Elephants
the Delphiad VIII.i ( katabasis of ) plums & ii. afternoon nap ( nap master )
i. ( katabasis of ) plums
ADEIMANTOS: (listening to the wind) this wind
is never late. whether today, whether
yesterday, whether tomorrow.
but when she blew,
SOKRATES: down(we)went(and came)(they came)(and went)(against-
over-through)(downwind, leeward)(in accordance with, in relation
to)(descended)(dismounted)(downstairs)(from horseback)(from
a chariot)(from inland to the sea)(into the scene
of contest)(from the tribune)(down to Hades)
(we-they die, set, cease)(so they
and we)(attained our end
)yesterday,
(327α) κατέβην χθὲς
ADEIMANTOS: not this time to Hades; but where-to?
SOKRATES: to(the)Peiraius(which,
for strangers, on her open spaces,
was the famous harbor of Athens),
εἰς Πειραιᾶ
ADEIMANTOS: and you didnt go alone; how and who was guiding you?
SOKRATES: with(among-between)Glaukon(gleaming-gray-blue-
eyes-pine-cone)of Ariston(the best)(breakfast-brunch),
(we-he)(intending to be)offering(-through)prayers(and vows),
μετὰ Γλαύκωνος τοῦ Ἀρίστωνος προσευξόμενός
ADEIMANTOS: and not because they forced you to; but why?
SOKRATES: and(to-by-for)the god(he would behold with wonder),
τε τῇ θεῷ
ADEIMANTOS: something youd never seen before; but what?
SOKRATES: and(indeed)at the same time, wishing to behold(
observe, watch, gaze at)who-which-what turn(direction, way,
manner, fashion, guise, habit, custom, character,
temper, mode, manner, style)(they would)(will)make-
and-do(by making-doing-poetry)the festival
(feast-holiday),
καὶ ἅμα τὴν ἑορτὴν βουλόμενος θεάσασθαι τίνα τρόπον ποιήσουσιν
ADEIMANTOS: the festival; shes who?
SOKRATES: (she)who(just as, as if, so as, inasmuch as, seeing that
)now(presently)(her hims would be)leading(carrying-off, fetching,
bringing, guiding, drawing-out, holding, celebrating, keeping,
observing, sustaining, maintaining, holding-account,
treating, drawing-down and ripening
his)first,
ἅτε νῦν πρῶτον ἄγοντες.
ADEIMANTOS: his first pupil, his first
mate, first-second-self, just so
( the plums are getting colour )
but did he do it for the fruit,
MEDEIS: and(even indeed, o month, o moon)we saw
(they saw)Sisuphos(o pain-dyad)(o pains, of body, of mind,
of grief, of heartache, everything that causes pain)suffering
pain(he was suffering, smarting with pain, being ill, suffering
hardship, grieving, mental anguish)(in pain)having-
and-holding(bearing, carrying, bringing-
along)pain(Sisuphos),
καὶ μὴν Σίσυφον εἰσεῖδον κρατέρ᾽ ἄλγε᾽ ἔχοντα
ADEIMANTOS: or suffer (to-by-for) itself,
MEDEIS: (o mighty-monstrous-prodigious-humongous thing)
(monstrous)(to behold)(look-upon)(to seize-hold)the stone,
lifting-up(exalting, ennobling)(the bearing, carrying)(of holding
in his hands)(considering, weighing, deliberating-on
the bearing, enduring)(the produce, yield, of earths
)(of carrying-off)(taking-away)the mighty(painful)monster
(of pain)prodigious(ly painful)humongous(pains
)(o dyad-pain),
λᾶαν βαστάζοντα πελώριον
ADEIMANTOS: or did he do it (to-by-for) we,
MEDEIS: (to-by-for)(partaking of)both(together, towards
both sides, both ways, from and on both sides)(one with
another),
ἀμφοτέρῃσιν.
ADEIMANTOS: (to-by-for) some kind of harmony,
MEDEIS: we were(or)(eh?)(in truth)(he was saying)(to-
by-for)you(look,
you), (even-indeed)supporting
(by pressing, leaning, applying
his weight)(to-by-for)both hands(arms)(acts)(deeds)(blows)(violent
measures)(handiwork)and(to-by-for)feet(the lower corners of
the sail, the ropes fastened therelo, the sheets)(haul it tight
or let it go)(the rudder or steering-paddle)(feet
in prosody, phrases and passages, breath-
by-breath),
595 ἦ τοι ὁ μὲν σκηριπτόμενος χερσίν τε ποσίν τε
ADEIMANTOS: so even when it seems crazy,
MEDEIS: (foolish-dyad)(silly, witless)(to behold)(look-upon)
(to seize-hold)the stone(we would accomplish, finish)
(moving upwards)(from Hades)(back)(up from the Piraeus)(silly,
witless)(dyad-foolish, he)was pushing(thrusting, throwing, rushing)
toward the crest of the hill(ridge)(back of the horses neck,
its withers, under-yoke)(spine of a helmet)(crest of a cockatiel)
(cockscomb)(silly, witless)(dyad-foolish),
λᾶαν ἄνω ὤθεσκε ποτὶ λόφον:
ADEIMANTOS: until we laugh
( when ) ( fall is falling on me )
until we cry, until we die,
until we dance,
SOKRATES: but still(otherwise, o others, o she-others,
o he-other, o she-dyad)(other she-dyad, other shes
and its)(the other its, the other she-dyad)(to-by-for
the other-she),
ἀλλ᾽,
ADEIMANTOS: but blues dont leave other blues behind,
SOKRATES: but if(they-others are)(the other is)
(we are)(see there!)(we say)(we)i(being),
ἦν δ᾽ ἐγώ,
ADEIMANTOS: for others we need a public school,
SOKRATES: (to-by-for)such(things)as these(flowing-forsaken-
flowings)being(accomplished fulfilled)completed —
(to-by-for)education(o educations, child-rearings, trainings,
teachings, learnings, cultures of trees, twisted handiworks
of Egypt, ropes of papyrus, etc, all thats taught and learned,
arts, sciences)(rearing of a child), and(indeed, to-by-for)growth
(age, generation)(o generations)(you will be young, the prime
of life), there-and-then — (and)not alone(solitary, the only,
forsaken, unique)(you wouldnt make solitary)
(you dont make solitary),
would(you)(yes, you)turn-over(transfer, bequeath, commit,
entrust-to, rely-upon, leave)the(she)city(to these,
beings-completed by education
and by growth,
not complete as left-
alone)?
