§265ΞΕ. πάλιν τοίνυν ἐπιχειρῶμεν, σχίζοντες διχῇ τὸ προτεθὲν γένος, πορεύεσθαι κατὰ τοὐπὶ δεξιὰ ἀεὶ μέρος τοῦ τμηθέντος, ἐχόμενοι τῆς τοῦ σοφιστοῦ κοινωνίας, ἕως ἂν αὐτοῦ τὰ κοινὰ πάντα περιελόντες, τὴν οἰκείαν λιπόντες φύσιν ἐπιδείξωμεν μάλιστα μὲν ἡμῖν αὐτοῖς, ἔπειτα καὶ τοῖς ἐγγυτάτω γένει τῆς τοιαύτης μεθόδου πεφυκόσιν.
STR. Then let us try again, dividing the proposed genus in two, to proceed always along the right-hand part of the divided section, keeping hold of the connection with the sophist, until having stripped off all his common features, and leaving his proper nature, we show it, especially to ourselves, and then also to those who are by nature closest to this kind of method.
ΘΕΑΙ. ὀρθῶς.
THEAE. Right.
ΞΕ. οὐκοῦν τότε μὲν ἠρχόμεθα ποιητικὴν καὶ κτητικὴν τέχνην διαιρούμενοι;
STR. Did we not then begin by dividing productive and acquisitive art?
ΘΕΑΙ. ναί.
THEAE. Yes.
ΞΕ. καὶ τῆς κτητικῆς ἐν θηρευτικῇ καὶ ἀγωνίᾳ καὶ ἐμπορικῇ καί τισιν ἐν τοιούτοις εἴδεσιν ἐφαντάζεθʼ ἡμῖν;
STR. And did he not appear to us within the acquisitive art, in hunting, combat, commerce, and some such forms?
ΘΕΑΙ. πάνυ μὲν οὖν.
THEAE. Absolutely so.
ΞΕ. νῦν δέ γʼ ἐπειδὴ μιμητικὴ περιείληφεν αὐτὸν τέχνη, δῆλον ὡς αὐτὴν τὴν ποιητικὴν δίχα διαιρετέον πρώτην.
STR. But now, since the imitative art has encompassed him, it is clear that we must first divide productive art itself in two.
ἡ γάρ που μίμησις ποίησίς τίς ἐστιν, εἰδώλων μέντοι, φαμέν, ἀλλʼ οὐκ αὐτῶν ἑκάστων· ἦ γάρ;
For imitation is, I suppose, a kind of production, of images, however, as we say, and not of the actual things themselves; is it not?
ΘΕΑΙ. παντάπασι μὲν οὖν.
THEAE. Completely so.
ΞΕ. ποιητικῆς δὴ πρῶτον δύʼ ἔστω μέρη.
STR. Let there be, then, first two parts of productive art.
ΘΕΑΙ. ποίω;
THEAE. Which two?
ΞΕ. τὸ μὲν θεῖον, τὸ δʼ ἀνθρώπινον.
STR. One divine, the other human.
ΘΕΑΙ. οὔπω μεμάθηκα.
THEAE. I have not yet understood.
ΞΕ. ποιητικήν, εἴπερ μεμνήμεθα τὰ κατʼ ἀρχὰς λεχθέντα, πᾶσαν ἔφαμεν εἶναι δύναμιν ἥτις ἂν αἰτία γίγνηται τοῖς μὴ πρότερον οὖσιν ὕστερον γίγνεσθαι.
STR. Productive art, if we remember what was said at the beginning, we said was any power that becomes the cause for things not previously existing to come into being later.
ΘΕΑΙ. μεμνήμεθα.
THEAE. We remember.
ΞΕ. ζῷα δὴ πάντα θνητά, καὶ δὴ καὶ φυτὰ ὅσα τʼ ἐπὶ γῆς ἐκ σπερμάτων καὶ ῥιζῶν φύεται, καὶ ὅσα ἄψυχα ἐν γῇ συνίσταται σώματα τηκτὰ καὶ ἄτηκτα, μῶν ἄλλου τινὸς ἢ θεοῦ δημιουργοῦντος φήσομεν ὕστερον γίγνεσθαι πρότερον οὐκ ὄντα;
STR. All mortal animals, then, and also plants, whatever grow on earth from seeds and roots, and all soulless bodies compounded in the earth, fusible and infusible—shall we say that they, not previously existing, come into being later through the craftsmanship of anyone other than God?
ἢ τῷ τῶν πολλῶν δόγματι καὶ ῥήματι χρώμενοι—
ΘΕΑΙ. ποίῳ τῳ;
Or using the belief and speech of the many— THEAE. Which one?
