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diff --git a/plato_time_notes.otx b/plato_time_notes.otx index dab4d07..f8c8f26 100644 --- a/plato_time_notes.otx +++ b/plato_time_notes.otx @@ -1,1891 +1,180 @@ % chapter i -\defpnote{1.1}{A.N. Whitehead, \bt{Process and Reality} -(New York: The Macmillan Company, 1941), p. 63.} - -{2}{W.H. Walsh, -\et{Plato and the Philosophy of History: History and Theory in the Republic,} - \jt{History and Theory} -(The Hague: Mouton \& Co., 1962), II, 1, pp. 1--16.} - -{3}{K.R. Popper, -\bt{The Open Society and its Enemies} -(2 vols.; 2\tss{nd} ed. rev.; London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1952).} - -{4}{Walsh, op. cit., p. 6.} - -{5}{See, for example. R.L. Nettleship, +\defpnote{0.1}{A.N. Whitehead, \bt{Process and Reality} + (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1941), p. 63.} +\defpnote{0,2}{W.H. Walsh, + \et{Plato and the Philosophy of History: History and Theory in the Republic,} + \jt{History and Theory} + (The Hague: Mouton \& Co., 1962), II, 1, pp. 1--16.} +\defpnote{0.3}{K.R. Popper, + \bt{The Open Society and its Enemies} + (2 vols.; 2\tss{nd} ed. rev.; London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1952).} +\defpnote{0.4}{Walsh, op. cit., p. 6.} +\defpnote{0.5}{See, for example. R.L. Nettleship, \bt{Lectures on the Republic of Plato } (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1955), and E. Barker, \bt{Political Thought of Plato and Aristotle} (New York: Dover Publications, Imnc., 1959). Both of these authors make slight reference to the \bt{Timaeus} while discussing Plato's \dq{Political Philosophy.}} - -{1.6}{R.G. Bury, +\defpnote{0.6}{R.G. Bury, \et{Plato and History,} \jt{Classical Quarterly,} New Series, 1--2, pp. 86--94.} - -{1.7}{Edward MacKinnon, S.J., +\defpnote{0.7}{Edward MacKinnon, S.J., \et{Time in Contemporary Physics,} \jt{International Philosophical Quarterly,} II, 3, (September, 1962), p. 429.} - -{0.8}{Hermann Gauss, +\defpnote{0.8}{Hermann Gauss, \bt{Philosophischer Handkommentar zu den Dialogen Platos}, vol. III part 2 (Bern: Herbart Lang, 1961)} - -{0.9}{Bertrand Russell, +\defpnote{0.9}{Bertrand Russell, \bt{Mysticism and Logic} (Garden City, New York: Doubleday \& Co., 1917). } - -{0.10}{Whitehead, loc, cit.} - -{0.11}{Werner Heisenberg, +\defpnote{0.10}{Whitehead, loc, cit.} +\defpnote{0.11}{Werner Heisenberg, \bt{Physics and Philosophy} (New York: Harper \& Brothers, 1955), ch. 4.} - -{0.12}{See, for example. F.M. Cornford, +\defpnote{0.12}{See, for example. F.M. Cornford, \bt{From Religion to Philosophy} (New York: Harper \& Brothers, 1957).} - -{0.13}{F.M. Cornford, +\defpnote{0.13}{F.M. Cornford, \bt{Plato's Cosmology}, (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, Ltd., 1937), p. 8.} - -{0.14}{Carl G. Hempel, +\defpnote{0.14}{Carl G. Hempel, \et{Fundamentals of Concept Formation in Empirical Science,} \bt{International Encyclopaedia of Unified Science}, vols. I and IT; \ul{Foundations of the Unity of Science} vol. II, no. 7 (University of Chicago Press, 1952)} - -{0.15}{Hans Meyerhoff, ed., +\defpnote{0.15}{Hans Meyerhoff, ed., \bt{The Philosophy of History in Our Time} (New York: Doubleday \& Co., 1959), which contains a valuable anthology of the important authors in this field and some of their most representative views.} % chapter ii -CHAPTER IT -THE ORDER OF THE DIALOGUES - - -In the first chapter, it was stated that an attempt -will be made in this study to verify the hypothesis that -the Timaeus is a late dialogue in which Plato significantly - - -reformulates his earlier doctrines of eternity, image, and -time. It was stated that the hypothesis was to be investigated by dividing it into two logically interrelated -aspects; first, the order of the dialogues will be -established and their relative chronology will be documented; -second, the doctrines of the late dialogues will be - -traced insofar as they develop the tripartite theme ofr -eternity, image, and time. - -It was said that the first aspect relied upon -criteria which demand an interpretation of the significance -of Plato's style, and that the second aspect depends on an -interpretation of Plato's thought. In this chapter, the -criteria which do not depend on an interpretation of -Plato's thought will be discussed. This chapter assumes -that some knowledge of the order or Plato's dialogues is -needed in order to interpret them intelligently, and so -the chapter which discusses how the scholars established -this order precedes the chapter which discusses Platonic -doctrine. : - -It should be stated at the outset that one cannot - - -simply assume that a dialogue which was composed later - - - - - -than another is therefore necessarily a more mature work. -This is precisely what must be demonstrated. In this -chapter, the chronology of the dialogues is ascertained -insofar as this is possible by citing the conclusions of -those scholars who have specialized in the use of stylistic criteria. If one establishes the chronological -order of composition there is a valid presumption that -it also representa some sort of development in doctrine. -If, then, one shows in addition that the doctrines -developed follow an ascending order of reflection, the -point is made. 'thus, the arguments are not independent -of each other. - -If it can be shown that there is a development of -doctrine which can be traced through the late dialogues, -then it can be shown that this progression facilitates - - -comprehension of the doctrine of the Timaeus. More - - -specifically, the themes of eternity, image, and time - -can be traced through the late dialogues only after one -knows which dialogues are late and in what order they -should be read. Thus the chronology of the dialogues - -and the progression of doctrine are not separate items but -logically interrelated aspects of a larger argument. - -It would be possible to postulate an order for the -dialogues which would support the view that the doctrine -of the Timaeus is a culmination, and each scholar could -do this without reference to non-interpretative criteria. - - -'But, in this way, so many different postulates would ensue - - - -that it would become impossible for scholars to reach any -agreement among themselves. This in fact is what happened -when doctrinal criteria alone were used, and it resulted -in such widespread disagreement that a need for some sort -of non-interpretative criteria by which to establish the -sequence of the dialogues was finally perceived. Further, -the reliance on interpretative criteria alone and the -subsequent differences in the alleged order could support -the conclusion that the relation of the dialogues to each -other had no bearing on their respective doctrines, since -each scholar might postulate a different chronology. But -Plato himself contradicted this view in those of his - - -dialogues which refer to each other, as, for example, in - - -the Timaeus, which refers to the Republic almost explicitly -by repeating 'ciods doctrines of the HKepublic which are -found nowhere else in those of Plato's written works which -have come down to us. - -The proceedure followed in this chapter is as -follows. Firat, the testimony of the ancients is adduced. -then the efforts of scholars to use stylistic and Linguistic -criteria are described. Then, biographical intormation -about Plato's life and travels is recounted. Finally, -Plato's own description of his life and his travels is -presented. By drawing from each of these sources, one can -compile a composite picture of the criteria by which the -order of the dialogues can be established, without - - -reference to an interpretation of Piato's thought. It will - - - -be shown that all of these sources lead to the conclusion -that there is a group of dialogues which are later than -others, and that the Timaeus is the latest of this group. - - -In the next chapter, it will be shown that the doctrinal -interpretation of these dialogues leads to a greater -insight into the doctrine of the imaeus. - - -I_The Traditional View -Writing in his "Commentary," A.E. Taylor presents - - -an impressive list of ancients who authenticate the Timaeus -as Plato's work. He cites Aristotle's references to -passages of the Timaeus and the fact that Aristotle refers -to the Timaeus as a completed dialogue. In addition to -reminding us that Aristotle may be presumed to know the -works of his teacher, Taylor cites, in regard to the - - -authenticity of the Timaeus, the testimony of Theophrastus, - - -Plutarch, Chalcidius, Xenocrates, Crantor, Poseidonius, -Procius, Plotinus, Boethius, Cicero, and Diogenes Laertius, ! -This list is offered against the view of Schelling, who -contended that the Timaeus was spurious, and by it, - -taylor demonstrates that those who do not recognize the -Timaeus as authentic are in the decided minority. There is -little need to recapitulate all of the scholarship on each -of these authors’ claims