summaryrefslogtreecommitdiff
path: root/1642.txt
blob: 32a13fe7957d9526476fa5b7673e07600bf63c50 (plain)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392
393
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401
402
403
404
405
406
407
408
409
410
411
412
413
414
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424
425
426
427
428
429
430
431
432
433
434
435
436
437
438
439
440
441
442
443
444
445
446
447
448
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463
464
465
466
467
468
469
470
471
472
473
474
475
476
477
478
479
480
481
482
483
484
485
486
487
488
489
490
491
492
493
494
495
496
497
498
499
500
501
502
503
504
505
506
507
508
509
510
511
512
513
514
515
516
517
518
519
520
521
522
523
524
525
526
527
528
529
530
531
532
533
534
535
536
537
538
539
540
541
542
543
544
545
546
547
548
549
550
551
552
553
554
555
556
557
558
559
560
561
562
563
564
565
566
567
568
569
570
571
572
573
574
575
576
577
578
579
580
581
582
583
584
585
586
587
588
589
590
591
592
593
594
595
596
597
598
599
600
601
602
603
604
605
606
607
608
609
610
611
612
613
614
615
616
617
618
619
620
621
622
623
624
625
626
627
628
629
630
631
632
633
634
635
636
637
638
639
640
641
642
643
644
645
646
647
648
649
650
651
652
653
654
655
656
657
658
659
660
661
662
663
664
665
666
667
668
669
670
671
672
673
674
675
676
677
678
679
680
681
682
683
684
685
686
687
688
689
690
691
692
693
694
695
696
697
698
699
700
701
702
703
704
705
706
707
708
709
710
711
712
713
714
715
716
717
718
719
720
721
722
723
724
725
726
727
728
729
730
731
732
733
734
735
736
737
738
739
740
741
742
743
744
745
746
747
748
749
750
751
752
753
754
755
756
757
758
759
760
761
762
763
764
765
766
767
768
769
770
771
772
773
774
775
776
777
778
779
780
781
782
783
784
785
786
787
788
789
790
791
792
793
794
795
796
797
798
799
800
801
802
803
804
805
806
807
808
809
810
811
812
813
814
815
816
817
818
819
820
821
822
823
824
825
826
827
828
829
830
831
832
833
834
835
836
837
838
839
840
841
842
843
844
845
846
847
848
849
850
851
852
853
854
855
856
857
858
859
860
861
862
863
864
865
866
867
868
869
870
871
872
873
874
875
876
877
878
879
880
881
882
883
884
885
886
887
888
889
890
891
892
893
894
895
896
897
898
899
900
901
902
903
904
905
906
907
908
909
910
911
912
913
914
915
916
917
918
919
920
921
922
923
924
925
926
927
928
929
930
931
932
933
934
935
936
937
938
939
940
941
942
943
944
945
946
947
948
949
950
951
952
953
954
955
956
957
958
959
960
961
962
963
964
965
966
967
968
969
970
971
972
973
974
975
976
977
978
979
980
981
982
983
984
985
986
987
988
989
990
991
992
993
994
995
996
997
998
999
1000
1001
1002
1003
1004
1005
1006
1007
1008
1009
1010
1011
1012
1013
1014
1015
1016
1017
1018
1019
1020
1021
1022
1023
1024
1025
1026
1027
1028
1029
1030
1031
1032
1033
1034
1035
1036
1037
1038
1039
1040
1041
1042
1043
1044
1045
1046
1047
1048
1049
1050
1051
1052
1053
1054
1055
1056
1057
1058
1059
1060
1061
1062
1063
1064
1065
1066
1067
1068
1069
1070
1071
1072
1073
1074
1075
1076
1077
1078
1079
1080
1081
1082
1083
1084
1085
1086
1087
1088
1089
1090
1091
1092
1093
1094
1095
1096
1097
1098
1099
1100
1101
1102
1103
1104
1105
1106
1107
1108
1109
1110
1111
1112
1113
1114
1115
1116
1117
1118
1119
1120
1121
1122
1123
1124
1125
1126
1127
1128
1129
1130
1131
1132
1133
1134
1135
1136
1137
1138
1139
1140
1141
1142
1143
1144
1145
1146
1147
1148
1149
1150
1151
1152
1153
1154
1155
1156
1157
1158
1159
1160
1161
1162
1163
1164
1165
1166
1167
1168
1169
1170
1171
1172
1173
1174
1175
1176
1177
1178
1179
1180
1181
1182
1183
1184
1185
1186
1187
1188
1189
1190
1191
1192
1193
1194
1195
1196
1197
1198
1199
1200
1201
1202
1203
1204
1205
1206
1207
1208
1209
1210
1211
1212
1213
1214
1215
1216
1217
1218
1219
1220
1221
1222
1223
1224
1225
1226
1227
1228
1229
1230
1231
1232
1233
1234
1235
1236
1237
1238
1239
1240
1241
1242
1243
1244
1245
1246
1247
1248
1249
1250
1251
1252
1253
1254
1255
1256
1257
1258
1259
1260
1261
1262
1263
1264
1265
1266
1267
1268
1269
1270
1271
1272
1273
1274
1275
1276
1277
1278
1279
1280
1281
1282
1283
1284
1285
1286
1287
1288
1289
1290
1291
1292
1293
1294
1295
1296
1297
1298
1299
1300
1301
1302
1303
1304
1305
1306
1307
1308
1309
1310
1311
1312
1313
1314
1315
1316
1317
1318
1319
1320
1321
1322
1323
1324
1325
1326
1327
1328
1329
1330
1331
1332
1333
1334
1335
1336
1337
1338
1339
1340
1341
1342
1343
1344
1345
1346
1347
1348
1349
1350
1351
1352
1353
1354
1355
1356
1357
1358
1359
1360
1361
1362
1363
1364
1365
1366
1367
1368
1369
1370
1371
1372
1373
1374
1375
1376
1377
1378
1379
1380
1381
1382
1383
1384
1385
1386
1387
1388
1389
1390
1391
1392
1393
1394
1395
1396
1397
1398
1399
1400
1401
1402
1403
1404
1405
1406
1407
1408
1409
1410
1411
1412
1413
1414
1415
1416
1417
1418
1419
1420
1421
1422
1423
1424
1425
1426
1427
1428
1429
1430
1431
1432
1433
1434
1435
1436
1437
1438
1439
1440
1441
1442
1443
1444
1445
1446
1447
1448
1449
1450
1451
1452
1453
1454
1455
1456
1457
1458
1459
1460
1461
1462
1463
1464
1465
1466
1467
1468
1469
1470
1471
1472
1473
1474
1475
1476
1477
1478
1479
1480
1481
1482
1483
1484
1485
1486
1487
1488
1489
1490
1491
1492
1493
1494
1495
1496
1497
1498
1499
1500
1501
1502
1503
1504
1505
1506
1507
1508
1509
The Project Gutenberg EBook of Euthyphro, by Plato

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org


Title: Euthyphro

Author: Plato

Translator: Benjamin Jowett

Posting Date: November 23, 2008 [EBook #1642]
Release Date: February, 1999

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK EUTHYPHRO ***




Produced by Sue Asscher





EUTHYPHRO

By Plato


Translated by Benjamin Jowett




INTRODUCTION.

