B I hope everyone is tired of this saying, but in it, as in everything Greek, lies a sea of ​​nuances that are important not so much for the Greeks, they are knee-deep in the Aegean Sea, but for you and me.

Judge for yourself. "Plato is my friend but the truth is dearer". This means “more dear to me.” Those. there are clearly three present here: (1) Plato, who is called a friend, (2) truth, and (3) Socrates (let's say Socrates, who is behind this phrase).

Plato expressed something that we call Platonic truth, and Socrates, who most likely has his own truth, different from Plato’s, does not agree with it. He will express it now - whether Plato likes it or not.

Socrates has friendly feelings towards Plato, which he declares openly, and this is expressed in the fact that he would not want to offend him. But it can’t help but offend! Because Socrates’ own truth is more valuable than Plato’s well-being.

We dare to guess that Plato may be somewhat upset (that is, Socrates thinks that he will be upset, as he would have done in his place) when he sees that his truth is rejected by Socrates. Those. Plato will not so much like Socrates' truth as he worries about his own.

And Socrates, knowing about his younger friend’s touchiness, hastens to apologize to him. They say, don’t be offended, but I’ll refute you now. And he refutes - as they say, regardless of the persons, in this case Plato.

Judging by his tone, Socrates expressed a universal truth. This means that it is recursively true in relation to itself (because it contains the term “truth”). It turns out that when speaking about the truth that is dear to himself, he means exactly this: “Plato is my friend, but the truth, etc.”

Truth is more important than the warmest friendship - Socrates said this. And even more so, more important than any other person. And this is my truth! At least I share it, even if it was stated by someone else, say (mythical) Athenagoras of Edessa. So, if I share the opinion of Athenagoras, then it belongs to me too! And to you, Plato, I declare my truth only so that you also make it yours, abandoning false delusions. Those. I'm telling you for your own benefit. But even if you don’t agree, I will still express it to you, shout it, recite it. Because the truth is more important than anything else.

We see that the Greeks, “according to Socrates” in the above expression, live not in the world of people, but in the world of truth. (This maxim is the truth of Socrates.) Moreover, it - in any of its forms - is completely concrete, and not conditional, not supramaterial, i.e. not one of those that are cognizable only mystically, through the construction of ideal structures (this is Plato’s idea about the world of the ideal).

The completely material and grounded Socrates prefers specificity to the ideal Plato. In other words, the world “according to Plato,” where the priority of people over ideas reigns, is ideal, unreal, and platonic. Socrates does not agree with such a world; he denies it the right to exist.

I don’t know who Plato really was (in our context), but Socrates, based on the above expression, endowed him with a completely recognizable point of view. Plato (according to this expression) could say: truth is dear to me, but you, Socrates, are much dearer, and I cannot offend you with my truth.

(A small note. Socrates is talking about truth in general. He does not say: my truth is dearer to me than Plato with his truth. Thus, Socrates brings into his truth - and it is still only his! - himself. Socrates seems to be saying: I , Socrates, is more important than you, Plato. - But let’s not focus on this, so as not to completely quarrel our friends.)

So, Plato is afraid of offending Socrates. Socrates is not afraid to offend Plato. Plato sees a friend in Socrates, and this is not an empty phrase for him. Socrates also considers Plato his friend, but is ready to neglect his friendly attitude towards him, for he, Socrates, is even closer friends with the truth. Socrates has a gradation of friendship, a degree of preference: Plato stands at a lower level than truth. (It is not for nothing that he uses the term “more expensive” in connection with truth.) Plato does not have such a ladder: he treats Socrates with no less love than he treats his truth. He doesn't want to offend him. And even more precisely, he would rather offend the truth than a friend.

To offend the truth means to be ready, under certain circumstances, to abandon it, to agree that a friend’s opinion is no less significant, and perhaps superior to mine, it can be assumed to be more true, correct, even if I do not share it.

And if this is the total rule that Plato adheres to, then his only truth is to never offend your friends. Even at the expense of my Platonic truth. And you can offend them only by rejecting the truth to which they reverently cling. Therefore, we will not reject, criticize, or show the inconsistency of someone else’s opinion.

And since we are talking about philosophers, then, most likely, for them a friend is everyone who has his own truth, or at least some truth. For Socrates, living in what seems to him to be a real world, his own truth has the greatest value. While for the idealist Plato, no one's truth is valuable enough to hurt a person for the sake of it.

Practice shows that most people - Socrates - live in a world of truths. Platos live in the world of people. For Socrates, ideas and truths are important, for Platos - the environment.

I don’t want to say that this intellectual and ethical confrontation determines the main course of world history. But practice shows that the balance of power over the centuries has shifted towards the world of people, pushing the world of truth aside. Those. that truth, which only yesterday was recognized as more important than a person, goes into the shadows and becomes a lie.

