om laws are now made to slaves who are
doctored by slaves? For of this you may be very sure, that if one of
those empirical physicians, who practise medicine without science, were
to come upon the gentleman physician talking to his gentleman patient,
and using the language almost of philosophy, beginning at the beginning
of the disease and discoursing about the whole nature of the body, he
would burst into a hearty laugh--he would say what most of those who
are called doctors always have at their tongue's end: Foolish fellow, he
would say, you are not healing the sick man, but you are educating him;
and he does not want to be made a doctor, but to get well.

CLEINIAS: And would he not be right?

ATHENIAN: Perhaps he would; and he might remark upon us, that he who
discourses about laws, as we are now doing, is giving the citizens
education and not laws; that would be rather a telling observation.

CLEINIAS: Very true.

ATHENIAN: But we are fortunate.

CLEINIAS: In what way?

ATHENIAN: Inasmuch as we are not compelled to give laws, but we may take
into consideration every form of government, and ascertain what is
best and what is most needful, and how they may both be carried into
execution; and we may also, if we please, at this very moment choose
what is best, or, if we prefer, what is most necessary--which shall we
do?

CLEINIAS: There is something ridiculous, Stranger, in our proposing such
an alternative, as if we were legislators, simply bound under some great
necessity which cannot be deferred to the morrow. But we, as I may by
the grace of Heaven affirm, like gatherers of stones or beginners of
some composite work, may gather a heap of materials, and out of this, at
our leisure, select what is suitable for our projected construction. Let
us then suppose ourselves to be at leisure, not of necessity building,
but rather like men who are partly providing materials, and partly
putting them together. And we may truly say that some of our laws, like
stones, are already fixed in their places, and others lie at hand.

ATHENIAN: Certainly, in that case, Cleinias, our view of law will be
more in accordance with nature. For there is another matter affecting
legislators, which I must earnestly entreat you to consider.

CLEINIAS: What is it?

ATHENIAN: There are many writings to be found in cities, and among
them there are discourses composed by legislators as well as by other
persons.

CLEINIAS: To be sure.

A