 Ion by Plato translated by Benjamin Joe it Introduction This is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to find out how you can volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org The Ion is the shortest or nearly the shortest of all the writings which bear the name of Plato and Is not authenticated by any early external testimony The grace and beauty of this little work supply the only and perhaps a sufficient proof of its genuineness The plan is simple the dramatic interest Consists entirely in the contrast between the irony of Socrates and the transparent vanity and Childlike enthusiasm of the Rapsode Ion The theme of the dialogue may possibly have been suggested by the passage of Xenophon's memorabilia in which the Rapsodists are Described by Euphidimus as very precise about the exact words of Homer, but very idiotic themselves Compare Aristotle metaphysics Ion the Rapsode has just come to Athens He has been exhibiting in Epidaurus at the festival of Asclepius and Is intending to exhibit at the festival of the Panathena Socrates admires and envies the Rapsodes art For he is always well-dressed and in good company in the company of good poets and of Homer Who is the prince of them? In the course of conversation the admission is elicited from Ion That his skill is restricted to Homer and that he knows nothing of inferior poets such as Hesiod and Archeologus He brightens up and is wide awake when Homer is being recited But is apt to go to sleep at the recitations of any other poet and yet Surely he who knows the superior ought to know the inferior also He who can judge the good speaker is able to judge of the bad and Poetry is a whole and he who judges a poetry by rules of art ought to be able to judge of all poetry This is confirmed by the analogy of sculpturing Painting flute playing and the others the argument is at last brought home to the mind of Ion Who asks how this contradiction is to be solved the solution given by Socrates is as follows The Rapsode is not guided by rules of art But is an inspired person who derives a mysterious power from the poet and The poet in like manner is inspired by the God The poets and their interpreters may be compared to a chain of magnetic rings Suspended from one another and from a magnet The magnet is the muse and the ring which immediately follows is the poet himself From him are suspended other poets There is also a chain of rapsodes and actors Who also hang from the muses but are let down at the side and The last ring of all is the spectator The poet is the inspired interpreter of the God and This is the reason why some poets like Homer are restricted to a single theme or Like Tynacus are famous for a single poem and The Rapsode is the inspired interpreter of the poet and For a similar reason some Rapsodes like Ion are the interpreters of single poets a Ion is delighted at the notion of being inspired and Acknowledges that he is beside himself when he is performing His eyes rain with tears and his hair stands on end Socrates is of opinion that a man must be mad who behaves in this way at a festival when he is surrounded by his friends and There is nothing to trouble him Ion is confident that Socrates would never think him mad if he could only hear his embellishments of Homer Socrates asks whether he can speak well about everything in Homer. Yes indeed. He can What about things of which he has no knowledge? Ion answers that he can interpret anything in Homer But rejoin Socrates when Homer speaks of the arts as for example of chariot driving or of medicine or of prophecy or of Navigation will he or will the charioteer or physician or prophet or pilot be the better judge Ion is compelled to admit that every man will judge of his own particular art better than the Rapsode He still maintains however that he understands the art of the general as well as anyone Then why in this city of Athens in which men of merit are always being sought after is he not accepted once appointed a general Ion replies that he is a foreigner and The Athenians and Spartans will not appoint a foreigner to be their general No, that is not the real reason There are many examples to the contrary But Ion has long been playing tricks with the argument like Proteus He transforms himself into a variety of shapes and is at last about to run away in the disguise of a general Would he rather be regarded as inspired or dishonest? Ion who has no suspicion of the irony of Socrates eagerly embraces the alternative of inspiration The Ion like the earlier tonic dialogues is a mixture of jest and earnest in which no definite Results is obtained, but some Socratic or Platonic truths are allowed dimly to appear The element of a true theory of poetry are contained in the notion that the poet is inspired Genius is often said to be unconscious or spontaneous or a gift of nature That genius is akin to madness is a popular aphorism