Platonism and Cosmology in Early American Puritan Philosophy

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Platonism and Cosmology in Early American Puritan Philosophy

Yaroslav Sobolievskyi

Doctor of Philosophical Sciences, Associate Professor, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (Kyiv, Ukraine)

Liubov Sobolievska

Ph.D. in Philosophy, Head of Academic Mobility Office, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (Kyiv, Ukraine)

In the history of early American philosophy, in its earliest period of Puritanism, there were unique thinkers whose philosophical mindset formed original views on the nature of man and the cosmos. Since antiquity, the history ofphilosophy has been determined by the degree of relevance of Plato's teachings. In medieval universities, and later in the universities of the Renaissance, Neoplatonism, in various modifications, had a great influence. The first settlers in the North American colonies were educated people, some having graduated from English colleges; they knew ancient literature and philosophy very well, had read the texts available at that time, and talked about their God-chosen mission through the prism of Biblical history. The purpose of this article is to determine the influence of Platonism with its cosmological doctrine of the creation of the world and of the eternal and unchanging ideas as the prototypes of things in the Puritan philosophy of New England in the 17^h century. The syncretic unity of Aristotelianism and Platonism, thanks to the teachings of Peter Ramus, became popular in New England. As a result of the study of primary sources and texts of Puritan thinkers, a search was made for references to Plato or his teachings. In the books of some Puritan philosophers, such as Williams, Ward, Hooker, and others, there are ideas similar to those of Plato. It can be assumed that they were familiar with Plato's dialogues or with the texts of his commentators. One of the earliest references to Plato in the texts of Puritan thinkers is found in Bradford's journal `Of Plymouth Plantation ' (1651). Also worth mentioning are Stone, Cotton, Mather, Wise and others. All of them were, to varying degrees, familiar with the political, metaphysical, and cosmological teachings of ancient authors.

Of the cosmological treatises of Plato, the Timaeus was especially popular, where the process of the creation of the world by the demiurge was described. Space exploration, contrary to popular belief, was present in New England, albeit on a small scale. In addition to philosophy, in colonial America, astronomical observations were made of celestial bodies, stars, the Moon, and comets. During the era of Puritanism in the history of early American philosophy, Platonism was an important philosophical current, and it was to become even more prominent in the following eras. platonism puritan philosophy new england

Keywords: American philosophy, early American philosophy, Puritanism, Plato, Platonism, Cosmology.

Introduction

The first period in the history of early American philosophy was the period of Puritanism. The philosophy of this period was closely connected with theology; the central concept of all reflections was God and his creations. Together, all his creations constituted a unique cosmos. What distinguished Puritan philosophy from theology? It was an interest in the ancient philosophical tradition. In New England, the influence of the ancient tradition on the intellectuals was noticeable and there is much evidence from the annals of early New England. The Cambridge Platonists influenced Puritan philosophers. The list of influences includes Plato, Cicero, Plotinus, Macrobius and Ficino, among others. In addition to these, many Christian theologians were affected by the Pythagorean tradition: Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Lactantius, Ambrose, Augustine, Pseudo-Dionysius, Anselm, Abelard, and many others, all of whom are quoted by Puritan theologians (Beveridge, 1979: 147). Puritan thinkers studied in the spirit of the medieval traditions that existed in English universities. The seven liberal arts that were taught in universities were compared by the Puritans to a ladder by which a person could gradually climb and free himself from the bondage of the flesh. This ascent was understood as an ascent, not so much of knowledge as of the spirit. The humanities were also considered essential preparation for the study of the three philosophies: natural philosophy, rational philosophy, and moral philosophy. The seven liberal arts were called encyclopedic because they constituted a circle of arts in which they were all interrelated, such as mathematics and music. Music is not limited to audible sound; it embraces every aspect of physical nature or the human mind. It is worth recalling Plato's dialogue Timaeus in which the author describes the world soul as an entity created by the demiurge. This soul harmonizes with the cosmos, which is seen as a living organism, filled to bring order, beauty, and good. “For the Neoplatonists, Timaeus was a divinely inspired text which also helped to shape the contours of Christian theology, especially in the areas of cosmology and eschatology. Furthermore, Cicero's Dream of Scipio, inspired by Plato's Myth of Er, gave assurance that, by imitating the music of the spheres, mortals could ascend to heaven as on the wings of music to enjoy immortality and eternal felicity there” (Beveridge, 1979: 148-149). The book New England's first fruits (1643) contains unique references to the first codes for the existence of the colonies in New England, the Christianization of the local population, and the state of education. The text contains information about the emergence of Harvard College and the educational process there. The level of education was high, and among the studied foreign languages were both Latin and Greek. All this was necessary for reading philosophical and theological primary sources. “(...) the College was, by common consent, appointed to be at Cambridge, (a place very pleasant and accommodate) and is called (according to the name of the first founder) Harvard College (...) Over the College is master Dunster placed, as President, a learned conscionable and industrious man, who hath so trained up his Pupils in the tongues and Arts, and so seasoned them with the principles of Divinity and Christianity that we have to our great comfort, (and in truth) beyond our hopes, beheld their progress in Learning and godliness also; the former of this hath appeared in their publique declamations in Latin and Greek, and Deputations Logical and Philosophical, which they have been wanted (besides their ordinary Exercises in the College-Hall) in the audience of the Magistrates, Ministers, and other Scholars (...)” (New England's first fruits, 1643: 22-23).

