Thusitis with a great deal of reason, that your Athenians give ear in their
Councils
to a Mason, a Smith, a Shooe-maker, &c.
Plato - 1701 - Works - a
Citizens ?
It is so, said he, that is the thing that I boast of.
In truth, said I to him, Protagoras that's a w o n derfulScienceyouhave, ifitbetruethatyouhave it, for I shall not scruple to tell you steely what I think. Ihavehithertothought,thatitwasathing thatcouldnotbetaught;butsinceyoufay, thatyou teachit,howcanwebutbelieveyou? Inthemean timeitisjust,thatIshouldgiveyou theReasonswhy
Ibelieveitcannot betaught, andthatoneMan can- ,notcommunicatethatSciencetoanother. Iamper- swaded, as are all the Greeks^ that the Athenians artverywise. *IseeinallourAssemblies,that
when the City is obliged to undertake some new Buildings, they call all the Architects before them to ask their Advice ; that when they design to build Ships, they send for the Carpenters that work in their Arsenals ; and that they do the fame in all other things that are capable to be taught and
* The firstreason of Socrates founded upon the Practice of allMen. UponThingsthatcanbetaught,theyaskAdvice onlyoftholewhohavelearntthem;outuponVirtuethey advise with every Body j a certain Mark that they are per- swaded that Virtue is not acquired.
<iq 4. learn'dj
? ? 448
Protagoras): Or, The Sophists.
learn'd-, and ifanybody else, who isnot ofthePro session, take upon him to give Advice, tho' he be never so fine, rich and noble, yet they don't so m u c h as give ear to him-, but they laugh athim, hiss him, andmakeaterriblenoise, tillsuchtimeasheretires, or iscarried out by the Officers, by Order of the Se nate. ThisistheManneroftheCity'sConductin all Things that depend upon Art.
But when they. deliberate upon those Things that relate to the Government of theRepublick then eve ryBodyisheardalike. YoufeetheMason,Lock smith, Shooe-maker, Merchant, the Sea-man, the Poor,Rich,Noble,theWaggoner,&c riseupto give their Advice, and no Body takes itillj there is no Noise made then, asinotherOccasions, and none of them is reproached for Intruding to give his Ad vice in Things he had never learned and in which he had not had a Master ? , an evident Demonstration,
that the Athenians do all believe that that cannot be
taught. And this is what is not only seen in the
generalAffairsrelatingtotheRepublick, butalsoin
privateAftairsandanallFamilies-, forthewisestand
the ablest of our Citizens can't communicate their WisdomandAbilitytoothers. ? >?
Without going: further, Pericles has carefully cau sed his two Sons , who are there to learn all that Masterscouldteach them;butastoWisdom hedoes n o t t e a c h t h e m t h a t -, h e d o e s n o t s e n d t h e m t o o t h e r Masters, * but they feed in common in all Pastures, likeBeastsconsecratedtoGod, thatwanderwithout
* ThisPassage, which isvery fine, had notieen intelligible, if I had translated it. verbatim ; for the Greek fays all this in one Word,bWjipiltt. Itwasthereforerequisitetoexplainthe Figurewhichisexcellent. SocratescomparesMentothose
Beasts which the Ancients consecrated sometimes to thfe^Gods,
As those Beasts had no Herds but those Gods themselves, so
it is the fame with Men, chiefly as to what relates to Virtue.
\ )
NotonlyGod,towhomtheyareconsecratedbytheirBirth,. *
can conduct them to the pure Springs, healthful Waters and
fatPastures. ItisthefameNotionasDavidhadin"Psalm>>t. in loco fafcue ihi me collocavit. ? '. '. '. '
? ? ? . -. >. . . -', '
a
? ? Protagoras:Or> Ik Sophists. 449
a Herd, to fee if of themselves they can light by good Fortune upon those healthful Herbs, which are , WisdomandVirtue. Tistrue,thatthefemePeri cles, being Tutor to Alcibiades and Clinias, Opera ted them, lest the latter, as being much younger, should be corrupted by his Brother Alcibiades ^ and placed Clinias with Ariphron, to the end that that wiseManmighttakecaretobringhimupandin struct:hirq. ButwhatwastheIssueofit? Clinias had not been fix Months there, before Ariphron^ not knowing whajt to do with him, returned him to Perk/es. '"? ' "
I could quote you an infinite Number of others who,tho' they were very virtuousand learned,yet they could never make their own Children nor those of othersthebetterPeopleforallthat And,whenI think of all those Examples, I confess, Protagoras, thatIcontinueofthisSentiment, *thatVirtuecan't be taught : But at the fame time, when I hear you
speakasyoudo,itmakesmewaver,andIbeginto believe, that what you lay is true, being periwaded, that you have great Experience, that you have learn ed much of others, and that you have found out manyThingsyourselfthatweareignorantof If therefore you can plainly demonstrate to us, that Vir tueisofa. naturetobetaught, clon'tconcealsogreat aTreasurefromus:But! conjure^youtocommuni cateittous'. ' " * '
Well, saidhe, Iwillnotconcealitfromyou, but chuse:ShallI,asanoldMan, whospeaktoyoung People,demonstrateittoyou+bywayofaFable, or shall I do it by a plain and coherent Discourse.
*ItisanuncontrovertibleTruth;Forwhoisitthatcan correcthim whom God hathabandoned,becauseofhisVices? W h o can make that straight which he hath made crooked ?
t Fables were the strength of the Sophists. It was by them thatNaturalReligion,ifwe mayfayso,wassupplanted;and t h a t " P a g a n i s m , w h i c h is t h e C o r r u p t i o n t h e r e o f , w a s i n t r o d u ced initsroom :wherefore St. Taul exhorts the Faithful with tomuchcaretoavoidFables. WhenaManrefusestohearken to the Truth, he, in'course, gives ear to Fables.
1. . ''? ? >. At
? ? 2J9
Protagoras: Or, The Sophists}
At these Words most of those who were present cried out, that he was the Master, and that the Choice was left to him.
Since it is Ib, said he, I believe, that a Fable will be most agreeable.
* There was a time when the Gods were alone, beforetherewereeitherBeastsorMen. When the time appointed for the creation of these last came,
the Gods form'd them in the Earth, by mixing the Earth, the Fire and the other two Elements, whereof theyarecomposed,together. But,beforetheybrought them to the light, they ordered t Prometheus and Epmetbeus to adorn them and to distribute to them allQualitiesconvenient. Epimetbeusbegg'dofPro metheus to suffer him to make this distributionj which Prometheus consented to.
Behold then Epimetbeus in his Office. He gives to Ibme Strength without Swiftness , and to others SwiftnesswithoutStrength. TothesehegivesNa turalArmsanddeniesthem toothers,butatthe fame time gives them other Means to preserve and defend themselves ? , he assigns Caves and Holes in the Rocks for the retreat of those to which he gives butsmallBody, orotherwise,bygivingthemWings, heshewsthemtheirsafetyisintheAir. Hemakes those, to w h o m he has allotted Bulk, understand that that Bulk is sufficient for their preservation. Thus he finished his Distribution with the greatest Equality he possibly could , taking particular Care
* In this Fable, which is very ingenious, are trac'd great
Foet-steps of Truth ; as, that God was from everlasting be
foretheCreationofMan;thattherewasaTimedestindby
ProvidenceforthatCreation;andthatManwascreatedof
the Earth, in which were hid the Seeds of all Creatures. TtByTrometbeui,isheremeanttheSuperiourAngels;to
whomsomethinkGodrecommendedtheCareofManinthe Creation; tho' they act solely by his Spirit; for they only executehisOrders. And,byEfimethem,aremeanttheEle mentary Virtues, which can give nothing but what they have received,andwhichgoastraywhentheyarenotledandgui ded by the Spirit that created them.
. that
? ? Protagpras t Or, %he Sophists. 251
jhat none of those Kinds could be extirpated by the other.
After having provided them with Means to defend themselves from the Outrage of each other, he took care to provide them against the Injuries of the Air and against the Rigour of the Season : For this pur pose he cloathed them with thick Hair and very close Skins, able to defend them against the Winter- frosts and the Summer-heats, and which, when they have occasion to sleep, serve them instead of a Quilt to lye upon and of a Covering over them ; he pro vides their Feet with a very firm and thick Hoof and
withaveryhardSkin. "
1 That being done, he assigns to each of them their
Food, viz. $o one Herbs, to another the Fruits of the Trees-$ to some Roots, and there was one kind which he permitted to feed upon the Flesh of other Creatures : But lest that kind should come at last todestroytheothers,hemadeitless _
fruitful aad made those that were to nourishthemextraordinaryfruitful. But
as Epimetbetfs was not very wife and prudent,hedidnottakenoticethathe had imployed all his Qualities to the use of Irrational Creatures, and that
Jj^Ji&S&Snlm ^,"r^JT^ *"
Epimetheusbeingleft *? himself,*ninothing ? " * h Prometheus,
*">><<'"*'>>*? '? <<?
Man wasstillwantingtobeprovidedsor5hethere fore knew not on what side to turn himself, when Prometheus came to seewhat Partition he had made. He saw all the Creatures perfectly well provided forjbutfoundMan *quitenaked,withouteither Weapons, Shooes or Covering.
The DayappointedtotakeMan outoftheBo som of the Earth and to bring him to the Light oftheSun, beingcome, Prometheusthereforeknew not what to do to make Man capable of preser ving himself. At last he made use of this Expe-
*Epimtthettthad givenhimallthathecouldgive;forMan ought to furnish himself with alVthingsneceslary for his pre-: servationaonlyfromReason, i . J ,
dient:
? ? 25*
Protagoras: Or, The Sophists:
dient: *He tobV&VuleanaidMinerva oftheirWif" dom relating to Arts^ he also stole the Fire-, for without Fire this Wisdom could not be possessed? ,
it would have been quite useless$ and he presented them to Man. After this Manner Man received t Wisdom sufficient to preserve his Life5 but he did not receive the Wisdom which relates to Politicks : U for Jupiter had it, and Prometheus had not yet the liberty to enter into v that Sacred Mansion of thisMasteroftheGods. TheWaytoitwasde fendedby /. terribleGuards: But, asIjustnow told
you,
* VttUdn and Miner** are the two Causes of Arts. Vulcan (the Fire) furnishes the Instruments and the Operation, and Minerva, (the Spirit) gives the Design and the Knowledge by the Imagination, which is as it were a Ray that she sends from above ; for Arts are only Imitations ofthe Spirit and of the Understanding, and they only give the Form and adorn theMatteruponwhichtheyact. Trod.
t According to this Fable, the Knowledge of Arts prece dedPolitickandMoralVirtuesintheSoulofMan;andthere isnobodywho knowsnotthefalsityofthisTradition.
|[ Y e s ; b u t J u p i t e r , t h e S o v e r e i g n o f t h e G o d s , h a d a d o r n ed the Soul of Man therewith from the very Minute of his Creation. Itistrue,thatthisfirstManlostitverysoonby his Fall, and that his Posterity had need of a Mercury, that is tofay,aMinisterofGodtobringitbacktothem. Politick WisdomiswithJupiter,asTnclutfays,becauseGodbythe mostwiseLawswhichhehadestablishedfortheGovernment ofthe World, hath given the most perfect Model of the most
excellent Polititian.
v ThisMansionofsuptieriscall'dherebyawordwhich
signifies Fortress, and by which the ancient Theologues, fays Trwltti, understood the tipper Region of the Heaven and the TrimumMobile;fromwhencetheyconceived,thatGodgave Motion to all Things, and communicated his Light and his fruitful Irradiations to the inferiour Gods for the creation of Beings,withoutbeingsubjecttoanyCause. And 'tisofthis Fortress that Homer would speak, when he says, that Justier keeps himself at a distance upon the highest Pinacle of the Heavens.
