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- Herausgeber: Booksell-Verlag
- Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
- Sprache: Englisch
The Complete Works of Plato is an anthology that brings together the full spectrum of Platonic dialogues, showcasing his profound philosophical inquiries into ethics, epistemology, and politics. The collection features iconic texts such as The Republic, where Plato delineates his vision of an ideal society, and The Symposium, a compelling examination of love. Written in a dialogical style, these works provide a dynamic exploration of ideas through the conversations of Socratic figures, creating a rich tapestry of intellectual engagement that has profoundly influenced Western philosophy. Plato, a student of Socrates and teacher of Aristotle, occupies a pivotal position in the history of thought. His experiences during the turbulent political climate of ancient Athens, including the execution of Socrates, shaped his philosophical outlook, leading him to probe the nature of justice and the ideal state. Showcasing his mastery of dialectics, Plato's dialogues are not mere theoretical texts but are imbued with emotional depth and rhetorical flair. Readers interested in the foundations of philosophical thought and the exploration of human knowledge will find The Complete Works of Plato indispensable. This collection not only provides insight into the complexities of existence but also invites readers to engage with timeless questions that remain relevant in contemporary discourse. In this enriched edition, we have carefully created added value for your reading experience: - A comprehensive Introduction outlines these selected works' unifying features, themes, or stylistic evolutions. - The Author Biography highlights personal milestones and literary influences that shape the entire body of writing. - A Historical Context section situates the works in their broader era—social currents, cultural trends, and key events that underpin their creation. - A concise Synopsis (Selection) offers an accessible overview of the included texts, helping readers navigate plotlines and main ideas without revealing critical twists. - A unified Analysis examines recurring motifs and stylistic hallmarks across the collection, tying the stories together while spotlighting the different work's strengths. - Reflection questions inspire deeper contemplation of the author's overarching message, inviting readers to draw connections among different texts and relate them to modern contexts. - Lastly, our hand‐picked Memorable Quotes distill pivotal lines and turning points, serving as touchstones for the collection's central themes.
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Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023
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THE COMPLETE WORKS OF PLATO
Table of Contents
Introduction
The overarching scope of 'THE COMPLETE WORKS OF PLATO' is to assemble a definitive collection of Plato's philosophical oeuvre, providing readers with a comprehensive understanding of his thoughts and contributions to Western philosophy. This collection endeavors to encapsulate the essence of Plato's teachings, delivering not merely a selection of texts but a cohesive exploration of his intellectual journey. By presenting the entirety of Plato's works, this collection aims to facilitate both scholarly study and personal engagement with one of history's most profound thinkers. Readers are invited to traverse the intricate landscapes of his dialogues, revealing the depth and breadth of Plato's philosophical inquiries.
This extensive anthology includes a diverse array of text types, reflecting the multifaceted nature of Plato's writing. The collection features dialogues that showcase lively philosophical debates, essays that articulate his theories on ethics, politics, and metaphysics, as well as letters that provide insights into his personal thoughts and relationships. Furthermore, the inclusion of early, middle, late, and pseudonymous works allows for a chronological understanding of Plato's evolving ideas and stylistic approaches. Each genre within this collection contributes to the overall tapestry of his thought, inviting readers to engage with various forms of philosophical expression.
Unifying themes throughout Plato's works include the pursuit of truth, the nature of justice, the ideal state, and the role of the individual within society. His stylistic hallmarks, characterized by dialectical method and allegorical narratives, serve to engage readers in critical reflection. Plato’s exploration of the Theory of Forms, the allegory of the cave, and the concept of philosopher-kings present foundational ideas that have significantly influenced subsequent philosophical discourse. The significance of these texts lies not only in their historical context but also in their enduring relevance, prompting readers to ponder contemporary ethical, political, and metaphysical dilemmas.
Plato's works remain significant as they challenge readers to question their assumptions and engage in critical thinking. The dialogues are crafted in a manner that encourages active participation, inviting readers to enter into a philosophical conversation rather than passively receiving information. This interactive quality revitalizes the texts across centuries, allowing them to resonate with modern audiences. By addressing timeless themes, Plato's writings continue to inspire new interpretations and applications, making this collection an invaluable resource for students, scholars, and anyone curious about the foundations of philosophical thought.
Each section of this compilation, from the early works that lay the groundwork for his philosophical inquiries to the late works that reflect his mature thought, provides a pathway into Plato's intellectual evolution. The 'Early Works' delve into Socratic dialogues, capturing the essence of inquiry through dialectic and the importance of virtue in human life. The 'Middle Works' transition into more systematic philosophical constructions, featuring the Republic and its exploration of justice and the ideal state, while 'Late Works' reveal Plato's more complex ideas concerning the nature of reality and existence. Together, these sections outline a profound intellectual journey.
The inclusion of 'Pseudonymous Works' expands the collection's scope, allowing readers to engage with texts that reflect the philosophical landscape beyond Plato's direct contributions. These works offer insights into the dialogues of his contemporaries and disciples who interpreted and extended his ideas, presenting a dialogue between different philosophical voices. By juxtaposing these pseudonymous texts with Plato's authentic works, readers gain a broader understanding of the intellectual milieu of ancient Greece, witnessing how Plato's philosophy influenced and shaped subsequent thought.
Accompanying the primary texts are 'Additional Items' that enrich the reader’s experience, such as critical essays, annotations, and contextual analyses. These supplementary materials provide insights into the historical, cultural, and philosophical landscapes in which Plato wrote. They illuminate not only the content of his works but also the enduring legacy of his thought in contemporary discussions. By situating Plato within his historical context, the collection aids readers in comprehending the significance of his contributions and their reverberations through the ages.
The prefaces, namely the 'Preface to the First Edition' and the 'Preface to the Second and Third Editions,' serve as important introductions that guide readers into the significance of this comprehensive collection. These prefaces contextualize the collection’s purpose and offer reflections on the impact of Plato’s philosophy on various disciplines. They set the stage for a deeper exploration of his works, inviting both longtime admirers and new readers to appreciate the nuances of his thought. The commentary within the prefaces underscores the transformative potential of engaging with Plato’s ideas.
Plato’s works collectively serve as a profound exploration of the human condition, ethical dilemmas, and the quest for knowledge. The dialogues emphasize the importance of dialogue itself, reminding readers that philosophical inquiry is not a solitary pursuit but a communal endeavor. The Socratic method exemplified in many of his dialogues reinforces critical thinking and self-examination, encouraging readers to pursue their understanding of truth through contemplation and dialogue. This approach underscores the notion that engaging with philosophy is a dynamic process, one that invites continual questioning and evolution of thought.
