第5章

Ath。Thenletusnotleavethemeaningofeducationambiguousorill-defined。Atpresent，whenwespeakintermsofpraiseorblameaboutthebringing-upofeachperson，wecallonemaneducatedandanotheruneducated，althoughtheuneducatedmanmaybesometimesverywelleducatedforthecallingofaretailtrader，orofacaptainofaship，andthelike。Forwearenotspeakingofeducationinthisnarrowersense，butofthatothereducationinvirtuefromyouthupwards，whichmakesamaneagerlypursuetheidealperfectionofcitizenship，andteacheshimhowrightlytoruleandhowtoobey。

Thisistheonlyeducationwhich，uponourview，deservesthename；

thatothersortoftraining，whichaimsattheacquisitionofwealthorbodilystrength，ormereclevernessapartfromintelligenceandjustice，ismeanandilliberal，andisnotworthytobecallededucationatall。Butletusnotquarrelwithoneanotheraboutaword，providedthatthepropositionwhichhasjustbeengrantedholdgood：towit，thatthosewhoarerightlyeducatedgenerallybecomegoodmen。Neithermustwecastaslightuponeducation，whichisthefirstandfairestthingthatthebestofmencaneverhave，andwhich，thoughliabletotakeawrongdirection，iscapableofreformation。

Andthisworkofreformationisthegreatbusinessofeverymanwhilehelives。

Cle。Verytrue；andweentirelyagreewithyou。

Ath。Andweagreedbeforethattheyaregoodmenwhoareabletorulethemselves，andbadmenwhoarenot。

Cle。Youarequiteright。

Ath。Letmenowproceed，ifIcan，toclearupthesubjectalittlefurtherbyanillustrationwhichIwillofferyou。

Cle。Proceed。

Ath。Dowenotconsidereachofourselvestobeone？

Cle。Wedo。

Ath。Andeachoneofushasinhisbosomtwocounsellors，bothfoolishandalsoantagonistic；ofwhichwecalltheonepleasure，andtheotherpain。

Cle。Exactly。

Ath。Alsothereareopinionsaboutthefuture，whichhavethegeneralnameofexpectations；andthespecificnameoffear，whentheexpectationisofpain；andofhope，whenofpleasure；andfurther，thereisreflectionaboutthegoodorevilofthem，andthis，whenembodiedinadecreebytheState，iscalledLaw。

Cle。Iamhardlyabletofollowyou；proceed，however，asifIwere。

Meg。Iaminthelikecase。

Ath。Letuslookatthematterthus：MaywenotconceiveeachofuslivingbeingstobeapuppetoftheGods，eithertheirplaythingonly，orcreatedwithapurpose-whichofthetwowecannotcertainlyknow？Butwedoknow，thattheseaffectionsinusarelikecordsandstrings，whichpullusdifferentandoppositeways，andtooppositeactions；andhereinliesthedifferencebetweenvirtueandvice。

Accordingtotheargumentthereisoneamongthesecordswhicheverymanoughttograspandneverletgo，buttopullwithitagainstalltherest；andthisisthesacredandgoldencordofreason，calledbyusthecommonlawoftheState；thereareotherswhicharehardandofiron，butthisoneissoftbecausegolden；andthereareseveralotherkinds。Nowweoughtalwaystocooperatewiththeleadofthebest，whichislaw。Forinasmuchasreasonisbeautifulandgentle，andnotviolent，herrulemustneedshaveministersinordertohelpthegoldenprincipleinvanquishingtheotherprinciples。Andthusthemoralofthetaleaboutourbeingpuppetswillnothavebeenlost，andthemeaningoftheexpression“superiororinferiortoaman’sself“

willbecomeclearer；andtheindividual，attainingtorightreasoninthismatterofpullingthestringsofthepuppet，shouldliveaccordingtoitsrule；whilethecity，receivingthesamefromsomegodorfromonewhohasknowledgeofthesethings，shouldembodyitinalaw，tobeherguideinherdealingswithherselfandwithotherstates。Inthiswayvirtueandvicewillbemoreclearlydistinguishedbyus。Andwhentheyhavebecomeclearer，educationandotherinstitutionswillinlikemannerbecomeclearer；andinparticularthatquestionofconvivialentertainment，whichmayseem，perhaps，tohavebeenaverytriflingmatter，andtohavetakenagreatmanymorewordsthanwerenecessary。