? \ Those terrible Guards which defend the W a y to this Fortress of Jupiter, serve, according to Vroclw, to point forth the Immutability'of his Decrees and his Indefatigable W a t c h fulness for the Support of that Order which he has establish. - <<d. We mayalsosay,thatthoseGuardsaretoletusknow,
that
? ? Protagoras : Or, the Sophists: zjj
you,hediptintothecommonRoom*whereVulcan and Minerva were at work, and having robb'd that God ofhisArtwhich ispractisedbyFire,andthis Goddess of hers which relates to the Design and C o n duct of the Works, he gave them to Man, who by this Means found himself in a condition to provide allthingsnecessaryforLife. 'Tissaid,thatProme theus was afterwards punished for this Robbery, which he committed only to repair the Default of Epimetheus.
WhenManhadreceivedsuchShares' of all those Divine Advantages, he was theonlyoneofalltheCreatures,Who,
becauseofhisKindred thatlinkedhim totheDivineBeing,thoughtthatthere
'* *ia>>,theinlyone<</all
T. ct*ftrth. *? **'
J Z S W g J ^
thisKnowledgee*met>> wereGods,whorailedAltarsanderect- himfromhisfirstUutg.
edStatuestothemj healsosettleda . ^Matofa*,**** LanguageandgaveNamestoallThings: * % % $ % ? ?
he built himself Houses, made himself w* it*tr>>>t^mt. Cloaths, Shooes, Beds, procur'd him
selfFood out of the Bowels of the Earth.
Notwithstanding all those Helps that Men had from their very Birth, yet they liv'd dispersed j for therewasyetnoCity. Thereforetheyweremise rably devoured by the Beasts, as being every where muchfeeblerthanthey. TheArtstheyhadwerea sufficientHelpforthemtonourishthemselves, but very insufficient for defence against Enemies and to makeWarwiththem? ,fortheyhadnotasyetany knowledge of Politicks, whereof the Art of War is
that all the Celestial Spirits cannot enter into the Secrets of Providence,butinsofarasGodhasamindtocallthem thereuntobyhisGoodness. WhereforeJupiterfaysinHomer,lntjK? r4
that the other-Gods cannot enter into his Councils, and that they can know nothing, but what he pleases to communicate to them. Those Guards may also have been feign'd from the Cherubims thatGod placed at the entrance of the Terre strial Paradise, and w h o defended the same with a flaming Sword.
Book of In* jjiads
one
? ? 254
froiagoras: Or,theSopfostk
onepart. * Theythereforethoughtonlyofgather ing themselves together, for their. Preservation and ofBuildingofCities. Buttheywerenosoonerto gether than they did one another more Milbhiefs, by their Injustice, than the Beasts had formerly done thembytheirCruelty. AndthoseInjusticesproceed ed only from this, that they had not yet any Idea of Politicks. ThereforetheyWeresoonobligedtose- farate themselves* and were again exposed to the
ury of the Beasts.
jupiter, being moved with Compassion and also
fearingthattheRaceofMan wouldbesoonextirpaT ted t lent Mercury with Orders to carry Shame and justice to Men, to the end that they might Adorn their Cities and Confirm the Bonds of their Ami ty.
Mercury, having received this Order, asked Jupi ter, how he should do to communicate unto Men Shame and Justice, and if he should distribute them asPrometheushaddistributedtheArts. For,added he, the Arts were distributed thus : For example, He who has the Art of Physick given him, isable alonetoservemanyparticularPersons. Itisthe famealsowithallotherArtists. Willittherefore be enough if I follow the lame Method, and if I give Shame and Justice to a small Number of Peo- e3le? Or shallIdistributethem indifferentlytoall?
toallwithoutdoubt, repliedJupiter, theymustall
* This is a Principle which the tfngodly Would turn tel their advantage, in maintaining that the Society of M e n had nootherMotivebuttheirpreservation. Thatismostfalse. M e n were united long before they thought of building Cities. God had planted in their Hearts the Seeds of Love and of Charity for one another, and this Seed was nourished and augmented by Religion * the Motive of Preservation was only a more remote Motive, which even necessarilysupposes a pre cedent good Will;
t The Ancients therefore knew this Truth, that God could make use of the Ministry of a God, or of an Angel, to ac
quaint Men with his Will, to cure their Weaknesses and to communicate Virtues to them;
hafe
? ? Protagoras: Or, the Sophists!
tjj
have them: For ifthey are communicated only to* small Number, as other Arts are, there will never beeitherSocietiesorCities. Moreover, thouslialt publishthisLawinmyName, thateveryMan,who has not Shame and Justice, shall be cut off as the
the Plague of Cities.
This isthe reason, Socrates^ why, when the Athe
nians and other People consult about Affairs relating to Arts, they listen only to the Council of a small Number,thatistolay,ofArtists. Andifany others,whoarenotoftheProfession,takeupon them to give their Advice, they do not allow him, asyou haveverywellobserved,andasindeeditIs butreasonable. ButwhentheytreatofAffairsre lating only to Pojicy, as this Policy ought always to run upon justice and Temperance, then they hear every Body, and that with very good reason5 for
,
every Body is obliged to have those
Virtues, otherwise there can be no Ci- r<<,r>e>>voJ/;g'ifba* ties. That is the only reason of this *? >>* b^/fter '"T1**
difference which you have so well ar- % , * ? gued against.
And, that you may not think that I deceive you, whenIlay,thatallMen aretrulyperswadedthat
every Person has a sufficient Knowledge of Justice? y*ryone) andofallotherPolitickVirtues,Iwillgiveyoua^ *>H Proofwhichwillnotsufferyou todoubtit;towit,ufr^Jk that in other Arts, as you have very well observed, thistixSo- if any one should brag, that he excells therein, and fhifi<& that a Man, forexample, should boast, * that he is***hnWi
an excellent player upoirthe Flute , without know inganythingofit,everyBodyhisses-athim, andhis FriendsmakehimretireasaMan who haslosthis Wits. On theotherhand,whenweseeaMan,who, as to Justice and other Politick Virtues, lays before every Body, and testifies against himself, that he is
* It is a false reasoning of the Sophist. W e plainly see when a Man knows not how to play upon the Flute; but it isnotsoeasilyseenwhetheraManbeJustoronlycounter feits Justice.
nei-
? ? 256
Protagoras: Or, The Sophists.
neither]Ustnorvirtuous, tho'inallotheroccasions, there is nothing more commendable than to tell the truth,andthatitisaMark ofShamefacedness* atthe fame time it istaken in this Cafe for a sign of Folly, andthereasonofitissaidtobe,thatallMenare obliged to alledge they are just, even tho' they be not 5 and that he, M o at least cannot counterfeit a justMan, isaperfectFool" seeingthereisnoPerson who isnotobligedtoparticipateofthatVertue, of otherwisehemustceasetobeaMan. Youfeethen; that it is with good reason every Body is heard speak when Politicks are talked of, because every oneisperswaded,thatthereisnoManwhohasnot some share of it.
N o w that the World is perswaded, that those Virtues are neither the Present of Nature , nor an EffectofChance, buttheFruitofReflectionsandof Precepts,iswhatIam nowgoingtodemonstrateto you.
* You fee that no Body blames us for the Faults and Vices, which we are perswaded are natural to us, or which come to us by chance, no Body admo nishes us, no Body reforms us, and, in a word, no Body chastises us to make us otherwise than we ar& On the contrary, they pity us. For who would be ibmadastoundertaketoreprehendaManwhoisa Cripple, one ey'd, deform'd, or a Dwarf for being so ? Is not every one perswaded, that those Defects oftheBody, aswellasitsBeauties,aretheWork of Nature, or an Effect of Fortune, which often changes what Nature has made ? It is not the fame as to
Other things which are certainly known to be the
* This way of Argument,how specious soever, is false. It J*:impossibleforaMantoaltersomeDefectsinhisBody;
ut there are certain Defects of the Soul that are changed by naturalLightwhichisnotwhollyextinguishedinUs. Mdn isnotchangedradically,ifwe maybeallowedtospeakso; but he is brought to obey Reason to a certain point, or to i>ut a restraint upon himself in obeying the Law , which is
iiificientforcivil Society, but this isfar from being virtuous.
Fruit
? ? ProfagttfaS: Or, the Sopbistsl 2j7
Fruit of Application and Study ; when any Body is foundwho hasthem not, orwho hasVicesopposite tothoseVertueswhichheoughttohave, thenwe are really angry with him ; he is admonished >> he is r e p r i m a n d e d 5 a n d h e is c h a s t i s e d ; a m o n g t h e s e V i c e s
are Injustice, Impiety^ and* in a word, all that isop positetoPolitickandCivilVirtues. As . . allthoseVertuesaretobeacquiredby wit{w hZ}? ZZTZ Study and Labour, this makes every ofMm, theycan'tbeac- one exclaim against those who have y>>*w, but tixymay &t
neglected to learn them. ****&*. Thisislbtrue, Socrates, thatifyouwilltakethe
pains only to examine what that one word is, topu
nish the Wicked, what force itbears, and what end is proposed by this Punishment ; that alone issufficient
to perswade you of thisTruth, that Virtue may be acquired. * FornoBodypunishesaMiscreantvrsqx--^"othet ly because he has been wicked, unless it be some Sa-^f*j*"
vage Beast, who punishes 'em to satisfie his o w n ^ ^ ^ Cruelty. ButhewhopunisheswithReason,does
not do it for by-past Faults, for it is impossible to hinder what has been done from being done ; but
for Faults that are to come, to the end that the
guilty may not relapse, and that others may take examplebytheirPunishment. AndeveryMan,whoHotatdty hasthisforhisEnd, mustofnecessitybeperswaded,he*fiTM>>sr
that Virtue may be taught. For he punishes only /J^iw " forthefuture. Nowitisplain,thatallMen,whoMenmay
put a force * All that "Protagoras fays here is false. There are two upontbtm- things to be considered in the punishment of the wicked ;selves and
thepunishment oftheSin, whxchisasatisfactiontoDivineobeythe justice, whereof the Justice of M e n is only the Eccho, if w e Law* maybeallow'dsotospeak. Judges,asStewardsofDispen
sersOf theDivinePower? takeaway theLife,or inflictother punishments on the wicked, to the end that Sin may be pu
nished. And, as Heads of the Government, who do all for the good of the State, they order that this punishment shall be executed publickly, that eVery one may take warning ; for the Fool himself becomes more wife when the wicked Man is puniflicd : Ttftiltntt flagel/ato ffultui saphtttlor erity Pxovj
Ri pu-
? ? 258
Protagoras: Or, the Sophists]
punish the Wicked, whether it be in private or in publick, doitonlyforthisEndjandyourAthenians doitaswellasothers. Fromwhenceitfollows,by a most just and neceflary Consequence, that your
Athenians are perswaded as well as other People, thatVertuemaybeacquiredandtaught.
Thusitis with a great deal of reason, that your Athenians give ear in their Councils to a Mason, a Smith, a Shooe-maker, &c. and that they are perswaded, that Vertue may be taught : Methinks this is suffi ciently proved.
