Page - 622 - in The Complete Plato

whatever proportion the many are more than one, in that proportion his truth is more untrue than true. THEODORUS: That would follow if the truth is supposed to vary with individual opinion. SOCRATES: And the best of the joke is, that he acknowledges the truth of their opinion who believe his own opinion to be false; for he admits that the opinions of all men are true. THEODORUS: Certainly. SOCRATES: And does he not allow that his own opinion is false, if he admits that the opinion of those who think him false is true? THEODORUS: Of course. SOCRATES: Whereas the other side do not admit that they speak falsely? THEODORUS: They do not. SOCRATES: And he, as may be inferred from his writings, agrees that this opinion is also true. THEODORUS: Clearly. SOCRATES: Then all mankind, beginning with Protagoras, will contend, or rather, I should say that he will allow, when he concedes that his adversary has a true opinion—Protagoras, I say, will himself allow that neither a dog nor any ordinary man is the measure of anything which he has not learned—am I not right? THEODORUS: Yes. SOCRATES: And the truth of Protagoras being doubted by all, will be true neither to himself to any one else? THEODORUS: I think, Socrates, that we are running my old friend too hard. SOCRATES: But I do not know that we are going beyond the truth. Doubtless, as he is older, he may be expected to be wiser than we are. And if he could only just get his head out of the world below, he would have overthrown both of us again and again, me for talking nonsense and you for assenting to me, and have been off and underground in a trice. But as he is not within call, we must make the best use of our own faculties, such as they are, and speak out what appears to us to be true. And one thing which no one will deny is, that there are great differences in the understandings of men. THEODORUS: In that opinion I quite agree. 622