CHAPTER X
Socrates professes to disbelieve that
ἀρετή can be communicated
by teaching. His arguments are twofold: (1) while in matters
connected with the arts of building, ship-carpentry, and the like,
the Athenians will listen only to the professional man, in politics
they give ear to any and every one: (2) Athenian statesmen have
not been able to communicate their political virtue to their sons.
2.
εἴπερ κέκτησαι. Cobet's rule (
Mnemos. XI, 168) ‘ubi
praecedit vocalis, semper (Plato)
κέκτημαι ponit, ubi consonans,
promiscue
κεκτῆσθαι et
ἐκτῆσθαι’ represents the usage of the
best MSS., but Schanz now writes
ἐκτῆσθαι universally after
consonants. See also
Mnem. VIII, 336.
ἐκτῆσθαι is in reality an
old Ionic form: it is used by Aeschylus,
Prom. 795
κοινὸν ὄμμ᾽
ἐκτημέναι.
4.
οὐκ ἔχω ὅπως ἀπιστῶ. The MSS. reading
ὅπως ἄν
ἀπιστῶ was corrected by Heindorf,
ὅπως ἄν with the subjunctive
being only used in final clauses. The subjunctive is deliberative:
cf.
Euthyphr. 11B οὐκ ἔχω ἔγωγε ὅπως σοι εἴπω ὃ νοῶ.
5.
οὐ διδακτὸν—μηδὲ, οὐ negatives
διδακτόν only,
μηδέ the
whole of its clause: a similar case is Eur.
Andr. 586
δρᾶν εὖ,
κακῶς δ᾽ οὔ, μηδ᾽ ἀποκτείνειν βίᾳ. μή after verbs of thinking and
saying is tolerably common in Plato. See on
Euthyphr. 6B
ὁμολογοῦμεν περὶ αὐτῶν μηδὲν εἰδέναι.
7.
ὥσπερ καὶ οἱ ἄλλοι Ἕλληνες, sc.
φασί. Cf.
337D where
Hippias calls Athens
τῆς Ἑλλάδος αὐτὸ τὸ πρυτανεῖον τῆς σοφίας:
a somewhat less favourable judgement is given in
Laws, I. 641E
τὴν πόλιν ἅπαντες ἡμῶν Ἕλληνες ὑπολαμβάνουσιν ὡς φιλόλογός τέ
ἐστι καὶ ρολύλογος, Λακεδαίμονα δὲ καὶ Κπήτην, τὴν μὲν βπαχύλογον,
τὴν δὲ πολύνοιαν μᾶλλον ἢ πολυλογίαν ἀσκοῦσαν.
10.
μεταπεμπομένους is probably middle: Plato does not
seem to use
μεταπέμπειϝ in the sense of ‘send for’ (like Thucydides, e.g. I. 112. 3
Ἀμυρταίου μεταπέμποντος τοῦ ἐν τοῖς ἕλεσι
βασιλέως: VI. 52. 1
et al.). The subject is
τοὺς πολίτας to be
supplied from
τὴν πόλιν. Cf.
Gorg. 455B ff.
ὅταν περὶ ἰατρῶν
αἱπέσεως ᾖ τῇ ρόλει σύλλογος ἢ ρεπὶ ναυρηγῶν ἢ ρεπὶ ἄλλου τινὸς
δημιουπγικοῦ ἔθνους, ἄλλο τι ἢ τότε ὁ π̔ητοπικὸς οὐ συμβουλεύσει;
δῆλον γὰρ ὅτι ἐν ἑκάστῃ αἱρέσει τὸν τεχνικώτατον δεῖ αἱρεῖσθαι and
Alc. I, 107A-C. Kroschel well remarks that the words
περὶ τῶν
οἰκοδομημάτων (which Hirschig wrongly rejects) are added to
show that it is only about the actual buildings that the builders
are consulted, ‘non de necessitate, utilitate, magnitudine’, as to
which the orators advise: cf.
Gorg. 455D.
15.
