Plato, Republic, ed. John Burnet, 8.564

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[564]
ταὐτόν, ἦν δʼ ἐγώ, ὅπερ ἐν τῇ ὀλιγαρχίᾳ νόσημα ἐγγενόμενον ἀπώλεσεν αὐτήν, τοῦτο καὶ ἐν ταύτῃ πλέον τε καὶ ἰσχυρότερον ἐκ τῆς ἐξουσίας ἐγγενόμενον καταδουλοῦται δημοκρατίαν. καὶ τῷ ὄντι τὸ ἄγαν τι ποιεῖν μεγάλην φιλεῖ εἰς τοὐναντίον μεταβολὴν ἀνταποδιδόναι, ἐν ὥραις τε καὶ ἐν 564a φυτοῖς καὶ ἐν σώμασιν, καὶ δὴ καὶ ἐν πολιτείαις οὐχ ἥκιστα.
εἰκός, ἔφη.
ἡ γὰρ ἄγαν ἐλευθερία ἔοικεν οὐκ εἰς ἄλλο τι ἢ εἰς ἄγαν δουλείαν μεταβάλλειν καὶ ἰδιώτῃ καὶ πόλει.
εἰκὸς γάρ.
εἰκότως τοίνυν, εἶπον, οὐκ ἐξ ἄλλης πολιτείας τυραννὶς καθίσταται ἢ ἐκ δημοκρατίας, ἐξ οἶμαι τῆς ἀκροτάτης ἐλευθερίας δουλεία πλείστη τε καὶ ἀγριωτάτη.
ἔχει γάρ, ἔφη, λόγον.
ἀλλʼ οὐ τοῦτʼ οἶμαι, ἦν δʼ ἐγώ, ἠρώτας, ἀλλὰ ποῖον 564b νόσημα ἐν ὀλιγαρχίᾳ τε φυόμενον ταὐτὸν καὶ ἐν δημοκρατίᾳ δουλοῦται αὐτήν.
ἀληθῆ, ἔφη, λέγεις.
ἐκεῖνο τοίνυν, ἔφην, ἔλεγον τὸ τῶν ἀργῶν τε καὶ δαπανηρῶν ἀνδρῶν γένος, τὸ μὲν ἀνδρειότατον ἡγούμενον αὐτῶν, τὸ δʼ ἀνανδρότερον ἑπόμενον· οὓς δὴ ἀφομοιοῦμεν κηφῆσι, τοὺς μὲν κέντρα ἔχουσι, τοὺς δὲ ἀκέντροις.
καὶ ὀρθῶς γʼ, ἔφη.
τούτω τοίνυν, ἦν δʼ ἐγώ, ταράττετον ἐν πάσῃ πολιτείᾳ ἐγγιγνομένω, οἷον περὶ σῶμα φλέγμα τε καὶ χολή· ὣ δὴ καὶ 564c δεῖ τὸν ἀγαθὸν ἰατρόν τε καὶ νομοθέτην πόλεως μὴ ἧττον ἢ σοφὸν μελιττουργὸν πόρρωθεν εὐλαβεῖσθαι, μάλιστα μὲν ὅπως μὴ ἐγγενήσεσθον, ἂν δὲ ἐγγένησθον, ὅπως ὅτι τάχιστα σὺν αὐτοῖσι τοῖς κηρίοις ἐκτετμήσεσθον.
ναὶ μὰ Δία, ἦ δʼ ὅς, παντάπασί γε.
ὧδε τοίνυν, ἦν δʼ ἐγώ, λάβωμεν, ἵνʼ εὐκρινέστερον ἴδωμεν ὃ βουλόμεθα.
πῶς;
τριχῇ διαστησώμεθα τῷ λόγῳ δημοκρατουμένην πόλιν, 564d ὥσπερ οὖν καὶ ἔχει. ἓν μὲν γάρ που τὸ τοιοῦτον γένος ἐν αὐτῇ ἐμφύεται διʼ ἐξουσίαν οὐκ ἔλαττον ἢ ἐν τῇ ὀλιγαρχουμένῃ.
ἔστιν οὕτω.
πολὺ δέ γε δριμύτερον ἐν ταύτῃ ἢ ἐν ἐκείνῃ.
πῶς;
ἐκεῖ μὲν διὰ τὸ μὴ ἔντιμον εἶναι, ἀλλʼ ἀπελαύνεσθαι τῶν ἀρχῶν, ἀγύμναστον καὶ οὐκ ἐρρωμένον γίγνεται· ἐν δημοκρατίᾳ δὲ τοῦτό που τὸ προεστὸς αὐτῆς, ἐκτὸς ὀλίγων, καὶ τὸ μὲν δριμύτατον αὐτοῦ λέγει τε καὶ πράττει, τὸ δʼ ἄλλο περὶ τὰ βήματα προσίζον βομβεῖ τε καὶ οὐκ ἀνέχεται τοῦ 564e ἄλλα λέγοντος, ὥστε πάντα ὑπὸ τοῦ τοιούτου διοικεῖται ἐν τῇ τοιαύτῃ πολιτείᾳ χωρίς τινων ὀλίγων.
μάλα γε, ἦ δʼ ὅς.
ἄλλο τοίνυν τοιόνδε ἀεὶ ἀποκρίνεται ἐκ τοῦ πλήθους.
τὸ ποῖον;
χρηματιζομένων που πάντων, οἱ κοσμιώτατοι φύσει ὡς τὸ πολὺ πλουσιώτατοι γίγνονται.
εἰκός.
πλεῖστον δὴ οἶμαι τοῖς κηφῆσι μέλι καὶ εὐπορώτατον ἐντεῦθεν βλίττει.
πῶς γὰρ ἄν, ἔφη, παρά γε τῶν σμικρὰ ἐχόντων τις βλίσειεν;
πλούσιοι δὴ οἶμαι οἱ τοιοῦτοι καλοῦνται κηφήνων βοτάνη.
σχεδόν τι, ἔφη.

