A Student

A youth was there, of quiet ways,
A Student of old books and days,
To whom all tongues and lands were known,
And yet, a lover of his own;
With many a social virtue graced,
And yet a friend of solitude;
A man of such a genial mood
The heart of all things he embraced,
And yet of such fastidious taste,
He never found the best too good.
Books were his passion and delight,
And in his upper room at home
Stood many a rare and sumptuous tome,
In vellum bound, with gold bedight,
Great volumes garmented in white,
Recalling Florence, Pica, Rome.
He love the twilight that surrounds
the border-land of old romance;
Where glitter hauberk, helm, and lance,
And banner waves, and trumpet sounds,
And ladies ride with hawk on wrist,
And mighty warriors sweep along,
Magnified by the purple mist,
The dusk of centuries and of song.
The chronicles of Charlemagne,
Of Merlin and the Mort d"Arthure,
Mingled together in his brain
With tales of Lores and Blanchefleur,
Sir Ferumbras, Sir Eglamour
Sir Launcelot, Sir Morgadour,
Sir Guy, Sir Bevis, Sir Gawain.

From "Tales of A Wayside Inn"
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Being Examined by Socrates

"I don’t think you appreciate what happens when you come into close proximity with Socrates and strike up a conversation with him. Whatever the original topic of your conversation, eventually he’s bound to head you off and to trap you into trying to explain your own way of life and how you’ve lived up to now. And once you’re caught in the trap, Socrates won’t let you go until he’s subjected every detail to a thorough, rigorous test. I’m familiar with his ways and I know that such treatment at his hands is inevitable. Besides, I’m sure to face it myself, because I enjoy his company, Lysimachus, and I don’t think there’s any harm in being reminded of flaws in our past or present behaviour. On the contrary, in the future you’re bound to be more thoughtful if you don’t avoid this treatment but submit to it, bearing in mind what Solon said, and expect to go on learning as long as you live, rather than imagining that old age arrives with wisdom in its train. Anyway, in my view being examined by Socrates isn’t at all odd or unpleasant."
The character Nicias in Plato's dialogue "Laches", 187e ff.