§149ΣΩ. εἶτα, ὦ καταγέλαστε, οὐκ ἀκήκοας ὡς ἐγώ εἰμι ὑὸς μαίας μάλα γενναίας τε καὶ βλοσυρᾶς, Φαιναρέτης;
SOCRATES: Then, you ridiculous boy, have you not heard that I am the son of a very noble and sturdy midwife, Phaenarete?
ΘΕΑΙ. ἤδη τοῦτό γε ἤκουσα.
THEAETETUS: I have heard that before.
ΣΩ. ἆρα καὶ ὅτι ἐπιτηδεύω τὴν αὐτὴν τέχνην ἀκήκοας;
SOCRATES: And have you also heard that I practice the same art?
ΘΕΑΙ. οὐδαμῶς.
THEAETETUS: By no means.
ΣΩ. ἀλλʼ εὖ ἴσθʼ ὅτι· μὴ μέντοι μου κατείπῃς πρὸς τοὺς ἄλλους.
SOCRATES: But be assured that I do; yet do not betray me to the others.
λέληθα γάρ, ὦ ἑταῖρε, ταύτην ἔχων τὴν τέχνην·
For I keep it secret, my friend, that I possess this art.
οἱ δέ, ἅτε οὐκ εἰδότες, τοῦτο μὲν οὐ λέγουσι περὶ ἐμοῦ, ὅτι δὲ ἀτοπώτατός εἰμι καὶ ποιῶ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἀπορεῖν.
And they, since they do not know it, do not say this about me, but they say that I am a most strange person and make people find themselves at a loss.
ἦ καὶ τοῦτο ἀκήκοας;
Have you also heard this?
ΘΕΑΙ. ἔγωγε.
THEAETETUS: Yes, I have.
ΣΩ. εἴπω οὖν σοι τὸ αἴτιον;
SOCRATES: Shall I tell you the reason, then?
ΘΕΑΙ. πάνυ μὲν οὖν.
THEAETETUS: By all means.
ΣΩ. ἐννόησον δὴ τὸ περὶ τὰς μαίας ἅπαν ὡς ἔχει, καὶ ῥᾷον μαθήσῃ ὃ βούλομαι.
SOCRATES: Consider the whole business of midwives, and you will more easily understand what I mean.
οἶσθα γάρ που ὡς οὐδεμία αὐτῶν ἔτι αὐτὴ κυϊσκομένη τε καὶ τίκτουσα ἄλλας μαιεύεται, ἀλλʼ αἱ ἤδη ἀδύνατοι τίκτειν.
For you know, I suppose, that none of them attends other women while she herself is still conceiving and bearing children, but only those who are already unable to bear.
ΘΕΑΙ. πάνυ μὲν οὖν.
THEAETETUS: Certainly.
ΣΩ. αἰτίαν δέ γε τούτου φασὶν εἶναι τὴν Ἄρτεμιν, ὅτι ἄλοχος οὖσα τὴν λοχείαν εἴληχε.
SOCRATES: And they say the cause of this is Artemis, because, being childless herself, she has been allotted the patronage of childbirth.
στερίφαις μὲν οὖν ἄρα οὐκ ἔδωκε μαιεύεσθαι, ὅτι ἡ ἀνθρωπίνη φύσις ἀσθενεστέρα ἢ λαβεῖν τέχνην ὧν ἂν ᾖ ἄπειρος· ταῖς δὲ διʼ ἡλικίαν ἀτόκοις προσέταξε τιμῶσα τὴν αὑτῆς ὁμοιότητα.
Now she did not allow barren women to practice midwifery, because human nature is too weak to acquire an art of which it has no experience; but she assigned it to those who are past childbearing because of age, honoring their likeness to herself.
ΘΕΑΙ. εἰκός.
THEAETETUS: That is likely.
ΣΩ. οὐκοῦν καὶ τόδε εἰκός τε καὶ ἀναγκαῖον, τὰς κυούσας καὶ μὴ γιγνώσκεσθαι μᾶλλον ὑπὸ τῶν μαιῶν ἢ τῶν ἄλλων;
SOCRATES: Is this not also likely and indeed necessary, that those who are pregnant and those who are not are better recognized by midwives than by others?
ΘΕΑΙ. πάνυ γε.
THEAETETUS: Quite so.
ΣΩ. καὶ μὴν καὶ διδοῦσαί γε αἱ μαῖαι φαρμάκια καὶ ἐπᾴδουσαι δύνανται ἐγείρειν τε τὰς ὠδῖνας καὶ μαλθακωτέρας ἂν βούλωνται ποιεῖν, καὶ τίκτειν τε δὴ τὰς δυστοκούσας, καὶ ἐὰν νέον ὂν δόξῃ ἀμβλίσκειν, ἀμβλίσκουσιν;
SOCRATES: Moreover, by giving drugs and singing incantations, midwives are able to arouse the labor pains and to make them milder if they wish, and to bring to birth those who have difficult labor, and if they think it right to cause a miscarriage when the child is still young, do they not cause it?
