No More Learning

By theseWords P/atogivesustounderstandthat he look'd upon this part of Natural Philosophy ra
therasaPlay,thananEmployment;andthisob- lig'd him, to give only a iuperficial Account of it5 that he might more usefully employ his Time in searching for more important and Solid Truths. A n d one m a y fay, that in this again he imitates Moses, who in the History of the Creation has wifely sup- preis'd whatsoever might flatter the Vanity and Cu riosity of Men, to insist only on that which was propertoaugmenttheirHumilityandPiety. There foreweshouldbesofarfromwonderingthatNa tural Philosophy was not rais'd to its perfection in those Ancient Times when itwas look'd upon at best but as an Amusement more curious than useful, and whenthegreatestMen appliedthemselvesonlyto
Morality which is concern'd only about our true HappinessandMisery;thatIknow notwhetherwe should not have more reason to be surpriz'd that it shouldbesomuch esteem'dinAges whereinwe ought eventomakelessaccountofitthanPlatodoes. So lomon does not advise Men to acquire Natural Phi losophybuttogetWisdom. For'tisWisdomonlythat teachesus toknow God ; and thisisPlato'sLan guage, whotopromotehisDesignalwaysreasons morally in his Physical Discourses :and instead of insistingon the Consideration ofMechanique Reasons taken from the Motion, and Succession of Bodies, applies himself,as Socrates did before him,to discover the first Cause, and to penetrate the Designs of the
Soveraign Spirit which governs the World ; and en deavours to explain whole Nature by Harmony aud Proportion? ,Seekingnot so much toteach Men
Physicks, as to give 'em great Prospects, and to elevate
? ? Ihe Life osPlato. nj
elevate theirMinds. Nay Socrates formally fays in Pboedon that the manner of teaching Physicks by t h e S u c c e s s i o n a n d M o t i o n o f B o d i e s is v e r y d e f e c t i v e , a n d c a u s e s m o r e E r r o r s t h a n it c u r e s ^ b e c a u s e b y d e taining the Mind too much upon Matter, and that which is but a Second Cause, ithinders it from rai singitselfup toGod, whoistheonlytrueand firstCauseofallthings;andhe blamesAnaxagcras, whothoheknewthisTruth, dissemblesitinhis practise, anddeceivestheexpectationofhisReaders. 3Tis luch a Research as this that Solomon represents as a very Evil ani Dangerous Employment and the Truth of this has been but too much confirm'd by Experience.
Beforewe quitthisSubject,letusseehowhe *S>>ordn rangestheCelestialSpheres,andwhatVertueshesup-? **f"<L
posesthemtodisplaybytheirInfluences, FirstheI*"1*? "TM' placestheEarthastheCenteroftheWorld. Tis
true Theophrastus writes, that in his Old Age he
r e p e n t e d t h a t h e h a d g i v e n it t h a t p l a c e , w h i c h is n o t suitabletoit, HefaysitistheBoundaryofthe
Rising and Setting of the Sun, and consequently the InstrumentofTime, asthePlanetsare,andGuardian orMotheroftheDayandNight. AftertheEarth
he places the Sphere of the -Moon, then that of the Sun,thatofVenusand thatofMercury ;afterMercu ryhe places Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.
He faysthat inthebeginningafterGodhadcrea-xheinfam- tedtheSoulsofMen, hedistributedthemintoallm ojtbt
the Planets ; by which he would signifie, that the stars. Bodies which those Souls animated inthe time mark'd
out byProvidence, shouldbesubjecttotheInfluences
of those Stars. Which he explains more sensibly when hefeignsthatthereareThreeParcoetheDaugh
tersofNecessity,whichturnagreatSpindle, that's<4<<? */>/? <<. theAxle-treeoftheWorld, withitsrightSpheres,timojthe whose Motions and Revolutions produce all things. thm^a! C? -
N e c e s s i t y is D e s t i n y , w h i c h is n o t h i n g b u t t h e O r d e r and Concatenation of Causes, which ought to pro duce such or such Effects. This Necessity has 3 Daugh-
K3 ters
? ? ij4 TheLifeofPlato.
t e r s w h i c h d e n o t e th. e t h r e e d i f f e r e n c e s o f T i m e w h i c h
iseitherPalt,PresentorFuture. Thefirstwhichis
the Eldest is nam'd Lachejis that is, a Lot, because ? the Lots of all things have been regulated from all
Eternity,thatisbeforeTime. ThesecondisC/othon, Thisis(hethatexecutes, andaddsthepresentto the past. And the third is Atropos which signifies that the future is no less certain or invariable than the two others ; but is the Consequence of one and andthesameLawwhichneveralters. TheseParae arecloth'dinwhite, andseatedonThrones with Crowns on their Heads, to signify on one hand their Purity and Innocence, and on the other the Dominion they exercise over all that is subjected to 'em ; they areplac'dat equaldistancesovertheseEightSpheres, upon each of which there is a Siren which Sings with'allhermight, andtheParcxanlwerthisSing ing after such a manner, that all these different VoicesmakebutoneHarmony. Platowouldhere by signify that all things obey the Divine Law and
concur to produce those Effects, which are Conse-
. quences of the Causes G o d has established. &>'s'fl'" ButifourBodiesdependonthesePlanetsand
'toDi/iiiy.
