[T]he words lawfulness and law are applied to all order and regularity of the soul...and this means justice and temperance.

This pronouncement combines the highest forms of good as defined by Socrates throughout Gorgias, and as such it denotes a climax of the argumentative aspects at play within the work. By this late point in the text (504d), Socrates's already has stated his goal of defining the virtuous life, and the other participants have accepted laws of behavior as the means by which to attain this virtue. Moreover, matters of the soul have been established as the highest and most pure of human considerations, since this is the eternal aspect of human beings. Temperance and justice therefore complete the formula by providing law and order for the soul.

Despite its simple and brief formulation, this equation contains an intense richness and complexity of ideas within its framework. It is the result of a meticulous filtering process performed by Plato through the personages of his dialogue. In other words, Socrates could have stated this point earlier in his conversation. By waiting until all contentions about the core issues in question have been resolved, Socrates effectively renders this statement his essential thesis about how properly to live—which itself in turn is the point of Gorgias.