is there anything that can harm him. And for me, I am
confident that it is better to die than to live. Therefore the daemon did
not check me, and I have no resentment against those who have caused my
death. And now we go, I to death and you to life; but which of us to the
better state, God knoweth alone.

The Republic

The wonderful series of dialogues in which Socrates takes the
leading part are at once the foundation and the crown of all
idealistic philosophy, and as literary masterpieces remain
unmatched. Certain of Plato's disciples would claim that his
highest achievement is "The Timaeus"; there are some who set their
affections on "The Phaedo"; but a general vote of all Platonists
would probably give the first position to "The Republic," and this
is undoubtedly the work which has had the widest general influence.
In "The Republic" itself Socrates is, professedly engaged in a
disputation, of which the object is to discover what Justice means;
and this leads to the description of the building up of that ideal
state or commonwealth from which the dialogue derives its title of
"The Republic."

_I.--How the Argument Arose_

I had gone with Glaucon to attend the celebration of the festival of
Bendis--the Thracian Artemis--a picturesque affair, and we were just
leaving, when Polemarchus insisted on carrying us off by main force to
the house of his father, Cephalus. There we found a small company
assembled. The old gentleman received us with hearty geniality; he is
ageing, but would not see any hardship in that, if you take age
good-humouredly. Of course, he owned that being wealthy makes a
difference, but not all the difference. The best of wealth is that you
need not do things which anger the gods and entail punishment in the
hereafter; you need not lie, or be in debt to gods or men. And this
consciousness of your own justice is a great consolation.

"But," said I, "what is justice? Is it always to speak the truth, and
always to let a man have his property? There are circumstances----"

"I must go," said he. "Polemarchus shall do the arguing."

This set us discussing the nature of justice. Glaucon took up the
cudgels, after a preliminary skirmish with Thrasymachus.

Assuming justice to be desirable--is it so for itself and by itself, or
only for its results; or both? The world at large puts it in the second
category as an inconvenient nec