Genres in Dialogue PDF
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Genres in Dialogue Page i This book takes as its startingpoint Plato's incorporation of specific genres of poetry and rhetoric into his dialogues. The author analyzes the intertextuality in Plato's dialogues in the context of both literary and social history, arguing in particular that Plato's "dialogues" with traditional genres are part and parcel of his effort to define "philosophy." Before Plato, "philosophy" denoted "intellectual cultivation" in the broadest sense. When Plato appropriated the term for his own intellectual project, he created a new and specialized discipline. In order to define and legitimize "philosophy,'' Plato had to match it against genres of discourse that had authority and currency in democratic Athens. By incorporating the text or discourse of another genre into his own dialogues, Plato "defines" his new brand of wisdom in opposition to traditional modes of thinking and speaking. By targeting individual genres of discourse, each of which had a specific audience and performative context, Plato marks the boundaries of "philosophy" as a discursive and as a social practice. Page v Genres in Dialogue Plato and the Construct of Philosophy Andrea Wilson Nightingale Assistant Professor of Classics, Stanford University Page vi PUBLISHED BY CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS (VIRTUAL PUBLISHING) FOR AND ON BEHALF OF THE PRESS SYNDICATE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE Published by the Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge The Pitt Building, Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 1RP 40 West 20th Street, New York, NY 100114211, USA 10 Stamford Road, Oakleigh, Melbourne 3166, Australia © Cambridge University Press 1995 This edition © Cambridge University Press (Virtual Publishing) 2001 First published 1995 Transferred to digital printing 1997 Printed in Great Britain by Biddles Short Run Books A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress cataloguing in publication data Nightingale, Andrea Wilson. Genres in dialogue: Plato and the construct of philosophy / Andrea Wilson Nightingale. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0 521 48264 X 1. Plato. 2. Greek literature History and criticism. 3. Literary form. 4. Rhetoric, Ancient. I. Title. B395.N54 1996 184 dc20 955879 CIP ISBN 0 521 48264 X hardbacke eISBN 0 521 48264 X hardbacke virtual (netLibrary Edition) Page vii For Douglas and Diana Wilson Page ix Contents Acknowledgments page xi Abbreviations and Texts xiii Introduction 1 1 13 Plato, Isocrates, and the Property of Philosophy 2 60 Use and Abuse of Athenian Tragedy 3 93 Eulogy, Irony, Parody 4 133 Alien and Authentic Discourse 5 172 Philosophy and Comedy Conclusion 193 Bibliography 196 General Index 213 Index of Passages from Plato 220 Page xi Acknowledgments My scholarly and personal debts are many, and none are more pressing than those owed to teachers. It is a great pleasure to thank Rachel Jacoff, who first guided me to Plato, via Dante. Without Rachel's generosity of mind and of spirit, I could not have completed this arduous pilgrimage. I owe a special debt to Oliver Taplin, who mentored me for two years at Oxford. More than he will ever realize, Oliver made it possible for me to envision and execute this project. Finally, I am deeply grateful to Tony Long, who has labored over several versions of the manuscript; his inspirational teaching and expert criticism have contributed to what is best in this book. I would also like to thank my colleagues at Stanford for criticism, counsel, and encouragement. I am especially grateful to Mark Edwards, who has been a vital interlocutor for many years; he read the entire manuscript in its first incarnation, and saved me from a number of errors. Susan Stephens has been an invaluable mentor and critic, and has continually challenged me to rethink my most basic intellectual assumptions. The Stanford Humanities Center provided the ideal intellectual atmosphere for writing this book; I am grateful to its directors and fellows for support and criticism, and most especially for an ongoing dialogue across the disciplines. Many friends and scholars have helped to bring this book into the world. First and foremost, I want to thank Kathryn Morgan, a superb interlocutor and fierce critic; she has covered several versions of this book with acute comments, and has stimulated my thinking from beginning to end. I am indebted to the following scholars for vital dialogues and incisive criticisms: Martin Bloomer, Diskin Clay, Kenneth Dover, Mark Griffith, Steve Johnstone, Andrew Laird, Linda Lomperis, Lisa Maurizio, Marsh McCall, Ian Morris, Richard Patterson, Alice Raynor, Rush Rehm, Christopher Rowe, Richard Sorabji, and the late Gregory Vlastos. Thanks are also owed to the two anonymous readers at Cambridge University Press, who rescued me from numerous errors and infelicities, and to my editor, Pauline Hire, for her efficiency and expertise. I am fully aware Page xii that I have not met all objections and criticisms; the errors which remain are my own. This book is lovingly dedicated to Douglas and Diana Wilson, whom I am privileged to call my parents. As scholars and as human beings, they have informed every aspect of my work. This book is but a small tribute to these lifelong and lifegiving interlocutors. Finally, I would like to express my special gratitude to Tom Gregory, Spook Nightingale, and the North Yuba River, for constancy and surprise; and to my beloved husband Steven, for the ineffable and the unmentionable. Versions of several portions of this book have appeared in print: "Generic transformation in Plato's Gorgias," Classical Antiquity 11 (1992), and "The folly of praise: Plato's critique of encomiastic discourse in the Lysis and Symposium," Classical Quarterly 43 (1993). Permission to reprint is gratefully acknowledged. Page xiii Abbreviations and Texts AJP American Journal of Philology BICS Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies (London) CA Classical Antiquity CM Classica et Mediaevalia CP Classical Philology CQ Classical Quarterly CR Classical Review CSCA California Studies in Classical Antiquity DK Die Fragmente der Vorsokratiker, edd. H. Diels and W. Kranz, 6th ed., 3 vols. (Berlin 1951–2) FGrH Die Fragmente der griechischen Historiker, ed. F. Jacoby, 15 vols. (Berlin and Leiden 1923–58) G & R Greece and Rome GRBS Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies HSCP Harvard Studies in Classical Philology JHS Journal of Hellenic Studies K L'Antiope d'Euripide, ed. J. Kambitsis (Athens 1972) PLF Poetarum Lesbiorum Fragmenta, edd. E. Lobel and D. Page (Oxford 1955) N Tragicorum Graecorum Fragmenta, ed. A. Nauck with a supplement by B. Snell (Hildesheim 1964) OSAPh Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy PCG Poetae Comici Graeci, edd. R. Kassel and C. Austin, vols. 2, 3.2, 4, 5, 7 (Berlin 1983–?) PCPS Proceedings of the Cambridge Philological Society PhR Philosophical Review PMG Poetae Melici Graeci, ed. D. Page (Oxford 1962) QUCC Quaderni Urbinati di Cultura Classica TAPA Transactions of the American Philological Association
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