Plutarch's 'Isis and Osiris' and some deeper philosophical wisdom.....

 A few words about why I like Plutarch (Πλούταρχος) – and some clues to the richness and wisdom one can find in his writings.

Firstly, let me say that I am talking about the ‘real’ or ‘famous’ ’ Plutarch, well to my mind at least. He is usually known as ‘Plutarch of Chaeronea’ (a city in central Greece) and lived around  46 CE and died around 120.    (In other words, this is not the latter Plutarch of Athens who lived around 350 – 430 CE and was one of the latter Neo Platonist group of that time – a group that I personally have mixed feelings about…… but that is something for another day.)

Plutarch was born into a wealthy and well connected family and received the best possible education.  He travelled to Asia minor and Egypt – and later made a series of visits to Rome where he was given official recognition by the emperors Trajan and Hadrian, which added to his fame.  

He writes in a popular / accessible and practical way…. You will know what Plutarch was getting at after you read the one of his essays – even if you do not agree with him about everything.   If you prefer reading this with specialist vocabulary, supposed esoteric hidden meanings, and the discussion of very vague abstract ideas opened to interpretation or esoteric deliberations - then I think this Plutarch will not be to your taste.

However, if like me - you are not put off by down to earth and straightforward philosophical writing, I think it is fair to say Plutarch’s essays contain a rich source of spiritual and philosophical guidance and nourishment; along with several suggested pitfalls to avoid in a quest to lead a more philosophical life. Keep in mind, he also held responsible positions here in Delphi in the priesthoods there…and was very well respected here. When he speaks about ‘certain’ spiritual things – albeit in a simple and straightforward way - we should consider at least that he not only knows what he is talking about – but has an understanding of these deeper things as well.

Personally, I try to read some Plutarch every year or two at least…… to remind myself of the wisdom within his writings about how to live, and what kinds of attitudes we should have towards other people……

When I hear some modern commentators relegate Plutarch to the side lines simply - because he uses down to earth and very understandable language - I am not that impressed. After all, Socrates himself (who lived some 400 years before Plutarch ) warns us about just accepting ‘clever or stylish  arguments’ over ideas that are presented simply and in a straightforward manner. Socrates is very critical of rhetoric (basically the art of persuasion and clever speech making) - if it is in the wrong hands. By this Socrates means, if the speaker however elegant and polished, does not really what they are talking about and just pretends they do, or is deliberately trying to mislead is audience.…… as is often the case with our political leaders, or people who perhaps are trying to persuade us to buy things we don’t want, or do things that are not good for us.

Plutarch wrote two main works which have come down to us today:

..... One was the more well know Parallel Lives of outstanding Greek and Roman leaders – which deliberately and cleverly compares two leaders at a time who may have different characters or outlooks on certain matters; so the descriptions are very ‘philosophical’ as well, and not just historical.

The second lesser well know work (book) is conventionally known as The Moralia which is a Latin translation of a Greek term for ‘Moral Pieces’ (ēthika), – which comprised of some 26 essays on various subjects – not just moral subjects as we might suppose. (Incidentally, Plutarch’s son, Lamprias, is attributed with compiling and editing his father’s essays and papers into books after Plutarch’s death.)

Within The Moralia Plutarch writes an essay explaining The E at Delphi, and I will make a few comments about this over the next week or two.  Greek members of this group can read Plutarch’s Isis and Osiris, and about the E in Delphi from:

https://www.kaktos.gr/el/authors/archaioi-suggrafeis/ploutarchos/ploutarhos-ithika-10-978-960-352-354-3.html

However, let me finish this post by telling you some of the more unusual things (but very straightforward and important things) Plutarch says within his essay on the Gods Isis and Osiris.  I feel these are importance quotes to share with people who are on the philosophical path….

Some Quotes from Plutarch’s essay on Isis and Osiris

(Plutarch is talking to a friend, Clea, in Delphi)

🔑All good things, my dear Clea, sensible men must ask from the gods; and especially do we pray that from those mighty gods we may, in our quest, gain a knowledge of themselves, so far as such a thing is attainable by men. For we believe that there is nothing more important for man to receive, or more ennobling for God of His grace to grant, than the truth.

