Plato Republic 5.460

τὸν αὐτὸν ἀριθμόν . See IV 423 A note

γέρα κτλ. Special privileges seem to have been awarded at Sparta for bravery in the field (cf. Tyrtaeus Fr. 12. 35—44): it is certain at all events that cowardice was visited with every mark of disgrace (Xen. Rep. Lac. 9. 4—6 and other references in Gilbert's Gk. Const. Ant. E. T. p. 77). γέρα must be nominative, and δοτέον passive, in spite of its singular number: cf. Symp. 188 B πάχναι καὶ χάλαζαι καὶ ἐρυσῖβαι— γίγνεται. Examples like Crat. 410 C αἱ μὲν δὴ ὧραι Ἀττικιστὶ ὡς τὸ παλαιὸν ῥητέον (cited by Schneider and others) are not to the point, because αἱ—ὧραι means τὸ ὄνομα ‘αἱ ὦραι.’ It is scarcely possible to take δοτέον as active, and understand from it a passive δοτέα with ἐξουσία, because the connexion between γέρα, ἆθλα, and ἐξουσία—note ἄλλα τε καὶ κτλ.—is too close to permit of γέρα being in the accusative case.

ἐπὶ τούτων . For the construction cf. Dem. F. L. 298 τοὺς ἐπὶ τῆς πολιτείας ἐφεστηκότας and de Cor. 247 τοὺς ἐπὶ τῶν πραγμάτων.

ἀμφότερα . q and some other MSS read ἀμφότεραι, which is quite wrong: cf. Lach. 187 A πείθωμεν ἢ δώροις ἢ χάρισιν ἢ ἀμφότερα.

καὶ ἀρχαί : sc. as well as the other duties of guardians. It has not yet been specifically said that magistracies are to be open to women as well as men. J. and C. observe that “Plato seems to betray a certain consciousness that the office immediately in question might be specially suitable for women.’ Kindred duties are actually assigned to a female vigilance committee in Laws 784 A, 794 A ff.

τὸν σηκόν . A σηκός is an enclosed pen or fold in which the young of animals may be reared. Hartman prefers τινα σηκόν (with q and a Florentine MS), because the σηκός has not been mentioned before. The way has, however, been prepared for it by 459 A, 459 B ( τί δὲ ἵππων κτλ.), ποίμνιον (459 E), ἀγέλη (ib.), and σύνερξις (460 A). The comparison with a sort of ‘breeding-stud’— see above on 459 D—runs through all this passage and supplies the metaphors. See also on 460 E. The whole discussion affords an excellent example of the uncompromising rationalism with which Plato carries out his theories to their logical conclusion.

ἀνάπηρον . Pollux (II 61) explains this word as ὁ πᾶν τὸ σῶμα πεπηρωμένος; but it is little more than πηρός: cf. ἀνάπλεως, ἀναπιμπλάναι etc. The present passage is not inconsistent with III 415 B, for ὑπόχαλκος and ὑποσίδηρος do not imply deformity.

ἐν ἀπορρήτῳ κτλ. is a euphemism for infanticide: see App. IV. Compare the Spartan usage: εἰ δ’ ἀγεννὲς καὶ ἄμορφον, ἀπέπεμπον εἰς τὰς λεγομένας Ἀποθέτας, παρὰ Ταΰγετον βαραθρώδη τόπον (Plut. Lyc. 16. 1). (The word for the exposure of infants was ἀπόθεσις.) See also Whibley Greek Oligarchies p. 113 notes

εἴπερ μέλλει . μέλλοι (see cr. n.) might possibly be defended, if it referred to a previous statement to the same effect (‘if, as we saw,’ etc.). But there has been no such statement, unless with Stephanus we write ἀκρατότατον for ἀκρότατον in 459 E. εἴπερ γε μέλλει, conjectured by Herwerden, would be in danger of meaning κατακρύψουσιν, εἴπερ μέλλει κτλ. As it is, εἴπερ μέλλει qualifies ὡς πρέπει ‘as is proper.’ Gl. ‘If the class of guardians is to be kept pure.’ Glauco, in fact, takes the words out of Socrates' mouth. On the meaning and usage of εἴπερ in Greek see E. S. Thompson's edition of the Meno pp. 258—264.

πᾶσαν μηχανὴν κτλ. Aristotle ( Pol. B 3. 1262^{a} 14 ff.) argues that no precautions would prevent parents from occasionally recognising their children. In such cases Plato might reasonably hope that the general weakening of parental sentiment would secure his city against serious harm.

ἄλλας . The mothers of the children who have been exposed.

αὐτῶν τούτων : viz. the mothers. This provision is conceived in their interests, rather than in the interests of the children, as the next clause also shews.

θηλάσονται . θηλάσωνται has more MS authority than θηλάσονται; but the future indicative (and not the aorist subjunctive) is the regular construction after ὅπως in semi-final clauses: cf. IV 429 D, VII 519 E. The exceptions are—besides this passage— Symp. 198 E , Phaed. 91 A , Gorg. 480 A , B, 510 A. In most of these places there is inferior MS authority for the future, which editors now for the most part read. See Weber Entwickelung d. Absichtssätze in Schanz's Beiträge II 2. p. 66; and for the confusion in Paris A of ο and ω Introd. § 5.

προὐθέμεθα . See cr. n. προὐθέμεθα is intrinsically so much better than προθυμούμεθα that we can hardly refuse to regard this as one of the passages in which v has preserved the right reading. See Introd. § 5.

