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Quote by Plato

“... the community suffers nothing very terrible if its cobblers are bad and become degenerate and pretentious; but if the Guardians of its laws and constitution, who alone have the opportunity to bring it good government and prosperity, become a mere sham, then clearly it is completely ruined.”

Quote by Plato

Author

Plato (428 BC - 348 BC) was a prominent Greek philosopher, one of the most influential figures in Western philosophy. He founded the Academy, which was the first institution of higher education in the Western world. Plato's philosophy, centered around the theory of Forms, emphasized the importance of reason and morality. more

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“Their military training will ensure success in war, but they must maintain unity by not allowing the state to grow to large, and by ensuring that the measures for promotion and demotion from one class to another are carried out. Above all they must maintain the educational system unchanged; for on education everything else depends, and it is an illusion to imagine that mere legislation without it can effect anything of consequence.”

“Both poverty and wealth, therefore, have a bad effect on the quality of the work and the workman himself. Wealth and poverty, I answered. One produces luxury and idleness and a passion for novelty, the other meanness and bad workmanship and revolution into the bargain.”

Political Passion Wealth Quality Poverty Effects Produce Revolution Luxury Idleness Novelty Bargains Meanness Workmen Workmanship Wealth And Poverty

Author:Plato

“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.”

People Men States Facts Jobs Political Justice Principles Virtue Four Discipline One Man Interfere Own Business Cardinals

Book:The Republic

Source: The Republic

“And the quality of good judgement is clearly a form of knowledge and skill, as it is because of knowledge and not because of ignorance that we judge well.”

Wells Form Political Quality Ignorance Judging Skills Judgement Good Judgement

Author:Plato

“So the state founded on natural principles is wise as a whole in virtue of the knowledge inherent in its smallest constituent class, which exercises authority over the rest. And the smallest class is the one which naturally possesses that form of knowledge which alone of all others deserves the title of wisdom.”

States Whole Form Political Natural Class Principles Virtue Wise Exercise Authority Deserve Titles Inherent Smallest Constituents

Author:Plato

“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.”

Thinking Men Mean Said Self Character Political Individual Term Results Company He Man Expression Masters Elements Praise Oneself Impulse Self Control Superiority Upbringing Bad Company

Author:Plato

“Because, unlike courage and wisdom, which made our state brave and wise by being present in a particular part of it, discipline operates by being diffused throughout the whole of it. It produces a concord between its strongest and weakest and middle elements, whether you define them by the standard of good sense, or of strength, or of numbers or money or the like. And so we are quite justified in regarding discipline as this sort of natural harmony and agreement between higher and lower about which of them is to rule in state and individual.”

Made States Whole Political Individual Natural Numbers Wise Middle Produce Particular Higher Discipline Elements Standards Harmony Brave Agreement Strongest Justified Good Sense

Author:Plato

“...that in our state one man was to do one job, and the job he was naturally most suited for .. And further, we have often heard and often said that justice consists of minding your own business and not interfering with other people.”

People Men Said States Jobs Political Justice Heard One Man Interfere Own Business Mind Your Own Business

Author:Plato

“Interference by the three classes with each other s jobs, and interchange of jobs between them, therefore, does the greatest harm to our state, and we are entirely justified in calling it the worst of evils.”

Doe States Jobs Political Three Evil Class Worst Calling Harm Justified Interference Interchange

Book:The Republic

Source: The Republic

“Justice in the individual is now defined analogously to justice in the state. The individual is wise and brave in virtue of his reason and spirit respectively: he is disciplined when spirit and appetite are in proper subordination to reason. He is just in virtue of the harmony which exists when all three elements of the mind perform their proper function and so achieve their proper fulfillment; he is unjust when no such harmony exists.”

Mind States Reason Political Spirit Three Individual Justice Virtue Wise Achieve Elements Function Harmony Brave Defined Fulfillment Appetite Unjust Subordination

Book:The Republic

Source: The Republic