🔑For the Deity is not blessed by reason of his possession of gold and silver, nor strong because of thunder and lightning, but through knowledge and intelligence.

🔑Therefore, the effort to arrive at the Truth, and especially the truth about the gods, is a longing for the divine. For the search for truth requires for its study and investigation the consideration of sacred subjects, and it is a work more hallowed than any form of holy living or temple service; and, not least of all, it is well-pleasing to that goddess whom you worship, a goddess exceptionally wise and a lover of wisdom, to whom, as her name at least seems to indicate, knowledge and understanding are in the highest degree appropriate. For Isis is a Greek word,…..

🔑.....for she is wise, and discloses the divine mysteries to those who truly and justly have the name of “bearers of the sacred vessels” and “wearers of the sacred robes.” These are they who within their own soul, as though within a casket, bear the sacred writings about the gods clear of all superstition and pedantry; and they cloak them with secrecy, thus giving intimation, some dark and shadowy, some clear and bright, of their concepts about the gods, intimations of the same sort as are clearly evidenced in the wearing of the sacred garb. ……

🔑 It is a fact, Clea, that having a beard and wearing a coarse cloak does not make philosophers, nor does dressing in linen and shaving the hair make votaries of Isis; but the true votary of Isis is he/she who has legitimately received what is set forth in the ceremonies connected with these gods, and uses reason in investigating and in studying the truth contained therein…

🔑 But for all this there is only one true reason, which is to be found in the words of Plato: “for the Impure to touch the Pure is contrary to divine ordinance.”  [Note: This is particularly important for readers searching for the truth, the beautiful, the good or the divine….]

🔑 In Saïs the statue of Athena, whom they believe to be Isis, bore the inscription: “I am all that has been, and is, and shall be, and my robe no mortal has yet uncovered.” Moreover, most people believe that Amoun is the name given to Zeus in the land of the Egyptians, a name which we, with a slight alteration, pronounce Ammon. But Manetho of Sebennytus dthinks that the meaning “concealed” or “concealment” lies in this word.

🔑 When they, therefore, address the supreme god, whom they believe to be the same as the Universe, as if he were invisible and concealed, and implore him to make himself visible and manifest to them, they use the word “Amoun”; so great, then, was the circumspection of the Egyptians in their wisdom touching all that had to do with the gods. 10 1 Witness to this also are the wisest of the Greeks: Solon, Thales, Plato, Eudoxus, Pythagoras, who came to Egypt and consorted with the priests; and in this number some would include Lycurgus also.

🔑 ……and you must not think that any of these tales actually happened in the manner in which they are related. The facts are that they do not call the dog by the name Hermes as his proper name, but they bring into association with the most astute of their gods that animal’s watchfulness and wakefulness and wisdom,b since he distinguishes between what is friendly and what is hostile by his knowledge of the one and his ignorance of the other, as Plato remarks. Nor, again, do they believe that the sun rises as a new-born babe from the lotus, but they portray the rising of the sun in this manner to indicate allegorically the enkindling of the sun from the waters.

🔑 If, then, you listen to the stories about the gods in this way, accepting them from those who interpret the story reverently and philosophically, and if you always perform and observe the established rites of worship, and believe that no sacrifice that you can offer, no deed that you may do will be more likely to find favour with the gods than your belief in their true nature, you may avoid superstition which is no less an evil than atheism.

🔑 Moreover, Lysippus the sculptor was quite right in his disapproval of the painter Apelles, because Apelles in his portrait of Alexander had represented him with a thunderbolt in his hand, whereas he himself had represented Alexander holding a spear, the glory of which no length of years could ever dim, since it was truthful and was his by right. 25 1 Better, therefore, is the judgment of those who hold that the stories about Typhon, Osiris, and Isis, are records of experiences of neither gods nor men, but of demigods, ewhom Plato and Pythagoras and Xenocrates and Chrysippus, following the lead of early writers on sacred subjects, allege to have been stronger than men and, in their might, greatly surpassing our nature, yet not possessing the divine quality unmixed and uncontaminated, but with a share also in the nature of the soul and in the perceptive faculties of the body, and with a susceptibility to pleasure and pain and to whatsoever other experience is incident to these mutations, and is the source of much disquiet in some and of less in others. For in demigods, as in men, there are divers degrees of virtue and vice.

