Did Plato say: “Only the dead saw the end of the war”?

The ancient Greek philosopher Plato is often credited with a quote about the war. We checked whether such an attribution is correct.

The phrase allegedly said by Plato quotes not only onlineCitterals And Users Internet, but also Artists, Writers And politicians From different countries. In particular, the military-historical drama Ridley Scott begins with her "Black Hawk". Another film - "Sorting" Danisa Tanovich - this “quote” ends. Word attributed to Plato engraved On the walls of the Imperial Military Museum in London and the US Military Academy in West Point. Sometimes a quote is possible Meet In the future of time: “Only the dead will see the end of the war” (for example, on the loading screen of a strategic computer game Rome: Total War). But its more common option is in the past.

Plato was born About 428 BC. e. Having lived most of his life in Athens, the philosopher witnessed the political and military decline of the policy. The main reason was Peloponnesian war (431–404) between the two dominant cities of ancient Greece: Athens and Sparta. Despite this, about the war Plato He wrote Not a lot. Most of all in military affairs he was interested in Jus en Bello - International humanitarian law.

Reasoning about the war is found in Plato's works "Alcibiades I" And "Lahes"Where the philosopher shares his idea of ​​the humane war. IN "Republic" And "Laws" Plato describes the creation of a landscaped and virtuous state through the training of military guards of the city with the principles of humanitarian law.

IN Collections works of Plato on the website "Project" Gutenberg "" or in complete works 1997 of the publication failed to find a quote of interest to us or the statements similar to it. And researchers of the creativity of the philosopher They thinkthat the phrase is not written in his style. “Not like Plato,” - said Professor of the University of Chicago and Plato's work expert Nathan Tarkov in a letter to the Daily Caller online portal. “I cannot imagine a dialogue in which it would fit.”

So who is the author of this phrase? Professor of the California State Polytechnic University Dr. Bernard Duffy Found quote in the work of the Spanish-American philosopher George Santaana. In the collection of the essay "Monologists in England" (1922) Sanan RememberingAs he sat in a cafe in Oxford and watched a group of singing wounded soldiers who were located at the next table. Officers rejoiced just a signed truce in the First World War: they do not need to return to the front, now they are safe. And Sannya notes that humanity is not learning from its mistakes and therefore is doomed to repeat them: “The poor fellow thinks that they are safe! They think that war - perhaps the last of the wars is over! Only dead are safe; Only the dead saw the end of the war. "

As far as we can judge, for the first time a quote is erroneous attributed Platon is one of the US Army leaders during World War II, general Douglas MacArthur. In 1935, in a speech before his division, the general said: “Over the past 3400 years, only 268 - less than one of 13 - passed without wars. It is not surprising that Plato, the wisest of people, once exclaimed: "Only the dead saw the end of the war!" " MacArthur repeated this quote in Epistles Graduates of the US Military Academy in 1962 and again attributed it to Plato, "the wisest of all philosophers." Most likely, this is how the phrase gained popularity in the English -speaking world.

The earliest mention of this statement in the Russian language that we managed to detect is found in reviews To the film Ridley Scott "Black Hawk" (2001). The white quote on a black background opens the film, and the Russian -speaking translation reads the voice behind the scenes. 

Thus, it can be assumed that the famous American commander MacArthur distributed a quotation of Santana by attributing it to Plato by mistake or to give authority. After several decades, the film director Scott used the quote in his film. And already from the translated film, the expression became popular in Russian -speaking sources precisely as a quote from Plato.

Incorrect attribution of quote

What do our verdicts mean?

Image on the cover: Britannica

Read on the topic:

1. NIU HSE. Platonic ideas
2. "Knife". How to read Plato's dialogs so as not to get confused and become smarter
3. The Gutenberg project. The collection of Essay George Sanjana "Monologists in England" (1922)
4. The Wall Street Journal. "The Letters of George Santayana" Book Review