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P)6T;G6);, by Plato

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/7T)6&8CT/67$

The Protagoras, li!e several of the &ialogues of Plato, is put into the #outh of ,ocrates, who escribes a conversation which ha ta!en place between hi#self an the great ,ophist at the house of CalliasDDPthe #an who ha spent #ore upon the ,ophists than all the rest of the worl PDDan in which the learne +ippias an the gra##arian Pro icus ha also share , as well as ;lcibia es an Critias, both of who# sai a few wor sDDin the presence of a istinguishe co#pany consisting of isciples of Protagoras an of lea ing ;thenians belonging to the ,ocratic circle$ The ialogue co##ences with a reHuest on the part of +ippocrates that ,ocrates woul intro uce hi# to the celebrate teacher$ +e has co#e before the awn ha risenDDso fervi is his 5eal$ ,ocrates #o erates his excite#ent an a vises hi# to fin out Pwhat Protagoras will #a!e of hi#,P before he beco#es his pupil$ They go together to the house of CalliasQ an ,ocrates, after explaining the purpose of their visit to Protagoras, as!s the Huestion, P%hat he will #a!e of +ippocrates$P Protagoras answers, PThat he will #a!e hi# a better an a wiser #an$P P*ut in what will he be betterNPDD,ocrates esires to have a #ore precise answer$ Protagoras replies, PThat he will teach hi# pru ence in affairs private an publicQ in short, the science or !nowle ge of hu#an life$P This, as ,ocrates a #its, is a noble professionQ but he is or rather woul have been oubtful, whether such !nowle ge can be taught, if Protagoras ha not assure hi# of the fact, for two reasons? @-A *ecause the ;thenian people, who recogni5e in their asse#blies the istinction between the s!ille an the uns!ille in the arts, o not istinguish between the traine politician an the untraine Q @CA *ecause the wisest an best ;thenian citi5ens o not teach their sons political virtue$ %ill Protagoras answer these objectionsN Protagoras explains his views in the for# of an apologue, in which, after Pro#etheus ha given #en the arts, Weus is represente as sen ing +er#es to the#, bearing with hi# 0ustice an )everence$ These are not, li!e the arts, to be i#parte to a few only, but all #en are to be parta!ers of the#$ Therefore the ;thenian people are right in istinguishing between the s!ille an uns!ille in the arts, an not between s!ille an

uns!ille politicians$ @-A 'or all #en have the political virtues to a certain egree, an are oblige to say that they have the#, whether they have the# or not$ ; #an woul be thought a #a #an who professe an art which he i not !nowQ but he woul be eHually thought a #a #an if he i not profess a virtue which he ha not$ @CA ;n that the political virtues can be taught an acHuire , in the opinion of the ;thenians, is prove by the fact that they punish evilD oers, with a view to prevention, of course DD#ere retribution is for beasts, an not for #en$ @FA ;gain, woul parents who teach her sons lesser #atters leave the# ignorant of the co##on uty of citi5ensN To the oubt of ,ocrates the best answer is the fact, that the e ucation of youth in virtue begins al#ost as soon as they can spea!, an is continue by the state when they pass out of the parental control$ @VA 7or nee we won er that wise an goo fathers so#eti#es have foolish an worthless sons$ (irtue, as we were saying, is not the private possession of any #an, but is share by all, only however to the extent of which each in ivi ual is by nature capable$ ;n , as a #atter of fact, even the worst of civili5e #an!in will appear virtuous an just, if we co#pare the# with savages$ @2A The error of ,ocrates lies in supposing that there are no teachers of virtue, whereas all #en are teachers in a egree$ ,o#e, li!e Protagoras, are better than others, an with this result we ought to be satisfie $ ,ocrates is highly elighte with the explanation of Protagoras$ *ut he has still a oubt lingering in his #in $ Protagoras has spo!en of the virtues? are they #any, or oneN are they parts of a whole, or ifferent na#es of the sa#e thingN Protagoras replies that they are parts, li!e the parts of a face, which have their several functions, an no one part is li!e any other part$ This a #ission, which has been so#ewhat hastily #a e, is now ta!en up an crossDexa#ine by ,ocrates?DD P/s justice just, an is holiness holyN ;n are justice an holiness oppose to one anotherNPDDPThen justice is unholy$P Protagoras woul rather say that justice is ifferent fro# holiness, an yet in a certain point of view nearly the sa#e$ +e oes not, however, escape in this way fro# the cunning of ,ocrates, who inveigles hi# into an a #ission that everything has but one opposite$ 'olly, for exa#ple, is oppose to wis o#Q an folly is also oppose to te#peranceQ an therefore te#perance an wis o# are the sa#e$ ;n holiness has been alrea y a #itte to be nearly the sa#e as justice$ Te#perance, therefore, has now to be co#pare with

justice$ Protagoras, whose te#per begins to get a little ruffle at the process to which he has been subjecte , is aware that he will soon be co#pelle by the ialectics of ,ocrates to a #it that the te#perate is the just$ +e therefore efen s hi#self with his favourite weaponQ that is to say, he #a!es a long speech not #uch to the point, which elicits the applause of the au ience$ +ere occurs a sort of interlu e, which co##ences with a eclaration on the part of ,ocrates that he cannot follow a long speech, an therefore he #ust beg Protagoras to spea! shorter$ ;s Protagoras eclines to acco##o ate hi#, he rises to epart, but is etaine by Callias, who thin!s hi# unreasonable in not allowing Protagoras the liberty which he ta!es hi#self of spea!ing as he li!es$ *ut ;lcibia es answers that the two cases are not parallel$ 'or ,ocrates a #its his inability to spea! longQ will Protagoras in li!e #anner ac!nowle ge his inability to spea! shortN Counsels of #o eration are urge first in a few wor s by Critias, an then by Pro icus in balance an sententious language? an +ippias proposes an u#pire$ *ut who is to be the u#pireN rejoins ,ocratesQ he woul rather suggest as a co#pro#ise that Protagoras shall as! an he will answer, an that when Protagoras is tire of as!ing he hi#self will as! an Protagoras shall answer$ To this the latter yiel s a reluctant assent$ Protagoras selects as his thesis a poe# of ,i#oni es of Ceos, in which he professes to fin a contra iction$ 'irst the poet says, P+ar is it to beco#e goo ,P an then reproaches Pittacus for having sai , P+ar is it to be goo $P +ow is this to be reconcile N ,ocrates, who is fa#iliar with the poe#, is e#barrasse at first, an invo!es the ai of Pro icus, the country#an of ,i#oni es, but apparently only with the intention of flattering hi# into absur ities$ 'irst a istinction is rawn between @Gree!A to be, an @Gree!A to beco#e? to beco#e goo is ifficultQ to be goo is easy$ Then the wor ifficult or har is explaine to #ean PevilP in the Cean ialect$ To all this Pro icus assentsQ but when Protagoras reclai#s, ,ocrates slily with raws Pro icus fro# the fray, un er the pretence that his assent was only inten e to test the wits of his a versary$ +e then procee s to give

another an #ore elaborate explanation of the whole passage$ The explanation is as follows?DD The :ace ae#onians are great philosophers @although this is a fact which is not generally !nownAQ an the soul of their philosophy is brevity, which was also the style of pri#itive antiHuity an of the seven sages$ 7ow Pittacus ha a saying, P+ar is it to be goo ?P an ,i#oni es, who was jealous of the fa#e of this saying, wrote a poe# which was esigne to controvert it$ 7o, says he, PittacusQ not Phar to be goo ,P but Phar to beco#e goo $P ,ocrates procee s to argue in a highly i#pressive #anner that the whole co#position is inten e as an attac! upon Pittacus$ This, though #anifestly absur , is accepte by the co#pany, an #eets with the special approval of +ippias, who has however a favourite interpretation of his own, which he is reHueste by ;lcibia es to efer$ The argu#ent is now resu#e , not without so#e is ainful re#ar!s of ,ocrates on the practice of intro ucing the poets, who ought not to be allowe , any #ore than fluteDgirls, to co#e into goo society$ 9enPs own thoughts shoul supply the# with the #aterials for iscussion$ ; few soothing flatteries are a resse to Protagoras by Callias an ,ocrates, an then the ol Huestion is repeate , P%hether the virtues are one or #anyNP To which Protagoras is now ispose to reply, that four out of the five virtues are in so#e egree si#ilarQ but he still conten s that the fifth, courage, is unli!e the rest$ ,ocrates procee s to un er#ine the last stronghol of the a versary, first obtaining fro# hi# the a #ission that all virtue is in the highest egree goo ?DD The courageous are the confi entQ an the confi ent are those who !now their business or profession? those who have no such !nowle ge an are still confi ent are #a #en$ This is a #itte $ Then, says ,ocrates, courage is !nowle geDDan inference which Protagoras eva es by rawing a futile istinction between the courageous an the confi ent in a fluent speech$ ,ocrates renews the attac! fro# another si e? he woul li!e to !now whether pleasure is not the only goo , an pain the only evilN Protagoras see#s to oubt the #orality or propriety of assenting to thisQ he woul rather say that Pso#e pleasures are goo , so#e pains are evil,P which is also the opinion of the generality of #an!in $ %hat oes he thin! of !nowle geN &oes he agree with the co##on opinion that !nowle ge is

overco#e by passionN or oes he hol that !nowle ge is powerN Protagoras agrees that !nowle ge is certainly a governing power$ This, however, is not the octrine of #en in general, who #aintain that #any who !now what is best, act contrary to their !nowle ge un er the influence of pleasure$ *ut this opposition of goo an evil is really the opposition of a greater or lesser a#ount of pleasure$ Pleasures are evils because they en in pain, an pains are goo s because they en in pleasures$ Thus pleasure is seen to be the only goo Q an the only evil is the preference of the lesser pleasure to the greater$ *ut then co#es in the illusion of istance$ ,o#e art of #ensuration is reHuire in or er to show us pleasures an pains in their true proportion$ This art of #ensuration is a !in of !nowle ge, an !nowle ge is thus prove once #ore to be the governing principle of hu#an life, an ignorance the origin of all evil? for no one prefers the less pleasure to the greater, or the greater pain to the less, except fro# ignorance$ The argu#ent is rawn out in an i#aginary P ialogue within a ialogue,P con ucte by ,ocrates an Protagoras on the one part, an the rest of the worl on the other$ +ippias an Pro icus, as well as Protagoras, a #it the soun ness of the conclusion$ ,ocrates then applies this new conclusion to the case of courageDDthe only virtue which still hol s out against the assaults of the ,ocratic ialectic$ 7o one chooses the evil or refuses the goo except through ignorance$ This explains why cowar s refuse to go to war?DDbecause they for# a wrong esti#ate of goo , an honour, an pleasure$ ;n why are the courageous willing to go to warNDDbecause they for# a right esti#ate of pleasures an pains, of things terrible an not terrible$ Courage then is !nowle ge, an cowar ice is ignorance$ ;n the five virtues, which were originally #aintaine to have five ifferent natures, after having been easily re uce to two only, at last coalesce in one$ The assent of Protagoras to this last position is extracte with great ifficulty$ ,ocrates conclu es by professing his isintereste love of the truth, an re#ar!s on the singular #anner in which he an his a versary ha change si es$ Protagoras began by asserting, an ,ocrates by enying, the teachableness of virtue, an now the latter en s by affir#ing that virtue is !nowle ge, which is the #ost teachable of all things, while Protagoras has been striving to show that virtue is not !nowle ge, an this is al#ost

eHuivalent to saying that virtue cannot be taught$ +e is not satisfie with the result, an woul li!e to renew the enHuiry with the help of Protagoras in a ifferent or er, as!ing @-A %hat virtue is, an @CA %hether virtue can be taught$ Protagoras eclines this offer, but co##en s ,ocratesP earnestness an his style of iscussion$ The Protagoras is often suppose to be full of ifficulties$ These are partly i#aginary an partly real$ The i#aginary ones are @-A Chronological,DDwhich were pointe out in ancient ti#es by ;thenaeus, an are notice by ,chleier#acher an others, an relate to the i#possibility of all the persons in the &ialogue #eeting at any one ti#e, whether in the year VC2 *$C$, or in any other$ *ut Plato, li!e all writers of fiction, ai#s only at the probable, an shows in #any &ialogues @e$g$ the ,y#posiu# an )epublic, an alrea y in the :achesA an extre#e isregar of the historical accuracy which is so#eti#es e#an e of hi#$ @CA The exact place of the Protagoras a#ong the &ialogues, an the ate of co#position, have also been #uch ispute $ *ut there are no criteria which affor any real groun s for eter#ining the ate of co#positionQ an the affinities of the &ialogues, when they are not in icate by Plato hi#self, #ust always to a great extent re#ain uncertain$ @FA There is another class of ifficulties, which #ay be ascribe to preconceive notions of co##entators, who i#agine that Protagoras the ,ophist ought always to be in the wrong, an his a versary ,ocrates in the rightQ or that in this or that passageDDe$g$ in the explanation of goo as pleasureDDPlato is inconsistent with hi#selfQ or that the &ialogue fails in unity, an has not a proper beginning, #i le, an en ing$ They see# to forget that Plato is a ra#atic writer who throws his thoughts into both si es of the argu#ent, an certainly oes not ai# at any unity which is inconsistent with free o#, an with a natural or even wil #anner of treating his subjectQ also that his #o e of revealing the truth is by lights an sha ows, an farDoff an opposing points of view, an not by og#atic state#ents or efinite results$ The real ifficulties arise out of the extre#e subtlety of the wor!, which, as ,ocrates says of the poe# of ,i#oni es, is a #ost perfect piece of art$ There are ra#atic contrasts an interests, threa s of philosophy bro!en an resu#e , satirical reflections on #an!in , veils thrown over truths which are lightly suggeste , an all woven together in a single esign, an

#oving towar s one en $ /n the intro uctory scene Plato raises the expectation that a Pgreat personageP is about to appear on the stageQ perhaps with a further view of showing that he is estine to be overthrown by a greater still, who #a!es no pretensions$ *efore intro ucing +ippocrates to hi#, ,ocrates thin!s proper to warn the youth against the angers of Pinfluence,P of which the invi ious nature is recogni5e by Protagoras hi#self$ +ippocrates rea ily a opts the suggestion of ,ocrates that he shall learn of Protagoras only the acco#plish#ents which befit an ;thenian gentle#an, an let alone his Psophistry$P There is nothing however in the intro uction which lea s to the inference that Plato inten e to blac!en the character of the ,ophistsQ he only #a!es a little #erry at their expense$ The Pgreat personageP is so#ewhat ostentatious, but fran! an honest$ +e is intro uce on a stage which is worthy of hi#DDat the house of the rich Callias, in which are congregate the noblest an wisest of the ;thenians$ +e consi ers openness to be the best policy, an particularly #entions his own liberal #o e of ealing with his pupils, as if in answer to the favourite accusation of the ,ophists that they receive pay$ +e is re#ar!able for the goo te#per which he exhibits throughout the iscussion un er the trying an often sophistical crossDexa#ination of ,ocrates$ ;lthough once or twice ruffle , an reluctant to continue the iscussion, he parts co#pany on perfectly goo ter#s, an appears to be, as he says of hi#self, the Pleast jealous of #an!in $P 7or is there anything in the senti#ents of Protagoras which i#pairs this pleasing i#pression of the grave an weighty ol #an$ +is real efect is that he is inferior to ,ocrates in ialectics$ The opposition between hi# an ,ocrates is not the opposition of goo an ba , true an false, but of the ol art of rhetoric an the new science of interrogation an argu#entQ also of the irony of ,ocrates an the selfDassertion of the ,ophists$ There is Huite as #uch truth on the si e of Protagoras as of ,ocratesQ but the truth of Protagoras is base on co##on sense an co##on #axi#s of #orality, while that of ,ocrates is para oxical or transcen ental, an though full of #eaning an insight, har ly intelligible to the rest of #an!in $ +ere as elsewhere is the usual contrast between the ,ophists representing average public opinion an ,ocrates see!ing for increase clearness an unity of i eas$ *ut to a great extent Protagoras has the best of the argu#ent an represents the better #in of #an$

