Christian Analysis of "The Republic of Plato"

3. Book III

Book III

 The Purged 2^nd City of Luxury

 Book III continues to seek the meaning of justice through the model of cities so that the individual justice can be understood; specifically, it opens with the continued examination of the development of soldier guardians for the purged 2^nd City of Luxury. Socrates proposes that the fearsome characteristics of Hell must be muted to the warrior guardians of the purged 2^nd City of Luxury to encourage their nature to choose death (and fear slavery) in protection of the city (386 a, b; 387 a, b, c, d, e). The noble lie, made only by the ruler of the city, must create heroes (with moderate emotions) to be emulated and ultimate reward to be shared after death so the 2^nd City of Luxury guardians protect their charge with a willingness to die for their cause(388e). Socrates recommends setting the warriors apart from commoners in society, leading them to believe they are better than the other citizens (388a).

Liars in the city, other than the ruler, must be punished. All things must be done in moderation in pleasures derived from “drink, sex, and eating,” and the multitudes and their youth must be trained in this important nature (389e).

The logos of the 2^nd City of Luxury requires the guardians to conform to the one craft, one man principle.  The guardians must also be limited in the imitation of their tragic and comic attributes, reflecting only that attribute that comes naturally to them, whether it is courage, moderate, holy, or free.  Those clever at imitating, or bearing the negative principles of cowardliness, shamefulness, drunkenness, or slavery must be excluded from the guardian class (395 c; 396 a; 400 a, b).

Music Education

 The stories and poetry in the purged 2^nd City of Luxury must be controlled to emulate only those characteristics that reflect the truth if a just city is to be developed.  The poets and prose writers in Socrates time made happy men unjust and wretched men just, defining the act of injustice as profitable if it can be done without consequence (392b). Thus it is determined for the purpose of logos that music education must be taught through stories and poetry that are taught by austere, less entertaining muses that focus upon the needs of the city, and the more gifted storytellers that spur imagination and imitation to be banned from the city (398a). Further the music of the city must be of certain beat that stirs warlike deeds and violent work for the warriors and another beat for those unviolent persuaders, eliminating the need for musical instruments, many-toned, panharmonic tunes and rhythms that stir insolence, illiberality, and insolence. (399 b, c). It is only good music that should be given to the guardians that caused them to recognize moderation, courage, liberality, magnificence, and related attributes through the soul-teaching rhythms (402c).

Gymnastics Education

Socrates begins the discourse of gymnastics education by first purging it of inappropriate eroticism between teacher and boy.  Gymnastic training must reflect a love that is pure, if the vital education for training the warriors is to be successful.  It is training for war that a gymnastics education should be focused upon, with a healthy mixture of soul-growing music to balance the soldier’s growth (404b). The guardians must be trained by gymnastics to be sleepless like hounds, see and hears as sharply as possible, be strong enough to experience changes in available water and food, the sun’s heat, winds, and health concerns (404b).

Just cities and just souls pursue righteous desires. Physical pleasure in sexual acts must not be acceptable behaviors for a man that is striving to become just, good, and beautiful. The highest form of erotic love is without sexual satisfaction, to lead the beloved to knowledge of truth, and must be stressed in all gymnastics education.

Medical Care

The logos of the purged 2^nd Luxurious City moves to the purpose of doctors; it is agreed that medicine should treat the healthy that suffer from a single, curable illness in a just city.  Chronically ill people should be left alone to die naturally. Those with mental illness should be put to death.  Only those producers who are able to rise above their illness to continue to produce their goods should live; those unable to work should die, if the 2^nd City is to stay luxurious and vital (407-408).

Rulers: The Third Class of a Just City

 The third and final class of a just society must contain rulers.  Rulers are created when the guardian class is divided with those of superiority to their peers are selected to rule (412c).  The guardians then are renamed to “auxiliaries” that enforce the rulers’ works according to their orders. Their souls must be harmonized with moderation and courage (410e). The proper degree of harmonization of tension and relaxation comes from the education of music and gymnastics for the spirited soul with philosophy an incidental instruction from the other two. Those that have the best harmonization become the rulers (412a). They should be selected from the watched guardians as they are educated, and the one believed to choose to do the most advantageous things for the city and unwilling to do what is not part of the criteria (412e).

The judge rules souls with his good soul, and must be old and a late-learner of injustice, not through personal experience, but years of observation (409a). The art of medicine and the art of law in the city must be regulated by laws to eliminate those that have bodies that cannot heal or souls of bad natures and incurable.  Thus, the city eliminates their burden, while at the same time stand as warning to the young who might wander from moderation without it (410a).

The test to choose the rulers from the guardian class must start in their youth.  They must be watched by the Philosopher and give them tasks in which most men would forget and be deceived through conviction (413c).  The man that has a memory and is hard to deceive, “hard to bewitch, graceful in everything, a good guardian of himself and the music he was learning, proving himself to possess rhythm and harmony on all these occasions” would be the best ruler of a city (414a).[1]

The Myth of Metals

Socrates prepares the necessity for a noble lie to convince the rulers, the soldiers, and then the rest of the city of their connection to each other in brotherhood and the need to defend and protect the city and its residents. This noble lie takes the form of the “myth of the metals” that recalls citizen’s birth from the earth with a metal mixture in his soul (415a, b, c).  Those of gold are fit to rule, those of auxiliary guardianship mixed with silver, and producers either bronze or iron. If a ruler does not have the prerequisite metal of gold, ruin to the city will result. This noble lie seeks to create the duty of patriotism amongst citizens so the just city can survive attack, by linking the different classes to each other in brotherhood, each destined to carry out his individual part for the better of the community.

Book III ends with a discussion of the housing for the guardians that will be communal living provided to them by the city.  They cannot receive wages, wealth, or property because they would then become part of the producing class.  They are made to feel extra special and separated from the general population by giving them the knowledge that the earthly gold and silver is different from the divine gold and silver in their souls, of which they should avoid earthly contact with the same. So, allowance is made for the taxes of the city to support its guardians and rulers (417a, b) and the soldiers manipulated with the noble lie to separate themselves from the general population.

Christian Application

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