ἐν τῇ τέχνη: ἔν τινι εἶναι, be engaged in anything. Cf. Meno 91 e οἶμαι γὰρ αὐτὸν (Protagoras) ἀποθανεῖν ἐγγὺς καὶ ἑβδομήκοντα ἔτη γεγονότα, τεσσαράκοντα δὲ ἐν τῇ τέχνῃ ὄντα, Rep. vii. 531 b ταὐτὸν γὰρ ποιοῦσι τοῖς ἐν τῇ ἀστρονομίᾳ, Soph. O. T. 562 τότ᾽ οὖν ὁ μάντις οὗτος ἦν ἐν τῇ τέχνῃ;—
τὰ ξύμπαντα: the years of his entire life, contrasted with those spent in studies. Cf. Hdt. v. 120 πεσόντων δὲ τῶν πάντων πολλῶν μάλιστα Μιλήσιοι ἐπλήγησαν, but while many fell from all the forces engaged, the Milesians suffered most severely. See Introd. p. 2.
οὐδενὸς κτἑ.: in a confirmation of what has preceded, the asyndeton is common. See G. 153, N. 4; H. 1003 a for inverted assimilation. Similar pleonasm in Dem. XX. 3 οὐ γὰρ ἔστιν ἐφ᾽ ὅτου τοῦτο οὐ πεπόνθατε τῶν πάντων.
ὥστε: i.e. “the former great sophists failed in attempting to cover this their real employment; I choose the safer course of avowing it as my own, and therefore strongly prefer to answer your question, not in private, but in the presence of the other sophists and their friends.” The elaborate prelude is followed by a short strain; and Socrates failed to catch the sequence (ὑπώπτευσα γὰρ κτἑ.).
ἁπάντων: const. with τῶν ἔνδον ὄντων.
καὶ ἐγὼ κτἑ.: cf. 335 a, Euthyd. 302 a κἀγὼ—ᾔδη γὰρ ὅτι κτἑ.
ἐνδείξασθαι καὶ καλλωπίσασθαι: i.e. ἐνδειξάμενον καλλωπίσασθαι, see on 333 d.