🔑 The assumption, then, is that the demigods (or daemons) have a complex and inconsistent nature and purpose; wherefore

🔑 …..That Osiris is identical with Dionysus who could more fittingly know than yourself, Clea? For you are at the head of the inspired maidens of Delphi, and have been consecrated by your father and mother in the holy rites of Osiris. If, however, for the benefit of others it is needful to adduce proofs of this identity, let us leave undisturbed what may not be told, but the public ceremonies which the priests perform in the burial of the Apis, when they convey his body on an improvised bier, do not in any way come short of a Bacchic procession; for they fasten skins of fawns about themselves, and carry Bacchic wands and indulge in shoutings and movements exactly as do those who are under the spell of the Dionysiac ecstasies.

🔑 The Egyptians, as has already been stated, point out tombs of Osiris in many places, and the people of Delphi believe that the remains of Dionysus rest with them close beside the oracle; and the Holy Ones offer a secret sacrifice in the shrine of Apollo whenever the devotees of Dionysus wake the God of the Mystic Basket.

🔑 We must not treat legend as it were history at all, but we should adopt that which is appropriate in each legend in accordance with its verisimilitude.

Extracts of Text for ONLINE Meetup Talk on Plutarch - Weds 3rd March - 8 pm Greek Time

 Time will be limited to read text together at the talk, and so we will use only use points v, viii, and ix of the extracts below at our meetup talk on March 3rd 2021.

How Can We Measure Our Progress In Virtue (Morals) & Philosophy?’

From Plutarch’s book of essays: Moralia.

(Extracts Translated to English by Arthur Richard Shilleto, M.A.)

EXTRACTS 

§ v. …………………… …….. ‘Similarly they relate of Diogenes of Sinope, when he began to be a philosopher, that the Athenians were celebrating a festival, and there were public banquets and shows and mutual festivities, and drinking and revelling all night, and he, coiled up in a corner of the market-place intending to sleep, fell into a train of thought likely seriously to turn him from his purpose and shake his resolution, for he reflected that he had adopted without any necessity a toilsome and unusual kind of life, and by his own fault sat there debarred of all the good things. At that moment, however, they say a mouse stole up and began to munch some of the crumbs of his barley-cake, and he plucked up his courage and said to himself, in a railing and chiding fashion, "What say you, Diogenes? Do your leavings give this mouse a sumptuous meal, while you, the gentleman, wail and lament because you are not getting drunk yonder and reclining on soft and luxurious couches?" Whenever such depressions of mind are not frequent, and the mind when they take place quickly recovers from them, after having put them to flight as it were, and when such annoyance and distraction is easily got rid of, then one may consider one's progress in virtue as a certainty.

§ vi. And since not only the things that in themselves shake and turn them in the opposite direction are more powerful in the case of weak philosophers, but also the serious advice of friends, and the playful and jeering objections of adversaries bend and soften people, and have ere now shaken some out of philosophy altogether, it will be no slight indication of one's progress in virtue if one takes all this very calmly, and is neither disturbed nor aggravated by people who tell us and mention to us that some of our former comrades are flourishing in kings' courts, or have married wives with dowries, or are attended by a crowd of friends when they come down to the forum to solicit some office or advocateship. He that is not moved or affected by all this is already plainly one upon whom philosophy has got a right hold; for it is impossible that we should cease to be envious of what most people admire, unless the admiration of virtue was strongly implanted in us. For over-confidence may be generated in some by anger and folly, but to despise what men admire is not possible without a true and steady elevation of mind. And so people in such a condition of mind, comparing it with that of others, pride themselves on it, and say with Solon, "We would not change virtue for wealth, for while virtue abides, wealth changes hands, and now one man, now another, has it."

