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of mankind ?—I do . —But are not all pleasant things good , in ao far as they are pleasant , and all painful things bad , in so far as painful ? I am not sure , answered Protagoras , whether it can be universally maintained , that all pleasant things are good , and all painful things evil . I think that I should answer in a manner more safe for the present discussion , and more conformable to the tenour of my life , if I were to say that some pleasant things are not good , some painful things not evil , and some are neither good nor evil . —Are not pleasant things those which cause , or which partake of , pleasure ? Undoubtedly . —And is not pleasure a good?—Let us inquire , and
determine whether the good and the pleasant are identical . —Unfold then , to me another part of your mind , and as we have seen how you are minded on the subject of the good and the pleasant , let us see whether your opinion on the subject of Knowledge is the same with that of the common of mankind . Knowledge , according to the vulgar opinion , is not a controlling : and eroverniner Drinciole . Whatever mav
be a man ' s knowledge , it is not that , they think , which governs him , but sometimes he is governed by anger , sometimes by pleasure , sometimes by pain , or love , or fear ; and knowledge is dragged about by all these , and used by them as their slave . Is this your opinion ; or do you , on the contrary , think that knowledge is a grand and ruling principle , which , wherever it exists , governs ; and that he who knows what
is good and evil is overmastered by nothing , but does that wliich his knowledge commands ?—I think as > you now say ; and it would be disgraceful to me , if to any one , to maintain that wisdom and knowledge were not the most commanding of all human possessions . —You speak nobly and truly . But the common herd do not agree in your opinion ; they say that many who know what is best , and have the power to practise it , do not ; and if you ask why , the answer is , Being overpowered by pleasure , or by pain , or so forth . —Men say this , as they say many other foolish things . —Let us then instruct them what that state is , which they style , being overcome by pleasure .
When you say , my good friends , that a man is overpowered by pleasure , you mean , that , being overpowered by delicious meats and drinks and other delightful objects of sense , knowing that these tilings are bad , he yet partakes of them ?—Certainly . —Let us then ask them , In what view do you say that these things are bad ? Is it because they are pleasant , and afford immediate delight ; or because they afterwards occasion diseases and poverty ? If they only conferred enjoyment , and produced none of these remote effects , would they be bad merely by causing enjoyment ? They would surely answer , that these things are not bad for the immediate pleasure they afford , but for the diseases and want which flow from them in the end . — They would . —But diseases and want are painful things?—They are . —It seems then that these things are bad only because they produce pains , and deprive us of other pleasures ?—It appears so . —And when , again , you say that there are
good things which are painful , you mean such things as bodily exercises and the toils of military service , the painful operations of surgery , and the like ?—Certainly . —And are these good , on account of the acute suffering with which they are immediately attended , or on account of the health and good habits of body , and the , public safety , empire , and wealth , which are their ultimate consequence /—On account of the
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208 Plato ' s Dialogues ; the Protagoras .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), March 2, 1834, page 208, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2631/page/52/
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