The only Scruple that remains is, thatwhich you m a k e a b o u t g r e a t M e n ; f o r y o u a s k w h e n c e it c o m e s that great M e n teach their Children in their Infancy, all that can be taught by Masters, and make them verylearnedinallthoseArts, andthattheyneglect to teach them their proper Vertues, which at the fame time cause all their Grandeur and their true Character. To answer you that, Socrates, I shall have no further recourse to Fables as before, but shall give you very plain Reasons.
knottier
fdftVrin- an. t0 which all M e n are equally obliged, or other-
* Don'tyoubelieve, thatthereisonethingabove
tberJ" wifetherecan**neimerSocietynorCity> The marfo. SolutionofyourDifficultydependsuponthisone only Point alone ; for if this only thing exists, and
t h a t it b e n e i t h e r t h e A r t o f a C a r p e n t e r , n o r t h a t o f aSmith,northatofaPotter, butthatitisJustice, TemperanceandHoliness, and,inaword,allthat
*ThisisanotherfalseArgumentoftheSophist. Itiscer tain, that Vertue exists j that all M e n are obliged to partake ofit,andthatGodhasgiventhemVertue. Butitisalso certain,thattheyhayelostitbythe illusethey made of their Free-will, and that they can't recover it but by the helposGod. Education,whichisaMeanstoassistNature, isofnoefficacy,unlessGodgiveaBlessingtoit:Itmay curb the wicked for some time, by reviving some Sparks of their almcstdeadKeafcnandbymghmingthemwiththepunish ments of Vice, and it is here that it usually terminates 3 but thatalonewillneverinfuseVertue. Man plantsand Man Maters, but *cisGod who giveth the encreate.
is
? ? avery greattruth,
Prqtagoras; Or, The Sophists. 25^
is comprehended under the N a m e of Vertue, if that
thing exists and that all M e n are obliged to partake
thereof, insomuch that every particular Person, who
would instruct himself or do any other thing, is
obliged to guide himself by its Rules, or to renounce
all that it desires 5 that all those w h o will not par
take thereof, Men, Women, and Children, must be
reproved, reprehended, and chastized, till Instructi
ons or Punishments reform them ; and that those
who will not be reform'd, must either be punished
withDeathorBanished-,ifitbeso,asyoucan't
doubt of it, and that notwithstanding this, those
greatMen,ofwhomyouspeak,shouldteachtheir
Children all other things, and should neglect to
teach them this only thing, I mean Virtue j it must
then be * a Miracle if those Children, so much
neglected, become People of Worth and good Citi
zens. I have already proved to you, that every
Body is perswaded that Virtue may be taught in
Publick and Private. Since it may be taught, do
you think that Fathers teach their Children all the
things that they may be securely ignorant of, with
out incurring either the Pain of Death, or the least Penalty ? , and that they neglect to teach them those
things the Ignorance whereof is usually attended by
Death, Prison, Exile, Confiscation of Goods, and,
in a word, by the utter ruine of Families ? For this is# urdthtt
thethingthathappenstothosewho arenotbroughtthepartof up vertuouily. Is there not a greater likelihood **>>/*>>*? that they will imploy all their Pains and all their r**, not,.
Application to teach them that which isloimpor-uptau t>> tantandsonecessary> Yes,withoutdoubt,Soera-counterfeit tes,andwe oughttothink,thatthoseFathers,ta-defame.
kingtheirChildrenintheiryoungerYears, thatisto fay, as soon as those Children are capable of. under standing what is said to them, never cease all their
* Yes, without doubt, it is a Miracle; for w e are natural ly so corrupt, that God must intervene to restore the Soul to theStatewhichithaslost. ThisSophistthinkshefayssome thing that's absurd and impossible, but at the same time speaks
Rr a ? J-ife-
? 260
Protagoras: Or, the Sophists.
Life time to teach and reprehend th<<m, and not only theFathers, butalsotheMothers,Nurses, andPre ceptors : They all chiefly indeavour to make Chil dren honest and virtuous, * by letting them see upon every Thing they do and upon every Word they speak, that such a Thing isjust, and such a Thing is u n j u s t -, t h a t t h i s i s h a n d s o m , a n d t h a t u n h a n d s o m ; that this is holy and that impious j that w e must do this, and shun that. If Children voluntarily obey these Precepts, they are rewarded and praised ; and, if they don't obey them, they are threatned and cha stizedj they are propt up and setright, likeTrees that bend and become crooked.
When they are sent to School, it is earnestly re commended totheirMastersnottoapplythemselves somuchtoteachthemtoreadwellandtoplaywell upon Instruments,as to teach them Honesty and M o d e sty. Therefore those Masters take very great care of it. When theycanreadandunderstandwhattheyread, instead of giving them Precepts by word of Mouth, they,makethemreadthebestPoets, andobligethem togetthembyheart. TheretheyfindexcellentPre ceptsforVirtue,and. Recitalswhich containthePrai
sesofthegreatestMen ofAntiquity,totheendthat thole Children, being inflam'd with a noble Emula tion, may imitateand endeavour toresemble them.
The Masters of Mufick, and those who teach'em to play upon Instruments, take the fame Pains, they train up young People to Modesty, and take particu lar care that they do nothing unhandsom.
When they understand Mufick and can play well upon Instruments, they put into their Hands the PoemsoftheLyriquePoets,whichtheymakethem ling and . play upon the Harp, to the end tb. 3t those Numbers and that Harmony may insinuate them
*AlfthisEducationdidthenonlytend,anddoesnomore now,forthe-mostpart,buttoaccustomChildren-toobey the LawsofHonour,DecencyandJusticealamode,andtogovern
themselvesinallthingsnotbyPrinciplesofKeligion, but by M a x i m s o f P o l i c y , k t h a t t o t e a c h V i r t u e :?
? selves
? Protagoras: Or, Ike Sophists. 161
selvesintotheirSouls,whitestthey areyettender and that being thereby rendred more soft, tractable, polite, and, ifwe may say so, more harmonious and more agreeable, they may be more capable ofspeak ingwellanddoingwell:forthewholeLifeofMan has need of * Number and Harmony.
Not being satisfied with those Means, they fend
them also to Masters of Exercise, to the end that
havingafoundandrobustBody, theymay thebetter
execute the Orders of a Masculine and sound Spirit,
and that the Weakness of their Constitution m a y not By this rea-
obligethemtorefusetoservetheirCountry, whe-fi>>tixcb;i-
ther it be in War, or in other Functions ; and those ^"f*1"
who fend their Children most to Masters, are such '? ? ? $*
as are best able to do it, that is to fay, the richest, most w >> -
ipsomuch that the Children of the richest begin their <<>>*.
Exercises the earliest and continue them the longest ;But the for they go thither in their tender Years, and don't taws **?
cease going tillafter they are Men. T m ' T F They have no sooner quitted those Masters, but mr Man-
their Country obliges them to learn the Laws, and>>m. to live according to the Rules they prescribe, to the end that they may do all things by Reason, and no thingoutofConceitandFancy. And,asWriting- masters give their Scholars, who have not as yet learn'd, a Rule under their Paper, that in copying their Examples , they may always follow the Lines that are traced outj so the Country gives Laws to Men that were invented and established by the an cientLegislators. Itforceththemtogovernandto submit to be governed according to their Laws ; and ifany one goes astray it punifheth him ; and this
P u n i s h m e n t is c a l l e d w i t h y o u , a s i n m a n y o t h e r P l a c e s , byaWord whichproperlysignifiestoreform;asJustice reformingthosewho turnasidefromtheRulewhich ought to guide them.
* Yes, but it is of such Numbers and Harmony asMen don't teach : the Harmony which they teach oftentimes serves only to render them more unfit for the other.
Rr 3 After
? ? z6z
Protagoras: Or, the Sophists.
After so much Pains taken, both in publick and private, to inspire Virtue, are you amazed, Socra tes, and can you have the least doubt that Virtue maybetaught? Thisshouldbesofarfromsurpri zing you, that you ought, on the other hand, to be very rrrach surprized ifthe contrary should be true.
But you will say, how comes it to pass, that many of the greatest Mens Children become the mostdishonestPeopleoftheWorld? Here'savery plain Reason, that has nothing amazing in it, if what I have already supposed be firm and unshaken ;
that is to lay, if it be true, * that every M a n is in^ dilpensably obliged to have Virtue , to the end that SocietiesandCitiesmaysubsist. Ifthatbeso,as without doubt it is, choose among all the other Sciences or Professions that Men are imploy'd in, whichyoushallthinkfit,andyoushallseewhatI
Another
falserea- WOuldbeat.
fining. Set LetUSsuppose,forexample,ThatthisCitycould
'ntfss' notfubfift>unlesswewereallPlayersontheFlute: t Isitnotcertain, that we should all addict our selves to the Flute, that both in publick and private we would teach one another to play upon it; that we would reprehend and chastize those who should
neglect to play, and that we would no more make that Science a Mystery to them, than we do that of JusticeandLaw? FordoesanyBodyrefusetoteach anotherJustice? And doesanyBodykeepthatSci^ encesecret,asispracticedinotherArts> No, cer tainly. Andthereasonofitisthis,ThattheVirtue
* He isobliged to have Virtue, and God hath given him a Light capable to guide him to the true Fountain j but So cieties and Cities don't examine if he be truly virtuous ; it is enough for them that he counterfeits it, and that he lives as- ifhewereso. TheSophistarguesalwaysuponafalsePrin ciple.
tThisSophistalwaysmistakeshimself. Itisnotthefame withVirtueaswithotherArts;aManisanableArtisttho' he has not acquired the highest perfection inArt ; but a Man js not virtuous, unless he has all Virtue ; for ifone part of it bewantingalliswanting. ? "Protagorasisgoingimmediatelyto fall into a manifest Contradiction.
and
? ? Protagoras: Or, the Sophists. z6y
and Justiceof everyparticularMan isusefultothe wholeBody. That'sthereasonwhyeveryBodyis always ready to teach his Neighbour all that concerns
LawandJustice. IfitwerethefameintheArtof Playing on the Flute, and that we were all equally ready to teach others, without any reserve* what we know of it, do you think, Socrates, that the Children of the most excellent Players upon the Flute, would always become more perfect in that Art thansheChildrenoftheworstPlayers> Iam per-
fwadedyoubelievenothingofit. *TheChildren whowouldbefoundtobethemosthappilybornfor that Art, would be those who should make the greatest progress therein, and who should render themselves the most famous for it, the rest would fatigue themselves in vain and would never gain anyNameonit,aswedailyfeetheSonofanex
cellent Player upon the Flute to be but an indifferent Scholar ; and, on the other hand, the Son of a Block head to become a very able Musician : But in gene ral they are all good enough, t ifyou compare them with the ignorant and with those w h o never handled aFlute. Wemustholditforcertain,thatitisthe fameinthepresentcase;suchanoneaswouldap pear to you now to be the most unjust of all thole
* Vrotagaras contradicts himself by this Argument ; for if pone but those'who are happily born acquire the perfection of Arts, and that M e n can't change an unhappy Birth, it fol lows from thisPrinciple, that Men cannot even teach the perfectionofArts;anditisacertaintruth. Howcouldthey inspireuswithVirtuethen? forwemustbeashappilyborn forvirtue. What isitthentobehappilyborn? isittohave bur Reason less chang'd and corrupted ? In this state Educa tion cultivates the natural Seed which God hath fow'd in our Souls,andGod,by hisBlesling,makes them grow and bringsthem t o t h e i r p e r f e c t M a t u r i t y . T h e n 'tis n e i t h e r N a t u r e a l o n e t h a t procures Virtue, nor Labour alone, nor both together, 'tis God alone; for'tishewho correctsour depravedNature and bleffeth our Labour.
t One may be comparatively able in Arts, but not so in Virtue. We maybelesswickedthanothers,butthatdoes not make us virtuons.
