Book 4, Chapter 5

And now I propose to show in what way he made those who were with him more vigorous in action. ¹ In the first place, as befitted one whose creed was that a basis of self-command is indispensable to any noble performance, he manifested himself to his companions as one who had pre-eminently disciplined himself; ² and in the next place by conversation and discussion he encouraged them to a like self-restraint beyond all others. ³ Thus it was that he continued ever mindful himself, and was continually reminding all whom he encountered, of matters conducive to virtue; as the following discussion with Euthydemus, which has come to my knowledge, ⁴ will serve to illustrate—the topic of the discussion being self-command.

Now I will show how he made his companions more energetic in action. ¹ First, he believed that self-command was essential to any noble achievement. Accordingly, he showed his companions that he had disciplined himself to an exceptional degree. ² Second, through conversation and discussion, he encouraged them to practice similar self-restraint more than anyone else did. ³ He always kept in mind the things that lead to virtue. He also constantly reminded everyone he met of them. The following discussion with Euthydemus, which has come to my knowledge, ⁴ will illustrate this. Its subject was self-command.

Tell me, Euthydemus (he began), do you believe freedom to be a noble and magnificent acquisition, whether for a man or for a state?

Tell me, Euthydemus, he began, do you think freedom is a noble and magnificent thing to possess, for a person or a state?

I cannot conceive a nobler or more magnificent (he answered).

“I can’t imagine anything nobler or more magnificent,” he answered.

Soc. Then do you believe him to be a free man who is ruled by the pleasures of the body, and thereby cannot perform what is best?

Soc. Then do you believe a man is free if bodily pleasures rule him and prevent him from doing what is best?

Certainly not (he answered).

Certainly not, he answered.

Soc. No! for possibly to perform what is best appears to you to savour of freedom? And, again, to have some one over you who will prevent you doing the like seems a loss of freedom?

Soc. No! Perhaps doing what is best seems like freedom to you? And does having someone over you who prevents you from doing what is best seem like a loss of freedom?

Most decidedly (he answered).

Definitely, he answered.

Soc. It would seem you are decidedly of opinion that the incontinent are the reverse of free? ⁵

Soc. It seems you firmly believe that people who lack self-control are not free? ⁵

Euth. Upon my word, I much suspect so.

Euth. Honestly, I strongly suspect so.

Soc. And does it appear to you that the incontinent man is merely hindered from doing what is noblest, or that further he is impelled to do what is most shameful?

Soc. Do you think a man who lacks self-control is merely prevented from doing what is noblest? Or is he also driven to do what is most shameful?

Euth. I think he is as much driven to the one as he is hindered from the other.

Euth. I think he is driven to do the one just as much as he is prevented from doing the other.

Soc. And what sort of lords and masters are those, think you, who at once put a stop to what is best and enforce what is worst?

Soc. And what kind of masters do you think stop what is best and enforce what is worst?

Euth. Goodness knows, they must be the very worst of masters.

Euth. Goodness knows, they must be the worst masters of all.

Soc. And what sort of slavery do you take to be the worst?

Soc. And what kind of slavery do you think is the worst?

I should say (he answered) slavery to the worst masters.

He answered, “I would say slavery to the worst masters.”

It would seem then (pursued Socrates) that the incontinent man is bound over to the worst sort of slavery, would it not?

Then it seems, Socrates continued, that a man who lacks self-control is a slave to the worst kind of master, doesn't it?

So it appears to be (the other answered).

So it seems (the other replied).

Soc. And does it not appear to you that this same beldame incontinence shuts out wisdom, which is the best of all things, ⁶ from mankind, and plunges them into the opposite? Does it not appear to you that she hinders men from attending to things which will be of use and benefit, and from learning to understand them; that she does so by dragging them away to things which are pleasant; and often though they are well aware of the good and of the evil, she amazes and confounds ⁷ their wits and makes them choose the worse in place of the better?

