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 Plato's studies and criticisms of the po 
 
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PLATO'S STUDIES AND 
 CRITICISMS OF THE POETS 
 
 BY 
 
 CARLETON LEWIS BROWNSON 
 
 Head of the Classical Department and 
 
 Dean of the College of the 
 
 City of New York 
 
 BOSTON 
 
 RICHARD G. BADGER 
 
 THE GORHAM PRESS 
 
COFYBIGET, 1920, BY CaELETON LEWIS BrOWNSON 
 
 All Rights Reserved 
 
 Made in the United States of America 
 
 The Gorham Press, Boston, U. S. A. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 There is hardly any subject which the Platonic Soc- 
 rates finds more interesting than poetry, hardly any 
 class of people to whom he refers more frequently than 
 to the poets. And it seems clear that in this respect 
 Plato is fairly representing the historic Socrates. In 
 both the Memorabilia and the Symposium of Xenophon 
 Socrates appears as one fully versed in literature. He 
 tells Antiphon"^ that he is wont to peruse with his friends 
 the writings of the wise men of old and to make excerpts 
 therefrom. First among these "wise men of old" was 
 Homer. Socrates not only refers often^ to characters 
 and episodes of the Iliad and the Odyssey but quotes' 
 freely from both poems. He also quotes more than 
 once from Hesiod,* as well as from Theognis^ and Epi- 
 charmus.* He does not mention by name nor quote 
 any Athenian dramatist, but it is evident from allusions' 
 to things theatrical, which he introduces, as Plato fre- 
 quently does, for purposes of illustration, that he was an 
 observing play-goer. He has also listened to the re- 
 citals of rhapsodes, but thinks* with Plato that they 
 fail to understand the meaning of what they say. 
 
 'Mem. I. 6. 14. 2 Mem. I. 3. 7, II. 6. 31, Symp. IV, 20, VIII. 
 23 and 31. 'Mem. II. 6. 11, III. 1.4, 2. 1 and 2, IV. 6. 15, Symp. VIII. 
 30. * Mem. I. 3. 3, II. I. 20. 'Symp. II. 4. « Mem. II. I. 20. 'Mem. 
 II. 2. 9, III. 4. 3, s. 6. 8 Symp. III. 6. 
 
 3 
 
4 Preface 
 
 Xenophon tells us further' — and his statement is im- 
 portant for the present purpose — that Socrates was 
 accused of selecting the worst passages from the most 
 famous poets and making them a basis for harmful 
 teachings.^" Several verses from the Iliad^^ and one 
 from Hesiod^^ are then cited which Socrates was charged 
 with perverting. It appears, then, that Socrates was 
 a lover and a student especially of Homer but also of 
 the other poets. All this we might of course fairly 
 expect of a seeker after wisdom who lived in the age of 
 Pericles and numbered among his acquaintance a 
 Nicer'atus,^' who knew by heart both the Iliad and the 
 Odyssey. 
 
 Socrates found in Plato a follower whose tastes cor- 
 responded with his own in this as in other respects. It 
 is a well-known and altogether probable story that Plato 
 in his youth was himself a- poet and wrote dithyrambs, 
 lyric verse and tragedies." We learn further from 
 Diogenes Laertius'^ that Plato at the age of twenty was 
 just about to present a tragedy, when he first heard 
 Socrates; thereupon he committed his poems to the 
 flames with the words, "H<^ato'T6 7rp6)LcoX 'dJ5e, 
 nXdrwi' v\J Tt, aelo xarifei." This anecdote may or 
 may not be true; it seems to me worth telling be- 
 cause it illustrates truly Plato's feeling in regard 
 to poetry. Even as he renounces the art, he does 
 so in the words of the great poet of Greecevfso 
 
 ' Mem. I. 2. 56. " vid. infra p. 124. " B 188-191, 198-202. ^ W. 
 and D. 311. '^ Symp. III. j. " Diog. Laert. Vitae Philosophorum, 
 III. 5. Olympiodorus, Vita, 3. Aelian, Var. Hist. II. 30. '^ 1. c. 1° Cf. 
 Iliad, 2 392. 
 
Pr^ace 5 
 
 the philosophy which led him to condemn and 
 banish the poets is adorned in his writings with all 
 the graces of poetrjy Plato does, indeed, abandon 
 poetry as a calling but he is far from giving up the 
 study of the poets. According to tradition^' he was 
 especially fond of Epicharmus and Sophron. Those 
 who were jealous of his fame charged him with having 
 copied the latter's mimes in his dialogues.^' On the 
 other hand Diogenes states^' that he was greatly as- 
 sisted by Epicharmus, the greater part of whose works 
 he transcribed. Indeed he was said to have kept a 
 copy of the comedian always under his pillow.^" An- 
 other story of the same sort is that the works of Sophron 
 and Aristophanes were found in his bed after his 
 death.^^ Such in brief is the external evidence re- 
 garding Plato's literary tastes and studies. Needless 
 to say that it is of extremely slight importance, first, 
 because it is meager and rests upon poor authority, and 
 second, because the internal evidence is so entirely 
 adequate that it could hardly be strengthened by the 
 fullest and most trustworthy information from other 
 sources. It is the aim of the present dissertation to 
 collect and analyse this internal evidence and to that 
 end all the dialogues which Christ^^ classes as ' i- 
 doubtedly genuine have been examined. 
 
 " Diog. III. 9, lo, i8. Olymp. 3. Val. Max. V. 7. 18 Diog. III. 18. 
 "Id. III. 9, 10. 20 Olymp. 3. Val. Max. V. 7. 21 Diog. III. 18. 
 Olymp. 1. c. ^ Gesch. der Griech. Litt. p. 376 ff. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PART I— PLATO'S STUDIES OF THE POETS AND OF 
 POETRY 
 
 FACE 
 
 Introduction ii 
 
 I Plato's References to the Poets As a Class and to 
 
 Poetry 13 
 
 General Comments 13 
 
 Definition of the various types of poetry ... 17 
 Remarks upon the subject of harmonies and rhythms 1 8 
 References to the externals of dramatic representa- 
 tion 19 
 
 II Plato's References to Individual Poets and Quota- 
 tions FROM Their Works 22 
 
 Prehistoric bards 22 
 
 Elegiac poets 25 
 
 Iambic poets 29 
 
 Lyric poets 30 
 
 Dramatic poets 35 
 
 a. The Comedians 3S 
 
 b. The Tragedians 37 
 
 Epic poets 46 
 
 General conclusions 68 
 
 PART II— PLATO'S CRITICISMS OF THE POETS 
 AND POETRY 
 
 Introduction 77 
 
 I Review of Plato's Condemnatory Utterances . . 81 
 
 In the Republic 81 
 
 In the Laws ■. . . . 98 
 
 In other dialogues lOj 
 
 7 
 
8 Contents 
 
 FAGS 
 
 II The Study of the Poets in the Greek System of 
 
 Education io8 
 
 III The Shortcomings of the Poets as Educators . ii8 
 
 IV The Ancient Quarrel between Poetry and Phi- 
 
 losophy 132 
 
 V Minor Reasons for Plato's Hostility to the Poets 139 
 
 VI General Considerations and Conclusions . . . 144 
 
 Bibliography 155 
 
 Tables 159 
 
PART I 
 Plato's studies of the poets and of poetry 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 The influence of Plato's early training as a poet, or 
 rather the natural bent of his genius toward the poetic, 
 is shown in three ways : first, by the dramatic and poetic 
 element in his dialogues; second, by his comments upon 
 poetry and the poets; third, by his wonderfully wide 
 acquaintance with the works of poets of his own age and 
 of the earlier centuries. With regard to the first point 
 little need be said. We feel, as did Aristotle,^ that 
 Plato's style is midway between poetry and prose, but 
 we do not care to undertake a demonstration of the fact 
 by means of quotations and abstracts. We accept the 
 statement of Longinus' that Plato was 'O/ii/ptKOJTa- 
 Tos iravTOiv, but we can more fully appreciate the 
 influence of Homer and the other poets upon Plato's 
 habits of thought and expression by reading the Phae- 
 drus, the Phaedo, the Symposium, or any one of many 
 other dialogues than by studying the opinions of critics 
 or collecting examples of poetic imagination and dic- 
 tion in the philosopher's works. I shall consider, 
 therefore, only the second and third of the points men- 
 tioned, and in dealing with them shall disregard for the 
 present the few famous passages in which Plato treats 
 of the poets as the "educators of Hellas" and con- 
 demns many of their teachings so sternly. 
 
 ' Diogenes III. 37. " De Sublimitate, XIII. p. 56. 
 II 
 
Plato's Studies and Criticisms 
 of the Poets 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 Plato's references to the poets as a class and to 
 
 POETRY 
 
 I. General Comments. — Plato is at one with his coun- 
 trymen in regarding the poets as the earliest sages of 
 Greece, divinely endowed with superior wisdom. In 
 the Lysis' he speaks of them as "our fathers and 
 leaders in wisdom," and in the Laws,* a dialogue as 
 far as possible removed from the Lysis, they are said 
 to be delov ykvos and to attain to truth with the help 
 of the Muses and Graces. Again we find them de- 
 scribed in the Republic^ as TratSes d^wv, though these 
 words are put in the mouth of Adimantus and are 
 probably not to be taken seriously. A similar irony is 
 evident in the Timaeus,* where the poets are said to 
 call themselves descendants of the gods. Their posi- 
 tion and mission in ancient times corresponded with 
 that of the philosophers and sophists in later days. 
 For Protagoras, Heraclitus, and Empedocles are said 
 in the Theaetetus'' to be their lineal descendants; and 
 Protagoras, in the dialogue which is called by his name,* 
 affirms his belief that they were simply sophists who 
 termed their art poetry in order to escape odium. It 
 
 ' 214 A. * 682 A. » 366 B. 8 40 D. ' 152 C, 160 D., 179 E. 
 8316 D. 
 
 13 
 
14 Plato's Studies and Criticisms of the- Poets 
 
 is from the poets also that we must learn with regard to 
 the science of names, as Socrates urges in the Cratylus.' 
 The poets, however, differ from the philosophers in 
 that "they do what they do, not by wisdom but by a 
 sort of natural genius and inspiration."^" There is 
 nothing of which Plato is more thoroughly convinced 
 than of this. He reiterates the statement in the Ion,*' 
 the Meno,'^ the Phaedrus,'' and the Laws." The poet 
 is a light and winged and holy thing, and is not able 
 to compose poetry until he becomes inspired and out 
 of his mind.*" He is frequently compared, as in the 
 passage quoted from the Apology, with the seers and 
 soothsayers.*' Like them he is a servant of the gods, 
 who speaks not of himself.*' How else can one explain 
 the fact that Tynnichus, the Chalcidian, wrote one 
 magnificent paean but nothing else worth reading?** 
 The poet, then, is not eiJ,<ppo3v when he sits upon the 
 tripod of the muses,*' he acts as an interpreter of the 
 gods without understanding what he says.^" In passing 
 this judgment upon the poet, Plato keenly discerns the 
 fundamental truth that poetry is a matter of genius, 
 not of education; but he seems also to have in mind the 
 "ancient quarrel between poetry and philosophy,"^* 
 the one addressing its appeal to the imagination and 
 the feelings, the other to the reason. The poet can 
 charm his audience or his readers, but he cannot with- 
 stand the cross-examination of the philosopher or give 
 
 " 391 D. i» Apol. 22 C. " S33 Off. 12 99 D. " 245 A. " 719 C. 
 ^ Ion, 534 B. D. i« e.g. Phsdr. 265 B., Meno 99 C. " Ion, S34 D. E. 
 *' Ion 534 D. " Leg.; 719 C. 20 534 D. "■ Rep. 607 B. cf. infra 
 pp. 132 ff- 
 
Plato's References to the Poets as a Class 15 
 
 a logical explanation of his own verses. It is the reason 
 which Plato seeks to exalt and glorify, and this belongs 
 to the philosopher, not to the poet. 
 
 Plato recognized, therefore, as few of his countrymen 
 could, the difference between poetiy and history, the 
 fact that the realm of poetry is the imagination. As 
 Socrates puts it in the Phaedo,^^ the poet must deal with 
 fivdoL, not with X670t. So in the Republic^' the poets 
 are called fivdoTroLol whose tales, though false, may 
 well be employed for the instruction of the young 
 unless they are wicked as well as false. Indeed, Plato 
 so fully believes in the utility of nvdoL of the right 
 kind that he founds his Republic upon a "noble lie"^* 
 such as the poets have told us and persuaded us to be- 
 lieve. In general, he says, our poets who deal with the 
 traditions of an obscure past accomplish some good 
 results in so far as they make their myths as nearly like 
 truth as possible.^* Plato does not treat the myths as 
 allegories. In the Phaedrus^* he ridicules with delight- 
 ful irony the rationalizing tendency which was so much 
 the -fashion in his day, especially among the sophists. 
 Such attempts to find a hidden meaning in every story 
 seem to him to require too much toil and ingenuity to 
 be pleasant. It is better to accept the usual explana- 
 tion. Possibly Plato lays himself open to the charge of 
 inconsistency by some few attempts in the Laws''^ and 
 in the Phaedo^* of the sort which he disapproves; but 
 in general he is- true to the view which Socrates states 
 to Phaedrus. 
 
 !»6iB. 23 377 B.C. 2^ Rep. 414 C. !»Rep.382D. «« 2290.-230 
 A. i"682E. 685 C. M108A. 
 
1 6 Plato's Studies and Criticisms of the Poets 
 
 The kindest words with which Plato honors the poets 
 and their art are found in the Symposium and in the 
 Phaedrus. Diotima says^' that creative souls conceive 
 those things which it is proper for the soul to conceive 
 and bring forth, that is, wisdom and virtue in general. 
 Such creators are all poets. Who would not rather have 
 the immortal children of Homer and Hesiod and the 
 other good poets than human children.? In the 
 Phaedrus'" poetic madness is said to take possession of 
 a gentle and pure soul and rouse it to lyric and all 
 other forms of verse, with these adorning the countless 
 deeds of the heroes of old for the instruction of posterity. 
 But the poets are not always judged so favorably, even 
 where no formal indictment is brought against them. 
 They are spoken of in the Republic'' as one of the 
 unnecessary additions to a state along with cooks, 
 nurses, and barbers. Poetry according to the Gorgias'^ 
 is an art which seeks only to flatter and give pleasure. 
 When Socrates in the Protagoras'' seeks to put an end 
 to the discussion of Simonides and his poem, he com- 
 pares conversing about poetry to the introduction of 
 flute-girls at banquets of the commoner sort where 
 men cannot entertain one another with their own words. 
 The soul which has seen truth most clearly in the vision 
 of the Phaedrus,'* when it assumes a mortal form, 
 becomes a philosopher; then we descend to the sixth 
 order of souls before we find that one which is to belong 
 to the poet. The poet, then, in his comprehension of 
 truth. is inferior even to the man of business and the 
 gymnast, superior only to such as the artisan, the 
 " Symp. 209 A. ff. »»24sA. " 373 B. '2501-2. ''347C. 3*248 D. 
 
Plato's References to the Poets as a Class 17 
 
 « 
 
 sophist, and the tyrant. This judgment may, of 
 course, be closely compared with those already quoted 
 which describe the poet as one who knows not the real 
 meaning of what he says. 
 
 2. Definition of the various types of poetry. — The most 
 important passage in Plato which deals with the sujj- 
 ject of literary criticism deserves more than a passing 
 notice. It is found in the third book of the Republic.'' 
 The philosopher has already prescribed what ought to 
 be said by the poets if their works are to be used for the 
 education of the guardians; the question now is as to 
 the how, or in other words to Xe^ews. The principle 
 is laid down that narrative may be either simple, or by 
 imitation, or made up of both together. Adimantus 
 does not understand and is referred for an illustration 
 to the first lines of the Iliad. The poet, Socrates says, 
 is speaking in his own person in all that precedes the 
 words 'Arpetda 8e /xdXtora dva, KoafxiiTope Xactip; 
 then he speaks as though he were not Homer but the 
 old priest, Chryses. The former method is simple 
 narration, the latter imitation; and it is the latter 
 which is employed in the greater part of the Iliad and 
 Odyssey. To make the point still more clear Socrates 
 paraphrases the lines which describe Chryses' visit to 
 the ships, his reception, departure, and prayer to 
 Apollo, dropping throughout the direct discourse. 
 Thus, he says, we get simple narration. Or again we 
 might drop the lines which intervene between the 
 speeches, and we should have, as Adimantus sees, 
 nothing more nor less than tragedy. Thus it is clear, 
 »392D. ff. 
 
l8 • Plato's Studies and Criticisms of the Poets 
 
 as stated at the beginning, that poetry may be first, 
 simple narrative, second, imitation, third, a combina- 
 tion of both. Examples of the three styles are dithy- 
 rambic poetry, drama, and epic. Unfortunately it is 
 necessary to confess that Plato's purpose in this discus- 
 sion is to prepare the way for his condemnation of all 
 that is imitative, mimetic, in poetry, but the value and 
 significance of his words is none the less on that ac- 
 count. He is preparing the foundation upon which 
 Aristottfe builds in the Poetics. Still more, it seems to 
 me that Plato in what he has wrought shows the skilled 
 hand that could have reared the superstructure as easily 
 and as well as did his successor. It is true that Plato 
 condemns Homer largely because of the mimetic ele- 
 ment which his poems contain, "while Aristotle finds 
 herein one of the most marked proofs of Homer's su- 
 periority to other writers of epic; but the difference is 
 in the point of view, not in artistic sense or discern- 
 ment. Plato surely did not construct his paraphrase 
 without realizing how far it fell short of the vividness 
 and power of the original, nor did he fail to comprehend 
 that Homer was the greater as a poet because of just 
 this dramatic element which caused him to be con- 
 demned as an educator of the young. 
 
 3. Remarks upon the subject of harmonies and 
 rhythms. — The technical subject of harrponies and 
 rhythms is touched upon in the Laches'* and treated at 
 some length in the Republic" and the Laws.!* In the 
 Republic Plato pretends to speak as a layman, mani- 
 festly because it is aside from his purpose to enter upon 
 
 a> 188 D. " 398-401. »s 669-70. 
 
Plato's References to the Poets as a Class 19 
 
 a full and scientific discussion. For what he does say 
 makes it clear that he speaks from' thorough knowl- 
 edge. The citizens of his ideal state are to employ 
 only the Dorian and Phrygian harmonies, the former 
 of which he has called in the Laches the only Hellenic 
 harmony. The general principle, as it is stated in all 
 the passages referred to, is a proper adaptation of har- 
 mony and rhythm to subject matter. The fantastic 
 perversions and complexities of modern poets are 
 condemned as they areby Aristophanes in the Clouds.^' 
 Plato also banishes from his ideal city all musical in- 
 struments except the lyre and the cithara, adding, 
 however, that the herdsmen in the country may keep 
 their syrinx.*" 
 
 4. References to the externals of dramatic representa- 
 tion. — Finally, it is important to note in this connection 
 the frequency with which Plato refers for the sake of 
 illustration or comparison to everything connected 
 with the art of the dramatist. The philosopher refuses 
 to admit either tragedy or comedy into his Republic, 
 but not because they had no charm for him. More- 
 over, nothing can be clearer than that Plato was not 
 only acquainted with the works of the dramatists as 
 literature, but that he was a frequent spectator and 
 hearer at the Dionysiac theater. Evidence to prove 
 the truth of this statement is found in almost all the 
 dialogues, from the Charmides to the Laws. Thus in 
 the Protagoras*^ the regular and orderly movements of 
 the great sophist's attendants are compared to those of 
 a chorus. In the Phaedrus*" the politician whose 
 
 '9 97off. "Rep. 399 D. "^ais B. «! 258 B. 
 
20 Plato's Studies and Criticisms of the Poets 
 
 measure is passed goes away in as great delight as the 
 successful poet from the theater. On the other hand, 
 Plato notes in the Charmides^' the vexation which the 
 poet feels toward the actor who has spoken his lines 
 badly. The various forms of government in the Re- 
 public^ are judged as choruses entering the theater, 
 Glaucon taking the part of judge while Socrates himself 
 acts as herald. In the same connections^ it is urged that 
 the tyrant can be understood only by one who has seen 
 him in his daily life, stripped of his tragedy attire. 
 Still another passage from the Republic^* refers to the 
 penurious man, who has made a blind god (Plutus) the 
 leader of his chorus. In the Cratylus*' Socrates com- 
 pares himself and Hermogenes to the tragedians who, 
 when in difficulties, resort to the machince and introduce 
 gods to cut the knot. In the Critias** Socrates an- 
 nounces the judgment of the theater that the former 
 poet (Timaeus) did wonderfully well, and warns Critias 
 that he will have no easy task in following him. We 
 find more than one reference^' to the noisy demonstra- 
 tions of the mob in the theater, which prevent the 
 judges from rendering an impartial decision. The 
 important ceremony of the Proagon is alluded to at 
 some length in the Symposium*" and casually in the 
 Laws.*' Indeed, it may be said that no Greek author 
 or commentator furnishes more valuable information 
 regarding this event than does Plato. The passage in 
 question from the Symposium contains also the strange 
 word OKptjSas,*^ which has been so much discussed 
 
 « 162 D. « s8o B. « S77 B. « 554 B. " 425 D. « jog B. 
 " Rep. 493 D., Leg. 659 A. B., 700-1. ^o j^^ b. " 796 D. ^ 194 B. 
 
Plato's References to tfit Poets as a Class 21 
 
 and so often employed as an argument in favor of the 
 stage theory. However the word is to be interpreted, 
 it is important to find Plato using a technical expression 
 of the dramatists which appears nowhere else in Greek 
 literature. Another technical term which is found in 
 no classical author except Plato^' is kpyoXa^os, 
 seemingly the name which the Greeks gave to what we 
 should call an advance agent. I have noted only a 
 few among very many** allusions of this nature, which 
 serve to show abundantly what we should naturally 
 have assumed a priori, namely that Plato, himself a 
 dramatist, was a careful student of the drama of Athens. 
 
 »Rep. 373 B. "Apol. 26 E., Lach. 183 B., Phsd. 115 A., 
 Phaedr. 236 C, Symp. 223 D., Euthyd. 279 C, Thest. 173 B. D., 
 Phileb. 48 A., Rep. 396 A., 413 B., 475 D., S4S E-. Leg. 838 C, 935 
 E., 967 C. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 Plato's references to individual poets and quo- 
 tations FROM THEIR WORKS 
 
 Having considered Plato's comments upon poetry 
 and upon the poets as a class we may next consider his 
 treatment of individual poets. From this examination 
 we may hope not only to show the extent and accuracy 
 of Plato's acquaintance with Greek literature but also 
 to find an answer to two important questions: (i) What 
 was Plato's general purpose in quoting from the poets? 
 and (2) Why does he quote just those whom he does 
 quote, or in other words what was his principle of se- 
 lection ? Deferring a full discussion of these questions 
 until the necessary material shall have been collected, 
 we may nevertheless indicate from time to time the con- 
 clusions to which the number and character of Plato's 
 quotations from individual authors would seem to lead. 
 
 I. Prehistoric bards. — Beginning with Plato one must 
 go back to those early bards whose characters are less 
 than half real, more than half mythical. Amphion, 
 Marsyas, Olympus, Orpheus, Musaeus, Eumolpus, 
 Thamyris — all are known to him. Marsyas and 
 Olympus, the revered masters of the Phrygian art of 
 flute playing, are mentioned in the Laws^ as early dis- 
 
 ^677 D. — in a list which also includes Orpheus and Amphion. 
 Cf. infra. 
 
 22 
 
Plato's References to Individual Poets 23 
 
 coverers irepl fiovcrtKrjP. The two are connected 
 also in the Symposium,^ where Alcibiades praises his 
 Marsyas as a much more wonderful charmer than his 
 narriesake, although the compositions of the elder 
 Marsyas and those of his inspired pupil, Olympus, do 
 still charm men, whether played well or badly. Olym- 
 pus is further mentioned as a representative poet, along 
 with Orpheus and Thamyris, in the lon.^ Amphion is 
 referred to but once,* where he is spoken of as the in- 
 ventor of the lyre. On the other hand, the Thracian 
 singers, Orpheus and Musaeus, are mentioned very 
 frequently, in at least four^ cases together. They are 
 numbered among the wise men of old who, Protagoras 
 thinks,* were really sophists; they are mentioned' 
 also with Hesiod and Homer as men whom Socrates 
 would enjoy meeting in the world to come. Musaeus 
 is nowhere quoted by Plato, although he describes the 
 substance of some of his teachings in two passages of 
 the Republic* Orphic verses, however, are directly 
 quoted in four® instances, three times with the name 
 of the poet. Three of these quotations are such as 
 might have been taken from the works of any epic 
 poet, the fourth (from the Phaedo) suggests the mystical 
 teachings of the Orphic sect. So also do other passages 
 from the Phaedo,^" the Symposium,^' the Cratylus,'^ 
 
 ■'zis C. ^JS3 C. ^Leg. 677 D. ^Apol. 41 A., Prot. 316 D., 
 Ion S36 B., Rep. 364 E. « Prot. 316 D. ' Apol. 41 A. » 363 C. D., 
 364 A. « Crat. 402 B. (Frg. XIV. Mullach), Phileb. 66 C. (Frg. 
 XIII), Leg. 669 D., Phsd. 69 C. "'62 B., 69 C, 70 C. «2i8 B. 
 In this passage Alcibiades is not quite quoting, but adapting to his 
 purpose the meaning of an Orphic line (Frg. I., 1. i). Two words of 
 the original, however, are preserved. ^ 400 C. 
 
24 Plato's Studies and Criticisms of the Poets 
 
 the Meno,^' the Republic,** and the Laws/'' in which, 
 without directly quoting, Plato alludes to the religious 
 conceptions of Orpheus and his followers. In the 
 Cratylus the phrase ol aixtpl 'Op<p^a is used, while in 
 the Republic the sect is referred to as ol irepl rds 
 reXeras, and an Orphic doctrine as 6 kv aTropprjroLS 
 Xeybfievos X670S, — all showing that Orpheus was 
 regarded as more prophet than poet. He was, however, 
 to Plato as to us the type of the sweet singer. Pro- 
 tagoras is said to charm with his voice &(nrep 'Op- 
 tpebs,^^ and in the Laws*' the hymns of Orpheus are a 
 standard of comparison for sweetness. It is not 
 strange, then, that he is represented in the tenth book 
 of the Republic** as choosing the life of a swan. Yet, 
 though he could sing well, he lacked courage; in a sadly 
 disparaging passage from the Symposium,*^ a passage, 
 however, in which Plato is disparaging the craft rather 
 than the particular poet, he is said to have been unwil- 
 ling to die for Eurydice, are Siv Kidapi^bos. Eumol- 
 pus, the third of the Thracian singers, is referred to 
 once,*" not by name but as the son of Musaeus, while 
 Thamyris is mentioned three times,** always together 
 with Orpheus. 
 
 It is extremely interesting to find Plato alluding so 
 frequently to Orpheus and the doctrines which were 
 ascribed to him, and at the same time quoting from the 
 poet's works. He does not suggest a doubt as to the 
 genuineness of the verses which he cites, nor does he 
 
 "81 A. "364E. "^ 71S E. (Frg. VI), 782 C, 870 D. "Prot. 315 
 B. "829 E. IS 620 A. "179 D. 2»Rep. 363 C. 21 Ion 533 C, 
 Rep. 620 A., Leg. 829 E. 
 
Plato's References to Jndividual Poets 25 
 
 seem to question, like Herodotus,^ the belief which 
 referred the mystic teachings of the so-called Orphic 
 sect to Orpheus himself; for the words ^ifiXuv de Ofxa- 
 dov TapexovTai, Movaaiov Kal Op(pecos in 364 E. 
 of the Republic do not necessarily imply scepticism, 
 but only the dismay of one who is confronted with a 
 formidable array of authorities. Plato appears, then, 
 though he may be concealing his real judgment, to re- 
 gard Orpheus simply as an ancient poet, older even 
 than Horner,^ his dictum as 6 iraXatos \6yos.^* He is 
 referred to so frequently because his teachings were 
 well known and because they contained much which 
 Plato could approve. They are, indeed, mildly con- 
 demned in one instance,^^ but elsewhere Plato's tone is 
 distinctly the opposite. Especially acceptable to him 
 were the doctrines ascribed to Orpheus respecting the 
 immortality of the soul. Plato welcomed, therefore, 
 and improved^' the opportunity of appealing to such a 
 recognized authority In support of his own views. 
 
 2. Elegiac poets. — Coming down to the historical 
 period, we may tiake up first the elegiac poets. Tyr- 
 taeus is several times quoted and referred to in the 
 Laws, of course on account of the fact that a Spartan 
 takes part in this dialogue. For, as Heine^' has well 
 remarked, Tyrtaeus held the same proud position in the 
 
 ^ II. 81. ^ Cf. Theaet. 179 E. 'O/iijpeiuv Kai l« voKaioripuv. That 
 Plato here has Orpheus in mind seems clear from Crat. 402 B. Cf. 
 Heine, De ratione quae Platoni cum poetis Graecorum intercedit qui 
 ante eum floruerunt (Breslau, 1880) p. 25, n. 2. " Phaed. 70 C. Leg. 
 71S E. i» Rep. 364 E. 26 Men. 81 A., Phaed. 70 C, Leg. 870 D. 
 ^' De Ratione etc. p. 60. 
 
26 Plato's Studies and Criticisms of the Poets 
 
 estimation of the Spartans which the Athenians gave 
 to Horner;^* so out of regard for Megillus the Athenian 
 protagonist in the Laws not only refers to the Spartan 
 poet as an authority but gracefully honors him by 
 coupling his name with that of Homer.^' He is also 
 addressed as irotTjra fletorare and pronounced ao<pds 
 Kai ayadds.^" The real significance of these words, 
 however, need not be counted very great.'' The quo- 
 tations from Tyrtaeus, three in number,'^ are all from 
 the celebrated fragnjent'' beginning oitiT av fjLvr}(raifJLr]V, 
 and are either exact or changed only so far as is neces- 
 sary to adapt them to the connection in which they are 
 found. Plato also has this fragment in mind when he 
 speaks in the Phaedrus'* of fj.eXiyrjpvv "ASprjarop, per- 
 haps also in a passage of the Republic.'* Tyrtaeus is 
 regarded '^ as the type of the martial poet, although we 
 find'' that Plato credited the tradition which made him 
 an Athenian by birth. 
 
 Solon of course is known and honored by Plato, whose 
 ancestor Dropidas was a kinsman of the great law- 
 giver.'* This Dropidas, according to the statement of 
 his son, the elder Critias, in the Timaeus," was fre- 
 quently mentioned by Solon in his poetry. No extant 
 fragment of Solon proves the truth of this statement, 
 though Critias himself is alluded to in one couplet,*" 
 and we are further told in the Charmides*' that his 
 
 ^ Homer was regarded by the Spartans as representing in his poems 
 an Ionic rather than a Laconian manner of life (Leg. 680 C). '' 858 
 E. '" 629 B. ^ Cf. infra p. 34. » 629 A. E. 660 E. 661 A. ss 12 
 Bergk. " 269 A. ^ 408 B. '^Leg. 629 A. «' Leg. 667 A. ^ Tim. 
 20 E. " 20 E. <» Frg. 22. «■ IS7 E. 
 
