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Here Adeimantus interposed and said: To these statements, Socrates, no one can offer a reply; but when you talk in this way, a strange feeling passes over the minds of your hearers: They fancy that they are led astray a little at each step in the argument, owing to their own want of skill in asking and answering questions; these littles accumulate, and at the end of the discussion they are found to have sustained a mighty overthrow and all their former notions appear to be turned upside down. And as unskilful players of draughts are at last shut up by their more skilful adversaries and have no piece to move, so they too find themselves shut up at last; for they have nothing to say in this new game of which words are the counters; and yet all the time they are in the right. The observation is suggested to me by what is now occurring. For any one of us might say, that although in words he is not able to meet you at each step of the argument, he sees as a fact that the votaries of philosophy, when they carry on the study, not only in youth as a part of education, but as the pursuit of their maturer years, most of them become strange monsters, not to say utter rogues, and that those who may be considered the best of them are made useless to the world by the very study which you extol.
Well, and do you think that those who say so are wrong?
I cannot tell, he replied; but I should like to know what is your opinion.
Hear my answer; I am of opinion that they are quite right.
Then how can you be justified in saying that cities will not cease from evil until philosophers rule in them, when philosophers are acknowledged by us to be of no use to them?
You ask a question, I said, to which a reply can only be given in a parable.
Yes, Socrates; and that is a way of speaking to which you are not at all accustomed, I suppose.
I perceive, I said, that you are vastly amused at having plunged me into such a hopeless discussion; but now hear the parable, and then you will be still more amused at the meagreness of my imagination: for the manner in which the best men are treated in their own States is so grievous that no single thing on earth is comparable to it; and therefore, if I am to plead their cause, I must have recourse to fiction, and put together a figure made up of many things, like the fabulous unions of goats and stags which are found in pictures. Imagine then a fleet or a ship in which there is a captain who is taller and stronger than any of the crew, but he is a little deaf and has a similar infirmity in sight, and his knowledge of navigation is not much better. The sailors are quarrelling with one another about the steering-- every one is of opinion that he has a right to steer, though he has never learned the art of navigation and cannot tell who taught him or when he learned, and will further assert that it cannot be taught, and they are ready to cut in pieces any one who says the contrary. They throng about the captain, begging and praying him to commit the helm to them; and if at any time they do not prevail, but others are preferred to them, they kill the others or throw them overboard, and having first chained up the noble captain's senses with drink or some narcotic drug, they mutiny and take possession of the ship and make free with the stores; thus, eating and drinking, they proceed on their voyage in such a manner as might be expected of them. Him who is their partisan and cleverly aids them in their plot for getting the ship out of the captain's hands into their own whether by force or persuasion, they compliment with the name of sailor, pilot, able seaman, and abuse the other sort of man, whom they call a good-for-nothing; but that the true pilot must pay attention to the year and seasons and sky and stars and winds, and whatever else belongs to his art, if he intends to be really qualified for the command of a ship, and that he must and will be the steerer, whether other people like or not-the possibility of this union of authority with the steerer's art has never seriously entered into their thoughts or been made part of their calling. Now in vessels which are in a state of mutiny and by sailors who are mutineers, how will the true pilot be regarded? Will he not be called by them a prater, a star-gazer, a good-for-nothing?
Of course, said Adeimantus.
Then you will hardly need, I said, to hear the interpretation of the figure, which describes the true philosopher in his relation to the State; for you understand already.
Then suppose you now take this parable to the gentleman who is surprised at finding that philosophers have no honour in their cities; explain it to him and try to convince him that their having honour would be far more extraordinary.
I will.
Say to him, that, in deeming the best votaries of philosophy to be useless to the rest of the world, he is right; but also tell him to attribute their uselessness to the fault of those who will not use them, and not to themselves. The pilot should not humbly beg the sailors to be commanded by him--that is not the order of nature; neither are `the wise to go to the doors of the rich'--the ingenious author of this saying told a lie--but the truth is, that, when a man is ill, whether he be rich or poor, to the physician he must go, and he who wants to be governed, to him who is able to govern. The ruler who is good for anything ought not to beg his subjects to be ruled by him; although the present governors of mankind are of a different stamp; they may be justly compared to the mutinous sailors, and the true helmsmen to those who are called by them good-for-nothings and star-gazers.
Precisely so, he said.
For these reasons, and among men like these, philosophy, the noblest pursuit of all, is not likely to be much esteemed by those of the opposite faction; not that the greatest and most lasting injury is done to her by her opponents, but by her own professing followers, the same of whom you suppose the accuser to say, that the greater number of them are arrant rogues, and the best are useless; in which opinion I agreed.
And the reason why the good are useless has now been explained?
Then shall we proceed to show that the corruption of the majority is also unavoidable, and that this is not to be laid to the charge of philosophy any more than the other?
By all means.
And let us ask and answer in turn, first going back to the description of the gentle and noble nature. Truth, as you will remember, was his leader, whom he followed always and in all things; failing in this, he was an impostor, and had no part or lot in true philosophy.
Yes, that was said.
Well, and is not this one quality, to mention no others, greatly at variance with present notions of him?
Certainly, he said.
And have we not a right to say in his defence, that the true lover of knowledge is always striving after being--that is his nature; he will not rest in the multiplicity of individuals which is an appearance only, but will go on--the keen edge will not be blunted, nor the force of his desire abate until he have attained the knowledge of the true nature of every essence by a sympathetic and kindred power in the soul, and by that power drawing near and mingling and becoming incorporate with very being, having begotten mind and truth, he will have knowledge and will live and grow truly, and then, and not till then, will he cease from his travail.
Nothing, he said, can be more just than such a description of him.
And will the love of a lie be any part of a philosopher's nature? Will he not utterly hate a lie?
He will.
And when truth is the captain, we cannot suspect any evil of the band which he leads?
Justice and health of mind will be of the company, and temperance will follow after?
True, he replied.
Neither is there any reason why I should again set in array the philosopher's virtues, as you will doubtless remember that courage, magnificence, apprehension, memory, were his natural gifts. And you objected that, although no one could deny what I then said, still, if you leave words and look at facts, the persons who are thus described are some of them manifestly useless, and the greater number utterly depraved; we were then led to enquire into the grounds of these accusations, and have now arrived at the point of asking why are the majority bad, which question of necessity brought us back to the examination and definition of the true philosopher.
And we have next to consider the corruptions of the philosophic nature, why so many are spoiled and so few escape spoiling--I am speaking of those who were said to be useless but not wicked--and, when we have done with them, we will speak of the imitators of philosophy, what manner of men are they who aspire after a profession which is above them and of which they are unworthy, and then, by their manifold inconsistencies, bring upon philosophy, and upon all philosophers, that universal reprobation of which we speak.
What are these corruptions? he said.
I will see if I can explain them to you. Every one will admit that a nature having in perfection all the qualities which we required in a philosopher, is a rare plant which is seldom seen among men.
Rare indeed.
And what numberless and powerful causes tend to destroy these rare natures!
What causes?
In the first place there are their own virtues, their courage, temperance, and the rest of them, every one of which praise worthy qualities (and this is a most singular circumstance) destroys and distracts from philosophy the soul which is the possessor of them.
That is very singular, he replied.
Then there are all the ordinary goods of life--beauty, wealth, strength, rank, and great connections in the State--you understand the sort of things--these also have a corrupting and distracting effect.
I understand; but I should like to know more precisely what you mean about them.
Grasp the truth as a whole, I said, and in the right way; you will then have no difficulty in apprehending the preceding remarks, and they will no longer appear strange to you.
And how am I to do so? he asked.
Why, I said, we know that all germs or seeds, whether vegetable or animal, when they fail to meet with proper nutriment or climate or soil, in proportion to their vigour, are all the more sensitive to the want of a suitable environment, for evil is a greater enemy to what is good than what is not.
Very true.
There is reason in supposing that the finest natures, when under alien conditions, receive more injury than the inferior, because the contrast is greater.
And may we not say, Adeimantus, that the most gifted minds, when they are ill-educated, become pre-eminently bad? Do not great crimes and the spirit of pure evil spring out of a fulness of nature ruined by education rather than from any inferiority, whereas weak natures are scarcely capable of any very great good or very great evil?
There I think that you are right.
And our philosopher follows the same analogy-he is like a plant which, having proper nurture, must necessarily grow and mature into all virtue, but, if sown and planted in an alien soil, becomes the most noxious of all weeds, unless he be preserved by some divine power. Do you really think, as people so often say, that our youth are corrupted by Sophists, or that private teachers of the art corrupt them in any degree worth speaking of? Are not the public who say these things the greatest of all Sophists? And do they not educate to perfection young and old, men and women alike, and fashion them after their own hearts?
When is this accomplished? he said.
When they meet together, and the world sits down at an assembly, or in a court of law, or a theatre, or a camp, or in any other popular resort, and there is a great uproar, and they praise some things which are being said or done, and blame other things, equally exaggerating both, shouting and clapping their hands, and the echo of the rocks and the place in which they are assembled redoubles the sound of the praise or blame--at such a time will not a young man's heart, as they say, leap within him? Will any private training enable him to stand firm against the overwhelming flood of popular opinion? or will he be carried away by the stream? Will he not have the notions of good and evil which the public in general have--he will do as they do, and as they are, such will he be?
Yes, Socrates; necessity will compel him.
And yet, I said, there is a still greater necessity, which has not been mentioned.
What is that?
The gentle force of attainder or confiscation or death which, as you are aware, these new Sophists and educators who are the public, apply when their words are powerless.
Indeed they do; and in right good earnest.
Now what opinion of any other Sophist, or of any private person, can be expected to overcome in such an unequal contest?
None, he replied.
No, indeed, I said, even to make the attempt is a great piece of folly; there neither is, nor has been, nor is ever likely to be, any different type of character which has had no other training in virtue but that which is supplied by public opinion--I speak, my friend, of human virtue only; what is more than human, as the proverb says, is not included: for I would not have you ignorant that, in the present evil state of governments, whatever is saved and comes to good is saved by the power of God, as we may truly say.
I quite assent, he replied.
Then let me crave your assent also to a further observation.
What are you going to say?
Why, that all those mercenary individuals, whom the many call Sophists and whom they deem to be their adversaries, do, in fact, teach nothing but the opinion of the many, that is to say, the opinions of their assemblies; and this is their wisdom. I might compare them to a man who should study the tempers and desires of a mighty strong beast who is fed by him-he would learn how to approach and handle him, also at what times and from what causes he is dangerous or the reverse, and what is the meaning of his several cries, and by what sounds, when another utters them, he is soothed or infuriated; and you may suppose further, that when, by continually attending upon him, he has become perfect in all this, he calls his knowledge wisdom, and makes of it a system or art, which he proceeds to teach, although he has no real notion of what he means by the principles or passions of which he is speaking, but calls this honourable and that dishonourable, or good or evil, or just or unjust, all in accordance with the tastes and tempers of the great brute. Good he pronounces to be that in which the beast delights and evil to be that which he dislikes; and he can give no other account of them except that the just and noble are the necessary, having never himself seen, and having no power of explaining to others the nature of either, or the difference between them, which is immense. By heaven, would not such an one be a rare educator?
Indeed, he would.
