to in the Philebus, and no answer is given to them. Nor have they ever
been answered, nor can they be answered by any one else who separates the
phenomenal from the real. To suppose that Plato, at a later period of his
life, reached a point of view from which he was able to answer them, is a
groundless assumption. The real progress of Plato's own mind has been
partly concealed from us by the dogmatic statements of Aristotle, and also
by the degeneracy of his own followers, with whom a doctrine of numbers
quickly superseded Ideas.

As a preparation for answering some of the difficulties which have been
suggested, we may begin by sketching the first portion of the dialogue:--

Cephalus, of Clazomenae in Ionia, the birthplace of Anaxagoras, a citizen
of no mean city in the history of philosophy, who is the narrator of the
dialogue, describes himself as meeting Adeimantus and Glaucon in the Agora
at Athens. 'Welcome, Cephalus: can we do anything for you in Athens?'
'Why, yes: I came to ask a favour of you. First, tell me your half-
brother's name, which I have forgotten--he was a mere child when I was last
here;--I know his father's, which is Pyrilampes.' 'Yes, and the name of
our brother is Antiphon. But why do you ask?' 'Let me introduce to you
some countrymen of mine, who are lovers of philosophy; they have heard that
Antiphon remembers a conversation of Socrates with Parmenides and Zeno, of
which the report came to him from Pythodorus, Zeno's friend.' 'That is
quite true.' 'And can they hear the dialogue?' 'Nothing easier; in the
days of his youth he made a careful study of the piece; at present, his
thoughts have another direction: he takes after his grandfather, and has
given up philosophy for horses.'

'We went to look for him, and found him giving instructions to a worker in
brass about a bridle. When he had done with him, and had learned from his