Soc. And don't you think that this same old hag, lack of self-control, shuts wisdom, the best of all things, ⁶ out of human life? Doesn't she plunge people into the opposite of wisdom? Doesn't she keep people from attending to useful and beneficial things and learning to understand them? She does this by dragging them away to pleasurable things. And often, though people know full well what is good and what is bad, she stuns and confuses ⁷ their minds and makes them choose the worse over the better.

Yes, so it comes to pass (he answered).

Yes, that is what happens (he answered).

Soc. And ⁸ soundness of soul, the spirit of temperate modesty? Who has less claim to this than the incontinent man? The works of the temperate spirit and the works of incontinency are, I take it, diametrically opposed?

Soc. And ⁸ what about a sound soul, a spirit of self-controlled modesty? Who has less claim to it than a man without self-control? I think the actions of a self-controlled person and those of a person without self-control are complete opposites. Aren't they?

That too, I admit (he answered).

I admit that too, he replied.

Soc. If this then be so concerning these virtues, ⁹ what with regard to carefulness and devotion to all that ought to occupy us? Can anything more seriously militate against these than this same incontinence?

Soc. If this is true of these virtues, ⁹ what about being careful and devoted to everything we ought to do? Could anything work more strongly against these than this same lack of self-control?

Nothing that I can think of (he replied).

Nothing I can think of (he replied).

Soc. And can worse befall a man, think you? Can he be subjected to a more baleful influence than that which induces him to choose what is hurtful in place of what is helpful; which cajoles him to devote himself to the evil and to neglect the good; which forces him, will he nill he, to do what every man in his sober senses would shrink from and avoid?

Soc. And can anything worse happen to a man, do you think? Could any influence be more harmful than one that leads him to choose what harms him over what helps him? It tricks him into devoting himself to evil and neglecting good. It forces him, whether he wants to or not, to do what every sensible man would shrink from and avoid.

I can imagine nothing worse (he replied).

I can't imagine anything worse, he replied.

Soc. Self-control, it is reasonable to suppose, will be the cause of opposite effects upon mankind to those of its own opposite, the want of self-control?

Soc. Is it reasonable to suppose that self-control has the opposite effects on people from a lack of self-control?

Euth. It is to be supposed so.

Euth. I suppose so.

Soc. And this, which is the source of opposite effects to the very worst, will be the very best of things?

Soc. And would this, which produces the opposite effects of the very worst things, be the very best of things?

Euth. That is the natural inference.

Euth. That is the obvious conclusion.

Soc. It looks, does it not, Euthydemus, as if self-control were the best thing a man could have?

Soc. Euthydemus, doesn't it seem that self-control is the best thing a man could have?

It does indeed, Socrates (he answered).

It certainly does, Socrates, he answered.

Soc. But now, Euthydemus, has it ever occurred to you to note one fact?

Soc. But now, Euthydemus, have you ever noticed one fact?

What fact? (he asked).

What fact? he asked.

Soc. That, after all, incontinency is powerless to bring us to that realm of sweetness which some look upon ¹⁰ as her peculiar province; it is not incontinency but self-control alone which has the passport to highest pleasures.

Soc. After all, a lack of self-control cannot bring us to the realm of pleasure that some regard ¹⁰ as its special domain. It is not a lack of self-control, but self-control alone, that gives us access to the highest pleasures.

In what way? (he asked). How so?

In what way? (he asked). How so?

Why, this way (Socrates answered): since incontinency will not suffer us to resist hunger and thirst, or to hold out against sexual appetite, or want of sleep (which abstinences are the only channels to true pleasure in eating and drinking, to the joys of love, to sweet repose and blissful slumber won by those who will patiently abide and endure till each particular happiness is at the flood) ¹¹—it comes to this: by incontinency we are cut off from the full fruition of the more obvious and constantly recurring pleasures. ¹² To self-control, which alone enables us to endure the pains aforesaid, alone belongs the power to give us any pleasure worth remembering in these common cases.

