SOCRATES. 31 



parity, while you receive laige sums from the young men, to give them 

 in return more than their money's worth ; and in your public character, 

 to benefit your country, as every man must, who would not be despised, 

 but thought highly of by people in general. But pray tell me, Hippias, 

 what can be the reason, why those ancient worthies, who are so cele-. 

 brated for wisdom, Pittacus and Bias, and Thales of Miletus, and his 

 successors down to Anaxagoras, all, or most of them, appear to have 

 kept aloof from political transactions ? l 



Hi. What other reason, d'ye think, Socrates, than their inability, 

 and incompetency to master, by the force of their understanding, the 

 arts both of public and private life ? 



So. Do you mean to say then, that as the other arts have advanced, 

 and the ancient professors of them have been far surpassed by those 

 of our days ; so the art which you sophists profess, has improved, and 

 that the old philosophers are nothing compared to you ? 



Hi. You have exactly hit upon the truth. 



So. I am ready to testify with you, that what you say is true ; and 

 that, in fact, your art has so far improved, as to combine the manage- 

 ment of public with that of private affairs. For Gorgias, the sophist 

 of Leontium, came hither, on a public embassy from his native country, 

 as being the best qualified of the Leontines to manage the affairs of the 

 commonwealth ; and he had the credit of being an excellent speaker 

 in the assemblies of the people ; and in private gave lectures, and as- 

 sociated with young men, and by that means made a great deal of 

 money out of this city. Again, if you prefer this instance, our old 

 companion Prodicus, has often come hither in a public character upon 

 other occasions, and upon his last visit, which was very lately, having 

 come from Ceos, he acquired great credit by a speech in the council ; 

 and giving lectures in his private capacity, he got a prodigious sum of 

 money. But not one of those ancient gentlemen ever thought of ex- 

 acting money as a price, nor of making a display of his wisdom to all 

 sorts of people, so simple were they, and ignorant of the great value of 

 money. Whereas, each of those moderns makes more money by his 

 wisdom, than the professors of any other art whatever ; and the same 

 was done by Protagoras before them. 



Hi. The fact is, Socrates, that you know nothing of the fine things 

 I could tell you on this subject. If you knew how much money I 

 have made, you would indeed be surprised. To mention no other 

 instances having arrived in Sicily upon a certain occasion, Prota- 

 goras being at that time residing there, in high reputation, and some- 

 what advanced in years, I, being much younger, made in a very 

 short time more than one hundred and fifty minae ; and more than 

 twenty out of one very small town, named Inycum. This I carried 



1 Socrates says this in compliance with the common opinion of the sophists of 

 his time, who laid claim to the invention of managing the state by philosophy; and 

 said that Pittacus, and others of the same stamp, interfered in politics, not as phi- 

 losophers, but as tyrants and intriguers. 



