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Platon citations

Platon est un philosophe antique de la Grèce classique, contemporain de la démocratie athénienne et des sophistes, qu'il critiqua vigoureusement. Il reprit le travail philosophique de certains de ses prédécesseurs, notamment Socrate dont il fut l'élève, ainsi que celui de Parménide, Héraclite et Pythagore, afin d’élaborer sa propre pensée, laquelle explore la plupart des champs importants, notamment la métaphysique et l’éthique, la philosophie de l’art et la politique. Diogène Laërce dit de lui qu'il est de six ans plus jeune que son ami Isocrate.

Il est généralement considéré comme l'un des premiers philosophes occidentaux, sinon comme l’inventeur de la philosophie, au point que Whitehead a pu dire : « la philosophie occidentale n'est qu’une suite de notes de bas de page aux dialogues de Platon ».

Son œuvre, composée presque exclusivement de dialogues, est d'une grande richesse de style et de contenu, et produit, sur de nombreux sujets, les premières formulations classiques des problèmes majeurs de l'histoire de la philosophie occidentale. Chaque dialogue de Platon est l'occasion d'interroger un sujet donné, par exemple le beau ou le courage. La pensée de Platon n'est pas monolithique ; une partie de ses dialogues aboutissent à des apories philosophiques : apportant une solution aux problèmes posés, ils ne constituent pas une réponse unique et définitive. Théophraste dit que Platon fut le premier par la renommée et le génie, tout en étant le dernier dans la chronologie. Comme il avait voué la majeure partie de son activité à la philosophie première, il se consacra aussi aux apparences et aborda l’Histoire Naturelle, dans laquelle il voulut établir deux principes : l’un subissant, comme la matière, appelé récepteur universel ; l’autre agissant, comme une cause, qu’il rattache à la puissance du dieu et du Bien.

Platon développe une réflexion sur les Idées communément appelée théorie des Formes ou théorie des Idées dans laquelle le monde sensible est considéré comme un ensemble de réalités participant de leurs modèles immuables. La Forme suprême est, selon le contexte, tantôt le Bien, tantôt le Beau. La philosophie politique de Platon considère que la Cité juste doit être construite selon le modèle du Bien en soi.

✵ 7. mai 427 av. J.-C. – 347 av. J.-C.
Platon photo

Œuvres

La République
Timée
Timée
Platon
Phèdre
Phèdre
Platon
Platon: 96   citations 3   J'aime

Platon citations célèbres

“De l’espèce d’âme qui a la plus haute autorité en nous, voici l’idée qu’il faut s’en faire : c’est que Dieu nous l’a donnée comme un génie, et c’est le principe que nous avons dit logé au sommet de notre corps, et qui nous élève de la terre vers notre parenté céleste, car nous sommes une plante du ciel, non de la terre, nous pouvons l’affirmer en toute vérité. Car Dieu a suspendu notre tête et notre racine à l’endroit où l’âme fut primitivement engendrée et a ainsi dressé tout notre corps vers le ciel. Or, quand un homme s’est livré tout entier à ses passions ou à ses ambitions et applique tous ses efforts à les satisfaire, toutes ses pensées deviennent nécessairement mortelles, et rien ne lui fait défaut pour devenir entièrement mortel, autant que cela est possible, puisque c’est à cela qu’il s’est exercé.
Mais lorsqu’un homme s’est donné tout entier à l’amour de la science et à la vraie sagesse et que, parmi ses facultés, il a surtout exercé celle de penser à des choses immortelles et divines, s’il parvient à atteindre la vérité, il est certain que, dans la mesure où il est donné à la nature humaine de participer à l’immortalité, il ne lui manque rien pour y parvenir; et, comme il soigne toujours la partie divine et maintient en bon état le génie qui habite en lui, il doit être supérieurement heureux.”

Platon livre Timée

Timaeus

“Socrate : Mais voici l'heure de nous en aller, moi pour mourir, vous pour vivre. Qui de nous a le meilleur partage, nul ne le sait, excepté le dieu.”

Platon livre Apologie de Socrate

Apologie de Socrate

“Socrate : [I]l n'y a pas de mal possible pour l'homme de bien, ni pendant sa vie, ni après sa mort, […].”

Platon livre Apologie de Socrate

Apologie de Socrate

“Une vie sans examen ne vaut pas la peine d'être vécue.”

