Page:Xenophon by Alexander Grant.djvu/124

114 crudely made, of that relative theory of beauty which was adopted in modern times by Alison, Jeffrey, and others. We cannot tell how far it embodied the real opinion of Socrates, because when great men discuss things with their pupils, we cannot be sure how far they open their whole mind. And we know it to have been the object of Socrates rather to awaken inquiry than to give results. That his hints took root and germinated in the minds of others, we may see abundantly from the luxuriant and varied thought of Plato.

Other theories of Socrates given in the 'Memorabilia' might seem to require qualification. As, for instance, that Temperance and all the other virtues are identical with Wisdom. This ignores all distinction between the intellect and the will of man, and is opposed to acknowledged facts. In arguing with Hippias, who, like Aristippus, tried to confute him with questions, Socrates laid it down that Justice consists in obeying the laws. This position, by itself, would hardly be maintained, for it would amount to what in modern times has been called "Hobbism," which makes the legislator a creator of right and wrong. But Socrates modifies the theory by saying that in addition to the laws of the state there are "unwritten laws" which are in force among all mankind, or which, if not recognised, bring their own punishment. As an instance he mentions the rule that parents must not marry their children, for which he gives the apparently insufficient sanction that such marriages would imply a too great disparity of age. Another instance of an