of modern times The greatest strength is observed to have an element of limitation Sense or passion are too much for the dry light of intelligence Which mingles with them and becomes discolored by them Imagination is often at war with reason and fact The concentration of the mind on a single object or on a single aspect of human nature overpowers the orderly perception of the whole Yet the feelings to Bring truths home to the mind of many who in the way of reason would be incapable of understanding them Reflections of this kind may have been passing before Plato's mind when he describes the poet as inspired Or when as in the apology he speaks of poets as the worst critics of their own writings Anybody taken at random from the crowd is a better interpreter of them than they are of themselves They are sacred persons winged and holy things who have a touch of madness in their composition fader and Should be treated with every sort of respect Republic but not allowed to live in a well-ordered state Like the statesmen in the Amino they have a divine instinct, but they are narrow and confused They do not attain to the clearness of ideas or to the knowledge of poetry or to any other art as a whole In the Protagoras the ancient poets are recognized by Protagoras himself as the original Sophists and This family resemblance may be traced in the ion The Rhapsod belongs to the realm of imitation and of opinion He professes to have all knowledge which is derived by him from Homer Just as the Sophist professes to have all wisdom which is contained in his art of rhetoric Even more than the Sophist he is incapable of appreciating the commonst logical distinctions He cannot explain the nature of his own art His great memory contrasts with his inability to follow the steps of the argument and In his highest moments of inspiration. He has an eye to his own gains The old quarrel between philosophy and poetry Which in the Republic leads to their final separation is already working in the mind of Plato and Is embodied by him in the contrast between Socrates and Ion Yet here as in the Republic Socrates shows a sympathy with the poetic nature Also, the manner in which Ion is affected by his own recitations affords a lively illustration of the power which in the Republic Socrates attributes to dramatic performances over the mind of the performer His allusion to his embellishments of Homer in which he declares himself to have surpassed metrodorus of Lamsecus and Stesembrotus of Thassos Seems to show that like them he belonged to the allegorical school of interpreters The circumstance that nothing more is known of him may be induced in confirmation of the argument that this truly Platonic little work is not a forgery of later times and of introduction By Plato translated by Benjamin Joe it this is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to find out how you can volunteer Please visit LibriVox.org persons of the dialogue Socrates Ion Socrates Welcome Ion. Are you from your native city of Ephesus? Ion no Socrates, but from Epidaurus Where I attended the festival of Asclepius Socrates and do the Epidaurians have a contest of Rhapsodes at the festival? Ion. Oh, yes, and of all sorts of musical performers Socrates and were you one of the competitors and did you succeed? Ion I obtained the first prize of all Socrates Socrates well done, and I hope that you will do the same for us at the Panathena Ion and I will please heaven Socrates I often envy the profession of a Rapsode Ion For you have always to wear fine clothes and to look as beautiful as you can is a part of your art Then again, you are obliged to be continually in the company of many good poets especially of Homer who is the best and most divine of them and To understand him and not merely learn his words by rote is a thing greatly to be envied and No man can be a Rapsode who does not understand the meaning of the poet For the Rapsode ought to interpret the mind of the poet to his hearers But how can he interpret him? Well, unless he knows what he means All this is greatly to be envied Ion very true Socrates Interpretation has certainly been the most laborious part of my art and I believe myself Able to speak about Homer better than any man and that neither Metrodorus of Lamsakis nor Stesembrotus of Thassos nor Glockon nor anyone else who ever was Had as good ideas about Homer as I have or as many Socrates I'm glad to hear you say so Ion. I see that you will not refuse to acquaint me with them Ion Surgeonly Socrates and you really ought to hear how exquisitely I render Homer. I think that Homer today should give me a golden crown Socrates I shall take the opportunity of hearing your embellishments of him at some other time Just now I should like to ask you a question Does your art extend to Hesiod and Archelechus or to Homer only? Ion to Homer only he and himself is quite enough Socrates are there