Thenyoumustfurtherimaginethesamethingtohappentothesonwhichhasalreadyhappenedtothefather:——heisdrawnintoaperfectlylawlesslife,whichbyhisseducersistermedperfectliberty;andhisfatherandfriendstakepartwithhismoderatedesires,andtheoppositepartyassisttheoppositeones。Assoonasthesediremagiciansandtyrant—makersfindthattheyarelosingtheirholdonhim,theycontrivetoimplantinhimamasterpassion,tobelordoverhisidleandspendthriftlusts——asortofmonstrouswingeddrone——thatistheonlyimagewhichwilladequatelydescribehim。
Yes,hesaid,thatistheonlyadequateimageofhim。
Andwhenhisotherlusts,amidcloudsofincenseandperfumesandgarlandsandwines,andallthepleasuresofadissolutelife,nowletloose,comebuzzingaroundhim,nourishingtotheutmostthestingofdesirewhichtheyimplantinhisdrone—likenature,thenatlastthislordofthesoul,havingMadnessforthecaptainofhisguard,breaksoutintoafrenzy:andifhefindsinhimselfanygoodopinionsorappetitesinprocessofformation,andthereisinhimanysenseofshameremaining,tothesebetterprinciplesheputsanend,andcaststhemforthuntilhehaspurgedawaytemperanceandbroughtinmadnesstothefull。
Yes,hesaid,thatisthewayinwhichthetyrannicalmanisgenerated。
Andisnotthisthereasonwhyofoldlovehasbeencalledatyrant?
Ishouldnotwonder。
Further,Isaid,hasnotadrunkenmanalsothespiritofatyrant?
Hehas。
Andyouknowthatamanwhoisderangedandnotrightinhismind,willfancythatheisabletorule,notonlyovermen,butalsooverthegods?
Thathewill。
Andthetyrannicalmaninthetruesenseofthewordcomesintobeingwhen,eitherundertheinfluenceofnature,orhabit,orboth,hebecomesdrunken,lustful,passionate?Omyfriend,isnotthatso?
Assuredly。
Suchisthemanandsuchishisorigin。Andnext,howdoeshelive?
Suppose,aspeoplefacetiouslysay,youweretotellme。
Iimagine,Isaid,atthenextstepinhisprogress,thattherewillbefeastsandcarousalsandrevellingsandcourtezans,andallthatsortofthing;Loveisthelordofthehousewithinhim,andordersalltheconcernsofhissoul。
Thatiscertain。
Yes;andeverydayandeverynightdesiresgrowupmanyandformidable,andtheirdemandsaremany。
Theyareindeed,hesaid。
Hisrevenues,ifhehasany,aresoonspent。
True。
Thencomesdebtandthecuttingdownofhisproperty。
Ofcourse。
Whenhehasnothingleft,mustnothisdesires,crowdinginthenestlikeyoungravens,becryingaloudforfood;andhe,goadedonbythem,andespeciallybylovehimself,whoisinamannerthecaptainofthem,isinafrenzy,andwouldfaindiscoverwhomhecandefraudordespoilofhisproperty,inorderthathemaygratifythem?
Yes,thatissuretobethecase。
Hemusthavemoney,nomatterhow,ifheistoescapehorridpainsandpangs。
Hemust。
Andasinhimselftherewasasuccessionofpleasures,andthenewgotthebetteroftheoldandtookawaytheirrights,sohebeingyoungerwillclaimtohavemorethanhisfatherandhismother,andifhehasspenthisownshareoftheproperty,hewilltakeasliceoftheirs。
Nodoubthewill。
Andifhisparentswillnotgiveway,thenhewilltryfirstofalltocheatanddeceivethem。
Verytrue。
Andifhefails,thenhewilluseforceandplunderthem。
Yes,probably。
Andiftheoldmanandwomanfightfortheirown,whatthen,myfriend?Willthecreaturefeelanycompunctionattyrannizingoverthem?
Nay,hesaid,Ishouldnotfeelatallcomfortableabouthisparents。
But,Oheavens!Adeimantus,onaccountofsomenewfangledloveofaharlot,whoisanythingbutanecessaryconnection,canyoubelievethathewouldstrikethemotherwhoishisancientfriendandnecessarytohisveryexistence,andwouldplaceherundertheauthorityoftheother,whensheisbroughtunderthesameroofwithher;orthat,underlikecircumstances,hewoulddothesametohiswitheredoldfather,firstandmostindispensableoffriends,forthesakeofsomenewlyfoundbloomingyouthwhoisthereverseofindispensable?
