Page - 673 - in The Complete Plato
Image of the Page - 673 -
Text of the Page - 673 -
one or the one many; he is uttering not a paradox but a truism. If however, as
I just now suggested, some one were to abstract simple notions of like, unlike,
one, many, rest, motion, and similar ideas, and then to show that these admit
of admixture and separation in themselves, I should be very much astonished.
This part of the argument appears to be treated by you, Zeno, in a very
spirited manner; but, as I was saying, I should be far more amazed if any one
found in the ideas themselves which are apprehended by reason, the same
puzzle and entanglement which you have shown to exist in visible objects.
While Socrates was speaking, Pythodorus thought that Parmenides and
Zeno were not altogether pleased at the successive steps of the argument; but
still they gave the closest attention, and often looked at one another, and
smiled as if in admiration of him. When he had finished, Parmenides
expressed their feelings in the following words:—
Socrates, he said, I admire the bent of your mind towards philosophy; tell
me now, was this your own distinction between ideas in themselves and the
things which partake of them? and do you think that there is an idea of
likeness apart from the likeness which we possess, and of the one and many,
and of the other things which Zeno mentioned?
I think that there are such ideas, said Socrates.
Parmenides proceeded: And would you also make absolute ideas of the just
and the beautiful and the good, and of all that class?
Yes, he said, I should.
And would you make an idea of man apart from us and from all other
human creatures, or of fire and water?
I am often undecided, Parmenides, as to whether I ought to include them or
not.
And would you feel equally undecided, Socrates, about things of which the
mention may provoke a smile?—I mean such things as hair, mud, dirt, or
anything else which is vile and paltry; would you suppose that each of these
has an idea distinct from the actual objects with which we come into contact,
or not?
Certainly not, said Socrates; visible things like these are such as they
appear to us, and I am afraid that there would be an absurdity in assuming any
idea of them, although I sometimes get disturbed, and begin to think that there
is nothing without an idea; but then again, when I have taken up this position,
I run away, because I am afraid that I may fall into a bottomless pit of
nonsense, and perish; and so I return to the ideas of which I was just now
speaking, and occupy myself with them.
673
back to the
book The Complete Plato"
The Complete Plato
- Title
- The Complete Plato
- Author
- Plato
- Date
- ~347 B.C.
- Language
- English
- License
- PD
- Size
- 21.0 x 29.7 cm
- Pages
- 1612
- Keywords
- Philosophy, Antique, Philosophie, Antike, Dialogues, Metaphysik, Metaphysics, Ideologie, Ideology, Englisch
- Categories
- Geisteswissenschaften
- International