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Socrates says no one does evil willingly

c. 433 BCE, Athens, the house of Callias. As Plato tells it.

Where and when

c. 433 BCEAthens, the house of Callias

about 2,458 years ago

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Socrates

, Athens, the house of CalliasAs Plato tells it

In plain words, ours

Nobody chooses what they think is bad over the good, it seems. Forced to pick between two bad things, nobody takes the worse one.

Then surely, I went on, no one willingly goes after evil or what he thinks to be evil; it is not in human nature, apparently, to do so—to wish to go after what one thinks to be evil in preference to the good; and when compelled to choose one of two evils, nobody will choose the greater when he may the lesser.

Plato, Protagoras 358c–dTranslated by W. R. M. Lamb (1924)Read the full passage (Plato, Protagoras 358c–d, opens scaife.perseus.org)

What was going on, our summary

As Plato tells it, Socrates is in a discussion at the house of Callias in Athens with Protagoras, Prodicus and Hippias. He has got them all to agree that giving in to yourself is ignorance and mastering yourself is wisdom.

Checked claim by claim against: the passage around the quote.

Why it matters

The idea that no one does wrong willingly, which Socrates draws out in the Protagoras, became the hallmark of Socratic virtue intellectualism.

Based on Wikipedia: Socrates

In Plato's Protagoras (345c4–e6), Socrates implies that "no one errs willingly", which has become the hallmark of Socratic virtue intellectualism.

Wikipedia, Socrates (opens en.wikipedia.org), as of 2026-09-04. Text CC BY-SA 4.0. Our line is checked against these sentences only.

Related moments

In time order, with this one in its place. Each says why it is here.

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  2. c. 433 BCEThis momentSocrates says no one does evil willingly
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  9. 430 BCEabout 3 years later Plague breaks out in Athens Same years
  10. 431/430 BCEabout 3 years later Athens holds a public funeral for its first war dead Same years
  11. c. 431–411 BCEabout 12 years later Socrates on guardians sharing wives and children More from Socrates
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Just before and after

The text around the quote, word for word from the same translation.

Show the passageHide the passage

At this Prodicus laughed and consented, as did the rest. Well now, my friends, I said, what of this? All actions aimed at living painlessly and pleasantly are honorable, are they not? And the honorable work is both good and useful? They agreed. Then if, I proceeded, the pleasant is good, no one who has knowledge or thought of other actions as better than those he is doing, and as possible, will do as he proposes if he is free to do the better ones; and this yielding to oneself is nothing but ignorance, and mastery of oneself is as certainly wisdom. They all agreed. Well then, by ignorance do you mean having a false opinion and being deceived about matters of importance? They all agreed to this also.

The quote: Then surely, I went on, no one willingly goes after evil or what he thinks to be evil; it is not in human nature, apparently, to do so—to wish to go after what one thinks to be evil in preference to the good; and when compelled to choose one of two evils, nobody will choose the greater when he may the lesser.

All this met with the assent of everyone. Well, I said, is there something you call dread, or fear? And is it—I address myself to you, Prodicus —the same as I have in mind—something I describe as an expectation of evil, whether you call it fear or dread? Protagoras and Hippias agreed to this description of dread or fear; but Prodicus thought this was dread, not fear. No matter, Prodicus, I said, but my point is this: if our former statements are true, will any man wish to go after what he dreads, when he may pursue what he does not?

Plato, Protagoras 358b–eTranslated by W. R. M. Lamb (1924)Read the full passage (opens scaife.perseus.org)

When, and whose words

Date
c. 433 BCE. Common scholarly dating of the dramatic setting, before the war with Sparta, while Pericles' sons are alive; the dialogue gives no year.
Whose words
As Plato tells it.
How this post was checked
  • The plain-words line was read against the quote alone by a second, independent pass, which found it adds no claim the quote does not make (2026-10-03).
  • Each claim in the summary was checked by an independent pass against only the material it cites.
  • The quote itself is checked by the build: word for word, once, at the cited section of the stored translation.

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