I forgot to add: Socrates actually does sort of say that even writing is okay—as long as you're doing it in the right spirit (seeking truth) and are not deceivi

I forgot to add: Socrates actually does sort of say that even writing is okay—as long as you're doing it in the right spirit (seeking truth) and are not deceiving your audience. In the Phaedrus, Socrates rails against the "speechmakers" who don't truly know what they're talking about, but instead write based on "what is likely" to persuade the audience. And yes, in the later dialogues (e.g. the Republic), many scholars agree that Plato used Socrates as his "mouthpiece". I don't care either way, they're insanely fun to read.