Politics

No one, therefore, would dispute that the legislator must especially busy himself with the education of the young; for in cities where this is not done, it damages the constitutions. For one must be educated in conformity with each constitution; for the character proper to each constitution both customarly preserves the constitution and establishes it from the beginning, as, for instance, a democratic character preserves a democracy, and an oligarchic one an oligarchy; and the best character is always the cause of a better constitution. Furthermore, for all capacities and arts, there are certain things which one must be educated in beforehand and habituated to beforehand with a view to their respective activities, so that it is clear that this is also the case for the activities of virtue. And since there is one end for the whole city, it is manifest that the education must also be one and the same for all, and that the care of this must be common and not private, in the manner that now each person cares for his own children privately, teaching them whatever private learning they please. But for common things, the training also must be made common. At the same time, one must not even think that any of the citizens belongs to himself, but rather that all belong to the city, for each is a part of the city; and the care of each part naturally looks to the care of the whole. In this respect, one might praise the Lacedaemonians; for they make the greatest efforts concerning their children, and this in a common way. That, therefore, one must legislate concerning education and make this common, is manifest; but what the education will be, and how one must be educated, must not escape notice. For at present, there is dispute about the actions. For not all conceive that the young must learn the same things, either with a view to virtue or to the best life, nor is it manifest whether it is more fitting to look to the intellect or to the character of the soul; and from the present education, the inquiry is confusing, and it is not at all clear whether one must train in things useful for life, or things tending to virtue, or extraordinary things (for all of these have found some judges);

​and concerning things tending to virtue, there is no agreement (for even virtue itself is not immediately honored by all in the same way, so that reasonably they also differ in its training). That, therefore, the young must be taught those useful things which are necessary, is not unclear; but that they should not be taught all of them is manifest, when a division is made between free and unfree activities, and that they must participate in only those useful things which will not make the participant vulgar. And we must consider a vulgar task, art, or learning to be that which renders the body of free persons, or their intellect, useless for the employments and actions of virtue. Therefore, we call those arts vulgar which prepare the body to be in a worse state, and also wage-earning occupations; for they make the intellect busy and humble. And even of the liberal sciences, to participate in some of them up to a certain point is not illiberal, but to apply oneself too closely to their exactness is liable to the aforementioned harms. And it makes a great difference for the sake of what one does or learns something; for doing it for one’s own sake, or for friends, or on account of virtue, is not illiberal, but the person who does this same thing for others would often seem to act in a hireling and slavish manner. The studies now established, therefore, as was said before, are of a double character; and there are nearly four things which people are accustomed to teach, namely, reading and writing, gymnastics, music, and fourth, some add drawing; reading and writing and drawing because they are useful for life and of great service, gymnastics because it contributes to courage; but concerning music, one might already raise difficulties. For at present, most people participate in it for the sake of pleasure; but those of old placed it in education because nature itself seeks, as has been said many times, not only to be busy rightly but also to be able to use leisure well. For this is the first principle of all things; and let us speak of it again. For if both are necessary, but to use leisure is more choiceworthy than to be busy and is its end, we must investigate what we must do to use leisure. For surely we must not do so by playing; for then play would necessarily be the end of life for us. But if this is impossible, and play must rather be used in our occupations (for the person who labors needs relaxation, and play is for the sake of relaxation; and to be busy happens to be accompanied by labor and exertion), for this reason we must introduce plays, watching the right time for their use, as if administering them for the sake of medicine. For such movement of the soul is relaxation, and because of pleasure, it is rest.