Platon livre Apologie de Socrate

Apologie de Socrate

“Le contraire de cette injustice serait donc la justice, qui consisterait pour chaque classe — celle de l'homme d'affaire, celle du militaire auxiliaire, celle du gardien — à exercer ses propres activités dans la cité; c'est cela qui rendrait la cité juste. […] Une cité semblait précisément être juste quand les trois groupes naturels présents en elle exerçaient chacun sa tâche propre, et elle nous semblait modérée, ou encore courageuse et sage, en raison d'affections et de dispositions particulières de ces mêmes groupes.”

Platon La République

La République

“Les amants, en effet, regrettent le bien qu’ils
ont fait, une fois que leur désir est éteint. Ceux qui n’ont pas d’amour, au contraire, n’ont
jamais occasion seyante au repentir, car ce n’est point par contrainte, mais librement, comme
s’ils s’occupaient excellemment des biens de leurs demeures, qu’ils font, dans la mesure de
leurs moyens, du bien à leurs amis. Les amants considèrent en outre, et les dommages que
leur amour fit à leurs intérêts et les largesses qu’ils ont dû consentir; puis, en y ajoutant la
peine qu’ils ont eue, ils pensent depuis longtemps avoir déjà payé à leurs aimés le juste prix
des faveurs obtenues. Par contre, ceux qui ne sont pas épris ne peuvent, ni prétexter les
affaires négligées par amour, ni mettre en ligne de compte les souffrances passées, ni alléguer
les différends familiaux qu’ils ont eus. Exempts de tous ces maux, il ne leur reste plus qu’à
s’empresser de mettre en acte tout ce qu’ils croient devoir leur donner du plaisir.”

Platon livre Phèdre

Phaedrus

Citations sur les hommes et les garçons de Platon

“Il faut, répondis-je, d'après ce dont nous sommes convenus, que, le plus souvent possible, ce soit l'élite des hommes qui ait commerce avec l'élite des femmes, et, au contraire, le rebut avec le rebut; que les rejetons des premiers soient élevés, non ceux des seconds, si l'on veut que le troupeau garde sa qualité éminente.”

Platon La République

La République

“[A]ucun homme libre ne doit s'engager dans l'apprentissage de quelque connaissance que ce soit comme un esclave.”

Platon La République

La République

“Si l'on arrive pas, ou bien à ce que les philosophes règnent dans les cités, ou bien à ce que ceux qui à présent sont nommés rois et hommes puissants philosophent de manière authentique et satisfaisante, et que coïncident l'un avec l'autre pouvoir politique et philosophie; et à ce que les nombreuses natures de ceux qui à présent se dirigent séparément vers l'une ou l'autre carrière en soient empêchées par la contrainte, il n'y aura pas de cesse aux maux des cités, ni non plus il me semble, du genre humain.”

Platon La République

La République

Platon Citations

“Et, par conséquent, en ce sens encore, la possession, autant que l'accomplissement de ce qui nous est propre et qui est nôtre, on s'accorderait à dire que c'est justice.”

Platon La République

La République

justice , Sens

“Socrate : Il y a, selon moi, naissance de société du fait que chacun de nous, loin de se suffire à lui-même, a au contraire besoin d'un grand nombre de gens.”

Platon La République

La République

naissance , Loin

“porque si teme, es esclavo.”

Platon

Obras de Platón

“L’ÉTRANGER. Il me semble que je distingue une grande et terrible espèce d’ignorance, capable de balancer à elle seule toutes les autres. THÉÉTÈTE. Laquelle? L’ÉTRANGER. D’imaginer qu’on sait ce qu’on ne sait pas; car c’est peut-être de là que viennent toutes les erreurs dans lesquelles tombe notre esprit. THÉÉTÈTE. Cela est vrai. L’ÉTRANGER. C’est proprement ce qu’on appelle sottise.”

Platon

Platon: Oeuvres complètes - Les 43 titres

“SOCRATE.
Et par penser entends-tu la même chose que moi ?
THÉÉTÈTE.
Qu'entends-tu par là?
SOCRATE.
Un discours que l'âme s'adresse à elle-même sur les objets qu'elle considère. Prends-moi pour un homme qui ne sait pas très bien ce dont il parle ; c'est peut-être une illusion, mais il me paraît que l'âme, quand elle pense, ne fait autre chose que s'entretenir avec elle-même, interrogeant et répondant, affirmant et niant : et que quand elle se décide, que cette décision se fasse plus ou moins promptement, quand elle sort du doute et qu'elle prononce, c'est cela que nous appelons juger.”

