Would you stay honest if you were invisible?

In Plato's Republic, Glaucon tells of a shepherd named Gyges who finds a ring that makes him invisible, and uses it to seduce a queen, murder a king, and seize a throne. Glaucon argues the story proves people are only just because they fear getting caught, not because justice is good in itself. Socrates disagrees, insisting the man who abuses the ring enslaves himself to his appetites, while the truly just person stays free even unseen.

— Plato, The Republic — Book II, c. 375 BC
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