Ignorance of one's misfortunes is clear gain.”
“O lady, nobility is thine, and thy form is the reflection of thy nature!”
“A woman should be good for everything at home, but abroad good for nothing.”
“But cleverness is not wisdom, nor is the thinking on things unfit for mortals.”
Euripides Quotes by Topic
Find exactly what you are looking for by browsing this categorized list of Euripides quotes by topic.
Euripides on Necessity 3 quotes
View all 3 quotes on Necessity →Euripides on Life 2 quotes
View all 2 quotes on Life →Euripides on Youth 2 quotes
View all 2 quotes on Youth →Euripides on Gifts 2 quotes
View all 2 quotes on Gifts →Euripides on Love 2 quotes
View all 2 quotes on Love →Euripides on Prudence 2 quotes
View all 2 quotes on Prudence →Euripides on Retribution 2 quotes
“The divine power moves with difficulty, but at the same time surely.”
Euripides on Antinatalism 2 quotes
“What could be worse? Sex leads death's dance, In childbirth grief begins.”
What Euripides Said About Others
Discover personal opinions Euripides shared regarding contemporaries.
Euripides on Women
Euripides on Orpheus
“I have soared aloft with poetry and with high thought, and though I have laid my hand to many a reflection, I have found nothing stronger than Necessity, nor is there any cure for it in the Thracian tablets set down by the voice of Orpheus nor in all the simples which Phoebus harvested in aid of trouble-ridden mortals and gave to the sons of Asclepius.”
Quotes About Euripides
Gain deeper perspective through quotes about Euripides from others.
Aristotle on Euripides
Thomas Babington Macaulay on Euripides 3 quotes
“I could not bear Euripides at college. I now read my recantation. He has faults undoubtedly. But what a poet! The Medea, the Alcestis, the Troades, the Bacchæ, are alone sufficient to place him in the very first rank.”
Disputed Quotes
Quotes attributed to Euripides that are questionable.
“Σοφὸς ἦν τις, ὃς τὸ θεῖον εἰσηγήσατο.
• I maintain,
Some shrewd man first, a man in counsel wise,
Discovered unto men the fear of Gods,
Thereby to frighten sinners should they sin
E'en secretly in deed, or word, or thought.”
• I maintain,
Some shrewd man first, a man in counsel wise,
Discovered unto men the fear of Gods,
Thereby to frighten sinners should they sin
E'en secretly in deed, or word, or thought.”
“Most cunning doctrine did he introduce,
The truth concealing under speech untrue.
The place he spoke of as the God's abode
Was that whereby he could affright men most,—
The place from which, he knew, both terrors came
And easements unto men of toilsome life—
To wit the vault above, wherein do dwell
The lightnings, he beheld, and awesome claps
Of thunder, and the starry face of heaven,
Fair-spangled by that cunning craftsman Time,—
Whence, too, the meteor's glowing mass doth speed
And liquid rain descends upon the earth.”
The truth concealing under speech untrue.
The place he spoke of as the God's abode
Was that whereby he could affright men most,—
The place from which, he knew, both terrors came
And easements unto men of toilsome life—
To wit the vault above, wherein do dwell
The lightnings, he beheld, and awesome claps
Of thunder, and the starry face of heaven,
Fair-spangled by that cunning craftsman Time,—
Whence, too, the meteor's glowing mass doth speed
And liquid rain descends upon the earth.”
“I begin by taking. I shall find scholars later to demonstrate my perfect right.”
Misattributed Quotes
Quotes mistakenly credited to Euripides
“Circumstances rule men and not men circumstances.
• Variant translation: Circumstances rule men; men do not rule circumstances.”
• Variant translation: Circumstances rule men; men do not rule circumstances.”
About Euripides
Euripides (Greek: Εὐριπίδης; c. 480 BC–406 BC) was a Greek playwright.