Etext of Statesman by Plato

8/12/2019 Etext of Statesman by Plato

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Statesman

by Plato

translated by Benjam"n Jowett

2ay, /000 3Etext #/!456

*******The Project Gutenberg Etext of Statesman, by Plato*************Th"s f"le should be named sttsm/7.txt or sttsm/7.8"$******

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or"g"nal So$h"st, but w"th the so$h"stry of the schools of $h"loso$hy,wh"ch are ma&"ng reason"ng "m$oss"bleL and "s dr"%en by them out of thereg"ons of transcendental s$eculat"on bac& "nto the $ath of common sense.= log"cal or $sycholog"cal $hase ta&es the $lace of the doctr"ne of 1deas"n h"s m"nd. e "s constantly dwell"ng on the "m$ortance of regularclass"f"cat"on, and of not $utt"ng words "n the $lace of th"ngs. e has

ban"shed the $oets, and "s beg"nn"ng to use a techn"cal language. e "sb"tter and sat"r"cal, and seems to be sadly consc"ous of the real"t"es ofhuman l"fe. Qet the "deal glory of the Platon"c $h"loso$hy "s notext"ngu"shed. e "s st"ll loo&"ng for a c"ty "n wh"ch &"ngs are e"ther

$h"loso$hers or gods com$are


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So$h"st, by the method of d"chotomy, g"%es an o$$ortun"ty for manyhumorousand sat"r"cal remar&s. Se%eral of the jests are mannered and labouredAfor exam$le, the turn of words w"th wh"ch the d"alogue o$ensL or the clumsy

jo&e about man be"ng an an"mal, who has a $ower of twofeetboth wh"charesuggested by the $resence of Theodorus, the geometr"c"an. There "s

$ol"t"cal as well as log"cal "ns"ght "n refus"ng to adm"t the d"%"s"on ofman&"nd "nto ellenes and Barbar"ansA M"f a crane could s$ea&, he would "nl"&e manner o$$ose men and all other an"mals to cranes.M The $r"de of theellene "s further humbled, by be"ng com$ared to a Phryg"an or


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from the ca$r"ce of "nd"%"duals. They are ready to acce$t any of the s"xforms of go%ernment wh"ch $re%a"l "n the world. To the Gree&, nomos wasasacred word, but the $ol"t"cal "deal"sm of Plato soars "nto a reg"on

beyondL for the laws he would subst"tute the "ntell"gent w"ll of theleg"slator. Educat"on "s or"g"nally to "m$lant "n menMs m"nds a sense oftruth and just"ce, wh"ch "s the d"%"ne bond of states, and the leg"slator"s to contr"%e human bonds, by wh"ch d"ss"m"lar natures may be un"ted "nmarr"age and su$$ly the def"c"enc"es of one another. =s "n the -e$ubl"c,the go%ernment of $h"loso$hers, the causes of the $er%ers"on of states, theregulat"on of marr"ages, are st"ll the $ol"t"cal $roblems w"th wh"chPlatoMs m"nd "s occu$"ed. e treats them more sl"ghtly, $artly because thed"alogue "s shorter, and also because the d"scuss"on of them "s $er$etuallycrossed by the other "nterest of d"alect"c, wh"ch has begun to absorb h"m.

The $lan of the Pol"t"cus or Statesman may be br"efly s&etched as followsA/C By a $rocess of d"%"s"on and subd"%"s"on we d"sco%er the true herdsmanor &"ng of men. But before we can r"ghtly d"st"ngu"sh h"m from h"s r"%als,we must %"ew h"m, C as he "s $resented to us "n a famous anc"ent taleAthe tale w"ll also enable us to d"st"ngu"sh the d"%"ne from the humanherdsman or she$herdA 4C and bes"des our fable, we must ha%e an exam$leLfor our exam$le we w"ll select the art of wea%"ng, wh"ch w"ll ha%e to bed"st"ngu"shed from the &"ndred artsL and then, follow"ng th"s $attern, wew"ll se$arate the &"ng from h"s subord"nates or com$et"tors. FC But arewe not exceed"ng all due l"m"tsL and "s there not a measure of all arts andsc"ences, to wh"ch the art of d"scourse must conform There "sL but beforewe can a$$ly th"s measure, we must &now what "s the a"m of d"scourseA andour d"scourse only a"ms at the d"alect"cal "m$ro%ement of oursel%es andothers.a%"ng made our a$ology, we return once more to the &"ng orstatesman, and $roceed to contrast h"m w"th $retenders "n the same l"new"th h"m, under the"r %ar"ous forms of go%ernment. KC "s character"st"c"s, that he alone has sc"ence, wh"ch "s su$er"or to law and wr"ttenenactmentsL these do but s$r"ng out of the necess"t"es of man&"nd, when

they are "n des$a"r of f"nd"ng the true &"ng. C The sc"ences wh"ch aremost a&"n to the royal are the sc"ences of the general, the judge, theorator, wh"ch m"n"ster to h"m, but e%en these are subord"nate to h"m. !C+"xed $r"nc"$les are "m$lanted by educat"on, and the &"ng or statesmancom$letes the $ol"t"cal web by marry"ng together d"ss"m"lar natures, thecourageous and the tem$erate, the bold and the gentle, who are the war$ andthe woof of soc"ety.


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The outl"ne may be f"lled u$ as followsA

S9-=TESA 1 ha%e reason to than& you, Theodorus, for the acua"ntanceofTheaetetus and the Stranger.

TE9)9-;SA =nd you w"ll ha%e three t"mes as much reason to than& mewhenthey ha%e del"neated the Statesman and Ph"loso$her, as well as the So$h"st.

S9-=TESA )oes the great geometr"c"an a$$ly the same measure to allthree=re they not d"%"ded by an "nter%al wh"ch no geometr"cal rat"o can ex$ress

TE9)9-;SA By the god =mmon, Socrates, you are r"ghtL and 1 am gladto seethat you ha%e not forgotten your geometry. But before 1 retal"ate on you,1 must reuest the Stranger to f"n"sh the argument...

The Stranger suggests that Theaetetus shall be allowed to rest, and thatSocrates the younger shall res$ond "n h"s $laceL Theodorus agrees to thesuggest"on, and Socrates remar&s that the name of the one and the face ofthe other g"%e h"m a r"ght to cla"m relat"onsh"$ w"th both of them. They

$ro$ose to ta&e the Statesman after the So$h"stL h"s $ath they mustdeterm"ne, and $art off all other ways, stam$"ng u$on them a s"nglenegat"%e form com$are So$h.C.

The Stranger beg"ns the enu"ry by ma&"ng a d"%"s"on of the arts andsc"ences "nto theoret"cal and $ract"calthe one &"nd concerned w"th&nowledge exclus"%ely, and the other w"th act"onL ar"thmet"c and themathemat"cal sc"ences are exam$les of the former, and car$enter"ng andhand"craft arts of the latter com$are Ph"lebusC. ;nder wh"ch of the two

shall we $lace the Statesman 9r rather, shall we not f"rst as&, whetherthe &"ng, statesman, master, householder, $ract"se one art or many =s thead%"ser of a $hys"c"an may be sa"d to ha%e med"cal sc"ence and to be a

$hys"c"an, so the ad%"ser of a &"ng has royal sc"ence and "s a &"ng. =ndthe master of a large household may be com$ared to the ruler of a smallstate. ence we conclude that the sc"ence of the &"ng, statesman, andhouseholder "s one and the same. =nd th"s sc"ence "s a&"n to &nowledge


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rather than to act"on. +or a &"ng rules w"th h"s m"nd, and not w"th h"shands.

But theoret"cal sc"ence may be a sc"ence e"ther of judg"ng, l"&ear"thmet"c, or of rul"ng and su$er"ntend"ng, l"&e that of the arch"tect ormasterbu"lder. =nd the sc"ence of the &"ng "s of the latter natureL butthe $ower wh"ch he exerc"ses "s under"%ed and uncontrolled,acharacter"st"c wh"ch d"st"ngu"shes h"m from heralds, $ro$hets, and other"nfer"or off"cers. e "s the wholesale dealer "n command, and the herald,or other off"cer, reta"ls h"s commands to others. =ga"n, a ruler "sconcerned w"th the $roduct"on of some object, and objects may be d"%"ded"nto l"%"ng and l"feless, and rulers "nto the rulers of l"%"ng and l"felessobjects. =nd the &"ng "s not l"&e the masterbu"lder, concerned w"thl"feless matter, but has the tas& of manag"ng l"%"ng an"mals. =nd the

tend"ng of l"%"ng an"mals may be e"ther a tend"ng of "nd"%"duals, or amanag"ng of herds. =nd the Statesman "s not a groom, but a herdsman, andh"s art may be called e"ther the art of manag"ng a herd, or the art ofcollect"%e managementA(h"ch do you $refer M:o matter.M ery good,Socrates, and "f you are not too $art"cular about words you w"ll be all ther"cher some day "n true w"sdom. But how would you subd"%"de theherdsmanMsart M1 should say, that there "s one management of men, and another of

beasts.M ery good, but you are "n too great a hurry to get to man. =lld"%"s"ons wh"ch are r"ghtly made should cut through the m"ddleL "f youattend to th"s rule, you w"ll be more l"&ely to arr"%e at classes. M1 donot understand the nature of my m"sta&e.M Qour d"%"s"on was l"&e ad"%"s"on of the human race "nto ellenes and Barbar"ans, or "nto


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ex$er"ence, as the $ro%erb says, that Mthe more haste the worse s$eed.M

=nd now let us beg"n aga"n at the art of manag"ng herds. Qou ha%e $robablyheard of the f"sh$reser%es "n the :"le and "n the $onds of the Great V"ng,and of the nurser"es of geese and cranes "n Thessaly. These suggest a newd"%"s"on "nto the rear"ng or management of landherds and of waterherdsA1 need not say w"th wh"ch the &"ng "s concerned. =nd landherds may bed"%"ded "nto wal&"ng and fly"ngL and e%ery "d"ot &nows that the $ol"t"calan"mal "s a $edestr"an. =t th"s $o"nt we may ta&e a longer or a shorterroad, and as we are already near the end, 1 see no harm "n ta&"ng thelonger, wh"ch "s the way of mesotomy, and accords w"th the $r"nc"$le wh"chwe were lay"ng down. The tame, wal&"ng, herd"ng an"mal, may be d"%"ded"nto two classesthe horned and the hornless, and the &"ng "s concernedw"th the hornlessL and these aga"n may be subd"%"ded "nto an"mals ha%"ng or

not ha%"ng clo%en feet, or m"x"ng or not m"x"ng the breedL and the &"ng orstatesman has the care of an"mals wh"ch ha%e not clo%en feet, and wh"ch donot m"x the breed. =nd now, "f we om"t dogs, who can hardly be sa"d toherd, 1 th"n& that we ha%e only two s$ec"es left wh"ch rema"n und"%"dedAand how are we to d"st"ngu"sh them To geometr"c"ans, l"&e you andTheaetetus, 1 can ha%e no d"ff"culty "n ex$la"n"ng that man "s a d"ameter,ha%"ng a $ower of two feetL and the $ower of fourlegged creatures, be"ngthe double of two feet, "s the d"ameter of our d"ameter. There "s anotherexcellent jest wh"ch 1 s$y "n the two rema"n"ng s$ec"es. 2en and b"rds are

both b"$eds, and human be"ngs are runn"ng a race w"th the a"r"est andfreest of creat"on, "n wh"ch they are far beh"nd the"r com$et"torsLth"s"s a great jo&e, and there "s a st"ll better "n the juxta$os"t"on of the

b"rdta&er and the &"ng, who may be seen scam$er"ng after them. +or, as weremar&ed "n d"scuss"ng the So$h"st, the d"alect"cal method "s no res$ecterof $ersons. But we m"ght ha%e $roceeded, as 1 was say"ng, by another and ashorter road. 1n that case we should ha%e begun by d"%"d"ng land an"mals"nto b"$eds and uadru$eds, and b"$eds "nto w"nged and w"nglessL we shouldthan ha%e ta&en the Statesman and set h"m o%er the Mb"$es "m$lume,M and $utthe re"ns of go%ernment "nto h"s hands.

