Plato, Protagoras, ed. John Burnet, 337

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[337] 337 337a

ΣΩ.

εἰπόντος δὲ αὐτοῦ ταῦτα, ὁ Πρόδικος, καλῶς μοι, ἔφη, δοκεῖς λέγειν, ὦ Κριτία· χρὴ γὰρ τοὺς ἐν τοιοῖσδε λόγοις παραγιγνομένους κοινοὺς μὲν εἶναι ἀμφοῖν τοῖν διαλεγομένοιν ἀκροατάς, ἴσους δὲ μή—ἔστιν γὰρ οὐ ταὐτόν· κοινῇ μὲν γὰρ ἀκοῦσαι δεῖ ἀμφοτέρων, μὴ ἴσον δὲ νεῖμαι ἑκατέρῳ, ἀλλὰ τῷ μὲν σοφωτέρῳ πλέον, τῷ δὲ ἀμαθεστέρῳ ἔλαττον. ἐγὼ μὲν καὶ αὐτός, ὦ Πρωταγόρα τε καὶ Σώκρατες, ἀξιῶ ὑμᾶς συγχωρεῖν καὶ ἀλλήλοις περὶ τῶν λόγων ἀμφισβητεῖν μέν, 337b ἐρίζειν δὲ μή—ἀμφισβητοῦσι μὲν γὰρ καὶ διʼ εὔνοιαν οἱ φίλοι τοῖς φίλοις, ἐρίζουσιν δὲ οἱ διάφοροί τε καὶ ἐχθροὶ ἀλλήλοις—καὶ οὕτως ἂν καλλίστη ἡμῖν ἡ συνουσία γίγνοιτο· ὑμεῖς τε γὰρ οἱ λέγοντες μάλιστʼ ἂν οὕτως ἐν ἡμῖν τοῖς ἀκούουσιν εὐδοκιμοῖτε καὶ οὐκ ἐπαινοῖσθε—εὐδοκιμεῖν μὲν γὰρ ἔστιν παρὰ ταῖς ψυχαῖς τῶν ἀκουόντων ἄνευ ἀπάτης, ἐπαινεῖσθαι δὲ ἐν λόγῳ πολλάκις παρὰ δόξαν ψευδομένων— 337c ἡμεῖς τʼ αὖ οἱ ἀκούοντες μάλιστʼ ἂν οὕτως εὐφραινοίμεθα, οὐχ ἡδοίμεσθα—εὐφραίνεσθαι μὲν γὰρ ἔστιν μανθάνοντά τι καὶ φρονήσεως μεταλαμβάνοντα αὐτῇ τῇ διανοίᾳ, ἥδεσθαι δὲ ἐσθίοντά τι ἢ ἄλλο ἡδὺ πάσχοντα αὐτῷ τῷ σώματι.
ταῦτα οὖν εἰπόντος τοῦ Προδίκου πολλοὶ πάνυ τῶν παρόντων ἀπεδέξαντο· μετὰ δὲ τὸν πρόδικον Ἱππίας ὁ σοφὸς εἶπεν, ὦ ἄνδρες, ἔφη, οἱ παρόντες, ἡγοῦμαι ἐγὼ ὑμᾶς συγγενεῖς τε καὶ οἰκείους καὶ πολίτας ἅπαντας εἶναι— 337d φύσει, οὐ νόμῳ· τὸ γὰρ ὅμοιον τῷ ὁμοίῳ φύσει συγγενές ἐστιν, ὁ δὲ νόμος, τύραννος ὢν τῶν ἀνθρώπων, πολλὰ παρὰ τὴν φύσιν βιάζεται—ἡμᾶς οὖν αἰσχρὸν τὴν μὲν φύσιν τῶν πραγμάτων εἰδέναι, σοφωτάτους δὲ ὄντας τῶν Ἑλλήνων, καὶ κατʼ αὐτὸ τοῦτο νῦν συνεληλυθότας τῆς τε Ἑλλάδος εἰς αὐτὸ τὸ πρυτανεῖον τῆς σοφίας καὶ αὐτῆς τῆς πόλεως εἰς τὸν μέγιστον καὶ ὀλβιώτατον οἶκον τόνδε, μηδὲν τούτου τοῦ 337e ἀξιώματος ἄξιον ἀποφήνασθαι, ἀλλʼ ὥσπερ τοὺς φαυλοτάτους τῶν ἀνθρώπων διαφέρεσθαι ἀλλήλοις.

