--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We are too feeble and sluggish to make…" description: "\"We are too feeble and sluggish to make our way out to the upper limit of the air. If someone could reach the summit, or put on wings and fly aloft, whe..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/805/plato-103_able_we-are-too-feeble-and-sluggish-to-make-o_2473705.jpg" --- # We are too feeble and sluggish to make our way out to the… ![“We are too feeble and sluggish to make our way out to the upper limit of the air. If someone could reach the summit, or put on wings and fly aloft, when he put up his head he would see the world above, just as fishes see our world when they put up their heads out of the sea; and if his nature were…” quote by Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/805/plato-103_able_we-are-too-feeble-and-sluggish-to-make-o_2473705.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/805/plato-103_able_we-are-too-feeble-and-sluggish-to-make-o_2473705.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/805/plato-103_able_we-are-too-feeble-and-sluggish-to-make-o_2473705.jpg) > “We are too feeble and sluggish to make our way out to the upper limit of the air. If someone could reach the summit, or put on wings and fly aloft, when he put up his head he would see the world above, just as fishes see our world when they put up their heads out of the sea; and if his nature were able to bear the sight, he would recognize that that is the true heaven.” [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. Human aspiration to transcend earthly limits, likening flight to divine insight. **In simple terms:** Seeking higher perspective like flying. Key Takeaway Pursue higher understanding. Themes philosophy aspiration human nature Mood reflective inspired Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal growth - spiritual seeking - creative imagination Key Concepts metaphor transcendence Questions to Reflect On - What does “true heaven” mean today? - How can we achieve higher perspective? A Different Perspective Physical limits remain. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bears/) [Heaven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heaven/) [Limits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limits/) [Our world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-world/) [Sea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sea/) [Summit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/summit/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [The principal thing in this world is to keep one's soul aloft.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/the-principal-thing-in-this-world-is-to-keep-one-s-soul-aloft/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [The principal thing in the world is to keep the soul aloft.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/the-principal-thing-in-the-world-is-to-keep-the-soul-aloft/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Are we lost, or are we found at last? On earth we strive for our various needs, because so goes the fundamental law of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-k-gann/are-we-lost-or-are-we-found-at-last-on-earth-we-strive-for-our/) [Ernest K. Gann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-k-gann/) > [Never soar aloft on an enemy's pinions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/never-soar-aloft-on-an-enemy-s-pinions/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [Sometimes a fog will settle over a vessel's deck and yet leave the topmast clear. Then a sailor goes up aloft and gets a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/sometimes-a-fog-will-settle-over-a-vessel-s-deck-and-yet-leave-the/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [“Aloft," intoned the damaged man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/aloft-intoned-the-damaged-man/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“To summon things into being by the mysterious alchemy of language. Atlantic. Atlas. Aloft. He was holding the image of his own people up:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/to-summon-things-into-being-by-the-mysterious-alchemy-of-language/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [If your car takes 95 and you put 87 in it, it's gonna run sluggish, right? A lot of people don't realize what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-hopkins/if-your-car-takes-95-and-you-put-87-in-it-it-s-gonna-run-sluggish/) [Bernard Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-hopkins/) > [Sometimes I wouldn't eat breakfast before 1 P.M. games because I knew it would make me sluggish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trent-williams/sometimes-i-wouldn-t-eat-breakfast-before-1-p-m-games-because-i-knew/) [Trent Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trent-williams/) > [“was so sluggish and sad lately. I think”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-mulle/was-so-sluggish-and-sad-lately-i-think/) [Mark Mulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-mulle/) > [All this piling up of one technology on top of another-railroad on steamboat, interstate highway on railroad, hydroelectric dam on watermill-had reduced the Mississippi…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/all-this-piling-up-of-one-technology-on-top-of-another-railroad-on/) [Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) > [The sluggish economy is creating a situation where the young people in Japan cannot cherish their desires or have prospects for their future. Also,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shinzo-abe/the-sluggish-economy-is-creating-a-situation-where-the-young-people/) [Shinzo Abe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shinzo-abe/) > [If I eat junk food and have a workout the next day, I feel a significant difference in the way my body responds to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josie-loren/if-i-eat-junk-food-and-have-a-workout-the-next-day-i-feel-a/) [Josie Loren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josie-loren/) > [In fact man's career has been less like a mountain torrent hurtling from rock to rock, than a great sluggish river, broken very seldom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/in-fact-man-s-career-has-been-less-like-a-mountain-torrent-hurtling/) [Olaf Stapledon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olaf-stapledon/) > [There are some sluggish men who are improved by drinking; as there are fruits that are not good until they are rotten.