Plato, Cratylus, section 438a

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[438a] Now let us drop this and return to the point at which we digressed. A little while ago, you may remember, you said he who gave names must have known the things to which he gave them. Do you still hold that opinion, or not?

Cratylus
I do.

Socrates
And you say that he who gave the first names also knew the things which he named?

Cratylus
Yes, he knew them.

Socrates
But from what names had he learned or discovered the things,

Plato. Plato in Twelve Volumes, Vol. 12 translated by Harold N. Fowler. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921.

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