for the soothsayer
ought to know only the signs of things that are about to come to pass,
whether death or disease, or loss of property, or victory, or defeat
in war, or in any sort of contest; but to whom the suffering or not
suffering of these things will be for the best, can no more be decided
by the soothsayer than by one who is no soothsayer.

LACHES: I cannot understand what Nicias would be at, Socrates; for he
represents the courageous man as neither a soothsayer, nor a physician,
nor in any other character, unless he means to say that he is a god. My
opinion is that he does not like honestly to confess that he is talking
nonsense, but that he shuffles up and down in order to conceal the
difficulty into which he has got himself. You and I, Socrates, might
have practised a similar shuffle just now, if we had only wanted to
avoid the appearance of inconsistency. And if we had been arguing in a
court of law there might have been reason in so doing; but why should
a man deck himself out with vain words at a meeting of friends such as
this?

SOCRATES: I quite agree with you, Laches, that he should not. But
perhaps Nicias is serious, and not merely talking for the sake of
talking. Let us ask him just to explain what he means, and if he has
reason on his side we will agree with him; if not, we will instruct him.

LACHES: Do you, Socrates, if you like, ask him: I think that I have
asked enough.

SOCRATES: I do not see why I should not; and my question will do for
both of us.

LACHES: Very good.

SOCRATES: Then tell me, Nicias, or rather tell us, for Laches and I
are partners in the argument: Do you mean to affirm that courage is the
knowledge of the grounds of hope and fear?

NICIAS: I do.

SOCRATES: And not every man has this knowledge; the physician and the
soothsayer have it not; and they will not be courageous unless they
acquire it--that is what you were saying?

NICIAS: I was.

SOCRATES: Then this is certainly not a thing which every pig would know,
as the proverb says, and therefore he could not be courageous.

NICIAS: I think not.

SOCRATES: Clearly not, Nicias; not even such a big pig as the
Crommyonian sow would be called by you courageous. And this I say not as
a joke, but because I think that he who assents to your doctrine, that
courage is the knowledge of the grounds of fear and hope, cannot allow
that any wild beast is courageous, unless he admits that a lion, or a
leopard, or perhaps a bo