φαύλη...καὶ ἀμφισβητήσιμος.
“Meagre” in quantity and “questionable” in
quality, in antithesis to πολλή in quantity and
καλή in quality.
πολλὴν ἐπίδοσιν ἔχουσα. Hug supposes
an astral allusion—“like a quicklyrising star.” This,
however, is not necessarily conveyed by the term ἐπίδοσις, for which cp. Theaet. 146 B
ἡ νεότης εἰς πᾶν ἐπίδοσιν ἔχει, and the
intrans. use of ἐπιδιδόναι, Prot. 318 A, Theaet. 150 D, etc.
οὕτω σφόδρα
κτλ. Notice the ironical tone—exaggeration
coupled with a purple patch of poetic diction: “shone out with such dazzling
splendour before the eyes of three myriads of Greek spectators.”
Ὑβριστὴς εἶ. “What a scoffer
you are!” Observe that ὕβρις is one of the
main charges laid against Socr. by Alcibiades also (219 C, etc.); cp.
Introd. § II. B.
ταῦτα...διαδικασόμεθα. “We will
formally plead our claims in regard to these heads.” “Technically
diadicasia denotes the proceedings in a contest for
preference between two or more rival parties either as to the possession
of property or as to exemption from personal or pecuniary liabilities....The essential
difference between diadicasia and the ordinary δίκαι is, that all claimants are similarly situated with
respect to the subject of dispute, and no longer classified as plaintiffs and
defendants” (Smith, D. A. I. 620^{b}). περὶ τῆς σοφίας, added loosely as an afterthought, serves to define
ταῦτα: Teuffel, as against Jahn, rightly defends
the words; and they serve to strike one of the keynotes of the dialogue.
δικαστῇ...τῷ Διονύσῳ. Dionysus is an
appropriate choice since it was under his auspices that Agathon (πρῴην) had engaged in an ἀγών and won
a prize for poetic σοφία. There may also lie in the
words (as Wolf and Rettig suppose) a jocular allusion to the σοφία which is ars bibendi, wherein also Agathon
was δυνατώτατος (176 C). Compare also the pastoral
pipe-contests of Theocritus, and Theognis 993 ff. εἰ...ἆθλον... | σοί τ᾽ εἴη καὶ
ἐμοὶ σοφίης πέρι θηρισάντοιν, | γνοίης χ᾽ ὅσσον ὄνων κρέσσονες ἡμίονοι. Cp.
Introd. § II. B.
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