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Aristophanes' Education of Socrates
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35
One is tempted to say that because the Clouds if offered from the perspective of the
comic poet instead of that of the city, and because there is as much similarity between
Aristophanes and Socrates as there is between the former and the city, it is altogether possible, if
not probable, that the burlesque was not meant to be an attack as such.
44
Aristophanes shows the
problem of Socrates emerging from a setting that could easily be substituted for one of countless
other possibilities. Socrates does threaten the foundations of a community, but he is only a
problem when he is sought out, i.e., when his theoretical wisdom is coveted for practical
concerns. By letting Socrates emerge as a problem because Strepsiades seeks him out for
nefarious reasons, Aristophanes makes it clear that his Clouds can just as easily be understood as
a warning than as an attack:
Far from being an enemy of Socrates, Aristophanes was his friend, but somewhat envious of hiswisdom – even of the wisdom of the young Socrates. Or, as one might also say, the primary objectof the comic poet’s envy was not Socrates’ wisdom but his sovereign contempt for that popular
applause on which the dramatic poet necessarily depends, or Socrates’ perfect freedom
.
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44
Nichols suggest that the Clouds was meant as an attack on Socrates, one that, “. . .
directs man to ordinary life as a substitute for completion, but it is in ordinary life that the desirefor completeness arises. How long can laughter check desire and prevent tears?” (Nichols, p.28). The comedy, for Nichols, is in some sense tragic, for it can point out the inherent flaws ofthe situation, yet offer no serious solution. While it is true that Aristophanes’ comedy comes backdown to the horizons of the city in a way that Socrates’ philosophy never does, it does notnecessarily follow that the comedy is purely one-sided and adversarial. Precisely because of thedegree to which Aristophanes, like Socrates, is at a great distance from the city testifies to thelikelihood that the comedy is also an attack on the city. And if this is the case, for whom wouldthe attack have been authored if not for Socrates? Without presenting the city and Socrates aseach being both serious and foolish, Aristophanes’ comedy would show itself to be incomplete,and hence, ridiculous.
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Strauss, Socrates and Aristophanes, p. 5.
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35
One is tempted to say that because the Clouds if offered from the perspective of the
comic poet instead of that of the city, and because there is as much similarity between
Aristophanes and Socrates as there is between the former and the city, it is altogether possible, if
not probable, that the burlesque was not meant to be an attack as such.
44
Aristophanes shows the
problem of Socrates emerging from a setting that could easily be substituted for one of countless
other possibilities. Socrates does threaten the foundations of a community, but he is only a
problem when he is sought out, i.e., when his theoretical wisdom is coveted for practical
concerns. By letting Socrates emerge as a problem because Strepsiades seeks him out for
nefarious reasons, Aristophanes makes it clear that his Clouds can just as easily be understood as
a warning than as an attack:
Far from being an enemy of Socrates, Aristophanes was his friend, but somewhat envious of his
wisdom – even of the wisdom of the young Socrates. Or, as one might also say, the primary object
of the comic poet’s envy was not Socrates’ wisdom but his sovereign contempt for that popular
applause on which the dramatic poet necessarily depends, or Socrates’ perfect freedom
.
45
44
Nichols suggest that the Clouds was meant as an attack on Socrates, one that, “. . .
directs man to ordinary life as a substitute for completion, but it is in ordinary life that the desire
for completeness arises. How long can laughter check desire and prevent tears?” (Nichols, p.
28). The comedy, for Nichols, is in some sense tragic, for it can point out the inherent flaws of
the situation, yet offer no serious solution. While it is true that Aristophanes’ comedy comes back
down to the horizons of the city in a way that Socrates’ philosophy never does, it does not
necessarily follow that the comedy is purely one-sided and adversarial. Precisely because of the
degree to which Aristophanes, like Socrates, is at a great distance from the city testifies to the
likelihood that the comedy is also an attack on the city. And if this is the case, for whom would
the attack have been authored if not for Socrates? Without presenting the city and Socrates as
each being both serious and foolish, Aristophanes’ comedy would show itself to be incomplete,
and hence, ridiculous.
45
Strauss, Socrates and Aristophanes, p. 5.
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