SOCRATES: So the end of categories is knowledge, and the end of knowledge is power? MACHIAVELLI: Exactly. When we know the basic categories in any field, we are able to summarize a vast variety of phenomena under a single formula; and this, in turn, enables us to predict and thus control these phenomena. And that is what makes for a practical science. SOCRATES: Excellently said, Niccolò. You are a very intelligent man, and your understanding of the nature of a practical science was far ahead of most
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