---
title: "Lives of the Eminent Philosophers · Βίοι καὶ γνῶμαι τῶν ἐν φιλοσοφίᾳ εὐδοκιμησάντων"
author: "Diogenes Laertius"
translator: "R. D. Hicks"
languages: [grc, en]
shelf: "Philosophy"
section: 9 of 34
url: https://scriptura.si/works/diogenes-laertius-lives/9/
cite: "Diogenes Laertius, tr. R. D. Hicks, Lives of the Eminent Philosophers · Βίοι καὶ γνῶμαι τῶν ἐν φιλοσοφίᾳ εὐδοκιμησάντων, section 9. Scriptura (scriptura.si), https://scriptura.si/works/diogenes-laertius-lives/9/"
---

# Lives of the Eminent Philosophers · Βίοι καὶ γνῶμαι τῶν ἐν φιλοσοφίᾳ εὐδοκιμησάντων

*Diogenes Laertius, tr. R. D. Hicks*

Lives, sayings and doctrines of the Greek philosophers, from Thales to Epicurus.

> Greek: ed. R. D. Hicks, from the Perseus Digital Library (canonical-greekLit, tlg0004.tlg001, CC BY-SA 4.0).

> English: R. D. Hicks, from the Perseus Digital Library (tlg0004.tlg001.perseus-eng2). Notes are not included.

> Rows follow the references the two texts share (books, chapters and sections), cut where both reach the end of a sentence.

## 9. Book III · chapter 1 · 1.1–1.38

Source: https://scriptura.si/works/diogenes-laertius-lives/9/ · cite a paragraph as https://scriptura.si/works/diogenes-laertius-lives/9/#p-N

[¶0] 1.1. Plato was the son of Ariston and a citizen of Athens. His mother was Perictione (or Potone), who traced back her descent to Solon. For Solon had a brother, Dropides; he was the father of Critias, who was the father of Callaeschrus, who was the father of Critias, one of the Thirty, as well as of Glaucon, who was the father of Charmides and Perictione. Thus Plato, the son of this Perictione and Ariston, was in the sixth generation from Solon. And Solon traced his descent to Neleus and Poseidon. His father too is said to be in the direct line from Codrus, the son of Melanthus, and, according to Thrasylus, Codrus and Melanthus also trace their descent from Poseidon.

> Greek: 1.1. Πλάτων, Ἀρίστωνος καὶ Περικτιόνης — ἢ Πωτώνης,— Ἀθηναῖος, ἥτις τὸ γένος ἀνέφερεν εἰς Σόλωνα. τούτου γὰρ ἦν ἀδελφὸς Δρωπίδης, οὗ Κριτίας, οὗ Κάλλαισχρος, οὗ Κριτίας ὁ τῶν τριάκοντα καὶ Γλαύκων, οὗ Χαρμίδης καὶ Περικτιόνη, ἧς καὶ Ἀρίστωνος Πλάτων, ἕκτος ἀπὸ Σόλωνος. ὁ δὲ Σόλων εἰς Νηλέα καὶ Ποσειδῶνα ἀνέφερε τὸ γένος. φασὶ δὲ καὶ τὸν πατέρα αὐτοῦ ἀνάγειν εἰς Κόδρον τὸν Μελάνθου, οἵτινες ἀπὸ Ποσειδῶνος ἱστοροῦνται κατὰ Θρασύλον.

[¶1] 1.2. Speusippus in the work entitled Plato’s Funeral Feast, Clearchus in his Encomium on Plato, and Anaxilaïdes in his second book On Philosophers, tell us that there was a story at Athens that Ariston made violent love to Perictione, then in her bloom, and failed to win her; and that, when he ceased to offer violence, Apollo appeared to him in a dream, whereupon he left her unmolested until her child was born. Apollodorus in his Chronology fixes the date of Plato’s birth in the 88th Olympiad, on the seventh day of the month Thargelion, the same day on which the Delians say that Apollo himself was born. He died, according to Hermippus, at a wedding feast, in the first year of the 108th Olympiad, in his eightyfirst year.

> Greek: 1.2. Σπεύσιππος δʼ ἐν τῷ ἐπιγραφομένῳ Πλάτωνος περιδείπνῳ καὶ Κλέαρχος ἐν τῷ Πλάτωνος ἐγκωμίῳ καὶ Ἀναξιλαΐδης ἐν τῷ δευτέρῳ Περὶ φιλοσόφων φασίν, ὡς Ἀθήνησιν ἦν λόγος, ὡραίαν οὖσαν τὴν Περικτιόνην βιάζεσθαι τὸν Ἀρίστωνα καὶ μὴ τυγχάνειν· παυόμενόν τε τῆς βίας ἰδεῖν τὴν τοῦ Ἀπόλλωνος ὄψιν· ὅθεν καθαρὰν γάμου φυλάξαι ἕως τῆς ἀποκυήσεως. Καὶ γίνεται Πλάτων, ὥς φησιν Ἀπολλόδωρος ἐν Χρονικοῖς, ὀγδόῃ καὶ ὀγδοηκοστῇ Ὀλυμπιάδι, Θαργηλιῶνος ἑβδόμῃ, καθʼ ἣν Δήλιοι τὸν Ἀπόλλωνα γενέσθαι φασί. τελευτᾷ δὲ—ὥς φησιν Ἕρμιππος, ἔν γάμοις δειπνῶν—τῷ πρώτῳ ἔτει τῆς ὀγδόης καὶ ἑκατοστῆς Ὀλυμπιάδος, βιοὺς ἔτος ἓν πρὸς τοῖς ὀγδοήκοντα.

[¶2] 1.3. Neanthes, however, makes him die at the age of eighty-four. He is thus seen to be six years the junior of Isocrates. For Isocrates was born in the archonship of Lysimachus, Plato in that of Ameinias, the year of Pericles’ death. He belonged to the deme Collytus, as is stated by Antileon in his second book On Dates. He was born, according to some, in Aegina, in the house of Phidiades, the son of Thales, as Favorinus states in his Miscellaneous History, for his father had been sent along with others to Aegina to settle in the island, but returned to Athens when the Athenians were expelled by the Lacedaemonians, who championed the Aeginetan cause. That Plato acted as choregus at Athens, the cost being defrayed by Dion, is stated by Athenodorus in the eighth book of a work entitled Walks.

> Greek: 1.3. Νεάνθης δέ φησιν αὐτὸν τεττάρων καὶ ὀγδοήκοντα τελευτῆσαι ἐτῶν. ἔστιν οὖν Ἰσοκράτους νεώτερος ἔτεσιν ἕξ· ὁ μὲν γὰρ ἐπὶ Λυσιμάχου, Πλάτων δὲ ἐπὶ Ἀμεινίου γέγονεν, ἐφʼ οὗ Περικλῆς ἐτελεύτησεν. ἦν δὲ τῶν δήμων Κολλυτεύς, ὥς φησιν Ἀντιλέων ἐν δευτέρῳ Περὶ χρόνων. καὶ ἐγεννήθη κατά τινας ἐν Αἰγίνῃ—ἐν τῇ Φειδιάδου οἰκίᾳ τοῦ Θάλητος, ὥς φησι Φαβωρῖνος ἐν Παντοδαπῇ ἱστορίᾳ—τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ μετὰ καὶ ἄλλων πεμφθέντος κληρούχου καὶ ἐπανελθόντος εἰς Ἀθήνας, ὁπόθʼ ὑπὸ Λακεδαιμονίων ἐξεβλήθησαν βοηθούντων Αἰγινήταις. ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐχορήγησεν Ἀθήνησι Δίωνος ἀναλίσκοντος, ὥς φησιν Ἀθηνόδωρος ἐν ηʼ Περιπάτων.

[¶3] 1.4. He had two brothers, Adeimantus and Glaucon, and a sister, Potone, who was the mother of Speusippus. He was taught letters in the school of Dionysius, who is mentioned by him in the Rivals. And he learnt gymnastics under Ariston, the Argive wrestler. And from him he received the name of Plato on account of his robust figure, in place of his original name which was Aristocles, after his grandfather, as Alexander informs us in his Successions of Philosophers. But others affirm that he got the name Plato from the breadth of his style, or from the breadth of his forehead, as suggested by Neanthes. Others again affirm that he wrestled in the Isthmian Games—this is stated by Dicaearchus in his first book On Lives— and that he applied himself to painting and wrote poems, first dithyrambs, afterwards lyric poems and tragedies.

> Greek: 1.4. ἔσχε δʼ ἀδελφοὺς Ἀδείμαντον καὶ Γλαύκωνα καὶ ἀδελφὴν Πωτώνην, ἐξ ἧς ἦν Σπεύσιππος. Καὶ ἐπαιδεύθη μὲν γράμματα παρὰ Διονυσίῳ, οὗ καὶ μνημονεύει ἐν τοῖς Ἀντερασταῖς. ἐγυμνάσατο δὲ παρὰ Ἀρίστωνι τῷ Ἀργείῳ παλαιστῇ· ἀφʼ οὗ καὶ Πλάτων διὰ τὴν εὐεξίαν μετωνομάσθη, πρότερον Ἀριστοκλῆς ἀπὸ τοῦ πάππου καλούμενος [ὄνομα], καθά φησιν Ἀλέξανδρος ἐν Διαδοχαῖς. ἔνιοι δὲ διὰ τὴν πλατύτητα τῆς ἑρμηνείας οὕτως ὀνομασθῆναι· ἢ ὅτι πλατὺς ἦν τὸ μέτωπον, ὥς φησι Νεάνθης. εἰσὶ δʼ οἳ καὶ παλαῖσαί φασιν αὐτὸν Ἰσθμοῖ, καθὰ καὶ Δικαίαρχος ἐν πρώτῳ Περὶ βίων, καὶ γραφικῆς ἐπιμεληθῆναι καὶ ποιήματα γράψαι, πρῶτον μὲν διθυράμβους, ἔπειτα καὶ μέλη καὶ τραγῳδίας.

