Plato Republic 4.432

Paul Shorey (Translator)

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Republic. Plato. Paul Shorey (Translator). Cambridge, MA. 1935-37.

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Funding provided by The Annenberg CPB/Project.

Current edition Perseus

Republic (English) (Plato in Twelve Volumes, Vol. 5-6. Shorey, Paul, translator. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1935-37 (printing).)

Editions (1)
Πολιτεία Perseus (Platonis Opera Tomus IV: Tetralogia VIII. Burnet, John, editor. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1905.) — 4.432 focus

Notes on the current edition

Republic

1. δι’ ὅλης: sc. τῆς πόλεως, but as ἀτεχνῶς shows (Cf. on 419 E) it already suggets the musical metaphor of the entire octave διὰ πασῶν.
2. The word order of the following is noteworthy. The translation gives the meaning. ταὐτόν, the object of συνᾴδοντας, is, by a trait of style that grows more frequent in the Laws and was imitated by Cicero, so placed as to break the monotony of the accusative terminations.
3. For the comparison the kind of superiority is indifferent. See Thompson on Meno 71 E and compare the enumeration of claims to power in the Laws,
ἀξιώματα . . . τοῦ ἀρχεῖν
, Laws 690 A ff. and 434 B.
4. The final statement of the definition, which, however, has little significance for Plato’s thought, when isolated from its explanatory context. Cf. Def. Plat. 413 E, Unity of Plato’s Thought, pp. 15. f., n. 82. Quite idle is the discussion whether σωφροσύνη is otiose, and whether it can be absolutely distinguished from δικαιοσύνη. They are sufficiently distinguished for Plato’s purpose in the imagery and analogies of the Republic.
5. Cf. on 351 E.
6. Cf. Demosthenes 18 and 430 E
ὥς γε ἐντεῦθεν ἰδεῖν
. Plato’s definitions and analyses are never presented as final. They are always sufficient for the purpose in hand. Cf. Unity of Plato’s Thought, p. 13, nn. 63-67 and 519.
7. δι’ ὅ: cf. my paper on the Origin of the Syllogism, Class. Phil . vol. xix. pp. 7 ff. This is an example of the terminology of the theory of ideas already in the first four books. Cf. Unity of Plato’s Thought, p. 35, n. 238, p. 38.
8. νῦν δή: i.e. νῦν ἤδη.
9. Cf. Soph. 235 B, Euthydemus 290 B-C, Phaedo 66 C, Laws 654 E, Parmenides 128 C, Lysis 218 C, Thompson on Meno 96 E, Huxley, Hume , p. 139
There cannot be two passions more nearly resembling each other than hunting and philosophy.
Cf. also Hardy’s
He never could beat the covert of conversation without starting the game.
The elaboration of the image here is partly to mark the importance of δικαιοσύνη and partly to relieve the monotony of continuous argument.
10. It is not necessary, though plausible, to emend μετρίως to μετρίῳ. The latter is slightly more idiomatical. Cf. Terence’s
benigno me utetur patre.
11. Prayer is the proper preface of any act. Cf. Timaeus 27 C, Laws 712 B.
12. τὸ πάθος: for the periphrasis cf. 376 A.
13. Cf. Theaetetus 201 A.
14. A homely figure such as Dante and Tennyson sometimes use.
15. This sounds like Hegel but is not Hegelian thought.

Commentary

Commentary on Plato, Republic (Plato. The Republic, Vol 1-2. Adam, James, editor. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1902-1903.) focus

δἰ ὅλης ‐‐ διὰ πασῶν . δἰ ὅλης sc. τῆς πόλεως, not λύρας, as J. and C. strangely suppose. διὰ πασῶν sc. τῶν χορδῶν should be taken with ξυνᾴδοντας (so also Schneider). ἡ διὰ πασῶν συμφωνία is the octave (Arist. Probl. XIX 35. 920^{a} 27 ff.), the καλλίστη συμφωνία, according to the Greeks (Arist. l.c.), readily sounding to the ear as absolute unison; hence the point of ταὐτόν, which is an accusative depending directly on ξυνᾴδοντας. See Arist. l.c. 14. 918^{b} 7 ff. διὰ τί λανθάνει τὸ διὰ πασῶν καὶ δοκεῖ ὁμόφωνον εἶναι, οἷον ἐν τῷ φοινικίῳ καὶ ἐν τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ; The whole expression διὰ πασῶν ξυνᾴδοντας ταὐτόν therefore means that the concord of the citizens on the matter in question is absolute and complete. Further than this I do not think the comparison is to be pressed. If we seek to find analogies between ἀσθενεστάτους, ἰσχυροτάτους, μέσους and the ὑπάτη, νήτη and μέση of the scale, we are met by the difficulty that the μέση cannot be said to produce the same ( ταὐτόν) note as the ὑπάτη and νήτη, and we are not at liberty to suppose that Plato is thinking of ἡ δὶς διὰ πασῶν in the face of his own words, which refer only to a single octave ( διὰ πασῶν παρεχομ νη κτλ.). In talking of σωφροσύνη Plato usually distinguishes only between two classes—rulers and ruled: 431 D, E and infra χείρονός τε καὶ ἀμείνονος. See also on 443 D.

