Socrates Quotes
2140 quotes
Socrates
The father of Western philosophy and the art of questioning
2140 Quotes
If anyone does wrong, it is not willingly but out of ignorance
— Meno
He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have
— Philippus (attributed in various sources, see Socratic Letters)
I do nothing but go about persuading you all, old and young alike, not to care for your bodies or your wealth in preference to, or as strongly as, for the best possible state of your soul
— Apology
No man should bring children into the world who is unwilling to persevere to the end in their nurture and education
— Republic, Book V
Let him who would be a leader first learn to obey
— Symposium
I cannot teach anybody anything; I can only make them think
— Attributed in Diogenes Laërtius, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers
The nearest way to glory is to strive to be what you wish to be thought to be
— Xenophon, Memorabilia, Book II
All men's souls are immortal, but the souls of the righteous are immortal and divine
— Phaedo, section 113d
Let us then examine what courage is, and do not shrink from the task, but look the truth boldly in the face
— Laches
Nothing is to be preferred before justice
— Plato, Republic I.352d
Can it be that virtue is not teachable?
— Meno
No wealth can make a bad man at peace with himself
— Gorgias
I cannot do otherwise than obey the god, and to my dying day I shall never cease to seek after knowledge and to exhort you also to do the same
— Apology
If a man is proud of his wealth, he should not be praised until it is known how he employs it
— Apology, 41e
No one ever becomes good accidentally
— Plato, Protagoras
He who is not a good servant will not be a good master
— Memorabilia
All wars are undertaken for the acquisition of wealth
— Apology
He who is of a calm and happy nature will hardly feel the pressure of age, but to him who is of an opposite disposition youth and age are equally a burden
— Republic, Book I
A man who is good for anything ought not to calculate the chance of living or dying; he ought only to consider whether in doing anything he is doing right or wrong
— Apology
I am one of those who are willing to be refuted if I say anything untrue, and who are willing to refute anyone else who says what is untrue, and who are just as glad to be refuted as to refute
— Gorgias
Death may be the greatest of all human blessings
— Apology (Plato)
If someone seeks for themselves to rule, and desires it out of self-interest, he is not a true ruler, but a mere lover of office
— Republic, Book I
Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us
— Phaedrus
Learning is recollection
— Meno
How many things I can do without
— Xenophon, Memorabilia 1.6.2
No one who is unjust is happy, and no one who is just is unhappy
— Gorgias, 470e
I know nothing except the fact of my ignorance
— Apology
The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear
— Gorgias
Let us seek the truth together, and not be at odds with each other, even if we differ in opinion
— Phaedo
Prefer knowledge to wealth, for the one is transitory, the other perpetual
— Diogenes Laërtius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, Book II
A multitude of books, my friend, is a great evil. There is no end to the making of them
— Phaedrus
Is it not a great evil to live in fear and be always defending oneself?
— Crito
It is not difficult to escape death, but it is much more difficult to escape wickedness, for that runs faster than death
— Apology
To fear death, gentlemen, is no other than to think oneself wise when one is not, to think one knows what one does not know
— Apology, section 29a
Let us inquire together, for neither of us knows clearly what we are discussing
— Euthyphro
The beginning of wisdom is a definition of terms
— Plato, Phaedrus 263a
But whether life or death is better, is known to God, and not to man
— Apology
Worthless people live only to eat and drink; people of worth eat and drink only to live
— Gorgias
Let us follow the argument wherever it leads
— Phaedo
No amount of happiness can make an unjust life a good one
— Gorgias
The greatest way of defending oneself is never to commit injustice
— Gorgias
The secret of happiness, you see, is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less
— Xenophon, Memorabilia
The greatest good for man is to discourse daily about virtue
— Apology
To find yourself, think for yourself
— Phaedrus
I prayed to the god only let me become beautiful in my soul within, and all my outward possessions be in harmony with the inner man
— Phaedrus
Do not live for your body, but care for your soul
— Plato, Gorgias
Let us pursue the argument wherever it leads
— Phaedo
No man undertakes a trade he has not learned, even the meanest; yet everyone thinks himself sufficiently qualified for the hardest of all trades, that of government
— Republic, Book III
May I be preserved from accepting a lie into my soul, however deeply it might settle there
— Phaedo
The greatest blessing granted to mankind come by way of madness, provided the madness is given by divine gift
— Plato, Phaedrus
The misuse of language induces evil in the soul
— Cratylus
Employ your time in improving yourself by other men's writings so that you shall gain easily what others have labored hard for
— Phaedrus
It is the law with which we must concern ourselves, not any man
— Crito, central argument
The greatest way of defense is attack
— Plato, Apology
The poets are only the interpreters of the gods by whom they are severally possessed
— Plato, Apology
The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled
— Attributed by Plutarch, On Listening to Lectures
The poets compose poems not by wisdom, but by a kind of nature and by inspiration
— Apology, 22b-c
There is no greater evil one can suffer than to hate reasonable discourse
— Gorgias
To prefer evil to good is not in human nature; and when a man is compelled to choose one of two evils, no one will choose the greater when he might have the less
— Protagoras
I would rather suffer wrong than do wrong
— Gorgias
The soul, when on its way to truth and being, becomes strong and is nourished, and is then freed from error and pleasure and pain
— Phaedo
No one has a right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training
— Xenophon, Memorabilia
The greatest way of life is to live each day as if it were your last
— Phaedo
Through my poverty I bring the greatest benefit to the city
— Apology
To do a great thing, one must begin with little things
— Theaetetus
Nature has given us two ears, two eyes, and but one tongue—to the end that we should hear and see more than we speak
— Attributed by Diogenes Laërtius
Be slow to fall into friendship; but when thou art in, continue firm and constant
— Diogenes Laertius, 'Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers', Book II
The greatest blessings come by way of madness, indeed of madness that is heaven-sent
— Phaedrus, section 244a
To want nothing is divine, to want as little as possible is the nearest approach to the divine
— Plato, Gorgias 509a
If I had engaged in politics, I should have perished long ago and done no good either to you or to myself
— Apology
When the debate is lost, slander becomes the tool of the loser
— Republic (attributed by Plato)
Be of good cheer about death, and know this of a truth: that no evil can happen to a good man, either in life or after death
— Apology
A man who is afraid of death is not fit to live
— Phaedo
See now how much better is it to be refuted than to refute, for it is a greater good to get rid of a great evil in oneself than to get rid of it in another
— Plato, Gorgias 458a
No man is qualified to become a statesman who is entirely ignorant of the problems of wheat
— Plato, The Republic, Book II
Wisdom begins in wonder
— Theaetetus
Be slow to fall into friendship; but when thou art in, continue firm and constant
— Attributed by Diogenes Laertius, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, Book II
The unexamined life is not worth living for a human being
— Apology, section 38a (Plato)
There is nothing to fear except being an unjust man
— Gorgias, 522e
No one does wrong willingly
— Protagoras, 345d
Let him who would move the world first move himself
— Phaedrus, (attributed)
By all means, get married; if you get a good wife, you'll be happy; if you get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher
— Attributed in Diogenes Laertius, 'Lives of the Eminent Philosophers'
Be as you wish to seem
— Attributed to Socrates by Athenæus, Deipnosophistae, Book XII
The poets compose their poems not by wisdom, but by a sort of genius and inspiration; they are like diviners or soothsayers who also say many fine things, but do not understand the meaning of them
— Ion
If anyone tells you that a certain person speaks ill of you, do not make excuses about what is said of you but answer, He was ignorant of my other faults, else he would have not mentioned these alone
— Diogenes Laërtius, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers
Once made equal to man, woman becomes his superior
— Gorgias
To do is to be
— Plato, Theaetetus
Slanderers do not harm those they slander, but themselves
— Attributed by Diogenes Laertius, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, Book II
An honest man is always a child
— Phaedo
It is better to be refuted than to refute—for it is a greater good to get rid of a great evil in oneself than to rid it from another
— Gorgias, 458a
What we call learning is really just recollection
— Meno
The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be
— Gorgias
Strong minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, weak minds discuss people
— Attributed (not in surviving works)
The poets are only the interpreters of the gods
— Apology, 22b
It is the law with which we must concern ourselves, not any man
— Crito
I am not yet able to know myself; so it seems to me ridiculous, when I do not yet know that, to investigate irrelevant things
— Phaedrus
The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be
— Xenophon, 'Memorabilia'
Remember that there is nothing stable in human affairs; therefore avoid undue elation in prosperity, or undue depression in adversity
— Phaedo
Speak, that I may see you
— Quoted in Plutarch, Moralia
Crito, we ought to offer a cock to Asclepius. See to it, and don't forget
— Phaedo (final words)
Remember, my friend, that to be silent and listen is often an art that is more necessary than speaking
— Phaedrus
Call no man happy until he is dead
— Plato, Apology
Let no one, even in jest, do or say what is not right
— Laws (quoted by Plato)
An education acquired with money is worse than no education at all
— Plato, Apology
I am a midwife, not of bodies, but of souls
— Theaetetus
No evil can happen to a good man, either in life or after death
— Apology
I am like a gadfly, given to the State by the god, and the State is like a great and noble horse which is sluggish because of its size and needs to be stirred into life
— Apology
The poets compose their poems not by wisdom, but by a kind of inspiration and by being possessed
— Apology, discussion of poets
Once made equal to man, woman becomes his superior
— Attributed by Diogenes Laertius, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers
The hour of departure has arrived, and we must go our ways; I to die, and you to live. Which of us goes to the better lot is known to no one, except the god
— Apology
One ought never to return an injury or to do evil to any person, however he may have injured you
— Crito
A house that has a bad neighbor is in a state of siege
— Republic, Book 5
The comic poets, I think, are wise men, but without knowing it; and the tragic poets, too
— Apology
See whether I am the kind of man who would be likely to try to avoid death at any cost, and to break the laws and go into exile or do anything rather than die
— Apology
I call myself a midwife to the mind, for I assist at the birth of knowledge in others, but have no wisdom myself
— Plato, Theaetetus
The beginning is the most important part of the work
— Republic, Book II
No man is qualified to become a statesman who is entirely ignorant of the problems of wheat
— Xenophon, Memorabilia 3.4.6
Is not the most reprehensible kind of ignorance to think that one knows what one does not know?
— Phaedrus
Come now, let us discuss this question together; for perhaps in talking it over we shall discover what we are seeking
— Euthyphro, 7b
The shortest and surest way to live with honor in the world is to be in reality what we would appear to be
— Xenophon, Memorabilia
Speak, so that I may see you
— Quoted by Plutarch, Moralia, 'On Talkativeness', 514b
Strong minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, weak minds discuss people
— Attributed to Socrates (classical attribution)
The highest good for man is daily to converse about virtue
— Apology
The nearest way to glory is to strive to be what you wish to be thought to be
— Xenophon, Memorabilia II.6.39
Let us follow the argument wherever it leads
— Phaedo, 92c
I would rather die having spoken after my manner, than speak in your manner and live
— Apology 38e
The only true wisdom is to know that you know nothing
— Apology
I was really too honest a man to be a politician and live
— Apology
Wisdom begins in wonder
— Plato, Theaetetus 155d
The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be
— Gorgias
No human thing is of serious importance
— Plato, Phaedo
Let us, then, in the first place, consider with ourselves what we are; for by doing so we shall most easily discover what it is we desire
— Philebus
Let us examine the matter from the beginning, and do not let us either be in too great a hurry or too slow
— Theaetetus, 180e
The misuse of language induces evil in the soul
— Plato, Phaedrus, 263e
The beginning is the most important part of the work
— Republic, Book II
The poets are only interpreters of the gods by whom they are severally possessed
— Ion
The comics poets, I think, are wise men, but without knowing it
— Plato, Apology
As for me, I neither know nor think that I know
— Apology
He who learns but does not think, is lost. He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger
— Plato, Phaedrus, 274c (attributed in context of written vs. living learning)
The comic poets, I think, are wise men, but without knowing it; and the tragic poets, too, though I once caught one when he was writing a tragedy and asked him what it meant, and he did not know himself
— Plato, 'Apology', section 22b
The soul is the very likeness of the divine, and immortal, and intelligible, and indissoluble, and unchangeable
— Phaedo
No one knows whether life is not death, and death is not life
— Phaedo
It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable
— Xenophon, Memorabilia 3.12.5
If you kill me, you will not easily find another like me
— Apology
Do not then be angry with me if I tell you the truth
— Apology
No one with even a moderate understanding of music or gymnastics could ever suppose that one could distinguish the good and the bad by any other means than by knowledge
— Republic, Book III
I swear by the dog, gentlemen, that I have been so busy with the study of philosophy, that I have had no leisure to attend to any of the affairs of the world
— Apology
Beware the barrenness of a busy life
— Attributed in Diogenes Laërtius, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers
The soul is the very likeness of the divine, and immortal, and intelligible, and indissoluble, and unchangeable
— Phaedo, 80b
The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be
— Gorgias
Strong minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, weak minds discuss people
— Attributed (no extant original dialogue)
The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance
— Laches
Are you not ashamed of caring so much for making money and for fame and prestige, when you neither think nor care about wisdom and truth and the improvement of your soul?
— Apology
Let him who would learn, learn. And you and I must join in seeking the answer
— Meno
I am and always have been a man who listens to nothing within me but the inner voice
— Apology
Think not those faithful who praise all thy words and actions, but those who kindly reprove thy faults
— Apology
Necessity is the mother of invention
— Republic, Book II
The poets compose poems by the help of the Muses, and are possessed and inspired; they do not compose them by the rules of art
— Apology
Let him that would move the world first move himself
— Phaedrus
A man who is good for anything ought not to calculate the chance of living or dying; he ought only to consider whether in doing anything he is doing right or wrong
— Apology
I am not an Athenian or a Greek, but a citizen of the world
— Plutarch, Moralia, On Exile, 599d
No one is more hated than he who speaks the truth
— Apology
A man who is honest does not fear loss
— Xenophon, Memorabilia
Not life, but good life, is to be chiefly valued
— Crito, 48b
In childhood be modest, in youth temperate, in adulthood just, and in old age prudent
— Laws
Let us then examine what courage is, and do not shrink from the task, but look the truth boldly in the face
— Laches, Section 190e
The true champion of justice, if he intends to survive even for a short time, must necessarily confine himself to private life and leave politics alone
— Apology
A house that has a bad neighbor is in a state of siege
— Xenophon, 'Memorabilia', Book II, Chapter 4, Section 2
Bad men live that they may eat and drink, whereas good men eat and drink that they may live
— Plato, Gorgias, section 518B
Let us examine the question together, and let us not assert or deny anything except what we are compelled by reason to believe
— Phaedo
Learning is recollection
— Meno
I only wish that ordinary people had an unlimited capacity for doing harm; then they might have an unlimited power for doing good
— Gorgias 526c, Plato
No human thing is of serious importance
— Phaedo
It is not living that matters, but living rightly
— Plato, Crito
False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil
— Phaedo
If you suppose that there is no consciousness, but a sort of sleep, death will be an unspeakable gain
— Apology
Do not therefore be angry with me if I tell you the truth.
— Apology, Section 31e
If the whole world were to come together and accuse me, they could not convict me of doing any wrong to any man, great or small
— Apology
No person has the right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training
— Republic, Book III
The greatest blessing granted to mankind come by way of madness, provided the madness is given by divine gift
— Phaedrus
If you had known how to live, you would have known how to die
— Phaedo
Be slow to fall into friendship; but when you are in, continue firm and constant
— Diogenes Laërtius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers 2.5.21
Employ your time in improving yourself by other men's writings so that you shall gain easily what others have labored hard for
— Phaedrus
Let us examine the question together, and let us not assert or accept anything but what we find on examination to be true
— Meno
Learning is recollection
— Meno
The true champion of justice, if he intends to survive even for a short time, must necessarily confine himself to private life and leave politics alone
— Apology
I would rather die having spoken after my manner, than speak in your manner and live
— Plato, Apology
Virtue does not come from wealth, but wealth and every other good thing which men have comes from virtue
— Apology, 30b
I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think
— attributed in Diogenes Laertius, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers
Is not living shamefully and unjustly a greater evil than dying?
— Gorgias
The soul takes nothing with her to the next world but her education and her nurture
— Phaedo
To do injustice is worse than to suffer it
— Gorgias
It is better to change an opinion than to persist in a wrong one
— Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers (attributed to Socrates)
To fear death, my friends, is only to think ourselves wise without being wise, for it is to think that we know what we do not know
— Apology, 29a
If a man neglects education, he walks lame to the end of his life
— Phaedrus
Whenever men are deceived and make mistakes, it is in the pursuit of what they suppose to be good
— Plato, Protagoras, 345d
No man ever did a wrong act knowingly
— Protagoras
The mind is everything; what you think you become
— Attributed to Socrates (not found in extant classical texts, but widely cited)
Contentment is natural wealth, luxury is artificial poverty
— Apology (attributed via Xenophon, Memorabilia)
He is rich who is content with the least, for content is the wealth of nature
— Xenophon, Memorabilia
It is not I who am wise, but the god; and by his oracle he means to show that the wisdom of men is worth little or nothing
— Apology 23a
We should not return injustice for injustice or do harm to anyone, no matter what they have done to us
— Crito
The really important thing is not to live, but to live well
— Crito
When men speak ill of you, live so as nobody may believe them
— Xenophon, Memorabilia
To be is to do
— attributed in various ancient sources; associated with Socratic ethics
To express oneself badly is not only faulty as far as the language goes, but it does some harm to the soul
— Plato, Phaedo, 115e
I am not wise, nor have I any wise thing about me
— Apology
No wealth can ever make a bad man at peace with himself
— Crito
The greatest improvement of the soul is to converse with good people
— Xenophon, Memorabilia
When desire and reason are opposed, there is a civil war within the soul
— Phaedrus
It is not I who am wise, but the god; and by his oracle he means to show that the wisdom of men is worth little or nothing
— Plato, Apology
Think not those faithful who praise all thy words and actions, but those who kindly reprove thy faults
— Memorabilia
I found that those who had the highest reputation were nearly the most deficient, while those who were supposed to be inferior were more nearly correct
— Apology, Section 22a
The greatest blessings come by way of madness, indeed of madness that is heaven-sent
— Phaedrus
Every action has its pleasures and its price
— Gorgias, Plato
Let us inquire; for I suspect that we shall find courage to be a kind of endurance of the soul
— Laches
Let us examine the matter together, and do not let us either act or speak as if we were asleep
— Plato, Euthyphro, 16d
The poets compose not by wisdom, but by a sort of genius and inspiration; they are like diviners or soothsayers who also say many fine things, but do not understand the meaning of them
— Apology
Let us inquire what piety is, and do not let us either act or speak as if we knew when we do not know
— Euthyphro, 4d
Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us
— Phaedrus
All the gold which is under or upon the earth is not enough to give in exchange for virtue
— Apology
The comic poets, I think, are wise men, but without knowing it; and the tragic poets, too, though I once caught one when he was writing a tragedy and asked him what it meant, and he did not know himself
— Apology
The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance
— Lysis (Plato)
I was attached to this city by the god—as upon a great and noble horse which was somewhat sluggish because of its size, and needed to be stirred up by a kind of gadfly
— Apology
No man is qualified to be a statesman who is entirely ignorant of the problem of wheat
— Plato, The Republic, Book II
Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel
— Paraphrased in Plutarch, Moralia
The highest good is the care of the soul
— Plato, Phaedo
How many things there are which I do not need
— Diogenes Laërtius, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers
I am that gadfly which God has attached to the state, and all day long and in all places am always fastening upon you, arousing and persuading and reproaching you
— Apology
A system of morality which is based on relative emotional values is a mere illusion, a thoroughly vulgar conception which has nothing sound in it and nothing true
— Phaedo
No man is capable of self-control if he cannot resist pleasure or pain, or fear or desire, or anger
— Phaedo
No man is capable of self-control if he cannot resist pleasure or pain, or fear or desire, or anger
— Phaedrus
If all our misfortunes were laid in one common heap, whence everyone must take an equal portion, most people would be content to take their own and depart
— Cited by Cicero in 'Tusculan Disputations' (attributed to Socrates)
No man ever chooses evil knowingly; he must mistake it for good or else he would not choose it
— Protagoras
Envy is the ulcer of the soul
— Gorgias
Be as you wish to seem
— Attributed by Diogenes Laertius, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers
He is not only idle who does nothing, but he is idle who might be better employed
— Xenophon, Memorabilia
May I be preserved from accepting a lie into my soul, however deeply it might settle there
— Phaedo
I am that gadfly which God has attached to the state, and all day long and in all places am always fastening upon you, arousing and persuading and reproaching you
— Apology, 30e
The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be
— Gorgias
He who is not able to live in society, or who has no need because he is sufficient for himself, must be either a beast or a god
— Plato, Republic, Book II
The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be
— Gorgias
The soul takes nothing with her to the next world but her education and her nurture
— Phaedo
The hottest love has the coldest end
— Plato, Phaedrus
If you want to be a good saddler, saddle the worst horse; for if you can tame one, you can tame all
— Gorgias
An unexamined life is not worth living for men
— Apology
Be slow to fall into friendship; but when thou art in, continue firm and constant
— Lysis
What a lot of things there are which I do not want
— Diogenes Laërtius, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers
Be slow to fall into friendship; but when thou art in, continue firm and constant
— Diogenes Laërtius, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers
No one who errs knowingly or does wrong willingly
— Meno
Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us
— Xenophon, Memorabilia
The greatest improvement of the soul is to converse with good people
— Phaedrus
A wise man does not raise his voice, but speaks quietly and is heard
— Attributed; Plutarch, Moralia
If a man goes into a marketplace to sell himself, he must learn the value for which he will be sold
— Xenophon, Memorabilia, Book 1
Nothing harms a man more than to wrong another
— Gorgias
Let us discuss this matter together as friends, not as adversaries
— Euthyphro
I know you won't believe me, but the highest form of Human Excellence is to question oneself and others
— Plato, from Apology (paraphrase, see 38a)
Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of
— Memorabilia, Book II
I was attached to this city by the god—as upon a great and noble horse which was somewhat sluggish because of its size, and needed to be stirred up by a kind of gadfly
— Apology
The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled
— Attributed to Socrates by Plutarch, On Listening to Lectures
We must not regard what the many say of us, but what he, the one man who understands justice and injustice, will say, and what the truth will say
— Crito
I cannot do the injustice I know to be wrong, whatever the majority may say
— Crito
There is only one good, knowledge, and one evil, ignorance
— Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, Book 2
Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us
— Phaedrus
Let us inquire together: for to suspect one’s self, and to suspect others, and to test all things, is surely to be most prudent
— Phaedrus
Remember that there is nothing stable in human affairs; therefore avoid undue elation in prosperity, or undue depression in adversity
— Plato, Phaedo
All men's souls are immortal, but the souls of the righteous are immortal and divine
— Plato, Phaedo, 114c
Virtue is sufficient for happiness
— Meno
An education obtained with money is worse than no education at all
— Symposium
Under the guidance of the god I have devoted myself to examining myself and others
— Apology
The beginning of wisdom is a definition of terms
— Cratylus
Strong minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, weak minds discuss people
— Attributed (often linked to Socrates, but earliest source is not clear; also sometimes credited to others)
It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable
— Memorabilia
From the deepest desires often come the deadliest hate
— Phaedrus
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
— Various attributions; Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers
Wealth does not bring about excellence, but excellence makes wealth and everything else good for men, both individually and collectively
— Apology
The difficulty, my friends, is not in avoiding death, but in avoiding unrighteousness; for unrighteousness runs faster than death
— Apology
Happiness does not depend on outward things, but on the way we see them
— Gorgias
Is a man, in your opinion, any the less good for being able to reason about what is right and wrong and to give an account of his conduct?
