James A. Towle, Commentary on Plato: Protagoras
James A. Towle, Ed.

τὴν ἀλήθειαν: i.e. the word ἀληθῶς or ἀλήθεια. In Greek, as in Latin, words which are referred to merely as words, often conform to the const. of the sentence. Cf. 341 a περὶ τοῦ δεινοῦ, and the freq. τὸ χαλεπόν.

This style of exegesis should commend itself to Protagoras, for Socrates has borrowed it from him. See on 340 e. “To be sure, the position of the words would naturally lead one to construe ἀλαθέως with ἀγαθόν, but this distinction of two kinds of ἀγαθός would indicate a false view, and therefore be unworthy of Simonides.” To make Simonides say, therefore, what it is manifest to Socrates that he should say, is readily accomplished by the convenient change which follows. The argument is ironical.

ὑπερβατόν: occurs here for the first time in the familiar grammatical sense. It is found also in Anaxim. Rhet. 30 (p. 60, 24 Sp.) (σαφῶς δηλώσομεν) ἀπὸ τῶν ὀνομάτων, ἐὰν μὴ ὑπερβατῶς αὐτὰ τιθῶμεν, ἀλλ᾽ ἀεὶ τὰ ἐχόμενα ἑξῆς τάττωμεν, [Longin.] περὶ ὕψους, chap. 22 τῆς δὲ αὐτῆς ἰδέας καὶ τὰ ὑπερβατὰ θετέον: ἔστι δὲ λέξεων ἢ νοήσεων ἐκ τοῦ κατ᾽ ἀκολουθίαν κεκινημένη τάξις (an arrangement varying from the regular order). Here, however, ὑπερβατόν is an adj., and θεῖναι is consider, assume, as θεῖμεν following.

ὑπειπόντα: premise as a startingpoint, see on 339 d. Cf. Ar. Vesp. 54 f. φέρε νυν κατείπω τοῖς θεαταῖς τὸν λόγον, ὀλίγ᾽ ἄτθ̓ ὑπειπὼν πρῶτον αὐτοῖσιν ταδί come now, let me declare the argument to the audience, first premising to them some few matters as follows, Dem. de Cor. 60 τούτων ὑφέξω λόγον, τοσοῦτον ὑπειπών, XXIII. 53 γέγραφεν, οὐδὲν ὑπειπών, ὅπως ἄν τις ἀποκτείνῃ, τὴν τιμωρίαν he has proposed private vengeance, without premising under what circumstances one may kill justifiably.

εἰπόντα: repeats λέγοντα above, without τὸν μέν. See on 330 a.