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Ancient Greek Page · Branch 52 of 65
Alcibiades I · 130d–131b
Ancient Greek
p. 98ομιλεῖν ἀλλήλοις τοῖς λόγοις χρωμένους τῇ ψυχῇ πρὸς τὴν ψυχήν;
130eΑΛ. Πάνυ μὲν οὖν.
ΣΩ. Τοῦτ’ ἄρα ἦν ὃ καὶ ὀλίγῳ ἔμπροσθεν εἴπομεν, ὅτι Σωκράτης Ἀλκιβιάδῃ διαλέγεται λόγῳ χρώμενος, οὐ πρὸς τὸ σὸν πρόσωπον, ὡς ἔοικεν, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὸν Ἀλκιβιάδην ποιούμενος τοὺς λόγους· τοῦτο δέ ἐστιν ἡ ψυχή.
ΑΛ. Ἔμοιγε δοκεῖ.
ΣΩ. Ψυχὴν ἄρα ἡμᾶς κελεύει γνωρίσαι ὁ ἐπιτάττων γνῶναι ἑαυτόν.
131aΑΛ. Ἔοικεν.
ΣΩ. Ὅστις ἄρα τῶν τοῦ σώματός τι γιγνώσκει, τὰ αὑτοῦ ἀλλ’ οὐχ αὑτὸν ἔγνωκεν.
ΑΛ. Οὕτως.
ΣΩ. Οὐδεὶς ἄρα τῶν ἰατρῶν ἑαυτὸν γιγνώσκει, καθ’ ὅσον ἰατρός, οὐδὲ τῶν παιδοτριβῶν, καθ’ ὅσον παιδοτρίβης.
ΑΛ. Οὐκ ἔοικεν.
ΣΩ. Πολλοῦ ἄρα δέουσιν οἱ γεωργοὶ καὶ οἱ ἄλλοι δημιουργοὶ γιγνώσκειν ἑαυτούς. οὐδὲ γὰρ τὰ ἑαυτῶν οὗτοί γε, ὡς ἔοικεν, ἀλλ’ ἔτι πορρωτέρω τῶν ἑαυτῶν κατά γε τὰς 131b τέχνας ἃς ἔχουσιν· τὰ γὰρ τοῦ σώματος γιγνώσκουσιν, οἷς τοῦτο θεραπεύεται.
ΑΛ. Ἀληθῆ λέγεις.
ΣΩ. Εἰ ἄρα σωφροσύνη ἐστὶ τὸ ἑαυτὸν γιγνώσκειν, οὐδεὶς τούτων σώφρων κατὰ τὴν τέχνην.
ΑΛ. Οὔ μοι δοκεῖ.
ΣΩ. Διὰ ταῦτα δὴ καὶ βάναυσοι αὗται αἱ τέχναι δοκοῦσιν εἶναι καὶ οὐκ ἀνδρὸς ἀγαθοῦ μαθήματα.
ΑΛ. Πάνυ μὲν οὖν.
Alcibiades I
p. 99converse with each other, using words, soul to soul?
Alc. 130e Certainly.
Soc. Then this was what we said a little earlier too: that Socrates, using speech, talks with Alcibiades, addressing his words not to your face, it seems, but to Alcibiades; and that is the soul.
Alc. I think so.
Soc. Then it is the soul that we are bidden to come to know by the one who enjoins us to know ourselves.
Alc. 131a It seems so.
Soc. Then whoever knows something about the body knows what is his own, but not himself.
Alc. Just so.
Soc. Then no doctor knows himself, insofar as he is a doctor, nor any trainer, insofar as he is a trainer.
Alc. It seems not.
Soc. Then the farmers and the other craftsmen are far from knowing themselves. For they do not even know what is their own, it seems, but things still further off than what is their own, at least so far as the 131b crafts they practise go: for they know what belongs to the body, the things by which it is tended.
Alc. What you say is true.
Soc. Then if temperance is knowing oneself, none of these is temperate so far as his craft goes.
Alc. I don’t think so.
Soc. That, indeed, is why these crafts are thought to be menial, and not a good man’s subjects.1
Alc. Certainly.
Socrates
Reading Alcibiades I · Alcibiades I · 130d–131b
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.