Plato, The Great Philosopher

Plato is the most celebrated, honoured and revered of all the philosophers of the western world. He lived in Athens twenty-four centuries ago, in the fourth century before Christ, and throughout history, since then the praise of Plato has been expressed in figures of speech, which compete with one another in their eloquence. He is said to be the greatest of the philosophers which western civilization has produced; he is said to be the father of western philosophy; the son of the god Apollo; a sublime dramatist and poet with a vision of beauty which enhances all human life; a mystic who, before Christ and Saint Paul, beheld a transcendent realm of goodness, love, and beauty; he is said to be the greatest of the moralists and social philosophers of all time.