The enduring nature of Plato's works is evidenced by their continued study and discussion across generations. Scholars from various disciplines, including philosophy, political science, literature, and sociology, find value in his insights, reflecting the interdisciplinary relevance of his thought. The themes of justice, governance, and the nature of reality resonate in contemporary debates, demonstrating that Plato's inquiries remain as pertinent today as they were in ancient times. This timelessness invites readers to engage with the philosophical challenges that shape human existence.
Plato's distinctive style—a synthesis of narrative, metaphor, and philosophical argument—allows for both intellectual rigor and artistic expression. The dialogues frequently feature historical and mythical references, enhancing their depth and appeal. This literary quality distinguishes his philosophical writings, creating a unique blend that captivates readers' minds while stimulating their imaginations. They are not merely theoretical treatises but literary masterpieces that transcend the boundaries of genre, making the collection as engaging as it is enlightening.
The dialogues invite readers into an interactive learning experience, propelling them to articulate their thoughts and engage with complex ideas. Listening to the voices of Socrates and other characters prompts reflection and self-discovery, aligning well with the Socratic maxim: 'An unexamined life is not worth living.' This collection thus serves as a vital resource for anyone seeking not only knowledge but also personal insight and growth, encouraging a continuous pursuit of understanding throughout one's life.
In presenting 'THE COMPLETE WORKS OF PLATO,' the diversity of voices, styles, and perspectives within the dialogues mimics the complexity of human thought itself. While they are united by foundational questions of existence and morality, these works also reflect the richness of intellectual debate. The interplay between differing viewpoints fosters a vibrant philosophical atmosphere and inspires readers to contemplate their own views in relation to others, enhancing the value of engaging with this collection.
As readers navigate Plato’s philosophical landscape, they are invited to grapple with timeless questions that challenge their perceptions of reality, ethics, and the nature of knowledge. The collection serves as both a historical document and a contemporary commentary, encouraging users to reexamine their beliefs within the context of Plato’s insights. Engaging with these texts can lead to profound personal and intellectual transformation, fostering a deeper understanding of one’s place in the world.
Philosophers, students, and casual readers alike will find in this collection a springboard for inspiration and reflection. The systematic arrangement of works allows for a thorough exploration of Plato's philosophical progression, ensuring that readers can witness the evolution of his ideas across different periods. Furthermore, the organization of texts by theme facilitates targeted inquiry, enabling readers to focus on specific topics or concepts that resonate with their interests.
The format of 'THE COMPLETE WORKS OF PLATO' aims to be accessible for a diverse audience. Each dialogue and treatise has been carefully edited with attention to clarity and readability, ensuring that both scholars and newcomers can engage meaningfully with the material. Annotations and explanations embedded throughout enhance comprehension while respecting the original philosophical rigor. This inclusion attests to the commitment to making Plato’s thought approachable and relevant for all who wish to explore his ideas.
In conclusion, I warmly invite you to embark upon this intellectual journey through 'THE COMPLETE WORKS OF PLATO.' Engage with the dialogues, contemplate the philosophical inquiries, and allow the timeless themes to resonate within your own experiences. This collection offers a comprehensive approach to understanding a mind that has shaped the contours of Western thought. May your exploration encourage deep reflection and inspire ongoing dialogue, as you join the tradition of inquiry that Plato so masterfully exemplified.
Author Biography
Introduction
Plato (active in the late 5th and 4th centuries BCE) was an Athenian philosopher whose writings shaped metaphysics, ethics, epistemology, and political theory for subsequent generations. A student of Socrates and teacher of Aristotle, he composed dialogues that explore philosophical problems through dramatic conversation. Founding the Academy in Athens, he created an enduring model for higher learning and research. His major works include Apology, Crito, Phaedo, Gorgias, Meno, Symposium, Republic, Phaedrus, Theaetetus, Sophist, Statesman, Timaeus, Critias, and Laws. Through the theory of Forms, the figure of the philosopher-king, and the method of dialectic, Plato provided a framework that remains central to the humanities and the sciences.
Education and Literary Influences
Plato was born and educated in classical Athens, where elite instruction emphasized music, gymnastics, poetry, and mathematics. In his youth he encountered Socrates, whose relentless questioning and ethical seriousness redirected Plato’s ambitions from poetry and public life toward philosophy. The trial and execution of Socrates in 399 BCE profoundly marked him. Socrates’ example—philosophy as a way of life guided by reason and accountability—became the moral and methodological touchstone of Plato’s dialogues. Plato’s early works preserve Socrates’ voice and methods, while later writings elaborate doctrines that go beyond Socratic elenchus, integrating metaphysical speculation and systematic argument.
After Socrates’ death, ancient sources report that Plato traveled, including to regions in southern Italy and Sicily, where encounters with Pythagorean ideas likely reinforced his valuation of mathematics and orderly cosmology. His dialogues also wrestle with earlier Greek thinkers: the Eleatics (Parmenides and Zeno) on unity and being, Heraclitus on flux, and the Sophists on language, persuasion, and relativism. These influences appear not as simple borrowings but as problems to be clarified, tested, and sometimes transformed. Within Athens, Plato interacted with mathematicians and dialecticians whose work shaped the Academy’s curriculum, encouraging a synthesis of rigorous proof, logical analysis, and philosophical inquiry.
Literary Career
Plato began writing dialogues that staged philosophical investigation as lively, often dramatic conversation. The early dialogues—such as Apology, Euthyphro, Crito, Ion, and Gorgias—largely feature Socrates testing definitions and exposing contradictions. They tend to end in aporia (puzzlement), emphasizing the difficulty of achieving moral and conceptual clarity. Stylistically, these works combine irony, terse questioning, and memorable character portraits. Philosophically, they probe piety, justice, virtue, rhetoric, and the conditions for living well. Even when doctrinal commitments are withheld, the dialogues model a disciplined search for reasons and an ethic of intellectual humility under pressure from public opinion and political authority.
In middle-period works, Plato advances constructive theories while retaining the dialogical form. Meno examines knowledge and learning through the notion of recollection. Phaedo presents arguments for the soul’s immortality and the philosopher’s detachment from bodily distractions. Symposium explores the ascent from desire for particular beauties to contemplation of Beauty itself. Republic offers a comprehensive vision: the theory of Forms, the tripartite soul, justice as psychic and civic harmony, the allegory of the cave, and the ideal of philosopher-kings. These dialogues display rich myth-making alongside analysis, integrating mathematics, education, and politics into a single program aimed at cultivating rational insight.