'or exa#ple? @-A one of the noblest state#ents to be foun in antiHuity about the preventive nature of punish#ent is put into his #outhQ @CA he is clearly right also in #aintaining that virtue can be taught @which ,ocrates hi#self, at the en of the &ialogue, is ispose to conce eAQ an also @FA in his explanation of the pheno#enon that goo fathers have ba sonsQ @VA he is right also in observing that the virtues are not li!e the arts, gifts or attain#ents of special in ivi uals, but the co##on property of all? this, which in all ages has been the strength an wea!ness of ethics an politics, is eeply seate in hu#an natureQ @2A there is a sort of halfD truth in the notion that all civili5e #en are teachers of virtueQ an #ore than a halfDtruth @LA in ascribing to #an, who in his outwar con itions is #ore helpless than the other ani#als, the power of selfDi#prove#entQ @7A the religious allegory shoul be notice , in which the arts are sai to be given by Pro#etheus @who stole the#A, whereas justice an reverence an the political virtues coul only be i#parte by WeusQ @KA in the latter part of the &ialogue, when ,ocrates is arguing that Ppleasure is the only goo ,P Protagoras ee#s it #ore in accor ance with his character to #aintain that Pso#e pleasures only are goo QP an a #its that Phe, above all other #en, is boun to say Ithat wis o# an !nowle ge are the highest of hu#an things$IP There is no reason to suppose that in all this Plato is epicting an i#aginary ProtagorasQ he see#s to be showing us the teaching of the ,ophists un er the #il er aspect un er which he once regar e the#$ 7or is there any reason to oubt that ,ocrates is eHually an historical character, para oxical, ironical, tireso#e, but see!ing for the unity of virtue an !nowle ge as for a precious treasureQ willing to rest this even on a calculation of pleasure, an irresistible here, as everywhere in Plato, in his intellectual superiority$ The ai# of ,ocrates, an of the &ialogue, is to show the unity of virtue$ /n the eter#ination of this Huestion the i entity of virtue an !nowle ge is foun to be involve $ *ut if virtue an !nowle ge are one, then virtue can be taughtQ the en of the &ialogue returns to the beginning$ +a Protagoras been allowe by Plato to #a!e the ;ristotelian istinction, an say that virtue is not !nowle ge, but is acco#panie with !nowle geQ or to point out with ;ristotle that the sa#e Huality #ay have #ore than one oppositeQ or with Plato hi#self in the Phae o to eny that goo is a #ere

exchange of a greater pleasure for a lessDDthe unity of virtue an the i entity of virtue an !nowle ge woul have reHuire to be prove by other argu#ents$ The victory of ,ocrates over Protagoras is in every way co#plete when their #in s are fairly brought together$ Protagoras falls before hi# after two or three blows$ ,ocrates partially gains his object in the first part of the &ialogue, an co#pletely in the secon $ 7or oes he appear at any isa vantage when subjecte to Pthe HuestionP by Protagoras$ +e succee s in #a!ing his two Pfrien s,P Pro icus an +ippias, lu icrous by the wayQ he also #a!es a long speech in efence of the poe# of ,i#oni es, after the #anner of the ,ophists, showing, as ;lcibia es says, that he is only preten ing to have a ba #e#ory, an that he an not Protagoras is really a #aster in the two styles of spea!ingQ an that he can un erta!e, not one si e of the argu#ent only, but both, when Protagoras begins to brea! own$ ;gainst the authority of the poets with who# Protagoras has ingeniously i entifie hi#self at the co##ence#ent of the &ialogue, ,ocrates sets up the proverbial philosophers an those #asters of brevity the :ace ae#onians$ The poets, the :aconi5ers, an Protagoras are satiri5e at the sa#e ti#e$ 7ot having the whole of this poe# before us, it is i#possible for us to answer certainly the Huestion of Protagoras, how the two passages of ,i#oni es are to be reconcile $ %e can only follow the in ications given by Plato hi#self$ *ut it see#s li!ely that the reconcile#ent offere by ,ocrates is a caricature of the #etho s of interpretation which were practise by the ,ophistsDDfor the following reasons? @-A The transparent irony of the previous interpretations given by ,ocrates$ @CA The lu icrous opening of the speech in which the :ace ae#onians are escribe as the true philosophers, an :aconic brevity as the true for# of philosophy, evi ently with an allusion to ProtagorasP long speeches$ @FA The #anifest futility an absur ity of the explanation of @Gree!A, which is har ly consistent with the rational interpretation of the rest of the poe#$ The opposition of @Gree!A an @Gree!A see#s also inten e to express the rival octrines of ,ocrates an Protagoras, an is a facetious co##entary on their ifferences$ @VA The general treat#ent in Plato both of the Poets an the ,ophists, who are their interpreters, an who# he elights to i entify with the#$ @2A The epreciating spirit in which ,ocrates spea!s of the intro uction of the poets as a substitute for original conversation, which is inten e to contrast with ProtagorasP exaltation of the stu y of the#DD

this again is har ly consistent with the serious efence of ,i#oni es$ @LA the #ar!e approval of +ippias, who is suppose at once to catch the fa#iliar soun , just as in the previous conversation Pro icus is represente as rea y to accept any istinctions of language however absur $ ;t the sa#e ti#e +ippias is esirous of substituting a new interpretation of his ownQ as if the wor s #ight really be #a e to #ean anything, an were only to be regar e as affor ing a fiel for the ingenuity of the interpreter$ This curious passage is, therefore, to be regar e as PlatoPs satire on the te ious an hypercritical arts of interpretation which prevaile in his own ay, an #ay be co#pare with his con e#nation of the sa#e arts when applie to #ythology in the Phae rus, an with his other paro ies, e$g$ with the two first speeches in the Phae rus an with the 9enexenus$ ,everal lesser touches of satire #ay be observe , such as the clai# of philosophy a vance for the :ace ae#onians, which is a paro y of the clai#s a vance for the Poets by ProtagorasQ the #ista!e of the :aconi5ing set in supposing that the :ace ae#onians are a great nation because they bruise their earsQ the farDfetche notion, which is Preally too ba ,P that ,i#oni es uses the :esbian @NA wor , @Gree!A, because he is a ressing a :esbian$ The whole #ay also be consi ere as a satire on those who spin po#pous theories out of nothing$ ;s in the argu#ents of the Euthy e#us an of the Cratylus, the veil of irony is never with rawnQ an we are left in oubt at last how far in this interpretation of ,i#oni es ,ocrates is Pfooling,P how far he is in earnest$ ;ll the interests an contrasts of character in a great ra#atic wor! li!e the Protagoras are not easily exhauste $ The i#pressiveness of the scene shoul not be lost upon us, or the gra ual substitution of ,ocrates in the secon part for Protagoras in the first$ The characters to who# we are intro uce at the beginning of the &ialogue all play a part #ore or less conspicuous towar s the en $ There is ;lcibia es, who is co#pelle by the necessity of his nature to be a partisan, len ing effectual ai to ,ocratesQ there is Critias assu#ing the tone of i#partialityQ Callias, here as always inclining to the ,ophists, but eager for any intellectual repastQ Pro icus, who fin s an opportunity for isplaying his istinctions of language, which are valueless an pe antic, because they are not base on ialecticQ +ippias, who has previously exhibite his superficial !nowle ge

of natural philosophy, to which, as in both the &ialogues calle by his na#e, he now a s the profession of an interpreter of the Poets$ The two latter personages have been alrea y a#age by the #oc! heroic escription of the# in the intro uction$ /t #ay be re#ar!e that Protagoras is consistently presente to us throughout as the teacher of #oral an political virtueQ there is no allusion to the theories of sensation which are attribute to hi# in the Theaetetus an elsewhere, or to his enial of the existence of the go s in a wellD!nown frag#ent ascribe to hi#Q he is the religious rather than the irreligious teacher in this &ialogue$ ;lso it #ay be observe that ,ocrates shows hi# as #uch respect as is consistent with his own ironical characterQ he a #its that the ialectic which has overthrown Protagoras has carrie hi#self roun to a conclusion oppose to his first thesis$ The force of argu#ent, therefore, an not ,ocrates or Protagoras, has won the ay$ *ut is ,ocrates serious in #aintaining @-A that virtue cannot be taughtQ @CA that the virtues are oneQ @FA that virtue is the !nowle ge of pleasures an pains present an futureN These propositions to us have an appearance of para oxDDthey are really #o#ents or aspects of the truth by the help of which we pass fro# the ol conventional #orality to a higher conception of virtue an !nowle ge$ That virtue cannot be taught is a para ox of the sa#e sort as the profession of ,ocrates that he !new nothing$ Plato #eans to say that virtue is not brought to a #an, but #ust be rawn out of hi#Q an cannot be taught by rhetorical iscourses or citations fro# the poets$ The secon Huestion, whether the virtues are one or #any, though at first sight istinct, is really a part of the sa#e subjectQ for if the virtues are to be taught, they #ust be re ucible to a co##on principleQ an this co##on principle is foun to be !nowle ge$ +ere, as ;ristotle re#ar!s, ,ocrates an Plato outstep the truthDDthey #a!e a part of virtue into the whole$ 'urther, the nature of this !nowle ge, which is assu#e to be a !nowle ge of pleasures an pains, appears to us too superficial an at variance with the spirit of Plato hi#self$ Oet, in this, Plato is only following the historical ,ocrates as he is epicte to us in MenophonPs 9e#orabilia$ :i!e ,ocrates, he fin s on the surface of hu#an life one co##on bon by which the virtues are unite ,DDtheir ten ency to pro uce happiness,DDthough such a principle is afterwar s repu iate by hi#$ /t re#ains to be consi ere in what relation the Protagoras stan s to the other &ialogues of Plato$ That it is one of the earlier or purely ,ocratic wor!sDDperhaps the last, as it is certainly the greatest of the#DDis

in icate by the absence of any allusion to the octrine of re#iniscenceQ an also by the ifferent attitu e assu#e towar s the teaching an persons of the ,ophists in so#e of the later &ialogues$ The Char#i es, :aches, :ysis, all touch on the Huestion of the relation of !nowle ge to virtue, an #ay be regar e , if not as preli#inary stu ies or s!etches of the #ore i#portant wor!, at any rate as closely connecte with it$ The /o an the lesser +ippias contain iscussions of the Poets, which offer a parallel to the ironical criticis# of ,i#oni es, an are conceive in a si#ilar spirit$ The affinity of the Protagoras to the 9eno is #ore oubtful$ 'or there, although the sa#e Huestion is iscusse , Pwhether virtue can be taught,P an the relation of 9eno to the ,ophists is #uch the sa#e as that of +ippocrates, the answer to the Huestion is supplie out of the octrine of i easQ the real ,ocrates is alrea y passing into the Platonic one$ ;t a later stage of the Platonic philosophy we shall fin that both the para ox an the solution of it appear to have been retracte $ The Phae o, the Gorgias, an the Philebus offer further corrections of the teaching of the ProtagorasQ in all of the# the octrine that virtue is pleasure, or that pleasure is the chief or only goo , is istinctly renounce $ Thus after #any preparations an oppositions, both of the characters of #en an aspects of the truth, especially of the popular an philosophical aspectQ an after #any interruptions an etentions by the way, which, as Theo orus says in the Theaetetus, are Huite as agreeable as the argu#ent, we arrive at the great ,ocratic thesis that virtue is !nowle ge$ This is an aspect of the truth which was lost al#ost as soon as it was foun Q an yet has to be recovere by every one for hi#self who woul pass the li#its of proverbial an popular philosophy$ The #oral an intellectual are always ivi ing, yet they #ust be reunite , an in the highest conception of the# are inseparable$ The thesis of ,ocrates is not #erely a hasty assu#ption, but #ay be also ee#e an anticipation of so#e P#etaphysic of the future,P in which the ivi e ele#ents of hu#an nature are reconcile $ P)6T;G6);, by Plato Translate by *enja#in 0owett$

PE),67, 6' T+E &/;:6G8E? ,ocrates, who is the narrator of the &ialogue to his Co#panion$ +ippocrates, ;lcibia es an Critias$ Protagoras, +ippias an Pro icus @,ophistsA$ Callias, a wealthy ;thenian$ ,CE7E? The +ouse of Callias$ C69P;7/67? %here o you co#e fro#, ,ocratesN ;n yet / nee har ly as! the Huestion, for / !now that you have been in chase of the fair ;lcibia es$ / saw hi# the ay before yester ayQ an he ha got a bear li!e a #an,DDan he is a #an, as / #ay tell you in your ear$ *ut / thought that he was still very char#ing$ ,6C);TE,? %hat of his bear N ;re you not of +o#erPs opinion, who says POouth is #ost char#ing when the bear first appearsPN ;n that is now the char# of ;lcibia es$ C69P;7/67? %ell, an how o #atters procee N +ave you been visiting hi#, an was he gracious to youN ,6C);TE,? Oes, / thought that he was very graciousQ an especially toD ay, for / have just co#e fro# hi#, an he has been helping #e in an argu#ent$ *ut shall / tell you a strange thingN / pai no attention to hi#, an several ti#es / Huite forgot that he was present$ C69P;7/67? %hat is the #eaning of thisN +as anything happene between you an hi#N 'or surely you cannot have iscovere a fairer love than he isQ certainly not in this city of ;thens$

,6C);TE,? Oes, #uch fairer$ C69P;7/67? %hat o you #eanDDa citi5en or a foreignerN ,6C);TE,? ; foreigner$ C69P;7/67? 6f what countryN ,6C);TE,? 6f ;b era$ C69P;7/67? ;n is this stranger really in your opinion a fairer love than the son of CleiniasN ,6C);TE,? ;n is not the wiser always the fairer, sweet frien N C69P;7/67? *ut have you really #et, ,ocrates, with so#e wise oneN ,6C);TE,? ,ay rather, with the wisest of all living #en, if you are willing to accor that title to Protagoras$ C69P;7/67? %hat" /s Protagoras in ;thensN ,6C);TE,? OesQ he has been here two ays$ C69P;7/67? ;n o you just co#e fro# an interview with hi#N

,6C);TE,? OesQ an / have hear an sai #any things$ C69P;7/67? Then, if you have no engage#ent, suppose that you sit own an tell #e what passe , an #y atten ant here shall give up his place to you$ ,6C);TE,? To be sureQ an / shall be grateful to you for listening$ C69P;7/67? Than! you, too, for telling us$ ,6C);TE,? That is than! you twice over$ :isten then?DD :ast night, or rather very early this #orning, +ippocrates, the son of ;pollo orus an the brother of Phason, gave a tre#en ous thu#p with his

staff at #y oorQ so#e one opene to hi#, an he ca#e rushing in an bawle out? ,ocrates, are you awa!e or asleepN / !new his voice, an sai ? +ippocrates, is that youN an newsN Goo news, he sai Q nothing but goo $ &elightful, / sai Q but what is the newsN an why have you co#e hither at this unearthly hourN +e rew nearer to #e an sai ? Protagoras is co#e$ Oes, / replie Q he ca#e two ays ago? have you only just hear of his arrivalN Oes, by the go s, he sai Q but not until yester ay evening$ ;t the sa#e ti#e he felt for the truc!leDbe , an sat own at #y feet, an then he sai ? Oester ay Huite late in the evening, on #y return fro# 6enoe whither / ha gone in pursuit of #y runaway slave ,atyrus, as / #eant to have tol you, if so#e other #atter ha not co#e in the wayQDDon #y return, when we ha one supper an were about to retire to rest, #y brother sai to #e? Protagoras is co#e$ / was going to you at once, an then / thought that the night was far spent$ *ut the #o#ent sleep left #e after #y fatigue, / got up an ca#e hither irect$ /, who !new the very courageous #a ness of the #an, sai ? %hat is the #atterN +as Protagoras robbe you of anythingN +e replie , laughing? Oes, in ee he has, ,ocrates, of the wis o# which he !eeps fro# #e$ *ut, surely, / sai , if you give hi# #oney, an #a!e frien s with hi#, he will #a!e you as wise as he is hi#self$ %oul to heaven, he replie , that this were the case" +e #ight ta!e all that / have, an all that #y frien s have, if he please $ *ut that is why / have co#e to you now, in or er that you #ay spea! to hi# on #y behalfQ o you bring any

for / a# young, an also / have never seen nor hear hi#Q @when he visite ;thens before / was but a chil QA an all #en praise hi#, ,ocratesQ he is repute to be the #ost acco#plishe of spea!ers$ There is no reason why we shoul not go to hi# at once, an then we shall fin hi# at ho#e$ +e lo ges, as / hear, with Callias the son of +ipponicus? let us start$ / replie ? 7ot yet, #y goo frien Q the hour is too early$ *ut let us rise an ta!e a turn in the court an wait about there until ayDbrea!Q when the ay brea!s, then we will go$ 'or Protagoras is generally at ho#e, an we shall be sure to fin hi#Q never fear$ 8pon this we got up an wal!e about in the court, an / thought that / woul #a!e trial of the strength of his resolution$ ,o / exa#ine hi# an put Huestions to hi#$ Tell #e, +ippocrates, / sai , as you are going to Protagoras, an will be paying your #oney to hi#, what is he to who# you are goingN an what will he #a!e of youN /f, for exa#ple, you ha thought of going to +ippocrates of Cos, the ;sclepia , an were about to give hi# your #oney, an so#e one ha sai to you? Oou are paying #oney to your na#esa!e +ippocrates, 6 +ippocratesQ tell #e, what is he that you give hi# #oneyN how woul you have answere N / shoul say, he replie , that / gave #oney to hi# as a physician$ ;n what will he #a!e of youN ; physician, he sai $ ;n if you were resolve to go to Polycleitus the ;rgive, or Phei ias the ;thenian, an were inten ing to give the# #oney, an so#e one ha as!e you? %hat are Polycleitus an Phei iasN an why o you give the# this #oneyNDDhow woul you have answere N / shoul have answere , that they were statuaries$ ;n what will they #a!e of youN ; statuary, of course$ %ell now, / sai , you an / are going to Protagoras, an we are rea y to

pay hi# #oney on your behalf$ /f our own #eans are sufficient, an we can gain hi# with these, we shall be only too gla Q but if not, then we are to spen the #oney of your frien s as well$ 7ow suppose, that while we are thus enthusiastically pursuing our object so#e one were to say to us? Tell #e, ,ocrates, an you +ippocrates, what is Protagoras, an why are you going to pay hi# #oney,DDhow shoul we answerN / !now that Phei ias is a sculptor, an that +o#er is a poetQ but what appellation is given to ProtagorasN how is he esignate N They call hi# a ,ophist, ,ocrates, he replie $ Then we are going to pay our #oney to hi# in the character of a ,ophistN Certainly$ *ut suppose a person were to as! this further Huestion? ;n how about yourselfN %hat will Protagoras #a!e of you, if you go to see hi#N +e answere , with a blush upon his face @for the ay was just beginning to awn, so that / coul see hi#A? 8nless this iffers in so#e way fro# the for#er instances, / suppose that he will #a!e a ,ophist of #e$ *y the go s, / sai , an are you not asha#e at having to appear before the +ellenes in the character of a ,ophistN /n ee , ,ocrates, to confess the truth, / a#$ *ut you shoul not assu#e, +ippocrates, that the instruction of Protagoras is of this nature? #ay you not learn of hi# in the sa#e way that you learne the arts of the gra##arian, or #usician, or trainer, not with the view of #a!ing any of the# a profession, but only as a part of e ucation, an because a private gentle#an an free#an ought to !now the#N 0ust so, he sai Q an that, in #y opinion, is a far truer account of the teaching of Protagoras$ / sai ? / won er whether you !now what you are oingN ;n what a# / oingN

