Plato: The Republic Book VII

[...] Would he not say with Homer, "Better to be the poor servant of a poor master", and to endure anything rather than think as they do and live after their manner? Yes, he said, I think that he would rather suffer anything than entertain these false notions and live in this miserable manner.

The words highlighted suggests that the man in the upper world out of the den, who has already known what reality is and grown accustomed to it, would not like to return to his former life which his fellow prisoners take pride in. He prefer to "be the poor servant of a poor master" to seek for the truth in the upper world, rather than go back to the den to win those "honors and glories".

And if there were a contest, and he had to compete in measuring the shadows with the prisoners who had never moved out of the den while his sight was still weak, and before his eyes had become steady (and the time which would be needed to acquire this new habit of sight might be very considerable), would he not be ridiculous? Men would say of him that up he went and down he came without his eyes; and that it was better not even think of ascending; and if anyone tried to loose another and lead him to the light, let them only catch the offender, and they would put him to death.

What a pity!

知其不可为而为之。What a courage!

interpret the journey upward to be the ascent of the soul into the intellectual world... my opinion is that in the world of knowledge the idea of good appears last of all, and is seen only with an effort

the good usually comes the last, so you need to wait and be patient; and as it is seen only with effort, you should never stop working before finally reaching it

those who attain to this beatific vision are unwilling to descend to human affairs; for their souls are ever hastening into the upper world where they desire to dwell, which desire of theirs is very natural if our allegory may be trusted

Anyone who has common sense will remember that the bewilderments of the eyes are of two kinds, and arise from two causes, either from coming out of the light or from going into the light, which is true of the mind's eye quite as much as the bodily eye; and who he remembers this when he sees anyone whose vision is perplexed and weak, will not be too ready to laugh; he will first ask whether that soul of man has come out of the brighter life, and is unable to see because unaccustomed to the dark, or having turned from darkness to the day, is dazzled by excess of light. And he will count the one happy in his condition or state of being, and he will pity the other; or if he have a mind to laugh at the soul which comes from below into the light, there will be more reason in this than in the laugh which greets him who returns from above out of the light into the den.

So the most important thing is to be happy, or satisfied with one's current state of being whatever you are going to do.

And then those deserve more credits who choose to return to "the den" to accomplish his duty, to make his contribution to where he comes from. At first I was a bit confused because I thought "coming out of the brighter life" means they become degenerate. But from what I read later, I figure it out. In fact, Plato always encourage people in the upper world to come back down to the den to enlighten those living in the darkness.

if I am right, certain professors of education must be wrong when they say they can put a knowledge into the soul which was not there before, like sight into the blind eyes. Whereas, our argument shows that the power and capacity of learning exists in the soul already; and that just as the eye was unable to turn from darkness to light without the whole body, so that the instrument of knowledge can only by the movement of the whole soul be turned from the world of becoming into that of being, and learn by degrees to endure the sight of being, and of the brightest and the best of being, or in other words, of the good.

A brilliant perspective of education! What professors need to do is just "enlighten" students' intelligence rather than 'implant" knowledge into their brains. Maybe only when teachers realize this will they truly follow children's nature and teach in accordance with their aptitude.

I don't quite understand the distinctions between "the world of becoming" and "that of being", and why Plato argues that knowledge needs to be turned from one to another. Maybe "becoming" is a state of seeking and pursuing, and "being" is a state of internalizing and mastering?

I am kind of touched to read "learn by degrees to endure the sight of being, and of the brightest and the best of being, or in other words, of the good", one for realizing that the sight of being or the good requires working hard and learning by degrees, another for understanding the long process that every intellectual experiences to acquire good and truth.

the business of us who are the founders of the State will be to compel the best minds to attain that knowledge which we have already shown to be the greatest of all, they must continue to ascend until they arrive at the good; but when they have ascended and seen enough we must not allow them to do as they do now. What do you mean? I mean that they remain in the upper world, but this must not be allowed; they must be made to descend again among the prisoners in the den, and partake of their labors and honors, whether they are worth having or not. But is not this unjust? He said; ought we to give them a worse life when they might have a better? You have again forgotten, my friend, I said, the intention of the legislator, who did not aim at making any one class in the State, happy above the rest; the happiness was to be in the whole State, and he held the citizens together by persuasion and necessity, making them benefactors of the State, and therefore benefactors of one another; to this end he created them, not to please themselves, but to be his instruments in binding up the State. [...] Whereof each of you, when his turn comes, must go down to the general underground abode, and get the habit of seeing in the dark. When you have acquired the habit, you will see ten thousand times better than the inhabitants of the den, and you will know what the several images are, and what they represent, because you have seen the beautiful, and just, and good in their truth. And thus our State, which is also yours, will be a reality, and not a dream only, and will be administrated in a spirit unlike that of other States, in which men fight with one another about shadows only and are distracted in the struggle for power, which in their eyes is a great good. Whereas the truth is that the State in which the rulers are most reluctant to govern is always the best and most quietly governed, and the State in which they are most eager, the worst.

How inspiring and how thought provoking!

What's JUST? And what's the responsibility of intellectuals?

What makes a classic classic is that it raises and tries to explain the issues which are of great value, are worth discussing, and are eternal topics of thought, and whose answers remains unsettled till now.

[...] Whereas, if they go to the administration of public affairs, poor and hungering after their own private advantage, thinking that hence they are to snatch the chief good, order there can never be; for they will be fighting about office, and the civil and domestic broils which thus arise will be the ruin of the rulers themselves and of the whole State.

所谓“高薪养廉”。