Plato, an ancient Greek philosopher, was a student of Socrates and the teacher of Aristotle. He is known for his philosophical dialogues, including “The Republic” and “The Symposium.” Plato founded the Academy, a renowned center of learning, and his ideas on justice, forms, and the nature of reality continue to influence Western philosophy.
“At the touch of love, everyone becomes a poet.”
Plato Quotes
“Wise men speak because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something.”
“Courage is knowing what not to fear.”
“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.”
“Ignorance, the root and stem of all evil.”
“The measure of a man is what he does with power.”
“He who commits injustice is ever made more wretched than he who suffers it.”
“One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.”
“Knowledge which is acquired under compulsion obtains no hold on the mind.”
“The first and greatest victory is to conquer yourself.”
“We are twice armed if we fight with faith.”
“He was a wise man who invented beer.”
“Ideas are the source of all things.”
“The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men.”
“Better a little which is well done, than a great deal imperfectly.”
“Astronomy compels the soul to look upward and leads us from this world to another.”
“The excessive increase of anything often causes a reaction in the opposite direction.”
“The heaviest penalty for declining to rule is to be ruled by someone inferior to yourself.”
“We do not learn, and that what we call learning is only a process of recollection.”
“Education is teaching our children to desire the right things.”
“Love is born into every human being; it calls back the halves of our original nature together; it tries to make one out of two and heal the wound of human nature.”
“The most effective kind of education is that a child should play amongst lovely things.”
“Opinion is the medium between knowledge and ignorance.”
“The just man is most free from disturbance when the world is at its worst.”
“The greatest wealth is to live content with little.”
“Justice in the life and conduct of the State is possible only as first it resides in the hearts and souls of the citizens.”
“The soul takes nothing with her to the next world but her education and her culture.”
“Love is a serious mental disease.”
“Opinions are the shadows of our desires.”
“There are three classes of men; lovers of wisdom, lovers of honor, and lovers of gain.”
“Those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber.”
“Democracy… is a charming form of government, full of variety and disorder; and dispensing a sort of equality to equals and unequals alike.”
These quotes offer a glimpse into Plato’s philosophical ideas and insights.