Oou are going to co##it your soul to the care of a #an who# you call a ,ophist$ ;n yet / har ly thin! that you !now what a ,ophist isQ an if not, then you o not even !now to who# you are co##itting your soul an whether the thing to which you co##it yourself be goo or evil$ / certainly thin! that / o !now, he replie $ Then tell #e, what o you i#agine that he isN / ta!e hi# to be one who !nows wise things, he replie , as his na#e i#plies$ ;n #ight you not, / sai , affir# this of the painter an of the carpenter also? &o not they, too, !now wise thingsN *ut suppose a person were to as! us? /n what are the painters wiseN %e shoul answer? /n what relates to the #a!ing of li!enesses, an si#ilarly of other things$ ;n if he were further to as!? %hat is the wis o# of the ,ophist, an what is the #anufacture over which he presi esNDDhow shoul we answer hi#N +ow shoul we answer hi#, ,ocratesN %hat other answer coul there be but that he presi es over the art which #a!es #en eloHuentN Oes, / replie , that is very li!ely true, but not enoughQ for in the answer a further Huestion is involve ? 6f what oes the ,ophist #a!e a #an tal! eloHuentlyN The player on the lyre #ay be suppose to #a!e a #an tal! eloHuently about that which he #a!es hi# un erstan , that is about playing the lyre$ /s not that trueN Oes$ Then about what oes the ,ophist #a!e hi# eloHuentN 9ust not he #a!e hi# eloHuent in that which he un erstan sN Oes, that #ay be assu#e $ ;n what is that which the ,ophist !nows an #a!es his isciple !nowN /n ee , he sai , / cannot tell$

Then / procee e to say? %ell, but are you aware of the anger which you are incurringN /f you were going to co##it your bo y to so#e one, who #ight o goo or har# to it, woul you not carefully consi er an as! the opinion of your frien s an !in re , an eliberate #any ays as to whether you shoul give hi# the care of your bo yN *ut when the soul is in Huestion, which you hol to be of far #ore value than the bo y, an upon the goo or evil of which epen s the wellDbeing of your all,DDabout this you never consulte either with your father or with your brother or with any one of us who are your co#panions$ *ut no sooner oes this foreigner appear, than you instantly co##it your soul to his !eeping$ /n the evening, as you say, you hear of hi#, an in the #orning you go to hi#, never eliberating or ta!ing the opinion of any one as to whether you ought to intrust yourself to hi# or notQDDyou have Huite #a e up your #in that you will at all ha5ar s be a pupil of Protagoras, an are prepare to expen all the property of yourself an of your frien s in carrying out at any price this eter#ination, although, as you a #it, you o not !now hi#, an have never spo!en with hi#? an you call hi# a ,ophist, but are #anifestly ignorant of what a ,ophist isQ an yet you are going to co##it yourself to his !eeping$ %hen he hear #e say this, he replie ? 7o other inference, ,ocrates, can be rawn fro# your wor s$ / procee e ? /s not a ,ophist, +ippocrates, one who eals wholesale or retail in the foo of the soulN To #e that appears to be his nature$ ;n what, ,ocrates, is the foo of the soulN ,urely, / sai , !nowle ge is the foo of the soulQ an we #ust ta!e care, #y frien , that the ,ophist oes not eceive us when he praises what he sells, li!e the ealers wholesale or retail who sell the foo of the bo yQ for they praise in iscri#inately all their goo s, without !nowing what are really beneficial or hurtful? neither o their custo#ers !now, with the exception of any trainer or physician who #ay happen to buy of the#$ /n li!e #anner those who carry about the wares of !nowle ge, an #a!e the roun of the cities, an sell or retail the# to any custo#er who is in want of the#, praise the# all ali!eQ though / shoul not won er, 6 #y frien , if #any of the# were really ignorant of their effect upon the soulQ an their custo#ers eHually ignorant, unless he who buys of the# happens to be a

physician of the soul$ /f, therefore, you have un erstan ing of what is goo an evil, you #ay safely buy !nowle ge of Protagoras or of any oneQ but if not, then, 6 #y frien , pause, an o not ha5ar your earest interests at a ga#e of chance$ 'or there is far greater peril in buying !nowle ge than in buying #eat an rin!? the one you purchase of the wholesale or retail ealer, an carry the# away in other vessels, an before you receive the# into the bo y as foo , you #ay eposit the# at ho#e an call in any experience frien who !nows what is goo to be eaten or run!en, an what not, an how #uch, an whenQ an then the anger of purchasing the# is not so great$ *ut you cannot buy the wares of !nowle ge an carry the# away in another vesselQ when you have pai for the# you #ust receive the# into the soul an go your way, either greatly har#e or greatly benefite Q an therefore we shoul eliberate an ta!e counsel with our el ersQ for we are still youngDDtoo young to eter#ine such a #atter$ ;n now let us go, as we were inten ing, an hear ProtagorasQ an when we have hear what he has to say, we #ay ta!e counsel of othersQ for not only is Protagoras at the house of Callias, but there is +ippias of Elis, an , if / a# not #ista!en, Pro icus of Ceos, an several other wise #en$ To this we agree , an procee e on our way until we reache the vestibule of the houseQ an there we stoppe in or er to conclu e a iscussion which ha arisen between us as we were going alongQ an we stoo tal!ing in the vestibule until we ha finishe an co#e to an un erstan ing$ ;n / thin! that the oorD!eeper, who was a eunuch, an who was probably annoye at the great inroa of the ,ophists, #ust have hear us tal!ing$ ;t any rate, when we !noc!e at the oor, an he opene an saw us, he gru#ble ? They are ,ophistsDDhe is not at ho#eQ an instantly gave the oor a hearty bang with both his han s$ ;gain we !noc!e , an he answere without opening? &i you not hear #e say that he is not at ho#e, fellowsN *ut, #y frien , / sai , you nee not be alar#e Q for we are not ,ophists, an we are not co#e to see Callias, but we want to see ProtagorasQ an / #ust reHuest you to announce us$ ;t last, after a goo eal of ifficulty, the #an was persua e to open the oor$ %hen we entere , we foun Protagoras ta!ing a wal! in the cloisterQ an

next to hi#, on one si e, were wal!ing Callias, the son of +ipponicus, an Paralus, the son of Pericles, who, by the #otherPs si e, is his halfD brother, an Char#i es, the son of Glaucon$ 6n the other si e of hi# were Manthippus, the other son of Pericles, Philippi es, the son of Philo#elusQ also ;nti#oerus of 9en e, who of all the isciples of Protagoras is the #ost fa#ous, an inten s to #a!e sophistry his profession$ ; train of listeners followe hi#Q the greater part of the# appeare to be foreigners, who# Protagoras ha brought with hi# out of the various cities visite by hi# in his journeys, he, li!e 6rpheus, attracting the# his voice, an they following @Co#pare )ep$A$ / shoul #ention also that there were so#e ;thenians in the co#pany$ 7othing elighte #e #ore than the precision of their #ove#ents? they never got into his way at allQ but when he an those who were with hi# turne bac!, then the ban of listeners parte regularly on either si eQ he was always in front, an they wheele roun an too! their places behin hi# in perfect or er$ ;fter hi#, as +o#er says @6 $A, P/ lifte up #y eyes an sawP +ippias the Elean sitting in the opposite cloister on a chair of state, an aroun hi# were seate on benches Eryxi#achus, the son of ;cu#enus, an Phae rus the 9yrrhinusian, an ;n ron the son of ;n rotion, an there were strangers who# he ha brought with hi# fro# his native city of Elis, an so#e others? they were putting to +ippias certain physical an astrono#ical Huestions, an he, ex cathe ra, was eter#ining their several Huestions to the#, an iscoursing of the#$ ;lso, P#y eyes behel Tantalus @6 $AQP for Pro icus the Cean was at ;thens? he ha been lo ge in a roo# which, in the ays of +ipponicus, was a storehouseQ but, as the house was full, Callias ha cleare this out an #a e the roo# into a guestDcha#ber$ 7ow Pro icus was still in be , wrappe up in sheeps!ins an be clothes, of which there see#e to be a great heapQ an there was sitting by hi# on the couches near, Pausanias of the e#e of Cera#eis, an with Pausanias was a youth Huite young, who is certainly re#ar!able for his goo loo!s, an , if / a# not #ista!en, is also of a fair an gentle nature$ / thought that / hear hi# calle ;gathon, an #y suspicion is that he is the belove of Pausanias$ There was this youth, an also there were the two ; ei#antuses, one the son of Cepis, an the other of :eucolophi es, an so#e others$ / was very anxious to hear what Pro icus was saying, for he see#s to #e to be an allDwise an inspire #anQ

but / was not able to get into the inner circle, an his fine eep voice #a e an echo in the roo# which ren ere his wor s inau ible$ 7o sooner ha we entere than there followe us ;lcibia es the beautiful, as you say, an / believe youQ an also Critias the son of Callaeschrus$ 6n entering we stoppe a little, in or er to loo! about us, an then wal!e up to Protagoras, an / sai ? Protagoras, #y frien +ippocrates an / have co#e to see you$ &o you wish, he sai , to spea! with #e alone, or in the presence of the co#panyN %hichever you please, / sai Q you shall eter#ine when you have hear the purpose of our visit$ ;n what is your purposeN he sai $ / #ust explain, / sai , that #y frien +ippocrates is a native ;thenianQ he is the son of ;pollo orus, an of a great an prosperous house, an he is hi#self in natural ability Huite a #atch for anybo y of his own age$ / believe that he aspires to political e#inenceQ an this he thin!s that conversation with you is #ost li!ely to procure for hi#$ ;n now you can eter#ine whether you woul wish to spea! to hi# of your teaching alone or in the presence of the co#pany$ Than! you, ,ocrates, for your consi eration of #e$ 'or certainly a stranger fin ing his way into great cities, an persua ing the flower of the youth in the# to leave co#pany of their !ins#en or any other acHuaintances, ol or young, an live with hi#, un er the i ea that they will be i#prove by his conversation, ought to be very cautiousQ great jealousies are arouse by his procee ings, an he is the subject of #any en#ities an conspiracies$ 7ow the art of the ,ophist is, as / believe, of great antiHuityQ but in ancient ti#es those who practise it, fearing this o iu#, veile an isguise the#selves un er various na#es, so#e un er that of poets, as +o#er, +esio , an ,i#oni es, so#e, of hierophants an prophets, as 6rpheus an 9usaeus, an so#e, as / observe, even un er the na#e of gy#nasticD#asters, li!e /ccus of Tarentu#, or the #ore recently celebrate +ero icus, now of ,ely#bria an for#erly of 9egara, who is a

firstDrate ,ophist$ Oour own ;gathocles preten e to be a #usician, but was really an e#inent ,ophistQ also Pythoclei es the CeanQ an there were #any othersQ an all of the#, as / was saying, a opte these arts as veils or isguises because they were afrai of the o iu# which they woul incur$ *ut that is not #y way, for / o not believe that they effecte their purpose, which was to eceive the govern#ent, who were not blin e by the#Q an as to the people, they have no un erstan ing, an only repeat what their rulers are please to tell the#$ 7ow to run away, an to be caught in running away, is the very height of folly, an also greatly increases the exasperation of #an!in Q for they regar hi# who runs away as a rogue, in a ition to any other objections which they have to hi#Q an therefore / ta!e an entirely opposite course, an ac!nowle ge #yself to be a ,ophist an instructor of #an!in Q such an open ac!nowle ge#ent appears to #e to be a better sort of caution than conceal#ent$ 7or o / neglect other precautions, an therefore / hope, as / #ay say, by the favour of heaven that no har# will co#e of the ac!nowle g#ent that / a# a ,ophist$ ;n / have been now #any years in the professionDDfor all #y years when a e up are #any? there is no one here present of who# / #ight not be the father$ %herefore / shoul #uch prefer conversing with you, if you want to spea! with #e, in the presence of the co#pany$ ;s / suspecte that he woul li!e to have a little isplay an glorification in the presence of Pro icus an +ippias, an woul gla ly show us to the# in the light of his a #irers, / sai ? *ut why shoul we not su##on Pro icus an +ippias an their frien s to hear usN (ery goo , he sai $ ,uppose, sai Callias, that we hol a council in which you #ay sit an iscuss$DDThis was agree upon, an great elight was felt at the prospect of hearing wise #en tal!Q we ourselves too! the chairs an benches, an arrange the# by +ippias, where the other benches ha been alrea y place $ 9eanwhile Callias an ;lcibia es got Pro icus out of be an brought in hi# an his co#panions$ %hen we were all seate , Protagoras sai ? 7ow that the co#pany are

asse#ble , ,ocrates, tell #e about the young #an of who# you were just now spea!ing$ / replie ? / will begin again at the sa#e point, Protagoras, an tell you once #ore the purport of #y visit? this is #y frien +ippocrates, who is esirous of #a!ing your acHuaintanceQ he woul li!e to !now what will happen to hi# if he associates with you$ / have no #ore to say$ Protagoras answere ? Ooung #an, if you associate with #e, on the very first ay you will return ho#e a better #an than you ca#e, an better on the secon ay than on the first, an better every ay than you were on the ay before$ %hen / hear this, / sai ? Protagoras, / o not at all won er at hearing you say thisQ even at your age, an with all your wis o#, if any one were to teach you what you i not !now before, you woul beco#e better no oubt? but please to answer in a ifferent wayDD/ will explain how by an exa#ple$ :et #e suppose that +ippocrates, instea of esiring your acHuaintance, wishe to beco#e acHuainte with the young #an Weuxippus of +eraclea, who has lately been in ;thens, an he ha co#e to hi# as he has co#e to you, an ha hear hi# say, as he has hear you say, that every ay he woul grow an beco#e better if he associate with hi#? an then suppose that he were to as! hi#, P/n what shall / beco#e better, an in what shall / growNPDDWeuxippus woul answer, P/n painting$P ;n suppose that he went to 6rthagoras the Theban, an hear hi# say the sa#e thing, an as!e hi#, P/n what shall / beco#e better ay by ayNP he woul reply, P/n fluteDplaying$P 7ow / want you to #a!e the sa#e sort of answer to this young #an an to #e, who a# as!ing Huestions on his account$ %hen you say that on the first ay on which he associates with you he will return ho#e a better #an, an on every ay will grow in li!e #anner,DDin what, Protagoras, will he be betterN an about whatN %hen Protagoras hear #e say this, he replie ? Oou as! Huestions fairly, an / li!e to answer a Huestion which is fairly put$ /f +ippocrates co#es to #e he will not experience the sort of ru gery with which other ,ophists are in the habit of insulting their pupilsQ who, when they have just escape fro# the arts, are ta!en an riven bac! into the# by these

teachers, an #a e to learn calculation, an astrono#y, an geo#etry, an #usic @he gave a loo! at +ippias as he sai thisAQ but if he co#es to #e, he will learn that which he co#es to learn$ ;n this is pru ence in affairs private as well as publicQ he will learn to or er his own house in the best #anner, an he will be able to spea! an act for the best in the affairs of the state$ &o / un erstan you, / sai Q an is your #eaning that you teach the art of politics, an that you pro#ise to #a!e #en goo citi5ensN That, ,ocrates, is exactly the profession which / #a!e$ Then, / sai , you o in ee possess a noble art, if there is no #ista!e about thisQ for / will freely confess to you, Protagoras, that / have a oubt whether this art is capable of being taught, an yet / !now not how to isbelieve your assertion$ ;n / ought to tell you why / a# of opinion that this art cannot be taught or co##unicate by #an to #an$ / say that the ;thenians are an un erstan ing people, an in ee they are estee#e to be such by the other +ellenes$ 7ow / observe that when we are #et together in the asse#bly, an the #atter in han relates to buil ing, the buil ers are su##one as a visersQ when the Huestion is one of shipDbuil ing, then the shipDwrightsQ an the li!e of other arts which they thin! capable of being taught an learne $ ;n if so#e person offers to give the# a vice who is not suppose by the# to have any s!ill in the art, even though he be goo Dloo!ing, an rich, an noble, they will not listen to hi#, but laugh an hoot at hi#, until either he is cla#oure own an retires of hi#selfQ or if he persist, he is ragge away or put out by the constables at the co##an of the prytanes$ This is their way of behaving about professors of the arts$ *ut when the Huestion is an affair of state, then everybo y is free to have a sayDDcarpenter, tin!er, cobbler, sailor, passengerQ rich an poor, high an lowDDany one who li!es gets up, an no one reproaches hi#, as in the for#er case, with not having learne , an having no teacher, an yet giving a viceQ evi ently because they are un er the i#pression that this sort of !nowle ge cannot be taught$ ;n not only is this true of the state, but of in ivi ualsQ the best an wisest of our citi5ens are unable to i#part their political wis o# to others? as for exa#ple, Pericles, the father of these young #en, who gave the# excellent instruction in all that coul be learne fro# #asters, in his own epart#ent of politics neither taught the#, nor gave the# teachersQ but they were allowe to wan er at their own free will in a sort of hope that they woul light upon virtue of

their own accor $ 6r ta!e another exa#ple? there was Cleinias the younger brother of our frien ;lcibia es, of who# this very sa#e Pericles was the guar ianQ an he being in fact un er the apprehension that Cleinias woul be corrupte by ;lcibia es, too! hi# away, an place hi# in the house of ;riphron to be e ucate Q but before six #onths ha elapse , ;riphron sent hi# bac!, not !nowing what to o with hi#$ ;n / coul #ention nu#berless other instances of persons who were goo the#selves, an never yet #a e any one else goo , whether frien or stranger$ 7ow /, Protagoras, having these exa#ples before #e, a# incline to thin! that virtue cannot be taught$ *ut then again, when / listen to your wor s, / waverQ an a# ispose to thin! that there #ust be so#ething in what you say, because / !now that you have great experience, an learning, an invention$ ;n / wish that you woul , if possible, show #e a little #ore clearly that virtue can be taught$ %ill you be so goo N That / will, ,ocrates, an gla ly$ *ut what woul you li!eN ,hall /, as an el er, spea! to you as younger #en in an apologue or #yth, or shall / argue out the HuestionN To this several of the co#pany answere that he shoul choose for hi#self$ %ell, then, he sai , / thin! that the #yth will be #ore interesting$ 6nce upon a ti#e there were go s only, an no #ortal creatures$ *ut when the ti#e ca#e that these also shoul be create , the go s fashione the# out of earth an fire an various #ixtures of both ele#ents in the interior of the earthQ an when they were about to bring the# into the light of ay, they or ere Pro#etheus an Epi#etheus to eHuip the#, an to istribute to the# severally their proper Hualities$ Epi#etheus sai to Pro#etheus? P:et #e istribute, an o you inspect$P This was agree , an Epi#etheus #a e the istribution$ There were so#e to who# he gave strength without swiftness, while he eHuippe the wea!er with swiftnessQ so#e he ar#e , an others he left unar#e Q an evise for the latter so#e other #eans of preservation, #a!ing so#e large, an having their si5e as a protection, an others s#all, whose nature was to fly in the air or burrow in the groun Q this was to be their way of escape$ Thus i he co#pensate the# with the view of preventing any race fro# beco#ing extinct$ ;n when he ha provi e against their estruction by one another, he contrive also a

