§119ΣΩ. ἀλλὰ τῶν ἄλλων Ἀθηναίων ἢ τῶν ξένων δοῦλον ἢ ἐλεύθερον εἰπὲ ὅστις αἰτίαν ἔχει διὰ τὴν Περικλέους συνουσίαν σοφώτερος γεγονέναι, ὥσπερ ἐγὼ ἔχω σοι εἰπεῖν διὰ τὴν Ζήνωνος Πυθόδωρον τὸν Ἰσολόχου καὶ Καλλίαν τὸν Καλλιάδου, ὧν ἑκάτερος Ζήνωνι ἑκατὸν μνᾶς τελέσας σοφός τε καὶ ἐλλόγιμος γέγονεν.
SOCRATES: But name any other of the Athenians or foreigners, slave or free, who has the reputation of having become wiser through association with Pericles, as I am able to name Pythodorus son of Isolochus and Callias son of Calliades for you through that of Zeno, each of whom having paid Zeno a hundred minae has become wise and distinguished.
ΑΛ. ἀλλὰ μὰ Δίʼ οὐκ ἔχω.
ALCIBIADES: But by Zeus, I cannot.
ΣΩ. εἶεν· τί οὖν διανοῇ περὶ σαυτοῦ;
SOCRATES: Well then; what do you intend concerning yourself?
πότερον ἐᾶν ὡς νῦν ἔχεις, ἢ ἐπιμέλειάν τινα ποιεῖσθαι;
Whether to let yourself be as you are now, or to take some care of yourself?
ΑΛ. κοινὴ βουλή, ὦ Σώκρατες.
ALCIBIADES: That is a matter for mutual counsel, Socrates.
καίτοι ἐννοῶ σου εἰπόντος καὶ συγχωρῶ· δοκοῦσι γάρ μοι οἱ τὰ τῆς πόλεως πράττοντες ἐκτὸς ὀλίγων ἀπαίδευτοι εἶναι.
And yet I think about what you say and agree; for those who manage the affairs of the city, except for a few, seem to me to be uneducated.
ΣΩ. εἶτα τί δὴ τοῦτο;
SOCRATES: What of it then?
ΑΛ. εἰ μέν που ἦσαν πεπαιδευμένοι, ἔδει ἂν τὸν ἐπιχειροῦντα αὐτοῖς ἀνταγωνίζεσθαι μαθόντα καὶ ἀσκήσαντα ἰέναι ὡς ἐπʼ ἀθλητάς· νῦν δʼ ἐπειδὴ καὶ οὗτοι ἰδιωτικῶς ἔχοντες ἐληλύθασιν ἐπὶ τὰ τῆς πόλεως, τί δεῖ ἀσκεῖν καὶ μανθάνοντα πράγματα ἔχειν;
ALCIBIADES: If they were educated, it would be necessary for the one attempting to compete with them to go after having learned and trained, as if against athletes; but now, since even these have entered upon the affairs of the city as mere amateurs, why is it necessary to train and to have the trouble of learning?
ἐγὼ γὰρ εὖ οἶδʼ ὅτι τούτων τῇ γε φύσει πάνυ πολὺ περιέσομαι.
For I know well that in nature at least I shall easily surpass them by far.
ΣΩ. βαβαῖ, οἷον, ὦ ἄριστε, τοῦτʼ εἴρηκας·
SOCRATES: Alas, what a thing you have said, my excellent friend!
ὡς ἀνάξιον τῆς ἰδέας καὶ τῶν ἄλλων τῶν σοι ὑπαρχόντων.
How unworthy of your appearance and of the other advantages belonging to you.
ΑΛ. τί μάλιστα καὶ πρὸς τί τοῦτο λέγεις, ὦ Σώκρατες;
ALCIBIADES: In what way especially, and in reference to what do you say this, Socrates?
ΣΩ. ἀγανακτῶ ὑπέρ τε σοῦ καὶ τοῦ ἐμαυτοῦ ἔρωτος.
SOCRATES: I am indignant both on your behalf and for my own love.
ΑΛ. τί δή;
ALCIBIADES: Why indeed?
ΣΩ. εἰ ἠξίωσας τὸν ἀγῶνά σοι εἶναι πρὸς τοὺς ἐνθάδε ἀνθρώπους.
SOCRATES: If you thought fit that your struggle should be against the people here.
ΑΛ. ἀλλὰ πρὸς τίνας μήν;
ALCIBIADES: But against whom else indeed?
ΣΩ. ἄξιον τοῦτό γε καὶ ἐρέσθαι ἄνδρα οἰόμενον μεγαλόφρονα εἶναι.
SOCRATES: This is indeed a question worthy to be asked by a man who thinks himself to be magnanimous.
ΑΛ. πῶς λέγεις;
ALCIBIADES: How do you mean?
