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1XX GENERAL INTRODUCTION So far nothing has been said about the real belief and purposes of Socrates or of Plato. What it is necessary to see is the actual situation which they faced. 1. There were the old philosophers, reaching back nearly two hundred years to Thales of Meletus, who had been floundering and struggling toward the truth about nature, without coming to an agreement. 2. There were the Sophists, some of them scholars and gentlemen, some of them ignorant tricksters, who rejected all the foregoing philosophy, and, more or less, also the popular ideas of religion, law, and morals. 3. There were the Athenian people, proud of their military glory, their growing wealth, and their beautiful city, but ignorant of the new learning and hostile to it. PLATO'S MASTER. The foregoing pages touch the principal features — political, economic, artistic, philosophical, and social, of the situation in Athens at the time of Plato's birth. One element in the situation has been barely mentioned, Plato's master, Socrates. Socrates had more influence upon Plato and upon subsequent philosophy than had any of the men or conditions heretofore mentioned. I shall not, however, in this place give an account of his life and teachings. I refrain from doing this solely because those who read this book may become acquainted with Socrates far better, as well as far more delightfully, through the dialogues of Plato that are given
2GENERAL INTRODUCTION XXI here, than from any biography that could be written about him. Indeed, one main object of this book is just to make those who read it personally acquainted with Socrates. There is, however, one matter of fact, in this connection, which should be thoroughly understood. Socrates wrote nothing. We know of his life and teachings chiefly through the writings of two of his disciples, Xenophon and Plato. Xenophon probably told the truth about his master as well as he could. But Xenophon was like some of those who heard the teachings of our Saviour — he heard the words, but not their deeper spiritual sense. Plato understood Socrates better than any one else did, and he could have given us, without doubt, a trustworthy picture of his maister. The difficulty in getting at the real Socrates through the writings of Plato is this. All Plato's writings are in dialogue. In almost all the dialogues, Plato's own opinions are put into the mouth of Socrates. Plato's own _views^ however, became in the. (:oiir5^e of time consider^bUiLdifferent from those of his master. It is, consequently, impossible to be sure just how far the speeches of Socrates, in Plato's dialogues, represent the actual opinions of Socrates, and how far they represent opinions acquired by Plato after his master's death. It is, indeed, true that Plato's philosophy was developed out of that of Socrates, and we may be sure that, as a rule, in ascribing his own opinions to Socrates, Plato did not^reatly violate the spirit of the master's teaching. /It should, however, be understood that the Socrates who speaks in Plato's writings is more or less a dramatic creation.
3XXll GENERAL INTRODUCTION PLATO'S LIFE. Of Plato's life and work only the bare outlines will be given here. He was born about 427 B.C., of a wealthy and aristocratic family. He had the best education which the world then afforded, becoming in time master of all branches of learning then known. He was particularly proficient in mathematics. When he was twenty years old, he became the disciple of Socrates, and lived with the master until the death of the latter in 399. Later, he traveled in Egypt, Cyrene, Italy, and Sicily, pursuing philosophic studies. In Sicily he was sold as a slave. After being ransomed, he opened a school of mathematics and philosophy in Athens, where, among others, he had Aristotle for a pupil. Twice, by invitation of Dion, ruler of Sicily, he attempted to apply his political theories to an actual government, but both attempts were failures. His death occurred at Athens, 347 B.C. No philosophy can be adequately represented by an outline, even if the outline were made by the philosopher himself, because the definite doctrines which can be stated in an outline are always to be understood in connection with the thousand subtle meanings that lie between his lines. There is, however, special reason why Plato cannot be represented by an outline of his philosophy. He was, in fact, far more than a mere philosopher. He was a dramatic artist. He was more than that. He was a lover of men. And in the measure that he was these three — philosopher, dramatist, and lover — he was a teacher.
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
1XX GENERAL INTRODUCTION So far nothing has been said about the real belief and purposes of Socrates or of Plato. What it is necessary to see is the actual situation which they faced. 1. There were the old philosophers, reaching back nearly two hundred years to Thales of Meletus, who had been floundering and struggling toward the truth about nature, without coming to an agreement. 2. There were the Sophists, some of them scholars and gentlemen, some of them ignorant tricksters, who rejected all the foregoing philosophy, and, more or less, also the popular ideas of religion, law, and morals. 3. There were the Athenian people, proud of their military glory, their growing wealth, and their beautiful city, but ignorant of the new learning and hostile to it. PLATO'S MASTER. The foregoing pages touch the principal features — political, economic, artistic, philosophical, and social, of the situation in Athens at the time of Plato's birth. One element in the situation has been barely mentioned, Plato's master, Socrates. Socrates had more influence upon Plato and upon subsequent philosophy than had any of the men or conditions heretofore mentioned. I shall not, however, in this place give an account of his life and teachings. I refrain from doing this solely because those who read this book may become acquainted with Socrates far better, as well as far more delightfully, through the dialogues of Plato that are given
2GENERAL INTRODUCTION XXI here, than from any biography that could be written about him. Indeed, one main object of this book is just to make those who read it personally acquainted with Socrates. There is, however, one matter of fact, in this connection, which should be thoroughly understood. Socrates wrote nothing. We know of his life and teachings chiefly through the writings of two of his disciples, Xenophon and Plato. Xenophon probably told the truth about his master as well as he could. But Xenophon was like some of those who heard the teachings of our Saviour — he heard the words, but not their deeper spiritual sense. Plato understood Socrates better than any one else did, and he could have given us, without doubt, a trustworthy picture of his maister. The difficulty in getting at the real Socrates through the writings of Plato is this. All Plato's writings are in dialogue. In almost all the dialogues, Plato's own opinions are put into the mouth of Socrates. Plato's own _views^ however, became in the. (:oiir5^e of time consider^bUiLdifferent from those of his master. It is, consequently, impossible to be sure just how far the speeches of Socrates, in Plato's dialogues, represent the actual opinions of Socrates, and how far they represent opinions acquired by Plato after his master's death. It is, indeed, true that Plato's philosophy was developed out of that of Socrates, and we may be sure that, as a rule, in ascribing his own opinions to Socrates, Plato did not^reatly violate the spirit of the master's teaching. /It should, however, be understood that the Socrates who speaks in Plato's writings is more or less a dramatic creation.
3XXll GENERAL INTRODUCTION PLATO'S LIFE. Of Plato's life and work only the bare outlines will be given here. He was born about 427 B.C., of a wealthy and aristocratic family. He had the best education which the world then afforded, becoming in time master of all branches of learning then known. He was particularly proficient in mathematics. When he was twenty years old, he became the disciple of Socrates, and lived with the master until the death of the latter in 399. Later, he traveled in Egypt, Cyrene, Italy, and Sicily, pursuing philosophic studies. In Sicily he was sold as a slave. After being ransomed, he opened a school of mathematics and philosophy in Athens, where, among others, he had Aristotle for a pupil. Twice, by invitation of Dion, ruler of Sicily, he attempted to apply his political theories to an actual government, but both attempts were failures. His death occurred at Athens, 347 B.C. No philosophy can be adequately represented by an outline, even if the outline were made by the philosopher himself, because the definite doctrines which can be stated in an outline are always to be understood in connection with the thousand subtle meanings that lie between his lines. There is, however, special reason why Plato cannot be represented by an outline of his philosophy. He was, in fact, far more than a mere philosopher. He was a dramatic artist. He was more than that. He was a lover of men. And in the measure that he was these three — philosopher, dramatist, and lover — he was a teacher.
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
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