φρονήσει ‐‐ ἰσχύϊ ‐‐ πλήθει define ἀσθενεστάτους, ἰσχυροτάτους, μέσους. The equipoise and measured cadence of this stately sentence may well suggest a chorus of voices singing in unison. Cf. III 401 C. Cobet's excision of the second βούλει is sadly out of tune.

ταύτην τὴν ὁμόνοιαν prepares us for the definition about to follow. There are various ὁμόνοιαι: this one is agreement ὁπότερον δεῖ ἄρχειν etc.

χείρονος κτλ. : ‘concord between the naturally better and the naturally worse, on the question which should rule, whether in a city or in an individual.’ ἐν ἑνὶ ἑκάστῳ anticipates 442 C f.; but is justified here by 431 A, B.

ὥς γε ‐‐ δόξαι . This phrase is apparently quite unique in Plato: see Grünenwald cited on 430 E.

ὥσπερ κυνηγέτας . The image is a favourite one with Plato: cf. Laws 654 E, Parm. 128 C , Lys. 218 C . Other examples may be found in Stallbaum's note on this passage. The particular kind of hunting from which Plato takes his illustration is clearly described in Xen. de Ven. 8. 4—8. A net was drawn round the bush where the hare was, and the hunters stood round, ready μεταθεῖν κατὰ τὰ ἴχνη, ἐὰν ἐκκυλισθῇ ἐκ τῶν δικτύων.

φράσῃς : ‘point out.’ There is no occasion to read (with Ast and q) καί μοι φράσεις.

μετρίῳ . See cr. n. μετρίως χρῆσθαι could only mean ‘to treat fairly,’ but this is not to the point. The only relevant meaning is ‘you will find me very tolerable,’ and μετρίῳ μοι χρήσει conveys this sense exactly. Cf. ἑπομένῳ χρῇ—καὶ δυναμένῳ and Xen. Cyr. III 2. 4 ὀλίγοις τε καὶ ἀσθενέσι χρησαίμεθ’ ἂν πολεμίοις, Symp. 2 9, 10. On the error see Introd. § 5.

εὐξάμενος : like a pious huntsman: cf. Xen. de Ven. 6. 13 εὐξάμενον τῷ Ἀπόλλωνι καὶ τῇ Ἀρτέμιδι τῇ Ἀγροτέρᾳ μεταδοῦναι τῆς θήρας. Cf. also (with Stallbaum) Phil. 25 B εὔχου δὴ καὶ σκόπει and Tim. 27 C . ἕπου οὖν (suggested by Richards) seems to me much less spirited and picturesque than ἕπου; and the cacophony is also unpleasing. For the asyndeton cf. II 373 E note

ἔστι γοῦν ‐‐ δυσδιερεύνητος has been objected to as adding little or nothing to δύσβατος—ἐπίσκιος. But δυσδιερεύνητος, ‘difficult to beat,’ said of beating or scouring the brake to rouse ( κινεῖν Xen. de Ven. 8. 7) the game and drive it out into the net, could ill be spared; so apt a word is much too good for a copyist. Cf. Menex. 240 B , where διερευνᾶσθαι is used of the famous ‘beating’ of Euboea by Datis' soldiers: and see also Laws 698 D.

ἰοῦ, ἰοῦ : ‘Joy! Joy!’ ἰού dolentis, ἰοῦ gaudentis, according to the Scholiast on Ar. Peace 318 : cf. Suidas s.v. Ancient authorities differed on the point (see Blaydes' critical note l.c.), but modern scholars for the most part agree with Suidas.

ἐκφευξεῖσθαι ‐‐ εὖ ἀγγέλλεις . The contracted form of the future of φεύγω is established by the authority both of the Paris MS, and also of Aristophanes and Euripides, as Schanz has proved (Vol. XII p. xvi). Schanz may be right in supposing that it is borrowed “ex ore populi.” For εὖ ἀγγέλλεις Phrynichus (S. V. εὐαγγελίζομαί σε) apparently read εὐαγγελεῖς, on which see Lobeck Phryn. p. 632 and Cobet N. L. p. 163. εὐαγγελῶ does not seem to be used in Attic prose. In Theaet. 144 B εὖ ἀγγέλλεις is read by B, εὖ ἀγγελεῖς by T.