Ath.Either he must think that the neglect of the small matters is of no consequence to the whole,or if he knows that they are of consequence,and he neglects them,his neglect must be attributed to carelessness and indolence.Is there any other way in which his neglect can be explained?For surely,when it is impossible for him to take care of all,he is not negligent if he fails to attend to these things great or small,which a God or some inferior being might be wanting in strength or capacity to manage?
Cle.Certainly not.
Ath.Now,then,let us examine the offenders,who both alike confess that there are Gods,but with a difference-the one saying that they may be appeased,and the other that they have no care of small matters:there are three of us and two of them,and we will say to them-In the first place,you both acknowledge that the Gods hear and see and know all things,and that nothing can escape them which is matter of sense and knowledge:-do you admit this?
Cle.Yes.
Ath.And do you admit also that they have all power which mortals and immortals can have?
Cle.They will,of course,admit this also.
Ath.And surely we three and they two-five in all-have acknowledged that they are good and perfect?
Cle.Assuredly.
Ath.But,if they are such as we conceive them to be,can we possibly suppose that they ever act in the spirit of carelessness and indolence?For in us inactivity is the child of cowardice,and carelessness of inactivity and indolence.
Cle.Most true.
Ath.Then not from inactivity and carelessness is any God ever negligent;for there is no cowardice in them.
Cle.That is very true.
Ath.Then the alternative which remains is,that if the Gods neglect the lighter and lesser concerns of the universe,they neglect them because they know that they ought not to care about such matters-what other alternative is there but the opposite of their knowing?
Cle.There is none.
Ath.And,O most excellent and best of men,do I understand you to mean that they are careless because they are ignorant,and do not know that they ought to take care,or that they know,and yet like the meanest sort of men,knowing the better,choose the worse because they are overcome by pleasures and pains?
Cle.Impossible.
Ath.Do not all human things partake of the nature of soul?And is not man the most religious of all animals?
Cle.That is not to be denied.
Ath.And we acknowledge that all mortal creatures are the property of the Gods,to whom also the whole of heaven belongs?
Cle.Certainly.
Ath.And,therefore,whether a person says that these things are to the Gods great or small-in either case it would not be natural for the Gods who own us,and who are the most careful and the best of owners to neglect us.-There is also a further consideration.
Cle.What is it?
Ath.Sensation and power are in an inverse ratio to each other in respect to their case and difficulty.
Cle.What do you mean?
Ath.I mean that there is greater difficulty in seeing and hearing the small than the great,but more facility in moving and controlling and taking care of and unimportant things than of their opposites.
Cle.Far more.
Ath.Suppose the case of a physician who is willing and able to cure some living thing as a whole-how will the whole fare at his hands if he takes care only of the greater and neglects the parts which are lesser?
Cle.Decidedly not well.
Ath.No better would be the result with pilots or generals,or householders or statesmen,or any other such class,if they neglected the small and regarded only the great;-as the builders say,the larger stones do not lie well without the lesser.
Cle.Of course not.
Ath.Let us not,then,deem God inferior to human workmen,who,in proportion to their skill,finish and perfect their works,small as well as great,by one and the same art;or that God,the wisest of beings,who is both willing and able to take care,is like a lazy good-for-nothing,or a coward,who turns his back upon labour and gives no thought to smaller and easier matters,but to the greater only.
Cle.Never,Stranger,let us admit a supposition about the Gods which is both impious and false.
Ath.I think that we have now argued enough with him who delights to accuse the Gods of neglect.
Cle.Yes.
Ath.He has been forced to acknowledge that he is in error,but he still seems to me to need some words of consolation.
Cle.What consolation will you offer him?
Ath.Let us say to the youth:-The ruler of the universe has ordered all things with a view to the excellence and preservation of the whole,and each part,as far as may be,has an action and passion appropriate to it.Over these,down to the least fraction of them,ministers have been appointed to preside,who have wrought out their perfection with infinitesimal exactness.And one of these portions of the universe is thine own,unhappy man,which,however little,contributes to the whole;and you do not seem to be aware that this and every other creation is for the sake of the whole,and in order that the life of the whole may be blessed;and that you are created for the sake of the whole,and not the whole for the sake of you.For every physician and every skilled artist does all things for the sake of the whole,directing his effort towards the common good,executing the part for the sake of the whole,and not the whole for the sake of the part.And you are annoyed because you are ignorant how what is best for you happens to you and to the universe,as far as the laws of the common creation admit.Now,as the soul combining first with one body and then with another undergoes all sorts of changes,either of herself,or through the influence of another soul,all that remains to the player of the game is that he should shift the pieces;sending the better nature to the better place,and the worse to the worse,and so assigning to them their proper portion.
Cle.In what way do you mean?