The Plato Papers (10 page)

The Trial of
Plato Charged
with Corrupting
the Young by
Spinning Lies
and Fables

34

Sparkler:
And then what did he do?

Ornatus:
He was standing beside the river, with a crowd gathered around him. You should have seen him, stamping his foot and dancing and singing out his words. He has the voice of a tall man—

Sparkler:
He always possessed gifts beyond his stature. That is why his light is so intense.

Ornatus:
He cannot help his nature, of course, but he makes a point of mentioning it. He revels in it. ‘Consider my plight,’ he says. ‘I am different from all of you. Even the children look down on me.’ Then he pauses for a moment. ‘But I wonder who looks down on you?’

Sparkler:
What did he mean by that?

Ornatus:
Only he knows. Nothing, probably. But he captured their attention. That was when he began talking about science. Or was it silence? Apparently silence created food and clothes and everything else.

Sparkler:
Where has he found this? It cannot have been taught to him, since the guardians would never sanction such nonsense.

Ornatus:
That is what I have been trying to tell you. You never listen.

Sparkler:
And you are too impatient.

Ornatus:
He found it all in a cave.

Sparkler:
A cave? What kind of cave?

Ornatus:
I have to admit I missed most of it. I was anointing my feet.

Sparkler:
As usual.

Ornatus:
But then he mentioned clocks. Or locks. The locks signified time. It was all very confusing. Let me see if I can reawaken the scene.

Do you see this? Come closer, citizens. It is known as a
watch. I brought it back with me from the cave of
Mouldwarp. No. Do not laugh. Listen. These marks
are called numbers. Notice how this narrow strip of
metal sweeps around in a circle of harmony? That is
time. Do not be afraid to touch it. Its spell cannot be
reawakened. What was its purpose? It created a universe! Examine the numbers around the rim. Do they
not make beautiful shapes? See the curvature of this
one. Look at the oval. They are wonderful because
they once represented the structure of the world. If we
open the back, here, we find tiny springs and wheels.
This is the machine. There was once a whole universe
modelled in its shape. That is why this watch was once
an object of great power. The people of Mouldwarp believed that they were the inhabitants of time and that
time itself was sacred because it was involved in the
origin of all things. Do you begin to understand what
an interesting civilisation it was? Time lent them a
sense of progress and of change, as well as giving them
perspective and an indication of distance. It allowed
them hope and also forgetfulness. There was a thing
called art, which was also the production of time.
Other great achievements were performed in its name
and the ancient citizens, who lived in so few dimen
sions, were astonished by it. So they created this ritual
object, this watch.

But then Plato made an extraordinary announcement.

Sparkler:
About what?

Ornatus:
He claimed that his orations had been filled with errors and misinterpretations.

Sparkler:
No!

Ornatus:
Mouldwarp had not ended in chaos. There had been no burning of the machines.

Sparkler:
This is absurd! What did the citizens make of it?

Ornatus:
Some of them were bewildered. Some were laughing. I just walked away. I was strolling in the fields among the archers when I heard the rumour that he has been put on trial.

Sparkler:
Precisely what I have heard. We shared a parish and a school with him, but we did not foresee any of this.

35

We have listened to you carefully, Plato. We have considered
everything you have told us. We cannot judge you on your
conscience, only upon what you have said and done. It is our
duty now to repeat the charges against you, so that you may
answer them directly.

If you can convince me with argument, then of course I will retract.

The first charge against you is that you have corrupted the
youth of this city by your words and speeches.

How can there be corruption in teaching them to consider the world not as it is but as it might have been? Or as it once was?

Already you are contradicting yourself. In your statement
of exculpation to us, you have insisted that this world still exists in some dark cavern beneath our city. You have described
it in such vivid detail that some of us long to visit.

(Laughter)

Yes. We do exist above them. We are, to them, no more than ghosts of light—

You were in a drunken stupor and dreamed all of this.

May I be allowed to continue? Their city is sunk within a cave and their sky is the roof of that dark chamber. I will debate with you on the merits of two realities existing simultaneously, and together we may decide that all versions and visions of the world may coexist eternally. But I have taught the young nothing of this. Shall I tell you what I said to them?