— Apology
Let us take counsel together; for in matters which we do not know, we must seek counsel and learn from each other
— Laches
Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of—for credit is like fire: once you have kindled it you may easily preserve it, but if you once extinguish it, you will find it an arduous task to rekindle it again
— Apology (Plato), paraphrased in Diogenes Laërtius
Death may be the greatest of all human blessings
— Apology
Employ your time in improving yourself by other men's writings so that you shall gain easily what others have labored hard for
— Phaedrus
No one who has not made trial of arguments and experienced what they can do is ever sufficiently eager to want to know the truth about anything
— Phaedo
My plainness of speech makes them hate me, and what is their hatred but a proof that I am speaking the truth?
— Apology
To want nothing is divine, to want as little as possible is the nearest approach to the divine
— Plato, Phaedo
Let him who would move the world first move himself
— Dialogues (traditionally attributed to Socrates, though phrasing may be from later paraphrase)
If all our misfortunes were laid in one common heap, whence everyone must take an equal portion, most people would be content to take their own and depart
— Gorgias
Be slow to censure, but quick to learn
— Proverb attributed to Socrates (reported by Diogenes Laërtius)
Contentment is natural wealth, luxury is artificial poverty
— Plato, The Republic
False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil
— Phaedo
Worth is determined not by birth but by character
— Xenophon, Memorabilia
No one knows whether death may not be the greatest good for man, yet men fear it as if they knew that it is the greatest of evils
— Apology (Trial before the Athenians)
No one who has not made trial of arguments and experienced what they can do is ever sufficiently eager to want to know the truth about anything
— Phaedo
The poets compose poems by the help of the Muses, and are possessed and inspired; they do not compose them by the rules of art
— Ion
We are not at all aimed at telling stories, but at the truth
— Phaedo
I am like a gadfly, given to the State by the god, and the State is like a great and noble horse which is sluggish because of its size and needs to be stirred into life
— Apology
To express oneself badly is not only faulty as far as the language goes, but it does some harm to the soul
— Phaedrus
He is a man of courage who does not run away, but remains at his post and fights against the enemy
— Laches
Be slow to censure, but quick to learn
— Xenophon, Memorabilia
I am not wise, nor have I any wise thing about me
— Apology, 21b
The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be
— Gorgias
If you want to be a good saddler, saddle the worst horse; for if you can tame one, you can tame all
— Republic
No one has a right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training. It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable
— Xenophon, Memorabilia 3.12
I was attached to this city by the god—as upon a great and noble horse which was somewhat sluggish because of its size, and needed to be stirred up by a kind of gadfly
— Apology
No evil can happen to a good man, either in life or after death, for the gods take care of him
— Plato, Apology 41d
False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil
— Phaedo
All men's souls are immortal, but the souls of the righteous are immortal and divine
— Phaedo
An honest man is always a child
— Attributed in Diogenes Laërtius, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers
Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of—for credit is like fire: once you have kindled it you may easily preserve it, but if you once extinguish it, you will find it an arduous task to rekindle it again
— Memorabilia (Xenophon)
He who is not able to live in society, or who has no need because he is sufficient for himself, must be either a beast or a god
— Politics (ascribed by later sources, see also Republic)
No man undertakes a trade he has not learned, even the meanest; yet everyone thinks himself sufficiently qualified for the hardest of all trades – that of government
— Apology
I am not wise, nor have I any wise thing about me
— Apology
Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of, for credit is like fire: once you have kindled it you may easily preserve it, but if you once extinguish it, you will find it an arduous task to rekindle it again
— Memorabilia, Book IV, Section 7 (by Xenophon)
Every action done by men without God is imperfect and incomplete
— Xenophon, Memorabilia
The soul is the very likeness of the divine, and immortal, and intelligible, and indissoluble, and unchangeable
— Plato, Phaedo
All wars are undertaken for the acquisition of wealth
— Apology (via Xenophon) / Republic (cf. context)
If you kill me, you will not easily find another like me
— Apology
I am not an Athenian or a Greek, but a citizen of the world
— Plutarch, On Exile
The only thing I fear is that I may do something unjust or impious
— Plato, Apology
Let us inquire what piety is, and do not let us either act or speak as if we knew when we do not know
— Euthyphro, 5d
I am not an Athenian or a Greek, but a citizen of the world
— Plutarch, 'On Exile' (attributed to Socrates)
If a man would move the world, he must first move himself
— Stobaeus, Florilegium
To express oneself badly is not only faulty as far as the language goes, but it does some harm to the soul
— Phaedrus
The comic poet is wise without knowing it, and the tragic poet too; they are inspired and possessed
— Plato, Apology, 22b-c
It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable
— Republic Book III
Employ your time in improving yourself by other men's writings so that you shall come easily by what others have labored hard for
— Attributed by Xenophon, Memorabilia
Remember that there is nothing stable in human affairs; therefore avoid undue elation in prosperity, or undue depression in adversity
— Phaedrus
Shame on you, are you not ashamed to care so much to make money and to advance your reputation and prestige, when you neither care nor think about wisdom and truth and the perfection of your soul?
— Apology
The soul, when on its way to truth and being, becomes strong and is nourished, and is then freed from error and pleasure and pain
— Phaedo, 66b
Whence comes it, then, that all men at Athens do not leave their trades and rise and become philosophers, if they are the best men?
— Republic, Book VI
The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be
— Gorgias
A system of morality which is based on relative emotional values is a mere illusion, a thoroughly vulgar conception which has nothing sound in it and nothing true
— Phaedo
Those who know the right use of love are, in their intercourse with one another, continually leading each other to that which is like themselves and making themselves better and better, or more godlike
— Symposium
It is better to suffer wrong than to do wrong
— Gorgias
A man must be just, not only to his friends but to his enemies
— Crito
The soul, when on its way to truth and being, becomes strong and is nourished, and is then freed from error and pleasure and pain
— Phaedrus
All the gold which is under or upon the earth is not enough to give in exchange for virtue
— Apology
An education which does not end in practical results is worse than useless
— Xenophon, Memorabilia Book I
A man must be able to endure poverty, for many noble souls have been ruined by wealth
— Xenophon, Memorabilia, Book I, Chapter 2
An honest man is always a child
— Plato, Symposium
Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of—for credit is like fire: once you have kindled it you may easily preserve it, but if you once extinguish it, you will find it an arduous task to rekindle it again
— Memorabilia, Xenophon, Book II
Wonder is the beginning of wisdom
— Plato, Theaetetus, 155d
Employ your time in improving yourself by other men's writings so that you shall gain easily what others have labored hard for
— Xenophon, Apology
Be as you wish to seem
— Gorgias
No man is capable of self-control if he cannot resist pleasure or pain, or fear or desire, or anger
— Phaedo
No wealth can bring joy to one who is not wise and good
— Apology
My advice to others would be to care not for what most people regard, but only for that one wise and good man, and for the truth
— Republic
No human thing is of serious importance
— Theaetetus (174d)
Death may be the greatest of all human blessings
— Apology, 40c
When desire and reason are opposed, there is a civil war within the soul
— Phaedrus
If the head and the body are to be well, you must begin by curing the soul
— Alcibiades
In every one of us, there are two ruling and directing principles, whose guidance we follow wherever they may lead; the one is the innate desire of pleasure, the other is the acquired opinion of the best
— Phaedrus
No human thing is of serious importance
— Phaedo
No one has the right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training. It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable
— Xenophon, Memorabilia
The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance
— Laches
No man should bring children into the world who is unwilling to persevere to the end in their nurture and education
— Republic, Book V
To express oneself badly is not only faulty as far as the language goes, but it does some harm to the soul
— Phaedrus
An unexamined life is not worth living for men
— Apology, 38a
The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new
— Attributed, though debated; not found directly in Plato
Remember that there is nothing stable in human affairs; therefore avoid undue elation in prosperity, or undue depression in adversity
— Phaedo, 115e
The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled
— Plutarch, On Listening to Lectures (attributed to Socrates)
There is only one good, knowledge, and one evil, ignorance
— Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, Book II
I am not yet able to know myself; so it seems to me ridiculous, when I do not yet know that, to investigate irrelevant things
— Phaedrus
Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of
— The Apology
The poets compose poems by the help of the Muses, and are possessed and inspired; they do not compose them by the rules of art
— Apology
When a man is out of his senses, he is not himself, but someone else; and because he is possessed, he is inspired; and while inspired, often with his lips he utters truths of which he himself knows nothing
— Ion
Virtue does not come from wealth, but wealth and every other good thing which men have comes from virtue
— Apology
No man has the right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training. It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable
— Xenophon, Memorabilia 3.12.5
The greatest way of life is to live each day as if it were your last
— Xenophon, Apology 27
Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us
— Plato, Phaedrus
Consider then, that the greatest of all goods enjoyed by me is this service of the god to you, in arousing and persuading and upbraiding every one of you
— Apology
I am a sort of gadfly, given to the state by the god, and the state is like a great and noble horse which is sluggish and needs to be stirred up
— Apology
No man can do good work without hope
— Apology
To be is to do
— Cratylus
Let us therefore seize the opportunity and, untrammelled by tradition or custom, investigate what courage is
— Laches
Call no man happy until he is dead
— Plato, Symposium
I am not an Athenian or a Greek, but a citizen of the world
— Plutarch, Moralia
There is only one good, knowledge, and one evil, ignorance
— Laches
Do not then be angry with me if I tell you the truth
— Apology
Speak, so that I may see you
— Attributed in various ancient sources; often quoted in Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers
An honest man is always a child
— Symposium
I pray Thee, O God, that I may be beautiful within
— Phaedrus (final prayer)
To be curious about everything is the mark of a philosopher
— Theaetetus
No one is a friend to his friend who does not love in return
— Plato, Lysis
All wars are fought for the sake of getting money
— Apology
Nothing is to be preferred before justice
— Gorgias
No wealth can ever make a bad man at peace with himself
— Gorgias
Let him that would move the world first move himself
— Dialogues (attributed by Diogenes Laërtius)
I must obey the god rather than you, and so long as I draw breath and am able, I shall not cease to practise philosophy
— Apology, 29d
Worthless people live only to eat and drink; people of worth eat and drink only to live
— Gorgias
Neither of us probably knows anything wonderful, but this man thinks he knows something when he does not, whereas when I do not know, neither do I think I know.
— Apology, Section 21d
All wars are undertaken for the acquisition of wealth
— Plato, Socratic Dialogues (paraphrase, Republic)
False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil
— Plato, Phaedo 91e
True wisdom comes to each of us when we realize how little we understand about life, ourselves, and the world around us
— Phaedrus
Shame on you, are you not ashamed to care so much to make money and to advance your reputation and prestige, when you neither care nor think about wisdom and truth and the perfection of your soul?
— Plato, Apology, 29d
I am not an Athenian or a Greek, but a citizen of the world
— Plato, Apology 17c
No one who errs knowingly or does wrong willingly
— Plato, Protagoras 345d; Meno 77b
He who is of a calm and happy nature will hardly feel the pressure of age, but to him who is of an opposite disposition youth and age are equally a burden
— Republic
The only thing greater than justice is the truth, for whoever pursues it will never harm another
— Gorgias
All wars arise for the acquisition of wealth
— Plato, 'The Republic', Book I
It is better to be at odds with the whole world than, being one, to be at odds with myself
— Gorgias
Do you think that the man who is just is happier than the man who is unjust?
— Republic, Book I, 354a
I am certain that I never had any wisdom, small or great
— Apology
The misuse of language induces evil in the soul
— Cratylus, 440c
The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled
— Plutarch's Moralia (attributed as summarizing Socratic teaching)
Envy is the ulcer of the soul
— attributed in Diogenes Laertius, 'Lives of Eminent Philosophers'
See now how much better is it to be refuted than to refute, for it is a greater good to get rid of a great evil in oneself than to get rid of it in another
— Gorgias
We cannot live better than in seeking to become better
— Meno, 86d
Let us inquire together: for to suspect one’s self, and to suspect others, and to test all things, is surely to be most prudent
— Euthyphro
To know, is to know that you know nothing. That is the meaning of true knowledge
— Plato, Apology 21d (paraphrase)
He is a good man who does not run away, but remains at his post and fights against the enemy
— Laches
The shortest and surest way to live with honor in the world is to be in reality what we would appear to be
— Xenophon, Memorabilia
A wise man does not raise his voice, but speaks quietly and is heard
— Attributed (Plutarch, Moralia)
He is a man of courage who does not run away, but remains at his post and fights against the enemy
— Plato, Laches 191d
You must regard as philosophers only those who love the truth
— Republic
If you kill me, you will not easily find another like me, who if I may use such a ludicrous figure of speech, am a sort of gadfly, given to the state by the god
— Apology
An unjust life is to be most carefully avoided over death itself
— Crito
The greatest way of living is to live in accordance with reason
— Phaedo
From the deepest desires often come the deadliest hate
— Plato, Phaedrus
Is it not a great evil to live in fear and be always defending oneself?
— Gorgias
Speak, that I may see you
— Plutarch, 'Moralia', Sayings of Kings and Commanders (attrib. to Socrates)
Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of—for credit is like fire: when once you have kindled it you may easily preserve it, but if you once extinguish it, you will find it an arduous task to rekindle it again
— Crito, 44a
Consider, then, that the greatest of all goods enjoyed by me is this service of the god to you, in arousing and persuading and upbraiding every one of you
— Apology
All the gold which is under or upon the earth is not enough to give in exchange for virtue
— Phaedo, 114d
To fear death is only to think you are wise, when you are not; it is to think you know what you do not know
— Apology
I am not an Athenian, nor a Greek, but a citizen of the world
— Plutarch, Of Banishment
No man ever did a wrong act knowingly
— Protagoras
The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise
— Attributed to Socrates by Plato (alleged paraphrase),
One ought not to return a wrong or an injury to any person, however one may have suffered from him
— Crito
Know thyself
— Delphic maxim, referenced in Plato's Phaedrus
May I be preserved from accepting a lie into my soul, however deeply it might settle there
— Phaedo
The only thing I fear is that I may do something unjust or impious
— Apology
The difficulty, my friends, is not to avoid death, but to avoid unrighteousness; for that runs faster than death.
— Apology
I pray Thee, O God, that I may be beautiful within
— Phaedrus
The greatest way of life is to live each day as if it were your last
— Xenophon, Memorabilia 2.1.20
The poets compose poems by the help of the Muses, and are possessed and inspired; they do not compose them by the rules of art
— Apology
For I suspect that courage is a kind of endurance of the soul, if I am to speak from what appears to me
— Laches
Necessity is the mother of invention
— Republic, Book II
Let us inquire what piety is, and do not let us either act or speak as if we knew when we do not know
— Euthyphro, opening discussion
Let us inquire together: for to suspect one’s self, and to suspect others, and to test all things, is surely to be most prudent
— Euthyphro, 7b
May I be preserved from accepting a lie into my soul, however deeply it might settle there
— Phaedo
No man undertakes a trade he has not learned, even the meanest, yet everyone thinks himself sufficiently qualified for the hardest of all trades, that of government
— Republic, Book III
No man ever believes that he desires what is bad; he believes rather that what he desires is good
— Meno
The lover is more divine than the beloved, because he is inspired by God
— Phaedrus
The poets compose poems by the help of the Muses, and are possessed and inspired; they do not compose them by the rules of art
— Apology
The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear
— Gorgias
The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be
— Plato, Gorgias
False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil
— Phaedo
He who is richest is content with the least, for content is the wealth of nature
— Xenophon, Memorabilia, Book II
When men speak ill of you, live so as nobody may believe them
— Gorgias
I pray Thee, O God, that I may be beautiful within
— Phaedrus
The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing
— Apology
Let us follow the argument wherever it leads
— Phaedo
Consider this: is a man the worse for being able to reason about what is right and wrong, and to give an account of his conduct?
— Gorgias
A system of morality which is based on relative emotional values is a mere illusion, a thoroughly vulgar conception which has nothing sound in it and nothing true
— Phaedo
It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable
— Xenophon, Memorabilia
Wonder is the feeling of a philosopher, and philosophy begins in wonder
— Theaetetus
The beginning of wisdom is a definition of terms
— Euthyphro
All virtue is knowledge
— Protagoras
The comic poets, I think, are wise men, but without knowing it; and the tragic poets, too, though I once caught one when he was writing a tragedy and asked him what it meant, and he did not know himself
— Apology
No man is capable of self-control if he cannot resist pleasure or pain, or fear or desire, or anger
— Phaedrus
False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil
— Phaedo
I prayed to the god that I might be beautiful within
— Plato, 'Phaedrus'
The soul takes nothing with her to the next world but her education and her nurture
— Phaedo
Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of—for credit is like fire: when once you have kindled it you may easily preserve it, but if you once extinguish it, you will find it an arduous task to rekindle it again
— Memorabilia (Xenophon)
No one ever becomes good accidentally
— Protagoras
I am and always have been a man who listens to nothing within me but the inner voice
— Apology, 33c
Our prayer should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us
— Plato, Phaedrus
Not life, but good life, is to be chiefly valued
— Plato, Crito 48b
The lover is more divine than the beloved, because he is inspired by God
— Plato, Phaedrus
The easiest and noblest way is not to be crushing others, but to be improving yourselves
— Apology
Let him who would be a leader, first learn to obey
— Plato, Laws, Book III
Let us discuss this matter together as friends, and not as adversaries
— Euthyphro
If the head and the body are to be well, you must begin by curing the soul
— Charmides
From the deepest desires often come the deadliest hate
— Diogenes Laertius, Lives of the Eminent Philosophers
Virtue does not come from wealth, but from virtue comes wealth and every other good of man, public as well as private
— Plato, Apology 30b
He is richest who is content with the least, for content is the wealth of nature
— Xenophon, Memorabilia I.3.5
The mystery of human existence lies not in just staying alive, but in finding something to live for
— Attributed in Platonism, possibly Apology or other dialogues
The hour of departure has arrived, and we go our ways; I to die, and you to live. Which is better, only God knows
— Apology
Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us
— Plato, Phaedrus, 279d
Let no one, even in jest, do or say what is not right
— Laws (referenced by Plato, Book XI)
Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of
— Xenophon, Memorabilia, Book II
Envy is the ulcer of the soul
— Attributed in various accounts, including Diogenes Laertius
No man ever chooses evil knowing it to be evil; he must mistake it for good, otherwise he would not choose it
— Protagoras
Let him who would move the first stone, consider well what he is about to do
— Phaedo
Let us seek, then, if we can, what courage is
— Laches
Think not those faithful who praise all thy words and actions; but those who kindly reprove thy faults
— Ascribed to Socrates by Diogenes Laertius, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, Book II
In every one of us, there are two ruling and directing principles, whose guidance we follow wherever they may lead; the one is the innate desire of pleasure, the other is the acquired opinion of the best
— Phaedrus
The poets compose their poems not by wisdom but by a kind of nature and by inspiration
— Apology
True love is not love of the body, but of the soul
— Plato, Symposium
Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of—for credit is like fire: when once you have kindled it you may easily preserve it, but if you once extinguish it, you will find it an arduous task to rekindle it again
— Memorabilia (Xenophon)
He who would learn must be a lover of inquiry
— Phaedrus
Let him who would move the world first move himself
— Attributed (various ancient sources)
To want nothing is divine, to want as little as possible is the nearest approach to the divine
— Xenophon, Memorabilia, Book 1, section 6
The hour of departure has arrived, and we must go; I to die, and you to live. Which of us goes to the better lot is known to no one, except the god
— Apology, 42a
Those who are hardest to convince of their ignorance are the ones with the highest reputations
— Apology
He who learns but does not think, is lost. He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger.
— Plato, Apology
The beginning of wisdom is a definition of terms
— Cratylus
I am confident that there truly is such a thing as living again, that the living spring from the dead, and that the souls of the dead are in existence
— Phaedo
The loveliest of all things is to love the truth and not merely to conquer others in argument
— Phaedrus
In childhood be modest, in youth temperate, in adulthood just, and in old age prudent
— Socrates as quoted in Diogenes Laërtius, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, Book II
The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise
— Reported in Plato's Republic, Book IV
No man is qualified to be a statesman who is entirely ignorant of the problems of wheat
— Plato, Menexenus
No man is capable of self-control if he cannot resist pleasure or pain, or fear or desire, or anger
— Phaedrus
He who is of a calm and happy nature will hardly feel the pressure of age, but to him who is of an opposite disposition youth and age are equally a burden
— Republic, Book I
I swear by the dog, gentlemen, that I have been so busy with the study of philosophy, that I have had no leisure to attend to any of the affairs of the world
— Apology
No one knows whether death may not be the greatest blessing for a man, but men fear it as if they knew that it is the greatest of evils
— Apology
What a lot of things there are which I do not want
— Xenophon, Memorabilia Book I
No one knows whether death may not be the greatest of all blessings for a man, yet men fear it as if they knew that it is the greatest of evils.
— Apology
No one who has not made the trial of arguments and experienced what they can do is ever sufficiently eager to want to know the truth about anything
— Phaedo
My friend, care first and chiefly about the greatest improvement of the soul
— Apology
My plainness of speech makes them hate me, and what is their hatred but a proof that I am speaking the truth?
