Meet the minds.

Aristotle

384 BC – 322 BC · 1 selected ↗

Sculptural copy of an ancient portraitMarie-Lan Nguyen · Public domain

Plato

Athenian philosophical writer whose dialogues ask readers to examine arguments and speakers. Supplied archive attributions remain distinct from the checked reading edition.

427 BC – 347 BC · 1 selected ↗

Later sculptural depiction by Laurys Gillis, 1737Laurys Gillis / Rijksmuseum; CC0 · CC0

Marcus Aurelius Antoninus

Roman emperor and Stoic philosopher whose Meditations records the practice of examining his own judgments and conduct.

121 AD – 180 AD · 90 selected ↗

1715 frontispiece; an imagined later likenessWilliam Sonmans / Michael Burghers · Public domain

Epictetus

Stoic teacher concerned with judgment, choice and how to live with others. His teachings survive through Arrian; the short Enchiridion is a guide into a larger discussion.

Born 50 AD · 78 selected ↗

Sculptural depiction; photograph of an ancient bustCalidius · CC BY-SA 3.0

Seneca

Seneca’s moral essays examine anger, adversity and the pressures of power. Read the surrounding arguments and compare English renderings before treating an isolated line as universal advice.

1 BC – 65 AD · 106 selected ↗

Traditional painted depiction; not a lifetime portraitTang-dynasty depiction; public domain · Public domain

Confucius (traditional attribution)

Traditionally remembered as a teacher whose transmitted sayings connect learning, personal conduct and public responsibility. The Analects preserve different representations of Master Kong rather than an independently authenticated manuscript.

551 BC – 479 BC · 208 selected ↗

Ming-dynasty depiction; not a lifetime portraitZhang Lu / National Palace Museum; cropped reproduction · Public domain

Laozi (traditional attribution)

Traditional attribution of the Tao Teh King, a text that invites reflection on action, restraint and the limits of force. Historical identity, authorship and life dates remain uncertain; this profile does not assign a lifespan.

Dates not recorded · 76 selected ↗

Photograph of a sculptural portraitJosé Luiz · CC BY-SA 4.0

Cicero

Cicero brings philosophical questions into public and personal responsibility. Follow his arguments and reported speakers rather than treating every excerpt from his writings as a personal maxim.

106 BC – 43 BC · 94 selected ↗

Plutarch

46 AD – 120 AD · 221 selected ↗

Later artistic depiction; not a lifetime portraitPhilippe de Champaigne · Public domain

Saint Augustine

North African Christian thinker and bishop whose writing connects faith, self-examination and philosophical inquiry. Read the archive’s historical citations alongside their distinct source works.

354 AD – 430 AD · 2 selected ↗

Painted portraitPaul van Somer I; formerly attributed to Frans Pourbus the Younger · Public domain

Francis Bacon

English philosopher, lawyer and essayist who joined questions about knowledge to practical conduct. His concise essays invite a slower reading of the argument around each memorable sentence.

1561 AD – 1626 AD · 258 selected ↗

Later painted likeness, circa 1690Unknown artist, after François II Quesnel · Public domain

Blaise Pascal

Pascal contrasts physical fragility with the dignity of thought and uses reading pace to illustrate a mean between extremes. These fragments belong to the Pensées body, separate from the edition’s later introduction.

1623 AD – 1662 AD · 80 selected ↗

Jean Jacques Rousseau

1712 AD – 1778 AD · 58 selected ↗

Photographic portrait, 1882Gustav Adolf Schultze; public domain · Public domain

Friedrich Nietzsche

German philosopher and cultural critic whose numbered passages question familiar judgments about morality, knowledge and everyday conduct. Read the arguments in context, with attention to their historical translation.

1844 AD – 1900 AD · 1,822 selected ↗

Photographic portrait, 1857Josiah Johnson Hawes; public domain · Public domain

Ralph Waldo Emerson

American essayist, poet and lecturer whose writing explores independent judgement, education, nature and the changing perspectives through which people understand their lives.

1803 AD – 1882 AD · 944 selected ↗

Painted portrait, 1828Joseph Karl Stieler · Public domain

Goethe

German writer and natural researcher whose observations on action and thought reward comparing adjacent maxims. Historical English translation and attribution remain explicit.

1749 AD – 1832 AD · 1,545 selected ↗

Historical painted portraitChandos portrait; public domain · Public domain

William Shakespeare

English playwright, actor and poet whose dramatic characters speak from particular circumstances. Read the anthology’s lines with their speakers and scenes, rather than as a single collection of personal maxims.

1564 AD – 1616 AD · 1,653 selected ↗

Historical daguerreotypeRestored historical daguerreotype; public domain · Public domain

Emily Dickinson

Poet of concentrated images and unsettled questions, whose preserved writing invites close reading. The linked early published series reflects editorial choices, rather than a modern manuscript-based edition.

1830 AD – 1886 AD · 1 selected ↗

Drawn portraitAttributed to Francesco Melzi; colour-corrected reproduction · Public domain

Leonardo da Vinci

Artist and observer whose notebooks connect looking, drawing and inquiry into nature. These archive passages come from a 1906 English selection of his notes, not a continuous philosophical book composed by Leonardo.

1452 AD – 1519 AD · 280 selected ↗