Socrates had a young friend named Euthydemus, whose nickname was Handsome. He couldn't wait to become an adult and make loud speeches in the people's assembly. Socrates wanted to reason with him. He asked him:
- Tell me, Euthydemus, do you know what justice is?
- Of course I know, as well as anyone else.
“But I’m a person who’s not used to politics, and for some reason it’s hard for me to figure this out.” Tell me, is it fair to lie, deceive, steal, grab people and sell them into slavery?
- Of course it’s unfair!
- Well, if the commander, having repelled the attack of the enemies, captures prisoners and sells them into slavery, will that also be unfair?
- No, perhaps that’s fair.
- What if he robs and destroys their land?
- That's fair too.
- What if he deceives them with military tricks?
- That's fair too. Yes, perhaps I told you inaccurately: lying, deception, and theft are fair to enemies, but unfair to friends.
- Wonderful! Now, it seems, I am beginning to understand. But tell me this, Euthydemus, if the commander sees that his soldiers are despondent, and lies to them that allies are approaching them, and thereby encourages them, will such a lie be unfair?
- No, perhaps it’s fair.
- And if a son needs medicine, but he does not want to take it, and the father deceives him by putting it in his food, and the son will recover, will such deception be unfair?
- No, fair too.
- And if someone, seeing a friend in despair and fearing that he might commit suicide, steals or takes away his sword and dagger, what can we say about such theft?
- And that's fair. Yes, Socrates, it turns out that I again told you inaccurately. It was necessary to say: lying, deceit, and theft are fair to enemies, but fair to friends when done for their benefit, and unfair when done to their evil.
- Very good, Euthydemus. Now I see that before recognizing justice, I need to learn to recognize good and evil. But of course you know that?
“I think I know, Socrates, although for some reason I’m not so sure about it anymore.”
- So what is it?
- Well, for example, health is a good, and illness is an evil; food or drink that leads to health is good, and that leads to illness is evil.
“Very good, I understood about food and drink, but then perhaps it would be more accurate to say about health in the same way: when it leads to good, then it is good, and when it leads to evil, then it is evil?”
- What are you saying, Socrates, when can health be bad?
“But, for example, an unholy war began and, of course, ended in defeat; the healthy went to war and died, while the sick stayed home and survived. What was health here - good or evil?
- Yes, I see, Socrates, that my example is unsuccessful. But, perhaps, we can say that intelligence is a blessing!
- Is it always? The Persian king often demands smart and skilled artisans from Greek cities to his court, keeps them with him and does not let them into their homeland. Is their intelligence good for them?
- Then - beauty, strength, wealth, glory!
“But the beautiful ones are more often attacked by slave traders, because beautiful slaves are more valuable.” The strong often take on a task that exceeds their strength and end up in trouble. The rich are pampered, become victims of intrigue and die; fame always causes envy, and this also leads to a lot of evil.
“Well, if that’s the case,” Euthydemus said sadly, “then I don’t even know what to pray to the gods for.”
- Don't be sad! It just means that you don’t yet know what you want to tell people about. But do you know the people themselves?
- I think I know, Socrates.
- Who does the people consist of?
- From the poor and the rich.
-Who do you call rich and poor?
- The poor are those who do not have enough to live on, and the rich are those who have everything in abundance and beyond.
“Doesn’t it happen that a poor man can get by very well with his small means, but any riches are not enough for a rich man?”
- Really, it happens! There are even tyrants, for whom their entire treasury is not enough and needs illegal extortions.
- So what? Shouldn't we classify these tyrants among the poor, and the economic poor among the rich?
- No, it’s better not to, Socrates. I see that here too, it turns out, I don’t know anything.
- Don't despair! You will still think about the people, but you, of course, have thought about yourself and your future fellow speakers, more than once. So tell me this: there are also such bad speakers who deceive the people to their detriment. Some do it unintentionally, and some even do it intentionally. Which ones are better and which ones are worse?
“I think, Socrates, that intentional deceivers are much worse and more unjust than unintentional ones.”
- Tell me, if one person deliberately reads and writes with errors, and another unintentionally, then which of them is more literate?
- Probably the one on purpose: after all, if he wants, he can write without mistakes.
- But doesn’t it turn out from this that an intentional deceiver is better and fairer than an unintentional one: after all, if he wants, he can talk to the people without deception!
“Don’t, Socrates, don’t tell me that, I can see now even without you that I don’t know anything and it would be better for me to sit and be silent!”
And Euthydemus went home, not remembering himself from grief. And many, driven to such despair by Socrates, no longer wanted to have anything to do with him.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru