- Source
- Platonis Opera, Tomus I: Tetralogia I-II. Burnet, John, 1863-1928, editor. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1905.
- Translation
- AI-generated (gemini-3.5-flash) — machine translation; may contain errors
- Languages
- 日本語 · English · 简体中文 · 한국어
- CTS URN
- urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0059.tlg006.humanitext-grc2:205
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-28
Socrates and Theaetetus agree that 'the sum' and 'the whole' are identical, concluding that if a syllable is an indivisible single form distinct from its elements, it must, like the first elements, be inexplicable and unknowable.
ΣΩ. ἀνδρικῶς γε, ὦ Θεαίτητε, μάχῃ. τὸ πᾶν δὲ οὐχ ὅταν μηδὲν ἀπῇ, αὐτὸ τοῦτο πᾶν ἐστιν; ΘΕΑΙ. ἀνάγκη. ΣΩ. ὅλον δὲ οὐ ταὐτὸν τοῦτο ἔσται, οὗ ἂν μηδαμῇ μηδὲν ἀποστατῇ; οὗ δʼ ἂν ἀποστατῇ, οὔτε ὅλον οὔτε πᾶν, ἅμα γενόμενον ἐκ τοῦ αὐτοῦ τὸ αὐτό;1 ΘΕΑΙ. δοκεῖ μοι νῦν οὐδὲν διαφέρειν πᾶν τε καὶ ὅλον. ΣΩ. οὐκοῦν ἐλέγομεν ὅτι οὗ ἂν μέρη ᾖ, τὸ ὅλον τε καὶ πᾶν τὰ πάντα μέρη ἔσται; ΘΕΑΙ. πάνυ γε. ΣΩ. πάλιν δή, ὅπερ ἄρτι ἐπεχείρουν, οὐκ, εἴπερ ἡ συλλαβὴ μὴ τὰ στοιχεῖά ἐστιν, ἀνάγκη αὐτὴν μὴ ὡς μέρη ἔχειν ἑαυτῆς τὰ στοιχεῖα, ἢ ταὐτὸν οὖσαν2 αὐτοῖς ὁμοίως ἐκείνοις γνωστὴν εἶναι; ΘΕΑΙ. οὕτως. ΣΩ. οὐκοῦν τοῦτο ἵνα μὴ γένηται, ἕτερον αὐτῶν αὐτὴν ἐθέμεθα; ΘΕΑΙ. ναί. ΣΩ. τί δʼ; εἰ μὴ τὰ στοιχεῖα συλλαβῆς μέρη ἐστίν, ἔχεις ἄλλʼ ἄττα εἰπεῖν ἃ μέρη μέν ἐστι συλλαβῆς, οὐ μέντοι στοιχεῖά γʼ ἐκείνης; ΘΕΑΙ. οὐδαμῶς. εἰ γάρ, ὦ Σώκρατες, μόριʼ ἄττʼ αὐτῆς συγχωροίην, γελοῖόν που τὰ στοιχεῖα ἀφέντα ἐπʼ ἄλλα ἰέναι. ΣΩ. παντάπασι δή, ὦ Θεαίτητε, κατὰ τὸν νῦν λόγον μία τις ἰδέα ἀμέριστος συλλαβὴ ἂν εἴη. ΘΕΑΙ. ἔοικεν. ΣΩ. μέμνησαι οὖν, ὦ φίλε, ὅτι ὀλίγον ἐν τῷ πρόσθεν ἀπεδεχόμεθα ἡγούμενοι εὖ λέγεσθαι ὅτι τῶν πρώτων οὐκ εἴη λόγος ἐξ ὧν τἆλλα σύγκειται, διότι αὐτὸ καθʼ αὑτὸ ἕκαστον εἴη ἀσύνθετον, καὶ οὐδὲ τὸ εἶναι περὶ αὐτοῦ ὀρθῶς ἔχοι προσφέροντα3 εἰπεῖν, οὐδὲ τοῦτο, ὡς ἕτερα καὶ ἀλλότρια λεγόμενα, καὶ αὕτη δὴ ἡ αἰτία ἄλογόν τε καὶ ἄγνωστον αὐτὸ ποιοῖ; ΘΕΑΙ. μέμνημαι. ΣΩ. ἦ οὖν ἄλλη τις ἢ αὕτη ἡ αἰτία τοῦ μονοειδές τε καὶ ἀμέριστον αὐτὸ εἶναι; ἐγὼ μὲν γὰρ οὐχ ὁρῶ ἄλλην. ΘΕΑΙ. οὐ γὰρ οὖν δὴ φαίνεται. ΣΩ. οὐκοῦν εἰς ταὐτὸν ἐμπέπτωκεν ἡ συλλαβὴ εἶδος ἐκείνῳ, εἴπερ μέρη τε μὴ ἔχει καὶ μία ἐστὶν ἰδέα; ΘΕΑΙ. παντάπασι μὲν οὖν. ΣΩ. εἰ μὲν ἄρα πολλὰ στοιχεῖα ἡ συλλαβή ἐστιν καὶ ὅλον τι, μέρη δʼ αὐτῆς ταῦτα, ὁμοίως αἵ τε συλλαβαὶ γνωσταὶ καὶ ῥηταὶ καὶ τὰ στοιχεῖα, ἐπείπερ τὰ πάντα μέρη τῷ ὅλῳ ταὐτὸν ἐφάνη. ΘΕΑΙ. καὶ μάλα. ΣΩ. εἰ δέ γε ἕν τε καὶ ἀμερές, ὁμοίως μὲν συλλαβή,4 ὡσαύτως δὲ στοιχεῖον ἄλογόν τε καὶ ἄγνωστον· ἡ γὰρ αὐτὴ αἰτία ποιήσει αὐτὰ τοιαῦτα. ΘΕΑΙ. οὐκ ἔχω ἄλλως εἰπεῖν. ΣΩ. τοῦτο μὲν ἄρα μὴ ἀποδεχώμεθα, ὃς ἂν λέγῃ συλλαβὴν μὲν γνωστὸν καὶ ῥητόν, στοιχεῖον δὲ τοὐναντίον. ΘΕΑΙ. μὴ γάρ, εἴπερ τῷ λόγῳ πειθόμεθα.
