Although Socrates left no writings, his great pupils, Xenophon and Plato, have given the world a full account of his teachings. Plato speaks in highest terms of his moral character, declaring that "he was not of this world." Xenophon also adds his testimony in the following words: "No one ever knew of his doing or saying anything profane or unholy." Socrates believed in one Supreme Being, the intelligent Creator of the universe. He also believed in the immortality of the soul. These doctrines were altogether contrary to Greek polytheism, the prevailing religion of Athens, and they prove him to have been far in advance of the age in which he lived. While he established no school, Socrates nevertheless must ever rank as one of the world's greatest teachers and thinkers.
In his death he fully exemplified the truth of his own philosophy. He was accused of corrupting the youth and denying the deities, and was condemned to die by drinking a cup of hemlock. He calmly submitted to his fate, refusing to avail himself of an opportunity to escape. According to the account given in Plato's "Phaedo," he spent his last hours discussing with the friends who attended him the question of the immortality of the soul.
PLATO (B.C. 429-347)
Plato was a disciple of Socrates, and to him we are chiefly indebted for an account of the teachings of his great master. For twenty years he sat at the feet of the philosopher, and drank from the fountain of knowledge possessed by that wonderful man. He also traveled in other lands, particularly Egypt and Italy, in pursuit of knowledge. He became one of the most remarkable scholars and philosophers, not only of antiquity, but of all time. When forty years of age he founded a school at Athens, though it is not as a teacher that he is chiefly known, but as a writer and sage. "Plato among the Greeks, like Bacon among the moderns, was the first who conceived a method of knowledge." His great work is his "Republic," in which he pictures the ideal State and outlines his scheme of education, which is built on ideals of both Spartan and Athenian citizenship. From Sparta comes the thought of an education which shall be controlled by the State from birth; while Athens adds the aesthetical aspects to those purely physical.
In his scheme he divided the people into the following classes:—
1. The common people. They should be allowed to rise, but no education is provided for them in his scheme.
2. The guardians or citizens, who shall study music and gymnastics. Music includes literature, that is, human culture as distinguished from scientific knowledge. Writing and arithmetic are also included under music, the latter not being studied for practical purposes, but to develop the reason.
3. The rulers, who, in addition to the preceding subjects, shall study geometry, astronomy, rhetoric, and philosophy.
The State is to have absolute control of every citizen; it shall arrange marriages, destroy weak and unpromising children, and remove the healthy babes at birth to public nurseries, where mothers may care for the children in common, but will not recognize or take special interest in their own children. Boys and girls are to be educated alike. Great care is to be taken that nothing mean or vile shall be shown to children; their environments shall be beautiful and ennobling, though simple.
From birth to seven years of age the child is to have plenty of physical exercise. He shall hear fairy tales and selections from the poets, but careful censorship must be placed on everything presented to him. Suitable playthings are to be provided, precaution taken against fear of darkness, and by gentleness combined with firmness a manly spirit is to be produced. Beauty of mind and body are to be harmoniously united.