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
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 人类是一切的测量具

• 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
• Polish: człowiek jest miarą wszystkiego
• 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