ADEIMANTOS: ( o Sokrates, why have you named

him fearless? ) ( and why wont he say more? )

( even if we ask ) ( poke ) hm-mm.

( he still wont speak ) ( his irony

grows thick as wool ) baaa ( but how

is this being unafraid? ) ( doesnt he know

they-we want to hear everything about him? )

SOKRATES: for( it does )nt have-and-hold( the )nature

( growth-origin )( of )the steersman( kubernetes )

( they-dyad were steering )

( to bind himself )( to be in-need )of the sailors,

to be ruled( dyad-spider-web )by( from-under him )self.

οὐ γὰρ ἔχει φύσιν κυβερνήτην

ναυτῶν δεῖσθαι ἄρχεσθαι ὑφ᾽ αὑτοῦ

ADEIMANTOS: ( thinks for a while ) ( o kubernetes )

night falls over the town in a blink ( o sprinkles! )

( what has-and-holds your nature, origin, growth? )

( where did you come from? ) ( would you show us? )

we would take you to the spot by the lake,

( okay, lets go ) ( and walk around it ) ( one way

and the other way ) ( but walking anytime we could )

( some days the high path on the ridge, some days

the low ) ( sun, rain, or snow ) ( she found a place

to listen to herself ) ( in him ) ( we-seeking-we )

( we were right there ) ( we were reflection ) ( we

were seasons ) ( light air and water ) ( burning

star ) ( so ) ( neither are we a city man ) ( strictly )

( nor are we a business person ) ( really? )

( cant be ) ( not here ),

SOKRATES: nor(for)the wise(skilled-clever ones)

to go(up to)the double-folding-she-doors

(you will thrust out-of-doors)

of the wealthy-rich(ones),

οὐδὲ τοὺς σοφοὺς ἐπὶ τὰς τῶν πλουσίων θύρας ἰέναι,

ADEIMANTOS: ( in the rebellious phases of my youth )

we inhale the cellar-like scent in the air,

( and we reflect upon the few important years )

( sprinkles! ) ( spent waiting for the metro line )

( or behind the gynmasium of a public school )

( and lets be near the nations capital )

( coming-and-going to the man-made-real )

( the weird, the wild, the human unpredictable )

( for company and fumes to strengthen breadth )

( by breath of fog ) ( where sky looks like a cave )

( and yes, we walk the razors edge of her )

where we used to sit smoking as a teenager,

( as if self-damage would make her invincible )

( after some boy had said her joy was hideous ),

SOKRATES: but still he( refining-subtlety-cleverly-inventing )this lied,

ADEIMANTOS: ( but still excuse me Sokrates,

we didnt tell you everything he said.

he also said she was an hysterical bitch ),

SOKRATES: but still he( refining-subtlety-cleverly-inventing )this lied,

ADEIMANTOS: ( and he called her a self-entitled brat ),

SOKRATES: but still he( refining-subtlety-cleverly-inventing )this lied,

ADEIMANTOS: ( and he called her profoundly selfish ),

SOKRATES: but still he( refining-subtlety-cleverly-inventing )this lied,

ADEIMANTOS: ( and he told her she had to change her work,

to be more like his work,

and his work ),

SOKRATES: but still he( refining-subtlety-cleverly-inventing )this lied,

ADEIMANTOS: ( and he said what she was doing was

the opposite of philosophy ),

SOKRATES: but still he( refining-subtlety-cleverly-inventing )this lied,

ADEIMANTOS: ( and he forced her to repeat out loud

that anything she would ever put on paper

would make even the most expensive paper,

the finest, most exquisite paper — worthless ),

SOKRATES: but still he( refining-subtlety-cleverly-inventing )this lied,

ADEIMANTOS: ( and he called her stupid

many times ),

SOKRATES: but still he( refining-subtlety-cleverly-inventing )this lied,

ADEIMANTOS: ( and she remembers every one

of their names, the men who said those things,

and one of them was her father ),

SOKRATES: but still he( refining-subtlety-cleverly-inventing )this lied,

ἀλλ᾽ ὁ τοῦτο κομψευσάμενος ἐψεύσατο,

ADEIMANTOS: ( but self-care would make her invisible )

