James Adam, The Republic of Plato

λέγομεν κτλ. ‘And for this reason we say that the primary classes of men are also three in number’ etc.? λέγομεν (see cr. n.) is the reading of all MSS except ΑΠq^{1}, and Schneider is right, I think, in retaining it, not only because these three γένη have been named before (IV 435 E), but still more because the classification was apparently a familiar one: see Stewart on Arist. l.c. For the orthographical error see Introd. § 5. I take τριττά as predicative: the hyperbaton is not, I think, a difficult one, because the stress of the voice falls on τριττά, and to my ear it sounds more idiomatic than τὰ πρῶτα γένη τριττὰ εἶναι would be. A possible alternative would be to take εἶναι with φιλόσοφον κτλ. (‘that the three primary classes of men are lovers of wisdom’ etc.), but this is somewhat less natural and satisfactory, in view especially of καὶ ἡδονῶν κτλ. The words τὰ πρῶτα mean ‘the first’ or ‘original,’ as in Aristotle's πρώτη ὕλη, the Stoic πρῶται ἀρεταί and the like: it would be possible to subdivide each of these primary classes into δεύτερα γένη, τρίτα γένη etc. It should be mentioned that Shorey (A. J. Ph. VIII p. 364), reading λέγωμεν, renders ‘we may begin by assuming,’ but it is harsh to separate τὰ πρῶτα from γένη, and the adverbial τὰ πρῶτα generally, if not always, refers back to something said or done ‘at the beginning.’

ὑποκείμενα. The singular ὑποκείμενον (see cr. n.), retained by Schneider and all other editors except Baiter, is questionable Greek. In such cases the adjective, participle, or verb agrees with the whole and not with the part. ὑποκείμενα is little inferior to ὑποκείμενον in authority and the corruption was easy. Cf. VIII 550 E note

τὸν ἑαυτοῦ κτλ. Cf. Pind. Frag. 215 Bergk ἄλλο δ᾽ ἄλλοισιν νόμισμα, σφετέραν δ᾽ αἰνεῖ δίκαν ἕκαστος and Gorg. 484 E ff.

ὅ γε. See cr. n. Hermann's conjecture is, I now think, right. We may perhaps explain τε as ἀνακόλουθον (cf. II 373 B note) and taken up in τί δὲ ὁ φιλότιμος; κτλ., but γε is much livelier and better: ‘the money-maker, at all events’ etc. Cf. VIII 556 A note If γε is right, we should not, as Hermann does, make the sentence interrogative.