ere let us sum u$AThe sc"ence of $ure &nowledge had a $art wh"ch wasthesc"ence of command, and th"s had a $art wh"ch was a sc"ence of wholesalecommandL and th"s was d"%"ded "nto the management of an"mals, and wasaga"n

$arted off "nto the management of herds of an"mals, and aga"n of land


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an"mals, and these "nto hornless, and these "nto b"$edsL and so at last wearr"%ed at man, and found the $ol"t"cal and royal sc"ence. =nd yet we ha%enot clearly d"st"ngu"shed the $ol"t"cal she$herd from h"s r"%als. :o onewould th"n& of usur$"ng the $rerogat"%es of the ord"nary she$herd, who onall hands "s adm"tted to be the tra"ner, matchma&er, doctor, mus"c"an ofh"s floc&. But the royal she$herd has numberless com$et"tors, from whomhemust be d"st"ngu"shedL there are merchants, husbandmen, $hys"c"ans, whow"ll all d"s$ute h"s r"ght to manage the floc&. 1 th"n& that we can bestd"st"ngu"sh h"m by ha%"ng recourse to a famous old trad"t"on, wh"ch mayamuse as well as "nstruct usL the narrat"%e "s $erfectly true, although thesce$t"c"sm of man&"nd "s $rone to doubt the tales of old. Qou ha%e heardwhat ha$$ened "n the uarrel of =treus and Thyestes MQou mean about thegolden lambM :o, not thatL but another $art of the story, wh"ch tells how

the sun and stars once arose "n the west and set "n the east, and that thegod re%ersed the"r mot"on, as a w"tness to the r"ght of =treus. MThere "ssuch a story.M =nd no doubt you ha%e heard of the em$"re of ronos, and ofthe earthborn men The or"g"n of these and the l"&e stor"es "s to be found"n the tale wh"ch 1 am about to narrate.

There was a t"me when God d"rected the re%olut"ons of the world, but at thecom$let"on of a certa"n cycle he let goL and the world, by a necess"ty of"ts nature, turned bac&, and went round the other way. +or d"%"ne th"ngsalone are unchangeableL but the earth and hea%ens, although endowed w"thmany glor"es, ha%e a body, and are therefore l"able to $erturbat"on. 1nthe case of the world, the $erturbat"on "s %ery sl"ght, and amounts only toa re%ersal of mot"on. +or the lord of mo%"ng th"ngs "s alone selfmo%edLne"ther can $"ety allow that he goes at one t"me "n one d"rect"on and atanother t"me "n anotherL or that God has g"%en the un"%erse o$$os"temot"onsL or that there are two gods, one turn"ng "t "n one d"rect"on,another "n another. But the truth "s, that there are two cycles of theworld, and "n one of them "t "s go%erned by an "mmed"ate Pro%"dence, andrece"%es l"fe and "mmortal"ty, and "n the other "s let go aga"n, and has a

re%erse act"on dur"ng "nf"n"te ages. Th"s new act"on "s s$ontaneous, and"s due to exu"s"te $erfect"on of balance, to the %ast s"8e of theun"%erse, and to the smallness of the $"%ot u$on wh"ch "t turns. =llchanges "n the hea%en affect the an"mal world, and th"s be"ng the greatestof them, "s most destruct"%e to men and an"mals. =t the beg"nn"ng of thecycle before our own %ery few of them had sur%"%edL and on these a m"ghtychange $assed. +or the"r l"fe was re%ersed l"&e the mot"on of the world,


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and f"rst of all com"ng to a stand then u"c&ly returned to youth andbeauty. The wh"te loc&s of the aged became blac&L the chee&s of thebearded man were restored to the"r youth and f"nenessL the young men grewsofter and smaller, and, be"ng reduced to the cond"t"on of ch"ldren "n m"ndas well as body, began to %an"sh awayL and the bod"es of those who had d"ed

by %"olence, "n a few moments underwent a $arallel change and d"sa$$eared.1n that cycle of ex"stence there was no such th"ng as the $rocreat"on ofan"mals from one another, but they were born of the earth, and of th"s ourancestors, who came "nto be"ng "mmed"ately after the end of the last cycleand at the beg"nn"ng of th"s, ha%e $reser%ed the recollect"on. Suchtrad"t"ons are often now unduly d"scred"ted, and yet they may be $ro%ed by"nternal e%"dence. +or obser%e how cons"stent the narrat"%e "sL as the oldreturned to youth, so the dead returned to l"feL the wheel of the"rex"stence ha%"ng been re%ersed, they rose aga"n from the earthA a few only

were reser%ed by God for another dest"ny. Such was the or"g"n of theearthborn men.

M=nd "s th"s cycle, of wh"ch you are s$ea&"ng, the re"gn of ronos, or our$resent state of ex"stenceM :o, Socrates, that blessed and s$ontaneousl"fe belongs not to th"s, but to the $re%"ous state, "n wh"ch God was thego%ernor of the whole world, and other gods subject to h"m ruled o%er $artsof the world, as "s st"ll the case "n certa"n $laces. They were she$herdsof men and an"mals, each of them suff"c"ng for those of whom he had thecare. =nd there was no %"olence among them, or war, or de%our"ng of oneanother. The"r l"fe was s$ontaneous, because "n those days God ruled o%ermanL and he was to man what man "s now to the an"mals. ;nder h"sgo%ernment there were no estates, or $r"%ate $ossess"ons, or fam"l"esL butthe earth $roduced a suff"c"ency of all th"ngs, and men were born out ofthe earth, ha%"ng no trad"t"ons of the $astL and as the tem$erature of theseasons was m"ld, they too& no thought for ra"ment, and had no beds, butl"%ed and dwelt "n the o$en a"r.

Such was the age of ronos, and the age of Xeus "s our own. Tell me, wh"ch

"s the ha$$"er of the two 9r rather, shall 1 tell you that the ha$$"nessof these ch"ldren of ronos must ha%e de$ended on how they used the"rt"me1f ha%"ng boundless le"sure, and the $ower of d"scours"ng not only w"th oneanother but w"th the an"mals, they had em$loyed these ad%antages w"th a%"ew to $h"loso$hy, gather"ng from e%ery nature some add"t"on to the"rstore of &nowledgeLor aga"n, "f they had merely eaten and drun&, and told


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stor"es to one another, and to the beastsL"n e"ther case, 1 say, therewould be no d"ff"culty "n answer"ng the uest"on. But as nobody &nowswh"ch they d"d, the uest"on must rema"n unanswered. =nd here "s the $o"ntof my tale. 1n the fulness of t"me, when the earthborn men had all $assedaway, the ruler of the un"%erse let go the helm, and became a s$ectatorLand dest"ny and natural "m$ulse swayed the world. =t the same "nstant allthe "nfer"or de"t"es ga%e u$ the"r holdL the whole un"%erse rebounded, andthere was a great earthua&e, and utter ru"n of all manner of an"mals.=fter a wh"le the tumult ceased, and the un"%ersal creature settled down "nh"s accustomed course, ha%"ng author"ty o%er all other creatures, andfollow"ng the "nstruct"ons of h"s God and +ather, at f"rst more $rec"sely,afterwards w"th less exactness. The reason of the fall"ng off was thed"sengagement of a former chaosL Ma muddy %esture of decayM was a $art ofh"s or"g"nal nature, out of wh"ch he was brought by h"s reator, under

whose "mmed"ate gu"dance, wh"le he rema"ned "n that former cycle, the e%"lwas m"n"m"8ed and the good "ncreased to the utmost. =nd "n the beg"nn"ngof the new cycle all was well enough, but as t"me went on, d"scord entered"nL at length the good was m"n"m"8ed and the e%"l e%erywhere d"ffused, andthere was a danger of un"%ersal ru"n. Then the reator, see"ng the world"n great stra"ts, and fear"ng that chaos and "nf"n"ty would come aga"n, "nh"s tender care aga"n $laced h"mself at the helm and restored order, andmade the world "mmortal and "m$er"shable. 9nce more the cycle of l"fe andgenerat"on was re%ersedL the "nfants grew "nto young men, and the youngmen

became greyheadedL no longer d"d the an"mals s$r"ng out of the earthL asthe whole world was now lord of "ts own $rogress, so the $arts were to beselfcreated and selfnour"shed. =t f"rst the case of men was %eryhel$less and $"t"ableL for they were alone among the w"ld beasts, and hadto carry on the struggle for ex"stence w"thout arts or &nowledge, and hadno food, and d"d not &now how to get any. That was the t"me whenPrometheus brought them f"re, e$haestus and =thene taught them arts, andother gods ga%e them seeds and $lants. 9ut of these human l"fe was framedLfor man&"nd were left to themsel%es, and ordered the"r own ways, l"%"ng,

l"&e the un"%erse, "n one cycle after one manner, and "n another cycleafter another manner.

Enough of the myth, wh"ch may show us two errors of wh"ch we were gu"lty"nour account of the &"ng. The f"rst and grand error was "n choos"ng for our&"ng a god, who belongs to the other cycle, "nstead of a man from our ownL


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there was a lesser error also "n our fa"lure to def"ne the nature of theroyal funct"ons. The myth ga%e us only the "mage of a d"%"ne she$herd,whereas the statesmen and &"ngs of our own day %ery much resemble the"rsubjects "n educat"on and breed"ng. 9n retrac"ng our ste$s we f"nd that wega%e too narrow a des"gnat"on to the art wh"ch was concerned w"thcommandforself o%er l"%"ng creatures, when we called "t the Mfeed"ngM of an"mals"n floc&s. Th"s would a$$ly to all she$herds, w"th the exce$t"on of theStatesmanL but "f we say Mmanag"ngM or Mtend"ngM an"mals, the term would"nclude h"m as well. a%"ng remodelled the name, we may subd"%"de as

before, f"rst se$arat"ng the human from the d"%"ne she$herd or manager.Then we may subd"%"de the human art of go%ern"ng "nto the go%ernment ofw"ll"ng and unw"ll"ng subjectsroyalty and tyrannywh"ch are the extremeo$$os"tes of one another, although we "n our s"m$l"c"ty ha%e h"therto

confounded them.