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).) — 8.564 focus

[564] The same malady, I said, that, arising in oligarchy, destroyed it, this more widely diffused and more violent as a result of this licence, enslaves democracy. And in truth, any excess is wont to bring about a corresponding reaction¹ to the opposite in the seasons, 564a in plants, in animal bodies,² and most especially in political societies. Probably, he said. And so the probable outcome of too much freedom is only too much slavery in the individual and the state. Yes, that is probable. Probably, then, tyranny develops out of no other constitution³ than democracy—from the height of liberty, I take it, the fiercest extreme of servitude. That is reasonable, he said. That, however, I believe, was not your question,⁴ but what identical⁵ malady 564b arising in democracy as well as in oligarchy enslaves it? You say truly, he replied. That then, I said, was what I had in mind, the class of idle and spendthrift men, the most enterprising and vigorous portion being leaders and the less manly spirits followers. We were likening them to drones,⁶ some equipped with stings and others stingless. And rightly too, he said. These two kinds, then, I said, when they arise in any state, create a disturbance like that produced in the body⁷ by phlegm and gall. 564c And so a good physician and lawgiver must be on his guard from afar against the two kinds, like a prudent apiarist, first and chiefly⁸ to prevent their springing up, but if they do arise to have them as quickly as may be cut out, cells and all. Yes, by Zeus, he said, by all means. Then let us take it in this way, I said, so that we may contemplate our purpose more distinctly.⁹ How? Let us in our theory make a tripartite¹⁰ division of the democratic state, which is in fact its structure. One such class, 564d as we have described, grows up in it because of the licence, no less than in the oligarchic state. That is so. But it is far fiercer in this state than in that. How so? There, because it is not held in honor, but is kept out of office, it is not exercised and does not grow vigorous. But in a democracy this is the dominating class, with rare exceptions, and the fiercest part of it makes speeches and transacts business, and the remainder swarms and settles about the speaker’s stand and keeps up a buzzing¹¹ and 564e tolerates¹² no dissent, so that everything with slight exceptions is administered by that class in such a state. Quite so, he said. And so from time to time there emerges or is secreted from the multitude another group of this sort. What sort? he said. When all are pursuing wealth the most orderly and thrifty natures for the most part become the richest. It is likely. Then they are the most abundant supply of honey for the drones, and it is the easiest to extract.¹³ Why, yes, he said, how could one squeeze it out of those who have little? The capitalistic¹⁴ class is, I take it, the name by which they are designated—the pasture of the drones. Pretty much so, he said.

Commentary

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

καὶ δὴ καὶ κτλ. See cr. n. The omission of καὶ δή was a natural slip, and a majority of MSS agree with II. For καὶ δὴ καί with οὐχ ἥκιστα following cf. (with Schneider) Soph. 216 B . The present passage brings out very clearly Plato's conception of the State as a living organism and no mere ‘dead machine.’ See on this subject Bluntschli Theory of the State E. T. pp. 18—24 and cf. 543 A note

ἄγαν δουλείαν . For the omission of the article cf. IV 434 C note We certainly should not read, with Schaefer, τὴν ἄγαν, or delete ἄγαν with Cobet.

