The Court of the Gentiles Part 2, Book 3 · Chapter 3
CHAP. III. Of Plato's Life, and Travels for Oriental Traditions.
Plato's Original, and Inſtruction under Socrates: his travels into Italy, to acquaint himſelf with the Pythagorean Philoſophie, which he was inſtructed in by Archytas the Tarentine, Timaeus the Locrian, Epicarmus, &c. Plato's travels into Egypt where he informed himſelf in the Jewiſh Wiſdome, and Myſteries, viz. touching the Origine of the Univerſe, the Immortalitie of the Soul, the Fall; alſo concerning God, his Nature, Ideas, Providence, &c. That Plato might receive information from the Jews, and Jewiſh Oracles, whilst in Egypt, by reaſon of his skill in the Egyptian tongue, or by ſome Interpreter. What emprovement Plato received as to Jewiſh Traditions from the Phenicians, their Theologie, and Philoſophie, &c. Plato's Academie, his Character, and Works.
The Hiſtorie of Plato's life.§. 1. WE have in the foregoing Chapter by inartificial Demonſtration, or Testimonies proved, that Plato traduced the choiceſt of his Contemplations from the Jewiſh Church, and Scriptures. We now proceed to the foreign; to demonſtrate the ſame from the cauſes, means, and wayes by which Plato gained theſe Jewiſh traditions. For the clearing whereof we ſhall give ſome brief hiſtorical relation of Plato's Life, Praeceptors, and Travels, whereby it will be manifeſt, what advantages he had to acquaint himſelf with the Jewiſh Philoſophie, and Myſteries. Auſtin de Civit. l. 8. c. 4. gives us this good, though ſhort account hereof. But amongſt the Diſciples of Socrates, Plato indeed, who altogether obſcured the reſt, deſervedly ſhines with moſt excelling glory. Who being an Athenian of a good familie, & of an admirable ingenie, far excelled his Condiſciples: yet counting his own capacitie, & endeavours, with the emprov…ment of Socrates's Inſtructions inſufficient for the perfecting of Philoſophie, he travelled far, and near, whereever the fame of gaining any noble Science led him. Therefore in Egypt he learned whatever was greatly eſteemed, and taught there; and thence coming into thoſe parts of Italy where the fame of the Pythagoreans was celebrated, he learned there the whole of Italick Philoſophie, which then flouriſhed, having heard the moſt eminent of the Doctors thereof, &c. Thus Auſtin, wherein he gives us a full relation of Plato's travels, though he differs ſomewhat from Laertius, and others, as to method, &c. as hereafter we ſhall conſider this general ſtorie in it's ſeverals.
Plato's original.§. 2. Plato was born at Athens in the 88th. Olympiad (as Ludov. Vives in Auguſt. l. 8. cap. 4.) Apuleius l. 1. de Dogm. Plat. tells us, That Plato was ſo Sirnamed from the large habitude of his bodie (which was the common opinion) for he was at firſt called Ariſtocles, though ſome think, he was called Plato from the amplitude of his Speech, and Eloquence. His Parents were Ariſt. and Perictione, his Fathers ſtock related to Codrus the laſt King of Athens, his Mothers to Solon, that famous Athenian Legiſlator, whence Plato (as I take it in his Timaeus …peaking of Solon, calls him his Kinſman, &c. Plato's firſt Praeceptor was Socrates with whom it's ſaid he lived Eight years,His inſtitution under Socrates in which time he committed the ſubſtance of Socrates's diſcourſes to writing, but with great mixture, and addition of his own; which gave much offence to Xenophon his condiſciple, who in an Epiſtle to Aeſchines Socraticus (mentioned by Euſebius Praepar. Evang. l. 24.) upbraids Plato for corrupting Socrates's Philoſophie by Pythagorean, Barbarick, Egyptian, and his own intermixtures. And Diogenes lib. 3. writes, that there was little friendſhip, but much emulation 'twixt Plato, and Xenophon. For they both writ their Sympoſium, their Apologie for Socrates, and their Moral Commentaries. Plato in his books of Laws ſaies, that Xenophon's foreign was fictitious. Though they both greatly extol Socrates, yet they make little mention each of other. From Socrates it was, that Plato received the chiefeſt of his Morals, as 'tis generally confeſt; and ſhall be hereafter mentioned. After Socrates's death Plato applyed himſelf to Cratylus, the Diciple of Heraclitus, from whom we may preſume he received good inſtructions, for he makes him the chief ſubject of one of his Dialogues. Plato primitus Heracliti ſecta imbutus, poſtea vero Socratis Diſciplinae traditus, Clariſſimus omnium Philoſophorum evaſit. Plato being firſt of all of the Heraclitian Sect, and afterwards determining to be of the Socratick Diſcipline, became the moſt famous of all the Philoſophers. Apul. l. 1. de Philoſ. Plato afterward addreſſes himſelf to Hermogenes, who followed Parmenides's Philoſophie, from whom we may ſuppoſe he borrowed many of his Metaphyſick Contemplations about Divine Ideas, of which he diſcourſeth at large in his Dialogue called Parmenides. After theſe Plato had recourſe to Euclid the founder of the Megarick Sect: whence he went to Cyrene to be inſtructed by Theodorus the Mathematician, &c.
