§399ΣΩ. τῇ τοῦ Εὐθύφρονος ἐπιπνοίᾳ πιστεύεις, ὡς ἔοικας.
SOCRATES: You trust in the inspiration of Euthyphro, as it seems.
ΕΡΜ. δῆλα δή.
HERMOGENES: That is clear.
ΣΩ. ὀρθῶς γε σὺ πιστεύων·
SOCRATES: And you are right to trust it.
ὡς καὶ νῦν γέ μοι φαίνομαι κομψῶς ἐννενοηκέναι, καὶ κινδυνεύσω, ἐὰν μὴ εὐλαβῶμαι, ἔτι τήμερον σοφώτερος τοῦ δέοντος γενέσθαι.
For even now I seem to myself to have thought of something clever, and I shall run the risk, unless I am careful, of becoming wiser than I ought to be before today is over.
σκόπει δὴ ὃ λέγω.
Consider, then, what I say.
πρῶτον μὲν γὰρ τὸ τοιόνδε δεῖ ἐννοῆσαι περὶ ὀνομάτων, ὅτι πολλάκις ἐπεμβάλλομεν γράμματα, τὰ δʼ ἐξαιροῦμεν, παρʼ ὃ βουλόμεθα ὀνομάζοντες, καὶ τὰς ὀξύτητας μεταβάλλομεν.
First of all, we must understand this sort of thing about names: that we often insert letters, and take others out, when we name things according to our wishes, and we change the accents.
οἷον
Διὶ φίλος
—τοῦτο ἵνα ἀντὶ ῥήματος ὄνομα ἡμῖν γένηται, τό τε ἕτερον αὐτόθεν ἰῶτα ἐξείλομεν καὶ ἀντὶ ὀξείας τῆς μέσης συλλαβῆς βαρεῖαν ἐφθεγξάμεθα.
For instance, "dear to Zeus" —in order that this may become a name for us instead of a phrase, we take out one of the two iotas, and we pronounce the middle syllable with a grave accent instead of an acute.
ἄλλων δὲ τοὐναντίον ἐμβάλλομεν γράμματα, τὰ δὲ βαρύτερα ὀξύτερα φθεγγόμεθα.
In other cases, on the contrary, we insert letters, and we pronounce the lower pitches sharper.
ΕΡΜ. ἀληθῆ λέγεις.
HERMOGENES: You speak the truth.
ΣΩ. τούτων τοίνυν ἓν καὶ τὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ὄνομα πέπονθεν, ὡς ἐμοὶ δοκεῖ.
SOCRATES: Now, one of these is what the name of "man" has undergone, as it seems to me.
ἐκ γὰρ ῥήματος ὄνομα γέγονεν, ἑνὸς γράμματος τοῦ ἄλφα ἐξαιρεθέντος καὶ βαρυτέρας τῆς τελευτῆς γενομένης.
For it has become a name from a phrase, one letter, the alpha, having been removed, and the end having become graver in pitch.
ΕΡΜ. πῶς λέγεις;
HERMOGENES: How do you mean?
ΣΩ. ὧδε.
SOCRATES: In this way.
σημαίνει τοῦτο τὸ ὄνομα ὁ
ἄνθρωπος
ὅτι τὰ μὲν ἄλλα θηρία ὧν ὁρᾷ οὐδὲν ἐπισκοπεῖ οὐδὲ ἀναλογίζεται οὐδὲ ἀναθρεῖ, ὁ δὲ ἄνθρωπος ἅμα ἑώρακεν—τοῦτο δʼ ἐστὶ
ὄπωπε
—καὶ ἀναθρεῖ καὶ λογίζεται τοῦτο ὃ ὄπωπεν.
This name "man" signifies that while other beasts examine nothing of what they see, nor do they calculate or look up, man, as soon as he has seen—and this is "has beheld"—both looks up and reasons about what he has beheld.
ἐντεῦθεν δὴ μόνον τῶν θηρίων ὀρθῶς ὁ ἄνθρωπος
ἄνθρωπος
ὠνομάσθη, ἀναθρῶν ἃ ὄπωπε.
Hence, alone of the beasts, man was correctly named "man", as one who looks up at what he has beheld.
ΕΡΜ. τί οὖν τὸ μετὰ τοῦτο;
HERMOGENES: What then is next?
ἔρωμαί σε ὃ ἡδέως ἂν πυθοίμην;
May I ask you something that I would gladly learn?
ΣΩ. πάνυ γε.
SOCRATES: By all means.
ΕΡΜ. ὥσπερ τοίνυν μοι δοκεῖ τούτοις ἑξῆς εἶναί τι χρῆμα.
HERMONES: Well then, it seems to me that there is something which comes next to these.
