Plato Quotes
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. . . Then anyone who leaves behind him a written manual, and likewise anyone who receives it, in the belief that such writing will be clear and certain, must be exceedingly simple-minded. . . .
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Being well satisfied that, for a man who thinks himself to be somebody, there is nothing more disgraceful than to hold himself up as honored, not on his own account, but for the sake of his forefathers. Yet hereditary honors are a noble and splendid treasure to descendants.
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It is better to be wise, and not to seem so, than to seem wise, and not be so; yet men, for the most part, desire the contrary.
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Every unjust man is unjust against his will.
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Is what is moral commanded by God because it is moral, or is it moral because it is commanded by God?
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I fear this is not the right exchange to attain virtue, to exchange pleasures for pleasures, pains for pains and fears for fears, the greater for the less like coins, but that the only valid currency for which all these things should be exchanged is wisdom.
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The poets are nothing but interpreters of the gods, each one possessed by the divinity to whom he is in bondage.
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Now nothing can be more important than that the work of a soldier should be well done.
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... for this discovery of yours will create forgetfulness in the learners' souls, because they will not use their memories; they will trust to the external written characters and not remember of themselves.
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... the good are not willing to rule either for the sake of money or of honor.
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Let every man remind their descendants that they also are soldiers who must not desert the ranks of their ancestors, or from cowardice fall behind.
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Poetry is nearer to vital truth than history.
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Are these things good for any other reason except that they end in pleasure, and get rid of and avert pain? Are you looking to any other standard but pleasure and pain when you call them good?
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There will be no end to the troubles of states,Or of humanity itself,Till philosophers become kings in this world,Or till those we now call kings and rulers really And truly become philosophers.
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To honor with hymns and panegyrics those who are still alive is not safe; a man should run his course and make a fair ending, and then we will praise him; and let praise be given equally to women as well as men who have been distinguished in virtue.
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Then not only an old man, but also a drunkard, becomes a second time a child.
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The gods created certain kinds of beings to replenish our bodies... they are the trees and the plants and the seeds.
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Knowledge which is acquired under compulsion obtains no hold on the mind.
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The qualities which a man seeks in his beloved are those characteristics of his own soul, whether he knows it or not.
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Lord of Lords, grant us the good whether we pray for it or not, but evil keep from us, even though we pray for it.
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My good friend, you are a citizen of Athens, a city which is very great and very famous for its wisdom and power - are you not ashamed of caring so much for the making of money and for fame and prestige, when you neither think nor care about wisdom and truth and the improvement of your soul?
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No attempt of curing the body should be made without curing the soul.
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Music and rhythm find their way into the secret places of the soul.
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Haughtiness lives under the same roof with solitude.