Source edition
Aristides. Vol. 2. Dindorf, Wilhelm, editor. Leipzig: Reimer, 1829.
Source data
Perseus Digital Library · CC BY-SA 4.0
Cloned and adapted by Humanitext, with ongoing edits.
Summary
This prose work, addressed to a recipient named Capito who holds Plato in high esteem, defends the author's own discourse against accusations of slandering the philosopher, while vindicating the true value of rhetoric. The author begins by praising Capito's admiration for Plato, subsequently arguing that Plato's own life—such as his journey to Sicily—and his writings like the Laws actually demonstrate the necessity of rhetoric as a power to resist injustice. Addressing critics who judge his arguments based on mere fragments, the author demands a fair hearing of the entire discourse. He then justifies his own critical stance toward Plato by pointing out that Plato himself made unnecessary and unjust attacks on figures like Pericles and Homer in dialogues such as the Alcibiades and the Republic. Finally, the work concludes by exposing Plato's arbitrary caricatures of Homer and the Sophists, as well as his historical inconsistencies, thereby establishing the legitimacy of the author's critical inquiry.