Wonder initiation and contemplation

Use in the book

The happy person first wonders at the visible cosmos and then develops a love of learning all that is possible for mortal nature (986c). Wonder is a beginning, not the final cognitive achievement. It becomes desire for thorough learning, and that desire is expressly bounded by mortal capacity. The sequence prevents both passive admiration from being mistaken for wisdom and unlimited comprehension from being promised to human learners.

The account then projects a life passed well and fortunately and, after death, a journey to places appropriate to virtue (986c–d). The person is truly and really initiated, one participant in one intelligence, and remains a contemplator of the finest visible things. The language of initiation gives the transformation solemnity and completion. Nothing here identifies a particular sanctuary, ritual fee, secret password, or series of rites that substitutes for the subsequent studies.

The curriculum later explains what such preparation involves. “Contemplate” reappears in the description of the exceptional nature capable of understanding the seven circuits (990b). The continuity links the promise at 986d to a demanding cognitive practice rather than leaving it as decorative religious language. Still, the word theōros retains its relationship to seeing, and the account speaks of the finest things “as many as there are for sight.” It should not be paraphrased as wholly abandoning every relation to the visible.

The final hope that the wise person becomes one out of many and no longer shares in many perceptions echoes the earlier unity of intelligence (992b). The echo is strong, but the later statement adds an explicit condition about continued existence after death. The two passages should therefore be read together without converting either into a demonstrated physiological account of posthumous sight or a guaranteed individual immortality.

Wonder also marks the mathematical relations as divine at 990d–e. The learner's admiration is progressively educated: first the ordered cosmos, then the unexpected intelligibility of geometrical and proportional relations, then their unified contemplation. The word-family records a change from being struck by an appearance to recognizing the grounds on which the appearance is intelligible.

Places to read

1. 986cπρῶτον μὲν ἐθαύμασεν — Wonder is the first response
2. 986cἔρωτα ἔσχεν τοῦ καταμαθεῖν — Wonder develops into love of thorough learning
3. 986cὁπόσα θνητῇ φύσει δυνατά — Mortal possibility limits the promised understanding
4. 986dμεμυημένος ἀληθῶς τε καὶ ὄντως — The transformed learner is truly and really initiated
5. 986dμεταλαβὼν φρονήσεως εἷς ὢν μιᾶς — One person shares in one intelligence
6. 986dθεωρὸς τῶν καλλίστων — The resulting role is contemplator of the finest things
7. 990bθεωρῆσαι — The contemplation of circuits becomes an explicit educational demand
8. 990dτῷ δυναμένῳ συννοεῖν — The mathematical wonder is available to the person able to understand

Translation in this edition

“Wonder,” “love of learning thoroughly,” “initiated,” and “contemplator” keep the successive changes of register. The glossary separates contemplation from observing and apprehending. The perfect μεμυημένος is the attested form; μυεῖν is the explanatory lemma. No name of a particular mystery cult is supplied by the local passage.

Demanding understanding of circuits — θεωρεῖν (theōrein)

θεωρεῖν (theōrein)

Demanding understanding of circuits. Adequate contemplation of the seven requires an exceptional nature and the subsequent mathematical education. Attested: θεωρῆσαι (990b). Wonder initiation and contemplation.

Enduring spectator of beauty — θεωρός (theōros)

θεωρός (theōros)

Enduring spectator of beauty. The initiated person's hoped-for role is contemplator of the finest things available to sight. Attested: θεωρὸς (986d). Wonder initiation and contemplation.

Continuance of contemplation — διατελεῖν (diatelein)

διατελεῖν (diatelein)

Continuance of contemplation. The verb presents the contemplated blessed condition as enduring for the remaining time without separately proving immortality. Attested: διατελεῖ (986d). Wonder initiation and contemplation.

Transition in the early hope — τελευτᾶν (teleutan)

τελευτᾶν (teleutan)

Transition in the early hope. The learner's death introduces the hope of arriving at places appropriate to virtue and continuing as contemplator. Attested: τελευτήσας (986d). Wonder initiation and contemplation.

Destination appropriate to virtue — προσήκειν (prosēkein)

προσήκειν (prosēkein)

Destination appropriate to virtue. The hoped-for posthumous places are fitting for virtue; the passage does not map their exact location. Attested: προσήκοντας (986d). Wonder initiation and contemplation.

Expected manner of living — εὐτυχής (eutychēs)

εὐτυχής (eutychēs)

Expected manner of living. The observer expects to pass life most fortunately through the pursuit of the cosmic understanding described. Attested: εὐτυχέστατά (986c). Wonder initiation and contemplation.

Completed educational transformation — μυεῖν (myein)

μυεῖν (myein)

Completed educational transformation. Mystery-initiation vocabulary characterizes the learner as truly initiated; no particular cult or historical rite is named. Attested: μεμυημένος (986d). Wonder initiation and contemplation.

Informed observation — καταμανθάνειν (katamanthanein)

καταμανθάνειν (katamanthanein)

Informed observation. The object of the happy observer's love is learning the cosmos as thoroughly as mortal capacity allows. Attested: καταμαθεῖν (986c). Wonder initiation and contemplation.

Desire for understanding — ἔρως (erōs)

ἔρως (erōs)

Desire for understanding. Love is directed toward thorough learning of the cosmic order, not merely enjoyment of its appearance. Attested: ἔρωτα (986c). Wonder initiation and contemplation.

Limit of the learner — θνητός (thnētos)

θνητός (thnētos)

Limit of the learner. Human mortal nature bounds the amount of divine order that can be thoroughly learned. Attested: θνητῇ (986c). Wonder initiation and contemplation.

Life directed by contemplation — διάγειν (diagein)

διάγειν (diagein)

Life directed by contemplation. The happy learner expects this inquiry to shape the way he passes his life, linking knowledge to lived good fortune. Attested: διάξειν (986c–d). Wonder initiation and contemplation.

Hoped-for destination — τόπος (topos)

τόπος (topos)

Hoped-for destination. Places befitting virtue occur in the prospect after death without a named geographical itinerary. Attested: τόπους (986d). Wonder initiation and contemplation.

One intelligence — μεταλαμβάνειν (metalambanein)

μεταλαμβάνειν (metalambanein)

One intelligence. The initiated person, as one, has obtained a share of one intelligence; this prepares but does not mechanically define the later unity of perception. Attested: μεταλαβὼν (986d). Wonder initiation and contemplation.

Beginning of learning — θαυμάζειν (thaumazein)

θαυμάζειν (thaumazein)

Beginning of learning. The happy person's first response to the visible cosmos precedes a love of learning what mortals can understand. Attested: ἐθαύμασεν (986c). Wonder initiation and contemplation.

As much as mortal nature allows (contextual phrase)

ὁπόσα θνητῇ φύσει δυνατά (986c)

The extent of the observer's desired learning is bounded by what is possible for mortal nature. Wonder and aspiration do not amount to a promise of unlimited human knowledge of divine matters. Wonder initiation and contemplation.

One participant in one intelligence (contextual phrase)

μεταλαβὼν φρονήσεως εἷς ὢν μιᾶς (986d)

The word order brings the person's unity and the intelligence's unity into correspondence. It anticipates the final one-out-of-many hope, but does not by itself identify the person with the cosmos or define the mechanics of perception after death. Wonder initiation and contemplation.