Plato Quotes

Great beauty, great strength, and great riches are really and truly of no great use; a right heart exceeds all

Virtue is not the absence of vices or the avoidance of moral dangers; virtue is a vivid and separate thing, like pain or a particular smell.

My strength is as the strength of ten, because my heart is pure.

Virtue does not come from wealth, but wealth, and every other good thing which men have comes from virtue.

. . . Virtue, morality, and religion. This is the armor, my friend, and this alone that renders us invincible. These are the tactics we should study. If we lose these, we are conquered, fallen indeed . . . so long as our manners and principles remain sound, there is no danger.

Character is in turn the enduring source of virtue. It stands by itself and excites admiration in others. It is not obedience to authority, and while it is often consistent with and reinforced by religious belief, it is not piety.

The person who is right is the person who is the strongest, in this case, paradoxically, it's the cowards who are the brave ones, and they manage to impose their ideas on everyone else.

Let thy virtue be too high for the familiarity of names, and if thou must speak of it, be not ashamed to stammer about it.

Let honesty be as the breath of thy soul; then shalt thou reach the point of happiness, and independence shall be thy shield and buckler, thy helmet and crown; then shall thy soul walk upright, nor stoop to the silken wretch because he hath riches, nor pocket an abuse because the hand which offers it wears a ring set with diamonds.

A clear thought, a pure affection, a resolute act of a virtuous will, have a dignity of quite another kind, and far higher than accumulations of brick and granite and plaster and stucco, however cunningly put together.

I have known persons without a friend--never any one without some virtue. The virtues of the former conspired with their vices to make the whole world their enemies.

Hast thou virtue? acquire also the graces and beauties of virtue.

There has never been a man mean and at the same time virtuous.

Virtue is our true wealth and the true reward of its possessor; it cannot be lost, it never deserts us until life leaves us.

Now to act with integrity, according to that strength of mind and body with which our creator hath endowed each of use, appears necessary for all.

No longer talk at all about the kind of man that a good man ought to be, but be such

He is ill clothed that is bare of virtue.

Where virtue is, sensibility is the ornament and becoming attire of virtue. On certain occasions it may almost be said to become virtue. But sensibility and all the amiable qualities may likewise become, and too often have become, the panders of vice and the instruments of seduction.

A man without nobility cannot have kindliness; he can only have good nature.

The desire for self-esteem without integrity is like the desire for wealth without effort-a longing for the unearned.

Plenty and peace breed cowards; hardness ever of hardiness is mother.

I would rather a thousand times be a free soul in jail than to be a sycophant and coward in the streets.

You've got to keep yourself in prime physical condition, because fatigue makes cowards of us all.

I am a very religious person, so it is the presence of God, the constant unwavering, unrelenting presence of God which continues to help me to keep a character which I am proud to show.

You think that because I want to do what’s right, because I want to make things better, I’m weak,” Claire said. “Or that I’m stupid. But I’m not. It takes a lot more strength to know how bad the world is and not want to be part of that, give in to it. And I do know, Kim. Believe me.