Plato, the eminent philosopher of Ancient Greece, was born around 428 B.C. in Athens. A student of Socrates and a teacher of Aristotle, Plato’s contributions to philosophy, politics, and education have profoundly shaped Western thought. His establishment of the Academy, an institution dedicated to learning and inquiry, stands as a testament to his commitment to knowledge and virtue.
Among Plato’s most significant contributions is his work on the theory of forms, which posits that the material world is a shadow of the true reality that is abstract and unchanging. This philosophical framework has influenced countless areas of thought, from metaphysics to ethics.
Plato’s quote, “Wise men speak because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something,” remains a powerful reflection on the nature of communication and wisdom. This adage is important as it distinguishes the thoughtful articulation of knowledge from the compulsion to fill silence without substance. It encourages discernment in speech and values the weight of words, urging us to speak with intention and insight.
In our current society, where information is abundant and opinions are broadcasted incessantly, this quote is strikingly relevant. It prompts a deep reflection on the quality versus the quantity of our discourse. It serves as a crucial reminder to foster meaningful dialogue, prioritize active listening, and cultivate the humility to speak only when we have truly valuable contributions to make.
Plato’s legacy, rich with intellectual rigor and ethical inquiry, continues to inspire. His quote challenges us to seek wisdom in an age of noise, to elevate our conversations, and to ensure that when we speak, it is not merely to be heard, but to enrich the collective understanding.
Plato says: “…both wealth and concord decline as possessions become pursued and honored. And virtue perishes with them as well.”
Plato says: “…each living creature is said to be alive and to be the same individual– as for example someone is said to be the same person from when he is a child until he comes to be an old man. And yet, if he’s called the same, that’s despite the fact that he’s never made up from the same things, but is always being renewed, and losing what he had before, whether it’s hair, or flesh, or bones, or blood, in fact the whole body. And don’t suppose that this is just true in the case of the body; in the case of the soul, too, its traits, habits, opinions, desires, pleasures, pains, fears– none of these things is ever the same in any individual, but some are coming into existence, others passing away.”
Plato says: “A hero is born among a hundred, a wise man is found among a thousand, but an accomplished one might not be found even among a hundred thousand men.”
Plato says: “A library of wisdom, is more precious than all wealth, and all things that are desirable cannot be compared to it. Whoever therefore claims to be zealous of truth, of happiness, of wisdom or knowledge, must become a lover of books.”
Plato says: “A sensible man will remember that the eyes may be confused in two ways – by a change from light to darkness or from darkness to light; and he will recognise that the same thing happens to the soul.”
Plato says: “According to Greek mythology, humans were originally created with four arms, four legs and a head with two faces. Fearing their power, Zeus split them into two separate parts, condemning them to spend their lives in search of their other halves.”
Plato says: “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.”
Plato says: “An empty vessel makes the loudest sound, so they that have the least wit are the greatest babblers.”
Plato says: “And I understood then that I was a fool when I told you I would take my turn in singing the honours of Love, and admitted I was terribly clever in love affairs, whereas it seems I really had no idea how a eulogy ought to be made. For I was stupid enough to think that we ought to speak the truth about each person eulogised, and to make this the foundation, and from these truths to choose the most beautiful things and arrange them in the most elegant way; and I was quite proud to think how well I should speak, because I believed that I knew the truth.”
Plato says: “Any man may easily do harm, but not every man can do good to another.”
Plato says: “Any one who has common sense will remember that the bewilderments of the eyes are of two kinds, and arise from two causes, either from coming out of the light or from going into the light, which is true of the mind’s eye, quite as much as of the bodily eye.”
Plato says: “Beauty of style and harmony and grace and good rhythm depend on simplicity”
Plato says: “Better a little which is well done, than a great deal imperfectly.”
Plato says: “Excellence” is not a gift, but a skill that takes practice. We do not act “rightly” because we are “excellent”, in fact we achieve “excellence” by acting “rightly”.”
Plato says: “For as there are misanthropists, or haters of men, there are also misologists, or haters of ideas, and both spring from the same cause, which is ignorance of the world.”
Plato says: “For to fear death, my friends, is only to think ourselves wise without really being wise, for it is to think that we know what we do not know. For no one knows whether death may not be the greatest good that can happen to man.”
Plato says: “Good actions give strength to ourselves and inspire good actions in others.”
Plato says: “Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws.”
Plato says: “Harmony and grace depend on simplicity… the true simplicity of a rightly and nobly ordered mind and character.”
Plato says: “Haven’t you noticed that opinion without knowledge is always a poor thing? At the best it is blind – isn’t anyone who holds a true opinion without understanding like a blind man on the right road?”
Plato says: “He who refuses to rule is liable to be ruled by one who is worse than himself.”
Plato says: “Honesty is for the most part less profitable than dishonesty.”
Plato says: “How singular is the thing called pleasure, and how curiously related to pain, which might be thought to be the opposite of it; for they never come to a man together, and yet he who pursues either of them is generally compelled to take the other. They are two, and yet they grow together out of one head or stem; and I can not help thinking that if Aesop had noticed them, he would have made a fable about God trying to reconcile their strife, and when he could not, he fastened their heads together; and this is the reason why when one comes the other follows, as I find in my own case pleasure comes following after the pain in my leg which was caused by the chain.”
Plato says: “I thought to myself: I am wiser than this man; neither of us probably knows anything that is really good, but he thinks he has knowledge, when he has not, while I, having no knowledge, do not think I have.”
Plato says: “I would teach children music, physics, and philosophy; but most importantly music, for the patterns in music and all the arts are the keys to learning”
Plato says: “Make sure you raise your children by having them play in their studies, and don’t use force.”
Plato says: “Musical innovation is full of danger to the State, for when modes of music change, the fundamental laws of the State always change with them.”
Plato says: “Musical training is a more potent instrument than any other, because rhythm and harmony find their way into the inward places of the soul.”
Plato says: “Never discourage anyone…who continually makes progress, no matter how slow.”
Plato says: “No matter how hard you fight the darkness, every light casts a shadow, and the closer you get to the light, the darker that shadow becomes.”
