--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am that gadfly which God has attached…" description: "\"I am that gadfly which God has attached to the state, and all day long and in all places am always fastening upon you, arousing and persuading and repr..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e14/socrates-405_attached_i-am-that-gadfly-which-god-has-attached_2381775.jpg" --- # I am that gadfly which God has attached to the state, and… ![“I am that gadfly which God has attached to the state, and all day long and in all places am always fastening upon you, arousing and persuading and reproaching you.” quote by Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e14/socrates-405_attached_i-am-that-gadfly-which-god-has-attached_2381775.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e14/socrates-405_attached_i-am-that-gadfly-which-god-has-attached_2381775.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e14/socrates-405_attached_i-am-that-gadfly-which-god-has-attached_2381775.jpg) > “I am that gadfly which God has attached to the state, and all day long and in all places am always fastening upon you, arousing and persuading and reproaching you.” [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Socrates sees himself as a persistent moral critic, constantly challenging citizens to reflect on their actions. **In simple terms:** He is a relentless moral challenger. Key Takeaway Embrace critical self‑examination. Themes ethics civic duty philosophy Mood provocative thought‑provoking Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - political debates - public speaking - personal reflection - teaching Key Concepts Socratic method moral provocation Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance critique with empathy? - When is it appropriate to confront others? A Different Perspective Critique can alienate; not everyone welcomes constant scrutiny. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Curiosity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/curiosity/) [Gadflies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gadflies/) [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) ## Related quotes > [“I am that gadfly which God has attached to the state, and all day long …arousing and persuading and reproaching…You will not easily find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/i-am-that-gadfly-which-god-has-attached-to-the-state-and-all-day-long/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“The State is like a great and noble steed who is tardy in his motions owing to his very size, and requires to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/the-state-is-like-a-great-and-noble-steed-who-is-tardy-in-his-motions/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Before the coming of Jesus Christ, men fled away from God and, being attached to the earth, refused to unite themselves to their Creator.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alphonsus-liguori/before-the-coming-of-jesus-christ-men-fled-away-from-god-and-being/) [Alphonsus Liguori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alphonsus-liguori/) > [“I said to him one day that the very slender reward which God had attached to the pursuit of serious inquiry was a sufficient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/i-said-to-him-one-day-that-the-very-slender-reward-which-god-had/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [I do nothing but go about persuading you all, old and young alike, not to take thought for your persons or your properties, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/i-do-nothing-but-go-about-persuading-you-all-old-and-young-alike-not-3/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [I do nothing but go about persuading you all, old and young alike, not to take thought for your persons or your properties, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/i-do-nothing-but-go-about-persuading-you-all-old-and-young-alike-not/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [So Socrates was a kind of gadfly. He was a sort of philosophical urban gorilla hanging around in the middle of Athens, asking these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/so-socrates-was-a-kind-of-gadfly-he-was-a-sort-of-philosophical-urban/) [Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/) > [“Make your lives a masterpiece, you only get one canvas.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/make-your-lives-a-masterpiece-you-only-get-one-canvas/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In Plato's republic, poets were considered subversive, a danger to the republic. I kind of relish that role. So I see my present role…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-ferlinghetti/in-plato-s-republic-poets-were-considered-subversive-a-danger-to-the/) [Lawrence Ferlinghetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-ferlinghetti/) > [I don't think writers should be convenient examples. I don't think we should make people feel settled. I don't try to be a gadfly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rodriguez/i-don-t-think-writers-should-be-convenient-examples-i-don-t-think-we/) [Richard Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rodriguez/) > [I'm noticing an exciting trend around the country: a resurgence of interest in Christian apologetics (the defense of the faith). This is a reaction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-strobel/i-m-noticing-an-exciting-trend-around-the-country-a-resurgence-of/) [Lee Strobel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-strobel/) > [“...it’s just another one of those things I don’t understand: everyone impresses upon you how unique you are, encouraging you to cultivate your individuality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-just-another-one-of-those-things-i-don-t-understand-everyone/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Seeing clearly within himself and always able to dodge around the ends of any position, including his own, Shaw assumed from the start the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-barzun/seeing-clearly-within-himself-and-always-able-to-dodge-around-the/) [Jacques Barzun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-barzun/) > [Conflict is the gadfly of thought. It stirs us to observation and memory. It instigates invention. It shocks us out of sheep-like passivity, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/conflict-is-the-gadfly-of-thought-it-stirs-us-to-observation-and/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [I'm a chameleon, so changeable. I see myself as a gadfly and a questioner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-johnson/i-m-a-chameleon-so-changeable-i-see-myself-as-a-gadfly-and-a/) [Philip Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-johnson/) ## More by Socrates > [By all means marry; if you get a good wife, you'll be happy. If you get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/by-all-means-marry-if-you-get-a-good-wife-you-ll-be-happy-if-you-get/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [Falling down is not a failure. Failure comes when you stay where you have fallen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/falling-down-is-not-a-failure-failure-comes-when-you-stay-where-you/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [Do not go through life like leaf blown from here to there believing whatever you are told.