Plato quotes

c. 428 BC–c. 348 BC · Greek philosopher

Plato wrote dialogues, so most of his famous lines are spoken by Socrates or other characters. That makes him easy to misquote — and two of the most popular "Plato quotes" online belong to a 20th-century philosopher and a Scottish minister.

2 real · 2 not theirs

Really theirs

2 quotes traced to Plato's own work or a reliable witness.

Sourced

The unexamined life is not worth living.

Source: Apology 38a — spoken by Socrates at his trial

Sourced

The beginning is the most important part of the work.

Source: Republic, Book II, 377a

Not theirs

2 famous lines credited to Plato that are misquoted, unsourced or belong to someone else.

Not theirs

Only the dead have seen the end of war.

Actually: George Santayana, Soliloquies in England (1922).

Not theirs

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.

Actually: Traced to the Scottish minister John Watson ("Ian Maclaren"), around 1897.