Rr4 who
? ? a64
Protagoras! : Or, the Spfhisisl
whoarebroughtupintheknowledgeoftheLaw* andincivilSociety,wouldbeaveryjustMan and even able to teach Justice, jf you should compare him with People who have neither Education, Law, Tribunals, nor Judges, who are not forced by any necessitytoapplythemselvestoVirtue-, andwho, in a word, would resemble * those Savages which Fberecrates. caused to be acted last Year, at the t Country-feasts of Bacchus. Believe me, if you were among Men, like those Misanthropes that that Poet introduces, you would think your selfvery happy to fallintotheHands,ofan \EuribatesandaFhrynon- ddf, andyouwouldsighaftertheWickednessofour People, against which you declaim to much now. ButyourDistempercomesonlyfromtoomuchease: because every Body teaches Virtue as they can , and
you are pleased to cry out and to say, that there is not so much as one Master that teacheth it. It is just as if you should seek in Greece for a Master who teacheth the Greek tongue, you will find none: Why ? Because every Body teacheth it. Indeed if you seek for one who can teach Tradesmens Sons
the Trade of their Fathers with the fame Capaci ty as their Fathers themselves or sworn Masters can perform it, I confess, Socrates, that such a Ma-
* The PoetTherecrateshad actedaPJay, whereof the Title wasi! yqioi>TheSavages. Andthereissomeappearance,that h e r e p r e s e n t e d t h e r e i n t h e u n h a p p y L i f e t h a t t h e first M e n led, before they were united by Society ; and his aim was, to let the Greeks fee that there was no Happiness for them, but to be well united, and faithfully to execute the Treaty of Peace, u hich had so lately terminated a long and fatal War.
fAttheCountry-feastsofBacchus. HefaystheCountry- feasts, because there were otfier Feasts of Bacclw, that were celebrated in the. City the beginning of the Spring, and tbe Country-feasts were celebrated the latter end of Autumn in the Fields.
|]Euribates and Thrynondaswere two notorious Profligates, w h o had given occasion for the Proverbs, A n Attion of Euri bates , to do the jidlons of Euribates , 'tit anotter Phrynondas. HeretheSophistcompliestoKeason. Itiswithoutalldoubt thatMencanteachMentheVirtuethatthosePeoplehad.
fter
? ? Protagoras : Or, the Sophists. z. 6$ ster would not easily be found ? ,but there isnothing
moreeafiethantofindonewho canteachtheIgno-Butvirtue rant. It is the fame with Virtue and all other*<<***? Things. And how' littleToeVer the advantage \&M>>*f"f
thatanotherMan hasoverus,topushus,forward^f"0"
andtomakeusadvanceinthewayofVirtue>itis
always a very considerable thing, and for whi^h we
oughttothinkourselvesveryhappy. Now Iamobservtthe
certainlyone of those who have all the necessaryTridtostbe Qualities for that j for I k n o w better than any other So? W-
Person in the World, all that must be done to be comeperfectlyanhonestMan:andIcansay,that IdonotrobthemoftheMoneywhichItakejnay, I deserve more, even in the Opinion of m y Scholars. Wherefore this }s the Bargain that I usually make : When any Body has learned of me, if he will, he paysmewhatothersusedtogivemejifnot,he may go into a Temple, and, after having sworn that, whatIhavetaughthimisworthsomuch,deposit theSumwhichhedesignsforme. Socrates,Thisis the Fable and the simple Reasons I have thought fit tomakeuseoftoprovetoyou,thatVirtuemaybe. taught, ^nd that the Athenians are all perlwaded of itj and to let you fee, that we must not be astonish ediftheChildrenofthegreatestMen arecommon lyverylittleworth, andifthoseoftheignorantand of the poorest succeed better, since we even see that theSonsofPolycletus, whoareofthefameAgewith Xanttppm and Puralus, are nothing, if compared with theirFather, andsoofmany otherChildrenof (C)urgreatestMasters. But>>forthosewhom tjust how nam'd, itisnottimetojddgethem, thereisstill hopes, andtheirYouthisaRefugeforthem.
This long and 'fine'Discourse being pronounced with much Ostentation and Pride, Protagoras held his Tongue, and I, after having been a long time put toastand,asaMancharm'dandravish'd,Ilookt upon him as ifhe ought to speak on still, and to tell me thingsthatIveryimpatientlyexpected:Butfee
ing that he had actually done , and having at last . 'i ? resu
? ? z66
Protagoras: Or, tbeSophistsl
resumed Courage with much difficulty, I turned to wardsHippocrates. Intruth,Hippocrates,laidIto him,IcannotexpresshowmuchIamindebtedto you, for having obliged me to come hither , for I would not for all the World not have heard Protago ras : hitherto I believed, that it was nowise by the help and care of Men, that we became honest Peo ple:butnowIam perswadedthatitisathing purelyhumane. ThereisonlyonesmallDifficulty1 remaining, which Protagoras, who has just now de monstratedsuchfinethings,willeasilyresolve. If we should consult some of our great Orators upon
those Matters, perhaps they would entertain us with Herepn*- such like Discourses, * and that we should believe desailthosewq heard a Pericles, or some of those who have
te'fthat ^eenthem0^Eloquentjand,afterthat,ifweshould the]were a make objection to them, they would not know what
little taint- t o s a y n o r w h a t t o a n s w e r , b u t b e a s m u t e a s a B o o k . edbythe guttjj0'oneshouldaskthemneversolittleupon
the"? "! ! wsiattnevmighthavealreadysaid,theywouldne ws*/;the verend,andwoulddoasaBrassKettle,which,be- Sophijis. ingoncestruck,keepsitssoundalongtime,unless
one puts his Hand upon it and stops it^ for that's just what our Or-ators do, so soon as they are touch edtheyresoundwithoutend. Itisnotthefame
with Protagoras, for he is not only very capable of holdinglongandfineDiscourses, ashehasjustnow madeitappear, butalsoofansweringpreciselyand in few Words, to the Questions that are asked him,
and can start others, arid wait for and receive the Answers as he ought , which few People are able to do.
Now then, Protagoras, saidItohim, therewants but a small thing to content me upon the whole, and I shall be fully satisfied when you shall have
*This isadifficultPassage,ifwe havenoregardtothetimej thatistofay,ifwe dohotobservetheDateoftheDialogue. It is that w h i c h deceived Henry Steplxns, w h o translated it as
? iiTerideswere stillalive,whereashehadbeendeadeightor nine Years.
had
? ? Protagoras: Or, the Sophists. z6f
hadthegoodnesstoanswerit. Yousay,thatVirtue can be taught, and ifI may believe any Body in the Worlduponthat,'tisyou. *ButIprayyoutore movetheScruplewhichyouhaveleftinmyMind: You have said, that Jupiter sent Shame and Justice to Men-, and in your whole Discourse you have spoke of Justice, Temperance and Sanctity, as ifVir tue were one only thing which ineludeth all those Qualities. Explainittomethenexactly,ifVirtue be one, and if Justice, Temperance, Sanctity, are only itsParts, or ifall those Qualities which I have now named be only different Names of one and the lamething. Thisiswhat1furtherdesireofyou.
'There is nothing more eafie, Socrates, than to h-TUS^st tisfie you in that point : For Virtue is one thing and **? <<**; those are itsParts. ses,***
mSS Kofi*hinV? ethose*? p*rts>astfe? S? * Mouth, Nose, Ears and Eyes are the Parts of theftfrcoup- Face > Or are they Parts like Parts of Gold, that/"* <f*ffi- are all of the fame Nature as the Mass, and differ*"*****? from each other only in Quantity ?
They are without doubt parts of it, as the Mouth and the Nose are parts of the Face.
_ But,saidI,doMen acquire,someonepartofthis Virtue,andothersanother? Or isthereanecessity thathewho acquiresonemustacquireall>
Bynomeansansweredhe. +Foryouseeevery Pay People who are valiant and unjust, and others who arejustwithout being wife.
For
* Spcrates does not trouble himself to answer all the So phisms o? -TrotaSoras, which are too gross ; but he goes at once to the main point of the Question, which consists to know theNatureofVirtuejforVirtuebeingwellknown, it willbeclearlyseen,thatitisnotpossibleforMen toteach
? t That'sthePoison ofthisDoctrine, which isbuttoomuch
spreadabroadtothisDay Somefancy,thatVirtuemaybe divided,soasaManmayhavesomeofitspartswithoutha ving the restj which is contrary to all the Light of Reason, ashasbeenexplainedintheArgument, ftwafinopposition
? ? x68
Protagoras: Or, The Sophist/;
? .
For Valour and Wisdom are only parts of Vir"
tuc.
Assuredly, laid-he, andWisdom isthegreatestof
its parts.
And is,everyoneofitspartsdifferentfromano
ther?
'Without doubt.
And everyonehasitsProperties: Asintheparts
of the Face the Eyes are not of the lame use with
the Ears, and have different Properties and Faculties,
and ib of all the other parts, they are all different
and don't resemble each other neither in Form nor
Quality, tsitthefameofthepartsofVirtuejdoes
hot one of them in no wise resemble another ? and do
they absolutely differ in themselves and in their Fa- culties? Itisevident, thattheydonotresembleeach
otheratall,ifitbethefameofthemasoftheEx ample which we have made use of.
Socrates^, that is Very certain and the Example is . just.
Then, laid I to him, Virtue has no other of its parts which resemble Knowledge, Justice, Valour, Temperance nor Sanctity.
No withoutDoubt.
Comethen,LetyouandIseeandexaminetothe bottomtheNatureofeveryoneofitsparts. Letus beginwithJustice:Isitanythingornothing? For my part,Ifinditissomething;whatdoyouthink?
I also think it to be something.
Socrates>> IfthenanyBodyshouldapplyhimselftoyou goingto an(jmg5anjshouldfayt0US)ProtagorasandSocra-
justiceW tes->exP*aint0me>Iprayyou,whatisthatwhich SanctityanyoujustnowcalTdJustice5isitsomething thatis UtoneandjustOrUnjust?
the fame
'""*? ?
to this very Error that Solomon wrote in theEcclesiasies, Ch. 9.
HewhofinrnthinonethingfbaO. UsemuchBJches. ForitisOneof the Explanations that St. Hierome gives to this Passage, 7l>at one only Sin cansetb many former good Works to perish , and that all Virtues accompany one another, insomuch that lie who has one has all ; and he who fins in one thing issubject to all Vices without exception*
I
? ? Pfotdgoras : Ot, the Sophists. i6?
I s h o u l d a n s w e r h i m o f f h a n d , t h a t it is s o m e t h i n g that isjust; would not you answer the feme?
Yes certainly.
Justice consists then , he would lay , according to
you, inbeingjust? Wewouldfayyes? ,isitnotso?
Without doubt, Socrates.
And ifhe. should ask us after that, Don't you also lay, that there is a Sanctity ? should not w e answer him in the same manner, that there is?
