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Facing Pages · Branch 27 of 65
Alcibiades I · 116c–117a
Ancient Greek
p. 48ΣΩ. Μνημονεύεις οὖν περὶ τῶν δικαίων πῶς ὡμολογήσαμεν;
ΑΛ. Οἶμαί γε τοὺς τὰ δίκαια πράττοντας ἀναγκαῖον εἶναι καλὰ πράττειν.
ΣΩ. Οὐκοῦν καὶ τοὺς τὰ καλὰ ἀγαθά;
ΑΛ. Ναί.
116dΣΩ. Τὰ δὲ ἀγαθὰ συμφέρειν;
ΑΛ. Ναί.
ΣΩ. Τὰ δίκαια ἄρα, ὦ Ἀλκιβιάδη, συμφέροντά ἐστιν.
ΑΛ. Ἔοικεν.
ΣΩ. Τί οὖν; ταῦτα οὐ σὺ ὁ λέγων, ἐγὼ δὲ ὁ ἐρωτῶν;
ΑΛ. Φαίνομαι, ὡς ἔοικα.
ΣΩ. Εἰ οὖν τις ἀνίσταται συμβουλεύσων εἴτε Ἀθηναίοις εἴτε Πεπαρηθίοις, οἰόμενος γιγνώσκειν τὰ δίκαια καὶ τὰ ἄδικα, φήσει δ’ εἶναι τὰ δίκαια κακὰ ἐνίοτε, ἄλλο τι ἢ καταγελῴης ἂν αὐτοῦ, ἐπειδήπερ τυγχάνεις καὶ σὺ λέγων 116e ὅτι ταὐτά ἐστι δίκαιά τε καὶ συμφέροντα;
ΑΛ. Ἀλλὰ μὰ τοὺς θεούς, ὦ Σώκρατες, οὐκ οἶδ’ ἔγωγε οὐδ’ ὅτι λέγω, ἀλλ’ ἀτεχνῶς ἔοικα ἀτόπως ἔχοντι· τοτὲ μὲν γάρ μοι ἕτερα δοκεῖ σοῦ ἐρωτῶντος, τοτὲ δ’ ἄλλα.
ΣΩ. Εἶτα τοῦτο, ὦ φίλε, ἀγνοεῖς τὸ πάθημα τί ἐστιν;
ΑΛ. Πάνυ γε.
ΣΩ. Οἴει ἂν οὖν, εἴ τις ἐρωτῴη σε δύο ὀφθαλμοὺς ἢ τρεῖς ἔχεις, καὶ δύο χεῖρας ἢ τέτταρας, ἢ ἄλλο τι τῶν τοιούτων, τοτὲ μὲν ἕτερα ἂν ἀποκρίνασθαι, τοτὲ δὲ ἄλλα, ἢ ἀεὶ τὰ αὐτά;
117aΑΛ. Δέδοικα μὲν ἔγωγε ἤδη περὶ ἐμαυτοῦ, οἶμαι μέντοι τὰ αὐτά.
ΣΩ. Οὐκοῦν ὅτι οἶσθα; τοῦτ’ αἴτιον;
Alcibiades I
p. 49Soc. Do you remember, then, what we agreed about just things?
Alc. I think, at least, that those who do just things must do fine things.
Soc. And that those who do fine things do good things?
Alc. Yes.
Soc. 116d And that good things are advantageous?
Alc. Yes.
Soc. So just things, Alcibiades, are advantageous.
Alc. It seems so.
Soc. Well then: aren’t you the one saying these things, and I the one asking?
Alc. I appear to be, it seems.
Soc. Then if someone stands up to advise the Athenians or the Peparethians,1 thinking he knows what is just and unjust, and says that just things are sometimes bad, would you do anything but laugh at him, since you yourself are in fact saying 116e that what is just and what is advantageous are the same?
Alc. But by the gods, Socrates, I don’t even know what I’m saying; I am simply like a man in a strange state: at one time one thing seems so to me as you question me, and at another time another.
Soc. And you are ignorant, my friend, of what this condition is?
Alc. Certainly.
Soc. Do you think, then, that if someone asked you whether you have two eyes or three, and two hands or four, or anything else of that kind, you would answer at one time one thing and at another time another, or always the same?
Alc. 117a By now I’m afraid for myself; but still, I think the same.
Soc. Isn’t that because you know? Is that the reason?
Socrates
Reading Alcibiades I · Alcibiades I · 116c–117a
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.