Chapter 14
                                   Plato's Story
                                         II

    As I stated in the chapter on Socrates, the authorship of thoughts between
Socrates and Plato blends into a mixed bag of thoughts in Phaedo, which
finally evolves into pure Platonic thought in Republic.  This mixture should
not interfere with our study, as we are interested more in the thoughts of the
times than the thoughts of the individuals.  Is it possible that the Sophist
society was unaware of the stories and thoughts of the rest of the world, ie:
the  sons of Shem and Ham?  I don't think so.  Remember the Athenians were sea
traders, and as such, were in Crete and beyond.  Did they feel superior to
those 'uneducated' heathen?  Probably, and as such, those tales weren't quoted
too faithfully.  Yet, Greek mythology, carries a parallel to the story of
Nimrod in the story of Otys and Ephialtes who tried vainly to climb to heaven.
That story is slightly different though, in that the punishment for that
offence was death by Appolo, not by the confounding of their language.  We see
evidence, also, of this in Phaedo, with allusion to  mummification practices
in Egypt woven into philosophical discussions.
    Phaedo relates the last day of Socrates life, and the discussions that
took place, before he drank the hemlock.  We pick up the discussion on the
nature of death between Socrates, Simias, and Cebes: "And do you further
observe, that after a man is dead, the body, or visible part of him, which is
lying in the visible world, and is called a corpse, and would naturally be
dissolved or decomposed at once, but may remain for some time, nay even for a
long time, if the constitution be sound at the time of death, and the season
of the year favorable?  For the body, when shrunk and embalmed, as the manner
is in Egypt, may remain almost entire through infinite ages; and even in
decay, there are still some portions, such as the bones and ligaments, which
are practically indestructible.  Do you agree?
    Yes.
    And is it likely that the soul, which is invisible, in passing to the


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place of the true Hades, which like her is invisible, and pure, and noble, and
on her way to the good and wise God, whither, if God will, my soul is also
soon to go - that the soul, I repeat, if this be her nature and origin, will
be blown away and destroyed immediately on quitting the body, as the many say?
That can never be, my dear Simias and Cebes.  The truth rather is, that the
soul which is pure at departing and draws after her no bodily taint, having
never voluntarily during life had connection with the body, which she is ever
avoiding, herself gathered into herself; and making such abstraction her
perpetual study - which means that she has been a true disciple of philosophy;
and therefore has in fact always engaged in the practice of dying - for is not
philosophy the study of death?
    That soul, I say, herself invisible, departs to the invisible world - to
the divine and immortal and rational: thither arriving, she is secure of
bliss, and is released of the error and folly of men, their fears and wild
passions and all other human ills, and forever dwells, as they say of the
initiated, in company with the gods.  Is not this true Cebes?
    Yes, said Cebes, beyond a doubt.".
    The initiation referred to here was a step towards purification, which
allowed performance of secret rites in the Greek worship of their gods.  We
are led to believe that the initiated, who were the mystics, were the 'true
philosophers' In order to belong to the inner circle you had to be a 'true
philosopher'.  It is interesting to note here, also, the mixing of lower case
gods with the upper case God.  Since this dialogue took place in 399 B. C.,
there was plenty of time for culture comingling from the start of the
post-diluvian period in 2348 B. C..
    We musn't lose sight of the fact that these men were dichotomous in
nature, and as such were analyzing life and death from a platform of
dichotomy.  All they knew was that man as they understood him consisted of
body and soul.  And yet they were confronted with beliefs from some of the
other cultures, which said man was three part, not two.  They were searching,


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