The Sophists. 155 Moreover, Plato's ill opinion of these men lasted through life, and was not a mere ebullition of youthful petulance, or a hasty prepossession taken up upon partial knowledge or hearsay evi- dence, to be laid down again as easily upon maturer investiga- tion. For not only is one of them introduced in a most disad- vantageous character in the Republic, a late work and of a very serious tone ; but also in what is probably one of the very latest of his writings, the Laws, there is a long passage, which, though no name is given, is proved by unmistakeable allusions to their known tenets to have reference to them, containing an account of their doctrines, and carrying with it a most severe condemna- tion. And here there was no temptation to exaggerate in order to produce a ludicrous effect ; for this dialogue has a purely didac- tic character, and the passage referred to is of the gravest kind. It occurs de Legg. x. 888. e. sq. ; and may be found quoted at length in Ritter and Preller's Hist. Phil. Ch. iv. 183. Mr Grote bestows only a passing observation upon it in a note, p. 530; I will therefore give the substance of it. The author first men- tions a distinction insisted upon by ' some' between (f>v<ris, rvxn and Texvt) in their cosmology and social philosophy. All the greatest and best things are due to nature and chance, the smaller and less important to art. The world was created by nature and chance; by accidental collision of the elements all things are produced therein : reason was not concerned in it, nor God, nor art, i. e. design or skill. * Art is of mortal origin ; all that is formed by it is shadowy and untrue. Laws originating not in nature but art or custom are also unreal, resting on no solid foundation. The Gods exist by art, not by nature but by certain laws, and are different to different men, [i. e. they have no real existence, but are mere fictions of governors and lawgivers assumed for their own convenience and assented to by the governed.] Things beautiful are some by <j>v<ris and others by vofxos or convention. Things just are not by nature at all : [i. e. justice is a mere convention ; there are no such things as absolute and general principles of justice :] mankind are constantly call- ing them in question and altering them : and whatever altera- tions they chance to make at any given time, those for that time have force and authority, being the product of art and the laws but in no sense of nature : [in other words, whatever men choose to consider just at a given time and place, that