Plato's References to Individual Poets 27 
 
 house had been celebrated in verse by Solon. There 
 is some reason, then, why Critias says in the Timaeus*^ 
 that neither tlomer nor Hesiod would have fceen more 
 famous than Solon if he had been able to pursue poetry. 
 Solon's famous line yrjpao'KO) S'aiel ToXXa SiSaaKd- 
 fxevos^ is referred to twice, once approvingly by Nicias 
 in the Laches,^ while on the other hand Socrates in the 
 Republic*^ says that Solon was wrong in thinking that 
 one might learn in old age. Needless to say that Plato's 
 judgment of the line is determined by the tone of the 
 connection in which it is introduced. A third quota- 
 tion, two lines in length, is found in the Lysis,*' its 
 meaning being quite perverted to suit Plato's purpose. 
 Finally the philosopher quotes three times*" the pro- 
 verbial saying xaXeTrd rd /caXd, which Hesychius and 
 others ascribe to Solon. If the ascription be correct, 
 we must think that Plato regarded the proverb, to 
 Xeyofievov or irapoiixia as he always calls it, as com- 
 mon property and not necessarily to be referred to its 
 original author. It is not essential for our present 
 purpose to consider the many other passages in which 
 Plato alludes to Solon not as poet but as lawgiver. 
 
 Phocylides of Miletus is quoted once, in the third 
 book of the Republic.** The quotation is only approx- 
 imate and in no way important. 
 
 The younger Euenus, the Parian sophist of the 
 Apology,*' was also an elegiac poet, and is mentioned as 
 such in the Phaedo^" and the Phaedrus.^* In both 
 
 «> 21 D. « Frg. 18. « 188 B. «■ 536 D. « 212 E. (Frg. 23). 
 " Crat. 384 D., Rep. 435 C, 497 D. « 407 A. (Frg. 10). « 20 B. 
 " 60 D., 61 B. »' 267 A. 
 
28 Plato's Studies and Criticisms of the Poets 
 
 cases Plato shows clearly enough that he has as small 
 respect for his poetic as for his philosophical abilities. 
 The fifth and last^^ of the elegiac poets who appear 
 in the works of Plato is Theognis. He is quoted in the 
 Lysis/^ the Meno,^* and the Laws,^^ being mentioned by 
 name in two of the three cases. The first of these quo- 
 tations is unimportant, the last, from the Laws, includes 
 two lines which are cited approvingly as bearing upon 
 a point in question. The Meno quotes no less than 
 nine lines, Plato's aim being to show that the poet 
 contradicts himself with regard to the teachableness of 
 virtue. It is perhaps worth noting that included in 
 these nine lines are the two which Xenophon puts into 
 the mouth of Socrates in the Symposium.'' Where 
 Theognis is quoted in the Laws he is described as a 
 
 '^ Socrates refers in 368 A. of the Republic to elegiac verses ad- 
 dressed to the two sons of Ariston by 6 VKaiiKoivos ipaarfis, and 
 quotes the first of these verses. Schleiermacher in his note on 
 the passage expresses the opinion that Critias was the author. 
 The quotation is of such a nature, however, that it should hardly 
 be listed with those from Solon and Theognis. Another hexameter 
 which Socrates quotes in the Protagoras 344 D. as irap' clXXou 
 iroHjToD (than Simonides) is probably to be ascribed to some elegiac 
 poet, but we do not know to whom. The only other quotations of 
 entirely uncjertain authorship which appear in Plato may be briefly 
 noted here. In the Meno 77 B. he cites a definition of virtue — 
 xnlpfiv Tt KoKolin Kal ibvaoBat. — as given by 6 ttohjt^s. In the Laws 
 778 D. he refers to i iroii/Tiitis Xoyos that walls should be of bronze 
 and iron rather than of earth. We know (cf. Stallbaum's note) that 
 this sentiment was a favorite one with the Spartans and it probably 
 belongs to one of their own poets. Finally Socrates quotes four 
 hexameter verses in the Phaedrus 264 D. as tA iirlypaiifia 8 MiSfi 
 Tijj <^pvyl ijxurl Tives iTriyeyp&<p6ai. '' 216 C, 1. 17. "95 D. E., 1. 
 33-36, 43S, 434, 436-38. 66 630 A., I. 77-8. s* II. 4. 
 
Plato's References to Individual Poets 29 
 
 citizen of the Sicilian Megara, and Plato has often been 
 reproached for his ignorance as shown in this state- 
 ment. It must be granted that Theognis might have 
 become a citizen of Megara Hyblaea during his sojourn 
 in Sicily; but it is so entirely contrary to Plato's custom 
 to refer to the nationality of a poet that it seems to me 
 easy to believe that his purpose here is polemical, and 
 that he really regarded Theognis as not only a citizen 
 but a native of th^ western Megara. Perhaps the 
 philosopher was misinformed about the matter on the 
 occasion of one of his own visits to Sicily. Regarding 
 his opinion of Theognis as a poet he gives us no hint. 
 
 On the whole Plato devotes more attention to the 
 elegiac writers than their rank as poets would seem to 
 justify. Doubtless this was so because their poems 
 were exceptionally well known to the Athenians. Solon 
 and Theognis especially were regarded with reason as 
 teachers of practical wisdom and morality, and so were 
 studied and committed to memory in the schools.^' 
 Plato, then, is considering his audience, while at the 
 same time quoting poets who were interesting to him 
 as a philosopher. So far as we can judge, his citations 
 from their works are extremely accurate. 
 
 3. Iambic poets. — ^Turning to the iambic poets, we 
 find Plato alluding to only one of them, Archilochus, 
 
 ^' Cf. Hermann-Bliimner, Privatalterthiimer, p. 3 16; Krause, 
 Geschichte der Erziehung, pp. 89, 90; Grasberger, Erziehung und 
 Unterricht, Vol. II., p. 279; Tyrtseus, it is true, could hardly have 
 occupied a similar position at Athens, but as we have seen it is out 
 of regard for dramatic verisimilitude that Plato is led to quote from 
 him in the Laws. 
 
30 Plato's Studies and Criticisms of the Poets 
 
 And he alludes to him only twice, a fact which at first 
 sight appears strange when one considers the high posi- 
 tion which the Greeks gave to this poet. Yet the writ- 
 ings of an Archilochus must have contained very little 
 which Plato could have employed to advantage. He 
 does, indeed, mention Archilochus with honor in the 
 two passages in which he does mention him. In the 
 Ion** his name is coupled with those of Homer and 
 Hesiod, and in the Republic,*' where Plato is at least 
 not speaking altogether ironically, he is called (ro<pco- 
 raTOS. Iambic poetry stood in "a close historical 
 relation" to the Fable, so that it is fair to consider here 
 Plato's references to ^sop. The passage in the 
 Phaedo^" in which Socrates suggests a subject which 
 ^sop might have employed for a fable, and admits 
 having busied himself during his imprisonment in 
 versifying the master's tales is well known. It is sup- 
 posed that in two other passages*'^ Plato is alluding to 
 fables of ^Esop, but the ascription is not certain. 
 
 4.. Lyric poets. — To the lyric poets, with the exception 
 of Simonides and Pindar, Plato pays very little atten- 
 tion. Not a line is quoted from Alcaeus, Sappho, or 
 Anacreon. Alcibiades quotes a proverb in the Sym- 
 posium*^ which recalls the olvos. Si (piXe Tral, /cat dXd- 
 dea^^ of Alcaeus, but nothing more than this can be 
 cited. "Sappho the fair and Anacreon the wise" are 
 mentioned in the Phaedrus** as erotic poets. Anacreon 
 is also said in the Charmides** to have celebrated the 
 house of Critias, as did Solon before him. Alcman is 
 
 68 S3 1 A. " 36s C. «» 60 C, 61 B. "■ Phsdr. 272 C, Crat. 411 A. 
 •2 217 E. «» Frg. 57. ^ 23s C. ^ 157 E. 
 
Plato's References to Individual Poets 3 1 
 
 * 
 
 not mentioned by name, but two words of his'^ are 
 casually quoted in the Laws.*' Arion and the story of 
 his miraculous rescue may possibly be referred to in a 
 passage of the Republic.** Ibycus is mentioned twice, 
 once in the Phaedrus,*' where a line'" is directly quoted 
 by Socrates, and again in the Parmenides,'' where the 
 aged Eleatic philosopher likens himself to the old race- 
 horse of whom Ibycus speaks.'^ Cydias, the old dithy- 
 rambic poet whom Aristophanes approves,'' is quoted 
 in the Charmides,'* while his unworthy successors 
 Cinesias'^ and Meles are alluded to with little respect 
 in the Gorgias.'* Tynnichus, the Chalcidian, famous 
 for his one paean, is mentioned in the Ion.'' The story 
 of Stesichorus that the Greeks fought at Troy about an 
 image of Helen is twice alluded to, once in the Re- 
 public'* for the sake of illustration and again in the 
 Phaedrus," where it is stated that this poet, wiser than 
 Homer, comprehended the cause of his blindness and so 
 proceeded to compose his recantation. Three lines of 
 this*^ are then quoted, the reference being made to 
 introduce Socrates' own recantation. 
 
 To Simonides Plato has given a unique distinction by 
 making one of his poems** the subject of a long discus- 
 sion between two such men as Socrates and Protag- 
 oras.*^ It was fitting that Simonides should be 
 
 " Frg. 116. -<" 705 A. «« 453 D. «9 242 D. " Frg. 24. '^ 136 E. 
 Trg. 2. ™ Clouds, 967. "15s D., Frg. i. ™ Cinesias was one of 
 the Jo'/'OTOitiiitxTOt of the Clouds (333), and is elsewhere (Cf. Frogs, 
 IS3> I437> Birds 1373) ridiculed by Aristophanes. " 501 E. 502 A. 
 " S34 D- ™ S86 C. '» 243 A. B. s" Frg. 32. » Frg. 5. ^ Prot. 
 339 A. ff. 
 
32 Plato's Studies and Criticisms of the Poets 
 
 chosen inasmuch as his poems were regarded as so 
 valuable from the paedagogical point of view*' and were 
 so frequently referred to by the sophists. Protagoras' 
 statement in the early part of the dialogue** that 
 Simonides was really a sophist in disguise, as were 
 Homer and Hesiod, prepares the way for the contro- 
 versy which follows. It seems to me by no means 
 proven that Plato is here showing the slight esteem in 
 which he holds the poets by the sophistical arguments 
 which he puts in the mouth of Socrates. One sentence 
 from the poem quoted in the Protagoras — ^not even the 
 gods fight against necessity*'' — appears again in the 
 Laws.*' Further we find Simonides cited in the first 
 book of the Republic*^ as the author of a maxim which 
 defines justice as rendering to each his due.** Socrates 
 is no doubt half ironical*' when before attacking his 
 statement he honors Simonides with the words (roipbs 
 /cat dtios avijp. So Adimantus, quoting in his plea 
 for injustice'" a line'^ of Simonides (without mentioning 
 the author's name), introduces it with the words us 
 drjXovai fioi 61 aotpoL. Finally, Plato refers fre- 
 quently*^ to a scolium generally ascribed to Simonides, 
 sometimes to Epicharmus, which rates healthy beauty, 
 and wealth as the greatest blessings in human life. 
 
 Pindar is quoted eleven times, the name of the poet 
 being mentioned in all but two cases. Three of these 
 
 *' Cf. references in note S7, supra. 8*316 D. ''I. 21. ^818 B. 
 "331 D. s^Frg. 191. 89 Cf. infra p. 34. »» Rep. 365 C. »! Frg. 76. 
 »»Gorg. 451 E., Euthyd. 279 A., Phileb. 48 D., Leg. 661 A., 870 
 A. B. Another reference to Simonides is perhaps to be found in Rep. 
 489 C; Cf. Stallbaum's note. 
 
Plato's References to Individual Poets 33 
 
 quotations afe found in the Republic/' two each in the 
 Phaedrus'* and Meno,^^ and one each in the Gorgias,'* 
 Euthydemus," Theaetetus,'* and Laws.'' They range 
 in length from one to five lines, numbering twenty-one 
 in all. Only two of them, as it chances, are from the 
 Epinician odes, one being the apiarov fiev vdup of 
 the first Olympiani"" and the other the second line of the 
 first Isthmian.'"' Almost all of the other quotations 
 fall under the head oi fragmenta incerta. Since in the 
 case of these fragments Plato is himself our best au- 
 thority for the exact text of Pindar, it is hard to judge 
 how precise he is in his quoting or how thorough in this 
 point was his knowledge of the poet. At least he 
 quotes no lines that are not thoroughly Pindaric in 
 diction and in metrical form. In most cases the words 
 of Pindar are quoted casually and without comment, 
 simply because they express poetically what Plato 
 wishes to say. In the Qorgias, on the other hand, 
 Callicles quotes the famous lines beginning vojios 6 
 TTCLVTCOV ^aaikevs for the sake of argument, in defence 
 of his thesis that might makes right.'"^ Just so does 
 Socrates appeal to Pindar in the Meno*°* when he is 
 discussing the immortality of the soul. Finally, the 
 one passage which is distinctly and highly approved is 
 
 '' 365 B. (Frg. 213), 457 B. (Frg. 209), 331 A. (Frg. 214). »* 227 B. 
 (Isth. I. 2.), 236 D. (Frg. los). » 76 D. (Frg. 105), 81 B. C. (Frg. 
 133). "484 B. (Frg. 169). " 304 B. (blym. I. i). " 173 E. (Frg. 
 292). 99 714 E. (Frg. 169). 199 Euthyd. 304 B. '"i Phaedr. 227 B. 
 '92 Cf. also Prot. 337 D., Leg. 690 B., 890 A., where Plato clearly 
 has in mind this famous sentiment, in the second case mentioning 
 Pindar by name. "'81 B.C. 
 
34 Plato's Studies and Criticisms of the Poets 
 
 that quoted by Cephalus in the Republic."* Aside 
 from these direct quotations, Pindar is mentioned but 
 twice'"'^ in the dialogues. In some further cases Plato 
 seems to have Pindaric verses in mind as he writes. 
 For example, Alcibiades' statement'"' that Socrates 
 was as invulnerable to money as Ajax to steel recalls 
 the fifth Isthmian ode.'"' Plato says hardly a word 
 that can be thought to indicate how he regarded Pindar 
 as a poet.'"* He numbers him in the Meno'"' as one 
 of those who are inspired, but this of course means 
 nothing. So in the Laws"" in the words 63 ao<pU)Ta.T€ 
 Ylivbap^ we have simply the same courteous, half 
 ironical form of address which Plato often employs. 
 
 Plato admits to his Republic none but lyric poets, 
 yet he quotes from them much less frequently than 
 from the dramatists or the writers of epic. Especially 
 noteworthy is his neglect of the melic poets. This, 
 however, is not hard to explain. Plato was too stern 
 a moralist to approve of the erotic verse of Sappho and 
 Alcaeus or the drinking songs of Anacreon. The har- 
 monies which they most employed, the Lydian and the 
 Ionian, are the very ones which he banishes from the 
 Republic.'" Moreover, he could find little or nothing 
 in their poems which could serve his purpose as a 
 philosopher. The choral lyric poets, on the other hand, 
 
 '" 331 A. "" Rep. 408 B. (with reference to Pyth. III. 55-60) and 
 Leg. 690 B. (cf. note 102, supra). '" Symp. 219 E. For other refer- 
 ences cf. notes 102 and 105, supra; also Symp. 179 E., Gorg. 523 B., 
 Rep. 519 C, 540 B., all referring to Olymp. II. 75 fF., and Leg. 624 
 B., to Olymp. II. 83 and Pyth. II. 74. "" 1. 45. "s Yet cf. infra p. 35. 
 ""81B. ""6908. '" 398 E., 399 A. 
 
Plato's References to Individual Poets 35 
 
 are treated more kindly. Simonides, like Solon and 
 Theognis, was studied by every Athenian boy,''^ and 
 his works contained much that was ennobling. Pindar 
 commanded Plato's admiration by his supreme genius 
 as well as by his moral greatness. He is quoted more 
 frequently than any other poet except Homer and 
 Hesiod, a sufficient proof not only of the high esteem in 
 which he was held by Plato but also of the latter's sound 
 literary judgment. To us, who possess little besides 
 the Epinician odes and regard Pindar's fame as resting 
 chiefly on them, it is especially noteworthy that Plato 
 quotes from them so seldom. To be sure they repre- 
 sent only a fraction of Pindar's works; yet aside from 
 this fact we may say, I think, that it was probably these 
 very odes which were least interesting and least familiar 
 to the Athenians in Plato's time. Only two of them are 
 composed in honor of Athenian victors and Athens 
 could have cared little for songs dedicated to Syracusans 
 or Thebans. The period had not yet come when ad- 
 miration for the work of a great artist could swallow up 
 state prejudice. It seems to me, therefore, that other 
 poems than the Epinician odes had maintained Pindar's 
 old time popularity at Athens and these are more often 
 quoted by Plato because better known to his readers. 
 
 5. Dramatic poets, (a) The Comedians. — ^Turning 
 now to the drama, we find Plato proving his acquaint- 
 ance not only with the great tragedians but also with 
 many of the comic poets. The tradition that the 
 Syracusan comedian, Epicharmus, was one of his 
 -favorite authors has already been referred to."' Some 
 
 "^ Cf. supra p. 29, note 57. ™ Supra p. J. 
 
36 Plato's Studies and Criticisms of the Poets 
 
 confirmation of the truth of this story may be con- 
 tained in a passage of the Theaetetus"^ where Epichar- 
 mus and Homer are ranked together as ol iiKpoL of the 
 two sorts of poetry, comedy and tragedy. Epicharmus 
 is also quoted casually by Socrates in the Gorgias."^^^ 
 Cratinus seems to be passed over but Pherecrates and 
 his comedy the "Kypi.01 are referred to in the Pro- 
 tagoras.^^^ Eupolis is nowhere mentioned by name, 
 but two passages in the Phsedo^'' contain direct al- 
 lusions to famous lines which are ascribed to him. 
 Aristophanes, finally, enjoys the distinguished honor of 
 making one of the company which gathers in the 
 Symposium to celebrate Agathon's tragic victory. As 
 Jowett well remarks,"* nothing in Aristophanes is more 
 truly Aristophanic than parts of the speech assigned 
 to him in this dialogue. Alcibiades' quotation in the 
 latter part of the Symposium'^' of a line from the 
 Clouds'^" descriptive of Socrates, and the reference to 
 Aristophanes in the Apology^^' are too well known to 
 need comment. Perhaps Plato has lines of Aristoph- 
 anes in mind in two other passages, one from the 
 Gorgias,'^^ the other from the Republic.^^* 
 
 "* 152 E. "* 505 E. He seems also to have been one of oi 
 TcoiTiTal whose teachings Socrates alludes to in the Phaedo 65 B. Cf. 
 Wohlrab's note. "« 327 D. "' 70 C. (Frg. 352), 91 C. (Frg. 94). 
 It is not clear that in the first of these passages the allusion is 
 to Eupolis alone. Socrates is speaking of the epithet iSoXkaxt^ 
 which had been applied to him by the comic poets. Eupolis was 
 certainly one of these, but Aristophanes had employed the samq 
 term in the Clouds, 1. 1485. Cf Plato's use of the word in Polit. 
 299 B. "s Dialogues of Plato, Vol. I. p. 530. "» 221 B. "^o jgj^ 
 "^igC. '^513 A., to Clouds, 361. i« SS4 B., to Plutus, 90. 
 
Plato's References to^ndividual Poets 37 
 
 5. (J) The Tragedians. — It is not strange that Plato 
 finds more which interests him and is quotable in 
 tragedy than in comedy. It is noteworthy,, however, 
 that he mentions none except the three great tragedians 
 and Agathon. The last named appears .in the Protag- 
 oras*^* as still a youth, the favorite of Pausanias. 
 In riper years he is the host of the Symposium, and 
 eulogizes Eros in a manner worthy of a poet, even 
 dropping into verse in one instance.^^^ Returning to 
 i^schylus we find him quoted nine'^* times, the name of 
 the poet being mentioned in eyery case except one. At 
 least seven of these quotations occur in the Republic,'^' 
 one in the Euthydemus,'^' and one in the Phaedo.''" 
 Four are from the SeptenXj^^" two from the Niobe,^'' one 
 from the Telephus,^'^ one probably from the Psycho- 
 stasia,i'^andthe ninth from an unknown play.''* These 
 quotations vary in length from one to nine lines, 
 amounting in all to twenty-two. Of the four quota- 
 tions from the Septem, which alone can be compared 
 with our test of i^schylus, two are exact, ariother is 
 remodelled to suit Plato's purpose, and the fourth is 
 simply a loose paraphrase. In six cases the quotation 
 is only incidental and not accompanies! with any word 
 of comment. On the other hand, two passages'^^ are 
 among those which Plato condemns in the second book 
 
 ^ 31s D. E. ^ 197 C. "26 Probably the quotation in Rep. 381 D. 
 is also from iEschylus. Cf. infra p. 43. '^^ 361 B., 362 A., 380 A., 
 383 B., 391 E., sso C., 563 C. ^ 291 D. ^ 108 A. "° 1. 2-3 
 (Euthyd. 291 D.), 1. 451 (Rep. 550 C), 1. S92 (Rep. 361 B.) 1. 593-4 
 (Rep. 362 A.) i»Frg. iji (Rep. 380 A.), 157 (Rep. 391 E.). 
 ''^Frg. 235 (Phsd. 108 A.) is'Frg. 340 (Rep. 383 B.) ^Yt%. 341 
 (Rep. 536 C.) ^ Frg. 151, 340. 
 
38 Plato's Studies and Criticisms of the Poets 
 
 of the Republic as calculated to lead to wrong concep- 
 tions of the gods. Finally, the verse which Socrates 
 quotes in the Phaedo, "a single path leads all to Hades," 
 he quotes only to disagree. One more noteworthy 
 point is that Plato locates his quotation in two cases, 
 mentioning by name the Telephus and the Niobe. 
 Aside from the quotations mentioned, we have a dis- 
 tinct reference to the Myrmidons of /^schylus in the 
 Symposium,!^* where Phaedrus maintains that ^schylus 
 (pXvapei in saying that Achilles was the lover, and not 
 Patroclus. Another reference in the Republic''' to 
 the Agamemnon is less certain. 
 
 Sophocles, strange to say, is almost entirely ignored 
 by Plato. Not once is he mentioned by name as the 
 author of a single quotation among the scores which the 
 dialogues contain, and only once can we be entirely sure 
 that Plato is quoting from him. This rather remark- 
 able fact has given rise to much comment and scholars 
 have supposed''* that the philosopher cherished some 
 ill feeling towards the poet. Such a supposition seems 
 to me altogether improbable, for the two passages in 
 which Sophocles is mentioned by name make it evident 
 that Plato held him in honor, both as a man and as a 
 dramatist. If Plato had disliked Sophocles, he would 
 hardly have made Cephalus tell such an anecdote of 
 
 ™ 180 A. "'408 B. to lines 1022-4. Cf. also Leg. 931 B., where 
 Plato may have in mind any one or all of the three great tragedi- 
 ans. ™ E.g. Valckenaer, ad Phoenissse 1. 1628, Ruhnken, ad. 
 Timseum, p. 9. Cf. Athenaeus XL 546 D., who states that Plato's 
 Crito contains an attack upon Sophocles. Unless I am mistaken, 
 the Crito contains nothing of the kind. 
 
Plato's References to Individual Poets 39 
 
 him in the first book of the Republic"' nor would he 
 have referred to him in the Phaedrus"" as a representa- 
 tive tragedian. The one certain quotation to which I 
 have alluded is a half line which is put into the mouth 
 of Agathon in the Symposium.'*^ It is ascribed to a 
 lost play, the Thyestes.'^ Several other passages may 
 be mentioned where Plato is probably or possibly 
 referring to Sophocles. One of these is in the Theaete- 
 tus,'^ where the philosopher almost certainly has in 
 mind lines from the Ajax Mastigophorus.^** Similarly 
 the 6 fjiiyas riyeixuv ev ovpav^ Zeus of the Phaedrus"* 
 may well be an echo of the jLteyas ev ovpav^ Ze^s of 
 the Electra."* Finally an iambic trimeter is quoted 
 in the eighth book of the Republic,'^' which the scho- 
 liast, Zenobius,!*' and Gellius"' agree in ascribing to 
 the Ajax Locrus of Sophocles.^^" Plato, however, 
 mentions Euripides as the author and is chided by 
 Gellius for his mistake. If it be a mistake, it is one of 
 only a very few with which Plato can be charged.'" 
 On the other hand, it is entirely possible, as has often 
 
 "9 329 B. C. "» 268 C. D. i« 196 C. '« Frg. 236. "» 191 A. 
 '** 1142 ff. '"246 D. '** 174-5. Other passages contain possible 
 references to Sophocles: Gorg. 512 D. (to Philoc. 384), Crat. 395 C. 
 (to Electra 508 (F.), Rep. 522 D. *(to the Palamedes). Cf. also note 
 137, supra. "'s68 A. i« Cent. V., Prov. 98. "' N. A. XIII. 18. 
 ''" Frg. 13. •" There seems to have been a real uncertainty or differ- 
 ence of opinion as to the authorship of the line. The scholiast to 
 Aristophanes, Thesmoph. 21, notes that it was ascribed to Euripides 
 not only by Plato but also by Antisthenes and Aristophanes. The- 
 mistius Or. VI. p. 72 C. indicates his uncertainty by the words 'Eupiiri- 
 Srjs fj Sims Sr/ irork iaTW d irot^o-os. Cf. further on this quotation 
 pp. 42, 43, infra. 
 
40 Plato's Studies and Criticisms of the Poets 
 
 been remarked,^^^ that the line may have been found in 
 Euripides as well as Sophocles. The idea that Plato 
 has made the ascription to Euripides that he may not 
 be compelled to mention the name of Sophocles on 
 account of his supposed dislike for him seems to me too 
 absurd to be taken seriously. Those who have enter- 
 tained it'^' appear to have failed to notice that the line 
 in question is one which Plato quotes to condemn it. 
 If he had disliked Sophocles, he might rather have 
 been well pleased to ascribe to him a line which deserved 
 censure. 
 
 Euripides is directly quoted six'^ times. Three of 
 these quotations are found in the Symposium,"* two 
 in the Gorgias,^*' and one in the Theaetetus;'*' two are 
 taken from the Hippolytus,'** one each from the 
 Melanippe, the Wise,"' the Stheneboea,"" the Anti- 
 ope,^" and the Polyidus.^*^ In four of these cases the 
 name of the poet is mentioned, once^*' the play from 
 which the citation is taken. Plato does not praise or 
 censure the words which he quotes except to say in one 
 instance^" that Euripides' statement is very probably 
 true. Euripides was distinctly the most quotable of 
 the three tragedians and we know that many of his lines 
 
 •'" E.g. by Van Prinsterer, Prosopographia Platonica (Leyden, 
 1823), p. 159. 1*' Valckenaer, ad Phoen. 1628, Ruhnken, ad Tim. 
 p. 9. ^ The line which Plato wrongly (?) ascribes to Euripides is not 
 included in this enumeration. Cf. the preceding page. ^* 177 A., 
 196 E., 199 A. I™ 484 E.— 486 C. and 492 E. i*' 154 D. ms 1, 612; 
 in Syrap. 199 A. and Theaet. 154 D. ^' Frg. 488; in Symp. 177 A. 
 "» Frg. 666; in Symp. 196 E. '»i Frg. 183, 185, 186, 188; in Gorg. 
 484 E.— 486 C. !«! Frg. 639; in Gorg. 492 E. ^ Symp. 177 A. 
 »M Gorg. 492 E. 
 
Plato's References to individual Poets 41; 
 
 soon passed into proverbs. Some of the more famous 
 of these have been employed by Plato. Thus we find 
 Socrates twice adapting to his purpose the yvwfJLT] of 
 Hippolytus, 17 yXcoaa' bixuiiQx\ V 5e <ppriv di'w/ioros."^ 
 The equally well known line beginning ovk e/xos 6 
 ixvdos serves Eryximachus for an introduction to his 
 speech in the Symposium.^^' A third quotation from 
 the Symposium,^" which is put into the mouth of 
 Agathon, is casual and unimportant. In the Gorgias"* 
 Callicles quotes or paraphrases for Socrates' benefit as 
 many as seventeen lines from the Antiope; later on in 
 the dialogue'^' Socrates, as if to show that it is not the 
 sophists only who can quote Euripides for their pur- 
 pose, cites a line and a half from the Polyidus. In all, 
 therefore, Plato transcribes rather more than twenty 
 lines of Euripides. Further he often refers, without 
 directly quoting, to the poet and his words. So in the 
 Symposium''" when Phaedrus says of Alcestis that she 
 proved the parents of Admetus to be bvoixari novov 
 irpo(rr]KOVTas Kal tovt' epyaaafievrj to epyov k.t.X., 
 the allusion is clearly to the Xoycii yap rjaav, ovk epycp 
 (p'lKot of Euripides' Alcestis.'" So when Plato in the 
 Apology"^ makes Socrates disclaim responsibility for 
 the saying of the oracle he seems to have in mind the 
 OVK ejuos 6 fjivdos of the Melanippe and the Sympo- 
 sium. In the Ion'" we have a reference to "the stone 
 which Euripides"^ called Magnetis." The proverb 
 
 "* Cf. note 158. "^ 177 A. The words are taken from the Melan- 
 ippe. Cf. also infra. «' 196 E. i6« 484 E.— 486 C. «' 492 E. 
 "»I79 C. '"1. 339. "220 E. "8533 D. '"In the Oeneus 
 (Frg. 571). 
 
42 Plato's Studies and Criticisms of the Poets 
 
 Koivh TO. Twv (p'CKoiv, which Plato quotes at least five 
 times,''^ is found in the Orestes'^* but no doubt origi- 
 nated much earlier, with the Pythagoreans. Plato re- 
 fers to it simply as a popular saying.^'' Finally, in 
 two passages Plato has a word to say with regard to 
 Euripides himself. The first of these is in the Phae- 
 drus'^* where he is mentioned as a representative 
 tragedian along with Sophocles. Second, quoting in 
 the Republic"' the line «ro^ot Tvpavvoi rdv ao^pCov 
 avvovaiq,, which other authorities ascribe to Sopho- 
 clesji*" Socrates ironically terms Euripides a distin- 
 guished master of a distinguished art for uttering such 
 a sentiment; for the argument has shown that the 
 natural associates of tyrants are mercenaries and freed- 
 men. We might say that the implied censure is directed 
 against tragedy in general rather than Euripides in par- 
 ticular were it not for the context; but when Plato goes 
 on to say that tragedians /JLiadoiis \aix^dvov(n koI 
 TLixSiVTai jJLaXLffTa . . . viro Tvpavvcov^^ one in- 
 evitably thinks with Stallbaum^*^ of Euripides' removal 
 to the court of Archelaus.^*' If Plato has this incident 
 in mind we must credit him with a fling at Euripides 
 such as he does not venture against any other poet. 
 It seems to me, therefore, that we may oflFer a better 
 
 '™ Lys. 207 C, Phaedr. 279 C, Rep. 424 A., 449 C, Leg. 739 C. 
 "'1. 735. '"Other references to Euripides, entirely indirect, may 
 be contained in Rep. 408 B. (to Alcest. 3-4), Crat. 395 D. (to Orest. 
 S fF.), Polit. 268 E. (to Orest. 812, 998), Leg. 687 E. (to Hipp. 887), 
 836 B. and 919 B. (to Alcest. 969 ff.). Cf. also note 137, p. ^8. 
 1™ 268 C. "« s68 A. «» Cf. p. 39. 181 568 C. "2 Note on the pas- 
 sage. 1" A tyrant of whom Plato was by no means fond. Cf. 
 Gorg. 471. 
 
