Epinomis

Name: Epinomis
Author: Plato

Ancient Greek with an independent English translation.

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EpinomisEpinomis · 978d–979c

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Epinomis · 978d–979c

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Ancient Greek

p. 16

παύεται διδάσκων ἀνθρώπους ἕν τε καὶ δύο, πρὶν ἂν καὶ ὁ δυσμαθέστατος ἱκανῶς μάθῃ ἀριθμεῖν· ὡς γὰρ καὶ τρία καὶ τέτταρα καὶ πολλά, ἕκαστος ἡμῶν ἐπινοήσειεν ἂν ὁρῶν ταῦτα. καὶ ἐκ τούτων ἓν ἐποίησεν τὴν σελήνην ὁ θεὸς ἀπεργασάμενος, ἣ τοτὲ μὲν μείζων φαινομένη, τοτὲ δ’ ἐλάττων, διεξῆλθεν 978e ἄλλην ἀεὶ φαίνουσα ἡμέραν, μέχρι πεντεκαίδεκα ἡμερῶν καὶ νυκτῶν· αὕτη δ’ ἔστιν περίοδος, εἰ βούλεταί τις τὸν κύκλον ἕνα ὅλον εἰς ἓν τιθέναι, ὥστε ὡς ἔπος εἰπεῖν καὶ τὸ δυσμαθέστατον ἂν μαθεῖν ζῷον, οἷς παρέδωκεν φύσιν ὁ θεὸς τοῦ δυνατοῖς εἶναι μανθάνειν. καὶ μέχρι μὲν τούτων τε καὶ ἐν τούτοις σύμπαν τὸ δυνατὸν τῶν ζῴων μάλα ἀριθμητικὸν 979a γέγονε, τὸ καθ’ ἓν αὐτὸ σκοποῦν· τὸ δὲ πρὸς ἄλληλα πάντα ἀριθμὸν ἀεὶ λογίζεσθαι, δοκῶ μὲν μείζονος ἕνεκα, καὶ τούτου δὲ σελήνην, καθάπερ εἴπομεν, αὐξανομένην καὶ φθίνουσαν ἐμποιήσας, μῆνας πρὸς τὸν ἐνιαυτὸν συνεστήσατο, καὶ πάντα ἀριθμὸν πρὸς ἀριθμὸν ἤρξατο συνορᾶν εὐδαίμονι τύχῃ. διὰ δὲ ταῦθ’ ἡμῖν καρποί τε καὶ ἐγκύμων ἡ γῆ γέγονεν, ὥστ’ εἶναι τροφὴν πᾶσι τοῖς ζῴοις, ἀνέμων τε καὶ ὑετῶν γιγνομένων οὐκ ἐξαισίων οὐδὲ ἀμέτρων· ἀλλ’ εἴ τι 979b παρὰ ταῦτα γίγνεται πρὸς τὸ φλαῦρον, οὐ τὴν θείαν ἀλλὰ τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην αἰτιᾶσθαι χρὴ φύσιν, οὐκ ἐν δίκῃ διανέμουσαν τὸν αὑτῶν βίον. ἡμῖν δ’ οὖν ζητοῦσιν περὶ νόμων σχεδὸν ἔδοξεν τὰ μὲν ἄλλα ῥᾴδιά τ’ εἶναι γνῶναι τὰ βέλτιστα ἀνθρώποις, καὶ πᾶς ἂν ἱκανὸς γίγνεσθαι καὶ συνεῖναι τὰ λεγόμενα καὶ ποιεῖν, εἰ γνοίη τί ποτ’ ἔστιν ὃ συμφέρειν εἰκὸς καὶ τί τὸ μὴ συμφέρον· ἔδοξε δὴ καὶ νῦν ἔτι δοκεῖ τὰ 979c μὲν ἄλλα ἐπιτηδεύματα πάντα οὐ σφόδρα χαλεπὰ εἶναι, τὸ δὲ τίνα τρόπον χρὴ γίγνεσθαι χρηστοὺς ἀνθρώπους παγχάλεπον. καὶ τὰ μὲν ἄλλα αὖ πάντα κτᾶσθαι χρηστά, τὸ λεγόμενόν [τε], καὶ δυνατὸν καὶ οὐ χαλεπόν, οὐσίαν τε ὅσην δεῖ καὶ μὴ δεῖ, καὶ σῶμα οἷόν τε δεῖ καὶ μή· καὶ ψυχὴν ὅτι μὲν

Epinomis

p. 17

ceases teaching men one and two, until even the slowest learner has learned to count well enough; for each of us, seeing these things, would come to think of three and four and many as well. And out of these the god made one thing when he produced the moon, which, appearing now larger, now smaller, has gone through, 978e showing always another day, up to fifteen days and nights; and this is a circuit, if one wishes to set down the cycle, one whole, as one; so that, so to speak, even the slowest-learning living being would learn, among those to whom the god has given the nature of being able to learn. And up to these things and in them, every living being that is able 979a has become very able to count, looking into each thing itself, one at a time. But to reckon number always, all things in relation to one another, for the sake, I think, of something greater — for this too, having put in the moon, waxing and waning, as we said, he composed months in relation to the year, and began to see every number together in relation to number, by happy fortune. And because of these things fruits have come to be for us, and the earth has become pregnant, so that there is nourishment for all living beings, when winds and rains come neither violent nor without measure. But if anything 979b turns out contrary to this, toward what is poor, one must blame not the divine but the human nature, for not distributing their own life justly. Now to us, at any rate, when we were seeking about laws, it seemed, very nearly, that the rest of what is best for men was easy to know, and that anyone would become good enough both to understand what was said and to do it, if he knew what it is that is likely to be advantageous and what is not advantageous; and it seemed, and it still seems now, that 979c all the other pursuits are not very hard, but in what way men ought to become decent is altogether hard. And again, to acquire all the other decent things is, as the saying goes, both possible and not hard: property, as much as is needed and is not, and a body, of what sort is needed and is not; and as for the soul, that it

About This Reading Edition

The complete Epinomis, 973a–992e: the Athenian stranger, Clinias, and Megillus examine wisdom, number, the soul, and the ordered heavens. Burnet’s Greek faces a new Diotimos Editions English translation, with an introduction, key words, outline, glossary, critical apparatus, and linked translator notes. Transmitted under Plato’s name, the dialogue’s authorship is disputed; the supplied Introduction presents the question without deciding it.

Historical Text and Translation

Greek: Epinomis, transmitted under Plato’s name, with disputed authorship, in John Burnet, Platonis Opera, volume V, part II (Oxford, 1907; a later impression printed by John Johnson, issued 1936–1945). The words were taken from the Perseus Digital Library transcription and checked against the printed pages by the supplied edition; Burnet’s lineation and critical apparatus are retained. The digital Greek transcription and its modifications are attributed to the Perseus Digital Library, Tufts University, under CC BY-SA 4.0. English translation and editorial matter: Diotimos Editions, 2026.

About Diotimos Editions

This historical edition credits Diotimos Editions as its English translator.

Rights

The ancient Greek work and Burnet’s printed edition are in the public domain. The Perseus digital Greek transcription and its modifications are reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. The new English translation and editorial matter are credited to Diotimos Editions, 2026; no open license is stated in the supplied edition.