A History of Greek Philosophy / PLATO

Page 15

Yet the world will never be right till those who have had this vision come back to the things of earth and order them according to the eternal verities; the philosopher must be king if ever the perfect life is to be lived on earth, either by individual or community. As it would be expressed in Scriptural language, “The kingdoms of this world must become the kingdoms of the Lord and of His Christ.”

For the training of these ideal rulers an ideal education is required, which Plato calls dialectic; something of its nature is described later on, and we need not linger over it here.

The argument then seems to fall to a lower level. There are various approximations in actual experience to the ideal community, each more or less perfect according to the degree in which the good of the individual is also made the good of all, and the interests of governors and governed are alike. Parallel with each lower form of state is a lower individual nature, the worst of all being that of the tyrant, whose will is his only law, and his own self-indulgence his only motive. In him indeed Might is Right; but his life is the very antithesis of happiness. Nay, pleasure of any kind can give no law to reason; reason can judge of pleasure, but not vice versa. There is no profit to a man though he gain the whole world, if himself be lost; if he become worse; if the better part of him be silenced and grow weaker. And after this ‘fitful fever’ is over, may there not be a greater bliss beyond? There have been stories told us, visions of another world, where each man is rewarded according to his works. And the book closes with a magnificent Vision of Judgment. It is the story of Er, son of Armenius, who being wounded in battle, after twelve days’ trance comes back to life, and tells of the judgment seat, of heavenly bliss and hellish punishments, and of the renewal of life and the new choice given to souls not yet purified wholly of sin. “God is blameless; Man’s Soul is immortal; Justice and Truth are the only things eternally good.” Such is the final revelation.

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