Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1882-11-08
SHORT SKETCHES.
Biographical Notes about Socrates and
Plato.

Plato.
Socrates is the father of Greek philos
ophy. He was born at Athens 469 r. C.
He was man of wonderfully strong and
robust constitution. He served as a heavy.
armed foot soldier, and distinguished him
self for his courage and bravery in the
Peloponnesian war, saving in the first cam
paign the life of his pupil Alcibiades, and
in the second performing the same service
for his pupil Xenophon. Rapidly rising in
position, fame and influence, he was al
different times Senator and President
While Senator he bravely refused to obey
an order of the band called the Thirty
Tyrants, " who had requested him to aid in
bringing back to Athens Leon, who had
tied from their persecution to Salamis
While President he opposed the sentence Of
death of certain Generals and Admirals
who had not buried their dead after che
battle Of Arginus@. He found that, owing
to violent storm which had arisen,
the Generals were unable to return
to the shore to bury the dead and al.
though the popular clamor was 80
great, yet Socrates E1anfully defended the
accused. However, the majority was
against him, and the unfortunate Generals
were sacrificed to the will of the people.
and Socrates lost the Presidency. Socrates
then devoted himself to philosophy. which,
In his case, consisted mainly in freauentine
the streets, market places and other parts
OF the city where people gathered, and
talking to them about knowledge and by
a series OF clever questions, under the pre-.
tense that he was seeking for information,
would show that the person he was talking
to was totally ignorant. His aim was to
make people know how ignorant they were,
in order that they might know how to be.
come wise. His great doctrine was virtue.
Virtue, he said, " consisted in knoxl
edge. To do right was the only road tc
happiness. In the year 800 B. c. he was
accused of not worshiping the city's gods,
and OF introducing new dlvinities, also Of
corrupting youth. He was sentenced tc
death, and calmly and with the dignity
that suited his past life he drank the poison
hemlock and passed away. His principal
pupil and successor was Plato.
Plato was not common man. He was
born of patrician stock about 429 B. c..
His fathers name was Ariston. and through
him Plato descended from King Codrus,
and by his mothers side he claims kinshiu
with the great law-giver Scion. He is said
to have received his surname from the
breadth of his forehead from the Greek
word "platos," meaning broad. He re.
ceived good education in music, gymnas.
tics and literature. He began to write
poetry at very early age, and would pos.
sibly have continued to do SO had he not
become acquainted with Socrates but
when he was about 20 years old he de.
stroyed all his verses, and from that time
began to study philosophy. About this
time Socrates was killed, and the political
troubles of the country forced Plato to
leave Athens. He went to Megara and
lived there with Euclid. He is reported
to have made frequent travels. He visited
Sicily three times. 1t is also probable
that he visited Italy. After returning from
his first visit to Sicily, in his fortieth year,
he commenced to teach philosophy publicly
in the Academia, pleasant garden in the
most beautiful suburb of Athens, and there
gathered around him a large school of dis
tinguished followers. These followers sue.
ceeded each other after his death, and are
known as the philosophers of t le academy.
Plato lived and died an unmarried man,
and lived to be 50 years old. Not much
more is known about him, ex ,ept that he
was opposed to teaching philosophy for
fees, and from this fact, and also because
it is nowhere stated that he held any office
from which he could have derived an in
come, it is supposed that he was possessed
of an independent property. The prin.
ciples of his philosophy are better known
than the facts of his life. All Of his great
works have been preserved. He is tEsA4S,
thor of a great many works. His starting
point was the theory of knowledge. Yet
his study was not deep, hidden thing
that nobody could understand, but rather
something that he tried to make practical
and useful to his fellow men. With Plato
philosophy did not mean mere knowledge,
or speculation, but it meant wisdom, and
wisdom meant wise action and wise action
meant virtue. 1t would of course
be impossible in an article like
this to tell what Plato taught, be.
cause his teachings wera so many
and had SO wide a range that it would re.
quire study of his works to get an &C.
curate insight into his character and teach.
ings. With Plato, love was an admiration
of excellence in all things, harmony Of
sounds, symmetry in form, which rest upon
certain principles as sure as the laws Of
logic, mathematics and morals. Plate
taught further, that the beginning of these
harmonies and symmetries was in a su.
preme, self-existent intelligence, whom we
call God. From this supreme intelligence
we are offshoots in such fashion that We
partake essentially of the nature of oul
source, so that there is unity in US which
causes us to be filled with Joy whenever
we recognize the same types, the product
of the divine principle of unity whereso
ever presented. Plato also taught the doc
trine of the Immortality of the soul
When il is remembered that the Greek.
had many gods which they worshiped, WI
must admire the greatness and courage O
Plato in bravely teaching his doctrine o.
the one Supreme Being. Plato also laugh
the necessity of virtue. Plato's work
have always been extensively studied, anc
especially in the last century.