Protagoras. Plato. ed. John Burnet. Oxford. 1903.

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Current edition Perseus

Πρωταγόρας (Greek) (Platonis Opera, Tomus III: Tetralogia V-VII. Burnet, John, editor. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1903.)

Translations (1)

Protagoras Perseus (Plato in Twelve Volumes, Vol. 2. Lamb, W.R.M., translator. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1924 (printing).) — 337 focus

Soc.

When he had said this, Prodicus¹ remarked: I think you are right, Critias: those who attend this sort of discussion ought to be joint, but not equal, hearers of both disputants. For there is a difference: we should listen jointly to them both, yet not give equal heed to each, but more to the wiser and less to the less intelligent. I on my part also, Protagoras and Socrates, call upon you to accede to our request, and to dispute, 337b but not wrangle, with each other over your arguments: for friends dispute with friends, just from good feeling; whereas wrangling is between those who are at variance and enmity with one another. In this way our meeting will have highest success, since you the speakers will thus earn the greatest measure of good repute, not praise, from us who hear you. For good repute is present in the hearers’ souls without deception, but praise is too often in the words of liars who hide what they really think. 337c Again, we listeners would thus be most comforted, not pleased; for he is comforted who learns something and gets a share of good sense in his mind alone, whereas he is pleased who eats something or has some other pleasant sensation only in his body.
When Prodicus had thus spoken, quite a number of the company showed their approval then after Prodicus the learned Hippias² spoke: Gentlemen, he said, who are here present, I regard you all as kinsmen and intimates and fellow-citizens by nature, not by law: 337d for like is akin to like by nature, whereas law, despot of mankind, often constrains us against nature. Hence it would be shameful if we, while knowing the nature of things, should yet—being the wisest of the Greeks, and having met together for the very purpose in the very sanctuary of the wisdom of Greece, and in this the greatest and most auspicious house of the city of cities—display no worthy sign of this dignity, 337e but should quarrel with each other like low churls.

Commentary

Commentary on Plato, Protagoras (Plato. Platonis Protagoras. Adam, James; Adam, Adela Marion, editors. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1921.) focus

ὁ Πρόδικος—ἔφη . Prodicus contrives to make his remarks an ἐπίδειξις on ὀρθότης ὀνομάτων , which was his leading subject of instruction: see Euthyd. 277E and cf. above on 314C The distinctions drawn by Prodicus are on the whole sound if somewhat wiredrawn and pedantic. The carefully balanced style of the speech finds a parallel in the story of Heracles in Xen. Mem. II. I. 21 ff.: cf. especially §§ 31-3.

κοινοὺς—ἀκροατάς—ἴσους. κοινόςand ἴσος are found as epithets of ἀκροατής in the orators: e.g. Dem. De Cor. 7 τὰ τοῦ λέγοντος ὑστέπου δίκαια εὐνοϊκῶς ρποσδέξεται καὶ ραπασχὼν ἑαυτὸν ἴσον καὶ κοινὸν ἀμφοτέποις ἀκποατὴν οὕτω τὴν διάγνωσιν ποιήσεται περὶ πάντων , and Andoc. in Alcib. § 7 δέομαι δ’ ὑμῶν, τῶν λόγων ἴσους καὶ κοινοὺς ἡμῖν ἐπιστάτας γενέσθαι (Heindorf).

τῷ μὲν σοφωτέρῳ πλέον κτλ. In other words ἰσότης γεωμετρική and not ἰσότης ἀριθμητική should be observed by the audience ( Gorg. 508A ): the regard paid to the speakers should be in proportion to their merit.

ἀμφισβητεῖν—ἐρίζειν . Cicero's translation of this sentence is preserved by Priscian (Nobbe's Cicero, p. 1313): ‘Nunc a vobis, a Protagora et Socrate ( leg. o Protagora et Socrates), postulo, ut de isto concedatis alter alteri, et inter vos de huiuscemodi rebus controversemini, non concertetis.’

εὐδοκιμοῖτε καὶ οὐκ ἐπαινοῖσθε . Heindorf suggests that ἀλλ’ οὐκ should be written for καὶ οὐκ , or καί omitted; but καί is occasionally used in this way.

ἄνευ ἀπάτης is opposed to παρὰ δόξαν ψευδομένων : εὐδοκιμεῖν implies that he with whom one εὐδοκιμεῖ is sincere. ἐν λόγῳ as opposed to παρὰ ταῖς ψυχαῖς suggests Shak. ‘Mouthhonour, breath, which the poor heart would fain deny, but dare not’.

εὐφραίνεσθαι is connected by Prodicus with φρόνησις ( φρονήσεως μεταλαμβάνοντα ): for a fantastic derivation of the kindred εὐφροσύνη see Crat. 419D παντὶ γὰρ δῆλον ὅτι ἀπὸ τοῦ εὖ τοῖς ρπάγμασι τὴν ψυχὴν ξυμφέπεσθαι τοῦτο ἔλαβε τὸ ὄνομα, εὐφεροσύνην, τό γε δίκαιον· ὅμως δὲ αὐτὸ καλοῦμεν εὐφροσύνην. Cf. Ar. Top. II. 6, p. 112 b . 22 Πρόδικος διῃρεῖτο τὰς ἡδονὰς εἰς χαρὰν καὶ τέρψιν καὶ εὐφροσύνην . The Greek usage of this word hardly conformed to the rule laid down by Prodicus.

αὐτῇ τῇ διανοίᾳ : αὐτῆ? is ‘by itself’, i.e. without the body, as αὐτῷ in αὐτῷ τῷ σώματι is without the mind. ἡδύ is introduced to give the derivation of ἥδεσθαι .

τύραννος—βιάζεται . Hippias has in view the lines of Pindar quoted in Gorg. 484B νόμος ὁ πάντων βασιλεὺς θνατῶν τε καὶ ἀθανάτων—ἄγε. δικαιῶν τὸ βιαιότατον ὑπερτάτᾳ χειρὶ κτλ.

πρυτανεῖον τῆς σοφίας . The prytaneum (like the temple of Vesta at Rome) was the religious centre of a Greek πόλις . It was sacred to Ἑστία , in whose honour fire was always kept burning, and contained what was called the ‘Common Hearth’ of the city: see Frazer in Journal of Philology, XIV, 145-72. The editors refer to Athenaeus, v. 187D τὴν Ἀθηναίων ρόλιν, τὸ τῆς Ἑλλάδος μουσεῖον, ἣν ὁ μὲν Ρίνδαπος Ἑλλάδος ἔπεισμα ἔφη, Θουκυδίδης δ’ ἐν τῷ εἰς Εὐπιρίδην ἐριγπάμματι Ἑλλάδος Ἑλλάδα, ὁ δὲ Πύθιος ἑστίαν καὶ πρυτανεῖον τῶν Ἑλλήνων .

συμβῆναι—ὥσπερ ὑπὸ διαιτητῶν ἡμῶν συμβιβαζόντων. συμβαίνωforms a passive to συμβιβάζω as πάσχειν to ποιεῖν , whence ὑπό : see note on Apol. 17A . συμβιβάζω is regular in the sense of bringing together, effecting an arrangement between: cf. (with Sauppe) Thuc. II. 29. 6 ξυνεβίβασε δὲ καὶ τὸν Περδίκκαν τοῖς Ἀθηναίοις . Note that ἡμῶν has no preposition with it—this is frequent (but not universal) in similes where ὥσπερ and a preposition precede the object compared, and the effect is almost to make the simile an identification: if on the other hand the object compared comes first, the preposition must be expressed twice. Cf. Theaet. 170A ὥσπερ πρὸς θεοὺς ἔχειν τοὺς ἐν ἑκάστοις ἄρχοντας(which might have been πρὸς τοὺς ἐν ἑκάστοις ἄρχοντας ὥσπερ πρὸς θεοὺς ἔχειν ) and see notes on Crito, 46C , Euthyphr. 2C .

Plato Protagoras 337

ed. John Burnet

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