Q0004
“No one errs willingly.” — Socrates (Plato, Protagoras 345e)
Verified English quotation. Primary source: Plato, Protagoras 345e. Theme: morality.
English
No one errs willingly.
Source and attribution
The archive attributes this English wording to Plato, Protagoras 345e and files it under Socratic School. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.
About Socrates
Socrates (c. 470/469–399 BCE) was an Athenian citizen who wrote nothing and yet redirected Greek philosophy from cosmology toward ethics and the care of the soul.
How to read this passage
Moral philosophy asks whether morality is objective, how reasons bind us, and how character, rules, and consequences relate. Traditions differ on whether duty, virtue, or outcomes come first. This passage enters that discussion through morality, knowledge.
Concepts in this quote
- Morality
- Morality in philosophy concerns right and wrong, obligation, and the standards by which we judge persons and acts.
- Knowledge
- Knowledge is the philosophical study of what we can justifiably claim to know—and where certainty ends.
How to cite this quotation
APA: Socrates. (n.d.). No one errs willingly. In Philosophy Blind Box. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0004
MLA: Socrates. “No one errs willingly..” Philosophy Blind Box, https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0004.
Chicago: Socrates. “No one errs willingly..” Philosophy Blind Box. Accessed 2026. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0004.
Frequently asked questions
What is the source of the quotation “No one errs willingly.”?
The passage is attributed to Socrates, Plato, Protagoras 345e. The archive attributes this English wording to Plato, Protagoras 345e and files it under Socratic School. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.
What does Socrates mean by morality?
Moral philosophy asks whether morality is objective, how reasons bind us, and how character, rules, and consequences relate. Traditions differ on whether duty, virtue, or outcomes come first. This passage enters that discussion through morality, knowledge.