When the soul within a person is stronger than the body and under strain, it disturbs the body from within, leading to various diseases. Here’s Why we must care for both body and mind to maintain well-being. If the soul is passionately engaged in study or investigation, it wears down the body. Similarly, engaging in heated debates or rhetorical disputes, whether privately or publicly, inflames and unsettles the body, often resulting in catarrhal afflictions. This misleads many so-called doctors, who mistakenly attribute illnesses to external factors rather than recognising their true internal causes. (We might today associate this with autoimmune diseases.)
Conversely, when a large and powerful body is paired with a weak and undeveloped mind, imbalance arises. Since humans have two fundamental desires—nourishment for the body and wisdom for the intellect—if the stronger element dominates, the soul becomes dull, lacking perception and memory. This leads to the gravest and most dangerous illness of all: ignorance.
There is only one path to true well-being: never train the soul without the body, nor the body without the soul. If one is developed while the other is neglected, they act against one another, leading to disharmony.
Thus, those who engage in mathematics or intense intellectual pursuits must also train their bodies through physical exercise. Likewise, those who focus on physical fitness must also cultivate their minds through music, philosophy, and intellectual study. Only by balancing both aspects can a person truly be called good and virtuous.
Plato’s words remain as relevant today as they were in antiquity. The holistic development of body and mind is essential for a balanced, fulfilling, and meaningful life.
