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τοὺς ἔξωθεν κτλ. Isocrates seems to have taken this as a personal attack, as perhaps it was intended to be. His reply may be found in Antid. 260 ff. περὶ τοὺς πολιτικοὺς λόγους ἡμεῖς ὄντες, οὓς ἐκεῖνοί φασιν εἶναι φιλαπεχθήμονας (cf. φιλαπεχθημόνως ἔχοντας here), πολὺ πραότεροι τυγχάνομεν αὐτῶν ὄντες: οἱ μὲν γὰρ ἀεί τι περὶ ἡμῶν φλαῦρον λέγουσιν, ἐγὼ δ᾽ οὐδὲν ἂν εἴποιμι τοιοῦτον, ἀλλὰ ταῖς ἀληθείαις χρήσομαι περὶ αὐτῶν κτλ. See the interesting discussion in Dümmler l.c. pp. 8 ff. αὑτοῖς and not αὐτοῖς is certainly what Plato wrote. False philosophers, like bad scholars, are always abusing one another. The middle, which is reciprocal, is also decisive in favour of αὑτοῖς: cf. Charm. 154 A λοιδορουμένους ἀλλήλοις. J. and C. (with Stallbaum and the editors generally, except Schneider) read αὐτοῖς, remarking that “it was by no means an uncommon practice of the old philosophers to abuse the people.” Plato is not speaking of the old philosophers at all, but only of sophists and pretenders, who do not abuse, but flatter and cajole the people (493 A ff.). ἀεὶ περὶ ἀνθρώπων κτλ. The seeker after Truth does not indulge in personalities (cf. Arist. Eth. Nic. IV 9. 1125^{a} 5 ff. and Rhet. II 4. 1381^{b} 7), or scandal (Theaet. 173 D: cf. 174 E ff.). His singleminded pursuit of Truth leaves him neither time nor inclination to talk about people. πολύ γε: sc. ἥκιστα. Adimantus accommodates his answer to the last clause of Socrates' question. See on V 465 E. σχολή. Cf. Theaet. 172 D ff.
The Republic of Plato. James Adam. 1902. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press.
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