Book VIII

Magistrates have a significant responsibility to care for youth, as neglect of education harms the city. This care is essential because each state is governed according to its particular nature, and the forms and manners of government are self-perpetuating.

Aristotle argues that the quality of manners in a state directly determines the quality of government, with the best manners producing the best government.

Just as in business and art people must first learn and become accustomed to necessary skills, so too practicing virtue requires prior learning and habituation.

Since all cities aim at the same end, education should be uniform and a public responsibility rather than individual, as currently practiced with private instruction.

Each citizen belongs to the state as a whole rather than to themselves individually, and each part naturally has the duty to regard the good of the whole.

The Lacedaemonians deserve praise for giving the greatest attention to education and making it public, serving as an example for other states.

Laws should be established to govern education and ensure it is public rather than private or left to individual discretion.

There is widespread disagreement about what children should be taught, whether education should develop virtue or practical life skills, and which virtues are most important.

Since not all people equally esteem the same virtues, they will not cultivate the same virtues, and there is no universal agreement on which virtues are most important.

What is necessary should be taught to all, but necessity varies depending on whether one is free or enslaved, with different requirements for each.

Freemen should be taught useful things that do not make them mean, avoiding occupations that deform the body or render the mind sordid.

Work is esteemed mean if it deforms the body or unfits the mind for virtue, including all work done purely for gain as it enslaves the mind.

While some liberal arts are appropriate for freemen, pursuing mastery in them purely for gain or service degrades one to slavery, though studying for oneself or virtue is noble.

The current mode of instruction appears to combine both practical and noble elements without clear distinction.

Children are traditionally taught four subjects: reading, gymnastics, music, and painting, each serving different purposes in education.

Reading and painting are both of singular practical use in life, while gymnastics develops courage.

There is doubt about music's place in education, as most people currently use it only for pleasure, though ancient educators included it for higher purposes.

Nature requires not only proper employment but also the ability to enjoy leisure honorably, which is the principal of all things.

While both labor and rest are necessary, rest is preferable, and people should learn how to employ rest time properly.

Play should not be the necessary business of life, though it is necessary as relaxation for those who labor, serving as medicine for the pain of exertion.

Play offers the mind relaxation and eases pain with pleasure, functioning like a therapeutic relief from the strain of labor.

Rest itself seems to partake of pleasure, happiness, and an agreeable life, though only those not laboring can experience this fully.

Those who labor do so for an end they do not yet possess, whereas happiness is an end pursued for itself, not for something beyond it.

While all agree happiness involves pleasure not pain, people disagree about what constitutes this pleasure, each having their own standard relative to their habits.

The best man chooses the best pleasure, which arises from the noblest actions rather than base ones.

To live a life of rest, people must learn and be instructed in certain things, making such learning essential.

Learning aimed at labor has different purposes than learning aimed at rest and leisure enjoyment.

Music is not necessary for life nor useful like reading in practical affairs or family management, distinguishing it from other educational subjects.

Painting serves to help people judge the productions of the fine arts more accurately, thus having educational value.

Unlike gymnastics which contributes to health and strength, music produces no such physical effects, leaving its purpose as employment of rest.

Ancients considered music a proper employment for freemen and thus allotted it to them as a noble and liberal education.

Homer's poetry testifies to the ancient view that music is noble, depicting gods and heroes enjoying music at feasts and celebrations.

There is a certain education in music that is neither useful nor necessary but rather noble and liberal, fitting for free persons.

Whether music education consists of one or more forms and how it should be taught will be addressed later, though ancient practice supports its inclusion.

Useful subjects should be taught not only for their practical value but also as means to acquire other forms of instruction, broadening intellectual development.

Painting should be taught not merely to prevent mistakes in purchasing, but more importantly to develop judgment of human form beauty.

Being constantly preoccupied with profit is disagreeable to great and freeborn souls, suggesting higher purposes should guide education.

It is evident that boys should first be put under gymnastic masters to form their bodies and teach exercises before abstract learning.

Some states overemphasize wrestling in youth education, which both prevents bodily growth and deforms the body.

The Lacedaemonians made children fierce through painful labor chiefly to inspire courage, though this is neither the only nor principal necessity.

Examining both animals and nations shows that courage does not necessarily follow from cruelty; rather, mild temperaments with lion-like dispositions show true courage.

The Lacedaemonians' former superiority came not from their specific training but from opposing disciplined youth against undisciplined rivals.

Education should emphasize what is fair and honorable rather than fierceness and cruelty, as goodness rather than wild nature inspires noble danger.

Allowing boys to engage intensely in harsh exercises without teaching them necessary virtues actually makes them mean and vile, useful only in one area.

Judgments about education should be based on current observations rather than past events, as the Lacedaemonians now face rivals unlike before.