οὐ πρὸς τούτους μοι ὁ ἀγών;
Is not my struggle against these?
ΣΩ. ἀλλὰ κἂν εἰ τριήρη διενοοῦ κυβερνᾶν μέλλουσαν ναυμαχεῖν, ἤρκει ἄν σοι τῶν συνναυτῶν βελτίστῳ εἶναι τὰ κυβερνητικά, ἢ ταῦτα μὲν ᾤου ἂν δεῖν ὑπάρχειν, ἀπέβλεπες δʼ ἂν εἰς τοὺς ὡς ἀληθῶς ἀνταγωνιστάς, ἀλλʼ οὐχ ὡς νῦν εἰς τοὺς συναγωνιστάς;
SOCRATES: But even if you were intending to pilot a trireme about to engage in a sea-fight, would it satisfy you to be the best of your fellow-sailors in piloting, or would you think that while these skills must be present, you must look away to your true competitors, and not, as you do now, to your fellow-combatants?
ὧν δήπου περιγενέσθαι σε δεῖ τοσοῦτον ὥστε μὴ ἀξιοῦν ἀνταγωνίζεσθαι, ἀλλὰ καταφρονηθέντας συναγωνίζεσθαί σοι πρὸς τοὺς πολεμίους, εἰ δὴ τῷ ὄντι γε καλόν τι ἔργον ἀποδείξασθαι διανοῇ καὶ ἄξιον σαυτοῦ τε καὶ τῆς πόλεως.
Whom indeed you must surpass by so much that they do not think of competing, but, being looked down upon, fight together with you against the enemies, if indeed you really intend to display some noble deed worthy of both yourself and the city.
ΑΛ. ἀλλὰ μὲν δὴ διανοοῦμαί γε.
ALCIBIADES: Indeed, I do intend to.
ΣΩ. πάνυ σοι ἄρα ἄξιον ἀγαπᾶν εἰ τῶν στρατιωτῶν βελτίων εἶ, ἀλλʼ οὐ πρὸς τοὺς τῶν ἀντιπάλων ἡγεμόνας ἀποβλέπειν εἴ ποτε ἐκείνων βελτίων γέγονας, σκοποῦντα καὶ ἀσκοῦντα πρὸς ἐκείνους.
SOCRATES: Is it then highly worthy of you to be content if you are better than the soldiers, and not to look to the leaders of your rivals to see if you have ever become better than they, watching and training against them?
§120ΑΛ. λέγεις δὲ τίνας τούτους, ὦ Σώκρατες;
ALCIBIADES: And who are these you speak of, Socrates?
ΣΩ. οὐκ οἶσθα ἡμῶν τὴν πόλιν Λακεδαιμονίοις τε καὶ τῷ μεγάλῳ βασιλεῖ πολεμοῦσαν ἑκάστοτε;
SOCRATES: Do you not know that our city is constantly at war with the Lacedaemonians and the great king?
ΑΛ. ἀληθῆ λέγεις.
ALCIBIADES: You speak the truth.
ΣΩ. οὐκοῦν εἴπερ ἐν νῷ ἔχεις ἡγεμὼν εἶναι τῆσδε τῆς πόλεως, πρὸς τοὺς Λακεδαιμονίων βασιλέας καὶ τοὺς Περσῶν τὸν ἀγῶνα ἡγούμενός σοι εἶναι ὀρθῶς ἂν ἡγοῖο;
SOCRATES: Therefore, if you intend to be the leader of this city, would you not be leading correctly if you considered your struggle to be against the kings of the Lacedaemonians and those of the Persians?
ΑΛ. κινδυνεύεις ἀληθῆ λέγειν.
ALCIBIADES: You are in danger of speaking the truth.
ΣΩ. οὔκ, ὠγαθέ, ἀλλὰ πρὸς Μειδίαν σε δεῖ τὸν ὀρτυγοκόπον ἀποβλέπειν καὶ ἄλλους τοιούτους—οἳ τὰ τῆς πόλεως πράττειν ἐπιχειροῦσιν, ἔτι τὴν ἀνδραποδώδη, φαῖεν ἂν αἱ γυναῖκες, τρίχα ἔχοντες ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ ὑπʼ ἀμουσίας καὶ οὔπω ἀποβεβληκότες, ἔτι δὲ βαρβαρίζοντες ἐληλύθασι κολακεύσοντες τὴν πόλιν ἀλλʼ οὐκ ἄρξοντες—πρὸς τούτους σε δεῖ, οὕσπερ λέγω, βλέποντα σαυτοῦ δὴ ἀμελεῖν, καὶ μήτε μανθάνειν ὅσα μαθήσεως ἔχεται, μέλλοντα τοσοῦτον ἀγῶνα ἀγωνίζεσθαι, μήτε ἀσκεῖν ὅσα δεῖται ἀσκήσεως, καὶ πᾶσαν παρασκευὴν παρεσκευασμένον οὕτως ἰέναι ἐπὶ τὰ τῆς πόλεως.
