James Adam, The Republic of Plato

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οὔτε πρέσβεις κτλ.: ‘nor admit an embassy of wise words spoken by private persons of maturer years.’ The contrast is between the ξυμμαχία itself, consisting of the λόγοι of οἰκεῖοι, and ‘ambassador-words’ of ἰδιῶται, i.e. men who take no part in public or official life. Their representations would serve as ambassadors to those of the οἰκεῖοι, whether the οἰκεῖοι inspire them or not. It has often been pointed out that Plato is thinking of Alcibiades in various parts of this description (see e.g. Steinhart Einleitung pp. 239, 698 note 238), Susemihl Gen. Entw. II p. 233 and Herwerden Mnem. XIX p. 337); and here, I believe, he has in mind the efforts of Socrates to reclaim him. Cf. VI 494 D note and especially Symp. 215 D ff. <*>πρεσβύτερος with reference to Socrates see ἀγαθοῖς καὶ πρεσβυτέροις III 409 C note; and for ἰδιώτης as applied to him, Apol. 32 E— 33 B. The order and rhythm, as in ἐν ἀνδρῶν θεοφιλῶν εἰσι διανοίαις above, is in keeping with the stately and sonorous eloquence of the whole passage: cf. IX 573 D. On Badham's conjecture δἰ ὤτων for ἰδιωτῶν see App. IV.

μαχόμενοι: viz. with τὸ φειδωλόν (560 C).

αἰδῶ. See 560 A. With what follows cf. Thuc. III 82. 4 ff. and Isocr. Areop. 20, Panath. 131 (Dümmler's Chron. Beiträge pp. 15 ff.).

σωφροσύνην κτλ. Thuc. l.c. τὸ δὲ σῶφρον τοῦ ἀνάνδρου πρόσχημα. Cf. Eur. Phoen. 509 ἀνανδρία γὰρ τὸ πλέον ὅστις ἀπολέσας | τοὔλασσον ἔλαβε. It is probable that Plato had Thucydides in his mind: see Susemihl Gen. Entw. II p. 234.

μετά: ‘with the aid of’ (in Vereinigung mit, Schneider).

καθήραντες κτλ. The imagery is borrowed from the Eleusinian rites. On the first day of the Greater Mysteries, which was called ἅλαδε μύσται, took place the cleansing of the μύσται in the sea: cf. Mommsen Feste d. Stadt Ath. p. 207 note 2. κατεχομένου is used as in Men. 99 D κατεχομένους ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ.