第1章

TranslatedbyBenjaminJowett APPENDIXII。 ThetwodialogueswhicharetranslatedinthesecondappendixarenotmentionedbyAristotle，orbyanyearlyauthority，andhavenoclaimtobeascribedtoPlato。TheyareexamplesofPlatonicdialoguestobeassignedprobablytothesecondorthirdgenerationafterPlato，whenhiswritingswerewellknownatAthensandAlexandria。Theyexhibitconsiderableoriginality，andareremarkableforcontainingseveralthoughtsofthesortwhichwesupposetobemodernratherthanancient，andwhichthereforehaveapeculiarinterestforus。TheSecondAlcibiadesshowsthatthedifficultiesaboutprayerwhichhaveperplexedChristiantheologianswerenotunknownamongthefollowersofPlato。TheEryxiaswasdoubtedbytheancientsthemselves:yetitmayclaimthedistinctionofbeing，amongallGreekorRomanwritings，theonewhichanticipatesinthemoststrikingmannerthemodernscienceofpoliticaleconomyandgivesanabstractformtosomeofitsprincipaldoctrines。 ForthetranslationofthesetwodialoguesIamindebtedtomyfriendandsecretary，Mr。Knight。 ThattheDialoguewhichgoesbythenameoftheSecondAlcibiadesisagenuinewritingofPlatowillnotbemaintainedbyanymoderncritic，andwashardlybelievedbytheancientsthemselves。Thedialecticispoorandweak。Thereisnopoweroverlanguage，orbeautyofstyle;andthereisacertainabruptnessandagroikiaintheconversation，whichisveryun— Platonic。Thebestpassageisprobablythataboutthepoets:——theremarkthatthepoet，whoisofareserveddisposition，isuncommonlydifficulttounderstand，andtheridiculousinterpretationofHomer，areentirelyinthespiritofPlato（compareProtag;Ion;Apol。）。Thecharactersareill— drawn。Socratesassumesthe’superiorperson’andpreachestoomuch，whileAlcibiadesisstupidandheavy—in—hand。TherearetracesofStoicinfluenceinthegeneraltoneandphraseologyoftheDialogue（compareoposmeleseitis……kaka:otipasaphronmainetai）:andthewriterseemstohavebeenacquaintedwiththe’Laws’ofPlato（compareLaws）。AnincidentfromtheSymposiumisratherclumsilyintroduced，andtwosomewhathackneyedquotations（Symp。，Gorg。）recur。ThereferencetothedeathofArchelausashavingoccurred’quitelately’isonlyafiction，probablysuggestedbytheGorgias，wherethestoryofArchelausistold，andasimilarphraseoccurs;——tagarechtheskaiproengegonotatauta，k。t。l。 Thereareseveralpassageswhichareeithercorruptorextremelyill— expressed。Butthereisamoderninterestinthesubjectofthedialogue; anditisagoodexampleofashortspuriouswork，whichmaybeattributedtothesecondorthirdcenturybeforeChrist。 ALCIBIADESII byPlatonicImitator（seeAppendixIIabove） TranslatedbyBenjaminJowettPERSONSOFTHEDIALOGUE:SocratesandAlcibiades。 SOCRATES:Areyougoing，Alcibiades，toofferprayertoZeus？ ALCIBIADES:Yes，Socrates，Iam。 SOCRATES:youseemtobetroubledandtocastyoureyesontheground，asthoughyouwerethinkingaboutsomething。 ALCIBIADES:OfwhatdoyousupposethatIamthinking？ SOCRATES:Ofthegreatestofallthings，asIbelieve。Tellme，doyounotsupposethattheGodssometimespartlygrantandpartlyrejecttherequestswhichwemakeinpublicandprivate，andfavoursomepersonsandnotothers？ ALCIBIADES:Certainly。 SOCRATES:Doyounotimagine，then，thatamanoughttobeverycareful，lestperchancewithoutknowingitheimploregreatevilsforhimself，deemingthatheisaskingforgood，especiallyiftheGodsareinthemoodtograntwhateverhemayrequest？ThereisthestoryofOedipus，forinstance，whoprayedthathischildrenmightdividetheirinheritancebetweenthembythesword:hedidnot，ashemighthavedone，begthathispresentevilsmightbeaverted，butcalleddownnewones。Andwasnothisprayeraccomplished，anddidnotmanyandterribleevilsthencearise，uponwhichIneednotdilate？ ALCIBIADES:Yes，Socrates，butyouarespeakingofamadman:surelyyoudonotthinkthatanyoneinhissenseswouldventuretomakesuchaprayer？ SOCRATES:Madness，then，youconsidertobetheoppositeofdiscretion？ ALCIBIADES:Ofcourse。 SOCRATES:Andsomemenseemtoyoutobediscreet，andothersthecontrary？ ALCIBIADES:Theydo。 SOCRATES:Well，then，letusdiscusswhotheseare。Weacknowledgethatsomearediscreet，somefoolish，andthatsomearemad？ ALCIBIADES:Yes。 SOCRATES:Andagain，therearesomewhoareinhealth？ ALCIBIADES:Thereare。 SOCRATES:Whileothersareailing？ ALCIBIADES:Yes。 SOCRATES:Andtheyarenotthesame？ ALCIBIADES:Certainlynot。 SOCRATES:Norarethereanywhoareinneitherstate？ ALCIBIADES:No。 SOCRATES:Amanmusteitherbesickorbewell？ ALCIBIADES:Thatismyopinion。 SOCRATES:Verygood:anddoyouthinkthesameaboutdiscretionandwantofdiscretion？ ALCIBIADES:Howdoyoumean？ SOCRATES:Doyoubelievethatamanmustbeeitherinoroutofhissenses;oristheresomethirdorintermediatecondition，inwhichheisneitheronenortheother？ ALCIBIADES:Decidedlynot。 SOCRATES:Hemustbeeithersaneorinsane？ ALCIBIADES:SoIsuppose。 SOCRATES:Didyounotacknowledgethatmadnesswastheoppositeofdiscretion？ ALCIBIADES:Yes。 SOCRATES:Andthatthereisnothirdormiddletermbetweendiscretionandindiscretion？ ALCIBIADES:True。 SOCRATES:Andtherecannotbetwooppositestoonething？ ALCIBIADES:Therecannot。 SOCRATES:Thenmadnessandwantofsensearethesame？ ALCIBIADES:Thatappearstobethecase。 SOCRATES:Weshallbeintheright，therefore，Alcibiades，ifwesaythatallwhoaresenselessaremad。Forexample，ifamongpersonsofyourownageorolderthanyourselftherearesomewhoaresenseless，——astherecertainlyare，——theyaremad。Fortellme，byheaven，doyounotthinkthatinthecitythewisearefew，whilethefoolish，whomyoucallmad，aremany？ ALCIBIADES:Ido。 SOCRATES:Buthowcouldweliveinsafetywithsomanycrazypeople？ Shouldwenotlongsincehavepaidthepenaltyattheirhands，andhavebeenstruckandbeatenandenduredeveryotherformofill—usagewhichmadmenarewonttoinflict？Consider，mydearfriend:mayitnotbequiteotherwise？ ALCIBIADES:Why，Socrates，howisthatpossible？Imusthavebeenmistaken。 SOCRATES:Soitseemstome。Butperhapswemayconsiderthematterthus:—— ALCIBIADES:How？ SOCRATES:Iwilltellyou。Wethinkthatsomearesick;dowenot？ ALCIBIADES:Yes。 SOCRATES:Andmusteverysickpersoneitherhavethegout，orbeinafever，orsufferfromophthalmia？Ordoyoubelievethatamanmaylabourundersomeotherdisease，evenalthoughhehasnoneofthesecomplaints？ Surely，theyarenottheonlymaladieswhichexist？ ALCIBIADES:Certainlynot。 SOCRATES:Andiseverykindofophthalmiaadisease？ ALCIBIADES:Yes。 SOCRATES:Andeverydiseaseophthalmia？ ALCIBIADES:Surelynot。ButIscarcelyunderstandwhatImeanmyself。 SOCRATES:Perhaps，ifyougivemeyourbestattention，’twoofus’lookingtogether，wemayfindwhatweseek。 ALCIBIADES:Iamattending，Socrates，tothebestofmypower。 SOCRATES:Weareagreed，then，thateveryformofophthalmiaisadisease，butnoteverydiseaseophthalmia？ ALCIBIADES:Weare。 SOCRATES:Andsofarweseemtoberight。Foreveryonewhosuffersfromafeverissick;butthesick，Iconceive，donotallhavefeverorgoutorophthalmia，althougheachoftheseisadisease，which，accordingtothosewhomwecallphysicians，mayrequireadifferenttreatment。