many things about which Homer and Hesiod agree Ion? Yes, in my opinion, there are a good many Socrates and can you interpret better what Homer says or what Hesiod says about these matters in which they agree? Ion I can interpret them equally well Socrates where they agree Socrates But what about matters in which they do not agree for example about divination of Which both Homer and Hesiod have something to say Ion very true Socrates Would you or a good prophet be a better interpreter of what these two poets say about divination? Not only when they agree, but when they disagree Ion a prophet Socrates and if you were a prophet Would you not be able to interpret them when they disagree as well as when they agree? Ion clearly Socrates But how did you come to have this skill about Homer only and not about Hesiod or the other poets? Does not Homer speak of the same themes which all the other poets handle is not war his great argument and Does not he speak of human society and of intercourse of men good and bad Skilled and unskilled and of the gods conversing with one another and with mankind and About what happens in heaven and in the world below and the generations of gods and heroes Are not these the themes of which Homer sings? Ion very true Socrates Socrates and you're not the other poets saying of the same Ion Yes Socrates, but not in the same way as Homer Socrates what in a worse way Ion? Yes in a far worse Socrates and Homer in a better way Ion. He is incomparably better Socrates and Yet surely my dear friend Ion in a discussion about arithmetic Where many people are speaking and one speaks better than the rest There is somebody who can judge which of them is the good speaker Ion. Yes Socrates and he who judges the good will be the same as he who judges of the bad speakers Ion the same Socrates and will he be the arithmetician Ion? Yes Socrates Well and in discussion about the wholesomeness of food When many persons are speaking and one speaks better than the rest Will he who recognizes the better speaker be a different person from he who recognizes the worse or the same? Ion clearly the same Socrates and who is he and what is his name? Ion the physician Socrates and speaking generally in all discussions in which the subject is the same and many men are speaking Will not he who knows the good know the bad speaker also? For if he does not know the bad neither will he know the good when the same topic is being discussed Ion true Socrates is not the same person skillful in both Ion yes Socrates and you say that Homer and the other poets such as Hesiod and Arkelochus Speak of the same things although not in the same way But the one speaks well and the other not so well Ion yes, and I am right in saying so Socrates and if you knew the good speaker You would also know the inferior speakers to be inferior Ion that is true Socrates then my dear friend Can I be mistaken in saying that Ion is equally skilled in Homer and in other poets? Since he himself acknowledges that the same person will be a good judge of all those who speak of the same things and That almost all poets do speak of the same things Ion Why then Socrates do I lose attention and go to sleep and have absolutely? No ideas of the least value when anyone speaks of any other poet But when Homer is mentioned I wake up at once and I'm all attention and have plenty to say Socrates the reason my friend is obvious No one can fail to see that you speak of Homer without any art or knowledge If you were able to speak of him by rules of art You would have been able to speak of all other poets for poetry is a whole Ion. Yes Socrates and when anyone acquires Any other art as a whole the same may be said of them. Would you like me to explain my meaning Ion Ion? Yes, indeed Socrates. I very much wish that you would for I love to hear you wise men talk Socrates oh That we were wise Ion and that you could truly call us so But you wrap soads and actors and the poets whose verses you sing are wise Whereas I am a common man who only speak the truth For consider what a very common place and trivial thing it is which I have said a thing which any man might say That when a man has acquired a knowledge of a whole art The inquiry into good and bad is one and the same Let us consider this matter is not the art of painting a whole Ion. Yes Socrates and there are and have been many painters good and bad Ion yes Socrates and did you ever know anyone who is skillful in pointing out the Excellences and defects of Polynotus the son of Aglophon but incapable of criticizing other painters and When the work of any other painter was produced went to sleep and was at a loss and had no ideas But when he had to give his opinion about Polynotus or whoever the painter might be and about him only woke up and was attentive and had plenty to say Ion no indeed. I have never known such a person Socrates or did you ever know? Anyone