§4.432ὅτι οὐχ ὥσπερ ἡ ἀνδρεία καὶ ἡ σοφία ἐν μέρει τινὶ ἑκατέρα ἐνοῦσα ἡ μὲν σοφήν, ἡ δὲ ἀνδρείαν τὴν πόλιν παρείχετο, οὐχ οὕτω ποιεῖ αὕτη, ἀλλὰ διʼ ὅλης ἀτεχνῶς τέταται διὰ πασῶν παρεχομένη συνᾴδοντας τούς τε ἀσθενεστάτους ταὐτὸν καὶ τοὺς ἰσχυροτάτους καὶ τοὺς μέσους, εἰ μὲν βούλει, φρονήσει, εἰ δὲ βούλει, ἰσχύι, εἰ δέ, καὶ πλήθει ἢ χρήμασιν ἢ ἄλλῳ ὁτῳοῦν τῶν τοιούτων·
"Because," I said, "it does not act in the same way as courage and wisdom did, each of which being present in a certain part made the city wise and the other courageous. This one does not do so, but is literally stretched throughout the whole, through all octaves, making the weakest, the strongest, and the middle sing the same song together—whether you like, in wisdom, or if you like, in strength, or if you like, in number, or wealth, or any other such thing.
ὥστε ὀρθότατʼ ἂν φαῖμεν ταύτην τὴν ὁμόνοιαν σωφροσύνην εἶναι, χείρονός τε καὶ ἀμείνονος κατὰ φύσιν συμφωνίαν ὁπότερον δεῖ ἄρχειν καὶ ἐν πόλει καὶ ἐν ἑνὶ ἑκάστῳ. πάνυ μοι, ἔφη, συνδοκεῖ.
So that we would say most correctly that this concord is moderation, a consonance of the naturally worse and better as to which of them ought to rule, both in the city and in each individual." "I completely agree," he said.
εἶεν, ἦν δʼ ἐγώ· τὰ μὲν τρία ἡμῖν ἐν τῇ πόλει κατῶπται, ὥς γε οὑτωσὶ δόξαι·
"Well then," I said, "three of the things in our city have been observed, as it seems at least.
τὸ δὲ δὴ λοιπὸν εἶδος, διʼ ὃ ἂν ἔτι ἀρετῆς μετέχοι πόλις, τί ποτʼ ἂν εἴη;
What then would be the remaining class by which the city would still share in virtue?
δῆλον γὰρ ὅτι τοῦτʼ ἐστὶν ἡ δικαιοσύνη. δῆλον. οὐκοῦν, ὦ Γλαύκων, νῦν δὴ ἡμᾶς δεῖ ὥσπερ κυνηγέτας τινὰς θάμνον κύκλῳ περιίστασθαι προσέχοντας τὸν νοῦν, μή πῃ διαφύγῃ ἡ δικαιοσύνη καὶ ἀφανισθεῖσα ἄδηλος γένηται.
For it is clear that this is justice." "Clear." "Therefore, Glaucon, we must now, like hunters, stand in a circle around the thicket, paying close attention lest justice should escape somewhere and, disappearing, become unseen.
φανερὸν γὰρ δὴ ὅτι ταύτῃ πῃ ἔστιν· ὅρα οὖν καὶ προθυμοῦ κατιδεῖν, ἐάν πως πρότερος ἐμοῦ ἴδῃς καὶ ἐμοὶ φράσῃς. εἰ γὰρ ὤφελον, ἔφη.
For it is clear that it is somewhere around here; look therefore and be eager to catch sight of it, if somehow you see it before me and tell me." "If only I could," he said.
ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον, ἐάν μοι ἑπομένῳ χρῇ καὶ τὰ δεικνύμενα δυναμένῳ καθορᾶν, πάνυ μοι μετρίως χρήσῃ. ἕπου, ἦν δʼ ἐγώ, εὐξάμενος μετʼ ἐμοῦ. ποιήσω ταῦτα, ἀλλὰ μόνον, ἦ δʼ ὅς, ἡγοῦ. καὶ μήν, εἶπον ἐγώ, δύσβατός γέ τις ὁ τόπος φαίνεται καὶ ἐπίσκιος·
"But rather, if you treat me as one who follows and is able to see what is shown, you will treat me quite appropriately." "Follow then," I said, "praying with me." "I will do so," he said, "only lead." "And indeed," I said, "the place seems hard to travel and deeply shaded; at any rate, it is dark and difficult to search.
ἔστι γοῦν σκοτεινὸς καὶ δυσδιερεύνητος. ἀλλὰ γὰρ ὅμως ἰτέον.
But nevertheless, we must go on.
ἰτέον γάρ, ἔφη.
