TranslatedbyBenjaminJowett
APPENDIXII。
ThetwodialogueswhicharetranslatedinthesecondappendixarenotmentionedbyAristotle，orbyanyearlyauthority，andhavenoclaimtobeascribedtoPlato。TheyareexamplesofPlatonicdialoguestobeassignedprobablytothesecondorthirdgenerationafterPlato，whenhiswritingswerewellknownatAthensandAlexandria。Theyexhibitconsiderableoriginality，andareremarkableforcontainingseveralthoughtsofthesortwhichwesupposetobemodernratherthanancient，andwhichthereforehaveapeculiarinterestforus。TheSecondAlcibiadesshowsthatthedifficultiesaboutprayerwhichhaveperplexedChristiantheologianswerenotunknownamongthefollowersofPlato。TheEryxiaswasdoubtedbytheancientsthemselves:yetitmayclaimthedistinctionofbeing，amongallGreekorRomanwritings，theonewhichanticipatesinthemoststrikingmannerthemodernscienceofpoliticaleconomyandgivesanabstractformtosomeofitsprincipaldoctrines。
ForthetranslationofthesetwodialoguesIamindebtedtomyfriendandsecretary，Mr。Knight。
ThattheDialoguewhichgoesbythenameoftheSecondAlcibiadesisagenuinewritingofPlatowillnotbemaintainedbyanymoderncritic，andwashardlybelievedbytheancientsthemselves。Thedialecticispoorandweak。Thereisnopoweroverlanguage，orbeautyofstyle;andthereisacertainabruptnessandagroikiaintheconversation，whichisveryun—
Platonic。Thebestpassageisprobablythataboutthepoets:——theremarkthatthepoet，whoisofareserveddisposition，isuncommonlydifficulttounderstand，andtheridiculousinterpretationofHomer，areentirelyinthespiritofPlato（compareProtag;Ion;Apol。）。Thecharactersareill—
drawn。Socratesassumesthe’superiorperson’andpreachestoomuch，whileAlcibiadesisstupidandheavy—in—hand。TherearetracesofStoicinfluenceinthegeneraltoneandphraseologyoftheDialogue（compareoposmeleseitis……kaka:otipasaphronmainetai）:andthewriterseemstohavebeenacquaintedwiththe’Laws’ofPlato（compareLaws）。AnincidentfromtheSymposiumisratherclumsilyintroduced，andtwosomewhathackneyedquotations（Symp。，Gorg。）recur。ThereferencetothedeathofArchelausashavingoccurred’quitelately’isonlyafiction，probablysuggestedbytheGorgias，wherethestoryofArchelausistold，andasimilarphraseoccurs;——tagarechtheskaiproengegonotatauta，k。t。l。
Thereareseveralpassageswhichareeithercorruptorextremelyill—
expressed。Butthereisamoderninterestinthesubjectofthedialogue;
anditisagoodexampleofashortspuriouswork，whichmaybeattributedtothesecondorthirdcenturybeforeChrist。
ALCIBIADESII
byPlatonicImitator（seeAppendixIIabove）
TranslatedbyBenjaminJowettPERSONSOFTHEDIALOGUE:SocratesandAlcibiades。
SOCRATES:Areyougoing，Alcibiades，toofferprayertoZeus？
ALCIBIADES:Yes，Socrates，Iam。
SOCRATES:youseemtobetroubledandtocastyoureyesontheground，asthoughyouwerethinkingaboutsomething。
ALCIBIADES:OfwhatdoyousupposethatIamthinking？
SOCRATES:Ofthegreatestofallthings，asIbelieve。Tellme，doyounotsupposethattheGodssometimespartlygrantandpartlyrejecttherequestswhichwemakeinpublicandprivate，andfavoursomepersonsandnotothers？
ALCIBIADES:Certainly。
SOCRATES:Doyounotimagine，then，thatamanoughttobeverycareful，lestperchancewithoutknowingitheimploregreatevilsforhimself，deemingthatheisaskingforgood，especiallyiftheGodsareinthemoodtograntwhateverhemayrequest？ThereisthestoryofOedipus，forinstance，whoprayedthathischildrenmightdividetheirinheritancebetweenthembythesword:hedidnot，ashemighthavedone，begthathispresentevilsmightbeaverted，butcalleddownnewones。Andwasnothisprayeraccomplished，anddidnotmanyandterribleevilsthencearise，uponwhichIneednotdilate？
