Welcome to our collection of profound and timeless quotes by Plato, one of the most influential philosophers in Western history. Plato, a student of Socrates and the teacher of Aristotle, laid the groundwork for Western philosophy and contributed significantly to fields such as ethics, metaphysics, epistemology, and politics. His dialogues, written in the form of conversations between Socrates and various other characters, explore fundamental questions about the nature of reality, knowledge, justice, and the ideal society.
Throughout his works, Plato delves into the complexities of human existence, seeking to uncover universal truths and principles that govern the world. His keen insights into human nature and society continue to resonate with readers across centuries, offering profound reflections on the human condition and the pursuit of wisdom. From his famous Allegory of the Cave to his theory of Forms, Plato’s ideas have left an indelible mark on philosophy and continue to inspire critical thinking and intellectual inquiry to this day. Explore the wisdom of Plato through the selection of quotes below, and discover timeless insights that remain as relevant now as they were in ancient Greece.
The greatest wealth is to live content with little. Plato
No man should bring children into the world who is unwilling to persevere to the end in their nature and education. 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
The learning and knowledge that we have, is, at the most, but little compared with that of which we are ignorant. Plato
Necessity… the mother of invention. 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
Better a little which is well done, than a great deal imperfectly. Plato
Cunning… is but the low mimic of wisdom. Plato
Life must be lived as play. Plato
The highest reach of injustice is to be deemed just when you are not. Plato
Love is a serious mental disease. Plato
To prefer evil to good is not in human nature; and when a man is compelled to choose one of two evils, no one will choose the greater when he might have the less. 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
The wisest have the most authority. Plato
The empty vessel makes the loudest sound. Plato
They certainly give very strange names to diseases. Plato
Knowledge which is acquired under compulsion obtains no hold on the mind. Plato
Apply yourself both now and in the next life. Without effort, you cannot be prosperous. Though the land be good, You cannot have an abundant crop without cultivation. Plato
Death is not the worst that can happen to men. 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
There must always remain something that is antagonistic to good. Plato
Wonder is the feeling of the philosopher, and philosophy begins in wonder. Plato
It is clear to everyone that astronomy at all events compels the soul to look upwards, and draws it from the things of this world to the other. Plato
When men speak ill of thee, live so as nobody may believe them. Plato
It is a common saying, and in everybody’s mouth, that life is but a sojourn. Plato
Wisdom alone is the science of other sciences. Plato
Knowledge without justice ought to be called cunning rather than wisdom. Plato
Nothing in the affairs of men is worthy of great anxiety. Plato
There is no such thing as a lovers’ oath. Plato
To love rightly is to love what is orderly and beautiful in an educated and disciplined way. Plato
Ignorance, the root and stem of all evil. Plato
For a man to conquer himself is the first and noblest of all victories. Plato
Philosophy begins in wonder. Plato
Opinion is the medium between knowledge and ignorance. Plato
Knowledge becomes evil if the aim be not virtuous. Plato
To suffer the penalty of too much haste, which is too little speed. Plato
There are two things a person should never be angry at, what they can help, and what they cannot. Plato
Love is the joy of the good, the wonder of the wise, the amazement of the Gods. Plato
Poetry is nearer to vital truth than history. Plato
Philosophy is the highest music. Plato
At the touch of love everyone becomes a poet. Plato
Courage is a kind of salvation. Plato
When there is an income tax, the just man will pay more and the unjust less on the same amount of income. 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
All the gold which is under or upon the earth is not enough to give in exchange for virtue. Plato
He who is of calm and happy nature will hardly feel the pressure of age, but to him who is of an opposite disposition youth and age are equally a burden. 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 rulers of the state are the only persons who ought to have the privilege of lying, either at home or abroad; they may be allowed to lie for the good of the state. Plato
Whatever deceives men seems to produce a magical enchantment. Plato
Justice means minding one’s own business and not meddling with other men’s concerns. Plato
Democracy passes into despotism. Plato
No evil can happen to a good man, either in life or after death. Plato
As the builders say, the larger stones do not lie well without the lesser. Plato
There’s a victory, and defeat; the first and best of victories, the lowest and worst of defeats which each man gains or sustains at the hands not of another, but of himself. Plato
No law or ordinance is mightier than understanding. Plato
To be sure I must; and therefore I may assume that your silence gives consent. Plato
All things will be produced in superior quantity and quality, and with greater ease, when each man works at a single occupation, in accordance with his natural gifts, and at the right moment, without meddling with anything else. Plato
Nothing can be more absurd than the practice that prevails in our country of men and women not following the same pursuits with all their strengths and with one mind, for thus, the state instead of being whole is reduced to half. Plato
The direction in which education starts a man will determine his future in life. Plato
The good is the beautiful. Plato
This City is what it is because our citizens are what they are. Plato
The community which has neither poverty nor riches will always have the noblest principles. 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
The most important part of education is proper training in the nursery. Plato
Dictatorship naturally arises out of democracy, and the most aggravated form of tyranny and slavery out of the most extreme liberty. 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
He who is not a good servant will not be a good master. Plato
Courage is knowing what not to fear. Plato
The beginning is the most important part of the work. Plato
And what, Socrates, is the food of the soul? Surely, I said, knowledge is the food of the soul. Plato
The most virtuous are those who content themselves with being virtuous without seeking to appear so. Plato
Excess generally causes reaction, and produces a change in the opposite direction, whether it be in the seasons, or in individuals, or in governments. Plato
Human behavior flows from three main sources: desire, emotion, and knowledge. Plato
Let parents bequeath to their children not riches, but the spirit of reverence. Plato
Poets utter great and wise things which they do not themselves understand. Plato
Astronomy compels the soul to look upwards and leads us from this world to another. Plato
Honesty is for the most part less profitable than dishonesty. Plato
If particulars are to have meaning, there must be universals. Plato
There is no harm in repeating a good thing. Plato
Music is the movement of sound to reach the soul for the education of its virtue. Plato
One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors. Plato
The first and greatest victory is to conquer yourself; to be conquered by yourself is of all things most shameful and vile. Plato
A state arises, as I conceive, out of the needs of mankind; no one is self-sufficing, but all of us have many wants. 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
When the tyrant has disposed of foreign enemies by conquest or treaty, and there is nothing more to fear from them, then he is always stirring up some war or other, in order that the people may require a leader. Plato
It is right to give every man his due. Plato
A good decision is based on knowledge and not on numbers. Plato
Excess of liberty, whether it lies in state or individuals, seems only to pass into excess of slavery. Plato
The excessive increase of anything causes a reaction in the opposite direction. Plato
How can you prove whether at this moment we are sleeping, and all our thoughts are a dream; or whether we are awake, and talking to one another in the waking state? Plato
We are twice armed if we fight with faith. Plato
Rhetoric is the art of ruling the minds of men. 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
The measure of a man is what he does with power. 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
Man is a wingless animal with two feet and flat nails. Plato
Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws. Plato
The eyes of the soul of the multitudes are unable to endure the vision of the divine. Plato
He who commits injustice is ever made more wretched than he who suffers it. Plato
Science is nothing but perception. Plato