And in what way does he who thinks that wisdom is the discernment of the tempers and tastes of the motley multitude, whether in painting or music, or, finally, in politics, differ from him whom I have been describing? For when a man consorts with the many, and exhibits to them his poem or other work of art or the service which he has done the State, making them his judges when he is not obliged, the so-called necessity of Diomede will oblige him to produce whatever they praise. And yet the reasons are utterly ludicrous which they give in confirmation of their own notions about the honourable and good. Did you ever hear any of them which were not?
No, nor am I likely to hear.
You recognise the truth of what I have been saying? Then let me ask you to consider further whether the world will ever be induced to believe in the existence of absolute beauty rather than of the many beautiful, or of the absolute in each kind rather than of the many in each kind?
Certainly not.
Then the world cannot possibly be a philosopher?
And therefore philosophers must inevitably fall under the censure of the world?
They must.
And of individuals who consort with the mob and seek to please them?
That is evident.
Then, do you see any way in which the philosopher can be preserved in his calling to the end? and remember what we were saying of him, that he was to have quickness and memory and courage and magnificence-- these were admitted by us to be the true philosopher's gifts.
Will not such an one from his early childhood be in all things first among all, especially if his bodily endowments are like his mental ones?
Certainly, he said.
And his friends and fellow-citizens will want to use him as he gets older for their own purposes?
No question.
Falling at his feet, they will make requests to him and do him honour and flatter him, because they want to get into their hands now, the power which he will one day possess.
That often happens, he said.
And what will a man such as he be likely to do under such circumstances, especially if he be a citizen of a great city, rich and noble, and a tall proper youth? Will he not be full of boundless aspirations, and fancy himself able to manage the affairs of Hellenes and of barbarians, and having got such notions into his head will he not dilate and elevate himself in the fulness of vain pomp and senseless pride?
To be sure he will.
Now, when he is in this state of mind, if some one gently comes to him and tells him that he is a fool and must get understanding, which can only be got by slaving for it, do you think that, under such adverse circumstances, he will be easily induced to listen?
Far otherwise.
And even if there be some one who through inherent goodness or natural reasonableness has had his eyes opened a little and is humbled and taken captive by philosophy, how will his friends behave when they think that they are likely to lose the advantage which they were hoping to reap from his companionship? Will they not do and say anything to prevent him from yielding to his better nature and to render his teacher powerless, using to this end private intrigues as well as public prosecutions?
There can be no doubt of it.
And how can one who is thus circumstanced ever become a philosopher?
Then were we not right in saying that even the very qualities which make a man a philosopher may, if he be ill-educated, divert him from philosophy, no less than riches and their accompaniments and the other so-called goods of life?
We were quite right.
Thus, my excellent friend, is brought about all that ruin and failure which I have been describing of the natures best adapted to the best of all pursuits; they are natures which we maintain to be rare at any time; this being the class out of which come the men who are the authors of the greatest evil to States and individuals; and also of the greatest good when the tide carries them in that direction; but a small man never was the doer of any great thing either to individuals or to States.
That is most true, he said.
And so philosophy is left desolate, with her marriage rite incomplete: for her own have fallen away and forsaken her, and while they are leading a false and unbecoming life, other unworthy persons, seeing that she has no kinsmen to be her protectors, enter in and dishonour her; and fasten upon her the reproaches which, as you say, her reprovers utter, who affirm of her votaries that some are good for nothing, and that the greater number deserve the severest punishment.
That is certainly what people say.
Yes; and what else would you expect, I said, when you think of the puny creatures who, seeing this land open to them--a land well stocked with fair names and showy titles--like prisoners running out of prison into a sanctuary, take a leap out of their trades into philosophy; those who do so being probably the cleverest hands at their own miserable crafts? For, although philosophy be in this evil case, still there remains a dignity about her which is not to be found in the arts. And many are thus attracted by her whose natures are imperfect and whose souls are maimed and disfigured by their meannesses, as their bodies are by their trades and crafts. Is not this unavoidable?
Are they not exactly like a bald little tinker who has just got out of durance and come into a fortune; he takes a bath and puts on a new coat, and is decked out as a bridegroom going to marry his master's daughter, who is left poor and desolate?
A most exact parallel.
What will be the issue of such marriages? Will they not be vile and bastard?
There can be no question of it.
And when persons who are unworthy of education approach philosophy and make an alliance with her who is a rank above them what sort of ideas and opinions are likely to be generated? Will they not be sophisms captivating to the ear, having nothing in them genuine, or worthy of or akin to true wisdom?
No doubt, he said.
Then, Adeimantus, I said, the worthy disciples of philosophy will be but a small remnant: perchance some noble and well-educated person, detained by exile in her service, who in the absence of corrupting influences remains devoted to her; or some lofty soul born in a mean city, the politics of which he contemns and neglects; and there may be a gifted few who leave the arts, which they justly despise, and come to her;--or peradventure there are some who are restrained by our friend Theages' bridle; for everything in the life of Theages conspired to divert him from philosophy; but ill-health kept him away from politics. My own case of the internal sign is hardly worth mentioning, for rarely, if ever, has such a monitor been given to any other man. Those who belong to this small class have tasted how sweet and blessed a possession philosophy is, and have also seen enough of the madness of the multitude; and they know that no politician is honest, nor is there any champion of justice at whose side they may fight and be saved. Such an one may be compared to a man who has fallen among wild beasts-- he will not join in the wickedness of his fellows, but neither is he able singly to resist all their fierce natures, and therefore seeing that he would be of no use to the State or to his friends, and reflecting that he would have to throw away his life without doing any good either to himself or others, he holds his peace, and goes his own way. He is like one who, in the storm of dust and sleet which the driving wind hurries along, retires under the shelter of a wall; and seeing the rest of mankind full of wickedness, he is content, if only he can live his own life and be pure from evil or unrighteousness, and depart in peace and good-will, with bright hopes.
Yes, he said, and he will have done a great work before he departs.
A great work--yes; but not the greatest, unless he find a State suitable to him; for in a State which is suitable to him, he will have a larger growth and be the saviour of his country, as well as of himself.
The causes why philosophy is in such an evil name have now been sufficiently explained: the injustice of the charges against her has been shown-is there anything more which you wish to say?
Nothing more on that subject, he replied; but I should like to know which of the governments now existing is in your opinion the one adapted to her.
Not any of them, I said; and that is precisely the accusation which I bring against them--not one of them is worthy of the philosophic nature, and hence that nature is warped and estranged;--as the exotic seed which is sown in a foreign land becomes denaturalized, and is wont to be overpowered and to lose itself in the new soil, even so this growth of philosophy, instead of persisting, degenerates and receives another character. But if philosophy ever finds in the State that perfection which she herself is, then will be seen that she is in truth divine, and that all other things, whether natures of men or institutions, are but human;--and now, I know that you are going to ask, what that State is.
No, he said; there you are wrong, for I was going to ask another question-- whether it is the State of which. we are the founders and inventors, or some other?
Yes, I replied, ours in most respects; but you may remember my saying before, that some living authority would always be required in the State having the same idea of the constitution which guided you when as legislator you were laying down the laws.
That was said, he replied.
Yes, but not in a satisfactory manner; you frightened us by interposing objections, which certainly showed that the discussion would be long and difficult; and what still remains is the reverse of easy.
What is there remaining?
The question how the study of philosophy may be so ordered as not to be the ruin of the State: All great attempts are attended with risk; `hard is the good,' as men say.
Still, he said, let the point be cleared up, and the enquiry will then be complete.
I shall not be hindered, I said, by any want of will, but, if at all, by a want of power: my zeal you may see for yourselves; and please to remark in what I am about to say how boldly and unhesitatingly I declare that States should pursue philosophy, not as they do now, but in a different spirit.
In what manner?
At present, I said, the students of philosophy are quite young; beginning when they are hardly past childhood, they devote only the time saved from moneymaking and housekeeping to such pursuits; and even those of them who are reputed to have most of the philosophic spirit, when they come within sight of the great difficulty of the subject, I mean dialectic, take themselves off. In after life when invited by some one else, they may, perhaps, go and hear a lecture, and about this they make much ado, for philosophy is not considered by them to be their proper business: at last, when they grow old, in most cases they are extinguished more truly than Heracleitus' sun, inasmuch as they never light up again.
But what ought to be their course?
Just the opposite. In childhood and youth their study, and what philosophy they learn, should be suited to their tender years: during this period while they are growing up towards manhood, the chief and special care should be given to their bodies that they may have them to use in the service of philosophy; as life advances and the intellect begins to mature, let them increase the gymnastics of the soul; but when the strength of our citizens fails and is past civil and military duties, then let them range at will and engage in no serious labour, as we intend them to live happily here, and to crown this life with a similar happiness in another.
How truly in earnest you are, Socrates! he said; I am sure of that; and yet most of your hearers, if I am not mistaken, are likely to be still more earnest in their opposition to you, and will never be convinced; Thrasymachus least of all.
Do not make a quarrel, I said, between Thrasymachus and me, who have recently become friends, although, indeed, we were never enemies; for I shall go on striving to the utmost until I either convert him and other men, or do something which may profit them against the day when they live again, and hold the like discourse in another state of existence.
You are speaking of a time which is not very near.
Rather, I replied, of a time which is as nothing in comparison with eternity. Nevertheless, I do not wonder that the many refuse to believe; for they have never seen that of which we are now speaking realised; they have seen only a conventional imitation of philosophy, consisting of words artificially brought together, not like these of ours having a natural unity. But a human being who in word and work is perfectly moulded, as far as he can be, into the proportion and likeness of virtue--such a man ruling in a city which bears the same image, they have never yet seen, neither one nor many of them--do you think that they ever did?
No indeed.
No, my friend, and they have seldom, if ever, heard free and noble sentiments; such as men utter when they are earnestly and by every means in their power seeking after truth for the sake of knowledge, while they look coldly on the subtleties of controversy, of which the end is opinion and strife, whether they meet with them in the courts of law or in society.
They are strangers, he said, to the words of which you speak.
And this was what we foresaw, and this was the reason why truth forced us to admit, not without fear and hesitation, that neither cities nor States nor individuals will ever attain perfection until the small class of philosophers whom we termed useless but not corrupt are providentially compelled, whether they will or not, to take care of the State, and until a like necessity be laid on the State to obey them; or until kings, or if not kings, the sons of kings or princes, are divinely inspired with a true love of true philosophy. That either or both of these alternatives are impossible, I see no reason to affirm: if they were so, we might indeed be justly ridiculed as dreamers and visionaries. Am I not right?
Quite right.
If then, in the countless ages of the past, or at the present hour in some foreign clime which is far away and beyond our ken, the perfected philosopher is or has been or hereafter shall be compelled by a superior power to have the charge of the State, we are ready to assert to the death, that this our constitution has been, and is--yea, and will be whenever the Muse of Philosophy is queen. There is no impossibility in all this; that there is a difficulty, we acknowledge ourselves.
My opinion agrees with yours, he said.
But do you mean to say that this is not the opinion of the multitude?
I should imagine not, he replied.
