From the book
Lysis
Plato · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordBlaptō means harm; damage; in the passive, be harmed.
- In LysisAt 206b the poet who harms himself through his poetry supplies the first example: harmful effects count against the success of a supposed skill.
- Reading contextThat distinction allows Socrates to question the claim that removing badness would remove all desire and therefore all friendship.
- A place to readThe Greek example means “It is possible to be harmed while hungry.”
- English renderings
- Harm; damage; in the passive, be harmed
Meaning
Harm; damage; in the passive, be harmed.
Grammatical category: verb.
Use in the book
At 206b the poet who harms himself through his poetry supplies the first example: harmful effects count against the success of a supposed skill.
Harm is paired with benefit in the examination of what like can do for like at 214e and in the test of desire at 221a–b. A hungry or thirsty person can be harmed, benefited, or affected in neither way.
The noun βλάβη and the adjective/adverb βλαβερός/βλαβερῶς name harm or harmfulness. These forms help distinguish the existence of a desire from its bad effects. That distinction allows Socrates to question the claim that removing badness would remove all desire and therefore all friendship.