Assuredly.
You maintain, he'd reply, that it is something;
whatisitthen?
It is so, said he, that is the thing that I boast of.
In truth, said I to him, Protagoras that's a w o n derfulScienceyouhave, ifitbetruethatyouhave it, for I shall not scruple to tell you steely what I think. Ihavehithertothought,thatitwasathing thatcouldnotbetaught;butsinceyoufay, thatyou teachit,howcanwebutbelieveyou? Inthemean timeitisjust,thatIshouldgiveyou theReasonswhy
Ibelieveitcannot betaught, andthatoneMan can- ,notcommunicatethatSciencetoanother. Iamper- swaded, as are all the Greeks^ that the Athenians artverywise. *IseeinallourAssemblies,that
when the City is obliged to undertake some new Buildings, they call all the Architects before them to ask their Advice ; that when they design to build Ships, they send for the Carpenters that work in their Arsenals ; and that they do the fame in all other things that are capable to be taught and
* The firstreason of Socrates founded upon the Practice of allMen. UponThingsthatcanbetaught,theyaskAdvice onlyoftholewhohavelearntthem;outuponVirtuethey advise with every Body j a certain Mark that they are per- swaded that Virtue is not acquired.
<iq 4. learn'dj
? ? 448
Protagoras): Or, The Sophists.
learn'd-, and ifanybody else, who isnot ofthePro session, take upon him to give Advice, tho' he be never so fine, rich and noble, yet they don't so m u c h as give ear to him-, but they laugh athim, hiss him, andmakeaterriblenoise, tillsuchtimeasheretires, or iscarried out by the Officers, by Order of the Se nate. ThisistheManneroftheCity'sConductin all Things that depend upon Art.
But when they. deliberate upon those Things that relate to the Government of theRepublick then eve ryBodyisheardalike. YoufeetheMason,Lock smith, Shooe-maker, Merchant, the Sea-man, the Poor,Rich,Noble,theWaggoner,&c riseupto give their Advice, and no Body takes itillj there is no Noise made then, asinotherOccasions, and none of them is reproached for Intruding to give his Ad vice in Things he had never learned and in which he had not had a Master ? , an evident Demonstration,
that the Athenians do all believe that that cannot be
taught. And this is what is not only seen in the
generalAffairsrelatingtotheRepublick, butalsoin
privateAftairsandanallFamilies-, forthewisestand
the ablest of our Citizens can't communicate their WisdomandAbilitytoothers. ? >?
Without going: further, Pericles has carefully cau sed his two Sons , who are there to learn all that Masterscouldteach them;butastoWisdom hedoes n o t t e a c h t h e m t h a t -, h e d o e s n o t s e n d t h e m t o o t h e r Masters, * but they feed in common in all Pastures, likeBeastsconsecratedtoGod, thatwanderwithout
* ThisPassage, which isvery fine, had notieen intelligible, if I had translated it. verbatim ; for the Greek fays all this in one Word,bWjipiltt. Itwasthereforerequisitetoexplainthe Figurewhichisexcellent. SocratescomparesMentothose
Beasts which the Ancients consecrated sometimes to thfe^Gods,
As those Beasts had no Herds but those Gods themselves, so
it is the fame with Men, chiefly as to what relates to Virtue.
\ )
NotonlyGod,towhomtheyareconsecratedbytheirBirth,. *
can conduct them to the pure Springs, healthful Waters and
fatPastures. ItisthefameNotionasDavidhadin"Psalm>>t. in loco fafcue ihi me collocavit. ? '. '. '. '
? ? ? . -. >. . . -', '
a
? ? Protagoras:Or> Ik Sophists. 449
a Herd, to fee if of themselves they can light by good Fortune upon those healthful Herbs, which are , WisdomandVirtue. Tistrue,thatthefemePeri cles, being Tutor to Alcibiades and Clinias, Opera ted them, lest the latter, as being much younger, should be corrupted by his Brother Alcibiades ^ and placed Clinias with Ariphron, to the end that that wiseManmighttakecaretobringhimupandin struct:hirq. ButwhatwastheIssueofit? Clinias had not been fix Months there, before Ariphron^ not knowing whajt to do with him, returned him to Perk/es. '"? ' "
I could quote you an infinite Number of others who,tho' they were very virtuousand learned,yet they could never make their own Children nor those of othersthebetterPeopleforallthat And,whenI think of all those Examples, I confess, Protagoras, thatIcontinueofthisSentiment, *thatVirtuecan't be taught : But at the fame time, when I hear you
speakasyoudo,itmakesmewaver,andIbeginto believe, that what you lay is true, being periwaded, that you have great Experience, that you have learn ed much of others, and that you have found out manyThingsyourselfthatweareignorantof If therefore you can plainly demonstrate to us, that Vir tueisofa. naturetobetaught, clon'tconcealsogreat aTreasurefromus:But! conjure^youtocommuni cateittous'. ' " * '
Well, saidhe, Iwillnotconcealitfromyou, but chuse:ShallI,asanoldMan, whospeaktoyoung People,demonstrateittoyou+bywayofaFable, or shall I do it by a plain and coherent Discourse.
*ItisanuncontrovertibleTruth;Forwhoisitthatcan correcthim whom God hathabandoned,becauseofhisVices? W h o can make that straight which he hath made crooked ?
t Fables were the strength of the Sophists. It was by them thatNaturalReligion,ifwe mayfayso,wassupplanted;and t h a t " P a g a n i s m , w h i c h is t h e C o r r u p t i o n t h e r e o f , w a s i n t r o d u ced initsroom :wherefore St. Taul exhorts the Faithful with tomuchcaretoavoidFables. WhenaManrefusestohearken to the Truth, he, in'course, gives ear to Fables.
1. . ''? ? >. At
? ? 2J9
Protagoras: Or, The Sophists}
At these Words most of those who were present cried out, that he was the Master, and that the Choice was left to him.
Since it is Ib, said he, I believe, that a Fable will be most agreeable.
* There was a time when the Gods were alone, beforetherewereeitherBeastsorMen. When the time appointed for the creation of these last came,
the Gods form'd them in the Earth, by mixing the Earth, the Fire and the other two Elements, whereof theyarecomposed,together. But,beforetheybrought them to the light, they ordered t Prometheus and Epmetbeus to adorn them and to distribute to them allQualitiesconvenient. Epimetbeusbegg'dofPro metheus to suffer him to make this distributionj which Prometheus consented to.
Behold then Epimetbeus in his Office. He gives to Ibme Strength without Swiftness , and to others SwiftnesswithoutStrength. TothesehegivesNa turalArmsanddeniesthem toothers,butatthe fame time gives them other Means to preserve and defend themselves ? , he assigns Caves and Holes in the Rocks for the retreat of those to which he gives butsmallBody, orotherwise,bygivingthemWings, heshewsthemtheirsafetyisintheAir. Hemakes those, to w h o m he has allotted Bulk, understand that that Bulk is sufficient for their preservation. Thus he finished his Distribution with the greatest Equality he possibly could , taking particular Care
* In this Fable, which is very ingenious, are trac'd great
Foet-steps of Truth ; as, that God was from everlasting be
foretheCreationofMan;thattherewasaTimedestindby
ProvidenceforthatCreation;andthatManwascreatedof
the Earth, in which were hid the Seeds of all Creatures. TtByTrometbeui,isheremeanttheSuperiourAngels;to
whomsomethinkGodrecommendedtheCareofManinthe Creation; tho' they act solely by his Spirit; for they only executehisOrders. And,byEfimethem,aremeanttheEle mentary Virtues, which can give nothing but what they have received,andwhichgoastraywhentheyarenotledandgui ded by the Spirit that created them.
. that
? ? Protagpras t Or, %he Sophists. 251
jhat none of those Kinds could be extirpated by the other.
After having provided them with Means to defend themselves from the Outrage of each other, he took care to provide them against the Injuries of the Air and against the Rigour of the Season : For this pur pose he cloathed them with thick Hair and very close Skins, able to defend them against the Winter- frosts and the Summer-heats, and which, when they have occasion to sleep, serve them instead of a Quilt to lye upon and of a Covering over them ; he pro vides their Feet with a very firm and thick Hoof and
withaveryhardSkin. "
1 That being done, he assigns to each of them their
Food, viz. $o one Herbs, to another the Fruits of the Trees-$ to some Roots, and there was one kind which he permitted to feed upon the Flesh of other Creatures : But lest that kind should come at last todestroytheothers,hemadeitless _
fruitful aad made those that were to nourishthemextraordinaryfruitful. But
as Epimetbetfs was not very wife and prudent,hedidnottakenoticethathe had imployed all his Qualities to the use of Irrational Creatures, and that
Jj^Ji&S&Snlm ^,"r^JT^ *"
Epimetheusbeingleft *? himself,*ninothing ? " * h Prometheus,
*">><<'"*'>>*? '? <<?
Man wasstillwantingtobeprovidedsor5hethere fore knew not on what side to turn himself, when Prometheus came to seewhat Partition he had made. He saw all the Creatures perfectly well provided forjbutfoundMan *quitenaked,withouteither Weapons, Shooes or Covering.
The DayappointedtotakeMan outoftheBo som of the Earth and to bring him to the Light oftheSun, beingcome, Prometheusthereforeknew not what to do to make Man capable of preser ving himself. At last he made use of this Expe-
*Epimtthettthad givenhimallthathecouldgive;forMan ought to furnish himself with alVthingsneceslary for his pre-: servationaonlyfromReason, i . J ,
dient:
? ? 25*
Protagoras: Or, The Sophists:
dient: *He tobV&VuleanaidMinerva oftheirWif" dom relating to Arts^ he also stole the Fire-, for without Fire this Wisdom could not be possessed? ,
it would have been quite useless$ and he presented them to Man. After this Manner Man received t Wisdom sufficient to preserve his Life5 but he did not receive the Wisdom which relates to Politicks : U for Jupiter had it, and Prometheus had not yet the liberty to enter into v that Sacred Mansion of thisMasteroftheGods. TheWaytoitwasde fendedby /. terribleGuards: But, asIjustnow told
you,
* VttUdn and Miner** are the two Causes of Arts. Vulcan (the Fire) furnishes the Instruments and the Operation, and Minerva, (the Spirit) gives the Design and the Knowledge by the Imagination, which is as it were a Ray that she sends from above ; for Arts are only Imitations ofthe Spirit and of the Understanding, and they only give the Form and adorn theMatteruponwhichtheyact. Trod.
t According to this Fable, the Knowledge of Arts prece dedPolitickandMoralVirtuesintheSoulofMan;andthere isnobodywho knowsnotthefalsityofthisTradition.
|[ Y e s ; b u t J u p i t e r , t h e S o v e r e i g n o f t h e G o d s , h a d a d o r n ed the Soul of Man therewith from the very Minute of his Creation. Itistrue,thatthisfirstManlostitverysoonby his Fall, and that his Posterity had need of a Mercury, that is tofay,aMinisterofGodtobringitbacktothem. Politick WisdomiswithJupiter,asTnclutfays,becauseGodbythe mostwiseLawswhichhehadestablishedfortheGovernment ofthe World, hath given the most perfect Model of the most
excellent Polititian.
v ThisMansionofsuptieriscall'dherebyawordwhich
signifies Fortress, and by which the ancient Theologues, fays Trwltti, understood the tipper Region of the Heaven and the TrimumMobile;fromwhencetheyconceived,thatGodgave Motion to all Things, and communicated his Light and his fruitful Irradiations to the inferiour Gods for the creation of Beings,withoutbeingsubjecttoanyCause. And 'tisofthis Fortress that Homer would speak, when he says, that Justier keeps himself at a distance upon the highest Pinacle of the Heavens.