§ 3. Plato having a natural affection,Platos's travels into Magna Graecia & inſtructions from the Pythagoreans. and ſtrong inclination unto the Pythagorick Philoſophie, as that which carried with it moſt of Divine Myſteries, & therefore ſuited beſt with his luxuriant Phanſie, he travels into Italie, that part which was called Magna Graecia, where Pythagoras had Philoſophized, and left behind him many Admirers, and Sectators of his Diſcipline. Amongſt theſe Pythagoreans Plato heard at Tarentum Archytas the Elder, and Euritus. Plato Pythagoricae, praeter caeteras omnes diſciplinae particeps eſt. Euſ. contra Hieroc.Amongſt the Locrians he heard Timaeus the Locrian, from whom he is ſuppoſed to have borrowed many of his traditions touching the Origine of the Univerſe, its parts, &c. So Ludov. Vives on Auſt. in Civ. lib. 8. c. 11. Speaking of Plato's Timaeus, ſaies he, called this book ſo, becauſe Timaeus the Locrian is induced diſputing of the Univerſe, whom he heard in Italie, who alſo writ in the Dorick tongue of the Univerſe, from which Book Plato borrowed many things. Thus Ludov. Vives. Yea indeed Plato's very Dialect in his Timaeus is Dorick, (differing from his other Dialogues) which argues, that not only the matter, but alſo the very words, and ſtyle were taken from Timaeus his Book of the Univerſe. So alſo Jerome in his Apologie againſt Ruffinus tells us, that Plato was inſtructed in the Pythagorean Learning by Archytas the Tarentine, and Timaeus the Lorian. Farther, at Croto Plato heard Philolaus the Pythagorean. Beſides, Plato received light, and inſtruction from other Pythagorean Authors, namely, Lyſis the Pythagorean, whom he makes the ſubject of his Dialogue called foreign: alſo from the Books of Epicarmus, alias Cous that famous Pythagorean Philoſopher. So Lud. Vives in Auſtin Civ. l. 8. c. 11. Alcinus (ſaies he) in his books, he writ to Amynthas teacheth, that Plato borrowed his opinion of Ideas out of the Books of Epicarmus, who was Cous a Philoſopher of the Pythagorean Sect, whom in times paſt they make to excell others of the Learned, as the Sun amongſt the Stars, and the Sea amongſt the Rivers: He writ of the Nature of things, &c. From Plato's great affectation, and imitation of the Pythagorean Philoſophie it came to paſſe that in the writings of the Ancients, the Names of Platoniſts, and Pythagoreans are oft confounded. So Euſebius lib. 14. Praecep. ca. conſidering Plato himſelf in himſelf, we call him a Pythagorean. The like Apuleius Flor. 15. Plato differing little, or nothing from this Sect does Pythagorize. And the ſame Apuleius lib. 1. de Philoſ. gives this account of Plato's diverting from the Socratick Philoſophie to the Pythagorean. When Socrates had bid farewel to Human affairs, Plato deflected from the Socraticks, whoſe affaires were then doubtful, to the Pythagoreans, ſeeking what proficience he might gain among them. And he went twice into Italie, where he heard the Pythagoreans Euritus, and Archytas the Senior. Thus Hornius Hiſt. Phil. l. 3. c. 14. And that Plato indeed greatly valued Pythagorean writing, is evident by what Laertius relates, namely that three Pythagoreans Books coſt him no leſſe than One Hundred Attick Pounds, i. e. 3000. Karoles; for an Attick pound conſiſts of 20 Karoles, as Voſſius de Philoſ. Sect. cap. 12. §. 3. As for the time of Plato's abode in Italie, Cicero in Catone writes, that Plato came to Tarentum when L. Aemilius, and Ap. Claudius were Conſuls: though according to Livie this account will not hold. Now that the Pythagorick Philoſophie was traduced from the Jewiſh Oracles we have before ſufficiently proved, Book 2. chap. 5. §. 2.