One of the most important philosophical currents of the 17^th century in America was Neoplatonism as expounded by Peter Ramus (1515-1572). During the early English colonies in North America, Puritan thinkers based their principles on the Ramian version of Platonism. They received mainly education in England, where they were acquainted with Ramism. “The logic of Ramus had a profound, and according to some researchers, an outstanding impact on Puritan philosophy” (Pokrovsky, 1989: 86-87). Pokrovsky is convinced that Puritan philosophy was similar to Ramian Neoplatonism: “According to the teachings of Ramus, assimilated by the Cambridge Neoplatonists and transferred to the New World by Puritan theologians, there are three types, or rather three sources of knowledge in the world. This is an archetype (a divine pattern, a prototype of all existing things), an entip (an earthly incarnation of this pattern as a result of creation), an ektype (people's ideas about the created world)” (Pokrovsky, 1989: 186). The teachings of Ramus were based on criticism of Aristotelianism, bringing it closer to Platonism. Given the fact that Christian doctrine is directly related to the ancient philosophy of Platonism, Platonism appealed to American thinkers, both literally and consistently Waddington has very well described the influence of Plato on Ramus through the doctrine of ideas as prototypes and the basis of being successfully combined with Christian doctrine. The Puritans adhered to Neoplatonism both because of Augustine and because of Ramus. In Christian teaching, truth is described as eternal and unchanging; these qualities were believed by early Christian thinkers to describe the essence of God. Graves, in his book Peter Ramus and the Educational Reformation of the Sixteenth Century (1912) called Ramus “the French Plato” (Graves, 1912: 92).

Plato's Cosmology in Puritan Philosophy

Our knowledge of how well Puritan thinkers knew Plato and his philosophy is fragmentary. We receive information about this either indirectly or directly, through the presence of links in texts or citations. It is worth clarifying the peculiarity of understanding the essence of philosophy and the role of the philosopher in the 17^th century. Rudenko is convinced that to understand the specifics of Puritan philosophy, a broader definition of the concept of philosophy is necessary since, at that time, it was often associated with education (Rudenko & Sobolievskyi, 2020: 168). Thanks to English education, American thinkers knew about the logic of Aristotle, the doctrine of the ideas of Plato, and the wisdom of Socrates.

In The Puritans (1938), Miller confirms the presence of Platonist ideas in the Puritan worldview: “Puritan thought would appropriate some ideas from Hesiod or Horace, some wisdom from Plato, or even some wit from Plautus” (Miller & Johnson, 1938: 21). Often in the texts of Puritan thinkers, one can find reminiscences (implicit quoting) of the philosophical ideas of ancient thinkers. An example of circumstantial evidence is the meta-form of the ship as an image of the state in a Letter to the Town of Providence (1654) by Williams. The Ship of State is a famous metaphor from Plato's Book VI of the Republic (488a-489d). “That ever I should speak or write a tittle that tends to such an infinite liberty of conscience is a mistake, and which I have ever disclaimed and abhorred. To prevent such mistakes, I shall at present only propose this case: There goes many a ship to sea, with many hundred souls in one ship, whose weal and woe is common, and is a true picture of a common-wealth, or a human combination or society (...) I further add that I never denied, that notwithstanding this liberty, the commander of this ship ought to command the ship's course, yea, and also command that justice, peace and sobriety, be kept and practiced, both among the seamen and all the passengers” (Williams & Bartlett, 1874: 278-279).

