James Adam, The Republic of Plato

καπνὸν καὶ φλυαρίαν. This contemptuous, half-proverbial, use of καπνὸς is illustrated by Blaydes on Ar. Clouds 320.

, E 27 τὸν δὲ φιλόσοφον κτλ. ‘But the lover of knowledge, said I, what value shall we suppose that he assigns to the other pleasures compared with that of knowing how the truth stands and always enjoying a kindred sort of pleasure while he learns? Will he not think them very far away?’ (viz. from ἡ τοῦ εἰδέναι κτλ.). The χρηματιστικός considers the pleasures of honour and learning οὐδενὸς ἀξίας, compared with his own; the φιλότιμος similarly, mutatis mutandis; what then does the φιλόσοφος consider his pleasures to be compared with the others? What are his pleasures? Let us see. He either knows (i.e. has learnt) the truth in any given instance or is getting to know (i.e. is learning) it; his pleasures are therefore that of knowing and that of learning, i.e. τοιοῦτόν τι τῆς ἡδονῆς, for the pleasures of learning are akin to those of knowing. From each of these pleasures those of gain and fame are far removed. With the general sense, cf. Phaed. 64 D: for the use of ἐν IV 429 C, D: for τοιούτῳ τινὶ τῆς ἡδονῆς Xen. An. I 7. 5 ἐν τοιούτῳ εἷναι τοῦ κινδύνου προσιόντος: and for the position of τῆς ἡδονῆς Braun de hyperb. Pl. II p. 4, where many examples of similar hyperbata are quoted. The MSS read ποιώμεθα (see cr. n.), but Graser's emendation is in my opinion certainly right. I have taken τῆς ἡδονῆς with τοιούτῳ τινί: others wrongly, as I believe, join it to οὐ πάνυ πόρρω. See on the whole passage App. III.