The mere athlete becomes too much of a savage.

And may we not say, Adeimantus, that the most gifted minds, when they are ill- educated, become the worst?

The philosopher whose dealings are with divine order himself acquires the characteristics of order and divinity.

No one ever teaches well who wants to teach, or governs well who wants to govern.

There are few people so stubborn in their atheism who, when danger is pressing in, will not acknowledge the divine power.

The souls of people, on their way to Earth-life, pass through a room full of lights; each takes a taper - often only a spark - to guide it in the dim country of this world. But some souls, by rare fortune, are detained longer - have time to grasp a handful of tapers, which they weave into a torch. These are the torch-bearers of humanity - its poets, seers and saints, who lead and lift the race out of darkness, toward the light. They are the law-givers and saviors, the light-bringers, way-showers and truth-tellers, and without them, humanity would lose its way in the dark.

He who does not desire power is fit to hold it.