53$ PYTHOGOREAN WRITINGS* 



needful. Herein therefore is nothing againft tranfmi- 

 gration. But what is in favour of it is the conclufton : 

 <6 All this.," fays Tirraeus, 6( hath Nemefis, in con- 

 junction with the fubterranean deities who revenge the 

 crimes, and watch over the actions of mankind, efta- 

 blifhed in the other period." This relates to nothing 

 but the tranfmigration, as what was lafl fpoken of; 

 from whence it follows, that, far from combating it, 

 he rather adopts it in all ferioufnefs. 



After thefe obfervations we ftiall not lay much ftrefs 

 on the following queftion : Why has no one of the an- 

 tients, previous to Clemens Alexandrinus, cited Ti- 

 mseus ? Why is he not once mentioned by that Alci 

 mus who was fo keen in detecting the plagiarifm of 

 Plato ? We fhall immediately recollect that Timon 

 lived before Clemens, and that the latter has quoted 

 him, according to the expofition of two philofophers ; 

 that the pafTage from Gellius cannot be fafely alledged 

 againft this expofition ; that consequently Clemens is 

 not the firft that names him. The conclufion that will 

 be naturally drawn from hence is, that we fhould rind 

 him oftener quoted, if the writings of remoter periods, 

 particularly of the learned Chryfippus, and the works 

 of the antients on the hiftory of philofophy had come 

 down to our times. In that cafe we mould not fo very 

 much wonder that Alcimus, though he fo accurately 

 traced out the plagiarifm of Plato, has not fpoken of 

 Jiim, as we do not know how far the reading and eru- 

 dition of this Alcimus may have extended. 



Perhaps, however, Ariftotle, who is fo bufied in 

 jhveftigating the fources from whence his matter drew 

 his knowledge, mentions him ? — The bufmefs of 



Ariftotle 