Platon

Platon: Oeuvres complètes - Les 43 titres

Platon: Citations en anglais

“Watch a man at play for an hour and you can learn more about him than in talking to him for a year.”

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Plato

Attributed to Plato in Confidence : How to Succeed at Being Yourself (1987) by Alan Loy McGinnis, this is probably a paraphrase of a statement which occurs in Letter of Advice to a Young Gentleman Leaving the University Concerning His Behaviour and Conversation in the World (1907) by Richard Lindgard: "Take heed of playing often or deep at Dice and Games of Chance, for that is more chargeable than the seven deadly sins; yet you may allow yourself a certain easie Sum to spend at Play, to gratifie Friends, and pass over the Winter Nights, and that will make you indifferent for the Event. If you would read a man’s Disposition, see him Game; you will then learn more of him in one hour, than in seven Years Conversation, and little Wagers will try him as soon as great Stakes, for then he is off his Guard."
Variants:
You can learn more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.
Attributed to Plato in Food Is the Frosting-Company Is the Cake (2007) by Maggie Marshall
You learn more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.
Attributed to Plato by former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, as quoted in "Aspiring philosopher Palin quotes 'Plato'" (9 July 2009) http://thinkprogress.org/2009/07/09/palin-plato/
Misattributed

“As empty vessels make the loudest sounds, so they that have the least wit are the greatest babblers.”

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Plato

Often attributed to Plato, it cannot be found in any of his writings. http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=796
Misattributed

“Sons, the event proves that your fathers were brave men; for we might have lived dishonourably, but have preferred to die honourably rather than bring you and your children into disgrace, and rather than dishonour our own fathers and forefathers”

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Plato livre Menexenus

A speech of Aspasia, recounted by Socrates, as portrayed in the dialogue.
Menexenus
Contexte: p>Let every man remind their descendants that they also are soldiers who must not desert the ranks of their ancestors, or from cowardice fall behind. Even as I exhort you this day, and in all future time, whenever I meet with any of you, shall continue to remind and exhort you, O ye sons of heroes, that you strive to be the bravest of men. And I think that I ought now to repeat what your fathers desired to have said to you who are their survivors, when they went out to battle, in case anything happened to them. I will tell you what I heard them say, and what, if they had only speech, they would fain be saying, judging from what they then said. And you must imagine that you hear them saying what I now repeat to you:Sons, the event proves that your fathers were brave men; for we might have lived dishonourably, but have preferred to die honourably rather than bring you and your children into disgrace, and rather than dishonour our own fathers and forefathers; considering that life is not life to one who is a dishonour to his race, and that to such a one neither men nor Gods are friendly, either while he is on the earth or after death in the world below.Remember our words, then, and whatever is your aim let virtue be the condition of the attainment of your aim, and know that without this all possessions and pursuits are dishonourable and evil.For neither does wealth bring honour to the owner, if he be a coward; of such a one the wealth belongs to another, and not to himself. Nor does beauty and strength of body, when dwelling in a base and cowardly man, appear comely, but the reverse of comely, making the possessor more conspicuous, and manifesting forth his cowardice.And all knowledge, when separated from justice and virtue, is seen to be cunning and not wisdom; wherefore make this your first and last and constant and all-absorbing aim, to exceed, if possible, not only us but all your ancestors in virtue; and know that to excel you in virtue only brings us shame, but that to be excelled by you is a source of happiness to us.And we shall most likely be defeated, and you will most likely be victors in the contest, if you learn so to order your lives as not to abuse or waste the reputation of your ancestors, knowing that to a man who has any self-respect, nothing is more dishonourable than to be honoured, not for his own sake, but on account of the reputation of his ancestors.The honour of parents is a fair and noble treasure to their posterity, but to have the use of a treasure of wealth and honour, and to leave none to your successors, because you have neither money nor reputation of your own, is alike base and dishonourable.And if you follow our precepts you will be received by us as friends, when the hour of destiny brings you hither; but if you neglect our words and are disgraced in your lives, no one will welcome or receive you. This is the message which is to be delivered to our children.</p

“Pleasure, a most mighty lure to evil.”

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Plato livre Timée

Section 69d (W. R. M. Lamb's translation); also rendered: pleasure, "the bait of sin" (W.A. Falconer's translation).
Timaeus

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

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Plato

Attributed to Plato in No Ordinary Moments: A Peaceful Warrior's Guide to Daily Life (1992) by Dan Millman. It has also been wrongly attributed to Philo. It is a variant of the Christmas message "Be pitiful, for every man is fighting a hard battle," written by the Scottish preacher Ian Maclaren (also known as John Watson) in 1897.
Be Kind; Everyone You Meet is Fighting a Hard Battle. Plato? Philo of Alexandria? http://quoteinvestigator.com/2010/06/29/be-kind/
Misattributed

“In those days, when people were not wise like you young people, they were content to listen to a tree or a rock in simple openness, just as long as it spoke the truth, but to you, perhaps, it makes a difference who is speaking and where he comes from.”

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Plato livre Phèdre

275c, as translated by Joe Sachs in introduction to Aristotle's Physics: A Guided Study (2011), p. 1
Phaedrus

“The man who makes everything that leads to happiness depends upon himself, and not upon other men, has adopted the very best plan for living happily. This is the man of moderation, the man of manly character and of wisdom.”

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Plato

“Let every man remind their descendants that they also are soldiers who must not desert the ranks of their ancestors, or from cowardice fall behind.”

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Plato livre Menexenus

A speech of Aspasia, recounted by Socrates, as portrayed in the dialogue.
Menexenus
Contexte: Let every man remind their descendants that they also are soldiers who must not desert the ranks of their ancestors, or from cowardice fall behind. Even as I exhort you this day, and in all future time, whenever I meet with any of you, shall continue to remind and exhort you, O ye sons of heroes, that you strive to be the bravest of men. And I think that I ought now to repeat what your fathers desired to have said to you who are their survivors, when they went out to battle, in case anything happened to them. I will tell you what I heard them say, and what, if they had only speech, they would fain be saying, judging from what they then said. And you must imagine that you hear them saying what I now repeat to you:

Sons, the event proves that your fathers were brave men; for we might have lived dishonourably, but have preferred to die honourably rather than bring you and your children into disgrace, and rather than dishonour our own fathers and forefathers; considering that life is not life to one who is a dishonour to his race, and that to such a one neither men nor Gods are friendly, either while he is on the earth or after death in the world below.

Remember our words, then, and whatever is your aim let virtue be the condition of the attainment of your aim, and know that without this all possessions and pursuits are dishonourable and evil.

For neither does wealth bring honour to the owner, if he be a coward; of such a one the wealth belongs to another, and not to himself. Nor does beauty and strength of body, when dwelling in a base and cowardly man, appear comely, but the reverse of comely, making the possessor more conspicuous, and manifesting forth his cowardice.

And all knowledge, when separated from justice and virtue, is seen to be cunning and not wisdom; wherefore make this your first and last and constant and all-absorbing aim, to exceed, if possible, not only us but all your ancestors in virtue; and know that to excel you in virtue only brings us shame, but that to be excelled by you is a source of happiness to us.

And we shall most likely be defeated, and you will most likely be victors in the contest, if you learn so to order your lives as not to abuse or waste the reputation of your ancestors, knowing that to a man who has any self-respect, nothing is more dishonourable than to be honoured, not for his own sake, but on account of the reputation of his ancestors.

The honour of parents is a fair and noble treasure to their posterity, but to have the use of a treasure of wealth and honour, and to leave none to your successors, because you have neither money nor reputation of your own, is alike base and dishonourable.

And if you follow our precepts you will be received by us as friends, when the hour of destiny brings you hither; but if you neglect our words and are disgraced in your lives, no one will welcome or receive you. This is the message which is to be delivered to our children.

“Oh dear Pan and all the other Gods of this place, grant that I may be beautiful inside.”

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Plato livre Phèdre

279 – a prayer of Socrates, as portrayed in the dialogue.
Phaedrus
Contexte: Oh dear Pan and all the other Gods of this place, grant that I may be beautiful inside. Let all my external possessions be in friendly harmony with what is within. May I consider the wise man rich. As for gold, let me have as much as a moderate man could bear and carry with him.

“Your silence gives consent.”

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Plato livre Cratylus

435b
Cratylus
Variante: I shall assume that your silence gives consent

“Neither family, nor privilege, nor wealth, nor anything but Love can light that beacon which a man must steer by when he sets out to live the better life.”