[¶4] 1.5. He had, they say, a weak voice; this is confirmed by Timotheus the Athenian in his book On Lives. It is stated that Socrates in a dream saw a cygnet on his knees, which all at once put forth plumage, and flew away after uttering a loud sweet note. And the next day Plato was introduced as a pupil, and thereupon he recognized in him the swan of his dream. At first he used to study philosophy in the Academy, and afterwards in the garden at Colonus (as Alexander states in his Successions of Philosophers), as a follower of Heraclitus. Afterwards, when he was about to compete for the prize with a tragedy, he listened to Socrates in front of the theatre of Dionysus, and then consigned his poems to the flames, with the words: “Come hither, O fire-god, Plato now has need of thee.”

> Greek: 1.5. ἰσχνόφωνός τε, φασίν, ἦν, ὡς καὶ Τιμόθεός φησιν ὁ Ἀθηναῖος ἐν τῷ Περὶ βίων. λέγεται δʼ ὅτι Σωκράτης ὄναρ εἶδε κύκνου νεοττὸν ἐν τοῖς γόνασιν ἔχειν, ὃν καὶ παραχρῆμα πτεροφυήσαντα ἀναπτῆναι ἡδὺ κλάγξαντα· καὶ μεθʼ ἡμέραν Πλάτωνα αὐτῷ συστῆναι, τὸν δὲ τοῦτον εἰπεῖν εἶναι τὸν ὄρνιν. Ἐφιλοσόφει δὲ τὴν ἀρχὴν ἐν Ἀκαδημείᾳ, εἶτα ἐν τῷ κήπῳ τῷ παρὰ τὸν Κολωνόν, ὥς φησιν Ἀλέξανδρος ἐν Διαδοχαῖς, καθʼ Ἡράκλειτον. ἔπειτα μέντοι μέλλων ἀγωνιεῖσθαι τραγῳδίᾳ πρὸ τοῦ Διονυσιακοῦ θεάτρου Σωκράτους ἀκούσας κατέφλεξε τὰ ποιήματα εἰπών· Ἥφαιστε, πρόμολʼ ὧδε· Πλάτων νύ τι σεῖο χατίζει.

[¶5] 1.6. From that time onward, having reached his twentieth year (so it is said), he was the pupil of Socrates. When Socrates was gone, he attached himself to Cratylus the Heraclitean, and to Hermogenes who professed the philosophy of Parmenides. Then at the age of twenty-eight, according to Hermodorus, he withdrew to Megara to Euclides, with certain other disciples of Socrates. Next he proceeded to Cyrene on a visit to Theodorus the mathematician, thence to Italy to see the Pythagorean philosophers Philolaus and Eurytus, and thence to Egypt to see those who interpreted the will of the gods; and Euripides is said to have accompanied him thither. There he fell sick and was cured by the priests, who treated him with sea-water, and for this reason he cited the line: “The sea doth wash away all human ills.”

> Greek: 1.6. τοὐντεῦθεν δὴ γεγονώς, φασίν, εἴκοσιν ἔτη διήκουσε Σωκράτους· ἐκείνου δʼ ἀπελθόντος προσεῖχε Κρατύλῳ τε τῷ Ἡρακλειτείῳ καὶ Ἑρμογένει τῷ τὰ Παρμενίδου φιλοσοφοῦντι. εἶτα γενόμενος ὀκτὼ καὶ εἴκοσιν ἔτη, καθά φησιν Ἑρμόδωρος, εἰς Μέγαρα πρὸς Εὐκλείδην σὺν καὶ ἄλλοις τισὶ Σωκρατικοῖς ὑπεχώρησεν. ἔπειτα εἰς Κυρήνην ἀπῆλθε πρὸς Θεόδωρον τὸν μαθηματικόν· κἀκεῖθεν εἰς Ἰταλίαν πρὸς τοὺς Πυθαγορικοὺς Φιλόλαον καὶ Εὔρυτον. ἔνθεν τε εἰς Αἴγυπτον παρὰ τοὺς προφήτας· οὗ φασι καὶ Εὐριπίδην αὐτῷ συνακολουθῆσαι καὶ αὐτόθι νοσήσαντα πρὸς τῶν ἱερέων ἀπολυθῆναι τῇ διὰ θαλάττης θεραπείᾳ· ὅθεν που καὶ εἰπεῖν· θάλασσα κλύζει πάντα τἀνθρώπων κακά.

[¶6] 1.7. Furthermore he said that, according to Homer, beyond all men the Egyptians were skilled in healing. Plato also intended to make the acquaintance of the Magians, but was prevented by the wars in Asia. Having returned to Athens, he lived in the Academy, which is a gymnasium outside the walls, in a grove named after a certain hero, Hecademus, as is stated by Eupolis in his play entitled Shirkers: “In the shady walks of the divine Hecademus.” Moreover, there are verses of Timon which refer to Plato: “Amongst all of them Plato was the leader, a big fish, but a sweet-voiced speaker, musical in prose as the cicala who, perched on the trees of Hecademus, pours forth a strain as delicate as a lily.”

> Greek: 1.7. ἀλλὰ καθʼ Ὅμηρον φάναι 〈περὶ〉 πάντων ἀνθρώπων Αἰγυπτίους ἰατροὺς εἶναι. διέγνω δὴ ὁ Πλάτων καὶ τοῖς Μάγοις συμμῖξαι· διὰ δὲ τοὺς τῆς Ἀσίας πολέμους ἀπέστη. ἐπανελθὼν δὲ εἰς Ἀθήνας διέτριβεν ἐν Ἀκαδημείᾳ. τὸ δʼ ἐστὶ γυμνάσιον προάστειον ἀλσῶδες ἀπό τινος ἥρωος ὀνομασθὲν Ἑκαδήμου, καθὰ καὶ Εὔπολις ἐν Ἀστρατεύτοις φησίν· ἐν εὐσκίοις δρόμοισιν Ἑκαδήμου θεοῦ. ἀλλὰ καὶ ὁ Τίμων εἰς τὸν Πλάτωνα λέγων φησί·
τῶν πάντων δʼ ἡγεῖτο πλατίστακος, ἀλλʼ ἀγορητὴς
ἡδυεπής, τέττιξιν ἰσογράφος, οἵ θʼ Ἑκαδήμου
δένδρῳ ἐφεζόμενοι ὄπα λειριόεσσαν ἱᾶσιν.

[¶7] 1.8. Thus the original name of the place was Hecademy, spelt with e. Now Plato was a friend of Isocrates. And Praxiphanes makes them converse about poets at a country-seat where Plato was entertaining Isocrates. And Aristoxenus asserts that he went on service three times, first to Tanagra, secondly to Corinth, and thirdly at Delium, where also he obtained the prize of valour. He mixed together doctrines of Heraclitus, the Pythagoreans and Socrates. In his doctrine of sensible things he agrees with Heraclitus, in his doctrine of the intelligible with Pythagoras, and in political philosophy with Socrates.

> Greek: 1.8. πρότερον γὰρ διὰ τοῦ ε Ἑκαδήμεια ἐκαλεῖτο. ὁ δʼ οὖν φιλόσοφος καὶ Ἰσοκράτει φίλος ἦν. καὶ αὐτῶν Πραξιφάνης ἀνέγραψε διατριβήν τινα περὶ ποιητῶν γενομένην ἐν ἀγρῷ παρὰ Πλάτωνι ἐπιξενωθέντος τοῦ Ἰσοκράτους. καὶ αὐτόν φησιν Ἀριστόξενος τρὶς ἐστρατεῦσθαι, ἅπαξ μὲν εἰς Τάναγραν, δεύτερον δὲ εἰς Κόρινθον, τρίτον ἐπὶ Δηλίῳ· ἔνθα καὶ ἀριστεῦσαι. μίξιν τε ἐποιήσατο τῶν τε Ἡρακλειτείων λόγων καὶ Πυθαγορικῶν καὶ Σωκρατικῶν· τὰ μὲν γὰρ αἰσθητὰ καθʼ Ἡράκλειτον, τὰ δὲ νοητὰ κατὰ Πυθαγόραν, τὰ δὲ πολιτικὰ κατὰ Σωκράτην ἐφιλοσόφει.

[¶8] 1.9. Some authorities, amongst them Satyrus, say that he wrote to Dion in Sicily instructing him to purchase three Pythagorean books from Philolaus for 100 minae. For they say he was well off, having received from Dionysius over eighty talents. This is stated by Onetor in an essay upon the theme, “Whether a wise man will make money.” Further, he derived great assistance from Epicharmus the Comic poet, for he transcribed a great deal from him, as Alcimus says in the essays dedicated to Amyntas, of which there are four. In the first of them he writes thus: “It is evident that Plato often employs the words of Epicharmus. Just consider. Plato asserts that the object of sense is that which never abides in quality or quantity, but is ever in flux and change.”

