Liber III, Pars I — Quomodo Socrates, et Plato dixerunt civitatem ordinandam esse, et quid senserunt de civili regimine. Cap. VII.

Liber III, Pars I — Quomodo Socrates, et Plato dixerunt civitatem ordinandam esse, et quid senserunt de civili regimine. Cap. VII.

However, as long as Socrates was engaged in philosophy concerning the nature of things, he saw that there was a great difficulty in understanding natural science, as the Philosopher narrates in his Metaphysics; therefore, he turned to Ethics, which his disciple Plato followed in many respects. Plato himself called him according to Socrates. In discussing moral matters, Socrates and Plato seem to have touched upon five aspects regarding the city and civil governance. First, they said that the city should be one above all else. They likely believed this because the multitude always proceeds from unity, and unity always seems to be superior to the multitude; hence, the first cause, God Himself, is argued to be supremely one and supremely good. Therefore, the city seems to be the greatest good if it is the greatest unity. Thus, the more it approaches unity, the more it draws near to the ultimate good. Second, regarding the city, the philosophers stated that all things should be held in common by the citizens: that they should have common possessions and common wives, so that anyone could access anyone, and consequently, they would have common children. For this reason, because of the common use of women, fathers would not be certain about their own children and would consider any child to be their own. It seemed to Socrates and Plato that the entire discord among citizens arose from the ownership of possessions, and from the fact that everyone uses the phrase, 'This is mine.' Therefore, they argued that if possessions were common and citizens had nothing of their own, their private disputes and quarrels would cease, and the city would be well ordered. They also wanted wives to be common, because from this would arise the greatest love among citizens. For without private wives, but with common ones, the children would be common; and because the love of fathers for their children is the greatest love, in that city there would be the greatest love, since the older ones would love all the younger ones as sons, and the younger ones would love them as fathers. They also proposed such a community of wives and children so that there would be the greatest unity and the greatest bond in the city. For since there is the greatest unity and the greatest bond between fathers and children, the older ones would consider themselves to have the greatest unity with the younger ones, and conversely, they would believe them to be their children, while the younger ones would think of them as their fathers. The third point that these philosophers perceived regarding the governance of the city is that they said women should be trained for military service and should fight just like men. They were induced to this (as the Philosopher states). Polit.) They observed that in beasts and other animals, not only the males fight but also the females. In fact, among beasts and living birds, the females seem fiercer than the males due to their predatory nature. For if we consider the living birds that hunt, the females are larger in body, bolder in spirit, and stronger than the males, like the hawks, kestrels, and eagles; as it is said, we see in other animals that not only the males fight but also the females, because it seems to follow the natural order in which we share with other animals. The fourth thing they said should be established in the city is that they always wanted the same people to hold power and be in office. So that those who were officials would always be officials; and those who were leaders would always be leaders; and so on for other magistrates. They also assumed this example from the earth. We see parts of the earth where veins of gold abound, always seeming to have such a vein; and where veins of silver abound, they seem to be the same. If nature acts in such a way that a vein of gold does not turn into a vein of silver, or into a vein of iron, nor vice versa; because we operate best when we imitate the actions of nature, and a city is best governed when it imitates the natural order: a vein of gold should be for those in greater authority, or those in higher positions; and a vein of silver should be for those in lower positions, and they should not be turned into a vein of iron, so that they become subjects and are removed from their magistrates. The fifth point that the philosophers mentioned regarding the city is that they said any city should be divided into five parts. These are namely the farmers, artisans, warriors, counselors, and the prince. They said that farmers are necessary for the establishment of the city, because of what is required for sustenance. Artisans were indeed necessary, for clothing, houses, and other things required for life. Warriors were indeed necessary for the defense of the city and to repel enemies; they said that a city (if it was well ordered) should have at least a thousand warriors and at most five thousand. Princes and counselors were indeed necessary in the city to guide the citizens so that they might live virtuously, and to ensure that they duly observe the laws. However, the philosophers mentioned some other aspects regarding the governance of the city, about which a mention could be made if the occasion arises.