— Apology
Let us, therefore, in the first place, consider with ourselves what we are; for by doing so we shall most easily discover what it is we desire
— Xenophon, Memorabilia
The lover is more divine than the beloved, because he is inspired by God
— Symposium
Wonder is the beginning of wisdom
— Theaetetus
If you wish to be a good saddler, saddle the worst horse; for if you can tame one, you can tame all
— Theaetetus
When desire and reason are opposed, there is a civil war within the soul
— Phaedrus
I am that gadfly which God has attached to the state, and all day long and in all places am always fastening upon you, arousing and persuading and reproaching you
— Apology
Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us
— Plato, Phaedrus
Let no one, even in jest, do or say what is not right
— Phaedrus
The mind (soul) takes nothing with her to the next world but her education and her nurture
— Phaedo, 107d
It is not difficult to avoid death, gentlemen; it is much more difficult to avoid wickedness for it runs faster than death
— Apology
False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil
— Phaedo
The highest good is the care of the soul
— Phaedo
Wonder is the beginning of wisdom
— Theaetetus 155d
Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of—for credit is like fire: once you have kindled it you may easily preserve it, but if you once extinguish it, you will find it an arduous task to rekindle it again
— Crito
Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us
— Phaedrus
False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil
— Phaedo
The lover is more divine than the beloved, because he is inspired by God
— Phaedrus
He is a man of courage who does not run away, but remains at his post and fights against the enemy
— Laches
No evil can happen to a good man, either in life or after death
— Apology
No one knows the end, nor where death may await thee; so be ready for anything
— Phaedo
Remember that there is nothing stable in human affairs; therefore avoid undue elation in prosperity, or undue depression in adversity
— Plato, Phaedrus 279c
The soul takes nothing with her to the next world but her education and her nurture
— Phaedo
The only true wisdom is to know that you know nothing
— Apology
Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of—for credit is like fire: when once you have kindled it you may easily preserve it, but if you once extinguish it, you will find it an arduous task to rekindle it again
— Plato, 'Apology'
If I had engaged in politics, I should probably have perished long ago, and done no good either to you or to myself
— Apology 31d
The greatest blessing granted to mankind come by way of madness, provided the madness is given by divine gift
— Phaedrus
All wars are undertaken for the acquisition of wealth
— Phaedo
I cannot teach anybody anything; I can only make them think
— Quoted in Diogenes Laertius, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers
Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us
— Xenophon, Memorabilia, Book III, 13
God alone is wise; man's wisdom is worth little or nothing
— Apology 23a
Remember that there is nothing stable in human affairs; therefore avoid undue elation in prosperity, or undue depression in adversity
— Letter to Aeschines (ascribed)
Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of—for credit is like fire: when once you have kindled it you may easily preserve it, but if you once extinguish it, you will find it an arduous task to rekindle it again
— Apology (41a)
The poets are only the interpreters of the gods by whom they are severally possessed
— Apology
We must not regard what the many say of us, but what he, the one man who understands justice and injustice, will say, and what the truth will say
— Crito
When desire and reason are opposed, there is a civil war within the soul
— Phaedrus (Plato)
I decided that it was not wisdom that enabled poets to write their poetry, but a kind of instinct or inspiration, such as you find in seers and prophets
— Apology
No man has the right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training. It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable
— Xenophon, Memorabilia, Book III, 12
Remember, my friend, that to be silent and listen is often an art that is more necessary than speaking
— Phaedrus
Virtue is knowledge; and he who knows the right will do the right
— Protagoras
We must not return injustice for injustice or do harm to anyone, whatever they may have done to us
— Crito, discussion in prison
The greatest blessing granted to mankind come by way of madness, provided the madness is given by divine gift
— Phaedrus
Be slow to fall into friendship; but when thou art in, continue firm and constant
— Lysis (Plato)
Let us therefore seize the opportunity and, untrammelled by tradition or custom, investigate what courage is
— Laches
Let him who would move the world first move himself
— Phaedrus
Under the guidance of the god I have devoted myself to examining myself and others
— Apology
Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of
— Crito
By all means marry; if you get a good wife, you'll become happy; if you get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher
— Attributed in Diogenes Laërtius, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers
I prayed to the god only let me become beautiful in my soul within, and all my outward possessions be in harmony with my inner man
— Phaedrus
I cannot do otherwise than be as I am, and say what I believe to be true
— Apology
I pray Thee, O God, that I may be beautiful within
— Phaedrus, 279c
He who would move the world should first move himself
— Diogenes Laertius, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, Book II
An education which is only given by means of words, and which does not go through suffering, cannot bring anyone to knowledge
— Crito
Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of; for credit is like fire: once you have kindled it you may easily preserve it, but if you once extinguish it, you will find it an arduous task to rekindle it again
— Apology
Employ your time in improving yourself by other men's writings so that you shall gain easily what others have labored hard for
— Phaedrus
I am a sort of gadfly, given to the state by the god, and the state is like a great and noble horse which is sluggish and needs to be stirred up
— Apology
Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us
— Xenophon, Memorabilia Book I
No one is a friend to his friend who does not love in return
— Lysis
All I know is that I do not know anything
— Apology
The beginning is the most important part of the work
— Plato, The Republic, Book II
The beginning is the most important part of the work
— Republic (as reported by Plato)
I am a midwife to the mind, bringing forth knowledge from others but not giving birth to wisdom myself
— Theaetetus
False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil
— Phaedo
By all means, marry; if you get a good wife, you'll become happy; if you get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher
— attributed in Diogenes Laertius, 'Lives of Eminent Philosophers'
Wonder is the beginning of wisdom
— Theaetetus
Let him who would be a leader, first learn to obey
— Crito
It is the greatest of all mistakes to do nothing because you can only do little—do what you can
— Apology
Through my poverty I bring the greatest benefit to the city
— Apology
The fact is, I am not wise, nor have I any wise thing about me
— Apology
If you contrive to kill me, you will not easily find another like me, who, if I may use such a figure of speech, am a sort of gadfly, given to the state by the god
— Apology, middle
If the head and the body are to be well, you must begin by curing the soul
— Plato, Charmides
Remember, no human condition is ever permanent. Then you will not be overjoyed in good fortune, nor too sorrowful in misfortune
— Socrates, quoted in Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers 2.33
To find the father and mother of this love is not easy
— Symposium
Let us, therefore, in the first place, consider with ourselves what we are; for by doing so we shall most easily discover what it is we desire
— Plato, Phaedrus, 230a
I am confident that there truly is such a thing as living again, that the living spring from the dead, and that the souls of the dead are in existence
— Phaedo, 70c
We cannot live better than in seeking to become better
— Meno
To know is to know that you know nothing. That is the meaning of true knowledge
— Xenophon, Memorabilia 4.6.6
The poets compose poems by the help of the Muses, and are possessed and inspired; they do not compose them by the rules of art
— Apology
He who learns but does not think, is lost. He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger
— Attributed in Xenophon, Memorabilia
If anyone does wrong, it is not willingly but out of ignorance
— Protagoras
The easiest and noblest way is not to be crushing others, but to be improving yourselves
— Plato, Apology
The poets are only the interpreters of the gods by whom they are severally possessed
— Apology
No man willingly errs, or willingly does evil; but all who do evil do so against their will
— Protagoras
Speak, that I may see you
— Plato, 'Theaetetus'
Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us
— Phaedrus
If all our misfortunes were laid in one common heap, whence every one must take an equal portion, most people would be content to take their own and depart
— Philebus
True knowledge exists in knowing that you know nothing
— Apology
No man ever believes that he desires what is bad; he believes rather that what he desires is good for him
— Protagoras
The poets compose poems not by wisdom, but because they are inspired and possessed.
— Apology
A man who is honest does not fear loss
— Xenophon’s Memorabilia
To express oneself badly is not only faulty as far as the language goes, but it does some harm to the soul
— Plato, Phaedrus 115e
I am a sort of gadfly, given to the state by the god, and the state is like a great and noble horse which is sluggish and needs to be stirred up
— Apology
He who learns but does not think, is lost. He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger
— Attributed to Socrates in Diogenes Laërtius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, Book II
A man who really fights for justice must lead a private, not a public life, if he is to survive for even a short time
— Apology
I am not yet able to know myself; so it seems to me ridiculous, when I do not yet know that, to investigate irrelevant things
— Phaedrus
Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of
— Crito
I am not an Athenian or a Greek, but a citizen of the world
— Plutarch, On Exile
I know that I am intelligent, because I know that I know nothing
— Apology
If a man neglects education, he walks lame to the end of his life
— Plato, Protagoras
Let us examine the matter from the beginning, and do not let us either be in too great a hurry or too slow
— Phaedo
I do nothing but go about persuading you all, old and young alike, not to care for your bodies or your wealth in preference to or as strongly as for the best possible state of your soul
— Apology
It is better to change an opinion than to persist in a wrong one
— Gorgias
Speak, so that I may see you
— Attributed; Diogenes Laërtius, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers
Wonder is the feeling of a philosopher, and philosophy begins in wonder
— Theaetetus
A multitude of books, my friend, is a great evil. There is no end to the making of them
— Phaedrus
I pray Thee, O God, that I may be beautiful within
— Phaedrus (the closing prayer)
Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel
— Attributed to Socrates by later writers, theme found in Plato's Republic
It is better to suffer wrong than to do wrong
— Gorgias
A life without investigation is not worth living for a human being.
— Apology
Think not those faithful who praise all thy words and actions, but those who kindly reprove thy faults
— Xenophon, Memorabilia
No man ever knowingly does evil
— Protagoras
No one is qualified to be called a philosopher who is not in love with learning
— Republic, Book VI
False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil
— Phaedrus
The hour of departure has arrived, and we go our ways—I to die, and you to live. Which is better, only God knows
— Phaedo
Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of—for credit is like fire: once you have kindled it you may easily preserve it, but if you once extinguish it, you will find it an arduous task to rekindle it again
— Memorabilia (Xenophon)
Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us
— Phaedrus
Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us
— Plato, Phaedrus, 279d
My advice to you is to get married; if you find a good wife, you'll be happy; if not, you'll become a philosopher
— Attributed to Socrates (anecdotal, Diogenes Laertius)
Virtue does not come from wealth, but wealth and every other good thing which men have comes from virtue
— Apology
Be slow to censure, but quick to learn
— Proverbs (Reported by Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers)
The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be
— Gorgias
A system of morality which is based on relative emotional values is a mere illusion, a thoroughly vulgar conception which has nothing sound in it and nothing true
— Gorgias 482b
False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil
— Phaedo
Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us
— Plato, Phaedrus
The beginning of wisdom is a definition of terms
— Cratylus
Speak, so that I may see you
— Plato, Alcibiades
Crito, we ought to offer a cock to Asclepius. See to it, and don't forget
— Phaedo (final words)
Let us examine this together, for perhaps in discussion we shall find the answer we are seeking
— Euthyphro, 7c
Let us examine the matter together, and do not let us either act or speak as if we were asleep.
— Republic, Book V
The only thing I fear is that I may do something unjust or impious
— Apology
There is no greater evil one can suffer than to hate reasonable discourse
— Gorgias
No man undertakes a trade he has not learned, even the meanest; yet everyone thinks himself sufficiently qualified for the hardest of all trades – that of government.
— Attributed by Xenophon, Memorabilia
Not life, but good life, is to be chiefly valued
— Crito, section 48b
The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing
— Apology
No man ever does a wrong thing knowingly
— Plato, Protagoras
For the poets tell us that the good are not willing to rule, either for the sake of money or of honor; they do not wish to be openly greedy of money, or to take by force, and they are not ambitious; therefore necessity compels them to rule, because they are not willing to be ruled by worse men than themselves
— Republic, Book I
No one is more hated than he who speaks the truth
— Apology
The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be
— Gorgias
I am that gadfly which God has attached to the state, and all day long and in all places am always fastening upon you, arousing and persuading and reproaching you
— Apology, 30e
Let no one, even in jest, do or say what is not right
— Laws
A system of morality which is based on relative emotional values is a mere illusion, a thoroughly vulgar conception which has nothing sound in it and nothing true
— Gorgias, 482c-d
The easiest and noblest way is not to be crushing others, but to be improving yourselves
— Demodocus (attributed), various ancient sources
My plainness of speech makes them hate me, and what is their hatred but a proof that I am speaking the truth?
— Apology
No man can be happy if he is enslaved to his desires
— Gorgias
The really important thing is not to live, but to live well
— Crito
The loveliest of all things is to love the truth and not merely to conquer others in argument
— Phaedo
The poets compose their poems not by wisdom, but by a kind of inspiration and by being possessed
— Plato, Apology, 22b-c
Learning is recollection
— Meno
Take care of your soul, and leave to others the care of your body and your property
— Apology 30b
Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel
— Plutarch, Moralia
As for me, I know nothing but I seek to learn
— Apology
Let us follow the argument wherever it leads
— Phaedo
A house that has a bad neighbor is in a state of siege
— Protagoras
To know good from evil, to distinguish the just from the unjust, the noble from the ignoble, is what I call wisdom
— Gorgias, 507a
A multitude of books, my friend, is a great evil. There is no end to the making of them
— Phaedrus
How many things there are which I do not need
— attributed in Diogenes Laertius, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers
Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us
— Phaedrus
I pray Thee, O God, that I may be beautiful within
— Plato, Phaedrus
When the soul returns into itself and reflects, it passes into the other world, the region of purity, and is part of that which is immortal, abiding, unchangeable
— Phaedo
Bad men live that they may eat and drink, whereas good men eat and drink that they may live
— Gorgias
He is a man of courage who does not run away, but remains at his post and fights against the enemy
— Laches
A man who is good for anything ought not to calculate the chance of living or dying; he ought only to consider whether in doing anything he is doing right or wrong
— Apology
The greatest way of life is to live each day as if it were your last
— Plato, Apology
Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us
— Plato, Phaedrus 279d
Employ your time in improving yourself by other men's writings so that you shall gain easily what others have labored hard for
— Attributed by Diogenes Laërtius
As for me, I know nothing but I seek to learn
— Apology
Learning is recollection
— Meno
Wonder is the feeling of a philosopher, and philosophy begins in wonder
— Theaetetus
From the deepest desires often come the deadliest hate
— Phaedrus
One thing only I do know, and that is that I know nothing
— Apology, 21d
I am not so much an instructor of others as an inquirer myself
— Apology
Remember, no human condition is ever permanent. Then you will not be overjoyed in good fortune, nor too sorrowful in misfortune
— Attributed in various collections; not found in Plato's extant works
No evil can happen to a good man, either in life or after death
— Apology, 41d
Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of—for credit is like fire: when once you have kindled it you may easily preserve it, but if you once extinguish it, you will find it an arduous task to rekindle it again
— Apology
The soul, when on its way to truth and being, becomes strong and is nourished, and is then freed from error and pleasure and pain
— Phaedo
Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us
— Phaedrus
No man ever believes that he desires what is bad; he believes rather that what he desires is good for him
— Protagoras
To express oneself badly is not only faulty as far as the language goes, but it does some harm to the soul
— Phaedrus
Do not do to others what angers you if done to you by others
— Xenophon, Memorabilia
Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us
— Plato, Phaedrus
No man is capable of ruling unless he first knows how to obey
— Xenophon, Memorabilia, Book 3
Our prayer should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us
— Phaedrus
A man who is good for anything ought not to calculate the chance of living or dying; he ought only to consider whether in doing anything he is doing right or wrong
— Apology, 28b-d
Shame on you, are you not ashamed to care so much to make money and to advance your reputation and prestige, when you neither care nor think about wisdom and truth and the perfection of your soul?
— Plato, Apology
Virtue is knowledge; and he who knows the right will do the right
— Meno
You must regard as philosophers only those who love the truth
— Republic
Let us inquire; for perhaps in talking it over we shall discover what we are seeking
— Euthyphro
No man undertakes a trade he has not learned, even the meanest; yet everyone thinks himself sufficiently qualified for the hardest of all trades – that of government
— Apology
The hour of departure has arrived, and we must go our separate ways; I to die, and you to live; which of us goes to the better lot is known to no one, except the god
— Apology
Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us
— Phaedrus
I am not so much an instructor of others as a fellow inquirer, seeking the truth in company with you.
— Meno, Section 80d
It is not difficult to avoid death, gentlemen; it is much more difficult to avoid wickedness, for it runs faster than death
— Apology
Shame on you, are you not ashamed to care so much to make money and to advance your reputation and prestige, when you neither care nor think about wisdom and truth and the perfection of your soul?
— Apology
I would rather suffer wrong than do wrong
— Gorgias
A multitude of books, my friend, is a great evil. There is no end to the making of them
— Plato, Phaedrus
The shortest and surest way to live with honor in the world is to be in reality what we would appear to be
— Gorgias
The hour of departure has arrived, and we go our ways; I to die, and you to live. Which is better, only God knows
— Apology
No evil can happen to a good man, either in life or after death; he and his are not neglected by the gods
— Apology 41d
Learning is recollection
— Meno
Do not do to others what angers you if done to you by others
— Socrates as quoted in Diogenes Laërtius, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, Book II
He who would lead must be as willing to be led as to lead
— Republic
Once made equal to man, woman becomes his superior
— Various attributions; possibly from Xanthippe’s accounts as shared in later sources
It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable
— Memorabilia (Xenophon)
Envy is the ulcer of the soul.
— Attributed by Diogenes Laërtius, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers
He who would learn must be a lover of inquiry
— Phaedrus
True wisdom comes to each of us when we realize how little we understand about life, ourselves, and the world around us
— Phaedrus
Do not do to others what would anger you if done to you by others
— Socrates as quoted in Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers
I am wise because I know that I know nothing
— Apology, 21d
I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing
— Apology
See now how much better is it to be refuted than to refute, for it is a greater good to get rid of a great evil in oneself than to get rid of it in another
— Gorgias, 458a
We must not regard what the many say of us, but what he, the one man who understands justice and injustice, will say, and what the truth will say.
— Crito
Crito, we owe a cock to Asclepius. See to it, and don't forget
— Phaedo 118a
To say I know something when I do not know, is dishonest, both to myself and to those around me
— Apology
I am not yet able to know myself; so it seems to me ridiculous, when I do not yet know that, to investigate irrelevant things
— Phaedrus
I pray Thee, O God, that I may be beautiful within
— Phaedrus
I am a real stranger to the manner of speech here; as I said before, I have not come before a court of law, but before men who are fond of hearing the truth
— Apology
He is a man of courage who does not run away, but remains at his post and fights against the enemy
— Laches
The greatest way of defense is attack
— Symposium, Various passages (attributed by tradition)
Employ your time in improving yourself by other men's writings so that you shall gain easily what others have labored hard for
— Protagoras
If a man neglects education, he walks lame to the end of his life
— Crito
We must not regard what the many say of us, but what he, the one man who understands justice and injustice, will say, and what the truth will say
— Crito
Remember, no human condition is ever permanent. Then you will not be overjoyed in good fortune, nor too sorrowful in misfortune
— Epictetus, Discourses (reporting Socratic principle)
False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil
— Phaedo
How many things there are which I do not need
— Quoted by Diogenes Laertius, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers
False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil
— Phaedo
The unexamined life is not worth living
— Apology 38a
To find the father and mother of this love is not easy
— Symposium
I swear by the dog, gentlemen, that I have been so busy with the study of philosophy, that I have had no leisure to attend to any of the affairs of the world
— Apology 23b, Plato
I am neither an Athenian, nor a Greek, but a citizen of the world
— Plutarch, On Exile
Let us reflect, then, that the greatest good for a man is to discuss virtue every day
— Plato, Apology, 38a
I am a midwife, not of bodies, but of souls
— Theaetetus
One ought not to return a wrong or an injury to any person, however one may have suffered from him
— Crito, 49c-d
No man undertakes a trade he has not learned, even the meanest; yet everyone thinks himself sufficiently qualified for the hardest of all trades, that of government
— Xenophon, Memorabilia
Let us consider, then, whether the just man is happier than the unjust man, even though he may seem to be so only to the gods and not to men
— Republic, Book II
The comic poets, I think, are wise men, but without knowing it; and the tragic poets, too
— Apology
Be slow to censure, but quick to learn
— Plato, Phaedo
Slanderers do not harm those they slander, but themselves
— Apology
Not life, but good life, is to be chiefly valued.
— Crito (Plato)
Consider then, that the greatest of all goods enjoyed by me is this service of the god to you, in arousing and persuading and upbraiding every one of you
— Apology, Section 30a-b
A man who really fights for justice must lead a private, not a public life, if he is to survive for even a short time
— Apology
Employ your time in improving yourself by other men's writings so that you shall gain what others have labored hard for
— Attributed by Xenophon, Memorabilia
Let us examine the matter together, and do not let us either act or speak as if we were asleep
— Euthyphro, 15e
Learning is recollection
— Meno and Phaedo
Virtue does not come from wealth, but wealth and every other good thing which men have comes from virtue
— Apology 30b
If you kill me, you will not easily find another like me, who if I may use such a ludicrous figure of speech, am a sort of gadfly, given to the state by the god
— Apology
A house that has a bad neighbor is in a state of siege
— Plato, The Republic, Book IV
Remember, no human condition is ever permanent. Then you will not be overjoyed in good fortune, nor too sorrowful in misfortune
— Plato, Phaedo
To be afraid of death is only another form of thinking one is wise when one is not; it is to think one knows what one does not know
— Apology
No one desires evil; instead, everyone desires what they think is good
— Protagoras
Let us inquire then, for I suspect that we shall find courage to be a kind of endurance of the soul
— Laches
Learning is recollection
— Meno
A man must be able to endure poverty, for many noble souls have been ruined by wealth
— Xenophon, Memorabilia
If a man comes into money reasonably and spends it reasonably, and is not extravagant nor mean, then such a one is said to be a good economist
— Xenophon, Memorabilia Book II
The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled
— Plutarch, Moralia (attributed to Socrates in later tradition)
The hour of departure has arrived, and we go our ways—I to die, and you to live. Which is better, only God knows.
— Apology (Closing Statement)
As for me, all I know is that I know nothing, but I do not think I know what I do not know
— Apology
No one is more hated than he who speaks the truth
— Plato, Apology
If all our misfortunes were laid in one common heap, whence everyone must take an equal portion, most people would be content to take their own and depart
— Pseudo-Plutarch, Consolation to Apollonius
The mystery of human existence lies not in just staying alive, but in finding something to live for
— attributed to Socrates (possibly apocryphal; popular paraphrase)
Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us
— Xenophon, Memorabilia, Book I
I am one of those who are willing to be refuted if I say anything untrue, and who are willing to refute anyone else who says what is untrue, and who are just as glad to be refuted as to refute
— Gorgias
I call myself a midwife to the mind, for I assist at the birth of knowledge in others, but have no wisdom myself
— Theaetetus
See whether I am the kind of man who would be likely to try to avoid death at any cost, and to break the laws and go into exile or do anything rather than die
— Crito
I am far from admitting that he who contemplates ever so many beautiful objects will have one beautiful thought come into his mind, any more than he who touches a lyre will be a musician or he who touches a wise man will be wise
— Symposium
Let us then, in the first place, consider with ourselves what we are; for by doing so we shall most easily discover what it is we desire
— Alcibiades I
If you want to be a good saddler, saddle the worst horse; for if you can tame one, you can tame all
— Plato, Hippias Minor, 366b
I have been a sort of gadfly, given to the state by the god; and the state is like a great and noble horse, needing to be stirred up
— Apology
Beware the barrenness of a busy life
— Attributed by later sources (e.g., Stobaeus)
The secret of happiness, you see, is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less
— Ascribed to Socrates in Xenophon, Memorabilia, Book I
Learning is recollection
— Meno, philosophical discussion
I am not a man who knows, but rather one who inquires
— Theaetetus, Plato
If the head and the body are to be well, you must begin by curing the soul
— Charmides
Remember that there is nothing stable in human affairs; therefore avoid undue elation in prosperity, or undue depression in adversity
— Phaedo
No one ever arrives at the truth if he does not love it
— Phaedo
If a man comes into money reasonably and spends it reasonably, and is not extravagant nor mean, then such a one is said to be a good economist
— Republic
Speak, so that I may see you
— attributed within Xenophon, Memorabilia
Virtue does not come from wealth, but wealth and every other good thing which men have comes from virtue
— Apology, Plato
It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable
— Xenophon, Memorabilia
The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance
— Lysis
I am a real stranger to the manner of speech here; as I said before, I have not come before a court of law, but before men who are fond of hearing the truth
— Apology (17d)
See whether I am the kind of man likely to care for anything but the truth
— Apology
Remember, no human condition is ever permanent. Then you will not be overjoyed in good fortune, nor too sorrowful in misfortune
— Plato, Socratic Maxims (general)
Bad men live that they may eat and drink, whereas good men eat and drink that they may live
— Gorgias, 518e
The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be
— Gorgias
It is not the strongest or most beautiful who are fully happy, but those who are wise and virtuous
— Gorgias
Remember, my friend, that to be silent and listen is often an art that is more necessary than speaking
— Attributed to Socrates by Diogenes Laertius
A man must be able to endure poverty, for many noble souls have been ruined by wealth
— ascribed in Xenophon, Memorabilia, Book II
Strong minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, weak minds discuss people
— Attributed to Socrates; not directly in surviving works, but cited in later tradition
Employ your time in improving yourself by other men's writings so that you shall gain easily what others have labored hard for
— Phaedrus
The poets compose poems not by wisdom but by a kind of nature and by inspiration
— Apology, early section
Let us then examine what courage is, and do not shrink from the task, but look the truth boldly in the face
— Laches, Plato
I am that gadfly which God has attached to the state, and all day long and in all places am always fastening upon you, arousing and persuading and reproaching you
— Apology, 30e
When desire and reason are opposed, there is a civil war within the soul
— Phaedrus
Remember, my friend, that to be silent and listen is often an art that is more necessary than speaking
— Phaedrus
No evil can happen to a good man, either in life or after death
— Apology
Wonder is the beginning of wisdom
— Theaetetus
The misuse of language induces evil in the soul
— Plato, Phaedrus
A man must be able to endure poverty, for many noble souls have been ruined by wealth
— Gorgias
The beginning is the most important part of the work
— Republic, Book II
Let us discuss this matter together as friends, not as adversaries
— Euthyphro
If anyone desires to have a wife, he must first consider whether he will be able to endure her
— Gorgias
The comic poet is wise without knowing it, and the tragic poet too; they are inspired and possessed
— Ion
I decided that it was not wisdom that enabled poets to write their poetry, but a kind of instinct or inspiration, such as you find in seers and prophets
— Apology
I pray Thee, O God, that I may be beautiful within
— Plato, Phaedrus, 279B
He is a man of courage who does not run away, but remains at his post and fights against the enemy
— Plato, Laches
Do not do to others what would anger you if done to you by others
— Crito
Consider, then, that the greatest of all goods enjoyed by me is this service of the god to you, in arousing and persuading and upbraiding every one of you
— Apology
To be is to do
— attributed in later philosophical traditions, e.g., discussed by Plutarch
If a man is proud of his wealth, he should not be praised until it is known how he employs it
— Apology
I am not so much an instructor of others as an inquirer myself
— Plato, Theaetetus 150c
To express oneself badly is not only faulty as far as the language goes, but it does some harm to the soul
— Phaedo
Let not him who would move the world first move himself
— Various attributions, see Diogenes Laërtius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers
False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil
— Phaedo, section 91e
The poets are only the interpreters of the gods by whom they are severally possessed
— Apology
Call no man happy until he is dead
— Memorabilia, Xenophon, Book II (also attributed to Solon, but occurs in Socratic context)
False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil
— Plato, Phaedo
The shortest and surest way to live with honor in the world is to be in reality what we would appear to be
— Gorgias
No man is able to choose the better, unless he has been taught by God
— Xenophon, Memorabilia, Book IV
Every action has its pleasures and its price
— Gorgias
A man who is afraid of death is not fit to live
— Apology
Not life, but good life, is to be chiefly valued
— Crito
Be of good hope in the face of death and know this as a truth, that no evil can happen to a good man, either in life or after death
— Apology, 41d
If a man wants to succeed in anything, he must give all his energies to that single object and nothing else
— Xenophon, Memorabilia 3.12.5
The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled
— Plutarch, On Listening to Lectures (attributing Socrates)
No man is able to choose the better, unless he has been taught by God
— Meno, 99b
By all means marry; if you get a good wife, you'll become happy; if you get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher
— Attributed in various sources (often as a Socratic joke)
Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of
— Apology
No man undertakes a trade he has not learned, even the meanest; yet everyone thinks himself sufficiently qualified for the hardest of all trades - that of government
— Republic, Book III
Bad men live that they may eat and drink, whereas good men eat and drink that they may live
— Crito
My friend, care first and chiefly about the greatest improvement of the soul
— Apology 30a-b
The soul takes nothing with her to the next world but her education and her nurture
— Phaedo
He who is not a good servant will not be a good master
— Xenophon's Memorabilia, Book II
No man undertakes a trade he has not learned, even the meanest; yet every one thinks himself sufficiently qualified for the hardest of all trades, that of government
— Plato, Republic, Book 1
One ought never to do wrong in return, nor mistreat any man, no matter how one has been mistreated by him
— Crito
To fear death, my friends, is only to think ourselves wise without being wise, for it is to think that we know what we do not know
— Apology
Let us inquire; for perhaps in talking it over we shall discover what we are seeking
— Laches
Let us take counsel together; for in matters which we do not know, we must seek council and learn from each other
— Plato, Euthyphro
No man ever believes that he desires what is bad; he believes rather that what he desires is good for him
— Protagoras
Once made equal to man, woman becomes his superior
— Republic
Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel
— Plutarch, On Listening to Lectures (attributed to Socrates)
May I be preserved from accepting a lie into my soul, however deeply it might settle there
— Phaedo
One ought not to return an injury or to do evil to any person, however he may have injured you
— Crito, Section 49c
Do you think that the man who is just is happier than the man who is unjust?
