Timaeus — Plato

Republic III. Socrates, Glaucon. The harmony of soul and body the fairest of sights.

The true lover will not mind defects of the person.

True love is temperate and harmonious.

True love is free from sensuality and coarseness.

p. 90

The good soul improves the body, not the body the soul.

Republic III. Socrates, Glaucon.

Gymnastic.

The body to be entrusted to the mind.

The usual training of athletes too gross and sleepy.

son, and then only for a noble purpose, and he must first have the other's consent ; and this rule is to limit him in all his intercourse, and he is never to be seen going further, or, if he exceeds, he is to be deemed guilty of coarseness and bad taste. I quite agree, he said. Thus much of music, which makes a fair ending ; for what should be the end of music if not the love of beauty? I agree, he said.

After music comes gymnastic, in which our youth are next to be trained. Certainly. Gymnastic as well as music should begin in early years ; the training in it should be careful and should continue through life.

Now my behef is, — and this is a matter upon which I should like to have your opinion in confirmation of my own, but my own behef is, — not that the good body by any bodily excellence improves the soul, but, on the contrary, that the good soul, by her own excellence, improves the body as far as this may be possible. What do you say? Yes, I agree.

Then, to the mind when adequately trained, we shall be right in handing over the more particular care of the body ; and in order to avoid prolixity we will now only give the general outlines of the subject. Very good. That they must abstain from intoxication has been already remarked by us ; for of all persons a guardian should be the last to get drunk and not know where in the world he is.

Yes, he said ; that a guardian should require another guardian to take care of him is ridiculous indeed. But next, what shall we say of their food ; for the men are in training for the great contest of all — are they not? Yes, he said. And will the habit of body of our ordinary athletes be 404 suited to them? Why not? I am afraid, I said, that a habit of body such as they have is but a sleepy sort of thing, and rather perilous to health. Do you not observe that these athletes sleep away their

The simple gymnastic twin sister of the simple music. 9 1 lives, and are liable to most dangerous illnesses if they Republic iii. depart, in ever so slight a degree, from their customary Socrates, regimen? ^"^"'-■°^- Yes, I do.

Then, I said, a finer sort of training will be required for our warrior athletes, who are to be like wakeful dogs, and to see and hear with the utmost keenness ; amid the many changes of water and also of food, of summer heat and winter cold, which they will have to endure when on a campaign, they must not be liable to break down in health. That is my view.

The really excellent gymnastic is twin sister of that simple music which we were just now describing. How so? Why, I conceive that there is a gymnastic which, like our Miiitai-y music, is simple and good ; and especially the military gym- ^'""-''^^'^ nastic. What do you mean?

My meaning may be learned from Homer ; he, you know, feeds his heroes at their feasts, when they are campaigning, on soldiers' fare ; they have no fish, although they are on the shores of the Hellespont, and they are not allowed boiled meats but only roast, which is the food most convenient for soldiers, requiring only that they should light a fire, and not involving the trouble of carrying about pots and pans. True.

And I can hardly be mistaken in saying that sweet sauces are nowhere mentioned in Homer. In proscribing them, however, he is not singular ; all professional athletes are well aware that a man who is to be in good condition should take nothing of the kind. Yes, he said ; and knowing this, they are quite right in not taking them.

Then you would not approve of Syracusan dinners, and Syracusan the refinements of Sicilian cookery? dinners and Corinthian I thmk not. courtezans Nor, if a man is to be in condition, would vou allow him to f:,^ p'^"' hibited. have a Corinthian girl as his fair friend? Certainly not.