8.0185 Correction: Plato Letter (1/16)
Elaine Brennan (EDITORS@BROWNVM.BITNET)
Tue, 13 Sep 1994 22:12:26 EDT
Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 8, No. 0185. Tuesday, 13 Sep 1994.
Date: Tue, 13 Sep 1994 11:59:01 EDT
From: "David A. Hoekema" <DHOEKEMA@legacy.Calvin.EDU>
Subject: Correction: Plato letter
The transposition of two words in my posting of September 12 made it
appear that, having read and digested the REPUBLIC and the LAWS of
Plato, I had mistaken the one for the other. Service in academic
administration has not yet so thoroughly corrupted my intellect as
that. Here is what I meant to say: one can read the REPUBLIC as
offering the ideal of government by the wisest and most virtuous men,
the LAWS as a compromise with human nature establishing a framework
of laws which is less amenable to corruption, and the Seventh Letter
as the sad tale of Plato's education in the school, so to speak, of
hard knocks. This is an oversimplification, but one I find useful.
|| David Hoekema, Academic Dean, Calvin College (Grand Rapids MI 49546) ||
|| tel. 616 957-6442 || fax 616 957-8551 || <dhoekema@calvin.edu> ||