James Adam, Commentary on Plato, Republic, ed. James Adam, 1.327B

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

← Previous Next →

[327B] τὸ ἄστυ or ἄστυ 327 C is regular for Athens itself as opposed to the Piraeus. Hartman would omit the article (cf. Lys. 13. 88

τοὺς ἐν ἄστει οἱ ἐν τῷ Πειραιεῖ

): but it occurs infra 328 C, Phaedr. 230 C , Arist. Pol. Ath. 38. 1 and elsewhere.

αὐτός : ‘ ipse’ ‘ erus’ ‘ the master’ as often: cf. e.g. Prot. 314 D οὐ σχολὴ αὐτῷ and the Pythagorean αὐτὸς ἔφα. With the deictic οὗτος cf. Symp. 175 A Σωκράτης οὗτος—ἕστηκεν, ‘there goes Socrates—standing.’

Commentary on Plato, Republic. James Adam. ed. James Adam. Cambridge. 1926-1929.

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Funding provided by National Endowment for the Humanities.

Current edition Perseus

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

Editions (1)

Πολιτεία Perseus (Platonis Opera Tomus IV: Tetralogia VIII. Burnet, John, editor. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1905.) — 1.327 focus

[327] 327a κατέβην χθὲς εἰς Πειραιᾶ μετὰ Γλαύκωνος τοῦ Ἀρίστωνος προσευξόμενός τε τῇ θεῷ καὶ ἅμα τὴν ἑορτὴν βουλόμενος θεάσασθαι τίνα τρόπον ποιήσουσιν ἅτε νῦν πρῶτον ἄγοντες. καλὴ μὲν οὖν μοι καὶ ἡ τῶν ἐπιχωρίων πομπὴ ἔδοξεν εἶναι, οὐ μέντοι ἧττον ἐφαίνετο πρέπειν ἣν οἱ Θρᾷκες ἔπεμπον. 327b προσευξάμενοι δὲ καὶ θεωρήσαντες ἀπῇμεν πρὸς τὸ ἄστυ. κατιδὼν οὖν πόρρωθεν ἡμᾶς οἴκαδε ὡρμημένους Πολέμαρχος ὁ Κεφάλου ἐκέλευσε δραμόντα τὸν παῖδα περιμεῖναί ἑ κελεῦσαι. καί μου ὄπισθεν ὁ παῖς λαβόμενος τοῦ ἱματίου, κελεύει ὑμᾶς, ἔφη, Πολέμαρχος περιμεῖναι. καὶ ἐγὼ μετεστράφην τε καὶ ἠρόμην ὅπου αὐτὸς εἴη. οὗτος, ἔφη, ὄπισθεν προσέρχεται· ἀλλὰ περιμένετε. ἀλλὰ περιμενοῦμεν, ἦ δʼ ὃς ὁ Γλαύκων. 327c
καὶ ὀλίγῳ ὕστερον ὅ τε Πολέμαρχος ἧκε καὶ Ἀδείμαντος ὁ τοῦ Γλαύκωνος ἀδελφὸς καὶ Νικήρατος ὁ Νικίου καὶ ἄλλοι τινὲς ὡς ἀπὸ τῆς πομπῆς.
ὁ οὖν Πολέμαρχος ἔφη· ὦ Σώκρατες, δοκεῖτέ μοι πρὸς ἄστυ ὡρμῆσθαι ὡς ἀπιόντες.
οὐ γὰρ κακῶς δοξάζεις, ἦν δʼ ἐγώ.
ὁρᾷς οὖν ἡμᾶς, ἔφη, ὅσοι ἐσμέν;
πῶς γὰρ οὔ;
ἢ τοίνυν τούτων, ἔφη, κρείττους γένεσθε ἢ μένετʼ αὐτοῦ.
οὐκοῦν, ἦν δʼ ἐγώ, ἔτι ἓν λείπεται, τὸ ἢν πείσωμεν ὑμᾶς ὡς χρὴ ἡμᾶς ἀφεῖναι;
ἦ καὶ δύναισθʼ ἄν, ἦ δʼ ὅς, πεῖσαι μὴ ἀκούοντας;
οὐδαμῶς, ἔφη ὁ Γλαύκων.
ὡς τοίνυν μὴ ἀκουσομένων, οὕτω διανοεῖσθε.

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).) — 1.327 focus

[327] 327a I¹ went down yesterday to the Peiraeus² with Glaucon, the son of Ariston, to pay my devotions³ to the Goddess,⁴ and also because I wished to see how they would conduct the festival since this was its inauguration.⁵ I thought the procession of the citizens very fine, but it was no better than the show, made by the marching of the Thracian contingent. 327b
After we had said our prayers and seen the spectacle we were starting for town when Polemarchus, the son of Cephalus, caught sight of us from a distance as we were hastening homeward⁶ and ordered his boy⁷ run and bid us to wait⁸ for him, and the boy caught hold⁹ of my himation from behind and said, Polemarchus wants you to wait. And I turned around and asked where his master¹⁰ was. There he is, he said, behind you, coming this way. Wait for him. So we will, said Glaucon, 327c and shortly after Polemarchus came up and Adeimantus, the brother of Glaucon, and Niceratus, the son of Nicias, and a few others apparently from the procession. Whereupon Polemarchus said, Socrates, you appear to have turned your faces townward and to be going to leave us. Not a bad guess, said I. But you see how many we are? he said. Surely. You must either then prove yourselves the better men¹¹ or stay here. Why, is there not left, said I, the alternative of our persuading¹² you that you ought to let us go? But could you persuade us, said he, if we refused to listen? Nohow, said Glaucon. Well, we won’t listen, and you might as well make up your minds to it.

James Adam Commentary on Plato, Republic 1.327B

ed. James Adam

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Current edition Perseus

Stable identifiers