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Ancient Greek Page · Branch 56 of 65
Alcibiades I · 133a–133c
Ancient Greek
p. 106ΑΛ. Φαίνεται.
ΣΩ. Εἰ δέ γ’ εἰς ἄλλο τῶν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου βλέποι ἤ τι τῶν ὄντων, πλὴν εἰς ἐκεῖνο ᾧ τοῦτο τυγχάνει ὅμοιον, οὐκ ὄψεται ἑαυτόν.
133bΑΛ. Ἀληθῆ λέγεις.
ΣΩ. Ὀφθαλμὸς ἄρ’ εἰ μέλλει ἰδεῖν αὑτόν, εἰς ὀφθαλμὸν αὐτῷ βλεπτέον, καὶ τοῦ ὄμματος εἰς ἐκεῖνον τὸν τόπον ἐν ᾧ τυγχάνει ἡ ὀφθαλμοῦ ἀρετὴ ἐγγιγνομένη· ἔστι δὲ τοῦτό που ὄψις;
ΑΛ. Οὕτως.
ΣΩ. Ἆρ’ οὖν, ὦ φίλε Ἀλκιβιάδη, καὶ ψυχὴ εἰ μέλλει γνώσεσθαι αὑτήν, εἰς ψυχὴν αὐτῇ βλεπτέον, καὶ μάλιστ’ εἰς τοῦτον αὐτῆς τὸν τόπον ἐν ᾧ ἐγγίγνεται ἡ ψυχῆς ἀρετή, σοφία, καὶ εἰς ἄλλο ᾧ τοῦτο τυγχάνει ὅμοιον ὄν;
ΑΛ. Ἔμοιγε δοκεῖ, ὦ Σώκρατες.
133cΣΩ. Ἔχομεν οὖν εἰπεῖν ὅτι ἐστὶ τῆς ψυχῆς θειότερον ἢ τοῦτο, περὶ ὃ τὸ εἰδέναι τε καὶ φρονεῖν ἐστιν;
ΑΛ. Οὐκ ἔχομεν.
ΣΩ. Τῷ θεῷ ἄρα τοῦτ’ ἔοικεν αὐτῆς, καί τις εἰς τοῦτο βλέπων καὶ πᾶν τὸ θεῖον γνούς, θεόν τε καὶ φρόνησιν, οὕτω καὶ ἑαυτὸν ἂν γνοίη μάλιστα.
ΑΛ. Φαίνεται.
⟨ΣΩ. Ἆρ’ οὖν, ὅθ’ ὥσπερ κάτοπτρά ἐστι σαφέστερα τοῦ ἐν τῷ ὀφθαλμῷ ἐνόπτρου καὶ καθαρώτερα καὶ λαμπρότερα, οὕτω καὶ ὁ θεὸς τοῦ ἐν τῇ ἡμετέρᾳ ψυχῇ βελτίστου καθαρώτερόν τε καὶ λαμπρότερον τυγχάνει ὄν;
ΑΛ. Ἔοικέ γε, ὦ Σώκρατες.
ΣΩ. Εἰς τὸν θεὸν ἄρα βλέποντες ἐκείνῳ καλλίστῳ ἐνόπτρῳ χρῴμεθ’ ἂν καὶ τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων εἰς τὴν ψυχῆς
Alcibiades I
p. 107Alc. It appears so.
Soc. But if it should look into anything else that belongs to a man, or into any of the things that are, except that which this in fact resembles, it will not see itself.
Alc. 133b What you say is true.
Soc. Then if an eye is to see itself, it must look into an eye, and into that region of the eye in which the eye’s virtue in fact comes to be; and this, I suppose, is sight?
Alc. Just so.
Soc. Then, my dear Alcibiades, if a soul too is to know itself, must it look into a soul, and above all into that region of it in which the soul’s virtue, wisdom, comes to be, and into anything else which this in fact resembles?
Alc. I think so, Socrates.
Soc. 133c Can we say, then, what part of the soul is more divine than this, the part with which knowledge and intelligence are concerned?1
Alc. We cannot.
Soc. Then this part of it resembles the god, and whoever looks into this and comes to know all that is divine, god and intelligence, would in this way know himself too, most of all.
Alc. It appears so.
Soc. Is it so, then, that just as mirrors are clearer than the mirror in the eye, and purer and brighter, so too the god is in fact purer and brighter than the best in our soul?2
Alc. It seems so, Socrates.
Soc. Then by looking into the god we would be using him as the finest mirror, and, among human things, by looking into the soul’s
Socrates
Reading Alcibiades I · Alcibiades I · 133a–133c
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.