ANNE-MARIE BOWERYmind are often fairly mundane, it is still important for the audience to
see that Socrates does begin his narratives by reporting his thoughts. By
constructing these Socratic narratives in this manner, Plato may be sug-
gesting to the audience of the dialogue that they should notice other in-
dications of Socrates describing his patterns of thought. For example, in
the Lysis, Socrates relates the nuances of a complicated social situation:
On receiving this reply from Lysis, I turned my eyes on Hippothales,
and was on the point of making a great blunder. For it came into my
head to say, “This is the way, Hippothales, that you should talk to
your favorite, humbling and checking, instead of puffi ng him up and
pampering him, as you do now do.” However, on seeing him writhing
with agitation at the turn the conversation was taking, I recollected
that though standing so near, he didn’t wish to be seen by Lysis. So
I recovered myself in time, and forbore to address him. (Lysis 210e)Since Socrates also includes his own response to the social situation in
his narrative, the audience can see how he responds to the situation in a
way that the other dramatic characters in the dialogue do not. Socrates’
narrative commentary provides information to the auditors that none
of the characters receive.
Another example occurs in the Charmides: “I am convinced of the
truth of the suspicion which I entertained at the time, that it was from
Critias that Charmides had heard this answer about temperance (162c).
Consider the Protagoras as well:
Protagoras ended his virtuoso performance here and stopped speak-
ing. I was entranced and just looked at him for a long time as if he
were going to say more. I was still eager to listen, but when I perceived
that he had really stopped I pulled myself together and looking at Hip-
pocrates, merely managed to say, “Son of Apollodorus, how grateful I
am to you for suggesting that I come here.” (328d– e)This remark is directed to Socrates’ friend, not to the characters within
the dramatic action of the narrative. Socrates’ narrative audience and
the audience of the dialogue receive this information about his state
of mind, but the characters that Socrates the character interacts with
do not have access to Socrates’ thoughts about his experience. Simi-
larly, Socrates’ narrative remarks in the Euthydemus are for Crito’s ben-
efi t. The audience of the dialogue is privy to remarks such as, “This
made me suppose that they thought we were jesting before, when we
asked them to converse with the young man, and that this was the rea-