he is
humorously protected by Socrates "as one who has never been his enemy
and is now his friend." From Cicero and Quintilian and from Aristotle's
Rhetoric we learn that the Sophist whom Plato has made so ridiculous
was a man of note whose writings were preserved in later ages. The
play on his name which was made by his contemporary Herodicus, "thou
wast ever bold in battle," seems to show that the description of him is
not devoid of verisimilitude.

When Thrasymachus has been silenced, the two principal respondents,
Glaucon and Adeimantus, appear on the scene: here, as in Greek
tragedy, three actors are introduced. At first sight the two sons of
Ariston may seem to wear a family likeness, like the two friends
Simmias and Cebes in the Phaedo. But on a nearer examination of them
the similarity vanishes, and they are seen to be distinct characters.
Glaucon is the impetuous youth who can "just never have enough of
fechting" (cf. the character of him in Xen. Mem. iii. 6); the man of
pleasure who is acquainted with the mysteries of love; the "juvenis qui
gaudet canibus," and who improves the breed of animals; the lover of
art and music who has all the experiences of youthful life. He is full
of quickness and penetration, piercing easily below the clumsy
platitudes of Thrasymachus to the real difficulty; he turns out to the
light the seamy side of human life, and yet does not lose faith in the
just and true. It is Glaucon who seizes what may be termed the
ludicrous relation of the philosopher to the world, to whom a state of
simplicity is "a city of pigs," who is always prepared with a jest when
the argument offers him an opportunity, and who is ever ready to second
the humor of Socrates and to appreciate the ridiculous, whether in the
connoisseurs of music, or in the lovers of theatricals, or in the
fantastic behavior of the citizens of democracy. His weaknesses are
several times alluded to by Socrates, who, however, will not allow him
to be attacked by his brother Adeimantus. He is a soldier, and, like
Adeimantus, has been distinguished at the battle of Megara.

The character of Adeimantus is deeper and graver, and the profounder
objections are commonly put into his mouth. Glaucon is more
demonstrative, and generally opens the game. Adeimantus pursues the
argument further. Glaucon has more of the liveliness and quick
sympathy of youth; Adeimantus has the maturer judgment of a grown-up
man of the world. In the