I guess one lie is better than many, but if you ask me this is getting even weirder.īut we’re not even warmed up yet. So they can lie only “in case of need,” and they can lie only once – “one noble lie.” And even the rulers are to be told this lie if possible, but at least everyone else. “Could we somehow contrive one of those lies that come into being in case of need, of which we were just now speaking, some one noble lie to persuade, in the best case, even the rulers, but if not them, the rest of the city?” (414c) Socrates qualifies this later in Book III – it’s not that politicians are allowed to lie whenever they want about anything they want: But that it’s okay? That doesn’t quite ring right to me. So politicians are allowed to lie? The fact that they do isn’t a surprise to anyone. “Then, it’s appropriate for the rulers, if for anyone at all, to lie for the benefit of the city in cases involving enemies or citizens, while all the rest must not put their hands to anything of the sort.” (389b) Because I’m focusing more on the main images within the Republic rather than the arguments, I’ll spare you the tortuous road whereby Socrates arrives at this conclusion:
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