STATEMENTS THAT PLATO NEVER
MADE!
My general
advice: When you see a quotation
attributed to a philosopher, unless someone gives the name of
the work (and in Plato’s case, the line numbers), you should be
skeptical that the philosopher actually made the statement. The exception to this rule would be a
scholarly paper, written by an expert in the field. Without further ado, here are
quotations that Plato did not make, based on a search performed
on a searchable CD-ROM of Plato’s work, and a reading of all the
dialogues (including ones deemed inauthentic!) and his letters.
(1) "We
can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real
tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light." This one is repeated multiple
times at these sites, for instance:
http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/25669.html
http://www.memorable-quotes.com/plato,a65.html
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/p/plato.html
[It’s even
on a T-Shirt!] http://t-shirts.cafepress.com/item/plato-dark-tshirt/80727557
(2)
"Only the dead have seen the end of war."
Here’s an
explanation of where this one came from: http://plato-dialogues.org/faq/faq008.htm
Here are two (# 3 and #4) that you can get T-Shirts, mugs, etc. made, from http://www.spaceandmotion.com/philosophy-shop/ancient-greek-philosophy-posters-t-shirts.htm
This is very uncharacteristic of Plato, given that he holds that dialectic (conversing to try to understand the essence of things, questioning assumptions, etc.) is the best part of philosophy, and it's modelled in the dialogue form itself.
(4) "He
was a wise man who invented beer."
Besides that he never uses the word beer in the dialogues, Plato doesn't really think anything can be invented anyway - there is a Form of Beer, according to Plato, which humans can discover.
(5)
"People are like dirt. They can either nourish you and help
you grow as a person or they can stunt your growth and make
you wilt and die."
This one is
found here (and elsewhere): http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/308591-people-are-like-dirt-they-can-either-nourish-you-and
(6) "Wise men speak because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
Found here: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/p/plato109439.html
(7) "Music is a
moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind,
flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to
everything."
Found here: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/p/plato109438.html
Interestingly,
Plato does say something like this, here: "education in music
and poetry is most important ... because rhythm and harmony
permeate the inner part of the soul more than anything else,
affecting it most strongly and bringing it grace, so that is
someone is properly educated in music and poetry, it makes him
graceful, but if not, then the opposite. [And] because anyone
who has been properly educated in music and poetry will sense it
acutely when something has been omitted from a thing and when it
hasn't been finely crafted or finely made by nature." (Republic
III 401d-e) Why not just quote something Plato actually
said? : )
(8) "Human
behavior flows from three main sources: desire, emotion, and
knowledge."
Found here: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/p/plato38673.html
(9) "We are twice armed if we
fight with faith."
Found here: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/p/plato159576.html
(10) "Every heart sings a song,
incomplete, until another heart whispers back. Those who
wish to sing always find a song. At the touch of a lover,
everyone becomes a poet."
Found here: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/p/plato394857.html
(11) "Good people do not need
laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will
find a way around the laws."
Found here: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/p/plato161536.html
(12) "Music is the movement of
sound to reach the soul for the education of its virtue."
Found here: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/p/plato159582.html
Plato does
have the phrase "movement of sound", here (and see the (real)
Plato quotation under #7, above): "Acuteness and quickness,
whether in body or soul or in the movement of sound , and
the imitations of them which painting and music
supply, you must have praised yourself before now, or been
present when others praised them." (Statesman 306c-d)
Please
let me know if you are aware of others. Thanks!
Dr. Dave Yount (david.yount@mesacc.edu)