w.' 'But,' retorts Dionysodorus, 'is not learning acquiring
knowledge?' 'Yes.' 'And you acquire that which you have not got
already?' 'Yes.' 'Then you learn that which you do not know.'

Socrates is afraid that the youth Cleinias may be discouraged at these
repeated overthrows. He therefore explains to him the nature of the
process to which he is being subjected. The two strangers are
not serious; there are jests at the mysteries which precede the
enthronement, and he is being initiated into the mysteries of the
sophistical ritual. This is all a sort of horse-play, which is now
ended. The exhortation to virtue will follow, and Socrates himself (if
the wise men will not laugh at him) is desirous of showing the way in
which such an exhortation should be carried on, according to his
own poor notion. He proceeds to question Cleinias. The result of the
investigation may be summed up as follows:--

All men desire good; and good means the possession of goods, such as
wealth, health, beauty, birth, power, honour; not forgetting the virtues
and wisdom. And yet in this enumeration the greatest good of all is
omitted. What is that? Good fortune. But what need is there of good
fortune when we have wisdom already:--in every art and business are not
the wise also the fortunate? This is admitted. And again, the possession
of goods is not enough; there must also be a right use of them which
can only be given by knowledge: in themselves they are neither good nor
evil--knowledge and wisdom are the only good, and ignorance and folly
the only evil. The conclusion is that we must get 'wisdom.' But can
wisdom be taught? 'Yes,' says Cleinias. The ingenuousness of the
youth delights Socrates, who is at once relieved from the necessity of
discussing one of his great puzzles. 'Since wisdom is the only good,
he must become a philosopher, or lover of wisdom.' 'That I will,' says
Cleinias.

After Socrates has given this specimen of his own mode of instruction,
the two brothers recommence their exhortation to virtue, which is of
quite another sort.

'You want Cleinias to be wise?' 'Yes.' 'And he is not wise yet?' 'No.'
'Then you want him to be what he is not, and not to be what he is?--not
to be--that is, to perish. Pretty lovers and friends you must all be!'

Here Ctesippus, the lover of Cleinias, interposes in great excitement,
thinking that he will teach the two Sophists a lesson of good manners.
But he is quickly entangled in the meshes of