ΞΕ. ἀλλʼ οὐκ ἔστι πω τέλεον, ὦ παῖ, τοῦτο λελεγμένον. ὁ γὰρ ἐν ἀρχῇ τῆς τῶν ἱματίων ἐργασίας ἁπτόμενος τοὐναντίον ὑφῇ δρᾶν φαίνεται.
ΝΕ. ΣΩ. πῶς;
ΞΕ. τὸ μὲν τῆς ὑφῆς συμπλοκή τίς ἐστί που.
ΝΕ. ΣΩ. ναί.
ΞΕ. τὸ δέ γε τῶν συνεστώτων καὶ συμπεπιλημένων διαλυτική.
ΝΕ. ΣΩ. τὸ ποῖον δή;
ΞΕ. τὸ τῆς τοῦ ξαίνοντος τέχνης ἔργον. ἢ τὴν ξαντικὴν τολμήσομεν ὑφαντικὴν καὶ τὸν ξάντην ὡς ὄντα ὑφάντην καλεῖν;
ΝΕ. ΣΩ. οὐδαμῶς.
ΞΕ. καὶ μὴν τήν γε αὖ στήμονος ἐργαστικὴν καὶ κρόκης εἴ τις ὑφαντικὴν προσαγορεύει, παράδοξόν τε καὶ ψεῦδος ὄνομα λέγει.
ΝΕ. ΣΩ. πῶς γὰρ οὔ;
ΞΕ. τί δέ; κναφευτικὴν σύμπασαν καὶ τὴν ἀκεστικὴν πότερα μηδεμίαν ἐπιμέλειαν μηδέ τινα θεραπείαν ἐσθῆτος θῶμεν, ἢ καὶ ταύτας πάσας ὡς ὑφαντικὰς λέξομεν;
ΝΕ. ΣΩ. οὐδαμῶς.
ΞΕ. ἀλλὰ μὴν τῆς γε θεραπείας ἀμφισβητήσουσιν αὗται σύμπασαι καὶ τῆς γενέσεως τῆς τῶν ἱματίων τῇ τῆς ὑφαντικῆς δυνάμει, μέγιστον μὲν μέρος ἐκείνῃ διδοῦσαι, μεγάλα δὲ καὶ σφίσιν αὐταῖς ἀπονέμουσαι.
ΝΕ. ΣΩ. πάνυ γε.
ΞΕ. πρὸς τοίνυν ταύταις ἔτι τὰς τῶν ἐργαλείων δημιουργοὺς τέχνας, διʼ ὧν ἀποτελεῖται τὰ τῆς ὑφῆς ἔργα, δοκεῖν χρὴ τό γε συναιτίας εἶναι προσποιήσασθαι παντὸς ὑφάσματος.
ΝΕ. ΣΩ. ὀρθότατα.
ΞΕ. πότερον οὖν ἡμῖν ὁ περὶ τῆς ὑφαντικῆς λόγος, οὗ προειλόμεθα μέρους, ἱκανῶς ἔσται διωρισμένος, ἐὰν ἄρʼ αὐτὴν τῶν ἐπιμελειῶν ὁπόσαι περὶ τὴν ἐρεᾶν ἐσθῆτα, εἰς τὴν καλλίστην καὶ μεγίστην πασῶν τιθῶμεν· ἢ λέγοιμεν μὲν ἄν τι ἀληθές, οὐ μὴν σαφές γε οὐδὲ τέλεον, πρὶν ἂν καὶ ταύτας αὐτῆς πάσας περιέλωμεν;
ΝΕ. ΣΩ. ὀρθῶς.
ΞΕ. οὐκοῦν μετὰ ταῦτα ποιητέον ὃ λέγομεν, ἵνʼ ἐφεξῆς ἡμῖν ὁ λόγος ἴῃ;
ΝΕ. ΣΩ. πῶς δʼ οὔ;
ΞΕ. πρῶτον μὲν τοίνυν δύο τέχνας οὔσας περὶ πάντα τὰ δρώμενα θεασώμεθα.
ΝΕ. ΣΩ. τίνας;
ΞΕ. τὴν μὲν γενέσεως οὖσαν συναίτιον, τὴν δʼ αὐτὴν αἰτίαν.
ΝΕ. ΣΩ. πῶς;
ΞΕ. ὅσαι μὲν τὸ πρᾶγμα αὐτὸ μὴ δημιουργοῦσι, ταῖς δὲ δημιουργούσαις ὄργανα παρασκευάζουσιν, ὧν μὴ παραγενομένων οὐκ ἄν ποτε ἐργασθείη τὸ προστεταγμένον ἑκάστῃ τῶν τεχνῶν, ταύτας μὲν συναιτίους, τὰς δὲ αὐτὸ τὸ πρᾶγμα ἀπεργαζομένας αἰτίας.
