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[38]
9. By way of illustrating this truth Plato introduces 1 the familiar story of Gyges: Once upon a time
the earth opened in consequence of heavy rains;
Gyges went down into the chasm and saw, so the story
goes, a horse of bronze; in its side was a door. On
opening this door he saw the body of a dead man of
enormous size with a gold ring upon his finger. He
removed this and put it on his own hand and then
repaired to an assembly of the shepherds, for he was
a shepherd of the king. As often as he turned the
bezel of the ring inwards toward the palm of his
hand, he became invisible to everyone, while lie
himself saw everything; but as often as he turned
[p. 307]
it back to its proper position, he became visible
again. And so, with the advantage which the ring
gave him, he debauched the queen, and with her
assistance he murdered his royal master and removed
all those who he thought stood in his way, without
anyone's being able to detect him in his crimes.
Thus, by virtue of the ring, he shortly rose to be
king of Lydia.
Now, suppose a wise man had just such a ring, he
would not imagine that he was free to do wrong any
more than if he did not have it; for good men aim
to secure not secrecy but the right.
1 The story of Gyges and his ring.
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