§2ΕΥΘ. τί νεώτερον, ὦ Σώκρατες, γέγονεν, ὅτι σὺ τὰς ἐν Λυκείῳ καταλιπὼν διατριβὰς ἐνθάδε νῦν διατρίβεις περὶ τὴν τοῦ βασιλέως στοάν;
Euthyphro: What novel thing, Socrates, has happened, that you have left your associations in the Lyceum and are now spending your time here around the King's Porch?
οὐ γάρ που καὶ σοί γε δίκη τις οὖσα τυγχάνει πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα ὥσπερ ἐμοί.
For surely you do not also happen to have some lawsuit before the King, as I do.
ΣΩ. οὔτοι δὴ Ἀθηναῖοί γε, ὦ Εὐθύφρων, δίκην αὐτὴν καλοῦσιν ἀλλὰ γραφήν.
Socrates: Indeed, Euthyphro, the Athenians do not call it a lawsuit, but an indictment.
ΕΥΘ. τί φῄς;
Euthyphro: What do you say?
γραφὴν σέ τις, ὡς ἔοικε, γέγραπται· οὐ γὰρ ἐκεῖνό γε καταγνώσομαι, ὡς σὺ ἕτερον.
Someone, it seems, has written an indictment against you; for I will certainly not condemn you of that, namely that you prosecuted another.
ΣΩ. οὐ γὰρ οὖν.
Socrates: No indeed.
ΕΥΘ. ἀλλὰ σὲ ἄλλος;
Euthyphro: But someone else has prosecuted you?
ΣΩ. πάνυ γε.
Socrates: Exactly.
ΕΥΘ. τίς οὗτος;
Euthyphro: Who is this?
ΣΩ. οὐδʼ αὐτὸς πάνυ τι γιγνώσκω, ὦ Εὐθύφρων, τὸν ἄνδρα, νέος γάρ τίς μοι φαίνεται καὶ ἀγνώς· ὀνομάζουσι μέντοι αὐτόν, ὡς ἐγᾦμαι, Μέλητον.
Socrates: I do not even know the man very well myself, Euthyphro, for he seems to me to be some young and unknown person; however, they call him Meletus, as I believe.
ἔστι δὲ τῶν δήμων Πιτθεύς, εἴ τινα νῷ ἔχεις Πιτθέα Μέλητον οἷον τετανότριχα καὶ οὐ πάνυ εὐγένειον, ἐπίγρυπον δέ.
He is of the Pitthean deme—if you have in mind some Pitthean Meletus, with straight hair and not very well-bearded, but hook-nosed.
ΕΥΘ. οὐκ ἐννοῶ, ὦ Σώκρατες· ἀλλὰ δὴ τίνα γραφήν σε γέγραπται;
Euthyphro: I do not recall him, Socrates; but tell me, what indictment has he written against you?
ΣΩ. ἥντινα;
Socrates: What kind?
οὐκ ἀγεννῆ, ἔμοιγε δοκεῖ· τὸ γὰρ νέον ὄντα τοσοῦτον πρᾶγμα ἐγνωκέναι οὐ φαῦλόν ἐστιν.
Not an ignoble one, it seems to me; for that he, being young, has understood such a great matter is no small thing.
ἐκεῖνος γάρ, ὥς φησιν, οἶδε τίνα τρόπον οἱ νέοι διαφθείρονται καὶ τίνες οἱ διαφθείροντες αὐτούς.
For he knows, as he says, in what way the young are corrupted and who are those who corrupt them.
καὶ κινδυνεύει σοφός τις εἶναι, καὶ τὴν ἐμὴν ἀμαθίαν κατιδὼν ὡς διαφθείροντος τοὺς ἡλικιώτας αὐτοῦ, ἔρχεται κατηγορήσων μου ὥσπερ πρὸς μητέρα πρὸς τὴν πόλιν.
And he seems to be some wise person, and having looked down upon my ignorance as that of one who corrupts his peers, he comes to the city as if to a mother to accuse me.