ΝΕ. ΣΩ. ἔχει γοῦν λόγον.
ΞΕ. μετὰ τοῦτο δὴ τὰς μὲν περί τε ἀτράκτους καὶ κερκίδας καὶ ὁπόσα ἄλλα ὄργανα τῆς περὶ τὰ ἀμφιέσματα γενέσεως κοινωνεῖ, πάσας συναιτίους εἴπωμεν, τὰς δὲ αὐτὰ θεραπευούσας καὶ δημιουργούσας αἰτίας;
ΝΕ. ΣΩ. ὀρθότατα.
Str. But, my boy, this is not yet completely stated; for the man who is engaged in the first part of the making of clothes appears to do something the opposite of weaving.
Y. Soc. How so?
Str. The process of weaving is, I take it, a kind of joining together.
Y. Soc. Yes.
Str. But the first part I refer to is a separation of what is combined and matted together.
Y. Soc. What do you mean?
Str. The work of the carder’s art. Or shall we have the face to say that carding is weaving and the carder is a weaver?
Y. Soc. No, certainly not.
Str. And surely if we say the art of making the warp or the woof is the art of weaving, we are employing an irrational and false designation.
Y. Soc. Of course.
Str. Well then, shall we say that the whole arts of fulling and mending are no part of the care and treatment of clothes, or shall we declare that these also are entirely included in the art of weaving?
Y. Soc. By no means.
Str. But surely all these will contest the claim of the art of weaving in the matter of the treatment and the production of clothes; they will grant that the part of weaving is the most important, but will claim that their own parts are of some importance, too.
Y. Soc. Yes, certainly.
Str. Then we must believe that besides these the arts which produce the tools by means of which the works of weaving are accomplished will claim to be collaborators in every work of weaving.
Y. Soc. Quite right.
Str. Will our definition of the art of weaving (I mean the part of it we selected) be satisfactory if we say that of all the activities connected with woollen clothing it is the noblest and the greatest? Or would that, although it contains some truth, yet lack clearness and completeness until we separate from weaving all these other arts?
Y. Soc. You are right.
Str. Then shall our next move be to do this, that our discussion may proceed in due order?
Y. Soc. Certainly.
Str. First, then, let us observe that there are two arts involved in all production.
Y. Soc. What are they?
Str. The one is a contingent cause, the other is the actual cause.
Y. Soc. What do you mean?
Str. Those arts which do not produce the actual thing in question, but which supply to the arts which do produce it the tools without which no art could ever perform its prescribed work, may be called contingent causes, and those which produce the actual thing are causes.
Y. Soc. At any rate, that is reasonable.
Str. Next, then, shall we designate all the arts which produce spindles, shuttles, and the various other tools that partake in the production of clothing as contingent causes, and those which treat and manufacture the clothing itself as causes?
Y. Soc. Quite right.
ΞΕ. τῶν αἰτιῶν δὴ πλυντικὴν μὲν καὶ ἀκεστικὴν καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν περὶ ταῦτα θεραπευτικήν, πολλῆς οὔσης τῆς κοσμητικῆς, τοὐνταῦθα αὐτῆς μόριον εἰκὸς μάλιστα περιλαμβάνειν ὀνομάζοντας πᾶν τῇ τέχνῃ τῇ κναφευτικῇ.
ΝΕ. ΣΩ. καλῶς.
ΞΕ. καὶ μὴν ξαντική γε καὶ νηστικὴ καὶ πάντα αὖ τὰ περὶ τὴν ποίησιν αὐτὴν τῆς ἐσθῆτος ἧς λέγομεν μέρη, μία τίς ἐστι τέχνη τῶν ὑπὸ πάντων λεγομένων, ἡ ταλασιουργική.
ΝΕ. ΣΩ. πῶς γὰρ οὔ;
ΞΕ. τῆς δὴ ταλασιουργικῆς δύο τμήματά ἐστον, καὶ τούτοιν ἑκάτερον ἅμα δυοῖν πεφύκατον τέχναιν μέρη.
ΝΕ. ΣΩ. πῶς;
ΞΕ. τὸ μὲν ξαντικὸν καὶ τὸ τῆς κερκιστικῆς ἥμισυ καὶ ὅσα τὰ συγκείμενα ἀπʼ ἀλλήλων ἀφίστησι, πᾶν τοῦτο ὡς ἓν φράζειν τῆς τε ταλασιουργίας αὐτῆς ἐστί που, καὶ μεγάλα τινὲ κατὰ πάντα ἡμῖν ἤστην τέχνα, ἡ συγκριτική τε καὶ διακριτική.
