ble to be drawn into an argument; and whatever subject he may
start, he will be continually carried round and round by him, until at
last he finds that he has to give an account both of his present and
past life; and when he is once entangled, Socrates will not let him go
until he has completely and thoroughly sifted him. Now I am used to his
ways; and I know that he will certainly do as I say, and also that
I myself shall be the sufferer; for I am fond of his conversation,
Lysimachus. And I think that there is no harm in being reminded of any
wrong thing which we are, or have been, doing: he who does not fly from
reproof will be sure to take more heed of his after-life; as Solon says,
he will wish and desire to be learning so long as he lives, and will not
think that old age of itself brings wisdom. To me, to be cross-examined
by Socrates is neither unusual nor unpleasant; indeed, I knew all along
that where Socrates was, the argument would soon pass from our sons to
ourselves; and therefore, I say that for my part, I am quite willing to
discourse with Socrates in his own manner; but you had better ask our
friend Laches what his feeling may be.

LACHES: I have but one feeling, Nicias, or (shall I say?) two feelings,
about discussions. Some would think that I am a lover, and to others I
may seem to be a hater of discourse; for when I hear a man discoursing
of virtue, or of any sort of wisdom, who is a true man and worthy of
his theme, I am delighted beyond measure: and I compare the man and his
words, and note the harmony and correspondence of them. And such an one
I deem to be the true musician, attuned to a fairer harmony than that of
the lyre, or any pleasant instrument of music; for truly he has in his
own life a harmony of words and deeds arranged, not in the Ionian, or in
the Phrygian mode, nor yet in the Lydian, but in the true Hellenic mode,
which is the Dorian, and no other. Such an one makes me merry with the
sound of his voice; and when I hear him I am thought to be a lover
of discourse; so eager am I in drinking in his words. But a man whose
actions do not agree with his words is an annoyance to me; and the
better he speaks the more I hate him, and then I seem to be a hater of
discourse. As to Socrates, I have no knowledge of his words, but of old,
as would seem, I have had experience of his deeds; and his deeds show
that free and noble sentiments are natural to him. And if his words
accord, then I am of one