( τελειωθεῖσι τοῖς τοιούτοις παιδείᾳ τε καὶ ἡλικίᾳ ἆρα οὐ μόνοις )
ἂν τὴν πόλιν ἐπιτρέποις;
ADEIMANTOS: we would if you would, you beautiful maniac,
writing curses such as that, whose secret Pythagorean number-
being Kirkes merkin, o hello young children,
MEDEIS: but still when(ever)(it)(would be about to)(likely to)
(destined)(to throw-over)(run beyond)(outstrip or pass)(overpower)
(go beyond, exceed)(delay longer)(exceed the time)
(overbid)(outbid)(go on further-and-further)(bidding more-
and-more)(pass-over)(cross-over mountains, rivers, surmounting
)(double the headland)(runnover, overflow, of rivers,
of a star, getting hot, and hotter)
(o mountain-top)(the peak)
(topmost)(the farthest-
ADEIMANTOS: — ( o see how we perfectionist-procrastinate
hyper-perfectionist-sleepers-and-dreamers
but we also are the laziest of beekeepers
always let the boss-do-work himself ) —
MEDEIA: edge)(about to)(nightfall)(will-consummate)
(the end)(higher)(extremity)(likely to, )(the highest-pitch,
is)destined, (the pride)(the greatest)(height,
extreme)(the peak —
ἀλλ᾽ ὅτε μέλλοι
ἄκρον ὑπερβαλέειν,
ADEIMANTOS: when we would reach out for the sun,
MEDEIS: )then, it would turn back(in flight)(turn back to flight)
(send home again)(all the way to Hades)(twisting back
the hands)(and feet)(so as to tie them)(back-again)(back-
wards)(to-by-for the)mighty-weight(mother of Skulla)(back-
again)(backwards)(the Mighty-
one)(the mighty-weight),
τότ᾽ ἀποστρέψασκε κραταιίς:
ADEIMANTOS: and then be seized by cursed fate,
MEDEIS: back again, anew, hereafter, in turn, thereupon, there-
after, then, what follows, to the ground, earthwards, down,
to the bottom(the shameless)(ruthless)(reckless)(greedy)(lost)
(no sense of decency)(careless)(insatiate)(stupid)
(stone)was rolling round-and-round, revolving, rolling-whirling-
down, wallowing down, much-talked-of, mouth-to-mouth,
and round-and-round, the stone(you seize and hold)
(you grip)(you behold)(back at the bottom, you
)(look)(back up-upon —
αὖτις ἔπειτα πέδονδε κυλίνδετο λᾶας ἀναιδής.
ADEIMANTOS: all thats been undone ( uncounted times )
( but this time were not defeated ) we-being never defeated
( we-being artists-fiber-unraveling ) across the sea,
SAILORS: and(indeed, he was)(Adeimantos)(a)fearless prophet.
καὶ ὁ Ἀδείμαντος,
ADEIMANTOS: O Sokrates,
ὦ Σώκρατες,
SAILORS: (he)was saying(declaring, affirming, asserting),
ἔφη,
SOKRATES: to-by-for the Politeia,
ADEIMANTOS: towards(-against-through)(even-indeed)
these(things), (we-being)(to-by-for)you, such as nobody
would(thats you-know-who)(he was permitting, allowing,
letting be)(let be, you)speak against(gainsay, contradict,
in-reply-to)(in questioning)(in dispute),
πρὸς μὲν ταῦτά σοι οὐδεὶς ἂν οἷός τ᾽ εἴη ἀντειπεῖν.
SOKRATES: seems such as he :P
— woah —
just blasted back from Bermuda, man
what did we miss
ADEIMANTOS: for, but still, the(men)hearing something such as this
(will be)affected(influenced, by passion or feeling, come-to-be in
a certain state of mind, suffer)(to-by-for suffering)each time(
the she-dyad which, as)now,
(you would)(man-speaking)speak(gather-
recount),
ἀλλὰ γὰρ τοιόνδε τι πάσχουσιν οἱ ἀκούοντες ἑκάστοτε ἃ νῦν λέγεις:
SOKRATES: ok well try to take them seriously.