ἔφαμεν . Cf. 459 B.

ἐξ ἀκμαζόντων . The same principle was observed in Sparta (Xen. Rep. Lac. 1. 6 and Plut. Lyc. 15. 4). It is possible, though I believe incapable of proof, that Plato's limits of age were in agreement with Spartan usage.

τὰ εἴκοσι ἔτη κτλ. A woman's ἀκμή lasts ‘the twenty,’ a man's the thirty' years. Glauco asks ‘which twenty and which thirty?’ and Socrates then explains. τά before εἴκοσι is correctly explained by Stallbaum: “articulum ponit de certo quodam cogitans temporis spatio quod deinceps definit accuratius.” The antecedent to αὐτῶν is not simply ἔτη (so J. and C., with the English translators), but the duplicate expression εἴκοσι ἔτη and τριάκοντα. In γυναικὶ μὲν κτλ. Socrates proceeds as if Glauco had not interrupted: the construction is μέτριος χρόνος ἀκμῆς—γυναικί, ἀνδρὶ δὲ τὰ τριάκοντα, γυναικὶ μὲν— τίκτειν, ἀνδρὶ δὲ—γεννᾶν. τὸ ποῖον, τὰ ποῖα and the like are idiomatically used in asking for further specification, and are sometimes only impatient interruptions, intended to draw attention to the important point and add liveliness to the style: see Kühner Gr. Gr. II p. 540. Schneider takes τὰ εἴκοσι ἔτη and τὰ τριάκοντα as twenty and thirty years of age respectively, comparing τῶν ἐνενήκοντα ἐτῶν in Tim. 21 A , but χρόνος in χρόνος ἀκμῆς means duration, as is clear from ἀμφοτέρων—φρονήσεως below. It should be observed that in the Laws Plato fixes the inferior limit for men sometimes at 25 (772 D), sometimes at 30 (721 A, 785 B). By thirty-five he expected them to be married (ib.). Girls are to marry between 16 (785 B) or 18 (833 D) and 20 (ib.). Cf. Hesiod OD. 696 ff., pseudo-Solon Fr. 27. 9 and Arist. Pol. H 16. 1335^{a} 28. The Greeks seem generally to have recommended men to marry a little under or a little over thirty. See on this subject Blümner Privatalterthümer p. 36 note 1.

τίκτειν τῇ πόλει ‐‐ γεννᾶν τῇ πόλει . These phrases express concisely the Platonic view of marriage. They are equally applicable to the Spartan ideal, and may have been borrowed from Sparta. Cf. Plut. Pyrrh. 28. 5 τῶν δὲ πρεσβυτέρων τινὲς ἐπηκολούθουν βοῶντες· Οἷχε, Ἀκρότατε, καὶ οἷφε τὰν Χιλωνίδα· μόνον παῖδας ἀγαθοὺς τᾷ Σπάρτᾳ ποίει. “What Lucan observes about Cato of Utica, is applicable to the Guardians of the Platonic Republic: — Venerisque huic maximus usus | progenies: Urbi pater est, Urbique maritus” ( Phars. II 387 f.) Grote.

ἐπειδὰν ‐‐ ἀκμήν : ‘when he has outlived his swiftest prime of running.’ The expression ὀξυτατην δρόμου ἀκμήν is doubtless borrowed from some epinikian poet, perhaps Bacchylides or Pindar. The dactylic rhythm is not in itself enough to justify us in assigning the phrase (with Herwerden) to epic or elegy. The author of the quotation was probably speaking not of a man, but of a race-horse. By applying the phrase (of course in a metaphorical sense) to his bridegrooms, Plato contrives again to suggest the now familiar analogy of a ‘breeding-stud of horses and mares’: see on 460 C. The comparison gains in realism and point, if it was the custom of antiquity, as it is now, to bring a first-rate racer to the stud ( ἱπποφόρβιον, ἱπποτροφεῖον) when he ceased to run. This is probable in itself, and supported to some extent by a comparison of Plut. Lyc. 15. 12 ἵππους ὑπὸ τοῖς κρατίστοις τῶν ὀχείων βιβάζουσι, χάριτι πείθοντες ἢ μισθῷ τοὺς κυρίους with Virg. Georg. 3. 209—211. Just so Plato will not allow his guardians to marry until the fever in the blood has somewhat cooled: cf. Laws 775 B—776 B and J. B. Mayor in Cl. Rev. X p. 111. Stallbaum was the first to detect the poetical quotation. J. and C., though translating by “his swiftest prime of running,” follow Schleiermacher in understanding the phrase literally; but we may fairly doubt if Greek runners had passed their prime at 25, and, even if they had, “non hic erat tali designationi locus, nisi forte ob id ipsum, quod cursui minus idonei forent, ad nuptias idoneos visos credimus” (Schneider). παρῇ means ‘let go by,’ “hinter sich hat” (Schneider): cf. such expressions as παριέναι καιρόν (II 370 B al.), νύκτα μέσην παρέντες (Hdt. VIII 9), and especially Soph. O. C. 1230 εὖτ’ ἂν τὸ νέον παρῇ ‘when he hath seen youth go by’ (Jebb), and Bacchylides 3. 88 ed. Kenyon ἀνδρὶ δ) [ οὐ θ] έμις πολιὸν π[ αρ] έντα | γῆρας θάλ[ εια] ν αὖτις ἀγκομίσσαι | ἥβαν.