216. Theo. According to our yesterday’s agreement, Socrates, we have come ourselves, as we were bound to do, and we bring also this man with us; he is a stranger from Elea, one of the followers of Parmenides and Zeno, and a real philosopher. Soc. Are you not unwittingly bringing, as Homer says, some god, and no mere stranger, Theodorus? He says that the gods, and especially the god of strangers, enter into companionship with men who have a share of due reverence and that they behold the deeds, both violent and righteous, of mankind. So perhaps this companion of yours may be one of the higher powers, who comes to watch over and refute us because we are worthless in argument—a kind of god of refutation. Theo. No, Socrates, that is not the stranger’s character; he is more reasonable than those who devote themselves to disputation. And though I do not think he is a god at all, I certainly do think he is divine, for I give that epithet to all philosophers. Soc. And rightly, my friend. However, I fancy it is not much easier, if I may say so, to recognize this class, than that of the gods. For these men—I mean those who are not feignedly but really philosophers—appear disguised in all sorts of shapes, thanks to the ignorance of the rest of mankind, and “visit the cities,” beholding from above the life of those below, and they seem to some to be of no worth and to others to be worth everything. And sometimes they appear disguised as statesmen and sometimes as sophists, and sometimes they may give some people the impression that they are altogether mad. But I should like to ask our stranger here, if agreeable to him, what people in his country thought about these matters, and what names they used.
216. ΘΕΟ. κατὰ τὴν χθὲς ὁμολογίαν, ὦ Σώκρατες, ἥκομεν αὐτοί τε κοσμίως καὶ τόνδε τινὰ ξένον ἄγομεν, τὸ μὲν γένος ἐξ Ἐλέας, ἑταῖρον δὲ τῶν ἀμφὶ Παρμενίδην καὶ Ζήνωνα [ἑταίρων], μάλα δὲ ἄνδρα φιλόσοφον. ΣΩ. ἆρʼ οὖν, ὦ Θεόδωρε, οὐ ξένον ἀλλά τινα θεὸν ἄγων κατὰ τὸν Ὁμήρου λόγον λέληθας; ὅς φησιν ἄλλους τε θεοὺς τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ὁπόσοι μετέχουσιν αἰδοῦς δικαίας, καὶ δὴ καὶ τὸν ξένιον οὐχ ἥκιστα θεὸν συνοπαδὸν γιγνόμενον ὕβρεις τε καὶ εὐνομίας τῶν ἀνθρώπων καθορᾶν. τάχʼ οὖν ἂν καὶ σοί τις οὗτος τῶν κρειττόνων συνέποιτο, φαύλους ἡμᾶς ὄντας ἐν τοῖς λόγοις ἐποψόμενός τε καὶ ἐλέγξων, θεὸς ὤν τις ἐλεγκτικός. ΘΕΟ. οὐχ οὗτος ὁ τρόπος, ὦ Σώκρατες, τοῦ ξένου, ἀλλὰ μετριώτερος τῶν περὶ τὰς ἔριδας ἐσπουδακότων. καί μοι δοκεῖ θεὸς μὲν ἁνὴρ οὐδαμῶς εἶναι, θεῖος μήν· πάντας γὰρ ἐγὼ τοὺς φιλοσόφους τοιούτους προσαγορεύω. ΣΩ. καὶ καλῶς γε, ὦ φίλε. τοῦτο μέντοι κινδυνεύει τὸ γένος οὐ πολύ τι ῥᾷον ὡς ἔπος εἰπεῖν εἶναι διακρίνειν ἢ τὸ τοῦ θεοῦ· πάνυ γὰρ ἇνδρες οὗτοι παντοῖοι φανταζόμενοι διὰ τὴν τῶν ἄλλων ἄγνοιαν ἐπιστρωφῶσι πόληας, οἱ μὴ πλαστῶς ἀλλʼ ὄντως φιλόσοφοι, καθορῶντες ὑψόθεν τὸν τῶν κάτω βίον, καὶ τοῖς μὲν δοκοῦσιν εἶναι τοῦ μηδενὸς [τίμιοι], τοῖς δʼ ἄξιοι τοῦ παντός· καὶ τοτὲ μὲν πολιτικοὶ φαντάζονται, τοτὲ δὲ σοφισταί, τοτὲ δʼ ἔστιν οἷς δόξαν παράσχοιντʼ ἂν ὡς παντάπασιν ἔχοντες μανικῶς. τοῦ μέντοι ξένου ἡμῖν ἡδέως ἂν πυνθανοίμην, εἰ φίλον αὐτῷ, τί ταῦθʼ οἱ περὶ τὸν ἐκεῖ τόπον ἡγοῦντο καὶ ὠνόμαζον.
217. Theo. What matters do you mean? Soc. Sophist, statesman, philosopher. Theo. What particular difficulty and what kind of difficulty in regard to them is it about which you had in mind to ask? Soc. It is this: Did they consider all these one, or two, or, as there are three names, did they divide them into three classes and ascribe to each a class, corresponding to a single name? Theo. I think he has no objection to talking about them. What do you say, stranger?Str. Just what you did, Theodorus; for I have no objection, and it is not difficult to say that they considered them three. But it is no small or easy task to define clearly the nature of each. Theo. The fact is, Socrates, that by chance you have hit upon a question very like what we happened to be asking him before we came here; and he made excuses to us then, as he does now to you; though he admits that he has heard it thoroughly discussed and remembers what he heard. Soc. In that case, stranger, do not refuse us the first favor we have asked; but just tell us this: Do you generally prefer to expound in a long uninterrupted speech of your own whatever you wish to explain to anyone, or do you prefer the method of questions? I was present once when Parmenides employed the latter method and carried on a splendid discussion. I was a young man then, and he was very old.
217. ΘΕΟ. τὰ ποῖα δή; ΣΩ. σοφιστήν, πολιτικόν, φιλόσοφον. ΘΕΟ. τί δὲ μάλιστα καὶ τὸ ποῖόν τι περὶ αὐτῶν διαπορηθεὶς ἐρέσθαι διενοήθης; ΣΩ. τόδε· πότερον ἓν πάντα ταῦτα ἐνόμιζον ἢ δύο, ἢ καθάπερ τὰ ὀνόματα τρία, τρία καὶ τὰ γένη διαιρούμενοι καθʼ ἓν ὄνομα [γένος] ἑκάστῳ προσῆπτον; ΘΕΟ. ἀλλʼ οὐδείς, ὡς ἐγᾦμαι, φθόνος αὐτῷ διελθεῖν αὐτά· ἢ πῶς, ὦ ξένε, λέγωμεν;ΞΕ. οὕτως, ὦ Θεόδωρε. φθόνος μὲν γὰρ οὐδεὶς οὐδὲ χαλεπὸν εἰπεῖν ὅτι γε τρίʼ ἡγοῦντο· καθʼ ἕκαστον μὴν διορίσασθαι σαφῶς τί ποτʼ ἔστιν, οὐ σμικρὸν οὐδὲ ῥᾴδιον ἔργον. ΘΕΟ. καὶ μὲν δὴ κατὰ τύχην γε, ὦ Σώκρατες, λόγων ἐπελάβου παραπλησίων ὧν καὶ πρὶν ἡμᾶς δεῦρʼ ἐλθεῖν διερωτῶντες αὐτὸν ἐτυγχάνομεν, ὁ δὲ ταὐτὰ ἅπερ πρὸς σὲ νῦν καὶ τότε ἐσκήπτετο πρὸς ἡμᾶς· ἐπεὶ διακηκοέναι γέ φησιν ἱκανῶς καὶ οὐκ ἀμνημονεῖν. ΣΩ. μὴ τοίνυν, ὦ ξένε, ἡμῶν τήν γε πρώτην αἰτησάντων χάριν ἀπαρνηθεὶς γένῃ, τοσόνδε δʼ ἡμῖν φράζε. πότερον εἴωθας ἥδιον αὐτὸς ἐπὶ σαυτοῦ μακρῷ λόγῳ διεξιέναι λέγων τοῦτο ὃ ἂν ἐνδείξασθαί τῳ βουληθῇς, ἢ διʼ ἐρωτήσεων, οἷόν ποτε καὶ Παρμενίδῃ χρωμένῳ καὶ διεξιόντι λόγους παγκάλους παρεγενόμην ἐγὼ νέος ὤν, ἐκείνου μάλα δὴ τότε ὄντος πρεσβύτου;
Str. The method of dialogue, Socrates, is easier with an interlocutor who is tractable and gives no trouble; but otherwise I prefer the continuous speech by one person. Soc. Well, you may choose whomever you please of those present; they will all respond pleasantly to you; but if you take my advice you will choose one of the young fellows, Theaetetus here, or any of the others who suits you.
