R. G. Bury, The Symposium of Plato

τοὺς ἐραστὰς. The plural is due to the fact that it was usual for a number of ἐρασταί to pay court to the same παιδικά (cp. Charm. 154 A).

εἰ οὖν μηχανή τις κτλ. Here Ph. passes on to his second head,—the benefits derived from Eros in civic and national life (πόλιν, 178 D above). For the phrase cp. Laws 640 B εἰ δ᾽ ἦν τις μηχανή κτλ.: Parm. 132 D, Phileb. 16 A.

στρατόπεδον ἐραστῶν. It is noteworthy that Xen. (Symp. VIII. 32) puts a similar statement in the mouth of Pausanias—Παυσανίας γε...εἴρηκεν ὡς καὶ στράτευμα ἀλκιμώτατον ἂν γένοιτο ἐκ παιδικῶν τε καὶ ἐραστῶν (cp. Introd. § VIII. ad fin.). Cp. also Xen. Cyrop. VII. 1. 30 οὐκ ἔστιν ἰσχυροτέρα φάλαγξ ἢ ὅταν ἐκ φίλων συμμάχων ἠθροισμένη ᾖ. This principle was exemplified in the famous ἱερὸς λόχος of the Thebans, organized by Gorgidas (or Epaminondas), which fought first at Leuctra, 371 B.C., see Athen. XIII. 561 F, 602 A. A Roman analogy is afforded by Scipio's φίλων ἴλη. The parallel in Xenophon is of itself sufficient to refute Jahn's athetesis of ἢ στρατόπεδον.

οὐκ ἔστιν ὅπως ἂν κτλ. Hug, retaining ἢ before ἀπεχόμενοι, would supply, with the participles, from the context “welche Gefühle allein durch den Eros in wirksamer Weise erregt werden.” This, however, is exceedingly awkward; and his further remark that οὐκ ἄμεινον οἰκήσειαν ἂν ἢ ἀπεχόμενοι is equivalent to ἄριστ᾽ ἂν οἰκ. ἀπεχ. does nothing to lessen the difficulty. By ejecting ἢ, as a very natural interpolation after the comparative by a copyist careless of the sense, we obtain the meaning required—“it would be impossible for them to secure a better constitution of their city, since thus they would abstain” etc.