INTRODUCTION middle age fell and his Republic was conceived in an thens stagnating under the hateful oppression of the Spartan Junker dominating Greece in alliance with the unspeakable Persian. The environmen of his old age and its masterpiece, the Lans, wa the soft, relaxed, sensuous, cy fin de siecle Athens of the helplessly to the catastrophe of Chad Athens which Isocrates expected to save by treatic of peace with all mankind and shutting up the wi shops, and which Demosthenes vainly admonished to build up its feet and drill its armies against the Macedonian peril. When Plato is characterized as an unpatriotic, undemocratic, conservative reaction ary, false to the splendid Periclean tradition, we must emember that Pericles' funeral oration had become for all but the fourth of July orators of Plato's neration as intolerable and ironic a mockery as Lowells Commemoration Ode and Lincoln's Gettysburg address will seem to America if democracy fails to unify us into a real people. His was reactionary inevitable psychological and me side and on the other against the cult of inefficieney and indiscipline which he had come to regard as wholly inseparable from unlimited de This reactionary aspect of Plato's political and so hilosophy has been vividly depicted, though perhaps with some strained allusions to the democracy of contemporary France, in Faguet's five chapters on the hatreds of Plato
INTRODUCTION middle age fell and his Republic was conceived in an Athens stagnating under the hateful oppression of the Sp&rtan Junker dominating Greece in alliance with the unspeakable Persian. The environment of his old age and its masterpiece, the Laws, was the soft, relaxed, sensuous, cynical, pococurante, ^n de siecle Athens of the New Comedy, drifting helplessly to the catastrophe of Chaeronea—the Athens which Isocrates expected to save by treaties of peace with all mankind and shutting up the wineshops, and which Demosthenes vainly admonished to build up its fleet and drill its armies against the Macedonian peril. When Plato is characterized as an unpatriotic, undemocratic, conservative reactionary, false to the splendid Periclean tradition, we must remember that Pericles' funeral oration had become for all but the fourth of July orators of Plato's generation as intolerable and ironic a mockery as Lowell's Commemoration Ode and Lincoln's Gettysburg address will seem to America if democracy fails to unify us into a real people. His philosophy was " reactionary " in the sense that it was his own inevitable psychological and moral reaction against the sophistical ethics " of the Superman on one side and on the other against the cult of inefficiency and indiscipline which he had come to regard as wholly inseparable from unlimited democracy. This reactionary aspect of Plato's political and social philosophy has been vividly depicted, though perhaps with some strained allusions to the democracy of contemporary France, in Faguet's five chapters on the hatreds of Plato. " Cf. my paper on the " Interpretation of the Timaeus" A.J.P. vol. ix. pp. 395 ff
INTRODUCTION The equivocal labels radical and conservative mea little in their application to minds of the calibre Plato or even of a Burke. What really matters is the kind of conservative, the kind of radical that you are. A s Mill savs. there is a distinction gnore in all political classification, and more important than any political classification, the difference between As a thinker for all time, Plato in logical grasp stands apart from and above a Renan, a Burke,an Arnold, or a rus But as a man. his evitably determined by his historical environment, was that of Matthew Arnold in the 'sixties, en to prick with satire British Philistine, or of Ruskin in the ' seventies embittered by the horrors of the Franco-Prussian War and seeking consolation in the political economy of the future. We may denominate him a conserva tive and a reactionary, in view of this personal mood land temper, and his despair of the democracy of advocated not only higher education and votes, but offices for and a eugenic legislation that ld stagger Oklahoma. And so if you turn to Professor Murray's delightful Euripides and his Age, you will read that Euripides is the child of a strong and splendid tradition and is, together with Plato Murray had written, Bernard tsh Suppose Professor a strong and splendid tradition and, together with Matthew Arnold. the first of all re I think we should demur, and feel that somethin was wrong. We should decline to bracket Arn
INTRODUCTION The equivocal labels radical and conservative mean little in their application to minds of the calibre of a Plato or even of a Burke. What really matters is the kind of conservative, the kind of radical that you are. As Mill says, there is a distinction ignored in all political classification, and more important than any political classification, the difference between superior and inferior minds. As a thinker for all time, Plato in logical grasp and coherency of consecutive and subtle thought, stands apart from and above a Renan, a Burke, an Arnold, or a Ruskin. But as a man, his mood, in- e\itably determined by his historical environment, was that of Matthew Arnold in the 'sixties, en- deavouring to prick with satire the hide of the British Philistine, or of Ruskin in the 'seventies embittered by the horrors of the Franco-Prussian War and seeking consolation in