Image: lounge.obviousmag.org A bust of Plato
Cocky Young Meno
Meno strutting in Athens with entourage
sycophant of Gorgias
that overblown sophist and Socratic doubter,
Plato counter-posed you
in a double counter play
of the virtue of virtue
how innate, how not,
and you were confused
a mere child caught in
a permanent aporia,
but Socrates,
dear, tragic Socrates
showed you the way,
to search for that which
we do not know.
©Paul Vincent Cannon
Note: Plato wrote ‘Meno’ as a Socratic piece, a dialogue between Meno and Socrates. Meno is young and believes he is accomplished and clever, but Socrates proves him to be confused and lacking. Meno was also a mercenary who became involved with Cyrus the 2nd’s attempt to take the Persian throne from Artaxerxes, Cyrus was killed and Meno and other generals captured, all but Meno were beheaded. And I quip, at least he kept his head that time. The poem is really an elegy for Socrates who taught Meno a lesson.
Paul, pvcann.com
Greatly put 🙋♀️🐝
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Many thanks Bee 🙂
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No easy answers!
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No, to be sure. I like how Plato shows the patience of Socrates in leading Menlo down that path. Thank you.
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Thanks for the cliff-notes version of what the poem is about. My classical education has some major gaps in it.
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My pleasure, I never assume, I did philosophy in my second round at uni so it leaks out.
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WOW….you sure do remind me of the late blog poet, Paul Lenzi…(huge compliment, in case you wondered).
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That is a very great compliment, thank you so much
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You are ever welcome.
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Bravo!
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Many thanks VJ 🙂
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😀🙏😊 Thank you very much for following my site. ❤ God bless you.
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Pleasure
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❤👦😃
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I hope this doesn’t sound too strange or pathetic…obviously, I don’t believe in reincarnation…but I miss Paul Lenzi a lot, and it’s comforting to think his spirit remains with us here, in much of your poetry.
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Very kind, though I wonder what he’d say 🙂
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He was very humble, I think he’d be fine with it.
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Pingback: 321 Quote Me – Ain’t it the Truth? – Tales from the mind of Kristian
Thanks for doing that
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That is so clever. Brilliant!
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Thank you Kristian, very kind.
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You’re welcome. 🙂
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🙂
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Great done, Paul! Love it very much. Thank you for sharing this, and the other poems. Best wishes, Michael
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Thanks so much Michael
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Always my pleasure, Paul! You too!
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🙂
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🙂
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Great intellect that creates a poem like this
>
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Thank you for the wonderful complement.
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This is fantastic, Paul.
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Thank you very much Punam, that is very kind indeed.
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You are welcome, Paul.
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“I know nothing!”, said Aristotle
when it was Socrates all of Athens
decided to throttle 😎
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