357 
Devon fhire, 
Nov. 2, 1797: 
re ———— 
To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 
SIR, 
AS the Eleatic method of reafoning, 
© which conftitutes the intelle€tual and 
fcientifie dialedic of Plato, feems to be ut- 
terly unknown to philofcphers of the 
prefent day, 1 doubr not the following 
aecount and illuftration of it, will be 
highly acceptable to the philofophical 
part of your readers. 
Two hypothefes being laid down, viz. 
if a thing is, and if itis not*, each of thefe 
may be. tripled, by confidering in each, 
1. what happens, 2. whut does not happen, 
3. what happens and at the fame time 
does not happen ; fo that fix cafes will be 
the refult. But fince7f a thing is, we may 
confider, 1, either itfelf with refpeé& to 
itfelf; or 2, itfelf with refpeét to others ; 
or, 3, wemay confider others themfelves 
with refpeét to themfelves ; or, 4, others 
with re{pect to that thing itfelf; and fo 
likewife f ashing isnot. Hence the whole 
of this procefs will confift of eight triads, 
“which areas follow: 1. If a thing 15, 
what happens to iifelf with refpeét to it- 
felf, what does not happen, what happens 
and. at the fame time does not happen. 
a. If a thing is, what happens to itfelf 
with refpeét to ethers, what does not 
happen, what happens, and at the fame 
time does not happen. 3. Ifa thing 15, 
what happens to others with refpeét to 
themfelves, what does not happen, what 
happens and at the fame time does not 
-Rappen. 4. Ifa thing is, what happens 
to others with refpeét to that thing, what 
does not happen, what happens, and, at 
the fame time, doesnothappen. And the 
other four, which are founded on the hy- 
‘pothefis, chat a sling is not, are to be dif- 
tributed in exaétly the fame manner. as 
thofe we have jufi enumerated. 
Such is the whole form of the dialeétic 
method of Plate, which was juftly con- 
fidered by the ancients, as the MASTER 
SCIENCE, or rather as THE VERTEX of 
ALL THE SCIENCES, and under which 
thofe four powers, the defizitrve and d:w- 
es noviagel se El See eT eee 
‘ * It muft be obferved, that by the hypothe- 
fis, if a thing is mot, we are not to under- 
frand that the thing fuppofed has no exiftence 
whatever, but that itis fomething different from 
the fabje&t of the hypothefis ; with refpect to 
which i; is a negative, or non-satity. 
Example of the Dialeétic of Plato, by Mr. Talore [Nove 
this kind has ‘lately been eftablifhed in five, 
the demonflrative and analytic, re- 
ceive their confummate perfeétion. 
Plato has given a moft accurate fpeci- 
men of this method, in his Parmenides, 
under the hypothefes if the one is, and if 
ihe one is not; as the Englifh-reader may 
be convinced, by confulting my-tranflation 
of that mof abftrufe dialogue. | The fol- 
iowing isa more obvious illuftration of 
this admirable art, befides which no fpe- 
cimen has, I believe, yet appeared in any 
modern language. ; 
We propofe to confider the confe- 
quences of admitting or denying the ex~ 
iftence of foul. 
If then foul is, the confequences fo it- 
feif, with refpe to itfelf, axe, the felf-mo- 
tive, the felf-vital, andthe felf-fubfiftent : 
but tbe things which do nat follow to itfelf 
with refpe io itfelf, are, the deftrudtion of 
itfelf, the being perfe€tly ignorant, and 
knowing nothing of itfelf. “The confe-- 
quences which follow and de not follow are 
the indivifible, and the divifible * (for in 
a certain refpeét it is divifible, and in @ 
certain refpect, ixdivifible), perpetuity 
and non-perpetuity of being ; for fo far as 
it communicates with intelleét, it 1s eter- 
nal, but fo far as it verges to a corporeal 
nature, it ts mutable. 
Again, if foul is, the confequences 70 7t- 
felf with refpe@ to otber things, 7. e. bodies, 
are communication of motion, the cun- 
neéting of bodies, as long as it is prefent 
with them, together with dominion over 
bodies, according to nature. Frat white 
does not follow, is to move externally ; for 
it is the property of animated natures to 
be moved inwardly ; and to be the caufe 
of reft and immutability to bodies. Fae 
confequences which follow aud do not follow, 
are, to be prefent to bodies, and yet to be 
prefent feparate from them for foul: is 
prefent to them,by its prowsdeniial energies, 
but is’ exempt from them by its éffence, 
becaufe this is incorporeal. And this is 
the firft hexad. 
The fecond hexad is as follows: if foul 
is, the confequence /o erber ibings, 1. e. be- 
dies, with refpe& to ibemfelves, is, fympa- 
thy ; for according to a vivific caufe, bo- 
dies fympathize with each other. But 
that which does not follow, is, the non- fen- | 
fitive ; for in confequence of there being — 
fuch a thing as foul, all things muft ne- 
ceffarily be fenfitive ; fome things pecue 
liarly fo, and others as parts of the whole. 

* For foul, according to Plato, fubfifts be= 
tween intel/e and a corporeal nature ; the former 
of which is perfectly imaizifible, and the latter 
perfcCily divifrble. : Y 
5 , The 

