From the book
Lysis
Plato · Diotimos Editions · 2026
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At a Glance
- The wordPhainomai means appear; seem; become apparent.
- In LysisAt 217d the contrast between being white and appearing white is explicit: white lead makes fair hair look white without making the hair itself white in the way old age does.
- Reading contextDo not import the sharp appearance/reality contrast of the hair example into every ordinary assent, or translate every assent as certainty.
- A place to readThe Greek example means “Would they then be white, or appear so?”
- English renderings
- Appear; seem; become apparent
Meaning
Appear; seem; become apparent.
Grammatical category: verb.
Use in the book
At 217d the contrast between being white and appearing white is explicit: white lead makes fair hair look white without making the hair itself white in the way old age does. The optative φαίνοιντο expresses the appearance under the hypothetical treatment.
Elsewhere the conversational reply φαίνεται can mean “apparently” or “it appears so,” and a form of the verb may introduce a newly emerging conclusion. Do not import the sharp appearance/reality contrast of the hair example into every ordinary assent, or translate every assent as certainty.