Meno, second part

Boy: Well, Socrates . . . you know what I would want.

Socrates: Do I?

Boy: Better than I knew the square root of two the other day.

Socrates: You want to be a free man, then, and a citizen.

Boy: (looking down) Yes.

Socrates: Don't look down, then, for that is an admirable desire for one to have, and speaks highly of him who has it. I will speak to Meno, while you hold your tongue.

Boy: Yes, Socrates. (bows to kiss his hand, Socrates turns)

Socrates: Friend Meno, how hard do you think it will be for this boy to prove the irrationality of the square root of two?

Meno: You know that I think it is impossible, Socrates.

Socrates: Well, how long did it take the Pythagoreans?

Meno: I should think it took them years.

Socrates: And how many of them were there?

Meno: Quite a few, though not all worked equally, and some hardly at all, for they were most interested in triangles of