Socrates, the lustrous lodestar

Even those who have a nodding acquaintance of the great Greek philosopher Socrates (C.470-390BCE) might agree that there will never be another philosopher like him in the west or east. Although Socrates lived in ancient Greece long before Jesus Christ, his powerful presence is felt in society even in the 21st century. Many other philosophers have come and gone but he shines like a lodestar that others want to follow. What made him such a magnetic personality remains shrouded in mystery.

Very little is known about Socrates’s life except for the fact that he was married to Xanthippe and they had three sons. When he was sentenced to death at the age of 70, his eldest son was not yet 20 and the youngest was a small child. Xanthippe had aristocratic connections. Young Socrates was apprenticed as a sculptor but he did not work regularly. He lived off a modest inheritance from his father. Unlike other Sophists he never accepted payment for teaching philosophy. However, he accepted gifts from wealthy admirers occasionally.

Socrates led a simple life not wearing shoes and using only an old coat. He was a physically powerful man who spent his time wandering about the marketplace. His only “job” was asking philosophical questions. Although Socrates hobnobbed with politically powerful and wealthy men, he never sought political favours.

Temper

Socrates’s questioning was sometimes so intense that sometimes his opponents quarrelled with him. But he never lost his temper. Once Alcibiades offered him a large plot of land to put up a house. However, Socrates said, “Suppose, then, I wanted shoes and you offered me a whole hide to make a pair, would it not be ridiculous of me to take it?”

He ate and drank moderately and never desired to have more because he had few wants. Before his marriage somebody asked him whether he should marry. Socrates said, “Whichever you do you will repent it.”

Socrates was perhaps the most powerful and inspiring philosopher of the west. Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibetan Buddhism called Socrates “an enlightened man.” Although he never wrote books on philosophy, he taught Plato, one of the eminent philosophers of the western tradition. The main source of his philosophy is his dialogues with Plato and the anecdotes.

Values

If Socrates was alive today, he will definitely appeal to the younger generation because he stood for some values and clearly against others. Such personal integrity is rarely seen today. We have very few men of Socrates’s calibre. While his fellowmen were running a rat-race for power and prestige, Socrates upheld courage, decency, respect for justice and abhorred cut-throat competition. His guiding motto “Know thyself” has echoed and re-echoed throughout human history. Even the Buddha stressed the importance of knowing oneself.

Socrates was not a well-dressed good-looking man. His physical features were abominable, to say the least. It is said that he was an “extraordinarily ugly” man. He had a broad and flat nose, protruding eyes, thick lips and a large belly. However, his penetrating questions shocked his listeners. No wonder that some of his contemporaries called him an “electric eel.”

Despite his ugly appearance, Socrates was a good-natured man who had a hierarchy of moral values. He said that the true self was not the body but the soul (psyche). According to him true beauty is inner beauty.

Fearlessness

Another great quality of Socrates is his fearlessness. He fought valiantly against Spartans. In a military campaign he walked about barefoot on the icy winter ground of Thrace. Socrates says that self-control leads to pleasure. When we do not have self-control, indulge in over eating, drinking and other pleasures, we become animals.

The trial and death of Socrates remind us that we should re-examine our collective conscience. When he was brought to trial for “not worshipping the gods of the State”, his prosecutor demanded death penalty on him.

While he was awaiting death in prison, he was offered the opportunity to escape but he refused to do so and preferred to drink the cup of hemlock. His last words were “Crito, I owe a cock to Asclepius; you will remember to pay the debt?”