In the Meno, Anytus had parted from Socrates with the significant words:
'That in any city, and particularly in the city of Athens, it is easier
to do men harm than to do them good;' and Socrates was anticipating
another opportunity of talking with him. In the Euthyphro, Socrates is
awaiting his trial for impiety. But before the trial begins, Plato would
like to put the world on their trial, and convince them of ignorance in
that very matter touching which Socrates is accused. An incident which
may perhaps really have occurred in the family of Euthyphro, a
learned Athenian diviner and soothsayer, furnishes the occasion of the
discussion.

This Euthyphro and Socrates are represented as meeting in the porch of
the King Archon. (Compare Theaet.) Both have legal business in hand.
Socrates is defendant in a suit for impiety which Meletus has brought
against him (it is remarked by the way that he is not a likely man
himself to have brought a suit against another); and Euthyphro too is
plaintiff in an action for murder, which he has brought against his
own father. The latter has originated in the following manner:--A poor
dependant of the family had slain one of their domestic slaves in Naxos.
The guilty person was bound and thrown into a ditch by the command of
Euthyphro's father, who sent to the interpreters of religion at Athens
to ask what should be done with him. Before the messenger came back the
criminal had died from hunger and exposure.

This is the origin of the charge of murder which Euthyphro brings
against his father. Socrates is confident that before he could have
undertaken the responsibility of such a prosecution, he must have been
perfectly informed of the nature of piety and impiety; and as he is
going to be tried for impiety himself, he thinks that he cannot do
better than learn of Euthyphro (who will be admitted by everybody,
including the judges, to be an unimpeachable authority) what piety is,
and what is impiety. What then is piety?

Euthyphro, who, in the abundance of his knowledge, is very willing to
undertake all the responsibility, replies: That piety is doing as I do,
prosecuting your father (if he is guilty) on a charge of murder; doing
as the gods do--as Zeus did to Cronos, and Cronos to Uranus.

Socrates has a dislike to these tales of mythology, and he fancies that
this dislike of his may be the reason why he is charged with impiety.
'Are they really true?' 'Yes, they are;' and Euthyphro will gladly tell
Socrates some more of them. But Socrates would like first of all to have
a more satisfactory answer to the question, 'What is piety?' 'Doing as
I do, charging a father with murder,' may be a single instance of piety,
but can hardly be regarded as a general definition.

Euthyphro replies, that 'Piety is what is dear to the gods, and impiety
is what is not dear to them.' But may there not be differences of
opinion, as among men, so also among the gods? Especially, about good
and evil, which have no fixed rule; and these are precisely the sort of
differences which give rise to quarrels. And therefore what may be dear
to one god may not be dear to another, and the same action may be both
pious and impious; e.g. your chastisement of your father, Euthyphro, may
be dear or pleasing to Zeus (who inflicted a similar chastisement on his
own father), but not equally pleasing to Cronos or Uranus (who suffered
at the hands of their sons).

Euthyphro answers that there is no difference of opinion, either among
gods or men, as to the propriety of punishing a murderer. Yes, rejoins
Socrates, when they know him to be a murderer; but you are assuming the
point at issue. If all the circumstances of the case are considered, are
you able to show that your father was guilty of murder, or that all the
gods are agreed in approving of our prosecution of him? And must you
not allow that what is hated by one god may be liked by another? Waiving
this last, however, Socrates proposes to amend the definition, and
say that 'what all the gods love is pious, and what they all hate is
impious.' To this Euthyphro agrees.

Socrates proceeds to analyze the new form of the definition. He shows
that in other cases the act precedes the state; e.g. the act of being
carried, loved, etc. precedes the state of being carried, loved, etc.,
and therefore that which is dear to the gods is dear to the gods because
it is first loved of them, not loved of them because it is dear to them.
But the pious or holy is loved by the gods because it is pious or holy,
which is equivalent to saying, that it is loved by them because it is
dear to them. Here then appears to be a contradiction,--Euthyphro has
been giving an attribute or accident of piety only, and not the essence.
Euthyphro acknowledges himself that his explanations seem to walk
away or go round in a circle, like the moving figures of Daedalus, the
ancestor of Socrates, who has communicated his art to his descendants.

Socrates, who is desirous of stimulating the indolent intelligence of
Euthyphro, raises the question in another manner: 'Is all the pious
just?' 'Yes.' 'Is all the just pious?' 'No.' 'Then what part of justice
is piety?' Euthyphro replies that piety is that part of justice which
'attends' to the gods, as there is another part of justice which
'attends' to men. But what is the meaning of 'attending' to the gods?
The word 'attending,' when applied to dogs, horses, and men, implies
that in some way they are made better. But how do pious or holy acts
make the gods any better? Euthyphro explains that he means by pious
acts, acts of service or ministration. Yes; but the ministrations of the
husbandman, the physician, and the builder have an end. To what end do
we serve the gods, and what do we help them to accomplish? Euthyphro
replies, that all these difficult questions cannot be resolved in a
short time; and he would rather say simply that piety is knowing how to
please the gods in word and deed, by prayers and sacrifices. In other
words, says Socrates, piety is 'a science of asking and giving'--asking
what we want and giving what they want; in short, a mode of doing
business between gods and men. But although they are the givers of all
good, how can we give them any good in return? 'Nay, but we give them
honour.' Then we give them not what is beneficial, but what is pleasing
or dear to them; and this is the point which has been already disproved.

Socrates, although weary of the subterfuges and evasions of Euthyphro,
remains unshaken in his conviction that he must know the nature of
piety, or he would never have prosecuted his old father. He is still
hoping that he will condescend to instruct him. But Euthyphro is in a
hurry and cannot stay. And Socrates' last hope of knowing the nature
of piety before he is prosecuted for impiety has disappeared. As in the
Euthydemus the irony is carried on to the end.

The Euthyphro is manifestly designed to contrast the real nature of
piety and impiety with the popular conceptions of them. But when the
popular conceptions of them have been overthrown, Socrates does not
offer any definition of his own: as in the Laches and Lysis, he prepares
the way for an answer to the question which he has raised; but true to
his own character, refuses to answer himself.

