"The beginning is the most important part of the work"
About this Quote
Beginnings aren’t just the first step for Plato; they’re the moment when the entire project quietly locks into place. In a culture obsessed with formation - of citizens, of souls, of regimes - Plato treats the opening as destiny. Start wrongly and you don’t merely make a mistake you can correct later; you build a crooked structure that will keep tilting, no matter how much you patch the roof.
The intent is practical and psychological. Plato is constantly arguing that habits precede arguments. Education (paideia) isn’t a download of facts but a shaping of desire: what you learn to admire, what you learn to be ashamed of, what feels natural. That’s why the “beginning” matters most. It’s the phase where people are most pliable, when norms can be installed before they’re visible as norms. By the time a person is “reasoning,” the deeper work has already been done by early training, stories, and social cues.
The subtext is a warning about momentum and self-deception. Later stages feel sophisticated - revisions, debates, fine distinctions - but they often function as rationalizations for choices made at the start. Plato’s jab is that we overestimate our ability to steer midstream; we’re usually just riding a current we entered without noticing.
Contextually, this fits the Republic’s fixation on guardians, censorship of formative myths, and the architecture of a just city: if you want justice, you don’t begin with laws and punishments. You begin with what people are taught to want.
The intent is practical and psychological. Plato is constantly arguing that habits precede arguments. Education (paideia) isn’t a download of facts but a shaping of desire: what you learn to admire, what you learn to be ashamed of, what feels natural. That’s why the “beginning” matters most. It’s the phase where people are most pliable, when norms can be installed before they’re visible as norms. By the time a person is “reasoning,” the deeper work has already been done by early training, stories, and social cues.
The subtext is a warning about momentum and self-deception. Later stages feel sophisticated - revisions, debates, fine distinctions - but they often function as rationalizations for choices made at the start. Plato’s jab is that we overestimate our ability to steer midstream; we’re usually just riding a current we entered without noticing.
Contextually, this fits the Republic’s fixation on guardians, censorship of formative myths, and the architecture of a just city: if you want justice, you don’t begin with laws and punishments. You begin with what people are taught to want.
Quote Details
| Topic | New Beginnings |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Plato. (2026, January 17). The beginning is the most important part of the work. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-beginning-is-the-most-important-part-of-the-41849/
Chicago Style
Plato. "The beginning is the most important part of the work." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-beginning-is-the-most-important-part-of-the-41849/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"The beginning is the most important part of the work." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-beginning-is-the-most-important-part-of-the-41849/. Accessed 25 Feb. 2026.
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