Plato : GORGIAS Persons of the dialogue: Callicles - Socrates - Chaerephon - Gorgias - Polus Scene : The house of Callicles Translated by Benjamin Jowett - 30 Pages (Part 2) - Greek fonts Search Plato's works / Plato Anthology / The Greek Word Library = Note by Elpenor

GORGIAS Part 2 of 3

Part 1

Plato in print

This Part: 30 Pages

Part 2 Page 16

Cal. Yes; that is what I mean, and that is what I conceive to be natural justice - that the better and wiser should rule have more than the inferior.

Soc. Stop there, and let me ask you what you would say in this case: Let us suppose that we are all together as we are now; there are several of us, and we have a large common store of meats and drinks, and there are all sorts of persons in our company having various degrees of strength and weakness, and one of us, being physician, is wiser in the matter of food than all the rest, and he is probably stronger than some and not so strong as others of us - will he not, being wiser, be also better than we are, and our superior in this matter of food?

Cal. Certainly.

Soc. Either, then, he will have a larger share of the meats and drinks, because he is better, or he will have the distribution of all of them by reason of his authority, but he will not expend or make use of a larger share of them on his own person, or if he does, he will be punished - his share will exceed that of some, and be less than that of others, and if he be the weakest of all, he being the best of all will have the smallest share of all, Callicles: - am I not right, my friend?

Cal. You talk about meats and drinks and physicians and other nonsense; I am not speaking of them.

Soc. Well, but do you admit that the wiser is the better? Answer "Yes" or "No."

Cal. Yes.

Soc. And ought not the better to have a larger share?

Cal. Not of meats and drinks.

Soc. I understand: then, perhaps, of coats - the skilfullest weaver ought to have the largest coat, and the greatest number of them, and go about clothed in the best and finest of them?

Cal. Fudge about coats!

Soc. Then the skilfullest and best in making shoes ought to have the advantage in shoes; the shoemaker, clearly, should walk about in the largest shoes, and have the greatest number of them?

Cal. Fudge about shoes! What nonsense are you talking?

Previous Page / First / Next Page of this part

Gorgias Part 1 and 3 of 3. You are at Part 2

  Plato Home Page / Bilingual Anthology   Plato Search ||| Aristotle

Reference address : https://ellopos.net/elpenor/greek-texts/ancient-Greece/plato/plato-gorgias-2.asp?pg=16

Copyright : Elpenor 2006 -