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Anytus
A Sophist known throughout Athens for teaching his pupils to employ fanciful rhetoric in order to provide an answer to any question they might encounter. Meno has studied with Gorgias and learned this style of debate, which is why he’s so surprised to hear that Socrates does not profess to know the nature of virtue.
Gorgias Quotes in Meno
The Meno quotes below are all either spoken by Gorgias or refer to Gorgias. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Meno Quotes
In particular, he accustomed you to give a bold and grand answer to any question you may be asked, as experts are likely to do. Indeed, he himself was ready to answer any Greek who wished to question him, and every question was answered. But here in Athens, my dear Meno, the opposite is the case, as if there were a dearth of wisdom, and wisdom seems to have departed hence to go to you. If then you want to ask one of us that sort of question, everyone will laugh and say: “Good stranger, you must think me happy indeed if you think I know whether virtue can be taught or how it comes to be; I am so far from knowing whether virtue can be taught or not that I do not even have any knowledge of what virtue itself is.”
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Socrates speaks these words to Meno after Meno asks whether or not virtue can be taught. Referring to Gorgias, a well-known Sophist, Socrates says, “He accustomed you to give a bold and grand answer to any question you may be asked, as experts are likely to do.” By saying this, Socrates underlines the fact that Gorgias—Meno’s teacher—is a clever man capable of instructing people how to bend language to their will so that they can furnish an answer to any quandary they might encounter. And though this might seem like a beneficial talent to possess, Socrates underhandedly condemns this kind Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit
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Gorgias Character Timeline in Meno
The timeline below shows where the character Gorgias appears in Meno. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Meno
...any question, no matter how complex. This, Socrates says, is because Meno has studied with Gorgias, who has taught him to “give a bold and grand answer to any question.” Socrates,...
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...has never met anyone who knows the true nature of virtue. “Did you not meet Gorgias when he was here?” Meno asks, but Socrates assures him that he did and that,...
(full context)
...of all is the same,” Socrates says, “try to tell me and to remember what Gorgias, and you with him, said that that same thing is.” In response, Meno says that...
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