Truth Seeker - Socrates (Meeting the Masters) (Chinese-English Bilingual Edition)

Author: Fu Peirong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-09-01
Features: Socrates was born in 469 BC, during the golden age of Athens. Athens led the Greek alliance and, after 20 years of battle, finally defeated the invading Persians, thus becoming a maritime power and the hegemon of the Greek League. When people mention Athens, they first think of democracy. Indeed, Athens was the birthplace of democratic politics, and it had a very high cultural level, achieving brilliant accomplishments in literature, art, science, and philosophy. However, we must not overlook a fact: at that time, Athens had a population of 400,000, of whom 250,000 were slaves! Therefore, the so-called democracy was, in reality, only effective for less than half of the citizens and did not apply to the majority of slave population in the city-state. Slaves had to do household chores, take care of children, and work in the fields; some citizens, on the other hand, had nothing to do and spent their days wandering around. Perhaps it was because of this that some sparks of thought were ignited. However, most things in the world reach their peak and then decline, and Greece was no exception. At that time, the relationships among the members of the Greek city-states were very tense. Athens, relying on its control of the Aegean Sea, was quite arrogant and did as it pleased. It repeatedly attacked its allies, Corinth and Megara, due to conflicts of interest. Eventually, Corinth and Megara could no longer bear it and decided to fight Athens to the death. They allied with the land power Sparta and launched the Peloponnesian War, which lasted for 27 years. The war saw victories and defeats on both sides, but the Athenian fleet was ambushed near Syracuse and was completely routed. After this blow, Athens was severely weakened. Although it stubbornly held on for another 9 years, the Athenian Empire had clearly reached its end. Not only did its allied city-states, but its economic impact was even greater. The people could not even afford enough food, let alone the will to fight! As a result, its hegemonic status was inevitably lost. Socrates' life coincided with the gradual decline of Athens, and he also participated in the Peloponnesian War in his youth, reportedly showing great courage. During this period, Socrates often felt puzzled: If Athens had such a great civilization, why was it gradually declining? Was it simply because the people were too poor, or because of the war's defeat? Socrates believed that the real problem might lie in the fact that the Athenians had become arrogant and indulged in material pleasures of the world, neglecting the noble needs of the soul. He said, "I feel like a horsefly, and Athens is like a divine steed. But now it is getting fatter and only wants to sleep, not run. I have been sent by the gods to bite this horse and wake it up! But what happened? After it wakes up, it not only doesn’t thank me but even angrily wants to slap me to death and then continue sleeping."