No More Learning

Therefore to govern a State well, 'tis necessary to provide Vertue for those that compose it, and to en deavourtocommunicateitto'em. Andcon sequently,Alcibiades,tosatissieyour Ambition, you oughtnottothinkofacquiringgreatDominion and exorbitantPower, eitherforyourself*,oryourRe- publick, butthatJusticeandPrudence forwhichyou havesomuchoccasion. Forwhileyou,andothers actjustlyand prudently,you'llpleaseGod, who is the Source oftrue Felicity $ and you'll govern your s e l f a f t e r t h i s M a n n e r ? , i f ( a s I j u s t n o w t o l d y o u ) you constantly look upon the Deity, that Light in which alone you can know your selfand all that be longstoyou. Butifyougovernyourselfunjustly,
and turn away your Eyes from the Deity to unite yourselftodarkObjects,you'llneitherknow your your selfat all, nor the things that belong to you : And your Actions will be nothing but Works of Darkness ; and the more Power you have, the more unhappy youll be. Alcibiades can't dissent from thesegreatTruths. ButSocratesdoesnotstophere; but gives the finishing stroke to mortifie his Pride inaskinghim,whetheritisnotmorefortheAd-, vantageofthosewho arenotyetenduedwithVer- tue,to obey such as are betterthanthemielves,than to be abandon'd to their own Conduct-: And (lays he) is not that which is molt profitable most beautiful, and that which ismost beautifulmolt becoming, andfutable>Alcibiadesagreestothis. Then(fays
X 3 Socra-
? ? p o
A n Abridgment of the First Alcibiades.
Socrates) "tis becoming that vicious Persons should beSlaves,andbemade toobey? ,andconsequently
Vice is a base thing, and finable to a Slave, as on the contrary Vertue is beautiful, and sutable to a Free-man. InwhataConditionthenareyou?
AlcibiaJesissensiblewhathemeans, andconfesses h e is n o t w o r t h y o f a n y t h i n g b u t S l a v e r y , b u t h o p e s in a little time to get rid of his Vices, if Socrates pleases.
You don'tspeakwell (replies Socrates-,)you ought tofay, itGodpleases, forwe candonothingwith out him.
Well then (fays'Alcibiades)Ifay(ifGod pleases) and1add, letusforthefuturechangePersons-,and as you have hitherto made your Court to me, I'll forthefuturemakeminetoyou. I'llfollowyou wherever you go, and I solemnly protest to you, Til now carefullyapplymy selftoRighteousness.
Iwishyoumay (faysSocratesconcludingtheDis course. ) ButwhatevergoodOpinionIhaveofyouj jam affraidoftheContagionofourRepublick,and can't but tremble at the Examples that reign in it, lesttheyshouldbetoostrongforyouandme too. F o r 'tis a v e r y d i f f i c u l t M a t t e r t o b e w i f e i n t h e m i d s t of so blind and corrupt a People.
And
? ? An Abridgment OFTHE
SecondALCIBIADES, OR
Of Prayer.
SOcratesmeetsAlcibiadesgoingintoaTempleto pray, and feeing him very pensive, and with hisEyesfix'dontheEarth,heaskshimonwhathe
was thinking. What mould 1 think on > (replies. Alcibiades very faintly) being more concerned about
hisambitiousDesignsthanhisPrayers. Itmusthe on some very important Matters, (lays Socrates)for since'tiscertain, thattheGods oftenhearourPray ers, there'snothingthatrequiresmorePrudenceand, W i s d o m t h a n t o p r a y w e l l -,. s o a s n o t t o r e q u e s t E - . vilsof'em, whilewe thinkwe areaskingGoods^ or not to ask Evils of 'em willingly and knowingly as Oedipus did, w h o m Euripides brings in Praying that his Children might decide their rights by the Sword.
YoutellmeofamadMan (faysAlcibiades)does; any Man, who is in his lenses make such Prayers as those to the Gods ?
Hereupon Socrates asks him ifbeing mad is not oppos'd to being Prudent : If M e n are not wife or foolish, as they are either in Health or Sick : for asthereisnoMedium between Healthand Sickness, neitheristhereanybetweenWisdomandFolly. To, which Alcibiades agrees.
Since Madness then isoppos'd to Wisdom,fays Sacra-.
tes, Folly and Madness are but one and the lame thing. ? X4 For
1*1
? ? ^\%
An Abridgmentof the
For one single Subject can't have two contr^i^s pppos'd to it, and consequently every Fool is Mad. And feeing there are always a thousand Fools to one wife-Man in the World, while we live in itwe
are among mad Men.
