στάσις κτλ.
Cf. 556 E, 557 A. On the tense of
ὑπεχώρησε and the other aorists throughout this passage see 548 D note
τινες ‐‐ αἱ μὲν κτλ.
Cf. IV 431 A note The words
διεφθάρησαν—ἐξέπεσον correspond to
ἀποκτείνωσι—ἐκβάλωσι in 557 A. Madvig's
διετράπησαν is an unlucky venture.
ἀνεπιστημοσύνην ‐‐ πατρός
: the father is himself
ἀπαίδευτος (552 E note), and the
ἀπαίδευτος cannot
παιδεύειν. On the genitives see V 449 A note
τὰς αὐτὰς ὁμιλίας κτλ.
The reference in
τὰς αὐτάς is to
ξυγγένηται—δεινοῖς 559 D. Ast's conjecture
τὰς αὑταῖς ὁμιλίας is wrong in point of sense.
λάθρᾳ ξυγγιγνόμεναι: viz. with the desires of the ‘drones’: see 559 D.
ἐν ἀνδρῶν κτλ.
The stately cadence is worthy of the theme: cf.
τὴν— τέλεσι 560 E, and see the remarks of Longinus on rhythm and the arrangement of words as an element of
ὕψος (
περὶ ὔψους 39 ff.).
ἀναδραμόντες κατέσχον
: ‘ran up and seized.’
ἀναδραμόντες preserves the metaphor in
ἀκρόπολιν (560 B).
εἰς ‐‐ Λωτοφάγους
: ‘to those Lotos-eaters' land.’
ἐκείνους refers to
κηφήνων 559 D. The figure is strikingly appropriate, for the lotos-flower of sensual indulgence makes man, who is an
οὐράνιον φυτόν (Clem. Alex.
Cohort. ad Gent. 96 A ed. Migne, following Plato
Tim. 90 A
), forget ‘the imperial palace whence he came.’ Cf. VII 519 A, B notes, and (for
Λωτοφάγοι) Luc.
Salt. 2-4, Anth. Pal. XV 12. 8
μισῶ Λωτοφάγων γλυκερὴν λιπόπατριν ἐδωδήν (with reference to Epicureanism).
φανερῶς κατοικεῖ
: no longer
λάθρᾳ (560 B). He glories in his shame. Herwerden's
κατοικεῖ <ἐκεῖ> in place of
κατοικεῖ is wholly unnecessary and spoils the rhythm.
τοῦ βασιλικοῦ τείχους
: i.e. the wall enclosing the
ἀκρόπολις (560 B), where the soul's king or ruling power inhabits.
οὔτε πρέσβεις κτλ.
: ‘nor admit an embassy of wise words spoken by private persons of maturer years.’ The contrast is between the
ξυμμαχία itself, consisting of the
λόγοι of
οἰκεῖοι, and ‘ambassador-words’ of
ἰδιῶται, i.e. men who take no part in public or official life. Their representations would serve as ambassadors to those of the
οἰκεῖοι, whether the
οἰκεῖοι inspire them or not. It has often been pointed out that Plato is thinking of Alcibiades in various parts of this description (see e.g. Steinhart
Einleitung pp. 239, 698 note 238), Susemihl
Gen. Entw. II p. 233 and Herwerden
Mnem. XIX p. 337); and here, I believe, he has in mind the efforts of Socrates to reclaim him. Cf. VI 494 D note and especially
Symp. 215 D
ff.
<*>πρεσβύτερος with reference to Socrates see
ἀγαθοῖς καὶ πρεσβυτέροις III 409 C note; and for
ἰδιώτης as applied to him,
Apol. 32 E
— 33 B. The order and rhythm, as in
ἐν ἀνδρῶν θεοφιλῶν εἰσι διανοίαις above, is in keeping with the stately and sonorous eloquence of the whole passage: cf. IX 573 D. On Badham's conjecture
δἰ ὤτων for
ἰδιωτῶν see App. IV.
μαχόμενοι
: viz. with
τὸ φειδωλόν (560 C).
αἰδῶ
. See 560 A. With what follows cf. Thuc. III 82. 4 ff. and Isocr.
Areop. 20,
Panath. 131 (Dümmler's
Chron. Beiträge pp. 15 ff.).
σωφροσύνην κτλ.
Thuc. l.c.
τὸ δὲ σῶφρον τοῦ ἀνάνδρου πρόσχημα. Cf.
Eur.
Phoen. 509
ἀνανδρία γὰρ τὸ πλέον ὅστις ἀπολέσας |
τοὔλασσον ἔλαβε. It is probable that Plato had Thucydides in his mind: see Susemihl
Gen. Entw. II p. 234.
μετά
: ‘with the aid of’ (
in Vereinigung mit, Schneider).
καθήραντες κτλ.
The imagery is borrowed from the Eleusinian rites. On the first day of the Greater Mysteries, which was called
ἅλαδε μύσται, took place the cleansing of the
μύσται in the sea: cf. Mommsen
Feste d. Stadt Ath. p. 207 note 2.
κατεχομένου is used as in
Men. 99 D
κατεχομένους ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ.
μεγάλοισι τέλεσι κτλ.
The archaic termination in
μεγάλοισι adds solemnity: see on I 330 B.
λαμπράς = ‘in a blaze of light.’ Plato's language would suggest to an Athenian the brilliant scene on the evening of the Iacchus-day, when the ‘procession following the figure of Iacchus transformed itself into a
λαμπαδηφορίἀ (Mommsen l.c. p. 229): cf.
Ar.
Frogs 340
ff.
