“Knowledge must come through action; thou canst have no test which is not fanciful, save by trial.”

— Sophocles, Trachiniae, lines 592-593, tr. R. C. Jebb, 1892

About Sophocles

497 BC – 406 BC

Greek tragedian, author of "Oedipus Rex" and "Antigone".

“No man loves life like him that's growing old.”

“Kindness begets kindness evermore.”

“For a day can humble all human beings, and a day can lift them up.”

“He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.”

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.”

“He who knows others is wise; he who knows himself is enlightened.”

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“The man who asks a question is a fool for a minute, the man who does not ask is a fool for life.”

“The truth is rarely pure and never simple.”