Beauty, proportion and truth as the "vestibule" for goodness in Plato's 'Philebe'

In the Philebus beauty is combined with truth and proportion in order to co nstitute a triad which, the absolute good not being directly accessible, ca n help to assess the goodness of a mixture. The present article examines th e mutual relation between the terms of the triad as well as between the tri ad and the good. The interpretation hinges on the distinction between the " order of the good" and the "order of nature" which is to be found in the Re public (493 c): art, which only has the intention to realize an appearance of beauty, is said to belong to the natural order (the object of which are the necessities and needs of nature, and also that which the artist conceiv es as the need of his audience). This conception of alleged beauty is contr asted with true beauty, which contains in itself truth and proportion, thus being an expression of the good.