"Plato was the most artistic of philosophers, and, among men of great eminence, one of the worst of investigators; not, assuredly, from deficient power, but from his disastrous misconception of Method. In spite of a certain loitering diffuseness of style, and an oppressive circumstantiality in refuting trivial considerations, no one before Plato, no one since, has managed the extremely difficult art of dramatic debate on philosophic topics with such commanding success; and in consequence of this fascinating art, aided by the union of dialectical subtlety with mystical yearnings, a subtlety which seems to give a hope to mysticism, and a warrant to transcendentalism, no one has exercised a more pernicious influence on culture. The charm of the artist has immortalized the vices of the thinker."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
George Henry Lewes, Aristotle: a Chapter from the History of Science (1864)
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Plato
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Plato
Plato (Πλάτων Plátōn; c. 427 BC – c. 347 BC) was a Greek philosopher from Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece, founder of the Platonist school of thought and the Academy (Akademia), the first institution of higher learning in the Western world.
191 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Plato →
Related Quotes
"Oh dear Pan and all the other Gods of this place, grant that I may be beautiful inside."
"Let parents then bequeath to their children not riches but the spirit of reverence."
"No one should be discouraged, Theaetetus, who can make constant progress, even though it be slow."
"I shall assume that your silence gives consent."
"Some say that the body is the "tomb" of the soul, their notion being that the soul is buried in the present life; and…"
"If the very essence of knowledge changes, at the moment of the change to another essence of knowledge there would be …"
"Wonder is the feeling of a philosopher, and philosophy begins in wonder."
"No man of sense can put himself and his soul under the control of names... You must consider courageously and thoroug…"
"Ηow natural it is that those who have spent a long time in the study of philosophy appear ridiculous when they enter …"
"It is difficult to set forth any of the greater ideas, except by the use of examples; for it would seem that each of …"