Plato's References to Individual Poets 43 
 
 explanation than has yet been given for the ascription 
 of this doubtful verse to Euripides by saying that Plato, 
 having these words in mind and associating Euripides 
 with a typical tyrant, has charged the sentiment to 
 him without carefully investigating its authorship.^^ 
 
 Mention should be made here of one more tragic line 
 — 'Ivdxov 'Apyeiov woranov ivaialv ^todiapois — 
 which Plato quotes in the second book of the Re- 
 publics*^ It has been variously ascribed to Sopho- 
 cles,'*^ to Euripides or iSEschylus,'*' and to jEschylus.'** 
 It seems to be extremely probable, if not certain, that 
 jEschylus was the author. 
 
 The first point of interest to one examining Plato's 
 quotations from the tragedians is that he concerns him- 
 self only with the three great masters. Needless to say 
 that this fact does credit to his literary judgment. 
 Moreover, Plato has made it sufficiently evident in the 
 Republic and in the Laws that he held the tragic poets 
 of the fourth century in very slight esteem. But can 
 we tell further how he would have ranked j^schylus, 
 Sophocles, and Euripides, or why he so nearly neglects 
 the second.? One would expect a priori that Plato 
 would give Euripides the third place, and his treatment 
 of him in the dialogues would seem to bear out this 
 expectation. He reproaches him as the friend of 
 
 I'* Perhaps also Plato remembers Sophocles' couplet (Frg. 711), 
 OtTTLS yap <bs rOpavvov kfnropeOerat. Ketvov tm Sov\os k&v kXevdepos 
 n6\V' '■^ 3S1 D. >*8 Ruhnken ad Timsum p. 9. ''' Valckenaer, 
 Diatrib. de Fragm. Eurip. p. 11 and Stallbaum, note on the passage. 
 ^ Schneider, note on the passage, and Nauck in Frg. Trag. Graec, 
 who concludes from Schol. on Aristoph. Frogs 1344 and Paus. VIII. 
 6. 6 that the line was taken from the Xantriae (Frg. 162) of jEschylus. 
 
44 Plato's Studies and Criticisms of the Poets 
 
 tyrants, makes his words the arguments of a Callicles, 
 and — a most significant point, as it seems to me, — 
 quotes from his almost always shallow and even de- 
 moralizing senientice. All this would indicate, it is 
 true, his opinion of the man rather than the poet, of 
 the matter rather than the manner of his poetry; but 
 even this is something, and it is impossible to go further 
 than this, ^schylus is quoted more frequently than 
 any other tragedian, in fact than any other poet of 
 historical times except Pindar — a circumstance which 
 has at least some significance. Plato does, indeed, 
 censure the teachings of ^schylus in the second book 
 of the Republic, while Sophocles and Euripides escape 
 scot-free.^'* But Heine"" with much probability finds 
 in this very fact evidence that Plato ranked ^schylus 
 first among the tragedians. He argues that since in 
 this book Plato quotes passages which seem worthy of 
 censure only from Homer and i^schylus, he evidently 
 gives to iEschylus the same place among tragic as to 
 Homer among epic poets; that is, criticizing especially, 
 as always, these two classes of poets, he chooses the fore- 
 most representative of each class as the one to criti- 
 cize. The strength of this argument depends in some 
 measure upon the ascription of the doubtful line in 
 381 D.; but aside from other considerations, which appear 
 to point to i^schylus as most probably the author, the 
 fact that we have here a tragic line, the writer of which 
 is not mentioned by name, preceded and followed by 
 passages which are definitely ascribed to y^schylus 
 
 *" Assuming that neither of them is responsible for the line quoted 
 in 381 D. i'» De ratione pp. 36-38. 
 
Plato's References to Individual Poets 45 
 
 would at least incline us to refer it to that poet. In 
 the same way Homer is mentioned as the author of a 
 quotation in 379 d., while a little later a line from the 
 Odyssey is quoted with no ascription whatever. We 
 may say further in defence of the view which Heine 
 maintains that Plato could have found as much or more 
 to condemn in Sophocles or Euripides than in ^schy- 
 lus; if he does not choose ^schylus in conscious and 
 intentional recognition of his supremacy, he is in all 
 probability simply selecting the tragedian who is most 
 familiar to him. Plato is certainly one who would be 
 best acquainted with those poets whom he ranked 
 highest. If the preceding conclusions are accepted as 
 probable, the second place in the great trio remains to 
 Sophocles. But why, then, is he quoted so much less 
 frequently than Euripides.? I believe because Plato 
 is consulting the tastes and familiarities of his readers. 
 Euripides was the popular tragedian of the fourth cen- 
 tury; those who opposed him and the spirit and ten- 
 dencies which he represented, would be apt, like Aris- 
 tophanes a generation before, to go all the way to the 
 other extreme and choose ^Eschylus as their hero. 
 Sophocles, then, would play a part even less prominent 
 than that given to him In the Frogs. He stands neg- 
 lected between the two camps. Plato honors him no 
 less highly than did Aristophanes. The fact that he 
 quotes him so seldom does not mean that he would have 
 ranked him below Euripides, but that again he is quot- 
 ing the poet who was better known to his audience. 
 iEschylus is his own choice, and Is raised high above 
 Euripides. 
 
4.6 Plato's Studies and Criticisms of the Poets 
 
 6. Epic poets. — I have deferred until now the con- 
 sideration of Plato's allusions to the two great masters 
 of epic and his quotations from them, departing from 
 the principle of chronological order for the sake of deal- 
 ing last of all with those poets whom Plato quotes most 
 frequently and who seem to him superior to all the rest 
 in wisdom, art, and authority. Homer and Hesiod 
 are the poets whom Plato delights to honor even while 
 he criticizes them. Greek epic poetry is comprised in 
 their works. The cyclic poets are not so much as men- 
 tioned. Only once — in the Euthyphron^'' — two verses 
 are quoted which the scholiast ascribes to the Cyp- 
 nz}^^ Homer and Hesiod are often mentioned to- 
 gether,''' alike when Plato is praising and criticizing. 
 Hesiod, however, shines most clearly in this reflected 
 light; for Plato never bestows such encomia upon him 
 as upon Homer. Hesiod is directly quoted fourteen 
 times,*'* the aggregate number of lines being twenty- 
 eight. In all but two cases he is mentioned by name 
 as the author of the words cited. One of these fourteen 
 quotations is from the Theogony, the rest from the 
 Works and Days. Four of them are found in the 
 
 "ii2 A. B. ii^Frg. 20, Kinkel. "^Apol. 41 A., Prot. 316 D., 
 Symp. 209 D., Ion 531 A., Rep. 363 B., 377 D., 612 B., Tim. 21 C, 
 Polit. 269 B., Leg. 658 D. ^^ To this number should perhaps be 
 added the phrase iirl yfipaos oiSif which Plato quotes in Rep. 328 
 E. and ascribes loosely to ol iroiT/Toi. It is found in the Iliad X 
 60, O486, but also in the Works and Days, 1. 331. Further the verse 
 Supa Beois TrtWn, Sup' alSoiovs ^aaikijas (Frg. 247, Rzach), quoted 
 by Plato in the Republic 390 E., is said by Suidas to have been 
 ascribed by some authorities to Hesiod. 
 
Plato's References to Individual Poets 47 
 
 • 
 
 Republic,^'^ three in the Laws,"* two in the Cratylus,'" 
 and one each in the Charmides,"* the Lysis/'' the 
 Protagoras/"" the Symposium/"' and the Theaetetus.''"^ 
 The longest consists of four Unas. Three passages in 
 the Works and Days seem to be favorite passages with 
 Plato. One of them is quoted three times, the second 
 and third twice each. The first of these is the famous 
 passage, contained in lines 287-292 inclusive, which 
 compares the broad with the narrow way. Plato quotes 
 lines 287-289 in the Republic,^"' and 289-292 in both 
 the Laws^"^ and the Protagoras,2"^ in the latter dialogue 
 less fully and exactly. It is noteworthy that Xenophon 
 in the Memorabilia^"' represents Socrates as quoting 
 the entire passage to Aristippus. Another famous 
 saying of Hesiod, "Half is more than the whole "^"' 
 is quoted approvingly in the Republic^"' and in the 
 Laws.^"' A third quotation which appears more than 
 once in Plato is that describing the transformation of 
 the men of the golden age into 5at/xoj'es.^'" This is 
 found in the Republic^" and in the Cratylus^'^ and is 
 noteworthy as perhaps the most inexact quotation from 
 any poet in all the works of Plato. For Plato not only 
 departs widely in each case from our texts of Hesiod but 
 his two citations differ from one another almost as much 
 
 ^^ 363 B. (to W. & D. 233-4), 364 C. (to W. & D. 287-9), 466 C. 
 (to W. & D. 40), 469 A. (to W. & D. 122-3). "" 690 E. (to W. & D. 
 40), 718 E. (to W. & D. 289-292), 901 A. (to W. & D. 304). "' 397 
 E. (to W. & D. 121-3), 428 A. (to W. & D. 361). ™ 163 B. (to W. & 
 D. 311). "9 21S C. (to W. & D. 25-6). "»« 340 D. (to W. & D. 289, 
 291-2). Ml 178 B. (to Theog. 1 16-7, 120). 'i»2 207 A. (to W. & D. 
 ' 456)- ^°' 364 C. !« 718 E. ™ 340 D. 2»« II. I. 20. 207 W. & D. 40. 
 ^'» 466 C. 2»9 690 E. !»» W. & D. 121-3. 2" 469 A. 212 397 E. 
 
48 Plato's Studies and Criticisms of the Poets 
 
 as from the original. It seems to me extremely prob- 
 able that Plato is here quoting from memory and that 
 he is not well enough acquainted with Hesiod to admit 
 of his doing so safely. Two other citations may be 
 noted in this connection where our texts of Hesiod and 
 of Plato fail to agree. Once — in the Symposium^'' — 
 Plato omits two lines, and again^" he changes the posi- 
 tion of a hemistich. In these cases, however, it may 
 be said with probability that Plato is either following 
 variant readings^"^* or disregarding what was not to his 
 purpose. Finally, it is worthy of mention that the 
 hemistich ep70J' b' oiibtv bveibos^^'' which Plato 
 quotes in the Charmides^^" was one of those passages 
 which according to the Memorabilia^^^ Socrates was 
 charged with perverting. In fact Critias in the Char- 
 mides perverts the meaning of the words in question. 
 Speaking generally, Hesiod is most often quoted as an 
 authority, for the sake of argument, frequently with 
 distinctly expressed approval. Only once,^'' if I am 
 not mistaken, is any statement or story of Hesiod's 
 condemned. Plato also refers frequently, without di- 
 
 ™ 178 B. ^* Lysis 215 C. ^^ So Howes, Homeric quotations 
 In Plato and Aristotle (in Harvard Studies in Classical Philology, 
 Vol. VI., Boston, 189s) p. 168. «»W. & D. 311. «' 163 B. »' I. 2. 
 56. ^' Rep. 377 E. in allusion to Theog. 173 ff. Aditnantus does, 
 indeed, note two passages (in Rep. 363 B., 364 C.) which are 
 appealed to by the supporters of injustice, but these are not con- 
 demned in themselves. Plato may be striking at Hesiod when in 
 Rep. 381 D. he speaks of the wickedness of stories which tell of the 
 transformations of Proteus and Thetis. Hesiod composed an 'Ejrifla- 
 Xd/woc CIS IlijXea Kal GiTtv, which Stallbaum (note on the passage) 
 thinks that Plato had in mind here. 
 
Plato's References to Individual Poets 49 
 
 rectly quoting, to lines or passages in Hesiod; for in- 
 stance, to his four ages,^^" to his story of Uranus and 
 Cronus,^^' to his explanation of the name Aphrodite.^^^ 
 In still other cases where the poet's name is not men- 
 tioned, it is more or less clear that Plato had verses of 
 his in mind or was distinctly influenced by him. I 
 have found some twenty^^' passages which seem to refer 
 thus directly or indirectly to the works of Hesiod. The 
 allusions to Hesiod as a poet are comparatively numer- 
 ous and for the most part complimentary. He is cen- 
 sured along with Homer for telling false tales,^^ and 
 as an imitator^^^ like the rest of his kind, but on the 
 other hand Diotima mentions him^^' with Homer as 
 representing the good poets, he is called 6 yevvaios,^'^'' 
 in two passages ao4>6s,^^ and, finally, he is one of those 
 honored men of old whom Socrates hopes to meet in 
 the realm of Hades. ^^' Despite all this it is necessary 
 to note that Plato is guilty of more serious mistakes in 
 dealing with the works of Hesiod than with those of any 
 
 ^» Rep. 546 E. (cf. also Rep. 415) to W. & D. 109 ff. 2^1 Rep. 377 
 E., Symp. 19s C, Euthyph. 5 E. to Theog. 173 ff. ^ Crat. 406 C. 
 to Theog. 195, 198. ^ Phsedr. 272 C. to W. & D. 287-292. Gorg. 
 523 B., Rep. 519 C, 540 B. to W. & D. 171. Symp. 220 D. to W. & D. 
 339. Symp. 183 B., Phileb. 65 C. to frg. Theaet. IJS D. to Theog. 
 780. Theast. 191 D., Euthyd. 275 D. to Theog. 915-917 and 52-54. 
 Crat. 398 B. to W. & D. 122. Rep. 363 D. to W. & D. 284-5. ReP- 
 552 C. to W. & D. 303-05. Rep. 617 C, Leg. 960 C. to Theog. 904. 
 Rep. 588 C. to Theog. 311, 319. Timseus 40 E. to Theog. 132-6, 
 453-7. Polit. 272 A. to W. & D. 109-20. Leg. 910 B. to W. & D. 240-1. 
 Leg. 677 E. to W. & D. 41. Leg. 943 E. to W. & D. 256. ^ Rep. 
 377 D. 225 Rep. 600 D. 226 Symp. 209 D. 227 Rep. 363 B. 228 Rep. 466 
 C, Leg. 718 E. 229 ApoL 41 A. 
 
50 Plato's Studies and Criticisms of the Poets 
 
 other great poet which he cites. Two passages have 
 already been referred to'''" which seem to show either 
 lack of knowledge or carelessness. Two others which 
 are more important are found in the Cratylus. In 
 one of these^'^ Plato notes that Homer makes Oceanus 
 and Tethys the ancestors of the gods, and then adds, 
 "I think Hesiod does also." Of course Hesiod does 
 not, and it seems to me that the fact that he makes 
 Oceanus and Tethys the parents of some gods,^'^ the 
 rivers and so on, does not at all clear Plato. For the 
 context makes it plain that Plato meant here, as did 
 Homer, the ancestors of all the gods. In the second 
 passage^' Socrates gives a derivation for the name 
 Uranus and then says, "If I remembered the gene- 
 alogy of Hesiod, whom he mentions as the still earlier 
 ancestors of these (Uranus and Cronus), I should go 
 right on with my explanations." Following Hesiod 
 he could hardly go further back than Uranus and 
 Gaia. Here one can hardly doubt, first, that Plato 
 did not look up his authority and, second, that he 
 was not perfectly famiUar with his Hesiod, or at 
 least with the Theogony. For one who had studied 
 the Theogony very carefully could hardly fail to know 
 with whom Hesiod begins his long catalogue of gods 
 and demigods. 
 
 Coming to Homer, I can best begin with statistics.^'* 
 Plato quotes from the Iliad 76, from the Odyssey 35 
 times. These quotations number, from the Iliad 148 
 
 *"> Supra pp. 47, 48. 2" 402 B. ^ This is the argument which is 
 urged by Howes (op. cit. p. 168), following Hermann. "*' 396 C. 
 2" See Tables I. and II. 
 
Plato's References if) Individual Poets 51 
 
 lines, from the Odyssey 63. The total number of quo- 
 tations, therefore, is iii, of lines quoted 2n. From 
 all other poets cited we have a total of about 165 lines 
 in about 70 quotations.^^* From Hesiod, who is cited 
 more frequently than any other poet except Homer, we 
 have 28 hnes in 14 quotations. These figures are in 
 themselves so significant that comment is unnecessary. 
 Further, aside from direct quotations or general al- 
 lusions to the poet or to his works, Plato refers to 
 individual lines or passages in the Iliad 34 times, in the 
 Odyssey 34 times. A few more figures will serve to 
 show first, how thorough was Plato's acquaintance 
 with Homer and second, how large a proportion of the 
 dialogues contain either quotations or references to 
 him. Plato quotes or refers to passages in 23 books of 
 the Iliad and 18 of the Odyssey, 41 in all out of 48; and 
 some Homeric quotation or reference to lines of Homer 
 is found in all the dialogues which I have examined 
 except two — the Parmenides and Critias. The Re- 
 public contains 44 quotations and 24 specific references, 
 rather more than a third of the total number of each. 
 The figures for some of the other more important dia- 
 logues are as follows : in the Laws seven quotations and 
 eight references, the Protagoras five quotations, the 
 Gorgias four quotations and four references, the Phaedo 
 two of the former and three of the latter, the Phaedrus 
 two and five, the Symposium nine and eleven, the Ion 
 five and three, the Cratylus nine and three, the Hippias 
 Minor five and one. This leaves nineteen quotations 
 and six references to be distributed among the remaining 
 »» See Table III. 
 
52 Plato's Studies and Criticisms of the Poets 
 
 dialogues. In general the Odyssey is quoted as fre- 
 quently as the Iliad except in the Republic, the Sym- 
 posium, the Ion, the Cratylus, and the Hippias Minor. 
 In these dialogues, just the ones in which Homeric 
 verses appear most frequently, the Odyssey falls so 
 far behind that the totals show less than half as 
 many quotations from it as from the Iliad. It seems, 
 therefore, that Plato is expressing his own opinion 
 when he makes Socrates say in the Hippias^* that he 
 has heard the Iliad pronounced a better poem than 
 the Odyssey by so much as Achilles is better than 
 Odysseus. 
 
 The longest quotations are found in the Ion, the 
 Hippias and the Laws. Three in the Ion number eight, 
 six and six lines respectively, three in the Hippias seven, 
 six and six, and one in the Laws seven. Many passages 
 of three or four lines are quoted, many also of only two 
 words. Iota of the Iliad is quoted most frequently — 
 nine times in six different dialogues. Six other books 
 of the Iliad furnish five passages each. Rho of the 
 Odyssey is quoted eight times, lambda six times, tau 
 and upsilon four times each. In general Plato quotes 
 Homer as he quotes the other poets first, for the sake 
 of argument, appealing to him as an authority, second, 
 for illustration or because he can well express his 
 thought in the words of the poet, and third, to deny or 
 censure what Homer has said. Further I hardly need 
 note that Homer is the subject of two dialogues, the 
 Ion and the Hippias, as well as of long passages in the 
 second, third_and tenth books of the Republic. Plato 
 
 a« 363 B. 
 
Plato's References M> Individual Poets 53 
 
 also refers often,^' in the Cratylus and elsewhere, al- 
 ways correctly, to words or forms which are peculiar 
 to Homer. I cannot find that he had studied any 
 other poet at all from this point of view. 
 
 Plato ordinarily quotes without indicating in which of 
 the two poems the quotation is found or in what part of 
 either. In a few cases, however, he alludes to separate 
 rhapsodies or cantos by the titles which have come 
 down to us. Two passages ^* from Iota of the IHad 
 are said to occur kv Atrats. Another from Mu''" is 
 IttI TeLxofiaxl<l- In the Republic^" he refers to the 
 Geo/xaxiat which Homer has described, though without 
 having in mind any special passage. The myth at the 
 close of the Republic^ is said to be not 'KXkIvov 
 OLTdXoyos, dXX' dX/ctjuou avdpos, 'Hpos. In several 
 other cases^ we have what Jebb calls "phrases invented 
 for the occasion by which short passages are sometimes 
 indicated."^** In three instances''^ Plato refers to the 
 "Homeridae." These references have been frequently 
 commented upon^^ and need not be discussed here. 
 
 The first question which naturally presents itself to 
 one examining Plato's many citations from Homer is, 
 how correctly does he quote the poet, that is, how far 
 do Plato's quotations agree, not necessarily with our 
 own Iliad and Odyssey, but rather with the texts which 
 
 ^'Cf. Crat. 408 A. (to IjuVaro), 410 C. (yty&cun), 417 C. 
 {6<t>kWeiv); Rep. Joi B. (SeoaS^s and BeoelKeXos); Thest. 194 
 C. (kvp). ^' 308-14 in Hipp. 36s A., and 644-5 in Crat. 428 C. 
 i»' 200-07 in Ion S39 B. ^o 378 D. «« 614 B. ^ Ion 535 B., 537 A., 
 Rep. 378 D., 390 C, 560 C. "^ Homer p. 98, n. i. «* ion 530 D., 
 Phaedr. 252 B., Rep. S99 E- "° E.g. by Jebb, p. 78 and note. 
 
54 Plato's Studies and Criticisms of the Poets 
 
 Plato knew. This question has recently been treated 
 very fully and carefully by Prof. G. E. Howes.^^ I 
 shall state in his own words the conclusions which he 
 reaches:^' "(i) Very many verses as quoted by Plato 
 agree with our traditional text. (2) Many verses evi- 
 dently owe their variants to careless copyists who in 
 many cases have changed the epic to the Attic form. 
 That Plato is not responsible for these Atticisms is 
 often shown by other passages in which the same verses 
 are given just as our Homeric manuscripts have them. 
 (3) Some variants are supported either by Homeric 
 manuscripts or by scholia or by ancient authors. Of 
 scholia and authors we know that only a small per- 
 centage have come down to us. If more were extant 
 we should undoubtedly receive confirmation for still 
 more of these variants of Plato. (4) Papyrus frag- 
 ments in general and the Flinders Petrie fragment in 
 particular show that ancient manuscripts had many 
 readings far different from those that have come down 
 to us from other sources. We should not be surprised, 
 therefore, to find that Plato or any other ancient author 
 presents us with many variant readings." The con- 
 clusions which I had reached before seeing Mr. Howes' 
 paper correspond almost exactly with the above. It 
 has been the exactness of Plato's knowledge which has 
 impressed me more and more as I have studied the 
 subject. To charge apparent mistakes in quotation 
 to Plato's ignorance or carelessness is, in the first place, 
 to assume knowledge that we do not possess and, second, 
 to discredit an author of whose painstaking accuracy 
 "8 Op. cit. "' p. 209. 
 
Plato's References tojndividual Poets 55 
 
 we have the fullest proofs. I may state a few further 
 points which make the case even stronger for Plato 
 than Mr. Howes has made it. First, in at least two- 
 thirds of his quotations it is certain or altogether 
 probable that he gives us the exact words of his text or 
 changes them only so far as the structure of his sen- 
 tence requires, that is, using the accusative and in- 
 finitive in oratio obliqua instead of the nominative with 
 the finite verb. Second, only two cases can be found 
 where it even seems that Plato has quoted the same 
 Homeric verse differently in different passages. These 
 two citations should be noted here in order to show how 
 unimportant and how easy to explain the discrepancies 
 are. A half line^^ from Z runs in the Sophistes^^' 
 rauTTjs T^s yej'eds; in the Republic^^" rauTijs TOi 
 yevtas. Similarly a half line .from k^^ appears 
 once''^^ in the form rat 5e CKtat at<X(Tov(nv; again^^ 
 at be (TKiai ataaovatv. Surely such differences as 
 these are more probably to be charged to copyists, who 
 intentionally or unintentionally substituted Attic 
 forms, than to Plato. Third, I find only one doubtful 
 case in which an apparent error in citation has spoiled 
 the perfect hexameter. This fact is not, indeed, sur- 
 prising but seems to me worthy of mention. In the 
 one exceptional case^^ referred to the verse has been 
 spoiled by changing re — re to re /cat. I am uncertain 
 whether the change is due to Plato or to a copyist. Of 
 course in the foregoing statement Ihave not taken into 
 account those instances in which Homer's words have 
 
 2«2ii. "8268D. 25»S47A. 261 49S. 252 Rep. 386 D. 2™ Men. 
 100 A. 264 H 321 in Rep_ ^gg D. 
 
56 Plato's Studies and Criticisms of the Poets 
 
 been woven into the text of Plato. In these inter- 
 woven quotations it has sometimes been easy to pre- 
 serve the meter, sometimes impossible. Sometimes 
 again Plato has succeeded only with difficulty and it 
 seems to me by a conscious effort in saving the hexame- 
 ter or hemistich. All this is of importance as showing 
 how sensitive was Plato's feeling for rhythm and how 
 thoroughly he was imbued with the spirit of epic. A 
 fourth point may be mentioned which concerns us 
 hardly less directly in the present connection. Plato 
 perfectly understands every Homeric line which he 
 quotes, he never fails to catch the spirit of Homer or 
 to comprehend the characters which he has drawn. 
 His quotations and allusions continually reveal an 
 acquaintance not only with the special passage but with 
 the whole connection, a reserve fund of knowledge, on 
 which he might have drawn indefinitely. He assumes 
 something the same knowledge in his readers, very 
 frequently citing or referring to Homeric lines or phrases 
 without mentioning the name of Homer. This, as we 
 have seen, is comparatively seldom true in the case of 
 any other poet. He often parodies Homer, as in the 
 well known passages from the Protagoras^^^ ^nd the 
 Symposium,^^^ and often, as has been said above,^" 
 comments on Homer's use of peculiar words and forms. 
 It is a modest statement, therefore, which La Roche^' 
 makes when he says "Plato kannte seinen Homer 
 vortrefflich." 
 
 Shall we-say that Plato quoted Homer from memory ? 
 
 2» 315 B. C. »6 198 C. Cf. also Phaed. 95 B. 'Omip'k^'s hyi>i Un'res, 
 and Symp. 220 C. ^s' Cf. supra p. Si- ^' Horn. Textkritik, p. 32. 
 
Plato's References tg Individual Poets 57 
 
 Mr. Howes thinks ^' that this is still a doubtful point. 
 He has, however, abundantly proved how absurd it is 
 to explain all difFeirences of reading between our Ho- 
 meric and Platonic manuscripts on this supposition. 
 He admits that such a supposition offers the best ex- 
 planation of some few passages. It offers, I think, the 
 only possible explanation of two passages, both con- 
 tained in the Republic. The first of these is here 
 quoted together with the corresponding lines in Homer. 
 Plato,^^" (Xefoj/ros ws) 80L0I irldoL KaraKdaraL kv 
 Aids ov8eL 
 
 Kripcov efXTXeLOi, 6 fiev effdXuv, aurdp 6 5eiXcov. 
 Kal (S fxev av ni^as 6 Zeus 5^5 aiJL<poTepo}v, 
 
 aWoTe fiev re /ca/c^J, o ye Kvperai, aXXore 5' iadXc^. 
 & d'av jxii, aW aKpara rd erepa, top bk 
 
 KaKYj ^o6j8pw(rris em x^ova 8Xav ekahvei, 
 Homer,2M 
 
 Sotot ykp re ir'idoL /caraKetarat kv At6s oi55« 
 dupwv, ola dlScoai,, KaKcov, erepos de eduv. 
 & fiev /c'd/xjut^as Swg Zeiis repTiKepavvos, 
 aXXore fiev re kukc^, 6 ye Kvperai, iiXXoTe d'iirdXc^. 
 & 5e Ke TOiv Xvypcjv Swrj, Xa^rjTov edrjKev 
 Kal e KaKT] ^ov^pwaris eirl ydbva Slav ekaijvei. 
 It will be seen that the last two-thirds of the first line 
 are quoted exactly, and that the second, fourth, and 
 sixth lines are perfect hexameters. Lines three and five 
 occupy their proper places but are paraphrased in prose. 
 It seems, then, that Plato is quoting where he remem- 
 bers or thinks he remembers and resorting to a para- 
 phrase where he distrusts his memory. This explansE-' 
 25' p. 209. 260 Rep. 37g D. 261 Q 527-532. 
 
58 Plato's Studies and Criticisms of the Poets 
 
 tion is strongly supported by two arguments: first, no 
 other Homeric passage can be found which Plato quotes 
 and paraphrases in alternate lines; and second, the 
 second line does not agree in a single word with the 
 corresponding Homeric line and is entirely unsupported 
 by evidence from other sources. I may add also that 
 this passage is immediately followed by a hemistich 
 which is not found at all in Homer though it resembles 
 a verse in A.^^^ In the second case Plato refers to the 
 treatment of Menelaus' wound by the two sons of As- 
 clepius, Machaon and Podalirius.^^' The line which 
 he quotes, A 218, describes how they sucked the blood 
 from his wound and applied healing herbs. But turning 
 to the Iliad we find that all the forms are singular in- 
 stead of plural, and further that they could not have 
 been plural in any text of the poet, for it is only Ma- 
 chaon who attends Menelaus or is mentioned anywhere 
 in the context.^" 
 
 I have considered these cases in detail because I think 
 that they are the only Homeric quotations in Plato 
 where we can surely convict the philosopher of lack of 
 knowledge and failure to look up his authority. Uii- 
 
 ^^ Plato, (oW is Ta/iLas iiiiXv Zeis) i,yaBQiv re Kaxiov re rirvKTai,- 
 Homer (A 84), Z«6s, 3s t' i,v8pwirwv ra/iiijs iroX^juoio rirvKrai. 
 ^"^ Plato, Rep. 408 A., (oi iratSes abrov) al/j.' ianviiiaavT kirl T^iria 
 ipkpiiaKiiTatj(TOv. Homer, aXfi kK^ivt^-fjffas kir' &p ^iria ^Ap/iafca etSojs 
 {iriurai K.T.X.). ^^ Perhaps a third case may be found in Rep. 
 389 E. where Plato quotes as though they were successive lines r 
 8 and A 431. There is much reason, however, for believing with 
 Hermann that the second verse has been added by an interpolator. 
 Or it may be that Plato writes the two verses simply because both 
 "illustrate the point under discussion." (Howes.) 
 
Plato's References to individual Poets 59 
 
 doubtedly he quotes from memory in many other 
 cases besides these, especially where he is quoting only 
 two or three words, or a hemistich. I am convinced, 
 however, that he did not do so habitually, that is, that 
 in very many cases at least he transcribes from an open 
 text of Homer. This must be a question of probability 
 and of personal opinion, for whereas it may be possible 
 to prove by argument that Plato did not refer to his 
 Homer in a given case, it is manifestly impossible ever 
 to prove the converse. I have been led to the con- 
 clusion which I have reached, first, by the remarkable 
 accuracy of much the greater part of Plato's quota- 
 tions.^^^ Aside from the passages just mentioned we 
 find no impossible readings, nothing Un-Homeric except 
 the occasiona:l and easily comprehensible substitution 
 of Attic forms, no deviation, in fact, that can be termed 
 important except from the point of view of the minutest 
 scholarship. At least five of the longest seven quota- 
 tions are almost absolutely exact. We have seen also 
 that very many of Plato's variants are substantiated 
 by evidence from other sources, and that where he 
 repeats quotations, as he often does, he is not incon- 
 sistent with himself.^^^ Is it reasonable to suppose 
 that so high a degree of accuracy could have been 
 attained by an author who habitually quoted from 
 
 ^ MahafFy (Hist, of Greek Lit. 1. 1. 33) goes so far as to say, "It 
 would almost seem that Aristarchus had Plato's very copy of Homer 
 before him, so accurately do Plato's citations agree with the final 
 Alexandrian text." ''^ Howes states more than truth when he says 
 (cf. p. 54, supra) that repeated quotations "often" show even 
 explainable differences of readings. The two cases of this sort have 
 been noted above (p. 55). 
 