Yes,indeed,hesaid;Ibelievethathewould。
Truly,then,Isaid,atyrannicalsonisablessingtohisfatherandmother。
Heisindeed,hereplied。
Hefirsttakestheirproperty,andwhenthatfalls,andpleasuresarebeginningtoswarminthehiveofhissoul,thenhebreaksintoahouse,orstealsthegarmentsofsomenightlywayfarer;nextheproceedstoclearatemple。Meanwhiletheoldopinionswhichhehadwhenachild,andwhichgavejudgmentaboutgoodandevil,areoverthrownbythoseotherswhichhavejustbeenemancipated,andarenowthebodyguardofloveandsharehisempire。Theseinhisdemocraticdays,whenhewasstillsubjecttothelawsandtohisfather,wereonlyletlooseinthedreamsofsleep。Butnowthatheisunderthedominionoflove,hebecomesalwaysandinwakingrealitywhathewasthenveryrarelyandinadreamonly;hewillcommitthefoulestmurder,oreatforbiddenfood,orbeguiltyofanyotherhorridact。Loveishistyrant,andliveslordlyinhimandlawlessly,andbeinghimselfaking,leadshimon,asatyrantleadsaState,totheperformanceofanyrecklessdeedbywhichhecanmaintainhimselfandtherabbleofhisassociates,whetherthosewhomevilcommunicationshavebroughtinfromwithout,orthosewhomhehimselfhasallowedtobreakloosewithinhimbyreasonofasimilarevilnatureinhimself。Havewenothereapictureofhiswayoflife?
Yes,indeed,hesaid。
AndifthereareonlyafewofthemintheState,therestofthepeoplearewelldisposed,theygoawayandbecomethebodyguardormercenarysoldiersofsomeothertyrantwhomayprobablywantthemforawar;andifthereisnowar,theystayathomeanddomanylittlepiecesofmischiefinthecity。
Whatsortofmischief?
Forexample,theyarethethieves,burglars,cutpurses,footpads,robbersoftemples,man—stealersofthecommunity;oriftheyareabletospeaktheyturninformers,andbearfalsewitness,andtakebribes。
Asmallcatalogueofevils,eveniftheperpetratorsofthemarefewinnumber。
Yes,Isaid;butsmallandgreatarecomparativeterms,andallthesethings,inthemiseryandevilwhichtheyinflictuponaState,donotcomewithinathousandmilesofthetyrant;whenthisnoxiousclassandtheirfollowersgrownumerousandbecomeconsciousoftheirstrength,assistedbytheinfatuationofthepeople,theychoosefromamongthemselvestheonewhohasmostofthetyrantinhisownsoul,andhimtheycreatetheirtyrant。
Yes,hesaid,andhewillbethemostfittobeatyrant。
Ifthepeopleyield,wellandgood;butiftheyresisthim,ashebeganbybeatinghisownfatherandmother,sonow,ifhehasthepower,hebeatsthem,andwillkeephisdearoldfatherlandormotherland,astheCretanssay,insubjectiontohisyoungretainerswhomhehasintroducedtobetheirrulersandmasters。Thisistheendofhispassionsanddesires。
Exactly。
Whensuchmenareonlyprivateindividualsandbeforetheygetpower,thisistheircharacter;theyassociateentirelywiththeirownflatterersorreadytools;oriftheywantanythingfromanybody,theyintheirturnareequallyreadytobowdownbeforethem:theyprofesseverysortofaffectionforthem;butwhentheyhavegainedtheirpointtheyknowthemnomore。
Yes,truly。
Theyarealwayseitherthemastersorservantsandneverthefriendsofanybody;thetyrantnevertastesoftruefreedomorfriendship。
Certainlynot。
Andmaywenotrightlycallsuchmentreacherous?
Noquestion。
Alsotheyareutterlyunjust,ifwewererightinournotionofjustice?
Yes,hesaid,andwewereperfectlyright。
Letusthensumupinaword,Isaid,thecharacteroftheworstman:heisthewakingrealityofwhatwedreamed。
Mosttrue。
Andthisishewhobeingbynaturemostofatyrantbearsrule,andthelongerhelivesthemoreofatyranthebecomes。
SOCRATES—GLAUCON
Thatiscertain,saidGlaucon,takinghisturntoanswer。
Andwillnothewhohasbeenshowntobethewickedest,bealsothemostmiserable?andhewhohastyrannizedlongestandmost,mostcontinuallyandtrulymiserable;althoughthismaynotbetheopinionofmeningeneral?