#eans of protecting the# against the seasons of heavenQ clothing the# with close hair an thic! s!ins sufficient to efen the# against the winter col an able to resist the su##er heat, so that they #ight have a natural be of their own when they wante to restQ also he furnishe the# with hoofs an hair an har an callous s!ins un er their feet$ Then he gave the# varieties of foo ,DDherb of the soil to so#e, to others fruits of trees, an to others roots, an to so#e again he gave other ani#als as foo $ ;n so#e he #a e to have few young ones, while those who were their prey were very prolificQ an in this #anner the race was preserve $ Thus i Epi#etheus, who, not being very wise, forgot that he ha istribute a#ong the brute ani#als all the Hualities which he ha to give,DDan when he ca#e to #an, who was still unprovi e , he was terribly perplexe $ 7ow while he was in this perplexity, Pro#etheus ca#e to inspect the istribution, an he foun that the other ani#als were suitably furnishe , but that #an alone was na!e an shoeless, an ha neither be nor ar#s of efence$ The appointe hour was approaching when #an in his turn was to go forth into the light of ayQ an Pro#etheus, not !nowing how he coul evise his salvation, stole the #echanical arts of +ephaestus an ;thene, an fire with the# @they coul neither have been acHuire nor use without fireA, an gave the# to #an$ Thus #an ha the wis o# necessary to the support of life, but political wis o# he ha notQ for that was in the !eeping of Weus, an the power of Pro#etheus i not exten to entering into the cita el of heaven, where Weus welt, who #oreover ha terrible sentinelsQ but he i enter by stealth into the co##on wor!shop of ;thene an +ephaestus, in which they use to practise their favourite arts, an carrie off +ephaestusP art of wor!ing by fire, an also the art of ;thene, an gave the# to #an$ ;n in this way #an was supplie with the #eans of life$ *ut Pro#etheus is sai to have been afterwar s prosecute for theft, owing to the blun er of Epi#etheus$ 7ow #an, having a share of the ivine attributes, was at first the only one of the ani#als who ha any go s, because he alone was of their !in re Q an he woul raise altars an i#ages of the#$ +e was not long in inventing articulate speech an na#esQ an he also constructe houses an clothes an shoes an be s, an rew sustenance fro# the earth$ Thus provi e , #an!in at first live isperse , an there were no cities$ *ut the conseHuence was that they were estroye by the wil beasts, for they were utterly wea!

in co#parison of the#, an their art was only sufficient to provi e the# with the #eans of life, an i not enable the# to carry on war against the ani#als? foo they ha , but not as yet the art of govern#ent, of which the art of war is a part$ ;fter a while the esire of selfDpreservation gathere the# into citiesQ but when they were gathere together, having no art of govern#ent, they evil intreate one another, an were again in process of ispersion an estruction$ Weus feare that the entire race woul be exter#inate , an so he sent +er#es to the#, bearing reverence an justice to be the or ering principles of cities an the bon s of frien ship an conciliation$ +er#es as!e Weus how he shoul i#part justice an reverence a#ong #en?DD,houl he istribute the# as the arts are istribute Q that is to say, to a favoure few only, one s!ille in ivi ual having enough of #e icine or of any other art for #any uns!ille onesN P,hall this be the #anner in which / a# to istribute justice an reverence a#ong #en, or shall / give the# to allNP PTo all,P sai WeusQ P/ shoul li!e the# all to have a shareQ for cities cannot exist, if a few only share in the virtues, as in the arts$ ;n further, #a!e a law by #y or er, that he who has no part in reverence an justice shall be put to eath, for he is a plague of the state$P ;n this is the reason, ,ocrates, why the ;thenians an #an!in in general, when the Huestion relates to carpentering or any other #echanical art, allow but a few to share in their eliberationsQ an when any one else interferes, then, as you say, they object, if he be not of the favoure fewQ which, as / reply, is very natural$ *ut when they #eet to eliberate about political virtue, which procee s only by way of justice an wis o#, they are patient enough of any #an who spea!s of the#, as is also natural, because they thin! that every #an ought to share in this sort of virtue, an that states coul not exist if this were otherwise$ / have explaine to you, ,ocrates, the reason of this pheno#enon$ ;n that you #ay not suppose yourself to be eceive in thin!ing that all #en regar every #an as having a share of justice or honesty an of every other political virtue, let #e give you a further proof, which is this$ /n other cases, as you are aware, if a #an says that he is a goo fluteD player, or s!ilful in any other art in which he has no s!ill, people either laugh at hi# or are angry with hi#, an his relations thin! that he is #a an go an a #onish hi#Q but when honesty is in Huestion, or so#e other political virtue, even if they !now that he is ishonest, yet, if the #an

co#es publicly forwar an tells the truth about his ishonesty, then, what in the other case was hel by the# to be goo sense, they now ee# to be #a ness$ They say that all #en ought to profess honesty whether they are honest or not, an that a #an is out of his #in who says anything else$ Their notion is, that a #an #ust have so#e egree of honestyQ an that if he has none at all he ought not to be in the worl $ / have been showing that they are right in a #itting every #an as a counsellor about this sort of virtue, as they are of opinion that every #an is a parta!er of it$ ;n / will now en eavour to show further that they o not conceive this virtue to be given by nature, or to grow spontaneously, but to be a thing which #ay be taughtQ an which co#es to a #an by ta!ing pains$ 7o one woul instruct, no one woul rebu!e, or be angry with those whose cala#ities they suppose to be ue to nature or chanceQ they o not try to punish or to prevent the# fro# being what they areQ they o but pity the#$ %ho is so foolish as to chastise or instruct the ugly, or the i#inutive, or the feebleN ;n for this reason$ *ecause he !nows that goo an evil of this !in is the wor! of nature an of chanceQ whereas if a #an is wanting in those goo Hualities which are attaine by stu y an exercise an teaching, an has only the contrary evil Hualities, other #en are angry with hi#, an punish an reprove hi#DDof these evil Hualities one is i#piety, another injustice, an they #ay be escribe generally as the very opposite of political virtue$ /n such cases any #an will be angry with another, an repri#an hi#,DDclearly because he thin!s that by stu y an learning, the virtue in which the other is eficient #ay be acHuire $ /f you will thin!, ,ocrates, of the nature of punish#ent, you will see at once that in the opinion of #an!in virtue #ay be acHuire Q no one punishes the evilD oer un er the notion, or for the reason, that he has one wrong, DDonly the unreasonable fury of a beast acts in that #anner$ *ut he who esires to inflict rational punish#ent oes not retaliate for a past wrong which cannot be un oneQ he has regar to the future, an is esirous that the #an who is punishe , an he who sees hi# punishe , #ay be eterre fro# oing wrong again$ +e punishes for the sa!e of prevention, thereby clearly i#plying that virtue is capable of being taught$ This is the notion of all who retaliate upon others either privately or publicly$ ;n the ;thenians, too, your own citi5ens, li!e other #en, punish an ta!e vengeance on all who# they regar as evil oersQ an hence, we #ay infer the# to be of the nu#ber of those who thin! that virtue #ay be acHuire an taught$ Thus far, ,ocrates, / have shown you clearly enough, if / a# not #ista!en, that

your country#en are right in a #itting the tin!er an the cobbler to a vise about politics, an also that they ee# virtue to be capable of being taught an acHuire $ There yet re#ains one ifficulty which has been raise by you about the sons of goo #en$ %hat is the reason why goo #en teach their sons the !nowle ge which is gaine fro# teachers, an #a!e the# wise in that, but o nothing towar s i#proving the# in the virtues which istinguish the#selvesN ;n here, ,ocrates, / will leave the apologue an resu#e the argu#ent$ Please to consi er? /s there or is there not so#e one Huality of which all the citi5ens #ust be parta!ers, if there is to be a city at allN /n the answer to this Huestion is containe the only solution of your ifficultyQ there is no other$ 'or if there be any such Huality, an this Huality or unity is not the art of the carpenter, or the s#ith, or the potter, but justice an te#perance an holiness an , in a wor , #anly virtueDDif this is the Huality of which all #en #ust be parta!ers, an which is the very con ition of their learning or oing anything else, an if he who is wanting in this, whether he be a chil only or a grownDup #an or wo#an, #ust be taught an punishe , until by punish#ent he beco#es better, an he who rebels against instruction an punish#ent is either exile or con e#ne to eath un er the i ea that he is incurableDDif what / a# saying be true, goo #en have their sons taught other things an not this, o consi er how extraor inary their con uct woul appear to be$ 'or we have shown that they thin! virtue capable of being taught an cultivate both in private an publicQ an , notwithstan ing, they have their sons taught lesser #atters, ignorance of which oes not involve the punish#ent of eath? but greater things, of which the ignorance #ay cause eath an exile to those who have no training or !nowle ge of the#DDaye, an confiscation as well as eath, an , in a wor , #ay be the ruin of fa#iliesDDthose things, / say, they are suppose not to teach the#,DDnot to ta!e the ut#ost care that they shoul learn$ +ow i#probable is this, ,ocrates" E ucation an a #onition co##ence in the first years of chil hoo , an last to the very en of life$ 9other an nurse an father an tutor are vying with one another about the i#prove#ent of the chil as soon as ever he is able to un erstan what is being sai to hi#? he cannot say or o anything without their setting forth to hi# that this is just an that is unjustQ this is honourable, that is ishonourableQ this is holy, that is unholyQ o

this an abstain fro# that$ ;n if he obeys, well an goo Q if not, he is straightene by threats an blows, li!e a piece of bent or warpe woo $ ;t a later stage they sen hi# to teachers, an enjoin the# to see to his #anners even #ore than to his rea ing an #usicQ an the teachers o as they are esire $ ;n when the boy has learne his letters an is beginning to un erstan what is written, as before he un erstoo only what was spo!en, they put into his han s the wor!s of great poets, which he rea s sitting on a bench at schoolQ in these are containe #any a #onitions, an #any tales, an praises, an enco#ia of ancient fa#ous #en, which he is reHuire to learn by heart, in or er that he #ay i#itate or e#ulate the# an esire to beco#e li!e the#$ Then, again, the teachers of the lyre ta!e si#ilar care that their young isciple is te#perate an gets into no #ischiefQ an when they have taught hi# the use of the lyre, they intro uce hi# to the poe#s of other excellent poets, who are the lyric poetsQ an these they set to #usic, an #a!e their har#onies an rhyth#s Huite fa#iliar to the chil renPs souls, in or er that they #ay learn to be #ore gentle, an har#onious, an rhyth#ical, an so #ore fitte for speech an actionQ for the life of #an in every part has nee of har#ony an rhyth#$ Then they sen the# to the #aster of gy#nastic, in or er that their bo ies #ay better #inister to the virtuous #in , an that they #ay not be co#pelle through bo ily wea!ness to play the cowar in war or on any other occasion$ This is what is one by those who have the #eans, an those who have the #eans are the richQ their chil ren begin to go to school soonest an leave off latest$ %hen they have one with #asters, the state again co#pels the# to learn the laws, an live after the pattern which they furnish, an not after their own fanciesQ an just as in learning to write, the writingD#aster first raws lines with a style for the use of the young beginner, an gives hi# the tablet an #a!es hi# follow the lines, so the city raws the laws, which were the invention of goo lawgivers living in the ol en ti#eQ these are given to the young #an, in or er to gui e hi# in his con uct whether he is co##an ing or obeyingQ an he who transgresses the# is to be correcte , or, in other wor s, calle to account, which is a ter# use not only in your country, but also in #any others, seeing that justice calls #en to account$ 7ow when there is all this care about virtue private an public, why, ,ocrates, o you still won er an oubt whether virtue can be taughtN Cease to won er, for the opposite woul be far #ore surprising$ *ut why then o the sons of goo fathers often turn out illN There is nothing very won erful in thisQ for, as / have been saying, the existence

of a state i#plies that virtue is not any #anPs private possession$ /f so DDan nothing can be truerDDthen / will further as! you to i#agine, as an illustration, so#e other pursuit or branch of !nowle ge which #ay be assu#e eHually to be the con ition of the existence of a state$ ,uppose that there coul be no state unless we were all fluteDplayers, as far as each ha the capacity, an everybo y was freely teaching everybo y the art, both in private an public, an reproving the ba player as freely an openly as every #an now teaches justice an the laws, not concealing the# as he woul conceal the other arts, but i#parting the#DDfor all of us have a #utual interest in the justice an virtue of one another, an this is the reason why every one is so rea y to teach justice an the lawsQDDsuppose, / say, that there were the sa#e rea iness an liberality a#ong us in teaching one another fluteDplaying, o you i#agine, ,ocrates, that the sons of goo fluteDplayers woul be #ore li!ely to be goo than the sons of ba onesN / thin! not$ %oul not their sons grow up to be istinguishe or un istinguishe accor ing to their own natural capacities as fluteDplayers, an the son of a goo player woul often turn out to be a ba one, an the son of a ba player to be a goo one, all fluteDplayers woul be goo enough in co#parison of those who were ignorant an unacHuainte with the art of fluteDplayingN /n li!e #anner / woul have you consi er that he who appears to you to be the worst of those who have been brought up in laws an hu#anities, woul appear to be a just #an an a #aster of justice if he were to be co#pare with #en who ha no e ucation, or courts of justice, or laws, or any restraints upon the# which co#pelle the# to practise virtueDD with the savages, for exa#ple, who# the poet Pherecrates exhibite on the stage at the last yearPs :enaean festival$ /f you were living a#ong #en such as the #anDhaters in his Chorus, you woul be only too gla to #eet with Eurybates an Phrynon as, an you woul sorrowfully long to revisit the rascality of this part of the worl $ Oou, ,ocrates, are iscontente , an whyN *ecause all #en are teachers of virtue, each one accor ing to his abilityQ an you say %here are the teachersN Oou #ight as well as!, %ho teaches Gree!N 'or of that too there will not be any teachers foun $ 6r you #ight as!, %ho is to teach the sons of our artisans this sa#e art which they have learne of their fathersN +e an his fellowDwor!#en have taught the# to the best of their ability,DDbut who will carry the# further in their artsN ;n you woul certainly have a ifficulty, ,ocrates, in fin ing a teacher of the#Q but there woul be no ifficulty in fin ing a teacher of those who are wholly ignorant$ ;n this is true of virtue or of anything elseQ if a #an is better able than we are to pro#ote virtue ever so little, we #ust be content with the result$ ; teacher of this sort /

believe #yself to be, an above all other #en to have the !nowle ge which #a!es a #an noble an goo Q an / give #y pupils their #oneyPsDworth, an even #ore, as they the#selves confess$ ;n therefore / have intro uce the following #o e of pay#ent?DD%hen a #an has been #y pupil, if he li!es he pays #y price, but there is no co#pulsionQ an if he oes not li!e, he has only to go into a te#ple an ta!e an oath of the value of the instructions, an he pays no #ore than he eclares to be their value$ ,uch is #y ;pologue, ,ocrates, an such is the argu#ent by which / en eavour to show that virtue #ay be taught, an that this is the opinion of the ;thenians$ ;n / have also atte#pte to show that you are not to won er at goo fathers having ba sons, or at goo sons having ba fathers, of which the sons of Polycleitus affor an exa#ple, who are the co#panions of our frien s here, Paralus an Manthippus, but are nothing in co#parison with their fatherQ an this is true of the sons of #any other artists$ ;s yet / ought not to say the sa#e of Paralus an Manthippus the#selves, for they are young an there is still hope of the#$ Protagoras en e , an in #y ear P,o char#ing left his voice, that / the while Thought hi# still spea!ingQ still stoo fixe to hear @*orrowe by 9ilton, IPara ise :ostI$A$P ;t length, when the truth awne upon #e, that he ha really finishe , not without ifficulty / began to collect #yself, an loo!ing at +ippocrates, / sai to hi#? 6 son of ;pollo orus, how eeply grateful / a# to you for having brought #e hitherQ / woul not have #isse the speech of Protagoras for a great eal$ 'or / use to i#agine that no hu#an care coul #a!e #en goo Q but / !now better now$ Oet / have still one very s#all ifficulty which / a# sure that Protagoras will easily explain, as he has alrea y explaine so #uch$ /f a #an were to go an consult Pericles or any of our great spea!ers about these #atters, he #ight perhaps hear as fine a iscourseQ but then when one has a Huestion to as! of any of the#, li!e boo!s, they can neither answer nor as!Q an if any one challenges the least particular of their speech, they go ringing on in a long harangue, li!e bra5en pots, which when they are struc! continue to soun unless so#e one puts his han upon the#Q whereas our frien Protagoras can not only #a!e a goo speech, as he has alrea y shown, but when he is as!e a Huestion he can answer brieflyQ an when he as!s he will wait an hear the answerQ an

this is a very rare gift$ 7ow /, Protagoras, want to as! of you a little Huestion, which if you will only answer, / shall be Huite satisfie $ Oou were saying that virtue can be taughtQDDthat / will ta!e upon your authority, an there is no one to who# / a# #ore rea y to trust$ *ut / #arvel at one thing about which / shoul li!e to have #y #in set at rest$ Oou were spea!ing of Weus sen ing justice an reverence to #enQ an several ti#es while you were spea!ing, justice, an te#perance, an holiness, an all these Hualities, were escribe by you as if together they #a e up virtue$ 7ow / want you to tell #e truly whether virtue is one whole, of which justice an te#perance an holiness are partsQ or whether all these are only the na#es of one an the sa#e thing? that is the oubt which still lingers in #y #in $ There is no ifficulty, ,ocrates, in answering that the Hualities of which you are spea!ing are the parts of virtue which is one$ ;n are they parts, / sai , in the sa#e sense in which #outh, nose, an eyes, an ears, are the parts of a faceQ or are they li!e the parts of gol , which iffer fro# the whole an fro# one another only in being larger or s#allerN / shoul say that they iffere , ,ocrates, in the first wayQ they are relate to one another as the parts of a face are relate to the whole face$ ;n o #en have so#e one part an so#e another part of virtueN 6r if a #an has one part, #ust he also have all the othersN *y no #eans, he sai Q for #any a #an is brave an not just, or just an not wise$ Oou woul not eny, then, that courage an wis o# are also parts of virtueN 9ost un oubte ly they are, he answere Q an wis o# is the noblest of the parts$ ;n they are all ifferent fro# one anotherN / sai $

