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Alcibiades I · 132c–133a
Ancient Greek
p. 104ΣΩ. Τίν’ οὖν ἂν τρόπον γνοῖμεν αὐτὸ ἐναργέστατα; ἐπειδὴ τοῦτο γνόντες, ὡς ἔοικεν, καὶ ἡμᾶς αὐτοὺς γνωσόμεθα. ἆρα πρὸς θεῶν εὖ λέγοντος οὗ νυνδὴ ἐμνήσθημεν τοῦ Δελφικοῦ γράμματος οὐ συνίεμεν;
ΑΛ. Τὸ ποῖόν τι διανοούμενος λέγεις, ὦ Σώκρατες;
132dΣΩ. Ἐγώ σοι φράσω, ὅ γε ὑποπτεύω λέγειν καὶ συμβουλεύειν ἡμῖν τοῦτο τὸ γράμμα. κινδυνεύει γὰρ οὐδὲ πολλαχοῦ εἶναι παράδειγμα αὐτοῦ, ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὴν ὄψιν μόνον.
ΑΛ. Πῶς τοῦτο λέγεις;
ΣΩ. Σκόπει καὶ σύ. εἰ ἡμῶν τῷ ὄμματι ὥσπερ ἀνθρώπῳ συμβουλεῦον εἶπεν “ἰδὲ σαυτόν,” πῶς ἂν ὑπελάβομεν τί παραινεῖν; ἆρα οὐχὶ εἰς τοῦτο βλέπειν, εἰς ὃ βλέπων ὁ ὀφθαλμὸς ἔμελλεν αὑτὸν ἰδεῖν;
ΑΛ. Δῆλον.
ΣΩ. Ἐννοῶμεν δὴ εἰς τί βλέποντες τῶν ὄντων ἐκεῖνό 132e τε ὁρῷμεν ἅμα ἂν καὶ ἡμᾶς αὐτούς;
ΑΛ. Δῆλον δή, ὦ Σώκρατες, ὅτι εἰς κάτοπτρά τε καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα.
ΣΩ. Ὀρθῶς λέγεις. οὐκοῦν καὶ τῷ ὀφθαλμῷ ᾧ ὁρῶμεν ἔνεστί ⟨τι⟩ τῶν τοιούτων;
ΑΛ. Πάνυ γε.
ΣΩ. Ἐννενόηκας οὖν ὅτι τοῦ ἐμβλέποντος εἰς τὸν 133a ὀφθαλμὸν τὸ πρόσωπον ἐμφαίνεται ἐν τῇ τοῦ καταντικρὺ ὄψει ὥσπερ ἐν κατόπτρῳ, ὃ δὴ καὶ κόρην καλοῦμεν, εἴδωλον ὄν τι τοῦ ἐμβλέποντος;
ΑΛ. Ἀληθῆ λέγεις.
ΣΩ. Ὀφθαλμὸς ἄρα ὀφθαλμὸν θεώμενος, καὶ ἐμβλέπων εἰς τοῦτο ὅπερ βέλτιστον αὐτοῦ καὶ ᾧ ὁρᾷ, οὕτως ἂν αὑτὸν ἴδοι.
Alcibiades I
p. 105Soc. Then in what way could we know it most clearly?1 Since if we know this, it seems, we shall know ourselves too. In the gods’ name, can it be that we do not understand the Delphic inscription we mentioned just now, though it speaks well?
Alc. What do you have in mind in saying that, Socrates?
Soc. 132d I will tell you what I, at least, suspect this inscription is saying and advising us. For it may be that there is no example of it to be found in many places, but only in the case of sight.
Alc. What do you mean by that?
Soc. Consider it with me. If it had advised our eye as though it were a man, and said “See thyself”, how would we have taken what it was recommending? Would it not be to look into that thing, looking into which the eye would see itself?
Alc. Clearly.
Soc. Let us think, then: looking into what, among the things that are, would we see both it and 132e ourselves at the same time?
Alc. Clearly, Socrates, into mirrors and things of that kind.
Soc. Rightly said. Then is there also something of that kind in the eye with which we see?
Alc. Certainly.
Soc. Have you noticed, then, that the face of one who looks into an 133a eye shows in the eye of the one opposite, as in a mirror, the thing we also call the pupil, since it is a kind of image of the one looking in?2
Alc. What you say is true.
Soc. Then an eye, observing an eye and looking into that which is best in it, the very thing with which it sees, would in this way see itself.
Socrates
Reading Alcibiades I · Alcibiades I · 132c–133a
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.