James Adam, The Republic of Plato

αὐτό -- δικαιοσύνην: ‘justice by itself’: see II 363 A note Here however the expression means ‘abstract justice’ rather than merely ‘justice apart from its consequences.’ It is not yet a metaphysical ‘Idea’ in the sense of VI and VII: see on III 402 C, and cf. Pfleiderer zur Lösung etc. p. 19 with Susemihl Gen. Entw. II pp. 176 f.

καὶ ἄνδρα κτλ.: ‘and the man who is perfectly just if he should come into existence, and what his character would be if he did.’ εἰ γένοιτο must be understood as a kind of protasis to τὸν τελέως δίκαιον (i.q. τὸν τελέως ὄντα or ἂν ὄντα δίκαιον). Schneider's explanation is less simple: “virum perfecte iustum quaesituri ea conditione rem susceperant, si fieri et existere talis posset.” We must beware of translating ‘num existeret’ (Stallbaum): for it is just in order to shew the irrelevancy of the question, ‘Can such a man exist?’ that Plato wrote this sentence. Madvig omits καί before οἷος. In that case εἰ γένοιτο goes with the following clause (cf. IV 419 A note), and the meaning is: ‘if he should come into existence, what his character would be when he did.’ By this means we obtain an exact parallel between δικαιοσύνην οἷόν <*>στι and ἄνδρα—οἷος ἂν εἴη. It must be admitted, I think, that the emendation is an improvement: but the MS reading may stand. Campbell needlessly questions εἰ γένοιτο, thinking it a gloss on γενόμενος. The pleonasm is characteristic: cf. 471 C εἰ γένοιτο, πάντ᾽ ἂν εἴη ἀγαθὰ ᾗ γένοιτο.

καὶ ἀδικίαν αὖ κτλ. See IV 420 C note

ἵνα -- ἕξειν. Cf. VIII 544 A.

ἐκείνοις. See cr. n. ἐκείνης, which Schneider alone retains, can hardly be defended. For the error see Introd. § 5.