232 



PLATOFF 



PLAUTUS 



along with other fragments of Platonic translations in 

 Mr Ituxton Forman's edition of Ins Work*), Professor 

 Jowett has made Plato an English classic ( Tram, with 

 Introduction*, 2d ed. 5 voU. 1X75: The Republic, separ- 

 ately, 3d ed. revised 1888). In the 'Golden Treasury' 

 aerie* are included translations of The Republic by 

 Daries and Vauglun, of the Euthyph.ro, Apology, Crito, 

 PHcttlo ( under title Trial and Death of Sorratet ), by F. J. 

 Church, and of the Phtedria, Lytit, and frotnporat, 

 by Joiah Wright. Among more important Kn^li-li 

 editions of separate dialogues nmy be named the Apolo<iy, 

 by Riddell ; Phtrdru* and Gorgiat, by Thompson ; 

 I'hilebui, by Badham and by Puste; Thnrteliu, Sophist, 

 Stalrtman, by Campbell ; I'hirdo and Timaun, by Archer- 

 Hind ; J'hii'ln, by Uudtlen ; and the Republic, by 

 Jowett and L. Campbell (18114). Among works on 

 Plato's pbilODOphy may In- named Unite's Plato; 

 W la-well's Platunie Diaioyuet (1800); Zeller's Plato; 

 W. Pater's Pluto and Platonum (18113) ; T. B. Strong's 

 Platonim ( 1896 ) ; liussell's The Hchool of Plato ( 18% ) ; 

 and the relevant sections in the Histories of Philosophy 

 by Schwegler, Ueberweg. Krdmann. Lutoslawski in The 

 Origin of Plato'* Logic (1897) rearranged the order of 

 Plato's works on the ground of style alone, the doctrine 

 of the ideas as objective existences being, he asserts, 

 but a pawing phase. For Plato's influence on Christian 

 theology, see Hatch's Hibbert Lectures (1888); Bigg, 

 The Chrutian Platonutt of Alexandria ( 1886 ). For the 

 Cambridge Platonista, see the articles LATITUDINARIAXS, 

 CUDWORTH, MOKE, SMITH (JOHN), WHICHCOTK. 



PlatoflT, MATVEI IVANOVICH, COUNT, was born 

 at Azov, 17th August 1757. He served in the 

 Turkish campaign of 1770-71, and in subsequent 

 ware showed such capacity and courage that lie 

 was named by Alexander I. in 1801 Hetman of 

 the Cossacks of the Don. As such lie took part 

 in the campaigns against the French. 1805-7, and, 

 after the enemy had evacuated Moscow, hung 

 upon their rear with pitiless pertinacity, wearing 

 them out by incessant attacks, cutting off strag- 

 gling parties, and capturing their convoys of pro- 

 visions. He defeated Lefebvre at Altenburg, 28th 

 May 1813. After the French disaster at LaLpxig 

 lie harassed their retreat on French soil, gainetl a 

 victory at I, ami, and made his name memorable by 

 the devastations of his hordes of semi-savages. He 

 was enthusiastically welcomed, and presented witli 

 a sword of honour on the occasion of his visit to 

 London in company with Bliicher. The czar gave 

 him the title of Count in 1812. After the war he 

 retired to his own country, and died near Tcherkask, 

 15th January 1818. 



Platonic Love, the love of soul for soul, a 

 love into which sensual desire is supposed not to 

 enter at all. See the last paragraph but one in the 

 article PLATO. 



Platt-Dcittsch. or Low GERMAN, the direct 



descendant nf <)!<! Saxon, anil a sister tongue of 

 High (icrm.-in. is spoken today in dillerent dialect* 

 by the peasantry of north Germany from tin: Uhine 

 to Pomcrania. It InOongs to the same group as 

 Hutch, Flemish, and Frisian. Low German softens 

 the consonants, but avoids the deep sibilants of 

 High German as spoken in the smith, ami li.-- 

 simiile grammatical rules. It is very appropriate 

 in tin- mouths of the people who use it, their chief 

 characteristics being naivete, a childlike good 

 nature, and sturdy honesty; and it lends itaelf 

 readily as a vehicle for fairy-tales, folk-tales, and 

 simple folk-songs, such as those collected in 

 r'irmenich's Grruiitnir.ns Volkcrstimmtn. Klaus 

 Groth (o.v.) and Frit/. Renter (q.v.)have jjivcn it 

 a high literary standing. Minor writers in Low 

 German are Borncmann, Burmeister, Giesebrecht, 

 and Brinckmann. 



