No More Learning

5 Maxim. Tyr. ch. j.
she lifeos Plata.
49
// at a time when Attica,produced no Olives ? Never was any Calumny more ill founded than t h i s ? , t h e r e f o r e a n * A n c i e n t P h i l o s o p h e r s p e a k i n g
of the Advantages of an active Life, made no diffi
culty of commending P/ato for this Voyage of his,
of the true Motive of which he gives us an account.
For he lays, it was for one of bis Friends, who was deprivedofhisEstateand banished,thatPlatohadthe
Courage to go and face a very formidable Tyrant,
andtoexposehimselftohisHatred, andallthedan gerswithwhichthatthreatenedhim. IntheLetter
which Plato wrote to Dion's Friends soon after this
Voyage, hetakesnoticeinexpressTerms, Thatthe
splendid Tables of Italy and Sicily extremely dis pleasedhim; andthathecouldnotwithoutHorror
look on the Custom these People had of filling them selveswithWineandMeattwiceaday,andofaban doningthemselvestoallmannerofDebauchery. When aMan (fays,he)hasbeenaccustomedtotheseEx
cessesfrom hisTouth, 'ttshardlypossiblefor him ever to be reclaimed (how goodsoever his natural Disposi
tionmay otherwisebe)soantobecometemperateand wise:How muchlessmayhepretendtootherVirtues? H e afterwards adds ; M y Life would be insupportable tome, isIweresuchaSlavetothosePa/Jions.
As Plato pass'dthrough Peloponnesus he ibundDion at the Olympick Games, and gave him an account of all the Proceedings of Dionysus. Dion more tOuch'd with the Injuries Plato had received, and with the Risque he had run, than with all the Acts of Injusticethathadbeenoffer'dtohimself; sworehe would attempt to be reveng'd. Plato did all he could to divert him from thisThought,but when he saw all his endeavours were in*vain,- he predicted to him whatMiserieshewasgoingtooccasion,andde- clar'd to him, that he must not expect either Assistance orAdvicefromhim? ,andsincehehadhadtheHo
nourtoeatattheTableofDionyfius, tolodge in his Pallace, and to participate of the fame Sacrifices
Tm t
E . with
? ? 50 The Life of Plato.
w i t h h i m -, h e s h o u l d a l w a y s r e m e m b e r t h e O b l i g a tions to which this engag'd him : And that on the other hand, to answer the Friendship he had for Dion, he would stand Neuter, always ready to per-
. formtheFunctionsofagoodMediatortoreconcile 'em, and always equally opposite to their Designs, whenever they went about to destroy one another.
* Dion gathered ibme Troops together, went into
Sicily, deftroy'd the Tyrannical Government, expelFd the Tyrant, and restored Liberty to his Countrey.
'Tis well known what Mischiefs were occafion'd by thisEntetprize. Itbeingadifficulttilingtopreserve
Justice andlnnocence long, amidst the disorders of Arms, above all those of a Civil War ; Dion had the unhappiness only by one Action to stain the Glo r y o f a l l t h e r e s t -, f o r h e p e r m i t t e d t h e M u r d e r o f neraclides, which did not remain long unpuniih'd -, forDion was assassinatedbyCallipjtustheAthenianin the midst of his Successes and Triumphs.
After the Death of Dion his Relations and nearest Friends wrote to Plato, to entreat his Advice in the deplorable Condition to which they were then re- duc'd ; some of 'em having a mind to revive the Tyranny, andothersusingtheirutmostEffortstore establishthePopularGovernment. Platowroteto
'em, t 'That a State would never be happy either under
aTyranny, ortoogreataliberty, thattheMedium
was to yield Obedience tosuch Kings as were them-
selvesjiibjelltotheLaws: thatgreatLibertyand greatServitudezeereequallydangerous, andproduced
a l m o s t t h e f a m e E f f e f f s ? , t h a t t h e O b e d i e n c e w h i c h w a s given merely to Men, was always excejjive, and as exorbitantastheirLujls. Thattherecouldbeno
Moderation buronly |j/;/thatObedience which is
render d to God, who being always thefame, always requitedthefame thingsatthehandsofhisSubjeQs;
that it was only this that couldmake Nations happy,
* See Dion's Life, in Plutarch. tThisisthe8thLetter. Tom. 3. . | God's Yoke casier than Man's.
and
? ? TheUfeofVhtol ji
andthattheywho wouldobeyGodmujlobeytheLaw, thattheLaw wastheGodofWisemen, andLicenti ousnesstheGodofFooh. Thathethereforeadvised 'em to constitute three Kings, the Son of Dion, the Son of Dionysus who was expelled, and the Son of
Dionysus the Elder, to chuse by their order such a numberofOldMen astheyshouldthink fit,who . should take the care of making Laws, and regulating theGovernment oftheState,astheKingsshould have the iuperintendance of Sacred and Religious Matters, and of all other things firto be left at the
DisposalofBenefactors. Thatitwouldafterthis be needful'to create 35 Guardians or Conservators of theLaws, whoshouldhavethedispositionofPeace
and War, in conjunction with the Senate and People. That Criminal Matters should be judged by these 35ConservatorsoftheLaws,towhomtheremight be joined for Commissaries, the most aged and most honestofthoseSenators, thathadlaiddowntheir Charge: That theKings shouldnotassistatthese Judicial Acts ; because being * Priests they could not, without defiling themselves, and derogating from their Character, condemn any one to Death, Exile,orImprisonment. Healsoparticularlyen- joyn'd 'em to drive out the Barbarians from all the Places they possess'd in Sicily, and to reestablish the
ancient Inhabitants in their room. ' Platolurviv'dDionbut5or6years, whichtime
hespentintheAcademy,notbeingwillinginany manner to intermeddle with theGovernment, because hesaw theMannersoftheCitizenswereverymuch deprav'd. TheCyrenianssentDeputiestohim;to
entreat him to go and give 'em Laws, whicluKe re
fused, telling'em, theyweretoofondofRiches-,
andthathedidnotbelieveitpossible,thatsorich a
PeoplecouldbesubjeUtotheLaws. The Thebans madethefameRequesttohim,andhegaveJemthe
like Refusal ; because, he said, he perceived they
weretoogreatEnemiestoEquality. ButHesent
* TheHoyakyjoinedwiththePriesthood.
E2 his
? ? \i
The Life of Plato. '
hisDisciplesintothoseplaces,wherethePeople were in a disposition to conform themselves to hisMaxims.
