§209ἀλλʼ ἀντὶ τίνος μὴν οὕτω σε δεινῶς διακωλύουσιν εὐδαίμονα εἶναι καὶ ποιεῖν ὅτι ἂν βούλῃ, καὶ διʼ ἡμέρας ὅλης τρέφουσί σε ἀεί τῳ δουλεύοντα καὶ ἑνὶ λόγῳ ὀλίγου ὧν ἐπιθυμεῖς οὐδὲν ποιοῦντα;
But for what reason, then, do they so terribly prevent you from being happy and doing whatever you want, and keep you all day long always serving someone, and in a word, doing almost nothing of what you desire?
ὥστε σοι, ὡς ἔοικεν, οὔτε τῶν χρημάτων τοσούτων ὄντων οὐδὲν ὄφελος, ἀλλὰ πάντες αὐτῶν μᾶλλον ἄρχουσιν ἢ σύ, οὔτε τοῦ σώματος οὕτω γενναίου ὄντος, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦτο ἄλλος ποιμαίνει καὶ θεραπεύει· σὺ δὲ ἄρχεις οὐδενός, ὦ Λύσι, οὐδὲ ποιεῖς οὐδὲν ὧν ἐπιθυμεῖς. —
οὐ γάρ πω, ἔφη, ἡλικίαν ἔχω, ὦ Σώκρατες. —μὴ οὐ τοῦτό σε, ὦ παῖ Δημοκράτους, κωλύῃ, ἐπεὶ τό γε τοσόνδε, ὡς ἐγᾦμαι, καὶ ὁ πατὴρ καὶ ἡ μήτηρ σοι ἐπιτρέπουσιν καὶ οὐκ ἀναμένουσιν ἕως ἂν ἡλικίαν ἔχῃς.
So that, as it seems, you have no benefit either from such great wealth, but everyone rules over it more than you do, or from your body, though it is so noble, but someone else herds and cares for this too; and you, Lysis, rule over nothing, nor do you do anything of what you desire.— "For I am not yet of age, Socrates," he said.— Perhaps this is not what prevents you, O son of Democrates, since at least this much, as I think, both your father and your mother entrust to you, and they do not wait until you are of age.
ὅταν γὰρ βούλωνται αὑτοῖς τινα ἀναγνωσθῆναι ἢ γραφῆναι, σέ, ὡς ἐγᾦμαι, πρῶτον τῶν ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ ἐπὶ τοῦτο τάττουσιν.
For whenever they want something to be read or written for them, they appoint you, as I think, first of those in the house for this task.
ἦ γάρ; —
πάνυ γʼ,
ἔφη. —οὐκοῦν ἔξεστί σοι ἐνταῦθʼ ὅτι ἂν βούλῃ πρῶτον τῶν γραμμάτων γράφειν καὶ ὅτι ἂν δεύτερον· καὶ ἀναγιγνώσκειν ὡσαύτως ἔξεστιν.
Is it not so?— "Certainly," he said.—Then in this case, you are allowed to write whichever of the letters you wish first, and whichever second; and similarly you are allowed to read.
καὶ ἐπειδάν, ὡς ἐγᾦμαι, τὴν λύραν λάβῃς, οὐ διακωλύουσί σε οὔτε ὁ πατὴρ οὔτε ἡ μήτηρ ἐπιτεῖναί τε καὶ ἀνεῖναι ἣν ἂν βούλῃ τῶν χορδῶν, καὶ ψῆλαι καὶ κρούειν τῷ πλήκτρῳ.
And whenever, as I think, you take up the lyre, neither your father nor your mother prevents you from tightening or loosening whichever of the strings you wish, and plucking them with your fingers or striking them with the plectrum.
