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39 - The Republic - Plato · Logic Library

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Book ten, Part four. And now you must allow me to repeat of
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the just the blessings which you were attributing to the fortunate unjust. I shall
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say of them what you were saying of the others, that as they grow
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older, they become rulers in their own city, if they care to be,
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they marry whom they like, and give in marriage to whom they will.
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All that you said of the others, I now say of these,
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And on the other hand, of the unjust, I say that the greater
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number, even though they escape in their youth, are found out at last,
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and look foolish at the end of their course. And when they come
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to be old and miserable, are flouted alike by stranger and citizen. They
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are beaten. And then come those things unfit for ears, polite, as
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you truly term them. They will be racked and have their eyes burnt out,
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as you were saying. And you may suppose that I have repeated the
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remainder of your tale of horrors. But will you let me assume without reciting
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them, that these things are true? Certainly he said what you say is
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true. These, then, are the prizes and reuins, words and gifts
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which are bestowed upon the just by gods and men in this present life,
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in addition to the other good things which Justice of herself provides. Yes,
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he said, and they are fair and lasting. And yet I said,
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all these are as nothing, either in number or greatness, in comparison with
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those other recompenses which await both just and unjust after death. And you ought
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to hear them. And then both just and unjust will have received from us
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a full payment of the debt which the argument owes to them. Speak,
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he said, there are few things which I would more gladly hear. Well,
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I said, I will tell you a tale, not one of the
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tales which Odysseus tells to the hero Alcinous. Yet this too is a tale
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of a hero er, the son of Armenius, a pamphilion by birth.
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He was slain in battle, and ten days afterwards, when the bodies of
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the dead were taken up, already in a state of corruption, his body
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was found unaffected by decay and carried away home to be buried. And on
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the twelfth day, as he was lying on the funeral pile, he returned
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to life and told them what he had seen in the other world. He
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said, that when his soul left the body, he went on a journey
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with a great company, and that they came to a mysterious place at which
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there were two openings in the earth. They were near together, and over
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against them were two other openings in the heaven above in the intermediate space,
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there were judges seated who commanded the just, after they had given judgment on
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them, and had bound their sentences in front of them, to ascend by
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the heavenly way on the right hand, and in like manner, the unjust
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were bidden by them to descend by the lower way on the left hand.
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These also bore the symbols of their deeds, but fastened on their backs.
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He drew near, and they told him that he was to be the messenger
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who would carry the report of the other world to men. And they bade
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him hear and see all that was to be heard and seen in that place.
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Then he beheld and saw on one side the souls departing at either opening
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of heaven and earth, when sentence had been given on them, and at
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the two other openings other souls. Some ascended out of the earth dusty and
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worn with travel, some descending out of heaven clean and bright, and arriving
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ever and anon, they seemed to have come from a long journey, And
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they went forth with gladness into the meadow, where they encamped as at a
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festival. And those who knew one another embraced and conversed, the souls which
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came from earth, curiously inquiring about the things above, and the souls which
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came from heaven about the things beneath. And they told one another of what
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had happened by the way, those from below weeping and sorrowing at the remembrance
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of the things which they had endured and seen in their journey beneath the earth.
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Now the journey lasted a thousand years, while those from above were describing
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heavenly delights and visions of inconceivable beauty. The story Glaucon would take too long
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to tell, but the sum was this. He said that for every wrong
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which they had done to any one, they suffered tenfold, or once in
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a hundred years, such being reckoned to be the length of man's life,
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and the penalty being thus paid ten times in a thousand years. If,
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for example, there were any who had been the cause of many deaths,
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or had betrayed or enslaved cities or armies, or been guilty of any other
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evil behavior. For each and all of their offenses, they received punishment ten
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times over, and the rewards of beneficence and justice and holiness were in the
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same proportion. I need hardly repeat what he said concerning young children dying almost
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as soon as they were born, of piety and impiety to gods and parents,
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and of murderers. There were retributions other and greater far which he described.
