Source edition
Platonis Opera, Tomus I: Tetralogia I-II. Burnet, John, 1863-1928, editor. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1905.
Source data
Perseus Digital Library · CC BY-SA (per Perseus's terms)
Cloned and adapted by Humanitext, with ongoing edits.
Summary
This philosophical dialogue explores the definition of the true "statesman" and the art of ruling (the kingly art). The conversation, led by the Eleatic Stranger and Young Socrates, begins with a rigorous method of division to classify forms of knowledge. Midway through, a grand myth about the reversal of the cosmic rotation is introduced, distinguishing the divine shepherd of the past from the human rulers of the present. Using the paradigm of "weaving," the dialogue then examines the limitations of written laws and establishes "knowledge" as the only true criterion for governance. Ultimately, the statesman's art is defined as a supreme directive art that coordinates subordinate skills and harmoniously "weaves" together citizens of contrasting temperaments—the courageous and the temperate—into a unified state.