Well then, said he, if you admit that Zeus and the other gods are yours,
can you sell them or give them away or do what you will with them, as
you would with other animals?
At this I was quite struck dumb, Crito, and lay prostrate. Ctesippus
came to the rescue.
Bravo, Heracles, brave words, said he.
Bravo Heracles, or is Heracles a Bravo? said Dionysodorus.
Poseidon, said Ctesippus, what awful distinctions. I will have no more
of them; the pair are invincible.
Then, my dear Crito, there was universal applause of the speakers and
their words, and what with laughing and clapping of hands and rejoicings
the two men were quite overpowered; for hitherto their partisans only
had cheered at each successive hit, but now the whole company shouted
with delight until the columns of the Lyceum returned the sound, seeming
to sympathize in their joy. To such a pitch was I affected myself, that
I made a speech, in which I acknowledged that I had never seen the like
of their wisdom; I was their devoted servant, and fell to praising and
admiring of them. What marvellous dexterity of wit, I said, enabled you
to acquire this great perfection in such a short time? There is much,
indeed, to admire in your words, Euthydemus and Dionysodorus, but there
is nothing that I admire more than your magnanimous disregard of
any opinion--whether of the many, or of the grave and reverend
seigniors--you regard only those who are like yourselves. And I do
verily believe that there are few who are like you, and who would
approve of such arguments; the majority of mankind are so ignorant of
their value, that they would be more ashamed of employing them in the
refutation of others than of being refuted by them. I must further
express my approval of your kind and public-spirited denial of all
differences, whether of good and evil, white or black, or any other;
the result of which is that, as you say, every mouth is sewn up, not
excepting your own, which graciously follows the example of others; and
thus all ground of offence is taken away. But what appears to me to
be more than all is, that this art and invention of yours has been so
admirably contrived by you, that in a very short time it can be imparted
to any one. I observed that Ctesippus learned to imitate you in no time.
Now this quickness of attainment is an excellent thing; but at the same
time I would advise you not to have any more public entertainments;
there is a danger that men may undervalue an art which they have so easy
an opportunity of acquiring; the exhibition would be best of all, if
the discussion were confined to your two selves; but if there must be
an audience, let him only be present who is willing to pay a handsome
fee;--you should be careful of this;--and if you are wise, you will also
bid your disciples discourse with no man but you and themselves. For
only what is rare is valuable; and 'water,' which, as Pindar says, is
the 'best of all things,' is also the cheapest. And now I have only to
request that you will receive Cleinias and me among your pupils.
Such was the discussion, Crito; and after a few more words had passed
between us we went away. I hope that you will come to them with me,
since they say that they are able to teach any one who will give them
money; no age or want of capacity is an impediment. And I must repeat
one thing which they said, for your especial benefit,--that the learning
of their art did not at all interfere with the business of money-making.
CRITO: Truly, Socrates, though I am curious and ready to learn, yet I
fear that I am not like-minded with Euthydemus, but one of the other
sort, who, as you were saying, would rather be refuted by such
arguments than use them in refutation of others. And though I may appear
ridiculous in venturing to advise you, I think that you may as well hear
what was said to me by a man of very considerable pretensions--he was a
professor of legal oratory--who came away from you while I was walking
up and down. 'Crito,' said he to me, 'are you giving no attention to
these wise men?' 'No, indeed,' I said to him; 'I could not get within
hearing of them--there was such a crowd.' 'You would have heard
something worth hearing if you had.' 'What was that?' I said. 'You would
have heard the greatest masters of the art of rhetoric discoursing.'
'And what did you think of them?' I said. 'What did I think of them?' he
said:--'theirs was the sort of discourse which anybody might hear from
men who were playing the fool, and making much ado about nothing.' That
was the expression which he used. 'Surely,' I said, 'philosophy is a
charming thing.' 'Charming!' he said; 'what simplicity! philosophy is
nought; and I think that if you had been present you would have been
ashamed of your friend--his conduct was so very strange in placing
himself at the mercy of men who care not what they say, and fasten upon
every word. And these, as I was telling you, are supposed to be the
most eminent professors of their time. But the truth is, Crito, that the
study itself and the men themselves are utterly mean and ridiculous.'