Yes,hesaid,inevitably。
Andmustnotthetyrannicalmanbelikethetyrannical,State,andthedemocraticalmanlikethedemocraticalState;andthesameoftheothers?
Certainly。
AndasStateistoStateinvirtueandhappiness,soismaninrelationtoman?
Tobesure。
Thencomparingouroriginalcity,whichwasunderaking,andthecitywhichisunderatyrant,howdotheystandastovirtue?
Theyaretheoppositeextremes,hesaid,foroneistheverybestandtheotheristheveryworst。
Therecanbenomistake,Isaid,astowhichiswhich,andthereforeIwillatonceenquirewhetheryouwouldarriveatasimilardecisionabouttheirrelativehappinessandmisery。Andherewemustnotallowourselvestobepanic—strickenattheapparitionofthetyrant,whoisonlyaunitandmayperhapshaveafewretainersabouthim;butletusgoasweoughtintoeverycornerofthecityandlookallabout,andthenwewillgiveouropinion。
Afairinvitation,hereplied;andIsee,aseveryonemust,thatatyrannyisthewretchedestformofgovernment,andtheruleofakingthehappiest。
Andinestimatingthementoo,mayInotfairlymakealikerequest,thatIshouldhaveajudgewhosemindcanenterintoandseethroughhumannature?Hemustnotbelikeachildwholooksattheoutsideandisdazzledatthepompousaspectwhichthetyrannicalnatureassumestothebeholder,butlethimbeonewhohasaclearinsight。MayI
supposethatthejudgmentisgiveninthehearingofusallbyonewhoisabletojudge,andhasdweltinthesameplacewithhim,andbeenpresentathisdallylifeandknownhiminhisfamilyrelations,wherehemaybeseenstrippedofhistragedyattire,andagaininthehourofpublicdanger——heshalltellusaboutthehappinessandmiseryofthetyrantwhencomparedwithothermen?
Thatagain,hesaid,isaveryfairproposal。
ShallIassumethatweourselvesareableandexperiencedjudgesandhavebeforenowmetwithsuchaperson?Weshallthenhavesomeonewhowillanswerourenquiries。
Byallmeans。
LetmeaskyounottoforgettheparalleloftheindividualandtheState;bearingthisinmind,andglancinginturnfromonetotheotherofthem,willyoutellmetheirrespectiveconditions?
Whatdoyoumean?heasked。
BeginningwiththeState,Ireplied,wouldyousaythatacitywhichisgovernedbyatyrantisfreeorenslaved?
Nocity,hesaid,canbemorecompletelyenslaved。
Andyet,asyousee,therearefreemenaswellasmastersinsuchaState?
Yes,hesaid,Iseethatthereare——afew;butthepeople,speakinggenerally,andthebestofthem,aremiserablydegradedandenslaved。
ThenifthemanisliketheState,Isaid,mustnotthesameruleprevail?hissoulisfullofmeannessandvulgarity——thebestelementsinhimareenslaved;andthereisasmallrulingpart,whichisalsotheworstandmaddest。
Inevitably。
Andwouldyousaythatthesoulofsuchanoneisthesoulofafreeman,orofaslave?
Hehasthesoulofaslave,inmyopinion。
AndtheStatewhichisenslavedunderatyrantisutterlyincapableofactingvoluntarily?
Utterlyincapable。
Andalsothesoulwhichisunderatyrant(Iamspeakingofthesoultakenasawhole)isleastcapableofdoingwhatshedesires;thereisagadflywhichgoadsher,andsheisfulloftroubleandremorse?
Certainly。
Andisthecitywhichisunderatyrantrichorpoor?
Poor。
Andthetyrannicalsoulmustbealwayspoorandinsatiable?
True。
AndmustnotsuchaStateandsuchamanbealwaysfulloffear?
Yes,indeed。
IsthereanyStateinwhichyouwillfindmoreoflamentationandsorrowandgroaningandpain?
Certainlynot。
Andisthereanymaninwhomyouwillfindmoreofthissortofmiserythaninthetyrannicalman,whoisinafuryofpassionsanddesires?
Impossible。
Reflectingupontheseandsimilarevils,youheldthetyrannicalStatetobethemostmiserableofStates?
AndIwasright,hesaid。
Certainly,Isaid。Andwhenyouseethesameevilsinthetyrannicalman,whatdoyousayofhim?
