Soc: Then it seems the next thing we must consider is whether excellence is knowledge, or something different from knowledge. Soc: Yet you assert that round is no more a shape than straight is, nor is one shape more so than any other. Soc: Didn’t this man also educate his own son, better than any other Athenian, in everything that depends upon teachers? But do you think he made him a better man than anyone else? Indeed you have presumably dealt with him and you can see what he is like. Or take Pericles,[25] 94B if you like, such a magnificently wise man. Do you know that he reared two sons, Paralus and Xanthippus? Soc: Well if he always possessed it then he was always knowledgeable. Then again, if he acquired it at some stage it could not be during the present life that he acquired it. Or has someone taught 85E him geometry? Indeed he will do the same thing when it comes to any aspect of geometry or any of the other subjects. So is there anyone who has taught him all this? You really should know, especially since he was born and reared in your own house.

Soc: Indeed, it was probably stated in a manner that was familiar to you, and at the same time I am sure you realise that from this answer you would also be able to say what sound is, smell 76E too, and numerous other phenomena of this kind. Soc: 73B And if they manage them sound-mindedly and justly, won’t they manage them with justice and sound-mindedness? Dandelion has been shown to stimulate the growth of 14 strains of bifidobacteria in vitro and helps reduce the overgrowth of pathogenic (disease-causing) bacteria. Try to say what it is so that you may get some practice related to our question concerning excellence.Soc: It is obvious then that if one person is indeed better than another, he must be better on the basis of the power you mentioned. Soc: Well, should we declare that they are teachers of this subject when they do not agree on this very issue? Red Clover is touted for its ability to alleviate menopausal discomfort and support heart health, while Sage is renowned for its potential to uphold memory function and mental performance. Soc: Well if neither the sophists nor the good and noble people themselves are teachers of the subject, is it obvious that there would be no other teachers? Soc: Then answer once more, from the beginning, what do you and your associate say that excellence is?

Soc: Now would there be another figure, double this one, but like it, having all its sides equal just as this one does? Meno: Well, I think courage is an excellence, so too is sound-mindedness, wisdom and magnanimity, and there are a whole host of others. Soc: So all people are good in the same manner, since they all become good by attaining the same qualities.

Soc: What is more, everything else we mentioned, wealth and the like, is sometimes good and sometimes harmful. So just as understanding, by its guidance, makes what belongs to the soul beneficial to the rest of the soul while folly renders them harmful, so also does the soul make these beneficial by using 88E and controlling them aright, and harmful by doing so in an incorrect manner. Isn’t this so?

Now since the soul is immortal and has come to birth many times, and has beheld everything there is, both here and in Hades, there is nothing it has not learned. So it is no wonder that it is able to recollect what it knew previously about excellence or about other things. Indeed, since all 81Dof nature is akin and the soul has learned all things, there is nothing to prevent someone who has only recalled one, a process that people call learning, from discovering all the others, provided he is courageous and does not tire of the inquiry, for inquiring and learning are wholly recollection. So we should not be persuaded by this captious argument, for it will only make us idle, and it is pleasant only to the ears of feeble folk, while this one will make us active 81E and inquisitive. Placing my trust in its truth, I want to inquire along with you into what excellence is.Soc: So, Meno, do you actually think that someone who recognises that what is bad is bad, desires it nevertheless? So.....my symptoms are feeling low, tired, achey, weepy, no sex drive at all now, periods becoming longer apart.

Soc: Didn’t we say a little earlier that each of these, justice, sound-mindedness and everything of that sort, is a part of excellence?[8] Soc: Come on then, try to tell me what length each side of that figure 82E will be. Since it is two feet in this case, what length is the side of the double of this? Soc: Now if this side is three and that side is three, doesn’t the entire figure become thrice three feet? Dong Quai, which is also known as the ‘female ginseng’, is one of the most famous herbal remedies in China. It provides a source of phytoestrogens which relieve vasomotor symptoms (hot flushes and night sweats), particularly when combined with other plants. 7,14Soc: Then it is possible to declare that in general for any person, everything else depends upon the soul, while anything belonging to the soul itself depends upon understanding if it is to be 89A good. And by this argument what is beneficial would be understanding, but do we accept that excellence is beneficial? Soc: And yet that is the kind of teacher of excellence he was, this man who, according to you, was also among the very best men of former generations. But let us consider 94A someone else, Aristeides,[24] the son of Lysimachus, wouldn’t you agree that he was a good man? Soc: From the way you converse, Meno, anyone would realise, even if they were blindfolded, that you are handsome and still have admirers. Soc: Now if this side was two feet and this was two feet, how many feet would the whole figure be? Look at it this way: if it was two feet this way and only one foot this way, wouldn’t the figure be once two feet? Soc: Doesn’t the same go for sound-mindedness and ease of learning; whatever is learned or inculcated is beneficial when accompanied by reason, and is harmful in the absence of reason?