and it is certainly sate to regard - - -Taylor's scholarship in these matters as impeccable. - - -. ' avs. Taylor, commenter on Plato's iimaeus -(Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1928), pe. 4. - - -te - - -To this List, Cornfrord adds the names of Galen, -Theon, Derclydes, and Adrastus, who not only knew the -Zimaeug to be Plato's own but in addition agreed that it -was the work of Plato's maturity. Summing up his own -argument, Cornford says, "All the ancient Platonists from -Aristotle to Simplicius, all the medieval and modern -scholars have assumed that this dialogue contains the -mature doctrine of its author." Again it seems unnecessarv -to repeat the details of Cornford's scholarship which may, -like Taylor's, be regarded as impeccable. Both authors - - -state that the ancients regarded the Timaeus as Plato's - - -mature work. - -But the testimony of the ancients is hardly sufficient -to establish beyond doubt that the Timaeus is both Plato's -work, and, in addition, a work of Plato's old age. Citing -the ancients lends a great deal of support to the claim - - -that the Timaeus is authentic, but the claim that it is a - - -late work bears closer scrutiny. This is especially true -in view of the fact that, at one time, a lively controversy - - -with regard to the alleged maturity of the Timaeus took - - -place among the scholars. - -Between the time of the ancients and the moderns, -the Timaeug was not unknown. Jaeger presents a short and -terse history of the Timaeus in the middle ages. Beginning - - -2 ¥F.M. Cornford, Plato's Cosmology, p. viii. - - - - - -with the fact that Plato's Timaeus deeply influenced - - -Augustine, and through Augustine, the whole of the middle -ages, and continuing through the Renaissance by way of the -Byzantine theologian and mystic Gemistos Plethon, who -brought Plato to the Quattrocento, Jaeger also describes -the treatment Plato received at the academy of the Medicis, - - -where Marsilius Ficinus taught from the text of the - - -Timaeug." - - -Jaeger notes a change in the eighteenth century, -when Schleiermacher seems to have resuscitated a Plato who -was nonetheless very much alive. However, theretofore, -Plato had been regarded as a mystic and as a theologian -whose doctrine was as systematic and systematized as the -Aristotelianism of the Schoolmen. Plato was regarded only -as the author of the theory of ideas." - -According to Jaeger, it was Schleierzacher's -contention that the form which a philosophy took was a -creative expression of the philosopher's individuality, -and it was Plato's genius, he thought, to dramatize, and to - - -use philosophy as a "continuous philosophical discussion - - -aimed at discovering the truth. "> - - -> Werner Jaeger, Paideia: The Ideals of Greek -Culture (3vols.; New York: Oxford University Press, -1943), II, pp. 77, 78. - -4 Ibid., p. 78. - - -> Ibid., p. 79. - - - - -Immediately after Schleiermacher's view became -known, there followed a period during which the philological investigation of every last minute hypothesis of -Plato's was undertaken with the painstakingly precise -attention for which philologists are deservedly famous. -However, it soon became evident that the forest was being -obscured by the trees. - - -It remained for C.F. Hermann® - - -to regard the problems -of authenticating not only the authorship but the chronology of Plato's dialogues as of paramount importance, and -Jaeger tells us that Hermann came to regard the dialogues -as "stages in the gradual development of Plato's philosophy."? Thus Hermann brought "into the center of interest -@\& problem which had hitherto been little considered, and -gave it much greater importance. This was the problem of -the dates at which the several dialogues had been written, "8 -Since various authors developed differing opinions on the -dating of the dialogues by using doctrinal criteria alone, -4t was the task of philology and researches into stylistic - - -differences and minute characteristics of language to fix - - -the date of composition as exactly as possible. - - -© o.F. Hermann, Geschichte und 8 m der -Platonischen Phil EOUONTy 1e30), in Jaeger, -oS ae Pe 79. - -T Jaeger, Op, cite, p. 79. - -5 tpad., p. 80. - - - -II The Stylistic Controversy | - -T. Gomperz presents an entire chapter on the question -of the authenticity and order of Plato's dialogues.? He -makes a good summary of some of the chief difficulties to -be encountered in an evaluation of the results of the whole -stylistic controversy, and gives evidence of how and to -what extent the whole question has been settled, - -He begins with a tantalizing supposition: suppose -Speusippus had sat down one afternoon, and, in fifteen -minutes, written on a scrap of paper the order of the -Platonic dialogues. But, of course, Speusippus did no such -thing, nor did anyone else, so that the scholars were left -with the need to know the order of the dialogues, but, -also, they were left with a need to construct methods of -establishing the chronology, with no hints from Plato or -the Academy as to which methods would prove the most -fruitful, 1° - -Initially, each man interpreted the dialogues in -what he felt was the logical order of Platonic philosophy. -But this produced almost as many logical orders as there -were interpreters. - -According to Gomperz (and others, including Jaeger) - - -it was Schleiermacher who first attempted to find his own - - -9 Theodor Gomperz, eyock thinkers, trans. G.G. Berry -(London: John Murray, 1905). - - -10 Ipad., pe 275. - - - -way out of this myriad of opinions. By viewing Plato's -doctrine developmentally, and, starting with Aristotle's -guarantees as to certain authentic passages and chronologies, he set about constructing an orderly arrangement of -the dialogues. However, this attempt got off to a wrong -start because, since only approximately half of Aristotle's -works are extent, it became possible for some to construct -what was called the argument from silence, i.e., those -works of Plato which Aristotle did not mention might be -regarded as spurious. !! Gomperz points out that this was -really an excess of Platonic zeal since it included only -those works which Aristotle claimed were Plato's best. '* -Notwithstanding these efforts, Gomperz states that - - -even in ancient tradition, the Laws were regarded as Plato's - - -last work. Campbell then perceived that there were -stylistic similarities between the Laws and the Timaeus -and the Critias, including the fact that some 1500 words -were used in these works which do not appear in any of -Plato's earlier works.!> In addition, these works appear -last on the list of Plato's works which was kept by -Aristophanes of Byzantium, the Librarian of Alexandria. - - -But these are not final criteria. Gomperz asks "...is not - - -11 Ibid., p. 278. - - -12 Ipad. -15 Ipaa., pp. 279, 283. - - - -an author's 'advance,’ his progress towards perfection -the surest criterion for the chronological arrangement of -his works"? He answers his own question in the affirmative, -but reminds us that this road leads to diverse and varied -interpretations of "advance," because there are so many -possible meanings for this tern. '* - -For these reasons, the stylistic methods were tried. -Describing them as "linguistic...and verbal statistics, "!5 -Gomperz lists some of the criteria employed: - -@. number and use of particles - -b. new words and phrases - -c. certain formulae of affirmation and negation - -d. special superlatives !© - -He goes on to say that the use of these criteria -produced "astonishing agreement between many different - - -investigators."!7 They noted that the style of the Laws, - - -known to be late, (from other sources) was very similar to -the style of the Timaeus, Critias, Sophist, Statesman, and -the Philebus. - - -He concludes: - - -The determination of the chronologically separate - - -14 Ipda., p. 284. -'5 Ipaa., p. 285. -16 psa, - -17 Ibid., p. 286. - - - - -groups and the distribution among these groups - -of the {individual dialogues...are problems - -which may be regarded as finally solved; the - -more ambitious task of settling the chronological - -order within all the groups cannot yet be said to - -have been completed. ! - -However, Jaeger claimed, - -This method, in its turn, was at first successful; -but it was later discredited by its own exaggerations. It actually undertook, by the purely -mechanical application of language tables, to -determine the exact date of every dialogue.19 - -Before entering into this lively controversy, it is -necessary to distinguish a few crucial points; otherwise, -Jaeger's claim that the movement discredited itself will not -be intelligible. First, let it be noted that it 1s sometimes impossible to distinguish very well between the -date of composition of a dialogue, that is, the period of -time during which Plato is said to have actually written -down his thoughts, and the date at which the dialogue -appeared, that is, was circulated, and, as we should say, -released for publication. Although it is sometimes possible -to indicate that a dialogue was actually composed in the -late period of Plato's life, one cannot simply equate a -late doctrine and a late writing. This distinction is -necessary if one is to assert that the doctrine of the -Timaeyus is a late formulation in Plato's life, and, as our -documentation will attempt to indicate, both the formulation - - -of doctrine and the actual composition of the Jimacus seem - - -~ Ibid., p. 287. 