ALCIBIADES:Yes，Socrates，butyouarespeakingofamadman:surelyyoudonotthinkthatanyoneinhissenseswouldventuretomakesuchaprayer？
SOCRATES:Madness，then，youconsidertobetheoppositeofdiscretion？
ALCIBIADES:Ofcourse。
SOCRATES:Andsomemenseemtoyoutobediscreet，andothersthecontrary？
ALCIBIADES:Theydo。
SOCRATES:Well，then，letusdiscusswhotheseare。Weacknowledgethatsomearediscreet，somefoolish，andthatsomearemad？
ALCIBIADES:Yes。
SOCRATES:Andagain，therearesomewhoareinhealth？
ALCIBIADES:Thereare。
SOCRATES:Whileothersareailing？
ALCIBIADES:Yes。
SOCRATES:Andtheyarenotthesame？
ALCIBIADES:Certainlynot。
SOCRATES:Norarethereanywhoareinneitherstate？
ALCIBIADES:No。
SOCRATES:Amanmusteitherbesickorbewell？
ALCIBIADES:Thatismyopinion。
SOCRATES:Verygood:anddoyouthinkthesameaboutdiscretionandwantofdiscretion？
ALCIBIADES:Howdoyoumean？
SOCRATES:Doyoubelievethatamanmustbeeitherinoroutofhissenses;oristheresomethirdorintermediatecondition，inwhichheisneitheronenortheother？
ALCIBIADES:Decidedlynot。
SOCRATES:Hemustbeeithersaneorinsane？
ALCIBIADES:SoIsuppose。
SOCRATES:Didyounotacknowledgethatmadnesswastheoppositeofdiscretion？
ALCIBIADES:Yes。
SOCRATES:Andthatthereisnothirdormiddletermbetweendiscretionandindiscretion？
ALCIBIADES:True。
SOCRATES:Andtherecannotbetwooppositestoonething？
ALCIBIADES:Therecannot。
SOCRATES:Thenmadnessandwantofsensearethesame？
ALCIBIADES:Thatappearstobethecase。
SOCRATES:Weshallbeintheright，therefore，Alcibiades，ifwesaythatallwhoaresenselessaremad。Forexample，ifamongpersonsofyourownageorolderthanyourselftherearesomewhoaresenseless，——astherecertainlyare，——theyaremad。Fortellme，byheaven，doyounotthinkthatinthecitythewisearefew，whilethefoolish，whomyoucallmad，aremany？
ALCIBIADES:Ido。
SOCRATES:Buthowcouldweliveinsafetywithsomanycrazypeople？
Shouldwenotlongsincehavepaidthepenaltyattheirhands，andhavebeenstruckandbeatenandenduredeveryotherformofill—usagewhichmadmenarewonttoinflict？Consider，mydearfriend:mayitnotbequiteotherwise？
ALCIBIADES:Why，Socrates，howisthatpossible？Imusthavebeenmistaken。
SOCRATES:Soitseemstome。Butperhapswemayconsiderthematterthus:——
ALCIBIADES:How？
SOCRATES:Iwilltellyou。Wethinkthatsomearesick;dowenot？
ALCIBIADES:Yes。
SOCRATES:Andmusteverysickpersoneitherhavethegout，orbeinafever，orsufferfromophthalmia？Ordoyoubelievethatamanmaylabourundersomeotherdisease，evenalthoughhehasnoneofthesecomplaints？
Surely，theyarenottheonlymaladieswhichexist？
ALCIBIADES:Certainlynot。
SOCRATES:Andiseverykindofophthalmiaadisease？
ALCIBIADES:Yes。
SOCRATES:Andeverydiseaseophthalmia？
ALCIBIADES:Surelynot。ButIscarcelyunderstandwhatImeanmyself。
SOCRATES:Perhaps，ifyougivemeyourbestattention，’twoofus’lookingtogether，wemayfindwhatweseek。
ALCIBIADES:Iamattending，Socrates，tothebestofmypower。
SOCRATES:Weareagreed，then，thateveryformofophthalmiaisadisease，butnoteverydiseaseophthalmia？
ALCIBIADES:Weare。
SOCRATES:Andsofarweseemtoberight。Foreveryonewhosuffersfromafeverissick;butthesick，Iconceive，donotallhavefeverorgoutorophthalmia，althougheachoftheseisadisease，which，accordingtothosewhomwecallphysicians，mayrequireadifferenttreatment。Theyarenotallalike，nordotheyproducethesameresult，buteachhasitsowneffect，andyettheyarealldiseases。Maywenottakeanillustrationfromtheartizans？
