Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-05-08
TOO BUSY TO WED.
That Must Have Been the Trouble
With Most Famous Bachelors,
BUT A JILTING FIXED ST. PAUL.
Plato, Kant, swedenborg and Humboldt
Got Along Without Wives
XANTIPPE WAS AN ABUSED FEMALE
WRITTEN FOR THE prsrArcH,1


Plato, one of the most eminent philoso-
pliers that the world has produced, takes
rank also as one of its most famous old
bachelors. Although it is known that he
belonged to one of the first families of
Athens-being descended on his fathers side
from Codrus, its last king, and on part of his
mother from Solon, the great lawgiver-yet
but little has been preserved In history as to
the details of his long and useful life.
- 1t is not known whether he was ever In
love after the Romeo pattern for Juliet, or
whether he was crushed with disappoint-
ment, or had made up his mind that the
maids of Athens were fair and tickle or
knew nothing about housekeeping, and
could not make decent loaf of bread, or
| minister to the comfort of a man in the
systematic, scientific, and sympathetic style
that the highest wisdom and knowledge of
his times demanded. 1t is surmised that he
must have been what is known in society as
an "ellgible" or "a good CATCH" since he
was of noble birth, fair fortune and highly
cultured in music, rhetoric and painting,
and lad attained great proficiency in ath-
letic graces.
Couldn't Stand His Own Poetry.
Moreover, he had some claims to being
poet, although he had such a modest esti-
mate of his powers in this line that when
he compared his own heroic poetry with
that of Homer he found it so far below that
he burned it in sheer despair. If there is
any sort OF being that a sentimental girl
dotes upon it is poet, whether he is fine or
superfne, or merely of the jingling,
rhyming order. How Plato escaped marry
ing some of the pretty girls of Greece, con-
sidering his advantages. must remain a
mystery, but escape he did. He lived and
died bachelor, leaving to posterity his
immortal works and a name crowned with
the laurels of imperishable fame. The
managing matchmaker got no hold upon
him.
The girls of his day lived in seclusion,
and were not allowed to choose husband
for themselves. Their education was
matter of small moment They were held
to be inferior beings, and were trained-not
to be intelligent companions-but to be
obedient -ervants to their husbands.
What Philosophers Thought of Women.
The philosophers with all their wisdom
did not rise above the common opinion in
those golden days Of Greece with regard to
women. Aristotle held that in all respects
men are better and higher than women, and
Plato maintained that they should be held
in curb much more than men, as their char
acter for virtue was inferior His opinions,
however, had not strong foundation, since
he as bachelor could have had but little
intercourse with them. Before he was of
age he became pupil of Socrates and for
the rest of his life devoted himself to phil
osophy by which he has enriched all man.
kind. What the world owes to Plato can
never be estimated. Centuries have gone
by since he taught favored few in the
beautiful groves of Academe, but his powers
of mind are still held by scholars and
thinkers to be unsurpassed in any age.
But still he did not know women. He
may have got his notions of them from
Xantippe, the wife of Socrates, his teacher
She has come down in history as woman
notorious for her bad temper. So much so
that when Alcibiades, with display of
impudence, asked Socrates how he could
live with such woman, Socrates replied
serenely thaH 'she exercises my patience
and enables me to bear with all the injustice
1 receive from Others" Xantippe gets more
charitable Judgment nowadays. She had
ample exercise it is admitted, for her pa
thence when Socrates left her alone to spend
his evenings with the learned and beautiful
Aspasia. Socrates himself bears testimony
to her good qualities and influence. AS
Jane CARLYLE did her sour Scotchman, she
loved him for his powers of mind, and ''put
up' with his ugliness. his carelessness and
neglect.
Tho postle OF CeJibacy.
st. Paul is one of the most famous of old
bachelors in the worlds history. His bit
terness against marriage and advocacy of
celibacy is due-say the records of the
Ebionites-to the fact that having fallen in
love with the High Priests daughter he
was coldly refused. Being mad after the
manner of men on such occasions, he
preached and wrote against marriage with
such zeal and unction as to greatly influence
the church even down to the present day.
His teachings are at the foundation of every
monastery and convent. To his opinions as
expressed, and held holy and binding by
virtue of being due to heavenly inspiration,
women have been martyrs tor centuries
In these days, however, his views are ac-
cepted mainly in a sort of theoretical way,
for practically they are mostly null and
void. Tney are rather apologized for, and
in no wav considered more binding, save by
the bigoted, as matter of duty and con-
science, than the command to the rich man
to sell all. he has and give to the poor
Paul's personal appearance was against his
getting married. Girls as rule are senti-
mental enough to rather object to the bald
headed, ugly little man with mob nose and
a halty gait, even though his mind and
talents were of the first order. Nobody
wonders that the High Priests daughter
wanted somebody better looking than the
apostle to the Gentiles.
Descartes Welded to His Books.
Descartes was another distinguished
bachelor. He preferred mathematics, to
Mi Il
to study of philosophy and the writing of
books. He was bold and independent
thinker So much SO that some of his
works were condemned by the church au-
thorities, and an attempt was made by his
enemies to brand him as an atheist who
should be punished for daring to think and
to publish what was called heresy. Whether
he rejected marriage by deliberate design,
or because he was Tilted, or because he pre-
terred the study of science to love, does not
appear. When a woman does not marry it
is generally said that she cant get ANYBODY
to have her, but when a man remains single
it is usually held to be from choice. Not
having a biography of this noted bachelor
at hand to tell whether he ever suffered
from poetry-of passion stage in his life, or
considered love philosophically as a snare
and a deiusion, or that he made up his mind
that a wife would be a hindrance to his mis-
sion, the chief fact is that he, "the pride of
France" remained single. His influence it
may have been that made the eminent
philosopher Malebranche, who was his ar
dent admirer, also remain unmarried. 1t is
quite likely that his metaphysical medita-
tions" and philosophical studies might have
been interfered with by humdrum wife Of
the kind that were then in fashion, to
whom mathematics was an inscrutable mys-
terry, and science a matter to be held sacred
to men alone