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Ancient Greek Page · Branch 5 of 19
Hipparchus · 225c–226c
Ancient Greek
p. 4ΕΤ. Ἔγωγε.
ΣΩ. Τίς οὖν ἐπιστήμων περὶ φυτῶν τῆς ἀξίας, ἐν ὁποίᾳ ἄξια φυτευθῆναι καὶ ὥρᾳ καὶ χώρᾳ; ἵνα τι καὶ ἡμεῖς τῶν σοφῶν ῥημάτων ἐμβάλωμεν, ὧν οἱ δεξιοὶ περὶ τὰς δίκας καλλιεποῦνται.
225dΕΤ. Ἐγὼ μὲν οἶμαι γεωργόν.
ΣΩ. Τὸ οὖν ἀξιοῦν κερδαίνειν ἄλλο τι λέγεις ἢ οἴεσθαι δεῖν κερδαίνειν;
ΕΤ. Τοῦτο λέγω.
ΣΩ. Μὴ τοίνυν με ἐπιχείρει ἐξαπατᾶν, ἄνδρα πρεσβύ226aτερον ἤδη οὕτω νέος ὤν, ἀποκρινόμενος ὥσπερ νυνδὴ ἃ οὐδ’ αὐτὸς οἴει, ἀλλ’ ὡς ἀληθῶς εἰπέ· ἆρ’ ἔστιν ὅντινα οἴει γεωργικὸν ἄνδρα γιγνόμενον, καὶ γιγνώσκοντα ὅτι οὐδενὸς ἄξιον φυτεύει τὸ φυτόν, οἴεσθαι ἀπὸ τούτου κερδαίνειν;
ΕΤ. Μὰ Δί’ οὐκ ἔγωγε.
ΣΩ. Τί δέ; ἱππικὸν ἄνδρα γιγνώσκοντα ὅτι οὐδενὸς ἄξια σιτία τῷ ἵππῳ παρέχει, ἀγνοεῖν αὐτὸν οἴει ὅτι τὸν ἵππον διαφθείρει;
ΕΤ. Οὐκ ἔγωγε.
226bΣΩ. Οὐκ ἄρα οἴεταί γε ἀπὸ τούτων κερδαίνειν τῶν σιτίων τῶν μηδενὸς ἀξίων.
ΕΤ. Οὐχί.
ΣΩ. Τί δέ; κυβερνήτην μηδενὸς ἄξια ἱστία καὶ πηδάλια τῇ νηὶ παρεσκευασμένον ἀγνοεῖν οἴει ὅτι ζημιωθήσεται καὶ κινδυνεύσει καὶ αὐτὸς ἀπολέσθαι καὶ τὴν ναῦν ἀπολέσαι καὶ ἃ ἂν ἄγῃ πάντα;
ΕΤ. Οὐκ ἔγωγε.
ΣΩ. Οὐκ ἄρα οἴεταί γε κερδαίνειν ἀπὸ τῶν σκευῶν τῶν 226c μηδενὸς ἀξίων.
Hipparchus
p. 5Comp. I do.
Soc. Who, then, has knowledge of the worth of plants, in what time and clime they are worth planting? So that we too may throw in some of those wise sayings with which the men who are clever at lawsuits speak finely.1
Comp. 225d I think a farmer.
Soc. Then by “thinking fit to gain” do you mean anything other than thinking that one ought to gain?2
Comp. That is what I mean.
Soc. Then don’t try to deceive me, an older man 226a by now, when you are so young, by answering, as you did just now, what not even you yourself think; but tell me truly: is there anyone, do you think, who, being a farming man and knowing that the plant he is planting is worth nothing, thinks he gains from it?3
Comp. By Zeus, not I.
Soc. What about this: a horseman who knows that he is giving his horse food worth nothing, do you think he is ignorant that he is ruining the horse?
Comp. Not I.
Soc. 226b Then he does not think, at least, that he gains from this food worth nothing.
Comp. No.
Soc. What about this: a pilot who has equipped his ship with sails and rudders worth nothing, do you think he is ignorant that he will suffer loss, and will be in danger both of perishing himself and of losing the ship and all that he carries?
Comp. Not I.
Soc. Then he does not think, at least, that he gains from the tackle 226c worth nothing.
Socrates
Reading Hipparchus · Hipparchus · 225c–226c
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.