Diotimos Library · Plato Collection · Bilingual Edition
Swipe or use the arrow keys.
English Page · Branch 30 of 65
Alcibiades I · 118a–118d
Ancient Greek
p. 54ΑΛ. Οὐ δῆτα.
ΣΩ. Οὐκοῦν περὶ ταῦτα σὺ φῂς πλανᾶσθαι;
ΑΛ. Ναί.
ΣΩ. Εἰ δὲ πλανᾷ, ἆρ’ οὐ δῆλον ἐκ τῶν ἔμπροσθεν ὅτι 118b οὐ μόνον ἀγνοεῖς τὰ μέγιστα, ἀλλὰ καὶ οὐκ εἰδὼς οἴει αὐτὰ εἰδέναι;
ΑΛ. Κινδυνεύω.
ΣΩ. Βαβαῖ ἄρα, ὦ Ἀλκιβιάδη, οἷον πάθος πέπονθας· ὃ ἐγὼ ὀνομάζειν μὲν ὀκνῶ, ὅμως δέ, ἐπειδὴ μόνω ἐσμέν, ῥητέον. ἀμαθίᾳ γὰρ συνοικεῖς, ὦ βέλτιστε, τῇ ἐσχάτῃ, ὡς ὁ λόγος σου κατηγορεῖ καὶ σὺ σαυτοῦ· διὸ καὶ ᾄττεις ἄρα πρὸς τὰ πολιτικὰ πρὶν παιδευθῆναι. πέπονθας δὲ τοῦτο οὐ σὺ μόνος, ἀλλὰ καὶ οἱ πολλοὶ τῶν πραττόντων τὰ τῆσδε 118c τῆς πόλεως, πλὴν ὀλίγων γε καὶ ἴσως τοῦ σοῦ ἐπιτρόπου Περικλέους.
ΑΛ. Λέγεταί γέ τοι, ὦ Σώκρατες, οὐκ ἀπὸ τοῦ αὐτομάτου σοφὸς γεγονέναι, ἀλλὰ πολλοῖς καὶ σοφοῖς συγγεγονέναι, καὶ Πυθοκλείδῃ καὶ Ἀναξαγόρᾳ· καὶ νῦν ἔτι τηλικοῦτος ὢν Δάμωνι σύνεστιν αὐτοῦ τούτου ἕνεκα.
ΣΩ. Τί οὖν; ἤδη τιν’ εἶδες σοφὸν ὁτιοῦν ἀδυνατοῦντα ποιῆσαι ἄλλον σοφὸν ἅπερ αὐτός; ὥσπερ ὅς σε ἐδίδαξεν γράμματα, αὐτός τ’ ἦν σοφὸς καὶ σὲ ἐποίησε τῶν τε ἄλλων ὅντιν’ ἐβούλετο· ἦ γάρ;
ΑΛ. Ναί.
118dΣΩ. Οὐκοῦν καὶ σὺ ὁ παρ’ ἐκείνου μαθὼν ἄλλον οἷός τε ἔσῃ;
ΑΛ. Ναί.
ΣΩ. Καὶ ὁ κιθαριστὴς δὲ καὶ ὁ παιδοτρίβης ὡσαύτως;
Alcibiades I
p. 55Alc. Certainly not.
Soc. And it is about these that you say you wander?
Alc. Yes.
Soc. And if you wander, is it not plain from what went before that 118b you are not only ignorant of the greatest things, but also, not knowing them, think you know them?
Alc. It seems I am.
Soc. Oh dear, Alcibiades, what a condition you are in! I shrink from naming it, but all the same, since there are just the two of us, it must be said. For you are living with stupidity, my excellent friend, of the most extreme kind, as the argument accuses you and you accuse yourself; and that, it seems, is why you are darting into politics before you have been educated. And you are not alone in this condition: so are most of those who manage the affairs of this 118c city, except for a few, and perhaps your guardian Pericles.
Alc. Well, Socrates, he at least is said not to have become wise of himself, but to have kept company with many wise men, Pythocleides and Anaxagoras; and even now, at his age, he keeps company with Damon for this very purpose.1
Soc. Well then: have you ever yet seen anyone wise in anything at all who was unable to make another wise in what he was wise in himself? Just as the man who taught you your letters was wise himself and made you so, and anyone else he wished. Isn’t that so?
Alc. Yes.
Soc. 118d And you too, having learned from him, will be able to make another so?
Alc. Yes.
Soc. And the lyre-master and the trainer likewise?
Socrates
Reading Alcibiades I · Alcibiades I · 118a–118d
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.