Republic: Book III Summary

Socrates continues to discuss more themes in literature which should be censored to avoid the corruption of the youth. Any passages which depict the afterlife as negative should be expunged as well as any passages which depict men lacking courage or obedience to their superiors or temperance in their desires. The style of literature is important too and the men agree that literature should mainly narrate (that is, describe in the third-person) and only imitate (imitation refers to literature written from the perspective of one of the story's characters) those characters who are virtuous, otherwise the men who read it may want to imitate unjust people. In like manner, the music allowed in the state is to be regulated and only those songs which are conducive to the production of virtuous, spirited men fit for combat will be allowed...