{ "schema": "prokopton42-public-passage-v1", "id": "socrates.plato_republic", "canonical_url": "https://prokopton42.com/en/works/plato/plato-republic/reference-598/", "language": "en", "title": "Socrates in Plato’s Republic", "author": "Plato", "date": "c. 390-370 BCE", "summary": "In the Republic, Plato gives Socrates construction of a city in speech to answer the challenge that injustice pays. The questioner of the opening exchanges also becomes narrator of highly developed educational, political, and metaphysical models.", "learning": "Distinguish questioning Socrates from the spokesman for Platonic constructions, follow his argument about justice, and limit biographical use of the dialogue.", "long_summary": "Socrates refutes Cephalus, Polemarchus, and Thrasymachus before Glaucon and Adeimantus ask why justice matters in itself. He then develops guardians, philosopher-rulers, tripartite soul, Form of the Good, cave, and succession of regimes.\n\nThe reach of this voice exceeds what other witnesses attribute to historical Socrates and strongly carries Plato’s project. Distinctions among character, literary spokesman, and biographical source are therefore essential. The dialogue illuminates philosophical reception of Socrates without making him author of the treatise.", "historical_context": "The corpus manifests do not yet establish the precise place and circumstances of composition. The images below document the author’s world or the text’s transmission. They do not claim to show the exact scene of writing.", "material_world_label": "Classical Greek world, 5th century BCE", "material_world": { "technology": "Bronze, iron, pottery, simple cranes, and shipbuilding sustain cities. Power still comes mainly from people, animals, wind, and water.", "science": "Geometry, astronomy, inquiry into nature, and rational argument advance without modern measuring instruments or standardized experiments.", "medicine": "Practitioners observe symptoms, diet, and seasons; healing sanctuaries and ritual treatment also remain common.", "transport": "Walking and animals dominate on land. Sailing ships and triremes connect islands, ports, and colonies.", "agriculture": "Small farms, grain, vines, olives, goats, and sheep shape the diet; harvests remain vulnerable to weather and war.", "communication": "Public speech, messengers, and handwritten letters carry news. Theatre, the civic square, and the banquet are major social media.", "clothing": "Women and men drape wool or linen as chitons, peploi, and cloaks. Garments are pinned, belted, and shaped by status rather than tailored like modern clothes." }, "material_world_scenes": [ { "asset": "/assets/timeline/landmarks/03-431-bce/world-01.webp", "title": "Technology, science, and care", "description": "Bronze, iron, pottery, simple cranes, and shipbuilding sustain cities. Power still comes mainly from people, animals, wind, and water. Geometry, astronomy, inquiry into nature, and rational argument advance without modern measuring instruments or standardized experiments. Practitioners observe symptoms, diet, and seasons; healing sanctuaries and ritual treatment also remain common." }, { "asset": "/assets/timeline/landmarks/03-431-bce/world-02.webp", "title": "Travel and communication", "description": "Walking and animals dominate on land. Sailing ships and triremes connect islands, ports, and colonies. Public speech, messengers, and handwritten letters carry news. Theatre, the civic square, and the banquet are major social media." }, { "asset": "/assets/timeline/landmarks/03-431-bce/world-03.webp", "title": "Farming and food", "description": "Small farms, grain, vines, olives, goats, and sheep shape the diet; harvests remain vulnerable to weather and war." }, { "asset": "/assets/timeline/landmarks/03-431-bce/world-04.webp", "title": "Clothing, women and men", "description": "Women and men drape wool or linen