Meaning of 'it would be hard to overstate' [closed]
Paraphrase
Plato's (literary) portrait of Socrates had an effect on the reputation of philosophy that would be hard to overstate.
To overstate something is to exaggerate its importance. However some things are so important that it is difficult to praise their influence too much.
Example
- The fact that I can speak Spanish is stupendous, amazing, exceptional! That would be an overstatement. Many non-Spanish people can speak Spanish.
However:
- The effect of theories of Einstein on science, were stupendous, amazing, exceptional! This is not an overstatement because it is true.
Thus it is easy to overstate the ability to speak Spanish but hard to overstate the achievements of Einstein.