§309ΕΤ. πόθεν, ὦ Σώκρατες, φαίνῃ;
COMPANION: Where do you appear from, Socrates?
ἢ δῆλα δὴ ὅτι ἀπὸ κυνηγεσίου τοῦ περὶ τὴν Ἀλκιβιάδου ὥραν;
Or is it plain indeed that it is from a hunt after the prime of Alcibiades?
καὶ μήν μοι καὶ πρῴην ἰδόντι καλὸς μὲν ἐφαίνετο ἀνὴρ ἔτι, ἀνὴρ μέντοι, ὦ Σώκρατες, ὥς γʼ ἐν αὐτοῖς ἡμῖν εἰρῆσθαι, καὶ πώγωνος ἤδη ὑποπιμπλάμενος.
Indeed, even when I saw him the day before yesterday, he still seemed handsome as a man; a man, however, Socrates, to speak between ourselves, and already filling out with a beard.
ΣΩ. εἶτα τί τοῦτο;
SOCRATES: Well, what of that?
οὐ σὺ μέντοι Ὁμήρου ἐπαινέτης εἶ, ὃς ἔφη χαριεστάτην ἥβην εἶναι τοῦ πρῶτον ὑπηνήτου, ἣν νῦν Ἀλκιβιάδης ἔχει;
Are you not an admirer of Homer, who said that the most graceful youth is of him who is first growing a beard, which is just the age Alcibiades has now?
ΕΤ. τί οὖν τὰ νῦν;
COMPANION: How are things now, then?
ἦ παρʼ ἐκείνου φαίνῃ;
Is it from him that you appear?
καὶ πῶς πρός σε ὁ νεανίας διάκειται;
And how is the young man disposed toward you?
ΣΩ. εὖ, ἔμοιγε ἔδοξεν, οὐχ ἥκιστα δὲ καὶ τῇ νῦν ἡμέρᾳ· καὶ γὰρ πολλὰ ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ εἶπε βοηθῶν ἐμοί, καὶ οὖν καὶ ἄρτι ἀπʼ ἐκείνου ἔρχομαι.
SOCRATES: Well, in my opinion, and not least on this very day; for indeed he said many things on my behalf, coming to my aid, and so I am just now coming from him.
ἄτοπον μέντοι τί σοι ἐθέλω εἰπεῖν· παρόντος γὰρ ἐκείνου, οὔτε προσεῖχον τὸν νοῦν, ἐπελανθανόμην τε αὐτοῦ θαμά.
However, I want to tell you something strange: though he was present, I neither paid attention to him, and I frequently forgot him.
ΕΤ. καὶ τί ἂν γεγονὸς εἴη περὶ σὲ κἀκεῖνον τοσοῦτον πρᾶγμα;
COMPANION: And what great thing could have happened between you and him?
οὐ γὰρ δήπου τινὶ καλλίονι ἐνέτυχες ἄλλῳ ἔν γε τῇδε τῇ πόλει.
For surely you did not meet with someone else more handsome, at least in this city.
ΣΩ. καὶ πολύ γε.
SOCRATES: Yes, much more handsome.
ΕΤ. τί φῄς;
COMPANION: What do you say?
ἀστῷ ἢ ξένῳ;
A citizen or a stranger?
ΣΩ. ξένῳ.
SOCRATES: A stranger.
ΕΤ. ποδαπῷ;
COMPANION: From where?
ΣΩ. Ἀβδηρίτῃ.
SOCRATES: An Abderite.
ΕΤ. καὶ οὕτω καλός τις ὁ ξένος ἔδοξέν σοι εἶναι, ὥστε τοῦ Κλεινίου ὑέος καλλίων σοι φανῆναι;
COMPANION: And did the stranger seem so handsome to you that he appeared more handsome to you than Cleinias' son?
ΣΩ. πῶς δʼ οὐ μέλλει, ὦ μακάριε, τὸ σοφώτατον κάλλιον φαίνεσθαι;
SOCRATES: How could it not be so, my good friend? For must not the wisest seem more handsome?
