Sophist – Plato
THEAETETUS: What are you saying?
call a noun.
STRANGER: What I thought that you intended THEAETETUS: Quite true.
when you gave your assent; for there are two sorts of intimation of being which are given by STRANGER: A succession of nouns only is not a the voice.
sentence, any more than of verbs without nouns.
THEAETETUS: What are they?
THEAETETUS: I do not understand you.
STRANGER: One of them is called nouns, and STRANGER: I see that when you gave your as-the other verbs.
sent you had something else in your mind. But what I intended to say was, that a mere succes-THEAETETUS: Describe them.
sion of nouns or of verbs is not discourse.
STRANGER: That which denotes action we call THEAETETUS: What do you mean?
a verb.
STRANGER: I mean that words like ‘walks,’
THEAETETUS: True.
‘runs,’ ‘sleeps,’ or any other words which denote action, however many of them you string STRANGER: And the other, which is an articu-together, do not make discourse.
late mark set on those who do the actions, we 159
Sophist – Plato
THEAETETUS: How can they?
STRANGER: Yes, for he now arrives at the point of giving an intimation about something which STRANGER: Or, again, when you say ‘lion,’
is, or is becoming, or has become, or will be. And
‘stag,’ ‘horse,’ or any other words which de-he not only names, but he does something, by note agents—neither in this way of stringing connecting verbs with nouns; and therefore we words together do you attain to discourse; for say that he discourses, and to this connexion of there is no expression of action or inaction, or of words we give the name of discourse.
the existence of existence or non-existence indicated by the sounds, until verbs are mingled with THEAETETUS: True.
nouns; then the words fit, and the smallest combination of them forms language, and is the sim-STRANGER: And as there are some things which plest and least form of discourse.
fit one another, and other things which do not fit, so there are some vocal signs which do, and THEAETETUS: Again I ask, What do you mean?
others which do not, combine and form discourse.
STRANGER: When any one says ‘A man learns,’
THEAETETUS: Quite true.
should you not call this the simplest and least of sentences?
STRANGER: There is another small matter.
THEAETETUS: Yes.
THEAETETUS: What is it?