Full Idea
The science of whether one must persuade or not must rule over the science capable of persuading.
Gist of Idea
The question of whether or not to persuade comes before the science of persuasion
Source
Plato (The Statesman [c.356 BCE], 304c)
Book Reference
Plato: 'Statesman', ed/tr. Bernadete,Seth [University of Chicago 1986], p.58
A Reaction
Plato probably thinks that reason has to be top of the pyramid, but there is always the Nietzschean/romantic question of why we should place such a value on what is rational.