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Ancient Greek Page · Branch 7 of 19
Hipparchus · 227a–227c
Ancient Greek
p. 8ΣΩ. Ἔστιν οὖν ὅτῳ ἀγαθόν ἐστι ζημιοῦσθαι;
ΕΤ. Οὐδενί.
ΣΩ. Ἀλλὰ κακόν;
ΕΤ. Ναί.
ΣΩ. Βλάπτονται ὑπὸ τῆς ζημίας ἄρα ἄνθρωποι.
ΕΤ. Βλάπτονται.
ΣΩ. Κακὸν ἄρα ἡ ζημία.
ΕΤ. Ναί.
ΣΩ. Ἐναντίον δὲ τῇ ζημίᾳ τὸ κέρδος.
ΕΤ. Ἐναντίον.
ΣΩ. Ἀγαθὸν ἄρα τὸ κέρδος.
ΕΤ. Ναί.
227bΣΩ. Τοὺς οὖν τὸ ἀγαθὸν φιλοῦντας φιλοκερδεῖς καλεῖς.
ΕΤ. Ἔοικεν.
ΣΩ. Οὐ μανικούς γε, ὦ ἑταῖρε, λέγεις τοὺς φιλοκερδεῖς. ἀλλὰ σὺ αὐτὸς πότερον φιλεῖς ὃ ἂν ἀγαθὸν ᾖ, ἢ οὐ φιλεῖς;
ΕΤ. Ἔγωγε.
ΣΩ. Ἔστι δέ τι ἀγαθόν, ὃ οὐ φιλεῖς, ἀλλὰ κακόν;
ΕΤ. Μὰ Δί’ οὐκ ἔγωγε.
ΣΩ. Ἀλλὰ πάντα τὰ ἀγαθὰ ἴσως φιλεῖς.
ΕΤ. Ναί.
ΣΩ. Ἐροῦ δὴ καὶ ἐμὲ εἰ οὐ καὶ ἐγώ· ὁμολογήσω γὰρ καὶ 227c ἐγώ σοι φιλεῖν τἀγαθά. ἀλλὰ πρὸς ἐμοὶ καὶ σοὶ οἱ ἄλλοι ἄνθρωποι ἅπαντες οὐ δοκοῦσί σοι τἀγαθὰ φιλεῖν, τὰ δὲ κακὰ μισεῖν;
ΕΤ. Ἔμοιγε φαίνεται.
ΣΩ. Τὸ δὲ κέρδος ἀγαθὸν ὡμολογήσαμεν;
ΕΤ. Ναί.
ΣΩ. Πάντες αὖ φιλοκερδεῖς φαίνονται τοῦτον τὸν τρόπον· ὃν δὲ τὸ πρότερον ἐλέγομεν, οὐδεὶς ἦν φιλοκερδής. ποτέρῳ οὖν ἄν τις τῷ λόγῳ χρώμενος οὐκ ἂν ἐξαμαρτάνοι;
Hipparchus
p. 9Soc. Is there anyone, then, for whom it is good to suffer loss?
Comp. For no one.
Soc. Bad, rather?
Comp. Yes.
Soc. Then men are harmed by loss.
Comp. They are harmed.
Soc. Then loss is bad.
Comp. Yes.
Soc. And gain is the opposite of loss.
Comp. The opposite.
Soc. Then gain is good.
Comp. Yes.
Soc. 227b Then you call lovers of gain those who love the good.
Comp. It seems so.
Soc. It is not madmen, at any rate, my friend, that you call lovers of gain. But you yourself: do you love whatever is good, or do you not?
Comp. I do.
Soc. And is there anything good that you do not love, rather than something bad?
Comp. By Zeus, not I.
Soc. Then perhaps you love all good things.
Comp. Yes.
Soc. Ask me too, then, whether I do not as well; for 227c I too shall agree with you that I love good things. But besides me and you, don’t all other men seem to you to love good things and to hate bad ones?
Comp. It appears so to me.
Soc. And gain we agreed was good?
Comp. Yes.
Soc. In this way, in turn, all men appear to be lovers of gain; but in the way we were speaking of before, no one was a lover of gain. Which of the two arguments, then, could one use without making a mistake?
Socrates
Reading Hipparchus · Hipparchus · 227a–227c
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.