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English Page · Branch 31 of 65
Alcibiades I · 118d–119b
Ancient Greek
p. 56ΑΛ. Πάνυ γε.
ΣΩ. Καλὸν γὰρ δήπου τεκμήριον τοῦτο τῶν ἐπισταμένων ὁτιοῦν ὅτι ἐπίστανται, ἐπειδὰν καὶ ἄλλον οἷοί τ’ ὦσιν ἀποδεῖξαι ἐπιστάμενον.
ΑΛ. Ἔμοιγε δοκεῖ.
ΣΩ. Τί οὖν; ἔχεις εἰπεῖν Περικλῆς τίνα ἐποίησεν σοφόν, ἀπὸ τῶν ὑέων ἀρξάμενος;
118eΑΛ. Τί δ’ εἰ τὼ Περικλέους ὑεῖ ἠλιθίω ἐγενέσθην, ὦ Σώκρατες;
ΣΩ. Ἀλλὰ Κλεινίαν τὸν σὸν ἀδελφόν.
ΑΛ. Τί δ’ ἂν αὖ Κλεινίαν λέγοις, μαινόμενον ἄνθρωπον;
ΣΩ. Ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν Κλεινίας μὲν μαίνεται, τὼ δὲ Περικλέους ὑεῖ ἠλιθίω ἐγενέσθην, σοὶ τίνα αἰτίαν ἀναθῶμεν, δι’ ὅτι σε οὕτως ἔχοντα περιορᾷ;
ΑΛ. Ἐγὼ οἶμαι αἴτιος οὐ προσέχων τὸν νοῦν.
119aΣΩ. Ἀλλὰ τῶν ἄλλων Ἀθηναίων ἢ τῶν ξένων δοῦλον ἢ ἐλεύθερον εἰπὲ ὅστις αἰτίαν ἔχει διὰ τὴν Περικλέους συνουσίαν σοφώτερος γεγονέναι, ὥσπερ ἐγὼ ἔχω σοι εἰπεῖν διὰ τὴν Ζήνωνος Πυθόδωρον τὸν Ἰσολόχου καὶ Καλλίαν τὸν Καλλιάδου, ὧν ἑκάτερος Ζήνωνι ἑκατὸν μνᾶς τελέσας σοφός τε καὶ ἐλλόγιμος γέγονεν.
ΑΛ. Ἀλλὰ μὰ Δί’ οὐκ ἔχω.
ΣΩ. Εἶεν· τί οὖν διανοῇ περὶ σαυτοῦ; πότερον ἐᾶν ὡς νῦν ἔχεις, ἢ ἐπιμέλειάν τινα ποιεῖσθαι;
119bΑΛ. Κοινὴ βουλή, ὦ Σώκρατες. καίτοι ἐννοῶ σου εἰπόντος καὶ συγχωρῶ· δοκοῦσι γάρ μοι οἱ τὰ τῆς πόλεως πράττοντες ἐκτὸς ὀλίγων ἀπαίδευτοι εἶναι.
ΣΩ. Εἶτα τί δὴ τοῦτο;
ΑΛ. Εἰ μέν που ἦσαν πεπαιδευμένοι, ἔδει ἂν τὸν ἐπιχειροῦντα αὐτοῖς ἀνταγωνίζεσθαι μαθόντα καὶ ἀσκήσαντα
Alcibiades I
p. 57Alc. Certainly.
Soc. For this, surely, is fine evidence that those who know anything do know it: when they are able to turn out another who knows it as well.
Alc. I think so.
Soc. Well then: can you say whom Pericles made wise, beginning with his sons?
Alc. 118e What if Pericles’ two sons turned out simpletons, Socrates?1
Soc. Then Cleinias, your brother.
Alc. And why would you name Cleinias in turn, a madman?
Soc. Well, since Cleinias is mad, and Pericles’ two sons turned out simpletons, what cause are we to assign in your case, why he lets you be as you are?
Alc. I am the cause, I think, by not paying attention.
Soc. 119a But tell me, of the other Athenians or of the foreigners, slave or free, who is credited with having become wiser through his company with Pericles, as I can name for you, through Zeno’s company, Pythodorus son of Isolochus and Callias son of Calliades: each of them paid Zeno a hundred minae and has become wise and distinguished.2
Alc. No, by Zeus, I can’t.
Soc. Very well: what do you have in mind about yourself, then? To leave yourself as you are now, or to take some care?
Alc. 119b Let us deliberate on it together, Socrates. And yet I take in what you have said, and I concede it: those who manage the city’s affairs seem to me, except for a few, to be uneducated.
Soc. And so what of that?
Alc. If, I suppose, they were educated, anyone setting about contending against them would have to learn and train
Socrates
Reading Alcibiades I · Alcibiades I · 118d–119b
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.