οὐκ ἐξ ἄλλης κτλ. In early times, according to Aristotle ( Pol. E 5. 1305^{a} 7 ff.) democracies used to give rise to tyrannies. The tyranny of Dionysius I of Syracuse is a notorious illustration from later history (see Grote c. 81). But tyranny had other origins as well: it constantly appeared for example during the transition from Aristocracy to an oligarchical form of government (Whibley Gk Olig. pp. 72—83). Plato deliberately selects that particular origin which accords with his psychological standpoint. In the decline of an individual soul, ‘lawless’ or unnatural ( παράνομοι) desires succeed the ἰσονομία in which all desires are treated as equal. Hence tyranny, which is only the political expression of unnatural desire, succeeds democracy in the fall of a State. Granted that Plato thought Athens was still degenerating, he must certainly have expected her, unless the process of decay should be arrested, to end in a tyranny. See also on IX 576 B. With the position of οἶμαι cf. 568 C and other examples in Braun de hyperb. Plat. II p. 12.

ἀκροτάτης . Herwerden (with Flor. T) conjectures ἀκρατοτάτης: but ἄκρατος does not easily admit the superlative, and the word is less suitable here than in the elaborate similitude about the wine of freedom 562 D. For the superlative of ἄκρος cf. V 459 E al.

ἠρώτας : ‘you were asking about’ ( doch wohl nicht danach fragtest du, Schneider), viz. when you said τί τὸ μετὰ τοῦτο; (563 E). Cf. Crat. 407 C τὸν Ἄρη ἐρώτα (‘ask about Ares’). καὶ τῷ ὄντι—ἀγριωτάτη (563 E—564 A) is a digression, and Adimantus' question is not answered until Socrates specifies what particular νόσημα was meant by the allusion in 563 E. J. and C. erroneously refer ἠρώτας to πῶς—τὸ τοιοῦτον λέγομεν; (562 E).

ἐκεῖνο κτλ. ‘Well then,’ said I, ‘I was referring to yon class’ etc. ἐκεῖνο=‘already-mentioned’ (in 552 C and later). On τὸ μὲν—ἑπόμενον see 564 D note

ἀφωμοιοῦμεν . See cr. n. The present is less suitable, especially with δή (= ut scis, Schneider). For the error see Introd. § 5.

ταράττετον κτλ. ταράττετον is used absolutely as in Hipp. Min. 373 B Σωκράτης—ἀεὶ ταράττει ἐν τοῖς λόγοις. On φλέγμα τε καὶ χολή the Oxford editors refer to Arist. Probl. I 29. 862^{b} 27 τῶν κατὰ τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἡ χολὴ μέν ἐστι θερμόν, τὸ δὲ φλέγμα ψυχρόν, and rightly hold that ‘the hot humour answers to the stinging, the cold to the stingless drones.’ Cf. Tim. 85 D ff.

μελιττουργόν is the reading of Ξ q Μ as well as Π (see cr. n.), and is elsewhere better attested than μελιτουργόν, which “api magis quam homini convenit” (Schneider).

ξύν has been suspected by W. H. Thompson and Herwerden; but the preposition is occasionally found with this idiom both in poetry and prose (Kühner Gr. Gr. II p. 356 and Lina de praep. usu Plat. p. 33). The half-poetic ξύν (see on IV 424 E and VII 518 C) suits well with the archaic form αὐτοῖσι (I 330 B note).

τριχῇ διαστησώμεθα . With what follows cf. Eur. Suppl. 238 —245 τρεῖς γὰρ πολιτῶν μερίδες· οἱ μὲν ὄλβιοι | ἀνωφελεῖς τε πλειόνων τ’ ἐρῶσ’ ἀεί· | οἱ δ’ οὐκ ἔχοντες καὶ σπανίζοντες βίου | δεινοί, νέμοντες τῷ φθόνῳ πλέον μέρος, | ἐς τοὺς ἔχοντας κέντρ’ ἀφιᾶσιν κακά, | γλώσσαις πονηρῶν προστατῶν φηλούμενοι· τριῶν δὲ μοιρῶν ἡ )ν μέσῳ σῴζει πόλεις κόσμον φυλάσσουσ’ ὅντιν’ ἂν τάξῃ πόλις. Plato is thinking primarily of course of Athens. See also Arist. Pol. Δ 11. 1295^{b} 1 ff. and (on the whole subject) Whibley Pol. Parties in Athens pp. 35 ff. and Beloch Att. Pol. pp. 1—19.

