Title: Laches
Author: Plato, 427? BC-347? BC
Language: English
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LACHES

OR COURAGE

By Plato

Translated by Benjamin Jowett



INTRODUCTION.

Lysimachus, the son of Aristides the Just, and Melesias, the son of
the elder Thucydides, two aged men who live together, are desirous of
educating their sons in the best manner. Their own education, as often
happens with the sons of great men, has been neglected; and they are
resolved that their children shall have more care taken of them, than
they received themselves at the hands of their fathers.

At their request, Nicias and Laches have accompanied them to see a man
named Stesilaus fighting in heavy armour. The two fathers ask the two
generals what they think of this exhibition, and whether they would
advise that their sons should acquire the accomplishment. Nicias and
Laches are quite willing to give their opinion; but they suggest that
Socrates should be invited to take part in the consultation. He is a
stranger to Lysimachus, but is afterwards recognised as the son of his
old friend Sophroniscus, with whom he never had a difference to the
hour of his death. Socrates is also known to Nicias, to whom he had
introduced the excellent Damon, musician and sophist, as a tutor for his
son, and to Laches, who had witnessed his heroic behaviour at the battle
of Delium (compare Symp.).

Socrates, as he is younger than either Nicias or Laches, prefers to
wait until they have delivered their opinions, which they give in a
characteristic manner. Nicias, the tactician, is very much in favour of
the new art, which he describes as the gymnastics of war--useful when
the ranks are formed, and still more useful when they are broken;
creating a general interest in military studies, and greatly adding to
the appearance of the soldier in the field. Laches, the blunt warrior,
is of opinion that such an art is not knowledge, and cannot be of any
value, because the Lacedaemonians, those great masters of arms, neglect
it. His own experience in actual service has taught him that these
pretenders are useless and ridiculous. This man Stesilaus has been seen
by him on board ship making a very sorry exhibition of himself. The
possession of the art will make the coward rash, and subject the
courageous, if he chance to make a slip, to invidious remarks. And now
let Socrates be taken into counsel. As they differ he must decide.

Socrates would rather not decide the question by a plurality of votes:
in such a serious matter as the education of a friend's children, he
would consult the one skilled person who has had masters, and has works
to show as evidences of his skill. This is not himself; for he has never
been able to pay the sophists for instructing him, and has never had
the wit to do or discover anything. But Nicias and Laches are older
and richer than he is: they have had teachers, and perhaps have made
discoveries; and he would have trusted them entirely, if they had not
been diametrically opposed.

Lysimachus here proposes to resign the argument into the hands of the
younger part of the company, as he is old, and has a bad memory. He
earnestly requests Socrates to remain;--in this showing, as Nicias says,
how little he knows the man, who will certainly not go away until he
has cross-examined the company about their past lives. Nicias has often
submitted to this process; and Laches is quite willing to learn from
Socrates, because his actions, in the true Dorian mode, correspond to
his words.

Socrates proceeds: We might ask who are our teachers? But a better and
more thorough way of examining the question will be to ask, 'What is
Virtue?'--or rather, to restrict the enquiry to that part of virtue
which is concerned with the use of weapons--'What is Courage?' Laches
thinks that he knows this: (1) 'He is courageous who remains at his
post.' But some nations fight flying, after the manner of Aeneas in
Homer; or as the heavy-armed Spartans also did at the battle of Plataea.
(2) Socrates wants a more general definition, not only of military
courage, but of courage of all sorts, tried both amid pleasures and
pains. Laches replies that this universal courage is endurance.
But courage is a good thing, and mere endurance may be hurtful and
injurious. Therefore (3) the element of intelligence must be added. But
then again unintelligent endurance may often be more courageous than
the intelligent, the bad than the good. How is this contradiction to be
solved? Socrates and Laches are not set 'to the Dorian mode' of words
and actions; for their words are all confusion, although their actions
are courageous. Still they must 'endure' in an argument about endurance.
Laches is very willing, and is quite sure that he knows what courage is,
if he could only tell.

Nicias is now appealed to; and in reply he offers a definition which
he has heard from Socrates himself, to the effect that (1) 'Courage is
intelligence.' Laches derides this; and Socrates enquires, 'What sort
of intelligence?' to which Nicias replies, 'Intelligence of things
terrible.' 'But every man knows the things to be dreaded in his own
art.' 'No they do not. They may predict results, but cannot tell whether
they are really terrible; only the courageous man can tell that.' Laches
draws the inference that the courageous man is either a soothsayer or a
god.

Again, (2) in Nicias' way of speaking, the term 'courageous' must be
denied to animals or children, because they do not know the danger.
Against this inversion of the ordinary use of language Laches reclaims,
but is in some degree mollified by a compliment to his own courage.
Still, he does not like to see an Athenian statesman and general
descending to sophistries of this sort. Socrates resumes the argument.
Courage has been defined to be intelligence or knowledge of the
terrible; and courage is not all virtue, but only one of the virtues.
The terrible is in the future, and therefore the knowledge of the
terrible is a knowledge of the future. But there can be no knowledge of
future good or evil separated from a knowledge of the good and evil
of the past or present; that is to say, of all good and evil. Courage,
therefore, is the knowledge of good and evil generally. But he who has
the knowledge of good and evil generally, must not only have courage,
but also temperance, justice, and every other virtue. Thus, a single
virtue would be the same as all virtues (compare Protagoras). And after
all the two generals, and Socrates, the hero of Delium, are still in
ignorance of the nature of courage. They must go to school again, boys,
old men and all.

Some points of resemblance, and some points of difference, appear in
the Laches when compared with the Charmides and Lysis. There is less
of poetical and simple beauty, and more of dramatic interest and power.
They are richer in the externals of the scene; the Laches has more play
and development of character. In the Lysis and Charmides the youths are
the central figures, and frequent allusions are made to the place of
meeting, which is a palaestra. Here the place of meeting, which is also
a palaestra, is quite forgotten, and the boys play a subordinate part.
The seance is of old and elder men, of whom Socrates is the youngest.

First is the aged Lysimachus, who may be compared with Cephalus in the
Republic, and, like him, withdraws from the argument. Melesias, who is
only his shadow, also subsides into silence. Both of them, by their
own confession, have been ill-educated, as is further shown by the
circumstance that Lysimachus, the friend of Sophroniscus, has never
heard of the fame of Socrates, his son; they belong to different
circles. In the Meno their want of education in all but the arts of
riding and wrestling is adduced as a proof that virtue cannot be taught.
The recognition of Socrates by Lysimachus is extremely graceful; and his
military exploits naturally connect him with the two generals, of
whom one has witnessed them. The characters of Nicias and Laches are
indicated by their opinions on the exhibition of the man fighting in
heavy armour. The more enlightened Nicias is quite ready to accept the
new art, which Laches treats with ridicule, seeming to think that this,
or any other military question, may be settled by asking, 'What do the
Lacedaemonians say?' The one is the thoughtful general, willing to avail
himself of any discovery in the art of war (Aristoph. Aves); the other
is the practical man, who relies on his own experience, and is the
enemy of innovation; he can act but cannot speak, and is apt to lose his
temper. It is to be noted that one of them is supposed to be a hearer of
Socrates; the other is only acquainted with his actions. Laches is the
admirer of the Dorian mode; and into his mouth the remark is put that
there are some persons who, having never been taught, are better than
those who have. Like a novice in the art of disputation, he is delighted
with the hits of Socrates; and is disposed to be angry with the
refinements of Nicias.