Oes$ ;n has each of the# a istinct function li!e the parts of the faceQDDthe eye, for exa#ple, is not li!e the ear, an has not the sa#e functionsQ an the other parts are none of the# li!e one another, either in their functions, or in any other wayN / want to !now whether the co#parison hol s concerning the parts of virtue$ &o they also iffer fro# one another in the#selves an in their functionsN 'or that is clearly what the si#ile woul i#ply$ Oes, ,ocrates, you are right in supposing that they iffer$ Then, / sai , no other part of virtue is li!e !nowle ge, or li!e justice, or li!e courage, or li!e te#perance, or li!e holinessN 7o, he answere $ %ell then, / sai , suppose that you an / enHuire into their natures$ ;n first, you woul agree with #e that justice is of the nature of a thing, woul you notN That is #y opinion? woul it not be yours alsoN 9ine also, he sai $ ;n suppose that so#e one were to as! us, saying, P6 Protagoras, an you, ,ocrates, what about this thing which you were calling justice, is it just or unjustNPDDan / were to answer, just? woul you vote with #e or against #eN %ith you, he sai $ Thereupon / shoul answer to hi# who as!e #e, that justice is of the nature of the just? woul not youN Oes, he sai $ ;n suppose that he went on to say? P%ell now, is there also such a thing as holinessNPDDwe shoul answer, POes,P if / a# not #ista!enN Oes, he sai $

%hich you woul also ac!nowle ge to be a thingDDshoul we not say soN +e assente $ P;n is this a sort of thing which is of the nature of the holy, or of the nature of the unholyNP / shoul be angry at his putting such a Huestion, an shoul say, PPeace, #anQ nothing can be holy if holiness is not holy$P %hat woul you sayN %oul you not answer in the sa#e wayN Certainly, he sai $ ;n then after this suppose that he ca#e an as!e us, P%hat were you saying just nowN Perhaps / #ay not have hear you rightly, but you see#e to #e to be saying that the parts of virtue were not the sa#e as one another$P / shoul reply, POou certainly hear that sai , but not, as you i#agine, by #eQ for / only as!e the HuestionQ Protagoras gave the answer$P ;n suppose that he turne to you an sai , P/s this true, ProtagorasN an o you #aintain that one part of virtue is unli!e another, an is this your positionNPDDhow woul you answer hi#N / coul not help ac!nowle ging the truth of what he sai , ,ocrates$ %ell then, Protagoras, we will assu#e thisQ an now supposing that he procee e to say further, PThen holiness is not of the nature of justice, nor justice of the nature of holiness, but of the nature of unholinessQ an holiness is of the nature of the not just, an therefore of the unjust, an the unjust is the unholyP? how shall we answer hi#N / shoul certainly answer hi# on #y own behalf that justice is holy, an that holiness is justQ an / woul say in li!e #anner on your behalf also, if you woul allow #e, that justice is either the sa#e with holiness, or very nearly the sa#eQ an above all / woul assert that justice is li!e holiness an holiness is li!e justiceQ an / wish that you woul tell #e whether / #ay be per#itte to give this answer on your behalf, an whether you woul agree with #e$ +e replie , / cannot si#ply agree, ,ocrates, to the proposition that justice is holy an that holiness is just, for there appears to #e to be a ifference between the#$ *ut what #atterN if you please / pleaseQ an let us assu#e, if you will /, that justice is holy, an that holiness is just$

Par on #e, / replie Q / o not want this Pif you wishP or Pif you willP sort of conclusion to be proven, but / want you an #e to be proven? / #ean to say that the conclusion will be best proven if there be no Pif$P %ell, he sai , / a #it that justice bears a rese#blance to holiness, for there is always so#e point of view in which everything is li!e every other thingQ white is in a certain way li!e blac!, an har is li!e soft, an the #ost extre#e opposites have so#e Hualities in co##onQ even the parts of the face which, as we were saying before, are istinct an have ifferent functions, are still in a certain point of view si#ilar, an one of the# is li!e another of the#$ ;n you #ay prove that they are li!e one another on the sa#e principle that all things are li!e one anotherQ an yet things which are li!e in so#e particular ought not to be calle ali!e, nor things which are unli!e in so#e particular, however slight, unli!e$ ;n o you thin!, / sai in a tone of surprise, that justice an holiness have but a s#all egree of li!enessN Certainly notQ any #ore than / agree with what / un erstan to be your view$ %ell, / sai , as you appear to have a ifficulty about this, let us ta!e another of the exa#ples which you #entione instea $ &o you a #it the existence of follyN / o$ ;n is not wis o# the very opposite of follyN That is true, he sai $ ;n when #en act rightly an a vantageously they see# to you to be te#perateN Oes, he sai $ ;n te#perance #a!es the# te#perateN Certainly$

;n they who o not act rightly act foolishly, an in acting thus are not te#perateN / agree, he sai $ Then to act foolishly is the opposite of acting te#peratelyN +e assente $ ;n foolish actions are one by folly, an te#perate actions by te#peranceN +e agree $ ;n that is one strongly which is one by strength, an that which is wea!ly one, by wea!nessN +e assente $ ;n that which is one with swiftness is one swiftly, an that which is one with slowness, slowlyN +e assente again$ ;n that which is one in the sa#e #anner, is one by the sa#eQ an that which is one in an opposite #anner by the oppositeN +e agree $ 6nce #ore, / sai , is there anything beautifulN Oes$ To which the only opposite is the uglyN There is no other$ ;n is there anything goo N There is$

To which the only opposite is the evilN There is no other$ ;n there is the acute in soun N True$ To which the only opposite is the graveN There is no other, he sai , but that$ Then every opposite has one opposite only an no #oreN +e assente $ Then now, / sai , let us recapitulate our a #issions$ 'irst of all we a #itte that everything has one opposite an not #ore than oneN %e i so$ ;n we a #itte also that what was one in opposite ways was one by oppositesN Oes$ ;n that which was one foolishly, as we further a #itte , was one in the opposite way to that which was one te#peratelyN Oes$ ;n that which was one te#perately was one by te#perance, an that which was one foolishly by follyN +e agree $ ;n that which is one in opposite ways is one by oppositesN

Oes$ ;n one thing is one by te#perance, an Huite another thing by follyN Oes$ ;n in opposite waysN Certainly$ ;n therefore by opposites?DDthen folly is the opposite of te#peranceN Clearly$ ;n o you re#e#ber that folly has alrea y been ac!nowle ge by us to be the opposite of wis o#N +e assente $ ;n we sai that everything has only one oppositeN Oes$ Then, Protagoras, which of the two assertions shall we renounceN 6ne says that everything has but one oppositeQ the other that wis o# is istinct fro# te#perance, an that both of the# are parts of virtueQ an that they are not only istinct, but issi#ilar, both in the#selves an in their functions, li!e the parts of a face$ %hich of these two assertions shall we renounceN 'or both of the# together are certainly not in har#onyQ they o not accor or agree? for how can they be sai to agree if everything is assu#e to have only one opposite an not #ore than one, an yet folly, which is one, has clearly the two oppositesDDwis o# an te#peranceN /s not that true, ProtagorasN %hat else woul you sayN +e assente , but with great reluctance$ Then te#perance an wis o# are the sa#e, as before justice an holiness appeare to us to be nearly the sa#e$ ;n now, Protagoras, / sai , we #ust finish the enHuiry, an not faint$ &o you thin! that an unjust #an can be te#perate in his injusticeN

/ shoul be asha#e , ,ocrates, he sai , to ac!nowle ge this, which nevertheless #any #ay be foun to assert$ ;n shall / argue with the# or with youN / replie $ / woul rather, he sai , that you shoul argue with the #any first, if you will$ %hichever you please, if you will only answer #e an say whether you are of their opinion or not$ 9y object is to test the vali ity of the argu#entQ an yet the result #ay be that / who as! an you who answer #ay both be put on our trial$ Protagoras at first #a e a show of refusing, as he sai that the argu#ent was not encouragingQ at length, he consente to answer$ 7ow then, / sai , begin at the beginning an answer #e$ Oou thin! that so#e #en are te#perate, an yet unjustN Oes, he sai Q let that be a #itte $ ;n te#perance is goo senseN Oes$ ;n goo sense is goo counsel in oing injusticeN Grante $ /f they succee , / sai , or if they o not succee N /f they succee $ ;n you woul a #it the existence of goo sN Oes$

;n is the goo that which is expe ient for #anN Oes, in ee , he sai ? an there are so#e things which #ay be inexpe ient, an yet / call the# goo $ / thought that Protagoras was getting ruffle an excite Q he see#e to be setting hi#self in an attitu e of war$ ,eeing this, / #in e #y business, an gently sai ?DD %hen you say, Protagoras, that things inexpe ient are goo , o you #ean inexpe ient for #an only, or inexpe ient altogetherN an o you call the latter goo N Certainly not the last, he replie Q for / !now of #any thingsDD#eats, rin!s, #e icines, an ten thousan other things, which are inexpe ient for #an, an so#e which are expe ientQ an so#e which are neither expe ient nor inexpe ient for #an, but only for horsesQ an so#e for oxen only, an so#e for ogsQ an so#e for no ani#als, but only for treesQ an so#e for the roots of trees an not for their branches, as for exa#ple, #anure, which is a goo thing when lai about the roots of a tree, but utterly estructive if thrown upon the shoots an young branchesQ or / #ay instance olive oil, which is #ischievous to all plants, an generally #ost injurious to the hair of every ani#al with the exception of #an, but beneficial to hu#an hair an to the hu#an bo y generallyQ an even in this application @so various an changeable is the nature of the benefitA, that which is the greatest goo to the outwar parts of a #an, is a very great evil to his inwar parts? an for this reason physicians always forbi their patients the use of oil in their foo , except in very s#all Huantities, just enough to extinguish the isagreeable sensation of s#ell in #eats an sauces$ %hen he ha given this answer, the co#pany cheere hi#$ ;n / sai ? Protagoras, / have a wretche #e#ory, an when any one #a!es a long speech to #e / never re#e#ber what he is tal!ing about$ ;s then, if / ha been eaf, an you were going to converse with #e, you woul have ha to raise your voiceQ so now, having such a ba #e#ory, / will as! you to cut your answers shorter, if you woul ta!e #e with you$ %hat o you #eanN he sai ? how a# / to shorten #y answersN shall / #a!e

the# too shortN Certainly not, / sai $ *ut short enoughN Oes, / sai $ ,hall / answer what appears to #e to be short enough, or what appears to you to be short enoughN / have hear , / sai , that you can spea! an teach others to spea! about the sa#e things at such length that wor s never see#e to fail, or with such brevity that no one coul use fewer of the#$ Please therefore, if you tal! with #e, to a opt the latter or #ore co#pen ious #etho $ ,ocrates, he replie , #any a battle of wor s have / fought, an if / ha followe the #etho of isputation which #y a versaries esire , as you want #e to o, / shoul have been no better than another, an the na#e of Protagoras woul have been nowhere$ / saw that he was not satisfie with his previous answers, an that he woul not play the part of answerer any #ore if he coul helpQ an / consi ere that there was no call upon #e to continue the conversationQ so / sai ? Protagoras, / o not wish to force the conversation upon you if you ha rather not, but when you are willing to argue with #e in such a way that / can follow you, then / will argue with you$ 7ow you, as is sai of you by others an as you say of yourself, are able to have iscussions in shorter for#s of speech as well as in longer, for you are a #aster of wis o#Q but / cannot #anage these long speeches? / only wish that / coul $ Oou, on the other han , who are capable of either, ought to spea! shorter as / beg you, an then we #ight converse$ *ut / see that you are isincline , an as / have an engage#ent which will prevent #y staying to hear you at greater length @for / have to be in another placeA, / will epartQ although / shoul have li!e to have hear you$ Thus / spo!e, an was rising fro# #y seat, when Callias sei5e #e by the right han , an in his left han caught hol of this ol cloa! of #ine$ +e sai ? %e cannot let you go, ,ocrates, for if you leave us there will be an en of our iscussions? / #ust therefore beg you to re#ain, as there is

nothing in the worl that / shoul li!e better than to hear you an Protagoras iscourse$ &o not eny the co#pany this pleasure$ 7ow / ha got up, an was in the act of eparture$ ,on of +ipponicus, / replie , / have always a #ire , an o now heartily applau an love your philosophical spirit, an / woul gla ly co#ply with your reHuest, if / coul $ *ut the truth is that / cannot$ ;n what you as! is as great an i#possibility to #e, as if you ba e #e run a race with Crison of +i#era, when in his pri#e, or with so#e one of the long or ay course runners$ To such a reHuest / shoul reply that / woul fain as! the sa#e of #y own legsQ but they refuse to co#ply$ ;n therefore if you want to see Crison an #e in the sa#e sta iu#, you #ust bi hi# slac!en his spee to #ine, for / cannot run Huic!ly, an he can run slowly$ ;n in li!e #anner if you want to hear #e an Protagoras iscoursing, you #ust as! hi# to shorten his answers, an !eep to the point, as he i at firstQ if not, how can there be any iscussionN 'or iscussion is one thing, an #a!ing an oration is Huite another, in #y hu#ble opinion$ *ut you see, ,ocrates, sai Callias, that Protagoras #ay fairly clai# to spea! in his own way, just as you clai# to spea! in yours$ +ere ;lcibia es interpose , an sai ? That, Callias, is not a true state#ent of the case$ 'or our frien ,ocrates a #its that he cannot #a!e a speechDDin this he yiel s the pal# to Protagoras? but / shoul be greatly surprise if he yiel e to any living #an in the power of hol ing an apprehen ing an argu#ent$ 7ow if Protagoras will #a!e a si#ilar a #ission, an confess that he is inferior to ,ocrates in argu#entative s!ill, that is enough for ,ocratesQ but if he clai#s a superiority in argu#ent as well, let hi# as! an answerDDnot, when a Huestion is as!e , slipping away fro# the point, an instea of answering, #a!ing a speech at such length that #ost of his hearers forget the Huestion at issue @not that ,ocrates is li!ely to forgetDD/ will be boun for that, although he #ay preten in fun that he has a ba #e#oryA$ ;n ,ocrates appears to #e to be #ore in the right than ProtagorasQ that is #y view, an every #an ought to say what he thin!s$ %hen ;lcibia es ha one spea!ing, so#e oneDDCritias, / believeDDwent on to say? 6 Pro icus an +ippias, Callias appears to #e to be a partisan of Protagoras? an this le ;lcibia es, who loves opposition, to ta!e the

other si e$ *ut we shoul not be partisans either of ,ocrates or of ProtagorasQ let us rather unite in entreating both of the# not to brea! up the iscussion$ Pro icus a e ? That, Critias, see#s to #e to be well sai , for those who are present at such iscussions ought to be i#partial hearers of both the spea!ersQ re#e#bering, however, that i#partiality is not the sa#e as eHuality, for both si es shoul be i#partially hear , an yet an eHual #ee shoul not be assigne to both of the#Q but to the wiser a higher #ee shoul be given, an a lower to the less wise$ ;n / as well as Critias woul beg you, Protagoras an ,ocrates, to grant our reHuest, which is, that you will argue with one another an not wrangleQ for frien s argue with frien s out of goo Dwill, but only a versaries an ene#ies wrangle$ ;n then our #eeting will be elightfulQ for in this way you, who are the spea!ers, will be #ost li!ely to win estee#, an not praise only, a#ong us who are your au ienceQ for estee# is a sincere conviction of the hearersP souls, but praise is often an insincere expression of #en uttering falsehoo s contrary to their conviction$ ;n thus we who are the hearers will be gratifie an not please Q for gratification is of the #in when receiving wis o# an !nowle ge, but pleasure is of the bo y when eating or experiencing so#e other bo ily elight$ Thus spo!e Pro icus, an #any of the co#pany applau e his wor s$ +ippias the sage spo!e next$ +e sai ? ;ll of you who are here present / rec!on to be !ins#en an frien s an fellowDciti5ens, by nature an not by lawQ for by nature li!e is a!in to li!e, whereas law is the tyrant of #an!in , an often co#pels us to o #any things which are against nature$ +ow great woul be the isgrace then, if we, who !now the nature of things, an are the wisest of the +ellenes, an as such are #et together in this city, which is the #etropolis of wis o#, an in the greatest an #ost glorious house of this city, shoul have nothing to show worthy of this height of ignity, but shoul only Huarrel with one another li!e the #eanest of #an!in " / o pray an a vise you, Protagoras, an you, ,ocrates, to agree upon a co#pro#ise$ :et us be your peace#a!ers$ ;n o not you, ,ocrates, ai# at this precise an extre#e brevity in iscourse, if Protagoras objects, but loosen an let go the reins of speech, that your wor s #ay be gran er an #ore beco#ing to you$ 7either o you, Protagoras, go forth on the gale with every sail set out of sight of lan into an ocean of wor s, but let there be a #ean observe by both of you$ &o as / say$

