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196 exists for all reason; that there is no common nature in all intelligence; that man's reason is a particular kind of reason. These two positions, first, that man can know things only in relation to his own faculties—and, secondly, that there is no common nature, no essential agreement in all intelligence; these two positions afforded a ground for the conclusion that truth must vary according to the variations of the mind contemplating it; that it was fluctuating and unstable, indeed, that in the strict sense of the word there was no truth at all; while, at the same time, they afforded a ground for the conclusion that morality was altogether arbitrary and conventional, depending on the changing humours of society, and even on the wayward caprice of individuals.

17. I may conclude by mentioning the names of three of the most celebrated Sophists. These were Protagoras, Gorgias, and Prodicus; of these Protagoras was the most distinguished. He was a native of Abdera in Thrace, was born 480 B.C., died about 410 B.C. Gorgias was born in Sicily; he was a contemporary of Protagoras, and was born about 480 B.C. He is said to have lived more than a hundred years. Prodicus was a native of the Island Ceos; he was a good deal younger than the other two, but the dates of his birth and death are uncertain. To this philosopher, Sophist though he was, one of the finest moral fables of antiquity is ascribed, commonly known by