Xenocrates (c. 396–314 BCE) was a Greek philosopher associated with Plato’s Academy. Succeeding Speusippus as the head of the Academy, Xenocrates contributed to various philosophical fields. He emphasized a mathematical and abstract approach, exploring the nature of numbers and mathematical entities. In ethics, he focused on virtue, self-control, and the pursuit of moral excellence, advocating for self-discipline and the attainment of harmony in one’s character. Although not as renowned as other ancient philosophers, Xenocrates played a crucial role in preserving and developing Plato’s teachings. Unfortunately, most of his original works have been lost, and his influence is primarily discerned through later scholarly writings.

Xenocrates Quotes

1. “I have often regretted my speech, never my silence.”
— Xenocrates

2. “I have often repented speaking, but never of holding my tongue.”
— Xenocrates

3. “Each man’s soul is his genius.”
— Xenocrates

4. “Happiness is the possession of the excellence proper to us, and of the power subservient to it.”
— Xenocrates

5. “An ambassador should study the welfare of his country, and not spend his time in feasting and riot.”
— Xenocrates

6. “Geometry is one of the handles of science and philosophy.”
— Xenocrates

7. “Counsel in trouble gives small comfort when help is past remedy.”
— Xenocrates

8. “One may as well go, as look into another man’s house; because the eye may reach what the hand cannot.”
— Xenocrates

9. “Tragedy when ridiculed by comedy does not condescend a reply.”
— Xenocrates

10. “Antipater uses us favourably if he looks upon us as staves, but very hardly if he considers us as freemen.”
— Xenocrates

11. “Go away, you give philosophy nothing to catch hold of.”
— Xenocrates

12. “If the ox could think, it would attribute oxality to God.”
— Xenocrates