'consciousness,' 'chance,' 'substance,' 'matter,' 'atom,' and a heap of
other metaphysical and theological terms, are the source of quite as much
error and illusion and have as little relation to actual facts as the ideas
of Plato. Few students of theology or philosophy have sufficiently
reflected how quickly the bloom of a philosophy passes away; or how hard it
is for one age to understand the writings of another; or how nice a
judgment is required of those who are seeking to express the philosophy of
one age in the terms of another. The 'eternal truths' of which
metaphysicians speak have hardly ever lasted more than a generation. In
our own day schools or systems of philosophy which have once been famous
have died before the founders of them. We are still, as in Plato's age,
groping about for a new method more comprehensive than any of those which
now prevail; and also more permanent. And we seem to see at a distance the
promise of such a method, which can hardly be any other than the method of
idealized experience, having roots which strike far down into the history
of philosophy. It is a method which does not divorce the present from the
past, or the part from the whole, or the abstract from the concrete, or
theory from fact, or the divine from the human, or one science from
another, but labours to connect them. Along such a road we have proceeded
a few steps, sufficient, perhaps, to make us reflect on the want of method
which prevails in our own day. In another age, all the branches of
knowledge, whether relating to God or man or nature, will become the
knowledge of 'the revelation of a single science' (Symp.), and all things,
like the stars in heaven, will shed their light upon one another.


MENO

by

Plato

Translated by Benjamin Jowett


PERSONS OF THE DIALOGUE: Meno, Socrates, A Slave of Meno (Boy), Anytus.


MENO: Can you tell me, Socrates, whether virtue is acquired by teaching or
by practice; or if neither by teaching nor by practice, then whether it
comes to man by nature, or in what other way?

SOCRATES: O Meno, there was a time when the Thessalians were famous among
the other Hellenes only for their riches and their riding; but now, if I am
not mistaken, they are equally famous for their wisdom, especially at
Larisa, which is the native city of your friend Aristippus. And this is
Gorgias' doing; for when he came there, the flower of the Aleuadae, among
them your admirer Aristippus, and the other chiefs of the Thessalians, fell
in love with his wisdom. And he has taught you the habit of answering
questions in a grand and bold style, which becomes those who know, and is
the style in which he himself answers all comers; and any Hellene who likes
may ask him anything. How different is our lot! my dear Meno. Here at
Athens there is a dearth of the commodity, and all wisdom seems to have
emigrated from us to you. I am certain that if you were to ask any
Athenian whether virtue was natural or acquired, he would laugh in your
face, and say: 'Stranger, you have far too good an opinion of me, if you
think that I can answer your question. For I literally do not know what
virtue is, and much less whether it is acquired by teaching or not.' And I
myself, Meno, living as I do in this region of poverty, am as poor as the
rest of the world; and I confess with shame that I know literally nothing
about virtue; and when I do not know the 'quid' of anything how can I know
the 'quale'? How, if I knew nothing at all of Meno, could I tell if he was
fair, or the opposite of fair; rich and noble, or the reverse of rich and
noble? Do you think that I could?

MENO: No, indeed. But are you in earnest, Socrates, in saying that you do
not know what virtue is? And am I to carry back this report of you to
Thessaly?

SOCRATES: Not only that, my dear boy, but you may say further that I have
never known of any one else who did, in my judgment.

MENO: Then you have never met Gorgias when he was at Athens?

SOCRATES: Yes, I have.

MENO: And did you not think that he knew?

SOCRATES: I have not a good memory, Meno, and therefore I cannot now tell
what I thought of him at the time. And I dare say that he did know, and
that you know what he said: please, therefore, to remind me of what he
said; or, if you would rather, tell me your own view; for I suspect that
you and he think much alike.

MENO: Very true.

SOCRATES: Then as he is not here, never mind him, and do you tell me: By
the gods, Meno, be generous, and tell me what you say that virtue is; for I
shall be truly delighted to find that I have been mistaken, and that you
and Gorgias do really have this knowledge; although I have been just saying
that I have never found anybody who had.

MENO: There will be no difficulty, Socrates, in answering your question.
Let us take first the virtue of a man--he should know how to administer the
state, and in the administration of it to benefit his friends and harm his
enemies; and he must also be careful not to suffer harm himself. A woman's
virtue, if you wish to know about that, may also be easily described: her
duty is to order her house, and keep what is indoors, and obey her husband.
Every age, every condition of life, young or old, male or female, bond or
free, has a different virtue: there are virtues numberless, and no lack of


<< previous page | next page >>

Jump to page: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 |