> Greek: 1.9. Λέγουσι δέ τινες, ὧν ἐστι καὶ Σάτυρος, ὅτι Δίωνι ἐπέστειλεν εἰς Σικελίαν ὠνήσασθαι τρία βιβλία Πυθαγορικὰ παρὰ Φιλολάου μνῶν ἑκατόν. καὶ γὰρ ἐν εὐπορίᾳ, φασίν, ἦν παρὰ Διονυσίου λαβὼν ὑπὲρ τὰ ὀγδοήκοντα τάλαντα, ὡς καὶ Ὀνήτωρ φησὶν ἐν τῷ ἐπιγραφομένῳ εἰ χρηματιεῖται ὁ σοφός. πολλὰ δὲ καὶ παρʼ Ἐπιχάρμου τοῦ κωμῳδιοποιοῦ προσωφέληται τὰ πλεῖστα μεταγράψας, καθά φησιν Ἄλκιμος ἐν τοῖς πρὸς Ἀμύνταν, ἅ ἐστι τέτταρα. ἔνθα καὶ ἐν τῷ πρώτῳ φησὶ ταῦτα· “Φαίνεται δὲ καὶ Πλάτων πολλὰ τῶν Ἐπιχάρμου λέγων. σκεπτέον δέ· ὁ Πλάτων φησὶν αἰσθητὸν μὲν εἶναι τὸ μηδέποτε ἐν τῷ ποιῷ μηδὲ ποσῷ διαμένον ἀλλʼ ἀεὶ ῥέον καὶ μεταβάλλον, ὡς ἐξ ὧν ἄν τις ἀνέλῃ τὸν ἀριθμόν, τούτων οὔτε ἴσων οὔτε τινῶν οὔτε ποσῶν οὔτε ποιῶν ὄντων.

[¶9] 1.10. “The assumption is that the things from which you take away number are no longer equal nor determinate, nor have they quantity or quality. These are the things to which becoming always, and being never, belongs. But the object of thought is something constant from which nothing is subtracted, to which nothing is added. This is the nature of the eternal things, the attribute of which is to be ever alike and the same. And indeed Epicharmus has expressed himself plainly about objects of sense and objects of thought.” “
A. But gods there always were; never at any time were they wanting, while things in this world are always alike, and are brought about through the same agencies.
B. Yet it is said that Chaos was the first-born of the gods.
A. How so? If indeed there was nothing out of which, or into which, it could come first.
B. What! Then did nothing come first after all?
A. No, by Zeus, nor second either,” “
at least of the things which we are thus talking about now; on the contrary, they existed from all eternity....

> Greek: 1.10. ταῦτα δʼ ἐστὶν ὧν ἀεὶ γένεσις, οὐσία δὲ μηδέποτε πέφυκε. νοητὸν δὲ ἐξ οὗ μηθὲν ἀπογίνεται μηδὲ προσγίνεται. τοῦτο δʼ ἐστὶν ἡ τῶν ἀιδίων φύσις, ἣν ὁμοίαν τε καὶ τὴν αὐτὴν ἀεὶ συμβέβηκεν εἶναι. καὶ μὴν ὅ γε Ἐπίχαρμος περὶ τῶν αἰσθητῶν καὶ νοητῶν ἐναργῶς εἴρηκεν·
— ἀλλʼ ἀεί τοι θεοὶ παρῆσαν χὐπέλιπον οὐ πώποκα, τάδε δʼ ἀεὶ πάρεσθʼ ὁμοῖα διά τε τῶν αὐτῶν ἀεί.
— ἀλλὰ λέγεται μὰν χάος πρᾶτον γενέσθαι τῶν θεῶν.
— πῶς δέ κα; μὴ ἔχον γʼ ἀπὸ τίνος μηδʼ ἐς ὅ τι πρᾶτον μόλοι.
— οὐκ ἄρʼ ἔμολε πρᾶτον οὐθέν; — οὐδὲ μὰ Δία δεύτερον, τῶνδέ γε ὧν ἁμὲς νῦν ὧδε λέγομες ἀλλʼ ἀεὶ τάδʼ ἦν...

[¶10] 1.11. A. But suppose some one chooses to add a single pebble to a heap containing either an odd or an even number, whichever you please, or to take away one of those already there; do you think the number of pebbles would remain the same?
B. Not I.
A. Nor yet, if one chooses to add to a cubit-measure another length, or cut off some of what was there already, would the original measure still exist?
B. Of course not.
A. Now consider mankind in this same way. One man grows, and another again shrinks; and they are all undergoing change the whole time. But a thing which naturally changes and never remains in the same state must ever be different from that which has thus changed. And even so you and I were one pair of men yesterday, are another to-day, and again will be another to-morrow, and will never remain ourselves, by this same argument.”

> Greek: 1.11. αἰ πὸτ ἀριθμόν τις περισσόν, αἰ δὲ λῇς, πὸτ ἄρτιον,
ποτθέμειν λῇ ψᾶφον ἢ καὶ τᾶν ὑπαρχουσᾶν λαβεῖν,
ἦ δοκεῖ κά τοί γʼ ἔθʼ ωὑτὸς εἶμεν;—οὐκ ἐμίν γα κά.
— οὐδὲ μὰν οὐδʼ αἰ ποτὶ μέτρον παχυαῖον ποτθέμειν
λῇ τις ἕτερον μᾶκος ἢ τοῦ πρόσθʼ ἐόντος ἀποταμεῖν,
ἔτι χʼ ὑπάρχοι κῆνο τὸ μέτρον; — οὐ γάρ. — ὧδε νῦν ὅρη
καὶ τὸς ἀνθρώπως· ὁ μὲν γὰρ αὔξεθʼ, ὁ δέ γα μὰν φθίνει,
ἐν μεταλλαγᾷ δὲ πάντες ἐντὶ πάντα τὸν χρόνον.
ὃ δὲ μεταλλάσσει κατὰ φύσιν κοὔποκʼ ἐν ταὐτῷ μένει,
ἕτερον εἴη κα τόδʼ 〈ἀ〉εὶ τῶ παρεξεστακότος.
καὶ τὺ δὴ κἀγὼ χθὲς ἄλλοι καί νυν ἄλλοι τελέθομες
καὖθις ἄλλοι κοὔποχʼ ωὑτοὶ κατά 〈γα τοῦτον〉 τὸν λόγον.

[¶11] 1.12. Again, Alcimus makes this further statement: “There are some things, say the wise, which the soul perceives through the body, as in seeing and hearing; there are other things which it discerns by itself without the aid of the body. Hence it follows that of existing things some are objects of sense and others objects of thought. Hence Plato said that, if we wish to take in at one glance the principles underlying the universe, we must first distinguish the ideas by themselves, for example, likeness, unity and plurality, magnitude, rest and motion; next we must assume the existence of ” “beauty, goodness, justice and the like, each existing in and for itself; in the third place we must see how many of the ideas are relative to other ideas, as are knowledge, or magnitude, or ownership, remembering that the things within our experience bear the same names as those ideas because they partake of them; I mean that things which partake of justice are just, things which partake of beauty are beautiful.

> Greek: 1.12. Ἔτι φησὶν ὁ Ἄλκιμος καὶ ταυτί· “φασὶν οἱ σοφοὶ τὴν ψυχὴν τὰ μὲν διὰ τοῦ σώματος αἰσθάνεσθαι οἷον ἀκούουσαν, βλέπουσαν, τὰ δʼ αὐτὴν καθʼ αὑτὴν ἐνθυμεῖσθαι μηδὲν τῷ σώματι χρωμένην· διὸ καὶ τῶν ὄντων τὰ μὲν αἰσθητὰ εἶναι, τὰ δὲ νοητά. ὧν ἕνεκα καὶ Πλάτων ἔλεγεν, ὅτι δεῖ τοὺς συνιδεῖν τὰς τοῦ παντὸς ἀρχὰς ἐπιθυμοῦντας πρῶτον μὲν αὐτὰς καθʼ αὑτὰς διελέσθαι τὰς ἰδέας, οἷον ὁμοιότητα καὶ μονάδα καὶ πλῆθος καὶ μέγεθος καὶ στάσιν καὶ κίνησιν· δεύτερον αὐτὸ καθʼ αὑτὸ τὸ καλὸν καὶ ἀγαθὸν καὶ δίκαιον καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα ὑποθέσθαι·

[¶12] 1.13. Each one of the ideas is eternal, it is a notion, and moreover is incapable of change. Hence Plato says that they stand in nature like archetypes, and that all things else bear a resemblance to the ideas because they are copies of these archetypes. Now here are the words of Epicharmus about the good and about the ideas:”

> Greek: 1.13. τρίτον τῶν ἰδεῶν συνιδεῖν ὅσαι πρὸς ἀλλήλας εἰσίν, οἷον ἐπιστήμην ἢ μέγεθος ἢ δεσποτείαν 〈ἐνθυμουμένους ὅτι τὰ παρʼ ἡμῖν διὰ τὸ μετέχειν ἐκείνων ὁμώνυμα ἐκείνοις ὑπάρχει· λέγω δὲ οἷον δίκαια μὲν ὅσα τοῦ δικαίου, καλὰ δὲ ὅσα τοῦ καλοῦ〉. ἔστι δὲ τῶν εἰδῶν ἓν ἕκαστον ἀίδιόν τε καὶ νόημα καὶ πρὸς τούτοις ἀπαθές. [διὸ καί φησιν ἐν τῇ φύσει τὰς ἰδέας ἑστάναι καθάπερ παραδείγματα, τὰ δʼ ἄλλα ταύταις ἐοικέναι τούτων ὁμοιώματα καθεστῶτα.] ὁ τοίνυν Ἐπίχαρμος περί τε τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ καὶ περὶ τῶν ἰδεῶν οὕτω λέγει·

[¶13] 1.14. “
A. Is flute-playing a thing?
B. Most certainly.
A. Is man then flute-playing?
B. By no means.
A. Come, let me see, what is a flute-player? Whom do you take him to be? Is he not a man?
B. Most certainly.
A. Well, don’t you think the same would be the case with the good? Is not the good in itself a thing? And does not he who has learnt that thing and knows it at once become good? For, just as he becomes a flute-player by learning flute-playing, or a dancer when he has learnt dancing, or a plaiter when he has learnt plaiting, in the same way, if he has learnt anything of the sort, whatever you like, he would not be one with the craft but he would be the craftsman.”