 

And Diogenes compared his shifting about from Corinth to Athens, and again from Thebes to Corinth, to the different residences of the King of Persia, as his spring residence at Susa, his winter residence at Babylon, and his summer residence in Media. And Agesilaus said of the great king, "How is he better than me, if he is not more upright?" And Aristotle, writing to Antipater about Alexander, said, "that he ought not to think highly of himself because he had many subjects, for anyone who had right notions about the gods was entitled to think quite as highly of himself." And Zeno, observing that Theophrastus was admired for the number of his pupils,  said, "His choir is, I admit, larger than mine, but mine is more harmonious."

§ vii. Whenever then, by thus comparing the advantages of virtue with external things, you get rid of envies and jealousies and those things which fret and depress the minds of many who are novices in philosophy, this also is a great indication of your progress in virtue. Another and no slight indication is a change in the style of your discourses. For generally speaking all novices in philosophy adopt most such as tend to their own glorification; some, like birds, in their levity and ambition soaring to the height and brightness of physical things; others like young puppies, as Plato says, rejoicing in tearing and biting, betake themselves to strifes and questions and sophisms; but most plunging themselves into dialectics immediately store themselves for sophistry; and some collect sentences and histories and go about (as Anacharsis said he saw the Greeks used money for no other purpose but to count it up), merely piling up and comparing them, but making no practical use of them.

 

Applicable here is that saying of Antiphanes, which someone applied to Plato's pupils. Antiphanes said playfully that in a certain city words were frozen directly they were spoken, owing to the great cold, and were thawed again in the summer, so that one could then hear what had been said in the winter. So he said of the words which were spoken by Plato to young men, that most of them only understood them late in life when they were become old men. And this is the condition people are in in respect to all philosophy, until the judgement gets into a sound and healthy state, and begins to adapt itself to those things which can produce character and greatness of mind, and to seek discourses whose footsteps turn inwards rather than outwards, to borrow the language of Æsop.  For as Sophocles said he had first toned down the pompous style of Æschylus, then his harsh and over-artificial method, and had in the third place changed his manner of diction, a most important point and one that is most intimately connected with the character, so those who go in for philosophy, when they have passed from flattering and artificial discourses to such as deal with character and emotion, are beginning to make genuine and modest progress in virtue.

§ viii. Furthermore, take care, in reading the writings of philosophers or hearing their speeches, that you do not attend to words more than things, nor get attracted more by what is difficult and curious than by what is serviceable and solid and useful. And also, in studying poems or history, let nothing escape you of what is said to the point, which is likely either to correct the character or to calm the passions. For as Simonides says the bee hovers among the flowers "making the yellow honey," while others value and pluck flowers only for their beauty and fragrance, so of all that read poems for pleasure and amusement he alone that finds and gathers what is valuable seems capable of knowledge from his acquaintance with and friendship for what is noble and good.  For those who study Plato and Xenophon only for their style, and cull out only what is pure and Attic, and as it were the dew and the bloom, do they not resemble people who love drugs for their smell and colour, but care not for them as anodynes or purges, and are not aware of those properties? Whereas those who have more proficiency can derive benefit not from discourses only, but from sights and actions, and cull what is good and useful, as is recorded of Æschylus and other similar kind of men. As to Æschylus, when he was watching a contest in boxing at the Isthmus, and the whole theatre cried out upon one of the boxers being beaten, he nudged with his elbow Ion of Chios, and said, "Do you observe the power of training? The beaten man holds his peace, while the spectators cry out." And Brasidas having caught hold of a mouse among some figs, being bitten by it let it go, and said to himself, "Hercules, there is no creature so small or weak that it will not fight for its life!"