F/ato was naturally an Enemy to Pride andOstfcn- tation 5 and soughtfornothing butTruth, Simplici ty,andJustice. HisBehaviourwascourteousand sweet,temper'dwithGravity. Hewasneverseen to laugh immoderately, nor to be extremely angry. One may judge ofthe Mildness of hisTemper by the course he took for the Reformation's his Nephew . Tfeitsippw,whowasexcessivelydebauch'd. When his Parents had turn'd him out of Doors, he rook him to his House, and entertain'd him as if he had never heard a word of his Debauches : His Friends amaz'd and fhock'd at a procedure that seem'd to themtocarryIbmuch insensibilityinit,blam'dhim for not labouring to reform his Nephew, and save himfromutterruine. Hetold'emhewaslabour ing more effectually than they imagin'd j in letting him fee by his manner of Living, what an infinite difference there is between Vice and Vertue, and be tweenhonourableandbasethings. Andindeedthis Method succeeded so well, that it inspir'd Fseujip- f m with a very great respect for him, and a violent desireto imitate him, and to devote himselfto the study of Philosophy, in which he afterwards made a very great progress.
His way of speaking was so agreeable and insinu ating, that he never fail'd to make an Impression on thosethatheardhim, One dayashewaswalking a little way out of the City, with some of his Dis ciples and Friends, He met Timothy the Athenian General returning from the Army in the greatest heightofhisFortune, andatatimewhentheAthe
nians knew not how sufficientlyto honour hismerit, while they gave him the greatest Testimonies how muchtheyadmiredandrespectedhim. TheGene ral making a stop, would needs hear his Discourses, inwhichheinsisted,neitheronTaxes, northeequip- ? ingofFleets, northesubsistenceofTroops, buton
ertue,andtheDominionaManoughttohawover his
? ? 7be Life of Plato; 53
his Passions j whereby he only aim'd at the Explica tion of the Nature of the Chief Good. ,Timothy struck with the Truth and Elegancy of hisMaxims, cry'd out, 0 happy Life, 0 true felicity! by which words he signified, he was convinc'd that all
the Glory and Honour he enjoy'd were nothing m comparison of the Happiness of a Philosopher, and thatwithoutthestudyof Wisdom nosolidGood was attainable.
As Temperance is accounted the firstVertue of a Philosopher, so 'tis said of Plato, that he was al ways very grave and sober, and always liv'd a single
Life ; but there is reason to doubt whether his Celi bacy was the Effect of his Sobriety and Chastity ; for there areyet inbeing some Verses which he made
on a certain Miss o'f Colophon, nam'd Archeanaffa^
whom he lov'd, tho she was grown old. 1have ( f a y s h e ) w i t h m e A r c h e a n a s s a t h e A l i s s ? ? , L o v e f t ! / /
l i e s i n a m b u s h i n h e r W r i n k l e s . 'H o w u n h a p p y w e r e y o u that were exposed to her Glances in her Touth ! a-
midji what flameshavenotyou liv'd? He alsolov'd another, call'dXantippe. He requestedherFavours inverypressingTerms, andwiththosefineReasons which are since become the * commonplaces of those lasciviousMorals,whichnow reignononeofour Theaters, from whence they insensiblyglide intoour Cities and Houses, viz. That Beauty is a flower which very speedily withers ; that if Persons don't make haste to love, they lose their Touth to no pur
pose, and that old Age comesswiftly towards us, to
ravish our pleasant Days, and all our Delightsfrom
us.
'Tis true, 'tis said to excuse Plato, that these
Verses are not his, but compos'd by Arijiippus. , w h o imputed'emtohimtodegradehim,andtorevenge himselfonhimforhisRailleries. Butthereisnot muchgotbythisApology, ifitbetruethathehad yet more Criminal Passions, and that he lov'd Dion, Phaedrus,Alexis,Agathon,andAster. IntheVer-
* NJ. Vifptmix in his Satyr aeainstWomen,
E3 ? ses
? ? 54
V* LifeosPlato.
seshemade on'emheexpresseshimselfinsuchTerms as the heat of a poetick Fancy alone could not in spire. HewritesthustoDion,ThoumakejlmySoul love thee even to Folly. He fays to Aster, that be could wish himself to be the Sky, that he might be full of Eyes to look on him ; and expresses himself after a yet more licentious manner, when he speaks to Agathon. "Tistrue,afterall,theseVersesmaybe s u p p o s i t i t i o u s -, b u r i f t h e y a r e r e a l l y h i s , t h e r e i s
ground to 'believe they were only the Faults of his Youth, which are the less surprizing, because com mitted in an Age, wherein all Greece was tainted withhorribleEnormities. SocratesandhisPhilo sophy soon drew him out of this miserable State, by making him comprehend the horrid Evil ofthose brutalPassions. Hewasnotcontenttobecuredof 'em himself, but also labour'd to make others par take of the fame advantage, and to furnish 'em with Remedies against this mortal Poyson : for he vehe
mently opposes them in all his Writings, and parti
cularly in his firstBook of Laws, where he con
demns the Government of Lacedemonia, and that of
Crete, because of their publick. Exercises, * which produced and fomented those abominable Flames in W o
men towards Women, and in Men towards Men, by aperversionoftheir,naturaluse. Andhecallsthis detestable and infamous Crime ; one of. the most au- daciom and execrable Sins, which Intemperance could cause to be committed against God.
In the third Book of his Common-wealth, after he had prov'd that there is no Pleasure more furious than that which is caused by irregular Love, and thatitisinseparablefrom InsolenceandIntempe rance:He adds;tButtrueLoveconsistsinloving that which is decent and becoming, and in loving ac cordingtoalltheLawsofTemperance andMustek. PlatousesthisWord tosignifytheperfectAccord withReasonandHarmony, whichresultsfromall the Vertues, Kothing that is violent and furious,
1 Tcm. 2, f Tom. 2.
? or
? The Lifeos Plato; 5j
or that approaches Intemperance and Disorder ought tobetolerated, andconsequentlynoMan oughttopro posetohimselfanyCriminalPleasure. Thereforea
Lawshouldbemade, permittingMentoloveyoung
People, provided they love 'em as a Father loves his
Son ; and that they have no other end but to incite
"em to every thing that is honourable and comely ;and
that they never give the least suspicion of any vici
ous thought, or criminal desire. And that if they make a default herein, they be looked on as i? ifamous
persons, who have renounced all Honour and Vcriue. Plato deserves to be highly commended for having lov'd his Brothers with an extream tenderness; for
as'tissaidofPollux,thathewouldnotbeaGod alone, but chose rather to be a Semi-Deity together with his Brother, and to (hare with him in a mortal State, that so he might make him partake of his Immortality-, Plato in like manner was willing to communicate to his Brothers the Glory which him self only was capable of acquiring by his Works. In his Books of a Common-wealth he ascribes some very considerable parts to Adimantus and Qlaucon -, and lie makes Antiphon, the youngest of 'em all, speak in his Parmenides, whereby he has render'd 'em all three as immortal as himself.
