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Do not train a child to learn by force or harshness; but direct them to it by what amuses their minds, so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each.

Do not train a child to learn by force or harshness; but direct them to it by what amuses their minds, so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each.

Approximate author period: c. 387 BC · classical

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Attribution & collection notes
Author or tradition
Plato
Attribution: attributed
Country attributed
Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin.
Historical period
Approximate author period: c. 387 BC · classical
Approximate historical context for attribution to Plato, based on life years -427 to -347. Opening discussion dates Plato circa 427–347 BCE. Ancient life years and the resulting grouping point are approximate, not independently verified dates for attributed quotations. Source: Plato on Knowledge in the Theaetetus — Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/plato-theaetetus/ (checked 2026-10-09). This does not establish the composition date or authenticate the attribution of these words. Source: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/plato-theaetetus/ (accessed 2026-10-09).
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken.
Recorded source
Contributor-provided quotation collection

Supplied reference C; CSV row 10497; supplied attribution, independently unverified

A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.