Protagoras for Beginners, Part 6
The Chapter
This is the sixth in a series prepared by the Chapter’s Reading Subcommittee. Readers joining at this point are referred to Parts 1 through 5. The Subcommittee regrets the delay since Part 5, which was owing to a disagreement over the translation of the word chrēmata.
The fragment under consideration is DK 80 B1: “Of all things the measure is man, of the things that are, that they are, and of the things that are not, that they are not.” The Subcommittee notes that Plato’s treatment of this passage in the Theaetetus is hostile and that the original context is lost. Mr. Reiner has asked that the word “hostile” be strengthened. The Subcommittee has declined.
It is further noted that Protagoras charged a fee, and that according to the Protagoras (328b–c) a dissatisfied student could instead swear in a temple to what the lessons had been worth, and pay that amount. Nobody at the Academy would have accepted this arrangement. The Subcommittee takes no position on whether anybody should.
For discussion (30 minutes). What would you swear to, in a temple, that your education had been worth? Who would you want to be present?
Part 7 will consider the burning of his books, which may not have happened. Members are reminded that the photocopying fund is exhausted.