Volume 4

The works of Plato. A new and literal version, chiefly from the text of Stallbaum ... By Henry Cary [vol. II, Henry Davis, vols. III-VI, George Burges] / [Plato].

  • Plato
Date:
1848-1854
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The works of Plato. A new and literal version, chiefly from the text of Stallbaum ... By Henry Cary [vol. II, Henry Davis, vols. III-VI, George Burges] / [Plato]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    537/570 (page 529)
    difficulties.^ But, in one word, it is requisite to know from hence, when any one sees the writings of another, either of a legislator upon laws, or of any person whatever^ upon other subjects, that these are not those, on which he has been the most careful, if he is himself a careful person ; but that the objects of his pursuit are situated some where in a country the most beautiful. But if the subjects, on which he has been the most careful, are committed to writing, then not the gods but men themselves have their own intellect destroyed.^ Now he, who follows this story and digression, will under¬ stand correctly whether Dionysius has written any thing of the highest and first kind respecting nature, or any other person inferior or superior to him ; since, according to my reasoning, he has neither heard or learnt any thing sound about what he has written ; for he would have venerated them equally with myself, nor have dared to cast them forth into a state unfit¬ ting and unbecoming ; nor has he written about them for the sake of remembering them ; since there is no fear that any one will ever forget them, if he has once comprehended them by the soul; for of all things they lie in the smallest compass. But ^ (perhaps he did so) for the sake of base ambition, con¬ sidering them as his own, or as sharing in a kind of instruc¬ tion, of which he was unworthy, and loving the renown aris¬ ing from such a participation. If however this occurred to Dionysius after one meeting, the fact may be so. But let Zeus,^ says the Theban, know how it occurred. For I went through these matters, as I have said, only once; and never afterwards at all. In the next ^ What Plato says of writing, Euripides applies to learning and speak¬ ing in Med. 287—296. The doctrine, which evidently emanated from the school of Pythagoras, is touched upon more in detail in Protagor. p. 316, B. § 20. 2 Instead of utt ovv, which are never thus united in Greek, correct language requires orovovv, opposed to vofxoOsTov. ® There is here an allusion, as remarked by Stephens, to a line of Ho¬ mer, ’E^ apa dr] rot ’iiriira Osoi ^psvag (jjXecrap avroi : while as regards the clause 9eol [xev ov, jSpoToi de, see Dobree on Aristoph. Pint. 555. 4—4 ''ph0 Greek is siTrep 'iveica, without any apodosis to the sentence, which is not required by the version of Ficinus, “ Forte vero—id fecit,” whichwouldleadtoeVe/ca—stto'ul Tiypdfxfxa, “he composed some writing.” ® The allusion to the Theban oath is in the use of Ittoj for laru), which cannot be expressed in English. To the same form Plato refers in Phsedo, p. 62, A. § 16. 2 M