§281ΣΩ. Ἱππίας ὁ καλός τε καὶ σοφός·
SOCRATES: Hippias, the beautiful and wise!
ὡς διὰ χρόνου ἡμῖν κατῆρας εἰς τὰς Ἀθήνας.
How long it is since you last put in at Athens to visit us.
ΙΠ. οὐ γὰρ σχολή, ὦ Σώκρατες.
HIPPIAS: It is because I have no leisure, Socrates.
ἡ γὰρ Ἦλις ὅταν τι δέηται διαπράξασθαι πρός τινα τῶν πόλεων, ἀεὶ ἐπὶ πρῶτον ἐμὲ ἔρχεται τῶν πολιτῶν αἱρουμένη πρεσβευτήν, ἡγουμένη δικαστὴν καὶ ἄγγελον ἱκανώτατον εἶναι τῶν λόγων οἳ ἂν παρὰ τῶν πόλεων ἑκάστων λέγωνται.
For whenever Elis needs to negotiate anything with any of the cities, she always comes to me first among the citizens, choosing me as her ambassador, since she considers me to be the most capable judge and messenger of the speeches that may be made on the part of each of the cities.
πολλάκις μὲν οὖν καὶ εἰς ἄλλας πόλεις ἐπρέσβευσα, πλεῖστα δὲ καὶ περὶ πλείστων καὶ μεγίστων εἰς τὴν Λακεδαίμονα· διὸ δή, ὃ σὺ ἐρωτᾷς, οὐ θαμίζω εἰς τούσδε τοὺς τόπους.
Thus I have often gone on embassies to other cities, but most frequently and on the most numerous and important matters to Lacedaemon; that is the reason why, to answer your question, I do not often frequent these regions.
ΣΩ. τοιοῦτον μέντοι, ὦ Ἱππία, ἔστι τὸ τῇ ἀληθείᾳ σοφόν τε καὶ τέλειον ἄνδρα εἶναι.
SOCRATES: That is indeed, Hippias, what it means to be a truly wise and perfect man.
σὺ γὰρ καὶ ἰδίᾳ ἱκανὸς εἶ παρὰ τῶν νέων πολλὰ χρήματα λαμβάνων ἔτι πλείω ὠφελεῖν ὧν λαμβάνεις, καὶ αὖ δημοσίᾳ τὴν σαυτοῦ πόλιν ἱκανὸς εὐεργετεῖν, ὥσπερ χρὴ τὸν μέλλοντα μὴ καταφρονήσεσθαι ἀλλʼ εὐδοκιμήσειν ἐν τοῖς πολλοῖς.
For you are capable, in your private capacity, of receiving large sums of money from the youth and rendering them even greater benefits than what you receive, and again, in your public capacity, of being able to benefit your own city, just as a man must who is to avoid being looked down upon and instead win a high reputation among the multitude.
ἀτάρ, ὦ Ἱππία, τί ποτε τὸ αἴτιον ὅτι οἱ παλαιοὶ ἐκεῖνοι, ὧν ὀνόματα μεγάλα λέγεται ἐπὶ σοφίᾳ, Πιττακοῦ τε καὶ Βίαντος καὶ τῶν ἀμφὶ τὸν Μιλήσιον Θαλῆν καὶ ἔτι τῶν ὕστερον μέχρι Ἀναξαγόρου, ὡς ἢ πάντες ἢ οἱ πολλοὶ αὐτῶν φαίνονται ἀπεχόμενοι τῶν πολιτικῶν πράξεων;
But tell me, Hippias, what on earth is the reason why those ancients, whose names are celebrated for wisdom—Pittacus, Bias, Thales of Miletus and his followers, and also those of later times down to Anaxagoras—why all or most of them appear to have kept aloof from political affairs?
ΙΠ. τί δʼ οἴει, ὦ Σώκρατες, ἄλλο γε ἢ ἀδύνατοι ἦσαν καὶ οὐχ ἱκανοὶ ἐξικνεῖσθαι φρονήσει ἐπʼ ἀμφότερα, τά τε κοινὰ καὶ τὰ ἴδια;
HIPPIAS: What else do you think, Socrates, than that they were powerless and lacked the capacity to extend their wisdom to both spheres, the public and the private?