§. 4. But the greateſt advantage,Plato's travels into Egypt, where he informed himſelf in the Jewiſh wiſdom. that Plato had to informe himſelf in the Jewiſh wiſdom, and myſteries, was his travels into Egypt, which Laertius makes to have been after his departure from Italie, though Auſtin in what was before cited, ſuppoſeth him to have travelled from Egypt into Italie: Others reconcile both, by affirming that Plato went firſt unto Italie, thence into Egypt, from whence he returned back again into Italie. Plato non contentus diſciplinis quas praeſtare poterant Athenae, non Pythagoraeorum, ad quos in Italiam navigaverat, Aegypti quo que Sacerdotes adiit, at que eroū arcana perdidicit. Quincil. lib. 1. cap. 19. Plato not ſatisfied with what Learning Athens could afford, nor yet with that of the Pythagoreans, to whom he had made a Voyage into Italie; had recourſe alſo to the Prieſts of Egypt, and became throughly acquainted with their Myſteries, Thus Quintil. But the account of Laertius ſeems moſt probable, (which Voſſius adheres unto) who ſuppoſeth, that Plato's laſt Voyage was into Egypt, wherein he was accompanied with Euripides, or, as Voſſius, with Eudoxus, where he had 13 years converſation with the Egyptian Priests, as Strabo lib. 17. Cicero tells us, that Plato's deſign in Travelling to Egypt, was to informe himſelf in Arithmetick, and the Celeſtial Speculations of the Barbarians, &c. That under this notion of the Barbarians muſt be underſtood, if not excluſively, yet, incluſively,Quae ejus p… regrinatio omnium celeberr…ms fuit. Nam in Aegypto Praecipuum Sacerdotem Sech …phim Heliopolitanum, ut Conuphim, Eudoxus audivit Hornius Hiſt. Phil. l. 3. c. 14. the Jews, is a common received perſuaſion of the Learned, both Ancient, and Moderne, as Juſtin Martyr, Clemens Alexandrinus, Origen, Epiphanius, Serranus, &c. And this is moſt certain, that about the time of Plato's abode in Egypt, there were great numbers of the Jews who reſorted thither, and we may no way doubt, that he, who had ſuch an unſatiable thirſt after Oriental Traditions, and Myſteries for the ſatisfying whereof he left no Perſons, Places, or Records unexamined, would let paſſe ſuch a conſiderable partie of men, as the Jews were, who pretended unto, and that upon good grounds, the moſt ancient Records, Traditions, and Myſteries. Surely we cannot rationally judge, that Plato's curioſitie, or humor ſo greedie after myſterious wiſdom would neglect ſo great opportunitie, as he had for the inſtructing himſelf in the Jewiſh Wiſdom, whilſt he was in Egypt. Beſides, we have before, (Book 1. Chap. 3.) proved, that the choiceſt parts of the Egyptian Philoſophie, were of Jewiſh extract; ſo that what Plato gained here, may well be reckoned to be of Jewiſh Original.Plato whilſt in Egypt learned from the Jewiſh Doctrine. 1. The Origine of the Univerſe. This will be farther evident, if we take a view of ſome particular Collections which Plato made whilſt he was in Egypt. We are told. 1. (Epiſt. Socrat. 26.) that Plato having taken a view of the chief parts of Egypt, at laſt ſetled himſelf in the Province of Sais, where he was inſtructed by the Wiſe men, touching their Opinions of the Univerſe, whether it had a beginning? &c. Now that all Plato's Traditions about the Origine of the Ʋniverſe were of Jewiſh Origination, we ſhall hereafter prove. 2. Pauſanias affirmes, that Plato learned alſo from theſe Wiſe men of Sais, the immortalitie of the Soul, &c. which was evidently a derivation from the Jewiſh Oracles. 