How we cite our quotes: Stephanus pagination (the standardized way in which every text of Plato is divided). Every edition and translation will have this pagination in the margins.
Quote #10
"It must be told... and yet, a certain friendship for Homer, and shame before him, which has possessed me since childhood, prevents me from speaking. For he seems to have been the first teacher and leader of all these fine tragic things. Still and all, a man must not be honored before the truth." (595c-b)
Even though Socrates ultimately finds much to blame in Homer's poetry, we can't help but notice that this moment might be one of the most touching in the entire Republic. Socrates admits that Homer has been a meaningful and moving part of his childhood—and he seems very human here. Sniff.