ΕΤ. ἀλλʼ ἦ σοφῷ τινι ἡμῖν, ὦ Σώκρατες, ἐντυχὼν πάρει;
COMPANION: But have you really come to us, Socrates, after meeting some wise man?
ΣΩ. σοφωτάτῳ μὲν οὖν δήπου τῶν γε νῦν, εἴ σοι δοκεῖ σοφώτατος εἶναι Πρωταγόρας.
SOCRATES: The wisest indeed of those of today, surely, if you think Protagoras is the wisest.
ΕΤ. ὢ τί λέγεις;
COMPANION: Oh! What are you saying?
Πρωταγόρας ἐπιδεδήμηκεν;
Has Protagoras arrived in town?
ΣΩ. τρίτην γε ἤδη ἡμέραν.
SOCRATES: Yes, already for three days.
ΕΤ. καὶ ἄρτι ἄρα ἐκείνῳ συγγεγονὼς ἥκεις;
COMPANION: And you have come just now from being with him, then?
§310ΣΩ. πάνυ γε, πολλὰ καὶ εἰπὼν καὶ ἀκούσας.
SOCRATES: Indeed, and having both said and heard many things.
ΕΤ. τί οὖν οὐ διηγήσω ἡμῖν τὴν συνουσίαν, εἰ μή σέ τι κωλύει, καθεζόμενος ἐνταυθί, ἐξαναστήσας τὸν παῖδα τουτονί;
COMPANION: Why then do you not relate the conversation to us, if nothing prevents you, sitting down here, having made this boy stand up?
ΣΩ. πάνυ μὲν οὖν· καὶ χάριν γε εἴσομαι, ἐὰν ἀκούητε.
SOCRATES: Most gladly; and I shall be grateful indeed, if you will listen.
ΕΤ. καὶ μὴν καὶ ἡμεῖς σοί, ἐὰν λέγῃς.
COMPANION: And we to you, indeed, if you speak.
ΣΩ. διπλῆ ἂν εἴη ἡ χάρις.
SOCRATES: The gratitude would be double then.
ἀλλʼ οὖν ἀκούετε.
Well, then, listen.
τῆς γὰρ παρελθούσης νυκτὸς ταυτησί, ἔτι βαθέος ὄρθρου, Ἱπποκράτης, ὁ Ἀπολλοδώρου ὑὸς Φάσωνος δὲ ἀδελφός, τὴν θύραν τῇ βακτηρίᾳ πάνυ σφόδρα ἔκρουε, καὶ ἐπειδὴ αὐτῷ ἀνέῳξέ τις, εὐθὺς εἴσω ᾔει ἐπειγόμενος, καὶ τῇ φωνῇ μέγα λέγων,
ὦ Σώκρατες,
ἔφη,
ἐγρήγορας ἢ καθεύδεις; καὶ ἐγὼ τὴν φωνὴν γνοὺς αὐτοῦ,
Ἱπποκράτης,
ἔφην,
οὗτος·
For during this past night, while it was still deep dawn, Hippocrates, the son of Apollodorus and brother of Phason, knocked on my door very violently with his staff, and when someone opened it for him, he immediately went inside in a hurry, and calling out in a loud voice, "O Socrates," he said, "are you awake or sleeping?" And I, recognizing his voice, said, "Hippocrates here!
μή τι νεώτερον ἀγγέλλεις; οὐδέν γʼ,
ἦ δʼ ὅς,
εἰ μὴ ἀγαθά γε. εὖ ἂν λέγοις,
ἦν δʼ ἐγώ· ἔστι δὲ τί, καὶ τοῦ ἕνεκα τηνικάδε ἀφίκου; Πρωταγόρας,
ἔφη,
ἥκει,
στὰς παρʼ ἐμοί.
No bad news, I hope?" "None indeed," he said, "except good news at least." "That would be good," I said; "what is it then, and why have you come at such an hour?" "Protagoras," he said, "has arrived," standing beside me.