T h e only thing that can militate against this Prin
ciple, isthatitwould be impossibletoliveamong sogreataNumberofmadMen;andthewife,whose Number isbutsmall,couldneverescapetheirFury. A n d yet wise M e n live in Cities, therefore it seems nottruetofaytheylivewithmadMen. Thisis what Socrates objects against the Truth which he has made Alcibiades acknowledge : But he resolves this Difficulty in shewing that there are divers, D e
greesofFolly, astherearediversfortsofDiseases:
T h e Fever is a Disease, but every Disease is not the
Fever. 'TisjustsowithFolly. AllmadMenare
Fools,butallFoolsarenotmad. ADiseaseisa
GeniuswhichcomprehendsmanySpecies. Follyor
Imprudence in likemanner comprehends many Spe
cies,whichdifferindegree. AsMenhavedivided
Arts and Trades among 'emjso they have fhar'd Folly
among themselves too -,those who have the great e s t s h a r e o f i t a r e s a i d t o b e d i s t r a c t e d a n d m a d ? , a n d
theywho havesomewhat lessarecairdFools and stupid. ButbecauseMenseektohidetheseVices
underspeciousNames, theycalltheformerMenof Magnanimity, and ofgreat Spirit? ,and they call
the others Simple ,ojelfe they fay they are harmless Men, but havelittleExperienceandmuchYouth. There are besides these a multitude ofNames with
which all forts of Vice are difguis'd. ThenextQuestionisinwhatWisdomandFolly
consist. A wiseManisonethatknowswhatought tobesaidanddone,andaFoolisonethatisigno rantofboth. ' Butishethatisthusignorant, inthis Conditionwithoutknowingit? Yescertainly. 0- edipus, forInstance(faysSocrates)was inthisCon dition when he made that Prayer which we spoke
of before ; but we shall find a great many others,'
? ? Second Alcibiades^ 3 1 }
who without being transported with Anger like him will request real Evilsof God while they think they areaskingrealGoods. ForasforOedipus,ifhe did not ask for what was good neither did he think he ask'dit;whereasothersdothecontrary. Tobe ginwithyourself,Alcibiai. es:. IfsheGodtowhom you are going to pray should suddenly appear to you, and ask "you,* if you would not be willing to be King oftheAthenians, ofallGreece, nayofallEurope, or (if that seem'd too little for your Ambition) of the whole World, would you not be extremely pleas'd, andreturn^homewithabundanceofJoy,as onewho hadreceiv'dthegreatestGood intheWorld ? Whowouldnotbetransportedwithsuchathingas this? (replies Alcibiades. ) But (fays Socrates) would you give your Life for the Empire ofthe Greeks, or that of all the Barbarians together ? N o certainly (faysAlcibiadts)forthenIcouldnotenjoyit. But w h a t i f y o u c o u l d e n j o y it, ( c o n t i n u e s S o c r a t e s ) a n d -
this Enjoyment must needs prove fatal to you ? No. (faysAlcibia&es)Iwouldnotdo itonthatCondition. You feeby thistherefore(saysSocrates)thatitisnot
safetodesireoracceptwhatweknownot. How many Men aftertheyhavepassionatelydesir'dtobe Kings, and have left no Stone unturn'd to obtain their End ; have become the Sacrifices of their extra vagant Ambition ? The Story of Archelaus King of MacedoniaisyetfreshinMemory. Heascendedthe Throne by his Crimes, and was assassinated by-his Favourite, whocouldnotmaintainhimselfinita- hove3or4days;butwasmurder'dbyathirdwho was ambitious to fill the fame Place.
But without looking after foreign Examples, how manyoftheGeneralsofourArrfiyhavebeen cbndemn'dtoDeathinourownCity! howmanyof
'em exil'dVandhow many othershave we seen, who aftertheyhadpafs'dthroughinnumerableDan gers, Toils and Labours, have fallen in themidst of theirTriumphs, bytheCalumniesoftheirEnemies!
A great m. an. y other Persons, after they have ardent- " ':? ? lr
? ? 314
An Abridgment of the
ly defir'd Children, have been very unhappy in ob taining'em. And thus itiswiththerestofour Desires? ,and tho'nothing is more common than
Instances of this kind, yet there's scarce any M a n who would refuse the Thing he desires, if God should offer itto him, or who wouid cease to ask it, ifhe wete iiire to obtain it. And we may every Day fee Persons repenting their for mer Prayers, and making luch as arc quite con trary to 'em, Therefore we must acknowledy die TruthofwhatHomerfays,viz. Thatnoaiuigis more unjust than the Complaints Mea make a- gainst the Gods, w h o m they accuse ot being the the Cause of their Miseries, whereas they are the occasion of 'em themselves, who by their folly draw down Mischiefs on theirown Heads, which were not design'd for 'em.
