Diotimos Library · Plato Collection · Bilingual Edition
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Facing Pages · Branch 40 of 65
Alcibiades I · 124e–125b
Ancient Greek
p. 74ΣΩ. Οἱ τί ἀγαθοί;
ΑΛ. Δῆλον ὅτι οἱ πράττειν τὰ πράγματα.
ΣΩ. Ποῖα; ἆρα τὰ ἱππικά;
ΑΛ. Οὐ δῆτα.
ΣΩ. Παρὰ τοὺς ἱππικοὺς γὰρ ἂν ᾖμεν;
ΑΛ. Ναί.
ΣΩ. Ἀλλὰ τὰ ναυτικὰ λέγεις;
ΑΛ. Οὔ.
ΣΩ. Παρὰ τοὺς ναυτικοὺς γὰρ ἂν ᾖμεν;
ΑΛ. Ναί.
ΣΩ. Ἀλλὰ ποῖα; ἃ τίνες πράττουσιν;
ΑΛ. Ἅπερ Ἀθηναίων οἱ καλοὶ κἀγαθοί.
125aΣΩ. Καλοὺς δὲ κἀγαθοὺς λέγεις τοὺς φρονίμους ἢ τοὺς ἄφρονας;
ΑΛ. Τοὺς φρονίμους.
ΣΩ. Οὐκοῦν ὃ ἕκαστος φρόνιμος, τοῦτ’ ἀγαθός;
ΑΛ. Ναί.
ΣΩ. Ὃ δὲ ἄφρων, πονηρός;
ΑΛ. Πῶς γὰρ οὔ;
ΣΩ. Ἆρ’ οὖν ὁ σκυτοτόμος φρόνιμος εἰς ὑποδημάτων ἐργασίαν;
ΑΛ. Πάνυ γε.
ΣΩ. Ἀγαθὸς ἄρ’ εἰς αὐτά;
ΑΛ. Ἀγαθός.
ΣΩ. Τί δ’; εἰς ἱματίων ἐργασίαν οὐκ ἄφρων ὁ σκυτοτόμος;
ΑΛ. Ναί.
125bΣΩ. Κακὸς ἄρα εἰς τοῦτο;
ΑΛ. Ναί.
ΣΩ. Ὁ αὐτὸς ἄρα τούτῳ γε τῷ λόγῳ κακός τε καὶ ἀγαθός.
ΑΛ. Φαίνεται.
Alcibiades I
p. 75Soc. Good at what?
Alc. Plainly, good at managing affairs.
Soc. What sort of affairs? Horsemanship?
Alc. Certainly not.
Soc. Because for that we would go to the horsemen?
Alc. Yes.
Soc. Seafaring, then, do you mean?
Alc. No.
Soc. Because for that we would go to the seamen?
Alc. Yes.
Soc. Then what sort? Those managed by whom?
Alc. Those that the fine and good among the Athenians manage.1
Soc. 125a By the fine and good do you mean the intelligent or the unintelligent?
Alc. The intelligent.
Soc. And is not each man good at what he is intelligent in?
Alc. Yes.
Soc. And worthless at what he is unintelligent in?
Alc. Of course.
Soc. Well, is the shoemaker intelligent in the making of shoes?
Alc. Certainly.
Soc. Then he is good at it?
Alc. Good.
Soc. What about the making of cloaks: isn’t the shoemaker unintelligent there?
Alc. Yes.
Soc. 125b Then he is bad at that?
Alc. Yes.
Soc. So by this argument, at any rate, the same man is both bad and good.
Alc. It appears so.
Socrates
Reading Alcibiades I · Alcibiades I · 124e–125b
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.