by Carme Magem
In fact, it is only his body that lives and has its residence in the state;
his soul, however, holds all this to be puny and meaningless, and contemptuously
wanders all over the place, “under the earth,” as Pindar says, and measuring
whatever is on its surface, and “above the heavens,” observing the stars, and
in general thoroughly investigating the nature of everything that is, but
without lowering itself to the level of any of the objects in its vicinity.
Plato, Theactetus, 173c (this is Plato´s description of
the philosopher, which, probably with roots in facts, sounds like a description
of a shaman. Philosopher in this sense, simply means what the word means: a lover of wisdom. But it also depicts the exercise of a storyteller. Modern philosophers are so removed from this, that it only is the name they have in common).