A great Poet who knew the Ignorance of Man kind upon this Account, endeavour'd to cure it by giving 'em this Prayer, which I think is an admira ble one. Great God, who knowest better than we what is necessaryfor us, give us the good things we need, whether we ask V/>> or not; and keep evil things
from us, even when we ask 'em of thee.
Then Ignorance is a very fatal thing (fays Aid- biades) feeing it changes our Prayers into Curses,
and prompts us to beg of God our own Miseries. Hold a little, fzysSocrates, don't condemn Igno
rance in Geneial ; if one fort of it is pernicious, there's another that is very useful. For instance, would not Orestes have been happy if he had not known his Mother, when he sought after her to kill her? Forifhehadnotknownher,hehadnotkill'd
her,hisdesignbeingonlyagainsther. Sothatthis kind of Ignorance would have been very good for him : There isan Ignorance then (fayshe) which ought to be commended ; and this he proves with greatEvidence. Andnowhelaysdownthisasa Principle, that all the Sciences in the Wotld with outthatbywhichweknowwhatisverygood,are
not
? ? Second Alcibiades, *
not only useless, but most commonly extremely dangerous.
"Tis not sufficient (says he) that in the Council ofaPrince,orofaRepublics,therebeMenofA- bility in every thing that relates to Peace, War, and and all other things belonging to Politicks, jf they are not expert in the knowledg of what is very good ; that is if they are not under tht Direction of the Divine Spirit, and do not well understand what is best, and most just, they are incapable of govern ingaStatewell-,sothatnothingbut Ljusticeand Discordwillbeseofctoreigninit. Forwhilethese Ministers think thejofcow what indeed they do not undeistand, and contmualiy suffer themselves to be led by Opinion, and not by knowledg, they never
judgarightbutbyAccident. TheyarelikeShips
well stor'dwith every thing needful fora longVoy
age ; but which for want of a Pilot can't choose
butbelostinalittletime. Itwouldbemuchmore
useful for these Men to be ignorant of what they know, provided they were convinced of their Igno
rance j for then they would not intrude themselves to give Counsel in things which they don't under- 'stand,andyetthinktheydo. ThereforethatSoul, that City or that Republick that would be happy must acquire this Science, which alone makes o- thers turn to a good Account $ without it, the
greater Fortune either particular M e n or States en joy, the more impplsible itis lor 'em not to commit verygreatCrimes, eitherinacquiringRichesoraug mentingtheirforces,orthelike. WithoutthisSci ence a Man may have all others and yet never be
the better for 'em : A nd to such a one tha cVer se w h i c h Homer made againstMargites may beapply'd.
He knew many things, but knew them allamiss. For this wise and divine Poet does not mean by this, thathedidnotknow'emwell, asifonecouldpro perly know amiss what one knows ; but signi fies by this Enigmatical Expression, that he knew 'em all unhappily, or that it is was a great Unphinaepi-s
? ? ? V16 AnAbridgmentofthe
pinesstohimtoknow'em. Forwheretheknowledg ofGodisnot,thereisnoGood. AndiftheseScien ces are unhappy to us, 'twould be better for us to be ignorant of 'em, and consequently there is a fort of IgnorancemoreusefulthantheSciences. Thisis stillmore true in Prayer than in all the other Acti
onsofLife. AndMsbettertoasknothingofGod, thantoaskwhatisEvilofhim,whenwethinkwe are asking Good , and consequently the Prayer I have been speaking of-is the most perfect of all others.
