LIFE

...let him not have so much bile as to remember Dionysius. Second, he went to the younger Dionysius, requesting land and people to live according to his proposed republic. Although Dionysius promised this, he did not fulfill it. Some say that Plato also ran a great risk, as he was suspected of inciting Dion and Theotas toward the liberation of the island. At that time, Archytas the Pythagorean A famous mathematician, statesman, and friend of Plato from Tarentum. wrote a letter to Dionysius, successfully pleading for him and saving him so that he could return to Athens. This is the letter:

We, all of Plato's friends, have sent Lamiscus and Photidas to receive the man from you, according to the agreement made with you. You will do rightly if you remember the zeal with which you invited us all to support Plato’s arrival, asking us to encourage him and promising to guarantee his safety, both while he remained and when he departed. Remember also how much you valued his arrival at that time, and how you loved him then more than anyone else. If any bitterness has arisen, it is necessary to act with human kindness and return the man to us unharmed. By doing these things, you will act justly and do us a favor. original: "ταῦτα γὰρ ποιῶν, δίκαια πράξεις, καὶ ἄμμι χαριῇ." This letter is written in a Doric dialect of Greek, typical of Archytas's home in southern Italy.

Third, he came to reconcile Dion with Dionysius. Failing in this, he returned to his homeland without having accomplished his goal. There, he did not touch public affairs, although he was a man of political character based on what he wrote. The reason was that the people were already accustomed to other forms of government. Pamphila says in the twenty-fifth book of her Commentaries that the Arcadians and Thebans, when they were founding a great city Megalopolis, founded around 371 BC., invited him to be their legislator. But when he learned they were not willing to accept equality, he did not go. It is said that he also followed the general Chabrias An Athenian general whom Plato defended during a capital trial. when he was being tried for his life, even though none of the other citizens wished to do so. When he was going up to the Acropolis with Chabrias, Crobylus the sycophant A "sycophant" in Ancient Greece was a professional accuser or slanderer. met him and said: "Are you coming to speak for another, not knowing that the hemlock of Socrates awaits you too?" They say he replied: "When I was a soldier for my country, I endured dangers; and now for the sake of duty to a friend, I will endure them." He was the first to introduce the dialogue form of inquiry, as Favorinus says in the eighth book of his Miscellaneous History; and he was the first to explain the method of analysis term: Analysis (the method of breaking a problem down into its first principles) to Leodamas of Thasos. He was also the first in philosophy to use the names Antipodes literally "opposite feet," referring to those on the other side of the world., Element, Dialectic, Poems, and the Mean of number, and the Plane Surface of boundaries, and the Providence of God. He was the first of the philosophers to argue against the speech of Lysias, son of Cephalus, setting it out word-for-word in the Phaedrus. He was the first to examine the power of grammar. Although he was the first to argue against almost all who came before him, it is often asked why he never mentioned Democritus. Neanthes of Cyzicus says that when Plato went up to the Olympic games, all the Greeks turned to look at him. It was there that he met Dion, who was preparing to campaign against Dionysius. In the first book of Favorinus's Commentaries, it is recorded that Mithridates the Persian Mithridates II of Cios. dedicated a statue of Plato in the Academy and inscribed upon it: "Mithridates, son of Rhodobates, a Persian, dedicated this image of Plato to the Muses, which Silanion A famous Greek sculptor of the 4th century BC. made." Heraclides says that when he was young, he was so modest and orderly that he was never seen laughing excessively. Such was...

Plato was so modest, so well-composed, that he was never found to have laughed, except moderately.

...would pour into him. To which he wrote back, that he did not have so much leisure that he would even remember Dionysius. Second, he set out to the younger Dionysius, requesting land and men who would live according to the republic he had established. That man, although he had promised, did not provide it. Nor did the suspicion go away, according to some, that he had attempted at great peril to himself to persuade Dion and Theoras, and had raised their spirits to liberate the island. At which time Archytas the Pythagorean, having written a letter to Dionysius, cleared him of suspicion and sent him back, snatched away to Athens. The letter is of this sort:

We, all the close friends of Plato, have sent Lamiscus and Photidas to receive that man from you by the right of our ancient friendship. You will therefore act rightly if you remember with how much zeal you demanded Plato's arrival from us, so that we might exhort him to come, you promising that you would do everything: and that you would permit him to arrive and depart freely. Be mindful, therefore, of how much you valued his arrival, and that at that time you loved him more than the rest. But if any grudge has arisen, it is fitting for you to act more humanely and restore him to us unharmed. For if you do these things, you will cultivate justice and do us a favor.

Third, he approached to reconcile Dion to Dionysius: but when he could not obtain it, the business being unfinished, he returned to his fatherland. There he did not wish to enter into the republic, although he was highly skilled in civil matters, as is evident from those things which he wrote. The reason why he abstained from public business was primarily this: that the common people were accustomed to other institutions and customs. Pamphila reports in the twenty-fifth of her Commentaries that the Arcadians and Thebans, having founded a city of immense size, asked him to furnish it with a republic: but when he learned they did not wish to follow equality, he did not go. It is also said that he followed the leader Chabrias when he was a defendant on a capital charge, when none of the citizens wished to attempt it; and when he was ascending the citadel with Chabrias, Crobylus the sycophant, insulting him, said: "You come to bring aid to another, as if you truly did not know that the poison of Socrates also awaits you?" To whom he replied: "When I was a soldier for my fatherland, I endured dangers, and now for the sake of friendship, lest I fail in my duty, I very willingly expose myself to dangers." This man first (as Favorinus says in the eighth of his All-encompassing History) introduced dialogues, and first introduced the method of inquiry through resolution to Leodamas of Thasos, and first in philosophy named the Antipodes, and Element, and Dialectic, and Poems, and the Proportional in number, and the Plane Surface of extremes, and the Providence of God. He was also the first of the philosophers to contradict the oration of Lysias, son of Cephalus, setting it forth word-for-word in the Phaedrus, and he was the first to observe the force of Grammar. And since he was the first to contradict almost all who had been before him, it is usually asked why he made no mention of Democritus. Neanthes of Cyzicus reports that when he once went down to the Olympics, he turned the faces of all the Greeks toward himself, and at the same time he met Dion, who was beginning to wage war against Dionysius. Furthermore, in the first of the Commentaries of Favorinus, it is reported that Mithridates the Persian placed a statue of Plato in the Academy, inscribed thus: "Mithridates, son of Rhodobates, a Persian, dedicated the image of Plato to the Muses, the work of Silanion." Heraclides relates that the young Plato was so modest, so well-composed, that he was never found to have laughed, except moderately.