“Culture” is a word with deep connections to natural forms and processes, most obviously in words such as “agriculture” or “cultivate.” Just as the potential of a plant or animal isn’t possible without cultivation, so it was readily understood that the human creature’s best potential simply could not be realized without good culture. This was so evident to ancient thinkers that the first several chapters of Plato’s Republic are devoted not to a discussion of political forms but to the kinds of stories that are appropriate for children.
