The other ethical proof of the immortality of the soul is
derived from the necessity of retribution. The wicked would be
too well off if
their evil deeds came to an
end. It is not to be
supposed that an Ardiaeus, an Archelaus, an Ismenias could ever
have suffered
the penalty of their crimes in
this world. The
manner in which this retribution is accomplished
Plato repre-
sents under the figures of mythology. Doubtless
that it
was easier to improve than to invent, and
that in religion
espe-
e
cially the
traditional form was required in order to give veri-
similitude to
the myth. The myth too is
far more probable to
that age than to ours, and may fairly be
regarded as ‘one guess
among many’ about the nature of the earth, which he cleverly
supports by the indications of geology.