--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We will be better and braver if we engage…" description: "\"We will be better and braver if we engage and inquire than if we indulge in the idle fancy that we already know -- or that it is of no use seeking to k..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/505/plato-103_courage_we-will-be-better-and-braver-if-we-engag_1979025.jpg" --- # We will be better and braver if we engage and inquire than… ![“We will be better and braver if we engage and inquire than if we indulge in the idle fancy that we already know -- or that it is of no use seeking to know what we do not know.” quote by Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/505/plato-103_courage_we-will-be-better-and-braver-if-we-engag_1979025.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/505/plato-103_courage_we-will-be-better-and-braver-if-we-engag_1979025.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/505/plato-103_courage_we-will-be-better-and-braver-if-we-engag_1979025.jpg) > “We will be better and braver if we engage and inquire than if we indulge in the idle fancy that we already know -- or that it is of no use seeking to know what we do not know.” [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. True improvement comes from active questioning and learning, not from complacent belief in what we already think we know. **In simple terms:** Learn by asking, not by assuming you know everything. Key Takeaway Seek knowledge, stay curious. Themes learning curiosity humility Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - education - research - personal growth - leadership - innovation Key Concepts Socratic method epistemology Questions to Reflect On - What assumptions are you holding that limit learning? - How can you turn idle curiosity into purposeful inquiry? A Different Perspective Assuming knowledge can blind you to new insights. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Better Braver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/better-braver-1364549/) [Courage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courage/) [Engage Inquire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/engage-inquire-3369035/) [Fancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fancy/) [Idle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idle/) [Idle Fancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idle-fancy-3369037/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Indulge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indulge/) [Indulge Idle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indulge-idle-3369038/) [Indulge in](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indulge-in/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Seeking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seeking/) [Seeking Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seeking-know-3369036/) [Use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/use/) ## Related quotes > [“But that we shall be better and braver and less helpless if we think that we ought to enquire, than we should have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/but-that-we-shall-be-better-and-braver-and-less-helpless-if-we-think/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Seeking to know is too often learning to doubt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoinette-du-ligier-de-la-garde-deshoulieres/seeking-to-know-is-too-often-learning-to-doubt/) [Antoinette du Ligier de la Garde Deshoulieres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoinette-du-ligier-de-la-garde-deshoulieres/) > [We shall be better, braver, and more active if we believe it right to look for what we don't know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/we-shall-be-better-braver-and-more-active-if-we-believe-it-right-to/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [...one thing I am ready to fight for as long as I can, in word and act: that is, that we shall be better,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/one-thing-i-am-ready-to-fight-for-as-long-as-i-can-in-word-and-act/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [We don't cut up when mad men are bred by the old legitimate regular stock religions, but we can't allow wildcat religions to indulge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/we-don-t-cut-up-when-mad-men-are-bred-by-the-old-legitimate-regular/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Satanists are encouraged to indulge in the seven deadly sins, as they need hurt no one; they were only invented by the Christian Church…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-szandor-lavey/satanists-are-encouraged-to-indulge-in-the-seven-deadly-sins-as-they/) [Anton Szandor LaVey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-szandor-lavey/) > [A man who lies to himself, and believes his own lies becomes unable to recognize truth, either in himself or in anyone else, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/a-man-who-lies-to-himself-and-believes-his-own-lies-becomes-unable-to/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [Battle... brings out all that is best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-s-patton/battle-brings-out-all-that-is-best/) [George S. Patton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-s-patton/) > [It can be set down as a broad, general principle that we cannot indulge in idleness and abundance during both the first and second…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/it-can-be-set-down-as-a-broad-general-principle-that-we-cannot/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [To expect happiness without giving up negative action is like holding your hand in a fire and hoping not to be burned. Of course,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dilgo-khyentse-rinpoche/to-expect-happiness-without-giving-up-negative-action-is-like-holding/) [Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dilgo-khyentse-rinpoche/) > [Let us dig our gardens and not be elsewhere; Let us take long walks in the open air... Let us bathe in the rivers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-linssen/let-us-dig-our-gardens-and-not-be-elsewhere-let-us-take-long-walks-in/) [Robert Linssen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-linssen/) > [The sickly cultural pathos which the whole of France indulges in, that fetishism of the cultural heritage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baudrillard/the-sickly-cultural-pathos-which-the-whole-of-france-indulges-in-that/) [Jean Baudrillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baudrillard/) > [Self-pity is, perhaps, the least becoming of all emotions, and we often indulge in it only beause we are too exhausted to resist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivy-baker-priest/self-pity-is-perhaps-the-least-becoming-of-all-emotions-and-we-often/) [Ivy