This is the conclusion of the previous post.
Victory over enemies
In Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy God promises to give his people victory over their enemies in battle if they keep his laws.
Plato at first expresses doubts over the belief that a state will be victorious in battle because of its superior laws and customs…..
Megillus. O best of men, we [Spartans] have only to take arms into our hands, and we send all these nations flying before us.
Athenian stranger. Nay, my good friend, do not say that; there have been, as there always will be, flights and pursuits of which no account can be given, and therefore we cannot say that victory or defeat in battle affords more than a doubtful proof of the goodness or badness of institutions.
What counts is the character of the people. How completely do they submit their character to laws designed to make them good?
[E]ducation makes good men, and that good men act nobly, and conquer their enemies in battle, because they are good.
Do not forget
The Pentateuch warns against forgetting the reasons for one’s success and the accrual of blessings and becoming proud. Plato has the same warning: Continue reading “Plato’s and Bible’s Laws: Similarities, completing Book 1 of Laws“