In Book VII of Plato’s famous work Republic (written 375 BC), Plato speaks of an allegory to his older brother Glaucon, and the allegory is known today as Plato’s Cave. One purpose of the exercise is to show the difference between what perceived reality is and how it differes from true reality. It also examines the role of the philosopher in all of this. Plato was well-respected by the early (apostolic) church fathers. We call the first generation of Christian leaders “apostolic” because some (Clement, Polycarp, Justin Martyr) knew one or more of the apostles personally.

In this post, I want to use Plato’s metaphor to show the difference between what the Bible calls the natural man and contrast this person and his–or her–state to a person who has become a Christian. I think the best way is to provide Plato’s original text along with a commentary afterwards. The text comes from the Gutenberg translation of Republic.

BOOK VII.

And now, I said, let me show in a figure how far our nature is enlightened or unenlightened:—Behold! human beings living in a underground den, which has a mouth open towards the light and reaching all along the den; here they have been from their childhood, and have their legs and necks chained so that they cannot move, and can only see before them, being prevented by the chains from turning round their heads. Above and behind them a fire is blazing at a distance, and between the fire and the prisoners there is a raised way; and you will see, if you look, a low wall built along the way, like the screen which marionette players have in front of them, over which they show the puppets.

I see.

And do you see, I said, men passing along the wall carrying all sorts of vessels, and statues and figures of animals made of wood and stone and various materials, which appear over the wall? Some of them are talking, others silent.

You have shown me a strange image, and they are strange prisoners.

Like ourselves, I replied; and they see only their own shadows, or the shadows of one another, which the fire throws on the opposite wall of the cave?

True, he said; how could they see anything but the shadows if they were never allowed to move their heads?

And of the objects which are being carried in like manner they would only see the shadows?

Yes, he said.

And if they were able to converse with one another, would they not suppose that they were naming what was actually before them?

Very true.

And suppose further that the prison had an echo which came from the other side, would they not be sure to fancy when one of the passers-by spoke that the voice which they heard came from the passing shadow?

No question, he replied.

To them, I said, the truth would be literally nothing but the shadows of the images.

That is certain.

And now look again, and see what will naturally follow if the prisoners are released and disabused of their error. At first, when any of them is liberated and compelled suddenly to stand up and turn his neck round and walk and look towards the light, he will suffer sharp pains; the glare will distress him, and he will be unable to see the realities of which in his former state he had seen the shadows; and then conceive some one saying to him, that what he saw before was an illusion, but that now, when he is approaching nearer to being and his eye is turned towards more real existence, he has a clearer vision,—what will be his reply? And you may further imagine that his instructor is pointing to the objects as they pass and requiring him to name them,—will he not be perplexed? Will he not fancy that the shadows which he formerly saw are truer than the objects which are now shown to him?

Far truer.

And if he is compelled to look straight at the light, will he not have a pain in his eyes which will make him turn away to take refuge in the objects of vision which he can see, and which he will conceive to be in reality clearer than the things which are now being shown to him?

True, he said.

And suppose once more, that he is reluctantly dragged up a steep and rugged ascent, and held fast until he is forced into the presence of the sun himself, is he not likely to be pained and irritated? When he approaches the light his eyes will be dazzled, and he will not be able to see anything at all of what are now called realities.

Not all in a moment, he said.

He will require to grow accustomed to the sight of the upper world. And first he will see the shadows best, next the reflections of men and other objects in the water, and then the objects themselves; then he will gaze upon the light of the moon and the stars and the spangled heaven; and he will see the sky and the stars by night better than the sun or the light of the sun by day?

Certainly.

Last of all he will be able to see the sun, and not mere reflections of him in the water, but he will see him in his own proper place, and not in another; and he will contemplate him as he is.

Certainly.

He will then proceed to argue that this is he who gives the season and the years, and is the guardian of all that is in the visible world, and in a certain way the cause of all things which he and his fellows have been accustomed to behold?

Clearly, he said, he would first see the sun and then reason about him.

And when he remembered his old habitation, and the wisdom of the den and his fellow-prisoners, do you not suppose that he would felicitate himself on the change, and pity them?

Certainly, he would.

And if they were in the habit of conferring honours among themselves on those who were quickest to observe the passing shadows and to remark which of them went before, and which followed after, and which were together; and who were therefore best able to draw conclusions as to the future, do you think that he would care for such honours and glories, or envy the possessors of them? Would he not say with Homer,

‘Better to be the poor servant of a poor master,’

and to endure anything, rather than think as they do and live after their manner?

Yes, he said, I think that he would rather suffer anything than entertain these false notions and live in this miserable manner.“

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The commentary

And now, I said, let me show in a figure how far our nature is enlightened or unenlightened:—Behold! human beings living in a underground den, which has a mouth open towards the light and reaching all along the den; here they have been from their childhood, and have their legs and necks chained so that they cannot move, and can only see before them, being prevented by the chains from turning round their heads. Above and behind them a fire is blazing at a distance, and between the fire and the prisoners there is a raised way; and you will see, if you look, a low wall built along the way, like the screen which marionette players have in front of them, over which they show the puppets.

Here Plato sets the stage for the exercise (see illustration below.) Notice that he speaks of the nature of a person. He also speaks of people in chains. These chains are not necessarily iron, though Plato probably intended that they were. Today, we know that people can have chains of gold that enslave them. Sex, appetites, alcohol, hate, unforgiveness, unhappy marriages and other issues can enslave people as well. The most recent street drugs Xylazine (“Philly dope” or the “Zombie drug”) might be a good example of bondage, or cannabinoids such as “Spice” because it “freezes” people in different positions like statues, creating an erie feeling when you walk among them on a metropolitan street today. The addiction to meth or crack can be so great that a mother might sell her baby for a fix. But in any event, the prisoners in Plato’s Cave have greatly reduced freedom, perceptual abilities and expectations. This is their so-called life.

