To begin is the most important part of any quest and by far the most courageous.

And what do you say of lovers of wine... they are glad of any pretext of drinking any wine

For this feeling of wonder shows that you are a philosopher, since wonder is the only beginning of philosophy.

Whence comes war and fighting, and factions? Whence but from the body and the lust of the body? Wars are occasioned by the love of money, and money has to be acquired for the same and service of the body.

... our purpose in founding our state was not to promote the happiness of a single class, but, so far as possible, of the whole community. Our idea was that we were most likely to justice in such a community, and so be able to decide the question we are trying to answer. We are therefore at the moment trying to construct what we think is a happy community by securing the happiness not of a select minority, but of a whole.

And isn't it a bad thing to be deceived about the truth, and a good thing to know what the truth is? For I assume that by knowing the truth you mean knowing things as they really are.

Virtue is voluntary, vice involuntary.