Diotimos Library · Plato Collection · Bilingual Edition
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Facing Pages · Branch 11 of 20
The Lovers · 136c–136e
Ancient Greek
p. 16ἡμῖν εἰσιν οἱ ὕπακροι οὗτοι; δῆλον γὰρ ὅτι ἑκάστου γε τῶν τὰς τέχνας ἐχόντων φαυλότερός ἐστιν ὁ φιλόσοφος.
Ὡμολόγει.
Φέρε δὴ σύ, ἦν δ’ ἐγώ, εἰ τύχοις ἢ αὐτὸς ἀσθενήσας ἢ τῶν φίλων τις τῶν σῶν περὶ ὧν σὺ σπουδὴν μεγάλην ἔχεις, πότερον ὑγείαν βουλόμενος κτήσασθαι τὸν ὕπακρον ἐκεῖνον [τὸν φιλόσοφον] εἰσάγοις ἂν εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν ἢ τὸν ἰατρὸν λάβοις;
136dἈμφοτέρους ἔγωγ’ ἄν, ἔφη.
Μή μοι, εἶπον ἐγώ, ἀμφοτέρους λέγε, ἀλλ’ ὁπότερον μᾶλλόν τε καὶ πρότερον.
Οὐδεὶς ἄν, ἔφη, τοῦτό γε ἀμφισβητήσειεν, ὡς οὐχὶ τὸν ἰατρὸν καὶ μᾶλλον καὶ πρότερον.
Τί δ’; ἐν νηὶ χειμαζομένῃ ποτέρῳ ἂν μᾶλλον ἐπιτρέποις σαυτόν τε καὶ τὰ σεαυτοῦ, τῷ κυβερνήτῃ ἢ τῷ φιλοσόφῳ;
Τῷ κυβερνήτῃ ἔγωγε.
Οὐκοῦν καὶ τἆλλα πάνθ’ οὕτως, ἕως ἄν τις δημιουργὸς ᾖ, οὐ χρήσιμός ἐστιν ὁ φιλόσοφος;
Φαίνεται, ἔφη.
136eΟὐκοῦν νῦν ἄχρηστός τις ἡμῖν ἐστιν ὁ φιλόσοφος; εἰσὶ γὰρ ἡμῖν ἀεί που δημιουργοί· ὡμολογήσαμεν δὲ τοὺς μὲν ἀγαθοὺς χρησίμους εἶναι, τοὺς δὲ μοχθηροὺς ἀχρήστους.
Ἠναγκάζετο ὁμολογεῖν.
Τί οὖν μετὰ τοῦτο; ἔρωμαί σε ἢ ἀγροικότερόν ἐστιν ἐρέσθαι—
Ἐροῦ ὅτι βούλει.
Οὐδὲν δή, ἔφην ἐγώ, ζητῶ ἄλλο ἢ ἀνομολογήσασθαι τὰ
The Lovers
p. 17to us, these runners-up? For it is plain that the philosopher is poorer than each of those who have the crafts, at least.”
He agreed.
“Come, then,” said I, “if either you yourself or some friend of yours about whom you are greatly in earnest should in fact fall sick, would you, wishing to acquire health, bring that runner-up into the house, or would you get the doctor?”1
136d“Both, I would,” he said.
“Don’t say both to me,” I said, “but which one of the two rather, and first.”
“No one,” he said, “would dispute this, at least: that it would be the doctor, both rather and first.”
“Well? In a ship in a storm, to which of the two would you rather entrust both yourself and what is yours: to the pilot or to the philosopher?”
“To the pilot, I would.”
“Then so too in everything else: as long as there is any craftsman, the philosopher is not useful?”
“It appears so,” he said.
136e“Then is the philosopher now a useless sort of man for us? For there always are craftsmen for us, I suppose; and we agreed that the good are useful, and the worthless useless.”2
He was compelled to agree.
“What, then, after this? Shall I ask you, or is it rather boorish to ask—”
“Ask whatever you wish.”
“Why, I seek nothing else,” said I, “than to agree over again on what
Socrates
Reading The Lovers · The Lovers · 136c–136e
Ask about a concept, passage, contradiction, or connection.
Socrates will begin with this book and its sources.About This Reading Edition
Socrates recalls a debate between two rival lovers about what philosophy is: much learning, a knowledge of many crafts, or the knowledge by which we know ourselves and judge rightly. This complete edition presents the dialogue, 132a–139a, across thirteen Greek–English page pairs, with an introduction, Key Words of the Dialogue, an outline, glossary, critical apparatus, and thirty 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 Oxford impression printed by John Johnson. The supplied edition checks the Perseus Digital Library transcription against the printed pages and retains Burnet’s paragraphing, verse, editorial signs, and critical apparatus. The supplied PDF preserves the complete printed layout.
About Diotimos Editions
Diotimos Editions prepared this independent English translation directly from the Greek. Socrates’ narration, the rival lovers’ exchanges, and the distinctions between learning, craft, usefulness, justice, and temperance remain aligned with the Greek. All thirty 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.
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.
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