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/do-not-go-through-life-like-leaf-blown-from-here-to-there-believing/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [If the whole world depends on today's youth, I can't see the world lasting another 100 years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/if-the-whole-world-depends-on-today-s-youth-i-can-t-see-the-world/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [“I only know, I know nothing”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/i-only-know-i-know-nothing/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/i-cannot-teach-anybody-anything-i-can-only-make-them-think/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [If measure and symmetry are absent from any composition in any degree, ruin awaits both the ingredients and the composition... Measure and symmetry are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/if-measure-and-symmetry-are-absent-from-any-composition-in-any-degree/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [Marry a good woman, and be happy the rest of your life. Or, marry a bad, and become a good philosopher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/marry-a-good-woman-and-be-happy-the-rest-of-your-life-or-marry-a-bad/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [“For the fear of death is indeed the pretense of wisdom, and not real wisdom, being a pretense of knowing the unknown; and no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/for-the-fear-of-death-is-indeed-the-pretense-of-wisdom-and-not-real/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [There is no difference between knowledge and temperance; for he who knows what is good and embraces it, who knows what is bad and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/there-is-no-difference-between-knowledge-and-temperance-for-he-who/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [Besides, it is a shame to let yourself grow old through neglect before seeing how you can develop the maximum beauty and strength of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/besides-it-is-a-shame-to-let-yourself-grow-old-through-neglect-before/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [The greatest blessing granted to mankind come by way of madness, which is a divine gift.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/the-greatest-blessing-granted-to-mankind-come-by-way-of-madness-which/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [I desire only to know the truth, and to live as well as I can...And, to the utmost of my power, I exhort all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/i-desire-only-to-know-the-truth-and-to-live-as-well-as-i-can-and-to/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [So you would rather suffer an injustice than do an injustice?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/so-you-would-rather-suffer-an-injustice-than-do-an-injustice/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [The end of life is to be like unto God; and the soul following God, will be like unto Him; He being the beginning,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/the-end-of-life-is-to-be-like-unto-god-and-the-soul-following-god/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) [Explore all 579 Socrates quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) ## More Attached quotes > [Don't get too attached to someone you know you can't be together with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/don-t-get-too-attached-to-someone-you-know-you-can-t-be-together-with/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [“With no name attached to it, the place somehow declared itself nowhere and everywhere at the same time”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-p-knave/with-no-name-attached-to-it-the-place-somehow-declared-itself-nowhere/) [Adam P. Knave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-p-knave/) > [“Sometimes, we are so attached to our way of life that we turn down a wonderful opportunity simply because we don't know what to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/sometimes-we-are-so-attached-to-our-way-of-life-that-we-turn-down-a/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“For the creator must be a world for himself, and find everything within himself, and in Nature to which he has attached himself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/for-the-creator-must-be-a-world-for-himself-and-find-everything/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [I don't want to get attached to anyone anymore. It only destroys me in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-want-to-get-attached-to-anyone-anymore-it-only-destroys-me-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I definitely feel more attached to Kolkata than anywhere else in India.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isa-guha/i-definitely-feel-more-attached-to-kolkata-than-anywhere-else-in-india/) [Isa Guha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isa-guha/) > [“When you think it is you who are doing something, that is when you get attached to how it all works out in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-viljoen/when-you-think-it-is-you-who-are-doing-something-that-is-when-you-get/) Edward Viljoen > [I get emotionally attached to someone if I talk to them on the street corner for five minutes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dustin-lance-black/i-get-emotionally-attached-to-someone-if-i-talk-to-them-on-the-street/) [Dustin Lance Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dustin-lance-black/) > [People always leave as soon as you get attached.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/people-always-leave-as-soon-as-you-get-attached/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I farm - there is something visceral about being attached to the land. I am a recording engineer. I do my own laundry most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-lerner/i-farm-there-is-something-visceral-about-being-attached-to-the-land-i/) [Sandra Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-lerner/) > [The problem with getting attached to someone: When they leave, you just feel lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-problem-with-getting-attached-to-someone-when-they-leave-you-just/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/when-one-tugs-at-a-single-thing-in-nature-he-finds-it-attached-to-the/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [I'm a big advocate of a work-for-pay setup rather than an allowance that isn't attached to chores - it's a great way to impart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suze-orman/i-m-a-big-advocate-of-a-work-for-pay-setup-rather-than-an-allowance/) [Suze Orman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suze-orman/) > [The longer we stay in Hell, the more we become attached to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/the-longer-we-stay-in-hell-the-more-we-become-attached-to-it/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [I'm very attached to my family and protective of them and miss them, and that situation, my connection with that can make me become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-cliff/i-m-very-attached-to-my-family-and-protective-of-them-and-miss-them/) [Jimmy Cliff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-cliff/) Browse all 425 Attached quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I am that gadfly which God has attached to the state, and all day long and in all places am always fastening upon you, arousing and persuading and reproaching you.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Socrates" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/i-am-that-gadfly-which-god-has-attached-to-the-state-and-all-day-long-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Attached" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/i-am-that-gadfly-which-god-has-attached-to-the-state-and-all-day-long-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e14/socrates-405_attached_i-am-that-gadfly-which-god-has-attached_2381775.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e14/socrates-405_attached_i-am-that-gadfly-which-god-has-attached_2381775.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e14/socrates-405_attached_i-am-that-gadfly-which-god-has-attached_2381775.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I am that gadfly which God has attached to the state, and all day long and in all places am always fastening…” — Socrates", "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": "Socrates", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I am that gadfly which God...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/i-am-that-gadfly-which-god-has-attached-to-the-state-and-all-day-long-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/i-am-that-gadfly-which-god-has-attached-to-the-state-and-all-day-long-2/#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 } } ] } ```