;n let #e also persua e you to choose an arbiter or overseer or presi entQ he will !eep watch over your wor s an will prescribe their proper length$ This proposal was receive by the co#pany with universal approvalQ Callias sai that he woul not let #e off, an they begge #e to choose an arbiter$ *ut / sai that to choose an u#pire of iscourse woul be unsee#lyQ for if the person chosen was inferior, then the inferior or worse ought not to presi e over the betterQ or if he was eHual, neither woul that be wellQ for he who is our eHual will o as we o, an what will be the use of choosing hi#N ;n if you say, P:et us have a better then,PDDto that / answer that you cannot have any one who is wiser than Protagoras$ ;n if you choose another who is not really better, an who# you only say is better, to put another over hi# as though he were an inferior person woul be an unworthy reflection on hi#Q not that, as far as / a# concerne , any reflection is of #uch conseHuence to #e$ :et #e tell you then what / will o in or er that the conversation an iscussion #ay go on as you esire$ /f Protagoras is not ispose to answer, let hi# as! an / will answerQ an / will en eavour to show at the sa#e ti#e how, as / #aintain, he ought to answer? an when / have answere as #any Huestions as he li!es to as!, let hi# in li!e #anner answer #eQ an if he see#s to be not very rea y at answering the precise Huestion as!e of hi#, you an / will unite in entreating hi#, as you entreate #e, not to spoil the iscussion$ ;n this will reHuire no special arbiterDDall of you shall be arbiters$ This was generally approve , an Protagoras, though very #uch against his will, was oblige to agree that he woul as! HuestionsQ an when he ha put a sufficient nu#ber of the#, that he woul answer in his turn those which he was as!e in short replies$ +e began to put his Huestions as follows?DD / a# of opinion, ,ocrates, he sai , that s!ill in poetry is the principal part of e ucationQ an this / conceive to be the power of !nowing what co#positions of the poets are correct, an what are not, an how they are to be istinguishe , an of explaining when as!e the reason of the ifference$ ;n / propose to transfer the Huestion which you an / have been iscussing to the o#ain of poetryQ we will spea! as before of virtue, but in reference to a passage of a poet$ 7ow ,i#oni es says to ,copas the son of Creon the Thessalian? P+ar ly on the one han can a #an beco#e truly goo , built fourDsHuare in han s an feet an #in , a wor! without a flaw$P

&o you !now the poe#N or shall / repeat the wholeN There is no nee , / sai Q for / a# perfectly well acHuainte with the o e, DD/ have #a e a careful stu y of it$ (ery well, he sai $ ;n an trueN o you thin! that the o e is a goo co#position,

Oes, / sai , both goo an true$ *ut if there is a contra iction, can the co#position be goo or trueN 7o, not in that case, / replie $ ;n is there not a contra ictionN he as!e $ )eflect$ %ell, #y frien , / have reflecte $ ;n oes not the poet procee to say, P/ o not agree with the wor of Pittacus, albeit the utterance of a wise #an? +ar ly can a #an be goo PN 7ow you will observe that this is sai by the sa#e poet$ / !now it$ ;n o you thin!, he sai , that the two sayings are consistentN

Oes, / sai , / thin! so @at the sa#e ti#e / coul not help fearing that there #ight be so#ething in what he sai A$ ;n you thin! otherwiseN %hy, he sai , how can he be consistent in bothN 'irst of all, pre#ising as his own thought, P+ar ly can a #an beco#e truly goo PQ an then a little further on in the poe#, forgetting, an bla#ing Pittacus an refusing to agree with hi#, when he says, P+ar ly can a #an be goo ,P which is the very sa#e thing$ ;n yet when he bla#es hi# who says the sa#e with hi#self, he bla#es hi#selfQ so that he #ust be wrong either in his first or his secon assertion$ 9any of the au ience cheere an applau e this$ ;n / felt at first gi y

an faint, as if / ha receive a blow fro# the han of an expert boxer, when / hear his wor s an the soun of the cheeringQ an to confess the truth, / wante to get ti#e to thin! what the #eaning of the poet really was$ ,o / turne to Pro icus an calle hi#$ Pro icus, / sai , ,i#oni es is a country#an of yours, an you ought to co#e to his ai $ / #ust appeal to you, li!e the river ,ca#an er in +o#er, who, when beleaguere by ;chilles, su##ons the ,i#ois to ai hi#, saying? P*rother ear, let us both together stay the force of the hero @/l$A$P ;n / su##on you, for / a# afrai that Protagoras will #a!e an en of ,i#oni es$ 7ow is the ti#e to rehabilitate ,i#oni es, by the application of your philosophy of synony#s, which enables you to istinguish PwillP an Pwish,P an #a!e other char#ing istinctions li!e those which you rew just now$ ;n / shoul li!e to !now whether you woul agree with #eQ for / a# of opinion that there is no contra iction in the wor s of ,i#oni es$ ;n first of all / wish that you woul say whether, in your opinion, Pro icus, PbeingP is the sa#e as Pbeco#ing$P 7ot the sa#e, certainly, replie Pro icus$ &i not ,i#oni es first set forth, as his own view, that P+ar ly can a #an beco#e truly goo PN Ruite right, sai Pro icus$ ;n then he bla#es Pittacus, not, as Protagoras i#agines, for repeating that which he says hi#self, but for saying so#ething ifferent fro# hi#self$ Pittacus oes not say as ,i#oni es says, that har ly can a #an beco#e goo , but har ly can a #an be goo ? an our frien Pro icus woul #aintain that being, Protagoras, is not the sa#e as beco#ingQ an if they are not the sa#e, then ,i#oni es is not inconsistent with hi#self$ / are say that Pro icus an #any others woul say, as +esio says, P6n the one han , har ly can a #an beco#e goo , 'or the go s have #a e virtue the rewar of toil, *ut on the other han , when you have cli#be the height, Then, to retain virtue, however ifficult the acHuisition, is easy @%or!s an &aysA$P

Pro icus hear an approve Q but Protagoras sai ? Oour correction, ,ocrates, involves a greater error than is containe in the sentence which you are correcting$ ;las" / sai , ProtagorasQ then / a# a sorry physician, an a isor er which / a# see!ing to cure$ ,uch is the fact, he sai $ +ow soN / as!e $ The poet, he replie , coul never have #a e such a #ista!e as to say that virtue, which in the opinion of all #en is the har est of all things, can be easily retaine $ %ell, / sai , an how fortunate are we in having Pro icus a#ong us, at the right #o#entQ for he has a wis o#, Protagoras, which, as / i#agine, is #ore than hu#an an of very ancient ate, an #ay be as ol as ,i#oni es or even ol er$ :earne as you are in #any things, you appear to !now nothing of thisQ but / !now, for / a# a isciple of his$ ;n now, if / a# not #ista!en, you o not un erstan the wor Phar P @chaleponA in the sense which ,i#oni es inten e Q an / #ust correct you, as Pro icus corrects #e when / use the wor PawfulP @ einonA as a ter# of praise$ /f / say that Protagoras or any one else is an PawfullyP wise #an, he as!s #e if / a# not asha#e of calling that which is goo PawfulPQ an then he explains to #e that the ter# PawfulP is always ta!en in a ba sense, an that no one spea!s of being PawfullyP healthy or wealthy, or of PawfulP peace, but of PawfulP isease, PawfulP war, PawfulP poverty, #eaning by the ter# Pawful,P evil$ ;n / thin! that ,i#oni es an his country#en the Ceans, when they spo!e of Phar P #eant Pevil,P or so#ething which you o not un erstan $ :et us as! Pro icus, for he ought to be able to answer Huestions about the ialect of ,i#oni es$ %hat i he #ean, Pro icus, by the ter# Phar PN Evil, sai Pro icus$ ;n therefore, / sai , Pro icus, he bla#es Pittacus for saying, P+ar is the goo ,P just as if that were eHuivalent to saying, Evil is the goo $ Oes, he sai , that was certainly his #eaningQ an he is twitting Pittacus o but aggravate

with ignorance of the use of ter#s, which in a :esbian, who has been accusto#e to spea! a barbarous language, is natural$ &o you hear, Protagoras, / as!e , what our frien Pro icus is sayingN ;n have you an answer for hi#N Oou are entirely #ista!en, Pro icus, sai ProtagorasQ an / !now very well that ,i#oni es in using the wor Phar P #eant what all of us #ean, not evil, but that which is not easyDDthat which ta!es a great eal of trouble? of this / a# positive$ / sai ? / also incline to believe, Protagoras, that this was the #eaning of ,i#oni es, of which our frien Pro icus was very well aware, but he thought that he woul #a!e fun, an try if you coul #aintain your thesisQ for that ,i#oni es coul never have #eant the other is clearly prove by the context, in which he says that Go only has this gift$ 7ow he cannot surely #ean to say that to be goo is evil, when he afterwar s procee s to say that Go only has this gift, an that this is the attribute of hi# an of no other$ 'or if this be his #eaning, Pro icus woul i#pute to ,i#oni es a character of rec!lessness which is very unli!e his country#en$ ;n / shoul li!e to tell you, / sai , what / i#agine to be the real #eaning of ,i#oni es in this poe#, if you will test what, in your way of spea!ing, woul be calle #y s!ill in poetryQ or if you woul rather, / will be the listener$ To this proposal Protagoras replie ? ;s you pleaseQDDan +ippias, Pro icus, an the others tol #e by all #eans to o as / propose $ Then now, / sai , / will en eavour to explain to you #y opinion about this poe# of ,i#oni es$ There is a very ancient philosophy which is #ore cultivate in Crete an :ace ae#on than in any other part of +ellas, an there are #ore philosophers in those countries than anywhere else in the worl $ This, however, is a secret which the :ace ae#onians enyQ an they preten to be ignorant, just because they o not wish to have it thought that they rule the worl by wis o#, li!e the ,ophists of who# Protagoras was spea!ing, an not by valour of ar#sQ consi ering that if the reason of their superiority were isclose , all #en woul be practising their wis o#$ ;n this secret of theirs has never been iscovere by the i#itators of :ace ae#onian fashions in other cities, who go about with their ears bruise in i#itation of the#, an have the caestus boun on their ar#s, an

are always in training, an wear short cloa!sQ for they i#agine that these are the practices which have enable the :ace ae#onians to conHuer the other +ellenes$ 7ow when the :ace ae#onians want to unben an hol free conversation with their wise #en, an are no longer satisfie with #ere secret intercourse, they rive out all these laconi5ers, an any other foreigners who #ay happen to be in their country, an they hol a philosophical seance un!nown to strangersQ an they the#selves forbi their young #en to go out into other citiesDDin this they are li!e the CretansDD in or er that they #ay not unlearn the lessons which they have taught the#$ ;n in :ace ae#on an Crete not only #en but also wo#en have a pri e in their high cultivation$ ;n hereby you #ay !now that / a# right in attributing to the :ace ae#onians this excellence in philosophy an speculation? /f a #an converses with the #ost or inary :ace ae#onian, he will fin hi# sel o# goo for #uch in general conversation, but at any point in the iscourse he will be arting out so#e notable saying, terse an full of #eaning, with unerring ai#Q an the person with who# he is tal!ing see#s to be li!e a chil in his han s$ ;n #any of our own age an of for#er ages have note that the true :ace ae#onian type of character has the love of philosophy even stronger than the love of gy#nasticsQ they are conscious that only a perfectly e ucate #an is capable of uttering such expressions$ ,uch were Thales of 9iletus, an Pittacus of 9itylene, an *ias of Priene, an our own ,olon, an Cleobulus the :in ian, an 9yson the ChenianQ an seventh in the catalogue of wise #en was the :ace ae#onian Chilo$ ;ll these were lovers an e#ulators an isciples of the culture of the :ace ae#onians, an any one #ay perceive that their wis o# was of this characterQ consisting of short #e#orable sentences, which they severally uttere $ ;n they #et together an e icate in the te#ple of ;pollo at &elphi, as the firstDfruits of their wis o#, the farDfa#e inscriptions, which are in all #enPs #outhsDDPSnow thyself,P an P7othing too #uch$P %hy o / say all thisN / a# explaining that this :ace ae#onian brevity was the style of pri#itive philosophy$ 7ow there was a saying of Pittacus which was privately circulate an receive the approbation of the wise, P+ar is it to be goo $P ;n ,i#oni es, who was a#bitious of the fa#e of wis o#, was aware that if he coul overthrow this saying, then, as if he ha won a victory over so#e fa#ous athlete, he woul carry off the pal#

a#ong his conte#poraries$ ;n if / a# not #ista!en, he co#pose the entire poe# with the secret intention of a#aging Pittacus an his saying$ :et us all unite in exa#ining his wor s, an see whether / a# spea!ing the truth$ ,i#oni es #ust have been a lunatic, if, in the very first wor s of the poe#, wanting to say only that to beco#e goo is har , he inserte @Gree!A Pon the one han P @Pon the one han to beco#e goo is har PAQ there woul be no reason for the intro uction of @Gree!A, unless you suppose hi# to spea! with a hostile reference to the wor s of Pittacus$ Pittacus is saying P+ar is it to be goo ,P an he, in refutation of this thesis, rejoins that the truly har thing, Pittacus, is to beco#e goo , not joining PtrulyP with Pgoo ,P but with Phar $P 7ot, that the har thing is to be truly goo , as though there were so#e truly goo #en, an there were others who were goo but not truly goo @this woul be a very si#ple observation, an Huite unworthy of ,i#oni esAQ but you #ust suppose hi# to #a!e a trajection of the wor PtrulyP @Gree!A, construing the saying of Pittacus thus @an let us i#agine Pittacus to be spea!ing an ,i#oni es answering hi#A? P6 #y frien s,P says Pittacus, Phar is it to be goo ,P an ,i#oni es answers, P/n that, Pittacus, you are #ista!enQ the ifficulty is not to be goo , but on the one han , to beco#e goo , fourDsHuare in han s an feet an #in , without a flawDDthat is har truly$P This way of rea ing the passage accounts for the insertion of @Gree!A Pon the one han ,P an for the position at the en of the clause of the wor Ptruly,P an all that follows shows this to be the #eaning$ ; great eal #ight be sai in praise of the etails of the poe#, which is a char#ing piece of wor!#anship, an very finishe , but such #inutiae woul be te ious$ / shoul li!e, however, to point out the general intention of the poe#, which is certainly esigne in every part to be a refutation of the saying of Pittacus$ 'or he spea!s in what follows a little further on as if he #eant to argue that although there is a ifficulty in beco#ing goo , yet this is possible for a ti#e, an only for a ti#e$ *ut having beco#e goo , to re#ain in a goo state an be goo , as you, Pittacus, affir#, is not possible, an is not grante to #anQ Go only has this blessingQ Pbut #an cannot help being ba when the force of circu#stances overpowers hi#$P 7ow who# oes the force of circu#stance overpower in the co##an of a vesselNDD not the private in ivi ual, for he is always overpowere Q an as one who is alrea y prostrate cannot be overthrown, an only he who is stan ing upright

but not he who is prostrate can be lai prostrate, so the force of circu#stances can only overpower hi# who, at so#e ti#e or other, has resources, an not hi# who is at all ti#es helpless$ The escent of a great stor# #ay #a!e the pilot helpless, or the severity of the season the husban #an or the physicianQ for the goo #ay beco#e ba , as another poet witnesses?DD PThe goo are so#eti#es goo an so#eti#es ba $P *ut the ba oes not beco#e ba Q he is always ba $ ,o that when the force of circu#stances overpowers the #an of resources an s!ill an virtue, then he cannot help being ba $ ;n you, Pittacus, are saying, P+ar is it to be goo $P 7ow there is a ifficulty in beco#ing goo Q an yet this is possible? but to be goo is an i#possibilityDD P'or he who oes well is the goo #an, an he who oes ill is the ba $P *ut what sort of oing is goo in lettersN an what sort of oing #a!es a #an goo in lettersN Clearly the !nowing of the#$ ;n what sort of wellD oing #a!es a #an a goo physicianN Clearly the !nowle ge of the art of healing the sic!$ P*ut he who oes ill is the ba $P 7ow who beco#es a ba physicianN Clearly he who is in the first place a physician, an in the secon place a goo physicianQ for he #ay beco#e a ba one also? but none of us uns!ille in ivi uals can by any a#ount of oing ill beco#e physicians, any #ore than we can beco#e carpenters or anything of that sortQ an he who by oing ill cannot beco#e a physician at all, clearly cannot beco#e a ba physician$ /n li!e #anner the goo #ay beco#e eteriorate by ti#e, or toil, or isease, or other acci ent @the only real oing ill is to be eprive of !nowle geA, but the ba #an will never beco#e ba , for he is always ba Q an if he were to beco#e ba , he #ust previously have been goo $ Thus the wor s of the poe# ten to show that on the one han a #an cannot be continuously goo , but that he #ay beco#e goo an #ay also beco#e ba Q an again that PThey are the best for the longest ti#e who# the go s love$P ;ll this relates to Pittacus, as is further prove by the seHuel$ 'or he a s?DD

