Rascal

Use in the book

Socrates directs the same address first at Charmides and then at Critias. At 161b he recognizes that the boy’s newly remembered definition probably comes from his guardian. The phrase exposes the source behind an apparently fresh answer, but Socrates immediately insists that the truth of the claim matters more than its author. At 174b Critias finally names knowledge of good and bad as the knowledge chiefly responsible for happiness. Socrates then teasingly accuses him of dragging the conversation in circles while concealing that answer. The repetition connects ward and guardian at two moments when a supposedly independent reply reveals an unstated dependence. It does not establish that either speaker knowingly planned a deception; the reproach is part of Socrates’ staging of the discovery.

Places to read

1. 161b–161cThe address accompanies Socrates’ guess that Charmides borrowed the definition from Critias.
2. 174b–174cThe same address follows Critias’ identification of knowledge of good and bad.

Translation in this edition

“You rascal!” usefully preserves the repeated register. The lexical background of pollution should not turn this banter into a charge of religious contamination.

ἀποκρύπτω

Attested: ἀποκρυπτόμενος (apokryptomenos). Concealing; the teasing accusation that Critias had kept the decisive qualification hidden. References: 174b. Lexical identification: lemma: ἀποκρύπτω. See Rascal.

μιαρός

Attested: μιαρέ (miare). You rascal; teasing reproach addressed to Charmides for repeating Critias’ formula and later to Critias for withholding the crucial knowledge of good and bad. References: 161b, 174b. Lexical identification: lemma: μιαρός. See Rascal.

περιέλκεις (perielkeis)

You drag me around; playful complaint that Critias has delayed specifying knowledge of good and bad. References: 174b. Lemma: περιέλκω. See Rascal.