Abstract

THE SECOND BOOK OF PLATO’S REPUBLIC begins with a spirited outburst. Glaucon, not satisfied with Socrates’ arguments proving the goodness of justice in book 1, demands a new proof. At once deeply tempted and deeply repelled by the life of injustice, he wishes to be purged of his longing for tyranny and, accordingly, wants Socrates to show that justice itself, by itself, is good, that is, that justice is not simply a necessary evil, something good by law or nomos but not by nature. To explain what he means, Glaucon tells a story. Perhaps it is worth quoting in full.