§93ΦΑΙΔ. δοκεῖ σοι ἁρμονίᾳ ἢ ἄλλῃ τινὶ συνθέσει προσήκειν ἄλλως πως ἔχειν ἢ ὡς ἂν ἐκεῖνα ἔχῃ ἐξ ὧν ἂν συγκέηται; οὐδαμῶς. οὐδὲ μὴν ποιεῖν τι, ὡς ἐγᾦμαι, οὐδέ τι πάσχειν ἄλλο παρ’ ἃ ἂν ἐκεῖνα ἢ ποιῇ ἢ πάσχῃ; συνέφη.
Phaedo: "'Do you think it is fitting for a harmony, or any other composite thing, to be in any other state than that in which the elements are of which it is composed?' 'In no way.' 'Nor indeed to do anything, as I think, or to suffer anything other than what those elements either do or suffer?' He agreed.
οὐκ ἄρα ἡγεῖσθαί γε προσήκει ἁρμονίαν τούτων ἐξ ὧν ἂν συντεθῇ, ἀλλ᾽ ἕπεσθαι. συνεδόκει.
'Then it is not fitting for a harmony to lead those things of which it is composed, but to follow them.' He agreed to this too.
πολλοῦ ἄρα δεῖ ἐναντία γε ἁρμονία κινηθῆναι ἂν ἢ φθέγξασθαι ἤ τι ἄλλο ἐναντιωθῆναι τοῖς αὑτῆς μέρεσιν. πολλοῦ μέντοι, ἔφη.
'Then a harmony is very far from being able to be moved, or to make a sound, or to oppose its own parts in any other way.' 'Very far indeed,' he said.
τί δέ;
'But what of this?
οὐχ οὕτως ἁρμονία πέφυκεν εἶναι ἑκάστη ἁρμονία ὡς ἂν ἁρμοσθῇ; οὐ μανθάνω, ἔφη.
Is not each harmony naturally such a harmony as it has been tuned?' 'I do not understand,' he said.
ἢ οὐχί, ἦ δ’ ὅς, ἂν μὲν μᾶλλον ἁρμοσθῇ καὶ ἐπὶ πλέον, εἴπερ ἐνδέχεται τοῦτο γίγνεσθαι, μᾶλλόν τε ἂν ἁρμονία εἴη καὶ πλείων, εἰ δ’ ἧττόν τε καὶ ἐπ’ ἔλαττον, ἥττων τε καὶ ἐλάττων; πάνυ γε. ἦ οὖν ἔστι τοῦτο περὶ ψυχήν, ὥστε καὶ κατὰ τὸ σμικρότατον μᾶλλον ἑτέραν ἑτέρας ψυχῆς ἐπὶ πλέον καὶ μᾶλλον ἢ ἐπ’ ἔλαττον καὶ ἧττον αὐτὸ τοῦτο εἶναι, ψυχήν; οὐδ’ ὁπωστιοῦν, ἔφη.
'Is it not the case,' he said, 'that if it should be tuned more and to a greater degree, if indeed this is possible, it would be more of a harmony and a greater one; but if less and to a lesser degree, it would be less of a harmony and a lesser one?' 'Certainly.' 'Is this then the case with the soul, so that even in the slightest degree one soul is more and to a greater extent, or less and to a lesser extent, than another, this very thing, a soul?' 'In no way at all,' he said.
φέρε δή, ἔφη, πρὸς Διός·
'Come then,' he said, 'by Zeus!
λέγεται ψυχὴ ἡ μὲν νοῦν τε ἔχειν καὶ ἀρετὴν καὶ εἶναι ἀγαθή, ἡ δὲ ἄνοιάν τε καὶ μοχθηρίαν καὶ εἶναι κακή; καὶ ταῦτα ἀληθῶς λέγεται;
Is one soul said to have intelligence and virtue and to be good, and another to have folly and wickedness and to be bad?
ἀληθῶς μέντοι. τῶν οὖν θεμένων ψυχὴν ἁρμονίαν εἶναι τί τις φήσει ταῦτα ὄντα εἶναι ἐν ταῖς ψυχαῖς, τήν τε ἀρετὴν καὶ τὴν κακίαν;
And are these things said truly?' 'Truly indeed.' 'Then what will anyone who posits that the soul is a harmony say that these things in the souls are—namely, virtue and vice?
