Never discourage anyone who continually makes progress, no matter how slow... even if that someone is yourself!
PlatoRead
And we must beg Homer and the other poets not to be angry if we strike out these and similar passages, not because they are unpoetical, or unattractive to the popular ear, but because the greater the poetical charm in them, the less are they meet for the ears of boys and men who are meant to be free, and who should fear slavery more than death.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Plato emphasizes the importance of freedom over poetic charm for the minds of young individuals.
In this quote, Plato argues that certain poetic elements, while attractive, may not be suitable for young minds who are meant to be free thinkers. He suggests that the allure of such poetry can lead to a form of intellectual slavery, which is far worse than physical death. Therefore, he implores poets like Homer to consider the impact of their works on the freedom of thought and understanding among youth.
Themes
FreedomPoetryEducationYouthPhilosophy
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be shared in a discussion about the influence of literature on young minds.
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.
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
Cure yourself of the inclination to bother about how you look to other people. Be concerned only . . . with the idea God has of you.
Miguel De UnamunoRead
My disciples are vegetarian not as a cult, not as a creed. They are vegetarians because their meditations make them more human, more of the heart, and they can see the whole stupidity of people killing living beings for their food. It is their sensitivity, their aesthetic awareness that makes them vegetarians.
RajneeshRead
Man is troubled not by events, but by the meaning he gives them.
EpictetusRead
It might be said that society speaks through the clothing it wears. Through its clothing it reveals its secret aspirations and uses it, at least in part, to build or destroy its future.
Pope Pius XiiRead
INCOMPOSSIBLE, adj. Unable to exist if something else exists. Two things are incompossible when the world of being has scope enough for one of them, but not enough for both - as Walt Whitman's poetry and God's mercy to man.
Ambrose BierceRead
Your master is he who controls that on which you have set your heart or wish to avoid.
EpictetusRead