Part 181

“But a body is compelled, on account of disease, to embrace and love the medicinal art.”

“It seems so to me.”

“That, therefore, which is neither evil nor good, becomes friendly to the good, on account of the presence of evil.”

“So it seems.”

“But it is evident that it becomes so, prior to its becoming evil through the evil which it contains; for when it has once become evil, it will no longer desire the good, and be friendly to it: for we have said that it is impossible for the evil to be friendly to the good.”

“It is impossible.”

“Consider, then, what I say. For I say that some things are themselves such as that which is present with them, and some not. Thus, if any one wishes to dye any thing with any colour, the colour that is dyed in is surely present in the thing that is dyed.”

“Certainly.”

32. “Is then, that which is dyed, afterwards, the same as to colour, as that which is on it?”

“I don’t understand you,” he replied.

“But thus,” said I, “If any one should dye your hairs, which are yellow, with white lead, would they then be white, or appear so?”

“They would appear so,” he replied.

“Though whiteness would be present with them.”

“Yes.”

“And yet your hairs would not be at all the more white, but though whiteness is present, they are neither white nor black.”

“True.”

“But when, my friend, old age has brought this colour on them, then they become such as that which is present with them, white by the presence of white.”

“How can it be otherwise?”

“This then I now ask, if a thing be present in any thing, will that which contains it be such as that which is present with it, or if it be present after a certain manner, will it be such, but otherwise not?”

“Thus, rather,” he replied.

“That then which is neither evil nor good, sometimes when evil is present, is not yet evil, but sometimes it has already become such.”

“Certainly.”

“When, therefore, it is not yet evil, though evil be present, this very presence of evil makes it desirous of good, but this presence which makes it evil, deprives it at the same time of the desire and friendship for the good. 33. For it is now no longer neither evil nor good, but evil; evil however we saw, is not friendly to good.”

“It is not.”

“On this account we must say, that those who are already wise no longer love wisdom, whether they are gods or men; nor again do they love wisdom who have so much ignorance, as to be evil: for no evil and foolish person loves wisdom. They therefore are left, who possess indeed this evil, ignorance, but are not yet thereby stupid or foolish, but still think that they do not know the things that they do not know. Wherefore they who are not yet either good or evil are lovers of wisdom; but such as are evil do not love wisdom, nor do the good: for we have seen in a former part of our discussion, that neither is the contrary friendly to the contrary, nor the like to the like: do you not remember this?”

“Certainly,” they both replied.

“Now then,” said I, “Lysis and Menexenus, we have certainly discovered what it is that is friendly and what not. For we say, that with respect to the soul, and with respect to the body, and every thing else, that which is neither evil nor good, is friendly to the good on account of the presence of evil.”

34. They quite admitted and agreed that such was the case.