Book I
10 argumentative units
- 01Socrates and Cephalus on Old Age
Socrates is detained at a festival and discusses old age, wealth, and justice with the elderly Cephalus.
- 02Polemarchus: Good to Friends, Harm to Enemies
Socrates challenges Polemarchus's definition of justice, taken from Simonides, as doing good to friends and harm to enemies.
- 03Aphoristic Morality and Casuistry
The simple, aphoristic definitions of justice are shown to be inadequate, giving way to philosophical precision and early casuistry.
- 04Thrasymachus Defines Justice as Might
Thrasymachus aggressively interrupts, defining justice as the interest of the stronger, or what the ruler enacts as law.
- 05The Ruler's Art and Injustice's Profit
Socrates argues a ruler's art serves the subjects, but Thrasymachus counters that rulers exploit subjects for personal profit.
- 06Why Good Men Are Paid to Rule
Socrates introduces the "art of pay" to explain why rulers require reward or fear punishment to govern.
- 07Injustice as Unskilled, Justice as Skilled
Socrates argues that the just man, like a skilled artist, seeks advantage only over the unskilled, not his peers.
- 08Injustice as Weakness, Justice as Happiness
Socrates argues that injustice is a source of weakness and that justice, as the soul's excellence, leads to happiness.
- 09Critiquing the Analogy of the Arts
The argument's reliance on the analogy between arts and virtues is examined, noting its flaws and historical context.
- 10Virtue as Measure, Harmony, and Limit
The Hellenic sentiment of the good as finite is explored through ideas of measure, harmony, and the negative nature of evil.