to these gentlemen, and I heartily thank tliem for the pains and time which they have bestowed on my work.
I have further to explain how far I have received help from other labourers in the same field. The books which I have found of most use are Steinhart and Mijller's German Translation of Plato with Introductions ; Zeller's 'Pilosophic der Griechen,' and ' Platonische Studien;' Suscmihl's ' Genetische Entwickelung der Platonischen Philosophic ; ' Hermann's ' Geschichte der Platonischen Philosophic ; ' Bonitz, ' Platonische Studien ; ^ Stallbaum's Notes and Introductions ; Professor Campbell's editions of the ' Theaetetus,' the ' Sophist,' and the ' Politicus ; ' Professor Thompson's 'Phaedrus;' Th. Martin's 'Etudes sur le Timee;' Mr. Poste's edition and translation of the 'Philebus;' the Translation of the ' Republic,' by Messrs. Davies and Vaughan, and the Translation of the 'Gorgias,' by Mr. Cope. I have also derived much assistance from the great work of Mr. Grote, which contains excellent analyses of the Dialogues, and is rich in original thoughts and observations. I agree with him in rejecting as futile the attempt of Schleiermacher and others to arrange the Dialogues of Plato into a harmonious whole. Any such arrangement appears to me not only to be unsupported by evidence, but to involve an anachronism in the history of philosophy. There is a common spirit in the writings of Plato, but not a unity of design in the whole, nor perhaps a perfect unity in any single Dialogue. The hypothesis of a general plan which is worked out in the successive Dialogues is an after-thought of the critics who have attributed a system to
writings belonging to an age when system had not as yet taken possession of philosophy. If Mr. Grote should do me the honour to read any portion of this work he will probably remark that I have
