T. G. Tucker, Commentary on Thucydides: Book 8

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. ἐπεκρύπτοντο . . . τῷ ὀνόματι μὴ . . . ὀνομάζειν, i.e. ὥστε μὴ ὀνομάζειν. For the construction cf. ii. 53, ἃ πρότερον ἀπεκρύπτετο μὴ καθ᾽ ἡδονὴν ποεῖν. Render literally, ‘for they nevertheless as yet hid (themselves i.e.) their purpose under the name of the 5000, so as not (i.e. not daring) to use flatly the terms “whoever wishes the people to rule,”’ ὀνομάζειν rather than λέγειν because the point lies in the express name δῆμον as opposed to τοὺς πεντακισχιλίους.

ὦσι ‘exist,’ sc. οἱ πεντακισχίλιοι.

καὶ πρός τινα εἰπών τις κ.τ.λ. ‘and for fear that, if a man were to say anything to another, he might in ignorance make a mistake,’ i e. the man to whom he was suggesting a democratical revolution might turn out to be himself one of the 5000.

ἄντικρυς † ἂν δῆμον ἡγούμενοι If the reading is sound there is a very peculiar confusion of ἄντικρυς δῆμον ἡγούμενοι and ἄντικρυς ἂν εἶναι δῆμον ἡγούμενοι. ἂν may possibly be an error for δὴ (ΑΝ and ΔΗ Cobet, Nov. Lect. p. 539), or less easily for αὖ, ‘democracy once again.’ For ἄντικρυς with noun cf. οὐδἐν ἢ ἄντικρυς δουλεία (i. 122). To simply omit ἂν with Kruger, P-S, etc., is scarcely criticism, and yet ἂν cannot be allowed, in default of something parallel, to stand without εἶναι or some similar verb.