Aristotle and others regarded Thales of Miletus as the first philosopher. Anaximander and Anaximenes, two of Thales’ adherents, were from Miletus in Ionia. They were the pioneers of the Milesian School of thinking, often called the Ionian School. Know all Information of Thales on Wikipedia.
- Also read: Other Greek Philosopher quotes:
- Socrates Quotes
- Diogenes Quotes
- Democritus Quotes
Quotes by Thales
There is nothing more moving than thought since it travels the universe, and there is nothing more powerful than necessity because everyone is required to submit to it.
Time is the most wise of all things that exist, for it reveals everything that has ever been hidden.
If there is a change, then there must be something else that is also changing while remaining the same.
Virtuous life entails abstaining from doing to oneself whatever that one finds fault with in the actions of others.
He said that the reason he did not have children was “because to my love for children” when he was asked why he did not have children. And it is said that whenever his mother attempted to get him to get married, he would respond by saying, “It is not yet the right time,” and later, when he was no longer a young man, he would say, “It is no longer the right time.
Which man is content? He who has a healthy body, a creative mind, and a humble nature.
The hardest thing in life is getting to know oneself.
Since God was never born, he is the oldest thing that has ever existed.
The single good that all men share is hope, and those who have nothing else still have hope.
The future is uncertain, the past is certain.
Since it permeates everything, intellect is the fastest of all things.
I did not choose to have children because I enjoy them.
I am grateful to Fortune for three things: first, that I was born a person and not an animal; second, that I was born a man and not a woman; and third, that I was born Greek and not a barbarian.
What is the most beautiful thing? – The universe, since God created it. What has the most strength? – Necessity, as it dominates over all else. What is the hardest? – To understand oneself. What is the easiest? – To give advice. How do we go about living a happy life? To not to do those actions we condemn in others. What is a requirement for happiness? – A contented mind and a healthy body.
Everything comes from water, and everything dissolves into water.
Numerous words are not evidence of a wise intellect.
In truth, we don’t reside at the top of a solid earth, but rather at the bottom of an airy sea.
If you don’t claim the finding as your own and instead state it was mine when you tell others about it, that will be sufficient reward for me.
Ruin is followed by suretyship (dogma).
Justice is said to have prevailed when there is neither excessive prosperity nor immoderate poverty in a country.
Labor outperforms inactivity just as brightness superior to rustiness.
By positioning your stick at the end of the pyramid’s shadow and using the sun’s rays to create two triangles, you demonstrated how similar the heights of the stick and the pyramid were.
Thales Philosophy
Thales was curious as to why things acted in certain ways. Thales is credited with developing the philosophy that Nature as a whole emerged from a single source.
Thales derived this conclusion from the observation that most things turn into air, slime, and earth, according to Heraclitus Homericus (540–480 BCE).
Philosophy of Water
Thales consequently suggested that things shift from one form to another. Thales noted the significance of water in daily living. Everything was mostly wet. Water was essential for life, and many creatures dwelt nearby.
Water, according to Thales, was the source of all natural phenomena. He imagined the earth floating on water to explain earthquakes. The water’s waves effectively “rocked the boat,” resulting in tremors.
Thales Contribution
Thales made a number of important contributions:
Contribution to Geography
Including being the first to demonstrate that a circle is divided by its diagonal, the first to enclose a right triangle inside of a circle, and the first to identify the equality of the base angles of an isosceles triangle and the angles of the vortex of intersecting lines. He used the length of the shadow thrown by pyramids to determine their height. Geometry was brought to Greece by Thales.
Contribution to Astronomy
Thales went to Babylonia as well, where he studied astronomy. The most noteworthy claim made by Herodotos, according to Burnet (1920, p. 41), was that Thales foresaw a solar eclipse during the conflict between the Lydians and the Medes. It is amazing that Thales did not understand the origin of solar eclipses and could not have predicted the precise location of solar eclipses. Today’s astronomers date the eclipse to May 28, 585 BCE.
More Scientific Contribution
The time from one solstice to the next was initially identified by Thales. He learned about the seasons and split them into 365 days. He was the first to assert that the size of the Sun was equal to 1/720 of its orbit, exactly as it was for the Moon. One must look back in time to this era and what was known about the solar system to truly understand these feats. It was clear from observation that the Sun and the Moon both circled the stationary Earth.