Deliberation and decision

Use in the book

Deliberation first supplies a mental example against quietness. People praise the person who thinks things through and finds a result easily and quickly, rather than the one who proceeds laboriously (160a–b). This is a comparison of successful performances, not the claim that every slow decision is bad or that one should act without consideration.

At the end Socrates asks the two aristocrats, using a dual form, what they are planning to do. Charmides replies that they have already decided (176c). The perfect closes off the consultation Socrates' question seemed to invite. He tells Socrates in turn to deliberate about what he will do, but Socrates answers that no counsel remains when force cannot be opposed (176c–d).

The comic exchange brings a serious distinction into focus: a decision can be settled for its makers without having been justified to the person affected. The earlier praise of effective deliberation does not license this substitution of resolve for an examined account. The dialogue ends with a practical arrangement, yet without a completed shared definition of the virtue the arrangement is meant to cultivate.

Places to read

1. 160a–bEasy and quick deliberation is praised among the soul’s activities
2. 176c–dA completed decision displaces further consultation and Socrates says no counsel remains

Translation in this edition

“Plotting” in the closing exchange conveys the playful conspiratorial context, while “take counsel” carries the same verb into Socrates' response. The perfect “we've finished plotting” matters: it is not simply a repetition of the present question.

βουλεύομαι

Attested: βουλεύεσθαι / βουλευόμενός / βουλεύεσθον / βεβουλεύμεθα / βουλεύου (bouleuesthai / bouleuomenos / bouleuesthon / bebouleumetha / bouleuou). To deliberate or take counsel; quick deliberation is praised in the quietness argument, while the closing present and perfect forms contrast planning with a decision already reached. References: 160a, 176c. Lexical identification: lemma: βουλεύομαι. See Deliberation and decision.

βουλή

Attested: βουλή (boulē). Counsel or deliberation; Socrates says none remains when Charmides has decided to act and use force. References: 176d. Lexical identification: lemma: βουλή. See Deliberation and decision.

Use in the book

At 106c Socrates imagines intercepting Alcibiades on his way to the speaking platform. The question is what the citizens are deliberating about such that he is entitled to advise. Alcibiades accepts the criterion: he will speak on matters he knows better than the audience. The subsequent examples do not establish that he must know every civic craft. They ask what distinctive subject his advisory competence concerns.

Building, divination, health, and shipbuilding reveal the need for relevant expertise. Wealth, lineage, height, and beauty have no authority to decide those questions. When Alcibiades specifies war, peace, and other civic affairs, Socrates asks for the standard of “better” that would guide the recommendation (107d–109c234). Good advice requires more than eloquence and favorable reception; it requires understanding what the advice is meant to improve.

At 113d Alcibiades says public deliberation generally concerns advantage because justice is considered obvious. Socrates refuses to let that shift exempt his asserted expertise from examination. At 114b–d he offers himself as an Assembly of one: the same knowledgeable person should be able to persuade an individual and a crowd about the same matters. That claim removes the excuse that private questioning is irrelevant preparation for public address, without supplying a complete theory of persuasion.

The phrase “let us deliberate together” marks a different use of the same family. Alcibiades says it at 119b while deciding whether to care for himself, although he immediately uses the incompetence of rivals as an excuse to avoid preparation. Socrates repeats it at 124b with a sharper object: how both of them can become as good as possible. The deliberative activity Alcibiades meant to direct in public is now applied to his own formation.

Near the end, the Delphic inscription is itself imagined as advising an eye to see itself (132d). Advice is thus not restricted to a political speech; its worth depends on helping its addressee orient action through understanding. The dialogue lets Socrates practice such counsel while requiring Alcibiades to recognize why he is not yet fit to give it to the city.

Places to read

1. 106c–109c23456The adviser must identify his subject and the standard of better action
2. 113d–114d2Advantage becomes the asserted subject of deliberation; private persuasion is tested as preparation for public speaking
3. 119bAlcibiades asks for common deliberation about his preparation
4. 124b–124c2Socrates repeats the invitation as shared inquiry into becoming better
5. 132dThe inscription is imagined as advising an eye

Translation in this edition

The edition distinguishes “deliberate,” “advise,” and “recommend” (παραινεῖν). At both 119b and 124b it follows Stephanus' κοινὴ βουλή rather than the manuscripts' κοινῇ βουλῇ. The matched translations preserve Socrates' return of Alcibiades' earlier invitation.

