The life which they are to lead appears to be quite
impracticable. The error of Socrates must be attributed to the false
notion of unity from which he starts. Unity there should be, both of
the family and of the state, but in some respects only. For there is a
point at which a state may attain such a degree of unity as to be no
longer a state, or at which, without actually ceasing to exist, it
will become an inferior state, like harmony passing into unison, or
rhythm which has been reduced to a single foot. The state, as I was
saying, is a plurality which should be united and made into a
community by education; and it is strange that the author of a
system of education which he thinks will make the state virtuous,
should expect to improve his citizens by regulations of this sort, and
not by philosophy or by customs and laws, like those which prevail
at Sparta and Crete respecting common meals, whereby the legislator
has made property common. Let us remember that we should not disregard
the experience of ages; in the multitude of years these things, if
they were good, would certainly not have been unknown; for almost
everything has been found out, although sometimes they are not put
together; in other cases men do not use the knowledge which they have.
Great light would be thrown on this subject if we could see such a
form of government in the actual process of construction; for the
legislator could not form a state at all without distributing and
dividing its constituents into associations for common meals, and into
phratries and tribes.
Pages:
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59