( so we- ) shiver in layers too light ( -being a puffy coat ),

( we keep him warm and insulate her truth )

( but when he accidentally births her puffer fish . . . )

( then we were punished many times ) ( from many

angles ) ( and each one hurts ) ( this knucklehead )

( always sorry ) ( lol ) ( until thirty-five or so ) ( when we realize )

( the punishments are pulling him away from her )

( and thats our line ) ( thats when our voice says ) ( no )

( then ) hiding fom the world ( we try to save

what can be saved ) ( we really do ) ( before we leave

to find ourself whom we dont know ) ( and we

find love ) ( because we find another man

who does believe in her ) ( and loves her too )

( so go looking in every way you can )

( as pieces by her paradise make whole ),

SOKRATES: but the true( unconcealed )

has been brought-forth( by nature )

( they had been brought-forth )( to have brought-forth )

( it has flown, fled, flight )( to have escaped )

( the charge )( they had been in exile ),

τὸ δὲ ἀληθὲς πέφυκεν,

ADEIMANTOS: ( and dreams, as Hamlet shows, hold on to you )

( so ) the lake doesnt know summer ( we ) is ( being ) gone,

( but she refused ) ( then ) ( to let go ) ( lake-mirror-black )

( with lines and leash and bricks of living gold )

( it yanks a chain ) ( commands ) ( build me a temple )

( and somehow ) ( how? ) ( we still suspect its Theuth )

( as if the very shadow master called him home )

( how did it make us feel? ) ( afraid, of course )

( when your own heart is hounding you ) ( by force )

( we didnt rush? ) ( there was no need ) ( if true,

we couldnt slow the course of destiny )

and on the walk back to town ( we put it thus )

( what we would do in heaven ) ( with joy )

( why shouldnt we do it now? ) ( own victory )

( but music was our designated work ),

SOKRATES: whether wealthy or poor

( he would )produce by work( make, fabricate )

( he would labor and toil, strive, exert, construct )

( he would be weary, exhausted, fatigued )

( and he would suffer, perhaps be ill,

until his work was done ) ( until hed done

his work ) ( you too ) ( youd do your work )

( you would produce, make, fabricate, labor

and toil, strive, exert, construct ) ( you would

be weary, exhausted, fatigued ) ( and you

would suffer, perhaps be ill ) ( but work, until

youve done your work ),

ἐάντε πλούσιος ἐάντε πένης κάμνῃ,

ADEIMANTOS: ( where are the healers? you would ask )

( and ) we would show you ( the church or the hospital )

( at first, he wouldnt know ) ( but of course Asclepios )

( and either would take hold of you ) ( for a price )

( and ) it looks exactly the same ( from the outside )

( as it used to ) ( when we passed by here before )

( by the way, her diet was inspired by his brother-

called city of pigs ) ( from book II ) ( were fascinated

to translate that passage for ourselves . . . )

( as we make our own ) ( through these interiors )

( we-practicing care of death ),

SOKRATES: to be forced( constraint-necessity )

( o prison-chained )

to go( up to )the double-folding-she-doors

( you will thrust out-of-doors )( of )doctors-healers,

ἀναγκαῖον (489ξ) εἶναι ἐπὶ ἰατρῶν θύρας ἰέναι

ADEIMANTOS: ( and indeed ) ( if you happen to live near a mosque

and hear the prayer, that is what ear-openers

have sounded like for her ) ( she wouldnt be here

without Al-Fatiha ) ( and the Basmala

she has called the poets seed ) ( hard liquor )

( she-me is really Muslim ) ( this remains her path )

( because the word-song leads back through herself )

( we-being roots or branches of a tree ) ( of twin Mercies )

( of dyadic-Ophelia as the translation may be )

( and there are many Names by which we trans )

( she keeps Al-Lateef, from her husbands hand,

nearby her pillow, where she sleeps at night )

( whats in a name ) ( this one ) ( dreams opener )

( to be aware by what music we hear ) ( or whose )

( and anyway ) ( to take our time, we might pass by )

my favorite playground ( and play is how we learn )

( its where we watch the boys do monkeybars )

( its where we ) ( going on the swing ) ( swing high )

( swing low ) ( big sky ) ( sweet chariot ) ( blue way )