19 Jaeger, loce cit. - - - - - -to be very late, according to the sources available to us. -But one cannot jump immediately from the conclusion that a -dialogue was written late to the conclusion that its -doctrine is therefore, on that basis alone, a late doctrine. -It should be pointed out in this regard that we have no - -way of knowing whether Plato did or did not compose in the -last years of his life, dialogues whose doctrine and style -we should call early or middle doctrines. Like anyone else, -he might incorporate in late writing what he had formulated -much earlier. Although it is unlikely that Plato set early -or middle doctrines down on paper in his late years, it is -aimost impossible to establish this unlikelihood to a -degree of satisfaction which would entirely eliminate -controversy. For example, the last few pages of the Philebus -seem not to be in the same style or in the doctrinal spirit -as the rest of the dialogue. It may well be that this -dialogue was left unfinished by Plato, and was completed by -the Academy after Plato's death, and that the completion -was accomplished by an academician whose insight and -doctrinal leaning corresponds to what we should call the -middle period of Plato's philosophy. - -However, in the instance of the imaeus, it is claimed -here that both the doctrine and the composition of the -dialogue are to be placed in the last years of Plato's -life, and that it was probably a late doctrine, because it - - -was composed late. These are the two sides or halves of the - - -ks - - - -argument which we are following in the attempt to verify -our hypothesis. On the one hand, if the dialogue was -written late, we have probable grounds to infer that ite -doctrine is a late one. But it is unwise to conclude only -from its late composition that the Timaeus contains a late -view. In addition to establishing its date of composition -one must examine its doctrine, to see whether it reveals a -more developed form of Plato's later thought. Having made -this distinction, it is now possible to pass in review -the main points of the stylistic controversy, whose -protaganists and antagonists tried by what we are calling -non-interpretative criteria, to establish the late date of -composition of the Timaeus. - -Campbe112° presents a brief outline of the history -of attempts to date the dialogues. He recounts how -Schleiermacher was so assured that Plato had a complete -system of philosophy to expound that there must have been -a pedagogical order of the dialogues which Plato intended -so that his students could gradually master his philosophical -systen. - -Campbell says that Schleiermacher's conception of a -"complete system gradually revealed" was a stirring one - - -which caused a renaissance of Platonic scholarship. Later, - - -20 L. Campbell, "Plato," Encyclopaedia britannica, -llth ed., Vol. XXI, pp. 808-824. - - - - - -C.F. Hermann's statement that the gradual development of -Plato's thought in the dialogues was not a pedagogical -gradualism but reflected the slow maturation and development of Plato's mind, brought about a quickening of -interest beyond even that which Schleilermacher had precipitated. Ueberweg discerned that the Sophist and the -Statesman must be placed between the Republic and the Laws - - -on the basis of Hermann's view. Ueberweg and other Hegelians -felt that the non-being of the Sophist represented a -dialectical advance over the Republic and welcomed the -chance to demonstrate this point of view by mapping out - -the dialogues in a series of dialectical advances, -! Grote, -on the other hand felt so strongly that the Protagoras was -Plato's most mature doctrine that he discounted the -chronological attempts of Schleiermacher, Hermann, and -Ueberweg. - -Campbell adopted a different method of reasoning. -Starting with the conclusion that the Laws remained -unedited because Plato died before he could do so himself, -and noting that the Laws contains a reference to the death -of Dionysius Il, and inferring from the tone and style of -the Laws that it is almost a monologue and represents a -departure from the Socratic dialogues, and adding the -agreement of the Ancients with his own view, Campbell - - -21 Ipid., p. 810. - - - -'concluded that the Laws is probably the last of Plato's - - -works. Then, Campbell reasoned that both the Timaeus and - - -the Critias presuppose the Republic, and both resemble - - -the Laws in style and tone. Thus they should both precede -the Laws. Since the Sophist and the Statesman seem to - - -belong together, he placed the Philebus between them and -the Timaeus and Critias. So, Campbell concluded, the order - - -of the late dialogues must be begun at the Sophist, and -followed by the Statesman, Philebus, Timaeus, Critias, and - - -Laws. ° He says, in addition, that Dittenberger and Ritter -followed him in taking this view, and that Lutoslawski -later reached the same conclusions. —> Jaeger says that he -himself reached these same conclusions by another route. - - -He also agreed with Campbell that the Parmenides, and - - -Theatetus immediately precede the Sophist. - - -It should be pointed out that Campbell's chain of -reasoning depends on the placement of the Laws as the last -of the dialog'es, and this placement does not rest -exclusively on non-interpretative bases, since it includes -the criterion of the tone and style of Plato's language. -One must have at least a comprehension of the tones and -styles of the language in which Plato wrote and some - - -knowledge of the relation of style to the content which - - -22 Ipig. -23 Ip4a. - - - -is expressed by language. To avoid confusion, it is -necessary to define certain terms as they are employed in -this study. By stylistic criteria, I mean the use made by -reputable scholars of observations such as the presence -or absence of Socrates in a dialogue, or the apparent -attempt on Plato's part to have his passage read more -smoothly and without unnecessary interruptions. Such -devices as the avoidance of hiatus and the use of -anacoluthic sentence endings are here called stylistic. -The term stylometry refers to the application of statistical procedures to the number of particles in a paragraph, -or to the frequency of certain words in one dialogue as -against another; clearly, it carries metric connotations, -and necessitates only the sort of competence which can -easily be programmed into a computer. Whereas the stylistic -reader must understand what he reads, the stylometric -reader ought to avoid understanding the passage he -subjects to statistical criteria. A similar difference -could be found between counting a number of unknown -objects, which, by analogy, would represent the stylometric method, and concluding that the objects so counted -are a strange lot of objects, which be analogy, would -represent the stylistic method. It is one thing to count -the number of clausulae and quite another to notice that a -passage reads more smoothly because of the presence of a -number of clausulae. Thus objections to the use of stylometric scholarship need not carry equal weight if referred | - - - -to stylistic scholarship. It would be impossible, for -example, to put words of the Laws into a computer and - - -arrive at the conclusion that the Laws 1s a late dialogue, - - -without at the same time programming into the computer the -criteria according to which one says that a certain -language style is late or early. There are similar studies -concerning the language of Homer in progress at Columbia -University, and there too, the criteria of "lateness" -must be agreed upon before the "purely mechanical application of language tables to determine the exact date of -every dialogue" is undertaken. Thus, Campbell's argument -should read as follows; if the Laws is agreed to be last, -then the remainder follows on stylistic grounds. And it -should be tallied against Jaeger that the placement of the -Laws as last does not rest on "purely mechanical" criteria. -This conclusion bears directly on the question of - - -the chronology and the relation of the Seventh Letter to - - -the Timaeus, because the Seventh Letter contains a - - -description of certain events in Sicilian politics in which, -Plato was directly involved. These events were significant -experiences for Plato, and their impress is discernible - -in certain passages of