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He mentioned that he was present when one of the spirits asked another,
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where is Ardius the Great? Now? This Ardius lived a thousand years before
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the time of er. He had been the tyrant of some city of Pamphylia,
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and had murdered his aged father and his elder brother, and was said
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to have committed many other abominable crimes. The answer of the other spirit was,
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he comes not hither, and will never come. And this said he
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was one of the dreadful sights which we are cells witnessed. We were at
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the mouth of the cavern, and, having completed all our experiences, were
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about to reascend, when of a sudden Ardias appeared and several others, most
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of whom were tyrants. And there were also, besides the tyrants, private
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individuals who had been great criminals. They were just as they fancied about to
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return into the upper world. But the mouth, instead of admitting them,
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gave a roar whenever any of these incurable sinners, or someone who had not
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been sufficiently punished, tried to ascend. And then wild men of fiery aspect,
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who were standing by and heard the sound, seized and carried them off.
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And Ardius and the others they bound head and foot and hand, and
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threw them down, and flayed them with scourges, and dragged them along the
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road at the side, carding them on thorns like wool, and declaring to
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the passers by what were their crimes, and that they were being taken away
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to be cast into hell. And of all the many terrors which they had
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endured, he said, there were none like the terror which each of them
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felt at that moment lest they should hear the voice. And when there was
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silences, one by one they ascended with exceeding joy. These said er were
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the penalties and retributions, and there were blessings as great. Now. When
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the spirits which were in the meadow had tarried seven days. On the eighth
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they were obliged to proceed on their journey, And on the fourth day after
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he said that they came to a place where they could see from above a
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line of light, straight as a column, extending right through the whole heaven
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and through the earth, in color resembling the rainbow, only brighter and purer.
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Another day's journey brought them to the place, and there, in the
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midst of the light, they saw the ends of the chains of Heaven let
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down from above. For this light is the belt of Heaven, and holds
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together the circle of the universe, like the undergirders of a trirem. From
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these ends as extended the spindle of necessity on which all the revolutions turn.
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The shaft and hook of this spindle are made of steel, and the whorl
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is made partly of steel, and also partly of other materials. Now the
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whorl is in form like the whars used on Earth, and the description of
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it implied that there is one large hollow whorl which is quite scooped out,
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and into this is fitted another lesser one, and another, and another,
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and four others, making eight in all, like vessels, which fit into
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one another. The whorls show their edges on the upper side and on the
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lower side, altogether form one continuous whorl. This is pierced by the spindle,
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which is driven home through the center of the eighth. The first and
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outermost whorl has the rim broadest, and the seven inner whorls are narrower.
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In the following proportions, the sixth is next to the first in size,
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the fourth next to the sixth, then comes the eighth, The seventh is
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fifth, the fifth is sixth, the third is seventh, last, and
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eighth comes the second. The largest, or fixed stars is spangled, and
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the seventh our sun is brightest, the eighth or moon, colored by the
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reflected light of the seventh. The second and fifth Saturn and Mercury are in
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color like one another and yellower than the preceding. The third Venus has the
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whitest light, The fourth Mars is reddish, the sixth Jupiter is in whiteness
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second. Now the whole spindle has the same motion, but as the whole
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revolves in one direction, the seven inner circles move slowly in the other,
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and of these the swiftest is the eighth next in swiftness are the seventh,
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sixth, and fifth, which move together. Third in swiftness appeared to move
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according to the law of this reversed motion, the fourth, the third appeared
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fourth, and the second fifth. The spindle turns on the knees of Necessity,
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and on the upper surface of each circle is a siren who goes round
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with them, hymning a single tone or note. The eight together form one
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harmony, and round about at equal intervals. There is another band, three
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in number, each sitting upon her throne. These are the fates, daughters
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of Necessity, who are clothed in white robes and have chaplets upon their heads.
