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ἀποθνῄσκειν ἐάσουσιν. Cf. Plut. Apophth. Lac. 231 A κράτιστον δὲ ἔλεγε (sc. Παυσανίας) τοῦτον ἰατρὸν εἶναι τὸν μὴ κατασήποντα τοὺς ἀρρωστοῦντας, ἀλλὰ τάχιστα θάπτοντα. In laying down this law, Plato speaks from the standpoint of the Regal or Political Art, prescribing for the subordinate arts of Medicine and Justice the conditions under which it is good to live and good to die. See Grote Plato I p. 362. αὐτοί = ipsi is said in opposition to the mere ‘permission to die’ which bodily disease requires. αὐταί (suggested by Richards) is unnecessary: see II 377 C note 410A - 412B Our young men will seldom need the help of judges and doctors, thanks to their education in Music and Gymnastic. They will pursue both arts with a view to the cultivation of the soul rather than of the body. Exclusive devotion to one of the two makes men in the one case hard and fierce, in the other, effeminate and mild. The psychological elements of Spirit and the Love of Knowledge must be attuned to one another. Music and Gymnastic are intended to effect this harmony: and excess or deficiency in either of these educative instruments reflects itself in morbid and degenerate phases of character. He who can best blend Music with Gymnastic is the true musician; and such an one we must provide in our city, if it is to last. ἆρ᾽ οὖν κτλ. This epilogue describes concisely the aim and underlying principle of Plato's earlier scheme of education. Its object is to produce citizens who shall combine gentleness and strength—sensibility and courage—intellectual activity and moral stedfastness. It is an ideal in which the distinctive virtues of Athens and Sparta—of Greece and Rome—are united and transfigured. See II 375 C and the passages referred to there. The ideal of Pericles (φιλοσοφεῖν ἄνευ μαλακίας) in many ways resembles Plato's (Thuc. II 40). Cf. also Nettleship Hell. pp. 88—90 and Bosanquet Companion pp. 115—117. It is noteworthy that the doctrine of this section is best explained by a comparison with one of the dialogues often held to be late (Pol. 306 C—311 C): see also Laws 773 C, D. This is not pointed out by Krohn in his otherwise acute analysis (Pl. St. pp. 24—28).
The Republic of Plato. James Adam. 1902. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press.
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