PLATONISM, the system of philosophy taught by Plato. The tripartite division of philosophy into Dialectic (Metaphysics), Phys ics and Ethics is not explicitly made by Plato, although these several disciplines are discussed in the various dialogues and the classification is implicitly made.
Platonic The fundamental discipline in the Platonic philosophy is the Meta physics, and the central doctrine in this dis cipline is the doctrine of ideas. The basic ele ments of the doctrine are derived from preced ing philosophies, although they are here recon structed with creative genius into a new system. The Platonic ontology is an attempt to mediate between the metaphysical antithesis of Heracli teanism (the philosophy of becoming or °flux,* geographical limits mentioned; the Bible was translated into Plattdeutsch before any version into High German was made; but Luther's Bible having been composed in High German and circulated as no book ever before—one bookseller in Wittenberg sold in 40 years 100,000 copies, and before 1559 it was reprinted in 38 editions — the High German dialect was recognized thenceforth as the superior literary medium. The Plattdeutsch accordingly went
into decline, the issues from the press in that dialect growing gradually fewer till, in the end of the 17th century, its literary use had prac tically ceased. But in recent times there has been a revival of Plattdeutsch literature, and the several Low German dialects have received a good deal of attention from linguistic scholars. The oldest extant literary monument of the Low German language is the (healer or savior), a history of the life of Christ composed in alliterative verse; it was written about the year 830 by a Saxon cleric or monk.