[409c]
by the instrument of mere knowledge
and not by experience of his own.” “That at any
rate,” he said, “appears to be the noblest kind of
judge.” “And what is more, a good one,” I
said, “which was the gist of your question. For he who has a good
soul is good. But that cunning fellow quick to suspect evil,1 and who has himself done many unjust acts and
who thinks himself a smart trickster, when he associates with his like does
appear to be clever, being on his guard and fixing his eyes on the patterns
within himself. But when the time comes for him to mingle with the good and
his elders,
1 For this type of character cf. Thucydides iii. 83, and my comments in T.A.P.A. vol. xxiv. p. 79. Cf. Burke, Letter to the Sheriffs of Bristol: “They who raise suspicions on the good on account of the behavior of ill men, are of the party of the latter;” Stobaeus ii. p. 46Βίας ἔφη, οἱ ἀγαθοὶ εὐαπάτητοι, Menander, fr. 845 Kock χρηστοῦ παρ᾽ ἀνδρὸς μηδὲν ὑπονόει κακόν.
Plato. Plato in Twelve Volumes, Vols. 5 & 6 translated by Paul Shorey. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1969.
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