§13Πλάτων
τοῦτο μὲν ὀρθῶς ἔλεξας· οὐ γὰρ πρόδηλος οὐδὲ πᾶσι γνώριμος ἡ θύρα.
Plato You have said this correctly; for the door is not manifest nor known to everyone.
πλὴν ἀλλὰ οὐδὲν δεήσει βαδίζειν ἐπὶ τὴν οἰκίαν· ἐνταῦθα γὰρ ἐν Κεραμεικῷ ὑπομενοῦμεν αὐτήν.
But indeed, there will be no need to walk to her house; for here in the Kerameikos we shall wait for her.
ἡ δὲ ἤδη που ἀφίξεται ἐπανιοῦσα ἐξ Ἀκαδημίας, ὡς περιπατήσειε καὶ ἐν τῇ Ποικίλῃ· τοῦτο γὰρ ὁσημέραι ποιεῖν ἔθος αὐτῇ·
And she will soon arrive, returning from the Academy, so that she might also walk in the Poikile; for it is her custom to do this every day.
μᾶλλον δὲ ἤδη πρόσεισιν.
Or rather, she is already approaching.
ὁρᾷς τὴν κόσμιον, τὴν ἀπὸ τοῦ σχήματος, τὴν προσηνῆ τὸ βλέμμα, τὴν ἐπὶ συννοίας ἠρέμα βαδίζουσαν;
Do you see her, the orderly one, judging from her appearance, the one gentle in her gaze, the one walking slowly in deep thought?
Παρρησιάδης
πολλὰς ὁμοίας ὁρῶ τό γε σχῆμα καὶ τὸ βάδισμα καὶ τὴν ἀναβολήν.
Parresiades I see many women similar in appearance, gait, and the way they wear their cloak.
καίτοι μία πάντως ἥ γε ἀληθὴς Φιλοσοφία καὶ ἐν αὐταῖς.
Yet the true Philosophy is surely one even among them.
Πλάτων
εὖ λέγεις.
Plato You speak well.
ἀλλὰ δηλώσει ἥτις ἐστὶ φθεγξαμένη μόνον.
But she will make clear who she is merely by speaking.
§14Φιλοσοφία
παπαῖ·
Philosophy Good heavens!
τί Πλάτων καὶ Χρύσιππος ἄνω καὶ Ἀριστοτέλης καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ ἅπαντες, αὐτὰ δὴ τὰ κεφάλαιά μου τῶν μαθημάτων;
Why are Plato, Chrysippus, Aristotle, and all the rest up here—the very heads of my doctrines?
τί αὖθις εἰς τὸν βίον;
Why have you returned again to life?
ἆρά τι ὑμᾶς ἐλύπει τῶν κάτω;
Did something trouble you among those below?
ὀργιζομένοις γοῦν ἐοίκατε.
At any rate, you look angry.
καὶ τίνα τοῦτον συλλαβόντες ἄγετε;
And who is this whom you have seized and are bringing?
ἦ που τυμβωρύχος τις ἢ ἀνδροφόνος ἢ ἱερόσυλός ἐστιν;
Is he perchance a grave-robber, a murderer, or a temple-robber?
Πλάτων
νὴ Δία, ὦ Φιλοσοφία, πάντων γε ἱεροσύλων ἀσεβέστατος, ὃς τὴν ἱερωτάτην σὲ κακῶς ἀγορεύειν ἐπεχείρησεν καὶ ἡμᾶς ἅπαντας, ὁπόσοι τι παρὰ σοῦ μαθόντες τοῖς μεθʼ ἡμᾶς καταλελοίπαμεν.
Plato By Zeus, Philosophy, he is the most impious of all temple-robbers, who attempted to speak ill of you, the most sacred one, and of all of us who, having learned something from you, have left it to those after us.
