§393ΣΩ. ἀλλʼ ἆρα, ὠγαθέ, καὶ τῷ Ἕκτορι αὐτὸς ἔθετο τὸ ὄνομα Ὅμηρος;
SOCRATES: But, my good friend, did Homer himself also give the name to Hector?
ΕΡΜ. τί δή;
HERMOGENES: Why so?
ΣΩ. ὅτι μοι δοκεῖ καὶ τοῦτο παραπλήσιόν τι εἶναι τῷ Ἀστυάνακτι, καὶ ἔοικεν Ἑλληνικοῖς ταῦτα.
SOCRATES: Because this name also seems to me to be something very similar to "Astyanax," and these look like Greek names.
ὁ γὰρ
ἄναξ
καὶ ὁ
Ἕκτωρ
σχεδόν τι ταὐτὸν σημαίνει, βασιλικὰ ἀμφότερα εἶναι τὰ ὀνόματα·
For "anax" and "Hector" signify nearly the same thing, both being kingly names.
οὗ γὰρ ἄν τις
ἄναξ
ᾖ, καὶ
Ἕκτωρ
δήπου ἐστὶν τούτου· δῆλον γὰρ ὅτι κρατεῖ τε αὐτοῦ καὶ κέκτηται καὶ ἔχει αὐτό.
For of whatever one is "anax," he is also surely the "Hector" of this; for it is clear that he rules over it, possesses it, and holds it.
ἢ οὐδέν σοι δοκῶ λέγειν, ἀλλὰ λανθάνω καὶ ἐμαυτὸν οἰόμενός τινος ὥσπερ ἴχνους ἐφάπτεσθαι τῆς Ὁμήρου δόξης περὶ ὀνομάτων ὀρθότητος;
Or do I seem to you to be saying nothing, but unknowingly deceiving myself in thinking that I am touching upon some sort of track of Homer's opinion about the correctness of names?
ΕΡΜ. μὰ Δίʼ οὐ σύ γε, ὡς ἐμοὶ δοκεῖς, ἀλλὰ ἴσως τοῦ ἐφάπτῃ.
HERMOGENES: No, by Zeus, not you, as it seems to me, but perhaps you are touching upon it.
ΣΩ. δίκαιόν γέ τοί ἐστιν, ὡς ἐμοὶ φαίνεται, τὸν λέοντος ἔκγονον λέοντα καλεῖν καὶ τὸν ἵππου ἔκγονον ἵππον.
SOCRATES: It is indeed just, as it seems to me, to call the offspring of a lion a lion, and the offspring of a horse a horse.
οὔ τι λέγω ἐὰν ὥσπερ τέρας γένηται ἐξ ἵππου ἄλλο τι ἢ ἵππος, ἀλλʼ οὗ ἂν ᾖ τοῦ γένους ἔκγονον τὴν φύσιν, τοῦτο λέγω·
I do not mean if some monster should be born from a horse, something other than a horse, but I mean when the offspring is of that genus according to nature.
ἐὰν βοὸς ἔκγονον φύσει ἵππος παρὰ φύσιν τέκῃ μόσχον, οὐ πῶλον κλητέον ἀλλὰ μόσχον·
For if a horse, contrary to nature, should bring forth a calf which is by nature the offspring of an ox, it must not be called a colt, but a calf.
οὐδʼ ἂν ἐξ ἀνθρώπου οἶμαι μὴ τὸ ἀνθρώπου ἔκγονον γένηται, τὸ ἔκγονον ἄνθρωπος κλητέος·
Nor do I think that if there is born from a human that which is not a human offspring, the offspring should be called a human.
καὶ τὰ δένδρα ὡσαύτως καὶ τἆλλα ἅπαντα·
And in the same way with trees and all other things.
ἢ οὐ συνδοκεῖ;
Or do you not agree?
ΕΡΜ. συνδοκεῖ.
HERMOGENES: I agree.
ΣΩ. καλῶς λέγεις·
SOCRATES: Well said.
φύλαττε γάρ με μή πῃ παρακρούσωμαί σε.
Watch me, then, lest I somehow deceive you.
κατὰ γὰρ τὸν αὐτὸν λόγον κἂν ἐκ βασιλέως γίγνηταί τι ἔκγονον, βασιλεὺς κλητέος·
For by the same argument, if any offspring is born from a king, it must be called a king.
εἰ δὲ ἐν ἑτέραις συλλαβαῖς ἢ ἐν ἑτέραις τὸ αὐτὸ σημαίνει, οὐδὲν πρᾶγμα· οὐδʼ εἰ πρόσκειταί τι γράμμα ἢ ἀφῄρηται, οὐδὲν οὐδὲ τοῦτο, ἕως ἂν ἐγκρατὴς ᾖ ἡ οὐσία τοῦ πράγματος δηλουμένη ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι.
And if it signifies the same thing in different syllables, it is no matter; nor even if some letter is added or taken away, even this is nothing, as long as the essence of the thing shown in the name remains dominant.
ΕΡΜ. πῶς τοῦτο λέγεις;
HERMOGENES: How do you mean this?
ΣΩ. οὐδὲν ποικίλον, ἀλλʼ ὥσπερ τῶν στοιχείων οἶσθα ὅτι ὀνόματα λέγομεν ἀλλʼ οὐκ αὐτὰ τὰ στοιχεῖα, πλὴν τεττάρων, τοῦ Ε καὶ τοῦ Υ καὶ τοῦ Ο καὶ τοῦ Ω·
SOCRATES: Nothing complex, but just as with the letters of the alphabet, you know that we speak of their names and not the letters themselves, except for four: E, Y, O, and Ω.
τοῖς δʼ ἄλλοις φωνήεσί τε καὶ ἀφώνοις οἶσθα ὅτι περιτιθέντες ἄλλα γράμματα λέγομεν, ὀνόματα ποιοῦντες·
But for the other vowels and consonants, you know that we pronounce them by attaching other letters to them, making names out of them.
ἀλλʼ ἕως ἂν αὐτοῦ δηλουμένην τὴν δύναμιν ἐντιθῶμεν, ὀρθῶς ἔχει ἐκεῖνο τὸ ὄνομα καλεῖν ὃ αὐτὸ ἡμῖν δηλώσει.
Yet as long as we put into them the power (value) of the letter that is shown, it is correct to call it by that name which will show it to us.
οἷον τὸ
βῆτα
· ὁρᾷς ὅτι τοῦ ἦτα καὶ τοῦ ταῦ καὶ τοῦ ἄλφα προστεθέντων οὐδὲν ἐλύπησεν, ὥστε μὴ οὐχὶ τὴν ἐκείνου τοῦ στοιχείου φύσιν δηλῶσαι ὅλῳ τῷ ὀνόματι οὗ ἐβούλετο ὁ νομοθέτης·
For example, "beta"; you see that although eta, tau, and alpha were added, it in no way hindered the whole name from showing the nature of that letter, just as the lawgiver intended.
οὕτως ἠπιστήθη καλῶς θέσθαι τοῖς γράμμασι τὰ ὀνόματα.
Thus, it was well understood how to establish names for the letters.
ΕΡΜ. ἀληθῆ μοι δοκεῖς λέγειν.
HERMOGENES: You seem to me to speak the truth.