Plato, Republic, ed. John Burnet, 3.416

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[416] 416a
πῶς, ἔφη, αὖ τοῦτο λέγεις διαφέρειν ἐκείνου;
ἐγώ σοι, ἦν δʼ ἐγώ, πειράσομαι εἰπεῖν. δεινότατον γάρ που πάντων καὶ αἴσχιστον ποιμέσι τοιούτους γε καὶ οὕτω τρέφειν κύνας ἐπικούρους ποιμνίων, ὥστε ὑπὸ ἀκολασίας ἢ λιμοῦ ἤ τινος ἄλλου κακοῦ ἔθους αὐτοὺς τοὺς κύνας ἐπιχειρῆσαι τοῖς προβάτοις κακουργεῖν καὶ ἀντὶ κυνῶν λύκοις ὁμοιωθῆναι.
δεινόν, ἦ δʼ ὅς· πῶς δʼ οὔ; 416b
οὐκοῦν φυλακτέον παντὶ τρόπῳ μὴ τοιοῦτον ἡμῖν οἱ ἐπίκουροι ποιήσωσι πρὸς τοὺς πολίτας, ἐπειδὴ αὐτῶν κρείττους εἰσίν, ἀντὶ συμμάχων εὐμενῶν δεσπόταις ἀγρίοις ἀφομοιωθῶσιν;
φυλακτέον, ἔφη.
οὐκοῦν τὴν μεγίστην τῆς εὐλαβείας παρεσκευασμένοι ἂν εἶεν, εἰ τῷ ὄντι καλῶς πεπαιδευμένοι εἰσίν;
ἀλλὰ μὴν εἰσίν γʼ, ἔφη.
καὶ ἐγὼ εἶπον· τοῦτο μὲν οὐκ ἄξιον διισχυρίζεσθαι, ὦ φίλε Γλαύκων· ὃ μέντοι ἄρτι ἐλέγομεν, ἄξιον, ὅτι δεῖ 416c αὐτοὺς τῆς ὀρθῆς τυχεῖν παιδείας, ἥτις ποτέ ἐστιν, εἰ μέλλουσι τὸ μέγιστον ἔχειν πρὸς τὸ ἥμεροι εἶναι αὑτοῖς τε καὶ τοῖς φυλαττομένοις ὑπʼ αὐτῶν.
καὶ ὀρθῶς γε, ἦ δʼ ὅς.
πρὸς τοίνυν τῇ παιδείᾳ ταύτῃ φαίη ἄν τις νοῦν ἔχων δεῖν καὶ τὰς οἰκήσεις καὶ τὴν ἄλλην οὐσίαν τοιαύτην αὐτοῖς παρεσκευάσθαι, ἥτις μήτε τοῦ φύλακας ὡς ἀρίστους εἶναι παύσει 416d αὐτούς, κακουργεῖν τε μὴ ἐπαρεῖ περὶ τοὺς ἄλλους πολίτας.
καὶ ἀληθῶς γε φήσει.
ὅρα δή, εἶπον ἐγώ, εἰ τοιόνδε τινὰ τρόπον δεῖ αὐτοὺς ζῆν τε καὶ οἰκεῖν, εἰ μέλλουσι τοιοῦτοι ἔσεσθαι· πρῶτον μὲν οὐσίαν κεκτημένον μηδεμίαν μηδένα ἰδίαν, ἂν μὴ πᾶσα ἀνάγκη· ἔπειτα οἴκησιν καὶ ταμιεῖον μηδενὶ εἶναι μηδὲν τοιοῦτον, εἰς ὃ οὐ πᾶς ὁ βουλόμενος εἴσεισι· τὰ δʼ ἐπιτήδεια, ὅσων δέονται ἄνδρες ἀθληταὶ πολέμου σώφρονές τε καὶ 416e ἀνδρεῖοι, ταξαμένους παρὰ τῶν ἄλλων πολιτῶν δέχεσθαι μισθὸν τῆς φυλακῆς τοσοῦτον ὅσον μήτε περιεῖναι αὐτοῖς εἰς τὸν ἐνιαυτὸν μήτε ἐνδεῖν· φοιτῶντας δὲ εἰς συσσίτια ὥσπερ ἐστρατοπεδευμένους κοινῇ ζῆν·

Republic. Plato. ed. John Burnet. Oxford. 1905.

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Πολιτεία (Greek) (Platonis Opera Tomus IV: Tetralogia VIII. Burnet, John, editor. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1905.)

Translations (1)

Republic Perseus (Plato in Twelve Volumes, Vol. 5-6. Shorey, Paul, translator. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1935-37 (printing).) — 3.416 focus

[416] 416a What distinction do you intend by that? he said. I will try to tell you, I said. It is surely the most monstrous and shameful thing in the world for shepherds to breed the dogs who are to help them with their flocks in such wise and of such a nature that from indiscipline or hunger or some other evil condition the dogs themselves shall attack the sheep and injure them and be likened to wolves¹ instead of dogs. A terrible thing, indeed, he said. 416b Must we not then guard by every means in our power against our helpers treating the citizens in any such way and, because they are the stronger, converting themselves from benign assistants into savage masters? We must, he said. And would they not have been provided with the chief safeguard if their education has really been a good one? But it surely has, he said. That, said I, dear Glaucon, we may not properly affirm,² but what we were just now saying we may, 416c that they must have the right education, whatever it is, if they are to have what will do most to make them gentle to one another and to their charges. That is right, he said. In addition, moreover, to such an education a thoughtful man would affirm that their houses and the possessions provided for them ought to be such as not to interfere with the best performance of their own work as guardians and not to incite them to wrong the other citizens. 416d He will rightly affirm that. Consider then, said I, whether, if that is to be their character, their habitations and ways of life must not be something after this fashion. In the first place, none must possess any private property³ save the indispensable. Secondly, none must have any habitation or treasure-house which is not open for all to enter at will. Their food, in such quantities as are needful for athletes of war⁴ sober and brave, 416e they must receive as an agreed⁵ stipend⁶ from the other citizens as the wages of their guardianship, so measured that there shall be neither superfluity at the end of the year nor any lack.⁷ And resorting to a common mess⁸ like soldiers on campaign they will live together.

Commentary

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

διαφέρειν ἐκείνου is rejected by Herwerden; but Schneider's explanation hits the mark: “ αὖ alterum hoc de discrimine insolentius dictum notat: prius fuerat quod domos εὐνάς dixerat.”

κακουργεῖν . See 407 B note The idiom is abundantly attested, both in Plato and in other Greek authors, although Madvig and Cobet have done their best to expel it from Plato's text here and wherever else it occurs.

μὴ τοιοῦτον ‐‐ ποιήσωσι . For τοιοῦτον cf. 388 D note Richter conjectured μὴ τοιοῦτοι—ποιηθῶσι, “parum venuste,” as Hartman mercifully says.

ἀντὶ ξυμμάχων ‐‐ ἀφομοιωθῶσιν . For the usual ampliative or explanatory asyndeton cf. 409 B. Aristotle objects that Plato's regulations would virtually divide his city into two hostile camps ( Pol. B 5. 1264^{a} 24), and Grote does not see “what reply the Platonic Republic furnishes to this objection” (l.c. III p. 213). In reply to Aristotle, Plato might have pointed to his regulations about the interchange of classes (415 B ff.), which would have the effect of binding them together more securely. Moreover, where each individual has the work to do for which he is best qualified, one fruitful cause of discontent and sedition is removed. The wives and families of the lower class would also tend to keep them quiet. Nor does Aristotle's objection allow sufficient weight to the training by which Plato tries to protect his guardians from such ‘spiritual pride’ as would alienate their subjects.

καὶ ἐγὼ εἶπον . See cr. n. καὶ ἔγωγ’ εἶπον, though generally retained, is surely wrong: it could only mean ‘I too, said I.’ No editor cites any other instance of ἔγωγε in this formula.

τοῦτο μὲν κτλ. prepares us for the second scheme of education in Book VII: cf. 412 B, 414 A notes

ἥτις ‐‐ ἐπαροῖ . αὐτούς is emphatic: “ipsos per se” (Schneider). The contrast is between the guardians in themselves, and in their dealings with the others. It is difficult to decide between παύσει—ἐπαρεῖ (Bekker and others) and παύσοι—ἐπαροῖ. The latter is exquisitius, and better supported on the whole. For the confusion between ‐ῃ (subjunctive) and ‐οι (optative) in A see Introd. § 5. Cobet calls for τοῦ instead of τούς before φύλακας, but φύλακας requires the article. παύειν with the infinitive is rare, and means ‘prevent,’ not ‘make to cease’: cf. Hdt. V 67 (with Stein's note) and Ar. Ach. 634 , where Reiske's conjecture πείσας should not be accepted.

πρῶτον μὲν κτλ. A certain measure of communism in property seems to have existed among the Pythagoreans (RP.^{7} p. 43); but there is no reason to suppose that Plato is deliberately borrowing from them here: cf. Steinhart Einleitung p. 179. The main object of Plato is of course to prevent the formation of private interests likely to compete with the claims of public duty. We remark that there has been no hint so far of common wives and children, although Blaschke ( der Zusammenhang d. Fam. u. Gütergemeinschaft d. pl. St. m. d. pol. u. phil. Syst. Platos p. 7) thinks he finds one in 415 A. Cf. 415 D note

ἂν μὴ πᾶσα ἀνάγκη . For ᾖ omitted see II 371 A note The conjecture ἥν for ἄν (Herwerden) is elegant, but superfluous.

τὰ δ) ἐπιτήδεια ‐‐ μισθόν . It is fair that the lower classes should provide the others with the means of leisure, for it is they who ‘reap all the benefit of the laborious training bestowed on the guardians.’ They are the ‘ultimate and capital objects’ of Plato's solicitude. Grote justly adds that “this is a larger and more generous view of the purpose of political institutions than we find either in Aristotle or in Xenophon” (l.c. III p. 213).

ταξαμένους is strangely represented in Schneider's translation by “zu bestimmten Zeiten.” It refers to the fixing of fees or payments in return for services rendered. Cf. Men. 91 B .

ξυσσίτια . A Spartan feature: see Gilbert Gk. Const. Ant. E. T. p. 65. Cf. Laws 762 B ff.

χρυσίον κτλ. So also in Sparta, according to Xen. Rep. Lac. 7. 6; with which cf. Plut. Lys. 19. 6, where the ephors are said to have put to death a friend of Lysander λαβόντες ἀργύριον ἰδίᾳ κεκτημένον. Plato is keenly conscious of the corrupting influence of wealth: see Gorg. 525 D ff., and cf. II 373 E, IV 421 D notes His guardians are φύσει πλουσίω τὰς ψυχάς (VIII 547 B) and need no other riches.

Plato Republic 3.416

ed. John Burnet

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