THE REPUBLIC OF PLATO - Studyplace
THE REPUBLIC OF PLATO - Studyplace
THE REPUBLIC OF PLATO - Studyplace
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16 CHAPTER III<br />
it is the same as what is obligatory or useful or advantageous or<br />
profitable or expedient; I want a clear and precise statement; I<br />
won't put up with that sort of verbiage.<br />
I was amazed by this onslaught and looked at him in terror. If<br />
I had not seen this wolf before he saw me, I really believe I should<br />
have been struck dumb; 1 but fortunately I had looked at him<br />
earlier, when he was beginning to get exasperated with our argu~<br />
ment; so I was able to reply, though rather tremulously:<br />
Don't be hard on us, Thrasymachus. If Polemarchus and I have<br />
gone astray in our search, you may be quite sure the mistake was<br />
not intentional. If we had been looking for a piece of gold, we<br />
should never have deliberately allowed politeness to spoil our (hance<br />
of finding it; and now when we are looking for justice, a thing<br />
much more precious than gold, you cannot imagine we should<br />
defer to each other in that foolish way and not do our best to bring<br />
it to light. You must believe we are in earnest, my friend; but I<br />
am afraid the task is beyond our powers, and we might expect a<br />
man of your ability to pity us instead of being so severe.<br />
Thrasymachus replied with a burst of sardonic laughter.<br />
Good Lord, he said; Socrates at his old trick of shamming ign~<br />
rancel I knew it; I told the others you would refuse to commit<br />
yourself and do anything sooner than answer a question.<br />
Yes, Thrasymachus, I replied; because you are clever enough<br />
to know that if you asked someone what are the factors of the<br />
number twelve, and at the same time warned him: 'Look here, you<br />
are not to tell me that 12 is twice 6, or 3 times 4, or 6 times 2, or<br />
4 times 3; I won't put up with any such nonsense'-you must surely<br />
see that no one would answer a question put like that. He would<br />
say: 'What do you mean, Thrasymachus Am I forbidden to give<br />
any of these answers, even if one happens to be right Do you<br />
want me to give a wrong one' What would you say to that<br />
HumphI said he. As if that were a fair analogyl<br />
I don't see why it is not, said I; but in any case, do you suppose<br />
our barring a certain answer would prevent the man from giving<br />
it, if he thought it was the truth<br />
1 A popular superstition, that if a wolf sees you first, you become dumb.
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