[472c]
but shall
conform in every way to the ideal? Or will it suffice us if he approximate
to it as nearly as possible and partake of it more than others?”
“That will content us,” he said. “A pattern,
then,” said I, “was what we wanted when we were
inquiring into the nature of ideal justice and asking what would be the
character of the perfectly just man, supposing him to exist, and, likewise,
in regard to injustice and the completely unjust man. We wished to fix our
eyes upon them as types and models, so that whatever we discerned in them of
happiness or the reverse would necessarily apply to ourselves
Plato. Plato in Twelve Volumes, Vols. 5 & 6 translated by Paul Shorey. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1969.
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