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Alcibiades I · 128e–129b
Ancient Greek
p. 90128eΣΩ. Ἀλλὰ τοσόνδε γε ὡμολόγηται, ὅτι οὐχ ᾗ ἂν τῶν ἡμετέρων καὶ ὁτιοῦν βέλτιον ποιοῖμεν, ἀλλ’ ᾗ ἡμᾶς αὐτούς;
ΑΛ. Ἀληθῆ λέγεις.
ΣΩ. Ἦ οὖν ἔγνωμεν ἄν ποτε τίς τέχνη ὑπόδημα βέλτιον ποιεῖ, μὴ εἰδότες ὑπόδημα;
ΑΛ. Ἀδύνατον.
ΣΩ. Οὐδέ γε τίς τέχνη δακτυλίους βελτίους ποιεῖ, ἀγνοοῦντες δακτύλιον.
ΑΛ. Ἀληθῆ.
ΣΩ. Τί δέ; τίς τέχνη βελτίω ποιεῖ αὐτόν, ἆρ’ ἄν ποτε γνοῖμεν ἀγνοοῦντες τί ποτ’ ἐσμὲν αὐτοί;
129aΑΛ. Ἀδύνατον.
ΣΩ. Πότερον οὖν δὴ ῥᾴδιον τυγχάνει τὸ γνῶναι ἑαυτόν, καί τις ἦν φαῦλος ὁ τοῦτο ἀναθεὶς εἰς τὸν ἐν Πυθοῖ νεών, ἢ χαλεπόν τι καὶ οὐχὶ παντός;
ΑΛ. Ἐμοὶ μέν, ὦ Σώκρατες, πολλάκις μὲν ἔδοξε παντὸς εἶναι, πολλάκις δὲ παγχάλεπον.
ΣΩ. Ἀλλ’, ὦ Ἀλκιβιάδη, εἴτε ῥᾴδιον εἴτε μή ἐστιν, ὅμως γε ἡμῖν ὧδ’ ἔχει· γνόντες μὲν αὐτὸ τάχ’ ἂν γνοῖμεν τὴν ἐπιμέλειαν ἡμῶν αὐτῶν, ἀγνοοῦντες δὲ οὐκ ἄν ποτε.
ΑΛ. Ἔστι ταῦτα.
129bΣΩ. Φέρε δή, τίν’ ἂν τρόπον εὑρεθείη αὐτὸ ταὐτό; οὕτω μὲν γὰρ ἂν τάχ’ εὕροιμεν τί ποτ’ ἐσμὲν αὐτοί, τούτου δ’ ἔτι ὄντες ἐν ἀγνοίᾳ ἀδύνατοί που.
ΑΛ. Ὀρθῶς λέγεις.
ΣΩ. Ἔχε οὖν πρὸς Διός. τῷ διαλέγῃ σὺ νῦν; ἄλλο τι ἢ ἐμοί;
ΑΛ. Ναί.
ΣΩ. Οὐκοῦν καὶ ἐγὼ σοί;
Alcibiades I
p. 91Soc. 128e But this much, at least, has been agreed: that it is not the craft by which we would make anything at all of what is ours better, but the one by which we would make ourselves better?
Alc. What you say is true.
Soc. Well, could we ever have known what craft makes a shoe better, if we did not know a shoe?
Alc. Impossible.
Soc. Nor what craft makes rings better, being ignorant of a ring.
Alc. True.
Soc. Well then: what craft makes oneself better, could we ever know that, while we are ignorant of what on earth we ourselves are?
Alc. 129a Impossible.
Soc. Now, is it in fact an easy thing to know oneself, and was the one who dedicated this in the temple at Pytho a nobody? Or is it something hard, and not for everyone?1
Alc. To me, Socrates, it has often seemed to be for everyone, and often very hard.
Soc. Well, Alcibiades, whether it is easy or not, this is still how it stands with us: if we know it, we might perhaps know the care of ourselves, but if we are ignorant of it, never.
Alc. That is so.
Soc. 129b Come, then: in what way could the self itself be discovered? For in that way we might perhaps discover what on earth we ourselves are; but while we are still in ignorance of it, we are surely unable to.2
Alc. What you say is right.
Soc. Hold on, then, for Zeus’ sake. Whom are you talking with now? With me, isn’t it?
Alc. Yes.
Soc. And I with you?
Socrates
Reading Alcibiades I · Alcibiades I · 128e–129b
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.