Pagina 198 di 1391

BOOK V. I was going to enumerate the four forms of vice or

decline in states, when Polemarchus-he was sitting a little

farther from me than Adeimantus-taking him by the coat and

leaning towards him, said something in an undertone, of which I

only caught the words, 'Shall we let him off?' 'Certainly not,'

said Adeimantus, raising his voice. Whom, I said, are you not

going to let off? 'You,' he said. Why? 'Because we think that you

are not dealing fairly with us in omitting women and children, of

whom you have slily disposed under the general formula that

friends have all things in common.' And was I not right? 'Yes,'

he replied, 'but there are many sorts of communism or community,

and we want to know which of them is right. The company, as you

have just heard, are resolved to have a further explanation.'

Thrasymachus said, 'Do you think that we have come hither to dig

for gold, or to hear you discourse?' Yes, I said; but the

discourse should be of a reasonable length.