SOCRATES: Then you would say that he who in an engagement of cavalry endures, having the knowledge of horsemanship, is not so courageous as he who endures, having no such knowledge? LACHES: So I should say. SOCRATES: And he who endures, having a knowledge of the use of the sling, or the bow, or of any other art, is not so courageous as he who endures, not having such a knowledge? LACHES: True. SOCRATES: And he who descends into a well, and dives, and holds out in this or any similar action, having no knowledge of diving, or the like, is, as you would say, more courageous than those who have this knowledge? LACHES: Why, Socrates, what else can a man say? SOCRATES: Nothing, if that be what he thinks. LACHES: But that is what I do think. SOCRATES: And yet men who thus run risks and endure are foolish, Laches, in comparison of those who do the same things, having the skill to do them. LACHES: That is true. SOCRATES: But foolish boldness and endurance appeared before to be base and hurtful to us. LACHES: Quite true. SOCRATES: Whereas courage was acknowledged to be a noble quality. LACHES: True. SOCRATES: And now on the contrary we are saying that the foolish endurance, which was before held in dishonour, is courage. LACHES: Very true. SOCRATES: And are we right in saying so? LACHES: Indeed, Socrates, I am sure that we are not right. SOCRATES: Then according to your statement, you and I, Laches, are not attuned to the Dorian mode, which is a harmony of words and deeds; for our deeds are not in accordance with our words. Any one would say that we had courage who saw us in action, but not, I imagine, he who heard us talking about courage just now. LACHES: That is most true. SOCRATES: And is this condition of ours satisfactory? LACHES: Quite the reverse. SOCRATES: Suppose, however, that we admit the principle of which we are speaking to a certain extent. LACHES: To what extent and what principle do you mean? SOCRATES: The principle of endurance. We too must endure and persevere in the enquiry, and then courage will not laugh at our faint-heartedness in searching for courage; which after all may, very likely, be endurance. LACHES: I am ready to go on, Socrates; and yet I am unused to investigations of this sort. But the spirit of controversy has been aroused in me by what has been said; and I am really grieved at being thus unable to express my meaning. For I fancy that I do know the nature of courage; but, somehow or other, she has slipped away from me, and I cannot get hold of her and tell her nature. SOCRATES: But, my dear friend, should not the good sportsman follow the track, and not be lazy? LACHES: Certainly, he should. SOCRATES: And shall we invite Nicias to join us? he may be better at the sport than we are. What do you say? LACHES: I should like that.