James Adam, The Republic of Plato

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διδάξεται. Thompson, Cobet, and others peremptorily call for διδάξει. See however Riddell Digest of Idioms § 87. Riddell conclusively shews (1) that in Men. 93 D ἐδιδάξατο as well as ἐπαιδεύσατο is said of a parent teaching his own son (a passage misunderstood—I think—by Jebb on Soph. Ant. 356: cf. Men. 93 C), (2) that ἐδίδαξε is used of a parent getting his sons taught by others in Men. 94 B and 94 D (bis). Another example of the second usage is Prot. 324 D. The fact is that “the Active Voice is quite as susceptible as the Middle of the meaning ‘to get a thing done by another’; neither Voice, however, by any proper inherent force, but in virtue solely of the common principle, that qui facit per alium facit per se,” Riddell. Jebb (l.c.) observes that “once or twice ἐδιδαξάμην is merely ἐδίδαξα with the idea of the teacher's interest superadded”: it may be doubted if “once or twice” is strong enough, but at all events this is the usage here, and in V 467 E. The active διδάσκῃ is appropriately used of teaching others (ἄλλους κτλ.); in διδάξεται the personal interest reappears, for it is the sons who are the prominent pupils (whence ἢ ἄλλους and not καὶ ἄλλους). Richter's view (Fl. Jahrb. 1867 p. 147) that διδάξεται denotes the result of the action rather than the action itself is partly true, but it is not the middle which gives it this force. In Ar. Clouds 783, as Socrates is not Strepsiades' father, we may accept Elmsley's emendation διδάξαιμ᾽ ἄν for διδαξαίμην without prejudice to the present case.

αὐτοί: viz. οἱ τεχνῖται: see II 377 C note We need not change τεχνῶν to τεχνιτῶν.