Life age and the reckoning of labor

Use in the book

The Athenian begins with difficulty before birth: the condition of gestation, birth itself, nourishment, and education all involve countless labors (973d–974a2). Education first appears inside this burdensome life-course, well before the final curriculum names the studies that can make life worthwhile. The later educational promise consequently does not rest on the idea that learning is effortless.

The time counted as moderate is brief; the Athenian expressly distinguishes it from the worthless part of life. The brief interval is a breathing space around life's middle. Old age quickly overtakes it, and a person who reckons up the life already lived would not wish to live it again unless full of childish opinion. These are strong evaluations spoken by the Athenian. The “childish” designation characterizes a judgment, not the biological age of everyone who dissents.

Logismos in this setting is retrospective reckoning. It is not yet a lesson in arithmetic, though the recurrence of the family becomes suggestive when number is introduced as indispensable to reason. The argument passes from assessing the worth of a life to identifying the knowledge that could transform it. The text itself presents the difficulty of finding wisdom as evidence akin to the difficulty of living; the correspondence is an argumentative comparison, not a proof that every event in life can be assigned a numerical value.

The later treatment of age complicates a purely negative reading. Preparation must begin in childhood and youth (990c), while the greatest offices are to be entrusted to those who have completed the studies and reached old age (992d). The life stage that exposes ordinary disappointment at the opening becomes the stage of qualified public responsibility at the ending. The difference lies in the kind of life and education under discussion, not in a denial that age brings limits.

The opening speakers are themselves old men in the edition's dramatic introduction, continuing the Laws. Their ages make the question urgent, but the dialogue does not supply precise birthdays or an exact interval between conversations. The language of old age should not be converted into invented biography.

Places to read

1. 973dτὸ γενέσθαι χαλεπὸν ἅπαντι ζῴῳ — Coming into being is difficult for every living being
2. 973d–974a2τὸ τρέφεσθαι καὶ παιδεύεσθαι, διὰ πόνων μυρίων — Nourishment and education belong to the laborious course
3. 974aἀναπνοὴν … κατὰ μέσον πῃ βίον — The moderate interval is a breathing space near life's middle
4. 974aλογισάμενον τὸν βεβιωμένον ἑαυτῷ βίον — Life is retrospectively reckoned
5. 974aπαιδικῆς δόξης — “Childish” qualifies the opinion that resists the appraisal
6. 992dεἰς πρεσβύτου τέλος ἀφικομένοις — Completion of old age becomes the time for the greatest offices

Translation in this edition

“Reckoning” keeps logismos visible beside the verb “reckoned up.” “Breathing space” preserves the physical image rather than turning it into a technical stage of flourishing. The death-related language is translated as part of the dialogue's argument, not endorsed by the lexicon as advice about a reader's life.

Early-life dependency — τρέφεσθαι (trephesthai)

τρέφεσθαι (trephesthai)

Early-life dependency. Being nourished follows gestation and birth among the conditions requiring countless labors. Attested: τρέφεσθαι (973d). Life age and the reckoning of labor.

Brief relief — ἀναπνοή (anapnoē)

ἀναπνοή (anapnoē)

Brief relief. A physical image for the moderate interval near the middle of human life, quickly overtaken by old age. Attested: ἀναπνοὴν (974a). Life age and the reckoning of labor.

An opinion’s immaturity — παιδικός (paidikos)

παιδικός (paidikos)

An opinion’s immaturity. The adjective describes an opinion that would resist the Athenian’s appraisal of life, rather than assigning an age to its holder. Attested: παιδικῆς (974a). Life age and the reckoning of labor.

Being carried in the womb — κύεσθαι (kyesthai)

κύεσθαι (kyesthai)

Being carried in the womb. The participle identifies the gestational state as the first phase of the laborious process of coming into being. Attested: κυουμένων (973d). Life age and the reckoning of labor.

Pains of coming into being — πόνος (ponos)

πόνος (ponos)

Pains of coming into being. The countless labors through which gestation, birth, nourishment, and education are said to occur. Attested: πόνων (973d). Life age and the reckoning of labor.

Experience of life — βίος (bios)

βίος (bios)

Experience of life. Life as encountered is the basis for the common account that human beings cannot be happy. Attested: βίῳ (973b–c). Life age and the reckoning of labor.