“Here is how,” Socrates answered: “A lack of self-control prevents us from resisting hunger, thirst, sexual desire, or the need for sleep. Yet only by resisting these urges can we truly enjoy food and drink, love, and sweet rest and sleep. These pleasures come to those who patiently wait until each can be enjoyed to the fullest. ¹¹ So a lack of self-control cuts us off from fully enjoying life’s more obvious and recurring pleasures. ¹² Only self-control enables us to endure the discomfort of resisting these urges. And only self-control can give us any pleasure worth remembering in these common experiences.”

You speak the words of truth ¹³ (he answered).

You speak the truth ¹³ (he answered).

Soc. Furthermore, ¹⁴ if there be any joy in learning aught "beautiful and good," or in patient application to such rules as may enable a man to manage his body aright, or to administer his household well, or to prove himself useful to his friends and to the state, or to dominate his enemies—which things are the sources not only of advantage but of deepest satisfaction ¹⁵—to the continent and self-controlled it is given to reap the fruits of them in their performance. It is the incontinent who have neither part nor lot in any one of them. Since we must be right in asserting that he is least concerned with such things who has least ability to do them, being tied down to take an interest in the pleasure which is nearest to hand.

Soc. Furthermore, ¹⁴ there may be joy in learning something "beautiful and good." There may also be joy in patiently following rules that help a man care for his body or manage his household well. Such rules may help him be useful to his friends and the state, or to overcome his enemies. All these things bring not only benefit but also the deepest satisfaction. ¹⁵ If so, those who exercise restraint and self-control can enjoy these rewards by doing these things. Those who lack self-control have no share in any of them. For we are surely right to say that the person least able to do these things is also least concerned with them. Such a person is bound to pursue whatever pleasure is closest at hand.

Euthydemus replied: Socrates, you would say, it seems to me, that a man who is mastered by the pleasures of the body has no concern at all with virtue.

Euthydemus replied: Socrates, it seems to me that you would say a man ruled by physical pleasures has no concern for virtue at all.

And what is the distinction, Euthydemus (he asked), between a man devoid of self-control and the dullest of brute beasts? A man who foregoes all height of aim, who gives up searching for the best and strives only to gratify his sense of pleasure, ¹⁶ is he better than the silliest of cattle? ¹⁷... But to the self-controlled alone is it given to discover the hid treasures. These, by word and by deed, they will pick out and make selection of them according to their kinds, choosing deliberately the good and holding aloof from the evil. ¹⁸ Thus (he added) it is that a man reaches the zenith, as it were, of goodness and happiness, thus it is that he becomes most capable of reasoning and discussion. ¹⁹ The very name discussion ({dialegesthai}) is got from people coming together and deliberating in common by picking out and selecting things ({dialegein}) according to their kinds. ²⁰ A man then is bound to prepare himself as much as possible for this business, and to pursue it beyond all else with earnest resolution; for this is the right road to excellence, this will make a man fittest to lead his fellows and be a master in debate. ²¹

“And what is the difference, Euthydemus,” he asked, “between a man without self-control and the dullest brute beast? A man who gives up all higher aims and stops searching for what is best strives only to satisfy his desire for pleasure. ¹⁶ Is he any better than the silliest cattle? ¹⁷... But only those with self-control can discover the hidden treasures. In word and deed, they sort these treasures according to their kinds. They deliberately choose the good and avoid the evil. ¹⁸ In this way,” he added, “a man reaches the highest point of goodness and happiness. In this way, he becomes most capable of reasoning and discussion. ¹⁹ The very name ‘discussion’ ({dialegesthai}) comes from people gathering and deliberating together. They do this by picking out and sorting things ({dialegein}) according to their kinds. ²⁰ A man must therefore prepare himself as much as possible for this work. He must pursue it above all else with earnest determination. For this is the right road to excellence. It will make him best suited to lead others and master debate. ²¹”