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/there-are-some-sluggish-men-who-are-improved-by-drinking-as-there-are/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) ## 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 Able quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [In the '80s, the way radio was programmed, if you didn't have a hit record you weren't going to be able to make any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huey-lewis/in-the-80s-the-way-radio-was-programmed-if-you-didn-t-have-a-hit/) [Huey Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huey-lewis/) > [I think I've had the longest career of strength, focus, and still being able to sell records. I think I'm that guy. I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-i-ve-had-the-longest-career-of-strength-focus-and-still-being/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [I have that need in me, I want everyone to love me, but I'm embarrassed by that need, so I wanted to cover it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jeselnik/i-have-that-need-in-me-i-want-everyone-to-love-me-but-i-m-embarrassed/) [Anthony Jeselnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-jeselnik/) > [Thinking about the things that happened, I don't know any other ball player would could have done what he (Jackie Robinson) did. To be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pee-wee-reese/thinking-about-the-things-that-happened-i-don-t-know-any-other-ball/) [Pee Wee Reese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pee-wee-reese/) > [I wanted to remember in order to be able to return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/i-wanted-to-remember-in-order-to-be-able-to-return/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [Government schools, with your tax money, now discourage the teaching of multiplication tables by rote memorization but teach reading by the 'look-and-say' method which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-perry/government-schools-with-your-tax-money-now-discourage-the-teaching-of/) Greg Perry > [I don't know if I would qualify as mainstream. I think I have managed to function pretty successfully on the fringes of the music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/i-don-t-know-if-i-would-qualify-as-mainstream-i-think-i-have-managed/) [Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/) > [What we're supposed to do as actors is be able to portray real human beings and emotions. And if you grow up in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-browning/what-we-re-supposed-to-do-as-actors-is-be-able-to-portray-real-human/) [Emily Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-browning/) > [The reason that Apple is able to create products like iPad is because we always try to be at the intersection of technology and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/the-reason-that-apple-is-able-to-create-products-like-ipad-is-because/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [It was an important period for us, because even though we weren't a "punk band", and what became a model for a punk band,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-mallinder/it-was-an-important-period-for-us-because-even-though-we-weren-t-a/) [Stephen Mallinder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-mallinder/) > [- You look fine. - Right. I look fine. Except I don't, said Zora, tugging sadly at her man's nightshirt. This was why Kiki…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/you-look-fine-right-i-look-fine-except-i-don-t-said-zora-tugging/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [There is a way to be a woman, ask for what we deserve and be able to negotiate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracee-ellis-ross/there-is-a-way-to-be-a-woman-ask-for-what-we-deserve-and-be-able-to/) [Tracee Ellis Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracee-ellis-ross/) Browse all 17,257 Able quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We are too feeble and sluggish to make our way out to the upper limit of the air. If someone could reach the summit, or put on wings and fly aloft, when he put up his head he would see the world above, just as fishes see our world when they put up their heads out of the sea; and if his nature were able to bear the sight, he would recognize that that is the true heaven.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Plato" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/we-are-too-feeble-and-sluggish-to-make-our-way-out-to-the-upper-limit/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Able" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/we-are-too-feeble-and-sluggish-to-make-our-way-out-to-the-upper-limit/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/805/plato-103_able_we-are-too-feeble-and-sluggish-to-make-o_2473705.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/805/plato-103_able_we-are-too-feeble-and-sluggish-to-make-o_2473705.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/805/plato-103_able_we-are-too-feeble-and-sluggish-to-make-o_2473705.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We are too feeble and sluggish to make our way out to the upper limit of the air. If someone could reach the…” — 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": "We are too feeble and sluggish...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/we-are-too-feeble-and-sluggish-to-make-our-way-out-to-the-upper-limit/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/we-are-too-feeble-and-sluggish-to-make-our-way-out-to-the-upper-limit/#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 } } ] } ```