12 GROUNDCOVER NEWS CREATIVE Silent virtue: being good is a good in itself In “The Republic,” Plato, through the voice of Socrates, builds one of the most profound defenses of the just and virtuous life. The dialogue centers on the question of what justice is, and whether the just man is happier than the unjust one. Faced with the provocations of Thrasymachus and Glaucon, who argue that injustice can be more advantageous when it goes undiscovered, Socrates maintains the opposite: that being good is a good in itself, not a means to reputation, power or pleasure. Virtue does not need applause; it only needs to exist. For Socrates, the human soul has three parts — reason, spirit and desire — and justice consists in the harmony among them. To be just is to live in inner balance, with each part fulfilling its function under the guidance of reason. Just as a city is well-ordered when each group performs its role without encroaching on the others, a person is good when they master themselves and act according to the good as known by the mind. The unjust man, though he may appear to PEDRO CAMPOS Groundcover vendor No. 652 wisdom, and that vice is born of ignorance. The fool seeks to appear good; the wise seek only to be good. Socrates teaches that integrity is silent and coherence is the highest form of intelligence: to act according to reason, uncorrupted by pride, desire or vanity. Socratic humility is not submission triumph, lives in inner disorder, enslaved by passions and fears. His soul is a city at war. The good life, therefore, is one in which a person is self-sufficient. Socrates shows, through his conduct and his words, that true happiness lies in needing little and in living with coherence between thought, speech and action. He sleeps wherever necessity finds him, dresses simply, seeks neither wealth nor honors, but uprightness of character. His greatness lies not in what he has, but in what he is. As Alcibiades says in “The Symposium,” Socrates “slept anywhere, ate whatever was available, and feared neither cold nor heat;” he was a free man because he lacked nothing. To be good without displaying it is the pinnacle of virtue. The truly just person does not need others’ approval to act rightly. He understands that goodness is a form of A woman's worth JOCELIN BOYD Groundcover vendor No. 85 A woman's worth is valuable like diamonds and gold. Her soul is pure beauty. She's the queen of her castle. Her words are compassionate and loving. She draws boundaries without guilt. A woman can embrace her strength. A woman's worth is endless. but inner strength. It arises from awareness of one’s own limits — the famous “I know that I know nothing” — and leads to self-mastery and tolerance. One who understands his ignorance does not seek to dominate but to understand, does not judge but dialogues, does not impose but questions. It is through this constant exercise of self-examination and moderation that a person draws near to true freedom. In “The Republic,” Socrates proposes that if the just and the unjust were subjected to the same trials, the former would remain at peace with himself, while the latter would be consumed inwardly. Justice is, therefore, a form of the soul’s health. Just as a sick body suffers even without visible wounds, the unjust soul decays even under the appearance of success. The just man, on the other hand, possesses serenity, balance and contentment — and is happy even in poverty, obscurity or adversity. The Socratic thesis is radical and at the same time liberating: a person’s worth is not measured by others’ gaze, but by the inner harmony between what one thinks, says and does. Glory and fame are shadows; virtue is substance. The true triumph is to be good in silence, just without witnesses and honest without reward. In a world that values appearances, The earth SHAWN SWOFFER Groundcover vendor No. 574 The sun shines and brightens up the earth. The earth’s so vast and so pure. The sky blankets the earth. Waves crashing out onto the sand. The grass and the prairies so beautiful. Prairie dogs peeking out from under the earth. Eagles flying across the cannons and mountain tops. Wolves coming out from the caves. The earth, so beautiful, so unique, so original. NOVEMBER 28, 2025 12/31/2025 Socrates’ lesson remains as current and necessary as ever. To be just, wise and moderate is to resist the tyranny of the ego. It is to choose to live for the common good, not for applause. It is, finally, to understand that a virtuous soul is the only treasure that neither time, nor power, nor death can corrupt. Follow @pedrocamposbrazil on Instagram
13 Publizr Home