ered
anything? Or what trust could be placed in an argument when brought to a
conclusion? And what end will philosophy itself have, which is bound to
proceed according to reason? And what will become of wisdom? which ought
not to doubt about its own character, nor about its decrees, which
philosophers call {~GREEK SMALL LETTER DELTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER GAMMA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER MU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}; none of which can be betrayed without
wickedness. For when a decree is betrayed, the law of truth and right is
betrayed too. From which fault betrayals of friendships and of republics
often originate. It cannot, therefore be doubted, that no rule of wisdom
can possibly be false; and it ought not to be enough for the wise man that
it is not false, but it ought also to be steady, durable, and lasting;
such as no arguments can shake. But none can either be, or appear such,
according to the principle of those men who deny that those perceptions in
which all rules originate are in any respect different from false ones;
and from this assertion arose the demand which was repeated by Hortensius,
that you would at least allow that the fact that nothing can be perceived
has been perceived by the wise man. But when Antipater made the same
demand, and argued that it was unavoidable that the man who affirmed that
nothing could be perceived should nevertheless admit that this one thing
could be perceived,--namely, that nothing else could,--Carneades resisted
him with great shrewdness. For he said that this admission was so far from
being consistent with the doctrine asserted, that it was above all others
incompatible with it: for that a man who denied that there was anything
which could be perceived excepted nothing. And so it followed of
necessity, that even that very thing which was not excepted, could not be
comprehended and perceived in any possible manner.

Antiochus, on this topic, seems to press his antagonist more closely. For
since the Academicians adopted that rule, (for you understand that I am
translating by this word what they call {~GREEK SMALL LETTER DELTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER GAMMA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER MU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~},) that nothing can be
perceived, he urged that they ought not to waver in their rule as in other
matters, especially as the whole of their philosop