By Nico van der Ben
The Charmides is between Plato's so much fascinating and complicated dialogues. the diversity of topics touched or handled is intensely large: concerns logical, epistemological, ethical, moral, political, and spiritual. in lots of instances, those are mentioned in a hugely inconclusive and aporetic approach, specifically by way of the topic of data. eventually, the discussion is additionally tricky on virtually each point of its expression; mock-reasonings, misunderstandings, ironies, paradoxes, and perplexities abound. hence, the run of its many arguments, either at the brief and the lengthy diversity, and its total constitution are usually not effortless to parent. If a textual content of any such personality is to be made thoroughly available, a full-scale observation is needed; it's a lot to be regretted, for this reason, that there's no remark during which the problems of the Greek, the argument, and where of the philosophical difficulties within the improvement of Plato's suggestion are comprehensively and coherently defined. This monograph doesn't aspire to that prestige, yet makes an important contribution in the direction of reaching that target (in addition to the numerous different works within the box, Lamb's scrupulous translation of 1927 and Bloch's penetrating research of 1973 particularly) via providing an in depth exam of forty-two passages of which the translation is disputed; many extra minor difficulties are handled alongside the best way. In all concerns of interpretation, designated cognizance has been paid to defining the precise position of the passage in the run of the, usually elaborate, argument. the results of this consciousness is usually saw in an analytical 'Summary of the contents of the Charmides'.
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Additional info for The Charmides of Plato: Problems and Interpretations
Sample text
5 At 160el3 , the collocation o f i s very exceptional. (Den niston 43 apparently accept s the combination here , referring t o É. ) It occurs elsewher e in Plato only at Theaetetus 149b . There, however, i s not inferential; it underlines the surprising effec t of wit h connecting th e whole of the sentenc e with what precedes it. If, on the other hand, we take the o f the Charmides passage, rather than t o be the inferential particle, then comes strangely afte r it, for the former ('i n th e light of the foregoing', 'a s clearly implie d i n the preceding words' ) stresses the conclusion a s obvious, whereas th e latter ('afte r all', 'a s was not realized before') rather emphasizes th e newness of the insight state d i n the conclusion.
1 Cf. g. Theaetetus 179c , Laches 190c , o ye and Aristotle, De interpr. 12, 159c3-4. According to Stallbaum, "sun t litterae, quae exemplaribus a grammatista traditi s similes sunt". Many modern scholars1 stil l see m to adhere t o this interpretation, althoug h Stallbaum himself notes that the word order tells against it : "malim tamen An d Cobet remarks: "quae sint non intelligo". I have littl e doubt, however, that the likeness referred to is not that of the pupils' copies to the writing master's paradigm, bu t that of the letters written slowl y and those written quickly.
This , a s we hav e seen , i s i n itsel f a legitimat e step . (4) (i ) What hold s goo d fo r doe s s o fo r it s cognate s This i s practically unobjectionable . (ii) ha s th e sam e meanin g a s This ste p appear s extremel y arbitrary : t o tak e an d as synonym s run s counte r t o norma l Gree k usage , (iii) Therefore , Hesio d mus t shar e th e vie w tha t an d cognates appl y onl y t o honourabl e an d usefu l activitie s an d tha t and cognate s ar e lef t t o denot e activitie s tha t ar e no t always an d necessaril y honourabl e an d useful .