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Quotes by Plato

Plato, born around 427 BC in Athens, was a philosopher whose thoughts laid the foundation for Western philosophy. A student of Socrates and the teacher of Aristotle, he founded the Academy, one of the earliest institutions of higher learning. His works, including "The Republic," explore justice, beauty, and the ideal state, influencing countless generations. Plato’s allegories, particularly the Allegory of the Cave, challenge perceptions of reality and knowledge, cementing his legacy as a pivotal figure in philosophical thought. His ideas continue to resonate, shaping discourse in ethics, politics, and metaphysics.

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Showing 50 of 58 quotes

"There are two things a person should never be angry at, what they can help, and what they cannot."

Plato

"Justice means minding one's own business and not meddling with other men's concerns."

Plato

"Courage is knowing what not to fear."

Plato

"Courage is a kind of salvation."

Plato

"Death is not the worst that can happen to men."

Plato

"We are twice armed if we fight with faith."

Plato

"We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light."

Plato

"The blame is his who chooses: God is blameless."

Plato

"Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws."

Plato

"Democracy passes into despotism."

Plato

"Democracy... is a charming form of government, full of variety and disorder; and dispensing a sort of equality to equals and unequals alike."

Plato

"The punishment which the wise suffer who refuse to take part in the government, is to live under the government of worse men."

Plato

"For good nurture and education implant good constitutions."

Plato

"The first and greatest victory is to conquer yourself; to be conquered by yourself is of all things most shameful and vile."

Plato

"The greatest wealth is to live content with little."

Plato

"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."

Plato

"Attention to health is life's greatest hindrance."

Plato

"Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything."

Plato

"Thinking: the talking of the soul with itself."

Plato

"Human behavior flows from three main sources: desire, emotion, and knowledge."

Plato

"The learning and knowledge that we have, is, at the most, but little compared with that of which we are ignorant."

Plato

"A good decision is based on knowledge and not on numbers."

Plato

"Knowledge which is acquired under compulsion obtains no hold on the mind."

Plato

"Opinion is the medium between knowledge and ignorance."

Plato

"And what, Socrates, is the food of the soul? Surely, I said, knowledge is the food of the soul."

Plato

"Knowledge without justice ought to be called cunning rather than wisdom."

Plato

"Entire ignorance is not so terrible or extreme an evil, and is far from being the greatest of all; too much cleverness and too much learning, accompanied with ill bringing-up, are far more fatal."

Plato

"Knowledge is true opinion."

Plato

"Ignorance of all things is an evil neither terrible nor excessive, nor yet the greatest of all; but great cleverness and much learning, if they be accompanied by a bad training, are a much greater misfortune."

Plato

"We do not learn; and what we call learning is only a process of recollection."

Plato

"Life must be lived as play."

Plato

"At the touch of love everyone becomes a poet."

Plato

"Love is the joy of the good, the wonder of the wise, the amazement of the Gods."

Plato

"The god of love lives in a state of need. It is a need. It is an urge. It is a homeostatic imbalance. Like hunger and thirst, it's almost impossible to stamp out."

Plato

"There are three classes of men; lovers of wisdom, lovers of honor, and lovers of gain."

Plato

"A hero is born among a hundred, a wise man is found among a thousand, but an accomplished one might not be found even among a hundred thousand men."

Plato

"All men are by nature equal, made all of the same earth by one Workman; and however we deceive ourselves, as dear unto God is the poor peasant as the mighty prince."

Plato

"When men speak ill of thee, live so as nobody may believe them."

Plato

"Music is the movement of sound to reach the soul for the education of its virtue."

Plato

"Let parents bequeath to their children not riches, but the spirit of reverence."

Plato

"One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors."

Plato

"The measure of a man is what he does with power."

Plato

"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, and political power and philosophy thus come into the same hands."

Plato