Greetings all:

 

I am certain this is an unusual question.  I hope someone on Museum-L might know the source of this quotation (supposedly) from Plato:

 

"Someday, in the distant future, our grandchildren's grandchildren will develop a new equivalent of our classrooms. They will spend many hours in front of boxes with fires glowing within. May they have the wisdom to know the difference between light and knowledge."

 

Searching online, I stumbled upon reference to Plato's "Discourse on Future Learning," but I can find no evidence that such a discourse (or dialogue) actually exists.

 

Are we supposed to believe Plato was clairvoyant?  Come on . . . “boxes with fires”?  This strikes me as "urban legend" (or a “techno-myth”).  

 

Best wishes, sincerely,

 

Jay Heuman

Curator of Education

Salt Lake Art Center

 

20 South West Temple

Salt Lake City, UT  84101

Phone: 801.328.4201 x 121

Fax: 801.322.4323

URL: www.slartcenter.org

 

Salt Lake Art Center:

Celebrating 75 Years!

1931-2006

 

The aim of art is to represent not

the outward appearance of things,

but their inward significance.

Aristotle (384-322 B.C.E.)