For goodness' sake

Posted by P. Clark on April 28, 2007

"For goodness' sake" - In some English translations of Plato's Republic the phrase appears during Glaucon's encouragement of Socrates to continue his consideration of "goodness." Glaucon asks Socrates to continue "for goodness' sake." It strikes me as a very memorable phrase from one of the more important sections of the Republic and I wonder whether this is an alternative origin or just a bit of clever translation.