From the book
Lysis
Plato · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordPlērēs means full.
- In LysisThe passage has the neuter τὸ πλῆρες, “the full,” which is said to desire κένωσις, emptying.
- Reading contextThis remains an illustration of the reported opposites theory, whose universal application is challenged in the next exchange.
- A place to readThe Greek example means “And the full, of emptying.”
- English renderings
- Full
Meaning
Full.
Grammatical category: adjective.
Use in the book
The passage has the neuter τὸ πλῆρες, “the full,” which is said to desire κένωσις, emptying. It completes the pair with the empty desiring filling.
The reversal prevents the example from suggesting that increase is always beneficial or wanted. What is desired depends on the present condition. This remains an illustration of the reported opposites theory, whose universal application is challenged in the next exchange.
Places to read
- 215eτὸ πλῆρες δὲ κενώσεως — And the full, of emptying.