From the book
Hipparchus
Plato · Diotimos Editions · 2026
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At a Glance
- The wordἈνατίθεσθαι is here to take back or retract a move already made.
- In HipparchusThe game is introduced after the companion says that Socrates is deceiving him in some way he cannot identify.
- In this editionThe edition’s note identifies a comparable offer to Polus in Gorgias 461d.
- A place to readὥσπερ πεττεύων — The explicit comparison with playing a counter game.
Meaning
Ἀνατίθεσθαι is here to take back or retract a move already made. Its ordinary range is broader, but the comparison with a board game fixes the local sense. Πεττεύειν means to play a game with counters; the edition gives “playing draughts.” The participle πεττεύων describes Socrates as if engaged in such a game. The comparison does not identify every rule of the ancient game with those of modern draughts.
Taking back is distinguished from simply denying that an admission was made. Socrates accepts that the earlier argumentative steps stand on the record and offers to reopen one of them. The repeated dative σοι, “for you,” makes the retraction a concession addressed to this partner. A procedural courtesy is therefore also a way of controlling the next stage of discussion.
Use in the book
The game is introduced after the companion says that Socrates is deceiving him in some way he cannot identify. Instead of asking him to diagnose the trick, Socrates lays out the available moves: whether all people desire good things; whether loss and suffering loss are bad; whether gain and gaining oppose loss and suffering loss; and whether gaining, as the opposite of what is bad, is good (229e–230a). The offer makes the structure of the preceding argument available for inspection.
The companion refuses to relinquish the first three positions. At the fourth he says “Not all of it, at any rate. Take that back for me.” This matters: he does not assert that no gain is good. He rejects the unrestricted conclusion and restores a division between some good gain and some bad gain. Socrates expressly accepts that position for the next inquiry. The distinction between all and some is the substance of the revised move.
The apparent fresh start is limited. The retained commitments still constrain the companion, and the questioning soon returns to the goodness of gain through possession, benefit and worth. By 232a Socrates counts the conclusion as arriving for the third or fourth time. The draughts image allows two readings to coexist: a genuine willingness to test a revised account, and a contest in which a generous opponent expects to win despite allowing a take-back. The dialogue does not settle that dramatic judgment by explaining Socrates’ intention.
The image also makes the companion’s continued dissatisfaction intelligible. Permission to revise a premise does not itself guarantee that later inferences will be sound. In particular, the subsequent movement from equally being gains to equally gaining still requires examination. The courtesy answers a complaint about the conduct of conversation without automatically answering every logical complaint.
Places to read
- 229eὥσπερ πεττεύων — The explicit comparison with playing a counter game.
- 229eἀναθέσθαι ὅτι βούλει τῶν εἰρημένων — The offer to retract whichever of the things said the companion wishes.
- 230aΟὔτι πᾶν γε· τουτί μοι ἀνάθου — The requested retraction concerns universality.
- 230aἈνατίθεμαι τοίνυν σοὶ τοῦτο — Socrates formally grants the take-back.
Translation in this edition
The edition’s note identifies a comparable offer to Polus in Gorgias 461d. That is the supplied edition’s cross-reference, not evidence that the precise game rules have been reconstructed here. “Take back” should be retained through offer, request and acceptance; replacing one occurrence with “change your mind” would obscure the shared metaphor.