Editor-in-Chief
RSS Feeds
Authors
- Kerry Bolton
- Jonathan Bowden
- Buttercup Dew
- Collin Cleary
- Jef Costello
- F. Roger Devlin
- Julius Evola
- Gregory Hood
- Juleigh Howard-Hobson
- Greg Johnson
- Jason Jorjani
- Ward Kendall
- Anthony M. Ludovici
- Trevor Lynch
- H. L. Mencken
- J. A. Nicholl
- Andy Nowicki
- James J. O'Meara
- Michael O'Meara
- Christopher Pankhurst
- Tito Perdue
- Michael Polignano
- Spencer J. Quinn
- Savitri Devi
- Fenek Solère
- Irmin Vinson
- Leo Yankevich
- Francis Parker Yockey
Archives
- March 2021 (23)
- February 2021 (79)
- January 2021 (81)
- December 2020 (88)
- November 2020 (86)
- October 2020 (131)
- September 2020 (82)
- August 2020 (81)
- July 2020 (88)
- June 2020 (92)
- May 2020 (83)
- April 2020 (82)
- March 2020 (82)
- February 2020 (75)
- January 2020 (80)
- December 2019 (91)
- November 2019 (91)
- October 2019 (89)
- September 2019 (70)
- August 2019 (76)
- July 2019 (74)
- June 2019 (61)
- May 2019 (69)
- April 2019 (72)
- March 2019 (63)
- February 2019 (54)
- January 2019 (78)
- December 2018 (64)
- November 2018 (63)
- October 2018 (70)
- September 2018 (61)
- August 2018 (73)
- July 2018 (58)
- June 2018 (58)
- May 2018 (69)
- April 2018 (60)
- March 2018 (84)
- February 2018 (54)
- January 2018 (76)
- December 2017 (66)
- November 2017 (84)
- October 2017 (79)
- September 2017 (73)
- August 2017 (72)
- July 2017 (61)
- June 2017 (56)
- May 2017 (56)
- April 2017 (54)
- March 2017 (65)
- February 2017 (57)
- January 2017 (59)
- December 2016 (52)
- November 2016 (68)
- October 2016 (61)
- September 2016 (62)
- August 2016 (51)
- July 2016 (63)
- June 2016 (75)
- May 2016 (63)
- April 2016 (65)
- March 2016 (75)
- February 2016 (82)
- January 2016 (82)
- December 2015 (94)
- November 2015 (97)
- October 2015 (75)
- September 2015 (77)
- August 2015 (73)
- July 2015 (66)
- June 2015 (69)
- May 2015 (64)
- April 2015 (72)
- March 2015 (66)
- February 2015 (63)
- January 2015 (81)
- December 2014 (61)
- November 2014 (64)
- October 2014 (79)
- September 2014 (60)
- August 2014 (53)
- July 2014 (72)
- June 2014 (53)
- May 2014 (43)
- April 2014 (51)
- March 2014 (50)
- February 2014 (55)
- January 2014 (64)
- December 2013 (59)
- November 2013 (71)
- October 2013 (64)
- September 2013 (60)
- August 2013 (64)
- July 2013 (51)
- June 2013 (69)
- May 2013 (74)
- April 2013 (76)
- March 2013 (66)
- February 2013 (65)
- January 2013 (78)
- December 2012 (64)
- November 2012 (87)
- October 2012 (76)
- September 2012 (72)
- August 2012 (92)
- July 2012 (71)
- June 2012 (77)
- May 2012 (76)
- April 2012 (78)
- March 2012 (69)
- February 2012 (56)
- January 2012 (72)
- December 2011 (69)
- November 2011 (67)
- October 2011 (98)
- September 2011 (61)
- August 2011 (77)
- July 2011 (67)
- June 2011 (60)
- May 2011 (63)
- April 2011 (66)
- March 2011 (65)
- February 2011 (65)
- January 2011 (84)
- December 2010 (87)
- November 2010 (74)
- October 2010 (78)
- September 2010 (75)
- August 2010 (57)
- July 2010 (71)
- June 2010 (36)
Online texts
- Departments
- Contemporary Authors
- Beau Albrecht
- Michael Bell
- Alain de Benoist
- Kerry Bolton
- Jonathan Bowden
- Buttercup Dew
- Collin Cleary
- Giles Corey
- Jef Costello
- Morris V. de Camp
- F. Roger Devlin
- Bain Dewitt
- Jack Donovan
- Ricardo Duchesne
- Émile Durand
- Guillaume Durocher
- Mark Dyal
- Guillaume Faye
- Fullmoon Ancestry
- Jim Goad
- Tom Goodrich
- Alex Graham
- Andrew Hamilton
- Robert Hampton
- Huntley Haverstock
- Derek Hawthorne
- Gregory Hood
- Juleigh Howard-Hobson
- Richard Houck
- Nicholas R. Jeelvy
- Greg Johnson
- Ruuben Kaalep
- Julian Langness
- Travis LeBlanc
- Patrick Le Brun
- Trevor Lynch
- Kevin MacDonald
- G. A. Malvicini
- John Michael McCloughlin
- Margot Metroland
- Millennial Woes
- John Morgan
- James J. O'Meara
- Michael O'Meara
- Christopher Pankhurst
- Michael Polignano
- J. J. Przybylski
- Spencer J. Quinn
- Quintilian
- Edouard Rix
- C. B. Robertson
- C. F. Robinson
- Hervé Ryssen
- Kathryn S.
