you? Mere goodness of disposition is nothing; those only are worthy of
honour who combine with the knowledge of what is right the faculty of
expounding it;'[27] and so by bringing the young to look upon himself
as a superlatively wise person gifted with an extraordinary capacity
for making others wise also, he so worked on the dispositions of those
who consorted with him that in their esteem the rest of the world
counted for nothing by comparison with Socrates."

[26] See Grote, "H. G." v. 535.

[27] Cf. Thuc. ii. 60. Pericles says, "Yet I with whom you are so
angry venture to say of myself, that I am as capable as any one of
devising and explaining a sound policy."--Jowett.

Now I admit the language about fathers and the rest of a man's
relations. I can go further, and add some other sayings of his, that
"when the soul (which is alone the indwelling centre of intelligence)
is gone out of a man, be he our nearest and dearest friend, we carry
the body forth and bury it out of sight." "Even in life," he used to
say, "each of us is ready to part with any portion of his best
possession--to wit, his own body--if it be useless and unprofitable.
He will remove it himself, or suffer another to do so in his stead.
Thus men cut off their own nails, hair, or corns; they allow surgeons
to cut and cauterise them, not without pains and aches, and are so
grateful to the doctor for his services that they further give him a
fee. Or again, a man ejects the spittle from his mouth as far as
possible.[28] Why? Because it is of no use while it stays within the
system, but is detrimental rather."

[28] See Aristot. "Eth. Eud." vii. 1.