Pagina 605 di 1391

(1) The Republic, though probably written at intervals, yet

speaking generally and judging by the indications of thought and

style, may be reasonably ascribed to the middle period of Plato's

life: the Laws are certainly the work of his declining years, and

some portions of them at any rate seem to have been written in

extreme old age.

(2) The Republic is full of hope and aspiration: the Laws bear

the stamp of failure and disappointment. The one is a finished

work which received the last touches of the author: the other is

imperfectly executed, and apparently unfinished. The one has the

grace and beauty of youth: the other has lost the poetical form,

but has more of the severity and knowledge of life which is

characteristic of old age.

(3) The most conspicuous defect of the Laws is the failure of

dramatic power, whereas the Republic is full of striking

contrasts of ideas and oppositions of character.