He has none.
But the sick loves him, because he is sick?
Certainly.
And sickness is an evil, and the art of medicine a good and useful
thing?
Yes.
But the human body, regarded as a body, is neither good nor evil?
True.
And the body is compelled by reason of disease to court and make
friends of the art of medicine?
Yes.
Then that which is neither good nor evil becomes the friend of good,
by reason of the presence of evil?
So we may infer.
And clearly this must have happened before that which was neither
good nor evil had become altogether corrupted with the element of
evil-if itself had become evil it would not still desire and love
the good; for, as we were saying, the evil cannot be the friend of the
good.
Impossible.
Further, I must observe that some substances are assimilated when
others are present with them; and there are some which are not
assimilated: take, for example, the case of an ointment or colour
which is put on another substance.
Very good.
In such a case, is the substance which is anointed the same as the
colour or ointment?
What do you mean? he said.
This is what I mean: Suppose that I were to cover your auburn
locks with white lead, would they be really white, or would they
only appear to be white?
They would only appear to be white, he replied.
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