βουλεύω / βουλή

Attested: βουλεύεσθαι (bouleuesthai; 106c); κοινὴ βουλή (koinē boulē; 119b); κοινὴ βουλὴ (koinē boulē; 124b). At 106c: The citizens’ deliberating about a proposed course of action. At 119b: Shared deliberation about Alcibiades’ preparation. At 124b: Socrates’ return of the invitation to deliberate together about becoming better. Lexical identification: family label: βουλεύω / βουλή. See Deliberation and advice.

παραινέω

Attested: παραινῶν (parainōn; 107b); παραινεῖν (parainein; 132d). To exhort or advise. At 107b: The person recommending a course, whose wealth is irrelevant to medical advice. At 132d: What the imagined inscription recommends to an eye told to see itself. Lexical identification: lemma: παραινέω. See Deliberation and advice.

συμβουλεύω / σύμβουλος / συμβουλή

Attested: συμβουλεύσων (symbouleusōn; 106c); σύμβουλος (symboulos; 106d); συμβουλή (symboulē; 107b). At 106c: Intending to stand up as adviser to the Athenians. At 106d: A good adviser in the matters he actually knows. At 107b: Advice belonging to the knowledgeable person rather than to the rich person. Lexical identification: family label: συμβουλεύω / σύμβουλος / συμβουλή. See Deliberation and advice.

Use in the book

Demodocus arrives with a practical decision: since he can no longer restrain his son, he will supervise the introduction to a sophist. Meeting Socrates interrupts that proposed execution with an opportunity for counsel. The father's request is not initially for a definition of wisdom, but for guidance about what he is about to do (122a–b).

Socrates solemnizes the request by saying that advice is called sacred and that no subject of deliberation is more divine than one's own education and that of one's kin. The language raises the stakes without yet naming a divinely guaranteed adviser. His first requirement is procedural: adviser and recipient must mean the same thing. He then corrects even that requirement, since agreement between adults would be useless if neither understood the boy's desire. Good deliberation requires identification of its object before selection of means.

At 125a the same vocabulary returns inside the joke about a tyrant-teacher. Socrates proposes that he and Demodocus deliberate where to send the boy. Demodocus answers that the matter needs no trivial counsel. Yet Socrates immediately postpones the decision once more: they must question Theages sufficiently first (125b). The recurrent postponement is philosophically productive. Having obtained “rule everyone” as an answer has not yet established what sort of rule Theages seeks or whether a suitable teacher exists.

At the close Theages himself proposes a sequence: try being with Socrates, and, if the daimonic does not permit it, deliberate immediately about alternatives (131a). The young man has become a participant in the practical procedure that began as his father's consultation. This is no final theory of wise choice: the suggested alternatives include another companion and ritual appeasement. Nevertheless, deliberation now acknowledges a condition outside either person's will. The movement is from advice sought on a seemingly settled educational purchase to a provisional arrangement whose success remains to be tested.

Places to read

1. 122aσυμβουλεύσασθαι; συμβουλεύειν — Demodocus distinguishes his taking advice from Socrates' giving it
2. 122bσυμβουλὴ ἱερὸν χρῆμα — Advice is called a sacred thing
3. 122b–cπερὶ οὗ βουλευόμεθα — The object of joint deliberation must first be identified
4. 122cὁ συμβουλευόμενος — The father as recipient of advice, contrasted with Socrates as adviser
5. 125a–bκοινῇ βουλευώμεθα; βουλῆς δεῖν — Joint deliberation and the need for serious counsel
6. 131aβουλευσόμεθα ὅτι δράσομεν — Theages reserves a further decision about what they will do

Translation in this edition

The translation differentiates “advise,” “take advice,” “deliberate,” and “counsel.” At 125a Burnet prints βουλευώμεθα, the deliberative subjunctive, against the indicative recorded for B and T. The printed invitation therefore asks what they should do together; the apparatus should not be mistaken for a second action in the dialogue.

Advice — συμβουλή (symboulē)

συμβουλή (symboulē)

Advice. The practice described proverbially as sacred. Attested: συμβουλὴ (122b). Advice, counsel, and deliberation.

Advise — συμβουλεύειν (symbouleuein)

συμβουλεύειν (symbouleuein)

Advise. The active contribution Demodocus requests from Socrates. Attested: συμβουλεύειν (122a). Advice, counsel, and deliberation.

