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Untitled Article
of tfce wtrte and th # weaker , bekmgjng of right * d tbe better and the stronger . This it trot ; and you will know it , if you abandon' phl lo ** pjiyv ** d apply yourself to greater pursuits . Philosophy is & jjtice * ltd thing , when it is moderately cultivated , in youth ; but if any on * oecupies bimadf with it beyond the proper age , it rains him . For , however great may be his natural capacity , if he philosophizes too long , hfe must of necessity continue inexperienced in all those things which
one who would be a great and eminent man ought to be experienced in . He must be unacquainted with the laws of his country , and with the raovla of influencing other men in the intercourse of life , whether jirivaie or public , and with the pleasures and passions of men ; in short , with human character and manners . And when such men are catted upon , to aet , whether on a public or private occasion , they expose themselves to ridicule , just as politicians do when they come to your
conversations , and attempt to cope with you in argument . For every man , as Euripides Bays , occupies himself with that in which he finds himself superior ; that in which he is inferior he avoids , and speaks ill of it , but praises what he ^ xcels in , thinking that in doing so he is praising himself . Tbe best thing , in my opinion , is to partake of both . It is good to
partake of philosophy , by way of education , and it is not disgraceful in a young man to philosophize . But if he continues to do so when he grows older , he becomes ridiculous , and I feel towards him as I should towards « grown person who lisped , and played at childish plays . When a child does so , in whom it is becoming , I am pleased , and it appears to me graceful , and suitable to his age ; and if I hear a child speaking
plain , like a grown person , it is disagreeable to me , and has a servile appearance . But if I hear a grown person lisp , or see him at play , I tltink it unmanly and contemptible . So I think of those who philosophize . When I see a young man philosophizing , I think it coaniendable and becoming , and consider him as of a liberal mind , and bold that he who does not philosophize at that age , is vulgar-minded , and will never feel himself capable of any thing noble and exalted . But
when I tee an old man still continuing to philosophize , I think be deserves to be flogged . However great his natural talents , lie is under the necessity of avoiding the assembl y and public places , where , as the poet says , men become eminent , ana to hide himself , and pass his life whispering to two or three striplings in a corner , but never speaking oat any thing great and bold and liberal . I , Socrates , feel towards you as your friend , and am inclined to say to you what Zethus says to Amphion in Euripides , that you neglect what you ought to attend to , and waste
a mind by nature so powerful , in trifling and child's play . Do »<* be angry , for I speak solely from good will towards you . Does it not seem to you a disgraceful thing to be as you are , and as those others bm who make philosophy their occupation ? If any one should charge you with some crime , which you had not committed , and carry you off to p rfcK > nv you would gape and stare , and would not know what to say ; ana when brought to trial , however contemptible and weak your accuser ittigkl be # if M chose to indict you capitally , you would perish . Can thi * t » wisdom , whioh , if it takes hold ot a gifted man , destroys the esceltaw of hh Datum , rendering him incapaM * of preserving himself or oibsr * front the jpMteat daggers , enabling Ms enemiea to plunder to * of all his property , and reducing him to the sHuatto * of those who , ty
Untitled Article
804 [ Platoa Dialogue *; the Gorgia *
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Nov. 2, 1834, page 804, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2639/page/58/
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