VIII.vii. music ( the ledger ) of the Politeia
ADEIMANTOS: he he ( he tunes his mandolin ),
ha ha ( we joke about a notebook ) ho ho,
( plays chord ) ( a secret one ) ( to hear )
and its the valley of our life ( below,
as philosopher piracy goes down, and O,
dear Βοb, thanks-be for ceding-we Key West.
his fat ones flow the sweet and saltiest
to hear we play both sides against the middle.
we count the verses giants you done best.
but fast, we lose no rest, and we lean left.
his left, her right to be alive, lets dream
horizons long-bow shooting-back the blind-
mans kiss — drew-her, joker, mr — bulls-eye ),
SOKRATES: but around(about) —
ADEIMANTOS: ( and yet, how could we Suzanne V forget?
in pieces raining down, her small blew thing,
who turns Calypso as she lets him go,
from thick and wild and hidden home, hallowed,
we blow her back, no shade, the sweet shes owed.
his chambermaid, but she grows herself a bed,
where her gypsy lays a bump upon his head ),
SOKRATES: ( . . . )
ADEIMANTOS: ( slows it down, tuning Canadienne )
( o blue alert, o dance me to the end,
whose secret chord does mend the pleasing lord.
for every leash, a halleluja. she
whose tower of song-sung-temple waits for me,
who by dark river wrote, his craft hunts we
who lost us first — yes, Leonard, lets. )
SOKRATES: ( waits patiently )
ADEIMANTOS: ( for now, for just one more.
to the goat who wouldnt want to hear his name.
endorsed him, and she wont say it again.
salam, Kendrick, from our family to yours.
and to the people of his power, USA:
Black music be, your news, Black life remain. )
SOKRATES: ( waits )
ADEIMANTOS: go shoot your mouth off, Cardi B, of course,
and if we die, would you please drive the hearse?
SOKRATES: ( claps )
ADEIMANTOS: in this she trusts,
by which the fool in we lets go,
he hears
who listens on his pirate radio.
SOKRATES: ( waits )
ADEIMANTOS: but did he ever try to voice the whale?
SOKRATES: but around(about)the truthful(trusty,
genuine, unconcealing)helmsman,
τοῦ δὲ ἀληθινοῦ κυβερνήτου πέρι
ADEIMANTOS: and his secrets ( we supposedly keep )
( but maybe also spill ) but might also get whimsically
wrong, being but mannish boys
who navigate the Muddy Waters of
her as-yet unheard song,
on her as-yet unpracticed instrument,
( never played mandolin before )
SOKRATES: but not hearing(not giving-ear to,
not perceiving, not feeling, not understanding),
μηδ᾽ ἐπαΐοντες,
ADEIMANTOS: her music,
we wouldnt be hearing her at all.
( the music of the Politeia —
were slingin it, Eva, hot to go )
( but the best friend of her mans best friend
says thanks for all the great cake, Joe ),
so theres ( a ledger being appended )
and it sounds like a deep and ponderous tome ( inhales )
( sea breeze ),
SOKRATES: that necessity(force-restraint),
(to-for-by)himself,
be made the care(concern, attention)(commission or charge)
(zealous pursuit)(of cares)(bestowed),
of the in-itself,
ὅτι ἀνάγκη αὐτῷ τὴν ἐπιμέλειαν ποιεῖσθαι ἐνιαυτοῦ
ADEIMANTOS: necessity of the “eni-auto”,
the in-itself, maybe his image of
the good, the sun,
( he-being teachers pet ),
and therefore ( he he ) boy of the —
SOKRATES: year(anniversary, lapse
of a year, expiry of a year, any long period
of time, cycle, period,
ADEIMANTOS: of however long it takes,
he ( we-being ) ( man-child of the year ) listens
for the ties that bind us round(about)her all,
her instrument, her lines and how we pull,
the work of shoulders hoist the mainsail, tall,
and how to catch the wind, her nicer angles,
SOKRATES: and(indeed the)seasons,
and(indeed the)sky and(indeed the)stars,
and(indeed the)winds and(indeed)all the(things
that)belong to the art(skill-craft),
καὶ ὡρῶν καὶ οὐρανοῦ καὶ ἄστρων καὶ πνευμάτων
καὶ πάντων τῶν τῇ τέχνῃ προσηκόντων,
ADEIMANTOS: and every time a fact falls
in my lap ( o book of song ),
in our ships log ( ledger )
we take it down ( songset ),
( we-being her quality
self-entertainment ),
SOKRATES: if(it)s destined(it was destined)(your
its destiny)(to-by-for)(we-being)(if its to be),
fit-for-rule(command, office, dominant, sovereign,
principal, primary, original, first ruler
)of the(temple-dwelling)ship,
εἰ μέλλει τῷ ὄντι νεὼς ἀρχικὸς ἔσεσθαι,
ADEIMANTOS: but he wished it on the dog star,
( and now we feel like starting one ),
( she-being true treasure ) arrgh,
SOKRATES: but in order, (o)steering-dyad,
that(he)(will)(would steer),
(you will pilot)(the steering-dyad)
(to-by-for the steering),
ὅπως δὲ κυβερνήσει (488ε)
ADEIMANTOS: so he takes the helm,
let the ships log ( the pink one ) ( his
true colors ) show,
SOKRATES: whether(some)they(body)would want(it),
ἐάντε τινες βούλωνται
ADEIMANTOS: ( of course ) they do
to-for-by the ship ( who among us
could refuse ) ( even you ),
SOKRATES: or not,
ἐάντε μή,
ADEIMANTOS: he-me doesnt get to choose at all!