H e never employ'd his W i t to revenge the perso
nal Injuries he receiv'd, but to revenge those that
wereoffer'dhisFriends,ortheTrurh. Itcan'tbe
shown that he said one Word of Timon, who had, ? oftenattack'dhim. Andheanswei'dDiogenes-his
Witticisms only in a jestingway, without ever speak ing of him in his Writings.
Plato one day having made a great Treat for the Friends of Dionysus ? , Diogenes came into the Hall
wheretheFeastwaskept, andhisFeetbeingvery- dirty, chose to walk upon the finestPurple Carpets, saying,JtramplePlato3. ? prideundermyFee/, Pla to smiling made this Reply ; Thou tramples} my Pride under thy Feet with greater pride of thy own%
E 4 Dioge-
? ? 56
The Use ofPlato;
? DiogenesoncerequestedsomeBottlesofWineof
Plato,whosenthimthreedozens. WhenDiogenes methimthenextday; fayshe,Whenoneasksyou how many twice two makes, insteadofansweringfour,
youanswertwenty. ThusundertheColourofre turning him thanks, he reproach'd him with being too prolix inhisDialogues.
Platohavingdefin'dMantobeaTwo-legdAn-
nimal without Wings; Diogenes got a Cock, cut off
His Wings, and carried him to P/aid's School, tel
ling his Scholars, that was the M a n their Master talked of. This Jest made him change his Defi
nition.
Diogenes being reproach'd of continual Beggings
whereas Plato never ask'd for any thing, answer'd thus. TheonlydifferencebetweenPlatoandme,is, thatIbegaloud, andhewhisperswhenhebegs.
As Diogenes one day continued abroad in a very great Snow mixt with Hail, and abundance of Peo ple that saw him were pitying him ; says Plato, If
you have any CompaJJionfor him, look on him no lon ger:therebytoreproachhim, thatwhathedidwas not from any vertuous Principle, but out of Osten
tation and vain Glory.
Itbeinghisperswafion, thatMen were notborn
forrhemselves, butfortheirCountry, fortheirRe
lations and Friends ; he was far from authorizing
the opinion of those w h o believ'd that Philosophy ? had a right of annihilating such essential Obligati
ons ; and taught that the Life of a Philosopher isthe LifeofaMan entirelydevotedtothepublick; who endeavours to become better, only that he may be the more useful ; and that he shuns the hurry of Business then only when his Country refuses his Service, or when he is incapable of serving his Country to good purpose. AndhisownPractisewassutabletothis throughthewholeCourseofhisLife. For'tisre ported that he did not so much as excuse himself
irom tearing of Arms, and that he behav'd himself bravely at the Battel of Tanagra, that of Corinth, and
? ? The Life of Plato. ' 57
and that of Delium, where he obtain'd a considera b l e V i c t o r y -, b u t i t i s n o t k n o w n o n w h a t o c c a s i o n ; for this Battel of Delium is not to be confounded with that which was fought before in the fame place ; in which Socrates was engag'd, and sav'd the Life of Alcibiades, in the first Year of the L X X X I X Olym-
piade, P/atobeingthenbutfiveorsix. yearsold.
And he ferv'dhis Friends with aslittleconcern for hisownLife? ,forhenotonlydidallwe havelaid
before for Dion, but also defended Chabrias the A- thenianGeneralwhenimpleaded attheBar? ,and
when his Accuser Crobylus, to put him out of coun tenance, laid to him, Thou earnest hither to defend others^ littlethinkingthatSocrateshisToyfonisrea
dyforthee. Hemadethisreturn;WhenmyCoun
try formerly had occasionfor my Use, 1 readily ex posedit$butthere'snodangernow beforemetoput
me into a Consternation, and to make me desert my Yriend.
He wouldfaytherewasnothingmoreunworthyof a Wile Man, and which ought to trouble him more than to have allow'd more time for unnecessary trifling anduselessthingsthantheydeserv'd. Thereforehe omitted no occasion of reproving such as he saw were vainly puff'd up on the account of those Qualities of which they rather ought to have been ashanfd. And to this purpose 'tis laid the fame Anniceris of
Cyreneofwhomwehavespokenbefore,whowasa considerable Person both for his Birth, and for his Ingenuity; butvalued himselfaboveallforbeing thebestCharioteer intheWorld,havingaknackto guide a Chariot above those of the best reputation
in that Art, had a mind to shew his Dexterity in his - Presence. AChariotwasbroughtforthispurpose intoa Close belonging to the Academy, where he
made several Turns with that exactness, that the Wheels always ran in the fame Track, and constant lydescrib'dthesameLine. AlltheSpectatorswere charm'd and extolI'dAnniceris to the Skies by theiv Praises:ButPlatoseriouslybla,m'dhim, tellinghim
it
? ? 58 , TheLifeofPlato;
irwas. not possiblebut that he who had spent so much time in so vain and inconsiderable a matter, must needs have neglected other things that were ve ry necessary and important ^ and that a Mind entire ly taken up with such Trifles could not be capable ofapplyingitselftoanythingvaluable, andtruly worthy of admiration.
H e was so free from the vice of Flattery, and the base and servile submissionsof the Orators of that Age, who made themselves Masters of the People onlybyameanandcringingComplaisance, andby
" conforming themselves to their Passions $ that he was
compafd to Epaminondat, aud Agefilaus; who tho they travell'd to many Cities, and conversed with
MenwhosecourseofLifeandMannerswerevery differentyetwhereverthe/were,stillretain'd,intheir Habit, intheirDiscourse,andinalltheirBehaviour, whatwasworthyofthemselves, andlutabletotheir Character. ForPlatowasthelame. Man acSyracuse thathewasintheAcademy,thefamewithDwny-
fius as with Dion : A certain sign that the Maxims of his Philosophy, which were full of force and Vertue had penetrated his Soul,likea deep Tincture, which nothing can either efface or tarnish.
During his laststay in Sicily, Dionyfius having a mind to Regale all Persons of chief Note in his Court, andallhisPhilosophers,PlatoandArijiippus were invited among the rest. In the midst of the Feast the Tyrant ordefd Purple Robes to be brought andgiventoalltheCompany, desiringtofee'em dance. Plato,refus'dtheRobethatwaspresented him, saying, itwouldtoomuchdajhhimoutofCoun tenancetofeehimselfappareWdlikeaWoman. Ari-
fiippus made no such Scruple, but took the Robe and fell a dancing, saying, a very wife W o m a n would never be disrefpet/edfer her dancing.
Plato has been accused of three things, first that his Humour was too Satyrical, which render'd his Writings more piquant than the Strokes of ancient Comedy,, andthemoreunworthy ofaMan ofHo
nour,
? ? >> The Life of Plato. jp
n o u r , i n t h a t h e d i d n o t s p a r e h i s b e s t F r i e n d s ? , f o r instance when in his thoeion he is speaking oiCleom- brotus and Ariftippus, he lays, they * were not present at the Death ^jsSocrates, because they were at AEgina.