- Alan Smithee
- Ann Sterzinger
- Robert Steuckers
- Tomislav Sunić
- Donald Thoresen
- Marian Van Court
- Dominique Venner
- Irmin Vinson
- Michael Walker
- Scott Weisswald
- Leo Yankevich
- Classic Authors
- Maurice Bardèche
- Julius Evola
- Ernst Jünger
- D. H. Lawrence
- Charles Lindbergh
- Jack London
- H. P. Lovecraft
- Anthony M. Ludovici
- Sir Oswald Mosley
- National Vanguard
- Friedrich Nietzsche
- Revilo Oliver
- William Pierce
- Ezra Pound
- Saint-Loup
- Savitri Devi
- Carl Schmitt
- Miguel Serrano
- Oswald Spengler
- P. R. Stephensen
- Jean Thiriart
- John Tyndall
- Francis Parker Yockey
Recent Comments
- Adrian on Remembering Guillaume Faye
- Arthur Konrad on Will Civilization Collapse?
- Vauquelin on Remembering Guillaume Faye
- Flel on The Hunt
- Arthur Konrad on Remembering Guillaume Faye
- curri on What Culture Are Conservatives Trying To Protect From “Cancel Culture”?
- IQ test on Will Civilization Collapse?
- Franklin Ryckaert on Remembering Guillaume Faye
- Kitten on Will Civilization Collapse?
- Adrian on Remembering Guillaume Faye
- Ray Caruso on Remembering Guillaume Faye
- Franklin Ryckaert on Remembering Guillaume Faye
- Middle Class Twit on What Culture Are Conservatives Trying To Protect From “Cancel Culture”?
- Middle Class Twit on What Culture Are Conservatives Trying To Protect From “Cancel Culture”?
- Amas on Will Civilization Collapse?
Socrates on Wisdom from Plato’s Euthydemus
Editor’s Note:
The following text is an excerpt from Plato’s dialogue Eythydemus translated by Benjamin Jowett. Here Socrates seeks to convince Cleinias, the son of Axiochus, who is something of a “dumb jock,” and thus a tough sell, that wisdom is of paramount importance to the good life and that philosophy, as the love of wisdom, is thus the noblest of pursuits. If Socrates can convice Cleinias of this matter, then surely he can convince you.
And now, O son of Axiochus, let me put a question to you: Do not all men desire happiness? And yet, perhaps, this is one of those ridiculous questions which I am afraid to ask, and which ought not to be asked by a sensible man: for what human being is there who does not desire happiness?
There is no one, said Cleinias, who does not.
Well, then, I said, since we all of us desire happiness, how can we be happy?-that is the next question. Shall we not be happy if we have many good things? And this, perhaps, is even a more simple question than the first, for there can be no doubt of the answer.
He assented.
And what things do we esteem good? No solemn sage is required to tell us this, which may be easily answered; for every one will say that wealth is a good.
Certainly, he said.
And are not health and beauty goods, and other personal gifts?
He agreed.
Can there be any doubt that good birth, and power, and honours in one’s own land, are goods?
He assented.
And what other goods are there? I said. What do you say of temperance, justice, courage: do you not verily and indeed think, Cleinias, that we shall be more right in ranking them as goods than in not ranking them as goods? For a dispute might possibly arise about this. What then do you say?
They are goods, said Cleinias.
Very well, I said; and where in the company shall we find a place for wisdom-among the goods or not?
Among the goods.
And now, I said, think whether we have left out any considerable goods.
I do not think that we have, said Cleinias.
Upon recollection, I said, indeed I am afraid that we have left out the greatest of them all.
What is that? he asked.
Fortune, Cleinias, I replied; which all, even the most foolish, admit to be the greatest of goods.
True, he said.
On second thoughts, I added, how narrowly, O son of Axiochus, have you and I escaped making a laughing-stock of ourselves to the strangers.
Why do you say so?
Why, because we have already spoken of good-fortune, and are but repeating ourselves.
What do you mean?
I mean that there is something ridiculous in again putting forward good-fortune, which has a place in the list already, and saying the same thing twice over.
He asked what was the meaning of this, and I replied: Surely wisdom is good-fortune; even a child may know that.
The simple-minded youth was amazed; and, observing his surprise, I said to him: Do you not know, Cleinias, that flute-players are most fortunate and successful in performing on the flute?
He assented.
And are not the scribes most fortunate in writing and reading letters?
Certainly.
Amid the dangers of the sea, again, are any more fortunate on the whole than wise pilots?