3. Origen (againſt Celſus, lib. 4. pag. 189.) conceives, that Plato, by converſe with the Jews in Egypt, received ſome notices of Adam's fall, which in his Sympoſiacks, he Symbolically ſets forth under the Fable of Porus (i. e. Adam) his being Drunk with Nectar, and going into Jupiters Garden, (i. e. Paradiſe) &c. This he conceives more probable, becauſe of Plato's manner, foreign, to hide his great Phaenomena's, or Dogmes, under the Figure of ſome Fable by reaſon of the vulgar. And in what follows, he makes mention of Plato's Artifice in diſcolouring, and diſguiſing thoſe Traditions he received from the Jews, leſt by owning them, as the Authors of his Learning, he ſhould diſguſt the Fabulous Greeks, who had no reſpect for the Jews, &c. 4. Yea, indeed the chiefeſt part, if not the whole of thoſe Divine Myſteries touching God, his perfection, and unitie; his Divine Ideas, and Providence; alſo concerning the Univerſe, its Origine from God, its formation, and animation by the Spirit of God, which he calls Anima Mundi: in like manner, touching the Soul, its Nature, Perfection, in Innocencie, and corruption by the fall, and ſuch like Divine Traditions, which Plato pretends to have learned from the Egyptians, &c. are plainly Jewiſh, as hereafter. Plutarch de Iſide, & Oſiride, tells us, that Plato, whilſt in Egypt, foreign, is ſaid to have heard Chonuphis the Memphite. Clemens Alexandrinus ſaies, that he did foreign, uſe for his Praeceptor Sechnuphis the Egyptian, perhaps the ſame with Plutarch's Chonuphis, and both one and t'other refers to ſome Jewiſh Maſter he found in Egypt, Auſtin lib. 2. de doct. makes mention of Plato's converſe with Jeremie, the Jewiſh Prophet in Egypt, where he went with the Tribe of Juda, and Benjamin, &c. but this Opinion he in his de Civit. l. 8. c. 11. refutes, for that Jeremie dyed before the Perſian Empire began, whereas Plato's being in Egypt, was about the end of the Perſian Empire.How Plato might receive information from the Jewiſh Records whilſt in Egypt. Yet we need no way doubt, but that the memorie of Jeremie, who was ſo famous a Prophet, and had foretold ſuch great events of Providence, even the deſtruction of his own People, &c. could not but remain very freſh and illuſtrious, even to Plato's time: eſpecially if that ſtorie prove true, that Jeremie being buryed under a heap of ſtones at Tanis in Egypt, was worſhipped by the Inhabitants for a preſent remedie they found at his Sepulchre againſt the biting of Serpents. Euſebius refers the beginning of Jeremies Prophecie to the 36th Olympiad; and Plato's birth to the 88th Olympiad: ſo that we may better, with Lud. Vives, ſuppoſe Pythagoras whilſt in Egypt, to have had conference with Jeremie, as before. Yet may we ſafely conjecture, that Plato, whilſt in Egypt, received ſome notices of Jeremie his Fame, and Prophecie, which might engage him to inquire thereinto, as alſo into the Moſaick Books. So Learned Voſſius, de Philoſ. ſect. par. 2. cap. 2. §. 3. having ſhewen the invaliditie of that Opinion touching Plato's perſonal Conference with Jeremie, addes thus: Plato might notwithſtanding read Moſes, if there were any Verſion of him before that Tranſlation of the LXX: of which we have elſewhere debated. And although this might not be, yet it is granted, he might have conference with the Hebrews, and be taught by them; which is made very likely by that Agreement there is of Plato with Moſes in many things: whence that of Numenius the Philoſopher, foreign? Thus Voſſius.
