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Alcibiades I · 104b–104e
Ancient Greek
p. 4εἶναι καὶ ἀρίστους, οἳ εἴ τι δέοι ὑπηρετοῖεν ἄν σοι, τούτων δὲ τοὺς πρὸς μητρὸς οὐδὲν χείρους οὐδ’ ἐλάττους. συμπάντων δὲ ὧν εἶπον μείζω οἴει σοι δύναμιν ὑπάρχειν Περικλέα τὸν Ξανθίππου, ὃν ὁ πατὴρ ἐπίτροπον κατέλιπε σοί τε καὶ τῷ ἀδελφῷ· ὃς οὐ μόνον ἐν τῇδε τῇ πόλει δύναται πράττειν ὅτι ἂν βούληται, ἀλλ’ ἐν πάσῃ τῇ Ἑλλάδι καὶ τῶν βαρβάρων ἐν πολλοῖς καὶ μεγάλοις γένεσιν. προσθήσω δὲ καὶ ὅτι τῶν 104c πλουσίων· δοκεῖς δέ μοι ἐπὶ τούτῳ ἥκιστα μέγα φρονεῖν. κατὰ πάντα δὴ ταῦτα σύ τε μεγαλαυχούμενος κεκράτηκας τῶν ἐραστῶν ἐκεῖνοί τε ὑποδεέστεροι ὄντες ἐκρατήθησαν, καί σε ταῦτ’ οὐ λέληθεν· ὅθεν δὴ εὖ οἶδα ὅτι θαυμάζεις τί διανοούμενός ποτε οὐκ ἀπαλλάττομαι τοῦ ἔρωτος, καὶ ἥντιν’ ἔχων ἐλπίδα ὑπομένω τῶν ἄλλων πεφευγότων.
ΑΛ. Καὶ ἴσως γε, ὦ Σώκρατες, οὐκ οἶσθ’ ὅτι σμικρόν 104d με ἔφθης. ἐγὼ γάρ τοι ἐν νῷ εἶχον πρότερός σοι προσελθὼν αὐτὰ ταῦτ’ ἐρέσθαι, τί ποτε βούλει καὶ εἰς τίνα ἐλπίδα βλέπων ἐνοχλεῖς με, ἀεὶ ὅπου ἂν ὦ ἐπιμελέστατα παρών· τῷ ὄντι γὰρ θαυμάζω ὅτι ποτ’ ἐστὶ τὸ σὸν πρᾶγμα, καὶ ἥδιστ’ ἂν πυθοίμην.
ΣΩ. Ἀκούσῃ μὲν ἄρα μου, ὡς τὸ εἰκός, προθύμως, εἴπερ, ὡς φῄς, ἐπιθυμεῖς εἰδέναι τί διανοοῦμαι, καὶ ὡς ἀκουσομένῳ καὶ περιμενοῦντι λέγω.
ΑΛ. Πάνυ μὲν οὖν· ἀλλὰ λέγε.
104eΣΩ. Ὅρα δή· οὐ γάρ τοι εἴη ἂν θαυμαστὸν εἰ, ὥσπερ μόγις ἠρξάμην, οὕτω μόγις καὶ παυσαίμην.
ΑΛ. Ὠγαθὲ λέγε· ἀκούσομαι γάρ.
ΣΩ. Λεκτέον ἂν εἴη. χαλεπὸν μὲν οὖν πρὸς ἄνδρα οὐχ ἥττονα ἐραστῶν προσφέρεσθαι ἐραστῇ, ὅμως δὲ τολμητέον φράσαι τὴν ἐμὴν διάνοιαν. ἐγὼ γάρ, ὦ Ἀλκιβιάδη, εἰ μέν
Alcibiades I
p. 5and best, who would serve you if there were any need, and on your mother’s side ones no worse and no fewer than these. And greater than all those I have named you think is the power you have in Pericles son of Xanthippus, whom your father left as guardian to you and your brother:1 a man who can do whatever he wants not only in this city but in all Greece, and among many great nations of barbarians. I will add too that you are one of the 104c rich; though that, I think, is what you pride yourself on least. So, vaunting yourself on all these grounds, you have got the better of your lovers, and they, being your inferiors, have been beaten; and this has not escaped you. That is why I know very well that you wonder what I can have in mind that I do not give up my love, and what hope I have in staying on when the others have fled.
Alc. And perhaps you don’t know, Socrates, that you 104d beat me to it by a whisker. I meant to come to you first and ask you this very thing: what on earth you want, and what hope you have in view, that you make a nuisance of yourself to me, always there, wherever I am, with the greatest care. I really do wonder what on earth your business is, and I’d be very glad to find out.
Soc. Then you will listen to me eagerly, as is likely, if, as you say, you desire to know what I have in mind; and I speak to you as to one who will listen and stay to hear me out.
Alc. Certainly; go on.
Soc. 104e Be warned, then: it would be no wonder if, having had such trouble starting, I had just as much trouble stopping.2
Alc. My good friend, speak. I’ll listen.
Soc. Speak I must. It is hard, to be sure, for a lover to approach a man who is not bested by lovers; all the same, I must venture to tell you what I have in mind. For, Alcibiades, if
Socrates
Reading Alcibiades I · Alcibiades I · 104b–104e
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.