“And ought not the rational principle, which is wise, and has the care of the whole soul, to rule, and the passionate or spirited principle to be the subject and ally?”
- Source
- The Republic
- Date
- 4th century BCE
- Local voice
- Dialogue speaker · Socrates
- English wording
- Benjamin Jowett — Translator · from Ancient Greek
Meaning of “And ought not the rational principle, which is…”
Socrates argues that self-government involves a rational faculty attending to the whole person while spirited impulses support its judgment. The passage is a question within his analogy between a well-ordered city and the three parts of the soul. It does not mean that all emotion should be suppressed or that Plato established a modern psychological theory.
Where does it come from?
Plato, The Republic, Book IV, approximately 441e–442a; Socrates addressing Glaucon while contrasting the rational, spirited and appetitive parts of the soul. Exact sentence from Benjamin Jowett English, Project Gutenberg #1497, Book IV main dialogue (not introductory editorial matter). The premise belongs to an ancient account of the soul and remains open to philosophical interpretation; not clinical or neuroscientific evidence.
Why the local voice matters
The Republic, Book IV, approximately 441e–442a; Socrates asks Glaucon whether the rational part should guide the spirited part of the soul. Benjamin Jowett English at Gutenberg #1497. Ancient tripartite psychology is a philosophical model, not a modern clinical account.