The secondthingwithwhichP/atoisreproached,
isanenviousandjealousDisposition, whichmade
him uncapable of enduring an Equal or Partner in any thing whatsoever ? , and engag'd him tacitely to
contradict Xenophon, without ever giving one word of Commendation to the Vertue of that Great Man, notwithstanding his extraordinary Merit.
The thirdthingobjectedagainsthim, isthatma- ny of his Disciples were possessed with a Spirit of Tyranny-, Euphraus for Instance who was at the CourtofPeraiccafKingofMacedonia, hadasmuch Authority asthatPrincehimself, and would notsuf- fer him to entertain any but Geometricians and Phi losophersathisTable^ whichprovedPannenion to kill him after the Death of Periibca* ; and Cal- lippuswhokilPdDiontomakehimselfKingofSy racuse;andEvagonofLampsacuswho havinglent Money tohisCountrey,upontheCittadel, thatwas given him for his Security, would have employ'd this Fort against it to subject it to himself ; and
TymcusofCyzicus, whohavingmadeafreedistribu tion of Corn among the People, would have abus'd the Favour and Authority which that procur'd him, to m a k e h i m s e l f their T y r a n t : A n d in fine C h a r o n o f Tellene, w h o having cruelly brought his Countrey in to subjection, drove away the best Citizens, and gave
their Estates and Wives to his Slaves. LessexaminethefirstoftheseReproaches. Platoj**? *? ? ?
is perhaps the only Person who was ever accused of t'he aj*,*_'"
two Faults directly opposite, and which are destruc- proachof tiveofeachother. Atheneushasaccus'dhimofbe-beingtot
ing too Satyrical, and others have blam'd him fbr*"-'* beingtoomild, andforhavingtaughtaveryconside rable time without displeasing any one ; by which he would insinuate rhat his Doctrine was not good, cr
* See FUto Phqd. at the beginning.
that
? ? 60
The Life osPlato. "
that his method was bad, fince nobody either in hearing or reading him had felt . that trouble which naturally arises from the Sense of one's having been vicious. Butwithouttroublingmy selftoconfute or reconcile these Contradictions, I shall only lay, thatAtheneuswashimselfinanillhumour, whenhe castthisReproachuponPlato: And Ishall make useofthefamewordsagainsthim, whichthisPhi-
' losopherus'dagainstAnytuswhoaccus'dhimofha vingbeenguiltyofCalumny. *Heknowsnotwhat it is to calumniate, for if he did, be would not accuse me of that Vice. And indeed Plato did no ways slanderThemistocles, Pericles,axidThucydides, when he made use of them as Instances to prove, that V e r t u e c o u l d n o t b e a t t a i n ' d , m e r e l y b y I n s t r u c t i o n ? , fince these Men had not made their Children learn it. As for that word he spoke against Aristippus and Cleombrotus, besides that the turn of it is very fine, itmust be ascribed to that Love and Gratitude Plato retain'd towards Socrates, which made him highly resent it, that his two Friends had not atten-
? ded their Master at his Death, because they were at AEgina ? , which by the manner of his Speech one
would take to have been at a hundred Leagues di- .
stance, tho indeed itwas near the Gates of Athens. . And as occasion offers,we shall hereafter examine all the other Satyrical Touches Atheneus charges on him. NotthatIpretendtocrossPlato'sNameout of the number of Satyrical Writers : For on the con traryIamperswadedthatneveranyMan hadafiner k n a c k a t R a i l l e r y -, t h a t t h e m o s t r e f i n ' d S a t y r i s t o belearnedinhisWorks, andthatnonecanteachit
better than he. He may be compar'd to Aristo phanes himself. But it will be no difficult mat
terto make it appear, that as he never threw his DartsagainstanybutMen ofprofligateLives, who by abusing their Character, corrupted Youth, and ruinedReligion: He issofarfromdeservingRe proachesonthisaccount,thathedeservestobehighly v
* In Menon.
piais'd,
? ? theLifeosPlato. 61
prais'd. WifeMen,asaLearned*Fatherofthe Church observes, ought not to give soft and flatter ing Touches ; but on the contrary to give Wounds andtainstotholewho arefallenintogreatFaults,
and cannot be otherwise excited to Repentance and thepractiseofVertue. ThoseDiscourseswhichin stead of carrying pungency and Reproof in 'em, are only calculated to sooth and please, are not becom ingaWiseMan, sinceSolomonhimselflays,The WordsoftheWifeareasGoads. Besidesdoesnot every one know that Laughter is thejust Recom- pence of Ignorance when accompanied with Pride and Vanity. >
The secondAccusation has no more Justice init
than the first, for 'tis chiefly founded on this, thatj<# <<<<*- Xenopbon and Platowrote onthefameSubjects. >ldj$%+
Foreachof 'emmadeanApologyforSocrates,eachX made his Banquet and Treatises of Morality and Policy. IftomakeBooksonthefameSubjectson which othershavetreatedwerealwaysasignofan enviousandjealousMind ;rhisReproach wouldra therfallonXenopbon, who didnotwriteofthe? - ducation of Cyrus, till after he had seen the two first Books of Plato's Common-wealth.
? And itwould be no very easy matter entirely to justify Xenopbon from this spirit of Envy, when one reads the Fragment of a Letter which he wrote
to Escbines, in which he extreamly inveighs against Plato, and charges him with having corrupted the Philosophy of Socrates, by intermixing that of Py thagoras, and makes the end of his going intoSicily tobetheEnjoyment oftheDelicaciesofDionyjius hisTable. TotheseInvectivesofhisPlatomakes noanswer,norspeaksoneWordofXenopbon? ,in
* St. Jerome on that Passage of the XII phap. of EccUf. the WordsoftheWifeareaiGoads.
Siraul& hocnocandumest,quod, oicanrur vcrba sapientium pungere, non palpare, necmolli mami atrahere Iasciviam, fed errantibus &tardispa>>nirenciaedolores, & vulnusinfigere. Sicujusigirursermononpungit,fedoblectatio- K m facit audientibus, isle non est sermo sapientis, vcrba quippe wpicntium uc stimuli.
which
Platom
? ? $i
The Use of Plato. '
which his Modesty can scarce be enough commend" e d ? , a n d p e r h a p s t h i s S i l e n c e w a s t h e c h i e f t h i n g r h a t
incensedXenophon. ForthegreatestIndignityone can offer a Writer is (not to fay some ill thing of him,but)tosaynothingatalltohim. Tistrue, Plato in one place writes, that Cyrus was a good General, but that he never had a good Education ; by which some pretend he desighd to deny Xeno-
fbon's Treatise of the Education of Cyrus ; but this
being made only to give the Idea of a great Prince,
and not to pass for a true History, Xenophon could
not be offended ata thing which he believed aswell
asPlato. Infine, that which yetmore discovers
with what SpiritXenophon was animated againsthim,
is the frightful D-scnption he makes of Menon, in
the nth,JBook of his Retreat; where he accuses
him of having betrayed Clearcus, and of having
beentheCauseofhisDeath. MenorfsMisfortune
proceeded from the Intimacy of his Friendship with
Plato, who hadpraisedhim,andinscribedhisName ontheDialoguehecomposed, concerningVertue;
for his pretended Treachery is not at all well prov ed,andhewas sufficientlyjustifiedfromitbyhis Death. Not that IpretendtoaccuseXenophonof Calumny and Imposture : these Vices are not to be foundinaMan ofSobrietyandReligion;butthe Hatred or Jealousy he conceived against Plato, dis pos'd him insensibly to receive all Reports, that were made against such as were engaged in strict Friendshipwithhim. HoweverifMenonhadbeen as bad as Xenophon describes him to have been, since his Villany was not known till after his Death, it can't be charg'd on Plato as a Crime; that he had lpoken in his Praise.
