The 13 best phrases of Gorgias de Leontinos

Gorgias of Leontinos (485 - 380 a. C.) was a renowned sophist philosopher of Ancient Greece. He was a student of another outstanding thinker, Empedocles, from whom he collected a lot of knowledge and developed theories of it.

Gorgias lived more than 105 years and roamed the cities as the teacher of young aristocrats. Himself Plato wrote a work on the thought of Gorgias de Leontinos, titled Gorgias or On Rhetoric, in which he defines the oratory art of Gorgias as weak and submissive before the counterarguments of Socrates.

• Related article: "The 15 most important and famous Greek philosophers"

Famous phrases of Gorgias of Leontinos

His fundamental position in philosophy is that of "nothing exists", that is, he arrived at a series of logical reasonings that led him to a radical skepticism about his own existence.

His work includes several treatises on rhetoric and manuals on philosophy that were widely acclaimed in his time. In today's article we are going to pay tribute to this Greek philosopher by remembering the best phrases of Gorgias.

1. The power of the word in relation to the affairs of the soul is in the same relation to the power of medicines in relation to the affairs of the body.

Parallelism that underlines the benefits of oral reflection to calm the doubts of our mind.

2. Victories over enemies deserve hymns, those over brothers and friends funeral songs.

We should not compete against those who appreciate us.

3. Being is dark without appearance; appearance is inconsistent without being.

Reflection of Gorgias of essentialist court.

4. My life is a garland to which we are going to adjust the last rose [death].

Sad phrase about the last breath of each individual.

5. The seriousness of an opponent must be disarmed with laughter and laughter with seriousness.

Offering the reverse of enemy behavior is the solution.

6. Not beauty, but the good reputation of women should be known to many.

What is admirable about a woman is not her genetics, but her choices and her ethical worth.

7. Thought is that thing that with a small body knows how to achieve divine things.

Cognition, arising from a brain weighing just a few kilos, is capable of raising buildings and cathedrals.

8. Speakers are similar to frogs: they croak in the water; them on the bench.

Metaphor about the great masters of rhetoric.

9. And if the persuasive speech deceived her soul, it is not for that difficult to defend her and absolve her of its responsibility, thus: speech is a great power, which through the smallest and most secret body performs the most divine works; because it can stop fear and mitigate pain and produce joy and make mercy abound.

Great reflection that synthesizes both the background of his philosophical beliefs and the cunning and skill of his writing.

10. Nothing is; if something were, it could not be understood; and if it could be understood, it could not be communicated to others.

In this sentence, Gorgias summarizes his position on the non-existence of matter.

11. The man who is wrong shows more justice than he who does not.

To err can be a way of showing yourself human.

12. Men who neglect philosophy while busy with banal affairs are like the Suitors (in The Odyssey), who lusted after Penelope but slept with their maids.

According to this phrase of Gorgias, the upright man is one who has respect for his aspirations.

13. I answer you, Socrates, that the art of rhetoric is the ability to persuade in the courts and other assemblies, and about right and wrong.

Argumentation with a luxury colleague: the philosopher Socrates.