suming, amid such a variety
of indications, derived from style as well as subject, that the Philebus
belongs to the later period of his life and authorship. But in this, as
in all the later writings of Plato, there are not wanting thoughts and
expressions in which he rises to his highest level.

The plan is complicated, or rather, perhaps, the want of plan renders
the progress of the dialogue difficult to follow. A few leading ideas
seem to emerge: the relation of the one and many, the four original
elements, the kinds of pleasure, the kinds of knowledge, the scale of
goods. These are only partially connected with one another. The dialogue
is not rightly entitled 'Concerning pleasure' or 'Concerning good,' but
should rather be described as treating of the relations of pleasure
and knowledge, after they have been duly analyzed, to the good. (1) The
question is asked, whether pleasure or wisdom is the chief good, or some
nature higher than either; and if the latter, how pleasure and wisdom
are related to this higher good. (2) Before we can reply with exactness,
we must know the kinds of pleasure and the kinds of knowledge. (3) But
still we may affirm generally, that the combined life of pleasure and
wisdom or knowledge has more of the character of the good than either of
them when isolated. (4) to determine which of them partakes most of the
higher nature, we must know under which of the four unities or elements
they respectively fall. These are, first, the infinite; secondly, the
finite; thirdly, the union of the two; fourthly, the cause of the union.
Pleasure is of the first, wisdom or knowledge of the third class, while
reason or mind is akin to the fourth or highest.

(5) Pleasures are of two kinds, the mixed and unmixed. Of mixed
pleasures there are three classes--(a) those in which both the pleasures
and pains are corporeal, as in eating and hunger; (b) those in which
there is a pain of the body and pleasure of the mind, as when you
are hungry and are looking forward to a feast; (c) those in which the
pleasure and pain are both mental. Of unmixed pleasures there are four
kinds: those of sight, hearing, smell, knowledge.

(6) The sciences are likewise divided into two classes, theoretical and
productive: of the latter, one part is pure, the other impure. The
pure part consists of arithmetic, mensuration, and weighing. Arts like
carpentering, which have an exact measure, are to be regarded as higher
than music, whic