I thought I was smart, sly even. I had found an audio reading of Plato’s Euthyphro on the internet. I was looking for anything to assist me in getting through, what seemed like, at the moment, a difficult dialog reading. Not only did I find a complete, forty-minute audio reading, but also several websites that offered interpretation of the dialog between Socrates and Euthyphro. And to strengthen my knowledge, I researched the history on Socrates.

After listening to the entire mp3 audio file, carefully taking notes along the way, I thought I had a good grasp of the ideas and lessons in Plato’s Euthyphro. I acquired a sense of confidence that I would bring to class and proudly display to my classmates. I was prepared.  Call me an expert even. Besides that, I knew from reading Plato’s dialog, what lesson I had learned for the week. And I couldn’t wait for the moment to share them with everyone. But my real lessons for the week would begin when our class began a closed reading of Euthyphro.

As soon as the first words rolled off the tongue of my fellow students, both Euthyphro and Socrates began to take a new life. It was an amalgam of my instructor’s knowledge of Socrates, Plato, Greek History, along with my classmate’s interpretations that started altering my vision of Socrates. The impression I had of Socrates, the one portrayed in the audio reading, was not a man of sarcasm, but one who had a serious disposition.  And Euthyphro was certainly not a man of arrogance. He was confident, just like me. Wait. Am I showing the characteristics of Euthyphro by thinking I have all the answers? Could I be arrogant in thinking that there wouldn’t be anything I could possibly have learned today? Oh my GOD, I’m just like Euthyphro! This was the first lesson I learned that day in class.

The second lesson would come shortly before the class ended. My professor shared with the class one of Socrates famous quotes, “I know that I know nothing.”  At this point, I’m in a sober state. It’s like that experience you get sometimes when you’re attending church and you think the pastor’s sermon is directed at only you. I just sat there, in silence, reflecting on my own arrogance and the wisdom of Socrates as class continued to read Euthyphro.

This morning, as I put my final thoughts on paper, I’m beginning to wonder if this is the real lesson that Plato was teaching through this dialog. Was Plato trying to show the arrogance knowledgeable men display? All I know is that I really don’t know.