eople is of the nature of
dialogue. One branch of letters, the drama, is entirely founded upon it.
But in its technical sense the word is used to describe what the Greek
philosophers invented, and what the noblest of them lifted to the
extreme refinement of an art.

The systematic use of dialogue as an independent literary form is
commonly supposed to have been introduced by Plato, whose earliest
experiment in it is believed to survive in the _Laches_. The Platonic
dialogue, however, was founded on the mime, which had been cultivated
half a century earlier by the Sicilian poets, Sophron and Epicharmus.
The works of these writers, which Plato admired and imitated, are lost,
but it is believed that they were little plays, usually with only two
performers. The recently discovered mimes of Herodas (Herondas) give us
some idea of their scope. Plato further simplified the form, and reduced
it to pure argumentative conversation, while leaving intact the amusing
element of character-drawing. He must have begun this about the year
405, and by 399 he had brought the dialogue to its highest perfection,
especially in the cycle directly inspired by the death of Socrates. All
his philosophical writings, except the _Apology_, are cast in this form.
As the greatest of all masters of Greek prose style, Plato lifted his
favourite instrument, the dialogue, to its highest splendour, and to
this day he remains by far its most distinguished proficient. In the 2nd
century a.d. Lucian of Samosata achieved a brilliant success with his
ironic dialogues "Of the Gods," "Of the Dead," "Of Love" and "Of the
Courtesans." In some of them he attacks superstition and philosophical
error with the sharpness of his wit; in others he merely paints scenes
of modern life. The title of Lucian's most famous collection was
borrowed in the 17th century by two French writers of eminence, each of
whom prepared _Dialogues des morts_. These were Fontenelle (1683) and
Fenelon (1712). In English non-dramatic literature the dialogue had not
been extensively employed until Berkeley used it, in 1713, for his
Platonic treatise, _Hylas and Philonous_. Landor's _Imaginary
Conversations_ (1821-1828) is the most famous example of it in the 19th
century, although the dialogues of Sir Arthur Helps claim attention. In
Germany, Wieland adopted this form for several important satirical works
published between 1780 and 1799. In Spanish literature, the Dialogues of
Valdes (1528) and