Theyarenotallalike，nordotheyproducethesameresult，buteachhasitsowneffect，andyettheyarealldiseases。Maywenottakeanillustrationfromtheartizans？ ALCIBIADES:Certainly。 SOCRATES:Therearecobblersandcarpentersandsculptorsandothersofallsortsandkinds，whomweneednotstoptoenumerate。Allhavetheirdistinctemploymentsandallareworkmen，althoughtheyarenotallofthemcobblersorcarpentersorsculptors。 ALCIBIADES:No，indeed。 SOCRATES:Andinlikemannermendifferinregardtowantofsense。Thosewhoaremostoutoftheirwitswecall’madmen，’whilewetermthosewhoarelessfargone’stupid’or’idiotic，’or，ifweprefergentlerlanguage，describethemas’romantic’or’simple—minded，’or，again，as’innocent’or’inexperienced’or’foolish。’Youmayevenfindothernames，ifyouseekforthem;butbyallofthemlackofsenseisintended。Theyonlydifferasoneartappearedtoustodifferfromanotheroronediseasefromanother。Orwhatisyouropinion？ ALCIBIADES:Iagreewithyou。 SOCRATES:Thenletusreturntothepointatwhichwedigressed。Wesaidatfirstthatweshouldhavetoconsiderwhowerethewiseandwhothefoolish。Forweacknowledgedthattherearethesetwoclasses？Didwenot？ ALCIBIADES:Tobesure。 SOCRATES:Andyouregardthoseassensiblewhoknowwhatoughttobedoneorsaid？ ALCIBIADES:Yes。 SOCRATES:Thesenselessarethosewhodonotknowthis？ ALCIBIADES:True。 SOCRATES:Thelatterwillsayordowhattheyoughtnotwithouttheirownknowledge？ ALCIBIADES:Exactly。 SOCRATES:Oedipus，asIwassaying，Alcibiades，wasapersonofthissort。 Andevennow—a—daysyouwillfindmanywho（haveofferedinauspiciousprayers），although，unlikehim，theywerenotinangernorthoughtthattheywereaskingevil。Heneithersought，norsupposedthathesoughtforgood，butothershavehadquitethecontrarynotion。IbelievethatiftheGodwhomyouareabouttoconsultshouldappeartoyou，and，inanticipationofyourrequest，enquiredwhetheryouwouldbecontentedtobecometyrantofAthens，andifthisseemedinyoureyesasmallandmeanthing，shouldaddtoitthedominionofallHellas;andseeingthateventhenyouwouldnotbesatisfiedunlessyouwererulerofthewholeofEurope，shouldpromise，notonlythat，but，ifyousodesired，shouldproclaimtoallmankindinoneandthesamedaythatAlcibiades，sonofCleinias，wastyrant:——insuchacase，Iimagine，youwoulddepartfullofjoy，asonewhohadobtainedthegreatestofgoods。 ALCIBIADES:AndnotonlyI，Socrates，butanyoneelsewhoshouldmeetwithsuchluck。 SOCRATES:YetyouwouldnotacceptthedominionandlordshipofalltheHellenesandallthebarbariansinexchangeforyourlife？ ALCIBIADES:Certainlynot:forthenwhatusecouldImakeofthem？ SOCRATES:Andwouldyouacceptthemifyouwerelikelytousethemtoabadandmischievousend？ ALCIBIADES:Iwouldnot。 SOCRATES:Youseethatitisnotsafeforamaneitherrashlytoacceptwhateverisofferedhim，orhimselftorequestathing，ifheislikelytosuffertherebyorimmediatelytolosehislife。Andyetwecouldtellofmanywho，havinglongdesiredanddiligentlylabouredtoobtainatyranny，thinkingthatthustheywouldprocureanadvantage，haveneverthelessfallenvictimstodesigningenemies。Youmusthaveheardofwhathappenedonlytheotherday，howArchelausofMacedoniawasslainbyhisbeloved（compareAristotle，Pol。），whoseloveforthetyrannywasnotlessthanthatofArchelausforhim。Thetyrannicideexpectedbyhiscrimetobecometyrantandafterwardstohaveahappylife;butwhenhehadheldthetyrannythreeorfourdays，hewasinhisturnconspiredagainstandslain。 