“Just because you can do something, doesn’t necessarily mean you should.” Quote, every mother who has reprimanded a child. This common phrase is the center of the story of Gyges' ring from Plato's Republic. In this tale a shepherd, Gyges, finds a ring that makes him invisible. He uses this ring to increase his power and wealth. The question behind the tale is thus: if one has the ability do do something underhanded without getting caught, should they do it? The answer is no. Both one's private life and one's public life should be examples of morality in order to live the most fulfilling life.
It is obvious to most people that one should not do underhanded things in public. The public's judgment of the individual will drop. This logic should be applied to a personal level. If one does underhanded things in private, while the public might still hold them in high esteem, their personal judgment of themselves will drop. For example if a priest steals money from a woman on the street and gets arrested, the public’s opinion of him will fall. Now, if he siphons off money from the collection plate every Sunday, the pubic might not notice and nothing bad will befall him. He, however, will still know what he is doing, and feel guilt over it. Unless a person has a medical condition hampering their guilt such as psychopathy or cannot understand the difference between right and wrong, their self regard will, on some level, drop when they transgress. This will cause their image of themselves to fall and might cause depression or prompt worse crimes.
Thus one should be good both outwardly and privately. Going back to our pilfering priest example, say the next week he must preach on sin. He will have a hard time with his sermon knowing that, whatever he says, he will be guilty of hypocrisy. Also, if his actions come to light, his parishioners will loose their respect for him. Their is no way in this world to be one hundred percent certain of secrecy. If a public official lives an immoral private life and this life is exposed they can face terrible consequences. Take for example President Bill Clinton, when his affair became public knowledge he was impeached and his reputation diminished.
Their are two ways to live in this world, one can climb over others and take advantage of Gyges' ring, or one can live a completely moral life, being good to everyone. Both work, but the latter will make one more friends and give them a much happier and fulfilled life. For by living the moral life, one need not fear letting others down, and one can be completely content in who they are.
