This paper explains that, in both the dialogues of "Meno" and "Protagoras," the philosopher Plato argues that 'virtue' cannot
be taught, is separate from human institutions and can only be fully accessed by a few. In "Meno" Plato states, rather than as the result of rhetorical practice as instilled by the Sophists, virtue is not a matter of definition, which can be established by logic, but something that must be elicited. The paper relates that
ultimately the notion of virtue in "Protagoras" evolves into a less democratic tone, given its devaluation of democratic, free expression in the pursuit of virtue and truth in rhetoric, which would ultimately become the core of Plato's
anti-democratic philosophy of kingship.