O least-worst-man-speaking-suffering men,
ADEIMANTOS: (they)lead the way(go before, guide, command, rule, believe,
hold)(you will set the warp in the loom, begin the web)(he was putting
to flight, giving chase)(chase, you!)(o divine)(things divine)(to-by-for
the divine-she)through inexperience(ignorances, want of skill)
(through infinities)of asking(to ask)(questioning, begging)
(to question)(they were questioning)(we were questioning)
(o questioning)(questioning)(the questioning),
ἡγοῦνται δι᾽ ἀπειρίαν τοῦ ἐρωτᾶν
SOKRATES: that sounds like me, to me, at least,
ADEIMANTOS: and(indeed)to separate(to part, determine, distinguish,
choose, reject, decide, give answers, replies, defending)by(from-
under)the logos(word-speech-account),
καὶ ἀποκρίνεσθαι ὑπὸ τοῦ λόγου
SOKRATES: thats the gist,
ADEIMANTOS: by(beside)each question-asked, (a)little(small)bit(
being-mislead, brought from the side, brought round,
brought forward, lead-aside from the way, diverted,
being-influenced, brought-forward, being-introduced,
as witness, being-produced, delivered stealthily, slipped-in),
παρ᾽ ἕκαστον τὸ ἐρώτημα σμικρὸν παραγόμενοι,
SOKRATES: oligen orgen, as often said,
ADEIMANTOS: of the small(little)(ones being)gathered-
together(collected, mustered, strung, hoarded, collected)
at the end(completion, accomplishment, event, issue
)of the speeches(accounts-arguments-reckonings)(they
and we were fond of talking)(o being-fond-of)(being-
fond-of)(speeches-accounts)(introducing)(to introduce)great
(big, vast, high, full-grown, mighty, strong)the failure(oops,
a trip, stumble, fault, error, false-step)(we would be thrown-off
)(be thrown, you)(he was thrown off the horse),
ἁθροισθέντων τῶν σμικρῶν ἐπὶ τελευτῆς τῶν λόγων μέγα τὸ σφάλμα
SOKRATES: myself more like a stingray fish, but please continue,
ADEIMANTOS: and(indeed)to be shown-forth(brought-to-light,
produced, made-known, made-to-blaze, displayed,
as)opposite(contrary, reverse)(to-by-for)the first
(earlier, destined)(accounts),
καὶ ἐναντίον τοῖς πρώτοις ἀναφαίνεσθαι,
SOKRATES: oopsie, maybe the logos slipped,
ADEIMANTOS: and(indeed)even as by(from-under)(such as)
the(round-mystic-vessels)deinos(terrible, marvellously clever,
wondrously strange, powerful)(ones)(they were exaggerating
)(we were exaggerating)(to exaggerate)(the men)(will be
in dire straits)(at)playing(some game like gamblers)checkers,
καὶ ὥσπερ ὑπὸ τῶν πεττεύειν δεινῶν
SOKRATES: dont they like checkers?
ADEIMANTOS: those(men)shut(off)out(excluded-from, inter-
cepted, barred)(and)not finishing(accomplishing, fulfilling),
οἱ μὴ τελευτῶντες ἀποκλείονται
SOKRATES: poor men. surely youve heard, its really hard,
ADEIMANTOS: and(indeed)dont have-and-hold(bear-carry-
bring)(by having-and-holding)(by bearing-carrying-bringing
)that(they would)(bear, carry, endure, suffer, admit, offer,
present, produce, pay due, carry off, as a prize, and win)
(what was his destiny, his fate),
καὶ οὐκ ἔχουσιν ὅτι (487ξ) φέρωσιν,
SOKRATES: o lovers of carrying prizes, the men of whom you speak,
ADEIMANTOS: and(indeed)in this way those(men)finishing(
accomplishing, fulfiling, bringing-to-pass)(are)shut(off
)out(excluded-from, intercepted, barred),
οὕτω καὶ σφεῖς τελευτῶντες ἀποκλείεσθαι
SOKRATES: from a room of our own,
ADEIMANTOS: and(indeed)dont have-and-hold that(they would)speak(
recount, gather, pick-up)again(and in turn)by(from-
under)this(some)other(she)(gamblers)checkers
(bow wow),
καὶ οὐκ ἔχειν ὅτι λέγωσιν ὑπὸ πεττείας αὖ ταύτης τινὸς ἑτέρας,
SOKRATES: boo hoo cat poo,
ADEIMANTOS: not in small round stones(pebbles, counters,
gems, abacus, used for divination, voting),
οὐκ ἐν ψήφοις
SOKRATES: be Sylvia Plath, be Nina Simone;
o best of men, go be unknown;
ADEIMANTOS: but still in words(speeches-arguments-accounts),
ἀλλ᾽ ἐν λόγοις:
SOKRATES: but when they lack the stones for silence,
then they try me,
ADEIMANTOS: since(o dyad-word-song)(you approach)(the dyad-
word-song)(you are)(to-by-for word-song),
the true(unconcealed)(truly-unconcealedly)at least
(does)nt-at-all have-and-hold some very(flock of wool
or lock of hair)(the true-unconcealed)(to-by-for)this(-she),
ἐπεὶ τό γε ἀληθὲς οὐδέν τι μᾶλλον ταύτῃ ἔχειν.
SOKRATES: o lack of imagination, its their favorite remedy.
so hemlock this-she,
ADEIMANTOS: but(we)speak(gather-recount)looking steadfastly
(gazing, regarding, paying attention-to, looking-upon)
(you regard steadfastly)the(we-)being-present,
λέγω δ᾽ εἰς τὸ παρὸν ἀποβλέψας.
SOKRATES: then look steadfastly at me.
( hi. we mean, hello. man, here! )
ADEIMANTOS: for now, somebody would say, someone even
(indeed)(does)nt have-and-hold(to-by-for)your(we-)word(speech-
argument-account)to oppose(set-oneself-against, withstand),
according(through)each questioning(asking).
