Plato Republic 4.421

ἐξ ὧν : i.e. τούτων τῶν σχημάτων ἐξ ὧν. Cf. II 373 E note

καὶ αὖ : rursusque (Ficinus), i.e. sicuti et contra, as Ast observes.

εἰ μὲν οὖν ‐‐ λέγοι . This difficult passage has suffered severely at the hands of critics, but the text is probably nearly, if not quite, sound. If we take the words as they stand in A, they mean, broadly speaking, that if we are making true guardians, and he ( ὁ ἐκεῖνο λέγων means the τις in 419 A) is making something different, he cannot, like ourselves, be speaking of a πόλις, but of something else. This is logical and gives an excellent sense: cf. 422 E εὐδαίμων εἶ— ὅτι οἴει ἄξιον εἶναι ἄλλην τινὰ προσειπει—ν πόλιν ἢ τὴν τοιαύτην οἵαν ἡμεῖς κατεσκευάζομεν. Now we are making guardians in the true sense of the term, such as are least likely to harm the city; whereas the author of the other proposals is making (not guardians, but since he gives them ἀγροί 419 A) a sort of farmers (cf. III 417 B οἰκονόμοι μὲν καὶ γεωργοὶ ἀντὶ φυλάκων ἔσονται) and men who do harm their city, because they “for their bellies' sake, Creep, and intrude and climb into the fold.” The advocates of such a theory must mean something different from a city—something like the “shearers' feast” in Lycidas: cf. I 343 A note γεωργούς is possibly corrupt; if so, I think we should read λεωργούς to contrast with ἥκιστα κακουργούς. The word occurs in the Memorabilia, if not in Plato. See Cl. Rev. X p. 385. Other emendations are enumerated in App. I.

ἐκεῖνο κτλ. : i.e. to pursue the other policy, which we enjoin. ἐκεῖνο does more than merely anticipate ὅπως— ἔσονται.

ἐατέον . The infinitive, which would naturally follow ἐατέον, is ‘drawn into construction’ with ὅπως —ἀποδίδωσι. I once thought of ἑκτέον (i.q. δεῖ ἔχειν, cf. V 468 A), taking the genitive as in πῶς ἔχεις τοῦ μεταλαμβάνειν εὐδαιμονίας; But the MS reading is satisfactory enough.

ὥστε ‐‐ γίγνεσθαι : ‘so that they also become bad.’ These words, though expunged by Hartman, are welcome, if not necessary, in view of κακίων χυτρεὺς γίγνεται and χείρους δὲ αὐτοί in D and E. καὶ indicates that κακοὺς γίγνεσθαι is more than διαφθείρει; and so it is represented in the sequel. The reading of A (see cr. n.) perhaps points to a variant διαφθερεῖ.

πλουτήσας ‐‐ τέχνης . Ar. Plut. 510 —534 (cited by Ast) furnishes an excellent commentary on this text. See also on III 416 E.

παρέχεσθαι is ‘to provide out of his own resources’ (de suo praebere): cf. VIII 554 A. Cobet cancels the word; Herwerden and Hartman prefer πορίζεσθαι, for which there is no MS authority. πορίζεσθαι would imply that the χυτρεύς buys his ὄργανα ready-made from others, whereas παρέχεσθαι expresses no opinion on this point.

διδάξεται . Thompson, Cobet, and others peremptorily call for διδάξει. See however Riddell Digest of Idioms § 87. Riddell conclusively shews (1) that in Men. 93 D ἐδιδάξατο as well as ἐπαιδεύσατο is said of a parent teaching his own son (a passage misunderstood—I think—by Jebb on Soph. Ant. 356 : cf. Men. 93 C ), (2) that ἐδίδαξε is used of a parent getting his sons taught by others in Men. 94 B and 94 D (bis). Another example of the second usage is Prot. 324 D . The fact is that “the Active Voice is quite as susceptible as the Middle of the meaning ‘to get a thing done by another’; neither Voice, however, by any proper inherent force, but in virtue solely of the common principle, that qui facit per alium facit per se,” Riddell. Jebb (l.c.) observes that “once or twice ἐδιδαξάμην is merely ἐδίδαξα with the idea of the teacher's interest superadded”: it may be doubted if “once or twice” is strong enough, but at all events this is the usage here, and in V 467 E. The active διδάσκῃ is appropriately used of teaching others ( ἄλλους κτλ.); in διδάξεται the personal interest reappears, for it is the sons who are the prominent pupils (whence ἢ ἄλλους and not καὶ ἄλλους). Richter's view ( Fl. Jahrb. 1867 p. 147) that διδάξεται denotes the result of the action rather than the action itself is partly true, but it is not the middle which gives it this force. In Ar. Clouds 783 , as Socrates is not Strepsiades' father, we may accept Elmsley's emendation διδάξαιμ’ ἄν for διδαξαίμην without prejudice to the present case.

αὐτοί : viz. οἱ τεχνῖται: see II 377 C note We need not change τεχνῶν to τεχνιτῶν.