ALCIBIADES:Certainly。
SOCRATES:Therearecobblersandcarpentersandsculptorsandothersofallsortsandkinds，whomweneednotstoptoenumerate。Allhavetheirdistinctemploymentsandallareworkmen，althoughtheyarenotallofthemcobblersorcarpentersorsculptors。
ALCIBIADES:No，indeed。
SOCRATES:Andinlikemannermendifferinregardtowantofsense。Thosewhoaremostoutoftheirwitswecall’madmen，’whilewetermthosewhoarelessfargone’stupid’or’idiotic，’or，ifweprefergentlerlanguage，describethemas’romantic’or’simple—minded，’or，again，as’innocent’or’inexperienced’or’foolish。’Youmayevenfindothernames，ifyouseekforthem;butbyallofthemlackofsenseisintended。Theyonlydifferasoneartappearedtoustodifferfromanotheroronediseasefromanother。Orwhatisyouropinion？
ALCIBIADES:Iagreewithyou。
SOCRATES:Thenletusreturntothepointatwhichwedigressed。Wesaidatfirstthatweshouldhavetoconsiderwhowerethewiseandwhothefoolish。Forweacknowledgedthattherearethesetwoclasses？Didwenot？
ALCIBIADES:Tobesure。
SOCRATES:Andyouregardthoseassensiblewhoknowwhatoughttobedoneorsaid？
ALCIBIADES:Yes。
SOCRATES:Thesenselessarethosewhodonotknowthis？
ALCIBIADES:True。
SOCRATES:Thelatterwillsayordowhattheyoughtnotwithouttheirownknowledge？
ALCIBIADES:Exactly。
SOCRATES:Oedipus，asIwassaying，Alcibiades，wasapersonofthissort。
Andevennow—a—daysyouwillfindmanywho（haveofferedinauspiciousprayers），although，unlikehim，theywerenotinangernorthoughtthattheywereaskingevil。Heneithersought，norsupposedthathesoughtforgood，butothershavehadquitethecontrarynotion。IbelievethatiftheGodwhomyouareabouttoconsultshouldappeartoyou，and，inanticipationofyourrequest，enquiredwhetheryouwouldbecontentedtobecometyrantofAthens，andifthisseemedinyoureyesasmallandmeanthing，shouldaddtoitthedominionofallHellas;andseeingthateventhenyouwouldnotbesatisfiedunlessyouwererulerofthewholeofEurope，shouldpromise，notonlythat，but，ifyousodesired，shouldproclaimtoallmankindinoneandthesamedaythatAlcibiades，sonofCleinias，wastyrant:——insuchacase，Iimagine，youwoulddepartfullofjoy，asonewhohadobtainedthegreatestofgoods。
ALCIBIADES:AndnotonlyI，Socrates，butanyoneelsewhoshouldmeetwithsuchluck。
SOCRATES:YetyouwouldnotacceptthedominionandlordshipofalltheHellenesandallthebarbariansinexchangeforyourlife？
ALCIBIADES:Certainlynot:forthenwhatusecouldImakeofthem？
SOCRATES:Andwouldyouacceptthemifyouwerelikelytousethemtoabadandmischievousend？
ALCIBIADES:Iwouldnot。
SOCRATES:Youseethatitisnotsafeforamaneitherrashlytoacceptwhateverisofferedhim，orhimselftorequestathing，ifheislikelytosuffertherebyorimmediatelytolosehislife。Andyetwecouldtellofmanywho，havinglongdesiredanddiligentlylabouredtoobtainatyranny，thinkingthatthustheywouldprocureanadvantage，haveneverthelessfallenvictimstodesigningenemies。Youmusthaveheardofwhathappenedonlytheotherday，howArchelausofMacedoniawasslainbyhisbeloved（compareAristotle，Pol。），whoseloveforthetyrannywasnotlessthanthatofArchelausforhim。Thetyrannicideexpectedbyhiscrimetobecometyrantandafterwardstohaveahappylife;butwhenhehadheldthetyrannythreeorfourdays，hewasinhisturnconspiredagainstandslain。