SOCRATES: No, my good friend, but you must look to Meidias the quail-striker and others of that sort—who attempt to manage the affairs of the city, still having, as women would say, the slavish hair in their soul through lack of culture and not yet having cast it off, and who have come still speaking like barbarians to flatter the city but not to rule—to these you must, as I say, look and neglect yourself, and neither learn as much as belongs to learning, when you are about to compete in so great a struggle, nor train as much as requires training, and without having prepared all preparation, go in this way to the affairs of the city.
ΑΛ. ἀλλʼ, ὦ Σώκρατες, δοκεῖς μέν μοι ἀληθῆ λέγειν, οἶμαι μέντοι τούς τε Λακεδαιμονίων στρατηγοὺς καὶ τὸν Περσῶν βασιλέα οὐδὲν διαφέρειν τῶν ἄλλων.
ALCIBIADES: But, Socrates, you seem to me to speak the truth; however, I think that the generals of the Lacedaemonians and the king of the Persians differ in no way from the others.
ΣΩ. ἀλλʼ, ὦ ἄριστε, τὴν οἴησιν ταύτην σκόπει οἵαν ἔχεις.
SOCRATES: But, my excellent friend, examine this opinion of yours, what sort of thing it is.
ΑΛ. τοῦ πέρι;
ALCIBIADES: Concerning what?
ΣΩ. πρῶτον μὲν ποτέρως ἂν οἴει σαυτοῦ μᾶλλον ἐπιμεληθῆναι, φοβούμενός τε καὶ οἰόμενος δεινοὺς αὐτοὺς εἶναι, ἢ μή;
SOCRATES: First, in which of the two ways do you think you would care for yourself more, fearing them and thinking them to be formidable, or not?
ΑΛ. δῆλον ὅτι εἰ δεινοὺς οἰοίμην.
ALCIBIADES: Clearly, if I thought them to be formidable.
ΣΩ. μῶν οὖν οἴει τι βλαβήσεσθαι ἐπιμεληθεὶς σαυτοῦ;
SOCRATES: Do you then think you will be harmed at all by caring for yourself?
ΑΛ. οὐδαμῶς, ἀλλὰ καὶ μεγάλα ὀνήσεσθαι.
ALCIBIADES: In no way, but rather benefited greatly.
ΣΩ. οὐκοῦν ἓν μὲν τοῦτο τοσοῦτον κακὸν ἔχει ἡ οἴησις αὕτη.
SOCRATES: This opinion of yours, then, has this one so great an evil.
ΑΛ. ἀληθῆ λέγεις.
ALCIBIADES: You speak the truth.
ΣΩ. τὸ δεύτερον τοίνυν, ὅτι καὶ ψευδής ἐστιν, ἐκ τῶν εἰκότων σκέψαι.
SOCRATES: Second, then, consider from probabilities that it is also false.
ΑΛ. πῶς δή;
ALCIBIADES: How indeed?
ΣΩ. πότερον εἰκὸς ἀμείνους γίγνεσθαι φύσεις ἐν γενναίοις γένεσιν ἢ μή;
SOCRATES: Is it probable that better natures arise in noble families or not?
ΑΛ. δῆλον ὅτι ἐν τοῖς γενναίοις.
ALCIBIADES: Clearly in noble families.
ΣΩ. οὐκοῦν τοὺς εὖ φύντας, ἐὰν καὶ εὖ τραφῶσιν, οὕτω τελέους γίγνεσθαι πρὸς ἀρετήν;
SOCRATES: And those who are well-born, if they are also well-reared, do they not thus become perfect in virtue?
ΑΛ. ἀνάγκη.
ALCIBIADES: Necessarily.
ΣΩ. σκεψώμεθα δή, τοῖς ἐκείνων τὰ ἡμέτερα ἀντιτιθέντες, πρῶτον μὲν εἰ δοκοῦσι φαυλοτέρων γενῶν εἶναι οἱ Λακεδαιμονίων καὶ Περσῶν βασιλῆς.
SOCRATES: Let us then consider, setting our affairs against theirs, first whether the kings of the Lacedaemonians and the Persians seem to be of baser families.
ἢ οὐκ ἴσμεν ὡς οἱ μὲν Ἡρακλέους, οἱ δὲ Ἀχαιμένους ἔκγονοι, τὸ δʼ Ἡρακλέους τε γένος καὶ τὸ Ἀχαιμένους εἰς Περσέα τὸν Διὸς ἀναφέρεται;
Or do we not know that the former are descendants of Heracles, and the latter of Achaemenes, and that both the family of Heracles and that of Achaemenes are traced back to Perseus, the son of Zeus?