Source edition
Platonis Opera, Tomus V: Tetralogia VIII. Burnet, John, editor. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1914.
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 fundamental question of how humans can acquire true wisdom and become genuinely wise. Featuring the Athenian Stranger and Clinias as the main interlocutors, the work begins by demonstrating that practical arts and partial knowledge do not lead to true wisdom. Instead, the knowledge of "number" is presented as the essential source of wisdom, bestowed upon humanity by the divine through the regular movements of the cosmos. The discussion then develops into cosmology and theology, asserting the priority of the soul over the body and describing the five cosmic elements and the divine intelligence of the celestial bodies. Ultimately, the work concludes that a select few who master astronomy and mathematical sciences to grasp the harmonious order of the universe should assume the highest offices in the state.