--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And the true order of going, or being led…" description: "\"And the true order of going, or being led by another, to the things of love, is to begin from the beauties of earth and mount upwards for the sake of t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f7/plato-103_absolutes_and-the-true-order-of-going-or-being-led_278808.jpg" --- # And the true order of going, or being led by another, to… ![“And the true order of going, or being led by another, to the things of love, is to begin from the beauties of earth and mount upwards for the sake of that other beauty, using these steps only, and from one going on to two, and from two to all fair forms to fair practices, and from fair practices…” quote by Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f7/plato-103_absolutes_and-the-true-order-of-going-or-being-led_278808.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f7/plato-103_absolutes_and-the-true-order-of-going-or-being-led_278808.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f7/plato-103_absolutes_and-the-true-order-of-going-or-being-led_278808.jpg) > “And the true order of going, or being led by another, to the things of love, is to begin from the beauties of earth and mount upwards for the sake of that other beauty, using these steps only, and from one going on to two, and from two to all fair forms to fair practices, and from fair practices to fair notions, until from fair notions he arrives at the notion of absolute beauty, and at last knows what the essence of beauty is.” [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Beauty is understood by moving from simple earthly appreciation to higher philosophical ideals, culminating in the notion of absolute beauty. **In simple terms:** Start with simple beauty, ascend to higher understanding. Key Takeaway Seek higher forms of beauty. Themes philosophy aesthetics spiritual growth education Mood inquisitive inspirational Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - art criticism - personal development - teaching philosophy Key Concepts Platonic forms dialectical ascent ethical development Questions to Reflect On - What everyday experiences can spark this ascent? - How do we recognize absolute beauty? A Different Perspective The ascent may be inaccessible without guidance or cultural context. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absolutes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absolutes/) [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Essence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/essence/) [Essence of beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/essence-of-beauty/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Practice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/practice/) [Symposium](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/symposium/) ## Related quotes > [And the true order of going, or being led by another, to the things of love, is to begin from the beauties of earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/and-the-true-order-of-going-or-being-led-by-another-to-the-things-of-2/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [The solitary knows the essence of the thought, the scholar in society only its fair face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-solitary-knows-the-essence-of-the-thought-the-scholar-in-society/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“Even now I'm well aware that if I allowed myself to listen to him I couldn't resist but would have the same experience again.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/even-now-i-m-well-aware-that-if-i-allowed-myself-to-listen-to-him-i/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [When a person meets the half that is his very own, whatever his orientation, whether it's to young men or not, then something wonderful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/when-a-person-meets-the-half-that-is-his-very-own-whatever-his/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“Or maybe this is the true order. To bring together the need with the thind that is needed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-huston/or-maybe-this-is-the-true-order-to-bring-together-the-need-with-the/) [Charlie Huston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-huston/) > [Only where leader and led together bind each other in one destiny ... does true order grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-heidegger/only-where-leader-and-led-together-bind-each-other-in-one-destiny/) [Martin Heidegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-heidegger/) > [Learn what is true in order to do what is right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/learn-what-is-true-in-order-to-do-what-is-right/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [Your awareness of any fearful disturbance must precede your freedom from it; this is theone True Order upon which self rescue is founded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senoraroy/your-awareness-of-any-fearful-disturbance-must-precede-your-freedom/) Senoraroy > [The only true order is founded on Biblical Law. All law is religious in nature, and every non-Biblical law-order represents an anti-Christian religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-j-rushdoony/the-only-true-order-is-founded-on-biblical-law-all-law-is-religious/) [R.J. Rushdoony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-j-rushdoony/) > [The true order of learning should be first, what is necessary; second, what is useful, and third, what is ornamental. To reverse this arrangement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-true-order-of-learning-should-be-first-what-is-necessary-second/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Plato's Symposium shows that flirtation and philosophy can further one another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/plato-s-symposium-shows-that-flirtation-and-philosophy-can-further/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [“Our way would seem quite familiar to the Romans, more by far than the Greek way. Socrates in the Symposium, when Alcibiades challenged him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-hamilton/our-way-would-seem-quite-familiar-to-the-romans-more-by-far-than-the/) [Edith Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-hamilton/) > [“If I am in love, many things about the world, not just the immediate object of my love, seem lovable. To say 'I love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-waterfield/if-i-am-in-love-many-things-about-the-world-not-just-the-immediate/) Robin Waterfield > [“The boundaries between us had been breached for good, we gave a new meaning t the notion that man and wife were one flesh.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorna-sage/the-boundaries-between-us-had-been-breached-for-good-we-gave-a-new/) Lorna Sage > [The generation is unceasing. Beauty, as both Plato’s Symposium and everyday life confirm, prompts the begetting of children: when the eye sees someone beautiful,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-scarry/the-generation-is-unceasing-beauty-as-both-plato-s-symposium-and/) [Elaine Scarry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-scarry/) ## More by Plato > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [You may be sure, dear Crito, that inaccurate language is not only in itself a mistake: it implants evil in men's souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/you-may-be-sure-dear-crito-that-inaccurate-language-is-not-only-in/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“If men learn this, it will implant forgetfulness in their souls; they will cease to exercise memory because they rely on that which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/if-men-learn-this-it-will-implant-forgetfulness-in-their-souls-they/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Knowledge which is acquired under compulsion obtains no hold on the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/knowledge-which-is-acquired-under-compulsion-obtains-no-hold-on-the/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [I do not think it is permitted that a better man be harmed by a worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/i-do-not-think-it-is-permitted-that-a-better-man-be-harmed-by-a-worse/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Any city, however small, is in fact divided into two, one the city of the poor, the other of the rich; these are at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/any-city-however-small-is-in-fact-divided-into-two-one-the-city-of/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [When men