Charmides for a day

I would give anything to go back to ancient Greece and hear Socrates challenging his interlocutors in their dialectic disputes. If I could be someone else for a day, I would choose to be one of Socrates’ youthful disciples. I would be Charmides.

Platonic dialogues

One of the greatest literary experiences I had was reading all of Plato’s dialogues. Firstly, even with a minimal set of characters, he is capable of keeping you engaged. You want to get to the bottom of the philosophical questions which they are investigating. Secondly, they are not dry of emotions. The dialogues about the trial, the last days, and death of Socrates, for example, are profoundly poignant and touching. Thirdly, they treat homoerotic relationships as something normal, as it should be. It was refreshing reading those as a young gay man and feeling myself represented in them.

But at that moment, when I saw him coming in, I confess that I was quite astonished at his beauty and stature; all the world seemed to be enamoured of him; amazement and confusion reigned when he entered; and a troop of lovers followed him. 

…

Chaerephon called me and said: What do you think of him, Socrates? Has he not a beautiful face?

Most beautiful, I said.

But you would think nothing of his face, he replied, if you could see his naked form: he is absolutely perfect.

And to this they all agreed.

Charmides by Plato, translated by Benjamin Jowett.

The meaning of self-control

Charmides was an athlete, a wrestler. He was extremely disciplined, used to wake up early, exercise every day, eat healthy. His body was his temple. And he was incredibly handsome, physically attractive, both in face and body. Socrates had a crush on him. This is a fitting starting point in a discussion about restraint. Even for Socrates it was hard to control himself when Charmides was there. When teased about the youth’s beauty though, Socrates makes the right decision. He proposes to strip naked Charmides’ soul instead of his body. He intellectually addresses the boy. They start to investigate the meaning of self-control.

Leaving the discussion open

Charmides was the perfect embodiment of this concept: discipline, restraint, or temperance. Everyone that saw him, knew what it meant. But one thing that quickly becomes clear is that putting in words an abstract concept is not something so easy. After Charmides fails to give an appropriate answer, Socrates turns to Critias, his cousin and mentor. They touch several important points, but the dialogue ends without getting to a concrete definition. This was common on Plato’s earlier works. He was more interested in the discussion itself than in giving final answers.

I know I can’t go back in time, or even be someone else for a day. What is a shame. Something that I can do, though, I can use my imagination and live other lives through countless books. I certainly did that reading Plato’s dialogues. And will do it again many more times.