Timaeus — Plato

never done him any harm, nor the other any good. Did this never strike you as curious? The matter never struck me before ; but I quite recognise the truth of your remark. And surely this instinct of the dog is very charming; — your dog is a true philosopher. Why? Why, because he distinguishes the face of a friend and of an enemy only by the criterion of knowing and not knowing.

And must not an animal be a lover of learning who determines what he likes and dislikes by the test of knowledge and ignorance? Most assuredly. And is not the love of learning the love of wisdom, which is philosophy? They are the same, he replied. And may we not say confidently of man also, that he who is likely to be gentle to his friends and acquaintances, must by nature be a lover of wisdom and knowledge? That we may safely affirm.

Then he who is to be a really good and noble guardian of the State will require to unite in himself philosophy and spirit and swiftness and strength? Undoubtedly. Then we have found the desired natures ; and now that we have found them, how are they to be reared and educated?

Is not this an enquiry which may be expected to throw light on the greater enquiry which is our final end — How do justice and injustice grow up in States? for we do not want either to omit what is to the point or to draw out the argument to an inconvenient length. Adeimantus thought that the enquiry would be of great service to us. Then, I said, my dear friend, the task must not be given up, even if somewhat long. Certainly not.

Come then, and let us pass a leisure hour in story-telling, and our story shall be the education of our heroes. By all means. And what shall be their education? Can we find a better

Education of two kinds. 59 than the traditional sort? — and this has two divisions, Republic 11. gymnastic for the body, and music for the soul. Socrates, rp Adeimantus. Shall we bemn education with music, and cro on to ^"^•''^°" ° ^ divided into gymnastic afterwards? gymnastic for By all means. the body and J music for the And when you speak of music, do you include Hterature or soui.

Music . -\ includes literanot.-* . ,. , ture, which I do. may be true And literature may be either true or false ? . or fa se. Yes. And the young should be trained in both kinds, and we begin with the false? I do not understand your meaning, he said.

You know, I said, that we begin by telling children stories which, though not wholly destitute of truth, are in the main fictitious ; and these stories are told them when they are not of an age to learn gymnastics. Very true. That was my meaning when I said that we must teach music before gymnastics. Quite right, he said.

You know also that the beginning is the most important The beginpart of any work, especially in the case of a younsr and tender "'"^ ^"^^ '"^^^ *^ •' ' ^ ■' . y o important part 'thing; for that is the time at which the character is being of education. formed and the desired impression is more readily taken. Quite true.

And shall we just carelessly allow children to hear any casual tales which may be devised by casual persons, and to receive into their minds ideas for the most part the very opposite of those which we should wish them to have when they are grown up? We cannot.

Then the first thing will be to establish a censorship of the Works of writers of fiction, and let the censors receive any tale of Action to be ' ■' placed under fiction which is good, and reject the bad ; and we will desire a censorship. mothers and nurses to tell their children the authorised ones only.

Let them fashion the mind with such tales, even more I fondly than they mould the body with their hands ; but most of those which are now in use must be discarded.

6o

Homer and Hesiod.

Republic II. Socrates, Adeimantus.

Homer and Hesiod are tellers of bad lies, that is to say, they give false representations of the gods, which have a bad effect on the minds of youth.