THE GREEK SCHOOL PHILOSOPHY, 493 



and from man ; and the whole mass of them may be termed the World 

 of Things purely Intelligible. 



Further ; there are qualities in the Supreme aud "Ultimate Cause of 

 all, which are manifested in his creation ; and not merely manifested, 

 but in a manner — after being brought out of his super-essential nature 

 into the sta^e of beine; which is below him, but next to him — are 

 then, by the causative act of creation, deposited in things, differencing 

 them one from the other, so that the things participate of them 

 (fiETexovci), communicate with them (icoivwvovoi). 



The Intelligence of man, excited to reflection by the impressions of 

 these objects, thus (though themselves transitory) participant of a 

 divine quality, may rise to higher conceptions of the perfections thus 

 faintly exhibited ; and inasmuch as the perfections are unquestionably 

 real existences, and known to be such in the very act of contemplation, 

 this may he regarded as a distinct intellectual apprehension of them ; 

 — a union of the Reason with the Ideas in that sphere of being which 

 is common to both. 



Finally, the Reason, in proportion as it learns to contemplate the 

 Perfect and Eternal, desires the enjoyment of such contemplations in 

 a more consummate degree, and cannot be fully satisfied except in the 

 actual fruition of the Perfect itself. 



These propositions taken together constitute the Theory of Ideas. 

 When we have to treat of the Philosophy of Science, it may be worth 

 our while to resume the consideration of this subject. 



In this part of the History, the Timceus of Plato is referred to as 

 an example of the loose notions of the Greek philosophers in their 

 physical reasonings. And undoubtedly this Dialogue does remarkably 

 exemplify the boldness of the early Greek attempts at generalization 

 on such subjects. Yet in this and in other parts the writings of Plato 

 contain speculations which may be regarded as containing germs of 

 true physical science ; inasmuch as they assume that the phenomena 

 of the world are governed by mathematical laws ; — by relations of space 

 and number ; — and endeavor, too boldly, no doubt, but not vaguely or 

 loosely, to assign those laws. The Platonic writings offer, in this way, 

 so much that forms a Prelude to the Astronomy and other Physical 

 Sciences of the Greeks, that they will deserve our notice, as supplying 

 materials for the next two Books of the History, in which these sub- 

 jects are treated of. 