Gymnastics are useful in youth if practiced gently, avoiding violent diet and painful exercises that prevent bodily growth.

The rarity of Olympic victors winning in both youth and adulthood proves that intense youth training depletes strength needed for maturity.

After allotting three years from puberty to other educational pursuits, youth are then ready to undergo vigorous labor and regulated diet.

The mind and body cannot both labor intensely simultaneously, as bodily labor impedes mental progress and vice versa.

There is disagreement about whether music is merely amusement like sleep or wine, whether it develops virtue like gymnastics, or whether it aids prudence.

Children learning music do not play since learning itself is troublesome, and children should not have perfect leisure as improvement is necessary.

One might suppose boys learn music earnestly for the amusement they will enjoy as formed adults, but this rationale has logical problems.

If the rationale is mere enjoyment, why should children learn rather than enjoy others' playing, as in the Persian and Median courts?

If this reasoning were valid, children should also learn cookery for professional preparation, which is absurd.

If music improves morals, one might argue children should learn from hearing others, like the Lacedaemonians who judge well without learning.

If music is merely for elegant leisure enjoyment, children need not learn it themselves but could benefit from professional performers.

Poets never represent gods singing or playing, and society treats music professionals as mean people, suggesting the practice lacks dignity.

The fundamental question is whether music should be part of education at all, and if so, which of the three proposed purposes is correct.

Music appears to serve all three purposes: play provides necessary relaxation, happiness requires pleasant activities, and music gives joy.

A happy life must be honorable and pleasant, and music is among the most pleasing things, justifying its inclusion in life.

From music's pleasantness and role in happiness, it follows that young persons should be instructed in it.

All harmless pleasures are conducive to life's final end and serve as relaxation from labor that people rarely escape.

People seeking relaxation accept amusement pleasures because they resemble true happiness, which is pursued for itself rather than consequences.

These pleasures are valued not for what follows them but as relief from prior labor and grief, leading people to confuse them with true happiness.

Music should be pursued not only for the higher purposes but also for its practical service during leisure hours from labor.

Beyond providing common pleasure, one should investigate whether music also tends to improve manners and the soul.

Whether music improves manners can be known by observing if it influences dispositions, which evidence suggests it does.

The music at Olympic games demonstrably fills souls with enthusiasm, an affection strongly agitating disposition.

All who hear imitations sympathize with them, even without rhythm or verse, showing music's power to move the soul.

Since virtue consists in rightly enjoying and hating, and music is pleasant, people should learn to judge right and rejoice in noble manners.

Anger, mildness, courage, modesty and other dispositions are naturally imitated by music and poetry, making them powerful teaching tools.

Hearing music and poetry alters the very soul, with listeners experiencing nearly the same affections as if experiencing the original objects.

If a person is pleased by a statue for its beauty, they would also be pleased by the original it represents.

Touch and taste have no imitation of manners, sight has very little, as they merely represent things in ways common to all.

Statues and paintings show body affected by passion rather than properly imitating manners, though the difference is small.

Rather than viewing Pauso's paintings, youth should view works by Polygnotus and similar artists who express manners.

Unlike visual arts, poetry and music directly imitate manners, as evidenced by different harmonies affecting listeners' dispositions.

Various harmonies differ significantly in their effects: Lydian contracts the soul with grief, some soften it, while Doric provides firmness and Phrygian inspires enthusiasm.

Rhythms also vary in their effects, some fixing disposition while others change it, with varying degrees of intensity.

From all this discussion, it is clear that music has substantial influence over mental disposition and can fascinate minds in various ways.

Given music's proven influence on disposition, it is evident that youth should be instructed in it.

Music education is particularly adapted to youth because they naturally resist disagreeable things, while music is naturally agreeable.

There is a natural connection between harmony and rhythm, and some wise men held the soul itself to be harmony or to contain it.

The chapter now determines whether children should be taught to sing and play instruments, a matter previously left undetermined.

It is important for those learning an art to practice it themselves, as it is difficult to judge what one cannot do.

Children need occupations to amuse them and prevent destructive behavior, as they cannot sit still at their age.

The rattle of Archytas, used to occupy infants, suggests instruction should serve as a similar occupation for growing children.

From this it is evident that children should be taught music as a practice, not merely as passive enjoyment.

It is not difficult to determine what is becoming or unbecoming for children's age, and responding to objections about music as mean.

Children should practice music when young so they can become judges of the art later, continuing to appreciate excellence without practicing.

One can answer the criticism that music is mean by considering what forms and instruments should be taught to free youth.

In some cases, certain music can produce negative effects, so learning should not prevent mature pursuits or weaken bodies for war.

Music learning should never hinder the business of maturity or render bodies unfit for war and state, but should be practiced young and judged old.

Children should not be taught disputed technical portions of music or virtuosic performance pieces from public games.