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Lacsis and Clotho and Atropos, who accompany with their voices the harmony of
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the sirens lock Us singing of the past, Clotho of the present, Octropos
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of the future Clotho, from time to time, assisting with the torch of
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her right hand the revolution of the outer circle of the whorl or spindle,
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and Atropos with her left hand, touching and guiding the inner ones in lachesis,
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laying hold of either in turn, first with one hand and then with
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the other. When er and the spirits arrived. Their duty was to go
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at once to Lachesis. But first of all there came a prophet who arranged
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them in order. Then he took from the knees of Ilachesis lots and samples
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of lives, and, having mounted a high pulpit, spoke as follows here
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the word of Lachesis, the daughter of Necessity. Mortal souls, behold a
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new cycle of life and mortality. Your genius will not be allotted to you,
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but you will choose your genius. And let him who draws the first
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lot have the first choice, and the life which she chooses shall be his
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destiny. Virtue is free, and as a man honors or dishonors her,
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he will have more or less of her. The responsibility is with the chooser.
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God is justified. When the interpreter had thus spoken, he scattered lots
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indifferently among them all, and each of them took up the lot which fell
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near him. All but er himself he was not allowed. And each,
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as he took his lot, perceived the number which he had obtained. Then
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the interpreter placed on the ground before them the samples of lives, And there
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were many more lives than the souls present, and they were of all sorts.
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There were lives of every animal and of man, in every condition,
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and there were tyrannies among them, some lasting out the tyrant's life, others
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which broke off in the middle and came to an end in poverty and exile
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and beggary. And there were lives of famous men, some who were famous
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for their form and beauty, as well as for their strength and success in
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games, or again for their birth and the qualities of their ancestors, and
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some who were the reverse of famous for the opposite qualities, and of women.
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Likewise, there was not, however, any definite character in them,
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because the soul, when choosing a new life, must of necessity become different.
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But there was every other quality, and they all mingled with one another,
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and also with elements of wealth and poverty, and disease and health.
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And there were mean states also. And here, my dear Glaucan, is
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the supreme peril of our human state, and therefore the utmost care should be
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taken. Let each one of us leave every other kind of knowledge and seek
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and follow one thing only, if peradventure he may be able to learn,
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and may find some other one who will make him able to learn and discern
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between good and evil, and so to choose always and everywhere the better life.
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As he has opportunity, he should consider the bearing of all these things
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which have been mentioned severally and collectively upon virtue. He should know what the
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effect of beauty is when combined with poverty or wealth in a particular soul.
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And what are the good and evil consequences of noble and humble birth, or
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private and public station, of strength and weakness, of cleverness and dullness,
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and of all the natural and acquired gifts of the soul, and the oppera
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of them when conjoined. He will then look at the nature of the soul,
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and from the consideration of all these qualities, he will be able to
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determine which is the better and which is the worse. And so he will
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choose, giving the name of evil to the life which will make his soul
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more unjust, and good to the life which will make his soul more just.
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All else he will disregard, For we have seen and know that this
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is the best choice, both in life and after death. A man must
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take with him into the world below an adamantine faith in truth and right,
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that there too, he may be undazzled by the desire of wealth or the
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other allurements of evil. Lest coming upon tyrannies and similar villainies, he do
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irremediable wrongs to others and suffer yet worse himself. But let him know how
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to choose the mean and avoid the extremes on either side as far as possible,
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not only in this life, but in all that which is to come.
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For this is the way of happiness. And according to the report of
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the messenger from the other world, this was what the prophet said at the
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time. Even for the last comer, if he chooses wisely and will live
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diligently, there is appointed a happy and not undesirable existence. Let not him
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who chooses first be careless, and let not the last despair. And when
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he had spoken, he who had the first choice came forward and in a
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moment chose the greatest tyranny. His mind having been darkened by folly and sensuality.
