(1) 144a: "Along with a quickness beyond the capacity of most people, he has an unusually gentle temper; and, to crown it all, he is as manly a boy as nay of his fellows". This reminded me of Republic III, 410b and following in which Socrates describes the nature of a potential guardian.
(2) 145b: "And oughtn't the other [i.e., the person whose soul was being praised] to be very willing to show himself off?" Socrates says that someone with a good soul will be itching to have it examined. I guess I'm not immediately clear what the reason for this is.
Happy reading.
IanH:
ReplyDelete(2) Yes, that comment is puzzling, even if we think that proper pride and self-esteem are tied up with virtue and wisdom. I suppose one question is: is the good/wise person looking for opportunities to show off, or is it rather that *when approached by someone who wants to examine her,* she is more than happy to oblige? If the latter, this motive could be more than a mere lack of objection to being examined: it could also involve the idea that the wise person could teach her wisdom to others through that sort of examination.
In any case, perhaps we are also supposed to understand this comment as an implicit Socratic disavowal of wisdom, in modus tollens fashion: If someone (like Socrates) is *not* willing to be examined themselves, then they must not possess real wisdom (despite what others might think).