§510ΚΑΛ. ἔστω σοι τοῦτο, ὦ Σώκρατες, οὕτως, ἵνα διαπεράνῃς τὸν λόγον.
CALLICLES: Let this be so for you, Socrates, in this way, so that you may complete the argument.
ΣΩ. καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦτο ἄρα, ὡς ἔοικεν, παρασκευαστέον ἐστὶ δύναμίν τινα καὶ τέχνην, ὅπως μὴ ἀδικήσωμεν.
SOCRATES: And for this too, then, as it seems, we must prepare a certain power and art, so that we may not commit injustice.
ΚΑΛ. πάνυ γε.
CALLICLES: Quite so.
ΣΩ. τίς οὖν ποτʼ ἐστὶν τέχνη τῆς παρασκευῆς τοῦ μηδὲν ἀδικεῖσθαι ἢ ὡς ὀλίγιστα;
SOCRATES: What, then, is the art of preparing for suffering no injustice, or as little as possible?
σκέψαι εἰ σοὶ δοκεῖ ἥπερ ἐμοί.
Consider if the same one seems to you as to me.
ἐμοὶ μὲν γὰρ δοκεῖ ἥδε· ἢ αὐτὸν ἄρχειν δεῖν ἐν τῇ πόλει ἢ καὶ τυραννεῖν, ἢ τῆς ὑπαρχούσης πολιτείας ἑταῖρον εἶναι.
For to me it seems to be this: that one must either rule oneself in the city or even be a tyrant, or be a companion of the existing constitution.
ΚΑΛ. ὁρᾷς, ὦ Σώκρατες, ὡς ἐγὼ ἕτοιμός εἰμι ἐπαινεῖν, ἄν τι καλῶς λέγῃς;
CALLICLES: Do you see, Socrates, how ready I am to praise you if you say something well?
τοῦτό μοι δοκεῖς πάνυ καλῶς εἰρηκέναι.
This you seem to me to have said quite well.
ΣΩ. σκόπει δὴ καὶ τόδε ἐάν σοι δοκῶ εὖ λέγειν.
SOCRATES: Consider indeed this too, if I seem to you to speak well.
φίλος μοι δοκεῖ ἕκαστος ἑκάστῳ εἶναι ὡς οἷόν τε μάλιστα, ὅνπερ οἱ παλαιοί τε καὶ σοφοὶ λέγουσιν, ὁ ὅμοιος τῷ ὁμοίῳ.
Each person seems to me to be a friend to another as much as possible, the one whom the ancients and wise say: like is friend to like.
οὐ καὶ σοί;
Does it not seem so to you too?
ΚΑΛ. ἔμοιγε.
CALLICLES: To me indeed.
ΣΩ. οὐκοῦν ὅπου τύραννός ἐστιν ἄρχων ἄγριος καὶ ἀπαίδευτος, εἴ τις τούτου ἐν τῇ πόλει πολὺ βελτίων εἴη, φοβοῖτο δήπου ἂν αὐτὸν ὁ τύραννος καὶ τούτῳ ἐξ ἅπαντος τοῦ νοῦ οὐκ ἄν ποτε δύναιτο φίλος γενέσθαι;
SOCRATES: Therefore, where a tyrant is a wild and uneducated ruler, if someone in the city should be much better than him, the tyrant would surely fear him and would never be able to become a friend to him with all his heart?
ΚΑΛ. ἔστι ταῦτα.
CALLICLES: That is so.
ΣΩ. οὐδέ γε εἴ τις πολὺ φαυλότερος εἴη, οὐδʼ ἂν οὗτος· καταφρονοῖ γὰρ ἂν αὐτοῦ ὁ τύραννος καὶ οὐκ ἄν ποτε ὡς πρὸς φίλον σπουδάσειεν.
SOCRATES: Nor indeed if someone should be much inferior, not even this one; for the tyrant would despise him and would never take him seriously as a friend.
ΚΑΛ. καὶ ταῦτʼ ἀληθῆ.
CALLICLES: This too is true.
ΣΩ. λείπεται δὴ ἐκεῖνος μόνος ἄξιος λόγου φίλος τῷ τοιούτῳ, ὃς ἂν ὁμοήθης ὤν, ταὐτὰ ψέγων καὶ ἐπαινῶν, ἐθέλῃ ἄρχεσθαι καὶ ὑποκεῖσθαι τῷ ἄρχοντι.
SOCRATES: There remains, then, only that person as a friend worthy of mention to such a one: whoever, being of like character, blaming and praising the same things, is willing to be ruled by and subject to the ruler.
οὗτος μέγα ἐν ταύτῃ τῇ πόλει δυνήσεται, τοῦτον οὐδεὶς χαίρων ἀδικήσει.
This person will have great power in this city, and no one will wrong him with impunity.
οὐχ οὕτως ἔχει;
Is it not so?
