Page:The Journal of Classical and Sacred Philology, Volume 1, 1854.djvu/171

 The Sophists. 161 " Aristotle following the Platonic vein," p. 499, which is all that is said to mitigate the force of his censures. To this we may- reply with equal brevity : in what else did Aristotle follow the example of his master? His whole philosophy was different; and a large space of his works is occupied in combating his opinions : and why should he have made a special exception in the case of the Sophists, and taken up an unfounded prejudice merely because his master was influenced by it? If he thought it " a sacred duty " to prefer truth to Plato, and permitted him- self so freely to criticise his theory of ideas and indeed nearly every opinion that he held how could he allow an unworthy prejudice against a whole class of men to retain possession of his mind, grounded on nothing but his master's propensity to satire, and not only so, but write a long treatise levelled against them, which in that case would be misdirected and misapplied ? If ever there was a writer undeserving of such a suspicion, less likely than another to imbibe or foster such a prepossession, I think we must admit that it was Aristotle. That the work is directed chiefly if not entirely against them and their art, appears from the definition of trtxpurruaj, c. l,p. 165. a. 21, eon yap fj o-o^iotik^ (paipopevrj (rocpia, ovcra 8 ov, kcu 6 (rocpio-rrjs Xpi]pciTia-Tfjs U7r6 (paivopevrjs aocplas aXX' ovk ovcrrjs, with Alexander's commentary ; " this is shown in the case of the Hippiases, and Protagorases, and Gorgiases, and Prodicuses: and if any one desires to inform himself of the nature of their 'wisdom' and the wealth that it enabled them to amass, he has only to consult the dialogues of Plato which bear their names." In fact, with- out the aid of the commentary, it is plain that the words xp T U* aTl0 '- rrjs airb <ro(plas, must include the persons above named, their asso- ciates and followers, and the addition of cpaivopevrjs excludes the professors and teachers of the ordinary arts, music, grammar, &c. The same thing appears from ch. 12, 173. a. 7, sq., where he distinguishes two classes of Sophists, ol dpxaioi, amongst whom he ranks Callicles^ (see Mr Grote's Hist. p. 531, " Callicles himself is not a Sophist") and those of his own time, ol vvv. They both had recourse to the same method of reasoning, irapabo^a Xeyav ; for which purpose they employed the distinction of to koto cpvcnv 11 As Callicles was not a professional life, he is only included here in the class Sophist, but a young man of station, as one who shared their opinions and whom Gorgias had educated for public method of reasoning. Vol. I. June, 1854. 11