§284ΙΠ. πῶς γὰρ οὔ;
HIPPIAS: How indeed could it not be so?
ΣΩ. ἐν δέ γε ταῖς εὐνόμοις πόλεσιν τιμιώτατον ἡ ἀρετή.
SOCRATES: And yet in well-governed cities, virtue is the most honored thing.
ΙΠ. πάνυ γε.
HIPPIAS: Quite so.
ΣΩ. σὺ δὲ ταύτην παραδιδόναι ἄλλῳ κάλλιστʼ ἀνθρώπων ἐπίστασαι.
SOCRATES: And you know how to transmit this to another best of all men.
ΙΠ. καὶ πολύ γε, ὦ Σώκρατες.
HIPPIAS: And by far, Socrates.
ΣΩ. ὁ οὖν κάλλιστʼ ἐπιστάμενος ἱππικὴν παραδιδόναι ἆρʼ οὐκ ἂν ἐν Θετταλίᾳ τῆς Ἑλλάδος μάλιστα τιμῷτο καὶ πλεῖστα χρήματα λαμβάνοι, καὶ ἄλλοθι ὅπου τοῦτο σπουδάζοιτο;
SOCRATES: Would not, then, the one who best knows how to transmit horsemanship be most honored in Thessaly of Greece and receive the most money, and anywhere else where this is studied?
ΙΠ. εἰκός γε.
HIPPIAS: It is likely.
ΣΩ. ὁ δὴ δυνάμενος παραδιδόναι τὰ πλείστου ἄξια μαθήματα εἰς ἀρετὴν οὐκ ἐν Λακεδαίμονι μάλιστα τιμήσεται καὶ πλεῖστα ἐργάσεται χρήματα, ἂν βούληται, καὶ ἐν ἄλλῃ πόλει ἥτις τῶν Ἑλληνίδων εὐνομεῖται;
SOCRATES: Will not, then, the one who is able to transmit the most valuable teachings in virtue be most honored in Lacedaemon and make the most money, if he wishes, and in any other Greek city that is well-governed?
ἀλλʼ ἐν Σικελίᾳ, ὦ ἑταῖρε, οἴει μᾶλλον καὶ ἐν Ἰνυκῷ;
Or do you think, my friend, rather in Sicily and in Inycus?
ταῦτα πειθώμεθα, ὦ Ἱππία;
Should we believe this, Hippias?
ἐὰν γὰρ σὺ κελεύῃς, πειστέον.
For if you bid it, we must believe.
ΙΠ. οὐ γὰρ πάτριον, ὦ Σώκρατες, Λακεδαιμονίοις κινεῖν τοὺς νόμους, οὐδὲ παρὰ τὰ εἰωθότα παιδεύειν τοὺς ὑεῖς.
HIPPIAS: For it is not ancestral custom, Socrates, for the Lacedaemonians to change their laws, nor to educate their sons contrary to what is customary.
ΣΩ. πῶς λέγεις;
SOCRATES: How do you say?
Λακεδαιμονίοις οὐ πάτριον ὀρθῶς πράττειν ἀλλʼ ἐξαμαρτάνειν;
Is it not ancestral to Lacedaemonians to act rightly but to err?
ΙΠ. οὐκ ἂν φαίην ἔγωγε, ὦ Σώκρατες.
HIPPIAS: I would not say so, Socrates.
ΣΩ. οὐκοῦν ὀρθῶς ἂν πράττοιεν βέλτιον ἀλλὰ μὴ χεῖρον παιδεύοντες τοὺς νέους;
SOCRATES: Would they not then act rightly if they educated the young better and not worse?
ΙΠ. ὀρθῶς·
HIPPIAS: Rightly; but it is not lawful for them to educate with a foreign education.
ἀλλὰ ξενικὴν παίδευσιν οὐ νόμιμον αὐτοῖς παιδεύειν, ἐπεὶ εὖ ἴσθι, εἴπερ τις ἄλλος ἐκεῖθεν χρήματα ἔλαβεν πώποτε ἐπὶ παιδεύσει, καὶ ἐμὲ ἂν λαβεῖν πολὺ μάλιστα—χαίρουσι γοῦν ἀκούοντες ἐμοῦ καὶ ἐπαινοῦσιν— ἀλλʼ, ὃ λέγω, οὐ νόμος.
For know well, if anyone else ever received money from there for education, I would have received by far the most—at least they enjoy hearing me and praise me—but, as I say, it is not the law.
ΣΩ. νόμον δὲ λέγεις, ὦ Ἱππία, βλάβην πόλεως εἶναι ἢ ὠφελίαν;
SOCRATES: And do you say, Hippias, that law is a harm to a city or a benefit?
ΙΠ. τίθεται μὲν οἶμαι ὠφελίας ἕνεκα, ἐνίοτε δὲ καὶ βλάπτει, ἐὰν κακῶς τεθῇ ὁ νόμος.
HIPPIAS: It is established, I think, for the sake of benefit, but sometimes it also harms, if the law is badly established.