ΞΕ. τῷ μέν, ὦ Σώκρατες, ἀλύπως τε καὶ εὐηνίως προσδιαλεγομένῳ ῥᾷον οὕτω, τὸ πρὸς ἄλλον· εἰ δὲ μή, τὸ καθʼ αὑτόν. ΣΩ. ἔξεστι τοίνυν τῶν παρόντων ὃν ἂν βουληθῇς ἐκλέξασθαι, πάντες γὰρ ὑπακούσονταί σοι πρᾴως· συμβούλῳ μὴν ἐμοὶ χρώμενος τῶν νέων τινὰ αἱρήσῃ, Θεαίτητον τόνδε, ἢ καὶ τῶν ἄλλων εἴ τίς σοι κατὰ νοῦν.
Str. Socrates, this is the first time I have come among you, and I am somewhat ashamed, instead of carrying on the discussion by merely giving brief replies to your questions, to deliver an extended, long drawn out speech, either as an address of my own or in reply to another, as if I were giving an exhibition; but I must, for really the present subject is not what one might expect from the form of the question, but is a matter for very long speech. On the other hand it seems unfriendly and discourteous to refuse a favor to you and these gentlemen, especially when you have spoken as you did. As for Theaetetus I accept him most willingly as interlocutor in view of my previous conversation with him and of your present recommendation.
ΞΕ. ὦ Σώκρατες, αἰδώς τίς μʼ ἔχει τὸ νῦν πρῶτον συγγενόμενον ὑμῖν μὴ κατὰ σμικρὸν ἔπος πρὸς ἔπος ποιεῖσθαι τὴν συνουσίαν, ἀλλʼ ἐκτείναντα ἀπομηκύνειν λόγον συχνὸν κατʼ ἐμαυτόν, εἴτε καὶ πρὸς ἕτερον, οἷον ἐπίδειξιν ποιούμενον· τῷ γὰρ ὄντι τὸ νῦν ῥηθὲν οὐχ ὅσον ὧδε ἐρωτηθὲν ἐλπίσειεν ἂν αὐτὸ εἶναί τις, ἀλλὰ τυγχάνει λόγου παμμήκους ὄν. τὸ δὲ αὖ σοὶ μὴ χαρίζεσθαι καὶ τοῖσδε, ἄλλως τε καὶ σοῦ λέξαντος ὡς εἶπες, ἄξενόν τι καταφαίνεταί μοι καὶ ἄγριον.
218. Theaet. But, stranger, by taking this course and following Socrates’s suggestion will you please the others too?
218. ἐπεὶ Θεαίτητόν γε τὸν προσδιαλεγόμενον εἶναι δέχομαι παντάπασιν ἐξ ὧν αὐτός τε πρότερον διείλεγμαι καὶ σὺ τὰ νῦν μοι διακελεύῃ.ΘΕΑΙ. δρᾶ τοίνυν, ὦ ξένε, οὕτω καὶ καθάπερ εἶπε Σωκράτης πᾶσιν κεχαρισμένος ἔσῃ.
Str. I am afraid there is nothing more to be said about that, Theaetetus; but from now on, my talk will, I fancy, be addressed to you. And if you get tired and are bored by the length of the talk, do not blame me, but these friends of yours.
ΞΕ. κινδυνεύει πρὸς μὲν ταῦτα οὐδὲν ἔτι λεκτέον εἶναι, Θεαίτητε· πρὸς δὲ σὲ ἤδη τὸ μετὰ τοῦτο, ὡς ἔοικε, γίγνοιτο ἂν ὁ λόγος. ἂν δʼ ἄρα τι τῷ μήκει πονῶν ἄχθῃ, μὴ ἐμὲ αἰτιᾶσθαι τούτων, ἀλλὰ τούσδε τοὺς σοὺς ἑταίρους.
Theaet. Oh, no, I do not think I shall get tired of it so easily, but if such a thing does happen, we will call in this Socrates, the namesake of the other Socrates; he is of my own age and my companion in the gymnasium, and is in the habit of working with me in almost everything.
ΘΕΑΙ. ἀλλʼ οἶμαι μὲν δὴ νῦν οὕτως οὐκ ἀπερεῖν· ἂν δʼ ἄρα τι τοιοῦτον γίγνηται, καὶ τόνδε παραληψόμεθα Σωκράτη, τὸν Σωκράτους μὲν ὁμώνυμον, ἐμὸν δὲ ἡλικιώτην καὶ συγγυμναστήν, ᾧ συνδιαπονεῖν μετʼ ἐμοῦ τὰ πολλὰ οὐκ ἄηθες.
Str. Very well; you will follow your own devices about that as the discussion proceeds; but now you and I must investigate in common, beginning first, as it seems to me, with the sophist, and must search out and make plain by argument what he is. For as yet you and I have nothing in common about him but the name; but as to the thing to which we give the name, we may perhaps each have a conception of it in our own minds; however, we ought always in every instance to come to agreement about the thing itself by argument rather than about the mere name without argument. But the tribe which we now intend to search for, the sophist, is not the easiest thing in the world to catch and define, and everyone has agreed long ago that if investigations of great matters are to be properly worked out we ought to practice them on small and easier matters before attacking the very greatest. So now, Theaetetus, this is my advice to ourselves, since we think the family of sophists is troublesome and hard to catch, that we first practise the method of hunting in something easier, unless you perhaps have some simpler way to suggest.
ΞΕ. εὖ λέγεις, καὶ ταῦτα μὲν ἰδίᾳ βουλεύσῃ προϊόντος τοῦ λόγου· κοινῇ δὲ μετʼ ἐμοῦ σοι συσκεπτέον ἀρχομένῳ πρῶτον, ὡς ἐμοὶ φαίνεται, νῦν ἀπὸ τοῦ σοφιστοῦ, ζητοῦντι καὶ ἐμφανίζοντι λόγῳ τί ποτʼ ἔστι. νῦν γὰρ δὴ σύ τε κἀγὼ τούτου πέρι τοὔνομα μόνον ἔχομεν κοινῇ, τὸ δὲ ἔργον ἐφʼ ᾧ καλοῦμεν ἑκάτερος τάχʼ ἂν ἰδίᾳ παρʼ ἡμῖν αὐτοῖς ἔχοιμεν· δεῖ δὲ ἀεὶ παντὸς πέρι τὸ πρᾶγμα αὐτὸ μᾶλλον διὰ λόγων ἢ τοὔνομα μόνον συνωμολογῆσθαι χωρὶς λόγου. τὸ δὲ φῦλον ὃ νῦν ἐπινοοῦμεν ζητεῖν οὐ πάντων ῥᾷστον συλλαβεῖν τί ποτʼ ἔστιν, ὁ σοφιστής· ὅσα δʼ αὖ τῶν μεγάλων δεῖ διαπονεῖσθαι καλῶς, περὶ τῶν τοιούτων δέδοκται πᾶσιν καὶ πάλαι τὸ πρότερον ἐν σμικροῖς καὶ ῥᾴοσιν αὐτὰ δεῖν μελετᾶν, πρὶν ἐν αὐτοῖς τοῖς μεγίστοις. νῦν οὖν, ὦ Θεαίτητε, ἔγωγε καὶ νῷν οὕτω συμβουλεύω, χαλεπὸν καὶ δυσθήρευτον ἡγησαμένοις εἶναι τὸ τοῦ σοφιστοῦ γένος πρότερον ἐν ἄλλῳ ῥᾴονι τὴν μέθοδον αὐτοῦ προμελετᾶν, εἰ μὴ σύ ποθεν εὐπετεστέραν ἔχεις εἰπεῖν ἄλλην ὁδόν.
Theaet. I have not.
ΘΕΑΙ. ἀλλʼ οὐκ ἔχω.
Str. Then shall we take some lesser thing and try to use it as a pattern for the greater?
ΞΕ. βούλει δῆτα περί τινος τῶν φαύλων μετιόντες πειραθῶμεν παράδειγμα αὐτὸ θέσθαι τοῦ μείζονος;
Str. Well, then, what example can we set before us which is well known and small, but no less capable of definition than any of the greater things? Say an angler; is he not known to all and unworthy of any great interest?
ΞΕ. τί δῆτα προταξαίμεθʼ ἂν εὔγνωστον μὲν καὶ σμικρόν, λόγον δὲ μηδενὸς ἐλάττονα ἔχον τῶν μειζόνων; οἷον ἀσπαλιευτής· ἆρʼ οὐ πᾶσί τε γνώριμον καὶ σπουδῆς οὐ πάνυ τι πολλῆς τινος ἐπάξιον;
219. Str. But I hope he offers us a method and is capable of a definition not unsuitable to our purpose.
219. ΞΕ. μέθοδον μὴν αὐτὸν ἐλπίζω καὶ λόγον οὐκ ἀνεπιτήδειον ἡμῖν ἔχειν πρὸς ὃ βουλόμεθα.
Theaet. That would be good.
ΘΕΑΙ. καλῶς ἂν ἔχοι.