Euthyphro is a religionist, and is elsewhere spoken of, if he be the
same person, as the author of a philosophy of names, by whose 'prancing
steeds' Socrates in the Cratylus is carried away. He has the conceit and
self-confidence of a Sophist; no doubt that he is right in prosecuting
his father has ever entered into his mind. Like a Sophist too, he is
incapable either of framing a general definition or of following the
course of an argument. His wrong-headedness, one-sidedness, narrowness,
positiveness, are characteristic of his priestly office. His failure
to apprehend an argument may be compared to a similar defect which
is observable in the rhapsode Ion. But he is not a bad man, and he is
friendly to Socrates, whose familiar sign he recognizes with interest.
Though unable to follow him he is very willing to be led by him, and
eagerly catches at any suggestion which saves him from the trouble
of thinking. Moreover he is the enemy of Meletus, who, as he says, is
availing himself of the popular dislike to innovations in religion in
order to injure Socrates; at the same time he is amusingly confident
that he has weapons in his own armoury which would be more than a match
for him. He is quite sincere in his prosecution of his father, who has
accidentally been guilty of homicide, and is not wholly free from blame.
To purge away the crime appears to him in the light of a duty, whoever
may be the criminal.

Thus begins the contrast between the religion of the letter, or of the
narrow and unenlightened conscience, and the higher notion of religion
which Socrates vainly endeavours to elicit from him. 'Piety is doing
as I do' is the idea of religion which first occurs to him, and to many
others who do not say what they think with equal frankness. For men are
not easily persuaded that any other religion is better than their own;
or that other nations, e.g. the Greeks in the time of Socrates, were
equally serious in their religious beliefs and difficulties. The chief
difference between us and them is, that they were slowly learning what
we are in process of forgetting. Greek mythology hardly admitted of the
distinction between accidental homicide and murder: that the pollution
of blood was the same in both cases is also the feeling of the Athenian
diviner. He had not as yet learned the lesson, which philosophy was
teaching, that Homer and Hesiod, if not banished from the state, or
whipped out of the assembly, as Heracleitus more rudely proposed, at any
rate were not to be appealed to as authorities in religion; and he is
ready to defend his conduct by the examples of the gods. These are the
very tales which Socrates cannot abide; and his dislike of them, as he
suspects, has branded him with the reputation of impiety. Here is one
answer to the question, 'Why Socrates was put to death,' suggested by
the way. Another is conveyed in the words, 'The Athenians do not care
about any man being thought wise until he begins to make other men wise;
and then for some reason or other they are angry:' which may be said to
be the rule of popular toleration in most other countries, and not at
Athens only. In the course of the argument Socrates remarks that the
controversial nature of morals and religion arises out of the difficulty
of verifying them. There is no measure or standard to which they can be
referred.

The next definition, 'Piety is that which is loved of the gods,' is
shipwrecked on a refined distinction between the state and the act,
corresponding respectively to the adjective (philon) and the participle
(philoumenon), or rather perhaps to the participle and the verb
(philoumenon and phileitai). The act is prior to the state (as in
Aristotle the energeia precedes the dunamis); and the state of being
loved is preceded by the act of being loved. But piety or holiness is
preceded by the act of being pious, not by the act of being loved; and
therefore piety and the state of being loved are different. Through such
subtleties of dialectic Socrates is working his way into a deeper region
of thought and feeling. He means to say that the words 'loved of the
gods' express an attribute only, and not the essence of piety.

Then follows the third and last definition, 'Piety is a part of
justice.' Thus far Socrates has proceeded in placing religion on a
moral foundation. He is seeking to realize the harmony of religion and
morality, which the great poets Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Pindar had
unconsciously anticipated, and which is the universal want of all men.
To this the soothsayer adds the ceremonial element, 'attending upon the
gods.' When further interrogated by Socrates as to the nature of
this 'attention to the gods,' he replies, that piety is an affair of
business, a science of giving and asking, and the like. Socrates points
out the anthropomorphism of these notions, (compare Symp.; Republic;
Politicus.) But when we expect him to go on and show that the true
service of the gods is the service of the spirit and the co-operation
with them in all things true and good, he stops short; this was a lesson
which the soothsayer could not have been made to understand, and which
every one must learn for himself.

There seem to be altogether three aims or interests in this little
Dialogue: (1) the dialectical development of the idea of piety; (2) the
antithesis of true and false religion, which is carried to a certain
extent only; (3) the defence of Socrates.

The subtle connection with the Apology and the Crito; the holding back
of the conclusion, as in the Charmides, Lysis, Laches, Protagoras, and
other Dialogues; the deep insight into the religious world; the dramatic
power and play of the two characters; the inimitable irony, are reasons
for believing that the Euthyphro is a genuine Platonic writing. The
spirit in which the popular representations of mythology are denounced
recalls Republic II. The virtue of piety has been already mentioned
as one of five in the Protagoras, but is not reckoned among the four
cardinal virtues of Republic IV. The figure of Daedalus has occurred in
the Meno; that of Proteus in the Euthydemus and Io. The kingly science
has already appeared in the Euthydemus, and will reappear in the
Republic and Statesman. But neither from these nor any other indications
of similarity or difference, and still less from arguments respecting
the suitableness of this little work to aid Socrates at the time of his
trial or the reverse, can any evidence of the date be obtained.




EUTHYPHRO


PERSONS OF THE DIALOGUE: Socrates, Euthyphro.

SCENE: The Porch of the King Archon.


EUTHYPHRO: Why have you left the Lyceum, Socrates? and what are you
doing in the Porch of the King Archon? Surely you cannot be concerned in
a suit before the King, like myself?

SOCRATES: Not in a suit, Euthyphro; impeachment is the word which the
Athenians use.

EUTHYPHRO: What! I suppose that some one has been prosecuting you, for I
cannot believe that you are the prosecutor of another.

SOCRATES: Certainly not.

EUTHYPHRO: Then some one else has been prosecuting you?

SOCRATES: Yes.

EUTHYPHRO: And who is he?

SOCRATES: A young man who is little known, Euthyphro; and I hardly know
him: his name is Meletus, and he is of the deme of Pitthis. Perhaps you
may remember his appearance; he has a beak, and long straight hair, and
a beard which is ill grown.

EUTHYPHRO: No, I do not remember him, Socrates. But what is the charge
which he brings against you?

