The cause of all the blunders committed by man arises from this excessive self-love. For the lover is blinded by the object loved; so that he passes a wrong judgment on what is just, good and beautiful, thinking that he ought always to honor what belongs to himself in preference to truth. For he who intends to be a great man ought to love neither himself nor his own things, but only what is just, whether it happens to be done by himself, or by another.
PlatoAs to the artists, do we not know that he only of them whom love inspires has the light of fame?-he whom love touches not walks in darkness.
PlatoJust as bees make honey from thyme, the strongest and driest of herbs, so do the wise profit from the most difficult of experiences.
PlatoFor just as poets love their own works, and fathers their own children, in the same way those who have created a fortune value their money, not merely for its uses, like other persons, but because it is their own production. This makes them moreover disagreeable companions, because they will praise nothing but riches.
Plato