Critias’ guarded agreement at 175a8 that the full-fledged knowledge of knowledge would not be beneficial brings to an end the two-part program that Socrates had announced at the new beginning at 167a–b. Plato does not have Socrates propose yet another new beginning, nor does he have him return to take up issues mentioned or implied by the previous ­discussion. These are tasks for the reader. Instead, Plato has Socrates give a speech in which he summarizes their discussion from the new beginning on. This summary speech, both in what it emphasizes and in what it neglects, supplies some further indications of how the reader may continue the investigation. At the end of this speech Socrates then returns to the question that had initiated the entire discussion of σωϕροσύνη: whether Charmides is in possession of that virtue. This in turn leads into a brief final conversation between Socrates and Charmides, within which is embedded a short conversation between Charmides and Critias. In this final scene, some of the themes of the introductory scene are sounded once again, this time taking on deeper significance in light of points made in the intervening investigation.

Socrates??? Speech

Socrates begins his final speech by emphasizing how the conclusion of their recent argument, that σωϕροσύνη brings no benefit, vindicates the qualms he had earlier expressed (172c4) about their discussion: