Pagina 324 di 1391

Such is the picture which Plato draws and which we only

reproduce, partly in his own words, of the dangers which beset

youth in times of transition, when old opinions are fading away

and the new are not yet firmly established. Their condition is

ingeniously compared by him to that of a supposititious son, who

has made the discovery that his reputed parents are not his real

ones, and, in consequence, they have lost their authority over

him.