Best 50+ Plato Quotes

Plato (428/427 BC – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher and one of the most influential thinkers in Western philosophy. He was a student of Socrates and the teacher of Aristotle. Plato founded the Academy in Athens, which was the first institution of higher learning in the Western world.

Plato's philosophy was concerned with the nature of reality, knowledge, and ethics. He believed that there was a world of abstract, eternal Forms or Ideas, which were more real than the physical world that we perceive with our senses. Plato believed that knowledge of these Forms could only be acquired through reason and not through experience.

One of Plato's most famous works is "The Republic," which presents his vision of an ideal society governed by philosopher-kings. In this work, he also discusses the nature of justice and the role of the individual in society.

Plato's philosophy has had a profound influence on Western thought, particularly in the fields of ethics, politics, and metaphysics. His ideas continue to be studied and debated by scholars today.

Top Plato Quotes

1. "Ignorance, the root and stem of all evil."

2. "At the touch of love, everyone becomes a poet."

3. "Courage is knowing what not to fear."

4. "Wise men speak because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."

5. "We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light."

6. "The first and greatest victory is to conquer yourself."

7. "Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws."

8. "He who commits injustice is ever made more wretched than he who suffers it."

9. "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."

10. "The heaviest penalty for declining to rule is to be ruled by someone inferior to yourself."

11. "The measure of a man is what he does with power."

12. "Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel."

13. "There is no harm in repeating a good thing."

14. "One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors."

15. "The beginning is the most important part of the work."

16. "Wealth is the parent of luxury and indolence, and poverty of meanness and viciousness, and both of discontent."

17. "I know nothing except the fact of my ignorance."

18. "The greatest wealth is to live content with little."

19. "Those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber."

20. "The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men."

21. "Excess of liberty, whether it lies in state or individuals, seems only to pass into excess of slavery."

22. "We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light."

23. "The direction in which education starts a man will determine his future in life."

24. "Ideas are the source of all things."

25. "Opinion is the medium between knowledge and ignorance."

26. "He who commits injustice is ever made more wretched than he who suffers it."

27. "The most important part of education is proper training in the nursery."

28. "Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder."

29. "One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors."

30. "All things will be produced in superior quantity and quality, and with greater ease, when each man works at a single occupation, in accordance with his natural gifts, and at the right moment, without meddling with anything else."

31. "He who commits injustice is ever made more wretched than he who suffers it."

32. "The first and greatest victory is to conquer yourself."

33. "One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors."

34. "Ignorance, the root and stem of all evil."

35. "Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel."

36. "Wealth is the parent of luxury and indolence, and poverty of meanness and viciousness, and both of discontent."

37. "I know nothing except the fact of my ignorance."

38. "The greatest wealth is to live content with little."

Plato Quotes About Education

1. "Do not train children to learning by force and harshness, but direct them to it by what amuses their minds, so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each."

2. "Ignorance, the root and stem of all evil."

3. "Knowledge which is acquired under compulsion obtains no hold on the mind."

4. "The direction in which education starts a man will determine his future life."

5. "The object of education is to teach us to love what is beautiful."

6. "Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel."

7. "If a man neglects education, he walks lame to the end of his life."

8. "Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something."

9. "The first and greatest victory is to conquer yourself."

10. "At the touch of love everyone becomes a poet."

Plato Quotes About Life

Here are some famous Plato quotes about life:

1. "Life must be lived as play."

2. "At the touch of love everyone becomes a poet."

3. "We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light."

4. "Courage is knowing what not to fear."

5. "Ignorance, the root and stem of all evil."

6. "Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something."

7. "The measure of a man is what he does with power."

8. "At the core of every human being is a soul yearning for the truth."

9. "Thinking – the talking of the soul with itself."

10. "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."

These quotes reflect Plato's beliefs about the importance of wisdom, courage, love, and the pursuit of truth in life.

Plato | Top 100 Plato Quotes In English/Hindi

Plato Quotes On Love

Plato, one of the greatest philosophers of ancient Greece, had much to say about love. Here are some of his notable quotes on the subject:

1. "At the touch of love, everyone becomes a poet."

2. "Love is a serious mental disease."

3. "The god of Love lives in a state of need. It is a need. He is an ever-poor, beautiful, and delicate thing."

