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Facing Pages · Branch 53 of 65
Alcibiades I · 131b–131e
Ancient Greek
p. 100ΣΩ. Οὐκοῦν πάλιν ὅστις αὖ σῶμα θεραπεύει, τὰ ἑαυτοῦ ἀλλ’ οὐχ αὑτὸν θεραπεύει;
ΑΛ. Κινδυνεύει.
ΣΩ. Ὅστις δέ γε τὰ χρήματα, οὔθ’ ἑαυτὸν οὔτε τὰ 131c ἑαυτοῦ, ἀλλ’ ἔτι πορρωτέρω τῶν ἑαυτοῦ;
ΑΛ. Ἔμοιγε δοκεῖ.
ΣΩ. Οὐ τὰ αὑτοῦ ἄρα ἔτι πράττει ὁ χρηματιστής.
ΑΛ. Ὀρθῶς.
ΣΩ. Εἰ ἄρα τις γέγονεν ἐραστὴς τοῦ Ἀλκιβιάδου σώματος, οὐκ Ἀλκιβιάδου ἄρα ἠράσθη ἀλλά τινος τῶν Ἀλκιβιάδου.
ΑΛ. Ἀληθῆ λέγεις.
ΣΩ. Ὅστις δέ σου τῆς ψυχῆς ἐρᾷ;
ΑΛ. Ἀνάγκη φαίνεται ἐκ τοῦ λόγου.
ΣΩ. Οὐκοῦν ὁ μὲν τοῦ σώματός σου ἐρῶν, ἐπειδὴ λήγει ἀνθοῦν, ἀπιὼν οἴχεται;
ΑΛ. Φαίνεται.
131dΣΩ. Ὁ δέ γε τῆς ψυχῆς ἐρῶν οὐκ ἄπεισιν, ἕως ἂν ἐπὶ τὸ βέλτιον ἴῃ;
ΑΛ. Εἰκός γε.
ΣΩ. Οὐκοῦν ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ οὐκ ἀπιὼν ἀλλὰ παραμένων λήγοντος τοῦ σώματος, τῶν ἄλλων ἀπεληλυθότων.
ΑΛ. Εὖ γε ποιῶν, ὦ Σώκρατες· καὶ μηδὲ ἀπέλθοις.
ΣΩ. Προθυμοῦ τοίνυν ὅτι κάλλιστος εἶναι.
ΑΛ. Ἀλλὰ προθυμήσομαι.
131eΣΩ. Ὡς οὕτω γέ σοι ἔχει· οὔτ’ ἐγένεθ’, ὡς ἔοικεν, Ἀλκιβιάδῃ τῷ Κλεινίου ἐραστὴς οὔτ’ ἔστιν ἀλλ’ ἢ εἷς μόνος, καὶ οὗτος ἀγαπητός, Σωκράτης ὁ Σωφρονίσκου καὶ Φαιναρέτης.
ΑΛ. Ἀληθῆ.
ΣΩ. Οὐκοῦν ἔφησθα σμικρὸν φθῆναί με προσελθόντα σοι,
Alcibiades I
p. 101Soc. Then again, whoever tends a body tends what is his own, and not himself?
Alc. It looks like it.
Soc. And whoever tends his money tends neither himself nor what 131c is his own, but things still further off than what is his own?
Alc. I think so.
Soc. Then the money-maker is no longer doing his own business.
Alc. Rightly said.
Soc. Then if anyone has become a lover of Alcibiades’ body, it was not Alcibiades he loved, but something of Alcibiades’.
Alc. What you say is true.
Soc. But whoever loves your soul?
Alc. Necessarily, it appears, from the argument.
Soc. Then the lover of your body, when it stops blooming, takes himself off and is gone?
Alc. It appears so.
Soc. 131d But the lover of your soul does not go away, so long as it goes toward what is better?
Alc. Likely, at any rate.
Soc. Then I am the one who does not go away but stays, now that your body is fading and the others have gone.
Alc. And good of you, Socrates; may you never go away.
Soc. Then be eager to be as beautiful as you can.
Alc. Well, I will be eager.
Soc. 131e For this is how it stands with you: Alcibiades son of Cleinias, it seems, neither had nor has any lover but one alone, and he one to be cherished, Socrates the son of Sophroniscus and Phaenarete.1
Alc. True.
Soc. Then you said that I had beaten you to it by a whisker in coming to you,
Socrates
Reading Alcibiades I · Alcibiades I · 131b–131e
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.