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Charmides







by Plato; translated by Benjamin Jowett。











THE DIALOGUES OF PLATO





TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH WITH ANALYSES AND INTRODUCTIONS







BY







B。 JOWETT; M。A。







Master of Balliol College



Regius Professor of Greek in the University of Oxford



Doctor in Theology of the University of Leyden











TO MY FORMER PUPILS







in Balliol College and in the University of Oxford who during fifty years



have been the best of friends to me these volumes are inscribed in grateful



recognition of their never failing attachment。











The additions and alterations which have been made; both in the



Introductions and in the Text of this Edition; affect at least a third of



the work。







Having regard to the extent of these alterations; and to the annoyance



which is naturally felt by the owner of a book at the possession of it in



an inferior form; and still more keenly by the writer himself; who must



always desire to be read as he is at his best; I have thought that the



possessor of either of the former Editions (1870 and 1876) might wish to



exchange it for the present one。  I have therefore arranged that those who



would like to make this exchange; on depositing a perfect and undamaged



copy of the first or second Edition with any agent of the Clarendon Press;



shall be entitled to receive a copy of a new Edition at half…price。











PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION。







The Text which has been mostly followed in this Translation of Plato is the



latest 8vo。 edition of Stallbaum; the principal deviations are noted at the



bottom of the page。







I have to acknowledge many obligations to old friends and pupils。  These



are:Mr。 John Purves; Fellow of Balliol College; with whom I have revised



about half of the entire Translation; the Rev。 Professor Campbell; of St。



Andrews; who has helped me in the revision of several parts of the work;



especially of the Theaetetus; Sophist; and Politicus; Mr。 Robinson Ellis;



Fellow of Trinity College; and Mr。 Alfred Robinson; Fellow of New College;



who read with me the Cratylus and the Gorgias; Mr。 Paravicini; Student of



Christ Church; who assisted me in the Symposium; Mr。 Raper; Fellow of



Queen's College; Mr。 Monro; Fellow of Oriel College; and Mr。 Shadwell;



Student of Christ Church; who gave me similar assistance in the Laws。  Dr。



Greenhill; of Hastings; has also kindly sent me remarks on the



physiological part of the Timaeus; which I have inserted as corrections



under the head of errata at the end of the Introduction。  The degree of



accuracy which I have been enabled to attain is in great measure due to



these gentlemen; and I heartily thank them for the pains and time which



they have bestowed on my work。







I have further to explain how far I have received help from other labourers



in the same field。  The books which I have found of most use are Steinhart



and Muller's German Translation of Plato with Introductions; Zeller's



'Philosophie der Griechen;' and 'Platonische Studien;' Susemihl's



'Genetische Entwickelung der Paltonischen Philosophie;' Hermann's



'Geschichte der Platonischen Philosophie;' Bonitz; 'Platonische Studien;'



Stallbaum's Notes and Introductions; Professor Campbell's editions of the



'Theaetetus;' the 'Sophist;' and the 'Politicus;' Professor Thompson's



'Phaedrus;' Th。 Martin's 'Etudes sur le Timee;' Mr。 Poste's edition and



translation of the 'Philebus;' the Translation of the 'Republic;' by



Messrs。 Davies and Vaughan; and the Translation of the 'Gorgias;' by Mr。



Cope。







I have also derived much assistance from the great work of Mr。 Grote; which



contains excellent analyses of the Dialogues; and is rich in original



thoughts and observations。  I agree with him in rejecting as futile the



attempt of Schleiermacher and others to arrange the Dialogues of Plato into



a harmonious whole。  Any such arrangement appears to me not only to be



unsupported by evidence; but to involve an anachronism in the history of



philosophy。  There is a common spirit in the writings of Plato; but not a



unity of design in the whole; nor perhaps a perfect unity in any single



Dialogue。  The hypothesis of a general plan which is worked out in the



successive Dialogues is an after…thought of the critics who have attributed



a system to writings belonging to an age when system had not as yet taken



possession of philosophy。







If Mr。 Grote should do me the honour to read any portion of this work he



will probably remark that I have endeavoured to approach Plato from a point



of view which is opposed to his own。  The aim of the Introductions in these



volumes has been to represent Plato as the father of Idealism; who is not



to be measured by the standard of utilitarianism or any other modern



philosophical system。  He is the poet or maker of ideas; satisfying the



wants of his own age; providing the instruments of thought for future



generations。  He is no dreamer; but a great philosophical genius struggling



with the unequal conditions of light and knowledge under which he is



living。  He may be illustrated by the writings of moderns; but he must be



interpreted by his own; and by his place in the history of philosophy。  We



are not concerned to determine what is the residuum of truth which remains



for ourselves。  His truth may not be our truth; and nevertheless may have



an extraordinary value and interest for us。







I cannot agree with Mr。 Grote in admitting as genuine all the writings



commonly attributed to Plato in antiquity; any more than with Schaarschmidt



and some other German critics who reject nearly half of them。  The German



critics; to whom I refer; proceed chiefly on grounds of internal evidence;



they appear to me to lay too much stress on the variety of doctrine and



style; which must be equally acknowledged as a fact; even in the Dialogues



regarded by Schaarschmidt as genuine; e。g。 in the Phaedrus; or Symposium;



when compared with the Laws。  He who admits works so different in style and



matter to have been the composition of the same author; need have no



difficulty in admitting the Sophist or the Politicus。  (The negative



argument adduced by the same school of critics; which is based on the



silence of Aristotle; is not worthy of much consideration。  For why should



Aristotle; because he has quoted several Dialogues of Plato; have quoted



them all?  Something must be allowed to chance; and to the nature of the



subjects treated of in them。)  On the other hand; Mr。 Grote trusts mainly



to the Alexandrian Canon。  But I hardly think that we are justified in



attributing much weight to the authority of the Alexandrian librarians in



an age when there was no regular publication of books; and every temptation



to forge them; and in which the writings of a school were naturally



attributed to the founder of the school。  And even without intentional



fraud; there was an inclination to believe rather than to enquire。  Would



Mr。 Grote accept as genuine all the writings which he finds in the lists of



learned ancients attributed to Hippocrates; to Xenophon; to Aristotle?  The



Alexandrian Canon of the Platonic writings is deprived of credit by the



admission of the Epistles; which are not only unworthy of Plato; and in



several passages plagiarized from him; but flagrantly at variance with



historical fact。  It will be seen also that I do not agree with Mr。 Grote's



views about the Sophists; nor with the low estimate which he has formed of



Plato's Laws; nor with his opinion respecting Plato's doctrine of the



rotation of the earth。  But I 'am not going to lay hands on my father



Parmenides' (Soph。); who will; I hope; forgive me for differing from him on



these points。  I cannot close this Preface without expressing my deep



respect for his noble and gentle character; and the great services which he



has rendered to Greek Literature。







Balliol College;



January; 1871。











PREFACE TO THE SECOND AND THIRD EDITIONS。







In publishing a Second Edition (1875) of the Dialogues of Plato in English;



I had to acknowledge the assistance of several friends:  of the Rev。 G。G。



Bradley; Master of University College; now Dean of Westminster; who sent me



some valuable remarks on the Phaedo; of Dr。 Greenhill; who had again



revised a portion of the Timaeus; of Mr。 R。L。 Nettleship; Fellow and Tutor



of Balliol College; to whom I was indebted for an excellent criticism of



the Parmenides; and; above all; of the 

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