§411ΕΡΜ. ἀλλὰ μετὰ τοῦτο τὸ εἶδος ἔγωγε ἡδέως ἂν θεασαίμην ταῦτα τὰ καλὰ ὀνόματα τίνι ποτὲ ὀρθότητι κεῖται, τὰ περὶ τὴν ἀρετήν, οἷον
φρόνησίς
τε καὶ
σύνεσις
καὶ
δικαιοσύνη
καὶ τἆλλα τὰ τοιαῦτα πάντα.
HERMOGENES: But after this class, I for my part would gladly behold with what correctness those beautiful names are established, those concerning virtue, such as phronesis and synesis and dikaiosyne and all other such things.
ΣΩ. ἐγείρεις μέν, ὦ ἑταῖρε, οὐ φαῦλον γένος ὀνομάτων· ὅμως δὲ ἐπειδήπερ τὴν λεοντῆν ἐνδέδυκα, οὐκ ἀποδειλιατέον ἀλλʼ ἐπισκεπτέον, ὡς ἔοικε, φρόνησιν καὶ σύνεσιν καὶ γνώμην καὶ ἐπιστήμην καὶ τἆλλα δὴ ἃ φῂς πάντα ταῦτα τὰ καλὰ ὀνόματα.
SOCRATES: You are raising, my friend, no mean class of names; nevertheless, since I have put on the lion's skin, I must not play the coward, but must investigate, as it seems, phronesis and synesis and gnome and episteme and indeed all those other beautiful names that you mention.
ΕΡΜ. πάνυ μὲν οὖν οὐ δεῖ ἡμᾶς προαποστῆναι.
HERMOGENES: Indeed, we must by no means give up beforehand.
ΣΩ. καὶ μήν, νὴ τὸν κύνα, δοκῶ γέ μοι οὐ κακῶς μαντεύεσθαι, ὃ καὶ νυνδὴ ἐνενόησα, ὅτι οἱ πάνυ παλαιοὶ ἄνθρωποι οἱ τιθέμενοι τὰ ὀνόματα παντὸς μᾶλλον, ὥσπερ καὶ τῶν νῦν οἱ πολλοὶ τῶν σοφῶν ὑπὸ τοῦ πυκνὰ περιστρέφεσθαι ζητοῦντες ὅπῃ ἔχει τὰ ὄντα εἰλιγγιῶσιν, κἄπειτα αὐτοῖς φαίνεται περιφέρεσθαι τὰ πράγματα καὶ πάντως φέρεσθαι.
SOCRATES: And indeed, by the dog, I think I am not divining badly, which I also just now realized, that the very ancient men who established names, just like most of the wise men of today, from turning round and round frequently in seeking how things are, grew dizzy, and then it seemed to them that things were revolving and moving in every direction.
αἰτιῶνται δὴ οὐ τὸ ἔνδον τὸ παρὰ σφίσιν πάθος αἴτιον εἶναι ταύτης τῆς δόξης, ἀλλὰ αὐτὰ τὰ πράγματα οὕτω πεφυκέναι, οὐδὲν αὐτῶν μόνιμον εἶναι οὐδὲ βέβαιον, ἀλλὰ ῥεῖν καὶ φέρεσθαι καὶ μεστὰ εἶναι πάσης φορᾶς καὶ γενέσεως ἀεί.
They do not blame the inner condition within themselves as being the cause of this opinion, but rather that things themselves are so by nature, that none of them is stable or steadfast, but they flow and move and are always full of every motion and becoming.
λέγω δὴ ἐννοήσας πρὸς πάντα τὰ νυνδὴ ὀνόματα.
I say this having noticed it in connection with all the names just now mentioned.
ΕΡΜ. πῶς δὴ τοῦτο, ὦ Σώκρατες;
HERMOGENES: How so, Socrates?
ΣΩ. οὐ κατενόησας ἴσως τὰ ἄρτι λεγόμενα ὅτι παντάπασιν ὡς φερομένοις τε καὶ ῥέουσι καὶ γιγνομένοις τοῖς πράγμασι τὰ ὀνόματα ἐπίκειται.
SOCRATES: Perhaps you did not notice what was just now said, that names are completely imposed upon things as if they were in motion and flowing and becoming.
ΕΡΜ. οὐ πάνυ ἐνεθυμήθην.
