Plato’s Republic II

The truth about political life

Let’s continue with the dialogue:

“Now, it seems to me, the procession of the native inhabitants was fine; but the one the Thracians conducted was no less fitting a show.”

• Notice the distance implied in Socrates’s formulation: he refers to his fellow citizens as “native inhabitants” and goes on to praise the Thracians. The Athenians were civilized; the Thracians were barbarians. In fact, the Thracians had a game of chicken where they would hang themselves from the neck to see who could last the longest.

• Socrates’s formulation and evaluation is an indication that he does not succumb to love of one’s own – he is able to praise and blame the domestic and the foreign alike. Socrates the philosopher is less tied to the city than the average person.