SOCRATES: You are fighting manfully, Theaetetus. But is not ‘the sum’ this very thing: when nothing is missing, is it then the sum? THEAETETUS: Necessarily. SOCRATES: And will not ‘the whole’ be this same thing, from which nothing is missing anywhere? But that from which something is missing, is it neither a whole nor a sum, having become at the same time the same thing from the same cause? THEAETETUS: It seems to me now that the sum and the whole do not differ at all. SOCRATES: Therefore, did we not say that where there are parts, the whole and the sum will be all the parts? THEAETETUS: Certainly. SOCRATES: Again then, as I was trying to do just now, if the syllable is not the elements, is it not necessary either that it does not have the elements as its parts, or, if it is the same as them, that it is likewise knowable just as they are? THEAETETUS: That is so. SOCRATES: Therefore, lest this should happen, did we not posit it as different from them? THEAETETUS: Yes. SOCRATES: What then? If the elements are not parts of a syllable, can you name any other things which are parts of a syllable, but are not indeed its elements? THEAETETUS: By no means. For if, Socrates, I were to admit some other parts of it, it would surely be ridiculous to leave the elements and go to other things. SOCRATES: Absolutely then, Theaetetus, according to the present argument, the syllable would be some single undivided form. THEAETETUS: So it seems. SOCRATES: Do you remember then, my friend, that a little while ago we accepted it as well said, that there is no account of the first elements of which other things are composed, because each of them itself by itself is uncompounded, and that it is not correct even to say ‘to be’ of it, nor ‘this’, since these are spoken of as different and foreign, and this very cause makes it inexplicable and unknowable? THEAETETUS: I remember. SOCRATES: Is there then any other cause than this of its being single-formed and undivided? For my part, I do not see any other. THEAETETUS: Indeed, none appears. SOCRATES: Therefore, has not the syllable fallen into the same class as that, if indeed it does not have parts and is a single form? THEAETETUS: Absolutely. SOCRATES: If, therefore, the syllable is many elements and a certain whole, and these are its parts, then both syllables and elements are likewise knowable and speakable, since all the parts appeared to be the same as the whole. THEAETETUS: Very much so. SOCRATES: But if indeed it is one and undivided, then the syllable, likewise, and the element, in the same way, are inexplicable and unknowable; for the same cause will make them such. THEAETETUS: I cannot say otherwise. SOCRATES: Therefore, let us not accept it if anyone says that the syllable is knowable and speakable, but the element is the opposite. THEAETETUS: No indeed, if we are to believe the argument.
- 205aἅμα γενόμενον ἐκ τοῦ αὐτοῦ τὸ αὐτό
The participle γενόμενον agrees with the subject of the preceding relative clause οὗ δʼ ἂν ἀποστατῇ (that from which something is missing). It describes the causal result: "becoming at the same time the same thing (i.e., neither whole nor sum) from the same cause (i.e., the loss of a part)."
- 205bἢ ταὐτὸν οὖσαν
The coordinating conjunction ἢ (or) connects two infinitive clauses governed by the impersonal ἀνάγκη: μὴ ... ἔχειν (not to have as parts) and γνωστὴν εἶναι (to be knowable). Inside the second clause, the participle οὖσαν (accusative agreeing with the syllable αὐτήν) has a conditional force ("if it is the same").
- 205cπροσφέροντα
An accusative singular masculine present participle, referring to an indefinite agent ("for someone") understood as the subject of the infinitive εἰπεῖν. The verb προσφέρω here means "to apply" or "to attach" a term or predicate.
- 205eὁμοίως μὲν συλλαβή
The copula ἐστι (or ἂν εἴη) is omitted in this clause. The phrases ὁμοίως μὲν συλλαβή and ὡσαύτως δὲ στοιχεῖον are placed in contrast (μὲν ... δέ), establishing a symmetrical structure: "the syllable, likewise, [will be inexplicable and unknowable], and the element, in the same way, [will be so]."