THE MYTHS OF PLATO

542 Pages·1905·37.096 MB·English

by  J.A.Stewart

5•1#•1
THE
MYTHS OF PLATO
TRANSLATED
WITH INTRODUCTORY AND OTHER OBSERVATIONS
BY
STEWART,
J. A. M.A.
0
STUDENT AND TUTOR CHRIST CHURCH AND WHITE'S PROFESSOR
OF MORAL PHILOSOPHY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
;
HON. LL.D., EDINBURGH
iLottUon
MACMILLAI^ AND CO., Limited
NEW YORK THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
:
1905
Allrightsreserved

35
PEEFACE
The object of this volume is to furnish the reader with material
for estimating the characteristics and influence of Plato the
Mythologist, or Prophet, as distinguished from Plato the
Dialectician, or Eeasoner.
In order to effect this special object within a reasonable
space, it was necessary to extract the Myths from the Dialogues
in which they occur, with only the shortest possible indication
of the Context in each case, and to confine the Observations
to the Myths as individual pieces and as a series. The reader,
therefore, must not expect to find in the Observations on, say,
the Phaedo Myth or the Phaedrus Myth a Study of the Phaedo
or the Phaedrus.
The Greek text printed opposite the Translations and
followed by them throughout, except in a few places where
preferred readings are given in footnotes, is that of Stallbaum's
Platonis Opera Omnia Uno Volumine Comprehensa (1867).
I owe a large debt of gratitude to two friends for help
received.
Professor J. S. Phillimore read all the Translations through
in proof with the most friendly care and errors which may be
;
detected in these Translations will, I feel sure, turn out to be
in places where, from some cause or other, I may have failed
to make proper use of his suggestions.
The other friend who•helped me, Frederick York Powell,
A
is gone. few weeks before his last illness began to cause
serious anxiety to his friends, he read through all the
948
THE MYTHS OF PLATO
Translations in manuscript up to the Phaedrus Myth, inclusive,
and I read to him nearly the whole of the Introduction, and
also other parts, especially those relating to the Theory of
Poetry. The help he then gave me by his suggestive and
sympathetic discussion of various points closed a long series of
acts of friendship on which I shall always look back with a
feeling of deep gratitude.
J. A. STEWART,
Oxford, December 1904.
——
A
CONTENTS
INTEODUCTION
,
.....
—
1. The Platonic Drama Two elements tobe distinguished in it: Argumentative
Conversation andMyth Pages 1-4
—
2. General remarks on or Stpry-tellino^ Primitive Story-telling
—
described.as ...^'ipoXo.yia St.ories,.orMyth.s, are (1)Sim—ply
Anthropological and Zoological ; (2) Aetiological; (3) Eschatological
Myth, as distinguished from an Allegory, has no Moral or Other-
meaning 4-20
—
3. Plato's Myths distinguished from Allegories To what experience, to what
"Partofthe Soul," does the Platonic Myth appeal? To that partwhich
expressesitself, notin "theo—reticjudgments,"butin "value-judgments,"
or rather "value-feelings" The effect produced in us by the Platonic
tMhyethsenisseeosfsetnhteiaolvlyertshhaatdporwoidnugcperdesb—eyncPeo.eotfry"T.;h"aTtra.wnhsiccehn.dweanst,alanFdeeils,inagn,d"
ever shall be," is awakened in us Passages from the Poets, quoted to
exemplify the production ofthis effect 20-39
4. ''Transcendental Feeling" explainedgeneticallyasthereflectioninConscious-
ness ofthe Life of the "Vegetative Part of the Soul," the fundamental
principle in us, and in all living creatures, which silently, in timeless
sleep, makesthe assumption on which the wholerationallife ofConduct
andSciencerests, theassumptionthat "Lifeisworth li—ving,"that thereis
a Cosmos, in which, and of which, it is good tobe "Transcendental
Feeling" is thus Solemn Sense of Timeless Being, and —Conviction that
Lifeis good, andis the beginning and endofMetaphysics ItisAviththe
production ofthe first of these two phases of "Transcendental Feeling"
that the Platonic Myth, and Poetry generally, are chiefly concerned
The Platonic Myth rouses and regulates this mode of "Transcendental
Feeling" fortheuse ofConductand Science . . . 39-42
5. The Platonic Myth rouses and regulates "Transcendental Feeling" by
(1) Imaginative Representation of Ideas of Reason," and (2) Imaginative
Deduction of "Categories of the Understanding" and "Moral Virtues"
—
Distinction between "Ideas" and "Categories" implicit in Plato
Kant's distinction explained—Why does Plato employ Myth when he
"represents" Ideas of Reason, Soul., Cos.mos,.God,.and when he
"deduces" Categories ofthe Understandingand MoralVirtues? 42-51
6. Plato's treatment ofthe "IdeaofGod" 51-60
THE MYTHS OF PLATO
viii
—
