Q0015
“Upon those who step into the same rivers, different and different waters…” — Heraclitus (B12 / Fragment DK B91 /…)
Verified English quotation. Primary source: B12 / Fragment DK B91 / B12. Theme: time.
English
Upon those who step into the same rivers, different and different waters flow.
Source and attribution
The archive attributes this English wording to B12 / Fragment DK B91 / B12 and files it under Pre-Socratic. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.
About Heraclitus
Heraclitus of Ephesus (fl. c.
How to read this passage
Is time a river, a dimension, or a structure of consciousness? Augustine, Bergson, and modern metaphysics offer rival pictures while ethics asks how finite time should be spent. This passage enters that discussion through time, nature.
Concepts in this quote
- Time
- Philosophy of time asks what tense and duration are—and how memory, death, and history shape a human life.
- Nature
- Philosophy quotes about nature ask what the cosmos is, how humans belong in it, and whether “natural” can guide ethics or politics.
How to cite this quotation
APA: Heraclitus. (n.d.). Upon those who step into the same rivers, different and different waters flow. In Philosophy Blind Box. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0015
MLA: Heraclitus. “Upon those who step into the same rivers,….” Philosophy Blind Box, https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0015.
Chicago: Heraclitus. “Upon those who step into the same rivers,….” Philosophy Blind Box. Accessed 2026. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0015.
Frequently asked questions
What is the source of the quotation “Upon those who step into the same rivers,…”?
The passage is attributed to Heraclitus, B12 / Fragment DK B91 / B12. The archive attributes this English wording to B12 / Fragment DK B91 / B12 and files it under Pre-Socratic. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.
What does Heraclitus mean by time?
Is time a river, a dimension, or a structure of consciousness? Augustine, Bergson, and modern metaphysics offer rival pictures while ethics asks how finite time should be spent. This passage enters that discussion through time, nature.