=nd yet the f"gure of the &"ng "s st"ll defect"%e. (e ha%e ta&en u$ a lum$of fable, and ha%e used more than we needed.


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the $re%ent"%e sort are s$ells and ant"dotes, d"%"ne and human, and alsodefences, and defences are e"ther arms or screens, and screens are %e"lsand also sh"elds aga"nst heat and cold, and sh"elds aga"nst heat and coldare shelters and co%er"ngs, and co%er"ngs are blan&ets or garments, andgarments are "n one $"ece or ha%e many $artsL and of these latter, some arest"tched and others are fastened, and of these aga"n some are made off"bres of $lants and some of ha"r, and of these some are cemented w"thwater and earth, and some are fastened w"th the"r own mater"alL the latterare called clothes, and are made by the art of cloth"ng, from wh"ch the artof wea%"ng d"ffers only "n name, as the $ol"t"cal d"ffers from the royalsc"ence. Thus we ha%e drawn se%eral d"st"nct"ons, but as yet ha%e notd"st"ngu"shed the wea%"ng of garments from the &"ndred and coo$erat"%earts. +or the f"rst $rocess to wh"ch the mater"al "s subjected "s theo$$os"te of wea%"ng1 mean card"ng. =nd the art of card"ng, and the whole

art of the fuller and the mender, are concerned w"th the treatment and$roduct"on of clothes, as well as the art of wea%"ng. =ga"n, there are thearts wh"ch ma&e the wea%erMs tools. =nd "f we say that the wea%erMs art "sthe greatest and noblest of those wh"ch ha%e to do w"th woollen garments,th"s, although true, "s not suff"c"ently d"st"nctL because these other artsreu"re to be f"rst cleared away.


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wea%"ng or any otherL for all the arts guard aga"nst excess or defect,wh"ch are real e%"ls. Th"s we must endea%our to show, "f the arts are toex"stL and the $roof of th"s w"ll be a harder $"ece of wor& than thedemonstrat"on of the ex"stence of notbe"ng wh"ch we $ro%ed "n ourd"scuss"on about the So$h"st. =t $resent 1 am content w"th the "nd"rect

$roof that the ex"stence of such a standard "s necessary to the ex"stenceof the arts. The standard or measure, wh"ch we are now only a$$ly"ng tothe arts, may be some day reu"red w"th a %"ew to the demonstrat"on ofabsolute truth.

(e may now d"%"de th"s art of measurement "nto two $artsL $lac"ng "n theone $art all the arts wh"ch measure the relat"%e s"8e or number of objects,and "n the other all those wh"ch de$end u$on a mean or standard. 2anyaccom$l"shed men say that the art of measurement has to do w"th all th"ngs,

but these $ersons, although "n th"s not"on of the"rs they may %ery l"&elybe r"ght, are a$t to fa"l "n see"ng the d"fferences of classesthey jumbletogether "n one the MmoreM and the Mtoo much,M wh"ch are %ery d"fferentth"ngs. (hereas the r"ght way "s to f"nd the d"fferences of classes, andto com$rehend the th"ngs wh"ch ha%e any aff"n"ty under the same class.

1 w"ll ma&e one more obser%at"on by the way. (hen a $u$"l at a school "sas&ed the letters wh"ch ma&e u$ a $art"cular word, "s he not as&ed w"th a%"ew to h"s &now"ng the same letters "n all words =nd our enu"ry aboutthe Statesman "n l"&e manner "s "ntended not only to "m$ro%e our &nowledgeof $ol"t"cs, but our reason"ng $owers generally. St"ll less would any oneanaly8e the nature of wea%"ng for "ts own sa&e. There "s no d"ff"culty "nexh"b"t"ng sens"ble "mages, but the greatest and noblest truths ha%e nooutward form ada$ted to the eye of sense, and are only re%ealed "n thought.=nd all that we are now say"ng "s sa"d for the sa&e of them. 1 ma&e theseremar&s, because 1 want you to get r"d of any "m$ress"on that ourd"scuss"on about wea%"ng and about the re%ersal of the un"%erse, and theother d"scuss"on about the So$h"st and notbe"ng, were ted"ous and"rrele%ant. Please to obser%e that they can only be fa"rly judged when

com$ared w"th what "s meetL and yet not w"th what "s meet for $roduc"ng$leasure, nor e%en meet for ma&"ng d"sco%er"es, but for the great end ofde%elo$"ng the d"alect"cal method and shar$en"ng the w"ts of the aud"tors.e who censures us, should $ro%e that, "f our words had been fewer, theywould ha%e been better calculated to ma&e men d"alect"c"ans.

=nd now let us return to our &"ng or statesman, and transfer to h"m the


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an"mals and other monsters a$$ear"ngl"ons and centaurs and satyrswhoare these 1 d"d not &now them at f"rst, for e%ery one loo&s strange whenhe "s unex$ected. But now 1 recogn"8e the $ol"t"c"an and h"s troo$, thech"ef of So$h"sts, the $r"nce of charlatans, the most accom$l"shed ofw"8ards, who must be carefully d"st"ngu"shed from the true &"ng orstatesman. =nd here 1 w"ll "nter$ose a uest"onA (hat are the true formsof go%ernment =re they not threemonarchy, ol"garchy, and democracyandthe d"st"nct"ons of freedom and com$uls"on, law and no law, $o%erty andr"ches ex$and these three "nto s"x. 2onarchy may be d"%"ded "nto royaltyand tyrannyL ol"garchy "nto ar"stocracy and $lutocracyL and democracy mayobser%e the law or may not obser%e "t. But are any of these go%ernmentsworthy of the name 1s not go%ernment a sc"ence, and are we to su$$osethat sc"ent"f"c go%ernment "s secured by the rulers be"ng many or few, r"ch

or $oor, or by the rule be"ng com$ulsory or %oluntary an the many atta"nto sc"ence 1n no ellen"c c"ty are there f"fty good draught $layers, andcerta"nly there are not as many &"ngs, for by &"ngs we mean all those whoare $ossessed of the $ol"t"cal sc"ence. = true go%ernment must therefore

be the go%ernment of one, or of a few. =nd they may go%ern us e"ther w"thor w"thout law, and whether they are $oor or r"ch, and howe%er they go%ern,

$ro%"ded they go%ern on some sc"ent"f"c $r"nc"$le,"t ma&es no d"fference.=nd as the $hys"c"an may cure us w"th our w"ll, or aga"nst our w"ll, and byany mode of treatment, burn"ng, bleed"ng, lower"ng, fatten"ng, "f he only

$roceeds sc"ent"f"callyA so the true go%ernor may reduce or fatten orbleed the body cor$orate, wh"le he acts accord"ng to the rules of h"s art,and w"th a %"ew to the good of the state, whether accord"ng to law orw"thout law.

M1 do not l"&e the not"on, that there can be good go%ernment w"thout law.M

1 must ex$la"nA


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general laws, and cannot enact what "s $rec"sely su"table to each$art"cular case. e cannot be s"tt"ng at e%ery manMs s"de all h"s l"fe,and $rescr"be for h"m the m"nute $art"culars of h"s duty, and therefore he"s com$elled to "m$ose on h"mself and others the restr"ct"on of a wr"ttenlaw.


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not an art"st, but a dreamer, a $rat"ng So$h"st and a corru$tor of youthLand "f he try to $ersuade others to "n%est"gate those sc"ences "n a mannercontrary to the law, he shall be $un"shed w"th the utmost se%er"ty. =ndl"&e rules m"ght be extended to any art or sc"ence. But what would be theconseuence

MThe arts would utterly $er"sh, and human l"fe, wh"ch "s bad enoughalready, would become "ntolerable.M

But su$$ose, once more, that we were to a$$o"nt some one as the guard"anofthe law, who was both "gnorant and "nterested, and who $er%erted the lawAwould not th"s be a st"ll worse e%"l than the other Merta"nly.M +or thelaws are based on some ex$er"ence and w"sdom. ence the w"ser course "s,

that they should be obser%ed, although th"s "s not the best th"ng of all,but only the second best. =nd whoe%er, ha%"ng s&"ll, should try to "m$ro%ethem, would act "n the s$"r"t of the lawg"%er. But then, as we ha%e seen,no great number of men, whether $oor or r"ch, can be ma&ers of laws. =ndso, the nearest a$$roach to true go%ernment "s, when men do noth"ngcontrary to the"r own wr"tten laws and nat"onal customs. (hen the r"ch

$reser%e the"r customs and ma"nta"n the law, th"s "s called ar"stocracy, or"f they neglect the law, ol"garchy. (hen an "nd"%"dual rules accord"ng tolaw, whether by the hel$ of sc"ence or o$"n"on, th"s "s called monarchyLand when he has royal sc"ence he "s a &"ng, whether he be so "n fact ornotL but when he rules "n s$"te of law, and "s bl"nd w"th "gnorance and

$ass"on, he "s called a tyrant. These forms of go%ernment ex"st, becausemen des$a"r of the true &"ng e%er a$$ear"ng among themL "f he were toa$$ear, they would joyfully hand o%er to h"m the re"ns of go%ernment. But,as there "s no natural ruler of the h"%e, they meet together and ma&e laws.=nd do we wonder, when the foundat"on of $ol"t"cs "s "n the letter only, atthe m"ser"es of states 9ught we not rather to adm"re the strength of the

$ol"t"cal bond +or c"t"es ha%e endured the worst of e%"ls t"me out ofm"ndL many c"t"es ha%e been sh"$wrec&ed, and some are l"&e sh"$s

founder"ng, because the"r $"lots are absolutely "gnorant of the sc"encewh"ch they $rofess.


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w"ll be se%en. ;nder monarchy we ha%e already d"st"ngu"shed royalty andtyrannyL of ol"garchy there were two &"nds, ar"stocracy and $lutocracyL anddemocracy may also be d"%"ded, for there "s a democracy wh"ch obser%es,anda democracy wh"ch neglects, the laws. The go%ernment of one "s the bestand the worstthe go%ernment of a few "s less bad and less goodthego%ernment of the many "s the least bad and least good of them all, be"ngthe best of all lawless go%ernments, and the worst of all lawful ones. Butthe rulers of all these states, unless they ha%e &nowledge, are ma"nta"nersof "dols, and themsel%es "dolsw"8ards, and also So$h"stsL for, after manyw"nd"ngs, the term MSo$h"stM comes home to them.