Φιλοσοφία
εἶτα ἠγανακτήσατε λοιδορησαμένου τινός, καὶ ταῦτα εἰδότες ἐμέ, οἷα πρὸς τῆς Κωμῳδίας ἀκούουσα ἐν Διονυσίοις ὅμως φίλην τε αὐτὴν ἥγημαι καὶ οὔτε ἐδικασάμην οὔτε ᾐτιασάμην προσελθοῦσα, ἐφίημι δὲ παίζειν τὰ εἰκότα καὶ τὰ συνήθη τῇ ἑορτῇ;
Philosophy And then you were indignant because someone abused you, and that too knowing me—how, despite hearing such things from Comedy at the Dionysia, I nevertheless regard her as a friend and have neither gone to law nor approached to accuse her, but allow her to play what is natural and customary for the festival?
οἶδα γὰρ ὡς οὐκ ἄν τι ὑπὸ σκώμματος χεῖρον γένοιτο, ἀλλὰ τοὐναντίον ὅπερ ἂν ᾖ καλόν, ὥσπερ τὸ χρυσίον ἀποσμώμενον τοῖς κόμμασι, λαμπρότερον ἀποστίλβει καὶ φανερώτερον γίγνεται.
For I know that nothing could become worse because of a joke, but on the contrary, whatever is beautiful, like gold wiped clean by the blows, shines more brightly and becomes more manifest.
ὑμεῖς δὲ οὐκ οἶδα ὅπως ὀργίλοι καὶ ἀγανακτικοὶ γεγόνατε.
But as for you, I do not know how you have become so angry and easily provoked.
τί δʼ οὖν αὐτὸν ἄγχετε;
Why then are you choking him?
Πλάτων
μίαν ἡμέραν ταύτην παραιτησάμενοι ἥκομεν ἐπʼ αὐτὸν ὡς ὑπόσχῃ τὴν ἀξίαν ὧν δέδρακεν.
Plato Having begged off just this one day, we have come after him so that he may pay the penalty worthy of what he has done.
φῆμαι γὰρ ἡμῖν διήγγελλον οἷα ἔλεγεν εἰς τὰ πλήθη καθʼ ἡμῶν.
For rumors reported to us what kinds of things he was saying to the crowds against us.
§15Φιλοσοφία
εἶτα πρὸ δίκης οὐδὲ ἀπολογησάμενον ἀποκτενεῖτε;
Philosophy And then, before a trial, will you kill him without even letting him defend himself?
δῆλος γοῦν ἐστιν εἰπεῖν τι θέλων.
He is clearly wishing to say something.
Πλάτων
οὔκ, ἀλλʼ ἐπὶ σὲ τὸ πᾶν ἀνεβαλόμεθα, καὶ σοὶ ὅτι ἂν δοκῇ, τοῦτο ποιήσῃ τέλος τῆς δίκης.
Plato No, but we have referred the whole matter to you, and whatever seems good to you, this you shall make the end of the trial.
Φιλοσοφία
τί φὴς σύ;
Philosophy What do you say?
Παρρησιάδης
τοῦτο αὐτό, ὦ δέσποινα Φιλοσοφία, ἥπερ καὶ μόνη τἀληθὲς ἂν ἐξευρεῖν δύναιο· μόλις γοῦν εὑρόμην πολλὰ ἱκετεύσας τὸ σοὶ φυλαχθῆναι τὴν δίκην.
Parresiades Just this, Mistress Philosophy, you who alone would be able to find out the truth; at any rate, I obtained with difficulty, after many entreaties, that the trial be reserved for you.
Πλάτων
νῦν, ὦ κατάρατε, δέσποιναν αὐτὴν καλεῖς;
Plato Now, you accursed wretch, do you call her "Mistress"?
πρῴην δὲ τὸ ἀτιμότατον Φιλοσοφίαν ἀπέφαινες ἐν τοσούτῳ θεάτρῳ ἀποκηρύττων κατὰ μέρη δύʼ ὀβολῶν ἕκαστον εἶδος αὐτῆς τῶν λόγων.
