149–150
Socrates
SOC. And furthermore, the midwives, by means of drugs and incantations, are able to arouse the pangs of labor and, if they wish, to make them milder, and to cause those to bear who have difficulty in bearing; and they cause miscarriages if they think them desirable.
15
Theaetetus
THEAET. That is true.
Socrates
SOC. Well, have you noticed this also about them, that they are the most skillful of matchmakers, since they are very wise in knowing what union of man and woman will produce the best possible children?
Theaetetus
THEAET. I do not know that at all.
Socrates
SOC. But be assured that they are prouder of this than of their skill in cutting the umbilical cord. Just consider. Do you think the knowledge of what soil is best for each plant or seed belongs to the same art as the tending and harvesting of the fruits of the earth, or to another?
Theaetetus
THEAET. To the same art.
20
Socrates
SOC. And in the case of a woman, do you think, my friend, that there is one art for the sowing and another for the harvesting?
Theaetetus
THEAET. It is not likely.
Socrates
SOC. No; but because there is a wrongful and unscientific way of bringing men and women together, which is called pandering, the midwives, since they are women of dignity and worth, avoid matchmaking, through fear of falling under the charge of pandering. And yet the true midwife is the only proper match-maker.
Theaetetus
THEAET. It seems so.