Reckoned life-course — βίος (bios)

βίος (bios)

Reckoned life-course. The life already lived is what the older person retrospectively reckons in deciding whether he would want to live it again. Attested: βίον (974a). Life age and the reckoning of labor.

Rejected repetition — ἀναβιοῦν (anabioun)

ἀναβιοῦν (anabioun)

Rejected repetition. To return to life and live again is what the retrospective reckoning would make a person unwilling to do; this clause supplies no doctrine of reincarnation. Attested: ἀναβιῶναι (974a). Life age and the reckoning of labor.

Burdened living creature — ζῷον (zōion)

ζῷον (zōion)

Burdened living creature. Every living being is included in the initial difficulty of coming into being. The term later also permits comparisons of human numerical capacity with that of other creatures. Attested: ζῴῳ (973d). Life age and the reckoning of labor.

Tolerable portion of life — μέτριος (metrios)

μέτριος (metrios)

Tolerable portion of life. What anyone would take as moderate is the part of life measured as brief; the text does not call all life uniformly unbearable. Attested: μέτριον (974a). Life age and the reckoning of labor.

Retrospective judgment — γῆρας (gēras)

γῆρας (gēras)

Retrospective judgment. Old age arrives quickly and prompts the appraisal of whether the already lived life is worth repeating. Attested: γῆρας (974a). Life age and the reckoning of labor.

Childish appraisal — δόξα (doxa)

δόξα (doxa)

Childish appraisal. An immature opinion fills the person who would want to repeat the life already lived despite its burdens. Attested: δόξης (974a). Life age and the reckoning of labor.

Reckon the life already lived — λογίζεσθαι (logizesthai)

λογίζεσθαι (logizesthai)

Reckon the life already lived. Retrospective reckoning of one’s lived life motivates the Athenian’s claim that old age would make repetition unwanted. The same verb later describes numerical relations. Attested: λογισάμενον (974a). Life age and the reckoning of labor.

Appraisal of a life — λογισμός (logismos)

λογισμός (logismos)

Appraisal of a life. Reckoning distinguishes the brief moderate portion of life from its worthless portion. The word anticipates, without already explaining, the later numerical argument. Attested: λογισμὸν (974a). Life age and the reckoning of labor.

Shared judgment of life — γιγνώσκειν (gignōskein)

γιγνώσκειν (gignōskein)

Shared judgment of life. Greeks and barbarians are said to know in a way the difficulty of coming into being. The qualification limits the asserted universal agreement. Attested: γιγνώσκομέν (973d). Life age and the reckoning of labor.

Appraisal of life — δοκεῖν (dokein)

δοκεῖν (dokein)

Appraisal of life. The moderate interval seems to provide a breathing space around the middle of life; the assessment is attributed to the Athenian’s argument. Attested: δοκεῖ (974a). Life age and the reckoning of labor.

Gestational condition — ἕξις (hexis)

ἕξις (hexis)

Gestational condition. The condition of beings carried in the womb, included in the account of the difficulty of coming into being. Attested: ἕξεως (973d). Life age and the reckoning of labor.

Brief moderate interval — χρόνος (chronos)

χρόνος (chronos)

Brief moderate interval. The time judged moderate is short in the reckoning and supplies only a breathing space near life’s middle. Attested: χρόνος (974a). Life age and the reckoning of labor.

A breathing space near life’s middle (contextual phrase)

ἀναπνοὴν … κατὰ μέσον πῃ βίον τὸν ἀνθρώπινον (974a)

The omitted words connect the image to what the Athenian takes as a moderate interval. Ἀναπνοή gives relief a bodily image, while πῃ leaves the location near life’s middle approximate. The text does not define a numerical age bracket or assert a precise biological timetable. Life age and the reckoning of labor.

Reckoning the life already lived (contextual phrase)

λογισάμενον τὸν βεβιωμένον ἑαυτῷ βίον (974a)

The aorist participle describes the retrospective appraisal that would make the older person unwilling to repeat his life. The perfect participle βεβιωμένον marks the life as already lived. The wording introduces reckoning before arithmetic becomes the explicit subject, but supplies no quantitative formula for a life’s value. Life age and the reckoning of labor.