ΚΑΛ. ναί.
CALLICLES: Yes.
ΣΩ. εἰ ἄρα τις ἐννοήσειεν ἐν ταύτῃ τῇ πόλει τῶν νέων,
τίνα ἂν τρόπον ἐγὼ μέγα δυναίμην καὶ μηδείς με ἀδικοῖ; αὕτη, ὡς ἔοικεν, αὐτῷ ὁδός ἐστιν, εὐθὺς ἐκ νέου ἐθίζειν αὑτὸν τοῖς αὐτοῖς χαίρειν καὶ ἄχθεσθαι τῷ δεσπότῃ, καὶ παρασκευάζειν ὅπως ὅτι μάλιστα ὅμοιος ἔσται ἐκείνῳ.
SOCRATES: If, then, some young person in this city should think: "In what way could I have great power and no one wrong me?" This, as it seems, is the path for him: right from youth to accustom himself to rejoice and be vexed at the same things as his master, and to prepare himself to be as like him as possible.
οὐχ οὕτως;
Is it not so?
ΚΑΛ. ναί.
CALLICLES: Yes.
ΣΩ. οὐκοῦν τούτῳ τὸ μὲν μὴ ἀδικεῖσθαι καὶ μέγα δύνασθαι, ὡς ὁ ὑμέτερος λόγος, ἐν τῇ πόλει διαπεπράξεται.
SOCRATES: Therefore, for this person, suffering no injustice and having great power in the city, according to your argument, will have been accomplished.
ΚΑΛ. πάνυ γε.
CALLICLES: Quite so.
ΣΩ. ἆρʼ οὖν καὶ τὸ μὴ ἀδικεῖν;
SOCRATES: Is it then also the case for not committing injustice?
ἢ πολλοῦ δεῖ, εἴπερ ὅμοιος ἔσται τῷ ἄρχοντι ὄντι ἀδίκῳ καὶ παρὰ τούτῳ μέγα δυνήσεται;
Or is it far from it, if indeed he is to be like a ruler who is unjust and to have great power under him?
ἀλλʼ οἶμαι ἔγωγε, πᾶν τοὐναντίον οὑτωσὶ ἡ παρασκευὴ ἔσται αὐτῷ ἐπὶ τὸ οἵῳ τε εἶναι ὡς πλεῖστα ἀδικεῖν καὶ ἀδικοῦντα μὴ διδόναι δίκην.
Rather, I think, quite the contrary, in this way his preparation will be for being able to commit as many injustices as possible and not to pay the penalty when committing them.
ἦ γάρ;
Is it not so?
ΚΑΛ. φαίνεται.
CALLICLES: So it appears.
§511ΣΩ. οὐκοῦν τὸ μέγιστον αὐτῷ κακὸν ὑπάρξει μοχθηρῷ ὄντι τὴν ψυχὴν καὶ λελωβημένῳ διὰ τὴν μίμησιν τοῦ δεσπότου καὶ δύναμιν.
SOCRATES: Therefore, the greatest evil will belong to him, since he is wretched in his soul and deformed through the imitation of his master and his power.
ΚΑΛ. οὐκ οἶδʼ ὅπῃ στρέφεις ἑκάστοτε τοὺς λόγους ἄνω καὶ κάτω, ὦ Σώκρατες· ἢ οὐκ οἶσθα ὅτι οὗτος ὁ μιμούμενος τὸν μὴ μιμούμενον ἐκεῖνον ἀποκτενεῖ, ἐὰν βούληται, καὶ ἀφαιρήσεται τὰ ὄντα.
CALLICLES: I do not know how you twist the arguments up and down every time, Socrates; or do you not know that this imitator will kill the non-imitator, if he wishes, and take away his possessions?
ΣΩ. οἶδα, ὠγαθὲ Καλλίκλεις, εἰ μὴ κωφός γʼ εἰμί, καὶ σοῦ ἀκούων καὶ Πώλου ἄρτι πολλάκις καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ὀλίγου πάντων τῶν ἐν τῇ πόλει·
SOCRATES: I know, my good Callicles, unless indeed I am deaf, since I have heard it both from you and just now from Polus many times, and from almost all the others in the city.
ἀλλὰ καὶ σὺ ἐμοῦ ἄκουε, ὅτι ἀποκτενεῖ μέν, ἂν βούληται, ἀλλὰ πονηρὸς ὢν καλὸν κἀγαθὸν ὄντα.
But you also listen to me: he will indeed kill him, if he wishes, but he who is wicked will kill one who is noble and good.
ΚΑΛ. οὐκοῦν τοῦτο δὴ καὶ τὸ ἀγανακτητόν;
CALLICLES: Is this not, then, precisely the thing to be indignant about?
ΣΩ. οὐ νοῦν γε ἔχοντι, ὡς ὁ λόγος σημαίνει.
