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Ancient Greek Page · Branch 47 of 65
Alcibiades I · 128b–128d
Ancient Greek
p. 88ΑΛ. Ναί.
ΣΩ. Τίς οὖν τέχνη ὑποδήματα βελτίω ποιεῖ;
ΑΛ. Σκυτική.
ΣΩ. Σκυτικῇ ἄρα ὑποδημάτων ἐπιμελούμεθα;
128cΑΛ. Ναί.
ΣΩ. Ἦ καὶ ποδὸς σκυτικῇ; ἢ ἐκείνῃ ᾗ πόδας βελτίους ποιοῦμεν;
ΑΛ. Ἐκείνῃ.
ΣΩ. Βελτίους δὲ πόδας οὐχ ᾗπερ καὶ τὸ ἄλλο σῶμα;
ΑΛ. Ἔμοιγε δοκεῖ.
ΣΩ. Αὕτη δ’ οὐ γυμναστική;
ΑΛ. Μάλιστα.
ΣΩ. Γυμναστικῇ μὲν ἄρα ποδὸς ἐπιμελούμεθα, σκυτικῇ δὲ τῶν τοῦ ποδός;
ΑΛ. Πάνυ γε.
ΣΩ. Καὶ γυμναστικῇ μὲν χειρῶν, δακτυλιογλυφίᾳ δὲ τῶν τῆς χειρός;
ΑΛ. Ναί.
ΣΩ. Καὶ γυμναστικῇ μὲν σώματος, ὑφαντικῇ δὲ καὶ ταῖς 128d ἄλλαις τῶν τοῦ σώματος;
ΑΛ. Παντάπασι μὲν οὖν.
ΣΩ. Ἄλλῃ μὲν ἄρα τέχνῃ αὐτοῦ ἑκάστου ἐπιμελούμεθα, ἄλλῃ δὲ τῶν αὐτοῦ.
ΑΛ. Φαίνεται.
ΣΩ. Οὐκ ἄρα ὅταν τῶν σαυτοῦ ἐπιμελῇ, σαυτοῦ ἐπιμελῇ.
ΑΛ. Οὐδαμῶς.
ΣΩ. Οὐ γὰρ ἡ αὐτὴ τέχνη, ὡς ἔοικεν, ᾗ τις ἂν αὑτοῦ τε ἐπιμελοῖτο καὶ τῶν αὑτοῦ.
ΑΛ. Οὐ φαίνεται.
ΣΩ. Φέρε δή, ποίᾳ ποτ’ ἂν ἡμῶν αὐτῶν ἐπιμεληθείημεν;
ΑΛ. Οὐκ ἔχω λέγειν.
Alcibiades I
p. 89Alc. Yes.
Soc. Then what craft makes shoes better?
Alc. Shoemaking.
Soc. So it is by shoemaking that we care for our shoes?
Alc. 128c Yes.
Soc. And for our feet too, by shoemaking? Or by that craft by which we make our feet better?
Alc. By that.
Soc. And don’t we make our feet better by the same craft as the rest of the body?
Alc. I think so.
Soc. And isn’t that gymnastics?
Alc. Most certainly.
Soc. So by gymnastics we care for the foot, and by shoemaking for what belongs to the foot?
Alc. Certainly.
Soc. And by gymnastics for the hands, and by ring-engraving for what belongs to the hand?
Alc. Yes.
Soc. And by gymnastics for the body, and by weaving and the 128d other crafts for what belongs to the body?
Alc. Absolutely.
Soc. So it is by one craft that we care for each thing itself, and by another that we care for what belongs to it.
Alc. It appears so.
Soc. Then when you care for what is your own, you are not caring for yourself.
Alc. Not at all.
Soc. For it is not the same craft, it seems, by which one would care for oneself and for what is one’s own.
Alc. It appears not.
Soc. Come, then: by what craft on earth could we care for ourselves?
Alc. I can’t say.
Socrates
Reading Alcibiades I · Alcibiades I · 128b–128d
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.