V

Then Callias: Our eyes are on you, Critobulus. Yours to enter the
lists[1] against the champion Socrates, who claims the prize of
beauty. Do you hesitate?

[1] Soph. "Fr." 234; Thuc. i. 93.

Soc. Likely enough he does, for possibly he sees Sir Pandarus stands
high in their esteem who are the judges of the contest.

In spite of which (retorted Critobulus), I am not for drawing back.[2]
I am ready; so come on, and if you have any subtle argument to prove
that you are handsomer than I am, now's your time, instruct us. But
just stop one minute; have the goodness, please, to bring the lamp a
little closer.

[2] Or, "I do; but all the same, I am not for shirking." Cf. Aristoph.
"Frogs," 860, {etiomos eum egoge, kouk anaduomai, daknein}: "I'm
up to it; I am resolved" (Frere); Dem. "de F. Leg." 406 20: "His
resolution never reached that point, but shrank back, for his
conscience checked it" (Kennedy).

Soc. Well then, I call upon you first of all, as party to this suit,
to undergo the preliminary examination.[3] Attend to what I say, and
please be good enough to answer.

[3] The {anakrisis}, or "previous inquiry" (before one of the archons)