# Plato — Essays character guide

> Plato in Essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson.

**Role:** minor

**First appearance:** 0001-self-reliance

## Who they are

Ancient Greek philosopher, often referenced for his ideas on truth and forms.

## In the story

### [History](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/emerson_essays_se/chapters/history)

Cited as an example of a mind whose thoughts any individual can access; also referenced for his view that poets utter wisdom they themselves do not understand.

### [Self-Reliance](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/emerson_essays_se/chapters/self-reliance)

Cited alongside Moses and Milton as a figure who disregarded books and traditions to speak his own mind.

### [Spiritual Laws](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/emerson_essays_se/chapters/spiritual-laws)

Referenced as having a 'secret doctrine' that cannot be hidden from like-minded wise men such as Bacon, Montaigne, and Kant across ages.

### [Love](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/emerson_essays_se/chapters/love)

Cited among the 'truly wise' who have taught the spiritual doctrine of love throughout the ages, linking personal affection to divine beauty.

### [Friendship](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/emerson_essays_se/chapters/friendship)

Referenced indirectly through the 'circle of godlike men and women' and the philosophical ideal of lofty intelligence, embodying the intellectual aspiration of friendship.

### [Heroism](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/emerson_essays_se/chapters/heroism)

Implied through the philosophical context of the 'heroic cast of character' and the ascent from the material, akin to Plotinus who is mentioned.

### [Circles](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/emerson_essays_se/chapters/circles)

Mentioned in the context of his ideas being absorbed and transcended by later thought, exemplifying how even great philosophical systems are circles to be outgrown.

### [Art](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/emerson_essays_se/chapters/art)

Implied through the discussion of ideal forms and the pursuit of beauty from religion and love, aligning with Platonic philosophy.

### [The Poet](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/emerson_essays_se/chapters/the-poet)

Cited among the 'highest minds' who explore the manifold symbolic meaning of sensuous facts.

### [Gifts](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/emerson_essays_se/chapters/gifts)

Referenced indirectly via the concept of 'likeness' as the true basis of connection, which echoes Platonic ideas of affinity.

### [Nature](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/emerson_essays_se/chapters/nature)

Referenced as a pinnacle of spiritual and intellectual evolution, representing the preaching of the immortality of the soul, which is a distant but inevitable arrival in nature's progression.

### [Politics](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/emerson_essays_se/chapters/politics)

Presented as a man of truth whose influence compels society to revolve around his ideas forever, exemplifying the eternal building on Ideas.

### [Nominalist and Realist](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/emerson_essays_se/chapters/nominalist-and-realist)

Referenced via 'the genius of the Platonists,' which is intoxicating yet whose particulars cannot be detached from their books, highlighting the gap between the representative and the truth represented.

### [New England Reformers](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/emerson_essays_se/chapters/new-england-reformers)

Cited for the idea that 'Unwillingly the soul is deprived of truth,' supporting the argument that no person is inherently evil, but rather blinded by a supposed necessity.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/emerson_essays_se/characters/plato
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/emerson_essays_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/emerson_essays_se/characters