Isaythatheisbyfarthemostmiserableofallmen。
There,Isaid,Ithinkthatyouarebeginningtogowrong。
Whatdoyoumean?
Idonotthinkthathehasasyetreachedtheutmostextremeofmisery。
Thenwhoismoremiserable?
OneofwhomIamabouttospeak。
Whoisthat?
Hewhoisofatyrannicalnature,andinsteadofleadingaprivatelifehasbeencursedwiththefurthermisfortuneofbeingapublictyrant。
Fromwhathasbeensaid,Igatherthatyouareright。
Yes,Ireplied,butinthishighargumentyoushouldbealittlemorecertain,andshouldnotconjectureonly;forofallquestions,thisrespectinggoodandevilisthegreatest。
Verytrue,hesaid。
Letmethenofferyouanillustration,whichmay,Ithink,throwalightuponthissubject。
Whatisyourillustration?
Thecaseofrichindividualsincitieswhopossessmanyslaves:fromthemyoumayformanideaofthetyrant’scondition,fortheybothhaveslaves;theonlydifferenceisthathehasmoreslaves。
Yes,thatisthedifference。
Youknowthattheylivesecurelyandhavenothingtoapprehendfromtheirservants?
Whatshouldtheyfear?
Nothing。Butdoyouobservethereasonofthis?
Yes;thereasonis,thatthewholecityisleaguedtogetherfortheprotectionofeachindividual。
Verytrue,Isaid。Butimagineoneoftheseowners,themastersayofsomefiftyslaves,togetherwithhisfamilyandpropertyandslaves,carriedoffbyagodintothewilderness,wheretherearenofreementohelphim——willhenotbeinanagonyoffearlestheandhiswifeandchildrenshouldbeputtodeathbyhisslaves?
Yes,hesaid,hewillbeintheutmostfear。
Thetimehasarrivedwhenhewillbecompelledtoflatterdiversofhisslaves,andmakemanypromisestothemoffreedomandotherthings,muchagainsthiswill——hewillhavetocajolehisownservants。
Yes,hesaid,thatwillbetheonlywayofsavinghimself。
Andsupposethesamegod,whocarriedhimaway,tosurroundhimwithneighbourswhowillnotsufferonemantobethemasterofanother,andwho,iftheycouldcatchtheoffender,wouldtakehislife?
Hiscasewillbestillworse,ifyousupposehimtobeeverywheresurroundedandwatchedbyenemies。
Andisnotthisthesortofprisoninwhichthetyrantwillbebound——hewhobeingbynaturesuchaswehavedescribed,isfullofallsortsoffearsandlusts?Hissoulisdaintyandgreedy,andyetalone,ofallmeninthecity,heisneverallowedtogoonajourney,ortoseethethingswhichotherfreemendesiretosee,buthelivesinhisholelikeawomanhiddeninthehouse,andisjealousofanyothercitizenwhogoesintoforeignpartsandseesanythingofinterest。
Verytrue,hesaid。
Andamidevilssuchasthesewillnothewhoisill—governedinhisownperson——thetyrannicalman,Imean——whomyoujustnowdecidedtobethemostmiserableofall——willnothebeyetmoremiserablewhen,insteadofleadingaprivatelife,heisconstrainedbyfortunetobeapublictyrant?Hehastobemasterofotherswhenheisnotmasterofhimself:heislikeadiseasedorparalyticmanwhoiscompelledtopasshislife,notinretirement,butfightingandcombatingwithothermen。
Yes,hesaid,thesimilitudeismostexact。
Isnothiscaseutterlymiserable?anddoesnottheactualtyrantleadaworselifethanhewhoselifeyoudeterminedtobetheworst?
Certainly。
Hewhoistherealtyrant,whatevermenmaythink,istherealslave,andisobligedtopractisethegreatestadulationandservility,andtobetheflattererofthevilestofmankind。Hehasdesireswhichheisutterlyunabletosatisfy,andhasmorewantsthananyone,andistrulypoor,ifyouknowhowtoinspectthewholesoulofhim:allhislifelongheisbesetwithfearandisfullofconvulsions,anddistractions,evenastheStatewhichheresembles:
andsurelytheresemblanceholds?
