§288ΞΕ. τοῦτο ὃ δὴ ξηροῖς καὶ ὑγροῖς καὶ ἐμπύροις καὶ ἀπύροις παντοδαπὸν εἶδος ἐργασθὲν ἀγγεῖον μιᾷ κλήσει προσφθεγγόμεθα, καὶ μάλα γε συχνὸν εἶδος καὶ τῇ ζητουμένῃ γε, ὡς οἶμαι, προσῆκον οὐδὲν ἀτεχνῶς ἐπιστήμῃ.
STRANGER: That which, fashioned as an all-various form for dry and wet, fire-active and fire-less things, we address by a single name as "vessel," a very abundant class indeed, and one, as I think, absolutely not at all appropriate to the science under investigation.
ΝΕ. ΣΩ. πῶς γὰρ οὔ;
YOUNG SOCRATES: How indeed not?
ΞΕ. τούτων δὴ τρίτον ἕτερον εἶδος κτημάτων πάμπολυ κατοπτέον πεζὸν καὶ ἔνυδρον καὶ πολυπλανὲς καὶ ἀπλανὲς καὶ τίμιον καὶ ἄτιμον, ἓν δὲ ὄνομα ἔχον, διότι πᾶν ἕνεκά τινος ἐφέδρας ἐστί, θᾶκος ἀεί τινι γιγνόμενον.
STRANGER: Of these, indeed, a third distinct class of possessions, very extensive, must be observed—terrestrial and aquatic, highly migratory and non-migratory, honored and dishonored, yet having one name, because it is all for the sake of some support, always becoming a seat for something.
ΝΕ. ΣΩ. τὸ ποῖον;
YOUNG SOCRATES: Of what sort?
ΞΕ. ὄχημα αὐτό που λέγομεν, οὐ πάνυ πολιτικῆς ἔργον, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον πολὺ τεκτονικῆς καὶ κεραμικῆς καὶ χαλκοτυπικῆς.
STRANGER: We call it, I suppose, "vehicle," surely not the work of statesmanship, but much rather of carpentry, pottery, and copper-smithing.
ΝΕ. ΣΩ. μανθάνω.
YOUNG SOCRATES: I understand.
ΞΕ. τί δὲ τέταρτον;
STRANGER: And what of the fourth?
ἆρʼ ἕτερον εἶναι τούτων λεκτέον, ἐν ᾧ τὰ πλεῖστά ἐστι τῶν πάλαι ῥηθέντων, ἐσθής τε σύμπασα καὶ τῶν ὅπλων τὸ πολὺ καὶ τείχη πάντα θʼ ὅσα γήινα περιβλήματα καὶ λίθινα, καὶ μυρία ἕτερα;
Must we say there is another distinct from these, in which are most of the things mentioned long ago: all clothing, the greater part of arms, all walls, and all earthy and stony coverings, and countless other things?
προβολῆς δὲ ἕνεκα συμπάντων αὐτῶν εἰργασμένων δικαιότατʼ ἂν ὅλον προσαγορεύοιτο πρόβλημα, καὶ πολλῷ μᾶλλον τέχνης οἰκοδομικῆς ἔργον καὶ ὑφαντικῆς τὸ πλεῖστον νομίζοιτʼ ἂν ὀρθότερον ἢ πολιτικῆς.
Since all of them are fashioned for the sake of protection, the whole might most justly be called "defense," and would much more correctly be deemed the work of the building art and, for the most part, of weaving, rather than of statesmanship.
ΝΕ. ΣΩ. πάνυ μὲν οὖν.
YOUNG SOCRATES: Certainly.
ΞΕ. πέμπτον δὲ ἆρʼ ἂν ἐθέλοιμεν τὸ περὶ τὸν κόσμον καὶ γραφικὴν θεῖναι καὶ ὅσα ταύτῃ προσχρώμενα καὶ μουσικῇ μιμήματα τελεῖται, πρὸς τὰς ἡδονὰς μόνον ἡμῶν ἀπειργασμένα, δικαίως δʼ ἂν ὀνόματι περιληφθέντα ἑνί;
STRANGER: And fifth, should we wish to place that which concerns ornament and painting, and all the imitations produced by employing these and music, fashioned solely for our pleasures, and which might justly be encompassed by a single name?
ΝΕ. ΣΩ. ποίῳ;
YOUNG SOCRATES: By what name?
ΞΕ. παίγνιόν πού τι λέγεται. ΝΕ. ΣΩ. τί μήν;
STRANGER: It is called, I suppose, "plaything." YOUNG SOCRATES: How could it be otherwise?