Plato’s later dialogues become more self-critical and technical. Parmenides tests the coherence of the Forms, leaving interpretive puzzles that continue to animate scholarship. Theaetetus examines knowledge without endorsing a simple definition, while Sophist and Statesman refine dialectical method and analyze non-being, falsity, and rule. Philebus weighs pleasure against intellect in the human good. Timaeus offers a cosmology centered on mathematical order and a craftsman-like demiurge; Critias, seemingly intended to continue that project, remains incomplete. Laws, his longest dialogue, turns from ideals to workable institutions, law, education, and religion for a second-best city, reflecting a more pragmatic legislative orientation.
The founding of the Academy in the early 4th century BCE created a sustained institutional setting for philosophy, mathematics, and scientific inquiry. The school encouraged collaborative problem-solving and rigorous training, with geometry and arithmetic treated as indispensable for higher reasoning. Aristotle studied there for many years before developing his own approach. The Academy’s dialectical exercises likely informed Plato’s late methodological refinements, encouraging increasingly explicit accounts of division, collection, and definition. The institutional life also helped preserve and transmit the dialogues, as students copied, discussed, and curated them, securing Plato’s status as a central reference point for learned debate.
Ancient readers responded with both admiration and critique. Aristotle engaged Plato’s doctrines deeply, revising them while preserving the ambition for systematic explanation. Hellenistic philosophers contested and reinterpreted Platonic ideas, and later Platonists developed extensive commentarial traditions. An early imperial editor, Thrasyllus, arranged the dialogues in tetralogies, aiding their circulation. Through late antiquity, Neoplatonists read Plato as a comprehensive guide to metaphysics and spiritual ascent. His literary artistry—myths, arguments, and character studies—won lasting praise, while disagreements over doctrine fueled centuries of commentary. Subsequent translations and receptions in Greek, Latin, Arabic, and modern languages broadened his public recognition.
Beliefs and Advocacy
Plato’s philosophy is animated by confidence in rational inquiry and the reality of intelligible structures—Forms—that ground knowledge and value. He holds that the soul can rise, through dialectic and disciplined education, from opinion to understanding. Ethical life centers on virtue as the harmony of reason, spirit, and appetite; justice, for individuals and communities, is ordered functioning under wise guidance. He is cautious about persuasive rhetoric and mimetic poetry when they distort reason, arguing for educational and cultural norms that align desire with truth. Mathematics and dialectic train the mind for governance, culminating in the ideal of knowledge-based rule.
Plato’s practical advocacy appears in two spheres: the educational mission of the Academy and limited, episodic attempts to influence politics abroad. Accounts of his visits to Syracuse describe efforts, through associates such as Dion, to encourage a ruler receptive to philosophical guidance; the Seventh Letter, attributed to Plato though its authenticity is debated, frames these ventures as experiments in aligning power with wisdom. In Athens, he did not hold office as a statesman; rather, he advocated reform through teaching and writing. His dialogues thus model public reasoning, proposing that genuine authority rests on disciplined inquiry, not lineage, wealth, or popularity.
Final Years & Legacy
In his later years, Plato concentrated on long, integrative works, with Laws offering a more cautious blueprint for legislation, education, and civic religion in a less-than-ideal polity. He likely continued directing discussions at the Academy while revising and composing dialogues. Ancient traditions place his death in Athens in the later 4th century BCE. Contemporary reactions are sparsely documented, but his immediate circle preserved and debated his writings. The transition from the visionary Republic to the pragmatic Laws suggests a lifetime’s reflection on how philosophical insight could be translated, if imperfectly, into durable institutions and responsible civic practice.
Plato’s legacy is vast. Aristotle’s system develops in dialogue with him; later Platonists, notably Plotinus and Proclus, elaborated metaphysical frameworks grounded in his texts. Christian thinkers such as Augustine, and philosophers writing in Arabic and Latin, drew on Platonic themes transmitted through complex traditions. Platonism influenced medieval education, Renaissance humanism, and modern debates on knowledge, language, mind, and politics. Institutions inspired by the Academy’s model helped define the ideal of liberal learning. Though often contested—on democracy, poetry, or metaphysics—his questions and methods remain foundational. “Platonic” continues to name aspirations toward clarity, ethical seriousness, and the love of wisdom.
Historical Context
Plato was born in Athens around 427 BCE, at a time when the city stood at the forefront of artistic achievement, philosophical debate and participatory government. The aftermath of the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BCE) left Athens divided between democratic principles and oligarchic pressures, creating an environment that would shape his lifelong reflections on politics and society.
A devoted student of Socrates, he witnessed his teacher’s trial and execution in 399 BCE—an experience that deeply informed his approach to inquiry. He adopted the dialectical technique of probing questions and critical dialogue, using it to explore the nature of knowledge, moral responsibility and the philosopher’s role in public life, especially in his earliest writings.
Contemporary itinerant educators known as Sophists, who charged fees for instruction in rhetoric and argument, became targets of his critique. In several dialogues he engages with their relativistic claims, arguing instead for an objective basis of truth and virtue that he would later articulate in his doctrine of transcendent realities.
Born into an aristocratic family, he distrusted unbridled popular rule and argued that those trained in philosophy and rigorous study were best equipped to govern. This conviction underlies his proposal that leadership should reside with individuals whose understanding of wisdom and justice surpasses mere opinion.
His mentor’s fate spurred a persistent examination of individual conscience versus civic obligation. Accounts of the trial and defense of Socrates serve as vehicles for exploring integrity, the obligations of citizenship and the tensions that arise when personal ethics confront legal authority.
Travels to southern Italy and Sicily exposed him to Pythagorean communities, where mathematical harmonies and metaphysical speculation influenced his vision of how numerical order underpins both the structure of the cosmos and the foundations of ethical life.
A central motif in his middle and later writings is the aspiration toward a supreme principle of goodness, which functions as the source and standard of all other virtues. This idea represents a landmark development in ethical and metaphysical thought and recurs in his most advanced theorizing.
Around 387 BCE he established a school outside Athens, often called the Academy, marking one of the first institutional centers dedicated to systematic philosophical study. There he and his followers pursued structured dialogue as a means of cultivating critical thinking.