? kevtneLawsofthisfatalNecessity,ourSoulsmay preserve themselves independant, and only obey God, who isMaster ofNecessity it self. The Planets may by their Influence produce in us such or such Manners, and by these such or such Actions or Passi
o n s ? , b u t i f o u r S o u l s w i l l , t h e y h a v e p o w e r t o m o
derateandregulate'em. AndwhentheSouldoes
the conrrary, and suffers her self to be carried d o w n t h e S t r e a m ? , s h e d e p r i v e s h e r s e l f o f h e r o w n L i b e r t y ,
and loses all her Privileges. For this is that in which that Free will, that God has left her to de noteherOrigin, consists: She caneithersubmither selfto that Fatal Necessity which Zoroaster calls an Augmenting the power of Destiny ; or subject that toherself! ,byunitingherselftohim, towhom all things are subject, and in w h o m alone she can enjoy her Liberty h And this is. what Plato means, when
he
? ? The Lifeos Plato. 135
he says a Prophet having taken the Lots out of the
Lap of the first Parcoe, ascended a Throne, and ad dressing himlelf to all the Souls that had been crea ted,spoketoemintheleTerms. HearwhatLache-^7*tbtx
sistheDaughterofNecessitysays. 0MortalSouls^00k. >>/his hereisthe beginningof aNew Period, or Life,^b[
Tou aregoing toanimate Bodies that are destined to
Death ;Tour Demon {orAngel) shallnot makechoice osyou, butyoushallchooseyourDemon (crAngel) yourselves. LetthatSoulthereforethathasthe firstLot, firstchoose thekindofLifewhichshewill leadbytheLawsofNecessity,andsoostherest. There is nothing but only Vertue that does not acknowledg her Laws :sheisfree,andgivesnotherselftoany but such as know how to honour her : Thus the faultisin theSoulwhich chooses, andGodisnot
to. beblamed. AfterthisProclamation,allimagina ble ways of living are propos'd, and the Soul chooses.
W e cannot finish this Matter without speaking somewhatoftheseDemons, aslign'dasGuidestochoiceofa.
each Soul ; and this Article would indeed require a T>imm or long Chapter of it self, or ratheran entire Volume, Gm'"
if we would found the bottom of this Doctrine ;"mdtrstLd. but 'tis sufficient for us here to know in general,
that when Plato fays the Soul immediately afterher animatingtheBody,choosesherDemon orGenius? ,
Ms designisonlytosignifytheLiberty-oftheSoul, and that she is able to choose between G o o d and Evil. That is, that as w e are compos'd of 2 different N a tures, by one of which w e partake of this gross and
Terrestrial World, and by the other of the Intelligible World-,bywhichwearerailedtothatwhichis most Sublime and Spiritual; Ifthe Soul immerses herselfinMatter,shehasamaterialDemon, that hinders her from raising her self up to Celestial Things 5 and if on the contrary she keeps her self pure,andlivesonlybytheUnderstanding, (hehas a good Demon, or perfect Genius, which supports and hinders her from descending to that which is
K 4 ir. a-
Hew tbt
? ? 136 The lifeifVhtpl
material and corruptible-, if she changes her Life, s h e a l s o c h a n g e s h e r D e m o n ? , a n d a f t e r " D e a t h , t h e
D e m o n that ihe chose, leads her either to her Re- ? ward or Punishment. This was Plato's Doctrine, which hefrequentlydelivers inAllegories,verydiffi cult to be understood, but by which he seems to have known, or at least had some Glances of very great Truths concerning the Nature and Difference of
those Spirits, which are between God and Men,
Truths which the Christian Religion has consecrated
Without divesting them of their Obscurity. For
Who isitthatunderstandsthosedifferentOrders of
Spirits which St. Paul describes by those different
Names, of Powers, Thrones, Principalities, and
Mights ? St. Augustine confesses he does not under
stand'em, andSt. Ireneusassuresusthattheycannot
beunderstood. ItisprobablePlatohadreceived-al-
most the fame Ideas from the Theology of the He
brews, which we shall speak of in the Argument of S o c r a t e s h i s A p o l o g y ? , a n d i t w a s w i t h o u t d o u b t o u t
6frespecttotheirBooks, that headvanc'd thatex cellent Maxim, that inthose matters we ought to receive nothing for Truth, but what is found con formable to the Word of God, and the Divine Oracles.
N o n e ever proy'd the Immortality of the Soul bet terthanPlaid. HisProofsofitaretobeseenin hisVhoedrits,intheX BookofhisRepublickandin
^faming hisPhiedbn*. Inthe:meantimeIcan'tchoosebutspeak
AEftffif" here,ofaseemingContradictionwhich isfoundin
Mito. ~ tysWritings. - InVhtsdroehefaysinexpressTerms, ThattheSouliseternal, and. thatitcanxtperish^Ji? -
caufeifwa^notbegotten: Andonthecontraryhe laysinTimoeus, ThattheSoulwascreatedbeforethe Body, andthatit'wasbegottenbythebestofintellec tual and eternal Causes, as it is also the kejh df all things that are generated and temporal.
ffr'utarci? ? Phaarch to reconcile this Contradiction, into
tol'Sntiii whichhe is suie F/<! s0 "ever fell, assures us that by *? ? ? ? Contti- &is unbegotten'aud eternal Soul he understands- tha* "''? '? 1; void
? ? The Life of Plato^ 137
void and disorderlySpiritwhich mov'd allthingsir regularly before the-Constitution of theWorld; and on the contrary that he calls that the begotten Soul which God compos'd ofthatfirstSpirit and of the p e r m a n e n t a n d e t e r n a l S u b s t a n c e ? , o f w h i c h ; h e m a d e awifeandregularSoul, becauseheputsomething o f h i s o w n i n t o it, a n d a d d e d U n d e r s t a n d i n g t o S e n s e ,
and Order and Harmony toMotion. ButatthisratetheSoulwouldbeaCompoundof
a foolish thing and a wise, which is the grossest ofall w p ^ ' J ^ Errors. ItwouldlikewisebeaCompositionoftwo? } thingsequallyEternal, whichbytheirUnion would constitute one entire begotten Substance, which is a - Contradiction. InfinethisvoidandprecipitantSpi
rit which animated the first Matter is not Eternal
in P/ato's Opinion, for he makes it a Creature, and
callsitEternalonlyinreferencetoTime, theBirth
ofwhichitpreceded. ThereforetoreconciletheseTheway>>/
two different Ideas which he gives of the Soul, Iruouciiing suppose when he calls itbegotten he has regard sim- '*# rw>>
ply to the Essence 'of it, which began to exist faytheWillofGod;andwhenhecallsitEternal, 'tis with respect to the Principle of it which is God, who communicatestoitallitsQualities, andin whom itisproperly Eternal.
