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Why, my good friend, I said, how can any one answer who knows,

and says that he knows, just nothing; and who, even if he has

some faint notions of his own, is told by a man of authority not

to utter them? The natural thing is, that the speaker should be

some one like yourself who professes to know and can tell what he

knows. Will you then kindly answer, for the edification of the

company and of myself?

Glaucon and the rest of the company joined in my request, and

Thrasymachus, as any one might see, was in reality eager to

speak; for he thought that he had an excellent answer, and would

distinguish himself. But at first he affected to insist on my

answering; at length he consented to begin. Behold, he said, the

wisdom of Socrates; he refuses to teach himself, and goes about

learning of others, to whom he never even says Thank you.