Appeared — παραφαίνεσθαι (paraphainesthai)

παραφαίνεσθαι (paraphainesthai)

Appeared. Demodocus describes Socrates' timely arrival in their path. Attested: παρεφάνης (122a). Advice, counsel, and deliberation.

At the right time — εἰς καλόν (eis kalon)

εἰς καλόν (eis kalon)

At the right time. Socrates' encounter is welcomed as opportune for obtaining advice. Attested: εἰς καλὸν (122a). Advice, counsel, and deliberation.

Counsel — βουλή (boulē)

βουλή (boulē)

Counsel. Demodocus says the matter requires serious consideration. Attested: βουλῆς (125b). Advice, counsel, and deliberation.

Deliberate — βουλεύεσθαι (bouleuesthai)

βουλεύεσθαι (bouleuesthai)

Deliberate. Considering a course of action about education. Attested: βουλεύσαιτο (122b). Advice, counsel, and deliberation.

Are deliberating — βουλεύεσθαι (bouleuesthai)

βουλεύεσθαι (bouleuesthai)

Are deliberating. The joint activity whose object must be identified before advice can help. Attested: βουλευόμεθα (122b). Advice, counsel, and deliberation.

Let us deliberate — βουλεύεσθαι (bouleuesthai)

βουλεύεσθαι (bouleuesthai)

Let us deliberate. The printed subjunctive proposes joint consideration of an instructor. Attested: βουλευώμεθα (125a). Advice, counsel, and deliberation.

Do a favor — χαρίζεσθαι (charizesthai)

χαρίζεσθαι (charizesthai)

Do a favor. Clarifying the desired knowledge is presented as enabling assistance. Attested: χαρισώμεθα (123a). Advice, counsel, and deliberation.

Thing — χρῆμα (chrēma)

χρῆμα (chrēma)

Thing. The generic noun in the expression that counsel is a sacred thing, distinct from plural money at 121d. Attested: χρῆμα (122b). Advice, counsel, and deliberation.

Sacred — ἱερός (hieros)

ἱερός (hieros)

Sacred. Sacred: the predicate describes advice generally and is then repeated of this particular educational consultation. Attested: ἱερὸν; ἱερά (122b). Advice, counsel, and deliberation.

Take advice — συμβουλεύεσθαι (symbouleuesthai)

συμβουλεύεσθαι (symbouleuesthai)

Take advice. The father seeks consultation before acting on the educational plan. Attested: συμβουλεύσασθαι (122a). Advice, counsel, and deliberation.

Taking advice — συμβουλεύεσθαι (symbouleuesthai)

συμβουλεύεσθαι (symbouleuesthai)

Taking advice. The middle participle identifies the father's role as recipient. Attested: συμβουλευόμενος (122c). Advice, counsel, and deliberation.

To whose house — ἐς τίνος (es tinos)

ἐς τίνος (es tinos)

To whose house. The printed question concerns where to send the boy for association. Attested: ἐς τίνος (125a). Advice, counsel, and deliberation.

Together — κοινῇ (koinēi)

κοινῇ (koinēi)

Together. The proposed deliberation joins Socrates and Demodocus. Attested: κοινῇ (125a). Advice, counsel, and deliberation.

Trivial — φαῦλος (phaulos)

φαῦλος (phaulos)

Trivial. Negated of the counsel required, emphasizing the decision's gravity. Attested: φαύλης (125b). Advice, counsel, and deliberation.

Appearing at just the right time (contextual phrase)

122a: εἰς καλὸν παρεφάνης. Literally connected with what is fine or fitting, the idiom means that Socrates has appeared at an opportune moment. Kalon here does not designate physical beauty or supply an abstract definition of the good. Demodocus immediately explains the practical fit: Socrates is the person he most wants to consult before acting. See Advice.

Advice is said to be sacred (contextual phrase)

122b: λέγεταί γε συμβουλὴ ἱερὸν χρῆμα εἶναι. “Advice is indeed said to be a sacred thing.” The passive “is said” marks an appeal to a received saying. Chrēma is “thing” in this expression, not the money denoted by chrēmata in the father's account. Socrates extends the saying to education without claiming that every recommendation thereby possesses divine authority. See Advice and Education.