'A great work, too, will have been accomplished by them.' Great, yes, but not the greatest; for man is a social being, and can only attain his highest development in the society which is best suited to him.
Enough, then, of the causes why philosophy has such an evil name.
Another question is, Which of existing states is suited to her?
Not one of them; at present she is like some exotic seed which degenerates in a strange soil; only in her proper state will she be shown to be of heavenly growth.

'And is her proper state ours or some other ?' Ours in all points but one, which was left undetermined.

You may remember our saying that some living mind or witness of the legislator was needed in states.

But we were afraid to enter upon a subject of such difficulty, and now the question recurs and has not grown easier:--How may philosophy be safely studied?
Let us bring her into the light of day, and make an end of the inquiry.
In the first place, I say boldly that nothing can be worse than the present mode of study.

Persons usually pick up a little philosophy in early youth, and in the intervals of business, but they never master the real difficulty, which is dialectic.