Orlookatcertainofourowncitizens，——andoftheiractionswehavebeennothearers，buteyewitnesses，——whohavedesiredtoobtainmilitarycommand:ofthosewhohavegainedtheirobject，someareeventothisdayexilesfromthecity，whileothershavelosttheirlives。Andeventheywhoseemtohavefaredbest，havenotonlygonethroughmanyperilsandterrorsduringtheiroffice，butaftertheirreturnhometheyhavebeenbesetbyinformersworsethantheyoncewerebytheirfoes，insomuchthatseveralofthemhavewishedthattheyhadremainedinaprivatestationratherthanhavehadthegloriesofcommand。If，indeed，suchperilsandterrorswereofprofittothecommonwealth，therewouldbereasoninundergoingthem;buttheverycontraryisthecase。Again，youwillfindpersonswhohaveprayedforoffspring，andwhentheirprayerswereheard，havefallenintothegreatestpainsandsufferings。Forsomehavebegottenchildrenwhowereutterlybad，andhavethereforepassedalltheirdaysinmisery，whiletheparentsofgoodchildrenhaveundergonethemisfortuneoflosingthem，andhavebeensolittlehappierthantheothersthattheywouldhavepreferrednevertohavehadchildrenratherthantohavehadthemandlostthem。Andyet，althoughtheseandthelikeexamplesaremanifestandknownofall，itisraretofindanyonewhohasrefusedwhathasbeenofferedhim，or，ifhewerelikelytogainaughtbyprayer，hasrefrainedfrommakinghispetition。Themassofmankindwouldnotdeclinetoacceptatyranny，orthecommandofanarmy，oranyofthenumerousthingswhichcausemoreharmthangood:butrather，iftheyhadthemnot，wouldhaveprayedtoobtainthem。Andofteninashortspaceoftimetheychangetheirtone，andwishtheiroldprayersunsaid。WhereforealsoI suspectthatmenareentirelywrongwhentheyblamethegodsastheauthorsoftheillswhichbefallthem（compareRepublic）:’theirownpresumption，’ orfolly（whicheveristherightword）—— ’Hasbroughttheseunmeasuredwoesuponthem。’（Homer。Odyss。） Hemusthavebeenawisepoet，Alcibiades，who，seeingasIbelieve，hisfriendsfoolishlyprayingforanddoingthingswhichwouldnotreallyprofitthem，offeredupacommonprayerinbehalfofthemall:—— ’KingZeus，grantusgoodwhetherprayedfororunsoughtbyus; Butthatwhichweaskamiss，dothouavert。’（Theauthoroftheselines，whichareprobablyofPythagoreanorigin，isunknown。TheyarefoundalsointheAnthology（Anth。Pal。）。） Inmyopinion，Isay，thepoetspokebothwellandprudently;butifyouhaveanythingtosayinanswertohim，speakout。 ALCIBIADES:Itisdifficult，Socrates，toopposewhathasbeenwellsaid。 AndIperceivehowmanyaretheillsofwhichignoranceisthecause，since，aswouldappear，throughignorancewenotonlydo，butwhatisworse，prayforthegreatestevils。Nomanwouldimaginethathewoulddoso;hewouldrathersupposethathewasquitecapableofprayingforwhatwasbest:tocalldownevilsseemsmorelikeacursethanaprayer。 SOCRATES:Butperhaps，mygoodfriend，someonewhoiswiserthaneitheryouorIwillsaythatwehavenorighttoblameignorancethusrashly，unlesswecanaddwhatignorancewemeanandofwhat，andalsotowhomandhowitisrespectivelyagoodoranevil？ ALCIBIADES:Howdoyoumean？Canignorancepossiblybebetterthanknowledgeforanypersoninanyconceivablecase？ SOCRATES:SoIbelieve:——youdonotthinkso？ ALCIBIADES:Certainlynot。 SOCRATES:AndyetsurelyImaynotsupposethatyouwouldeverwishtoacttowardsyourmotherastheysaythatOrestesandAlcmeonandothershavedonetowardstheirparent。 ALCIBIADES:Goodwords，Socrates，prithee。 SOCRATES:Yououghtnottobidhimuseauspiciouswords，whosaysthatyouwouldnotbewillingtocommitsohorribleadeed，butratherhimwhoaffirmsthecontrary，iftheactappeartoyouunfiteventobementioned。