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 Rpublic vs. The Laws 

« It is similar in that both dialogues concern the making of a city in speech, but different in that the one city is ideal, and the other a real, practical city. The city of the Laws is described as ""second best"" as opposed to the city of the Republic. »

This is a mistake  the city of the Republic is a copy of an « ideal », not an ideal (for Plato, it's always impossible to create a city identical with the life of gods) ; in The Laws, the city is a copy too, and the first best city isn't the city of Republic, but the city of gods and their childrens.   "