James Adam, The Republic of Plato

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φρονεῖν ἄνευ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ. The last three words were suspected by Morgenstern and bracketed by Stallbaum and others. If we take these words (like ἄνευ ταύτης above) with τἄλλα, they are not superfluous; ‘eo enim quod quis reliqua omnia excepto bono intelligit, efficitur ut nihil, quod pulchrum et bonum sit, intelligat’ (Schneider). That some writers might have omitted the phrase is no ground for interfering with Plato's characteristic fulness of expression.

505B - 506A What then is the Good? The majority answer ‘Pleasure,’ others, who are more refined, ‘Knowledge.’ Neither of these views is tenable. Men are constantly disputing about the Good, but its existence is practically admitted by all, for it is the ultimate object of all endeavour. The Idea of the Good must be known by our Guardians; for unless they know the connexion between the Good, and particular instances of the just, the honourable etc., they cannot guard the latter, or even indeed be said to know them in any adequate measure.

τοῖς μὲν πολλοῖς κτλ. We need not (with Tietzel Die Id. d. Guten u. d. Gottesbegriff p. 9) find in this an allusion to Aristippus and the Cyrenaics. Plato means what he says and no more. Pleasure is always the summum bonum of the Many: cf. Arist. Eth. Nic. I 3. 1095^{b} 16. In τοῖς κομψοτέροις Dümmler (Antisth. p. 43) and others have recognised Antisthenes: cf. RP^{7} § 218 B note b. Hermann (Gesch. u. System p. 329 note 323) interprets the words—more correctly, I think—of Socrates (cf. Xen. Mem. IV 5. 6) and his immediate followers, Antisthenes included. The Megarians sometimes held the same view (D. L. II 106). See also next note.