the Timaeus. Detailed comment on the -impact of the Sicilian journeys on the doctrine of the -Timaeus will be reserved for the discussion of the - -doctrine of the-Timaeus in the fourth chapter. Suffice - -4t here to point out that the autobiographical material -Which the Seventh Letter makes available was taken over - - -= 40 -by the stylists,-" 25 and added to their attempts to : -establish the order of the avavoedee: Again, this shows -that the stylistic criteria cannot be viewed as "purely -machanical." On the one hand this limite the extent to -which stylistic criteria may be said to be non-interpretative; on the other hand, since interpretative sources -enter into stylistic researches, it seems to add to the -reliability of stylistic criteria in establishing the -order of the dialogues. - -A.E. Taylor says that the real impetus for the - - -stylometric method was received from Campbell's groundbreaking edition of the Sophist and Statesman, and that - - -Dittenberger, Ritter, and Lutoslawski continued and -extended Campbell's efforts, but, he adds, these scholars -were able to agree further that there was a definite break -in style between the Theatetus and the whole group of -dialogues Which Campbell had called the late group. However, Taylor says that the stylometric tabulations, while -they could establish whole groups of dialogues which -shared a style, could not effectively establish the order - - -of dialogues within a given group. °° - - -24 U.v. Wilamowitz-Moellendorff, Platon,I (2d ed.; -Berlin: Weidman, 1920), in Jaeger, op, cit., p. 80. - - -25 Jaeger, Op. cit., p. 84. - -26 A.E. Taylor, "Plato," Encyclopaedia Britannica, -agar (Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., 1957), -pe 49. - - -Le - - -Af -It is interesting to follow A.E. Taylor's shifting - -emphasis and reliance on the stylistic researches. In the - -article which he wrote for the Britannica, ! Taylor says - - -there are no stylistic grounds for placing the Timaeus - - -late in the order of Plato's dialogues. However, in the -Commentary on the Timaeus, -° there is a rather extensive -description of the stylistic and stylometric criteria and -@ rather extensive reliance on both of them, albeit -accompanied by a critique. Later, in Plato, the Man and -his Work, "2 there is a recapitulation of the stylistic -criteria and a somewhat limited reliance upon them. One -can only conclude that Taylor did not deem it worthwhile -to inform the readers of the Britannica on the intricasies -of the stylistic controversy. Nevertheless, in all these -works, Taylor concludes that the Timaeus is the work of -Plato's last years. - -It is informative therefore, to read Taylor's -description of the satylistic criteria. He summarizes those -used to establish the late group as follows: - -1. @ reduction of dramatic style - -2. a lesser role for Socrates - - -3. the presence of a lecture - - -27 Ipid. -28 A.E. Taylor, Commentary, p. 4. - - -29 alm Taylor, Plato: The Man and His Work (6th -ed.;3 Aa print.; New York: Meridian Books, Inc., 1959), -(Pe 436. - - - - -4, periodic versus poetic style-0 -He says, in addition, that the last dialogue which bears -the marks of Plato's earlier style must be the Theatetus, -and that he shares this view with Ritter"! and -Lutoslawek1.>* - -A.E. Taylor's recapitulation of the stylistic -criteria is especially interesting in view of the fact -that he follows Burnet rather carefully, and yet Burnet -states, "I have ventured to assume the results of the -stylistic researches inaugurated by Lewis Campbell in -1867.""2 It is also interesting to note that Burnet, like -taylor, refers to these researches as stylistic and not -stylometric, which indicates that he is not willing to go -so far as Lutoslawski's application of calculus to the -frequency of hiatus and the use of clausulae in Plato's -aQialogues. On the other hand, Burnet himself makes use of -"stylistic" arguments when he notes that the early dialogues -make use of dramatic form and employ the person ot Socrates - - -centrally in that endeavor, whereas the later dialogues do - - -30 A.E. Taylor, Commentary, pe 4. - - - -Constantin Ritter, The Essence of Plato's -EnLiceophy, trans. Adam Alles (London: George Allen \& -Unwin, Ltd., 1933). - - -32 W. Lutoslawski, Origi ad Growth of Plato's -Logig (New York: Longmans, rooey. - - -33 John Burnet, Greek Philosophy (London: Macmillan -\& Co., Ltd., 1914), Part I, p. 212. - - - -80 with less and less emphasis on drama and on Socrates’ -interlocutory role. On this basis Burnet too concludes -that the Timaeus is the work of Plato's old age, but - - -reserves decision as to whether the Philebus precedes it or - - -not. - -It 18 frequently recognized that Burnet, A.E. Taylor -and Cornford collectively form something of a school, and -so it is appropriate to take Cornford's remarks on the -order of the dialogues into account. This is especially - - -true since his translation of the Timaeus is the most - - -recent and constitutes a valuable synthesis of scholarly -efforts to understand this dialogue. - -In his Plato's Cosmology Cornford discusses the -dating of the Timaeug but makes only peripheral reference -to the stylistic criteria.-* He cites Wilamowitz 35 to the -effect that Timaeus speaks with an authoritative tone, and -makes little use of the gently poetic questionings of -Socrates. Cornford also cites Ritter to the effect that -the fourth person of the Timaeys is left unknown, perhaps -because Plato wanted to keep open the possibility of writing a fourth dialogue in the series. © - - -34 Gornford, op, cit. - - -35 Wilamowitz, Platon, I, p. 591, in Jaeger, -Op. cit., pe sO. - - -36 Constantin Ritter, Neve Untersuchungen uber -Platon (Munich: 1910), p. 181. - - - -But Cornford, like Burnet and unlike A.E. taylor, makes -little mention of the whole matter of stylistic dating. -He assumes the results of the stylists but prefers to place - - -the Timaeus and Critias just before the Laws for reasons of - - -doctrine rather than for reasons of style. - -Ritter says that he learned most "from the English," -meaning Burnet, Taylor, and Cornford, and that his own -researches brought him into "remarkably close agreement... -with respect to their chronological determinations."-/ -Briefly, his conclusions are theses there are six major -groupings of dialogues, and the last group, composed of -the Sophist, Statesman, Timaeus, Critias, Philebus, and - - -Laws, must be late because a "careful study of the differences in language and expression" creates an "indubitable -means of determining their genuineness as well as the -approximate date of their appearance." >° In addition, he -says that there are changes in style and writing which -are less precise but no less observable by the trained -observer, and that perhaps the strongest of these -considerations is the transition from the "poetic" style -in the early works to the "didactic" style of the later - - -works.-? It 18 interesting to observe that when Zeller - - -3T Ritter, The Essence of Plato's Philosophy, p. 9. -38 tpia., pe 27. -39 tpid., pp. 29, 30. - - - -challenged Ritter to try the stylistic methods on a 7 -modern writer's works, whose chronology could be independantty verified, Ritter was able to arrive at the correct -chronology of the works of Goethe, 40 - -Perhaps a summary of the stylistic controversy is - -in order at this point. "1 Briefly, it began with the -efforts of Schleiermacher to reveal what he felt was the -pedagogical gradualiem of Plato's dialogues. But Hermann -felt that the gradual development in the dialogues revealed -not Plato's pedagogical process so much as the gradual -growth of Plato's own insight. Campbell started with the -assertion that the Laws was the last work of Plato and -noted stylistic similarities between the Laws and a whole -group of dialogues, which included the Sophist, Statesman, -Philebus, Timaeus, and Critias. Ritter modified the - - -stylistic criteria and made them more precise, and arrived -at astonishingly similar conclusions. In turn, Wilamowitz -and Lutoslawski carried the work further (and perhaps to -excess) by accomplishing stylometric word-counts and -establishing frequency tables for the number of particles, -clausulae, and hiatus. They too reached similar conclusions. - - -It emerged that the comparison of styles of writing employed - - -4 Ross has summerized these results in tabular -form. See appendix A. - - -by Plato in the dialogues could be used by several -relatively independant scholars to reach agreement on the -chronology of the dialogues, and, on this basis, it was - - -agreed that the Timaeus was a work of Plato's old age, - - -since the Timaeug and the Crjtias resembled the Laws, | - - -more than any other work of Plato, in its style and -composition. The researches of Burnet, Taylor, and Cornford -assume these stylistic results and take them up into a - -more comprehensive view of the dialogues. This