Plato Republic 8.555

τῶν καλῶν : sc. φιλοτιμιῶν. In χρήματά τε the τε connects its own with the preceding clause, and does not here mean ‘both.’ τοιούτων: i.e. εὐδόξων. This interpretation is more idiomatic and forcible than to refer τοιούτων to φιλοτιμίας κτλ.

φιλονικίαν κτλ. The ὀλιγαρχικός, when competing for νίκη, is a φαῦλος ἀνταγωνιστής, because he is afraid to summon his ἀναλωτικαὶ ἐπιθυμίαι ‘to fight and strive for victory along with him,’ precisely as the oligarchical city was afraid to arm the πλῆθος (551 D note). And just as the oligarchs found themselves ὡς ἀληθῶς ὀλιγ‐αργικοὶ ἐν αὐτῷ τῷ μάχεσθαι (551 E), so the ὀλιγαρχικὸς ἀνήρ, ‘true to his name of olig-arch’ ( ὀλιγαρχικῶς), ‘employs but few of his forces in the war, and is usually beaten and keeps his money’ (‘loses the prize and saves his money’ Jowett). The force of ξυμ‐ in ξυμμαχίαν may perhaps extend to φιλονικίαν (cf. 546 A note), which must not be translated ‘rivalry’ (with D. and V.): see on IX 581 B. ἡττᾶται καὶ πλουτεῖ has an epigrammatic effect somewhat like Juvenal's “probitas laudatur et alget.”

ὁμοιότητι = ‘in virtue of similarity’: cf. IX 576 C. Baiter and others would expunge the word in both places as an ‘inutile glossema,’ and it is true that the meaning could be apprehended without ὁμοιότητι, as in 561 E—562 A. There are, however, many principles (e.g. ἀνομοιότης etc.) on which things can be τεταγμένα κατ’ ἄλληλα ‘ranged over against one another,’ and it is right that in summing up, Plato should emphasise the principle which has determined the form of his exposition from σκοπῶμεν δὴ εἰ ὅμοιος ἂν εἴη (554 A) onwards: see 554 B, D, E notes For the dative cf. IX 575 C note

δημοκρατίαν δὴ κτλ. We have seen that the dominant feature in the oligarchical State is τὸ φιλοχρήματον, and the present chapter describes how in process of time the polity itself is inevitably overthrown by that very principle. The incidents which prove the immediate cause of revolution are such as may frequently have happened in Greek history: see 556 C, D, E and 557 A notes It is instructive to compare with this chapter Aristotle's a posteriori analysis of the causes of revolution in oligarchical cities ( Pol. E 6). On the psychological basis of democracy see 557 A note

παραστησώμεθα κτλ. For the use of παραστήσασθαι Schneider refers to II 360 E, 361 B and Lucian Icarom. 17, ὥσπερ ἂν εἴ τις παραστησάμενος πολλοὺς χορευτὰς—ἔπειτα προστάξειε κτλ.

ὁμοίως κτλ. See 543 A note μεταβάλλει = ‘it changes,’ viz. the πολιτεία. The verb is scarcely impersonal, as the English translators appear to suppose.

προκειμένου κτλ. προκειμένου is not ‘publicly acknowledged’ (D. and V.), but ‘propositus,’ as in τὸ τέλος τὸ προκείμενον. δεῖν (wrongly rejected by J. J. Hartman) ‘resumes the notion of προκειμένου’ (J. and C.). Similar pleonasms occur in Crit. 44 C , Gorg. 500 C and elsewhere: cf. also ἐξεῖναι in C below and VII 535 A note

ἅτε ‐‐ ἄρχοντες κτλ. As in timarchy (550 D ff.), so in oligarchy, it is the love of money which sows the seeds of party strife and political degeneration. Cf. generally 552 A note and Aristotle Pol. E 6. 1305^{b} 39 ff., with his criticism of Plato ibid. 12. 1316^{b} 15 ff.

εἰσδανείζοντες : i.e. ‘lending money on-the-security-of’ ( εἰς). The τὰ τῶν τοιούτων should be taken with the εἰς of εἰσδανείζοντες as well as with ὠνούμενοι: cf. Arist. Pol. Z 4. 1319^{a} 13 δανείζειν εἴς τι μέρος τῆς ὑπαρχούσης ἑκάστῳ γῆς and Dem. in Aphob. I 28. The word εἰσδανείζω is a ἅπαξ εἰρημένον, but we certainly ought not to substitute ἐκδανείζοντες (suggested by Stephanus) or προσδανείζοντες (with Richards).

δῆλον ἤδη τοῦτο κτλ. See 550 E note

οὐκ ἀγεννεῖς κτλ. =‘of no common stamp’ etc. ( von nicht gemeiner Art, Schneider), not simply ‘of noble birth’ (as D. and V.). Catiline would have seemed to Plato a case in point (cf. Sallust Cat. 5 ), and the Catilinarian conspiracy illustrates not inaptly the description which follows (555 D, E). The aorist ἠνάγκασαν is gnomic, as appears from the plural ἐν ταῖς ὀλιγαρχίαις.

κεκεντρωμένοι κτλ. See 552 C, D notes ἐξωπλισμένοι does little more than explain the metaphor, more Platonico: see on V 451 B and cf. καὶ πτωχόν (wrongly discarded by J. J. Hartman) in 556 A below.

ἐγκύψαντες . τοιαῦτα γὰρ τὰ τῶν ἄγαν φροντιζόντων καὶ περὶ τὴν διάνοιαν ἐχόντων σχήματα (Schol. on Ar. Clouds 191 ). A comparison with IX 586 A κάτω ἀεὶ βλέποντες καὶ κεκυφότες εἰς γῆν suggests that the stoop of the χρηματιστής in reality betrays the inherent earthliness of his soul: see on VII 519 A, B and cf. Dante Purg. 19. 70—72.

τοῦ πατρὸς κτλ. Cf. VI 507 A note τόκους is bracketed by Herwerden, but τὸν τόκον τε καὶ ἔκγονον (l.c.) supports it.