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Famous Plato Quotes

“Either death is a state of nothingness and utter consciousness, or, as men say, there is a change and migration of the soul from this world to another. Now if death be of such a nature, I say that to die is to gain; for eternity is then only a single night.”

IfsMenWorldSoulStatesDeathNightDiesConsciousnessThis WorldGainsEternityNothingnessMigrationUnconsciousnessNear Death
Book:The Trial and Death of Socrates: Euthyphro, Apology, Crito and Phaedo
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“Remember how in that communion only, beholding beauty with the eye of the mind, he will be enabled to bring forth, not images of beauty, but realities (for he has hold not of an image but of a reality), and bringing forth and nourishing true virtue to become the friend of God and be immortal, if mortal man may.”

IfsMenMindMayRealityEyeRememberBeautyVirtueMindfulnessMortalsImmortalCommunionBeauty Is In The Eye Of The Beholder
Book:The Portable Plato
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“Until philosophers rule as kings or those who are now called kings and leading men genuinely and adequately philosophise, that is, until political power and philosophy entirely coincide, while the many natures who at present pursue either one exclusively are forcibly prevented from doing so, cities will have no rest from evils,... nor, I think, will the human race.”

ThinkingMenHumansPhilosophyPoliticalEvilRaceCitiesKingsPhilosopherPursueHuman RacePolitical Power
Book:The Philosophy Collection [97 Books]
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“The State which we have founded must possess the four cardinal virtues of wisdom, courage, discipline and justice ... Justice is the principle which has in fact been followed throughout, the principle of one man one job, of minding one s own business , in the sense of doing the job for which one is naturally fitted and not interfering with other people.”

PeopleMenStatesFactsJobsPoliticalJusticePrinciplesVirtueFourDisciplineOne ManInterfereOwn BusinessCardinals
Book:The Republic
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“What the expression is intended to mean, I think, is that there is a better and a worse element in the character of each individual, and that when the naturally better element controls the worse then the man is said to be "master of himself", as a term of praise. But when - as a result of bad upbringing or bad company one s better element is overpowered by the numerical superiority of one s worse impulses, then one is criticized for not being master of oneself and for lack of self control.”

ThinkingMenMeanSaidSelfCharacterPoliticalIndividualTermResultsCompanyHe ManExpressionMastersElementsPraiseOneselfImpulseSelf ControlSuperiorityUpbringingBad Company
Author:Plato
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“The principles are important. First, the interest of the state or society counts for everything, that of the individual for nothing. Second, the only difference between men and women is one of physical function- one begets, the other bears children. Apart from that, they both can and should perform the same functions - though men on a whole, perform them better and should receive the same education to enable them to do so; for in this way society will get the best value from both.”

MenWayShouldFirstsChildrenImportantStatesWholePoliticalValuesIndividualInterestDifferencesPrinciplesBearsMen And WomenFunctionBegetsDifferences Between Man And Woman
Author:Plato
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“'But surely "blind" is just how you would describe men who have no true knowledge of reality, and no clear standard in their mind to refer to, as a painter refers to his model, and which they can study closely before they start laying down rules about what is fair or right or good where they are needed, or maintaining, as Guardians, any rules that already exist.' 'Yes, blind is just about what they are'”

MenMindRealityStudyClearNeededWords Of WisdomModelsStandardsFairsBlindPainterMaintainingGuardianTrue KnowledgeLaying DownDescribe Me
Author:Plato
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“One trait in the philosopher's character we can assume is his love of the knowledge that reveals eternal reality, the realm unaffected by change and decay. He is in love with the whole of that reality, and will not willingly be deprived even of the most insignificant fragment of it - just like the lovers and men of ambition we described earlier on.”

MenWholeCharacterRealityLoversWords Of WisdomAmbitionEternalAssumingPhilosopherRealmsTraitsDecayHis LoveInsignificantFragmentsDeprived
Book:The Republic
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“Any one who has common sense will remember that the bewilderments of the eyes are of two kinds, and arise from two causes, either from coming out of the light or from going into the light, which is true of the mind's eye, quite as much as of the bodily eye; and he who remembers this when he sees any one whose vision is perplexed and weak, will not be too ready to laugh; he will first ask whether that soul of man has come out of the brighter light, and is unable to see because unaccustomed to the dark, or having turned from darkness to the day is dazzled by excess of light.”

MenMindFirstsKindTwoSoulLightEyeRememberAsksCausesDarkCommonVisionDarknessLaughingReadyWeakAriseCommon SenseThriveExcessComing OutBrighterPerplexedBewildermentWeak Will
Book:The Portable Plato
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“And so, when a person meets the half that is his very own, whatever his orientation, whether it's to young men or not, then something wonderful happens: the two are struck from their senses by love, by a sense of belonging to one another, and by desire, and they don't want to be separated from one another, not even for a moment.”

MenWantLovePersonsTwoMomentsHappensYoungDesireHalfWonderfulSensesYoung ManBelongingOrientationSymposium
Book:Complete Works
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“Let every man remind their descendants that they also are soldiers who must not desert the ranks of their ancestors, or from cowardice fall behind.”

MenFallBehindsSoldierEvery ManDesertAncestorCowardiceDescendants
Book:The Complete Works of Plato (Unabridged): From the greatest Greek philosopher, known for The Republic, Symposium, Apology, Phaedrus, Laws, Crito, Phaedo, Timaeus, Meno, Euthyphro, Gorgias, Parmenides, Protagoras, Statesman and Critias
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“Vision, in my view, is the cause of the greatest benefit to us, inasmuch as none of the accounts now given concerning the Universe would ever have been given if men had not seen the stars or the sun or the heavens. But as it is, the vision of day and night and of months and circling years has created the art of number and has given us not only the notion of Time but also means of research into the nature of the Universe. From these we have procured Philosophy in all its range, than which no greater boon ever has come or will come, by divine bestowal, unto the race of mortals.”

IfsMenYearsMeanHas BeensArtPhilosophyNightUniverseGivenHeavenStarsCausesSpaceViewsNumbersRaceVisionSunGreaterDivineMonthsBenefitsResearchAccountsNotionMortalsRangeDay And NightStar GazingBoonSun And Stars
Author:Plato
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“The soul of him who has education is whole and perfect and escapes the worst disease, but, if a man's education be neglected, he walks lamely through life and returns good for nothing to the world below.”

IfsMenWorldSoulWholeWalksPerfectWorstReturnDiseaseNeglected
Book:THE ATLANTIS COLLECTION - 6 Books About The Mythical Lost World: Plato’s Original Myth + The Lost Continent + The Story of Atlantis + The Antedeluvian World + New Atlantis: The Myth & The Theories
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