however - - -does not alter their opinions that the Timaeus is the work - - -of Plato's old age. Taylor and Burnet are uncertain whether - - -the stylistic methods can place the Timaeus after the - - -Philebus and conclude that if this is to be done it must - - -be done on other grounds. More recent researchers have -little or nothing to add to the stylistic probability that - - -the Timaeus is the work of Plato's old age. - - -The criteria used by these authors are said to be -non-interpretative, insofar as they refer to the use of -grammar, style, language devices such as expletives, hiatus, -clausulae, etc. But other criteria, such as the death of -Dionysius II, the decreasing importance of the role of -Socrates in the various dialogues, do, to a certain extent, -demand a degree of insight and interpretation of the style -of the dialogues, and are used both as starting points for -stylistic analyses and as parts of such analyses. They - - -cannot be said to be purely mechanical, nor are they wholly - - - -objective, but their use by what Ritter calls "trained -observers" has led to a remarkably wide and detailed -agreement on the part of scholars to the effect that the -Timaeug is the work of Plato's old age. - -Before we pass on to an examination of those details -of Plato's biography which help to establish the sequence -of the late dialogues, there is another point which -deserves attention, and it is the matter of those dialogues -which Zeller and Ritter call the "transitional dialogues, " - - -namely the Parmenides and the Theatetus. It is necessary - - -to note that a number of those scholars who have constructed -chronologies of the dialogues have reached agreement that -these two dialogues must be placed after the works of -Plato's middle period, which include the Republic, and -before the last period, which begins with the Sophist. In -the next chapter, the doctrinal significance of this -placement will become evident. It is necessary here only - -to document the assertion that reputable scholars have - - -agreed to place the Parmenides and Theatetus immediately - - -before the dialogues of the late period. -III Biographical Criteria -Up to this point, we have seen that there is a long - - -and honorable tradition which regards the Timaeus as the - - -work of Plato's old age, and that atylistic criteria, used -by a small but highly reputable number of Platonic scholars, -has brought about a condition of wide and detailed agreement that the Timaeus is Plato's work and that he wrote it - - -i - - -in his last few years - -To these sources, let us now add a review of those -details of Plato's life which may be useful in determining -the order of the dialogues. Again, so far as possible, the -argument here will attempt to avoid any interpretations of -Plato's thought, in keeping with the attempt to divide the -evidence in favor of the nypotheale into two inseparable -but logically discrete aspects. - -Unfortunately, the biographical information which -we posess about Plato is painfully scant, since most of -what we know about Plato's life has to be derived from the -dialogues and the letters. The date of Plato's birth is -usually said to be 427, although A.E, Taylor gives 428. -Similarly, the date of Plato's death is usually given as -347 but A.E. Taylor gives 348. All agree that these dates -are approximate. The concensus seems to be that Plato was -approximately eighty or eighty-one when he died. - -Plato was descended from an aristocratic family. -His mother's first husband was Ariston who traced himself -to Poseidon; her second husband was Pyrilampes, who -related himself to Pericles. Plato's mother, Perictione, -was of the family of Solon. 42 - -' Plato had two brothers, Adeimantus and Glaucon, and - - -a sister, Potone, whose son, Speusippus was therefore - - -42 alk. Taylor, "Plato," Encyclopaedia Britannica, -pp. 48-64. - - - - -Plato's nephew as well as successor as head of the -Academy. Plato was the youngest child in the family. *? -According to Cicero, Plato's introduction to Archytas (the -Strategus of Tarentum) was extremely fortunate since -Archytas later rescued Plato from slavery, into which he -had been sold by Dionysius 11.44 the incident of Plato's -slavery was also recorded by Philodemus in his Index -Academicorum. "5 However, without the Seventh Letter it is -not possible to set a precise date for this event. Cicero -only tells us that Plato was in Sicily and that he was -ransomed by Archytas from the slavery into which he had -been sola. *© - -After citing the well known details of Plato's birth -and aristocratic lineage, Ritter reminds us that Plato was -born during the Peloponesian war and that soon thereafter -Pericles succumbed to the plague. Plato was six when peace -was concluded with Sparta in 421 and he was fourteen, an - - -Aimpressionable age, when the Athenian fleet was destroyed - - -43 Field, op. cit., p. 4. -a According to Field, Plato's benefactor was - +\defpnote{1.1}{A.E. Taylor, +\bt{Commentary on Plato's Timaeus} +(Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1928), p. 4.} +\defpnote{1.2}{F.M. Cornford, +\bt{Plato's Cosmology}, +p. viii.} +\defpnote{1.3}{Werner Jaeger, +\bt{Paideia: The Ideals of Greek Culture} +(3 vols.; New York: Oxford University Press, 1943), II, pp. 77--78. } +\defpnote{1.4}{Ibid., p. 78.} +\defpnote{1.5}{Ibid., p. 79.} +\defpnote{1.6}{C.F. Hermann, +\bt{Geschichte und System der Platonischen Philosophie} +(Heidelberg: 1839), in Jaeger, +op. cit., p. 79} +\defpnote{1.7}{Jaeger, op. cit., p. 79.} +\defpnote{1.8}{Ibid., p. 80.} +\defpnote{1.9}{Theodor Gompers, +\bt{Greek Thinkers}, +trans. G.G. Berry +(London: John Murray, 1905).} +\defpnote{1.10}{Ibid., p. 275.} +\defpnote{1.11}{Ibid., p. 278.} +\defpnote{1.12}{Ibid.} +\defpnote{1.13}{Ibid., pp. 279, 283.} +\defpnote{1.14}{Ibid., p. 284.} +\defpnote{1.15}{Ibid., p. 285.} +\defpnote{1.16}{Ibid.} +\defpnote{1.17}{Ibid., p. 286.} +\defpnote{1.18}{Ibid., p. 287.} +\defpnote{1.19}{Jaeger, loc. cit.} +\defpnote{1.20}{L. Campbell, +\et{Plato,} +\bt{Encyclopaedia Britannica,} +11\tss{th} ed., Vol. XXI, pp. 808--824.} +\defpnote{1.21}{Ibid., p. 810.} +\defpnote{1.22}{Ibid.} +\defpnote{1.23}{Ibid.} +\defpnote{1.24}{U.V. Wilamowitz-Moellendorff, +\bt{Platon}, I, +(2\tss{nd} ed.; +Berlin: Weidman, 1920), in Jaeger, op. cit., p. 80.} +\defpnote{1.25}{Jaeger, op. cit., p. 84.} +\defpnote{1.26}{A.E. Taylor, +\et{Plato,} +\bt{Encyclopaedia Britannica}, +XVIII (Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., 1957), +p. 49.} +\defpnote{1.27}{Ibid.} +\defpnote{1.28}{A.E. Taylor, \bt{Commentary}, p. 4.} +\defpnote{1.29}{A.E. Taylor, +\bt{Plato: The Man and His Work} +(6\tss{th} ed.; 5\tss{th} print.; New York: Meridian Books, Inc., 1959), +p. 346} +\defpnote{1.30}{A.E. Taylor, \bt{Commentary}, p. 4.} +\defpnote{1.31}{Constantin Ritter, +\bt{The Essence of Plato's Philosophy}, +trans. Adam Alles (London: George Allen \& Unwin, Ltd., 1933).} +\defpnote{1.32}{W. Lutoslawski, +\bt{Origin and Growth of Plato's Logic} +(New York: Longmans, 1928.)} +\defpnote{1.33}{John Burnet, +\bt{Greek Philosophy} +(London: Macmillan \& Co., Ltd., 1914), Part I, p. 212.} +\defpnote{1.34}{Cornford, op, cit.} +\defpnote{1.35}{Wilamowitz, \bt{Platon}, I, p. 591, in Jaeger, +op. cit., p. 8O.} +\defpnote{1.36}{Constantin Ritter, +\bt{Neue Untersuchungen uber Platon} +(Munich: 1910), p. 181.} +\defpnote{1.37}{Ritter, \bt{The Essence of Plato's Philosophy}, p. 9.} +\defpnote{1.38}{Ibid., p. 27.} +\defpnote{1.39}{Ibid., pp. 29--30.} +\defpnote{1.40}{G.C. Field, \bt{Plato and His Contemporaries: A Study in Fourth-Century Life and Thought} (London: Methuen \& Co., Ltd., 1930), p. 68.} +\defpnote{1.41}{Ross has summarized these results in tabular +form: see Appendix A.} +\defpnote{1.42}{A.E. Taylor, \et{Plato,} \bt{Encyclopaedia Britannica}, +pp. 48--64.} +\defpnote{1.43}{Field, op. cit., p. 4.} +\defpnote{1.44}{According to Field, Plato's benefactor was Archytas (Field, op. cit., p. 16), but according to -Gomperz it was Anniceris (Gomperz, op. cit., p. 261). - - -45 Field, op. cit., p. 18. -46 Gomperz, op, cit., p. 261. - - - - -off Sicily. 47 - -In 405, when he was approximately twenty, Plato met -Socrates, and Ritter tells us that even his exceptional -education in the arts of drama and poetry were not enough -to prevent Plato from committing his poetic works to the -flames, since they were not up to the new philosophical -standards Socrates had impressed on nim, 48 - -When "The Thirty" came to rule, Plato was asked to -join with them, but he could not bring himself to take -part in a regime which he felt to be responsible for the -injustice of Socrates' death, so he went instead to Megara -for a few years. 