6o Plato's Studies and Criticisms of the Poets 
 
 memory? For, second, we must remember that, al- 
 though Plato's knowledge of Homer was wide and 
 thorough, it was not perfect. We have already noted 
 instances where it was defective, and more will be noted 
 in another connection.^" Plato did not know the Iliad 
 and Odyssey by heart as did Ion and Niceratus. And 
 yet he is as precise in quoting what must have been less 
 familiar passages as when he is dealing with the first 
 twenty lines of the Iliad. Third, Plato stands head 
 and shoulders above all other Greek authors of the fifth 
 and fourth centuries as regards the accuracy of his 
 quotations. Even Aristotle, to whom tradition as- 
 cribes the editing of a Homeric text for Alexander, 
 suffers by comparison with him in this respect;^** so 
 do the historians and orators of Athens.^*' The most 
 reasonable explanation of this difference is not that 
 Aristotle, jEschines and the rest employed inferior 
 texts but that they quoted more carelessly than Plato. 
 Fourth, Plato quotes a passage of five lines from Pindar 
 in the Gorgias^'" and nine successive lines from the 
 Psychostasia (?) of ^schylus in the Republic;^" he 
 either quotes or paraphrases twenty-one lines from 
 Simonides in the Protagoras"^ and seventeen lines 
 from the Antiope of Euripides in the Gorgias."' 
 Hardly any one will be found to believe that in all or 
 
 ™' Infra pp. 61, 62. '^ Howes does not discuss this point but an 
 examination of the -Homeric quotations which he has collected from 
 the works of Aristotle proves the truth of the above statement. 
 Plato's greater accuracy has often been noted, e.g. by MahafFy, Grk. 
 Lit. I. I. 31. 269 Cf., for example, Wolf, Proleg. XL, and Mahaffy, 
 Grk. Lit. L I. 32-33. 270 484 B. "1 383 B. 272 339 A. ff. "' 484 E. 
 -486 C. 
 
Plato's References to 'individual Poets 6i 
 
 any of these instances Plato is quoting from memory. 
 He must unquestionably have possessed the works of 
 all these poets and referred to them in order to verify 
 his quotations. It is clear, therefore, that the practice 
 of consulting authorities was not unfamiliar to Plato. 
 It was unfamiliar to most of his countrymen, but this 
 fact does not create a presumption that the same was 
 true in the case of Plato. For the literary use of quo- 
 tations from the poets begins with him, so that his 
 standards were his own. Undoubtedly Homer was 
 better known to him than any other poet, and in many 
 instances there was not the least necessity of his veri- 
 fying a Homeric quotation. But such was not always 
 the case; and if he verified quotations from jEschylus 
 and Euripides it would be very strange if, with the 
 habit once formed, he did not frequently consult his 
 text of Homer when quoting longer or less familiar pas- 
 sages. Fifth, I may mention one instance where it 
 seems to me almost a demonstrable fact that Plato 
 referred to his Homer in quoting. In the Republic^^* 
 Plato states that Eurypylus after he has been wounded 
 in Homer is given a draught of Pramnian wine be- 
 sprinkled with flour and cheese "which are certainly 
 inflammatory, and yet the sons of Asclepius do not 
 blame the damsel who gives him the drink or rebuke 
 Patroclus who is treating his case." Plato is not here 
 quoting, but he quite surely refers to A 638 ff. On 
 consulting this passage, however, we find that the 
 wounded man is not Eurypylus but Machaon, himself 
 the son of Asclepius, and that Patroclus is not treating 
 ™405E. 
 
62 Plato's Studies and Criticisms of the Pbets 
 
 the case but has simply come to learn who had been 
 hurt. In the last lines^^^ of A the poet does describe 
 the treatment of Eurypylus by Patroclus. These two 
 passages Plato has confused. In the lon^'^ he quotes 
 the passage to which he had •alluded in the Republic 
 and quotes correctly, mentioning Machaon byname 
 as the patient. We must assume, then, one of two 
 things, either that Plato verified his quotation in 'the 
 Ion, or that he knew or remembered his Homer better 
 when he was composing the Ion than when writing the 
 Republic. But was Plato's mind ever more full of 
 Homer or was he ever studying the poet more carefully 
 than when working upon the Republic? 
 
 I believe, then, that Plato usually verified hi^uota- 
 tions from Homer except when dealing with short -or 
 perfectly familiar passages; that in referring to the; poet, 
 on the other hand, he ordinarily trusts to his memory. 
 Additional passages may be mentioned which tend to 
 confirm the latter statement. The scene upon Ida 
 in S where Zeus is tricked is alluded to^" in a way 
 which shows that Plato had not assured himself of the 
 context. Speaking of the son of Hector in the Craty- 
 lus*'^* he notes that the name Astyanax was given him 
 iirb T03V Tpiowv and concludes that it must have been 
 the women who called him Scamandrius. Unless we 
 say that Plato is in a jesting mood and not striving to 
 be logical or exact, we must think that he has forgotten 
 Z.^'* I am not, however, seeking to emphasize the 
 
 "6 842-8. "« 538 C. "' Rep. 390 C. ™ 392 C. D. "9 1 ^o2_3^ 
 
 Thy p* Ektcmjp KoKkecTKe ^Kafi&.v8piov, afirip oi B.W01 ' AtTTV^vaKr' . 
 In another passage (Rep. 378 D.) where Plato seems to have 
 
Plato's References toflndividual Poets 63 
 
 imperfectness of Plato's acquaintance with Homer or 
 his failures of memory, but only noting exceptions to 
 the general rule of thoroughgoing knowledge and 
 accuracy; and I have noted, I think, all that exist. The 
 wonder is, not that Plato sometimes makes mistakes but 
 that in almost every case his scholarship stands the test 
 of modern criticism, though he himself lived in an age 
 when exact scholarship was unknown. 
 
 That Plato was greatly influenced by the poet whom 
 he studied so carefully and quotes so frequently, and 
 that he held that poet in the highest estimation, goes 
 without saying. Plato was, indeed, as Maximus 
 Tyrius^*" has termed him, QpefJ,fia Trjs 'O/irjptKrjs (^Sijs. 
 The influence of Homer is seen not only in special pas- 
 sages — for example, the myths of the Phaedo, Gorgias, 
 and Republic — but clearly manifesting itself every- 
 where. He is referred to as "the poet" Kar' e^oxw^^^^ 
 he is the type and representative of the poets as 
 Phidias^*^ among sculptors and Solon^** among law- 
 givers, the most poetic,^*^ the wisest,^^^ the best^** and 
 most divine^*' of all the goodly company. He is 
 6 Taa<ro<j>ds 7roti7Ti7s,^** 6 a/cpos^*' of tragedy, the 
 
 Homer in mind he refers to Hpas darnoiis iwA vlios koJ 'B.<paL- 
 CTTov fibj/ets vvi irarpSs. Homer's story, however, (o 18 ff.) is 
 that Hera was bound by Zeus and that Hephasstus was thrown from 
 heaven for presuming to aid his mother. Plato may here be confusing 
 the two incidents, or, quite as probably, may be fully conscious that 
 the variant version which he chooses (which we know existed) was 
 un-Homeric. ^s" Diss. XXXH. p. 380. ^'- Gorg. 485 D., Leg. 804 
 A., 944 A. i«2Prot. 311E. 2S' Phsdr. 278 C. ^s* Rep. 607 A. ^ss Leg. 
 777 A. »» Ion 530 B. 28' Ion 530 B. =»» The^t. 194 E. "^ Thejet. 
 152 E. 
 
64 Plato's Studies and Criticisms of the Poets 
 
 leader, teacher and commander of all the tragedians.^'" 
 It is he especially who charms us,^''^ his poetry which 
 we praise.^'^ Moreover, Plato's feeling toward Homer 
 is not merely one of intellectual appreciation and ad- 
 miration but of heartfelt love and reverence.^'^ When 
 he addresses the poet as (^tXe "0/x?7pe,^°* it is with no 
 admixture of irony. He shrinks for "Homer's sake"'''* 
 from condemning the stories which the Iliad and 
 Odyssey contain. Yet he does condemn them and 
 the poet, and refuses him admission to the ideal state. 
 The arguments which forced Plato to this judgment 
 will be considered in the next chapter. Suffice it to say 
 here that his decision to banish Homer seems to me a 
 triumph of reason over the inmost feelings of the heart. 
 Several interesting questions are suggested by the 
 above examination of the number and range of Plato's 
 citations from Hesiod, the Epic Cycle and Homer. To 
 take up Hesiod first, we have seen that Plato quotes 
 frequently from the Works and Days but only once from 
 the Theogony; further that he seems not to have been 
 well acquainted with the latter poem. Plato doubtless 
 neglected the Theogony because it contained little of 
 interest to him and many stories of the sort which he 
 most sternly condemns.^'* His philosophy had carried 
 him far beyond any concern for Hesiodic mythology. 
 The fact that he does not condemn Hesiod's tales more 
 frequently^'' is due, first, to his lack of interest in them 
 and requisite knowledge of them, second and chiefly, to 
 
 2»« Rep.- S9S C, 598 E., Theaet. 152 E. '»i Rep. 607 D. ^^ Rep. 
 383 A. 293 Rep. 595 C. »»« Rep. 599 D. =» Rep. 391 A. ™ Cf. Rep. 
 377 E., "' Cf. supra p. 48. 
 
Plato's References to Individual Poets 65 
 
 his bold, uncompromising determination to strike at 
 the greatest of the bards whom he would censure, at 
 Homer among the epic poets as ^schylus among the 
 tragedians.^'* The Works and Days, on the other 
 hand, contained much sound moral teaching as well as 
 practical wisdom and — a more important point, I 
 think — ^was far better known to Plato's readers than 
 the Theogony. It was studied in the schools along with 
 the didactic verse of Solon and Theognis,^'' so that the 
 lines which Plato quotes would be recognized by those 
 who had committed them to memory in early years. 
 This circumstance influences Plato here as in other 
 cases. 
 
 It is perfectly clear that Plato ranked Hesiod far 
 below Homer. Although the moral tone of the Works 
 and Days made this poem especially acceptable to 
 Plato, although as a philosopher, seeking the time- 
 honored authority to support his own ethical teachings, 
 he would naturally refer more often to the more didactic 
 of the two poets, still his literary judgment compels 
 him to treat Hesiod as second longo intervallo. The 
 same judgment also leads him to neglect the Cyclic 
 poets almost entirely, though their works were known 
 and honored by his contemporaries. Indeed, we learn 
 that common opinion regarded Homer himself as the 
 poet not only of the Cypria and Epigoni,'"" and the 
 Little Iliad,'"' but of the entire cycle.'"^ This judgment 
 was shared in whole or in part by eminently respectable 
 
 ^'^ supra, p. 44. *»' Cf. the authorities cited p. 29, n. 57. ""• Herod. 
 II. 117, and IV. 32. ""■ Ps. Demosth., Epitaph. 29. "™ Prod. Chrest. 
 233 W., Ps. Herod., Vita Horn., 9. 
 
66 Plato's Studies and Criticisms of the Poets 
 
 critics. Thus the Thebais was ascribed to Homer by 
 Callinus,"" the Cypria by Pindar,'*** perhaps the entire 
 cycle by iEschylus.'"* Further Pindar and the trage- 
 dians make much more frequent use of the cycHc poets 
 than of Homer;"" so do Athenian vase painters. Plato 
 would have been in good company if he had paid 
 considerable attention to the cyclic writers or ascribed 
 their poems to Homer. He does neither the one nor 
 the other. Citing"" only a single couplet from one of 
 these many epics he refers to its author by the sig- 
 nificantly indefinite words 6 TTOtijrijs 6 iroiiiaras}'^^ 
 We must believe, then, that Plato found himself unable 
 to regard the cyclic poems as worthy to be compared 
 with the Iliad and Odyssey or to think of Homer as 
 their author. 
 
 What poems then did Plato ascribe to Homer.? We 
 know that Aristotle himself believed in the Homeric 
 authorship of the Margites,"*' while Thucydides"" and 
 Aristophanes'" accepted the hymn to Delian Apollo 
 as genuine. It has been maintained that Plato, on the 
 other hand, regarded only the Iliad and Odyssey as 
 
 >»»Paus. IX. 9. 5. 'M^iian, Var. Hist. IX. 15. «i»As Christ 
 (Griech. Litteraturgesch. p. 66, n. 2) infers from the tragedian's 
 saying that his dramas were reitixv Silrvoiv 'O/xfipov. Cf. further 
 Sengebusch, Diss. Horn. post. p. 14. '" Paley, Introduction to his 
 edition of the Iliad. »<" Euthyph. 12 A. "" Wohlrab in his third 
 edition of the Euthyphro gives the following note on this passage: 
 Dass Plato hier nicht an Denselben {Homer) denkt, ergiebt sich daraus 
 dass zu 6 iroHjT^s heschrdnkend hinzugefugt ist b Troii]<ras. He thus 
 retracts his former note: Plato scheint diese Verse dem Homer beiiu- 
 legen den er ah 4 iroiriTris zu bezeichnen pflegt. "" Poet. 4. •" III. 
 104. »" Birds, S7S. 
 
Plato's References t» Individual Poets 67 
 
 Homeric. Heine'^^ especially undertakes a long argu- 
 ment in support of this view. That such a thesis, 
 however, is not susceptible of absolute proof seems to 
 me self-evident; the evidence, though strong, is all 
 negative, and we must content ourselves with regarding 
 as highly probable what we cannot perfectly prove. 
 We do know that Plato quotes as Homeric only verses 
 from the Iliad and the Odyssey and that he does not 
 definitely ascribe any other poem to Homer, in fact 
 distinctly rejects the common opinion which made him 
 the author of the Cypria. Further, in several passages 
 he refers to the Iliad and Odyssey as though he meant 
 to include thereby all the poetry of Homer. Thus in 
 the Republic'i^ he states that Homer has combined the 
 narrative and mimetic methods not only in the first 
 lines of the Iliad but also in Tr\v aKk7]v iraaav dLrjyrjaLV 
 irepl re twv kv 'IXtw koL irepl tuv kv 'I^d/cjj Kal oXjj 
 'O^vtraelq, irad-qixaruiv. In the Laws''* he de- 
 scribes how old men would enjoy better than tragedy 
 or comedy pa\l/wS6v /caXaJs 'IXtdSa xai '08va<Tei.av ij 
 TL T03V 'H<rto36iwj' biaTiBkvTa. In the Hippias Minor''^ 
 the Iliad and Odyssey are compared as though the two 
 poems of Homer. Finally, the much discussed passage 
 from the Phaedrus,'" \kyovui 8k, ol/xai, Tivks 'Ofirj- 
 piduv eK Tcjv airodkruv kiruv 8vo eirri els tov "Epcora, 
 and Plato's criticisms upon the two lines quoted 
 seem at least to show that the philosopher was not 
 inclined to accept as truly Homeric all that the Ho- 
 meridae ascribed to their master. It is evident, then, 
 
 ™De ratione p. 15 ff. "3393 B. '"658 D. '1*363 B., 365 C. 
 "'252 B. 
 
68 Plato's Studies and Criticisms of the Poets 
 
 both from this passage and from the way in which his 
 quotation from the Cypria is introduced, that Plato 
 approached Homer in the spirit of an intelligent, honest 
 critic, ready to question or to deny the Homeric author- 
 ship of whatever seemed to him unworthy of the poet. 
 The facts which have been stated seem to leave little 
 room for doubt that he regarded none of the other 
 poems which were ascribed to Homer as worthy the 
 author of the Iliad and Odyssey. If so, he was alto- 
 gether the keenest of Homeric students down to the 
 time of the Alexandrian grammarians. 
 
 7. General conclusions. — In the light of the facts 
 which have been stated and the conclusions to which 
 they have led us, it may be possible to answer the 
 question, "Why did Plato interweave quotations from 
 the poets in his philosophical dialogues?" The answer, 
 however, cannot be stated in a single phrase. The 
 causes which operated to bring about the result we are 
 examining were many and various. We must note, 
 first, that Plato was only carrying further a practice 
 which had already been established. The sophists 
 made large use of the poets, both in quoting from their 
 works and in interpreting or challenging their sayings. 
 Socrates himself, while he did not follow the Sophists 
 in the latter of these points, did set the example for 
 Plato of quoting from the poets.'" Further, Plato pos- 
 sessed a finer appreciation of poetry and had far more 
 of the poet in his nature than either Socrates or the 
 sophists. Coming now to his purpose in quotation, 
 one may say, firstFthat he employs the words of the poets 
 
 »" Cf. supra p. 3. 
 
Plato's keferences tb individual Poets 6g 
 
 for the sake of argument, welcoming the opportunity 
 of adducing authority which was highly esteemed by 
 the Greeks in support of his own positions. On the 
 other hand, he quotes stories of the poets which seem to 
 him wrong or demoralizing for the express purpose of 
 attacking them. Third, verses are frequently cited, 
 as they might be by any man of wide reading, simply 
 because they express in attractive poetic form what the 
 philosopher would say. Finally, he uses his quotations 
 from the poets as one among many means of embellish- 
 ing his discourses and so giving them an interest to the 
 reader who would not be attracted by the purely philo- 
 sophical element. The firs*- three of these points re- 
 quire mention only, not discussion; they present them- 
 selves at once to one examining the quotations which 
 have been collected. To the last I shall give a dispro- 
 portionate share of attention because it is not so self- 
 evident and has not been before remarked. Further, 
 the consideration of it leads to interesting conclusions 
 and serves to explain many of the facts which have 
 been noted. We must begin, however, by asking 
 whether it is true that Plato consciously sought to make 
 what was "caviare to the general" more palatable by 
 invoking the assistance of the poets. We must be pre- 
 pared to accept such a conclusion as reasonable when 
 we consider that Plato in all points devotes hardly less 
 attention to the form than to the matter of his writings, 
 that he does in fact employ all the resources at his com- 
 mand to enhance their beauty and charm, that he has 
 in fact attracted students of literature no less than 
 philosophers. True, the artistic perfection of the 
 
70 Plato's Studies and Criticisms of the Poets 
 
 Platonic dialogues is due first and above all to the fact 
 that they were the products of a great artistic genius; 
 but Plato wrought not for himself or for art alone. As 
 a disciple of Socrates, carrying on his master's work, 
 his mission was to convict men of error and lead them 
 to truth; and he employed with conscious purpose every 
 means which could subserve that end. So, as Morgen- 
 stern has well remarked,'^* he clothed philosophy in a 
 beautiful form in order to win over to her those who had 
 trusted to other and poorer teachers. That Plato has 
 such an aim in view in quoting so frequently from the 
 poets seems extremely probable from several considera- 
 tions. In the first place, we find that those dialogues 
 which are in other respects most perfect as artistic 
 creations and most attractive to the layman, e.g., the 
 Protagoras, Gorgias, Symposium, and Republic, are 
 the very ones which are most crowded with poetic 
 quotations. Further, he cites most often, as we have 
 seen, those poets whose works were taught in the 
 schools or were for other reasons best known to his 
 contemporaries. It is true that these very poets were 
 the ones who were best known to Plato himself; but this 
 inquiry has shown above all things else the wonderful 
 extent of Plato's acquaintance with Greek literature, 
 and we should be doing him injustice if we assumed 
 that only the few poets of whom he makes most constant 
 use were sufficiently familiar to him to admit of his 
 quoting frequently from their works. Finally, Plato 
 quotes not a single non-philosophical prose writer. 
 
 SIS De Platonis Republica commentationes tres (Halle, 1794) pp. 
 256-7. 
 
Plato's References to individual Poets 71 
 
 If I am not mistaken, Acusilaus is the only one who is 
 even mentioned. We know that this early logograph 
 rendered Hesiod into prose and Plato only says''* of 
 him that he agrees with Hesiod in a certain statement. 
 Of course very little prose had been written before the 
 time of Plato which could be regarded as literature. 
 Yet the greatest historians of Greece belonged to the 
 fifth century. It is highly improbable that Plato was 
 unacquainted with Herodotus and Thucydides, and he 
 might have found very much in their works to illustrate 
 or enforce his own teachings. He neglects them 
 because they were comparatively unknown to his 
 readers and held no such position of authority as the 
 poets. The reading public was small and concerned 
 itself very little with prose writers. No one thought 
 of quoting from them and Plato would not have 
 interested or impressed anyone by doing so himself. 
 Further, a plain prose quotation would not adorn or 
 relieve a prose dialogue in the same way as verses from 
 Homer or Pindar. If we believe, then, that one im- 
 portant reason for Plato's frequent use of the poets was 
 a desire to add still further to the attractiveness which 
 their artistic and literary quality gave to his dialogues, 
 and that with this object in mind he quotes especially 
 
 "' Symp. 178 B. It is possible, but only possible, that Plato is 
 following Herodotus in Rep. 566 C. where he quotes a part of an 
 oracle given to Croesus which is recorded by Herodotus, I. 55; also 
 in Rep. 453 D. where -he may have in mind the historian's story 
 (I. 23-4) of Arion and the dolphin. It is merely a natural coincidence 
 that two very familiar quotations are found both in Herodotus and 
 Plato, viz. Hesiod, W. & D. 285 in Her. VI. 86 and Rep. 363 D., 
 and Pindar, Frg. 169 in Her. III. 38 and Gorg. 484 B. 
 
72 Plato's Studies and Criticisms of the Poets 
 
 those poets who were best known to his readers, we may 
 fairly infer from his choice of authors what books made 
 up the library of the educated Athenian in the fourth 
 century.'^" First of all Homer and Hesiod; then 
 Solon, Theognis, Simonides, Pindar and the three great 
 tragedians. The works of these poets at least must 
 have formed the nucleus of every collection. Those 
 whose notions were less strict than Plato's might have 
 added next the songs of Anacreon and of Alcaeus and 
 Sappho. Prose writers would doubtless have found a 
 place last of all. 
 
 One further point which is explained by the conclu- 
 sions already adduced is Plato's failure in almost all 
 cases to pronounce a serious judgment upon the poets 
 to whom he refers. Whether quoting from them for 
 the sake of adorning his dialogues or of enlisting their 
 authority upon his side, he could not well indicate his 
 opinions of them except in general, almost meaningless 
 terms; least of all could he undertake in any way to 
 prescribe their relative rank. On the other hand, 
 where he condemns most severely, he nobly bestows 
 
 '^^ The arguments presented by Becker and GoU in the Charikles 
 (II. l6o ff.) seem to me to prove sufficiently the disputed point 
 that the art of book-making had advanced so far in the fourth century 
 that private individuals could and did possess libraries, though 
 perhaps not very large ones. I should regard the number and variety 
 of Plato's quotations as furnishing an additional argument in support 
 of this thesis. The better, though perhaps smaller, part of his readers 
 must have possessed the means of familiarizing themselves with the 
 works of Pindar and jEschylus; otherwise it would have been a 
 needless expenditure of pains for the philosopher to quote from these 
 poets. 
 
Plato's References to Individual Poets ^^ 
 
 the fullest praise. Yet if Plato's words but seldom 
 show us clearly what poets he held in highest honor, it 
 is easier to judge from the better evidence, as the 
 Greeks would have called it, of deeds. Our investiga- 
 tion has been in vain if it has not shown that the roll of 
 Plato's favorite poets would include only names which 
 we should place among the first; if he seems to neglect 
 any to whom we should ascribe equal honor, it has been 
 for other reasons than a lack of appreciation. 
 
PART II 
 
 Plato's criticisms of the poets and poetry 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 The results of the preceding examination seem to 
 prepare one but poorly to understand why Plato ban- 
 ished from his ideal state both the epic and the dramatic 
 poets. For Plato is not merely the well-read, appre- 
 ciative student of Greek literature, the able critic of the 
 poetic art, the admirer of the noblest poets of Greece; 
 he is himself a poet In the truest sense of the word, a 
 dramatic artist of surpassing skill. He has given to his 
 philosophy all the charm and grace of poetry. His 
 dialogues are themselves dramas, in form, in fullness of 
 scenic setting, in characterization, in dignity of expres- 
 sion. In his greatest works he shows himself, first, the 
 literary artist and second, the philosopher. Morgen- 
 stern^ has described him truly as eum virum, cuius in- 
 genium quum fabricaretur Natura, multum ac diu du- 
 bitasse videatur, utrum Poetam an Philosophum fingeret; 
 et quum dubitationis finem non reperiret, experiri malu- 
 isse, quid existeret si quee conjungi vix posse viderentur, 
 copularet, quam ab incepto sua prorsus desistere. Does 
 not Plato put himself to shame and condemn himself 
 when he condemns by word those who are indeed his 
 fellow workers and his models.? We seem to be face to 
 face with the most startling and puzzling of all the 
 Platonic paradoxes, an inconsistency which shakes bur 
 belief in the philosopher's honesty. 
 
 ' Op. citat. p. 26a. 
 
 77 
 
78 ' Plato's Studies and Criticisms of the Poets 
 
 Plato's critics in ancient and modern times have not 
 failed to reproach him as one whose practice does not 
 accord with his preaching. Thus Athenaeus^ says of 
 him, 6 /caXos nXdrwj'. . . . tv ixb> rrj JloKiTtlq. 
 "Onripov eKJdaXXuv Kal ttiv fiL/xriTLKriv Tolricnv, 
 auTos Si Toi)s di.d\6yovs tiifiriTLKSis ypa\pas. Diony- 
 sius of HaHcarnassus' brings against him the still 
 harsher charge of ^yiKorvitla itpos "Ojxyfpov, while 
 Plutarch in his essay IIcos 5ei rbv viov iroL'qp.ii.TOiv 
 OLKOJjeiv* is evidently striking at Plato, whose name, 
 however, he does not mention. Maximus Tyrius, the 
 Platonist of the second century a.d., does, indeed, seek 
 to justify his master's treatment of Homer. He argues" 
 that as a perfect human being, formed by art, might be 
 said by its maker to need no physician, so Plato's state 
 does not need Homer. There is no thought, however, 
 of disrespect to the physician in the one case or to 
 Homer in the other. Poetry cannot bring profit to the 
 ideal state and must not be permitted to bring pleasure. 
 The author of the essay Ilept iralScop aywyfjs, which 
 passes under the name of Plutarch, agrees with Plato 
 in so far as to say' that he (6 baiphvios) very properly 
 forbade nurses to tell stories of any and every sort to 
 
 2 XI. 112. p. JOS- ' Ep. ad Cn. Pomp. p. 756, Reiske: tiv yi.p, riv 
 fiiv TH nXArwras i/Aaa, iroXXds dperds ixoiiaxi, tA tpOv>Tiii.ov. tSri'Soxre 
 5k rovTo fi&Xn7Ta Sid, rijs irpds '^OfiTjpov fi^Xoruirtas, 6y Ik rijs 
 KaTa(rK€va^otiivi]s iw' airov TroXtre/os tuffaWii areipaviiaas xal iiipif 
 Xpliras tils Sii tovtuv airii Siov iKPaWoiitixf 5i' ov t) t'SXXij Tratjeia 
 irocra iraprfKBtv eis t6v filov xai Tt\evTaaa <pC\o<TO<pla. On the inac- 
 curacy of this allusion cf. infra p. 92, n. 25. * Moralia pp. 14-37; cf. 
 infra pp. 126-130. ^ In Dissertation VII. which is devoted entirely to 
 this subject. ° Moralia, 3 F. with allusion to Rep. 377 B. C. 
 
Plato's Criticisms of f^ie Poets and Poetry 79 
 
 the young to fill them with foolishness and wickedness. 
 Still this admission does not by any means lead him to 
 accept Plato's ultimate conclusions. Only in Cicero 
 do we find one who openly and unreservedly approves 
 of the banishment of the poets. He writes/ Videsne 
 poetcB quid mali adferant? . . . Recte igitur a Platone 
 eiciuntur ex ea civitate quam finxit ille, cum optimos 
 mores et optimum rei publicce statum exquireret. With- 
 out intending to compare two personalities so different 
 as Plato and Cicero, we may note that the latter made 
 perhaps larger use of the poets than any other Roman 
 and at the same time wrote poetry himself. 
 
 No modern scholar has undertaken to defend Plato 
 against so foolish an accusation as that of Dionysius. 
 On the other hand, many have been disposed to agree 
 with Athenaeus that the philosopher convicts himself of 
 inconsistency. No one, so far as I am aware, has ven- 
 tured to accept Cicero's judgment that the expulsion 
 of the poets was a thing to be commended. The tone 
 of criticism has been at best half-heartedly apologetic. 
 Reasons have been sought to explain rather than to 
 justify Plato's conduct. Harsher critics have magni- 
 fied the enormity of the sin which he is thought to have 
 committed. In so doing they have misinterpreted in 
 the light of the tenth book of the Republic very much 
 of what Plato elsewhere says of the poets. Evidences 
 of his hostility to them have been found where none 
 exist,* while passages which are commendatory have 
 
 'T. D. 11. II. 27. 'An extreme instance of this tendency is 
 Schleiermacher's remark (Introduction to the Republic, pp. 62-3) 
 that in the myth of Rep. X. Plato is granting himself the pleasure 
 
8o Plato's Studies and Criticisms of the Poets 
 
 been termed instances of Socratic irony. Above all 
 it has been assumed almost without question that 
 Plato's charges against Homer and the poets are 
 unreasonable and unfair. It is necessary, therefore, 
 to examine carefully these charges and the argument 
 which is built upon them. 
 
 of one more malicious fling at Homer when lie makes the poet's 
 heroes judge foolishly. Other cases might be cited. 
 
CHAPTER I 
 
 REVIEW OF Plato's condemnatory utterances 
 
 I. In the Republic. — ^After drawing the fundamental 
 lines of his state and determining upon the necessity 
 of a warrior class, the "guardians," Plato proceeds to 
 consider' how these guardians are to be educated. It 
 is agreed that a better system cannot well be devised 
 than the usual one which prescribes fJiOvaiKr} and 
 yvfivaaTiKr] as the two important elements. Begin- 
 ning with the former, he notes that children in their 
 early years are first taught by stories which are for the 
 most part untrue. These stories should be only such 
 as will profit the hearer. We must, therefore, exercise 
 a strict supervision over the (ivdoTOioL, accepting such 
 stories as are good and rejecting the bad. For bad 
 stories are told by Homer, Hesiod, and the other poets, 
 stories which misrepresent the characters and doings 
 of gods and heroes. Even if Hesiod's story about 
 Uranus and Cronus were true, it should not be told to 
 the young lest they should incline to justify themselves 
 in similar acts of wickedness. Our 4>vXaKes are to 
 regard quarreling among themselves as the basest of 
 all things. How then can we allow them to hear in 
 their youth the stories which Homer tells of quarrels 
 i376ff. 
 
