Plato in the Lift
I laughed when I read Claire Giuntini‘s list of books of the year, which begins: ‘A few months ago, I began making a mental list of what my fellow passengers have been reading on the subway. You don’t see folks reading every ride. Or even every other ride. But those who do read come from all ages and situations, and they read all sorts of things.’ For I often make the same observation travelling by public transport, and have picked up some really good clues that way. Giuntini’s confession makes my curiosity seem less culpable. She concludes: ‘The crown jewel is the man I encountered in the elevator of my apartment building, and though he was neither on a train nor actively reading, I simply must include him on my list. He sported a leather trench coat, neck tattoos, a nose ring, and—most importantly—a fancy-looking hardcover edition of Plato’s Republic, the one that bears the subtitle ‘The Heaviest Penalty for Declining to Rule Is to Be Ruled by Someone Inferior to Yourself’.’ So there.
