Quote
By Plato
Now the worst part of the punishment is that he who refuses to rule is liable to be ruled by one who is worse than himself.
- Source
- The Republic, Republic, Book I
- Read at
- Plato, translated by Benjamin Jowett, The Dialogues of Plato (Project Gutenberg text, eBook #1497)
Share this quote
About this quote
From Book I of The Republic, in Benjamin Jowett's translation. Plato wrote it as a dialogue, so the words are Plato's text. Socrates is the speaker, talking with Glaucon about why good people agree to hold office. The punishment is for good people who refuse to rule: they are ruled by someone worse. The popular version about being ruled by someone inferior is a paraphrase; this is Jowett's wording.