man will order the affairs of his subjects? As the pilot, by
watching continually over the interests of the ship and of the
crew-not by laying down rules, but by making his art a law-preserves
the lives of his fellow-sailors, even and in the self-same way, may
there not be a true form of polity created by those who are able to
govern in a similar spirit, and who show a strength of art which is
superior to the law? Nor can wise rulers ever err while they,
observing the one great rule of distributing justice to the citizens
with intelligence and skill, are able to preserve them, and, as far as
may be, to make them better from being worse.

  Y. Soc. No one can deny what has been now said.

  Str. Neither, if you consider, can any one deny the other statement.

  Y. Soc. What was it?

  Str. We said that no great number of persons, whoever they may be,
can attain political knowledge, or order a State wisely, but that
the true government is to be found in a small body, or in an
individual, and that other States are but imitations of this, as we
said a little while ago, some for the better and some for the worse.

  Y. Soc. What do you mean? I cannot have understood your previous
remark about imitations.

  Str. And yet the mere suggestion which I hastily threw out is highly
important, even if we leave the question where it is, and do not
seek by the discussion of it to expose the error which prevails in
this matter.

  Y. Soc. What do you mean?

  Str. The idea which has to be grasped by us is not easy or familiar;
but we may attempt to express it thus:-Supposing the government of
which I have been speaking to be the only true model, then the
others must use the written laws of this-in no other can they be
saved; they will have to do what is now generally approved, although
not the best thing in the world.

  Y. Soc. What is this?

  Str. No citizen should do anything contrary to the laws, and any
infringement of them should be punished with death and the most
extreme penalties; and this is very right and good when regarded as
the second best thing, if you set aside the first, of which I was just
now speaking. Shall I explain the nature of what call the second best?

  Y. Soc. By all means.

  Str. I must again have recourse to my favourite images; through
them, and them alone, can I describe kings and rulers.

  Y. Soc. What images?

  Str. The noble pilot and the wise physician, who "is worth many
another man"-in the similitude of these let us endeavour to discover
some image of the king.

  Y. Soc. What sort of image?

  Str. Well, such as this:-Every man will reflect that he suffers
strange things at the hands of both of them; the physician; saves
any whom he wishes to save, and any whom he wishes to maltreat he
maltreats-cutting or burning them; and at the same time requiring them
to bring him patients, which are a sort of tribute, of which little or
nothing is spent upon the sick man, and the greater part is consumed
by him and his domestics; and the finale is that he receives money
from the relations of the sick man or from some enemy of his; and puts
him out of the way. And the pilots of ships are guilty, of
numberless evil deeds of the same kind; they intentionally play
false and leave you ashore when the hour of sailing arrives; or they
cause mishaps at sea and cast away their freight; and are guilty of
other rogueries. Now suppose that we, bearing all this in mind, were
to determine, after consideration, that neither of these arts shall
any longer be allowed to exercise absolute control either over freemen
or over slaves, but that we will summon an assembly either of all
the people, or of the rich only, that anybody who likes, whatever
may be his calling, or even if he have no calling, may offer an
opinion either about seamanship or about diseases-whether as to the
manner in which physic or surgical instruments are to be applied to
the patient, or again about the vessels and the nautical implements
which are required in navigation, and how to meet the dangers of winds
and waves which are incidental to the voyage, how to behave when
encountering pirates, and what is to be done with the old fashioned
galleys, if they have to fight with others of a similar build-and
that, whatever shall be decreed by the multitude on these points, upon
the advice of persons skilled or unskilled, shall be written down on
triangular tablets and columns, or enacted although unwritten to be
national customs; and that in all future time vessels shall be
navigated and remedies administered to the patient after this fashion.

  Y. Soc. What a strange notion!

  Str. Suppose further, that the pilots and physicians are appointed
annually, either out of the rich, or out of the whole people, and that
they are elected by lot; and that after their election they navigate
vessels and heal the sick according to the written rules.

  Y. Soc. Worse and worse.