The remaining Part of this Preface must be imploy’d in saying something for Carneades, and something for my Selfe.
And first, Carneades hopes that he will be thought to have disputed civilly and Modestly enough for one that was to play the Antagonist and the Sceptick. And if he any where seem to sleight his Adversaries Tenents and Arguments, he is willing to have it look’d upon as what he was induc’d to, not so much by his Opinion of them, as the Examples of Themistius and Philoponus, and the custom of such kind of Disputes.
Next, In case that some of his Arguments shall not be thought of the most Cogent sort that may be, he hopes it will be consider’d that it ought not to be Expected, that they should be So. For, his Part being chiefly but to propose Doubts and Scruples, he does enough, if he shews that his Adversaries Arguments are not strongly Concluding, though his own be not so neither. And if there should appear any disagreement betwixt the things he delivers in divers passages, he hopes it will be consider’d, that it is not necessary that all the things a Sceptick Proposes, should be consonant; since it being his work to Suggest doubts against the Opinion he questions, it is allowable for him to propose two or more severall Hypotheses about the same thing: And to