 8l 
 
82 Plato's Studies and Criticisms of the Poets 
 
 and battles among the gods? In general the following 
 principles may be laid down to govern the poets in the 
 framing of their stories: (a) The deity is always to 
 be represented as he truly is, the author of good alone, 
 not of evil. But Homer has described Zeus as one who 
 sends more misfortune than blessing upon men, and has 
 charged Zeus, Athena, and Themis with instigating acts 
 of injustice, ^schylus also is guilty of similar mis- 
 representation. In the ideal state, however, such tales 
 must not be permitted, nor should the citizens be al- 
 lowed to repeat or hear them, (b) The deity is eter- 
 nally unchanged in form; he cannot change for the 
 better, will not change for the worse. Nor does he 
 ever deceive men. Whatever Homer and the trage- 
 dians have said which is inconsistent with these truths, 
 we cannot accept or approve, (c) Death is not a state 
 to be feared nor is the lower world a world of unhap- 
 piness and horror. We must, therefore, strike out 
 all those passages in the Iliad and the Odyssey which 
 describe the terrors of the realm of Hades. Otherwise 
 our guardians will be demoralized by the fear of death 
 and will make poor soldiers, (d) The reasonable man 
 will bear with equanimity the loss of friends or other 
 misfortunes. We cannot believe Homer, therefore, 
 when he represents heroes and even gods as indulging 
 in unrestrained lamentations. For we cannot have 
 our guardians yielding to such impulses or guilty of any 
 extravagant display of emotion. Even the inex- 
 tinguishable laughter of the gods upon Olympus is 
 unseemly, (e) Our youth must be taught auippoavvrj, 
 that is, in general, obedience to authority and control 
 
Review of Plato's Cond^natory Utterances 83 
 
 over sensual desires. So we cannot approve the in- 
 sulting words of Achilles to Agamemnon or those 
 passages in Homer which portray the delights of love 
 and of eating and drinking, (f) The vices of bribery 
 and avarice must be unknown to our youth and the 
 poets must not be permitted to ascribe them to heroes 
 and gods. (g) The heroes must not be said to have 
 been guilty of acts of impiety and cruelty. As kins- 
 men of the gods they must be models for our young 
 men. But the deeds of Achilles, Theseus, and Pirithous, 
 as related by the poets, tend rather to encourage wicked- 
 ness. To conclude, therefore, Tavariov tovs tolovtovs 
 fivdovs fJtri rifjLlv iroXKriv ei'X^pctaj' ivTiKTOiffi toZs 
 vioLs irovriplas.^ 
 
 Enough with regard to what the poets must or must 
 not say about gods and heroes. We turn now to their 
 stories about men. Can we permit them to say that the 
 unjust are happy and the just unhappy, that injustice 
 is profitable to the ^oer and justice unprofitable.? 
 This question, however, touches the main subject of 
 our argument. We can answer it only when we have 
 discovered what justice is, and how it profits him who 
 possesses it. We pass on, then, to consider how the 
 poets must write, having already determined what they 
 are to say. We distinguish three methods in com- 
 position, the narrative, the mimetic, and a third which 
 is a combination of the first two.' Shall we permit our 
 poets to employ the mimetic method and, if so, in how 
 far? I suspect, says Adimantus, that the question 
 means whether we are to admit tragedy and comedy 
 
 • 391 E. ' Cf. supra p. 17. 
 
84 Plato's Studies and Criticisms of the Poets 
 
 into our state. Perhaps, Socrates replies, we shall be 
 carried still further; but whithersoever the argument 
 leads, we must follow. We have already laid down the 
 principle that one man cannot do many things. If we 
 hold to this, we must say that our guardians shall not 
 be imitators. It is their business to maintain the free- 
 dom of the state and they cannot be allowed to do any- 
 thing else. If they are to practice the mimetic art at 
 all let them- personate only worthy characters — the 
 brave, the temperate, the pious. For those qualities 
 which the actor portrays are apt to become a part of 
 his real nature. Therefore let not our guardians play 
 unworthy roles. The good man, then, will adopt a 
 style which is in part narrative, in part mimetic; but 
 there will be very little of the latter element. On the 
 other hand a man of the opposite type will feel free to 
 imitate anything, noble or base. When such a one 
 comes to our state, we shall treat him with all honor 
 but send him away to another city, after anointing him 
 with myrrh and crowning him with a garland of wool. 
 
 The discussion now passes to the subject of harmonies 
 and rhythms* and we find no further criticisms of the 
 poets until the tenth book is reached. The main thesis 
 of the Republic has now been established and Socrates, 
 looking back over the results of his work, remarks'" that 
 no provision in the constitution of the state pleases him 
 better than that regarding poetry. I refer, he says, to 
 the exclusion of mi metic poetrv. ^ That we were right 
 in bani'shmg 'it~Becornes more clear now that we have 
 distinguished the various parts of the soul. For 
 
 • Cf. supra p. 18. ' S95 A. » Cf. infra pp. 89-92. 
 
Review of Plato's Condemnatory Utterances (8^ 
 
 mimetic poetry is ruinous to the understanding of the 
 hearer unless he be a philosopher. This statement is 
 supported by the following arguments: (a) Those 
 things which are apprehended by the senses have no 
 real existence of themselves, but are only imitations of 
 an ideal prototype. For example, there is one ideal 
 bed, ■q kv rfi <l>xi(T€i, oixra, whose maker is God. The 
 carpenter constructs in numerous copies not to elSos, 
 dXXA kKivtiv Tiva. He does not make that which really 
 exists, but only something which is like the existentr, 
 The third bed is the work of the painter. He, however, 
 is in no sense of the word a maker, rather an imitator 
 of what the others make. He is, therefore, in the third 
 degree removed from the king and the truth. So also 
 is his fellow imitator, the tragic poet. Note further 
 that the painter imitates, not the ideal bed, but the 
 visible copy made by the carpenter, not reality, there- 
 fore, but only appearance. The mimetic artist, there- 
 fore, has little to do with truth and can imitate every- 
 thing simply because he touches everything so super- 
 ficially. He may, indeed, persuade simple people to 
 .believe that he really understands all the things with 
 which he deals. So many people believe that Homer 
 and the tragedians have real knowledge of all things 
 human. Can such a judgment possibly be correct.? 
 If so, we are driven to the absurdity of supposing that 
 one who might create not only the iftiitation but also 
 the thing imitated would be content to produce only 
 the former. Let us examine the leader of these poets 
 to whom so much knowledge is ascribed. "Dear 
 Homer," we should say, "if you are not the third 
 
86 Plato's Studies and Criticisms of the Poets 
 
 remove from truth but only the second, not an imitator 
 but one who knows, then tell us what state was ever 
 governed better through you." No one could name a 
 single state, nor mention a war which was successfully 
 carried on by Homer, nor any invention or public 
 service of any kind that can be ascribed to him. And 
 if he had been a wise teacher, able to make men better, 
 he would have had friends and admirers, and he would 
 never have been neglected and allowed to go around 
 rhapsodizing. We must conclude then that Homer and 
 the rest of his kind are imitators who do not attain to 
 truth, (b) Let us consider in another way that the 
 imitator has no knowledge of reality but only of ap- 
 pearance. The painter imitates, for example, the work 
 of the flute-maker. But the latter will have no real 
 knowledge (eirt(TTi7juij) with regard to the goodness 
 or badness of flutes. That knowledge belongs only 
 to the user of the instrument. The maker will have 
 merely right opinion (So^a opdrj). The imitator will 
 have neither. So he has been shown once more to be 
 in the third degree removed from true knowledge, 
 (c) On what part or faculty of man does the mimetic 
 art work its eff"ect? To illustrate: there is a faculty 
 which is apt to be led astray by the impressions of sense, 
 and another faculty which trusts to calculation and is 
 not deceived. Now imitation represents the actions 
 of a man who is not in harmony with himself but in a 
 state of internal dissension and discord. For there is 
 in the good man a higher principle which incHnes to 
 follow reason and will bid him bear misfortune with 
 equanimity; on the other hand, there is a lower principle 
 
Review of Plato's Condemnatory Utterances 87 
 
 • 
 
 which leads him to recollect misfortune and lament 
 over it. And it is the latter of the two, in the nature of 
 things, which offers the better opportunity for the 
 mimetic artist. Therefore we must not admit him 
 into our state because, shaping his stories to the taste 
 of those who throng the theaters, he nourishes and 
 strengthens an inferior part of the soul and destroys 
 the rational element, (d) The weightiest charge against I 
 the poets is still to come, the charge that poetry has the I 
 power to harm even the good. For the best of u?:,| 
 when we are told of the misfortunes of some hero and 
 hear his lamentations, give ourselves up to emotion and 
 sympathy; that is, we praise in another that indulgence 
 of the feelings which we should condemn in ourselves, 
 and we foolishly feel that we can give free rein to our 
 emotions with propriety because the sorrow is another's, 
 not considering that harm must needs accrue thereby 
 to our own characters. Comedy is just as harmful in 
 its results. At the theater we laugh at base jests and 
 actions which we should not permit ourselves to be 
 guilty of at home; and we weaken our moral nature by 
 the mere toleration of such vice. In general, poetry 
 feeds the passionate and emotional part of our nature, 
 and that which should rather be ruled by reason is 
 made thereby the ruler of our lives. 
 
 Therefore, Glaucon, Socrates continues, when we 
 meet Homer's admirers who say that he has educated 
 Hellas and that we should take him as our teacher in 
 everything and order our lives according to his words, 
 we must respect their good intentions and grant 
 "Oti-qpov iroi,riTi.K63TaTOV elvai Kai irpurov twv 
 
88 Plato's Studies and Criticisms of the Poets 
 
 Tpayc^SoTTOiiav, but we must still maintain that we can 
 admit only hymns to the gods and encomia upon good 
 men into our state. If the poets accuse us of harshness 
 or discourtesy toward them, let us say in our defence 
 that there is "an ancient quarrel between poetry and 
 philosophy." Let us further assure them that we are 
 conscious of the charm of 17 Trpos ribovrjv iroi,r]TLKri 
 and would gladly admit her if she could prove her right 
 to exist in a well ordered state. We will allow her 
 friends to speak pn her behalf and undertake to show 
 that she is not only pleasant but useful to states and to 
 human life; and we shall rejoice if they succeed in their 
 defence. But if the all important point — her useful- 
 ness in the state — cannot be proven, we must shut our 
 ears to her enchantments and firmly, though regret- 
 fully, cling to our decision, realizing the high importance 
 of the question at issue. 
 
 The meaning and the value of various points in the 
 above argument will be discussed later; the connection 
 of the two parts into which it is divided — ^the one 
 contained in books II. and III., the other in book X. — 
 demands immediate consideration. Some authorities 
 have failed to find any essential connection. C. F. 
 Hermann,' regarding the Republic as constructed 
 piecemeal at various times, considers Book X. to have 
 been a last addition, made nach geraumer Zeit and stand- 
 ing in no very close relation to what has gone before. 
 Schleiermacher* also, agreeing with Hermann as to 
 the time of the composition of Book X., pronounced 
 
 ' Histor. Philos. Plat. I. pp. 510-40. ' Introduction to the Re- 
 public, p. S5- 
 
Review of Plato's Condemnatory Utterances 89 
 
 • 
 
 it so unessential a part of the work that its loss would 
 not have been felt. We are not now concerned with 
 the arguments for or against Hermann's theory; 
 suffice it to say that Plato has clearly prepared the way 
 in III. for the further discussion in X. — not, however, 
 as Stallbaum^ would hold, by the passage contained 
 in 392 C. It is true that the question there propounded 
 as to what the poets shall be permitted to say about 
 men'" is postponed for later consideration; but it is 
 not again taken up. The question is answered by the 
 demonstration of the succeeding books and further 
 discussion is rendered unnecessary. In 394 D., how- 
 ever, the words of Socrates are significant. Adimantus 
 makes the conjecture that he means to exclude tragedy 
 and comedy from the state. Socrates answers "lews' 
 laus 5e Kal irXetoj 'iri. tovtuv. ov yap S17 eycoye ttco oI5a, 
 dXX' Sttj/ av 6 X6yos cbairep irj'eC/xa ^epp, ravrn ireov. 
 These words may indeed be referred to the implied" 
 condemnation which soon follows, of epic poetry which 
 is both mimetic and bad; but it is more natural with 
 Jowett'^ to find here an allusion to the argument of 
 X., which distinctly goes "further" both in its abso- 
 lute condemnation of all mimetic poetry and in its 
 extension of the meaning of that term.'' On the other 
 hand, the first lines of X. contain a natural and indeed 
 
 • Introduction to the Republic, p. LXXXIII and note on 392 C. 
 " Supra, pp. 83, 84. " It is to be especially noted that in III. 395- 
 398 Plato does not once specifically mention the epic poets or epic 
 poetry; nor does he condemn the mimetic art per se in either epic or 
 drama. Cf. infra. " Introduction to the Republic, p. LV. " Cf. 
 infra pp. 92-94. 
 
go Plato's Studies and Criticisms of the Poets 
 
 indispensable reference to the conclusions which are 
 reached in III. 392-398. It is noteworthy, however, 
 that Plato here goes beyond the truth when he asserts'* 
 that the previous argument to which he is alluding 
 prescribed the absolute exclusion of mimetic poetry 
 from the state.'"" It has, indeed, been shown" that 
 we must condemn the indiscriminate use of the mimetic 
 method, i.e. that sort of /xt/^ijo'ts which does not 
 scruple to imitate the basest subjects and characters; 
 but the demonstration goes no further than this. In 
 fact, it is distinctly stated'" that the proper man (6 
 jjiiTpLos avrip), when in the course of a narration he 
 comes upon the saying or deed of a good man, will 
 be willing to report it us avTOS o)v eKtivos and will 
 not be ashamed of that sort of imitation. He will 
 even personate this good man, although eXdrroj koI 
 riTTOV, when he is suffering from illness or love or 
 drunkenness. He will be content with refraining from 
 the impersonation of a character unworthy of him. 
 His style, then, will be like that of Homer, made up of 
 both imitation and narration, but there will be much 
 less of the former element than of the latter. In full 
 accord with the foregoing is the final judgment rendered 
 by Adimantus'* to admit only rbv eirtciKoDs HLfirjrijV 
 Tov &KpaTOV. The limitation, therefore, is upon the 
 kind of imitation to be allowed, not upon the imitation 
 per seP Adimantus, it is true, suspects'" that Socrates 
 means to banish tragedy and comedy, but Socrates' 
 
 " S95 A- " This fact has never been remarked, so far as the 
 writer is aware. " III. 395-398. " 396 C. " 397 D. " Cf. supra 
 n. II. 2" 394 D. 
 
Review of Plato's Condemnatory Utterances 91 
 
 answer is "Iirws; and nowhere in III. is it absolutely 
 decided to exclude dramatic poetry and epic so far 
 as it is mimetic. Socrates does urge that /il/uijo'ts 
 from its very nature cannot be a fit business for his 
 guardians; but he evidently does not regard his 
 argument on this point as strong enough to justify the 
 utter condemnation of the art. For he nevertheless 
 excuses and allows imitation under certain conditions. 
 One might attack the validity of this statement by 
 arguing that Plato allows imitation only where it is not 
 really imitation, that is, where the upright guardian 
 is not really playing a part but only impersonating a 
 man who is in all respects like himself. It is most 
 improbable, however, that any such thought was 
 present to the mind of Plato. If the statement of 595 
 A.''' is to be justified at all, it must be upon the ground 
 that the limitations which are imposed upon the 
 employment of imitation in III. 395-397 virtually 
 render the composition of dramatic or epic poetry 
 impossible. Certainly no epic poem or drama which 
 Plato knew could be judged admissible when tried by 
 the standard which these limitations create; and it 
 is doubtful if any epic poem or drama worthy the name 
 could be constructed which should meet with the 
 approval of one who insisted upon the principles laid 
 down by Plato. Such a work could introduce only 
 good men or bad men who are for the moment untrue 
 to their character and are performing virtuous acts.^^ 
 Plato has himself remarked in X." how difficult the 
 poet would find it to accomplish this task and how 
 ■■" p. 84. ^ 396 D. ^ 604 E. 
 
92 Plato's Studies and Criticisms of the Poets 
 
 uninteresting the resulting product would be. Perhaps, 
 then, we may think that Plato prefers not to set forth 
 in precise terms so harsh^ a decree as the banishment 
 of Homer and the dramatists, but rather leaves it to 
 the reader to draw the inevitable, though not imme- 
 diate, inference to which his arguments applied to 
 existing conditions would lead.^''' 
 
 Another point to which attention has not been 
 directed and which touches the relation between Books 
 III. and X. is the different value of the terms /it/XTjffts 
 and if hluxitlkt] in the one and in the other. Nothing 
 could be clearer than Plato's definition of these terms 
 in III. 393, 394.^* Mifj,7](rLS is impersonation. Tragedy 
 is altogether mimetic, dithyrambic poetry not at all, 
 the Iliad only in so far as it is made up of oratio recta. 
 In Book X., on the other hand, Plato evidently under- 
 stands /itjUTjffis in nearly or quite the same sense which 
 Aristotle gives to it in the well known passage from 
 the Poetics.^^ The whole argument of X. furnishes 
 
 " Cf. 607 B. ^ Yet we find no such hesitancy in X. On the whole 
 the inexactness of 595 A. seems to me to furnish an argument of 
 at least appreciable value in support of Hermann's theory. So 
 also the different meaning of the term ^ jut/iT/Tuc^ in III. and X. 
 (cf. infra). The fact that Plato expressly excludes from his state 
 (398 A.) i,vSpa bvvantvov vir6 <Totplas iravToSairdv ylyvttrBai xal 
 fiifieltrBai Trdi'Ta -xs^iiara has been misinterpreted. It does not 
 contravene any of the statements made above. For the person 
 banished is neither Homer (cf. infra n. 41) nor the representa- 
 tive dramatist, but he who goes' all the way to the other extreme 
 from that which Plato thinks proper. ^ Cf. supra p. 17. " Chap. 
 I. iTTOTroda Si) xai 1) r^s rpayi^Slas wolriins in Si 4 KoinifSla Kal 
 1) 5i9iipa/i|3o5ron;TU£ij Kal rijs ofiXijTut^s rj irXeiarij Kal KiBapiaruajs, 
 racai Tvyx^vovin oicai lu/iiiaut rd abvoKov, 
 
Review of Plato's Condemnatory Utterances 93 
 
 convincing proof- that -ElatcuJike Aristotle, is now 
 thinking of all poetry as mimetic. The poet, as an 
 imitator, is compared to the painter,** that is, he 
 portrays a scene or action in words, as the plinter 
 does by drawing and color. Imitation, therefore, is 
 no longer impersonation, but rather representation. 
 Only in this way can we understand the passage*' 
 which denies to the poets the knowledge of all arts 
 and all things human. When the poets represent or 
 describe the practice of the arts and the qualities of 
 their heroes, they are employing mimetic art, not prov- 
 ing their real knowledge of the subjects in question. 
 Homer is a mimetic artist when he describes things 
 military and political, and therefore cannot be regarded 
 as a master of the arts of war and government.^" When 
 he and his followers are said /it/^ijrat etSdiXoji' dper^s 
 ilvaL Kal ruv aXKwv . . . ttjs 8e &\r]deias ovx 
 aiTTeadai,^^ Plato is thinking no less of the narrative 
 than of the dramatic element in their works. The 
 poet is dealing in fxlfjiriaLS when he speaks of shoe- 
 making, or the art of the general; not, however, 
 because he introduces the cobbler or the general 
 COS aiir6s clsv eKeXvos;^^ but because he describes 
 their activity.'* So one may go on through that 
 part of X. which is devoted to the subject of 
 poetry without finding an instance in which /ttjuijo'is 
 even suggests impersonation. When, however, Plato 
 pronounces his final judgment against the poets,'* 
 he seems to forget or disregard the significance which 
 
 i* X. 596-598, 601, 603, 605. " 598 D.— 599 A. "> 599 C.-600 A. 
 »i6ooE. 'B396C. "6oiA. '<6o7A. 
 
94 Plato's Studies and Criticisms of the Poets 
 
 he has given to [Jt,ifJt,ri(Ti,s in X. For he banishes, not 
 all poetry which is mimetic in the wider sense of 
 X., but pre-eminently that which is mimetic in the 
 narrower sense of III. Hymns to the gods and encomia 
 upon good men are admitted to the state. They might 
 well have been excluded as mimetic by the argument 
 of X.f they are not mimetic, however, if one adhere 
 to the definition of III. The conclusion of X. is con- 
 sistent, therefore, with the premises of III., but not 
 fully consistent with the premises of X. Perhaps one 
 may conjecture that Plato shrinks from going so far 
 as the reasoning of X. might fairly lead him and pre- 
 fers to draw a conclusion which may be supported also 
 by the stronger'* arguments of II. and III. It is not 
 surprising that even Plato cannot think with compla- 
 cency of a state which is utterly bereft of the refining 
 influence of poetry. 
 
 It is generally assumed without question that Plato 
 banished from his Republic not lyric, but only epic 
 and dramatic poetry. In fact, he nowhere distinctly 
 states what forms of poetry must be excluded; he 
 rather specifies what and what only can be admitted, 
 viz. hymns to gods and encomia upon good men.'* 
 Only a small portion of the whole body of lyric poetry 
 could be comprehended under these heads. The two 
 earlier passages which Stallbaum'' cites in support 
 of his assumption lyricum poesis genus a Platone 
 retineri really prove nothing. For in the first'* the 
 reference is rather to dramatic than to lyric poetry. 
 If it be to lyric at all, it would be to a sort which would 
 
 ^ Cf. infra pp. 96, 97, 103 . " 607 A. " Note on 607 A. " 397 D. 
 
Review of Plato's Condemnatory Utterances 95 
 
 be admitted under the dictum of 607 A. So the li/JLVOL 
 to which casual allusion is made in the second passage" 
 are nothing more than eyKu/XLa Toh &ya0oXs. Is 
 it fair, therefore, when Plato is so distinct and so con- 
 sistent in defining what alone is acceptable, to assume 
 that he meant to admit anything and everything which 
 could call itself lyric? But positive evidence is not 
 wanting. After Plato has decided that hymns and 
 encomia may be tolerated, he proceeds to urge in the 
 plainest terms that one must not go further and 
 admit TrjV fiSvaixevriv fiovaav kv fieXeaiv rj iireauv. 
 Jowett translates "in epic or lyric verse." One may, 
 indeed, refer fxtKeffiv to the lyric element in drama, 
 but it is much more natural to translate as Jowett 
 does, while at the same time understanding that drama 
 is included because it is made up of the two together. 
 The important fact that the argument of X. would *" 
 banish all forms of poetry alike has already been 
 emphasized; on the other hand one must admit that 
 the argument against mimetic poetry in III. is directed 
 only against epic and drama, that the passages which 
 are quoted to be condemned in II. and HI. are taken 
 only from Homer and tragedy, and that Plato is every- 
 where attacking especially epic and dramatic poetry. 
 But he could not have been true to the principles laid 
 down in II. and III. without condemning very much 
 of the mythological in Pindar's Epinician odes. And 
 how little he would have found to accept in the songs 
 of Alcaeus, Sappho or Anacreon. In view of all this 
 and of the definite terms in which he states the narrow 
 " 468 D. 
 
96y Plato's Studies and Criticisms of the Poets 
 
 exceptions to his general rule,*" it is impossible to regard 
 Plato as a friend to all lyric poetry. It is true that one 
 cannot always insist upon the letter of a Platonic 
 argument; but, unless I have mistaken it, the spirit 
 of Books II., III., and X. would find as much to 
 criticise in Pindar as in Homer. 
 
 To sum up: Plato in II. and III. determines upon 
 (i) the expurgation of Homer, Hesiod and the trage- 
 dians, (2) the limits to be imposed upon the practice 
 of imitation by the guardians, (3) the banishment of 
 the unprincipled imitator, be he epic poet*' or drama- 
 tist; in X. he decrees the exclusion of all poetry except 
 certain forms of lyric verse. In II. and III. the dis- 
 cussion turns upon the two questions, (i) how far the 
 works of the poets may be used as educational material 
 for the guardians and (2) what forms of composition 
 the guardians may be permitted to practice; in X. 
 the limits of the discussion are greatly widened and 
 one approaches the general question whether the 
 reading of poetry and the hearing of drama are profit- 
 able or harmful. The arguments of X., however, 
 are addressed pre-eminently to. the philosopher, to 
 him who has followed the reasonings and accepted 
 the conclusions of the books which have preceded; 
 the arguments of II. and III. may be appreciated by 
 
 *" 607 A. ^ Many ancient and modern critics of Plato have mis- 
 takenly supposed that the poet who in 398 A. is annointed with 
 myrrh, garlanded with wool, and dismissed was Homer. Cf. especially 
 Dionys. Halicar. in the passage cited above, p. 78, and other refer- 
 ences enumerated by Stallbaum in his note on 398 A.; also among 
 modems Heine in his edition of Cicero, Tusc. Disp., note on H. 11. 27. 
 
Review of Plato's Conderj^natory Utterances 97 
 
 the layman as well. In X. there is an unmistakable 
 trace of sophistry, a use of arguments which cannot 
 have appealed to the better judgment of the writer; 
 the reasoning in II. and III. is direct, serious, and 
 convincing. Plato notes harmful tendencies in the 
 works of the poets which no honest reader can fail 
 to see but which none but a brave critic in our time 
 or Plato's would dare to condemn openly. We cannot 
 question any more than Plato the demoralizing influence 
 upon actors and audience of the baser sorts of drama 
 which he condemns.^ In X., on the other hand, we 
 cannot help feeling that Plato in "following whither 
 the argument leads" forgets to be broad-minded. Did 
 Plato regard his own work in this way? It seems to 
 me altogether probable. As he rests his final conclu- 
 sions rather upon his earlier than upon his later argu- 
 ments,^ as his feeling of hostility is everywhere, even 
 in X., directed especially against those who have been 
 found worthy of censure because they sin again'st the 
 principles of II. and III., so the argument of these 
 earlier books must have seemed to him worth more 
 than that of X. In the latter book he seems to be 
 seeking strictly philosophical. considerations to support 
 the verdict of the earlier passage, to be trying to show 
 that this almost a priori conclusion is in harmony with 
 the great principles upon which the Republic rests. 
 The argument of X. carries him further than he is 
 willing to go,*^ but the artistic end of working out a 
 unity through the interdependence of the various parts 
 of the work is accomplished. 
 
 " 39S""397- ** Cf. supra p. 94. ** Cf. supra p. 94. 
 
gS Plato's Studies and Criticisms of the Poets 
 
 2. In the Laws. — Plato's aim in the Laws is to frame, 
 not the best but the second best state,** not an ideal 
 but the best that can be realized. It is to be ruled, 
 not by philosophers and philosophy but by legislators 
 and religion. Its citizens are not to have wives and 
 children in common, nor is poetry to be practically 
 unknown in the state. The keynote which is struck 
 again and again in those passages of the Laws which 
 deal with the poets is restraint, a wise censorship over 
 their writings, not as in the Republic the expulsion of 
 the writers. Early in the second book, which is given 
 up to the subject of poetry, music, and dancing, the 
 Athenian protagonist asks whether in a well ordered 
 state poets shall be allowed to teach the young what- 
 ever they will in respect to matter, harmony and 
 rhythm. A negative answer is of course expected and 
 received, though at the same time it is noted that al- 
 most no state does in fact impose any restrictions at 
 all upon poetry.** A little later*' Plato declares that 
 the true legislator must persuade or compel the poets 
 to employ only those rhythms and harmonies which 
 belong to temperate and brave and good men, and he 
 approves*' the institutions of Lacedaemon and Crete 
 which compel the poets to say that the good man is 
 under all circumstances happy and blessed. In Book 
 VII.*' he refuses to permit the choruses at public 
 festivals to utter ill-omened and mournful strains before 
 the altars of the gods. Sacrifices should rather be 
 accompanied by prayers and the poets who compose 
 
 *' Leg. 739 E. ^ 656 C. Cf. also backward references to this pas- 
 sage at 719 B., 83s B. and 858 D. " 660 A. « 660 E. " 800 C. 
 
Review of Plato's Condemnatory Utterances 99 
 
 them must take care not to pray for evil instead of 
 good. In general'" the poet must compose nothing 
 contrary to the city's conception of what is lawful, 
 just, good, and beautiful; he must not exhibit his poems 
 to any private citizen until they have been approved by 
 duly appointed judges and the guardians of the laws. 
 As to the poets of the past, who have left much that is 
 good, a commission made up of men not less than fifty 
 years old is to be appointed to examine their works.'^ 
 This commission after taking counsel with contem- 
 porary poets shall decide what may be accepted, either 
 in toto or with emendations, and what must be rejected. 
 Special laws are framed with regard to drama. Comedy 
 is adjudged to serve a useful purpose — tivev yap 
 yeXoicov . . . . rd (nrovdaia ixadetv . . . . ov 5vva- 
 Tov^^ — and is therefore sanctioned; but performances 
 of comedy must be given over to slaves and hired 
 strangers. Further, comic poets are expressly for- 
 bidden^' to attack any citizen, either in jest or in 
 earnest. The possibility of admitting tragedy is dis- 
 cussed in a passage" which both in its sentiment and its 
 irony strikingly resembles 398 A. of the Republic.^' 
 When tragedians come to our state and ask permission 
 to present their poems we shall say to them eafx^u 
 Tpayc^Slas airol Trotijrat kotA bbvajxiv otl KaWiffTTjs 
 ajLta /cat aplarris. Tracra ovv riplv ToXirela ^vvearriKe 
 /i'ui/trts Tov KaWiaTov Kal apiarov ^lov, 6 dr} tpafiev 
 fifjiels ye ovtcos elvai. Tpayc^hlav rriv oX'rjdeaTii.Trjp. 
 They must, therefore, first submit their work to the 
 
 " 801 C. D. M 802 A. B. C. ^ 816 D. E. 63 In a later passage, 
 93S E. " 817 B. ^ Cf. supra pp. 84, 96, n. 41. 
 
loo Plato's Studies and Criticisms 0/ the Poets 
 
 magistrates. If it be judged as good as ours or better, 
 we will allow them to present it; otherwise we cannot. 
 This passage shows clearly that Plato still holds the 
 same opinions about tragedy which he has expressed in 
 Book III. of the Republic. He is still willing to admit 
 an ideal, purified, but impossible tragedy; he is still 
 just as hostile to that of his own day. Finally, in ac- 
 cordance with the spirit of all the foregoing is the 
 provision'" that the praises of those who have dis- 
 tinguished themselves for valor shall be sung, not by 
 any poet but rather by one who is himself a doer 
 of noble deeds, though perhaps inferior as respects 
 poetry. 
 
 Poetry occupies a comparatively unimportant place 
 in the scheme of education which Plato frames in the 
 Laws. Education is, indeed, said to be the gift of 
 Apollo and the Muses.'' It begins with the practice of 
 rhythmical and harmonious movements and we are 
 wont, accordingly, to call him educated who has been 
 sufficiently trained in the chorus. Further, Plato still 
 adheres'* to the definition propounded in the Republic" 
 which distinguishes /jLOvaiKri and yvfivaaTiKri as the 
 two elements of education. In the elaboration of his 
 definition, however, he gives disproportionate promi- 
 nence to music (in our sense of the word), dancing, and 
 the proper employment of harmonies and rhythms as 
 component parts of jiovaiKii. The little which he has 
 to say in this connection on the use of the poets as edu- 
 cational material -is to the point and decisive. He 
 notes'" that most people believe that the young should 
 
 « 829 C. D. " 654 A. » 79S D. 59 376 E. 6» 810 E. ff. 
 
