§530ΣΩ. τὸν Ἴωνα χαίρειν.
Socrates: Greeting to Ion.
πόθεν τὰ νῦν ἡμῖν ἐπιδεδήμηκας;
From where have you come to us just now?
ἢ οἴκοθεν ἐξ Ἐφέσου;
Is it from your home in Ephesus?
ΙΩΝ. οὐδαμῶς, ὦ Σώκρατες, ἀλλʼ ἐξ Ἐπιδαύρου ἐκ τῶν Ἀσκληπιείων.
Ion: Not at all, Socrates, but from Epidaurus, from the festival of Asclepius.
ΣΩ. μῶν καὶ ῥαψῳδῶν ἀγῶνα τιθέασιν τῷ θεῷ οἱ Ἐπιδαύριοι;
Socrates: Do the Epidaurians really hold a contest for rhapsodes as well in honor of the god?
ΙΩΝ. πάνυ γε, καὶ τῆς ἄλλης γε μουσικῆς.
Ion: Indeed they do, and for the rest of music too.
ΣΩ. τί οὖν;
Socrates: What then?
ἠγωνίζου τι ἡμῖν;
Did you compete in any way for us?
καὶ πῶς τι ἠγωνίσω;
And how did you fare in the competition?
ΙΩΝ. τὰ πρῶτα τῶν ἄθλων ἠνεγκάμεθα, ὦ Σώκρατες.
Ion: We carried off the first prize, Socrates.
ΣΩ. εὖ λέγεις·
Socrates: Well said!
ἄγε δὴ ὅπως καὶ τὰ Παναθήναια νικήσομεν.
Come then, let us see to it that we win at the Panathenaia as well.
ΙΩΝ. ἀλλʼ ἔσται ταῦτα, ἐὰν θεὸς ἐθέλῃ.
Ion: It shall be so, if god wills.
ΣΩ. καὶ μὴν πολλάκις γε ἐζήλωσα ὑμᾶς τοὺς ῥαψῳδούς, ὦ Ἴων, τῆς τέχνης·
Socrates: Indeed, Ion, I have often envied you rhapsodes for your art.
τὸ γὰρ ἅμα μὲν τὸ σῶμα κεκοσμῆσθαι ἀεὶ πρέπον ὑμῶν εἶναι τῇ τέχνῃ καὶ ὡς καλλίστοις φαίνεσθαι, ἅμα δὲ ἀναγκαῖον εἶναι ἔν τε ἄλλοις ποιηταῖς διατρίβειν πολλοῖς καὶ ἀγαθοῖς καὶ δὴ καὶ μάλιστα ἐν Ὁμήρῳ, τῷ ἀρίστῳ καὶ θειοτάτῳ τῶν ποιητῶν, καὶ τὴν τούτου διάνοιαν ἐκμανθάνειν, μὴ μόνον τὰ ἔπη, ζηλωτόν ἐστιν.
For it is truly enviable that, on the one hand, your body must always be adorned to befit your art and you must appear as beautiful as possible, and on the other hand, it is necessary to spend time with many excellent poets, and especially with Homer, the best and most divine of poets, and to learn his thought thoroughly, not just his verses.
οὐ γὰρ ἂν γένοιτό ποτε ἀγαθὸς ῥαψῳδός, εἰ μὴ συνείη τὰ λεγόμενα ὑπὸ τοῦ ποιητοῦ.
For one could never become a good rhapsode unless he understands what is said by the poet.
τὸν γὰρ ῥαψῳδὸν ἑρμηνέα δεῖ τοῦ ποιητοῦ τῆς διανοίας γίγνεσθαι τοῖς ἀκούουσι· τοῦτο δὲ καλῶς ποιεῖν μὴ γιγνώσκοντα ὅτι λέγει ὁ ποιητὴς ἀδύνατον.
For the rhapsode must become an interpreter of the poet’s thought to the audience; and to do this well without knowing what the poet says is impossible.
ταῦτα οὖν πάντα ἄξια ζηλοῦσθαι.
All these things, then, are worthy of envy.
ΙΩΝ. ἀληθῆ λέγεις, ὦ Σώκρατες·
Ion: What you say is true, Socrates.
ἐμοὶ γοῦν τοῦτο πλεῖστον ἔργον παρέσχεν τῆς τέχνης, καὶ οἶμαι κάλλιστα ἀνθρώπων λέγειν περὶ Ὁμήρου, ὡς οὔτε Μητρόδωρος ὁ Λαμψακηνὸς οὔτε Στησίμβροτος ὁ Θάσιος οὔτε Γλαύκων οὔτε ἄλλος οὐδεὶς τῶν πώποτε γενομένων ἔσχεν εἰπεῖν οὕτω πολλὰς καὶ καλὰς διανοίας περὶ Ὁμήρου ὅσας ἐγώ.
