The Examined Life in Gotham

Pints in NYC, a blog in a sense conceived on this one, starts things off with a must-read discussion of "the opening lines of Plato's Republic" — ". . . down by the Pireaus . . ."

"This possibly greatest work of philosophy begins not in an ivory tower, but amongst the people" and "not with a vainglorious statement or slogan, as so many murderous modern ideologies have (i.e. 'All men are born free . . .' , 'A spectre is haunting Europe . . .' ), but rather is couched in religious liturgy and social festivity and an open-mindedness to 'something new.'"