62 Famous Quotes by Plato
- (Present)
Also Known As:
Platón
Professions:
Information:
About Plato
Plato was a philosopher in Classical Greece. He was also a mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the foundations of Western philosophy and science. In the words of A. N. Whitehead:
The safest general characterization of the European philosophical tradition is that it consists of a series of footnotes to Plato. I do not mean the systematic scheme of thought which scholars have doubtfully extracted from his writings. I allude to the wealth of general ideas scattered through them.
Plato's sophistication as a writer is evident in his Socratic dialogues; thirty-six dialogues and thirteen letters have been ascribed to him. Plato's writings have been published in several fashions; this has led to several conventions regarding the naming and referencing of Plato's texts. Plato's dialogues have been used to teach a range of subjects, including philosophy, logic, ethics, rhetoric, and mathematics. Plato is one of the most important founding figures in Western philosophy.
Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something.
Wisdom
Quotes, by Plato
|
The most effective kind of education is that a child should play amongst lovely things.
Children
Quotes, by Plato
|
Someday, in the distant future, our grandchildren's grandchildren will develop a new equivalent of our classrooms. They will spend many hours in front of boxes with fires glowing within. May they have the wisdom to know the difference between light and knowledge.
Classroom
Quotes, by Plato
|
To appreciate the beauty of a snow flake, it is necessary to stand out in the cold.
Knowledge
Quotes, by Plato
|
|
The punishment which the wise suffer, who refuse to take part in government, is to live under the government of worse men
Punishment
Quotes, by Plato
|
This and no other is the root from which a tyrant springs; when he first appears he is a protector.
Tyranny
Quotes, by Plato
|
|
Those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber.
Politics
Quotes, by Plato
|
|
|
|
Astronomy compels the soul to look upwards and leads us from this world to another
Astronomy
Quotes, by 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.
Cleverness
Quotes, by Plato
|
You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.
Discovery
Quotes, by Plato
|
I think a man's duty is to find out where the truth is, or if he cannot, at least to take the best possible human doctrine and the hardest to disprove, and to ride on this like a raft over the waters of life
Doctrine
Quotes, by Plato
|
I think a man's duty is to find out where the truth is, or if he cannot, at least to take the best possible human doctrine and the hardest to disprove, and to ride on this like a raft over the waters of life
Duty
Quotes, by Plato
|
The direction in which education starts a man will determine his future in life
Education
Quotes, by 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.
Excess
Quotes, by Plato
|
Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something.
Fool
Quotes, by Plato
|
Homosexuality, is regarded as shameful by barbarians and by those who live under despotic governments just as philosophy is regarded as shameful by them, because it is apparently not in the interest of such rulers to have great ideas engendered in their subjects, or powerful friendships or passionate love-all of which homosexuality is particularly apt to produce."
Homosexuality
Quotes, by Plato
|
|
Justice in the life and conduct of the State is possible only as first it resides in the hearts and souls of the citizens
Justice
Quotes, by Plato
|
Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws.
Law and lawyers
Quotes, by Plato
|
