To teach is to influence, and influence never dies.
Genuine
Yes. In Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great (1894), Volume 10, To the Homes of Great Teachers (Memorial Edition, 1916), ‘Plato’, final paragraph.
Found word for word by program in the full text.
The wording people share differs from the text; the words in the text are underlined below.
- Work
- Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great (Little Journeys to the Homes of Good Men and Great), 1894
- Where
- Volume 10, To the Homes of Great Teachers (Memorial Edition, 1916), ‘Plato’, final paragraph
- Found at
- Paragraph 491 of the text
Researched by AI; checked by program against the full text on 31 October 2026. Editorial review: pending. How we check
On the page
[…] Man was made for mutual service. This way lies Elysium.
Plato was a teacher of teachers, and like every other great teacher who has ever lived, his soul goes marching on, for to teach is to influence, and influence never dies.1 Hail, Plato!
[Illustration: KING ALFRED]
The scene
Hubbard ends his portrait by tracing Plato’s influence through later writers and by discussing different interpretations of immortality. He argues that people should practise mutual service and the virtues of an ideal society in this life. His final tribute says that Plato lives on through the teachers and thinkers he has influenced.
What it means
A teacher’s effects can continue through other people long after the teacher has died; this is the form of lasting life Hubbard celebrates in Plato.
Often misread
These are Hubbard’s words about Plato, not a maxim spoken or written by Plato. The surrounding discussion allows immortality through influence and does not settle the existence of a personal afterlife.
Topics
Related quotes
- While everything in life adds to, or detracts from, human success or failure, nothing is more important in life than people. It is the people who create a respectful, optimistic, trusting and intentional society. William W. Purkey
- People possess untapped potential in all areas of human endeavor. The uniqueness of human beings is that no clear limits to potential have been discovered. William W. Purkey
- No one can choose a beneficial direction in life without hope that change for the better is possible. William W. Purkey
- We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. (misattributed) Aristotle
- A student is the most important person ever in this school. William W. Purkey
Sources
Cite it
Elbert Hubbard, Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great (1894), Volume 10, To the Homes of Great Teachers (Memorial Edition, 1916), ‘Plato’, final paragraph. Checked at Quotogeny, https://quotogeny.com/q/to-teach-is-to-influence-and-influence-never-dies/ (31 October 2026).
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Checked by people
People who checked this entry against its source, under their own names. Their checks do not change the verdict: an editor reviews every entry.
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