Sophist – Plato
STRANGER: Every one then, who desires to an-ters will unite with what? Or is art required in swer truly, will adopt the third and remaining order to do so?
hypothesis of the communion of some with some.
THEAETETUS: Art is required.
THEAETETUS: Quite true.
STRANGER: What art?
STRANGER: This communion of some with some THEAETETUS: The art of grammar.
may be illustrated by the case of letters; for some letters do not fit each other, while others do.
STRANGER: And is not this also true of sounds high and low?—Is not he who has the art to know THEAETETUS: Of course.
what sounds mingle, a musician, and he who is ignorant, not a musician?
STRANGER: And the vowels, especially, are a sort of bond which pervades all the other letters, so THEAETETUS: Yes.
that without a vowel one consonant cannot be joined to another.
STRANGER: And we shall find this to be generally true of art or the absence of art.
THEAETETUS: True.
THEAETETUS: Of course.
STRANGER: But does every one know what let-141
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STRANGER: And as classes are admitted by us STRANGER: Should we not say that the division in like manner to be some of them capable and according to classes, which neither makes the others incapable of intermixture, must not he same other, nor makes other the same, is the who would rightly show what kinds will unite business of the dialectical science?
and what will not, proceed by the help of science in the path of argument? And will he not THEAETETUS: That is what we should say.
ask if the connecting links are universal, and so capable of intermixture with all things; and STRANGER: Then, surely, he who can divide again, in divisions, whether there are not other rightly is able to see clearly one form pervading universal classes, which make them possible?
a scattered multitude, and many different forms contained under one higher form; and again, one THEAETETUS: To be sure he will require science, form knit together into a single whole and per-and, if I am not mistaken, the very greatest of vading many such wholes, and many forms, ex-all sciences.
isting only in separation and isolation. This is the knowledge of classes which determines STRANGER: How are we to call it? By Zeus, have where they can have communion with one an-we not lighted unwittingly upon our free and other and where not.
noble science, and in looking for the Sophist have we not entertained the philosopher unawares?
THEAETETUS: Quite true.
THEAETETUS: What do you mean?
STRANGER: And the art of dialectic would be 142
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attributed by you only to the philosopher pure ing converse through reason with the idea of and true?
being, is also dark from excess of light; for the souls of the many have no eye which can endure THEAETETUS: Who but he can be worthy?
the vision of the divine.
STRANGER: In this region we shall always dis-THEAETETUS: Yes; that seems to be quite as true cover the philosopher, if we look for him; like as the other.
the Sophist, he is not easily discovered, but for a different reason.
STRANGER: Well, the philosopher may hereafter be more fully considered by us, if we are dis-THEAETETUS: For what reason?
posed; but the Sophist must clearly not be allowed to escape until we have had a good look STRANGER: Because the Sophist runs away into at him.
the darkness of not-being, in which he has learned by habit to feel about, and cannot be THEAETETUS: Very good.
discovered because of the darkness of the place.
Is not that true?
STRANGER: Since, then, we are agreed that some classes have a communion with one another, and THEAETETUS: It seems to be so.
others not, and some have communion with a few and others with many, and that there is no STRANGER: And the philosopher, always hold-reason why some should not have universal com-143
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munion with all, let us now pursue the enquiry, THEAETETUS: Yes, by far.
as the argument suggests, not in relation to all ideas, lest the multitude of them should confuse STRANGER: And two of these are, as we affirm, us, but let us select a few of those which are incapable of communion with one another.
reckoned to be the principal ones, and consider their several natures and their capacity of com-THEAETETUS: Quite incapable.
munion with one another, in order that if we are not able to apprehend with perfect clearness the STRANGER: Whereas being surely has commun-notions of being and not-being, we may at least ion with both of them, for both of them are?
not fall short in the consideration of them, so far as they come within the scope of the present THEAETETUS: Of course.
enquiry, if peradventure we may be allowed to assert the reality of not-being, and yet escape STRANGER: That makes up three of them.
unscathed.
THEAETETUS: To be sure.
THEAETETUS: We must do so.
STRANGER: And each of them is other than the STRANGER: The most important of all the gen-remaining two, but the same with itself.
era are those which we were just now mention-ing—being and rest and motion.
THEAETETUS: True.