and what law or what man will advise us to that end. Any
state which has no such institution is likely to be devoid of mind and
sense, and in all her actions will proceed by mere chance.

CLEINIAS: Very true.

ATHENIAN: In which, then, of the parts or institutions of the state is
any such guardian power to be found? Can we say?

CLEINIAS: I am not quite certain, Stranger; but I have a suspicion that
you are referring to the assembly which you just now said was to meet at
night.

ATHENIAN: You understand me perfectly, Cleinias; and we must assume, as
the argument implies, that this council possesses all virtue; and the
beginning of virtue is not to make mistakes by guessing many things, but
to look steadily at one thing, and on this to fix all our aims.

CLEINIAS: Quite true.

ATHENIAN: Then now we shall see why there is nothing wonderful in states
going astray--the reason is that their legislators have such different
aims; nor is there anything wonderful in some laying down as their rule
of justice, that certain individuals should bear rule in the state,
whether they be good or bad, and others that the citizens should be
rich, not caring whether they are the slaves of other men or not. The
tendency of others, again, is towards freedom; and some legislate with
a view to two things at once--they want to be at the same time free and
the lords of other states; but the wisest men, as they deem themselves
to be, look to all these and similar aims, and there is no one of them
which they exclusively honour, and to which they would have all things
look.

CLEINIAS: Then, Stranger, our former assertion will hold; for we were
saying that laws generally should look to one thing only; and this, as
we admitted, was rightly said to be virtue.

ATHENIAN: Yes.

CLEINIAS: And we said that virtue was of four kinds?

ATHENIAN: Quite true.

CLEINIAS: And that mind was the leader of the four, and that to her the
three other virtues and all other things ought to have regard?

ATHENIAN: You follow me capitally, Cleinias, and I would ask you to
follow me to the end, for we have already said that the mind of the
pilot, the mind of the physician and of the general look to that
one thing to which they ought to look; and now we may turn to mind
political, of which, as of a human creature, we will ask a question: O
wonderful being, and to what are you looking? The physician is able
to tell his single aim in life, but you, the superior