Some moreover support this Accusation, in lay- ing, that Plato, w h o speaks of almost all the Philo-
phers that preceded him, and refutes their Senti ments, speaks not one word of Bemocritus, tho fre quent Occasions presented of saying something of him, ThisisalsobuiltontheTestimonyofAris-
toxenes,
? ? TheLiftof Plato:
toxenes, whoinhishistoricalCommentaries, wrote that Psato would have burnt all the Books of Demo- crituswhich he could heap together, if he had not
beenpreventedbyAmyclasandClyniasy twoPytha gorean Philosophers, who represented tohim, that itwouldsignifynothingtoburn'em, sincetheywere inthehandsofagreatmanyotherMen. Andthis iscountedmore than enoughto make itbelieved that Plato hated Democritus^ and was jealous of his greatReputation. FormypartIconfessthisFable
ofAriftoxenesseemstome tobeveryillinvented: AManwhohasamindtocommithisRival'sBooks totheFlames, doesnotseekforWitnessestosuchan Action. Besidesthissilenceofhisofwhichthey speaksomuch,seemsaverydoubtfulBusiness. If
the Glory of Democritus had touch'd Plato so sensi bly, why did he not take the advantage of so many occasions,thatwerefairlyoffer1dhimtodi minish it, or to cast some blot on it, by, writing a- gainst him, and destroying some one or other of his P r i n c i p l e s ? A n A u t h o r is s e l d o m M a s t e r o f t h a t R e - , sentment with which the Glory of a Competitor inspireshim. Tisaverydifficultmattertocome to a certain determination of things that depend on athousand Circumstances, of which we arewholly ignorant;butthatwhichappearstomemostpro bableisasfollows. 'Tisamrm'd,thatDemocritus neverwenttoAthens^ orifhewentthitherthathe
was always unknown, and never discover'd himself lo much as to Socrates. 'Tis moreover very well
known, thatwhenHippocrates^whowasnowmuch advanced in years, went to Abdera to confer with
Democritus about the Folly that was imputed to h i m -, t h i s P h i l o s o p h e r w a s n o t y e t k n o w n i n G r e e c e ^ norhadhisWorksbeenbroughtthither. Ifthey had been published, they would have sav'd Hippo c r a t e s t h e t r o u b l e o f t h i s V o y a g e ? , f o r t h e y w o u l d have discover'd the great Wisdom of their Author, and the Stupidity and Ignorance of the People, w h o founded this Accusation of Folly only on those Sen
timents,
? ? 64 TheLifeofPlata
timents, which this Philosopher explain'd ist his Writings : N o w the Death of Democritus was not longbeforethatofP/ato. Inaword,Idon'tthink any Passage of Antiquity will make it appear, that theWritingsoftheformerwereknownatAthens, duringtheLifeofthelatter. NayIamofopini on, that there are not wanting some Proofs among the Ancients, that shew they did notbegin to make a noiseintheWorld, tillaftertheBirthofEpicurus.
Whence we may conclude,thatP/atowas sofarfrom hating Democritus, that he never knew him^ nor ever saw any of his Books.
It would not be so easy to justify Plato's proce dure towards E/chines, if that with which he is re- proach'd were true. 'Tis saidhe was sojealous ofthe Reputation and Credit which EJchines had acquired i n t h e C o u r t o f S i c i l y -, t h a t h e m a d e i t h i s b u s i n e s s to seek his ruine by his Insinuations to Dionyjius -y
and that he push'd this malicious and envious Hu* mour so far, that he attributes those Discourses to Criton, which are pretended to have been held by << Escbines with Socrates in Prison ; but this being sup ported only by the Testimony of one Idomeneus, one ofAristotle'sSchollars, 'tismorejusttoguideour Judgment by Plato's Vertue, than to suffer our selves to be prejudic'd against him by mere Calumnies. Would Xenopbon have forgotten a Circumstance that might have done so much honour to EJchines, and
covefd Platowith somuchshame? Andhavewe not in Plutarch the Discourse which Plato made to Dionyjius, to engage him to be kind to Efchines,2xA togivehimsomeMarks of hisEsteem? Nothing
is more opposite to that Magnanimity, for which Plato has been commended, than this Spirit of Envy. Let us fee how he himself speaks of the Envious, in the * <>thBook of Laws. While the Envious M a n thinks to exalt himself above others by Delraffi- onandCalumny,hewandersoutofthePathoftrue Vertue, and balks the Courage of his Competitors^
* Tom, 2.
txbeit
? ? TkLifeofPhtol 6f
when theysee themselves treated withso much Inju
stice j and as he by this means extinguishes allthat noble Emulation which the whole City appeared to have ?
in thisglorious Contention of Vertue, he dispirits it, and diminishes its Resolution and Vigour, as much as in him lies, and renders it less ardent in the pursuit ofGlory. CanoneaccuseaPhilosopherofEnvy, who scarcenames himself inhisown Works, and who attributes all his own Inventions and Notions
to his Master ?
* The third Accusation is still worse founded
thanthetwoformer. TheConditionofaPhiloso pher would be very deplorable ? , if he were to an
swer for all the Actions of his Disciples. None of their Faults can be justly charg'd on him, but those which they committed in pursuance of his Opinions.