— Republic, Book I
Speak, that I may see you
— Attributed by Plutarch, Moralia
The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled
— Plutarch, On Listening to Lectures (often attributed to Socrates)
Let us examine the question together, and let us not assert or accept anything but what we find on examination to be true
— Phaedrus / Republic (the spirit of Socratic dialogue)
Nothing is to be preferred before justice
— Gorgias, 527b
Wisdom begins in wonder
— Theaetetus
An education obtained with money is worse than no education at all.
— Attributed to Socrates, reported by Diogenes Laërtius
The only thing I fear is that I may do something unjust or impious
— Apology
Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of—for credit is like fire: when once you have kindled it, you may easily preserve it; but if you once extinguish it, you will find it an arduous task to rekindle it again
— Memorabilia
That state which is governed best is governed least
— Republic, Book II
No one who has not made the trial of arguments and experienced what they can do is ever sufficiently eager to want to know the truth about anything
— Plato, Phaedo
To want nothing is divine, to want as little as possible is the nearest approach to the divine
— Gorgias
Wisdom begins in wonder
— Plato, Theaetetus, 155d
From the deepest desires often come the deadliest hate
— Phaedrus
A man may be a good rhetorician, but if he does not live rightly, he is nothing
— Gorgias
To do injustice is worse than to suffer it
— Gorgias
How many things there are which I do not need
— Xenophon, Memorabilia
Nature has given us two ears, two eyes, and but one tongue—to the end that we should hear and see more than we speak
— Pseudo-Plutarch, Opinions of Philosophers
Think not those faithful who praise all thy words and actions, but those who kindly reprove thy faults
— Attributed by Diogenes Laertius, Lives of the Eminent Philosophers
I would rather be convicted for speaking in my manner, than acquitted for speaking in yours
— Apology
A system of education which sets out to produce learned men rather than good men is worth nothing
— Meno
Poetry is a form of divine madness
— Phaedrus
To say that you know when you do not is honest to neither yourself nor those around you
— Apology
See now how much better is it to be refuted than to refute
— Gorgias
In childhood be modest, in youth temperate, in adulthood just, and in old age prudent
— Plato, The Republic, Book IV
Poetry is a form of divine madness
— Phaedrus
I call myself a midwife to the mind, for I assist at the birth of knowledge in others, but have no wisdom myself
— Theaetetus
Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of—for credit is like fire: when once you have kindled it you may easily preserve it, but if you once extinguish it, you will find it an arduous task to rekindle it again
— Memorabilia
You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today
— Crito
Think not of life and children first, and of justice afterwards, but of justice first, that you may be justified before the gods
— Crito
See whether I am the kind of man likely to care for anything but the truth
— Apology
Let us inquire what courage is, and do not shrink from the task, but look the truth boldly in the face
— Laches
The shortest and surest way to live with honor in the world is to be in reality what we would appear to be
— Plato, Gorgias
He who learns but does not think, is lost. He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger
— Attributed to Socrates in secondary sources
If you want to be a good saddler, saddle the worst horse; for if you can tame one, you can tame all
— Republic
It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable
— Xenophon, Memorabilia
No wealth can ever make a bad man at peace with himself
— Gorgias
I know you won't believe me, but the highest form of Human Excellence is to question oneself and others
— Apology
Let us take counsel together; for in matters which we do not know, we must seek counsel and learn from each other
— Laches
All the gold which is under or upon the earth is not enough to give in exchange for virtue
— Apology
When the debate is lost, slander becomes the tool of the loser
— Often paraphrased from Apology (possibly 39c-d)
To fear death, gentlemen, is no other than to think oneself wise when one is not, to think one knows what one does not know
— Apology 29a
For the poets tell us that the good are not willing to rule, either for the sake of money or of honor; they do not wish to be openly greedy of money, or to take by force, and they are not ambitious; therefore necessity compels them to rule, because they are not willing to be ruled by worse men than themselves
— Republic, Book I
It is not living that matters, but living rightly
— Crito
I swear by the dog, gentlemen, that I have been so busy with the study of philosophy, that I have had no leisure to attend to any of the affairs of the world
— Apology
The secret of happiness, you see, is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less
— Quoted in Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers
He who commits injustice is ever made more wretched than he who suffers it
— Gorgias
He who commits injustice is ever made more wretched than he who suffers it
— Plato, Gorgias
I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think
— Attributed by later writers; reflects Socratic method
Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us
— Xenophon, Memorabilia, Book 1
Let us, then, examine the matter together, and do not let us either act or speak as if we were asleep
— Euthyphro
One ought never to do wrong in return, nor mistreat any man, no matter how one has been mistreated by him
— Crito
To find the father and mother of this love is not easy
— Symposium
No man can be called happy until we see the manner of his death
— Plato's Republic, Book I, discussion with Cephalus
Consider then, that the greatest of all goods enjoyed by me is this service of the god to you, in arousing and persuading and upbraiding every one of you
— Apology
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit
— Ascribed to Socrates by later writers (commonly attributed, but see Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics for origins)
Remember, no human condition is ever permanent. Then you will not be overjoyed in good fortune, nor too sorrowful in misfortune
— Plato, Phaedrus (also attributed via Diogenes Laertius)
No wealth or pleasure is worth more than virtue, nor is any pain, toil, or poverty as bad as vice
— Gorgias
Once made equal to man, woman becomes his superior
— “Socrates,” as reported by Diogenes Laertius, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, Book II
Virtue does not come from wealth, but wealth and every other good thing which men have comes from virtue
— Apology
Think not those faithful who praise all thy words and actions, but those who kindly reprove thy faults
— Various (attributed in Diogenes Laertius, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers)
I cannot do otherwise than be as I am, and say what I believe to be true
— Plato, Apology
No one has a right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training
— Republic
If all our misfortunes were laid in one common heap, whence everyone must take an equal portion, most people would be content to take their own and depart
— Apocryphal (attributed in multiple later sources)
It is not I who am wise, but the god; and by his oracle he means to show that the wisdom of men is worth little or nothing
— Apology
No man has the right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training. It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable
— attributed by Xenophon, Memorabilia
The highest good is the care of the soul
— Plato, Republic
No man who is not a lover of wisdom, and a searcher after it, may rightly call himself a philosopher
— Phaedrus
Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us
— Phaedrus
Are not the wisest those who are most aware of their own limitations?
— Apology, 23a
If you want to be a good saddler, saddle the worst horse; for if you can tame one, you can tame all
— Xenophon, Memorabilia, Book II, Chapter 1
Worthless people live only to eat and drink; people of worth eat and drink only to live
— Gorgias
No man desires bad things; if he desires what is bad, he believes them to be good for him and is therefore, in fact, desiring good things
— Meno
The poets compose poems by the help of the Muses, and are possessed and inspired; they do not compose them by the rules of art
— Ion
Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us
— Plato's Phaedrus
I am not yet able to know myself; so it seems to me ridiculous, when I do not yet know that, to investigate irrelevant things
— Phaedrus
Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of
— Apology
To find yourself, think for yourself
— Phaedrus
Speak, that I may see you
— Attributed by Plutarch, Moralia
The beginning is the most important part of the work
— Republic, Book II, 377b
Let us examine the matter from the beginning, and do not let us either be in too great a hurry or too slow
— Plato, Phaedo
No one who has not made trial of arguments and experienced what they can do is ever sufficiently eager to want to know the truth about anything
— Phaedo, Section 90b
He who would learn must be a lover of inquiry
— Phaedo 66a
True love is not love of the body, but of the soul
— Phaedrus
The greatest blessings come by way of madness, indeed of madness that is heaven-sent
— Plato, Phaedrus 244a
He is richest who is content with the least, for content is the wealth of nature
— Xenophon’s Symposium
If a man comes into money reasonably and spends it reasonably, and is not extravagant nor mean, then such a one is said to be a good economist
— Memorabilia
I am like a midwife assisting in the birth of ideas, but having no wisdom myself
— Theaetetus
I am a sort of midwife, but of the soul, not of the body
— Theaetetus
For the poets tell us that the good are not willing to rule, either for the sake of money or of honor... therefore necessity compels them to rule, because they are not willing to be ruled by worse men than themselves
— Republic, Book I
Do not then be angry with me if I tell you the truth
— Gorgias
Every action has its pleasures and its price
— Gorgias
When the debate is lost, slander becomes the tool of the loser
— Attributed by Diogenes Laërtius
Learning is recollection
— Meno
No man errs willingly, but only from ignorance
— Meno
Remember, no human condition is ever permanent. Then you will not be overjoyed in good fortune, nor too sorrowful in misfortune
— Cratylus
No one ever believes that he desires what is bad; he believes rather that what he desires is good for him.
— Protagoras, Section 358c
Nothing is to be preferred before justice
— Republic, Book I
Consider, then, that the greatest of all goods enjoyed by me is this service of the god to you, in arousing and persuading and upbraiding every one of you
— Apology
The highest form of human excellence is to question oneself and others
— The Apology
If a man comes into money reasonably and spends it reasonably, and is neither extravagant nor mean, then such a one is said to be a good economist
— Xenophon, Memorabilia, Book 2, Chapter 3
There is no greater evil one can suffer than to hate reasonable discourse
— Plato, Phaedo 89d
No evil can happen to a good man, either in life or after death, for the gods take care of him
— Apology, 41d
Employ your time in improving yourself by other men's writings so that you shall gain easily what others have labored hard for
— ascribed in Diogenes Laertius, Lives of the Eminent Philosophers
Those who are hardest to convince of their ignorance are those whom everyone admires for their wisdom
— Apology, 22d
I would rather suffer wrong than do wrong
— Gorgias
All men's souls are immortal, but the souls of the righteous are immortal and divine
— Phaedo
Strong minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, weak minds discuss people
— Attributed to Socrates (though more commonly cited through others; see Diogenes Laërtius)
The poets do not compose their poems with knowledge, but with a certain natural gift and inspiration, like diviners
— Apology 22b
A system of morality which is based on relative emotional values is a mere illusion, a thoroughly vulgar conception which has nothing sound in it and nothing true
— Phaedo
The easiest and noblest way is not to be crushing others, but to be improving yourselves
— Crito
If a man is proud of his wealth, he should not be praised until it is known how he employs it
— Xenophon, Memorabilia
Neither to do wrong nor to return a wrong is ever right, nor is it right to defend oneself against injury by retaliation
— Crito
Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of—for credit is like fire: when once you have kindled it you may easily preserve it, but if you once extinguish it, you will find it an arduous task to rekindle it again
— Memorabilia (Xenophon), Book 2, Chapter 6, Section 36
All wars are fought for the sake of getting money
— Apology
Let us inquire what courage is, and do not shrink from the task, but look the truth boldly in the face
— Laches
No one who has not made the trial of arguments and experienced what they can do is ever sufficiently eager to want to know the truth about anything
— Phaedo
Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us
— Phaedrus
Every action done by men without God is imperfect and incomplete
— Phaedrus
Beware the barrenness of a busy life
— Plutarch, Moralia: On Leisure
Let us follow the argument wherever it leads
— Phaedo
Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us
— Phaedrus
Bad men live that they may eat and drink, whereas good men eat and drink that they may live
— Gorgias
No man is able to choose the better, unless he has been taught by God
— Meno
My plainness of speech makes them hate me, and what is their hatred but a proof that I am speaking the truth?
— Apology
I am not so much an instructor of others as a fellow inquirer
— Theaetetus, 150c
My friend, care first and chiefly about the greatest improvement of the soul
— Apology
The comic poets, I think, are wise men, but without knowing it; and the tragic poets, too, though I once caught one when he was writing a tragedy and asked him what it meant, and he did not know himself
— Plato, Apology, 22b
He who is not able to live in society, or who has no need because he is sufficient for himself, must be either a beast or a god
— Aristotle, Politics (attributed to Socrates)
I care not for what most people regard, but only for that one wise and good man, and for truth
— Crito
Think not those faithful who praise all thy words and actions, but those who kindly reprove thy faults
— Crito
The easiest and noblest way is not to be crushing others, but to be improving yourselves
— Apology
The mind (soul) takes nothing with her to the next world but her education and her nurture
— Phaedo
My friend, care first and foremost about the improvement of your soul
— Apology
Since I am such as I am, I cannot desert the post to which I believe the god has appointed me
— Apology
If the head and the body are to be well, you must begin by curing the soul
— Phaedo
I am not yet able to know myself; so it seems to me ridiculous, when I do not yet know that, to investigate irrelevant things
— Phaedrus
The beginning is the most important part of the work
— Republic, Book II
He is richest who is content with the least, for content is the wealth of nature
— Xenophon, Memorabilia
The hottest love has the coldest end
— Phaedrus
If you suppose that there is no consciousness, but a sort of sleep, death will be an unspeakable gain
— Apology, Plato
See whether I am the kind of man likely to care for anything but the truth
— Plato, Apology
My advice to you is to get married; if you find a good wife, you'll be happy; if not, you'll become a philosopher
— Diogenes Laertius, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers (Book 2, Section 33)
I am not so much an instructor of others as an inquirer myself
— Meno
I know you won't believe me, but the highest form of Human Excellence is to question oneself and others
— Apology
Let us inquire; for perhaps in talking it over we shall discover what we are seeking
— Laches
Think not those faithful who praise all thy words and actions, but those who kindly reprove thy faults
— Attributed in Diogenes Laertius, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, Book II
If you want to be a good saddler, saddle the worst horse; for if you can tame one, you can tame all
— Gorgias
No man is qualified to become a statesman who is entirely ignorant of the problems of wheat
— Xenophon, Memorabilia III.4
The only thing I know is that I know nothing, and I am not even sure about that
— Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, Book II
It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable
— Xenophon, Memorabilia
Know thyself
— Delphic maxim, referenced throughout Socratic dialogues
Employ your time in improving yourself by other men's writings so that you shall gain easily what others have labored hard for
— Socrates, as reported in Diogenes Laërtius, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers 2.32
A multitude of books, my friend, is a great evil. There is no end to the making of them
— Phaedrus
Whenever men are deceived and make mistakes, it is in the pursuit of what they suppose to be good
— Meno
I am a midwife of the soul, and not of the body
— Theaetetus
Through my poverty I bring the greatest benefit to the city
— Apology
The beginning of wisdom is a definition of terms
— Plato's Phaedrus
The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled
— Plutarch, On Listening to Lectures (attributed to Socrates)
To be curious about everything is the mark of a philosopher
— Theaetetus
The soul, when on its way to truth and being, becomes strong and is nourished, and is then freed from error and pleasure and pain
— Phaedo
Let not him who would move the world first move himself
— Critique attributed in Diogenes Laërtius
The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled
— Plutarch, Moralia (attributed to Socrates)
Not life, but good life, is to be chiefly valued
— Crito
I pray Thee, O God, that I may be beautiful within
— Plato, Phaedrus 279B
It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable
— Reported by Xenophon in Memorabilia, Book III
No one ever does wrong willingly
— Protagoras
All I know is that I do not know anything
— Apology
Remember, no human condition is ever permanent. Then you will not be overjoyed in good fortune, nor too sorrowful in misfortune
— Plato, Theaetetus
It is the greatest of all mistakes to do nothing because you can only do little—do what you can
— Apology
Think not those faithful who praise all thy words and actions, but those who kindly reprove thy faults
— Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, Book II
A man may be a good rhetorician, but if he does not live rightly, he is nothing
— Gorgias
From the deepest desires often come the deadliest hate
— Phaedrus
Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us.
— Xenophon, Memorabilia
I decided that it was not wisdom that enabled poets to write their poetry, but a kind of instinct or inspiration, such as you find in seers and prophets
— Apology
The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled
— Plutarch’s On Listening to Lectures (attrib. to Socrates)
Are not those whom the multitude call courageous cowards, and the brave who are truly courageous, considered by the multitude to be mad or out of their senses?
— Laches
Let us inquire what piety is, and do not let us either act or speak as if we knew when we do not know
— Euthyphro
No man is capable of self-control if he cannot resist pleasure or pain, or fear or desire, or anger
— Plato, Phaedo, 68e
The beginning is the most important part of the work
— Republic, Book II
Remember, my friend, that to be silent and listen is often an art that is more necessary than speaking
— Critias fragment, Xenophon’s Memorabilia 1.2.24
I am wiser than this man; it is likely that neither of us knows anything worthwhile, but he thinks he knows something when he does not, whereas when I do not know, neither do I think I know
— Apology
The shortest and surest way to live with honor in the world is to be in reality what we would appear to be
— Attributed by Socratic followers and various later sources
No one does wrong willingly
— Meno 77b
Every action has its pleasures and its price
— Phaedo, 60b
No man undertakes a trade he has not learned, even the meanest; yet everyone thinks himself sufficiently qualified for the hardest of all trades – that of government
— Memorabilia (Xenophon)
If a man is proud of his wealth, he should not be praised until it is known how he employs it
— Xenophon, Memorabilia, Book I, 2
Is not the most reprehensible kind of ignorance to think that one knows what one does not know?
— Apology (Plato), 29b
Let us follow the argument wherever it leads
— Republic, Book I
Is not the most reprehensible kind of ignorance to think that one knows what one does not know?
— Apology
The comic poets, I think, are wise men, but without knowing it; and the tragic poets, too, though I once caught one when he was writing a tragedy and asked him what it meant, and he did not know himself
— Apology
The loveliest of all things is to love the truth and not merely to conquer others in argument
— Phaedo
Death may be the greatest of all human blessings
— Apology
You must regard as philosophers only those who love the truth
— Republic
Remember, my friend, that to be silent and listen is often an art that is more necessary than speaking
— Critias (attributed)
I am that gadfly which God has attached to the state, and all day long and in all places am always fastening upon you, arousing and persuading and reproaching you
— Apology
Is a man any the less good for being able to reason about what is right and what is wrong, and for being able to give a reasoned account of his conduct?
