[602c]
“In
heaven's name, then, this business of imitation is concerned with the third
remove from truth, is it not?” “Yes.”
“And now again, to what element1 in man is
its function and potency related?” “Of what are you
speaking?” “Of this: The same magnitude, I presume,
viewed from near and from far2 does not appear
equal.” “Why, no.” “And the same
things appear bent and straight3 to those who view them in
water and out, or concave and convex, owing to similar errors of vision
about colors, and there is
1 The antithesis of περί and πρός marks the transition.
2 Cf. Protag. 356 A, 523 C.
3 Cf. Tennyson (The Higher Pantheism) “For all we have power to see is a straight staff bent in a pool.” For the illusions of sense, and measurement as a means of correcting them Cf. Phileb. 41 E-42 A f., 55 E, Protag. 356 C-D, Euthyphro 7 C.
Plato. Plato in Twelve Volumes, Vols. 5 & 6 translated by Paul Shorey. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1969.
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