SOCRATIC PHILOSOPHY, the doctrines and opinions with regard to morality and religion, maintained and taught by SOCRATES. To him is ascribed the first introduction of moral philosophy, which is what is meant by that usual saying, "That Socrates first called philosophy down from heaven to earth; that is, from the contemplation of the heavens and heavenly bodies, he led men to consider themselves, their own passions, opinions, faculties, duties, actions, &c."—Man, who was the sole subject of his philosophy, having a twofold relation to things divine and human, his doctrines were with regard to the former metaphysical, to the latter moral. The morality of Socrates we shall pass over, as resembling in its general branches what others taught in common with him; yet more pure, more exact, more refined. His metaphysical opinions are thus collected out of Plato, Xenophon, Plutarch, and others. "There are three principles of all things, God, matter, and ideas. God is the universal intellect: matter the subject of generation and corruption: idea, an incorporeal substance, the intellect of God; God the intellect of the world.—God is one, perfect in himself, giving the being and well-being of every creature: what he is, I know not; what he is not, I know.—That God, not chance, made the world and all creatures, is demonstrable from the reasonable disposition of their parts, as well for use as defence; from their care to preserve themselves, and continue their species.—That he particularly regards.
gards man in his body, appears from the noble upright form thereof, and from the gift of speech; in his soul, from the excellency thereof above others.—That God takes care of all creatures, is demonstrable from the benefit he gives them of light, water, fire, and fruits of the earth in due season: that he hath a particular regard of man, from the destination of all plants and creatures for his service; from their subjection to man, though they exceeded him ever so much in strength; from the variety of man's sense, accommodated to the variety of objects, for necessity, use, and pleasure; from reason, whereby he discourses through reminiscence from sensible objects; from speech, whereby he communicates all he knows, gives laws, and governs states: finally, that God, though invisible himself, is such and so great, that he at once sees all, hears all, is everywhere, and orders all." As to the other great object of metaphysical research, the soul, Socrates taught, that "it is pre-existent to the body, endowed with the knowledge of eternal ideas, which in her union to the body she loseth, as stupefied, until awakened by discourse from sensible objects; on which account all her learning is only reminiscence, a recovery of her first knowledge: that the body being compounded is dissolved by death; but that the soul being simple passeth into another life, incapable of corruption: that the souls of men are divine: that the souls of the good after death are in a happy estate, united to God in a blessed inaccessible place; that the bad in convenient places suffer condigna punishment: but that to define what those places are, is the attempt of a man who hath no understanding; whence, being once asked what things were in the other world? he answered, "Neither was I ever there, nor ever did I speak with any that came from thence."
All the Grecian sects of philosophers refer their origin to the discipline of Socrates; particularly the Platonics, Peripatetics, Academics, Cyrenaics, Stoics, &c. but the greatest part of his philosophy we have in the works of Plato.