Plato
PLATO  Macroknow Library
   

   
The Laws.
"Both [money and goods], in excess, produce enmity and feuds in private and public life, while a deficiency almost invariably leads to slavery."1a EINSTEIN

"Money must not be deposited with anybody whom one does not trust."1b

"There must be no lending at interest because it will be quite in order for the borrower to refuse absolutely to return both interest and principal."1c ARISTOTLE AQUINAS MONTESQUIEU JEFFERSON POUND

" . . . [T]o be extremely virtuous and exceptionally rich at the same time is absolutely out of the question. 'Why?' . . . 'Because . . . the profit from using just and unjust methods is more than twice as much as that from just methods alone . . . '"1d

"Of all the things a man can call his own, the holiest (thought the gods are holier still) is his soul, his most intimate possession. There are two elements that make up the whole of every man. One is stronger and superior, and acts as master; the other, which is weaker and inferior, is a slave . . . "1e DIOGENES ARISTOTLE HEGEL MILL SANTAYANA [See Edward Ayoub's Quantum Theory of Economics.] AYOUB


       
   
Republic. "[W]ould God willingly mask the truth behind appearance and deceive us by his words or action? . . . [T]here's nothing of the lying poet in God. . . God is entirely uniform and truthful."2a DESCARTES RUSSELL

Allegory of the cave. "[H]ere's a situation which you can use as an analogy for the human condition . . . Imagine people living in a cavernous cell down under the ground . . . They've been there since childhood, with their legs and necks tied up . . . There's firelight burning . . . behind them . . . [T]he shadows of artefacts would constitute the only reality people in this situation would recognize."2b VOLTAIRE ROUSSEAU

" . . . [U]nderstanding . . . is undoubtedly a property of something which is more divine: it never loses its power, and it is useful and beneficial, or useless and harmful, depending on its orientation. For example, surely you've noticed how the petty minds of those who are acknowledged to be bad, but clever, are sharp-eyed and perceptive enough to gain insights into matters they direct their attention towards. It's not as if they weren't sharp-sighted, but their minds are forced to serve evil, and consequently the keener their vision is, the greater the evil they accomplish."2c PENROSE


   
   
 

1 Plato (c. 427-347 B.C.). The Laws. Translated with an Introduction by Trevor J. Saunders, 1970. Penguin Group.
a Wealth (729), at 192.
b The Possession of Money (742), at 211.
c The Possession of Money (742), at 211.
d The Possession of Money (743), at 212.
e The Importance of Honouring the Soul, at 189-191.

2 Plato. Republic. Translated by Robin Waterfield. Robin Waterfield, 1993. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
a Primary Education for the Guardians (382a-382c), at 77-78.
b The Supremacy of Good, Allegory of the Cave (514a-514c), at 240-241.
c The Supremacy of Good (518e-519a), at 245-246.