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THE 

DIALOGUES   OF  PLATO 


JOWETT 


VOL.  V. 


HENRY  FROWDE 

Oxford  University  Press  Warehouse 
Amen  Corner,  E.C. 


(ilciv  2)orR 
112  Fourth  Avenue 


THE 


DIALOGUES  OF  PLATO 

c 

TRANSLATED  INTO  ENGLISH 

WITH  ANALYSES  AND  INTRODUCTIONS 


B.  JOWETT,  M.A. 

MASTER    OF    BALLIOL  COLLEGE 
RF.CIUS    PROFESSOR    OF    GREEK    IN    THE    UNIVERSITY    OF  OXFORD 
DOCTOR    IN    THEOLOGY    OF    THE    UNIVERSITY   OF  LEYDEN 

IN  FIVE  VOLUMES 
VOL.  V 

THIRD  EDITION 

REVISED  AND  CORRECTED   THROUGHOUT,   WITH  MARGINAL  ANALYSES 
AND  AN  INDEX  OF  SUBJECTS  AND  PROPER  NAMES 

AT    THE    CLARENDON  PRESS 

M  UCCC  XCII 


PRINTED   AT   THE    CLARENDON  PRESS 

BY  HORACE  HART,  PRINTER  TO  THE  UNIVERSITY 


1  ROY  \L  r 

1 

(11  1  r  -rr    OF  PHYSICIANS 

;. 

ERRATA  IN  INDEX. 


Page  368,  col.  b,  s.  v.  Aliens  :  /or  See  Aliens,  read  See  Metics. 
427,  „  b,  1.  10 :  for  Rep.  404  A  recui  Rep.  3.  404  A 
429,   „  b,  1.  20  :  for  women,  id.  5.  452-457  read  women,  Rep.  5.  452-457 
468,   „   b,  1.  7  from  bottom  :  for  Laws  6.  764  D,  765  D  rendhaws  6.  765  D 
470,   ,,  b,  under  [Religious  Worship]  1.  2 :  for  temples,  t/'.  759  '< 
84848  C  ;  read  temples,  6.  759  ;  8.  848  C;  and  for  priest- 
hood, ii.  759  read  priesthood,  6.  759 
475)   »       1-  8  :  for  Laws  2.  683  E  read  Laws  2.  663  E:  <7>id,  1.  g,for 

Atalantis,  read  Atlantis, 
484,   „   b,  1.  2  from  bottom  :  afUr  I  Alcib.  104B;  insert  2  Alcib.  144  A; 
487,   „   b,  1.  26  :  for  ib.  487  foil,  read  6.  487  foil. 

505,  ,,   a,  ^. »,  Scirrhon  :       threw  travellers  from  the  rocks,  rijdr/ Socrates 
compared  to, 

512,   „   a,  bottom  line  :  for  ib.  726  foil.,  read  id.  276  foil., 
Jowett's  Plato,  Vol.  V. 


I 
I 


CONTENTS 
LAWS :- 

(1)  Introduction  and  Analysis       ...  ix 

(2)  Text   i 

INDEX  TO  THE  WRITINGS  OF  PLATO  .  363 


INTRODUCTION  AND  ANALYSIS. 


The  genuineness  of  the  Laws  is  sufficiently  proved  (i)  by  Laws. 
more  than  twenty  citations  of  them  in  the  writings  of  Aristotle,  Introduc- 
who  was  residing  at  Athens  during  the  last  twenty  years  of  the 
life  of  Plato,  and  who,  having  left  it  after  his  death  (b.  c.  347), 
returned  thither  twelve  years  later  (b.  c.  335) ;  (2)  by  the  allusion 
of  Isocrates  ^ — writing  346  b.  c,  a  year  after  the  death  of 
Plato,  and  probably  not  more  than  three  or  four  years  after 
the  composition  of  the  Laws— who  speaks  of  the  Laws  and 
Republics  written  by  philosophers  [viro  rtav  (Tocf)iaT5>v) ;  (3)  by 
the  reference  (Athen.  226  A)  of  the  comic  poet  Alexis,  a  younger 
contemporary  of  Plato  (fl.  b.  c.  356-306),  to  the  enactment  about 
prices,  which  occurs  in  Laws  xi.  917  B  foil,  viz.  that  the  same 
goods  should  not  be  offered  at  two  prices  on  the  same  day^; 
(4)  by  the  unanimous  voice  of  later  antiquity  and  the  absence 

'  Oiatio  ad  Philippum  missa,  p.  84  :  Th  /xhu  raTs  iravnyvpetriv  evox^^iv  fal 
irphs  Hiravras  Xiynv  tovs  ffwrpexovras  iv  avTa7s  irphs  ovSeva  effTlu,  aW' 

dfiolus  o't  ToiovToi  tS)v  \6y(i>v  (sc.  speeches  in  the  assembly)  &Kvpot  Tvyxdvovffiu 
ovTes  rots  v6/x.ots  koI  tois  iro\irelais  ra7s  vTrh  rav  croipia-rSiv  yeypa/xfiepats. 

^  Oil  ytyovf  Kptlrrcov  uofioOerris  rov  rrKovalov 
' Pi.piffTovlKOv'  rldrjcri  yap  vvvl  vSfiOv, 
rSiv  ix^votrwXSiv  Scrrts  Uv  ironKasv  riv\ 
IxBvv  viroTtfi^ffas  airoSwr'  e\d.TTOvos 
fis  Hire  rififjs,  fls  rh  St(rn(i}Trjptov 
fvBvs  a-rrdyfcrdai  rovrou,  'Iva  SedoiicdrfS 
Tjjs  d|^ay  ayairwcriu,  ^  Tr\s  ea-irepas 
ffatrpovs  airavras  a.iT0<pepa3(nv  ofxaSf. 

Meineke,  Frag.  Com.  Graec.  vol.  iii.  p.  438. 


The  genuineness  of  the  Lazus. 