ΞΕ. τὴν φύσιν αὐτὰ γεννᾶν ἀπό τινος αἰτίας αὐτομάτης καὶ ἄνευ διανοίας φυούσης, ἢ μετὰ λόγου τε καὶ ἐπιστήμης θείας ἀπὸ θεοῦ γιγνομένης;
STR. That nature generates them from some spontaneous cause that produces without thought, or with reason and divine knowledge arising from God?
ΘΕΑΙ. ἐγὼ μὲν ἴσως διὰ τὴν ἡλικίαν πολλάκις ἀμφότερα μεταδοξάζω· νῦν μὴν βλέπων εἰς σὲ καὶ ὑπολαμβάνων οἴεσθαί σε κατά γε θεὸν αὐτὰ γίγνεσθαι, ταύτῃ καὶ αὐτὸς νενόμικα.
THEAE. I, perhaps because of my age, often change my mind between both; but now, looking at you and assuming that you think they come into being by God, I myself have come to believe this way.
ΞΕ. καλῶς γε, ὦ Θεαίτητε.
STR. Well said, Theaetetus.
καὶ εἰ μέν γέ σε ἡγούμεθα τῶν εἰς τὸν ἔπειτʼ ἂν χρόνον ἄλλως πως δοξαζόντων εἶναι, νῦν ἂν τῷ λόγῳ μετὰ πειθοῦς ἀναγκαίας ἐπεχειροῦμεν ποιεῖν ὁμολογεῖν· ἐπειδὴ δέ σου καταμανθάνω τὴν φύσιν, ὅτι καὶ ἄνευ τῶν παρʼ ἡμῶν λόγων αὐτὴ πρόσεισιν ἐφʼ ἅπερ νῦν ἕλκεσθαι φῄς, ἐάσω· χρόνος γὰρ ἐκ περιττοῦ γίγνοιτʼ ἄν.
And indeed, if we thought you were one of those who in future time would think otherwise, we would now attempt by argument with necessary persuasion to make you agree; but since I observe your nature, that even without arguments from us, it goes of itself towards that which you now say you are drawn to, I will let it be; for the time would be spent in superfluity.
ἀλλὰ θήσω τὰ μὲν φύσει λεγόμενα ποιεῖσθαι θείᾳ τέχνῃ, τὰ δʼ ἐκ τούτων ὑπʼ ἀνθρώπων συνιστάμενα ἀνθρωπίνῃ, καὶ κατὰ τοῦτον δὴ τὸν λόγον δύο ποιητικῆς γένη, τὸ μὲν ἀνθρώπινον εἶναι, τὸ δὲ θεῖον.
Rather, I will lay down that things said to be by nature are made by divine art, and those compounded from these by humans are made by human art, and according to this argument indeed, there are two genera of productive art, the one human, and the other divine.
ΘΕΑΙ. ὀρθῶς.
THEAE. Right.
ΞΕ. τέμνε δὴ δυοῖν οὔσαιν δίχα ἑκατέραν αὖθις.
STR. Cut, then, each of these two in two again.
ΘΕΑΙ. πῶς;
THEAE. How?
§266ΞΕ. οἷον τότε μὲν κατὰ πλάτος τέμνων τὴν ποιητικὴν πᾶσαν, νῦν δὲ αὖ κατὰ μῆκος.
STR. As we did then by cutting the whole productive art crosswise, but now again lengthwise.
ΘΕΑΙ. τετμήσθω.
THEAE. Let it be cut.
ΞΕ. τέτταρα μὴν αὐτῆς οὕτω τὰ πάντα μέρη γίγνεται, δύο μὲν τὰ πρὸς ἡμῶν, ἀνθρώπεια, δύο δʼ αὖ τὰ πρὸς θεῶν, θεῖα.
STR. In this way, indeed, its parts become four in all, two on our side, human, and two on the side of the gods, divine.
ΘΕΑΙ. ναί.
THEAE. Yes.
ΞΕ. τὰ δέ γʼ ὡς ἑτέρως αὖ διῃρημένα, μέρος μὲν ἓν ἀφʼ ἑκατέρας τῆς μερίδος αὐτοποιητικόν, τὼ δʼ ὑπολοίπω σχεδὸν μάλιστʼ ἂν λεγοίσθην εἰδωλοποιικώ· καὶ κατὰ ταῦτα δὴ πάλιν ἡ ποιητικὴ διχῇ διαιρεῖται.
STR. And again, if they are divided in another way, one part from each division is productive of actual things, and the remaining two would, one might say, most properly be called image-making; and in this way again, productive art is divided in two.
ΘΕΑΙ. λέγε ὅπῃ ἑκατέρα αὖθις.
THEAE. Tell me how each is divided again.
