Source edition
Platonis Opera, Tomus III: Tetralogia V-VII. Burnet, John, editor. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1913.
Source data
Perseus Digital Library · CC BY-SA (per Perseus's terms)
Cloned and adapted by Humanitext, with ongoing edits.
Summary
This work is a philosophical dialogue by Plato that explores the nature of "temperance" (sophrosyne), one of the key virtues of the soul. Socrates, having just returned from the military campaign at Potidaea, engages in a discussion at a gymnasium in Athens with the beautiful young Charmides and his cousin Critias. The dialogue begins when Socrates introduces temperance as a "charm" to cure Charmides' headache, leading to an inquiry into its definition. After Charmides' suggestions of "quietness" and "modesty" are refuted, Critias joins the debate, defining temperance as "knowing oneself" and "the knowledge of knowledge." Socrates, however, critically examines the possibility and utility of such self-referential knowledge, questioning how it can benefit human life. Ultimately, they realize that what brings happiness is not merely "knowledge of knowledge," but specifically "the knowledge of good and evil," leaving the definition of temperance unresolved, though Charmides and Critias resolve to continue learning from Socrates.