Laiijs.  of  any  suspicion  among  ancient  writers  worth  speaking  of  to 
NTRODuc-  the  contrary ;  for  it  is  not  said  of  Philippus  of  Opus  that  he 
TioN.  composed  any  part  of  the  Laws,  but  only  that  he  copied  them  out 
of  the  waxen  tablets,  and  was  thought  by  some  to  have  written  the 
Epinomis  (Diog.  Laert.  iii.  25).  That  the  longest  and  one  of  the 
best  writings  bearing  the  name  of  Plato  should  be  a  forgery, 
even  if  its  genuineness  were  unsupported  by  external  testi- 
mony, would  be  a  singular  phenomenon  in  ancient  literature; 
and  although  the  critical  worth  of  the  consensus  of  late  writers 
is  generally  not  to  be  compared  with  the  express  testimony  of 
contemporaries,  yet  a  somewhat  greater  value  may  be  attributed 
to  their  consent  in  the  present  instance,  because  the  admission 
of  the  Laws  is  combined  with  doubts  about  the  Epinomis,  a 
spurious  writing,  which  is  a  kind  of  epilogue  to  the  larger  work 
probably  of  a  much  later  date.  This  shows  that  the  reception 
of  the  Laws  was  not  altogether  undiscriminating. 

The  suspicion  which  has  attached  to  the  Laws  of  Plato  in  the 
judgment  of  some  modern  writers  appears  to  rest  partly  (i)  on 
differences  in  the  style  and  form  of  the  work,  and  (2)  on  diff'er- 
ences  of  thought  and  opinion  which  they  observe  in  them.  Their 
suspicion  is  increased  by  the  fact  that  these  differences  are 
accompanied  by  resemblances  as  striking  to  passages  in  other 
Platonic  writings.  They  are  sensible  of  a  want  of  point  in  the 
dialogue  and  a  general  inferiority  in  the  ideas,  plan,  manners, 
and  style.  They  miss  the  poetical  flow,  the  dramatic  verisimili- 
tude, the  life  and  variety  of  the  characters,  the  dialectic  subtlety, 
the  Attic  purity,  the  luminous  order,  the  exquisite  urbanity; 
instead  of  whicli  they  find  tautology,  obscurity,  self-sufficiency, 
sermonizing,  rhetorical  declamation,  pedantry,  egotism,  uncouth 
forms  of  sentences,  and  peculiarities  in  the  use  of  words  and 
idioms.  They  are  unable  to  discover  any  unitj'  in  the  patched, 
irregular  structure.  The  speculative  element  both  in  government 
and  education  is  superseded  by  a  narrow  economical  or  religious 
vein.  The  grace  and  cheerfulness  of  Athenian  life  have  dis- 
appeared ;  and  a  spirit  of  moroseness  and  religious  intolerance 
has  taken  their  place.  The  charm  of  youth  is  no  longer  there : 
the  mannerism  of  age  makes  itself  unpleasantly  felt.  The  con- 
nexion is  often  imperfect ;  and  there  is  a  want  of  arrangement, 
exhibited  especially  in  the  enumeration  of  the  laws  towards  the 


Disappearance  of  Socrates.  x 

end  of  the  work.  The  Laws  are  full  of  flaws  and  repetitions.  Laws. 
The  Greek  is  in  places  very  ungrammatical  and  intractable.  Introduc- 
A  cynical  levity  is  displayed  in  some  passages,  and  a  tone  of 
disappointment  and  lamentation  over  human  things  in  others. 
The  critics  seem  also  to  observe  in  them  bad  imitations  of 
thoughts  which  are  better  expressed  in  Plato's  other  writings. 
Lastly,  they  wonder  how  the  mind  which  conceived  the  Republic 
could  have  left  the  Critias,  Hermocrates,  and  Philosophus  incom- 
plete or  unwritten,  and  have  devoted  the  last  years  of  life  to  the 
Laws. 

The  questions  which  have  been  thus  indirectly  suggested  may 
be  considered  by  us  under  five  or  six  heads  :  I,  the  characters ; 
II,  the  plan  ;  III,  the  style ;  IV,  the  imitations  of  other  writings 
of  Plato ;  V,  the  more  general  relation  of  the  Laws  to  the 
Republic  and  the  other  dialogues ;  and  VI,  to  the  existing 
Athenian  and  Spartan  states. 

I.  Already  in  the  Philebus  the  distinctive  character  of  Socrates 
has  disappeared ;  and  in  the  Timaeus,  Sophist,  and  Statesman 
his  function  of  chief  speaker  is  handed  over  to  the  Pythagorean 
philosopher  Timaeus,  and  to  the  Eleatic  Stranger,  at  whose  feet 
he  sits,  and  is  silent.  More  and  more  Plato  seems  to  have  felt 
in  his  later  writings  that  the  character  and  method  of  Socrates 
were  no  longer  suited  to  be  the  vehicle  of  his  own  philosophy. 
He  is  no  longer  interrogative  but  dogmatic  ;  not  '  a  hesitating 
enquirer,'  but  one  who  speaks  with  the  authority  of  a  legislator. 
Even  in  the  Republic  we  have  seen  that  the  argument  which  is 
carried  on  by  Socrates  in  the  old  style  with  Thrasymachus  in 
the  first  book,  soon  passes  into  the  form  of  exposition.  In  the 
Laws  he  is  nowhere  mentioned.  Yet  so  completely  in  the  tra- 
dition of  antiquity  is  Socrates  identified  with  Plato,  that  in  the 
criticism  of  the  Laws  which  we  find  in  the  so-called  Politics  of 
Aristotle  he  is  supposed  by  the  writer  still  to  be  playing  his  part 
of  the  chief  speaker  (cp.  Pol.  ii.  6,  §  8  foil.). 

The  Laws  are  discussed  by  three  representatives  of  Athens, 
Crete,  and  Sparta.  The  Athenian,  as  might  be  expected,  is  the 
protagonist  or  chief  speaker,  while  the  second  place  is  assigned 
to  the  Cretan,  who,  as  one  of  the  leaders  of  a  new  colony,  has 
a  special  interest  in  the  conversation.  At  least  four-fifths  of 
the  answers  are  put  into  his  mouth.     The  Spartan  is  every 


XII 


The  scene,  characters. 


Laws.  inch  a  soldier,  a  man  of  few  words  himself,  better  at  deeds 
iNTRODuc-  than  words.  The  Athenian  talics  to  the  two  others,  although 
they  are  his  equals  in  age,  in  the  style  of  a  master  discoursing 
to  his  scholars;  he  frequently  praises  himself;  he  entertains 
a  very  poor  opinion  of  the  understanding  of  his  companions. 
Certainly  the  boastfulness  and  rudeness  of  the  Laws  is  the 
reverse  of  the  refined  irony  and  courtesy  which  characterize 
tlie  earlier  dialogues.  We  are  no  longer  in  such  good  company 
as  in  the  Phacdrus  and  Symposium.  Manners  are  lost  sight  of 
in  the  earnestness  of  the  speakers,  and  dogmatic  assertions  take 
the  place  of  poetical  fancies. 