In his final legislative treatises he confronts the rise of Macedonian hegemony under Philip II and reflects on the formulation of laws, the education of citizens and the responsibilities of rulers amid shifting power dynamics.
Although the era of Greco-Eastern synthesis belongs to the Hellenistic age that followed his death, his concepts provided crucial groundwork for later movements. His most distinguished pupil and subsequent Hellenistic schools drew heavily on his metaphysical and epistemological models.
His distinction between the world perceived by the senses and a deeper realm of immutable realities sparked centuries of debate in ontology and knowledge theory, influencing both scientific inquiry and theological reflection.
Across his dialogues he consistently links true understanding with ethical excellence, examining various definitions of knowing to demonstrate that intellectual insight and moral character are inseparable.
He also scrutinizes the social function of poets and artists, questioning whether their imitations of reality edify or mislead, and thereby initiates a broader discussion on the relationship between aesthetic expression and moral education.
By embedding ideas in conversational exchanges, he pioneered a style of written discourse that treats dialogue not merely as literary form but as the very method of philosophical investigation—an approach that has shaped the course of Western thought.
From the early Socratic explorations to his mature advocacy for philosophically trained leadership, his corpus mirrors the evolving political and intellectual currents of classical Greece, critiquing and reimagining the ideal community at each stage.
Modern scholarship recognizes that a small number of texts once attributed to him are of doubtful authenticity, yet the principles they invoke continue to attest to the adaptability and enduring appeal of his core insights.
His unwavering commitment to questioning, his vision of knowledge intertwined with virtue and his articulation of the human pursuit of truth and justice remain central to philosophical study, securing his place as a foundational figure in the Western tradition.
Synopsis (Selection)
Preface to the First Edition
An introduction outlining the significance of Plato's works and their enduring philosophical relevance.
Preface to the Second and Third Editions
A commentary on the evolution of Plato's thought and the importance of these editions in understanding his philosophy.
Early Works
This collection includes dialogues such as 'Euthyphro,' 'Apology,' and 'Crito,' which present Socratic discussions on ethics, virtue, and the nature of justice, primarily through the lens of Socrates' teachings and confrontations.
Middle Works
Key dialogues such as 'The Republic' and 'Phaedrus' explore the ideal state, the theory of forms, and the nature of love, emphasizing the pursuit of philosophical knowledge and the role of the philosopher-king.
Late Works
In works like 'Timaios' and 'Laws,' Plato delves into cosmology, the nature of the universe, and practical governance, illustrating the application of his philosophical ideas to the establishment of a just society.
Pseudonymous Works
This category includes texts attributed to Plato but likely written by others, offering additional insights into Platonic philosophy and its interpretations, though lacking the authorial authenticity of his recognized works.
Additional Items
Various fragments and letters attributed to Plato that provide context to his life, thoughts, and the historical backdrop of his philosophy.
THE COMPLETE WORKS OF PLATO
Preface to the First Edition
Preface to the Second and Third Editions
Early Works
Middle Works
Late Works
Pseudonymous Works
Additional Items
Preface to the First Edition
The Text which has been mostly followed in this Translation of Plato is the latest 8vo. edition of Stallbaum; the principal deviations are noted at the bottom of the page.
I have to acknowledge many obligations to old friends and pupils. These are:—Mr. John Purves, Fellow of Balliol College, with whom I have revised about half of the entire Translation; the Rev. Professor Campbell, of St. Andrews, who has helped me in the revision of several parts of the work, especially of the Theaetetus, Sophist, and Politicus; Mr. Robinson Ellis, Fellow of Trinity College, and Mr. Alfred Robinson, Fellow of New College, who read with me the Cratylus and the Gorgias; Mr. Paravicini, Student of Christ Church, who assisted me in the Symposium; Mr. Raper, Fellow of Queen's College, Mr. Monro, Fellow of Oriel College, and Mr. Shadwell, Student of Christ Church, who gave me similar assistance in the Laws. Dr. Greenhill, of Hastings, has also kindly sent me remarks on the physiological part of the Timaeus, which I have inserted as corrections under the head of errata at the end of the Introduction. The degree of accuracy which I have been enabled to attain is in great measure due to these gentlemen, and I heartily thank them for the pains and time which they have bestowed on my work.
I have further to explain how far I have received help from other labourers in the same field. The books which I have found of most use are Steinhart and Muller's German Translation of Plato with Introductions; Zeller's 'Philosophie der Griechen,' and 'Platonische Studien;' Susemihl's 'Genetische Entwickelung der Paltonischen Philosophie;' Hermann's 'Geschichte der Platonischen Philosophie;' Bonitz, 'Platonische Studien;' Stallbaum's Notes and Introductions; Professor Campbell's editions of the 'Theaetetus,' the 'Sophist,' and the 'Politicus;' Professor Thompson's 'Phaedrus;' Th. Martin's 'Etudes sur le Timee;' Mr. Poste's edition and translation of the 'Philebus;' the Translation of the 'Republic,' by Messrs. Davies and Vaughan, and the Translation of the 'Gorgias,' by Mr. Cope.
I have also derived much assistance from the great work of Mr. Grote, which contains excellent analyses of the Dialogues, and is rich in original thoughts and observations. I agree with him in rejecting as futile the attempt of Schleiermacher and others to arrange the Dialogues of Plato into a harmonious whole. Any such arrangement appears to me not only to be unsupported by evidence, but to involve an anachronism in the history of philosophy. There is a common spirit in the writings of Plato, but not a unity of design in the whole, nor perhaps a perfect unity in any single Dialogue. The hypothesis of a general plan which is worked out in the successive Dialogues is an after-thought of the critics who have attributed a system to writings belonging to an age when system had not as yet taken possession of philosophy.
If Mr. Grote should do me the honour to read any portion of this work he will probably remark that I have endeavoured to approach Plato from a point of view which is opposed to his own. The aim of the Introductions in these volumes has been to represent Plato as the father of Idealism, who is not to be measured by the standard of utilitarianism or any other modern philosophical system. He is the poet or maker of ideas, satisfying the wants of his own age, providing the instruments of thought for future generations. He is no dreamer, but a great philosophical genius struggling with the unequal conditions of light and knowledge under which he is living. He may be illustrated by the writings of moderns, but he must be interpreted by his own, and by his place in the history of philosophy. We are not concerned to determine what is the residuum of truth which remains for ourselves. His truth may not be our truth, and nevertheless may have an extraordinary value and interest for us.
