Socrates
Classical Athenian philosopher, the figure whose life and death gave Western philosophy its founding myth — the gadfly of Athens, condemned to death in 399 BCE for 'corrupting the youth' and 'impiety,' who chose to drink hemlock rather than abandon the philosophical life. Born around 470 BCE, son of a stonemason and a midwife, Socrates served as a hoplite in the Peloponnesian War and then turned to the questioning of his fellow citizens in the Athenian agora — a practice that produced no writings of his own but that his student Plato preserved in the great early dialogues (Apology, Crito, Phaedo, Symposium, Meno, Theaetetus). Xenophon's Memorabilia and Aristophanes's Clouds offer alternative portraits. The Socratic method — relentless questioning that reveals the questioner does not know what he thought he knew — became the foundation of philosophical inquiry; the Socratic claim that 'the unexamined life is not worth living' became its motto. He died in 399 BCE in Athens, surrounded by his students.
115
quotes in library
Quotes by Socrates
115 quotes“Crito, we owe a cock to Asclepius. Pay it. Do not forget.”
critoPlato's Phaedo (last words)
“In Crito, the door is open and you have wings, but you do not fly.”
doorPlato's Crito (paraphrase)
“Why? Because to flee Athens would be to violate the laws I have lived by.”
athensPlato's Crito (paraphrase)
“And to violate the laws would be to undo the philosophy of my whole life.”
lawsPlato's Crito (paraphrase)
“Better to die in fidelity to the laws than to live in betrayal of them.”
diePlato's Crito (paraphrase)
“This is the choice I make. I have made it freely. I do not regret it.”
choicePlato's Crito (paraphrase)
“In the symposium, Diotima taught me about love.”
diotimaPlato's Symposium
“Love is the longing of the soul for the beautiful.”
lovePlato's Symposium
“Through the beautiful, the soul ascends to the Good.”
beautyPlato's Symposium
“This is the highest journey.”
journeyPlato's Symposium
“And love is its engine.”
lovePlato's Symposium
“Without love, no philosophy.”
lovePlato's Symposium (paraphrase)
“To know oneself is the most difficult of human tasks.”
selfattributed (cf. Charmides)
“And it is the only task that justifies a life.”
selfattributed (paraphrase)
“Without self-knowledge, all other knowledge is useless.”
self-knowledgeattributed (paraphrase)
“Begin where you are. Question what you think you know.”
beginningPlato's dialogues (paraphrase)
“Listen to those who disagree with you. They may have something to teach.”
disagreementPlato's dialogues (paraphrase)
“Especially those who disagree gracefully and reasonably.”
disagreementPlato's dialogues (paraphrase)
“From them, you learn the most.”
learningPlato's dialogues (paraphrase)
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