Glaucon presents his challenge first. He is a man who believes in justice, but he is not convinced that it is a virtue, but rather a necessary test that men impose on themselves. Left to his own devices, without social construction or laws, each man would return to a state of general selfishness and injustice. Justice, he says, “is always practiced with reluctance, not as a good thing in itself, but as something that cannot be done without” (p. 43). Although he believes in justice, he is not convinced that men commit acts of justice solely for the sole purpose of being good men. He suggests that he play the role of devil's advocate and engage in a conversation with Socrates that will ultimately convince Glaucon that justice is more than just a necessary compromise between the best possible outcome - doing evil - and the worst. possible outcome – being wronged – which men reluctantly engage in. He argues that it is “much better...to appear virtuous than to be so” (p..