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12 Thoughtful Quotes By Claudius Ptolemy On Constellations, Mortality, Eternity Etc

Famous As: Astronomer, Cartographer & Mathematician
Born On: 90 AD
Died On: 168 AD
Born In: Egypt
Died At Age: 78
Claudius Ptolemy was a celebrated Greco-Roman astronomer, astrologer, mathematician, poet of a single witticism, and geographer. He held Roman citizenship, resided in Alexandria in Egypt, and scribbled in Koine Greek. He wrote a number of treaties; three of which proved to be very important to European Science, Byzantine, and Islamic world. Some of his renowned works include, ‘Geography,’ ‘Astrological Treaties,’ and ‘Astronomical Treatise known as Almagest’ besides various others. A number of items or characters were also named after Ptolemy, which include, ‘Ptolemaic graphs,’ ‘The Crater Ptolemaeus on the Moon,’ ‘Ptolemy’s Theorem,' ‘The crater Ptolemaeus on Mars,’ etc. Following is a compilation of famous quotes and sayings by Claudius Ptolemy, which have been curated from his treaties, writings, works, thoughts, theories and life. Have a look at the most notable quotable quotes and thoughts by Claudius Ptolemy.
Everything that is hard to attain is easily assailed by the generality of men.

Everything that is hard to attain is easily assailed by the generality of men.

Claudius Ptolemy
As material fortune is associated with the properties of the body, so honor belongs to those of the soul.

As material fortune is associated with the properties of the body, so honor belongs to those of the soul.

Claudius Ptolemy
Mortal through I be, yea ephemeral, if but a moment
I gaze up at the night's starry domain of heaven,
Then no longer on earth I stand; I touch the Creator,
And my lively spirit drinketh immortality.

Mortal through I be, yea ephemeral, if but a moment I gaze up at the night's starry domain of heaven, Then no longer on earth I stand; I touch the Creator, And my lively spirit drinketh immortality.

Claudius Ptolemy
There are three classes of friendship and enmity, since men are so disposed to one another either by preference or by need or by pleasure and pain.

There are three classes of friendship and enmity, since men are so disposed to one another either by preference or by need or by pleasure and pain.

Claudius Ptolemy

The heaven is spherical in shape, and moves as a sphere; the earth too is sensibly spherical in shape, when taken as a whole; in position it lies in the middle of the heavens very much like its center; in size and distance it has the ratio of a point to the sphere of the fixed stars; and it has no motion from place to place.

Claudius Ptolemy
It is clearly evident that most events of a widespread nature draw their causes from the enveloping heavens.

It is clearly evident that most events of a widespread nature draw their causes from the enveloping heavens.

Claudius Ptolemy
The length of life takes the leading place among inquiries about events following birth.

The length of life takes the leading place among inquiries about events following birth.

Claudius Ptolemy

I know that I am mortal and the creature of a day; but when I search out the massed wheeling circles of the stars, my feet no longer touch the earth, but, side by side with Zeus himself, I take my fill of ambrosia, the food of the gods.

Claudius Ptolemy

If the earth were flat from east to west, the stars would rise as soon for westerners as for orientals, which is false. Also, if the earth were flat from north to south and vice versa, the stars which were always visible to anyone would continue to be so wherever he went, which is false. But it seems flat to human sight because it is so extensive.

Claudius Ptolemy

There’s an inherent message in my work relating to recycling and the nature of value, but my artistic inspiration is fired by the qualities within the raw materials… I come across many things which have been abandoned and find something more in them than their intrinsic worthlessness.

Claudius Ptolemy

Therefore the solid body of the earth is reasonably considered as being the largest relative to those moving against it and as remaining unmoved in any direction by the force of the very small weights, and as it were absorbing their fall. And if it had some one common movement, the same as that of the other weights, it would clearly leave them all behind because of its much greater magnitude. And the animals and other weights would be left hanging in the air, and the earth would very quickly fallout of the heavens. Merely to conceive such things makes them appear ridiculous.

Claudius Ptolemy

I often prefer the shapes within the raw materials to ‘do their thing’, as this makes it movre interesting for me. Sometimes a piece of hubcap fits in such a way that the shark becomes almost alive in my hands, climbing, twisting or just hanging motionless and predatory, and this gives me a buzz. It makes me feel like a vehicle for the creation process rather than a controller, and not knowing the exact outcome is exciting.

Claudius Ptolemy