SOCRATES: What is the charge? Well, a very serious charge, which shows
a good deal of character in the young man, and for which he is certainly
not to be despised. He says he knows how the youth are corrupted and
who are their corruptors. I fancy that he must be a wise man, and seeing
that I am the reverse of a wise man, he has found me out, and is going
to accuse me of corrupting his young friends. And of this our mother the
state is to be the judge. Of all our political men he is the only one
who seems to me to begin in the right way, with the cultivation of
virtue in youth; like a good husbandman, he makes the young shoots his
first care, and clears away us who are the destroyers of them. This is
only the first step; he will afterwards attend to the elder branches;
and if he goes on as he has begun, he will be a very great public
benefactor.

EUTHYPHRO: I hope that he may; but I rather fear, Socrates, that the
opposite will turn out to be the truth. My opinion is that in attacking
you he is simply aiming a blow at the foundation of the state. But in
what way does he say that you corrupt the young?

SOCRATES: He brings a wonderful accusation against me, which at first
hearing excites surprise: he says that I am a poet or maker of gods, and
that I invent new gods and deny the existence of old ones; this is the
ground of his indictment.

EUTHYPHRO: I understand, Socrates; he means to attack you about the
familiar sign which occasionally, as you say, comes to you. He thinks
that you are a neologian, and he is going to have you up before the
court for this. He knows that such a charge is readily received by the
world, as I myself know too well; for when I speak in the assembly about
divine things, and foretell the future to them, they laugh at me and
think me a madman. Yet every word that I say is true. But they are
jealous of us all; and we must be brave and go at them.

SOCRATES: Their laughter, friend Euthyphro, is not a matter of much
consequence. For a man may be thought wise; but the Athenians, I
suspect, do not much trouble themselves about him until he begins to
impart his wisdom to others, and then for some reason or other, perhaps,
as you say, from jealousy, they are angry.

EUTHYPHRO: I am never likely to try their temper in this way.

SOCRATES: I dare say not, for you are reserved in your behaviour, and
seldom impart your wisdom. But I have a benevolent habit of pouring out
myself to everybody, and would even pay for a listener, and I am afraid
that the Athenians may think me too talkative. Now if, as I was saying,
they would only laugh at me, as you say that they laugh at you, the
time might pass gaily enough in the court; but perhaps they may be in
earnest, and then what the end will be you soothsayers only can predict.

EUTHYPHRO: I dare say that the affair will end in nothing, Socrates, and
that you will win your cause; and I think that I shall win my own.

SOCRATES: And what is your suit, Euthyphro? are you the pursuer or the
defendant?

EUTHYPHRO: I am the pursuer.

SOCRATES: Of whom?

EUTHYPHRO: You will think me mad when I tell you.

SOCRATES: Why, has the fugitive wings?

EUTHYPHRO: Nay, he is not very volatile at his time of life.

SOCRATES: Who is he?

EUTHYPHRO: My father.

SOCRATES: Your father! my good man?

EUTHYPHRO: Yes.

SOCRATES: And of what is he accused?

EUTHYPHRO: Of murder, Socrates.

SOCRATES: By the powers, Euthyphro! how little does the common herd know
of the nature of right and truth. A man must be an extraordinary man,
and have made great strides in wisdom, before he could have seen his way
to bring such an action.

EUTHYPHRO: Indeed, Socrates, he must.

SOCRATES: I suppose that the man whom your father murdered was one of
your relatives--clearly he was; for if he had been a stranger you would
never have thought of prosecuting him.

EUTHYPHRO: I am amused, Socrates, at your making a distinction between
one who is a relation and one who is not a relation; for surely the
pollution is the same in either case, if you knowingly associate with
the murderer when you ought to clear yourself and him by proceeding
against him. The real question is whether the murdered man has been
justly slain. If justly, then your duty is to let the matter alone; but
if unjustly, then even if the murderer lives under the same roof with
you and eats at the same table, proceed against him. Now the man who is
dead was a poor dependant of mine who worked for us as a field labourer
on our farm in Naxos, and one day in a fit of drunken passion he got
into a quarrel with one of our domestic servants and slew him. My father
bound him hand and foot and threw him into a ditch, and then sent to
Athens to ask of a diviner what he should do with him. Meanwhile he
never attended to him and took no care about him, for he regarded him as
a murderer; and thought that no great harm would be done even if he did
die. Now this was just what happened. For such was the effect of cold
and hunger and chains upon him, that before the messenger returned from
the diviner, he was dead. And my father and family are angry with me for
taking the part of the murderer and prosecuting my father. They say
that he did not kill him, and that if he did, the dead man was but a
murderer, and I ought not to take any notice, for that a son is impious
who prosecutes a father. Which shows, Socrates, how little they know
what the gods think about piety and impiety.

SOCRATES: Good heavens, Euthyphro! and is your knowledge of religion
and of things pious and impious so very exact, that, supposing the
circumstances to be as you state them, you are not afraid lest you too
may be doing an impious thing in bringing an action against your father?

EUTHYPHRO: The best of Euthyphro, and that which distinguishes him,
Socrates, from other men, is his exact knowledge of all such matters.
What should I be good for without it?

SOCRATES: Rare friend! I think that I cannot do better than be your
disciple. Then before the trial with Meletus comes on I shall challenge
him, and say that I have always had a great interest in religious
questions, and now, as he charges me with rash imaginations and
innovations in religion, I have become your disciple. You, Meletus, as
I shall say to him, acknowledge Euthyphro to be a great theologian, and
sound in his opinions; and if you approve of him you ought to approve of
me, and not have me into court; but if you disapprove, you should begin
by indicting him who is my teacher, and who will be the ruin, not of the
young, but of the old; that is to say, of myself whom he instructs,
and of his old father whom he admonishes and chastises. And if Meletus
refuses to listen to me, but will go on, and will not shift the
indictment from me to you, I cannot do better than repeat this challenge
in the court.

EUTHYPHRO: Yes, indeed, Socrates; and if he attempts to indict me I am
mistaken if I do not find a flaw in him; the court shall have a great
deal more to say to him than to me.

SOCRATES: And I, my dear friend, knowing this, am desirous of becoming
your disciple. For I observe that no one appears to notice you--not even
this Meletus; but his sharp eyes have found me out at once, and he has
indicted me for impiety. And therefore, I adjure you to tell me the
nature of piety and impiety, which you said that you knew so well, and
of murder, and of other offences against the gods. What are they? Is
not piety in every action always the same? and impiety, again--is it not
always the opposite of piety, and also the same with itself, having, as
impiety, one notion which includes whatever is impious?

EUTHYPHRO: To be sure, Socrates.

SOCRATES: And what is piety, and what is impiety?

