§191ΣΩ. ἐγὼ φράσω, ἐὰν οἷός τε γένωμαι.
Socrates: I will explain, if I am able.
ἀνδρεῖός που οὗτος, ὃν καὶ σὺ λέγεις, ὃς ἂν ἐν τῇ τάξει μένων μάχηται τοῖς πολεμίοις.
Surely this man whom you also mention, who fights against the enemy keeping his place in the rank, is courageous.
ΛΑ. ἐγὼ γοῦν φημι.
Laches: At least I say so.
ΣΩ. καὶ γὰρ ἐγώ.
Socrates: And so do I.
ἀλλὰ τί αὖ ὅδε, ὃς ἂν φεύγων μάχηται τοῖς πολεμίοις ἀλλὰ μὴ μένων;
But what about this other man, who fights against the enemy fleeing rather than keeping his place?
ΛΑ. πῶς φεύγων;
Laches: How do you mean fleeing?
ΣΩ. ὥσπερ που καὶ Σκύθαι λέγονται οὐχ ἧττον φεύγοντες ἢ διώκοντες μάχεσθαι, καὶ Ὅμηρός που ἐπαινῶν τοὺς τοῦ Αἰνείου ἵππους
"κραιπνὰ μάλʼ ἔνθα καὶ ἔνθα"
ἔφη αὐτοὺς ἐπίστασθαι διώκειν ἠδὲ φέβεσθαι· καὶ αὐτὸν τὸν Αἰνείαν κατὰ τοῦτʼ ἐνεκωμίασε, κατὰ τὴν τοῦ φόβου ἐπιστήμην, καὶ εἶπεν αὐτὸν εἶναι
"μήστωρα φόβοιο. "
ΛΑ. καὶ καλῶς γε, ὦ Σώκρατες·
Socrates: Just as the Scythians are also said to fight no less fleeing than pursuing, and Homer, I suppose, praising the horses of Aeneas, "very swift hither and thither," said that they knew how to pursue and to flee; and he eulogized Aeneas himself for this, for his knowledge of flight, and said that he was "a counselor of flight." Laches: And indeed rightly, Socrates; for he was speaking about chariots.
περὶ ἁρμάτων γὰρ ἔλεγε. καὶ σὺ τὸ τῶν Σκυθῶν ἱππέων πέρι λέγεις·
And you are speaking about the Scythian horsemen.
τὸ μὲν γὰρ ἱππικὸν οὕτω μάχεται, τὸ δὲ ὁπλιτικὸν, ὡς ἐγὼ λέγω.
For the cavalry fights in this way, but the infantry in the way I say.
ΣΩ. πλήν γʼ ἴσως, ὦ Λάχης, τὸ Λακεδαιμονίων.
Socrates: Except perhaps, Laches, that of the Lacedaemonians.
Λακεδαιμονίους γάρ φασιν ἐν Πλαταιαῖς, ἐπειδὴ πρὸς τοῖς γερροφόροις ἐγένοντο, οὐκ ἐθέλειν μένοντας πρὸς αὐτοὺς μάχεσθαι, ἀλλὰ φεύγειν, ἐπειδὴ δʼ ἐλύθησαν αἱ τάξεις τῶν Περσῶν, ἀναστρεφομένους ὥσπερ ἱππέας μάχεσθαι καὶ οὕτω νικῆσαι τὴν ἐκεῖ μάχην.
For they say that the Lacedaemonians at Plataea, when they came up against the wicker-shield bearers, were not willing to stand and fight against them, but fled; but when the ranks of the Persians were broken, they wheeled round and fought like cavalry, and so won the battle there.
ΛΑ. ἀληθῆ λέγεις.
Laches: You speak the truth.
ΣΩ. τοῦτο τοίνυν ὃ ἄρτι ἔλεγον, ὅτι ἐγὼ αἴτιος μὴ καλῶς σε ἀποκρίνασθαι, ὅτι οὐ καλῶς ἠρόμην—βουλόμενος γάρ σου πυθέσθαι μὴ μόνον τοὺς ἐν τῷ ὁπλιτικῷ ἀνδρείους, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς ἐν τῷ ἱππικῷ καὶ ἐν σύμπαντι τῷ πολεμικῷ εἴδει, καὶ μὴ μόνον τοὺς ἐν τῷ πολέμῳ, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς ἐν τοῖς πρὸς τὴν θάλατταν κινδύνοις ἀνδρείους ὄντας, καὶ ὅσοι γε πρὸς νόσους καὶ ὅσοι πρὸς πενίας ἢ καὶ πρὸς τὰ πολιτικὰ ἀνδρεῖοί εἰσιν, καὶ ἔτι αὖ μὴ μόνον ὅσοι πρὸς λύπας ἀνδρεῖοί εἰσιν ἢ φόβους, ἀλλὰ καὶ πρὸς ἐπιθυμίας ἢ ἡδονὰς δεινοὶ μάχεσθαι, καὶ μένοντες καὶ ἀναστρέφοντες—εἰσὶ γάρ πού τινες, ὦ Λάχης, καὶ ἐν τοῖς τοιούτοις ἀνδρεῖοι—
ΛΑ. καὶ σφόδρα, ὦ Σώκρατες.
Socrates: This then is what I was saying just now, that I was the cause of your not answering well because I did not ask well; for I wanted to ask you not only about those who are courageous in the infantry, but also about those in the cavalry and in every kind of warfare, and not only those in war, but also those who are courageous in dangers at sea, and those who are courageous against sickness and against poverty or even in political affairs, and furthermore, not only those who are courageous against pain or fear, but also those who are formidable at fighting against desires or pleasures, whether by standing their ground or by wheeling round—for there are surely, Laches, some who are courageous in such things too. Laches: Very much so, Socrates.
ΣΩ. οὐκοῦν ἀνδρεῖοι μὲν πάντες οὗτοί εἰσιν, ἀλλʼ οἱ μὲν ἐν ἡδοναῖς, οἱ δʼ ἐν λύπαις, οἱ δʼ ἐν ἐπιθυμίαις, οἱ δʼ ἐν φόβοις τὴν ἀνδρείαν κέκτηνται· οἱ δέ γʼ οἶμαι δειλίαν ἐν τοῖς αὐτοῖς τούτοις.
Socrates: Therefore, all these are indeed courageous, but some possess courage in pleasures, some in pains, some in desires, and some in fears; while others, I suppose, possess cowardice in these same things.
ΛΑ. πάνυ γε.
Laches: Certainly.
ΣΩ. τί ποτε ὂν ἑκάτερον τούτων;
Socrates: What on earth is each of these two things?
τοῦτο ἐπυνθανόμην.
This is what I was asking.
πάλιν οὖν πειρῶ εἰπεῖν ἀνδρείαν πρῶτον τί ὂν ἐν πᾶσι τούτοις ταὐτόν ἐστιν·
Try again, then, to say first what courage is, being the same in all these cases.
ἢ οὔπω καταμανθάνεις ὃ λέγω;
Or do you not yet understand what I mean?
ΛΑ. οὐ πάνυ τι.
Laches: Not quite.