J. Tullius introduced me to Wilbur. That's a fun one. And yeah, the cave is an underworld, a place of shadows and shades. Things are trapped or obscured down there. The story of leaving the cave is really the whole metaphor for the mind, both in Plato and in the myth of Orpheus. Katabasis and anabasis.
Read with interest albeit not familiar with the philosophical contexts. So interest is piqued in order to integrate with Jung and that ilk. Also, mystic Christians and mindfulness ethos.
I so love Philosophy's song about Orpheus in Consolation iii.xii -- the conclusion she draws there for Boethius (facing his brutal death): "To you this tale refers, Who seek to lead your mind Into the upper day; For he who overcome should turn back his gaze Towards the Tartarean cave, Whatever excellence he takes with him He loses when he looks on those below."
Thanks for sharing Isabel. I love the nobility of the line. And "Excellence" is a good word for that thing we carry forward with us. It's a testament to the metaphor itself that so many have made such good use of it.
You are an excellent teacher. I thought I was familiar with Plato's cave and Orpheus, but now I see how much I was missing. The last two paragraphs are poetry.
Great essay, had me thinking of BudLite's genius mancave/Plato's cave commercial. Have you seen it? Dude is watching the Bears-Packers game in his mancave. Packers apparently win 24-21. Dude leaves mancave and discovers that in reality the Bears won 36-7! He's a Bears fan so he and a diverse group of friends celebrate with BudLites.
J. Tullius introduced me to Wilbur. That's a fun one. And yeah, the cave is an underworld, a place of shadows and shades. Things are trapped or obscured down there. The story of leaving the cave is really the whole metaphor for the mind, both in Plato and in the myth of Orpheus. Katabasis and anabasis.
Read with interest albeit not familiar with the philosophical contexts. So interest is piqued in order to integrate with Jung and that ilk. Also, mystic Christians and mindfulness ethos.
Thank you Carolyn. Christian mystic, or Neo-Platonist, should probably be in the bio.
I so love Philosophy's song about Orpheus in Consolation iii.xii -- the conclusion she draws there for Boethius (facing his brutal death): "To you this tale refers, Who seek to lead your mind Into the upper day; For he who overcome should turn back his gaze Towards the Tartarean cave, Whatever excellence he takes with him He loses when he looks on those below."
Thanks for sharing Isabel. I love the nobility of the line. And "Excellence" is a good word for that thing we carry forward with us. It's a testament to the metaphor itself that so many have made such good use of it.
Given your passion and interest in the trope of the mind as cave, do you know Wilbur's poem Mind? It starts:
Mind in the purest play is like some bat
That beats about in caverns all alone,
Contriving by a kind of senseless wit
Not to conclude against a wall of stone.
Also isn't it true that the metaphor of the mind as cave is ambivalent. Is it the mind or the prison of the mind?
Great article, never made the Plato/orpheus connection before!
You may be interested in Vincent Lima’s album “to love a thing that fades” which is entirely direct Orpheus+eurydice references
I reference it in an upcoming post on Friday as well
Thanks Nick. The myth is certainly a perennial figure in art.
Nick, thanks for the reference to Vincent Lima. Brings the narratives home.
Once again, you've adorned so well the tradition I find myself seeking to be apart of. I'm indepted to your elucidations. Thank you!
Thank you Zane!
You are an excellent teacher. I thought I was familiar with Plato's cave and Orpheus, but now I see how much I was missing. The last two paragraphs are poetry.
Thank you Abigail. That's very kind of you to say.
Elegant and suggestive.
Thank you Matt. Appreciate it.
Great essay, had me thinking of BudLite's genius mancave/Plato's cave commercial. Have you seen it? Dude is watching the Bears-Packers game in his mancave. Packers apparently win 24-21. Dude leaves mancave and discovers that in reality the Bears won 36-7! He's a Bears fan so he and a diverse group of friends celebrate with BudLites.
There's no way the Bears would beat the Packers 36-7. That's creativity in service of the bad. Plato would've booted you right out of the city.