54<> PYTHAGOREAN WRITINGS. 



fequently before the alexandrine fanatical impoftures 

 were put in practice ; and Sextus was certainly the man 

 to have detected this impofture if he had had but the 

 fmalleft furmife of it. No evidence is at all in being 

 from the antients concerning the forgery of this work ; 

 on the hiftorical fide there is therefore nothing to be 

 alledged againft it, of any importance. 



But if we are difpofed to give way to conjectures, it 

 is certain that many things, with great appearance of 

 truth, may be advanced on the oppofite fide : and it 

 ffiuft be confeffed, that the anonymus already fo often 

 cited comes upon us in this way with great ingenuity. 

 His arguments are as follow : r. It is fomewhat furpri- 

 fing that all the philosophers before Philo, who lived in 

 the firft century, neither quote Ocellus nor mention his 

 totally new fyftem. Neither Plato, nor Ariftotle, nor 

 Galen, nor Plutarch, all of them philofophers of im- 

 menfe reading, once take the leaft notice of him. I 

 know that lilence cannot always be admitted as tefti- 

 mony againft the authenticity of a writing. But a 

 filence fo general as this, and amid fuch circumftances, 

 is always an inexplicable myftery. 



That this inexplicable myftery is no irrefragable 

 proof,, is not to be denied, and the author himfelf feems 

 to confefs as much. At moft it can only awaken fome 

 fufpicion, fo long as it is not fhewn that thefaid philo- 

 fophers ought absolutely to have named Ocellus. But, 

 if it be evinced by other arguments, that nothing was 

 more natural than this filence ; then all fufpicion falls 

 to the ground. And this, I think, may be done, with- 

 out much difficulty. Plato very feldom quotes more 

 antient authors by name, unlefs when he wants expreflly 



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