> Greek: 1.14. ἆρʼ ἔστιν αὔλησίς τι πρᾶγμα; — πάνυ μὲν οὖν.
— ἄνθρωπος οὖν αὔλησίς ἐστιν; — οὐθαμῶς.
— φέρʼ ἴδω, τί δʼ αὐλητάς; τίς εἶμέν τοι δοκεῖ;
ἄνθρωπος; ἢ οὐ γάρ; — πάνυ μὲν οὖν. — οὐκ οὖν δοκεῖς
οὕτως ἔχειν 〈κα〉 καὶ περὶ τἀγαθοῦ; τὸ μὲν
ἀγαθόν τι πρᾶγμʼ εἶμεν καθʼ αὕθʼ, ὅστις δέ κα
εἰδῇ μαθὼν τῆνʼ, ἀγαθὸς ἤδη γίγνεται.
ὥσπερ γάρ ἐστʼ αὔλησιν αὐλητὰς μαθὼν
ἢ ὄρχησιν ὀρχηστάς τις ἢ πλοκεὺς πλοκάν,
ἢ πᾶν γʼ ὁμοίως τῶν τοιούτων ὅ τι τὺ λῇς,
οὔ χʼ αὑτὸς εἴη χἀ τέχνα, τεχνικός γα μάν.

[¶14] 1.15. “Now Plato in conceiving his theory of Ideas says: Since there is such a thing as memory, there must be ideas present in things, because memory is of something stable and permanent, and nothing is permanent except the ideas. ‘For how,’ he says, ‘could animals have survived unless they had apprehended the idea and had been endowed by Nature with intelligence to that end? As it is, they remember similarities and what their food is like, which shows that animals have the innate power of discerning what is similar. And hence they perceive others of their own kind.’ How then does Epicharmus put it?”

> Greek: 1.15. Πλάτων ἐν τῇ περὶ τῶν ἰδεῶν ὑπολήψει φησίν, εἴπερ ἐστὶ μνήμη, τὰς ἰδέας ἐν τοῖς οὖσιν ὑπάρχειν διὰ τὸ τὴν μνήμην ἠρεμοῦντός τινος καὶ μένοντος εἶναι· μένειν δὲ οὐδὲν ἕτερον ἢ τὰς ἰδέας. ιτίνα γὰρ ἂν τρόπον,ʼ φησί, ιδιεσῴζετο τὰ ζῷα μὴ τῆς ἰδίας ἐφαπτόμενα καὶ πρὸς τοῦτο τὸν νοῦν φυσικὸν εἰληφότα; νῦν δὲ μνημονεύει τῆς ὁμοιότητός τε καὶ τροφῆς, ὁποία τις ἐστὶν αὐτοῖς, ἐνδεικνύμενα διότι πᾶσι τοῖς ζῴοις ἔμφυτός ἐστιν ἡ τῆς ὁμοιότητος θεωρία· διὸ καὶ τῶν ὁμοφύλων αἰσθάνεται.ʼ πῶς οὖν ὁ Ἐπίχαρμος;

[¶15] 1.16. “Wisdom is not confined, Eumaeus, to one kind alone, but all living creatures likewise have understanding. For, if you will study intently the hen among poultry, she does not bring forth the chicks alive, but sits clucking on the eggs and wakens life in them. As for this wisdom of hers, the true state of the case is known to Nature alone, for the hen has learnt it from herself. And again: It is no wonder then that we talk thus and are pleased with ourselves and think we are fine folk. For a dog appears the fairest of things to a dog, an ox to an ox, an ass to an ass, and verily a pig to a pig.”

> Greek: 1.16. Εὔμαιε, τὸ σοφόν ἐστιν οὐ καθʼ ἓν μόνον,
ἀλλʼ ὅσσα περ ζῇ, πάντα καὶ γνώμαν ἔχει.
καὶ γὰρ τὸ θῆλυ τᾶν ἀλεκτορίδων γένος,
αἰ λῇς καταμαθεῖν ἀτενές, οὐ τίκτει τέκνα
ζῶντʼ, ἀλλʼ ἐπῴζει καὶ ποιεῖ ψυχὰν ἔχειν.
τὸ δὲ σοφὸν ἁ φύσις τόδʼ οἶδεν ὡς ἔχει
μόνα· πεπαίδευται γὰρ αὐταύτας ὕπο.
καὶ πάλιν·
θαυμαστὸν οὐδὲν ἁμὲ ταῦθʼ οὕτω λέγειν
καὶ ἁνδάνειν αὐτοῖσιν αὐτοὺς καὶ δοκεῖν
καλὼς πεφύκειν· καὶ γὰρ ἁ κύων κυνὶ
κάλλιστον εἶμεν φαίνεται καὶ βοῦς βοΐ,
ὄνος δʼ ὄνῳ κάλλιστον, ὗς δέ θην ὑί.

[¶16] 1.17. These and the like instances Alcimus notes through four books, pointing out the assistance derived by Plato from Epicharmus. That Epicharmus himself was fully conscious of his wisdom can also be seen from the lines in which he foretells that he will have an imitator: “And as I think—for when I think anything I know it full well—that my words will some day be remembered; some one will take them and free them from the metre in which they are now set, nay, will give them instead a purple robe, embroidering it with fine phrases; and, being invincible, he will make every one else an easy prey.”

> Greek: 1.17. Καὶ ταῦτα μὲν καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα διὰ τῶν τεττάρων βιβλίων παραπήγνυσιν ὁ Ἄλκιμος παρασημαίνων τὴν ἐξ Ἐπιχάρμου Πλάτωνι περιγινομένην ὠφέλειαν. ὅτι δʼ οὐδʼ αὐτὸς Ἐπίχαρμος ἠγνόει τὴν αὑτοῦ σοφίαν, μαθεῖν ἐστι κἀκ τούτων ἐν οἷς τὸν ζηλώσοντα προμαντεύεται·
ὡς δʼ ἐγὼ δοκέω, —δοκέων γὰρ σάφα ἴσαμι τοῦθʼ ὅτι
τῶν ἐμῶν μνάμα ποκʼ ἐσσεῖται λόγων τούτων ἔτι.
καὶ λαβών τις αὐτὰ περιδύσας τὸ μέτρον ὃ νῦν ἔχει,
εἷμα δοὺς καὶ πορφυροῦν λόγοισι ποικίλας καλοῖς
δυσπάλαιστος ὢν τὸς ἄλλως εὐπαλαίστους ἀποφανεῖ.

[¶17] 1.18. Plato, it seems, was the first to bring to Athens the mimes of Sophron which had been neglected, and to draw characters in the style of that writer; a copy of the mimes, they say, was actually found under his pillow. He made three voyages to Sicily, the first time to see the island and the craters of Etna: on this occasion Dionysius, the son of Hermocrates, being on the throne, forced him to become intimate with him. But when Plato held forth on tyranny and maintained that the interest of the ruler alone was not the best end, unless he were also pre-eminent in virtue, he offended Dionysius, who in his anger exclaimed, “You talk like an old dotard.” “And you like a tyrant,” rejoined Plato.

> Greek: 1.18. Δοκεῖ δὲ Πλάτων καὶ τὰ Σώφρονος τοῦ μιμογράφου βιβλία ἠμελημένα πρῶτος εἰς Ἀθήνας διακομίσαι καὶ ἠθοποιῆσαι πρὸς αὐτόν· ἃ καὶ εὑρεθῆναι ὑπὸ τῇ κεφαλῇ αὐτοῦ. τρὶς δὲ πέπλευκεν εἰς Σικελίαν· πρῶτον μὲν κατὰ θέαν τῆς νήσου καὶ τῶν κρατήρων, ὅτε καὶ Διονύσιος ὁ Ἑρμοκράτους τύραννος ὢν ἠνάγκασεν ὥστε συμμῖξαι αὐτῷ. ὁ δὲ διαλεγόμενος περὶ τυραννίδος καὶ φάσκων ὡς οὐκ ἔστι τὸ τοῦ κρείττονος συμφέρον αὐτὸ † μόνον, εἰ μὴ καὶ ἀρετῇ διαφέροι, προσέκρουσεν αὐτῷ. ὀργισθεὶς γὰρ οἱ λόγοι σου, φησί, γεροντιῶσι, καὶ ὅς· σοῦ δέ γε τυραννιῶσιν.

