Debate on Whether More of a Good Thing Is Always Better — Plato, Euthydemus 299, Greek & English

§299

ΣΩ. πολὺ μέντοι, ἔφη, δικαιότερον τὸν ὑμέτερον πατέρʼ ἂν τύπτοιμι, ὅτι μαθὼν σοφοὺς ὑεῖς οὕτως ἔφυσεν.¹ ἀλλʼ ἦ που, ὦ Εὐθύδημε, πόλλʼ ἀγαθὰ ἀπὸ τῆς ὑμετέρας σοφίας ταύτης ἀπολέλαυκεν ὁ πατὴρ ὁ ὑμέτερός τε καὶ τῶν κυνιδίων. ἀλλʼ οὐδὲν δεῖται πολλῶν ἀγαθῶν, ὦ Κτήσιππε, οὔτʼ ἐκεῖνος οὔτε σύ. οὐδὲ σύ, ἦ δʼ ὅς, ὦ Εὐθύδημε, αὐτός; οὐδὲ ἄλλος γε οὐδεὶς ἀνθρώπων. εἰπὲ γάρ μοι, ὦ Κτήσιππε, εἰ ἀγαθὸν νομίζεις εἶναι ἀσθενοῦντι φάρμακον πιεῖν ἢ οὐκ ἀγαθὸν εἶναι δοκεῖ σοι, ὅταν δέηται· ἢ εἰς πόλεμον ὅταν ἴῃ, ὅπλα ἔχοντα μᾶλλον ἰέναι ἢ ἄνοπλον. — ἔμοιγε, ἔφη. καίτοι οἶμαί τί σε τῶν καλῶν ἐρεῖν. — σὺ ἄριστα εἴσῃ, ἔφη· ἀλλʼ ἀποκρίνου. ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ὡμολόγεις ἀγαθὸν εἶναι φάρμακον, ὅταν δέῃ, πίνειν ἀνθρώπῳ, ἄλλο τι τοῦτο τὸ ἀγαθὸν ὡς πλεῖστον δεῖ πίνειν, καὶ καλῶς ἐκεῖ ἕξει, ἐάν τις αὐτῷ τρίψας ἐγκεράσῃ ἐλλεβόρου ἅμαξαν; —καὶ ὁ Κτήσιππος εἶπεν· πάνυ γε σφόδρα, ὦ Εὐθύδημε, ἐὰν ᾖ γε ὁ πίνων ὅσος ὁ ἀνδριὰς ὁ ἐν Δελφοῖς. — οὐκοῦν, ἔφη, καὶ ἐν τῷ πολέμῳ ἐπειδὴ ἀγαθόν ἐστιν ὅπλα ἔχειν, ὡς πλεῖστα δεῖ ἔχειν δόρατά τε καὶ ἀσπίδας, ἐπειδήπερ ἀγαθόν ἐστιν; — μάλα δήπου, ἔφη ὁ Κτήσιππος· σὺ δʼ οὐκ οἴει, ὦ Εὐθύδημε, ἀλλὰ μίαν καὶ ἓν δόρυ;² — ἔγωγε. — ἦ καὶ τὸν Γηρυόνην ἄν, ἔφη, καὶ τὸν Βριάρεων οὕτως σὺ ὁπλίσαις; ἐγὼ δὲ ᾤμην σὲ δεινότερον εἶναι, ἅτε ὁπλομάχην ὄντα, καὶ τόνδε τὸν ἑταῖρον. καὶ ὁ μὲν Εὐθύδημος ἐσίγησεν· ὁ δὲ Διονυσόδωρος πρὸς τὰ πρότερον ἀποκεκριμένα τῷ Κτησίππῳ ἤρετο, οὐκοῦν καὶ χρυσίον, ἦ δʼ ὅς, ἀγαθὸν δοκεῖ σοι εἶναι ἔχειν; — πάνυ, καὶ ταῦτά γε πολύ, ἔφη ὁ Κτήσιππος.— τί οὖν; ἀγαθὰ οὐ δοκεῖ σοι χρῆναι ἀεί τʼ ἔχειν καὶ πανταχοῦ; — σφόδρα γʼ, ἔφη.— οὐκοῦν καὶ τὸ χρυσίον ἀγαθὸν ὁμολογεῖς εἶναι; — ὡμολόγηκα μὲν οὖν, ἦ δʼ ὅς.— οὐκοῦν ἀεὶ δεῖ αὐτὸ ἔχειν καὶ πανταχοῦ καὶ ὡς μάλιστα ἐν ἑαυτῷ; καὶ εἴη ἂν εὐδαιμονέστατος εἰ ἔχοι χρυσίου μὲν τρία τάλαντα ἐν τῇ γαστρί, τάλαντον δʼ ἐν τῷ κρανίῳ, στατῆρα δὲ χρυσοῦ ἐν ἑκατέρῳ τὠφθαλμῷ; — φασί γε οὖν, ὦ Εὐθύδημε, ἔφη ὁ Κτήσιππος, τούτους εὐδαιμονεστάτους εἶναι Σκυθῶν καὶ ἀρίστους ἄνδρας, οἳ χρυσίον τε ἐν τοῖς κρανίοις ἔχουσιν πολὺ τοῖς ἑαυτῶν, ὥσπερ σὺ νυνδὴ ἔλεγες τὸν κύνα τὸν πατέρα, καὶ ὃ θαυμασιώτερόν γε ἔτι, ὅτι καὶ πίνουσιν ἐκ τῶν ἑαυτῶν κρανίων³ κεχρυσωμένων, καὶ ταῦτα ἐντὸς καθορῶσιν, τὴν ἑαυτῶν κορυφὴν ἐν ταῖς χερσὶν ἔχοντες.

