THE REPUBLIC OF PLATO - Studyplace

I. 337] mRASYMACHUS INTERVENES 17
Do you mean that you are going to give me one of those an·
swers I barred
I should not be surprised, if it seemed to me true, on reflection.
And what if I give you another definition of justice, better than
any of those What penalty are you prepared to pay 1
The penalty deserved by ignorance, which must surely be to reo
ceive instruction from the wise. So I would suggest that as a suitable
punishment.
I like your notion of a penaltyI he said; but you must pay the
costs as well.
I will, when I have any money.
That will be all right, said Glaucon; we will all subscribe for
Socrates. So let us have your definition, Thrasymachus.
Oh yes, he said; so that Socrates may play the old game of questioning
and refuting someone else, instead of giving an answer
himselfI
But really, I protested, what can you expect from a man who
does not know the answer or profess to know it, and, besides that,
has been forbidden by no mean authority to put forward any notions
he may have Surely the definition should naturally come
from you, who say you do know the answer and can tell it us.
Please do not disappoint us. I should take it as a kindness, and I
hope you will not be chary of giving Glaucon and the rest of us
the advantage of your instruction.
Glaucon and the others added their entreaties to mine. Thrasymachus
was evidently longing to win credit, for he was sure he had
an admirable answer ready, though he made a show of insisting
that I should be the one to reply. In the end he gave way and exclaimed:
So this is what Socrates' wisdom comes tol He refuses to teach,
and goes about learning from others without offering so much as
thanks in return.
I do learn from others, Thrasymachus; that is quite true; but
1 In certain lawsuits the defendant, if found guilty, was allowed to propose a
penalty alternative to that demanded by the prosecution. The judges then decided
which should be inflicted. The 'costs' here means the fee which the sophist, unlike
Socrates, expected from his pupils.