From the book
Lysis
Plato · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordPolemios means hostile; at enmity.
- In LysisThe superlative πολεμιώτατοι states the reported claim that like is most hostile to like and the good to the good.
- Reading contextIts force is the extreme antagonism alleged between similar rivals in the alternative theory.
- A place to readThe Greek example means “The good are most hostile to the good.”
- English renderings
- Hostile; at enmity
Meaning
Hostile; at enmity.
Grammatical category: adjective.
Use in the book
The superlative πολεμιώτατοι states the reported claim that like is most hostile to like and the good to the good. It is deliberately the reverse of the previous proposal that like is friend to like.
The following occupational examples explain the hostility through competition. The adjective here does not require literal warfare. Its force is the extreme antagonism alleged between similar rivals in the alternative theory.
Places to read
- 215cοἱ ἀγαθοὶ τοῖς ἀγαθοῖς πολεμιώτατοι — The good are most hostile to the good.