For me, at least, this was the part of my art that gave me the most trouble, and I think I speak about Homer more beautifully than anyone else, so that neither Metrodorus of Lampsacus, nor Stesimbrotus of Thasos, nor Glaucon, nor anyone else who has ever lived, has been able to express as many beautiful thoughts about Homer as I have.
ΣΩ. εὖ λέγεις, ὦ Ἴων·
Socrates: Well said, Ion!
δῆλον γὰρ ὅτι οὐ φθονήσεις μοι ἐπιδεῖξαι.
For it is clear that you will not grudge me a demonstration.
ΙΩΝ. καὶ μὴν ἄξιόν γε ἀκοῦσαι, ὦ Σώκρατες, ὡς εὖ κεκόσμηκα τὸν Ὅμηρον· ὥστε οἶμαι ὑπὸ Ὁμηριδῶν ἄξιος εἶναι χρυσῷ στεφάνῳ στεφανωθῆναι.
Ion: Indeed, Socrates, it is worth hearing how well I have adorned Homer, so that I think I deserve to be crowned with a golden crown by the Homeridae.
§531ΣΩ. καὶ μὴν ἐγὼ ἔτι ποιήσομαι σχολὴν ἀκροάσασθαί σου, νῦν δέ μοι τοσόνδε ἀπόκριναι· πότερον περὶ Ὁμήρου μόνον δεινὸς εἶ ἢ καὶ περὶ Ἡσιόδου καὶ Ἀρχιλόχου;
Socrates: Truly, I will make leisure to listen to you another time, but for now answer me just this: are you skilled only in Homer, or also in Hesiod and Archilochus?
ΙΩΝ. οὐδαμῶς, ἀλλὰ περὶ Ὁμήρου μόνον· ἱκανὸν γάρ μοι δοκεῖ εἶναι.
Ion: Not at all, but only in Homer; for that seems to me to be sufficient.
ΣΩ. ἔστι δὲ περὶ ὅτου Ὅμηρός τε καὶ Ἡσίοδος ταὐτὰ λέγετον;
Socrates: Is there any subject on which both Homer and Hesiod say the same things?
ΙΩΝ. οἶμαι ἔγωγε καὶ πολλά.
Ion: I think so, indeed many.
ΣΩ. πότερον οὖν περὶ τούτων κάλλιον ἂν ἐξηγήσαιο ἃ Ὅμηρος λέγει ἢ ἃ Ἡσίοδος;
Socrates: On these subjects, then, would you explain more beautifully what Homer says or what Hesiod says?
ΙΩΝ. ὁμοίως ἂν περί γε τούτων, ὦ Σώκρατες, περὶ ὧν ταὐτὰ λέγουσιν.
Ion: Equally on these, Socrates, about which they say the same things.
ΣΩ. τί δὲ ὧν πέρι μὴ ταὐτὰ λέγουσιν;
Socrates: But what about those things of which they do not say the same?
οἷον περὶ μαντικῆς λέγει τι Ὅμηρός τε καὶ Ἡσίοδος.
For instance, both Homer and Hesiod say something about prophecy.
ΙΩΝ. πάνυ γε.
Ion: Certainly.
ΣΩ. τί οὖν; ὅσα τε ὁμοίως καὶ ὅσα διαφόρως περὶ μαντικῆς λέγετον τὼ ποιητὰ τούτω, πότερον σὺ κάλλιον ἂν ἐξηγήσαιο ἢ τῶν μάντεών τις τῶν ἀγαθῶν;
Socrates: Well then, as to all the things these two poets say about prophecy, both where they agree and where they differ, would you explain them more beautifully, or would one of the good prophets?
ΙΩΝ. τῶν μάντεων.
Ion: One of the prophets.
ΣΩ. εἰ δὲ σὺ ἦσθα μάντις, οὐκ, εἴπερ περὶ τῶν ὁμοίως λεγομένων οἷός τʼ ἦσθα ἐξηγήσασθαι, καὶ περὶ τῶν διαφόρως λεγομένων ἠπίστω ἂν ἐξηγεῖσθαι;
Socrates: But if you were a prophet, if you were able to explain the things said in agreement, would you not also have known how to explain the things said differently?
ΙΩΝ. δῆλον ὅτι.
Ion: Clearly I would.
