protagoras   

reverence among men:-Should he distribute them as the arts are

distributed; that is to say, to a favoured few only, one skilled

individual having enough of medicine or of any other art for many

unskilled ones? "Shall this be the manner in which I am to

distribute justice and reverence among men, or shall I give them to

all?" "To all," said Zeus; "I should like them all to have a share;

for cities cannot exist, if a few only share in the virtues, as in the

arts. And further, make a law by my order, that he who has no part

in reverence and justice shall be put to death, for he is a plague

of the state."

And this is the reason, Socrates, why the Athenians and mankind in

general, when the question relates to carpentering or any other

mechanical art, allow but a few to share in their deliberations; and

when any one else interferes, then, as you say, they object, if he

be not of the favoured few; which, as I reply, is very natural. But

when they meet to deliberate about political virtue, which proceeds

only by way of justice and wisdom, they are patient enough of any

man who speaks of them, as is also natural, because they think that

every man ought to share in this sort of virtue, and that states could

not exist if this were otherwise. I have explained to you, Socrates,

the reason of this phenomenon.

And that you may not suppose yourself to be deceived in thinking

that all men regard every man as having a share of justice or

honesty and of every other political virtue, let me give you a further

proof, which is this. In other cases, as you are aware, if a man

says that he is a good flute-player, or skilful in any other art in

which he has no skill, people either laugh at him or are angry with

him, and his relations think that he is mad and go and admonish him;

but when honesty is in question, or some other political virtue,

even if they know that he is dishonest, yet, if the man comes publicly

forward and tells the truth about his dishonesty, then, what in the

other case was held by them to be good sense, they now deem to be