49 - -Plato also travelled to Egypt, Crete, Cyrene, and -Italy and Sicily. The Sicilian travels were "of great -significance" for Plato's philosophy. In addition to -Archytas of Tarentum he met other Pythagoreans in Syracuse. -It was during these travels that he also met Dion and -Dionysius I. Plato was at this time fourty years old; Dion -was twenty and Dionysius forty-three, 99 - -Many years later, after the unfortunate and misconceived rivalry between Dion and Dionysius II, Plato was - - -sold into slavery at the island of Aegina but was soon - - -47 Ritter, The Essence of Plato's Philosophy, pp. 21, -22. - - -48 tpaa., p. 22. -49 Ipta., p. 23. © Abia. - - - -ransomed, His benefactor refused reimbursement, so Plato -took the sum and applied it to the purchase of a plot of -ground in the gardens of Akademos, where the founding and -administration of his school occupied his attention for the -next twenty years.>! - -In 367, Dionysius I dies and Dionysius II is advised -by Dion to send for Plato. A rivalry takes place between -Dion and Dionysius. Plato is allowed to return to Athens -for the duration of the war in which Syracuse is engaged, -on the promise that he will return as soon as it is over. -Plato leaves and Dion is banished. °2 - -Five years later, Plato returns. He tries, with less -success than before, to have Dion reinstated. He returns -again to Athens in 360. Three years later, Dion assembles -an army and marches on Syracuse. He meets with some success -but is later assassinated. According to Ritter, 52 Plato -mourns with deeper grief than he had for Socrates, -although Ritter does not reveal the source of his information. - -In 347, Plato dies. Ritter says: "To the end of his - - -life he was mentally alert and active and enjoyed the honour - - -51 Ip4d., p. 24. -52 Ibid., p. 25. -53 Ipid., pe 26. - - - -and respect conferred upon him by his circle of disciples." -By accepting the authenticity of the Seventh Letter, -Ritter is able to conclude that the Parmenides and the - - -Theatetus were written before Plato’s Sicilian adventures -and that the late dialogues were written thereafter. >> -Thus Ritter is of the opinion that the Parmenides and - - -Theatetus immediately precede the late group and should be - - -read before them, since, in this order, the changes in style -and doctrine between the Parmenides and the Jheatetus and -the late group became more clearly recognizeable. In short, -the influence of Plato's Sicilian experiences can be - -better discerned in the late group, and this influence is -not detectable in the Parmenjdes and Theatetus. - -One final biographical point deserves attention -before we pass on to a discussion of the relevance of -Plato's letters to the matter of establishing the chronology -of the dialogues, and it is the problem of determining the -relative influence of Socrates on Plato's life. - -While this problem seems at first sight to belong -to a discussion of Plato's biography, actually it does not. -While it is true to say that we have as little information - - -about the details of Socrates’ life as we have of Plato's, - - -o4 Ibid., pe 27. - - -55 Ritter cit., pp. 329 ff.; Untersuchungen -uber Platon (Stutheeres 1888 » pp. 88 ff, - - -() - - - -the fact is that we can only determine the influence of | -Socrates by examining Plato's thought. It is frequently -asserted that Plato wrote in the dialogue form because he -held Socrates’ method of communication in such high esteem, -and this is probably true. But there seems to be no -information which could help us to determine whether the -order of the dialogues was influenced by Socrates. It -seems better to postpone this question until the next -chapter, where we take up the doctrines of the dialogues, -and the influence of Socrates’ thought on Plato's doctrine. - -It might be noted in anticipation that Plato does - - -give several hints, through the Parmenides, Theatetus, and - - -in the whole group of late dialogues, of the extent to -which the doctrines of these dialogues are "beyond" -Socrates, that is, ask the sort of questions which Socrates -probably would not have asked. - -Let us pass, then, to a discussion of Plato's -Seventh Letter, which reveals in some detail how Plato's -Sicilian experiences influenced him. Such information will -be useful in understanding some of the passages in the late -dialogues. -IV. The Letters - -J. Harward °° has made a very useful compendium - - -which contains an impressive amount of material on the - - -NE PIN SE IE TE ESI IT IT I I SE TS TC EIT OT DFAT I LEED TENE EEE - - -50 J, Harward, The Platonic Epistles (Cambridge: -The University Press, 1932). - - -L a - - - -Letters. He cites a number of ancients who regarded the i -whole collection of Plato's letters as authentic, including -Diogenes Laertius, Plutarch, Lucian, Cicero, and Aristophanes the grammarian of Alexandria.o? Although Jowett 58 -followed Karsten 99 into the opinion that the entire lot -was spurious, Harward says that the increasingly wide use -of stylistic criteria soon dissipated the influence of their -opinions. The stylists were thus able to overcome the views -of Jowett and Karsten 60 which were that the letters were -written in too lowly a style for them to be regarded as -Plato's own, that the philosophical doctrine of the letters -differs too widely from Plato's theory or Ideas, and that -there are no sources from which we may conclude that Plato -was actually ever in Sicily.©! Wilamowitz was particularly -strong in asserting the letters to be genuine, and his -criteria were largely stylistic, that is, he was able to -conclude that the satyle of the letters was not too lowly -tor Plato, but was in fact written with many or the idioms - - -and phrases which Plato favored in his late years. - - -57 Harward, op, cit., p. 60. - - -58 B. Jowett, e Dialogues of Plato (3rd ed.; New -York: Scribner, Armstrong, Oe, 1 » preface. - - -59 H.T. Karaten, De Epistolis quae feruntur -Platonicis (Utrecht: 1864), in Harvard, Op, cit., Pp. 61. - -60 Harward, op. cit., pp. 71, 72. - -61 Field, op, git., p. 16. - - - -Thus, there are few scholars today who would reject -all the letters, although some scholars reject some of then, -as we shall see. But in the main, the wave of scepticism -has subsided. Thus, Harward is able to compile a list of -scholars and tabulate which scholars accept which of the -letters. - - -The Seventh Letter in particular, has been accepted by - - -Taylor, Burnet, Ritter, Hackforth, Wilamowitz, Souilhe, -Bury, and Field.©2 These scholars were able to agree -largely because of the stylistic criteria as applied to -the letters. Harward discusses these criteria in some -detail. He divides them into four groups, which include -the following: -1. choice of words, including neologisms and -expressions Known to be current in certain -years by reference to other authors. -2. word order, including inversions of normal -word order, hiatus, elision, the use of clausulae -3. sentence structure, including extra paranthetic -clauses, hanging nominatives, a string of terse, -clipped unmodified verbs, following intuitional -rather than strictly logical order. -4. circuitous mannerisms and tautologous phrases 63 -One notices that the foregoing criteria are neither -atrictly stylistic nor strictly stylometric. In order to -make use of them i1t would be necessary to be a "trained -observer" as Ritter says, and, in addition to noticing the - - -presence of these devices of style, one could, if so - - -62 Harward, ope cit., p. 76. -63 Ibid., pp. 86-96. - - - -inclined, make tables and count the frequency with which -these mannerisms occurred. But the deeper point is that -the most reputable Platonic scholars were able to agree -on the basis of these criteria that the Seventh Letter was -both genuine and late. Harward says "...the stylistic - - -features in common (between the Seventh Letter and the - - -Laws) are so striking that they stare the reader in the - - -face, "64 Ritter makes a similar comment when he says, "On - - -any unprejudiced reader it (the Seventh Letter) cannot - - -fail to produce the impression of the natural outspokenness -of a narrative of personal experience. "65 Cicero himself -says, "praeclara epistula Platonis ad Dionis propinquos..."66 -To these, Harward adds his own views since Plato regarded -Kallipos as a "fiend incarnate," and since it was Kallipos -who had Dion murdered, and since Kallipos wrote to Plato - -of the death of Dion in 354, and since the death of Dion - -4s recorded in the letter, but the letter does not record -the death of Kallipos, which occurred a year later, it is -probable that the letter was written between 354 and 353,67 -From all of these probabilities, Harward concludes that the - - -64 Ipia., p. 86. - - -65 Ritter, Neue Untersuchungen uber Platon, p. 408. -66 Tusc, Disp. V, 35, in Harward, op. cit., p. 189. -67 Harward, op, cit., p. 192. - - - -letter was composed after the Sicilian journeys and before : -the Laws. This places the letters in a setting which is -either immediately before or contemporaneous with the - - -Timaeus. As we shall see after a discussion of the Seventh - - -Letter in detail, it