The great purpose of education is to turn a man round from his natural position at the bottom of this dark cave, where he sees nothing but shadows: to fix his eyes in the other direction, and to induce him to ascend into clear daylight. Education does not, as some suppose, either pour knowledge into an empty mind, or impart visual power to blind persons. Men have good eyes, but these eyes are turned in the wrong direction. The clever among them see sharply enough what is before them: but they have nothing before them except shadows, and the sharper their vision the more mischief they do.[216] What is required is to turn them round and draw them up so as to face the real objects of daylight. Their natural eyesight would then suffice to enable them to see these objects well.[217] The task of our education must be, to turn round the men of superior natural aptitude, and to draw them up into the daylight of realities. Next, when they shall have become sufficiently initiated in truth and philosophy, we must not allow them to bury themselves permanently in such studies--as they will themselves be but too eager to do. We must compel them to come down again into the cave and exercise ascendancy among their companions, for whose benefit their superior mental condition will thus become available.[218] [Footnote 216: Plato, Republic, p. 519 A-B.] [Footnote 217: Plato, Republic, p. 519 B. [Greek: ô(=n ei) a)pallage\n periestre/pheto ei)s ta)lêthê=, kai\ e)kei=na a)\n to\ au)to\ tou=to tô=n au)tô=n a)nthrô/pôn o)xu/tata e(ô/ra, ô(/sper kai\ e)ph' a)\ nu=n te/traptai.]] [Footnote 218: Plato, Republic, vii. pp. 519-520.] [Side-note: Those who have emerged from the Cave into full daylight amidst eternal Forms, must be forced to come down again and undertake active duties--Their reluctance to do this.]