Review of Plato's CondSmatory Utterances lOl 
 
 be saturated with poetry, that they should continually 
 hear readings from the poets, and commit to memory 
 selected passages or even entire poems.'^ But, he urges, 
 every poet has, indeed, said many things well, but many 
 things the reverse of well. Since this is so, there is 
 danger for our young in the use of poetry. What, 
 then, is the way of escape? Not, as in II. and III. of 
 the Republic, to expurgate the poets but to choose 
 entirely different material to take the place of poetry. 
 This shall be the present discourse (i.e. the Laws) or 
 any similar work either in prose or verse.*^ While, 
 therefore, epic is not expressly excluded from the 
 state, it is deprived of its time-honored place in the 
 educational system of every Greek city. On the other 
 hand, continual reference is made, not to the study but 
 to the rendition, in song and dance, of choral lyric 
 poetry — ^just the sort which finds most favor in the 
 Republic. Plato frequently refers in the Laws to the 
 degeneracy of modern lyric and dramatic poets, es- 
 pecially in the handling of melodies, rhythms, and 
 metres,*' in the introduction of novelties irepi re TOS 
 opxw^ts Kal irepl Tijv ixKXriv fiovatKriv ^vfiTaaav 
 for the sake of giving pleasure." In general they cater 
 to the judgment of the multitude, while our theaters 
 are surrendered to the rule of a mob who express noisily 
 their approval or disapproval and try to overawe the 
 appointed judges. The result of all this has been the 
 ruin of our poets.^^ 
 
 " Cf. Rep. 606 E. ^ On the significance of this arrangement cf. 
 infra p. 153, n. 27. " 669, 670 B. " 660 B. ^ 659 A. B., 700, 701. 
 Cf Rep. 493 D. 
 
I02 Plato's Studies and Criticisms of the Poets 
 
 No such general indictment is brought against mi- 
 metic art in the Laws as in the Republic; /ii/^ijcrts is sim- 
 ply discussed as an essential element in poetry, dancing, 
 and other arts. We are not surprised to find that in 
 this later work the term is almost always understood in 
 the sense which attaches to it in X. of the Republic. 
 This is most clear in 667 E., where it is said that all 
 fiOVcnKT} is mimetic. So also in 668 A., 669 A., where 
 fxovffLKri is compared in this respect with the arts of 
 painting and sculpture. It is, however, more famous 
 than any other kind of imitation.*^ Other allusions in 
 accord with the preceding may be noted in 719 C, 
 798 D., and 812 C. On the other hand, where the 
 movements of the dance are referred to°' as portraying 
 mimetically the actions, feelings, and natures of men 
 we may perhaps recognize the old conception of Re- 
 public III., which identifies mimetic with histrionic or 
 dramatic art. Even in these passages, however, it is 
 quite as easy and natural to understand the term in the 
 broader as in the narrower sense. Since the practice 
 of mimetic art is to be permitted in the state, it is 
 natural that Plato should seek to make it as worthy of 
 approval as can be. He maintains,^' accordingly, that 
 imitation must be true to its original and must be 
 judged by its truth.*' The theory that the excellence 
 of the product is to be^measured by the pleasure which 
 
 » 669 B. «' 6ss D., 796 B., 815, 816. e« 668 B. ^0 669 A. B. This 
 sentiment is not inconsistent with the language of Rep. X. There 
 Plato urges that lilpiriais at best produces an imperfect copy of an 
 imperfect pattern; here his point is simply that the copy must be 
 as free from imperfection as possible. 
 
Review of Plato's CondAnnatory Utterances 103 
 
 it affords is pronounced^" inadmissible and intolerable, 
 — at least unless one understands by pleasure the 
 satisfied approval of the capable critic." The poet 
 himself is not such a capable critic, — this judgment 
 Plato holds fast from the beginning to the end of his 
 literary activity.'^ The poet is not in his right mind 
 when he begins to compose poetry," he does not know 
 whether his imitation is good or not,'* nor can he in 
 general distinguish surely between good and evil.'^ 
 Therefore it is the more necessary that poetry should 
 be kept under strict control, that no poem should be 
 tolerated that has not been approved by the judges'^ 
 or by the chorus of old men.'' 
 
 It will be seen by the foregoing that the arguments of 
 Republic X., to which it seemed that Plato himself 
 attached comparatively little weight,'* are not em- 
 ployed at all in the Laws. Yet he still adheres stoutly 
 to the same views which find such forcible expression 
 in Republic II. and III., regarding the demoralizing 
 effect of poetic fictions and misrepresentations. He 
 does not banish the poets because he is not now con- 
 structing an ideal state, but he is just as truly an 
 
 '» 665 D., 668 A. B. " 658 E. The spirit of the three passages 
 here cited is distinctly more liberal than that which is shown in X. of 
 the Republic. Here Plato takes account of the natural satisfaction of 
 a soul in a faithful representation whose original it recognizes. He 
 only fails to see the possible inspiring and ennobling influence of 
 such representations. In the Republic, on the other hand, he insists 
 that mimetic art can claim nothing except the capacity to give 
 pleasure, and only pleasure of a lower sort; for its appeal is to the 
 baser elements of human nature. Cf. supra p. 86. ^ Cf. supra p. 14. 
 ''719 c. "670E. ™8oiB. "801D. "670E. ™ Cf. supra p. 97. 
 
I04 Plato's Studies and Criticisms of the Poets 
 
 enemy of poetry and he is still influenced by the argu- 
 ments which appealed to him, as they must appeal to 
 us, most strongly in the earlier dialogue. Several pas- 
 sages which recall and re-enforce the teachings of 
 Republic II. and III. have already been noted;" others 
 may be briefly mentioned. In 886 C. he comments 
 on the evil influence of the stories about the origin of the 
 gods, and the way in which they behaved toward one 
 another; similarly in 377 E. of the RepubHc he con- 
 demns Hesiod for his story of Uranus and Cronus, 
 noting in this as in the later dialogue that such tales 
 are not calculated to promote filial piety.*" In general 
 it is disgraceful for Homer, Tyrtaeus, and other poets 
 to lay down wrong principles of life;** just this is the 
 great contention of Republic 378-392. In 941 B. of the 
 Laws Plato urges that no son of Zeus was ever guilty 
 of treachery or violence, and that men who are guilty 
 of such deeds must not justify themselves by their 
 supposed example; just as in Republic 388 A., 391 
 C.-E. he has refused with the same practical precaution 
 to believe the fictions which ascribe unseemly deeds to 
 kinsmen of the gods. In the state for which Plato is 
 framing the Laws the poets must be compelled to say 
 that the good man is happy under all circumstances, 
 the bad man wretched in spite of his apparent bless- 
 ings;*^ for the fact that the latter is glorified and 
 represented as happy by the poets leads to much ill.*^ 
 With these conclusions we may compare Glaucon's 
 
 " Supra pp. 99-102. ^^ Cf. also the allusion in Rep. 378 D. to 
 Homer's descriptions of the quarrels of the gods. ^ Leg. 858 E. 
 M660A. "^eggE. 
 
Review of Plato's CondAnnatory Utterances 105 
 
 plea for injustice in Republic 11.*^ and still more closely 
 the later words of Adimantus.^^ Furthermore, we find 
 Socrates in III.^* laying down precisely the rule stated 
 in 660 A. of the Laws. That most demoralizing of all 
 beliefs which leads men to practice injustice with the 
 hope of appeasing the gods by atoning sacrifices is 
 referred to in three separate passages of the Laws.*^ 
 It is the poets, says PTato, who have inculcated this 
 belief, but nothing can be more untrue than that the 
 gods receive with favor the sacrifices of the wicked. 
 Precisely this is the charge which Adimantus brings 
 against the poets in the Republic.** The best service 
 which can employ the poets according to the Laws*' as 
 well as the Republic'" is the composition of hymns to 
 the gods and encomia upon good men.'' 
 
 3. In other dialogues. — It has already been shown '^ 
 that Plato in many of his shorter works inclines to speak 
 slightingly of the poets; hardly any passages, however, 
 can be cited which show such real hostility toward them 
 as is evident in the Republic and in the Laws. We can- 
 not argue, however, from this fact that Plato's feeling 
 against the poets was of comparatively late growth. 
 For it is only in the two great works mentioned that 
 the philosopher appears as legislator; and the subject 
 of poetry does not naturally lie within the scope of the 
 
 "358-3.62. 86 364-367. 86352 B. 8' 716 E., 88s D., 906-7. 
 88 364 D-36S A., 36s E.-366 B. 89 801 A., 829 C. 9° 607 A., 486 D. 
 '^ Less important parallels may be noted between Leg. 656 B. and 
 Rep. 39S D., and Leg. 881 A. and Rep. 330 D. Cf. also the similar 
 passages in Leg. 967 C. D. and Rep. 607 B. C. regarding the abuse by 
 the poets of philosophy and her followers. ^ Supra pp. 14, 16. 
 
lo6 Plato's Studies and Criticisms of the Poets 
 
 other dialogues which are dogmatic in their character. 
 We find, however, in one of the earliest of the bLokoyoi 
 ^r}Tr]TLKol a most significant allusion to the poets. 
 Euthyphron, defending himself against the charge of 
 filial impiety, justifies his treatment of his father by 
 recalling the way in which Zeus treated his father, 
 Cronus.^' We could almost think, forgetting the order 
 of time, that Plato is here bringing forward a concrete 
 example to prove the truth of the principle stated in the 
 Republic and the Laws. Certainly he writes, here as 
 in the Republic, with a realizing sense of the harmful- 
 ness of such tales and of the poems which contain them. 
 And Socrates tries to persuade Euthyphron,'* no less 
 than Glaucon and Adimantus,'^ of the incredibility of 
 these fictions, — the wars and enmities and battles of the 
 gods. So he opposes the idea that holiness is a sort of 
 traflnc between the gods and men'* in much the same 
 spirit which moved Adimantus to complain of the poets 
 for saying that the gods are influenced by the sacrifices 
 of wicked men." In the Phaedrus'* Homer is put upon 
 his defence in a way that at least recalls the tenth book 
 of the Republic. That is, he is asked to prove that his 
 writings are based upon a knowledge of truth, — not, 
 indeed, for the sake of maintaining his citizenship, but 
 to prove his right to a higher title than that of poet; 
 
 ^ Euthyph. 5 E., 6 A. Cf. also the reference to Hera and Hephaes- 
 tus (8B) with 378 D. of the Republic. Possibly Plato has in mind 
 the evil effect upon men of examples of conduct which (according 
 to the poets) are set by the gods, when he speaks in 25; C. of the 
 Fhaedrus of that stream of passion which Zeus, when in love with 
 Ganymedes, called t/iepos. "6 B. C. » 378 D. ^ 14 E. »' Rep. 
 364 D., 36s E.-366 B. "8 278 C. 
 
Review of Plato's Condemnatory Utterances 107 
 
 but the great thesis of Rep. X. that the poet has no 
 knowledge of the truth is here taken for granted. 
 Finally, one more disparaging reference to the poets as 
 imitators is contained in the Timaeus.'' Socrates notes 
 their Umitations oC ri to TrocriTLKOv anna^oiv yevos, 
 but observing that mimetic artists imitate best those 
 things ols av ivTpatpy. 
 
 »» 19 D. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 THE STUDY OF THE POETS IN THE GREEK SYSTEM OF 
 EDUCATION 
 
 It is noteworthy that Plato everywhere lays especial 
 tress upon the demoralizing influence of the poets as 
 c'ducators. He conceives himself as addressing an audience 
 which is by no means insensible of their artistic skill 
 but nevertheless regards especially the matter of their 
 poems, receiving it as true and morally profitable. 
 Herein Plato is not giving us a false impression of the 
 notions current in his time. Almost every Hellene 
 would have been numbered among those "eulogists of 
 Homer" who say that "he has educated Hellas,"' and 
 it is difficult to exaggerate the strength of the national 
 feeling on this subject. It may be truly said that the 
 study of the poets lay at the basis of the whole Greek 
 system of education.^ The Greeks sought above all 
 to secure the harmonious development of soul and 
 body. Haideia, therefore, consisted of [xovffLKr] and 
 
 ' Rep, 606 E. ' That this was so must have been originally due 
 first, to the fact that until a comparatively late period Greek litera- 
 ture was exclusively poetic; in the second place,. verses were easier 
 to remember than prose and therefore before the age of book-making 
 the early philosophers and historians could not obtain, even if they 
 deserved it, a place alongside the poets as educators. 
 
 108 
 
The Study of the Poets in Greek Education 109 
 
 yvfivatTTiKi].^ The term (lovaLKij employed in the 
 broad sense comprehended first, ypaixfiara or ypa/x- 
 juariK^, the study of reading, writing, and literature, and 
 second, ixovaiKri in the narrower sense, music with its 
 companion art of dancing.^ In these branches was 
 comprehended the liberal education of the best period 
 of Athenian history. When such studies as arithmetic, 
 geometry, astronomy, geography, and drawing were 
 taken up, they contiriued for a long time to be pursuits 
 of the few and the educational ideal of the nation 
 remained unchanged. Before we pronounce such a 
 conception of education as belonged to the Greeks and 
 such a curriculum narrow, we must consider a point of 
 the utmost importance for the present discussion, 
 namely, how fundamentally unlike our own was the 
 object which they had in view. This is nowhere better 
 stated than by Plato^ in the few words 17 5' eirl ^vxfi 
 HOvacKri. That is, education had to do rather with 
 the moral and spiritual part of man than with the 
 intellectual. Its aim was primarily ethical training and 
 development, not mental acquisition.^ A consideration 
 for the aesthetic side of education, though of later 
 growth and always regarded as of secondary importance, 
 went hand in hand with the predominating ethical 
 purpose. It is fairly said, therefore, that "Die gewohn- 
 licke griechische Erziehung war kein Unterricht in Viel- 
 
 ' Cf. 'especially Crito 50 D., Rep. 376 E., Leg. 795 D. * Hermann- 
 Bliimner, p. 317; Grasberger, II. pp. 255, 350; Krause, p. 84. 
 ' 376 E. • Grasberger, II. p. 15; Miiller, Die griechische Privatal- 
 tertiimer (in I. MuUer's Handbuch, IV. 1. 2, Miinchen, 1893) pp. 166, 
 167, 171. 
 
1 lO Plato's Studies and Criticisms of the Poets 
 
 wissen, vielmehr eine Bildung des Sinnes und der Gesin- 
 nung.'"' This is pre-eminently true down to the close 
 of the Peloponnesian war when the so-called "prac- 
 tical" branches mentioned above began to claim 
 their place in the system of instruction, though 
 they never displaced the older subjects of study. 
 The great function of education continued to be 
 to make good rather than wise citizens. This ethical 
 tendency is illustrated with especial clearness by 
 the way in which the Greeks regarded the study 
 of music. The aim of such study was by no means to 
 acquire technical skill, — in fact, the over-skilful per- 
 former was regarded rather with contempt than 
 approval* — nor was music considered primarily as a 
 means of entertainment for performer or audience; it 
 was rather to the Greeks "ein hochst wichtiges Bil- 
 dungsmittel des Geistes."' The truth of this statement 
 may be clearly seen from the allusions which Plato 
 himself makes to music, rhythms, and harmonies in the 
 Republic" and in the Laws." So Plutarch regarded 
 
 ' Grasberger, II. p. 60. 'Aristotle, Pol. VIII. 6. p. 1340 b. 20; Plut. 
 Pericl. I. ' Hermann-Bliimner, p. 318 with reference to Arist. Pol. 
 VIII. 3, p. 1337b. 27. Cf. also Grasberger, II. pp. 352, 353. Aris- 
 totle does not, indeed, regard ethical training as the sole function 
 of music; he discusses at considerable length the question whether 
 it should be studied iraiStas ivexa xal ivatraitreias ... $ naWov 
 olTirtov Trpds hptT^iv rirtlvtiv . . . fj irpis iiayuyhv ri avii^iXKerai 
 Kal irpis ippivtiaiv (VIII. 5. 1339a. 16-26). His conclusion is diKoyust 
 S' els trivra T&TTeTai Kal (paiv^Tai, iierkx^t" (1339b. 14-15). He 
 does, however, lay disproportionate stress upon the ethical value of the 
 art and upon the influence of various instruments and harmonies on 
 the character. Cf. 1340 a.Jff. '» 398-401, 424 D. " 656, 657, 665- 
 671, 700, 800-802, 812. Cf. also Laches, 188 C. D., Protag. 326 A. B. 
 
The Study of the Poets in Greek Education in 
 
 music from the same point of view as serving first, 
 Trpos d&av Tifiiiv and second, wpos rifv tS)v viwv 
 iraib&JffLvP This conception of the purpose of 
 musical training explains why the flute was held in so 
 little esteem in Athens, as an instrument which tended 
 to disturb the equilibrium of the soul,'' and why Plato 
 banishes it altogether from his ideal state.'* Music, 
 therefore, the one great branch of the soul's education, 
 was employed as a means of making the soul better, of 
 developing character; precisely similar was the primary 
 aim which the Greeks had in view in the study of 
 yp&IJLIJLaTa, the works of the poets. To stimulate the 
 imagination, to arouse to noble deeds by the inspiration 
 of historic and heroic example,'* to keep alive Greek 
 patriotism and hatred for the barbarian,'* — all these 
 motives had their place; but more important than any 
 of these were regarded the moral lessons, the gnomic 
 wisdom, the religious teachings of the poets. 
 
 It will be proper to note here the most important of 
 the many references in Greek literature to the use of the 
 poets, especially Homer, as educational material, in 
 order to show first, how universal and how enduring 
 was the belief in their utility for this purpose, and 
 second, the grounds upon which this belief rested. 
 Most of those passages in the Platonic dialogues which 
 reflect or comment upon this belief have been already 
 
 •2 De musica c. 27. " Arist. Pol. VIII. 6. 1341a. 15 ff. " Rep. 399 
 D. Cf. Gorg. SOI E.; also the stories of Athena's discarding of the 
 flute, of the victory of Apollo over Marsyas, of Alcibiades' scorn of 
 the flute and its devotees (Plut. Ale. 2). " Phjedr. 245 A. "Isocr. 
 Paneg. 159. 
 
112 Plato's Studies and Criticisms of the Poets 
 
 cited ;^' it remains only to notice more fully the precise 
 and instructive description of the conventional system 
 of Greek education which is contained in the Pro- 
 tagoras.^* The youth, says Protagoras, is instructed 
 at home in his earliest years as to the nature of the just 
 and the unjust, the honorable and the base, the pious 
 and the impious. When he is sent to school and has 
 learned his letters, Jie is given the works of good poets 
 to read and is compelled to learn them by heart, iv ols 
 TroXXal liiv povdeTrjaeLs iveun, woWaide dU^odoL 
 /cat eiraivoi Kal e7Kcb/xta TrdKaiSiv avbpuv ayaOwv 
 tva 6 TOis ^riXcov fit.fji,rJTai. /cat opiyqTai rotoOros 
 jeuiadai. ot t' ai) KtdapiaTai erepa rotaOra 
 aouppoavvrjs ^TifxeXovvrat. Kal otws av ol vioL 
 firjSev /ca/coupYcoo't. xpos 8e tovtois, CTetSai' KiBapl^eiv 
 fjLddwacv, aWco V av t o (.r) t w v d7a0wj' 
 TotrjixaTa SidaaKovai /j. e\o w o tus v , 
 ets TO, Kidapiaixara kvTeivovTts koX rois pvOjjLovs 
 re /cat ras apfxovias avayKa^ovaiv ot/cetoOcflat 
 rats ■pvxo.ts tcov Traldcov, IVa 17/iepcbrcpot re wcrt, 
 /cat tvpv6jMT€poi /cat kvapixoarbTepoi yiypbp.evot, 
 XP'fjo'i.noi, uo'Lv ets TO \iyav re /cat TpaTTetv. 
 iras ydip 6 jStos tov avdpcowov evpvd/xlai re /cat 
 evapixoarlas Setrat. All this shows, as Protagoras 
 urges, that the Athenians believed that virtue might be 
 taught; it also shows that their whole system of 
 education, a most important part of which was 
 
 " Especially in the Republic and the Laws (cf. supra pp. 81-83, ^7> 
 98-101) but also in several minor dialogues, e.g. the Lysis, Theaetetus, 
 Protagoras, Symposium, Phjedrus, Cratylus (cf. supra pp. 13-14, 16) 
 '8325 C.-326 E. 
 
The Study of the Poets m Greek Education 113 
 
 irepl eTTUv beivbv elvaiP was planned to accomplish 
 that end. The transcendent importance of Homeric 
 study is indicated in a well-known passage from the 
 Symposium of Xenophon.^" Niceratus is introduced 
 as one who knows by heart both the Iliad and the 
 Odyssey. He is proud- of this acquirement because 
 "Homer has written about almost all human affairs. 
 If any one. would fit himself for the duties of 
 householder, orator, or general, let him study Homer."^* 
 Niceratus voices herein the general sentiment of 
 all Hellas. Aristophanes, picturing the ancient systepi 
 of education in the Clouds, describes the pupil 
 as learning lyric songs in the school of the KiQapuTTijs. 
 Two dithyrambs by poets of the good old days are men- 
 tioned as examples of the material employed. ^^ Further, 
 no pupil was allowed to be guilty of the musical "twists" 
 and variations which were so common in later times and 
 of which Plato frequently complains;^' simply because, 
 as Plato urges, these tended to destroy the wholesome 
 moral influence of musical training. Quite as interest- 
 ing for the present purpose as the foregoing passage is 
 a part of the conversation between jEschylus and 
 Euripides in the Frogs.^ ^schylus asks, "For what 
 ought one to admire a poet.?" Euripides answers, 
 be^t,bTif]TOS KOi vovdeaLas on /SeXrious re TOLOvjxev 
 Toiis avdpuTOVs kv rais wdXeaLV. If Euripides has 
 
 19 Prot. 338 E. 2» III. s. " IV. 6; cf. Ion, 541 B. 22 cf. a well- 
 known vase painting of Duris (published by Michaelis, Archaeol. 
 Zeit., 1873, p. I ff.) representing a school scene, in which one sees 
 upon an opened scroll the first words of a dithyrambic poem. ^ Cf. 
 supra pp. 19, loi. " 1008 flF. 
 
1 14 Plato's Studies and Criticisms of the Poets 
 
 made men worse instead of better he is adjudged 
 worthy of death by Dionysus. A little later ^Eschylus 
 recounts the various branches of knowledge in which 
 the Greeks have been instructed by their early poets: 
 'Op(pei>s fitv yap reXerds d'riijuv KaredeL^e (pbvuv 
 t' direx€0-5at (1032) Movaalos 5' e^aKeaets re vbawv 
 Kal XP'70'MOI'S' 'H<rto5os de yrjs epyaaias, Kapiru)v 
 cbpas, apoTOvs- 6 6e delos "Ofxripos airb tov tljjltiv 
 Kal Kkeos 'iaxtv tXtiv tov8' otl xPWt' fSida^e 
 Ta^eLS,apeTas, 6ir\iaeLS avSpcov; It is Homer's heroes, 
 therefore, who are proper models for imitation, not the 
 Phaedras and Stheneboeas of Euripides. But the latter 
 rejoins, "Was my story about Phaedra untrue.'"' 
 ^schylus replies in the memorable words: fj,a Ai' 
 dXX' ovt'- dXX' aTOKphiTTtiv XPV to wovripov tov 
 ye iroL-qTriv (1053) Kal jui) Trapayetv fiTjde bibdaKeLV. 
 TOLS p.ev yap Ta.dapioLaLV etrrt StSdcr/caXos oaris 
 <ppa^ei, Tols fi^coai de woLrjTal. ivavv drj del xP^^TOi 
 Xeyeiv rifias. These lines might have served Plato 
 as a text for his discussion in the Republic. 
 
 At least three passages from Isocrates may be prop- 
 erly quoted in the present connection. In the Pana- 
 thenaic oration^^ he explains rjv ex^ yvoip/rjv irepi re 
 T^s TTtttSeias /cat rCiv TOirjTUV, denying that he disap- 
 proves TTJs iraiSeias rrjs iiro twv irpoybvuv /caraXei- 
 <p9el(Tris. In the Panegyric^^ he says that Homer won 
 greater fame because he glorified those who fought 
 with barbarians and on this account Tois irpoybvovs 
 riiJLiOV ^ovKyjd^vai evTLfwv avrov iroLTjaai, r-qv Texvrtv 
 ev re toTs t^s p,QV(TLKr\% adXoLs /cat rfj TratSeixret toiv 
 
 25 25, 26, p. 238 B. » IS9, p. 74 A. B. 
 
The Study of the Poets im Greek Education 115 
 
 vearepoiv, tva iroKKans clkovovtcs tuv iirdv kKixav- 
 davoijitv Ty\v exOpav Trju virapxovaav irpos avTOvs Kal 
 ^■qXovvTes rds dperas tcHv arpaTevaaixevcov tuiv avTWV 
 epyoiv eKelvoLS kiriBypxtiixtv. Finally, speaking in the 
 oration against Nicocles of various opportunities for 
 education and improvement, he adds,^' Trpos 5e tovtols 
 Kal rSiv TTOir/rcoj' Tives toiv ■wpoye.yivqp.evijiv {iTO^rjKas 
 cbs X PV ^ V V KaTaKeKoLTacnv. jEschines and 
 Lycurgus also refer to the inspiration and instruction 
 which the Greeks gained from their poets. The former 
 quotes in the oration against Ctesiphon''* a wise saying of 
 Hesiod,^^ jjrefacing it with the words Ae7et yap irov 
 iraibevdiv to, irXridr] Kal avu^ovKtvwv rats ToXecri 
 . . . Sia TOVTO yap olp,ai 17/xas TraiSas bvras tAs 
 rSiv iroLrjTui' yvca/jtas eKfiavOaveiv Iva avdpes ovres 
 aVTois XP'*'A'f^<^' Lycurgus in the speech against 
 Leocrates^" uses the following words: ol iroiriTal 
 p,Lfj.ovfji,evoL Tov avdpoiiTLVov ^iov, TO, KaXKt.(TTa twv 
 epyoiv eKXe^afjtevoi, fierii, \6yov Kal arrodel^ecos rois 
 avdpdoTovs avfiireidovaip . . . tovtoiv tuv kirlhv 
 aKovovres 01 Tpoyovot vfjLuu Kal ra roLavra twv 
 epycov ^r]\ovvTes ourcos eaxov irpos aperiiv (bare k.t.\. 
 Coming down as far as Strabo and Lucian, we find in 
 the latter^' a full description of the earlier education at 
 Athens. The young are first instructed in music and 
 arithmetic, and then listen to the works of the poets 
 in order that the noble qualities and glorious deeds 
 which they describe may arouse them to emulation. 
 With the same ethical purpose in view they are taken 
 
 "3, p. ijB. ^43,135. 'i" W. and D. 238 fF. ^o 102-104. "Ana- 
 charsis, 20-22. 
 
Ii6 Plato's Studies and Criticisms of the Poets 
 
 to the theater to hear tragedy and comedy. Strabo, 
 in the introduction to his work, combats Eratosthenes' 
 view that Homer aimed only to amuse. On the con- 
 trary, says the geographer,'^ the ancients regarded 
 poetry as a primitive philosophy'' which should guide 
 the young from childhood. Therefore tous iratBas ai 
 tSsv 'EXXijywj' TToXets irpuTiaTa 5ia rrjs TroLrjTiKrjs 
 Trau5evov(Ti,v, oh ■^vxayciiylas X^P'-v SrjTov&ev 
 ipiXrjs, ctXXa (rco<ppovt,(rixov. Homer's conscious 
 purpose is to instruct in geography, strategy, agri- 
 culture, rhetoric, eloquence. Therefore all educated 
 persons appeal to him as to an authority. For he is 
 not always a writer of fiction,' but shows his didactic 
 aim in the use of allegories, wise harangues, and 
 so forth, thus inciting his readers to virtue. In the 
 time after Homer history and philosophy came to be 
 subjects of study. But they are at best pursuits of the 
 favored few; the great mass cannot be moved by reason. 
 Hence our ancestors held that poetry was all-sufficient 
 for the education of young and old, and to this day 
 poetry is the main agent which instructs our people 
 and crowds our theaters. Athenseus'* regards Homer 
 as one who strove above all to impart ethical teaching: 
 "Ofxripos opSiv Trjv acotpoavvriv oUeLOTaTriv apeTrjv 
 ovaav Tots veois ical TrpuTrjv . . . ^ovkbp,evo% 
 kyupvaai iraarip avrriv air' apxv^ Kal efpe^fjs k. t. X. 
 Allusions of this sort from writers of so late a period 
 abundantly show that "Plato's famous protest . . . 
 
 32 1. 2, 3 fF. " Cf. Plato, Thest. 152 C, 160 D., 179 E., Prot. 316 
 D. Cf. supra p. 13. '* I. c. 15, p. 8 E. 
 
The Study of the Poets ^ Greek Education 117 
 
 does not seem to have materially affected the place of 
 Homer in Greek education."'* 
 
 The fact which has been emphasized in the preceding 
 paragraph thatthe primary object in the study of the 
 poets was ethical becomes clearer when one reviews the 
 names of those poets whose works were especially em- 
 ployed as text-books. After the Iliad and the Odyssey, 
 the poems of Hesiod, Solon, Phocylides, and Theognis 
 enjoyed the highest popularity.'^ It is not Solon or 
 Theognis whose works we prize most nor would Plato 
 himself have ranked them highest. But it is beyond 
 question that the Greeks habitually judged their poets 
 by a utilitarian standard. They were not blind to their 
 purely poetic excellences. A nation of which this can 
 truly" be said does not produce great poets. But the 
 judgments of prose writers, the passages which they 
 quote, the general tone of criticism and comment show 
 that the Greeks regarded the poet as before all a 
 teacher, a being of inspired wisdom whose mission was 
 first, to make men better and, second, to make them 
 wiser. 
 
 '^ Jebb, Homer, pp. 82,83. '* Hermann-Bliimner, p. 316; Gras- 
 berger, II. p. 279; Krause, pp. 89, 90. MahafFy (Grk. Lit. I. i. 
 137) is following the facts which have been stated when he ventures 
 the suggestion that the traditional story of the victory of Hesiod over 
 Homer may have had its origin in the circumstance "that as the 
 audience became more reflective and as they came to regard the poet 
 as an educator, the more explicit moral purpose and the plainer 
 preaching of the Hesiodic school came to be regarded "as superior to 
 the mere stimulating of the sense of honor through the imagination 
 of the heroic poems." 
 
L-HAritK III 
 THE SHORTCOMINGS OF THE POETS AS EDUCATORS 
 
 I Can the works of the Greek poets be regarded as good 
 I educational material ? Could they safely be relied upon 
 I to form the characters of the young, to furnish them 
 with proper ethical conceptions, to be an unquestioned, 
 implicitly trusted rule of faith and practice? These 
 questions have hardly been propounded seriously, and 
 perhaps it is presumptuous to do so. In the first place, 
 scholars' rather praise than criticize a system of educa- 
 tion under which Greece accomplished such unequalled 
 results. Yet it would surely be begging the question 
 to assume that the Greeks owed what they achieved 
 to their educational system. This was a natural out- 
 growth of unusual conditions, not a formal system care- 
 fully wrought out and matured by the best thought of 
 generations.^ It maintained itself with all the strength 
 which once established paedagogic methods have always 
 shown. It unquestionably bore much good fruit. No 
 one would have been more willing to admit this fact 
 than Plato himself, or better able to appreciate that 
 which the study of the poets did accomplish. His 
 point is rather that it did not accomplish what its sup- 
 porters claimed for i%, that which constituted its raison 
 
 ^The kyidiKKim iraiSela of a later period does not concern us 
 here. 
 
