Ideas across time
Humanity’s thread.
Explore our whole collection, from ancient voices to modern reflections. Choose a period, or discover the words whose dates are unknown.
523,390Total quotations and sayings
37,506With a historical date
485,884Undated words
Where a passage itself has no date, a documented author lifespan or floruit can supply an approximate historical coordinate. It is not the date the words were composed. Anonymous and genuinely unresolved material stays undated.
Each entry is counted once. The total includes quotations, proverbs, sayings, aphorisms, maxims and other passages. Approximate author or historical dates are not exact dates of composition.