§403ΣΩ. τάχα δὲ οὐκ ἂν τοῦτο λέγοι, ἀλλʼ ἀντὶ τοῦ σῖγμα δύο λάβδα τὸ πρῶτον ἐλέγετο, ὡς πολλὰ εἰδότος τοῦ θεοῦ.
SOCRATES: Or perhaps he would not say this, but instead of the sigma, two lambdas were spoken at first, on the ground that the god knows many things.
ἴσως δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ σείειν
ὁ σείων
ὠνόμασται· πρόσκειται δὲ τὸ πεῖ καὶ τὸ δέλτα.
Or perhaps he has been named "the shaker" from shaking; and the pi and delta have been added.
τὸ δὲ Πλούτωνος, τοῦτο μὲν κατὰ τὴν τοῦ πλούτου δόσιν, ὅτι ἐκ τῆς γῆς κάτωθεν ἀνίεται ὁ πλοῦτος, ἐπωνομάσθη· ὁ δὲ
Ἅιδης,
οἱ πολλοὶ μέν μοι δοκοῦσιν ὑπολαμβάνειν τὸ ἀιδὲς προσειρῆσθαι τῷ ὀνόματι τούτῳ, καὶ φοβούμενοι τὸ ὄνομα
Πλούτωνα
καλοῦσιν αὐτόν.
As for Pluto, this name was given in accordance with the gift of wealth, because wealth is sent up from below the earth; and as for Hades, most people seem to me to suppose that "the invisible" is called by this name, and being afraid, they call him "Pluto".
ΕΡΜ. σοὶ δὲ πῶς φαίνεται, ὦ Σώκρατες;
HERMOGENES: And how does it seem to you, Socrates?
ΣΩ. πολλαχῇ ἔμοιγε δοκοῦσιν ἅνθρωποι διημαρτηκέναι περὶ τούτου τοῦ θεοῦ τῆς δυνάμεως καὶ φοβεῖσθαι αὐτὸν οὐκ ἄξιον ὄν.
SOCRATES: In many ways, it seems to me that men have erred concerning the power of this god and fear him when he is not worthy of fear.
ὅτι τε γάρ, ἐπειδὰν ἅπαξ τις ἡμῶν ἀποθάνῃ, ἀεὶ ἐκεῖ ἐστιν, φοβοῦνται, καὶ ὅτι ἡ ψυχὴ γυμνὴ τοῦ σώματος παρʼ ἐκεῖνον ἀπέρχεται, καὶ τοῦτο πεφόβηνται· τὰ δʼ ἐμοὶ δοκεῖ πάντα ἐς ταὐτόν τι συντείνειν, καὶ ἡ ἀρχὴ τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τὸ ὄνομα.
For they fear both that, once any of us dies, he remains there forever, and they have feared this too, that the soul goes away to him naked of the body; but to me all these things seem to tend toward the same point, both the rule of the god and his name.
ΕΡΜ. πῶς δή;
HERMOGENES: How so?
ΣΩ. ἐγώ σοι ἐρῶ ἅ γέ μοι φαίνεται.
SOCRATES: I will tell you what indeed seems to me.
εἰπὲ γάρ μοι, δεσμὸς ζῴῳ ὁτῳοῦν ὥστε μένειν ὁπουοῦν, πότερος ἰσχυρότερός ἐστιν, ἀνάγκη ἢ ἐπιθυμία;
Tell me, of any animal whatsoever, which is the stronger fetter to make it remain anywhere, necessity or desire?
ΕΡΜ. πολὺ διαφέρει, ὦ Σώκρατες, ἡ ἐπιθυμία.
HERMOGENES: Desire, Socrates, is far superior.
ΣΩ. οἴει οὖν τὸν Ἅιδην οὐκ ἂν πολλοὺς ἐκφεύγειν, εἰ μὴ τῷ ἰσχυροτάτῳ δεσμῷ ἔδει τοὺς ἐκεῖσε ἰόντας;
SOCRATES: Do you suppose, then, that many would not escape from Hades, if he did not bind those who go there with the strongest fetter?
ΕΡΜ. δῆλα δή.
HERMOGENES: That is indeed clear.
ΣΩ. ἐπιθυμίᾳ ἄρα τινὶ αὐτούς, ὡς ἔοικε, δεῖ, εἴπερ τῷ μεγίστῳ δεσμῷ δεῖ, καὶ οὐκ ἀνάγκῃ.
SOCRATES: He must bind them, then, it seems, by some desire, if he is to bind them with the greatest fetter, and not by necessity.
ΕΡΜ. φαίνεται.
HERMOGENES: So it appears.
ΣΩ. οὐκοῦν ἐπιθυμίαι αὖ πολλαί εἰσιν;
SOCRATES: Are there not, in turn, many desires?
