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The excerpt represents the core issue or deciding factor on which you must meditate, and is drawn from Charmides by Plato: quarrel with an actor who spoiled his poems in repeating them; so he looked
hard at him and said--
Do you imagine, Charmides, that the author of this definition of temperance
did not understand the meaning of his own words, because you do not
understand them?
Why, at his age, I said, most excellent Critias, he can hardly be expected
to understand; but you, who are older, and have studied, may well be
assumed to know the meaning of them; and therefore, if you agree with him,
and accept his definition of temperance, I would much rather argue with you
than with him about the truth or falsehood of the definition.
I entirely agree, said Critias, and accept the definition.
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