— Gorgias
Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us
— Phaedrus
The greatest improvement of the soul is to converse with good people
— Crito
I am a midwife, not of bodies, but of souls
— Theaetetus
The most important thing is not life, but the good life
— Crito
I am a sort of gadfly, given to the state by the god, and the state is like a great and noble horse which is sluggish and needs to be stirred up
— Apology, 30e
No one does wrong willingly
— Protagoras
The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled
— Attributed to Socrates (secondary sources, summary of Socratic view of education)
Learning is recollection
— Plato, Meno
To want nothing is divine, to want as little as possible is the nearest approach to the divine
— Plato, Theaetetus
As for me, I know nothing but I seek to learn
— Apology
The only thing I fear is that I may do an unjust or unholy thing
— Plato, Apology 32d
True love is not love of the body, but of the soul
— Phaedrus
The hour of departure has arrived, and we must go our separate ways; I to die, and you to live; which of us goes to the better lot is known to no one, except the god
— Apology (End of Dialogue)
It is the law with which we must concern ourselves, not any man
— Plato, Crito
To prefer evil to good is not in human nature; and when a man is compelled to choose one of two evils, no one will choose the greater when he might have the less
— Protagoras
Through my poverty I bring the greatest benefit to the city
— Apology
Do not do to others what angers you if done to you by others
— Crito
The shortest and surest way to live with honor in the world is to be in reality what we would appear to be
— Plato, Gorgias
No one is qualified to become a statesman who is entirely ignorant of the problem of wheat
— Plato, The Republic, Book II
My friend, care first and chiefly about the greatest improvement of the soul
— Crito
Nature has given us two ears, two eyes, and but one tongue, that we may hear and see more than we speak
— Attributed in later tradition; e.g., Stobaeus, Florilegium
The hottest love has the coldest end
— Phaedrus, 254a
It is not I who am wise, but the god; and by his oracle he means to show that the wisdom of men is worth little or nothing
— Plato, Apology 23a
All the gold which is under or upon the earth is not enough to give in exchange for virtue
— Apology
If a man neglects education, he walks lame to the end of his life
— Protagoras
Let us examine the matter from the beginning, and do not let us either be in too great a hurry or too slow
— Plato, Republic, Book IV
The difficulty, my friends, is not in avoiding death, but in avoiding unrighteousness; for unrighteousness runs faster than death
— Apology
I am wiser than this man; it is likely that neither of us knows anything worthwhile, but he thinks he knows something when he does not, whereas when I do not know, neither do I think I know
— Apology (Plato), 21d
No one who has not made the trial of arguments and experienced what they can do is ever sufficiently eager to want to know the truth about anything
— Plato, Phaedo, 90e
No man undertakes a trade he has not learned, even the meanest; yet everyone thinks himself sufficiently qualified for the hardest of all trades—that of government
— Republic, Book III
Beauty of soul, and harmony between the inner and outer man, is what should be desired above wealth or possessions
— Phaedrus
If you contrive to kill me, you will not easily find another like me, who, if I may use such a figure of speech, am a sort of gadfly, given to the state by the god
— Apology, 30e
I am not a man who knows, but rather one who inquires
— Theaetetus
I am that gadfly which God has attached to the state, and all day long and in all places am always fastening upon you, arousing and persuading and reproaching you
— Apology, 30e
Under the guidance of the god I have devoted myself to examining myself and others
— Apology
I swear by the dog, gentlemen, I have been so busy with the study of philosophy that I have had no leisure to attend to any of the affairs of the world
— Apology
He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have
— Socratic Sayings (various sources)
Let not him who would move the world first move himself
— Phaedrus
Envy is the ulcer of the soul
— Xenophon, Memorabilia 2.3.15
Necessity is the mother of invention
— Republic
A system of morality which is based on relative emotional values is a mere illusion, a thoroughly vulgar conception which has nothing sound in it and nothing true
— Gorgias, 482c
We must care for our soul, and make it as good as we can
— Phaedo, 107c
To express oneself badly is not only faulty as far as the language goes, but it does some harm to the soul
— Phaedo
Necessity is the mother of invention
— Republic, Book II
If a man comes into money reasonably and spends it reasonably, and is not extravagant nor mean, then such a one is said to be a good economist
— Republic
Let us reflect, then, that the greatest good for a man is to discuss virtue every day
— Apology
I am wiser than this man; it is likely that neither of us knows anything worthwhile, but he thinks he knows something when he does not, whereas when I do not know, neither do I think I know
— Apology, 21d
Think not those faithful who praise all thy words and actions; but those who kindly reprove thy faults
— Plutarch, Moralia (attributed to Socrates)
I have often wished that I had as much knowledge as my ignorance
— Phaedrus (229e)
No one is a friend to his friend who does not love in return
— Lysis
I would rather die having spoken after my manner, than speak in your manner and live
— Apology
Employ your time in improving yourself by other men's writings so that you shall gain easily what others have labored hard for
— Plato, Apology
No evil can happen to a good man, either in life or after death, for the gods take care of him
— Apology, section 41d
Poetry is a form of divine madness
— Phaedrus, 245a
The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise
— Attributed by Plato, The Republic (though likely apocryphal)
He is richest who is content with the least
— Xenophon, Memorabilia I.6.10
No man is able to choose the better, unless he has been taught by God
— Protagoras
The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled
— Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers
No evil can happen to a good man, either in life or after death, for the gods take care of him
— Apology
An unexamined life is not worth living for a human being
— Apology 38a
Bad men live that they may eat and drink, whereas good men eat and drink that they may live
— Plato, Gorgias
Let us inquire; for perhaps in talking it over we shall discover what we are seeking
— Laches
Let us, then, examine the matter together, and do not let us either act or speak as if we were asleep
— Republic, Book I
Be slow to fall into friendship; but when you are in, continue firm and constant
— Diogenes Laertius, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, Book II
To want nothing is divine, to want as little as possible is the nearest approach to the divine
— Phaedo
Beware the barrenness of a busy life
— Attributed in Stobaeus, Florilegium, 3.15.38
Strong minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, weak minds discuss people
— Commonly attributed to Socrates; not found in Plato's works
Wealth does not bring about excellence, but excellence makes wealth and everything else good for men
— Apology
No man is able to choose the better, unless he has been taught by God
— Meno
Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us
— Phaedrus
For I suspect that courage is a kind of endurance of the soul, if I am to speak from what appears to me
— Laches
I know that my desire for wisdom makes me unpopular
— Apology
Necessity is the mother of invention
— Republic, Book II
I swear by the dog, gentlemen, I have been so busy with the study of philosophy that I have had no leisure to attend to any of the affairs of the world
— Apology, 23b (by Plato)
I am not yet able to know myself; so it seems to me ridiculous, when I do not yet know that, to investigate irrelevant things
— Phaedrus
If a man is proud of his wealth, he should not be praised until it is known how he employs it
— Xenophon, Memorabilia
A house that has a bad neighbor is in a state of siege
— Theaetetus
I was attached to this city by the god—as upon a great and noble horse which was somewhat sluggish because of its size, and needed to be stirred up by a kind of gadfly
— Apology, Plato
To find the father and mother of this love is not easy
— Plato, Symposium
All men's souls are immortal, but the souls of the righteous are immortal and divine
— Phaedo
He who seeks one thing, and but one, may hope to achieve it; but he who seeks all things, may not hope to achieve any
— Xenophon, Memorabilia, Book 3
An unjust life is to be most carefully avoided over death itself
— Gorgias
Let no one, even in jest, do or say what is not right
— Laws (attributed via Plato)
Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us
— Phaedrus
The poets are only the interpreters of the gods, each one possessed by whatever divinity comes upon him
— Ion
No one who has not made trial of arguments and experienced what they can do is ever sufficiently eager to want to know the truth about anything
— Phaedo
We are not at all aimed at telling stories, but at the truth
— Republic, Book II
The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be
— Gorgias
An education obtained with money is worse than no education at all
— Quoted by Diogenes Laertius, Lives of the Eminent Philosophers (Socrates)
I am not so much an instructor of others as an inquirer myself
— Meno
By all means, marry; if you get a good wife, you'll become happy; if you get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher
— Attributed (variously cited in Diogenes Laërtius)
No one is qualified to be called a philosopher who is not in love with learning
— Republic, Book V
An education obtained with money is worse than no education at all
— Proverbial/attributed by Diogenes Laërtius
A multitude of books, my friend, is a great evil. There is no end to the making of them.
— Plato, Phaedrus
Remember, no human condition is ever permanent. Then you will not be overjoyed in good fortune, nor too sorrowful in misfortune
— Ecclesiastes (paraphrased by later writers; commonly attributed to Socrates)
The unexamined life is not worth living for a human being
— Apology, 38a
No one with even a moderate understanding of music or gymnastics could ever suppose that one could distinguish the good and the bad by any other means than by knowledge
— Republic, Book III
No man willingly pursues evil or that which he thinks to be evil; to prefer good to evil is in human nature
— Protagoras
To be is to do
— Attributed; Diogenes Laertius, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers
All men's souls are immortal, but the souls of the righteous are immortal and divine
— Phaedrus
No wealth can bring joy to one who is not wise and good
— Xenophon, Memorabilia Book IV
Let no one, even in jest, do or say what is not right
— Phaedo
See now how much better is it to be refuted than to refute
— Gorgias
The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be
— Gorgias
He is a good man who is not ambitious, but is content with what he has and does not desire what he does not have
— Xenophon, Memorabilia 2.1.1
The hottest love has the coldest end
— Plato's Phaedrus
The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled
— Attributed (Plutarch, On Listening to Lectures, ascribing to Socratic tradition)
A man who really fights for justice must lead a private, not a public life, if he is to survive for even a short time
— Apology
Let no one, even in jest, do or say what is not right
— Plato, Republic, Book III
Virtue does not come from money, but money and every other good thing which men have comes from virtue
— Apology
Care for your psyche... know thyself, for once we know ourselves, we may learn how to care for ourselves
— Alcibiades I
Bad men live that they may eat and drink, whereas good men eat and drink that they may live
— The Dialogues of Plato, quoted in Socrates' discussions
Be slow to fall into friendship; but when thou art in, continue firm and constant
— Lysis
Wherever the argument leads, we must go
— Phaedo
No one is qualified to become a statesman who is entirely ignorant of the problems of wheat
— Politics (reported by Xenophon, Memorabilia)
Happiness does not depend on outward things, but on the way we see them
— Gorgias
To find the father and mother of this love is not easy
— Phaedrus
Think not of life and children first, and of justice afterwards, but of justice first, that you may be justified before the gods
— Crito
Let us examine the matter from the beginning, and do not let us either be in too great a hurry or too slow
— Phaedo
No man undertakes a trade he has not learned, even the meanest; yet everyone thinks himself sufficiently qualified for the hardest of all trades, that of government
— Plato, Republic Book III
Be slow to fall into friendship; but when thou art in, continue firm and constant
— Lysis
If a man is proud of his wealth, he should not be praised until it is known how he employs it
— Attributed in Diogenes Laërtius, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers
We must not regard what the many say of us, but what he, the one man who understands justice and injustice, will say, and what the truth will say
— Crito
Let us therefore examine what piety is, and not make hasty assumptions
— Euthyphro
By all means, marry; if you get a good wife, you'll be happy; if you get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher
— Traditionally attributed to Socrates (possibly anecdotal)
Beware the barrenness of a busy life
— Reported saying, various sources
Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel
— Plutarch, On Listening to Lectures (attributed)
No man can be called happy until we see the manner of his death
— Plato, 'Phaedo'
One ought never to do wrong in return, nor mistreat any man, no matter how one has been mistreated by him
— Crito
I am and always have been a man who listens to nothing within me but the inner voice
— Apology, 33c
The mind is everything; what you think you become
— Attributed (Paraphrased in later sources)
I am not so much an instructor of others as an inquirer myself
— Theaetetus
Let him who would move the world first move himself
— Attributed to Socrates in various later sources
Be slow to fall into friendship; but when you are in, continue firm and constant
— Lysis
Wonder is the feeling of a philosopher, and philosophy begins in wonder
— Theaetetus
To express oneself badly is not only faulty as far as the language goes, but it does some harm to the soul
— Phaedo
A man who is afraid of death is not fit to live
— Apology
No man is capable of self-control if he cannot resist pleasure or pain, or fear or desire, or anger
— Phaedrus
False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil
— Phaedo
I am and always have been a man who listens to nothing within me but the inner voice
— Apology
There is only one good, knowledge, and one evil, ignorance
— Protagoras
I know that my soul is immortal and that its future is beyond my comprehension
— Phaedo
All the gold which is under or upon the earth is not enough to give in exchange for virtue
— Apology
Let us discuss this matter together as friends, and not as adversaries
— Euthyphro
The hottest love has the coldest end
— Phaedrus
Be sure that the next thing for us to attend to is not whether we shall live or die, but whether we live well or ill
— Crito
No man ever chooses evil knowingly; he must mistake it for good or else he would not choose it
— Protagoras
If the head and the body are to be well, you must begin by curing the soul
— Phaedrus
I am a midwife, not of bodies, but of souls
— Theaetetus
Remember, my friend, that to be silent and listen is often an art that is more necessary than speaking
— Critias, as quoted by Diogenes Laertius (Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, Book II)
If a man neglects education, he walks lame to the end of his life
— attributed in Xenophon’s Memorabilia
An education obtained with money is worse than no education at all
— Attributed in Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, Book II
There is only one good, knowledge; and one evil, ignorance
— Laches
A system of morality which is based on relative emotional values is a mere illusion, a thoroughly vulgar conception which has nothing sound in it and nothing true
— Plato, Phaedo
It is better to be at odds with the whole world than, being one, to be at odds with myself
— Gorgias
I cannot do the injustice I know to be wrong, whatever the majority may say
— Crito, 54b
True love is not love of the body, but of the soul
— Phaedrus
Poetry is a form of divine madness
— Plato, Phaedrus, 245a
Let not him who would move the world, first move himself
— Phaedrus
I care not for what most people regard, but only for that one wise and good man, and for truth
— Plato, Republic, Book 4
Let us examine this together, for perhaps in discussion we shall find the answer we are seeking
— Euthyphro
If all our misfortunes were laid in one common heap, whence everyone must take an equal portion, most people would be content to take their own and depart
— Philebus
The lover is more divine than the beloved, because he is inspired by God
— Phaedrus
I am a citizen, not of Athens or Greece, but of the world
— Plutarch, Moralia
My plainness of speech makes them hate me, and what is their hatred but a proof that I am speaking the truth?
— Apology
I decided that it was not wisdom that enabled poets to write their poetry, but a kind of instinct or inspiration, such as you find in seers and prophets
— Apology
Whenever men are deceived and make mistakes, it is in the pursuit of what they suppose to be good
— Meno, 77e
I pray Thee, O God, that I may be beautiful within
— Phaedrus
He is richest who is content with the least, for content is the wealth of nature
— Various attributions; Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers
If you kill me, you will not easily find another like me, who, if I may use such a ludicrous figure of speech, am a sort of gadfly, given to the state by the god
— Apology
The highest form of human excellence is to question oneself and others
— Apology
The mind (soul) takes nothing with her to the next world but her education and her nurture
— Phaedo
He who would learn must be a lover of inquiry
— Phaedrus
To be is to do
— attributed, later referenced in Diogenes Laërtius' Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers
Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of—for credit is like fire: when once you have kindled it you may easily preserve it, but if you once extinguish it, you will find it an arduous task to rekindle it again
— Apology
If all our misfortunes were laid in one common heap, whence everyone must take an equal portion, most people would be content to take their own and depart
— Philebus
See now how much better is it to be refuted than to refute, for it is a greater good to get rid of a great evil in oneself than to get rid of it in another
— Gorgias
The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be
— Gorgias
Remember that there is nothing stable in human affairs; therefore avoid undue elation in prosperity, or undue depression in adversity
— Phaedrus
I am not a man who knows, but rather one who inquires
— Theaetetus
Once made equal to man, woman becomes his superior
— Plato, Gorgias
Neither to do wrong nor to return a wrong is ever right, nor is it right to defend oneself against injury by retaliation
— Plato, Crito, 49c-d
Learning is recollection
— Meno
Wonder is the feeling of a philosopher, and philosophy begins in wonder
— Theaetetus
I am a sort of gadfly, given to the state by the god, and the state is like a great and noble horse which is sluggish and needs to be stirred up
— Apology
A multitude of books, my friend, is a great evil. There is no end to the making of them
— Phaedrus
Let us examine the matter together, and do not let us either act or speak as if we were asleep
— Plato, Republic (Book V)
No one knows whether death may not be the greatest blessing for a human being
— Apology
The greatest blessings come by way of madness, indeed of madness that is heaven-sent
— Plato, Phaedrus, 244a
I am confident that there truly is such a thing as living again, that the living spring from the dead, and that the souls of the dead are in existence
— Phaedo
If a man is proud of his wealth, he should not be praised until it is known how he employs it
— Xenophon, Memorabilia, Book I, ii. 14
If a man neglects education, he walks lame to the end of his life
— Plato, 'The Apology', section 37e
The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be
— Apology
An education which is only given by means of words, and which does not go through suffering, cannot bring anyone to knowledge
— Plato, Symposium, 210e
Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us
— Phaedrus
If a man wants to succeed in anything, he must give all his energies to that single object and nothing else
— Xenophon, Memorabilia
He is a man of courage who does not run away, but remains at his post and fights against the enemy
— Laches
An unexamined life is not worth living for men
— Apology 38a
In childhood be modest, in youth temperate, in adulthood just, and in old age prudent
— Quoted in Xenophon's Memorabilia, Book I, 2.27
We should eat to live; not live to eat
— Apology
If anyone tells you that a certain person speaks ill of you, do not make excuses about what is said of you but answer, He was ignorant of my other faults, else he would have not mentioned these alone
— Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, II.36 (attributed)
The highest good is the care of the soul
— Apology, 30a-b
If a man is proud of his wealth, he should not be praised until it is known how he employs it
— Xenophon, Memorabilia, Book IV
Let us, then, examine the matter together, and do not let us either speak or act without due consideration
— Crito, 46b
I am a sort of gadfly, given to the state by the god, and the state is like a great and noble horse which is sluggish and needs to be stirred up
— Apology
Let him who would be a leader first learn to obey
— Xenophon, Memorabilia
No man is capable of self-control if he cannot resist pleasure or pain, or fear or desire, or anger
— Phaedrus
I am always busy with practical work for the city, and I do not have leisure to concern myself with private affairs
— Apology
I decided that it was not wisdom that enabled poets to write their poetry, but a kind of instinct or inspiration, such as you find in seers and prophets
— Apology
A man who is good for anything ought not to calculate the chance of living or dying; he ought only to consider whether in doing anything he is doing right or wrong
— Apology, section 28b (Plato)
Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of—for credit is like fire: when once you have kindled it you may easily preserve it, but if you once extinguish it, you will find it an arduous task to rekindle it again
— Apology (Xenophon) 1.18
I am not wise, nor have I any wise thing about me
— Apology
One ought never to do wrong in return, nor mistreat any man, no matter how one has been mistreated by him
— Crito
The greatest way of defense is attack
— Plato, Symposium
I prayed to the god, only let me become beautiful in my soul within, and all my outward possessions be in harmony with the inner man
— Phaedrus
He who commits injustice is ever made more wretched than he who suffers it
— Plato, 'Gorgias'
No man undertakes a trade he has not learned, even the meanest; yet everyone thinks himself sufficiently qualified for the hardest of all trades, that of government
— Republic Book III
Neither to do wrong nor to return a wrong is ever right, nor is it right to defend oneself against injury by retaliation
— Crito
Let no one, even in jest, do or say what is not right
— Laws
The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled
— Attributed to Socrates, paraphrased by Plutarch in On Listening to Lectures
No man desires bad things; if he desires what is bad, he believes them to be good for him and is therefore, in fact, desiring good things
— Meno
It is better to change an opinion than to persist in a wrong one
— Crito
Employ your time in improving yourself by other men's writings so that you shall come easily by what others have labored hard for
— Attributed by Diogenes Laërtius, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers
I swear by the dog, gentlemen, I have been so busy with the study of philosophy that I have had no leisure to attend to any of the affairs of the world
— Apology
I am not an Athenian or a Greek, but a citizen of the world
— Plutarch, On Exile
It is better to change an opinion than to persist in a wrong one
— Euthydemus
Think not those faithful who praise all thy words and actions, but those who kindly reprove thy faults
— Xenophon’s Memorabilia
The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled
— Attributed to Socrates/quoted in Diogenes Laërtius, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers
No man can be called happy until we see the manner of his death
— Herodotus, quoted in Plato's Apology
The soul is the very likeness of the divine, and immortal, and intelligible, and indissoluble, and unchangeable
— Phaedo
The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled
— Diogenes Laertius, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers
Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of
— Crito
The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled
— Plutarch, 'On Listening to Lectures' (commonly attributed to Socrates)
No man ever knowingly does wrong
— Protagoras
The greatest way of speaking is to speak the truth
— Phaedrus
An education obtained with money is worse than no education at all
— Plato's Apology (secondary tradition)
Envy is the ulcer of the soul
— Xenophon, Memorabilia 2.3.2
Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of—for credit is like fire: when once you have kindled it you may easily preserve it, but if you once extinguish it, you will find it an arduous task to rekindle it again
— Memorabilia (Xenophon)
The hour of departure has arrived, and we go our ways—I to die, and you to live. Which is better, only God knows.
— Apology
If a man would be wise, let him associate with those who are wiser than himself
— Laches
If all our misfortunes were laid in one common heap, whence everyone must take an equal portion, most people would be content to take their own and depart
— Diogenes Laertius, 'Lives of Eminent Philosophers'
Poetry is a form of divine madness
— Phaedrus
No one who is unjust is happy, and no one who is just is unhappy
— Gorgias
Let us then, my friend, examine the matter freely and without fear, whether death be a thing to be feared or not
— Phaedo
Nothing harms a man more than to wrong another
— Crito
He who commits injustice is ever made more wretched than he who suffers it
— Gorgias
I am not yet able to know myself, so it seems to me ridiculous, when I do not yet know that, to investigate irrelevant things
— Phaedrus
Once made equal to man, woman becomes his superior
— Plato, Timaeus
Employ your time in improving yourself by other men's writings so that you shall gain easily what others have labored hard for
— Personal attributed saying (recorded by Diogenes Laërtius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers)
No man ever did a wrong act knowingly; but he who errs, errs unwillingly
— Meno
To express oneself badly is not only faulty as far as the language goes, but it does some harm to the soul
— Phaedo
I only wish that ordinary people had an unlimited capacity for doing harm; then they might have an unlimited power for doing good
— Plato, Apology 25e
See whether I am the kind of man likely to care for anything but the truth
— Apology
But whether life or death is better, is known to God, and not to man
— Apology, Section 42a
The lover is more divine than the beloved, because he is inspired by God
— Phaedrus
Let us inquire together: for to suspect one’s self, and to suspect others, and to test all things, is surely to be most prudent
— Euthyphro
My plainness of speech makes them hate me, and what is their hatred but a proof that I am speaking the truth?
— Apology
If the head and the body are to be well, you must begin by curing the soul
— Plato, Charmides, 157e
For I suspect that courage is a kind of endurance of the soul, if I am to speak from what appears to me
— Laches 192c
I am not so much an instructor of others as an inquirer myself
— Apology
The beginning of wisdom is a definition of terms
— Meno
To express oneself badly is not only faulty as far as the language goes, but it does some harm to the soul
— Phaedo
Employ your time in improving yourself by other men's writings so that you shall gain easily what others have labored hard for
— Collected Sayings / Diogenes Laertius
Wonder is the beginning of wisdom
— Theaetetus, 155d
In every one of us there are two ruling and directing principles; the one is the innate desire of pleasure, the other is the acquired opinion of the best
— Phaedrus
Let us, then, in the first place, consider with ourselves what we are; for by doing so we shall most easily discover what it is we desire
— Phaedrus
He who is richest is content with the least, for content is the wealth of nature
— Theban Tales (Anecdotal, Diogenes Laërtius)
Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us
— Plato's Phaedrus
Learning is recollection
— Meno
The mind (soul) takes nothing with her to the next world but her education and her nurture
— Phaedo
An education which does not end in practical results is worse than useless
— Meno
Worthless people live only to eat and drink; people of worth eat and drink only to live
— Diogenes Laërtius, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers
No human thing is of serious importance
— Phaedo
If you kill me, you will not easily find another like me
— Apology, 30e
An education obtained with money is worse than no education at all
— Diogenes Laertius, 'Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers'
Think not those faithful who praise all thy words and actions, but those who kindly reprove thy faults
— Xenophon, Memorabilia, Book II
No man ever believes that he desires what is bad; he believes rather that what he desires is good
— Protagoras
To want nothing is divine, to want as little as possible is the nearest approach to the divine
— Gorgias
Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us
— Xenophon, Memorabilia
If you had known how to live, you would have known how to die
— Phaedo
I decided that it was not wisdom that enabled poets to write their poetry, but a kind of instinct or inspiration, such as you find in seers and prophets
— Plato, Apology
Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us
— Phaedrus 243a
All that I know is that I know nothing
— Apology
If you contrive to kill me, you will not easily find another like me, who, if I may use such a figure of speech, am a sort of gadfly, given to the state by the god
— Apology
The beginning of wisdom is a definition of terms
— Plato, Phaedrus
Employ your time in improving yourself by other men's writings so that you shall gain easily what others have labored hard for
— Xenophon, Memorabilia, Book I
I am not an Athenian or a Greek, but a citizen of the world
— Plutarch, On Exile
Think not those faithful who praise all thy words and actions, but those who kindly reprove thy faults
— Crito
No one who has not made the trial of arguments and experienced what they can do is ever sufficiently eager to want to know the truth about anything
— Phaedo
No one who has not made the trial of arguments and experienced what they can do is ever sufficiently eager to want to know the truth about anything
— Phaedo
It is not I who am wise, but it is the god; and by his oracle he means to show that the wisdom of men is worth little or nothing
— Apology
I pray Thee, O God, that I may be beautiful within
— Phaedrus 279c
A man must be able to endure poverty, for many noble souls have been ruined by wealth
— Xenophon, Memorabilia
I would rather suffer wrong than do wrong
— Gorgias, 469c
Let us examine the matter from the beginning, and do not let us either be in too great a hurry or too slow
— Phaedo (Plato)
The hottest love has the coldest end
— Pseudo-Plato, First Alcibiades
No man ever believes that he desires what is bad; he believes rather that what he desires is good for him
— Meno, 77C
Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us
— Plato, Phaedrus
If you had known how to live, you would have known how to die
— Phaedo
Virtue does not come from wealth, but from virtue comes wealth and every other good of man, public as well as private
— Apology, Socrates’ defense
Strong minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, weak minds discuss people
— Attributed to Socrates (apocryphal)
I am that gadfly which God has attached to the state, and all day long and in all places am always fastening upon you, arousing and persuading and reproaching you
— Apology
To be is to do
— Attributed in Diogenes Laërtius, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers
Let him who would move the world first move himself
— Attributed in various later collections of sayings
I am a midwife, not of bodies, but of souls
— Theaetetus
Let us examine the question together, and let us not assert or accept anything but what we find on examination to be true
— Phaedo
No one who is unjust is happy, and no one who is just is unhappy
— Gorgias
The hour of departure has arrived, and we must go our separate ways; I to die, and you to live; which of us goes to the better lot is known to no one, except the god
— Apology, end
It is better to change an opinion than to persist in a wrong one
— Crito
Through my poverty I bring the greatest benefit to the city
— Apology
In childhood be modest, in youth temperate, in adulthood just, and in old age prudent
— Quoted in Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, Book II
Remember that there is nothing stable in human affairs; therefore avoid undue elation in prosperity, or undue depression in adversity
— Plato, Phaedrus
If the head and the body are to be well, you must begin by curing the soul
— Phaedo
Employ your time in improving yourself by other men’s writings, so that you shall gain easily what others have labored hard for
— Attributed by Diogenes Laertius, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, Book II
The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled
— Plutarch, On Listening to Lectures (attributed to Socrates)
I would rather die having spoken after my manner, than speak in your manner and live
— Apology
Employ your time in improving yourself by other men's writings so that you shall gain easily what others have labored hard for
— Xenophon, Memorabilia Book II
We must not regard what the many say of us, but what he, the one man, who understands justice and injustice, will say, and what the truth will say
— Crito
An unjust life is to be most carefully avoided over death itself
— Crito
A man must be just, not only to his friends but to his enemies
— Crito, 49b-c
The beginning is the most important part of the work
— Republic, Book II
He is a man of courage who does not run away, but remains at his post and fights against the enemy
— Laches, Plato
If all our misfortunes were laid in one common heap, whence everyone must take an equal portion, most people would be content to take their own and depart
— Phædo
No one who errs willingly or does wrong willingly.
