It is a very good example of those involved in the divided...

It is a very good example of those involved in the divided line of this world and the hereafter. In his simile we are asked to picture a group of people sitting inside a dark cave, their hands and feet are bound in such a way that they can only look at the back walk of the cave. Behind them is a wall, and beyond that wall pass human-line creatures carrying equipment and the like. Due to the fact that there is a fire behind them they cause flickering shadows on he back wall of the cave.

The only thing that these cave dwellers can perceive is this shadow-play. Their knowledge is based solely on the shadows, which form their world. They have been sitting in this position since they were bon so they believe that all they can see is all that there is. Please read this simile carefully and, if necessary, more than once, trying to imagine yourself as one of the prisoners. Then, see how you could assure yourself that the world you are living in is not a mere illusion.

Make sure you have thought enough about the issues raised in this chapter before you proceed to the next. The Simile of the Cave (First Part) ‘I want you to go on to picture the enlightenment or ignorance of our human conditions somewhat as follows. Imagine an underground chamber, like a cave with an entrance open to the daylight and running a long way underground.

In this chamber are men who have been prisoners there since they were children, their legs and necks being so fastened that they can only look straight ahead of them and cannot turn their heads. Behind them and above them a fire is burning, and between the fire and the prisoners runs a road, in front of which a curtain-wall has been built, like the screen on puppet shows between the operators and their audience, above which they show the puppets'.

‘I see.' ‘Imagine further that there are men carrying all sorts of gear along behind the curtain-wall, including figures of men and animals made of wood and stone and other materials, and that some of these men, as is natural, are talking and some not.' ‘An odd picture and an odd sort of prisoner.' ‘They are drawn from life,' I replied.