verse ways, may contribute
as much as possible to the spiritual and material wealth of the world.
But this ideal of individuality often leads to false developments, as
we see in the spheres of art and of education. Such a man as Oscar
Wilde, whose personality is essentially evil, defends his artistic
principles on the ground that he must needs express his personality,
that art is nothing but such personal expression, and that it is
subject to no standard save the individuality of the artist. Some
writers on education, among them Mr. Bernard Shaw, who has many points
in common with the Sophists, tell us that to attempt to mould the
character of a child by discipline, is to sin against its personality,
and that the child should be allowed to develop its individuality
unchecked in its own way. But against this we have to protest that to
make the cultivation of individuality an end in itself, and to put
exclusive emphasis on this, is wrong. The cultivation of an
individuality is not in itself a good thing; it is not a good thing if
the individuality be a worthless one. If a child exhibits savage or
selfish tendencies, it must be subjected to discipline, and it is
ridiculous to make a fetish of its personality to such an extent as to
allow it to develop as it likes. In a similar way, the ideal of
individuality is often interpreted to mean that the cultivation of the
mere eccentricities and oddities of the individual is something good.
But the personal peculiarities of a man are just what is worthless
about him. That alone which entitles him to the sacred rights of a
"person" is his rational and universal nature.

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CHAPTER X

SOCRATES

Amid the destruction of all ideals of truth and morality, which was
brought about by the Sophists, there appeared in Athens the figure of
Socrates, who was destined to restore order out of chaos, and to
introduce sanity into the disordered intellectual life of the time.
Socrates was born about 470 B.C. in Athens. His father was a sculptor,
his mother a midwife. Very little is known of his early years and
education, except that he took up his father's occupation as a
sculptor. In later years some statues used to be shown at the
Acropolis in Athens, which were said to be the work of Socrates. But
comparatively early in life he deserted his profession in order to
devote himself to what he considered his mission in life, philosophy.
He spent his entire life in Athens, never departin