§290ΣΩ. ἡ μὲν γὰρ τῶν ἐπῳδῶν ἔχεών τε καὶ φαλαγγίων καὶ σκορπίων καὶ τῶν ἄλλων θηρίων τε καὶ νόσων κήλησίς ἐστιν, ἡ δὲ δικαστῶν τε καὶ ἐκκλησιαστῶν καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ὄχλων κήλησίς τε καὶ παραμυθία τυγχάνει οὖσα·
SOCRATES: "For the one is the charming of vipers and tarantulas and scorpions and all other beasts and diseases, while the other happens to be the charming and comforting of judges, assemblymen, and other crowds.
ἢ σοί, ἔφην ἐγώ, ἄλλως πως δοκεῖ;
Or does it seem to you in some other way?" I said.
οὔκ, ἀλλʼ οὕτω μοι φαίνεται,
ἔφη,
ὡς σὺ λέγεις. ποῖ οὖν, ἔφην ἐγώ, τραποίμεθʼ ἂν ἔτι;
"No, but it appears to me in this way," he said, "just as you say." "Where then," I said, "should we turn next?
ἐπὶ ποίαν τέχνην; ἐγὼ μὲν οὐκ εὐπορῶ,
ἔφη.
To what kind of art?" "I for one am at a loss," he said.
ἀλλʼ, ἦν δʼ ἐγώ, ἐμὲ οἶμαι ηὑρηκέναι. τίνα; ἔφη ὁ Κλεινίας.
"But," I said, "I think I have found it." "What is it?" Cleinias said.
ἡ στρατηγική μοι δοκεῖ, ἔφην ἐγώ, τέχνη παντὸς μᾶλλον εἶναι ἣν ἄν τις κτησάμενος εὐδαίμων εἴη. οὐκ ἔμοιγε δοκεῖ. πῶς; ἦν δʼ ἐγώ.
"The art of generalship," I said, "seems to me more than any other to be the one which someone, by acquiring it, would be happy." "It does not seem so to me." "How so?" I said.
θηρευτική τις ἥδε γέ ἐστιν τέχνη ἀνθρώπων. τί δὴ οὖν; ἔφην ἐγώ.
"This is a certain art of hunting humans." "What then?" I said.
οὐδεμία,
ἔφη,
τῆς θηρευτικῆς αὐτῆς ἐπὶ πλέον ἐστὶν ἢ ὅσον θηρεῦσαι καὶ χειρώσασθαι· ἐπειδὰν δὲ χειρώσωνται τοῦτο ὃ ἂν θηρεύωνται, οὐ δύνανται τούτῳ χρῆσθαι, ἀλλʼ οἱ μὲν κυνηγέται καὶ οἱ ἁλιῆς τοῖς ὀψοποιοῖς παραδιδόασιν, οἱ δʼ αὖ γεωμέτραι καὶ οἱ ἀστρονόμοι καὶ οἱ λογιστικοί—θηρευτικοὶ γάρ εἰσι καὶ οὗτοι· οὐ γὰρ ποιοῦσι τὰ διαγράμματα ἕκαστοι τούτων, ἀλλὰ τὰ ὄντα ἀνευρίσκουσιν—ἅτε οὖν χρῆσθαι αὐτοὶ αὐτοῖς οὐκ ἐπιστάμενοι, ἀλλὰ θηρεῦσαι μόνον, παραδιδόασι δήπου τοῖς διαλεκτικοῖς καταχρῆσθαι αὐτῶν τοῖς εὑρήμασιν, ὅσοι γε αὐτῶν μὴ παντάπασιν ἀνόητοί εἰσιν. εἶεν, ἦν δʼ ἐγώ, ὦ κάλλιστε καὶ σοφώτατε Κλεινία· τοῦτο οὕτως ἔχει; πάνυ μὲν οὖν.
"No part of hunting itself," he said, "extends to more than hunting and capturing; and when they capture that which they are hunting, they are unable to use it, but hunters and fishermen hand it over to cooks, while geometers, astronomers, and calculators—for these too are hunters; since they do not make diagrams, but discover things that exist—inasmuch as they do not know how to use them themselves, but only how to hunt, they hand them over, I suppose, to dialecticians to make use of their discoveries, at least those of them who are not completely foolish." "Well then," I said, "my most beautiful and wise Cleinias; is this so?" "Quite so.