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He had not thought out the whole matter before he chose, and did
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not at first sight perceive that he was fated, among other evils, to
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devour his own children. But when he had time to reflect and saw what
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was in the lot, he began to beat his breast and lament over his
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choice forgetting the proclamation of the prophet, for instead of throwing the blame of
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his misfortune on himself, he accused chance and the gods and everything rather than
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himself. Now, he was one of those who came from heaven, and
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in a former life had dwelt in a well ordered state, but his virtue
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was a matter of habit only, and he had no philosophy. And it
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was true of others who were similarly overtaken, that the great number of them
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came from heaven, and therefore they had never been schooled by trial, whereas
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the pilgrims who came from earth, having themselves suffered and seen others suffer,
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were not in a hurry to choose, And owing to this inexperience of theirs,
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and also because the lot was a chance, many of the souls exchanged
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a good destiny for an evil, or an evil for a good. For
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if a man had, always, on his arrival in this world, dedicated
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himself from the first to sound philosophy, and had been moderately fortunate in the
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number of the lot, he might, as the messenger reported, be happy
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here, and also his journey to another life and return to this, instead
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of being rough and underground, would be smooth and heavenly. Most curious,
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he said, was the spectacle sad and laughable and strange, for the choice
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of the souls was in most cases based on their experience of a previous life.
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There he saw the soul which had once been Orpheus, choosing the life
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of a swan out of enmity to the race of women, hating to be
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born a woman because they had been his murderers. He beheld also the soul
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of Thomarus, choosing the life of a nightingale. Birds. On the other
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hand, like the swan and other musicians, wanting to be men. The
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soul which obtained the twentieth lot chose the life of a lion, and this
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was the soul of Ajax, the son of Telaban, who would not be
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a man, remembering the injustice which was done him in the judgment about the
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arms. The next was Agamemnon, who took the life of an eagle,
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because, like Ajax, he hated human nature by reason of his sufferings.
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About the middle came the lot of Atalanta, she, seeing the great fame
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of an athlete, was unable to resist the temptation, and after her there
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followed the soul of Epeus, the son of Panopeus, passing into the nature
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of a woman cunning in the arts, and far away among the last who
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chose, the soul of the jester Thersides was putting on the form of a
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monkey. There came also the soul of Odysseus, having yet to make a
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choice, and his lot happened to be the last of them all. Now
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the recollection of former toils had disenchanted him of ambition, and he went about
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for a considerable time in search of the life of a private man who had
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no cares. He had some difficulty in finding this which was lying about and
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had been neglected by everybody else. And when he saw it, he said
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that he would have done the same had his lot been first instead of last,
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and that he was delighted to have it. And not only did men
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pass into animals, but I must also mention that there were animals, tame
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and wild, who changed into one another and into corresponding human natures, the
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good into the gentle, and the evil into the savage, in all sorts
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of combinations, all the souls had now chosen their lives, and they went
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in the order of their choice to Lachesis, who sent with them the genius,
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whom they had severally chosen to be the guardian of their lives and the
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fulfiller of the choice. This genius led the souls first to Clotho and drew
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them within the revolution of the spindle impelled by her hand, thus ratifying the
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destiny of each, And then, when they were fastened to this carried to
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Otropos, who spun the threads and made them irreversible. Whence, without turning
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round, they passed beneath the throne of Necessity. And when they had all
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passed, they marched on in a scorching heat to the plain of Forgetfulness,
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which was a barren waste, destitute of trees and verdure. And then towards
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evening they encamped by the River of Unmindfulness, whose water no vessel can hold.
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Of this they were all obliged to drink a certain quantity, and those
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who were not saved by wisdom drank more than was necessary, and each one,
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as he drank, forgot all things. Now, after they had gone
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to rest, about the middle of the night, there was a thunder storm
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and earthquake, and then in an instant they were driven upwards in all manner
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of ways to their birth, like stars shooting. He himself was hindered from
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drinking the water. But in what manner or by what means he returned to
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the body, he could not say. Only in the morning, awaking suddenly
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he found himself lying on the pyre. And thus, Glaucon the tail has
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been saved and has not perished save us if we are obedient to the words
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spoken, and we shall pass safely over the river of forgetfulness, and our
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soul will not be defiled. Wherefore, my counsel is that we hold fast
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ever to the heavenly way and follow after justice and virtue, always considering that
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the soul is immortal and able to endure every sort of good and every sort
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of evil. Thus shall we ever live dear to one another, end to
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the gods, both while remaining here, and when, like conquerors in the
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games who go round to gather gifts, we receive our reward, and it
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shall be well with us, both in this life and in the pilgrimage of
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a thousand years, which we have been describing. End of book ten,