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English Page · Branch 57 of 65
Alcibiades I · 133c–133e
Ancient Greek
p. 108ἀρετήν, καὶ οὕτως ἂν μάλιστα ὁρῷμεν καὶ γιγνώσκοιμεν ἡμᾶς αὐτούς.
ΑΛ. Ναί.⟩
ΣΩ. Τὸ δὲ γιγνώσκειν αὑτὸν ὡμολογοῦμεν σωφροσύνην εἶναι;
ΑΛ. Πάνυ γε.
ΣΩ. Ἆρ’ οὖν μὴ γιγνώσκοντες ἡμᾶς αὐτοὺς μηδὲ σώφρονες ὄντες δυναίμεθ’ ἂν εἰδέναι τὰ ἡμέτερα αὐτῶν κακά τε καὶ ἀγαθά;
ΑΛ. Καὶ πῶς ἂν τοῦτο γένοιτο, ὦ Σώκρατες;
133dΣΩ. Ἀδύνατον γὰρ ἴσως σοι φαίνεται μὴ γιγνώσκοντα Ἀλκιβιάδην τὰ Ἀλκιβιάδου γιγνώσκειν ὅτι Ἀλκιβιάδου ἐστίν.
ΑΛ. Ἀδύνατον μέντοι νὴ Δία.
ΣΩ. Οὐδ’ ἄρα τὰ ἡμέτερα ὅτι ἡμέτερα, εἰ μηδ’ ἡμᾶς αὐτούς;
ΑΛ. Πῶς γάρ;
ΣΩ. Εἰ δ’ ἄρα μηδὲ τὰ ἡμέτερα, οὐδὲ τὰ τῶν ἡμετέρων;
ΑΛ. Οὐ φαίνεται.
ΣΩ. Οὐκ ἄρα πάνυ τι ὀρθῶς ὡμολογοῦμεν ὁμολογοῦντες ἄρτι εἶναί τινας οἳ ἑαυτοὺς μὲν οὐ γιγνώσκουσιν, τὰ δ’ αὑτῶν, ἄλλους δὲ τὰ τῶν ἑαυτῶν. ἔοικε γὰρ πάντα ταῦτα εἶναι 133e κατιδεῖν ἑνός τε καὶ μιᾶς τέχνης, αὑτόν, τὰ αὑτοῦ, τὰ τῶν ἑαυτοῦ.
ΑΛ. Κινδυνεύει.
ΣΩ. Ὅστις δὲ τὰ αὑτοῦ ἀγνοεῖ, καὶ τὰ τῶν ἄλλων που ἂν ἀγνοοῖ κατὰ ταὐτά.
ΑΛ. Τί μήν;
Alcibiades I
p. 109virtue; and in this way we would most of all see and know ourselves.
Alc. Yes.
Soc. And knowing oneself, we agreed, is temperance?
Alc. Certainly.
Soc. Then could we, not knowing ourselves and not being temperate, know what is our own, the bad and the good?
Alc. And how could that happen, Socrates?
Soc. 133d For perhaps it seems impossible to you that someone who does not know Alcibiades should know that what is Alcibiades’ is Alcibiades’.
Alc. Impossible indeed, by Zeus.
Soc. Nor, then, could we know that what is ours is ours, if we do not know ourselves either?
Alc. How could we?
Soc. And if not what is ours, then not what belongs to what is ours either?
Alc. It appears not.
Soc. Then we were not quite right when we agreed a moment ago that there are some who do not know themselves but know what is their own, and others who know what belongs to what is their own.1 For it seems that it is 133e for one man and one craft to discern all these: oneself, what is one’s own, and what belongs to what is one’s own.
Alc. It looks like it.
Soc. And whoever is ignorant of what is his own would, I suppose, be ignorant of what belongs to others too, in the same way.
Alc. Of course.
Socrates
Reading Alcibiades I · Alcibiades I · 133c–133e
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.