Stephanus 17

17a Socrates: One, two, three—but where is our fourth, my dear Timaeus? He was of yesterday's guests; today he was to be among our hosts.

Timaeus: Some illness befell him, Socrates; he would never have left this company of his own will.

Socrates: Then the work is his no longer but yours, together with the part of standing in for the absent man.

17b Timaeus: Assuredly, and we shall leave nothing undone that lies within our power; for it would not be just, after being entertained by you yesterday with gifts so fitting, that we the rest should fail to feast you in return with all eagerness.

Socrates: Do you remember, then, the tasks I laid upon you, and what they were about?

Timaeus: Some we remember; what we do not, you will remind us, being present. Better still, if nothing in it is hard for you, go back over them again in brief from the beginning, so that they may be made to stand more firmly with us.

17c Socrates: So it shall be. The chief point of the speeches I made yesterday about the constitution was this: what kind of city it showed itself to be, and built of what kind of men, as likely in my view to become the best.

Timaeus: And to us too, Socrates, when it was spoken, it seemed wholly to our minds.

Socrates: Did we not first distinguish within it the class of farmers and all the other crafts, setting them apart from the class of those who were to do its fighting?

Timaeus: Yes.

Socrates: And when we had given each, according to its nature, what was fitting to it 17d alone—a single pursuit for each, a single craft—did we not say of the very men who had above all to fight for it, that they alone ought to be the city's guardians, whether trouble came from without, or even from within, to work mischief, gently judging those

17a Socrates: One, two, three. Where is the fourth of our party, my dear Timaeus? Yesterday he was one of the guests, and now he is one of our hosts.

Timaeus: Some sickness has come upon him, Socrates. He would not have missed this meeting on purpose.

Socrates: Then it is your job to do your own share and to fill in for the one who is absent.

17b Timaeus: Of course, and we will fall short in nothing as far as we are able. It would not be right, after you entertained us yesterday with the welcome proper for guests, if we, the rest of us, did not gladly return you the favor with a meal.

Socrates: Do you remember how much I asked you to say, and on what subjects?

Timaeus: We remember some of it, and whatever we have forgotten you can remind us of, since you are here. But rather, if it is not too much trouble for you, go over it again for us from the beginning in a few words, so that it is fixed in our minds more firmly.

17c Socrates: So it shall be. Yesterday, in what I said about the state, the main point was this: what the state should be like and what kind of men it should be made of for it to become, as it seemed to me, the best possible.

Timaeus: And you said it just as we all wanted it, Socrates. It was entirely to our mind.

Socrates: Did we not first set apart within it the class of farmers and all the other crafts, apart from the class of those who would do the fighting?

Timaeus: Yes.

Socrates: And then, giving each person the single pursuit that suits him by nature, 17d one craft for each, we said that those who had to fight before all others must be the city's guards and nothing else, whether the one who came to do harm came from outside or from among the people inside, and that they should be gentle in judging

17a Socrates: One, two, three,—but where, my dear Timaeus, is the fourth of our guests of yesterday, our hosts of today?

Timaeus: Some sickness has befallen him, Socrates; for he would never have stayed away from our gathering of his own free will.

Socrates: Then the task of filling the place of the absent one falls upon you and our friends here, does it not?

Timaeus: Undoubtedly, and we shall do our best not to come short; 17b for indeed it would not be at all right, after the splendid hospitality we received from you yesterday, if we—that is, those who are left of us—failed to entertain you cordially in return.

Socrates: Well, then, do you remember the extent and character of the subjects which I proposed for your discussion?

Timaeus: In part we do remember them; and of what we have forgotten you are present to remind us. Or rather, if it is not a trouble, recount them again briefly from the beginning, so as to fix them more firmly in our minds.

17c Socrates: It shall be done. The main part of the discourse I delivered yesterday was concerned with the kind of constitution which seemed to me likely to prove the best, and the character of its citizens.

Timaeus: And in truth, Socrates, the polity you described was highly approved by us all.

Socrates: Did we not begin by dividing off the class of land-workers in it, and all other crafts, from the class of its defenders?

Timaeus: Yes.

Socrates: And when, in accordance with Nature, we had assigned to each citizen 17d his one proper and peculiar occupation, we declared that those whose duty it is to fight in defence of all must act solely as guardians of the State, in case anyone from without or any of those within should go about to molest it; and that they should judge leniently such as are under their authority and their natural friends,