Plato’s Republic Book 1
331 C: Socrates says that if we return a weapon given to us by a sane friend who has since then turned insane, we are not being just.
Polemarchus then defines Justice as the art of benefiting one’s friends and harming one’s enemies.
Socrates goes on with the dialogue, implying that he believes Polemarchus’ definition is not in conflict with his statement at 331 C.
So then, does Socrates think that when we are returning a weapon given to us by a sane friend who has since then turned insane, that we are benefiting an enemy (the insane friend is now an enemy in this case) or harming one’s friend (the sane friend remains a friend even after going insane)?
