The Beginning Is The Most Important

From Republic Book II (377a–b), where Plato is discussing the education of the guardians of his ideal city. Socrates argues that educators must take special care with the first stories told to children, since the young mind is most impressionable and what is planted earliest shapes character most deeply. The remark is part of Plato's controversial proposal to censor mythological poetry that portrays the gods in immoral ways — a proposal that has remained one of the most debated aspects of the Republic.