ψυχὴν
γάρ που καὶ
σῶμα
καλοῦμεν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου.
For we call something, I suppose, the "soul" and the "body" of a man.
ΣΩ. πῶς γὰρ οὔ;
SOCRATES: How could we not?
ΕΡΜ. πειρώμεθα δὴ καὶ ταῦτα διελεῖν ὥσπερ τὰ ἔμπροσθεν.
HERMOGENES: Let us try, then, to analyze these also, just like the previous ones.
ΣΩ. ψυχὴν λέγεις ἐπισκέψασθαι ὡς εἰκότως τούτου τοῦ ὀνόματος τυγχάνει, ἔπειτʼ αὖ τὸ σῶμα;
SOCRATES: You mean to investigate first the soul, to see how it reasonably obtains this name, and then next the body?
ΕΡΜ. ναί.
HERMOGENES: Yes.
ΣΩ. ὡς μὲν τοίνυν ἐκ τοῦ παραχρῆμα λέγειν, οἶμαί τι τοιοῦτον νοεῖν τοὺς τὴν ψυχὴν ὀνομάσαντας, ὡς τοῦτο ἄρα, ὅταν παρῇ τῷ σώματι, αἴτιόν ἐστι τοῦ ζῆν αὐτῷ, τὴν τοῦ ἀναπνεῖν δύναμιν παρέχον καὶ ἀναψῦχον, ἅμα δὲ ἐκλείποντος τοῦ ἀναψύχοντος τὸ σῶμα ἀπόλλυταί τε καὶ τελευτᾷ· ὅθεν δή μοι δοκοῦσιν αὐτὸ
ψυχὴν
καλέσαι.
SOCRATES: To speak then off-hand, I think those who named the soul had in mind some such thing as this: that this, indeed, when it is present in the body, is the cause of its living, providing the power of breathing and cooling it down, and as soon as this cooling agent leaves, the body perishes and dies; hence, indeed, they seem to me to have called it "soul".
εἰ δὲ βούλει —ἔχε ἠρέμα· δοκῶ γάρ μοί τι καθορᾶν πιθανώτερον τούτου τοῖς ἀμφὶ Εὐθύφρονα.
But if you wish—hold on a moment; for I think I see something more persuasive than this, suitable for those around Euthyphro.
τούτου μὲν γάρ, ὡς ἐμοὶ δοκεῖ, καταφρονήσαιεν ἂν καὶ ἡγήσαιντο φορτικὸν εἶναι· τόδε δὲ σκόπει ἐὰν ἄρα καὶ σοὶ ἀρέσῃ.
For they would, I think, despise this one and consider it vulgar; but consider this one and see if it pleases you too.
§400ΕΡΜ. λέγε μόνον.
HERMOGENES: Speak on.
ΣΩ. τὴν φύσιν παντὸς τοῦ σώματος, ὥστε καὶ ζῆν καὶ περιιέναι, τί σοι δοκεῖ ἔχειν τε καὶ ὀχεῖν ἄλλο ἢ ψυχή;
SOCRATES: What else do you think holds and carries the nature of the whole body, so that it lives and goes about, other than the soul?
ΕΡΜ. οὐδὲν ἄλλο.
HERMOGENES: Nothing else.
ΣΩ. τί δέ;
SOCRATES: What then?
καὶ τὴν τῶν ἄλλων ἁπάντων φύσιν οὐ πιστεύεις Ἀναξαγόρᾳ νοῦν καὶ ψυχὴν εἶναι τὴν διακοσμοῦσαν καὶ ἔχουσαν;
Do you not believe, with Anaxagoras, that mind and soul are what order and hold the nature of all other things as well?
ΕΡΜ. ἔγωγε.
HERMOGENES: I do indeed.
ΣΩ. καλῶς ἄρα ἂν τὸ ὄνομα τοῦτο ἔχοι τῇ δυνάμει ταύτῃ ἣ φύσιν ὀχεῖ καὶ ἔχει
φυσέχην
ἐπονομάζειν.
SOCRATES: Then it would be well to name this name, according to this power which carries and holds nature, "physêchê".
ἔξεστι δὲ καὶ
ψυχὴν
κομψευόμενον λέγειν.
And it is possible to speak of it, in a refined way, as "soul".
ΕΡΜ. πάνυ μὲν οὖν, καὶ δοκεῖ γέ μοι τοῦτο ἐκείνου τεχνικώτερον εἶναι.
HERMOGENES: Assuredly, and this indeed seems to me to be more artistic than the other.
ΣΩ. καὶ γὰρ ἔστιν· γελοῖον μέντοι φαίνεται ὡς ἀληθῶς ὀνομαζόμενον ὡς ἐτέθη.
