第2章

OrdoyouthinkthatOrestes，hadhebeeninhissensesandknewwhatwasbestforhimtodo，wouldeverhavedaredtoventureonsuchacrime？ ALCIBIADES:Certainlynot。 SOCRATES:Norwouldanyoneelse，Ifancy？ ALCIBIADES:No。 SOCRATES:Thatignoranceisbadthen，itwouldappear，whichisofthebestanddoesnotknowwhatisbest？ ALCIBIADES:SoIthink，atleast。 SOCRATES:Andbothtothepersonwhoisignorantandeverybodyelse？ ALCIBIADES:Yes。 SOCRATES:Letustakeanothercase。SupposethatyouweresuddenlytogetintoyourheadthatitwouldbeagoodthingtokillPericles，yourkinsmanandguardian，andweretoseizeaswordand，goingtothedoorsofhishouse，weretoenquireifhewereathome，meaningtoslayonlyhimandnooneelse:——theservantsreply，’Yes’:（Mind，Idonotmeanthatyouwouldreallydosuchathing;butthereisnothing，youthink，topreventamanwhoisignorantofthebest，havingoccasionallythewhimthatwhatisworstisbest？ ALCIBIADES:No。） SOCRATES:——If，then，youwentindoors，andseeinghim，didnotknowhim，butthoughtthathewassomeoneelse，wouldyouventuretoslayhim？ ALCIBIADES:Mostdecidedlynot（itseemstome）。（ThesewordsareomittedinseveralMSS。） SOCRATES:Foryoudesignedtokill，notthefirstwhooffered，butPericleshimself？ ALCIBIADES:Certainly。 SOCRATES:Andifyoumademanyattempts，andeachtimefailedtorecognizePericles，youwouldneverattackhim？ ALCIBIADES:Never。 SOCRATES:Well，butifOrestesinlikemannerhadnotknownhismother，doyouthinkthathewouldeverhavelaidhandsuponher？ ALCIBIADES:No。 SOCRATES:Hedidnotintendtoslaythefirstwomanhecameacross，noranyoneelse’smother，butonlyhisown？ ALCIBIADES:True。 SOCRATES:Ignorance，then，isbetterforthosewhoareinsuchaframeofmind，andhavesuchideas？ ALCIBIADES:Obviously。 SOCRATES:Youacknowledgethatforsomepersonsincertaincasestheignoranceofsomethingsisagoodandnotanevil，asyouformerlysupposed？ ALCIBIADES:Ido。 SOCRATES:Andthereisstillanothercasewhichwillalsoperhapsappearstrangetoyou，ifyouwillconsiderit？（Thereadingishereuncertain。） ALCIBIADES:Whatisthat，Socrates？ SOCRATES:Itmaybe，inshort，thatthepossessionofallthesciences，ifunaccompaniedbytheknowledgeofthebest，willmoreoftenthannotinjurethepossessor。Considerthematterthus:——Mustwenot，whenweintendeithertodoorsayanything，supposethatweknoworoughttoknowthatwhichweproposesoconfidentlytodoorsay？ ALCIBIADES:Yes，inmyopinion。 SOCRATES:Wemaytaketheoratorsforanexample，whofromtimetotimeadviseusaboutwarandpeace，orthebuildingofwallsandtheconstructionofharbours，whethertheyunderstandthebusinessinhand，oronlythinkthattheydo。Whateverthecity，inaword，doestoanothercity，orinthemanagementofherownaffairs，allhappensbythecounseloftheorators。 ALCIBIADES:True。 SOCRATES:Butnowseewhatfollows，ifIcan（makeitcleartoyou）。 （Somewordsappeartohavedroppedouthere。）Youwoulddistinguishthewisefromthefoolish？ ALCIBIADES:Yes。 SOCRATES:Themanyarefoolish，thefewwise？ ALCIBIADES:Certainly。 SOCRATES:Andyouuseboththeterms，’wise’and’foolish，’inreferencetosomething？ ALCIBIADES:Ido。 SOCRATES:Wouldyoucallapersonwisewhocangiveadvice，butdoesnotknowwhetherorwhenitisbettertocarryouttheadvice？ ALCIBIADES:Decidedlynot。 