καὶ φαίνεταί μοι τῶν πολιτικῶν μόνος ἄρχεσθαι ὀρθῶς· ὀρθῶς γάρ ἐστι τῶν νέων πρῶτον ἐπιμεληθῆναι ὅπως ἔσονται ὅτι ἄριστοι, ὥσπερ γεωργὸν ἀγαθὸν τῶν νέων φυτῶν εἰκὸς πρῶτον ἐπιμεληθῆναι, μετὰ δὲ τοῦτο καὶ τῶν ἄλλων.
And he seems to me to be the only one of the politicians to begin rightly; for it is right to care first for the young so that they will be as good as possible, just as it is natural for a good farmer to care first for the young plants, and after this for the others as well.
§3ΣΩ. καὶ δὴ καὶ Μέλητος ἴσως πρῶτον μὲν ἡμᾶς ἐκκαθαίρει τοὺς τῶν νέων τὰς βλάστας διαφθείροντας, ὥς φησιν· ἔπειτα μετὰ τοῦτο δῆλον ὅτι τῶν πρεσβυτέρων ἐπιμεληθεὶς πλείστων καὶ μεγίστων ἀγαθῶν αἴτιος τῇ πόλει γενήσεται, ὥς γε τὸ εἰκὸς συμβῆναι ἐκ τοιαύτης ἀρχῆς ἀρξαμένῳ.
Socrates: And indeed Meletus too, perhaps first clears us away, those who corrupt the sprouts of the young, as he says; then after this, it is clear that, having cared for the older people, he will become the cause of most and greatest goods for the city, as is likely to happen for one starting from such a beginning.
ΕΥΘ. βουλοίμην ἄν, ὦ Σώκρατες, ἀλλʼ ὀρρωδῶ μὴ τοὐναντίον γένηται· ἀτεχνῶς γάρ μοι δοκεῖ ἀφʼ ἑστίας ἄρχεσθαι κακουργεῖν τὴν πόλιν, ἐπιχειρῶν ἀδικεῖν σέ.
Euthyphro: I would hope so, Socrates, but I fear lest the contrary should happen; for he seems to me literally to begin to do harm to the city from the hearth, by attempting to wrong you.
καί μοι λέγε, τί καὶ ποιοῦντά σέ φησι διαφθείρειν τοὺς νέους;
But tell me, what does he say you do to corrupt the young?
ΣΩ. ἄτοπα, ὦ θαυμάσιε, ὡς οὕτω γʼ ἀκοῦσαι.
Socrates: Strange things, my friend, at least to hear them thus.
φησὶ γάρ με ποιητὴν εἶναι θεῶν, καὶ ὡς καινοὺς ποιοῦντα θεοὺς τοὺς δʼ ἀρχαίους οὐ νομίζοντα ἐγράψατο τούτων αὐτῶν ἕνεκα, ὥς φησιν.
For he says that I am a maker of gods, and having written an indictment for these very things, as he says, because I make new gods and do not believe in the ancient ones.
ΕΥΘ. μανθάνω, ὦ Σώκρατες· ὅτι δὴ σὺ τὸ δαιμόνιον φῂς σαυτῷ ἑκάστοτε γίγνεσθαι.
Euthyphro: I understand, Socrates; because you say that your divine sign comes to you each time.
ὡς οὖν καινοτομοῦντός σου περὶ τὰ θεῖα γέγραπται ταύτην τὴν γραφήν, καὶ ὡς διαβαλῶν δὴ ἔρχεται εἰς τὸ δικαστήριον, εἰδὼς ὅτι εὐδιάβολα τὰ τοιαῦτα πρὸς τοὺς πολλούς.
So he has written this indictment against you as one who innovates in divine matters, and he comes to the court intending to slander you, knowing that such things are easy to slander before the multitude.
καὶ ἐμοῦ γάρ τοι, ὅταν τι λέγω ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ περὶ τῶν θείων, προλέγων αὐτοῖς τὰ μέλλοντα, καταγελῶσιν ὡς μαινομένου· καίτοι οὐδὲν ὅτι οὐκ ἀληθὲς εἴρηκα ὧν προεῖπον, ἀλλʼ ὅμως φθονοῦσιν ἡμῖν πᾶσι τοῖς τοιούτοις.
For indeed, even against me, whenever I say something in the assembly about divine things, foretelling the future to them, they laugh at me as if I were mad; and yet I have said nothing that was not true of the things I foretold, but nevertheless they envy all of us who are such.
