• LordAmplifier@pawb.social
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    10 months ago

    I found the same quote in an old reddit thread, where someone provides Memorabilia, a book written by a guy called Xenophon of Athens, who was a student of Socrates, as a possible sauce:

    3.12.8 “Besides, it is a disgrace to grow old through sheer carelessness before seeing what manner of man you may become by developing your bodily strength and beauty to their highest limit. But you cannot see that, if you are careless; for it will not come of its own accord."

    Archive link to the relevant chapter because the original University of Chicago link is dead.

    According to this Wikipedia article, the book is a collection of Socratic dialogues, so it’s not a collection of quotes. Book 3, where this particular quote comes from, is about Socrates giving advice to his family and friends, so I guess Xenophon claims that it is an authentic quote, but I don’t know if there’s a way to verify that.

    • TimewornTraveler@lemm.ee
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      10 months ago

      Wow! A rare Xenophon quote?? That’s awesome. Thank you. It sounds like something Socrates might have discussed but I couldn’t think of which Platonic dialog it came from. I guess that explains it.