This dialogue takes place immediately following Socrates’ encounter with Euthyphro in which they discussed the nature of what is holy versus what is unholy. Socrates is sitting at the King’s Porch awaiting trial after having been indicted by Meletus for corrupting the young men of Athens. After Euthyphro leaves, Socrates waits alone for a short while. Then, Philip shows up.
Socrates: Pardon my saying so, young man, but you look a little confused.
Philip: I should say that I am, for I know not where I am, nor how I got here.
Socrates: Well, tell me the last thing you remember and perhaps we can determine what happened.
Philip: First, tell me where I am, and then I will tell you where I was.
Socrates: You are in the city of Athens. Also, my names is Socrates.
Philip: Socrates, my name is Philip. Hmmm. I remember being on the road that runs from Jerusalem to Gaza. I was speaking to a eunuch from Ethiopa about the Christ. I had just baptized him. After that, I found myself on the road leading to this city, so I followed it and here I am. You are the first person I have spoken to. I tried to ask a man traveling the other way where the road led to, but he wouldn’t speak to me. He seemed upset.
Socrates: This is most peculiar, I confess. I believe it was Euthyphro who passed you on the road. We had been talking and he left in a hurry. I was trying to find out what the holy is.
Philip: Did you meet with any success?
Socrates: Very little. Euthyphro claimed to know, but as we progressed it seemed that he did not know as much as he claimed.
Philip: Where did he begin?
Socrates: He said that what is dear to the gods is holy, and what is not dear to them is unholy.
Philip: That is a reasonable answer, such as it is, for at least it starts with the divine and not with man as the measure of holiness. But what was your objection?
Socrates: Dear fellow, I can see that you indeed have an interest in such things. Here you are miles from home, unsure of how you arrived here and yet you want to discuss the nature of the holy. To answer your question, isn’t it obvious that the gods quarrel and disagree and have enmity between them? One god holds this thing dear, another god hates it and thus we are left with the same thing being both holy and unholy.
Philip: And what was his answer to that?
Socrates: After some wrangling, we modified our idea to grant that what all of the gods hold dear is holy.
Philip: A neat solution, but perhaps the conflict is not that what one god holds dear another does not, but that the starting point is wrong.
Socrates: I don’t follow you.
Philip: What I mean is this. You’ve assumed that there are multiple gods and all of them must hold the same thing dear for it to be holy.
Socrates: That is what I just said.
Philip: What if instead of many gods, there was only one God?
Socrates: I warn you, friend, be careful of what you say. I am waiting for trial on the charge of corrupting the youth of this city by introducing new gods. If you attempt to eliminate any gods, you will end up like me.
Philip: I will try to remember that. However, you must admit that one God is preferable to many gods when it comes to determining the holy.
Socrates: That is true, for then there would be no conflict, what the one god holds dear would then be what is holy. Yet this leads me to a second issue, the same, in fact, that follows from determining the holy from what all the gods hold dear.
Philip: And this issue is? Don’t feel like you’re delaying me, for I have no place to go at the moment.
Socrates: No doubt. It’s difficult to know where to go when you’re not sure how you arrived. Well, as to the second issue, I must ask – is the holy loved by the gods, or the one god, because it is holy, or is it holy because it is loved by the gods, or the one god?
Philip: Please elaborate for me.
Socrates: If the first instance holds, then we still do not know what makes something holy, we only know that the gods love the holy. This would mean that there is some standard of rightness or goodness that even the gods (or god) are subject to. We couldn’t call them gods if they are subject to some higher authority. If the second instance holds, then the gods are arbitrary and could just as easily declare that what is evil is holy.
Philip: You have pointed out something significant, but have overlooked one element. But you must grant me my one God for the sake of argument.
Socrates: By all means.
Philip: Perhaps the best way to determine the holy is by what God wills. If God wills that something is holy, then it is holy.
Socrates: But this leads to the same objection. If the one god wills that something is holy, it is arbitrary since the god could have also willed the contrary thing holy. This has not helped our situation at all.
Philip: Wait a moment. You are Socrates, right?
Socrates: Yes…I thought we had determined that already.
Philip: What I mean to say is that your will, as the man Socrates, reflects your nature. In fact, you cannot will anything that is not an essential part of your nature. You are a mortal man, therefore, you cannot, by your own will, make yourself immortal. Right?
Socrates: I will grant that, but I don’t see the connection to our efforts here today.
Philip: Suppose your nature was evil, could you will any good?
Socrates: No. I could only will what was essential to my nature.
Philip: Grant me that God’s essential nature is good.
Socrates: It would be hoped that if there is one god, he is good.
Philip: Then, out of his own nature he could only will what is good. He would not be subject to some higher authority, nor would could he will evil as good, since he can only will what is essential to his good nature. Goodness is not imposed from the outside, nor is it arbitrary, it receives its nature from the good nature of God.
Socrates: I think you have given me much to consider. I am grateful.
Philip: Think nothing of it.
Socrates: You must be very wise to have determined these things.
Philip: In fact, I was taught them by another. I earlier mentioned the Christ. He is very God of very God. He came to reveal the true nature of God to man.
Socrates: I would like to hear more about him and his teachings.
Philip: As it appears I have nowhere else to go at the moment, let’s continue our investigations.
Socrates: By all means.
Philip went on to instruct Socrates in the way of Christ. However, it is not known whether or not Socrates put his faith in Christ before he died. Philip was next seen in Azotus and continued to faithfully proclaim Christ wherever he went.