And Diogenes, seeing a lad drinking water out of the palm of his hand, threw away the cup which he kept in his wallet. So much does attention and assiduous practice make people perceptive and receptive of what contributes to virtue from any source. And this is the case still more with those who mix discourses with actions, who not only, to use the language of Thucydides, "exercise themselves in the presence of danger," but also in regard to pleasures and strifes, and judgements, and advocateships, and magistrateships make a display of their opinions, or rather form their opinions by their practice. For we can no more think those philosophers who are ever learning and busy and investigating what they have got from philosophy, and then straightway publish it in the market-place or in the haunt of young men, or at a royal supper-party, any more than we give the name of physicians to those who sell drugs and mixtures. Nay rather such a sophist differs very little at all from the bird described in Homer,  offering his scholars like it whatever he has got, and as it feeds its callow young from its own mouth, "though it goes ill with itself," so he gets no advantage or food from what he has got for himself.

§ ix. We must therefore see to it that our discourse be serviceable to ourselves, and that it may not appear to others to be vain-glorious or ambitious, and we must show that we are as willing to listen as to teach, and especially must we lay aside all disputatiousness and love of strife in controversy, and cease bandying fierce words with one another as if we were contending with one another at boxing, and leave off rejoicing more in smiting and knocking down one another than in learning and teaching. For in such cases moderation and mildness, and to commence arguing without quarrelsomeness and to finish without getting into a rage, and neither to be insolent if you come off best in the argument, nor dejected if you come off worst, is a sufficient sign of progress in virtue. Aristippus was an excellent example of this, when overcome in argument by the sophistry of a man, who had plenty of assurance, but was generally speaking mad or half-witted. Observing that he was in great joy and very puffed up at his victory, he said, "I who have been vanquished in the argument shall have a better night's rest than my victor."

 

We can also test ourselves in regard to public speaking, if we are not timid and do not shrink from speaking when a large audience has unexpectedly been got together, nor dejected when we have only a small one to harangue to, and if we do not, when we have to speak to the people or before some magistrate, miss the opportunity through want of proper preparation; for these things are recorded both of Demosthenes and Alcibiades. As for Alcibiades, though he possessed a most excellent understanding, yet from want of confidence in speaking he often broke down, and in trying to recall a word or thought that slipped his memory had to stop short. And Homer did not deny that his first line was unmetrical,  though he had sufficient confidence to follow it up by so many other lines, so great was his genius. Much more then ought those who aim at virtue and what is noble to lose no opportunity of public speaking, paying very little attention to either uproar or applause at their speeches.

§ x. And not,,,,,,,,,,,,

                                                                                 x x x x x x x x x x

The full text of Plutarch's essay and others in his Moralia is available as follows:

Available free in English on Amazon (Kindle):

 https://www.amazon.com/Plutarchs-Morals-Plutarch-ebook/dp/B0082W83DO

(Full Plutarch essay available for free and easily printable from:

https://jameslongerstuff.blogspot.com/2016/06/this-down-to-earth-essay-by-plutarch.html

Also, there is a more contemporary translation by Robin Waterfield at:

https://www.amazon.com/Essays-Penguin-Classics-Plutarch/dp/0140445641

 

For Greek readers - This essay is available in ancient+modern Greek from the delightful Kaktos bookshop – (temporarily selling online rather than in Panepistimeo) – see Book 2 of Plutarch’s Ethics at:

https://www.kaktos.gr/el/authors/archaioi-suggrafeis/ploutarchos/ploutarhos-ithika-2-978-960-352-346-8.html

(Pages 171 to 221 …. odd pages only - is the essay I will be talking about in ‘modern’ Greek. The ‘even’ pages are Ancient Greek.)

 

Believing just eighty per cent in the soul, as I suspect quite a few people do these days, can be an awkward place to be......

 

Extract From James Head’s Book – Life Choices: Important Tips From Socrates, Plato and Aristotle    https://www.amazon.com/dp/1540552624 

  Chapter 5 - Plato’s Phaedo

...... Remember, we are not meant to study Plato as if he is the font of all truth and knowledge, since in Plato’s philosophy our human soul is meant to be that font; assuming of course that we have one in the first place and that we occasionally listen to our souls if we do. His books should not be read like a religious dogma. Plato was just a philosophy teacher and writer (albeit an enormously respected one), and like any other philosophy teacher or spiritual guide, he can only point people towards the truth. The student must then put one foot in front of the other and walk at his or her own pace towards the truth.

