Benjamin Jowett (1817–1893)

Critias is a short Platonic dialogue. Actually, only the beginning portion of the dialogue survives - the dialogue breaks off at the point where Critias, the main speaker, describes in more depth ancient Athens and the lost island of Atlantis.

Nothing like a lost, ancient civilization to spark the creative imagination – scores of books have been written and films made of the lost world of Atlantis. I find this dialogue particularly enjoyable since Plato could really set his imagination free, embellishing on a topic near and dear to his heart: the ideal city. Below are several direct quotes from the dialogue along with my comments:

Here is a snippet of the description given by Critias of "the good old days," that is, of ancient Athenian society, many generations prior to the age of Plato: “On the north side they had dwellings in common and had erected halls for dining in winter, and had all the buildings which they needed for their common life, besides temples, but there was no adorning of them with gold and silver, for they made no use of these for any purpose; they took a middle course between meanness and ostentation, and built modest houses in which they and their children's children grew old, and they handed them down to others who were like themselves, always the same." ---------- The prototypical conservative world-view: once society attains a prosperous equilibrium and citizens reach a point of living the ideal life of moderation and reason, no one is allowed to rock the boat. Society must remain forever the same. Any poets or visionary artists who would like to shake things up are welcome to leave.

A bit further on in the dialogue Critias notes: “Such were the ancient Athenians, and after this manner they righteously administered their own land and the rest of Hellas; they were renowned all over Europe and Asia for the beauty of their persons and for the many virtues of their souls, and of all men who lived in those days they were the most illustrious.” ---------- So, in addition to spiritual virtues, Plato values a certain kind of beauty - not the beauty of fine cloths, jewelry and luxury, but what we can take to mean physical health and well-proportioned harmony, a physical bearing radiating tranquility and joy. So sorry Madison Avenue with all your glitz and glamor, according to Plato, you just don’t cut it.

Turning to Atlantis, Critias says: “Some of their buildings were simple, but in others they put together different stones, varying the color to please the eye, and to be a natural source of delight.” ---------- Plato emphasizes how the architecture and physical appearance of the ideal city is one of beauty. And with all the beautiful buildings, people will naturally be delighted and will take pride and experience joy in the attractiveness of their city. Darn, this could serve as a lesson for city planners and land developers so focused on "usefulness" and the supreme priority of making a profit. As contemporary philosopher Roger Scruton noted, no buildings become useless more quickly than those built to be merely useful.

As part of the detail of Atlantis, Critias notes: “Of the water which ran off they carried some to the grove of Poseidon, where were growing all manner of trees of wonderful height and beauty, owing to the excellence of the soil, while the remainder was conveyed by aqueducts along the bridges to the outer circles; and there were many temples built and dedicated to many gods; also gardens and places of exercise . “ ---------- Ah, the land of milk and honey. Critias goes on to describe the city as having many planted trees and surrounded by mountains celebrated for their number and size and beauty. Such an emphasis on people living surrounded by natural beauty. Again, a lesson for city and suburban planners: there are severe consequences if every tree in sight is cut down. Additionally, treed parks are a great place to exercise.

We are told the population of Atlantis were descendants of the god Poseidon. And toward the end of the surviving portion of dialogue, Critias observes: “But when the divine portion began to fade away, and became diluted too often and too much with the mortal admixture, and the human nature got the upper hand, they then, being unable to bear their fortune, behaved unseemly, and to him who had an eye to see grew visibly debased, for they were losing the fairest of their precious gifts; but to those who had no eye to see the true happiness, they appeared glorious and blessed at the very time when they were full of avarice and unrighteous power. ---------- Here is yet again another lesson for our modern world: when our divine nature begins to fade and our "human" nature takes over, watch out. In other words, using our twenty-first century language, when we no longer draw strength from our spiritual and creative depths but live exclusively on the superficial surface, our desires and ceaseless cravings can quickly spiral out of control.

… (més)

Critias is a short Platonic dialogue (actually, we only have the beginning portion of the dialogue; after a certain point the dialogue breaks off) where Critias, the main speaker, describes ancient Athens and the lost island of Atlantis. Nothing like a lost, ancient civilization to spark the creative imagination – scores of books have been written and films made of the lost world of Atlantis. I find this dialogue particularly enjoyable since Plato could really set his imagination free, embellishing on a topic near and dear to his heart: the ideal city. Below are several quotes with my comments.

Here is a snippet of the description given by Critias of ‘the good old days’, that is, of ancient Athenian society, many generations prior to the age of Plato: “On the north side they had dwellings in common and had erected halls for dining in winter, and had all the buildings which they needed for their common life, besides temples, but there was no adorning of them with gold and silver, for they made no use of these for any purpose; they took a middle course between meanness and ostentation, and built modest houses in which they and their children's children grew old, and they handed them down to others who were like themselves, always the same. ---------- The prototypical conservative world-view: once society attains a prosperous equilibrium and citizens reach a point of living the ideal life of moderation and reason, no one rocks the boat, society remains ‘always the same’; no poets or visionary artists to shake things up, thank you.

And further on Critias notes: “Such were the ancient Athenians, and after this manner they righteously administered their own land and the rest of Hellas; they were renowned all over Europe and Asia for the beauty of their persons and for the many virtues of their souls, and of all men who lived in those days they were the most illustrious.” ---------- So, in addition to spiritual virtues, Plato values a kind of beauty after all; not the beauty of fine cloths, jewelry and luxury, but what I take to mean physical health and well-proportioned harmony, a physical bearing radiating tranquility and joy. Sorry, Madison Avenue – according to Plato, you just don’t cut it.

Turning to Atlantis, Critias says: “Some of their buildings were simple, but in others they put together different stones, varying the color to please the eye, and to be a natural source of delight.” ---------- Plato emphasizes how the architecture and physical appearance of the ideal city is one of beauty And with all the beautiful buildings, people will naturally be delighted and will take pride and experience joy in the attractiveness of their city. Darn, this could serve as a lesson for city planners and land developers so focused on ‘usefulness’ and the priority of making a buck. As Roger Scruton noted, no buildings more quickly become useless than those built to be merely useful.

As part of the detail of Atlantis, Critias notes: “Of the water which ran off they carried some to the grove of Poseidon, where were growing all manner of trees of wonderful height and beauty, owing to the excellence of the soil, while the remainder was conveyed by aqueducts along the bridges to the outer circles; and there were many temples built and dedicated to many gods; also gardens and places of exercise . . . “. Ah, the land of milk and honey. At other points, Critias describes the city having many planted trees and being surrounded by mountains ‘celebrated for their number and size and beauty’. ---------- Such an emphasis on people living surrounded by natural beauty. Again, a lesson for city and suburban planners: there are consequences if every tree in sight is cut down. Additionally, treed parks are a great place to exercise.

We are told the population of Atlantis were descendants of the god Poseidon. And toward the end of the surviving portion of dialogue, Critias observes: “. . . but when the divine portion began to fade away, and became diluted too often and too much with the mortal admixture, and the human nature got the upper hand, they then, being unable to bear their fortune, behaved unseemly, and to him who had an eye to see grew visibly debased, for they were losing the fairest of their precious gifts; but to those who had no eye to see the true happiness, they appeared glorious and blessed at the very time when they were full of avarice and unrighteous power. ---------- There could be a lesson here for our modern world: when our divine nature begins to fade and our ‘human’ nature takes over, watch out. In other words, using our 21st century language, when we no longer live from our spiritual and creative depth but live on the superficial surface, our desires and ceaseless cravings can quickly spiral out of control.… (més)