Str. Come now; let us begin with him in this way: Tell me, shall we say that he is a man with an art, or one without an art, but having some other power?
ΞΕ. φέρε δή, τῇδε ἀρχώμεθα αὐτοῦ. καί μοι λέγε· πότερον ὡς τεχνίτην αὐτὸν ἤ τινα ἄτεχνον, ἄλλην δὲ δύναμιν ἔχοντα θήσομεν;
Theaet. Certainly not one without an art.
ΘΕΑΙ. ἥκιστά γε ἄτεχνον.
Str. But of all arts there are, speaking generally, two kinds?
ΞΕ. ἀλλὰ μὴν τῶν γε τεχνῶν πασῶν σχεδὸν εἴδη δύο.
Theaet. How so?
ΘΕΑΙ. πῶς;
Str. Agriculture and all kinds of care of any living beings, and that which has to do with things which are put together or molded (utensils we call them), and the art of imitation—all these might properly be called by one name.
ΞΕ. γεωργία μὲν καὶ ὅση περὶ τὸ θνητὸν πᾶν σῶμα θεραπεία, τό τε αὖ περὶ τὸ σύνθετον καὶ πλαστόν, ὃ δὴ σκεῦος ὠνομάκαμεν, ἥ τε μιμητική, σύμπαντα ταῦτα δικαιότατʼ ἂν ἑνὶ προσαγορεύοιτʼ ἂν ὀνόματι.
Theaet. How so, and what is the name?
ΘΕΑΙ. πῶς καὶ τίνι;
Str. When anyone brings into being something which did not previously exist, we say that he who brings it into being produces it and that which is brought into being is produced.
ΞΕ. πᾶν ὅπερ ἂν μὴ πρότερόν τις ὂν ὕστερον εἰς οὐσίαν ἄγῃ, τὸν μὲν ἄγοντα ποιεῖν, τὸ δὲ ἀγόμενον ποιεῖσθαί πού φαμεν.
Theaet. Certainly.
ΘΕΑΙ. ὀρθῶς.
Str. Now all the arts which we have just mentioned direct their energy to production.
ΞΕ. τὰ δέ γε νυνδὴ ⟨ἃ⟩ διήλθομεν ἅπαντα εἶχεν εἰς τοῦτο τὴν αὑτῶν δύναμιν.
Theaet. Yes, they do.
ΘΕΑΙ. εἶχε γὰρ οὖν.
Str. Let us, then, call these collectively the productive art.
ΞΕ. ποιητικὴν τοίνυν αὐτὰ συγκεφαλαιωσάμενοι προσείπωμεν.
Theaet. Agreed.
ΘΕΑΙ. ἔστω.
Str. And after this comes the whole class of learning and that of acquiring knowledge, and money making, and fighting, and hunting. None of these is creative, but they are all engaged in coercing, by deeds or words, things which already exist and have been produced, or in preventing others from coercing them; therefore all these divisions together might very properly be called acquisitive art.
ΞΕ. τὸ δὴ μαθηματικὸν αὖ μετὰ τοῦτο εἶδος ὅλον καὶ τὸ τῆς γνωρίσεως τό τε χρηματιστικὸν καὶ ἀγωνιστικὸν καὶ θηρευτικόν, ἐπειδὴ δημιουργεῖ μὲν οὐδὲν τούτων, τὰ δὲ ὄντα καὶ γεγονότα τὰ μὲν χειροῦται λόγοις καὶ πράξεσι, τὰ δὲ τοῖς χειρουμένοις οὐκ ἐπιτρέπει, μάλιστʼ ἄν που διὰ ταῦτα συνάπαντα τὰ μέρη τέχνη τις κτητικὴ λεχθεῖσα ἂν διαπρέψειεν.
Theaet. Yes, that would be proper.
ΘΕΑΙ. ναί· πρέποι γὰρ ἄν.
Str. Then since acquisitive and productive art comprise all the arts, in which, Theaetetus, shall we place the art of angling?
ΞΕ. κτητικῆς δὴ καὶ ποιητικῆς συμπασῶν οὐσῶν τῶν τεχνῶν ἐν ποτέρᾳ τὴν ἀσπαλιευτικήν, ὦ Θεαίτητε, τιθῶμεν;
Theaet. In acquisitive art, clearly.
ΘΕΑΙ. ἐν κτητικῇ που δῆλον.
Str. And are there not two classes of acquisitive art—one the class of exchange between voluntary agents by means of gifts and wages and purchases, and the other, which comprises all the rest of acquisitive art, and, since it coerces either by word or deed, might be called coercive?
ΞΕ. κτητικῆς δὲ ἆρʼ οὐ δύο εἴδη; τὸ μὲν ἑκόντων πρὸς ἑκόντας μεταβλητικὸν ὂν διά τε δωρεῶν καὶ μισθώσεων καὶ ἀγοράσεων, τὸ δὲ λοιπόν, ἢ κατʼ ἔργα ἢ κατὰ λόγους χειρούμενον σύμπαν, χειρωτικὸν ἂν εἴη;
Theaet. It appears so, at any rate, from what you have said.
ΘΕΑΙ. φαίνεται γοῦν ἐκ τῶν εἰρημένων.
Str. Well then, shall we not divide coercive art into two parts?
ΞΕ. τί δέ; τὴν χειρωτικὴν ἆρʼ οὐ διχῇ τμητέον;
Theaet. In what way?
ΘΕΑΙ. πῇ;
Str. By calling all the open part of it fighting and all the secret part hunting.
ΞΕ. τὸ μὲν ἀναφανδὸν ὅλον ἀγωνιστικὸν θέντας, τὸ δὲ κρυφαῖον αὐτῆς πᾶν θηρευτικόν.
Str. But it would be unreasonable not to divide hunting into two parts.
ΞΕ. τὴν δέ γε μὴν θηρευτικὴν ἄλογον τὸ μὴ οὐ τέμνειν διχῇ.
Theaet. Say how it can be done.
ΘΕΑΙ. λέγε ὅπῃ.
Str. By dividing it into the hunting of the lifeless and of the living.
ΞΕ. τὸ μὲν ἀψύχου γένους διελομένους, τὸ δʼ ἐμψύχου.
Theaet. Certainly, if both exist.
ΘΕΑΙ. τί μήν; εἴπερ ἔστον γε ἄμφω.
220. Str. Of course they exist. And we must pass over the hunting of lifeless things, which has no name, with the exception of some kinds of diving and the like, which are of little importance; but the hunting of living things we will call animal-hunting.
220. ΞΕ. πῶς δὲ οὐκ ἔστον; καὶ δεῖ γε ἡμᾶς τὸ μὲν τῶν ἀψύχων, ἀνώνυμον ὂν πλὴν κατʼ ἔνια τῆς κολυμβητικῆς ἄττα μέρη καὶ τοιαῦτʼ ἄλλα βραχέα, χαίρειν ἐᾶσαι, τὸ δέ, τῶν ἐμψύχων ζῴων οὖσαν θήραν, προσειπεῖν ζῳοθηρικήν.
Theaet. Very well.
ΘΕΑΙ. ἔστω.
Str. And two classes of animal-hunting might properly be made, one (and this is divided under many classes and names) the hunting of creatures that go on their feet, land-animal hunting, and the other that of swimming creatures, to be called, as a whole, water-animal hunting?
ΞΕ. ζῳοθηρικῆς δὲ ἆρʼ οὐ διπλοῦν εἶδος ἂν λέγοιτο ἐν δίκῃ, τὸ μὲν πεζοῦ γένους, πολλοῖς εἴδεσι καὶ ὀνόμασι διῃρημένον, πεζοθηρικόν, τὸ δʼ ἕτερον νευστικοῦ ζῴου πᾶν ἐνυγροθηρικόν;
Theaet. Certainly.
ΘΕΑΙ. πάνυ γε.
Str. And of swimming creatures we see that one tribe is winged and the other is in the water?
ΞΕ. νευστικοῦ μὴν τὸ μὲν πτηνὸν φῦλον ὁρῶμεν, τὸ δὲ ἔνυδρον;
Theaet. Of course.
ΘΕΑΙ. πῶς δʼ οὔ;
Str. And the hunting of winged creatures is called, as a whole, fowling.
ΞΕ. καὶ τοῦ πτηνοῦ μὴν γένους πᾶσα ἡμῖν ἡ θήρα λέγεταί πού τις ὀρνιθευτική.
Theaet. It is.
ΘΕΑΙ. λέγεται γὰρ οὖν.
Str. And the hunting of water creatures goes by the general name of fishing.
ΞΕ. τοῦ δὲ ἐνύδρου σχεδὸν τὸ σύνολον ἁλιευτική.
Str. And might I not divide this kind of hunting into two principal divisions?
ΞΕ. τί δέ; ταύτην αὖ τὴν θήραν ἆρʼ οὐκ ἂν κατὰ μέγιστα μέρη δύο διέλοιμεν;
Theaet. What divisions?
