§409ΣΩ. ἔοικε τοίνυν κατάδηλον γενόμενον ἂν μᾶλλον εἰ τῷ Δωρικῷ τις ὀνόματι χρῷτο—
ἅλιον
γὰρ καλοῦσιν οἱ Δωριῆς—
ἅλιος
οὖν εἴη μὲν ἂν κατὰ τὸ ἁλίζειν εἰς ταὐτὸν τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἐπειδὰν ἀνατείλῃ, εἴη δʼ ἂν καὶ τῷ περὶ τὴν γῆν ἀεὶ εἱλεῖν ἰών, ἐοίκοι δʼ ἂν καὶ ὅτι ποικίλλει ἰὼν τὰ γιγνόμενα ἐκ τῆς γῆς· τὸ δὲ ποικίλλειν καὶ αἰολεῖν ταὐτόν.
SOCRATES: It seems then that it would become much clearer if one were to use the Doric name—for the Dorians call it "Halion"—so "Halios" would be in accordance with gathering (halizein) men into the same place when it rises, and it would also be in accordance with always revolving (heilein) around the earth as it goes, and it would also seem to be because as it goes it variegates (poikillein) the things that come from the earth; and to variegate and to turn about (aiolein) are the same thing.
ΕΡΜ. τί δὲ ἡ
σελήνη
;
HERMOGENES: And what of the moon (selene)?
ΣΩ. τοῦτο δὲ τὸ ὄνομα φαίνεται τὸν Ἀναξαγόραν πιέζειν.
SOCRATES: This name seems to press hard upon Anaxagoras.
ΕΡΜ. τί δή;
HERMOGENES: How so?
ΣΩ. ἔοικε δηλοῦντι παλαιότερον ὃ ἐκεῖνος νεωστὶ ἔλεγεν, ὅτι ἡ σελήνη ἀπὸ τοῦ ἡλίου ἔχει τὸ φῶς.
SOCRATES: It seems to show in a more ancient way what he was recently saying, that the moon has its light from the sun.
ΕΡΜ. πῶς δή;
HERMOGENES: How so?
ΣΩ. τὸ μέν που
σέλας
καὶ τὸ
φῶς
ταὐτόν.
SOCRATES: "Selas" (glow) and "phos" (light) are, I suppose, the same.
ΕΡΜ. ναί.
HERMOGENES: Yes.
ΣΩ. νέον δέ που καὶ ἕνον ἀεί ἐστι περὶ τὴν σελήνην τοῦτο τὸ φῶς, εἴπερ ἀληθῆ οἱ Ἀναξαγόρειοι λέγουσιν·
SOCRATES: And this light around the moon is always, I suppose, new and old (neon kai henon), if indeed the followers of Anaxagoras speak the truth; for in revolving always around it, it always casts a new light upon it, while the old light of the previous month remains.
κύκλῳ γάρ που ἀεὶ αὐτὴν περιιὼν νέον ἀεὶ ἐπιβάλλει, ἕνον δὲ ὑπάρχει τὸ τοῦ προτέρου μηνός. ΕΡΜ. πάνυ γε.
HERMOGENES: Yes, indeed.
ΣΩ.
Σελαναίαν
δέ γε καλοῦσιν αὐτὴν πολλοί.
SOCRATES: And many call her "Selanaia".
ΕΡΜ. πάνυ γε.
HERMOGENES: Yes, indeed.
ΣΩ. ὅτι δὲ σέλας νέον καὶ ἕνον ἔχει ἀεί,
Σελαενονεοάεια
μὲν δικαιότατʼ ἂν ὀνομάτων καλοῖτο, συγκεκροτημένον δὲ
Σελαναία
κέκληται.
SOCRATES: And because she always has a new and old glow (selas), she would most justly be called, among names, "Selaenoneoaeia", but having been compressed, she is called "Selanaia".
ΕΡΜ. διθυραμβῶδές γε τοῦτο τοὔνομα, ὦ Σώκρατες. ἀλλὰ τὸν μῆνα καὶ τὰ ἄστρα πῶς λέγεις;
HERMOGENES: This is indeed a dithyrambic name, Socrates. But what do you say of the month (meis) and the stars (astra)?
ΣΩ. ὁ μὲν
μεὶς
ἀπὸ τοῦ μειοῦσθαι εἴη ἂν
μείης
ὀρθῶς κεκλημένος, τὰ δʼ
ἄστρα
ἔοικε τῆς ἀστραπῆς ἐπωνυμίαν ἔχειν.
SOCRATES: The month (meis) would be correctly called "meies" from growing less (meiousthai), and the stars (astra) seem to have their name from lightning (astrape).