The  scene  is  laid  in  Crete,  and  the  conversation  is  held  in 
the  course  of  a  walk  from  Cnosus  to  the  cave  and  temple  of 
Zeus,  which  takes  place  on  one  of  the  longest  and  hottest  days 
of  the  year  (iii.  683  C).  The  companions  start  at  dawn,  and 
arrive  at  the  point  in  their  conversation  which  terminates  the 
fourth  book,  about  noon  (iv.  722  C).  The  God  to  whose  temple 
they  are  going  is  the  lawgiver  of  Crete,  and  this  may  be  supposed 
to  be  the  very  cave  at  which  he  gave  his  oracles  to  Minos.  But 
the  externals  of  the  scene,  which  are  briefly  and  inartistically 
described,  soon  disappear,  and  we  plunge  abruptly  into  the  subject 
of  the  dialogue.  We  are  reminded  by  contrast  of  the  higher 
art  of  the  Phaedrus,  in  which  the  summer's  day,  and  the  cool 
stream,  and  the  chirping  of  the  grasshoppers,  and  the  fragrance 
of  the  agnus  castus,  and  the  legends  of  the  place  are  present  to 
the  imagination  throughout  the  discourse. 

The  typical  Athenian  apologizes  for  the  tendency  of  his  country- 
men 'to  spin  a  long  discussion  out  of  slender  materials '  (i.  642  A), 
and  in  a  similar  spirit  the  Lacedaemonian  Megillus  apologizes 
for  the  Spartan  brevity  (cp.  Thucj'd.  iv.  17),  acknowledging  at  the 
same  time  that  there  may  be  occasions  when  long  discourses 
are  necessary  (iv.  721  E).  The  family  of  Megillus  is  the  proxenus 
of  Athens  at  Sparta  (i.  642  B) ;  and  he  pays  a  beautiful  compliment 
to  the  Athenian,  significant  of  the  character  of  the  work,  which, 
though  borrowing  many  elements  from  Sparta,  is  also  pervaded 
by  an  Athenian  spirit.  A  good  Athenian,  he  says,  is  more  than 
ordinarily  good,  because  he  is  inspired  by  nature  and  not  manu- 
factured by  law  (642  C).  The  love  of  listening  which  is  attributed 
to  the  Timocrat  in  the  Republic  (viii.  548  E)  is  also  exhibited  in 


and  other  dramatic  elements. 


xiii 


him  (iii.  683  B,  C).  The  Athenian  on  his  side  has  a  pleasure  in  Laws. 
speaking  to  the  Lacedaemonian  of  the  struggle  in  which  their  introduc- 
ancestors  were  jointly  engaged  against  the  Persians  (iii.  699  D). 
A  connexion  with  Athens  is  likewise  intimated  by  the  Cretan 
Cleinias.  He  is  the  relative  of  Epimenides  (i.  642  D),  whom,  by 
an  anachronism  of  a  century, — perhaps  arising  as  Zeller  suggests 
(Plat.  Stud.  p.  Ill)  out  of  a  confusion  of  the  visit  of  Epimenides 
and  Diotima  (Symp.  201  D), — he  describes  as  coming  to  Athens, 
not  after  the  attempt  of  Cylon  (596  b.  c),  but  ten  years  before  the 
Persian  war.  The  Cretan  and  Lacedaemonian  hardly  contribute  at 
all  to  the  argument  of  which  the  Athenian  is  the  expounder  ;  they 
only  supply  information  when  asked  about  the  institutions  of  their 
respective  countries  (i.  625  A ;  iv.  712  C).  A  kind  of  simplicity 
or  stupidity  is  ascribed  to  them  (x.  885  ff.,  888  E).  At  first,  they 
are  dissatisfied  with  the  free  criticisms  which  the  Athenian  passes 
upon  the  laws  of  Minos  and  Lycurgus,  but  they  acquiesce  in 
his  greater  experience  and  knowledge  of  the  world.  They  admit 
that  there  can  be  no  objection  to  the  enquiry;  for  in  the  spirit  of 
the  legislator  himself,  they  are  discussing  his  laws  when  there 
are  no  young  men  present  to  listen  (i.  635  A).  They  are  un- 
willing to  allow  that  the  Spartan  and  Cretan  lawgivers  can  have 
been  mistaken  in  honouring  courage  as  the  first  part  of  virtue 
(ii.  667  A),  and  are  puzzled  at  hearing  for  the  first  time  (ii.  661  D) 
that  '  Goods  are  only  evil  to  the  evil.'  Several  times  they  are 
on  the  point  of  quarrelling,  and  by  an  eifort  learn  to  restrain 
their  natural  feeling  (cp.  Shakespeare,  Henry  V,  act  iii.  sc.  2). 
In  Book  vii.  (806  C),  the  Lacedaemonian  expresses  a  momentary 
irritation  at  the  accusation  which  the  Athenian  brings  against 
the  Spartan  institutions,  of  encouraging  licentiousness  in  their 
women,  but  he  is  reminded  by  the  Cretan  that  the  permission 
to  criticize  them  freely  has  been  given,  and  cannot  be  retracted. 
His  only  criterion  of  truth  is  the  authority  of  the  Spartan  law- 
giver ;  he  is  '  interested '  (i.  636  E)  in  the  novel  speculations  of  the 
Athenian,  but  inclines  to  prefer  the  ordinances  of  Lycurgus. 

The  three  interlocutors  all  of  them  speak  in  the  character 
of  old  men,  which  forms  a  pleasant  bond  of  union  between 
them.  They  have  the  feelings  of  old  age  about  youth,  about  the 
state,  about  human  things  in  general.  Nothing  in  life  seems 
lo  be  of  much  importance  to  them  ;  they  arc  spectators  rather 


XIV 


The  plan  of  the  zvork. 