ΣΩ. ἆρʼ οὖν πρὸς Διός, ὥσπερ αἱ ἄλλαι τέχναι ἐπιδεδώκασι καὶ εἰσὶ παρὰ τοὺς νῦν δημιουργοὺς οἱ παλαιοὶ φαῦλοι, οὕτω καὶ τὴν ὑμετέραν τὴν τῶν σοφιστῶν τέχνην ἐπιδεδωκέναι φῶμεν καὶ εἶναι τῶν ἀρχαίων τοὺς περὶ τὴν σοφίαν φαύλους πρὸς ὑμᾶς;
SOCRATES: In the name of Zeus, then, just as the other arts have progressed, and the ancient craftsmen are inferior compared to those of today, should we say that your art, that of the sophists, has also progressed, and that those of the ancients who were concerned with wisdom were inferior compared to you?
ΙΠ. πάνυ μὲν οὖν ὀρθῶς λέγεις.
HIPPIAS: Yes, you are entirely right in what you say.
§282ΣΩ. εἰ ἄρα νῦν ἡμῖν, ὦ Ἱππία, ὁ Βίας ἀναβιοίη, γέλωτʼ ἂν ὄφλοι πρὸς ὑμᾶς, ὥσπερ καὶ τὸν Δαίδαλόν φασιν οἱ ἀνδριαντοποιοί, νῦν εἰ γενόμενος τοιαῦτʼ ἐργάζοιτο οἷα ἦν ἀφʼ ὧν τοὔνομʼ ἔσχεν, καταγέλαστον ἂν εἶναι.
SOCRATES: If, then, Hippias, Bias were to come back to life for us now, he would be a laughing-stock in comparison with you, just as the sculptors say of Daedalus that if he were to be born now and produce works such as those from which he won his name, he would be ridiculous.
ΙΠ. ἔστι μὲν ταῦτα, ὦ Σώκρατες, οὕτως ὡς σὺ λέγεις· εἴωθα μέντοι ἔγωγε τοὺς παλαιούς τε καὶ προτέρους ἡμῶν προτέρους τε καὶ μᾶλλον ἐγκωμιάζειν ἢ τοὺς νῦν, εὐλαβούμενος μὲν φθόνον τῶν ζώντων, φοβούμενος δὲ μῆνιν τῶν τετελευτηκότων.
HIPPIAS: It is indeed just as you say, Socrates; however, I myself am accustomed to praise the ancients and those who came before us prior to and more than those of today, guarding against the jealousy of the living and fearing the wrath of the dead.
ΣΩ. καλῶς γε σύ, ὦ Ἱππία, ὀνομάζων τε καὶ διανοούμενος, ὡς ἐμοὶ δοκεῖς.
SOCRATES: You speak and think beautifully, Hippias, as it seems to me.
συμμαρτυρῆσαι δέ σοι ἔχω ὅτι ἀληθῆ λέγεις, καὶ τῷ ὄντι ὑμῶν ἐπιδέδωκεν ἡ τέχνη πρὸς τὸ καὶ τὰ δημόσια πράττειν δύνασθαι μετὰ τῶν ἰδίων.
And I can testify on your behalf that you speak the truth, and that in fact your art has progressed with respect to the ability to manage public affairs as well as private ones.
Γοργίας τε γὰρ οὗτος ὁ Λεοντῖνος σοφιστὴς δεῦρο ἀφίκετο δημοσίᾳ οἴκοθεν πρεσβεύων, ὡς ἱκανώτατος ὢν Λεοντίνων τὰ κοινὰ πράττειν, καὶ ἔν τε τῷ δήμῳ ἔδοξεν ἄριστα εἰπεῖν, καὶ ἰδίᾳ ἐπιδείξεις ποιούμενος καὶ συνὼν τοῖς νέοις χρήματα πολλὰ ἠργάσατο καὶ ἔλαβεν ἐκ τῆσδε τῆς πόλεως·
For this Gorgias, the sophist from Leontini, came here on a public embassy from home, being regarded as the most capable of the Leontines to manage public affairs; and he not only seemed to speak excellently in the assembly, but also, by giving private exhibitions and associating with the young, he made and received a large amount of money from this city.