I cannot agree with Mr. Grote in admitting as genuine all the writings commonly attributed to Plato in antiquity, any more than with Schaarschmidt and some other German critics who reject nearly half of them. The German critics, to whom I refer, proceed chiefly on grounds of internal evidence; they appear to me to lay too much stress on the variety of doctrine and style, which must be equally acknowledged as a fact, even in the Dialogues regarded by Schaarschmidt as genuine, e.g. in the Phaedrus, or Symposium, when compared with the Laws. He who admits works so different in style and matter to have been the composition of the same author, need have no difficulty in admitting the Sophist or the Politicus. (The negative argument adduced by the same school of critics, which is based on the silence of Aristotle, is not worthy of much consideration. For why should Aristotle, because he has quoted several Dialogues of Plato, have quoted them all? Something must be allowed to chance, and to the nature of the subjects treated of in them.) On the other hand, Mr. Grote trusts mainly to the Alexandrian Canon. But I hardly think that we are justified in attributing much weight to the authority of the Alexandrian librarians in an age when there was no regular publication of books, and every temptation to forge them; and in which the writings of a school were naturally attributed to the founder of the school. And even without intentional fraud, there was an inclination to believe rather than to enquire. Would Mr. Grote accept as genuine all the writings which he finds in the lists of learned ancients attributed to Hippocrates, to Xenophon, to Aristotle? The Alexandrian Canon of the Platonic writings is deprived of credit by the admission of the Epistles, which are not only unworthy of Plato, and in several passages plagiarized from him, but flagrantly at variance with historical fact. It will be seen also that I do not agree with Mr. Grote's views about the Sophists; nor with the low estimate which he has formed of Plato's Laws; nor with his opinion respecting Plato's doctrine of the rotation of the earth. But I 'am not going to lay hands on my father Parmenides' (Soph.), who will, I hope, forgive me for differing from him on these points. I cannot close this Preface without expressing my deep respect for his noble and gentle character, and the great services which he has rendered to Greek Literature.
Balliol College, January, 1871.
Preface to the Second and Third Editions
In publishing a Second Edition (1875) of the Dialogues of Plato in English, I had to acknowledge the assistance of several friends: of the Rev. G.G. Bradley, Master of University College, now Dean of Westminster, who sent me some valuable remarks on the Phaedo; of Dr. Greenhill, who had again revised a portion of the Timaeus; of Mr. R.L. Nettleship, Fellow and Tutor of Balliol College, to whom I was indebted for an excellent criticism of the Parmenides; and, above all, of the Rev. Professor Campbell of St. Andrews, and Mr. Paravicini, late Student of Christ Church and Tutor of Balliol College, with whom I had read over the greater part of the translation. I was also indebted to Mr. Evelyn Abbott, Fellow and Tutor of Balliol College, for a complete and accurate index.
In this, the Third Edition, I am under very great obligations to Mr. Matthew Knight, who has not only favoured me with valuable suggestions throughout the work, but has largely extended the Index (from 61 to 175 pages) and translated the Eryxias and Second Alcibiades; and to Mr Frank Fletcher, of Balliol College, my Secretary. I am also considerably indebted to Mr. J.W. Mackail, late Fellow of Balliol College, who read over the Republic in the Second Edition and noted several inaccuracies.
In both editions the Introductions to the Dialogues have been enlarged, and essays on subjects having an affinity to the Platonic Dialogues have been introduced into several of them. The analyses have been corrected, and innumerable alterations have been made in the Text. There have been added also, in the Third Edition, headings to the pages and a marginal analysis to the text of each dialogue.
At the end of a long task, the translator may without impropriety point out the difficulties which he has had to encounter. These have been far greater than he would have anticipated; nor is he at all sanguine that he has succeeded in overcoming them. Experience has made him feel that a translation, like a picture, is dependent for its effect on very minute touches; and that it is a work of infinite pains, to be returned to in many moods and viewed in different lights.
I. An English translation ought to be idiomatic and interesting, not only to the scholar, but to the unlearned reader. Its object should not simply be to render the words of one language into the words of another or to preserve the construction and order of the original;—this is the ambition of a schoolboy, who wishes to show that he has made a good use of his Dictionary and Grammar; but is quite unworthy of the translator, who seeks to produce on his reader an impression similar or nearly similar to that produced by the original. To him the feeling should be more important than the exact word. He should remember Dryden's quaint admonition not to 'lacquey by the side of his author, but to mount up behind him.' (Dedication to the Aeneis.) He must carry in his mind a comprehensive view of the whole work, of what has preceded and of what is to follow,—as well as of the meaning of particular passages. His version should be based, in the first instance, on an intimate knowledge of the text; but the precise order and arrangement of the words may be left to fade out of sight, when the translation begins to take shape. He must form a general idea of the two languages, and reduce the one to the terms of the other. His work should be rhythmical and varied, the right admixture of words and syllables, and even of letters, should be carefully attended to; above all, it should be equable in style. There must also be quantity, which is necessary in prose as well as in verse: clauses, sentences, paragraphs, must be in due proportion. Metre and even rhyme may be rarely admitted; though neither is a legitimate element of prose writing, they may help to lighten a cumbrous expression (Symp.). The translation should retain as far as possible the characteristic qualities of the ancient writer—his freedom, grace, simplicity, stateliness, weight, precision; or the best part of him will be lost to the English reader. It should read as an original work, and should also be the most faithful transcript which can be made of the language from which the translation is taken, consistently with the first requirement of all, that it be English. Further, the translation being English, it should also be perfectly intelligible in itself without reference to the Greek, the English being really the more lucid and exact of the two languages. In some respects it may be maintained that ordinary English writing, such as the newspaper article, is superior to Plato: at any rate it is couched in language which is very rarely obscure. On the other hand, the greatest writers of Greece, Thucydides, Plato, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Pindar, Demosthenes, are generally those which are found to be most difficult and to diverge most widely from the English idiom. The translator will often have to convert the more abstract Greek into the more concrete English, or vice versa, and he ought not to force upon one language the character of another. In some cases, where the order is confused, the expression feeble, the emphasis misplaced, or the sense somewhat faulty, he will not strive in his rendering to reproduce these characteristics, but will re-write the passage as his author would have written it at first, had he not been 'nodding'; and he will not hesitate to supply anything which, owing to the genius of the language or some accident of composition, is omitted in the Greek, but is necessary to make the English clear and consecutive.
