A system of morality that is based on relative emotional values is a mere illusion, a thoroughly vulgar conception that has nothing sound in it and nothing true.
SocratesRead
How many things I can do without!
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the idea of self-sufficiency and the value of simplicity.
Socrates emphasizes the capability of individuals to find contentment and fulfillment without the excesses and material possessions that society often values. This perspective encourages a deeper understanding of what is truly necessary for a good life, suggesting that simplicity can lead to greater personal freedom and clarity.
Themes
SimplicitySelf-SufficiencyContentmentFreedomMinimalism
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about personal growth, one could use this quote to illustrate the importance of valuing experiences over possessions.
More from Socrates
All quotes βThe poets are only the interpreters of the gods.
SocratesRead
I am wiser than this man, for neither of us appears to know anything great and good; but he fancies he knows something, although he knows nothing; whereas I, as I do not know anything, so I do not fancy I do. In this trifling particular, then, I appear to be wiser than he, because I do not fancy I know what I do not know.
SocratesRead
The unexamined life is not worth living.
SocratesRead
When I was young, I believed that life might unfold in an orderly way, according to my hopes and expectations. But now I understand that the Way winds like a river, always changing, ever onward.. My journeys revealed that the Way itself creates the warrior; that every path leads to peace, every choice to wisdom. And that life has always been, and will always be, arising in Mystery.
SocratesRead
Not life, but good life, is to be chiefly valued." "It is not living that matters, but living rightly. The unexamined life is not worth living.
SocratesRead
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Perhaps this sounds very simple, but simple things are always the most difficult. In actual life it requires the greatest discipline to be simple, and the acceptance of oneself is the essence of the moral problem and the epitome of a whole outlook upon life.
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When you touch the life of a man of this generation, that influence is felt through generations yet to come.
Gordon B. HinckleyRead