τίς οὖν ἡ παιδεία; ἢ χαλεπὸν εὑρεῖν βελτίω τῆς ὑπὸ τοῦ πολλοῦ χρόνου εὑρημένης; What is this education? Or is it difficult to find a better one than that which is found after a long time? Is this translation correct? The source is Plato but I do not know from where.
Τίς οὖν ἡ παιδεία; ἢ χαλεπὸν εὑρεῖν βελτίω τῆς ὑπὸ τοῦ πολλοῦ χρόνου ηὑρημένης;
Plat. Rep. 2.376e
What is this education then? Or is it difficult to find anything better than what has been discovered over many years?
Loeb translation.
thanx, it seems I have to improve my English as well.
Actually I think you gave a pretty good literal translation. Sometimes the literal comes out with funny English, and it just needs some polish.
Contra the Loeb and Philo, I don’t really think the articles are captured quite correctly. παιδεια has the article because it’s “the education” they are inventing for their guardians. And I think πολλου χρονου is a definite period? Not any education invented after a long search. “this long time”. Traditional education here in Athens.
Just by the by, sometimes but not always plugging a quotation into a search engine will lead, as in this case, to the source.