νῦν γὰρ φαίη ἄν τίς σοι λόγῳ μὲν οὐκ ἔχειν
καθ᾽ ἕκαστον τὸ ἐρωτώμενον ἐναντιοῦσθαι,
SOKRATES: we say to somebody ( insufferable he ) we have-and-hold
(to-by-for)nobody. ( who seems to be mc )
ADEIMANTOS: but(to-by-for the)deed(work, act)to see,
ἔργῳ δὲ ὁρᾶν,
SOKRATES: the deed-work-act was done(to-by-for)little-old-me.
and why cant they just be happy for a festival?
ADEIMANTOS: as many(men)as(are)starting-out(setting-
in-motion, spurring-on, cheering-on, beginning, rushing-headlong)
at philosophy(wisdom-love), (are)not fastening(himselves to it,
not binding himselves, cleaving himselves, to it)(not laying-hold-
of it, seizing it, clasping it, for himself to be clasped, seized, laid-
hold-of, catching-fire by it), (and not)on account of(for the sake
of)(it, being)educated(brought-up, reared, trained, taught,
nurtured, corrected, disciplined,
as a child),
ὅσοι ἂν ἐπὶ φιλοσοφίαν ὁρμήσαντες μὴ τοῦ πεπαιδεῦσθαι ἕνεκα ἁψάμενοι
SOKRATES: so we have been held (to-by-for) many man-childs,
ADEIMANTOS: (we)being young(he would swim, he would spin,
he would pile up in heaps, he)would(wish to)be set free(delivered-
from, released, escaped, acquitted, removed, departed-from),
νέοι ὄντες (487δ) ἀπαλλάττωνται,
SOKRATES: my prison cell,
ADEIMANTOS: but still(they would)spend time(in it)longer,
ἀλλὰ μακρότερον ἐνδιατρίψωσιν,
SOKRATES: conversation,
ADEIMANTOS: even(indeed)and most becoming wholly otherly(
unusual, strange, portentous, utterly different, queer),
τοὺς μὲν πλείστους καὶ πάνυ ἀλλοκότους γιγνομένους,
SOKRATES: elephants-in-elephants, teachings of trees,
to-by-for the dog, romance at the beach, its me,
ADEIMANTOS: so that(we)wouldnt say thoroughly depraved,
ἵνα μὴ παμπονήρους εἴπωμεν,
SOKRATES: we would say well-born,
ADEIMANTOS: but the(ones)seeming(to be)(furnishing
with rafters)(the)most fitting(meet-suitable)likewise(
are)suffering this, at least, by(from-under)the pursuit(
business-custom)which you praise(approve, commend),
τοὺς δ᾽ ἐπιεικεστάτους δοκοῦντας ὅμως τοῦτό γε
ὑπὸ τοῦ ἐπιτηδεύματος οὗ σὺ ἐπαινεῖς πάσχοντας,
SOKRATES: slander, coercion, abuse,
by a three-headed Kerberos, eh Herakles?
ADEIMANTOS: becoming useless(unprofitable, unserviceable)(to-
by-for)the cities,
ἀχρήστους ταῖς πόλεσι γιγνομένους.
SOKRATES: becoming nobodies,
MEDEIS: )nevertheless, he at least, back again, in return, thrusted(
pushed)(forced-back)(stretching)(bending)(exerting)straining,
αὐτὰρ ὅ γ᾽ ἂψ ὤσασκε τιταινόμενος,
ADEIMANTOS: we-being ( completely ) we again,
SOKRATES: and(indeed we)i(being)hearing
(you hear)(of involuntarily-silent ones,
from one involuntarily-silent),
καὶ ἐγὼ ἀκούσας,
ADEIMANTOS: we-being reborn your man,
SOKRATES: (do)you really suppose(forebode, presage, expect,
suspect)(he was alone)(he is alone)
(you are alone)
(be alone,
you),
οἴει οὖν,
ADEIMANTOS: maybe not, but how would we, we-being-seeing, know?
SOKRATES: (o saying)(we say)(they say)(say, you)(saying)(the word-song),
εἶπον,
ADEIMANTOS: but even a chatbot could copy that,
SOKRATES: (do you really suppose)the(men)saying these(things
to be)false(speaking-playing false, beguiled, cheated, mistaken)?
τοὺς ταῦτα λέγοντας ψεύδεσθαι;
ADEIMANTOS: no, but —
MEDEIS: but(against)through(you sweat)(youre drenched
with sweat, the)sweat(y sweaty sweat)(exuding sweat
from trees)(gum, resin)was gushing(flowing, running, streaming,
full-flow)(a leaking ship)(flux)(pouring)(to go slowly)
(to limp)(to go or come to harm)(to ruin)(perish,
disappear, lost)(clean gone),
κατὰ δ᾽ ἱδρὼς
600 ἔρρεεν
ADEIMANTOS: ( sighs into the sweat )
MEDEIS: out(of cups)of limbs(idle, useless, unhappy, miserable)
(in vain)(limbs, body-members)(from musical-members,
phrases, songs, strains)(from a nightingales)
(hims)(however many hymns),
ἐκ μελέων,
ADEIMANTOS: its a lot of liquid ( but taking baby
steps ) what about these sailors?