Baker Priest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivy-baker-priest/) > [Why will no man confess his faults? Because he continues to indulge in them; a man cannot tell his dream till he wakes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/why-will-no-man-confess-his-faults-because-he-continues-to-indulge-in/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [If you indulge in long periods, you must be sure to have a snapper at the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-you-indulge-in-long-periods-you-must-be-sure-to-have-a-snapper-at/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## 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 Courage quotes > [The greatest act of courage is to be and to ownall of who you are—without apology, without excuses, without masks to cover the truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbie-ford/the-greatest-act-of-courage-is-to-be-and-to-ownall-of-who-you-are/) [Debbie Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbie-ford/) > [“It takes tremendous courage, persistence, and perseverance to pursue your ultimate purpose.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debasish-mridha/it-takes-tremendous-courage-persistence-and-perseverance-to-pursue/) [Debasish Mridha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debasish-mridha/) > [“Yes, the issue was courage. It always had been, even as a kid. Things scared him. He couldn't help it. Noise scared him, dark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/yes-the-issue-was-courage-it-always-had-been-even-as-a-kid-things/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [Our young Marines of today are courageous, willing to make sacrifices, and are marvelous team players. I am confident our Corps, and indeed our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-t-conway/our-young-marines-of-today-are-courageous-willing-to-make-sacrifices/) [James T. Conway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-t-conway/) > [Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/courage-the-most-important-of-all-the-virtues-because-without-courage/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“Tranquillity is courage in repose. It is a statical manifestation of valor, as daring deeds are a dynamical. A truly brave man is ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/inazo-nitobe/tranquillity-is-courage-in-repose-it-is-a-statical-manifestation-of/) [Inazo Nitobe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/inazo-nitobe/) > [When you heed the calling of your heart, you are following your purpose. Having purpose in your life gives you the courage to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhonda-britten/when-you-heed-the-calling-of-your-heart-you-are-following-your/) [Rhonda Britten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhonda-britten/) > [“Of all the train, none escaped except Wamba, who showed upon the occasion much more courage than those who pretended to greater sense.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-scott/of-all-the-train-none-escaped-except-wamba-who-showed-upon-the/) [Walter Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-scott/) > [The four Cs of making dreams come true: Curiosity, Courage, Consistency, Confidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/the-four-cs-of-making-dreams-come-true-curiosity-courage-consistency/) [Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/) > [Certainly these are not easy times. But history does not contain very many easy times. Years from now, we will look back at this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-ingraham/certainly-these-are-not-easy-times-but-history-does-not-contain-very/) [Laura Ingraham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-ingraham/) > [Have the courage to go against the tide of current values that do not conform to the path of Jesus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/have-the-courage-to-go-against-the-tide-of-current-values-that-do-not/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [“There is nothing purer, braver, or more beautiful than the try.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-armstrong/there-is-nothing-purer-braver-or-more-beautiful-than-the-try/) [Kristen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-armstrong/) > [“One theory on cannibals, of course, is that they eat parts of their slain enemies to benefit from that person's greatest assets - their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-powell/one-theory-on-cannibals-of-course-is-that-they-eat-parts-of-their/) [Julie Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-powell/) > [It is a tragedy that we live in a world where physical courage is so common, and moral courage is so rare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/it-is-a-tragedy-that-we-live-in-a-world-where-physical-courage-is-so/) [Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/) > [I have pictures with Morimoto where I'm all embarrassed and he's so serious, it took me 30 minutes to get up the courage to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcela-valladolid/i-have-pictures-with-morimoto-where-i-m-all-embarrassed-and-he-s-so/) [Marcela Valladolid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcela-valladolid/) [Browse all 14,559 Courage quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courage/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We will be better and braver if we engage and inquire than if we indulge in the idle fancy that we already know -- or that it is of no use seeking to know what we do not know.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Plato" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/we-will-be-better-and-braver-if-we-engage-and-inquire-than-if-we/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Courage" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/we-will-be-better-and-braver-if-we-engage-and-inquire-than-if-we/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/505/plato-103_courage_we-will-be-better-and-braver-if-we-engag_1979025.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/505/plato-103_courage_we-will-be-better-and-braver-if-we-engag_1979025.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/505/plato-103_courage_we-will-be-better-and-braver-if-we-engag_1979025.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We will be better and braver if we engage and inquire than if we indulge in the idle fancy that we already…” — 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 will be better and braver...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/we-will-be-better-and-braver-if-we-engage-and-inquire-than-if-we/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/we-will-be-better-and-braver-if-we-engage-and-inquire-than-if-we/#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 } } ] } ```