SOCRATES:Noragain，Isuppose，apersonwhoknowstheartofwar，butdoesnotknowwhetheritisbettertogotowarorforhowlong？ ALCIBIADES:No。 SOCRATES:Nor，oncemore，apersonwhoknowshowtokillanotherortotakeawayhispropertyortodrivehimfromhisnativeland，butnotwhenitisbettertodosoorforwhomitisbetter？ ALCIBIADES:Certainlynot。 SOCRATES:Buthewhounderstandsanythingofthekindandhasatthesametimetheknowledgeofthebestcourseofaction:——andthebestandtheusefularesurelythesame？—— ALCIBIADES:Yes。 SOCRATES:——Suchanone，Isay，weshouldcallwiseandausefuladviserbothofhimselfandofthecity。Whatdoyouthink？ ALCIBIADES:Iagree。 SOCRATES:Andifanyoneknowshowtorideortoshootwiththebowortoboxortowrestle，ortoengageinanyothersortofcontestortodoanythingwhateverwhichisinthenatureofanart，——whatdoyoucallhimwhoknowswhatisbestaccordingtothatart？Doyounotspeakofonewhoknowswhatisbestinridingasagoodrider？ ALCIBIADES:Yes。 SOCRATES:Andinasimilarwayyouspeakofagoodboxeroragoodflute— playeroragoodperformerinanyotherart？ ALCIBIADES:True。 SOCRATES:Butisitnecessarythatthemanwhoiscleverinanyoftheseartsshouldbewisealsoingeneral？Oristhereadifferencebetweenthecleverartistandthewiseman？ ALCIBIADES:Allthedifferenceintheworld。 SOCRATES:Andwhatsortofastatedoyouthinkthatwouldbewhichwascomposedofgoodarchersandflute—playersandathletesandmastersinotherarts，andbesidesthemofthoseothersaboutwhomwespoke，whoknewhowtogotowarandhowtokill，aswellasoforatorspuffedupwithpoliticalpride，butinwhichnotoneofthemallhadthisknowledgeofthebest，andtherewasnoonewhocouldtellwhenitwasbettertoapplyanyoftheseartsorinregardtowhom？ ALCIBIADES:Ishouldcallsuchastatebad，Socrates。 SOCRATES:Youcertainlywouldwhenyousaweachofthemrivallingtheotherandesteemingthatofthegreatestimportanceinthestate，’Whereinhehimselfmostexcelled。’（Euripides，Antiope。） ——Imeanthatwhichwasbestinanyart，whilehewasentirelyignorantofwhatwasbestforhimselfandforthestate，because，asIthink，hetruststoopinionwhichisdevoidofintelligence。Insuchacaseshouldwenotberightifwesaidthatthestatewouldbefullofanarchyandlawlessness？ ALCIBIADES:Decidedly。 SOCRATES:Butoughtwenotthen，thinkyou，eithertofancythatweknoworreallytoknow，whatweconfidentlyproposetodoorsay？ ALCIBIADES:Yes。 SOCRATES:Andifapersondoesthatwhichheknowsorsupposesthatheknows，andtheresultisbeneficial，hewillactadvantageouslybothforhimselfandforthestate？ ALCIBIADES:True。 SOCRATES:Andifhedothecontrary，bothheandthestatewillsuffer？ ALCIBIADES:Yes。 SOCRATES:Well，andareyouofthesamemind，asbefore？ ALCIBIADES:Iam。 SOCRATES:Butwereyounotsayingthatyouwouldcallthemanyunwiseandthefewwise？ ALCIBIADES:Iwas。 SOCRATES:Andhavewenotcomebacktoouroldassertionthatthemanyfailtoobtainthebestbecausetheytrusttoopinionwhichisdevoidofintelligence？ ALCIBIADES:Thatisthecase。 SOCRATES:Itisgood，then，forthemany，iftheyparticularlydesiretodothatwhichtheyknoworsupposethattheyknow，neithertoknownortosupposethattheyknow，incaseswhereiftheycarryouttheirideasinactiontheywillbelosersratherthangainers？ ALCIBIADES:Whatyousayisverytrue。 