ΣΩ. τί δέ;
SOCRATES: What then?
οὐχ ὡς ἀγαθὸν μέγιστον πόλει τίθενται τὸν νόμον οἱ τιθέμενοι;
Do not those who establish the law establish it as the greatest good for a city?
καὶ ἄνευ τούτου μετὰ εὐνομίας ἀδύνατον οἰκεῖν;
And without this, is it impossible to live in well-governed order?
ΙΠ. ἀληθῆ λέγεις.
HIPPIAS: You speak the truth.
ΣΩ. ὅταν ἄρα ἀγαθοῦ ἁμάρτωσιν οἱ ἐπιχειροῦντες τοὺς νόμους τιθέναι, νομίμου τε καὶ νόμου ἡμαρτήκασιν·
SOCRATES: Therefore, when those who attempt to establish laws fail to achieve the good, they have failed to achieve what is lawful and law; or how do you say?
ἢ πῶς λέγεις; ΙΠ. τῷ μὲν ἀκριβεῖ λόγῳ, ὦ Σώκρατες, οὕτως ἔχει· οὐ μέντοι εἰώθασιν ἅνθρωποι ὀνομάζειν οὕτω.
HIPPIAS: By precise reasoning, Socrates, it is so; however, men are not accustomed to name it so.
ΣΩ. πότερον, ὦ Ἱππία, οἱ εἰδότες ἢ οἱ μὴ εἰδότες;
SOCRATES: Which, Hippias, those who know or those who do not know?
ΙΠ. οἱ πολλοί.
HIPPIAS: The many.
ΣΩ. εἰσὶν δʼ οὗτοι οἱ εἰδότες τἀληθές, οἱ πολλοί;
SOCRATES: And are these who know the truth, the many?
ΙΠ. οὐ δῆτα.
HIPPIAS: Certainly not.
ΣΩ. ἀλλὰ μήν που οἵ γʼ εἰδότες τὸ ὠφελιμώτερον τοῦ ἀνωφελεστέρου νομιμώτερον ἡγοῦνται τῇ ἀληθείᾳ πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις·
SOCRATES: But surely, those who know consider what is more beneficial to be more lawful in truth for all men than what is less beneficial; or do you not agree?
ἢ οὐ συγχωρεῖς; ΙΠ. ναί, συγχωρῶ, ὅτι γε τῇ ἀληθείᾳ.
HIPPIAS: Yes, I agree, at least in truth.
ΣΩ. οὐκοῦν ἔστιν τε καὶ ἔχει οὕτως ὡς οἱ εἰδότες ἡγοῦνται;
SOCRATES: Therefore it is so and holds as those who know think?
ΙΠ. πάνυ γε.
HIPPIAS: Quite so.
§285ΣΩ. ἔστι δέ γε Λακεδαιμονίοις, ὡς σὺ φῄς, ὠφελιμώτερον τὴν ὑπὸ σοῦ παίδευσιν, ξενικὴν οὖσαν, παιδεύεσθαι μᾶλλον ἢ τὴν ἐπιχωρίαν.
SOCRATES: And it is indeed more beneficial for the Lacedaemonians, as you say, to be educated in the education by you, foreign though it is, rather than the local one.
ΙΠ. καὶ ἀληθῆ γε λέγω.
HIPPIAS: And indeed I speak the truth.
ΣΩ. καὶ γὰρ ὅτι τὰ ὠφελιμώτερα νομιμώτερά ἐστι, καὶ τοῦτο λέγεις, ὦ Ἱππία;
SOCRATES: And also that the more beneficial is more lawful, do you say this too, Hippias?
ΙΠ. εἶπον γάρ.
HIPPIAS: Yes, I said so.
ΣΩ. κατὰ τὸν σὸν ἄρα λόγον τοῖς Λακεδαιμονίων ὑέσιν ὑπὸ Ἱππίου παιδεύεσθαι νομιμώτερόν ἐστιν, ὑπὸ δὲ τῶν πατέρων ἀνομώτερον, εἴπερ τῷ ὄντι ὑπὸ σοῦ πλείω ὠφεληθήσονται.
SOCRATES: According to your argument, then, for the sons of the Lacedaemonians to be educated by Hippias is more lawful, and by their fathers more unlawful, if indeed they will actually be benefited more by you.
ΙΠ. ἀλλὰ μὴν ὠφεληθήσονται, ὦ Σώκρατες.
HIPPIAS: And indeed they will be benefited, Socrates.
ΣΩ. παρανομοῦσιν ἄρα Λακεδαιμόνιοι οὐ διδόντες σοι χρυσίον καὶ ἐπιτρέποντες τοὺς αὑτῶν ὑεῖς.
SOCRATES: Therefore the Lacedaemonians act unlawfully in not giving you money and entrusting their own sons to you.
ΙΠ. συγχωρῶ ταῦτα· δοκεῖς γάρ μοι τὸν λόγον πρὸς ἐμοῦ λέγειν, καὶ οὐδέν με δεῖ αὐτῷ ἐναντιοῦσθαι.
