Phaedrus — Plato

p. 86who is wanting in this, whether he be a child only or a grown-up man or woman, must be taught and punished, until by punishment he becomes better, and he who rebels against instruction and punishment is either exiled or condemned to death under the idea that he is incurable — if, I say, this be true, and nevertheless good men have their sons taught other things and not this, do consider how extraordinary would be their conduct.

For we have shown that they think virtue capable of being taught and inculcated both in private and public ; and yet, notwithstanding this, they teach their sons lesser matters, ignorance of which does not involve the punishment of death : but those things, the ignorance of which may cause death and exile to those who have no knowledge or training — aye, and confiscation as well as death, and, in a word, may be the ruin of famihes — those things, I say, they are supposed not to teach them, not to take the utmost care that they should learn.

That is not likely, Socrates. Education and admonition commence in the first years of childhood, and last to the very end of life.

Mother and nurse and father and tutor are quarreling about the improvement of the child as soon as ever he is able to understand them : he cannot say or do anything without their setting forth to him that this is just and that is unjust ; this is honorable, that is dishonorable ; this is holy, that is unholy ; do this and abstain from that.

And if he obeys, well and good ; if not, he is straightened by threats and blows, hke a piece of warped wood. At a later stage they send him to teachers, and enjoin them to see to his manners even more than to his reading and music ; ^ and the teachers do as they are desired.

And when the boy has learned his letters and is beginning to understand what is written, as before he understood only what was spoken, they put into his hands the works of great poets, which he reads ^ at school ; in these are contained many admonitions, and many tales, and praises, and encomia of ancient famous men, which he is required to learn by heart, in order that he may imitate or emulate them and desire to become like them.

Then, again, the teachers of the lyre take similar care that their young disciple is temperate and gets into no mischief; and when they have taught him the use of the lyre, they introduce him to the poems of other excellent poets, who are the *» See Republic II. , 376, and note 17.

PROTAGORAS Sy lyric poets ; and these they set to music, and make their harmonies and rhythms quite familiar to the children, in order that they may learn to be more gentle, and harmonious, and rhythmical, and so more fitted for speech and action ; for the life of man in every part has need of harmony and rhythm.

Then they send them to the master of gymnastic,^ in order that their bodies may better minister to the virtuous mind, and that the weakness of their bodies may not force them to play the coward in war or on any other occasion. This is what is done by those who have the means, and those who have the means are the rich : their children begin education soonest and leave off latest.

When they have done with masters, the State again compels them to learn the laws, and live after the pattern which they furnish, and not after their own fancies ; and just as in learning to write, the writing-master first draws lines with a stylus for the use of the young beginner, and gives him the tablet and makes him follow the lines, so the city draws the laws, which were the invention of good lawgivers who were of old time ; these are given to the young man, in order to guide him in his conduct whether as ruler or ruled ; and he who transgresses them is to be corrected, or, in other words, called to account, which is a term used not only in your country, but also in many others.

Now when there is all this care about virtue private and public, why, Socrates, do you still wonder and doubt whether virtue can be taught ? Cease to wonder, for the opposite would be far more surprising. But why then do the sons of good fathers often turn out ill ? Let me explain that, — which is far from being wonderful, if, as I have been saying, the very existence of the State implies that virtue is not any man's private possession.

If this be true — ^and nothing can be truer — then I will ask you to im- ' agine, as an illustration, some other pursuit or branch of knowledge which may be assumed equally to be the condition of the existence of a State.

Suppose that there could be no State unless we were all flute-players, as far as each had the capacity, and everybody was freely teaching everybody the art, both in private and public, and reproving the bad player as freely and openly as every man now teaches justice and the laws, not concealing them as he would conceal the other arts, but imparting them — for all of us have a mutual interest in the justice and ** See Republic III., 403, and following.

p. 88virtue of one another, and this is the reason why every one is ready to teach justice and the laws ; suppose, I say, that there were the same readiness and liberality among us in teaching one another flute-playing, do you imagine, Socrates, that the sons of good flute-players would be more likely to be good than the sons of bad ones? I think not.

Would not their sons grow up to be distinguished or undistinguished according to their own natural capacities as flute-players, and the son of a good player would often turn out to be a bad one, and the son of a bad player to be a good one, and all flute-players would be good enough in comparison of those who were ignorant and unacquainted with the art of flute-playing?

In like manner I would have you consider that he who appears to you to be the worst of those who have been brought up in laws and humanities, would appear to be a just man and a master of justice if he were to be compared with men who had no education, or courts of justice, or laws, or any restraints upon them which compelled them to practice virtue — with the savages, for example, whom the poet Pherecrates ^^ exhibited on the stage at the last year's Lenaean festival.^^ If you were living among men such as the man-haters in his Chorus,*''' you would be only too glad to meet with Eurybates and Phrynondas,^^ and you would sorrowfully desire the rascality of this part of the world.

And you, Socrates, are discontented, and why ? Because all men are teachers of virtue, each one according to his ability, and you say that there is no teacher. You might as well ask. Who teaches Greek? For of that too there will not be ^ any teachers found. Or you might ask. Who is to teach the sons of our artisans this same art which they have learned of their fathers ?

He and his fellow-workmen have taught them to the best of their ability, — but who will carry them further ** Pherecrates (fe-r€k'ra-tez, 5th century B.C.): an Athenian writer of comedy. *•♦ The Lenaea (le-ne'a) or Feast of Vats, was one of a series of religious festivals celebrated in Athens in honor of Dionysus, god of wine.

After a public banquet the citizens went to the theatre, where tragedies and comedies were presented. <' The chorus was originally a number of persons who sang and danced at religious festivals. The drama was developed out of the chorus of the festivals in honor of Dionysus.

Even after actors were introduced the chorus was retained as an important element of the drama, though its place became gradually limited and subordinate. *» Eurybates (u-ryb'a-tez) and Phrynondas (frf-n6n'das) : '• Notorious villains. ' ' — ^Jowett