, or be in
a fever, or suffer from ophthalmia? Or do you believe that a man may
labour under some other disease, even although he has none of these
complaints? Surely, they are not the only maladies which exist?

ALCIBIADES: Certainly not.

SOCRATES: And is every kind of ophthalmia a disease?

ALCIBIADES: Yes.

SOCRATES: And every disease ophthalmia?

ALCIBIADES: Surely not. But I scarcely understand what I mean myself.

SOCRATES: Perhaps, if you give me your best attention, 'two of us'
looking together, we may find what we seek.

ALCIBIADES: I am attending, Socrates, to the best of my power.

SOCRATES: We are agreed, then, that every form of ophthalmia is a
disease, but not every disease ophthalmia?

ALCIBIADES: We are.

SOCRATES: And so far we seem to be right. For every one who suffers from
a fever is sick; but the sick, I conceive, do not all have fever or gout
or ophthalmia, although each of these is a disease, which, according to
those whom we call physicians, may require a different treatment. They
are not all alike, nor do they produce the same result, but each has
its own effect, and yet they are all diseases. May we not take an
illustration from the artizans?

ALCIBIADES: Certainly.

SOCRATES: There are cobblers and carpenters and sculptors and others of
all sorts and kinds, whom we need not stop to enumerate. All have their
distinct employments and all are workmen, although they are not all of
them cobblers or carpenters or sculptors.

ALCIBIADES: No, indeed.

SOCRATES: And in like manner men differ in regard to want of sense.
Those who are most out of their wits we call 'madmen,' while we term
those who are less far gone 'stupid' or 'idiotic,' or, if we prefer
gentler language, describe them as 'romantic' or 'simple-minded,' or,
again, as 'innocent' or 'inexperienced' or 'foolish.' You may even find
other names, if you seek for them; but by all of them lack of sense
is intended. They only differ as one art appeared to us to differ from
another or one disease from another. Or what is your opinion?

ALCIBIADES: I agree with you.

SOCRATES: Then let us return to the point at which we digressed. We said
at first that we should have to consider who were the wise and who the
foolish. For we acknowledged that there are these two classes? Did we
not?

ALCIBIADES: To be sure.

SOCRATES: And you regard those as sensible who know what ought to be
done or said?

ALCIBIADES: Yes.

SOCRATES: Th