O my friend, I said, do not attack the multitude: they will change their minds, if, not in an aggressive spirit, but gently and with the view of soothing them and removing their dislike of over-education, you show them your philosophers as they really are and describe as you were just now doing their character and profession, and then mankind will see that he of whom you are speaking is not such as they supposed--if they view him in this new light, they will surely change their notion of him, and answer in another strain. Who can be at enmity with one who loves them, who that is himself gentle and free from envy will be jealous of one in whom there is no jealousy? Nay, let me answer for you, that in a few this harsh temper may be found but not in the majority of mankind.
I quite agree with you, he said.
And do you not also think, as I do, that the harsh feeling which the many entertain towards philosophy originates in the pretenders, who rush in uninvited, and are always abusing them, and finding fault with them, who make persons instead of things the theme of their conversation? and nothing can be more unbecoming in philosophers than this.
It is most unbecoming.
For he, Adeimantus, whose mind is fixed upon true being, has surely no time to look down upon the affairs of earth, or to be filled with malice and envy, contending against men; his eye is ever directed towards things fixed and immutable, which he sees neither injuring nor injured by one another, but all in order moving according to reason; these he imitates, and to these he will, as far as he can, conform himself. Can a man help imitating that with which he holds reverential converse?
And the philosopher holding converse with the divine order, becomes orderly and divine, as far as the nature of man allows; but like every one else, he will suffer from detraction.
Of course.
And if a necessity be laid upon him of fashioning, not only himself, but human nature generally, whether in States or individuals, into that which he beholds elsewhere, will he, think you, be an unskilful artificer of justice, temperance, and every civil virtue?
Anything but unskilful.
And if the world perceives that what we are saying about him is the truth, will they be angry with philosophy? Will they disbelieve us, when we tell them that no State can be happy which is not designed by artists who imitate the heavenly pattern?
They will not be angry if they understand, he said. But how will they draw out the plan of which you are speaking?
They will begin by taking the State and the manners of men, from which, as from a tablet, they will rub out the picture, and leave a clean surface. This is no easy task. But whether easy or not, herein will lie the difference between them and every other legislator,-- they will have nothing to do either with individual or State, and will inscribe no laws, until they have either found, or themselves made, a clean surface.
They will be very right, he said.
Having effected this, they will proceed to trace an outline of the constitution?
No doubt.
And when they are filling in the work, as I conceive, they will often turn their eyes upwards and downwards: I mean that they will first look at absolute justice and beauty and temperance, and again at the human copy; and will mingle and temper the various elements of life into the image of a man; and thus they will conceive according to that other image, which, when existing among men, Homer calls the form and likeness of God.
Very true, he said.
And one feature they will erase, and another they will put in, they have made the ways of men, as far as possible, agreeable to the ways of God?
Indeed, he said, in no way could they make a fairer picture.
And now, I said, are we beginning to persuade those whom you described as rushing at us with might and main, that the painter of constitutions is such an one as we are praising; at whom they were so very indignant because to his hands we committed the State; and are they growing a little calmer at what they have just heard?
Much calmer, if there is any sense in them.
Why, where can they still find any ground for objection? Will they doubt that the philosopher is a lover of truth and being?
They would not be so unreasonable.
Or that his nature, being such as we have delineated, is akin to the highest good?
Neither can they doubt this.
But again, will they tell us that such a nature, placed under favourable circumstances, will not be perfectly good and wise if any ever was? Or will they prefer those whom we have rejected?
Surely not.
Then will they still be angry at our saying, that, until philosophers bear rule, States and individuals will have no rest from evil, nor will this our imaginary State ever be realised?
I think that they will be less angry.
Shall we assume that they are not only less angry but quite gentle, and that they have been converted and for very shame, if for no other reason, cannot refuse to come to terms?
By all means, he said.
Then let us suppose that the reconciliation has been effected. Will any one deny the other point, that there may be sons of kings or princes who are by nature philosophers?
Surely no man, he said.
And when they have come into being will any one say that they must of necessity be destroyed; that they can hardly be saved is not denied even by us; but that in the whole course of ages no single one of them can escape--who will venture to affirm this?
Who indeed!
But, said I, one is enough; let there be one man who has a city obedient to his will, and he might bring into existence the ideal polity about which the world is so incredulous.
Yes, one is enough.
The ruler may impose the laws and institutions which we have been describing, and the citizens may possibly be willing to obey them?
And that others should approve of what we approve, is no miracle or impossibility?
I think not.
But we have sufficiently shown, in what has preceded, that all this, if only possible, is assuredly for the best.
We have.
And now we say not only that our laws, if they could be enacted, would be for the best, but also that the enactment of them, though difficult, is not impossible.
Very good.
And so with pain and toil we have reached the end of one subject, but more remains to be discussed;--how and by what studies and pursuits will the saviours of the constitution be created, and at what ages are they to apply themselves to their several studies?
I omitted the troublesome business of the possession of women, and the procreation of children, and the appointment of the rulers, because I knew that the perfect State would be eyed with jealousy and was difficult of attainment; but that piece of cleverness was not of much service to me, for I had to discuss them all the same. The women and children are now disposed of, but the other question of the rulers must be investigated from the very beginning. We were saying, as you will remember, that they were to be lovers of their country, tried by the test of pleasures and pains, and neither in hardships, nor in dangers, nor at any other critical moment were to lose their patriotism--he was to be rejected who failed, but he who always came forth pure, like gold tried in the refiner's fire, was to be made a ruler, and to receive honours and rewards in life and after death. This was the sort of thing which was being said, and then the argument turned aside and veiled her face; not liking to stir the question which has now arisen.
I perfectly remember, he said.
Yes, my friend, I said, and I then shrank from hazarding the bold word; but now let me dare to say--that the perfect guardian must be a philosopher.
Yes, he said, let that be affirmed.
And do not suppose that there will be many of them; for the gifts which were deemed by us to be essential rarely grow together; they are mostly found in shreds and patches.
What do you mean? he said.
You are aware, I replied, that quick intelligence, memory, sagacity, cleverness, and similar qualities, do not often grow together, and that persons who possess them and are at the same time high-spirited and magnanimous are not so constituted by nature as to live orderly and in a peaceful and settled manner; they are driven any way by their impulses, and all solid principle goes out of them.
Very true, he said.
On the other hand, those steadfast natures which can better be depended upon, which in a battle are impregnable to fear and immovable, are equally immovable when there is anything to be learned; they are always in a torpid state, and are apt to yawn and go to sleep over any intellectual toil.
Quite true.
And yet we were saying that both qualities were necessary in those to whom the higher education is to be imparted, and who are to share in any office or command.
Certainly, he said.
And will they be a class which is rarely found?
Yes, indeed.
Then the aspirant must not only be tested in those labours and dangers and pleasures which we mentioned before, but there is another kind of probation which we did not mention--he must be exercised also in many kinds of knowledge, to see whether the soul will be able to endure the highest of all, will faint under them, as in any other studies and exercises.
Yes, he said, you are quite right in testing him. But what do you mean by the highest of all knowledge?
You may remember, I said, that we divided the soul into three parts; and distinguished the several natures of justice, temperance, courage, and wisdom?
Indeed, he said, if I had forgotten, I should not deserve to hear more.
And do you remember the word of caution which preceded the discussion of them?
To what do you refer?
We were saying, if I am not mistaken, that he who wanted to see them in their perfect beauty must take a longer and more circuitous way, at the end of which they would appear; but that we could add on a popular exposition of them on a level with the discussion which had preceded. And you replied that such an exposition would be enough for you, and so the enquiry was continued in what to me seemed to be a very inaccurate manner; whether you were satisfied or not, it is for you to say.
Yes, he said, I thought and the others thought that you gave us a fair measure of truth.
But, my friend, I said, a measure of such things Which in any degree falls short of the whole truth is not fair measure; for nothing imperfect is the measure of anything, although persons are too apt to be contented and think that they need search no further.
Not an uncommon case when people are indolent.
Yes, I said; and there cannot be any worse fault in a guardian of the State and of the laws.
The guardian then, I said, must be required to take the longer circuit, and toll at learning as well as at gymnastics, or he will never reach the highest knowledge of all which, as we were just now saying, is his proper calling.
What, he said, is there a knowledge still higher than this-- higher than justice and the other virtues?
Yes, I said, there is. And of the virtues too we must behold not the outline merely, as at present--nothing short of the most finished picture should satisfy us. When little things are elaborated with an infinity of pains, in order that they may appear in their full beauty and utmost clearness, how ridiculous that we should not think the highest truths worthy of attaining the highest accuracy!
A right noble thought; but do you suppose that we shall refrain from asking you what is this highest knowledge?
Nay, I said, ask if you will; but I am certain that you have heard the answer many times, and now you either do not understand me or, as I rather think, you are disposed to be troublesome; for you have of been told that the idea of good is the highest knowledge, and that all other things become useful and advantageous only by their use of this. You can hardly be ignorant that of this I was about to speak, concerning which, as you have often heard me say, we know so little; and, without which, any other knowledge or possession of any kind will profit us nothing. Do you think that the possession of all other things is of any value if we do not possess the good? or the knowledge of all other things if we have no knowledge of beauty and goodness?
Assuredly not.
You are further aware that most people affirm pleasure to be the good, but the finer sort of wits say it is knowledge
And you are aware too that the latter cannot explain what they mean by knowledge, but are obliged after all to say knowledge of the good?
How ridiculous!
Yes, I said, that they should begin by reproaching us with our ignorance of the good, and then presume our knowledge of it-- for the good they define to be knowledge of the good, just as if we understood them when they use the term `good'--this is of course ridiculous.
Most true, he said.
And those who make pleasure their good are in equal perplexity; for they are compelled to admit that there are bad pleasures as well as good.
And therefore to acknowledge that bad and good are the same?
There can be no doubt about the numerous difficulties in which this question is involved.
There can be none.
Further, do we not see that many are willing to do or to have or to seem to be what is just and honourable without the reality; but no one is satisfied with the appearance of good--the reality is what they seek; in the case of the good, appearance is despised by every one.
Very true, he said.
Of this then, which every soul of man pursues and makes the end of all his actions, having a presentiment that there is such an end, and yet hesitating because neither knowing the nature nor having the same assurance of this as of other things, and therefore losing whatever good there is in other things,--of a principle such and so great as this ought the best men in our State, to whom everything is entrusted, to be in the darkness of ignorance?
Certainly not, he said.
I am sure, I said, that he who does not know now the beautiful and the just are likewise good will be but a sorry guardian of them; and I suspect that no one who is ignorant of the good will have a true knowledge of them.
That, he said, is a shrewd suspicion of yours.
And if we only have a guardian who has this knowledge our State will be perfectly ordered?
Of course, he replied; but I wish that you would tell me whether you conceive this supreme principle of the good to be knowledge or pleasure, or different from either.
Aye, I said, I knew all along that a fastidious gentleman like you would not be contented with the thoughts of other people about these matters.
True, Socrates; but I must say that one who like you has passed a lifetime in the study of philosophy should not be always repeating the opinions of others, and never telling his own.
Well, but has any one a right to say positively what he does not know?
Not, he said, with the assurance of positive certainty; he has no right to do that: but he may say what he thinks, as a matter of opinion.
And do you not know, I said, that all mere opinions are bad, and the best of them blind? You would not deny that those who have any true notion without intelligence are only like blind men who feel their way along the road?
Very true.
And do you wish to behold what is blind and crooked and base, when others will tell you of brightness and beauty?


