In ancient Greece, Socrates was reputed to hold knowledge in high esteem. One day an acquaintance met the great philosopher and said, “Socrates, do you know what I have just heard about your friend?”
“Say no more for the moment,” Socrates replied. “Before telling me anything else I want you to pass a Test. It is a test
in three stages that a human being must put himself to before he utters a word”.
“A Test in three stages?”
“That’s right,” Socrates continued. “Before you talk to me about my friend, it might be a good idea to take a moment and test what you’re going to say. The first test is Truth. Have you made absolutely sure that what your are about to tell me is true?”
“No,” the man said, “actually I just heard about it and…”
“All right,” interrupted Socrates. “So you do not really know if it is true or not. Now try the second test, the test of Goodness. Is what you are going to tell me about my friend something good?”
“No, on the contrary…”
“So,” Socrates continued, “you want to tell me something bad about him but you are not certain it is true. You may still pass the test though, because there is one stage left: Usefulness. Is what you want to tell me about my friend going to be useful to me?”
“No, not really.”
“Well,” concluded Socrates, “if what you want to tell me is neither true nor good nor even useful, why tell it to me at all?”
This is why Socrates was a great philosopher and held in such high esteem.
