[407b]
and life is intolerable if he does not, or whether
we are to suppose that while valetudinarianism is a hindrance to
single-minded attention to carpentry and the other arts, it is no obstacle
to the fulfilment of Phocylides' exhortation.” “Yes,
indeed,” he said, “this excessive care for the body that
goes beyond simple gymnastics1 is the greatest of
all obstacles. For it is troublesome in household affairs and military
service and sedentary offices in the city.” “And, chief
of all, it puts difficulties in the way of any kind of instruction,
thinking, or private meditation,
1 In the Gorgias(464 B)ἰατρική is recognized as co-ordinate in the care of the body with γυμναστική. Here, whatever goes beyond the training and care that will preserve the health of a normal body is austerely rejected. Cf. 410 B.
Plato. Plato in Twelve Volumes, Vols. 5 & 6 translated by Paul Shorey. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1969.
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