SOCRATES:DoyounotseethatIwasreallyspeakingthetruthwhenI affirmedthatthepossessionofanyotherkindofknowledgewasmorelikelytoinjurethantobenefitthepossessor，unlesshehadalsotheknowledgeofthebest？ ALCIBIADES:Idonow，ifIdidnotbefore，Socrates。 SOCRATES:Thestateorthesoul，therefore，whichwishestohavearightexistencemustholdfirmlytothisknowledge，justasthesickmanclingstothephysician，orthepassengerdependsforsafetyonthepilot。Andifthesouldoesnotsetsailuntilshehaveobtainedthisshewillbeallthesaferinthevoyagethroughlife。Butwhensherushesinpursuitofwealthorbodilystrengthoranythingelse，nothavingtheknowledgeofthebest，somuchthemoreisshelikelytomeetwithmisfortune。Andhewhohastheloveoflearning（Or，readingpolumatheian，’abundantlearning。’），andisskilfulinmanyarts，anddoesnotpossesstheknowledgeofthebest，butisundersomeotherguidance，willmake，ashedeserves，asorryvoyage:—— hewill，Ibelieve，hurrythroughthebriefspaceofhumanlife，pilotlessinmid—ocean，andthewordswillapplytohiminwhichthepoetblamedhisenemy:—— ’……Fullmanyathingheknew; Butknewthemallbadly。’（Afragmentfromthepseudo—Homericpoem，’Margites。’） ALCIBIADES:Howintheworld，Socrates，dothewordsofthepoetapplytohim？Theyseemtometohavenobearingonthepointwhatever。 SOCRATES:Quitethecontrary，mysweetfriend:onlythepoetistalkinginriddlesafterthefashionofhistribe。Forallpoetryhasbynatureanenigmaticalcharacter，anditisbynomeanseverybodywhocaninterpretit。Andif，moreover，thespiritofpoetryhappentoseizeonamanwhoisofabegrudgingtemperanddoesnotcaretomanifesthiswisdombutkeepsittohimselfasfarashecan，itdoesindeedrequireanalmostsuperhumanwisdomtodiscoverwhatthepoetwouldbeat。YousurelydonotsupposethatHomer，thewisestandmostdivineofpoets，wasunawareoftheimpossibilityofknowingathingbadly:foritwasnolessapersonthanhewhosaidofMargitesthat’heknewmanythings，butknewthemallbadly。’Thesolutionoftheriddleisthis，Iimagine:——By’badly’Homermeant’bad’and’knew’standsfor’toknow。’Putthewordstogether;——themetrewillsuffer，butthepoet’smeaningisclear;——’Margitesknewallthesethings，butitwasbadforhimtoknowthem。’And，obviously，ifitwasbadforhimtoknowsomanythings，hemusthavebeenagood—for— nothing，unlesstheargumenthasplayedusfalse。 ALCIBIADES:ButIdonotthinkthatithas，Socrates:atleast，iftheargumentisfallacious，itwouldbedifficultformetofindanotherwhichIcouldtrust。 SOCRATES:Andyouarerightinthinkingso。 ALCIBIADES:Well，thatismyopinion。 SOCRATES:Buttellme，byHeaven:——youmustseenowthenatureandgreatnessofthedifficultyinwhichyou，likeothers，haveyourpart。Foryouchangeaboutinalldirections，andnevercometorestanywhere:whatyouoncemoststronglyinclinedtosuppose，youputasideagainandquitealteryourmind。IftheGodtowhoseshrineyouaregoingshouldappearatthismoment，andaskbeforeyoumadeyourprayer，’Whetheryouwoulddesiretohaveoneofthethingswhichwementionedatfirst，orwhetherheshouldleaveyoutomakeyourownrequest:’——whatineithercase，thinkyou，wouldbethebestwaytotakeadvantageoftheopportunity？ ALCIBIADES:Indeed，Socrates，Icouldnotansweryouwithoutconsideration。