In the discussion of the main thesis of the Dialogue--'What is Courage?'
the antagonism of the two characters is still more clearly brought out;
and in this, as in the preliminary question, the truth is parted between
them. Gradually, and not without difficulty, Laches is made to pass on
from the more popular to the more philosophical; it has never occurred
to him that there was any other courage than that of the soldier; and
only by an effort of the mind can he frame a general notion at all. No
sooner has this general notion been formed than it evanesces before the
dialectic of Socrates; and Nicias appears from the other side with the
Socratic doctrine, that courage is knowledge. This is explained to mean
knowledge of things terrible in the future. But Socrates denies that the
knowledge of the future is separable from that of the past and present;
in other words, true knowledge is not that of the soothsayer but of the
philosopher. And all knowledge will thus be equivalent to all virtue--a
position which elsewhere Socrates is not unwilling to admit, but which
will not assist us in distinguishing the nature of courage. In this part
of the Dialogue the contrast between the mode of cross-examination which
is practised by Laches and by Socrates, and also the manner in which
the definition of Laches is made to approximate to that of Nicias, are
worthy of attention.

Thus, with some intimation of the connexion and unity of virtue and
knowledge, we arrive at no distinct result. The two aspects of courage
are never harmonized. The knowledge which in the Protagoras is explained
as the faculty of estimating pleasures and pains is here lost in an
unmeaning and transcendental conception. Yet several true intimations of
the nature of courage are allowed to appear: (1) That courage is
moral as well as physical: (2) That true courage is inseparable from
knowledge, and yet (3) is based on a natural instinct. Laches exhibits
one aspect of courage; Nicias the other. The perfect image and harmony
of both is only realized in Socrates himself.

The Dialogue offers one among many examples of the freedom with which
Plato treats facts. For the scene must be supposed to have occurred
between B.C. 424, the year of the battle of Delium, and B.C. 418, the
year of the battle of Mantinea, at which Laches fell. But if Socrates
was more than seventy years of age at his trial in 399 (see Apology), he
could not have been a young man at any time after the battle of Delium.



LACHES, OR COURAGE.



PERSONS OF THE DIALOGUE:

     Lysimachus, son of Aristides.
     Melesias, son of Thucydides.
     Their sons.
     Nicias, Laches, Socrates.


LYSIMACHUS: You have seen the exhibition of the man fighting in armour,
Nicias and Laches, but we did not tell you at the time the reason why my
friend Melesias and I asked you to go with us and see him. I think that
we may as well confess what this was, for we certainly ought not to have
any reserve with you. The reason was, that we were intending to ask your
advice. Some laugh at the very notion of advising others, and when they
are asked will not say what they think. They guess at the wishes of the
person who asks them, and answer according to his, and not according to
their own, opinion. But as we know that you are good judges, and will
say exactly what you think, we have taken you into our counsels. The
matter about which I am making all this preface is as follows: Melesias
and I have two sons; that is his son, and he is named Thucydides,
after his grandfather; and this is mine, who is also called after his
grandfather, Aristides. Now, we are resolved to take the greatest care
of the youths, and not to let them run about as they like, which is too
often the way with the young, when they are no longer children, but to
begin at once and do the utmost that we can for them. And knowing you
to have sons of your own, we thought that you were most likely to have
attended to their training and improvement, and, if perchance you have
not attended to them, we may remind you that you ought to have done so,
and would invite you to assist us in the fulfilment of a common duty. I
will tell you, Nicias and Laches, even at the risk of being tedious,
how we came to think of this. Melesias and I live together, and our sons
live with us; and now, as I was saying at first, we are going to confess
to you. Both of us often talk to the lads about the many noble deeds
which our own fathers did in war and peace--in the management of the
allies, and in the administration of the city; but neither of us has any
deeds of his own which he can show. The truth is that we are ashamed of
this contrast being seen by them, and we blame our fathers for letting
us be spoiled in the days of our youth, while they were occupied with
the concerns of others; and we urge all this upon the lads, pointing out
to them that they will not grow up to honour if they are rebellious and
take no pains about themselves; but that if they take pains they may,
perhaps, become worthy of the names which they bear. They, on their
part, promise to comply with our wishes; and our care is to discover
what studies or pursuits are likely to be most improving to them. Some
one commended to us the art of fighting in armour, which he thought an
excellent accomplishment for a young man to learn; and he praised the
man whose exhibition you have seen, and told us to go and see him. And
we determined that we would go, and get you to accompany us; and we were
intending at the same time, if you did not object, to take counsel with
you about the education of our sons. That is the matter which we wanted
to talk over with you; and we hope that you will give us your opinion
about this art of fighting in armour, and about any other studies or
pursuits which may or may not be desirable for a young man to learn.
Please to say whether you agree to our proposal.

NICIAS: As far as I am concerned, Lysimachus and Melesias, I applaud
your purpose, and will gladly assist you; and I believe that you,
Laches, will be equally glad.

LACHES: Certainly, Nicias; and I quite approve of the remark which
Lysimachus made about his own father and the father of Melesias, and
which is applicable, not only to them, but to us, and to every one who
is occupied with public affairs. As he says, such persons are too apt
to be negligent and careless of their own children and their private
concerns. There is much truth in that remark of yours, Lysimachus. But
why, instead of consulting us, do you not consult our friend Socrates
about the education of the youths? He is of the same deme with you,
and is always passing his time in places where the youth have any noble
study or pursuit, such as you are enquiring after.

LYSIMACHUS: Why, Laches, has Socrates ever attended to matters of this
sort?

LACHES: Certainly, Lysimachus.

NICIAS: That I have the means of knowing as well as Laches; for quite
lately he supplied me with a teacher of music for my sons,--Damon, the
disciple of Agathocles, who is a most accomplished man in every way, as
well as a musician, and a companion of inestimable value for young men
at their age.

LYSIMACHUS: Those who have reached my time of life, Socrates and Nicias
and Laches, fall out of acquaintance with the young, because they are
generally detained at home by old age; but you, O son of Sophroniscus,
should let your fellow demesman have the benefit of any advice which you
are able to give. Moreover I have a claim upon you as an old friend of
your father; for I and he were always companions and friends, and to the
hour of his death there never was a difference between us; and now it
comes back to me, at the mention of your name, that I have heard these
lads talking to one another at home, and often speaking of Socrates
in terms of the highest praise; but I have never thought to ask them
whether the son of Sophroniscus was the person whom they meant. Tell me,
my boys, whether this is the Socrates of whom you have often spoken?

SON: Certainly, father, this is he.

