Alcibiades I | Page 9

life in the enjoyment of them. But I shall reveal other thoughts of yours,
which you keep to yourself; whereby you will know that I have always
had my eye on you. Suppose that at this moment some God came to
you and said: Alcibiades, will you live as you are, or die in an instant if
you are forbidden to make any further acquisition?--I verily believe that
you would choose death. And I will tell you the hope in which you are
at present living: Before many days have elapsed, you think that you
will come before the Athenian assembly, and will prove to them that

you are more worthy of honour than Pericles, or any other man that
ever lived, and having proved this, you will have the greatest power in
the state. When you have gained the greatest power among us, you will
go on to other Hellenic states, and not only to Hellenes, but to all the
barbarians who inhabit the same continent with us. And if the God
were then to say to you again: Here in Europe is to be your seat of
empire, and you must not cross over into Asia or meddle with Asiatic
affairs, I do not believe that you would choose to live upon these terms;
but the world, as I may say, must be filled with your power and
name--no man less than Cyrus and Xerxes is of any account with you.
Such I know to be your hopes--I am not guessing only--and very likely
you, who know that I am speaking the truth, will reply, Well, Socrates,
but what have my hopes to do with the explanation which you
promised of your unwillingness to leave me? And that is what I am
now going to tell you, sweet son of Cleinias and Dinomache. The
explanation is, that all these designs of yours cannot be accomplished
by you without my help; so great is the power which I believe myself to
have over you and your concerns; and this I conceive to be the reason
why the God has hitherto forbidden me to converse with you, and I
have been long expecting his permission. For, as you hope to prove
your own great value to the state, and having proved it, to attain at once
to absolute power, so do I indulge a hope that I shall be the supreme
power over you, if I am able to prove my own great value to you, and
to show you that neither guardian, nor kinsman, nor any one is able to
deliver into your hands the power which you desire, but I only, God
being my helper. When you were young (compare Symp.) and your
hopes were not yet matured, I should have wasted my time, and
therefore, as I conceive, the God forbade me to converse with you; but
now, having his permission, I will speak, for now you will listen to me.
ALCIBIADES: Your silence, Socrates, was always a surprise to me. I
never could understand why you followed me about, and now that you
have begun to speak again, I am still more amazed. Whether I think all
this or not, is a matter about which you seem to have already made up
your mind, and therefore my denial will have no effect upon you. But
granting, if I must, that you have perfectly divined my purposes, why is
your assistance necessary to the attainment of them? Can you tell me

why?
SOCRATES: You want to know whether I can make a long speech,
such as you are in the habit of hearing; but that is not my way. I think,
however, that I can prove to you the truth of what I am saying, if you
will grant me one little favour.
ALCIBIADES: Yes, if the favour which you mean be not a
troublesome one.
SOCRATES: Will you be troubled at having questions to answer?
ALCIBIADES: Not at all.
SOCRATES: Then please to answer.
ALCIBIADES: Ask me.
SOCRATES: Have you not the intention which I attribute to you?
ALCIBIADES: I will grant anything you like, in the hope of hearing
what more you have to say.
SOCRATES: You do, then, mean, as I was saying, to come forward in
a little while in the character of an adviser of the Athenians? And
suppose that when you are ascending the bema, I pull you by the sleeve
and say, Alcibiades, you are getting up to advise the Athenians--do you
know the matter about which they are going to deliberate, better than
they?--How would you answer?
ALCIBIADES: I should reply, that I was going to advise them about a
matter which I do know better than they.
SOCRATES: Then you are a good adviser about the things which you
know?