The Instance of Dion only may be sufficient to ac quit Plato of the charge of a Tyrannical Spirit. WhatcouldanyonehavedonemorethanDiondid to induce Dionysus the Elder and his Son after him to govern justly, that they might firmly establish
their Dominion ? and when he had taken up a reso
lutiontoexpelthelatter, couldanyonemorevi
gorously oppose this design than Plato did > Besides,
'tisa great piece of Injustice to make Calippus pass
for one of Plato's Dilciples, contrary to what this
Philosopher himself says in his 7th Letter, in which
he assures us that it was not by the study of Philo sophy that Calippusz. cqmx'^. Dion's friendship ? , but
as itusually happens by civilConversation, he having goneofteninhisCompanytotheTheater, toSacri ficesandotherreligiousRites; and theybeing both addicted to the fame kinds ofPleasure;
There isnotonly injustice in thisAccusation, . but also either a greatdeal of Ignorance or agreat deal of Disingenuity. Could Atheneus, who had readandcollectedsomuch, beignorantafterwhat Manner Xenophon defends Socratesagainst his Ene-
* TheFaultsofPUto"iDisciplesotigheriottobethrowriupi
oa him,
k ? mics
? ? 66
7k Use of Plato;
v
mies who charg'd him with all the Violences and InjuriesofCritias and Alcibiades^ laying theguiltof 'em upon him, on pretence that they had been his D i s ciples >and ifhe k n e w this,ought not he to have m a d e uie ofthe fame Maxims to justify P/ato ? As there is
feme Justice in imputing to Masters the Miscarriages . oftheirScholars,whentheybecomeguiltyof'em by following their Opinions' and Principles ; so on the other side 'tis just to ascribe to 'em their great andnobleActions, whentheyare thefruitoftheir Precepts. PlutarchthereforeismorejustthanAthe- tteus, when he places to Plato's Account, all the
greatthingshisDiscipleshaddone. HisWordsare remarkableandentirelyoverthrowallthe Criticism ofthisCensor. *Plato(sayshe)badleftfinedis courses of Laws, and the Government of States ; but
. he had imprejiftillfiner on the hearts of his Disciples.
These turiousdiscoursesengagdYHxon torestore Sici
lyitsancientLiberty. $andPythonand hisBrother
HeraclidestodeliverThracefrom Tyranny bykilling
Cotys. ChabriasandPhocion,thosetwoGreatAthe
nianCaptains, cameout ofthejameSchool. Plato
gave Laws tothe Arcadians by his Disciple Aristony-
itius, tothe EliansbyPhormion, to those of Pyrrah
byNeraedemus, totbd-(Mdians byEudoxus, and
tothose0/StagirabyAristotle. Nay,theRulesofgo
verningwellwhichAlexanderdefir'dof Xenocrates,
were onlyPlato'. ? Precepts. And hethatkindled thatPrincessCourage, andperswadedhim tomake
war withthe King ofPersia,was Delius theEphejian, an intimate friend of this Philosopher*
Atheneus carried his Malignity and Envy yet far ther -, for he writes, that Plato's Timcus, his Gor* ? gias, and his other Dialogues of the like kind, in
whichhetreatsoftheMathematicks,andofNa tural Philosophy, are not so much to be admir'd, as'tis commonly said they are: forhe says thefame things are to be found elsewhere, aswell explained, i f n o t b e t t e r -, a n d h e a s s u r e s t h e W o r l d , t h a t T h e o -
* InhisTreatiseagainstColottstheEpicurean.
pompus
? ? The Lifeof Plato. ' <S7
pompus of Chio writes, that thegreatestpartofhis Dialogues were false and useleis, because some of 'em were taken from Ariflippus, others from An- tifihenes, and others from Bryfon. He adds, that when one expeSs in his Writings the Morals and Wisdomosa Philosopher, onefinisnothingbutBan quets, and. Discourses about Love, which have agreat dealof Indecency, and very little Chastity in 'em which he compos d to the great undervaluing of the Judgment of his Readers.
IwillnotnowlaytheJudgmentofTheopompus ought to be suspected, becauie theAncientshaveac- cus'd him of Malice and Calumny ? , and therefore
Plutarch fays of him, 'tissafer to believe him when hepraises,thanwhenheaccusesanyone. LetPla to's Dialogues be taken as much as he pleases from
Ariflippus, Bryfon and Antifihenes, since their
Works are not now extant, the Testimony of Theo pompus, contrary to Atheneus his Intention, proves that thesevery Dialogueswhichhe hassomuchcon demns are now the best, and most considerable Work on those Matters, that isto be found among
the Ancients.
And if Atheneus passes a Judgment on 'em only
ofhisownhead;I'llventure tofay,'tisnotthe firstFault thisAuthor has committed, who ismore tobecommendedforhisvastLearning,andgreat Collectionswhichweretheproduct of a prodigious Reading, than for his Accuracy and Wisdom in his critical Reflections, and for the Solidity of his Judg ment. IsaManwellqualifiedtojudgofPlato's Writings, when he dares to write, that he can't fee what advantage can be drawn from the Immortality
of the Soul, since after its seperation from the Body, ithas no more any Remembrance or Seniation ?
As to what he fays ol the indecent Discourses Platohasmade ofLovetothegreatundervaluing of theJudgmentofhisReaders;hisaimwastodecry the Dialogue of the Banquet ; but by this he disgra ces himself more than he does that Dialogue. For
F 2 besides,
? ? 68
The Life of Plato. -.
besides that he discovers the Corrttption of'/ his Heart;hemakes itappearthathewasignorantof th? beauty and design of that Dialogue-,' the end ofwhichisonlytodisengageusfromthe'Loveof Earthly Beauties, and to raise us to the Love of the SoveraignBeautywhichisGodhimself. 'NooneI
believewillhesitateinhischoicebetweenthe Judg ment of Atheneus, and that of Origen, who in his Excellent Preface on the Song of Songs, speaks of Thud'sBanquetintheseTerms. DiversLearned
persons among the Greeks, who were desirous to -pe
netrate into Truth, havewritten Dialogues about
Love, toshow that 'tis this only that can raise our
Soulsfrom Earth to Heaven, and that'tisonly by the
helpofthis,thattruefelicityisattainable. The
Questions that are started at Table on this Subjeff,
are made bypersons notso greedy os Dainties, asca
rioustooccasionfineDiscourses. Naysomeof'em
havetaughtinWriting, theWays andArtsofprodu
cingoraugmentingthisLoveintheSoul. ButMen
of carnalInclinationspervertingtheseArts haveem ploy'dthem tosatisfy their Lusts, and abused ''em to
promoteaninfamousConversation. Thereforeitis not to be wonder'd at, if with us among w\wm there aresomany ? ncreignorantpersons, astherearemore illiterate, a Treatise of Love has some danger at tending it5since among the Greeks, who areso Learn edand Wije, there have yetsome been found, who have mistaken these Dialogues, and interpreted 'em in afense quite differentfrom that in which they were written, and who, taking occasionfrom~ what is said in ''em of Love, have fallen into a Snare, whether they trulyfound in these Writings any thing thatincited''cmtoSin;orwhether theCorruptionof their Hearts hinder d :'emfrom understanding 'em.
This Apology strikes at Atheneus, whom Origen without doubt had in his Eye ; when we publish Plato's Phedrus w e (hall examine whether that C e n surepastonitbyDicearcw,Aristotle'sDisciple, in affirming (asDiogenes Lairtim reports) that the
Question
? ? >> Prov. 1. 6.