ΕΡΜ. ναί.
HERMOGENES: Yes.
ΣΩ. τῇ μεγίστῃ ἄρα ἐπιθυμίᾳ τῶν ἐπιθυμιῶν δεῖ αὐτούς, εἴπερ μέλλει τῷ μεγίστῳ δεσμῷ κατέχειν.
SOCRATES: He must bind them, then, with the greatest desire of desires, if he is to hold them with the greatest fetter.
ΕΡΜ. ναί.
HERMOGENES: Yes.
ΣΩ. ἔστιν οὖν τις μείζων ἐπιθυμία ἢ ὅταν τίς τῳ συνὼν οἴηται διʼ ἐκεῖνον ἔσεσθαι ἀμείνων ἀνήρ;
SOCRATES: Is there then any desire greater than when someone, associating with another, thinks that through him he will be a better man?
ΕΡΜ. μὰ Δίʼ οὐδʼ ὁπωστιοῦν, ὦ Σώκρατες.
HERMOGENES: By Zeus, not in any way whatsoever, Socrates.
ΣΩ. διὰ ταῦτα ἄρα φῶμεν, ὦ Ἑρμόγενες, οὐδένα δεῦρο ἐθελῆσαι ἀπελθεῖν τῶν ἐκεῖθεν, οὐδὲ αὐτὰς τὰς Σειρῆνας, ἀλλὰ κατακεκηλῆσθαι ἐκείνας τε καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους πάντας· οὕτω καλούς τινας, ὡς ἔοικεν, ἐπίσταται λόγους λέγειν ὁ Ἅιδης, καὶ ἔστιν, ὥς γʼ ἐκ τοῦ λόγου τούτου, ὁ θεὸς τέλεος σοφιστής τε καὶ μέγας εὐεργέτης τῶν παρʼ αὐτῷ, ὅς γε καὶ τοῖς ἐνθάδε τοσαῦτα ἀγαθὰ ἀνίησιν· οὕτω πολλὰ αὐτῷ τὰ περιόντα ἐκεῖ ἐστιν, καὶ τὸν
Πλούτωνα
ἀπὸ τούτου ἔσχε τὸ ὄνομα.
SOCRATES: For these reasons, then, Hermogenes, let us say that no one from there has been willing to come away here, not even the Sirens themselves, but they and all the others have been completely enchanted; so beautiful, it seems, are the discourses that Hades knows how to speak, and the god is, at least from this argument, a perfect sophist and a great benefactor of those with him, who indeed also sends up so many good things to those here; so many are the things remaining to him there, and Pluto got his name from this.
§404ΣΩ. καὶ τὸ αὖ μὴ ἐθέλειν συνεῖναι τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ἔχουσι τὰ σώματα, ἀλλὰ τότε συγγίγνεσθαι, ἐπειδὰν ἡ ψυχὴ καθαρὰ ᾖ πάντων τῶν περὶ τὸ σῶμα κακῶν καὶ ἐπιθυμιῶν, οὐ φιλοσόφου δοκεῖ σοι εἶναι καὶ εὖ ἐντεθυμημένου ὅτι οὕτω μὲν ἂν κατέχοι αὐτοὺς δήσας τῇ περὶ ἀρετὴν ἐπιθυμίᾳ, ἔχοντας δὲ τὴν τοῦ σώματος πτοίησιν καὶ μανίαν οὐδʼ ἂν ὁ Κρόνος δύναιτο ὁ πατὴρ συγκατέχειν αὑτῷ ἐν τοῖς δεσμοῖς δήσας τοῖς αὐτοῦ λεγομένοις;
SOCRATES: And again, his unwillingness to associate with men who have bodies, but to companion with them only then, when the soul is pure of all the evils and desires concerning the body, does it not seem to you to belong to a philosopher and to one who has well considered that in this way he might hold them by binding them with the desire for virtue, but that while they have the fluttering and madness of the body, not even father Cronus himself would be able to hold them with him, binding them with his own famous fetters?
ΕΡΜ. κινδυνεύεις τὶ λέγειν, ὦ Σώκρατες.
HERMOGENES: You seem to have a point, Socrates.
ΣΩ. καὶ τό γε ὄνομα ὁ
Ἅιδης,
ὦ Ἑρμόγενες, πολλοῦ δεῖ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀιδοῦς ἐπωνομάσθαι, ἀλλὰ πολὺ μᾶλλον ἀπὸ τοῦ πάντα τὰ καλὰ εἰδέναι, ἀπὸ τούτου ὑπὸ τοῦ νομοθέτου
Ἅιδης
ἐκλήθη.
