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Section 104

"Look closely at what I want to show. It is this: apparently not only do opposites not admit each other, but also things that are not opposite to each other, yet always contain opposites within them—these things do not seem to admit the opposite of what is contained in them. When it approaches, they either perish or retreat. Will we not say that three will sooner perish and suffer anything whatsoever than endure becoming even, while still remaining three?" "We certainly will," said Cebes. "Yet two is not the opposite of three." "No." "Therefore, not only do opposite Forms not endure each other's approach, but certain other things do not endure the approach of opposites." "You speak very truly," he said. "Do you want us to define what sort of things these are, if we can?" he asked. "Certainly." "Would it be these things, Cebes: whatever forces the thing it occupies not only to have its own idea, but also the idea of some opposite?" "How do you mean?" "As we said just now. You surely know that whatever the idea of three occupies must necessarily be not only three, but also odd." "Certainly." "And I say that the idea opposite to the form that accomplishes this can never come into that thing." "It cannot." "And what accomplished this? Was it not the idea of the Odd?" "Yes." "And opposite to this is the idea of the Even?" "Yes." "Therefore, the idea of the Even will never come to three." "Never." "So three has no share in the Even." "It has no share." "So three is uneven." "Yes." "This is what I meant when defining the kind of things that, though not opposite to a certain thing, do not admit that opposite. Just as the three, not being opposite to the Even, nonetheless does not admit it, because it always brings the opposite along with it. And two brings the opposite to the Odd, and fire brings the opposite to the Cold, and so on. See if you would define it this way: not only does an opposite not admit an opposite, but also, whatever brings an opposite into whatever it approaches will never admit the oppositeness to the thing brought. Recollect it again, for there is no harm in hearing it often. Five will not admit the idea of the Even, nor will ten, its double, admit the idea of the Odd. The double is opposite to something else, yet it will not admit the idea of the Odd. Nor will one-and-a-half or other such fractions admit the idea of the Whole, nor will a third, and so on. If you follow and agree." "I agree most vehemently and I follow," he said.