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Ancient Greek Page · Branch 17 of 65
Alcibiades I · 111b–111d
Ancient Greek
p. 28ΑΛ. Ναί.
ΣΩ. Ἐν οἷς δ’ ἂν διαφέρωνται, ταῦτα φήσεις εἰδέναι αὐτούς;
ΑΛ. Οὐ δῆτα.
ΣΩ. Τούτων οὖν διδάσκαλοι πῶς ἂν εἶεν;
ΑΛ. Οὐδαμῶς.
ΣΩ. Τί οὖν; δοκοῦσί σοι διαφέρεσθαι οἱ πολλοὶ ποῖόν ἐστι λίθος ἢ ξύλον; καὶ ἐάν τινα ἐρωτᾷς, ἆρ’ οὐ τὰ αὐτὰ 111c ὁμολογοῦσιν, καὶ ἐπὶ ταὐτὰ ὁρμῶσιν ὅταν βούλωνται λαβεῖν λίθον ἢ ξύλον; ὡσαύτως καὶ πάνθ’ ὅσα τοιαῦτα· σχεδὸν γάρ τι μανθάνω τὸ ἑλληνίζειν ἐπίστασθαι ὅτι τοῦτο λέγεις· ἢ οὔ;
ΑΛ. Ναί.
ΣΩ. Οὐκοῦν εἰς μὲν ταῦθ’, ὥσπερ εἴπομεν, ἀλλήλοις τε ὁμολογοῦσι καὶ αὐτοὶ ἑαυτοῖς ἰδίᾳ, καὶ δημοσίᾳ αἱ πόλεις πρὸς ἀλλήλας οὐκ ἀμφισβητοῦσιν αἱ μὲν ταῦθ’ αἱ δ’ ἄλλα φάσκουσαι;
ΑΛ. Οὐ γάρ.
ΣΩ. Εἰκότως ἂν ἄρα τούτων γε καὶ διδάσκαλοι εἶεν ἀγαθοί.
111dΑΛ. Ναί.
ΣΩ. Οὐκοῦν εἰ μὲν βουλοίμεθα ποιῆσαί τινα περὶ αὐτῶν εἰδέναι, ὀρθῶς ἂν αὐτὸν πέμποιμεν εἰς διδασκαλίαν τούτων τῶν πολλῶν;
ΑΛ. Πάνυ γε.
ΣΩ. Τί δ’ εἰ βουληθεῖμεν εἰδέναι, μὴ μόνον ποῖοι ἄνθρωποί εἰσιν ἢ ποῖοι ἵπποι, ἀλλὰ καὶ τίνες αὐτῶν δρομικοί τε καὶ μή, ἆρ’ ἔτι οἱ πολλοὶ τοῦτο ἱκανοὶ διδάξαι;
ΑΛ. Οὐ δῆτα.
ΣΩ. Ἱκανὸν δέ σοι τεκμήριον ὅτι οὐκ ἐπίστανται οὐδὲ
Alcibiades I
p. 29Alc. Yes.
Soc. And the things they disagree about, will you say they know those?
Alc. Certainly not.
Soc. Then how could they be teachers of them?
Alc. In no way.
Soc. Well then: do the many seem to you to disagree about what sort of thing a stone or a piece of wood is? And if you ask any of them, do they not 111c agree on the same things, and reach for the same things whenever they want to take up a stone or a piece of wood? And so too with everything of that kind; for I more or less understand that this is what you mean by knowing how to speak Greek. Or not?
Alc. Yes.
Soc. So on these matters, as we said, they agree both with one another and with themselves in private, and in public the cities do not dispute with one another, some saying one thing and some another?
Alc. No, they don’t.
Soc. Then it is reasonable that of these things, at any rate, they should also be good teachers.
Alc. 111d Yes.
Soc. So if we wanted to make someone know about them, we would rightly send him to be taught by these, the many?
Alc. Certainly.
Soc. And what if we wanted to know not only what sort of things men are, or what sort horses are, but also which of them are good runners and which are not? Are the many still good enough to teach this?
Alc. Certainly not.
Soc. And is it evidence enough for you that they do not know, nor
Socrates
Reading Alcibiades I · Alcibiades I · 111b–111d
Ask about a concept, passage, contradiction, or connection.
Socrates will begin with this book and its sources.About This Reading Edition
Socrates and Alcibiades examine political ambition, education, justice, and the care of the soul. Their inquiry turns on what it means to know oneself. This complete revised edition presents the dialogue, 103a–135e, across fifty-eight Greek–English page pairs, with an introduction, Key Words of the Dialogue, an outline, glossary, critical apparatus, and translator’s notes. The dialogue is transmitted among Plato’s works; its authorship remains disputed.
Historical Text and Translation
The Greek follows John Burnet’s Platonis Opera, volume II (Oxford, 1901), in a later Oxford impression printed by John Johnson and published by Humphrey Milford. The words were taken from the Perseus Digital Library transcription and checked against the supplied printed pages. Burnet’s lineation and critical apparatus are retained, including the extended mirror passage at 133c. The supplied PDF preserves the complete printed layout.
About Diotimos Editions
Diotimos Editions prepared and revised this independent English translation directly from the Greek, preserving the argument’s distinctions, consistent key terms, Socrates’ humor, and the quick exchanges with Alcibiades. Each English dialogue page translates the Greek page opposite it. Translator’s notes accompany their passages. The introduction and Key Words of the Dialogue precede the text; the Outline, Editorial Note, Glossary of Key Terms, and Note on this Edition follow it. Introductory and concluding matter reflows for the screen.
Rights
The ancient Greek work and Burnet’s printed edition are in the public domain. The Perseus digital Greek transcription and its modifications are attributed to the Perseus Digital Library, Tufts University, and reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. The independent English translation and Diotimos editorial matter are © 2026 Diotimos Editions.