ΞΕ. τοῦτο τοίνυν τούτοις ἓν ὄνομα ἅπασι πρέψει προσαγορευθέν· οὐ γὰρ σπουδῆς οὐδὲν αὐτῶν χάριν, ἀλλὰ παιδιᾶς ἕνεκα πάντα δρᾶται.
STRANGER: This single name, then, will be fittingly addressed to all of these; for none of them is done for the sake of serious purpose, but all for the sake of play.
ΝΕ. ΣΩ. καὶ τοῦτο σχεδόν τι μανθάνω.
YOUNG SOCRATES: And this too I pretty much understand.
ΞΕ. τὸ δὲ πᾶσιν τούτοις σώματα παρέχον, ἐξ ὧν καὶ ἐν οἷς δημιουργοῦσιν ὁπόσαι τῶν τεχνῶν νῦν εἴρηνται, παντοδαπὸν εἶδος πολλῶν ἑτέρων τεχνῶν ἔκγονον ὄν, ἆρʼ οὐχ ἕκτον θήσομεν;
STRANGER: And that which provides bodies for all these, from which and in which all the arts now mentioned produce their works—an all-various kind, being the offspring of many other arts—shall we not place this as sixth?
ΝΕ. ΣΩ. τὸ ποῖον δὴ λέγεις;
YOUNG SOCRATES: What sort indeed do you mean?
ΞΕ. χρυσόν τε καὶ ἄργυρον καὶ πάνθʼ ὁπόσα μεταλλεύεται καὶ ὅσα δρυοτομικὴ καὶ κουρὰ σύμπασα τέμνουσα παρέχει τεκτονικῇ καὶ πλεκτικῇ· καὶ ἔτι φλοιστικὴ φυτῶν τε καὶ ἐμψύχων δέρματα σωμάτων περιαιροῦσα σκυτοτομική, καὶ ὅσαι περὶ τὰ τοιαῦτά εἰσιν τέχναι, καὶ φελλῶν καὶ βύβλων καὶ δεσμῶν ἐργαστικαὶ παρέσχον δημιουργεῖν σύνθετα ἐκ μὴ συντιθεμένων εἴδη γενῶν.
STRANGER: Gold and silver and all that is mined, and all that wood-cutting and general pruning, by cutting, provide for carpentry and weaving; and further, the peeling of plants and the shoemaking that strips the hides of living bodies, and all such arts as concern these, and those that work on cork, papyrus, and cords, providing the means to produce composite forms out of non-composite kinds of materials.
ἓν δὲ αὐτὸ προσαγορεύομεν πᾶν τὸ πρωτογενὲς ἀνθρώποις κτῆμα καὶ ἀσύνθετον καὶ βασιλικῆς ἐπιστήμης οὐδαμῶς ἔργον ὄν.
We address all this by one name: the primary possession for humans, non-composite, and in no way being the work of the kingly science.
ΝΕ. ΣΩ. καλῶς.
YOUNG SOCRATES: Good.
§289ΞΕ. τὴν δὴ τῆς τροφῆς κτῆσιν, καὶ ὅσα εἰς τὸ σῶμα συγκαταμειγνύμενα ἑαυτῶν μέρεσι μέρη σώματος εἰς τὸ θεραπεῦσαί τινα δύναμιν εἴληχε, λεκτέον ἕβδομον ὀνομάσαντας αὐτὸ σύμπαν ἡμῶν εἶναι τροφόν, εἰ μή τι κάλλιον ἔχομεν ἄλλο θέσθαι· γεωργικῇ δὲ καὶ θηρευτικῇ καὶ γυμναστικῇ καὶ ἰατρικῇ καὶ μαγειρικῇ πᾶν ὑποτιθέντες ὀρθότερον ἀποδώσομεν ἢ τῇ πολιτικῇ.
STRANGER: Then the possession of nourishment, and all those things which, when mixed together into the body, have by their own parts received a power to nourish some parts of the body, must be spoken of as seventh, naming it as a whole "our nourisher," unless we have some other better name to position; and by subordinating all of this to agriculture, hunting, gymnastics, medicine, and cookery, we shall assign it more correctly than to statesmanship.
ΝΕ. ΣΩ. πῶς γὰρ οὔ;
YOUNG SOCRATES: How indeed not?
ΞΕ. σχεδὸν τοίνυν ὅσα ἔχεται κτήσεως, πλὴν τῶν ἡμέρων ζῴων, ἐν τούτοις ἑπτὰ οἶμαι γένεσιν εἰρῆσθαι.
STRANGER: Almost all possessions, then, except for tame animals, have, I think, been mentioned in these seven classes.
