Plato, Meno, section 78b

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[78b]

Meno
It seems that what you say is true, Socrates, and that nobody desires evil.

Socrates
Well now, you were saying a moment ago that virtue is the desire and ability for good?

Meno
Yes, I was.

Socrates
One part of the statement—the desire—belongs to our common nature, and in this respect one man is no better than another?

Meno
Apparently.

Socrates
But it is plain that if one man is not better than another in this, he must be superior in the ability.

Meno
Certainly.

Socrates
Then virtue, it seems by your account,

Plato. Plato in Twelve Volumes, Vol. 3 translated by W.R.M. Lamb. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1967.

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