ABSTRACT
If politics is taken to mean, as Plato intended it to be, the search for a society that would secure the best possible life for all its members, there is much truth in this witticism. Plato himself made several attempts to create a philosopher-king in Syracuse, and while these failed, some of his pupils, notably Hermias of Atarneus, succeeded on a smaller scale, at least for a time. Aristotle had emphasised the importance of such facts for theory, but for him the discovery of facts was not the primary task of the philosopher. Political theory can analyse the interaction of different groups within the state; it can show which constitutional mechanism is most likely to secure a stable and cohesive society, but it cannot teach the secret of political success. Aristotle's school, like Jowett's Balliol, could train administrators and viceroys, but could not create political leaders.