ἔγειρε φλογέας λαμπάδας ἐν χερσὶ τινάσσων Ἴακχ’ , ὦ Ἴακχε. The exiled
ὕβρις etc. are conducted home like Iacchus to Eleusis. In
χοροῦ there is an allusion to the
χορὸς μυστῶν .
μεγαλοπρέπειαν
. See on VI 486 A.
τοῦ ‐‐ τρεφομένου
. Masculine, not neuter.
τὴν ‐‐ ἄνεσιν
. I formerly read
εἰς τὴν (with
ΠΞ and many other MSS) instead of
τήν, but now believe that A is right. “Non est idem,
εἰς δημοκρατικὸν μεταβάλλειν, et
τὴν—ἐλευθέρωσιν μεταβάλλειν. Hoc prius, illud posterius, haec via, ille finis est” (Schneider). If Plato had written
εἰς, it should have been followed by an accusative masculine, contrasting with
ἐκ τοῦ—τρεφομένου, as in 553 A
εἰς ὀλιγαρχικὸν ἐκ τοῦ τιμοκρατικοῦ ἐκείνου μεταβάλλει. For the use of
μεταβάλλει cf. (with Schneider) IV 424 C et al. With the force of
ἄνεσιν cf. IX 575 A (
ἀνεθέντα) and 590 A.
εὐτυχὴς ᾖ
=‘if he is fortunate’ is much better than
εὐτυχήσῃ (Cobet), which would mean ‘if he becomes fortunate.’ Cf. IX 578 C note
ἀλλά τι κτλ.
: ‘but, owing also in some measure to the influence of years, when the tumult of the soul has mostly passed’ etc. Cf. I 329 C. Plato means that good fortune does something, and growing age the rest.
εἰς ἴσον κτλ.
Pleasures are regarded by the
δημοκρατικὸς ἀνήρ as individual men are regarded by the
δημοκρατικὴ πολιτεία (557 A, 558 C notes): they are all equal. For
ὥσπερ λαχούσῃ see on 557 A.
ἕως ἂν πληρωθῇ means ‘till he’ (not ‘it,’ as D. and V. etc.) ‘is filled.’ Sensual pleasures
πληροῦσι because they are
πληρώσεις: cf.
Phil. 35 D
ff. This is the
χαραδριοῦ βίος so powerfully described in
Gorg. 493 A
—494 D.
τὸ φρούριον κτλ.
The
φρούριον is the
ἀκρόπολις of 560 B. With
ἐάν τις λέγῃ κτλ. cf.
Gorg. 495 A
ff.
διαζῇ κτλ.
The
δημοκρατικός, like the State of which he is the counterpart, is a living example of the Cyrenaic cult of
μονόχρονος ἡδονή: see 557 A, D, notes and RP.^{7} 207 B, 211. Steinhart (
Einleitung p. 698 note 239) with much probability thinks that the portrait is drawn from Alcibiades, whose
ἦθος (says Plut.
Alc. 2. 1)
πολλὰς—ἀνομοιότητας καὶ πρὸς αὑτὸ μεταβολὰς ἐπεδείξατο. Cf.
Eur.
Hipp. 1115
—1117
ῥᾴδια δ’ ἤθεα τὸν αὔριον |
μεταβαλλομένα χρόνον ἀεὶ |
βίον ξυνευτυχοίην, and (with Nettleship
Lect. and Rem. II p. 311 note) the striking parallel in Dryden's
Absalom and Achitophel 545 ff. On
ἀνομοιότης as marking decay in men and cities see 547 A, 557 A notes
οὔτε τις τάξις κτλ.
“The absence of principle, he, like the democratic state, makes into a principle” (Nettleship l.c. II p. 310). On
οὔτε ἀνάγκη see 557 E note, and on
ήδύν 561 C note
ἰσονομικοῦ
: ‘to whom all laws are equal.’ ‘Equal laws’ (
ἰσονομία) was the proud claim of democracy (Hdt. III 80, Bergk
Poet. Lyr. Gr.^{4} III Scol. 12). The
δημοκρατικός practises what he preaches
ὡς ἀληθῶς—by impartially ignor ing every law ! For the etymological figure cf. II 376 B note
παντοδαπόν τε καὶ ‐‐ μεστόν
. Richards proposes to write the genitive, remarking “surely the words are parallel to
ἰσονομικοῦ.” Logically they are, but grammatically they need not be, for the life of an
ἰσονομικὸς ἀνήρ is of course
ἰσονομικός. With
πλείστων ἠθῶν cf.
πᾶσιν ἤθεσι πεποικιλμένη 557 C.
καὶ τὸν καλόν τε κτλ.
lit.: ‘and that this man is the beautiful and manycoloured man, as the city described above’ (was the beautiful and manycoloured city). “Sunt diversa hominum et civitatum genera, unum simplex ac rectum, alterum duplex, aliud multiplex et varium. Qui primo accensendus est,
ὁ ἁπλοῦς, qui alteri,
ὁ διπλοῦς, hic vero
ὁ καλός τε καὶ ποικίλος audit” (Schneider). Thus understood the article is strictly to the point, and there is no reason for writing
τῶν καλῶν τε καὶ ποικίλων with Vind. B and W. H. Thompson. On
ποικίλον see 557 C note It is worthy of remark that Clement interprets Joseph's ‘coat of many colours’ in the Old Testament as symbolical of desire:
εἴη δ’ ἂν ἐπιθυμία ποικίλον ἔνδυμα (
Strom. V 8. 84 C ed. Migne).
ἐκείνην τὴν πόλιν
. See 557 C, with which and 557 D the words
ὂν πολλοί κτλ. are also in close correspondence.