Verytrue,hesaid。
Moreover,asweweresayingbefore,hegrowsworsefromhavingpower:hebecomesandisofnecessitymorejealous,morefaithless,moreunjust,morefriendless,moreimpious,thanhewasatfirst;heisthepurveyorandcherisherofeverysortofvice,andtheconsequenceisthatheissupremelymiserable,andthathemakeseverybodyelseasmiserableashimself。
Nomanofanysensewilldisputeyourwords。
Comethen,Isaid,andasthegeneralumpireintheatricalcontestsproclaimstheresult,doyoualsodecidewhoinyouropinionisfirstinthescaleofhappiness,andwhosecond,andinwhatordertheothersfollow:therearefiveoftheminall——theyaretheroyal,timocratical,oligarchical,democratical,tyrannical。
Thedecisionwillbeeasilygiven,hereplied;theyshallbechorusescomingonthestage,andImustjudgethemintheorderinwhichtheyenter,bythecriterionofvirtueandvice,happinessandmisery。
Needwehireaherald,orshallIannounce,thatthesonofAriston(thebest)hasdecidedthatthebestandjustestisalsothehappiest,andthatthisishewhoisthemostroyalmanandkingoverhimself;andthattheworstandmostunjustmanisalsothemostmiserable,andthatthisishewhobeingthegreatesttyrantofhimselfisalsothegreatesttyrantofhisState?
Maketheproclamationyourself,hesaid。
AndshallIadd,’whetherseenorunseenbygodsandmen’?
Letthewordsbeadded。
Thenthis,Isaid,willbeourfirstproof;andthereisanother,whichmayalsohavesomeweight。
Whatisthat?
Thesecondproofisderivedfromthenatureofthesoul:seeingthattheindividualsoul,liketheState,hasbeendividedbyusintothreeprinciples,thedivisionmay,Ithink,furnishanewdemonstration。
Ofwhatnature?
Itseemstomethattothesethreeprinciplesthreepleasurescorrespond;alsothreedesiresandgoverningpowers。
Howdoyoumean?hesaid。
Thereisoneprinciplewithwhich,asweweresaying,amanlearns,anotherwithwhichheisangry;thethird,havingmanyforms,hasnospecialname,butisdenotedbythegeneraltermappetitive,fromtheextraordinarystrengthandvehemenceofthedesiresofeatinganddrinkingandtheothersensualappetiteswhicharethemainelementsofit;alsomoney—loving,becausesuchdesiresaregenerallysatisfiedbythehelpofmoney。
Thatistrue,hesaid。
Ifweweretosaythatthelovesandpleasuresofthisthirdpartwereconcernedwithgain,weshouldthenbeabletofallbackonasinglenotion;andmighttrulyandintelligiblydescribethispartofthesoulaslovinggainormoney。
Iagreewithyou。
Again,isnotthepassionateelementwhollysetonrulingandconqueringandgettingfame?
True。
Supposewecallitthecontentiousorambitious——wouldthetermbesuitable?
Extremelysuitable。
Ontheotherhand,everyoneseesthattheprincipleofknowledgeiswhollydirectedtothetruth,andcareslessthaneitheroftheothersforgainorfame。
Farless。
’Loverofwisdom,’’loverofknowledge,’aretitleswhichwemayfitlyapplytothatpartofthesoul?
Certainly。
Oneprincipleprevailsinthesoulsofoneclassofmen,anotherinothers,asmayhappen?
Yes。
Thenwemaybeginbyassumingthattherearethreeclassesofmen——loversofwisdom,loversofhonour,loversofgain?
Exactly。
Andtherearethreekindsofpleasure,whicharetheirseveralobjects?
Verytrue。
Now,ifyouexaminethethreeclassesofmen,andaskoftheminturnwhichoftheirlivesispleasantest,eachwillbefoundpraisinghisownanddepreciatingthatofothers:themoney—makerwillcontrastthevanityofhonouroroflearningiftheybringnomoneywiththesolidadvantagesofgoldandsilver?
True,hesaid。
Andtheloverofhonour——whatwillbehisopinion?Willhenotthinkthatthepleasureofrichesisvulgar,whilethepleasureoflearning,ifitbringsnodistinction,isallsmokeandnonsensetohim?
Verytrue。
Andarewetosuppose,Isaid,thatthephilosophersetsanyvalueonotherpleasuresincomparisonwiththepleasureofknowingthetruth,andinthatpursuitabiding,everlearning,notsofarindeedfromtheheavenofpleasure?Doeshenotcalltheotherpleasuresnecessary,undertheideathatiftherewerenonecessityforthem,hewouldrathernothavethem?
Therecanbenodoubtofthat,hereplied。