Meaning

This quote draws a sharp contrast between two ways of orienting a life. Those who live purely for physical pleasure, treating eating and drinking as ends in themselves, are described as worthless in a moral sense. People of genuine worth, by contrast, treat bodily sustenance as a means to a higher end: living well, thinking clearly, and pursuing virtue. The point is not that physical needs are shameful, but that they should serve the person rather than define the person.

Context

The sentiment fits naturally within the Socratic tradition of ancient Greek philosophy, which placed the health of the soul far above the satisfaction of bodily appetites. Similar ideas appear in the writings of Plato and Xenophon, both of whom recorded Socratic conversations. Whether Socrates said these exact words is uncertain, as attribution in ancient sources is often loose, and the formulation has been repeated and reshaped across centuries of moral writing.

About the author

Socrates was an Athenian philosopher of the fifth century BCE who is widely regarded as one of the founding figures of Western philosophy. He wrote nothing himself, so his ideas survive through the works of his students, chiefly Plato and Xenophon. He was eventually tried by the city of Athens and sentenced to death. His method of questioning assumptions and demanding careful reasoning about ethics continues to influence philosophy, education, and public life to this day.