UponthisModelthePrayerstheLacedemoni ans was form'd ; W h o are J^ptent to fay, Lord, grantuswhatseemsgood,andcomelytothee. They never request any thing but this, and yet are the happiestPeopleintheWorld. Tothispurpose Socrates relates a Story which he had heard tola by someoldPeople. Hesays,theAthenianshaving beenoftenovercomeintheWarstheyhadwith the Lacedemonians, resolv'd to send to the Oracle of JupiterAmman,toknowtheReasonwhytheGods
rather favour'd the Lacedemonians than the Atheni
ans who ofFer'd 'em more Sacrifices, erected more
Temples and Statues in their Honour, and made
3em more Presents, and more magnificent Oblati
onsthanalltheGreekstogether. WhereastheLace
demonians were so guilty of Avarice in their W o r
ship, that they scarce sacrific'd any Beasts but what w e r e b l e m i f h ' d , a n d m u t i l a t e d ? , t h o t h e y w e r e v e r y
Rich. TheProphetanswer'd'eminafewWords. The Benediiiions of the Lacedemonians are more a- greeable to Jupiter than all the Sacrifices of the Greeks. He calls their Prayers Benediiiions. So
that the Lacedemonians were belov'd of God, be causetheyknewhowtopray-,whereastherestof the Greeks were hated of him, because they did notunderstandhowtoofterSacrifice. AndHomer (fayshe) signifiesthelame thing, when he fays the Trojans, when they built a Fort, ojfer'd whole He- catombes to the Gods, thesmoke ofwhich ascended to
Heaven0
? ? Second Alcibiades^ 517 Heaven, but the Gods refused to accept 'em because
theybated thesacred CityofTroy, King Priamus,d/zi bis People. The Occasion of this hatred, was be causetheTrojansknewnothowtopray,butwould haveoblig'dGodbytheirSacrificestodo, nothis own Will, buttheirs. But God suffersnothimself to be corrupted by Giftslike a Usurer;and thatman mustbeafool,whothinkstoobtainhisFavourby suchSacrificesastheWickedare. betterabletooffer. , thantheRighteous. God onlyregardstheSanctity and Purity'of the Soul, and esteems nothing but JusticeandWisdom. Now nonearetrulyJust andWisebutthosewhoknowhowtoperformtheir DutytowardGod andMen bothintheirWords andActions. Whatdoyouthinkofallthis,Alci- biades ?
Alcibiades struck with the Evidence of these Truths,answers, that heisnotsosenseless,asto oppose his weak Understanding to that of God, aud to contradict his Oracles.
Then don't be in so much haste, Alcibiades, (con tinuesSocrates)toofferyourPrayers,lestGod to punish you, should answer the Imprecations you are going to utter against your self: For you are not a Man likely to use the Prayer of the Lacedemoni ans-, you are too proud, for that is the softest name I can give your Imprudence; therefore wait till you
arebetterinstructedhow todemeanyourself,bothto ward God and Men.
Alas ! W h e n shall I be instructed in this? (replies Alcibiades) and who shall be my Master? what Pleasure I should take in obeying him !
Itmust be hewho takescareofyoxx(&ys$ocrates) andwhotrulylovesyou;thatisGod,'tishethat mustteachyoutopraywell. Butbeforehecom municates to you this Knowledg of what is very
good, which alone can make you discern what is your true Good, and suggest such Prayers to you as
willbeforyourAdvantage, hemustdissipatethe D a r k n e s s t h a t b e c l o u d s y o u r S o u l ? , a s M ^ e r v a , i n
Ho? ner,
? ? 318 AnAbridgmentoftheSecondAlcibiades;
Homer, dispell'dtheMistthatcover'dDiomedcs his Eyes, and hinder'd him from distinguishing God fromMan. Forwhilewearedestituteoftheknow- ledg of God, we are incapable, either of under standinghim, oroffollowinghim, andconsequent ly 'tis impossible tor us to pray well.
, Lethimscatterthen,(repliesAlcibiaies)lethim destroythisDarknessofmine; Iabandonmy self to his Conduct: : and till that happy day comes, which, ifitpleaieGod, Ishallnotbelongexpect ing,I'lldefermy PrayersandmySacrifice. Inthe mean time give me leave to express my Thanks to you, for your wise Counsel, by putting this Crown on your head which I wear on mine.
I readily accept that Favour (fays Socrates) and as in the Phenicians of Euripides, Creon seeing Ti- refias coming to him with a Crown of Gold, which was the firstFruits of the Spoil of the Enemy, and
'with which theAthenians had honour'd him for his Art,said,ItakeyourCrown,whichisthesignof Vithry,foragoodOmen,foryouseewearealsoin agreatjlormofWar. SoImustfayItaketheHo nour, I now receive at your hands for a happy Pre s a g e -, f o r I a m e n g a g ' d i n n o l e s s a C o n f l i c t t h a n Creon;whilelam endeavouringtogaintheVicto ry over all your Lovers.
nrr>>i --
THE
? ? THE
Ab ridgment
Of EVTTP HRON, OR
Of Holiness.
EUtyphron meets SocratesintheKingsPorch, whichwasaPlaceontherightHandoftheO-
rantique,whereoneoftheIX Archons,whowas call'd
theKingpresidedduringhisyear. Surpriz'datthis
Novelty, (foritwas thefirsttimethatSocrateshad
appear'd inthisplace) he askshim whatitwas that
could oblige him to leave Lyceus to come into this
Porch. For'tisnotlikely(fayshe)thatyouhave
anyProcesshere before the King, asIhave. Tis
worse than that, (fays Socrates) the Business I have
is that which the Athenians call an Accusation.
