Plato · Complete work
Stephanus 38a
Stephanus 38a of 125. Read it here for reference, or continue through the entire work without leaving the reader.
Open the complete readerOriginal Ancient Greek
ἡσυχίαν ἄγειν, οὐ πείσεσθέ μοι ὡς εἰρωνευομένῳ· ἐάντʼ αὖ λέγω ὅτι καὶ τυγχάνει μέγιστον ἀγαθὸν ὂν ἀνθρώπῳ τοῦτο, ἑκάστης ἡμέρας περὶ ἀρετῆς τοὺς λόγους ποιεῖσθαι καὶ τῶν ἄλλων περὶ ὧν ὑμεῖς ἐμοῦ ἀκούετε διαλεγομένου καὶ ἐμαυτὸν καὶ ἄλλους ἐξετάζοντος, ὁ δὲ ἀνεξέταστος βίος οὐ βιωτὸς ἀνθρώπῳ, ταῦτα δʼ ἔτι ἧττον πείσεσθέ μοι λέγοντι. τὰ δὲ ἔχει μὲν οὕτως, ὡς ἐγώ φημι, ὦ ἄνδρες, πείθειν δὲ οὐ ῥᾴδιον. καὶ ἐγὼ ἅμα οὐκ εἴθισμαι ἐμαυτὸν ἀξιοῦν κακοῦ
Mouseia
Mouseia’s complete machine-assisted Musean translation, made directly from the complete Ancient Greek text across all 125 Stephanus sections for fidelity, philosophical precision, Socratic voice, legal clarity, and structure.
to keep quiet, you will not believe me, thinking that I am being ironical. And if I say, in turn, that this happens to be the greatest good for a human being—to discuss virtue every day, and the other matters about which you hear me conversing and examining both myself and others, and that the unexamined life is not worth living for a human being—you will believe me still less when I say this. Yet the matter stands as I say it does, gentlemen, though it is not easy to persuade you. At the same time, I am not accustomed to considering myself deserving of any evil.
Mouseia
Mouseia’s complete Plain English edition, made independently and directly from all 125 Ancient Greek Stephanus sections.
to live quietly, you will not believe me, thinking that I am being ironic. And if I say in turn that this is actually the greatest good for a human being—to discuss virtue every day, as well as the other subjects about which you hear me conversing and examining both myself and others, and that the unexamined life is not worth living for a human being—you will believe me even less when I say that. Yet things are as I say, gentlemen, though it is not easy to persuade you. At the same time, I am not accustomed to considering myself deserving of any harm.