ΘΕΑΙ. κατὰ ποῖα;
Str. The one carries on the hunt by means of enclosures merely, the other by a blow.
ΞΕ. καθʼ ἃ τὸ μὲν ἕρκεσιν αὐτόθεν ποιεῖται τὴν θήραν, τὸ δὲ πληγῇ.
Theaet. What do you mean, and how do you distinguish the two?
ΘΕΑΙ. πῶς λέγεις, καὶ πῇ διαιρούμενος ἑκάτερον;
Str. As regards the first, because whatever surrounds anything and encloses it so as to constrain it is properly called an enclosure.
ΞΕ. τὸ μέν, ὅτι πᾶν ὅσον ἂν ἕνεκα κωλύσεως εἴργῃ τι περιέχον, ἕρκος εἰκὸς ὀνομάζειν.
Theaet. Certainly.
ΘΕΑΙ. πάνυ μὲν οὖν.
Str. May not, then, wicker baskets and seines and snares and nets and the like be called enclosures?
ΞΕ. κύρτους δὴ καὶ δίκτυα καὶ βρόχους καὶ πόρκους καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα μῶν ἄλλο τι πλὴν ἕρκη χρὴ προσαγορεύειν;
Theaet. Assuredly.
ΘΕΑΙ. οὐδέν.
Str. Then we will call this division hunting by enclosures, or something of that sort.
ΞΕ. τοῦτο μὲν ἄρα ἑρκοθηρικὸν τῆς ἄγρας τὸ μέρος φήσομεν ἤ τι τοιοῦτον.
Str. And the other, which is done with a blow, by means of hooks and three pronged spears, we must now—to name it with a single word— call striking; or could a better name be found, Theaetetus?
ΞΕ. τὸ δὲ ἀγκίστροις καὶ τριόδουσι πληγῇ γιγνόμενον ἕτερον μὲν ἐκείνου, πληκτικὴν δέ τινα θήραν ἡμᾶς προσειπεῖν ἑνὶ λόγῳ νῦν χρεών· ἢ τί τις ἄν, ὦ Θεαίτητε, εἴποι κάλλιον;
Theaet. Never mind the name; that will do well enough.
ΘΕΑΙ. ἀμελῶμεν τοῦ ὀνόματος· ἀρκεῖ γὰρ καὶ τοῦτο.
Str. Then the kind of striking which takes place at night by the light of a fire is, I suppose, called by the hunters themselves fire-hunting.
ΞΕ. τῆς τοίνυν πληκτικῆς τὸ μὲν νυκτερινὸν οἶμαι πρὸς πυρὸς φῶς γιγνόμενον ὑπʼ αὐτῶν τῶν περὶ τὴν θήραν πυρευτικὴν ῥηθῆναι συμβέβηκεν.
Theaet. To be sure.
ΘΕΑΙ. πάνυ γε.
Str. And that which belongs to the daytime is, as a whole, barb-hunting, since the spears, as well as the hooks, are tipped with barbs.
ΞΕ. τὸ δέ γε μεθημερινόν, ὡς ἐχόντων ἐν ἄκροις ἄγκιστρα καὶ τῶν τριοδόντων, πᾶν ἀγκιστρευτικόν.
Theaet. Yes, it is so called.
ΘΕΑΙ. λέγεται γὰρ οὖν.
Str. Then of striking which belongs to barb-hunting, that part which proceeds downward from above, is called, because tridents are chiefly used in it, tridentry, I suppose.
ΞΕ. τοῦ τοίνυν ἀγκιστρευτικοῦ τῆς πληκτικῆς τὸ μὲν ἄνωθεν εἰς τὸ κάτω γιγνόμενον διὰ τὸ τοῖς τριόδουσιν οὕτω μάλιστα χρῆσθαι τριοδοντία τις οἶμαι κέκληται.
Theaet. Yes, some people, at any rate, call it so.
ΘΕΑΙ. φασὶ γοῦν τινές.
Str. Then there still remains, I may say, only one further kind.
ΞΕ. τὸ δέ γε λοιπόν ἐστιν ἓν ἔτι μόνον ὡς εἰπεῖν εἶδος.
Theaet. What is that?
ΘΕΑΙ. τὸ ποῖον;
Str. The kind that is characterized by the opposite sort of blow, which is practised with a hook and strikes, not any chance part of the body of the fishes, as tridents do, but only the head and mouth of the fish caught, and proceeds from below upwards, being pulled up by twigs and rods.
ΞΕ. τὸ τῆς ἐναντίας ταύτῃ πληγῆς, ἀγκίστρῳ τε γιγνόμενον καὶ τῶν ἰχθύων οὐχ ᾗ τις ἂν τύχῃ τοῦ σώματος, ὥσπερ τοῖς τριόδουσιν, ἀλλὰ περὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν καὶ τὸ στόμα τοῦ θηρευθέντος ἑκάστοτε, καὶ κάτωθεν εἰς τοὐναντίον ἄνω ῥάβδοις καὶ καλάμοις ἀνασπώμενον·
221. By what name, Theaetetus, shall we say this ought to be called?Theaet. I think our search is now ended and we have found the very thing we set before us a while ago as necessary to find.
221. οὗ τί φήσομεν, ὦ Θεαίτητε, δεῖν τοὔνομα λέγεσθαι;ΘΕΑΙ. δοκῶ μέν, ὅπερ ἄρτι προυθέμεθα δεῖν ἐξευρεῖν, τοῦτʼ αὐτὸ νῦν ἀποτετελέσθαι.
Str. Now, then, you and I are not only agreed about the name of angling, but we have acquired also a satisfactory definition of the thing itself. For of art as a whole, half was acquisitive, and of the acquisitive, half was coercive, and of the coercive, half was hunting, and of hunting, half was animal hunting, and of animal hunting, half was water hunting, and, taken as a whole, of water hunting the lower part was fishing, and of fishing, half was striking, and of striking, half was barb-hunting, and of this the part in which the blow is pulled from below upwards at an angle has a name in the very likeness of the act and is called angling, which was the object of our present search.
ΞΕ. νῦν ἄρα τῆς ἀσπαλιευτικῆς πέρι σύ τε κἀγὼ συνωμολογήκαμεν οὐ μόνον τοὔνομα, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν λόγον περὶ αὐτὸ τοὖργον εἰλήφαμεν ἱκανῶς. συμπάσης γὰρ τέχνης τὸ μὲν ἥμισυ μέρος κτητικὸν ἦν, κτητικοῦ δὲ χειρωτικόν, χειρωτικοῦ δὲ θηρευτικόν, τοῦ δὲ θηρευτικοῦ ζῳοθηρικόν, ζῳοθηρικοῦ δὲ ἐνυγροθηρικόν, ἐνυγροθηρικοῦ δὲ τὸ κάτωθεν τμῆμα ὅλον ἁλιευτικόν, ἁλιευτικῆς δὲ πληκτικόν, πληκτικῆς δὲ ἀγκιστρευτικόν· τούτου δὲ τὸ περὶ τὴν κάτωθεν ἄνω πληγὴν ἀνασπωμένην, ἀπʼ αὐτῆς τῆς πράξεως ἀφομοιωθὲν τοὔνομα, ἡ νῦν ἀσπαλιευτικὴ ζητηθεῖσα ἐπίκλην γέγονεν.
Theaet. That at all events has been made perfectly clear.
ΘΕΑΙ. παντάπασι μὲν οὖν τοῦτό γε ἱκανῶς δεδήλωται.
Str. Come, then, let us use this as a pattern and try to find out what a sophist is.
ΞΕ. φέρε δή, κατὰ τοῦτο τὸ παράδειγμα καὶ τὸν σοφιστὴν ἐπιχειρῶμεν εὑρεῖν ὅτι ποτʼ ἔστιν.
Theaet. By all means.
ΘΕΑΙ. κομιδῇ μὲν οὖν.
Str. Well, then, the first question we asked was whether we must assume that the angler was just a man or was a man with an art.
ΞΕ. καὶ μὴν ἐκεῖνό γʼ ἦν τὸ ζήτημα πρῶτον, πότερον ἰδιώτην ἤ τινα τέχνην ἔχοντα θετέον εἶναι τὸν ἀσπαλιευτήν.
Str. Now take this man of ours, Theaetetus. Shall we assume that he is just a man, or by all means really a man of wisdom?
ΞΕ. καὶ νῦν δὴ τοῦτον ἰδιώτην θήσομεν, ὦ Θεαίτητε, ἢ παντάπασιν ὡς ἀληθῶς σοφιστήν;
Theaet. Certainly not just a man; for I catch your meaning that he is very far from being wise, although his name implies wisdom.
ΘΕΑΙ. οὐδαμῶς ἰδιώτην· μανθάνω γὰρ ὃ λέγεις, ὡς παντὸς δεῖ τοιοῦτος εἶναι τό γε ὄνομα τοῦτο ἔχων.