speak ill of thee, live so as nobody may believe them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/when-men-speak-ill-of-thee-live-so-as-nobody-may-believe-them/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“The love of man to woman is a thing common and of course, and at first partakes more of instinct and passion than of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/the-love-of-man-to-woman-is-a-thing-common-and-of-course-and-at-first/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Strange times are these in which we live when old and young are taught in falsehood's school, and the one man that dares to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/strange-times-are-these-in-which-we-live-when-old-and-young-are/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“He was a wise man who invented God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/he-was-a-wise-man-who-invented-god/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [For let me tell you, that the more the pleasures of the body fade away, the greater to me is the pleasure and charm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/for-let-me-tell-you-that-the-more-the-pleasures-of-the-body-fade-away/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“What shall we say about those spectators, then, who can see a plurality of beautiful things, but not beauty itself, and who are incapable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/what-shall-we-say-about-those-spectators-then-who-can-see-a-plurality/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Geometry existed before creation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/geometry-existed-before-creation/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [When men speak ill of thee, live so that nobody will believe them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/when-men-speak-ill-of-thee-live-so-that-nobody-will-believe-them/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [We must, if we are to be consistent, and if we re to have a real pedigree herd, mate the best of our men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/we-must-if-we-are-to-be-consistent-and-if-we-re-to-have-a-real/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) [Explore all 1,278 Plato quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) ## More Absolutes quotes > [At the centre of the human heart is the longing for an absolute good, a longing which is always there and is never appeased…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/at-the-centre-of-the-human-heart-is-the-longing-for-an-absolute-good/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [There is no perfect justice, just as there is no absolute in ethics. But there is perfect injustice, and we know it when we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dershowitz/there-is-no-perfect-justice-just-as-there-is-no-absolute-in-ethics/) [Alan Dershowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dershowitz/) > [If you live in a material universe where acquiring things is very important to you, then family is an absolute deterrent to maintaining that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/if-you-live-in-a-material-universe-where-acquiring-things-is-very/) [John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/) > [ Their \[the U.S.’s\] defense budget in absolute figures is almost 25 times bigger than Russia’s. This is what in defense is referred to as… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/their-the-u-s-s-defense-budget-in-absolute-figures-is-almost-25-times/) [Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/) > [This separation was absolute in our original Republic. But the sky-godders do not give up easily. In the 1950s they actually got the phrase…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/this-separation-was-absolute-in-our-original-republic-but-the-sky/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Conservative political opinion in America cleaves to the tradition of the judge as passive interpreter, believing that his absolute loyalty to authoritative law is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/conservative-political-opinion-in-america-cleaves-to-the-tradition-of/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) > [So many times we come to Jesus in worship and ask Him for things that He already IS and has already done... What a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christy-nockels/so-many-times-we-come-to-jesus-in-worship-and-ask-him-for-things-that/) Christy Nockels > [Those are decisions only the Lord will make. I believe the love of God is absolute. He said he gave his son for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/those-are-decisions-only-the-lord-will-make-i-believe-the-love-of-god/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [“The Gods know what it is to be eternal, and they love to toy with mortals who use absolutes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-angelini/the-gods-know-what-it-is-to-be-eternal-and-they-love-to-toy-with/) [Josephine Angelini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-angelini/) > [Anarchy is the stepping stone to absolute power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/anarchy-is-the-stepping-stone-to-absolute-power/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [I was asked the other day if I would be interested in the Nobel Prize, but I think that for me it would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/i-was-asked-the-other-day-if-i-would-be-interested-in-the-nobel-prize/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [The only "definitive truth" for Buddhism is the absolute negation of any one truth as the Definitive Truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/the-only-definitive-truth-for-buddhism-is-the-absolute-negation-of/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [The nature of the Absolute is neither perceptible nor imperceptible; and with phenomena it is just the same. But to one who has discovered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huangbo-xiyun/the-nature-of-the-absolute-is-neither-perceptible-nor-imperceptible/) [Huangbo Xiyun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huangbo-xiyun/) > [Joining a company is an act that calls for absolute loyalty in big matters and little ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-watson/joining-a-company-is-an-act-that-calls-for-absolute-loyalty-in-big/) [Thomas Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-watson/) > [In fine, a life of good or evil, the hope of Heaven or the despair of Hell, Faustus stands as a reminder that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-fine-a-life-of-good-or-evil-the-hope-of-heaven-or-the-despair-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 2,016 Absolutes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absolutes/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "And the true order of going, or being led by another, to the things of love, is to begin from the beauties of earth and mount upwards for the sake of that other beauty, using these steps only, and from one going on to two, and from two to all fair forms to fair practices, and from fair practices to fair notions, until from fair notions he arrives at the notion of absolute beauty, and at last knows what the essence of beauty is.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Plato" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/and-the-true-order-of-going-or-being-led-by-another-to-the-things-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Absolutes" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/and-the-true-order-of-going-or-being-led-by-another-to-the-things-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f7/plato-103_absolutes_and-the-true-order-of-going-or-being-led_278808.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f7/plato-103_absolutes_and-the-true-order-of-going-or-being-led_278808.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f7/plato-103_absolutes_and-the-true-order-of-going-or-being-led_278808.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“And the true order of going, or being led by another, to the things of love, is to begin from the beauties…” — Plato", "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": "Plato", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "And the true order of going,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/and-the-true-order-of-going-or-being-led-by-another-to-the-things-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/and-the-true-order-of-going-or-being-led-by-another-to-the-things-of/#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 } } ] } ```