上句见：Day147
The Story of Philosophy的第148句：第1章Plato第2节II. Socrates第10段第8句：

But if the government itself is a chaos and an absurdity, if it rules without helping, and commands without leading, — how can we persuade the individual, in such a state, to obey the laws and confine his self-seeking within the circle of the total good? No wonder an Alcibiades turns against a state that distrusts ability, and reverences number more than knowledge. No wonder there is chaos where there is no thought, and the crowd decides in haste and ignorance, to repent at leisure and in desolation. Is it not a base superstition that mere numbers will give wisdom? On the contrary is it not universally seen that men in crowds are more foolish and more violent and more cruel than men separate and alone? Is it not shameful that men should be ruled by orators, who "go ringing on in long harangues, like brazen pots which, when stuck, continue to sound till a hand is put upon them"?3 Surely the management of a state is a matter for which men cannot be too intelligent, a matter that needs the unhindered thought of the finest minds. How can a society be saved, or be strong, except it be led by its wisest men?
3:Plato's Protagoras, sect, 329
浙江大学译本：一个社会不由其中最睿智的人来领导和统治，如何能被拯救或实现强大呢？

解析

这句用反问句来强调只有最聪明的人领导，社会才能获救，才能变强。
1、How can a society be saved, or be strong, except it be led by its wisest men?
也可以这样改写：if a society is not led by its wisest men, it can't be saved, or be strong。显然这样改写少了些力度。

如果没有最聪明的人来领导，一个社会怎么可能获得拯救，或怎么可能变强？

整段

这段主要讨论一个社会到底该由谁领导，才会获得拯救或变强。政府一乱民众就不乐意为共建社会牺牲自己小算盘，一乱就有反叛。究其原因，是缺乏有智慧的人来领导。具体来说，是迷信数量以及由演说家统治。
第9段和第10段是苏格拉底的两大思想议题。讲完了这些，后面讲的是民众的反应了。

如果政府本身乱又荒谬，如果它统而不助，令而不领；在这样的政府下，我们又如何能说服个体遵守法律并为实现整体利益来限制自身追求。难怪一个叫阿尔西比亚德斯的人背叛了一个不信任能力而把数量看得比知识还重的国家。难怪没有思想的地方就有混乱，人们总是在匆忙与无知中下决定，在空闲与绝望中懊悔。仅仅因为人数多就觉得有智慧，这难道不是个低级迷信吗？相反，群体中的个体比独立分开的个体更愚蠢、更暴力及更残忍，这难道不是到处可见吗？“像敲响后就会不停地响下去，直到有人用手按住的铜壶一样”的演说家们，滔滔不绝，人们必须由这样的人统治难道不感到羞愧吗？毫无疑问，国家管理是聪明人的事，这些人越聪明越好。同时它也需要最优秀的人无障碍思考。如果没有最聪明的人来领导，一个社会怎么可能获得拯救，或怎么可能变强？