_Soc._ Yes, my friend; the reason is that I am a votary of your science, and give my mind to it, and therefore nothing which you say will be thrown away upon me. Please then to tell me, what is the nature of this service to the gods? Do you mean that we prefer requests and give gifts to them? _Euth._ Yes, I do. _Soc._ Is not the right way of asking to ask of them what we want? _Euth._ Certainly. [Sidenote: Men give to the gods, and the gods give to men; they do business with one another.] _Soc._ And the right way of giving is to give to them in return what they want of us. There would be no meaning in an art which gives to any one that which he does not want. _Euth._ Very true, Socrates. _Soc._ Then piety, Euthyphro, is an art which gods and men have of doing business with one another? _Euth._ That is an expression which you may use, if you like. _Soc._ But I have no particular liking for anything but the truth. I wish, however, that you would tell me what benefit accrues to the gods from our gifts. There is no doubt about what they give to us; for there is no good thing which they 15 do not give; but how we can give any good thing to them in return is far from being equally clear. If they give everything and we give nothing, that must be an affair of business in which we have very greatly the advantage of them. [Sidenote: _Euthyphro is fairly puzzled._] _Euth._ And do you imagine, Socrates, that any benefit accrues to the gods from our gifts? _Soc._ But if not, Euthyphro, what is the meaning of gifts which are conferred by us upon the gods? _Euth._ What else, but tributes of honour; and, as I was just now saying, what pleases them? _Soc._ Piety, then, is pleasing to the gods, but not beneficial or dear to them? _Euth._ I should say that nothing could be dearer. _Soc._ Then once more the assertion is repeated that piety is dear to the gods? _Euth._ Certainly. [Sidenote: Again, the argument walks away.] _Soc._ And when you say this, can you wonder at your words not standing firm, but walking away? Will you accuse me of being the Daedalus who makes them walk away, not perceiving that there is another and far greater artist than Daedalus who makes them go round in a circle, and he is yourself; for the argument, as you will perceive, comes round to the same point. Were we not saying that the holy or pious was not the same with that which is loved of the gods? Have you forgotten? _Euth._ I quite remember. _Soc._ And are you not saying that what is loved of the gods is holy; and is not this the same as what is dear to them—do you see? _Euth._ True. _Soc._ Then either we were wrong in our former assertion; or, if we were right then, we are wrong now. _Euth._ One of the two must be true.