صفحة 885 من 1391

And not only their education, but their habitations, and all that

belongs to them, should be such as will neither impair their

virtue as guardians, nor tempt them to prey upon the other

citizens. Any man of sense must acknowledge that.

He must.

Then now let us consider what will be their way of life, if they

are to realize our idea of them. In the first place, none of them

should have any property of his own beyond what is absolutely

necessary; neither should they have a private house or store

closed against any one who has a mind to enter; their provisions

should be only such as are required by trained warriors, who are

men of temperance and courage; they should agree to receive from

the citizens a fixed rate of pay, enough to meet the expenses of

the year and no more; and they will go to mess and live together

like soldiers in a camp. Gold and silver we will tell them that

they have from God; the diviner metal is within them, and they

have therefore no need of the dross which is current among men,

and ought not to pollute the divine by any such earthly

admixture; for that commoner metal has been the source of many

unholy deeds, but their own is undefiled.