Kitap 4
5.11
Socrates, said Euthydemus, I think you mean that he who is at the mercy of the bodily pleasures has no concern whatever with virtue in any form.Yes, Euthydemus; for how can an incontinent man be any better than the dullest beast? How can he who fails to consider the things that matter most, and strives by every means to do the things that are most pleasant, be better than the stupidest of creatures? No, only the self-controlled have power to consider the things that matter most, and, sorting them out after their kind, by word and deed alike to prefer the good and reject the evil.
5.12
And thus, he said, men become supremely good and happy and skilled in discussion. The very word discussion, according to him, owes its name to the practice of meeting together for common deliberation,The etymological point, διαλέγω, classify, implying διαλέγομαι, discuss, is lost in the English. sorting, discussing things after their kind: and therefore one should be ready and prepared for this and be zealous for it; for it makes for excellence, leadership and skill in discussion.
6.1
I will try also to show how he encouraged his companions to become skilled in discussion. Socrates held that those who know what any given thing is can also expound it to others; on the other hand, those who do not know are misled themselves and mislead others. For this reason he never gave up considering with his companions what any given thing is.To go through all his definitions would be an arduous task. I will say only enough to indicate his method of analysis.
6.2
His analysis of Piety — to take that first — was more or less as follows:Tell me, Euthydemus, what sort of thing is Piety, in your opinion?A very excellent thing, to be sure, he replied.Can you say what sort of man is pious?He who worships the gods, I think.May a man worship the gods according to his own will and pleasure?No, there are laws to be observed in worshipping the gods!