LYSIMACHUS: I am delighted to hear, Socrates, that you maintain the name
of your father, who was a most excellent man; and I further rejoice at
the prospect of our family ties being renewed.

LACHES: Indeed, Lysimachus, you ought not to give him up; for I can
assure you that I have seen him maintaining, not only his father's, but
also his country's name. He was my companion in the retreat from Delium,
and I can tell you that if others had only been like him, the honour
of our country would have been upheld, and the great defeat would never
have occurred.

LYSIMACHUS: That is very high praise which is accorded to you, Socrates,
by faithful witnesses and for actions like those which they praise. Let
me tell you the pleasure which I feel in hearing of your fame; and I
hope that you will regard me as one of your warmest friends. You ought
to have visited us long ago, and made yourself at home with us; but now,
from this day forward, as we have at last found one another out, do as I
say--come and make acquaintance with me, and with these young men, that
I may continue your friend, as I was your father's. I shall expect you
to do so, and shall venture at some future time to remind you of your
duty. But what say you of the matter of which we were beginning to
speak--the art of fighting in armour? Is that a practice in which the
lads may be advantageously instructed?

SOCRATES: I will endeavour to advise you, Lysimachus, as far as I can in
this matter, and also in every way will comply with your wishes; but as
I am younger and not so experienced, I think that I ought certainly to
hear first what my elders have to say, and to learn of them, and if I
have anything to add, then I may venture to give my opinion to them as
well as to you. Suppose, Nicias, that one or other of you begin.

NICIAS: I have no objection, Socrates; and my opinion is that the
acquirement of this art is in many ways useful to young men. It is an
advantage to them that among the favourite amusements of their leisure
hours they should have one which tends to improve and not to injure
their bodily health. No gymnastics could be better or harder exercise;
and this, and the art of riding, are of all arts most befitting to a
freeman; for they only who are thus trained in the use of arms are
the athletes of our military profession, trained in that on which the
conflict turns. Moreover in actual battle, when you have to fight in a
line with a number of others, such an acquirement will be of some use,
and will be of the greatest whenever the ranks are broken and you have
to fight singly, either in pursuit, when you are attacking some one who
is defending himself, or in flight, when you have to defend yourself
against an assailant. Certainly he who possessed the art could not meet
with any harm at the hands of a single person, or perhaps of several;
and in any case he would have a great advantage. Further, this sort of
skill inclines a man to the love of other noble lessons; for every man
who has learned how to fight in armour will desire to learn the proper
arrangement of an army, which is the sequel of the lesson: and when he
has learned this, and his ambition is once fired, he will go on to learn
the complete art of the general. There is no difficulty in seeing that
the knowledge and practice of other military arts will be honourable and
valuable to a man; and this lesson may be the beginning of them. Let me
add a further advantage, which is by no means a slight one,--that this
science will make any man a great deal more valiant and self-possessed
in the field. And I will not disdain to mention, what by some may be
thought to be a small matter;--he will make a better appearance at the
right time; that is to say, at the time when his appearance will strike
terror into his enemies. My opinion then, Lysimachus, is, as I say, that
the youths should be instructed in this art, and for the reasons which
I have given. But Laches may take a different view; and I shall be very
glad to hear what he has to say.

LACHES: I should not like to maintain, Nicias, that any kind of
knowledge is not to be learned; for all knowledge appears to be a good:
and if, as Nicias and as the teachers of the art affirm, this use of
arms is really a species of knowledge, then it ought to be learned; but
if not, and if those who profess to teach it are deceivers only; or if
it be knowledge, but not of a valuable sort, then what is the use of
learning it? I say this, because I think that if it had been really
valuable, the Lacedaemonians, whose whole life is passed in finding out
and practising the arts which give them an advantage over other nations
in war, would have discovered this one. And even if they had not, still
these professors of the art would certainly not have failed to discover
that of all the Hellenes the Lacedaemonians have the greatest interest
in such matters, and that a master of the art who was honoured among
them would be sure to make his fortune among other nations, just as a
tragic poet would who is honoured among ourselves; which is the reason
why he who fancies that he can write a tragedy does not go about
itinerating in the neighbouring states, but rushes hither straight, and
exhibits at Athens; and this is natural. Whereas I perceive that these
fighters in armour regard Lacedaemon as a sacred inviolable territory,
which they do not touch with the point of their foot; but they make
a circuit of the neighbouring states, and would rather exhibit to
any others than to the Spartans; and particularly to those who would
themselves acknowledge that they are by no means first-rate in the arts
of war. Further, Lysimachus, I have encountered a good many of these
gentlemen in actual service, and have taken their measure, which I can
give you at once; for none of these masters of fence have ever been
distinguished in war,--there has been a sort of fatality about them;
while in all other arts the men of note have been always those who have
practised the art, they appear to be a most unfortunate exception.
For example, this very Stesilaus, whom you and I have just witnessed
exhibiting in all that crowd and making such great professions of
his powers, I have seen at another time making, in sober truth, an
involuntary exhibition of himself, which was a far better spectacle. He
was a marine on board a ship which struck a transport vessel, and was
armed with a weapon, half spear, half scythe; the singularity of this
weapon was worthy of the singularity of the man. To make a long story
short, I will only tell you what happened to this notable invention
of the scythe spear. He was fighting, and the scythe was caught in the
rigging of the other ship, and stuck fast; and he tugged, but was unable
to get his weapon free. The two ships were passing one another. He first
ran along his own ship holding on to the spear; but as the other ship
passed by and drew him after as he was holding on, he let the spear
slip through his hand until he retained only the end of the handle.
The people in the transport clapped their hands, and laughed at his
ridiculous figure; and when some one threw a stone, which fell on the
deck at his feet, and he quitted his hold of the scythe-spear, the crew
of his own trireme also burst out laughing; they could not refrain when
they beheld the weapon waving in the air, suspended from the transport.
Now I do not deny that there may be something in such an art, as Nicias
asserts, but I tell you my experience; and, as I said at first, whether
this be an art of which the advantage is so slight, or not an art at
all, but only an imposition, in either case such an acquirement is not
worth having. For my opinion is, that if the professor of this art be a
coward, he will be likely to become rash, and his character will be only
more notorious; or if he be brave, and fail ever so little, other men
will be on the watch, and he will be greatly traduced; for there is a
jealousy of such pretenders; and unless a man be pre-eminent in valour,
he cannot help being ridiculous, if he says that he has this sort of
skill. Such is my judgment, Lysimachus, of the desirableness of this
art; but, as I said at first, ask Socrates, and do not let him go until
he has given you his opinion of the matter.

LYSIMACHUS: I am going to ask this favour of you, Socrates; as is the
more necessary because the two councillors disagree, and some one is in
a manner still needed who will decide between them. Had they agreed, no
arbiter would have been required. But as Laches has voted one way and
Nicias another, I should like to hear with which of our two friends you
agree.

SOCRATES: What, Lysimachus, are you going to accept the opinion of the
majority?

LYSIMACHUS: Why, yes, Socrates; what else am I to do?

