Soc. That is a question which you must ask of himself.
La. Yes.
Soc. Tell him then, Nicias, what you mean by this wisdom; for you surely do
not mean the wisdom which plays the flute?
Nic. Certainly not.
Soc. Nor the wisdom which plays the lyre?
Nic. No.
Soc. But what is this knowledge then, and of what?
La. 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.
Nic. I mean to say, Laches, that courage is the knowledge of that which
inspires fear or confidence in war, or in anything.
La. How strangely he is talking, Socrates.
Soc. Why do you say so, Laches?
La. Why, surely courage is one thing, and wisdom another.
Soc. That is just what Nicias denies.
La. Yes, that is what he denies; but he is so.
Soc. Suppose that we instruct instead of abusing him?
Nic. 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.
La. 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?