? \ Those terrible Guards which defend the W a y to this Fortress of Jupiter, serve, according to Vroclw, to point forth the Immutability'of his Decrees and his Indefatigable W a t c h fulness for the Support of that Order which he has establish. - <<d. We mayalsosay,thatthoseGuardsaretoletusknow,
that
? ? Protagoras : Or, the Sophists: zjj
you,hediptintothecommonRoom*whereVulcan and Minerva were at work, and having robb'd that God ofhisArtwhich ispractisedbyFire,andthis Goddess of hers which relates to the Design and C o n duct of the Works, he gave them to Man, who by this Means found himself in a condition to provide allthingsnecessaryforLife. 'Tissaid,thatProme theus was afterwards punished for this Robbery, which he committed only to repair the Default of Epimetheus.
WhenManhadreceivedsuchShares' of all those Divine Advantages, he was theonlyoneofalltheCreatures,Who,
becauseofhisKindred thatlinkedhim totheDivineBeing,thoughtthatthere
'* *ia>>,theinlyone<</all
T. ct*ftrth. *? **'
J Z S W g J ^
thisKnowledgee*met>> wereGods,whorailedAltarsanderect- himfromhisfirstUutg.
edStatuestothemj healsosettleda . ^Matofa*,**** LanguageandgaveNamestoallThings: * % % $ % ? ?
he built himself Houses, made himself w* it*tr>>>t^mt. Cloaths, Shooes, Beds, procur'd him
selfFood out of the Bowels of the Earth.
Notwithstanding all those Helps that Men had from their very Birth, yet they liv'd dispersed j for therewasyetnoCity. Thereforetheyweremise rably devoured by the Beasts, as being every where muchfeeblerthanthey. TheArtstheyhadwerea sufficientHelpforthemtonourishthemselves, but very insufficient for defence against Enemies and to makeWarwiththem? ,fortheyhadnotasyetany knowledge of Politicks, whereof the Art of War is
that all the Celestial Spirits cannot enter into the Secrets of Providence,butinsofarasGodhasamindtocallthem thereuntobyhisGoodness. WhereforeJupiterfaysinHomer,lntjK? r4
that the other-Gods cannot enter into his Councils, and that they can know nothing, but what he pleases to communicate to them. Those Guards may also have been feign'd from the Cherubims thatGod placed at the entrance of the Terre strial Paradise, and w h o defended the same with a flaming Sword.
Book of In* jjiads
one
? ? 254
froiagoras: Or,theSopfostk
onepart. * Theythereforethoughtonlyofgather ing themselves together, for their. Preservation and ofBuildingofCities. Buttheywerenosoonerto gether than they did one another more Milbhiefs, by their Injustice, than the Beasts had formerly done thembytheirCruelty. AndthoseInjusticesproceed ed only from this, that they had not yet any Idea of Politicks. ThereforetheyWeresoonobligedtose- farate themselves* and were again exposed to the
ury of the Beasts.
jupiter, being moved with Compassion and also
fearingthattheRaceofMan wouldbesoonextirpaT ted t lent Mercury with Orders to carry Shame and justice to Men, to the end that they might Adorn their Cities and Confirm the Bonds of their Ami ty.
Mercury, having received this Order, asked Jupi ter, how he should do to communicate unto Men Shame and Justice, and if he should distribute them asPrometheushaddistributedtheArts. For,added he, the Arts were distributed thus : For example, He who has the Art of Physick given him, isable alonetoservemanyparticularPersons. Itisthe famealsowithallotherArtists. Willittherefore be enough if I follow the lame Method, and if I give Shame and Justice to a small Number of Peo- e3le? Or shallIdistributethem indifferentlytoall?
toallwithoutdoubt, repliedJupiter, theymustall
* This is a Principle which the tfngodly Would turn tel their advantage, in maintaining that the Society of M e n had nootherMotivebuttheirpreservation. Thatismostfalse. M e n were united long before they thought of building Cities. God had planted in their Hearts the Seeds of Love and of Charity for one another, and this Seed was nourished and augmented by Religion * the Motive of Preservation was only a more remote Motive, which even necessarilysupposes a pre cedent good Will;
t The Ancients therefore knew this Truth, that God could make use of the Ministry of a God, or of an Angel, to ac
quaint Men with his Will, to cure their Weaknesses and to communicate Virtues to them;
hafe
? ? Protagoras: Or, the Sophists!
tjj
have them: For ifthey are communicated only to* small Number, as other Arts are, there will never beeitherSocietiesorCities. Moreover, thouslialt publishthisLawinmyName, thateveryMan,who has not Shame and Justice, shall be cut off as the
the Plague of Cities.
This isthe reason, Socrates^ why, when the Athe
nians and other People consult about Affairs relating to Arts, they listen only to the Council of a small Number,thatistolay,ofArtists. Andifany others,whoarenotoftheProfession,takeupon them to give their Advice, they do not allow him, asyou haveverywellobserved,andasindeeditIs butreasonable. ButwhentheytreatofAffairsre lating only to Pojicy, as this Policy ought always to run upon justice and Temperance, then they hear every Body, and that with very good reason5 for
,
every Body is obliged to have those
Virtues, otherwise there can be no Ci- r<<,r>e>>voJ/;g'ifba* ties. That is the only reason of this *? >>* b^/fter '"T1**
difference which you have so well ar- % , * ? gued against.
And, that you may not think that I deceive you, whenIlay,thatallMen aretrulyperswadedthat
every Person has a sufficient Knowledge of Justice? y*ryone) andofallotherPolitickVirtues,Iwillgiveyoua^ *>H Proofwhichwillnotsufferyou todoubtit;towit,ufr^Jk that in other Arts, as you have very well observed, thistixSo- if any one should brag, that he excells therein, and fhifi<& that a Man, forexample, should boast, * that he is***hnWi
an excellent player upoirthe Flute , without know inganythingofit,everyBodyhisses-athim, andhis FriendsmakehimretireasaMan who haslosthis Wits. On theotherhand,whenweseeaMan,who, as to Justice and other Politick Virtues, lays before every Body, and testifies against himself, that he is
* It is a false reasoning of the Sophist. W e plainly see when a Man knows not how to play upon the Flute; but it isnotsoeasilyseenwhetheraManbeJustoronlycounter feits Justice.
nei-
? ? 256
Protagoras: Or, The Sophists.
neither]Ustnorvirtuous, tho'inallotheroccasions, there is nothing more commendable than to tell the truth,andthatitisaMark ofShamefacedness* atthe fame time it istaken in this Cafe for a sign of Folly, andthereasonofitissaidtobe,thatallMenare obliged to alledge they are just, even tho' they be not 5 and that he, M o at least cannot counterfeit a justMan, isaperfectFool" seeingthereisnoPerson who isnotobligedtoparticipateofthatVertue, of otherwisehemustceasetobeaMan. Youfeethen; that it is with good reason every Body is heard speak when Politicks are talked of, because every oneisperswaded,thatthereisnoManwhohasnot some share of it.
N o w that the World is perswaded, that those Virtues are neither the Present of Nature , nor an EffectofChance, buttheFruitofReflectionsandof Precepts,iswhatIam nowgoingtodemonstrateto you.
* You fee that no Body blames us for the Faults and Vices, which we are perswaded are natural to us, or which come to us by chance, no Body admo nishes us, no Body reforms us, and, in a word, no Body chastises us to make us otherwise than we ar& On the contrary, they pity us. For who would be ibmadastoundertaketoreprehendaManwhoisa Cripple, one ey'd, deform'd, or a Dwarf for being so ? Is not every one perswaded, that those Defects oftheBody, aswellasitsBeauties,aretheWork of Nature, or an Effect of Fortune, which often changes what Nature has made ? It is not the fame as to
Other things which are certainly known to be the
* This way of Argument,how specious soever, is false. It J*:impossibleforaMantoaltersomeDefectsinhisBody;
ut there are certain Defects of the Soul that are changed by naturalLightwhichisnotwhollyextinguishedinUs. Mdn isnotchangedradically,ifwe maybeallowedtospeakso; but he is brought to obey Reason to a certain point, or to i>ut a restraint upon himself in obeying the Law , which is
iiificientforcivil Society, but this isfar from being virtuous.
Fruit
? ? ProfagttfaS: Or, the Sopbistsl 2j7
Fruit of Application and Study ; when any Body is foundwho hasthem not, orwho hasVicesopposite tothoseVertueswhichheoughttohave, thenwe are really angry with him ; he is admonished >> he is r e p r i m a n d e d 5 a n d h e is c h a s t i s e d ; a m o n g t h e s e V i c e s
are Injustice, Impiety^ and* in a word, all that isop positetoPolitickandCivilVirtues. As . . allthoseVertuesaretobeacquiredby wit{w hZ}? ZZTZ Study and Labour, this makes every ofMm, theycan'tbeac- one exclaim against those who have y>>*w, but tixymay &t
neglected to learn them. ****&*. Thisislbtrue, Socrates, thatifyouwilltakethe
pains only to examine what that one word is, topu
nish the Wicked, what force itbears, and what end is proposed by this Punishment ; that alone issufficient
to perswade you of thisTruth, that Virtue may be acquired. * FornoBodypunishesaMiscreantvrsqx--^"othet ly because he has been wicked, unless it be some Sa-^f*j*"
vage Beast, who punishes 'em to satisfie his o w n ^ ^ ^ Cruelty. ButhewhopunisheswithReason,does
not do it for by-past Faults, for it is impossible to hinder what has been done from being done ; but
for Faults that are to come, to the end that the
guilty may not relapse, and that others may take examplebytheirPunishment. AndeveryMan,whoHotatdty hasthisforhisEnd, mustofnecessitybeperswaded,he*fiTM>>sr
that Virtue may be taught. For he punishes only /J^iw " forthefuture. Nowitisplain,thatallMen,whoMenmay
put a force * All that "Protagoras fays here is false. There are two upontbtm- things to be considered in the punishment of the wicked ;selves and
thepunishment oftheSin, whxchisasatisfactiontoDivineobeythe justice, whereof the Justice of M e n is only the Eccho, if w e Law* maybeallow'dsotospeak. Judges,asStewardsofDispen
sersOf theDivinePower? takeaway theLife,or inflictother punishments on the wicked, to the end that Sin may be pu
nished. And, as Heads of the Government, who do all for the good of the State, they order that this punishment shall be executed publickly, that eVery one may take warning ; for the Fool himself becomes more wife when the wicked Man is puniflicd : Ttftiltntt flagel/ato ffultui saphtttlor erity Pxovj
Ri pu-
? ? 258
Protagoras: Or, the Sophists]
punish the Wicked, whether it be in private or in publick, doitonlyforthisEndjandyourAthenians doitaswellasothers. Fromwhenceitfollows,by a most just and neceflary Consequence, that your
Athenians are perswaded as well as other People, thatVertuemaybeacquiredandtaught.
Thusitis with a great deal of reason, that your Athenians give ear in their Councils to a Mason, a Smith, a Shooe-maker, &c. and that they are perswaded, that Vertue may be taught : Methinks this is suffi ciently proved.
