THE REPUBLIC OF PLATO - Studyplace

CHAPTER III [I. 341
capacity, neglecting all personal characteristics and any other capacities
he may chance to have. When Socrates talks of the art or craft
in this abstract way as having an interest of its own, he means the
same thing as if he spoke of the interest of the craftsman qua craftsman.
Granted that there is, as Thrasymachus suggested, an art of
government exercised by a ruler who, qua ruler, is infallible and so
in the full sense 'superior,' the question now is, what his interest
should be, on the analogy of other crafts.]
Enough of this, said I. Now tell me about the physician in that
strict sense you spoke of: is it his business to earn money or to
treat his patients Remember, I mean your physician who is
worthy of the name.
To treat his patients.
And what of the ship's captain in the true sense Is he a mere
seaman or the commander of the crew
The commander.
Yes, we shall not speak of him as a seaman just because he is on
board a ship. That is not the point. He is called captain because
of his skill and authority over the crew.
Quite true.
And each of these people has some special interest 1
No doubt.
And the craft in question exists for the very purpose of discovering
that interest and providing for it
Yes.
Can it equally be said of any craft that it has an interest, other
than its own greatest possible perfection
What do you mean by that
Here is an illustration. If you ask me whether it is sufficient for
the human body just to be itself, with no need of hdp from without,
I should say, Certainly not; it has weaknesses and defects, and
its condition is not all that it might be. That is precisdy why the art
1 All the persons mentioned have some interest. The craftsIJ'lan qua craftsman
has an interest in doing his work as well as possible, which is the same thing as
serving the interest of the subjects on whom his craft is exercised; and the subjects
have their interest, which the craftsman is there to promote.