SOCRATES: Not for someone who has sense, at least, as the argument indicates.
ἢ οἴει δεῖν τοῦτο παρασκευάζεσθαι ἄνθρωπον, ὡς πλεῖστον χρόνον ζῆν, καὶ μελετᾶν τὰς τέχνας ταύτας αἳ ἡμᾶς ἀεὶ ἐκ τῶν κινδύνων σῴζουσιν, ὥσπερ καὶ ἣν σὺ κελεύεις ἐμὲ μελετᾶν τὴν ῥητορικὴν τὴν ἐν τοῖς δικαστηρίοις διασῴζουσαν;
Or do you think a person ought to prepare for this: to live for as long a time as possible, and to practice those arts which always save us from dangers, just like the rhetoric which you bid me to practice, which preserves us in the courts of law?
ΚΑΛ. ναὶ μὰ Δία ὀρθῶς γέ σοι συμβουλεύων.
CALLICLES: Yes, by Zeus, and I am advising you rightly.
ΣΩ. τί δέ, ὦ βέλτιστε;
SOCRATES: What of it, my excellent friend?
ἦ καὶ ἡ τοῦ νεῖν ἐπιστήμη σεμνή τίς σοι δοκεῖ εἶναι;
Does the knowledge of swimming also seem to you to be something grand?
ΚΑΛ. μὰ Δίʼ οὐκ ἔμοιγε.
CALLICLES: No, by Zeus, not to me.
ΣΩ. καὶ μὴν σῴζει γε καὶ αὕτη ἐκ θανάτου τοὺς ἀνθρώπους, ὅταν εἴς τι τοιοῦτον ἐμπέσωσιν οὗ δεῖ ταύτης τῆς ἐπιστήμης.
SOCRATES: But indeed this too saves people from death, when they fall into some such situation where they need this knowledge.
εἰ δʼ αὕτη σοι δοκεῖ σμικρὰ εἶναι, ἐγώ σοι μείζω ταύτης ἐρῶ, τὴν κυβερνητικήν, ἣ οὐ μόνον τὰς ψυχὰς σῴζει ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ σώματα καὶ τὰ χρήματα ἐκ τῶν ἐσχάτων κινδύνων, ὥσπερ ἡ ῥητορική.
But if this seems small to you, I will tell you of a greater one than this, the art of navigation, which not only saves souls but also bodies and possessions from extreme dangers, just like rhetoric.
καὶ αὕτη μὲν προσεσταλμένη ἐστὶν καὶ κοσμία, καὶ οὐ σεμνύνεται ἐσχηματισμένη ὡς ὑπερήφανόν τι διαπραττομένη, ἀλλὰ ταὐτὰ διαπραξαμένη τῇ δικανικῇ, ἐὰν μὲν ἐξ Αἰγίνης δεῦρο σώσῃ, οἶμαι δύʼ ὀβολοὺς ἐπράξατο, ἐὰν δὲ ἐξ Αἰγύπτου ἢ ἐκ τοῦ Πόντου, ἐὰν πάμπολυ, ταύτης τῆς μεγάλης εὐεργεσίας, σώσασα ἃ νυνδὴ ἔλεγον, καὶ αὐτὸν καὶ παῖδας καὶ χρήματα καὶ γυναῖκας, ἀποβιβάσασʼ εἰς τὸν λιμένα δύο δραχμὰς ἐπράξατο, καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ ἔχων τὴν τέχνην καὶ ταῦτα διαπραξάμενος ἐκβὰς παρὰ τὴν θάλατταν καὶ τὴν ναῦν περιπατεῖ ἐν μετρίῳ σχήματι·
And this art is modest and orderly, and does not put on airs, showing off as though it has performed some grand feat, but having achieved the same results as rhetoric, if it saves someone from Aegina to here, I think it charges two obols, and if from Egypt or from the Pontus, if indeed from very far, for this great benefit, having saved what I just mentioned—oneself, children, possessions, and wives—and having landed them in the harbor, it charges two drachmas, and the man who possesses the art and has achieved these things, having disembarked, walks along the shore and his ship with a modest bearing.
λογίζεσθαι γὰρ οἶμαι ἐπίσταται ὅτι ἄδηλόν ἐστιν οὕστινάς τε ὠφέληκεν τῶν συμπλεόντων οὐκ ἐάσας καταποντωθῆναι καὶ οὕστινας ἔβλαψεν, εἰδὼς ὅτι οὐδὲν αὐτοὺς βελτίους ἐξεβίβασεν ἢ οἷοι ἐνέβησαν, οὔτε τὰ σώματα οὔτε τὰς ψυχάς.
For indeed he knows how to reason, I think, that it is unclear which of his fellow voyagers he has benefited by not letting them drown and which he has harmed, knowing that he has disembarked them in no way better than when they embarked, neither in their bodies nor in their souls.