But surely (remarks Adeimantus), according to this picture, your Guardians or Soldiers, though masters of all the city, will be worse off than any of the other citizens. They will be deprived of those means of happiness which the others are allowed to enjoy. Perhaps they will (replies Sokrates): yet I should not be surprised if they were to be the happiest of all. Be that as it may, however, my purpose is, not to make _them_ especially happy, but to make the whole city happy. The Guardians can enjoy only such happiness as consists with the due performance of their functions as Guardians. Every man in our city must perform his appropriate function, and must be content with such happiness as his disposition will admit, subject to this condition.[88] In regard to all the citizens without exception, it must be the duty of the Guardians to keep out both riches and poverty, both of which spoil the character of every one. No one must be rich, and no one must be poor.[89] In case of war, the constant discipline of our soldiers will be of more avail than money, in making them efficient combatants against other cities.[90] Moreover, other cities are divided against themselves: each is many cities, and not one: poor and rich are at variance with each other, and various fractions of each of these classes against other fractions. Our city alone, constituted as I propose, will be really and truly One. It will thus be the greatest of all cities, even though it have only one thousand fighting men. It may be permitted to increase, so long as it will preserve its complete unity, but no farther.[91] Farthermore, each of our citizens is one and not many: confined to that special function for which he is qualified by his nature. [Footnote 88: Plato, Republic, iv. pp. 420-421.] [Footnote 89: Plato, Republic, iv. p. 421 E.] [Footnote 90: Plato, Republic, iv. p. 422 B.] [Footnote 91: Plato, Republic, iv. p. 423 A.] [Side-note: The maintenance of the city depends upon that of the habits, character, and education of the Guardians.] It will devolve upon our Guardians to keep up this form of communion unimpaired; and they will have no difficulty in doing so, as long as they maintain their own education and training unimpaired. No change must be allowed either in the musical or gymnastic training: especially not in the former, where changes are apt to creep in, with pernicious effect.[92] Upon this education depends the character and competence of the Guardians. They will provide legislation in detail, which will be good, if their general character is good--bad, on the contrary supposition. If their character and the constitution of the city be defective at the bottom, it is useless for us to prescribe regulations of detail, as we would do for sick men. The laws in detail cannot be good, while the general constitution of the city is bad. Those teachers are mistaken who exhort us to correct the former, but to leave the latter untouched.[93]