Manliness and courage · Lexicon

From the book

Charmides

Plato · Diotimos Editions · 2026

Orientation

At a Glance

The wordAndreiōs and andrikōs are related adverbs formed in the family of anēr, “man.”
In the CharmidesSocrates asks the youth to look within and state his view well and manfully; Charmides considers the question very manfully and answers that temperance is modesty (160d–e).
In this edition“Like a man” and “very much like a man” make the verbal echo audible.
A place to readThe battle provides narrative context but does not explicitly introduce the courage vocabulary.

Meaning

Andreiōs and andrikōs are related adverbs formed in the family of anēr, “man.” The first can mean manfully or courageously, the second in a manly manner. The abstract noun andreia, “courage,” does not occur in the dialogue proper. The local phrases concern how Charmides is to answer, not a separately proposed definition of courage.

Use in the book

Socrates asks the youth to look within and state his view well and manfully; Charmides considers the question very manfully and answers that temperance is modesty (160d–e). The repeated root makes the sequence gently comic. An exhortation to bold answering yields an account of the restraint and bashfulness expected of a youth. The two attitudes need not be incompatible: thoughtful willingness to answer may itself require courage without abolishing respect.

The opening battle at Potidaea provides a wider possible resonance, but the Charmides does not narrate Socrates' battlefield heroism or name courage there. Reading the war setting as a manifestation of the virtue relies on interpretation and, for particular deeds, information from other dialogues. The lexical evidence in this work is the two adverbs, not a hidden treatise on military valour.

Places to read

153b–d2The battle provides narrative context but does not explicitly introduce the courage vocabulary
160d–eThe paired adverbs frame the request for a second definition and its bashful answer

Translation in this edition

“Like a man” and “very much like a man” make the verbal echo audible. Translating the first merely “confidently” and the second “carefully” would remove the deliberate repetition and the tension with modesty.

ἀνδρείως

Attested: ἀνδρείως (andreiōs). Manfully or courageously; Socrates encourages an unhesitating answer rather than defining courage itself. References: 160e. Lexical identification: lemma: ἀνδρείως. See Manliness and courage.

ἀνδρικῶς

Attested: ἀνδρικῶς (andrikōs). In a manly manner; describes Charmides’ deliberate reflection before he proposes shame as temperance. References: 160e. Lexical identification: lemma: ἀνδρικῶς. See Manliness and courage.