---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Socrates ... brought human wisdom back…"
description: "\"Socrates ... brought human wisdom back down from heaven, where she was wasting her time, and restored her to man… It is impossible to go back further a..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78a/michel-de-montaigne-142_can-do_socrates-brought-human-wisdom-back-down_2209527.jpg"
---

#  Socrates ... brought human wisdom back down from heaven…

![“Socrates ... brought human wisdom back down from heaven, where she was wasting her time, and restored her to man… It is impossible to go back further and lower. He did a great favor to human nature by showing how much it can do by itself.” quote by Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78a/michel-de-montaigne-142_can-do_socrates-brought-human-wisdom-back-down_2209527.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78a/michel-de-montaigne-142_can-do_socrates-brought-human-wisdom-back-down_2209527.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78a/michel-de-montaigne-142_can-do_socrates-brought-human-wisdom-back-down_2209527.jpg)

> “Socrates ... brought human wisdom back down from heaven, where she was wasting her time, and restored her to man… It is impossible to go back further and lower. He did a great favor to human nature by showing how much it can do by itself.”

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Socrates restored human wisdom by showing its innate capacity, moving it from lofty abstraction to practical human use.

**In simple terms:** Socrates showed human wisdom is innate and practical.

Key Takeaway

Recognize and develop your own reasoning.

Themes

philosophy human nature wisdom

Mood

inspirational thoughtful

Type

philosophical educational

When to use this quote

- education
- personal development
- leadership training

Key Concepts

Socratic method self‑knowledge empiricism

Questions to Reflect On

- How can you apply innate wisdom daily?
- What limits human reasoning?

A Different Perspective

Some argue wisdom also requires external knowledge.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Heaven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heaven/) [Human nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-nature/) [Human wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-wisdom/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/)

## Related quotes

> [“Human wisdom has advanced to the point where man can construct satellites. And yet man in his wisdom cannot find a way to rescue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daisaku-ikeda/human-wisdom-has-advanced-to-the-point-where-man-can-construct/)

[Daisaku Ikeda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daisaku-ikeda/)

> [“Brothers, if God brings us to the point of seeing that everything in God's work depends upon His blessing, it will bring about a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/watchman-nee/brothers-if-god-brings-us-to-the-point-of-seeing-that-everything-in/)

[Watchman Nee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/watchman-nee/)

> [“as if a round apple presented itself to my hand, a ripe, golden apple with a soft, cool, velvety skin - thus the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/as-if-a-round-apple-presented-itself-to-my-hand-a-ripe-golden-apple/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [“He who has felt the deepest grief is best able to experience supreme happiness… Live, then and be happy beloved children of my heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/he-who-has-felt-the-deepest-grief-is-best-able-to-experience-supreme/)

[Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/)

> [“The fact that it has nothing else to contribute to human wisdom is no reason to hand religion a free licence to tell us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-fact-that-it-has-nothing-else-to-contribute-to-human-wisdom-is-no/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

> [We cannot convince a man to believe any more than we can raise the dead. Such things are the work of God's Spirit. Men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-washer/we-cannot-convince-a-man-to-believe-any-more-than-we-can-raise-the/)

[Paul Washer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-washer/)

> [“Who indeed knows the secret of the earthly pilgrimage? Who indeed knows why there can be comfort in a world of desolation? Now God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-paton/who-indeed-knows-the-secret-of-the-earthly-pilgrimage-who-indeed/)

[Alan Paton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-paton/)

> [There is neither happiness nor unhappiness in this world; there is only the comparison of one state with another. Only a man who has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/there-is-neither-happiness-nor-unhappiness-in-this-world-there-is/)

[Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/)

> [“The Levellers . . . only change and pervert the natural order of things: they load the edifice of society by setting up in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/the-levellers-only-change-and-pervert-the-natural-order-of-things/)

[Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/)

> [“History's long rhythm of challenges and response, of solutions that breed new crises, is not to be interrupted. But the Cold War left one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-walker/history-s-long-rhythm-of-challenges-and-response-of-solutions-that/)

[Martin Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-walker/)

