Full Idea
Our discussion of numbers leads the soul forcibly upward and compels it to discuss the numbers themselves, never permitting anyone to propose for discussion numbers attached to visible or tangible bodies.
Gist of Idea
We aim for elevated discussion of pure numbers, not attaching them to physical objects
Source
Plato (The Republic [c.371 BCE], 525d)
Book Reference
Plato: 'Complete Works', ed/tr. Cooper,John M. [Hackett 1997], p.1142
A Reaction
This strikes me as very important, because it shows that the platonist view of numbers places little or no importance on counting, inviting the question of whether they could be understood in complete ignorance of the process of counting.