SOCRATES: And would you do so too, Melesias? If you were deliberating
about the gymnastic training of your son, would you follow the advice of
the majority of us, or the opinion of the one who had been trained and
exercised under a skilful master?

MELESIAS: The latter, Socrates; as would surely be reasonable.

SOCRATES: His one vote would be worth more than the vote of all us four?

MELESIAS: Certainly.

SOCRATES: And for this reason, as I imagine,--because a good decision is
based on knowledge and not on numbers?

MELESIAS: To be sure.

SOCRATES: Must we not then first of all ask, whether there is any one of
us who has knowledge of that about which we are deliberating? If there
is, let us take his advice, though he be one only, and not mind the
rest; if there is not, let us seek further counsel. Is this a slight
matter about which you and Lysimachus are deliberating? Are you not
risking the greatest of your possessions? For children are your riches;
and upon their turning out well or ill depends the whole order of their
father's house.

MELESIAS: That is true.

SOCRATES: Great care, then, is required in this matter?

MELESIAS: Certainly.

SOCRATES: Suppose, as I was just now saying, that we were considering,
or wanting to consider, who was the best trainer. Should we not select
him who knew and had practised the art, and had the best teachers?

MELESIAS: I think that we should.

SOCRATES: But would there not arise a prior question about the nature of
the art of which we want to find the masters?

MELESIAS: I do not understand.

SOCRATES: Let me try to make my meaning plainer then. I do not think
that we have as yet decided what that is about which we are consulting,
when we ask which of us is or is not skilled in the art, and has or has
not had a teacher of the art.

NICIAS: Why, Socrates, is not the question whether young men ought or
ought not to learn the art of fighting in armour?

SOCRATES: Yes, Nicias; but there is also a prior question, which I
may illustrate in this way: When a person considers about applying a
medicine to the eyes, would you say that he is consulting about the
medicine or about the eyes?

NICIAS: About the eyes.

SOCRATES: And when he considers whether he shall set a bridle on a horse
and at what time, he is thinking of the horse and not of the bridle?

NICIAS: True.

SOCRATES: And in a word, when he considers anything for the sake of
another thing, he thinks of the end and not of the means?

NICIAS: Certainly.

SOCRATES: And when you call in an adviser, you should see whether he too
is skilful in the accomplishment of the end which you have in view?

NICIAS: Most true.

SOCRATES: And at present we have in view some knowledge, of which the
end is the soul of youth?

NICIAS: Yes.

SOCRATES: And we are enquiring, Which of us is skilful or successful in
the treatment of the soul, and which of us has had good teachers?

LACHES: Well but, Socrates; did you never observe that some persons,
who have had no teachers, are more skilful than those who have, in some
things?

SOCRATES: Yes, Laches, I have observed that; but you would not be very
willing to trust them if they only professed to be masters of their art,
unless they could show some proof of their skill or excellence in one or
more works.

LACHES: That is true.

SOCRATES: And therefore, Laches and Nicias, as Lysimachus and Melesias,
in their anxiety to improve the minds of their sons, have asked our
advice about them, we too should tell them who our teachers were, if we
say that we have had any, and prove them to be in the first place men
of merit and experienced trainers of the minds of youth and also to have
been really our teachers. Or if any of us says that he has no teacher,
but that he has works of his own to show; then he should point out
to them what Athenians or strangers, bond or free, he is generally
acknowledged to have improved. But if he can show neither teachers nor
works, then he should tell them to look out for others; and not run the
risk of spoiling the children of friends, and thereby incurring the
most formidable accusation which can be brought against any one by those
nearest to him. As for myself, Lysimachus and Melesias, I am the
first to confess that I have never had a teacher of the art of virtue;
although I have always from my earliest youth desired to have one. But
I am too poor to give money to the Sophists, who are the only professors
of moral improvement; and to this day I have never been able to discover
the art myself, though I should not be surprised if Nicias or Laches may
have discovered or learned it; for they are far wealthier than I am,
and may therefore have learnt of others. And they are older too; so that
they have had more time to make the discovery. And I really believe that
they are able to educate a man; for unless they had been confident in
their own knowledge, they would never have spoken thus decidedly of
the pursuits which are advantageous or hurtful to a young man. I repose
confidence in both of them; but I am surprised to find that they differ
from one another. And therefore, Lysimachus, as Laches suggested that
you should detain me, and not let me go until I answered, I in turn
earnestly beseech and advise you to detain Laches and Nicias, and
question them. I would have you say to them: Socrates avers that he has
no knowledge of the matter--he is unable to decide which of you speaks
truly; neither discoverer nor student is he of anything of the kind.
But you, Laches and Nicias, should each of you tell us who is the most
skilful educator whom you have ever known; and whether you invented the
art yourselves, or learned of another; and if you learned, who were your
respective teachers, and who were their brothers in the art; and then,
if you are too much occupied in politics to teach us yourselves, let us
go to them, and present them with gifts, or make interest with them,
or both, in the hope that they may be induced to take charge of our
children and of yours; and then they will not grow up inferior, and
disgrace their ancestors. But if you are yourselves original discoverers
in that field, give us some proof of your skill. Who are they who,
having been inferior persons, have become under your care good and
noble? For if this is your first attempt at education, there is a danger
that you may be trying the experiment, not on the 'vile corpus' of a
Carian slave, but on your own sons, or the sons of your friend, and,
as the proverb says, 'break the large vessel in learning to make pots.'
Tell us then, what qualities you claim or do not claim. Make them tell
you that, Lysimachus, and do not let them off.

LYSIMACHUS: I very much approve of the words of Socrates, my friends;
but you, Nicias and Laches, must determine whether you will be
questioned, and give an explanation about matters of this sort.
Assuredly, I and Melesias would be greatly pleased to hear you answer
the questions which Socrates asks, if you will: for I began by saying
that we took you into our counsels because we thought that you would
have attended to the subject, especially as you have children who, like
our own, are nearly of an age to be educated. Well, then, if you have no
objection, suppose that you take Socrates into partnership; and do you
and he ask and answer one another's questions: for, as he has well said,
we are deliberating about the most important of our concerns. I hope
that you will see fit to comply with our request.

NICIAS: I see very clearly, Lysimachus, that you have only known
Socrates' father, and have no acquaintance with Socrates himself: at
least, you can only have known him when he was a child, and may have
met him among his fellow-wardsmen, in company with his father, at a
sacrifice, or at some other gathering. You clearly show that you have
never known him since he arrived at manhood.

LYSIMACHUS: Why do you say that, Nicias?

