The Republic — Page 4
We can only guess why the great design was abandoned; perhaps because Plato became sensible of some incongruity in a fictitious history, or because he had lost his interest in it, or because advancing years forbade the completion of it; and we may please ourselves with the fancy that had this imaginary narrative ever been finished, we should have found Plato himself sympathising with the struggle for Hellenic independence (cp. Laws, iii. 698 ff.), singing a hymn of triumph over Marathon and Salamis, perhaps making the reflection of Herodotus (v. 78) where he contemplates the growth of the Athenian empire—'How brave a thing is freedom of speech, which has made the Athenians so far exceed every other state of Hellas in greatness!' or, more probably, attributing the victory to the ancient good order of Athens and to the favor of Apollo and Athene (cp. Introd. to Critias).
Possiamo solo immaginare perché il grande disegno fu abbandonato; forse perché Platone si rese conto di una certa incongruità in una storia fittizia, o perché aveva perso il suo interesse in essa, o perché l'avanzare degli anni gli impedì di completarla; e possiamo compiacerci con la fantasia che, se questa narrativa immaginaria fosse mai stata completata, avremmo trovato Platone stesso partecipare con simpatia alla lotta per l'indipendenza ellenica (cfr. Leggi, iii. 698 ss.), cantando un inno di trionfo su Maratona e Salamina, forse riflettendo come Erodoto (v. 78) là dove contempla la crescita dell'impero ateniese — 'Quanto nobile cosa è la libertà di parola, che ha fatto sì che gli Ateniesi superassero di gran lunga ogni altro stato dell'Ellade in grandezza!' o, più probabilmente, attribuendo la vittoria all'antico buon ordine di Atene e al favore di Apollo e Atena (cfr. Introd. al Crizia).
Again, Plato may be regarded as the 'captain' ('arhchegoz') or leader of a goodly band of followers; for in the Republic is to be found the original of Cicero's De Republica, of St. Augustine's City of God, of the Utopia of Sir Thomas More, and of the numerous other imaginary States which are framed upon the same model.
Inoltre, Platone può essere considerato il 'capitano' ('archegós') o guida di una bella schiera di seguaci; poiché nella Repubblica si trova l'originale del De Republica di Cicerone, della Città di Dio di Sant'Agostino, dell'Utopia di Sir Thomas More, e dei numerosi altri Stati immaginari che sono modellati sullo stesso schema.
The extent to which Aristotle or the Aristotelian school were indebted to him in the Politics has been little recognised, and the recognition is the more necessary because it is not made by Aristotle himself.
La misura in cui Aristotele o la scuola aristotelica fossero in debito con lui nella Politica è stata poco riconosciuta, e il riconoscimento è tanto più necessario in quanto non viene fatto da Aristotele stesso.
Vocabulary
- Possiamo
- We can; first person plural of potere
- solo
- Only, just, alone
- immaginare
- To imagine, to picture in one's mind
- perché
- Why; because
- grande
- Great, large, big
- disegno
- Design, plan, drawing
- fu
- Was; third person singular past of essere
- abbandonato
- Abandoned, left behind, given up
- forse
- Perhaps, maybe, possibly
- si
- Reflexive pronoun; oneself, himself, herself
- rese
- Rendered, made; past tense of rendere
- conto
- Account, count; rendersi conto means to realize
- certa
- Certain, a certain, particular
- incongruità
- Incongruity, inconsistency, lack of coherence
- storia
- Story, history, narrative
- fittizia
- Fictitious, fictional, invented
- o
- Or; disjunctive conjunction
- aveva
- Had; third person singular imperfect of avere
- perso
- Lost; past participle of perdere
- suo
- His, her, its; possessive adjective
- interesse
- Interest, concern, engagement
- essa
- It, she; third person feminine pronoun
- avanzare
- To advance, to move forward, to progress
- anni
- Years; plural of anno
- impedì
- Prevented, hindered; past tense of impedire
- completarla
- To complete it; infinitive with feminine pronoun
- possiamo
- We can; first person plural of potere
- compiacerci
