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First, there is the image of the waves, which serves for a sort

of scheme or plan of the book. The first wave, the second wave,

the third and greatest wave come rolling in, and we hear the roar

of them. All that can be said of the extravagance of Plato's

proposals is anticipated by himself. Nothing is more admirable

than the hesitation with which he proposes the solemn text,

'Until kings are philosophers,' etc.; or the reaction from the

sublime to the ridiculous, when Glaucon describes the manner in

which the new truth will be received by mankind.