in sculpture who is skillful in expounding the merits of day Dallas the son of Mithion or of Epius the son of Panopias or Of Theodorus the same Ian or of any individual Sculpture, but when the works of sculptors in general were produced Was at a loss and went to sleep and had nothing to say Ion no indeed. No more than the other Socrates and if I am not mistaken You never met with anyone among flute players or harp players or singers to the harp or Rapsodes who was able to discourse on Olympus or Thamyrus or Orpheus or Pimeus the Rapsode of a thicka But was at a loss when he came to speak of Ion of Ephesus and had no notion of his merits or defects Ion I cannot deny what you say Socrates Nevertheless, I am conscious in my own self and The world agrees with me in thinking that I do speak better and have more to say about Homer than any other man But I do not speak equally well about others Tell me the reason of this Socrates I Perceive Ion and I will proceed to explain to you what I imagine to be the reason of this The gift which you possess of speaking excellently about Homer is not an art But as I was just saying an inspiration There is a divinity moving you like that Contained in the stone which Euripides calls a magnet about which is commonly known as the stone of Heraclea This stone not only attracts iron rings but also imparts to them a similar power of attracting other rings and Sometimes you may see a number of pieces of iron and rings suspended from one another So as to form quite a long chain and all of them derive their power of suspension from the original stone in like manner the muse first of all inspires men herself and From these inspired persons a chain of other persons is suspended who take the inspiration For all good poets epic as well as lyric compose their beautiful poems not by art but because they are inspired and possessed and As the Corbantian revelers when they dance are not in their right mind So the lyric poets are not in their right mind when they are composing their beautiful strains But when falling under the power of music and meter are inspired and possessed Like backache maidens who draw milk and honey from the rivers when they are under the influence of Dionysus but not when they are in their right mind and The soul of the lyric poet does the same as they themselves say For they tell us that they bring songs from honeyed fountains Calling them out of the gardens and delves of the muses They like bees Winging their way from flower to flower and this is true for the poet is a light and winged and holy thing and There is no invention in him until he has been inspired It and is out of his senses and the mind is no longer in him When he has not attained to this state he is powerless and is unable to utter his oracles Many are the noble words in which poets speak concerning the actions of men But like yourself when speaking about Homer they do not speak of them by any rules of art They are simply inspired to utter that to which the muse impels them and that only and when inspired One of them will make diathrams another hymns of praise another choral strains another epic or iambic verses and He who is good at one is not good at any other kind of verse For not by art does the poet sing but by power divine Had he learned by rules of art he would have known how to speak not of one theme only but of all Therefore God takes away the minds of poets and uses them as his ministers As he also uses diviners and holy prophets In order that we who hear them may know them to be speaking Not of themselves who utter these priceless words in a state of unconsciousness But that God himself is the speaker and that through him he is conversing with us and Tynacus the Calcydian affords a striking instance of what I'm saying He wrote nothing that anyone would care to remember But the famous peyon which is in everyone's mouth One of the finest poems ever written simply an invention of the muses as he himself says For in this way the God would seem to indicate to us and not allow us to doubt That these beautiful poems are not human or the work of man But divine and the work of God and That the poets are only the interpreters of the gods by whom they are severally possessed Was not this the lesson which the God intended to teach When by the mouth of the worst of poets he sang the best of songs Am I not right Ion? Ion yes indeed Socrates. I feel that you are For your words touch my soul and I am persuaded That good poets by a divine inspiration Interpret the things of the gods to us Socrates and you rapists are the interpreters of the poets Ion there again. You are right Socrates then you are the interpreters of the interpreters Ion precisely Socrates I Wish you would frankly tell me Ion what I'm going to ask of you When you produce the greatest effect upon the audience in the recitation of some striking passage Such as the apparition