— Protagoras
Think not those faithful who praise all thy words and actions, but those who kindly reprove thy faults
— Quoted in Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, Book II
By all means, marry; if you get a good wife, you'll become happy; if you get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher
— Attributed (Various sources), often cited as Socratic but provenance uncertain
No man can be called happy until we see the manner of his death
— Crito, 44a
Employ your time in improving yourself by other men's writings so that you shall come easily by what others have labored hard for
— Attributed by Diogenes Laërtius, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers
Can it be that virtue is not teachable?
— Meno
A life which is unexamined is not worth living, but the truly happy person is one who spends time in self-reflection and care for the soul
— Plato, Apology, 38a (paraphrased variant)
An education obtained with money is worse than no education at all
— Attributed by Diogenes Laertius, Lives of the Eminent Philosophers
I swear by the dog, gentlemen, that I have been so busy with the study of philosophy, that I have had no leisure to attend to any of the affairs of the world
— Apology
Think not of life and children first, and of justice afterwards, but of justice first, that you may be justified before the gods
— Crito
The easiest and noblest way is not to be crushing others, but to be improving yourselves
— Gorgias
To be curious about everything is the mark of a philosopher
— Theaetetus
Can it be that virtue is not teachable?
— Meno
Think not of life and children first, and of justice afterwards, but of justice first, that you may be justified before the gods
— Crito
No one is qualified to become a statesman who is entirely ignorant of the problem of wheat
— Plato, Menexenus
A wise man does not raise his voice, but speaks quietly and is heard
— Attributed (various ancient sources, see Diogenes Laërtius 2.36, as a maxim on wisdom)
Poetry is a form of divine madness
— Phaedrus
A multitude of books, my friend, is a great evil. There is no end to the making of them.
— Phaedrus
Are you not ashamed of caring so much for making money and for fame and prestige, when you neither think nor care about wisdom and truth and the improvement of your soul
— Apology
My plainness of speech makes them hate me, and what is their hatred but a proof that I am speaking the truth?
— Apology, 21e
The greatest blessing granted to mankind come by way of madness, provided the madness is given by divine gift
— Phaedrus
Poetry is a form of divine madness
— Phaedrus, 245a
Let us therefore seize the opportunity and, untrammelled by tradition or custom, investigate what courage is
— Laches, 190e
I am and always have been a man who listens to nothing within me but the inner voice
— Plato, Apology, 33c
Neither to do wrong nor to return a wrong is ever right, nor is it right to defend oneself against injury by retaliation
— Crito
No one is a friend to his friend who does not love in return
— Lysis
No one knows the end, nor where death may await thee; so be ready for anything
— Crito, 43b
The comic poets, I think, are wise men, but without knowing it; and the tragic poets, too, though I once caught one when he was writing a tragedy and asked him what it meant, and he did not know himself
— Apology, 22c
Virtue does not come from wealth, but wealth and every other good thing which men have comes from virtue
— Apology
My advice to you is to get married; if you find a good wife, you'll be happy; if not, you'll become a philosopher
— Attributed to Socrates by Diogenes Laertius, Lives of the Philosophers
If the head and the body are to be well, you must begin by curing the soul
— Phaedo
Are you not ashamed of caring so much for making money and for fame and prestige, when you neither think nor care about wisdom and truth and the improvement of your soul?
— Apology
Once made equal to man, woman becomes his superior
— Plato's 'Gorgias'
The comic poets, I think, are wise men, but without knowing it; and the tragic poets, too, though I once caught one when he was writing a tragedy and asked him what it meant, and he did not know himself
— Apology
He who commits injustice is ever made more wretched than he who suffers it
— Gorgias
Can you tell me, Socrates, whether virtue is acquired by teaching or by practice, or if neither by teaching nor by practice, then whether it comes by nature or in what other way it comes?
— Meno
I pray Thee, O God, that I may be beautiful within
— Phaedrus
No man undertakes a trade he has not learned, even the meanest; yet everyone thinks himself sufficiently qualified for the hardest of all trades – that of government
— Memorabilia (Xenophon)
Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us
— Phaedrus
The poets are only the interpreters of the gods by whom they are severally possessed
— Plato, Apology
False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil
— Phaedo
It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable
— Xenophon, Memorabilia
The nearest way to glory is to strive to be what you wish to be thought to be
— Republic
Think not those faithful who praise all thy words and actions, but those who kindly reprove thy faults
— Socrates as quoted in Diogenes Laërtius, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, Book II
Beware the barrenness of a busy life
— Phaedo
The poets compose poems not by wisdom but by a kind of nature and by inspiration
— Apology
Whenever men are deceived and make mistakes, it is in the pursuit of what they suppose to be good
— Meno
A man who is good for anything ought not to calculate the chance of living or dying; he ought only to consider whether in doing anything he is doing right or wrong
— Apology
He is richest who is content with the least, for content is the wealth of nature
— Xenophon, Memorabilia
If a man wants to succeed in anything, he must give all his energies to that single object and nothing else
— Symposium
A wise man does not raise his voice, but speaks quietly and is heard
— Phaedrus
I only wish that ordinary people had an unlimited capacity for doing harm; then they might have an unlimited power for doing good
— Apology
See whether I am the kind of man who would be likely to try to avoid death at any cost, and to break the laws and go into exile or do anything rather than die.
— Crito
The poets are only the interpreters of the gods by whom they are severally possessed
— Apology
Envy is the ulcer of the soul
— Attributed in Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers
The only true wisdom is to know that one is nothing
— Plato, Theaetetus
Slanderers do not harm those they slander, but themselves
— Apology
No one knows whether death may not be the greatest of all blessings for a man, yet men fear it as if they knew that it is the greatest of evils
— Apology, section 29a
The shortest and surest way to live with honor in the world is to be in reality what we would appear to be
— Socrates in Xenophon, Memorabilia
Is a man any the less good for being able to reason about what is right and what is wrong, and for being able to give a reasoned account of his conduct?
— Plato, Gorgias, 491b-c
Beware the barrenness of a busy life
— Quoted by Stobaeus in Florilegium
Once made equal to man, woman becomes his superior
— Timaeus
I prayed to the god only let me become beautiful in my soul within, and all my outward possessions be in harmony with my inner man
— Phaedrus
Let us inquire, for perhaps by seeking together we will discover what we are aiming at
— Euthyphro, opening conversation
As for me, I know that my wisdom is worth nothing
— Apology
Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel
— Plutarch, Moralia, referencing Socratic teaching
Learning is recollection
— Meno, 81d
To say that you know when you do not is honest to neither yourself nor those around you
— Apology
No man is capable of self-control if he cannot resist pleasure or pain, or fear or desire, or anger
— Phaedrus
See now, I am that gadfly which God has attached to the state, and all day long and in all places am always fastening upon you, arousing and persuading and reproaching you
— Apology
Is not living shamefully and unjustly a greater evil than dying?
— Crito
He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have
— Plato, Phaedo 68b (attributed)
Remember, no human condition is ever permanent. Then you will not be overjoyed in good fortune, nor too sorrowful in misfortune
— Phaedrus
A man must be just, not only to his friends but to his enemies
— Republic
For I suspect that courage is a kind of endurance of the soul
— Laches, 192c
Is a man, in your opinion, any the less good for being able to reason about what is right and wrong and to give an account of his conduct?
— Gorgias
I am one who is willing to be refuted if I say anything untrue, and who is willing to refute anyone else who says what is untrue, and who is just as glad to be refuted as to refute
— Gorgias
An education which is only given by means of words, and which does not go through suffering, cannot bring anyone to knowledge
— Xenophon, Memorabilia II.1.21
Is not the most reprehensible kind of ignorance to think that one knows what one does not know?
— Apology
I am not yet able to know myself; so it seems to me ridiculous, when I do not yet know that, to investigate irrelevant things
— Phaedrus
A man who is good for anything ought not to calculate the chance of living or dying; he ought only to consider whether in doing anything he is doing right or wrong
— Apology
I am a midwife, not of bodies, but of souls
— Theaetetus
Every action has its pleasures and its price
— Gorgias
Be slow to fall into friendship; but when thou art in, continue firm and constant
— Lysis
If a man would be wise, let him associate with those who are wiser than himself
— Symposium
The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be
— Gorgias
Let us now go, for I have been condemned to death by the multitude, and they to ignorance by the truth
— Apology
Let him that would move the world first move himself
— Diogenes Laërtius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, Book II
Virtue does not come from wealth, but wealth and every other good thing which men have comes from virtue
— Plato, Apology, 30b
Worthless people live only to eat and drink; people of worth eat and drink only to live
— Plato, Gorgias
Learning is recollection
— Meno, 81d
Beware the barrenness of a busy life
— Apocryphal (Ancient Testimonia), often attributed in Plutarch
The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise
— Attributed to Socrates, reported by Plato (via various sources), often cited from Plato's Republic
Remember that there is nothing stable in human affairs; therefore avoid undue elation in prosperity, or undue depression in adversity
— Phaedrus
An unexamined life is not worth living
— Apology, during Socrates' trial
An unexamined life is not worth living
— Apology
For the poets tell us that the good are not willing to rule, either for the sake of money or of honor; therefore necessity compels them to rule, because they are not willing to be ruled by worse men than themselves
— Republic, Book I, 347c-d
Let us rise and be going; for when we have done all that we have to do, the night is at hand and time to go home
— Phaedo
If all our misfortunes were laid in one common heap, whence everyone must take an equal portion, most people would be content to take their own and depart
— Attributed by Diogenes Laërtius
I was really too honest a man to be a politician and live
— Apology
If a man is good, he will do what is right, whether he be watched or not; if he is bad, he will do wrong, even if he be watched
— Republic
No man is capable of self-control if he cannot resist pleasure or pain, or fear or desire, or anger
— Xenophon, Memorabilia, Book I
He is a good man who can do good to his friends and evil to his enemies
— Plato, Republic, Book 1
Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us
— Plato, Phaedrus
Let not him who would move the world first move himself
— Phaedrus, 247c (paraphrased/conveyed)
No man is capable of self-control if he cannot resist pleasure or pain, or fear or desire, or anger
— Phaedrus
Wisdom begins in wonder
— Theaetetus
He who would learn must be a lover of inquiry
— Plato, Theaetetus
I would rather be convicted for speaking in my manner, than acquitted for speaking in yours
— Apology
Necessity is the mother of invention
— Republic, Book II
I am not yet able to know myself, so it seems to me ridiculous, when I do not yet know that, to investigate irrelevant things
— Phaedrus
Let us discuss this matter together as friends, and not as adversaries
— Euthyphro
The mind (soul) takes nothing with her to the next world but her education and her nurture
— Phaedo
Let us, then, examine the matter together, and do not let us either speak or act without due consideration
— Crito
Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us
— Xenophon, Memorabilia I.3.2
Learning is recollection
— Meno
Is not the most reprehensible kind of ignorance to think that one knows what one does not know?
— Euthydemus
Be of good cheer, and do not fear death
— Apology
I am not an Athenian or a Greek, but a citizen of the world
— Plutarch, 'On Exile' (attributed to Socrates)
No man is able to choose the better, unless he has been taught by God
— Plato, Phaedrus
To fear death, my friends, is only to think ourselves wise without being wise, for it is to think that we know what we do not know
— Apology, 29a
Employ your time in improving yourself by other men's writings, so that you shall gain easily what others have labored hard for
— attributed by various sources, including Diogenes Laertius
Our prayer should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us
— Phaedrus
The hour of departure has arrived, and we go our separate ways, I to die and you to live; which of us goes to the better fate is known to no one, except the god
— Apology
I am that gadfly which God has attached to the state, and all day long and in all places am always fastening upon you, arousing and persuading and reproaching you
— Apology
Think not those faithful who praise all thy words and actions, but those who kindly reprove thy faults
— Memorabilia, Xenophon, Book II
Under the guidance of the god I have devoted myself to examining myself and others
— Plato, Apology, 28e
Is not living shamefully and unjustly a greater evil than dying?
— Plato, Gorgias 522d
He who would learn must be a lover of inquiry
— Theaetetus
Do not do to others what angers you if done to you by others
— Attributed by Diogenes Laertius, Book II
The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled
— Plutarch, On Listening to Lectures (attributed to Socrates)
The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled
— Plutarch, On Listening to Lectures (attributed to Socrates)
Poetry is a form of divine madness
— Phaedrus, 245a
Be not angry with me if I tell you the truth
— Gorgias
The highest form of human excellence is to question oneself and others
— Attributed in Xenophon's Memorabilia
A man who is good for anything ought not to calculate the chance of living or dying; he ought only to consider whether in doing anything he is doing right or wrong
— Apology
Do not, then, be angry with me if I tell you the truth.
— Apology
Be of good cheer in the face of death and know this as a truth, that no evil can happen to a good man, either in life or after death
— Apology
No one is more hated than he who speaks the truth
— Apology
There is only one good, knowledge, and one evil, ignorance
— Plato, Apology
Be as you wish to seem
— Attributed, Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers
Since I am such as I am, I cannot desert the post to which I believe the god has appointed me
— Apology
I decided that it was not wisdom that enabled poets to write their poetry, but a kind of instinct or inspiration, such as you find in seers and prophets
— Apology, Plato
The beginning of wisdom is a definition of terms
— Phaedrus
Beware the barrenness of a busy life
— Attributed (variously in later sources)
It is better to change an opinion than to persist in a wrong one
— Plato, Gorgias
I am that gadfly which God has attached to the state, and all day long and in all places am always fastening upon you, arousing and persuading and reproaching you
— Plato, Apology
The only true wisdom is to know that you know nothing
— Apology
Nothing is to be preferred before justice
— Crito, 54b
No one is a friend to his friend who does not love in return
— Lysis, 219c (Plato)
We cannot live better than in seeking to become better
— Theaetetus, 176b (by Plato)
I am not so much an instructor of others as an inquirer myself
— Theaetetus
Not life, but good life, is to be chiefly valued
— Crito
To say that you know when you do not is honest to neither yourself nor those around you
— Xenophon, Memorabilia, Book IV
Necessity is the mother of invention
— Republic, Book II
To find yourself, think for yourself
— Attributed in various dialogues (not explicitly found in Plato), generally associated with Socratic philosophy
Be slow to fall into friendship; but when thou art in, continue firm and constant
— Lysis
If all our misfortunes were laid in one common heap, whence everyone must take an equal portion, most people would be content to take their own and depart
— Diogenes Laertius, Lives of the Eminent Philosophers, Book II
Let us inquire what courage is, and do not shrink from the task, but look the truth boldly in the face
— Laches
No evil can happen to a good man, either in life or after death
— Apology
A man who is honest does not fear loss
— Fragments / Attributed, Late Antiquity
Let us examine the question together, and let us not assert or accept anything but what we find on examination to be true
— Phaedrus
I am like a midwife assisting in the birth of ideas, but having no wisdom myself
— Theaetetus
The greatest way of life is to live each day as if it were your last
— Phaedo
I was really too honest a man to be a politician and live
— Apology
True love is not love of the body, but of the soul
— Phaedrus
I swear by the dog, gentlemen, I have been so busy with the study of philosophy that I have had no leisure to attend to any of the affairs of the world
— Apology
If a man is proud of his wealth, he should not be praised until it is known how he employs it
— Apology
For to fear death, gentlemen, is no other than to think oneself wise when one is not, to think one knows what one does not know
— Apology
It is better to change an opinion than to persist in a wrong one
— Gorgias
Remember, my friend, that to be silent and listen is often an art that is more necessary than speaking
— Phaedrus
There is only one good, knowledge, and one evil, ignorance
— Protagoras
My friend, care first and chiefly about the greatest improvement of the soul
— Apology
Are you not ashamed to care so much about making money and to advance your reputation and prestige, when you neither care nor think about wisdom and truth and the perfection of your soul?
— Apology
If a man is proud of his wealth, he should not be praised until it is known how he employs it
— Apology
No man undertakes a trade he has not learned, even the meanest; yet everyone thinks himself sufficiently qualified for the hardest of all trades – that of government
— Memorabilia, Xenophon, Book 3, 9
No evil can happen to a good man, either in life or after death; he and his are not neglected by the gods
— Apology
I would rather die having spoken after my manner, than speak in your manner and live
— Plato, Apology, 38e
No man is able to choose the better, unless he has been taught by God
— Republic
To find the father and mother of this love is not easy
— Symposium
I am not yet able to know myself; so it seems to me ridiculous, when I do not yet know that, to investigate irrelevant things
— Plato, Phaedrus 229e
I am not yet able to know myself; so it seems to me ridiculous, when I do not yet know that, to investigate irrelevant things
— Phaedrus
I pray, O God, that I may be beautiful within
— Phaedrus 279b, Plato
The unexamined life is not worth living
— Apology (section 38a)
Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of—for credit is like fire: once you have kindled it you may easily preserve it, but if you once extinguish it, you will find it an arduous task to rekindle it again
— Memorabilia
I was really too honest a man to be a politician and live
— Apology
Let us examine the question together, and let us not assert or accept anything but what we find on examination to be true
— Euthyphro
Not from wealth does a man become good, but from goodness comes wealth and all other public and private blessings for men
— Apology
Bad men live that they may eat and drink, whereas good men eat and drink that they may live
— Crito
It is better to suffer wrong than to do wrong
— Crito
Remember that there is nothing stable in human affairs; therefore avoid undue elation in prosperity, or undue depression in adversity
— Plato's 'Phaedrus' or 'Apology' (attributed in summary by Xenophon and Plato)
Beware the barrenness of a busy life
— Attributed to Socrates by later sources
I cannot do the injustice I know to be wrong, whatever the majority may say
— Crito
Employ your time in improving yourself by other men's writings so that you shall come easily by what others have labored hard for
— Prologue to Xenophon's Memorabilia
I am wiser than this man; it is likely that neither of us knows anything worthwhile, but he thinks he knows something when he does not, whereas when I do not know, neither do I think I know
— Apology
The mind is everything; what you think you become
— Attributed (see Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers)
An unjust life is to be most carefully avoided over death itself
— Gorgias, section 522d
The misuse of language induces evil in the soul
— Cratylus
The highest form of human excellence is to question oneself and others
— Apology
Let us take counsel together; for in matters which we do not know, we must seek counsel and learn from each other
— Laches
I am not a man who knows, but rather one who inquires
— Theaetetus, 150c
Let us consider, then, whether the just man is happier than the unjust man, even though he may seem to be so only to the gods and not to men.