καὶ οἵ γε στρατηγοί,
ἔφη,
οὕτω τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον· ἐπειδὰν ἢ πόλιν τινὰ θηρεύσωνται ἢ στρατόπεδον, παραδιδόασι τοῖς πολιτικοῖς ἀνδράσιν—αὐτοὶ γὰρ οὐκ ἐπίστανται χρῆσθαι τούτοις ἃ ἐθήρευσαν—ὥσπερ οἶμαι οἱ ὀρτυγοθῆραι τοῖς ὀρτυγοτρόφοις παραδιδόασιν.
And generals too," he said, "in the same way; when they capture either some city or a camp, they hand it over to statesmen—for they themselves do not know how to use these things which they captured—just as, I think, quail-catchers hand them over to quail-keepers.
εἰ οὖν,
ἦ δʼ ὅς,
δεόμεθα ἐκείνης τῆς τέχνης, ἥτις ᾧ ἂν κτήσηται ἢ ποιήσασα ἢ θηρευσαμένη αὐτὴ καὶ ἐπιστήσεται χρῆσθαι, καὶ ἡ τοιαύτη ποιήσει ἡμᾶς μακαρίους, ἄλλην δή τινα,
ἔφη,
ζητητέον ἀντὶ τῆς στρατηγικῆς. ΚΡ. τί λέγεις σύ, ὦ Σώκρατες;
If then," he said, "we need that art which, concerning whatever it acquires either by making or by hunting, will itself also know how to use it, and such an art will make us happy, then some other art," he said, "must be sought instead of generalship." CRITO: "What are you saying, Socrates?
ἐκεῖνο τὸ μειράκιον τοιαῦτʼ ἐφθέγξατο; ΣΩ. οὐκ οἴει, ὦ Κρίτων; ΚΡ. μὰ Δίʼ οὐ μέντοι.
Did that youth utter such things?" SOCRATES: "Do you not think so, Crito?" CRITO: "By Zeus, certainly not.
οἶμαι γὰρ αὐτὸν ἐγώ, εἰ ταῦτʼ εἶπεν, οὔτʼ Εὐθυδήμου οὔτε ἄλλου οὐδενὸς ἔτʼ ἀνθρώπου δεῖσθαι εἰς παιδείαν. ΣΩ. ἀλλʼ ἄρα, ὦ πρὸς Διός, μὴ ὁ Κτήσιππος ἦν ὁ ταῦτʼ εἰπών, ἐγὼ δὲ οὐ μέμνημαι; §291ΚΡ. ποῖος Κτήσιππος; ΣΩ. ἀλλὰ μὴν τόδε γε εὖ οἶδα, ὅτι οὔτε Εὐθύδημος οὔτε Διονυσόδωρος ἦν ὁ εἰπὼν ταῦτα·
For I think that if he said these things, he needs neither Euthydemus nor any other human being at all for education." SOCRATES: "But then, by Zeus, was it Ctesippus who said these things, and I do not remember?" CRITO: "What do you mean, Ctesippus?" SOCRATES: "And yet, this at least I know well, that it was neither Euthydemus nor Dionysodorus who said these things.
ἀλλʼ, ὦ δαιμόνιε Κρίτων, μή τις τῶν κρειττόνων παρὼν αὐτὰ ἐφθέγξατο;
But, my dear Crito, did some one of the superior beings present utter them?
ὅτι γὰρ ἤκουσά γε ταῦτα, εὖ οἶδα. ΚΡ. ναὶ μὰ Δία, ὦ Σώκρατες· τῶν κρειττόνων μέντοι τις ἐμοὶ δοκεῖ, καὶ πολύ γε.
For that I heard these things, I know well." CRITO: "Yes, by Zeus, Socrates; it seems to me to be one of the superior beings, and by far.
ἀλλὰ μετὰ τοῦτο ἔτι τινὰ ἐζητήσατε τέχνην;
But after this, did you still seek some art?
καὶ ηὕρετε ἐκείνην ἢ οὐχ ηὕρετε, ἧς ἕνεκα ἐζητεῖτε; ΣΩ. πόθεν, ὦ μακάριε, ηὕρομεν;
And did you find that one, for the sake of which you were seeking, or did you not?" SOCRATES: "How could we find it, my good friend?
ἀλλʼ ἦμεν πάνυ γελοῖοι· ὥσπερ τὰ παιδία τὰ τοὺς κορύδους διώκοντα, ἀεὶ ᾠόμεθα ἑκάστην τῶν ἐπιστημῶν αὐτίκα λήψεσθαι, αἱ δʼ ἀεὶ ὑπεξέφευγον.
Rather, we were quite ridiculous; just like children chasing crested larks, we always thought we were about to catch each of the knowledges immediately, but they always kept slipping away.
τὰ μὲν οὖν πολλὰ τί ἄν σοι λέγοιμι;
Why then should I tell you the details?