1. We ſhall not inſiſt upon any Verſion of Moſes's Books into Greek as ancient as Plato, though Lud. Vives aſſerts it, as before,Plato's skill in the Egyptian Language, gave him advantage to read the Jewiſh Records. chap. 2. §. 2. yet may we, and that upon warrantable grounds, ſuppoſe, that Plato, (as Pythagoras before him) had ſome ſight of, and capacitie to read Moſes's Books, with Jeremie's Prophecie, &c. not by means of any Greek Verſion, but by virtue of the skill he had in the Egyptian Language, which differed from the Hebrew only in ſome Dialect, as has been before once, and again aſſerted, and proved. Neither can we well imagine, that Plato, who is ſaid to have continued in Egypt 13 Years, could be unacquainted with the Egyptian Language: who knows not, but that a Scholar when he Travels for Learning, the firſt thing he does, is to get the Language of the Countrey? Thus, as we afore obſerved, Pythagoras did in his Travels into Egypt, and Chaldea; and this we need no way doubt, Plato made his firſt buſines after his coming into Egypt. 2. Yea, it ſeems to me ſomewhat probable, that Plato wanted not skill in the Hebrew Tongue: For in his Cratylus, where he gives us the Origination of many Greek Words, he ſaies ſuch, and ſuch came from the Barbarians, implying (as before) the Jews. Amongſt many others, he mentions theſe, foreign, which ſignifies darkneſs, and is evidently derived from the Hebrew foreign Gen. 1.2, 5. for ſo Plato uſeth the Greek foreign to expreſs the Chaos by. The like he ſaies of foreign, which came from the Hebrew foreign exploration: and foreign, from the Heb. foreign, &c. as Serranus in his Preface to Plato's Cratylus. Now how could Plato ſo exactly know, that theſe, with other Greek words, were of Barbarian, or Hebrew origination, if he had not ſome skill in the Hebrew Tongue. This is the Opinion of Auguſtin, de Civit. Dei, l. 8. c. 18. where he ſhews, that Plato, while he was in Egypt, learned the Hebrew Tongue. But this is refuted by ſome, as Hornius, Hiſt. Phil. l. 3. c. 14. 3. Farther, there is very great ground to think, that Plato had skill in the Phenician Tongue, by thoſe many Fables, and Traditions he quotes thence. Now the Phenician Tongue was evidently the ſame for ſubſtance with the Hebrew, as before. That Plato drew much of his Philoſophie from the Phenicians, is the Opinion of Scaliger, Exer. 61. ſect 3. and of Serranus, according to the Citation of Hornius, Hiſt. Philoſ. l. 3. c. 14. Joh. Serranus will have it, that Plato ſpake many things, which he underſtood not, drawn out of the Theologie, and Commentaries of the Phenicians, which ſeems moſt probable to me. For as to the Phenicians, they were foreign, given to Mercature, familiar to the Greeks: alſo they ſent ſeveral Colonies into various parts of the World. Nothing hinders therefore, but that Plato might attain to a more intimate Knowledge of their Theologie. Now the Phenicians had many things common with the Hebrews, &c. ſee more of this, Book 1. Chap. 3, §. 19. That Pythagoras was rendred capable of underſtanding the ſacred Scriptures, by reaſon of his skill in the Egyptian Language, ſee Book 2. Chap. 5. §. 8. which is alſo applicable to Plato; or elſe, if this may ſeem to bold, becauſe a novel Aſſertion, 4. We may with Auſtin, and other Learned, both Ancient, and Modern, groundedly conclude, that Plato, whilſt he was in Egypt (amongſt thoſe many Jews who had recourſe thither) learned by an Interpreter, or by perſonal Converſe with the Jews, many of their Divine Doctrines, and Myſteries, though he underſtood not the genuine import thereof: as in the fore-going Chap. §. 3. This is the Opinion of Learned Serranus, in his Preface to Plato, Truly (ſaies he) Plato, while he was in Egypt, might have conference with the Jews, who were there in great numbers after their diſſipation, and tranſmigration, &c. Though he conceives, that Plato could not read the Scriptures in his own Greek Idiome, into which they were not Tranſlated, till after Alexander's time: of which more hereafter.