ΣΩ. τί οὖν ποτε περὶ μὲν Ὁμήρου δεινὸς εἶ, περὶ δὲ Ἡσιόδου οὔ, οὐδὲ τῶν ἄλλων ποιητῶν;
Socrates: Why then are you skilled in Homer but not in Hesiod or the other poets?
ἢ Ὅμηρος περὶ ἄλλων τινῶν λέγει ἢ ὧνπερ σύμπαντες οἱ ἄλλοι ποιηταί;
Does Homer speak of any other things than those which all the other poets speak of?
οὐ περὶ πολέμου τε τὰ πολλὰ διελήλυθεν καὶ περὶ ὁμιλιῶν πρὸς ἀλλήλους ἀνθρώπων ἀγαθῶν τε καὶ κακῶν καὶ ἰδιωτῶν καὶ δημιουργῶν, καὶ περὶ θεῶν πρὸς ἀλλήλους καὶ πρὸς ἀνθρώπους ὁμιλούντων, ὡς ὁμιλοῦσι, καὶ περὶ τῶν οὐρανίων παθημάτων καὶ περὶ τῶν ἐν Ἅιδου, καὶ γενέσεις καὶ θεῶν καὶ ἡρώων;
Has he not described for the most part war, and the relations of men with one another—both good and bad, commoners and craftsmen—and the gods interacting with one another and with men, as they do, and the heavenly events, and those in Hades, and the genealogies of both gods and heroes?
οὐ ταῦτά ἐστι περὶ ὧν Ὅμηρος τὴν ποίησιν πεποίηκεν;
Are not these the subjects about which Homer has made his poetry?
ΙΩΝ. ἀληθῆ λέγεις, ὦ Σώκρατες.
Ion: What you say is true, Socrates.
ΣΩ. τί δὲ οἱ ἄλλοι ποιηταί;
Socrates: What about the other poets?
οὐ περὶ τῶν αὐτῶν τούτων;
Is it not about these same things?
ΙΩΝ. ναί, ἀλλʼ, ὦ Σώκρατες, οὐχ ὁμοίως πεποιήκασι καὶ Ὅμηρος.
Ion: Yes, but Socrates, they have not composed their poetry in the same way as Homer.
ΣΩ. τί μήν;
Socrates: What then?
κάκιον;
Worse?
ΙΩΝ. πολύ γε.
Ion: Much worse.
ΣΩ. Ὅμηρος δὲ ἄμεινον;
Socrates: And Homer better?
ΙΩΝ. ἄμεινον μέντοι νὴ Δία.
Ion: Better indeed, by Zeus!
ΣΩ. οὐκοῦν, ὦ φίλη κεφαλὴ Ἴων, ὅταν περὶ ἀριθμοῦ πολλῶν λεγόντων εἷς τις ἄριστα λέγῃ, γνώσεται δήπου τις τὸν εὖ λέγοντα;
Socrates: Is it not true then, my dear Ion, that when many are speaking about number and one speaks best, someone will recognize the one who speaks well?
ΙΩΝ. φημί.
Ion: I say so.
ΣΩ. πότερον οὖν ὁ αὐτὸς ὅσπερ καὶ τοὺς κακῶς λέγοντας, ἢ ἄλλος;
Socrates: Will it be the same person who recognizes those who speak badly, or another?
ΙΩΝ. ὁ αὐτὸς δήπου.
Ion: The same, surely.
ΣΩ. οὐκοῦν ὁ τὴν ἀριθμητικὴν τέχνην ἔχων οὗτός ἐστιν;
Socrates: And is this the one who possesses the art of arithmetic?
ΙΩΝ. ναί.
Ion: Yes.
ΣΩ. τί δʼ;
Socrates: What then?
ὅταν πολλῶν λεγόντων περὶ ὑγιεινῶν σιτίων ὁποῖά ἐστιν, εἷς τις ἄριστα λέγῃ, πότερον ἕτερος μέν τις τὸν ἄριστα λέγοντα γνώσεται ὅτι ἄριστα λέγει, ἕτερος δὲ τὸν κάκιον ὅτι κάκιον, ἢ ὁ αὐτός;
When many are speaking about healthy foods, what they are, and one speaks best, will one person recognize that the one who speaks best does so, and another that the worse speaker does so, or the same person?
ΙΩΝ. δῆλον δήπου, ὁ αὐτός.
Ion: Clearly the same, surely.
ΣΩ. τίς οὗτος;
Socrates: Who is this?
τί ὄνομα αὐτῷ;
What is his name?
ΙΩΝ. ἰατρός.
Ion: A doctor.