--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think Socrates was fascinated by…" description: "\"I think Socrates was fascinated by Alcibiades. It's almost the opposite of hypocrisy. I think it's like when you can see the potential in someone.\" — B..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79f/bettany-hughes-7743_hypocrisy_i-think-socrates-was-fascinated-by-alcib_245829.jpg" --- # I think Socrates was fascinated by Alcibiades. It's almost… ![“I think Socrates was fascinated by Alcibiades. It's almost the opposite of hypocrisy. I think it's like when you can see the potential in someone.” quote by Bettany Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79f/bettany-hughes-7743_hypocrisy_i-think-socrates-was-fascinated-by-alcib_245829.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79f/bettany-hughes-7743_hypocrisy_i-think-socrates-was-fascinated-by-alcib_245829.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79f/bettany-hughes-7743_hypocrisy_i-think-socrates-was-fascinated-by-alcib_245829.jpg) > “I think Socrates was fascinated by Alcibiades. It's almost the opposite of hypocrisy. I think it's like when you can see the potential in someone.” [Bettany Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bettany-hughes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote suggests that Socrates admired Alcibiades for his potential, contrasting with hypocrisy which hides true ability. **In simple terms:** Socrates saw potential, not hypocrisy. Key Takeaway Recognize and nurture hidden talent. Themes potential admiration hypocrisy leadership Mood reflective inquisitive Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - education - mentoring - leadership development - talent scouting Key Concepts philosophy classical studies psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do you differentiate genuine potential from pretense? - What risks arise when we overlook hidden talent? A Different Perspective Potential may be misinterpreted as hypocrisy without context. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alcibiades Opposite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alcibiades-opposite-2455270/) [Fascinated Alcibiades](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fascinated-alcibiades-2455269/) [Hypocrisy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hypocrisy/) [I think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-think/) [Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like/) [Potential](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/potential/) [See](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/see/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/socrates/) [Socrates Fascinated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/socrates-fascinated-2455268/) [Think Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-socrates-1967759/) ## Related quotes > [“What do you think Socrates meant when he said, “The unexamined life is not worth living”? Third,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/what-do-you-think-socrates-meant-when-he-said-the-unexamined-life-is/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [My idea of philosophy is that if it is not relevant to human problems, if it does not tell us how we can go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-davis/my-idea-of-philosophy-is-that-if-it-is-not-relevant-to-human-problems/) [Angela Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-davis/) > [“Socrates made people face their hypocrisy. He had to die.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-mont/socrates-made-people-face-their-hypocrisy-he-had-to-die/) [Francis Mont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-mont/) > [Socrates was a great walker. They say he was a fiend for exercise. He was absolutely not shut away in some ivory tower somewhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bettany-hughes/socrates-was-a-great-walker-they-say-he-was-a-fiend-for-exercise-he/) [Bettany Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bettany-hughes/) > [We think the way we do partly because Socrates thought the way he did. His basic idea - that the unexamined life is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bettany-hughes/we-think-the-way-we-do-partly-because-socrates-thought-the-way-he-did/) [Bettany Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bettany-hughes/) > [I cannot write history unless I travel to the places where it happened. I spent a lot of time walking around the Eastern Mediterranean,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bettany-hughes/i-cannot-write-history-unless-i-travel-to-the-places-where-it/) [Bettany Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bettany-hughes/) > [“So at that time of day when the early sun still rings haloes on human heads, Socrates is walking through the Agora to his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bettany-hughes/so-at-that-time-of-day-when-the-early-sun-still-rings-haloes-on-human/) [Bettany Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bettany-hughes/) > [Socrates was tried in a religious court. He was condemned for disregarding Athens' gods. If you look at the way he speaks at his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bettany-hughes/socrates-was-tried-in-a-religious-court-he-was-condemned-for/) [Bettany Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bettany-hughes/) > [Well Socrates is 70 when he dies. He's been allowed to philosophise freely in the city for almost 50 years. He clearly was -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bettany-hughes/well-socrates-is-70-when-he-dies-he-s-been-allowed-to-philosophise/) [Bettany Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bettany-hughes/) > [Europe's leaders need to sit down with Socrates for a night; a life unexamined is not worth living. We have to remember that, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bettany-hughes/europe-s-leaders-need-to-sit-down-with-socrates-for-a-night-a-life/) [Bettany Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bettany-hughes/) > [“Socrates