> [“Government is a contrivance of human wisdom to provide for human wants," wrote Edmund Burke in his Reflections on the Revolution in France. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-stone/government-is-a-contrivance-of-human-wisdom-to-provide-for-human/)

Deborah Stone

> [I firmly believe this ... that without His concurring aid we shall succeed in this political building no better, than the builders of Babel:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/i-firmly-believe-this-that-without-his-concurring-aid-we-shall/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [The Shambhala teachings are founded on the premise that there is basic human wisdom that can help to solve the world's problems. This wisdom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/the-shambhala-teachings-are-founded-on-the-premise-that-there-is/)

[Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/)

> [International educational exchange is the most significant current project designed to continue the process of humanizing mankind to the point, we would hope, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-william-fulbright/international-educational-exchange-is-the-most-significant-current/)

[J. William Fulbright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-william-fulbright/)

> [ “\[T\]he great decided effective Majority is now for the Republic," he told Jefferson in late October 1792, but whether it would endure for even… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-randolph-miller/t-he-great-decided-effective-majority-is-now-for-the-republic-he-told/)

Melanie Randolph Miller

## More by Michel de Montaigne

> [No man is exempt from saying silly things; the mischief is to say them deliberately.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/no-man-is-exempt-from-saying-silly-things-the-mischief-is-to-say-them/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [The laws keep up their credit, not by being just, but because they are laws; 'tis the mystic foundation of their authority; they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-laws-keep-up-their-credit-not-by-being-just-but-because-they-are/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [Every one rushes elsewhere and into the future, because no one wants to face one's own inner self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/every-one-rushes-elsewhere-and-into-the-future-because-no-one-wants/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [Beauty is the true prerogative of women, and so peculiarly their own, that our sex, though naturally requiring another sort of feature, is never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/beauty-is-the-true-prerogative-of-women-and-so-peculiarly-their-own/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [The height and value of true virtue consists in the facility, utility, and pleasure of its exercise; so far from difficulty, that boys, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-height-and-value-of-true-virtue-consists-in-the-facility-utility/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [Fie on the eloquence that leaves us craving itself, not things!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/fie-on-the-eloquence-that-leaves-us-craving-itself-not-things/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [The plainest sign of wisdom is a continual cheerfulness: her state is like that of things in the regions above the moon, always clear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-plainest-sign-of-wisdom-is-a-continual-cheerfulness-her-state-is/)

[Michel De Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [The corruption of the age is made up by the particular contribution of every individual man; some contribute treachery, others injustice, atheism, tyranny, avarice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-corruption-of-the-age-is-made-up-by-the-particular-contribution/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [If people must be talking about me, I would have it to be truthfully and justly. I would willingly return from the next world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/if-people-must-be-talking-about-me-i-would-have-it-to-be-truthfully/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [Most pleasures embrace us but to strangle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/most-pleasures-embrace-us-but-to-strangle/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [In true friendship, in which I am expert, I give myself to my friend more than I draw him to me. I not only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/in-true-friendship-in-which-i-am-expert-i-give-myself-to-my-friend/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [There are as many and innumerable degrees of wit, as there are cubits between this and heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/there-are-as-many-and-innumerable-degrees-of-wit-as-there-are-cubits/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [A man has need of tough ears to hear himself fairly judged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/a-man-has-need-of-tough-ears-to-hear-himself-fairly-judged/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [Lucius Arruntius killed himself, he said, to escape both the future and the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/lucius-arruntius-killed-himself-he-said-to-escape-both-the-future-and/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [I have a vocabulary all my own. I pass the time when itis wet and disagreeable. Whenit is fine I do not wish to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/i-have-a-vocabulary-all-my-own-i-pass-the-time-when-itis-wet-and/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

[Explore all 1,131 Michel de Montaigne quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

## More Can do quotes

> [Changes before your eyes, things you can do and things you can't. My attitude is always let it keep rolling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terrence-malick/changes-before-your-eyes-things-you-can-do-and-things-you-can-t-my/)

[Terrence Malick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terrence-malick/)

> [The happy medium is television. And if you find a good suitor, you can do it for years. With movies, you roll the dice.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-campbell/the-happy-medium-is-television-and-if-you-find-a-good-suitor-you-can/)

