The Lovers

...and who wishes to be held in repute as a man of wisdom. And it seemed to me that he was answering no differently than if someone were to ask me whether it is beautiful to run, and I were to say that to run is to move quickly. For he was saying that to philosophize is to learn many things. I, therefore, wishing to know what he meant, asked him, "Do you say that philosophy is wisdom, or something else?" "It is wisdom," he said. "Is a philosopher, therefore, wise, or not?" "He is wise." "Then, is it possible for anyone to be wise in things he does not know?" "It is not possible." "Are philosophers, then, wise in all things?" "By no means, but in as many as they can know." "Are they wise in the arts, then, as well?" "Yes, and in these too." "Do you, therefore, consider the philosopher to be a pentathlete in all arts, and that he is second in all, as the pentathletes are to the specialists in their own fields?" "I do not think so, Socrates," he said, "but I think that the philosopher is such a one that he is not a slave to any single task, nor has he labored so precisely in any one thing that, through the care of this one thing, all others are neglected, like the craftsmen, but that he has touched upon all things moderately."