( to feel ) ( being-away ) ( from home ) ( my feelings )

( not in words yet ) but the trees do ( hum to me )

( so the tire-swing in the forest treats us best ),

SOKRATES: and( indeed for )all the( being-bound-

in-needing-of )to be ruled,

( to go )to( the double-folding-she-doors )

of he who is able( potentially )to rule

( to begin, to show, to be the first ),

καὶ πάντα τὸν ἄρχεσθαι δεόμενον ἐπὶ τὰς τοῦ ἄρχειν δυναμένου,

ADEIMANTOS: ( it was mostly safe to explore )

in my childhood neighborhood ( we-being alone )

( and following new sidewalks to the broken ones )

( we would walk along the older curving roads )

( discover paths through the adjacent woods )

( our summers growing thicker in the green )

( but ) soon enough theyll drop their fall colours

( and then well be crimson-burgundy again ) ( hotly! )

( as we wind our way along the creek ) ( we would

go wading in the silt ) ( and once, we measured

pollutants in the water for the science fair )

( discovering a biohazard ) ( won first place )

( another year we wrote computer code

to simulate three algorithmic modes

of evolution ) ( for that, the prize

was from the cia ) ( then failed

to rsvp for a tour of langley )

( we-being intelligence )

( woof! woof! )

SOKRATES: ( and )not( for )the ruler( o beginners-showing-first )

( of )the ones-being-ruled( all those coming after us )

to be bound-to and in need-of( the ones-coming-after )

( and )( to be )ruled( to begin, to show, to be the first ),

οὐ τὸν ἄρχοντα δεῖσθαι τῶν ἀρχομένων ἄρχεσθαι,

ADEIMANTOS: ( and if we dared to dream of )

the house we wanted to live in ( it would be safe

and quiet and calm and light ) ( with level floors )

( and high ceilings ) ( with room enough for thought )

( and an exceptionally cozy bed ) ( he

cant help himself ) ( he longs for fresh white linen )

( and enough blankets and pillows and throws )

( and baskets and drawers to fold and put things in )

( and hooks on certain walls for hanging clothes

or brooms or spoons or other kinds of tools )

( some other familiars artwork on the walls )

( and a woodstove for warm toes in the winter )

( despite the chill ) not even fully here yet

( assuming winter ) ( and slow-grown food

that tastes like loving care ) ( to keep us there ),

SOKRATES: if( there )would be any( furtherance,

advantage )help( o help )of him( or for him ),

( to-by-for )the( she- )truth( unconcealed ),

οὗ ἂν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ τι ὄφελος ᾖ.

ADEIMANTOS: ( but thats the house we wanted )

and the one next to it where no one does ( the chores )

( where no one wants to go up to the doors )

( but its ours too ) ( has been our house before )

( until Nobody does ) ( go up to the doors )

( and Nobody starts making us do chores )

( related to fake sailors ) ( and heres the truth )

( we cant predict what we will say or do )

( or what the response will be ) and the lake

will know ( this one is deadly dangerous )

( but look, Socrates, at what happened to you )

SOKRATES: but still, he wouldnt miss-the-mark

(and you wouldnt-wont miss),

(by likening-representing-comparing)

the now-ruling(rulers)(beginning-first)politicians

(political men),

to(for-by)the sailors(we)were just-now speaking(of),

ἀλλὰ τοὺς νῦν πολιτικοὺς ἄρχοντας ἀπεικάζων

οἷς ἄρτι ἐλέγομεν ναύταις

οὐχ ἁμαρτήσῃ,

ADEIMANTOS: ( we wanted never to go that way again )

( even if ) we would walk you along the route?