The Lifeos Plato; 69
Question handled in this Dialogue is Puerile, and the Character of it'Extravagant, ought to be received 5 and whether Cicero had reason to embrace the Sen timent of this Qatick, and to tax P/ato with having
given too mucrf'^uthority to Love.
Let us then without stopping at what has been
written against Plato, endeavour to know him by hisown Works.
Before the Age in which Vythagcras liv'd, Mora lity was treated on only in Sentences and Enigmas : ThereforeSolomon lays,aWifeManwill*under-
JiandthewordsoftheWife, andtheirdarksayings. Pherecydes, and his Disciple Pythagoras, who had brought Treasures of Knowledg with them when they return'd from their Travels, from Babylon, E-
gypt and Persia, were the first that open'd a door to good literature among the Greeks. It was from them, andespeciallyfromPythagoras, thatthefirst BeamsofTruthihin'doutinGreece. Morality was then considerably improv'd, yet itconsisted on lyofPreceptswrap'dupinObscurity. TheMe thod of Reasoning and Demonstrating was not yet inuse. Thisdryway(ifImaysotermit)of
handling Morality, was occasion'd by the Applica tionofMensMindsthenonlytotheknowledgof Numbers,NaturalPhilosophy,andAstronomy. So crates was the first, who upon the Reflection he made, that that which happens without us, does
not nearly concern us ; and that the study of it is more curious than useful, applied himself more particularly to the study of Morality, and handled itmoremethodicallyinhisDiscourses. Platohis Disciple being convinced of how greatImportance itwastopretervetoMankindsopreciousaTrea sureattemptedtowriteofit. Andthathemight dothistothegreateradvantage, andmightthebet terretain the Air of him who had revived this Sci ence, prefer'd the way of writing in Dialogues, to all other M e t h o d s oftreating a Subject : for besides,
? F i that
? jo
The Life of Plato^
t h a t it is t h e m o s t d i v e r t i n g m a n n e r o f w r i t i n g , i n t h a t
it as itwere exposes a Scene, in which all the Ac- ! torsareseentoperformtheirpartsy one may fay ;it is best fitted to attain the end, which is to per- 1swade and instruct,that itisanimated with the most
Life, and hath all the force of contrary Opinions, whereinthetwo Partiesdefendthemselvesasmuch as they will, or can, and consequently the Victory obtain'd by one over the other can be no longer con tested, at least when the Dialogue is made by a Manofgreatfense,andwhomakesithisonlybu sinesstoenquireafterTruth. BeforePlato'stime thismanner of writing was verylittleknown inthe World : None had practised it but Zeno of Elea, and Alexamenes of Teos ; but the Politeness,Ele gancyandBeauty which'Platogavetothisway of Discourse, occasioned the Glory of this Invention to be ascribed to him, so that he has been look'd upon inallAges as thefirstthat evermade Dia logues.
There are two forts of Truth, that which isal readyknown,andthatwhichisyetunknowntous, andafterwhichwearesearching. . Thisdifference constitutes two principal Characters of Plato'sDia logues. Thoseof'emthattreatonknownTruths, are called, * Explicatory, or Instructive Dialogues ; and those that handle such Truths as are yet u n k n o w n , but enquired after, are called t InquisitiveDialogues. Each of these two kinds is divided into divers Spe cies, according to the Subject of which they treat, orthemanneroftreatingofit. FortheInstructive
Dialogues, either have Speculation for their End, and then they are divided into % Physical, and |Lo
gical,orAction, andthentheyaredividedinto *Po litickand i>Menil? ,and theInquisitive Dialogues are destin'd, either to cExercise or dContest. Those
thataremadeforExerciseareagainoftwo sorts? , in some of 'em Socrates exercises the Mind after
? such.
? 7he Life of Plato. ' 71
fiich a manner, that he causes all forts of Truths to be produced in it, which 'tis capable of rinding out itselfwhenwellassisted. Thereforehecallshim self theMidwife ofMinds, jocoselyalludingtothe
EmploymentofhisMother,whowasaMidwile-, and theseDialogues arecalled'^ObstetricalDialogues. O r else he exercises it only in making it found, and justperceivetheTruths inwhichhe iswillingtoin structit; andthesearecalledtDialoguesofEffay. In fine, those that are destin'dto contest, are alio of two forts j the one4tind are fram'd to accuse certain
Persons, and to expose certain Vices, and are there fore called Dialogues of X Demonstration, cr of A c cusation. These are properly satyrical Dialogues, made for the Reader's Diversion ? , exciting* in his
Mind at the fame time, a just Contempt of those whose Vices are discover'd to him ; and others are calculated to refute and overthrow Errors, and are thereforecall'd\subvertingDialogues. Andthis is the division that has given a third Title to these
Dialoguesjfortheyhavethree. Thefirstisthe nameoftheprincipalPerson. Thesecondistaken from the Subject, and the third iswhat I have been just mentioning, and expresses the Method and Turn . oftheDialogue,andofwhatkinditis. 'Tisonly
the first of these at most which is Ylato\ the last,
of 'em was impos'd by the Platonick Philosophers, and is very ancient, as w e lee by Diogenes Lairtius,
whoknowsonlythisandthefirst. Thesecondisal togethermodern. Itwasgivenbysomethatwere butlittleacquaintedwiththeDoctrineof thisPhi losopher, and were often mistaken. ForInstance, at the head of Gorgiaf, they place this Title, G c r g i a t o f R h e t c r i c k -, w h e r e a s t h e A n c i e n t s c i t e i t onlyunderthenameof*GorgiatSubversive. And 'tissofarfrombeingtrue,thatGorgiat wasmade to teach Rhetorics that on the contrary the design ofitistoexposeandoverthrow theillPrinciple,
F4 by
? ? 7 1
'Tfce ZLi/e of Plato.
bywhichtheOratorswereconducted, whothengOr v e r n e d a l l t h e C i t i e s o f G r e e c e ? , a n d ' t i s a D i a l o g u e p u r e l y m o r a l ? , b u t t h i s S u b j e c t s h a l l b e t r e a t e d m o r e atlengthintheArgument whichshallbeplacedat the head of every Dialogue.