as chitons, peploi, and cloaks. Garments are pinned, belted, and shaped by status rather than tailored like modern clothes." } ], "intellectual_tradition": { "id": "platonism", "label": "Socratic and Platonic thought" }, "period": { "id": "ancient", "label": "Antiquity" }, "languages": [ "grc", "en", "fr" ], "manifestations": [ { "coverage": "complete", "file": "data/corpus/normalized/socrates/plato_republic/representations/grc.ndjson", "language": "grc", "records": 278, "role": "original_carrier", "sha256": "7dc449701aaf1ffec8fef2d39ff32ca385e4dc0a42829d12deec6e91090e910d", "source_id": "perseus-plato-republic-grc" }, { "coverage": "complete", "file": "data/corpus/normalized/socrates/plato_republic/representations/en.ndjson", "language": "en", "records": 278, "role": "historical_translation", "sha256": "d79b0d6967d5052225c6a8748c8e3d33a81a673fa92ebcf9be18c5be47b2e8f9", "source_id": "perseus-plato-republic-en" }, { "coverage": "complete", "file": "data/corpus/normalized/socrates/plato_republic/representations/ai-generated/fr-gpt-5-6-sol-corpus-passage-translation-v1.ndjson", "generated_on": "2026-09-11", "language": "fr", "model": "gpt-5.6-sol", "official_status": "non_official", "prompt_version": "corpus-passage-translation-v1", "provider": "codex_subscription", "records": 278, "role": "ai_generated_translation_non_official", "sha256": "420324474282df8deeb6178ab08ad7dfcd5f64b59be266f723f73f245548f5a2", "source_id": "prokopton42-codex-translation:gpt-5.6-sol:corpus-passage-translation-v1", "translation_type": "ai_generated_translation" }, { "coverage": "complete", "file": "data/corpus/normalized/socrates/plato_republic_fr_carrier/representations/fr.ndjson", "language": "fr", "records": 1, "role": "historical_translation", "sha256": "3dad3261b9d11f8139720d01ccef6673232d6f64a393bd2a363d905a448dfa62", "source_id": "wikisource-cousin-republic-fr-01" }, { "coverage": "complete", "file": "data/corpus/normalized/socrates/plato_republic_fr_carrier/representations/ai-generated/en-gpt-5-6-sol-corpus-passage-translation-v1.ndjson", "generated_on": "2026-09-11", "language": "en", "model": "gpt-5.6-sol", "official_status": "non_official", "prompt_version": "corpus-passage-translation-v1", "provider": "codex_subscription", "records": 1, "role": "ai_generated_translation_non_official", "sha256": "a63869d4fe5b145b888bb735902551580d841ad6f397e95b4271b7270f562248", "source_id": "prokopton42-codex-translation:gpt-5.6-sol:corpus-passage-translation-v1", "translation_type": "ai_generated_translation" } ], "concepts": [ { "id": "care_of_soul", "label": "Care of the soul" }, { "id": "education", "label": "Education" }, { "id": "elenchus", "label": "Elenchus" }, { "id": "faith", "label": "Faith" }, { "id": "family", "label": "Family" }, { "id": "forms", "label": "Intelligible forms" }, { "id": "friendship", "label": "Friendship" }, { "id": "human_wisdom", "label": "Human wisdom" }, { "id": "impressions_and_assent", "label": "Impressions and assent" }, { "id": "knowledge", "label": "Knowledge" }, { "id": "messiah", "label": "Messiah" }, { "id": "nature", "label": "Nature" }, { "id": "non_assertoric_appearance", "label": "Non-assertoric appearance report" }, { "id": "reason", "label": "Reason" }, { "id": "roles", "label": "Roles and relationships" }, { "id": "sin", "label": "Sin" }, { "id": "truth", "label": "Truth" }, { "id": "virtue", "label": "Virtue" }, { "id": "wisdom", "label": "Wisdom" } ], "source_work_ids": [ "socrates.plato_republic", "socrates.plato_republic_fr_carrier" ], "passages": 278, "word_count": 124617, "word_counts_by_language": { "en": 124617, "fr": 120751, "grc": 88484 }, "editorial_status": "gpt_5_6_semantic_draft_v1", "structure": { "citation_scheme": "carrier-explicit-ancient-reference-v1", "kind": "native", "levels": [ { "key": "reference", "label_fr": "Référence", "label_en": "Reference" } ], "leaf_fr": "Passage", "leaf_en": "Passage" }, "canonical_passage_id": "passage:socrates.plato_republic:598", "canonical_ref": "598", "canonical_parent_ref": null, "canonical_parent_id": null, "representations": [ { "language": "grc", "text": "τὸν μὲν δὴ μιμητὴν ὡμολογήκαμεν. εἰπὲ δέ μοι περὶ τοῦ ζωγράφου τόδε· πότερα ἐκεῖνο αὐτὸ τὸ ἐν τῇ φύσει ἕκαστον δοκεῖ σοι ἐπιχειρεῖν μιμεῖσθαι ἢ τὰ τῶν δημιουργῶν ἔργα; τὰ τῶν δημιουργῶν, ἔφη. ἆρα οἷα ἔστιν ἢ οἷα φαίνεται; τοῦτο γὰρ ἔτι διόρισον. πῶς λέγεις; ἔφη. ὧδε· κλίνη, ἐάντε ἐκ πλαγίου αὐτὴν θεᾷ ἐάντε καταντικρὺ ἢ ὁπῃοῦν, μή τι διαφέρει αὐτὴ ἑαυτῆς, ἢ διαφέρει μὲν οὐδέν, φαίνεται δὲ ἀλλοία; καὶ τἆλλα ὡσαύτως; οὕτως, ἔφη· φαίνεται, διαφέρει δʼ οὐδέν. τοῦτο δὴ αὐτὸ σκόπει· πρὸς πότερον ἡ γραφικὴ πεποίηται περὶ ἕκαστον; πότερα πρὸς τὸ ὄν, ὡς ἔχει, μιμήσασθαι, ἢ πρὸς τὸ φαινόμενον, ὡς φαίνεται, φαντάσματος ἢ ἀληθείας οὖσα μίμησις; φαντάσματος, ἔφη. πόρρω ἄρα που τοῦ ἀληθοῦς ἡ μιμητική ἐστιν καί, ὡς ἔοικεν, διὰ τοῦτο πάντα ἀπεργάζεται, ὅτι σμικρόν τι ἑκάστου ἐφάπτεται, καὶ τοῦτο εἴδωλον. οἷον ὁ ζωγράφος, φαμέν, ζωγραφήσει ἡμῖν σκυτοτόμον, τέκτονα, τοὺς ἄλλους δημιουργούς, περὶ οὐδενὸς τούτων ἐπαΐων τῶν τεχνῶν· ἀλλʼ ὅμως παῖδάς γε καὶ ἄφρονας ἀνθρώπους, εἰ ἀγαθὸς εἴη ζωγράφος, γράψας ἂν τέκτονα καὶ πόρρωθεν ἐπιδεικνὺς ἐξαπατῷ ἂν τῷ δοκεῖν ὡς ἀληθῶς τέκτονα εἶναι. τί δʼ οὔ; ἀλλὰ γὰρ οἶμαι ὦ φίλε, τόδε δεῖ περὶ πάντων τῶν τοιούτων διανοεῖσθαι· ἐπειδάν τις ἡμῖν ἀπαγγέλλῃ περί του, ὡς ἐνέτυχεν ἀνθρώπῳ πάσας ἐπισταμένῳ τὰς δημιουργίας καὶ τἆλλα πάντα ὅσα εἷς ἕκαστος οἶδεν, οὐδὲν ὅτι οὐχὶ ἀκριβέστερον ὁτουοῦν ἐπισταμένῳ, ὑπολαμβάνειν δεῖ τῷ τοιούτῳ ὅτι εὐήθης τις ἄνθρωπος, καί, ὡς ἔοικεν, ἐντυχὼν γόητί τινι καὶ μιμητῇ ἐξηπατήθη, ὥστε ἔδοξεν αὐτῷ πάσσοφος εἶναι, διὰ τὸ αὐτὸς μὴ οἷός τʼ εἶναι ἐπιστήμην καὶ ἀνεπιστημοσύνην καὶ μίμησιν ἐξετάσαι. ἀληθέστατα, ἔφη. οὐκοῦν, ἦν δʼ ἐγώ, μετὰ τοῦτο ἐπισκεπτέον τήν τε τραγῳδίαν καὶ τὸν ἡγεμόνα αὐτῆς Ὅμηρον, ἐπειδή τινων ἀκούομεν ὅτι οὗτοι πάσας μὲν τέχνας ἐπίστανται, πάντα δὲ τὰ ἀνθρώπεια τὰ πρὸς ἀρετὴν καὶ κακίαν, καὶ τά γε θεῖα· ἀνάγκη γὰρ τὸν ἀγαθὸν ποιητήν, εἰ μέλλει περὶ ὧν ἂν ποιῇ καλῶς ποιήσειν, εἰδότα ἄρα ποιεῖν, ἢ μὴ οἷόν τε εἶναι ποιεῖν.", "edition": "perseus-plato-republic-grc", "source_id": "perseus-plato-republic-grc", "translation_type": "original" }, { "language": "en", "text": "We are in agreement, then, about the imitator. But tell me now this about the painter. Do you think that what he tries to imitate is in each case that thing itself in nature or the works of the craftsmen? The works of the craftsmen, he said. Is it the reality of them or the appearance? Define that further point. What do you mean? he said. This: Does a couch differ from itself according as you view it from the side or the front or in any other way? Or does it differ not at all in fact though it appears different, and so of other things? That is the way of it, he said: it appears other but differs not at all. Consider, then, this very point. To which is painting directed in every case, to the imitation of reality as it is or of appearance as it appears? Is it an imitation of a phantasm or of the truth? Of a phantasm, he said. Then the mimetic art is far removed from truth, and this, it seems, is the reason why it can produce everything, because it touches or lays hold of only a small part of the object and that a phantom ; as, for example, a painter, we say, will paint us a cobbler, a carpenter, and other craftsmen, though he himself has no expertness in any of these arts, but nevertheless if he were a good painter, by exhibiting at a distance his picture of a carpenter he would deceive children and foolish men, and make them believe it to be a real carpenter. Why not? But for all that, my friend, this, I take it, is what we ought to bear in mind in all such cases: When anyone reports to us of someone, that he has met a man who knows all the crafts and everything else that men severally know, and that there is nothing that he