Million Book Collection - The Fishers of Men Ministries
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Million Book Collection - The Fishers of Men Ministries

Million Book Collection - The Fishers of Men Ministries Million Book Collection - The Fishers of Men Ministries

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416 THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH ANDSocrates, the man who thinks to leave an art inwriting, and he also who receives it as being, whenwritten, something clear and certain, must be verysimple, and be really ignorant of Ammon's oracle,when he thinks that written words are somethingmore than a reminder to one who knows the subjectof the matters about which they are written.Exactly so, Socrates. For surely, Phasdrus,writing shares this troublesome characteristic withpainting. The productions of painting stand thereas if they were alive, but if you ask them a question,preserve a solemn silence. Just so it is withwriting. You may think that they speak withsome meaning, but if you ask what that meaningis, there they stand with just the same word intheir mouth. When once a thing - is written, itis tossed over and over by all who take it in,whether it concerns them or not, and is unableto speak, or to be silent with the proper persons.And if it is maltreated or slandered, it wants itsfather always to help it, for it can neither defendnor help itself. What you say now is also verytrue indeed. But, says Socrates, can we not findanother word, this one's "lawful brother, " and seethe process by which it arises, and how muchbetter and abler than the former it is ? Whatword is this, and how does it arise ? The wordwhich is written on the disciple's soul togetherwith true knowledge, which is able to defend itself,and knows how to speak and to be silent with the

THE GREEK PHILOSOPHY.417proper persons. You mean the living and animatedword of one who has knowledge, whereofthe written word may justly be called the shadow.71I mean that indeed. Tell me now ; an intelligentgardener, who had seeds that he cared for, andwished to bear fruit, would he hurry with themin summer to the gardens of Adonis, plant them,and rejoice to see them springing up with a fair,h k? or w Id th amusement,and in festival-time, if he did it at all, butwhen he took pains would use his erardener's art,sow them at the fitting time, and be too glad if,seven months afterwards, he saw them coming toperfection? Certainly, Socrates, that would bethe difference between his sport and his earnest.Shall we, then, say that he who possesses thescience of justice, honour, and goodness, has lessintelligence than the gardener for his own seeds ?Surely not. He will not, then, hurry to writethem with a pen in ink with words, which cannoton the one hand help themselves with speech, andon the other hand are incapable j. to teach the truthsufficiently. should think he would not. Hewill not ; but as for these written flower-borders ,he will sow and write them, when he does writethem, for amusement, , storing;- up reminders forhimself,'should he come to a forgetfulOold age,O *andfor every one who pursues the same footsteps, and71 rbv rov ¬l^6ros \6yov AtytLSav n \4yotToii.vXoyi °v o ytypaftfAevos et5a>\uvEE

416 THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH ANDSocrates, the man who thinks to leave an art inwriting, and he also who receives it as being, whenwritten, something clear and certain, must be verysimple, and be really ignorant <strong>of</strong> Ammon's oracle,when he thinks that written words are somethingmore than a reminder to one who knows the subject<strong>of</strong> the matters about which they are written.Exactly so, Socrates. For surely, Phasdrus,writing shares this troublesome characteristic withpainting. <strong>The</strong> productions <strong>of</strong> painting stand thereas if they were alive, but if you ask them a question,preserve a solemn silence. Just so it is withwriting. You may think that they speak withsome meaning, but if you ask what that meaningis, there they stand with just the same word intheir mouth. When once a thing - is written, itis tossed over and over by all who take it in,whether it concerns them or not, and is unableto speak, or to be silent with the proper persons.And if it is maltreated or slandered, it wants itsfather always to help it, for it can neither defendnor help itself. What you say now is also verytrue indeed. But, says Socrates, can we not findanother word, this one's "lawful brother, " and seethe process by which it arises, and how muchbetter and abler than the former it is ? Whatword is this, and how does it arise ? <strong>The</strong> wordwhich is written on the disciple's soul togetherwith true knowledge, which is able to defend itself,and knows how to speak and to be silent with the

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