Note 187 — Chapter III · PLATO
Reading edition
Rep. 371B. The word is νόμισμα, something established by usage, hence “current coin,” not necessarily suggestive of intrinsic worth, as are χρήματα and the metals. Cf. Ar. Clouds 248 for a play on the word, θεοὶ ἡμῖν νόμισμ᾽ οὐκ ἔστι. Cf. the simile, Frogs 720, and Phaedo 69A, for an analogy between it and wisdom.