[¶18] 1.19. At this the tyrant grew furious and at first was bent on putting him to death; then, when he had been dissuaded from this by Dion and Aristomenes, he did not indeed go so far but handed him over to Pollis the Lacedaemonian, who had just then arrived on an embassy, with orders to sell him into slavery. And Pollis took him to Aegina and there offered him for sale. And then Charmandrus, the son of Charmandrides, indicted him on a capital charge according to the law in force among the Aeginetans, to the effect that the first Athenian who set foot upon the island should be put to death without a trial. This law had been passed by the prosecutor himself, according to Favorinus in his Miscellaneous History. But when some one urged, though in jest, that the offender was a philosopher, the court acquitted him. There is another version to the effect that he was brought before the assembly and, being kept under close scrutiny, he maintained an absolute silence and awaited the issue with confidence. The assembly decided not to put him to death but to sell him just as if he were a prisoner of war.

> Greek: 1.19. ἐντεῦθεν ἀγανακτήσας ὁ τύραννος πρῶτον μὲν ἀνελεῖν ὥρμησεν αὐτόν· εἶτα παρακληθεὶς ὑπὸ Δίωνος καὶ Ἀριστομένους τοῦτο μὲν οὐκ ἐποίησε, παρέδωκε δὲ αὐτὸν Πόλλιδι τῷ Λακεδαιμονίῳ κατὰ καιρὸν διὰ πρεσβείαν ἀφιγμένῳ ὥστε ἀποδόσθαι. κἀκεῖνος ἀγαγὼν αὐτὸν εἰς Αἴγιναν ἐπίπρασκεν· ὅτε καὶ Χάρμανδρος Χαρμανδρίδου ἐγράψατο αὐτῷ δίκην θανάτου κατὰ τὸν παρʼ αὐτοῖς τεθέντα νόμον, τὸν πρῶτον ἐπιβάντα Ἀθηναίων τῇ νήσῳ ἄκριτον ἀποθνῄσκειν. ἦν δʼ αὐτὸς ὁ θεὶς τὸν νόμον, καθά φησι Φαβωρῖνος ἐν Παντοδαπῇ ἱστορίᾳ. εἰπόντος δέ τινος, ἀλλὰ κατὰ παιδιάν, φιλόσοφον εἶναι τὸν ἐπιβάντα, ἀπέλυσαν. ἔνιοι δέ φασι παραχθῆναι αὐτὸν εἰς τὴν ἐκκλησίαν καὶ τηρούμενον μηδʼ ὁτιοῦν φθέγξασθαι, ἑτοίμως δὲ ἐκδέξασθαι τὸ συμβαῖνον· οἱ δὲ ἀποκτεῖναι μὲν αὐτὸν οὐ διέγνωσαν, πωλεῖν δὲ ἔκριναν τῷ τρόπῳ τῶν αἰχμαλώτων.

[¶19] 1.20. Anniceris the Cyrenaic happened to be present and ransomed him for twenty minae—according to others the sum was thirty minae—and dispatched him to Athens to his friends, who immediately remitted the money. But Anniceris declined it, saying that the Athenians were not the only people worthy of the privilege of providing for Plato. Others assert that Dion sent the money and that Anniceris would not take it, but bought for Plato the little garden which is in the Academy. Pollis, however, is stated to have been defeated by Chabrias and afterwards to have been drowned at Helice, his treatment of the philosopher having provoked the wrath of heaven, as Favorinus says in the first book of his Memorabilia.

> Greek: 1.20. Λυτροῦται δὴ αὐτὸν κατὰ τύχην παρὼν Ἀννίκερις ὁ Κυρηναῖος εἴκοσι μνῶν—οἱ δὲ τριάκοντα —καὶ ἀναπέμπει Ἀθήναζε πρὸς τοὺς ἑταίρους. οἱ δʼ εὐθὺς τἀργύριον ἐξέπεμψαν· ὅπερ οὐ προσήκατο εἰπὼν μὴ μόνους ἐκείνους ἀξίους εἶναι Πλάτωνος κήδεσθαι. ἔνιοι δὲ καὶ Δίωνα ἀποστεῖλαί φασι τὸ ἀργύριον καὶ τὸν μὴ προσέσθαι, ἀλλὰ καὶ κηπίδιον αὐτῷ τὸ ἐν Ἀκαδημείᾳ πρίασθαι. τὸν μέντοι Πόλλιν λόγος ὑπό τε Χαβρίου ἡττηθῆναι καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα ἐν Ἑλίκῃ καταποντωθῆναι τοῦ δαιμονίου μηνίσαντος διὰ τὸν φιλόσοφον, ὡς καὶ Φαβωρῖνός φησιν ἐν πρώτῳ τῶν Ἀπομνημονευμάτων.

[¶20] 1.21. Dionysius, indeed, could not rest. On learning the facts he wrote and enjoined upon Plato not to speak evil of him. And Plato replied that he had not the leisure to keep Dionysius in his mind. The second time he visited the younger Dionysius, requesting of him lands and settlers for the realization of his republic. Dionysius promised them but did not keep his word. Some say that Plato was also in great danger, being suspected of encouraging Dion and Theodotas in a scheme for liberating the whole island; on this occasion Archytas the Pythagorean wrote to Dionysius, procured his pardon, and got him conveyed safe to Athens. The letter runs as follows: “Archytas to Dionysius, wishing him good health.”

> Greek: 1.21. οὐ μὴν ἡσύχαζεν ὁ Διονύσιος· μαθὼν δὲ ἐπέστειλε Πλάτωνι μὴ κακῶς ἀγορεύειν αὐτόν. καὶ ὃς ἀντεπέστειλε μὴ τοσαύτην αὐτῷ σχολὴν εἶναι ὥστε Διονυσίου μεμνῆσθαι. Δεύτερον πρὸς τὸν νεώτερον ἧκε Διονύσιον αἰτῶι γῆν καὶ ἀνθρώπους τοὺς κατὰ τὴν πολιτείαν αὐτοῦ ζησομένους· ὁ δὲ καίπερ ὑποσχόμενος οὐκ ἐποίησεν. ἔνιοι δέ φασι καὶ κινδυνεῦσαι αὐτὸν ὡς ἀναπείθοντα Δίωνα καὶ Θεοδόταν ἐπὶ τῇ τῆς νήσου ἐλευθερίᾳ· ὅτε καὶ Ἀρχύτας αὐτὸν ὁ Πυθαγορικὸς γράψας ἐπιστολὴν πρὸς Διονύσιον παρῃτήσατο καὶ διέσωσεν εἰς Ἀθήνας. ἔστι δὲ ἡ ἐπιστολὴ ἥδε· “Ἀρχύτας Διονυσίῳ ὑγιαίνειν.

[¶21] 1.22. “We, being all of us the friends of Plato, have sent to you Lamiscus and Photidas in order to take the philosopher away by the terms of the agreement made with you. You will do well to remember the zeal with which you urged us all to secure Plato’s coming to Sicily, determined as you were to persuade him and to undertake, amongst other things, responsibility for his safety so long as he stayed with you and on his return. Remember this too, that you set great store by his coming, and from that time had more regard for him than for any of those at your court. If he has given you offence, it behoves you to behave with humanity and restore him to us unhurt. By so doing you will satisfy justice and at the same time put us under an obligation.”

> Greek: 1.22. “Ἀπεστάλκαμέν τοι πάντες οἱ Πλάτωνος φίλοι τὼς περὶ Λαμίσκον τε καὶ Φωτίδαν ἀπολαμψούμεθα τὸν ἄνδρα κὰτ τὰν πὰρ τὶν γενομέναν ὁμολογίαν. ὀρθῶς δέ κα ποιοῖς ἀμμιμνᾳσκόμενος τήνας τᾶς σπουδᾶς, ἡνίκα πάντας ἁμὲ παρεκάλεις πὸτ τὰν Πλάτωνος ἄφιξιν ἀξιῶν προτρέπεσθαί τε αὐτὸν καὶ ἀναδέχεσθαι τά τε ἄλλα καὶ περὶ τὰν ἀσφάλειαν μένοντί τε καὶ ἀφορμίοντι. μέμνασο δὲ καὶ τῆνο ὅτι περὶ πολλῶ ἐποιήσω τὰν ἄφιξιν αὐτῶ καὶ ἀγάπης ἐκ τήνω τῶ χρόνω ὡς οὐδένα τῶν πὰρ τίν. αἰ δέ τις γέγονε τραχύτας, ἀνθρωπίζειν χρὴ κἀποδιδόμεν ἁμὶν ἀβλαβῆ τὸν ἄνδρα. ταῦτα γὰρ ποιῶν δίκαια πραξεῖς καὶ ἁμὶν χαριξῇ.

