R. G. Bury, The Symposium of Plato

πάντως παρατίθετε. For the use of πάντως with imper., cp. Xen. Cyrop. VIII. 3. 27 πάντως τοίνυν...δεῖξόν μοι: id. Oecon. XII. 11, III. 12. For παρατίθημι of “putting on the table,” cp. Rep. 372 C τραγήματά που παραθήσομεν αὐτοῖς κτλ. Reynders adopts the reading πάντας, καὶ παρατίθετε.

ἐπειδὰν...μὴ ἐφεστήκῃ. These words are difficult. They should naturally mean (as Stallb. puts it) “si quando nemo vobis est propositus”; and so Stallb. proposes to construe them, taking the clause as dependent on and limiting ὅ τι ἂν βούλησθε. This, however, is, as Hug argues, almost certainly wrong. If we retain the text of the MSS. we can only explain the phrase by assuming an ellipse—“serve up what dishes you like (as you usually do) whenever no one is in command.” So Zeller renders “tragt uns getrost auf, was ihr wollt, wie ihr es gewohnt seid, wenn man euch nicht unter Aufsicht nimmt,” etc.; and Rieckher (Rhein. Mus. XXXIII. p. 307) “Machet es wie ihr es immer macht, wenn man euch nicht beaufsichtigt (und das habe ich ja noch nie gethan), und setzt uns vor was ihr möget.” Most of the emendations offered (see crit. n.) are based on the assumption that the clause in question qualifies the leading clause (πάντως παρατίθετε): none of them are convincing, and the construction οὐ μὴ...ἐφεστήκῃ (the pres.-perf.) assumed by Schanz and Hug lacks support. If compelled to resort to conjecture, the best device might be to read εἴ γε μή for ἐπειδάν, cut out the μή after ὑμῖν, and change the mood of the verb to ἐφέστηκεν—following in part the suggestions of Usener. The ordinary text does not admit of Jowett's rendering, “serve up whatever you please, for there is no one to give you orders; hitherto I have never left you to yourselves.” As regards the force of ὃ...ἐποίησα, L. Schmidt explains the clause to mean “nunquam autem rem ita ut nunc institui,” implying that the concession to the slaves was unusual: Teuffel, on the contrary, sees in it a piece of ostentation on the part of Agathon, boasting of his humanity. The former is clearly wrong.