Indeed, we must go on," he said.
καὶ ἐγὼ κατιδών, ἰοὺ ἰού, εἶπον, ὦ Γλαύκων·
And I, looking, said: "Aha, aha, Glaucon!
κινδυνεύομέν τι ἔχειν ἴχνος, καί μοι δοκεῖ οὐ πάνυ τι ἐκφευξεῖσθαι ἡμᾶς. εὖ ἀγγέλλεις, ἦ δʼ ὅς.
We seem to have some trace, and I think it will not entirely escape us." "You bring good news," he said.
ἦ μήν, ἦν δʼ ἐγώ, βλακικόν γε ἡμῶν τὸ πάθος. τὸ ποῖον; πάλαι, ὦ μακάριε, φαίνεται πρὸ ποδῶν ἡμῖν ἐξ ἀρχῆς κυλινδεῖσθαι, καὶ οὐχ ἑωρῶμεν ἄρʼ αὐτό, ἀλλʼ ἦμεν καταγελαστότατοι·
"Indeed," I said, "our state of mind was sluggish." "In what way?" "For a long time, my happy friend, it seems to have been rolling before our feet from the beginning, and we did not see it after all, but were most ridiculous.
ὥσπερ οἱ ἐν ταῖς χερσὶν ἔχοντες ζητοῦσιν ἐνίοτε ὃ ἔχουσιν, καὶ ἡμεῖς εἰς αὐτὸ μὲν οὐκ ἀπεβλέπομεν, πόρρω δέ ποι ἀπεσκοποῦμεν, ᾗ δὴ καὶ ἐλάνθανεν ἴσως ἡμᾶς. πῶς, ἔφη, λέγεις; οὕτως, εἶπον, ὡς δοκοῦμέν μοι καὶ λέγοντες αὐτὸ καὶ ἀκούοντες πάλαι οὐ μανθάνειν ἡμῶν αὐτῶν, ὅτι ἐλέγομεν τρόπον τινὰ αὐτό. μακρόν, ἔφη, τὸ προοίμιον τῷ ἐπιθυμοῦντι ἀκοῦσαι. §4.433ἀλλʼ, ἦν δʼ ἐγώ, ἄκουε εἴ τι ἄρα λέγω.
Just as those who have something in their hands sometimes look for what they have, so we did not look at it, but were gazing somewhere far off, which is probably why it escaped us." "How do you mean?" "In this way," I said, "that we seem to me to have been speaking and hearing it for a long time without understanding ourselves, that we were in a certain way speaking of it." "A long prologue," he said, "for one who is eager to hear." "But," I said, "listen, to see if I am saying anything.
ὃ γὰρ ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἐθέμεθα δεῖν ποιεῖν διὰ παντός, ὅτε τὴν πόλιν κατῳκίζομεν, τοῦτό ἐστιν, ὡς ἐμοὶ δοκεῖ, ἤτοι τούτου τι εἶδος ἡ δικαιοσύνη.
For that which we established from the beginning as what must be done throughout, when we were founding the city, this is, as it seems to me, or some form of this, is justice.
ἐθέμεθα δὲ δήπου καὶ πολλάκις ἐλέγομεν, εἰ μέμνησαι, ὅτι ἕνα ἕκαστον ἓν δέοι ἐπιτηδεύειν τῶν περὶ τὴν πόλιν, εἰς ὃ αὐτοῦ ἡ φύσις ἐπιτηδειοτάτη πεφυκυῖα εἴη. ἐλέγομεν γάρ. καὶ μὴν ὅτι γε τὸ τὰ αὑτοῦ πράττειν καὶ μὴ πολυπραγμονεῖν δικαιοσύνη ἐστί, καὶ τοῦτο ἄλλων τε πολλῶν ἀκηκόαμεν καὶ αὐτοὶ πολλάκις εἰρήκαμεν. εἰρήκαμεν γάρ.
And we established, and said many times, if you remember, that each individual must practice one thing of those concerning the city, that for which his nature was naturally most fitted." "We did say so." "And indeed, that doing one's own business and not meddling is justice, this we have both heard from many others and have ourselves said many times.
τοῦτο τοίνυν, ἦν δʼ ἐγώ, ὦ φίλε, κινδυνεύει τρόπον τινὰ γιγνόμενον ἡ δικαιοσύνη εἶναι, τὸ τὰ αὑτοῦ πράττειν.
Indeed, we have." "This, then," I said, "my friend, when it occurs in a certain way, is likely to be justice: doing one's own business.
οἶσθα ὅθεν τεκμαίρομαι; οὐκ, ἀλλὰ λέγʼ, ἔφη.
