Soc. Well, then, we agreed that economy was the proper title of a
branch of knowledge, and this branch of knowledge appeared to be that
whereby men are enabled to enhance the value of their houses or
estates; and by this word "house or estate" we understood the whole of
a man's possessions; and "possessions" again we defined to include
those things which the possessor should find advantageous for the
purposes of his life; and things advantageous finally were discovered
to mean all that a man knows how to use and turn to good account.
Further, for a man to learn all branches of knowledge not only seemed
to us an impossibility, but we thought we might well follow the
example of civil communties in rejecting the base mechanic arts so
called, on the ground that they destroy the bodies of the artisans, as
far as we can see, and crush their spirits.

The clearest proof of this, we said,[4] could be discovered if, on the
occasion of a hostile inroad, one were to seat the husbandmen and the
artisans apart in two divisions, and then proceed to put this question
to each group in turn: "Do you think it better to defend our country
districts or to retire from the fields[5] and guard the walls?" And we
anticipated that those concerned with the soil would vote to defend
the soil; while the artisans would vote not to fight, but, in docile
obedience to their training, to sit with folded hands, neither
expending toil nor venturing their lives.

[4] This S. 6 has no parallel supra. See Breit. and Schenkl ad loc.
for attempts to cure the text.

[5] See Cobet, "N. L." 580, reading {uphemenous}, or if {aphemenous}
transl. "to abandon."