Having explained the Titles of these Dialogues, 'tis needful to fay something of the different divisi onwhichtheAncientshavemadeof'em; Some have put 'em into Fours, being of opinion that P/dtahad respect to the Tetralogies of the Ancient
TragicalPoets,whocompost &ur piecesononeand the f a m e Subject for the four greatreasts o f the A t h e n i a n s ? , b u t I c a n ' t i m a g i n e t h a t a g r e a t P h i l o s o p h e r
shouldhavesofrivolousaReason. Othershavedi vided *em into Threes. ? , and "tis certain that in his
W o r k s there are three Dialogues found that properly make but one and the fame Treatise, as his Theoete- **s, the Sophist, and the Politician. In the first Socrates examines and refutes various Definitions of Science. InthesecondheestablishesdiversDefiniti
ons of the Sophist, which serve to shew the Art of dividing and defining, and at the same time ofmaking theSophistsridiculous. Andinthethirdhedefines a PoliticianorStatesman,andthereisnothingwant ingin thisTreatise, because the Statesman can't be well qualified without being tinctur'd with Philoso phy. ThetenBooksofaCommon-wealth,which are look'd upon as only one Dialogue, are yet appa rently one and the fame Treatise with his Timoeus,
Atlanticus,orCritias. Inthefirst,thatisinthelong Conversation about a Common-wealth, Socratesgives theIdeaofaperfectState. InThnoeushesupportshis Rules and Principles by the knowledg of Nature Which hecommunicates-,andinCritiasheconfirms thisknowledg ofNature,andthoseRulesofMorality and Policy by the Authority of ancient History, . or thatImayuseP/ato'sownWords, theBooksofhis Common-wealth form good Citizens ; his Tirnaus discovers to them the Creation of the World, that this Knowledg may fortify in their Minds the Prin
ciples
? ? TheUseofPlato: . 73
eiples he has given k m ; and his Crjtia? proves to 'em by ancient History, that such was the Life of their first Ancestors, that isof the first Athenians, wholiv'dbeforetheDeluge,whoseExamplehere commendstotheirImitation. Anditwasafterthis manner, that the greatest of Legislators compos'd
the Lives of the Ancient Hebrews and Patriarchs. ExceptingthesesixDialogues, thethreefirstof
whichmake a Treatiseof Logick, andthethreelast a very methodical Treatise of Morality ? , I don't
think-any others of 'em can be connected together by the Continuance of the fame Subject : They are all separate and independant, in respect of the mat ter of 'em, and have no mutual Correspondence or
Resemblance, butbytheMethod orManneroftreat
ing their Subjects, which has been already sufficiently explained. ?
Plato affirms that which is certain, refutes that w h i c h is false, examines that which is doubtful, and does not pronounce any thing on that which is. un certain, or has but little probability.
H i s first M a x i m is n o t t o g i v e o n e ' s C o n s e n t , b u t V " ^ " ' onlytoevidentandcertainTruths, andtodisengagetms"' ato
one's Mind from allkinds of Prejudice.
T h e second is never to attempt to handle Questi
ons which 'tis impossible to decide.
The thirdis. todistinguishwellbetweenwhatwe
know, andwhatwe areignorantof\andnottobe lievewe know what indeedwedon'tunderstand.
From these Maxims it follows, that Plato be lieved there were certain Truths, and consequently, that there were such Principles as might be ternfd Dogmata. Thatis,heaffirm'dsomethingstobeab solutely true ; but because he entirely follow'd So
crates his manner of disputing, and all along a- . voided the decisive Air of the Sophists and D o g m a tists,whoaffirm'deverything, almostcontinually taking simple Probabilities for Truth, he seems po sitive in nothing in his Writings, in which by his
Doubts he endeavours to. convince his Adversaries of the
? ? 74 ? The Life ofPlato.
the Errors he designs to refute, and to make 'em of themselves discover the Truths he has a mind to Ifcach? ,and thusthatPassageofCicerooughttobe understood, who in the first Book of his Acade mics Questions, lays, in Plato'j Books many things aresaid. ProandCon,butevery thingisdoubted,and nothing ever affirmed.
The Ancients inform us, that Plato follow'd He-
raclitm, inthingsthatfallundertheCognizanceof
the Senses, that is in natural and sensible Objects :
Pythagoras in intellectual things, which can't be
comprehended but by the understanding -, and So
crates in those which are only dictatedby Reason, t h a t i s i n M o r a l i t y a n d P o l i c y ? , a n d t h i s d e s e r v e s t o
be explained. PlatofollowedHeraclitusinnaturaland sensible
* things,thatis,hebelievedwithHeraclitus,that therewasbutoneWorld, thatalltilingswerepro d u c e d o f t h e i r C o n t r a r i e s -, t h a t M o t i o n w h i c h h e calls War, causes the production of Beings, and R e s t t h e i r D i s s o l u t i o n -, a n d i n f i n e , t h a t o u r S e n s e s are very subject to be deceived, and that there is no certain Truth in their Depositions.
He followed Pythagoras in intellectual Truths ; that is, he taught, as this Philosopher did, that there is only one God, the Creator of all things ; thattheSoulisimmortal; thatMenoughtconti
nually to labout to purify themselves from theirPas sions and Vices, that they might be united to G o d ; and that after this Life there is a Reward for good Men, and a Punishment fortheWicked ; that be tween God and Men there are different orders of Spirits, who are the Ministers of that first Being. Seeing he drew his Notions from the fame Fountains,
? namely from the Egyptians and Hebrews, 'tis not to be wonder'd at, if he had the fame Doctrine.
But if Plato followed Pythagoras in his Senti ments, he alsoimitated him in the manner of ex plaining them : For he deliver'd 'em only in Enig ma's, and under the Vail of Mysteries, Figures;
and
? ? The Life of PlatoJ 7j and Numbers, that he might not expose such sub
lime Truths to the Raillery of wicked and profane Men, andmightdiscover'emonlytosuchaswere worthy to learn 'em, and who would give them selvesthetroubleofunfoldingthem. *'Tisnot reading ofBooks, fays he, that will communicate this great Knowledg ; itmust be attained byprofound M e ditation -, and every one must for himself draw this
CelestialFirefromitstrueSource. Forbythis17- nion with its Objett t a divine Flame, (kindled on asudden, asfromaFirethatspreads itself
round') illuminates the Mind, and feeds andpre serves itselftherein. And for this reason, asI haveneveryetwritten,soIamresolvedneverto write on these Matters : That is, to explain them afteraclearandintelligiblemanner. $Whoever undertakes it, will never do it to anypurpose; and allthe Goodhe'llreap by hisLabourwillbe,that,
excepting asmall number of Men whom God hasen dowed with Understanding, capable of unravelling
those Celestial Truths of themselves, he'llcausesome todespiseiemrandfillotherswitha vainandrajh
Confidence, as if they understood wonderful things, when indeed they are unacquainted with 'em.
This method often causes great obscurity in the writingsofthisPhilosopher,whichhehas indeedta ken care to augment, in chusing to make use of sometermsthatsignifycontrary things. Andthisis thereasonwhyhecan'tpleaseyoungPeople, who
have not yet attain'd Judgment enough to diicern the Beauty and Solidity of his Dialogues ; nor grown menneitherwhohavenot had thepreparation of thoseStudiesthatwerenecessary,beforethey attemp tedtoreadhim,andwhoarenot capableofReflec tionandMeditation.