PlatonotonlyprovestheImmortalityoftheSoul, THcmst. but also knew all the Consequences of it, as the Vmt" fi
Resurrection, and Final Judgment, when all Good TMTMntstl
Men shall be rewarded and the Wicked punished. Plato. '
Nay he penetrated so far into theseDivine Truths,
that his Expressions are entirely conformable to those
oftheHoly Prophets, andeventothoseoftheE-
vangelistsandApostles. Forheexpresslyobserves
that'atthe time'ofthisJudgment goodMenshall Intyx
be dt the right hand of God, and the Wicked at the Boob os bit
lest, from whence they shall be thrown down into the Rtpubli-^ Abyss and into outward Darkness, bound hand and^om'2'
foot, where they shall be tormented, and torn by
Spirits, whichhecallsFire,andwherenothing (hail
ht heard but horrible Groaning and Howling, '
? ? i;8 The Life of Plato:
Thatthe ^e*aug^tasacertainTruththatthedeadknow deadknow whatpassesinthisLife? ,Forhefaysinexpressterms,
whatpasesthat SoulsaftertheyareseparatedfromtheirBodies hereinthisfcavg ft}//jome power bywhichtheytakecareofhu-
in theX\mane Affa,rs- i*R>'u Truth isprov'd by a longtrain Bookof ofReasons, We ought thereforetobelievethese'Jo
Laws certain and Ancient Traditions : and to credit the ' Tom. 2. TestimonyofthoseLegislatorswhohavetransmitted
themtous. Unlesswewillreproachthemassoma-
Tom. z. ny V? ? IS- And in another place he fays, Hence I
conclude, that the Dead retain some knowledge of ? whatpassesherebelow. GoodMenhavesomesenti
ment before hand os this Matter $ and the Wicked deny it: But the Presages of divine Men are more certain than thoseofsuch Miserable Wretches as are always immers'a in Vice.
TheSource ^at0receivedalltheseIdeasfromtheTraditions
oftheseTra-oftheEgyptians, whohad'emfromthePeopleof Mtias. God,andtheAncientPatriarchs. Butinprocess
ofTime, theseTraditionsweresocorruptedbythose Idolaters, and mix'd with so many Errors, that 'tisnotto be wonder'dat that Platohas explain'd one and the fame Truth by Descriptions so different and fabulous as those of his Phoedon, his Gorgias, and the lastBook ofhisRepublick.
Those who havecarefullyreadthewritingsof
this Philosopher, discoveryet more surprisingTruths
TheUvini-m 'em'? >^ortnevfinc*tstat^ebeliev'dtheDivinity
tyojthesonofthe, Son of God, which he has explain'd by Enig-
ofGod mas,thatthoseSublimeTruthsmightnotbeexpos'd Pkto"f" totheRailleryoftheProfane.
Tom'. 2. ^n^sEpinomis,afterhehadspokenoftheHo
nour due to the Sun and other Planets, as they were
thewonderfulWorksofGodonwhichhehadprin
ted the Character ofhisOmnipotence, and which in
performing their Revolutions inthe Time prescrib'd
to 'em, contribute to the perfection of the Universe
by thisObedience of theirs : He adds, The most Di vine W O R D fram'd this Universe and rendered it
visible. AndthatMan thatistrulyhappy\firstad mires
? ? The Life of Plato. ijp
miresthis WORD, andisafterwardinflanHdwith
a desire of learning nil that can be known by a mortal Nature, beingconvincedthatthisistheonlyway, to
lead a happy Life here below, and after Death to ar rive at those places that are prepared for Vertue *,
where he shall be truly initiated and united with Wisdom ; and always enjoy themost wondersulDisco veries. Here Plato,very exquisitly maintainsthat theknowledgesthe W O R D leadstoallsublime ' Discoveries. FornoneknowstheFatherbutbythe Son. And'tisonlybyhimthatwecanattainaLife of Bliss.
Inthe Letter he wrote,to Tdermias, Erasm, and^MrVr Corifcm to exhort 'em to live in Peace, he fays. Ton. 3. You must readmy Letter all three together ; and that
you may profit by it, you ought to implore the Assist' anceofGod the SoveraignLordofallthingsthatei ther are or Jhallbe; and the Father of thisSoveraign, whoistheCauseofBeings. IfwearetrulyPhiloso
phersweshallknowthisGod asclearlyasBlessedMen arecapable of knowing him.
Does notPlatointhismanifestlyfollowtheOpi
nionoftheHebrews? Forwhencecould hereceive this knowledg of God, the Father, and the Lord ? ,E^-
ofGod thecauseofBeings>, butfromtheirWri-J2J; tings, w h o taught him to give the Son the name of xi. i<s. Lord, of which none of the Greeks before him had everheard, orhadtheleastIdea?
Nor isitonlypretended,thathehadsomeknow-piatohad ledg of the Word, the Eternal Son of God, but/>>>><<W<< of some farther maintain, that he had some discovery ^. ^oly of the Holy Spirit-, and so had a certain Idea of rmy'
the most Holy Trinity :For thus he writes to young Dionysus, ImustdeclaretoArchedemus, thatwhichLetUrIt is m u c h m o r e p r e c i o u s a n d d i v i n e ; a n d w h i c h y o u h a v e Torn. 3, avery ardentdesiretoknow;sinceyousentexpress lytome onthatAicount. forasfarasIunderstand byhimyoudon'tbelieve Ihavesufficientlyexplain'd.
what I think of the Nature of thefirst Principle; I
must writeofthistoyouinEnigmas, thatifmyLet
ter
? ? 140
The Life osPhto. ,
terJhoulibeinterceptedbySeaorLand, bethatreads itmaynotbeabletocomprehendanything. Allthings are round about their King ; they exist by him, and he alone is the cause of good things^ Secondforse condthings, andthirdforthird.