Nathaniel Ward was a pastor in Massachusetts; he was one of the first Puritan philosophers in New England. He wrote both The Body of Liberties (1641) and The Simple Cobbler of Aggawam in America (1647). It is not known how well he knew ancient philosophy. Bйranger suggests that Ward could have had a good knowledge of the ancient heritage, suggesting that he read Cicero and Plato through the prism of Calvinism (Bйranger, 1969: 184). Indeed, Ward's texts, we find ideas that send us back to ancient philosophers. For example, the idea of different forms of government refers to the teachings of Plato and Aristotle. “I know no difference in this essentials, between monarchies, aristocracies, or democratic, the rule will be found, par-rational say Schoolemen and Pretorians what they will” (Ward, 1647: 53). He appreciates the legacy of the Neoplatonist father of the church, Aurelius Augustine (Ward, 1647: 15).

Another example of explicit knowledge and understanding of Plato's philosophy is in Of Plymouth Plantation (1651) by Bradford. “The experience that was had in this commone course and condition tried sundrie years, and that amongst godly and sober men, may well evince the vanitie of that conceit of Platos & other ancients, applauded by some of later times - that the taking away of property, and bringing in community into a common wealth, would make them happy and flourishing; as if they were wiser than God. For this comunitie (so far as it was) was found to breed much confusion and discontent, and retard much imployment that would have been to their benefite and comforte. For the yong-men that were most able and fitte for labour and service did repine that they should spend their time and streingth to worke for other mens wives and children, without any recompence” (Bradford & Davis, 1908: 146). It is not only this evidence that testifies to the interest of early American thinkers in the history of philosophy, and a more detailed analysis of references and reminiscences allows us to fully estimate the essence of Puritan philosophy. Plato reflects on how the state should be organized; in his ideal state, there is no private property. Houses, wives, and children belong to everyone. Curiously enough, the Puritans considered such ideas, which today might be called communist, seriously. The reason Bradford opposes such an organization of the state is that all attempts to translate Plato's ideas into reality have failed. Consequently, he concludes that the ideas of ancient philosophers, although interesting, are not practical. Scanned copies of his handwritten notes contain one of the earliest references to Plato in America. Although the referenced quotation is from 1623, Bradford began writing On Plymouth Plantation, a detailed history of the founding of Plymouth Colony in 1630, making the last entries in the manuscript in 1650.

Samuel Stone (1602-1663) was a Puritan minister and co-founder of Hartford, Connecticut. He hailed from Hertford, Hertfordshire, England. In 1624, he graduated from Emmanuel College, Cambridge. Among the alumni of this college was John Harvard. In 1633, Stone arrived in North America, and in 1642, he published A Congregational Church, a Catholike Visible Church (1642). The cover of the book notes that it was written by Samuel Stone, a `Teacher to the Church of Christ at Hartford in New England'. This allows us, even though the book was printed in England, to consider the author as an American thinker. The author enters into a dialogue with other Puritan thinkers, discussing the nature of the church and the essence of logic in Christian teaching. Ideas of medieval discussions about the nature of species and individuals can be found in his teaching: “First, Because Genus containeth not the whole quiddity of the thing: for when this answer is given, Man is a living creature; there is yet no difference appearing between him and a beast; a beast is a living creature: and the question yet remaineth what living creature he is. Secondly, It is the proper office of the definition, to explicate the quiddity of a thing, and shew what it is. Definitio est cum explicatur quid res sit: when the utmost bounds of the Essence of a thing are laid forth, it is then distinguished from all other things. Thirdly, There may be genus where no question is made” (Stone, 1642). In his disquisition, he attended two things: the explication of some `Rules concerning Genus or Totum Genericum' and the application of those rules to the question in hand. He created the fundamental rules concerning genus and species, built some conclusions upon those foundations, and deduced some consectaries from those principles. The author expounds on the logic of Aristotle, and the teachings of Plato, mentioning ancient Greek philosophers. “The word is translated from Families hither, by reason of similitude; because as Parents are causes of their children, so genus is of his species. And because those that are born in the same Family, and are of the same house, stock or kindred, have all things in common between themselves, as names, sirnames, priviledges, &c. so in like manner species have a like nature in common between them; as Socrates and Plato” (Stone, 1642). The question of the existence of genera and species is directly related to the problem of existence. This recalls the question of the real world and the illusory world, which was important for the cosmological concepts of both the ancient Greeks and the early Americans.

