quote · Legacy record
Here's something else I'd like your opinion about," I said. "If he went back underground and sat down again in the same spot, wouldn't the sudden transition from the sunlight mean that his eyes would be overwhelmed by darkness?" "Certainly," he replied. "Now, the process of adjustment would be quite long this time, and suppose that before his eyes had settled down and while he wasn't seeing well, he had once again to compete against those same old prisoners at identifying those shadows. Would he make a fool of himself? Wouldn't they say that he'd come back from his upward journey with his eyes ruined, and that it wasn't even worth trying to go up there? And would they -- if they could -- grab hold of anyone who tried to set them free and take them up there and kill him?
Here's something else I'd like your opinion about," I said. "If he went back underground and sat down again in the same spot, wouldn't the sudden transition from the sunlight mean that his eyes would be overwhelmed by darkness?" "Certainly," he replied. "Now, the process of adjustment would be quite long this time, and suppose that before his eyes had settled down and while he wasn't seeing well, he had once again to compete against those same old prisoners at identifying those shadows. Would he make a fool of himself? Wouldn't they say that he'd come back from his upward journey with his eyes ruined, and that it wasn't even worth trying to go up there? And would they -- if they could -- grab hold of anyone who tried to set them free and take them up there and kill him?
Approximate author period: c. 387 BC · classical
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- Author or tradition
- Plato
Attribution: attributed - Country attributed
- Not established
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- Approximate author period: c. 387 BC · classical
Approximate historical context for attribution to Plato, based on life years -427 to -347. Opening discussion dates Plato circa 427–347 BCE. Ancient life years and the resulting grouping point are approximate, not independently verified dates for attributed quotations. Source: Plato on Knowledge in the Theaetetus — Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/plato-theaetetus/ (checked 2026-10-09). This does not establish the composition date or authenticate the attribution of these words. Source: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/plato-theaetetus/ (accessed 2026-10-09).
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Supplied reference C; CSV row 297991; supplied attribution, independently unverified
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