Plato（柏拉图）常被冠以西方哲学之父的美名。他在 Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy（斯坦福大学哲学百科全书）中被称为——
..one of the most dazzling writers in the Western literary tradition and one of the most penetrating, wide-ranging, and influential authors in the history of philosophy.
——文学中最夺人的笔者；哲学中最尖锐，最广泛，最具有影响力的思想。
同时 Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy 中的教授也对柏拉图做出以下评价。
Few other authors in the history of Western philosophy approximate him in depth and range: perhaps only Aristotle (who studied with him), Aquinas and Kant would be generally agreed to be of the same rank.
“在西方哲学中只有极少数作家可与柏拉图思想的深度与视界的广泛媲美。目前只有亚里斯多德（其老师），阿奎奈，康德三位被承认为是与柏拉图同阶级的学者。”
以下为20句流传至今几千年的柏拉图名句，其中浓缩了柏拉图所悟的爱情观、人生观、知识观等。虽然有些严肃，有些带有幽默，但句句都值得思考。以此20句为镜子，读者可从古老贤智者的双眼重看世界。
——第1句——
People are like dirt. They can either nourish you and help you grow as a person or they can stunt your growth and make you wilt and die.
“他人宛如淤泥。可吸取其中的精华而成长；亦可被其淹没而窒息“
——第2句——
We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.
“一个恐惧黑暗的孩童不可悲，可悲的是这个孩子成长为恐惧光明的大人之时。“
——第3句——
Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws.
“既使世间无法律，善人也依然行善；既使有法律，恶徒也总会找到凌驾于法律之上的方法。“
——第4句——
Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder.
“「 美 」不存在于世界；「 美 」居于注视着世界的双眸。“
——第5句——
An empty vessel makes the loudest sound, so they that have the least wit are the greatest babblers.
“敲响一个空的容器会产生最大的声音。人也是同样，头脑越空越是滔滔不绝。“
——第6句——
Good actions give strength to ourselves and inspire good actions in others.
“行善不但会驱使他人行善，也会使行善者变得强大。“
——第7句——
There is in every one of us, even those who seem to be most moderate, a type of desire that is terrible, wild, and lawless.
“在我们每个人中，即使是最平凡的人，都有一股野蛮，凶残，目无法纪的势力在蠢蠢欲动。“
——第8句——
The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men.
“正直之人如对国家政治无顾，他们即付出被歹徒统治的代价。“
——第9句——
Do not train a child to learn by force or harshness; but direct them to it by what amuses their minds, so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each.
“切不可生硬地强迫一个孩子去学习；引导孩子去探寻他本身好奇的事情就够了。如果你能做如此，你将会发现每个孩子中都栖息着一位瑰异的天才。“
——第10句——
Excellence is not a gift, but a skill that takes practice. We do not act ‘rightly’ because we are ‘excellent’, in fact we achieve ‘excellence’ by acting ‘rightly‘.
“优秀不是天赋，是一个需磨练的技能。优秀之人并非因为自身的「优秀」而作出「正确」的选择，但是因为积累「正确」的选择才变得「优秀」。“
——第11句——
The greatest wealth is to live content with little.
“财产上最大的富有莫过于对自身财产的满足。“
——第12句——
Never discourage anyone who continually makes progress, no matter how slow.
“永远不要讥讽一个在努力进步的人，无论他的进步显得如何缓慢、可笑。“
——第13句——
If women are expected to do the same work as men, we must teach them the same things.
“我们既然要求女人作出与男人相等的工作，为何不给予女人与男人相等的教育与机会？“
——第14句——
There is truth in wine and children.
“美酒与孩童中含着世界的真理。“
——第15句——
Wise men speak because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something.
“贤慧者因需要说话而开口，愚昧者因需开口而说话。“
——第16句——
Human behavior flows from three main sources: desire, emotion, and knowledge.
“世人的行为被三力驱使：对美好的渴望，需发泄的情绪，与理性的知识。具体被哪种力制裁，由你自己决定。“
——第17句——
*** Everything that deceives may be said to enchant.***
“能够欺骗一个人的事物一定也是令他陶醉的事物。“
——第18句——
Love is born into every human being; it calls back the halves of our original nature together; it tries to make one out of two and heal the wound of human nature.
“人们生时都含着爱。爱将我们丢失的另一半归回到身边；爱使两个碎缺的个体合为一个完整的存在；爱弥补了人性的瑕疵。“
——第19句——
False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil.
“谎言不但自身邪恶；它也会感染灵魂，使口吐谎言的人渐至邪恶。“
——第20句——
Every heart sings a song, incomplete, until another heart whispers back. Those who wish to sing always find a song. At the touch of a lover, everyone becomes a poet.
“获得另一颗心的回复之前，每一颗心都讴歌着一首残缺的曲子。想要讴歌的人总能寻到属于自己的曲子。当所爱之人的身姿映在瞳中时，世人皆成诗人。“