PTherefore / will not throw away #y span of life to no purpose in searching after the i#possible, hoping in vain to fin a perfectly faultless #an a#ong those who parta!e of the fruit of the broa Dboso#e earth? if / fin hi#, / will sen you wor $P @this is the vehe#ent way in which he pursues his attac! upon Pittacus throughout the whole poe#A? P*ut hi# who oes no evil, voluntarily / praise an loveQDDnot even the go s war against necessity$P ;ll this has a si#ilar rift, for ,i#oni es was not so ignorant as to say that he praise those who i no evil voluntarily, as though there were so#e who i evil voluntarily$ 'or no wise #an, as / believe, will allow that any hu#an being errs voluntarily, or voluntarily oes evil an ishonourable actionsQ but they are very well aware that all who o evil an ishonourable things o the# against their will$ ;n ,i#oni es never says that he praises hi# who oes no evil voluntarilyQ the wor PvoluntarilyP applies to hi#self$ 'or he was un er the i#pression that a goo #an #ight often co#pel hi#self to love an praise another, an to be the frien an approver of anotherQ an that there #ight be an involuntary love, such as a #an #ight feel to an unnatural father or #other, or country, or the li!e$ 7ow ba #en, when their parents or country have any efects, loo! on the# with #alignant joy, an fin fault with the# an expose an enounce the# to others, un er the i ea that the rest of #an!in will be less li!ely to ta!e the#selves to tas! an accuse the# of neglectQ an they bla#e their efects far #ore than they eserve, in or er that the o iu# which is necessarily incurre by the# #ay be increase ? but the goo #an isse#bles his feelings, an constrains hi#self to praise the#Q an if they have wronge hi# an he is angry, he pacifies his anger an is reconcile , an co#pels hi#self to love an praise his own flesh an bloo $ ;n ,i#oni es, as is probable, consi ere that he hi#self ha often ha to praise an #agnify a tyrant or the li!e, #uch against his will, an he also wishes to i#ply to Pittacus that he oes not censure hi# because he is censorious$ P'or / a# satisfie P he says, Pwhen a #an is neither ba nor very stupi Q an when he !nows justice @which is the health of statesA, an is of soun

#in , / will fin no fault with hi#, for / a# not given to fin ing fault, an there are innu#erable foolsP @i#plying that if he elighte in censure he #ight have abun ant opportunity of fin ing faultA$ P;ll things are goo with which evil is un#ingle $P /n these latter wor s he oes not #ean to say that all things are goo which have no evil in the#, as you #ight say P;ll things are white which have no blac! in the#,P for that woul be ri iculousQ but he #eans to say that he accepts an fin s no fault with the #o erate or inter#e iate state$ @P/ o not hopeP he says, Pto fin a perfectly bla#eless #an a#ong those who parta!e of the fruits of the broa Dboso#e earth @if / fin hi#, / will sen you wor AQ in this sense / praise no #an$ *ut he who is #o erately goo , an oes no evil, is goo enough for #e, who love an approve every onePA @an here observe that he uses a :esbian wor , epaine#i @approveA, because he is a ressing Pittacus, P%ho love an ;PP)6(E every one (6:87T;)/:O, who oes no evil?P an that the stop shoul be put after PvoluntarilyPAQ Pbut there are so#e who# / involuntarily praise an love$ ;n you, Pittacus, / woul never have bla#e , if you ha spo!en what was #o erately goo an trueQ but / o bla#e you because, putting on the appearance of truth, you are spea!ing falsely about the highest #atters$PDD;n this, / sai , Pro icus an Protagoras, / ta!e to be the #eaning of ,i#oni es in this poe#$ +ippias sai ? / thin!, ,ocrates, that you have given a very goo explanation of the poe#Q but / have also an excellent interpretation of #y own which / will propoun to you, if you will allow #e$ 7ay, +ippias, sai ;lcibia esQ not now, but at so#e other ti#e$ ;t present we #ust abi e by the co#pact which was #a e between ,ocrates an Protagoras, to the effect that as long as Protagoras is willing to as!, ,ocrates shoul answerQ or that if he woul rather answer, then that

,ocrates shoul as!$ / sai ? / wish Protagoras either to as! or answer as he is incline Q but / woul rather have one with poe#s an o es, if he oes not object, an co#e bac! to the Huestion about which / was as!ing you at first, Protagoras, an by your help #a!e an en of that$ The tal! about the poets see#s to #e li!e a co##onplace entertain#ent to which a vulgar co#pany have recourseQ who, because they are not able to converse or a#use one another, while they are rin!ing, with the soun of their own voices an conversation, by reason of their stupi ity, raise the price of fluteDgirls in the #ar!et, hiring for a great su# the voice of a flute instea of their own breath, to be the #e iu# of intercourse a#ong the#? but where the co#pany are real gentle#en an #en of e ucation, you will see no fluteDgirls, nor ancingD girls, nor harpDgirlsQ an they have no nonsense or ga#es, but are contente with one anotherPs conversation, of which their own voices are the #e iu#, an which they carry on by turns an in an or erly #anner, even though they are very liberal in their potations$ ;n a co#pany li!e this of ours, an #en such as we profess to be, o not reHuire the help of anotherPs voice, or of the poets who# you cannot interrogate about the #eaning of what they are sayingQ people who cite the# eclaring, so#e that the poet has one #eaning, an others that he has another, an the point which is in ispute can never be eci e $ This sort of entertain#ent they ecline, an prefer to tal! with one another, an put one another to the proof in conversation$ ;n these are the #o els which / esire that you an / shoul i#itate$ :eaving the poets, an !eeping to ourselves, let us try the #ettle of one another an #a!e proof of the truth in conversation$ /f you have a #in to as!, / a# rea y to answerQ or if you woul rather, o you answer, an give #e the opportunity of resu#ing an co#pleting our unfinishe argu#ent$ / #a e these an so#e si#ilar observationsQ but Protagoras woul not istinctly say which he woul o$ Thereupon ;lcibia es turne to Callias, an sai ?DD&o you thin!, Callias, that Protagoras is fair in refusing to say whether he will or will not answerN for / certainly thin! that he is unfairQ he ought either to procee with the argu#ent, or istinctly refuse to procee , that we #ay !now his intentionQ an then ,ocrates will be able to iscourse with so#e one else, an the rest of the co#pany will be free

to tal! with one another$ / thin! that Protagoras was really #a e asha#e by these wor s of ;lcibia es, an when the prayers of Callias an the co#pany were supera e , he was at last in uce to argue, an sai that / #ight as! an he woul answer$ ,o / sai ? &o not i#agine, Protagoras, that / have any other interest in as!ing Huestions of you but that of clearing up #y own ifficulties$ 'or / thin! that +o#er was very right in saying that P%hen two go together, one sees before the other @/l$A,P for all #en who have a co#panion are rea ier in ee , wor , or thoughtQ but if a #an P,ees a thing when he is alone,P he goes about straightway see!ing until he fin s so#e one to who# he #ay show his iscoveries, an who #ay confir# hi# in the#$ ;n / woul rather hol iscourse with you than with any one, because / thin! that no #an has a better un erstan ing of #ost things which a goo #an #ay be expecte to un erstan , an in particular of virtue$ 'or who is there, but youNDDwho not only clai# to be a goo #an an a gentle#an, for #any are this, an yet have not the power of #a!ing others goo DDwhereas you are not only goo yourself, but also the cause of goo ness in others$ 9oreover such confi ence have you in yourself, that although other ,ophists conceal their profession, you proclai# in the face of +ellas that you are a ,ophist or teacher of virtue an e ucation, an are the first who e#an e pay in return$ +ow then can / o otherwise than invite you to the exa#ination of these subjects, an as! Huestions an consult with youN / #ust, in ee $ ;n / shoul li!e once #ore to have #y #e#ory refreshe by you about the Huestions which / was as!ing you at first, an also to have your help in consi ering the#$ /f / a# not #ista!en the Huestion was this? ;re wis o# an te#perance an courage an justice an holiness five na#es of the sa#e thingN or has each of the na#es a separate un erlying essence an correspon ing thing having a peculiar function, no one of the# being li!e any other of the#N ;n you replie that the five na#es were not the na#es of the sa#e thing, but that each of the# ha a separate object, an that

all these objects were parts of virtue, not in the sa#e way that the parts of gol are li!e each other an the whole of which they are parts, but as the parts of the face are unli!e the whole of which they are parts an one another, an have each of the# a istinct function$ / shoul li!e to !now whether this is still your opinionQ or if not, / will as! you to efine your #eaning, an / shall not ta!e you to tas! if you now #a!e a ifferent state#ent$ 'or / are say that you #ay have sai what you i only in or er to #a!e trial of #e$ / answer, ,ocrates, he sai , that all these Hualities are parts of virtue, an that four out of the five are to so#e extent si#ilar, an that the fifth of the#, which is courage, is very ifferent fro# the other four, as / prove in this way? Oou #ay observe that #any #en are utterly unrighteous, unholy, inte#perate, ignorant, who are nevertheless re#ar!able for their courage$ ,top, / sai Q / shoul li!e to thin! about that$ %hen you spea! of brave #en, o you #ean the confi ent, or another sort of natureN Oes, he sai Q / #ean the i#petuous, rea y to go at that which others are afrai to approach$ /n the next place, you woul affir# virtue to be a goo thing, of which goo thing you assert yourself to be a teacher$ Oes, he sai Q / shoul say the best of all things, if / a# in #y right #in $ ;n is it partly goo an partly ba , / sai , or wholly goo N %holly goo , an in the highest egree$ Tell #e thenQ who are they who have confi ence when iving into a wellN / shoul say, the ivers$ ;n the reason of this is that they have !nowle geN Oes, that is the reason$

;n who have confi ence when fighting on horsebac!DDthe s!ille horse#an or the uns!ille N The s!ille $ ;n who when fighting with light shiel sDDthe peltasts or the nonpeltastsN The peltasts$ ;n that is true of all other things, he sai , if that is your point? those who have !nowle ge are #ore confi ent than those who have no !nowle ge, an they are #ore confi ent after they have learne than before$ ;n have you not seen persons utterly ignorant, / sai , of these things, an yet confi ent about the#N Oes, he sai , / have seen such persons far too confi ent$ ;n are not these confi ent persons also courageousN /n that case, he replie , courage woul be a base thing, for the #en of who# we are spea!ing are surely #a #en$ Then who are the courageousN ;re they not the confi entN Oes, he sai Q to that state#ent / a here$ ;n those, / sai , who are thus confi ent without !nowle ge are really not courageous, but #a Q an in that case the wisest are also the #ost confi ent, an being the #ost confi ent are also the bravest, an upon that view again wis o# will be courage$ 7ay, ,ocrates, he replie , you are #ista!en in your re#e#brance of what was sai by #e$ %hen you as!e #e, / certainly i say that the courageous are the confi entQ but / was never as!e whether the confi ent are the courageousQ if you ha as!e #e, / shoul have answere P7ot all of the#P? an what / i answer you have not prove to be false, although you procee e to show that those who have !nowle ge are #ore courageous than

they were before they ha !nowle ge, an #ore courageous than others who have no !nowle ge, an were then le on to thin! that courage is the sa#e as wis o#$ *ut in this way of arguing you #ight co#e to i#agine that strength is wis o#$ Oou #ight begin by as!ing whether the strong are able, an / shoul say POesPQ an then whether those who !now how to wrestle are not #ore able to wrestle than those who o not !now how to wrestle, an #ore able after than before they ha learne , an / shoul assent$ ;n when / ha a #itte this, you #ight use #y a #issions in such a way as to prove that upon #y view wis o# is strengthQ whereas in that case / shoul not have a #itte , any #ore than in the other, that the able are strong, although / have a #itte that the strong are able$ 'or there is a ifference between ability an strengthQ the for#er is given by !nowle ge as well as by #a ness or rage, but strength co#es fro# nature an a healthy state of the bo y$ ;n in li!e #anner / say of confi ence an courage, that they are not the sa#eQ an / argue that the courageous are confi ent, but not all the confi ent courageous$ 'or confi ence #ay be given to #en by art, an also, li!e ability, by #a ness an rageQ but courage co#es to the# fro# nature an the healthy state of the soul$ / sai ? Oou woul a #it, Protagoras, that so#e #en live well an others illN +e assente $ ;n o you thin! that a #an lives well who lives in pain an griefN

+e oes not$ *ut if he lives pleasantly to the en of his life, will he not in that case have live wellN +e will$ Then to live pleasantly is a goo , an to live unpleasantly an evilN Oes, he sai , if the pleasure be goo an honourable$ ;n o you, Protagoras, li!e the rest of the worl , call so#e pleasant things evil an so#e painful things goo NDDfor / a# rather ispose to say that things are goo in as far as they are pleasant, if they have no

conseHuences of another sort, an in as far as they are painful they are ba $ / o not !now, ,ocrates, he sai , whether / can venture to assert in that unHualifie #anner that the pleasant is the goo an the painful the evil$ +aving regar not only to #y present answer, but also to the whole of #y life, / shall be safer, if / a# not #ista!en, in saying that there are so#e pleasant things which are not goo , an that there are so#e painful things which are goo , an so#e which are not goo , an that there are so#e which are neither goo nor evil$ ;n you woul call pleasant, / sai , the things which participate in pleasure or create pleasureN Certainly, he sai $ Then #y #eaning is, that in as far as they are pleasant they are goo Q an #y Huestion woul i#ply that pleasure is a goo in itself$ ;ccor ing to your favourite #o e of speech, ,ocrates, P:et us reflect about this,P he sai Q an if the reflection is to the point, an the result proves that pleasure an goo are really the sa#e, then we will agreeQ but if not, then we will argue$ ;n woul you wish to begin the enHuiryN / sai Q or shall / beginN Oou ought to ta!e the lea , he sai Q for you are the author of the iscussion$ 9ay / e#ploy an illustrationN / sai $ ,uppose so#e one who is enHuiring into the health or so#e other bo ily Huality of another?DDhe loo!s at his face an at the tips of his fingers, an then he says, 8ncover your chest an bac! to #e that / #ay have a better view?DDthat is the sort of thing which / esire in this speculation$ +aving seen what your opinion is about goo an pleasure, / a# #in e to say to you? 8ncover your #in to #e, Protagoras, an reveal your opinion about !nowle ge, that / #ay !now whether you agree with the rest of the worl $ 7ow the rest of the worl are of opinion that !nowle ge is a principle not of strength, or of rule, or of co##an ? their notion is that a #an #ay have !nowle ge, an yet that

the !nowle ge which is in hi# #ay be over#astere by anger, or pleasure, or pain, or love, or perhaps by fear,DDjust as if !nowle ge were a slave, an #ight be ragge about anyhow$ 7ow is that your viewN or o you thin! that !nowle ge is a noble an co##an ing thing, which cannot be overco#e, an will not allow a #an, if he only !nows the ifference of goo an evil, to o anything which is contrary to !nowle ge, but that wis o# will have strength to help hi#N / agree with you, ,ocrates, sai ProtagorasQ an not only so, but /, above all other #en, a# boun to say that wis o# an !nowle ge are the highest of hu#an things$ Goo , / sai , an true$ *ut are you aware that the #ajority of the worl are of another #in Q an that #en are co##only suppose to !now the things which are best, an not to o the# when they #ightN ;n #ost persons who# / have as!e the reason of this have sai that when #en act contrary to !nowle ge they are overco#e by pain, or pleasure, or so#e of those affections which / was just now #entioning$ Oes, ,ocrates, he replie Q an that is not the only point about which #an!in are in error$ ,uppose, then, that you an / en eavour to instruct an infor# the# what is the nature of this affection which they call Pbeing overco#e by pleasure,P an which they affir# to be the reason why they o not always o what is best$ %hen we say to the#? 'rien s, you are #ista!en, an are saying what is not true, they woul probably reply? ,ocrates an Protagoras, if this affection of the soul is not to be calle Pbeing overco#e by pleasure,P pray, what is it, an by what na#e woul you escribe itN *ut why, ,ocrates, shoul we trouble ourselves about the opinion of the #any, who just say anything that happens to occur to the#N / believe, / sai , that they #ay be of use in helping us to iscover how

courage is relate to the other parts of virtue$ /f you are ispose to abi e by our agree#ent, that / shoul show the way in which, as / thin!, our recent ifficulty is #ost li!ely to be cleare up, o you followQ but if not, never #in $ Oou are Huite right, he sai Q an / woul have you procee as you have begun$ %ell then, / sai , let #e suppose that they repeat their Huestion, %hat account o you give of that which, in our way of spea!ing, is ter#e being overco#e by pleasureN / shoul answer thus? :isten, an Protagoras an / will en eavour to show you$ %hen #en are overco#e by eating an rin!ing an other sensual esires which are pleasant, an they, !nowing the# to be evil, nevertheless in ulge in the#, woul you not say that they were overco#e by pleasureN They will not eny this$ ;n suppose that you an / were to go on an as! the# again? P/n what way o you say that they are evil,DDin that they are pleasant an give pleasure at the #o#ent, or because they cause isease an poverty an other li!e evils in the futureN %oul they still be evil, if they ha no atten ant evil conseHuences, si#ply because they give the consciousness of pleasure of whatever natureNPDD%oul they not answer that they are not evil on account of the pleasure which is i##e iately given by the#, but on account of the after conseHuencesDD iseases an the li!eN / believe, sai Protagoras, that the worl in general woul answer as you o$ ;n in causing iseases o they not cause painN an in causing poverty o they not cause painQDDthey woul agree to that also, if / a# not #ista!enN Protagoras assente $ Then / shoul say to the#, in #y na#e an yours? &o you thin! the# evil for any other reason, except because they en in pain an rob us of other pleasures?DDthere again they woul agreeN %e both of us thought that they woul $ ;n then / shoul ta!e the Huestion fro# the opposite point of view, an

say? P'rien s, when you spea! of goo s being painful, o you not #ean re#e ial goo s, such as gy#nastic exercises, an #ilitary service, an the physicianPs use of burning, cutting, rugging, an starvingN ;re these the things which are goo but painfulNPDDthey woul assent to #eN +e agree $ P;n o you call the# goo because they occasion the greatest i##e iate suffering an painQ or because, afterwar s, they bring health an i#prove#ent of the bo ily con ition an the salvation of states an power over others an wealthNPDDthey woul agree to the latter alternative, if / a# not #ista!enN +e assente $ P;re these things goo for any other reason except that they en in pleasure, an get ri of an avert painN ;re you loo!ing to any other stan ar but pleasure an pain when you call the# goo NPDDthey woul ac!nowle ge that they were notN / thin! so, sai Protagoras$ P;n o you not pursue after pleasure as a goo , an avoi pain as an evilNP +e assente $ PThen you thin! that pain is an evil an pleasure is a goo ? an even pleasure you ee# an evil, when it robs you of greater pleasures than it gives, or causes pains greater than the pleasure$ /f, however, you call pleasure an evil in relation to so#e other en or stan ar , you will be able to show us that stan ar $ *ut you have none to show$P / o not thin! that they have, sai Protagoras$ P;n have you not a si#ilar way of spea!ing about painN Oou call pain a goo when it ta!es away greater pains than those which it has, or gives pleasures greater than the pains? then if you have so#e stan ar other than pleasure an pain to which you refer when you call actual pain a goo , you can show what that is$ *ut you cannot$P

