inced, and on the whole
inclines to his former opinion. Some profound philosophical remarks are
scattered up and down, admitting of an application not only to language
but to knowledge generally; such as the assertion that 'consistency is
no test of truth:' or again, 'If we are over-precise about words, truth
will say "too late" to us as to the belated traveller in Aegina.'

The place of the dialogue in the series cannot be determined with
certainty. The style and subject, and the treatment of the character of
Socrates, have a close resemblance to the earlier dialogues, especially
to the Phaedrus and Euthydemus. The manner in which the ideas are spoken
of at the end of the dialogue, also indicates a comparatively early
date. The imaginative element is still in full vigour; the Socrates
of the Cratylus is the Socrates of the Apology and Symposium, not yet
Platonized; and he describes, as in the Theaetetus, the philosophy of
Heracleitus by 'unsavoury' similes--he cannot believe that the world
is like 'a leaky vessel,' or 'a man who has a running at the nose'; he
attributes the flux of the world to the swimming in some folks' heads.
On the other hand, the relation of thought to language is omitted here,
but is treated of in the Sophist. These grounds are not sufficient to
enable us to arrive at a precise conclusion. But we shall not be far
wrong in placing the Cratylus about the middle, or at any rate in the
first half, of the series.

Cratylus, the Heracleitean philosopher, and Hermogenes, the brother of
Callias, have been arguing about names; the former maintaining that they
are natural, the latter that they are conventional. Cratylus affirms
that his own is a true name, but will not allow that the name of
Hermogenes is equally true. Hermogenes asks Socrates to explain to
him what Cratylus means; or, far rather, he would like to know, What
Socrates himself thinks about the truth or correctness of names?
Socrates replies, that hard is knowledge, and the nature of names is
a considerable part of knowledge: he has never been to hear the
fifty-drachma course of Prodicus; and having only attended the
single-drachma course, he is not competent to give an opinion on
such matters. When Cratylus denies that Hermogenes is a true name, he
supposes him to mean that he is not a true son of Hermes, because he
is never in luck. But he would like to have an open council and to hear
both sides.

Hermogenes is of opinion that there is