Cle。Perhaps，however，thethememayturnoutnottobeunworthyofthelengthofdiscourse。

Ath。Verygood；letusproceedwithanyenquirywhichreallybearsonourpresentobject。

Cle。Proceed。

Ath。Supposethatwegivethispuppetofoursdrink-whatwillbetheeffectonhim？

Cle。Havingwhatinviewdoyouaskthatquestion？

Ath。Nothingasyet；butIaskgenerally，whenthepuppetisbroughttothedrink，whatsortofresultislikelytofollow。Iwillendeavourtoexplainmymeaningmoreclearly：whatIamnowaskingisthis-Doesthedrinkingofwineheightenandincreasepleasuresandpains，andpassionsandloves？

Cle。Verygreatly。

Ath。Andareperceptionandmemory，andopinionandprudence，heightenedandincreased？Donotthesequalitiesentirelydesertamanifhebecomessaturatedwithdrink？

Cle。Yes，theyentirelydeserthim。

Ath。Doeshenotreturntothestateofsoulinwhichhewaswhenayoungchild？

Cle。Hedoes。

Ath。Thenatthattimehewillhavetheleastcontroloverhimself？

Cle。Theleast。

Ath。Andwillhenotbeinamostwretchedplight？

Cle。Mostwretched。

Ath。Thennotonlyanoldmanbutalsoadrunkardbecomesasecondtimeachild？

Cle。Wellsaid，Stranger。

Ath。Isthereanyargumentwhichwillprovetousthatweoughttoencouragethetastefordrinkinginsteadofdoingallwecantoavoidit？

Cle。Isupposethatthereis；youatanyrate，werejustnowsayingthatyouwerereadytomaintainsuchadoctrine。

Ath。True，Iwas；andIamreadystill，seeingthatyouhavebothdeclaredthatyouareanxioustohearme。

Cle。Tosureweare，ifonlyforthestrangenessoftheparadox，whichassertsthatamanoughtofhisownaccordtoplungeintoutterdegradation。

Ath。Areyouspeakingofthesoul？

Cle。Yes。

Ath。Andwhatwouldyousayaboutthebody，myfriend？Areyounotsurprisedatanyoneofhisownaccordbringinguponhimselfdeformity，leanness，ugliness，decrepitude？

Cle。Certainly。

Ath。Yetwhenamangoesofhisownaccordtoadoctor’sshop，andtakesmedicine，ishenotawarethatsoon，andformanydaysafterwards，hewillbeinastateofbodywhichhewoulddieratherthanacceptasthepermanentconditionofhislife？Arenotthosewhotrainingymnasia，atfirstbeginningreducedtoastateofweakness？

Cle。Yes，allthatiswellknown。

Ath。Alsothattheygooftheirownaccordforthesakeofthesubsequentbenefit？

Cle。Verygood。

Ath。Andwemayconceivethistobetrueinthesamewayofotherpractices？

Cle。Certainly。

Ath。Andthesameviewmaybetakenofthepastimeofdrinkingwine，ifwearerightinsupposingthatthesamegoodeffectfollows？

Cle。Tobesure。

Ath。Ifsuchconvivialitiesshouldturnouttohaveanyadvantageequalinimportancetothatofgymnastic，theyareintheirverynaturetobepreferredtomerebodilyexercise，inasmuchastheyhavenoaccompanimentofpain。

Cle。True；butIhardlythinkthatweshallbeabletodiscoveranysuchbenefitstobederivedfromthem。

Ath。Thatisjustwhatwemustendeavourtoshow。Andletmeaskyouaquestion：-Dowenotdistinguishtwokindsoffear，whichareverydifferent？

Cle。Whatarethey？

Ath。Thereisthefearofexpectedevil。

Cle。Yes。

Ath。Andthereisthefearofanevilreputation；weareafraidofbeingthoughtevil，becausewedoorsaysomedishonourablething，whichfearweandallmentermshame。

Cle。Certainly。

Ath。Thesearethetwofears，asIcalledthem；oneofwhichistheoppositeofpainandotherfears，andtheoppositealsoofthegreatestandmostnumeroussortofpleasures。

Cle。Verytrue。