[¶22] 1.23. The third time he came to reconcile Dion and Dionysius, but, failing to do so, returned to his own country without achieving anything. And there he refrained from meddling with politics, although his writings show that he was a statesman. The reason was that the people had already been accustomed to measures and institutions quite different from his own. Pamphila in the twenty-fifth book of her Memorabilia says that the Arcadians and Thebans, when they were founding Megalopolis, invited Plato to be their legislator; but that, when he discovered that they were opposed to equality of possessions, he refused to go. There is a story that he pleaded for Chabrias the general when he was tried for his life, although no one else at Athens would do so, and that, on this occasion, as he was going up to the Acropolis along with Chabrias, Crobylus the informer met him and said, “What, are you come to speak for the defence?

> Greek: 1.23. Τρίτον ἦλθε διαλλαξων Δίωνα Διονυσίῳ· οὐ τυχὼν δὲ ἄπρακτος ἐπανῆλθεν εἰς τὴν πατρίδα. ἔνθα πολιτείας μὲν οὐχ ἥψατο, καίτοι πολιτικὸς ὢν ἐξ ὧν γέγραφεν. αἴτιον δὲ τὸ ἤδη τὸν δῆμον ἄλλοις πολιτεύμασιν ἐνειθίσθαι. φησὶ δὲ Παμφίλη ἐν τῷ πέμπτῳ καὶ εἰκοστῷ τῶν Ὑπομνημάτων ὡς Ἀρκάδες καὶ Θηβαῖοι Μεγάλην πόλιν οἰκίζοντες παρεκάλουν αὐτὸν νομοθέτην· ὁ δὲ μαθὼν ἴσον ἔχειν οὐ θέλοντας οὐκ ἐπορεύθη. λόγος ὅτι καὶ Χαβρίᾳ συνεῖπε τῷ στρατηγῷ φεύγοντι θανάτου μηδενὸς τῶν πολιτῶν τοῦτο πρᾶξαι βουληθέντος.

[¶23] 1.24. Don’t you know that the hemlock of Socrates awaits you?” To this Plato replied, “As I faced dangers when serving in the cause of my country, so I will face them now in the cause of duty for a friend.” He was the first to introduce argument by means of question and answer, says Favorinus in the eighth book of his Miscellaneous History; he was the first to explain to Leodamas of Thasos the method of solving problems by analysis; and the first who in philosophical discussion employed the terms antipodes, element, dialectic, quality, oblong number, and, among boundaries, the plane superficies; also divine providence.

> Greek: 1.24. ὅτε καὶ ἀνιόντι αὐτῷ εἰς τὴν ἀκρόπολιν σὺν τῷ Χαβρίᾳ Κρωβύλος ὁ συκοφάντης ἀπαντήσας φησίν· ἄλλῳ συναγορεύσων ἥκεις, ἀγνοῶν ὅτι καὶ σὲ τὸ Σωκράτους κώνειον ἀναμένει; τὸν δὲ φάναι· καὶ ὅτε ὑπὲρ τῆς πατρίδος ἐστρατευόμην, ὑπέμενον τοὺς κινδύνους, καὶ νῦν ὑπὲρ τοῦ καθήκοντος διὰ φίλον ὑπομενῶ. Οὗτος πρῶτος ἐν ἐρωτήσει λόγον παρήνεγκεν, ὥς φησι Φαβωρῖνος ἐν ὀγδόῃ Παντοδαπῆς ἱστορίας. καὶ πρῶτος τὸν κατὰ τὴν ἀνάλυσιν τῆς ζητήσεως τρόπον εἰσηγήσατο Λεωδάμαντι τῷ Θασίῳ. καὶ πρῶτος ἐν φιλοσοφίᾳ ἀντίποδας ὠνόμασε καὶ στοιχεῖον καὶ διαλεκτικὴν καὶ ποιότητα καὶ τοῦ ἀριθμοῦ τὸν προμήκη καὶ τῶν περάτων τὴν ἐπίπεδον ἐπιφάνειαν καὶ θεοῦ πρόνοιαν.

[¶24] 1.25. He was also the first philosopher who controverted the speech of Lysias, the son of Cephalus, which he has set out word for word in the Phaedrus, and the first to study the significance of grammar. And, as he was the first to attack the views of almost all his predecessors, the question is raised why he makes no mention of Democritus. Neanthes of Cyzicus says that, on his going to Olympia, the eyes of all the Greeks were turned towards him, and there he met Dion, who was about to make his expedition against Dionysius. In the first book of the Memorabilia of Favorinus there is a statement that Mithradates the Persian set up a statue of Plato in the Academy and inscribed upon it these words: “Mithradates the Persian, the son of Orontobates, dedicated to the Muses a likeness of Plato made by Silanion.”

> Greek: 1.25. Καὶ πρῶτος τῶν φιλοσόφων ἀντεῖπε πρὸς τὸν λόγον τὸν Λυσίου τοῦ Κεφάλου ἐκθέμενος αὐτὸν κατὰ λέξιν ἐν τῷ Φαίδρῳ. καὶ πρῶτος ἐθεώρησε τῆς γραμματικῆς τὴν δύναμιν. πρῶτός τε ἀντειρηκὼς σχεδὸν ἅπασι τοῖς πρὸ αὐτοῦ, ζητεῖται διὰ τί μὴ ἐμνημόνευσε Δημοκρίτου. τούτου φησὶ Νεάνθης ὁ Κυζικηνὸς εἰς Ὀλύμπια ἀνιόντος τοὺς Ἕλληνας ἅπαντας ἐπιστραφῆναι εἰς αὐτόν· ὅτε καὶ Δίωνι συνέμιξε μέλλοντι στρατεύειν ἐπὶ Διονύσιον. ἐν δὲ τῷ πρώτῳ τῶν Ἀπομνημονευμάτων Φαβωρίνου φέρεται ὅτι Μιθραδάτης ὁ Πέρσης ἀνδριάντα Πλάτωνος ἀνέθετο εἰς τὴν Ἀκαδήμειαν καὶ ἐπέγραψε· Μιθραδάτης Ὀροντοβάτου Πέρσης Μούσαις εἰκόνα ἀνέθηκε Πλάτωνος, ἣν Σιλανίων ἐποίησε.

[¶25] 1.26. Heraclides declares that in his youth he was so modest and orderly that he was never seen to laugh outright. In spite of this he too was ridiculed by the Comic poets. At any rate Theopompus in his Hedychares says: “There is not anything that is truly one, even the number two is scarcely one, according to Plato.” Moreover, Anaxandrides in his Theseus says: “He was eating olives exactly like Plato.” Then there is Timon who puns on his name thus: “As Plato placed strange platitudes.”

> Greek: 1.26. Φησὶ δʼ Ἡρακλείδης ὅτι νέος ὢν οὕτως ἦν αἰδήμων καὶ κόσμιος ὥστε μηδέποτε ὀφθῆναι γελῶν ὑπεράγαν· τοιοῦτος δʼ ὢν ὅμως ἐσκώφθη καὶ αὐτὸς ὑπὸ τῶν κωμικῶν. Θεόπομπος γοῦν ἐν Ἡδυχάρει φησὶν οὕτως·
ἓν γάρ ἐστιν οὐδὲ ἕν,
τὼ δὲ δύο μόλις ἕν ἐστιν, ὥς φησι Πλάτων.
ἀλλὰ καὶ Ἀναξανδρίδης ἐν Θησεῖ· ὅτε τὰς μορίας ἔτρωγεν ὡσπερ〈εὶ〉 Πλάτων. ἀλλὰ καὶ Τίμων οὑτωσὶ παραγραμματίζων αὐτόν· ὡς ἀνέπλασσε Πλάτων 〈ὁ〉 πεπλασμένα θαύματα εἰδώς.

[¶26] 1.27. Alexis again in the Meropis: “You have come in the nick of time. For I am at my wits’ end and walking up and down, like Plato, and yet have discovered no wise plan but only tired my legs.” And in the Ancylion: “You don’t know what you are talking about: run about with Plato, and you’ll know all about soap and onions.” Amphis, too, in the Amphicrates says:
A. And as for the good, whatever that be, that you are likely to get on her account, I know no more about it, master, than I do of the good of Plato.
B. Just attend.

> Greek: 1.27. Ἄλεξις Μεροπίδι·
εἰς καιρὸν ἥκεις· ὡς ἔγωγʼ ἀπορουμένη
ἄνω κάτω τε περιπατοῦσʼ ὥσπερ Πλάτων
σοφὸν οὐδὲν εὕρηκʼ, ἀλλὰ κοπιῶ τὰ σκέλη.
καὶ ἐν Ἀγκυλίωνι·
λέγεις περὶ ὧν οὐκ οἶσθα· συγγενοῦ τρέχων
Πλάτωνι καὶ γνώσῃ λίτρον καὶ κρόμμυον.
Ἄμφις Ἀμφικράτει·
τὸ δʼ ἀγαθὸν ὅ τι ποτʼ ἐστίν, οὗ σὺ τυγχάνειν
μέλλεις διὰ ταύτην, ἧττον οἶδα τοῦτʼ ἐγώ,
ὦ δέσποτʼ, ἢ τὸ Πλάτωνος ἀγαθόν.—πρόσεχε δή.

[¶27] 1.28. And in the Dexidemides: “O Plato, all you know is how to frown with eyebrows lifted high like any snail.” Cratinus, too, in The False Changeling:
A. Clearly you are a man and have a soul.
B. In Plato’s words, I am not sure but suspect that I have.
And Alexis in the Olympiodorus:
A. My mortal body withered up, my immortal part sped into the air.
B. Is not this a lecture of Plato’s?
And in the Parasite: “Or, with Plato, to converse alone.” Anaxilas, again, in the Botrylion, and in Circe and Rich Women, has a gibe at him.

