In this book Schmid holds that the traditional and cultural ideal of moderation is enough of an established fact that the Charmides can be held up against it to make the distinctions and similarities which will then provide for the necessary reference for interpreting the drama Plato uses in the dialogue. The Preface and section 1 define the “cultural setting in which the ancient Greek ideal of sophrosunê was situated”. Here Schmid defines the complex political and cultural setting of ancient (...) Greece out of which the dialogue is to be interpreted and thereby sets the stage for the drama and speech of the dialogue as a whole. (shrink)