is probable that it precedes the -Timaeus. - - -Having shown on the basis of reputable scholarship - - -the authenticity of the Seventh Letter and its late - - -composition, I would like now to summarize its contents, -in order to point out certain experiences Plato had -relevant to the doctrine of the Timaeus. - -Plato begins by telling that his motive for visiting -Sicily as the desire to see the people there freed by the -best laws for the situation, and, in addition, he will -recount in the letter the process in which he reached the -formation of his opinions on the matter (324b). - -He describes his youthful aspiration for a political -career and recounts that some of his relatives, (Critias -and Charmides) were members of the Thirty, and that they -had asked him to rule with them (324 b,c). But he declines -because he sees that their rule, like most revolutionary -regimes new in power, suffered excesses. These were -particularly visible in these attempt to send Socrates on -a dishonorable mission (324 6). It was finally certain, -when Socrates was sentenced to death at the hands of this -regime (325 c). Plato notes sadly that the older he gets -the more he realizes the extreme difficulty of handling - - - -public matters (325 a). He noticed that not only the -written but the unwritten laws were extremely inflexible -and therefore hard to mold. As a matter of fact, those in -Athens struck him as incurable, and for the time, nothing -could be done (326 a). | - -We then read a small recapitulation of the Republic -doctrine of the philosopher-king. Plato tells his readers -that the situation in Sicily, like the one in Athens, is -so difficult that there will be no peace for the sons of -men until either philosophers are kings or those in power -lay hold to some philosophical illumination (326 b). It -was with these expectations that Plato first arrived in -Sicily. He is repelled by the life of vice and court -debauchery which he finds there, and says that here as -elsewhere such immorality will inevitably lead to a -succession of tyranny, oligarchy, and democracy (326 d). - -However, while there, he instructs the young Dion -who is extraordinarily adept at this sort of learning, and -Dion resolves to "live for the future" which of course -makes him terribly unpopular at the court (327 b,c) -However it is his hope that Dionysius will learn too, and -in this way peace and happiness will be introduced (327 d). -This fitea in with Plato's desires not to be "only a man -of words" (328 aec) and, in addition, helps Plato to -prove to himself that he does no dishonor to philosophy by -inaction (329 a). However, Dionysius does not devote himself to philosophy. Moreover, Dion is perceived as a - - - -threat and is expelled from the court. Plato becomes a -prisoner of the court (329 ced). Dionysius flatters Plato, -but Plato is aware that it is his status and not his -philosophy which Dionysius desires (330 a). - -Plato reflects on these experiences for his readers, -and tells them an allegory to the effect that the physician -is to his patient as the philosopher is to the state, and -that, just as the physician prescribes diet, so the -philosopher prescribes laws and constitutions which will -eventuate in a good state (330 d-33!1 e). This too is -reminiscent of the Republic. Again we are told that the -good governor is he who frames good laws (332 b). To do -80, @ man must have loyal friends, and there is no surer -test of vice than a man without friends (332 c). Such a -man is Dionysius, whose early years were hungry for want -of education and proper training. Thus he was raised -discordantly, and, beyond the fact that he is wrecking -Sicily, the greatest poverty arises from his lack of -harmony with himself (332 a). Nevertheless, a way must be -found to free Sicily by the introduction of just laws (334c). -A way might be found if only Dionysius can be brought to -harmony with himself. If it is not possible to introduce -order through Dionysius, then other means must be sought, -for the source of light is the soul at harmony within the -man (335 aed). Plato's hope is high and his desire is -strong, but the worst crime is comitted: Dionysius - - -refuses (335 e). - - - -- Thus the second venture ends worse than the first, -due to a "fiendish" ignorance of matters of the soul and -of philosophy on the part of Dionysius (336 bec). - -We are reminded of the early lesson of the letter, -i.e., that a period of temperance after a revolution is -as rare as it is necessary. Perhaps it follows that this -is the time when just laws should be enacted but it is -unfortunately true that this is also the time when such -an enactment is least possible. Perhaps this task will -remain for the future (356 e). - -How should such laws come to be? Plato answers his -own question by saying that only the best men can make -the best laws, and actually goes into the proportion of -men to the population (337 c). - -The motive for Plato's third trip to Sicily is -given. We are informed that Dionysius is eager to have -Plato return, and that he has made progress in his study -of philosophy. Archytas and his Tarentine circle of -Pythagoreans implore Plato by letter, and one, Archydemos, -even accompanies the trireme which is sent to supply -Plato's passage. In order not to betray Dion and his other -Tarentine friends, Plato allows himself to be convinced( 339 -a-e). - -There follows what one writer (Ritter) calls a -philosophical digression into the nature of the process -wherein philosophy is "imparted" so that the student will - - -_gsee a "marvellous road" open before him (340 b,c). Here - - - -we have a recapitulation of some of the thoughts Plato - - -had set down in the Phaedo and in the Republic, where he - - -described how the soul, reflecting on herself, sees a -whole new realm (340 d). - -"There neither is nor ever will be a treatise of -mine on the subject" says Plato, in what seems at first -to be a deep paradox. What can a philosopher mean whose -Magnificent dramatic dialogues are revered as perhaps -the highest insights ever written? Is it all a game? The -key to this, is to be found in the Seventh Letter, which - - -explains to the friends of Dion that Plato never fell from -honor and was not among the murderers of Dion nor among -the followers or participants in the horrible rule of -Dionysius who had him killed. Plato is not addressing a -learned academy nor an audience of philosophers but a -group of friends and former associates of Dion who cannot -understand how the great Plato and his philosophy could -not save Dion from an unjust fate. - -To the claim of Dionysius that he was learning -philosophy from the one lesson Plato had given him and -that he was in fact producing learned treatises of originality and brilliance, Plato responds not only that his -philosophy can't be taught in a few lessons, but that its -deepest meanings cannot be taught at all, but must be -experienced as a fire which is enkindled in the soul -after an arduous preliminary regimen in the company of - - -\. - - - - -teachers who have been so inflamed (341 d,e). - -If philosophy cannot be taught as a series of learnable propositions, how can one expect to learn it in -writings and disquisitions? To bolster this argument and to -derive it from higher knowledge, Plato launches into a -short essay on the steps and stages on the way to philosophical insight. There are, he says, three preliminary -steps and two later stages through which philosophical -knowledge is imparted (342 a), o8 - -the "instruments" of this process are names, definitions, and images (eidola). Names are notoriously flighty -and subject to the winds of change and fashion. Definitions -are frequently contradictory and refer to aspects which -shift. Images may be drawn and fashioned at will but what -images attempt to convey is not necessarily subject to -these inconsistancies (342 b,c). More proximate but still -very distant is knowledge of the thing and closest is the -thing itself as it is. If somehow one does not go through -the first three, (names, definitions, and images) one -cannot even aspire to the fourth, (knowledge of the thing) -much less the fifth. It is much the same with the Good, -the Beautiful, the Just, Bodies, even Characters of the - - -65 not learned. Plato is talking about the +Gompers it was Anniceria (Gompers, op. cit., p. 261).} +\defpnote{1.45}{Field, op. cit., p. 18.} +\defpnote{1.46}{Gompers, op, cit., p. 261.} +\defpnote{1.47}{Ritter, +\bt{The Essence of Plato's Philosophy}, +pp. 21--22.} +\defpnote{1.48}{Ibid., p. 22.} +\defpnote{1.49}{Ibid., p. 23.} +\defpnote{1.50}{Ibid.} +\defpnote{1.51}{Ibid., p. 24.} +\defpnote{1.52}{Ibid., p. 25.} +\defpnote{1.53}{Ibid., pe 26.} +\defpnote{1.54}{Ibid., p. 27.} +\defpnote{1.55}{Ritter op. cit., pp. 329 ff.; +\bt{Untersuchungen uber Platon} +(Stutheeres 1888), pp. 88 ff.} +\defpnote{1.56}{J. Harward, \bt{The Platonic Epistles} (Cambridge: +The University Press, 1932).