ἡ δὲ
ἀστραπή,
ὅτι τὰ ὦπα ἀναστρέφει,
ἀναστρωπὴ
ἂν εἴη, νῦν δὲ
ἀστραπὴ
καλλωπισθεῖσα κέκληται.
And lightning, because it turns the eyes back (opa anastrephei), would be "anastrope", but now having been embellished it is called "astrape".
ΕΡΜ. τί δὲ τὸ πῦρ καὶ τὸ ὕδωρ;
HERMOGENES: And what of fire (pyr) and water (hydor)?
ΣΩ. τὸ
πῦρ
ἀπορῶ· καὶ κινδυνεύει ἤτοι ἡ τοῦ Εὐθύφρονός με μοῦσα ἐπιλελοιπέναι, ἢ τοῦτό τι παγχάλεπον εἶναι.
SOCRATES: I am at a loss about fire (pyr); and it is likely that either the muse of Euthyphro has left me, or this is something altogether difficult.
σκέψαι οὖν ἣν εἰσάγω μηχανὴν ἐπὶ πάντα τὰ τοιαῦτα ἃ ἂν ἀπορῶ.
Consider then the device that I introduce for all such things about which I am at a loss.
ΕΡΜ. τίνα δή;
HERMOGENES: What is it?
ΣΩ. ἐγώ σοι ἐρῶ.
SOCRATES: I will tell you.
ἀπόκριναι γάρ μοι· ἔχοις ἂν εἰπεῖν πῦρ κατὰ τίνα τρόπον καλεῖται;
Answer me: could you say in accordance with what way fire is called?
ΕΡΜ. μὰ Δίʼ οὐκ ἔγωγε.
HERMOGENES: By Zeus, not I.
ΣΩ. σκέψαι δὴ ὃ ἐγὼ ὑποπτεύω περὶ αὐτοῦ.
SOCRATES: Consider then what I suspect about it.
ἐννοῶ γὰρ ὅτι πολλὰ οἱ Ἕλληνες ὀνόματα ἄλλως τε καὶ οἱ ὑπὸ τοῖς βαρβάροις οἰκοῦντες παρὰ τῶν βαρβάρων εἰλήφασιν.
For I reflect that the Greeks have taken many names, especially those who live under the barbarians, from the barbarians.
ΕΡΜ. τί οὖν δή;
HERMOGENES: What of it, then?
ΣΩ. εἴ τις ζητοῖ ταῦτα κατὰ τὴν Ἑλληνικὴν φωνὴν ὡς εἰκότως κεῖται, ἀλλὰ μὴ κατʼ ἐκείνην ἐξ ἧς τὸ ὄνομα τυγχάνει ὄν, οἶσθα ὅτι ἀποροῖ ἄν.
SOCRATES: If anyone should seek how these are reasonably established according to the Greek tongue, and not according to that from which the name happens to be, you know that he would be at a loss.
ΕΡΜ. εἰκότως γε.
HERMOGENES: Reasonably so.
§410ΣΩ. ὅρα τοίνυν καὶ τοῦτο τὸ ὄνομα τὸ
πῦρ
μή τι βαρβαρικὸν ᾖ.
SOCRATES: See then also whether this name "pyr" (fire) is not something barbarian.
τοῦτο γὰρ οὔτε ῥᾴδιον προσάψαι ἐστὶν Ἑλληνικῇ φωνῇ, φανεροί τʼ εἰσὶν οὕτως αὐτὸ καλοῦντες Φρύγες σμικρόν τι παρακλίνοντες· καὶ τό γε
ὕδωρ
καὶ τὰς
κύνας
καὶ ἄλλα πολλά.
For this is neither easy to attach to the Greek tongue, and it is clear that the Phrygians call it thus, inclining it slightly; and also "hydor" (water) and "kynas" (dogs) and many other things.
ΕΡΜ. ἔστι ταῦτα.
HERMOGENES: These things are so.
ΣΩ. οὐ τοίνυν δεῖ ταῦτα προσβιάζεσθαι, ἐπεὶ ἔχοι γʼ ἄν τις εἰπεῖν περὶ αὐτῶν.
SOCRATES: Therefore one must not force these things, since indeed one could say something about them.
τὸ μὲν οὖν πῦρ καὶ τὸ ὕδωρ ταύτῃ ἀπωθοῦμαι· ὁ δὲ δὴ ἀὴρ ἆρά γε, ὦ Ἑρμόγενες, ὅτι αἴρει τὰ ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς,
ἀὴρ
κέκληται;
Fire and water, then, I dismiss in this way; but as for air (aer), Hermogenes, is it called "aer" because it lifts (airei) things from the earth?
ἢ ὅτι ἀεὶ ῥεῖ;
Or because it always flows?
ἢ ὅτι πνεῦμα ἐξ αὐτοῦ γίγνεται ῥέοντος;
Or because a wind (pneuma) comes from it when it flows?
