The subject of this inquiry was several phrases used by Plato to express the contrast between ‘being’ and ‘appearing’, τῷ ὂντι and ὂντως on the one hand and ὡς ἀληθῶς, τῇ ἀληθείᾁ, ἀληθῶς on the other. Schanz's reasons for choosing these expressions were their independence of the dialogue form, the frequent necessity for a philosophical writer of bringing out the above contrast, and the series of synonyms which they provided.

In the case of the first two synonyms, τῷ ὂντι and ὂντως, though the latter did not find a place in Plato's literary vocabulary for some years, once introduced its greater succinctness gradually won preference for it over τῷ ὂντι, until finally it replaced the earlier expression completely. Its superiority is most manifest in those instances where the participle τῷò ὂν is involved; in fact, when this is in the dative, τῷ ὂντι is out of the question, e.g. Rep. vi 49Ob5 τῷ ὂντι ὂντως, Tim. 52C5 τῷ δὲ ὂντως ὂντι. The increasing use which Plato made of ὂντως is illustrated in Table 7.1 (P. 35).

The instances in the Euthd. (305e) and Crat. (413e) are dubious, the former extremely so. Editions earlier than that of Hermann in the Teubner series read ὂντως in both cases. Since Hermann (1879) opinion has varied. Whereas he and the Budé edition (1931) accept οὔτως the reading of the best manuscripts BTW for the Euthd. and ὂντως the reading of W for Crat., Burnet prefers ὂντως in the Euthd. (though attested only by an inferior MS, Venetum 184) and the reading of BT, ὂντος, in the Crat.