Diotimos Library · Plato Collection · Bilingual Edition
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Facing Pages · Branch 60 of 65
Alcibiades I · 134e–135c
Ancient Greek
p. 114ἰδιώτῃ ἢ καὶ πόλει; οἷον νοσοῦντι ἐξουσίας οὔσης δρᾶν ὃ 135a βούλεται, νοῦν ἰατρικὸν μὴ ἔχοντι, τυραννοῦντι δὲ ὡς μηδὲν ἐπιπλήττοι τις αὐτῷ, τί τὸ συμβησόμενον; ἆρ’ οὐχ, ὡς τὸ εἰκός, διαφθαρῆναι τὸ σῶμα;
ΑΛ. Ἀληθῆ λέγεις.
ΣΩ. Τί δ’ ἐν νηί, εἴ τῳ ἐξουσία εἴη ποιεῖν ὃ δοκεῖ, νοῦ τε καὶ ἀρετῆς κυβερνητικῆς ἐστερημένῳ, καθορᾷς ἃ ἂν συμβαίη αὐτῷ τε καὶ τοῖς συνναύταις;
ΑΛ. Ἔγωγε, ὅτι γε ἀπόλοιντο πάντες ἄν.
ΣΩ. Οὐκοῦν ὡσαύτως ἐν πόλει τε καὶ πάσαις ἀρχαῖς καὶ 135b ἐξουσίαις ἀπολειπομέναις ἀρετῆς ἕπεται τὸ κακῶς πράττειν;
ΑΛ. Ἀνάγκη.
ΣΩ. Οὐκ ἄρα τυραννίδα χρή, ὦ ἄριστε Ἀλκιβιάδη, παρασκευάζεσθαι οὔθ’ αὑτῷ οὔτε τῇ πόλει, εἰ μέλλετε εὐδαιμονεῖν, ἀλλ’ ἀρετήν.
ΑΛ. Ἀληθῆ λέγεις.
ΣΩ. Πρὶν δέ γε ἀρετὴν ἔχειν, τὸ ἄρχεσθαι ἄμεινον ὑπὸ τοῦ βελτίονος ἢ τὸ ἄρχειν ἀνδρί, οὐ μόνον παιδί.
ΑΛ. Φαίνεται.
ΣΩ. Οὐκοῦν τό γ’ ἄμεινον καὶ κάλλιον;
ΑΛ. Ναί.
ΣΩ. Τὸ δὲ κάλλιον πρεπωδέστερον;
135cΑΛ. Πῶς δ’ οὔ;
ΣΩ. Πρέπει ἄρα τῷ κακῷ δουλεύειν· ἄμεινον γάρ.
ΑΛ. Ναί.
ΣΩ. Δουλοπρεπὲς ἄρ’ ἡ κακία.
ΑΛ. Φαίνεται.
ΣΩ. Ἐλευθεροπρεπὲς δὲ ἡ ἀρετή.
ΑΛ. Ναί.
Alcibiades I
p. 115a private person or a city too? For example, if a sick man has license to do what he 135a wishes, and has no medical sense, but is a tyrant, so that no one may rebuke him at all, what will be the result? Will his body not, in all likelihood, be ruined?
Alc. What you say is true.
Soc. And what of a ship? If someone had license to do what seemed good to him, but lacked sense and virtue in piloting, do you see what would happen to him and his shipmates?
Alc. I do: they would all perish.
Soc. Then in the same way, in a city, and in all kinds of rule and 135b license that lack virtue, doing badly follows?
Alc. Necessarily.
Soc. Then it is not tyranny, Alcibiades, best of men, that one must procure, either for oneself or for the city, if you are to be happy, but virtue.
Alc. What you say is true.
Soc. And before one has virtue, it is better to be ruled by one’s better than to rule, for a man, not only for a child.
Alc. It appears so.
Soc. And what is better is also finer?
Alc. Yes.
Soc. And what is finer is more befitting?
Alc. 135c How could it not be?
Soc. Then it befits the bad man to be a slave; for it is better.
Alc. Yes.
Soc. Then vice befits a slave.
Alc. It appears so.
Soc. And virtue befits a free man.
Alc. Yes.
Socrates
Reading Alcibiades I · Alcibiades I · 134e–135c
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.