Diotimos Library · Plato Collection · Bilingual Edition
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Facing Pages · Branch 12 of 19
Hipparchus · 230b–230e
Ancient Greek
p. 18ΣΩ. Οὐκοῦν καὶ ποτὸν καὶ τἆλλα πάντα, ὅσα τῶν ὄντων ταὐτὰ ὄντα τὰ μὲν πέπονθεν ἀγαθὰ εἶναι, τὰ δὲ κακά, οὐδὲν ἐκείνῃ γε διαφέρει τὸ ἕτερον τοῦ ἑτέρου, ᾗ τὸ 230c αὐτό ἐστιν; ὥσπερ ἄνθρωπος δήπου ὁ μὲν χρηστός ἐστιν, ὁ δὲ πονηρός.
ΕΤ. Ναί.
ΣΩ. Ἀλλ’ ἄνθρωπός γε οἶμαι οὐδέτερος οὐδετέρου οὔτε μᾶλλον οὔτε ἧττόν ἐστιν, οὔτε ὁ χρηστὸς τοῦ πονηροῦ οὔτε ὁ πονηρὸς τοῦ χρηστοῦ.
ΕΤ. Ἀληθῆ λέγεις.
ΣΩ. Οὐκοῦν οὕτω καὶ περὶ τοῦ κέρδους διανοώμεθα, ὡς κέρδος γε ὁμοίως ἐστὶ καὶ τὸ πονηρὸν καὶ τὸ χρηστόν;
ΕΤ. Ἀνάγκη.
ΣΩ. Οὐδὲν ἄρα μᾶλλον κερδαίνει ὁ τὸ χρηστὸν κέρδος ἔχων ἢ τὸ πονηρόν· οὔκουν μᾶλλόν γε κέρδος φαίνεται 230d οὐδέτερον ὄν, ὡς ὁμολογοῦμεν.
ΕΤ. Ναί.
ΣΩ. Οὐδετέρῳ γὰρ αὐτῶν οὔτε τὸ μᾶλλον οὔτε τὸ ἧττον πρόσεστιν.
ΕΤ. Οὐ γὰρ δή.
ΣΩ. Τῷ δὴ τοιούτῳ πράγματι πῶς ἄν τις μᾶλλον ἢ ἧττον ὁτιοῦν ἂν ποιοῖ ἢ πάσχοι, ᾧ μηδέτερον τούτων προσείη;
ΕΤ. Ἀδύνατον.
ΣΩ. Ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν κέρδη μὲν ὁμοίως ἐστὶν ἀμφότερα καὶ κερδαλέα, τουτὶ δὴ δεῖ ἡμᾶς ἐπισκέψασθαι, διὰ τί ποτε ἀμφότερα αὐτὰ κέρδος καλεῖς, τί ταὐτὸν ἐν ἀμφοτέροις ὁρῶν; 230e ὥσπερ ἂν εἰ [ἃ] σύ με ἠρώτας τὰ νυνδή, διὰ τί ποτε καὶ τὸ ἀγαθὸν σιτίον καὶ τὸ κακὸν σιτίον ὁμοίως ἀμφότερα σιτία καλῶ, εἶπον ἄν σοι διότι ἀμφότερα ξηρὰ τροφὴ σώματός
Hipparchus
p. 19Soc. Then drink too, and all the other things there are that, being the same, are so affected that some are good and some bad: does the one differ from the other not at all, in that respect at least in which 230c it is the same? Just as with a man, I suppose: one is decent, another base.
Comp. Yes.
Soc. But neither, I think, is more or less a man, at any rate, than the other, the decent than the base, or the base than the decent.
Comp. What you say is true.
Soc. Then shall we think in the same way about gain too, that both the base and the decent are, at any rate, equally gain?
Comp. Necessarily.
Soc. Then the man who has the decent gain gains no more than the man who has the base; so 230d neither, as we agree, appears to be any more gain.
Comp. Yes.
Soc. For to neither of them does the more or the less belong.
Comp. It does not, indeed.
Soc. Then with a thing of that kind, to which neither of these belongs, how could anyone do or undergo anything more or less?
Comp. Impossible.
Soc. Since, then, both are equally gains and gainful, this is what we must look into: why ever do you call both of them gain? What do you see in both that is the same? 230e Just as, if you had asked me just now why ever I call both good food and bad food equally food, I would have told you: because both are dry nourishment of the body,
Socrates
Reading Hipparchus · Hipparchus · 230b–230e
Ask about a concept, passage, contradiction, or connection.
Socrates will begin with this book and its sources.About This Reading Edition
Socrates and an unnamed companion examine the love of gain, the difference between gain and loss, and whether everyone desires what is good. This complete revised edition presents the dialogue, 225a–232c, across twelve 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; second edition, 1910), in a later impression printed by John Johnson. The words were taken from the Perseus Digital Library transcription and checked against the supplied printed pages. Burnet’s lineation, verse quotations, editorial signs, and critical apparatus are retained. 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, and Socrates’ humor. Each English dialogue page translates the Greek page opposite it. All 26 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.