( watch him play the victim now ) ( lol ),
( but he could hear the hounds of love
baying, and all the way from there,
he could hear the lowing of a bull,
was living through the kick inside ),
only it wouldnt be cold facts,
( for he is not a weatherman
but his bride lies with the land ),
SOKRATES: (them)supposing neither(the)art
(craft-skill)of this, nor(the)care(practice-
exercise)(dyad-were-caring)to be possible
to take(grasp-seize-understand),
μήτε τέχνην τούτου
μήτε μελέτην οἰόμενοι δυνατὸν εἶναι λαβεῖν ἅμα
ADEIMANTOS: he follows her feeling
and writes it down
the best he can.
not big things, at least, not always,
( but little things weve gathered )
( having seen or overheard ) like,
the captured rabbit eyes a briarpatch.
the rooster crows before the dawn.
( o brave new world, we-being braver ears
yet easier through her vernaculars.
ah, bunny-like, we grow vernaculears.
as anyone who lives with roosters knows
how ear-piercing their constant crows — here,
arrgh. but still, easier to endure by far
than a constant scroll of other-mens news,
of other-mens war,
of other-mens yelling at her
the who and how and what shes for )
for the rooster crows before he understands
( we-being her own martial art,
and hers must be Achilles-like,
as without hers, all his must die )
that without hers, all his must die.
( so she sits in contemplation of his dyad-
sacrifice, the cock. and it may be this
he meant it for. herself, still flanked
by Ajaxes, tough chickens, silencers
for Asklepios, the Red, the Black,
the Wall of the Achaians
of her mind ),
while in his mind, her gatherings can feel
too huge ( leading to dizziness, sea-
sicknesss, falling overboard,
falling asleep, etc ),
SOKRATES: and(indeed)at the same time the steering-craft,
καὶ τὴν κυβερνητικήν.
ADEIMANTOS: but this be
( that make you smile? )
( that make me smile )
what he listens for,
good sailing.
SOKRATES: (as given)becomings(being-born)
of these sorts(there was need)(it stands in-need-of)
(stand-in-need, you!)(bind, you!)
(it was binding)(to-by-for dyad-Zeus),
around(about)the ship,
τοιούτων δὴ περὶ τὰς ναῦς γιγνομένων
ADEIMANTOS: ( and things ) like how he knows
so much about him, what a trip. mind me,
that plums sometimes will ripen more, left
to sit on a sunny windowsill. or it may
be personal preference, but if too tart,
try baking him in a pastry shell,
( we dont need to write down ),
( he-being generosity itself,
possibly! ),
SOKRATES: as the truly(unconcealedly)steer-crafter,
τὸν ὡς ἀληθῶς κυβερνητικὸν
ADEIMANTOS: ( to remember ) dragon meat —
tough to digest,
( laugh, yall )
and indeed,
SOKRATES: (you)would not lead(carry-bring-
fetch)(to-by-for)(we)being(being),
οὐχ ἡγῇ ἂν τῷ ὄντι
ADEIMANTOS: and indeed, by any ship,
he never writes ( a book of everything
we know about you ) ( you-being very
very big ) lol ( you-being stranger from afar ),
( yet we can write things about him,
like how in love with her he is,
that hes such a tree-hugger,
and a truffle-hunter too,
o battle-cry of butterflies,
o Oceanic tresses,
o starry sky,
her skin ),
SOKRATES: and(indeed)(while being beauty-)called by them
(a)star-gazer,
ADEIMANTOS: meteoroskopon, what a word,
SOKRATES: and(an)idle-talker(prater-babbler-on),
ADEIMANTOS: me me me meee,
SOKRATES: and(indeed)useless(unprofitable, unserviceable),
μετεωροσκόπον (489α) τε καὶ ἀδολέσχην καὶ ἄχρηστόν σφισι καλεῖσθαι
ADEIMANTOS: putting on a shadow-puppet show,
SOKRATES: by(from-under)the sailors in ships thus thoroughly-equipped
(constructed, framed, maintained, proved, fabricated,
trumped-up, with actual trumpets,
ADEIMANTOS: not imitation ones,
( she-being enjoys jazz
as you-all know
now ),
SOKRATES: (and)(prepared-for-purpose)
(having got his asses ready),
ὑπὸ τῶν ἐν ταῖς οὕτω κατεσκευασμέναις ναυσὶ πλωτήρων;
ADEIMANTOS: his ass to represent!
( dodges tomatoes )
//
Republic VI