Page:History of Greece Vol VIII.djvu/408

 S&b HISTORY OF GREECE. same were held by another or by all of them, it would not be tha less unjust to draw the like inference from opinions professed by one who is not a sophist, and who despises the whole profession. Secondly, if any man will read attentively the course of the dialogue, he will see that the doctrine of Kallikles is such as no one dare! publicly to propound. So it is conceived both by Kallikles himself, and by Sokrates. The former first takes up the conversation, by saying that his predecessor Polus had become entangled in a contradiction, because he had not cour- age enough openly to announce an unpopular and odious doc- trine ; but he, Kallikles, was less shamefaced, and would speak out boldly that doctrine which others kept to themselves for fear of shocking the hearers. " Certainly (says Sokrates to him) your audacity is abundantly shown by the doctrine which you have just laid down ; you set forth plainly that which other people think, but do not choose to utter." 1 Now, opinions of which Polus, an insolent young man, was afraid to proclaim him- self the champion, must have been revolting indeed to the senti- ments of hearers. How then can any reasonable man believe, that such opinions were not only openly propounded, but seriously inculcated as truth upon audiences of youthful hearers, by the sophists ? We know that the teaching of the latter was public in the highest degree ; publicity was pleasing as well as profitable to them ; among the many disparaging epithets heaped upon them, ostentation and vanity are two of the most con&picuous. Whatever they taught, they taught publicly ; and I contend, with full conviction, that, had they even agreed with Kallikles in this 1 Plato, Gorgias, c. 38, p. 482, E. iit ravnjf yup av 7% ouotoyiac avrbf virb aov ov(nro8i(rdEi(iv Tolf 2.6yoig eKeoTOfiicr&t) (Polus), aiff%v v & e I f u kvuEi eiTrelv ai) yup ~u> ovri, u ZwKparef. eif roiavra ajetj 1 tj>op~iKii no) 6j)fir)yopiKu, IJUOKGIV rijv uhij'&eia.v diunfiv iav ovv ri alo VVTIT at Kal UTI To^ny Jieyeiv u-irep voel, uvayKu&Tai ivdvna Uyeiv. Kal HTJV (says Sokrates to Kallikles, c. 42, p. 487, D.) on ys oZof el-xa.fi p7]aiaea&ai Kal (J.TJ aia%vv0dai, avrog TE 0jjf, Kal 6 Awyof, bv likiyov irporepov eheycf, upoZoyet aoi. Again, c. 47, p. 492, D. Owe uyevvtif ye, u KaA-Ai/c/Uif, s-E&pxEi rC> ?.6yu irappijaia^ofievoc- aa$ijf yup (ri> rvt /lfyetf a oi a/.7.oi 6iavo ov vrai fiev, heyeiv 6e ov K f#- JLOVOI, Again, from Kallikles, 6 eyu aoi vvv vappi)oia^o^evoc ). iyu, c. 4ft p. 491, E.