The St. Lucie County tribune. (Fort Pierce, St. Lucie County, Fla.) 1905-1920, 1907-08-16
LESSONS FROM
THE ANC|ENTS
ParaIIelism in the Development
of Ancient and Modern History
SOCRATES A SOCIALIST
Continuation of Article on Socialism in
History, by {. 7. u. Fripp, of
White City Local.

Pursuing the paralclism in the deve-
! opmcnt of ancient and modern civiliza-
tions we are forced to consider an illus
tration from Grecian history Of one Of
| the most ilustrious Of ancient worthless
falling under the ban Of capitalism.
So silent were historians and biog-
raphers as to the real causes culmina-
ting in the charges and verdict of death
that our readers who have been students
of history will be amazed on receiving
the truth which has only recently been
unearthed And, strange as it may
seem, present day publishers are as
averse to declare it as were the biog-
raphers of the early centuries before
and after Christ
That Plato far from any desire to
hide the facts should not have been
more explicit in setting forth the real
causes leading to the martyrdom of
Socrates, is easily accounted for-to be
noticed later on.
We have thus gently introduced the
name of the worlds greatest martyr,
save One; his life so pure, his philos-
ophy so broad as 10 embrace all hui
manity; his heart so full of love for
mankind that Justin Martyr named him
the Pre-Christian Christian, which was
endorsed by Irenaeus, Tertulian, ORR
gen, etc. Socrates was held in such
high estimation by the most eminent
Christian fathers for wisdom, piety and
nobility of character, it becomes the
present age, so conspicuous for socio-
logical upheavals. to investigate the
causes of his indictment and execution.
The world is getting too needless of the
lessons of history, and is travelling
blindly into the old pitfalls in the mad
rush for the greed Of mammon.
His accusers said; Socrates is guilty
of crime; first for not worshipping the
gods whom the city worships. and for
introducing new divinities of his own;
next, for corruptng the youth.
Socrates, it is said, refrained from
speaking against existing institutions,
but only the wrongs and abuses asso-
catcd with them.
That of the divinities is too frivolous
to speak Of, yet it was calculated to
prejudice jury Of the superstituous
Athenans.
But the charge of corrupting the
youth seems preposterous in the light
of the verdict of postcrity AS to the
character of Socrates and the uplift his
philosophy gave to the world.
Yet from the standpoint of his accus-
ers and the nobility they represented.
there was Il grain of truth in it. Let
us see: In his talks, in private and
in public, everywhere and to everybody.
high and low, rich and poor, Socrates
taught that all people should have an
equal opportunity in life, equality of
freedom and education and opportuni-
ties for a full life.
He was not disturbed while these
principles to all appearance were con-
fined to talk, but it was different when
his enemies discovered that Socrates
was member Of an Eranos Oabor UNI
ion) where these principles We're being
carried into action. Socrates was a
stone cutter by trade and had right to
membership. But many of the young
nobility were attending the meetings
and common table Of the Eranoi through
the influence of their teacher, and these
young students of philosophy, among
whom was Plato, had imbibed Il love of
the cooperative brotherhood Of these
socialist unions at the Piraeus where
the people were all workers.
Here they would discuss economic
questions and the problems of govern
mentor Socrates discarded all other
philosophy for that of the practical life
quoting from j. Osborne Ward, "He
freuuented the common table The
great book, "The Republic of Plato"
was "reminiscences Of one Of these con-
vivials, at which time the brotherhood
of the Athenian Thiasors Tor Eranos)
walked down to the Praeus, by invita-
Continued on page A