 From the start, Ibn Rushd announces that the goal of his commentary on the Republic will be to strip away the parts that are merely dialectical, so as to identify the claims that achieve the level of demonstrative science (Republic I.21). Accordingly, he attends very selectively to the ten books that comprise Plato’s Republic, dispensing entirely with the first and tenth books and the first half of the second book, and merging the rest into three books. The first presents political science and reflects on the components of the virtuous city, especially the guards. The second considers virtuous governments and the qualities of the ruler of the virtuous city and the philosopher. The third is devoted to non-virtuous governments, comparisons between them, and the transition from one to another.