James Adam, The Republic of Plato

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παῖδας τοὺς ἄνδρας. Ξ with several other MSS reads τοὺς παῖδας instead of παῖδας. But παῖδας is predicative, and goes with θεωρεῖν. “Socrates plurimum referre dicit, ut qui adulti bellicosi futuri sint, iam pueri res bellicas spectent” (Schneider). Hartman seriously weakens the contrast between παῖδας and ἄνδρας by reading ἄνδρας <τοὺς> πολεμικούς.

διαφέρει. We should at first sight expect <πολὺ> διαφέρει, and so Richards suggests. But (as Hartman points out) the introduction of οὐκ ἄξιον κινδύνου breaks the continuity between the original question and the reply. Hence, too, the reply has διαφέρει, not διαφέρειν (the reading of Ξ and a few other MSS, wrongly preferred by Hartman).

τοῦτο μὲν κτλ. ὑπαρκτέον=δεῖ <*>πάρχειν (intransitive), not ‘we must begin with,’ as J. and C. suppose. Cf. ἑκτέον 468 A. τοῦτο (accusative: see on III 400 D) is explained by θεωροὺς— ποιεῖν. With προσμηχανᾶσθαι, δεῖ or the like is understood out of ὑπαρκτέον: cf. Gorg. 492 D τὰς μὲν ἐπιθυμίας φῂς οὐ κολαστέον—<*>ῶντα δὲ αὐτὰς ὡς μεγίστας πλήρωσιν—ἑτοιμάζειν and Crito 51 C. Richards needlessly proposes to read προσμηχανητέον or to insert “something like δεήσει.”