CONTENTS.
Project Gutenberg EPUB3 edition
Grote, George
337
Any true theory of Plato must recognise all his varieties, and must be based upon all the works in the Canon, not upon some to the exclusion of the rest
339
CHAPTER VIII.
Platonic Compositions Generally.
Variety and abundance visible in Plato’s writings
342
Plato both sceptical and dogmatical
ib.
Poetical vein predominant in some compositions, but not in all
343
Form of dialogue — universal to this extent, that Plato never speaks in his own name
344
No one common characteristic pervading all Plato’s works
ib.
The real Plato was not merely a writer of dialogues, but also lecturer and president of a school. In this last important function he is scarcely at all known to us. Notes of his lectures taken by Aristotle
346
Plato’s lectures De Bono obscure and transcendental. Effect which they produced on the auditors
347
They were delivered to miscellaneous auditors. They coincide mainly with what Aristotle states about the Platonic Ideas
348
The lectures De Bono may perhaps have been more transcendental than Plato’s other lectures
349
Plato’s Epistles — in them only he speaks in his own person
ib.
Intentional obscurity of his Epistles in reference to philosophical doctrine
350
Letters of Plato to Dionysius II. about philosophy. His anxiety to confine philosophy to discussion among select and prepared minds
351
He refuses to furnish any written, authoritative exposition of his own philosophical doctrine
352
He illustrates his doctrine by the successive stages of geometrical teaching. Difficulty to avoid the creeping in of error at each of these stages
353
No written exposition can keep clear of these chances of error
355
Relations of Plato with Dionysius II. and the friends of the deceased Dion. Pretensions of Dionysius to understand and expound Plato’s doctrines
ib.
Impossibility of teaching by written exposition assumed by Plato; the assumption intelligible in his day
357
Standard by which Plato tested the efficacy of the expository process — Power of sustaining a Sokratic cross-examination