7. Plator'esgatrrdeatotmtehnetIomfmotrhetal'i'tIydeoafotfheS.oSouull"—.IAngfnlou.setnicceios.fmOorfphPilcatoB'esliedfayaswifetlht
—
by Pindarand Plato Plato's Eschatological Myths plainlyreproduce the
matterofOrphicteaching Pages 60-71
8. Summaryof Introductory Observations in the form of a defence of Plato
againstachargebroughtagainsthim by Kant, Kritikd. reinen Vernunft,
—
Einleitung, § 3 Plato's Myths(roughly distinguished as (1)representing
Ideas of Reason, or Ideals, and (2) deducing Categories, Faculties,
Virtues, i.e. tracing them back to their origins) will be taken in the
followingorder: (a) as representing Ideas of Reason, the Phaedo Myth,
the GorgiasMyth, the Myth of Er (the three Eschatological Mythspar
excellence), theFoliticusMythtogetherwith the Myth oftheGolden Age,
theProtagorasMyth (Aetiological Myths), and the Discourse ofTimaeus
;
(b) as chiefly concerned with the deduction of Categories orVirtues, the
Phaedrus Myth, the Meno Myth, and the Myth told by Aristophanes
and Discourse o.f Diot.ima in.the.Sympo.sium;.(c) th.e Atlantis Myth
and the Myth of the Earth-born, which respectively represent the
Ideals and deduce the Categories of the Nation, as distinguished from
the Individual 72-76
.THE.PH.AEDO.MY.TH ..
........
ContextoftheMyth 77
Translation 79-93
Observations on the Phaedo Myth
1. Plato'smethodof"giving verisimilitude to.Myth,.byb.ringin.gitintoconform-
itywiththe "ModernScience" ofhis day, illustrated from the Phaedo,
and paralleled from HenryMore 94-101
2. The subjectofthelastsection furtherillustrated byreference to the parallel
between Plato's Geography of Tartarus and the "True Surface of the
Earth" and Dante's Geography of Hell, Purgatory, and the Earthly
—
Paradise The parallelism between Plato and Dante dwelt on chiefly
with theview of suggesting the method by which we may best under-
standthe function of M.yth i.n the.Platon.ic Phi.losoph.y, the method of
sealing the impression made on us by the Myth of one great master
by the studyofthe Myth of another with whom we may happen to be
incloser.sympa.thy ...... 101-113
3. The distinction bet—ween Dogma and Myth insisted upon by Socrates,
Phaedo, 114 d "Moral Responsibility" the motif of the Phaedo
Myth 113-114
THE GORGIAS MYTH
........
Context . . . . , . 115
Traiislation 117-125
CONTENTS
ix
Observations on the Gorgias Myth
1. "Moral Responsib—ility" isthe motif of the Gorgias Myth, as it is of the
Phaedo Myth The Gorgias Myth sets forth, in a Vision of Judgment,
Penance, and Purification, the continuity and sameness of the Active,
as distinguished from the Passive, Self, the Selfa6s a$ct,ivelydevelopingits
native power under the discipline of correction, notasbeingthe
mere victim ofvengeance, —Dea.thas.Philos.opher.Pages 126-128
2. The mysteryof the infinite difference between Vicewith Large Opportunity
and Vicewith Narrow Opportunity .... 129-130
3. Observations on Tablets affixed to the Judged Souls, on the Meadow of
Judgment, andonthe Three Ways 130-132
THE MYTH OF ER
........
Context . . . . . . . . 133
Translation 135-151
....
Observations on the Myth op Er
1. Cosmographyand Geography ofthe Myth 152-154
2. Dante's Lethe and Eunoe takenin connection with the Orphic Ritual and
Mythology, to which Plato is largely indebted for his account of the
Soul's as.aProc.essofF.orgett.ingan.dReme.mberin.g— . 154-161
3. More about the Cosmography and Geography of the Myth The Pillar of
Light, the Spindle of Necessity, the Model of the Cosmos in the lap
ofNecessity 162-169
4. The great philosophical question raised and solved in the Myth, How to
reconcile "Free Will" with the "ReignofLaw" . . 169-172
.THE.POL.ITIC.US M.YTH..
.........
........
IntroductoryRemarks 173-174
....
Context 175
Translation 177-191
Translationofthe Mythofthe GoldenAge 193-195
Observations on the Politicus Myth
1. Relation ofthePoliticusMyth to the "Science" ofPlato'sday . 196-197
2. Is Plato "inearnest" insupposing that G.od, f.rom t.ime t.o time, withdraws
from thegovernmentofthe World? . . . . 197-198
3. ResurrectionandMetempsychosis — 198-200
4. "The Problem of Evil" raised in the Politicus Myth How does Plato
suppose the solution of tlis problem to be furthered byanAetiological
—
Myth like that of the Politicus? The value of Aetiological Myth as
helping us to "solve"—a "universal difficulty" asdistinguished froma
"particular difficulty" It helps us to "put by" the former kind of
THE MYTHS OF PLATO
difficulty—TheKalewala quoted to illustrate the functionof Aetiological
Myth—The Story of the Birth.of Ir.on—T.ransit.ion from the Politkus
Myth to the "Creation Myths" strictlyso called, theProtagorasMyth.,
and the Discourse ofTimaeus Pages200-211
.......