does not know more exactly than anybody else, our tacit rejoinder must be that he is a simple fellow, who apparently has met some magician or sleight-of-hand man and imitator and has been deceived by him into the belief that he is all-wise, because of his own inability to put to the proof and distinguish knowledge, ignorance and imitation. Most true, he said. Then, said I, have we not next to scrutinize tragedy and its leader Homer, since some people tell us that these poets know all the arts and all things human pertaining to virtue and vice, and all things divine? For the good poet, if he is to poetize things rightly, must, they argue, create with knowledge or else be unable to create.", "translator": "Benjamin Jowett", "edition": "perseus-plato-republic-en", "source_id": "perseus-plato-republic-en", "translation_type": "historical_human_translation" }, { "language": "fr", "text": "Nous sommes donc d’accord sur l’imitateur. Mais dis-moi maintenant ceci au sujet du peintre. Penses-tu que ce qu’il essaie d’imiter soit, dans chaque cas, la chose elle-même telle qu’elle existe dans la nature, ou bien les ouvrages des artisans ? Les ouvrages des artisans, dit-il. Leur réalité ou leur apparence ? Précise encore ce point. Que veux-tu dire ? demanda-t-il. Ceci : un lit diffère-t-il de lui-même selon qu’on le regarde de côté, de face ou de toute autre manière ? Ou bien ne diffère-t-il aucunement en réalité, bien qu’il paraisse différent, et en va-t-il de même des autres choses ? Il en est ainsi, dit-il : il paraît autre, mais ne diffère en rien. Examine donc ce point même. À quoi la peinture se rapporte-t-elle dans chaque cas : à l’imitation de la réalité telle qu’elle est, ou de l’apparence telle qu’elle apparaît ? Est-elle l’imitation d’un fantôme ou de la vérité ? D’un fantôme, dit-il. L’art mimétique est donc fort éloigné de la vérité, et voilà, semble-t-il, pourquoi il peut tout produire : il ne touche et ne saisit qu’une petite partie de chaque objet, et cette partie n’est qu’un fantôme. Par exemple, disons-nous, un peintre nous peindra un cordonnier, un menuisier et d’autres artisans, quoiqu’il ne possède aucune compétence dans aucun de ces arts. Néanmoins, s’il était bon peintre, il tromperait les enfants et les hommes insensés en leur montrant de loin son tableau d’un menuisier, et leur ferait croire que c’est un menuisier réel. Pourquoi pas ? Mais malgré tout, mon ami, voici, je pense, ce que nous devons garder à l’esprit dans tous les cas de cette sorte. Lorsque quelqu’un nous rapporte qu’il a rencontré un homme qui connaît tous les métiers et toutes les autres choses que les hommes connaissent chacun dans leur domaine, et qu’il n’est rien que cet homme ne connaisse plus exactement que quiconque, nous devons nous répondre en silence que notre interlocuteur est un naïf. Il a manifestement rencontré quelque magicien, quelque prestidigitateur et imitateur, qui lui a fait croire qu’il possédait toute la sagesse parce que lui-même était incapable de mettre à l’épreuve et de distinguer la connaissance, l’ignorance et l’imitation. Très vrai, dit-il. Alors, dis-je, ne devons-nous pas examiner ensuite la tragédie et son chef, Homère, puisque certaines personnes nous disent que ces poètes connaissent tous les arts, toutes les choses humaines qui se rapportent à la vertu et au vice, et toutes les choses divines ? Car, soutiennent-elles, si le bon poète doit composer correctement, il lui faut créer avec connaissance, sans quoi il serait incapable de créer.", "translator": "Codex gpt-5.6-sol", "edition": "Prokopton42 non-official AI translation, 2026-09-11", "source_id": "prokopton42-codex-translation:gpt-5.6-sol:corpus-passage-translation-v1", "translation_type": "ai_generated_translation", "official_status": "non_official", "generation_model": "gpt-5.6-sol" } ], "content_checksum": "fbab44a05480c5c7050342693276693b69463470d711e819068b5fce4163c951" }