4. "Love is born into every human being; it calls back the halves of our original nature together; it tries to make one out of two and heal the wound of human nature."

5. "Love is simply the name for the desire and pursuit of the whole."

6. "The one who loves and is loved is the one who is blessed."

7. "At the touch of love, everyone becomes a giver."

8. "Love is a madness produced by an alignment of the planets."

9. "Love is the joy of the good, the wonder of the wise, the amazement of the gods."

10. "Love is a great spirit, and a mighty force, and when it is on your side, you are unstoppable."

These quotes illustrate Plato's belief in the transformative power of love, as well as his view that love is a fundamental aspect of human nature.

Plato Quotes On Politics

1. "One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors."

2. "Justice in the life and conduct of the State is possible only as first it resides in the hearts and souls of the citizens."

3. "The measure of a man is what he does with power."

4. "The heaviest penalty for declining to rule is to be ruled by someone inferior to yourself."

5. "If men learn this, it will implant forgetfulness in their souls; they will cease to exercise memory because they rely on that which is written, calling things to remembrance no longer from within themselves, but by means of external marks."

6. "The first and greatest victory is to conquer yourself; to be conquered by yourself is of all things most shameful and vile."

7. "At the touch of love everyone becomes a poet."

8. "Dictatorship naturally arises out of democracy, and the most aggravated form of tyranny and slavery out of the most extreme liberty."

9. "The price of apathy towards public affairs is to be ruled by evil men."

10. "Those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber."

Plato Quotes On Success

Here are some famous quotes by Plato on success:

1. "The first and greatest victory is to conquer yourself."

2. "At the touch of love everyone becomes a poet."

3. "Wise men speak because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."

4. "Courage is knowing what not to fear."

5. "The measure of a man is what he does with power."

6. "We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light."

7. "Ignorance, the root and stem of all evil."

8. "Knowledge which is acquired under compulsion obtains no hold on the mind."

9. "One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors."

10. "He who commits injustice is ever made more wretched than he who suffers it."

Plato Quotes On Reality

1. "Reality is created by the mind, we can change our reality by changing our mind."

2. "Reality is not just what exists, but also what can be imagined and dreamed."

3. "The measure of a man is what he does with power."

4. "Ideas are the source of all things."

5. "Knowledge which is acquired under compulsion obtains no hold on the mind."

6. "Wise men speak because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."

7. "At the touch of love everyone becomes a poet."

8. "Courage is knowing what not to fear."

9. "We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light."

10. "Reality is the world of becoming, not being."

Plato Quotes In Hindi

Here are some Plato quotes translated into Hindi:

1. "विज्ञान बिना संतुलित ज्ञान नहीं हो सकता।" (Translation: "Knowledge which is acquired under compulsion obtains no hold on the mind.")

2. "सबकी मदद करने के लिए सबसे अच्छा तरीका अपनी स्वयं की शक्ति का उपयोग करना है।" (Translation: "The greatest way to help others is to use your own strength.")

3. "शिक्षा मनुष्य के बुद्धिमान होने का प्रमाण है।" (Translation: "Education is the proof of man's being intelligent.")

4. "ज्ञान से प्राप्त होने वाली सुख सबसे अधिक है।" (Translation: "The pleasure derived from knowledge is the purest and most lasting.")

5. "जो लोग धर्म नहीं समझते, वे अधम होते हैं।" (Translation: "Those who do not understand religion are the worst kind of people.")

6. "जो लोग सीखते हैं, उन्हें ज्ञान मिलता है।" (Translation: "Those who learn, acquire knowledge.")

7. "वही व्यक्ति दुनिया को समझता है, जो अपनी समझ को समझता है।" (Translation: "He who understands his own understanding understands the world.")

8. "मनुष्य की पहचान उसके कार्य से होती है।" (Translation: "Man's identity is determined by his actions.")

9. "सबसे बड़ा अभिशाप उन लोगों के लिए है जो कुछ नहीं सीखते।" (Translation: "The biggest curse is for those who refuse to learn anything.")

10. "वही व्यक्ति सच्ची जीत हासिल करता है जो सच में जीतता है।" (Translation: "He who truly wins is the one who wins in truth.")