Page - 825 - in The Complete Plato

STRANGER: Why, is not ‘care’ of herds applicable to all? For this implies no feeding, or any special duty; if we say either ‘tending’ the herds, or ‘managing’ the herds, or ‘having the care’ of them, the same word will include all, and then we may wrap up the Statesman with the rest, as the argument seems to require. YOUNG SOCRATES: Quite right; but how shall we take the next step in the division? STRANGER: As before we divided the art of ‘rearing’ herds accordingly as they were land or water herds, winged and wingless, mixing or not mixing the breed, horned and hornless, so we may divide by these same differences the ‘tending’ of herds, comprehending in our definition the kingship of to- day and the rule of Cronos. YOUNG SOCRATES: That is clear; but I still ask, what is to follow. STRANGER: If the word had been ‘managing’ herds, instead of feeding or rearing them, no one would have argued that there was no care of men in the case of the politician, although it was justly contended, that there was no human art of feeding them which was worthy of the name, or at least, if there were, many a man had a prior and greater right to share in such an art than any king. YOUNG SOCRATES: True. STRANGER: But no other art or science will have a prior or better right than the royal science to care for human society and to rule over men in general. YOUNG SOCRATES: Quite true. STRANGER: In the next place, Socrates, we must surely notice that a great error was committed at the end of our analysis. YOUNG SOCRATES: What was it? STRANGER: Why, supposing we were ever so sure that there is such an art as the art of rearing or feeding bipeds, there was no reason why we should call this the royal or political art, as though there were no more to be said. YOUNG SOCRATES: Certainly not. STRANGER: Our first duty, as we were saying, was to remodel the name, so as to have the notion of care rather than of feeding, and then to divide, for there may be still considerable divisions. YOUNG SOCRATES: How can they be made? STRANGER: First, by separating the divine shepherd from the human 825