S. “Bravely spoken of him, and worthily of a free state. But tell me, Alcibiades, with what matters does religion deal?”
A. “With the Gods.”
S. “Then it is not hurtful to speak false things of the Gods?”
A. “Not unless you know them to be false.”
S. “But answer me this, Alcibiades. If you made a mistake concerning numbers, as that twice two made five, might it not be hurtful to you?”
A. “Certainly; for I might pay away five obols instead of four.”
S. “And so be punished, not by any anger of two and two against you, but by those very necessary laws of number, which you had mistaken?”
A. “Yes.”
S. “Or if you made a mistake concerning music, as that two consecutive notes could produce harmony, that opinion also, if you acted upon it, would be hurtful to you?”
A. “Certainly; for I should make a discord, and pain my own ears, and my hearers’.”