--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Many are the thyrsus-bearers, but few are…" description: "\"Many are the thyrsus-bearers, but few are the mystics.\" — Plato" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c0/plato-103_human-nature_many-are-the-thyrsus-bearers-but-few-are_1606311.jpg" --- # Many are the thyrsus-bearers, but few are the mystics. ![“Many are the thyrsus-bearers, but few are the mystics.” quote by Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c0/plato-103_human-nature_many-are-the-thyrsus-bearers-but-few-are_1606311.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c0/plato-103_human-nature_many-are-the-thyrsus-bearers-but-few-are_1606311.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c0/plato-103_human-nature_many-are-the-thyrsus-bearers-but-few-are_1606311.jpg) > “Many are the thyrsus-bearers, but few are the mystics.” [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. Few people truly understand mysticism, though many claim to bear its symbols. **In simple terms:** Mystics are rare among symbol‑bearers. Key Takeaway Seek deeper understanding beyond symbols. Themes philosophy spirituality knowledge Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - religious study - personal growth - academic research Key Concepts mysticism symbolism knowledge Questions to Reflect On - What distinguishes a mystic from a symbol‑bearer? - Can symbolism be fully understood? A Different Perspective Mystical insight may be inaccessible to many. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bearers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bearers-1870786/) [Bearers Mystics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bearers-mystics-6118265/) [Human nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-nature/) [Mysticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mysticism/) [Mystics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mystics/) [Thyrsus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thyrsus-6118267/) [Thyrsus Bearers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thyrsus-bearers-6118266/) ## Related quotes > [The bearers of fables are very welcome.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monique-wittig/the-bearers-of-fables-are-very-welcome/) [Monique Wittig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monique-wittig/) > [We carry the dead with us only until we die too, and then it is we who are borne along for a little while,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-banville/we-carry-the-dead-with-us-only-until-we-die-too-and-then-it-is-we-who/) [John Banville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-banville/) > [I get to be one of the torch-bearers for a new generation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cummings/i-get-to-be-one-of-the-torch-bearers-for-a-new-generation/) [Jim Cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cummings/) > [Always, at every period, the few were the banner bearers of a great idea, of liberating effort. Not so the mass, the leaden weight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/always-at-every-period-the-few-were-the-banner-bearers-of-a-great/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [What do the few existing mystics still do? -- They more or less mold the raw chaos of already existing religion. But only in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/what-do-the-few-existing-mystics-still-do-they-more-or-less-mold-the/) [Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/) > [“It's just because I have picked a little about mystics that I have no use for mystagogues. Real mystics don't hide mysteries, they reveal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton-2/it-s-just-because-i-have-picked-a-little-about-mystics-that-i-have-no/) [G. K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton-2/) > [When you come to a place where you have to left or right,' says Sister Ruth, 'go straight ahead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-norris/when-you-come-to-a-place-where-you-have-to-left-or-right-says-sister/) [Kathleen Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-norris/) > [All mystics speak the same language, for they come from the same country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-claude-de-saint-martin/all-mystics-speak-the-same-language-for-they-come-from-the-same/) [Louis Claude de Saint-Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-claude-de-saint-martin/) > [Therefore it is the law of the mystics to see all things, to experience all things, either of heaven or earth, and yet to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hazrat-inayat-khan/therefore-it-is-the-law-of-the-mystics-to-see-all-things-to/) [Hazrat Inayat Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hazrat-inayat-khan/) > [“As above in consciousness, so below in matter”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-sharp/as-above-in-consciousness-so-below-in-matter/) [Michael Sharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-sharp/) > [Theologians may quarrel, but the mystics of the world speak the same language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/theologians-may-quarrel-but-the-mystics-of-the-world-speak-the-same/) [Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/) > [You know, all mystics - Catholic, Christian, non-Christian, no matter what their theology, no matter what their religion - are unanimous on one thing:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-de-mello/you-know-all-mystics-catholic-christian-non-christian-no-matter-what/) [Anthony de Mello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-de-mello/) > [“Even a great philosophical idea when mixed with mysticism, turns into a dangerous weapon that becomes an impediment in the path of progress of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/even-a-great-philosophical-idea-when-mixed-with-mysticism-turns-into/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [“Mystics are not themselves. They do not exist in selves. They move as they are moved, talk as words come, see with sight that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farid-al-din-attar-2/mystics-are-not-themselves-they-do-not-exist-in-selves-they-move-as/) [Farid al-Din Attar (عطار](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farid-al-din-attar-2/) > [The mystics always say that the experience they're talking about is ineffable, that you can't say it. Rumi was asked one time why he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coleman-barks/the-mystics-always-say-that-the-experience-they-re-talking-about-is/) [Coleman Barks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coleman-barks/) ## 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 Human nature quotes > [There is no human nature, since there is no god to conceive it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/there-is-no-human-nature-since-there-is-no-god-to-conceive-it/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/) [William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/) > [A Light exists in Spring Not present on the Year At any other period - When March is scarcely here A Color stands abroad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/a-light-exists-in-spring-not-present-on-the-year-at-any-other-period/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [“The deepest urge in human nature is the desire to be important.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-deepest-urge-in-human-nature-is-the-desire-to-be-important/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [“The aristocratic interiority is centered on the higher mind, the mens, the ajna chakra, the seat of intellect and intuition that commands the lower…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-evola/the-aristocratic-interiority-is-centered-on-the-higher-mind-the-mens/) [Julius Evola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-evola/) > [I think that most of us, anyway, read these stories that we know are not "true" because we're hungry for another kind of truth:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/i-think-that-most-of-us-anyway-read-these-stories-that-we-know-are/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [It is proposed that a form of free dialogue may well be one of the most effective ways of investigating the crisis which faces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/it-is-proposed-that-a-form-of-free-dialogue-may-well-be-one-of-the/) [David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/) > [Nothing brings out the lower traits of human nature like office-seeking. Men of good character and impulses are betrayed by it into all sorts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutherford-b-hayes/nothing-brings-out-the-lower-traits-of-human-nature-like-office/) [Rutherford B. Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutherford-b-hayes/) > [Selfishness is one of the principal fruits of the corruption of human nature; and it is obvious that selfishness disposes us to over-rate our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wilberforce/selfishness-is-one-of-the-principal-fruits-of-the-corruption-of-human/) [William Wilberforce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wilberforce/) > [Though there may be people in your life that support you and encourage you we have to realize that people are only human, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/though-there-may-be-people-in-your-life-that-support-you-and/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [“I wasn't sure which I appreciated less—the insincere concern or the genuine indifference.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-graham/i-wasn-t-sure-which-i-appreciated-less-the-insincere-concern-or-the/) [Arthur Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-graham/) > [Time is the nervous system of narration, whether factual or fictive. If it gets confused some of the minutiae of human nature are certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenway-wescott/time-is-the-nervous-system-of-narration-whether-factual-or-fictive-if/) [Glenway Wescott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenway-wescott/) > [“As if we didn't have enough weapons already. But that's human nature, we've always got to go one better, to increase the terror another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-f-hamilton/as-if-we-didn-t-have-enough-weapons-already-but-that-s-human-nature/) [Peter F. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-f-hamilton/) > [ \[Putin\] is a bully. And bullies only understand when we punch them in the nose, but we need to do that economically. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-ayotte/putin-is-a-bully-and-bullies-only-understand-when-we-punch-them-in/) [Kelly Ayotte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-ayotte/) > [“The mass of men have been forced to be gay about the little things, but sad about the big ones. Nevertheless (I offer my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/the-mass-of-men-have-been-forced-to-be-gay-about-the-little-things/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) [Browse all 3,743 Human nature quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-nature/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Many are the thyrsus-bearers, but few are the mystics.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Plato" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/many-are-the-thyrsus-bearers-but-few-are-the-mystics/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Human nature" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/many-are-the-thyrsus-bearers-but-few-are-the-mystics/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c0/plato-103_human-nature_many-are-the-thyrsus-bearers-but-few-are_1606311.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c0/plato-103_human-nature_many-are-the-thyrsus-bearers-but-few-are_1606311.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c0/plato-103_human-nature_many-are-the-thyrsus-bearers-but-few-are_1606311.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Many are the thyrsus-bearers, but few are the mystics.” — 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": "Many are the thyrsus-bearers, but few...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/many-are-the-thyrsus-bearers-but-few-are-the-mystics/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/many-are-the-thyrsus-bearers-but-few-are-the-mystics/#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 } } ] } ```