=nd now enough of centaurs and satyrsA the $lay "s ended, and they mayu"t the $ol"t"cal stage. St"ll there rema"n some other and better

elements, wh"ch adhere to the royal sc"ence, and must be drawn off "n theref"nerMs f"re before the gold can become u"te $ure. The arts of thegeneral, the judge, and the orator, w"ll ha%e to be se$arated from theroyal artL when the se$arat"on has been made, the nature of the &"ng w"ll

be unalloyed. :ow there are "nfer"or sc"ences, such as mus"c and othersLand there "s a su$er"or sc"ence, wh"ch determ"nes whether mus"c "s to belearnt or not, and th"s "s d"fferent from them, and the go%ernor of them.The sc"ence wh"ch determ"nes whether we are to use $ersuas"on, or not, "sh"gher than the art of $ersuas"onL the sc"ence wh"ch determ"nes whether weare to go to war, "s h"gher than the art of the general. The sc"ence wh"chma&es the laws, "s h"gher than that wh"ch only adm"n"sters them. =nd thesc"ence wh"ch has th"s author"ty o%er the rest, "s the sc"ence of the &"ngor statesman.

9nce more we w"ll endea%our to %"ew th"s royal sc"ence by the l"ght of ourexam$le. (e may com$are the state to a web, and 1 w"ll show you how thed"fferent threads are drawn "nto one. Qou would adm"twould you notthat there are $arts of %"rtue although th"s $os"t"on "s somet"mesassa"led by Er"st"csC, and one $art of %"rtue "s tem$erance, and another

courage. These are two $r"nc"$les wh"ch are "n a manner antagon"st"c toone anotherL and they $er%ade all natureL the whole class of the good and

beaut"ful "s "ncluded under them. The beaut"ful may be subd"%"ded "nto twolesser classesA one of these "s descr"bed by us "n terms ex$ress"%e ofmot"on or energy, and the other "n terms ex$ress"%e of rest and u"etness.(e say, how manly' how %"gorous' how ready' and we say also, how calm'how


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tem$erate' how d"gn"f"ed' Th"s o$$os"t"on of terms "s extended by us toall act"ons, to the tones of the %o"ce, the notes of mus"c, the wor&"ngs ofthe m"nd, the characters of men. The two classes both ha%e the"rexaggerat"onsL and the exaggerat"ons of the one are termed Mhardness,MM%"olence,M MmadnessLM of the other Mcowardl"ness,M or Mslugg"shness.M =nd"f we $ursue the enu"ry, we f"nd that these o$$os"te characters arenaturally at %ar"ance, and can hardly be reconc"led. 1n lesser matters theantagon"sm between them "s lud"crous, but "n the State may be the occas"onof gra%e d"sorders, and may d"sturb the whole course of human l"fe. +orthe orderly class are always want"ng to be at $eace, and hence they $ass"m$erce$t"bly "nto the cond"t"on of sla%esL and the courageous sort arealways want"ng to go to war, e%en when the odds are aga"nst them, and aresoon destroyed by the"r enem"es. But the true art of go%ernment, f"rst

$re$ar"ng the mater"al by educat"on, wea%es the two elements "nto one,

ma"nta"n"ng author"ty o%er the carders of the wool, and select"ng the$ro$er subs"d"ary arts wh"ch are necessary for ma&"ng the web. The royalsc"ence "s ueen of educators, and beg"ns by choos"ng the natures wh"ch she"s to tra"n, $un"sh"ng w"th death and exterm"nat"ng those who are %"olentlycarr"ed away to athe"sm and "njust"ce, and ensla%"ng those who arewallow"ng "n the m"re of "gnorance. The rest of the c"t"8ens she blends"nto one, comb"n"ng the stronger element of courage, wh"ch we may call thewar$, w"th the softer element of tem$erance, wh"ch we may "mag"ne to bethewoof. These she b"nds together, f"rst ta&"ng the eternal elements of thehonourable, the good, and the just, and fasten"ng them w"th a d"%"ne cord"n a hea%enborn nature, and then fasten"ng the an"mal elements w"th ahuman cord. The good leg"slator can "m$lant by educat"on the h"gher

$r"nc"$lesL and where they ex"st there "s no d"ff"culty "n "nsert"ng thelesser human bonds, by wh"ch the State "s held togetherL these are the lawsof "ntermarr"age, and of un"on for the sa&e of offs$r"ng. 2ost $ersons "nthe"r marr"ages see& after wealth or $owerL or they are clann"sh, andchoose those who are l"&e themsel%es,the tem$erate marry"ng thetem$erate, and the courageous the courageous. The two classes thr"%e and

flour"sh at f"rst, but they soon degenerateL the one become mad, and theother feeble and useless. Th"s would not ha%e been the case, "f they had

both or"g"nally held the same not"ons about the honourable and the goodLfor then they ne%er would ha%e allowed the tem$erate natures to bese$arated from the courageous, but they would ha%e bound them together bycommon honours and re$utat"ons, by "ntermarr"ages, and by the cho"ce ofrulers who comb"ne both ual"t"es. The tem$erate are careful and just, but


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are want"ng "n the $ower of act"onL the courageous fall short of them "njust"ce, but "n act"on are su$er"or to themA and no state can $ros$er "nwh"ch e"ther of these ual"t"es "s want"ng. The noblest and best of allwebs or states "s that wh"ch the royal sc"ence wea%es, comb"n"ng the twosorts of natures "n a s"ngle texture, and "n th"s enfold"ng freeman andsla%e and e%ery other soc"al element, and $res"d"ng o%er them all.

MQour $"cture, Stranger, of the &"ng and statesman, no less than of theSo$h"st, "s u"te $erfect.M

...

The $r"nc"$al subjects "n the Statesman may be con%en"ently embracedunder

s"x or se%en headsA/C the mythL C the d"alect"cal "nterestL 4C the$ol"t"cal as$ects of the d"alogueL FC the sat"r"cal and $aradox"cal %e"nLKC the necessary "m$erfect"on of lawL C the relat"on of the wor& to theother wr"t"ngs of PlatoL lastly !C, we may br"efly cons"der thegenu"neness of the So$h"st and Statesman, wh"ch can hardly be assumedw"thout $roof, s"nce the two d"alogues ha%e been uest"oned by three suchem"nent Platon"c scholars as Socher, Schaarschm"dt, and ;eberweg.

1. The hand of the master "s clearly %"s"ble "n the myth. +"rst "n theconnect"on w"th mythologyLhe w"ns a &"nd of %er"s"m"l"tude for th"s asfor h"s other myths, by ado$t"ng rece"%ed trad"t"ons, of wh"ch he $retendsto f"nd an ex$lanat"on "n h"s own larger conce$t"on com$are 1ntroduct"onto r"t"asC. The young Socrates has heard of the sun r"s"ng "n the westand sett"ng "n the east, and of the earthborn menL but he has ne%er heardthe or"g"n of these remar&able $henomena. :or "s Plato, here or elsewhere,want"ng "n denunc"at"ons of the "ncredul"ty of Mth"s latter age,M on wh"chthe lo%ers of the mar%ellous ha%e always del"ghted to enlarge. =nd he "snot w"thout ex$ress test"mony to the truth of h"s narrat"%eLsuchtest"mony as, "n the T"maeus, the f"rst men ga%e of the names of the gods

MThey must surely ha%e &nown the"r own ancestorsMC. +or the f"rstgenerat"on of the new cycle, who l"%ed near the t"me, are su$$osed to ha%e

$reser%ed a recollect"on of a $re%"ous one. e also a$$eals to "nternale%"dence, %"8. the $erfect coherence of the tale, though he "s %ery wellaware, as he says "n the ratylus, that there may be cons"stency "n erroras well as "n truth. The gra%"ty and m"nuteness w"th wh"ch some

$art"culars are related also lend an artful a"d. The $rofound "nterest and


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ready assent of the young Socrates, who "s not too old to be amused Mw"th atale wh"ch a ch"ld would lo%e to hear,M are a further ass"stance. To thosewho were naturally "ncl"ned to bel"e%e that the fortunes of man&"nd are"nfluenced by the stars, or who ma"nta"ned that some one $r"nc"$le, l"&ethe $r"nc"$le of the Same and the 9ther "n the T"maeus, $er%ades all th"ngs"n the world, the re%ersal of the mot"on of the hea%ens seemed necessar"lyto $roduce a re%ersal of the order of human l"fe. The s$heres of&nowledge, wh"ch to us a$$ear w"de asunder as the $oles, astronomy andmed"c"ne, were naturally connected "n the m"nds of early th"n&ers, becausethere was l"ttle or noth"ng "n the s$ace between them. Thus there "s a

bas"s of $h"loso$hy, on wh"ch the "m$robab"l"t"es of the tale may be sa"dto rest. These are some of the de%"ces by wh"ch Plato, l"&e a modernno%el"st, see&s to fam"l"ar"8e the mar%ellous.

The myth, l"&e that of the T"maeus and r"t"as, "s rather h"stor"cal than$oet"cal, "n th"s res$ect corres$ond"ng to the general change "n the laterwr"t"ngs of Plato, when com$ared w"th the earl"er ones. 1t "s hardly amyth "n the sense "n wh"ch the term m"ght be a$$l"ed to the myth of thePhaedrus, the -e$ubl"c, the Phaedo, or the Gorg"as, but may be more a$tlycom$ared w"th the d"dact"c tale "n wh"ch Protagoras descr"bes the fortunesof $r"m"t"%e man, or w"th the descr"$t"on of the gradual r"se of a newsoc"ety "n the Th"rd Boo& of the


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Er, the son of =rmen"us, he touches u$on the uest"on of freedom andnecess"ty, both "n relat"on to God and nature. +or at f"rst the un"%erse"s go%erned by the "mmed"ate $ro%"dence of God,th"s "s the golden age,

but after a wh"le the wheel "s re%ersed, and man "s left to h"mself.


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"nd"cated to PlatoMs own m"nd, as the corres$ond"ng theolog"cal $roblemsare to us. The "mmanence of th"ngs "n the 1deas, or the $art"al se$arat"onof them, and the selfmot"on of the su$reme 1dea, are $robably the forms "nwh"ch he would ha%e "nter$reted h"s own $arable.

e touches u$on another uest"on of great "nterestthe consc"ousness ofe%"lwhat "n the Jew"sh Scr"$tures "s called Meat"ng of the tree of the&nowledge of good and e%"l.M =t the end of the narrat"%e, the Eleat"c as&sh"s com$an"on whether th"s l"fe of "nnocence, or that wh"ch men l"%e at

$resent, "s the better of the two. e wants to d"st"ngu"sh between themere an"mal l"fe of "nnocence, the Mc"ty of $"gs,M as "t "s com"callytermed by Glaucon "n the -e$ubl"c, and the h"gher l"fe of reason and

$h"loso$hy. But as no one can determ"ne the state of man "n the worldbefore the +all, Mthe uest"on must rema"n unanswered.M S"m"lar uest"ons

ha%e occu$"ed the m"nds of theolog"ans "n later agesL but they can hardlybe sa"d to ha%e found an answer. Professor am$bell well obser%es, thatthe general s$"r"t of the myth may be summed u$ "n the words of the


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could ha%e ex"sted "n the days of "nnocence under the rule of ronos. Sowe may %enture sl"ghtly to enlarge a Platon"c thought wh"ch adm"ts of afurther a$$l"cat"on to hr"st"an theology. ere are suggested also thed"st"nct"ons between God caus"ng and $erm"tt"ng e%"l, and between h"s moreand less "mmed"ate go%ernment of the world.

