§522ΣΩ. σκόπει γάρ, τί ἂν ἀπολογοῖτο ὁ τοιοῦτος ἄνθρωπος ἐν τούτοις ληφθείς, εἰ αὐτοῦ κατηγοροῖ τις λέγων ὅτι
ὦ παῖδες, πολλὰ ὑμᾶς καὶ κακὰ ὅδε εἴργασται ἀνὴρ καὶ αὐτούς, καὶ τοὺς νεωτάτους ὑμῶν διαφθείρει τέμνων τε καὶ κάων, καὶ ἰσχναίνων καὶ πνίγων ἀπορεῖν ποιεῖ, πικρότατα πώματα διδοὺς καὶ πεινῆν καὶ διψῆν ἀναγκάζων, οὐχ ὥσπερ ἐγὼ πολλὰ καὶ ἡδέα καὶ παντοδαπὰ ηὐώχουν ὑμᾶς· τί ἂν οἴει ἐν τούτῳ τῷ κακῷ ἀποληφθέντα ἰατρὸν ἔχειν εἰπεῖν;
SOCRATES: Consider then, what such a man, caught among these children, would say in his defense, if someone accused him, saying: "O children, this man has worked many evils upon you, even upon yourselves, and he ruins the youngest of you by cutting and burning, and by starving and choking them he makes them utterly helpless, giving them most bitter potions and forcing them to hunger and thirst, not like me who used to feast you on many pleasant things of all kinds!" What do you think a doctor caught in such an evil plight would have to say?
ἢ εἰ εἴποι τὴν ἀλήθειαν, ὅτι
ταῦτα πάντα ἐγὼ ἐποίουν, ὦ παῖδες, ὑγιεινῶς,
πόσον τι οἴει ἂν ἀναβοῆσαι τοὺς τοιούτους δικαστάς;
Or if he should speak the truth, that "All these things I did, children, for your health," how much of a shout do you think such judges would raise?
οὐ μέγα;
Would it not be great?
ΚΑΛ. ἴσως· οἴεσθαί γε χρή.
CALLICLES: Perhaps; one must certainly think so.
ΣΩ. οὐκοῦν οἴει ἐν πάσῃ ἀπορίᾳ ἂν αὐτὸν ἔχεσθαι ὅτι χρὴ εἰπεῖν;
SOCRATES: Do you not think, then, that he would be held in utter helplessness as to what he ought to say?
ΚΑΛ. πάνυ γε.
CALLICLES: Quite so.
ΣΩ. τοιοῦτον μέντοι καὶ ἐγὼ οἶδα ὅτι πάθος πάθοιμι ἂν εἰσελθὼν εἰς δικαστήριον.
SOCRATES: Such, however, I well know is the experience I would suffer on entering court.
οὔτε γὰρ ἡδονὰς ἃς ἐκπεπόρικα ἕξω αὐτοῖς λέγειν, ἃς οὗτοι εὐεργεσίας καὶ ὠφελίας νομίζουσιν, ἐγὼ δὲ οὔτε τοὺς πορίζοντας ζηλῶ οὔτε οἷς πορίζεται· ἐάν τέ τίς με ἢ νεωτέρους φῇ διαφθείρειν ἀπορεῖν ποιοῦντα, ἢ τοὺς πρεσβυτέρους κακηγορεῖν λέγοντα πικροὺς λόγους ἢ ἰδίᾳ ἢ δημοσίᾳ, οὔτε τὸ ἀληθὲς ἕξω εἰπεῖν, ὅτι δικαίως πάντα ταῦτα ἐγὼ λέγω, καὶ πράττω τὸ ὑμέτερον δὴ τοῦτο, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, οὔτε ἄλλο οὐδέν·
For I shall not have any pleasures to tell them which I have provided, which they regard as benefits and services, though I envy neither those who provide them nor those for whom they are provided; and if anyone claims that I corrupt the younger men by making them helpless, or abuse the older men by speaking bitter words either privately or publicly, I shall neither be able to speak the truth, that "Justly do I say all these things, and I do this which is indeed your business, gentlemen of the jury," nor anything else.
ὥστε ἴσως, ὅτι ἂν τύχω, τοῦτο πείσομαι.
So I shall suffer, perhaps, whatever happens to turn up.
ΚΑΛ. δοκεῖ οὖν σοι, ὦ Σώκρατες, καλῶς ἔχειν ἄνθρωπος ἐν πόλει οὕτως διακείμενος καὶ ἀδύνατος ὢν ἑαυτῷ βοηθεῖν;
CALLICLES: Does a man, then, seem to you, Socrates, to be in a fine state in a city, when he is in such a condition and unable to help himself?
ΣΩ. εἰ ἐκεῖνό γε ἓν αὐτῷ ὑπάρχοι, ὦ Καλλίκλεις, ὃ σὺ πολλάκις ὡμολόγησας· εἰ βεβοηθηκὼς εἴη αὑτῷ, μήτε περὶ ἀνθρώπους μήτε περὶ θεοὺς ἄδικον μηδὲν μήτε εἰρηκὼς μήτε εἰργασμένος.
SOCRATES: Yes, Callicles, if that one thing indeed belonged to him, which you have often admitted: if he had helped himself by having neither said nor done anything unjust either towards men or towards gods.
αὕτη γὰρ τῆς βοηθείας ἑαυτῷ πολλάκις ἡμῖν ὡμολόγηται κρατίστη εἶναι.
For this kind of helping oneself has often been admitted by us to be the best.
εἰ μὲν οὖν ἐμέ τις ἐξελέγχοι ταύτην τὴν βοήθειαν ἀδύνατον ὄντα ἐμαυτῷ καὶ ἄλλῳ βοηθεῖν, αἰσχυνοίμην ἂν καὶ ἐν πολλοῖς καὶ ἐν ὀλίγοις ἐξελεγχόμενος καὶ μόνος ὑπὸ μόνου, καὶ εἰ διὰ ταύτην τὴν ἀδυναμίαν ἀποθνῄσκοιμι, ἀγανακτοίην ἄν·
If, therefore, someone should convict me of being unable to render this help to myself and to another, I should be ashamed, whether convicted before many or before few, or alone by one other; and if I should die because of this inability, I should be annoyed.
εἰ δὲ κολακικῆς ῥητορικῆς ἐνδείᾳ τελευτῴην ἔγωγε, εὖ οἶδα ὅτι ῥᾳδίως ἴδοις ἄν με φέροντα τὸν θάνατον.
But if I should come to my end through a lack of flattering rhetoric, I know well that you would easily see me bearing death.
αὐτὸ μὲν γὰρ τὸ ἀποθνῄσκειν οὐδεὶς φοβεῖται, ὅστις μὴ παντάπασιν ἀλόγιστός τε καὶ ἄνανδρός ἐστιν, τὸ δὲ ἀδικεῖν φοβεῖται· πολλῶν γὰρ ἀδικημάτων γέμοντα τὴν ψυχὴν εἰς Ἅιδου ἀφικέσθαι πάντων ἔσχατον κακῶν ἐστιν.
For no one fears dying itself, who is not utterly irrational and cowardly, but he fears doing injustice; for to arrive in Hades with a soul packed full of many injustices is the ultimate of all evils.
εἰ δὲ βούλει, σοὶ ἐγώ, ὡς τοῦτο οὕτως ἔχει, ἐθέλω λόγον λέξαι.
If you wish, I am willing to tell you a story, to show that this is so.
ΚΑΛ. ἀλλʼ ἐπείπερ γε καὶ τἆλλα ἐπέρανας, καὶ τοῦτο πέρανον.
CALLICLES: Well, since you have finished the other things, finish this too.