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English Page · Branch 51 of 65
Alcibiades I · 130b–130d
Ancient Greek
p. 96ΑΛ. Οὐδαμῶς.
ΣΩ. Ἄρχεσθαι γὰρ αὐτὸ εἴπομεν.
ΑΛ. Ναί.
ΣΩ. Οὐκ ἂν δὴ τοῦτό γε εἴη ὃ ζητοῦμεν.
ΑΛ. Οὐκ ἔοικεν.
ΣΩ. Ἀλλ’ ἄρα τὸ συναμφότερον τοῦ σώματος ἄρχει, καὶ ἔστι δὴ τοῦτο ἄνθρωπος;
ΑΛ. Ἴσως δῆτα.
ΣΩ. Πάντων γε ἥκιστα· μὴ γὰρ συνάρχοντος τοῦ ἑτέρου οὐδεμία που μηχανὴ τὸ συναμφότερον ἄρχειν.
ΑΛ. Ὀρθῶς.
130cΣΩ. Ἐπειδὴ δ’ οὔτε σῶμα οὔτε τὸ συναμφότερόν ἐστιν ἄνθρωπος, λείπεται οἶμαι ἢ μηδὲν αὔτ’ εἶναι, ἢ εἴπερ τί ἐστι, μηδὲν ἄλλο τὸν ἄνθρωπον συμβαίνειν ἢ ψυχήν.
ΑΛ. Κομιδῇ μὲν οὖν.
ΣΩ. Ἔτι οὖν τι σαφέστερον δεῖ ἀποδειχθῆναί σοι ὅτι ἡ ψυχή ἐστιν ἄνθρωπος;
ΑΛ. Μὰ Δία, ἀλλ’ ἱκανῶς μοι δοκεῖ ἔχειν.
ΣΩ. Εἰ δέ γε μὴ ἀκριβῶς ἀλλὰ καὶ μετρίως, ἐξαρκεῖ ἡμῖν· ἀκριβῶς μὲν γὰρ τότε εἰσόμεθα, ὅταν εὕρωμεν ὃ νυνδὴ 130d παρήλθομεν διὰ τὸ πολλῆς εἶναι σκέψεως.
ΑΛ. Τί τοῦτο;
ΣΩ. Ὃ ἄρτι οὕτω πως ἐρρήθη, ὅτι πρῶτον σκεπτέον εἴη αὐτὸ τὸ αὐτό· νῦν δὲ ἀντὶ τοῦ αὐτοῦ αὐτὸ ἕκαστον ἐσκέμμεθα ὅτι ἐστί. καὶ ἴσως ἐξαρκέσει· οὐ γάρ που κυριώτερόν γε οὐδὲν ἂν ἡμῶν αὐτῶν φήσαιμεν ἢ τὴν ψυχήν.
ΑΛ. Οὐ δῆτα.
ΣΩ. Οὐκοῦν καλῶς ἔχει οὕτω νομίζειν, ἐμὲ καὶ σὲ προσ-
Alcibiades I
p. 97Alc. Not at all.
Soc. For we said that it is ruled.
Alc. Yes.
Soc. Then this would not be what we are seeking.
Alc. It seems not.
Soc. Well, then, is it the two together that rule the body, and is this man?
Alc. Perhaps it is.
Soc. Least of all: for if one of the two does not share in the ruling, there is surely no way for the two together to rule.
Alc. Rightly said.
Soc. 130c But since neither body nor the two together is man, what remains, I think, is either that man is nothing, or, if he is anything, that man turns out to be nothing other than soul.
Alc. Exactly so.
Soc. Must it be proved to you still more clearly, then, that the soul is man?
Alc. No, by Zeus: I think it is good enough as it stands.
Soc. Well, if not precisely, then adequately at least, that suffices for us. For we shall know it precisely once we have discovered what we 130d passed over just now, because it needed much looking into.
Alc. What is that?
Soc. What was said just now, more or less: that we must first look into the self itself. But as it is, instead of the self, we have looked into what each thing itself is. And perhaps that will suffice; for surely we would not say that anything of ourselves has more authority than the soul.1
Alc. Certainly not.
Soc. Then is it well to hold it so: that you and I
Socrates
Reading Alcibiades I · Alcibiades I · 130b–130d
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.