236
Stranger
Str. Not those who produce some large work of sculpture or painting. For if they reproduced the true proportions of beautiful forms, the upper parts, you know, would seem smaller and the lower parts larger than they ought, because we see the former from a distance, the latter from near at hand.
Theaetetus
Theaet. Certainly.
Stranger
Str. So the artists abandon the truth and give their figures not the actual proportions but those which seem to be beautiful, do they not?
Theaetetus
Theaet. Certainly.
Stranger
Str. That, then, which is other, but like, we may fairly call a likeness, may we not?
5
Stranger
Str. And the part of imitation which is concerned with such things, is to be called, as we called it before, likeness-making?
Theaetetus
Theaet. It is to be so called.
Stranger
Str. Now then, what shall we call that which appears, because it is seen from an unfavorable position, to be like the beautiful, but which would not even be likely to resemble that which it claims to be like, if a person were able to see such large works adequately? Shall we not call it, since it appears, but is not like, an appearance?
Theaetetus
Theaet. Certainly.
10
Stranger
Str. And this is very common in painting and in all imitation?
Theaetetus
Theaet. Of course.
Stranger
Str. And to the art which produces appearance, but not likeness, the most correct name we could give would be fantastic art, would it not?
Theaetetus
Theaet. By all means.
Stranger
Str. These, then, are the two forms of the image-making art that I meant, the likeness-making and the fantastic.
15
Theaetetus
Theaet. You are right.
