es in the undertaking are such as can be sustained by none but
the most hardy and accomplished adventurers; and he who begins the journey
without the strength of Hercules, or the wisdom and patience of Ulysses,
must be destroyed by the wild beasts of the forest, or perish in the storms
of the ocean; must suffer transmutation into a beast through the magic
power of Circe, or be exiled for life by the detaining charm of Calypso;
and in short must descend into Hades, and wander in its darkness, without
emerging from thence to the bright regions of the morning, or be ruined
by the deadly melody of the Syren's song. To the most skillful traveler,
who pursues the right road with an ardor which no toils can abate, with
a vigilance which no weariness can surprise into negligence, and with
virtue which no temptations can seduce, it exhibits for many years the
appearance of the Ithaca of Ulysses, or the flying Italy of AEneas; for
we no sooner gain a glimpse of the pleasing land which is to be the end
of our journey, than it is suddenly ravished from our view, and we still
find ourselves at a distance from the beloved coast, exposed to the fury
of a stormy sea of doubts.

Abandon then, ye groveling souls, the fruitless design! Pursue with
avidity the beaten road which leads to popular honors and sordid gain,
but relinquish all thoughts of a voyage for which you are totally
unprepared. Do you not perceive what a length of sea separates you from
the royal coast? A sea,

Huge, horrid, vast, where scarce in safety sails
The best built ship, though Jove inspire the gales.

And may we not very justly ask you, similar to the interrogation of
Calypso,

What ships have you, what sailors to convey,
What oars to cut the long laborious way?

I shall only observe further, that the life of Plato, by Olympiodorus, was
prefixed to this translation, in preference to that by Diogenes Laertius,
because the former is the production of a most eminent Platonist, and the
latter of a mere historian, who indiscriminately gave to the public whatever
anecdotes he found in other authors. If the reader combines this short
sketch of the life of Plato with what that philosopher says of himself in
his 7th Epistle, he will be in possession of the most important particulars
about him that can be obtained at present.

EXPLANATIONS OF CERTAIN PLATONIC TERMS

As some apology may be thought necessary for having introduced certain
unusual words of