Common
Ship of State
Metaphor in The Republic by Plato
Ship of State
The Ship of State is an ancient and oft-cited metaphor, famously expounded by Plato in the Republic (Book 6, 488a–489d), which likens the governance of a city-state to the command of a vessel. Plato expands the established metaphor and ultimately argues that the only people fit to be captain of the ship (Ancient Greek: ναῦς) are philosopher kings, benevolent men with absolute power who have access to the Form of the Good. The origins of the metaphor can be traced back to the lyric poet Alcaeus (fragments 6, 208, 249), and it is also found in Aeschylus' Seven Against Thebes, Sophocles' Antigone and Aristophanes' Wasps before Plato. During the Renaissance, Sebastian Brant amplified and reworked Plato's text in a satirical book called Ship of Fools (Das Narrenschiff, 1494) which was soon translated into Latin, French and English.
Open boosters, collect cards and trade them. Free to play.
Play for free