Plato
Plato
Platowas a philosopher in Classical Greece and the founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. He is widely considered the most pivotal figure in the development of philosophy, especially the Western tradition. Unlike nearly all of his philosophical contemporaries, Plato's entire œuvre is believed to have survived intact for over 2,400 years...
NationalityGreek
ProfessionPhilosopher
cunning knowledge ought rather wisdom
Knowledge without justice ought to be called cunning rather than wisdom.
death men worst
Death is not the worst that can happen to men.
honesty less profitable
Honesty is for the most part less profitable than dishonesty.
charming equality equals form full government sort variety
Democracy... is a charming form of government, full of variety and disorder; and dispensing a sort of equality to equals and unequals alike.
history nearer poetry truth vital
Poetry is nearer to vital truth than history.
assume gives therefore
To be sure I must; and therefore I may assume that your silence gives consent.
alone science wisdom
Wisdom alone is the science of other sciences.
appears
This and no other is the root from which a tyrant springs; when he first appears he is a protector.
stem
Ignorance, the root and stem of all evil.
becoming great intend love neither nor themselves whether
Those who intend on becoming great should love neither themselves nor their own things, but only what is just, whether it happens to be done by themselves or others.
best defeats gains greek-philosopher lowest man sustains worst
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.
came inventions nor work
I never did anything worth doing by accident, nor did any of my inventions come by accident; they came by work.
conquer conquered great shameful
The first and greatest victory is to conquer yourself; to be conquered by yourself is of all things most shameful and vile.
clear compels draws
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.