James Adam, The Republic of Plato

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ἰατρὸν δέ που κτλ. μέν after δεομένοις balances δέ in ὅταν δὲ δή, and not ἀλλὰ—ὑπακούειν, which merely explains φαρμάκων by stating its antithesis. There is consequently no sufficient reason for changing ἐθελόντων into ἐθέλουσιν (with some inferior MSS, Stephanus, Madvig, and others), although ἐθέλουσιν would no doubt be more usual. For the genitive absolute cf. 458 D note I agree with Schneider and Campbell in taking the participle as neuter and not masculine (so Stallbaum and Jowett). ὑπακούειν is not ‘submit to’ but ‘respond to’—‘are willing to respond to,’ i.e. be cured by ‘a course of treatment without drugs’: cf. Prot. 325 A, and for δίαιτα contrasted with drugs III 406 D.

ἡγούμεθα κτλ. See cr. n. If εἶναι is retained after ἡγούμεθα, we must (with Ast in his second edition) understand Plato to mean ἡγούμεθα ἐξαρκεῖν καὶ φαυλότερον εἶναι, i.e. καίπερ φαυλότερον ὄντα, or else suppose that ἰατρὸν καὶ φαυλότερον εἶναι is an accusative and infinitive forming the subject to ἐξαρκεῖν. Neither explanation is simple or natural; and Stephanus, Madvig, and others have in my judgment some reason for expunging εἶναι, although its intrusion is not altogether easy to explain. It is possible enough that Plato wrote ἀνδρειοτέρου δεῖ <εἶναι> τοῦ ἰατροῦ in line 19 (cf. δεῖ ἄκρων εἶναι τῶν ἀρχόντων in B above); and the possibility is raised, I think, into a probability, when we thus obtain a natural explanation of the erroneous εἶναι after ἡγούμεθα. εἶναι following δεῖ appeared difficult, and was omitted, as it is in B above by q; a later scribe reinserted it in the wrong place. I have therefore ventured to transpose the word.

ἀνδρειοτέρου. It needs more courage to use drugs than to prescribe a regimen, because the risk is greater. Nothing could be more appropriate than Plato's use of the word, although it has been doubted by Richards. who proposed αὖ δριμυτέρου at first, and afterwards ἀνδρικωτέρου. With the general sentiment Poschenrieder (die Plat. Dial. in ihrem Verhältnisse zu den Hippokr. Schr. p. 57) compares [Hippocr.] de victus ratione VI p. 592 c. 67 Littré προκαταλαμβάνειν τὴν <*>γίειαν, ὥστε τὰς νούσους μὴ προσπελάζειν, εἰ μή τις μεγάλα πάνυ ἐξαμαρτάνοι καὶ πολλάκις: ταῦτα δὲ φαρμάκων δέεται ἤδη.