11. The d"alect"cal "nterest of the Statesman seems to contend "n PlatoMsm"nd w"th the $ol"t"calL the d"alogue m"ght ha%e been des"gnated by twoeually descr"$t"%e t"tlese"ther the MStatesman,M or Moncern"ng 2ethod.M)"alect"c, wh"ch "n the earl"er wr"t"ngs of Plato "s a re%"%al of theSocrat"c uest"on and answer a$$l"ed to def"n"t"on, "s now occu$"ed w"thclass"f"cat"onL there "s noth"ng "n wh"ch he ta&es greater del"ght than "n

$rocesses of d"%"s"on com$are Phaedr.CL he $ursues them to a length out of$ro$ort"on to h"s ma"n subject, and a$$ears to %alue them as a d"alect"cal

exerc"se, and for the"r own sa&e. = $oet"cal %"s"on of some order orh"erarchy of "deas or sc"ences has already been float"ng before us "n theSym$os"um and the -e$ubl"c. =nd "n the Phaedrus th"s as$ect of d"alect"c"s further s&etched out, and the art of rhetor"c "s based on the d"%"s"onof the characters of man&"nd "nto the"r se%eral classes. The same lo%e ofd"%"s"ons "s a$$arent "n the Gorg"as. But "n a well&nown $assage of thePh"lebus occurs the f"rst cr"t"c"sm on the nature of class"f"cat"on. Therewe are exhorted not to fall "nto the common error of $ass"ng from un"ty to"nf"n"ty, but to f"nd the "ntermed"ate classesL and we are rem"nded that "nany $rocess of general"8at"on, there may be more than one class to wh"ch"nd"%"duals may be referred, and that we must carry on the $rocess ofd"%"s"on unt"l we ha%e arr"%ed at the "nf"ma s$ec"es.

These $rece$ts are not forgotten, e"ther "n the So$h"st or "n theStatesman. The So$h"st conta"ns four exam$les of d"%"s"on, carr"ed on byregular ste$s, unt"l "n four d"fferent l"nes of descent we detect theSo$h"st. 1n the Statesman the &"ng or statesman "s d"sco%ered by a s"m"lar

$rocessL and we ha%e a summary, $robably made for the f"rst t"me, of$ossess"ons a$$ro$r"ated by the labour of man, wh"ch are d"str"buted "nto

se%en classes. (e are warned aga"nst $referr"ng the shorter to the longermethodL"f we d"%"de "n the m"ddle, we are most l"&ely to l"ght u$ons$ec"esL at the same t"me, the "m$ortant remar& "s made, that Ma $art "snot to be confounded w"th a class.M a%"ng d"sco%ered the genus underwh"ch the &"ng falls, we $roceed to d"st"ngu"sh h"m from the collaterals$ec"es. To ass"st our "mag"nat"on "n ma&"ng th"s se$arat"on, we reu"rean exam$le. The h"gher "deas, of wh"ch we ha%e a dreamy &nowledge, can


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only be re$resented by "mages ta&en from the external world. But, f"rst ofall, the nature of exam$le "s ex$la"ned by an exam$le. The ch"ld "s taughtto read by com$ar"ng the letters "n words wh"ch he &nows w"th the sameletters "n un&nown comb"nat"onsL and th"s "s the sort of $rocess wh"ch weare about to attem$t. =s a $arallel to the &"ng we select the wor&er "nwool, and com$are the art of wea%"ng w"th the royal sc"ence, try"ng tose$arate e"ther of them from the "nfer"or classes to wh"ch they are a&"n.Th"s has the "nc"dental ad%antage, that wea%"ng and the web furn"sh us w"tha f"gure of s$eech, wh"ch we can afterwards transfer to the State.

There are two uses of exam$les or "mages"n the f"rst $lace, they suggestthoughtssecondly, they g"%e them a d"st"nct form. 1n the "nfancy of

$h"loso$hy, as "n ch"ldhood, the language of $"ctures "s natural to manAtruth "n the abstract "s hardly won, and only by use fam"l"ar"8ed to the

m"nd. Exam$les are a&"n to analog"es, and ha%e a reflex "nfluence onthoughtL they $eo$le the %acant m"nd, and may often or"g"nate newd"rect"ons of enu"ry. Plato seems to be consc"ous of the suggest"%enessof "mageryL the general analogy of the arts "s constantly em$loyed by h"mas well as the com$ar"son of $art"cular artswea%"ng, the ref"n"ng ofgold, the learn"ng to read, mus"c, statuary, $a"nt"ng, med"c"ne, the art ofthe $"lotall of wh"ch occur "n th"s d"alogue aloneA though he "s alsoaware that Mcom$ar"sons are sl"$$ery th"ngs,M and may often g"%e a falseclearness to "deas. (e shall f"nd, "n the Ph"lebus, a d"%"s"on of sc"ences"nto $ract"cal and s$eculat"%e, and "nto more or less s$eculat"%eA here weha%e the "dea of masterarts, or sc"ences wh"ch control "nfer"or ones.Bes"des the su$reme sc"ence of d"alect"c, Mwh"ch w"ll forget us, "f weforget her,M another mastersc"ence for the f"rst t"me a$$ears "n %"ewthesc"ence of go%ernment, wh"ch f"xes the l"m"ts of all the rest. Th"sconce$t"on of the $ol"t"cal or royal sc"ence as, from another $o"nt of%"ew, the sc"ence of sc"ences, wh"ch holds sway o%er the rest, "s notor"g"nally found "n =r"stotle, but "n Plato.

The doctr"ne that %"rtue and art are "n a mean, wh"ch "s fam"l"ar"8ed to us

by the study of the :"comachean Eth"cs, "s also f"rst d"st"nctly asserted"n the Statesman of Plato. The too much and the too l"ttle are "n restlessmot"onA they must be f"xed by a mean, wh"ch "s also a standard external tothem. The art of measur"ng or f"nd"ng a mean between excess and defect,l"&e the $r"nc"$le of d"%"s"on "n the Phaedrus, rece"%es a $art"culara$$l"cat"on to the art of d"scourse. The excess"%e length of a d"scoursemay be blamedL but who can say what "s excess, unless he "s furn"shed w"th


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a measure or standard 2easure "s the l"fe of the arts, and may some daybe d"sco%ered to be the s"ngle ult"mate $r"nc"$le "n wh"ch all the sc"encesare conta"ned. 9ther forms of thought may be notedthe d"st"nct"on

between causal and coo$erat"%e arts, wh"ch may be com$ared w"th thed"st"nct"on between $r"mary and coo$erat"%e causes "n the T"maeusL or

between cause and cond"t"on "n the PhaedoL the $ass"ng ment"on ofeconom"cal sc"enceL the o$$os"t"on of rest and mot"on, wh"ch "s found "nall natureL the general conce$t"on of two great arts of com$os"t"on andd"%"s"on, "n wh"ch are conta"ned wea%"ng, $ol"t"cs, d"alect"cL and "nconnex"on w"th the conce$t"on of a mean, the two arts of measur"ng.

1n the Theaetetus, Plato remar&s that $rec"s"on "n the use of terms, thoughsomet"mes $edant"c, "s somet"mes necessary. ere he ma&es the o$$os"tereflect"on, that there may be a $h"loso$h"cal d"sregard of words. The e%"l

of mere %erbal o$$os"t"ons, the reu"rement of an "m$oss"ble accuracy "nthe use of terms, the error of su$$os"ng that $h"loso$hy was to be found "nlanguage, the danger of wordcatch"ng, ha%e freuently been d"scussed byh"m "n the $re%"ous d"alogues, but nowhere has the s$"r"t of modern"nduct"%e $h"loso$hy been more ha$$"ly "nd"cated than "n the words of theStatesmanAM1f you th"n& more about th"ngs, and less about words, you w"ll

be r"cher "n w"sdom as you grow older.M = s"m"lar s$"r"t "s d"scern"ble "nthe remar&able ex$ress"ons, Mthe long and d"ff"cult language of factsLM andMthe "nterrogat"on of e%ery nature, "n order to obta"n the $art"cularcontr"but"on of each to the store of &nowledge.M (ho has descr"bed Mthefeeble "ntell"gence of all th"ngsL g"%en by meta$hys"cs better than theEleat"c Stranger "n the wordsMThe h"gher "deas can hardly be set forthexce$t through the med"um of exam$lesL e%ery man seems to &now allth"ngs"n a &"nd of dream, and then aga"n noth"ng when he "s awa&eM 9r where "sthe %alue of meta$hys"cal $ursu"ts more truly ex$ressed than "n the words,MThe greatest and noblest th"ngs ha%e no outward "mage of themsel%es%"s"ble to manA therefore we should learn to g"%e a rat"onal account ofthemM

111. The $ol"t"cal as$ects of the d"alogue are closely connected w"th thed"alect"cal. =s "n the ratylus, the leg"slator has Mthe d"alect"c"anstand"ng on h"s r"ght handLM so "n the Statesman, the &"ng or statesman "sthe d"alect"c"an, who, although he may be "n a $r"%ate stat"on, "s st"ll a&"ng. (hether he has the $ower or not, "s a mere acc"dentL or rather hehas the $ower, for what ought to be "s M(as "st %ernunft"g, das "st


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w"r&l"chMCL and he ought to be and "s the true go%ernor of man&"nd. There"s a reflect"on "n th"s "deal"sm of the Socrat"c M"rtue "s &nowledgeLMand, w"thout "deal"sm, we may remar& that &nowledge "s a great $art of

$ower. Plato does not trouble h"mself to construct a mach"nery by wh"chM$h"loso$hers shall be made &"ngs,M as "n the -e$ubl"cA he merely holds u$the "deal, and aff"rms that "n some sense sc"ence "s really su$reme o%erhuman l"fe.

e "s struc& by the obser%at"on Muam $ar%a sa$"ent"a reg"tur mundus,M and"s touched w"th a feel"ng of the "lls wh"ch affl"ct states. The cond"t"onof 2egara before and dur"ng the Pelo$onnes"an (ar, of =thens under theTh"rty and afterwards, of Syracuse and the other S"c"l"an c"t"es "n the"ralternat"ons of democrat"c excess and tyranny, m"ght naturally suggest suchreflect"ons. Some states he sees already sh"$wrec&ed, others founder"ng

for want of a $"lotL and he wonders not at the"r destruct"on, but at the"rendurance. +or they ought to ha%e $er"shed long ago, "f they had de$endedon the w"sdom of the"r rulers. The m"ngled $athos and sat"re of th"sremar& "s character"st"c of PlatoMs later style.

