Plato · Complete work
Stephanus 106
Stephanus 106 of 16. Read it here for reference, or continue through the entire work without leaving the reader.
Open the complete readerOriginal Ancient Greek
106a ΤΙ. ὡς ἅσμενος, ὦ Σώκρατες, οἷον ἐκ μακρᾶς ἀναπεπαυμένος ὁδοῦ, νῦν οὕτως ἐκ τῆς τοῦ λόγου διαπορείας ἀγαπητῶς ἀπήλλαγμαι. τῷ δὲ πρὶν μὲν πάλαι ποτʼ ἔργῳ, νῦν δὲ λόγοις ἄρτι θεῷ γεγονότι προσεύχομαι, τῶν ῥηθέντων ὅσα μὲν ἐρρήθη μετρίως, σωτηρίαν ἡμῖν αὐτὸν αὐτῶν 106b διδόναι, παρὰ μέλος δὲ εἴ τι περὶ αὐτῶν ἄκοντες εἴπομεν, δίκην τὴν πρέπουσαν ἐπιτιθέναι. δίκη δὲ ὀρθὴ τὸν πλημμελοῦντα ἐμμελῆ ποιεῖν· ἵνʼ οὖν τὸ λοιπὸν τοὺς περὶ θεῶν γενέσεως ὀρθῶς λέγωμεν λόγους, φάρμακον ἡμῖν αὐτὸν τελεώτατον καὶ ἄριστον φαρμάκων ἐπιστήμην εὐχόμεθα διδόναι, προσευξάμενοι δὲ παραδίδομεν κατὰ τὰς ὁμολογίας Κριτίᾳ τὸν ἑξῆς λόγον.
ΚΡΙ. ἀλλʼ, ὦ Τίμαιε, δέχομαι μέν, ᾧ δὲ καὶ σὺ κατʼ 106c ἀρχὰς ἐχρήσω, συγγνώμην αἰτούμενος ὡς περὶ μεγάλων μέλλων λέγειν, ταὐτὸν καὶ νῦν ἐγὼ τοῦτο παραιτοῦμαι,
Musean translation
Mouseia's complete machine-assisted Musean translation, made directly from the complete Greek text (John Burnet's Oxford edition, Perseus Digital Library) across all 16 Stephanus pages and 76 sections, for fidelity, descriptive clarity, dialogue, and structure.
106a Timaeus: How glad I am, Socrates, to have won through at last and escaped the long journey of the argument, as a man rests gladly at the end of a road. And to the god who of old was real in deed and has only now come to be in words I offer my prayer: that, of what has been said, where it was said in due measure, he may grant us 106b safe deliverance; and if against our will we spoke any note out of tune about these things, that he impose the fitting penalty—for the right penalty is to bring the offender back into tune. So that from now on we may speak correctly about the coming-to-be of the gods, we pray that he give us the most perfect remedy, the best of remedies, knowledge; and having prayed, we hand over the next account to Critias, according to our agreement.
Critias: I accept it, Timaeus; and the same plea that you yourself made at the 106c outset, asking indulgence because you were about to speak of great matters—that same request I too now put forward,
Plain English translation
Mouseia's complete Plain English edition, made independently and directly from all 16 Stephanus pages of the Greek.
106a Timaeus: How glad I am, Socrates. It is like being rested after a long journey. Now I am gladly free at last from the hard going of the account. I pray to the god who long ago was real in deed but has only now come to be in words. I ask him to keep safe for us whatever parts of what we said were said well. 106b If we said anything out of tune about them without meaning to, I ask him to impose the fitting correction. The right correction makes the person who hit a wrong note sing in tune. So that we may speak rightly from now on about the coming to be of the gods, we pray that he give us knowledge, which is the most complete and best of all remedies. Having prayed, we now hand over the next account to Critias, as we agreed.
Critias: But Timaeus, I accept it. You too used a request at the 106c beginning, asking for indulgence because you were going to speak about great matters. I ask for the very same thing now,
R. G. Bury (1929) translation
Public-domain Loeb translation from the Greek (Plato in Twelve Volumes, vol. 9, Harvard University Press, 1929), in the Perseus Digital Library's digital text, with the same Stephanus pages and sections as the Greek.
106a Timaeus: How gladly do I now welcome my release, Socrates, from my protracted discourse, even as a traveller who takes his rest after a long journey! And I make my prayer to that God who has recently been created by our speech (although in reality created of old), that he will grant to us the conservation of all our sayings that have been rightly said, 106b and, if unwittingly we have spoken aught discordantly, that he will impose the fitting penalty. And the correct penalty is to bring into tune him that is out of tune. In order, then, that for the future we may declare the story of the birth of the gods aright, we pray that he will grant to us that medicine which of all medicines is the most perfect and most good, even knowledge; and having made our prayer, we deliver over to Critias, in accordance with our compact, the task of speaking next in order.
Critias: And I accept the task, Timaeus; but the request which you yourself made at the beginning, 106c when you asked for indulgence on the ground of the magnitude of the theme you were about to expound, that same request I also make now on my own behalf, and I claim indeed to be granted a still larger measure of indulgence