HERMOGENES: I did not quite reflect on it.
ΣΩ. καὶ μὴν πρῶτον μὲν τοῦτο ὃ πρῶτον εἴπομεν παντάπασιν ὡς ἐπὶ τοιούτων ἐστίν.
SOCRATES: And indeed, first of all, this which we mentioned first is completely based on such things.
ΕΡΜ. τὸ ποῖον;
HERMOGENES: Which one?
ΣΩ. ἡ
φρόνησις
· φορᾶς γάρ ἐστι καὶ ῥοῦ νόησις.
SOCRATES: Phronesis; for it is the understanding of motion and flow.
εἴη δʼ ἂν καὶ ὄνησιν ὑπολαβεῖν φορᾶς· ἀλλʼ οὖν περί γε τὸ φέρεσθαί ἐστιν.
But it might also be understood as the benefit of motion; at any rate, it is about being in motion.
εἰ δὲ βούλει, ἡ
γνώμη
παντάπασιν δηλοῖ γονῆς σκέψιν καὶ νώμησιν· τὸ γὰρ
νωμᾶν
καὶ τὸ
σκοπεῖν
ταὐτόν.
And if you wish, gnome completely displays the investigation and distribution of birth; for to distribute and to inspect are the same.
εἰ δὲ βούλει, αὐτὸ ἡ
νόησις
τοῦ νέου ἐστὶν ἕσις, τὸ δὲ νέα εἶναι τὰ ὄντα σημαίνει γιγνόμενα ἀεὶ εἶναι· τούτου οὖν ἐφίεσθαι τὴν ψυχὴν μηνύει τὸ ὄνομα ὁ θέμενος τὴν
νεόεσιν.
And if you wish, noesis itself is the striving for the new, and that existing things are new signifies that they are always becoming; therefore, the name indicates that the soul desires this, since the one who established it called it "neoesis".
οὐ γὰρ
νόησις
τὸ ἀρχαῖον ἐκαλεῖτο, ἀλλʼ ἀντὶ τοῦ ἦτα εἶ ἔδει λέγειν δύο,
νοέεσιν.
For in ancient times it was not called "noesis", but instead of the eta, one had to pronounce two epsilons, "neoesis".
§412ΣΩ.
σωφροσύνη
δὲ σωτηρία οὗ νυνδὴ ἐσκέμμεθα, φρονήσεως.
SOCRATES: And sophrosyne is the preservation of that which we just now examined, namely phronesis.
καὶ μὴν ἥ γε ἐπιστήμη μηνύει ὡς φερομένοις τοῖς πράγμασιν ἑπομένης τῆς ψυχῆς τῆς ἀξίας λόγου, καὶ οὔτε ἀπολειπομένης οὔτε προθεούσης· διὸ δὴ ἐμβάλλοντας δεῖ τὸ εἶ
ἑπεϊστήμην
αὐτὴν ὀνομάζειν.
And indeed, episteme indicates that the worthy soul follows things as they are in motion, and is neither left behind nor runs ahead; wherefore, inserting epsilon-iota, one ought to name it 'hepeisteme'.
σύνεσις
δʼ αὖ οὕτω μὲν δόξειεν ἂν ὥσπερ συλλογισμὸς εἶναι, ὅταν δὲ συνιέναι λέγῃ, ταὐτὸν παντάπασιν τῷ ἐπίστασθαι συμβαίνει λεγόμενον· συμπορεύεσθαι γὰρ λέγει τὴν ψυχὴν τοῖς πράγμασι τὸ
συνιέναι.
And again, synesis might seem in this way to be like a gathering-together, but when one says 'synienai', it turns out to mean completely the same as 'epistasthai'; for 'synienai' says that the soul travels together with things.
ἀλλὰ μὴν ἥ γε
σοφία
φορᾶς ἐφάπτεσθαι σημαίνει.
And indeed, sophia signifies touching motion.
σκοτωδέστερον δὲ τοῦτο καὶ ξενικώτερον· ἀλλὰ δεῖ ἐκ τῶν ποιητῶν ἀναμιμνῄσκεσθαι ὅτι πολλαχοῦ λέγουσιν περὶ ὅτου ἂν τύχωσιν τῶν ἀρχομένων ταχὺ προϊέναι
ἐσύθη
φασίν.
