The Republic — Page 7
To the perfect ideal succeeds the government of the soldier and the lover of honour, this again declining into democracy, and democracy into tyranny, in an imaginary but regular order having not much resemblance to the actual facts.
All'ideale perfetto succede il governo del soldato e dell'amante dell'onore, che declina a sua volta nella democrazia, e la democrazia nella tirannia, in un ordine immaginario ma regolare che non ha molta somiglianza con i fatti reali.
When 'the wheel has come full circle' we do not begin again with a new period of human life; but we have passed from the best to the worst, and there we end.
Quando «la ruota ha compiuto il giro completo» non ricominciamo con un nuovo periodo della vita umana; ma siamo passati dal meglio al peggio, e lì ci fermiamo.
The subject is then changed and the old quarrel of poetry and philosophy which had been more lightly treated in the earlier books of the Republic is now resumed and fought out to a conclusion.
L'argomento cambia quindi e l'antica disputa tra poesia e filosofia, che era stata trattata più superficialmente nei libri precedenti della Repubblica, viene ora ripresa e portata a una conclusione.
Poetry is discovered to be an imitation thrice removed from the truth, and Homer, as well as the dramatic poets, having been condemned as an imitator, is sent into banishment along with them.
Si scopre che la poesia è un'imitazione tre volte distante dalla verità, e Omero, al pari dei poeti drammatici, essendo stato condannato come imitatore, viene mandato in esilio insieme a loro.
And the idea of the State is supplemented by the revelation of a future life.
E l'idea dello Stato è integrata dalla rivelazione di una vita futura.
The division into books, like all similar divisions (Cp. Sir G.C. Lewis in the Classical Museum, vol. ii. p 1.), is probably later than the age of Plato.
La divisione in libri, come tutte le divisioni simili (cfr. Sir G.C. Lewis nel Classical Museum, vol. ii. p. 1), è probabilmente posteriore all'epoca di Platone.
The natural divisions are five in number;—(1) Book I and the first half of Book II down to the paragraph beginning, 'I had always admired the genius of Glaucon and Adeimantus,' which is introductory;
Le divisioni naturali sono cinque: (1) il Libro I e la prima metà del Libro II fino al paragrafo che inizia con «Ho sempre ammirato il genio di Glaucone e Adimanto», che è introduttivo;
the first book containing a refutation of the popular and sophistical notions of justice, and concluding, like some of the earlier Dialogues, without arriving at any definite result.
il primo libro contiene una confutazione delle nozioni popolari e sofistiche della giustizia, e si conclude, come alcuni dei Dialoghi precedenti, senza giungere ad alcun risultato definitivo.
Vocabulary
- ideale
- ideale — Ideal; a perfect standard or model
- perfetto
- perfetto — Perfect; without flaws or errors
- succede
- succede — It happens; it occurs or follows
- governo
- governo — Government; the ruling body of a state
- soldato
- soldato — Soldier; a person serving in an army
- amante
- amante — Lover; one who loves or is in love
- onore
- onore — Honor; high respect and moral integrity
- declina
- declina — It declines; deteriorates or diminishes gradually
- volta
- volta — Turn, time; an instance or occasion
- democrazia
- democrazia — Democracy; government by the people
- tirannia
- tirannia — Tyranny; cruel and oppressive rule
- ordine
- ordine — Order; systematic arrangement or sequence
- immaginario
- immaginario — Imaginary; existing only in the mind
- regolare
- regolare — Regular; orderly, consistent, following rules
- somiglianza
- somiglianza — Resemblance; similarity between two things
- fatti
- fatti — Facts; real events or pieces of information
- reali
- reali — Real; actual, existing in reality
- ruota
- ruota — Wheel; circular object that rotates
- compiuto
- compiuto — Completed, accomplished; past participle of compiere
- giro
- giro — Turn, rotation; a complete circular movement
- completo
- completo — Complete; whole, entire, with nothing missing
- ricominciamo
- ricominciamo — We begin again; we restart from the beginning
- periodo
- periodo — Period; a span or phase of time
- vita
- vita — Life; the state of being alive
- umana
- umana — Human; relating to people or humanity
- passati
- passati — Passed, gone; moved from one state to another
- meglio
- meglio — Better; superior in quality or condition
- peggio
- peggio — Worse; inferior in quality or condition
- lì
- lì — There; at that place or point
- fermiamo
- fermiamo — We stop; we halt or come to rest
