Athens. Philosophy is judge, with the goddesses Truth, Virtue, and Modesty among her assessors. Plato, Aristotle, Chrysippus—all have grievances against Lucian; but the cynic Diogenes is chosen as spokesman for the prosecution, while the accused pleads his own cause, giving his name as Parrhesiades—"Outspoken." In the result he is triumphantly acquitted, receiving compliments not only from the august judges, but from the true philosophers, who had formerly been prepossessed against him. Here it may be remarked, in passing, that a writer less skilful than Lucian would scarcely have escaped ridicule if, after proclaiming his hostility to all pretension, he had made himself the recipient of such eulogies; but Lucian uses the comic element in a manner which just screens him from this objection, without turning the edge of his satire; it is a good example of tact in the use of irony. The piece ends with a droll fancy, from which it takes its title of The Fisherman. Parrhesiades—i.e., Lucian—with the sanction of his late judges, dangles a fishing-rod from the Acropolis, so that the line falls into the streets of Athens below; the hook is baited with a bunch of figs and a purse of gold. Hungry philosophers, who are wandering in the neighbourhood, rush at the bait—are hooked one after another, landed on the Acropolis, and then thrown from the cliff. This is savage, and quite in the manner of Swift. But the jest quickly takes a gentler turn. At the bidding of the goddess Truth, Parrhesiades descends into Athens, accompanied by Elenchos—"Examination"-
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