The &"ng "s the $erson"f"cat"on of $ol"t"cal sc"ence. =nd yet he "ssometh"ng more than th"s,the $erfectly good and w"se tyrant of the


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There are two s"des from wh"ch $os"t"%e laws may be attac&edAe"ther fromthe s"de of nature, wh"ch r"ses u$ and rebels aga"nst them "n the s$"r"t ofall"cles "n the Gorg"asL or from the s"de of "deal"sm, wh"ch attem$ts tosoar abo%e them,and th"s "s the s$"r"t of Plato "n the Statesman. But hesoon falls, l"&e 1carus, and "s content to wal& "nstead of fly"ngL that "s,to accommodate h"mself to the actual state of human th"ngs. 2an&"nd ha%elong been "n des$a"r of f"nd"ng the true rulerL and therefore are ready toacu"esce "n any of the f"%e or s"x rece"%ed forms of go%ernment as betterthan none. =nd the best th"ng wh"ch they can do though only the second

best "n real"tyC, "s to reduce the "deal state to the cond"t"ons of actuall"fe. Thus "n the Statesman, as "n the


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many %aluable remar&s. Uuest"ons of "nterest both "n anc"ent and modern$ol"t"cs also ar"se "n the course of the d"alogue, wh"ch may w"th ad%antagebe further cons"dered by usA

a. The "mag"nary ruler, whether God or man, "s abo%e the law, and "s a lawto h"mself and to others. =mong the Gree&s as among the Jews, law was asacred name, the g"ft of God, the bond of states. But "n the Statesman ofPlato, as "n the :ew Testament, the word has also become the symbol of an"m$erfect good, wh"ch "s almost an e%"l. The law sacr"f"ces the "nd"%"dualto the un"%ersal, and "s the tyranny of the many o%er the few com$are-e$ubl"cC. 1t has f"xed rules wh"ch are the $ro$s of order, and w"ll notswer%e or bend "n extreme cases. 1t "s the beg"nn"ng of $ol"t"cal soc"ety,

but there "s someth"ng h"gheran "ntell"gent ruler, whether God or man,who "s able to ada$t h"mself to the endless %ar"et"es of c"rcumstances.

Plato "s fond of $"ctur"ng the ad%antages wh"ch would result from the un"onof the tyrant who has $ower w"th the leg"slator who has w"sdomA he regardsth"s as the best and s$eed"est way of reform"ng man&"nd. But "nst"tut"onscannot thus be art"f"c"ally created, nor can the external author"ty of aruler "m$ose laws for wh"ch a nat"on "s un$re$ared. The greatest $ower,the h"ghest w"sdom, can only $roceed one or two ste$s "n ad%ance of $ubl"co$"n"on. 1n all stages of c"%"l"8at"on human nature, after all ourefforts, rema"ns "ntractable,not l"&e clay "n the hands of the $otter, ormarble under the ch"sel of the scul$tor. Great changes occur "n theh"story of nat"ons, but they are brought about slowly, l"&e the changes "nthe frame of nature, u$on wh"ch the $uny arm of man hardly ma&es an"m$ress"on. =nd, s$ea&"ng generally, the slowest growths, both "n natureand "n $ol"t"cs, are the most $ermanent.

b. (hether the best form of the "deal "s a $erson or a law may fa"rly bedoubted. The former "s more a&"n to usA "t clothes "tself "n $oetry andart, and a$$eals to reason more "n the form of feel"ngA "n the latterthere "s less danger of allow"ng oursel%es to be deluded by a f"gure ofs$eech. The "deal of the Gree& state found an ex$ress"on "n the

de"f"cat"on of lawA the anc"ent Sto"c s$o&e of a w"se man $erfect "n%"rtue, who was fanc"fully sa"d to be a &"ngL but ne"ther they nor Platohad arr"%ed at the conce$t"on of a $erson who was also a law. :or "s "teasy for the hr"st"an to th"n& of God as w"sdom, truth, hol"ness, and alsoas the w"se, true, and holy one. e "s always want"ng to brea& through theabstract"on and "nterru$t the law, "n order that he may $resent to h"mselfthe more fam"l"ar "mage of a d"%"ne fr"end. (h"le the "m$ersonal has too


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slender a hold u$on the affect"ons to be made the bas"s of rel"g"on, theconce$t"on of a $erson on the other hand tends to degenerate "nto a new&"nd of "dolatry. :e"ther cr"t"c"sm nor ex$er"ence allows us to su$$osethat there are "nterferences w"th the laws of natureL the "dea "s"nconce"%able to us and at %ar"ance w"th facts. The $h"loso$her ortheolog"an who could real"8e to man&"nd that a $erson "s a law, that theh"gher rule has no exce$t"on, that goodness, l"&e &nowledge, "s also $ower,would breathe a new rel"g"ous l"fe "nto the world.

c. Bes"des the "mag"nary rule of a $h"loso$her or a God, the actual formsof go%ernment ha%e to be cons"dered. 1n the "nfancy of $ol"t"cal sc"ence,men naturally as& whether the rule of the many or of the few "s to be

$referred. 1f by Mthe fewM we mean Mthe goodM and by Mthe many,M Mthebad,M there can be but one re$lyA MThe rule of one good man "s better than

the rule of all the rest, "f they are bad.M +or, as eracle"tus says, M9ne"s ten thousand "f he be the best.M 1f, howe%er, we mean by the rule ofthe few the rule of a class ne"ther better nor worse than other classes,not de%o"d of a feel"ng of r"ght, but gu"ded mostly by a sense of the"r own"nterests, and by the rule of the many the rule of all classes, s"m"larlyunder the "nfluence of m"xed mot"%es, no one would hes"tate to answerMTherule of all rather than one, because all classes are more l"&ely to ta&ecare of all than one of anotherL and the go%ernment has greater $ower andstab"l"ty when rest"ng on a w"der bas"s.M Both "n anc"ent and modern t"mesthe best balanced form of go%ernment has been held to be the bestL and yet"t should not be so n"cely balanced as to ma&e act"on and mo%ement"m$oss"ble.

The statesman who bu"lds h"s ho$e u$on the ar"stocracy, u$on the m"ddleclasses, u$on the $eo$le, w"ll $robably, "f he ha%e suff"c"ent ex$er"enceof them, conclude that all classes are much al"&e, and that one "s as goodas another, and that the l"bert"es of no class are safe "n the hands of therest. The h"gher ran&s ha%e the ad%antage "n educat"on and manners, them"ddle and lower "n "ndustry and selfden"alL "n e%ery class, to a certa"n

extent, a natural sense of r"ght $re%a"ls, somet"mes commun"cated from thelower to the h"gher, somet"mes from the h"gher to the lower, wh"ch "s toostrong for class "nterests. There ha%e been cr"ses "n the h"story ofnat"ons, as at the t"me of the rusades or the -eformat"on, or the +rench-e%olut"on, when the same "ns$"rat"on has ta&en hold of whole $eo$les, and

$ermanently ra"sed the sense of freedom and just"ce among man&"nd.


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But e%en su$$os"ng the d"fferent classes of a nat"on, when %"ewed"m$art"ally, to be on a le%el w"th each other "n moral %"rtue, there rema"ntwo cons"derat"ons of o$$os"te &"nds wh"ch enter "nto the $roblem ofgo%ernment. =dm"tt"ng of course that the u$$er and lower classes are eual"n the eye of God and of the law, yet the one may be by nature f"tted togo%ern and the other to be go%erned. = rul"ng caste does not soonaltogether lose the go%ern"ng ual"t"es, nor a subject class eas"ly acu"rethem. ence the $henomenon so often obser%ed "n the old Gree&re%olut"ons,and not w"thout $arallel "n modern t"mes, that the leaders of the democracyha%e been themsel%es of ar"stocrat"c or"g"n. The $eo$le are ex$ect"ng to

be go%erned by re$resentat"%es of the"r own, but the true man of the $eo$lee"ther ne%er a$$ears, or "s u"c&ly altered by c"rcumstances. The"r realw"shes hardly ma&e themsel%es felt, although the"r lower "nterests and

$rejud"ces may somet"mes be flattered and y"elded to for the sa&e ofulter"or objects by those who ha%e $ol"t"cal $ower. They w"ll often learn

by ex$er"ence that the democracy has become a $lutocracy. The "nfluenceofwealth, though not the enjoyment of "t, has become d"ffused among the $ooras well as among the r"chL and soc"ety, "nstead of be"ng safer, "s more atthe mercy of the tyrant, who, when th"ngs are at the worst, obta"ns aguardthat "s, an armyand announces h"mself as the sa%"our.

The other cons"derat"on "s of an o$$os"te &"nd. =dm"tt"ng that a few w"semen are l"&ely to be better go%ernors than the unw"se many, yet "t "s not"n the"r $ower to fash"on an ent"re $eo$le accord"ng to the"r behest. (henw"th the best "ntent"ons the bene%olent des$ot beg"ns h"s reg"me, he f"ndsthe world hard to mo%e. = success"on of good &"ngs has at the end of acentury left the $eo$le an "nert and unchanged mass. The -oman world wasnot $ermanently "m$ro%ed by the hundred years of adr"an and the=nton"nes.The &"ngs of S$a"n dur"ng the last century were at least eual to anycontem$orary so%ere"gns "n %"rtue and ab"l"ty. 1n certa"n states of the

world the means are want"ng to render a bene%olent $ower effectual. Thesemeans are not a mere external organ"sat"on of $osts or telegra$hs, hardlythe "ntroduct"on of new laws or modes of "ndustry. = change must be made"n the s$"r"t of a $eo$le as well as "n the"r externals. The anc"entleg"slator d"d not really ta&e a blan& tablet and "nscr"be u$on "t therules wh"ch reflect"on and ex$er"ence had taught h"m to be for a nat"onMs"nterestL no one would ha%e obeyed h"m "f he had. But he too& the customs


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wh"ch he found already ex"st"ng "n a halfc"%"l"sed state of soc"etyAthese he reduced to form and "nscr"bed on $"llarsL he def"ned what had

before been undef"ned, and ga%e certa"nty to what was uncerta"n. :oleg"slat"on e%er s$rang, l"&e =thene, "n full $ower out of the head e"therof God or man.

Plato and =r"stotle are sens"ble of the d"ff"culty of comb"n"ng the w"sdomof the few w"th the $ower of the many. =ccord"ng to Plato, he "s a

$hys"c"an who has the &nowledge of a $hys"c"an, and he "s a &"ng who hasthe &nowledge of a &"ng. But how the &"ng, one or more, "s to obta"n thereu"red $ower, "s hardly at all cons"dered by h"m. e $resents the "deaof a $erfect go%ernment, but exce$t the regulat"on for m"x"ng d"fferenttem$ers "n marr"age, he ne%er ma&es any $ro%"s"on for the atta"nment of "t.=r"stotle, cast"ng as"de "deals, would $lace the go%ernment "n a m"ddle

class of c"t"8ens, suff"c"ently numerous for stab"l"ty, w"thout adm"tt"ngthe $o$ulaceL and such a$$ears to ha%e been the const"tut"on wh"ch actually

$re%a"led for a short t"me at =thensthe rule of the +"%e Thousandcharacter"8ed by Thucyd"des as the best go%ernment of =thens wh"ch he had&nown. 1t may howe%er be doubted how far, e"ther "n a Gree& or modernstate, such a l"m"tat"on "s $ract"cable or des"rableL for those who areleft outs"de the $ale w"ll always be dangerous to those who are w"th"n,wh"le on the other hand the lea%en of the mob can hardly affect there$resentat"on of a great country. There "s reason for the argument "nfa%our of a $ro$erty ual"f"cat"onL there "s reason also "n the argumentsof those who would "nclude all and so exhaust the $ol"t"cal s"tuat"on.

