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ὡς εὐήθειαν is expunged by Herwerden; Baiter would omit ὡς. If ὡς belonged to εὐήθειαν (as these critics apparently supposed), it would deserve expulsion; but it goes with οὖσαν understood. The antithesis is between ἄνοιαν and εὐήθειαν: and if the sentence is read so as to lay stress on these two words, it will be seen how easily οὖσαν can be repeated after εὐήθειαν. The sense is: not the εὐήθεια which is really ἄνοια, but which we euphemistically designate as if it were εὐ-ήθεια (i.e., as before, in the good sense of the word), but εὐήθεια in its true and etymological sense (ὠς ἀληθῶς）—the εὖ τὸ ἦθος κατεσκευασμένην διάνοιαν. This explanation seems to me better than to regard ὡς εὐήθειαν as attracted for ὡς εὐήθεια (sc. ἐστίν), a construction for which we may compare Prot. 357 D: see my note ad loc. For ὡς ἀληθῶς cf. I 343 C note τὸ αὑτῶν πράττειν. The principle of ἁπλότης, which is the corner-stone of Plato's city, presents itself in the education of the young, as the pursuit of εὐήθεια. ἔστιν δέ γέ που κτλ. This lofty conception of ἁρμονία and ῥυθμός—for αὐτῶν shews that these are included no less than εὐσχημοσύνη—stretching throughout the whole domain of art and nature, may have been suggested by Pythagorean teaching: but the view of education as the pursuit and assimilation of all this beauty is due to Plato himself. Cf. 403 C note
The Republic of Plato. James Adam. 1902. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press.
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