Cratylus

Plato · David Horan

Well then, would you like to include Socrates here in our discussion? If you wish. Socrates, Cratylus here maintains that there is a correctness of names that belongs, by nature, to each of the things that are, and what people conventionally call something when uttering some part of their own language is not this name. There is, rather, a natural correctness of names, the same for everyone, Greeks and non-Greeks alike. When I ask him if his own name is, in truth, Cratylus, he agrees that it is. “And what is Socrates’ name?” I ask. “Socrates,” says he. “Is this also the case with everyone else; whatever particular name we call them is their name in each case?” “Well,” says he, “your name is not Hermogenes, even if everyone calls you so.” And although I pursue the question and am keen to know what exactly he means, he clarifies nothing and hides his intention from me by pretending to be …

Editions (plain text / reader):

• David Horan (this edition) — read
• Benjamin Jowett — read
• H.N. Fowler (Loeb, 1926) — read
• Greek text — read
• Spanish — read
• Thomas Taylor (1804) — read

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