I KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN, CLEON. I WAS SPEAKING TO AGAMEMNON LAST WEEK ABOUT THE VIRTUES OF DEMOCRACY, WHEN FROM NOWHERE SOCRATES BOBBED UP. YOU CAN NEVER HEAR HIM COMING BECAUSE HE DOESN'T WEAR SANDALS. HE SAYS HE PREFERS TO ALLOW HIS BARE FEET TO TOUCH THE EARTH--IT IS LIKE TRUTH, HE SAYS: YOU CAN'T GET TO IT UNTIL YOU HAVE REMOVED ALL THE BARRIERS THAT STAND IN YOUR WAY. NOW, IF THAT ISN'T ENOUGH TO CONVINCE YOU THAT THE MAN IS A TROUBLEMAKER, I DON'T KNOW WHAT IS. BUT ANYWAY, BACK TO MY STORY. HE IMMEDIATELY ASKED AGAMEMNON, "WHAT IS DEMOCRACY?" I GUESS HE HAD BEEN LISTENING TO OUR CONVERSATION.
REALLY? WHY EVERY ATHENIAN KNOWS WHAT DEMOCRACY IS--AFTER ALL, WE DEVELOPED IT!
YES, BUT HE KEPT ASKING US TO DEFINE IT. FINALLY, I TOLD HIM. DEMOCRACY MEANS THAT WE ARE FREE MEN, EQUAL IN OUR RIGHTS, AND GOVERNED BY RULERS THAT WE FREELY ELECT.
(CHUCKLING): HE CERTAINLY COULDN'T FIND FAULT WITH THAT.
OH, DON'T BELIEVE IT, CLEON. THE OLD PHILOSOPHER THEN ASKED ME WHO I MEANT BY "WE"--WAS "WE" EVERYONE WHO LIVED IN ATHENS?