Laws.  than  actors,  and  men  in  general  appear  to  the  Athenian  speaker 
Introduc-  to  be  the  playthings  of  the  Gods  and  of  circumstances.  Still  they 
have  a  fatherly  care  of  the  young,  and  are  deeply  impressed  by 
sentiments  of  religion.  They  would  give  confidence  to  the  aged 
by  an  increasing  use  of  wine,  which,  as  they  get  older,  is  to 
unloose  their  tongues  and  make  them  sing.  The  prospect  of  the 
existence  of  the  soul  after  death  is  constantly  present  to  them ; 
though  they  can  hardly  be  said  to  have  the  cheerful  hope  and 
resignation  which  animates  Socrates  in  the  Phaedo  or  Cephalus 
in  the  Republic.  Plato  appears  to  be  expressing  his  own  feelings 
in  remarks  of  this  sort.  For  at  the  time  of  writing  the  first  book 
of  the  Laws  he  was  at  least  seventj'-four  years  of  age,  if  we  sup- 
pose him,  at  p.  638  A,  to  allude  to  the  victory  of  the  Syracusans 
under  Dionysius  the  Younger  over  the  Locrians,  which  occurred 
in  the  year  356.  Such  a  sadness  was  the  natural  effect  of  de- 
clining years  and  failing  powers,  which  make  men  ask,  'After  all, 
what  profit  is  there  in  life  ?'  They  feel  that  their  work  is  begin- 
ning to  be  over,  and  are  ready  to  say,  '  All  the  world  is  a  stage  ' ; 
or,  in  the  actual  words  of  Plato,  '  Let  us  play  as  good  plays  as  we 
can,'  though  'we  must  be  sometimes  serious,  which  is  not  agree- 
able, but  necessary '  (vii.  803  B,  C).  These  are  feelings  which 
have  crossed  the  minds  of  reflective  persons  in  all  ages.  And 
there  is  no  reason  to  connect  the  Laws  any  more  than  other  parts 
of  Plato's  writings  with  the  very  uncertain  narrative  of  his  life, 
or  to  imagine  that  this  melancholy  tone  is  attributable  to  dis- 
appointment at  having  failed  to  convert  a  Sicilian  tyrant  into  a 
philosopher. 

n.  The  plan  of  the  Laws  is  more  irregular  and  has  less  con- 
nexion than  any  other  of  the  writings  of  Plato.  As  Aristotle  says 
in  the  Politics  (ii.  6,  §  4),  '  The  greater  part  consists  of  laws ' ;  in 
Books  V,  vi,  xi,  xii  the  dialogue  almost  entirely  disappears.  Large 
portions  of  them  are  rather  the  materials  for  a  work  than  a 
finished  composition  which  may  rank  with  the  other  Platonic 
dialogues.  To  use  his  own  image,  '  Some  stones  are  regularly 
inserted  in  the  building  ;  others  are  lying  on  the  ground  ready  for 
use'  (ix.  858  B).  There  is  probably  truth  in  the  tradition  that  the 
Laws  were  not  published  until  after  the  death  of  Plato.  We  can 
easily  believe  that  he  has  left  imperfections,  which  would  have 
been  removed  if  he  had  lived  a  few  years  longer.   The  arrange- 


The  plan  of  the  work. 


XV 


ment  might  have  been  improved  ;  the  connexion  of  the  argument  Lmvs. 
might  have  been  made  plainer,  and  the  sentences  more  accurately  Introduc- 
framed.  Something  also  may  be  attributed  to  the  feebleness  of 
old  age.  Even  a  rough  sketch  of  the  Phaedrus  or  Symposium 
would  have  had  a  very  different  look.  There  is,  however,  an 
interest  in  possessing  one  writing  of  Plato  which  is  in  the  process 
of  creation. 

We  must  endeavour  to  find  a  thread  of  order  which  will  carry 
us  through  this  comparative  disorder.  The  first  four  books  are 
described  by  Plato  himself  as  the  preface  or  preamble.  Having 
arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  each  law  should  have  a  preamble, 
the  lucky  thought  occurs  to  him  at  the  end  of  the  fourth  book  that 
the  preceding  discourse  is  the  preamble  of  the  whole.  This 
preamble  or  introduction  may  be  abridged  as  follows  :  — 

The  institutions  of  Sparta  and  Crete  are  admitted  by  the 
Lacedaemonian  and  Cretan  to  have  one  aim  only :  they  were 
intended  by  the  legislator  to  inspire  courage  in  war.  To  this  the 
Athenian  objects  that  the  true  lawgiver  should  frame  his  laws 
with  a  view  to  all  the  virtues  and  not  to  one  only.  Better  is  he 
who  has  temperance  as  well  as  courage,  than  he  who  has  courage 
only ;  better  is  he  who  is  faithful  in  civil  broils,  than  he  who  is  a 
good  soldier  only.  Better,  too,  is  peace  than  war  ;  the  reconcilia- 
tion than  the  defeat  of  an  enemy.  And  he  who  would  attain  all 
virtue  should  be  trained  amid  pleasures  as  well  as  pains.  Hence 
there  should  be  convivial  intercourse  among  the  citizens,  and  a 
man's  temperance  should  be  tested  in  his  cups,  as  we  test  his 
courage  amid  dangers.  He  should  have  a  fear  of  the  right  sort,  as 
well  as  a  courage  of  the  right  sort. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  second  book  the  subject  of  pleasure  . 
leads  to  education,  which  in  the  early  years  of  fife  is  wholly  a 
discipline  imparted  by  the  means  of  pleasure  and  pain.  The  dis- 
cipline of  pleasure  is  implanted  chiefly  by  the  practice  of  the  song 
and  the  dance.  Of  these  the  forms  should  be  fixed,  and  not 
allowed  to  depend  on  the  fickle  breath  of  the  multitude.  There 
will  be  choruses  of  boys,  girls,  and  grown-up  persons,  and  all  will 
be  heard  repeating  the  same  strain,  that  'virtue  is  happiness.' 
One  of  them  will  give  the  law  to  the  rest;  this  will  be  the 
chorus  of  aged  minstrels,  who  will  sing  the  most  beautiful 
and  the  most  useful  of  songs.    They  will  require  a  little  wine, 


tvi  The  plan  of  the  work. 

Laws.  to  mellow  the  austerity  ol"  age,  and  make  them  amenable  to  the 
Introduc-  laWS. 

