Plato · Complete work
Stephanus 21b
Stephanus 21b of 125. Read it here for reference, or continue through the entire work without leaving the reader.
Open the complete readerOriginal Ancient Greek
σκέψασθε δὴ ὧν ἕνεκα ταῦτα λέγω· μέλλω γὰρ ὑμᾶς διδάξειν ὅθεν μοι ἡ διαβολὴ γέγονεν. ταῦτα γὰρ ἐγὼ ἀκούσας ἐνεθυμούμην οὑτωσί· τί ποτε λέγει ὁ θεός, καὶ τί ποτε αἰνίττεται; ἐγὼ γὰρ δὴ οὔτε μέγα οὔτε σμικρὸν σύνοιδα ἐμαυτῷ σοφὸς ὤν· τί οὖν ποτε λέγει φάσκων ἐμὲ σοφώτατον εἶναι; οὐ γὰρ δήπου ψεύδεταί γε· οὐ γὰρ θέμις αὐτῷ. καὶ πολὺν μὲν χρόνον ἠπόρουν τί ποτε λέγει· ἔπειτα μόγις πάνυ ἐπὶ ζήτησιν αὐτοῦ τοιαύτην τινὰ ἐτραπόμην. ἦλθον ἐπί τινα τῶν δοκούντων σοφῶν εἶναι, ὡς
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.
Consider, then, why I am telling you this; for I am about to explain to you where the slander against me arose. When I heard these things, I reflected in this way: “What in the world does the god mean, and what is his riddle? For I am conscious of possessing no wisdom, great or small. What, then, can he mean by declaring that I am the wisest? Surely he cannot be lying; that would not be lawful for him.” For a long time I was at a loss as to what he meant. Then, with great reluctance, I turned to an inquiry into the matter, in some such manner as this. I went to one of those reputed to be wise, thinking that there, if anywhere, I should
Mouseia
Mouseia’s complete Plain English edition, made independently and directly from all 125 Ancient Greek Stephanus sections.
Now consider why I say this, for I am going to explain to you where the slander against me came from. When I heard these things, I reflected as follows: “What can the god mean, and what is he hinting at? For I am conscious that I am not wise in anything, great or small. So what can he mean by saying that I am the wisest? Surely he cannot be lying, for that is not permitted to him.” For a long time I was at a loss as to what he meant. Then, very reluctantly, I turned to an investigation of the matter along these lines. I went to one of those reputed to be wise, thinking that there, if anywhere,