Knowledge, Theory of -- Early works to 1800; Philosophy -- Early works to 1800
Everything points to the conclusion that this part of the
dialogue was mainly drawn by Cicero from the writings of Clitomachus.
Catulus was followed by Hortensius, who in some way spoke in favour of
Antiochean opinions, but to what extent is uncertain[256]. I think it
extremely probable that he gave a résumé of the history of philosophy,
corresponding to the speech of Varro in the beginning of the _Academica
Posteriora_. One main reason in favour of this view is the difficulty of
understanding to whom, if not to Hortensius, the substance of the speech
could have been assigned in the first edition. In the _Academica
Posteriora_ it was necessary to make Varro speak first and not second as
Hortensius did; this accounts for the disappearance in the second edition
of the polemical argument of Hortensius[257], which would be appropriate
only in the mouth of one who was answering a speech already made. On the
view I have taken, there would be little difficulty in the fact that
Hortensius now advocates a dogmatic philosophy, though in the lost dialogue
which bore his name he had argued against philosophy altogether[258], and
denied that philosophy and wisdom were at all the same thing[259]. Such a
historical résumé as I have supposed Hortensius to give would be within the
reach of any cultivated man of the time, and would only be put forward to
show that the New Academic revolt against the supposed old
Academico-Peripatetic school was unjustifiable. There is actual warrant for
stating that his exposition of Antiochus was merely superficial[260]. We
are thus relieved from the necessity of forcing the meaning of the word
_commoveris_[261], from which Krische infers that the dialogue, entitled
_Hortensius_, had ended in a conversion to philosophy of the orator from
whom it was named. To any such conversion we have nowhere else any
allusion.
The relation in which Hortensius stood to Cicero, also his character and
attainments, are too well known to need mention here. He seems to have been
as nearly innocent of any acquaintance with philosophy as it was possible
for an educated man to be. Cicero's materials for the speech of Hortensius
were, doubtless, drawn from the published works and oral teaching of
Antiochus.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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