§. 5.Plato's Collections from the Phenician Theologie, and Philoſophie. Though we find no expreſs mention of Plato's Travelling to Phaeniciae, yet that he viſited that Countrey alſo, either in his Travels to, or from Egypt, ſeems very probable. For the Phenicians being every way well furniſhed with Jewiſh Traditions, and Myſteries, we cannot conceive that Plato, who was ſo great an Admirer thereof, would let paſſe ſuch an opportunitie for ſatisfying his Curioſitie therein: At leaſt, that he had ſome view of Traditions from the Phenician Philoſophie, and Theologie, ſeems more then probable from Plato's own Confeſſions; for he oft makes mention of a foreign, and foreign, a Syrian, and Phenician Fable or Tradition, which he calls foreign, ineffable, becauſe he neither underſtood, nor could expreſs the mind thereof. Theſe Syrian, or Phenician Fables, which Plato gathered out of the Phenician Theologie, I have before prov'd to be of Jewiſh extract, and therefore unintelligible by the wiſeſt Heathens; and thence 'tis no wonder, that Plato calls them ineffable Fables. Indeed, the moſt of his Jewiſh Traditions, which he gleaned up in thoſe Oriental parts, eſpecially ſuch as referred to the Jewiſh Myſteries, and Divine Worſhip, were to him foreign, ineffable, and unintelligible, and therefore he calls them, foreign, Fables: for foreign, according to its Philoſophick notion, ſignifies ſome Philoſophick Myſterie traduced from the Ancients, the reaſons whereof were conceled, or hidden; and becauſe the firſt Philoſophers, eſpecially Pythagoras, and Plato, were great admirers of theſe Oriental foreign Fables, they are called by Ariſtotle, foreign, Philomythiſts, Lovers of Fables, or Myſtical Traditions, which Ariſtotle rejected, becauſe his Reaſon could not comprehend them. Theſe Phenician Fables Plato much ſtudied, and recreated his curious humour withall, which gives us ſome ground to conjecture, that he was not without skill in the Phenician Tongue, and ſo by conſequence in the Hebrew, which differs only in ſome Dialect therefrom. That Plato took many things out of the Phenician Theologie, which he himſelf underſtood not, is an aſſertion of the learned Julius Scaliger, Exercit. 61. I ſuppoſe he means out of the Theologie of Sanchoniathon, and Mochus the Phyſiologiſt, wherein he follows the ſteps of Pythagoras; as before, Book 2. Some tell us, that Plato had deſigned a journey to viſit the Perſian Magi, and Chaldeans (as Pythagoras before him did) but was prevented by the War, which happened betwixt the Grecians, and Perſians. By all which it is moſt evident, what an infinite thirſt Plato had after Oriental Wiſdom, and Traditions originally Jewiſh: alſo, what an huge advantage he had for the gratifying his Curioſitie herein, firſt, by his Travels into Italie, and converſation with Pythagoreans there; and thence into Egypt, and as we may preſume into Phaenicia alſo, where he met with many Jews, and Jewiſh Records, or Traditions touching Divine Myſteries, which he greedily embraced, without any real underſtanding of their genuine import and ſenſe, whence he turned the glorie of God into a Fable, as he calls his Traditions: or as the Scripture termes them, a lye, Rom. 1.25. who changed the truth of God into a lye. We have a brief Synopſis of Plato's Travels, and peregrinations, given us by Hornius, Hist. Philoſ. l. 3. c. 14. out of Madaurenſis, thus: Plato went to Theodorus Cyrenes to learne Geometrie; and he went ſo far as Egypt to fetch Aſtrologie, as alſo to learne the Rites of the Prophets. He came again into Italie, and followed Euritus, Plato's Academie. Academia à Cad …o nomē accepit non ab Academo: Erat Aedificiū nobile, amplū, amaenum, multis arboribus conſitum, umbram praebentibus, Hornius Hiſt. Philoſ. l. 7. c. 3.and Archytas the Pythagoreans. He had alſo bent his mind towards the Indians, and Magi, had not the Aſiatick Wars hindered him. He alſo went ſome time into Sicilie, to underſtand the cauſe of Aetna's Fire, and to learne their Laws
§. 6. Plato having collected what ſtock he could of Oriental Wiſdom, and Jewiſh Traditions, he returnes home laden (as a Bee with thyme) to Greece, where he inſtitutes his Schole in a Village near Athens, called foreign, Academie, which was, as Laertius tells us, a woody, and marſhy place, and ſo very unhealthie; in former times poſſeſſed by one Ecademus an Heroe, who after his death became a Daemon, for Eupolis Comicus calls him a God. Plutarch in his Cheſew, tells us, that this Ecademus was the firſt who made diſcoverie of Caſtor, and Pollux, of Helena ſtolen away by Theſeus, Mortuo (Plato … ) ſummus ac pene Divinus honor à Diſcipulis habitus. Singulis annis ejus memoriam tanquam Herois celebrabant, teſte Euſebio, l. 10. praep. c. 1.Horn. Hiſt. Philoſ. l. 3. c. 14.whence the Lacedemonians had him alwaies in great honour. From him this Place was called firſt foreign, as Laertius, Heſychius, and Stephanus in foreign; whence afterward, by the change of a Letter, it was called foreign, Academie (though Hornius derives it from Cadmus.) Here Plato ſounded his Schole, which after the new Academie was raiſed, received the ſtile of the old Academie, as hereafter. Laertius writes, that Plato was honorably Buried in this Academie, and that Mithridates King of Pontus, when Athens came under his Juriſdiction, dedicated Plato's Image to the Muſes in this place. And Aelian, lib. 3. ſaies, That the ancient Philoſophers ſo reverenced this place, as that they counted it not lawful to laugh here, becauſe they would have it kept pure from all diſſolution of mind. There were at Athens beſides the Academie, other Scholes, the Lyceum, Prytaneum, Canopum, Stoa, Tempe, Cynoſarges, &c. as Lud. Vives, in Auguſt. Civit.. l. 8. c. 12. Athens was indeed the Eye of Greece, thence called by Euripides, foreign, the Greece of Greece; by Diadorus, foreign; by Thucidides, foreign; by Strabo, foreign, &c.
