Laches: Assuredly not.
Socrates: Or, for example, if a man is a physician, and his son, or some patient of his, has inflammation of the lungs, and begs that he may be allowed to eat or drink something, and the other is firm and refuses; is that courage?
Laches: No; that is not courage at all, any more than the last.
Socrates: Again, take the case of one who endures in war, and is willing to fight, and wisely calculates and knows that others will help him, and that there will be fewer and inferior men against him than there are with him; and suppose that he has also advantages of position; would you say of such a one who endures with all this wisdom and preparation, that he, or some man in the opposing army who is in the opposite circumstances to these and yet endures and remains at his post, is the braver?
Laches: I should say that the latter, Socrates, was the braver.
Socrates: But, surely, this is a foolish endurance in comparison with the other?
Laches: That is true.
Socrates: Then you would say that he who in an engagement of cavalry endures, having the knowledge of horsemanship, is not so courageous as he who endures, having no such knowledge?
Laches: So I should say.
Socrates: And he who endures, having a knowledge of the use of the sling, or the bow, or of any other art, is not so courageous as he who endures, not having such a knowledge?
Laches: True.
Socrates: And he who descends into a well, and dives, and holds out in this or any similar action, having no knowledge of diving, or the like, is, as you would say, more courageous than those who have this knowledge?
Laches: Why, Socrates, what else can a man say?
Socrates: Nothing, if that be what he thinks.
Laches: But that is what I do think.
Socrates: And yet men who thus run risks and endure are foolish, Laches, in comparison of those who do the same things, having the skill to do them.
Laches: That is true.
Socrates: But foolish boldness and endurance appeared before to be base and hurtful to us.
Laches: Quite true.
Socrates: Whereas courage was acknowledged to be a noble quality.
Laches: True.
Socrates: And now on the contrary we are saying that the foolish endurance, which was before held in dishonour, is courage.
Laches: Very true.
Socrates: And are we right in saying so?
Laches: Indeed, Socrates, I am sure that we are not right.