But the day before yesterday you displayed Philosophy as the cheapest thing, auctioning off in so large a theater each kind of her doctrines for two obols apiece.
Φιλοσοφία
ὁρᾶτε μὴ οὐ Φιλοσοφίαν οὗτός γε ἀλλὰ γόητας ἄνδρας ἐπὶ τῷ ἡμετέρῳ ὀνόματι πολλὰ καὶ μιαρὰ πράττοντας ἠγόρευεν κακῶς.
Philosophy See to it that this man was not speaking ill of Philosophy, but of impostors who do many abominable things under our name.
Παρρησιάδης
εἴσῃ αὐτίκα, ἢν ἐθέλῃς ἀπολογουμένου ἀκούειν μόνον.
Parresiades You will know immediately, if only you are willing to hear me as I defend myself.
Φιλοσοφία
ἀπίωμεν εἰς Ἄρειον πάγον, μᾶλλον δὲ εἰς τὴν ἀκρόπολιν αὐτήν, ὡς ἂν ἐκ περιωπῆς ἅμα καταφανείη πάντα ἐν τῇ πόλει.
Philosophy Let us go to the Areopagus, or rather to the Acropolis itself, so that everything in the city might be visible at once from a high vantage point.
§16Φιλοσοφία
ὑμεῖς δέ, ὦ φίλαι, ἐν τῇ Ποικίλῃ τέως περιπατήσατε· ἥξω γὰρ ὑμῖν ἐκδικάσασα τὴν δίκην.
Philosophy And you, my friends, walk in the Poikile in the meantime; for I shall return to you after I have decided the lawsuit.
Παρρησιάδης
τίνες δέ εἰσιν, ὦ Φιλοσοφία;
Parresiades And who are they, Philosophy?
πάνυ γάρ μοι κόσμιαι καὶ αὗται δοκοῦσιν.
For they too seem to me to be very orderly.
Φιλοσοφία
ἀρετὴ μὲν ἡ ἀνδρώδης αὕτη, Σωφροσύνη δὲ ἐκείνη καὶ Δικαιοσύνη ἡ παρʼ αὐτήν.
Philosophy This is manly Virtue, that one is Temperance, and Justice is the one next to her.
ἡ προηγουμένη δὲ Παιδεία, ἡ ἀμυδρὰ δὲ καὶ ἀσαφὴς τὸ χρῶμα ἡ Ἀλήθειά ἐστιν.
The one leading the way is Education, and the one dim and indistinct in color is Truth.
Παρρησιάδης
οὐχ ὁρῶ ἥντινα καὶ λέγεις.
Parresiades I do not see the one you mean.
Φιλοσοφία
τὴν ἀκαλλώπιστον ἐκείνην οὐχ ὁρᾷς, τὴν γυμνήν, τὴν ὑποφεύγουσαν ἀεὶ καὶ διολισθάνουσαν;
Philosophy Do you not see that unadorned one, the naked one, who is always fleeing and slipping away?
Παρρησιάδης
ὁρῶ νῦν μόλις.
Parresiades I see her now, with difficulty.
ἀλλὰ τί οὐχὶ καὶ ταύτας ἄγεις, ὡς πλῆρες γένοιτο καὶ ἐντελὲς τὸ συνέδριον;
But why do you not bring them along too, so that the assembly may be full and complete?
τὴν Ἀλήθειαν δέ γε καὶ συνήγορον ἀναβιβάσασθαι πρὸς τὴν δίκην βούλομαι.
I wish to bring Truth, at any rate, as an advocate to the trial.
Φιλοσοφία
νὴ Δία, ἀκολουθήσατε καὶ ὑμεῖς·
Philosophy By Zeus, follow along, you too!
οὐ βαρὺ γὰρ μίαν δικάσαι δίκην, καὶ ταῦτα περὶ τῶν ἡμετέρων ἐσομένην.
For it is no burden to judge a single case, especially since it is to be about our own affairs.