[Footnote 10: TRANSLATOR'S NOTE.--Goethe invariably inveighed against the "gnoti seauton" of the Socratic school; he was of the opinion that an animal which tries to see its inner self must be sick.] 2. A CRITICISM OF GREEK PHILOSOPHY. 427. The apparition of Greek philosophers since the time of Socrates is a symptom of decadence; the anti-Hellenic instincts become paramount. The "_Sophist_" is still quite Hellenic--as are also Anaxagoras, Democritus, and the great Ionians; but only as transitional forms. The _polis_ loses its faith in the unity of its culture, in its rights of dominion over every other _polis...._ Cultures, that is to say, "the gods," are exchanged, and thus the belief in the exclusive prerogative of the _deus autochthonus_ is lost. Good and Evil of whatever origin get mixed: the boundaries separating good from evil gradually _vanish...._ This is the "Sophist." ... On the other hand, the "philosopher" is the _reactionary_: he insists upon the _old_ virtues. He sees the reason of decay in the decay of institutions: he therefore wishes to revive _old_ institutions;--he sees decay in the decline of authority: he therefore endeavours to find _new_ authorities (he travels abroad, explores foreign literature and exotic religions....);--he will reinstate the _ideal polis,_ after the concept "polis" has become superannuated (just, as the Jews kept themselves together as a "people" after they had fallen into slavery). They become interested in all tyrants: their desire is to re-establish virtue with "_force majeure_". Gradually everything _genuinely Hellenic_ is held responsible for the state of _decay_ (and Plato is just as ungrateful to Pericles, Homer, tragedy, and rhetoric as the prophets are to David and Saul). _The downfall of Greece is conceived as an objection to the fundamental principles of Hellenic culture: the profound error of philosophers_--Conclusion: the Greek world perishes. The cause thereof: Homer, mythology, ancient morality, etc. The anti-Hellenic development of philosophers' valuations:--the Egyptian influence ("Life after death" made into law....);--the Semitic influence (the "dignity of the sage," the "Sheik");--the Pythagorean influence, the subterranean cults, Silence, means of terrorisation consisting of appeals to a "Beyond," _mathematics_: the religious valuation consisting of a sort of intimacy with a cosmic entity;--the sacerdotal, ascetic, and transcendental influences;--the _dialectical_ influence,--I am of opinion that even Plato already betrays revolting and pedantic meticulousness in his concepts!--Decline of good intellectual taste: the hateful noisiness of every kind of direct dialectics seems no longer to be felt.