SOCRATES. 39 



complained of, he applied himself to undermine their credit, and to 

 open the eyes of their disciples. With this object in view, he pursued He opposes 

 a line of conduct, in all respects, the reverse of that which distinguished SjJ^hfets 

 the sophists. Instead of appearing in the places of public resort in a 

 gorgeous robe, he was remarkable for the meanness of his dress, and 

 of his whole appearance. Instead of professing the talent of harangu- 

 ing copiously and elegantly, he declared himself wholly ignorant of 

 such arts; and instead of delivering at length lectures upon given 

 subjects, he conversed in the way of short questions and answers. He 

 used to make his appearance, as it were by accident, amidst the nume- 

 rous tribe of Athenians who were listening to Gorgias, or some other 

 famous sophist; and professing his admiration of such talents and 

 eloquence, lamented the straitness of his means, which debarred him 

 from the advantage of becoming a scholar of so able a master. He 

 would then, with seeming diffidence, propose a simple question to the 

 sophist, to which an eloquent but diffuse reply would be given. Upon 

 which, Socrates requests him so far to humour his infirmity and slow 

 comprehension, as to proceed step by step. When this was done, he 

 soon manifested the clearness and justice of his own ideas, and the 

 confused and inconsistent notions of the sophists ; reducing him by a 

 series of simple, but closely-connected questions, to admit the truth 

 which Socrates desired to prove. It was in vain that the sophist 

 ridiculed or found fault with his opponent for descending to minutiae, 

 and arguing in detail, to the exclusion of all eloquence and common- 

 place; in vain did he treat with contempt the maxims of common 

 sense and of plain downright morality, which were at variance with 

 his own notions as to the best methods of prospering in life. Socrates 

 returned with coolness and temper to the charge ; and by a series of 

 such attacks, closely followed up, he exposed the shallowness and in- 

 consistency of those pretenders to wisdom. 



It does not appear very clearly, at what period of his life Socrates 

 began to attract public notice as a teacher of philosophy, nor how long 

 a period of time he continued his attacks upon the sophists, before he 

 produced a strong impression upon the public mind. For some time 

 he was himself considered to be one of that class of teachers ; and 

 when Aristophanes introduced him upon the stage, he was probably 

 just risen into eminence, although it should seem, from the represent- 

 ation given of him in * The Clouds,' that his real character and mode 

 of philosophising were not known to the great comic poet. Socrates 

 was then about forty-six years of age. To this subject we shall revert 

 presently. 



We may probably refer to his ironical mode of teaching the cele- The demon' 

 brated ^aip.6viov, or genius of Socrates, which, he said, in various of Socrates * 

 emergencies, admonished him what course to pursue, and enabled him 

 to predict, in many cases, what was about to happen. It was, in fact, 

 neither more nor less than common sense or right judgment ; a faculty 

 which he possessed in an eminent degree, and which he made the 