How (faysEutyphron)doesanyoneaccuseyouthen?
For I can't imagine that you would accuse any Bo
dy. Eutyphronwho isgoingtoaccusehisownFa
ther, can't believe that Socrates would accuse any
Man; of such a strange piece ofExtravagance, and
ofso foundanOpinionofhimselfisasuperstitious
Mancapable. AndPlatoimproves[thiswitha
great deal of Address to insinuate that at Athens
honestMen nevetfollow'dtheTradeofAccusers. Socrates fays, he accused no Body. Who is it
that accuses you then ? (fays Eutyphron) I don't ve rywellknow him (faysSocrates)heisayoungMan : AndnotcontenttotellhimhisNameandthePlace (C)f his Birth, he draws, his Picture ; which is that
of
3'9
? ? gio
Ah Abridgment
ofaManwhosePhysiognomyPromisesnothingof Good : He has, fays he, Lank Hair, a Thin Beard, andaCrookedNose. AlltheseMarkscan'tmake himknown. ThisyoungMan(continuesSocrates) like a great Politician, has. caus'dme to be cited be forethe City as our common Mother, and accuses me of forging new Gods and rejecting the old.
Oh (faysEutyphron) I perceive what the Matter is, because you say you have a familiar Genius, a Godthatconductsyou,Melitusaccusesyouofin troducing new Opinions, knowing very well that all such things as these are suspected by the com mon People,who are always ready to receive Accu sationsofthiskind. WhatdonotIsuffer,whenI speakof divineThings intheAssemblies,. andam predicting what shall come to pass ! The People laughatmeasifIwereaFool:Notthatanything that I have foretold has fail'd of itsA ccomplimment ? but'tisbecauserheynaturallyenvyallsuchaswe are.
M y dear Eutyphron, (replies Socrates) perhaps 'tis no such great Misfortune to be laugh'd at. The Athenians don't much trouble their Hgads about a
Man's Ability, provided he concerns not himself to teachotherswhatheknows; butifanyonemakes a Profession of teaching, they are downright angry with him, either out of Envy, as you fay, or for someotherReasonwhichweknownot. Idon'tat all desire (says Eutyphron) tomaketryal (asyou have done)tomy Cost,what Sentiments theAthenianshave of me.
There'sa greatdealofdifference(repliesSocrates, improving this Confession of Eutyphron to show, in the PersonofthisDiviner, theCharacterof those that presided to teach Religion, viz. that they taught nothing, but through fear left the People in igno rance) perhaps you are very resefv'd and refuse to
teach what you know ; whereas I fear, the Athe nianswillthinktheloveIbeartoailMankind in ducesmetotell'emtoofreelyallIknow, with outaskinganyRewardof'em. Butiftheywould
only
? ? The Abridgment of Eatyphton; 211
onlylaughatme (asIsaidjustnow)asyoulaythey do at you, it would be no very troublesome or un pleasant thing to pals a few hours in laughing and jesting. ButiftheytakeuptheMatterinearnest- t h e n 'tis o n l y f o r s u c h D i v i n e r s as- y o u t o k n o w w h a t will be the Event.
Itmaybe (faysEutyphronlikeagreatDiviner) you'll sustain no Damage by it, and I hope you'll have a happy Issueof your Business, as well as I of mine.
Then you have some Business here, (replies So crates)areyouPlaintifforDefendant ? lam Plaintiff, faysEutyphron. Whomdoyouprosecute(saysSo crates) I prosecute m y Father (fays th'other) your Father, good God ! (fays Socrates) and what isthe Accusation then ? Of what do you accuse your Fa ther>Iaccusehim of Murder, (replies Eutyphron*) OfMurder! (faysSocrates)ThatindeedisanAc cusationabovethereachofthePeople, Who willne vercomprehendthatitcanbeJust. Forthisisnot anAttemptforanordinaryMan, butforonewhois arriv'd to theutmost pitch ofWisdom.
You lay true, Sosrates, (replies Eutyphron) de ludedbythisCommendation. But(faystheother) is it any one of your Relations that your Father has killed? without doubt (continues he) it must be so, for you would not bring your Father before a Court of Justice, if he had only kiil'd a Stranger.