κἂν πάνυ καλὸς ᾖ κτλ. Imitated in
Alc. I, 107B and C:
ἐάν τέ γε σμικρὸς ἢ μέγας ᾖ, ἐάν τε καλὸς ἢ αἰσχρός, ἔτι τε γενναῖος
ἢ ἀγεννής, πῶς γὰρ οὔ;—ἀλλ᾽ ἄν τε πένης ἄν τε πλούσιος ᾖ ὁ παραινῶν,
οὐδὲν διοίσει Ἀθηναίοις, ὅταν ρεπὶ τῶν ἐν τῇ ρόλει βουλεύωνται, ρῶς
ἂν ὑγιαίνοιεν, ἀλλὰ ζητοῦσιν ἰατρὸν εἶναι τὸν σύμβουλον.
19.
οἱ τοξόται. The
τοξόται (bowmen) or
Σκύθαι (so called
from their nationality) or
Πευσίνιοι (from one
Πευσίς who
according to the schol. on
Ar. Ach. 54 had the chief hand in
establishing them) were the police.
ἕλκω was regularly used of
removing an offending orator: e.g.
Ar. Knights, 665 κᾆθ᾽
εἷλκον αὐτὸν οἱ πρυτάνεις χοἰ τοξόται.
19.
ἐξαίρωνται. So T (B has
ἐξέρωνται): the present is
perhaps due to tense-assimilation to
κελευόντων. The active
αἴρειν is used in the same connection by
Ar. Eccl. 261 ἡμεῖς δέ γ᾽
ἢν αἴρωσ᾽ (sc.
οἱ τοξόται),
ἐᾶν κελεύσομεν, but no exact parallel
for the use of the middle has yet been found—the nearest
seems to be Eur.
I. T. 1201
οὐ γάρ ποτ᾽ ἄν νιν ἠράμην βάθρων
ἄπο: cf. Ar.
Ach. 1140
τὴν ἀσπίδ᾽ αἴρου καὶ βάδιζ᾽ ὦ παῖ λαβών;
ibid. 953.
21.
περὶ τῶν τῆς πόλεως διοικήσεως. So B and T, but in
both the copyist had doubts as to the text. It is usual to drop
either
τῶν or
διοικήσεως: Kroschel transposes
τῶν and
περί.
Sauppe retains the MSS. reading, making
περὶ govern
διοικήσεως—but this is very harsh.
τὰ τῆς πόλεως διοικήσεως is a
periphrasis for
ἡ πόλεως διοίκησις (for the omission of the article
with
πόλεως cf.
Polit. 296E
τοῦτον δεῖ καὶ περὶ ταῦτα τὸν ὄρον
εἶναι τόν γε ἀληθινώτατον ὀπθῆς ρόλεως διοικήσεως, ὃν ὁ σοφὸς καὶ
ἀγαθὸς ἀνὴρ διοικήσει τὸ τῶν ἀρχομένων), ‘the city's administration’ being contrasted with
τῶν ἐν τέχνῃ διοίκησις. The whole
phrase
περὶ τῶν τῆς πόλεως διοικήσεως corresponds to
318Eκαὶ
ρεπὶ τῶν τῆς ρόλεως, ὅρως τὰ τῆς ρόλεως δυνατώτατος ἂν εἴη καὶ
πράττειν καὶ λέγειν.
23.
ἀνιστάμενος. The audience sat in the assembly: cf.
Rep.
VI. 492B
ὅταν, εἶπον, ξυγκαθεζόμενοι ἁθρόοι πολλοὶ εἰς ἐκκλησίας—
ψέγωσι κτλ.
27.
μαθών. Heindorf quotes many cases of the transition
from plural to singular in Plato (e.g. below,
324B: the change is
justified here because in each case the reproach would be
addressed to a single person.
29.
μὴ τοίνυν ὅτι—ἀλλὰ ἰδίᾳ. See on
Apol. 40D οἶμαι ἂν μὴ
ὅτι ἰδιώτην τινά, ἀλλὰ τὸν μέγαν βασιλέα κτλ.
31.
οὐχ οιοί τε ἄλλοις παραδιδόναι. Plato comments on the
inability of statesmen to teach their sons political sagacity in
Meno, 93B ff., citing Themistocles, Aristides, Pericles and
Thucydides as cases in point. Cf.
Alc. I, 118E ff.
33.
ἃ μὲν διδασκάλων εἴχετο. The phrase is used by Plato
in the other passages where he deals with this topic: cf, below,
324D Meno, 93D and 94A.
36.
νέμονται ὥσπερ ἄφετοι. νέμεσθαι is properly ‘to graze’,
and
ἄφετος is said
de grege numini alicui consecrato (Heindorf):
cf.
Critias, 119D
ἀφέτων ὄντων ταύρων ἐν τῷ τοῦ Ποσειδῶνος
ἱερῷ. The same expression occurs in
Rep. VI. 498C ὅταν δὲ λήγη̣
μὲν ἡ π̔ώμη, ρολιτικῶν δὲ καὶ στπατειῶν ἐκτὸς γίγνηται, τότε ἤδη
ἀφέτους νέμεσθαι καὶ μηδὲν ἄλλο πράττειν. Here the object of
νέμεσθαι is virtually the clause
ἐάν που—τῇ ἀρετῇ ‘going to and
fro by themselves they graze like creatures set apart upon whatever excellence etc.’: cf. (for the use of
ἐάν)
Rep. VII. 528A
φθονοῖς μὴν οὐδ᾽ ἂν ἄλλῳ εἴ τίς τι δύναιτο ἀπ᾽ αὐτῶν ὄνασθαι.
ἐάν που αὐτόματοι περιτύχωσιν τῇ ἀρετῇ. αὐτομάτω̣
(used as in
Theaet. 180C,
Polit. 271D
ὃ δ᾽ ἤρου περὶ τοῦ πάντα
αὐτόματα γίγνεσθαι τοῖς ἀνθρώποις) agreeing with
ἀρετῇ would
make the expression more pointed, and avoid the slight contradiction involved in the expression
αὐτόματοι περιτύχωσιν
(since one cannot spontaneously
fall in with a thing), but
αὐτόματοι is not to be pressed, and should be understood as
equivalent to
ἀπὸ τοῦ αὐτομάτου (cf.
323C.
37.
Κλεινίαν. The author of the
First Alcibiades makes
Alcibiades himself speak of his younger brother as
μαινόμενος
ἄνθρωπος (118E).
39.
μὴ διαφθαρῇ δή. δή adds a touch of irony to spare the
feelings of Alcibiades.
41.
καταθέμενος ἐν Ἀρίφρονος. According to Plutarch
(
Alcib. ch. 1) Ariphron shared with Pericles the guardianship of
Alcibiades. Ariphron was Pericles' brother.
42.
ἀπέδωκε τούτῳ, i.e. Pericles to Alcibiades. Pericles is
humorously represented as restoring his ward in despair to the
very man who was suspected of corrupting him: and Alcibiades
is again appeased.
45.
οὔτε τῶν ἀλλοτρίων. See
Gorg. 515C ff., where it is
argued that Pericles, Cimon and Miltiades made none of their
fellow-citizens better.
48.
κάμπτομαι. Stallbaum quotes Thuc. III. 58. I
καίτοι
ἀξιοῦμέν γε—καμφθῆναι ὑμᾶς καὶ μεταγνῶναι.
49.
πολλῶν μὲν—τὰ δὲ αὐτὸν ἐξηυρηκέναι. It is implied
that Protagoras' originality is not equal to his industry. The
MSS. have
ἐξευρηκέναι, but in the perfect as in past tenses
generally initial
ευ became
ηυ: see on
315Babove.
52.
ἀλλ᾽ ἐπίδειξον. See below on
ἐπιδειξάμενος in
328D
53.
ὡς πρεσβύτερος νεωτέροις.
Gorg. 527A τάχα δ᾽ οὖν
ταῦτα μῦθός σοι δοκεῖ λέγεσθαι ὥσπερ γραός.
54.
ἢ λόγῳ διεξελθών. So BT: Cobet requires
ἢ λόγῳ
διεξέλθω, but
λόγῳ διεξελθών contrasts with
μῦθον λέγων, not with
ἐπιδείξω, which belongs to both participial clauses. For the
aorist participle (where we should expect the present) cf., with
Sauppe,
Theaet. 167D ἀμφισβήτει λόγῳ ἀντιδιεξελθών.