The true answer to the uest"on "s relat"%e to the c"rcumstances ofnat"ons. ow can we get the greatest "ntell"gence comb"ned w"th thegreatest $ower The anc"ent leg"slator would ha%e found th"s uest"on moreeasy than we do. +or he would ha%e reu"red that all $ersons who had ashare of go%ernment should ha%e rece"%ed the"r educat"on from the state andha%e borne her burdens, and should ha%e ser%ed "n her fleets and arm"es.But though we somet"mes hear the cry that we must Meducate the masses, for

they are our masters,M who would l"sten to a $ro$osal that the franch"seshould be conf"ned to the educated or to those who fulf"l $ol"t"cal dut"esThen aga"n, we &now that the masses are not our masters, and that they aremore l"&ely to become so "f we educate them. 1n modern $ol"t"cs so many"nterests ha%e to be consulted that we are com$elled to do, not what "s

best, but what "s $oss"ble.


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d.


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enforces honesty, but that "t ma&es men act "n the same way, and reu"resthem to $roduce the same e%"dence of the"r acts. Too many laws may be thes"gn of a corru$t and o%erc"%"l"8ed state of soc"ety, too few are the s"gnof an unc"%"l"8ed oneL as soon as commerce beg"ns to grow, men ma&ethemsel%es customs wh"ch ha%e the %al"d"ty of laws. E%en eu"ty, wh"ch "sthe exce$t"on to the law, conforms to f"xed rules and l"es for the most

$art w"th"n the l"m"ts of $re%"ous dec"s"ons.

1. The b"tterness of the Statesman "s character"st"c of PlatoMs laterstyle, "n wh"ch the thoughts of youth and lo%e ha%e fled away, and we areno longer tended by the 2uses or the Graces. (e do not %enture to say thatPlato was soured by old age, but certa"nly the &"ndl"ness and courtesy ofthe earl"er d"alogues ha%e d"sa$$eared. e sees the world under a harderand gr"mmer as$ectA he "s deal"ng w"th the real"ty of th"ngs, not w"th

%"s"ons or $"ctures of themA he "s see&"ng by the a"d of d"alect"c only,to arr"%e at truth. e "s dee$ly "m$ressed w"th the "m$ortance ofclass"f"cat"onA "n th"s alone he f"nds the true measure of human th"ngsLand %ery often "n the $rocess of d"%"s"on cur"ous results are obta"ned.+or the d"alect"cal art "s no res$ecter of $ersonsA &"ng and %erm"nta&erare all al"&e to the $h"loso$her. There may ha%e been a t"me when the &"ngwas a god, but he now "s $retty much on a le%el w"th h"s subjects "n

breed"ng and educat"on. 2an should be well ad%"sed that he "s only one ofthe an"mals, and the ellene "n $art"cular should be aware that he h"mselfwas the author of the d"st"nct"on between ellene and Barbar"an, and thatthe Phryg"an would eually d"%"de man&"nd "nto Phryg"ans and Barbar"ans,and that some "ntell"gent an"mal, l"&e a crane, m"ght go a ste$ further,and d"%"de the an"mal world "nto cranes and all other an"mals. Platocannot hel$ laugh"ng com$are Theaet.C when he th"n&s of the &"ng runn"ngafter h"s subjects, l"&e the $"gdr"%er or the b"rdta&er. e wouldser"ously ha%e h"m cons"der how many com$et"tors there are to h"s throne,ch"efly among the class of ser%"ngmen. = good deal of mean"ng "s lur&"ng"n the ex$ress"onMThere "s no art of feed"ng man&"nd worthy the name.MThere "s a s"m"lar de$th "n the remar&,MThe wonder about states "s not

that they are shortl"%ed, but that they last so long "n s$"te of thebadness of the"r rulers.M

. There "s also a $aradox"cal element "n the Statesman wh"ch del"ghts "nre%ers"ng the accustomed use of words. The law wh"ch to the Gree& was theh"ghest object of re%erence "s an "gnorant and brutal tyrantthe tyrant "scon%erted "nto a benef"cent &"ng. The so$h"st too "s no longer, as "n the


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earl"er d"alogues, the r"%al of the statesman, but assumes h"s form. Platosees that the "deal of the state "n h"s own day "s more and more se%eredfrom the actual. +rom such "deals as he had once formed, he turns away tocontem$late the decl"ne of the Gree& c"t"es wh"ch were far worse now "n h"sold age than they had been "n h"s youth, and were to become worse andworse"n the ages wh"ch followed. e cannot conta"n h"s d"sgust at thecontem$orary statesmen, so$h"sts who had turned $ol"t"c"ans, "n %ar"ousforms of men and an"mals, a$$ear"ng, some l"&e l"ons and centaurs, othersl"&e satyrs and mon&eys. 1n th"s new d"sgu"se the So$h"sts ma&e the"r lasta$$earance on the sceneA "n the


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treatment of the subject "n the Statesman "s fragmentary, and the shorterand later wor&, as m"ght be ex$ected, "s less f"n"shed, and less wor&ed out"n deta"l. The "dea of measure and the arrangement of the sc"ences su$$lyconnect"ng l"n&s both w"th the -e$ubl"c and the Ph"lebus.

2ore than any of the $reced"ng d"alogues, the Statesman seems toa$$rox"mate "n thought and language to the


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4. The close connex"on of them w"th the Theaetetus, Parmen"des, andPh"lebus, "n%ol%es the fate of these d"alogues, as well as of the twosus$ected ones.

F. The sus$"c"on of them seems ma"nly to rest on a $resum$t"on that "nPlatoMs wr"t"ngs we may ex$ect to f"nd an un"form ty$e of doctr"ne ando$"n"on. But howe%er we arrange the order, or narrow the c"rcle of thed"alogues, we must adm"t that they exh"b"t a growth and $rogress "n them"nd of Plato. =nd the a$$earance of change or $rogress "s not to beregarded as "m$ugn"ng the genu"neness of any $art"cular wr"t"ngs, but may

be e%en an argument "n the"r fa%our. 1f we su$$ose the So$h"st andPol"t"cus to stand halfway between the -e$ubl"c and the


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TE9)9-;SA =nd "n a l"ttle wh"le, Socrates, you w"ll owe me three t"mesasmany, when they ha%e com$leted for you the del"neat"on of the Statesmanandof the Ph"loso$her, as well as of the So$h"st.

S9-=TESA So$h"st, statesman, $h"loso$her' 9 my dear Theodorus, domyears truly w"tness that th"s "s the est"mate formed of them by the greatcalculator and geometr"c"an

TE9)9-;SA (hat do you mean, Socrates

S9-=TESA 1 mean that you rate them all at the same %alue, whereas theyare really se$arated by an "nter%al, wh"ch no geometr"cal rat"o canex$ress.

TE9)9-;SA By =mmon, the god of yrene, Socrates, that "s a %ery fa"rh"tLand shows that you ha%e not forgotten your geometry. 1 w"ll retal"ate onyou at some other t"me, but 1 must now as& the Stranger, who w"ll not, 1ho$e, t"re of h"s goodness to us, to $roceed e"ther w"th the Statesman orw"th the Ph"loso$her, wh"che%er he $refers.

ST-=:GE-A That "s my duty, TheodorusL ha%"ng begun 1 must go on, andnotlea%e the wor& unf"n"shed. But what shall be done w"th Theaetetus

TE9)9-;SA 1n what res$ect

ST-=:GE-A Shall we rel"e%e h"m, and ta&e h"s com$an"on, the QoungSocrates, "nstead of h"m (hat do you ad%"se

TE9)9-;SA Qes, g"%e the other a turn, as you $ro$ose. The youngalwaysdo better when they ha%e "nter%als of rest.

S9-=TESA 1 th"n&, Stranger, that both of them may be sa"d to be "n someway related to meL for the one, as you aff"rm, has the cut of my ugly face


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com$are Theaet.C, the other "s called by my name. =nd we should alwaysbeon the loo&out to recogn"8e a &"nsman by the style of h"s con%ersat"on. 1myself was d"scours"ng w"th Theaetetus yesterday, and 1 ha%e just beenl"sten"ng to h"s answersL my namesa&e 1 ha%e not yet exam"ned, but 1 must.=nother t"me w"ll do for meL today let h"m answer you.

ST-=:GE-A ery good. Qoung Socrates, do you hear what the elderSocrates"s $ro$os"ng

Q9;:G S9-=TESA 1 do.

ST-=:GE-A =nd do you agree to h"s $ro$osal

Q9;:G S9-=TESA erta"nly.

ST-=:GE-A =s you do not object, st"ll less can 1. =fter the So$h"st,then, 1 th"n& that the Statesman naturally follows next "n the order ofenu"ry. =nd $lease to say, whether he, too, should be ran&ed among thosewho ha%e sc"ence.

Q9;:G S9-=TESA Qes.

ST-=:GE-A Then the sc"ences must be d"%"ded as before

Q9;:G S9-=TESA 1 dare say.

ST-=:GE-A But yet the d"%"s"on w"ll not be the same

Q9;:G S9-=TESA ow then

ST-=:GE-A They w"ll be d"%"ded at some other $o"nt.

Q9;:G S9-=TESA Qes.

ST-=:GE-A (here shall we d"sco%er the $ath of the Statesman (e mustf"ndand se$arate off, and set our seal u$on th"s, and we w"ll set the mar& ofanother class u$on all d"%erg"ng $aths. Thus the soul w"ll conce"%e of all


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&"nds of &nowledge under two classes.

Q9;:G S9-=TESA To f"nd the $ath "s your bus"ness, Stranger, and notm"ne.

ST-=:GE-A Qes, Socrates, but the d"sco%ery, when once made, must beyoursas well as m"ne.

Q9;:G S9-=TESA ery good.

ST-=:GE-A (ell, and are not ar"thmet"c and certa"n other &"ndred arts,merely abstract &nowledge, wholly se$arated from act"on

Q9;:G S9-=TESA True.

ST-=:GE-A But "n the art of car$enter"ng and all other hand"crafts, the&nowledge of the wor&man "s merged "n h"s wor&L he not only &nows, but healso ma&es th"ngs wh"ch $re%"ously d"d not ex"st.


ST-=:GE-A Then let us d"%"de sc"ences "n general "nto those wh"ch are$ract"cal and those wh"ch are $urely "ntellectual.

