QuoteProject
Their military training will ensure success in war, but they must maintain unity by not allowing the state to grow to large, and by ensuring that the measures for promotion and demotion from one class to another are carried out. Above all they must maintain the educational system unchanged; for on education everything else depends, and it is an illusion to imagine that mere legislation without it can effect anything of consequence.
Plato
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

Education is fundamental to societal success, and maintaining unity is crucial for effective governance.

In this quote, Plato emphasizes the critical role of education in the success of a society and its military. He warns against the dangers of an oversized state and the importance of maintaining unity among classes through fair promotion and demotion practices. Without a stable and consistent educational system, any legislative changes would be ineffective, highlighting that real progress relies on an informed and cohesive population.

Themes

EducationUnitySocietySuccessMilitary

In practice

Example use cases

During a graduation speech to highlight the importance of education in achieving future success.

More from Plato

Never discourage anyone who continually makes progress, no matter how slow... even if that someone is yourself!
PlatoRead
Not 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.
PlatoRead
...for the object of education is to teach us to love beauty.
PlatoRead
Pleasure is the greatest incentive to evil.
PlatoRead
Nothing in the affairs of men is worthy of great anxiety.
PlatoRead
Let parents bequeath to their children not riches, but the spirit of reverence.
PlatoRead

Similar quotes

You can't call yourself a university and exclude whole ethnic groups.
Bobby SealeRead
We have entered an age in which education is not just a luxury permitting some men an advantage over others. It has become a necessity without which a person is defenseless in this complex, industrialized society. We have truly entered the century of the educated man.
Lyndon B. JohnsonRead
I always tell kids, you have two eyes and one mouth. Keep two open and one closed. You never learn anything if you're the one talking.
Gordie HoweRead
We receive three educations, one from our parents, one from our school-masters, and one from the world. The third contradicts all that the first two teach us.
Baron De MontesquieuRead
When I was 7, my proudest possession would have been my bookshelf 'cause I had alphabetized all of the books on my bookshelf.
Neil GaimanRead
I am a writer of books in retrospect. I talk in order to understand; I teach in order to learn.
Robert FrostRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.

Quote by Plato | QuoteProject