SOCRATES: Is it very much the case, as we said then, that whether the multitude say so or not, and whether we must suffer more grievous afflictions, or even milder ones, doing injustice is evil in any case, and disgraceful in every way, for the one who acts unjustly? Do we accept this or not?

CRITO: We do.

SOCRATES: So we should never act unjustly?

CRITO: Of course not.

SOCRATES: Nor since we should never act unjustly, should we return an injustice if we are treated unjustly, as most people think?

CRITO: Apparently not.

SOCRATES: What about this, Crito, should we do harm or not?

CRITO: Of course we shouldn’t, Socrates.

SOCRATES: And if we suffer harm, is it just to do harm in return, as most people assert, or is it not just?

CRITO: Not at all.

SOCRATES: Presumably because doing harm to people is no different from acting unjustly.

CRITO: That’s true.

SOCRATES: So we should neither return an injustice nor do harm to any man, regardless of what we suffer at his hands. And take care, Crito, in accepting this, in case you agree to something that goes against your own opinion, since I know that these opinions are held, and will be held, by a few. Now, there is no common counsel between those who hold this view and those who do not, and they must of necessity despise one another when they see one another’s decisions. So you too should consider, very carefully, whether you share this view and agree with it, and we should begin our deliberations from this. Is it never right to do injustice or to return an injustice, or to defend yourself from suffering harm by doing harm in return? Or do you dissent, and do you not share this principle? I have long held this view, and I still do so now, but if you hold a different one speak and explain it. However, if you stand by what we agreed earlier, hear what follows.