This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.
This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1874 edition. Excerpt: ...auToffsdtaarcxd, but nothing written nor publish'd as a Dramatic Poem: so that Phalaris is still to be indicted for a Sophist; for saying his two Fairy Poets wrote Tragedies against him.3) Nay the very word Tragedy was not heard of then at Sicyon; though Herodotus names Tpaytxobs %opoug, The Tragical Chorus's; which by and by shall be consider'd. Mr. B. is so very obliging,4) that if Til suffer my self to he taught by him, he'll set me right in my Notion of Tragedy. I am willing to be taught by any body, much more by the great Mr. B. though as to this particular of Tragedy, I dare not honour my Self, as Mr. B. honours his Teacher,5) by telling him, That the Foundation of all the little knowledge I have in this matter was laid by Him. For there's nothing true in the long Lecture that he reads to me here about Tragedy, but what I might have learnt out of Aristotle, Julius Scaliger, Gerard Vossius, Marmora Oxoniensia, and other common Books. And as for the 887 Singularities in it, which I could not have learnt in other places, (if I, who am here to be taught, may use such freedom with my Master) they are such Lessons, as I hope I am now too old to learn. I will not sift into them too minutely; for I'll observe the respect and distance that's due to him from his Scholar: but there's one Particular, that I must not omit; when he tells me, as out of Aristotle, that the Subject of Primitive Tragedy was Satyrical Reproofs of vicious Men and Manners of the times: ) so that he explains very dextrously, as he thinks, the Expression of Phalaris, That the Poets wrote Tragedies Against him: for the meaning, he says,8) is this, That they wrote Lampoons, and abusive Satyrical Copies of Verses upon him. But it were well, if this would be a warning to him, ...
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This volume collects the famous 'Phalaris' and four other classic works of scholarship by the renowned 18th-century classicist Richard Bentley. Bentley's works challenged prevailing assumptions about classical literature and helped shape the field of classical scholarship we know today. This edition features a detailed introduction and notes by classicist W. Wagner, making it accessible and informative for modern readers. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
The Seventh Platonic Letter describes Plato's attempts to turn the ruler of Sicily, Dionysius II, into a philosopher ruler along the lines of the Republic. It explains why Plato turned from politics to philosophy in his youth and how he then tried to apply his ideas to actual politics later on. It also sets out his views about language, writing and philosophy. As such, it represents a potentially crucial source of information about Plato, who tells us almost nothing about himself in his dialogues. But is it genuine? Scholars have debated the issue for centuries, although recent opinion has moved in its favour. The origin of this book was a seminar given in Oxford in 2001 by Myles Burnyeat and Michael Frede, two of the most eminent scholars of ancient philosophy in recent decades. Michael Frede begins by casting doubt on the Letter by looking at it from the general perspective of letter writing in antiquity, when it was quite normal to fabricate letters by famous figures from the past. Both then attack the authenticity of the letter head-on by showing how its philosophical content conflicts with what we find in the Platonic dialogues. They also reflect on the question of why the Letter was written, whether as an attempt to exculpate Plato from the charge of meddling in politics (Frede), or as an attempt to portray, through literary means, the ways in which human weakness and emotions can lead to disasters in political life (Burnyeat).