W h a t anAbsurdity is that(says Eutyphron)to think there's a difference in this reipect between a Relati onanda Stranger:TheCafeisequal1 theonly thing to be regarded is the Justice or Injustice of the Action ; for if the Action be evil you are oblig'd to prosecute the Anthor of it, whatever Friendship or Relation isbetweenyou^ foryou renderyourself an Accomplice of his Crime to have the least Fami liaritywithhim, andnottoendeavourtobringhim to punishment, which alone can purge and expiate youboth. ButtoapprizeyouoftheFact,theDe ceased was one of our Farmers, when we liy'd at
Y ffaxJXj
? ? 311 7he Abridgment ofEutyphron]
Naxus, heheldapieceofLandofus;oneDayha-
? vingdranktoomuch hefellintoaPassionwithone ofourSlaves,andknockedhimO'th'Head:My Fa
ther put him into a deep Pit, bound Hand and Foot, and lent hither to consult those who have the In spection of all Matters of Religion, and Cafes of Conscience, toknow whatheshoulddo, andduring all this time neglected the poor Prisoner, as an As- i a s s i n w h o s e L i f e w a s o f n o c o n s e q u e n c e -, a n d s o h e d y e d ? , H u n g e r , T h i r s t a n d t h e w e i g h t o f h i s I r o n s
kill'd him, before the return of the Messenger that myFathersent. Upon thisthewholeFamilyis mightilydifturb'datme, becauseforthesakeofan AssassinIaccusemyFatherofMurder, whichthey pretend he has not committed : and if he had com mitted it, they maintain that I ought not to prose cute him, seeing the Deceased was a Villain and a Murderer % besides that 'tis an Impious Action for a
S o n t o b r i n g a c r i m i n a l P r o c e s s a g a i n s t h i s F a t h e r ? , soignorantaretheyofDivineThings, andsoinca pable of discerning what isProfane and Impious from what isJust and Holy.
Socrates amaz'd at a Position so presumptuous and false, askshim ifhe thinkshe soexactlyknows all Divine' Things, and can so precisely distinguish that W h i c h i s h o l y f r o m . t h a t w h i c h i s p r o f a n e -, t h a t t h e Cafe being as he relates it, he can prosecute his Fa ther without fearing to commit an Impious Act.
Eutyphron, like a Superstitious Bigot, who de spises all the World beside, and thinks he fees more clearly intoMatters of Religion than any Body else, answers, What Advantage should Ihave above other Men, if I did not very exactly know all these things ?
Socrates feigns himself extremely pleas d that he hadfoundaManofsoclearaHeadandsogreatA- bilities,whomightgivehim somuch assistanceinthe troublesomeAffair inwhichAE^/i/<<s had engag'd him^
\ and earnestly conjures him to teach him what is pro perlyholy,andwhatprofane3andtogivehim such
? ? *\she Abridgment o/Eutyphron^ 32$
a just Idea of both, as may always enable him to distinguish em with certainty.
Eutyphron here still keeps his Character very
well. That isholy (fays he) which I am doing,
namely to prosecute in a Court of Judicature every
one -that commits Murder, Sacrilege, or any other
unjust Act of the like Nature, without any distincti
on;LetitbeFather,Mother,Brother;&c. 'Tis the fame thing. -? :? -
This Definition, which springs rather from blind" Zeal, than theknowledg of Holiness, not satisfying. Socrates, Eutyphron attempts to prove it by Authori ty. He. maintains that all Religion consisting in agitatingtheGods, hecouldnotdoamorepious
and holy thing than to prosecute his own Father, feeingJupiter putSaturninChains becausehede- v o u r ' d h i s C h i l d r e n -, a n d S a t u r n h i m s e l f ' h a d t r e a t e d Ccehk with yet more Rigour for some other Fault.
Socrates,insinuates thathedoubtsofthetruthof
these Stories, because even Reason teaches us not to
attributeanyunworthythingtotheDeity. How
ever (faysheIronicallytoEutyphronafterhisusual
manner)ifyou,whoaresoableaManinReligious
Matters,agree with theCommonPeopleinthis,
and believe these Traditions as well as they, 'tisab
solutely necessary that I should believe 'em too, I.
whoambutignorantinthesethings. ThereforeI
entreatyouintheName ofthatGodwhopresides!
overFriendship,donotdeceiveme,butteilme if
you believe that thereever were iuchthings, as you have been relating. "'-. . ? :;;
T h i s B i g o t w h o is a l w a y s c r e d u l o u s a n d conceited. ,- '
makes no scruple not only to lay, that he. believes it,:
butadds that he-believesthings"yetmore surprizing,
of which the Common People are ignorant, mean
ing without doubt the Mysteries that were known
only to those that were Initiated \ and maintains,all
the Fables of Poets and Fancies of Painters as funda mentalPointsofReligion. -:? ?
