QuoteQuest“The unexamined life is not worth living.”
Original (Ancient Greek): ὁ δὲ ἀνεξέταστος βίος οὐ βιωτὸς ἀνθρώπῳ
— Socrates
Verification
AttributedRecorded by a reliable secondary source; exact wording may differ.
Socrates left no writings. These words come from Plato's account of the trial, so the exact wording is Plato's. English translations vary.
Source
- Title
- Apology (Plato)
- Type
- book · Secondary source
- Date
- c. 399 BC
- Location
- Apology 38a
- Held by
- Project Gutenberg
Context
Spoken, according to Plato, at Socrates' trial in Athens.
What it means
A life without self-questioning and reflection lacks real value.
Cite this source
Socrates. (c. 399 BC). Apology (Plato). Project Gutenberg. https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1656
Check citations against your institution's style guide; some details may be missing.
Provenance: Manually entered from the Benjamin Jowett translation on Project Gutenberg.