EUTHYPHRO: Piety is doing as I am doing; that is to say, prosecuting any
one who is guilty of murder, sacrilege, or of any similar crime--whether
he be your father or mother, or whoever he may be--that makes no
difference; and not to prosecute them is impiety. And please to
consider, Socrates, what a notable proof I will give you of the truth
of my words, a proof which I have already given to others:--of the
principle, I mean, that the impious, whoever he may be, ought not to go
unpunished. For do not men regard Zeus as the best and most righteous of
the gods?--and yet they admit that he bound his father (Cronos) because
he wickedly devoured his sons, and that he too had punished his own
father (Uranus) for a similar reason, in a nameless manner. And yet when
I proceed against my father, they are angry with me. So inconsistent are
they in their way of talking when the gods are concerned, and when I am
concerned.

SOCRATES: May not this be the reason, Euthyphro, why I am charged with
impiety--that I cannot away with these stories about the gods? and
therefore I suppose that people think me wrong. But, as you who are well
informed about them approve of them, I cannot do better than assent to
your superior wisdom. What else can I say, confessing as I do, that
I know nothing about them? Tell me, for the love of Zeus, whether you
really believe that they are true.

EUTHYPHRO: Yes, Socrates; and things more wonderful still, of which the
world is in ignorance.

SOCRATES: And do you really believe that the gods fought with one
another, and had dire quarrels, battles, and the like, as the poets
say, and as you may see represented in the works of great artists?
The temples are full of them; and notably the robe of Athene, which is
carried up to the Acropolis at the great Panathenaea, is embroidered
with them. Are all these tales of the gods true, Euthyphro?

EUTHYPHRO: Yes, Socrates; and, as I was saying, I can tell you, if you
would like to hear them, many other things about the gods which would
quite amaze you.

SOCRATES: I dare say; and you shall tell me them at some other time when
I have leisure. But just at present I would rather hear from you a
more precise answer, which you have not as yet given, my friend, to the
question, What is 'piety'? When asked, you only replied, Doing as you
do, charging your father with murder.

EUTHYPHRO: And what I said was true, Socrates.

SOCRATES: No doubt, Euthyphro; but you would admit that there are many
other pious acts?

EUTHYPHRO: There are.

SOCRATES: Remember that I did not ask you to give me two or three
examples of piety, but to explain the general idea which makes all pious
things to be pious. Do you not recollect that there was one idea which
made the impious impious, and the pious pious?

EUTHYPHRO: I remember.

SOCRATES: Tell me what is the nature of this idea, and then I shall
have a standard to which I may look, and by which I may measure actions,
whether yours or those of any one else, and then I shall be able to say
that such and such an action is pious, such another impious.

EUTHYPHRO: I will tell you, if you like.

SOCRATES: I should very much like.

EUTHYPHRO: Piety, then, is that which is dear to the gods, and impiety
is that which is not dear to them.

SOCRATES: Very good, Euthyphro; you have now given me the sort of answer
which I wanted. But whether what you say is true or not I cannot as yet
tell, although I make no doubt that you will prove the truth of your
words.

EUTHYPHRO: Of course.

SOCRATES: Come, then, and let us examine what we are saying. That thing
or person which is dear to the gods is pious, and that thing or person
which is hateful to the gods is impious, these two being the extreme
opposites of one another. Was not that said?

EUTHYPHRO: It was.

SOCRATES: And well said?

EUTHYPHRO: Yes, Socrates, I thought so; it was certainly said.

SOCRATES: And further, Euthyphro, the gods were admitted to have
enmities and hatreds and differences?

EUTHYPHRO: Yes, that was also said.

SOCRATES: And what sort of difference creates enmity and anger? Suppose
for example that you and I, my good friend, differ about a number; do
differences of this sort make us enemies and set us at variance with one
another? Do we not go at once to arithmetic, and put an end to them by a
sum?

EUTHYPHRO: True.

SOCRATES: Or suppose that we differ about magnitudes, do we not quickly
end the differences by measuring?

EUTHYPHRO: Very true.

SOCRATES: And we end a controversy about heavy and light by resorting to
a weighing machine?

EUTHYPHRO: To be sure.

SOCRATES: But what differences are there which cannot be thus decided,
and which therefore make us angry and set us at enmity with one another?
I dare say the answer does not occur to you at the moment, and therefore
I will suggest that these enmities arise when the matters of difference
are the just and unjust, good and evil, honourable and dishonourable.
Are not these the points about which men differ, and about which when we
are unable satisfactorily to decide our differences, you and I and all
of us quarrel, when we do quarrel? (Compare Alcib.)

EUTHYPHRO: Yes, Socrates, the nature of the differences about which we
quarrel is such as you describe.

SOCRATES: And the quarrels of the gods, noble Euthyphro, when they
occur, are of a like nature?

EUTHYPHRO: Certainly they are.

SOCRATES: They have differences of opinion, as you say, about good and
evil, just and unjust, honourable and dishonourable: there would
have been no quarrels among them, if there had been no such
differences--would there now?

EUTHYPHRO: You are quite right.

SOCRATES: Does not every man love that which he deems noble and just and
good, and hate the opposite of them?

EUTHYPHRO: Very true.

SOCRATES: But, as you say, people regard the same things, some as just
and others as unjust,--about these they dispute; and so there arise wars
and fightings among them.

EUTHYPHRO: Very true.

SOCRATES: Then the same things are hated by the gods and loved by the
gods, and are both hateful and dear to them?

EUTHYPHRO: True.

SOCRATES: And upon this view the same things, Euthyphro, will be pious
and also impious?

EUTHYPHRO: So I should suppose.

SOCRATES: Then, my friend, I remark with surprise that you have not
answered the question which I asked. For I certainly did not ask you
to tell me what action is both pious and impious: but now it would seem
that what is loved by the gods is also hated by them. And therefore,
Euthyphro, in thus chastising your father you may very likely be doing
what is agreeable to Zeus but disagreeable to Cronos or Uranus, and what
is acceptable to Hephaestus but unacceptable to Here, and there may be
other gods who have similar differences of opinion.

EUTHYPHRO: But I believe, Socrates, that all the gods would be agreed as
to the propriety of punishing a murderer: there would be no difference
of opinion about that.

SOCRATES: Well, but speaking of men, Euthyphro, did you ever hear any
one arguing that a murderer or any sort of evil-doer ought to be let
off?

EUTHYPHRO: I should rather say that these are the questions which they
are always arguing, especially in courts of law: they commit all sorts
of crimes, and there is nothing which they will not do or say in their
own defence.

SOCRATES: But do they admit their guilt, Euthyphro, and yet say that
they ought not to be punished?

EUTHYPHRO: No; they do not.