After  having  laid  down  as  the  first  principle  of  politics,  that 
peace,  and  not  war,  is  the  true  aim  of  the  legislator,  and  briefly 
discussed  music  and  festive  intercourse,  at  the  commencement 
of  the  third  book  Plato  makes  a  digression,  in  which  he  speaks 
of  the  origin  of  society.  He  describes,  first  of  all,  the  family ; 
secondly,  the  patriarchal  stage,  which  is  an  aggregation  of 
families  ;  thirdly,  the  founding  of  regular  cities,  like  Ilium  ; 
fourthly,  the  establishment  of  a  military  and  political  system,  like 
that  of  Sparta,  with  which  he  identifies  Argos  and  Messene, 
dating  from  the  return  of  the  Heraclidae.  But  the  aims  of  states 
should  be  good,  or  else,  like  the  prayer  of  Theseus,  they  may  be 
ruinous  to  themselves.  This  was  the  case  in  two  out  of  three  of 
the  Heracleid  kingdoms.  They  did  not  understand  that  the 
powers  in  a  state  should  be  balanced.  The  balance  of  powers 
saved  Sparta,  while  the  excess  of  tyranny  in  Persia  and  the 
excess  of  liberty  at  Athens  have  been  the  ruin  of  both.  .  .  .  This 
discourse  on  politics  is  suddenly  discovered  to  have  an  immediate 
practical  use ;  for  Cleinias  the  Cretan  is  about  to  give  laws  to  a 
new  colony. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  fourth  book,  after  enquiring  into  the 
circumstances  and  situation  of  the  colony,  the  Athenian  proceeds 
to  make  further  reflections.  Chance,  and  God,  and  the  skill  of  the 
legislator,  all  co-operate  in  the  formation  of  states.  And  the  most 
favourable  condition  for  the  foundation  of  a  new  one  is  when  the 
government  is  in  the  hands  of  a  virtuous  tyrant  who  has  the  good 
fortune  to  be  the  contemporary  of  a  great  legislator.  But  a  vir- 
.  tuous  tyrant  is  a  contradiction  in  terms  ;  we  can  at  best  only  hope 
to  have  magistrates  who  are  the  servants  of  reason  and  the  law. 
This  leads  to  the  enquiry,  what  is  to  be  the  polity  of  our  new 
state.  And  the  answer  is,  that  we  are  to  fear  God,  and  honour 
our  parents,  and  to  cultivate  virtue  and  justice ;  these  are  to  be 
our  first  principles.  Laws  must  be  definite,  and  we  should  create 
in  the  citizens  a  predisposition  to  obey  them.  The  legislator  will 
teach  as  well  as  command  ;  and  with  this  view  he  will  prefix 
preambles  to  his  principal  laws. 

The  fifth  book  commences  in  a  sort  of  dithyramb  with  another 
and  higher  preamble  about  the  honour  due  to  the  soul,  whence 


The  plan  of  the  work. 


xvii 


are  deduced  the  duties  of  a  man  to  his  parents  and  his  friends,  to  Laws. 
the  suppliant  and  stranger.  He  should  be  true  and  just,  free  from  Introduc- 
envy  and  excess  of  all  sorts,  forgiving  to  crimes  which  are  not 
incurable  and  are  partly  involuntary ;  and  he  should  have  a  true 
taste.  The  noblest  life  has  the  greatest  pleasures  and  the  fewest 
pains.  .  .  Having  finished  the  preamble,  and  touched  on  some  other 
preliminary  considerations,  we  proceed  to  the  Laws,  beginning 
with  the  constitution  of  the  State.  This  iS  not  the  best  or  ideal 
state,  having  all  things  common,  but  only  the  second-best,  in 
which  the  land  and  houses  are  to  be  distributed  among  5040 
citizens  divided  into  four  classes.  Thefe  is  to  be  no  gold  or  silver 
among  them,  and  they  are  to  have  moderate  wealth,  and  to  respect 
number  and  numerical  order  in  all  things. 

In  the  first  part  of  the  sixth  book,  Plato  completes  his  sketch  of 
the  constitution  by  the  appointment  of  officers.  He  explains  the 
manner  in  which  guardians  of  the  law,  generals,  priests,  wardens 
of  town  and  country,  ministers  of  education,  and  other  magistrates 
are  to  be  appointed ;  and  also  in  what  way  courts  of  appeal  are  to 
be  constituted,  and  omissions  in  the  law  to  be  supplied.  Next — 
and  at  this  point  (p.  772)  the  Laws  strictly  speaking  begin — there 
follow  enactments  respecting  marriage  and  the  procreation  of 
children,  respecting  property  in  slaves  as  well  as  of  other  kinds, 
respecting  houses,  married  life,  common  tables  for  men  and 
women.  The  question  of  age  in  marriage  suggests  the  considera- 
tion of  a  similar  question  about  the  time  for  holding  offices,  and 
for  military  service,  which  had  been  previously  omitted. 

Resuming  the  order  of  the  discussion,  which  was  indicated  in 
the  previous  book,  from  marriage  and  birth  we  proceed  to  educa- 
tion in  the  seventh  book.  Education  is  to  begin  at  or  rather 
before  birth  ;  to  be  continued  for  a  time  by  mothers  and  nurses 
under  the  supervision  of  the  state ;  finally,  to  comprehend  music 
and  gymnastics.  Under  music  is  included  reading,  writing, 
playing  on  the  lyre,  arithmetic,  geometry,  and  a  knowledge  of 
astronomy  sufficient  to  preserve  the  minds  of  the  citizens  from 
impiety  in  after-life.  Gymnastics  are  to  be  practised  chiefly  with 
a  view  to  their  use  in  war.  The  discussion  of  education,  which 
was  lightly  touched  upon  in  Book  ii,  is  here  completed. 

The  eighth  book  contains  regulations  for  civil  life,  beginning 
with  festivals,  games,  and  contests,  military  exercises  and  the 

VOL.  V.  b 


xviii  The  plan  of  the  zvork. 

Laws.  like.  On  such  occasions  Plato  seems  to  see  young  men  and 
iNTRODuc  maidens  meeting  together,  and  hence  he  is  led  into  discussing 
the  relations  of  the  ,  sexes,  the  evil  consequences  which  arise  out 
of  the  indulgence  of  the  passions,  and  the  remedies  for  them. 
Then  he  proceeds  to  speak  of  agriculture,  of  arts  and  trades,  of 
buying  and  selling,  and  of  foreign  commerce. 

The  remaining  books  of  the  Laws,  ix-xii,  are  chiefly  concerned 
with  criminal  offences.  In  the  first  class  are  placed  offences 
against  the  Gods,  especially  sacrilege  or  robbery  of  temples  :  next 
follow  offences  against  the  state,— conspiracy,  treason,  theft.  The 
mention  of  thefts  suggests  a  distinction  between  voluntary  and 
involuntary,  curable  and  incurable  offences.  Proceeding  to  the 
greater  crime  of  homicide,  Plato  distinguishes  between  mere 
homicide,  manslaughter,  which  is  partly  voluntary  and  partly  in- 
voluntary, and  murder,  which  arises  from  avarice,  ambition,  fear. 
He  also  enumerates  murders  by  kindred,  murders  by  slaves, 
wounds  with  or  without  intent  to  kill,  wounds  inflicted  in  anger, 
crimes  of  or  against  slaves,  insults  to  parents.  To  these,  various 
modes  of  purification  or  degrees  of  punishment  are  assigned,  and 
the  terrors  of  another  world  are  also  invoked  against  them. 