ΘΕΑΙ. ἔστι ταῦτα.
THEAETETUS: That is so.
ΣΩ. ἆρʼ οὖν ἔτι καὶ τόδε αὐτῶν ᾔσθησαι, ὅτι καὶ προμνήστριαί εἰσι δεινόταται, ὡς πάσσοφοι οὖσαι περὶ τοῦ γνῶναι ποίαν χρὴ ποίῳ ἀνδρὶ συνοῦσαν ὡς ἀρίστους παῖδας τίκτειν;
SOCRATES: Have you also noticed this about them, that they are also the most skillful matchmakers, being all-wise in knowing what kind of woman meeting what kind of man would bear the best children?
ΘΕΑΙ. οὐ πάνυ τοῦτο οἶδα.
THEAETETUS: I did not quite know this.
ΣΩ. ἀλλʼ ἴσθʼ ὅτι ἐπὶ τούτῳ μεῖζον φρονοῦσιν ἢ ἐπὶ τῇ ὀμφαλητομίᾳ.
SOCRATES: But be assured that they pride themselves on this more than on cutting the umbilical cord.
ἐννόει γάρ· τῆς αὐτῆς ἢ ἄλλης οἴει τέχνης εἶναι θεραπείαν τε καὶ συγκομιδὴν τῶν ἐκ γῆς καρπῶν καὶ αὖ τὸ γιγνώσκειν εἰς ποίαν γῆν ποῖον φυτόν τε καὶ σπέρμα καταβλητέον;
For consider: do you think the care and harvesting of the fruits of the earth, and on the other hand, knowing into what kind of soil what kind of plant and seed must be cast, belong to the same art or to different ones?
ΘΕΑΙ. οὔκ, ἀλλὰ τῆς αὐτῆς.
THEAETETUS: No, to the same.
ΣΩ. εἰς γυναῖκα δέ, ὦ φίλε, ἄλλην μὲν οἴει τοῦ τοιούτου, ἄλλην δὲ συγκομιδῆς;
SOCRATES: And for a woman, my friend, do you think one art belongs to such sowing, and another to the harvesting?
ΘΕΑΙ. οὔκουν εἰκός γε.
THEAETETUS: It is not likely.
§150ΣΩ. οὐ γάρ.
SOCRATES: No indeed.
ἀλλὰ διὰ τὴν ἄδικόν τε καὶ ἄτεχνον συναγωγὴν ἀνδρὸς καὶ γυναικός, ᾗ δὴ προαγωγία ὄνομα, φεύγουσι καὶ τὴν προμνηστικὴν ἅτε σεμναὶ οὖσαι αἱ μαῖαι, φοβούμεναι μὴ εἰς ἐκείνην τὴν αἰτίαν διὰ ταύτην ἐμπέσωσιν· ἐπεὶ ταῖς γε ὄντως μαίαις μόναις που προσήκει καὶ προμνήσασθαι ὀρθῶς.
But because of the unjust and unscientific bringing together of man and woman, which indeed is called pandering, the midwives, being honorable women, avoid even matchmaking, fearing lest they should fall into that accusation on account of this; whereas it belongs surely only to the true midwives to practice matchmaking correctly.
ΘΕΑΙ. φαίνεται.
THEAETETUS: So it appears.
ΣΩ. τὸ μὲν τοίνυν τῶν μαιῶν τοσοῦτον, ἔλαττον δὲ τοῦ ἐμοῦ δράματος.
SOCRATES: The role of midwives, then, is so great, yet it is smaller than my drama.
οὐ γὰρ πρόσεστι γυναιξὶν ἐνίοτε μὲν εἴδωλα τίκτειν, ἔστι δʼ ὅτε ἀληθινά, τοῦτο δὲ μὴ ῥᾴδιον εἶναι διαγνῶναι.
For it does not happen to women sometimes to bring forth phantoms, and sometimes true children, and that this is not easy to distinguish.
εἰ γὰρ προσῆν, μέγιστόν τε καὶ κάλλιστον ἔργον ἦν ἂν ταῖς μαίαις τὸ κρίνειν τὸ ἀληθές τε καὶ μή· ἢ οὐκ οἴει;
For if it did, the greatest and most beautiful work for the midwives would be to judge what is true and what is not; or do you not think so?
ΘΕΑΙ. ἔγωγε.
THEAETETUS: I do.
