EUTHYPHRO: Yes, indeed, Socrates; and if he EUTHYPHRO: Piety is doing as I am doing; that attempts to indict me I am mistaken if I do not is to say, prosecuting any one who is guilty of find a flaw in him; the court shall have a great murder, sacrilege, or of any similar crime—
deal more to say to him than to me.
whether he be your father or mother, or who-SOCRATES: And I, my dear friend, knowing this, ever he may be—that makes no difference; and am desirous of becoming your disciple. For I ob-not to prosecute them is impiety. And please to serve that no one appears to notice you—not even consider, Socrates, what a notable proof I will this Meletus; but his sharp eyes have found me give you of the truth of my words, a proof which out at once, and he has indicted me for impiety.
I have already given to others:—of the principle, And therefore, I adjure you to tell me the nature I mean, that the impious, whoever he may be, of piety and impiety, which you said that you ought not to go unpunished. For do not men re-knew so well, and of murder, and of other of-gard Zeus as the best and most righteous of the fences against the gods. What are they? Is not gods?—and yet they admit that he bound his fa-piety in every action always the same? and im-ther (Cronos) because he wickedly devoured his piety, again—is it not always the opposite of pi-sons, and that he too had punished his own fa-ety, and also the same with itself, having, as ther (Uranus) for a similar reason, in a name-impiety, one notion which includes whatever is less manner. And yet when I proceed against my impious?
father, they are angry with me. So inconsistent EUTHYPHRO: To be sure, Socrates.
are they in their way of talking when the gods SOCRATES: And what is piety, and what is impi-are concerned, and when I am concerned.
ety?
SOCRATES: May not this be the reason, 15
Euthyphro
Euthyphro, why I am charged with impiety—that EUTHYPHRO: Yes, Socrates; and, as I was sayI cannot away with these stories about the gods?
ing, I can tell you, if you would like to hear them, and therefore I suppose that people think me many other things about the gods which would wrong. But, as you who are well informed about quite amaze you.
them approve of them, I cannot do better than SOCRATES: I dare say; and you shall tell me them assent to your superior wisdom. What else can I at some other time when I have leisure. But just say, confessing as I do, that I know nothing about at present I would rather hear from you a more them? Tell me, for the love of Zeus, whether you precise answer, which you have not as yet given, really believe that they are true.
my friend, to the question, What is ‘piety’?
EUTHYPHRO: Yes, Socrates; and things more When asked, you only replied, Doing as you do, wonderful still, of which the world is in igno-charging your father with murder.
rance.
EUTHYPHRO: And what I said was true, Socrates.
SOCRATES: And do you really believe that the SOCRATES: No doubt, Euthyphro; but you would gods fought with one another, and had dire quar-admit that there are many other pious acts?
rels, battles, and the like, as the poets say, and EUTHYPHRO: There are.
as you may see represented in the works of great SOCRATES: Remember that I did not ask you to give artists? The temples are full of them; and nota-me two or three examples of piety, but to explain the bly the robe of Athene, which is carried up to general idea which makes all pious things to be pious.
the Acropolis at the great Panathenaea, is em-Do you not recollect that there was one idea which broidered with them. Are all these tales of the made the impious impious, and the pious pious?
gods true, Euthyphro?
EUTHYPHRO: I remember.