We must have words and reality or we can’t distinguish true and false!

SOCRATES

I think Mantias would like to blur or reinterpret that distinction, that is his point, that is what his metaphysical theory is for. He would like to substitute useful or useless, or coherent or noncoherent, or perhaps significant – now and not significant – now. He would regard this as a political idea of some importance.

MANTIAS

Yes, and an obvious one too! Language makes men, it speaks men, it determines what they see and understand – it’s not just an adventure playground for writers – it must be made to work in the present and serve society –

SOCRATES

So really language is not description, it’s more like orders?

MANTIAS

Well, yes – I mean, we don’t want to explain the world, we want to change it!

ACASTOS

But if words aren’t true or false what are we doing now arguing with each other?

DEXIMENES

We are exempt, Acastos! People who talk like Mantias always exclude themselves from their generalisations! It’s only the simple folk who talk like parrots!

MANTIAS

All right, but let’s not be too modest, very few people can invent concepts and ideas –

DEXIMENES

That’s the new tyranny in a nutshell, a programme for tyrants! A few rulers manipulating the language, and the mass of ordinary chaps enjoying plausible simple social art! Words perish, and nobody can speak the truth!

ACASTOS fast

Socrates says we live on a borderline, yes, we’re all out there, using words and inventing concepts and struggling with reality and keeping the language alive and making it say true things, and that’s why literature is so important, and –

CALLISTOS

Jokes are works of art too!

SOCRATES

Yes, good! [ Everyone is trying to talk ] Be quiet, my children! I don’t want this argument to become too abstract and lose its bite. In philosophy you must locate your problem [ gestures ] and then hold it firmly and turn it round to see its different faces. Now – Acastos sees art as essentially free reflection and truth–telling, Mantias sees it as carefully planted signposts to good and bad, or rather useful and useless –

MANTIAS

Yes, that’s what I mean by good and bad. Writers should take sides with good. [ To Acastos ] You can’t disagree with that!

ACASTOS

If you detach writers from ordinary free truth they’ll just play with language!

MANTIAS

They should portray good men in a clear intelligent way, and show them overcoming bad men.

SOCRATES

So they will portray bad men too?

MANTIAS

Yes, but the bad men must not be interesting or attractive, they must be schematically represented –

ACASTOS

You mean caricatured?

MANTIAS

And never shown as successful.

SOCRATES

Yet in real life bad men are often both interesting and successful. And good men are often dull, because they are quiet and steady, whereas bad men are unstable and odd.

ACASTOS

Surely there are plenty of interesting good men in literature.