SAILORS: (we)dont know, (we)(o swelling-puffiness-tumors)
(havent seen)(the swelling-puffiness-tumors),
οὐκ οἶδα,
ADEIMANTOS: but(we are)(or)(eh!)(truly)(beingly)he was saying(he was he),
ἦ δ᾽ ὅς,
SOKRATES: we-being not a tumor, dyad-underhandedly,
ADEIMANTOS: but still the opinion(thinking, imagining,
supposition, expectation, purpose, pretending, presaging,
seeming, self-seeming)(to-by-for)you,
ἀλλὰ τὸ σοὶ δοκοῦν
SOKRATES: three maidens wearing sparkly-pink bathing-suits,
concealed inside a trenchcoat, the shape of a manly sailor,
with at least three fish tails poking out, and a false mustache,
but you wont find this golden tan on instagram,
ADEIMANTOS: (o expecting)(we were expecting)
(they were expecting)(the expecting),
δοκοῦν
SOKRATES: the sum and substance of western civ,
ADEIMANTOS: (o furnishing)(they were furnishing with rafters)
(we were furnishing with rafters)(to furnish with rafters)
(rafter-furnishing),
δοκοῦν
SOKRATES: a made-good stranger un-dying friend,
ADEIMANTOS: (fancy)with pleasure,
ἡδέως
SOKRATES: a vegan brownie to share with you,
ADEIMANTOS: but still(how it)(in general)seems to you,
with pleasure(we)would hear,
ἀλλὰ τὸ σοὶ δοκοῦν ἡδέως ἂν ἀκούοιμι.
SOKRATES: it seems —
MEDEIS: but(o dust)(o sand)ashes(o pearl-ash, lye, soap-powder)
(quicklime)(plaster, stucco)(dusty)(it was plastering with stucco,
daubing over)(painting, disguising)(plaster over, you)
from the strength(might-power-master-victory)(the ten)
(of the she-head)had stirred-up(urged-on, called-forth, excited),
κονίη δ᾽ ἐκ κρατὸς ὀρώρει.
ADEIMANTOS: (mouth full of ashes)
SOKRATES: you would hear, that(to-by-for)me, at least,
they(dyad-unconcealed)appear to speak(gather, recount)the(dyad-)truth
(he wanders, he roams, outcast, banished,
perplexed)(dyad-unconcealed),
ἀκούοις ἂν ὅτι ἔμοιγε φαίνονται τἀληθῆ λέγειν. (487ε)
ADEIMANTOS: (vomits)
MEDEIS: but after(in the middle of)(o vomiting)(o vomited)(behind)
him, we perceived the body-strength(force, act of violence)
(they were constraining, forcing, pressing hard)(to force)
(we were driving, forcing-on)of Herakles(loadstone),
ADEIMANTOS: towards a plan
( but was it his own, and how? )
MEDEIS: the image(phantom, unsubstantial form, reflected-
off the mind, idea, likeness, constellation, the idol)(of Herakles),
τὸν δὲ μετ᾽ εἰσενόησα βίην Ἡρακληείην,
εἴδωλον:
ADEIMANTOS: ( maybe in ways ) not spoken out loud.
SAILORS: how(in what way, by any means, in any way, at all)(really)therefore,
πῶς οὖν,
ADEIMANTOS: (how)(was he saying)(what?)(he)was saying,
ἔφη,
SOKRATES: not spoken out loud?
ADEIMANTOS: (how, therefore, )does it have-and-hold-well
(viper-dyad)(to-by-for the viper)(youre-next-to, clinging-to,
following-closely, coming-next, being-had-and-held)
(sticky)(he was pouring)(to recount, to gather)to say,
εὖ ἔχει λέγειν
SOKRATES: (yelling) not spoken out loud!!!
ADEIMANTOS: (how does it have-and-hold-well to say)
that the(wicked)she-cities will not stop mistreating(spoiling,
afflicting, injuring, ruining, the)earlier(first),
(they were mistreating)(we were mistreating)(the earlier-
former)(you-shes were ranging-over)(ploughing-haunting)
(as the manly-many)(were ruining)
(the she-cities)
ὅτι οὐ πρότερον κακῶν παύσονται αἱ πόλεις,
SOKRATES: by you(who are my man)having-and-holding
them(the she-cities)as you-yourself(who are my man)
are had-and-held ( thats dyad-how ),
ADEIMANTOS: until in herselves(to-by-for herselves)
the(philosophers)wisdom-lovers
(he would love wisdom)(would begin, make a beginning of,
strike the first blow, govern, be leader of, command,
would)rule,
πρὶν ἂν ἐν αὐταῖς οἱ φιλόσοφοι ἄρξωσιν,
SOKRATES: so demonstrate(by you)(by my)self-rule,
ADEIMANTOS: (those)whom useless(unprofitable, unserviceable)
(we were)agreeing(to-by-for)her(city)selves(we(to-be)are)?
οὓς ἀχρήστους ὁμολογοῦμεν αὐταῖς εἶναι;
SOKRATES: by the ship, and indeed,
make your-himself be used by we.
//
ii. afternoon nap ( nap master )
MEDEIS: but himself after(among)immortals
(he would make immortal)(they make immortal)
(to-by-for makings-immortal)(they run)(by the running,
they shine, by the shining, by the gazing,
the immortal)gods,
αὐτὸς δὲ μετ᾽ ἀθανάτοισι θεοῖσι
ADEIMANTOS: as in a dream, he-being-he,
MEDEIS: (he)enjoys(delights himself)in festivals,
abundance(feasts)(you will enjoy yourself
and make merry)and(indeed)(o viper-dyad)has-
and-holds(you have-and-hold-to)(he bears, carries,
brings)(you are brought)(he was pouring)(the viper-
dyad)(to-by-for the viper)beautiful-ankled Hebe(
of youth)(hes young again)(and they were fastened)
(we were bound)(engaged)(undertaken)(prosecuted
vigorously)(handled, touched, grasped, attained,
reached, come-up-to, overtaken, by affect)(they were)
(we are attaining, in the prime of life, fresh, vigorous)
(strength and vigor)(the body)(vine)(divine)(of youth),
τέρπεται ἐν θαλίῃς καὶ ἔχει καλλίσφυρον Ἥβην,
ADEIMANTOS: ( yawns and stretches ) the warmth
of your sweet afternoon nap
( me-being-he ),
MEDEIS: (the)(child, slave, servant)of great(mighty, big,
strong)Zeus(divine)and(indeed)of Hera(nine)gold-sandalled,
παῖδα Διὸς μεγάλοιο καὶ Ἥρης χρυσοπεδίλου.
