ON TWO PASSAGES IN THE CRITO. 



BY H. W. MAGOUN. 



kiyo'^Tor^ a'^riXsye^ xai aoi -siaop.ar zl di /j.ij, -aoaat rjdr/, 3) fiaxapts^ 

 ~o)JAy.'.^ tj.o'. '/d-fLO'^ zu'j abzljv Aoydv^ (6q xpij i»'/-'^ds axo/riuv ^A''}ry^a{wv 

 i;xk d—iivaC wq iyco -sp\ -o/J.ou —w.oup.a'. -slaai as zaora -pdzrttv^ d'A).d 

 jJLTj axo'^Toq. 



The above passage occurs in the C r i t o of Plato, 48 D. and 

 E. The works -ziaai a;, near the end, seem to have proved a 

 veritable crux to the grammarians and the opinions concerning 

 them have been various. They are spoken by Socrates in his 

 argument veith Crito, in which he tries to show him the fallacy of 

 urging an escape from the prison, to avoid the fatal hemlock, so 

 soon to be administered to himself in accordance with the sen- 

 tence pronounced against him by the Athenians. A brief review 

 of the various views held, so far as the limited library resources 

 at my command has supplied them, will be stated first, after 

 which will be given what seems to me to be the meaning of the 

 passage. 



The MSS. without exception, so far as I can discover, read 

 as above, -ziaoJ. as. . . . Schleiermacher, Stallbaum, Elber- 

 ling, and many other commentators have adopted this reading, 

 taken <ji as the subject of --laa.'., supplied Ipi as its object, and 

 understood 1<j.oo with axovro?. . . . Jowett evidently agrees 

 with this, since he renders; "for I am extremely desirous to be 

 persuaded by you, but not against my own better judgment." 

 . . . Bekker and some others take az as the object of -ziaai 

 and supply coo with«zy>rw?, rendering: "As I esteem it of gseat 

 importance to persuade you to do this, but not to do it against 



