The Dray-Horse

"Clydesdale" free AI image www.gemini.google.com

Suppose a man is to preserve his natural ability and qualities, according to the discourses in Plato's works. In that case, a man will be given plenty of opportunity to go through struggles, pains, and difficulties, and this should be the prescription for testing what lies in his constitution (Adler, 1952b, p. 340). There are parallels to testing the grittiness of a man that the 19th-century psychologist, William James, points to as well, when he mentions a philosophical idea that every man has been endowed and set with the strength of the dray horse (Adler, 1952a, p. 202). One might recall an example of a dray-horse being that sort of animal not bred for racing or swift feet within the cavalry, but that sort of massive build proper for hauling, towing, and pulling heavy loads-does not the Clydesdale come to mind?

Every television, for decades during the fall season, can recall the wintry image of snow in the background, and the sound of sleigh bells ringing as the great horses pull with the cadence of rhythm and step. This all-too-familiar Budweiser sleigh displays the beauty of its strength. Strength is an element that a man possesses. Consider how to feed that sort of strength best?

In Book III of Plato's Republic, discourses on guardians capture the reader's mind, which possess elements of a warrior. Interestingly, a reader would find what diet best suits the warrior on the campaign trail. The shocktroop would not bother themselves on the campaign trail and during deployment with cumbersome pots and pans. Instead, the elements of a soldier's meal are to begin with a fire, and the most nourishing food is roasted game (Adler, 1952b, p. 335).

According to the dialogue, Adler, p. 330-331 (1952b) the qualities of guardians which had been imitated since youth and extend into mature life, are self-belief, guts, a level head, reverent piety, and the commitment to ensure a society of free people while refraining as much as one can from baseness and drunkeness. Aren't the high ideals for every man to strive for and realise elements of a good society?

Isn't it true enough, to mimic the discussion in Plato's works, that the duty of those guardians, which every person can adopt, is to possess and have the most significant interest for the good of their own neighborhood, cities, and places of industry, for the betterment of all, and to renounce the opposite. Perhaps only when a person purges his inner being, lets go of some former alternative fact, and gains a better understanding, are they realized (Adler, 1952b, p. 339), and if possessing the magnitude of a dray-horse can bring about such change.

References:

Adler, Mortimer J. (1952a). William James. In The Great Books of the Western World. (Vol. 53). Encyclopedia Britannica.

Adler, Mortimer J. (1952b). Plato. In The Great Books of the Western World. (Vol. 7). Encyclopedia Britannica.