Q9;:G S9-=TESA


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ST-=:GE-A =nd "f any one who "s "n a $r"%ate stat"on "s able to ad%"se theruler of a country, may not he be sa"d to ha%e the &nowledge wh"ch theruler h"mself ought to ha%e


ST-=:GE-A But surely the sc"ence of a true &"ng "s royal sc"ence

Q9;:G S9-=TESA Qes.

ST-=:GE-A =nd w"ll not he who $ossesses th"s &nowledge, whether heha$$ensto be a ruler or a $r"%ate man, when regarded only "n reference to h"s art,

be truly called MroyalM

Q9;:G S9-=TESA e certa"nly ought to be.

ST-=:GE-A =nd the householder and master are the same

Q9;:G S9-=TESA 9f course.

ST-=:GE-A =ga"n, a large household may be com$ared to a small stateAw"llthey d"ffer at all, as far as go%ernment "s concerned

Q9;:G S9-=TESA They w"ll not.

ST-=:GE-A Then, return"ng to the $o"nt wh"ch we were just nowd"scuss"ng,do we not clearly see that there "s one sc"ence of all of themL and th"ssc"ence may be called e"ther royal or $ol"t"cal or econom"calL we w"ll notuarrel w"th any one about the name.

Q9;:G S9-=TESA erta"nly not.

ST-=:GE-A Th"s too, "s e%"dent, that the &"ng cannot do much w"th h"shands, or w"th h"s whole body, towards the ma"ntenance of h"s em$"re,com$ared w"th what he does by the "ntell"gence and strength of h"s m"nd.

Q9;:G S9-=TESA learly not.


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ST-=:GE-A Then, shall we say that the &"ng has a greater aff"n"ty to&nowledge than to manual arts and to $ract"cal l"fe "n general

Q9;:G S9-=TESA erta"nly he has.

ST-=:GE-A Then we may $ut all together as one and the samestatesmansh"$and the statesmanthe &"ngly sc"ence and the &"ng.

Q9;:G S9-=TESA learly.

ST-=:GE-A =nd now we shall only be $roceed"ng "n due order "f we goon to

d"%"de the s$here of &nowledge


ST-=:GE-A Th"n& whether you can f"nd any jo"nt or $art"ng "n&nowledge.

Q9;:G S9-=TESA Tell me of what sort.

ST-=:GE-A Such as th"sA Qou may remember that we made an art ofcalculat"on

Q9;:G S9-=TESA Qes.

ST-=:GE-A (h"ch was, unm"sta&eably, one of the arts of &nowledge


ST-=:GE-A =nd to th"s art of calculat"on wh"ch d"scerns the d"fferences

ofnumbers shall we ass"gn any other funct"on exce$t to $ass judgment on the"rd"fferences

Q9;:G S9-=TESA ow could we


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ST-=:GE-A Qou &now that the masterbu"lder does not wor& h"mself, but"sthe ruler of wor&men

Q9;:G S9-=TESA Qes.

ST-=:GE-A e contr"butes &nowledge, not manual labour


ST-=:GE-A =nd may therefore be justly sa"d to share "n theoret"calsc"ence

Q9;:G S9-=TESA Uu"te true.

ST-=:GE-A But he ought not, l"&e the calculator, to regard h"s funct"onsas at an end when he has formed a judgmentLhe must ass"gn to the"nd"%"dual wor&men the"r a$$ro$r"ate tas& unt"l they ha%e com$leted thewor&.


ST-=:GE-A =re not all such sc"ences, no less than ar"thmet"c and the l"&e,subjects of $ure &nowledgeL and "s not the d"fference between the twoclasses, that the one sort has the $ower of judg"ng only, and the other ofrul"ng as well

Q9;:G S9-=TESA That "s e%"dent.

ST-=:GE-A 2ay we not %ery $ro$erly say, that of all &nowledge, therearetwo d"%"s"onsone wh"ch rules, and the other wh"ch judges

Q9;:G S9-=TESA 1 should th"n& so.

ST-=:GE-A =nd when men ha%e anyth"ng to do "n common, that theyshould beof one m"nd "s surely a des"rable th"ng

Q9;:G S9-=TESA ery true.


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ST-=:GE-A Then wh"le we are at un"ty among oursel%es, we need notm"ndabout the fanc"es of others

Q9;:G S9-=TESA erta"nly not.

ST-=:GE-A =nd now, "n wh"ch of these d"%"s"ons shall we $lace the&"ng1s he a judge and a &"nd of s$ectator 9r shall we ass"gn to h"m the artof commandfor he "s a ruler

Q9;:G S9-=TESA The latter, clearly.

ST-=:GE-A Then we must see whether there "s any mar& of d"%"s"on "ntheart of command too. 1 am "ncl"ned to th"n& that there "s a d"st"nct"ons"m"lar to that of manufacturer and reta"l dealer, wh"ch $arts off the &"ngfrom the herald.

Q9;:G S9-=TESA ow "s th"s

ST-=:GE-A (hy, does not the reta"ler rece"%e and sell o%er aga"n the$roduct"ons of others, wh"ch ha%e been sold before

Q9;:G S9-=TESA erta"nly he does.

ST-=:GE-A =nd "s not the herald under command, and does he notrece"%eorders, and "n h"s turn g"%e them to others

Q9;:G S9-=TESA ery true.

ST-=:GE-A Then shall we m"ngle the &"ngly art "n the same class w"th theart of the herald, the "nter$reter, the boatswa"n, the $ro$het, and thenumerous &"ndred arts wh"ch exerc"se commandL or, as "n the $reced"ngcom$ar"son we s$o&e of manufacturers, or sellers for themsel%es, and ofreta"lers,see"ng, too, that the class of su$reme rulers, or rulers forthemsel%es, "s almost namelessshall we ma&e a word follow"ng the sameanalogy, and refer &"ngs to a su$reme or rul"ngforself sc"ence, lea%"ng


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the rest to rece"%e a name from some one else +or we are see&"ng therulerL and our enu"ry "s not concerned w"th h"m who "s not a ruler.


ST-=:GE-A Thus a %ery fa"r d"st"nct"on has been atta"ned between themanwho g"%es h"s own commands, and h"m who g"%es anotherMs. =nd now let ussee "f the su$reme $ower allows of any further d"%"s"on.

Q9;:G S9-=TESA By all means.

ST-=:GE-A 1 th"n& that "t doesL and $lease to ass"st me "n ma&"ng thed"%"s"on.

Q9;:G S9-=TESA =t what $o"nt

ST-=:GE-A 2ay not all rulers be su$$osed to command for the sa&e of$roduc"ng someth"ng


ST-=:GE-A :or "s there any d"ff"culty "n d"%"d"ng the th"ngs $roduced"ntotwo classes.

Q9;:G S9-=TESA ow would you d"%"de them

ST-=:GE-A 9f the whole class, some ha%e l"fe and some are w"thout l"fe.


ST-=:GE-A =nd by the hel$ of th"s d"st"nct"on we may ma&e, "f we

$lease, asubd"%"s"on of the sect"on of &nowledge wh"ch commands.

Q9;:G S9-=TESA =t what $o"nt

ST-=:GE-A 9ne $art may be set o%er the $roduct"on of l"feless, the otherof l"%"ng objectsL and "n th"s way the whole w"ll be d"%"ded.


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ST-=:GE-A That d"%"s"on, then, "s com$leteL and now we may lea%e onehalf,and ta&e u$ the otherL wh"ch may also be d"%"ded "nto two.

Q9;:G S9-=TESA (h"ch of the two hal%es do you mean

ST-=:GE-A 9f course that wh"ch exerc"ses command about an"mals. +or,surely, the royal sc"ence "s not l"&e that of a masterwor&man, a sc"ence

$res"d"ng o%er l"feless objectsLthe &"ng has a nobler funct"on, wh"ch "sthe management and control of l"%"ng be"ngs.


ST-=:GE-A =nd the breed"ng and tend"ng of l"%"ng be"ngs may beobser%ed to

be somet"mes a tend"ng of the "nd"%"dualL "n other cases, a common care ofcreatures "n floc&s


ST-=:GE-A But the statesman "s not a tender of "nd"%"dualsnot l"&e thedr"%er or groom of a s"ngle ox or horseL he "s rather to be com$ared w"ththe &ee$er of a dro%e of horses or oxen.

Q9;:G S9-=TESA Qes, 1 see, than&s to you.

ST-=:GE-A Shall we call th"s art of tend"ng many an"mals together, theartof manag"ng a herd, or the art of collect"%e management

Q9;:G S9-=TESA :o matterLwh"che%er suggests "tself to us "n thecourseof con%ersat"on.

ST-=:GE-A ery good, SocratesL and, "f you cont"nue to be not too$art"cular about names, you w"ll be all the r"cher "n w"sdom when you arean old man. =nd now, as you say, lea%"ng the d"scuss"on of the name,can


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you see a way "n wh"ch a $erson, by show"ng the art of herd"ng to be of two&"nds, may cause that wh"ch "s now sought amongst tw"ce the number ofth"ngs, to be then sought amongst half that number

Q9;:G S9-=TESA 1 w"ll tryLthere a$$ears to me to be onemanagement ofmen and another of beasts.

ST-=:GE-A Qou ha%e certa"nly d"%"ded them "n a most stra"ghtforwardandmanly styleL but you ha%e fallen "nto an error wh"ch hereafter 1 th"n& thatwe had better a%o"d.

Q9;:G S9-=TESA (hat "s the error

ST-=:GE-A 1 th"n& that we had better not cut off a s"ngle small $ort"onwh"ch "s not a s$ec"es, from many larger $ort"onsL the $art should be as$ec"es. To se$arate off at once the subject of "n%est"gat"on, "s a mostexcellent $lan, "f only the se$arat"on be r"ghtly madeL and you were underthe "m$ress"on that you were r"ght, because you saw that you would come tomanL and th"s led you to hasten the ste$s. But you should not ch"$ off toosmall a $"ece, my fr"endL the safer way "s to cut through the m"ddleL wh"ch"s also the more l"&ely way of f"nd"ng classes. =ttent"on to th"s

$r"nc"$le ma&es all the d"fference "n a $rocess of enu"ry.

Q9;:G S9-=TESA (hat do you mean, Stranger

ST-=:GE-A 1 w"ll endea%our to s$ea& more $la"nly out of lo%e to yourgood

$arts, SocratesL and, although 1 cannot at $resent ent"rely ex$la"n myself,1 w"ll try, as we $roceed, to ma&e my mean"ng a l"ttle clearer.

Q9;:G S9-=TESA (hat was the error of wh"ch, as you say, we were

gu"lty "nour recent d"%"s"on

ST-=:GE-A The error was just as "f some one who wanted to d"%"de thehumanrace, were to d"%"de them after the fash"on wh"ch $re%a"ls "n th"s $art ofthe worldL here they cut off the ellenes as one s$ec"es, and all the other

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Etext of Statesman by Plato

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