Divine allotment, accompaniment, and childhood · Lexicon

From the book

Theages

Plato · Diotimos Editions · 2026

Orientation

At a Glance

The wordMoira is a share or allotment and, in appropriate contexts, a lot or destiny.
In TheagesThe entire formulation occurs when Socrates corrects Theages’ confident inference that he can become like the successful companions if only Socrates wishes.
In this editionThe continuous English “has accompanied me by a divine lot, beginning in my childhood” retains all three elements.
A place to readἐὰν σὺ βούλῃ … Οὔκ — Theages’ appeal to Socrates’ willingness is expressly corrected.

Meaning

Moira is a share or allotment and, in appropriate contexts, a lot or destiny. The dative expression theiai moirai means “by a divine lot”. Parepesthai is to accompany or follow alongside. Ek paidos, literally “from a child”, is an idiomatic expression for “from childhood”. These are respectively an attribution of source, a description of continuing accompaniment and a point of temporal origin. They do not name a curriculum, hereditary status or acquired professional qualification.

Use in the book

The entire formulation occurs when Socrates corrects Theages’ confident inference that he can become like the successful companions if only Socrates wishes. Socrates does not answer by declaring stronger personal resolve. He identifies something that has accompanied him through a divine allotment from childhood. The wording relocates the decisive condition outside an ordinary decision by a teacher. It also presents the phenomenon as longstanding, rather than a new excuse invented specifically for this applicant.

The childhood reference belongs to Socrates’ history, not Theages’. No age is supplied, no first incident is narrated, and no claim is made that children generally possess such signs. The participle “beginning” marks the onset of the accompaniment. It should not be turned into a claim that Socrates had complete philosophical knowledge as a child or that his educational effects were already operating then.

The phrase also leaves more unexplained than a theological paraphrase may suggest. “By a divine lot” does not tell us which god allotted the phenomenon, why Socrates received it, or by what procedure a companion becomes eligible for its assistance. Later “if it is dear to the god” makes the dependence explicit without completing that explanatory gap. Finally, Theages proposes a trial and possibly prayer; neither he nor Socrates demonstrates that human ritual can change a divinely allotted condition.

Places to read

128c–dἐὰν σὺ βούλῃ … Οὔκ — Theages’ appeal to Socrates’ willingness is expressly corrected
128dθείᾳ μοίρᾳ — the dative attributes the accompaniment to a divine allotment
128dπαρεπόμενον ἐμοὶ — the participle represents something accompanying Socrates
128dἐκ παιδὸς ἀρξάμενον — its beginning is placed in his childhood
130eἐὰν μὲν τῷ θεῷ φίλον ᾖ — the later conditional restates dependence without explaining its origin

Translation in this edition

The continuous English “has accompanied me by a divine lot, beginning in my childhood” retains all three elements. The edition does not replace moira with “fate” or identify a named allotting deity. Its note on daimonion explains the religious vocabulary, while the account itself provides the limits of what can be inferred about Socrates’ childhood.

Accompany — παρέπεσθαι

Accompany. To follow alongside; the participle describes the daimonic phenomenon’s continuing relation to Socrates. Attested: παρεπόμενον (128d). Divine allotment, accompaniment, and childhood.

Begin — ἄρχεσθαι (archesthai) · ἀρξάμενον (128d).

ἄρχεσθαι (archesthai)

Begin. To begin; here the participle dates the onset of the accompaniment rather than describing political rule. Attested: ἀρξάμενον (128d). Divine allotment, accompaniment, and childhood.

From childhood — ἐκ παιδός

From childhood. An idiomatic temporal expression placing the beginning of the phenomenon in Socrates’ childhood, without specifying an age. Attested: ἐκ παιδὸς (128d). Divine allotment, accompaniment, and childhood.

Lot; allotment — μοῖρα

Lot; allotment. A share or allotment; in the dative phrase ‘by a divine lot’, the source attributed to Socrates’ accompaniment. Attested: μοίρᾳ (128d). Divine allotment, accompaniment, and childhood.