οἱ γὰρ ποιηταί που τὰ πνεύματα
ἀήτας
καλοῦσιν· ἴσως οὖν λέγει, ὥσπερ ἂν εἰ εἴποι πνευματόρρουν,
ἀητόρρουν
.
For the poets, I suppose, call the winds "aetas"; perhaps therefore he means "aetorrhoon" (flowing with wind), just as if he were to say "pneumatorrhoon".
τὸν δὲ αἰθέρα τῇδέ πῃ ὑπολαμβάνω, ὅτι ἀεὶ θεῖ περὶ τὸν ἀέρα ῥέων
ἀειθεὴρ
δικαίως ἂν καλοῖτο.
And the aether (aither) I conceive in some such way as this, that because it always runs (thei) flowing around the air, it would justly be called "aeitheer".
γῆ δὲ μᾶλλον σημαίνει ὃ βούλεται ἐάν τις
γαῖαν
ὀνομάσῃ· γαῖα γὰρ γεννήτειρα ἂν εἴη ὀρθῶς κεκλημένη, ὥς φησιν Ὅμηρος· τὸ γὰρ
γεγάασιν
γεγεννῆσθαι λέγει.
And earth (ge) signifies what it wishes more if one names it "gaia"; for "gaia" would be correctly called as mother (genneiteira), as Homer says; for "gegaasin" means to have been born.
εἶεν· τί οὖν ἡμῖν ἦν τὸ μετὰ τοῦτο;
Well then; what was next for us?
ΕΡΜ. ὧραι, ὦ Σώκρατες, καὶ ἐνιαυτὸς καὶ ἔτος.
HERMOGENES: Seasons (horai), Socrates, and eniautos (year) and etos (year).
ΣΩ. αἱ μὲν δὴ ὧραι Ἀττικιστὶ ὡς τὸ παλαιὸν ῥητέον, εἴπερ βούλει τὸ εἰκὸς εἰδέναι· ΗΟΡΑΙ γάρ εἰσι διὰ τὸ ὁρίζειν χειμῶνάς τε καὶ θέρη καὶ πνεύματα καὶ τοὺς καρποὺς τοὺς ἐκ τῆς γῆς· ὁρίζουσαι δὲ δικαίως ἂν
ὅραι
καλοῖντο.
SOCRATES: The seasons (horai) must be spoken of in the old Attic way, if you wish to know the probability; for they are "HORAI" because they limit (horizein) winters and summers and winds and the fruits from the earth; and limiting (horizousai), they would justly be called "horai".
ἐνιαυτὸς δὲ καὶ ἔτος κινδυνεύει ἕν τι εἶναι.
And eniautos and etos are likely to be one thing.
τὸ γὰρ τὰ φυόμενα καὶ τὰ γιγνόμενα ἐν μέρει ἕκαστον προάγον εἰς φῶς καὶ αὐτὸ ἐν αὑτῷ ἐξετάζον, τοῦτο, ὥσπερ ἐν τοῖς πρόσθεν τὸ τοῦ Διὸς ὄνομα δίχα διῃρημένον οἱ μὲν Ζῆνα, οἱ δὲ Δία ἐκάλουν, οὕτω καὶ ἐνταῦθα οἱ μὲν
ἐνιαυτόν,
ὅτι ἐν ἑαυτῷ, οἱ δὲ
ἔτος,
ὅτι ἐτάζει· ὁ δὲ ὅλος λόγος ἐστὶν τὸ
ἐν ἑαυτῷ ἐτάζον
τοῦτο προσαγορεύεσθαι ἓν ὂν δίχα, ὥστε δύο ὀνόματα γεγονέναι,
ἐνιαυτόν
τε καὶ
ἔτος,
ἐξ ἑνὸς λόγου.
For that which leads forth each of the growing and coming-into-being things in turn into light, and examines (etazon) it within itself, this—just as before the name of Zeus was divided into two, some calling him "Zena" and others "Dia"—so also here some call it "eniautos", because "in itself" (en heauto), and others "etos", because "it examines" (etazei); and the whole account is "examining within itself" (en heauto etazon), being one thing named in two ways, so that two names have arisen, "eniautos" and "etos", from one account.
ΕΡΜ. ἀλλὰ δῆτα, ὦ Σώκρατες, πολὺ ἐπιδίδως.
HERMOGENES: Indeed, Socrates, you are making great progress.
ΣΩ. πόρρω ἤδη οἶμαι φαίνομαι σοφίας ἐλαύνειν.
SOCRATES: I think I already appear to be driving far into wisdom.
ΕΡΜ. πάνυ μὲν οὖν.
HERMOGENES: Yes, indeed.
ΣΩ. τάχα μᾶλλον φήσεις.
SOCRATES: Perhaps you will say so even more.