> Greek: 1.28. ἐν Δεξιδημίδῃ·
ὦ Πλάτων,
ὡς οὐδὲν οἶσθα πλὴν σκυθρωπάζειν μόνον,
ὥσπερ κοχλίας σεμνῶς ἐπηρκὼς τὰς ὀφρῦς.
Κρατῖνος Ψευδυποβολιμαίῳ·
ἄνθρωπος εἶ δηλονότι καὶ ψυχὴν ἔχεις.
—κατὰ τὸν Πλάτωνʼ οὐκ οἶδα 〈δʼ〉, ὑπονοῶ δʼ ἔχειν.
Ἄλεξις Ὀλυμπιοδώρῳ·
σῶμα μὲν ὁμοῦ τὸ θνητὸν αὖον ἐγένετο,
τὸ δʼ ἀθάνατον ἐξῇξε πρὸς τὸν ἀέρα.
—ταῦτʼ οὐ σχολὴ Πλάτωνος;
καὶ ἐν Παρασίτῳ· ἢ μετὰ Πλάτωνος ἀδολεσχεῖν κατὰ μόνας. χλευάζει δʼ αὐτὸν καὶ Ἀναξίλας Βοτρυλίωνι καὶ Κίρκῃ καὶ Πλουσίαις.

[¶28] 1.29. Aristippus in his fourth book On the Luxury of the Ancients says that he was attached to a youth named Aster, who joined him in the study of astronomy, as also to Dion who has been mentioned above, and, as some aver, to Phaedrus too. His passionate affection is revealed in the following epigrams which he is said to have written upon them: Star-gazing Aster, would I were the skies, “To gaze upon thee with a thousand eyes.” And another:
Among the living once the Morning Star,
Thou shin’st, now dead, like Hesper from afar.

> Greek: 1.29. Ἀρίστιππος δʼ ἐν τῷ τετάρτῳ Περὶ παλαιᾶς τρυφῆς φησιν αὐτὸν Ἀστέρος μειρακίου τινὸς ἀστρολογεῖν συνασκουμένου ἐρασθῆναι, ἀλλὰ καὶ Δίωνος τοῦ προειρημένου—ἔνιοι καὶ Φαίδρου φασί—· δηλοῦν δὲ τὸν ἔρωτα αὐτοῦ τάδε τὰ ἐπιγράμματα, ἃ καὶ πρὸς αὐτοῦ γενέσθαι εἰς αὐτούς·
ἀστέρας εἰσαθρεῖς Ἀστὴρ ἐμός· εἴθε γενοίμην
οὐρανός, ὡς πολλοῖς ὄμμασιν εἰς σὲ βλέπω.
καὶ ἄλλο·
ἀστὴρ πρὶν μὲν ἔλαμπες ἐνὶ ζῳοῖσιν Ἑῷος,
νῦν δὲ θανὼν λάμπεις Ἕσπερος ἐν φθιμένοις.

[¶29] 1.30. And he wrote thus upon Dion:
Tears from their birth the lot had been
Of Ilium’s daughters and their queen.
By thee, O Dion, great deeds done
New hopes and larger promise won.
Now here thou liest gloriously,
How deeply loved, how mourned by me.

> Greek: 1.30. εἰς δὲ τὸν Δίωνα ὧδε·
δάκρυα μὲν Ἑκάβῃ τε καὶ Ἰλιάδεσσι γυναιξὶ
Μοῖραι ἐπέκλωσαν δὴ τότε γεινομέναις,
σοὶ δέ, Δίων, ῥέξαντι καλῶν ἐπινίκιον ἔργων
δαίμονες εὐροίας ἐλπίδας ἐξέχεαν.
κεῖσαι δʼ εὐρυχόρῳ ἐν πατρίδι τίμιος ἀστοῖς,
ὦ ἐμὸν ἐκμήνας θυμὸν ἔρωτι Δίων.

[¶30] 1.31. This, they say, was actually inscribed upon his tomb at Syracuse. Again, it is said that being enamoured of Alexis and Phaedrus, as before mentioned, he composed the following lines: “Now, when Alexis is of no account, I have said no more than this. He is fair to see, and everywhere all eyes are turned upon him. Why, my heart, do you show the dogs a bone? And then will you smart for this hereafter? Was it not thus that we lost Phaedrus?” He is also credited with a mistress, Archeanassa, upon whom he wrote as follows: “I have a mistress, fair Archeanassa of Colophon, on whose very wrinkles sits hot love. O hapless ye who met such beauty on its first voyage, what a flame must have been kindled in you!”

> Greek: 1.31. τοῦτο καὶ ἐπιγεγράφθαι φησὶν ἐν Συρακούσαις ἐπὶ τῷ τάφῳ. Ἀλλὰ καὶ Ἀλέξιδος, φασίν, ἐρασθεὶς καὶ Φαίδρου, καθὰ προείρηται, τοῦτον ἐποίησε τὸν τρόπον·
νῦν, ὅτε μηδὲν Ἄλεξις ὅσον μόνον εἶφʼ ὅτι καλός,
ὦπται καὶ πάντῃ πᾶς τις ἐπιστρέφεται,
θυμέ, τί μηνύεις κυσὶν ὀστέον; εἶτʼ ἀνιήσῃ
ὕστερον; οὐχ οὕτω Φαῖδρον ἀπωλέσαμεν;
ἔχειν τε Ἀρχεάνασσαν, εἰς ἣν καὶ αὐτὴν οὕτω ποιῆσαι·
Ἀρχεάνασσαν ἔχω τὴν ἐκ Κολοφῶνος ἑταίραν,
ἧς καὶ ἐπὶ ῥυτίδων ἕζετο δριμὺς ἔρως.
ἆ δειλοὶ νεότητος ἀπαντήσαντες ἐκείνης
πρωτοπλόου, διʼ ὅσης ἤλθετε πυρκαϊῆς.

[¶31] 1.32. There is another upon Agathon: “While kissing Agathon, my soul leapt to my lips, as if fain, alas! to pass over to him.” And another: “I throw an apple to you and, if indeed you are willing to love me, then receive it and let me taste your virgin charms. But if you are otherwise minded, which heaven forbid, take this very apple and see how short-lived all beauty is.” And another: “An apple am I, thrown by one who loves you. Nay, Xanthippe, give consent, for you and I are both born to decay.”

> Greek: 1.32. ἀλλὰ καὶ εἰς Ἀγάθωνα·
τὴν ψυχὴν Ἀγάθωνα φιλῶν ἐπὶ χείλεσιν εἶχον·
ἦλθε γὰρ ἡ τλήμων ὡς διαβησομένη.
καὶ ἄλλο·
τῷ μήλῳ βάλλω σε· σὺ δʼ εἰ μὲν ἑκοῦσα φιλεῖς με,
δεξαμένη τῆς σῆς παρθενίης μετάδος,
εἰ δʼ ἄρʼ ὃ μὴ γίγνοιτο νοεῖς, τοῦτʼ αὐτὸ λαβοῦσα
σκέψαι τὴν ὥρην ὡς ὀλιγοχρόνιος.
〈καὶ ἄλλο〉·
μῆλον ἐγώ. βάλλει με φιλῶν σέ τις· ἀλλʼ ἐπίνευσον
Ξανθίππη· κἀγὼ καὶ σὺ μαραινόμεθα.

[¶32] 1.33. It is also said that the epigram on the Eretrians, who were swept out of the country, was written by him: “We are Eretrians by race, from Euboea, and lie near Susa. How far, alas, from our native land!” And again:
Thus Venus to the Muses spoke:
Damsels, submit to Venus’ yoke,
Or dread my Cupid’s arms.
Those threats, the virgins nine replied,
May weigh with Mars, but we deride
Love’s wrongs, or darts, or charms.
And again:
A certain person found some gold,
Carried it off and, in its stead,
Left a strong halter, neatly rolled.
The owner found his treasure fled,
And, daunted by his fortune’s wreck,
Fitted the halter to his neck.

> Greek: 1.33. Φασὶ δὲ καὶ τὸ εἰς τοὺς Ἐρετριέας τοὺς σαγηνευθέντας αὐτοῦ εἶναι·
Εὐβοίης γένος εἰμὲν Ἐρετρικόν, ἄγχι δὲ Σούσων
κείμεθα· φεῦ, γαίης ὅσσον ἀφʼ ἡμετέρης.
κἀκεῖνο·
ἁ Κύπρις Μούσαισι· κοράσια, τὰν Ἀφροδίταν
τιμᾶτʼ ἢ τὸν Ἔρωτʼ ὔμμιν ἐφοπλίσομαι.
αἱ Μοῦσαι ποτὶ Κύπριν· Ἄρει τὰ στωμύλα ταῦτα·
ἡμῖν οὐ πέτεται τοῦτο τὸ παιδάριον.
καὶ ἄλλο·
χρυσὸν ἀνὴρ εὑρὼν ἔλιπεν βρόχον· αὐτὰρ ὁ χρυσὸν
ὃν λίπεν οὐχ εὑρὼν ἧψεν ὃν εὗρε βρόχον.

