Minos

Name: Minos
Author: Plato

Ancient Greek with an independent English translation.

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MinosMinos · 313a–313c

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Minos · 313a–313c

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Ancient Greek

p. 2

ΜΙΝΩΣ ἢ ΠΕΡΙ ΝΟΜΟΥ

ΣΩΚΡΑΤΗΣ ΕΤΑΙΡΟΣ

313aΣΩ. Ὁ νόμος ἡμῖν τί ἐστιν;

ΕΤ. Ὁποῖον καὶ ἐρωτᾷς τῶν νόμων;

ΣΩ. Τί δ’; ἔστιν ὅτι διαφέρει νόμος νόμου κατ’ αὐτὸ τοῦτο, κατὰ τὸ νόμος εἶναι; σκόπει γὰρ δὴ ὃ τυγχάνω ἐρωτῶν σε. ἐρωτῶ γάρ, ὥσπερ εἰ ἀνηρόμην τί ἐστιν χρυσός, εἴ με ὡσαύτως ἀνήρου ὁποῖον καὶ λέγω χρυσόν, οἴομαί σε οὐκ ἂν ὀρθῶς ἐρέσθαι. οὐδὲν γάρ που διαφέρει οὔτε χρυσὸς 313b χρυσοῦ οὔτε λίθος λίθου κατά γε τὸ λίθος εἶναι καὶ κατὰ τὸ χρυσός· οὕτω δὲ οὐδὲ νόμος που νόμου οὐδὲν διαφέρει, ἀλλὰ πάντες εἰσὶν ταὐτόν. νόμος γὰρ ἕκαστος αὐτῶν ἐστιν ὁμοίως, οὐχ ὁ μὲν μᾶλλον, ὁ δ’ ἧττον· τοῦτο δὴ αὐτὸ ἐρωτῶ, τὸ πᾶν τί ἐστιν νόμος. εἰ οὖν σοι πρόχειρον, εἰπέ.

ΕΤ. Τί οὖν ἄλλο νόμος εἴη ἄν, ὦ Σώκρατες, ἀλλ’ ἢ τὰ νομιζόμενα;

ΣΩ. Ἦ καὶ λόγος σοι δοκεῖ εἶναι τὰ λεγόμενα, ἢ ὄψις τὰ ὁρώμενα, ἢ ἀκοὴ τὰ ἀκουόμενα; ἢ ἄλλο μὲν λόγος, ἄλλο 313c δὲ τὰ λεγόμενα· καὶ ἄλλο μὲν ὄψις, ἄλλο δὲ τὰ ὁρώμενα·

313a 1.Source editor’s annotationὁ F: abscisso margine periit in A

313a 2.Source editor’s annotationὁποῖον A F Alexander: ποῖον Hermann

313a 2.Source editor’s annotationτῶν νόμων A F Alexander: τὸν νόμον vulg.

313a 5.Source editor’s annotationεἰ ἀνηρόμην A: εἰ ἀνηρώμην F: ἂν εἰ ἠρόμην Hermann

313a 6.Source editor’s annotationμε A: μὲν F

313a 6.Source editor’s annotationἀνήρου A: ἂν ἤρου F

313a 6.Source editor’s annotationοἴομαί A: οἶμαί F

313a 7.Source editor’s annotationἔρεσθαι A: αἴρεσθαι F

313b 5.Source editor’s annotationεἰπέ A: εἶπε F

313b 9.Source editor’s annotationἄλλο δὲ A: ἄλλα δὲ F (et mox ἄλλα δὲ τὰ ὁρώμενα)

313c 1.Source editor’s annotationκαὶ ἄλλο . . . ὁρώμενα F: om. A

Minos

p. 3

Soc. 313a What is law, for us?¹

Comp. Which of the laws are you asking about?²

Soc. Why? Is there anything in which law differs from law in this very respect, in being law? Just look into what I am in fact asking you. For I am asking as I would if I had asked what gold is: if you had asked me in the same way which gold I meant, I think you would not have asked rightly. For gold does not differ at all, I suppose, 313b from gold, nor stone from stone, in respect at least of being stone and in respect of being gold; and so too law, I suppose, does not differ from law at all; they are all the same thing. For each of them is law equally, not one more and another less. It is just this that I am asking: what law is, as a whole. So if you have it ready to hand, tell me.

Comp. What else, then, would law be, Socrates, but what is accepted?³

Soc. Do you also think that speech is the things spoken, or sight the things seen, or hearing the things heard? Or is speech one thing 313c and the things spoken another, and sight one thing and the things seen another,

About This Reading Edition

Socrates and an unnamed companion ask what law is, testing custom, civic decrees, true opinion, and the discovery of what is. The conversation turns to the crafts and to Minos as the lawgiver of Crete, before ending with an unanswered question about what improves the soul. This complete edition presents the dialogue, 313a–321d, across thirteen Greek–English page pairs, with an introduction, key words, outline, glossary, critical apparatus, and thirty translator’s notes. Transmitted among Plato’s works, its authorship is disputed.

Historical Text and Translation

The Greek follows John Burnet’s Platonis Opera, volume V (Oxford, 1907), in the supplied later impression printed by John Johnson, not before 1936. The supplied edition checks the Perseus Digital Library transcription against the printed pages. Burnet’s speaker names, quoted verse, editorial signs, and critical apparatus remain available. The companion PDF preserves the printed lineation and complete page layout.

About Diotimos Editions

Diotimos Editions prepared the independent English translation and notes. Each English dialogue page translates the Greek page opposite it, with Stephanus references in the margin and all thirty translator’s notes attached to 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.

Rights

The ancient Greek work and Burnet’s historical text 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 editorial matter were prepared by Diotimos Editions, 2026, and are published with the site owner’s permission. The complete supplied edition is available as PDF, EPUB, Word, and Markdown.