James Adam, The Republic of Plato

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, C 11 ἢ αὐτὰ ἐκεῖνα πράττειν . καλῶς should be repeated with πράττειν, and ἤ is simply ‘or,’ not ‘or else.’ The alternative rendering given by J. and C. ‘or else—if able to imitate—is not able to do the things themselves,’ does violence to both grammar and sense.

δημιουργοὺς ἐλευθερίας. An artificial and somewhat strained expression, selected in order at once to compare and contrast the guardians with other artists. They too are artists, and their ἔργον is Freedom. To ἐλευθερία Plato attaches his own meaning: true freedom lies in the subordination of the lower to the higher, both in private conduct and in political life: cf. Xen. Mem. I 2. 5, 6 and infra IX 577 D, E, X 617 E notes It is in this sense that ἐλευθέρους is used below.

τούτοις: viz. τοῖς δημιουργοῖς ἐλευθερίας τῆς πόλεως.

ἵνα μὴ -- ἀπολαύσωσιν reveals the object of this attack upon the drama: cf. II 383 C and infra 401 B. An admirable illustration of the sentiment is quoted by Susemihl from Plut. Sol. 29. 6 μετὰ δὲ τὴν θέαν προσαγορεύσας (sc. ὁ Σόλων) αὐτὸν (viz. τὸν Θέσπιν) ἠρώτησεν, εἰ τοσούτων ἐναντίον οὐκ αἰσχύνεται τηλικαῦτα ψευδόμενος. φήσαντος δὲ τοῦ Θέσπιδος μὴ δεινὸν εἷναι τὸ μετὰ παιδιᾶς λέγειν τοιαῦτα καὶ πράσσειν, σφόδρα τῇ βακτηρίᾳ τὴν γῆν ὁ Σόλων πατάξας Ταχὺ μέντοι τὴν παιδιάν, ἔφη, ταύτην ἐπαινοῦντες καὶ τιμῶντες εὑρήσομεν ἐν τοῖς συμβολαίοις. To omit μή (with A and a few other MSS), and govern ἵνα by μιμεῖσθαι above is grammatically difficult, and gives an unsatisfactory sense. The genitive τοῦ εἶναι has been called in question by Hartman (following Ast) on the ground that “qui τοῦ εἶναι (sc. αἰσχροὶ) ἀπολαύσωσιν iam sunt turpitudine infecti.” This would be true, if Plato had written the present ἀπολαύωσιν, but the aorist is ingressive, and τοῦ εἶναι ἀπολαύσωσιν is virtually equivalent to γένωνται τοῦθ̓ <*> μιμοῦνται. Few will acquiesce in Ast's conjecture τὸ εἶναι, or in Stallbaum's view that τοῦ εἶναι is a partitive genitive.