πρῴην,
ἔφην ἐγώ· σὺ δὲ ἄρτι πέπυσαι; νὴ τοὺς θεούς,
ἔφη,
ἑσπέρας γε. καὶ ἅμα ἐπιψηλαφήσας τοῦ σκίμποδος ἐκαθέζετο παρὰ τοὺς πόδας μου, καὶ εἶπεν· ἑσπέρας δῆτα, μάλα γε ὀψὲ ἀφικόμενος ἐξ Οἰνόης.
"The day before yesterday," I said; "have you only just learned of it?" "By the gods," he said, "yesterday evening indeed!" And at the same time, feeling for the bed, he sat down by my feet, and said: "Yes, yesterday evening indeed, arriving very late from Oinoe.
ὁ γάρ τοι παῖς με ὁ Σάτυρος ἀπέδρα· καὶ δῆτα μέλλων σοι φράζειν ὅτι διωξοίμην αὐτόν, ὑπό τινος ἄλλου ἐπελαθόμην.
For you see, my slave Satyrus ran away from me; and though I was indeed intending to tell you that I was going to pursue him, I forgot because of something else.
ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἦλθον καὶ δεδειπνηκότες ἦμεν καὶ ἐμέλλομεν ἀναπαύεσθαι, τότε μοι ἁδελφὸς λέγει ὅτι ἥκει Πρωταγόρας.
But when I came back and we had dined and were about to rest, then my brother told me that Protagoras had arrived.
καὶ ἔτι μὲν ἐνεχείρησα εὐθὺς παρὰ σὲ ἰέναι, ἔπειτά μοι λίαν πόρρω ἔδοξε τῶν νυκτῶν εἶναι· ἐπειδὴ δὲ τάχιστά με ἐκ τοῦ κόπου ὁ ὕπνος ἀνῆκεν, εὐθὺς ἀναστὰς οὕτω δεῦρο ἐπορευόμην. καὶ ἐγὼ γιγνώσκων αὐτοῦ τὴν ἀνδρείαν καὶ τὴν πτοίησιν,
τί οὖν σοι,
ἦν δʼ ἐγώ,
τοῦτο;
And I indeed attempted at once to go to your house, but then it seemed to me to be too far into the night; but as soon as sleep released me from my fatigue, I immediately got up and came here like this." And I, knowing his courage and his state of excitement, said, "What is this to you then?
μῶν τί σε ἀδικεῖ Πρωταγόρας; καὶ ὃς γελάσας,
νὴ τοὺς θεούς,
ἔφη,
ὦ Σώκρατες, ὅτι γε μόνος ἐστὶ σοφός, ἐμὲ δὲ οὐ ποιεῖ. ἀλλὰ ναὶ μὰ Δία,
ἔφην ἐγώ,
ἂν αὐτῷ διδῷς ἀργύριον καὶ πείθῃς ἐκεῖνον, ποιήσει καὶ σὲ σοφόν. εἰ γάρ,
ἦ δʼ ὅς,
ὦ Ζεῦ καὶ θεοί, ἐν τούτῳ εἴη·
Does Protagoras wrong you in any way?" And he laughed and said, "By the gods, Socrates, because he is the only wise one, and does not make me so!" "But indeed, by Zeus," I said, "if you give him money and persuade him, he will make you wise as well." "Would indeed," he said, "O Zeus and gods, that it were in this!
ὡς οὔτʼ ἂν τῶν ἐμῶν ἐπιλίποιμι οὐδὲν οὔτε τῶν φίλων·
For I would spare nothing neither of my own property nor of my friends'.
ἀλλʼ αὐτὰ ταῦτα καὶ νῦν ἥκω παρὰ σέ, ἵνα ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ διαλεχθῇς αὐτῷ.
But for this very reason I have come to you now, so that you may speak to him on my behalf.
ἐγὼ γὰρ ἅμα μὲν καὶ νεώτερός εἰμι, ἅμα δὲ οὐδὲ ἑώρακα Πρωταγόραν πώποτε οὐδʼ ἀκήκοα οὐδέν· ἔτι γὰρ παῖς ἦ ὅτε τὸ πρότερον ἐπεδήμησε.
For on the one hand I am too young, and on the other hand I have never seen Protagoras nor heard him at all; for I was still a child when he was in town before."