— Republic, Book I
Not life, but good life, is to be chiefly valued
— Crito
I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing
— Apology, 21d
No one who has not made the trial of arguments and experienced what they can do is ever sufficiently eager to want to know the truth about anything
— Phaedo
The poets compose their poems not by wisdom, but by a kind of inspiration and by being possessed
— Apology
Be of good cheer about death, and know this of a truth: that no evil can happen to a good man, either in life or after death
— Apology, 41d
The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance
— Laws
Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of
— Apology
I am that gadfly which God has attached to the state, and all day long and in all places am always fastening upon you, arousing and persuading and reproaching you
— Apology
Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of—for credit is like fire: when once you have kindled it you may easily preserve it, but if you once extinguish it, you will find it an arduous task to rekindle it again
— Crito
No one who has not made the trial of arguments and experienced what they can do is ever sufficiently eager to want to know the truth about anything
— Phaedo
No one has a right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training
— Republic, Book III
No man is capable of self-control if he cannot resist pleasure or pain, or fear or desire, or anger
— Phaedrus
When men speak ill of you, live so that nobody may believe them
— Plato, Gorgias
Envy is the ulcer of the soul
— Plutarch, 'Moralia', quoting Socrates
Employ your time in improving yourself by other men's writings so that you shall come easily by what others have labored hard for
— Apology (also attributed in various dialogues)
Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of—for credit is like fire: when once you have kindled it you may easily preserve it, but if you once extinguish it, you will find it an arduous task to rekindle it again
— Apology
Let us therefore seize the opportunity and, untrammelled by tradition or custom, investigate what courage is
— Plato, Laches, 190b
Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us
— Phaedrus
An education obtained with money is worse than no education at all
— Memorabilia (Xenophon)
Be slow to censure, but quick to learn
— Lysis
My advice to you is get married: if you find a good wife you'll be happy; if not, you'll become a philosopher
— Diogenes Laërtius, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers
Be sure that the next thing for us to attend to is not whether we shall live or die, but whether we live well or ill
— Crito (Plato)
I am not so much an instructor of others as an inquirer myself
— Theaetetus
Beware the barrenness of a busy life
— Attributed to Socrates in multiple sources
Wonder is the beginning of philosophy
— Theaetetus, 155d
Once made equal to man, woman becomes his superior
— Socrates as quoted by Diogenes Laertius
If the head and the body are to be well, you must begin by curing the soul
— Plato, Charmides
The comic poets, I think, are wise men, but without knowing it; and the tragic poets, too, though I once caught one when he was writing a tragedy and asked him what it meant, and he did not know himself
— Apology (when discussing poets)
One thing only I know, and that is that I know nothing
— Apology
A man must be able to endure poverty, for many noble souls have been ruined by wealth
— Xenophon, Memorabilia, Book II, Chapter 1
Let us seek, then, if we can, what courage is
— Laches
The poets do not compose their poems with knowledge, but with a certain natural gift and inspiration, like diviners
— Apology
All the gold which is under or upon the earth is not enough to give in exchange for virtue
— Apology
No man errs willingly, but only from ignorance
— Plato, Meno 77b
Do not do to others what angers you if done to you by others
— Crito
He is richest who is content with the least, for content is the wealth of nature
— Xenophon, 'Symposium'
Strong minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, weak minds discuss people
— Attributed to Socrates; widely cited without an original ancient source
See whether I am the kind of man who would be likely to try to avoid death at any cost, and to break the laws and go into exile or do anything rather than die
— Plato, Crito 46b
Let no one, even in jest, do or say what is not right
— Laws (via Plato), Book XI
Employ your time in improving yourself by other men's writings so that you shall gain easily what others have labored hard for
— As quoted in Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers (Diogenes Laertius)
Remember, my friend, that to be silent and listen is often an art that is more necessary than speaking
— Phaedrus
The unexamined life is not worth living for a human being
— Apology, 38a
The misuse of language induces evil in the soul
— Plato, Phaedrus
No man is capable of self-control if he cannot resist pleasure or pain, or fear or desire, or anger
— Plato, Phaedo
If a man is proud of his wealth, he should not be praised until it is known how he employs it
— Apology
I would rather be convicted for speaking in my manner, than acquitted for speaking in yours
— Apology
The comic poet is wise without knowing it, and the tragic poet too; they are inspired and possessed
— Apology, examining the poets
The poets compose their poems not by wisdom, but by a kind of inspiration and by being possessed
— Apology
It is better to suffer wrong than to do wrong
— Gorgias
The easiest and noblest way is not to be crushing others, but to be improving yourselves
— Apology
Do not do to others what angers you if done to you by others
— Crito
Remember that there is nothing stable in human affairs; therefore avoid undue elation in prosperity, or undue depression in adversity
— Phaedo
No one who is unjust is happy, and no one who is just is unhappy
— Gorgias
Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of—for credit is like fire: when once you have kindled it you may easily preserve it, but if you once extinguish it, you will find it an arduous task to rekindle it again
— Apology
I know that I know nothing
— Apology 21d
Are you not ashamed of caring so much for making money and for fame and prestige, when you neither think nor care about wisdom and truth and the improvement of your soul?
— Apology
Learning is recollection
— Meno, 81d
The poets compose poems by the help of the Muses, and are possessed and inspired; they do not compose them by the rules of art
— Apology
One ought never to do wrong in return, nor mistreat any man, no matter how one has been mistreated by him
— Crito, section 49c
To find yourself, think for yourself
— Phaedrus
An honest man is always a child
— Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers
No one desires evil
— Plato, Protagoras 345d
Let not him who is eager to persuade, nor yet him who is eager to be persuaded, mistrust the impulse of love; for love is not only in the beloved, but also in the lover
— Phaedrus
No man should bring children into the world who is unwilling to persevere to the end in their nurture and education
— The Republic, Book V
The comic poets, I think, are wise men, but without knowing it; and the tragic poets, too, though I once caught one when he was writing a tragedy and asked him what it meant, and he did not know himself
— Apology (22b-c)
If you kill me, you will not easily find another like me, who, if I may use such a ludicrous figure of speech, am a sort of gadfly, given to the state by the god
— Apology
To live with honor, one must be what one pretends to be
— Plato, Gorgias
I decided that it was not wisdom that enabled poets to write their poetry, but a kind of instinct or inspiration, such as you find in seers and prophets
— Plato, Apology
If all our misfortunes were laid in one common heap, whence everyone must take an equal portion, most people would be content to take their own and depart
— Philebus
In childhood be modest, in youth temperate, in adulthood just, and in old age prudent
— Pseudo-Platonic Letters
Let whoever of you is willing, follow me, for perhaps in following the argument we may find what we are seeking
— Meno, section 80d
Be slow to censure, but quick to learn
— Laches (Dialogue)
No evil can happen to a good man, either in life or after death, for the gods take care of him
— Apology, Plato
No man should bring children into the world who is unwilling to persevere to the end in their nurture and education
— Republic, Book V, 460b
Remember that there is nothing stable in human affairs; therefore avoid undue elation in prosperity, or undue depression in adversity
— Phaedrus
To find yourself, think for yourself
— Plato, Theaetetus
A wise man does not raise his voice, but speaks quietly and is heard
— Attributed to Socrates
If a man is proud of his wealth, he should not be praised until it is known how he employs it
— Unknown/attributed in Plutarch's Moralia
If the head and the body are to be well, you must begin by curing the soul
— Republic, Book III
Learning is recollection
— Meno
No one knows the end, nor where death may await you; so be ready for anything
— Xenophon, Memorabilia, Book III
It is not difficult to avoid death, gentlemen; it is much more difficult to avoid wickedness, for it runs faster than death
— Apology
A wise man does not raise his voice, but speaks quietly and is heard
— Fragment attributed to Socrates, from later sources (Diogenes Laertius)
Let us examine the matter together, and do not let us either act or speak as if we were asleep
— Euthyphro, Section 14e
I swear by the dog, gentlemen, that I have been so busy with the study of philosophy, that I have had no leisure to attend to any of the affairs of the world
— Apology
Wealth does not bring about excellence, but excellence makes wealth and everything else good for men, both individually and collectively
— Apology
To express oneself badly is not only faulty as far as the language goes, but it does some harm to the soul
— Phaedrus
Poetry is a form of divine madness
— Phaedrus
A house that has a bad neighbor is in a state of siege
— Republic, Book II
A multitude of books, my friend, is a great evil. There is no end to the making of them
— Ecclesiastical History by Socrates Scholasticus (attribution uncertain / tradition)
Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of
— Crito
Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of—for credit is like fire: once you have kindled it you may easily preserve it, but if you once extinguish it, you will find it an arduous task to rekindle it again
— Crito
It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable
— Xenophon, Memorabilia
True wisdom comes to each of us when we realize how little we understand about life, ourselves, and the world around us
— Plato, Apology (paraphrased summary of Socratic attitude)
A system of morality which is based on relative emotional values is a mere illusion, a thoroughly vulgar conception which has nothing sound in it and nothing true
— Gorgias
The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be
— Gorgias
I am not wise, nor have I any wise thing about me
— Apology 21b
The greatest way of speaking is to speak the truth
— Gorgias
When desire and reason are opposed, there is a civil war within the soul
— Phaedrus
Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of
— Gorgias
The soul takes nothing with her to the next world but her education and her nurture
— Phaedo
Speak, so that I may see you
— Attributed by Plutarch, Moralia
The beginning of wisdom is a definition of terms
— Plato, Phaedrus 263e
I know that I am intelligent, because I know that I know nothing
— Apology
Crito, we ought to offer a cock to Asclepius. See to it, and don't forget
— Phaedo (Socrates’ last words)
The most important thing is not life, but the good life
— Crito
Whenever men are deceived and make mistakes, it is in the pursuit of what they suppose to be good
— Protagoras
No man is qualified to become a statesman who is entirely ignorant of the problems of wheat
— Xenophon, Memorabilia 3.4.6
If a man neglects education, he walks lame to the end of his life
— Crito
False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil
— Phaedo
Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of—for credit is like fire: when once you have kindled it you may easily preserve it, but if you once extinguish it, you will find it an arduous task to rekindle it again
— Crito
The poets do not compose their poems with knowledge, but with a certain natural gift and inspiration, like diviners
— Apology
The soul takes nothing with her to the next world but her education and her nurture
— Phaedo
It is not living that matters, but living rightly
— Crito
No one knows whether death may not be the greatest good that can happen to man
— Apology
Is a man any the less good for being able to reason about what is right and what is wrong, and for being able to give a reasoned account of his conduct?
— Gorgias
I swear by the dog, gentlemen, that I have been so busy with the study of philosophy, that I have had no leisure to attend to any of the affairs of the world
— Plato, 'Apology', section 23b
Do not do to others what angers you if done to you by others
— Crito
Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us
— Phaedrus
See now how much better is it to be refuted than to refute, for it is a greater good to get rid of a great evil in oneself than to get rid of it in another
— Gorgias (458a)
Where there is reverence there is fear, but there is not reverence everywhere that there is fear, because fear presumably has a wider extension than reverence
— Euthyphro, section 12a
Contentment is natural wealth, luxury is artificial poverty
— Attributed by Plutarch, On the Tranquility of Mind
Is not the most reprehensible kind of ignorance to think that one knows what one does not know
— Euthydemus
If you think that a man who is worth anything ought to spend his time weighing up the prospects of life and death, you are mistaken
— Apology
No one knows whether death may not be the greatest of all blessings for a man, yet men fear it as if they knew that it is the greatest of evils
— Apology
Every action has its pleasures and its price
— Phaedo
No man is qualified to become a statesman who is entirely ignorant of the problems of wheat
— Republic, Book II
If anyone tells you that a certain person speaks ill of you, do not make excuses about what is said of you but answer, He was ignorant of my other faults, else he would have not mentioned these alone
— Diogenes Laertius, Lives of the Eminent Philosophers
I prayed to the god, only let me become beautiful in my soul within, and all my outward possessions be in harmony with the inner man
— Phaedrus
From the deepest desires often come the deadliest hate
— Phaedrus
To say I know something when I do not know, is dishonest, both to myself and to those around me
— Apology
The hour of departure has arrived, and we go our ways; I to die, and you to live. Which is better, God only knows
— Apology
No one who has not made the trial of arguments and experienced what they can do is ever sufficiently eager to want to know the truth about anything
— Phaedo
No evil can happen to a good man, either in life or after death, for the gods take care of him
— Apology
No evil can happen to a good man, either in life or after death
— Plato, Apology, 41d
Necessity is the mother of invention
— Republic, Book II
Remember that there is nothing stable in human affairs; therefore avoid undue elation in prosperity, or undue depression in adversity
— Phaedo
No man desires bad things; if he desires what is bad, he believes them to be good for him and is therefore, in fact, desiring good things
— Meno
You must regard as philosophers only those who love the truth
— Plato, Republic, 475e
I am that gadfly which the god has attached to the state, and all day long and in all places am always fastening upon you, arousing and persuading and reproaching you
— Apology, his defense speech
The poets are only the interpreters of the gods by whom they are severally possessed
— Apology, 22b
Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us
— Xenophon, 'Memorabilia', Book III
The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing
— Apology
He who would upset the established order must first become master of himself
— Gorgias
The only true wisdom is knowing that you know nothing
— Apology
Every action has its pleasures and its price
— Gorgias
A man who is afraid of death is not fit to live
— Apology
The hour of departure has arrived, and we go our ways; I to die, and you to live. Which is better only God knows
— Apology, closing statement
If a man is proud of his wealth, he should not be praised until it is known how he employs it
— Apology
Is it not a great evil to live in fear and be always defending oneself?
— Apology
I would rather be convicted for speaking in my manner, than acquitted for speaking in yours
— Apology
I am like a gadfly, given to the State by the god, and the State is like a great and noble horse which is sluggish because of its size and needs to be stirred into life
— Apology
If you want to be a good saddler, saddle the worst horse; for if you can tame one, you can tame all
— Lysis
Let us examine the question together, and do not let us either assert or deny anything except what we are compelled by reason to believe
— Phaedrus
Remember, there is nothing stable in human affairs; therefore avoid undue elation in prosperity, or undue depression in adversity
— Plato, Phaedo, 60b
Consider then, that the greatest of all goods enjoyed by me is this service of the god to you, in arousing and persuading and upbraiding every one of you
— Apology
Think not those faithful who praise all thy words and actions, but those who kindly reprove thy faults
— Phaedrus
No one has a right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training. It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable
— Xenophon, Memorabilia, III.12
My plainness of speech makes them hate me, and what is their hatred but a proof that I am speaking the truth?
— Apology
The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing
— Plato, Apology
Wonder is the feeling of a philosopher, and philosophy begins in wonder
— Theaetetus, 155d
I am not an Athenian nor a Greek, but a citizen of the world
— Plutarch, On Exile
A man must be able to endure poverty, for many noble souls have been ruined by wealth
— Xenophon, Memorabilia, Book I, Chapter 2
Wonder is the beginning of wisdom
— Theaetetus
He who would learn must be a lover of inquiry
— Theaetetus
I am a midwife, not of bodies, but of souls
— Theaetetus
I was attached to this city by the god—as upon a great and noble horse which was somewhat sluggish because of its size, and needed to be stirred up by a kind of gadfly
— Apology
I pray Thee, O God, that I may be beautiful within
— Plato, Phaedrus, 279c
No man voluntarily pursues evil, or that which he thinks to be evil; to prefer good to evil is in human nature
— Meno
Nothing is to be preferred before justice
— Gorgias
If the head and the body are to be well, you must begin by curing the soul
— Charmides
Let us take counsel together; for in matters which we do not know, we must seek counsel and learn from each other
— Protagoras (Plato, 348e)
Is it not a great evil to live in fear and be always defending oneself?
— Plato, Apology
No wealth can ever make a bad man at peace with himself
— Crito
Are not the wisest those who are most aware of their own limitations?
— Phaedrus 229e
If you had known how to live, you would have known how to die
— Crito
I am not yet able to know myself; so it seems to me ridiculous, when I do not yet know that, to investigate irrelevant things
— Phaedrus
The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be
— Gorgias, 470e
I was really too honest a man to be a politician and live
— Apology
It is better to change an opinion than to persist in a wrong one
— Dialogues (Various)
We cannot live better than in seeking to become better
— Theaetetus
Crito, we owe a cock to Asclepius. See to it, and don't forget
— Phaedo, 118a
No man is able to choose the better, unless he has been taught by God
— Meno
To fear death, gentlemen, is no other than to think oneself wise when one is not, to think one knows what one does not know
— Apology
If all our misfortunes were laid in one common heap, whence everyone must take an equal portion, most people would be content to take their own and depart
— Apology
No man is capable of self-control if he cannot resist pleasure or pain, or fear or desire, or anger
— Phaedrus 237d
If you had known how to live, you would have known how to die
— Plato, Phaedo 64a
I am not so much an instructor of others as a fellow inquirer, and I only seek to learn together, in dialogue, what we do not already know.
— Theaetetus
Bad men live that they may eat and drink, whereas good men eat and drink that they may live
— Crito
To prefer evil to good is not in human nature; and when a man is compelled to choose one of two evils, no one will choose the greater when he might have the less
— Protagoras
Contentment is natural wealth, luxury is artificial poverty
— Attributed in Diogenes Laertius, Lives of the Eminent Philosophers
If the head and the body are to be well, you must begin by curing the soul
— Phaedrus
The loveliest of all things is to love the truth and not merely to conquer others in argument
— Phaedo
Let us examine, then, what courage is, and do not shrink from the task, but look the truth boldly in the face
— Laches
An honest man is always a child
— Crito
The only thing I fear is that I may do something unjust or impious
— Apology
Let none but he who has a knowledge of geometry enter here
— Republic
Slanderers do not harm those they slander, but themselves
— Apology
The poets compose their poems not by wisdom, but by a kind of inspiration and by being possessed
— Apology
My plainness of speech makes them hate me, and what is their hatred but a proof that I am speaking the truth
— Apology
I am not wise, nor have I any wise thing about me
— Apology
A system of morality which is based on relative emotional values is a mere illusion, a thoroughly vulgar conception which has nothing sound in it and nothing true
— Phaedo
A multitude of books, my friend, is a great evil. There is no end to the making of them
— Phaedrus
A wise man does not raise his voice, but speaks quietly and is heard
— Crito (attributed)
A system of morality which is based on relative emotional values is a mere illusion, a thoroughly vulgar conception which has nothing sound in it and nothing true
— Phaedo
The highest good is the care of the soul
— Apology
Employ your time in improving yourself by other men's writings so that you shall come easily by what others have labored hard for
— Plato, Apology 38a (paraphrased in later tradition)
The greatest way of speaking is to speak the truth
— Xenophon, Apology of Socrates
I would rather suffer wrong than do wrong
— Gorgias
The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be
— Gorgias
Is not the most reprehensible kind of ignorance to think that one knows what one does not know?
— Apology
Remember, no human condition is ever permanent. Then you will not be overjoyed in good fortune, nor too sorrowful in misfortune
— Symposium
No evil can happen to a good man, either in life or after death
— Apology
Be not angry with me if I tell you the truth
— Gorgias, as recounted by Plato
Speak, so that I may see you
— Plutarch, 'Moralia', quoting Socrates
Beware the barrenness of a busy life
— Attributed by Plutarch, On Tranquility of Mind
Be slow to fall into friendship; but when thou art in, continue firm and constant.
— Lysis (Plato)
See whether I am the kind of man likely to care for anything but the truth
— Apology
Beware the barrenness of a busy life
— Attributed (various ancient sources)
Envy is the ulcer of the soul
— Attributed in Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers
A man must be able to endure poverty, for many noble souls have been ruined by wealth
— Xenophon, Memorabilia
Be slow to censure, but quick to learn
— Stobaeus, Florilegium
Nature has given us two ears, two eyes, and but one tongue—that we may hear and see more than we speak
— Attributed by Diogenes Laërtius, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers
Let us follow the argument wherever it leads
— Phaedo
If a man is proud of his wealth, he should not be praised until it is known how he employs it
— Apology
Those who know the right use of love are, in their intercourse with one another, continually leading each other to that which is like themselves and making themselves better and better, or more godlike
— Symposium, 211c-d
I was attached to this city by the god—as upon a great and noble horse which was somewhat sluggish because of its size, and needed to be stirred up by a kind of gadfly
— Apology
The unexamined life is not worth living for a human being
— Apology, 38a
If a man neglects education, he walks lame to the end of his life
— Protagoras
Shame on you, are you not ashamed to care so much to make money and to advance your reputation and prestige, when you neither care nor think about wisdom and truth and the perfection of your soul?
— Apology
Let us, then, examine the matter together, and do not let us either act or speak as if we were asleep
— Republic (Book V)
The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be
— Gorgias
False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil
— Phaedo
Shame on you, are you not ashamed to care so much to make money and to advance your reputation and prestige, when you neither care nor think about wisdom and truth and the perfection of your soul?
— Apology
The beginning is the most important part of the work
— Republic, Book II
Learning is recollection.
— Meno
Beware the barrenness of a busy life
— Attributed by Plutarch, Moralia
Every action has its pleasures and its price
— Gorgias
To do injustice is a greater evil than to suffer it
— Gorgias
For this fear of death is indeed the pretense of wisdom, and not real wisdom, being a pretense of knowing the unknown
— Apology
I pray Thee, O God, that I may be beautiful within
— Phaedrus
If the whole world were to come together and accuse me, they could not convict me of doing any wrong to any man, great or small
— Apology
He who learns but does not think, is lost. He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger
— quoted in Diogenes Laertius, Lives of the Eminent Philosophers
Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us
— Plato, Phaedrus (and other dialogues)
For the poets tell us that the good are not willing to rule, either for the sake of money or of honor; they do not wish to be openly greedy of money, or to take by force, and they are not ambitious; therefore necessity compels them to rule, because they are not willing to be ruled by worse men than themselves
— Republic, Book I
An honest man is always a child
— Plato, Symposium 216c
I would fain be as I am, and have the voice which the God has given me, and let my children be as they are
— Phaedo
I wonder if other people feel as I do: that as soon as they begin to think about something, the argument in their own mind drags them off in one direction and then in another
— Phaedo
The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled
— Plutarch, On Listening to Lectures, attributed to Socrates
When desire and reason are opposed, there is a civil war within the soul
— Republic, Book IV
A house that has a bad neighbor is in a state of siege
— Gorgias
One ought never to do wrong in return, nor mistreat any man, no matter how one has been mistreated by him
— Crito, 49c-d
It is not living that matters, but living rightly
— Plato, Crito
Learning is recollection
— Meno
A system of morality which is based on relative emotional values is a mere illusion, a thoroughly vulgar conception which has nothing sound in it and nothing true
— Gorgias
Virtue does not come from money, but from virtue comes money and every other good of man, public as well as private
— Apology
No man undertakes a trade he has not learned, even the meanest; yet everyone thinks himself sufficiently qualified for the hardest of all trades – that of government
— Xenophon, Memorabilia
My friend, care first and foremost about the improvement of your soul
— Crito
If the head and the body are to be well, you must begin by curing the soul
— Alcibiades I
The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance
— Laches
I swear by the dog, gentlemen, that I have been so busy with the study of philosophy, that I have had no leisure to attend to any of the affairs of the world
— Apology, 23b
Be slow to fall into friendship; but when you are in, continue firm and constant
— Lysis
Remember, my friend, that to be silent and listen is often an art that is more necessary than speaking
— Phaedrus
The nearest way to glory is to strive to be what you wish to be thought to be
— Socrates, quoted in Xenophon, Memorabilia 2.6.39
A multitude of books, my friend, is a great evil. There is no end to the making of them.
— Phaedrus
Do you think that the man who is just is happier than the man who is unjust?
— Republic, Book I
The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled
— Plutarch’s Moralia (ascribed to Socrates)
The greatest way of speaking is to speak the truth
— Xenophon, Memorabilia
A man must be able to endure poverty, for many noble souls have been ruined by wealth
— Xenophon, Memorabilia 1.2.6
If a man is proud of his wealth, he should not be praised until it is known how he employs it
— Oeconomicus (Xenophon)
No one is a friend to his friend who does not love in return
— Lysis
See whether I am the kind of man who would be likely to try to avoid death at any cost, and to break the laws and go into exile or do anything rather than die
— Apology
If anyone desires to have a wife, he must first consider whether he will be able to endure her
— ascribed to Socrates by Diogenes Laertius, 'Lives of the Eminent Philosophers', Book II
Bad men live that they may eat and drink, whereas good men eat and drink that they may live
— Plato's Gorgias
Remember that there is nothing stable in human affairs; therefore avoid undue elation in prosperity, or undue depression in adversity
— Plato, Phaedrus
Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of
— Apolology
Let us follow the argument wherever it leads
— Phaedo
I pray Thee, O God, that I may be beautiful within
— Phaedrus, 279c
In every one of us, there are two ruling and directing principles, whose guidance we follow wherever they may lead; the one is the innate desire of pleasure, the other is the acquired opinion of the best
— Phaedrus
A man who really fights for justice must lead a private, not a public life, if he is to survive for even a short time
— Apology 31e
There is no greater evil one can suffer than to hate reasonable discourse
— Phaedo
It is not I who am wise, but the god; and by his oracle he means to show that the wisdom of men is worth little or nothing
— Apology 23a, Plato
False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil
— Phaedo
By all means, get married; if you get a good wife, you'll be happy; if you get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher
— Attributed to Socrates (by Diogenes Laertius, 'Lives of Eminent Philosophers')
No one who errs knowingly or does wrong willingly
— Protagoras
Strong minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, weak minds discuss people
— Attributed; not found in Plato but commonly linked to Socratic thought
When the debate is lost, slander becomes the tool of the loser
— Attributed (but often cited as Socratic wisdom)
See whether I am the kind of man who would be likely to try to avoid death at any cost, and to break the laws and go into exile or do anything rather than die
— Crito
No wealth can bring joy to one who is not wise and good
— Phaedo
The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be
— Gorgias
A man who is afraid of death is not fit to live
— Gorgias
No man has the right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training. It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable
— Attributed by Xenophon, Memorabilia
If a man would move the world, he must first move himself
— Xenophon (Mary Ellen Chase translation, attributed saying)
When the debate is lost, slander becomes the tool of the loser
— Attributed to Socrates in later sources; not found in Plato or Xenophon
I swear by the dog, gentlemen, that I have been so busy with the study of philosophy, that I have had no leisure to attend to any of the affairs of the world
— Apology (Plato)
No man is able to choose the better, unless he has been taught by God
— Theaetetus
Can it be that virtue is not teachable?