ἢ διακωλύουσιν; —
οὐ δῆτα. —τί ποτʼ ἂν οὖν εἴη, ὦ Λύσι, τὸ αἴτιον ὅτι ἐνταῦθα μὲν οὐ διακωλύουσιν, ἐν οἷς δὲ ἄρτι ἐλέγομεν κωλύουσι; —
ὅτι οἶμαι,
ἔφη,
ταῦτα μὲν ἐπίσταμαι, ἐκεῖνα δʼ οὔ. —εἶεν, ἦν δʼ ἐγώ, ὦ ἄριστε· οὐκ ἄρα τὴν ἡλικίαν σου περιμένει ὁ πατὴρ ἐπιτρέπειν πάντα, ἀλλʼ ᾗ ἂν ἡμέρᾳ ἡγήσηταί σε βέλτιον αὑτοῦ φρονεῖν, ταύτῃ ἐπιτρέψει σοι καὶ αὑτὸν καὶ τὰ αὑτοῦ. —
οἶμαι ἔγωγε,
ἔφη. —εἶεν, ἦν δʼ ἐγώ·
Or do they prevent you?— "Certainly not." —What then, Lysis, could be the reason that here they do not prevent you, but in those things we were just mentioning they do?— "Because, I think," he said, "I understand these things, but not those."—"Very well," I said, "my excellent friend; then your father does not wait for your age to entrust everything to you, but on whichever day he thinks you are wiser than himself, on that day he will entrust both himself and his possessions to you."— "I think so indeed," he said.—"Very well," I said.
τί δέ;
"And what of this?
τῷ γείτονι ἆρʼ οὐχ ὁ αὐτὸς ὅρος ὅσπερ τῷ πατρὶ περὶ σοῦ;
Does not your neighbor have the same limit regarding you as your father?
πότερον οἴει αὐτὸν ἐπιτρέψειν σοι τὴν αὑτοῦ οἰκίαν οἰκονομεῖν, ὅταν σε ἡγήσηται βέλτιον περὶ οἰκονομίας ἑαυτοῦ φρονεῖν, ἢ αὐτὸν ἐπιστατήσειν; —
ἐμοὶ ἐπιτρέψειν οἶμαι. —τί δʼ;
Do you think he will entrust you with the management of his house when he thinks you are wiser about household management than himself, or that he will supervise it himself?"— "I think he will entrust it to me." —"And what of this?
Ἀθηναίους οἴει σοι οὐκ ἐπιτρέψειν τὰ αὑτῶν, ὅταν αἰσθάνωνται ὅτι ἱκανῶς φρονεῖς; —
ἔγωγε. —πρὸς Διός, ἦν δʼ ἐγώ, τί ἄρα ὁ μέγας βασιλεύς;
Do you think the Athenians will not entrust their affairs to you when they perceive that you are sufficiently wise?"— "I think they will." —"By Zeus," I said, "then what about the Great King?
πότερον τῷ πρεσβυτάτῳ ὑεῖ, οὗ ἡ τῆς Ἀσίας ἀρχὴ γίγνεται, μᾶλλον ἂν ἐπιτρέψειεν ἑψομένων κρεῶν ὅτι ἂν βούληται ἐμβαλεῖν εἰς τὸν ζωμόν, ἢ ἡμῖν, εἰ ἀφικόμενοι παρʼ ἐκεῖνον ἐνδειξαίμεθα αὐτῷ ὅτι ἡμεῖς κάλλιον φρονοῦμεν ἢ ὁ ὑὸς αὐτοῦ περὶ ὄψου σκευασίας; —
ἡμῖν δῆλον ὅτι,
ἔφη. —καὶ τὸν μέν γε οὐδʼ ἂν σμικρὸν ἐάσειεν ἐμβαλεῖν· ἡμᾶς δέ, κἂν εἰ βουλοίμεθα δραξάμενοι τῶν ἁλῶν, ἐῴη ἂν ἐμβαλεῖν. —
πῶς γὰρ οὔ; —
Would he rather entrust his eldest son, to whom the rule of Asia belongs, to throw whatever he wants of the boiling meat into the soup, or us, if we should come to him and demonstrate to him that we are wiser than his son about the preparation of food?"— "To us, clearly," he said.—"And him, at least, he would not allow to throw in even a tiny bit, while us, even if we wished to take a handful of salt and throw it in, he would allow."— "Of course, how could he not?"—