276
Younger Socrates
Y. Soc. Quite right; but how would the next division be made?
Stranger
Str. Just as we divided the art of feeding herds before by distinguishing between those that go on foot and the winged, and the unmixed breeds and the hornless, we might divide the art of tending herds by these same distinctions, embracing in the word both the kingship of the present time and that of the time of Cronus.
Younger Socrates
Y. Soc. Evidently; but again I wonder what the next step is.
Stranger
Str. It Is clear that if we had used the word tending herds, we should never have met with the contention that there is no caring for them at all in statesmanship, though the earlier contention was justified that there is no art in the case of human beings that deserves the name of feeding, and if there be such an art, it belongs much more to many others than to the king.
Younger Socrates
Y. Soc. Quite right.
5
Stranger
Str. But no other art would advance a stronger claim than that of kingship to be the art of caring for the whole human community and ruling all mankind.
Younger Socrates
Y. Soc. You are right.
Stranger
Str. And after all this, Socrates, do we see that another great error was committed at the very end?
Younger Socrates
Y. Soc. What was it?
Stranger
Str. Why, it was this: No matter how strong our belief that there was an art of feeding the biped herd, we ought not to have called it kingship and statecraft on the spot, as if it were all quite settled.
10
Younger Socrates
Y. Soc. What ought we to have done, then?