SOCRATES: And indeed it is; though it appears ridiculous when spoken as it was truly established.
ΕΡΜ. ἀλλὰ δὴ τὸ μετὰ τοῦτο πῶς φῶμεν ἔχειν;
HERMOGENES: But now, how should we say about the next thing?
ΣΩ. τὸ σῶμα λέγεις;
SOCRATES: You mean the body?
ΕΡΜ. ναί.
HERMOGENES: Yes.
ΣΩ. πολλαχῇ μοι δοκεῖ τοῦτό γε· ἂν μὲν καὶ σμικρόν τις παρακλίνῃ, καὶ πάνυ.
SOCRATES: This seems to me to have many interpretations; if one deviates even a little, very many indeed.
καὶ γὰρ σῆμά τινές φασιν αὐτὸ εἶναι τῆς ψυχῆς, ὡς τεθαμμένης ἐν τῷ νῦν παρόντι· καὶ διότι αὖ τούτῳ σημαίνει ἃ ἂν σημαίνῃ ἡ ψυχή, καὶ ταύτῃ
σῆμα
ὀρθῶς καλεῖσθαι.
For some say it is the tomb of the soul, as if it were buried in the present life; and because, again, the soul signifies whatever it signifies through this, for this reason also it is correctly called a "sign".
δοκοῦσι μέντοι μοι μάλιστα θέσθαι οἱ ἀμφὶ Ὀρφέα τοῦτο τὸ ὄνομα, ὡς δίκην διδούσης τῆς ψυχῆς ὧν δὴ ἕνεκα δίδωσιν, τοῦτον δὲ περίβολον ἔχειν, ἵνα σῴζηται, δεσμωτηρίου εἰκόνα· εἶναι οὖν τῆς ψυχῆς τοῦτο, ὥσπερ αὐτὸ ὀνομάζεται, ἕως ἂν ἐκτείσῃ τὰ ὀφειλόμενα,
σῶμα,
καὶ οὐδὲν δεῖν παράγειν οὐδʼ ἓν γράμμα.
However, those around Orpheus seem to me to have established this name most of all, because the soul is paying a penalty for whatever it pays it for, and has this enclosure as a prison-image so that it may be kept safe; therefore, this is for the soul, just as it is named, a "body" until it pays its debts, and there is no need to alter even a single letter.
ΕΡΜ. ταῦτα μέν μοι δοκεῖ ἱκανῶς, ὦ Σώκρατες, εἰρῆσθαι· περὶ δὲ τῶν θεῶν τῶν ὀνομάτων, οἷον καὶ περὶ τοῦ
Διὸς
νυνδὴ ἔλεγες, ἔχοιμεν ἄν που κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον ἐπισκέψασθαι κατὰ τίνα ποτὲ ὀρθότητα αὐτῶν τὰ ὀνόματα κεῖται;
HERMOGENES: These things, Socrates, seem to me to have been sufficiently discussed; but concerning the names of the gods, such as you were just saying about Zeus, could we somehow investigate in the same manner by what correctness their names are established?
ΣΩ. ναὶ μὰ Δία ἡμεῖς γε, ὦ Ἑρμόγενες, εἴπερ γε νοῦν ἔχοιμεν, ἕνα μὲν τὸν κάλλιστον τρόπον, ὅτι περὶ θεῶν οὐδὲν ἴσμεν, οὔτε περὶ αὐτῶν οὔτε περὶ τῶν ὀνομάτων, ἅττα ποτὲ ἑαυτοὺς καλοῦσιν·
SOCRATES: Yes, by Zeus, we could, Hermogenes, if we have any sense.
δῆλον γὰρ ὅτι ἐκεῖνοί γε τἀληθῆ καλοῦσι.
First, indeed, the most beautiful way is that we know nothing about the gods, neither about themselves nor about their names, whatever they call themselves; for it is clear that they call themselves by the true ones.
δεύτερος δʼ αὖ τρόπος ὀρθότητος, ὥσπερ ἐν ταῖς εὐχαῖς νόμος ἐστὶν ἡμῖν εὔχεσθαι, οἵτινές τε καὶ ὁπόθεν χαίρουσιν ὀνομαζόμενοι, ταῦτα καὶ ἡμᾶς αὐτοὺς καλεῖν, ὡς ἄλλο μηδὲν εἰδότας· καλῶς γὰρ δὴ ἔμοιγε δοκεῖ νενομίσθαι.
And the second way of correctness, just as it is our custom to pray in prayers, calling them by whatever names and from wherever they rejoice in being named, is that we also call them by these, knowing nothing else; for this seems to me to have been well established by custom.