Itseemstometobeawildthing（TheHomericwordmargosissaidtobehereemployedinallusiontothequotationfromthe’Margites’whichSocrateshasjustmade;butitisnotusedinthesensewhichithasinHomer。）tomakesucharequest;amanmustbeverycarefullestheprayforevilundertheideathatheisaskingforgood，whenshortlyafterhemayhavetorecallhisprayer，and，asyouweresaying，demandtheoppositeofwhatheatfirstrequested。 SOCRATES:AndwasnotthepoetwhosewordsIoriginallyquotedwiserthanweare，whenhebadeus（prayGod）todefendusfromevileventhoughweaskedforit？ ALCIBIADES:Ibelievethatyouareright。 SOCRATES:TheLacedaemonians，too，whetherfromadmirationofthepoetorbecausetheyhavediscoveredtheideaforthemselves，arewonttooffertheprayeralikeinpublicandprivate，thattheGodswillgiveuntothemthebeautifulaswellasthegood:——nooneislikelytohearthemmakeanyfurtherpetition。Andyetuptothepresenttimetheyhavenotbeenlessfortunatethanothermen;oriftheyhavesometimesmetwithmisfortune，thefaulthasnotbeenduetotheirprayer。Forsurely，asIconceive，theGodshavepowereithertograntourrequests，ortosendusthecontraryofwhatweask。 AndnowIwillrelatetoyouastorywhichIhaveheardfromcertainofourelders。ItchancedthatwhentheAtheniansandLacedaemonianswereatwar，ourcitylosteverybattlebylandandseaandnevergainedavictory。TheAtheniansbeingannoyedandperplexedhowtofindaremedyfortheirtroubles，decidedtosendandenquireattheshrineofAmmon。Theirenvoyswerealsotoask，’WhytheGodsalwaysgrantedthevictorytotheLacedaemonians？’’We，’（theyweretosay，）’offerthemmoreandfinersacrificesthananyotherHellenicstate，andadorntheirtempleswithgifts，asnobodyelsedoes;moreover，wemakethemostsolemnandcostlyprocessionstothemeveryyear，andspendmoremoneyintheirservicethanalltherestoftheHellenesputtogether。ButtheLacedaemonianstakenothoughtofsuchmatters，andpaysolittlerespecttotheGodsthattheyhaveahabitofsacrificingblemishedanimalstothem，andinvariouswaysarelesszealousthanweare，althoughtheirwealthisquiteequaltoours。’Whentheyhadthusspoken，andhadmadetheirrequesttoknowwhatremedytheycouldfindagainsttheevilswhichtroubledthem，theprophetmadenodirectanswer，——clearlybecausehewasnotallowedbytheGodtodoso;——buthesummonedthemtohimandsaid:’ThussaithAmmontotheAthenians:\"ThesilentworshipoftheLacedaemonianspleasethmebetterthanalltheofferingsoftheotherHellenes。\"’SuchwerethewordsoftheGod，andnothingmore。Heseemstohavemeantby’silentworship’theprayeroftheLacedaemonians，whichisindeedwidelydifferentfromtheusualrequestsoftheHellenes。FortheyeitherbringtothealtarbullswithgildedhornsormakeofferingstotheGods，andbegatrandomforwhattheyneed，goodorbad。When，therefore，theGodshearthemusingwordsofillomentheyrejectthesecostlyprocessionsandsacrificesoftheirs。 Andweought，Ithink，tobeverycarefulandconsiderwellwhatweshouldsayandwhatleaveunsaid。Homer，too，willfurnishuswithsimilarstories。ForhetellsushowtheTrojansinmakingtheirencampment，’Offeredupwholehecatombstotheimmortals，’ andhowthe’sweetsavour’wasborne’totheheavensbythewinds; ’ButtheblessedGodswereaverseandreceiveditnot。 ForexceedinglydidtheyhatetheholyIlium，BothPriamandthepeopleofthespear—skilledking。’ Sothatitwasinvainforthemtosacrificeandoffergifts，seeingthattheywerehatefultotheGods，whoarenot，likevileusurers，tobegainedoverbybribes。AnditisfoolishforustoboastthatwearesuperiortotheLacedaemoniansbyreasonofourmuchworship。TheideaisinconceivablethattheGodshaveregard，nottothejusticeandpurityofoursouls，buttocostlyprocessionsandsacrifices，whichmenmaycelebrateyearafteryear，althoughtheyhavecommittedinnumerablecrimesagainsttheGodsoragainsttheirfellow—menorthestate。FortheGods，asAmmonandhisprophetdeclare，arenoreceiversofgifts，andtheyscornsuchunworthyservice。WhereforealsoitwouldseemthatwisdomandjusticeareespeciallyhonouredbothbytheGodsandbymenofsense;andtheyarethewisestandmostjustwhoknowhowtospeakandacttowardsGodsandmen。ButIshouldliketohearwhatyouropinionisaboutthesematters。 ALCIBIADES:Iagree，Socrates，withyouandwiththeGod，whom，indeed，itwouldbeunbecomingformetooppose。 SOCRATES:Doyounotremembersayingthatyouwereingreatperplexity，lestperchanceyoushouldaskforevil，supposingthatyouwereaskingforgood？ ALCIBIADES:Ido。 SOCRATES:Yousee，then，thatthereisariskinyourapproachingtheGodinprayer，lesthaplyheshouldrefuseyoursacrificewhenhehearstheblasphemywhichyouutter，andmakeyoupartakeofotherevilsaswell。 Thewisestplan，therefore，seemstomethatyoushouldkeepsilence;foryour’highmindedness’——tousethemildesttermwhichmenapplytofolly—— willmostlikelypreventyoufromusingtheprayeroftheLacedaemonians。 YouhadbetterwaituntilwefindouthowweshouldbehavetowardstheGodsandtowardsmen。 ALCIBIADES:AndhowlongmustIwait，Socrates，andwhowillbemyteacher？Ishouldbeverygladtoseetheman。 SOCRATES:Itishewhotakesanespecialinterestinyou。Butfirstofall，Ithink，thedarknessmustbetakenawayinwhichyoursoulisnowenveloped，justasAtheneinHomerremovesthemistfromtheeyesofDiomedethat’HemaydistinguishbetweenGodandmortalman。’ Afterwardsthemeansmaybegiventoyouwherebyyoumaydistinguishbetweengoodandevil。Atpresent，Ifear，thisisbeyondyourpower。 ALCIBIADES:Onlyletmyinstructortakeawaytheimpediment，whetheritpleaseshimtocallitmistoranythingelse！Icarenotwhoheis;butI amresolvedtodisobeynoneofhiscommands，ifIamlikelytobethebetterforthem。 SOCRATES:Andsurelyhehasawondrouscareforyou。 ALCIBIADES:Itseemstobealtogetheradvisabletoputoffthesacrificeuntilheisfound。 SOCRATES:Youareright:thatwillbesaferthanrunningsuchatremendousrisk。 ALCIBIADES:Buthowshallwemanage，Socrates？——AtanyrateIwillsetthiscrownofmineuponyourhead，asyouhavegivenmesuchexcellentadvice，andtotheGodswewilloffercrownsandperformtheothercustomaryriteswhenIseethatdayapproaching:norwillitbelonghence，iftheysowill。 SOCRATES:Iacceptyourgift，andshallbereadyandwillingtoreceivewhateverelseyoumayproffer。EuripidesmakesCreonsayintheplay，whenhebeholdsTeiresiaswithhiscrownandhearsthathehasgaineditbyhisskillasthefirst—fruitsofthespoil:—— ’AnauspiciousomenIdeemthyvictor’swreath: Forwellthouknowestthatwaveandstormoppressus。’ AndsoIcountyourgifttobeatokenofgood—fortune;forIaminnolessstressthanCreon，andwouldfaincarryoffthevictoryoveryourlovers。