πότερον ἁρμονίαν αὖ τινα ἄλλην καὶ ἀναρμοστίαν;
Will they say that they are yet another harmony and discord?
καὶ τὴν μὲν ἡρμόσθαι, τὴν ἀγαθήν, καὶ ἔχειν ἐν αὑτῇ ἁρμονίᾳ οὔσῃ ἄλλην ἁρμονίαν, τὴν δὲ ἀνάρμοστον αὐτήν τε εἶναι καὶ οὐκ ἔχειν ἐν αὑτῇ ἄλλην; οὐκ ἔχω ἔγωγ᾽, ἔφη ὁ Σιμμίας, εἰπεῖν· δῆλον δ’ ὅτι τοιαῦτ’ ἄττ’ ἂν λέγοι ὁ ἐκεῖνο ὑποθέμενος.
And that the good soul is tuned, and has within itself, being a harmony, another harmony, while the bad soul is itself out of tune and does not have within itself another harmony?' 'I cannot say,' said Simmias; 'but it is clear that the one who made that hypothesis would say something of that sort.' ' But,' he said, 'it has been agreed beforehand that one soul is in no way more or less a soul than another; and this agreement means that one harmony is in no way more or to a greater degree, nor less or to a lesser degree, a harmony than another.
ἀλλὰ προωμολόγηται, ἔφη, μηδὲν μᾶλλον μηδ’ ἧττον ἑτέραν ἑτέρας ψυχὴν ψυχῆς εἶναι· τοῦτο δ’ ἔστι τὸ ὁμολόγημα, μηδὲν μᾶλλον μηδ’ ἐπὶ πλέον μηδ’ ἧττον μηδ’ ἐπ’ ἔλαττον ἑτέραν ἑτέρας ἁρμονίαν ἁρμονίας εἶναι. ἦ γάρ; πάνυ γε. τὴν δέ γε μηδὲν μᾶλλον μηδὲ ἧττον ἁρμονίαν οὖσαν μήτε μᾶλλον μήτε ἧττον ἡρμόσθαι· ἔστιν οὕτως; ἔστιν. ἡ δὲ μήτε μᾶλλον μήτε ἧττον ἡρμοσμένη ἔστιν ὅτι πλέον ἢ ἔλαττον ἁρμονίας μετέχει, ἢ τὸ ἴσον; τὸ ἴσον. οὐκοῦν ψυχὴ ἐπειδὴ οὐδὲν μᾶλλον οὐδ’ ἧττον ἄλλη ἄλλης αὐτὸ τοῦτο, ψυχή, ἐστίν, οὐδὲ δὴ μᾶλλον οὐδὲ ἧττον ἥρμοσται; οὕτω. τοῦτο δέ γε πεπονθυῖα οὐδὲν πλέον ἀναρμοστίας οὐδὲ ἁρμονίας μετέχοι ἄν; οὐ γὰρ οὖν. τοῦτο δ’ αὖ πεπονθυῖα ἆρ’ ἄν τι πλέον κακίας ἢ ἀρετῆς μετέχοι ἑτέρα ἑτέρας, εἴπερ ἡ μὲν κακία ἀναρμοστία, ἡ δὲ ἀρετὴ ἁρμονία εἴη; οὐδὲν πλέον.
Is that not so?' 'Certainly.' 'And that which is in no way more or less a harmony is neither more nor less tuned; is that so?' 'It is so.' 'And does that which is neither more nor less tuned share in harmony to a greater or a lesser degree, or to an equal degree?' 'To an equal degree.' 'Therefore, since one soul is in no way more or less than another this very thing, a soul, it is surely neither more nor less tuned?' 'That is so.' 'And being in this state, it could share in discord or harmony to no greater degree?' 'Certainly not.' 'And being in this state, again, could one soul share in vice or virtue to any greater degree than another, if indeed vice is discord and virtue is harmony?' 'To no greater degree.'"