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Update: The interview went well and should air this weekend. Thanks to those of you who left comments or emailed me. I am disappointed that Newt didn't call in. Oh well.
This morning I will be a guest on Studio 360 with Kurt Anderson to discuss my review of Newt Gingrich's Civil War novel, The Battle of the Crater. The interview is at 10am, but if I heard correctly it will not air live – perhaps over the weekend. Of course, I will share the podcast once it appears on their website. It should be fun.
For those of you up early perhaps you can help me with a short list of politicians who have dabbled in history. I am interested primarily, but not exclusively in the Civil War era. Woodrow Wilson comes to mind in the context of the Civil War and, of course, there is Kennedy's Profiles in Courage. More recent examples are very much appreciated. Thanks for your help.

subset: commoncrawl


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Futures Tick Higher; ECB, Data in Focus
FOX Business: Capitalism Lives Here
U.S. stock-index futures edged up Thursday, suggesting the Dow could open in record territory, as traders mulled central bank decisions and mixed economic data.
Today's Markets
As of 8:37 a.m. ET, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures climbed 21 points to 14286, S&P 500 rose 1.8 points to 1541 and Nasdaq 100 futures gained 3.5 points 2792.
The blue-chip average has climbed up to all time highs for two sessions in a row as Wall Street continues its recovery from the financial crisis. The broader markets have made moves higher as well, although, the broad S&P 500 struggled to pick up momentum on Wednesday. It still is trading at five-year highs, but still has 1.5% to go before hitting its record.
The docket of economic events was full on Thursday, with several data releases and central bank decisions. The Bank of England kicked off the day by holding its benchmark interest rate and the size of its quantitative easing program steady, as expected. The European Central Bank also held its main rate steady. ECB chief Mario Draghi is expected to hold a press conference later in the day, where he often provides more information on the central bank's monetary policy objectives.
The ECB has been one of the leading public institutions aiming to dull the eurozone's debt crisis by holding interest rates low and utilizing several special lending programs to help banks across the 17-member currency bloc.
On the U.S. front, the U.S. trade deficit widened to $44.5 billion in January from $38.1 billion in December. Economists expected the gap to increase to $42.6 billion. The trade gap figures directly into calculations of first-quarter gross domestic product -- the larger the deficit, the more it drags down growth.
Meanwhile, global outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas said employers cut 55,356 jobs in February, up 37% from 40,430 in January. Planned job cuts were up 7% from the same month in 2012. The Labor Department reports weekly jobless claims fell 7,000 to 340,000, declining for a second straight week. Economists expected claims to rise to 355,000. Continuing claims rose to 3.094 million from 3.091 million the week prior.
The all-important monthly employment report for the month of February is slated to be released on Friday.
In the afternoon, the Federal Reserve releases its snapshot of consumer credit conditions.
In corporate news, Time Warner (NYSE:TWX) said it would spin off Time, Inc., one of the biggest American publishing companies, into its own publicly-traded company. Royal Bank of Scotland (NYSE:RBS) said its banking services were "disrupted" overnight, but fixed by Thursday morning New York time.
Oil prices edged up. The benchmark U.S. contract climbed 37 climbed, 0.41%, to $90.78 a barrel. Wholesale New York Harbor gasoline fell 0.36% to $3.114 a gallon. Gold climbed $6.70, or 0.43%, to $1,582 a troy an ounce.
Foreign Markets
The Euro Stoxx 50 rose 0.33% to 2689, the English FTSE 100 rose 0.18% to 6439 and the German DAX inched up 0.13% to 7930.
In Asia, the Japanese Nikkei 225 edged up 0.3% to 11968 and the Chinese Hang Seng slipped 0.03% to 11968.


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Just a few days after a controversial press release complained vociferously that he had been lied to regarding his opportunity to make the Motocross of Nations team, James Stewart and L&M Racing have announced that they will not compete in the remaining Outdoor Motocross Nationals this year. Stewart states in the press release below that, despite a third place finish in the first moto at Unadilla two weeks ago, Stewart and his team "have decided they just aren't ready to compete in the series at the level they are accustomed to", and Stewart states "I need more time to prepare so that I don't put my entire career at risk by getting injured again." We admit that reading the two press releases together leaves us more than a little bit confused.
After more than a week of training and testing since his return to racing at Unadilla, a difficult decision was reached today by James and his team to withdraw from the remainder of the 2010 AMA Pro Motocross series. Due to his abbreviated Supercross season, James, with the full support of his team, had hoped to return to the track much earlier in the National series. Thanks to a slow-healing wrist injury, however, James did not receive the medical clearance he needed until just a few short weeks prior to Unadilla.
Unfortunately, despite a sincere attempt to make a strong return to racing, the rush to do so was quite visible when the dust finally settled in upstate New York on August 14th. Though James had a good run in Moto 1, the lack of physical preparation and challenges with bike set-up forced him off the track early in Moto 2. Though they've had some time to make adjustments since leaving Unadilla, James and the team have decided they just aren't ready to compete in the series at the level they are accustomed to.
"At this point, I honestly just hope my fans will understand," James commented. "I said before that I wanted to be on the track starting with Hangtown, but the slow healing nature of my wrist injury made it impossible to do so. Watching race after race and not being a part of the series has been very difficult. All along my motivation was to get back to racing and return to the outdoor series for my fans and sponsors. And though my wrist is feeling great, it became obvious that I'm just not ready to race at that level yet. As much as I'd like to be out there, I need more time to prepare so that I don't put my entire career at risk by getting injured again. I'd like to apologize to my fans first and foremost, as well as to the series and my sponsors for being unable to continue."
James' planned return to racing is now set for Anaheim 1 in January. Of all people, James knows exactly what it takes to prepare for a Supercross championship run, and he's now digging in deep to put in the hard work required over the next few months to have a successful 2011 season!
"We had every intention of racing Southwick and beyond," commented L&M Team Manager Larry Brooks. "But sometimes you have to see the bigger picture and make a decision based on what's right, not on what you'd like to do at the time. We're a Team and we have to do what we feel is best to ensure we have every opportunity to win the next Championship."


