Quotes By Desiderius Erasmus

In the country of the blind the one eyed man is king.

Nature, more of a stepmother than a mother in several ways, has sown a seed of evil in the hearts of mortals, especially in the more thoughtful men, which makes them dissatisfied with their own lot and envious of another s.

The nearer people approach old age the closer they return to a semblance of childhood, until the time comes for them to depart this life, again like children, neither tired of living nor aware of death.

What difference is there, do you think, between those in Plato's cave who can only marvel at the shadows and images of various objects, provided they are content and don't know what they miss, and the philosopher who has emerged from the cave and sees the real things?

Fools are without number.

The more ignorant, reckless and thoughtless a doctor is, the higher his reputation soars even amongst powerful princes.

By burning Luther's books you may rid your bookshelves of him, but you will not rid men's minds of him.

What is popularly called fame is nothing but an empty name and a legacy from paganism.

The most disadvantageous peace is better than the most just war.

Nothing is as peevish and pedantic as men's judgments of one another.

Give light, and the darkness will disappear of itself.

The desire to write grows with writing.

It is an unscrupulous intellect that does not pay to antiquity its due reverence.

Concealed talent brings no reputation.

In the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.

Whether a party can have much success without a woman present I must ask others to decide, but one thing is certain, no party is any fun unless seasoned with folly.

It is the chiefest point of happiness that a man is willing to be what he is.

Great eagerness in the pursuit of wealth, pleasure, or honor, cannot exist without sin.

Man is to man either a god or a wolf.

Humility is truth.