Str. But we must, it seems, assume that he has an art of some kind.
ΞΕ. ἀλλά τινα τέχνην αὐτὸν ἡμῖν ἔχοντα, ὡς ἔοικε, θετέον.
Theaet. Well, then, what in the world is this art that he has?
ΘΕΑΙ. τίνα ποτʼ οὖν δὴ ταύτην;
Str. Good gracious! Have we failed to notice that the man is akin to the other man?
ΞΕ. ἆρʼ ὦ πρὸς θεῶν ἠγνοήκαμεν τἀνδρὸς τὸν ἄνδρα ὄντα συγγενῆ;
Theaet. Who is akin to whom?
ΘΕΑΙ. τίνα τοῦ;
Str. The angler to the sophist.
ΞΕ. τὸν ἀσπαλιευτὴν τοῦ σοφιστοῦ.
Str. They both seem clearly to me to be a sort of hunters.
ΞΕ. θηρευτά τινε καταφαίνεσθον ἄμφω μοι.
Theaet. What is the hunting of the second? We have spoken about the first.
ΘΕΑΙ. τίνος θήρας ἅτερος; τὸν μὲν γὰρ ἕτερον εἴπομεν.
Str. We just now divided hunting as a whole into two classes, and made one division that of swimming creatures and the other that of land-hunting.
ΞΕ. δίχα που νυνδὴ διείλομεν τὴν ἄγραν πᾶσαν, νευστικοῦ μέρους, τὸ δὲ πεζοῦ τέμνοντες.
Str. And the one we discussed, so far as the swimming creatures that live in the water are concerned; but we left the land-hunting undivided, merely remarking that it has many forms.
ΞΕ. καὶ τὸ μὲν διήλθομεν, ὅσον περὶ τὰ νευστικὰ τῶν ἐνύδρων· τὸ δὲ πεζὸν εἰάσαμεν ἄσχιστον, εἰπόντες ὅτι πολυειδὲς εἴη.
222. Theaet. Certainly.
222. ΘΕΑΙ. πάνυ γε.
Str. Now up to that point the sophist and the angler proceed together from the starting-point of acquisitive art.
ΞΕ. μέχρι μὲν τοίνυν ἐνταῦθα ὁ σοφιστὴς καὶ [ὁ] ἀσπαλιευτὴς ἅμα ἀπὸ τῆς κτητικῆς τέχνης πορεύεσθον.
Theaet. I think they do.
ΘΕΑΙ. ἐοίκατον γοῦν.
Str. But they separate at the point of animal-hunting, where the one turns to the sea and rivers and lakes to hunt the animals in those.
ΞΕ. ἐκτρέπεσθον δέ γε ἀπὸ τῆς ζῳοθηρικῆς, ὁ μὲν ἐπὶ θάλαττάν που καὶ ποταμοὺς καὶ λίμνας, τὰ ἐν τούτοις ζῷα θηρευσόμενος.
Theaet. To be sure.
ΘΕΑΙ. τί μήν;
Str. But the other turns toward the land and to rivers of a different kind—rivers of wealth and youth, bounteous meadows, as it were—and he intends to coerce the creatures in them.
ΞΕ. ὁ δέ γε ἐπὶ [τὴν] γῆν καὶ ποταμοὺς ἑτέρους αὖ τινας, πλούτου καὶ νεότητος οἷον λειμῶνας ἀφθόνους, τἀν τούτοις θρέμματα χειρωσόμενος.
Theaet. What do you mean?
ΘΕΑΙ. πῶς λέγεις;
Str. Of land-hunting there are two chief divisions.
ΞΕ. τῆς πεζῆς θήρας γίγνεσθον δύο μεγίστω τινὲ μέρει.
Theaet. What are they?
ΘΕΑΙ. ποῖον ἑκάτερον;
Str. One is the hunting of tame, the other of wild creatures.
ΞΕ. τὸ μὲν τῶν ἡμέρων, τὸ δὲ τῶν ἀγρίων.
Theaet. Is there, then, a hunting of tame creatures?
ΘΕΑΙ. εἶτʼ ἔστι τις θήρα τῶν ἡμέρων;
Str. Yes, If man is a tame animal; but make any assumption you like, that there is no tame animal, or that some other tame animal exists but man is a wild one or that man is tame but there is no hunting of man. For the purpose of our definition choose whichever of these statements you think is satisfactory to you.
ΞΕ. εἴπερ γέ ἐστιν ἄνθρωπος ἥμερον ζῷον. θὲς δὲ ὅπῃ χαίρεις, εἴτε μηδὲν τιθεὶς ἥμερον, εἴτε ἄλλο μὲν ἥμερόν τι, τὸν δὲ ἄνθρωπον ἄγριον, εἴτε ἥμερον μὲν λέγεις αὖ τὸν ἄνθρωπον, ἀνθρώπων δὲ μηδεμίαν ἡγῇ θήραν· τούτων ὁπότερʼ ἂν ἡγῇ φίλον εἰρῆσθαί σοι, τοῦτο ἡμῖν διόρισον.
Theaet. Why, Stranger, I think we are a tame animal, and I agree that there is a hunting of man.
ΘΕΑΙ. ἀλλʼ ἡμᾶς τε ἥμερον, ὦ ξένε, ἡγοῦμαι ζῷον, θήραν τε ἀνθρώπων εἶναι λέγω.
Str. Let us, then, say that the hunting of tame animals is also of two kinds.
ΞΕ. διττὴν τοίνυν καὶ τὴν ἡμεροθηρικὴν εἴπωμεν.
Theaet. How do we justify that assertion?
ΘΕΑΙ. κατὰ τί λέγοντες;
Str. By defining piracy, man-stealing, tyranny, and the whole art of war all collectively as hunting by force.
ΞΕ. τὴν μὲν λῃστικὴν καὶ ἀνδραποδιστικὴν καὶ τυραννικὴν καὶ σύμπασαν τὴν πολεμικήν, ἓν πάντα, βίαιον θήραν, ὁρισάμενοι.
Theaet. Excellent.
ΘΕΑΙ. καλῶς.
Str. And by giving the art of the law courts, of the public platform, and of conversation also a single name and calling them all collectively an art of persuasion.
ΞΕ. τὴν δέ γε δικανικὴν καὶ δημηγορικὴν καὶ προσομιλητικήν, ἓν αὖ τὸ σύνολον, πιθανουργικήν τινα μίαν τέχνην προσειπόντες.
Theaet. Correct.
ΘΕΑΙ. ὀρθῶς.
Str. Now let us say that there are two kinds of persuasion.
ΞΕ. τῆς δὴ πιθανουργικῆς διττὰ λέγωμεν γένη.
Theaet. What kinds?
ΘΕΑΙ. ποῖα;
Str. The one has to do with private persons, the other with the community.
ΞΕ. τὸ μὲν ἕτερον ἰδίᾳ, τὸ δὲ δημοσίᾳ γιγνόμενον.
Theaet. Granted; each of them does form a class.
ΘΕΑΙ. γίγνεσθον γὰρ οὖν εἶδος ἑκάτερον.
Str. Then again of the hunting of private persons one kind receives pay, and the other brings gifts, does it not?
ΞΕ. οὐκοῦν αὖ τῆς ἰδιοθηρευτικῆς τὸ μὲν μισθαρνητικόν ἐστιν, τὸ δὲ δωροφορικόν;
Theaet. I do not understand.
ΘΕΑΙ. οὐ μανθάνω.
Str. Apparently you have never yet paid attention to the lovers’ method of hunting.
ΞΕ. τῇ τῶν ἐρώντων θήρᾳ τὸν νοῦν, ὡς ἔοικας, οὔπω προσέσχες.
Theaet. In what respect?
ΘΕΑΙ. τοῦ πέρι;
Str. That in addition to their other efforts they give presents to those whom they hunt.
ΞΕ. ὅτι τοῖς θηρευθεῖσι δῶρα προσεπιδιδόασιν.
Theaet. You are quite right.
ΘΕΑΙ. ἀληθέστατα λέγεις.
Str. Let us, then, call this the amatory art.
ΞΕ. τοῦτο μὲν τοίνυν ἐρωτικῆς τέχνης ἔστω εἶδος.
Theaet. Agreed.
ΘΕΑΙ. πάνυ γε.
Str. But that part of the paid kind which converses to furnish gratification and makes pleasure exclusively its bait and demands as its pay only maintenance, we might all agree, if I am not mistaken, to call the art of flattery or of making things pleasant.
ΞΕ. τοῦ δέ γε μισθαρνητικοῦ τὸ μὲν προσομιλοῦν διὰ χάριτος καὶ παντάπασι διʼ ἡδονῆς τὸ δέλεαρ πεποιημένον καὶ τὸν μισθὸν πραττόμενον τροφὴν ἑαυτῷ μόνον κολακικήν, ὡς ἐγᾦμαι, πάντες φαῖμεν ἂν ⟨ἢ⟩ ἡδυντικήν τινα τέχνην εἶναι.