τὸ τοιοῦτον γένος : viz. the drones.

ἐξουσίαν . See on 557 B.

προεστός refers not only to the εἷς προστάτης τοῦ δήμου (565 C note), but to δημαγωγοί in general and all who lead the people whether as orators or as officers ( λέγει τε καὶ πράττει).

ἐκτὸς ὀλίγων . The leaders in a democracy, says Plato, belong to the class of drones—with a few exceptions. Pericles, for example, was an illustrious exception (Thuc. II 65. 8, 9 and Xen. Symp. 8. 39); and so, according even to Plato himself, was Aristides ( Gorg. 526 B ). Plato's general attitude towards Athenian demagogues has often been censured; but nearly all the greatest writers of antiquity, except the orators, pronounce the same verdict.

τὸ μὲν δριμύτατον ‐‐ βομβεῖ . Cf. Dem. Ol. II 29 πολιτεύεσθε κατὰ συμμορίας. ῥήτωρ ἡγέμων ἑκατέρων, καὶ στρατηγὸς ὑπὸ τούτῳ, καὶ οἱ βοησόμενοι τριακόσιοι. οἱ δὲ ἄλλοι προσνενέμησθε οἱ μὲν ὡς τούτους, οἱ δὲ ὡς ἐκείνους. προσίζον (used of a bee alighting in Arist. Hist. An. VIII 11. 596^{b} 15) and βομβεῖ keep up the figure.

τοῦ ἄλλα λέγοντος . Vermehren proposes του, comparing V 479 A οὐδαμῇ ἀνεχόμενος ἄν τις—φῇ and IX 579 A. If Plato had wished to say ‘any one,’ he would, I think, have written οὐδενός· του is too weak. The article is generic.

τοῦ τοιούτου : the class of drones in general, not simply τὸ δριμύτατον αὐτοῦ. Cf. τὸ τοιοῦτον γένος in C above.

χωρίς τινων ὀλίγων is neuter and should be taken with πάντα. The different liturgies etc. would scarcely be performed by the drones; and some departments of civic administration might be in the hands of the few exceptions noted above ( ἐκτὸς ὀλίγων D).

τοίνυν is ‘also’: see I 339 E note

χρηματιζομένων κτλ. : ‘if all are engaged in making money’ etc. παντων is the whole of which οἱ κοσμιώτατοι form a part; not ‘all the citizens of a democracy,’ for the aim of democracy is not πλοῦτος but ἐλευθερία, and the drones at least are not engaged in money-making.

πλεῖστον δὴ κτλ. : ‘thus, I imagine, there is plenty of honey for the drones, and it is most easy to squeeze honey from this source.’ My correction βλίττειν for βλίττει (see cr. n.) is regarded as certain by a reviewer of my Text of the Republic in Hermathena XXIV p. 252. βλίττει is retained by J. and C.; but there is no authority for the intransitive use of the verb, and βλίσειεν in the very next sentence is active. Schneider reads βλύττει, which would be a ἅπαξ εἰρημένον. Ruhnken's βλίττεται is unexceptionable in point of sense, and has found much favour. The author of this emendation claims (in his note on Tim. Lex. s.v. βλίττειν) that it is confirmed “cum Scholiastae, tum Codicis Parisini auctoritate.” But the Paris MSS have all either βλίττει or βλύττει; and Bekker's collation of the Scholium is βλίττει· ἀφαιρεῖ ( not ἀφαιρεῖται ) τὸ μέλι ἀπὸ τῶν κηρίων. Moreover, although the syllable ται was sometimes abbreviated in uncial MSS (see on 563 D), it is easier to suppose that the horizontal stroke for final ν was here accidentally omitted, as constantly in the Republic: see Introd. § 5. For the sense cf. I 343 A note and on the word βλίττειν (i.e. * μ ( β) λίττειν from μέλι) Blaydes on Ar. Knights 794 .

πλούσιοι ‐‐ καλοῦνται . The oligarchs were frequently called πλούσιοι, κτηματικοί and the like: see Whibley Pol. Part. in Ath. p. 48 and Beloch Att. Pol. p. 2.

κηφήνων βοτάνη has a proverbial ring: cf. the proverb κηφῆνες μόχθους ἄλλων κατέδονται (Leutsch u. Schneidewin Paroem. Gr. II p. 179). The same expression, as Schneider points out Addit. p. 69, is used by Plut. Mor. 42 A with a different meaning.

Plato Republic 8.564

ed. John Burnet

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