Plato's Republic Excerpt

“Given that we have arrived at this point in the discussion, let us once more consider the first things we were told, and we will discover that he says, ‘Good is he who has been treated completely with injustice. He is rightly glorified.’ Is not this the manner in which he was rebutted?” “Assuredly this is the precise manner!” And I said: “Now then, we have spoken concerning this because he said that he who does injustice and he who does justice each possesses a power.” “In what way?” “He said: ‘An image without likeness is the soul’s power of reason,’ in order that he who said these things will comprehend.” “He [said, ‘Is] it indeed [like this], or is it not? We [say that it] is for me.’ But all of these [...] whom the rulers revealed, these now have been shown to be natural creatures, even including Chimaera and Cerberus and everything else that was mentioned. All of them descended and they disposed of their forms and images, and all of them became a single image. It was said: ‘Accomplish this now!’ Assuredly a single image became the image of a multifaceted beast with many heads. On some days it truly resembles the image of a wild beast, and then it is possible to dispose of the first image, and all of these demanding and difficult forms emanate from there with labor, because now these are formed with hubris, and all the others as well that resemble them are now formed by the word, because now it is a single image, because the image of the lion is one thing, and the image of the man is another. The [...] is joined together forms a single [...], which [is] far more multifaceted than the first, and the second image [is] small.” “It has been formed.” “Now then, join each one of them together and make the three into a single one, so that they grow together, and so that all of them are inside a single image subsisting outside the image of the man who cannot see the things inside him, but he sees only what is outside him, and it is evident what creature his image dwells inside, and that he was formed in the image of men. And to him who claimed that there is profit for the man who does injustice, I said that he who does injustice surely does not profit, nor does he gain (anything), but this is what is profitable for him, that he throw down all images of the wicked beast, and tread on them together with the images of the lion. However, the man is in a state of feebleness in this respect, and everything he does is feeble. Consequently, he is dragged to where he passes (the) time together with them. He [fails to either reunite them with each other or to bring them] to himself. They instead [fight] anyone at enmity with [them], and with dissension they consume one another. He indeed said all of these things to all of those who praise perpetrating injustice.” “So is it not profitable for him to speak justly?” “And if he does these things, and speaks about them, they will get a firm grip inside the man. He will consequently especially strive to care for them, and he will nourish them like a farmer daily nourishes his produce, and the wild beasts prevent it from growing.”