23 Powerful Lessons From Plato's Philosophy

1. Excellence is not a gift, but a skill that takes practice. We do not act rightly because we are excellent, in fact we achieve excellence by acting rightly

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

3. The beginning is the most important part of the work

4. For a man to conquer himself is the first and noblest of all victories

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

6. Human behavior flows from three main sources; desire, emotion, and knowledge

7. No man should bring children into the world who is unwilling to persevere to the end in their nature and education

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

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

10. Thinking – the talking of the soul with itself

11. Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle

12. Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder

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

14. Every heart sings a song, incomplete, until another heart whispers back. Those who wish to sing always find a song. At the touch of a lover, everyone becomes a poet

15. Do not train a child to learn by force or harshness; but direct them to it by what amuses their minds, so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each

16. No one is more hated than he who speaks the truth

17. An empty vessel makes the loudest sound, so they that have the least wit are the greatest babblers

18. Truth is the beginning of every good to the gods, and of every good to man

19. Books give a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything

20. Bodily exercise, when compulsory, does no harm to the body; but knowledge which is acquired under compulsion obtains no hold on the mind

21. A library of wisdom, is more precious than all wealth, and all things that are desirable cannot be compared to it. Whoever therefore claims to be zealous of truth, of happiness, of wisdom or knowledge, must become a lover of books

22. The untrained mind keeps up a running commentary, labelling everything, judging everything. Best to ignore that commentary. Don’t argue or resist, just ignore. Deprived of attention and interest, this voice gets quieter and quieter and eventually just shuts up

23. Writing is the geometry of the soul

Thank you for reading.