ACA 



ACA 



who followed the doctrine of Socrates and 

 Plato, us to the uncertainty of knowledge, 

 and the incomprehensibility of truth. 



Academic, in this sense, amounts to 

 much the same with Platonlst ; the differ- 

 ence between them being- only in point of 

 time. They who embraced the system of 

 Plato, among the ancients, were called 

 Academici ; whereas those \vhohave done 

 the same, since the restoration of learn- 

 ing 1 , have assumed the denomination of 

 Platonists. We usually reckon three sects 

 of Academics ; though some make five. 

 The ancient Academy was that which was 

 founded by Plato ; and consisted of those 

 followers of this eminent philosopher, who 

 taught the doctrine of their master with- 

 out mixture or corruption. The first of 

 these was Speusippus ; he was succeeded 

 I >y X e nocrates. After his death the direc- 

 tion of the academy devolved upon Pole- 

 ino, and then upon Crates, and terminated 

 with Grantor. After the death of Crates, 

 :i new tribe of philosophers arose, who, on 

 account of certain innovations in their 

 manner of philosophising-, which in some 

 measure receded from the Platonic sys- 

 tem, without entirely deserting it, have 

 been distinguished by the appellation of 

 the Second, or Middle Academy. The 

 first preceptor who appears in this class, 

 and who, in consequence of the innova- 

 tions which he introduced into the Pla- 

 tonic school, has been commonly consi- 

 dered as the founder of this noadcniy, is 

 Arccsilaus. Hcfore the time of Arcesi- 

 latis, it war, never denied, that useful opi- 

 nions may be deduced from the 

 Two sects arose about this time, which 

 threatened the destruction of the Platonic 

 system; one. was founded by Pyrrho, 

 which held the doctrine of universal scep- 

 ticism, and the other by /eno, which main- 

 tained the certainty of human knowledge, 

 and taught with great confidence a doc- 

 trine essentially different from that of 

 Plato. In this situation, Arcesilaus thought 



ii iieeessan to exercise ft cautious roe ire 



with regard to the doctrine of his master, 

 and to conceal his opinions from the vul- 

 gar, under the appearance of doubt and 

 uncertainty. Professing to derhe his doc- 

 trine COnceroingthe uncertainty of know- 

 ledge from Socrates, Plato, and other 

 philosophers, he maintained, that though 

 there is a ival certainty in the nature of 

 things, every thing is uncertain to the hu- 

 man understanding, and conseipiently that 

 all confident assertions an unreasonable. 

 He thought it disgraceful to assent to anv 

 proposition, the truth of which is not fully 

 established, and maintained, tfcat in aH 



questions, opposite opinions may be sup- 

 ported by arguments of equal v. 

 lie disputed against the. testimony of \he 

 senses, ami the authority of reason ; ac- 

 knowledging, at the same time, that they 

 furnish probable opinions sufh'cientfor the 

 conduct of life. However, his secret de- 

 sign seems to have been to establish the 

 doctrine of Plato, that 1 he knowledge de- 

 rived from sensible objects is uncertain, 

 and that the onl\ t rue science is that which 

 is employed upon the immutable 

 of intelligence, op ideas. 



After the death of Arcesilaus, the Pla- 

 tonic school was successively under the 

 care of Lacydc s, who is said to have found- 

 ed a new school, merely because he 

 changed the place of instruction, and held 

 it in the garden of Attains, within the li- 

 mits of the Academic grove, and of I'.van- 

 derand Egesinus. Arcesilaus, however, 

 had opposed the Stoics, and other dogma- 

 tical philosopher*, with such violence, and 

 extended his doctrine of uncertainty so 

 far, as to alarm not only the general body 

 of philosophers, who treated him as a com- 

 mon enemy to philosophy, but even the 

 governors of the state, who apprehended 

 that his opinions would dissolve all the 

 bonds of social virtue and of religion. Iis 

 successors, therefore, found it difficult to 

 support the credit of the academy ; and 

 Curneades, one of the disciples of this 

 school, relinquished, at least in words, 

 some of the more obnoxious tenets of Ai- 

 ccsilaus. 



From this period the Platonic school 

 assumed the appellation of the New Aca- 

 demy, which mat be reckoned the third 

 in order from its first establishment. It 

 was the doctrine of this academy, thatthe 

 senses, the understanding, and the imagi- 

 nation, frequent 1\ deceive us-, and there- 

 fore cannot be infallible judge) of truth ; 

 but that, from the impressions pn 

 on the mind, by means of the senses, call- 

 ed by Carneades phantasies, or images.we 

 infer appearances oft rut h,or probabilities. 

 These images do not always correspond 

 to ihe real natmv of things, and then 1 is 

 no infallible method of determining when 

 thcv are tnie or false ; and consequently 

 they afford no cert-tin criterion Of truth. 

 Hut, with respect to the conduct of life, 

 and the pursuit of happiness, probable 

 appearances are a sufficient guide, be- 

 cause it is unreasonable no 1 to allow some 

 degree of credit to those witue.ws \\lu> 

 commonly ;;':\e a true report. 



\C.\DF.MY, i" Grecian antiquity, a 

 large villa in one of the suburbs of Athens, 

 whcrr th<' vf of nhilosoplvers called Aca- 



