By Dr. Gary Hartenburg
1.
At the end of Plato鈥檚聽Republic, Socrates recounts for his friend, Glaucon, a story he once heard about a man named Er who fell in battle and was laid on a pyre, but after twelve days, returned from among the dead. This is how Socrates ends his retelling of Er鈥檚 story:
鈥淭he souls of the dead camped at eventide by the River of Forgetfulness, whose waters no vessel can contain. They were all compelled to drink a measure of the water, but those who were not saved by their good sense drank more than the measure; each one as he drank forgot all things. After they had fallen asleep, there was thunder and quaking in the middle of the night, and they were suddenly carried hence, one this way, one that, upward to their birth like shooting stars. But Er himself was prevented from drinking the water; how and in what way he returned to a body he did not know, but聽suddenly聽looking up he saw himself at dawn lying on the pyre.
鈥淎nd so, Glaucon, a story was saved and not lost, and it might save us if we are persuaded by it, and we will cross the River of Lethe well and our soul will not be sullied. At least, if we are persuaded by me, holding that the soul is deathless and capable of bearing all bad and good, we will keep ever to the upward way and will pursue justice with prudence in all ways and manners, even so that we will be dear to ourselves and to the gods, both tarrying here now and when we recover our reward, as the victors in the games go about to gather theirs, and both here now and in that thousand-year journey, whereof I have gone through, we shall fare well.鈥�
Here, in the closing lines of the聽Republic, Socrates suggests that the story of Er has great potential: it might save us if we were persuaded by it.
2.
That a story should have the power to save is聽not surprising to Christians, who believe that the聽power of God to save comes through hearing the Gospel鈥斺�渟o then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God鈥濃�攖he good news,鈥痶he report brought by a messenger with glad tidings for the audience.
3.
The amazing thing about Er鈥檚 story is that he came back to the living from the afterlife. Er鈥檚 account of the afterlife differs, of course, from the Christian one. But a central subject of Er鈥檚 story is what happens after death. The saving stories are about the dead as聽experienced聽by the living, but why should this be necessary? T. S. Eliot gives us one reason:
And what the dead had no speech for, when living,
They can tell you, being dead: the communication
Of the dead is tongued with fire beyond the language of the living.
In the classics, death聽teaches聽lessons聽both difficult to comprehend and mightily important. The conceit of Dante鈥檚 great poem聽is that through God鈥檚 grace, Dante has been permitted to journey through the afterlife while still in聽his聽earthly聽body.聽As the conclusion of聽The Divine Comedy聽tells it, the communication tongued with fire in which Dante participates聽eventually聽saves him.
4.
An incomplete list of聽works聽(excepting the Indian, Far Eastern,聽Russian,聽African, Australian, and American traditions) that are similar to Plato鈥檚 example of a story that might save us:
- 罢丑别听滨濒颈补诲, by Homer
- 罢丑别听贬颈蝉迟辞谤颈别蝉, by Herodotus
- 罢丑别听搁别辫耻产濒颈肠, by Plato
- 罢丑别听础别苍别颈诲, by Virgil
- 罢丑别听颁辞苍蹿别蝉蝉颈辞苍蝉, by Augustine
- Beowulf, by an anonymous poet
- The Book of Healing, by Avicenna
- 罢丑别听顿颈惫颈苍别听颁辞尘别诲测, by Dante
- The聽Institutes of the Christian Religion, by Calvin
- Hamlet, by聽Shakespeare
- The King James Bible
- Don Quixote, by Cervantes
- Emma, by Austen
5.
Although聽Er鈥檚 story would do Socrates and Glaucon no good if he had not returned from聽among聽the dead, the manner of his return聽teaches something, too. Er returns, first of all, at dawn, and secondly, by looking up.
In Homer鈥檚聽Iliad, dawn, the rosy-fingered (rhododaktylos), first appears after Odysseus has returned Chryse茂s to her father in order to save the Troy-besieging Greeks from Apollo-sent disease. Dawn emerges with new possibilities, but she herself changes nothing: when Odysseus returns to the Greeks camped on the beach near Troy, Achilles remains full of wrath. The new day has not changed Achilles; he sits consumed by his own heart.
Upon his own return at dawn, Er does what Achilles does not do upon the return of Odysseus. He looks up.聽The Greek word for聽鈥淚 look up鈥澛爄s 鈥�补苍补产濒别辫艒,鈥� which聽can聽also mean 鈥淚 recover (my) sight鈥� or 鈥淚 see again.鈥澛燗s聽Er looks up鈥攑erhaps聽he saw聽again聽the upward path to which Socrates聽refers, but if so, he also 鈥渟aw聽himself聽鈥澛爋n the upward road of his pyre鈥攈e recovers his sight.
Er in some respects resembles the three women coming to the sepulcher of Jesus at dawn. As Mark records in his portion of the biblical classic, these women also 鈥渓ooked up.鈥� When they did, they did not see themselves on their deathbeds, but 鈥渢hey saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great.鈥� Their looking up was a recovery of their sight and an answer to their question, 鈥淲ho shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulcher?鈥� As readers will remember, when the women enter the sepulcher, they see not Jesus but a young man in white. The young man tells them to tell the disciples that they will find Jesus in Galilee, but the women, being afraid, do not.聽Similarly, the three聽men聽with Jesus on the mount of transfiguration were 鈥渟ore afraid鈥� and Peter in particular 鈥渨ist not what to say.鈥� But聽Mark writes that when the men聽look, they look not up but around (辫别谤颈产濒别辫艒) and suddenly no longer see the two old men in white, but only Jesus, who then tells them to not speak of what they saw. Er, for some reason, was not so afraid of what he saw聽as聽to keep silent.