§. 7. As for Plato's Character, we find him greatly,Plato's character. Philoſophorū quis dubitet Platonem eſſe praecipu… ſive acumine diſſerendi, ſive Eloquentiae facultate divina qu…dā & Homerica? Fabius, l. 10. c. …. and I think too greatly extolled by ſome: Lud. Vives in Aug. Civit. l. 8. c. 4. ſaies of Plato, that many have written his Life, and famous Acts: many place him for his Wiſdom and Morals, above all humane elevation; but truly I would count them ſo far ſhort in their Eſtimation, and love of him, as that if I were not aſſured they were greatly addicted to him, I would ſuſpect they envyed his praiſes. He is deceived in my …pinion, whoſoever he be, that counts Plato not ſomething more than a Man, or truely not of the beſt and rareſt ſo…t of Men. Thus Lud. Vives. So again, in Aug. Civi…. l. 22. c. 28. There are three things (ſaies he) which gained not only Greece, but the whole World to Plato; namely, his Integritie of Life, his Holie P…ecepts, and his Eloquence. Seneca, Epiſt. 44. gives Plato this conciſe Character, Platonem non accepit nobilem Philoſophia, ſed fecit. Philoſophie found not Plato noble, but made him ſo. Euſebius lib. 10. praep. c. 3. ſaies, that Plato excelled all that went before him in Philoſophie, alſo in Eloquence, and in Prudence. The uſual Title they gave him, was the Divine, which was the higheſt Honour. Others there are, who depreſſe him as much. But it is moſt certain, Plato was a Perſon of vaſt Naturals: he had a Spirit ſublime, penetrant, and comprehenſive, even to marvel: a Phancie moſt luxuriant, and pregnant; a Conception readie, and vivid; a Diſcourſe mature, yet weightie; a Reaſon harmonious, and maſculine; a Pen polite, and flouriſhing. In brief, his Natural Capacitie ſeems cloathed with many eminent Qualities, ſeemingly oppoſite with great Lights and heats, force and ſtabilitie, moderation and promptitude, extention and profoundnes, &c. Yet was he not, as to Morals, without great Blemiſhes, which ſtained all the Glorie of his Intellectuals. Pride, which is the Philoſophers Original Sin, had a great predominancie on his Spirit: whence Antiſthenes, ſeeing a Veſſel wherein Plato's Vomit lay, ſaid, I ſee Plato's bile here, but I ſee not his pride; meaning, that his pride ſtuck too cloſe to him to be vomited up. So Diogenes the Cynick coming into Plato's Schole, tramples upon his Bed, ſaying, here I trample on Plato's vainglory &c. He ſeemed alſo addicted to covetouſnes, which he is accuſed of for receiving 80 talents from King Dionyſius (contrary to the practice of his Maſter Socrates) which occaſioned that queſtion foreign whether a wiſe man ſhould ſtudy gain? &c.
Plato's Works.§. 8. Touching Plato's works they are common, and well known. There are ten Dialogues in which the whole of his Philoſophie is thought to be comprehended. In which we muſt diſtinguiſh bewixt Plato's proper opinion, and the opinion of others. His own he layes down in the perſon of Socrates, Timaeus &c. other mens opinions he layes down in the perſon of Gorgias, Protagoras &c. Amongſt theſe Dialogues ſome are Logical, as his Gorgias, and Eutydemus. Some are Ethical, as his Memnon, Eutyphro, Philebus, Crito: ſome are Political, as his Laws, and Common-wealth: ſome are Phyſical, as his Timaeus: ſome are Metaphyſical, as his Parmenides, and Sophista, which yet are not without ſomewhat of Logick. His Epiſtles are by ſome thought ſpurious. The Platonick Definitions, adjoyned to his Works, are ſuppoſed to be compiled by his Succeſſor Pſeuſippus: of which hereafter.