Page:History of Greece Vol VIII.djvu/382

 360 HISTORY OF GREECE. knowledge, etc., which the modern historians pour forth in loud chorus against them. I know few characters in history who have been so hardly dealt with as these so-called sophists. They bear the penalty of their name, in its modern sense ; a misleading association, from which few modern writers take pains to eman- cipate either themselves or their readers, though the English or French word sophist is absolutely inapplicable to Protagoras or Gorgias, who ought to be called rather " professors, or public teachers." It is really surprising to read the expositions prefixed by learned men like Stallbaum and others, to the Platonic dialogues entitled Protagoras, Gorgias, Euthydemus, Theastetus, etc., where Plato introduces Sokrates either in personal controversy with one or other of these sophists, or as canvassing their opinions. We continually read from the pen of the expositor, such remarks as these : " Mark, how Plato puts down the shallow and worthless sophist ;" the obvious reflection, that it is Plato himself who plays both games on the chess-board, being altogether overlooked. And again : " This or that argument, placed in the mouth of Sokrates, is not to be regarded as the real opinion of Plato : he only takes it up and enforces it at this moment, in order to puzzle and humiliate an ostentatious pretender ;"* a remark which con- 1 Stallbaum, Proleg. ad Platon. Protagor. p. 23 : ' ; Hoc vero cjus judicio ita utitur Socrates, ut eum dehinc dialectica subtilitate in summam consilii inopiam conjiciat. Colligit enim inde satis captiose rebus ita comparatis jus- titiam, quippe qua: a sanctitate diversa sit, plane nihil sanctitatis habiturara, ac vicissim sanctitati nihil fore commune cum justitia. Eespondet quidem ad hcec Protagoras, jnstitiam ac sanctitatem now per omnia sibi similes esse, nee tamen etiam prorsus dissimiles videri. Sed etsi verissima est hcec ejus sententia, tamen comparatione ilia a partibus faciei repetita, infraudem induc- tus, et quid sit, in quo omnis virtutis natura contineatur, ignarus, sese ex his difficultatibus adeo non potest expedire," etc. Again, p. 24 : " Itaque Socrates, missa hujus rei disputatione, repente ad alia proffreditur, scilicet similibus laqueis hominem deinceps denuo irretiturus." " Nemini facile obscurnm erit, hoc quoque loco, Protagoram aryutis condusiunculis ddudi atque callide eo permoveri" etc p. 25 : " Quanquam nemo erit, quin videat callide ddudi Protagaram? etc p. 34 : ' Quod si autem ea, qua in Protagora SophistcE ridendi causd e vulgi atque sophista- rum ratione disputantur, in Gorgia ex ipsius philosophi mente et sententia vel breyius proponnntur vel copiosius disputantur," etc. Compare similar observations of Stallbaum, in his Prolegom. ad Thesetet pp. 12. 22 ; ad Menon. p. 16 ; ad Euthydemum, pp. 26, 30 ; ad Lachetem p. 11; ad Lysidcm, pp. 79, 80, 87 ; ad Hippiam Major, pp. 154-156.