In his Epinomis, and elsewhere, he establishes for Principles, the firstGood, the Word, or Under standing,orSoul. ThefirstGoodisGod-,andwhen hecallsGod, Goodness, orthefirstGood, hehad an Idea of this Truth, that Good isnothing but the NatureofGod,andhisInfiniteGoodness. This Good he explains in Terms very well worth the reading. As the Sun (fays he) gives to visible things,notonlythefacuityofbeingseen, butalso, their Birth, Nourishment and Growth, jujlso this
Bm^vrofGood, notonlymakesintelligiblethingsknowable,but btxKepub. aij0giVes 'em being, although that isnot EssenceJ>ut om. 2. jomg ot^gr fang fat infinttely surpasses Essence by
its Power and Majesty. TheWordorUnderstandingistheSon ofthe
first Good, who hath begotten him like himself A n d t h e S o u l w h i c h is t h e T e r m b e t w e e n t h e F a t h e r and the Son, isthe Holy Spirit.
I don't know whether without having recourse to these great Truths, w e could by Plato's Philosophy , explain these Passages which seem so strange, so as to give 'em another sense that should be natural, andagreeabletohisPrinciples. Imustfay,Ivery muchdoubtit. Nay,Iamperswadeditwouldbe verygreatTemerity, orratherImpiety, tointerpret
. . 'emafteranyothermanneraftertheDecisionof*so stau- manyFatnersoftheChurchandEcclesiastickWriters, gufiin, F? rtheytellusinexpressTerms,thatPlatohadthis
I St. Jcrom,knowledgoftheFatherandtheSon,andofhim that St. Cyril, proceedsfromthemboth,namelytheHolySpirit.
Theodo-' Origenisnotcontenttoassureusof the. fame ret,st. ck- thing, but accuses Celsus for having purposely over man, &c. look'd the Passage of the 6th Letter, because Jesus
Christisplainlyspoken ofinit. Which proves, that the ( hristtans were not the only Persons who- found
? ? 7he Life os Plato. ' 141
found these great Mysteries in Plato's Writings-, but thatthe Enemies of Christianity found 'em thereas well as. they, and were uneasy at the light of 'em.
Let us not by our Darkness cast a ihade over those Rays of Light which proceed from the Foun tain of Light it self-, but let. us acknowledge that Tlato not only knew all that Natural Reason could discoverconcerning God toaPhilosopher; but was
illuminatedbysupernaturalReasontoo. Havingbeen
instructedintheBooksoftheHebrews, inthoseof theProphets,andintheTraditionsoftheEgyptians, ?
hebecame favourablydispos'dtoreceivetheSeeds of t h e s e E t e r n a l T r u t h s ? , a n d w a s a s s i s t e d b y G r a c e , f o r
St. Augustin asserts, that Jesus Christ revealed 'em to him. Thatwhichisdeplorableisthathehascorrupted Howplat0
5embyhisReasonings. ForhespeaksoftheThreeJJJgJgg Persons ofthe Deity as of Three Gods,and Three dis- roitbwhich
ferentPrinciples. ThuswhilethesupremeReason en-bewasi/u- lighten'dhimononefide, Philosophyseduc'dhim? &"***by
ontheother:Thecommon unhappinefsofthosewho merely by Humane Reason go about to explain the MysteriesofGod, which arenot to beknown but from himself, and from those he has truly inipir'd.
That Plato had a particular knowledg of the Sacred Writings appears by many Passages in his W o r k s , a n d b y h i s E r r o r s t h e m s e l v e s ? , f o r t h e g r e a
testpart of his most erroneous Opinions proceed in some sort from that Source ofLight which daz zled him, and on which he has spread so much Darkness. This severalhaveobservedbeforenow.
That of theCreationofSoulsbeforeBodiesseems
tohave had no other Foundation than that Passage ofJeremiahs where God fays to this Holy Prophet. T BeforeIformedthee inthebellyIknewthee, This"'"'*'5" Philosopher notunderstandingthatGod callsthings
that are not as if they were ; and that he knows net only all that is,but also all that shall ever be, builtonthisTextthatErrorofhis, thatSoulsex istedbefore Bodies.
From the iame Divine Writings he extracted all the
? ? 141 A IheLifeofPlato. -
the greatTruths which he teaches, as when he fays theName ofGod ishethatisforthere'snonebut Godthattrulyis. ThisNameofGod,asSt. Au-
gustin observes, is not found in any profane Book more ancient than P/ato $ and this Philosopher could not have it from any other Books than those of Moses.
Whoisitthatdoesnotdiscernthestileofthe Prophets in that place of Phoedon ; where he de- scribes a pure Earth which is a*bove this of ours in Heaven, andincomparisonofwhichthiswe inhabit is no better than Dirt > In this every thing is corrupt, a n d w e a r e e n c o m p a s s ' d w i t h D a r k n e s s -, o r i f w e f e e any Light, 'tisthrough great Clouds, and very thick
Mists: whereas in the other, the true Light is to be <, seen; and everything initisadmirable. All things thereIhinewiththeglitteringLustreofGold, Jas
pers, Saphirs, and Emeralds ; and those that inha bit it enjoy a long Life which is not cross'd with a- ny incommodious Accident. The Ancients who dis- cover'd the Truth hid under these Images, show that they were extracted out of the Books of the holy Prophets,whocallHeaventheCityofGod, and the Land of the Righteous j.
and prove, that the Names ofthese precious Stones are taken from the 54th Chapter of Isaiah, where God promises to Jay
So the
lxxums- Jaspers.
dirit.
