n and Adeimantus, were unable to follow him in
this region of speculation. In the Sophist, where he is refuting the
scepticism which maintained either that there was no such thing as
predication, or that all might be predicated of all, he arrives at the
conclusion that some ideas combine with some, but not all with all. But
he makes only one or two steps forward on this path; he nowhere attains
to any connected system of ideas, or even to a knowledge of the most
elementary relations of the sciences to one another.

BOOK V. I was going to enumerate the four forms of vice or decline in
states, when Polemarchus--he was sitting a little farther from me
than Adeimantus--taking him by the coat and leaning towards him, said
something in an undertone, of which I only caught the words, 'Shall we
let him off?' 'Certainly not,' said Adeimantus, raising his voice. Whom,
I said, are you not going to let off? 'You,' he said. Why? 'Because
we think that you are not dealing fairly with us in omitting women and
children, of whom you have slily disposed under the general formula
that friends have all things in common.' And was I not right? 'Yes,'
he replied, 'but there are many sorts of communism or community, and
we want to know which of them is right. The company, as you have just
heard, are resolved to have a further explanation.' Thrasymachus said,
'Do you think that we have come hither to dig for gold, or to hear you
discourse?' Yes, I said; but the discourse should be of a reasonable
length. Glaucon added, 'Yes, Socrates, and there is reason in spending
the whole of life in such discussions; but pray, without more ado, tell
us how this community is to be carried out, and how the interval between
birth and education is to be filled up.' Well, I said, the subject has
several difficulties--What is possible? is the first question. What is
desirable? is the second. 'Fear not,' he replied, 'for you are speaking
among friends.' That, I replied, is a sorry consolation; I shall
destroy my friends as well as myself. Not that I mind a little innocent
laughter; but he who kills the truth is a murderer. 'Then,' said
Glaucon, laughing, 'in case you should murder us we will acquit you
beforehand, and you shall be held free from the guilt of deceiving us.'

Socrates proceeds:--The guardians of our state are to be watch-dogs, as
we have already said. Now dogs are not divided into hes and shes--we do
not take the masculine gender out to hunt and lea