Now censure of the pursuit, Socrates, whether coming from him or from
others, appears to me to be undeserved; but as to the impropriety of
holding a public discussion with such men, there, I confess that, in my
opinion, he was in the right.
SOCRATES: O Crito, they are marvellous men; but what was I going to say?
First of all let me know;--What manner of man was he who came up to you
and censured philosophy; was he an orator who himself practises in the
courts, or an instructor of orators, who makes the speeches with which
they do battle?
CRITO: He was certainly not an orator, and I doubt whether he had ever
been into court; but they say that he knows the business, and is a
clever man, and composes wonderful speeches.
SOCRATES: Now I understand, Crito; he is one of an amphibious class,
whom I was on the point of mentioning--one of those whom Prodicus
describes as on the border-ground between philosophers and
statesmen--they think that they are the wisest of all men, and that
they are generally esteemed the wisest; nothing but the rivalry of the
philosophers stands in their way; and they are of the opinion that if
they can prove the philosophers to be good for nothing, no one will
dispute their title to the palm of wisdom, for that they are themselves
really the wisest, although they are apt to be mauled by Euthydemus and
his friends, when they get hold of them in conversation. This opinion
which they entertain of their own wisdom is very natural; for they
have a certain amount of philosophy, and a certain amount of political
wisdom; there is reason in what they say, for they argue that they have
just enough of both, and so they keep out of the way of all risks and
conflicts and reap the fruits of their wisdom.
CRITO: What do you say of them, Socrates? There is certainly something
specious in that notion of theirs.
SOCRATES: Yes, Crito, there is more speciousness than truth; they cannot
be made to understand the nature of intermediates. For all persons or
things, which are intermediate between two other things, and participate
in both of them--if one of these two things is good and the other evil,
are better than the one and worse than the other; but if they are in
a mean between two good things which do not tend to the same end, they
fall short of either of their component elements in the attainment of
their ends. Only in the case when the two component elements which do
not tend to the same end are evil is the participant better than either.
Now, if philosophy and political action are both good, but tend to
different ends, and they participate in both, and are in a mean between
them, then they are talking nonsense, for they are worse than either;
or, if the one be good and the other evil, they are better than the one
and worse than the other; only on the supposition that they are both
evil could there be any truth in what they say. I do not think that they
will admit that their two pursuits are either wholly or partly evil; but
the truth is, that these philosopher-politicians who aim at both fall
short of both in the attainment of their respective ends, and are
really third, although they would like to stand first. There is no need,
however, to be angry at this ambition of theirs--which may be forgiven;
for every man ought to be loved who says and manfully pursues and works
out anything which is at all like wisdom: at the same time we shall do
well to see them as they really are.
CRITO: I have often told you, Socrates, that I am in a constant
difficulty about my two sons. What am I to do with them? There is
no hurry about the younger one, who is only a child; but the other,
Critobulus, is getting on, and needs some one who will improve him.
I cannot help thinking, when I hear you talk, that there is a sort
of madness in many of our anxieties about our children:--in the first
place, about marrying a wife of good family to be the mother of them,
and then about heaping up money for them--and yet taking no care about
their education. But then again, when I contemplate any of those who
pretend to educate others, I am amazed. To me, if I am to confess the
truth, they all seem to be such outrageous beings: so that I do not know
how I can advise the youth to study philosophy.
SOCRATES: Dear Crito, do you not know that in every profession the
inferior sort are numerous and good for nothing, and the good are few
and beyond all price: for example, are not gymnastic and rhetoric and
money-making and the art of the general, noble arts?
CRITO: Certainly they are, in my judgment.
SOCRATES: Well, and do you not see that in each of these arts the many
are ridiculous performers?
CRITO: Yes, indeed, that is very true.
SOCRATES: And will you on this account shun all these pursuits yourself
and refuse to allow them to your son?
CRITO: That would not be reasonable, Socrates.
SOCRATES: Do you then be reasonable, Crito, and do not mind whether the
teachers of philosophy are good or bad, but think only of philosophy
herself. Try and examine her well and truly, and if she be evil seek to
turn away all men from her, and not your sons only; but if she be what I
believe that she is, then follow her and serve her, you and your house,
as the saying is, and be of good cheer.