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σκαιότητι. ‘Ineptitude.’ Cf. Soph. Ant. 1028 with Jebb's note. ἀχαριστίας is ‘ungraciousness.’ εἰ μὴ εἴη πάρεργον occurs also in Phaed. 91 A (according to the Bodleian MS). Phrases of this kind seldom admit of variation; for which reason we should hesitate to admit the εἰ μὴ εἰ πάρεργον of Π^{1}. ὅπως ἄν κτλ. The soul has, so to speak, two strings, the φιλόσοφον and the θυμοειδές, which make a kind of ἁρμονία when they are tuned to the proper pitch by Music and Gymnastic. The θυμοειδές is slackened (ἀνίεται) by μουσική, tightened or braced (ἐπιτείνεται) by γυμναστική (410 D, 411 A—E); conversely, we must suppose that the φιλόσοφον is slackened by γυμναστική, and tightened by μουσική. Music and Gymnastic are therefore both of them necessary for each of the two strings (cf. IV 441 E note), although the slackening of the θυμοειδές of itself also tightens the φιλόσοφον, which is likewise slackened when the tension of the other is increased. Cf. Tim. 88 B, C. The effect of all this musical imagery is to suggest that Character is the Music of the Soul: cf. Lach. 188 D.
The Republic of Plato. James Adam. 1902. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press.
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