SOCRATES: ‘But indeed,’ he said, ‘I should beat your father much more justly, because having learned how, he produced such wise sons. But surely, O Euthydemus, your father—and that of the puppies—has enjoyed many good things from this wisdom of yours.’ ‘But he has no need of many good things, O Ctesippus, neither he nor you.’ ‘And not even you yourself, O Euthydemus?’ he said. ‘Nor indeed any other of humans. For tell me, O Ctesippus, if you think it is good for a sick person to drink medicine, or does it not seem good to you when there is need; or when one goes to war, to go with weapons rather than unarmed?’ ‘—I indeed do,’ he said. ‘And yet I think you are going to say something of those fine things.’ ‘—You will know best,’ he said; ‘but answer. For since you were agreeing that it is good for a human to drink medicine when there is need, must one not drink this good thing as much as possible? And will it be well there if someone grinds and mixes a wagonload of hellebore for him?’ And Ctesippus said, ‘Very much so, O Euthydemus, if indeed the one drinking is as large as the statue in Delphi.’ ‘—Therefore,’ he said, ‘since in war it is good to have weapons, must one have as many spears and shields as possible, since indeed it is good?’ ‘—Very much so, surely,’ said Ctesippus; ‘but don’t you think so, O Euthydemus, but rather only one shield and one spear?’ ‘—I indeed do.’ ‘—Would you then arm even Geryones,’ he said, ‘and Briareus in this way? I indeed thought you were more clever, since you are a master of weapons, and this companion of yours too.’ And Euthydemus became silent; but Dionysodorus, in relation to what had been answered before by Ctesippus, asked, ‘Therefore gold also,’ he said, ‘does it seem good to you to have?’ ‘—Certainly, and indeed much of it,’ said Ctesippus. ‘—What then? Does it not seem to you that one must have good things always and everywhere?’ ‘—Strongly so,’ he said. ‘—Therefore you agree that gold also is good?’ ‘—I have indeed agreed,’ he said. ‘—Therefore must one always have it everywhere, and as much as possible inside oneself? And would one be most happy if he had three talents of gold in his belly, a talent in his skull, and a gold stater in each of his eyes?’ ‘—At least they say so, O Euthydemus,’ said Ctesippus, ‘that those of the Scythians are most happy and best men who have much gold in their own skulls, just as you were saying just now about the dog being the father, and what is still more wonderful, that they also drink from their own gilded skulls, and look down into these, holding their own crown in their hands.’

Syntax notes3 items

299aὅτι μαθὼν σοφοὺς ὑεῖς οὕτως ἔφυσεν
The participle μαθών (aorist active participle of μανθάνω, 'to learn, know') functions here to mean 'having learned [how]', adding an ironic tone: 'because he produced such wise sons after having learned [how] to do so.'
299cμίαν καὶ ἓν δόρυ
The feminine singular numeral μίαν ('one') agrees with the preceding feminine noun ἀσπίδας ('shields'), implying the omission of ἀσπίδα ('one shield'). The neuter ἓν ('one') modifies the following neuter noun δόρυ ('spear').
299eἐκ τῶν ἑαυτῶν κρανίων
Ctesippus intentionally misinterprets Euthydemus' phrase 'having [gold] in one's skull' (en tō kraniō) by applying it to the Scythian custom of drinking from skulls, comically twisting it to mean drinking from 'their own' (heautōn) skulls, thereby mocking Euthydemus' absurd logic.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22)urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0059.tlg021.humanitext-grc2:299