ACASTOS

You shouldn’t have said that!

TIMONAX ruefully

All right! Let’s just hope he hasn’t got that concept either! But of course he was just putting on an act.

ANTAGORAS

No, no, there you have the childish superstitions of primitive people, they’re like children.

ACASTOS

I don’t think it’s superstition.

TIMONAX

You think there really are gods and he really sees them? You should have asked him how large they are!

SOCRATES

Acastos means that for him there are gods. He is fortunate, he has happy gods. Thales tells us there are gods everywhere.

ANTAGORAS

That’s poetic, just a metaphor.

SOCRATES

There are deep metaphors, perhaps there are bottomless metaphors.

At this point Socrates withdraws a little from the others and stands motionless in thought. They are used to this habit of his and lower their voices respectfully. They glance at him occasionally, put fingers to lips. Plato, watching Socrates intently, ignores their conversation.

ANTAGORAS

That slave, he’s not much of a worker, he’s too dreamy, we’ve put him on the list for the silver mines, they pay a lot for a healthy one.

TIMONAX

You’re going to send that beautiful animal to the silver mines?

ACASTOS

You care because he’s beautiful. You ought to care because he’s human. They die like flies in the mines.

ANTAGORAS

There are things one doesn’t talk about in polite society. There’s nothing we can do, moaning about it is just sentimental hypocrisy. Without slavery our economy would collapse.

ACASTOS

I think slavery is retarding our economy. Anyway it’s immoral.

TIMONAX

I don’t like slavery but we’ve got to have it, it’s a fact of life, always was, always will be.

ACASTOS

Slavery is contrary to nature.

ANTAGORAS

Slavery is a matter of fate.

ACASTOS

That’s superstition!

ANTAGORAS

Slavery is a man’s fate. It could be yours, it could be mine, where he is we might be. It’s a humbling thought.

ACASTOS

But as it happens we’re not where he is, and –

ANTAGORAS

There are those upon whom no light falls, it cannot be otherwise.

TIMONAX

Would you sell me that slave?

ANTAGORAS

What do you want him for?

A Biography of Iris Murdoch

A Biography of Iris Murdoch

Iris Murdoch (1919–1999) was one of the most influential British writers of the twentieth century. She wrote twenty-six novels over forty years, as well as plays, poetry, and works of philosophy. Heavily influenced by existentialist and moral philosophy, Murdoch’s novels were also notable for their rich characters, intellectual depth, and handling of controversial topics such as adultery and incest.