223. Theaet. Certainly.
223. ΘΕΑΙ. πῶς γὰρ οὔ;
Str. But the class which proposes to carry on its conversations for the sake of virtue and demands its pay in cash—does not this deserve to be called by another name?
ΞΕ. τὸ δὲ ἐπαγγελλόμενον μὲν ὡς ἀρετῆς ἕνεκα τὰς ὁμιλίας ποιούμενον, μισθὸν δὲ νόμισμα πραττόμενον, ἆρα οὐ τοῦτο τὸ γένος ἑτέρῳ προσειπεῖν ἄξιον ὀνόματι;
Theaet. Of course.
ΘΕΑΙ. πῶς γὰρ οὔ;
Str. And what is that name? Try to tell.
ΞΕ. τίνι δὴ τούτῳ; πειρῶ λέγειν.
Theaet. It is obvious; for I think we have discovered the sophist. And therefore by uttering that word I think I should give him the right name.
ΘΕΑΙ. δῆλον δή· τὸν γὰρ σοφιστήν μοι δοκοῦμεν ἀνηυρηκέναι. τοῦτʼ οὖν ἔγωγε εἰπὼν τὸ προσῆκον ὄνομʼ ἂν ἡγοῦμαι καλεῖν αὐτόν.
Str. Then, as it seems, according to our present reasoning, Theaetetus, the part of appropriative, coercive, hunting art which hunts animals, land animals, tame animals, man, privately, for pay, is paid in cash, claims to give education, and is a hunt after rich and promising youths, must—so our present argument concludes—be called sophistry.
ΞΕ. κατὰ δὴ τὸν νῦν, ὦ Θεαίτητε, λόγον, ὡς ἔοικεν, ἡ τέχνης οἰκειωτικῆς, ⟨χειρωτικῆς⟩, [κτητικῆς,] θηρευτικῆς, ζῳοθηρίας, [πεζοθηρίας,] χερσαίας, [ἡμεροθηρικῆς,] ἀνθρωποθηρίας, ⟨πιθανοθηρίας⟩, ἰδιοθηρίας, [μισθαρνικῆς,] νομισματοπωλικῆς, δοξοπαιδευτικῆς, νέων πλουσίων καὶ ἐνδόξων γιγνομένη θήρα προσρητέον, ὡς ὁ νῦν λόγος ἡμῖν συμβαίνει, σοφιστική.
Theaet. Most assuredly.
ΘΕΑΙ. παντάπασι μὲν οὖν.
Str. But let us look at it in still another way; for the class we are now examining partakes of no mean art, but of a very many-sided one. And we must indeed do so, for in our previous talk it presents an appearance of being, not what we now say it is, but another class.
ΞΕ. ἔτι δὲ καὶ τῇδε ἴδωμεν· οὐ γάρ τι φαύλης μέτοχόν ἐστι τέχνης τὸ νῦν ζητούμενον, ἀλλʼ εὖ μάλα ποικίλης. καὶ γὰρ οὖν ἐν τοῖς πρόσθεν εἰρημένοις φάντασμα παρέχεται μὴ τοῦτο ὃ νῦν αὐτὸ ἡμεῖς φαμεν ἀλλʼ ἕτερον εἶναί τι γένος.
Theaet. How so?
ΘΕΑΙ. πῇ δή;
Str. The acquisitive art was of two sorts, the one the division of hunting, the other that of exchange.
ΞΕ. τὸ τῆς κτητικῆς τέχνης διπλοῦν ἦν εἶδός που, τὸ μὲν θηρευτικὸν μέρος ἔχον, τὸ δὲ ἀλλακτικόν.
Theaet. Yes, it was.
ΘΕΑΙ. ἦν γὰρ οὖν.
Str. Now shall we say that there are two sorts of exchange, the one by gift, the other by sale?
ΞΕ. τῆς τοίνυν ἀλλακτικῆς δύο εἴδη λέγωμεν, τὸ μὲν δωρητικόν, τὸ δὲ ἕτερον ἀγοραστικόν;
Theaet. So be it.
ΘΕΑΙ. εἰρήσθω.
Str. And we shall say further that exchange by sale is divided into two parts.
ΞΕ. καὶ μὴν αὖ φήσομεν ἀγοραστικὴν διχῇ τέμνεσθαι.
Str. We make this distinction—calling the part which sells a man’s own productions the selling of one’s own, and the other, which exchanges the works of others, exchange.
ΞΕ. τὴν μὲν τῶν αὐτουργῶν αὐτοπωλικὴν διαιρουμένην, τὴν δὲ τὰ ἀλλότρια ἔργα μεταβαλλομένην μεταβλητικήν.
Theaet. Certainly.
ΘΕΑΙ. πάνυ γε.
Str. Well, then, that part of exchange which is carried on in the city, amounting to about half of it, is called retailing, is it not?
ΞΕ. τί δέ; τῆς μεταβλητικῆς οὐχ ἡ μὲν κατὰ πόλιν ἀλλαγή, σχεδὸν αὐτῆς ἥμισυ μέρος ὄν, καπηλικὴ προσαγορεύεται;
Str. And that which exchanges goods from city to city by purchase and sale is called merchandising?
ΞΕ. τὸ δέ γε ἐξ ἄλλης εἰς ἄλλην πόλιν διαλλάττον ὠνῇ καὶ πράσει ἐμπορική;
Theaet. Certainly.
ΘΕΑΙ. τί δʼ οὔ;
Str. And have we not observed that one part of merchandising sells and exchanges for cash whatever serves the body for its support and needs, and the other whatever serves the soul?
ΞΕ. τῆς δʼ ἐμπορικῆς ἆρʼ οὐκ ᾐσθήμεθα ὅτι τὸ μὲν ὅσοις τὸ σῶμα τρέφεται καὶ χρῆται, τὸ δὲ ὅσοις ἡ ψυχή, πωλοῦν διὰ νομίσματος ἀλλάττεται;
Theaet. What do you mean by that?
ΘΕΑΙ. πῶς τοῦτο λέγεις;
Str. Perhaps we do not know about the part that has to do with the soul; though I fancy we do understand the other division.
ΞΕ. τὸ περὶ τὴν ψυχὴν ἴσως ἀγνοοῦμεν, ἐπεὶ τό γε ἕτερόν που συνίεμεν.
224. Str. Take, therefore, the liberal arts in general that constantly go about from city to city, bought in one place and carried to another and sold—painting, and conjuring, and the many other things that affect the soul, which are imported and sold partly for its entertainment and partly for its serious needs; we cannot deny that he who carries these about and sells them constitutes a merchant properly so called, no less than he whose business is the sale of food and drink.
224. ΞΕ. μουσικήν τε τοίνυν συνάπασαν λέγωμεν, ἐκ πόλεως ἑκάστοτε εἰς πόλιν ἔνθεν μὲν ὠνηθεῖσαν, ἑτέρωσε δὲ ἀγομένην [καὶ πιπρασκομένην], καὶ γραφικὴν καὶ θαυματοποιικὴν καὶ πολλὰ ἕτερα τῆς ψυχῆς, τὰ μὲν παραμυθίας, τὰ δὲ καὶ σπουδῆς χάριν ἀχθέντα καὶ πωλούμενα, τὸν ἄγοντα καὶ πωλοῦντα μηδὲν ἧττον τῆς τῶν σιτίων καὶ ποτῶν πράσεως ἔμπορον ὀρθῶς ἂν λεγόμενον παρασχεῖν.
Theaet. Very true.
ΘΕΑΙ. ἀληθέστατα λέγεις.
Str. Then will you give the same name to him who buys up knowledge and goes about from city to city exchanging his wares for money?
ΞΕ. οὐκοῦν καὶ τὸν μαθήματα συνωνούμενον πόλιν τε ἐκ πόλεως νομίσματος ἀμείβοντα ταὐτὸν προσερεῖς ὄνομα;
Theaet. Certainly.
ΘΕΑΙ. σφόδρα γε.
Str. One part of this soul-merchandising might very properly be called the art of display, might it not? But since the other part, though no less ridiculous than the first, is nevertheless a traffic in knowledge, must we not call it by some name akin to its business?
ΞΕ. τῆς δὴ ψυχεμπορικῆς ταύτης ἆρʼ οὐ τὸ μὲν ἐπιδεικτικὴ δικαιότατα λέγοιτʼ ἄν, τὸ δὲ γελοίῳ μὲν οὐχ ἧττον τοῦ πρόσθεν, ὅμως δὲ μαθημάτων οὖσαν πρᾶσιν αὐτὴν ἀδελφῷ τινι τῆς πράξεως ὀνόματι προσειπεῖν ἀνάγκη;
Theaet. Certainly.
