Phaedrus — Plato

p. 404head and foot and hand, and threw them down and flayed them with scourges, and dragged them along the road at the side, carding them on thorns like wool, and declaring to the pilgrims as they passed what were their crime?, and that they were being taken away to be cast into hell. And of all the terrors of the place there was no terror like this of hearing the voice ; and when there was silence they ascended with joy.

These were the penalties and retributions, and there were blessings as great.

Now when the spirits that were in the meadow had tarried seven days, on the eighth day they were obliged to proceed on their journey, and on the fourth day from that time they came to a place where they looked down from above upon a line of light, like a column extending right through the whole heaven and earth, in color not unlike the rainbow, only brighter and purer; another day's journey brought them to the place, and there, in the midst of the light, they saw reaching from heaven the extremities of the chains of it : for this light is the belt of heaven, and holds together the circle of the universe, like the undergirders of a trireme.^ And from the extremities of the chains is extended the spindle of Necessity, on which all the revolutions turn.

The shaft and hook of this spindle are made of steel, and the whorl is made partly of steel and also partly of other materials.

Now the whorl is in form like the whorl used on earth ; and you are to suppose, as he described, that there is one large hollow whorl which is scooped out, and into this is fitted another lesser one, and another, and another, and four others, making eight in all, like boxes which fit into one another ; their edges are turned upwards, and all together form one continuous whorl.

This is pierced by the spindle, which is driven home through the center of the eighth. The first and outermost whorl has the rim broadest, and the seven inner whorls narrow, in the following proportions — the sixth is next to the first in size, the fourth next to the sixth ; then comes the eighth ; the seventh is fifth, the fifth is sixth, the third is seventh, last and eighth comes the second.

The largest [or fixed , stars] is spangled, and the seventh [or sun] is brightest ; '^ the eighth [or moon] colored by the reflected light of the seventh ; the second and fifth [Mercury and Saturn] are like one another, and of a yellower color than the preceding ; . the * A kiad of boat with three rows of oars on a side.

p. 405third [Venus] has the whitest light ; the fourth [MarsJ is reddish ; the sixth [Jupiter] is in whiteness second.

Now the whole spindle has the same motion ; but, as the whole revolves in one direction, the seven inner circles move slowly in the other, and of these the swiftest is the eighth ; next in swiftness are the seventh, sixth, and fifth, which move together ; third in swiftness appeared to them to move in reversed orbit the fourth ; the third appeared fourth, and the second fifth.

The spindle turns on the knees of Necessity ; and on the upper surface of each circle is a siren, who goes round with them, hymning a single sound and note.

The eight together form one harmony ; and round about, at equal intervals, there is another band, three in number, each sitting upon her throne : these are the Fates, daughters of Necessity, who are clothed in white raiment and have garlands upon their heads, Lachesis and Clotho and Atropos,' who accompany with their voices the harmony of the sirens — Lachesis singing of the past, Clotho of the present, Atropos of the future ; Clotho now and then assisting with a touch of her right hand the motion of the outer circle or whorl of the spindle, and Atropos with her left hand touching and guiding the inner ones, and Lachesis laying hold of either in turn, first with one hand and then with the other.

Now when the spirits arrived, their duty was to go to Lachesis ; but first a prophet came and arranged them in order ; then he took from the knees of Lachesis lots and samples of lives, and going up to a high place, spoke as follows : '* Hear the word of Lachesis, the daughter of Necessity. Mortal souls, behold a new cycle of mortal life.

Your genius will not choose you, but you will choose your genius ; and let him who draws the first lot have the first choice of life, which shall be his destiny.

Virtue is free, and as a man honors or dishonors her he will have more or less of her ; the chooser is answerable — God is justified.'* When the Interpreter had thus spoken he cast the lots among them, and each one took up the lot which fell near him, all but Er himself (he ^ « was not allowed), and each as he took his lot perceived the number which he had drawn.

Then the Interpreter placed on the ground before them the samples of life ; and there were many more lives than the souls present, and there were all sorts of lives — of every animal and every condition of man. And V Lachesis (ISk'e-sis). Clotho (kI3'th5). Atropos (^t'ro-pos).

p. 406there were tyrannies among them, some continuing while the tyrant lived, others which broke off in the middle and came to an end in poverty and exile and beggary; and there were lives of famous men, some who were famous for their form and beauty as well as for their strength and success in games, or, again, for their birth and the qualities of their ancestors ; and some who were the reverse of famous for the opposite qualities.

And of women likewise ; there was not, however, any definite character among them, because the soul must of necessity choose another life, and become another. But there were many elements mingling with one another, and also with elements of wealth and poverty, and disease and health ; and there were mean states also. And this, my dear Glaucon, is the great danger of man ; and therefore the utmost care should be taken.

Let each one of us leave every other kind of knowledge and seek and follow one thing only, if perad venture he may be able to learn and find who there is who can and will teach him to distinguish the life of good and evil, and to choose always and everywhere the better life as far as possible.

He should consider the bearing of all these things which hjave been mentioned severally and collectively upon a virtuous life ; he should know what the effect of beauty is when compounded with poverty or wealth in a particular soul, and what are the good and evil consequences of noble and humble birth, of private and public station, of strength and weakness, of cleverness and dullness, and of all the natural and acquired gifts of the soul, and study the composition of them ; then he will look at the nature of the soul, and from the consideration of all this he will determine which is the better and which is the worse life, and at last he will choose, giving the name of evil to the life which will make his soul more unjust, and good to the life which will make his soul more just ; all else he will disregard.

For this, as we have seen, is the best choice both ^ for this life and after death.

Such an iron sense of truth and right must a man take with him into the world below, that there too he may be undazzled by the desire of wealth or the other allurements of evil, lest, coming upon tyrannies and similar villainies, he do irremediable wrongs to others and suffer yet worse himself ; but let him know how to choose the mean and avoid the extremes on either side, as far as in him lies, not only in this life but in all that which is to come. For this is the way of happiness.