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Menu for Hope III begins today. If you do not know what it is, the long and short is a bunch of like minded individuals are giving away truly remarkable prizes/gifts/experiences which can then be bid on with raffle tickets. Each $10 dollar raffle ticket gives the donor a chance to win the prize they desire.
And what did we donate? A signed copy of our new book Ideas in Food: the Photographs. The code for it is UC09. And while it does not say it in the description of the book, we are giving away the just finished hardcover addition. Besides our small donation, there are huge and disgustingly insane donations from many prominent food individuals. That being said follow the necessary instructions below and give to win.
The money is being raised for the United Nations World Food Program.
The list of prizes is located here at Chez Pim.
A list of prizes from the middle US is located here at Kalyn's Kitchen.
Finally here is the actual donation page.
And here is the recipe for giving.
Here's what you should do...
1. Go to the donation page here.
2. Make a donation, each $10 will give you one raffle ticket toward a prize of your choice. Please specify which prize or prizes you'd like in the
'Personal Message' section in the donation form when confirming your donation.
Do tell us how many tickets per prize, and please use the prize code -for
example, a donation of $50 can be 2 tickets for UW01 and 3 for UW02.
3. If your company matches your charity donation, please remember to check the
box and fill in the information so we could claim the corporate match.
4. Please also check the box to allow us to see your email address so that we
could contact you in case you win. Your email address will not be shared with
5. Check back on Chez Pim on January 15 when we announce the result of the
raffle. (The drawing will be done electronically. Our friend the code wizard
Derrick at Obsession with Food is responsible for the wicked application that
will do the job.)


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Members of the Articulum of Faith once gathered naked, until many died of exposure.
The Articulum of Faith is central to the Givil and to Tarvuism. It is essentially a 'debating chamber' in which leading former Givilites can discuss particular points of Tarvuist law and scrobuture. It is one of the oldest Tarvuist bodies, originally set up in the 9th century by the Welsh Arch-Pri*stmunty Ffie Thoms.
Back then, the Articulum of Faith was a very strict organisation, which insisted on the most stringent levels of behaviour from its members. All Articulumulites (members of the AoF) were made to debate completely naked outdoors, in order to prove their purity, and to show that they could tolerate harsh conditions.
This tradition was abolished in the early 19th century, after 300 naked Articulumulites perished in Cornwall, England after a terrible blizzard. The incident became known as 'Snowy Snow Snow', and was sung about in many Tarvuist songs from the time.
Phil Collins, former singer and drummer with Genesis, and now Barvuist, famously released an openly anti-Tarvuist song in 1998, called 'I pray for Snow'.
Nowadays the Articulum of Faith meet indoors (although they perform a ceremonial outdoor naked swim before and after the session), with meetings held every six months. Minutes are kept, which are sent back to High Pri'stm'nty Jon-John Torvakian and the Sril Martlin Brothers for approval.
Interestingly there is no official head of the AoF. Instead, members each take their turn at the helm for 5 minutes at a time during each meeting. For this reason, Articulumulites have become affectionately known as 'The 300's' (i.e the amount of seconds in 5 minutes).


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Theater Review: Relatively Speaking
Relatively Speaking
Written by Woody Allen, Ethan Coen and Elaine May
Directed by John Turturro
Location: Brooks Atkinson Theatre, 256 West 47th Street, New York, NY
Set Designer: Santo Loquasto, Lighting: Kenneth Posner, Costumes: Donna Zakowska, Sound Design: Carl Casella, Casting: Cindy Tolan
Starring Caroline Aaron, Bill Army, Katherine Borowitz, Lisa Emery, Ari Graynor, Steve Guttenberg, Danny Hoch, Julie Kavner, Jason Kravits, Richard Libertini, Mark Linn-Baker, Fred Melamed, Patricia O'Connell, Grant Shaud, Marlo Thomas
Given the A-list talent attached, and the multiple awards collected by all three of its authors, it comes as something of a surprise that Relatively Speaking is only relatively solid. There are inspired moments in this anthology of one acts, and certainly there are some fine performances here. But only one of the three dark comedies truly fulfills its promise.
As the title indicates, the three one acts that make up the show each explore the theme of (mostly dysfunctional) family dynamics. Ethan Coen's Talking Cure tackles the topic by travelling back in time from a psych ward inmate's troubled present to his prenatal past. It's a fitting structure for a play about the therapeutic process, and there is plenty of dramatic potential in the play's premise. Unfortunately Cure lacks a sense of urgency, and most of what the audience learns about Larry (Danny Hoch) has already been revealed by the time the twist ending arrives.
The first three scenes deal with Larry's relationship with the Doctor (Jason Kravits) assigned to his case. Larry, the Doctor learns, has disappointed his mother by becoming a postal worker and amateur boxer rather than the Heifetz-level genius for whom she'd hoped. The resulting emotional scars may be the reason for the random act of violence that got him in trouble. Larry exhibits little faith in psychotherapy, and uses verbal games to control the sessions as he might attempt to control his opponent in the ring. The Doctor isn't easily provoked, but neither does he vary much from the standard therapeutic script or try very hard to dismantle Larry's defenses. Coen is wise to steer clear of the instant-catharsis clichés that often burden dramas about psychology. But he has also failed to find some alternative way of raising the dramatic stakes. As a result, despite a tight rapport between Hoch and Kravits, there is little theatrical momentum in the therapy scenes.
The flashback scene offers a bit more intensity. A bickering couple, (Katherine Borowitz and Allen Lewis Rickman) are dressed up and expecting company. They are also expecting Larry, any minute now from the looks of things. It's easy to see that there's very little love in this house, a fact made more chilling by the audience's knowledge of adult Larry's fate. Here again, though, there's a static quality the dialogue, as the trading of barbs between husband and wife becomes repetitious and largely results in a stalemate. Although Coen (perhaps from years of filmmaking) understands the power of juxtaposing one piece of time against another, he would needs to add more flesh to his characters to get a real emotional payoff out of his narrative device.
George is Dead, the most moving and fully realized of the pieces, takes a more straightforward approach to the tangled relationship between past and present. As the play begins, Carla Kerns (Lisa Emery) paces around her small apartment, fretting over the state of her marriage. After visiting her mother in Queens, she has failed to get back to Manhattan in time to attend her husband's speech at Amnesty International. He hasn't called, and Carla fears his anger may be more than their relationship can bear.
About the last thing she needs right now is a surprise visit from Doreen Whittlesy (Marlo Thomas), a wealthy ditz whose husband has just passed away. Their connection is an odd one: many years ago Carla's mother was Doreen's nanny. Adult Doreen, accustomed to being served, has a sweet disposition, but keeps piling ridiculous demands on unprepared Carla. Playwright Elaine May wrings a good deal of humor out of the contrast between Doreen's entitled Upper East Side attitude and Carla's working class resignation. But ultimately Doreen's innocence proves oddly touching. The product of a privileged childhood and marriages to prosperous men, her feet have never touched the ground. She has no clue how to hang up her own coat, much less make funeral arrangements or even to grieve.
Carla accommodates her guest, but inside seethes with a kind of surrogate sibling rivalry. As a child, she watched as her mother lavished attention on her ward, but had little energy left for nurturing her own children. Clearly Carla has had a hard time with intimacy ever since, as evidenced by her marriage to the hypocritical Tom (Grant Shaud), who opposes dictatorships overseas but behaves like a tyrant in his own home. Ultimately neither of the women can mourn their losses — until another, more powerful figure from the past comes to restore order.
Like a miniature full length play, George provides its cast with strong character arcs and May's dialogue rings true even in the play's more farcical beats. Thomas handles Doreen's transformation from chipper princess to grieving widow with sensitivity and verve, while Emery potently embodies the suppressed rage behind Carla's accommodating behavior. They are aided by Shaud and Patricia O'Connell in their supporting parts.
In Woody Allen's Honeymoon Motel, young bride Nina Roth (Ari Graynor) enters a gaudy roadside inn with not-so-young novelist Jerry Spector (Steve Guttenberg). They're excited to get away from all the wedding hoopla and take pleasure in simple joys like pizza and tacky furniture. Obviously, this is no typical pair of newlyweds. In fact, as it is soon revealed, they aren't a couple at all. Nina was betrothed to Jerry's stepson, but has run off with Jerry in an impulsive moment.
The opening beats of Motel are handled with deft comic timing by Guttenberg and Graynor, which intensifies with the arrival of Jerry's friend Eddie (Grant Shaud). Eddie vainly attempts to talk some sense into his pal, but by now an unstoppable floodgate has been unleashed. Soon the small motel room is filled with injured parties, including Jerry's wife Judy (Caroline Aaron), his shrink Dr. Brill (Jason Kravits), Nina's parents (Mark Linn-Baker and Julie Kavner), vodka-infused Rabbi Baumel (Richard Libertini), pizza delivery man Sal Buonacotti (Danny Hoch) and eventually the jilted groom himself (Bill Army). Sadly, the crisp comedic momentum begins to bog down with the arrival of so many characters.
Though its setup would seem to have the makings of a fine farce, Motel lacks one of the key ingredients. Traditionally farce is driven by one or more characters' intense desire to attain something. The more desperate the need, the more the audience is prepared to believe in the lunacy of the characters' tactics. In Woody Allen's world, no one seems to want anything deeply. Even Jerry seems more hot-for-young-tail than he is truly in love with Nina. Despite the cast's best efforts, the chorus of self-absorbed relations seems less interested in putting things right than in assigning blame and acting put-upon. There are bright spots, of course, as Allen can always be relied upon to get a few good one-liners across. Shaud's deadpan Eddie provides a welcome antidote to all the whining. Likewise Sal, whose advice turns out to be more sage than anything put forth by the rabbi or the therapist, is expertly played by Hoch.
While the unevenness of the Relatively Speaking cannot be overlooked, at least its diversity shows off the versatile talents of director John Turturro and an inventive design team (Santo Loquasto sets, Kenneth Posner lighting, Donna Zakowska costumes). Rather than remain locked in a style, the creative team endows each world with its own rhythms, colors, concept and style in keeping with the individual text. If Turturro continues directing on Broadway, it will be interesting to see how his sensibility develops.
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Pope Challenges Christians to Pray for Persecuted Church: 'How Many of You Are Praying for the Persecuted?'
Pope Francis challenged the Church to pray for its most vulnerable yesterday, in his weekly general audience remarks at the Vatican, in the wake of a church bombing in Pakistan and continued violence against Egyptian and Syrian Christians.
"How many of you pray for Christians who are persecuted" said the Pope, calling upon his audience to be "genuinely concerned about their plight, just as one would be for a family member in distress."
When one of them is under duress, "am I indifferent or is it like someone in the family is suffering?" the Pope added.
The Pope's remarks focused on Church unity and overcoming the divisions that have fragmented not only Catholicism but Christianity as a whole.
He affirmed the Catholic Church's belief in "one, holy, catholic and apostolic church," and reminded the congregation that although Christians often fell short of unity, not only did they have an obligation to live out the creed — its very efficacy was rooted in Christians deciding to actually live unity out.
"Sometimes misunderstandings, conflicts, tensions and divisions crop up that harm (unity), and so the church doesn't have the face we would want, it doesn't demonstrate love and what God wants," said Francis. "It's important to look beyond one's own fence, to feel oneself as church, one family of God."
The Pope also reminded Christians that change would only come about with diligence and perseverance.
"If we look at the divisions that still exist among Christians, Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants, we feel the hard work (needed) to make this unity fully visible," he said.
Further, this behavior was what the world needed.
"We need reconciliation, communion, and the church is the home of communion," said the pontiff.


