Chapter 72 Plato's Investigation (1)

And Davers advocated at the conference "to have academic debates, not to beat and scold unreasonably." It even made scholars alert. In the subsequent speeches and seminars, although there were also heated debates, everyone managed to control their emotions.

Of these, the debate between Plato and Democritus' disciple Sain Strian is most striking.

This is because Sain Strian inherited the thought of Democritus, he believed that democracy is the most ideal form of government, and other forms of government are not desirable. It is better to live in a democracy, even in poverty, than to be rich in an autocracy.

But he also emphasized: If a democratic country is to function well, it must pay attention to the role of the rule of law. A well-governed city-state cannot do without perfect laws. Because human nature always seeks advantages and avoids disadvantages, and always tries to seek profits outside the law, so to make people obey the law is to protect the safety and life of citizens. And persuading the people to obey the law is a long-term task of a city-state...

His philosophy is the exact opposite of Plato's political philosophy.

Plato advocates wise men to govern the world, respects the government of kings, hopes to guide the people with the idea of ​​goodness, and cultivate the virtues of citizens is the foundation of governing the country.

He was especially opposed to democracy, believing that democracy indulges people's desires, degenerates the youth of city-states, and cultivates only ambitious and ignorant arrogant people.

In this debate, Plato won. Plato is knowledgeable and quick-witted. He has lived in the city of Athens, which is known to be good at debating for decades, and has long since cultivated a superb debating skills. What Rhian can compare to, what's more, Plato took his home state, Athens, the best democratic city-state in the Mediterranean, as an example. It makes sense to lose.

However, the Dionysian audience, who have implanted the concept of law-abiding in their bones, also deeply agreed with Sain Strian's point of view that "the law is to ensure the good functioning of the city-state", because Dionysian uses strict laws to guarantee stability and unity of the whole kingdom.

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The All-Greek Scholars Conference, which lasted for nearly a month, finally came to an end.

During their time in Turui, well-known scholars from all over the Mediterranean Sea not only exchanged academics, but also tasted the delicacies of Turie under the careful care of the college and the full assistance of Turie City Hall. After soaking in hot springs, watching intense ball games, going to the hospital to check on the health of the body, and enjoying the cultural customs of different races... It can be said that the harvest is full.

And Dionia Academy also collected the speeches of scholars and compiled them into books.

Named "The Selected Works of the All-Greek Scholars Conference", several hundred copies were copied and distributed throughout Greece.

Scholars who earned both fame and fortune returned satisfied. In the following period of time, every time they talked about it with others, they were full of praise for the academic atmosphere of the Kingdom of Dionia and the enthusiasm and wealth of the people. This made more city-state scholars start to ask: Will Dionysus hold the next scholar conference again? When will it be held?

Only when the Pythagoreans returned to Tarantum, there was a quarrel over the speech of Fosterkarda, which led to conflict and ultimately division.

Some left Tarantum and went to the Eastern Mediterranean.

The other group, led by Lysis, stayed in Tarantum, thinking about how to improve the philosophical concepts of the Pythagorean school and integrate these unnatural numbers into it, which is a later story.

Among the well-known scholars, two did not leave.

One is Hippocrates. Although he is already an old man, he was pleasantly surprised by the rich innovations and advanced theories of the Dionysian Medical College in medicine. It was not enough for him to understand, let alone study, in just one month, so he was willing to live in He came down and guarded this treasure mountain until he fully understood and mastered it, and completely solved the many confusions about medicine in his life.

Davers certainly supports this. He was pleased to allow him to stay in the academy, and he was named a teacher of the academy, and even gave him the title of "Honorary Citizen of Dionia" in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the medical cause in his life.

Another scholar is Plato. He asked Davos to fulfill his promise and sent someone to show him the operation of the political system of the Kingdom of Dionia.

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On this day, the court clerk Henepolis led Plato and the two students Spicypus and Aureas to the Kingdom Preliminary Officer Examination Center in the outer city south of Turii.

This center was originally near the Victory Square, but with the expansion of the kingdom's territory, the number of people who needed to be assessed increased, and the venue for the examination could no longer accommodate it, and the land in the inner city of Turien could not be further expanded, so it was relocated to outer city.

