What Is Early and What Is Late in Pater’s Work: The Evidence of a Reshuffled Text

Abstract

Illustrates the difficulties of distinguishing what is early from what is late in Pater’s work by examining a passage appearing in both the periodical version of chapter IV of Gaston de Latour and chapter VII of Plato and Platonism. Notes that in both occurrences the passage represents Montaigne’s skepticism as a phenomenon of the modern age, but in Plato and Platonism it is also associated with the skeptical tendencies of Plato’s thought. Believes Montaigne’s inconclusive method, resembling modern rather than ancient forms of skepticism, proved of greater interest to Pater as he grew increasingly uncertain of the bold heterodoxies in his earlier work. Asserts that since Pater lectured on Plato throughout his academic career, it is possible that the analogy between Montaigne and Plato dates from an earlier time.