GENERAL INTRODUCTION

xi

hypotheses. The point is that he made a new science out of a recognized theory of "ideas" or "forms," which had come of reflecting on the quality predicated To "predicate" a quality means to state that a subject has a certain characteristic—for example, saying "the rose is red." when we say "this man is good," and which postulates some sure reality behind the fleeting objects of sense. His "hypothetical" method, familiar to mathematicians, attains its full reach and significance in the Republic Plato’s most famous dialogue, which discusses justice, the character of the just city-state, and the ideal philosopher-king..

The Pythagoreans Followers of Pythagoras, known for their belief in the mathematical nature of the universe and the reincarnation of souls. who appear in the intimate scene of the Phaedo A dialogue by Plato depicting Socrates' final day and his arguments for the soul's immortality. were accustomed to the theory of ideas, and were a fit audience for the highest reasonings of Socrates on the true nature of life and the soul. For some years before the master's death (399 B.C.) Plato, if not a member of their circle, was often a spell-bound hearer of the "satyr" Socrates was famously described as resembling a "satyr"—a mythological creature known for its wild nature—due to his snub nose and bulging eyes, but the term also alludes to his captivating, almost magical power of speech.. But ordinary Athenians had other views of Socrates, which varied according to their age and the extent of their acquaintance with him. Aristophanes' burlesque in the Clouds (423 B.C.) A famous comedy by Aristophanes that mocked Socrates as a "Sophist" with his head in the clouds. had left a common impression not unlike what we have of the King of Laputa A character from Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels who is so distracted by abstract science and music that he is totally out of touch with reality.. Yet the young men who had any frequent speech with him in his later years, while they felt there was something uncanny about him, found an irresistible attraction in his simple manner, his humorous insight into their ways and thoughts, and his fervent eloquence on the principles of their actions and careers. He kept no school, and took no fees; he distrusted the pretensions of the regular sophists Sophists: Itinerant professional teachers in ancient Greece who charged fees to teach rhetoric and "virtue," often accused of using clever but fallacious reasoning., with whom he was carelessly confounded; moreover, he professed to have no knowledge himself, except so far as to...