Statesman and the political craft

Use in the book

The political art enters immediately after the assertion that cities are well ordered when wrongdoers pay the penalty. “Then the statesman’s art too is the same” links governing knowledge to the justice just identified with temperance. The order matters: the dialogue does not first define politics as power and then ask whether it should become ethical. It derives the political craft from rightful order achieved through knowledgeable judgment.

The next questions bring sole rule under the same heading and then extend the pattern to the household. At 138c the person list and the craft list make the unity explicit. The statesman shares the relevant knowledge with king, tyrant, household manager and master, and with the temperate and just person. The claim is not merely that all these people sometimes need advice from one another.

This identification depends on the earlier argument that one craft can deal with one and many. The civic community does not receive a separate science in virtue of its scale or institutional complexity. That economy is the passage’s strength and a potential weakness: it points to a common standard of right judgment, while leaving unexplained any knowledge specific to managing a city rather than a household.

The philosopher’s late obligation is aligned with this political knowledge but not fully defined by it. If the city entrusts him with deciding or judging something, he must lead rather than accept second place. The dialogue thereby makes civic competence central to its critique of cultivated generalism. It does not explicitly equate philosophy, in a final definitional answer, with the statesman’s craft.

Readers may compare other dialogues that connect political and household knowledge, but the short chain here must still be evaluated on its own wording. The point is the competence to order rightly, not the claim that every person called a statesman in ordinary life is already just and temperate.

Places to read

1. 138bΚαὶ πολιτικὴ ἄρα αὑτή ἐστιν — Political art is identified with the knowledge just described.
2. 138cπολιτικός, οἰκονόμος, δεσπότης — The person list carries the identity across civic and household roles.
3. 138cτυραννική, πολιτική, δεσποτική — The craft list repeats the unification.

Translation in this edition

Edition note 29 compares Statesman 258e–259c, which argues that the knowledge of statesman, king, master of slaves and household manager is one. The supplied introduction also mentions Alcibiades I 133d–e as a related passage. Such parallels illuminate the conceptual neighborhood; they are not explicit citations in the Lovers or proof of its authorship.

Use in the book

After Theages distinguishes willing leadership from tyranny, Socrates names these three and asks whether he means men who have become clever at civic affairs. Theages emphatically agrees (126a). Their function is to give recognizable content to his ambition. He is not asking to rule patients as a doctor or crops as a farmer, but to attain the kind of public standing and competence associated with these men.

Socrates next recommends practitioners who deal with their own and other cities, on the model of experienced horsemen and javelin-throwers. Theages answers with an objection about their sons (126c–d). This challenges the educational capacity of the political class without yet denying that the named men possessed political skill. Competence in conducting affairs and competence in transmitting that ability are different claims.

At 127a an introduction to an Athenian fine and good in political matters is still offered as a practical option, with free association and increased reputation. Later the father's own offices and honor make him a plausible source of civic benefit (127d–e). Theages nevertheless prefers Socrates. The dialogue thus refuses an easy equation between public credentials and the particular benefit sought through association.

The source note compares the Gorgias' treatment of Themistocles, Pericles and Cimon. That other dialogue's judgment that they did not make the citizens better must not be imported as an already established conclusion here. Theages argues about the statesmen's sons and their ability to hand over wisdom. The object, scope and evidential basis of the criticism are more specific.

Places to read

1. 126aΘεμιστοκλῆς καὶ Περικλῆς καὶ Κίμων — The three men clarify the kind of leadership desired
2. 126aτὰ πολιτικὰ δεινοὶ γεγόνασιν — Their competence concerns civic affairs
3. 126cτοὺς πολιτικοὺς τούτους — The class is proposed as the source of the corresponding education
4. 127eτῆς … τῶν πολιτικῶν ἀνδρῶν συνουσίας — Theages' dissatisfaction is with association with statesmen

Translation in this edition

“Statesmen” and “affairs of the city” preserve the distinction between people and subject matter. The main biographical details in the source note identify the examples; they are not needed as premises in the local argument. No separate noun politikē technē is printed in this stretch, and the lexicon does not falsely quote one.

Affairs of the city — τὰ πολιτικά (ta politika)

τὰ πολιτικά (ta politika)

Affairs of the city. The civic matters in which Themistocles, Pericles and Cimon are described as skilled. Attested: τὰ πολιτικὰ (126a). Statesmen and affairs of the city.

Cimon — Κίμων (Kimōn)

Κίμων (Kimōn)

Cimon. The third statesman named when Theages clarifies the sort of rule he wants. Attested: Κίμων (126a). Statesmen and affairs of the city.

Pericles — Περικλῆς (Periklēs)

Περικλῆς (Periklēs)

Pericles. One of the named exemplars of skill in civic affairs and leadership over willing people. Attested: Περικλῆς (126a). Statesmen and affairs of the city.

Statesmen — πολιτικός (politikos)

πολιτικός (politikos)

Statesmen. The substantival adjective identifies men experienced in civic affairs, proposed as associates for political learning. Attested: πολιτικοὺς (126c). Statesmen and affairs of the city.

Themistocles — Θεμιστοκλῆς (Themistoklēs)

Θεμιστοκλῆς (Themistoklēs)

Themistocles. One of the public leaders who clarifies Theages' desired political model. Attested: Θεμιστοκλῆς (126a). Statesmen and affairs of the city.