ΞΕ. ἡμεῖς μέν που καὶ τἆλλα ζῷα καὶ ἐξ ὧν τὰ πεφυκότʼ ἐστίν, πῦρ καὶ ὕδωρ καὶ τὰ τούτων ἀδελφά, θεοῦ γεννήματα πάντα ἴσμεν αὐτὰ ἀπειργασμένα ἕκαστα·
STR. We ourselves, I suppose, and the other animals, and those things from which natural things are made—fire, water, and their siblings—we know that they are all generated by God, each made complete; or how?
ἢ πῶς; ΘΕΑΙ. οὕτως.
THEAE. So it is.
ΞΕ. τούτων δέ γε ἑκάστων εἴδωλα ἀλλʼ οὐκ αὐτὰ παρέπεται, δαιμονίᾳ καὶ ταῦτα μηχανῇ γεγονότα.
STR. And images of each of these, but not the actual things themselves, accompany them, which also have come into being by a divine contrivance.
ΘΕΑΙ. ποῖα;
THEAE. What kind?
ΞΕ. τά τε ἐν τοῖς ὕπνοις καὶ ὅσα μεθʼ ἡμέραν φαντάσματα αὐτοφυῆ λέγεται, σκιὰ μὲν ὅταν ἐν τῷ πυρὶ σκότος ἐγγίγνηται, διπλοῦν δὲ ἡνίκʼ ἂν φῶς οἰκεῖόν τε καὶ ἀλλότριον περὶ τὰ λαμπρὰ καὶ λεῖα εἰς ἓν συνελθὸν τῆς ἔμπροσθεν εἰωθυίας ὄψεως ἐναντίαν αἴσθησιν παρέχον εἶδος ἀπεργάζηται.
STR. Those in dreams, and whatever appearances are said to be self-grown by day—a shadow when darkness arises in the fire, and a double light when the proper light and foreign light, coming together into one about bright and smooth things, producing a perception contrary to the previously accustomed sight, works out a form.
ΘΕΑΙ. δύο γὰρ οὖν ἐστι ταῦτα θείας ἔργα ποιήσεως, αὐτό τε καὶ τὸ παρακολουθοῦν εἴδωλον ἑκάστῳ.
THEAE. Indeed, these are two works of divine production: the actual thing itself and the image that accompanies each.
ΞΕ. τί δὲ τὴν ἡμετέραν τέχνην;
STR. And what of our art?
ἆρʼ οὐκ αὐτὴν μὲν οἰκίαν οἰκοδομικῇ φήσομεν ποιεῖν, γραφικῇ δέ τινʼ ἑτέραν, οἷον ὄναρ ἀνθρώπινον ἐγρηγορόσιν ἀπειργασμένην;
Shall we not say that we make a house itself by the art of building, but by the art of painting another one, made as a human dream for those who are awake?
ΘΕΑΙ. πάνυ μὲν οὖν.
THEAE. Absolutely so.
ΞΕ. οὐκοῦν καὶ τἆλλα οὕτω κατὰ δύο διττὰ ἔργα τῆς ἡμετέρας αὖ ποιητικῆς πράξεως, τὸ μὲν αὐτό, φαμέν,, τὸ δὲ εἴδωλον.
STR. And so also for other things, there are two double works of our productive action, the actual thing, as we say, and the image.
ΘΕΑΙ. νῦν μᾶλλον ἔμαθον, καὶ τίθημι δύο διχῇ ποιητικῆς εἴδει· θείαν μὲν καὶ ἀνθρωπίνην κατὰ θάτερον τμῆμα, κατὰ δὲ θάτερον τὸ μὲν αὐτῶν ὄν, τὸ δὲ ὁμοιωμάτων τινῶν γέννημα.
THEAE. Now I have understood better, and I set down two double forms of productive art: divine and human according to one cut, and according to the other, the actual thing and the generation of certain likenesses.
ΞΕ. τῆς τοίνυν εἰδωλουργικῆς ἀναμνησθῶμεν ὅτι τὸ μὲν εἰκαστικόν, τὸ δὲ φανταστικὸν ἔμελλεν εἶναι γένος, εἰ τὸ ψεῦδος ὄντως ὂν ψεῦδος καὶ τῶν ὄντων ἕν τι φανείη πεφυκός.
STR. Let us then recall of the image-making art that there was to be a likeness-making and an appearance-making genus, if falsehood were shown to be really being false and one of the things that are.
ΘΕΑΙ. ἦν γὰρ οὖν.
THEAE. For indeed it was.
ΞΕ. οὐκοῦν ἐφάνη τε καὶ διὰ ταῦτα δὴ καταριθμήσομεν αὐτὼ νῦν ἀναμφισβητήτως εἴδη δύο;
STR. Since then it has been shown to be, shall we now count these as two forms beyond dispute?
ΘΕΑΙ. ναί.
THEAE. Yes.