ΝΕ. ΣΩ. ναί.
ΞΕ. τῆς τοίνυν διακριτικῆς ἥ τε ξαντικὴ καὶ τὰ νυνδὴ ῥηθέντα ἅπαντά ἐστιν· ἡ γὰρ ἐν ἐρίοις τε καὶ στήμοσι διακριτική, κερκίδι μὲν ἄλλον τρόπον γιγνομένη, χερσὶ δὲ ἕτερον, ἔσχεν ὅσα ἀρτίως ὀνόματα ἐρρήθη.
ΝΕ. ΣΩ. πάνυ μὲν οὖν.
ΞΕ. αὖθις δὴ πάλιν συγκριτικῆς μόριον ἅμα καὶ ταλασιουργίας ἐν αὐτῇ γιγνόμενον λάβωμεν· ὅσα δὲ τῆς διακριτικῆς ἦν αὐτόθι, μεθιῶμεν σύμπαντα, δίχα τέμνοντες τὴν ταλασιουργίαν διακριτικῷ τε καὶ συγκριτικῷ τμήματι.
ΝΕ. ΣΩ. διῃρήσθω.
ΞΕ. τὸ συγκριτικὸν τοίνυν αὖ σοι καὶ ταλασιουργικὸν ἅμα μόριον, ὦ Σώκρατες, διαιρετέον, εἴπερ ἱκανῶς μέλλομεν τὴν προρρηθεῖσαν ὑφαντικὴν αἱρήσειν.
ΝΕ. ΣΩ. οὐκοῦν χρή.
ΞΕ. χρὴ μὲν οὖν· καὶ λέγωμέν γε αὐτῆς τὸ μὲν εἶναι στρεπτικόν, τὸ δὲ συμπλεκτικόν.
ΝΕ. ΣΩ. ἆρʼ οὖν μανθάνω; δοκεῖς γάρ μοι τὸ περὶ τὴν τοῦ στήμονος ἐργασίαν λέγειν στρεπτικόν.
ΞΕ. οὐ μόνον γε, ἀλλὰ καὶ κρόκης· ἢ γένεσιν ἄστροφόν τινα αὐτῆς εὑρήσομεν;
ΝΕ. ΣΩ. οὐδαμῶς.
ΞΕ. διόρισαι δὴ καὶ τούτοιν ἑκάτερον· ἴσως γὰρ ὁ διορισμὸς ἔγκαιρος ἄν σοι γένοιτο.
ΝΕ. ΣΩ. πῇ;
ΞΕ. τῇδε· τῶν περὶ ξαντικὴν ἔργων μηκυνθέν τε καὶ σχὸν πλάτος λέγομεν εἶναι κάταγμά τι;
ΝΕ. ΣΩ. ναί.
ΞΕ. τούτου δὴ τὸ μὲν ἀτράκτῳ τε στραφὲν καὶ στερεὸν νῆμα γενόμενον στήμονα μὲν φάθι τὸ νῆμα, τὴν δὲ ἀπευθύνουσαν αὐτὸ τέχνην εἶναι στημονονητικήν.
ΝΕ. ΣΩ. ὀρθῶς.
Str. And among the causal arts we may properly include washing and mending and all the care of clothing in such ways; and, since the art of adornment is a wide one, we may classify them as a part of it under the name of fulling.
Y. Soc. Good.
Str. And, again, carding and spinning and all the processes concerned with the actual fabrication of the clothing under consideration, form collectively one art familiar to every one—the art of wool-working.
Y. Soc. Of course.
Str. And wool-working comprises two divisions, and each of these is a part of two arts at once.
Y. Soc. How is that?
Str. Carding, and one half of the use of the weaver’s rod, and the other crafts which separate things that are joined—all this collectively is a part of the art of wool-working; and in all things we found two great arts, that of composition and that of division.
Y. Soc. Yes.
Str. Now carding and all the other processes just mentioned are parts of the art of division; for the art of division in wool and threads, exercised in one way with the rod and in another with the hands, has all the names just mentioned.
Y. Soc. Yes, certainly.
Str. Then let us again take up something which is at once a part of the arts of composition and of wool-working. Let us put aside all that belongs to division, making two parts of wool-working, by applying the principles of division and of composition.