Y 2
Socra-
? ? . Swrates doesJK>t trouble himselfwith . thsConfii- tationof'em^ that would fetfh Jthp Diipute too soon,andheisnotwillingtooffendhim. There- fore he proceeds to ask him, as ifhe were willing to he instructed . by him, what. it is. that :he calls pious and holy, and desires -him to give aclear and distinct Idea \/j which he may j<<dg ? f evei7 thing that"is. pious and holy, for a true Definition ought to. majteknown theEssenceandNature. (C)J"tha,twhich is/defin'd. . 7 ,- ? . -. ] '
? Eittypbron answers, that it is ;tlvat Wihjcfi is plea-
lingto theGods,and conleque. ntiy. ^titMtas. pipi^Be and impious which is displeasing ? o 'erri.
Soecrates tafcesadvantage of this Definition, ari. (hows that the Gods being often divided among themselves, theirQuarrels must needs arisefrom tihek. disagreementaboutwhasisjustqrunjust; pro faneorholy. Andthataccording,tothis,oneand the fame thing is holy and profane, seeiqg. it pleases femeof"emanddispleasesothers. Thereforethe Definition of holy and profane carft subsist with the Plurality ofGods.
* t. This Consequence is certain, and would be suffi cient to reclaim a wise M a n from that Error, and toconvincehimthatthereisbutoneGod. But Eufyphron preserves his Character better than so. 'Tisno such ealy matter to undeceive a superstitious Man. ToeludethisConsequenceheengagesto. prove that the Action of his lather was diipleasing to all the Gods, and that his was agreable to 'em.
Socrates does not press him with theAbsurdity of this Persuasion, which is radier a Supposition than a Certainty, for since their Theologie acknowledges thattheGodsareveryoften contestingaboutMat tersof thisNature, how couldEutypbronbe cer tain that they agreed about the Action he was going to undertake ? In an Affair :of this Consequence a'
greater Certainty, is requisite than that which arises. 11omOpinion:ItwasveryeasybythisMeansto reduce him to an Absurdity :but Socrates takes ano-.
tfier
? ? ThejfyrMgmwtofEutyphron. 31c
{her course to expose the Ignorance of the M a n still m o r e ? , a n d t h e r e b y t o o v e r t h r o w a R e l i g i o n w h i c h h a d
nobetterPropsthanthese- Thereiforeheconvinces him that this Definition is not perfect.
Eutyphron thinks to rectifie it by laying, that whichisHolyi. swhatpleasesalltheGods-,But Socrates answers, that this is only to explain one of Jheyroperties of a holyThingJinstead of discovering theEijfenceofit. Hedoesnotaskifthatwhichis Holy is. belov'dofthe Gods, noBody doubts ofthat: He -wp,uldknow why itislov'd, and what itisthat fendersitworthyofLove. Forifthatwhichisho ly, and that which is. belov'd of the Gods were the l a r n e t h i n g -, s i n c e t h e G o d s l o v e t h a t w h i c h i s h o l y onlybecauseitisholv, theywouldlovethatwhich theyloveonlybecauseitwasbelov'dof'em. And on the other hand, ifthat which is 'be'loy'd of the Gods were belov'd of'em only because they love it, itwouldfollowthattheGods lovewithoutreason, andthat. thatwhichisholywould beholyonlybe cause itwas belov'd. In a word, (he fays)thereisa great deal ofdifference between these 2 Terms, Holy andBelov'doftheGojs, addtheyareentirelyoppo site. For oneMan islov'donlybecausetheylove
him, andanotherislov'd,becausehedeserves. tobe lov'd. Thatistolay,ThatwhichisHolyisbelov'd of the Gods only because itisHoly, but'tisnotHo lybecause'tisbelov'dofthem. TheMatterinhand therefore is to explain the Nature of that which is Holy, and not its Qualities, and to define what it isandwhytheGodsloveit. Thisisveryperplex ing-to"asuperstitiousMan,who continuallytakesup things without Examination, and believes a thing on ly because he believesit.
Eutyphron does not dissemble his Trouble but con fessesthathisThoughtsarefluctuating, and thathe knowsnothowtofix'em.
