--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Just as it would be madness to settle on…" description: "\"Just as it would be madness to settle on medical treatment for the body of a person by taking an opinion poll of the neighbors, so it is irrational to ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ac/plato-103_body_just-as-it-would-be-madness-to-settle-on_1801434.jpg" --- # Just as it would be madness to settle on medical treatment… ![“Just as it would be madness to settle on medical treatment for the body of a person by taking an opinion poll of the neighbors, so it is irrational to prescribe for the body politic by polling the opinions of the people at large.” quote by Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ac/plato-103_body_just-as-it-would-be-madness-to-settle-on_1801434.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ac/plato-103_body_just-as-it-would-be-madness-to-settle-on_1801434.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ac/plato-103_body_just-as-it-would-be-madness-to-settle-on_1801434.jpg) > “Just as it would be madness to settle on medical treatment for the body of a person by taking an opinion poll of the neighbors, so it is irrational to prescribe for the body politic by polling the opinions of the people at large.” [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. Political decisions should not be made by popular vote alone, as expertise matters. **In simple terms:** Ruling by poll is irrational. Key Takeaway Seek informed governance. Themes politics expertise democracy Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical political When to use this quote - legislation - public policy - elections - citizen assemblies Key Concepts philosophy political theory Questions to Reflect On - How to balance expertise with public voice? - When should expert panels guide policy? A Different Perspective Popular opinion can be misinformed or swayed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Body Politic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body-politic-250510/) [Irrational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irrational/) [Irrational Prescribe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irrational-prescribe-2035289/) [Madness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/madness/) [Medical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medical/) [Medical treatment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medical-treatment/) [Neighbor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neighbor/) [Neighbors Irrational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neighbors-irrational-2035290/) [Opinion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opinion/) [Opinion polls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opinion-polls/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Polling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/polling/) [Polls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/polls/) [Prescribe Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prescribe-body-2035291/) [Settling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/settling/) [Treatment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/treatment/) [Would be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/would-be/) ## Related quotes > [A college should feel alarmed rather than pleased if it graduates nothing but good citizens. For when the body politic is composed of nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-boas/a-college-should-feel-alarmed-rather-than-pleased-if-it-graduates/) [George Boas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-boas/) > [“In the body politic as in the body personal, nonresistance to the milder indulgences paves the way for nonresistance to the deadlier.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-mayer/in-the-body-politic-as-in-the-body-personal-nonresistance-to-the/) [Milton Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-mayer/) > [Law and order are the medicine of the body politic and when the body politic gets sick, medicine must be administered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-r-ambedkar/law-and-order-are-the-medicine-of-the-body-politic-and-when-the-body/) [B. R. 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The body politic is thus the expression of national thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/the-body-is-made-by-the-thought-that-lies-behind-it-the-body-politic/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [Although our interests as citizens vary, each one is an artery to the heart that pumps life through the body politic, and each is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-moyers/although-our-interests-as-citizens-vary-each-one-is-an-artery-to-the/) [Bill Moyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-moyers/) > [The end of the institution, maintenance, and administration of government is to secure the existence of the body politic; to protect it, and to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-adams/the-end-of-the-institution-maintenance-and-administration-of/) [John Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-adams/) > [Honor sets all the parts of the body politic in motion, and by its very action connects them; thus each individual advances the public…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-de-montesquieu/honor-sets-all-the-parts-of-the-body-politic-in-motion-and-by-its/) [Baron de Montesquieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-de-montesquieu/) > [There is nothing new in state interventionism. It is as old and reactionary as societal organization itself. 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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 Body quotes > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. 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I've also done some gravity tests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-ve-used-the-phoenix-centrifuge-to-replicate-what-the-body-s-going/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [If the media is sending girls the message that their value lies in their bodies, this can only leave them feeling disempowered and distract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-siebel-newsom/if-the-media-is-sending-girls-the-message-that-their-value-lies-in/) [Jennifer Siebel Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-siebel-newsom/) > [Boys and boys' body image and clothes have become just as important an issue for boys as for girls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosalind-wiseman/boys-and-boys-body-image-and-clothes-have-become-just-as-important-an/) [Rosalind Wiseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosalind-wiseman/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Racism is a cancer. 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