Minos

Glossary of Key Terms

The English words on which the argument depends, in alphabetical order, with the Greek they render and the places where they matter, by Stephanus page. Where a word has a longer entry in the Key Words of the Dialogue, the Glossary says so.

accept, νομίζειν (nomizein); what is accepted, τὰ νομιζόμενα (ta nomizomena); accept in common, συννομίζειν (synnomizein). “What is accepted”, 313b–c, 314a; “accept”, 314a, 315d, 315e, 316a–b, 316d–e, 320a–b; “accept in common”, 316d. See Key Words, Accept, what is accepted.

being with, συνουσία (synousia); one who is with, συνουσιαστής (synousiastēs); come to be with, συγγίγνεσθαι (syngignesthai). “Come to be with”, 319c, 319d; “one who was with Zeus”, “one who is with another in words”, 319e; “this being with”, 320b. See confidant and Key Words, Being with; confidant.

confidant, ὀαριστής (oaristēs); confidences, ὄαροι (oaroi). 319b, 319d, 319e (note at 319b). See being with and Key Words, Being with; confidant.

craft, τέχνη (technē). “Craft … is our finding of things”, 314b; the craft of medicine, 316c; Zeus’ craft, 319c; “the kingly craft”, 320c.

decent, χρηστός (chrēstos); base, πονηρός (ponēros). Resolutions and opinion, 314e; “decent men from base”, “the most polluted the base one”, 319a. See Key Words, Decent and base.

discover, ἐξευρίσκειν (exeuriskein); discovery, ἐξεύρεσις (exeuresis). “The discovery of what is”, 315a; “not always able to discover what law wishes”, 315b; “one who discovered well the truth”, 321b. Kept apart from find. See Key Words, What is; find, discover.

distribute, νέμειν, διανέμειν, ἀπονέμειν (nemein, dianemein, aponemein); distribution, διανομή (dianomē); distributor, νομεύς (nomeus). With a herd as its object νέμειν is tend. 317d–e; “tend”, 318a (note); “distributed to no other of the heroes”, 319c; “a good distributor”, 321b; “distributors and shepherds of men”, 321c; 321c–d (note at 317d). See Key Words, Distribute, distributor; tend.

educate, παιδεύειν (paideuein); education, παιδεία (paideia); uneducated, ἀπαίδευτος (apaideutos). 319c, 319d, 320b, 320c, 320d; “uneducated”, 320e. See Key Words, Education, sophist.

eulogize, ἐγκωμιάζειν (enkōmiazein); eulogy, ἐγκώμιον (enkōmion); praise, ἐπαινεῖν, ἔπαινος (epainein, epainos); censure, ψέγειν (psegein). “Censure a man or praise him”, 319a; “eulogize”, 319b, 319d; “eulogy”, 319c; “wonderful praise”, “no room to praise more highly”, 319d.

find, εὑρίσκειν (heuriskein); finding, εὕρεσις, εὕρημα (heuresis, heurēma). 314b; “the finding of what is”, 317d; “a very old finding of this city”, 321a. Kept apart from discover. See Key Words, What is; find, discover.

kingly, βασιλικός (basilikos). “The kingly men”, 317a; “kingly law”, 317c; “the kingly craft”, 320c. See Key Words, Kingly; statesmen.

know how, ἐπίστασθαι (epistasthai); one who has knowledge, ἐπιστήμων (epistēmōn), plural ἐπιστήμονες (epistēmones); without knowledge, ἀνεπιστήμονες (anepistēmones); know, εἰδέναι (eidenai). “Those who have knowledge”, 316c–d, 317b; “without knowledge”, 317b; “Who has the knowledge to distribute seeds”, 317d; “know how”, 316e–317b; “know”, 314c, 315c, 316c–d, 317c, 318c–d, 321d. See Key Words, Writing, those who know.

law, νόμος (nomos); most skilled in law, νομικώτατος (nomikōtatos). Throughout; the question, 313a–b; “most skilled in law”, 317e (note); “the laws for the flute”, 318b (note); “the oldest laws”, 318c–d, 321b. See Key Words, Law.

lawful, νόμιμος (nomimos); lawful usages, τὰ νόμιμα (ta nomima). “Lawful”, 314c–d, 315c, 316b, 317b–c, 321b; “lawful usages”, 316e, 317a, 317b, 318c, 320a. See Key Words, Lawful, lawless.

lawgiver, νομοθέτης (nomothetēs); guardian of the laws, νομοφύλαξ (nomophylax). “Lawgiver”, 318b, 318c, 321b–d; “guardian of the laws”, 320c.

lawless, ἄνομος (anomos); lawlessness, ἀνομία (anomia). 314d, 317c. See Key Words, Lawful, lawless.

make a mistake, ἐξαμαρτάνειν (examartanein); miss, ἁμαρτάνειν (hamartanein). “Whoever misses what is, then, misses the lawful”, 316b; “make mistakes in word and deed”, 318e; “make a mistake in word against a hero”, 319b; “where Minos made a mistake”, 320e, 321a.

opinion, δόξα (doxa); held in worse opinion, κακοδοξότερος (kakodoxoteros). “Political opinion”, 314c; “true opinion”, 314e–315a; “great power over opinion”, 320e; “held in worse opinion”, 321a–b. See resolution and Key Words, Resolution, decree, opinion.

resolution, δόγμα (dogma); decree, ψήφισμα (psēphisma). 314b–e (note at 314b). See opinion and Key Words, Resolution, decree, opinion.

right, ὀρθός (orthos); rightly, ὀρθῶς (orthōs). “You would not have asked rightly”, 313a; “it is not right to answer so simply”, 314e; “if you are speaking rightly”, 315d; “whatever is right”, 317b; “what is right is kingly law”, 317c; “Rightly, then, we agreed”, “his laws and distributions in these matters are right”, 317d; “lest you should not speak rightly”, 319a; “Rightly”, 321c.

sophist, σοφιστής (sophistēs). Zeus, 319c. See Key Words, Education, sophist.

soul, ψυχή (psychē). “The souls of men”, 318a; what the good lawgiver distributes to “the soul”, 321d, as to the body, 321c.

statesmen, οἱ πολιτικοί (hoi politikoi); political, πολιτικός (politikos). “Political opinion”, 314c; “the statesmen”, “statesmen’s writings”, 317a. See Key Words, Kingly; statesmen.

tend: see distribute.

what is, τὸ ὄν (to on); the things that are, τὰ ὄντα (ta onta). “The discovery of what is”, 315a; “what law wishes, what is”, 315b; “the things that are”, 315a, 316b; “misses what is”, 316b; “the finding of what is”, 317d; “the truth of what is”, 321b. See Key Words, What is; find, discover.

wish, βούλεσθαι (boulesthai), of law. “Law, then, wishes to be the discovery of what is”, 315a; 315b (note at 315a). See Key Words, Wish.

writing, σύγγραμμα (syngramma); write, συγγράφειν (syngraphein). 316c–317c. See Key Words, Writing, those who know.