Do you know from what I infer this?" "No, but tell me," he said.
δοκεῖ μοι, ἦν δʼ ἐγώ, τὸ ὑπόλοιπον ἐν τῇ πόλει ὧν ἐσκέμμεθα, σωφροσύνης καὶ ἀνδρείας καὶ φρονήσεως, τοῦτο εἶναι, ὃ πᾶσιν ἐκείνοις τὴν δύναμιν παρέσχεν ὥστε ἐγγενέσθαι, καὶ ἐγγενομένοις γε σωτηρίαν παρέχειν, ἕωσπερ ἂν ἐνῇ.
"It seems to me," I said, "that the remainder in the city of what we have examined—moderation, courage, and wisdom—is this, which provided the power for all those to arise in it, and having arisen, provides them with preservation as long as it is in it.
καίτοι ἔφαμεν δικαιοσύνην ἔσεσθαι τὸ ὑπολειφθὲν ἐκείνων, εἰ τὰ τρία εὕροιμεν. καὶ γὰρ ἀνάγκη, ἔφη.
And yet we said that justice would be the remainder of those, if we found the three." "Indeed, it must be so," he said.
ἀλλὰ μέντοι, ἦν δʼ ἐγώ, εἰ δέοι γε κρῖναι τί τὴν πόλιν ἡμῖν τούτων μάλιστα ἀγαθὴν ἀπεργάσεται ἐγγενόμενον, δύσκριτον ἂν εἴη πότερον ἡ ὁμοδοξία τῶν ἀρχόντων τε καὶ ἀρχομένων, ἢ ἡ περὶ δεινῶν τε καὶ μή, ἅττα ἐστί, δόξης ἐννόμου σωτηρία ἐν τοῖς στρατιώταις ἐγγενομένη, ἢ ἡ ἐν τοῖς ἄρχουσι φρόνησίς τε καὶ φυλακὴ ἐνοῦσα, ἢ τοῦτο μάλιστα ἀγαθὴν αὐτὴν ποιεῖ ἐνὸν καὶ ἐν παιδὶ καὶ ἐν γυναικὶ καὶ δούλῳ καὶ ἐλευθέρῳ καὶ δημιουργῷ καὶ ἄρχοντι καὶ ἀρχομένῳ, ὅτι τὸ αὑτοῦ ἕκαστος εἷς ὢν ἔπραττε καὶ οὐκ ἐπολυπραγμόνει. δύσκριτον, ἔφη· πῶς δʼ οὔ; ἐνάμιλλον ἄρα, ὡς ἔοικε, πρὸς ἀρετὴν πόλεως τῇ τε σοφίᾳ αὐτῆς καὶ τῇ σωφροσύνῃ καὶ τῇ ἀνδρείᾳ ἡ τοῦ ἕκαστον ἐν αὐτῇ τὰ αὑτοῦ πράττειν δύναμις. καὶ μάλα, ἔφη.
"But indeed," I said, "if we had to judge which of these, when present, would make our city best, it would be hard to judge whether it is the agreement of the rulers and the ruled, or the preservation of the lawful belief concerning fearful and not fearful things among the soldiers, or the wisdom and guardianship present in the rulers, or whether this makes it best, being present in child, woman, slave, free man, craftsman, ruler, and ruled, namely that each one, being one, did his own business and did not meddle." "It is indeed hard to judge," he said; "how could it not be?" "Therefore, as it seems, the power of each one in the city doing his own business is a rival in respect to the virtue of the city with its wisdom, moderation, and courage." "Very much so," he said.
οὐκοῦν δικαιοσύνην τό γε τούτοις ἐνάμιλλον ἂν εἰς ἀρετὴν πόλεως θείης; παντάπασι μὲν οὖν. σκόπει δὴ καὶ τῇδε εἰ οὕτω δόξει· ἆρα τοῖς ἄρχουσιν ἐν τῇ πόλει τὰς δίκας προστάξεις δικάζειν; τί μήν; ἦ ἄλλου οὑτινοσοῦν μᾶλλον ἐφιέμενοι δικάσουσιν ἢ τούτου, ὅπως ἂν ἕκαστοι μήτʼ ἔχωσι τἀλλότρια μήτε τῶν αὑτῶν στέρωνται; οὔκ, ἀλλὰ τούτου. ὡς δικαίου ὄντος; ναί.
"Would you not then establish justice as that which is a rival to these in respect to the virtue of the city?" "By all means." "Look then also in this way, if it will seem so: will you command the rulers in the city to judge lawsuits?" "Of course." "And will they judge aiming at anything else than this, that each may neither have what belongs to others nor be deprived of his own?" "No, but aiming at this." "Because it is just?" "Yes."