[The Republic by Plato]@TWC D-Link book
The Republic

INTRODUCTION AND ANALYSIS
251/474

But the ruling class do not want remedies; they care only for money, and are as careless of virtue as the poorest of the citizens.
Now there are occasions on which the governors and the governed meet together,--at festivals, on a journey, voyaging or fighting.

The sturdy pauper finds that in the hour of danger he is not despised; he sees the rich man puffing and panting, and draws the conclusion which he privately imparts to his companions,--'that our people are not good for much;' and as a sickly frame is made ill by a mere touch from without, or sometimes without external impulse is ready to fall to pieces of itself, so from the least cause, or with none at all, the city falls ill and fights a battle for life or death.

And democracy comes into power when the poor are the victors, killing some and exiling some, and giving equal shares in the government to all the rest.
The manner of life in such a State is that of democrats; there is freedom and plainness of speech, and every man does what is right in his own eyes, and has his own way of life.

Hence arise the most various developments of character; the State is like a piece of embroidery of which the colours and figures are the manners of men, and there are many who, like women and children, prefer this variety to real beauty and excellence.

The State is not one but many, like a bazaar at which you can buy anything.


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