Plato: To belong in a perfect society we must all be god fearing men of truth would you agree dear Virgil?

Virgil: Yes. Being truthful and god fearing seems like a reasonable requirement for perfection. Plato: And to be truthful of something you must know of the item in question. Correct? Virgil: I am not sure I understand what you mean. Plato: I suppose I should have been clearer. Hmm. An example: Take the art of ninjutsu. All jutsu are based upon the original form created by the Sage of Six Paths. The sage is thus the designer of ninjutsu and all those who create a jutsu after him are the manufactures who aim to bring the form into existence. Once the jutsu exists all those who use the jutsu are Ninjas. The three people previously mentioned are all masters of the jutsu and know its truth equally. Virgil: But would not the Sage know more about the jutsu than the Ninja? Plato: No the Sage only knows the best way to create the form. The Ninja though knows the best way to use the jutsu. Now the before you ask about the original manufacturer of the new jutsu his level of truth comes from his ability to make the sages idea come, and without the manufacturer the Ninja has no jutsu to use. Virgil: Then would not the manufacturer have the greatest sense of truth? Plato: No because without form there can be no further manufacturing of jutsu, and with no Ninja to use the jutsu then the previous two are irrelevant. Virgil: Ah that makes plenty of sense. Plato: Very good. Then we are in complete agreement that the only ones who know the truth of any object are the designer, the manufacturer, and the user? Virgil: Yes. Plato: I shall come back to this. Now let us define your line of work. Poets are those who would use one item in representation of another to explain their own opinions of what is truth. Poets are truly masters of words and the manipulation of words to arouse passion within the hearts of readers. Would you agree? Virgil: Yes that sounds like an accurate description of what my colleagues and I do. Plato: Now this next part is more difficult to explain and I must ask you keep an open mind as I try to. Since poets are not the designer, manufacturer, or user of the items they speak of they know no truth. Anything that comes from the poets mouth is thus a lie which they often call representation.

Virgil: But Plato representation is not a lie because it can only be truly accomplished when the poet has an understanding of the item in question. That means the poet must be, as you put it, the designer, manufacturer or the user of the item. Even without being one of your 3, representatives are just as important because they have the power to redefine what the form is, how it is made, and how it is used. Plato: But the form of all things comes from god and thus is perfect and never needs to be redefined, and the manufacturer is constantly redefining the method of building the item so it can become closer to the form set by god, and the user is very important in the manufacturers redefining the method of creation because the user provides the most accurate feedback of how the item works. If the manufacturer were to read a poem about his creation and base his redefinition of creation upon the information provided then he could make his item worse and making him farther away from the perfect form he seeks. Would you condemn a man like that with your desire to write about things that are less than the truth? Virgil: Plato you have become far too literal in all of this. If the manufacturer reads any fictional or poetic work and takes everything literally then he has no imagination. Now in the way you describe perfection and truth I am quite sure you would not mind a man without imagination. Is this accurate? Plato: Yes. Virgil: Then dear Plato you have destroyed all manufacturers and god himself because all forms come from the infinite mind and imagination of God. Manufacturers have to have an imagination to ponder the ways to improve their creation and make it closer to form set forth by God. The purpose of the poem is not to instruct the manufacturer on how to perfect his craft it is to help his imagination blossom new ideas. Plato: Dear Virgil I certainly do not defy God his imagination because he is the entity has the ultimate truth that comes with being the designer of the form of men, the manufacturer of the first man Adam, and the user of men to carry out his will. I assure you the jurisdiction of my Republic does not extend to the heavens or would I want it to. Though even if the guidelines did apply to the heavens I would not rob God of what is rightfully his because he is the perfect truth. Imagination for humans though is a very dangerous thing.