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Ancient Greek Page · Branch 50 of 65
Alcibiades I · 129d–130b
Ancient Greek
p. 94ΣΩ. Τὸν δὲ χρώμενον καὶ οἷς χρῆται ἕτερα ὁμολογοῦμεν;
ΑΛ. Ναί.
ΣΩ. Ἕτερον ἄρα σκυτοτόμος καὶ κιθαριστὴς χειρῶν καὶ 129e ὀφθαλμῶν οἷς ἐργάζονται;
ΑΛ. Φαίνεται.
ΣΩ. Οὐκοῦν καὶ παντὶ τῷ σώματι χρῆται ἅνθρωπος;
ΑΛ. Πάνυ γε.
ΣΩ. Ἕτερον δ’ ἦν τό τε χρώμενον καὶ ᾧ χρῆται;
ΑΛ. Ναί.
ΣΩ. Ἕτερον ἄρα ἅνθρωπός ἐστι τοῦ σώματος τοῦ ἑαυτοῦ;
ΑΛ. Ἔοικεν.
ΣΩ. Τί ποτ’ οὖν ὁ ἄνθρωπος;
ΑΛ. Οὐκ ἔχω λέγειν.
ΣΩ. Ἔχεις μὲν οὖν, ὅτι γε τὸ τῷ σώματι χρώμενον.
ΑΛ. Ναί.
130aΣΩ. Ἦ οὖν ἄλλο τι χρῆται αὐτῷ ἢ ψυχή;
ΑΛ. Οὐκ ἄλλο.
ΣΩ. Οὐκοῦν ἄρχουσα;
ΑΛ. Ναί.
ΣΩ. Καὶ μὴν τόδε γ’ οἶμαι οὐδένα ἂν ἄλλως οἰηθῆναι.
ΑΛ. Τὸ ποῖον;
ΣΩ. Μὴ οὐ τριῶν ἕν γέ τι εἶναι τὸν ἄνθρωπον.
ΑΛ. Τίνων;
ΣΩ. Ψυχὴν ἢ σῶμα ἢ συναμφότερον, τὸ ὅλον τοῦτο.
ΑΛ. Τί μήν;
ΣΩ. Ἀλλὰ μὴν αὐτό γε τὸ τοῦ σώματος ἄρχον ὡμολογήσαμεν ἄνθρωπον εἶναι;
130bΑΛ. Ὡμολογήσαμεν.
ΣΩ. Ἆρ’ οὖν σῶμα αὐτὸ αὑτοῦ ἄρχει;
Alcibiades I
p. 95Soc. And we agree that the user and the things he uses are different?
Alc. Yes.
Soc. Then the shoemaker and the lyre-player are different from the hands and 129e eyes they work with?
Alc. It appears so.
Soc. And a man uses his whole body too?
Alc. Certainly.
Soc. And what uses and what it uses were different?
Alc. Yes.
Soc. Then a man is different from his own body?
Alc. It seems so.
Soc. Then what on earth is man?
Alc. I can’t say.
Soc. Indeed you can: that he is what uses the body.
Alc. Yes.
Soc. 130a Then does anything else use it but soul?
Alc. Nothing else.
Soc. And by ruling it?
Alc. Yes.
Soc. And here is something, I think, about which no one would think otherwise.
Alc. What is that?
Soc. That man is at least one of three things.
Alc. Which?
Soc. Soul, or body, or the two together, this whole.
Alc. Of course.
Soc. But we agreed that the very thing that rules the body is man?
Alc. 130b We agreed.
Soc. Well, does the body rule itself?
Socrates
Reading Alcibiades I · Alcibiades I · 129d–130b
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.