philosopher king
- the Platonic ideal of a ruler, philosophically trained and enlightened.
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Origin of philosopher king
First recorded in 1920–25
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for philosopher-king
Historical Examples
But if the President was not the philosopher-king, what was he?
The Economic Consequences of the PeaceJohn Maynard Keynes
So thought the philosopher-King of Prussia, when he let his regiments out of garrison to go and face the enemy.
Rambles and Recollections of an Indian OfficialWilliam Sleeman
A smile in Plato at the sight of his philosopher-King in such strange company might well be pardoned.
Political Thought in England from Locke to BenthamHarold J. Laski
Diceneus, philosopher-king of Dacia, perhaps Cassiodorus' ideal of a king, 32.
The Letters of CassiodorusCassiodorus (AKA Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator)
Shall we, then, have the philosopher-king, as Europe dimly seems to half expect?
The World's Greatest Books, Vol XII.Arthur Mee
philosopher-king
In the Republic by Plato, the ideal ruler, who has the virtue and wisdom of a philosopher.
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The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.