True, sai Protagoras$ ,uppose again, / sai , that the worl says to #e? P%hy o you spen #any wor s an spea! in #any ways on this subjectNP Excuse #e, frien s, / shoul replyQ but in the first place there is a ifficulty in explaining the #eaning of the expression Poverco#e by pleasurePQ an the whole argu#ent turns upon this$ ;n even now, if you see any possible way in which evil can be explaine as other than pain, or goo as other than pleasure, you #ay still retract$ ;re you satisfie , then, at having a life of pleasure which is without painN /f you are, an if you are unable to show any goo or evil which oes not en in pleasure an pain, hear the conseHuences?DD/f what you say is true, then the argu#ent is absur which affir#s that a #an often oes evil !nowingly, when he #ight abstain, because he is se uce an overpowere by pleasureQ or again, when you say that a #an !nowingly refuses to o what is goo because he is overco#e at the #o#ent by pleasure$ ;n that this is ri iculous will be evi ent if only we give up the use of various na#es, such as pleasant an painful, an goo an evil$ ;s there are two things, let us call the# by two na#esDD first, goo an evil, an then pleasant an painful$ ;ssu#ing this, let us go on to say that a #an oes evil !nowing that he oes evil$ *ut so#e one will as!, %hyN *ecause he is overco#e, is the first answer$ ;n by what is he overco#eN the enHuirer will procee to as!$ ;n we shall not be able to reply P*y pleasure,P for the na#e of pleasure has been exchange for that of goo $ /n our answer, then, we shall only say that he is overco#e$ P*y whatNP he will reiterate$ *y the goo , we shall have to replyQ in ee we shall$ 7ay, but our Huestioner will rejoin with a laugh, if he be one of the swaggering sort, PThat is too ri iculous, that a #an shoul o what he !nows to be evil when he ought not, because he is overco#e by goo $ /s that, he will as!, because the goo was worthy or not worthy of conHuering the evilPN ;n in answer to that we shall clearly reply, *ecause it was not worthyQ for if it ha been worthy, then he who, as we say, was overco#e by pleasure, woul not have been wrong$ P*ut how,P he will reply, Pcan the goo be unworthy of the evil, or the evil of the goo PN /s not the real explanation that they are out of proportion to one another, either as greater an s#aller, or #ore an fewerN This we cannot eny$ ;n when you spea! of being overco#eDDPwhat o you #ean,P he will say, Pbut that you choose the greater evil in exchange for the lesser goo NP ; #itte $ ;n now substitute the na#es of pleasure an pain for goo an evil, an say,

not as before, that a #an oes what is evil !nowingly, but that he oes what is painful !nowingly, an because he is overco#e by pleasure, which is unworthy to overco#e$ %hat #easure is there of the relations of pleasure to pain other than excess an efect, which #eans that they beco#e greater an s#aller, an #ore an fewer, an iffer in egreeN 'or if any one says? POes, ,ocrates, but i##e iate pleasure iffers wi ely fro# future pleasure an painPDDTo that / shoul reply? ;n o they iffer in anything but in pleasure an painN There can be no other #easure of the#$ ;n o you, li!e a s!ilful weigher, put into the balance the pleasures an the pains, an their nearness an istance, an weigh the#, an then say which outweighs the other$ /f you weigh pleasures against pleasures, you of course ta!e the #ore an greaterQ or if you weigh pains against pains, you ta!e the fewer an the lessQ or if pleasures against pains, then you choose that course of action in which the painful is excee e by the pleasant, whether the istant by the near or the near by the istantQ an you avoi that course of action in which the pleasant is excee e by the painful$ %oul you not a #it, #y frien s, that this is trueN / a# confi ent that they cannot eny this$ +e agree with #e$ %ell then, / shall say, if you agree so far, be so goo as to answer #e a Huestion? &o not the sa#e #agnitu es appear larger to your sight when near, an s#aller when at a istanceN They will ac!nowle ge that$ ;n the sa#e hol s of thic!ness an nu#berQ also soun s, which are in the#selves eHual, are greater when near, an lesser when at a istance$ They will grant that also$ 7ow suppose happiness to consist in oing or choosing the greater, an in not oing or in avoi ing the less, what woul be the saving principle of hu#an lifeN %oul not the art of #easuring be the saving principleQ or woul the power of appearanceN /s not the latter that eceiving art which #a!es us wan er up an own an ta!e the things at one ti#e of which we repent at another, both in our actions an in our choice of things great an s#allN *ut the art of #easure#ent woul o away with the effect of appearances, an , showing the truth, woul fain teach the soul at last to fin rest in the truth, an woul thus save our life$ %oul not #an!in generally ac!nowle ge that the art which acco#plishes this result is the art of #easure#entN Oes, he sai , the art of #easure#ent$

,uppose, again, the salvation of hu#an life to epen on the choice of o an even, an on the !nowle ge of when a #an ought to choose the greater or less, either in reference to the#selves or to each other, an whether near or at a istanceQ what woul be the saving principle of our livesN %oul not !nowle geNDDa !nowle ge of #easuring, when the Huestion is one of excess an efect, an a !nowle ge of nu#ber, when the Huestion is of o an evenN The worl will assent, will they notN Protagoras hi#self thought that they woul $ %ell then, #y frien s, / say to the#Q seeing that the salvation of hu#an life has been foun to consist in the right choice of pleasures an pains, DDin the choice of the #ore an the fewer, an the greater an the less, an the nearer an re#oter, #ust not this #easuring be a consi eration of their excess an efect an eHuality in relation to each otherN This is un eniably true$ ;n this, as possessing #easure, #ust un eniably also be an art an scienceN They will agree, he sai $ The nature of that art or science will be a #atter of future consi erationQ but the existence of such a science furnishes a e#onstrative answer to the Huestion which you as!e of #e an Protagoras$ ;t the ti#e when you as!e the Huestion, if you re#e#ber, both of us were agreeing that there was nothing #ightier than !nowle ge, an that !nowle ge, in whatever existing, #ust have the a vantage over pleasure an all other thingsQ an then you sai that pleasure often got the a vantage even over a #an who has !nowle geQ an we refuse to allow this, an you rejoine ? 6 Protagoras an ,ocrates, what is the #eaning of being overco#e by pleasure if not thisNDDtell us what you call such a state?DDif we ha i##e iately an at the ti#e answere P/gnorance,P you woul have laughe at us$ *ut now, in laughing at us, you will be laughing at yourselves? for you also a #itte that #en err in their choice of pleasures an painsQ that is, in their choice of goo an evil, fro# efect of !nowle geQ an you a #itte

further, that they err, not only fro# efect of !nowle ge in general, but of that particular !nowle ge which is calle #easuring$ ;n you are also aware that the erring act which is one without !nowle ge is one in ignorance$ This, therefore, is the #eaning of being overco#e by pleasureQ DDignorance, an that the greatest$ ;n our frien s Protagoras an Pro icus an +ippias eclare that they are the physicians of ignoranceQ but you, who are un er the #ista!en i#pression that ignorance is not the cause, an that the art of which / a# spea!ing cannot be taught, neither go yourselves, nor sen your chil ren, to the ,ophists, who are the teachers of these thingsDDyou ta!e care of your #oney an give the# noneQ an the result is, that you are the worse off both in public an private life?DD:et us suppose this to be our answer to the worl in general? ;n now / shoul li!e to as! you, +ippias, an you, Pro icus, as well as Protagoras @for the argu#ent is to be yours as well as oursA, whether you thin! that / a# spea!ing the truth or notN They all thought that what / sai was entirely true$ Then you agree, / sai , that the pleasant is the goo , an the painful evil$ ;n here / woul beg #y frien Pro icus not to intro uce his istinction of na#es, whether he is ispose to say pleasurable, elightful, joyful$ +owever, by whatever na#e he prefers to call the#, / will as! you, #ost excellent Pro icus, to answer in #y sense of the wor s$ Pro icus laughe an assente , as i the others$ Then, #y frien s, what o you say to thisN ;re not all actions honourable an useful, of which the ten ency is to #a!e life painless an pleasantN The honourable wor! is also useful an goo N This was a #itte $ Then, / sai , if the pleasant is the goo , nobo y oes anything un er the i ea or conviction that so#e other thing woul be better an is also attainable, when he #ight o the better$ ;n this inferiority of a #an to hi#self is #erely ignorance, as the superiority of a #an to hi#self is wis o#$ They all assente $

;n is not ignorance the having a false opinion an being eceive about i#portant #attersN To this also they unani#ously assente $ Then, / sai , no #an voluntarily pursues evil, or that which he thin!s to be evil$ To prefer evil to goo is not in hu#an natureQ an when a #an is co#pelle to choose one of two evils, no one will choose the greater when he #ay have the less$ ;ll of us agree to every wor of this$ %ell, / sai , there is a certain thing calle fear or terrorQ an here, Pro icus, / shoul particularly li!e to !now whether you woul agree with #e in efining this fear or terror as expectation of evil$ Protagoras an +ippias agree , but Pro icus sai that this was fear an not terror$ 7ever #in , Pro icus, / sai Q but let #e as! whether, if our for#er assertions are true, a #an will pursue that which he fears when he is not co#pelle N %oul not this be in flat contra iction to the a #ission which has been alrea y #a e, that he thin!s the things which he fears to be evilQ an no one will pursue or voluntarily accept that which he thin!s to be evilN That also was universally a #itte $ Then, / sai , these, +ippias an Pro icus, are our pre#issesQ an / woul beg Protagoras to explain to us how he can be right in what he sai at first$ / o not #ean in what he sai Huite at first, for his first state#ent, as you #ay re#e#ber, was that whereas there were five parts of virtue none of the# was li!e any other of the#Q each of the# ha a separate function$ To this, however, / a# not referring, but to the assertion which he afterwar s #a e that of the five virtues four were nearly a!in to each other, but that the fifth, which was courage, iffere greatly fro# the others$ ;n of this he gave #e the following proof$ +e sai ? Oou will fin , ,ocrates, that so#e of the #ost i#pious, an unrighteous, an inte#perate, an ignorant of #en are a#ong the #ost courageousQ which proves that courage is very ifferent fro# the other parts of virtue$ /

was surprise at his saying this at the ti#e, an / a# still #ore surprise now that / have iscusse the #atter with you$ ,o / as!e hi# whether by the brave he #eant the confi ent$ Oes, he replie , an the i#petuous or goers$ @Oou #ay re#e#ber, Protagoras, that this was your answer$A +e assente $ %ell then, / sai , tell us against what are the courageous rea y to goDD against the sa#e angers as the cowar sN 7o, he answere $ Then against so#ething ifferentN Oes, he sai $ Then o cowar s go where there is safety, an the courageous where there is angerN Oes, ,ocrates, so #en say$ (ery true, / sai $ *ut / want to !now against what o you say that the courageous are rea y to goDDagainst angers, believing the# to be angers, or not against angersN 7o, sai heQ the for#er case has been prove by you in the previous argu#ent to be i#possible$ That, again, / replie , is Huite true$ ;n if this has been rightly proven, then no one goes to #eet what he thin!s to be angers, since the want of selfDcontrol, which #a!es #en rush into angers, has been shown to be ignorance$ +e assente $ ;n yet the courageous #an an the cowar ali!e go to #eet that about which they are confi entQ so that, in this point of view, the cowar ly an the courageous go to #eet the sa#e things$

;n yet, ,ocrates, sai Protagoras, that to which the cowar goes is the opposite of that to which the courageous goesQ the one, for exa#ple, is rea y to go to battle, an the other is not rea y$ ;n is going to battle honourable or isgracefulN / sai $ +onourable, he replie $ ;n if honourable, then alrea y a #itte by us to be goo Q for all honourable actions we have a #itte to be goo $ That is trueQ an to that opinion / shall always a here$ True, / sai $ *ut which of the two are they who, as you say, are unwilling to go to war, which is a goo an honourable thingN The cowar s, he replie $ ;n what is goo an honourable, / sai , is also pleasantN /t has certainly been ac!nowle ge to be so, he replie $ ;n o the cowar s !nowingly refuse to go to the nobler, an pleasanter, an betterN The a #ission of that, he replie , woul belie our for#er a #issions$ *ut oes not the courageous #an also go to #eet the better, an pleasanter, an noblerN That #ust be a #itte $ ;n the courageous #an has no base fear or base confi enceN True, he replie $ ;n if not base, then honourableN +e a #itte this$

;n if honourable, then goo N Oes$ *ut the fear an confi ence of the cowar or foolhar y or #a #an, on the contrary, are baseN +e assente $ ;n these base fears an confi ences originate in ignorance an uninstructe nessN True, he sai $ Then as to the #otive fro# which the cowar s act, o you call it cowar ice or courageN / shoul say cowar ice, he replie $ ;n have they not been shown to be cowar s through their ignorance of angersN ;ssure ly, he sai $ ;n because of that ignorance they are cowar sN +e assente $ ;n the reason why they are cowar s is a #itte by you to be cowar iceN +e again assente $ Then the ignorance of what is an is not angerous is cowar iceN +e no e assent$

*ut surely courage, / sai , is oppose to cowar iceN Oes$

Then the wis o# which !nows what are an are not angers is oppose to the ignorance of the#N To that again he no e assent$

;n the ignorance of the# is cowar iceN To that he very reluctantly no e assent$

;n the !nowle ge of that which is an is not angerous is courage, an is oppose to the ignorance of these thingsN ;t this point he woul no longer no assent, but was silent$ ;n why, / sai , o you neither assent nor issent, ProtagorasN 'inish the argu#ent by yourself, he sai $ / only want to as! one #ore Huestion, / sai $ / want to !now whether you still thin! that there are #en who are #ost ignorant an yet #ost courageousN Oou see# to have a great a#bition to #a!e #e answer, ,ocrates, an therefore / will gratify you, an say, that this appears to #e to be i#possible consistently with the argu#ent$ 9y only object, / sai , in continuing the iscussion, has been the esire to ascertain the nature an relations of virtueQ for if this were clear, / a# very sure that the other controversy which has been carrie on at great length by both of usDDyou affir#ing an / enying that virtue can be taughtDDwoul also beco#e clear$ The result of our iscussion appears to #e to be singular$ 'or if the argu#ent ha a hu#an voice, that voice woul be hear laughing at us an saying? PProtagoras an ,ocrates, you are strange beingsQ there are you, ,ocrates, who were saying that virtue cannot be taught, contra icting yourself now by your atte#pt to prove that all things are !nowle ge, inclu ing justice, an te#perance, an courage,DD which ten s to show that virtue can certainly be taughtQ for if virtue were other than !nowle ge, as Protagoras atte#pte to prove, then clearly virtue cannot be taughtQ but if virtue is entirely !nowle ge, as you are see!ing

to show, then / cannot but suppose that virtue is capable of being taught$ Protagoras, on the other han , who starte by saying that it #ight be taught, is now eager to prove it to be anything rather than !nowle geQ an if this is true, it #ust be Huite incapable of being taught$P 7ow /, Protagoras, perceiving this terrible confusion of our i eas, have a great esire that they shoul be cleare up$ ;n / shoul li!e to carry on the iscussion until we ascertain what virtue is, whether capable of being taught or not, lest haply Epi#etheus shoul trip us up an eceive us in the argu#ent, as he forgot us in the storyQ / prefer your Pro#etheus to your Epi#etheus, for of hi# / #a!e use, whenever / a# busy about these Huestions, in Pro#ethean care of #y own life$ ;n if you have no objection, as / sai at first, / shoul li!e to have your help in the enHuiry$ Protagoras replie ? ,ocrates, / a# not of a base nature, an / a# the last #an in the worl to be envious$ / cannot but applau your energy an your con uct of an argu#ent$ ;s / have often sai , / a #ire you above all #en who# / !now, an far above all #en of your ageQ an / believe that you will beco#e very e#inent in philosophy$ :et us co#e bac! to the subject at so#e future ti#eQ at present we ha better turn to so#ething else$ *y all #eans, / sai , if that is your wishQ for / too ought long since to have !ept the engage#ent of which / spo!e before, an only tarrie because / coul not refuse the reHuest of the noble Callias$ ,o the conversation en e , an we went our way$

En of this Project Gutenberg Etext of Protagoras, by Plato