Never discourage anyone who continually makes progress, no matter how slow... even if that someone is yourself!
When men speak ill of thee, live so that nobody will believe them.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Live your life in such a way that you are above criticism and your character speaks for itself.
This quote by Plato emphasizes the importance of personal integrity and reputation. It suggests that instead of reacting negatively to criticism, one should focus on living a virtuous life that is so exemplary that the disparagement of others will not have any effect on the truth of one's character. It encourages individuals to be mindful of their actions and to cultivate a life that reflects their values, thereby rendering falsehoods and negative words powerless.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about personal values and integrity, one might use this quote to emphasize the importance of living a virtuous life.
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.
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The only way to retrieve a secret,once known, is to replace it with a lie.
Life in general has never been even close to fair, so the pretense that the government can make it fair is a valuable and inexhaustible asset to politicians who want to expand government.
It is futile to try to make the universe add up. But I guess we must go on anyhow.
We seek true individuality and the true individuals. But we find them not. For lo, we mortals see what our poor eyes can see; and they, the true individuals, - they belong not to this world of our merely human sense and thought.