Page:The Journal of Classical and Sacred Philology, Volume 1, 1854.djvu/189

 The Sophists. 179 This to be sure is not much to found an opinion upon ; but it appears from what he does say that his main object in life was to make himself comfortable, and that to secure this he followed the lucrative profession of a Sophist. Perhaps no further infer- ences can be fairly drawn from Xenophon's account. Besides those already mentioned, Zeno, Aristippus and Antis- thenes 17 are also spoken of as Sophists by Aristotle, Diogenes and others. I will not attempt to put in any plea in extenuation, but am quite content that they should bear the full amount of censure, whatever that may be, which is implied in the name. Aristippus deserved it by his character, and Zeno and Antisthenes by their style of reasoning: they also all took fees for their lessons, that is, if we can trust the evidence of the pseudo- Plato in the case of Zeno. See above, p. 151. I have so far endeavoured to show how this new class of instructors called Sophists was distinguished from their prede- cessors, and how far, not our own conjectures and inferences,* but the plain statements of their Athenian contemporaries, entitle us to ascribe to them immoral doctrines and teaching. It is harder to determine the next question that arises with regard to them : viz. to what extent they held any common philo- sophical opinions or views of life and morality which would justify us in considering them as "a sect." Mr Grote, (pp. 509, 10. 524. not.) holds that " there were no common doctrines, principles or method which distinguished them from others." This seems to me far too sweeping a denial : and I will therefore give the sub- stance of Zeller's observations upon the subject, which present as I think a much fairer statement of the case. He has discussed the philosophical character of the Sophists in a particularly candid and temperate spirit ; and his remarks, of which, so far as they seem to me to be well founded, I shall give the general 17 Antisthenes was originally a pupil that Gorgias abandoned his own pure of Gorgias from whom he may have scepticism in favour of the modified form learned his thesis, ovk %<ttiv avriXiyeiv, of it which was held by 'his brother which Aristotle censures (Metaph. IV. Sophist. Antisthenes afterwards at- 29. 1024. b. 33). This becomes more tached himself to Socrates, and became probable when we consider what Aris- so warm an admirer of him that Xeno- totle says, Met. III. 4, that it also fol- phon tells us, Memor. ill. II, 17, that lows as a necessary consequence from he never quitted his side. He was one Protagoras' dogma, tt6.vtwv /xtrpov dv- of the company present in the prison at OpwTos, and might incline us to believe Socrates' death. Phaed.' 59. B. 122