} +\defpnote{1.57}{Harward, op, cit., p. 60.} +\defpnote{1.58}{B. Jowett, +\bt{The Dialogues of Plato} +(3\tss{rd} ed.; New York: Scribner, Armstrong, \& Co., 1878) preface.} +\defpnote{1.59}{H.T. Karsten, +\bt{De Epistolis quae feruntur Platonicis} +(Utrecht: 1864), in Harward, op, cit., p. 61.} +\defpnote{1.60}{Harward, op. cit., pp. 71--72.} +\defpnote{1.61}{Field, op. cit., p. 16.} +\defpnote{1.62}{Harward, op. cit., p. 76.} +\defpnote{1.63}{Ibid., pp. 86--96.} +\defpnote{1.64}{Ibid., p. 86.} +\defpnote{1.65}{Ritter, +\bt{Neue Untersuchungen uber Platon}, p. 408.} +\defpnote{1.66}{\bt{Tusc, Disp.} V, 35, in Harward, op. cit., p. 189.} +\defpnote{1.67}{Harward, op. cit., p. 192.} +\defpnote{1.68}{Not \e{learned.} Plato is talking about the communication of philosophy, not the stating of it, nor the acquisition of it, but the process in which, so to -speak, philosophy happens. - - - -'soul, and with all that is done or suffered (342 e). : - -Plato distrusts the fixity and unchangeable character -of language as he hesitates to put down in words which -seem firm and clear what cannot be grasped so easily (343 a). -Words, definitions, and images contain much that is -opposite to the things themselves (343 b). Philosophy is so -hard that men satisfy themselves with images. ©9 Most men -cannot study philosophy, and even those who do, find it -hard if not impossible to speak of. Perhaps, after the -preliminaries of words, definitions, and images, a birth -will take place but unless the preparatory steps are -taken, naught will avail the ambitious, such as Dionysius. -In addition, if there is no "natural inclination," even -these steps will lead nowhere (344 a). - -What is needed is a "sudden flash" which will arrive -only occasionally and then only after long preperation (344b). -Therefore, Plato warns his audience, do not expect to plumb -the deepest meanings of philosophy too rapidly. And, even -if a treatise on Laws, written by a great writer, should -cross your attention, do not think that you see there the -most precious thought of their writer; you do not. These, -he implies, are images drawn for your information, but -they are not philosophy, in its deepest sense (344 c). - -Moreover, Plato tells his readers that his reverence - - -for the truth is such that he will not entrust it to - - -69 See the Cave Allegory of the Republic 507. F - - - -vehicles. That which is inexpressibly beautiful should not -be dragged down in homely expression. The inner harmony of -philosophy will not mix with the discordant decadence of -Dionysian politics. On the other hand, once truths of this -sort have been experienced, there is no need to write them -down because there is no danger of forgetting them. Once -posessed, they live on (344d). So ends the "philosophical -digression." - -Plato returns to his history of the events of his -third stay in Sicily. He is implored to stay on by -Dionysius’ promise to restore Dion's property and income. -Plato is asked to remain for a while to consider the plan, -but while he does so, the last trade ships leave and the -season for travel comes to an end. (He has been tricked) -(346). After the ships are gone, Dionysius sells Dion's -property (347). Plato is told that Herakleides will not be -harmed, even though he led a guard's revolt for higher pay, -but again Dionysius goes back on his promise. Plato is -ousted from the palace gardens on the pretext that they are -needed for a festival (349). - -Plato begins to realize that his friendship for Dion -4s disadvantageous, that he no longer shares the tyrant's -confidence, that he is no longer useful, either to himself -or to the tyrant, and that his friends at the court are -gradually being arrested. - -He sends for help to Archytas (350). A trireme of - - -_thirty oars is sent, with Lamiskos, a Pythagorean, in - - - -command. Plato is taken to Dion, who immediately plots -revenge against Dionysius II. This time, Plato pleads not -to be included, because of his advanced age, and because -Dion is plotting to injure someone, and Plato will not be -a party to violence (350 c). - -Plato gives out another allegory. Like the brave -captain of a good vessel who underestimates the brutal -ferocity of a storm, it became Dion's fate to die at the -hands of Dionysius' forces, but it was a death with honor. - -Plato ends the letter by saying that he felt it was -necessary to explain the paradoxical turn of events in -Sicily, and he hopes he has done so (352). - -Since reputable scholars have agreed that the -Seventh Letter is Plato's own, and since, in all probability -it was written between 354 and 353, we must place it in the -late period. We should expect the extraordinary experiences -of Plato's Sicilian travels to have a marked influence on -the doctrine of those dialogues written after the travels - - -which the Seventh Letter record. - - -However, in order to show what influences these - - -experiences had on the doctrine of the Timaeus, it is - - -first necessary to pass in review the doctrines of the - -dialogues between the Republic and the Timaeus. This task -is the burden of the following chapter. It is possible at -this point only to anticipate how the Seventh Letter leads - - -us to expect that the Timaeus will reveal the influence of - - -_Plato's Sicilian experiences. - - - -Thus, there is confirmatory evidence to be derived - - -from the Seventh Letter for the view that the Timaeus is a - - -late dialogue. This is indicated in the statement (at 344c) -that even if a great writer were to write a treatise on -laws and if such a treatise were to come to the attention -of the Sicilians, it should not be regarded as philosophy -but as a set of images. The fact that this statement is -put in the hypothetical future seems to indicate that the -Laws have not yet been written (at least, not completed). -If the Laws is Plato's last effort, and if the Timaeus - - -is as closely related to the Laws as the stylistic criteria - - -indicate, this statement would seem to indicate that the - - -letter itself was written before both the Timaeus and the - - -Laws. We have already cited evidence for this view. - -It 18 the business of the next chapter to spell out -the doctrinal criteria on which this same conclusion can -be reached. There, the relevence of the doctrinal points -of the Seventh Letter will be introduced. - -Perhaps it is not inexcusable to ask the reader to -recall at this point that the division of the initial -hypothesis into two methodological procedures, has, at -this point, only dealt with one half of the argument, and -that both halves are necessary to establish the hypothesis. -Thus, one concludes from this chapter that the external -sources, individually and collectively, point to the -Timaeus as a late work. It now needs to be demonstrated -ithat the doctrine of the Timaeus is a late doctrine. - - - -Thereafter, it will be shown that in the doctrine of the - - -Timaeus we find not only a later doctrine than its - - -predecessors, but a more developed doctrine, consisting of -@ culmination and synthesia of the themes of eternity, -image, and time. - - -V__Conclusion - - -I conclude this chapter with the conviction that the -Timaeus is a late dialogue, probably written after Plato's -Sicilian adventures. It is difficult to fix a precise date -for its composition. It is certainly after the first two -Sicilian adventures and certainly before 347, the year of -Plato's death. /° stylistic criteria place it in the same -age grouping as the Laws. This makes it probable that the -Laws and the Timaeus occupied Plato's attention alternately - - -during the same set of years. This means that the Timaeus -trilogy and the Laws were both written in the last years -of Plato's life. I think it is probable that the Timaeus - - -was written after the third Sicilian adventure, after -Plato's indebtedness to the Tarentine Pythagoreans had -increased a great deal. I feel no need to separate the -Laws, the Seventh Letter, and the Timaeug more precisely -because I think that work on all three of them could have -proceded together, yet I feel it is probable that the - - -Seventh Letter precedes the completion of the Laws and - - -70 4.e., it 48 in all probability not a posthumous -edition. - - -Ln - - - - - -the Timaeus. Cornford's hypothesis that Plato stopped in - - -the middle of the Critias in order to complete the Laws is - - -especially attractive. - - - - +speak, philosophy happens.} +\defpnote{1.69}{See the Cave Allegory of the \bt{Republic} 507.} +\defpnote{1.70}{i.e., it is in all probability not a posthumous +edition.} CHAPTER III THE DOCTRINE OF THE DIALOGUES @@ -9757,7 +8046,7 @@ American Catholic Sociological Review. XXII, No. 2, Milwaukee: Marquette University Press, 1961, pp. 143 ff. -Gomperz, Theodor. Greek Thinkers. trans. G.G. ery. +Gompers, Theodor. Greek Thinkers. trans. G.G. ery. Londons John Murray, 1! ° |