o have found his equal, in Persia at the
court of the great king, or on the continent of Asia, in all the places
to which he went as ambassador, for stature and beauty; that whole
family is not a whit inferior to the other. Having such ancestors you
ought to be first in all things, and, sweet son of Glaucon, your outward
form is no dishonour to any of them. If to beauty you add temperance,
and if in other respects you are what Critias declares you to be, then,
dear Charmides, blessed art thou, in being the son of thy mother. And
here lies the point; for if, as he declares, you have this gift of
temperance already, and are temperate enough, in that case you have no
need of any charms, whether of Zamolxis or of Abaris the Hyperborean,
and I may as well let you have the cure of the head at once; but if you
have not yet acquired this quality, I must use the charm before I give
you the medicine. Please, therefore, to inform me whether you admit the
truth of what Critias has been saying;--have you or have you not this
quality of temperance?

Charmides blushed, and the blush heightened his beauty, for modesty is
becoming in youth; he then said very ingenuously, that he really could
not at once answer, either yes, or no, to the question which I had
asked: For, said he, if I affirm that I am not temperate, that would be
a strange thing for me to say of myself, and also I should give the
lie to Critias, and many others who think as he tells you, that I am
temperate: but, on the other hand, if I say that I am, I shall have to
praise myself, which would be ill manners; and therefore I do not know
how to answer you.

I said to him: That is a natural reply, Charmides, and I think that
you and I ought together to enquire whether you have this quality about
which I am asking or not; and then you will not be compelled to say what
you do not like; neither shall I be a rash practitioner of medicine:
therefore, if you please, I will share the enquiry with you, but I will
not press you if you would rather not.

There is nothing which I should like better, he said; and as far as I am
concerned you may proceed in the way which you think best.

I think, I said, that I had better begin by asking you a question; for
if temperance abides in you, you must have an opinion about her; she
must give some intimation of her nature and qualities, which may enable
you to form a notion of her. Is not that true?

Yes, he said, that I think is true.