the degradation of the soul: but how about the body? Would any man
willingly degrade or weaken that? 'Certainly not.' And yet if he goes to a
doctor or a gymnastic master, does he not make himself ill in the hope of
getting well? for no one would like to be always taking medicine, or
always to be in training. 'True.' And may not convivial meetings have a
similar remedial use? And if so, are they not to be preferred to other
modes of training because they are painless? 'But have they any such use?'
Let us see: Are there not two kinds of fear--fear of evil and fear of an
evil reputation? 'There are.' The latter kind of fear is opposed both to
the fear of pain and to the love of pleasure. This is called by the
legislator reverence, and is greatly honoured by him and by every good
man; whereas confidence, which is the opposite quality, is the worst fault
both of individuals and of states. This sort of fear or reverence is one
of the two chief causes of victory in war, fearlessness of enemies being
the other. 'True.' Then every one should be both fearful and fearless?
'Yes.' The right sort of fear is infused into a man when he comes face to
face with shame, or cowardice, or the temptations of pleasure, and has to
conquer them. He must learn by many trials to win the victory over
himself, if he is ever to be made perfect. 'That is reasonable enough.'
And now, suppose that the Gods had given mankind a drug, of which the
effect was to exaggerate every sort of evil and danger, so that the
bravest man entirely lost his presence of mind and became a coward for a
time:--would such a drug have any value? 'But is there such a drug?' No;
but suppose that there were; might not the legislator use such a mode of
testing courage and cowardice? 'To be sure.' The legislator would induce
fear in order to implant fearlessness; and would give rewards or
punishments to those who behaved well or the reverse, under the influence
of the drug? 'Certainly.' And this mode of training, whether practised in
the case of one or many, whether in solitude or in the presence of a large
company--if a man have sufficient confidence in himself to drink the