σκόπει δέ· ἦν γὰρ δικαιότατα μὲν ἂν τεθὲν κατʼ ἀρχὰς τὸ πρωτογενὲς εἶδος, μετὰ δὲ τοῦτο ὄργανον, ἀγγεῖον, ὄχημα, πρόβλημα, παίγνιον, θρέμμα.
Look at it: for the primary class would most justly have been positioned at the beginning, and after this: tool, vessel, vehicle, defense, plaything, nourishment.
ἃ παραλείπομεν δέ, εἴ τι μὴ μέγα λέληθεν, εἴς τι τούτων δυνατὸν ἁρμόττειν, οἷον ἡ τοῦ νομίσματος ἰδέα καὶ σφραγίδων καὶ παντὸς χαρακτῆρος.
And the things we omit, unless something major has escaped us, can fit into one of these, such as the idea of money, seals, and every stamp.
γένος τε γὰρ ἐν αὑτοῖς ταῦτα οὐδὲν ἔχει μέγα σύννομον, ἀλλὰ τὰ μὲν εἰς κόσμον, τὰ δὲ εἰς ὄργανα βίᾳ μέν, ὅμως δὲ πάντως ἑλκόμενα συμφωνήσει.
For these do not have any great class of their own feeding together, but some are dragged into ornament, others into tools, though with violence, yet they will completely harmonize.
τὰ δὲ περὶ ζῴων κτῆσιν τῶν ἡμέρων, πλὴν δούλων, ἡ πρότερον ἀγελαιοτροφικὴ διαμερισθεῖσα πάντʼ εἰληφυῖα ἀναφανεῖται.
And as for the possession of tame animals, except for slaves, the herd-rearing art previously divided will appear to have taken them all.
ΝΕ. ΣΩ. πάνυ μὲν οὖν.
YOUNG SOCRATES: Certainly.
ΞΕ. τὸ δὲ δὴ δούλων καὶ πάντων ὑπηρετῶν λοιπόν, ἐν οἷς που καὶ μαντεύομαι τοὺς περὶ αὐτὸ τὸ πλέγμα ἀμφισβητοῦντας τῷ βασιλεῖ καταφανεῖς γενήσεσθαι, καθάπερ τοῖς ὑφάνταις τότε τοὺς περὶ τὸ νήθειν τε καὶ ξαίνειν καὶ ὅσα ἄλλα εἴπομεν.
STRANGER: But what remains is the class of slaves and all servants, among whom, I divine, those who dispute with the king about the weaving itself will become manifest, just as previously for the weavers those concerned with spinning, carding, and all the other things we mentioned.
οἱ δὲ ἄλλοι πάντες, ὡς συναίτιοι λεχθέντες, ἅμα τοῖς ἔργοις τοῖς νυνδὴ ῥηθεῖσιν ἀνήλωνται καὶ ἀπεχωρίσθησαν ἀπὸ βασιλικῆς τε καὶ πολιτικῆς πράξεως.
All the others, having been called contributing causes, have been exhausted along with the works just now mentioned and have been separated from kingly and statesmanlike action.
ΝΕ. ΣΩ. ἐοίκασι γοῦν.
YOUNG SOCRATES: They seem so, at any rate.
ΞΕ. ἴθι δὴ σκεψώμεθα τοὺς λοιποὺς προσελθόντες ἐγγύθεν, ἵνα αὐτοὺς εἰδῶμεν βεβαιότερον.
STRANGER: Come then, let us examine those who remain by approaching closer, so that we may know them more securely.
ΝΕ. ΣΩ. οὐκοῦν χρή.
YOUNG SOCRATES: Then we must.
ΞΕ. τοὺς μὲν δὴ μεγίστους ὑπηρέτας, ὡς ἐνθένδε ἰδεῖν, τοὐναντίον ἔχοντας εὑρίσκομεν οἷς ὑπωπτεύσαμεν ἐπιτήδευμα καὶ πάθος.
STRANGER: Now, the greatest servants, as seen from here, we find to have an occupation and condition quite the contrary of what we suspected.
ΝΕ. ΣΩ. τίνας;
YOUNG SOCRATES: Whom?
ΞΕ. τοὺς ὠνητούς τε καὶ τῷ τρόπῳ τούτῳ κτητούς· οὓς ἀναμφισβητήτως δούλους ἔχομεν εἰπεῖν; ἥκιστα βασιλικῆς μεταποιουμένους τέχνης.
STRANGER: Those who are bought and in this manner acquired; whom we can call slaves beyond dispute, since they have least of all to do with the kingly art.
ΝΕ. ΣΩ. πῶς δʼ οὔ;
YOUNG SOCRATES: How could they not?