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Facing Pages · Branch 7 of 44
Charmides · 153c–154c
Ancient Greek
p. 4πω πάντα σαφῶς πεπύσμεθα. Καὶ ἅμα με καθίζει ἄγων παρὰ Κριτίαν τὸν Καλλαίσχρου.
Παρακαθεζόμενος οὖν ἠσπαζόμην τόν τε Κριτίαν καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους, καὶ διηγούμην αὐτοῖς τὰ ἀπὸ στρατοπέδου, ὅτι μέ 153d τις ἀνέροιτο· ἠρώτων δὲ ἄλλος ἄλλο.
Ἐπειδὴ δὲ τῶν τοιούτων ἅδην εἴχομεν, αὖθις ἐγὼ αὐτοὺς ἀνηρώτων τὰ τῇδε, περὶ φιλοσοφίας ὅπως ἔχοι τὰ νῦν, περί τε τῶν νέων, εἴ τινες ἐν αὐτοῖς διαφέροντες ἢ σοφίᾳ ἢ κάλλει ἢ ἀμφοτέροις ἐγγεγονότες εἶεν. καὶ ὁ Κριτίας ἀποβλέψας 154a πρὸς τὴν θύραν, ἰδών τινας νεανίσκους εἰσιόντας καὶ λοιδορουμένους ἀλλήλοις καὶ ἄλλον ὄχλον ὄπισθεν ἑπόμενον, Περὶ μὲν τῶν καλῶν, ἔφη, ὦ Σώκρατες, αὐτίκα μοι δοκεῖς εἴσεσθαι· οὗτοι γὰρ τυγχάνουσιν οἱ εἰσιόντες πρόδρομοί τε καὶ ἐρασταὶ ὄντες τοῦ δοκοῦντος καλλίστου εἶναι τά γε δὴ νῦν, φαίνεται δέ μοι καὶ αὐτὸς ἐγγὺς ἤδη που εἶναι προσιών.
Ἔστιν δέ, ἦν δ’ ἐγώ, τίς τε καὶ τοῦ;
Οἶσθά που σύ γε, ἔφη, ἀλλ’ οὔπω ἐν ἡλικίᾳ ἦν πρίν σε 154b ἀπιέναι, Χαρμίδην τὸν τοῦ Γλαύκωνος τοῦ ἡμετέρου θείου ὑόν, ἐμὸν δὲ ἀνεψιόν.
Οἶδα μέντοι νὴ Δία, ἦν δ’ ἐγώ· οὐ γάρ τι φαῦλος οὐδὲ τότε ἦν ἔτι παῖς ὤν, νῦν δ’ οἶμαί που εὖ μάλα ἂν ἤδη μειράκιον εἴη.
Αὐτίκα, ἔφη, εἴσῃ καὶ ἡλίκος καὶ οἷος γέγονεν. Καὶ ἅμα ταῦτ’ αὐτοῦ λέγοντος ὁ Χαρμίδης εἰσέρχεται.
Ἐμοὶ μὲν οὖν, ὦ ἑταῖρε, οὐδὲν σταθμητόν· ἀτεχνῶς γὰρ λευκὴ στάθμη εἰμὶ πρὸς τοὺς καλούς—σχεδὸν γάρ τί μοι πάντες οἱ ἐν τῇ ἡλικίᾳ καλοὶ φαίνονται—ἀτὰρ οὖν δὴ καὶ 154c τότε ἐκεῖνος ἐμοὶ θαυμαστὸς ἐφάνη τό τε μέγεθος καὶ τὸ κάλλος, οἱ δὲ δὴ ἄλλοι πάντες ἐρᾶν ἔμοιγε ἐδόκουν αὐτοῦ— οὕτως ἐκπεπληγμένοι τε καὶ τεθορυβημένοι ἦσαν, ἡνίκ’
Charmides
p. 5got the whole story straight.” And with that he takes me over and sits me down beside Critias, the son of Callaeschrus.1
So I sat down beside him, greeted Critias and the others, and gave them the news from the camp, whatever 153d anyone asked; and everyone had a different question.
When we had had our fill of all that, I asked them my own questions in turn about things here at home: how philosophy was doing these days, and about the young men, whether any of them had turned out to be outstanding in wisdom, or in beauty, or in both. Critias glanced 154a toward the door and saw some young men coming in, trading insults with one another, with another crowd following on behind.
“As for the beautiful ones, Socrates,” he said, “I think you’ll know in a moment. The fellows coming in are the advance guard and the lovers2 of the one who is thought the most beautiful — at the moment, anyway. And I imagine he must be close by himself, on his way in.”
“Who is he?” I said. “And whose son?”
“You know him,” he said, “but he wasn’t yet grown up when you 154b went away: Charmides, our uncle Glaucon’s son. My cousin.”
“Of course I know him, by Zeus,” I said. “He was nothing to sniff at even then, when he was still a child; by now, I should think, he must be quite the young man.”
“You’ll know in a moment,” he said, “how big he’s grown and how he’s turned out.” And even as he said it, in comes Charmides.
Now I, my friend, am no measure of anything. Where the beautiful are concerned I am simply a white measuring-line on white stone:3 nearly everyone of that age looks beautiful to me. All the same, 154c at that moment he struck me as a marvel of stature and beauty, and all the rest, it seemed to me, were in love with him, so astounded and flustered were they when
Socrates
Reading Charmides · Charmides · 153c–154c
Ask about a concept, passage, contradiction, or connection.
Socrates will begin with this book and its sources.About This Reading Edition
Socrates, Charmides, and Critias examine temperance, self-knowledge, and the knowledge of knowledge. The complete dialogue appears in Ancient Greek and English, aligned by the supplied edition’s facing pages and Stephanus references.
Historical Text and Translation
Greek: Plato, Charmides, in J. Burnet, ed., Platonis Opera, volume III (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1903), transcribed by the Perseus Digital Library, Tufts University. The supplied edition omits words marked for deletion, retains supplied words, lightly normalizes punctuation and paragraphing, and removes a stray digital numeral at 163c. The digital Greek transcription and its modifications are provided under CC BY-SA 4.0, with attribution to the Perseus Digital Library, Tufts University.
About Diotimos Editions
Diotimos Editions prepared this independently worded English translation in house. It aims for clear, measured English while preserving Plato’s conversational rhythm, philosophical distinctions, and the unfolding give-and-take of Socratic inquiry.
Rights
Plato's Greek source work is in the public domain. The 2026 English translation and Diotimos editorial matter are original to this edition and remain © 2026 Diotimos.