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Str. And so countless other problems, each one involving infinite difficulties, will confront him who says that being is, whether it be two or only one.
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Theaet. The problems now in sight make that pretty clear; for each leads up to another which brings greater and more grievous wandering in connection with whatever has previously been said.
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Str. Now we have not discussed all those who treat accurately of being and not-being The Ionic philosophers, the Eleatics, Heracleitus, Empedocles, the Megarians, Gorgias, Protagoras, and Antisthenes all discussed the problem of being and not-being.; however, let this suffice. But we must turn our eyes to those whose doctrines are less precise, that we may know from all sources that it is no easier to define the nature of being than that of not-being.
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Theaet. Very well, then, we must proceed towards those others also.
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Str. And indeed there seems to be a battle like that of the gods and the giants going on among them, because of their disagreement about existence.
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Theaet. How so?
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Str. Some of them The atomists (Leucippus, Democritus, and their followers), who taught that nothing exists except atoms and the void. Possibly there is a covert reference to Aristippus who was, like Plato, a pupil of Socrates. drag down everything from heaven and the invisible to earth, actually grasping rocks and trees with their hands; for they lay their hands on all such things and maintain stoutly that that alone exists which can be touched and handled; for they define existence and body, or matter, as identical, and if anyone says that anything else, which has no body, exists, they despise him utterly, and will not listen to any other theory than their own.
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Theaet. Terrible men they are of whom you speak. I myself have met with many of them.
