PYTHAGOREAN WRITINGS. 53 I 



derftood their Greek, have explained him otherwife ; 

 and two philofophers are unqueftionably of more au- 

 thority than one compilator. 



However, let us for once admit that the teftirnony 

 of the two philofophers is of no value, and fee what 

 will follow. Nothing more than that Plato's Timaeus 

 was borrowed from a writing of Philolaus. For Timon 

 fays in plain terms, that Plato bought for much money 

 a little book and drew up his Timaeus from it. His 

 expofitors fay, that this book was a book of Timaeus 

 of Locri, or of Philolaus. Timaeus is rejected ; there- 

 fore, Philolaus remains alone. This can be no other 

 book than that on Nature, as the compofltion of the 

 other works of this man have no refembknce with the 

 contents of the Timaeus of Plato > Now, the begin- 

 ning of this book runs thus : All nature, the world, 

 and whatever is in the world, confifts of finite and in- 

 finite things*. This axiom will be fought for in vain 

 in Plato's Timaeus ; we fhall therefore juftiy conclude 

 that the work of Philolaus was not his model ; that it 

 confequently mufh be our Timaeus, as the only one, 

 of all the antients, whofe ideas are like thofe of Plato. 



I am not ignorant, that it may plaufibly be urged 

 againft this proof, that the little piece of Timaeus may 

 be compofed from the platonic Timaeus. This method 

 has actually been adopted by the anonymous critic 

 abovementioned ; who has endeavoured to fecure his 

 argument againft all attacks by various batteries, appa^ 

 rently formidable. It will be neceffary to examine this 

 matter a little more clofely. 



* Dbg, Laert. viii. 

 m m a 



In 