- argomento
- argomento — Argument, topic; subject under discussion
- cambia
- cambia — Changes; shifts or alters from one state
- quindi
- quindi — Therefore, then; indicating consequence or sequence
- antica
- antica — Ancient, old; belonging to a distant past
- disputa
- disputa — Dispute; a debate or quarrel between parties
- poesia
- poesia — Poetry; literary art expressed in verse
- filosofia
- filosofia — Philosophy; study of fundamental questions about existence
- trattata
- trattata — Treated, handled; dealt with in a text
- superficialmente
- superficialmente — Superficially; in a shallow or cursory manner
- libri
- libri — Books; written or printed works
- precedenti
- precedenti — Previous, preceding; coming before in order
- Repubblica
- Repubblica — Republic; Plato's famous philosophical dialogue
- ripresa
- ripresa — Resumed, taken up again; restarted after pause
- portata
- portata — Brought, carried; led to a conclusion
- conclusione
- conclusione — Conclusion; the final part or outcome
- scopre
- scopre — Discovers, reveals; finds or uncovers something
- imitazione
- imitazione — Imitation; copying or mimicking something original
- volte
- volte — Times; plural of volta, instances or occasions
- distante
- distante — Distant, far; removed from a reference point
- verità
- verità — Truth; the quality of being true or real
- Omero
- Omero — Homer; ancient Greek epic poet
- pari
- pari — Equal, on par; at the same level as others
- poeti
- poeti — Poets; writers of poetry or verse
- drammatici
- drammatici — Dramatic; relating to drama or theater
- essendo
- essendo — Being; gerund of 'essere'
- condannato
- condannato — Condemned; judged guilty and sentenced
- imitatore
- imitatore — Imitator; one who copies or mimics others
- mandato
- mandato — Sent; ordered to go to a place
- esilio
- esilio — Exile; banishment from one's homeland
- insieme
- insieme — Together; in company with others
- idea
- idea — Idea; a thought or concept in the mind
- Stato
- Stato — State; an organized political community or nation
- integrata
- integrata — Integrated; combined into a whole
- rivelazione
- rivelazione — Revelation; disclosure of something previously unknown
- futura
- futura — Future; relating to time yet to come
- divisione
- divisione — Division; separation into distinct parts
- divisioni
- divisioni — Divisions; plural of divisione, partitions
- simili
- simili — Similar; alike or resembling one another
- cfr
- cfr — Compare; Italian abbreviation for 'confronta'
- probabilmente
- probabilmente — Probably; likely but not certain
- posteriore
- posteriore — Later, subsequent; coming after in time
- epoca
- epoca — Epoch, era; a distinct period in history
- Platone
- Platone — Plato; ancient Greek philosopher
- naturali
- naturali — Natural; occurring in nature, not artificial
- Libro
- Libro — Book; a written work or major section thereof
- prima
- prima — First, before; ordinal or temporal adverb
- metà
- metà — Half; one of two equal parts
- fino
- fino — Until, up to; indicating a limit or endpoint
- paragrafo
- paragrafo — Paragraph; a section of text on one topic
- inizia
- inizia — Begins; starts for the first time
- sempre
- sempre — Always; at all times, without exception
- ammirato
- ammirato — Admired; regarded with great respect and wonder
- genio
- genio — Genius; exceptional intellectual or creative ability
- introduttivo
- introduttivo — Introductory; serving as an introduction
- primo
- primo — First; ordinal number indicating the first in order
- libro
- libro — Book; a written or printed literary work
- contiene
- contiene — Contains; holds or includes within itself
- confutazione
- confutazione — Refutation; disproving an argument or claim
- nozioni
- nozioni — Notions; basic ideas or concepts
- popolari
- popolari — Popular; widely held or accepted by people
- sofistiche
- sofistiche — Sophistic; relating to clever but misleading reasoning
- giustizia
- giustizia — Justice; fairness and moral rightness
- conclude
- conclude — Concludes; ends or reaches a final point
- alcuni
- alcuni — Some; an unspecified number of things
- Dialoghi
- Dialoghi — Dialogues; philosophical works written in conversation form
- senza
- senza — Without; lacking or in the absence of
- giungere
- giungere — To reach, to arrive; to attain a destination
- alcun
- alcun — Any; indefinite adjective in negative contexts
- risultato
- risultato — Result; outcome or conclusion of a process
- definitivo
- definitivo — Definitive; final and conclusive, not tentative
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