Ugly and shameful · Lexicon

From the book

Charmides

Plato · Diotimos Editions · 2026

Orientation

At a Glance

The wordAischros is the evaluative opposite of kalos: it can describe what looks ugly as well as what is shameful, base or improper.
In the CharmidesSocrates says there would be nothing aischron in Charmides speaking with him in his guardian's presence, even if the boy were younger (155a).
In this editionThe edition's “improper” at 155a and “ugly” at 159d translate the same adjective in different contexts.
A place to readConversation with the youth before his guardian is said not to be improper.

Meaning

Aischros is the evaluative opposite of kalos: it can describe what looks ugly as well as what is shameful, base or improper. The neuter substantive to aischron names the ugly or shameful. It is related to the language of shame but is not itself a word for feeling ashamed. The distinction is between an evaluation of something and a person's emotional response to that evaluation.

Use in the book

Socrates says there would be nothing aischron in Charmides speaking with him in his guardian's presence, even if the boy were younger (155a). Here the concern is propriety in a social setting. In the first refutation the same family describes bodily actions performed with difficulty and quietly, in contrast to the quick and nimble performances classed with the fine (159d). English “ugly” brings out their ungainly appearance.

The range reveals why the shared premise that temperance is kalon can move between graceful performance and admirable character without a marked change of Greek adjective. It does not establish their identity. In particular a clumsy movement has not thereby been proved a moral vice, and an appropriate conversation has not thereby been declared physically beautiful. The lexicon must preserve the common evaluative opposition while keeping the local object of appraisal visible.

Places to read

155aConversation with the youth before his guardian is said not to be improper
159dLaborious quiet bodily actions are assigned to the ugly rather than the fine

Translation in this edition

The edition's “improper” at 155a and “ugly” at 159d translate the same adjective in different contexts. “Disgrace” in Critias' Hesiodic interpretation renders ὄνειδος, a different noun, and should be looked up separately.

αἰσχρός

Attested: αἰσχρὸν / αἰσχροῦ (aischron / aischrou). Improper or shameful; at 155a Socrates says conversation with the boy is not improper in his guardian’s presence. In the bodily-performance comparison, the word marks what is ugly or poor as the opposite of fine. References: 155a, 159d. Lexical identification: lemma: αἰσχρός. See Ugly and shameful.