Excerpt from The Christian Element in Plato and the Platonic Philosophy The translator deems it right to supply what many Christian readers will probably regard as a deficiency in the representation given in the treatise of Ackermann, concerning the Christian element in the writings of Plato. It has respect to that part of the representation which bears on the doctrine of the atonement, and which the author exhibits as 'the summit of the Platonic, as of the Christian wisdom and knowledge' (p. 249). But in this he seems to identify atonement with redemption, and to make no account of the substitutionary character of the sufferings of Christ, or of the atonement, ordinarily and strictly so called. The following passage from the Lectures of the late Archer Butler presents, in this respect, the proper complement to the representation of Ackermann: 'There runs through all the views of Plato a want of any distinct apprehension of the claims of Divine justice in consequence of human sin. Even in his strongest references to punishment, it is still represented mainly, if not entirely, under the notion of a purificatory transition, a severe but beneficial káƟapois. This arises partly from his conception of the Divine character, partly from his theory of the human soul itself. From the former, inasmuch as he considers the attribute of indignant wrath, or its results, inapplicable to Deity: - from the latter, because in considering the soul essentially in its higher elements divine, he could only look upon the misfortunes of its bodily connection as incidental pollutions which might delay, but could not ultimately defeat, its inalienable rights. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

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