Xenophanes quotes

Xenophanes was an ancient Greek philosopher and poet known for his critical views on traditional religion and his belief in a single, all-encompassing god. He lived in the 6th and 5th centuries BCE and was a pioneer in the study of natural phenomena. Xenophanes' ideas influenced later philosophers such as Parmenides and Heraclitus, and his criticisms of anthropomorphic depictions of gods laid the foundation for rational inquiry in Western philosophy. Learn more about Xenophanes and his groundbreaking contributions to philosophy and theology.

Men create the gods in their own image.

- Xenophanes

God is one, greatest of gods and men, not like mortals in body or thought.

- Xenophanes

It takes a wise man to recognize a wise man.

- Xenophanes

No human being will ever know the Truth, for even if they happen to say it by chance, they would not even known they had done so.

- Xenophanes

But if cattle and horses or lions had hands, or were able to draw with their hands and do the work that men can do, horses would draw the forms of the gods like horses, and cattle like cattle, and they would make their bodies such as they each had themselves.

- Xenophanes