Plato's Republic.

Professor Goodwin delivered the second of his lectures on "Plato" in the course on Greek Philosophy last evening in the Fogg Mussum. He devoted the substance of his lecture to a consideration of Plato's "Republic," in which the author tells the construction of his ideal state.

The state, Plato believed, was formed of several individuals for mutual benefit. The young should be carefully trained with a view to becoming good citizens. Their education was to be the regular Greek training in letters, music and gymnastics. This training was to last till they were twenty years old, when, according to fitness, they were to be separated into the guardians of the state, the military, and the commons. The first two classes were to be supported by the state, in return for their services. The guardians were to hold their wives and children in common. The children were not allowed to know their father and mother.

The ideal state of Plato was to be governed by the aristocracy, who should be philosophers. Plato believed that they were the only ones competent to rule a state. The true object of teaching the guardians of the state was not to show them anything new, but rather to show them things in their true light. Their minds were to be turned from the fleeting to the eternal.