ΘΕΑΙ. πάνυ μὲν οὖν.
Str. Now of this merchandising in knowledge the part which has to do with the knowledge of the other arts should be called by one name, and that which has to do with virtue by another.
ΞΕ. ταύτης τοίνυν τῆς μαθηματοπωλικῆς τὸ μὲν περὶ τὰ τῶν ἄλλων τεχνῶν μαθήματα ἑτέρῳ, τὸ δὲ περὶ τὸ τῆς ἀρετῆς ἄλλῳ προσρητέον.
Theaet. Of course.
ΘΕΑΙ. πῶς γὰρ οὔ;
Str. The name of art-merchant would fit the one who trades in the other arts, and now do you be so good as to tell the name of him who trades in virtue.
ΞΕ. τεχνοπωλικὸν μὴν τό γε περὶ τἆλλα ἂν ἁρμόττοι· τὸ δὲ περὶ ταῦτα σὺ προθυμήθητι λέγειν ὄνομα.
Theaet. And what other name could one give, without making a mistake, than that which is the object of our present investigation—the sophist?
ΘΕΑΙ. καὶ τί τις ἂν ἄλλο ὄνομα εἰπὼν οὐκ ἂν πλημμελοίη πλὴν τὸ νῦν ζητούμενον αὐτὸ εἶναι τὸ σοφιστικὸν γένος;
Str. No other. Come then, let us now summarize the matter by saying that sophistry has appeared a second time as that part of acquisitive art, art of exchange, of trafficking, of merchandising, of soul-merchandising which deals in words and knowledge, and trades in virtue.
ΞΕ. οὐδὲν ἄλλο. ἴθι δὴ νῦν συναγάγωμεν αὐτὸ λέγοντες ὡς τὸ τῆς κτητικῆς, μεταβλητικῆς, ἀγοραστικῆς, ἐμπορικῆς, ψυχεμπορικῆς περὶ λόγους καὶ μαθήματα ἀρετῆς πωλητικὸν δεύτερον ἀνεφάνη σοφιστική.
Theaet. Very well.
ΘΕΑΙ. μάλα γε.
Str. But there is a third case: If a man settled down here in town and proposed to make his living by selling these same wares of knowledge, buying some of them and making others himself, you would, I fancy, not call him by any other name than that which you used a moment ago.
ΞΕ. τρίτον δέ γʼ οἶμαί σε, κἂν εἴ τις αὐτοῦ καθιδρυμένος ἐν πόλει, τὰ μὲν ὠνούμενος, τὰ δὲ καὶ τεκταινόμενος αὐτὸς μαθήματα περὶ τὰ αὐτὰ ταῦτα καὶ πωλῶν, ἐκ τούτου τὸ ζῆν προυτάξατο, καλεῖν οὐδὲν ἄλλο πλὴν ὅπερ νυνδή.
Theaet. Certainly not.
ΘΕΑΙ. τί δʼ οὐ μέλλω;
Str. Then also that part of acquisitive art which proceeds by exchange, and by sale, whether as mere retail trade or the sale of one’s own productions, no matter which, so long as it is of the class of merchandising in knowledge, you will always, apparently, call sophistry.
ΞΕ. καὶ τὸ κτητικῆς ἄρα μεταβλητικόν, ἀγοραστικόν, καπηλικὸν εἴτε αὐτοπωλικόν, ἀμφοτέρως, ὅτιπερ ἂν ᾖ περὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα μαθηματοπωλικὸν γένος, ἀεὶ σὺ προσερεῖς, ὡς φαίνῃ, σοφιστικόν.
Theaet. I must do so, for I have to follow where the argument leads.
ΘΕΑΙ. ἀνάγκη· τῷ γὰρ λόγῳ δεῖ συνακολουθεῖν.
Str. Let us examine further and see if the class we are now pursuing has still another aspect, of similar nature.
ΞΕ. ἔτι δὴ σκοπῶμεν εἴ τινι τοιῷδε προσέοικεν ἄρα τὸ νῦν μεταδιωκόμενον γένος.
225. Theaet. Of what nature?
225. ΘΕΑΙ. ποίῳ δή;
Str. We agreed that fighting was a division of acquisitive art.
ΞΕ. τῆς κτητικῆς ἀγωνιστική τι μέρος ἡμῖν ἦν.
Theaet. Yes, we did.
ΘΕΑΙ. ἦν γὰρ οὖν.
Str. Then it is quite fitting to divide it into two parts.
ΞΕ. οὐκ ἀπὸ τρόπου τοίνυν ἐστὶ διαιρεῖν αὐτὴν δίχα.
Theaet. Tell what the parts are.
ΘΕΑΙ. καθʼ ὁποῖα λέγε.
Str. Let us call one part of it the competitive and the other the pugnacious.
ΞΕ. τὸ μὲν ἁμιλλητικὸν αὐτῆς τιθέντας, τὸ δὲ μαχητικόν.
Theaet. Agreed.
ΘΕΑΙ. ἔστιν.
Str. Then it is reasonable and fitting to give to that part of the pugnacious which consists of bodily contests some such name as violent.
ΞΕ. τῆς τοίνυν μαχητικῆς τῷ μὲν σώματι πρὸς σώματα γιγνομένῳ σχεδὸν εἰκὸς καὶ πρέπον ὄνομα λέγειν τι τοιοῦτον τιθεμένους οἷον βιαστικόν.
Str. And what other name than controversy shall we give to the contests of words?
ΞΕ. τῷ δὲ λόγοις πρὸς λόγους τί τις, ὦ Θεαίτητε, ἄλλο εἴπῃ πλὴν ἀμφισβητητικόν;
Theaet. No other.
ΘΕΑΙ. οὐδέν.
Str. But controversy must be divided into two kinds.
ΞΕ. τὸ δέ γε περὶ τὰς ἀμφισβητήσεις θετέον διττόν.
Str. Whenever long speeches are opposed by long speeches on questions of justice and injustice in public, that is forensic controversy.
ΞΕ. καθʼ ὅσον μὲν γὰρ γίγνεται μήκεσί τε πρὸς ἐναντία μήκη λόγων καὶ περὶ [τὰ] δίκαια καὶ ἄδικα δημοσίᾳ, δικανικόν.
Str. But that which is carried on among private persons and is cut up into little bits by means of questions and their answers, we are accustomed to call argumentation, are we not?
ΞΕ. τὸ δʼ ἐν ἰδίοις αὖ καὶ κατακεκερματισμένον ἐρωτήσεσι πρὸς ἀποκρίσεις μῶν εἰθίσμεθα καλεῖν ἄλλο πλὴν ἀντιλογικόν;
Theaet. We are.
ΘΕΑΙ. οὐδέν.
Str. And that part of argumentation which deals with business contracts, in which there is controversy, to be sure, but it is carried on informally and without rules of art—all that must be considered a distinct class, now that our argument has recognized it as different from the rest, but it received no name from our predecessors, nor does it now deserve to receive one from us.
ΞΕ. τοῦ δὲ ἀντιλογικοῦ τὸ μὲν ὅσον περὶ τὰ συμβόλαια ἀμφισβητεῖται μέν, εἰκῇ δὲ καὶ ἀτέχνως περὶ αὐτὸ πράττεται, ταῦτα θετέον μὲν εἶδος, ἐπείπερ αὐτὸ διέγνωκεν ὡς ἕτερον ὂν ὁ λόγος, ἀτὰρ ἐπωνυμίας οὔθʼ ὑπὸ τῶν ἔμπροσθεν ἔτυχεν οὔτε νῦν ὑφʼ ἡμῶν τυχεῖν ἄξιον.
Theaet. True; for the divisions into which it falls are too small and too miscellaneous.
ΘΕΑΙ. ἀληθῆ· κατὰ σμικρὰ γὰρ λίαν καὶ παντοδαπὰ διῄρηται.
Str. But that which possesses rules of art and carries on controversy about abstract justice and injustice and the rest in general terms, we are accustomed to call disputation, are we not?
ΞΕ. τὸ δέ γε ἔντεχνον, καὶ περὶ δικαίων αὐτῶν καὶ ἀδίκων καὶ περὶ τῶν ἄλλων ὅλως ἀμφισβητοῦν, ἆρʼ οὐκ ἐριστικὸν αὖ λέγειν εἰθίσμεθα;
Theaet. Certainly.
ΘΕΑΙ. πῶς γὰρ οὔ;
Str. Well, of disputation, one sort wastes money, the other makes money.
ΞΕ. τοῦ μὴν ἐριστικοῦ τὸ μὲν χρηματοφθορικόν, τὸ δὲ χρηματιστικὸν ὂν τυγχάνει.
Theaet. Certainly.
ΘΕΑΙ. παντάπασί γε.
Str. Then let us try to tell the name by which we must call each of these.
ΞΕ. τὴν ἐπωνυμίαν τοίνυν ἣν ἑκάτερον δεῖ καλεῖν αὐτῶν πειραθῶμεν εἰπεῖν.
