man is the measure of all things

man is the measure of all things

English

Vitruvian Man, a drawing by Leonardo da Vinci, sometimes associated with this phrase.

Etymology

According to Plato, the phrase was coined by Greek philosopher Protagoras.

Phrase

man is the measure of all things

1. (an expression of) the doctrine that all knowledge is subjective, being derived from observations made by humans, and there can be no objective truth

Translations

Translations

Catalan: l'home és la mesura de totes les coses Danish: mennesket er alle tings mål Estonian: kõigi asjade mõõt on inimene Finnish: ihminen on kaiken mitta French: l'homme est la mesure de toute chose German: der Mensch ist das Maß aller Dinge

Latin: homo mensura Norwegian: mannesket er målstokken for alle ting Russian: челове́к есть ме́ра всех вещей существующих (čelovék jestʹ méra vsex veščej suščestvujuščix) Spanish: el hombre es la medida de todas las cosas Swedish: människan är alltings mått