Y. Soc. Let us make that distinction.
Str. The part which belongs at once to composition and to wool-working, Socrates, you must allow us to divide again, if we are to get a satisfactory concept of the aforesaid art of weaving.
Y. Soc. Then we must divide it.
Str. Yes, we must; and let us call one part of it the art of twisting threads, and the other the art of intertwining them.
Y. Soc. I am not sure I understand. By the art of twisting I think you mean the making of the warp.
Str. Not that only, but also the making of the woof. We shall not find that the woof is made without twisting, shall we?
Y. Soc. No, of course not.
Str. Well, just define warp and woof; perhaps the definition would serve you well at this junction.
Y. Soc. How shall I do it?
Str. In this way: A piece of carded wool, which is lengthened out and is wide, is said to be a lap of wool, is it not?
Y. Soc. Yes.
Str. And if any such lap of wool is twisted with a spindle and made into a hard thread, we call the thread warp, and the art which governs this process is the art of spinning the warp.
Y. Soc. Right.
ΞΕ. ὅσα δέ γε αὖ τὴν μὲν συστροφὴν χαύνην λαμβάνει, τῇ δὲ τοῦ στήμονος ἐμπλέξει πρὸς τὴν τῆς γνάψεως ὁλκὴν ἐμμέτρως τὴν μαλακότητα ἴσχει, ταῦτʼ ἄρα κρόκην μὲν τὰ νηθέντα, τὴν δὲ ἐπιτεταγμένην αὐτοῖς εἶναι τέχνην τὴν κροκονητικὴν φῶμεν.
ΝΕ. ΣΩ. ὀρθότατα.
ΞΕ. καὶ μὴν τό γε τῆς ὑφαντικῆς μέρος ὃ προυθέμεθα, παντί που δῆλον ἤδη. τὸ γὰρ συγκριτικῆς τῆς ἐν ταλασιουργίᾳ μόριον ὅταν εὐθυπλοκίᾳ κρόκης καὶ στήμονος ἀπεργάζηται πλέγμα, τὸ μὲν πλεχθὲν σύμπαν ἐσθῆτα ἐρεᾶν, τὴν δʼ ἐπὶ τούτῳ τέχνην οὖσαν προσαγορεύομεν ὑφαντικήν.
ΝΕ. ΣΩ. ὀρθότατα.
ΞΕ. εἶεν· τί δή ποτε οὖν οὐκ εὐθὺς ἀπεκρινάμεθα πλεκτικὴν εἶναι κρόκης καὶ στήμονος ὑφαντικήν, ἀλλὰ περιήλθομεν ἐν κύκλῳ πάμπολλα διοριζόμενοι μάτην;
ΝΕ. ΣΩ. οὔκουν ἔμοιγε, ὦ ξένε, μάτην οὐδὲν τῶν ῥηθέντων ἔδοξε ῥηθῆναι.
ΞΕ. καὶ θαυμαστόν γε οὐδέν· ἀλλὰ τάχʼ ἄν, ὦ μακάριε, δόξειε. πρὸς δὴ τὸ νόσημα τὸ τοιοῦτον, ἂν ἄρα πολλάκις ὕστερον ἐπίῃ—θαυμαστὸν γὰρ οὐδέν—λόγον ἄκουσόν τινα προσήκοντα περὶ πάντων τῶν τοιούτων ῥηθῆναι.
ΝΕ. ΣΩ. λέγε μόνον.
ΞΕ. πρῶτον τοίνυν ἴδωμεν πᾶσαν τήν τε ὑπερβολὴν καὶ τὴν ἔλλειψιν, ἵνα κατὰ λόγον ἐπαινῶμεν καὶ ψέγωμεν τὰ μακρότερα τοῦ δέοντος ἑκάστοτε λεγόμενα καὶ τἀναντία περὶ τὰς τοιάσδε διατριβάς.
ΝΕ. ΣΩ. οὐκοῦν χρή.
ΞΕ. περὶ δὴ τούτων αὐτῶν ὁ λόγος ἡμῖν οἶμαι γιγνόμενος ὀρθῶς ἂν γίγνοιτο.
ΝΕ. ΣΩ. τίνων;
ΞΕ. μήκους τε πέρι καὶ βραχύτητος καὶ πάσης ὑπεροχῆς τε καὶ ἐλλείψεως· ἡ γάρ που μετρητικὴ περὶ πάντʼ ἐστὶ ταῦτα.
ΝΕ. ΣΩ. ναί.
ΞΕ. διέλωμεν τοίνυν αὐτὴν δύο μέρη· δεῖ γὰρ δὴ πρὸς ὃ νῦν σπεύδομεν.
