Plato, Greater Hippias, section 296e

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Epinomis, or Nocturnal Council

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[296e]

Hippias
Yes, in my opinion.

Socrates
But surely this is beneficial; or is it not?

Hippias
Certainly.

Socrates
So by this argument the beautiful persons and beautiful customs and all that we mentioned just now are beautiful because they are beneficial.

Hippias
Evidently.

Socrates
Then the beneficial seems to us to be the beautiful, Hippias.

Hippias
Yes, certainly, Socrates.

Socrates
But the beneficial is that which creates good.

Hippias
Yes, it is.

Socrates
But that which creates is nothing else than the cause; am I right?

Hippias
It is so.

Socrates
Then the beautiful is the cause of the good.

Plato. Plato in Twelve Volumes, Vol. 9 translated by W.R.M. Lamb. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1925.

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