From the book
Charmides
Plato · Diotimos Editions · 2026
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At a Glance
- The wordOneidos names reproach, a disgrace or what brings reproach.
- In the CharmidesCritias invokes Hesiod's claim that work is no disgrace (163b).
- In this edition“Disgrace” preserves the same noun through the Hesiodic citation and Critias' explanation.
- A place to readThe repeated word frames Critias’ interpretation of Hesiod and his distinction between work and production.
Meaning
Oneidos names reproach, a disgrace or what brings reproach. In Critias' use it is a predicate applied to a work or product: something may count as a disgrace. This is distinct from aidōs, the felt restraint of modesty, and from aischros, the adjective ugly or shameful. Keeping the terms apart reveals the transition from personal feeling to a public evaluation of occupations and their results.
Use in the book
Critias invokes Hesiod's claim that work is no disgrace (163b). He then asks whether the poet could have counted cobbling, selling salt fish or sitting in a brothel as work and still meant that none of it was disgraceful. His selection mixes everyday manual occupations with an intentionally shocking example. It reveals the judgments Critias expects his audience to share; it is not a neutral Platonic classification of all labour as degrading.
To preserve the dictum he reserves “work” for productions that are fine and beneficial, whereas a production made without the fine can be a disgrace (163b–c). The interpretation consequently builds a positive evaluation into the definition of work. Socrates does not contest the social list directly but asks Critias to make the intended activity clear. The resulting definition is tested through beneficial medical action rather than settled by the prestige of the quoted poet.
Places to read
- 163b–cThe repeated word frames Critias’ interpretation of Hesiod and his distinction between work and production
Translation in this edition
“Disgrace” preserves the same noun through the Hesiodic citation and Critias' explanation. At 163b “to sit in a brothel” is an interpretive rendering of the euphemistic ἐπ’ οἰκήματος καθημένῳ; the Greek does not explicitly add “for hire.”
ὄνειδος
Attested: ὄνειδος (oneidos). Reproach or disgrace; the evaluative term in Critias’ citation and restriction of Hesiod’s maxim about work. References: 163b, 163c. Lexical identification: lemma: ὄνειδος. See Disgrace.