argued that only God can be a sophist, only God can be truly wise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bettany-hughes/socrates-argued-that-only-god-can-be-a-sophist-only-god-can-be-truly/) [Bettany Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bettany-hughes/) > [“Socrates said that a man doesn’t want what he doesn’t think he lacks. That is, if you believe you have the truth then why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-boghossian/socrates-said-that-a-man-doesn-t-want-what-he-doesn-t-think-he-lacks/) [Peter Boghossian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-boghossian/) > [Plato, the first true pope of philosophy (sorry, Socrates), argued for a World of Forms above the reality-a transcendent plane of perfect essences, pure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/plato-the-first-true-pope-of-philosophy-sorry-socrates-argued-for-a/) [N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) > [Socrates was likewise right that pissing people off is how we first, and maybe best, go about the business of provoking thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kingwell/socrates-was-likewise-right-that-pissing-people-off-is-how-we-first/) [Mark Kingwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kingwell/) > [“... a man doesn't like to have his ego popped, especially when he prides himself on his sagacity, and then to be proved wrong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-a-bucchianeri/a-man-doesn-t-like-to-have-his-ego-popped-especially-when-he-prides/) [E.A. Bucchianeri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-a-bucchianeri/) ## More by Bettany Hughes > [After I graduated, I carried on with my academic work, via grants but I often had a market stall on Camden Market selling hand-painted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bettany-hughes/after-i-graduated-i-carried-on-with-my-academic-work-via-grants-but-i/) [Bettany Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bettany-hughes/) > [I think it's ironic when Plato makes the learned woman Aspasia Socrates' teacher, but I think women crop up more in the Platonic dialogues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bettany-hughes/i-think-it-s-ironic-when-plato-makes-the-learned-woman-aspasia/) [Bettany Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bettany-hughes/) > [Even the picturesque prehistoric settlements at Akrotiri on the Greek island of Santorini were an exercise in problem-solving; white-washed homes and town halls built…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bettany-hughes/even-the-picturesque-prehistoric-settlements-at-akrotiri-on-the-greek/) [Bettany Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bettany-hughes/) > [For the Spartans, it wasn’t walls or magnificent public buildings that made a city; it was their own ideals. In essence, Sparta was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bettany-hughes/for-the-spartans-it-wasn-t-walls-or-magnificent-public-buildings-that/) [Bettany Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bettany-hughes/) > [Of all the human figurines discovered so far from 30,000-3,000BC, 92% are of the female form. This is not to say there was any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bettany-hughes/of-all-the-human-figurines-discovered-so-far-from-30-000-3-000bc-92/) [Bettany Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bettany-hughes/) > [Sophia - a mystical female presence whose appearance is only fleeting in the Hebrew Bible and New Testament - was clearly once a household…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bettany-hughes/sophia-a-mystical-female-presence-whose-appearance-is-only-fleeting/) [Bettany Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bettany-hughes/) > [By day I am a historian, by night a broadcaster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bettany-hughes/by-day-i-am-a-historian-by-night-a-broadcaster/) [Bettany Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bettany-hughes/) > [Ancient Egyptian women had rights under the law. They could own land. Many were literate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bettany-hughes/ancient-egyptian-women-had-rights-under-the-law-they-could-own-land/) [Bettany Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bettany-hughes/) > [The word 'America' probably didn't appear in the Persian language until the end of the 18th century - but then with a documented past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bettany-hughes/the-word-america-probably-didn-t-appear-in-the-persian-language-until/) [Bettany Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bettany-hughes/) > [History was invented as a tool, an engineered road down which human society could advance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bettany-hughes/history-was-invented-as-a-tool-an-engineered-road-down-which-human/) [Bettany Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bettany-hughes/) > [“Herodotus, the ‘Father of History’, records the moment – and you can hear the emotion in his voice as he does so, a mixture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bettany-hughes/herodotus-the-father-of-history-records-the-moment-and-you-can-hear/) [Bettany Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bettany-hughes/) > [I'm horrified at the idea of intimidating someone. I think that's the opposite of what we should be doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bettany-hughes/i-m-horrified-at-the-idea-of-intimidating-someone-i-think-that-s-the/) [Bettany Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bettany-hughes/) > [Nefertiti is lovely, but we should use our wit and will to look beyond that beautiful face to discover and to enjoy a more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bettany-hughes/nefertiti-is-lovely-but-we-should-use-our-wit-and-will-to-look-beyond/) [Bettany Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bettany-hughes/) > [Once