Διὰ λόγων, ἐν λόγοις, καὶ λόγῳ:

The Colloquial Instrumental in Plato's Gorgias

Wiliam D. White (University of Colorado, Boulder)

The middle dialogues of Plato are written in the style of educated conversation amongst Socrates and the philosophical leaders of the Greek world. As such, they utilize a language above that of the Athenian streets of 400 BC, rich in technical vocabulary and highly specific rhetorical devices to most effectively convey the ideas of Platonic philosophy. However, as they are presented as dialogue between speakers of Attic Greek, they reflect on the state of colloquial grammar in Athens to complete the fiction of actually speech compared with the artifice of philosophical prose.

Critical to the discussion of the nature of rhetoric in relation to other spoken τέχναι is λόγος. Keeping with the “colloquial” nature of the dialogue, Plato expresses what can be accomplished “through speech” in three common ways: διὰ λόγου (through speech), ἐν λόγοις (in speech), and λόγῳ (with speech). A contrast emerges between these three manners of expression. On the one hand, prepositional intrumentals were becoming increasingly dominant in spoken Greek and therefore are approaching a state of synonymity; on the other, each retains a nuance not lost on a mind as educated and calculating as Plato, interjecting an element of rhetorical significance into the choice of each in a given situation within the Gorgias. In this paper, I will endeavour to analyze the differences between these three instrumentals in both common Attic and Platonic Greek, as well as demonstrate the connotations Plato intends in his utilization of each at specific, influential points and passages.