Understanding the republic of plato 519 b - 519c

[SpeedPocok5]

What can mean this? Specially the red sentence.

[519b]and becoming, which attaching themselves to it by food and similar pleasures and gluttonies turn downwards the vision of the soul1—If, I say, freed from these, it had suffered a conversion towards the things that are real and true, that same faculty of the same men would have been most keen in its vision of the higher things, just as it is for the things toward which it is now turned.” “It is likely,” he said. “Well, then,” said I, “is not this also likely2 and a necessary consequence of what has been said, that neither could men who are uneducated and inexperienced in truth ever adequately


[519c] preside over a state, nor could those who had been permitted to linger on to the end in the pursuit of culture—the one because they have no single aim1 and purpose in life to which all their actions, public and private, must be directed, and the others, because they will not voluntarily engage in action, believing that while still living they have been transported to the Islands of the Blest.2” “True,” he said. “It is the duty of us, the founders, then,” said I, “to compel the best natures to attain the knowledge which we pronounced the greatest, and to win to the vision of the good,

 

[SpeedPocok5]

Maybe I have posted it in a wrong subforum, maybe it will be better placed at Ancient Greek

 

[Bitmap]

It's not clear to me what your question is.

 

[SpeedPocok5]

It's not clear to me what your question is.

I mean, what do you understand of the text?

 

[Glabrigausapes]

We can sew this disastrously complex (and poorly translated) sentiment into one strand, if we try.

'Does it not follow, then, that men who have been permitted to linger on to the end in pursuit of culture cannot adequately preside over the state, because they will not voluntarily engage in action, believing that while still living they have been transported to the Island of the Blest?'

I think this is to say: men of culture don't make good leaders because in living the 'good life' (in the Epicurean sense) they become complacent & lazy.

 

[SpeedPocok5]

We can sew this disastrously complex (and poorly translated) sentiment into one strand, if we try.

'Does it not follow, then, that men who have been permitted to linger on to the end in pursuit of culture cannot adequately preside over the state, because they will not voluntarily engage in action, believing that while still living they have been transported to the Island of the Blest?'

I think this is to say: men of culture don't make good leaders because in living the 'good life' (in the Epicurean sense) they become complacent & lazy.

Mm but Plato stated that men who knew the true would be good leaders, so aren't the men of culture those good leaders? Why he call them lazy?