PHAEDRUS: What shall we say to him?
God and always to act acceptably to Him as far as in him lies; for there is a saying of wiser men SOCRATES: Let us tell him that, before he ap-than ourselves, that a man of sense should not peared, you and I were saying that the probabil-try to please his fellow-servants (at least this ity of which he speaks was engendered in the should not be his first object) but his good and minds of the many by the likeness of the truth, noble masters; and therefore if the way is long and we had just been affirming that he who knew and circuitous, marvel not at this, for, where the the truth would always know best how to dis-end is great, there we may take the longer road, cover the resemblances of the truth. If he has but not for lesser ends such as yours. Truly, the anything else to say about the art of speaking argument may say, Tisias, that if you do not mind we should like to hear him; but if not, we are going so far, rhetoric has a fair beginning here.
satisfied with our own view, that unless a man estimates the various characters of his hearers PHAEDRUS: I think, Socrates, that this is admi-and is able to divide all things into classes and rable, if only practicable.
to comprehend them under single ideas, he will never be a skilful rhetorician even within the SOCRATES: But even to fail in an honourable limits of human power. And this skill he will not object is honourable.
attain without a great deal of trouble, which a good man ought to undergo, not for the sake of PHAEDRUS: True.
speaking and acting before men, but in order that he may be able to say what is acceptable to SOCRATES: Enough appears to have been said 114
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by us of a true and false art of speaking.
PHAEDRUS: Your question needs no answer; but I wish that you would tell me what you say that PHAEDRUS: Certainly.
you have heard.
SOCRATES: But there is something yet to be said SOCRATES: At the Egyptian city of Naucratis, of propriety and impropriety of writing.
there was a famous old god, whose name was Theuth; the bird which is called the Ibis is sa-PHAEDRUS: Yes.
cred to him, and he was the inventor of many arts, such as arithmetic and calculation and ge-SOCRATES: Do you know how you can speak or ometry and astronomy and draughts and dice, act about rhetoric in a manner which will be but his great discovery was the use of letters.
acceptable to God?
Now in those days the god Thamus was the king of the whole country of Egypt; and he dwelt in PHAEDRUS: No, indeed. Do you?
that great city of Upper Egypt which the Hellenes call Egyptian Thebes, and the god himself is SOCRATES: I have heard a tradition of the an-called by them Ammon. To him came Theuth and cients, whether true or not they only know; al-showed his inventions, desiring that the other though if we had found the truth ourselves, do Egyptians might be allowed to have the benefit you think that we should care much about the of them; he enumerated them, and Thamus en-opinions of men?
quired about their several uses, and praised some of them and censured others, as he approved or 115
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disapproved of them. It would take a long time be hearers of many things and will have learned to repeat all that Thamus said to Theuth in praise nothing; they will appear to be omniscient and or blame of the various arts. But when they came will generally know nothing; they will be tire-to letters, This, said Theuth, will make the Egyp-some company, having the show of wisdom with-tians wiser and give them better memories; it is out the reality.
a specific both for the memory and for the wit.
Thamus replied: O most ingenious Theuth, the PHAEDRUS: Yes, Socrates, you can easily invent parent or inventor of an art is not always the tales of Egypt, or of any other country.
best judge of the utility or inutility of his own inventions to the users of them. And in this in-SOCRATES: There was a tradition in the temple stance, you who are the father of letters, from a of Dodona that oaks first gave prophetic utter-paternal love of your own children have been ances. The men of old, unlike in their simplicity led to attribute to them a quality which they to young philosophy, deemed that if they heard cannot have; for this discovery of yours will cre-the truth even from ‘oak or rock,’ it was enough ate forgetfulness in the learners’ souls, because for them; whereas you seem to consider not they will not use their memories; they will trust whether a thing is or is not true, but who the to the external written characters and not re-speaker is and from what country the tale comes.
member of themselves. The specific which you have discovered is an aid not to memory, but to PHAEDRUS: I acknowledge the justice of your reminiscence, and you give your disciples not rebuke; and I think that the Theban is right in truth, but only the semblance of truth; they will his view about letters.