_Socr._ He ought, therefore, so to practice and exercise himself, and to
eat and drink, as seems fitting to the one who presides and knows,
rather than to all others together.
_Cri._ It is so.
_Socr._ Well, then, if he disobeys the one, and disregards his opinion
and praise, but respects that of the multitude and of those who know
nothing, will he not suffer some evil?
_Cri._ How should he not?
_Socr._ But what is this evil? Whither does it tend, and on what part
of him that disobeys will it fall?
_Cri._ Clearly on his body, for this it ruins.
_Socr._ You say well. The case is the same, too, Crito, with all other
things, not to go through them all. With respect then, to things just
and unjust, base and honorable, good and evil, about which we are now
consulting, ought we to follow the opinion of the multitude, and to
respect it, or that of one, if there is any one who understands, whom we
ought to reverence and respect rather than all others together? And if
we do not obey him, shall we not corrupt and injure that part of
ourselves which becomes better by justice, but is ruined by injustice?
Or is this nothing?
_Cri._ I agree with you, Socrates.
8. _Socr._ Come, then, if we destroy that which becomes better by what
is wholesome, but is impaired by what is unwholesome, through being
persuaded by those who do not understand, can we enjoy life when that is
impaired? And this is the body we are speaking of, is it not?
_Cri._ Yes.
_Socr._ Can we, then, enjoy life with a diseased and impaired body?
_Cri._ By no means.
_Socr._ But can we enjoy life when that is impaired which injustice
ruins but justice benefits? Or do we think that to be of less value than
the body, whatever part of us it may be, about which injustice and
justice are concerned'
_Cri._ By no means.
_Socr._ But of more value?
_Cri._ Much more.
_Socr._ We must not then, my excellent friend, so much regard what the
multitude will say of us, but what he will say who understands the just
and the unjust, the one, even truth itself. So that at first you did
not set out with a right principle, when you laid it down that we ought
to regard the opinion of the multitude with respect to things just and
honorable and good, and their contraries. How ever, some one may say,
are not the multitude able to put us to death?
_Cri._ This, too, is clear, Socrates, any one might say so.
_Socr._ You say truly. But, my admirable friend, this principle which we
have just discussed appears to me to be the same as it was before[10].
And consider this, moreover, whether it still holds good with us or not,
that we are not to be anxious about living but about living well.
_Cri._ It does hold good.
_Socr._ And does this hold good or not, that to live well and Honorable
and justly are the same thing?
_Cri._ It does.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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