At  the  beginning  of  Book  x,  all  acts  of  violence,  including  sacri- 
lege, are  summed  up  in  a  single  law.  The  law  is  preceded  by  an 
admonition,  in  which  the  offenders  are  informed  that  no  one  ever 
did  an  unlioly  act  or  said  an  unlawful  word  while  he  retained  his 
belief  in  the  existence  of  the  Gods ;  but  either  he  denied  their  exist- 
ence, or  he  believed  that  they  took  no  care  of  man,  or  that  they 
might  be  turned  from  their  course  by  sacrifices  and  prayers.  The 
remainder  of  the  book  is  devoted  to  the  refutation  of  these  three 
classes  of  unbelievers,  and  concludes  with  the  means  to  be  taken 
for  their  reformation,  and  the  announcement  of  their  punishments 
if  they  continue  obstinate  and  impenitent. 

The  eleventh  book  is  taken  up  with  laws  and  with  admonitions 
relating  to  individuals,  which  follow  one  another  without  any  exact 
order.  There  are  laws  concerning  deposits  and  the  finding  of 
treasure ;  concerning  slaves  and  freedmen ;  concerning  retail 
trade,  bequests,  divorces,  enchantments,  poisonings,  magical  arts, 
and  the  like.  In  the  twelfth  book  the  same  subjects  are  continued. 
Laws  are  passed  concerning  violations  of  military  discipline, 
concerning  the  high  office  of  the  examiners  and  their  burial ;  con- 


The  style  of  the  Laws. 


xix 


cerning  oaths  and  the  violation  of  them,  and  the  punishments  of  Laws. 
those  who  neglect  their  duties  as  citizens.  Foreign  travel  is  then  Introduc- 
discussed,  and  the  permission  to  be  accorded  to  citizens  of  journey- 
ing  in  foreign  parts  ;  the  strangers  who  may  come  to  visit  the  city 
are  also  spoken  of,  and  the  manner  in  which  they  are  to  be  re- 
ceived. Laws  are  added  respecting  sureties,  searches  for  pro- 
perty, right  of  possession  by  prescription,  abduction  of  witnesses, 
theatrical  competition,  waging  of  private  warfare,  and  bribery  in 
offices.  Rules  are  laid  down  respecting  taxation,  respecting 
economy  in  sacred  rites,  respecting  judges,  their  duties  and  sen- 
tences, and  respecting  sepulchral  places  and  ceremonies.  Here 
(at  p.  960)  the  Laws  end.  Lastly,  a  Nocturnal  Council  is  instituted 
for  the  preservation  of  the  state,  consisting  of  older  and  younger 
m.embers,  who  are  to  exhibit  in  their  lives  that  virtue  which  is  the 
basis  of  the  state,  to  know  the  one  in  many,  and  to  be  educated  in 
divine  and  every  other  kind  of  knowledge  which  will  enable  them 
to  fulfil  their  office. 

in.  The  style  of  the  Laws  differs  in  several  important  respects 
from  that  of  the  other  dialogues  of  Plato :  (i)  in  the  want  of 
character,  power,  and  lively  illustration  ;  (2)  in  the  frequency  of 
mannerisms  (cp.  Introd.  to  the  Philebus,  sub  init.) ;  (3)  in  the  form 
and  rhythm  of  the  sentences ;  (4)  in  the  use  of  words.  On  the 
other  hand,  there  are  many  passages  (5)  which  are  characterized 
by  a  sort  of  ethical  grandeur  ;  and  (6)  in  which,  perhaps,  a  greater 
insight  into  human  nature,  and  a  greater  reach  of  .practical  wisdom 
is  shown,  than  in  any  other  of  Plato's  writings. 

I.  The  discourse  of  the  three  old  men  is  described  by  them- 
selves as  an  old  man's  game  of  play  (vi.  769  A).  Yet  there  is 
Httle  of  the  liveliness  of  a  game  in  their  mode  of  treating  the  sub- 
ject. They  do  not  throw  the  ball  to  and  fro,  but  two  out  of  the 
three  are  hsteners  to  the  third,  who  is  constantly  asserting  his 
superior  wisdom  and  opportunities  of  knowledge  (i.  639  D,  E),  and 
apologizing  (not  without  reason)  for  his  own  want  of  clearness  of 
speech.  He  will '  carry  them  over  the  stream '  (x.  892  D  foil.) ;  he 
will  answer  for  them  when  the  argument  is  beyond  their  compre- 
hension ;  he  is  afraid  of  their  ignorance  of  mathematics,  and  thinks 
that  gymnastic  is  likely  to  be  more  intelligible  to  them ;— he  has 
repeated  his  words  several  times,  and  yet  they  cannot  understand 
him  (ii.  664  D).   The  subject  did  not  properly  take  the  form  of 

b  2 


XX 


The  style  of  the  Laws. 


Laws.  dialogue,  and  also  the  literary  vigour  of  Plato  had  passed  away. 
iNTRODuc  The  old  men  speak  as  they  might  be  expected  to  speak,  and  in 
this  there  is  a  touch  of  dramatic  truth.  Plato  has  given  the  Laws 
that  form  or  want  of  form  which  indicates  the  failure  of  natural 
power.  There  is  no  regular  plan— none  of  that  consciousness  of 
what  has  preceded  and  what  is  to  follow,  which  makes  a  perfect 
style,— but  there  are  several  attempts  at  a  plan  ;  the  argument  is 
'  pulled  up '  (iii.  701  C,  D),  and  frequent  explanations  are  offered 
why  a  particular  topic  was  introduced  (iv.  713  B). 