— Meno
I am not an Athenian or a Greek, but a citizen of the world
— Plutarch, Of Banishment
Let us follow the argument wherever it leads
— Phaedo
I am not wise, neither have I any wise thing in me
— Apology
As the sun does not wait for prayers and incantations to rise, but shines on all, so you also do not wait for applause and shouts of admiration, but be a sun and shine on all
— Attributed by Plutarch, Moralia
No man is qualified to become a statesman who is entirely ignorant of the problems of wheat
— Plato, The Republic, Book II
The comic poet is wise without knowing it, and the tragic poet too; they are inspired and possessed
— Apology
Is a man, in your opinion, any the less good for being able to reason about what is right and wrong and to give an account of his conduct?
— Euthydemus (278d)
Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us
— Xenophon, Memorabilia, Book III, Chapter 13
See whether I am the kind of man likely to care for anything but the truth
— Apology, 31B
All men's souls are immortal, but the souls of the righteous are immortal and divine
— Xenophon, Memorabilia
The poets are only the interpreters of the gods by whom they are severally possessed
— Apology
Be slow to fall into friendship; but when you are in, continue firm and constant
— Lysis
False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil
— Phaedo, 91c
No man willingly errs, or willingly does evil; but all who do evil do so against their will
— Meno
Let whoever of you is willing, follow me, for perhaps in following the argument we may find what we are seeking
— Republic, Book I
Virtue does not come from money, but from virtue comes money and every other good of man, public as well as private
— Apology
A man who is good for anything ought not to calculate the chance of living or dying; he ought only to consider whether in doing anything he is doing right or wrong
— Apology, addressing the jury
The hottest love has the coldest end
— Plato, 'Phaedrus'
Let us inquire what piety is, and do not let us either act or speak as if we knew when we do not know
— Euthyphro, 5C
No man voluntarily pursues evil, or that which he thinks to be evil; to prefer good to evil is in human nature
— Protagoras
Contentment is natural wealth, luxury is artificial poverty
— Plutarch, Moralia
I am not so much an instructor of others as an inquirer myself
— Theaetetus
No one knows whether death may not be the greatest of all blessings for a man, yet men fear it as if they knew that it is the greatest of evils
— Apology
Let him who would move the world first move himself
— Phaedrus
Let us, then, examine the matter together, and do not let us either speak or act without due consideration
— Phaedo
Let him that would move the world first move himself
— Socrates as quoted in Diogenes Laërtius, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, Book II
A man must be able to endure poverty, for many noble souls have been ruined by wealth
— Apology
Neither to do wrong nor to return a wrong is ever right, nor is it right to defend oneself against injury by retaliation
— Crito
Is not living shamefully and unjustly a greater evil than dying?
— Crito
See whether I am the kind of man likely to care for anything but the truth
— Apology
Let whoever of you is willing, follow me, for perhaps in following the argument we may find what we are seeking
— Meno
Neither to do wrong nor to return a wrong is ever right, nor is it right to defend oneself against injury by retaliation
— Crito
Consider then, that the greatest of all goods enjoyed by me is this service of the god to you, in arousing and persuading and upbraiding every one of you
— Apology
All men's souls are immortal, but the souls of the righteous are immortal and divine
— Meno
I decided that it was not wisdom that enabled poets to write their poetry, but a kind of instinct or inspiration, such as you find in seers and prophets
— Apology, 22b-22c
Remember that there is nothing stable in human affairs; therefore avoid undue elation in prosperity, or undue depression in adversity
— Phaedrus
A system of education which sets out to produce learned men rather than good men is worth nothing
— Plato, Meno
Slanderers do not harm those they slander, but themselves
— Apology
If the head and the body are to be well, you must begin by curing the soul
— Phaedrus
No evil can happen to a good man, either in life or after death; he and his are not neglected by the gods
— Apology
I am that gadfly which God has attached to the state, and all day long and in all places am always fastening upon you, arousing and persuading and reproaching you
— Apology
The comic poet is wise without knowing it, and the tragic poet too
— Symposium
False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil
— Phaedo
There is only one good, knowledge, and one evil, ignorance
— Protagoras (Plato)
An unexamined life is not worth living for men
— Apology, Plato
Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us
— Plato, Phaedrus
I swear by the dog, gentlemen, I have been so busy with the study of philosophy that I have had no leisure to attend to any of the affairs of the world
— Apology
The only true wisdom is in recognizing that you know nothing.
— Plato, Apology (variation but distinct phrasing)
We must not regard what the many say of us, but what he, the one man who understands justice and injustice, will say, and what the truth will say
— Crito, 48a
No one who acts with intelligence does evil, but it is through ignorance that men do harm
— Protagoras
Virtue does not come from money, but from virtue comes money and every other good of man, public as well as private
— Apology, 30B
The mind (soul) takes nothing with her to the next world but her education and her nurture
— Phaedo
A man who is good for anything ought not to calculate the chance of living or dying; he ought only to consider whether in doing anything he is doing right or wrong
— Apology
The most important thing is not life, but the good life
— Crito, 48b
Let no one, even in jest, do or say what is not right
— Plato, Laws
Shame on you, are you not ashamed to care so much to make money and to advance your reputation and prestige, when you neither care nor think about wisdom and truth and the perfection of your soul?
— Apology
Not life, but good life, is to be chiefly valued
— Crito
If you want to be a good saddler, saddle the worst horse; for if you can tame one, you can tame all
— Xenophon, Memorabilia (Book 3, Chapter 12)
The hour of departure has arrived, and we go our ways—I to die, and you to live. Which is better God only knows
— Apology, 42a
Let not him who would move the world, first move himself
— Phaedrus
Remember, no human condition is ever permanent. Then you will not be overjoyed in good fortune, nor too sorrowful in misfortune
— Plato, Symposium (possibly paraphrased)
Let no one, even in jest, do or say what is not right
— Phaedo
I would rather suffer wrong than do wrong
— Gorgias
Let us examine the matter together, and do not let us either act or speak as if we were asleep
— Republic, Book V
I am that gadfly which God has attached to the state, and all day long and in all places am always fastening upon you, arousing and persuading and reproaching you
— Apology, Socrates’ defense
I am and always have been a man who listens to nothing within me but the inner voice
— Apology
False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil
— Phaedo
Remember that there is nothing stable in human affairs; therefore avoid undue elation in prosperity, or undue depression in adversity
— Phaedrus
Let us reflect, then, that the greatest good for a man is to discuss virtue every day
— Apology
Let us follow the argument wherever it leads
— Phaedo
By all means marry; if you get a good wife, you'll become happy; if you get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher
— Attributed to Socrates, via Diogenes Laertius, 'Lives of the Eminent Philosophers'
True love is not love of the body, but of the soul
— Symposium
False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil
— Phaedo
In childhood be modest, in youth temperate, in adulthood just, and in old age prudent
— Quoted in Diogenes Laertius, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, Book II
No one desires evil
— Protagoras, 345d
Once made equal to man, woman becomes his superior
— Phaedo
Nature has given us two ears, two eyes, and but one tongue—to the end that we should hear and see more than we speak
— Attributed in Diogenes Laërtius, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers
Employ your time in improving yourself by other men's writings so that you shall gain easily what others have labored hard for
— Quoted by Plutarch, On Listening to Lectures
No wealth can bring joy to one who is not wise and good
— Gorgias
No man undertakes a trade he has not learned; even the meanest, yet everyone thinks himself sufficiently qualified for the hardest of all trades, that of government
— Republic, Book 3
I am not so much an instructor of others as an inquirer myself
— Meno
How many are the things I can do without
— Xenophon, Memorabilia Book I
The highest good is the care of the soul
— Apology
Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us
— Xenophon, Memorabilia
As the sun does not wait for prayers and incantations to rise, but shines on all, so you also do not wait for applause and shouts of admiration, but be a sun and shine on all
— Theaetetus
No man undertakes a trade he has not learned, even the meanest; yet everyone thinks himself sufficiently qualified for the hardest of all trades, that of government
— Republic Book III
Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of
— Crito, section 47a
I am not wise, nor have I any wise thing about me
— Apology 21b
No man has the right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training. It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable.
— Attributed to Socrates by various ancient sources; Diogenes Laërtius, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers
In politics, it is not so much knowledge but wisdom that is required
— Plato, Laches
I prayed to the god only let me become beautiful in my soul within, and all my outward possessions be in harmony with my inner man
— Phaedrus
The highest good is the care of the soul
— Apology, central theme
The comic poets, I think, are wise men, but without knowing it; and the tragic poets, too, though I once caught one when he was writing a tragedy and asked him what it meant, and he did not know himself
— Apology, 22c
A man must be able to endure poverty, for many noble souls have been ruined by wealth
— Crito
No evil can happen to a good man, either in life or after death
— Apology
He who commits injustice is ever made more wretched than he who suffers it
— Gorgias
The hour of departure has arrived, and we go our ways—I to die, and you to live. Which is better only God knows
— Apology
If you want to be a good saddler, saddle the worst horse; for if you can tame one, you can tame all
— Xenophon, Memorabilia
No human thing is of serious importance
— Phaedo
I swear by the dog, gentlemen, I have been so busy with the study of philosophy that I have had no leisure to attend to any of the affairs of the world
— Plato, Apology, 23b
Learning is recollection
— Plato, Meno
Call no man happy until he is dead
— Plato, Phaedo
No amount of happiness can make an unjust life a good one
— Republic, Book II
No man is qualified to become a statesman who is entirely ignorant of the problems of wheat
— Plato, The Republic, Book II
False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil
— Phaedo
Remember that there is nothing stable in human affairs; therefore avoid undue elation in prosperity, or undue depression in adversity
— Plato, Phaedrus
See whether I am the kind of man likely to care for anything but the truth
— Plato, Apology, 38d
A system of education which sets out to produce learned men rather than good men is worth nothing
— Gorgias
Let us examine, then, what courage is, and do not shrink from the task, but look the truth boldly in the face
— Laches
A man who is good for anything ought not to calculate the chance of living or dying; he ought only to consider whether in doing anything he is doing right or wrong
— Apology
He who learns but does not think, is lost. He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger
— Attributed to Socrates (not in primary sources)
If a man is proud of his wealth, he should not be praised until it is known how he employs it
— Apology
Be slow to fall into friendship; but when you are in, continue firm and constant
— Lysis
How many are the things I can do without
— As related by Xenophon (Memorabilia, Book I)
Do not do to others what angers you if done to you by others
— Crito
I am quite sure that if I do what is just, I shall have nothing to fear from those who are here or from anyone else
— Apology, spoken to the jurors at his trial
The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled
— Apparently reported by Plutarch, On Listening to Lectures
No one desires evil
— Protagoras, 345d
He is richest who is content with the least, for content is the wealth of nature
— Attributed in Diogenes Laertius, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers
False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil
— Phaedo
The mind (soul) takes nothing with her to the next world but her education and her nurture
— Phaedo, 107d
The unexamined life is not worth living
— Apology
The unexamined life is not worth living for a human being
— Apology, 38a
From the deepest desires often come the deadliest hate
— Phaedrus, 238c
Bad men live that they may eat and drink, whereas good men eat and drink that they may live
— Gorgias
Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of, for credit is like fire: once you have kindled it you may easily preserve it, but if you once extinguish it, you will find it an arduous task to rekindle it again
— Memorabilia
No human thing is of serious importance
— Phaedo
If the whole world were to come together and accuse me, they could not convict me of doing any wrong to any man, great or small
— Apology
The lover is more divine than the beloved, because he is inspired by God
— Phaedrus
I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing
— Apology
Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of
— Plato, Apology
By all means marry; if you get a good wife, you'll be happy; if you get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher
— Attributed to Socrates (ancient anecdote)
The greatest way of speaking is to speak the truth
— Gorgias
To fear death, gentlemen, is no other than to think oneself wise when one is not, to think one knows what one does not know
— Apology, Plato
Learning is recollection
— Meno
No man undertakes a trade he has not learned, even the meanest; yet everyone thinks himself sufficiently qualified for the hardest of all trades—that of government
— Memorabilia IV.2, Xenophon
Neither to do wrong nor to return a wrong is ever right, nor is it right to defend oneself against injury by retaliation
— Plato, Crito, 49c-d
If you had known how to live, you would have known how to die
— Phaedo
If you want to be a good saddler, saddle the worst horse; for if you can tame one, you can tame all
— Hippias Minor
I am not so much an instructor of others as an inquirer myself
— Theaetetus
I was really too honest a man to be a politician and live
— Apology
He who is to be a good ruler must have first been ruled
— Republic
No man undertakes a trade he has not learned, even the meanest; yet everyone thinks himself sufficiently qualified for the hardest of all trades—that of government
— Memorabilia
Is a man, in your opinion, any the less good for being able to reason about what is right and wrong and to give an account of his conduct?
— Gorgias
I prayed to the god, only let me become beautiful in my soul within, and all my outward possessions be in harmony with my inner man
— Phaedrus
The shortest and surest way to live with honor in the world is to be in reality what we would appear to be
— Gorgias, 492a
The poets compose poems by the help of the Muses, and are possessed and inspired; they do not compose them by the rules of art
— Ion
Let us inquire what piety is, and do not let us either act or speak as if we knew when we do not know
— Euthyphro
I would rather be convicted for speaking in my manner, than acquitted for speaking in yours
— Apology
If the head and the body are to be well, you must begin by curing the soul
— Phaedo
Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel
— Attributed, later tradition (sometimes cited in Diogenes Laertius)
Be slow to fall into friendship; but when thou art in, continue firm and constant
— Lysis
A life which is unexamined is not worth living, but the truly happy person is one who spends time in self-reflection and care for the soul
— Apology
If a man comes into money reasonably and spends it reasonably, and is not extravagant nor mean, then such a one is said to be a good economist
— Xenophon, Memorabilia, Book 2, Chapter 8
Think not those faithful who praise all thy words and actions, but those who kindly reprove thy faults
— Attributed; Stobaeus, Florilegium
He who would learn must be a lover of inquiry
— Theaetetus
Be sure that the next thing for us to attend to is not whether we shall live or die, but whether we live well or ill
— Crito
The poets are only the interpreters of the gods by whom they are severally possessed
— Apology
Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of
— Apology, section 41a
Once made equal to man, woman becomes his superior
— Attributed in Xenophon, Memorabilia
I cannot teach anybody anything; I can only make them think
— Attributed by Diogenes Laërtius, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers
Remember, my friend, that to be silent and listen is often an art that is more necessary than speaking
— Critias
I am that gadfly which God has attached to the state, and all day long and in all places am always fastening upon you, arousing and persuading and reproaching you
— Apology
The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise
— Attributed, often associated with Socratic thought or paraphrase of Aristotle; appears as a sentiment in several sources
He who is not able to live in society, or who has no need because he is sufficient for himself, must be either a beast or a god
— Aristotle, Politics (as ascribed to Socrates)
No man ever knowingly does wrong
— Meno
It is better to suffer wrong than to do wrong
— Crito
In every one of us there are two ruling and directing principles; the one is the innate desire of pleasure, the other is the acquired opinion of the best
— Phaedrus
Remember that there is nothing stable in human affairs; therefore avoid undue elation in prosperity, or undue depression in adversity
— Phaedo, 115e
The easiest and noblest way is not to be crushing others, but to be improving yourselves
— Symposium
By all means marry; if you get a good wife, you'll become happy; if you get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher
— Attributed by Diogenes Laërtius
Beware the barrenness of a busy life
— Quoted by Plutarch, Moralia
Let us inquire what courage is, and do not shrink from the task, but look the truth boldly in the face
— Laches
I swear by the dog, I have been so busy with philosophy that I have had no time for any of the affairs of the world
— Plato, Apology
Strong minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, weak minds discuss people
— Attributed, not found in Plato's works
I am confident that there truly is such a thing as living again, that the living spring from the dead, and that the souls of the dead are in existence
— Phaedo, 70C
What a lot of things there are which I do not want
— Diogenes Laërtius, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, Book II
The lover is more divine than the beloved, because he is inspired by God
— Phaedrus
False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil
— Phaedo
I am not yet able to know myself, so it seems to me ridiculous, when I do not yet know that, to investigate irrelevant things
— Phaedrus
To express oneself badly is not only faulty as far as the language goes, but it does some harm to the soul
— Phaedrus
Let us, therefore, in the first place, consider with ourselves what we are; for by doing so we shall most easily discover what it is we desire
— Phaedrus
A man must be able to endure poverty, for many noble souls have been ruined by wealth
— Symposium
Be not angry with me if I tell you the truth
— Apology
I am not so much an instructor of others as an inquirer myself
— Meno
Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us
— Plato, Phaedrus
He who is richest is content with the least, for content is the wealth of nature
— The Republic
See now how much better is it to be refuted than to refute
— Gorgias
Is a man, in your opinion, any the less good for being able to reason about what is right and wrong and to give an account of his conduct?
— Gorgias
The beginning of wisdom is a definition of terms
— Cratylus, 388b (Plato)
Envy is the ulcer of the soul
— Attributed in Xenophon’s Memorabilia
The greatest blessings come by way of madness, indeed of madness that is heaven-sent
— Phaedrus
Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us
— Phaedrus
Learning is recollection
— Meno
A man must be able to endure poverty, for many noble souls have been ruined by wealth
— Symposium
Crito, we ought to offer a cock to Asclepius. See to it, and don't forget
— Phaedo, closing scene
Poetry is a form of divine madness
— Phaedrus
False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil
— Plato, Phaedo 91c
Speak, that I may see you
— Attributed by Plutarch, Moralia
A multitude of books, my friend, is a great evil. There is no end to the making of them
— Phaedrus
I was attached to this city by the god—as upon a great and noble horse which was somewhat sluggish because of its size, and needed to be stirred up by a kind of gadfly
— Apology
Let us take counsel together; for in matters which we do not know, we must seek counsel and learn from each other
— Plato, Laches
I am not an Athenian or a Greek, but a citizen of the world
— Plutarch, Moralia
I know you won't believe me, but the highest form of Human Excellence is to question oneself and others
— Apology
True love is not love of the body, but of the soul
— Phaedrus
The loveliest of all things is to love the truth and not merely to conquer others in argument
— Phaedrus
There is no greater evil one can suffer than to hate reasonable discourse
— Phaedo, 89d (Plato)
Let us, therefore, in the first place, consider with ourselves what we are; for by doing so we shall most easily discover what it is we desire
— Phaedrus
Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of—for credit is like fire: when once you have kindled it you may easily preserve it, but if you once extinguish it, you will find it an arduous task to rekindle it again
— Apology
See whether I am the kind of man likely to care for anything but the truth
— Apology, 38d
The hour of departure has arrived, and we go our ways; I to die, and you to live. Which is better, God only knows
— Apology, near the conclusion
Employ your time in improving yourself by other men's writings, so that you shall gain easily what others have labored hard for
— Plato, Apology
Remember, there is nothing stable in human affairs; therefore avoid undue elation in prosperity, or undue depression in adversity
— Phaedo
Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us
— Phaedrus
Nature has given us two ears, two eyes, and but one tongue—to the end that we should hear and see more than we speak
— Diogenes Laërtius, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers
I am a sort of gadfly, given to the state by the god, and the state is like a great and noble horse which is sluggish and needs to be stirred up
— Apology
I cannot do the injustice I know to be wrong, whatever the majority may say
— Crito
No man voluntarily pursues evil, or that which he thinks to be evil; to prefer good to evil is in human nature
— Meno
No one does wrong willingly
— Protagoras, 345e
Speak, so that I may see you
— Attributed by Plutarch, Moralia
The beginning is the most important part of the work
— Republic, Book II
Be slow to fall into friendship, but when you are in, continue firm and constant
— Lysis
To be is to do
— Reported in Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers (Book 2)
Can you tell me what piety is, and do not say that it is doing as I do, or as you do, but tell me what the thing itself is
— Euthyphro 6d
Envy is the ulcer of the soul
— Attributed by Plutarch, Moralia
The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be
— Gorgias
Worthless people live only to eat and drink; people of worth eat and drink only to live
— Gorgias
All that I know is that I do not know anything
— Apology, Plato
Remember, no human condition is ever permanent. Then you will not be overjoyed in good fortune, nor too sorrowful in misfortune
— Plato, Socratic Discourses (various)
The highest good is the care of the soul
— Phaedo
Not life, but good life, is to be chiefly valued
— Plato, Crito
Be slow to fall into friendship; but when thou art in, continue firm and constant
— Lysis
Let us reflect, then, that the greatest good for a man is to discuss virtue every day
— Plato, Apology, 38a
The poets are only the interpreters of the gods by whom they are severally possessed
— Apology, 22b
Speak, that I may see you
— Phaedrus
I am not an Athenian or a Greek, but a citizen of the world
— Plutarch, On Exile
All the gold which is under or upon the earth is not enough to give in exchange for virtue
— Apology
It is the law with which we must concern ourselves, not any man
— Crito
The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing
— Apology
Call no man happy until he is dead
— Herodotus, repeated by Socrates in Plato's Apology
Let him who would move the world first move himself
— Attributed, general Socratic philosophy; no direct primary source
A system of morality which is based on relative emotional values is a mere illusion, a thoroughly vulgar conception which has nothing sound in it and nothing true
— Plato, Phaedrus
It is better to change an opinion than to persist in a wrong one
— Dialogues, various; notably in 'Euthydemus'
Beware the barrenness of a busy life
— Attributed by various ancient sources, e.g. Plutarch Moralia
Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of
— Plato, 'Apology'
What a lot of things there are which I do not want
— Xenophon, Memorabilia, Book I
Employ your time in improving yourself by other men's writings so that you shall come easily by what others have labored hard for
— Quoted by Diogenes Laërtius, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers
Let us follow the argument wherever it leads
— Plato, Republic, Book IV
No one knows the end, nor where death may await thee; so be ready for anything
— Apology
By all means marry; if you get a good wife, you'll become happy; if you get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher
— Attributed to Socrates, anecdotal
As the sun does not wait for prayers and incantations to rise, but shines on all, so you also do not wait for applause and shouts of admiration, but be a sun and shine on all
— Attributed by the Stoic Epictetus (Discourses, Book 3, Chapter 23, referencing Socrates)
False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil
— Phaedo
Let us examine this together, for perhaps in discussion we shall find the answer we are seeking
— Meno
The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled
— Plutarch, On Listening to Lectures (quoting Socrates)
I would rather be convicted for speaking in my manner, than acquitted for speaking in yours
— Apology
In every one of us there are two ruling and directing principles; the one is the innate desire of pleasure, the other is the acquired opinion of the best
— Phaedrus
I am a sort of midwife, but of the soul, not of the body
— Theaetetus
The only true wisdom is to know that you know nothing
— Plato, Apology, 23b
I cannot do otherwise than obey the god, and to my dying day I shall never cease to seek after knowledge and to exhort you also to do the same
— Apology
The easiest and noblest way is not to be crushing others, but to be improving yourselves
— Apology
The only thing I know is that I know nothing, and I am not even sure about that
— Apology
False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil
— Phaedo
An education which is only given by means of words, and which does not go through suffering, cannot bring anyone to knowledge
— Symposium
The most important thing is not life, but the good life
— Crito
If you kill me, you will not easily find another like me
— Apology
You must regard as philosophers only those who love the truth
— Republic, Book V
No man is qualified to become a statesman who is entirely ignorant of the problems of wheat
— Plato, The Republic, Book II