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| タイトル | ： 第18回 |
| 投稿日 | ： 2004/01/25(Sun) 15:20 |
| 投稿者 | ： 惣田正明 <vem13077@nifty.ne.jp> |
第18回テキスト
---はじめ---
Plato is most true to the character of his master when he
describes him as "not of this world." And with this
representation of him the ideal State and the other paradoxes
of the Republic are quite in accordance, though they can not
be shown to have been speculations of Socrates. To him, as to
other great teachers both philosophical and religious, when
they looked upward, the world seemed to be the embodiment of
error and evil. The common sense of mankind has revolted
against this view, or has only partially admitted it. And
even in Socrates himself the sterner judgment of the
multitude at times passes into a sort of ironical pity or
love. Men in general are incapable of philosophy, and are
therefore at enmity with the philosopher; but their
misunderstanding of him is unavoidable: for they have never
seen him as he truly is in his own image; they are only
acquainted with artificial systems possessing no native force
of truth --words which admit of many applications. Their
leaders have nothing to measure with, and are therefore
ignorant of their own stature. But they are to be pitied or
laughed at, not to be quarrelled with; they mean well with
their nostrums, if they could only learn that they are
cutting off a Hydra's head. This moderation towards those who
are in error is one of the most characteristic features of
Socrates in the Republic. In all the different
representations of Socrates, whether of Xenophon or Plato,
and the differences of the earlier or later Dialogues, he
always retains the character of the unwearied and
disinterested seeker after truth, without which he would have
ceased to be Socrates.
Leaving the characters we may now analyze the contents of the
Republic, and then proceed to consider (1) The general
aspects of this Hellenic ideal of the State, (2) The modern
lights in which the thoughts of Plato may be read.
---終わり---