Diotimos Library · Plato Collection · Bilingual Edition
Swipe or use the arrow keys.
Facing Pages · Branch 28 of 65
Alcibiades I · 117a–117d
Ancient Greek
p. 50ΑΛ. Οἶμαι ἔγωγε.
ΣΩ. Περὶ ὧν ἄρα ἄκων τἀναντία ἀποκρίνῃ, δῆλον ὅτι περὶ τούτων οὐκ οἶσθα.
ΑΛ. Εἰκός γε.
ΣΩ. Οὐκοῦν καὶ περὶ τῶν δικαίων καὶ ἀδίκων καὶ καλῶν καὶ αἰσχρῶν καὶ κακῶν καὶ ἀγαθῶν καὶ συμφερόντων καὶ μὴ ἀποκρινόμενος φῂς πλανᾶσθαι; εἶτα οὐ δῆλον ὅτι διὰ τὸ μὴ εἰδέναι περὶ αὐτῶν, διὰ ταῦτα πλανᾷ;
117bΑΛ. Ἔμοιγε.
ΣΩ. Ἆρ’ οὖν οὕτω καὶ ἔχει· ἐπειδάν τίς τι μὴ εἰδῇ, ἀναγκαῖον περὶ τούτου πλανᾶσθαι τὴν ψυχήν;
ΑΛ. Πῶς γὰρ οὔ;
ΣΩ. Τί οὖν; οἶσθα ὅντινα τρόπον ἀναβήσῃ εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν;
ΑΛ. Μὰ Δί’ οὐκ ἔγωγε.
ΣΩ. Ἦ καὶ πλανᾶταί σου ἡ δόξα περὶ ταῦτα;
ΑΛ. Οὐ δῆτα.
ΣΩ. Τὸ δ’ αἴτιον οἶσθα ἢ ἐγὼ φράσω;
ΑΛ. Φράσον.
ΣΩ. Ὅτι, ὦ φίλε, οὐκ οἴει αὐτὸ ἐπίστασθαι οὐκ ἐπιστάμενος.
117cΑΛ. Πῶς αὖ τοῦτο λέγεις;
ΣΩ. Ὅρα καὶ σὺ κοινῇ. ἃ μὴ ἐπίστασαι, γιγνώσκεις δὲ ὅτι οὐκ ἐπίστασαι, πλανᾷ περὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα; ὥσπερ περὶ ὄψου σκευασίας οἶσθα δήπου ὅτι οὐκ οἶσθα;
ΑΛ. Πάνυ γε.
ΣΩ. Πότερον οὖν αὐτὸς περὶ ταῦτα δοξάζεις ὅπως χρὴ σκευάζειν καὶ πλανᾷ, ἢ τῷ ἐπισταμένῳ ἐπιτρέπεις;
ΑΛ. Οὕτως.
ΣΩ. Τί δ’ εἰ ἐν νηῒ πλέοις, ἆρα δοξάζοις ἂν πότερον 117d χρὴ τὸν οἴακα εἴσω ἄγειν ἢ ἔξω, καὶ ἅτε οὐκ εἰδὼς πλανῷο ἄν, ἢ τῷ κυβερνήτῃ ἐπιτρέψας ἂν ἡσυχίαν ἄγοις;
Alcibiades I
p. 51Alc. I think so.
Soc. So about the things on which you give contrary answers against your will, it is plain that you do not know them.
Alc. Likely, at any rate.
Soc. And about what is just and unjust, fine and shameful, bad and good, advantageous and not, you say too that you wander in answering? Then is it not plain that it is because you do not know about them that you wander?
Alc. 117b To me, yes.
Soc. Is it so, then: whenever someone does not know a thing, his soul must wander about it?
Alc. Of course.
Soc. Well then: do you know in what way you will go up to heaven?
Alc. By Zeus, I don’t.
Soc. And does your opinion wander about that too?
Alc. Certainly not.
Soc. Do you know the reason, or shall I tell you?
Alc. Tell me.
Soc. Because, my friend, not knowing it, you do not think you know it.
Alc. 117c How do you mean that, again?
Soc. You too, see it along with me. The things you do not know, but know that you do not know: do you wander about things like that? As about the preparing of a dish: you know, surely, that you don’t know?
Alc. Certainly.
Soc. Then do you form opinions yourself about how it should be prepared, and wander, or do you leave it to the one who knows?
Alc. The latter.
Soc. And if you were sailing in a ship, would you form opinions on whether one 117d ought to push the tiller in or out, and wander for not knowing, or would you leave it to the pilot and keep quiet?
Socrates
Reading Alcibiades I · Alcibiades I · 117a–117d
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.