heaven to earth. The end of the State is thus the virtue
and happiness (not pleasure) of the citizens. And since
this is only possible {227} through education, the State’s
primary function is educational.
Since the State is to be founded upon reason, its laws must
be rational, and rational laws can only be made by rational
men, philosophers. The rulers must be philosophers. And
since the philosophers are few, we must have an aristocracy,
not of birth, or of wealth, but of intellect. The first oper-
ative principle of the State is reason, the second is force.
For it is not to be expected that the irrational masses will
willingly submit to rational laws. They must be compelled.
And since the work of the world must go on, the third oper-
ative principle will be labour. Plato believed in the princi-
ple of division of labour. Only he can excel at any occupa-
tion whose life is devoted to it. Hence to the three operative
principles correspond three classes, castes, or professions.
Reason is embodied in the philosopher-rulers, force in the
warriors, labour in the masses. This division of the func-
tions of the State is based upon the threefold division of
the soul. To the rational soul correspond the philosopher-
rulers, to the nobler half of the mortal soul the warriors, to
the appetitive soul the masses. Consequently the four car-
dinal virtues belong to the State through the functioning
of the three classes. The virtue of the philosopher-rulers
is wisdom, of the warriors courage, of the masses, temper-
ance. The harmonious co-operation of all three produces
justice.
The rulers must not cease to be philosophers. Most of their
time must be spent in the study of the Ideas, philosophy,
and only a portion in the affairs of government. This is ren-
dered possible by the system of taking turns. Those who
are not at any particular time {228} engaged upon govern-
ment retire into thought. The duty of the warriors is the
protection of the State, both against its external enemies,
and against the irrational impulses of the masses of its own
citizens. Normally, the latter will be their chief duty, the
enforcement of the decrees of the philosopher-rulers upon
the masses. The masses will engage themselves in trade,
commerce, and agriculture. Both the other ranks are pro-
hibited from soiling their fingers with trade or agriculture,
upon which Plato, as a Greek aristocrat, looked down with
unbounded contempt. To what rank a citizen belongs is not
determined by birth, nor by individual choice. No individ-
ual can choose his own profession. This will be determined
by the officers of the State, who will base their decision,
however, upon the disposition and capabilities of the indi-
vidual. As they have also to decide the numbers required
for each rank, the magistrates also control the birth of chil-
dren. Parents cannot have children when they wish. The
sanction of the State is required.Since the end of the State is the virtue of the citizens, this
involves the destruction of whatever is evil and the encour-
agement of whatever is good. To compass the destruction of
evil, the children of bad parents, or offspring not sanctioned
by the State, will be destroyed. Weak and sickly children
will also not be allowed to live. The positive encourage-
ment of good involves the education of the citizens by the
State. Children from their earliest years do not belong to
their parents, but to the State. They are, therefore, at once