Charles Chauncy (1592-1672), president of Harvard College, in his sermon of 1655 said all who study the arts and sciences understand that the Bible itself taught the principles of ethics, politics and astronomy, as well as ancient languages. If by human knowledge we understand all the knowledge that the ancient philosophers set forth in their treatises, then it is worth remembering that Scripture quotes such authors. Christianity had undergone strong Hellenization. “...who can deny but that there are found many excellent and divine moral truths in Plato, Aristotle, Plutarch, Seneca, etc.?” (Chauncy, 1655: 706-707).

One of the most influential and outstanding representatives of Puritan philosophy was Cotton Mather (1663-1728), a preacher, theologian, historian, political and church leader, and author of many biographies, essays, and chronicles. His book Magnalia Christi Americana (1702) could be considered to be similar to the Holy Scripture. The text mentions Plato, in particular his story about Atlantis: “.from the Words of Plato, that beyond the Pillars of Hercules there was an Island in the Atlantic Ocean, larger than Africa and Asia together” (Mather, 1702: 2). Information about the location of the mythical island in the Atlantic Ocean was described by Plato in the Timaeus dialogue, in one of the most important treatises of the ancient thinker on cosmology and physics, written around 360 BCE. It was translated into Latin by Cicero and was one of the few Platonic texts that medieval and Renaissance philosophers could work with. In Timaeus, the relationship between supernatural beings and other natural beings is presented as a relationship between eternal and temporary existence (or non-existence). The cosmos is founded according to the prototypes, and things are only its likeness; that is, there is an intelligible cosmos, and there is a visible cosmos. According to Plato, the Universe was created by the demiurge being, an ideal and beneficent deity, through the interaction of reason and need. The demiurge did not create matter for the cosmos, but he gave it order; that is, he is a creator, a builder. This deity does not create the world out of nothing but shapes the eternal matter that exists discretely. Plato describes the Universe as a sphere since the sphere is ideal; its uniformity is an advantage over unevenness. The cosmos consists of elements and each element corresponds to one of the following figures: the earth is a cube, the air is an octahedron, water is an icosahedron, and fire is a tetrahedron. Elemental elements are not the basic elements of matter, but their states.

In Magnalia Christi Americana (1702), Mather demonstrates his knowledge of ancient philosophical literature and his ability to quote Plato in the original. “One would have imagined that so good a Man could have had no Enemies; if we had not had a daily and woeful Experience to Convince us, that Goodness itself will make Enemies. It is a wonderful Speech by Plato (in one of his Books, De Republica). For the trial of true Vertue, “is necessary that a good Man ^nSev yap &5ikmv 5o^av exexm x^v ^e^axnv aStKia^” (Mather, 1702: 10).

