them from the wise king.

YOUNG SOCRATES: That, as the argument has already intimated, will be our

duty.

STRANGER: Do you think that the multitude in a State can attain

political science?

YOUNG SOCRATES: Impossible.

STRANGER: But, perhaps, in a city of a thousand men, there would be a

hundred, or say fifty, who could?

YOUNG SOCRATES: In that case political science would certainly be the

easiest of all sciences; there could not be found in a city of that

number as many really first-rate draught-players, if judged by the

standard of the rest of Hellas, and there would certainly not be as

many kings. For kings we may truly call those who possess royal science,

whether they rule or not, as was shown in the previous argument.

STRANGER: Thank you for reminding me; and the consequence is that any

true form of government can only be supposed to be the government of

one, two, or, at any rate, of a few.

YOUNG SOCRATES: Certainly.

Statesman