v. Of the Platonic Theory of Ideas. By W. Whewell, D.D. Master of Trinity 



College, Cambridge. 



^Read November 10, 1856.] 



Though Plato has, in recent times, had many readers and admirers among our English 

 scholars, there has been an air of unreality and inconsistency about the commendation which 

 most of these professed adherents have given to his doctrines. This appears to be no captious 

 criticism, for instance, when those who speak of him as immeasurably superior in argument to 

 his opponents, do not venture to produce his arguments in a definite form as able to bear the 

 tug of modern controversy; — when they use his own Greek phrases as essential to the expo- 

 sition of his doctrines, and speak as if these phrases could not be adequately rendered in 

 English; — and when they assent to those among the systems of philosophy of modern times 

 which are the most clearly opposed to the system of Plato. It seems not unreasonable to 

 require, on the contrary, that if Plato is to supply a philosophy for us, it must be a phi- 

 losophy which can be expressed in our own language; — that his system, if we hold it to be 

 well founded, shall compel us to deny the opposite systems, modern as well as ancient; — and 

 that, so far as we hold Plato''s doctrines to be satisfactorily established, we should be able to 

 produce the arguments for them, and to refute the arguments against them. These seem 

 reasonable requirements of the adherents of any philosophy, and therefore, of Plato's. 



I regard it as a fortunate circumstance, that we have recently had presented to us an 

 exposition of Plato's philosophy which does conform to those reasonable conditions; and we 

 may discuss this exposition with the less reserve, since its accomplished author, though 

 belonging to this generation, is no longer alive. I refer to the Lectures on the History of 

 Ancient Philosophy, by the late Professor Butler of Dublin. In these Lectures, we find an 

 account of the Platonic Philosophy which shews that the writer had considered it as, what it 

 is, an attempt to solve large problems, which in all ages force themselves upon the notice of 

 thoughtful men. In Lectures VIII. and X., of the Second Series, especially, we have a 

 statement of the Platonic Theory of Ideas, which may be made a convenient starting point 

 for such remarks as I wish at present to make. I will transcribe this account; omitting, 

 as I do so, the expressions which Professor Butler uses, in order to present the theory, not as 

 a dogmatical assertion, but as a view, at leas>t not extravagant. For this purpose, he says, of 

 the successive portions of the theory, that one is "not too absurd to be maintained;" that 

 another is " not very extravagant either;" that a third is " surely allowable;" that a fourth 



