Plato Quotes & Sayings

Do you, like a skilful weigher, put into the balance the pleasures and the pains, near and distant, and weigh them, and then say which outweighs the other? If you weigh pleasures against pleasures, you of course take the more and greater; or if you weigh pains against pains, then you choose that course of action in which the painful is exceeded by the pleasant, whether the distant by the near or the near by the distant; and you avoid that course of action in which the pleasant is exceeded by the painful. — Plato

In one sense it is evident that the art of kingship does include the art of lawmaking. But the political ideal is not full authority for laws but rather full authority for a man who understands the art of kingship and has kingly ability. — Plato

But still I must say, Socrates, that if you are allowed to go on in this way you will entirely forget the other question which at the commencement of this discussion you thrust aside: - Is such an order of things possible, and how, if at all? For I am quite ready to acknowledge that the plan which you propose, if only feasible, would do all sorts of good to the State. I will add, what you have omitted, that your citizens will be the bravest of warriors, and will never leave their ranks, for they will all know one another, and each will call the other father, brother, son; and if you suppose the women to join their armies, whether in the same rank or in the rear, either as a terror to the enemy, or as auxiliaries in case of need, I know that they will then be absolutely invincible; and there are many domestic advantages which — Plato

but I want you to put him down. — Plato

So then, perhaps there would be more justice in the bigger and it would be easier to observe closely. If you want, first we'll investigate what justice is like in the cities. Then, we'll also go on to consider it in individuals, considering the likeness of the bigger in the idea24 of the littler? — Plato

Of the Greek authors who at the Renaissance brought a new life into the world Plato has had the greatest influence. — Plato

For he, Adeimantus, whose mind is fixed upon true being, has surely no time to look down upon the affairs of earth, or to be filled with malice and envy, contending against men — Plato

There is in every one of us, even those who seem to be most moderate, a type of desire that is terrible, wild, and lawless. — Plato

Ignorance, the root and stem of every evil. — Plato

When you feel grateful, you become great, and eventually attract great things. — Plato

Those who govern ought not to be lovers of the task? For, if they are, there will be rival lovers, and they will fight. — Plato

Geometry draws the soul towards truth. — Plato

The whole life of the philosopher is a preparation for death. — Plato

Is the pious loved by the gods because it is pious, or is it pious because it is loved by the gods? — Plato

And once we have given our community a good start,' I pointed out, ' the process will be cumulative. By maintaining a sound system of education you produce citizens of good character, and citizens of sound character, with the advantage of a good education, produce in turn children better than themselves and better able to produce still better children in their turn, as can be seen with animals. — Plato

SOCRATES: Perhaps we may be wrong; if so, you in your wisdom should convince us that we are mistaken in preferring justice to injustice.
THRASYMACHUS: And how am I to convince you, he said, if you are not already convinced by what I have just said; what more can I do for you? Would you have me put the proof bodily into your souls? — Plato

Worthy of honor is he who does no injustice, and more than twofold honor, if he not only does no injustice himself, but hinders others from doing any. — Plato

You ask a question, I said, to which a reply can only be given in a parable. Yes, Socrates; and that is a way of speaking to which you are not at all accustomed, I suppose. — Plato

Abstinence is the surety of temperance. — Plato

As the proverb says, "a good beginning is half the business" and "to have begun well" is praised by all. — Plato

In an honest man there is always something of a child. — Plato

mean that we must mount them on horses in their earliest youth, and when they have learnt to ride, take them on horseback to see war: the horses must not be spirited and warlike, but the most tractable and yet the swiftest that can be had. In this way they will get an excellent view of what is hereafter to be their own business; and if there is danger they have only to follow their elder leaders and escape. I — Plato

If a man be endowed with a generous mind, this is the best kind of nobility. — Plato

Stranger: 'Are not thought and speech the same, with this exception, that what is called thought is the unuttered conversation of the soul with herself?
Theatetus: Quite true.
Stranger: But the stream of thought which flows through the lips and is audible is called speech?
Theatetus: True.
Stranger: And we know that there exists in speech ...
Theatetus: What exists?
Stranger: Affirmation
Theatetus: Yes, we know it. — Plato

Then the imitative poet who aims at being popular is not by nature made, nor is his art intended, to please or to affect the rational principle in the soul; but he will prefer the passionate and fitful temper, which is easily imitated? Clearly. And — Plato

Love is a madness produced by an unsatisfiable rational desire to understand the ultimate truth about the world. — Plato

The eyes of the soul of the multitudes are unable to endure the vision of the divine. — Plato

All wars are fought for the sake of getting money. — Plato

What is at issue is the conversion of the mind from the twilight of error to the truth, that climb up into the real world which we shall call true philosophy. — Plato

