Musical training is a more potent instrument than any other, because rhythm and harmony find their way into the inward places of the soul.

Plato The Republic, Book III, 401d Verified source · How we source quotes
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Socrates says this to Glaucon in Book III of Plato's Republic, while discussing how the guardians of the ideal city should be educated. Rhythm and harmony, he argues, sink deep into the soul and give it grace. A young person trained in music learns to love what is beautiful and dislike what is ugly before being able to give reasons, and later welcomes reason as an old friend.

Source: The Republic, Book III, 401d

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