NICIAS: Because you seem not to be aware that any one who has an
intellectual affinity to Socrates and enters into conversation with
him is liable to be drawn into an argument; and whatever subject he may
start, he will be continually carried round and round by him, until at
last he finds that he has to give an account both of his present and
past life; and when he is once entangled, Socrates will not let him go
until he has completely and thoroughly sifted him. Now I am used to his
ways; and I know that he will certainly do as I say, and also that
I myself shall be the sufferer; for I am fond of his conversation,
Lysimachus. And I think that there is no harm in being reminded of any
wrong thing which we are, or have been, doing: he who does not fly from
reproof will be sure to take more heed of his after-life; as Solon says,
he will wish and desire to be learning so long as he lives, and will not
think that old age of itself brings wisdom. To me, to be cross-examined
by Socrates is neither unusual nor unpleasant; indeed, I knew all along
that where Socrates was, the argument would soon pass from our sons to
ourselves; and therefore, I say that for my part, I am quite willing to
discourse with Socrates in his own manner; but you had better ask our
friend Laches what his feeling may be.

LACHES: I have but one feeling, Nicias, or (shall I say?) two feelings,
about discussions. Some would think that I am a lover, and to others I
may seem to be a hater of discourse; for when I hear a man discoursing
of virtue, or of any sort of wisdom, who is a true man and worthy of
his theme, I am delighted beyond measure: and I compare the man and his
words, and note the harmony and correspondence of them. And such an one
I deem to be the true musician, attuned to a fairer harmony than that of
the lyre, or any pleasant instrument of music; for truly he has in his
own life a harmony of words and deeds arranged, not in the Ionian, or in
the Phrygian mode, nor yet in the Lydian, but in the true Hellenic mode,
which is the Dorian, and no other. Such an one makes me merry with the
sound of his voice; and when I hear him I am thought to be a lover
of discourse; so eager am I in drinking in his words. But a man whose
actions do not agree with his words is an annoyance to me; and the
better he speaks the more I hate him, and then I seem to be a hater of
discourse. As to Socrates, I have no knowledge of his words, but of old,
as would seem, I have had experience of his deeds; and his deeds show
that free and noble sentiments are natural to him. And if his words
accord, then I am of one mind with him, and shall be delighted to be
interrogated by a man such as he is, and shall not be annoyed at having
to learn of him: for I too agree with Solon, 'that I would fain grow
old, learning many things.' But I must be allowed to add 'of the good
only.' Socrates must be willing to allow that he is a good teacher, or I
shall be a dull and uncongenial pupil: but that the teacher is younger,
or not as yet in repute--anything of that sort is of no account with
me. And therefore, Socrates, I give you notice that you may teach and
confute me as much as ever you like, and also learn of me anything which
I know. So high is the opinion which I have entertained of you ever
since the day on which you were my companion in danger, and gave a proof
of your valour such as only the man of merit can give. Therefore, say
whatever you like, and do not mind about the difference of our ages.

SOCRATES: I cannot say that either of you show any reluctance to take
counsel and advise with me.

LYSIMACHUS: But this is our proper business; and yours as well as ours,
for I reckon you as one of us. Please then to take my place, and find
out from Nicias and Laches what we want to know, for the sake of the
youths, and talk and consult with them: for I am old, and my memory is
bad; and I do not remember the questions which I am going to ask, or
the answers to them; and if there is any interruption I am quite lost.
I will therefore beg of you to carry on the proposed discussion by
your selves; and I will listen, and Melesias and I will act upon your
conclusions.

SOCRATES: Let us, Nicias and Laches, comply with the request of
Lysimachus and Melesias. There will be no harm in asking ourselves
the question which was first proposed to us: 'Who have been our own
instructors in this sort of training, and whom have we made better?' But
the other mode of carrying on the enquiry will bring us equally to the
same point, and will be more like proceeding from first principles.
For if we knew that the addition of something would improve some other
thing, and were able to make the addition, then, clearly, we must
know how that about which we are advising may be best and most easily
attained. Perhaps you do not understand what I mean. Then let me make my
meaning plainer in this way. Suppose we knew that the addition of sight
makes better the eyes which possess this gift, and also were able to
impart sight to the eyes, then, clearly, we should know the nature of
sight, and should be able to advise how this gift of sight may be best
and most easily attained; but if we knew neither what sight is, nor what
hearing is, we should not be very good medical advisers about the eyes
or the ears, or about the best mode of giving sight and hearing to them.

LACHES: That is true, Socrates.

SOCRATES: And are not our two friends, Laches, at this very moment
inviting us to consider in what way the gift of virtue may be imparted
to their sons for the improvement of their minds?

LACHES: Very true.

SOCRATES: Then must we not first know the nature of virtue? For how can
we advise any one about the best mode of attaining something of which we
are wholly ignorant?

LACHES: I do not think that we can, Socrates.

SOCRATES: Then, Laches, we may presume that we know the nature of
virtue?

LACHES: Yes.

SOCRATES: And that which we know we must surely be able to tell?

LACHES: Certainly.

SOCRATES: I would not have us begin, my friend, with enquiring about
the whole of virtue; for that may be more than we can accomplish; let
us first consider whether we have a sufficient knowledge of a part; the
enquiry will thus probably be made easier to us.

LACHES: Let us do as you say, Socrates.

SOCRATES: Then which of the parts of virtue shall we select? Must we
not select that to which the art of fighting in armour is supposed to
conduce? And is not that generally thought to be courage?

LACHES: Yes, certainly.

SOCRATES: Then, Laches, suppose that we first set about determining the
nature of courage, and in the second place proceed to enquire how the
young men may attain this quality by the help of studies and pursuits.
Tell me, if you can, what is courage.

LACHES: Indeed, Socrates, I see no difficulty in answering; he is a man
of courage who does not run away, but remains at his post and fights
against the enemy; there can be no mistake about that.

SOCRATES: Very good, Laches; and yet I fear that I did not express
myself clearly; and therefore you have answered not the question which I
intended to ask, but another.

LACHES: What do you mean, Socrates?

SOCRATES: I will endeavour to explain; you would call a man courageous
who remains at his post, and fights with the enemy?

LACHES: Certainly I should.

SOCRATES: And so should I; but what would you say of another man, who
fights flying, instead of remaining?

LACHES: How flying?

SOCRATES: Why, as the Scythians are said to fight, flying as well as
pursuing; and as Homer says in praise of the horses of Aeneas, that they
knew 'how to pursue, and fly quickly hither and thither'; and he passes
an encomium on Aeneas himself, as having a knowledge of fear or flight,
and calls him 'an author of fear or flight.'

LACHES: Yes, Socrates, and there Homer is right: for he was speaking of
chariots, as you were speaking of the Scythian cavalry, who have that
way of fighting; but the heavy-armed Greek fights, as I say, remaining
in his rank.

SOCRATES: And yet, Laches, you must except the Lacedaemonians at
Plataea, who, when they came upon the light shields of the Persians, are
said not to have been willing to stand and fight, and to have fled; but
when the ranks of the Persians were broken, they turned upon them like
cavalry, and won the battle of Plataea.

LACHES: That is true.

SOCRATES: That was my meaning when I said that I was to blame in having
put my question badly, and that this was the reason of your answering
badly. For I meant to ask you not only about the courage of heavy-armed
soldiers, but about the courage of cavalry and every other style of
soldier; and not only who are courageous in war, but who are courageous
in perils by sea, and who in disease, or in poverty, or again in
politics, are courageous; and not only who are courageous against pain
or fear, but mighty to contend against desires and pleasures, either
fixed in their rank or turning upon their enemy. There is this sort of
courage--is there not, Laches?

