Hippias Minor
δυοῖν κακοῖν προκειμένοιν τὸ μὴ χεῖρον βέλτιστον → the lesser of two evils, the less bad thing of a pair of bad things, better the devil you know, better the devil you know than the devil you don't, better the devil you know than the devil you don't know, better the devil you know than the one you don't, better the devil you know than the one you don't know, the devil that you know is better than the devil that you don't know, the devil we know is better than the devil we don't, the devil we know is better than the devil we don't know, the devil you know is better than the devil you don't
Wikipedia EN
Hippias Minor (Greek: Ἱππίας ἐλάττων), or On Lying, is thought to be one of Plato's early works. Socrates matches wits with an arrogant polymath, who is also a smug literary critic. Hippias believes that Homer can be taken at face value, and he also thinks that Achilles may be believed when he says he hates liars, whereas Odysseus' resourceful (πολύτροπος) behavior stems from his ability to lie well (365b). Socrates argues that Achilles is a cunning liar who throws people off the scent of his own deceptions and that cunning liars are actually the "best" liars. Consequently, Odysseus was equally false and true and so was Achilles (369b). Socrates proposes, possibly for the sheer dialectical fun of it, that it is better to do evil voluntarily than involuntarily. His case rests largely on the analogy with athletic skills, such as running and wrestling. He says that a runner or wrestler who deliberately sandbags is better than the one who plods along because he can do no better.
Translations
ar: هيبياس الأصغر; br: Hippias bihanañ; ca: Hípies menor; cs: Hippias Menší; de: Hippias minor; en: Hippias Minor; es: Hipias menor; et: Hippias; fa: هیپیاس دوم; fi: Hippias; fr: Hippias mineur; he: היפיאס; hu: Kisebbik Hippiasz; is: Hippías minni; it: Ippia minore; ja: ヒッピアス; nl: Hippias Minor; pt: Hípias Menor; ro: Hippias Minor; ru: Гиппий меньший
