Unity, From Knowledge not Belief

Plato, Cleitophon 409a

“When he was asked whether likemindedness was the same as unity of belief or knowledge, he dismissed the term unity of belief because many times a unity of believe was forced upon people in a harmful way. Since he agreed that friendship was entirely a good thing and the result of justice, he necessarily said that likemindedness was related to knowledge not belief.”

τὴν δὲ ὁμόνοιαν ἐρωτώμενος εἰ ὁμοδοξίαν εἶναι λέγοι ἢ ἐπιστήμην, τὴν μὲν ὁμοδοξίαν ἠτίμαζεν· ἠναγκάζοντο γὰρ πολλαὶ καὶ βλαβεραὶ γίγνεσθαι ὁμοδοξίαι ἀνθρώπων, τὴν δὲ φιλίαν ἀγαθὸν ὡμολογήκει πάντως εἶναι καὶ δικαιοσύνης ἔργον, ὥστε ταὐτὸν ἔφησεν εἶναι ὁμόνοιαν ἐπιστήμην οὖσαν, ἀλλ᾿ οὐ δόξαν.

Cicero, Laws 1.33

“What people do not hate the arrogant, the evil, the cruel, or the thankless? We know from these facts that the whole human race is tied together in unity and the result is that  understanding how to live correctly makes people better.”

quae superbos, quae maleficos, quae crudeles, quae ingratos non aspernatur, non odit? quibus ex rebus cum omne genus hominum sociatum inter se esse inteliegatur, illud extremum est, quod recte vivendi ratio meliores efficit.

Ruins of Roman Temple to Concord

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