the political economy of the future. We may denominate him a conserv^ative and a reactionary, in view of this personal mood and temper, and his despair of the democracy of fin de Steele Athens. But his Utopian Republic advocated not only higher education and votes, but offices for women, and a eugenic legislation that would stagger Oklahoma. And so if you turn to Professor Murray's delightful Euripides and his Age, you \\ill read that Euripides is the child of a strong and splendid tradition and is, together with Plato, the first of all rebels against it. Suppose Professor Murray had ^vTitten, Bernard Shaw is the child of a strong and splendid tradition and, together with Matthew Arnold, the first of all rebels against it. I think we should demur, and feel that something was wrong. We should decline to bracket Arnold VOL. 1 d xxxix
INTRODUCTION fact that both endeavoured to stir up the Britin and Shaw as reb to English tradition n Philistine with satire and wit. As a matter of fact Plato detested Euripides and all his works, and generally alludes to him with Aristophanic iron Goring op she bethe terri bbe arraignment in the judicial murder of Socrates, the political philosophy of the minor dialogues is mainly a Socratic ca of definitions, and an apparently vain but ll, hvassing est for the supreme art of life, the art that will make happy, the political or royal art, which guides an controls all else, including music, literature, and edu cation.This conception is represented in the Republic s the poetic allegory of the Idea of Good and the cription of the higher education of the true states- man which alone lends it real content. The matter is quite simple, and has been confused only by the refusal to accept Plato's own plain statements abor it and the persistent tendency to translate Plato's 8 The metaphysics of the Idea of Good will be treated in the introduction to the second volume. Here it is enough to quote Mr. Chesterton, who, whether by accident or design, in a lively passage of his Heretics, expresses the essential meaning of the doctrine in the l, ethical, and educational philosophy of the Republic quite sufficiently for practical purposes ideals is a dodge in order to shirk th what is gooo talk of it, is a dodge to avoid discuses e are fond of talking about libc that, as we a C. my article"Summum Bonum"'in Hastings'Eneyelo pedia of Religion and Ethics
INTRODUCTION and Shaw as rebels to English tradition, despite the fact that both endeavoured to stir up the British Philistine with satire and wit. As a matter of fact, Plato detested Euripides and all his works, and generally alludes to him with Aristophanic irony. If we pass by the terrible arraignment in the Gorgias of the democracy that was guilty of the judicial murder of Socrates, the pohtical philosophy of the minor dialogues is mainly a Socratic canvassing of definitions, and an apparently vain but illuminating quest for the supreme art of Hfe, the art that will make us happy, the political or royal art, which guides and controls all else, including music, Hterature, and education. This conception is represented in the Republic by the poetic allegory of the Idea of Good and the description of the higher education of the true states- man which alone lends it real content. The matter is quite simple, and has been confused . only by the refusal to accept Plato's own plain statements about it and the persistent tendency to translate Plato's good poetry into bad metaphysics." The metaphysics of the Idea of Good will be treated in the introduction to the second volume. Here it is enough to quote Mr. Chesterton, who, whether by accident or design, in a lively passage of his Heretics, expresses the essential meaning of the doctrine in the political, ethical, and educational philosophy of the Republic quite sufficiently for practical purposes. Every one of the popular modern phrases and ideals is a dodge in order to shirk the problem of what is good. We are fond of talking about ' hberty '; that, as we talk of it, is a dodge to avoid discussing " Cf. my article " Summum Bonum " in Hastings' Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics. xl
INTRODUCTION hat is good. We are fond of talking about ' pro hat is a dodge to avoid discussing what is rood. We are fond of talking about education that is a dodge to avoid discussing what is good. The modern man savs, Let us leave all these arbitrar tandards and embrace liberty. That is, logica rendered, 'Let us not decide what is good, but let it be considered good not to decide it. He say Away with your old moral formulae I am for This, logically stated, means, Let us not settle what is good but let us settle whether we are getting more of it. He says, Neither in religion end, lie the hopes of the race, b education. This, clearly expressed, means, 'We annot decide what is good, but let us give it to our hildren. " So far \r Chesterton Plato's Idea of Good, then, means that the educa- tion of his philosophic statesmen must lift them to a region of thought which transcends the intellectual confusion in which these dodges and evasions alike of the ward boss and the gushing settlement-worker dwell. He does not tell us in a quotable formula what the good is, because it remains an inexhaust- ble ideal. But he portrays with entire lucidity his his Republic and Lan The doctrine of the Idea of Good is simply the postulate that social well-being must be organized not by rule-of-thumb, hand-to-mouth opportunist politi keeping in view large and consci en systematically cians, but by highly trained statesmen ende ends. The only way to compass this, Plato affirms, is first to prepare and test your rulers by the severest education physical and mental, theoretical and