Theaet. Yes, we must do so.
ΘΕΑΙ. οὐκοῦν χρή.
Str. Presumably the kind which causes a man to neglect his own affairs for the pleasure of engaging in it, but the style of which causes no pleasure to most of his hearers, is, in my opinion, called by no other name than garrulity.
ΞΕ. δοκῶ μὴν τό γε διʼ ἡδονὴν τῆς περὶ ταῦτα διατριβῆς ἀμελὲς τῶν οἰκείων γιγνόμενον, περὶ δὲ τὴν λέξιν τοῖς πολλοῖς τῶν ἀκουόντων οὐ μεθʼ ἡδονῆς ἀκουόμενον καλεῖσθαι κατὰ γνώμην τὴν ἐμὴν οὐχ ἕτερον ἀδολεσχικοῦ.
Theaet. Yes, that is about what it is called.
ΘΕΑΙ. λέγεται γὰρ οὖν οὕτω πως.
Str. Then the opposite of this, the kind which makes money from private disputes—try now, for it is your turn, to give its name.
ΞΕ. τούτου τοίνυν τοὐναντίον, ἀπὸ τῶν ἰδιωτικῶν ἐρίδων χρηματιζόμενον, ἐν τῷ μέρει σὺ πειρῶ νῦν εἰπεῖν.
Theaet. What other answer could one give without making a mistake, than that now again for the fourth time that wonderful being whom we have so long been pursuing has turned up—the sophist!
ΘΕΑΙ. καὶ ⟨τί⟩ τις ἂν αὖ εἰπὼν ἕτερον οὐκ ἐξαμάρτοι πλήν γε τὸν θαυμαστὸν πάλιν ἐκεῖνον ἥκειν αὖ νῦν τέταρτον τὸν μεταδιωκόμενον ὑφʼ ἡμῶν σοφιστήν;
226. Str. Yes, and the sophist is nothing else, apparently, than the money-making class of the disputatious, argumentative, controversial, pugnacious, combative, acquisitive art, as our argument has now again stated.
226. ΞΕ. οὐδὲν ἀλλʼ ἢ τὸ χρηματιστικὸν γένος, ὡς ἔοικεν, ἐριστικῆς ὂν τέχνης, τῆς ἀντιλογικῆς, τῆς ἀμφισβητητικῆς, τῆς μαχητικῆς, τῆς ἀγωνιστικῆς, τῆς κτητικῆς ἔστιν, ὡς ὁ λόγος αὖ μεμήνυκε νῦν, ὁ σοφιστής.
Theaet. Certainly.
ΘΕΑΙ. κομιδῇ μὲν οὖν.
Str. Do you see the truth of the statement that this creature is many-sided and, as the saying is, not to be caught with one hand?
ΞΕ. ὁρᾷς οὖν ὡς ἀληθῆ λέγεται τὸ ποικίλον εἶναι τοῦτο τὸ θηρίον καὶ τὸ λεγόμενον οὐ τῇ ἑτέρᾳ ληπτόν;
Theaet. Then we must catch him with both.
ΘΕΑΙ. οὐκοῦν ἀμφοῖν χρή.
Str. Yes, we must, and must go at it with all our might, by following another track of his—in this way. Tell me; of the expressions connected with menial occupations some are in common use, are they not?
ΞΕ. χρὴ γὰρ οὖν, καὶ κατὰ δύναμίν γε οὕτω ποιητέον, τοιόνδε τι μεταθέοντας ἴχνος αὐτοῦ. καί μοι λέγε· τῶν οἰκετικῶν ὀνομάτων καλοῦμεν ἄττα που;
Theaet. Yes, many. But to which of the many does your question refer?
ΘΕΑΙ. καὶ πολλά· ἀτὰρ ποῖα δὴ τῶν πολλῶν πυνθάνῃ;
Str. To such as these: we say “sift” and “strain” and “winnow” and “separate.”
ΞΕ. τὰ τοιάδε, οἷον διηθεῖν τε λέγομεν καὶ διαττᾶν καὶ βράττειν καὶ διακρίνειν.
Theaet. Certainly.
ΘΕΑΙ. τί μήν;
Str. And besides these there are “card” and “comb” and “beat the web” and countless other technical terms which we know. Is it not so?
ΞΕ. καὶ πρός γε τούτοις ἔτι ξαίνειν, κατάγειν, κερκίζειν, καὶ μυρία ἐν ταῖς τέχναις ἄλλα τοιαῦτα ἐνόντα ἐπιστάμεθα. ἦ γάρ;
Theaet. Why do you use these as examples and ask about them all? What do you wish to show in regard to them?
ΘΕΑΙ. τὸ ποῖον αὐτῶν πέρι βουληθεὶς δηλῶσαι παραδείγματα προθεὶς ταῦτα κατὰ πάντων ἤρου;
Str. All those that I have mentioned imply a notion of division.
ΞΕ. διαιρετικά που τὰ λεχθέντα εἴρηται σύμπαντα.
Str. Then since there is, accorling to my reckoning, one art involved in all of these operations, let us give it one name.
ΞΕ. κατὰ τὸν ἐμὸν τοίνυν λόγον ὡς περὶ ταῦτα μίαν οὖσαν ἐν ἅπασι τέχνην ἑνὸς ὀνόματος ἀξιώσομεν αὐτήν.
Theaet. What shall we call it?
ΘΕΑΙ. τίνα προσειπόντες;
Str. The art of discrimination.
ΞΕ. διακριτικήν.
Theaet. Very well.
ΘΕΑΙ. ἔστω.
Str. Now see if we can discover two divisions of this.
ΞΕ. σκόπει δὴ ταύτης αὖ δύο ἄν πῃ δυνώμεθα κατιδεῖν εἴδη.
Theaet. You demand quick thinking, for a boy like me.
ΘΕΑΙ. ταχεῖαν ὡς ἐμοὶ σκέψιν ἐπιτάττεις.
Str. And yet, in the instance of discrimination just mentioned there was, first, the separation of worse from better, and, secondly, of like from like.
ΞΕ. καὶ μὴν ἔν γε ταῖς εἰρημέναις διακρίσεσι τὸ μὲν χεῖρον ἀπὸ βελτίονος ἀποχωρίζειν ἦν, τὸ δʼ ὅμοιον ἀφʼ ὁμοίου.
Theaet. Yes, as you now express it, that is pretty clear.
ΘΕΑΙ. σχεδὸν οὕτω νῦν λεχθὲν φαίνεται.
Str. Now I know no common name for the second kind of discrimination; but I do know the name of the kind which retains the better and throws away the worse.
ΞΕ. τῆς μὲν τοίνυν ὄνομα οὐκ ἔχω λεγόμενον· τῆς δὲ καταλειπούσης μὲν τὸ βέλτιον διακρίσεως, τὸ δὲ χεῖρον ἀποβαλλούσης ἔχω.
Theaet. What is it?
ΘΕΑΙ. λέγε τί.
Str. Every such discrimination, as I think, is universally called a sort of purification.
ΞΕ. πᾶσα ἡ τοιαύτη διάκρισις, ὡς ἐγὼ συννοῶ, λέγεται παρὰ πάντων καθαρμός τις.
Theaet. Yes, so it is.
ΘΕΑΙ. λέγεται γὰρ οὖν.
Str. And could not anyone see that purification is of two kinds?
ΞΕ. οὐκοῦν τό γε καθαρτικὸν εἶδος αὖ διπλοῦν ὂν πᾶς ἂν ἴδοι;
Theaet. Yes, perhaps, in time; but still I do not see it now.
ΘΕΑΙ. ναί, κατὰ σχολήν γε ἴσως· οὐ μὴν ἔγωγε καθορῶ νῦν.
Str. Still there are many kinds of purifications of bodies, and they may all properly be included under one name.
ΞΕ. καὶ μὴν τά γε περὶ τὰ σώματα πολλὰ εἴδη καθάρσεων ἑνὶ περιλαβεῖν ὀνόματι προσήκει.
Theaet. What are they and what is the name?
ΘΕΑΙ. ποῖα καὶ τίνι;
Str. The purification of living creatures, having to do with impurities within the body, such as are successfully discriminated by gymnastics and medicine, and with those outside of the body, not nice to speak of, such as are attended to by the bath-keeper’s art; and the purification of inanimate bodies, which is the special care of the fuller’s art and in general of the art of exterior decoration; this, with its petty subdivisions, has taken on many names which seem ridiculous.
ΞΕ. τά τε τῶν ζῴων, ὅσα ἐντὸς σωμάτων ὑπὸ γυμναστικῆς ἰατρικῆς τε ὀρθῶς διακρινόμενα καθαίρεται καὶ περὶ τἀκτός, εἰπεῖν μὲν φαῦλα, ὅσα βαλανευτικὴ παρέχεται·