Friedrich_Nietzsche - Untimely_Meditations_(Cambridge_Texts_in_the_History_of_Philosophy__1997)

Sclwpenhauer as educatorWhoever wants to reproach him, as Niebuhr reproached Plato, withbeing a bad citizen, let him do so and be a good citizen himself: thushe will be in the right and so will Plato. Another will see this greatfreedom as a piece of presumption: he too is ,right, fo r he himselfwould do nothing with it and it would be very presumptuous in himto claim it for himself. That freedom is in fact a heavy debt which canbe discharged only by means of great deeds. In truth, every ordinaryson of earth has the right to regard with resentment a man favouredin this way: only may some god guard him from being thus favouredhimself, that is from becoming so fearfully indebted. For he would atonce perish of his freedom and solitude, and become a fool, and amalicious fo ol at that, out of boredom.From what we have discussed perhaps some father or other maybe able to learn something and apply it in some way to the privateeducation of his son; though it is truly not to be expected that fatherswill want only philosophers for sons. It is probable that fathers inevery age have put up the most determined resistance to their sons'being philosophers, as though it were extremely perverse; as is wellknown, Socrates fell victim to the wrath of the fathers over his 'seductionof youth', and Plato for that reason considered it necessaryto institute a whole new state if the existence of the philosopher wasnot to be imperilled by the unreason of the fathers. It almost looksnow as though Plato really did achieve something. For the modernstate regard s the promotion of philosophy as among its tasks andseeks at all times to bless a number of men with that 'freedom' whichwe understand as the most essential condition fo r the genesis of thephilosopher. But historically speaking Plato has been singularlyunfortunate: as soon as a structure has appeared which has essentiallycorresponded to his proposals, it has always turned out onclose examination to be a changeling, an ugly elf-child; such as themedieval priestly state was by comparison with the rule of the 'sonsof god' he had dreamed of. The last thing the modern state wants todo, of course, is to install philosophers as rulers' God be praised!every Christian will add -: but even promotion of philosophy as thestate understands it will one day have to be inspected to see whetherthe state understands it Platonically, which is to say as seriously andhonestly as though its highest objective were to produce new Platos.If the philosopher as a rule appears in his age by chance - does thestate now really set itself the task of consciously translating this fortuitousnessinto necessity and here too rendering assistance tonature?183