SOCRATES: Then there are some things which they do not venture to say
and do: for they do not venture to argue that the guilty are to be
unpunished, but they deny their guilt, do they not?

EUTHYPHRO: Yes.

SOCRATES: Then they do not argue that the evil-doer should not be
punished, but they argue about the fact of who the evil-doer is, and
what he did and when?

EUTHYPHRO: True.

SOCRATES: And the gods are in the same case, if as you assert they
quarrel about just and unjust, and some of them say while others deny
that injustice is done among them. For surely neither God nor man will
ever venture to say that the doer of injustice is not to be punished?

EUTHYPHRO: That is true, Socrates, in the main.

SOCRATES: But they join issue about the particulars--gods and men alike;
and, if they dispute at all, they dispute about some act which is called
in question, and which by some is affirmed to be just, by others to be
unjust. Is not that true?

EUTHYPHRO: Quite true.

SOCRATES: Well then, my dear friend Euthyphro, do tell me, for my better
instruction and information, what proof have you that in the opinion of
all the gods a servant who is guilty of murder, and is put in chains by
the master of the dead man, and dies because he is put in chains before
he who bound him can learn from the interpreters of the gods what he
ought to do with him, dies unjustly; and that on behalf of such an one
a son ought to proceed against his father and accuse him of murder. How
would you show that all the gods absolutely agree in approving of his
act? Prove to me that they do, and I will applaud your wisdom as long as
I live.

EUTHYPHRO: It will be a difficult task; but I could make the matter very
clear indeed to you.

SOCRATES: I understand; you mean to say that I am not so quick of
apprehension as the judges: for to them you will be sure to prove that
the act is unjust, and hateful to the gods.

EUTHYPHRO: Yes indeed, Socrates; at least if they will listen to me.

SOCRATES: But they will be sure to listen if they find that you are a
good speaker. There was a notion that came into my mind while you were
speaking; I said to myself: 'Well, and what if Euthyphro does prove to
me that all the gods regarded the death of the serf as unjust, how do I
know anything more of the nature of piety and impiety? for granting that
this action may be hateful to the gods, still piety and impiety are not
adequately defined by these distinctions, for that which is hateful
to the gods has been shown to be also pleasing and dear to them.' And
therefore, Euthyphro, I do not ask you to prove this; I will suppose, if
you like, that all the gods condemn and abominate such an action. But I
will amend the definition so far as to say that what all the gods hate
is impious, and what they love pious or holy; and what some of them
love and others hate is both or neither. Shall this be our definition of
piety and impiety?

EUTHYPHRO: Why not, Socrates?

SOCRATES: Why not! certainly, as far as I am concerned, Euthyphro, there
is no reason why not. But whether this admission will greatly assist you
in the task of instructing me as you promised, is a matter for you to
consider.

EUTHYPHRO: Yes, I should say that what all the gods love is pious and
holy, and the opposite which they all hate, impious.

SOCRATES: Ought we to enquire into the truth of this, Euthyphro, or
simply to accept the mere statement on our own authority and that of
others? What do you say?

EUTHYPHRO: We should enquire; and I believe that the statement will
stand the test of enquiry.

SOCRATES: We shall know better, my good friend, in a little while. The
point which I should first wish to understand is whether the pious or
holy is beloved by the gods because it is holy, or holy because it is
beloved of the gods.

EUTHYPHRO: I do not understand your meaning, Socrates.

SOCRATES: I will endeavour to explain: we, speak of carrying and we
speak of being carried, of leading and being led, seeing and being seen.
You know that in all such cases there is a difference, and you know also
in what the difference lies?

EUTHYPHRO: I think that I understand.

SOCRATES: And is not that which is beloved distinct from that which
loves?

EUTHYPHRO: Certainly.

SOCRATES: Well; and now tell me, is that which is carried in this state
of carrying because it is carried, or for some other reason?

EUTHYPHRO: No; that is the reason.

SOCRATES: And the same is true of what is led and of what is seen?

EUTHYPHRO: True.

SOCRATES: And a thing is not seen because it is visible, but conversely,
visible because it is seen; nor is a thing led because it is in the
state of being led, or carried because it is in the state of being
carried, but the converse of this. And now I think, Euthyphro, that
my meaning will be intelligible; and my meaning is, that any state of
action or passion implies previous action or passion. It does not become
because it is becoming, but it is in a state of becoming because it
becomes; neither does it suffer because it is in a state of suffering,
but it is in a state of suffering because it suffers. Do you not agree?

EUTHYPHRO: Yes.

SOCRATES: Is not that which is loved in some state either of becoming or
suffering?

EUTHYPHRO: Yes.

SOCRATES: And the same holds as in the previous instances; the state of
being loved follows the act of being loved, and not the act the state.

EUTHYPHRO: Certainly.

SOCRATES: And what do you say of piety, Euthyphro: is not piety,
according to your definition, loved by all the gods?

EUTHYPHRO: Yes.

SOCRATES: Because it is pious or holy, or for some other reason?

EUTHYPHRO: No, that is the reason.

SOCRATES: It is loved because it is holy, not holy because it is loved?

EUTHYPHRO: Yes.

SOCRATES: And that which is dear to the gods is loved by them, and is in
a state to be loved of them because it is loved of them?

EUTHYPHRO: Certainly.

SOCRATES: Then that which is dear to the gods, Euthyphro, is not holy,
nor is that which is holy loved of God, as you affirm; but they are two
different things.

EUTHYPHRO: How do you mean, Socrates?

SOCRATES: I mean to say that the holy has been acknowledged by us to be
loved of God because it is holy, not to be holy because it is loved.

EUTHYPHRO: Yes.

SOCRATES: But that which is dear to the gods is dear to them because it
is loved by them, not loved by them because it is dear to them.

EUTHYPHRO: True.

SOCRATES: But, friend Euthyphro, if that which is holy is the same with
that which is dear to God, and is loved because it is holy, then that
which is dear to God would have been loved as being dear to God; but if
that which is dear to God is dear to him because loved by him, then that
which is holy would have been holy because loved by him. But now you see
that the reverse is the case, and that they are quite different from
one another. For one (theophiles) is of a kind to be loved cause it
is loved, and the other (osion) is loved because it is of a kind to
be loved. Thus you appear to me, Euthyphro, when I ask you what is
the essence of holiness, to offer an attribute only, and not the
essence--the attribute of being loved by all the gods. But you still
refuse to explain to me the nature of holiness. And therefore, if you
please, I will ask you not to hide your treasure, but to tell me once
more what holiness or piety really is, whether dear to the gods or not
(for that is a matter about which we will not quarrel); and what is
impiety?

