Plato, Republic, ed. John Burnet, 8.560

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[560]
καὶ ἐὰν μέν γε οἶμαι ἀντιβοηθήσῃ τις τῷ ἐν ἑαυτῷ ὀλιγαρχικῷ συμμαχία, ἤ ποθεν παρὰ τοῦ πατρὸς ἢ καὶ τῶν 560a ἄλλων οἰκείων νουθετούντων τε καὶ κακιζόντων, στάσις δὴ καὶ ἀντίστασις καὶ μάχη ἐν αὐτῷ πρὸς αὑτὸν τότε γίγνεται.
τί μήν;
καὶ ποτὲ μὲν οἶμαι τὸ δημοκρατικὸν ὑπεχώρησε τῷ ὀλιγαρχικῷ, καί τινες τῶν ἐπιθυμιῶν αἱ μὲν διεφθάρησαν, αἱ δὲ καὶ ἐξέπεσον, αἰδοῦς τινος ἐγγενομένης ἐν τῇ τοῦ νέου ψυχῇ, καὶ κατεκοσμήθη πάλιν.
γίγνεται γὰρ ἐνίοτε, ἔφη.
αὖθις δὲ οἶμαι τῶν ἐκπεσουσῶν ἐπιθυμιῶν ἄλλαι ὑποτρεφόμεναι 560b συγγενεῖς διʼ ἀνεπιστημοσύνην τροφῆς πατρὸς πολλαί τε καὶ ἰσχυραὶ ἐγένοντο.
φιλεῖ γοῦν, ἔφη, οὕτω γίγνεσθαι.
οὐκοῦν εἵλκυσάν τε πρὸς τὰς αὐτὰς ὁμιλίας, καὶ λάθρᾳ συγγιγνόμεναι πλῆθος ἐνέτεκον.
τί μήν;
τελευτῶσαι δὴ οἶμαι κατέλαβον τὴν τοῦ νέου τῆς ψυχῆς ἀκρόπολιν, αἰσθόμεναι κενὴν μαθημάτων τε καὶ ἐπιτηδευμάτων καλῶν καὶ λόγων ἀληθῶν, οἳ δὴ ἄριστοι φρουροί τε καὶ φύλακες ἐν ἀνδρῶν θεοφιλῶν εἰσι διανοίαις. 560c
καὶ πολύ γʼ, ἔφη.
ψευδεῖς δὴ καὶ ἀλαζόνες οἶμαι λόγοι τε καὶ δόξαι ἀντʼ ἐκείνων ἀναδραμόντες κατέσχον τὸν αὐτὸν τόπον τοῦ τοιούτου.
σφόδρα γʼ, ἔφη.
ἆρʼ οὖν οὐ πάλιν τε εἰς ἐκείνους τοὺς Λωτοφάγους ἐλθὼν φανερῶς κατοικεῖ, καὶ ἐὰν παρʼ οἰκείων τις βοήθεια τῷ φειδωλῷ αὐτοῦ τῆς ψυχῆς ἀφικνῆται, κλῄσαντες οἱ ἀλαζόνες λόγοι ἐκεῖνοι τὰς τοῦ βασιλικοῦ τείχους ἐν αὐτῷ πύλας οὔτε αὐτὴν τὴν συμμαχίαν παριᾶσιν, οὔτε πρέσβεις πρεσβυτέρων 560d λόγους ἰδιωτῶν εἰσδέχονται, αὐτοί τε κρατοῦσι μαχόμενοι, καὶ τὴν μὲν αἰδῶ ἠλιθιότητα ὀνομάζοντες ὠθοῦσιν ἔξω ἀτίμως φυγάδα, σωφροσύνην δὲ ἀνανδρίαν καλοῦντές τε καὶ προπηλακίζοντες ἐκβάλλουσι, μετριότητα δὲ καὶ κοσμίαν δαπάνην ὡς ἀγροικίαν καὶ ἀνελευθερίαν οὖσαν πείθοντες ὑπερορίζουσι μετὰ πολλῶν καὶ ἀνωφελῶν ἐπιθυμιῶν;
σφόδρα γε.
τούτων δέ γέ που κενώσαντες καὶ καθήραντες τὴν τοῦ 560e κατεχομένου τε ὑπʼ αὐτῶν καὶ τελουμένου ψυχὴν μεγάλοισι τέλεσι, τὸ μετὰ τοῦτο ἤδη ὕβριν καὶ ἀναρχίαν καὶ ἀσωτίαν καὶ ἀναίδειαν λαμπρὰς μετὰ πολλοῦ χοροῦ κατάγουσιν ἐστεφανωμένας, ἐγκωμιάζοντες καὶ ὑποκοριζόμενοι, ὕβριν μὲν εὐπαιδευσίαν καλοῦντες, ἀναρχίαν δὲ ἐλευθερίαν, ἀσωτίαν 561a δὲ μεγαλοπρέπειαν, ἀναίδειαν δὲ ἀνδρείαν.

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

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Current edition Perseus

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).) — 8.560 focus

[560] And if, I take it, a counter-alliance¹ comes to the rescue of the oligarchical part of his soul, either it may be from his father 560a or from his other kin, who admonish and reproach him, then there arises faction² and counter-faction and internal strife in the man with himself. Surely. And sometimes, I suppose, the democratic element retires before the oligarchical, some of its appetites having been destroyed and others³ expelled, and a sense of awe and reverence grows up in the young man’s soul and order is restored. That sometimes happens, he said. And sometimes, again, another brood of desires akin to those expelled 560b are stealthily nurtured to take their place, owing to the father’s ignorance of true education, and wax numerous and strong. Yes, that is wont to be the way of it. And they tug and pull back to the same associations and in secret intercourse engender a multitude. Yes indeed. And in the end, I suppose, they seize the citadel⁴ of the young man’s soul, finding it empty and unoccupied by studies and honorable pursuits and true discourses, which are the best watchmen 560c and guardians⁵ in the minds of men who are dear to the gods. Much the best, he said. And then false and braggart words⁶ and opinions charge up the height and take their place and occupy that part of such a youth. They do indeed. And then he returns, does he not, to those Lotus-eaters⁷ and without disguise lives openly with them. And if any support⁸ comes from his kin to the thrifty element in his soul, those braggart discourses close the gates of the royal fortress within him 560d and refuse admission to the auxiliary force itself, and will not grant audience as to envoys to the words of older friends in private life. And they themselves prevail in the conflict, and naming reverence and awe folly⁹ thrust it forth, a dishonored fugitive. And temperance they call want of manhood and banish it with contumely, and they teach that moderation and orderly expenditure are rusticity and illiberality, and they combine with a gang of unprofitable and harmful appetites to drive them over the border.¹⁰ They do indeed. And when they have emptied 560e and purged¹¹ of all these the soul of the youth that they have thus possessed¹² and occupied, and whom they are initiating with these magnificent and costly rites,¹³ they proceed to lead home from exile insolence and anarchy and prodigality and shamelessness, resplendent¹⁴ in a great attendant choir and crowned with garlands, and in celebration of their praises they euphemistically denominate insolence good breeding, licence liberty, prodigality magnificence, 561a and shamelessness manly spirit.

Commentary

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

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.

Plato Republic 8.560

ed. John Burnet

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