13+ Moses Finley Quotes On God, Faith And Bible

Moses Finley was an American-born British academic and classical scholar. He was a major figure in the field of ancient history, and was a professor at Cambridge University for over 20 years. Finley is best known for his work on ancient slavery and the ancient economy. Following is our collection on famous quotes by Moses Finley on god, life, faith.

Perhaps the best known, and certainly the most vaunted, "discovery" of modern public opinion research is the indifference and ignorance of a majority of the electorate in western democracies. — Moses Finley

It is a mark of civilised man that he seeks to understand his traditions, and to criticise them, not to swallow them whole. — Moses Finley

Knowledge for its own sake was meaningless, its mere accumulation a waste of time. Knowledge must lead to understanding. — Moses Finley

If I had to choose one which best characterized the condition of being a political leader in Athens, the word would be "tension". — Moses Finley

In the western world today everyone is a democrat. — Moses Finley

Historical explanation is not identical with moral judgment. — Moses Finley

Political leaders, lacking documents that could be kept secret (apart from the occasional exception), lacking media they could control, were of necessity brought into a direct and immediate relationship with their constituents, and therefore under more and direct and immediate control. — Moses Finley

Ideal goals are a menace in themselves, as much in more modern philosophers as in Plato. — Moses Finley

Faction is the greatest evil and the most common danger. "Faction" is the conventional English translation of the Greek stasis, one of the most remarkable words to be found in any language. — Moses Finley

What I am arguing, in effect, is that the full democratic system of the second half of the fifth century B.C. would not have been introduced had there been no Athenian empire. — Moses Finley

A genuinely political society, in which discussion and debate are an essential technique, is a society full of risks. — Moses Finley

man is by nature designed to live in the polis, the highest form of koinonia, community; that is man's end or goal if he achieves the full potentiality of his nature. — Moses Finley

We must consider not only why the classical theory of democracy appears to be in contradiction with the observed practice, but also why the many different responses to this observation, though mutually incompatible, all share the belief that democracy is the best form of political organization. — Moses Finley

Life Lessons by Moses Finley

1. Moses Finley taught us that the study of history should be conducted from a multi-disciplinary perspective, with an emphasis on understanding the complexity of the past.
2. He also showed us that the study of the ancient world should be undertaken with a critical eye, and that we should be wary of accepting the narratives of the powerful as the only truth.
3. Finally, Finley's work demonstrated the importance of using a comparative approach to history, looking at how different societies have interacted and evolved over time.