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śrī śrī guru gaurāṅga jayataḥ!
Year-5, Issue 6
Posted: 8 July 2012
Dedicated to
nitya-līlā praviṣṭa oṁ viṣṇupāda
Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja
Inspired by and under the guidance of
nitya-līlā praviṣṭa oṁ viṣṇupāda
Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja
On Our Way Home
by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda
This world is a perverted reflection of the original world, which is our real home. Instead of passing our time here, we want to go back to our eternal abode. We are now very busily engaged in pursuing pleasant sensations gained by our senses from phenomenal objects. We should make it a point to eradicate the root cause of this, which has brought us to this world of delusion, apparent pleasures, miseries and troubles. The mind is the root of all evils and the root of all pleasure-seeking inclinations. So the mind should be subjugated first; that is, it should not be allowed to take initiative in anything. Ordinarily the mind controls our senses and the soul is lying in a dormant condition. The soul has delegated its power of transacting with the external world to the mind, and the mind has five ministers to help in the administration of the phenomenal world. But the mind is a not a dutiful agent of the soul. It always tries to injure the interest of the soul.
The soul has come down here and, while doing so, it has incorporated two envelopes; one subtle and the other gross. Consequently the soul is now in a drowsy condition. It cannot exactly compel the mind to look after its interest. At this point of crisis, the ever merciful Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa sends His messengers with the transcendental sound. This transcendental sound is to be received through the ears. The transcendental sound is meant to regulate the five senses, which are presently engaged in the wrong way – namely, catering to the mind's purposes while injuring the purposes of the eternal soul. So aural reception is the first thing we should seek from the agent – the deputed messenger from the transcendental plane.
The transcendental sound is transmitted through the lips of the messenger in the form of a mantra and in the form of the name. The very name of the Transcendent Godhead can regulate the senses. Go on chanting the name, constantly repeat the transcendental nomenclature and you will find that energy is being injected into you. But this name should come to you from a good source, from a transcendental source, and not from any mundane source. The name should not be confused with the other form of sound, which is of this world. The transcendental sound regulates the senses and does not submit to the senses for scrutiny. When the Supreme Lord Śrī Caitanya-deva met Śrī Rūpa at Allahabad, He first of all transmitted something into the entity of Śrī Rūpa which empowered him to receive the transcendental sound from Him, and then He imparted those transcendental sounds to him with all explanations.
Mantra is the name in the dative case*. The Supreme Lord, being adhokṣaja (beyond the perception of the material senses), does not allow anybody to see Him. But people are impatient to see Him first, and this is the wrong process.
* A grammatical case used to indicate the noun to which something is offered.
* * *
There cannot be more than one guru. Guru is one without a second. First of all, we should search throughout the world to single out the proper person from whom we can adopt the correct process. We then should rely on him fully and have our confidence (śraddhā) in him. He will dictate to us what sort of engagement, or bhajana, we should perform for the welfare of our soul. As a result of this engagement, or bhajana-kriyā, we will be set free from all sorts of troubles and all our acquisitions and empiric activities will be regulated. That is, all undesirable elements that have crept into our activities will be eliminated. This is called anartha nivṛtti.
Then comes niṣṭhā. We should resolve that we will not deviate from our only object, which is to serve the Absolute, to be constantly attached to Him. We should have some sort of predilection, or taste, for our bhajana-kriyā, the continuity of which should not be disturbed. When we transcend sādhana-bhakti, we are placed in the bhāva-bhakti region where we will find that rati is the cardinal point, the principal thing.
When we were passing through sādhana-bhakti, śraddhā was the index. Here in bhāva-bhakti, rati is the index. Rati has five different aspects, śānta, dāsya, sakhya, vātsalya and mādhurya. Rati is the Medulla Oblongata or the substratum that lies between sādhana-bhakti and bhāva-bhakti. Rati is supplied by four different ingredients known as vibhāva, anubhāva, sāttvika-bhāva and sañcārī-bhāva. Vibhāva includes ālambana and uddīpana. In ālambana we find viśaya and āśraya. There is activity of viśaya for āśraya and of āśraya for viśaya. The viśaya is one without a second, but there are many āśrayas. Kṛṣṇa is the only viśaya, and kārṣṇas, His devotees, are the āśrayas.
Adapted from The Gaudiya, Volume 28, Number 11
by the Rays of The Harmonist team


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Juan Treminio has written up an introductory post to Puppet and Vagrant and their use to make virtual machines for your PHP environments.
Why should I use a virtual machine? Being a PHP developer has a much lower barrier to entry than Python, Ruby. Only Javascript is easier to start with. Tools such as XAMPP, MAMP, Homebrew, etc, make installing a basic LAMP stack on your computer extremely easy. So why would you want to give this up and use a slow, bulky and cryptic virtual machine?
He notes that the Puppet+Vagrant combination solves some of the common problems developers have setting up environments. He goes through what the two tools are and shows (screenshots) what the results look like. He includes a sample Puppet manifest, its configuration file, that loads an environment with PHP 5, Apache, a virtual host, PEAR, Composer and some other various configuration settings. He also mentions his PuPHPet tool he's created to make generating these kinds of configuration files simpler.