HIPPIAS: I agree to this; for you seem to me to be speaking the argument in my favor, and there is no need for me to oppose it.
ΣΩ. παρανόμους μὲν δή, ὦ ἑταῖρε, τοὺς Λάκωνας εὑρίσκομεν, καὶ ταῦτʼ εἰς τὰ μέγιστα, τοὺς νομιμωτάτους δοκοῦντας εἶναι.
SOCRATES: Then we find the Lacedaemonians lawbreakers, my friend, and that in the greatest matters, they who seem to be the most law-abiding.
ἐπαινοῦσι δὲ δή σε πρὸς θεῶν, ὦ Ἱππία, καὶ χαίρουσιν ἀκούοντες ποῖα;
But in the name of the gods, Hippias, what kind of things do they praise you for and enjoy hearing?
ἢ δῆλον δὴ ὅτι ἐκεῖνα ἃ σὺ κάλλιστα ἐπίστασαι, τὰ περὶ τὰ ἄστρα τε καὶ τὰ οὐράνια πάθη;
Or is it clear that they are those things which you best know, those concerning the stars and heavenly phenomena?
ΙΠ. οὐδʼ ὁπωστιοῦν· ταῦτά γε οὐδʼ ἀνέχονται.
HIPPIAS: Not in any way; they do not even tolerate these things.
ΣΩ. ἀλλὰ περὶ γεωμετρίας τι χαίρουσιν ἀκούοντες;
SOCRATES: But do they enjoy hearing anything about geometry?
ΙΠ. οὐδαμῶς, ἐπεὶ οὐδʼ ἀριθμεῖν ἐκείνων γε, ὡς ἔπος εἰπεῖν, πολλοὶ ἐπίστανται.
HIPPIAS: Not at all, since not even to count, so to speak, do many of them know.
ΣΩ. πολλοῦ ἄρα δέουσιν περί γε λογισμῶν ἀνέχεσθαί σου ἐπιδεικνυμένου.
SOCRATES: They are far indeed, then, from tolerating your demonstrating arithmetic to them.
ΙΠ. πολλοῦ μέντοι νὴ Δία.
HIPPIAS: Far indeed, by Zeus.
ΣΩ. ἀλλὰ δῆτα ἐκεῖνα ἃ σὺ ἀκριβέστατα ἐπίστασαι ἀνθρώπων διαιρεῖν, περί τε γραμμάτων δυνάμεως καὶ συλλαβῶν καὶ ῥυθμῶν καὶ ἁρμονιῶν;
SOCRATES: But then, those things which you know most accurately of all men to distinguish, concerning the power of letters and syllables and rhythms and harmonies?
ΙΠ. ποίων, ὠγαθέ, ἁρμονιῶν καὶ γραμμάτων;
HIPPIAS: What harmonies and letters, my good man?
ΣΩ. ἀλλὰ τί μήν ἐστιν ἃ ἡδέως σου ἀκροῶνται καὶ ἐπαινοῦσιν;
SOCRATES: But what on earth is it that they gladly listen to and praise you for?
αὐτός μοι εἰπέ, ἐπειδὴ ἐγὼ οὐχ εὑρίσκω.
Tell me yourself, since I cannot find out.
ΙΠ. περὶ τῶν γενῶν, ὦ Σώκρατες, τῶν τε ἡρώων καὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων, καὶ τῶν κατοικίσεων, ὡς τὸ ἀρχαῖον ἐκτίσθησαν αἱ πόλεις, καὶ συλλήβδην πάσης τῆς ἀρχαιολογίας ἥδιστα ἀκροῶνται, ὥστʼ ἔγωγε διʼ αὐτοὺς ἠνάγκασμαι ἐκμεμαθηκέναι τε καὶ ἐκμεμελετηκέναι πάντα τὰ τοιαῦτα.
HIPPIAS: Concerning the genealogies, Socrates, of heroes and of men, and the settlements, how the cities were founded in ancient times, and in short, they listen most gladly to all antiquities, so that I myself have been forced by them to learn thoroughly and practice all such things.
ΣΩ. ναὶ μὰ Δίʼ, ὦ Ἱππία, ηὐτύχηκάς γε ὅτι Λακεδαιμόνιοι οὐ χαίρουσιν ἄν τις αὐτοῖς ἀπὸ Σόλωνος τοὺς ἄρχοντας τοὺς ἡμετέρους καταλέγῃ· εἰ δὲ μή, πράγματʼ ἂν εἶχες ἐκμανθάνων.
SOCRATES: Yes, by Zeus, Hippias, you are indeed fortunate that the Lacedaemonians do not enjoy someone listing our archons to them starting from Solon; otherwise, you would have had a lot of trouble learning them all.
ΙΠ. πόθεν, ὦ Σώκρατες;
HIPPIAS: How so, Socrates?
ἅπαξ ἀκούσας πεντήκοντα ὀνόματα ἀπομνημονεύσω.
Having heard fifty names once, I can memorize them.