Theme

Humility philosophy quotes

Philosophy quotations on humility, gathered from verified English renderings across traditions.

Why this theme matters

This theme page collects 10 English passages that touch humility as a philosophical concern—whether as a concept to define, a value to pursue, or a problem to examine.

In the history of philosophy

Related discussions appear across Greek, Chinese, Indian, Islamic, and modern European traditions. Use the quotations below as entry points, then follow thinker pages for fuller context.

Thinkers in this collection

Socrates , Epictetus , Augustine of Hippo , Michel de Montaigne , Cicero , Confucius , Talmudic tradition , Karl Popper

Frequently asked questions

What did philosophers say about humility?

They approached humility from ethics, metaphysics, politics, and lived practice. The passages below show several of those angles in compact form.

Where can I find philosophy quotes about humility?

This archive page is organized for that search intent: verified English quotations, with links to thinkers and related themes.

How should I read these quotations?

Read the sentence first, then check school and source. A quotation is a doorway into an argument, not a substitute for the surrounding text.

  1. What I do not know, I do not claim to know.
  2. The beginning of philosophy is a consciousness of one's own weakness and inability concerning necessary things.
  3. What then is time? If no one asks me, I know; if I wish to explain it to one who asks, I do not know.
  4. What do I know?
  5. Any man can err; only a fool persists in error.
  6. The Master said: You, shall I teach you what knowing is? To know what you know, and to know what you do not know — that is true knowing.
  7. The Master said: When three people walk together, one of them is sure to be my teacher. I select what is good in them and follow it; what is not good, I correct in myself.
  8. Teach your tongue to say, “I do not know.”
  9. Our knowledge can only be finite, while our ignorance must necessarily be infinite.
  10. It is of great use to the sailor to know the length of his line, though he cannot with it fathom all the depths of the ocean.