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κατὰ τοῦτο εἶναι: in this matter at least; cf. ἑκὼν εἶναι, τὸ ἐπὶ σφᾶς εἶναι, τὸ νῦν εἶναι,—also without the art., Polit. 300 c τὰ παρὰ τῶν εἰδότων εἰς δύναμιν εἶναι (so far as possible) γεγραμμένα, Isae. II. 32 ὠμόσαμεν εὖ ποιεῖν ἀλλήλους κατὰ δύναμιν εἶναι. The inf., as an acc. of specification; indicates the sphere within which the declaration finds its place. See G. 268; H. 956 a.
οὔ τι: very freq. in Plato (and in Homer) as a strengthened οὐ, by no means.
οὐ γὰρ λαθεῖν , κτἑ.: λαθεῖν, even after γάρ, depends upon ἡγοῦμαι. For (I think) they do not escape the detection of those in authority. Cf. 351 a, Crat. 417 c ταύτῃ μοι δοκεῖ ἐπιφημίσαι τὸ ἀγαθὸν λυσιτελοῦν: τὸ γὰρ τῆς φορᾶς λύον τὸ τέλος λυσιτελοῦν καλέσαι herein, it seems to me, one happily terms the good λυσιτελοῦν,—for that which sets free the end of motion one calls λυσιτελοῦν, Rep. v. 479 b τοῖς ἐν ταῖς ἑστιάσεσιν ἐπαμφοτερίζουσιν ἔοικε: καὶ γὰρ ταῦτα ἐπαμφοτερίζειν they are like the riddles at feasts; for these also have a double sense, Lys. XXIX. 5 ἡγοῦμαι δὲ Φιλοκρά- τει δύο εἶναι ἀπολογίας: προσήκειν γὰρ κτἑ. This is regarded as assimilation in GMT. 92, 2, N. 3; H. 947.τοὺς δυναμένους πράττειν: those who can act, and not merely consider and discuss; i.e. “those in authority.” Cf. Thuc. viii. 72 πεντακισχίλιοί τε ὅτι εἶεν καὶ οὐ τετρακόσιοι μόνον οἱ πράσσοντες that those administering the government were, etc., Isocr. IV. 188 τοὺς μὲν πράττειν δυναμένους πειρᾶσθαι (χρὴ) διαλλάττειν (τὰς πόλεις), V. 13 δεῖ ποιήσασθαί τινα προστάτην τῶν καὶ λέγειν καὶ πράττειν δυναμένων καὶ δόξαν μεγάλην ἐχόντων, Dem. de Cor. 45 αἱ δὲ πόλεις ἐνόσουν τῶν μὲν ἐν τῷ πολιτεύεσθαι καὶ πράττειν δωροδοκοῦντων, τῶν δ᾽ ἰδιωτῶν καὶ πολλῶν τὰ μὲν οὐ προορωμένων κτἑ. but the cities were diseased, since, on the one hand, those engaged in public life and service were venal; while, on the other hand, those in private life and the masses, failed to foresee, etc.
ὥν περ: i.e. τῶν δυναμένων πράττειν.
ὡς ἔπος εἰπεῖν: is used when the speaker, in order to express something very concisely, makes use of a term which taken strictly is too strong, as here οὐδὲν αἰσθάνονται, hence equiv. to nearly, almost. Very freq. in Plato. See G. 268; H. 956.
οὐδὲν αἰσθάνονται: for the thought, cf. Crito 48 c τῶν ῥᾳδίως ἀποκτιννύντων καὶ ἀναβιωσκομένων γ᾽ ἄν, εἰ οἷοί τ̓ ἦσαν, οὐδενὶ ξὺν νῷ, τούτων τῶν πολλῶν these selfish considerations are characteristic of those who recklessly kill and would bring to life again if they could, these unreasoning common people. οὗτοι: i.e. οἱ πράττειν δυνάμενοι.— διαγγέλλωσι: proclaim, issue as an order.
ὑμνοῦσιν: have in one's mouth, take up in chorus, cf. 343 b.τό: const. with both δύνασθαι and εἶναι.—We expect shows great folly, etc.
καταφανῆ εἶναι: getting caught. καὶ (even) τοῦ ἐπιχειρήματος: emphatically repeats with anacoluthon the thought already contained in ἀποδιδράσκοντα,—as this denotes (since the failure is declared at the outset), only the attempt to escape. Cf. Menex. 244 e ἐκ ταύτης τῆς πόλεως, ἣν προθύμως ἀπώλλυ which he eagerly sought to ruin.
Hermann Sauppe. James A. Towle. Commentary on Plato: Protagoras. Ginn & Company. Boston and London. 1889.
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