Plato writes to stimulate our investigation and exploration of the truth, and many of the questions he raises and asks us to consider for ourselves are important signs for us to follow; especially if we want to ‘prove’ the existence of the soul to our own satisfaction at least – or alternatively perhaps disprove it. Believing just eighty per cent in the soul, as I suspect quite a few people do these days, can be an awkward place to be. Generally speaking, ‘life’ is much easier and straightforward if you believe (or disbelieve) one hundred per cent.  (Even at the end of The Phaedo, one of Socrates’ closest friends Simmias, says he is still not certain about the existence of the soul.)

It is interesting to note that the word ‘theory’ literally means ‘to contemplate’ in Greek, and Socrates and Plato only want us all to come to our own theories and opinions on these matters, hopefully with well thought out reasons to back them up. Very usefully, in my opinion, Socrates and Plato offer us a structured approach towards such contemplation and investigation which all too often is a rather vague or confusing undertaking. When investigating anything (even the existence of the soul), having a structured approach helps us to arrive at our own opinions on many important spiritual and practical matters.

Be careful as you take those first philosophical steps through the pages of The Phaedo, since Plato combines accepted factual information, well known Greek myths, lesser known allegories, and some divine riddles of his own making within his text. He does this to stimulate our minds, promote our understanding of reality, and allow us to create our own unique paths towards the truth, and perhaps also to the mystical visions he describes. Plato is opening some windows for us to look through to see new things, or perhaps just to see some familiar things again but from a different perspective.

Let me now set the scene of The Phaedo a little more for people either new to this book or indeed to Socratic philosophy generally. Socrates aged 70 has been found guilty by the law courts of ancient Athens of impiety and corrupting the youth of the city, and has been sentenced to death. It is 400 years BCE……..

An Underlying Problem to Finding our Own Unique Path ……. as Individuals and as a Society.

What Is The Purpose of Life?  Does It Matter Anyway.....?

A regular question to the attendees of my philosophy talks in Athens is ‘what is the purpose of life’. It’s not that I particularly like asking this question, it’s just that the underlying ideas behind it seem to crop up quite regularly when discussing various topics within Greek philosophy.

Quite often people seem to assume that I’m asking about ‘divine purposes’ or any reason or purpose that a God (should one exist) decide to create the universe and everything in it. Well the audience naturally tend to fall into two camps here depending on their own spiritual position.

The more religious among us start to try and come up with an answer for a universal ‘purpose of life’. Then, oddly in some ways, the people who do not believe in any kind of God or divine hand in the universe answer the question negatively, saying there is no purpose to life whatsoever. Of course, it’s quite difficult answering some of these deep questions off-the-cuff at a talk, so I cannot be completely sure that these people really think there is no purpose at all to life if there is no God.

As I quickly remind to the non-religious people - whether we are religious / spiritual and not - at some level we all still need to have ‘some’ purpose in life as we get out of bed in the morning and go about our daily routines. I disagree that no God necessarily means no purpose whatsoever.

……. and then we start to get to the nub of the question; or rather my intended question. For example, if someone asked me whether the pen I am writing with is a good pen or not, I can say yes or no, only because I know what a pen is - and what it is for. The same is true of say a glass to drink water from. Does it achieve its known purpose well or not….  However, if I asked someone whether they were a good person or not, if they do not know what a person actually is – and what our purpose is – then it is pretty difficult to say yes or no with any certainty; and everybody’s opinion about themselves and the way they live would be as good as anyone else’s. There would no recognizable truth to anyone’s answer. (Be careful of one of the traps with this. I asked a young gentleman ‘what’ he was and he replied that he was an engineer – and a good one too. Of course, this would not necessarily make him a good person…… it’s not quite the same thing.)

