"Anger is useful," our opponent argues, "because it prevents people from looking down on you and scares off bad people." But here's the problem with that logic. First, if anger gets its power from making threats, then people will hate you for the same reason they fear you. And being hated is more dangerous than being ignored. Second, if your anger is weak, you'll look even more ridiculous than before. Nothing is more pathetic than anger that turns into empty ranting. Just because something is scary doesn't make it good. Wisdom doesn't want the wise person to be like a wild animal that uses fear as a weapon.
“Anger,” says our opponent, “is useful, because it avoids contempt, and because it frightens bad men.” Now, in the first place, if anger is strong in proportion to its threats, it is hateful for the same reason that it is terrible: and it is more dangerous to be hated than to be despised. If, again, it is without strength, it is much more exposed to contempt, and cannot avoid ridicule; for what is more flat than anger when it breaks out into meaningless ravings? Moreover, because some things are somewhat terrible, they are not on that account desirable: nor does wisdom wish it to be said of the wise man, as it is of a wild beast, that the fear which he inspires is as a weapon to him.