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For once touched by love, everyone becomes a poet

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A poet, you see, is a light thing, and winged and holy, and cannot compose before he gets inspiration and loses control of his senses and his reason h...more

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The Muse herself makes some men inspired, from whom a chain of other men is strung out who catch their own inspiration from theirs.

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For to fear death, my friends, is only to think ourselves wise without really being wise, for it is to think that we know what we do not know. For no ...more

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I thought to myself: I am wiser than this man; neither of us probably knows anything that is really good, but he thinks he has knowledge, when he has ...more

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As it is, the lover of inquiry must follow his beloved wherever it may lead him.

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The reason is that they utter these words of theirs not by virtue of a skill, but by a divine power - otherwise, if they knew how to speak well on one...more

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the matter is as it is in all other cases: if it is naturally in you to be a good orator, a notable orator you will be when you have acquired knowledg...more

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Only a philosopher's mind grows wings, since its memory always keeps it as close as possible to those realities by being close to which the gods are d...more

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...in the running of cities, virtually nothing is done by anyone that is conducive to political health, nor is there a single ally with whom one might...more

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There is nothing which for my part I like better, Cephalus, than conversing with aged men; for I regard them as travellers who have gone a journey whi...more

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We've heard many people say and have often said ourselves that justice is doing one's own work and not meddling with what isn't one's own ... Then, it...more

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I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing.

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

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... when someone sees a soul disturbed and unable to see something, he won't laugh mindlessly, but he'll take into consideration whether it has come f...more