The Republic

by

Plato

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Themes and Colors
Education Theme Icon
Justice Theme Icon
Specialization Theme Icon
Philosopher-King Theme Icon
Soul Theme Icon
Truth Theme Icon
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Republic, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Soul Theme Icon

The soul is immortal, and has three parts. The appetitive soul is driven by lusts and appetites (for food, for wealth, for sex), the rational soul is able to think, measure, and calculate, and the spirit or will is the emotional aspect of the soul. In a just man the rational part dominates, moderating and controlling the other two parts. If either the appetite or the spirit dominate, then the man is neither just nor happy. The three parts of the soul correspond to the three classes of people in the just city. The guardians are analogous to the rational soul, the warriors to spirit, and the producers to the appetitive soul. If reason rules, with the assistance of spirit, and appetite obeys, then the individual is just. A city in which each class obeys the philosopher-king and fulfills its occupational role is a just city.

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Soul ThemeTracker

The ThemeTracker below shows where, and to what degree, the theme of Soul appears in each section of The Republic. Click or tap on any chapter to read its Summary & Analysis.
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Soul Quotes in The Republic

Below you will find the important quotes in The Republic related to the theme of Soul.
Book 10 Quotes
Then the imitator, I said, is a long way off the truth, and can do all things because he lightly touches on a small part of them, and that part an image.
Related Characters: Socrates (speaker)
Page Number: 255
Explanation and Analysis: