Plato Quotes
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Justice in the individual is now defined analogously to justice in the state. The individual is wise and brave in virtue of his reason and spirit respectively: he is disciplined when spirit and appetite are in proper subordination to reason. He is just in virtue of the harmony which exists when all three elements of the mind perform their proper function and so achieve their proper fulfillment; he is unjust when no such harmony exists.
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There is far greater peril in buying knowledge than in buying meat and drink.
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He who has followed the path of love's initiation in the proper order will on arriving at the end suddenly perceive a marvelous beauty, the source of all our efforts.
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The prisoner grows to love his chains.
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All loves should be simply stepping stones to the love of God. So it was with me; and blessed be his name for his great goodness and mercy.
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I am not given to finding fault, for there are innumerable fools.
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When there is crime in society, there is no justice.
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And among the other honours and rewards our young men can win for distinguished service in war and in other activities, will be more frequent opportunities to sleep with a woman; this will give us a pretext for ensuring that most of our children are born of that parent.
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Every soul pursues the good and does whatever it does for its sake.
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True opinions are a fine thing and do all sorts of good so long as they stay in their place; but they will not stay long. They run away from a man's mind, so they are not worth much until you tether them by working out the reason. Once they are tied down, they become knowledge, and are stable.
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The man who makes everything that leads to happiness depends upon himself, and not upon other men, has adopted the very best plan for living happily. This is the man of moderation, the man of manly character and of wisdom.
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The ultimate design of the Mysteries ... was to lead us back to the principles from which we descended, ... a perfect enjoyment of intellectual [spiritual] good.
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The beginning is the chiefest part of any work.
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The true musician is attuned to a fairer harmony than that of the lyre... for he truly has in his own life a harmony of words and deeds arranged in the Dorian mode. Such a one makes me joyous with the sound of his voice, so eager am I in drinking in his words.
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All who do evil and dishonorable things do them against their will.
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Love is simply the name for the desire and pursuit of the whole.
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Truthfulness. He will never willingly tolerate an untruth, but will hate it as much as he loves truth... And is there anything more closely connected with wisdom than truth?
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Of all the animals, the boy is the most unmanageable, inasmuch as he has the fountain of reason in him not yet regulated.
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I have hardly ever known a mathematician who was capable of reasoning.
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In order to be a good soldier it is necessary to know how to dance.