Approach the real person -- 2

[Guest guest]

SOCRATES: (...) Tell me, then, whether I am right in saying that some

opinions, and the opinions of some men only, are to be valued, and other

opinions, and the opinions of other men, are not to be valued. I ask you

whether I was right in maintaining this?

 

CRITO: Certainly.

 

Soc. The good are to be regarded, and not the bad?

 

Cr. Yes.

 

Soc. And the opinions of the wise are good, and the opinions of the unwise

are evil?

 

Cr. Certainly.

 

Soc. And what was said about another matter? Was the disciple in gymnastics

supposed to attend to the praise and blame and opinion of every man, or of

one man only- his physician or trainer, whoever that was?

 

Cr. Of one man only.

 

Soc. And he ought to fear the censure and welcome the praise of that one

only, and not of the many?

 

Cr. That is clear.

 

Soc. And he ought to live and train, and eat and drink in the way which

seems good to his single master who has understanding, rather than according

to the opinion of all other men put together?

 

Cr. True.

 

Soc. And if he disobeys and disregards the opinion and approval of the one,

and regards the opinion of the many who have no understanding, will he not

suffer evil?

 

Cr. Certainly he will.

 

Soc. And what will the evil be, whither tending and what affecting, in the

disobedient person?

 

Cr. Clearly, affecting the body; that is what is destroyed by the evil.

 

Soc. Very good; and is not this true, Crito, of other things which we need

not separately enumerate? In the matter of just and unjust, fair and foul,

good and evil, which are the subjects of our present consultation, ought we

to follow the opinion of the many and to fear them; or the opinion of the

one man who has understanding, and whom we ought to fear and reverence more

than all the rest of the world: and whom deserting we shall destroy and

injure that principle in us which may be assumed to be improved by justice

and deteriorated by injustice; is there not such a principle?

 

Cr. Certainly there is, Socrates.

 

Soc. Take a parallel instance; if, acting under the advice of men who have

no understanding, we destroy that which is improvable by health and

deteriorated by disease- when that has been destroyed, I say, would life be

worth having? And that is- the body?

 

Cr. Yes.

 

Soc. Could we live, having an evil and corrupted body?

 

Cr. Certainly not.

 

Soc. And will life be worth having, if that higher part of man be depraved,

which is improved by justice and deteriorated by injustice? Do we suppose

that principle, whatever it may be in man, which has to do with justice and

injustice, to be inferior to the body?

 

Cr. Certainly not.

 

Soc. More honored, then?

 

Cr. Far more honored.

 

Soc. Then, my friend, we must not regard what the many say of us: but what

he, the one man who has understanding of just and unjust, will say, and what

the truth will say. And therefore you begin in error when you suggest that

we should regard the opinion of the many about just and unjust, good and

evil, honorable and dishonorable. (...)

 

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Crito -- By Plato (Written 360 B.C.E, translated by Benjamin Jowett)

On: http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/crito.html