When there is crime in society, there is no justice. — Plato

All good and evil, whether in the body or in human nature, originates in the soul, and overflows from thence, as if from the head into the eyes. — Plato

You ought not attempt to cure the eyes without the head, or the head without the body, so neither ought you attempt to cure the body without the soul. — Plato

Would he not say with Homer,. Better to be the poor servant of a poor master, and to endure anything, rather than think as they do and live after their ... — Plato

Each citizen should play his part in the community according to his individual gifts. — Plato

It is impossible to conceive of many without one. — Plato

Those who don't know must learn from those who do. — Plato

The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men. — Plato

Yes, my good Sir, and there will be no better in which to look for a government. Why? Because of the liberty which reigns there - they have a complete assortment of constitutions; and he who has a mind to establish a State, as we have been doing, must go to a democracy as he would to a bazaar at which they sell them, and pick out the one that suits him; then, when he has made his choice, he may found his State. He will be sure to have patterns enough. And — Plato

Wherefore also these Kinds [elements] occupied different places even before the universe was organised and generated out of them. Before that time, in truth, all these were in a state devoid of reason or measure, but when the work of setting in order this Universe was being undertaken, fire and water and earth and air, although possessing some traces of their known nature, were yet disposed as everything is likely to be in the absence of God; and inasmuch as this was then their natural condition, God began by first marking them out into shapes by means of forms and numbers. — Plato

A measure of such things which in any degree falls short of the whole truth is not fair measure; for nothing imperfect is the measure of anything, although persons are too apt to be contented and think that they need search no further. — Plato

Then the lover, who is true and no counterfeit, must of necessity be loved by his love. — Plato

Socrates : Then would he not be conceding that his own opinion is false, if he grants that the opinion of those who think he is in error is true?
Theodorus : Necessarily.
Socrates : But the others do not concede that they are in error, do they?
Theodorus : No, they do not.
Socrates : And he, in turn, according to his writings, grants that this opinion also is true.
Theodorus : Evidently.
Socrates : Then all men, beginning with Protagoras, will dispute - or rather, he will grant, after he once concedes that the opinion of the man who holds the opposite view is true - even Protagoras himself, I say, will concede that neither a dog nor any casual man is a measure of anything whatsoever that he has not learned. Is not that the case?
Theodorus : Yes.
Socrates : Then since the "truth" of Protagoras is disputed by all, it would be true to nobody, neither to anyone else nor to him.
[171b-c] — Plato

The most effective kind of education is that a child should play amongst lovely things. — Plato

The qualities of number appear to lead to the apprehension of truth. — Plato

People too smart to get involved in politics are doomed to live in societies run by people who aren't. — Plato

And may we not say, Adeimantus, that the most gifted minds, when they are ill- educated, become the worst? — Plato

Moderation, which consists in indifference about little things, and in a prudent and well-proportioned zeal about things of importance, can proceed from nothing but true knowledge, which has its foundation in self-acquaintance. — Plato

Wisest is he who knows what he does not know. — Plato

The comprehensive mind is always dialectical. — Plato

a human being is the measure of all things. of the things that are, that they are, and of things that are not, that they are not. — Plato

Science is nothing but perception. — Plato

Twice and thrice over, as they say, good is it to repeat and review what is good. — Plato

The rulers make laws for their own interests. But — Plato

Thinking and spoken discourse are the same thing, except that what we call thinking is, precisely, the inward dialogue carried on by the mind with itself without spoken sound. — Plato

All I would ask you to be thinking of is the truth and not Socrates. — Plato

People are like dirt. They can either nourish you and help you grow as a person or they can stunt your growth and make you wilt and die. — Plato

I would rather have a good friend than the best cock or quail in the world: I would even go further, and say the best horse or dog. — Plato

Then we shan't regard anyone as a lover of knowledge or wisdom who is fussy about what he studies ... — Plato

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

At the touch of love, everyone is a poet. — Plato

Pleasure is the greatest incentive to evil. — Plato

An hour of play is worth a lifetime of conversation. — Plato

No one ever teaches well who wants to teach, or governs well who wants to govern. — Plato

The god is the beautiful. — Plato

Knowledge is the rediscovering of our own insight. — Plato

Adultery is the injury of nature. — Plato

Truth is the beginning of every good to the gods, and of every good to man. — Plato

The noblest of all studies is the study of what man is and of what life he should live. — Plato

Here's something else I'd like your opinion about," I said. "If he went back underground and sat down again in the same spot, wouldn't the sudden transition from the sunlight mean that his eyes would be overwhelmed by darkness?"
"Certainly," he replied.
"Now, the process of adjustment would be quite long this time, and suppose that before his eyes had settled down and while he wasn't seeing well, he had once again to compete against those same old prisoners at identifying those shadows. Would he make a fool of himself? Wouldn't they say that he'd come back from his upward journey with his eyes ruined, and that it wasn't even worth trying to go up there? And would they
if they could
grab hold of anyone who tried to set them free and take them up there and kill him? — Plato

