Plato vs. Polonius on being true to truth, or to self-interest

"...'Every man by nature is and ought to be his own friend'. Whereas the excessive love of self is in reality the source to each man of all offenses; for the lover is blinded about the beloved, so that he judges wrongly of the just, the good, and the honorable, and thinks that he ought always to prefer himself to the truth." - Plato Laws, c. 360 B.C.E

Consider using this as context and historical background for the advice of Polonius to his son Laertes in Shakespeare's Hamlet:

"This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day.
Thou canst not then be false to any man." (1.3.84-86)

Polonius also seems narcissistic and miserly, advising his son,
"Neither a borrower nor a lender be..." (1.3.81),
and having learned that Ophelia has been "most free and bounteous" of her time spent with Hamlet (1.3.101-2), urges that she should "tender" herself "more dearly" (1.3.116), or in other words, charge more for her attention, perhaps requiring a formal and public betrothal instead of a private one from Hamlet who offered "almost all the holy vows of heaven" (1.3.123) - but also "tender... more dearly" as the language of a pimp (or "fishmonger") to one of his prostitutes...

Polonius is far more interested in self-interest and skepticism than generosity, trust, or shared good.

In other words, Plato here would disagree with Polonius. Yet many generations of teachers required schoolchildren to memorize the advice of Polonius, with no helpful insight from Plato. This demonstrates perhaps how "something is rotten" (1.4.100) and "the time is out of joint" (1.5.210).

Tradition, at best, preserves what is good, but sometimes perhaps it loses its way?

With thanks to David Proud for posting recently a larger quote from Plato, from which this snip is taken.

David Proud's Plato post on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/david-proud-a749bb68_of-all-evils-the-greatest-is-one-which-in-activity-7243599076431204354-ehp-?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

Image, left:  Plato, detail from "School of Athens" fresco (1509) by Raphael  (1483–1520).
Apostolic Palace, Rome.  Public domain via https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sanzio_01_Plato_Aristotle.jpg

Image, right: Polonius, from the Elsinore Theater, Portland, OR: art glass panes by Albert Gerlach of Povey Brothers Studio. Public domain via https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Polonius.jpg


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