It is difficult to harmonize all these conflicting elements. In a translation of Plato what may be termed the interests of the Greek and English are often at war with one another. In framing the English sentence we are insensibly diverted from the exact meaning of the Greek; when we return to the Greek we are apt to cramp and overlay the English. We substitute, we compromise, we give and take, we add a little here and leave out a little there. The translator may sometimes be allowed to sacrifice minute accuracy for the sake of clearness and sense. But he is not therefore at liberty to omit words and turns of expression which the English language is quite capable of supplying. He must be patient and self-controlled; he must not be easily run away with. Let him never allow the attraction of a favourite expression, or a sonorous cadence, to overpower his better judgment, or think much of an ornament which is out of keeping with the general character of his work. He must ever be casting his eyes upwards from the copy to the original, and down again from the original to the copy (Rep.). His calling is not held in much honour by the world of scholars; yet he himself may be excused for thinking it a kind of glory to have lived so many years in the companionship of one of the greatest of human intelligences, and in some degree, more perhaps than others, to have had the privilege of understanding him (Sir Joshua Reynolds' Lectures: Disc. xv.).
There are fundamental differences in Greek and English, of which some may be managed while others remain intractable. (1). The structure of the Greek language is partly adversative and alternative, and partly inferential; that is to say, the members of a sentence are either opposed to one another, or one of them expresses the cause or effect or condition or reason of another. The two tendencies may be called the horizontal and perpendicular lines of the language; and the opposition or inference is often much more one of words than of ideas. But modern languages have rubbed off this adversative and inferential form: they have fewer links of connection, there is less mortar in the interstices, and they are content to place sentences side by side, leaving their relation to one another to be gathered from their position or from the context. The difficulty of preserving the effect of the Greek is increased by the want of adversative and inferential particles in English, and by the nice sense of tautology which characterizes all modern languages. We cannot have two 'buts' or two 'fors' in the same sentence where the Greek repeats (Greek). There is a similar want of particles expressing the various gradations of objective and subjective thought—(Greek) and the like, which are so thickly scattered over the Greek page. Further, we can only realize to a very imperfect degree the common distinction between (Greek), and the combination of the two suggests a subtle shade of negation which cannot be expressed in English. And while English is more dependent than Greek upon the apposition of clauses and sentences, yet there is a difficulty in using this form of construction owing to the want of case endings. For the same reason there cannot be an equal variety in the order of words or an equal nicety of emphasis in English as in Greek.
(2) The formation of the sentence and of the paragraph greatly differs in Greek and English. The lines by which they are divided are generally much more marked in modern languages than in ancient. Both sentences and paragraphs are more precise and definite—they do not run into one another. They are also more regularly developed from within. The sentence marks another step in an argument or a narrative or a statement; in reading a paragraph we silently turn over the page and arrive at some new view or aspect of the subject. Whereas in Plato we are not always certain where a sentence begins and ends; and paragraphs are few and far between. The language is distributed in a different way, and less articulated than in English. For it was long before the true use of the period was attained by the classical writers both in poetry or prose; it was (Greek). The balance of sentences and the introduction of paragraphs at suitable intervals must not be neglected if the harmony of the English language is to be preserved. And still a caution has to be added on the other side, that we must avoid giving it a numerical or mechanical character.
(3) This, however, is not one of the greatest difficulties of the translator; much greater is that which arises from the restriction of the use of the genders. Men and women in English are masculine and feminine, and there is a similar distinction of sex in the words denoting animals; but all things else, whether outward objects or abstract ideas, are relegated to the class of neuters. Hardly in some flight of poetry do we ever endue any of them with the characteristics of a sentient being, and then only by speaking of them in the feminine gender. The virtues may be pictured in female forms, but they are not so described in language; a ship is humorously supposed to be the sailor's bride; more doubtful are the personifications of church and country as females. Now the genius of the Greek language is the opposite of this. The same tendency to personification which is seen in the Greek mythology is common also in the language; and genders are attributed to things as well as persons according to their various degrees of strength and weakness; or from fanciful resemblances to the male or female form, or some analogy too subtle to be discovered. When the gender of any object was once fixed, a similar gender was naturally assigned to similar objects, or to words of similar formation. This use of genders in the denotation of objects or ideas not only affects the words to which genders are attributed, but the words with which they are construed or connected, and passes into the general character of the style. Hence arises a difficulty in translating Greek into English which cannot altogether be overcome. Shall we speak of the soul and its qualities, of virtue, power, wisdom, and the like, as feminine or neuter? The usage of the English language does not admit of the former, and yet the life and beauty of the style are impaired by the latter. Often the translator will have recourse to the repetition of the word, or to the ambiguous 'they,' 'their,' etc.; for fear of spoiling the effect of the sentence by introducing 'it.' Collective nouns in Greek and English create a similar but lesser awkwardness.
(4) To use of relation is far more extended in Greek than in English. Partly the greater variety of genders and cases makes the connexion of relative and antecedent less ambiguous: partly also the greater number of demonstrative and relative pronouns, and the use of the article, make the correlation of ideas simpler and more natural. The Greek appears to have had an ear or intelligence for a long and complicated sentence which is rarely to be found in modern nations; and in order to bring the Greek down to the level of the modern, we must break up the long sentence into two or more short ones. Neither is the same precision required in Greek as in Latin or English, nor in earlier Greek as in later; there was nothing shocking to the contemporary of Thucydides and Plato in anacolutha and repetitions. In such cases the genius of the English language requires that the translation should be more intelligible than the Greek. The want of more distinctions between the demonstrative pronouns is also greatly felt. Two genitives dependent on one another, unless familiarised by idiom, have an awkward effect in English. Frequently the noun has to take the place of the pronoun. 'This' and 'that' are found repeating themselves to weariness in the rough draft of a translation. As in the previous case, while the feeling of the modern language is more opposed to tautology, there is also a greater difficulty in avoiding it.