Socratestomake theMatter(which isveryseri ous) a little pleasant, takes occasion from it to ipeak ofthe Works pf(kdaius^ who made moveable Sta-
? ? ' tue. 3,
? ? |i&
7he Abridgment os Eutyphron?
tues, which never stood still but when a certain
springwhichtheyhadwastyedandstop'd. Helet's
Eutyphron know that hisPrinciplesare as moveable
astheseStatues. TheGoverningSpringisnotyet
stop'd,butiscontinuallygoing, hismeaningis,that ? Eutyphron spoke by Opinion, and not at all by Sci
ence. Tohelphimoutthereforeheaskshimifhe doesnotthinkthatwhichisHolyisJust. Tothis Eutyphron agrees : Next to this the Question is, whetherthatwhich isHoly isapartofthatwhichis Just, or that which is Just a part of that which is Holy. TissoondecidedthatwhatisJustistheGe nusandwhatisHolytheSpecies. Forthereare manythingsJustwhicharenotHoly;butnoneHo ly which are not Just. So that what is Just has a larg er extent than what is Holy.
Nothingnowremainsbuttoknowwhatpartof thatwhichisJustthatwhich isHolyis;Eutyphron fays,'tisthat partofJusticewhichrespectstheGods, and the Care of their Worship, and that the other i? artconcernsMen only.
This Answer throws 'em into another Difficulty, and thatishow toknowinwhatthisReligiousCare consists, and whether it be of the Nature of all other Cares, which tend to the Profit of that which iscar'dfor. Forifso,ourHolinessmustrenderthe Gods better and more excellent, which would be an impious Thought.
E u t y p h r o n a n s w e r s , t h a t 'tis a C a r e l i k e t h a t w h i c h ServantstakeoftheirMasters: Holinessthen(fays Socrates) is a kind of Servant to the Gods : But what do the Gods do by the Ministry of this Ser vant ? For as Physicians operate Health by the M i nistry of their Ait ; the Gods must needs operate somethingbytheMinistryofourHoliness. Now what is it that they operate ? Eutyphron answers, that they engage us to please them by our Pray ers and Sacriiices, and that Holiness and Piety ronfist in this on which the Welfare of Fami nes and Republicks depends. As on the contra
ry
? ? The Abridgment of Eutyphroru 3 iy
rf Impiety is the ruin, both of particular Person? and States. >_
Socrates collectsfrom this indefinite Answer, that
HolinessistheArt ofsacrificingandpraying. To
iacrificeistogive,andtoprayistoask. Sothat
Holinessconsistsingivingandasking. Suchthings
only are ask'd as are wanted, and such things only
givenasarenecessarytothosetowhomtheyare given ? , for it would be ridiculous to give a thing
which they have no occasionfor.
From hence he draws this Conclusion, that Holi
nessisaTraffickbetweenGodandMan. Butwhat profit can God receive from our Offerings ? For as forus'tisveryvisiblewhatprofitwe receivefrom him, sincewe havenottheleastGoodbutwhatpro ceedsfromhisBounty:Arewe thensocrafty (says he)todrawalltheAdvantageofthisCommerceto our selves only, so that G o d gets nothing by it >
Eutyphron prels'd with this Argument , shuts up all in laying, that God leaves what is profitable to us, and contents himselfwith that which is plea sant -, and that 'tis our Respect, and Gratitude that is so pleasant to him ; which returns exactly to the former Definition; thatthat is Holy which isplea sing to the Gods.
Socrates shows him, that he has hitherto only made a Circle, and entreats him not to refuse him the knowledg of so great a good. But Eutyphron like a true Votary of Superstion, who isalways presumptuous, and never confesses his Ignorance, seeksonlyhowtogetridofhim, andrefersthis Enquiry to another time, telling him some urgent Business calls him elsewhere.
Thus ends this Dialogue, which destroys the false Opinions which then reign'd in the World, withoutestablishingthetrue. TheDeathofSocra tes occasion'd P/ato to write thus imperfectly and sparingly. BesidesthisishisMethod, healways refutesbeforeheteaches. Buthismannerofre
futing fails not to make a discovery by way of An- t-icip^
? ? 3 1 8
T&e Jhridgtoem of Eutyphfdft.
ticipation of what he designs to establish, and does maintainelsewhere. Herewe seethe superstitious Man isalwaysneartheTruth, butneverreachesit. "Tis certainthatHoliness ispleasing toGod, 'sis c e r t a i n l i k e w i s e t h a t it p r o d u c e s a k i n d o f G o r n m e r < s t e between God and Men, arid that this-consists in Giving and Asking-, but the ignorant Athenians con- ceiv'd this after too gross a'manner.
Holiness can't be in us without Conversion, nor Conversion without Love, arid this Love engages us togiveourservesentirelyGod,andtoaskofhim togivehimselftous,thathemaykeepaliveinus that divine Flame which purifies our Souk, and makesusresemblehim. InthisconsiststhatCom mercebetweenGod andMet)-,whichmakesupthe whole of Religion, as Socrates and Flato both acknowledges
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