LACHES: Certainly, Socrates.

SOCRATES: And all these are courageous, but some have courage in
pleasures, and some in pains: some in desires, and some in fears, and
some are cowards under the same conditions, as I should imagine.

LACHES: Very true.

SOCRATES: Now I was asking about courage and cowardice in general. And I
will begin with courage, and once more ask, What is that common quality,
which is the same in all these cases, and which is called courage? Do
you now understand what I mean?

LACHES: Not over well.

SOCRATES: I mean this: As I might ask what is that quality which is
called quickness, and which is found in running, in playing the lyre,
in speaking, in learning, and in many other similar actions, or rather
which we possess in nearly every action that is worth mentioning of
arms, legs, mouth, voice, mind;--would you not apply the term quickness
to all of them?

LACHES: Quite true.

SOCRATES: And suppose I were to be asked by some one: What is that
common quality, Socrates, which, in all these uses of the word, you call
quickness? I should say the quality which accomplishes much in a little
time--whether in running, speaking, or in any other sort of action.

LACHES: You would be quite correct.

SOCRATES: And now, Laches, do you try and tell me in like manner, What
is that common quality which is called courage, and which includes all
the various uses of the term when applied both to pleasure and pain, and
in all the cases to which I was just now referring?

LACHES: I should say that courage is a sort of endurance of the soul, if
I am to speak of the universal nature which pervades them all.

SOCRATES: But that is what we must do if we are to answer the question.
And yet I cannot say that every kind of endurance is, in my opinion,
to be deemed courage. Hear my reason: I am sure, Laches, that you would
consider courage to be a very noble quality.

LACHES: Most noble, certainly.

SOCRATES: And you would say that a wise endurance is also good and
noble?

LACHES: Very noble.

SOCRATES: But what would you say of a foolish endurance? Is not that, on
the other hand, to be regarded as evil and hurtful?

LACHES: True.

SOCRATES: And is anything noble which is evil and hurtful?

LACHES: I ought not to say that, Socrates.

SOCRATES: Then you would not admit that sort of endurance to be
courage--for it is not noble, but courage is noble?

LACHES: You are right.

SOCRATES: Then, according to you, only the wise endurance is courage?

LACHES: True.

SOCRATES: But as to the epithet 'wise,'--wise in what? In all things
small as well as great? For example, if a man shows the quality of
endurance in spending his money wisely, knowing that by spending he will
acquire more in the end, do you call him courageous?

LACHES: Assuredly not.

SOCRATES: Or, for example, if a man is a physician, and his son, or some
patient of his, has inflammation of the lungs, and begs that he may be
allowed to eat or drink something, and the other is firm and refuses; is
that courage?

LACHES: No; that is not courage at all, any more than the last.

SOCRATES: Again, take the case of one who endures in war, and is willing
to fight, and wisely calculates and knows that others will help him,
and that there will be fewer and inferior men against him than there are
with him; and suppose that he has also advantages of position; would you
say of such a one who endures with all this wisdom and preparation,
that he, or some man in the opposing army who is in the opposite
circumstances to these and yet endures and remains at his post, is the
braver?

LACHES: I should say that the latter, Socrates, was the braver.

SOCRATES: But, surely, this is a foolish endurance in comparison with
the other?

LACHES: That is true.

SOCRATES: Then you would say that he who in an engagement of cavalry
endures, having the knowledge of horsemanship, is not so courageous as
he who endures, having no such knowledge?

LACHES: So I should say.

SOCRATES: And he who endures, having a knowledge of the use of the
sling, or the bow, or of any other art, is not so courageous as he who
endures, not having such a knowledge?

LACHES: True.

SOCRATES: And he who descends into a well, and dives, and holds out in
this or any similar action, having no knowledge of diving, or the
like, is, as you would say, more courageous than those who have this
knowledge?

LACHES: Why, Socrates, what else can a man say?

SOCRATES: Nothing, if that be what he thinks.

LACHES: But that is what I do think.

SOCRATES: And yet men who thus run risks and endure are foolish, Laches,
in comparison of those who do the same things, having the skill to do
them.

LACHES: That is true.

SOCRATES: But foolish boldness and endurance appeared before to be base
and hurtful to us.

LACHES: Quite true.

SOCRATES: Whereas courage was acknowledged to be a noble quality.

LACHES: True.

SOCRATES: And now on the contrary we are saying that the foolish
endurance, which was before held in dishonour, is courage.

LACHES: Very true.

SOCRATES: And are we right in saying so?

LACHES: Indeed, Socrates, I am sure that we are not right.

SOCRATES: Then according to your statement, you and I, Laches, are not
attuned to the Dorian mode, which is a harmony of words and deeds; for
our deeds are not in accordance with our words. Any one would say that
we had courage who saw us in action, but not, I imagine, he who heard us
talking about courage just now.

LACHES: That is most true.

SOCRATES: And is this condition of ours satisfactory?

LACHES: Quite the reverse.

SOCRATES: Suppose, however, that we admit the principle of which we are
speaking to a certain extent.

LACHES: To what extent and what principle do you mean?

SOCRATES: The principle of endurance. We too must endure and persevere
in the enquiry, and then courage will not laugh at our faint-heartedness
in searching for courage; which after all may, very likely, be
endurance.

LACHES: I am ready to go on, Socrates; and yet I am unused to
investigations of this sort. But the spirit of controversy has been
aroused in me by what has been said; and I am really grieved at being
thus unable to express my meaning. For I fancy that I do know the nature
of courage; but, somehow or other, she has slipped away from me, and I
cannot get hold of her and tell her nature.

SOCRATES: But, my dear friend, should not the good sportsman follow the
track, and not be lazy?

LACHES: Certainly, he should.

SOCRATES: And shall we invite Nicias to join us? he may be better at the
sport than we are. What do you say?

LACHES: I should like that.

SOCRATES: Come then, Nicias, and do what you can to help your friends,
who are tossing on the waves of argument, and at the last gasp: you see
our extremity, and may save us and also settle your own opinion, if you
will tell us what you think about courage.

NICIAS: I have been thinking, Socrates, that you and Laches are not
defining courage in the right way; for you have forgotten an excellent
saying which I have heard from your own lips.

SOCRATES: What is it, Nicias?

NICIAS: I have often heard you say that 'Every man is good in that in
which he is wise, and bad in that in which he is unwise.'

SOCRATES: That is certainly true, Nicias.

NICIAS: And therefore if the brave man is good, he is also wise.

SOCRATES: Do you hear him, Laches?

LACHES: Yes, I hear him, but I do not very well understand him.

SOCRATES: I think that I understand him; and he appears to me to mean
that courage is a sort of wisdom.

LACHES: What can he possibly mean, Socrates?

SOCRATES: That is a question which you must ask of himself.

LACHES: Yes.

SOCRATES: Tell him then, Nicias, what you mean by this wisdom; for you
surely do not mean the wisdom which plays the flute?