Children should learn enough music to receive proper pleasure from excellent music and rhythms, not the common pleasure that even slaves feel.

What instruments to teach is evident: youth should learn instruments that make them good judges rather than technically complex ones.

Youth should not be taught the flute or other instruments requiring great skill, as the flute inflames passions and prevents speech.

The flute is not a moral instrument but rather one that inflames passions, suitable for animation but not instruction.

The flute prevents the player from speaking, which is contrary to educational requirements, so forefathers rightly forbade it to youth.

As Greeks became wealthier and gained leisure, they increasingly pursued virtue in all forms and collected the whole of education.

After initially adopting the flute as an educational instrument, Greeks later rejected it as dangerous to virtue development.

At Sparta the choregus himself played flute, and at Athens nearly every freeman played it until rejecting it as dangerous.

The Ancients rejected many instruments like the dulcimer and lyre as failing to promote virtue or as excessive in their effects.

The mythical account of Minerva rejecting the flute for deforming faces has rational basis, as the flute contributes nothing to mental improvement.

Minerva likely rejected the flute because it deforms the face of the player, as well as failing to improve the mind.

As Minerva represents the inventress of arts and sciences, her rejection of the flute symbolizes that it contributes nothing to mental development.

Children should not be taught to play instruments like professional competitors, whose performances aim to please audiences rather than improve virtue.

Professional music competitors aim to gratify audiences rather than improve themselves, making their practice unfit for freemen.

Professional musicianship is considered unfit for freemen because it typically gives people sordid notions as they respond to audience demands.

Professional musicians typically have bad ends in view, resulting in sordid concerns as they modify their performances to audience motions.

The chapter now inquires which types of harmony and rhythm should be used in education and whether special directions apply.

All music consists of melody and rhythm, and one must understand the power each has in education.

The question remains whether to prefer music emphasizing melody or rhythm, though the chapter defers to specialists.

Given extensive prior scholarly work on music, the chapter refers readers to specialists rather than descending to particulars.

Philosophers divide melody into moral, practical, and that which fills the mind with enthusiasm, each corresponding to particular harmonies.

Music should not serve only one purpose but many: instruction, soul purification, and agreeable leisure time relaxation.

All harmonies should be used but not for all purposes, with moral harmonies preferred for education.

For public performance when others play, more active and enthusiastic harmonies please the ear appropriately.

Passions like pity, fear, and enthusiasm exist in all souls but to different degrees, stronger in some than others.

Those overwhelmed by strong passions can be treated with sacred music to soothe their minds, achieving sedation and composure.

The compassionate, fearful, and all those subdued by passions can achieve the same healing cure through appropriate music.

All music with the power of soul purification affords harmless pleasure to humans, making it valuable.

Such purifying harmony and music should be what theatrical performers exhibit, though audiences are mixed in their nature.

Theatre audiences include both free educated persons and rude, mean mechanics and hired servants, creating diverse taste.

Some music and spectacles must be provided to please and soothe the rude masses whose minds are perverted from natural habits.

What is according to nature gives pleasure to everyone, so theatrical performers should be allowed to use such natural music.

In education, ethic melody and ethic harmony should be used, particularly the Doric or other approved harmonies.

Socrates in Plato's Republic incorrectly permits Phrygian alongside Doric music, as Phrygian is pathetic and raises the mind like the flute.

Phrygian music has the same stimulating power in harmony as the flute does among instruments, both being pathetic.

Poets chiefly use the flute and Phrygian harmony for violent emotions, demonstrating their emotional power.

Phrygian harmony is most suitable for describing violent emotional subjects in poetry.

It is universally agreed that dithyrambic meter is Phrygian in nature.

Philoxenus, attempting to compose dithyrambic music in Doric harmony, naturally reverted to Phrygian as most fitting.

Everyone agrees the Doric music is most serious and fittest to inspire courage, distinguishing it from Phrygian.

The middle is always commended as between two extremes, and Doric has this relation to other harmonies.

It is evident that Doric harmony is what youth should be instructed in, given its serious and courageous qualities.

Two things matter in education: what is possible and what is proper, with each person endeavoring to attain both.

Proper education is regulated by different life stages, as what is fitting varies by age.

Elderly people are not suited to high-note pieces, as nature directs them toward gentle pieces requiring less vocal strength.

Music specialists rightly criticize Socrates for forbidding youth gentle harmony, as if it would make them drunk like wine.

Gentle harmony renders people moderate rather than languid, unlike wine which makes people bacchanalian.

Gentle harmonies are what should occupy elderly people, being suited to their natural capacities.

The Lydian harmony appears to be the most elegant and instructive for childhood, fitting the appropriate age.

Moderation, possibility, and decorum are the three boundaries that should guide all educational decisions and practices.