Lysis

and that they were all playing knucklebones, dressed in their finery.¹ Most of them were playing outside in the courtyard, but some were playing odds and evens in a corner of the undressing-room with a great many knucklebones, taking them out of some little baskets; and others stood round them, watching. Lysis too was one of these; and he stood among 207a the boys and young men, wearing a garland, outstanding in looks, worthy to hear himself called not just “beautiful” but “beautiful and good.”² And we withdrew to the opposite side and sat down, for it was quiet there, and talked a little with one another. Lysis kept turning round and looking at us, and it was plain that he desired to come over. For a while he was at a loss, and hesitated to come over alone; then Menexenus, 207b in the middle of his game, comes in from the courtyard, and when he saw me and Ctesippus, he came to sit down beside us. Seeing him, Lysis followed and sat down beside us with Menexenus. The others came up as well, and in particular Hippothales, when he saw that quite a number were standing there, used them for cover and stood by where he thought Lysis would not see him,³ afraid of making himself hateful to him; and so, standing by, he listened.

And I looked at Menexenus and said, “Son of Demophon, 207c which of you two is the elder?”

“We dispute it,” he said.

“Then you would quarrel too over which is the nobler,” I said.

“Very much so,” he said.

“And over which is the more beautiful, likewise.”

At this they both laughed.

“Which of you is the richer, though,” I said, “I shan’t ask; for you two are friends. Isn’t that so?”