 Il8 
 
The Shortcomings of th» Poets as Educators 1 19 
 
 d'itre, and that the evil results of the system more than 
 counterbalanced the good. This is the only fair under- 
 standing of Plato's position and this position is far from 
 being untenable. Secondly, the "love and veneration 
 for Homer "^ which almost prevented Plato from con- 
 demning his poems has entirely prevented later scholars 
 from sympathizing with Plato's criticisms. But pass- 
 ing over the argument that "a man should not be 
 honored above the truth,"^ it may be fairly said that 
 our "love and veneration" for Plato should be hardly 
 less than for Homer and should prevent our condemning 
 him too hastily. Plato understood Homer as well as 
 we and the conditions of his own time better; it is pre- 
 sumption in us to refuse to admit the possibility that 
 Plato was right in his conclusions. 
 
 In considering the fitness or unfitness of the Greek 
 poets to be the educators of Greece, it is only necessary 
 to deal with Homer, Hesiod, and the dramatists, against 
 whom all Plato's arguments are directed. The gnomic 
 poets whose works were so freely studied are not 
 mentioned by him as a class. Perhaps he would have 
 regarded them as philosophers rather than true poets. 
 His criticisms of Homer, Hesiod, and the dramatists 
 are based upon the fundamental fact that they repre- 
 sent the gods and heroes as guilty of unseemly and 
 even wicked deeds. This is not a fact of great moment 
 to us; that it was of far greater importance and of 
 far-reaching consequence to the Greek reader of 
 Homer is a point which has hardly been noticed. Those 
 whose treachery, strife, amours, and weaknesses Homer 
 2Rep. S9SB. »Id. S9sC. 
 
120 Plato's Studies and Criticisms of the Poets 
 
 describes were the gods of the Greeks, and their belief 
 in them was something deep and real. Their religious 
 system was not merely or primarily an artistic creation, 
 but a religion in the truest sense of the word. The gods 
 of Olympus directed the affairs of the world; it was to 
 them that the Greek prayed for assistance and sacri- 
 ficed thank-offerings. His religion was by no means 
 unaccompanied by an ethical creed; for the gods re- 
 warded the upright and punished the wicked. The 
 evil-doer feared their wrath while the believer strove 
 to be a doer of good alone.* It has been said that the 
 Greeks "in vieler Beziehung mehr Religiositdt gehabt 
 haben als die gegenw'drtigen."^ Certainly they lived 
 in closer association with their gods and with more 
 constant regard to divine favor or anger. It was no 
 slight thing, therefore, that Homer and Hesiod and the 
 dramatists misrepresented, as Plato would say, the 
 gods of Greece. That one could find justification in 
 the deeds of the gods for almost any wicked act was 
 not a trifling circumstance nor one attended with no 
 evil results. Homer "war die Bibel der Griechen; aus 
 ihm lernte das Kind die Gbtter kennen."^ Homer and 
 Hesiod created, as Herodotus says,' the theogony of 
 the Greeks. The real religion, the religious sense of 
 the nation they did not and could not create; * they 
 rather directed it to the contemplation and worship 
 
 * To say this is by no means to praise the religious teachings of 
 Homer and Hesiod. For the Greeks owed the best part of their 
 religion to other causes and sources than their poets. Cf. infra. 
 ' Krause, p. l8. ' Grasberger, H. p. 284. ' H. 53. ' Cf. Bernhardy, 
 Hist. Litt. n. p. 178 and Packard, Morality and Religion of the 
 Greeks (in Studies in Greek Thought, Boston, 1886) p. 2. 
 
The Shortcomings of the^Poets as Educators 121 
 
 of deities in many respects worthy, but in many 
 respects unworthy, of worship. Not that these poets 
 degraded instead of reproducing in more definite and 
 artistic form the conceptions of the deities existing in 
 their own times; but the why and wherefore was a 
 matter of small importance to the Greeks of historical 
 times. The actual situation which then presented 
 itself was that "the Bible of the Greeks" failed of 
 being all that a Bible should be; that the deities of 
 that Bible, to whom a nation endowed with a naturally 
 strong religious feeling looked up, possessed character- 
 istics which the better part of the nation could only 
 despise and to which the worse part appealed as a 
 justification of their own wickedness. Neither good 
 nor bad except in the rarest instances thought of dis- 
 believing any stories about the gods. Homer was 
 truly a Bible as regards the implicit faith with which 
 his words were accepted. As the Greeks referred to 
 him as an authority in history,' in geography,'" in the 
 art of war,'' so his statements regarding things divine 
 were decisive and unquestioned. This fact ensured 
 the demoralizing eflfect of the worse stories contained 
 in the Iliad and Odyssey. For it is characteristic of 
 human nature to seek out and fasten upon the baser 
 elements of works which the belief of generations^ has 
 invested with a halo of sanctity. Few could possess 
 at the same time the fearlessness and the high concep- 
 
 'Cf. Arist. Rhet. I. 15; Herod. VII. 159^161, cited by Jebb, 
 Homer, p. 85. '" Cf. Strabo in the passage cited above p. 116. " Cf 
 especially the Ion of Plato; Aristoph. Frogs 1036 (supra p. 114); 
 and Strabo, cited above p. 116. 
 
122 Plato's Studies and Criticisms of the Poets 
 
 tion of the necessary and perfect goodness of the gods 
 which enabled Plato to cut the Gordian knot by declar- 
 ing that the poets who ascribe unworthy deeds to the 
 gods speak falsely. On the other hand, those who 
 could not rise to so lofty a standard as Plato's or frame 
 a religion of their own, but were yet wiser and better 
 than the common herd, would find the foundations of 
 all belief shaken by that which was revolting to them 
 in the sacred books of the nation. Last of all, the 
 ignobile vulgus would have been influenced least by that 
 which was good and most by that which was harmful 
 in Homer and Hesiod. Such must have been the effect 
 of received poetic fictions upon maturer minds; much 
 worse their influence upon the young to whom they 
 were taught and by whom they were accepted as 
 worthy of all belief and as furnishing a right standard 
 for conduct. For, as Plato says,^^ "the young cannot 
 judge what is allegorical and what is not, but whatever 
 opinions they conceive at that time of life are wont to 
 become indelible and unchangeable." No one, Plato 
 least of all, would incline to deny that the young found 
 much which was ennobling in the works of the poets; 
 ^but Plato stands practically alone among ancients 
 and moderns as one who has realized and stated fairly 
 the. shortcomings of the poets as moral teachers. 
 
 It is true that we can base the foregoing conclusions 
 on little besides a priori reasoning. This, however, is 
 by no means strange. If Plato's "love and veneration" 
 for Homer almost prevented him from speaking, those 
 who were less fearless than he and less independent of 
 
 ^ Rep. 378 D. E. 
 
The Shortcomings of the'Poets as Educators 123 
 
 popular opinion were naturally silent. Earlier philoso- 
 phers than Plato had indeed condemned in no uncertain 
 tones the theology of Homer and Hesiod;^' but down 
 to the outbreak of the Peloponnesian war, during the 
 period when moral standards were highest and religious 
 feelings most sincere, men were saved by their own 
 better instincts from being greatly influenced by the 
 things which Plato condemns in epic and tragedy. 
 Further, local forms of worship still maintained them- 
 selves, which contained more of real religion accom- 
 panied by less of mythological, fiction. So long as 
 this was true, people did not depend entirely 
 upon Homer or Hesiod for their conceptions of 
 deities or for their religious creed. But the unifying 
 power of epic religious tradition was ever active 
 in absorbing local cults, substituting conceptions in 
 many ways broader and nobler but with the taint 
 of mythological impurity. While on the one hand 
 this gradual disappearance of local cults was making 
 epic more and more the sole source and repository of 
 religious lore, we have to note on the other hand the 
 awakening of a more critical spirit in dealing with the 
 works of the poets and the beginning of the attacks 
 made by the sophists upon existing standards of relig- 
 ious belief. The harm wrought by the sophists was 
 due to the fact that they undermined the foundations 
 of the old religioft without substituting , anything in 
 its place. Under their leadership men approached 
 Homer and Hesiod no longer with unquestioning faith 
 but in the same spirit in which the professional atheist 
 ^ Cf. infra pp. 132-133. 
 
124 Plato's Studies and Criticisms of the Poets 
 
 studies the Bible, to seek out what was inconsistent, 
 absurd, or immoral. For it was distinctly a part of 
 the sophist's stock in trade to interpret the works of 
 famous poets, especially those which contained moral 
 teachings, to criticize them from every point of view 
 and to find in them, perhaps by means of forced or 
 allegorical explanations, support for a given thesis.^* 
 This higher criticism was a dangerous weapon in their 
 hands, and quite as dangerous in the hands of their fol- 
 lowers when such study had become an established 
 fashion. Still further-, we must notice that the gradual 
 lowering ofmoral standards which scholars date from the 
 time of the Peloponnesian war made men more eager 
 to discover and to treasure the worst which was con- 
 tained in the works of the poets. All causes combined, 
 therefore, at this later period to make their epic a 
 possession of more than doubtful value to the Greeks 
 from the moral point of view, and especially dangerous 
 as educational material for the young. The Iliad and 
 the Theogony were still the same but the character 
 and the spirit of their readers were different. What 
 had been comparatively harmless for the Mapa- 
 ffuvoixaxo-h their sons and fathers, was full of harmful 
 possibilities for a weaker, less upright generation — the 
 generation to which Plato belonged. 
 
 We find the clearest indications of the generally 
 demoralizing influence of poetic fictions in the Euthy- 
 
 " Cf. Cron, Introduction to the Protagoras, p. 19. Needless to 
 say that a large part of the Protagoras is devoted to a satire on this 
 tendency in the sophists. Cf. also the charge brought against Socra- 
 tes according to Xenophon, supra p. 4. 
 
The Shortcomings of the Soets as Educators 125 
 
 phron and in the Clouds of Aristophanes. In the 
 former'-'' Euthyphron, about to prosecute his father 
 for murder, defends himself against the charge of filial 
 impiety by recalling the way in which Zeus and Cronus 
 treated their fathers.'* The poets are clearly held re- 
 sponsible for making such an argument as Euthyphron's 
 possible, for Socrates immediately proceeds to ask him 
 if he really believes the stories of quarrels and battles 
 among the gods which are told iitto tuiv tolyitwv." 
 Now Plato in this early dialogue is not undertaking a 
 polemic against the poets; this entirely casual allusion 
 has, therefore, a different value from the elaborate 
 argument of the advocate which is contained in Books 
 II. and III. of the Republic. Further, Plato is too 
 perfect an artist to violate dramatic probability even 
 in small matters. We must find, therefore, in Euthy- 
 phron's defence a reflection of the spirit of the times. 
 This is even more clearly true of the words which 
 Aristophanes puts into the mouth of the aSiKOS X670S. 
 In answer to his opponent who has declared that 
 justice is irapa TotaL deals he asks: Hcos SfJTa diKtjs 
 ovarfs 6 Zeus (904) ovk awoXoo^ev tov Trarep' abrov 
 b't]Gas.^^ The answer of the St/catos X670S is note- 
 worthy: atjSot- TOVTi Kal Sri x^peT to KaKov. In 
 lines 1077 ff. the abiKOi Xoyos reaches the limit of sac- 
 rilegious boldness: e/xot 5' o/xtXwi' XP<^ ^V fpvaei, 
 CKipTa, yi\a, vofu^e fjLiriS^v alcrxpbv. jiolxos 7ctp 
 
 " S E- '°Cf. Hesiod, Theogony, 180, 496; also jEsch. Eumen. 644. 
 " 6 B. 1' Cf. also the somewhat similar, if less significant pas- 
 sages in 1045-54 2nd 1055-58, the latter a sophistical appeal to the 
 authority of Homer in support of a poor position. 
 
126 Plato's Studies and Criticisms of the Poets 
 
 fiv TUX27S dXous, rctS' avrepeh Trpos avTov, cos ohbbi 
 ■qdUriKas- elr eis tov Ai' eiraveveyKttp KaKelvos 
 cbs ^TTUV epojrds kari koI yvpaiKuv. "This appeal 
 to the example of the gods is not comic convention. Cf. 
 Eur. Hipp. 474 fF., ijSpis tolS' iarl Kptlcrau baiyiovoiv 
 elvau dekeiv roKixa d' epSxra and Eur. Tro. 948 
 fF. TTjv deov (Aphrodite) KdXa^e Kai Atos Kpelaacov 
 yevov OS tcov p,iv aXKoiv daifjiovcov exet Kparos Kelvris 
 8e 5ov\6s kari ■ (rvyyvwfXT} 8 ' e/xoi. Of course Euripides 
 does not approve such morals; he portrays an actual 
 state of affairs, being the dramatist of the real."'' 
 Both Euripides and Aristophanes, in fact, are address- 
 ing an audience to whom such arguments were familiar. 
 Additional testimony to the harmful influence of 
 the poets, which is all the more valuable because it 
 comes from an unwilling witness, is found in an essay 
 of Plutarch's entitled Ilajs del tov viov TOLr]fxdT0}v 
 OLKobtiv.^^ The writer, consciously^' antagonizing 
 Plato, is seeking to show how young men may 
 read or hear poetry without being harmed thereby; 
 and he frankly admits in the first chapter that 
 poetry is dangerous to them. The very raison d'etre 
 of the essay, therefore, is a better argument in 
 Plato's justification than its contents can be; still 
 the latter are interesting as showing how closely 
 Plutarch follows Plato and how loyally he under- 
 takes to meet the philosopher's criticisms. He illus- 
 trates very happily what seems to him the proper 
 principle in dealing with the poets by saying that 
 
 " Humphreys, Note on Clouds, 1080. *° De poetis audiendis, 
 Moralia, 14-37. ^ Cf. infra p. 129. 
 
The Shortcomings of the Paets as Educators 127 
 
 Lycurgus was foolish in destroying all the vines of his 
 country because his people were addicted to drunken- 
 ness. So we should not cut down but rather prune 
 wisely the vine of the muses. We cannot, however, 
 grant at once that Lycurgus was wrong and that 
 Plutarch is right; the broad question which the latter's 
 illustration suggests is by no means one-sided, and 
 Plato's choice of sides is the more defensible for one 
 who is framing an ideal state and not directing a real 
 one. But to follow Plutarch: He urges^^ that one 
 must understand that poetry finds its charm in fiction; 
 that, therefore, he must accept as fiction and not per- 
 mit to disturb him such passages as those which 
 describe Poseidon shaking the earth and the fear of 
 Hades lest his realm should become visible with all 
 its horrors,^' the perfidy of Apollo in slaying Achilles,^ 
 or the hapless state of the dead.^" On the other hand 
 the poet displays his ignorance when he speaks of Zeus 
 implanting evil among mortals.^* A further point^' 
 is that poetry as an imitative art is to be judged by 
 the excellence of the imitation and not by the moral 
 quality of the actions imitated. Thus we may praise 
 a picture representing Orestes killing his mother if the 
 execution be good, even though the subject is shocking. 
 Often the poet clearly intimates that he condemns 
 the wickednesses which he describes, and so directs our 
 
 22 c. 2, p. 16 A. 23 T 57 fF.; quoted by Plato, Rep. 386 D. 
 '^^schylus, Psychostasia (?); cf. Rep. 383 B. ^ With reference 
 to X 489-490, 388-394, n 856-857, X 362-363; the first and third in 
 Rep. 516 D,, 386 D. 2«jEschylus, Niobe, Frg. 151; cf. Rep. 380 A. 
 "C. 3, 17F. 
 
128 Plato's Studies and Criticisms of the Poets 
 
 judgment.^* Homer excels all the other poets in intima- 
 tions of this sort as is shown by various passages.^^ 
 Similarly the poets frequently make their descriptions 
 of wicked acts profitable by indicating the shame and 
 loss which befall the doers;'" the displeasure which 
 Zeus visits upon Hera for deceiving him is a case in 
 point.'^ It is to be noted further that we often find 
 the poets contradicting themselves, a fact which tends 
 to lessen their authority and so their power to do harm. 
 In general, when we discover such contradictions we 
 must choose the better of the two versions. Thus when 
 Homer tells us of quarrels among the gods,'^ we -must 
 seek to refute him by other passages from his own 
 poems.'' When we cannot in this way cite the poets 
 against themselves, we must convict them of error by 
 appealing to other authorities. Again, the poets often 
 use the names of the gods by way of personifying 
 natural forces.'* So when evil deeds are ascribed to 
 Zeus, it is not Zeus that is meant but fate; thus Plutarch 
 explains the story which was so distasteful to Plato'' 
 of Zeus dispensing ills to mankind.'^ On the other 
 hand, when good deeds are ascribed to Zeus, it is Zeus 
 that is meant and not fate! Plutarch notes," as does 
 Plato," that variety is essential to an interesting nar- 
 rative. Therefore not even the gods can be always 
 
 ^ C. 4, 19 A. *' Three of those which he quotes are also quoted 
 or alluded to by Plato, viz. A 225, A 104, 6 329 in Rep. 389 E., 
 379 E., 390 C. Not many of the passages which Plato condemns 
 could have been defended in this way. '" C. 4, 20 B. '' O 32-33; 
 cf. Rep. 390 C. '^ Cf. Plato's condemnation of such stories in Rep. 
 378 D., 380 A. »3 C. 4, 20 E. « c. 6, 23 A. » Cf. Rep. 379 D. 
 »• Q 527 ff. " C. 7, 25 D. 38 Rep. 604 E. 
 
The Shortcomings of the Poets as Educators 129 
 
 represented as free from passions and errors. There- 
 fore one must dismiss the habit of regarding all the 
 deeds of any hero or god as admirable; otherwise the 
 reading of the poets will be harmful to him.'' For 
 example, one cannot approve of Achilles' insubordinate 
 conduct towards Agamemnon.^" On the other hand, 
 there are many profitable sayings in the poets, con- 
 cealed, indeed, from view as fruit by abundant foliage.*^ 
 Such, for instance, is the description of the well-ordered 
 advance of the Greeks;'*^ such also is jEschylus' 
 characterization of Amphiaraus.*' Even from passages 
 which seem wicked one may often derive some profi- 
 table lesson^ or at least neutralize their harmful effect 
 by recalling the contrary sayings of philosophers.*^ 
 If, however, poet and philosopher agree, so much the 
 better.** In general we can by proper treatment recon- 
 cile the words of the poets with the doctrines of the 
 philosophers and so make the study of poetry a useful 
 introduction to philosophy.*' 
 
 Such in brief is the argument of this interesting 
 essay. That the author is seeking to refute Plato is 
 shown by the frequency with which he quotes passages 
 which Plato condemned. But what has he proved 
 against Plato.? Nothing more than Plato himself 
 would have admitted, namely, that a philosopher might 
 read the poets without being harmed. This in fact is 
 all that he undertakes to prove, while he grants freely 
 
 »9 C. 8, 2S E. " A 88 ff.; cf. Rep. 389 E. « C. 10, 28 E. « A431; 
 approved also by Plato, Rep. 389 E. * Sept. 592-594; cf. Rep. 361 
 B., 362 A. «C. 12, 32 E. «C. 12,33 C.-34 B. «C. 14, 35 F. 
 " C. 14, 36 D.-37 B. 
 
130 Plato's Studies and Criticisms of the Poets 
 
 and frequently all that Plato maintained, namely, that 
 [the lay reader is likely to be influenced for bad by much 
 fthat the poets have said. For, as Plato notes," the 
 youthful reader will interpret his Homer literally. Of 
 course one cannot take Plutarch too seriously and need 
 not attempt to criticize any of his very remarkable 
 arguments. Suffice it to say that if he had held the 
 same views concerning poetry as Plato and had tried 
 to justify them by an ironical defense of the poets, 
 he could hardly have done better. It is interesting 
 to observe by the way that the old Greek idea that the 
 poets aimed to be moral teachers and are to be regarded 
 as such has descended even to Plutarch. 
 
 It is sufficiently evident from the foregoing that the 
 danger to public morals which Plato believed must 
 attend the study of the poets was in his time a very 
 real one, that since the poets, who were regarded as 
 teachers of righteousness, presented to the reader far 
 too many pictures of unseemly conduct, they did not 
 offer healthful educational material for the young. 
 Some, indeed, have been inclined to minimize the 
 strength of Plato's argume;nts against poetry in Books 
 II. and III. of the Republic or to accuse him of narrow- 
 ness in bringing forth such arguments. Rassow,*' 
 recounting the various deeds of gods and heroes which 
 Plato condemns, closes climactically, "Wird dock 
 selbst das unermessliche Goiter geldchter dem alien Sanger 
 vorgeworfen." Surely this is one of the least important 
 of the sins which Plato ascribes to Homer and his 
 
 '* Rep. 378 D. *' Ueber die Beurtheilung des homerischen Epos 
 bei Plato und Aristotele (Stettin Prog., 1850), p. 17. 
 
* 
 The Shortcomings of the Poets as Educators 131 
 
 case does not rest upon it in any large degree. But 
 was it without importance to the Greek who worshipped 
 and regarded as truly gods-those who figured in this 
 scene ? The Zeus and the Athena of Phidias could not 
 possibly have yielded to aa^tVTOS YeXoJS at the sight 
 of Hephaestus. Deities which could do so were less 
 noble than those conceived by Phidias or those which 
 should be the exalted objects of a nation's worship. 
 Jowett^" thinks it strange that Plato "should have 
 supposed epic verse to be inseparably associated with 
 the impurities of the old Hellenic mythology." Epic 
 verse for the Greeks was thus inseparably associated 
 with an impure mythology; no epic was possible which 
 did not rest upon a mythological foundation and was 
 not permeated by the impure elements of mythology. 
 On the other hand,if the phrase quoted means the epic of 
 any time or people, we may answer that it was not to be 
 expected that Plato should look beyond the conditions 
 which surrounded his own nation. His ideal state was 
 above all a Greek state, and the question was the admis- 
 sion of Greek epic, as it was or as it might be. It could 
 not have been such as to answer Plato's requirements.^^ 
 '" Introduction to the Republic, p. CLVII. '^ Plato does not 
 banish from his Republic the national religion. The higher educa- 
 tion of Book VII., which is at the same time a religion, is reserved 
 for the few to whom it is possible. For the majority no other than 
 the traditional Greek religion is to be provided (Schleiermacher, 
 Introduction to the Republic, pp. 19, 20; Zeller, Die Philosophie 
 der Griechen, II. I. 77s, 791-93). Its forms and laws are to be 
 prescribed by the oracle of Apollo at Delphi (Rep. 427 B. Cf. other 
 appeals to the authority of the oracle in 461 E., 469 A., 540 C). 
 Plato, then, would keep the better elements of the old faith while 
 eliminating the worse; it is upon the latter, however, that epic and 
 drama very largely depend. 
 
/, 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE ANCIENT QUARREL BETWEEN POETRY AND 
 PHILOSOPHY 
 
 In the closing chapter of the discussion in Book X. 
 of the RepubHc Socrates notes by way of defending 
 himself against the charge of treating the poets 
 harshly that there is "an ancient quarrel between 
 poetry and philosophy. 'J He proceedb. to quote various 
 lines, whose authorship is unknown to us, in which 
 the poets have given vent to bitter abuse of philoso- 
 phers.' We can follow this quarrel back to Xenoph- 
 anes, Heraclitus, and Pythagoras. The first of 
 these three in a famous utterance accused Homer and 
 Hesiod of having imputed to the gods all that is blame 
 and shame for men.^ Heraclitus declared that Homer 
 and Archilochus as well deserved to be driven out of 
 the schools and to be scourged.' Pythagoras saw in 
 the lower world, according to Hieronymus, the souls 
 of Homer and Hesiod undergoing punishment on ac- 
 count of the things which they had said about the 
 
 ' 607 B. C. Cf. Leg. 967 C. D. ' In Sextus Empiricus, adv. 
 Mathem. 9. 193. Trdyro Beols 6,vi6riKev "O/iripos 'HirioSos re Saaa 
 Trap' &v9pinrourL ofeiSea Kal ^6705 ktrri. . kX^tuv juoix^^cti' re 
 Ka2 dXMXoui iTroTeieic " Diog. Laert. IX. I. t6v rt "Oiii]pov iipaaxev 
 &{(0X 4k TOip tyiivuv iK^iiWftrBai. xal ^aTrij^eaSai Kal 'ApxiXoxox 
 diiolus. 
 
 132 
 
The Quarrel between Poetry and Philosophy 133 
 • 
 gods.* pThe causes of the quarrel may be stated as 
 follows : firstjthe eany Greek philosophers, as students 
 of nature (^ufftKoi) who were seeking a reasonable } 
 explanation of the origin of the universe, necessarily 
 discarded or disregarded the mythological explanations 
 of the poets, and as thinking men apprehended sooner 
 than the masses the wickedness and the harmfulness 
 of many epic stories; second, the poets and the philoso- 
 phers were; distinctly rivals for popular favor as teach- 
 ers. The review of Plato's arguments in Books II. and 
 III. of the Republic which has already been given 
 makes it unnecessary to enlarge upon the first of these 
 considerations; the second is perhaps quite as impor- 
 tant and has received very little attention. The rivalry 
 between poetry and philosophy was a perfectly natural 
 development. The philosophers were intruding upon] 
 a field which had belonged to the poets alone. Whether 
 as students of the universe or as religious and moral 
 teachers, they dealt with the same subjects as the 
 writers of theogonies and of gnomic poetry who had 
 preceded them. j"DjV beginnende Wissenschaft," as 
 Windelband^ has said, speaking of the early Ionic 
 philosophers, "behandelt dieselben Probleme wie die 
 mythologische Phantasie; der Unterschied zwischen beiden 
 liegt nicht im Gegenstande, sondern in der Form der 
 
 ^ Id. VIII. 21. tpvjtri bk ^\ep6iUviios KaTcXdjvra aiiTov els &Sov tt]v fjiv 
 *H(rt65ou rf/vxw ISeXv k'lovi x^*^^ SiS:fjikv7jv Kal Tpi^ovaav, Trjv Si 
 'O^^pov KpefiafieVTjv AttA Bkv&pov Kal 6ipu% irepl ai}Trij/ &vd^ Sjv elire (or 
 ilirov) Tfpl Bewv. In this instance it is needless to say that our 
 authority is not of the best. ' Geschichte der alten Philosophie (in 
 I. Mullet's Handbuch, V. I.) p. 137. 
 
134 Plato's Studies and Criticisms of the Poets 
 
 Fragestellung und der Art der Losung." And again, 
 "Sie (the Physicists) bildeten sich eine Forstell%ng iiber 
 den Zusammenhang der Dinge nicht mehr nach dem 
 mythologischen Schema, sondern durch eigne Ueherlegung 
 und Betrachtung." The philosophy of Thales and his 
 successors was an outgrowth from epic in one direction 
 as the writings of the logographers in another. Both 
 aHke tended to supplant epic and, if not directly an- 
 tagonizing it, at least sought the ear of a public which 
 had hitherto been interested and instructed by epic 
 alone. So "die philosophischen Lehrgedichte" of 
 Xenophanes, Parmenides, and Empedocles "war en 
 Auslaufer des didaktischen Epos"^ and entered into 
 direct competition with the didactic poetry of the 
 Hesiodic school and with gnomic verse. The fact 
 that the philosophy of Xenophanes and his successors 
 preserved the poetic form was due to the circumstances 
 of its origin' and at the same time shows how the 
 early /^philosopher felt himself compelled to adopt 
 that vehicle of expression which was regarded in 
 common opinion, then as in later times, as peculiarly 
 ' Christ, Griech. Litteraturgesch. p. 95. Cf. Grote, Plato and the 
 other companions of Sokrates, I. 17. ' So Christ, p. 96, Windelband, 
 p. 147, Dr. A. Fairbanks, in A. P. A. Proceed. Vol. XXVII. p. 
 XLIV. It is to be noted that in this respect the three philos- 
 ophers mentioned parted company with the Ionic philosophers 
 and the logographers — other "Auslaufer des Epos" — as well as with 
 Pherecydes of Syros and Acusilaus, whose aim was simply to render 
 the theogonies and cosmogonies of Hesiod into prose. Mahaffy's 
 statement (Grk. Lit. I. i. p. 143) that "the fixed purpose of phi- 
 losophy to abandon poetry explains the defection of Plato from the 
 ranks of Greek poets" ofiFers, it seems to me, a wrong explanation 
 of an easy question. 
 
The Quarrel between Poetry and Philosophy 135 
 • 
 consecrated to moral teaching^ But the Eleatics were 
 no less the foes of the poets because they wrote in verse. 
 
 (The "quarrel between poetry and philosophy" which 
 was thus begun at so early a period that Plato could 
 
 (Call it "ancient" was on the one hand the world-old 
 conflict between reUgion and science. As such it is 
 easy to understand and to parallel in the history of 
 other nations. The criticisms passed upon the poets 
 and the methods adopted in their defence by the 
 allegorizing school of interpretation find their counter- 
 parts in very modern times. In Greece, however, the 
 quarrel took on a character of unusual bitterness be- 
 cause philosophy was seeking to wrest from the poets 
 their position as the educators of the nation. Plato, 
 above all, legitimately heir as he was to this quarrel, 
 sought to displace the poets as moral teachers because 
 he believed their teaching to be worse than that which 
 his philosophy could offer. /For Plato's supreme end 
 was that which popular opmion ascribed to the poets, 
 namely, ethical. "Was seiner Philosophie eine Wdrme 
 und eine praktische Richtung gab . . . das ist jenes 
 sittlich-religiose Interesse, welches bei ihm, als dchten 
 Sokrdtiker, mit dem Wissenschajtlichen so eng verkniipft 
 ist. Die Philosophie ist ihm eben nicht bios ein Wissen 
 sondern ein den ganzen Menschen durchdringendes 
 hoheres Leben . . . Die religiose Bedeutung des Platonis' 
 mus liegt in jener ethischen Stimmung, die ihm der 
 sokratische Unterricht eingepfldnzt hat."^ Plato, then, is 
 the apostle of a new and higher creed than the poets 
 had given to his countrymen and his zeal to win 
 ' Zeller, II. i. pp. 793-4. 
 
