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English Page · Branch 26 of 65
Alcibiades I · 116a–116c
Ancient Greek
p. 46ΑΛ. Ναί.
ΣΩ. Τὴν ἄρ’ ἐν τῷ πολέμῳ τοῖς φίλοις βοήθειαν λέγων καλὴν μὲν εἶναι, κακὴν δέ, οὐδὲν διαφερόντως λέγεις ἢ εἰ προσεῖπες αὐτὴν ἀγαθὴν μέν, κακὴν δέ.
ΑΛ. Ἀληθῆ μοι δοκεῖς λέγειν, ὦ Σώκρατες.
ΣΩ. Οὐδὲν ἄρα τῶν καλῶν, καθ’ ὅσον καλόν, κακόν, οὐδὲ τῶν αἰσχρῶν, καθ’ ὅσον αἰσχρόν, ἀγαθόν.
116bΑΛ. Οὐ φαίνεται.
ΣΩ. Ἔτι τοίνυν καὶ ὧδε σκέψαι. ὅστις καλῶς πράττει, οὐχὶ καὶ εὖ πράττει;
ΑΛ. Ναί.
ΣΩ. Οἱ δ’ εὖ πράττοντες οὐκ εὐδαίμονες;
ΑΛ. Πῶς γὰρ οὔ;
ΣΩ. Οὐκοῦν εὐδαίμονες δι’ ἀγαθῶν κτῆσιν;
ΑΛ. Μάλιστα.
ΣΩ. Κτῶνται δὲ ταῦτα τῷ εὖ καὶ καλῶς πράττειν;
ΑΛ. Ναί.
ΣΩ. Τὸ εὖ ἄρα πράττειν ἀγαθόν;
ΑΛ. Πῶς δ’ οὔ;
ΣΩ. Οὐκοῦν καλὸν ἡ εὐπραγία;
ΑΛ. Ναί.
116cΣΩ. Ταὐτὸν ἄρα ἐφάνη ἡμῖν πάλιν αὖ καλόν τε καὶ ἀγαθόν.
ΑΛ. Φαίνεται.
ΣΩ. Ὅτι ἂν ἄρα εὕρωμεν καλόν, καὶ ἀγαθὸν εὑρήσομεν ἔκ γε τούτου τοῦ λόγου.
ΑΛ. Ἀνάγκη.
ΣΩ. Τί δέ; τὰ ἀγαθὰ συμφέρει ἢ οὔ;
ΑΛ. Συμφέρει.
Alcibiades I
p. 47Alc. Yes.
Soc. So when you say that the help given to friends in war is fine, but bad, you are saying nothing different than if you had called it good, but bad.
Alc. I think what you say is true, Socrates.
Soc. So nothing fine, insofar as it is fine, is bad, and nothing shameful, insofar as it is shameful, is good.
Alc. 116b It appears not.
Soc. Then look into it this way as well. Whoever does finely, does he not also do well?1
Alc. Yes.
Soc. And those who do well, are they not happy?
Alc. Of course.
Soc. And they are happy through the acquisition of good things?
Alc. Most certainly.
Soc. And they acquire these by doing well and finely?
Alc. Yes.
Soc. So doing well is good?
Alc. How could it not be?
Soc. And is not doing well fine?
Alc. Yes.
Soc. 116c So once again the same thing has appeared to us both fine and good.
Alc. So it appears.
Soc. Whatever we find to be fine, then, we shall also find to be good, from this argument at least.
Alc. Necessarily.
Soc. What about this: are good things advantageous or not?
Alc. Advantageous.
Socrates
Reading Alcibiades I · Alcibiades I · 116a–116c
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.