The  fictions  of  the  Laws  have  no  longer  the  verisimilitude 
which  is  characteristic  of  the  Phaedrus  and  the  Timaeus,  or  even 
of  the  Statesman.  We  can  hardly  suppose  that  an  educated 
Athenian  would  have  placed  the  visit  of  Epimenides  to  Athens 
ten  years  before  the  Persian  war  (i.  642  D),  or  have  imagined 
that  a  war  with  Messene  prevented  the  Lacedaemonians  from 
coming  to  the  rescue  of  Hellas  (iii.  692  D).  The  narrative  of  the 
origin  of  the  Dorian  institutions  (iii.  685  foil.),  which  are  said  to 
have  been  due  to  a  fear  of  the  growing  power  of  t,he  Assyrians,  is 
a  plausible  invention,  which  may  be  compared  with  the  tale  of  the 
island  of  Atlantis  and  the  poem  of  Solon,  but  is  not  accredited  by 
similar  arts  of  deception.  The  other  statement  that  the  Dorians 
were  Achaean  exiles  assembled  by  Dorieus  (iii.  682  E),  and  the 
assertion  that  Troy  was  included  in  the  Assj'rian  Empire  (iii. 
685  C),  have  some  foundation  (cp.  for  the  latter  point,  Diod. 
Sicul.  ii.  2).  Nor  is  there  anywhere  in  the  Laws  that  lively 
tviipytia,  that  vivid  mise  en  scene,  which  is  as  characteristic  of 
Plato  as  of  some  modern  novelists. 

The  old  men  are  afraid  of  the  ridicule  which  '  will  fall  on  their 
heads  more  than  enough '  (vi.  781  C  ;  vii.  790  A,  800  B ;  x.  885  C), 
and  they  do  not  often  indulge  in  a  joke.  In  one  of  the  few  which 
occur,  the  book  of  the  Laws,  if  left  incomplete,  is  compared  to  a 
monster  wandering  about  without  a  head  {vi.  752  A).  But  we  no 
longer  breathe  the  atmosphere  of  humour  which  pervades  the 
Symposium  and  the  Euthydemus,  in  which  we  pass  within  a  few 
sentences  from  the  broadest  Aristophanic  joke  to  the  subtlest 
refinement  of  wit  and  fancy;  instead  of  this,  in  the  Laws  an  im- 
pression of  baldness  and  feebleness  is  often  left  upon  our  minds. 
Some  of  the  most  amusing  descriptions,  as,  for  example,  of  children 
roaring  for  the  first  three  years  of  life  (vii.  792  A) ;  or  of  the 


The  style  of  the  Lazvs. 


XXI 


Athenians  walking  into  the  country  with  fighting-cocks  under  Laivs. 

their  arms  (vii.  789  B,  C)  ;  or  of  the  slave  doctor  who  knocks  Introduc- 

about  his  patients  finely  (iv.  720  C) ;  and  the  gentleman  doctor 

who  courteously  persuades  them ;  or  of  the  way  of  keeping 

order  in  the  theatre,  '  by  a  hint  from  a  stick  '  (iii.  700  C),  are 

narrated  with  a  commonplace  gravity;  but  where  we  find  this 

sort  of  dry  humour  we  shall  not  be  far  wrong  in  thinking  that 

the  writer  intended  to  make  us  laugh.    The  seriousness  of  age 

takes  the  place  of  the  jollity  of  youth.    Life  should  have  holidays 

and  festivals ;  yet  we  rebuke  ourselves  when  we  laugh,  and 

take  our  pleasures  sadly.    The  irony  of  the  earlier  dialogues,  of 

which  some  traces  occur  in  the  tenth  book,  is  replaced  by  a 

severity  which   hardly  condescends   to  regard  human  things. 

'  Let  us  say,  if  you  please,  that  man  is  of  some  account ;  but  I 

was  speaking  of  him  in  comparison  with  God  '  (vii.  804  B). 

The  imagery  and  illustrations  are  poor  in  themselves,  and  are 
not  assisted  by  the  surrounding  phraseology.   We  have  seen  how 
in  the  Republic,  and  in  the  earlier  dialogues,  figures  of  speech 
such  as  '  the  wave,'  '  the  drone,'  '  the  chase,'  '  the  bride,'  appear 
and  reappear  at  intervals.    Notes  are  struck  which  are  repeated 
from  time  to  time,  as  in  a  strain  of  music.    There  is  none  of  this 
subtle  art  in  the  Laws.    The  illustrations,  such  as  the  two  kinds 
of  doctors  (iv.  720  C),  '  the  three  kinds  of  funerals '  (iv.  719  D),  the 
fear  potion  (i.  647  E),  the  puppet  (i.  644  D),  the  painter  leaving 
a  successor  to  restore  his  picture  (vi.  769),  the  '  person  stopping  to 
consider  where  three  ways  meet '  (vii.  799  C),  the  '  old  laws  about 
water  of  which  he  will  not  divert  the  course '  (viii.  844  A),  can 
hardly  be  said  to  do  much  credit  tq  Plato's  invention.    The  cita- 
tions from  the  poets  have  lost  that  fapciful  character  which  gave 
them  their  charm  in  the  earlier  dialogues.    We  are  tired  of 
images  taken  frorn  the  arts  of  navigation,  or  archery,  or  weaving, 
or  painting,  or  medicine,  or  music.    Yet  the  comparisons  of  life  to 
a  tragedy  (vii.  817),  or  of  the  working  of  mind  to  the  revolution 
of  the  self-moved  (x.  897),  or  of  the  aged  parent  to  the  image  of 
a  God  dwelling  in  the  house  (xi.  931),  or  the  reflection  that  '  man 
is  made  to  be  the  plaything  of  God,  and  that  this  rightly  considered 
is  the  best  of  him  '  (vii.  803  C),  have  great  beauty. 

2.  The  clumsiness  of  the  style  is  exhibited  in  frequent  manner- 
isms and  repetitions.    The  perfection  of  the  Platonic  dialogue 


xxu 


The  style  of  the  Laws. 