(5) Though no precise rule can be laid down about the repetition of words, there seems to be a kind of impertinence in presenting to the reader the same thought in the same words, repeated twice over in the same passage without any new aspect or modification of it. And the evasion of tautology—that is, the substitution of one word of precisely the same meaning for another—is resented by us equally with the repetition of words. Yet on the other hand the least difference of meaning or the least change of form from a substantive to an adjective, or from a participle to a verb, will often remedy the unpleasant effect. Rarely and only for the sake of emphasis or clearness can we allow an important word to be used twice over in two successive sentences or even in the same paragraph. The particles and pronouns, as they are of most frequent occurrence, are also the most troublesome. Strictly speaking, except a few of the commonest of them, 'and,' 'the,' etc., they ought not to occur twice in the same sentence. But the Greek has no such precise rules; and hence any literal translation of a Greek author is full of tautology. The tendency of modern languages is to become more correct as well as more perspicuous than ancient. And, therefore, while the English translator is limited in the power of expressing relation or connexion, by the law of his own language increased precision and also increased clearness are required of him. The familiar use of logic, and the progress of science, have in these two respects raised the standard. But modern languages, while they have become more exacting in their demands, are in many ways not so well furnished with powers of expression as the ancient classical ones.
Such are a few of the difficulties which have to be overcome in the work of translation; and we are far from having exhausted the list. (6) The excellence of a translation will consist, not merely in the faithful rendering of words, or in the composition of a sentence only, or yet of a single paragraph, but in the colour and style of the whole work. Equability of tone is best attained by the exclusive use of familiar and idiomatic words. But great care must be taken; for an idiomatic phrase, if an exception to the general style, is of itself a disturbing element. No word, however expressive and exact, should be employed, which makes the reader stop to think, or unduly attracts attention by difficulty and peculiarity, or disturbs the effect of the surrounding language. In general the style of one author is not appropriate to another; as in society, so in letters, we expect every man to have 'a good coat of his own,' and not to dress himself out in the rags of another. (a) Archaic expressions are therefore to be avoided. Equivalents may be occasionally drawn from Shakspere, who is the common property of us all; but they must be used sparingly. For, like some other men of genius of the Elizabethan and Jacobean age, he outdid the capabilities of the language, and many of the expressions which he introduced have been laid aside and have dropped out of use. (b) A similar principle should be observed in the employment of Scripture. Having a greater force and beauty than other language, and a religious association, it disturbs the even flow of the style. It may be used to reproduce in the translation the quaint effect of some antique phrase in the original, but rarely; and when adopted, it should have a certain freshness and a suitable 'entourage.' It is strange to observe that the most effective use of Scripture phraseology arises out of the application of it in a sense not intended by the author. (c) Another caution: metaphors differ in different languages, and the translator will often be compelled to substitute one for another, or to paraphrase them, not giving word for word, but diffusing over several words the more concentrated thought of the original. The Greek of Plato often goes beyond the English in its imagery: compare Laws, (Greek); Rep.; etc. Or again the modern word, which in substance is the nearest equivalent to the Greek, may be found to include associations alien to Greek life: e.g. (Greek), 'jurymen,' (Greek), 'the bourgeoisie.' (d) The translator has also to provide expressions for philosophical terms of very indefinite meaning in the more definite language of modern philosophy. And he must not allow discordant elements to enter into the work. For example, in translating Plato, it would equally be an anachronism to intrude on him the feeling and spirit of the Jewish or Christian Scriptures or the technical terms of the Hegelian or Darwinian philosophy.
(7) As no two words are precise equivalents (just as no two leaves of the forest are exactly similar), it is a mistaken attempt at precision always to translate the same Greek word by the same English word. There is no reason why in the New Testament (Greek) should always be rendered 'righteousness,' or (Greek) 'covenant.' In such cases the translator may be allowed to employ two words—sometimes when the two meanings occur in the same passage, varying them by an 'or'—e.g. (Greek), 'science' or 'knowledge,' (Greek), 'idea' or 'class,' (Greek), 'temperance' or 'prudence,'—at the point where the change of meaning occurs. If translations are intended not for the Greek scholar but for the general reader, their worst fault will be that they sacrifice the general effect and meaning to the over-precise rendering of words and forms of speech.
(8) There is no kind of literature in English which corresponds to the Greek Dialogue; nor is the English language easily adapted to it. The rapidity and abruptness of question and answer, the constant repetition of (Greek), etc., which Cicero avoided in Latin (de Amicit), the frequent occurrence of expletives, would, if reproduced in a translation, give offence to the reader. Greek has a freer and more frequent use of the Interrogative, and is of a more passionate and emotional character, and therefore lends itself with greater readiness to the dialogue form. Most of the so-called English Dialogues are but poor imitations of Plato, which fall very far short of the original. The breath of conversation, the subtle adjustment of question and answer, the lively play of fancy, the power of drawing characters, are wanting in them. But the Platonic dialogue is a drama as well as a dialogue, of which Socrates is the central figure, and there are lesser performers as well:—the insolence of Thrasymachus, the anger of Callicles and Anytus, the patronizing style of Protagoras, the self-consciousness of Prodicus and Hippias, are all part of the entertainment. To reproduce this living image the same sort of effort is required as in translating poetry. The language, too, is of a finer quality; the mere prose English is slow in lending itself to the form of question and answer, and so the ease of conversation is lost, and at the same time the dialectical precision with which the steps of the argument are drawn out is apt to be impaired.
II. In the Introductions to the Dialogues there have been added some essays on modern philosophy, and on political and social life. The chief subjects discussed in these are Utility, Communism, the Kantian and Hegelian philosophies, Psychology, and the Origin of Language. (There have been added also in the Third Edition remarks on other subjects. A list of the most important of these additions is given at the end of this Preface.)
Ancient and modern philosophy throw a light upon one another: but they should be compared, not confounded. Although the connexion between them is sometimes accidental, it is often real. The same questions are discussed by them under different conditions of language and civilization; but in some cases a mere word has survived, while nothing or hardly anything of the pre-Socratic, Platonic, or Aristotelian meaning is retained. There are other questions familiar to the moderns, which have no place in ancient philosophy. The world has grown older in two thousand years, and has enlarged its stock of ideas and methods of reasoning. Yet the germ of modern thought is found in ancient, and we may claim to have inherited, notwithstanding many accidents of time and place, the spirit of Greek philosophy. There is, however, no continuous growth of the one into the other, but a new beginning, partly artificial, partly arising out of the questionings of the mind itself, and also receiving a stimulus from the study of ancient writings.
