Books
Albus Dumbledore or a Greek Philosopher: Who Do These Quotes Really Belong To?
Calling all Harry Potter fans and Classics nerds! It's no secret that growing up we got some of our most valuable life lessons from Hogwarts' most beloved headmaster. Dumbledore taught us about courage, friendship, and not to worry about what they do to you as long they don't take you off the Chocolate Frog Cards. His advice is so good I'd say it easily stacks up to the fathers of Western Civilization, the Ancient Greek philosophers like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.
But tack a kindly "Harry" to the end of quotes from those same philosophers, it kind of sounds a lot like something Dumbledore would say. So here's your chance to prove yourselves, Potter fans. Who's really responsible for these 15 quotes?
Image: Warner Bros.
Who Said It?
“No great mind has ever existed without a touch of madness.”
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Answer: Aristotle
Though this definitely applies to Dumbledore, it was Aristotle who made the observation first.
Image: Wikimedia Commons
Who Said It?
"Age is foolish and forgetful when it underestimates youth. Youth cannot know how age thinks and feels. But old men are guilty if they forget what it was to be young."
Image: schnaars/flickr
Answer: Dumbledore
It's a rather philosophical thought, but not one any ancient philosopher can claim credit for. This one is Dumbledore though and through!
Image: Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone
Who Said It?
"The truth ... is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution."
Image: Jason Taellious/flickr
Answer: Dumbledore
The truth is that Dumbledore is responsible for this one.
Image: Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone
Who Said It?
"He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have."
Image: liz west/flickr
Answer: Socrates
Although Dumbledore is pretty anti-ambition, Socrates was already going that route thousands of years ago.
Image: Wikimedia Commons
Who Said It?
"The measure of a man is what he does with power."
Image: Neil Turner/flickr
Answer: Plato
No doubt that Dumbledore would agree, though. Maybe he read Plato?
Image: Wikipedia Commons
Who Said It?
“It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live”
Image: Lynn Lin/flickr
Answer: Dumbledore
Words to live by, no matter who said them. But it was Dumbledore.
Image: Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets
Who Said It?
"Courage is knowing what not to fear."
Image: nathan willimas/flickr
Answer: Plato
Plato again! If Dumbledore hadn't been available, it turns out a few copies of Plato might have also been good mentors for Harry.
Image: Wikimedia Commons
Who Said It?
"To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure."
Image: mjranum-stock/deviant art
Answer: Dumbledore
Some of Dumbledore's most famous and classic advice. Still, it kind of sounds like something Socrates might have said just before drinking the hemlock.
Image: Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone
Who Said It?
"Wonder is the beginning of wisdom."
Image: Wikimedia Commons
Answer: Socrates
Yes it is, Socrates, yes it is.
Image: Wikimedia Commons
Who Said It?
“It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.”
Image: Wikimedia Commons
Answer: Aristotle
Sometimes it seemed like Dumbledore did nothing but entertain thoughts — though they were always the coolest of thoughts to be sure — but Aristotle is responsible for this bit of wisdom.
Image: Wikimedia Commons
Who Said It?
"It matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be!"
Image: Wikimedia Commons
Answer: Dumbledore
Maybe Dumbledore's most important advice ever, it's some the xenophobic Greeks might have done well to listen to. But they were born much too soon, unfortunately.
Image: Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone
Who Said It?
"Good actions give strength to ourselves and inspire good actions in others. "
Image: Wikimedia Commons
Answer: Plato
Something tells me that if Dumbledore were born in Ancient Greece, he and Plato would have been friends.
Image: Wikimedia Commons
Who Said It?
"It is the unknown we fear when we look upon death and darkness, nothing more."
Image: Brandon O'Connor/flickr
Answer: Dumbledore
Dumbledore sure knows his stuff.
Image: Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban
Who Said It?
“Happiness depends upon ourselves.”
Image: Wikimedia Commons
Answer: Aristotle
Then again, it looks like Aristotle knows his stuff, too.
Image: Wikimedia Commons
Who Said It?
"Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!"
Image: Wikimedia Commons
Answer: Dumbledore
Who could ever forget the first words of wisdom Dumbledore chose to share when Harry came to Hogwarts? Though they are probably just a few funny words, knowing Dumbledore, there's also a decent chance that they're a secret code to deciphering the true meaning of life. Or that they are the meaning of life. Who's to say, really?
Image: Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone
