James Adam, The Republic of Plato

---

ἁπλῆ -- πόλεμον. The sentence is usually explained by carrying on ἡ βελτίστη γυμναστικὴ ἂν εἴη and regarding ἁπλῆ—γυμναστική as the predicate both to ἡ βελτίστη γυμναστική and to ἡ τῶν περὶ τὸν πόλεμον. Besides its extreme cumbrousness, this view makes Plato say that the best gymnastic is good (ἐπιεικής is practically synonymous with ἀγαθή), which is, to say the least, unnecessary. It seems to me much simpler and better to make ἐπιεικὴς γυμναστική the subject to ἁπλῆ. The meaning is: will the best course of training be sister to the music we described? How so? ἐπιεικὴς γυμναστική, like ἐπιεικὴς μουσική (this is the force of καί), is (ἐστὶ understood) ἁπλῆ, and so above all is that of soldiers. Hartman, who saw that the passage must be taken in this way, would write ἡ for καί, and I once preferred καὶ <ἡ>, but the article can be dispensed with (cf. 401 D note), and καί is necessary. As the emphasis is primarily on γυμναστική, some may prefer to read γυμναστικὴ ἐπιεικής or γυμναστικὴ ἡ ἐπίεικής; but if the stress of the voice is laid on γυμναστική, and ἐπιεικὴς γυμναστική treated as a single expression (cf. V 453 A note), I think the text may stand.

οὔτε ἰχθύσιν κτλ. Cf. Eubulus ap. Athen. I 25 C (Jackson).