Never discourage anyone who continually makes progress, no matter how slow... even if that someone is yourself!
At the Egyptian city of Naucratis there was a famous old god whose name was Theuth; the bird which is called the Ibis was sacred to him, and he was the inventor of many arts, such as arithmetic and calculation and geometry and astronomy and draughts and dice, but his great discovery was the use of letters.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Theuth, a divine figure, is credited with inventing essential arts and the discovery of letters, emphasizing the importance of knowledge and communication.
In this quote, Plato presents Theuth as a symbolic figure representing wisdom and invention. Theuth, revered as a god in Naucratis, is associated with various disciplines that shape human understanding and communication, particularly highlighting his invention of letters, which revolutionizes the way knowledge is preserved and shared. This underscores the profound impact of literacy and the arts on civilization and human progress.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
During a lecture on the history of communication, I mentioned how Theuth's invention of letters changed civilization.
More from Plato
All quotes βNot one of them who took up in his youth with this opinion that there are no gods ever continued until old age faithful to his conviction.
...for the object of education is to teach us to love beauty.
Pleasure is the greatest incentive to evil.
Nothing in the affairs of men is worthy of great anxiety.
Let parents bequeath to their children not riches, but the spirit of reverence.
Similar quotes
I'm proof against that word failure. I've seen behind it. The only failure a man ought to fear is failure of cleaving to the purpose he sees to be best.
If we can manage to refrain from harming others in our everyday actions and words, we can start to give more serious attention to actively doing good, and this can be a source of great joy and inner confidence. We can benefit others through our actions by being warm and generous toward them, by being charitable, and by helping those in need.
The intellect is not the means of creation, and creation does not take place through the functioning of the intellect; on the contrary, there is creation when the intellect is silent.
When force of circumstance upsets your equanimity lose no time in recovering your self-control, and do not remain out of tune longer than you can help. Habitual recurrence to the harmony will increase your mastery of it.
God often gives in one brief moment that which He has for a long time denied.
It is unreasonable to think we can earn rewards without being willing to pay their true price. It is always our choice whether or not we wish to pay the price for life's rewards.