36

Help me forward, children. If I stand upon the top of the hill, I can be seen by you all. There once stood a great domed church on this summit, dedicated to the god Paul. I have seen it. There was a churchyard here. I am pleased that it is now a desert place. Do you know why? It means that I can speak freely to you without the whispers and rumours of the citizens. I am Plato the witless. That is what they call me now. Perhaps there is some justice there. I have always taught that you must know yourself. That is why I have looked into myself, too, and I realise I am not always right. I make mistakes. I stumble towards the truth. Look. Here is one of the stones I stumbled upon. It is not a witless stone like me, however. It is not one of the stones scattered around us. It is a witty stone. Do you see the marks carved upon its sides? Stones such as this were known to the ancients as dice. I brought it back with me from—you know where. Shall we follow the pattern of our ancestors? Roll the stone. Now roll it again. Can any of you tell me why different sides appeared? Can anyone predict which side will be hidden on the third roll? Of course you cannot. That is why I stumble. That is why I stop and think. Let us suppose that after a hundred, or even a thousand, throws we could still not be sure which side it would turn upon. Can we doubt that the anxiety would begin to affect our own lives? Why do we speak of human certainty, when this little stone will always trip us up? Perhaps I am being witless again. Perhaps not.

Of course it may be that our ancestors were not so frightened of change, and of chance, as we are. Perhaps it became, for them, a game like this one. I believe that they were content to face all the troubles and misadventures of this world. I have taught you that they lived in darkness, but they were not always afraid of the dark. I have already explained to you how they saw burning objects in their sky, which brought them warmth and comfort, but what if they had been granted other gifts? There is no darkness upon this little stone. It is a light and pleasant thing. Feel it. It reminds us that wherever there is fear, there is also delight; where there is pain, there may also be pleasure.

That is why I love those among you who are willing to question. I know that you have been taught the lives of gods and of heroes, of angels and of giants. But you have never heard the legends of those who stood alone against the world and, by dint of courage and truthfulness, won their battles. Why not praise them as well as the leaders who have been chosen for you to study? Look how different you all are. The son of Artemidorus is taller and more fair-skinned than the son of Madrigal; the daughter of Ornatus has limbs more slender than the daughter of Magnolia. Let us suppose that you are all different in other ways. I do not doubt that you will then approach the moment of revelation which once came to me. That is when I cried out, ‘I am I! I am not someone other!’ There. I have shouted it out, once more, and the city walls have not crumbled. Let us go down now and pray together by the black friars.

37

Was there any harm, or danger, in my words to them? On our way down from the hill I asked them to consider the nature of our gestures—how we stand back in conversation and raise our hands, how we touch our faces to denote pity or pleasure, how we close our eyes to signify assent. These are not newly made. They reach back for many thousands of years.

Enough! You are on trial for spreading fables and deceits,
Plato. You are not invited to elaborate upon them.

I will make one confession to you. I seemed to recollect something of myself in the citizens of Mouldwarp. In many ways they were as barbarous and foolish as I have described; but when I looked into their eyes, or whispered to their souls, I recognised that they were indeed our ancestors. That is perhaps why I loved them. They could not know that they lived in a cave, hidden from the light. But how can we be sure that, in turn, there is not a world of brightness beyond our own?

Once more you test our patience, Plato. Do not cling to
your blasphemies.

I see that I have offended you. You condemn me because I cannot accept the ultimate reality of our world. Is that it?

You know very well the case against you. You have departed from the way. You will attract misfortune. The citiZens already murmur against you.

How can it be that I disturb them by speaking the truth and admitting that in my orations I have misled them?

You are being too modest. You have gone further than that.

How? I have never spoken evil of the angels. I have never questioned the sanctity of mazes and mirrors. I have never defied the hierarchy of colours. I have beaten the bounds of my parish, according to custom. Do you want me to go on?

This is mere sophistry, Plato. All of us know that by your
words you have divided children from their parents. Do you
wish us to give you an example?