Ishould be too prolix if I should here relate all
thatPlatohasdrawnfromthisFountain. 'Tissuf ficient to know, that what we find inhim of this kind, isso considerable, that it ought to'render his Writings very precious to us -, and that of all the Works ofthePagans, thereisnonemoreuseful,or that can be more serviceable to establish eternal
. Truths, to raise the Soul to the solid Contemplati on of the divine Essence, and to manifest the Beau tiesofthesacredScriptures. And"tisontheseAc-
the Foundation of his Church with Saphirs, and
Boot1. countsthathemeritedthatgreatEncomium, given "L;? . jf him byProcli/s. Truth (layshe)isspreadthrough
all
? ? The Use of Platb. , 143
'alPlato'i- Dialogues, more obscurely in some, and moreclearlyinothers. Wefindin'emev&rywhere grave,sensible,supernatural thoughts of thefirst
Philosophy, whichcarrythoseup tothepure imma terial Essence of God, who are in some sort in a condition,toparticipateofit. Andashewhohas
created every thing in the Wcrld by hispower, has in every part of this Universe placed Images of the
Gods, which areso many Proofs oftheir Existence, thatallthingsintheWorld might turntowards tbe Deity, because ofthe Union, and ifI may so say, n a t u r a l R e l a t i o n t h a t is b e t w e e n t h e m ; s o t h e M i n d o f Plato beingfilPd withtheDeity, hasdispersedhis ThoughtsofGodthroughallhisWorks. Hewould not suffer any single TraS to be destitute of this CharaSer, and without any thing spoken of God; that such as are truly enflanid with the Love of Divine thingsmightreceivesotneknowledgofthe
supreme Being from all his Writings, and so might have a fust Idea ofevery thing which cannot be known butinGodwho isTruthitself.
Having spoken ofNatural Philosophy and Mora- lity let us pals to the third part which isDialeffick. The Ancientswrite, thatPlatoperfectedPhiloso phy, by adding this part to Physicks and Ethicks : Butby thistheyonlymeanhe broughtDialellick,
Dhltftict.
whichistrueLogicktoitsperfection. IndeedPlato's Logick is more natural, more exact, and more solid than that which was in use before him, and than that the Rules of which have been published after him. For he teaches more by examples, than Precepts :
He alwayschoosesSubjectsthatarefamiliarand u s e f u l t o M o r a l i t y ? , a n d t r e a t e s ' e m n o t a s a D o c t o r ,
and as they do in the Schools, by Methodical Dis coursesandstudiedSyllogisms,butlikeaMan of Conversation by free Diicourfes, which properly maketheCharacterofDialectick. ThereforePlato preserv'd Socrates his method of Dialogue being fully convinc'd that Sciences ought to be taught by WordofMouth, andnotbyWriting,becauseMen
are
? ? ? 44
Ike Life of Plato. '
are better persuaded by the Tongue thafi the Pert} because the Answers, and Objections of the Learner, not only shew what progress Truth makes in his Mind jbut besidesgive an occasionofclearingup many Difficulties that lie in his Way, and which can'tallbeforeseeninWriting. Platoteachesbet terthan any Man how to speak with justness, to answerpreciselytowhatisasked, tolaydownthe
State of a Question exactly, and lead on the Argu ment directly. He shews perfectly well how to' make accurate Divisions, to define well, and to ex amine Definitions aright, that none may be suffer'd to escape that are not true.
He not only brought this Science to perfection but also regulated the study of it; forto avoid the unhappyInconveniencesthatbefalthosewho apply
themselves to it too Young, and who commonly
make use of itrather to contradict than rO investi-
At what gate Truth, he would have none apply themselves sge Piaco to it, till they were above thirty Years of Age, and
Men /hub* r^en w o u ^ nave 'ern employ five Years in it, being Dhleffick. P^rswaded that on this alone depends all the Progress aManiscapableofmakingintheSciences,andin
theperfectknowledgoftrueandsolidGood. And indeed, Dialellick being the Art of Reasoning, 'tis not only the Foundation of all the Sciences, but the only Guide that can conductMentotrue Happiness^
bymaking'emdistinguishTruthfromError. And for this fame Reason, near six hundred Years before Platp, the Holy Spirit exhorted M e n to learn Dialec tick, when he signifies by the Mouth of Solomon,
thatallScience withoutExamination and Vroofserves onlytodeceiveMen. Andalsothattheknowledg os a fool, is but a Discourse in the Air without E x aminationandProof. Andforthesame. Reason
tici. p. and^-Pau? %S5 aBishopoughttoholdfastthefaith- u% J fullWordashehathbeentaught,thathemaybea-
blebyfound do3rine, both toexhort, and toconvince Gainsayers. whohy their false Principlesy^faw/- whole Houses-,teachingthingswhichtheyoughtnot; And
? ? The Use of Plato. r 14 j
thisistheworkofDialectick. For'tisproperlyTlit>ff. a Habitude, a Science which teaches to define what tin ofoll- every thing is, in what itdiffers from another thing, MftVfc. or in what it resembles it ; to search it out where
itis, to know what makes the Essence of it, how many true Beings there are ? , what chose things are
w h i c h a r e n o t ? , a n d i n w h a t t h e y d i f i e r f r o m t n o s e that are: It treats of the true Good, and of that
whichisnotso,itshewsushowmanythingsen terintothe firstGood,andhowmanyarerank'd underitscontrary;andleadsustodistinguishthat . whichisEternal, fromthatwhichisburTemporal and Transitory ; and this not by Reasonings founded
onOpinion,butbyProofsdrawnfromScience. Fof ithinderstheMind from wanderingaftersensible things, and thereby fixes it on that which is intel ligible, and by dissipating all forts of Errors by its Light, feeds it as it were in the field of Truth. Vlotinus fays very well, that this is the most esti
mable parrofPhilosophy;andisnottobeconsi dered as the Instrument of a Philosopher, but as that which is essential to him. For it does not stop at simple Propositions and Rules, but passes ontothings, andhasallBeingsforitsMatterand Object: ; and by the Truth that is in it discerns Error which is always a Stranger to it.
