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There were other reasons for the antagonism of Plato to poetry.

The profession of an actor was regarded by him as a degradation

of human nature, for 'one man in his life' cannot 'play many

parts;' the characters which the actor performs seem to destroy

his own character, and to leave nothing which can be truly called

himself. Neither can any man live his life and act it. The actor

is the slave of his art, not the master of it. Taking this view

Plato is more decided in his expulsion of the dramatic than of

the epic poets, though he must have known that the Greek

tragedians afforded noble lessons and examples of virtue and

patriotism, to which nothing in Homer can be compared. But great

dramatic or even great rhetorical power is hardly consistent with

firmness or strength of mind, and dramatic talent is often

incidentally associated with a weak or dissolute character.