Page:The battle of the books - Guthkelch - 1908.djvu/319

Rh by a familiar sleight of hand, he turns the word into acquaintance; as he once did before. But how knows he that all the Pythagoreans agree, when the only men that speak a word of it are Lucian and Janiblichus; and they were neither of them Pythagoreans? or, suppose the Pythagorean story true, as Jamblichus reports it, that Phalaris blasphemed the gods, despised philosophy, and designed to murder Pythagoras; would this have been as proper and domestic an instance for Plato, as the twelve years friendship with Stesichorus? What a master of decency is Mr B. and what a relish has he of dexterous management, who goes about to excuse Plato for not numbering Phalaris's and Pythagoras's enmity (for so it's represented by those Pythagoreans he speaks of) among the celebrated friendships of learned men with tyrants?

As for the argument from the silence of Pindar, he will not attempt to answer it; which is a better sign of discretion, than he usually shews. However, he'll put me in mind of one false colour that I have given to my argument: for I said, Pindar exhorts Hiero to be kind to poets and men of letters: but, says he, there's not a word of that in the verses