26. ἐὰν μὲν πρὸς λόγον κτλ. πρὸς λόγον does not (except
per accidens) mean ‘relevant’ but is equivalent to εὔλογον:
compare the phrases μετὰ λόγου, κατὰ λόγον; and, for the use of
πρός, πρὸς ὀργήν, πρὸς βίαν and the like. So in 343D 344A Here
the meaning is further explained by the clause καὶ τὸ αὐτὸ—
ἀγαθόν. τὸ σκέμμα is quite different from σκέψις: it is not the
inquiry itself, but the proposition to be inquired into, viz. that
Pleasure is good: if this proposition is reasonable, says Protagoras, we shall accept it, if not, we shall dispute it. The sentiment does not deserve the scorn which Heindorf pours upon it,
if only we catch the force of πρὸς λόγον, σκέμμα and ἀμφισβητήσομεν.
31. δίκαιος—σύ. Plato very frequently omits the copula
ἐστίν; εἶ and ἐσμέν more rarely, εἶναι often, ἦν rarely, parts of
the conjunctive and optative very rarely. Schanz, Novae
Commentationes Platonicae, 31-5.
κατάρχεις: a lofty word (here used with a touch of irony)
with religious associations: the middle is used of beginning a
sacrifice. Cf. Symp. 177E ἀλλὰ τύχῃ ἀγαθῆ̣ καταρχέτω Φαῖδρος
καὶ ἐγκωμιαζέτω τὸν Ἔρωτα and ibid. 176A.
Plato. Protagoras. J. Adam & A. M. Adam. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press. 1893.
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