The only Scruple that remains is, thatwhich you m a k e a b o u t g r e a t M e n ; f o r y o u a s k w h e n c e it c o m e s that great M e n teach their Children in their Infancy, all that can be taught by Masters, and make them verylearnedinallthoseArts, andthattheyneglect to teach them their proper Vertues, which at the fame time cause all their Grandeur and their true Character. To answer you that, Socrates, I shall have no further recourse to Fables as before, but shall give you very plain Reasons.
knottier
fdftVrin- an. t0 which all M e n are equally obliged, or other-
* Don'tyoubelieve, thatthereisonethingabove
tberJ" wifetherecan**neimerSocietynorCity> The marfo. SolutionofyourDifficultydependsuponthisone only Point alone ; for if this only thing exists, and
t h a t it b e n e i t h e r t h e A r t o f a C a r p e n t e r , n o r t h a t o f aSmith,northatofaPotter, butthatitisJustice, TemperanceandHoliness, and,inaword,allthat
*ThisisanotherfalseArgumentoftheSophist. Itiscer tain, that Vertue exists j that all M e n are obliged to partake ofit,andthatGodhasgiventhemVertue. Butitisalso certain,thattheyhayelostitbythe illusethey made of their Free-will, and that they can't recover it but by the helposGod. Education,whichisaMeanstoassistNature, isofnoefficacy,unlessGodgiveaBlessingtoit:Itmay curb the wicked for some time, by reviving some Sparks of their almcstdeadKeafcnandbymghmingthemwiththepunish ments of Vice, and it is here that it usually terminates 3 but thatalonewillneverinfuseVertue. Man plantsand Man Maters, but *cisGod who giveth the encreate.
is
? ? avery greattruth,
Prqtagoras; Or, The Sophists. 25^
is comprehended under the N a m e of Vertue, if that
thing exists and that all M e n are obliged to partake
thereof, insomuch that every particular Person, who
would instruct himself or do any other thing, is
obliged to guide himself by its Rules, or to renounce
all that it desires 5 that all those w h o will not par
take thereof, Men, Women, and Children, must be
reproved, reprehended, and chastized, till Instructi
ons or Punishments reform them ; and that those
who will not be reform'd, must either be punished
withDeathorBanished-,ifitbeso,asyoucan't
doubt of it, and that notwithstanding this, those
greatMen,ofwhomyouspeak,shouldteachtheir
Children all other things, and should neglect to
teach them this only thing, I mean Virtue j it must
then be * a Miracle if those Children, so much
neglected, become People of Worth and good Citi
zens. I have already proved to you, that every
Body is perswaded that Virtue may be taught in
Publick and Private. Since it may be taught, do
you think that Fathers teach their Children all the
things that they may be securely ignorant of, with
out incurring either the Pain of Death, or the least Penalty ? , and that they neglect to teach them those
things the Ignorance whereof is usually attended by
Death, Prison, Exile, Confiscation of Goods, and,
in a word, by the utter ruine of Families ? For this is# urdthtt
thethingthathappenstothosewho arenotbroughtthepartof up vertuouily. Is there not a greater likelihood **>>/*>>*? that they will imploy all their Pains and all their r**, not,.
Application to teach them that which isloimpor-uptau t>> tantandsonecessary> Yes,withoutdoubt,Soera-counterfeit tes,andwe oughttothink,thatthoseFathers,ta-defame.
kingtheirChildrenintheiryoungerYears, thatisto fay, as soon as those Children are capable of. under standing what is said to them, never cease all their
* Yes, without doubt, it is a Miracle; for w e are natural ly so corrupt, that God must intervene to restore the Soul to theStatewhichithaslost. ThisSophistthinkshefayssome thing that's absurd and impossible, but at the same time speaks
Rr a ? J-ife-
? 260
Protagoras: Or, the Sophists.
Life time to teach and reprehend th<<m, and not only theFathers, butalsotheMothers,Nurses, andPre ceptors : They all chiefly indeavour to make Chil dren honest and virtuous, * by letting them see upon every Thing they do and upon every Word they speak, that such a Thing isjust, and such a Thing is u n j u s t -, t h a t t h i s i s h a n d s o m , a n d t h a t u n h a n d s o m ; that this is holy and that impious j that w e must do this, and shun that. If Children voluntarily obey these Precepts, they are rewarded and praised ; and, if they don't obey them, they are threatned and cha stizedj they are propt up and setright, likeTrees that bend and become crooked.
When they are sent to School, it is earnestly re commended totheirMastersnottoapplythemselves somuchtoteachthemtoreadwellandtoplaywell upon Instruments,as to teach them Honesty and M o d e sty. Therefore those Masters take very great care of it. When theycanreadandunderstandwhattheyread, instead of giving them Precepts by word of Mouth, they,makethemreadthebestPoets, andobligethem togetthembyheart. TheretheyfindexcellentPre ceptsforVirtue,and. Recitalswhich containthePrai
sesofthegreatestMen ofAntiquity,totheendthat thole Children, being inflam'd with a noble Emula tion, may imitateand endeavour toresemble them.
The Masters of Mufick, and those who teach'em to play upon Instruments, take the fame Pains, they train up young People to Modesty, and take particu lar care that they do nothing unhandsom.
When they understand Mufick and can play well upon Instruments, they put into their Hands the PoemsoftheLyriquePoets,whichtheymakethem ling and . play upon the Harp, to the end tb. 3t those Numbers and that Harmony may insinuate them
*AlfthisEducationdidthenonlytend,anddoesnomore now,forthe-mostpart,buttoaccustomChildren-toobey the LawsofHonour,DecencyandJusticealamode,andtogovern
themselvesinallthingsnotbyPrinciplesofKeligion, but by M a x i m s o f P o l i c y , k t h a t t o t e a c h V i r t u e :?
? selves
? Protagoras: Or, Ike Sophists. 161
selvesintotheirSouls,whitestthey areyettender and that being thereby rendred more soft, tractable, polite, and, ifwe may say so, more harmonious and more agreeable, they may be more capable ofspeak ingwellanddoingwell:forthewholeLifeofMan has need of * Number and Harmony.
Not being satisfied with those Means, they fend
them also to Masters of Exercise, to the end that
havingafoundandrobustBody, theymay thebetter
execute the Orders of a Masculine and sound Spirit,
and that the Weakness of their Constitution m a y not By this rea-
obligethemtorefusetoservetheirCountry, whe-fi>>tixcb;i-
ther it be in War, or in other Functions ; and those ^"f*1"
who fend their Children most to Masters, are such '? ? ? $*
as are best able to do it, that is to fay, the richest, most w >> -
ipsomuch that the Children of the richest begin their <<>>*.
Exercises the earliest and continue them the longest ;But the for they go thither in their tender Years, and don't taws **?
cease going tillafter they are Men. T m ' T F They have no sooner quitted those Masters, but mr Man-
their Country obliges them to learn the Laws, and>>m. to live according to the Rules they prescribe, to the end that they may do all things by Reason, and no thingoutofConceitandFancy. And,asWriting- masters give their Scholars, who have not as yet learn'd, a Rule under their Paper, that in copying their Examples , they may always follow the Lines that are traced outj so the Country gives Laws to Men that were invented and established by the an cientLegislators. Itforceththemtogovernandto submit to be governed according to their Laws ; and ifany one goes astray it punifheth him ; and this
P u n i s h m e n t is c a l l e d w i t h y o u , a s i n m a n y o t h e r P l a c e s , byaWord whichproperlysignifiestoreform;asJustice reformingthosewho turnasidefromtheRulewhich ought to guide them.
* Yes, but it is of such Numbers and Harmony asMen don't teach : the Harmony which they teach oftentimes serves only to render them more unfit for the other.
Rr 3 After
? ? z6z
Protagoras: Or, the Sophists.
After so much Pains taken, both in publick and private, to inspire Virtue, are you amazed, Socra tes, and can you have the least doubt that Virtue maybetaught? Thisshouldbesofarfromsurpri zing you, that you ought, on the other hand, to be very rrrach surprized ifthe contrary should be true.
But you will say, how comes it to pass, that many of the greatest Mens Children become the mostdishonestPeopleoftheWorld? Here'savery plain Reason, that has nothing amazing in it, if what I have already supposed be firm and unshaken ;
that is to lay, if it be true, * that every M a n is in^ dilpensably obliged to have Virtue , to the end that SocietiesandCitiesmaysubsist. Ifthatbeso,as without doubt it is, choose among all the other Sciences or Professions that Men are imploy'd in, whichyoushallthinkfit,andyoushallseewhatI
Another
falserea- WOuldbeat.
fining. Set LetUSsuppose,forexample,ThatthisCitycould
'ntfss' notfubfift>unlesswewereallPlayersontheFlute: t Isitnotcertain, that we should all addict our selves to the Flute, that both in publick and private we would teach one another to play upon it; that we would reprehend and chastize those who should
neglect to play, and that we would no more make that Science a Mystery to them, than we do that of JusticeandLaw? FordoesanyBodyrefusetoteach anotherJustice? And doesanyBodykeepthatSci^ encesecret,asispracticedinotherArts> No, cer tainly. Andthereasonofitisthis,ThattheVirtue
* He isobliged to have Virtue, and God hath given him a Light capable to guide him to the true Fountain j but So cieties and Cities don't examine if he be truly virtuous ; it is enough for them that he counterfeits it, and that he lives as- ifhewereso. TheSophistarguesalwaysuponafalsePrin ciple.
tThisSophistalwaysmistakeshimself. Itisnotthefame withVirtueaswithotherArts;aManisanableArtisttho' he has not acquired the highest perfection inArt ; but a Man js not virtuous, unless he has all Virtue ; for ifone part of it bewantingalliswanting. ? "Protagorasisgoingimmediatelyto fall into a manifest Contradiction.
and
? ? Protagoras: Or, the Sophists. z6y
and Justiceof everyparticularMan isusefultothe wholeBody. That'sthereasonwhyeveryBodyis always ready to teach his Neighbour all that concerns
LawandJustice. IfitwerethefameintheArtof Playing on the Flute, and that we were all equally ready to teach others, without any reserve* what we know of it, do you think, Socrates, that the Children of the most excellent Players upon the Flute, would always become more perfect in that Art thansheChildrenoftheworstPlayers> Iam per-
fwadedyoubelievenothingofit. *TheChildren whowouldbefoundtobethemosthappilybornfor that Art, would be those who should make the greatest progress therein, and who should render themselves the most famous for it, the rest would fatigue themselves in vain and would never gain anyNameonit,aswedailyfeetheSonofanex
cellent Player upon the Flute to be but an indifferent Scholar ; and, on the other hand, the Son of a Block head to become a very able Musician : But in gene ral they are all good enough, t ifyou compare them with the ignorant and with those w h o never handled aFlute. Wemustholditforcertain,thatitisthe fameinthepresentcase;suchanoneaswouldap pear to you now to be the most unjust of all thole
* Vrotagaras contradicts himself by this Argument ; for if pone but those'who are happily born acquire the perfection of Arts, and that M e n can't change an unhappy Birth, it fol lows from thisPrinciple, that Men cannot even teach the perfectionofArts;anditisacertaintruth. Howcouldthey inspireuswithVirtuethen? forwemustbeashappilyborn forvirtue. What isitthentobehappilyborn? isittohave bur Reason less chang'd and corrupted ? In this state Educa tion cultivates the natural Seed which God hath fow'd in our Souls,andGod,by hisBlesling,makes them grow and bringsthem t o t h e i r p e r f e c t M a t u r i t y . T h e n 'tis n e i t h e r N a t u r e a l o n e t h a t procures Virtue, nor Labour alone, nor both together, 'tis God alone; for'tishewho correctsour depravedNature and bleffeth our Labour.
t One may be comparatively able in Arts, but not so in Virtue. We maybelesswickedthanothers,butthatdoes not make us virtuons.
