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10
PhilosophicalThought
AccordingtoPlato,womenandmenmaybearchildrenonlyinyearsofthe
primephysicalandintellectualvigor.Thebestyearsforwomenarebetween
20-30oftheirageandmenmaycontinueuntiltheyare50yearsold.Incase
thattheyconceiveachildaboveorbelowtheprescribedages,thechildshould
notseethelight,andifthechildisborn,heorshecannotbemaintained.The
properofficerswilltakecareforchildren.However,officerswilltakecareonly
forhealthyoffspringofthebestcitizens;whereastheremainingchildrenshall
behiddenawayinsomemysteriousandunknownplace.Childrenareforarea-
sonabletimebreastfedbymotherswhoarefullofmilk,butnomothershall
knowherownchild.7
Fromanearlyage,childrenarebroughtupinawaythatwouldmakethem
thebestguardians.
Horses,whichtheymustbetaughttorideattheearliestpossibleage;then,
whentheyaretakentoseethefighting,theirmountsmustnotbespirited
chargersbutswiftestwecanfindandtheeasiesttomanage.Inthatwaythey
willgetagoodviewoftheirfuturebusiness,andincaseofneedtheywillbe
abletokeepupwiththeirolderleadersandescapeinsafety.8
Thecommonownershipofproperty,women,andcommoneducationof
childrenarerequired,becausethankstothemthestatebecomesafamilyfor
everyone.
Intheidealrepublic,eachclassofcitizensexcelsincertainvirtue.Produc-
ersmustexcelinmodesty,guardiansinbravery,andrulersinwisdom.Plato
suggeststhemethodhowtoselecttherightclassforeveryindividual.Heclaims
thatitisimportanttoeducatechildrenofanyoriginandtoeducatebothboys
andgirls.Educationistheresponsibilityofthestate.9Thebasicsubjectisgym-
nastics,becauseitformsthebodyandteacheschildrenhardnessaswellas
bravery.Thesecondsubjectismusicwhichformsthesoulandteachesmodesty
andgentleness.Later,othersubjectsareadded:mathematics,dialectics,training
inpain,asceticism,andeffort.Attheageoftwenty,astrictexamtakesplace
whichexcludesstudentswhodonotmeetallrequirementsfortherulingposi-
tions.Studentswhopasstheexamcontinueineducationforanothertenyears.
Afterwards,afurtherselectionshallbemadeandthesestudentscontinuein
thestudyofphilosophyforanotherfiveyears.Youngmenwhoaccomplishthis
educationhave35yearsanddonothaveanyexperience.Therefore,theyare
supposedtogainexperienceoflifeforthenext15years.Then,experienced50
yearsoldmen,whoareeducatedintheoryaswellaspractice,areautomatically
7Cf.TheRepublicofPlato,160-61.
8TheRepublicofPlato,170.
9LuciaBokorovd,DejinyvychovyavzdelávaniaI(Trnava:TrnavskduniverzitavTrnave,
2013),24.