ἀλλʼ οὐδὲν αὐτῶν χρὴ φροντίζειν, ἀλλʼ ὁμόσε ἰέναι.
But one must not worry about them, but go to meet them hand to hand.
ΣΩ. ὦ φίλε Εὐθύφρων, ἀλλὰ τὸ μὲν καταγελασθῆναι ἴσως οὐδὲν πρᾶγμα.
Socrates: My dear Euthyphro, being laughed at is perhaps no great matter.
Ἀθηναίοις γάρ τοι, ὡς ἐμοὶ δοκεῖ, οὐ σφόδρα μέλει ἄν τινα δεινὸν οἴωνται εἶναι, μὴ μέντοι διδασκαλικὸν τῆς αὑτοῦ σοφίας· ὃν δʼ ἂν καὶ ἄλλους οἴωνται ποιεῖν τοιούτους, θυμοῦνται, εἴτʼ οὖν φθόνῳ ὡς σὺ λέγεις, εἴτε διʼ ἄλλο τι.
For the Athenians, as it seems to me, do not care much if they think someone is clever, provided he is not teacherly of his own wisdom; but against whomever they think makes others such as himself, they are angry, whether out of envy as you say, or because of something else.
ΕΥΘ. τούτου οὖν πέρι ὅπως ποτὲ πρὸς ἐμὲ ἔχουσιν, οὐ πάνυ ἐπιθυμῶ πειραθῆναι.
Euthyphro: Concerning this, therefore, how they are disposed toward me, I do not at all desire to make trial.
ΣΩ. ἴσως γὰρ σὺ μὲν δοκεῖς σπάνιον σεαυτὸν παρέχειν καὶ διδάσκειν οὐκ ἐθέλειν τὴν σεαυτοῦ σοφίαν· ἐγὼ δὲ φοβοῦμαι μὴ ὑπὸ φιλανθρωπίας δοκῶ αὐτοῖς ὅτιπερ ἔχω ἐκκεχυμένως παντὶ ἀνδρὶ λέγειν, οὐ μόνον ἄνευ μισθοῦ, ἀλλὰ καὶ προστιθεὶς ἂν ἡδέως εἴ τίς μου ἐθέλει ἀκούειν.
Socrates: For perhaps you seem to present yourself rarely and to be unwilling to teach your own wisdom; but I fear lest because of my love of humanity I seem to them to pour out whatever I have and speak to every man, not only without reward, but even gladly paying in addition if anyone wants to hear me.
εἰ μὲν οὖν, ὃ νυνδὴ ἔλεγον, μέλλοιέν μου καταγελᾶν ὥσπερ σὺ φῂς σαυτοῦ, οὐδὲν ἂν εἴη ἀηδὲς παίζοντας καὶ γελῶντας ἐν τῷ δικαστηρίῳ διαγαγεῖν· εἰ δὲ σπουδάσονται, τοῦτʼ ἤδη ὅπῃ ἀποβήσεται ἄδηλον πλὴν ὑμῖν τοῖς μάντεσιν.
If therefore, as I was just saying, they should be about to laugh at me as you say they do at you, it would be nothing unpleasant to pass the time in the court playing and laughing; but if they are going to be serious, how this will turn out is unclear except to you prophets.
ΕΥΘ. ἀλλʼ ἴσως οὐδὲν ἔσται, ὦ Σώκρατες, πρᾶγμα, ἀλλὰ σύ τε κατὰ νοῦν ἀγωνιῇ τὴν δίκην, οἶμαι δὲ καὶ ἐμὲ τὴν ἐμήν.
Euthyphro: But perhaps it will be nothing, Socrates, and you will contest your suit according to your mind, and I think I will also contest mine.
ΣΩ. ἔστιν δὲ δὴ σοί, ὦ Εὐθύφρων, τίς ἡ δίκη;
Socrates: But tell me, Euthyphro, what is your suit?
φεύγεις αὐτὴν ἢ διώκεις;
Are you defending or prosecuting?
ΕΥΘ. διώκω.
Euthyphro: I am prosecuting.
ΣΩ. τίνα;
Socrates: Whom?