But why did this shift take so long? Because the Platos cannot impose their obvious truth on the Socrates. Because people are more important to them than the imposed Platonic truth. Let them come to her themselves.

“Following me, think less about Socrates and more about the truth.” These words are allegedly spoken by Socrates in Plato's Phaedrus. That is, Plato puts into the mouth of his teacher the advice to his students to choose the truth rather than faith in the authority of the teacher. But the phrase has spread all over the world precisely in the version given above: “Plato is my friend, but the truth is dearer.” In this form, it no longer calls for independence of judgment from authorities, but for the dictate of truth over norms of behavior. Truth is more important than ethics.

Plato is my friend but the truth is dearer

From Latin: Amicus Plato, sed magis amica veritas[amicus plateau, sed magis amica varitas].

In world literature it first appears in the novel (Part 2, Chapter 51) “Don Quixote” (1615) by a Spanish writer Miguel Cervantes de Saavedra(1547-1616). After the publication of the novel, the expression became world famous.

Primary source - the words of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato (421- 348 BC e.). In the essay “Phaedo”, he puts the following words into the mouth of Socrates: “Following me, think less about Socrates, and more about the truth.” That is, Plato advises students to choose the truth rather than faith in the authority of the teacher.

A similar phrase is found in Aristotle (IV century BC), who in his work “Nicomachean Ethics” wrote: “Even though friends and truth are dear to me, duty commands me to give preference to truth.” In other, later, ancient authors, this expression occurs in the form: “Socrates is dear to me, but the truth is dearest of all.”

Thus, the history of the famous expression is paradoxical: its actual author - Plato - became at the same time its “hero”, and it was in this form, edited by time, that Plato’s words entered world culture. This expression served as the basis for the formation of similar phrases, the most famous of which are the words of the German church reformer Martin Luther (1483-1546). In his work “On the Enslaved Will,” he wrote: “Plato is my friend, Socrates is my friend, but truth should be preferred.”

How often, falling under the influence of someone else’s views and opinions, we bow to other people’s authorities. Sometimes this happens contrary to common sense. For example, parents always think: they know what is best for their child. Who should he be friends with, what hobby should he choose, what profession should he realize himself in. And even the personal life of their child should be built according to the orders of adults. Are those who gave us life always right? And can someone else’s life experience be considered the ultimate truth?

Popular expression

For such cases, the most suitable expression is one that became popular a long time ago. It sounds like this: “Plato is my friend, but the truth is dearer.” Like most aphorisms, this one also has a primary source. At the end of the 16th - beginning of the 17th century, there lived such a famous writer - Miguel Cervantes de Saavedra. Everyone knows his funny and ideal hero - Don Quixote of La Mancha. In the second part of the novel, in chapter 51, we come across something familiar: “Plato is my friend, but the truth is dearer.” So, this means where this phrase came into our language! “Amicus Plato, sed ma-gis amika varitas” is a Russian transcription. Why did we remember it? Cervantes simply introduced the phrase to the broad masses of readers. But he only repeated in Spanish what the ancients had said long before him.

An excursion into history...

And now let’s mentally take a time machine to even later times. IV century BC, Ancient Greece, the great Plato, his philosophical school and works, which to this day have not lost their relevance and interest. In one of them - the essay "Phaedo" - Plato cites the words of Socrates, of whom he himself was a student, where his brilliant predecessor advises to look less back at himself when defending his point of view. Truth is more valuable than authority, Socrates argued. And the author of the Phaedo completely agrees with this. Hence: “Plato is my friend, but the truth is dearer.” Let us note that the philosopher gives his students a precise instruction: they should go to the end if they are confident in their own rightness, and not think about whether this coincides with the opinion of their teacher.

From Plato to Aristotle

Ancient Greece gave the world many geniuses. One cannot help but recall another remarkable representative of it - Aristotle. This is also the 4th century BC, only a slightly later period. He is the author of the profound and serious work “Nicomachean Ethics”. In it, Aristotle, continuing the thoughts of his teachers (Socrates and the same Plato), wrote that, no matter how dear his friends were to him, if one chooses between them and the truth, preference should still be given to the truth. This saying has such a long history! But it is not yet final, because many ancient writers believed that the primary source of all the “fuss” was Socrates, it was his name that was mentioned in the aphorism. But, as we have established, it would be more correct to say this: “Plato is my friend, but the truth is dearer!”

