The individual leads in order that those who are led can develop their potential as human beings and thereby prosper.
SocratesBesides, it is a shame to let yourself grow old through neglect before seeing how you can develop the maximum beauty and strength of body; and you can have this experience if your are negligent, because these things don't normally happen by themselves.
SocratesOne who is injured ought not to return the injury, for on no account can it be right to do an injustice.
SocratesNeither I nor any other man should, on trial or in way, contrive to avoid death at any cost.
SocratesThe right way to begin is to pay attention to the young, and make them just as good as possible.
Socrateswealth does not bring goodness, but goodness brings wealth and every other blessing, both to the individual and to the state
SocratesAll of the wisdom of this world is but a tiny raft upon which we must set sail when we leave this earth. If only there was a firmer foundation upon which to sail, perhaps some divine word.
SocratesThe nearest way to glory a shortcut, as it were is to strive to be what you wish to be thought to be.
SocratesI decided that it was not wisdom that enabled poets to write their poetry, but a kind of instinct or inspiration, such as you find in seers and prophets who deliver all their sublime messages without knowing in the least what they mean.
SocratesNo man undertakes a trade he has not learned, even the meanest; yet everyone thinks himself sufficiently qualified for the hardest of all trades, that of government.
SocratesWhen you propose ridiculous things to believe, too many men will choose to believe nothing at all.
SocratesThe soul is pure when it leaves the body and drags nothing bodily with it, by virtue of having no willing association with the body in life but avoiding it.......Practicing philosophy in the right way is a training to die easily.
Socrates...in the acquisition of this blessing human nature can find no better helper than Love. I declare that it is the duty of every man to honour Love, and I honour and practice the mysteries of Love in an especial degree myself, and recommend the same to others, and I praise the power and valour of Love to the best of my ability both now and always.
SocratesBe of good cheer about death and know this as a truth, that no evil can happen to a good man, either in life or after death
SocratesSince all of us desire to be happy, and since we evidently become so on account of our use—that is our good use—of other things, and since knowledge is what provides this goodness of use and also good fortune, every man must, as seems plausible, prepare himself by every means for this: to be as wise as possible. Right?
SocratesYou too must be of good hope as regards death, gentlemen of the jury, and keep this one truth in mind, that a good man cannot be harmed either in life or in death, and that his affairs are not neglected by the gods. What has happened to me now has not happened of itself, but it is clear to me that it was better for me to die now and to escape from trouble. That is why my divine sign did not oppose me at any point. So I am certainly not angry with those who convicted me, or with my accusers. Of course that was not their purpose when they accused and convicted me, but they thought they were hurting me, and for this they deserve blame.
Socrates