No, I cannot say that I have (he answered).
Soc. And do you not regard it as right and just to abstain from wrong? (22)
(22) Or, "is not abstinence from wrongdoing synonymous with righteous
behaviour?"
Hipp. Now you are caught, Socrates, plainly trying to escape from a plain statement. When asked what you believe justice to be, you keep telling us not what the just man does, but what he does not do.
Why, I thought for my part (answered Socrates) that the refusal to do wrong and injustice was a sufficient warrent in itself of righteousness and justice, but if you do not agree, see if this pleases you better: I assert that what is "lawful" is "just and righteous."
Do you mean to assert (he asked) that lawful and just are synonymous terms?
Soc. I do.
I ask (Hippias added), for I do not perceive what you mean by lawful, nor what you mean by just. (23)
(23) Lit. "what sort of lawful or what sort of just is spoken of."
Soc. You understand what is meant by laws of a city or state?