further, that he can make them in no time, and sell them for a few

pence.

THEAETETUS: That must be a jest.

STRANGER: And when a man says that he knows all things, and can teach

them to another at a small cost, and in a short time, is not that a

jest?

THEAETETUS: Certainly.

STRANGER: And is there any more artistic or graceful form of jest than

imitation?

THEAETETUS: Certainly not; and imitation is a very comprehensive term,

which includes under one class the most diverse sorts of things.

STRANGER: We know, of course, that he who professes by one art to

make all things is really a painter, and by the painter's art makes

resemblances of real things which have the same name with them; and

he can deceive the less intelligent sort of young children, to whom

he shows his pictures at a distance, into the belief that he has the

absolute power of making whatever he likes.

THEAETETUS: Certainly.

Sophist