- To please ourselves, to indulge ourselves
- fantasia
- Fantasy, imagination, fancy thought
- se
- If; conditional conjunction
- questa
- This; feminine singular demonstrative adjective
- narrativa
- Narrative, fiction, storytelling
- immaginaria
- Imaginary, fictional, made up
- fosse
- Were; imperfect subjunctive of essere
- mai
- Ever, never; temporal adverb
- stata
- Been; feminine past participle of essere
- completata
- Completed, finished; feminine past participle
- avremmo
- We would have; conditional of avere
- trovato
- Found; past participle of trovare
- stesso
- Same, himself, itself; emphatic adjective
- partecipare
- To participate, to take part in
- simpatia
- Sympathy, liking, warmth toward someone
- lotta
- Struggle, fight, battle, contest
- indipendenza
- Independence, freedom from external control
- ellenica
- Hellenic, Greek; relating to ancient Greece
- cantando
- Singing; gerund of cantare
- inno
- Hymn, anthem, celebratory song
- trionfo
- Triumph, victory, great success
- riflettendo
- Reflecting, thinking; gerund of riflettere
- come
- Like, as, how; comparison conjunction
- là
- There; adverb indicating a place
- dove
- Where; relative or interrogative adverb
- contempla
- Contemplates, observes; third person of contemplare
- crescita
- Growth, increase, development
- impero
- Empire, dominion, power over many territories
- ateniese
- Athenian; relating to Athens
- Quanto
- How much, how great; exclamatory word
- nobile
- Noble, dignified, of high moral character
- cosa
- Thing, what; noun or interrogative pronoun
- libertà
- Liberty, freedom, independence
- parola
- Word, speech, utterance
- fatto
- Done, made; past participle of fare
- sì
- Yes; affirmative particle
- superassero
- Surpassed; imperfect subjunctive of superare
- gran
- Great, large; shortened form of grande
- lunga
- Long; feminine adjective from lungo
- ogni
- Every, each, all; indefinite adjective
- altro
- Other, another, else
- stato
- State, nation; also past participle of essere
- grandezza
- Greatness, grandeur, magnitude
- più
- More, most; comparative adverb
- probabilmente
- Probably, likely, in all likelihood
- attribuendo
- Attributing, assigning; gerund of attribuire
- vittoria
- Victory, win, triumph in battle
- antico
- Ancient, old, antique
- buon
- Good; shortened form of buono before noun
- ordine
- Order, arrangement, organization
- favore
- Favor, support, goodwill
- Inoltre
- Furthermore, moreover, in addition
- può
- Can, may; third person singular of potere
- essere
- To be; fundamental Italian linking verb
- considerato
- Considered, regarded, viewed as
- capitano
- Captain, leader, commander
- guida
- Guide, leader, director
- bella
- Beautiful, lovely; feminine adjective
- schiera
- Troop, group, array of followers
- seguaci
- Followers, adherents, disciples
- poiché
- Since, because, given that
- Repubblica
- Republic; Plato's famous political dialogue
- trova
- Finds; third person singular of trovare
- originale
- Original, source, primary model
- Città
- City; refers here to City of God
- Dio
- God; divine being
- numerosi
- Numerous, many, a great number of
- altri
- Other, others; plural of altro
- Stati
- States; plural of stato
- immaginari
- Imaginary, fictional; plural adjective
- modellati
- Modeled, patterned; past participle of modellare
- schema
- Schema, pattern, model, outline
- misura
- Measure, extent, degree
- cui
- Which, whom; relative pronoun
- scuola
- School, institution of learning
- aristotelica
- Aristotelian; relating to Aristotle's philosophy
- fossero
- Were; imperfect subjunctive plural of essere
- debito
- Debt, obligation; essere in debito means to owe
- Politica
- Politics; Aristotle's treatise on government
- poco
- Little, few, not much
- riconosciuta
- Recognized, acknowledged; feminine past participle
- riconoscimento
- Recognition, acknowledgment, credit given
- tanto
- So much, as much, a lot
- necessario
- Necessary, required, essential
- quanto
- How much, as much as; comparative word
- viene
- Comes; third person singular of venire
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