136 Plato's Studies and Criticisms of the Poets 
 
 //converts is by no means disguised. It appears in his 
 /attempts to throw discredit upon the old teachers whose 
 mfiuence closed men's eyes to the newer revelation; 
 it appears also in his efforts to rival his poetic prede- 
 cessors in artistic beauty of expression-VThe ^rfkoTVirla 
 irpos "OfJLrjpov with which Dionysius charges him'" was 
 really a noble emulation, the outgrowth above all of 
 a desire to give to philosophy such an outward form of 
 attractiveness as should enable it to vie with epic on 
 equal terms, to win popular as well as esoteric favor, 
 and so ultimately to accomplish the good for which it 
 was written.*^ rThe Homeric Bible of the Greeks was 
 now an Old Testament, and Plato, the author of a new 
 gospel^/ continually reminds us by his criticisms of the 
 words of a later Teacher — "Ye have heard that it 
 was said by them of old time."*^ Plato's criticisms are, 
 indeed, harsher but hardly less reverent. "He does 
 not, like Heraclitus, get into a rage with Homer"'' but 
 rather speaks of him not only with the sincerest respect 
 but with real affection.'* fHe feels able, however, to offer 
 his countrymen a better system of ethics and religion 
 than that contained in the Homeric poems and he 
 would be doing less than his duty, failing to make his 
 plea for recognition as strong as it might and should be, 
 if he did not expose the shortcomings of the old system 
 while setting forth the excellences of his own. He can- 
 not sacrifice duty to inclination or "honor a man more 
 than the truth."'* If Plato had been a citizen of his 
 
 ' Cf. supra pp. 69, 70. " Cf. supra p. 78. " Morgenstem, pp. 
 256-7. "^MatthewV. 21, et passim. " Jowett, Introduction to the 
 Republic, p. xlix. " Cf. supra p. 64. " Rep. 595 C 
 
The Quarrel between Poetry and Philosophy 137 
 • 
 own ideal state he would have felt more keenly perhaps 
 than any one of his fellow-citizens the loss which the 
 state suffered in being deprived of epic and the drama. 
 But his tremendous moral earnestness, his desire to 
 benefit others" permit him to consider self only in so 
 far as to express his personal sorrow for the necessity 
 which reason forces upon him of banishing Homer/ 
 His attitude is no less noble than that of St. Taul when 
 he says, "If meat make my brother to offend, I will eat 
 no flesh while the world standeth."'' 
 
 Q'lato is forced to his decision by reason, and it is just 
 because the philosopher accepts this as his guide that 
 he differs most widely from the poet and is most 
 superior to him.'* The poets are guided in their teach- 
 ings OX) ao<piq. dXXa <pv(TeL rivl Kal evdovaia^ovTes.^^ 
 There must needs be an "ancient quarrel" between 
 them and the philosophers. They appeal to the feelings 
 rather than to the reason. This is to Plato a sufficient 
 cause why they cannot be trustworthy teachers. 
 Their work is the product of a lower element in the soul 
 and tends to nourish and strengthen that element in 
 the souls of others. So the supremacy of reason, the 
 necessary condition of all moral excellence, is en- 
 dangered. Moreover, the poets deal with the concrete, 
 with persons and actions that cannot in the nature of 
 
 ^ It seems to me that one can hardly emphasize too strongly the 
 statement that Plato's fundamental aim in all his teachings and 
 writings — an aim which he inherited from Socrates — was to do 
 good. This is to me the abiding impression, which is strengthened 
 by every new reading in the Republic. " I. Corinth. 8. 13. '' Cf. 
 supra p. 14. 1' Apol. 22 C. 
 
138 Plato's Studies and Criticisms of the Poets 
 
 things be wholly good; philosophy concerns itself with 
 the abstract, with ideals of goodness, justice and the 
 like. The poet rouses men to noble deeds by the 
 example of a magnificent, though imperfect hero; the 
 philosopher holds before them a perfect abstract 
 pattern of nobility. Must not the latter's power for 
 good be the stronger? Plato was too far above the 
 level of common humanity to see more than one answer 
 to the question.^* 
 
 "> Cf. infra pp. 146-148. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 MINOR REASONS FOR PLATO's HOSTILITY TO THE POETS 
 
 Three minor considerations may be mentioned 
 here which in some measure influenced Plato against 
 the poets. These are (i) the decline of poetry in his 
 own day, (2) his fondness for Spartan (orTDoric) insti- 
 tutions, and (3) his view of the demoralizing effect of 
 histrionic art upon those who practiced it. The first 
 of these points is discussed at some length by Jowett.' 
 Poetry had certainly reached a very low level during 
 Plato's time and Plato was too competent a critic, 
 too much a poet himself to fail of realizing how far it 
 had fallen. In the Laws he frequently refers in distinct 
 terms to the degeneracy of modern poetry, dwelling 
 especially upon the theater ochlocracy "which has been 
 the ruin of our poets."^ It seems to me hardly fair, 
 however, to lay so much stress upon this point as 
 Jowett has, that is, to adduce it as an important reason 
 why Plato banished Homer from his RepublicTj Plato 
 was perhaps unconsciously influenced against the poets 
 as a class by the conditions which existed in his maturer 
 years, but he was too keen a thinker to be led to con- 
 demn poetic art in toto because it had failed to maintain 
 its once splendid position. \ Indeed, it would be natural 
 that this very fact should cause him or any one of his 
 1 Jowett, Introduction to the Republic, clvii-viii. * Cf. supra p. loi. 
 139 
 
140 Plato's Studies and Criticisms of the Poets 
 
 age to think the more highly of the greater poets of 
 former days. In fact, however, it is the oldest and 
 noblest poets of Greece — Homer, Hesiod, and iEschy- 
 lus — whose works are criticized in the Republic, while 
 not a word is said in condemnation of their modern 
 successors. In the Laws where Plato is creating a real 
 state and would naturally pay more attention to 
 existing conditions, where further he is prescribing 
 what shall he the matter and form of poems to be pro- 
 duced in that state instead of questioning whether 
 existing works shall be admitted,^ he evidently has 
 modern poetry in mind when he frames his provision 
 for a general censorship over the poets. But there 
 seems to be no great probability, in the light of what 
 has been said, that the tone of criticism in the Republic 
 was very much modified by such external and purely 
 accidental considerations?^ 
 
 On the other hand Plato's partiality for things Spar- 
 tan, while it has been abundantly discussed, has not 
 been considered in its bearing upon our present sub- 
 ject.^ This disposition upon the part of Plato, which 
 he inherited from Socrates, may be noted from the 
 beginning to the end of his writings;* it appears most 
 clearly of course in the Laws. But although in this 
 dialogue he is more openly copying the institutions 
 of Sparta, still he is hardly less influenced by them, and 
 
 ' This latter question is, indeed, discussed, but very briefly. Cf. 
 supra p. 99. * Only incidentally by Jowett, Introduction to the 
 Republic, p. dxxi. ' Crito 52 E. may be cited as one among many 
 illustrative passages. Cf. also Xen. Mem. IV. 4. 15 as showing 
 Socrates' own attitude. 
 
Minor Reasons for Plato's Hostility to the Poets 141 
 
 virtually following them in many respects, in the 
 Republic* Now poets were regarded at Sparta with 
 almost as little favor as by Plato in the Republic. The 
 argument of the Republic, as we have seen, is directed 
 especially against the use of poetry as educational 
 material; in Sparta the study of the poets formed no 
 part of the regular system of education.' Homer was 
 not, indeed, unknown to the Spartans,* but his works 
 were to them hardly less than to Clinias and the 
 Cretans ^evLKO. iroi.riiJ,aTa; Megillus notes that the 
 life which Homer describes was not Laconian, but 
 rather Ionian.' That is, he held not at all the same 
 place at Sparta as at Athens. In general, the Spartans 
 were notorious Philistines, giving very much attention 
 to yvjivacTTLKii and very little to fiovaLKri.^" It is 
 true that the art of music in the narrower sense of the 
 word was held in high honor at Sparta and its choral 
 lyric poetry had made the city famous from the earliest 
 times; but we do not know that other forms of verse 
 were popular or even tolerated there.^^ Just those 
 kinds of poetry, therefore, which were permitted in 
 the Republic — hymns to the gods and encomia upon 
 good men — ^were practically the only kinds which were 
 cultivated at Sparta. Even the little poetry which the 
 Spartans had must conform to a prescribed standard 
 
 ^ Cf. Stallbaum, Introduction to the Republic, pp. LV-LVIII, 
 CII-CX, et passim; Jowett, Introduction to the Republic, pp. 
 dxx-clxxii; Nohle, Die Statslehre Platos (Jena, 1880), pp. 108 ff. 
 ' Grasberger, II. pp. 57, 194, 355. ' Leg. 680 C, Plut. Lye. 4, Apo- 
 thegm. Lac. P. 223 A. ' Leg. 680 C. "> Leg. 673 B. " Jowett, 
 Introduction to the Republic, p. clxxi. 
 
142 Plato's Studies and Criticisms of the Poets 
 
 and the poets were held under strict control. The 
 matter of their poems must be above reproach from 
 the moral point of view, and in music and rhythm 
 they must be true to old Dorian tradition and intro- 
 duce no novelties of any sort.*^ It is certainly reason- 
 able to suppose that Plato, comparing the Spartan 
 attitude toward poetry and their sterner system of 
 education with the fondness of his fellow-citizens for 
 whatever might please the ear and their reliance upon 
 the poets as teachers, may have found here another 
 element of strength in the state which he so admired; 
 and that the fact of his allowing the inhabitants of 
 his ideal state only the same privileges with respect to 
 poetry which the Spartans enjoyed shows that he is 
 guided to his conclusions at least in some degree by 
 Spartan influence. 
 
 As to the third of the points mentioned^we should 
 probably agree with Plato that the actor is apt to be 
 weakened morally by the practice of his profession. 
 We should hardly accept the philosopher's argument, 
 founded upon the before-established principle of the 
 division of labor, that one is unable to imitate many 
 things well just as he is unable to perform the actions 
 of which the imitations are copies;*' but this has 
 little to do with the main conclusion. On the other 
 hand, there is much truth in the statement" that imi- 
 tations develop into habits and become a second 
 nature. Certainly many parts which the actor, 
 especially of comedy, might have been called upon to 
 play in Plato's time would have had a demoralizing 
 
 "» Leg. 660 B. E. " Rep. 395 B. " Rep. 395 D. 
 
Minor Reasons for Plato's Hostility to the Poets 143 
 
 influence upon character. We can also appreciate 
 fully Plato's sense of the utter unworthiness of a drama 
 which seeks to please by realistic tricks of representa- 
 tion and lowers the actor to the level of an animal or 
 an inanimate thing."^* The true psychological reason 
 why the actor is often harmed by his work Plato has 
 not stated, perhaps not apprehended; but the fact 
 is clear to him and had its effect in determining his 
 attitude toward the drama. 
 
 " Rep. 397 A. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS 
 
 Plato banishes epic and drama utterly from his 
 Republic. This statement in the light of the perfectly 
 plain words which are employed in X. can be subjected 
 to no limitations whatever. If the dialogue had 
 ended with Book IX., it could have been said that 
 epic poetry at least, if it could conform to the standards 
 established in II. and III., might have been received 
 into the state. But Plato is not content with the 
 conclusion already reached. He goes on to make it 
 more sweeping and at the same time impossible of 
 misunderstanding, as though in fear that compromise 
 was dangerous, that the making of exceptions might 
 destroy the whole scheme. Following the argument 
 of Books II. and III. we might perhaps have expected 
 Plato to admit to the state a purified Homer; but he 
 makes no attempt to conceive or portray an ideal epic 
 poetry which would have been possible to an ideal 
 Republic. The argument of Book X. closes the last 
 loophole of escape and decrees the utter banishment of 
 the Homer who has thus far only been shorn of all which 
 seemed objectionable to Plato in matter and form of 
 ^expression. 
 
 Let us take up, therefore, the considerations which 
 144 
 
General Considerations and Conclusions 145 
 
 Plato urges m Book X. \ Poetry is. condem ned because 
 it is one of the imitative arts and all imitation is far 
 removed from truth. Painting is another imitative 
 art which is closely compared^ with that of poetry; 
 sculpture is another. Are all these to be condemned? 
 and what is Plato's conception of art and its function .? 
 A very imperfect one surely. He seems here to regard 
 it as mere imitation, imperfect at best, further removed 
 from truth and the ideal than the sensible things imi- 
 tated. On the other hand he sometimes rises to a much 
 higher conception of it, to regard art as "the expression 
 of the ideal in forms of sense" and works of art as "the 
 intermediate between sense and ideas." So in 484 C. 
 the painters are said to have their eyes upon absolute 
 truth and to refer all things to th aj pattern^ Again, 
 if our painters, sculptors, and other creative artists are 
 able to discern and required to represent in their works 
 the beautiful and graceful, then our young growing up 
 amid such healthful influences will be unconsciously 
 educated and will form characters and tastes which are 
 beautiful and good. Then when reason has come they 
 will greet and understand in a new way those noble 
 conceptions which have long been familiar friends.^ 
 ( Art is here t he handmaid of reason, a means of educa-i 
 tion, anaid by which to rise to the understanding of 
 the ideal. Why could not Plato have regarded poetry 
 in the same way, as one step upward toward a concep- 
 tion of the ideal? In fact he seems to have done just 
 this in Book II. of the Republic and this idea lies at 
 the basis of his, as of the Greek, system of education. 
 1 596 ff. ' Rep. 401 A.-4oa A. 
 
146 Plato's Studies and Criticisms of the Poets 
 
 We begin, he says, by telling children stories which are 
 for the most part fictions, some of them, indeed, true. 
 For it is in early years that character is forming and may 
 readily receive the impression which we desire to stamp 
 upon it.' That is, by using concrete examples of the 
 virtues which we desire to inculcate, we may influence 
 the mind which is not yet able to judge of the good and 
 the bad in the abstract, in the light of pure reason; 
 and it is clear that fictitious stories can in general be 
 made to serve the purpose better than true ones. Here, 
 then, according to Plato, is a function for poetic as 
 well as for other forms of creative artTl The poet may 
 adorn the countless deeds of.thfe heroes of old for the 
 instruction of posterity;* he may praise good men in 
 order that the youth may imitate and strive to be like 
 them;* his creative soulynay conceive and bring forth 
 wisdom and virtue in general.* But Plato has attained 
 to no higher notion ofv art than this. He can not or 
 , does not judge it in and for itself, as an end and not 
 merely a means to an end. At its best, which it reaches 
 all too seldom, it is only an assistant to philosophy. 
 For" Gerade weil Plato selbst Kunstler,aher philosophisch- 
 er Kunstler ist, kann er der reinen Kunst nicht gerecht 
 werden; gerade weil seine wissenschaftliche Weltan- 
 schauung zugleich eine aesthetische ist, kann er das 
 womit es der Kunst zu thun hat, von dem was die Phil- 
 osophie anstrebt, das Schone von dem Wahren und Guten 
 nicht scharf unterscheiden."'\ ^ Poetic fi ctions, therefore, 
 assuming always that they are not bad, and painting 
 
 'Rep. 377 A. B. ^Phaedr. 245 A. ' Protag. 326 A. * Symp. . 
 209 A. ' Zeller, II. i. pp. 795-6. 
 
General Considerations ^nd Conclusions 147 
 
 and sculptur^^ve ex actly the same purpose in Plato's 
 scheme of education as, tor example, the study of 
 geometry,^ that Is, to draw the soul upward to a con- 
 ception of the universal. For men are not equal with- 
 out preparation to the comprehension of ideal abstrac- 
 tions and need to be assisted by concrete representa- 
 tions.^ But they form only a stepping stone to the 
 "^ higher and one must beware lest he halt with the many 
 at the lower level. So an individual form of beauty 
 may arouse love, but both the love and the beauty are 
 of an inferior sort.® vThe true fover m ust perceive that 
 beauty in all forms is one and the same and then he will 
 love beauty as it manifests itself in all beauti ful form^ 
 He must be able to rise from many sensible manifesta-i 
 tions to one general conception,^" he must recall his '. 
 earlier vision of true beauty when he sees beauty in this \ 
 existence," he must love not only beautiful sounds and 
 colors and forms but beauty itself.^^ It is only the ideal, 
 the abstract universal, that is real and has real value; 
 "das Sinnliche und Einzelne mag wohl zu diesem hin- 
 fuhren, aber nur so, dass man sich zugleich von ihm 
 ahkehrt und es hinter sich Idsst. Hieraus folgt sofort, dass 
 er . . . die schone Erscheinung gegen den gestaltlosen 
 Begriff zu etwas unlet geordnetem und gleichgultizem, ja 
 zu einem siorendem Beiwerk herabsetzen mussP CBeliev- 
 
 ing all this Plato might well regard art as making the 
 difficult passage from the particular to the universal 
 easier, as an intermediate between the one and the 
 other. So, indeed, he does seem to regard it in the 
 
 ' Rep. 527 B. ' Symp. 210 A. Cf. Rassow, pp. 6, 7. '» Phaedr. 
 249 B. " Ibid. 249 D. J2 Rep. 476 B. " Zeller, II. i. p. 796. 
 
148 Plato's Studies and Criticisms of the Poets 
 
 passages quoted from the earlier part of the Republic; 
 but this notion is entirely given up in Book XT} Art is 
 now a step lower than die sinnliche Erschemung instead 
 of higher; the poet and the painter imitate not the 
 ideal but the actual. Art which before has received 
 at best less than its due is now still further degraded. 
 Poetry is no longer even the lowly friend of philosophy 
 but its enemy. Poetry appeals to'the soul through 
 concrete representations; philosophy would direct 
 'its gaze toward the abstract ideal. And this ideal must 
 be seen by the purified soul face to face, not indistinctly 
 through the help of sensible copies which suggest, but 
 do not portray it worthily. Moreoverfsince it is im- 
 possible to picture the ideal adequately m iorms of 
 sense, the attempt to do so is worse than useless, it is 
 irreverent and mischievous. It will hinder, not help, 
 in the conception of the ideal, satisfying men's minds 
 with something lower and leading them to believe that 
 there is nothing beyond, substituting form for the wor- 
 ship in spirit of that which is s piritual) In his attitude 
 toward art, therefore, Plato may be said to stand with 
 the Iconoclasts of the Eastern Empire and the Puritans 
 of England. If he had lived at a later time, he would 
 have condemned the religious art of the Renaissance 
 and the miracle plays of France and England. We may 
 call him narrow and unjust to art, but reformers in all 
 ages have been narrow, sacrificing, perhaps consciously, 
 the less for the greater, not counting the cost when the 
 fight was for a great and true principle. 
 
 Two minor questions are suggested in the present 
 connection. KFirst,Qid Plato by banishing the poets 
 
General Consideration»and Conclusions 149 
 
 remove the foundation of his ed^ational system, so that 
 the higher education of B ook VILj" which is to consti- 
 tute the difference between the ttvo classe^of the 
 <pvXaKes"^*(i s left with_ nothing to rest upon ?2 One 
 inclines at nrst to answer in the afl&rmative. For the 
 stories (X6701) which as an essential part of fiovaiKri 
 are to be told to children^^ are above all the stories of 
 "Hesiod and Homer and the other poets. "'^ If Plato is 
 to be harmonized with himself it must be by finding 
 these stories in his hymns to the gods or conceiving of 
 them as prose instead of verse.'' Second, why did not 
 Plato banish painting and sculpture as well as poetry? 
 All are alike imitative arts and therefore open to the 
 same censure. But the further objections urged against 
 poetry in Book X. and the more important"^' arguments 
 of Books II. and III. concern painting and sculpture 
 little or not at all. These two arts need not portray 
 other than forms of beauty and grace; the epic poet 
 or the dramatist must in the nature of things deal more 
 with the passions of men and introduce worse charac- 
 ters to balance the betterj 
 
 The second charge which is urged against poetry in 
 Book X.'* is that it is concerned with an inferior part 
 of the soul, namely, to ayavaKTijTLKOv, and by 
 nourishing and strengthening that part tends to destroy 
 the supremacy of reason, to \oyLcrTiK6v. Therefore a 
 state which is to be guided by reason cannot receive 
 
 " Packard, Plato's system of education (in Studies in Greek 
 Thought), p. 68. ^ Rep. 376 E. « Rep. 377 D. " Or shall we find 
 here also an argument for the later composition of X.? Cf. supra 
 p. 92, n. 25. ^ Cf. supra p. 97. ^' Cf. supra pp. 86, 87. 
 
150 Plato' i Studies and Criticisms of the Poets 
 
 poetry. This argument depends intimately upon the 
 analysis of the soul in Book IV., and the statement 
 that poetry deals with and appeals to the emotional 
 rather than the rational element cannot be questioned. \ 
 But one is by no means ready to grant that it is to be 
 condemned on that account^ Aristotle's famous theory 
 of the purgation of the passions by pity and fear comes 
 to the mind at once, and he seems to show dgeper in- 
 sight into human nature than Plato. rFoiTconstant 
 
 to show dgepe 
 
 ato. rFoiTrons 
 
 that IS intenc 
 
 repression of all in human nature that is interior to 
 reason is not of necessity the safest course, even if it 
 were possible. There is good as well as bad in the 
 emotional element — a fact which' Plato himself has 
 recognized. Right forms of poetry might develop 
 the good at the same time' that they purge of the bad. 
 So the emotional element might work with the rational 
 instead of being kept down by it. If we seek for the 
 reasons why this argument appealed to Plato, we may 
 find them first, in the fact that it is a direct derivative 
 from one of the great theses of the Republic.l Socrates 
 in the first words of Book X. rejoices in the decree 
 which has been framed against poetry because he sees 
 its justice more clearly now that the various parts of 
 the soul have been distinguished^ It is the natural 
 pleasure of the thinker who finds it possible to correlate 
 two previous conclusions by making the one depend 
 upon the other. fSecond, Plato is so fully possessed by 
 the idea that reason must be exalted and given un- 
 questioned supremacy that he is disposed to dwarf all 
 the other faculties of the soul^ It is another instance 
 of the spirit which leads him to carry out a great princi- 
 
General Consideratiortf and Conclusions 151 
 
 pie to the furthest point without heeding what seem 
 to him the minor results of such a course. 
 
 The third argument of Book X.^" seems to me a corol- 
 lary of the second, though possessing less of the purely 
 theoretical character. The best of us, he says, are 
 harmed by seeing upon the stage or reading, tolerating 
 and even praising, those things which we should be 
 ashamed of in ourselves, whether mere indulgence of 
 the feelings, low jests, or exhibitions of passion or 
 anger. Here is an argument which we can more readily 
 accept, at the same tinje noting that it deals with the 
 drama and epic which Plato actually knew and that it 
 has much in common with the criticisms of Books II. 
 and III. In those books Plato is condemning the 
 ascription of unseemly deeds to gods and heroes; here 
 he argues that all representation or description of un- 
 seemly deeds is harmful. That mere indulgence of the 
 emotions should be placed in this category is question- 
 able, but Plato assumes that point here as in the die?" 
 
 rin tinn irnpn^Hiit r lT TT rr rrdin g Our judgment on this 
 
 phase of the question must be the same in the one case 
 as in the other. But we must agree with Plato that the 
 toleration of that which we as well as he would con- 
 sider reprehensible is harmful.^ Schleiermacher^i does, 
 indeed, argue fairly that this criticism "nicht die drama- 
 tische und dramatisierende Dichtkunst an und Jiir sich 
 treffen kann, sondern nur filr eine gewisse niedere Stufe 
 sittlicher Bildung" ; but even though this be true Plato 
 is still presenting a strong case against Greek epic and 
 drama, — and Plato is establishing above all a Greek 
 '" Cf. supra p. 87. ^ Introduction to the Republic, p. 56. 
 
152 Plato's Studies and Criticisms of the Poets 
 
 state. jTwo of the strongest articles in his creed — 
 first, tKe view that reason must be exalted and the 
 emotions repressed, and second, the belief that the low 
 moral tone of epic and tragedy outweighed other points 
 of excellence — here united to form a final argument in 
 support of a decree which seemed to him already fully 
 justified. 
 
 In the final judgment of banishment which now im- 
 mediately foUows^^ Plato recalls again the plea of 
 Homer's partisans that he has educated Greece and that 
 he is profitable for instruction in all things. This plea 
 Plato has^ready refuted (?) in his own way.^' Since, 
 therefor^ Uj ^ omer d oes not profit his readers but only 
 gives them pleasure, he cannot be received into a state 
 where law and reason are to rule, not pleasure and 
 
 mj ^So at the supreme moment the utilitarian ele- 
 
 ment^ of the question is made all prominent. Olomer 
 gives us no useful instruction: the pleasure which he 
 aflFords we do not regard and even fear: therefore we 
 cannot recedaejjim^ There is nothing for which Plato 
 has been more harshly criticized than for thus trying the 
 poets "by the unfair and prosaic test of utility, "_fy 
 for employing arguments against Homer which "sick 
 iiber die Betrachtungsweise des Ion nicht erheben,"^ 
 Gbr "regarding Homer only on the paedagogic side and 
 taking no account of his genuine functions."^' The 
 dent answer, it seems to me, to these strictures is 
 [Plato is simply attacking the view of those whom 
 
 sufSdeni 
 that^a 
 
 22 606 D.-607 A. 23 599 B.-600 E. Cf. supra pp. 85, 86. ^ijowett, 
 Introduction to the Republic, p. clvii. 26 Rassow, p. 14. 26 Grote, 
 Plato, I. pp. 456-7. 
 
General Consideratiorm and Conclusions 153 
 
 he wished to convince, the view that the poets zvere 
 profitable for instructi on.^ Since this view hejd such 
 complete sway among the Greeks, anc ^inceylato is 
 trying above all to rob the poets of theif position as 
 teachers and establish philosophy as the guiding and 
 educating force,^' he must needs frame his arguments 
 with reference to the object which he has set for himself 
 and to the conditions which confr ont hirn!j If he could 
 prove the unsoundness of the popular belief respecting 
 the poets, he would thereby deprive them of their claim 
 to regard and justify to his Greek opponent the decree 
 of banishment^ PJato himself could have offered a far 
 better defence of poetry than the "eulogists of Homer," 
 whose arguments he meets. V We cannot deny him on 
 account of the words which he employs against the poets 
 the adequate appreciation of their art which he proves 
 both by the poetic beauty of his dialogues and by his 
 sympathetic and understanding allusions to poetry and 
 the poets.J We should be discrediting the literary 
 judgment of one of the greatest of literary artists if we 
 should say that Plato did not comprehend the greatness 
 of Homer and the tragedians. yHe mu st have under- 
 stood that the poets deal with ideal existences, not 
 merely imperfect copies, and so may inspire and ele- 
 
 " This is nowhere so clearly shown as in the significant passage 
 from the Laws (811 C. D.) in which Plato, after having condemned 
 the usual system of education which consists in the study of poetry, 
 proposes that the discussion which is now proceeding (i.e. the Laws) 
 and any others of like nature should be employed as text-books in- 
 stead of the works of the poets. Here in his old age he states openly 
 the belief and purpose which have almost as visibly guided him in 
 his earlier writings. 
 
154 Plato's Studies and Criticisms of the Poets 
 
 vate; he must have felt the artistic in their works and 
 could not have thought that he was doing them justice 
 to include all this under the category of the pleasure 
 which they give. Why, then, if he realized the func- 
 tion and worth of poetry, did he not receive it into the 
 state for the good which it could do instead of banishing 
 it because it could not do all of which it had been 
 supposed capable? The ^mwer must be again that he 
 feared half-way measures.j Writing for those who 
 ere weaker and duller Of cmnprehension than himself, 
 e feared to sanction an art which contained harmful 
 elements and despaired of being able to fix a new con- 
 ception of its mission which might eliminate harmful 
 effects. He shut his eyes to that which was good in the 
 poets because it seemed to him that it was outweighed 
 by the evil, and at the same time was not worthy to be 
 compared with the benefits which men might derive 
 from philosophy if they could be won away from their 
 belief in the poets as educators. Plato cannot be 
 wholly fair to the poets as he cannot be wholly fair to 
 the sophists; but the unfairness is due in each case to 
 the earnest moral purpose of his whole work. Standing 
 between a demoralizing orthodoxy founded by the poets 
 and the still more demoralizing scepticism of the 
 sophists, he attacks the one and th e other alike% The 
 present discussion has failed of its aim it it has not shown 
 that his hostility to poetry is due to many good reasons 
 and that the arguments which he employs against the 
 poets have more real weight than has usually been 
 ascribed to them. 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY 
 
 Stallbaum, Platonis Opera Omnia, 183 5-1 869. 
 
 Cron und Deuschle, Platons Ausgewahlte Schriften, 
 
 I-VI, Leipzig, 1884-91. 
 Schmelzer, Platos Ausgewahlte Dialoge, VII. (Der 
 
 Staat), Berlin, 1884. 
 Schleiermacher, Platons Werke, III. i (Der Staat), 
 
 Ber lin, 1828. 
 IjowettjThe Dialogues of Plato, 3rd Ed., New York 
 
 and London, 1892. 
 Grote, Plato and the other companions of Sokrates, 
 
 London, 1865. 
 Zeller, Die Philosophie der Griechen, I. (4th Ed.) and 
 
 II. I (3rd Ed.), Leipzig, 1875-6. 
 Windelband, Geschichte der alten Philosophie; in I. 
 
 Miillers Handbuch der Klass, Altertums-Wissen- 
 
 schaft, V. I. B.; Nordlingen, 1888. 
 Miiller, Die griechischen Privataltertiimer; in I. Miillers 
 
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 Hermann-Bliimner, Lehrbuch der griechischen Privatal- 
 
 terthiimer, 3rd Ed.; in Hermann's Lehrbuch der 
 
 griechischen Antiquitaten, IV.; Freiburg i. B. und 
 
 Tiibingen, 1882. 
 Krause, Geschichte der Erziehung, des Unterrichts und 
 
 der Bildung bei der Griechen, Etruskern und 
 
 Romern, Halle, 1851. 
 
 155 
 
156 Bibliography 
 
 Grasberger, Erziehung und Unterricht im klassischen 
 
 Alterthum, II. and III., Wiirzburg, 1875-81. 
 Volquardsen, Platon's Idee des personlichen Geistes 
 
 und seine Lehre iiber Erziehung, Schulunterricht 
 
 und wissenschaftliche Bildung, Berlin, i860. 
 Plutarch, De liberis educandis, De poetis audiendis, 
 
 and De Musica. 
 Packard, Studies in Greek Thought, Boston, 1886. 
 Christ, Geschichte der griechischen Litteratur; in I. 
 
 Miillers Handbuch, VII; Miinchen, 1890. 
 MahafFy, History of Classical Greek Literature, I. i, 
 
 London and New York, 1895. 
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 1894. 
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 1880. 
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Bibliography 157 
 
 REFERENCES ARE TO THE FOLLOWING EDITIONS: 
 
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 Xenophon, Memorabilia, Breitenhach-Miicke, 1889; 
 
 Symposium and Apology, Sauppe, 1866. 
 Homer, Iliad, Ameis-Hentze, 1882-86; Odyssey, the 
 
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NOTES ON THE TABLES 
 
 Where a Homeric passage which is quoted or referred 
 to by Plato appears in both poems or in different books 
 of the same poem, the reference in the Tables is only 
 to the place of its first appearance, i.e. in the Iliad 
 rather than the Odyssey and in an earlier rather than 
 a later book of the same poem. 
 
 The Tables of References include not only passages 
 where Plato is directly alluding to a specific line or lines 
 but also those in which similarity of thought or expres- 
 sion makes it seem possible that he has in mind the 
 corresponding words of some poet. Where the refer- 
 ence is to a sentiment of uncertain authorship, that 
 fact has been indicated by the character x. 
 

 tSpi 
 
 iiSikMSki 
 
 -!:i!:i=;3^ii; 
 
 T , 1-1 ■ 
 
 rHt1itlHt*i'«tVl". 
 
 ;i'.4itt;iitkt>>iiM;)tMjM4*MHtbiijtiintowt(t^