INTRODUCTION what is good. We are fond of talking about * progress ' ; that is a dodge to avoid discussing what is good. We are fond of talking about ' education ' ; that is a dodge to avoid discussing what is good. The modern man says, ' Let us leave all these arbitrary standards and embrace liberty.' That is, logically rendered, ' Let us not decide what is good, but let it be considered good not to decide it.' He says, ' Away with your old moral formulae ; I am for progress.' This, logically stated, means, ' Let us not settle what is good ; but let us settle whether we are getting more of it.' He says, ' Neither in religion nor morality, my friend, lie the hopes of the race, but in education.' This, clearly expressed, means, ' We cannot decide what is good, but let us give it to our children.' " So far Mr. Chesterton. Plato's Idea of Good, then, means that the education of his philosophic statesmen must lift them to a region of thought which transcends the intellectual confusion in which these dodges and evasions alike of the ward boss and the gushing settlement-worker dwell. He does not tell us in a quotable formula what the good is, because it remains an inexhaustible ideal. But he portrays with entire lucidity his own imaginative conception of Greek social good in his Republic and Laivs. The doctrine of the Idea of Good is simply the postulate that social well-being must be organized not by rule-of-thumb, hand-to-mouth opportunist politicians, but by highly trained statesmen systematically keeping in view large and consciously apprehended ends. The only way to compass this, Plato affirms, is first to prepare and test your rulers by the severest education physical and mental, theoretical and xli
INTRODUCTION practical that the world has yet seen, and secondly to insure their freedom from what Bentham calls sinister interests their safe-deposit vaults and their investments in orporation stock and requiring them to live on moderate salary and a reasonable pension. This, or so much of it as may be translated into modern terms, is the essence of Plato's social and political philosophy But Plato's Republic, whatever its contributions to litical theory or its suggestiveness to the practical olitician or social reformer, is not a treatise on olitical science or a text-book of civics. It is the City of God in which Plato's soul sought refuge fror the abasement of Athenian pol felt he philosopher, he says(496 D) with unmistakable reference to Soerates SI E)and apology for himself, knows that no Politician is h at whose side he may fight and be e sav He resem- bles a man fallen among wild beasts. He is unwilling to share and impotent singly to oppose their rapin He is like one who in a driving storm of dust and sleet stands aside under shelter of a wall and seeing others filled full with all iniquity, must be content to live his own life, keep his soul unspotted from the world and depart at last with peace and good will and gracious opes. This is something. But how much more could he accomplish for himself and others, Plato wistfully adds, in a society in harmony with his true nature. And so he plays(it is his own word) with the construe tion of such a state. But when the dream is finished his epilogue is We have built a city in words, since it exists nowhere on earth, though there may be a
INTRODUCTION practical that the world has yet seen, and secondly to insure their freedom from what Bentham calls " sinister interests " by taking away from them their safe-deposit vaults and their investments in corporation stock and requiring them to live on a moderate salary and a reasonable pension. This, or so much of it as may be translated into modern terms, is the essence of Plato's social and political philosophy. But Plato's Republic, whatever its contributions to political theory or its suggestiveness to the practical politician or social reformer, is not a treatise on political science or a text-book of civics. It is the City of God in which Plato's soul sought refuge from the abasement of Athenian politics which he felt himself impotent to reform. The philosopher, he says (496 d) with unmistakable reference to Socrates (^Apology 31 e) and apology for himself, knows that no politician is honest nor is there any champion ofjustice at whose side he may fight and be saved. He resembles a man fallen among wild beasts. He is unwilling to share and impotent singly to oppose their rapine. He is like one who in a driving storm of dust and sleet stands aside under shelter of a wall and seeing others filled full with all iniquity, must be content to live his own life, keep his soul unspotted from the world, and depart at last with peace and good will and gracious hopes. This is something. But how much more could he accomplish for himself and others, Plato wistfully adds, in a society in harmony with his true nature. And so he plays (it is his own word) with the construction of such a state. But when the dream is finished, his epilogue is : We have built a city in words, since it exists nowhere on earth, though there may be a xlii