Plato and the Other Companions of Sokrates, 3rd ed. Volume 3Grote, George
Philosophy
Plato and the Other Companions of Sokrates, 3rd ed. Volume 3
Grote, George
Philosophy, Ancient; Plato; Socrates, 470 BC-399 BC
The universe is all flux or motion, divided into two immense
concurrent streams of force, one active, the other passive;
adapted one to the other, but each including many varieties. One
of these is Object: the other is, sentient, cognizant, concipient,
Subject. Object as well as Subject is, in itself and separately,
indeterminate and unintelligible--a mere chaotic Agent or Patient.
It is only by copulation and friction with each other that they
generate any definite or intelligible result. Every such
copulation, between parts adapted to each other, generates a twin
offspring: two correlative and inseparable results infinitely
diversified, but always born in appropriate pairs:[32] a definite
perception or feeling, on the subjective side--a definite thing
perceived or felt, on the objective. There cannot be one of these
without the other: there can be no objective manifestation without
its subjective correlate, nor any subjective without its
objective. This is true not merely about the external
senses--touch, taste, smell, sight, hearing--but also about the
internal,--hot and cold, pleasure and pain, desire, fear, and
all the countless variety of our feelings which have no separate
names.[33] Each of these varieties of feeling has its own object
co-existent and correlating with it. Sight, hearing, and smell,
move and generate rapidly and from afar; touch and taste, slowly
and only from immediate vicinity: but the principle is the same in
all. Thus, _e.g._, when the visual power of the eye comes into
reciprocal action with its appropriate objective agent, the result
between them is, that the visual power passes out of its abstract
and indeterminate state into a concrete and particular act of
vision--the seeing a white stone or wood: while the objective
force also passes out of its abstract and indeterminate state into
concrete--so that it is no longer whiteness, but a piece of white
stone or wood actually seen.[34]
[Footnote 32: Plato, Theætêt. p. 156 A. [Greek: ô(s to\ pa=n
ki/nêsis ê)=n, kai\ a)/llo para\ tou=to ou)de/n, tê=s de\
kinê/seôs du/o ei)/dê, plê/thei me\n a)/peiron e(ka/teron,
du/namin de\ to\ me\n poiei=n e)/chon, to\ de\ pa/schein. E)k de\
tê=s tou/tôn o(mili/as te kai\ tri/pseôs pro\s a)/llêla gi/gnetai
e)/kgona] plê/thei me\n a)/peira, di/duma de/--to\ me\n
ai)sthêto/n, to\ de\ ai)/sthêsis], a)ei\ sunekpi/ptousa kai\
gennôme/nê meta\ tou= ai)sthêtou=.]]
[Footnote 33: Plato, Theætêt. p. 156 B.]
[Footnote 34: Plato, Theætêt. p. 156 E. [Greek: o( me\n
o)phthalmo\s a)/ra o)/pseôs e)/mpleôs e)ge/neto kai\ o(ra=| dê\
to/te kai\ _e)ge/neto ou)/ ti o)/psis a)lla\ o)phthalmo\s o(rô=n_,
to\ de\ xuggennê=san to\ chrô=ma leuko/têtos perieplê/sthê kai\
_e)ge/neto ou) leuko/tês au)=_ a)lla\ leuko/n, ei)/te xu/lon
ei)/te li/thos ei)/te o(tiou=n xune/bê chrê=ma chrôsthê=nai tô=|
toiou/tô| chrô/mati.]
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