( where we would rather talk about the flowers )

( or the gang of wild turkeys crossing our path )

( or the barred owl calling from the trees )

( until ) we sink into my mattress ( and close my eyes )

( measuring my sighs by the cicadas )

( memories being our superpower )

( he out )

SOKRATES: and(indeed)the useless(unprofitable-

unserviceable ones)(so-spoken)by(from-under)these,

καὶ τοὺς ὑπὸ τούτων ἀχρήστους λεγομένους

ADEIMANTOS: ( so letswalk in ) to my old school ( at least,

one of them ) ( and there are many different schools )

( looking at random bulletins ) ( we calm my nerves )

( in a basement hallway ) ( until seminar gets out

and then the young come flooding in ) ( and then

somebody recognizes me ) ( its nighttime now )

( and cold ) ( and everyone is nicely dressed )

( or its the snowflakes on their eyelashes )

( and now we want a cigarette ) ( its toxic )

( cozy ) ( colonial brick-red ) ( and dangerous )

( but somehow we survived ) ( and yes, its true,

we didnt want to leave ) ( and yes, its true,

we needed to ) ( but later there will be a dance )

( it was indeed a party school ) ( o un-wasted

youth ) ( but there were many different schools )

( so that our pirate coat has many pockets

and bears the motif of democracy )

( ugly ) ( versatile ) ( pastiche ) and hope

its a portal ( indeed as Cheehaw Station

little man ),

SOKRATES: and( indeed )( ones being- )spoken( of

as )shop-talkers after heavenly-lofty( star-signs,

climate, weather-gossip )things

( to-for-by )( the )as-truly( unconcealedly )steersmen,

καὶ μετεωρολέσχας τοῖς ὡς ἀληθῶς κυβερνήταις.

HERA: who have( and hold the )broad sky( heavens ),

οἳ οὐρανὸν εὐρὺν ἔχουσι.

SAILORS: ( at the )most-straight( -upright-angles ),

ὀρθότατα,

SOKRATES: ( he would )

show every corner with a story attached

( to his capacity )

you know where we want to be

( as things come up ) ( naturally ),

SAILORS: (he)was saying,

ἔφη.

SOKRATES: ( you would have ) sweet-bitter ( memories )

and we would write our own ( shared )

( braided ) good ( memories around them ),

HERA: now(you), consider(ponder-bethink-purpose-plan-

contrive-observe-beware)(you were considering),

lest(to-for-by)you, we(would)back-again(hereafter)craft

(devise-contrive-wile-counsel-plan)(we would)(we will)

(squeeze-out the juice)(curdle the milk)(you,

squeezed and curdled)some-

thing evil(ugly-bad),

φράζεο νῦν μή τοί τι κακὸν μητίσομ᾽ ὀπίσσω.

ADEIMANTOS: ( and his are the voices questioning him )

( he doesnt ask to be or not to be ) comfy ( he he ),

( he asks ) ( what is this-he? ) ( who does his best for you )

( in whom you trust ) ( that we might get it right )

on the faded streets ( about specific names,

and dates, and details ) ( or we might get it wrong )

( but we will write things other men dont like )

( we write whom they would make impossible ),

SOKRATES: and therefore from these and( indeed )in these,

( its )not easy( for )the best pursuit to( have a )good

( well-seeming )reputation,

by( from-under )those pursuing( its dyad )opposites;

ἔκ τε τοίνυν τούτων καὶ ἐν τούτοις

οὐ ῥᾴδιον εὐδοκιμεῖν τὸ βέλτιστον ἐπιτήδευμα

ὑπὸ τῶν τἀναντία ἐπιτηδευόντων:

ADEIMANTOS: ( but there isnt much worth rescuing )

of this dying ( profession ), ( the gag that stole

the logos-word by which we do ) ( she says

they treat her like their garbage can ) ( until

he takes her back for you ) ( slowly at first )

( until he cleans her up, empties her out )

( and keeps her warm until shes young and blew

and beautiful again ) cuddly ( enacting she )

( who holds our end ) ( or what, Sokrates? ),

SOKRATES: but by( far )many( the )greatest

and( indeed )most-forceful( violent-strong )slander

( false-accusation-charges )come-to-be

( against )philosophy( wisdom-love ),

(489δ) πολὺ δὲ μεγίστη καὶ ἰσχυροτάτη διαβολὴ

γίγνεται φιλοσοφίᾳ

ADEIMANTOS: ( in the ashes of that ) darling town,

SOKRATES: through those claiming to pursue such things —

διὰ τοὺς τὰ τοιαῦτα φάσκοντας ἐπιτηδεύειν

ADEIMANTOS: as statecraft.

( but what they do, o Sokrates

he beauty-calls ) as endless war.

//

from hymn to Apollo

Republic VI

darling town

fall colours