Out of Plato come all things that are still written and debated about among men of thought.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the profound influence of Plato's ideas on contemporary thought.
Ralph Waldo Emerson suggests that Plato's philosophical concepts have laid the groundwork for countless discussions and writings that continue to engage thinkers today. He highlights the enduring relevance of Plato's work in shaping intellectual discourse and its impact on various fields of study.
In practice
This quote would be perfect for a philosophy class to illustrate the impact of historical thinkers.
It is plain that there is no separate essence called courage, no cup or cell in the brain, no vessel in the heart containing drops or atoms that make or give this virtue; but it is the right or healthy state of every man, when he is free to do that which is constitutional to him to do.
Few people have any next, they live from hand to mouth without a plan, and are always at the end of their line.
Men cease to interest us when we find their limitations
Tis the good reader that makes the good book; a good head cannot read amiss: in every book he finds passages which seem confidences or asides hidden from all else and unmistakeably meant for his ear.
The world belongs to the energetic.
Hast thou named all the birds without a gun?
All power is inherent in the people.
And therefore in geometry (which is the only science that it hath pleased God hitherto to bestow on mankind), men begin at settling the significations of their words; which settling of significations, they call definitions, and place them in the beginning of their reckoning.
There is no memory or retentive faculty based on lasting impression. What we designate as memory is but increased responsiveness to repeated stimuli.
The saddest thing I can imagine is to get used to luxury.
Our country does not believe in the concept of your God and my God. We believe that all gods are one. We have different ways of accepting Him. All ways lead to Him.
Liberty is meaningless where the right to utter one's thoughts and opinions has ceased to exist. That, of all rights, is the dread of tyrants. It is the right which they first of all strike down.
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