Ifthe Writings of the Ancient Hebrews assisted "<<<>*<<? * Tlato inlayingtheFoundationsofgoodEthicksandl/? 07""<<<< Phyficks, they have not been less setviceable to him DUltctick. inestablishingthePrinciplesofgoodLogick. Tnesejf:mthetu* Principles consist in a right Imposition of Names, l,nvct'
which oughttodenotetheNatureofthings. For whentheNatureofanythingisknown'tiseasyto reasonjustly,andtoestablishtheTruth. No'Na* tion ever follow'd better Rules in this than the Hebrews, asappearsbytheBooksofMoses^andthe WritingsoftheProphets. AndthereforePlatocon fessesthattheGreeksborrow'd-the greatestpartof the Names of things from the Barbarians (that is fromtheHebrews) andacknowledgesthatthisright
L Impo-
? ? 146 The Life of Platoi
ImpositionofNamesproceedsfromamoreDivine . Nature thanthatofMan.
nechine- Platohys,thatMan willneverbeagoodDia ls';o/aWlectician, who is not in a condition (they are his DidtilMMownwor(is)toGiveandReceiveReason. Hemeans
thatto beaDialectician aMan oughttobeable, notonlytoknowtheTruth, buttomakeitknown to others, and perfwade 'em to embrace it. And for this Reaicn there are indeed two parts of Dialec ticsnamelyLogickandRhetorick. Bythefirstwe
know,andbythesecondweperfwade.
Tbttr,aust SinceLogickandRhetorickarethe2partsofDi- ofLogics alectick,'tiseasytoseetheyoughtonlytobeem- andRhtto-pioy'iforJusticeandTruth. Ifus'dtosupport
Jbrror. 'tis no longer Rhetorick nor Logick; as aRuleisnolongeraRulewhenitisbenttomake anilluseofit. ForacrookedRulecannolonger judge, either of it self, or that which is straight. Logxk and Rhetorick teach us truly to reason and discourseforandagainst. NotthattwoContraries canbeequallytrue;Butthisistoputusinacon dition oi aniwering those who would abuse 'em
iniavourofInjustice. None doubtsthatthesole Object of Logick is Truth : And this is no less true of Rhetorick : And Plato very well fays that a Wise Man willnever labourto renderhimselfDextrous
inhisPhe-topleaseMan^buttopleasetheGods. For(headds) drusTow. j Prudence requires that we should ratherseek the fa
vour of our Masters^ than of those who are on ly our Companions in theservice we owe them.
Never did any one exceed Plato in shewing the use of true Rhetorick, of which he gives admirable Pre cepts : To shew the difference between this and its Counterfeit, he compares the firstto the Medicinal Art,andtheothertoskillinCookery. ThePhysici an seeks only such things as may conduce to the Health ot the Body, Health being the thing he de signs to procure : but the C o o k is concern'd only fof what may please the Taste, without troubling his Head, whether 'tis healthful or hurtful. In like m a n
ner
? ? The Lifeof Plato. 147
nerthe trueOraror, hesays,seeksonlytomake tb'dip- those to w h o m he speaks better, and the counterfeit rmi k: '
Orator has no other design than that of perswadingj*7**i "em, whateverdamage theysufferbyit. lomttrjdt
Tis ObjectedtohimthataManoughttomakeor'ixw. lifeofhisEloquence atany ratetoacquireReputati-
bn and Authority in his Country $ and to bring itinto subjection to him, ifpossible ; to advance his friends,
tobringdown hisEnemies;andinfine(when great Calamities happen) to securehimselfor othersfront danger h Plato answers all these Objections aftef
an admirable manner, and by Principles that can not be contested.
Firsthemakes,itappear thatthosewho havethe greatest Authority in their Countrey are the most un happy, if they have not acquir'd it by just Means, and do not employ it to just Purposes.
He (hewsthatTyrantsaresofarfrombeingHappy, and from having dominion over others, that they areveryMiserable, andsomanyvileSlaves;who never do what they desire, even then when they do What they please.
Heprovesthat'tismuchbetter tosufferWrong than to do it-, and that when a Man has once done it, 'tis much happier for him to be punifh'd for it, than to escape the Penalty he has deserv'd.
As for what respects a Man's saving himselfor se curing others from great Danger ; he shews 'tis
not so considerable a thing as to deserve so much
of our Esteem ; for there are a great many things whichoftenconducetosaveLife,whichyetate . ,( veryinconsiderableinthemselves, forExample(heinGocgias,' lays) the Art of Swimming is a thing very lit-ft*. 1. tie efteem'd, and yet on many Occasions it pre
serves a Man from certain Death. , The Art of aPilotsaveswholeFamilies,and thewholeEstates
of divers Persons ; yet a Pilot is not ordinarily
much pufPd up on. the account of this advantage 5
he' does" nd't think himself a very Considerable Mali
tUa State,' butcontents himselfwithamoderate
L 2 Salary,'
? ? ",V *
falaryXas 'tisreasonable he should, becausehe does
nor know whether he has done those whom he has preserved any great service, for besides that he. re
turns 'em just such as he found 'em ? ,It often
happens that it might have been better for some of 'emtohaveperiih'dintheirVoyage.