[Bruce Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-campbell/)

> [If I had a million dollars, I just wouldn't just completely set back. I'd have to get out there and show my face to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muddy-waters/if-i-had-a-million-dollars-i-just-wouldn-t-just-completely-set-back-i/)

[Muddy Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muddy-waters/)

> [Anybody can be Prince Charming one day a year, with the dinner and the flowers and all that. But you know what impresses me?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-howard/anybody-can-be-prince-charming-one-day-a-year-with-the-dinner-and-the/)

[Ryan Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-howard/)

> [And if the mind thinks with a believing attitude one can do amazing things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/and-if-the-mind-thinks-with-a-believing-attitude-one-can-do-amazing/)

[Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/)

> [The amount of things you can do with a kettlebell is unsurpassed by any other training equipment - dumbbells, resistance machines, free weights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laird-hamilton/the-amount-of-things-you-can-do-with-a-kettlebell-is-unsurpassed-by/)

[Laird Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laird-hamilton/)

> [It's nice when you've done enough movies that you can do your own anthology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lithgow/it-s-nice-when-you-ve-done-enough-movies-that-you-can-do-your-own/)

[John Lithgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lithgow/)

> [If people don't have their own vision, all they can do is 'sign-up' for someone else's.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-senge/if-people-don-t-have-their-own-vision-all-they-can-do-is-sign-up-for/)

[Peter Senge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-senge/)

> [The one thing that flies in the face of all human history and experience, is that the government can do a superior job than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cook/the-one-thing-that-flies-in-the-face-of-all-human-history-and/)

[James Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cook/)

> [...what I can do is offer myself, wholehearted and present, to walk with the people I love through the fear and the mess. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shauna-niequist/what-i-can-do-is-offer-myself-wholehearted-and-present-to-walk-with/)

[Shauna Niequist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shauna-niequist/)

> [Whether that's speaking up in your job or asking for a promotion or saying, 'I think I can do that.' Using your voice in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-shriver/whether-that-s-speaking-up-in-your-job-or-asking-for-a-promotion-or/)

[Maria Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-shriver/)

> [The average ordinary citizen can do a lot of different things when it comes to the climate crisis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-bender/the-average-ordinary-citizen-can-do-a-lot-of-different-things-when-it/)

[Lawrence Bender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-bender/)

> [A professional is a man who can do his job when he doesn't feel like it. An amateur is a man who can't do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-agate/a-professional-is-a-man-who-can-do-his-job-when-he-doesn-t-feel-like/)

[James Agate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-agate/)

> [The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, as it pleases him, for he can do all things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/the-lord-gives-and-the-lord-takes-away-as-it-pleases-him-for-he-can/)

[Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/)

> [I'm not an educated man. I only know what I'm told, and I'm not told that much; I have no frame of reference for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-james-keenan/i-m-not-an-educated-man-i-only-know-what-i-m-told-and-i-m-not-told/)

[Maynard James Keenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maynard-james-keenan/)

Browse all 5,673 Can do quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Socrates ... brought human wisdom back down from heaven, where she was wasting her time, and restored her to man… It is impossible to go back further and lower. He did a great favor to human nature by showing how much it can do by itself.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Michel de Montaigne"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/socrates-brought-human-wisdom-back-down-from-heaven-where-she-was/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Can do"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/socrates-brought-human-wisdom-back-down-from-heaven-where-she-was/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78a/michel-de-montaigne-142_can-do_socrates-brought-human-wisdom-back-down_2209527.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78a/michel-de-montaigne-142_can-do_socrates-brought-human-wisdom-back-down_2209527.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78a/michel-de-montaigne-142_can-do_socrates-brought-human-wisdom-back-down_2209527.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Socrates ... brought human wisdom back down from heaven, where she was wasting her time, and restored her to…” — Michel de Montaigne",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Michel de Montaigne",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Socrates ... brought human wisdom back...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/socrates-brought-human-wisdom-back-down-from-heaven-where-she-was/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/socrates-brought-human-wisdom-back-down-from-heaven-where-she-was/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