They would be subject to no one, neither to lawful ruler nor to the reign of law, but would be altogether and absolutely free. That is the way they got their tyrants, for either servitude or freedom, when it goes to extremes, is an utter bane, while either in due measure is altogether a boon. — Plato

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

Can the same nature be a lover of wisdom and a lover of falsehood? Never. The true lover of learning then must from his earliest youth, as far as in him lies, desire all truth? Assuredly. But then again, as we know by experience, he whose desires are strong in one direction will have them weaker in others; they will be like a stream which has been drawn off into another channel. True. He whose desires are drawn towards knowledge in every form will be absorbed in the pleasures of the soul, and will hardly feel bodily pleasure - I mean, if he be a true philosopher and not a sham one. That is most certain. Such — Plato

We ought to live sacrificing, and singing, and dancing ... — Plato

Lessons, however, that enter the soul against its will never grow roots and will never be preserved inside it. — Plato

When you admonish a wrongdoer, do so gently, that it may not lead to hostility. — Plato

Let men of all ranks whether they are successful, or unsuccessful, whether they triumph or not; let them do their duty, and rest satisfied. — Plato

Need we hire a herald, or shall I announce, that the son of Ariston (the best) has decided that the best and justest is also the happiest, and that this is he who is the most royal man and king over himself; and that the worst and most unjust man is also the most miserable, and that this is he who being the greatest tyrant of himself is also the greatest tyrant of his State? Make the proclamation yourself, he said. And — Plato

And tell him it's quite true that the best of the philosophers are of no use to their fellows; but that he should blame, not the philosophers, but those who fail to make use of them. — Plato

The worst of all deceptions is self-deception. — 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

Ignorance is the root cause of all difficulties. — Plato

The greatest privilege of a human life is to become a
midwife to the awakening of the Soul in another person. — Plato

Neither human wisdom nor divine inspiration can confer upon man any greater blessing than this [live a life of happiness and harmony here on earth]. — Plato

There is no necessity for the man who means to be an orator to understand what is really just but only what would appear so to the majority of those who will give judgment; and not what is really good or beautiful but whatever will appear so; because persuasion comes from that and not from the truth. — Plato

Music gives wings to the mind and flight to the imagination. — Plato

It behooves those who take the young to task to leave them room for excuse, lest they drive them to be hardened by too much rebuke. — Plato

Health is a consumation of a love affair of all the organs of the body. — Plato

And we must beg Homer and the other poets not to be angry if we strike out these and similar passages, not because they are unpoetical, or unattractive to the popular ear, but because the greater the poetical charm in them, the less are they meet for the ears of boys and men who are meant to be free, and who should fear slavery more than death. — Plato

I was the first man to fall in love with you, son of Clinias, and now that the others have stopped pursuing you I suppose you're wondering why I'm the only one who hasn't given up - and also why, when the others pestered you with conversation, I never even spoke to you all these years. Human causes didn't enter into it; I was prevented by some divine being, the effect of which you'll hear later on. But now it no longer prevents me, so here I am. I'm confident it won't prevent me in future either. — 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

For what lover would not choose rather to be seen by all mankind than by his beloved, either when abandoning his post or throwing away his arms? He would be ready to die a thousand deaths rather than endure this. — Plato

To a good man nothing that happens is evil. — Plato

I do not know, men of Athens, how my accusers affected you; as for me, I was almost carried away in spite of myself, so persuasively did they speak. And yet, hardly anything of what they said is true. — Plato

we should also consider the remoter analogy of the animals. Many birds and animals, especially the carnivorous, have only one mate, and the love and care of offspring which seems to be natural is inconsistent with the primitive theory of marriage. If we go back to an imaginary state in which men were almost animals and the companions of them, we have as much right to argue from what is animal to what is human as from the barbarous to the civilized man. The record of animal life on the globe is fragmentary, - the connecting links are wanting and cannot be supplied; the record of social life is still more fragmentary and precarious. Even if we admit that our first ancestors had no such institution as marriage, still the stages by which men passed from outer barbarism to the comparative civilization of China, Assyria, and Greece, or even of the ancient Germans, are wholly unknown to us. Such — Plato

Let me make the songs of a nation, and I care not who makes its law. — Plato

Star of my life, to the stars your face is turned;
Would I were the heavens, looking back at you with ten thousand eyes. — Plato

One cannot make a slave of a free person, for a free person is free even in a prison. — Plato

Isn't there still one other possibility ... ," I said, "our persuading you that you must let us go? — Plato

Love is a grave mental illness. — Plato

Man - a being in search of meaning. — Plato