ΝΕ. ΣΩ. λέγοις ἂν τὴν διαίρεσιν ὅπῃ.
ΞΕ. τῇδε· τὸ μὲν κατὰ τὴν πρὸς ἄλληλα μεγέθους καὶ σμικρότητος κοινωνίαν, τὸ δὲ [τὸ] κατὰ τὴν τῆς γενέσεως ἀναγκαίαν οὐσίαν.
ΝΕ. ΣΩ. πῶς λέγεις;
ΞΕ. ἆρʼ οὐ κατὰ φύσιν δοκεῖ σοι τὸ μεῖζον μηδενὸς ἑτέρου δεῖν μεῖζον λέγειν ἢ τοῦ ἐλάττονος, καὶ τοὔλαττον αὖ τοῦ μείζονος ἔλαττον, ἄλλου δὲ μηδενός;
ΝΕ. ΣΩ. ἔμοιγε.
ΞΕ. τί δέ; τὸ τὴν τοῦ μετρίου φύσιν ὑπερβάλλον καὶ ὑπερβαλλόμενον ὑπʼ αὐτῆς ἐν λόγοις εἴτε καὶ ἐν ἔργοις ἆρʼ οὐκ αὖ λέξομεν ὡς ὄντως γιγνόμενον, ἐν ᾧ καὶ διαφέρουσι μάλιστα ἡμῶν οἵ τε κακοὶ καὶ [οἱ] ἀγαθοί;
ΝΕ. ΣΩ. φαίνεται.
ΞΕ. διττὰς ἄρα ταύτας οὐσίας καὶ κρίσεις τοῦ μεγάλου καὶ τοῦ σμικροῦ θετέον, ἀλλʼ οὐχ ὡς ἔφαμεν ἄρτι πρὸς ἄλληλα μόνον δεῖν, ἀλλʼ ὥσπερ νῦν εἴρηται μᾶλλον τὴν μὲν πρὸς ἄλληλα λεκτέον, τὴν δʼ αὖ πρὸς τὸ μέτριον· οὗ δὲ ἕνεκα, μαθεῖν ἆρʼ ἂν βουλοίμεθα;
ΝΕ. ΣΩ. τί μήν;
Str. And the threads, in turn, which are more loosely twisted and have in respect to the force used in the carding a softness adapted to the interweaving with the warp we will call the woof, and the art devoted to these we will call the art of preparing the woof.
Y. Soc. Quite right.
Str. So now the part of the art of weaving which we chose for our discussion is clear to pretty much every understanding; for when that part of the art of composition which is included in the art of weaving forms a web by the right intertwining of woof and warp, we call the entire web a woollen garment, and the art which directs this process we call weaving.
Y. Soc. Quite right.
Str. Very good. Then why in the world did we not say at once that weaving is the intertwining of woof and warp? Why did we beat about the bush and make a host of futile distinctions?
Y. Soc. For my part, I thought nothing that was said was futile, Stranger.
Str. And no wonder; but perhaps you might change your mind. Now to avoid any such malady, in case it should, as is not unlikely, attack you frequently hereafter, I will propose a principle of procedure which is applicable to all cases of this sort.
Y. Soc. Do so.
Str. First, then, let us scrutinize the general nature of excess and deficiency, for the sake of obtaining a rational basis for any praise or blame we may bestow upon excessive length or brevity in discussions of this kind.
Y. Soc. Yes, that is a good thing to do.
Str. Then the proper subjects for our consideration would, I fancy, be these.
Y. Soc. What?
Str. Length and shortness and excess and deficiency in general; for all of them may be regarded as the subjects of the art of measurement.
Y. Soc. Yes.
Str. Let us, then, divide that art into two parts; that is essential for our present purpose.
Y. Soc. Please tell how to make the division.
Str. In this way: one part is concerned with relative greatness or smallness, the other with the something without which production would not be possible.
Y. Soc. What do you mean?
Str. Do you not think that, by the nature of the case, we must say that the greater is greater than the less and than nothing else, and that the less is less than the greater and than nothing else?
Y. Soc. Yes.
Str. But must we not also assert the real existence of excess beyond the standard of the mean, and of inferiority to the mean, whether in words or deeds, and is not the chief difference between good men and bad found in such excess or deficiency?
Y. Soc. That is clear.
Str. Then we must assume that there are these two kinds of great and small, and these two ways of distinguishing between them; we must not, as we did a little while ago, say that they are relative to one another only, but rather, as we have just said, that one kind is relative in that way, and the other is relative to the standard of the mean. Should we care to learn the reason for this?
Y. Soc. Of course.
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