So when we start to talk about and consider finding the right path, and being ‘good’ people who use our time wisely (or at least fairly wisely), things start to get a little complicated. It is easy enough to know whether we are simply ‘busy’ people – but again, that is not the same thing at all. Afterall, some of the worse tyrants in history were fairly busy people…...

If we do not have ‘some’ idea of what our purpose is as individuals - surely it gets difficult to say with any certainty what the best or better path for us to follow actually is, and indeed, what sorts of things we should be doing and not doing so often along that path, and how we use our time.

Perhaps this is one of the underlying problems with society as a whole in the 21^st century as traditional religious explanations of the world have tended to crumble to the forces of the media, consumerism and scientific dogmatism.

Whether we are religious or not - without some idea of what the main purpose of a human being is and what it is for - surely it will be difficult to say with any certainty at all whether our goals and objectives (indeed purposes) are good and wise ones, or foolish.

 

[Comments welcome below]

https://www.oraclesfromdelphi.org/

Plato's Other World of the FORMS - and Understanding The Myth of the Cave Better

Plato's Other World - and Starting to Understand ‘The Myth of the Cave’ Better; and why this might be connected to living sustainably – and in a happier and more preferable way generally….

... Very basically, Plato believed that there was another world all around us that we cannot usually see with our eyes, but it is actually there; and that in some ways this is the ‘real’ world - in the sense of it being more important than the world we see all around us and that we interact with using our human bodily senses. This ‘invisible’ world, to put it simply, we can only interact with by using our mind and intellect, hence; it has come to be known as the ‘intelligible’ world amongst people who discuss Plato, as oppose to the ‘sensible’ world which we interact with using our human senses. This is a very basic and simple outline of this area.

Socrates also keeps it simple, as usual, and says most of us are like frogs living around a pond. We do not realise that there is another bigger and far more important world just on the other side of the motor way. Of course, he did not actually say motorway…. but you get the idea. Socrates also uses the famous ‘Myth of the Cave’ (Republic-514a) in part to explain that we do not see how it ‘really’ is, but only see a tiny part of what the world and universe is all about. It is a notable coincidence that modern physicists and cosmologists on the cutting edge of science today predict that we are only seeing a small part of what the universe is made of and how it really is. For example, the ‘many worlds’ approach to answer some questions in quantum physics is a respected theory – although as yet far from proven. Although the ideas of modern physics to be found in Plato might make an interesting essay for another book, it is not under the remit of this introductory essay, and so let us now go down into the darkness of Plato’s important Myth of the Cave.

In the Myth of the Cave, Socrates talks allegorically about prisoners who have been kept underground since birth in special chairs with their heads fixed facing a wall. There is an odd arrangement of a wood fire and a path through the cave behind them, which means that they have only ever seen the reflections of objects on a wall in front of them as the objects pass along the path behind them. The prisoners have never seen the objects or other people that go along the path for real, but only the reflections on the wall in front of them. To amuse themselves as the years pass by, the prisoners give the reflections on the wall names, and have competitions on who can guess what object (or rather reflections) they will see next. Of course, the unfortunate prisoners think that what they see is the real thing. They have no idea that what they are seeing is just a reflection or shadow of the real object.

Now one of the prisoners is set free from his chair, and is ‘dragged’ slowly up the bumpy tunnel from the dark underground cave to the surface and to the ‘light’. It hurts his eyes at first as he slowly makes his way up the tunnel because he has always been used to the darkness of the cave. It takes time for his eyes and mind to adjust as he gets higher up the tunnel and nearer the light at the entrance of the cave. Finally, he reaches the surface and steps into the bright sunlight; and after his eyes have had more time to adjust, he is able to see things as they really are for the first time, and not just as mere reflections on the dimly lit wall of the cave. This is a good moment for all new seekers of wisdom and enlightenment to pause and ask themselves what Plato means by this myth – and why does the prisoner need to be ‘dragged’ up the tunnel to the light? (Note: More about The Cave soon…. and why many people in the modern world do not want to leave it….)

(Piece above taken from Life Choices – New Edition 2019 p/s 44-46)