Henepolis walked ahead, explaining.

Plato listened carefully, and at the same time looked at this building that was not found in other Greek city-states: it covers a large area, surrounded by thick stone walls more than three meters high, and it is impossible to see the inside from the outside.

A few of them walked around the periphery of the building for a long time before they saw the main entrance in the distance.

Plato noted that the hustle and bustle and bustle of other towns in Turii is almost invisible here. Even if there are many pedestrians passing by, they try to keep quiet and whisper. This may not only be related to a patrol team specially patrolling here, but also related to the quality of the people of Turii. They try not to interfere with people who may be Citizens participating in the assessment in the center.

"There is actually a temple there!" Aureas said in surprise, pointing to the distance.

"That is the Temple of Hades." Henepolis explained with a smile: "There is an advantage to the assessment center being next to it. Hades is very discerning and hates evil. Any citizen who takes part in the exam wants to cheat. Think about it carefully, in the end they will not escape his just punishment."

Plato pondered, in the course of his visits to various departments of Turii these days, he could find traces of Hades' direct and indirect existence. The overseer that the people always restrain their behavior, which has to make him ponder.

When I came to the door of the assessment center, there was a towering statue erected five meters away from the door. This statue was a tall and strong man.

"Why is there a statue of Prometheus here?" Aureas asked curiously.

Henepolis pointed to both sides of the gate and motioned him to look. There were two lines carved there: Those who are willing to be servants of the people and devote themselves to the people, please enter this gate; those who want to use their power to gain wealth and oppress the people, go away Elsewhere; signed Davers.

Thinking back to the story of Prometheus risking being punished by Zeus to steal the fire and benefit mankind, the three masters and apprentices immediately understood the king's intentions.

Plato couldn't help sighing: "This is moral education! Don't look at Dionia's emphasis on the restriction of the law on the people. But in fact, this city is subtly teaching the people to be good at any time and anywhere!"

As soon as Plato finished speaking, the guard came up to greet him and warned: "This is the kingdom's important place, please don't make any noise!"

Plato apologized.

Henepolis showed his waist badge and the warrant written by Davos, and then brought Plato and the others into the courtyard.

There are no pools, fountains, gardens, pavilions and corridors in the vast assessment center. There are no pleasing buildings and scenery, such as pools, fountains, gardens, pavilions. Some equipment is placed in the open space.

Only a hundred meters in front of it stood a temple-like building that was quite imposing, adding a little color to the entire kingdom assessment center.

"We Dionia pass the assessment every year to select public officials. The examination time is concentrated in October, because this time is the slack season, and citizens have enough time to prepare. At the beginning of the year, various departments in various cities The chief official will report the number of public officials needed and vacant for the year to the official management committee of the kingdom according to the situation under his command, and then his majesty will discuss with several adults of the committee to determine the assessment of the kingdom this year. The selected number of public officials in each department and the specific assessment time are then distributed to each department, and the city hall of each city will notify the citizens of the kingdom in the form of an announcement.

Those who are willing to participate will pay attention to the news in this regard and make preparations in advance. Before coming to Turii for the assessment, they must also obtain a certificate from the city hall of the city where they live to confirm their citizenship, and they are law-abiding citizens with good behavior..." Henepolis told them as they walked. Introduction.

"What if someone from the local city hall took a bribe and concealed his illegal record?" Olympus asked. Even in Athens, wealthy citizens of the suburbs bribe the officials of Demo to pay less taxes every year when they pay their taxes. What's more, they are very interested in how a country as vast as the Kingdom of Dionysus can strengthen the supervision of officials in remote areas.

"Even if he deceived the examiner this time, he succeeded in becoming an official of the kingdom. But don't forget that we also have an inspector who monitors the actions of officials, a tribune who can complain at any time when he sees injustice, and who is familiar with Dio. Citizens of the Law of Nia, they can report to the City Hall, to the Senate at any time. At that time, this person will not only be severely punished, but also can be traced for concealing facts for him based on the certificates issued at that time that remain in his file The duty of the officials of the truth.