EUTHYPHRO: I really do not know, Socrates, how to express what I mean.
For somehow or other our arguments, on whatever ground we rest them,
seem to turn round and walk away from us.

SOCRATES: Your words, Euthyphro, are like the handiwork of my ancestor
Daedalus; and if I were the sayer or propounder of them, you might say
that my arguments walk away and will not remain fixed where they are
placed because I am a descendant of his. But now, since these notions
are your own, you must find some other gibe, for they certainly, as you
yourself allow, show an inclination to be on the move.

EUTHYPHRO: Nay, Socrates, I shall still say that you are the Daedalus
who sets arguments in motion; not I, certainly, but you make them
move or go round, for they would never have stirred, as far as I am
concerned.

SOCRATES: Then I must be a greater than Daedalus: for whereas he only
made his own inventions to move, I move those of other people as well.
And the beauty of it is, that I would rather not. For I would give the
wisdom of Daedalus, and the wealth of Tantalus, to be able to detain
them and keep them fixed. But enough of this. As I perceive that you are
lazy, I will myself endeavour to show you how you might instruct me in
the nature of piety; and I hope that you will not grudge your labour.
Tell me, then--Is not that which is pious necessarily just?

EUTHYPHRO: Yes.

SOCRATES: And is, then, all which is just pious? or, is that which is
pious all just, but that which is just, only in part and not all, pious?

EUTHYPHRO: I do not understand you, Socrates.

SOCRATES: And yet I know that you are as much wiser than I am, as you
are younger. But, as I was saying, revered friend, the abundance of your
wisdom makes you lazy. Please to exert yourself, for there is no
real difficulty in understanding me. What I mean I may explain by an
illustration of what I do not mean. The poet (Stasinus) sings--

'Of Zeus, the author and creator of all these things, You will not tell:
for where there is fear there is also reverence.'

Now I disagree with this poet. Shall I tell you in what respect?

EUTHYPHRO: By all means.

SOCRATES: I should not say that where there is fear there is also
reverence; for I am sure that many persons fear poverty and disease, and
the like evils, but I do not perceive that they reverence the objects of
their fear.

EUTHYPHRO: Very true.

SOCRATES: But where reverence is, there is fear; for he who has a
feeling of reverence and shame about the commission of any action, fears
and is afraid of an ill reputation.

EUTHYPHRO: No doubt.

SOCRATES: Then we are wrong in saying that where there is fear there
is also reverence; and we should say, where there is reverence there is
also fear. But there is not always reverence where there is fear; for
fear is a more extended notion, and reverence is a part of fear, just as
the odd is a part of number, and number is a more extended notion than
the odd. I suppose that you follow me now?

EUTHYPHRO: Quite well.

SOCRATES: That was the sort of question which I meant to raise when
I asked whether the just is always the pious, or the pious always the
just; and whether there may not be justice where there is not piety; for
justice is the more extended notion of which piety is only a part. Do
you dissent?

EUTHYPHRO: No, I think that you are quite right.

SOCRATES: Then, if piety is a part of justice, I suppose that we should
enquire what part? If you had pursued the enquiry in the previous cases;
for instance, if you had asked me what is an even number, and what part
of number the even is, I should have had no difficulty in replying,
a number which represents a figure having two equal sides. Do you not
agree?

EUTHYPHRO: Yes, I quite agree.

SOCRATES: In like manner, I want you to tell me what part of justice
is piety or holiness, that I may be able to tell Meletus not to do me
injustice, or indict me for impiety, as I am now adequately instructed
by you in the nature of piety or holiness, and their opposites.

EUTHYPHRO: Piety or holiness, Socrates, appears to me to be that part of
justice which attends to the gods, as there is the other part of justice
which attends to men.

SOCRATES: That is good, Euthyphro; yet still there is a little point
about which I should like to have further information, What is the
meaning of 'attention'? For attention can hardly be used in the same
sense when applied to the gods as when applied to other things. For
instance, horses are said to require attention, and not every person is
able to attend to them, but only a person skilled in horsemanship. Is it
not so?

EUTHYPHRO: Certainly.

SOCRATES: I should suppose that the art of horsemanship is the art of
attending to horses?

EUTHYPHRO: Yes.

SOCRATES: Nor is every one qualified to attend to dogs, but only the
huntsman?

EUTHYPHRO: True.

SOCRATES: And I should also conceive that the art of the huntsman is the
art of attending to dogs?

EUTHYPHRO: Yes.

SOCRATES: As the art of the oxherd is the art of attending to oxen?

EUTHYPHRO: Very true.

SOCRATES: In like manner holiness or piety is the art of attending to
the gods?--that would be your meaning, Euthyphro?

EUTHYPHRO: Yes.

SOCRATES: And is not attention always designed for the good or benefit
of that to which the attention is given? As in the case of horses,
you may observe that when attended to by the horseman's art they are
benefited and improved, are they not?

EUTHYPHRO: True.

SOCRATES: As the dogs are benefited by the huntsman's art, and the oxen
by the art of the oxherd, and all other things are tended or attended
for their good and not for their hurt?

EUTHYPHRO: Certainly, not for their hurt.

SOCRATES: But for their good?

EUTHYPHRO: Of course.

SOCRATES: And does piety or holiness, which has been defined to be the
art of attending to the gods, benefit or improve them? Would you say
that when you do a holy act you make any of the gods better?

EUTHYPHRO: No, no; that was certainly not what I meant.

SOCRATES: And I, Euthyphro, never supposed that you did. I asked you the
question about the nature of the attention, because I thought that you
did not.

EUTHYPHRO: You do me justice, Socrates; that is not the sort of
attention which I mean.

SOCRATES: Good: but I must still ask what is this attention to the gods
which is called piety?

EUTHYPHRO: It is such, Socrates, as servants show to their masters.

SOCRATES: I understand--a sort of ministration to the gods.

EUTHYPHRO: Exactly.

SOCRATES: Medicine is also a sort of ministration or service, having in
view the attainment of some object--would you not say of health?

EUTHYPHRO: I should.

SOCRATES: Again, there is an art which ministers to the ship-builder
with a view to the attainment of some result?

EUTHYPHRO: Yes, Socrates, with a view to the building of a ship.

SOCRATES: As there is an art which ministers to the house-builder with a
view to the building of a house?

EUTHYPHRO: Yes.

SOCRATES: And now tell me, my good friend, about the art which ministers
to the gods: what work does that help to accomplish? For you must surely
know if, as you say, you are of all men living the one who is best
instructed in religion.

EUTHYPHRO: And I speak the truth, Socrates.

