R. G. Bury, The Symposium of Plato

κυοῦσι. κύησις, “pregnancy,” is properly the condition intermediate between conception (σύλληψις) and delivery (τόκος). Cp. Achill. Tat. I. 10 καὶ νεανίσκος ἔρωτος πρωτοκύμων οὐ δεῖται διδασκαλίας πρὸς τὸν τοκετόν. For the language and thought of this whole passage, cp. Theaet. 150 ff., Phaedrus 251 A ff., Tim. 91 A: also Max. Tyr. diss. XVI. 4, p. 179 κυοῦσι δὲ πᾶσαι μὲν ψυχαὶ φύσει, ὠδίνουσι δὲ ἔθει, τίκτουσι δὲ λόγῳ κτλ.: Clem. Al. Strom. V. 552 B: Themist. or. XXXII. p. 355 D.

ἐν τῇ ἡλικίᾳ γ. I adopt Badham's correction τηι for τινι since the change involved is very slight and ἔν τινι ἡλικίᾳ is unexampled in Plato: cp. Gorg. 484 C ἐν τῇ ἡλικίᾳ: Rep. 461 B; Phaedrus 209 B below; 255 A; Meno 89 B. Plato also uses ἐν ἡλικίᾳ, e.g. Rep. 461 B: Charm. 154 A: Laws 924 E.

τίκτειν δὲ...καλῷ. There is much to be said for Rettig's view that this sentence (as well as the next) is a gloss. As he argues, the words “gehören also ihrem Inhalte nach nicht an die Stelle, an welcher sie stehen, sondern sie müssten nach dem Satze ἔστι δὲ τοῦτο κτλ. folgen. An dieser Stelle collidiren sie aber mit den gleichbedeutenden Worten τὰ δὲ ἐν τῷ ἀναρμόστῳ...ἁρμόττον, für deren Glosse ich sie ansehe. Worauf sollten auch die Worte ἔστι δὲ... πρᾶγμα gehen, wenn ihnen die Worte τίκτειν δὲ...καλῷ unmittelbar vorangingen?” It is just possible, however, to retain the clause as a kind of parenthetic addendum to the preceding sentence, which forestalls, somewhat confusingly, the sentences τὰ δ᾽ ...ἁρμόττον. The omission of the article before καλῷ, confirmed by the Papyrus, is certainly an improvement. For the thought, cp. Plotin. Enn. III. V. p. 157 B.

[ἡ γὰρ...τόκος ἐστίν.] Most edd. (except Hommel and Stallb.) agree in excising this clause as a meaningless intrusion. Hommel and Stallb. explain the words as intended to introduce the first part of the exposition of τόκος, viz. τόκος κατὰ σῶμα: and Stallb. renders “nam (γάρ=nemlich) viri et mulieris coitus, est ille nihil aliud nisi τόκος.” Susemihl's comment is “die Zeugung werde als die wahrhafte Aufhebung der Geschlechtsdifferenz bezeichnet.” But, as Rettig shows, none of these attempts to justify the clause are satisfactory. Perhaps it is a gloss on ἡλικίᾳ.

ἔστι δὲ τοῦτο κτλ. Cp. Laws 773 E, 721 C γαμεῖν δὲ...διανοηθέντα ὡς ἔστιν ᾗ τὸ ἀνθρώπινον γένος φύσει τινὶ μετείληφεν ἀθανασίας: οὗ καὶ πέφυκεν ἐπιθυμίαν ἴσχειν πᾶς πᾶσαν κτλ.: Cicero Tusc. I. 35 quid procreatio liberorum, quid propagatio nominis...significant, nisi nos futura etiam cogitare?: Clem. Al. Strom. II. p. 421 C ἐπισκευάσας τὴν ἀθανασίαν τοῦ γένους ἡμῶν (sc. διὰ τοῦ γάμου), καὶ οἱονεὶ διαμονήν τινα παισὶ παίδων μεταλαμπαδευομένην.

ἐν τῷ ἀναρμόστῳ. For the connexion of Eros with ἁρμονία, see 187 A ff.; for harmony of the body, cp. Rep. 591 D; and of the soul, Rep. 430 E ff., Phaedo 85 E ff.