Plato · Complete work
Stephanus 31d
Stephanus 31d of 125. Read it here for reference, or continue through the entire work without leaving the reader.
Open the complete readerOriginal Ancient Greek
δαιμόνιον γίγνεται, ὃ δὴ καὶ ἐν τῇ γραφῇ ἐπικωμῳδῶν Μέλητος ἐγράψατο. ἐμοὶ δὲ τοῦτʼ ἔστιν ἐκ παιδὸς ἀρξάμενον, φωνή τις γιγνομένη, ἣ ὅταν γένηται, ἀεὶ ἀποτρέπει με τοῦτο ὃ ἂν μέλλω πράττειν, προτρέπει δὲ οὔποτε. τοῦτʼ ἔστιν ὅ μοι ἐναντιοῦται τὰ πολιτικὰ πράττειν, καὶ παγκάλως γέ μοι δοκεῖ ἐναντιοῦσθαι· εὖ γὰρ ἴστε, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, εἰ ἐγὼ πάλαι ἐπεχείρησα πράττειν τὰ πολιτικὰ πράγματα, πάλαι ἂν ἀπολώλη καὶ οὔτʼ ἂν ὑμᾶς ὠφελήκη
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.
spiritual comes to me, the very thing that Meletus made sport of in his indictment. This has been with me since childhood: a kind of voice that comes to me and, whenever it comes, always turns me away from what I am about to do, but never urges me forward. This is what opposes my taking part in politics, and it seems to me entirely right that it should oppose me. For you may be sure, gentlemen of Athens, that if I had long ago attempted to take part in political affairs, I would long ago have perished and would have benefited neither you
Mouseia
Mouseia’s complete Plain English edition, made independently and directly from all 125 Ancient Greek Stephanus sections.
spiritual comes to me, the very thing that Meletus mockingly referred to in his indictment. This began for me in childhood: a kind of voice comes to me, and whenever it comes, it always turns me away from what I am about to do, but never urges me forward. This is what opposes my taking part in politics, and it seems to me entirely right that it does so. For you may be certain, gentlemen of Athens, that if I had tried long ago to take part in political affairs, I would have died long ago and would have benefited neither you