Plato states that “'the world of our sight is like the dwelling in prison'” (quote). To convey this message he describes a cave, which represents the physical and sensory world possessed by people who believe that empirical knowledge is true knowledge. Inside the cave people see only shadows, mere reflections of the truth, which represents falsehood in their perception of true knowledge. The desolation of the cave is intended to exemplify how an "unexamined life" can be a mental prison; a repressed mentality that produces a compromised intellect (Robinson 25). However, the outside of the cave represents the ideal, true world; an escape from the prison of ignorance. Prisoners who escape the cave out of philosophical curiosity ascend into reality in search of wisdom and understanding. The discovery of the Forms, perfect entities, eternal and immutable, will lead to the understanding of factual knowledge and infinite wisdom. Plato's Theory of Forms also illustrates the crucial link between knowledge and goodness. The highest Form of all Forms is the Form of Good, which illuminates all other Forms. Plato believes that the Form of the Good “is seen only with effort; and, if seen, is also inferred as the universal author of all things beautiful and