Source edition
Platonis Opera, Tomus V: Tetralogia VIII. Burnet, John, editor. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1914.
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 dialogue between Socrates and an unnamed companion concerning the nature of "law" (nomos). At the outset, the companion defines law as custom or state decrees, but Socrates guides him to realize that law must inherently be a good thing, characterized as the "discovery of reality." Although the companion points out the diversity of laws among different nations, Socrates argues that, just like the rules in specialized arts such as medicine or farming, only the correct regulations based on truth constitute true law. As an exemplary lawmaker, the Cretan king Minos is introduced, and his justice is praised based on his divine education under Zeus. Socrates explains that Minos's poor reputation in Athens was merely a product of hostility from local tragedy writers. Finally, Socrates asks what a great lawmaker distributes to the soul, just as a trainer distributes food to the body, but the companion remains unable to answer, ending the dialogue by confronting his own ignorance.