Further eras

So, here we have a classic example of a logical and cultural paradox. The author released an axiom that contradicts himself. On its basis, many similar statements of “general content” were subsequently compiled. For example, justifying his religious and philosophical postulates, he speaks with almost the same universal formula, very close to the traditional one: “Plato is my friend, but the truth is dearer,” only mentioning Socrates and using the volitional imperative “should be preferred.” Its meaning, of course, is clear: in any dispute, correctness, compliance with common sense, and objectivity should act as an arbiter. Or the truth. It is she who should act as an absolute value and have privileges over all subjective opinions.

Let's look at examples

In what cases is such an expression appropriate? Almost in all cases, when it comes to serious fundamental decisions, on which, for example, the fate of an important scientific discovery, the solution of a legal issue, etc., or even personal relationships may depend. Dudintsev's novel “White Clothes” discusses issues related to a new branch of biology - genetics. You may ask, what does the same aphorism have to do with all this: “Plato is my friend, but the truth is dearer”? Its meaning is directly related to the conflict revealed in the work: some scientists follow the lead of the official authorities, agree on everything with the “people's academician” Ryadno (prototype Lysenko). For the sake of personal gain and power, he “overwrites” not only his talented colleagues, but also openly falsifies and pours lies on progressive scientific ideas.

Others are not afraid to openly fight these retrogrades and opportunists, but defend the truth despite the danger that threatens them. These are Dezhkin, Tsvyakh, Strigalev, Kheifetz. The latter, for example, is so shocked by the atmosphere of hidden meanness and denunciations in the team that, although there are many of his friends among the scientists working there, he is ready to leave the walls of the institute where he worked for many years. “Plato is my friend, but truth is dearer” - he proves the meaning of this statement with his own actions. And not only him! Dezhkin once considered Ryadno a true professional, a man of great intelligence and talent, a biologist with a capital B. Having learned that the academician has stooped to appropriating other people's discoveries and subjecting their authors to persecution and repression, he is also indignant and stands up in defense of the truth.

“Plato is my friend, but truth is dearer” - what does this statement mean for him? Much: Dezhkin brings to the end the work of the destroyed underground laboratory. He risks his life by passing on valuable information to Western colleagues who came to the Union specifically for this purpose. And then for many years, until Stalin’s death and the rehabilitation of his colleagues, some of whom died in prison or camps, he lives practically underground. These are the hardships and sacrifices that principled people are willing to make for the sake of truth!

Literature gives us worthy examples!

“I believe that the science of geography, which I have now decided to study, just like any other science, is included in the circle of activities of a philosopher... After all, those who first took upon themselves the courage to study it were, as Eratosthenes claims, in a sense philosophers : Homer, Anaximander of Miletus and Hecataeus, his compatriot; then Democritus, Dicaearchus, Ephorus and some of their other contemporaries. Their successors were also philosophers: Eratosthenes, Polybius and Posidonius. On the other hand, great learning alone makes it possible to study geography...”

Thus begins Geography, the famous manuscript of the great Greek scientist Strabo. Strabo was an Ionian by origin, that is, a native of Asia Minor and first a subject of King Mithridates of Pontus, and then a Roman citizen. Strabo studied with Tyranion, Aristophanes and Xenarchus. He devoted a lot of time to studying Homer's texts.

He wrote two works - “History” and “Geography”. Only his last work in 17 books has reached us, thanks to which the views of the ancients about the structure of the Earth are well known.

Strabo described Europe, Africa and Asia in his work. Europe in Geography began with the Iberian Peninsula, Greece and Italy were described in detail. Asia, according to Strabo, consisted of Persia, Babylon, India, Armenia, Palestine, Arabia, Phoenicia and other states. The geographer considered India to be the eastern edge of the inhabited earth; he also considered the Chinese to be the people of this country.

The main advantage of Strabo's book is its very detailed description of the countries and peoples inhabiting them. In two books Strabo discusses the philosophy of geographical science, in one he describes Africa, in six he describes Asia. At eight – Europe.

Where did this generally good knowledge come from? From travelers and sailors. Trade caravans, even in the most ancient times, could cross countries and continents, sail along the seas along the coasts and over not too far distances. The ships were unsuitable for sailing on the open sea, much less in the ocean. The reason is the weakness of the sailing armament. The ancient Greeks had it almost the same as on Thor Heyerdahl’s raft “Kon-Tiki”. Let us remember that the Kon-Tiki, having overcome thousands of miles with a fair wind and current, crashed on the reefs of one of the Polynesian islands, because it could not maneuver. The ancient Greek ships were just as clumsy.

For this reason, neither the Greeks nor the Romans discovered America, and they did not even circumnavigate Africa. Let us remember that the mighty Julius Caesar only entertained himself by river walks with Cleopatra along the Nile.

