[341d]
by a leaping spark, and thereafter it nourishes itself. Notwithstanding, of thus much I am certain, that the best statement of these doctrines in writing or in speech would be my own statement; and further, that if they should be badly stated in writing, it is I who would be the person most deeply pained. And if I had thought that these subjects ought to be fully stated in writing or in speech to the public,1 what nobler action could I have performed in my life than that of writing what is of great benefit to mankind and
1 On the danger of writing such doctrines cf. Plat. L. 2.314c ff.; and for philosophy as possible only for “the few” cf. Plat. Rep. 494a.
Plato. Plato in Twelve Volumes, Vol. 7 translated by R.G. Bury. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1966.
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