SOCRATES: Tell me then, oh tell me--what is that fair work which the
gods do by the help of our ministrations?

EUTHYPHRO: Many and fair, Socrates, are the works which they do.

SOCRATES: Why, my friend, and so are those of a general. But the chief
of them is easily told. Would you not say that victory in war is the
chief of them?

EUTHYPHRO: Certainly.

SOCRATES: Many and fair, too, are the works of the husbandman, if I
am not mistaken; but his chief work is the production of food from the
earth?

EUTHYPHRO: Exactly.

SOCRATES: And of the many and fair things done by the gods, which is the
chief or principal one?

EUTHYPHRO: I have told you already, Socrates, that to learn all these
things accurately will be very tiresome. Let me simply say that piety or
holiness is learning how to please the gods in word and deed, by prayers
and sacrifices. Such piety is the salvation of families and states,
just as the impious, which is unpleasing to the gods, is their ruin and
destruction.

SOCRATES: I think that you could have answered in much fewer words the
chief question which I asked, Euthyphro, if you had chosen. But I see
plainly that you are not disposed to instruct me--clearly not: else why,
when we reached the point, did you turn aside? Had you only answered
me I should have truly learned of you by this time the nature of
piety. Now, as the asker of a question is necessarily dependent on the
answerer, whither he leads I must follow; and can only ask again, what
is the pious, and what is piety? Do you mean that they are a sort of
science of praying and sacrificing?

EUTHYPHRO: Yes, I do.

SOCRATES: And sacrificing is giving to the gods, and prayer is asking of
the gods?

EUTHYPHRO: Yes, Socrates.

SOCRATES: Upon this view, then, piety is a science of asking and giving?

EUTHYPHRO: You understand me capitally, Socrates.

SOCRATES: Yes, my friend; the reason is that I am a votary of your
science, and give my mind to it, and therefore nothing which you say
will be thrown away upon me. Please then to tell me, what is the nature
of this service to the gods? Do you mean that we prefer requests and
give gifts to them?

EUTHYPHRO: Yes, I do.

SOCRATES: Is not the right way of asking to ask of them what we want?

EUTHYPHRO: Certainly.

SOCRATES: And the right way of giving is to give to them in return what
they want of us. There would be no meaning in an art which gives to any
one that which he does not want.

EUTHYPHRO: Very true, Socrates.

SOCRATES: Then piety, Euthyphro, is an art which gods and men have of
doing business with one another?

EUTHYPHRO: That is an expression which you may use, if you like.

SOCRATES: But I have no particular liking for anything but the truth. I
wish, however, that you would tell me what benefit accrues to the gods
from our gifts. There is no doubt about what they give to us; for there
is no good thing which they do not give; but how we can give any good
thing to them in return is far from being equally clear. If they give
everything and we give nothing, that must be an affair of business in
which we have very greatly the advantage of them.

EUTHYPHRO: And do you imagine, Socrates, that any benefit accrues to the
gods from our gifts?

SOCRATES: But if not, Euthyphro, what is the meaning of gifts which are
conferred by us upon the gods?

EUTHYPHRO: What else, but tributes of honour; and, as I was just now
saying, what pleases them?

SOCRATES: Piety, then, is pleasing to the gods, but not beneficial or
dear to them?

EUTHYPHRO: I should say that nothing could be dearer.

SOCRATES: Then once more the assertion is repeated that piety is dear to
the gods?

EUTHYPHRO: Certainly.

SOCRATES: And when you say this, can you wonder at your words not
standing firm, but walking away? Will you accuse me of being the
Daedalus who makes them walk away, not perceiving that there is another
and far greater artist than Daedalus who makes them go round in a
circle, and he is yourself; for the argument, as you will perceive,
comes round to the same point. Were we not saying that the holy or
pious was not the same with that which is loved of the gods? Have you
forgotten?

EUTHYPHRO: I quite remember.

SOCRATES: And are you not saying that what is loved of the gods is holy;
and is not this the same as what is dear to them--do you see?

EUTHYPHRO: True.

SOCRATES: Then either we were wrong in our former assertion; or, if we
were right then, we are wrong now.

EUTHYPHRO: One of the two must be true.

SOCRATES: Then we must begin again and ask, What is piety? That is an
enquiry which I shall never be weary of pursuing as far as in me lies;
and I entreat you not to scorn me, but to apply your mind to the utmost,
and tell me the truth. For, if any man knows, you are he; and therefore
I must detain you, like Proteus, until you tell. If you had not
certainly known the nature of piety and impiety, I am confident that
you would never, on behalf of a serf, have charged your aged father with
murder. You would not have run such a risk of doing wrong in the sight
of the gods, and you would have had too much respect for the opinions
of men. I am sure, therefore, that you know the nature of piety and
impiety. Speak out then, my dear Euthyphro, and do not hide your
knowledge.

EUTHYPHRO: Another time, Socrates; for I am in a hurry, and must go now.

SOCRATES: Alas! my companion, and will you leave me in despair? I was
hoping that you would instruct me in the nature of piety and impiety;
and then I might have cleared myself of Meletus and his indictment. I
would have told him that I had been enlightened by Euthyphro, and had
given up rash innovations and speculations, in which I indulged only
through ignorance, and that now I am about to lead a better life.





End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Euthyphro, by Plato

*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK EUTHYPHRO ***

***** This file should be named 1642.txt or 1642.zip *****
This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
        http://www.gutenberg.org/1/6/4/1642/

Produced by Sue Asscher

Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
will be renamed.

Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
redistribution.



*** START: FULL LICENSE ***

THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK

To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
http://gutenberg.org/license).


Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic works

1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.

1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
works.  See paragraph 1.E below.

1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.

1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
States.

1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:

1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
copied or distributed:

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org

1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
1.E.9.

1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.

1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.

1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
Gutenberg-tm License.

1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.

1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.

1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
that

- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."

- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
     License.  You must require such a user to return or
     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
     Project Gutenberg-tm works.

- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
     of receipt of the work.

- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.

1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.

1.F.

1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
your equipment.

1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
DAMAGE.

1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
opportunities to fix the problem.

1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER
WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.

1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.

1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.


Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm

Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
people in all walks of life.

Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org.


Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
Foundation

The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
number is 64-6221541.  Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
http://pglaf.org/fundraising.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.

The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
page at http://pglaf.org

For additional contact information:
     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
     Chief Executive and Director
     gbnewby@pglaf.org


Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
Literary Archive Foundation

Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
status with the IRS.

The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
particular state visit http://pglaf.org

While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
approach us with offers to donate.

International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.

Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations.
To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate


Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
works.

Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.


Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.


Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:

     http://www.gutenberg.org

This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.