THEAETETUS: The philosopher he cannot be, for upon our view he is

ignorant; but since he is an imitator of the wise he will have a name

which is formed by an adaptation of the word sophos. What shall we name

him? I am pretty sure that I cannot be mistaken in terming him the true

and very Sophist.

STRANGER: Shall we bind up his name as we did before, making a chain

from one end of his genealogy to the other?

THEAETETUS: By all means.

STRANGER: He, then, who traces the pedigree of his art as follows--who,

belonging to the conscious or dissembling section of the art of causing

self-contradiction, is an imitator of appearance, and is separated from

the class of phantastic which is a branch of image-making into that

further division of creation, the juggling of words, a creation human,

and not divine--any one who affirms the real Sophist to be of this blood

and lineage will say the very truth.

THEAETETUS: Undoubtedly.

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