..THE.PROT.AGOR.AS M.YTH..
CotUextoftheMyth> 212-213
Translation 215-219
Observations on the Protagoras Myth
—
1. Isita **Platonic Myth,"oronlya "SophisticApologue"? ItisatrueMyth,
assettingforthapriorielementsin man's experience . . 220-222
2. It sets forth the distinction between the "mechanical" and the "teleo-
—
logical" .explana.tion o.f the.World.and i.ts part.s It raises the question
discussed in Kant's CritiqueofJudgment . . . 222-226
3. Account give.n in t.he Myt.h of.the Ori.gin of.Virtu.e as d.istinguished from
Art 226-228
4. A Sculptured Myth, the Prometheus Sarcophagus in the. Capitoline
Museum 228-229
—
5. The difference between M—yth and Allegory Sketch of the Historyof Alle-
goricalInterpretation TheinterpretersofHomerandofGreekMythology
—
Philo—.The C.hristia.n Fat.hers—.The N.eo-Pla.tonist.s—Dan—te—Plato's
Allegoryof the Cave (which is a—Myth as wellasanAllegory) HisAlle-
gory of the Disorderly Crew Allegory and Myth compared with
Ritual 230-258
.........
THE TIMAEUS
........
Context 259
Translation 261-297
.....
Observations .on th.e Ti.maeus..
......
1. General observations on itsscope 298-302
2. Purification andMetempsychosis 302-304
3. On the CreationofSouls 304-305
.......
THE PHAEDRUS MYTH
........
ContextoftheMyth 306-307
Translation 309-335
........
Observations on the Phaedrus Myth
1. Preliminary 335
2. ThePhaedrusMyth asgivinga "Deduction" ofthe Categories ofthe Under-
standing—Butitalso setsforth the IdeasofReason . . 337-339
^, CONTENTS xi
3. The doctrines of ..'$,..Immo.r.ta—li.t.y—Th.e.MenoMyth translated,
andcomparedwith the Fhaedrus Myth In whatsenseisthe "Doctrine
ofIdeas" ''mythical"?. Pages 339-349
4. The Number 729 . 349-350
5. The celestial, or astr.onomic.al, mis.e en .of.the ".Histor.y oftheSoul"in
the Fhaedrus Myth, and the importance of that mise en sc^ne for sub-
sequentphilosophicalandreligious thoughtdowntoDante . 350-381
6. Poetic Inspiration 382-395
.......
THE TWO SYMPOSIUM MYTHS
ContextoftheMyths 397
........
I.—THE MYTH TOLD BY ARISTOPHANES
Translation 399-407
General Observations on the Myth
andcomparisonwith the Zagreus Myth andwith Rabelais . . 408-413i
........
IL—THE DISCOURSE OF DIOTIMA
Translation 415-427
Observations on the Discourse of Diotima
—
1. The Discourse at once an Alle—goryandaMyth Maybe takenas astudyof
the Prophetic Temperament ThenatureofProphecy . . 428-434
2. The History ofthe Doctrine ofDaemons . . . . 434-450
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON MYTHS
which set forth the Nation's, as distinguished from
THE Individual's, Ideals and Categories
Mythsin which we have the spectacleof a Nation's life, (a) ledonbya Vision
of its Future, (&) conditioned by its Past. These are (a) the Atlantis
Myth in the Timaeus and Critias, which, taken in connectionwith the
account of the Ideal State in the Jiepublic, sets forth the Vision of an
Hellenic Empire; {b)theMythoftheEarth-bornintheRepublic 451-456
THE ATLA.NTIS.MY.TH ..
Abbreviatedtranslation, orrendering 457-464
Observations on the Atlantis Myth
TheGeologyandGeographyof*theMyth . , . . 465-469
THE MYTHS OF PLATO
xii
.......
THE MYTH OF THE EARTH-BORN
.....
Translation Pages 471-473
Note on the Myth ofthe Earth-born 474
CONCLUSION—THE MYTHOLOGY AND METAPHYSICS
OF THE CAMBRIDGE PLATONISTS
The "Cambridge Platonists" represent Plato the Mythologist, or Prophet,
ratherthan Plat.o the .Dialect.ician,.or Rea.soner,.and in.this respect are
important fortheunderstandingofourmodern English '*Idealists," who,
it is contended, are "Platonists" ofthe samekind as Cudworthand his
associates 475-519