CASE FILE 04 · CLASSICS · REPUBLIC 10.597D
Plato's Republic
Creation
English makes two different Greek words look like synonyms. The question changes when the distinction is restored.
THE TRANSLATION
“Would you call a painter a creator and a maker?”
Ἦ καὶ τὸν ζωγράφον δημιουργὸν καὶ ποιητὴν τοῦ τοιούτου;
In English, creator and maker sound like the same thing. More accurately, the question is:
“Would you call a painter a manufacturer or a bringer of being?”
Hover, focus or tap either word. Watch what English loses.
WHAT THE ENGLISH HIDES
The words are not doing the same work.
δημιουργὸν names the manufacturer: the one who makes the object. ποιητὴν reaches further: the bringer of being.
A few lines earlier, Plato calls God the bringer of being. God “created a bed” using ποιητής: not another manufactured bed, but the bed itself brought into being.
Translate both words as English synonyms and the distinction disappears. The sentence still looks complete. Its argument is not.
THIS IS CASE FILE 04 · ← BACK TO CASE STUDIES