None, certainly.
And if you were engaged in war, in whose company would you rather take the risk-in company with a wise general, or with a foolish one?
With a wise one.
And if you were ill, whom would you rather have as a companion in a dangerous illness-a wise physician, or an ignorant one?
A wise one.
You think, I said, that to act with a wise man is more fortunate than to act with an ignorant one?
He assented.
Then wisdom always makes men fortunate: for by wisdom no man would ever err, and therefore he must act rightly and succeed, or his wisdom would be wisdom no longer.
We contrived at last, somehow or other, to agree in a general conclusion, that he who had wisdom had no need of fortune. I then recalled to his mind the previous state of the question. You remember, I said, our making the admission that we should be happy and fortunate if many good things were present with us?
He assented.
And should we be happy by reason of the presence of good things, if they profited us not, or if they profited us?
If they profited us, he said.
And would they profit us, if we only had them and did not use them? For example, if we had a great deal of food and did not eat, or a great deal of drink and did not drink, should we be profited?
Certainly not, he said.
Or would an artisan, who had all the implements necessary for his work, and did not use them, be any the better for the possession of them? For example, would a carpenter be any the better for having all his tools and plenty of wood, if he never worked?
Certainly not, he said.
And if a person had wealth and all the goods of which we were just now speaking, and did not use them, would he be happy because he possessed them?
No indeed, Socrates.
Then, I said, a man who would be happy must not only have the good things, but he must also use them; there is no advantage in merely having them?
True.
Well, Cleinias, but if you have the use as well as the possession of good things, is that sufficient to confer happiness?
Yes, in my opinion.
And may a person use them either rightly or wrongly?
He must use them rightly.
That is quite true, I said. And the wrong use of a thing is far worse than the non-use; for the one is an evil, and the other is neither a good nor an evil. You admit that?
He assented.
Now in the working and use of wood, is not that which gives the right use simply the knowledge of the carpenter?
Nothing else, he said.
And surely, in the manufacture of vessels, knowledge is that which gives the right way of making them?
He agreed.
And in the use of the goods of which we spoke at first-wealth and health and beauty, is not knowledge that which directs us to the right use of them, and regulates our practice about them?
He assented.
Then in every possession and every use of a thing, knowledge is that which gives a man not only good-fortune but success?
He again assented.
And tell me, I said, O tell me, what do possessions profit a man, if he have neither good sense nor wisdom? Would a man be better off, having and doing many things without wisdom, or a few things with wisdom? Look at the matter thus: If he did fewer things would he not make fewer mistakes? if he made fewer mistakes would he not have fewer misfortunes? and if he had fewer misfortunes would he not be less miserable?
Certainly, he said.
And who would do least-a Poor man or a rich man?
A poor man.
A weak man or a strong man?
A weak man.
A noble man or a mean man?
A mean man.
And a coward would do less than a courageous and temperate man?
Yes.
And an indolent man less than an active man?
He assented.
And a slow man less than a quick; and one who had dull perceptions of seeing and hearing less than one who had keen ones?
All this was mutually allowed by us.
Then, I said, Cleinias, the sum of the matter appears to be that the goods of which we spoke before are not to be regarded as goods in themselves, but the degree of good and evil in them depends on whether they are or are not under the guidance of knowledge: under the guidance of ignorance, they are greater evils than their opposites, inasmuch as they are more able to minister to the evil principle which rules them; and when under the guidance of wisdom and prudence, they are greater goods: but in themselves are nothing?
That, he replied, is obvious.
What then is the result of what has been said? Is not this the result-that other things are indifferent, and that wisdom is the only good, and ignorance the only evil?
He assented.
Let us consider a further point, I said: Seeing that all men desire happiness, and happiness, as has been shown, is gained by a use, and a right use, of the things of life, and the right use of them, and good fortune in the use of them, is given by knowledge,-the inference is that everybody ought by all means to try and make himself as wise as he can?
Yes, he said.
And when a man thinks that he ought to obtain this treasure, far more than money, from a father or a guardian or a friend or a suitor, whether citizen or stranger-the eager desire and prayer to them that they would impart wisdom to you, is not at all dishonourable, Cleinias; nor is any one to be blamed for doing any honourable service or ministration to any man, whether a lover or not, if his aim is to get wisdom. Do you agree? I said.
Yes, he said, I quite agree, and think that you are right.
Yes, I said, Cleinias, if only wisdom can be taught, and does not come to man spontaneously; for this is a point which has still to be considered, and is not yet agreed upon by you and me-
But I think, Socrates, that wisdom can be taught, he said.
Best of men, I said, I am delighted to hear you say so; and I am also grateful to you for having saved me from a long and tiresome investigation as to whether wisdom can be taught or not. But now, as you think that wisdom can be taught, and that wisdom only can make a man happy and fortunate will you not acknowledge that all of us ought to love wisdom, and you individually will try to love her?
Certainly, Socrates, he said; I will do my best.