to the Christian precept of forgiveness of injuries. Similar words
are applied by the Persian mystic poet to the Divine being when the
questioning spirit is stirred within him:--'If because I do evil, Thou
punishest me by evil, what is the difference between Thee and me?' In
this both Plato and Kheyam rise above the level of many Christian (?)
theologians. The first definition of justice easily passes into the
second; for the simple words 'to speak the truth and pay your debts' is
substituted the more abstract 'to do good to your friends and harm to
your enemies.' Either of these explanations gives a sufficient rule
of life for plain men, but they both fall short of the precision of
philosophy. We may note in passing the antiquity of casuistry, which not
only arises out of the conflict of established principles in particular
cases, but also out of the effort to attain them, and is prior as well
as posterior to our fundamental notions of morality. The 'interrogation'
of moral ideas; the appeal to the authority of Homer; the conclusion
that the maxim, 'Do good to your friends and harm to your enemies,'
being erroneous, could not have been the word of any great man, are all
of them very characteristic of the Platonic Socrates.

...Here Thrasymachus, who has made several attempts to interrupt, but
has hitherto been kept in order by the company, takes advantage of a
pause and rushes into the arena, beginning, like a savage animal, with a
roar. 'Socrates,' he says, 'what folly is this?--Why do you agree to be
vanquished by one another in a pretended argument?' He then prohibits
all the ordinary definitions of justice; to which Socrates replies that
he cannot tell how many twelve is, if he is forbidden to say 2 x 6, or
3 x 4, or 6 x 2, or 4 x 3. At first Thrasymachus is reluctant to argue;
but at length, with a promise of payment on the part of the company and
of praise from Socrates, he is induced to open the game. 'Listen,' he
says, 'my answer is that might is right, justice the interest of the
stronger: now praise me.' Let me understand you first. Do you mean that
because Polydamas the wrestler, who is stronger than we are, finds the
eating of beef for his interest, the eating of beef is also for our
interest, who are not so strong? Thrasymachus is indignant at the
illustration, and in pompous words, apparently intended to restore
dignity to the argument, he explains his meaning to be that the rulers
make laws for their own