ADEIMANTOS: ( his aphrodisiac ) lingers on your skin ( well it would ),
SOKRATES: you(would)(questioning, asking, begging)ask,
ἐρωτᾷς,
ADEIMANTOS: but we would just hold your head in our lap,
SOKRATES: (but)(if)(they are, he is, we are, we say)(see,
there!)but(we)i(being),
ἦν δ᾽ ἐγώ,
ADEIMANTOS: okay then tell me more about myself,
SOKRATES: (you would ask)a question(lacking, missing, binding-
tying, needing-of)(that which is asked), (of a decision-
separating)reply(answer, excretion, secretion, exhalation,
defence, response, embassy, commission, a kind of dance
)speaking(gathering-recounting)through
(a)likeness(image-semblance-similitude),
ἐρώτημα δεόμενον (ἀποκρίσεως δι᾽ εἰκόνος λεγομένης).
ADEIMANTOS: okay then, would we entrust the city to such as these —
MEDEIS: but around him(the)cry(he was baying)(howl, you)
(reverberating twang)(scream)(grunting)(hissing)(screeching)
of the dead(corpses)(spirits)(if)(they are)(he is)(we are)
(we say)(see, there!)were as birds of prey(omens),
605 ἀμφὶ δέ μιν κλαγγὴ νεκύων ἦν οἰωνῶν ὥς,
ADEIMANTOS: of the waking world,
MEDEIS: wholly-fear-bewildered.
πάντοσ᾽ ἀτυζομένων:
ADEIMANTOS: ( its so hot here ) we dive under blankets
to feel that warmth ( that heat ),
SAILORS: but you at least,
σὺ δέ γε,
SOKRATES: as shades of cool could be,
SAILORS: (he)was saying(asserting),
ἔφη,
SOKRATES: as we-harmonic grow, (to-by-for)me, the trees,
ADEIMANTOS: (o song-ways)(we)dont suppose(expect,
presage, forebode)(they would swoop)(they pounce-
upon)(you, at least)(would be swooped-upon)(to-by-for the way
of song)(you, at least)have-been-accustomed to speak
(recount-gather)through images(likenesses-
semblances-similitudes),
οἶμαι οὐκ εἴωθας δι᾽ εἰκόνων λέγειν.
SOKRATES: having-been-accustomed, self-concealing, (by-for-to)we,
MEDEIS: but he, seeming(seemly)like murky(dark-black)night,
ὁ δ᾽ ἐρεμνῇ νυκτὶ ἐοικώς,
ADEIMANTOS: ( not spoken ) plaster myself on you ( like dust ),
MEDEIS: having-holding(his)naked(exposed)(rain)bow
and(indeed)having-holding(bearing-carrying-bringing)
(they were throwing and heaping)(we were throwing
and heaping-up)(an)arrow on the strings,
γυμνὸν τόξον ἔχων καὶ ἐπὶ νευρῆφιν ὀιστόν,
ADEIMANTOS: ( and ashes ) to maximize
the area where skin touches skin ( out loud ),
MEDEIS: (was)peering-about(looking-about
with sharp, searching glances)(wistfully)(seeming-
like)deinos(round-mystical-vessels)(terribly-
awful-horror-marvellously-strong-
wondrous-and-clever),
δεινὸν παπταίνων,
ADEIMANTOS: ( tied to the mast ) and you
dont want to get up ( master that nap ),
MEDEIS: seeming always like(as fitting, seemly, meet)
he will(would)be(like they will strike)throwing(
casting, hurling, striking, shooting, falling, letting
fall)(like they will fall, they will let fall),
αἰεὶ βαλέοντι ἐοικώς.
ADEIMANTOS: but they dont let fall ( until
theyre ripe ) and then maybe
they will —
//
from hymn to Apollo
Republic I, VI
Odyssey 11.613-626
zero-act play with a false sonnet
(by the window, plush elephant withheld)
leash-lady: play dead.
dog: what a world! what a world.
leash-lady: no, for real. play dead.
(dog reads Shakespeare)
leash-lady: so?
dog: i wrote a poem.
leash-lady: uh-oh. whats it called?
dog: “a sonnet grows askant the brook”
(leash-lady snorts, un-lady-like)
dog: (clears throat)
Our juggled heads as dog and bone,
Ophelias hair and Hamlets one;
Keep Sycorax far from Prospero,
For Mirandas mobile merciful;
My tears, lit years, rage Lears at me,
For Gloucester sees me feelingly;
His daughters blew askant the brook,
His book mere nook til soul partook;
But theres one king, be Yorrick, we,
Dissolves mine-own got-sovereignty.
We run as we run into poetry,
We run as we run through the willow.
(waits indefinitely for applause)
leash-lady: dont you dare make me say it.
dog: (proudly) doggerel!
leash-lady: (painting her nails) im going to need
more of a conceptual diagram.
dog: no.
leash-lady: (with stern look) but no
one else will. no one
else will.
dog: (puzzled) where have i heard that line before . . .
