No written exposition can keep clear of these chances of error 355
Relations of Plato with Dionysius II. and the friends of the deceased Dion. Pretensions of Dionysius to understand and expound Plato's doctrines _ib._
Impossibility of teaching by written exposition assumed by Plato; the assumption intelligible in his day 357
Standard by which Plato tested the efficacy of the expository process.--Power of sustaining a Sokratic cross-examination 358
Plato never published any of the lectures which he delivered at the Academy _ib._
Plato would never publish his philosophical opinions in his own name; but he may have published them in the dialogues under the name of others 360
Groups into which the dialogues admit of being thrown 361
Distribution made by Thrasyllus defective, but still useful--Dialogues of Search, Dialogues of Exposition _ib._
Dialogues of Exposition--present affirmative result. Dialogues of Search are wanting in that attribute 362
The distribution coincides mainly with that of Aristotle--Dialectic, Demonstrative 363
Classification of Thrasyllus in its details. He applies his own principles erroneously 364
The classification, as it would stand, if his principles were applied correctly 365
Preponderance of the searching and testing dialogues over the expository and dogmatical 366
Dialogues of Search--sub-classes among them recognised by Thrasyllus--Gymnastic and Agonistic, &c. _ib._
Philosophy, as now understood, includes authoritative teaching, positive results, direct proofs _ib._
The Platonic Dialogues of Search disclaim authority and teaching--assume truth to be unknown to all alike--follow a process devious as well as fruitless 367
The questioner has no predetermined course, but follows the lead given by the respondent in his answers _ib._
Relation of teacher and learner. Appeal to authority is suppressed 368
In the modern world the search for truth is put out of sight. Every writer or talker professes to have already found it, and to proclaim it to others 369
The search for truth by various interlocutors was a recognised process in the Sokratic age. Acute negative Dialectic of Sokrates 370
Negative procedure supposed to be represented by the Sophists and the Megarici; discouraged and censured by historians of philosophy 371