ἐπὶ δὲ δὴ τὴν βασιλικὴν ἐλθόντες τέχνην καὶ διασκοπούμενοι αὐτὴν εἰ αὕτη εἴη ἡ τὴν εὐδαιμονίαν παρέχουσά τε καὶ ἀπεργαζομένη, ἐνταῦθα ὥσπερ εἰς λαβύρινθον ἐμπεσόντες, οἰόμενοι ἤδη ἐπὶ τέλει εἶναι, περικάμψαντες πάλιν ὥσπερ ἐν ἀρχῇ τῆς ζητήσεως ἀνεφάνημεν ὄντες καὶ τοῦ ἴσου δεόμενοι ὅσουπερ ὅτε τὸ πρῶτον ἐζητοῦμεν. ΚΡ. πῶς δὴ τοῦτο ὑμῖν συνέβη, ὦ Σώκρατες; ΣΩ. ἐγὼ φράσω.
But indeed, coming to the kingly art and examining it, whether this might be the one providing and producing happiness, falling there as if into a labyrinth, when we thought we were already at the end, having turned back again, we appeared to be at the beginning of the search, and in need of just as much as when we first began to seek." CRITO: "How indeed did this happen to you, Socrates?" SOCRATES: "I will tell you.
ἔδοξε γὰρ δὴ ἡμῖν ἡ πολιτικὴ καὶ ἡ βασιλικὴ τέχνη ἡ αὐτὴ εἶναι. ΚΡ. τί οὖν δή; ΣΩ. ταύτῃ τῇ τέχνῃ ἥ τε στρατηγικὴ καὶ αἱ ἄλλαι παραδιδόναι ἄρχειν τῶν ἔργων ὧν αὐταὶ δημιουργοί εἰσιν, ὡς μόνῃ ἐπισταμένῃ χρῆσθαι.
For indeed, the political art and the kingly art seemed to us to be the same." CRITO: "What then?" SOCRATES: "To this art, generalship and the others hand over to rule the works of which they themselves are the craftsmen, as it alone knows how to use them.
σαφῶς οὖν ἐδόκει ἡμῖν αὕτη εἶναι ἣν ἐζητοῦμεν, καὶ ἡ αἰτία τοῦ ὀρθῶς πράττειν ἐν τῇ πόλει, καὶ ἀτεχνῶς κατὰ τὸ Αἰσχύλου ἰαμβεῖον μόνη ἐν τῇ πρύμνῃ καθῆσθαι τῆς πόλεως, πάντα κυβερνῶσα καὶ πάντων ἄρχουσα πάντα χρήσιμα ποιεῖν. ΚΡ. οὐκοῦν καλῶς ὑμῖν ἐδόκει, ὦ Σώκρατες; ΣΩ. σὺ κρινεῖς, ὦ Κρίτων, ἐὰν βούλῃ ἀκούειν καὶ τὰ μετὰ ταῦτα συμβάντα ἡμῖν.
Clearly then, this seemed to us to be the one we were seeking, and the cause of acting rightly in the city, and absolutely, according to the iambic line of Aeschylus, alone to sit at the helm of the city, steering all things and ruling all things, making all things useful." CRITO: "Did it not then seem well to you, Socrates?" SOCRATES: "You shall judge, Crito, if you wish to hear also what happened to us after this.
αὖθις γὰρ δὴ πάλιν ἐσκοποῦμεν ὧδέ πως· φέρε, πάντων ἄρχουσα ἡ βασιλικὴ τέχνη τὶ ἡμῖν ἀπεργάζεται ἔργον ἢ οὐδέν; πάντως δήπου, ἡμεῖς ἔφαμεν πρὸς ἀλλήλους.
For again indeed, we were examining it somewhat like this: 'Come, does the kingly art, ruling all things, produce some work for us or none?' 'By all means, surely,' we said to one another.
οὐ καὶ σὺ ἂν ταῦτα φαίης, ὦ Κρίτων; ΚΡ. ἔγωγε. ΣΩ. τί οὖν ἂν φαίης αὐτῆς ἔργον εἶναι;
Would you not also say so, Crito?" CRITO: "I would." SOCRATES: "What then would you say is its work?
ὥσπερ εἰ σὲ ἐγὼ ἐρωτῴην, πάντων ἄρχουσα ἡ ἰατρικὴ ὧν ἄρχει, τί ἔργον παρέχεται; οὐ τὴν ὑγίειαν ἂν φαίης; ΚΡ. ἔγωγε.
Just as if I should ask you, 'What work does medicine provide, ruling all that it rules?' Would you not say health?" CRITO: "I would."