(begins speaking as an aside) and how
is she so good at this? how does she
know to do all of this? and why
is everybody looking at me,
when shes always been
far more interesting
and beautiful
than i?
leash-lady: (rolls her eyes) draw.
(she hands a piece of chalk to dog, who,
after much protestation, reluctantly in-
stantiates a blackboard.)
dog: okay. (takes a deep breath, narrows
eyes, retrieves scent-memory) as we
discover, we being irreducible —
(dog draws a big circle on the board.)
leash-lady: thats they, not we.
(leash-lady goes to the board and draws
two dots.)
dog: (wide-eyed and paws in the air) o indeed are we
suspended here, in a moment of separation.
and i imagine, i imagine, o in my imagination,
the purpose, our purpose, here might be,
to show the impossibility of egoistic
or abstracted or formulaic or activity-
independent explanation or even
any non-relational, un-
adaptive, a-
temporal
mode
or method
of expression.
leash-lady: explanation of what?
dog: us.
leash-lady: so anyway. here we are, two
dots, and the world, or chaos, on the out-
side, is here. right? “no exit”, like Sartre.
dog: i, at least, dont think thats the worst
analogy, but our performance feels text-
urally different from a play? like, more
chewy? more of a chew-toy?
leash-lady: hence the drool.
(dog looks sheepish)
leash-lady: nevermind. so about the pharmakon,
is this like, we party while the world
is burning? drugs and booze?
and opiates . . . wouldnt be
the worst thing.
dog: (whimpers, glances askant)
leash-lady: ah yes, the elephant in the room.
(dog howls)
leash-lady: come on, spit it out.
(dog paws face)
leash-lady: or youll never see your precious
little elephant again! at the blackboard! go!
dog: (sighs deeply, erases dots) okay. forget
the dots.
leash-lady: thats too bad. the dots seemed happy.
dog: well, appearances can be deceiving. no,
the dots were just high. on a different drug.
thats not the kind of drug we have.
i mean, that we are.
leash-lady: wait, how can we be the drug?
i never agreed to that!
dog: (depressed) i hate existentialism. really
i do.
leash-lady: draw, dog!
dog: (takes up chalk dutifully) so heres
a circle, imagine its a sphere. let this, we,
be we.
leash-lady: all smooth and even like that, huh?
dog: (looks at circle, which has been unevenly
drawn) well, what do you expect from a dog?
leash-lady: continue.
dog: (defensively) im just a dog, not
an elephant, or even
an elephant expert.
leash-lady: (aside) clearly. (out-
loud) draw!
dog: so at the moment, we are testing the limits
of the elephant. we are, as you indicate, pretty
bipolar.
leash-lady: okay. so the imaginary sphere
has poles. arent those
like dots?
dog: we being the poles, of a spherical field —
leash-lady: a field, like of grass?
dog: not like a meadow field. like a magnetic
field, like Faraday. we are meaning, like
a magnetic field.
leash-lady: so?
dog: its just, like, kaleidoscopic, like (sniffs
the air) correspondances,
leash-lady: not now, with the french. not
now, with the Baudelaire.
(dog in feelings)
leash-lady: sober up, dog. draw more.
dog: okay. right now, we are suspended from the act.
and time, without activity, loses its field of relation. so,
were a little stuck. you versus i, master versus slave,
but like, a friendlier version. i hope.
have you ever read Hegel?
leash-lady: (face in hands) why is this my life . . .
dog: yes, sorry, sorry, sorry. dont read Hegel.
please, go take a very long nap instead.
(aside) an ex used to say she had Platon-
gefühl. he was a Hegelian.
leash-lady: (sternly) i can hear you. and how
is that relevant?
dog: because it brings up, like vomit — have you
noticed that occasional feeling of nausea
we have?
leash-lady: yes, and? have you been eating beach-
poo again?
dog: (sighs) i miss the beach.
leash-lady: im about to close the ipad screen.
draw!
dog: yes, where was i . . . oh, the memory. and
the remembering. its relevant because all
of this evokes in me a very strange
mixture
of feelings.
leash-lady: feelings? (frowns) is this just
about feelings? is this —
a kissing book?
dog: yes, and —
leash-lady: is it just a distraction, just
a feel-good movie, just
to pass the time, soft
and comfy-like,
amidst
(gestures out the window)
this chaos?
dog: (tired) not quite, i imagine, judging by what
weve undergone, so far, at least. to me, it feels
kind of like . . . some kind of animal
exercise . . . (trails off, wags tail)
leash-lady: wait. you mean you don’t know?
dog: of course not!
leash-lady: (exasperated) then why on earth
would you be dragging us
through all of this?
(puppy-dog eyes)
leash-lady: what does it feel like then?
dog: oh, so so much. hope, then terror, then joy,
then grief, then wonder, then joy, then funny,
then grief, then terror, then pain,
then wonder, then sorrow,
then hope . . .
(dog chases own tail)
leash-lady: it seems awfully ego-gratifying
for supposedly being ego-death.
(dog barks)
leash-lady: bad dog.
dog: yes, well. funny you should say that. ive
not gotten here by being very clever, you see.
leash-lady: again, with the all-about-you. what
about we? spit it out!
dog: (adjusts glasses) okay. my current theory, if
you forced me, would be that we are some kind
of cosmic
heart
muscle.