Orlookatcertainofourowncitizens，——andoftheiractionswehavebeennothearers，buteyewitnesses，——whohavedesiredtoobtainmilitarycommand:ofthosewhohavegainedtheirobject，someareeventothisdayexilesfromthecity，whileothershavelosttheirlives。Andeventheywhoseemtohavefaredbest，havenotonlygonethroughmanyperilsandterrorsduringtheiroffice，butaftertheirreturnhometheyhavebeenbesetbyinformersworsethantheyoncewerebytheirfoes，insomuchthatseveralofthemhavewishedthattheyhadremainedinaprivatestationratherthanhavehadthegloriesofcommand。If，indeed，suchperilsandterrorswereofprofittothecommonwealth，therewouldbereasoninundergoingthem;buttheverycontraryisthecase。Again，youwillfindpersonswhohaveprayedforoffspring，andwhentheirprayerswereheard，havefallenintothegreatestpainsandsufferings。Forsomehavebegottenchildrenwhowereutterlybad，andhavethereforepassedalltheirdaysinmisery，whiletheparentsofgoodchildrenhaveundergonethemisfortuneoflosingthem，andhavebeensolittlehappierthantheothersthattheywouldhavepreferrednevertohavehadchildrenratherthantohavehadthemandlostthem。Andyet，althoughtheseandthelikeexamplesaremanifestandknownofall，itisraretofindanyonewhohasrefusedwhathasbeenofferedhim，or，ifhewerelikelytogainaughtbyprayer，hasrefrainedfrommakinghispetition。Themassofmankindwouldnotdeclinetoacceptatyranny，orthecommandofanarmy，oranyofthenumerousthingswhichcausemoreharmthangood:butrather，iftheyhadthemnot，wouldhaveprayedtoobtainthem。Andofteninashortspaceoftimetheychangetheirtone，andwishtheiroldprayersunsaid。WhereforealsoI
suspectthatmenareentirelywrongwhentheyblamethegodsastheauthorsoftheillswhichbefallthem（compareRepublic）:’theirownpresumption，’
orfolly（whicheveristherightword）——
’Hasbroughttheseunmeasuredwoesuponthem。’（Homer。Odyss。）
Hemusthavebeenawisepoet，Alcibiades，who，seeingasIbelieve，hisfriendsfoolishlyprayingforanddoingthingswhichwouldnotreallyprofitthem，offeredupacommonprayerinbehalfofthemall:——
’KingZeus，grantusgoodwhetherprayedfororunsoughtbyus;
Butthatwhichweaskamiss，dothouavert。’（Theauthoroftheselines，whichareprobablyofPythagoreanorigin，isunknown。TheyarefoundalsointheAnthology（Anth。Pal。）。）
Inmyopinion，Isay，thepoetspokebothwellandprudently;butifyouhaveanythingtosayinanswertohim，speakout。
ALCIBIADES:Itisdifficult，Socrates，toopposewhathasbeenwellsaid。
AndIperceivehowmanyaretheillsofwhichignoranceisthecause，since，aswouldappear，throughignorancewenotonlydo，butwhatisworse，prayforthegreatestevils。Nomanwouldimaginethathewoulddoso;hewouldrathersupposethathewasquitecapableofprayingforwhatwasbest:tocalldownevilsseemsmorelikeacursethanaprayer。
SOCRATES:Butperhaps，mygoodfriend，someonewhoiswiserthaneitheryouorIwillsaythatwehavenorighttoblameignorancethusrashly，unlesswecanaddwhatignorancewemeanandofwhat，andalsotowhomandhowitisrespectivelyagoodoranevil？
ALCIBIADES:Howdoyoumean？Canignorancepossiblybebetterthanknowledgeforanypersoninanyconceivablecase？
SOCRATES:SoIbelieve:——youdonotthinkso？
ALCIBIADES:Certainlynot。
SOCRATES:AndyetsurelyImaynotsupposethatyouwouldeverwishtoacttowardsyourmotherastheysaythatOrestesandAlcmeonandothershavedonetowardstheirparent。
ALCIBIADES:Goodwords，Socrates，prithee。
SOCRATES:Yououghtnottobidhimuseauspiciouswords，whosaysthatyouwouldnotbewillingtocommitsohorribleadeed，butratherhimwhoaffirmsthecontrary，iftheactappeartoyouunfiteventobementioned。