to Socrates
by richibi
__________
The way to gain a good reputation
is to endeavour to be what you
desire to appear” – Socrates
having lost faith in the natural
philosophers, Thales, Anaximander,
you turned to more introspective
speculation, what is virtue rather than
what is the world
but thereby you ran right into the wall
of the word, which had been there from
the very beginning, but so intimate as
to not be able to see the forest for its
trees
what is virtue, you wondered, but
got caught up in the fray of, even
conflicting, opinions, making it
clear that everyone had a different
answer, what could that mean
it could only mean that virtue was in
the eye of the beholder, not as your
disciple Plato would have it, that we
all partook of an ideal Virtue, never
real, a theoretical abstraction merely,
but serving nevertheless as its
authoritative standard
but who would’ve set that standard,
you would’ve asked, never stopping
at so fragile a conclusion, setting the
tone for proper philosophy, however
ill the lesson ‘s since been learned
the proper answer to any and every
question is ultimately another
question, that is the true lesson of
philosophy, an observation, sir, to
Richard
Richibi's Weblog 