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Alcibiades I · 107c–107e
Ancient Greek
p. 14107cλεύωνται, πῶς ἂν ὑγιαίνοιεν, ἀλλὰ ζητήσουσιν ἰατρὸν εἶναι τὸν σύμβουλον.
ΑΛ. Εἰκότως γε.
ΣΩ. Ὅταν οὖν περὶ τίνος σκοπῶνται, τότε σὺ ἀνιστάμενος ὡς συμβουλεύσων ὀρθῶς ἀναστήσῃ;
ΑΛ. Ὅταν περὶ τῶν ἑαυτῶν πραγμάτων, ὦ Σώκρατες.
ΣΩ. Τῶν περὶ ναυπηγίας λέγεις, ὁποίας τινὰς χρὴ αὐτοὺς τὰς ναῦς ναυπηγεῖσθαι;
ΑΛ. Οὐκ ἔγωγε, ὦ Σώκρατες.
ΣΩ. Ναυπηγεῖν γὰρ οἶμαι οὐκ ἐπίστασαι. τοῦτ’ αἴτιον ἢ ἄλλο τι;
ΑΛ. Οὔκ, ἀλλὰ τοῦτο.
107dΣΩ. Ἀλλὰ περὶ ποίων τῶν ἑαυτῶν λέγεις πραγμάτων ὅταν βουλεύωνται;
ΑΛ. Ὅταν περὶ πολέμου, ὦ Σώκρατες, ἢ περὶ εἰρήνης ἢ ἄλλου του τῶν τῆς πόλεως πραγμάτων.
ΣΩ. Ἆρα λέγεις ὅταν βουλεύωνται πρὸς τίνας χρὴ εἰρήνην ποιεῖσθαι καὶ τίσιν πολεμεῖν καὶ τίνα τρόπον;
ΑΛ. Ναί.
ΣΩ. Χρὴ δ’ οὐχ οἷς βέλτιον;
ΑΛ. Ναί.
107eΣΩ. Καὶ τόθ’ ὁπότε βέλτιον;
ΑΛ. Πάνυ γε.
ΣΩ. Καὶ τοσοῦτον χρόνον ὅσον ἄμεινον;
ΑΛ. Ναί.
ΣΩ. Εἰ οὖν βουλεύοιντο Ἀθηναῖοι τίσιν χρὴ προσπαλαίειν καὶ τίσιν ἀκροχειρίζεσθαι καὶ τίνα τρόπον, σὺ ἄμεινον ἂν συμβουλεύοις ἢ ὁ παιδοτρίβης;
ΑΛ. Ὁ παιδοτρίβης δήπου.
ΣΩ. Ἔχεις οὖν εἰπεῖν πρὸς τί ⟨ἂν⟩ βλέπων ὁ παιδοτρίβης
Alcibiades I
p. 15107chow they may be healthy, but will seek to have a doctor as their adviser.
Alc. Naturally.
Soc. Then when they are looking into what, will you be right to stand up and advise them?
Alc. When it is about their own affairs, Socrates.
Soc. About shipbuilding, do you mean, what sort of ships they ought to have built?
Alc. Not I, Socrates.
Soc. Because you don’t know how to build ships, I suppose. Is that the reason, or something else?
Alc. No, that’s it.
Soc. 107d Then which of their own affairs do you mean, when they deliberate?
Alc. When it’s about war, Socrates, or peace, or any other of the city’s affairs.
Soc. Do you mean when they deliberate with whom they ought to make peace, and with whom to make war, and in what way?
Alc. Yes.
Soc. And ought it not to be with those it is better to?
Alc. Yes.
Soc. 107e And at the time when it is better?
Alc. Certainly.
Soc. And for as long as it is better?
Alc. Yes.
Soc. Now if the Athenians were deliberating with whom they ought to wrestle and with whom to spar, and in what way, would you advise them better, or the trainer?1
Alc. The trainer, surely.
Soc. Then can you say what the trainer would have in view
Socrates
Reading Alcibiades I · Alcibiades I · 107c–107e
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.