THE PROBLEM OF INFINITY 167 



time is rather practical than theoretical, rather in relation 

 to our desires than in relation to truth. A truer image 

 of the world, I think, is obtained by picturing things as 

 entering into the stream of time from an eternal world 

 outside, than from a view which regards time as the 

 devouring tyrant of all that is. Both in thought and 

 in feeling, to realise the unimportance of time is the 

 gate of wisdom. But unimportance is not unreality ; 

 and therefore what we shall have to say about Zeno's 

 arguments in support of Parmenides must be mainly 

 critical. 



The relation of Zeno to Parmenides is explained by 

 Plato l in the dialogue in which Socrates, as a young 

 man, learns logical acumen and philosophic disinterested- 

 ness from their dialectic. I quote from Jowett's 

 translation : 



" I see, Parmenides, said Socrates, that Zeno is your 

 second self in his writings too ; he puts what you say in 

 another way, and would fain deceive us into believing 

 that he is telling us what is new. For you, in your 

 poems, say All is one, and of this you adduce excellent 

 proofs ; and he on the other hand says There is no 

 Many ; and on behalf of this he offers overwhelming 

 evidence. To deceive the world, as you have done, by 

 saying the same thing in different ways, one of you 

 affirming the one, and the other denying the many, is a 

 strain of art beyond the reach of most of us. 



" Yes, Socrates, said Zeno. But although you are as 

 keen as a Spartan hound in pursuing the track, you do 

 not quite apprehend the true motive of the composition, 

 which is not really such an ambitious work as you 

 imagine ; for what you speak of was an accident ; I had 

 no serious intention of deceiving the world. The truth 



1 Parmenides, 128 A-D. 



