From the book
Alcibiades II
Plato · Diotimos Editions · 2026
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At a Glance
- The wordEpistēmē is knowledge; its genitive object here is what is best.
- In Alcibiades IIThe need for it emerges from ignorance of the best at 143e and the dangerous opinion illustrated at 144a.
- In this editionAt 144d Burnet retains “without the best”; Dobree proposed adding the article needed for “without that of the best”.
- A place to readIgnorance of the best allows destructive practical judgment.
Meaning
Epistēmē is knowledge; its genitive object here is what is best. At 145c the expression is identified with knowledge of what is beneficial. The text uses this knowledge as the condition governing the proper exercise of other capacities. It does not give an independent account of its acquisition, a formal curriculum, or a named technical science with fully specified contents.
Use in the book
The need for it emerges from ignorance of the best at 143e and the dangerous opinion illustrated at 144a. The first general claim at 144d says that possession of the other kinds of knowledge “without the best” seldom benefits and mostly harms. At 145b the missing content is made concrete: whether and when to advise, when and for how long to wage war, and against whom coercive action is better. These examples identify matters practical guidance must settle without proving that they comprise an exhaustive definition.
At 145c knowledge of the best “accompanies” a person who knows an activity. Under that condition he is intelligent and sufficient to advise both city and self. At 145e the imagined commonwealth lacks both this knowledge and the person who knows when and toward whom its experts should be used. The knowledgeable guide is a distinct grammatical element; the passage cannot be reduced to a list of detached skills that somehow order themselves.
The restatement at 146e expressly names knowledge of the best, followed by the requirement that city and soul hold fast to it. The doctor and pilot images represent direction and dependence. They establish its claimed governing role, not that Socrates or any other named figure is demonstrated to possess it. At 150d the educator is described only as the person who cares for Alcibiades, and the needed teaching remains ahead.
Places to read
- 143e–144a2Ignorance of the best allows destructive practical judgment.
- 144dOther knowledge is assessed when possessed “without the best”.
- 145b–cTiming, duration and object exemplify its practical task; best and beneficial are identified.
- 145e–146aThe commonwealth lacks both the knowledge and the knowledgeable user of specialists.
- 146e–147a2City and soul must depend on it as patient and voyager depend on guides.
Translation in this edition
At 144d Burnet retains “without the best”; Dobree proposed adding the article needed for “without that of the best”. The edition does not insert that conjecture silently. At 146e the fuller expression is in the printed Greek, making the later clarification explicit.
Source note
The compressed formulation of 144d is ‘without the best’. As the edition's note 19 records, Dobree proposed an additional article that makes it ‘without that of the best’, namely the corresponding knowledge. At 146e the recapitulation explicitly says knowledge of the best. The later expansion illuminates the earlier expression without becoming its printed wording.