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English Page · Branch 14 of 20
The Lovers · 137e–138b
Ancient Greek
p. 22Φημί.
Καὶ εἰ βοῦς ὢν ἀγνοοῖ τοὺς πονηροὺς καὶ χρηστοὺς ⟨βοῦς⟩, κἂν αὑτὸν ἀγνοοῖ ποῖός τίς ἐστιν;
Ναί, ἔφη.
Οὕτω δὴ καὶ εἰ κύων;
Ὡμολόγει.
138aΤί δ’; ἐπειδὰν ἄνθρωπός τις ὢν ἀγνοῇ τοὺς χρηστοὺς καὶ μοχθηροὺς ἀνθρώπους, ἆρ’ οὐχ αὑτὸν ἀγνοεῖ πότερον χρηστός ἐστιν ἢ πονηρός, ἐπειδὴ καὶ αὐτὸς ἄνθρωπός ἐστιν;
Συνεχώρει.
Τὸ δὲ αὑτὸν ἀγνοεῖν σωφρονεῖν ἐστιν ἢ μὴ σωφρονεῖν;
Μὴ σωφρονεῖν.
Τὸ ἑαυτὸν ἄρα γιγνώσκειν ἐστὶ σωφρονεῖν;
Φημί, ἔφη.
Τοῦτ’ ἄρα, ὡς ἔοικε, τὸ ἐν Δελφοῖς γράμμα παρακελεύεται, σωφροσύνην ἀσκεῖν καὶ δικαιοσύνην.
Ἔοικεν.
Τῇ αὐτῇ δὲ ταύτῃ καὶ κολάζειν ὀρθῶς ἐπιστάμεθα;
Ναί.
138bΟὐκοῦν ᾗ μὲν κολάζειν ὀρθῶς ἐπιστάμεθα, δικαιοσύνη αὕτη ἐστίν, ᾗ δὲ διαγιγνώσκειν καὶ ἑαυτὸν καὶ ἄλλους, σωφροσύνη;
Ἔοικεν, ἔφη.
Ταὐτὸν ἄρα ἐστὶ καὶ δικαιοσύνη καὶ σωφροσύνη;
Φαίνεται.
Καὶ μὴν οὕτω γε καὶ αἱ πόλεις εὖ οἰκοῦνται, ὅταν οἱ ἀδικοῦντες δίκην διδῶσιν.
The Lovers
p. 23“I say so.”
“And if one who is an ox were ignorant of the base and decent oxen, would he also be ignorant of himself, of what sort he is?”
“Yes,” he said.
“And so too if he is a dog?”
He agreed.
138a“Well? When someone who is a man is ignorant of the decent and worthless men, is he not ignorant of himself, whether he is decent or base, since he too is himself a man?”
He conceded.
“And is being ignorant of oneself being temperate, or not being temperate?”
“Not being temperate.”
“Then knowing oneself is being temperate?”
“I say so,” he said.
“This, then, it seems, is what the inscription at Delphi urges: to practice temperance and justice.”1
“It seems so.”
“And is it by this same thing that we also know how to punish rightly?”
“Yes.”
138b“Then that by which we know how to punish rightly—this is justice; and that by which we know how to distinguish both oneself and others, temperance?”
“It seems so,” he said.
“Then it is the same thing, both justice and temperance?”
“It appears so.”
“And indeed it is in this way that cities, too, are well ordered: when wrongdoers pay the penalty.”
Socrates
Reading The Lovers · The Lovers · 137e–138b
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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