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Ancient Greek Page · Branch 49 of 65
Alcibiades I · 129b–129d
Ancient Greek
p. 92ΑΛ. Ναί.
ΣΩ. Σωκράτης ἄρ’ ἐστὶν ὁ διαλεγόμενος;
ΑΛ. Πάνυ γε.
ΣΩ. Ἀλκιβιάδης δ’ ὁ ἀκούων;
ΑΛ. Ναί.
ΣΩ. Οὐκοῦν λόγῳ διαλέγεται ὁ Σωκράτης;
129cΑΛ. Τί μήν;
ΣΩ. Τὸ δὲ διαλέγεσθαι καὶ τὸ λόγῳ χρῆσθαι ταὐτόν που καλεῖς.
ΑΛ. Πάνυ γε.
ΣΩ. Ὁ δὲ χρώμενος καὶ ᾧ χρῆται οὐκ ἄλλο;
ΑΛ. Πῶς λέγεις;
ΣΩ. Ὥσπερ σκυτοτόμος τέμνει που τομεῖ καὶ σμίλῃ καὶ ἄλλοις ὀργάνοις.
ΑΛ. Ναί.
ΣΩ. Οὐκοῦν ἄλλο μὲν ὁ τέμνων καὶ χρώμενος, ἄλλο δὲ οἷς τέμνων χρῆται;
ΑΛ. Πῶς γὰρ οὔ;
ΣΩ. Ἆρ’ οὖν οὕτως καὶ οἷς ὁ κιθαριστὴς κιθαρίζει καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ κιθαριστὴς ἄλλο ἂν εἴη;
ΑΛ. Ναί.
129dΣΩ. Τοῦτο τοίνυν ἀρτίως ἠρώτων, εἰ ὁ χρώμενος καὶ ᾧ χρῆται ἀεὶ δοκεῖ ἕτερον εἶναι.
ΑΛ. Δοκεῖ.
ΣΩ. Τί οὖν φῶμεν τὸν σκυτοτόμον; τέμνειν ὀργάνοις μόνον ἢ καὶ χερσίν;
ΑΛ. Καὶ χερσίν.
ΣΩ. Χρῆται ἄρα καὶ ταύταις;
ΑΛ. Ναί.
ΣΩ. Ἦ καὶ τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς χρώμενος σκυτοτομεῖ;
ΑΛ. Ναί.
Alcibiades I
p. 93Alc. Yes.
Soc. Then Socrates is the one talking?
Alc. Certainly.
Soc. And Alcibiades the one listening?
Alc. Yes.
Soc. And Socrates talks by means of speech?
Alc. 129c Of course.
Soc. And you call talking and using speech the same thing, I suppose.
Alc. Certainly.
Soc. And the user and what he uses: are they not different?
Alc. How do you mean?
Soc. As a shoemaker, I suppose, cuts with a cutter and a knife and other tools.
Alc. Yes.
Soc. Then the one who cuts and uses is one thing, and what he uses in cutting is another?
Alc. Of course.
Soc. Then in the same way what the lyre-player plays with and the lyre-player himself would be different?
Alc. Yes.
Soc. 129d Well, this is what I was asking just now: whether the user and what he uses always seem to be different.
Alc. They do.
Soc. Then what shall we say of the shoemaker? Does he cut with tools only, or with his hands too?
Alc. With his hands too.
Soc. Then he uses these as well?
Alc. Yes.
Soc. And does he use his eyes too in making shoes?
Alc. Yes.
Socrates
Reading Alcibiades I · Alcibiades I · 129b–129d
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.