Another source of information about the structure of the Earth were the stories of foreign experts. This is precisely the origin of the most intriguing geographical mystery of antiquity - Atlantis.

Plato spoke about it in his dialogues Timaeus and Critias. Plato himself learned about Atlantis from the manuscript of his distant ancestor, the famous legislator Solon. And the Egyptian priests told him the story of the death of a great civilization. Nine thousand years BC, the Greeks fought with a powerful power called Atlantis and defeated it. But then floods and earthquakes destroyed the cities of the Greeks. And Atlantis completely sank under water.

Modern scientists treat the history of Atlantis as a legend. This is, in general, strange, because Plato is one of the greatest scientists of all time and it is impossible to blame him for dishonesty.

But the research of modern archaeologist Eberhard Zangger can clarify this confusing story. Zangger revised the ancient translations and corrected the inaccuracies found in them. And most importantly, he corrected the ancient Egyptian calendars. And, in his opinion, Atlantis is a peninsula. And the great battle of the Greeks with the kings of Atlantis took place around 1207 BC.

At this time the Greeks were actually at war. On the Asia Minor Peninsula. The Greek chronicles give the date of the assault on Troy - 1209 BC.

The story of the priests to Solon about the disasters coincides with the real events of that period - the Late Bronze Age. The Mycenaean culture and its cities were destroyed almost instantly. In 1204 BC. the fortress of Mycenaean Tiryns is shaken by the blows of the underground elements and sinks under a mud avalanche. The cities of Pylos and Mycenae perish almost simultaneously. Heavy floods hit Troy at this time.

The world of Odysseus and Achilles was destroyed. The Mediterranean trade system was destroyed. The dark ages of antiquity have arrived. And only 400 years later the voice of Homer was heard. His Iliad was written using a newly invented alphabet.

Solon's story has undergone distortions over the course of six generations. Or maybe Solon himself got confused in the texts written on the column of the ancient Egyptian temple.

As for the conscientious Strabo, the factual instability of Plato’s studies was obvious to him. Just like other ancient geographers. That's why none of them mentions Atlantis.

Modern scientists are vigorously discussing Zangger's discoveries, whose scientific thoroughness is beyond suspicion. If his conclusions are confirmed, then humanity will lose a beautiful fairy tale, but will enrich its knowledge of real ancient history.

As Aristotle said: “Plato is my friend, but truth is dearer.”

Plato is my friend but the truth is dearer
From Latin: Amicus Plato, sed magis arnica Veritas (amicus plateau, sed ma-gis amica veritas).
In world literature it first appears in the novel (Part 2, Chapter 51) “Don Quixote” (1615) by the Spanish writer Miguel Cervantes de Saavedra (1547-1616). After the publication of the novel, the expression became world famous.
The primary source is the words of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato (421-348 BC). In the essay “Phaedo”, he puts the following words into the mouth of Socrates: “Following me, think less about Socrates, and more about the truth.” That is, Plato advises students to choose the truth rather than faith in the authority of the teacher.
A similar phrase is found in Aristotle (IV century BC), who in his work “Nicomachean Ethics” wrote: “Even though friends and truth are dear to me, duty commands me to give preference to truth.” In other, later, ancient authors, this expression occurs in the form: “Socrates is dear to me, but the truth is dearest of all.”
Thus, the history of the famous expression is paradoxical: its actual author - Plato - became at the same time its “hero”, and it was in this form, edited by time, that Plato’s words entered world culture. This expression served as the basis for the formation of similar phrases, the most famous of which are the words of the German church reformer Martin Luther (1483-1546). In his work “On the Enslaved Will,” he wrote: “Plato is my friend, Socrates is my friend, but truth should be preferred.”
The meaning of the expression: truth, accurate knowledge is the highest, absolute value, and authority is not an argument.

Encyclopedic Dictionary of winged words and expressions. - M.: “Locked-Press”. Vadim Serov. 2003.

Plato is my friend but the truth is dearer

The Greek philosopher Plato (427-347 BC) in his essay “Phaedo” attributes to Socrates the words: “Following me, think less about Socrates, and more about the truth.” Aristotle, in his work “Nicomachean Ethics,” polemicizes with Plato and, referring to him, writes: “Even though friends and truth are dear to me, duty commands me to give preference to truth.” Luther (1483-1546) says: “Plato is my friend, Socrates is my friend, but truth should be preferred” (“On the Enslaved Will,” 1525). The expression “Amicus Plato, sed magis amica veritas” - “Plato is my friend, but the truth is dearer”, was formulated by Cervantes in the 2nd part, ch. 51 novels "Don Quixote" (1615).

Dictionary of catch words. Plutex. 2004.

See what “Plato is my friend, but truth is dearer” in other dictionaries:

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