Continuing, Plato says: “

And do you see, I said, men passing along the wall carrying all sorts of vessels, and statues and figures of animals made of wood and stone and various materials, which appear over the wall? Some of them are talking, others silent.

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You have shown me a strange image, and they are strange prisoners.

Like ourselves, I replied; and they see only their own shadows, or the shadows of one another, which the fire throws on the opposite wall of the cave?

True, he said; how could they see anything but the shadows if they were never allowed to move their heads?

And of the objects which are being carried in like manner they would only see the shadows?

People have spirits, but that does not necessarily make them spiritual people. They see themselves as perhaps no better, but certainly no worse than other people. They are born, grow old, and die. They don’t think twice about the shadows on the wall because that is the only reality that they know. In a strange way they find the shadows conforting. But some people in chains are curious, others restless, some hear voices calling to them from a distance and they seek something more. They find a way to break free from their chains and they stagger toward the light at the mouth of the cave against the advice and to the alarm of those who remain behind. Once there, they perceive the world in “technicolor,” but the light is painful to these creature of the dark, at least at first until their irises and pupils adjust. As Plato says:

He will require to grow accustomed to the sight of the upper world. And first he will see the shadows best, next the reflections of men and other objects in the water, and then the objects themselves; then he will gaze upon the light of the moon and the stars and the spangled heaven; and he will see the sky and the stars by night better than the sun or the light of the sun by day?

The freed prisoners slowly start to process all of the new data that their senses perceive. Different colors. Green grass, blue skies. Stars at night.

Then, they think of their friends and family still in bondage and all that they are missing sitting in that cave, and they try to “rescue” them. At this point, I have ended the narrative, but Plato says that the prisoners’ friends don’t think they need rescuing. They might say: “Are you suddenly better than us?” “What gives you the right to say we’re prisoners?” “Define ‘free.'” “How do you know that what you experienced is better than this?”

American poet Emily Dickinson once wrote:

“Had I not seen the Sun
I could have borne the shade
But Light a newer Wilderness
My Wilderness has made—“

In other words, we’re happy with bologna until we have our first taste of steak.

Perhaps a one-time prisoner is able to convince a few friends to join him in the outside world, but we’re told that some refuse to leave, because life in a cold, dark, damp cave is the only existence they know. We know that when the Titanic was sinking after hitting an iceberg, some passengers preferred to remain onboard as the ship sank. Perhaps they were in denial? Or just plain resigned.

There are many realities in life that we may be oblivious to. For example, babies are not born with depth perception. We need to develop our eyes and tune our brains during the first year of life. Nor can we as third dimension adults perceive the entirety of the fourth dimension. There are also spiritual realities. II Kings, chapter six, verses 15-17 of the Old Testament describes the fright of the prophet Elisha’s servant one morning as he sees a hostile army that has surrounded them during the night. However, Elisha is not perturbed:

“When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. ‘Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?’ the servant asked.

‘Don’t be afraid,’ the prophet answered. ‘Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.’

And Elisha prayed, ‘Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.’ Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

In the wilderness of Sinai some Jews wanted to return to slavery in Egypt rather than “tough it out” in the desert. Yet, the desert was only a transition to the Promised Land.

In Acts, chapter 26, God says to St. Paul on the occasion of his conversion:

“I am sending you to . . . open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.”

Again, darkness to light. But not everyone heeds the message. To some of his companions that day, what God said to Paul was just thunder or noise. But the message was only meant for one searching soul to hear. Many years ago, there was an episode on the New Outer Limits series called “Music of the Spheres.” If I remember it correctly, there is a certain signal pattern of noise spreading around the youth of our planet. To some people, it is mesmerizing and they can’t get enough of it. They want to tune in 24/7. Others (particularly parents) are worried that this screeching might be harmful; it might cause deafness or dementia. The loyal listeners over time start to change pyschologically and physically as well, and this increases the angst among the non-listening public. A signal from the stars! Fundamentally changing humanity! It must be evil!

The “rub” here is in the last few minutes of the episode. Scientists discover that our Sun is about to become super active or something, and the changes that the music produced in people changed them in such a way that would allow them to survive the increased radiation or whatever would occur. Those who refused to listen to it would perish, because apart from the Message, they could not change themselves.

In a way, this is symbolic of the Gospel. It is a message from the heavens, the music of the spheres. Some people, like those that left Plato’s cave for a better world outside were saved, they were changed, transformed like the youth were and some adults were in The Outer Limits episode were. Those who refused to consider their plight, and take the risk of leaving the only place they ever knew eventually died in that dark, dank cavern. As Plato predicted. As we see now.

This post is an invitation for you to cast off your chains, whatever they might be. Let Jesus guide you out of the darkness and into the light. See what you’ve been missing all of these years. Here is a sort of roadmap for you.

You might ask what right I have to meddle in your life? Do I believe I am better than you, or have some monopoly on the truth? Plato, based on his allegory, might readily believe I have a requirement to share my experiences with others. Because he is so civic minded, Plato believed that the prisoner freed from bondage has a responsibility to share his experiences with his companions and encourage them to free themselves likewise from their chains. He is not apologetical in the least.