Republic

Socrates turns to a consideration of the physical training for the Guardians, which course in gymnastic should begin quite early in life and continue through life. This physical training, like training in the arts, is intended to teach the Guardians temperance. The Guardians are to abstain from any form of intemperance: gluttony, drunkenness, or any form of sexual license. Thus the training in gymnastic governs diet or any form of physical habit, for intemperance in things physical can result in gluttony, slothfulness, and debility from sexual excess. In fact, intemperance may even result in forms of hypochondria that cause men to invent or develop illnesses that in turn cause them habitually to seek aid from physicians, which would be a sorry plight for Guardians of the state. In fact, the responsible Guardian of the state has an obligation to maintain his good health and not to become a burden to the state. The Guardians are supposed to be too busy to be ill.