of Odysseus leaping forth on the floor recognized by the suitors And casting his arrows at his feet Or the description of Achilles rushing at Hector Or the sorrows of Andromache, Hecuba or Priam Are you in your right mind? Are you not carried out of yourself? And does not your soul in an ecstasy Seem to be among the persons or places of which you are speaking Whether they are in a thicka or in Troy or whatever may be the scene of the poem Ion That proof strikes home to me Socrates For I must frankly confess That at the tail of pity my eyes are filled with tears And when I speak of horrors my hair stands on end and my heart throbs Socrates Well Ion and what are we to say of a man who as sacrifice or festival When he is dressed in holiday attire and has golden crowns upon his head Of which nobody has robbed him Appears weeping or panic stricken In the presence of more than 20,000 friendly faces When there is no one to spoiling or wronging him Is he in his right mind or is he not? Ion no indeed Socrates. I must say that strictly speaking he is not in his right mind Socrates And are you aware that you produce similar effects on most of the spectators? Ion only too well for I look down upon them from the stage and behold the various emotions of pity Wonder sternness Stamped upon their countenances when I am speaking And I'm obliged to give my very best attention to them For if I make them cry I myself shall laugh and if I make them laugh I myself shall cry when the time of payment arrives Socrates Do you know that the spectator is the last of the rings? Which as I am saying Receive the power of the original magnet from one another The rapsode like yourself and the actor are intermediate links And the poet himself is the first of them Through all these the god sways the souls of men in any direction which he pleases And makes one man hang down from another Thus there is a vast chain of dancers and masters and undermasters of choruses Who are suspended as from the stone At the side of the rings which hang down from the muse And every poet has some muse from whom he is suspended And by whom he is said to be possessed Which is nearly the same thing for he is taken hold of And from these first rings which are the poets depend others Some deriving their inspiration from Orpheus Others from Museus But the greater number are possessed and held by Homer Of whom Ion you are one and are possessed by Homer And when anyone repeats the words of another poet you go to sleep and know not what to say But when anyone recites a strain of Homer you wake up in a moment and your soul leaps within you And you have plenty to say For not by art or knowledge about Homer do you say what you say But by divine inspiration and by possession Just as the Corbancian revelers To have a quick perception of that strain Only which is appropriated to the god by whom they are possessed And have plenty of dances and words for that But take no heed of any other And you Ion When the name of Homer is mentioned have plenty to say And have nothing to say of others You ask why is this The answer is that you praise Homer not by art But by divine inspiration Ion, that is good Socrates And yet I doubt whether you will ever have eloquence enough to persuade me that I praise Homer only when I am mad and possessed And if you could hear me speak of him I'm sure you would never think this to be the case Socrates I should like very much to hear you but not until you have answered a question which I have to ask On what part of Homer do you speak well? Not surely about every part Ion There is no part Socrates about which I do not speak well of that. I can assure you Socrates Surely not about things in Homer of which you have no knowledge Ion And what is there in Homer of which I have no knowledge? Socrates why does not Homer speak in many passages about arts? For example about driving If I can only remember the lines I will repeat them Ion I remember and will repeat them Socrates Tell me then what Nestor says to Antiochus his son Where he bids him to be careful of the turn at the horse race in honor of patricles Ion Bend gently he says in the polished chariot to the left of them And urge the horse on the right hand with whip and voice And slack in the rain And when you are at the goal Let the left horse draw near Yet so that the nave of the well wrought wheel may not even seem to touch the extremity And avoid catching the stone Socrates enough Now Ion Will the charioteer Or the physician be the better judge of the propriety of these lines Ion the charioteer clearly Socrates And will the reason be that this is his art? Or will there be any other reason? Ion no that will be the reason Socrates And every art is appointed by god to have knowledge of a certain work For that which we know by the art of the pilot We do not know by the art of medicine Ion certainly not Socrates Nor do we know by the art of