Considering the great and fundamental differences which exist in ancient and modern philosophy, it seems best that we should at first study them separately, and seek for the interpretation of either, especially of the ancient, from itself only, comparing the same author with himself and with his contemporaries, and with the general state of thought and feeling prevalent in his age. Afterwards comes the remoter light which they cast on one another. We begin to feel that the ancients had the same thoughts as ourselves, the same difficulties which characterize all periods of transition, almost the same opposition between science and religion. Although we cannot maintain that ancient and modern philosophy are one and continuous (as has been affirmed with more truth respecting ancient and modern history), for they are separated by an interval of a thousand years, yet they seem to recur in a sort of cycle, and we are surprised to find that the new is ever old, and that the teaching of the past has still a meaning for us.
III. In the preface to the first edition I expressed a strong opinion at variance with Mr. Grote's, that the so-called Epistles of Plato were spurious. His friend and editor, Professor Bain, thinks that I ought to give the reasons why I differ from so eminent an authority. Reserving the fuller discussion of the question for another place, I will shortly defend my opinion by the following arguments:—
(a) Because almost all epistles purporting to be of the classical age of Greek literature are forgeries. (Compare Bentley's Works (Dyce's Edition).) Of all documents this class are the least likely to be preserved and the most likely to be invented. The ancient world swarmed with them; the great libraries stimulated the demand for them; and at a time when there was no regular publication of books, they easily crept into the world.
(b) When one epistle out of a number is spurious, the remainder of the series cannot be admitted to be genuine, unless there be some independent ground for thinking them so: when all but one are spurious, overwhelming evidence is required of the genuineness of the one: when they are all similar in style or motive, like witnesses who agree in the same tale, they stand or fall together. But no one, not even Mr. Grote, would maintain that all the Epistles of Plato are genuine, and very few critics think that more than one of them is so. And they are clearly all written from the same motive, whether serious or only literary. Nor is there an example in Greek antiquity of a series of Epistles, continuous and yet coinciding with a succession of events extending over a great number of years.
The external probability therefore against them is enormous, and the internal probability is not less: for they are trivial and unmeaning, devoid of delicacy and subtlety, wanting in a single fine expression. And even if this be matter of dispute, there can be no dispute that there are found in them many plagiarisms, inappropriately borrowed, which is a common note of forgery. They imitate Plato, who never imitates either himself or any one else; reminiscences of the Republic and the Laws are continually recurring in them; they are too like him and also too unlike him, to be genuine (see especially Karsten, Commentio Critica de Platonis quae feruntur Epistolis). They are full of egotism, self-assertion, affectation, faults which of all writers Plato was most careful to avoid, and into which he was least likely to fall. They abound in obscurities, irrelevancies, solecisms, pleonasms, inconsistencies, awkwardnesses of construction, wrong uses of words. They also contain historical blunders, such as the statement respecting Hipparinus and Nysaeus, the nephews of Dion, who are said to 'have been well inclined to philosophy, and well able to dispose the mind of their brother Dionysius in the same course,' at a time when they could not have been more than six or seven years of age— also foolish allusions, such as the comparison of the Athenian empire to the empire of Darius, which show a spirit very different from that of Plato; and mistakes of fact, as e.g. about the Thirty Tyrants, whom the writer of the letters seems to have confused with certain inferior magistrates, making them in all fifty-one. These palpable errors and absurdities are absolutely irreconcileable with their genuineness. And as they appear to have a common parentage, the more they are studied, the more they will be found to furnish evidence against themselves. The Seventh, which is thought to be the most important of these Epistles, has affinities with the Third and the Eighth, and is quite as impossible and inconsistent as the rest. It is therefore involved in the same condemnation.—The final conclusion is that neither the Seventh nor any other of them, when carefully analyzed, can be imagined to have proceeded from the hand or mind of Plato. The other testimonies to the voyages of Plato to Sicily and the court of Dionysius are all of them later by several centuries than the events to which they refer. No extant writer mentions them older than Cicero and Cornelius Nepos. It does not seem impossible that so attractive a theme as the meeting of a philosopher and a tyrant, once imagined by the genius of a Sophist, may have passed into a romance which became famous in Hellas and the world. It may have created one of the mists of history, like the Trojan war or the legend of Arthur, which we are unable to penetrate. In the age of Cicero, and still more in that of Diogenes Laertius and Appuleius, many other legends had gathered around the personality of Plato,—more voyages, more journeys to visit tyrants and Pythagorean philosophers. But if, as we agree with Karsten in supposing, they are the forgery of some rhetorician or sophist, we cannot agree with him in also supposing that they are of any historical value, the rather as there is no early independent testimony by which they are supported or with which they can be compared.
IV. There is another subject to which I must briefly call attention, lest I should seem to have overlooked it. Dr. Henry Jackson, of Trinity College, Cambridge, in a series of articles which he has contributed to the Journal of Philology, has put forward an entirely new explanation of the Platonic 'Ideas.' He supposes that in the mind of Plato they took, at different times in his life, two essentially different forms:—an earlier one which is found chiefly in the Republic and the Phaedo, and a later, which appears in the Theaetetus, Philebus, Sophist, Politicus, Parmenides, Timaeus. In the first stage of his philosophy Plato attributed Ideas to all things, at any rate to all things which have classes or common notions: these he supposed to exist only by participation in them. In the later Dialogues he no longer included in them manufactured articles and ideas of relation, but restricted them to 'types of nature,' and having become convinced that the many cannot be parts of the one, for the idea of participation in them he substituted imitation of them. To quote Dr. Jackson's own expressions,—'whereas in the period of the Republic and the Phaedo, it was proposed to pass through ontology to the sciences, in the period of the Parmenides and the Philebus, it is proposed to pass through the sciences to ontology': or, as he repeats in nearly the same words,— 'whereas in the Republic and in the Phaedo he had dreamt of passing through ontology to the sciences, he is now content to pass through the sciences to ontology.'
This theory is supposed to be based on Aristotle's Metaphysics, a passage containing an account of the ideas, which hitherto scholars have found impossible to reconcile with the statements of Plato himself. The preparations for the new departure are discovered in the Parmenides and in the Theaetetus; and it is said to be expressed under a different form by the (Greek) and the (Greek) of the Philebus. The (Greek) of the Philebus is the principle which gives form and measure to the (Greek); and in the 'Later Theory' is held to be the (Greek) or (Greek) which converts the Infinite or Indefinite into ideas. They are neither (Greek) nor (Greek), but belong to the (Greek) which partakes of both.
With great respect for the learning and ability of Dr. Jackson, I find myself unable to agree in this newly fashioned doctrine of the Ideas, which he ascribes to Plato. I have not the space to go into the question fully; but I will briefly state some objections which are, I think, fatal to it.
