Plato
Greek philosopher of the Classical period, student of Socrates, teacher of Aristotle, and founder of the Academy in Athens (c. 387 BCE) — the institution that would shape Western philosophy for nine hundred years. Born around 428/427 BCE into an aristocratic Athenian family, Plato came of age in a city traumatized by the Peloponnesian War, and was deeply marked by the trial and execution of Socrates in 399 BCE. From the establishment of the Academy onward, he wrote the dialogues that have been read continuously for two and a half millennia — the Apology, Phaedo, Symposium, Phaedrus, Meno, Republic, Theaetetus, Timaeus, Sophist, Statesman, Philebus, Laws, and dozens of others — through which he developed the Theory of Forms, the tripartite soul, the cardinal virtues, the philosopher-king, the allegory of the cave, the chariot of the soul, and the doctrine of recollection. Whitehead's quip that 'all of Western philosophy is footnotes to Plato' is, if anything, an understatement. He died in Athens around 348/347 BCE.
114
quotes in library
Quotes by Plato
114 quotes“Wise men talk because they have something to say.”
wisesayings traditionally attributed to Plato
“Fools because they have to say something.”
foolssayings traditionally attributed to Plato
“Necessity is the mother of invention.”
necessityRepublic Book II
“The beginning is the most important part of the work.”
beginningRepublic Book II
“Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly.”
goodRepublic
“While bad people will find a way around the laws.”
badRepublic
“Excellence is not a gift, but a skill that takes practice.”
excellencesayings traditionally attributed to Plato
“We do not act rightly because we are excellent.”
actingsayings traditionally attributed to Plato
“In fact, we achieve excellence by acting rightly.”
excellencesayings traditionally attributed to Plato
“You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.”
playsayings traditionally attributed to Plato
“Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder.”
beautySymposium
“Love is the joy of the good, the wonder of the wise, the amazement of the gods.”
loveSymposium
“In love, there is always some madness.”
lovePhaedrus
“There is also always some reason in madness.”
madnessPhaedrus
“The mind is everything. What you think, you become.”
mindsayings traditionally attributed to Plato
“All men are by nature equal, made all of the same earth by one Workman.”
equalitysayings traditionally attributed to Plato
“Cunning is but the low mimic of wisdom.”
cunningsayings traditionally attributed to Plato
“For he who has health has hope; and he who has hope, has everything.”
healthsayings traditionally attributed to Plato
“This is the ladder of love.”
ladderSymposium
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