--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: May I do to others as I would that they…" description: "\"May I do to others as I would that they should do unto me.\" — Plato" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4e/plato-103_ahimsa_may-i-do-to-others-as-i-would-that-they_609317.jpg" --- # May I do to others as I would that they should do unto me. ![“May I do to others as I would that they should do unto me.” quote by Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4e/plato-103_ahimsa_may-i-do-to-others-as-i-would-that-they_609317.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4e/plato-103_ahimsa_may-i-do-to-others-as-i-would-that-they_609317.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4e/plato-103_ahimsa_may-i-do-to-others-as-i-would-that-they_609317.jpg) > “May I do to others as I would that they should do unto me.” [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. Treat others as you wish to be treated, embodying mutual respect and empathy. **In simple terms:** Golden rule of empathy Key Takeaway Practice empathy in daily interactions Themes ethics empathy reciprocity Mood thoughtful ethical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - Education - workplace - family life Key Concepts Moral philosophy social contract Questions to Reflect On - Who do you treat with respect? - How can you model empathy? A Different Perspective May overlook power dynamics that affect reciprocity ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ahimsa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ahimsa/) [Ethics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethics/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) ## Related quotes > [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/) > [To his enemies the householder must be a hero. Them he must resist. That is the duty of the householder. He must not sit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/to-his-enemies-the-householder-must-be-a-hero-them-he-must-resist/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [Ahimsa means infinite love, which again means infinite capacity for suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/ahimsa-means-infinite-love-which-again-means-infinite-capacity-for/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Hinduism with its message of ahimsa is to me the most glorious religion in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/hinduism-with-its-message-of-ahimsa-is-to-me-the-most-glorious/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [It is against the spirit of ahimsa to overawe even one person into submission.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/it-is-against-the-spirit-of-ahimsa-to-overawe-even-one-person-into/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Dharma is one and one only. Ahimsa means moksha, and moksha is the realization of Truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/dharma-is-one-and-one-only-ahimsa-means-moksha-and-moksha-is-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Khadi has been conceived as the foundation and the image of ahimsa. A real khadi-wearer will not utter an untruth. A real khadi-wearer will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/khadi-has-been-conceived-as-the-foundation-and-the-image-of-ahimsa-a/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [If our ahimsa is not of the brave but of the weak, and if it will bend the knee before himsa, Gandhism deserves to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/if-our-ahimsa-is-not-of-the-brave-but-of-the-weak-and-if-it-will-bend/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Strictly speaking, no activity and no industry is possible without a certain amount of violence, no matter how little. Even the very process of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/strictly-speaking-no-activity-and-no-industry-is-possible-without-a/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Ahimsa is an attribute of the brave. Cowardice and ahimsa don't go together any more that water and fire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/ahimsa-is-an-attribute-of-the-brave-cowardice-and-ahimsa-don-t-go/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Ahimsa is not mere negative non-injury. It is positive, cosmic love. It is the development of a mental attitude in which hatred is replaced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sivananda/ahimsa-is-not-mere-negative-non-injury-it-is-positive-cosmic-love-it/) [Sivananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sivananda/) > [Which religion gives the greatest joy to God? That which inspires human beings to practice Ahimsa and compassion to all creatures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vallabha-acharya/which-religion-gives-the-greatest-joy-to-god-that-which-inspires/) [Vallabha Acharya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vallabha-acharya/) > [Whatever strength the masses have is due entirely to ahimsa, however imperfect or defective its practice might have been.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/whatever-strength-the-masses-have-is-due-entirely-to-ahimsa-however/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Ahimsa can be practiced only towards those that are inferior to you in every way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/ahimsa-can-be-practiced-only-towards-those-that-are-inferior-to-you/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [A votary of ahimsa always prays for ultimate deliverance from the bondage of the flesh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/a-votary-of-ahimsa-always-prays-for-ultimate-deliverance-from-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) ## 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 Ahimsa quotes > [Ahimsa can be practiced only towards those that are inferior to you in every way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/ahimsa-can-be-practiced-only-towards-those-that-are-inferior-to-you/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Whatever strength the masses have is due entirely to ahimsa, however imperfect or defective its practice might have been.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/whatever-strength-the-masses-have-is-due-entirely-to-ahimsa-however/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Which religion gives the greatest joy to God? That which inspires human beings to practice Ahimsa and compassion to all creatures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vallabha-acharya/which-religion-gives-the-greatest-joy-to-god-that-which-inspires/) [Vallabha Acharya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vallabha-acharya/) > [Ahimsa is not mere negative non-injury. It is positive, cosmic love. It is the development of a mental attitude in which hatred is replaced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sivananda/ahimsa-is-not-mere-negative-non-injury-it-is-positive-cosmic-love-it/) [Sivananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sivananda/) > [Ahimsa is an attribute of the brave. Cowardice and ahimsa don't go together any more that water and fire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/ahimsa-is-an-attribute-of-the-brave-cowardice-and-ahimsa-don-t-go/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Strictly speaking, no activity and no industry is possible without a certain amount of violence, no matter how little. Even the very process of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/strictly-speaking-no-activity-and-no-industry-is-possible-without-a/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [If our ahimsa is not of the brave but of the weak, and if it will bend the knee before himsa, Gandhism deserves to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/if-our-ahimsa-is-not-of-the-brave-but-of-the-weak-and-if-it-will-bend/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Khadi has been conceived as the foundation and the image of ahimsa. A real khadi-wearer will not utter an untruth. A real khadi-wearer will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/khadi-has-been-conceived-as-the-foundation-and-the-image-of-ahimsa-a/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Dharma is one and one only. Ahimsa means moksha, and moksha is the realization of Truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/dharma-is-one-and-one-only-ahimsa-means-moksha-and-moksha-is-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [It is against the spirit of ahimsa to overawe even one person into submission.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/it-is-against-the-spirit-of-ahimsa-to-overawe-even-one-person-into/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Hinduism with its message of ahimsa is to me the most glorious religion in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/hinduism-with-its-message-of-ahimsa-is-to-me-the-most-glorious/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Ahimsa means infinite love, which again means infinite capacity for suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/ahimsa-means-infinite-love-which-again-means-infinite-capacity-for/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [To his enemies the householder must be a hero. Them he must resist. That is the duty of the householder. He must not sit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/to-his-enemies-the-householder-must-be-a-hero-them-he-must-resist/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [A votary of ahimsa always prays for ultimate deliverance from the bondage of the flesh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/a-votary-of-ahimsa-always-prays-for-ultimate-deliverance-from-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [ If you kill me, you kill yourself." \[...\] He only wanted to convey to Janegg the truth of ahimsa, which is that all beings… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-zindell/if-you-kill-me-you-kill-yourself-he-only-wanted-to-convey-to-janegg/) [David Zindell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-zindell/) [Browse all 138 Ahimsa quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ahimsa/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "May I do to others as I would that they should do unto me.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Plato" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/may-i-do-to-others-as-i-would-that-they-should-do-unto-me/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ahimsa" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/may-i-do-to-others-as-i-would-that-they-should-do-unto-me/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4e/plato-103_ahimsa_may-i-do-to-others-as-i-would-that-they_609317.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4e/plato-103_ahimsa_may-i-do-to-others-as-i-would-that-they_609317.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4e/plato-103_ahimsa_may-i-do-to-others-as-i-would-that-they_609317.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“May I do to others as I would that they should do unto me.” — 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": "May I do to others as...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/may-i-do-to-others-as-i-would-that-they-should-do-unto-me/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/may-i-do-to-others-as-i-would-that-they-should-do-unto-me/#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 } } ] } ```