the carpenter That which we know by the art of medicine Ion certainly not Socrates And this is true of all the arts That which we know with one art we do not know with the other But let me ask a prior question You admit that there are differences of arts Ion yes Socrates You would argue as I should That when one art is of one kind of knowledge And another of another they are different Ion yes Socrates yes surely For if the subject of knowledge were the same There would be no meaning in saying that the arts were different If they both gave the same knowledge For example, I know that here are five fingers and you know the same And if I were to ask whether I and you became acquainted with this fact By the help of the same art of arithmetic You would acknowledge that we did Ion yes Socrates Tell me then what I was intending to ask you Whether this holds universally Must the same art have the same subject of knowledge And different arts different subjects of knowledge Ion That is my opinion Socrates Socrates Then he who has no knowledge Of a particular art Will have no right judgments of the sayings and doings of that art Ion very true Socrates Then which will be a better judge of the lines which you were reciting from Homer You or the charioteer Ion The charioteer Socrates why yes because you are a rapsode and not a charioteer Ion yes Socrates And the art of the rapsode is different from that of the charioteer Ion yes Socrates and if a different knowledge then a knowledge of different matters Ion true Socrates You know the passage in which hechimete the concubine of nester Is described as giving to the wounded macon Apostle as he says Made with premium wine And she grated cheese of goat's milk with a grater of bronze And at his side placed an onion which gives a relish to drink Now would you say that the art of the rapsode Or the art of medicine was better able to judge the propriety of these lines Ion the art of medicine Socrates And when Homer says And she descended into the deep Like a leadon plummet Which set in the horn of ox that ranges in the fields rushes along carrying death among the ravenous fishes Will the art of the fisherman Or of the rapsode be better able to judge whether these lines are rightly expressed or not Ion clearly Socrates the art of the fisherman Socrates come now Suppose that you were to say to me Since you Socrates Are able to assign different passages in Homer to their corresponding arts I wish that you would tell me what are the passages of which the excellence ought to be judged by the prophet and prophetic art And you will see how readily and truly I shall answer you For there are many such passages particularly in the Odyssey as for example The passage in which Theoclemnus the prophet of the house of Malempus says to the suitors Wretched men, what is happening to you? Your heads and your faces and your limbs underneath are shrouded in night And the voice of lamentation bursts forth And your cheeks are wet with tears And the vestibule is full And the court is full of ghosts descending into the darkness of Erebus And the sun has perished out of heaven And an evil mist is spread abroad And there are many such passages in the Iliad also As for example In the description of the battle near the rampart where he says As they were eager to pass the ditch There came to them an omen A soaring eagle holding back the people on the left Bore a huge bloody dragon in his talons Still living and panting Nor had he yet resigned the strife For he bent back and smote the bird which carried him on the breast by the neck And he in pain let him fall from him to the ground Into the midst of the multitude And the eagle with a cry was born afar on the wings of the wind These are the sort of things which I should say that the Prophet ought to consider and determine Aion, and you are quite right Socrates in saying so Socrates, yes Aion, and you are right also And as I have selected from the Iliad and Odyssey for you passages which describe the office of the Prophet And the physician and the fisherman Do you who know Homer so much better than I do Aion Select for me passages which relate to the Rapsode and the Rapsodes art And which the Rapsode ought to examine and judge of better than other men Aion All passages I should say Socrates Socrates Not all Aion surely Have you already forgotten what you were saying? A Rapsode ought to have a better memory Aion Why, what am I forgetting? Socrates Do you not remember that you declared the art of the Rapsode to be different from the art of the charioteer? Aion Yes, I remember Socrates And you admitted that being different they would have different subjects of knowledge Aion Yes Socrates Then upon your own showing the Rapsode and the art of the Rapsode will not know everything Aion I should exclude certain things Socrates Socrates You mean to say that you would exclude pretty much the subjects of