But this is rather obscure and foreign; but we must recall from the poets that in many places they say, of whatever they happen to mention of those things starting to advance rapidly, 'esythe'.
Λακωνικῷ δὲ ἀνδρὶ τῶν εὐδοκίμων καὶ ὄνομα ἦν
Σοῦς
· τὴν γὰρ ταχεῖαν ὁρμὴν οἱ Λακεδαιμόνιοι τοῦτο καλοῦσιν.
And a famous Laconian man also had the name Sous; for the Lacedaemonians call rapid impulse by this name.
ταύτης οὖν τῆς φορᾶς ἐπαφὴν σημαίνει ἡ σοφία, ὡς φερομένων τῶν ὄντων.
Therefore, sophia signifies the touching of this motion, as existing things are in motion.
καὶ μὴν τό γε
ἀγαθόν,
τοῦτο τῆς φύσεως πάσης τῷ ἀγαστῷ βούλεται τὸ ὄνομα ἐπικεῖσθαι.
And indeed, as for the good, this name is intended to be imposed upon the admirable part of all nature.
ἐπειδὴ γὰρ πορεύεται τὰ ὄντα, ἔνι μὲν ἄρʼ αὐτοῖς τάχος, ἔνι δὲ βραδυτής.
For since existing things are in motion, there is speed in them, and there is slowness.
ἔστιν οὖν οὐ πᾶν τὸ ταχὺ ἀλλὰ τὶ αὐτοῦ ἀγαστόν.
Therefore, not all that is fast is admirable, but a certain part of it.
τοῦ θοοῦ δὴ τῷ ἀγαστῷ αὕτη ἡ ἐπωνυμία ἐστίν,
τἀγαθόν.
This name 'tagathon' is then for the admirable part of the swift.
δικαιοσύνη
δέ, ὅτι μὲν ἐπὶ τῇ τοῦ δικαίου συνέσει τοῦτο κεῖται τὸ ὄνομα, ῥᾴδιον συμβαλεῖν· αὐτὸ δὲ τὸ
δίκαιον
χαλεπόν.
And as for dikaiosyne, it is easy to understand that this name is established for the understanding of the just; but the 'just' itself is difficult.
καὶ γὰρ δὴ καὶ ἔοικε μέχρι μέν του ὁμολογεῖσθαι παρὰ πολλῶν, ἔπειτα δὲ ἀμφισβητεῖσθαι.
For indeed it seems to be agreed upon by many up to a certain point, but after that to be disputed.
ὅσοι γὰρ ἡγοῦνται τὸ πᾶν εἶναι ἐν πορείᾳ, τὸ μὲν πολὺ αὐτοῦ ὑπολαμβάνουσιν τοιοῦτόν τι εἶναι οἷον οὐδὲν ἄλλο ἢ χωρεῖν, διὰ δὲ τούτου παντὸς εἶναί τι διεξιόν, διʼ οὗ πάντα τὰ γιγνόμενα γίγνεσθαι· εἶναι δὲ τάχιστον τοῦτο καὶ λεπτότατον.
For all who think that the whole is in motion, assume that the greater part of it is such as to be nothing other than passing along, and that through all this there is something passing through, by which all things that are becoming are brought to be; and that this is the swiftest and finest thing.
οὐ γὰρ ἂν δύνασθαι ἄλλως διὰ τοῦ ὄντος ἰέναι παντός, εἰ μὴ λεπτότατόν τε ἦν ὥστε αὐτὸ μηδὲν στέγειν, καὶ τάχιστον ὥστε χρῆσθαι ὥσπερ ἑστῶσι τοῖς ἄλλοις.
For it could not otherwise go through all that exists, unless it were both finest, so that nothing could shut it out, and swiftest, so that it treats other things as if they were standing still.
ἐπεὶ δʼ οὖν ἐπιτροπεύει τὰ ἄλλα πάντα διαϊόν, τοῦτο τὸ ὄνομα ἐκλήθη ὀρθῶς
δίκαιον,
εὐστομίας ἕνεκα τὴν τοῦ κάππα δύναμιν προσλαβόν.
Since, therefore, it directs all other things, passing through them, this name was correctly called 'dikaion', having taken on the power of the kappa for the sake of euphony.