All the gold which is under or upon the earth is not enough to give in exchange for virtue.

Then the lover, who is true and no counterfeit, must of necessity be loved by his love.

Until philosophers rule as kings or those who are now called kings and leading men genuinely and adequately philosophise, that is, until political power and philosophy entirely coincide, while the many natures who at present pursue either one exclusively are forcibly prevented from doing so, cities will have no rest from evils,... nor, I think, will the human race.

Ignorance is the root cause of all difficulties.

People too smart to get involved in politics are doomed to live in societies run by people who aren't.

There are three arts which are concerned with all things: one which uses, another which makes, and a third which imitates them.

For neither birth, nor wealth, nor honors, can awaken in the minds of men the principles which should guide those who from their youth aspire to an honorable and excellent life, as Love awakens them