Will not the Athenian people, too, entrust their affairs to you when
they see that you have wisdom enough to manage them?
Yes.
And oh! let me put another case, I said: There is the great king,
and he has an eldest son, who is the Prince of Asia;-suppose that
you and I go to him and establish to his satisfaction that we are
better cooks than his son, will he not entrust to us the prerogative
of making soup, and putting in anything that we like while the pot
is boiling, rather than to the Prince of Asia, who is his son?
To us, clearly.
And we shall be allowed to throw in salt by handfuls, whereas the
son will not be allowed to put in as much as he can take up between
his fingers?
Of course.
Or suppose again that the son has bad eyes, will he allow him, or
will he not allow him, to touch his own eyes if he thinks that he
has no knowledge of medicine?
He will not allow him.
Whereas, if he supposes us to have a knowledge of medicine, he
will allow us to do what we like with him-even to open the eyes wide
and sprinkle ashes upon them, because he supposes that we know what is
best?
That is true.
And everything in which we appear to him to be wiser than himself or
his son he will commit to us?
That is very true, Socrates, he replied.
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