From the book
Charmides
Plato · Diotimos Editions · 2026
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At a Glance
- The wordStathmē is a measuring or marking line used in building.
- In the CharmidesBefore affirming Charmides' extraordinary appearance, Socrates warns his listener that he himself supplies no dependable measure in these matters: nearly every youth of the relevant age looks beautiful to him.
- In this editionThe Greek says only “a white line.”
- A place to readSocrates disclaims reliable discrimination of youthful beauty before describing Charmides.
Meaning
Stathmē is a measuring or marking line used in building. Leukē makes it white. Stathmēton is related to measuring or estimation, and Socrates' surrounding self-description plays on the shared root. The comparison concerns reliability of judgment, not a proposed science of measurement.
Use in the book
Before affirming Charmides' extraordinary appearance, Socrates warns his listener that he himself supplies no dependable measure in these matters: nearly every youth of the relevant age looks beautiful to him. He calls himself a white measuring-line toward the beautiful. A line without visible contrast fails to discriminate effectively, so the image marks the narrator's susceptibility and self-deprecation.
The disclaimer does not erase the subsequent judgment. Socrates goes on to say that even to him Charmides was astonishing, and he describes the universal response of the room. The scene therefore both undercuts his authority as a selective connoisseur and supplies wider dramatic evidence for the youth's reputation.
The contrast with later inquiry is suggestive. Initial aesthetic perception comes with an avowedly unreliable personal standard; the examination of temperance demands an account capable of surviving questions. It is unnecessary, however, to force the white line into a complete allegory of epistemology. Its first function is a compact joke by a narrator who includes his own weaknesses in the story.
Places to read
- 154b–cSocrates disclaims reliable discrimination of youthful beauty before describing Charmides
- 154b (apparatus)The apparatus records a variant ἀστάθμητον beside the printed σταθμητόν
Translation in this edition
The Greek says only “a white line.” The edition adds “on white stone” to complete the proverbial image for English readers and explicitly discloses the addition. That phrase must not be quoted as though Plato wrote λίθος here.
λευκός
Attested: λευκὴ (leukē). White; describes Socrates’ metaphorical measuring-line, which cannot provide a discriminating measure of the beautiful youths he admires. References: 154b. Lexical identification: lemma: λευκός. See White measuring-line.
στάθμη
Attested: στάθμη (stathmē). A measuring or marking line; Socrates’ “white line” image makes fun of his inability to discriminate impartially among beautiful youths. References: 154b. Lexical identification: lemma: στάθμη. See White measuring-line.
σταθμητός
Attested: σταθμητόν (stathmēton). Measurable or reliable as a measure; Socrates’ self-description οὐδὲν σταθμητόν presents him as no dependable judge before the joke of the white measuring-line. References: 154b. Lexical identification: lemma: σταθμητός. See White measuring-line.