Schneider) describes the history of the emergence of Ramism in New England. In 1580, the introduction of Ramism at Cambridge University by Sir William Temple, contributed to the development of Cambridge Platonism. Among the Cambridge Puritans were Alexander Richardson, George Downame, Anthony Wotton, William Ames, William Perkins, John Preston, and Thomas Hooker, among others. The texts of these thinkers became the main bibliography of early New England philosophers. “Hooker later emigrated and became one of the early leaders in New England. He had studied Ramist philosophy under Richardson at Cambridge before he emigrated to New England, where he became the best-informed expositor of the system and, together with an adequately educated group of New England ministers, continued the philosophical defense of Congregationalism for several generations. This philosophical Puritanism in New England created a distinctive, intellectual tradition, whose chief themes were the theory of theocratic towns, and the academic development of technologia” (Schneider, 1946: 6). Hooker was a Congregational minister and founder of the Connecticut Colony. He was not only an outstanding orator but also an insightful philosopher. Reason was a very important concept in his philosophy. The mind was the defining factor of man. In his book A Survey of the Summe of Church-Discipline (1648), he wrote: “A man is a living creature indued with a reasonable soul: and every living creature indued with a reasonable soul is a man” (Hooker, 1648: 44). Tipson, in his article Seeing the World Through Ramist Eyes: The Richardsonian Ramism of Thomas Hooker and Samuel Stone (2013), studied the texts of Hooker and Stone. His task was to show how the influential New England Puritan philosophers of the early 17^th century perceived the world around them. He explains how this perception was influenced by the Ramist philosophy of Alexander Richardson (Tipson, 2013). There is a certain belief that Puritan thinkers were hostile to natural philosophy. A world governed by the fundamental laws of nature, as it may seem at first glance, is not consistent with the Puritan concept of the cosmos, which is under the control of God. However, the Puritans were no less interested in space exploration than any other people were. A significant difference in natural philosophy in 17^th century New England is that little attention was paid to the study of mathematics. Although algebra and geometry were studied in English universities, physics was still taught according to the Commentaries on Aristotle. There was a religious reason for not attaching too much importance to the study of nature since the main thing was the salvation of the soul, and not at all the study of natural phenomena. Puritan thinkers, mostly Puritan ministers, expounded their thoughts in sermons, teachings and instructions. “Hence in the sermons of Puritan ministers, side by side with passages of scripture, appear examples of the wisdom of Greece, episodes from the lives of Plutarch, tart sayings from Aristophanes, hard realism from Thucydides. Plato serves as an authority for the principles of society, subordinated of course to the Word of God” (Miller & Johnson, 1938: 23).

Wise, originally from Massachusetts, was a political leader during the American colonial period. At Harvard, he studied theology and philosophy. In his A vindication of the government of New-England churches. Drawn from antiquity; the light of nature; Holy Scripture; its noble nature; and from the dignity Divine Providence has put upon it (1717), studying the forms of government, he mentions Plato and his political philosophy: “The original of our government, says Plato, (speaking of the Athenian common-wealth) was taken from the equality of our race. Other states there are composed of different blood, and of unequal lines, the consequence of which are disproportionable sovereignty, tyrannical or oligarchycal sway; under which men live in such a manner, as to esteem themselves partly lords, and partly slaves to each other. But we and our countrymen, being all born brethren of the same mother, do not look upon ourselves to stand under so hard a relation, as that of lords and slaves; but the parity of our descent inclines us to keep up the like parity by our laws, and to yield the precedency to nothing but to superior virtue and wisdom” (Wise, 1772: 31).

Samuel Eliot Morison, in his book The intellectual life of colonial New England (1956) describes the cosmological ideas about the world among the Puritans. “But the Puritans, like the Jews, regarded this earth and humanity as a divine enterprise, the management of which was God's major interest; they were God's people and their God was a living God, always thought of as intensely concerned with the actions and characters of people and nations. Each individual was a necessary item in a significant and divinely ordered cosmos. God has a personal interest in me and has appointed work for me to do. If I am incapable of receiving his grace, it is unfortunate; but if that is God's will, who am I to complain? Yet while there's life, there's hope; and at any time before death, my risen Lord may whisper in my heart that I am of the blessed ones elected by his Father to salvation” (Morison, 1956: 12).

Contrary to popular belief, the Puritans were interested in the teachings of science in the 17^th century and were often proponents of it. However, they were convinced that God was the creator of the Universe and, therefore, he had the right to change his laws of nature. John Cotton in A brief exposition with practical observations upon the whole book ofEcclesiastes (1654) writes that the study of space does not contradict God's plan; rather that the study of created nature allows one to approach God in thoughts. “Doctr. 1. To study the nature and course, and use of all Gods works, is a duty imposed by God upon all sorts of men; from the King that sites upon the Throne to the Artificer” (Cotton, 1654: 23). In the text, he mentions Aristotle and Plato. “First, the original of Fountains to spring from the Sea. Aristotle's reason to the contrary, that water covets to run to the lowest place: And if the water should have this vicissitude, of course from the Fountains to the Sea, from the Sea to the Fountains; then the same place should be higher and lower then itself; will not hold. For some parts of the Sea are lower than the Fountains, and into them, the Fountains send forth their streams to run; other parts of the Sea are as high, or higher than the Fountains, especially in great storms, when the waves seem to ascend up to heaven, Psalm 107.26. And they by secret channels another way send forth Springs of water to feed the Fountains. Plato's Barathrum in the hollow Caverns of the earth, which he makes to be the original of Fountains, is hence also refuted unless he derives the supplying of that Barathrum from the Sea” (Cotton, 1654: 20). Commenting on the book of Ecclesiastes, Cotton discusses whether there is something new in the cosmos. `There is nothing new under the Sun' is a commonly used saying. However, Cotton believes that it is not entirely correct to say that there is no new thing in the world. After all, it is obvious that civilization is developing, that people are making new discoveries, inventing new things. “To answer these, and such like doubts, many interpretations and limitations of these words have been given, which were not worth rehearsing, as that of Cajetan concerning