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Patricia F. Fitzpatrick Dimond Ph.D. Technical Editor of Clinical OMICs President of BioInsight Communications
New analytical tools are advancing research efforts.
Instead of one gene or protein, the new paradigm in cancer research focuses on the analysis of entire sets of genes and proteins to identify drug targets. Multiple experimental and data analysis methodologies are being used to achieve this goal, and new bioinformatics tools will advance successful research efforts.
The availability of array-based gene profiling to yield cancer gene-expression signatures has already impacted clinical decision making in several cancers. Known types and subtypes of cancers can be distinguished by gene-expression patterns, and new molecular subtypes of cancer have been discovered that are associated with a propensity to metastasize and sensitivity or resistance to particular therapies.
While researchers have been using DNA microarrays to yield information about the molecular heterogeneity of cancer, analyses that evaluate cancer transcriptome information alongside other data will be able to extract deeper biological insights. The idea is to look at cancer interaction networks and understand regulatory mechanisms encoded in cancer gene expression.
Tools Needed
Pursuing this new line of attack requires multiple, complex, and integrated technologies and, in particular, an array of bioinformatics tools allowing organization and analysis of the data. And companies are building significant franchises to offer scientists the requisite tools to help them stay closer to their own data, analyzing it across multiple databases without needing a team of bioinformaticians.
PerkinElmer acquired Geospiza in 2011, adding to its franchise in bioinformatics and cloud computing. The company reportedly has an ongoing program of software and automated workflow development, tied to its Sequencing Services program. The software is based on industry-accepted and supported tools, put together in a robust, user-friendly, automated LIMS and analysis pipeline.
Geospiza software systems include its GeneSifter statistical, visualization, and annotation tools for microarray and next-generation sequencing. They are available to PerkinElmer customers to use through an access fee for the company's cloud environment. The software is capable of performing three-tiered analyses on DNA and RNA for arrays, sanger, and next-generation sequencing platforms.
"There are a lot of ways to put tools and data together that allow scientists to explore their data," Geospiza founder and CSO, Todd Smith, Ph.D., told GEN. "But what's often missing for scientists is a way to work with their data directly without having to engage a team of bioinfomaticians for every question.
"After I see my data, the next thing I want to do is to look at it in a different context. But I have to keep rerunning the programs with different data plugged in. For example, one of our clients studying head and neck cancer wanted to compare cohorts of smokers, ex-smokers, and people who have never smoked. But throughout the study if I want to bring in different samples or look at different combinations of samples together or filter data in different ways, I have to rerun everything.
"Really what I want to do," Dr. Smith explained, "is click on an interface and set up my comparisons and test ideas for analysis and data filtering. That's what GeneSifter does for you. It allows you to set up comparisons and run standard algorithms and convert raw data to forms that can be statistically compared in a single environment to generate lists of genes that are linked to ontologies and pathway databases to create new knowledge.
"One of the reasons PerkinElmer acquired Geospiza was to provide customers with a web-based interface connected to a high-powered computer system that could tap into databases and run several standard bio programs like BWA, Bowtie, GATK, and other alignment and variant detection tools along with an integrated statistical analysis platform for measuring gene expression, detecting alternative splicing, and identifying nucleotide differences.
"And most groups have just started to think about combining the transcriptome with the genome and layering in analysis of noncoding RNAs. For the past quarters we've been adding these capabilities to GeneSifter so we can give scientists the freedom to explore the full transcriptome when they are ready."
Transcriptome Findings
Scientists have made enormous progress in characterizing the molecular aberrations in cancer, developing and refining their own tools for molecular analysis, and have begun to apply this knowledge to patient care. Research in the laboratory of Kornelia Polyak, M.D., Ph.D., at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute has focused on the molecular analysis of human breast cancer. The goal is to improve the clinical management of the disease by identifying the differences between normal and cancerous breast tissue and determining their consequences.
Her laboratory uses multiple tools to characterize molecular alterations that occur during breast tumor progression. These include SAGE (serial analysis of gene expression) for gene expression profiling, SNP arrays and array CGH for genetic changes, MSDK (methylation-specific digital karyotyping) for the characterization of global DNA methylation profiles, and ChIP-Seq for the analysis of histone modification patterns.
Dr. Polyak and her colleagues, in a paper published last month in Nature Reviews Cancer, said that while recent technological advances have improved the molecular understanding of cancers and the identification of targets for therapeutic interventions, "it has become exceedingly apparent that the utility of profiles based on the analysis of tumors en masse is limited by intratumor genetic and epigenetic heterogeneity." This means, she says, that characteristics of the most abundant cell type might not predict the properties of mixed populations.
Intratumor heterogeneity continues to present a major clinical problem because tumor cell subtypes display variable sensitivity to therapeutics and may play different roles in progression, Dr. Polyak explained. Her team has provided major insights into potential targets that address intratumor heterogeneity. Her laboratory characterized two cell populations in human breast tumors with distinct properties: CD44+/CD24- cells that have stem cell-like characteristics and CD44-/CD24+ cells that resemble more differentiated breast cancer cells.
The investigators performed a large-scale shRNA loss-of-function screen to define genes upon which each of these distinct cell types specifically depend. They identified 15 genes required for cell growth or proliferation in CD44+/CD24- human breast cancer cells, finding that inhibition of several of these (IL6, PTGIS, HAS1, CXCL3, and PFKFB3) reduced Stat3 (signal transducer and activator of transcription 3) activation. Constitutive STAT3 activation is associated with multiple human cancers. They also found that the IL6/JAK2/Stat3 pathway was preferentially active in CD44+/CD24- breast cancer cells compared to other tumor cell types, and inhibition of JAK2 decreased their number and blocked growth of xenografts.
These results, Dr. Polyak noted, highlight the differences between distinct breast cancer cell types and identify targets such as JAK2 and Stat3 that may lead to more specific and effective breast cancer therapies.
GEN asked Dr. Polyak whether intratumor heterogeneity played a part in tumor treatment yet. Dr. Polyak said, "intertumoral heterogeneity, yes. Breast cancer is commonly tested for hormone receptors and Her2 neu and treated accordingly." But as for intratumor heterogeneity, she noted, "not yet." But, she pointed out, strategies to decrease intratumor diversity and combined therapies based on diversity are more likely to lead to more effective eradication of tumors.
In another recent application of multilayer analyses to discover cancer molecular mechanisms, Yon Hui S. Kim and colleagues at MD Anderson gastric cancer center identified the molecular underpinnings of gastric cancer using an RNA-sequencing approach to compare gastric tumor and noncancerous speciments, generating 680 million informative short reads. These short reads were then applied to quantitative characterization of the entire transcriptome of gastric cancer, including mRNAs and miRNAs.
They then developed a multilayer analysis to identify various types of transcriptional aberrations associated with different stages of gastric cancer, including differentially expressed mRNAs, recurrent somatic mutations, and key differentially expressed miRNAs. Through this approach, the scientists said, they identified the central metabolic regulator AMPK-α as a potential functional target in Asian gastric cancer. They also experimentally demonstrated the translational relevance of this gene as a potential therapeutic target for early-stage gastric cancer in Asian patients.
Apart from providing a valuable information resource for identifying and elucidating the molecular mechanisms of Asian gastric cancer, the authors said that their work also represents a general integrative framework to develop more effective therapeutic targets. And as more multiple, complex, and integrated technologies become accessible to scientists and in particular, an array of bioinformatics tools, new potential drug treatments may emerge.
Patricia F. Dimond, Ph.D. ([email protected]), is a principal at BioInsight Consulting.


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Sonic State Studio / Audio Software / |
Gallery Turbomorph At a Glance |
Released: Version: 0.00 | |
Rated: Not Reviewed Add review: (0) | ||
Audio Software LinksSubmit a link | ||
Software: Win XP, Mac, OSX, | ||
Plugin formats: VST. Premiere. Audio Units. RTAS |
Anonymous writes: |
Boasts the fastest samplerate conversion, also does all the usual conversions you would expect from a batch converter. You can chain together instances of the program to perform multiple conversions - though I find this a bit unintuitive personally. Does have the advantage of being able to use plugins as part of the conversion process (premier format last I checked). |
Gallery Turbomorph Specifications: |
Digital IOs: |
Turbomorph Links |
Try the Audio Software links page for more.. |


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CM-COMP 87 is a punchy, pro-quality compressor VST/AU plugin created for CM by DSP dudes eaReckon. The plugin is based on the commercial SD-COMP 87 plugin from eaReckon's ANALOG87 bundle, which hugely impressed us in our review.
It's the perfect partner for our CM-EQUA 87 equaliser plugin, also made by eaReckon! With these two plugins, you have a slick channel strip setup with a killer, analogue-inspired sound.
Here's what you get in CM-COMP 87:
- Reactive, punchy, analogue-inspired sound
- Slick, easy-to-use interface
- Dry/wet knob for instant parallel compression
- Integrated output limiter to prevent peaks over 0dB
- Responsive VU-style meters for input (stereo), output and gain reduction
- Threshold control with activity LED
- Ratio (up to 10:1), Attack (0.5ms-50ms) and Release (50ms-2500ms)
- Input/output level controls and bypass switch
- 32-/64-bit Mac AU/VST
- 32-/64-bit PC VST
How to get CM-COMP 87 CM:
Get the latest issue of Computer Music magazine and you can download CM-COMP 87 right away.
For more info on CM Plugins, read our FAQ, and find out about our Vault download system.
If you like CM-COMP 87, check out eaReckon's other plugins on their website.


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Brazilian mixed martial arts fighter Amanda Nunes defeated Miesha Tate Saturday night at UFC 200 to become the organization's first openly LGBTQ champion — and the new women's bantamweight title holder, NBC News reports.
"This is a dream come true for me," Nunes said in a post-fight interview posted by UFC. "I waited 10 years [of] my life [for] this moment, and finally now I'm the champion."
In a press conference following the fight, Nunes was asked whether it makes her proud to be "the first openly gay champion in the history of the UFC."
"This is amazing," Nunes said. "The most important thing is I'm happy with my life." She also professed her love and admiration for her girlfriend, a fellow UFC fighter.


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Health Educators: Employment and Future Job Outlook
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, (2010-11 Edition) the current job outlook for health educators is extremely positive and strong. The following facts indicate that graduate degree in health education will be critical for our future students in health care discipline.
- Out of 66,200 Health Educator jobs in 2008
Ø 51% in health care and social assistance
Ø 23% in government
- Employment growth for Health Educators
Ø Anticipated growth: 18% through 2018 (compared to 10% growth for all occupations)
Ø Fueling the growth: high cost of health care & quest to curb it
Ø A graduate degree is preferred by many employers
- Earnings
Ø Median wage: $44,000 in May 2008
Ø Middle 50% earned between $33,170 - $60,810
Ø Top 10% earned more than $78,260
(*U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-11 Edition)
Further, the online job site CareerBuilder had a 17 percent increase in wellness job listings from April to October 2010, according to spokeswoman Jennifer Grasz. A search in December 2010 for "wellness manager" returned 2,245 jobs posted within the previous 30 days.


