Crates of Athens Quotes
Crates of Athens was a Greek philosopher and the fifth head of the Platonic Academy after Polemo, succeeding around 270 BC. Together with his slightly older friend Polemo, who had moved the Academy in a more sober and ethical direction after the more speculative Old Academy of Speusippus and Xenocrates, Crates is remembered for the gentle moral seriousness of the Athenian Academy in his time, before its turn to skepticism under his pupil Arcesilaus. The quotes below are attributed to Crates of Athens, organized by topic.
Crates of Athens on Knowledge
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Attributed to Crates of Athens:
“He who knows how to converse has half-mastered the philosophical life.”
Crates of Athens on Love
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Attributed to Crates of Athens:
“Friendship between philosophers is the truest of philosophical proofs.”
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Attributed to Crates of Athens:
“What is shared in the garden is more precious than what is taught in the lecture hall.”
Crates of Athens on Mind
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Attributed to Crates of Athens:
“Reason is the proper ornament of the soul; rhetoric is its borrowed costume.”
Crates of Athens on Virtue
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Attributed to Crates of Athens:
“The Academy is a school of virtuous quiet, not of clever noise.”