the other arts As he does not know all of them which of them will he know? Aion He will know what a man and what a woman ought to say And what a freeman and what a slave ought to say And what a ruler and what a subject Socrates Do you mean that a Rapsode will know better than the pilot what the ruler of a C-tossed vessel ought to say? Aion No, the pilot will know best Socrates Or will the Rapsode know better than the physician what the ruler of a sick man ought to say? Aion He will not Socrates But he will know what a slave ought to say? Aion Yes Socrates Suppose the slave to be a cowherd The Rapsode will know better than the cowherd what he ought to say in order to sue the infuriated cows Aion No, he will not Socrates But he will know what a spinning woman ought to say about the working of wool Aion No Socrates At any rate, he will know what a general ought to say when exhorting his soldiers Aion Yes, that is the sort of thing which the Rapsode will be sure to know Socrates Well, but is the art of the Rapsode the art of the general? Aion I am sure that I should know what a general ought to say Socrates Why yes, Aion Because you may possibly have a knowledge of the art of the general as well as of the Rapsode And you may also have a knowledge of horsemanship as well as of the liar And then you would know when horses were well or ill managed But suppose I were to ask you by the help of which art Aion Do you know whether horses are well managed by your skill as a horseman Or as a performer on the liar? What would you answer? Aion I should reply by my skill as a horseman Socrates And if you judged of performers on the liar You would admit that you judged them as a performer on the liar And not as a horseman Aion Yes Socrates And in judging of the general's art Do you judge it as a general or a Rapsode? Aion To me there appears to be no difference between them Socrates What do you mean? Do you mean to say that the art of the Rapsode and of the general is the same? Aion Yes, one and the same Socrates Then he who is a good Rapsode is also a good general Aion Certainly Socrates Socrates And he who is a good general is also a good Rapsode Aion No, I do not say that Socrates But you do say that he who is a good Rapsode is also a good general Aion Certainly Socrates And you are the best of Hellenic Rapsodes Aion Far the best Socrates Socrates And are you the best general Aion? Aion To be sure Socrates And Homer was my master Socrates But then Aion What in the name of goodness can be the reason why you who are the best of generals As well as the best of Rapsodes in all Hellas Go about as a Rapsode when you might be a general Do you think that the Hellenists want a Rapsode with his golden crown And do not want a general? Aion Why Socrates the reason is that my countrymen the Ephesians Are the servants and soldiers of Athens And do not need a general And you and Sparta are not likely to have me For you think that you have enough generals of your own Socrates My good Aion Did you never hear of Apollodorus of Sezekus? Aion Who may he be? Socrates One who, though a foreigner, has often been chosen their general by the Athenians And there is Phanolstinis of Andros And Heraclitys of Clasomene Whom they have also appointed to the command of their armies And to other offices, although aliens, after they had shown their merit And will they not choose Aion the Ephesian to be their general And honor him if he prove himself worthy? Were not the Ephesians originally Athenians And Ephesus is no mean city? But indeed, Aion, if you are correct in saying that by art and knowledge You are able to praise Homer You do not deal fairly with me And after all your professions of knowing many glorious things about Homer And promises that you would exhibit them You are only a deceiver And so far from exhibiting the art of which you are a master Will not, even after my repeated entreaties, explain to me the nature of it You have literally as many forms as Proteus And now you go all manner of ways Twisting and turning And, like Proteus, become all manner of people at once And at last slip away from me in the disguise of a general In order that you may escape exhibiting your Homeric lore And if you have art Then, as I was saying, in falsifying your promise that you would exhibit Homer You are not dealing fairly with me But if, as I believe, you have no art But speak all these beautiful words about Homer unconsciously Under his inspiring influence Then I acquit you of dishonesty And shall only say that you are inspired Which do you prefer to be thought dishonest or inspired? Aion, there is a great difference, Socrates, between the two alternatives And inspiration is by far the nobler Socrates Then, Aion, I shall assume the nobler alternative And attribute to you in your praises of Homer Inspiration and not art End of Aion by Plato Read by Simon Peterzak, Calgary, Alberta Spring 2007