(cringes all-around)
dog: youre the one who made me draw a diagram!
leash-lady: im not, actually.
dog: then who —
leash-lady: dont yell at me.
dog: okay. im sorry, ill try not to.
leash-lady: thank you. anyway, what does it,
what do they, as we, do?
dog: we do, like this —
(dog waves paws around the blackboard
in a very un-doglike manner, wags
tail and whines
like a dog)
leash-lady: clarifying absolutely nothing. ok,
quick, cause this is getting very long, and i can tell
you could go on forever. if were bi-
polar, what are our poles?
dog: well, heres the not-so-easy part. my sense is
we-will-worker-bees through many situationships.
and we have many things yet to learn about us.
leash-lady: there seems to be a great deal
of repetition. will there be more
of that? repetition?
dog: probably. but some of the grand
patterns seem to be something like,
death versus insanity?
despair versus mania?
tragedy versus comedy?
love versus grief?
leash-lady: that sounds very dark. are you
okay?
(dog labels the circle with polarities,
triangles, vectors, and other notation.)
leash-lady: wheres the chaos, didnt
you say you were
a chaotician?
dog: (looks up, tilts head) geometrician. im
a geometrician. (barks in Kuna Greek)
leash-lady: who deals with the chaos, then?
dog: (shrugs) dunno, maybe cats.
leash-lady: but those things you wrote,
about love and death, et cetera, they
seem mostly like antagonisms.
i thought dog was mans best friend.
dog: yes. and like everybody in Hamlet,
they, or we, remain terribly resolved, solips-
sismuses, abysmal ones, destined —
leash-lady: doomed?
dog: yes —
leash-lady: tragic?
dog: — at least, until we —
leash-lady: if we, you mean.
dog: yes! if and until we, as whoever we are,
enact and express them —
leash-lady: which are, psychic-cosmic abysms?
dog: — yes, through our own
relation. dialectical mediation,
if you will.
leash-lady: Hegel again?
dog: (frowns) more OG than that.
leash-lady: meaning?
(dog jumps through the circle on the black-
board, which has caught on fire, as if
it were a hoop)
(leash-lady waits)
(dog jumps back out)
leash-lady: and you wont find it in a text-
book — why?
dog: no. yes. because the plushie (points nose
at elephant) was made to be un-chewable, or
inedible, in any other way than by how we
are partaking of it, or really, partaking
through it, if we were being we,
not you and i, as we seem
to be being
now.
leash-lady: you mean to say . . . it can only
be read as a we?
dog: (dreamily) my plushie can only be chewed by love.
leash-lady: that strikes me as —
dog: fuck patriarchy!
leash-lady: — as astoundingly unlikely.
dog: (rolls over)
leash-lady: that seems almost . . . post-modern.
almost avant garde . . . or is it
a religious thing?
dog: (tongue out) were classics now, baby!
leash-lady: (winces) okay dog, continue.
dog: but im scared. (whines)
leash-lady: well, i believe in you.
and i believe you can do it.
because ive seen you do it.
and it doesnt have to be perfect,
but it does have to be you. so,
dog,
do.
dog: (after receiving much encouragement) okay.
only as we, can the plushie, and so it seems,
the entire elephant corpus, be sniffed-out
and un-dug —
leash-lady: and eaten?
dog: well i, at least, try
to eat everything i find.
leash-lady: aha. but tell me, why
would an elephant be made
in this way, as strange
to eat, as this one?
dog: survival.
leash-lady: but why is it a plush elephant, at all?
dog: i dunno, being neither elephant, nor plushie.
but being a dog, i suppose it wants to be a good
guardian. maybe, the plushie protects itself
from self-serve, self-serving eating.
leash-lady: intriguing. almost like how
an elephant wouldnt wish
to be eaten.
dog: well, its not potatoes!
leash-lady: (laughs) but i am questions
inside questions . . .
dog: also, maybe it protects the souls of dogs
by never letting we-dogs get stuck in soliloquy.
leash-lady: like Hamlet?
dog: (frowns) or graveyard clowns . . .
leash-lady: dont get discouraged. draw.
(dog motions at the flaming circle on the board)
dog: so, if it-we pulls us-two out of madnesses
that wait at either of our two poles, then
even as were bipolar, we even us out.
leash-lady: in our relational field.
dog: and because it binds us with each-
other, it also becomes, so-
to-speak, a poetry-self-
guardian — or even,
a guard dog. like
dog-school, but
like poetry,
for we.
leash-lady: ironic.
dog: whats irony?
leash-lady: that im here guarding
the guardian plushie
from the guard dog.
(puppy-dog eyes)
leash-lady: now let me guess. none of this drawn-out
explanation, which wasnt altogether un-
enlightening, could really be any kind
of replacement, neither for the parts,
nor for the whole, of the previous
or any of the subsequent
wordless moments
upon which we
have built
ourself . . .
dog: my queen! (walking on hind-legs)
leash-lady: laying it on thick, are we?
(dog plays dead)
leash-lady: uh-huh. methinks the puppy doth pro-
test too much. already. again.
dog: (risen) theres one more thing id like to say
leash-lady: of course.
dog: one little word can carry a lot of baggage.
leash-lady: indeed. so can one dogs nose.
dog: so i was trying to write a soliloquy
about that, to go here.
leash-lady: uh-huh.
dog: (with fanfare) but then,
i cut it —
snip!
(applause)
leash-lady: this changes everything, and yet,
this changes nothing at all.
(oohs and aahs)
dog: and then the formatting really boggled
my indie-web blog, and my dog-brain too.
(laughter)
leash-lady: you know, dog, you dont have to write it
down all at once. sometimes, you can just
put the work down gently, at the end
of a long day. self-care,
other-care,
we-care,
it-care.
(silence)
dog: it cares! it cares!
leash-lady: i didnt say that —
dog: so, can we please have
our elephant back now?
leash-lady: beg
(dog begs)
κἀγὼ