ΣΩ. τῇ δέ γʼ ἐμῇ τέχνῃ τῆς μαιεύσεως τὰ μὲν ἄλλα ὑπάρχει ὅσα ἐκείναις, διαφέρει δὲ τῷ τε ἄνδρας ἀλλὰ μὴ γυναῖκας μαιεύεσθαι καὶ τῷ τὰς ψυχὰς αὐτῶν τικτούσας ἐπισκοπεῖν ἀλλὰ μὴ τὰ σώματα.
SOCRATES: Now, my art of midwifery has all the other features that theirs has, but it differs in that it attends men and not women, and in that it supervises their souls in labor and not their bodies.
μέγιστον δὲ τοῦτʼ ἔνι τῇ ἡμετέρᾳ τέχνῃ, βασανίζειν δυνατὸν εἶναι παντὶ τρόπῳ πότερον εἴδωλον καὶ ψεῦδος ἀποτίκτει τοῦ νέου ἡ διάνοια ἢ γόνιμόν τε καὶ ἀληθές.
And the greatest thing in our art is this, that it is capable of testing in every way whether the mind of the young man is bringing forth a phantom and a falsehood, or a fertile and true offspring.
ἐπεὶ τόδε γε καὶ ἐμοὶ ὑπάρχει ὅπερ ταῖς μαίαις· ἄγονός εἰμι σοφίας, καὶ ὅπερ ἤδη πολλοί μοι ὠνείδισαν, ὡς τοὺς μὲν ἄλλους ἐρωτῶ, αὐτὸς δὲ οὐδὲν ἀποφαίνομαι περὶ οὐδενὸς διὰ τὸ μηδὲν ἔχειν σοφόν, ἀληθὲς ὀνειδίζουσιν.
For this also belongs to me which belongs to the midwives: I am barren of wisdom, and what many have already reproached me with, namely that I ask others but bring forward nothing myself about anything because I have nothing wise, they reproach me with truth.
τὸ δὲ αἴτιον τούτου τόδε· μαιεύεσθαί με ὁ θεὸς ἀναγκάζει, γεννᾶν δὲ ἀπεκώλυσεν.
And the cause of this is the following: the god compels me to attend others, but forbade me to bring forth.
εἰμὶ δὴ οὖν αὐτὸς μὲν οὐ πάνυ τι σοφός, οὐδέ τί μοι ἔστιν εὕρημα τοιοῦτον γεγονὸς τῆς ἐμῆς ψυχῆς ἔκγονον·
I am, then, myself not at all wise, nor do I have any such discovery that has been born as the offspring of my soul.
οἱ δʼ ἐμοὶ συγγιγνόμενοι τὸ μὲν πρῶτον φαίνονται ἔνιοι μὲν καὶ πάνυ ἀμαθεῖς, πάντες δὲ προϊούσης τῆς συνουσίας, οἷσπερ ἂν ὁ θεὸς παρείκῃ, θαυμαστὸν ὅσον ἐπιδιδόντες, ὡς αὑτοῖς τε καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις δοκοῦσι·
But those who associate with me, at first some of them appear even utterly ignorant, but all of them, as the association goes on, if the god permits, make wonderful progress, as it seems to themselves and to others.
καὶ τοῦτο ἐναργὲς ὅτι παρʼ ἐμοῦ οὐδὲν πώποτε μαθόντες, ἀλλʼ αὐτοὶ παρʼ αὑτῶν πολλὰ καὶ καλὰ εὑρόντες τε καὶ τεκόντες.
And this is clear, that they have never learned anything from me, but have themselves from themselves discovered and brought forth many beautiful things.
τῆς μέντοι μαιείας ὁ θεός τε καὶ ἐγὼ αἴτιος.
Of this midwifery, however, the god and I are the cause.
ὧδε δὲ δῆλον·
And it is clear in this way: many already, being ignorant of this and accusing themselves, but despising me, either themselves or persuaded by others, went away earlier than they should.
πολλοὶ ἤδη τοῦτο ἀγνοήσαντες καὶ ἑαυτοὺς αἰτιασάμενοι, ἐμοῦ δὲ καταφρονήσαντες, ἢ αὐτοὶ ἢ ὑπʼ ἄλλων πεισθέντες ἀπῆλθον πρῳαίτερον τοῦ δέοντος, ἀπελθόντες δὲ τά τε λοιπὰ ἐξήμβλωσαν διὰ πονηρὰν συνουσίαν καὶ τὰ ὑπʼ ἐμοῦ μαιευθέντα κακῶς τρέφοντες ἀπώλεσαν, ψευδῆ καὶ εἴδωλα περὶ πλείονος ποιησάμενοι τοῦ ἀληθοῦς, τελευτῶντες δʼ αὑτοῖς τε καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις ἔδοξαν ἀμαθεῖς εἶναι.
And having gone away, they miscarried the rest of their offspring because of evil association, and lost those brought forth by me by nurturing them badly, setting more value on falsehoods and phantoms than on the truth; and in the end they seemed to themselves and to others to be ignorant.