20 October 1811
adams-john10 Neal Millikan
303

20. Finished reading the fifth and last volume of the Bibliothéque des Philosophes, containing the Laches, on Valour— The Protagoras or the Sophists— The rivals, concerning the study of Philosophy— The Hippias Major—concerning the beautiful; and the Euthydemus, translated by M. de Maucroix; and finally the Banquet, translated partly by Racine, and partly by Madame de Rochechouart, but I believe by neither of them completely.— I have been much delighted with this work in general, and have found several excellent principles in almost every one of the Dialogues— If any exception is to be made it respects the Euthydemus, where the Sophists are so outrageously ridiculous, that it is altogether incredible they should have been serious— Every one of these Treatises is of the Destructive kind, that is the whole object of it is to prove the Sophistry of the Sophists— In the Banquet however, Socrates gives his own idea of the Good and Fair, the object of love, and which it would seem he applied as the source of all the Virtues— His reasoning however sometimes resembles too much that of the Sophists. 304In the Protagoras the Sophists are most fairly dealt with— There they have at least some Sense and Understanding. The Dialogues are Dramatic—interspersed with incidents which relieve from the dryness of the discussion; and highly characteristic— In the Banquet each of the discourses upon Love is appropriate to the person who delivers it— And they form a Climax of interest in the manner of treating the Subject— Phaedrus is modest and learned— Pausanias fanciful; Eriximachus discusses the matter like a physician, and Aristophanes like a buffoon— Agathon is a sweet enthusiast, and Socrates almost divine— I regret much the omitted part.— I wrote all the morning after breakfast— In the Evening we had visitors. Mr and Madame Rayneval, Madame de Betancourt and her daughters, and Mr Harris— He brought me a letter from my Mother of 24. July— I read the Character of St: Stephen in Robinson, and two Sermons in the English Preacher Vol. 2. on Anger—and on the tendency of Virtue to prolong life.

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