6.
Though Er has the courage to speak, he does not seem to know everything of which he speaks. He聽was聽prevented聽from drinking聽from the River of Forgetfulness. Prevented by whom?聽The story doesn鈥檛 say.聽Likewise,聽how聽Er聽returned to his body聽is聽unknown to him. The聽full meaning of the聽classics聽elude聽us. Always exceeding our grasp, they frustrate comprehensive explanation but reward continued exploration.
7.
Starting and stopping in the middle of things, the classics are incomplete. Only the considerable skill of the authors of the classics can leave us satisfied with the incomplete endings they offer. Consider聽Beowulf, a聽poem that ends with the death of a great king who has not made sufficient arrangements for the safety of his people after his death. Beowulf dies a glorious death in defense of his people, and the Swedes will now exact revenge. But what a poem!
8.
Even as Er doesn鈥檛 know how he returned to his body, he is able to remember and understand what he had聽鈥渟een鈥澛燽efore he聽returned聽and could see again. He serves as an eyewitness to the events of the story Socrates聽retells just as the authors of the classics often serve as eyewitnesses聽to the veracity of their own works. But the authors of the classics also聽rely on what they have heard from others, too.聽The聽hearts, headwaters, creeks, tributaries, branches, and pools聽of classical material聽flow, pool,聽or dry up for many reasons: war and聽peace,聽good or聽bad weather,聽attention,聽indifference, disease, leisure. But as Socrates points out, the stories聽with the potential to save us must聽be remembered and not lost through forgetfulness. The classics聽tell us聽stories that we would have otherwise forgotten.聽They聽could聽lead us to a sea with breezes that聽might聽return us to our memories.
9.
Reader, if you聽peruse聽the closing paragraph of the聽Republic,聽you will note that聽Plato聽writes that聽there are聽two聽things that might persuade us, only one of which is Er鈥檚 story.聽The second thing that might persuade us is聽Socrates聽himself:聽鈥淎t least,聽if we are persuaded by me, holding that the soul is deathless and capable of bearing all bad and good, we will keep ever to the upward way聽. . . .鈥澛燦ote carefully that first phrase, 鈥�at least,鈥� or one might also translate, 鈥�nevertheless.鈥� Or, the Greek聽permits something even starker:聽鈥�But, if we are persuaded by me聽. . . .鈥澛燗fter such a careful and deliberate retelling of Er鈥檚 story, is Socrates聽now聽setting himself at odds with聽it?聽According to Plato, if we are persuaded by Er鈥檚 story, we will聽cross聽safely聽through forgetfulness with a pure soul, but if Socrates persuades us we will fare well both now and in the future. These do not seem to be, strictly speaking, the same.
Socrates聽chooses聽not聽to聽identify his own ideas completely with the saving story of Er for the same reason Christians聽do聽not identify the Bible as the source of salvation:聽there is something other than the聽story,聽something ineffable聽working聽through the saving stories.聽If we are persuaded by the story alone, perhaps our souls haven鈥檛 been sufficiently prepared for what comes next.聽As beings who are living and not dead, we need to live lives of ongoing interaction with the classics and the God who is working through them in us.
The聽entire聽story of Er, examined a second time, seems woefully incomplete: Er鈥檚 story does not establish that聽the soul is聽deathless, and it only聽hints at the possibility that聽the soul聽is聽capable of bearing all聽that is聽bad聽and good. Looked at from the Socratic vantage point, the classics聽by聽themselves seem so incomplete as to make us wonder why we would ever have thought they were serious things rather than child鈥檚 play. But聽accompanied by聽lifelong聽discussion聽of them, perhaps they聽could聽purify our souls聽and聽we would聽fare well,聽both here and now and there and then.
10.
Plato thinks the greatest evil, the thing from which we most need saving, is ignorance.聽We are, pretty much every one of us, extremely ignorant of the truth of our own condition and the truth of what is required to correct our condition. So thinks Plato, but that鈥檚 not quite the Christian doctrine of sin, from which, according to Christian theology,聽Er鈥檚 story cannot save聽us.聽Er鈥檚 story, like the classics it represents,聽can, however,聽save us from forgetting that聽there is another聽story, verified by eyewitnesses and passed down through history,聽of such power that聽it聽could聽save us if we were persuaded by the good news it announces of one living who聽has聽returned from the dead at dawn to聽remind us, through an ongoing, never-ending discussion,聽to look up.
[Editor鈥檚 Note: 聽Christianity and the Classics image from Nicolas Poussin鈥檚 The Triumph of David, c. 1630, found at .]
About the Author
Gary Hartenburg, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of Philosophy at Houston Baptist University and director of the Honors College. Dr. Hartenburg specializes in ancient philosophy and generalizes in other areas of philosophy, theology, and literature. His interest in ancient philosophy concerns the intersection of epistemology and metaphysics as well as the difference between knowledge and belief.