When Socrates mentions aret^e in his society, it was probably more in the context of natural excellence rather than human excellence, that is to say if one believes nature and self are interconnected and not divisible. Unabashedly, I do, and came to this conclusion of sorts after reading it several times. There's also the matter of present-day society and what this means. Today's heros are tomorrow's throwaway's it seems, and once forgotten are the days of aret^e: real human excellence. To excel these days in one thing is enough. Financial ruin may be at stake but the chase, as we all know, is better than the catch. In saying that, aret^e (more opinion here) is at an all time low and if still alive, Socrates might be wandering the roads of this world searching for true human excellence. Sadly, he would only find a first world mentality of "image" being the ultimate goal of success. From birth to death we are sold images of success and told that only one is really sustainable, so pick one and stick with it 'cuz quitters never win and winners never quit. Once again, if aret^e is attainable (and I think it is), the idea that human excellence is knowing all things are interconnected and one can learn anything from this principle... should be taught in high school, rather than the former "do your best with one thing and hang on for dear life until you die". On that note, I think I'll go read some more Heraclitus now. 0_o