A system of morality that is based on relative emotional values is a mere illusion, a thoroughly vulgar conception that has nothing sound in it and nothing true.
SocratesRead
No man undertakes a trade he has not learned, even the meanest; yet everyone thinks himself sufficiently qualified for the hardest of all trades, that of government.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Socrates points out the irony that while people train for many professions, they often believe they are fit to govern without any formal education or experience.
In this quote, Socrates highlights a fundamental contradiction in human nature: individuals take the time to learn and prepare for various trades and professions, recognizing the need for expertise in those areas. However, when it comes to the complex and impactful role of governance, many assume they are inherently qualified despite lacking the necessary education or training, which can lead to poor decision-making and chaos in society.
Themes
GovernmentQualificationIronyPhilosophyPreparedness
In practice
Example use cases
In a political debate, one might reference this quote to emphasize the importance of experience in leadership.
More from Socrates
All quotes βThe poets are only the interpreters of the gods.
SocratesRead
I am wiser than this man, for neither of us appears to know anything great and good; but he fancies he knows something, although he knows nothing; whereas I, as I do not know anything, so I do not fancy I do. In this trifling particular, then, I appear to be wiser than he, because I do not fancy I know what I do not know.
SocratesRead
The unexamined life is not worth living.
SocratesRead
When I was young, I believed that life might unfold in an orderly way, according to my hopes and expectations. But now I understand that the Way winds like a river, always changing, ever onward.. My journeys revealed that the Way itself creates the warrior; that every path leads to peace, every choice to wisdom. And that life has always been, and will always be, arising in Mystery.
SocratesRead
Not life, but good life, is to be chiefly valued." "It is not living that matters, but living rightly. The unexamined life is not worth living.
SocratesRead
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Good works do not make a good man, but a good man does good works.
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Every man is a borrower and a mimic, life is theatrical and literature a quotation.
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To wage war on misery and to struggle against injustice is to promote, along with improved conditions, the human and spiritual progress of all men, and therefore the common good of humanity. Peace cannot be limited to a mere absence of war, the result of an ever precarious balance of forces. No, peace is something that is built up day after day, in the pursuit of an order intended by God, which implies a more perfect form of justice among men.
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