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And all knowledge, when separated from justice and virtue, is seen to be cunning and not wisdom; wherefore make this your first and last and constant and all-absorbing aim, to exceed, if possible, not only us but all your ancestors in virtue; and know that to excel you in virtue only brings us shame, but that to be excelled by you is a source of happiness to us.
Plato
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Interpretation

What this quote means

True knowledge must be grounded in justice and virtue; the pursuit of virtue is the highest aim.

This quote from Plato emphasizes that knowledge devoid of justice and virtue is merely cleverness and not true wisdom. Plato implores individuals to strive for greater virtue than their predecessors, highlighting that excelling in virtue not only honors those who came before but also brings joy to them, reinforcing the interconnectedness of knowledge, virtue, and moral responsibility.

Themes

KnowledgeVirtueWisdomJusticeExcellence

In practice

Example use cases

In a motivational speech about personal growth and integrity.

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A little wisdom, now and then

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