Once upon a time, there was a cave, and in this cave, there were a group of people who were captives. They had been there since birth and knew no other life. Indeed, they did not even know they were captives. These captives were chained in such a way that they were always looking at the wall directly in front of them. They could neither look to the right or to the left. Behind and back a ways from these captives, there was a great bonfire that burned continually and cast shadows upon the wall at which the captives continually looked.

The captors of these people in the cave were strange people and took to educating the captives in a strange way. Daily, they paraded items behind the captives but in front of the bonfire so that the items cast shadows upon the wall. For instance, they paraded a large cutout of a horse in front of the bonfire, and it cast the shadow of the horse onto the wall. The captors said to their prisoners, “This is a horse.” The captors did this every day with many different objects, and the captives, in this way, gained an understanding of the world. But it was a shadowy, flat, deceptive view of the world and all that was in it. This was the world that the captives knew: a world of shadows.

One day, one of the captives escaped from the cave and climbed out into the world. As he encountered the real world, he felt nothing but terror and anguish at first. The blazing sunlight pierced his eyes, and he was as a blind man. The rushing sounds of life assaulted his ears until he thought he would go insane. Then, as his eyes grew accustomed to the light of the sun, and he began to see, new terrors (or were they wonders?) barraged his mind. His brain couldn’t process what was happening to him. All around him, he saw colors and shapes, depth and breadth, and he was amazed (when he was no longer terrified) at the richness and fullness of life. He remembered the world of shadows in which he had lived so long and wept for the years he had lost.

Once the man had adjusted to the real world and could begin to grasp the truth of reality, he realized that he had to go back and tell his fellow captives and friends about what he had seen. He could not leave them to reside in the land of shadows, cut off from the color, mystery, and beautiful agony of real life. Rallying his strength, he found the entrance of the cave and crept back down into it, proceeding with fear and trembling lest he should be caught and imprisoned once again. When he reached the captives, he hid himself and bided his time until the captors were away and he could speak to the prisoners alone.

He crept up to the nearest captive, and said, “Friend, you must let me free you, and you must come with me. I have escaped into the world above, and it is so beautiful that words cannot express it! There are colors, shapes, and sounds you could never imagine. The trees are not flat and black: They are majestic, full, and alive! And the sea! You can’t imagine!”

 And on and on he went until he realized that his friend was gazing at him with confusion and pity. The friend said, “You certainly have gone mad. There is no world above. You have been chasing fantasies. Come back and be with us where you belong.”

The captive who had escaped was crestfallen. Why could he not explain things right? Why couldn’t his friend believe? He spoke to several of the other captives, telling them the same story but trying to explain better, to be more specific, so that they would understand and leave with him. He even tried to loosen the manacles that bound them so that they were always facing the wall. He thought if he did this, they would begin to taste freedom and want more. But the other captives only laughed at him and told him he was crazy, just as the first had done.

Finally, fearing that he might be discovered by the guards and imprisoned once again, he crept away in the darkness and found the passage leading up to the world above. He scaled the passage with sadness for his friends, but with gladness that he was leaving the kingdom of shadows and would enter the realm of beauty and light again. He determined he would do all he could to go back one day and lead his friends away from the shadows and into the land of light.

~ Paraphrased from Book 7 of Plato’s Republic
in The Discovery of Deduction by Joelle Hodge,
Aaron Larsen, and Shelly Johnson.
Reprinted by Permission.