[¶33] 1.34. Further, Molon, being his enemy, said, “It is not wonderful that Dionysius should be in Corinth, but rather that Plato should be in Sicily.” And it seems that Xenophon was not on good terms with him. At any rate, they have written similar narratives as if out of rivalry with each other, a Symposium, a Defence of Socrates, and their moral treatises or Memorabilia. Next, the one wrote a Republic, the other a Cyropaedia. And in the Laws Plato declares the story of the education of Cyrus to be a fiction, for that Cyrus did not answer to the description of him. And although both make mention of Socrates, neither of them refers to the other, except that Xenophon mentions Plato in the third book of his Memorabilia.

> Greek: 1.34. Ἀλλά τοι Μόλων ἀπεχθῶς ἔχων πρὸς αὐτόν, οὐ τοῦτο, φησί, θαυμαστὸν εἰ Διονύσιος ἐν Κορίνθῳ, ἀλλʼ εἰ Πλάτων ἐν Σικελίᾳ. ἔοικε δὲ καὶ Ξενοφῶν πρὸς αὐτὸν ἔχειν οὐκ εὐμενῶς. ὥσπερ γοῦν διαφιλονεικοῦντες τὰ ὅμοια γεγράφασι, Συμπόσιον, Σωκράτους ἀπολογίαν, τὰ ἠθικὰ ἀπομνημονεύματα — εἶθʼ ὁ μὲν Πολιτείαν, ὁ δὲ Κύρου παιδείαν. καὶ ἐν τοῖς Νόμοις ὁ Πλάτων πλάσμα φησὶν εἶναι τὴν παιδείαν αὐτοῦ· μὴ γὰρ εἶναι Κῦρον τοιοῦτον — ἀμφότεροί τε Σωκράτους μνημονεύοντες, ἀλλήλων οὐδαμοῦ, πλὴν Ξενοφῶν Πλάτωνος ἐν τρίτῳ Ἀπομνημονευμάτων.

[¶34] 1.35. It is said also that Antisthenes, being about to read publicly something that he had composed, invited Plato to be present. And on his inquiring what he was about to read, Antisthenes replied that it was something about the impossibility of contradiction. “How then,” said Plato, “can you write on this subject?” thus showing him that the argument refutes itself. Thereupon he wrote a dialogue against Plato and entitled it Sathon. After this they continued to be estranged from one another. They say that, on hearing Plato read the Lysis, Socrates exclaimed, “By Heracles, what a number of lies this young man is telling about me!” For he has included in the dialogue much that Socrates never said.

> Greek: 1.35. λέγεται δʼ ὅτι καὶ Ἀντισθένης μέλλων ἀναγινώσκειν τι τῶν γεγραμμένων αὐτῷ παρεκάλεσεν αὐτὸν παρατυχεῖν. καὶ πυθομένου, τί μέλλει ἀναγινώσκειν, εἶπεν ὅτι περὶ τοῦ μὴ εἶναι ἀντιλέγειν· τοῦ δʼ εἰπόντος· πῶς οὖν σὺ περὶ αὐτοῦ τούτου γράφεις; καὶ διδάσκοντος ὅτι περιτρέπεται, ἔγραψε διάλογον κατὰ Πλάτωνος Σάθωνα ἐπιγράψας· ἐξ οὗ διετέλουν ἀλλοτρίως ἔχοντες πρὸς ἀλλήλους. φασὶ δὲ καὶ Σωκράτην ἀκούσαντα τὸν Λύσιν ἀναγινώσκοντος Πλάτωνος Ἡράκλεις, εἰπεῖν, ὡς πολλά μου καταψεύδεθʼ ὁ νεανίσκος. οὐκ ὀλίγα γὰρ ὧν οὐκ εἴρηκε Σωκράτης γέγραφεν ἁνήρ.

[¶35] 1.36. Plato was also on bad terms with Aristippus. At least in the dialogue Of the Soul he disparages him by saying that he was not present at the death of Socrates, though he was no farther off than Aegina. Again, they say that he showed a certain jealousy of Aeschines, because of his reputation with Dionysius, and that, when he arrived at the court, he was despised by Plato because of his poverty, but supported by Aristippus. And Idomeneus asserts that the arguments used by Crito, when in the prison he urges Socrates to escape, are really due to Aeschines, and that Plato transferred them to Crito because of his enmity to Aeschines.

> Greek: 1.36. Εἶχε δὲ φιλέχθρως ὁ Πλάτων καὶ πρὸς Ἀρίστιππον. ἐν γοῦν τῷ Περὶ ψυχῆς διαβάλλων αὐτόν φησιν ὅτι οὐ παρεγένετο Σωκράτει τελευτῶντι, ἀλλʼ ἐν Αἰγίνῃ ἦν καὶ σύνεγγυς. καὶ πρὸς Αἰσχίνην δέ τινα φιλοτιμίαν εἶχε, φασίν, ὅτι δή περ καὶ αὐτὸς εὐδοκίμει παρὰ Διονυσίῳ. ὃν ἐλθόντα διʼ ἀπορίαν ὑπὸ μὲν Πλάτωνος παροφθῆναι, ὑπὸ δʼ Ἀριστίππου συσταθῆναι. τούς τε λόγους οὓς Κρίτωνι περιτέθεικεν ἐν τῷ δεσμωτηρίῳ περὶ τῆς φυγῆς συμβουλεύοντι, φησὶν Ἰδομενεὺς εἶναι Αἰσχίνου· τὸν δʼ ἐκείνῳ περιθεῖναι διὰ τὴν πρὸς τοῦτον δυσμένειαν.

[¶36] 1.37. Nowhere in his writings does Plato mention himself by name, except in the dialogue On the Soul and the Apology. Aristotle remarks that the style of the dialogues is half-way between poetry and prose. And according to Favorinus, when Plato read the dialogue On the Soul, Aristotle alone stayed to the end; the rest of the audience got up and went away. Some say that Philippus of Opus copied out the Laws, which were left upon waxen tablets, and it is said that he was the author of the Epinomis. Euphorion and Panaetius relate that the beginning of the Republic was found several times revised and rewritten, and the Republic itself Aristoxenus declares to have been nearly all of it included in the Controversies of Protagoras.

> Greek: 1.37. Ἑαυτοῦ τε Πλάτων οὐδαμόθι τῶν ἑαυτοῦ συγγραμμάτων μνήμην πεποίηται ὅτι μὴ ἐν τῷ Περὶ ψυχῆς καὶ Ἀπολογίᾳ. φησὶ δʼ Ἀριστοτέλης τὴν τῶν λόγων ἰδέαν αὐτοῦ μεταξὺ ποιήματος εἶναι καὶ πεζοῦ λόγου. τοῦτον μόνον παραμεῖναι Πλάτωνι Φαβωρῖνός πού φησιν ἀναγινώσκοντι τὸν Περὶ ψυχῆς, τοὺς δʼ ἄλλους ἀναστῆναι πάντας. ἔνιοί τε φασὶν ὅτι Φίλιππος ὁ Ὀπούντιος τοὺς Νόμους αὐτοῦ μετέγραψεν ὄντας ἐν κηρῷ. τούτου δὲ καὶ τὴν Ἐπινομίδα φασὶν εἶναι. Εὐφορίων δὲ καὶ Παναίτιος εἰρήκασι πολλάκις ἐστραμμένην εὑρῆσθαι τὴν ἀρχὴν τῆς Πολιτείας. ἣν Πολιτείαν Ἀριστόξενός φησι πᾶσαν σχεδὸν ἐν τοῖς Πρωταγόρου γεγράφθαι Ἀντιλογικοῖς.

[¶37] 1.38. There is a story that the Phaedrus was his first dialogue. For the subject has about it something of the freshness of youth. Dicaearchus, however, censures its whole style as vulgar. A story is told that Plato once saw some one playing at dice and rebuked him. And, upon his protesting that he played for a trifle only, “But the habit,” rejoined Plato, “is not a trifle.” Being asked whether there would be any memoirs of him as of his predecessors, he replied, “A man must first make a name, and he will have no lack of memoirs.” One day, when Xenocrates had come in, Plato asked him to chastise his slave, since he was unable to do it himself because he was in a passion.

> Greek: 1.38. λόγος δὲ πρῶτον γράψαι αὐτὸν τὸν Φαῖδρον· καὶ γὰρ ἔχειν μειρακιῶδές τι τὸ πρόβλημα. Δικαίαρχος δὲ καὶ τὸν τρόπον τῆς γραφῆς ὅλον ἐπιμέμφεται ὡς φορτικόν. Ὁ γοῦν Πλάτων λέγεται θεασάμενός τινα κυβεύοντα αἰτιάσασθαι· τοῦ δὲ εἰπόντος ὡς ἐπὶ μικροῖς, ἀλλὰ τό γʼ ἔθος, εἰπεῖν, οὐ μικρόν. ἐρωτηθεὶς εἰ ἀπομνημονεύματα αὐτοῦ ἔσται ὥσπερ τῶν πρότερον ἀπεκρίνατο· ὀνόματος δεῖ τυχεῖν πρῶτον, εἶτα πολλὰ ἔσται. εἰσελθόντος ποτὲ Ξενοκράτους εἶπε μαστιγῶσαι τὸν παῖδα· αὐτὸν γὰρ μὴ δύνασθαι διὰ τὸ ὠργίσθαι.