Never discourage anyone who continually makes progress, no matter how slow... even if that someone is yourself!
PlatoRead
When the tyrant has disposed of foreign enemies by conquest...and there is nothing to fear from them, then he is always stirring up some war
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that a tyrant, having eliminated external threats, tends to create conflict to maintain control and distract from internal issues.
Plato's quote highlights a common trait of tyrannical rulers: the propensity to initiate conflict even after overcoming foreign adversaries. Once a tyrant feels secure from external threats, they may turn to instigating wars or conflicts, not necessarily for survival, but to unify their power by distracting the populace and reinforcing their authority. This reflects on the nature of power and control, indicating that leaders may manipulate situations to maintain their dominance and suppress dissent.
Themes
TyrannyWarConflictPowerControl
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used during a political debate to highlight the dangers of unchecked power.
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
The idea of God implies the abdication of human reason and justice; it is the most decisive negation of human liberty and necessarily ends in the enslavement of mankind both in theory and practice.
Mikhail BakuninRead
I look'd to Heav'n, and try'd to pray; But or ever a prayer had gusht, A wicked whisper came and made My heart as dry as dust.
Samuel Taylor ColeridgeRead
Routine is a declivity down which many governments slide, and routine says that freedom of the press is dangerous.
Jose RizalRead
Within the extent of your knowledge, you are right.
Ayn RandRead
Many words and expressions which only a matter of decades ago were considered so distastefully explicit that, were they merely to be breathed in public, the perpetrator would be shunned, barred from polite society, and in extreme cases shot through the lungs, are now thought to be very healthy and proper, and their use in everyday speech and writing is evidence of a well-adjusted, relaxed and totally un****ed-up personality.
Douglas AdamsRead
We have always existed in different forms - carbon, oxygen, water, heat. Maybe Heaven is this brief period when the elements realize they're alive.
Alejandro Gonzalez InarrituRead