Diotimos Library · Plato Collection · Bilingual Edition
Swipe or use the arrow keys.
Facing Pages · Branch 23 of 65
Alcibiades I · 114d–115a
Ancient Greek
p. 40ΣΩ. Νῦν γοῦν ὑφ’ ὕβρεως μέλλω σε πείθειν τἀναντία οἷς σὺ ἐμὲ οὐκ ἐθέλεις.
ΑΛ. Λέγε δή.
ΣΩ. Ἀποκρίνου μόνον τὰ ἐρωτώμενα.
114eΑΛ. Μή, ἀλλὰ σὺ αὐτὸς λέγε.
ΣΩ. Τί δ’; οὐχ ὅτι μάλιστα βούλει πεισθῆναι;
ΑΛ. Πάντως δήπου.
ΣΩ. Οὐκοῦν εἰ λέγεις ὅτι ταῦθ’ οὕτως ἔχει, μάλιστ’ ἂν εἴης πεπεισμένος;
ΑΛ. Ἔμοιγε δοκεῖ.
ΣΩ. Ἀποκρίνου δή· καὶ ἐὰν μὴ αὐτὸς σὺ σαυτοῦ ἀκούσῃς ὅτι τὰ δίκαια καὶ συμφέροντά ἐστιν, ἄλλῳ γε λέγοντι μὴ πιστεύσῃς.
ΑΛ. Οὔτοι, ἀλλ’ ἀποκριτέον· καὶ γὰρ οὐδὲν οἴομαι βλαβήσεσθαι.
115aΣΩ. Μαντικὸς γὰρ εἶ. καί μοι λέγε· τῶν δικαίων φῂς ἔνια μὲν συμφέρειν, ἔνια δ’ οὔ;
ΑΛ. Ναί.
ΣΩ. Τί δέ; τὰ μὲν καλὰ αὐτῶν εἶναι, τὰ δ’ οὔ;
ΑΛ. Πῶς τοῦτο ἐρωτᾷς;
ΣΩ. Εἴ τις ἤδη σοι ἔδοξεν αἰσχρὰ μέν, δίκαια δὲ πράττειν;
ΑΛ. Οὐκ ἔμοιγε.
ΣΩ. Ἀλλὰ πάντα τὰ δίκαια καὶ καλά;
ΑΛ. Ναί.
ΣΩ. Τί δ’ αὖ τὰ καλά; πότερον πάντα ἀγαθά, ἢ τὰ μέν, τὰ δ’ οὔ;
ΑΛ. Οἴομαι ἔγωγε, ὦ Σώκρατες, ἔνια τῶν καλῶν κακὰ εἶναι.
Alcibiades I
p. 41Soc. This time, at any rate, it is out of insolence that I am going to persuade you of the opposite of what you are unwilling to persuade me of.
Alc. Speak, then.
Soc. Just answer what you are asked.
Alc. 114e No, you speak yourself.
Soc. What? Don’t you want to be persuaded as fully as possible?
Alc. Of course I do.
Soc. Then if you say that this is so, you would be most fully persuaded?
Alc. I think so.
Soc. Answer, then; and if you yourself do not hear it from yourself that just things are also advantageous, don’t believe anyone else who says it, at least.
Alc. I won’t. I must answer, then; and besides, I don’t think I’ll come to any harm.
Soc. 115a Why, you’re a prophet.1 Now tell me: of just things, do you say some are advantageous and some not?
Alc. Yes.
Soc. And again: that some of them are fine, and some not?
Alc. How do you mean that question?
Soc. Has anyone ever seemed to you to do things that were shameful but just?
Alc. Not to me.
Soc. Then all just things are fine as well?
Alc. Yes.
Soc. And again, fine things: are they all good, or some and not others?
Alc. I think, Socrates, that some fine things are bad.
Socrates
Reading Alcibiades I · Alcibiades I · 114d–115a
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.