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[323d] as is right; and with an earnestness that is not out of tune combined with the playfulness that is sister to earnestness,1 swear by the God that is Ruler of all that is and that shall be, and swear by the Lord and Father of the Ruler and Cause,2 Whom, if we are real philosophers, we shall all know truly so far as men well-fortuned3 can.

1 For similar expressions cf. Plat. Laws 761d, Plat. Laws 803c.

2 The divine “Ruler” and his “Father” may perhaps be identified with the World-Soul and Demiurge of the Timaeus; or else with the Sun and the Idea of Good in the Republic (Plat. Rep. 508a, Plat. Rep. 516b, Plat. Rep. 517c) . Cf. also Plat. L. 2.312e ff.

3 εὐδαίμων, in Platonic usage, implies nobility of spirit as well as felicity cf. Plat. L. 8.354c, Plat. L. 8.355c.

Plato. Plato in Twelve Volumes, Vol. 7 translated by R.G. Bury. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1966.

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