Plato Quotes
Plato was an Athenian philosopher whose dialogues laid much of the groundwork for Western thought. His ideas about justice, beauty, education, and the soul continue to shape how we think about ethics, politics, and what it means to live well.
His quotes work nicely in academic essays, philosophy presentations, graduation speeches, or social media posts about civic life and personal growth. Browse through and find the ones that challenge your thinking.
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“The beginning is the most important part of the work.”
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“Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything.”
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“One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.”
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“Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws.”
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“Democracy… is a charming form of government, full of variety and disorder; and dispensing a sort of equality to equals and unequals alike.”
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“Love is a serious mental disease.”
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“Opinion is the medium between knowledge and ignorance.”
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“At the touch of love everyone becomes a poet.”
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“The first and greatest victory is to conquer yourself; to be conquered by yourself is of all things most shameful and vile.”
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“Human behavior flows from three main sources: desire, emotion, and knowledge.”
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“The greatest wealth is to live content with little.”
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“Courage is knowing what not to fear.”
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“For a man to conquer himself is the first and noblest of all victories.”
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“Astronomy compels the soul to look upwards and leads us from this world to another.”
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“Dictatorship naturally arises out of democracy, and the most aggravated form of tyranny and slavery out of the most extreme liberty.”
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“We are twice armed if we fight with faith.”
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“People are like dirt. They can either nourish you and help you grow as a person or they can stunt your growth and make you wilt and die.”
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“The empty vessel makes the loudest sound.”
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“The measure of a man is what he does with power.”
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“Honesty is for the most part less profitable than dishonesty.”