universities, rather than religious orders, were established as the key repositories of learning, women would find it ever harder to prove the pen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bettany-hughes/once-universities-rather-than-religious-orders-were-established-as/) [Bettany Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bettany-hughes/) > [Religion is an easy target for accusations of repression and misogyny, but achievement in the sacred and therefore socio-political sphere was often an option…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bettany-hughes/religion-is-an-easy-target-for-accusations-of-repression-and-misogyny/) [Bettany Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bettany-hughes/) [Explore all 87 Bettany Hughes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bettany-hughes/) ## More Hypocrisy quotes > [Everybody should read 'Slaughterhouse-Five' by Kurt Vonnegut. This book is about the hypocrisy of war, told in satire, and is hard-hitting and truthful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kalki-koechlin/everybody-should-read-slaughterhouse-five-by-kurt-vonnegut-this-book/) [Kalki Koechlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kalki-koechlin/) > [Honesty in politics is the result of strength; hypocrisy is the result of weakness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-lenin/honesty-in-politics-is-the-result-of-strength-hypocrisy-is-the-result/) [Vladimir Lenin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-lenin/) > [ “In all, the future secretary of defense and wartime vice president\[, Dick Cheney,\] would receive five deferments during the Vietnam War, protecting him from… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-savage/in-all-the-future-secretary-of-defense-and-wartime-vice-president/) [Charlie Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-savage/) > [“If men could see us as we really are, they would be a little amazed; but the cleverest, the acutest men are often under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/if-men-could-see-us-as-we-really-are-they-would-be-a-little-amazed/) [Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [Bigoted people are just scholars who lack any sort of legitimate credentials to answer why they're bigoted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doctavius/bigoted-people-are-just-scholars-who-lack-any-sort-of-legitimate/) [Doctavius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doctavius/) > [The hypocrisy and false piety of the deniers aside, the relationships of gays have no effect on heteros. Especially all the heteros who've done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ridley/the-hypocrisy-and-false-piety-of-the-deniers-aside-the-relationships/) [John Ridley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ridley/) > [Hypocrisy is a detriment to progress. There's always a hidden agenda.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-flynt/hypocrisy-is-a-detriment-to-progress-there-s-always-a-hidden-agenda/) [Larry Flynt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-flynt/) > [Want of principle is power. Truth and honesty set a limit to our efforts, which impudence and hypocrisy easily overleap.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/want-of-principle-is-power-truth-and-honesty-set-a-limit-to-our/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Mayor De Blasio's appointment of Bill Bratton as police commissioner is the height of hypocrisy. Asking Bratton to stop racial profiling and stop and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-barron/mayor-de-blasio-s-appointment-of-bill-bratton-as-police-commissioner/) [Charles Barron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-barron/) > [It's about time Hypocrisy should be adopted as a religion, considering it's got more followers than any other religion on this planet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashutosh-cheulkar/it-s-about-time-hypocrisy-should-be-adopted-as-a-religion-considering/) [Ashutosh Cheulkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashutosh-cheulkar/) > [I hate a woman who offers herself because she ought to do so, and cold and dry thinks of her sewing when making love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/i-hate-a-woman-who-offers-herself-because-she-ought-to-do-so-and-cold/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [One can imagine the look the two lovers exchanged; it was like a flame, for virtuous lovers have not a shred of hypocrisy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/one-can-imagine-the-look-the-two-lovers-exchanged-it-was-like-a-flame/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [A wicked mortal is not the idea of God. He is little else than the expression of error. To suppose that sin, lust, hatred,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-baker-eddy/a-wicked-mortal-is-not-the-idea-of-god-he-is-little-else-than-the/) [Mary Baker Eddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-baker-eddy/) > [“even the worst men wanted to be perceived as better than they were. How else could hypocrisy have risen to such delirious levels?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-leon/even-the-worst-men-wanted-to-be-perceived-as-better-than-they-were/) [Donna Leon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-leon/) > [What I object to in Mother is that she wants me to think her thoughts. Apart from the question of hypocrisy, I prefer my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-deland/what-i-object-to-in-mother-is-that-she-wants-me-to-think-her-thoughts/) [Margaret Deland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-deland/) [Browse all 1,238 Hypocrisy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hypocrisy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think Socrates was fascinated by Alcibiades. It's almost the opposite of hypocrisy. 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