528 PYTHAGOREAN WRITINGS, 



occaiioned Plato to compofe his like-named Timseus^ 

 which likewife Timon, the author of the fatires, does in 

 the following words : For a round fum of money he 

 bought a little book, and from this he got the materials 

 for compoling his Timaeus) fays, in his book of the 

 nature of the world and the foul, as follows, &c *. 



From thefe testimonies we miift conclude, that, if 

 there be a book exifting which; has great limilarity with 

 the Timaeus of Plato, in regard to its principles, and 

 which that platonift acknowledged for the model of 

 this dialogue : then muft it be the very fame that 

 Plato made ufe of ; that is, it muft be that antient work 

 of Timaeus the pythagorean. All which perfectly 

 agrees with this work ; confequently, &:c. 



As there are never wanting people who take what- 

 ever is liable to fome doubt to be abfolutely unauthen- 

 tic ; fo this proof has met with its opponents. There- 

 fore, previous to our giving it full credit, it will be 

 neceflary to bring it to the teft of thefe contrary argu- 

 ments. On occallon of a review of Timaeus, the ano- 

 nymous author brings againft it the following obferva- 

 tion : Timon ./the fyllographer pretends only to know 

 of one book, from whence Plato compofed his Timaeus. 

 Jamblichus expounds Tipocwypcopzfr as if it Signified, Plato 

 wrote out the Timaeus. But this is contrary to the 

 common mode of fpeech, by which it means nothing 

 more than that Plato wrote a Timaeus. Gellius under- 

 flood it fo where he fays that Plato bought the books 

 of Philolaus, and thence compofed his Timaeus 



* Jamblichus, fn Arithmetica Nicomachi. 



f Bibliotbeca Pbilologica, vol. i, p. 210, Goettingeri, 1770. 



That 