Rr4 who
? ? a64
Protagoras! : Or, the Spfhisisl
whoarebroughtupintheknowledgeoftheLaw* andincivilSociety,wouldbeaveryjustMan and even able to teach Justice, jf you should compare him with People who have neither Education, Law, Tribunals, nor Judges, who are not forced by any necessitytoapplythemselvestoVirtue-, andwho, in a word, would resemble * those Savages which Fberecrates. caused to be acted last Year, at the t Country-feasts of Bacchus. Believe me, if you were among Men, like those Misanthropes that that Poet introduces, you would think your selfvery happy to fallintotheHands,ofan \EuribatesandaFhrynon- ddf, andyouwouldsighaftertheWickednessofour People, against which you declaim to much now. ButyourDistempercomesonlyfromtoomuchease: because every Body teaches Virtue as they can , and
you are pleased to cry out and to say, that there is not so much as one Master that teacheth it. It is just as if you should seek in Greece for a Master who teacheth the Greek tongue, you will find none: Why ? Because every Body teacheth it. Indeed if you seek for one who can teach Tradesmens Sons
the Trade of their Fathers with the fame Capaci ty as their Fathers themselves or sworn Masters can perform it, I confess, Socrates, that such a Ma-
* The PoetTherecrateshad actedaPJay, whereof the Title wasi! yqioi>TheSavages. Andthereissomeappearance,that h e r e p r e s e n t e d t h e r e i n t h e u n h a p p y L i f e t h a t t h e first M e n led, before they were united by Society ; and his aim was, to let the Greeks fee that there was no Happiness for them, but to be well united, and faithfully to execute the Treaty of Peace, u hich had so lately terminated a long and fatal War.
fAttheCountry-feastsofBacchus. HefaystheCountry- feasts, because there were otfier Feasts of Bacclw, that were celebrated in the. City the beginning of the Spring, and tbe Country-feasts were celebrated the latter end of Autumn in the Fields.
|]Euribates and Thrynondaswere two notorious Profligates, w h o had given occasion for the Proverbs, A n Attion of Euri bates , to do the jidlons of Euribates , 'tit anotter Phrynondas. HeretheSophistcompliestoKeason. Itiswithoutalldoubt thatMencanteachMentheVirtuethatthosePeoplehad.
fter
? ? Protagoras : Or, the Sophists. z. 6$ ster would not easily be found ? ,but there isnothing
moreeafiethantofindonewho canteachtheIgno-Butvirtue rant. It is the fame with Virtue and all other*<<***? Things. And how' littleToeVer the advantage \&M>>*f"f
thatanotherMan hasoverus,topushus,forward^f"0"
andtomakeusadvanceinthewayofVirtue>itis
always a very considerable thing, and for whi^h we
oughttothinkourselvesveryhappy. Now Iamobservtthe
certainlyone of those who have all the necessaryTridtostbe Qualities for that j for I k n o w better than any other So? W-
Person in the World, all that must be done to be comeperfectlyanhonestMan:andIcansay,that IdonotrobthemoftheMoneywhichItakejnay, I deserve more, even in the Opinion of m y Scholars. Wherefore this }s the Bargain that I usually make : When any Body has learned of me, if he will, he paysmewhatothersusedtogivemejifnot,he may go into a Temple, and, after having sworn that, whatIhavetaughthimisworthsomuch,deposit theSumwhichhedesignsforme. Socrates,Thisis the Fable and the simple Reasons I have thought fit tomakeuseoftoprovetoyou,thatVirtuemaybe. taught, ^nd that the Athenians are all perlwaded of itj and to let you fee, that we must not be astonish ediftheChildrenofthegreatestMen arecommon lyverylittleworth, andifthoseoftheignorantand of the poorest succeed better, since we even see that theSonsofPolycletus, whoareofthefameAgewith Xanttppm and Puralus, are nothing, if compared with theirFather, andsoofmany otherChildrenof (C)urgreatestMasters. But>>forthosewhom tjust how nam'd, itisnottimetojddgethem, thereisstill hopes, andtheirYouthisaRefugeforthem.
This long and 'fine'Discourse being pronounced with much Ostentation and Pride, Protagoras held his Tongue, and I, after having been a long time put toastand,asaMancharm'dandravish'd,Ilookt upon him as ifhe ought to speak on still, and to tell me thingsthatIveryimpatientlyexpected:Butfee
ing that he had actually done , and having at last . 'i ? resu
? ? z66
Protagoras: Or, tbeSophistsl
resumed Courage with much difficulty, I turned to wardsHippocrates. Intruth,Hippocrates,laidIto him,IcannotexpresshowmuchIamindebtedto you, for having obliged me to come hither , for I would not for all the World not have heard Protago ras : hitherto I believed, that it was nowise by the help and care of Men, that we became honest Peo ple:butnowIam perswadedthatitisathing purelyhumane. ThereisonlyonesmallDifficulty1 remaining, which Protagoras, who has just now de monstratedsuchfinethings,willeasilyresolve. If we should consult some of our great Orators upon
those Matters, perhaps they would entertain us with Herepn*- such like Discourses, * and that we should believe desailthosewq heard a Pericles, or some of those who have
te'fthat ^eenthem0^Eloquentjand,afterthat,ifweshould the]were a make objection to them, they would not know what
little taint- t o s a y n o r w h a t t o a n s w e r , b u t b e a s m u t e a s a B o o k . edbythe guttjj0'oneshouldaskthemneversolittleupon
the"? "! ! wsiattnevmighthavealreadysaid,theywouldne ws*/;the verend,andwoulddoasaBrassKettle,which,be- Sophijis. ingoncestruck,keepsitssoundalongtime,unless
one puts his Hand upon it and stops it^ for that's just what our Or-ators do, so soon as they are touch edtheyresoundwithoutend. Itisnotthefame
with Protagoras, for he is not only very capable of holdinglongandfineDiscourses, ashehasjustnow madeitappear, butalsoofansweringpreciselyand in few Words, to the Questions that are asked him,
and can start others, arid wait for and receive the Answers as he ought , which few People are able to do.
Now then, Protagoras, saidItohim, therewants but a small thing to content me upon the whole, and I shall be fully satisfied when you shall have
*This isadifficultPassage,ifwe havenoregardtothetimej thatistofay,ifwe dohotobservetheDateoftheDialogue. It is that w h i c h deceived Henry Steplxns, w h o translated it as
? iiTerideswere stillalive,whereashehadbeendeadeightor nine Years.
had
? ? Protagoras: Or, the Sophists. z6f
hadthegoodnesstoanswerit. Yousay,thatVirtue can be taught, and ifI may believe any Body in the Worlduponthat,'tisyou. *ButIprayyoutore movetheScruplewhichyouhaveleftinmyMind: You have said, that Jupiter sent Shame and Justice to Men-, and in your whole Discourse you have spoke of Justice, Temperance and Sanctity, as ifVir tue were one only thing which ineludeth all those Qualities. Explainittomethenexactly,ifVirtue be one, and if Justice, Temperance, Sanctity, are only itsParts, or ifall those Qualities which I have now named be only different Names of one and the lamething. Thisiswhat1furtherdesireofyou.
'There is nothing more eafie, Socrates, than to h-TUS^st tisfie you in that point : For Virtue is one thing and **? <<**; those are itsParts. ses,***
mSS Kofi*hinV? ethose*? p*rts>astfe? S? * Mouth, Nose, Ears and Eyes are the Parts of theftfrcoup- Face > Or are they Parts like Parts of Gold, that/"* <f*ffi- are all of the fame Nature as the Mass, and differ*"*****? from each other only in Quantity ?
They are without doubt parts of it, as the Mouth and the Nose are parts of the Face.
_ But,saidI,doMen acquire,someonepartofthis Virtue,andothersanother? Or isthereanecessity thathewho acquiresonemustacquireall>
Bynomeansansweredhe. +Foryouseeevery Pay People who are valiant and unjust, and others who arejustwithout being wife.
For
* Spcrates does not trouble himself to answer all the So phisms o? -TrotaSoras, which are too gross ; but he goes at once to the main point of the Question, which consists to know theNatureofVirtuejforVirtuebeingwellknown, it willbeclearlyseen,thatitisnotpossibleforMen toteach
? t That'sthePoison ofthisDoctrine, which isbuttoomuch
spreadabroadtothisDay Somefancy,thatVirtuemaybe divided,soasaManmayhavesomeofitspartswithoutha ving the restj which is contrary to all the Light of Reason, ashasbeenexplainedintheArgument, ftwafinopposition
? ? x68
Protagoras: Or, The Sophist/;
? .
For Valour and Wisdom are only parts of Vir"
tuc.
Assuredly, laid-he, andWisdom isthegreatestof
its parts.
And is,everyoneofitspartsdifferentfromano
ther?
'Without doubt.
And everyonehasitsProperties: Asintheparts
of the Face the Eyes are not of the lame use with
the Ears, and have different Properties and Faculties,
and ib of all the other parts, they are all different
and don't resemble each other neither in Form nor
Quality, tsitthefameofthepartsofVirtuejdoes
hot one of them in no wise resemble another ? and do
they absolutely differ in themselves and in their Fa- culties? Itisevident, thattheydonotresembleeach
otheratall,ifitbethefameofthemasoftheEx ample which we have made use of.
Socrates^, that is Very certain and the Example is . just.
Then, laid I to him, Virtue has no other of its parts which resemble Knowledge, Justice, Valour, Temperance nor Sanctity.
No withoutDoubt.
Comethen,LetyouandIseeandexaminetothe bottomtheNatureofeveryoneofitsparts. Letus beginwithJustice:Isitanythingornothing? For my part,Ifinditissomething;whatdoyouthink?
I also think it to be something.
Socrates>> IfthenanyBodyshouldapplyhimselftoyou goingto an(jmg5anjshouldfayt0US)ProtagorasandSocra-
justiceW tes->exP*aint0me>Iprayyou,whatisthatwhich SanctityanyoujustnowcalTdJustice5isitsomething thatis UtoneandjustOrUnjust?
the fame
'""*? ?
to this very Error that Solomon wrote in theEcclesiasies, Ch. 9.
HewhofinrnthinonethingfbaO. UsemuchBJches. ForitisOneof the Explanations that St. Hierome gives to this Passage, 7l>at one only Sin cansetb many former good Works to perish , and that all Virtues accompany one another, insomuch that lie who has one has all ; and he who fins in one thing issubject to all Vices without exception*
I
? ? Pfotdgoras : Ot, the Sophists. i6?
I s h o u l d a n s w e r h i m o f f h a n d , t h a t it is s o m e t h i n g that isjust; would not you answer the feme?
Yes certainly.
Justice consists then , he would lay , according to
you, inbeingjust? Wewouldfayyes? ,isitnotso?
Without doubt, Socrates.
And ifhe. should ask us after that, Don't you also lay, that there is a Sanctity ? should not w e answer him in the same manner, that there is?
Assuredly.
You maintain, he'd reply, that it is something;
whatisitthen?