The like may be said of the Art of Engineers, that ofCarpenters, Brick-layers, Coachmen and ma nyothers^who oftenpreservetheLivesofabun danceofPeople-,and yet thereisnoGoverment wherein the Laws allot, any very great Honors, or establish any very considerable Rewards for those that exercise 'em : So true is it that notwithstan ding the love M e n naturally bear to Life, it must be confess'd that the Art of preserving our selves or others is no such wonderful thing, as to be piefer'dtoeverythingbesides. TheonlyArtwhich
, merits our Esteem, and which alone can make a
m
148
Ik Use of Plato.
ifrf**>>feMrManconsideredasaGod, isthatofsavingSouls;
aim meritsand to save 'em, they must be purg'd from their
ourEstN/n. Vices :for'tisthegreatestunhappineisintheWorld foraMan to pass into the other Life with his Soul loaded with Sins. Therefore a Good Man oughttoemployallhisLogick andEloquenceboth to make himself better, and to render others so -, and to put both himself and others in a Condition toappearbeforethatJudgfromwhomnothingcan be hid, who viewing Souls quite naked discovers
theleastscarsthatarelefton'em byPerjury,Injus
tice, Vanity, Lying, Cruelty, Debauchery, and all
otherSins^andwho, asherenderstoeveryMan
according to his Works, punishes those for a time,
who have committed only such Sins as are cure-
able, that iswhich may be expiated, and condemns
tholetoEternalTormentswho havebeenguiltyof Mortal Sins ? , and by pushing their Wickedness to
extremity have render'd themselves incurable, and have no found part in 'em. This is the Danger from which 'tis ib noble a thing to secure Men. This is the lest Combate in the World, and the
only
? ? 7be Life]'osPlato. 140
only one that deserves to be undertaken even with the perilofone'sLife:forisitfitweshouldfear Men who candonomorethankilltheBody?
Thole Legislators, Orators and Ministers of Statewho havenotemploy'dtheirEloquenceto meliorate the People that were subject to 'em, were not true Orators, aud consequently were not trulyrighteous. ThisPlatoprovesbytheExamples
of Pericles, ? Simon, Milciades and Themijiocles ? , who were so far from making' the Athenians good
Men that they render'd them yet more brutish and s a v a g e -, a n d i n f i n e , b o r e t h e P u n i s h m e n t o f t h a t littlecaretheytookof'em. Forallthatbefel'em from thehandsof rhePeople, came on'em through their own fault;likethatwhich happens toanill
Groom,whosuffershisHorsestobecomemore unluc
ky thanwhentheywerefirstcommittedtohiskeep ing, and so at last is kicked by 'em, and can no lon
gerrule'em. ThisistheIdeaPlatohadofRhe- torick, of which he gives excellent Precepts in his Pbedn/s, and Gorgiar, Dialogues which can never be sufficiently commended, and which furnish us with the Maxims of which we have been discour sing.
WhenIsayRhetorickisonepartofDialectics 1 don't forget that this is sometimes oppos'd to the other-,as we findinPlato'sown Writings in the beginningofGorgicu, whereSocratesfaystoPolus, that he exercis'd himself more in that which is call'd
Rhetorick, thaninDialectics But 'tiseasytosee that Socrates there, by Rhetorick, means that Arc
which has no regard to Truth, but aims only at a plausible Appearance ofTruth? ,and the Scope of
which is only to adorn and embellish any Subject, When lfocrates makes a Panegyrick on Helena, he only employs the figures of Rhetorick ; and never troubles himself about the Proofs and Argum. -nts ofDialectick. InaWord,anOratorisonewho labours to excite or appease the Passions, and to obtain his end seeks magnificent, Words, and ipe-
L 3 cious
? ? 150
7k LifeofPlato.
cious Figures, and employs false Arguments as if they were true ; and the Dialectician applies himself to Art, only to prove the Truth ^ as the Sophist has recourse to Art only to put off Falihood.
W e now come to the manner in which Plato han
dles the Subjects of which he treats; and lhall en
deavour to discover the Beauties and Defects of his
Stile.
jfttr-vbat Heisaccus'dofneverproposinghisQuestions
tola*! ! *'AEmpiyanc*clearly, andofcastingbythismeansa thesubjectsgreatdealofobscurityonhisDialogues. Butto. ofwhichhi]udgewhetherthisReproachiswell orillfoun
t s
ded 'tis necessary to examine what belongs to M e thod. There are two forts ofMethod ; The first maybecall'dsimpleanddryh suchisthatofGe ometricianswho endeavouronly to proposethena ked Truths, and to draw just Conclusions from their Propositions. ThisMethodisverygood,andex tremely useful, when we have to do with Minds that are rational and free from all sorts of Preju dice:ButisworthnothingwhenwedealwithPeo ple prepossessed or unattentive, impatient or obsti nate.
? The Second Method which may be call'd com
poundedoxjkridisthatof Orators-7'tisproperly thefirstMethod extended and disguised by all the Ornaments that can render Arguments agreeable, and takes away that rudeness and dryneis from Pre cepts, which commonly hinderthereception of 'em. Ifwe examine Plato's works with reference to the first ofthese:'Tiscertainhedoesnotatfirstdash distinctly propose the Question on which he treats. But instead of being reproached he ought to be commended for this : ior he purpoiely rejected this Method to follow the other which is infinite lymore'useful,andhasmoreofArtinit. By
this means he cures a great many Passions, and destroys an infinite number of Prejudices, before they towhom hefpc. il:;',knowwhatheaimsat:and'tis
by this Course he convinces them with so much ? - , . . . . . . . . . . ,vi. . ? ,. strength/
? ? The Life of Plato. 151
strength of all the Truths he has a mind to teach.
But fay some, to what purpose serve those greatVhto'jpre-
Preambles which he sets at the head of his Dia- Mlbl"- logues ? These are necessary to accompany hisDe
sign 1 and as Plutarch fays when he speaks of the.