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China's most famous book of prophecies, the 7th century Tui Bei Tu, makes no direct mention of the end of the world.
But in Sichuan province, panic buying of candles has swept through two counties in the fear that an ancient Mayan prediction that the world will end on December 21 proves to be true.
"Candles are selling by the hundreds, with buyers constantly coming to the market. Many stores have run out," said Huang Zhaoli, a shopper at the Neijing Wholesale Market, to the West China City Daily newspaper.
Mr Li, the owner of the Guangfa grocery store in Chengdu, added: "Lots of people have been buying candles recently. At first, we had no idea why. But then we heard someone muttering about the continuous darkness".
The source of the panic was traced to a post on Sina Weibo, China's version of Twitter, predicting that there will be three days of darkness when the apocalypse arrives.
Since the beginning of December, the word "Mayans" has trended on Weibo as millions of normally phlegmatic Chinese speculate that the end is nigh. "If the Mayans are right, I won't pay my credit card bill," was one popular post.
In Shanghai, the police have had to issue a public warning about doomsday. "The end of the world is a rumour," the police said, in an internet post. "Do not believe it and do not be swindled".
A spokesman said they had handled 25 apocalypse-related cases in one 24-hour stretch. Most of the scam artists took advantage of credulous pensioners, encouraging them to hand over their savings for one last act of charity.
In Nanjing, a 54-year-old university professor's wife took out a £100,000 mortgage on her £300,000 home, saying she would donate the money to underprivileged children, saying she hoped to "do something meaningful before the world ended".
Last month, a man in the far west province of Xinjiang made news when he spent his life savings of £100,000 to build an ark for 20 people.
Lu Zhenghai began building the 65ft ship in 2010. "When the time comes, everyone can take refuge in it." However, as the deadline approaches, Mr Lu has reportedly run out of cash to finish the boat.
He said if the apocalypse failed to materialise, he would use the boat to take tourists on sightseeing tours.
In Chengdu, a web company has given its workers a tongue-in-cheek two-day break on Dec 19 and 20. "We suggest you take advantage of this 'final' time to spend more time with your closest family. We wish everyone a meaningful doomsday," it said.
China has no history of preoccupation with the apocalypse, and the current wave of paranoia can be traced to the 2009 Hollywood disaster film "2012". While the movie received a tepid welcome elsewhere, it was a smash hit in China, as viewers were seduced by a plot that saw the Chinese military build arks to save humanity.
Lu Jiehua, a professor with the Department of Sociology at Peking University, told the Global Times, meanwhile, that the paranoia reflects a general anxiety running through Chinese society.
"This panic buying [in Sichuan] not only shows people's fear of an upcoming apocalypse, but also reflects their sense of uncertainty toward life and society," he said.
Additional reporting by Valentina Luo


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Architects: Kavanagh Tuite Architects: Hanley Pepper Consulting Civil & Structural Engineers, Dublin.M&E
- Year: 2010
Photographs:Paul Tierney, Kavanagh Tuite
The UCD Belfield Campus in south-east Dublin has a daytime population of about 20,000 students and 5,000 staff. At present there are on-campus student residences for approximately 2,500 students, and it is intended to increase this to 5,000 over the coming years. The residences are grouped into defined 'student villages', and this project is part of the developing Roebuck Village, centred on Roebuck Castle, an historic structure dating back to c. 1200, though largely rebuilt in the 19th Century.
This building is the second stage of Roebuck Village, the first stage being Roebuck Hall, completed by Kavanagh Tuite Architects in 2006. When design started on Roebuck Castle residence in 2008, in establishing the brief with UCD it was decided to raise the bar, and aim for an exemplary 'green' project. Passive House was subsequently adopted as the reference standard, and the project has attained Passive House Certification, as well as receiving the RIAI (Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland) 2011 Award for the "Best Sustainable Project of the Year".
The project
The typical floor plan, for "hall of residence" style accommodation, contains en-suite student rooms and kitchenette, living and study rooms on either side of a spine corridor, arranged in two 'apartments' on either side of a central lift and stair core.
This basic simple plan form is off-set and articulated around the central core, where at ground level the main entrance and cafeteria face onto a walkway through the building, providing a link with previous and future stages of the Roebuck student village. Secondary escape stairs at each end of the building are expressed, again articulating the simple compact building form. The roof-top plant room housing, containing the central plant (heat recovery ventilation, water storage tanks and other plant) is external to the insulated building volume, but is expressed as a vertical extension of the central lift and stair core.
The building is of GGBS concrete cross-wall, stair core and floor structure, with lightweight unitised metal framed external wall panels to all the student rooms. The unitised panels create an airtight façade (point fixed to the slab edges for minimum cold bridging), and together with wood-framed curtain wall façades to the three stair core volumes, provide large sealed elements that are then easily air-sealed to the basic concrete structure with EPDM membranes. This strategy largely 'designed-out' problems of air sealing the project.
The student rooms have passive house certified triple-glazed windows (U-value 0.8 W/m2K). They are openable, but have an interlock control, closing the local room heating circuit when the window is opened.
The corridors and stair cores are not heated, and are glazed with wood-framed, high-performance double-glazed curtain walls (U-value 1.2 W/m2K).
All concrete walls are insulated externally with 130mm foil-faced and taped PIR boards, and clad with the TrespaMeteon boards on Eurofoxrainscreen support system. This same cladding system runs over all the unitised light-weight wall panels, giving a uniform external appearance to all. The cladding has a limited number of earthy colours, relating to adjacent buildings and the natural context, helping to give the building an understandable and human scale.
The project makes extensive use of renewable or recycled materials, such as acetic-acid modified timber (Accoya), recycled sorghumstrand board (Kirei Board), water-based paints, linoleum floor finishes (Marmoleum), and GGBS (ground granulated blast furnace slag) cement based concrete.
Heat recovery ventilation is provided through two central roof top heat-wheel air handling units, and heating is provided from spare capacity in the adjacent Roebuck Hall condensing gas boilers, supplying mini-radiators in the student rooms.
Domestic hot water (the largest heat load in the building), is partially (33%) supplied by a drain-back flat-plate solar water heating system on the roof, coveringa local20% renewable energy requirement. Rainwater is harvested from the building roofs, and used for toilet flushing.
Post-completion commissioning and occupants' reviews, monitoring of actual systems and comfort performance are essential for us to study and learn from the actual results, and to develop our skills and expertise going forward.
In line with this, UCD Energy Research Group, funded by SEAI (Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland), has commenced a two year programme of monitoring and post occupancy evaluation of the building. A roof-top weather station provides full climatic data,andmonitoring equipment, installed in 16 student rooms in the building, provides data on indoor temperature, humidity and CO2levels, electrical use and lighting loads. It also records overall energy required for space heating and domestic hot water; heat flows from MHRV and solar collectors. The data will be analysed by UCDBuilding Environmental Lab to inform on actual savings from individual systems, provide data for further research in the application of the Passivhaus Standard in Ireland, and ensure that the students are residing in a comfortable and healthy environment.
We have reached a stage where both regulatory changes and rising operational energy costs are giving a major 'push' towards better, "greener" building design standards. Improved building materials, elements and systems, and developing professional knowledge and expertise combine to give a huge opportunity for skilled designers to create better buildings, better architecture: advanced environmental performance and efficiency, functional, well detailed, and good looking solutions.
This project demonstrates that fine architectural design can be achieved together with exemplary high-performance building construction. It is necessary however, from the conceptual design stage, to 'design-in' thermal performance, and to 'design-out' thermal bridging and air-tightness problems. This is both a challenge and an opportunity, with no more shortcuts (any more…) to success!


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Sail Chef
You've been out sailing all day with your companion, date or party of friends, and sunset approaches as you dock. Permit Chef Ricky and staff here on www.SailChef.com to help you, yourself, prepare anything from an intimate and romantic candlelit dinner for two, to a wild dinner party for 10.
Pick up ideas on preparing meals, either onboard, or at home, in advance and "picnic-basket" it, using ideas on unique meals and eats,using the freshest ingredients, and where to obtain them locally, hints on using your galley, and tried and true techniques, using our entertaining (we hope!) "foodie" style "watch us cook", Videos, , or step by step print-out recipes to create your Seafaring repast. And enjoy videos of our visits with Mariner-Musician-Chefs and some of the areas hottest and most engaging Chefs.
Send us comments and requests, Choose your own courses, or select from one of our well- tested a'la carte' entre and full dinner menus.
"Captain, please call your guests to table-Dinner is served-SailChef style!"


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Frankenstein claims a place on Scotland's map
The stunning setting of Dunnottar Castle, near Stonehaven, has been used as a location in the modern re-telling of Mary Shelley's gothic 19th century novel.
It stars actors Daniel Radcliffe, of 'Harry Potter' fame and James McAvoy, who is best known for his roles in The Last King of Scotland and X-Men: First Class.
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdIn a twist to the original story, the movie tells the tale of Frankenstein from the point of view of his assistant and brilliant protege, Igor (played by Radcliffe).
The film examines his friendship with the young radical medical student, Victor Frankenstein, and how he witnesses the making of the monstrous legend.
But as Victor's experiments go too far, it is left up to Igor to save his friend from his new-found obsession before he loses complete control of his evil creation.
Scenes were shot at Dunnottar Castle in March this year as the cast and crew arrived in Stonehaven.
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdDaniel and James were also said to have been spotted relaxing in the town during breaks in filming.
At the time Wendy Sylvester, former custodian of the castle, said: "We all got a chance to meet and spend time with the cast and crew.
"They were really warm with staff, and were very nice, genuine and down to earth.
"They seemed to like it here a lot, and I think they enjoyed being here very much.
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad"We really enjoyed having them – we're missing them now they're gone!
"It's been a very exciting week for us here, and a nice break from the normal routine."
This week, Jim Wands, the current custodian of Dunnottar Castle, said everyone was looking forward to seeing the film when it is released at the start of December.
He added: "All the staff here are excited to see our beautiful castle on the big screen.
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad"The film trailer features a quick shot of it, and the stunning location really adds to the dark atmosphere of the film.
"We are sure it will bring many visitors to 'Frankenstein's Castle' and to the wider Stonehaven area."
This isn't the first time Dunnottar Castle has featured in a blockbuster movie.
It was included in the 1990 film 'Hamlet' starring Mel Gibson and was the inspiration behind the family castle in Disney-Pixar's 'Brave'.
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Hide AdPhilip Smith, regional director for Aberdeen City & Shire at VisitScotland, said: "In 2013, Dunnottar Castle was shortlisted for the title of 'Eighth Wonder of the World' – and it's easy to see why.
"Its dramatic clifftop setting has proved a magnet for filmmakers, including Franco Zefferrelli, who used the castle as Elsinore in his 1990 adaptation of Hamlet, starring Mel Gibson.
"It was also the main source of inspiration behind Dunbroch – Merida's family home in Disney-Pixar's Brave."
He added: "Set-jetting, where people visit the shooting locations of their favourite movies, is big business.
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad"So Dunnottar's role in Victor Frankenstein is further great news for a fantastic visitor attraction which also features in our new guide – Set in Scotland: A Film Fan's Odyssey."
Directed by Paul McGuigan, Victor Frankenstein, is due to be shown in UK cinemas from next Thursday, December 3.