NICIAS: Certainly not.

SOCRATES: Nor the wisdom which plays the lyre?

NICIAS: No.

SOCRATES: But what is this knowledge then, and of what?

LACHES: I think that you put the question to him very well, Socrates;
and I would like him to say what is the nature of this knowledge or
wisdom.

NICIAS: I mean to say, Laches, that courage is the knowledge of that
which inspires fear or confidence in war, or in anything.

LACHES: How strangely he is talking, Socrates.

SOCRATES: Why do you say so, Laches?

LACHES: Why, surely courage is one thing, and wisdom another.

SOCRATES: That is just what Nicias denies.

LACHES: Yes, that is what he denies; but he is so silly.

SOCRATES: Suppose that we instruct instead of abusing him?

NICIAS: Laches does not want to instruct me, Socrates; but having been
proved to be talking nonsense himself, he wants to prove that I have
been doing the same.

LACHES: Very true, Nicias; and you are talking nonsense, as I shall
endeavour to show. Let me ask you a question: Do not physicians know
the dangers of disease? or do the courageous know them? or are the
physicians the same as the courageous?

NICIAS: Not at all.

LACHES: No more than the husbandmen who know the dangers of husbandry,
or than other craftsmen, who have a knowledge of that which inspires
them with fear or confidence in their own arts, and yet they are not
courageous a whit the more for that.

SOCRATES: What is Laches saying, Nicias? He appears to be saying
something of importance.

NICIAS: Yes, he is saying something, but it is not true.

SOCRATES: How so?

NICIAS: Why, because he does not see that the physician's knowledge only
extends to the nature of health and disease: he can tell the sick man no
more than this. Do you imagine, Laches, that the physician knows whether
health or disease is the more terrible to a man? Had not many a man
better never get up from a sick bed? I should like to know whether you
think that life is always better than death. May not death often be the
better of the two?

LACHES: Yes certainly so in my opinion.

NICIAS: And do you think that the same things are terrible to those who
had better die, and to those who had better live?

LACHES: Certainly not.

NICIAS: And do you suppose that the physician or any other artist knows
this, or any one indeed, except he who is skilled in the grounds of fear
and hope? And him I call the courageous.

SOCRATES: Do you understand his meaning, Laches?

LACHES: Yes; I suppose that, in his way of speaking, the soothsayers are
courageous. For who but one of them can know to whom to die or to live
is better? And yet Nicias, would you allow that you are yourself a
soothsayer, or are you neither a soothsayer nor courageous?

NICIAS: What! do you mean to say that the soothsayer ought to know the
grounds of hope or fear?

LACHES: Indeed I do: who but he?

NICIAS: Much rather I should say he of whom I speak; for the soothsayer
ought to know only the signs of things that are about to come to pass,
whether death or disease, or loss of property, or victory, or defeat
in war, or in any sort of contest; but to whom the suffering or not
suffering of these things will be for the best, can no more be decided
by the soothsayer than by one who is no soothsayer.

LACHES: I cannot understand what Nicias would be at, Socrates; for he
represents the courageous man as neither a soothsayer, nor a physician,
nor in any other character, unless he means to say that he is a god. My
opinion is that he does not like honestly to confess that he is talking
nonsense, but that he shuffles up and down in order to conceal the
difficulty into which he has got himself. You and I, Socrates, might
have practised a similar shuffle just now, if we had only wanted to
avoid the appearance of inconsistency. And if we had been arguing in a
court of law there might have been reason in so doing; but why should
a man deck himself out with vain words at a meeting of friends such as
this?

SOCRATES: I quite agree with you, Laches, that he should not. But
perhaps Nicias is serious, and not merely talking for the sake of
talking. Let us ask him just to explain what he means, and if he has
reason on his side we will agree with him; if not, we will instruct him.

LACHES: Do you, Socrates, if you like, ask him: I think that I have
asked enough.

SOCRATES: I do not see why I should not; and my question will do for
both of us.

LACHES: Very good.

SOCRATES: Then tell me, Nicias, or rather tell us, for Laches and I
are partners in the argument: Do you mean to affirm that courage is the
knowledge of the grounds of hope and fear?

NICIAS: I do.

SOCRATES: And not every man has this knowledge; the physician and the
soothsayer have it not; and they will not be courageous unless they
acquire it--that is what you were saying?

NICIAS: I was.

SOCRATES: Then this is certainly not a thing which every pig would know,
as the proverb says, and therefore he could not be courageous.

NICIAS: I think not.

SOCRATES: Clearly not, Nicias; not even such a big pig as the
Crommyonian sow would be called by you courageous. And this I say not as
a joke, but because I think that he who assents to your doctrine, that
courage is the knowledge of the grounds of fear and hope, cannot allow
that any wild beast is courageous, unless he admits that a lion, or a
leopard, or perhaps a boar, or any other animal, has such a degree of
wisdom that he knows things which but a few human beings ever know
by reason of their difficulty. He who takes your view of courage must
affirm that a lion, and a stag, and a bull, and a monkey, have equally
little pretensions to courage.

LACHES: Capital, Socrates; by the gods, that is truly good. And I hope,
Nicias, that you will tell us whether these animals, which we all admit
to be courageous, are really wiser than mankind; or whether you will
have the boldness, in the face of universal opinion, to deny their
courage.

NICIAS: Why, Laches, I do not call animals or any other things which
have no fear of dangers, because they are ignorant of them, courageous,
but only fearless and senseless. Do you imagine that I should call
little children courageous, which fear no dangers because they know
none? There is a difference, to my way of thinking, between fearlessness
and courage. I am of opinion that thoughtful courage is a quality
possessed by very few, but that rashness and boldness, and fearlessness,
which has no forethought, are very common qualities possessed by many
men, many women, many children, many animals. And you, and men in
general, call by the term 'courageous' actions which I call rash;--my
courageous actions are wise actions.

LACHES: Behold, Socrates, how admirably, as he thinks, he dresses
himself out in words, while seeking to deprive of the honour of courage
those whom all the world acknowledges to be courageous.

NICIAS: Not so, Laches, but do not be alarmed; for I am quite willing to
say of you and also of Lamachus, and of many other Athenians, that you
are courageous and therefore wise.

LACHES: I could answer that; but I would not have you cast in my teeth
that I am a haughty Aexonian.

SOCRATES: Do not answer him, Laches; I rather fancy that you are not
aware of the source from which his wisdom is derived. He has got all
this from my friend Damon, and Damon is always with Prodicus, who, of
all the Sophists, is considered to be the best puller to pieces of words
of this sort.

LACHES: Yes, Socrates; and the examination of such niceties is a much
more suitable employment for a Sophist than for a great statesman whom
the city chooses to preside over her.

SOCRATES: Yes, my sweet friend, but a great statesman is likely to have
a great intelligence. And I think that the view which is implied in
Nicias' definition of courage is worthy of examination.

LACHES: Then examine for yourself, Socrates.

