James Adam, The Republic of Plato

ἤ=‘alioquin.’ Cf. V 463 D note

καὶ ἆθλα is ejected by Cobet. The precise words do not occur in III 414 A, but they are unobjectionable, and end the sentence well. Cf. V 460 B καὶ γέρα δοτέον καὶ ἆθλα, and see also on V 465 D.

παρακαλυπτομένου: ‘putting on her veil.’ The λόγος is personified, as often.

κινεῖν τὸ νῦν παρόν. There is perhaps a hint of the proverb εὖ κείμενον κακὸν μὴ κίνει. No one who reads III 412 B —414 B without reference to the present passage would detect that the λόγος ‘leaves the high road’ in 414 B because she is afraid to raise the question of the Philosopher-king. The words ὡς ἐν τύπῳ, μὴ δἰ ἀκριβείας, εἰρῆσθαι would not suggest to him anything of the kind; and the impression which the earlier account of the Rulers leaves on us is that it was intended by Plato himself to be complete in outline, though not in detail. From the standpoint of Book VI it is certainly even in outline incomplete. Cf. Krohn Pl. St. p. 126, where the case is somewhat overstated; and see on 497 C, 502 D. But there is nothing in all this to justify any chorizontic inference, if only we have regard to the laws of the Dialogue as a form of literary art. See Introd. § 4.