Hippias : No, I do not agree, Socrates ; [371e] but in this case also Achilles was induced by the goodness of his heart to say to Ajax something different from what he had said to Odysseus ; whereas Odysseus, when he speaks the truth always speaks with design, and when he speaks falsehood likewise.
Socrates : Then Odysseus, as it seems, is better than Achilles.
Hippias : Not in the least, Socrates.
Socrates : How is that ? Were not those who utter falsehoods voluntarily found to be better than those who do so involuntarily ?
Hippias : And how, Socrates, could those who voluntarily do wrong [372a] and voluntarily and designedly do harm be better than those who do so involuntarily ? And there seems to be good reason to forgive a man who unwittingly does wrong or speaks falsehood or does any other evil. And the laws surely are much more severe towards those who do evil and tell falsehoods voluntarily, than towards those who do so involuntarily.