Dialogue which P/ato made of the Atlantick Island on Solons Memoirs ? , These are Superb gates and
magnificent Courts with which he purposely embellish es his great Edifices; ffat nothing may be wanting totheirBeauty, andthatallmaybeequallysplendid. HeactslikeagreatPrincewho whenhebuildsa
fine Pallace, adorns the Perch with Golden Pillars
tousethewordsofPindar. For'tisproperthat
what is first seen should be splendid and magnifi cent ? ,and should promise all that greatness which is
to be seen afterwards. IfPlato'sPreamblesshouldbeexcus'dforthefake ** ft:
oftheirgreatBeauty,andforthegenuineandad-'*"? **" mirable descriptions with which they abound ; yet e"'imi'
how cananyone excuse the frequentDigressions inwhichheengageshimself? Thisiswhatissaid by thosewhoneverhadthePatiencetoreadPlatoj orelsehavereadhimverycarelessly. 'Tistruethere are frequent Digressions in his Dialogues ; but these
Digressions never carry him entirely from his Sub ject; for he always employs them either to establish some greatTruthwhichheshallhave occasionfor i n t h e s e q u e l o f h i s d i s c o u r s e -, o r t o p r e v e n t t h e Readers mind with Authorities and Examples, or in fine to divert, and refresh him after a painful and serious research ; and in this Plato may be said,
to be the Greatest Inchanter that ever was in the World , for when he is giving you the proofs of the most necessary and solid Truths ; he takes care at the lame time to lead you into the sweet Meadows, Groves and Vallies which the Muses frequent.
Besides 'tis an incontestable M a x i m e that the O p e rationsoftheMindarenotliketheMotionsofan Arrow, AnArrowdoesnotgowell,UnlessitRee straight forward ; but the Mind makes no less pro-
L 4 grels
? ? iji
The Life of Plato. 1
gresswhenitturnsaside,orflopsataSubject, to consider it well on every side, and by the different r e l a t i o n s it h a s t o o t h e r t h i n g s , t h a n w h e n it g o e s o n directlytoitsend. TisloranArrowtogo,with o u t t u r n i n g , t o t h e M a r k w e a i m a t -, a n d i t a l ways misiesitsstroke,howlittlesoeveritdiverts fromit. ButtheMindofManisnotoblig'dtopro ceed so directly ? , but is often engag'd to consider
such Objects as are nearlyAllied to that it desires to know? ,andtotakeaturnaboutthemtoexamine
'em on all sides. This Circular Motion is no lels ftreight than that of an Arrow ; and these turnings and windings instead of leading us from the end, conductustoit. Thisissotruethatwhenwehave been thinking Plato was wandering from his design b y f r e q u e n t D i g r e s s i o n s -, w e a r e s t r a n g e l y s u r p r i z e d
to see, that that which reersl'd to carry him from it does indeed after a wonderful manner lead him to i t -, a n d t h a t t h e T r u t h s h e h a s e x p l a i n ' d i n d i f f e r e n t places being laid together, form and compleat his Demonstrations, which would have been neithercer tainnorright,ifhehad approach'd'embyadire? t Line.
HemustneverhavereadPlato,whoaccuseshim ofbeing ignorantoftheMethod ofGeometricians. He knew itperfectly well, and designedlyforbearsthe
meAfrbottileofit. ALearnedMan,whoisverywellac-
Feuryinqu'aintedwithPlato,hasobserv'dbeforeme, thatno hitr'(#Man can moreaccurately proposethe State of a ojsudits. Question, more exactly divide a Subject, and exa
mineDefinitionsmorenicelythanhe. Heneverfor gets any of the things on which he has propos'd to treat ; He always returns to his Subject,' the fight of which he has never lost, what Digression soever he makes. Heoftenmarksoutthebeginningandend of each parr, and of every Digression by Propositi ons and Conclusions ; he often uses Recapitulations ; and when he keeps his proof at a distance, he always
takes care to make you remember the State of the QuestionV So that his Discourse has atonce the K
? ? The Life of Platcv 15J
berty of Conversation, and the accuracy of the most
M e t h o d i c a l Treatise. A n Ancient Philosopher has giv- Akin.
e n t h i s C o m m e n d a t i o n t o P / a t o ? , t h a t o s a l l t h e P h i - ? h ' v r *
lofophers he is the moji excellent and admirable for dividing and defining : which qualities denote him to be
a very expert Logician.
As for his Stile 'tissublime without heing Impe tuousandRapid. TisagreatRiver thedepthofv^fs
whichmakesitsmooth. TheprincipalCauseofthat Elevationwhichreignsinit, isthatheimitatesHo mer, more than any other Writers ; and has drawn from his Poesy as from a living Spring that which
hasfurnisli'daninfiniteNumberof Rivuletswhich hehasmadetorunfromit:NayheisHomer'sRi val 1 and indeed seems to have heap'd up so many magnificent things in his Treatises of Philosophy, and to have fallen so often upon Poetical Matters, and Expressions, only to dispute the Prize with this great Poetwithallhismight, likeanewWrestlerwho enters the Lists against one that has already receiv'd all the Acclamations, and is the Admiration of all Mankind. ThisistheJudgmentwhichLongings
makesofhim;butsincehegoesnotdeepenoughin
to the true Character of Plato, and understood but 'apartofit? ,Thatitmaybebetterknown, IhopeI
shallbepermittedtoexplainitalittlemore through ly, by adhering to what our Ancient Masters have said of it.
Thereareibmany differentmannersofcofnposing, Dion)fius thatindeedtheyareinnumerable. Foronemayfay,Halicarn.
the Countenances of M e n are not more different than Jl 5\fj? . theirwaysofWriting. 'TiswiththisArtas'tis^,f,titn. with that of Painting, the Professors of which make
very different Mixtures with tfje fame Colours, and Paintthe fameSubjectsafteraverydifferentMan
ner. Butthoughtholedifferencesaresoverynu
merous, when they are examined nicely and by de t a i l , y e t t h e y m a y b e r e d u e ' d t o t h r e e p r i n c i p a l o n e s ? ,
which go under borrow'd Names, for want of pro perones.