Solomon, to reason from the Eternity of time to argue the circular motion of natural bodies; and that alleged of Origen, touching Plato's great year, of 49,000 years, wherein he would have all the Stares to come to the same Position, and so all things to return again in the same course. But to touch only those which come nearer to the truth; Some have thought (amongst whom Hierome) that all things now done, were first in Gods Predestination; but though that be a truth, yet not pertinent here: For Gods Predestination is above the Sun; and things done here according to it, are new still under the Sun, as having never been done under the Sun before. Besides, God's Predestination was not in the old time before us, but before all time” (Cotton, 1654: 20).

Danforth is an important example of Puritan thinkers' awareness of natural philosophy and cosmology. In 1665 he described his observations of the comet and some reflections on its nature. Thus, he gave not only an empirical description but also a certain reflection. He writes in his book^4n astronomical description of the late comet or blazing star as it appeared in New England in the 9^th, 10^th, 11^th, and the beginning of the 12^th month, 1664: together with a brief theological application thereof (1665) that astronomers have observed various comets, some half the size of the Moon, some larger than the Moon, as they thought. The exact dimensions of the comets were difficult for an American astronomer to determine due to the level of science at the time. He suggested: “Comet was created in the beginning of the World together with the rest of the Stars and hath been hidden in the height and profundity of the Heavens, and at a certain time descending toward the Earth, becomes Visible and Signal to the World, I leave free to after-disquisition” (Danforth, 1665: 3). Puritans had gathered their information from books: Robert Boyle's Usefulness of Experimental Natural Philosophy (1663); Charles Morton's Compendium Physicae; and especially from the popular “Copernican expositions of Vincent Wing and Adrian Heereboord, whose works had acquainted the students with Galileo, Kepler, and Gassendi, even before the epochal discoveries of Halley and Newton” (Miller, 1939: 733). Over time, ancient ideas about the structure of the cosmos would be revised in the light of new cosmological theories. Ptolemy, Aristotle, and Plato would be replaced by Galileo, Copernicus, Newton and others. And if Plato's cosmology gradually lost its position in the scientific worldview, Platonism would only become more popular in the following eras of the history of early American philosophy.

Conclusions

In conclusion, one can say that the influence of Plato and Platonism on early American philosophy was important, if largely unseen. The intellectuals of early American philosophy boasted a good English education and knowledge of the ancient heritage. Since the Middle Ages, in the European philosophical tradition, Plato and Aristotle had played an important role in education and science. Dialectics and the doctrine of the ideas of Plato, together with the logic of Aristotle, formed the basis of philosophical knowledge. Neoplatonism firmly entered the structure of Christian theology, supplementing the doctrine of God with ancient metaphysics. Of the few available texts of Plato, the dialogue Timaeus, one of the most important treatises on cosmology, physics and biology, occupied an important role for a long time. Plato's doctrine of the cosmos and its influence on early American philosophy presents an interesting research problem for the historian of philosophy. In the texts of early American Puritan philosophers, one can find both reminiscences of Plato and explicit references and quotations.

Some of Plato's ideas appear in the texts of Puritan thinkers without indicating the author; this can be considered to be a reminiscence - an implicit quote. For example, Williams described the image of the state as a ship. One of the earliest references to Plato in America is by Bradford, who mentioned the ancient philosopher in his journal Of Plymouth Plantation (1651) in 1623. However, the journal was written between 1630 and 1650. Bradford turns to the ancient past to demonstrate the failure of some political ideas. Stone mentions both Socrates and Plato in A Congregational Church, a Catholike Visible Church (1642). Mather, in his book Magnalia Christi Americana (1702), mentioned Plato. He mentions the story of Atlantis, which Plato told in his dialogues.

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