Quotation
Last reviewed:
“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”
Plato · Platonism · Ancient · 1890s, not the 4th century BCE
What does it mean?
Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle. There is no such sentence in the dialogues. A close form, about being pitiful because every man is fighting a hard battle, is associated with Ian Maclaren, the Scottish writer John Watson, in the 1890s. Plato's name was added because kindness plus antiquity sounds Platonic. A rival reading says Socrates would have approved, so the attribution is a venial upgrade. The advice is a decent modern ethic. It does not become ancient by being gentle, and it does not become Socratic by being sad.
Did Plato really say this?
The library’s label is Misattributed. There is no such sentence in the dialogues. A close form, 'Be pitiful, for every man is fighting a hard battle', is associated with Ian Maclaren in the 1890s. Plato's name was added because kindness-plus-antiquity sounds Platonic. It is not.
Where it comes from
Not in Plato; a modern line associated with the Scottish writer Ian Maclaren (John Watson), 1890s
Approximate date: 1890s, not the 4th century BCE.
How to use it
Be kind on your own account, or cite Maclaren if you want a Victorian source, when you are short with someone on a ward or at a school gate. Do not put the sentence in Socrates' mouth to make it heavier. The heaviness is the tell. A hard battle is not improved by a false classical sponsor.
A mindset reading
Plato is a magnet for any sentence that sounds profound and a little sad. Profundity is not a signature. The dialogues are full of people being unkind in the service of an argument, which is another reason this line does not sound like them.
Understand the philosophy
Hearing the difference between this postcard and the Republic's actual concerns is an education in voice. If the voices sound the same to you, that is the reason to read a page of the dialogue rather than another poster.
- ethics
- love
- society
FAQ
What does it mean?
Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle. There is no such sentence in the dialogues. A close form, about being pitiful because every man is fighting a hard battle, is associated with Ian Maclaren, the Scottish writer John Watson, in the 1890s. Plato's name was added because kindness plus antiquity sounds Platonic. A rival reading says Socrates would have approved, so the attribution is a venial upgrade. The advice is a decent modern ethic. It does not become ancient by being gentle, and it does not become Socratic by being sad.
Did Plato really say this?
Misattributed. There is no such sentence in the dialogues. A close form, 'Be pitiful, for every man is fighting a hard battle', is associated with Ian Maclaren in the 1890s. Plato's name was added because kindness-plus-antiquity sounds Platonic. It is not.
Which work is it in?
Not in Plato; a modern line associated with the Scottish writer Ian Maclaren (John Watson), 1890s Approximate date: 1890s, not the 4th century BCE.