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| タイトル | ： 第13回 |
| 投稿日 | ： 2003/12/13(Sat) 16:37 |
| 投稿者 | ： 惣田正明 <vem13077@nifty.ne.jp> |
第13回テキスト
---はじめ---
The "Chalcedonian giant," Thrasymachus, of whom we have
already heard in the Phaedrus, is the personification of the
Sophists, according to Plato's conception of them, in some of
their worst characteristics. He is vain and blustering,
refusing to discourse unless he is paid, fond of making an
oration, and hoping thereby to escape the inevitable
Socrates; but a mere child in argument, and unable to foresee
that the next "move" (to use a Platonic expression)
will "shut him up." He has reached the stage of framing
general notions, and in this respect is in advance of
Cephalus and Polemarchus. But he is incapable of defending
them in a discussion, and vainly tries to cover his confusion
in banter and insolence. Whether such doctrines as are
attributed to him by Plato were really held either by him or
by any other Sophist is uncertain; in the infancy of
philosophy serious errors about morality might easily grow
up --they are certainly put into the mouths of speakers in
Thucydides; but we are concerned at present with Plato's
description of him, and not with the historical reality. The
inequality of the contest adds greatly to the humor of the
scene. The pompous and empty Sophist is utterly helpless in
the hands of the great master of dialectic, who knows how to
touch all the springs of vanity and weakness in him. He is
greatly irritated by the irony of Socrates, but his noisy and
imbecile rage only lays him more and more open to the thrusts
of his assailant. His determination to cram down their
throats, or put "bodily into their souls" his own words,
elicits a cry of horror from Socrates. The state of his
temper is quite as worthy of remark as the process of the
argument. Nothing is more amusing than his complete
submission when he has been once thoroughly beaten. At first
he seems to continue the discussion with reluctance, but soon
with apparent good-will, and he even testifies his interest
at a later stage by one or two occasional remarks. When
attacked by Glaucon he is humorously protected by
Socrates "as one who has never been his enemy and is now his
friend." From Cicero and Quintilian and from Aristotle's
Rhetoric we learn that the Sophist whom Plato has made so
ridiculous was a man of note whose writings were preserved in
later ages. The play on his name which was made by his
contemporary Herodicus, "thou wast ever bold in battle,"
seems to show that the description of him is not devoid of
verisimilitude.
---終わり---