εἰ δὲ βούλει, ὁ ἡμέτερος ἑταῖρος Πρόδικος οὗτος πολλάκις μὲν καὶ ἄλλοτε δημοσίᾳ ἀφίκετο, ἀτὰρ τὰ τελευταῖα ἔναγχος ἀφικόμενος δημοσίᾳ ἐκ Κέω λέγων τʼ ἐν τῇ βουλῇ πάνυ ηὐδοκίμησεν καὶ ἰδίᾳ ἐπιδείξεις ποιούμενος καὶ τοῖς νέοις συνὼν χρήματα ἔλαβεν θαυμαστὰ ὅσα.
Or if you like, our companion Prodicus here came on public business often at other times, but recently on his last arrival from Ceos, speaking before the Council, he won very high acclaim, and by giving private exhibitions and associating with the young, he received an astonishing amount of money.
τῶν δὲ παλαιῶν ἐκείνων οὐδεὶς πώποτε ἠξίωσεν ἀργύριον μισθὸν πράξασθαι οὐδʼ ἐπιδείξεις ποιήσασθαι ἐν παντοδαποῖς ἀνθρώποις τῆς ἑαυτοῦ σοφίας· οὕτως ἦσαν εὐήθεις καὶ ἐλελήθει αὐτοὺς ἀργύριον ὡς πολλοῦ ἄξιον εἴη.
But of those ancients, no one ever thought fit to demand money as a fee, or to make exhibitions of his own wisdom before all kinds of men; so simple-minded were they, and they were unaware that money was of great value.
τούτων δʼ ἑκάτερος πλέον ἀργύριον ἀπὸ σοφίας εἴργασται ἢ ἄλλος δημιουργὸς ἀφʼ ἧστινος τέχνης· καὶ ἔτι πρότερος τούτων Πρωταγόρας.
But each of these two has made more money from his wisdom than any other craftsman from any art whatsoever; and Protagoras did so even before them.
ΙΠ. οὐδὲν γάρ, ὦ Σώκρατες, οἶσθα τῶν καλῶν περὶ τοῦτο.
HIPPIAS: For you know nothing, Socrates, of the beautiful things in this regard.
εἰ γὰρ εἰδείης ὅσον ἀργύριον εἴργασμαι ἐγώ, θαυμάσαις ἄν·
If you only knew how much money I have made, you would be amazed!
καὶ τὰ μὲν ἄλλα ἐῶ, ἀφικόμενος δέ ποτε εἰς Σικελίαν, Πρωταγόρου αὐτόθι ἐπιδημοῦντος καὶ εὐδοκιμοῦντος καὶ πρεσβυτέρου ὄντος πολὺ νεώτερος ὢν ἐν ὀλίγῳ χρόνῳ πάνυ πλέον ἢ πεντήκοντα καὶ ἑκατὸν μνᾶς ἠργασάμην, καὶ ἐξ ἑνός γε χωρίου πάνυ σμικροῦ, Ἰνυκοῦ, πλέον ἢ εἴκοσι μνᾶς·
To say nothing of other occasions, once when I went to Sicily, while Protagoras was residing there and enjoying a high reputation, though I was much younger than he who was older, I made in a very short time more than a hundred and fifty minae, and from one very small place, Inycus, more than twenty minae.
καὶ τοῦτο ἐλθὼν οἴκαδε φέρων τῷ πατρὶ ἔδωκα, ὥστε ἐκεῖνον καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους πολίτας θαυμάζειν τε καὶ ἐκπεπλῆχθαι.
And I took this home and gave it to my father, so that he and the other citizens were amazed and dumbfounded.
καὶ σχεδόν τι οἶμαι ἐμὲ πλείω χρήματα εἰργάσθαι ἢ ἄλλους σύνδυο οὕστινας βούλει τῶν σοφιστῶν.
And I think I have made more money than any other two sophists together, whomsoever you care to name.