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Ancient Greek Page · Branch 9 of 65
Alcibiades I · 106e–107b
Ancient Greek
p. 12εἰ μή πού τι μανθάνων ἐμὲ λέληθας· οἶμαι δέ γε, οὔτε νύκτωρ οὔτε μεθ’ ἡμέραν ἐξιὼν ἔνδοθεν.
ΑΛ. Ἀλλ’ οὐ πεφοίτηκα εἰς ἄλλων ἢ τούτων.
107aΣΩ. Πότερον οὖν, ὅταν περὶ γραμμάτων Ἀθηναῖοι βουλεύωνται, πῶς ἂν ὀρθῶς γράφοιεν, τότε ἀναστήσῃ αὐτοῖς συμβουλεύσων;
ΑΛ. Μὰ Δί’ οὐκ ἔγωγε.
ΣΩ. Ἀλλ’ ὅταν περὶ κρουμάτων ἐν λύρᾳ;
ΑΛ. Οὐδαμῶς.
ΣΩ. Οὐδὲ μὴν οὐδὲ περὶ παλαισμάτων γε εἰώθασι βουλεύεσθαι ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ.
ΑΛ. Οὐ μέντοι.
ΣΩ. Ὅταν οὖν περὶ τίνος βουλεύωνται; οὐ γάρ που ὅταν γε περὶ οἰκοδομίας.
ΑΛ. Οὐ δῆτα.
ΣΩ. Οἰκοδόμος γὰρ ταῦτά γε σοῦ βέλτιον συμβουλεύσει.
107bΑΛ. Ναί.
ΣΩ. Οὐδὲ μὴν ὅταν περὶ μαντικῆς βουλεύωνται;
ΑΛ. Οὔ.
ΣΩ. Μάντις γὰρ αὖ ταῦτα ἄμεινον ἢ σύ.
ΑΛ. Ναί.
ΣΩ. Ἐάν τέ γε σμικρὸς ἢ μέγας ᾖ, ἐάν τε καλὸς ἢ αἰσχρός, ἔτι τε γενναῖος ἢ ἀγεννής.
ΑΛ. Πῶς γὰρ οὔ;
ΣΩ. Εἰδότος γὰρ οἶμαι περὶ ἑκάστου ἡ συμβουλή, καὶ οὐ πλουτοῦντος.
ΑΛ. Πῶς γὰρ οὔ;
ΣΩ. Ἀλλ’ ἐάντε πένης ἐάντε πλούσιος ᾖ ὁ παραινῶν, οὐδὲν διοίσει Ἀθηναίοις ὅταν περὶ τῶν ἐν τῇ πόλει βου-
Alcibiades I
p. 13unless you have been learning something without my noticing; and I think you haven’t, whenever you go out of the house, by night or by day.1
Alc. No: I haven’t been to any lessons but those.
Soc. 107a Then is it when the Athenians are deliberating about letters, how to write correctly, that you will stand up to advise them?
Alc. By Zeus, not I.
Soc. Then when it is about notes on the lyre?
Alc. Not at all.
Soc. Nor, surely, are they in the habit of deliberating about wrestling holds in the Assembly.
Alc. No indeed.
Soc. Then when they are deliberating about what? Not, I suppose, when it is about building.
Alc. Certainly not.
Soc. For a builder will advise them on that better than you.
Alc. 107b Yes.
Soc. Nor when they deliberate about divination?
Alc. No.
Soc. For a prophet, again, will do so better than you.
Alc. Yes.
Soc. Whether he is short or tall, beautiful or ugly, and again wellborn or lowborn.
Alc. Of course.
Soc. For advice on each thing belongs, I imagine, to the one who knows, and not to the one who is rich.
Alc. Of course.
Soc. But whether the man giving the recommendation is poor or rich will make no difference to the Athenians when they deliberate about the people in the city,
Socrates
Reading Alcibiades I · Alcibiades I · 106e–107b
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.