8*0 Oroth, Brit ft ilber Horhnrultch tind PtatUieubch 

 (1888); and Oaedertr, Dai JTMinbatMll Xfhn,j,i,l 

 (2 Tola. 18X4 ). See also the articles GKKMANT ( LAN- 



OtJAfiK AND LITERATURE), URIMK's LAW, EtJLENKPIIOIL, 

 BCTNARD THE Fox. 



IMattc. or NKHKASKA, an affluent of th# 

 Missouri River, is formed by the junction in west 

 ct'iitral Nebraska of the North and South Forks, 

 which rise among the liocky Mountains, in Colorado, 

 are respectively some 800 'and 550 miles long, and 

 are neither of them navigable. The general course 

 of the I'latie is eastward, in a wide shallow stream, 

 over the treeless plains of Nebraska, till it reaches 

 the Missouri after a winding course of about 450> 

 milt's. \Vith its forks it drains some 300,000 sq. in., 

 but like them it is not navigable. 



Platt'ii-S>c. See BALATON. 



PlattshnrK, capital of Clinton county, New 

 York, on Lake Cliamplain, at the month of the 

 river Saranac, 73 milt's by rail S. of Montreal. It 

 has planing mills, machine-shops, and an iron- 

 furnace, and manufactures wagons anil sewing- 

 machines. In Plattsbnrg Bay, on Septemlxr 

 II, 1814, a British flotilla of sixteen vessels was- 

 defeated and partly captured by Commander 

 Thomas Macdonough, with fourteen vessels ; while 

 a large land force, under Sir George Prevost, was- 

 repulsed by General Macomb, with 1500 men. Pop. 

 8434. 



PlattsniOllth, capital of Cass county, Ne- 

 braska, is on the Missouri, about a mile below 

 the month of the Platte, anil 21 miles by rail S. of 

 Omaha. It manufactures Hour, wagons, engines, 

 reed-organs, &c. Pop. (1880) 4175; (1900) 4'.i. 



Platypus. See ORNITHORHVNCHUS. 



Plauen, one of the most important manufac- 

 turing towns of Saxony, stands in the south-west 

 corner, on the Elster, 78 miles S. of Leipzig by rail. 

 Its chief industries are the manufacture of cotton 

 goods, muslin, cambric, jaconet, and embroidered 

 fabrics, with in a secondary degree cigars, paper, 

 machinery. Pop. ( 1875) 281756 ; ( 1890) 46,899. 



PlautDS, M. Acciys (or more correctly T. 

 Maccius), the chief comic poet of Rome, and prob- 

 ably among his own countrymen the most popular 

 Roman author of any age, was born aliont 250 B.C. 

 at Sarsina, a village in Umhria, a district which 

 must at this time have been thoroughly Latinised. 

 \Ve have no knowledge of his early life and educa- 

 tion, but it is probable that he came into Knme 

 while still young, and acquired there his complete 

 mastery of the most idiomatic Latin. Though 

 born in the country, he introduces countrymen 

 chiefly as subjects for ridicule ; he always writes- 

 as a townsman, familiar with city life, esjiecially 

 among freed men, craftsmen, and the middle classes. 

 At Home he found employment in connection with 

 the stage, of what kind precisely we do not know. 

 In this position he saved money enough to enable- 

 him to leave Home and start in business on his own 

 account in the way of foreign trade . and such 

 early thrift shows strong character and determina- 

 tion to rise in the world. His plays evince clo^e 

 familiarity with seafaring life and adventure, and an 

 intimate knowledge of all the details of buying and 

 selling and keeping accounts experience probably 

 aoiiiiired tin ring this period. \\e know that he 

 failed in bii-iness, ami returned to Koine in such 

 poverty that he had to earn his livelihood in the 

 service of a l>aker by turning a hand-mill, work 

 generally performed by slaves. At this time, shortly 

 Iwfore the second I'nnic war broke out, be was proo- 

 ably alxmt thirty years of age, and while in this 

 humble occupation he composed three plays which 

 he sold to the managers of the public games. The 

 price paid him enabled him to leave the mill, and 

 lie spent the rest of his life at Rome. Probably he 

 commenced to write about 224 B.C., and for forty 

 years, until liis death in 184, he continued to pro- 

 duce comedies with wonderful fecundity. Most of 

 the plays we have belong to the last ten years of 