SOCRATES: That is what I am going to do, my dear friend. Do not,
however, suppose I shall let you out of the partnership; for I shall
expect you to apply your mind, and join with me in the consideration of
the question.

LACHES: I will if you think that I ought.

SOCRATES: Yes, I do; but I must beg of you, Nicias, to begin again. You
remember that we originally considered courage to be a part of virtue.

NICIAS: Very true.

SOCRATES: And you yourself said that it was a part; and there were many
other parts, all of which taken together are called virtue.

NICIAS: Certainly.

SOCRATES: Do you agree with me about the parts? For I say that justice,
temperance, and the like, are all of them parts of virtue as well as
courage. Would you not say the same?

NICIAS: Certainly.

SOCRATES: Well then, so far we are agreed. And now let us proceed a
step, and try to arrive at a similar agreement about the fearful and the
hopeful: I do not want you to be thinking one thing and myself another.
Let me then tell you my own opinion, and if I am wrong you shall set me
right: in my opinion the terrible and the hopeful are the things which
do or do not create fear, and fear is not of the present, nor of the
past, but is of future and expected evil. Do you not agree to that,
Laches?

LACHES: Yes, Socrates, entirely.

SOCRATES: That is my view, Nicias; the terrible things, as I should say,
are the evils which are future; and the hopeful are the good or not evil
things which are future. Do you or do you not agree with me?

NICIAS: I agree.

SOCRATES: And the knowledge of these things you call courage?

NICIAS: Precisely.

SOCRATES: And now let me see whether you agree with Laches and myself as
to a third point.

NICIAS: What is that?

SOCRATES: I will tell you. He and I have a notion that there is not one
knowledge or science of the past, another of the present, a third of
what is likely to be best and what will be best in the future; but
that of all three there is one science only: for example, there is one
science of medicine which is concerned with the inspection of health
equally in all times, present, past, and future; and one science of
husbandry in like manner, which is concerned with the productions of the
earth in all times. As to the art of the general, you yourselves will be
my witnesses that he has an excellent foreknowledge of the future, and
that he claims to be the master and not the servant of the soothsayer,
because he knows better what is happening or is likely to happen in war:
and accordingly the law places the soothsayer under the general, and not
the general under the soothsayer. Am I not correct in saying so, Laches?

LACHES: Quite correct.

SOCRATES: And do you, Nicias, also acknowledge that the same science has
understanding of the same things, whether future, present, or past?

NICIAS: Yes, indeed Socrates; that is my opinion.

SOCRATES: And courage, my friend, is, as you say, a knowledge of the
fearful and of the hopeful?

NICIAS: Yes.

SOCRATES: And the fearful, and the hopeful, are admitted to be future
goods and future evils?

NICIAS: True.

SOCRATES: And the same science has to do with the same things in the
future or at any time?

NICIAS: That is true.

SOCRATES: Then courage is not the science which is concerned with the
fearful and hopeful, for they are future only; courage, like the other
sciences, is concerned not only with good and evil of the future, but of
the present and past, and of any time?

NICIAS: That, as I suppose, is true.

SOCRATES: Then the answer which you have given, Nicias, includes only a
third part of courage; but our question extended to the whole nature of
courage: and according to your view, that is, according to your present
view, courage is not only the knowledge of the hopeful and the fearful,
but seems to include nearly every good and evil without reference to
time. What do you say to that alteration in your statement?

NICIAS: I agree, Socrates.

SOCRATES: But then, my dear friend, if a man knew all good and evil,
and how they are, and have been, and will be produced, would he not be
perfect, and wanting in no virtue, whether justice, or temperance,
or holiness? He would possess them all, and he would know which were
dangers and which were not, and guard against them whether they were
supernatural or natural; and he would provide the good, as he would know
how to deal both with gods or men.

NICIAS: I think, Socrates, that there is a great deal of truth in what
you say.

SOCRATES: But then, Nicias, courage, according to this new definition of
yours, instead of being a part of virtue only, will be all virtue?

NICIAS: It would seem so.

SOCRATES: But we were saying that courage is one of the parts of virtue?

NICIAS: Yes, that was what we were saying.

SOCRATES: And that is in contradiction with our present view?

NICIAS: That appears to be the case.

SOCRATES: Then, Nicias, we have not discovered what courage is.

NICIAS: We have not.

LACHES: And yet, friend Nicias, I imagined that you would have made the
discovery, when you were so contemptuous of the answers which I made to
Socrates. I had very great hopes that you would have been enlightened by
the wisdom of Damon.

NICIAS: I perceive, Laches, that you think nothing of having displayed
your ignorance of the nature of courage, but you look only to see
whether I have not made a similar display; and if we are both equally
ignorant of the things which a man who is good for anything should know,
that, I suppose, will be of no consequence. You certainly appear to me
very like the rest of the world, looking at your neighbour and not at
yourself. I am of opinion that enough has been said on the subject which
we have been discussing; and if anything has been imperfectly said, that
may be hereafter corrected by the help of Damon, whom you think to laugh
down, although you have never seen him, and with the help of others. And
when I am satisfied myself, I will freely impart my satisfaction to you,
for I think that you are very much in want of knowledge.

LACHES: You are a philosopher, Nicias; of that I am aware: nevertheless
I would recommend Lysimachus and Melesias not to take you and me as
advisers about the education of their children; but, as I said at first,
they should ask Socrates and not let him off; if my own sons were old
enough, I would have asked him myself.

NICIAS: To that I quite agree, if Socrates is willing to take them
under his charge. I should not wish for any one else to be the tutor
of Niceratus. But I observe that when I mention the matter to him he
recommends to me some other tutor and refuses himself. Perhaps he may be
more ready to listen to you, Lysimachus.

LYSIMACHUS: He ought, Nicias: for certainly I would do things for him
which I would not do for many others. What do you say, Socrates--will
you comply? And are you ready to give assistance in the improvement of
the youths?

SOCRATES: Indeed, Lysimachus, I should be very wrong in refusing to aid
in the improvement of anybody. And if I had shown in this conversation
that I had a knowledge which Nicias and Laches have not, then I admit
that you would be right in inviting me to perform this duty; but as we
are all in the same perplexity, why should one of us be preferred
to another? I certainly think that no one should; and under these
circumstances, let me offer you a piece of advice (and this need not go
further than ourselves). I maintain, my friends, that every one of us
should seek out the best teacher whom he can find, first for ourselves,
who are greatly in need of one, and then for the youth, regardless of
expense or anything. But I cannot advise that we remain as we are. And
if any one laughs at us for going to school at our age, I would quote to
them the authority of Homer, who says, that

'Modesty is not good for a needy man.'

Let us then, regardless of what may be said of us, make the education of
the youths our own education.

LYSIMACHUS: I like your proposal, Socrates; and as I am the oldest, I am
also the most eager to go to school with the boys. Let me beg a favour
of you: Come to my house to-morrow at dawn, and we will advise about
these matters. For the present, let us make an end of the conversation.

SOCRATES: I will come to you to-morrow, Lysimachus, as you propose, God
willing.





*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Laches" ***

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