Grammar Assumed:
Perfect
Life of Plato with reference to Xenophon, Antisthenes, and Socrates
Ἀλλά τοι Μόλων ἀπεχθῶς ἔχων πρὸς αὐτόν, “οὐ τοῦτο,” φησί, “θαυμαστὸν εἰ Διονύσιος ἐν Κορίνθῳ, ἀλλ᾽ εἰ Πλάτων ἐν Σικελίᾳ.” ἔοικε δὲ καὶ Ξενοφῶν πρὸς αὐτὸν ἔχειν οὐκ εὐμενῶς. ὥσπερ γοῦν διαφιλονεικοῦντες τὰ ὅμοια γεγράφασι, Συμπόσιον, Σωκράτους ἀπολογίαν, τὰ ἠθικὰ ἀπομνημονεύματα—εἶθ᾽ ὁ μὲν Πολιτείαν, ὁ δὲ Κύρου παιδείαν. καὶ ἐν τοῖς Νόμοις ὁ Πλάτων πλάσμα φησὶν εἶναι τὴν παιδείαν αὐτοῦ· μὴ γὰρ εἶναι Κῦρον τοιοῦτον—ἀμφότεροί τε Σωκράτους μνημονεύοντες, ἀλλήλων οὐδαμοῦ, πλὴν Ξενοφῶν Πλάτωνος ἐν τρίτῳ Ἀπομνημονευμάτων.
λέγεται δ᾽ ὅτι καὶ Ἀντισθένης μέλλων ἀναγινώσκειν τι τῶν γεγραμμένων αὐτῷ παρεκάλεσεν αὐτὸν παρατυχεῖν. καὶ πυθομένου, τί μέλλει ἀναγινώσκειν, εἶπεν ὅτι περὶ τοῦ μὴ εἶναι ἀντιλέγειν· τοῦ δ᾽ εἰπόντος· “πῶς οὖν σὺ περὶ αὐτοῦ τούτου γράφεις;” καὶ διδάσκοντος ὅτι περιτρέπεται, ἔγραψε διάλογον κατὰ Πλάτωνος Σάθωνα ἐπιγράψας· ἐξ οὗ διετέλουν ἀλλοτρίως ἔχοντες πρὸς ἀλλήλους. φασὶ δὲ καὶ Σωκράτην ἀκούσαντα τὸν Λύσιν ἀναγινώσκοντος Πλάτωνος “Ἡράκλεις,” εἰπεῖν, “ὡς πολλά μου καταψεύδεθ᾽ ὁ νεανίσκος.” οὐκ ὀλίγα γὰρ ὧν οὐκ εἴρηκε Σωκράτης γέγραφεν ἁνήρ.
*Diogenes Laertius. Plato. 34-35
|
Vocabulary |
|
|
τοι (enclitic) (Lesson 17, n. 10; Lesson 24, n. 4) |
“you know” |
|
Μόλον,-ωνος, ὁ |
Molon |
|
ἀπεχθής,-ές |
hostile (Adverb + ἔχω: to be disposed in a certain manner: cf. below) |
|
πρὸς αὐτόν |
here refers to Plato |
|
φησί (Lesson 40) |
3rd sing. Pres. Act. Ind. from φημί, φήσω, ἔφησα “to say” |
|
Διονύσιος,-ου, ὁ |
Dionysius (ca. 430 – 367 BCE) a tyrant of Syracuse, to whose court Plato made a visit in a vain attempt to create a philosopher-king |
|
Κορίνθος,-ου, ὁ |
Corinth, the city located at the gateway to the isthmus, which made the city key to communication |
|
Σικελία,-ας, ἡ |
Sicily, which came to be ruled by Syracuse at the time of Dionysius |
|
ἔοικε |
“it seems” |
|
Ξενοφῶν,-ώντος, ὁ |
Xenophon (see introduction) |
|
εὐμενής,-ές |
well-disposed |
|
γοῦν (γε + οὖν) (Lesson 15, n. 4) |
Stronger form of γε “at any rate, anyway” |
|
διαφιλονεικέω,-ήσω |
to love conflict |
|
Συμπόσιον,-ου, τό |
Symposium |
|
Vocabulary (continued) |
|
|
Σωκράτους ἀπολογίαν |
Apology of Socrates |
|
τὰ ἠθικὰ ἀπομνημόνευματα |
Memorabilia (moral treatises) |
|
εἶτα |
then |
|
Πολιτεία,-ας, ὁ |
Republic (a work of Plato) |
|
Κύρου παιδείαν |
Cyropaedia (a work of Xenophon) |
|
Νόμοι,-ῶν, οἱ |
Laws (a work of Plato) |
|
πλάσμα,-ατος, τό |
counterfeit |
|
ἀμφότερος,-α,-ον (Lesson 37) |
sing. “each” pl. “both” |
|
τρίτῳ |
understand “βιβλίῳ” with the numeral |
|
μνημονεύω,-σω |
remember |
|
οὐδαμοῦ |
nowhere |
|
ἀναγιγνώσκω (cf. Lesson 22) |
to read out loud |
|
παρακαλέω (cf. Lesson 16) |
to call for; to summon (one) [+ dat] (to do) [+ inf] |
|
παρατυγχάνω (Lesson 33; cf. Lesson 21) |
to be near |
|
“ὅτι περὶ τοῦ μὴ εἶναι ἀντιλέγειν” |
“that it was concerning the non-being (impossibility) of contradiction” |
|
περιτρέπω (cf. Lesson 28) |
to overturn |
|
Vocabulary (continued) |
|
|
ὅτι περιτρέπεται |
“that (the argument) overturns itself” |
|
Σάθωνα,-ας, ἡ |
Sathon (a work of the fifth century BCE philosopher, Antisthenes) |
|
ἐπιγράφω (cf. Lesson 5) |
to write, entitle |
|
διατελέω,-τελέσω, διετέλεσα, διατετέλεκα |
to continue (to be) |
|
ἀλλότριος,-α,-ον |
belonging to another |
|
ἀλλοτρίως ἔχειν |
to be at odds with |
|
φασί (Lesson 40) |
3rd pl. Pres. Act. Ind. from φημί, φήσω, ἔφησα “to say” |
|
Λύσις, Λύσιδος, ὁ |
Lysis (work of Plato) |
|
καταψεύδομαι,-ψεύσομαι, κατεψευσάμην,-ψεύσμαι |
to speak falsely |
|
νεανίσκος,-ου, ὁ |
a youth |
|
ὀλίγος,-η,-ον |
few |
|
εἴρηκα (cf. Lesson 9) |
Perf. tense of λέγω |