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Plato

178c, M. Joyce, trans, Collected Dialogues of Plato (1961), p. 533
The Symposium

“Neither human wisdom nor divine inspiration can confer upon man any greater blessing than this [live a life of happiness and harmony here on earth].”

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Plato livre Phèdre

256b
Phaedrus

“Socrates: The disgrace begins when a man writes not well, but badly.
Phaedrus: Clearly.
Socrates: And what is well and what is badly—need we ask Lysias, or any other poet or orator, who ever wrote or will write either a political or any other work, in metre or out of metre, poet or prose writer, to teach us this?”

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Plato livre Phèdre

258d (tr. Benjamin Jowett)
paraphrased in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig: "And what is good, Phaedrus, and what is not good—need we ask anyone to tell us these things?"
Phaedrus

“Knowledge is the food of the soul; and we must take care, my friend, that the Sophist does not deceive us when he praises what he sells, like the dealers wholesale or retail who sell the food of the body; for they praise indiscriminately all their goods, without knowing what are really beneficial or hurtful.”

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Plato livre Protagoras

313c, Benjamin Jowett, trans.
Protagoras

“The vicious lover is the follower of earthly Love who desires the body rather than the soul; his heart is set on what is mutable and must therefore be inconstant. And as soon as the body he loves begins to pass the first flower of its beauty, he "spreads his wings and flies away," giving the lie to all his pretty speeches and dishonoring his vows, whereas the lover whose heart is touched by moral beauties is constant all his life, for he has become one with what will never fade.”

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Plato

183e, M. Joyce, trans, Collected Dialogues of Plato (1961), p. 537
The Symposium

“Then the case is the same in all the other arts for the orator and his rhetoric; there is no need to know the truth of the actual matters, but one merely needs to have discovered some device of persuasion which will make one appear to those who do not know to know better than those who know.”

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Plato

Gorgias

“My love, Alcibiades, which I hardly like to confess, would long ago have passed away, as I flatter myself, if I saw you loving your good things, or thinking that you ought to pass life in the enjoyment of them.”

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Plato

Socrates speaking to Alcibiades
Alcibiades I

“Socrates: The shoemaker, for example, uses a square tool, and a circular tool, and other tools for cutting?
Alcibiades: Yes.
Socrates: But the tool is not the same as the cutter and user of the tool?
Alcibiades: Of course not. …
Socrates: Then what shall we say of the shoemaker? Does he cut with his tools only or with his hands?
Alcibiades: With his hands as well.
Socrates: He uses his hands too?
Alcibiades: Yes. …
Socrates: And does not a man use the whole body?
Alcibiades: Certainly.
Socrates: And that which uses is different from that which is used?
Alcibiades: True.
Socrates: Then a man is not the same as his own body?
Alcibiades: That is the inference.
Socrates: What is he, then?
Alcibiades: I cannot say.
Socrates: Nay, you can say that he is the user of the body.
Alcibiades: Yes.
Socrates: And the user of the body is the soul?
Alcibiades: Yes, the soul.”

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Plato

Alcibiades I

“Rhetoric, it seems, is a producer of persuasion for belief, not for instruction in the matter of right and wrong … And so the rhetorician's business is not to instruct a law court or a public meeting in matters of right and wrong, but only to make them believe.”

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Plato

Gorgias

“It would be a hard task to discover the maker and father of this universe of ours, and even if we did find him, it would be impossible to speak of him to everyone.”

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Plato livre Timée

Section 28c http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0180:text=Tim.:section=28c, Greek http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0179%3Atext%3DTim.%3Asection%3D28c as quoted in The Watchtower, 2015, 2/15, pp. 19–23 http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2015127
Timaeus

“As a breeze or an echo rebounds from the smooth rocks and returns whence it came, so does the stream of beauty, passing through the eyes which are the windows of the soul, come back to the beautiful one.”

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Plato livre Phèdre

255c
Phaedrus

“Friends have all things in common.”

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Plato livre Phèdre

279
Phaedrus

“Your pride has been too much for the pride of your admirers; they were numerous and high-spirited, but they have all run away, overpowered by your superior force of character; not one of them remains. And I want you to understand the reason why you have been too much for them. You think that you have no need of them or of any other man, for you have great possessions and lack nothing, beginning with the body, and ending with the soul.”

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Plato

Socrates speaking to Alcibiades
Alcibiades I

“I only wish that wisdom were the kind of thing that flowed … from the vessel that was full to the one that was empty.”

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Plato

175d
The Symposium

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