Plato, Republic

[429a] these are by nature the fewest, the class to which it pertains to partake of the knowledge which alone of all forms of knowledge deserves the name of wisdom.” “Most true,” he said. “This one of our four, then, we have, I know not how, discovered, the thing itself and its place in the state.” “I certainly think,” said he, “that it has been discovered sufficiently.”

“But again there is no difficulty in seeing bravery itself and the part of the city in which it resides for which the city is called brave.¹” “How so?” “Who,” said I, [429b] “in calling a city cowardly or brave would fix his eyes on any other part of it than that which defends it and wages war in its behalf?” “No one at all,” he said. “For the reason, I take it,” said I, “that the cowardice or the bravery² of the other inhabitants does not determine for it the one quality or the other.³” “It does not.” “Bravery too, then, belongs to a city by virtue of a part of itself owing to its possession in that part of a quality that under all conditions will preserve the conviction [429c] that things to be feared are precisely those which and such as the lawgiver⁴ inculcated in their education. Is not that what you call bravery?” “I don't altogether understand⁵ what you said,” he replied; “but say it again.” “A kind of conservation,” I said, “is what I mean by bravery.” “What sort of a conservation⁶?” “The conservation of the conviction which the law has created by education about fearful things—what and what sort of things are to be feared. And by the phrase ‘under all conditions⁷’ I mean that the brave man preserves it both in pain [429d] and pleasures and in desires and fears and does not expel⁸ it from his soul. And I may illustrate it by a similitude⁹ if you please.” “I do.” “You are aware that dyers when they wish to dye wool so as to hold the purple hue begin by selecting from the many colors there be the one nature of the white and then give it a careful preparatory treatment so that it will take the hue in the best way, and after the treatment,¹⁰ then and then only, dip it in the dye. [429e] And things that are dyed by this process become fast-colored¹¹ and washing either with or without lyes cannot take away the sheen of their hues. But otherwise you know what happens to them, whether¹² anyone dips other colors or even these without the preparatory treatment.” “I know,” he said, “that they present a ridiculous and washed-out appearance.” “By this analogy, then,” said I, “you must conceive what we too to the best of our ability were doing when we selected our soldiers and educated them in music¹³