SOCRATES: And the name Hades, Hermogenes, is far from having been given from "the invisible", but much rather from "knowing all beautiful things"; from this he was called "Hades" by the lawgiver.
ΕΡΜ. εἶεν· τί δὲ Δήμητρά τε καὶ Ἥραν καὶ Ἀπόλλω καὶ Ἀθηνᾶν καὶ Ἥφαιστον καὶ Ἄρη καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους θεούς, πῶς λέγομεν;
HERMOGENES: Well then; but what of Demeter and Hera and Apollo and Athena and Hephaestus and Ares and the other gods, how do we explain them?
ΣΩ. Δημήτηρ μὲν φαίνεται κατὰ τὴν δόσιν τῆς ἐδωδῆς διδοῦσα ὡς μήτηρ
Δημήτηρ
κεκλῆσθαι, Ἥρα δὲ ἐρατή τις, ὥσπερ οὖν καὶ λέγεται ὁ Ζεὺς αὐτῆς ἐρασθεὶς ἔχειν.
SOCRATES: Demeter seems to have been called "Demeter" because she gives food as a mother, while Hera is a lovely one, just as indeed Zeus is said to have married her having fallen in love.
ἴσως δὲ μετεωρολογῶν ὁ νομοθέτης τὸν ἀέρα
Ἥραν
ὠνόμασεν ἐπικρυπτόμενος, θεὶς τὴν ἀρχὴν ἐπὶ τελευτήν· γνοίης δʼ ἄν, εἰ πολλάκις λέγοις τὸ τῆς Ἥρας ὄνομα.
But perhaps the lawgiver, speaking as a stargazer, named the air "Hera" in a hidden way, putting the beginning at the end; you would know this if you were to say the name of Hera many times.
Φερρέφαττα
δέ· πολλοὶ μὲν καὶ τοῦτο φοβοῦνται τὸ ὄνομα καὶ τὸν
Ἀπόλλω,
ὑπὸ ἀπειρίας, ὡς ἔοικεν, ὀνομάτων ὀρθότητος.
And as for Pherephatta: many fear this name too, and Apollo, through inexperience, it seems, of the correctness of names.
καὶ γὰρ μεταβάλλοντες σκοποῦνται τὴν
Φερσεφόνην,
καὶ δεινὸν αὐτοῖς φαίνεται· τὸ δὲ μηνύει σοφὴν εἶναι τὴν θεόν.
For they alter it and examine "Persephone", and it seems terrible to them; but this indicates that the goddess is wise.
ἅτε γὰρ φερομένων τῶν πραγμάτων τὸ ἐφαπτόμενον καὶ ἐπαφῶν καὶ δυνάμενον ἐπακολουθεῖν σοφία ἂν εἴη.
For since things are in motion, that which touches, contacts, and is able to follow them would be wisdom.
Φερέπαφα
οὖν διὰ τὴν σοφίαν καὶ τὴν ἐπαφὴν τοῦ φερομένου ἡ θεὸς ἂν ὀρθῶς καλοῖτο, ἢ τοιοῦτόν τι—διʼ ὅπερ καὶ σύνεστιν αὐτῇ ὁ Ἅιδης σοφὸς ὤν, διότι τοιαύτη ἐστίν—νῦν δὲ αὐτῆς ἐκκλίνουσι τὸ ὄνομα εὐστομίαν περὶ πλείονος ποιούμενοι τῆς ἀληθείας, ὥστε
Φερρέφατταν
αὐτὴν καλεῖν.
Therefore "Pherepapha" would be the correct name for the goddess on account of her wisdom and her contact with what is in motion, or something of this sort—which is indeed why Hades, being wise, associates with her, because she is such—but now they distort her name, making more of euphony than of truth, so that they call her "Pherephatta".
ταὐτὸν δὲ καὶ περὶ τὸν Ἀπόλλω, ὅπερ λέγω, πολλοὶ πεφόβηνται περὶ τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ θεοῦ, ὥς τι δεινὸν μηνύοντος· ἢ οὐκ ᾔσθησαι;
And the same is true also concerning Apollo, as I say; many fear the name of the god, as if it indicated something terrible; or have you not noticed?
ΕΡΜ. πάνυ μὲν οὖν, καὶ ἀληθῆ λέγεις.
HERMOGENES: Yes, indeed, and you speak the truth.
ΣΩ. τὸ δέ γʼ ἐστίν, ὡς ἐμοὶ δοκεῖ, κάλλιστα κείμενον πρὸς τὴν δύναμιν τοῦ θεοῦ.
SOCRATES: But this name, as it seems to me, is most beautifully laid down in relation to the power of the god.
ΕΡΜ. πῶς δή;
HERMOGENES: How so?