Menexenus

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Summary

Menexenus (often rendered in Chinese as Moniekeseinuosi or Meinekesenu Pian) is a short but highly controversial dialogue by Plato, one of the surviving "seventh tetralogy." Its structure is unusual: only the opening and closing are in dialogue form, while the main body is a public funeral oration that Socrates recounts to the young Athenian aristocrat Menexenus, an oration Socrates claims to have learned from Aspasia. The speech follows the traditional program of Athenian funeral orations, first praising the noble birth of the fallen, their upbringing, and the nobility of the Athenian constitution, then reviewing Athenian military history from the Persian Wars onward, recounting the Persian Wars, the Peloponnesian War and the city's civil strife, the Corinthian War, and more, and finally closing with "exhortation and consolation" and describing the city's provisions for the bereaved. What makes the piece striking is its "double face": on the one hand, Socrates departs from his usual role as questioner and delivers a politically charged civic encomium in the manner of a rhetorician; on the other hand, the speech's internal timeline extends to events after Socrates' death, and the narrative carries clear ironic and parodic coloring, forming a contrast with Pericles' funeral oration and with Thucydides' rewriting of it in the History of the Peloponnesian War. Hence there has long been disagreement over whether the piece is a patriotic encomium, an ironic parody, or a critique of rhetoric and democratic ideology, and it is regarded as a key to understanding Plato's political philosophy and view of rhetoric.

Editor's review

柏拉图对话录中，这一篇最容易被误读：它看起来像一篇对雅典的颂词，细读却发现叙述者、时间与语境处处透着反讽。苏格拉底罕见地扮演修辞家，转述据称学自阿斯帕西娅的葬礼演说，把雅典百年战事从头到尾铺陈一遍；而演说内容涉及苏格拉底身后之事，又与伯里克勒斯的名篇、修昔底德的史笔形成几重对照。它既是研究古希腊葬礼演说传统与雅典民主意识形态的一手材料，也是讨论柏拉图如何看待修辞、城邦与哲学关系的绝佳入口。篇幅短、结构清晰，适合作为进入柏拉图中后期思想的“轻量样本”，配合《理想国》《高尔吉亚》与修昔底德对读，收获尤多。

Who it's for

A good fit for

已读过《理想国》《苏格拉底的申辩》，想拓展柏拉图对话阅读面的读者
研究古希腊修辞术、葬礼演说与雅典政治文化的古典学学习者
关注政治哲学中“颂词与反讽”问题的哲学系学生与教师
对修昔底德《伯罗奔半岛战争志》有一定了解、希望对照阅读的读者

Not a good fit for

完全没接触过柏拉图、希望从入门导读开始读起的初学者
期待看到完整论辩式对话、以问答推进情节的读者
只读中文且不习惯译本夹注与古典专名的普通休闲读者

Reading tips

先通读演说主体，再回看开场与结尾的对话框，注意两层叙事之间的距离感。
与伯里克勒斯葬礼演说（见修昔底德《伯罗奔半岛战争志》第二卷）并读，留意两者在史实与语气上的差异。
读完后追问一句：苏格拉底为何要在这篇演说中“表演”修辞家？带着这个问题回头重读。
可配合《高尔吉亚》《斐德若》中关于修辞的讨论，形成柏拉图修辞观的整体图景。

FAQ

《Menexenus》有中文译本吗？

有。华夏出版社 2025 年 9 月出版了李向利翻译的《默涅克塞诺斯》（ISBN 9787522208145），中译书名亦作《美涅克塞努篇》，此外该篇也常被收入柏拉图对话全集的选译本中。

这篇对话为什么被称为“奇怪的对话”？

因为它名为对话，实际只有首尾是问答，中间整段是苏格拉底转述的一篇长篇葬礼演说；且演说内容涉及苏格拉底身后之事，显得不合常理，学界对其是戏仿还是颂词长期有争论。

没读过柏拉图其他作品能直接读吗？

篇幅短、门槛不高，可以单独读；但要体会其中的反讽与政治哲学意味，最好先了解苏格拉底之死、伯里克勒斯与伯罗奔半岛战争的基本背景。

它和修昔底德有什么关系？

本篇演说的战史叙述与伯里克勒斯葬礼演说形成明显对照，不少研究者认为它是柏拉图对修昔底德笔下那篇名演说的回应或戏仿。

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About the author

Plato Author · Greek

Plato was an ancient Greek philosopher. Born into an aristocratic Athenian family, he studied under Socrates, later founded the Academy, and taught Aristotle. Public sources on the details of his life are limited, and no exact dates of birth and death are recorded. He wrote mainly in dialogue form, letting figures such as Socrates examine questions through conversation—a form that is both dramatic and speculative. His works center on the theory of Forms, justice, the soul, love, and rhetoric. Representative works include the Republic, Phaedrus, Timaeus, the Apology of Socrates, and Phaedo, several of which appear in Greek-Chinese bilingual or complete Chinese translations. His thought established the fundamental questions and modes of discussion in Western philosophy and has had a profound influence on later philosophy, political theory, and education.