Let me be a citizen of Plato's republic if I can have the privilege of choosing my future life.
I was charmed by his description of his republic, within which, not few of its members happy but whole of it. What impressed me wasn't just his ideal but also the fact that though this ideal came from thousands years before, it remains an ideal.
It is widly known that in his republic, people serves the purpose of their own. (It has been written in the history textbook) Personally, I believe the best part of his republic is that, everything is arranged in its most appropriate manner, no more, no less.
If some one came up to us while we were painting status, and blamed us for not putting the most beautiful colours on the most beautiful part, were not painted purple, but black, we should think it a sufficient defense to reply, Pray, sir, do not suppose that we ought not to make the eyes so beautiful as not to look like eyes, nor the other parts in like manner, but observe wether, by giving to every part what properly belongs to it, we make the whole beautiful.
Heretofore, he introduced that in order to educate perfect guardians who possesse both of the spirit and tenderness, gymnastics and musics need to be taught concurrently. He attach supreme importance to a musical education because he believed that
a good body will by its own excellence make the soul good, but on the countrary, that a good soul will by its excellence render the body as perfect as it can be.
He said that the weepings and wailings of heros of renown should be expunged from poem, besides, dirges and complaints are need to be removed. Thereby, many musical instruments are redundant.
I was confused by his logic until I tasted this ideal again and again.
It is not that he tried to build a form of dictatorship. What he did was to form a country that is perfectly balanced. Anything that is useless should be extripated, the incurable person is not an exception. This logic is hard to understand for many brains but after examining the country we are living in, one can generate a longing for the country he presented.
It is obvious that the society we are living in is highly unbalanced. Impoverished people keep complaining the inequity of the policy, rich men are leading a lavish lifestyle. The limitation of the article and my knowledge of this society preludes the description of a society's panorama , but it is justified to say that we are not as happy as those in Plato's republic.
Rich produces luxury and idleness and innovation, and the latter meanness and bad workmanship as well as innovation.
All of these exist in real life. Thus came my longing for the life in republic.
Sadly, my dream for this will never come true because the other life might not exist while this life has already been unfortunate enough. Then what can I do to live as happy as them? As what you are thinking now, I am still searching for the answer in this book.
