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English Page · Branch 19 of 65
Alcibiades I · 112c–112e
Ancient Greek
p. 32ΣΩ. Οἶμαι δὲ καὶ τοῖς ἐν Τανάγρᾳ Ἀθηναίων τε καὶ Λακεδαιμονίων καὶ Βοιωτῶν ἀποθανοῦσι, καὶ τοῖς ὕστερον ἐν Κορωνείᾳ, ἐν οἷς καὶ ὁ σὸς πατὴρ [Κλεινίας] ἐτελεύτησεν, οὐδὲ περὶ ἑνὸς ἄλλου ἡ διαφορὰ ἢ περὶ τοῦ δικαίου καὶ ἀδίκου τοὺς θανάτους καὶ τὰς μάχας πεποίηκεν· ἦ γάρ;
ΑΛ. Ἀληθῆ λέγεις.
ΣΩ. Τούτους οὖν φῶμεν ἐπίστασθαι περὶ ὧν οὕτως 112d σφόδρα διαφέρονται, ὥστε ἀμφισβητοῦντες ἀλλήλοις τὰ ἔσχατα σφᾶς αὐτοὺς ἐργάζονται;
ΑΛ. Οὐ φαίνεταί γε.
ΣΩ. Οὐκοῦν εἰς τοὺς τοιούτους διδασκάλους ἀναφέρεις οὓς ὁμολογεῖς αὐτὸς μὴ εἰδέναι;
ΑΛ. Ἔοικα.
ΣΩ. Πῶς οὖν εἰκός σε εἰδέναι τὰ δίκαια καὶ τὰ ἄδικα, περὶ ὧν οὕτω πλανᾷ καὶ οὔτε μαθὼν φαίνῃ παρ’ οὐδενὸς οὔτ’ αὐτὸς ἐξευρών;
ΑΛ. Ἐκ μὲν ὧν σὺ λέγεις οὐκ εἰκός.
112eΣΩ. Ὁρᾷς αὖ τοῦθ’ ὡς οὐ καλῶς εἶπες, ὦ Ἀλκιβιάδη;
ΑΛ. Τὸ ποῖον;
ΣΩ. Ὅτι ἐμὲ φῂς ταῦτα λέγειν.
ΑΛ. Τί δέ; οὐ σὺ λέγεις ὡς ἐγὼ οὐδὲν ἐπίσταμαι περὶ τῶν δικαίων καὶ ἀδίκων;
ΣΩ. Οὐ μέντοι.
ΑΛ. Ἀλλ’ ἐγώ;
ΣΩ. Ναί.
ΑΛ. Πῶς δή;
ΣΩ. Ὧδε εἴσῃ. ἐάν σε ἔρωμαι τὸ ἓν καὶ τὰ δύο πότερα πλείω ἐστί, φήσεις ὅτι τὰ δύο;
ΑΛ. Ἔγωγε.
ΣΩ. Πόσῳ;
Alcibiades I
p. 33Soc. And for the Athenians and Spartans and Boeotians who died at Tanagra too, I think, and for those who died later at Coronea, among whom your father also met his end,1 it was a disagreement about nothing else than the just and the unjust that caused the deaths and the battles. Isn’t that so?
Alc. What you say is true.
Soc. Then are we to say that these people know about the things over which they 112d disagree so violently that, disputing with one another, they do the worst to one another?
Alc. It doesn’t appear so, no.
Soc. So it is to teachers like these that you refer it, whom you yourself agree do not know?
Alc. So it seems.
Soc. How, then, is it likely that you know what is just and unjust, on which you wander so, and appear neither to have learned them from anyone nor to have discovered them yourself?
Alc. From what you say, at least, it is not likely.
Soc. 112e Do you see, Alcibiades, that here again you have not spoken well?
Alc. In what?
Soc. In saying that it is I who am saying these things.
Alc. What? Aren’t you saying that I know nothing about what is just and unjust?
Soc. No, indeed.
Alc. I am, then?
Soc. Yes.
Alc. How so?
Soc. You will know it this way. If I ask you which is more, one or two, will you say two?
Alc. I will.
Soc. By how much?
Socrates
Reading Alcibiades I · Alcibiades I · 112c–112e
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.