“ The good man and the good citizen only coincide in the perfect State ”
Plato, The Republic. copy citation
| Author | Plato |
|---|---|
| Source | The Republic |
| Topic | state good |
| Date | |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | Translated by Benjamin Jowett |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1497/1497-h/1497-h.htm |
Context
“The subtle difference between the collective and individual action of mankind seems to have escaped early thinkers, and we too are sometimes in danger of forgetting the conditions of united human action, whenever we either elevate politics into ethics, or lower ethics to the standard of politics. The good man and the good citizen only coincide in the perfect State; and this perfection cannot be attained by legislation acting upon them from without, but, if at all, by education fashioning them from within.
...Socrates praises the sons of Ariston, 'inspired offspring of the renowned hero,' as the elegiac poet terms them;”
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