Laws.  consists  in  the  accuracy  with  which  the  question  and  answer  are 
Introduc-  fitted  into  one  another,  and  the  regularity  with  which  the  steps  of 
the  argument  succeed  one  another.  This  finish  of  style  is  no 
longer  discernible  in  the  Laws.  There  is  a  want  of  variety  in  the 
answers  ;  nothing  can  be  drawn  out  of  the  respondents  but '  Yes ' 
or  '  No,'  '  True,'  '  To  be  sure,'  etc. ;  the  insipid  forms,  '  What  do 
you  mean  ? '  '  To  what  are  you  referring  ? '  are  constantly  return- 
ing. Again  and  again  the  speaker  is  charged,  or  charges  himself, 
with  obscurity ;  and  he  repeats  again  and  again  that  he  will  ex- 
plain his  views  more  clearly.  The  process  of  thought  which 
should  be  latent  in  the  mind  of  the  writer  appears  on  the  surface 
(iv.  719  A,  713  B).  In  several  passages  the  Athenian  praises  him- 
self in  the  most  unblushing  manner,  very  unlike  the  irony  of  the 
earlier  dialogues,  as  when  he  declares  that '  the  laws  are  a  divine 
work  given  by  some  inspiration  of  the  Gods,'  and  that  'youth 
should  commit  them  to  memory  instead  of  the  compositions  of  the 
poets'  (vii.  811).  The  prosopopoeia  which  is  adopted  by  Plato  in 
the  Protagoras  and  other  dialogues  is  repeated  until  we  grow 
weary  of  it.  The  legislator  is  always  addressing  the  speakers  or 
the  youth  of  the  state,  and  the  speakers  are  constantly  making 
addresses  to  the  legislator.  A  tendency  to  a  paradoxical  manner 
of  statement  is  also  observable.  'We  must  have  drinking'  (i. 
646  B),  'we  must  have  a  virtuous  tyrant'  (iv.  710  Cj— this  is  too 
much  for  the  duller  wits  of  the  Lacedaemonian  and  Cretan,  who 
at  first  start  back  in  surprise.  More  than  in  any  other  writing  of 
Plato  the  tone  is  hortatory ;  the  laws  are  sermons  as  well  as  laws  ; 
they  are  considered  to  have  a  religious  sanction,  and  to  rest  upon 
a  religious  sentiment  in  the  mind  of  the  citizens.  The  words  of 
the  Athenian  are  attributed  to  the  Lacedaemonian  and  Cretan, 
who  are  supposed  to  have  made  them  their  own,  after  the  manner 
of  the  earlier  dialogues.  Resumptions  of  subjects  which  have 
been  half  disposed  of  in  a  previous  passage  constantly  occur  (vii. 
796  E  ;  xii.  956)  :  the  arrangement  has  neither  the  clearness  of  art 
nor  the  freedom  of  nature.  Irrelevant  remarks  are  made  here 
and  there,  or  illustrations  used  which  are  not  properly  fitted  in. 
The  dialogue  is  generally  weak  and  laboured,  and  is  in  the  later 
books  fairly  given  up,  apparently,  because  unsuited  to  the  subject 
of  the  work.  The  long  speeches  or  sermons  of  the  Athenian, 
often  extending  over  several  pages,  have  never  the  grace  and 


The  style  of  the  Laws, 


xxiii 


harmony  which  are  exhibited  in  the  earUer  dialogues.  For  Plato  is  Laws. 
incapable  of  sustained  composition  ;  his  genius  is  dramatic  rather  Introduc- 
than  oratorical ;  he  can  converse,  but  he  cannot  make  a  speech. 
Even  the  Timaeus,  which  is  one  of  his  most  finished  works,  is  full 
of  abrupt  transitions.  There  is  the  same  kind  of  difference 
between  the  dialogue  and  the  continuous  discourse  of  Plato  as 
between  the  narrative  and  speeches  of  Thucydides. 

3.  The  perfection  of  style  is  variety  in  unity,  freedom,  ease, 
clearness,  the  power  of  saying  anything,  and  of  striking  any  note 
in  the  scale  of  human  feelings  without  impropriety;  and  such  is 
the  divine  gift  of  language  possessed  by  Plato  in  the  Symposium 
and  Phaedrus.  From  this  there  are  many  fallings-oft"  in  the 
Laws  :  first,  in  the  structure  of  the  sentences,  which  are  rhyth- 
mical and  monotonous,— the  formal  and  sophistical  manner  of  the 
age  is  superseding  the  natural  genius  of  Plato  :  secondly,  many  of 
them  are  of  enormous  length,  and  the  latter  end  often  forgets  the 
beginning  of  them, — they  seem  never  to  have  received  the  second 
thoughts  of  the  author  ;  either  the  emphasis  is  wrongly  placed,  or 
there  is  a  want  of  point  in  a  clause  ;  or  an  absolute  case  occurs 
which  is  not  properly  separated  from  the  rest  of  the  sentence ;  or 
words  are  aggregated  in  a  manner  which  fails  to  show  their 
relation  to  one  another ;  or  the  connecting  particles  are  omitted 
at  the  beginning  of  sentences  ;  the  uses  of  the  relative  and  ante- 
cedent are  more  indistinct,  the  changes  of  person  and  number 
more  frequent,  examples  of  pleonasm,  tautology,  and  periphrasis, 
antitheses  of  positive  and  negative,  false  emphasis,  and  other 
affectations,  are  more  numerous  than  in  the  other  writings  of 
Plato ;  there  is  also  a  more  common  and  sometimes  unmeaning 
use  of  qualifying  formulae,  cby  eVos  iiixtiv,  Kara  dvvaniv,  and  of  double 
expressions,  wdvTrj  Trairws,  ovSa/xJj  ovSa/xoiy,  orrcos  Ka\  ojrrj — these  are 
too  numerous  to  be  attributed  to  errors  in  the  text ;  again,  there 
is  an  over-curious  adjustment  of  verb  and  participle,  noun  and 
epithet,  and  other  artificial  forms  of  cadence  and  expression  take 
the  place  of  natural  variety  :  thirdly,  the  absence  of  metaphorical 
language  is  remarkable— the  style  is  not  devoid  of  ornament,  but 
the  ornament  is  of  a  debased  rhetorical  kind,  patched  on  to 
instead  of  growing  out  of  the  subject ;  there  is  a  great  command 
of  words,  and  a  laboured  use  of  them ;  forced  attempts  at  meta- 
phor occur  in  several  passages, — e.g.  viii.  844  A,  napoxfTtwiv 


XXIV 


The  style  of  the  Laws. 


Laws.  Xo'yots  ;  ix.  858  B,  to  fxev  ws  Ti6efifva  tu  8'  a>s  vaparideneva  ;  vi.  773  D, 
Introduc-  oivos  KoXa^ofxevos  vwo  vrjcpnuros  erepov  6eov  ;  the  plays  on  the  word 
v6iJios=vov  diavofir],  iv.  714  A,  cpdq  erepa,  iii.  700  B  :  fourthly,  there  is 
a  foolish  extravagance  of  language  in  other  passages, — '  the  swinish 
ignorance  of  arithmetic,'  vii.  819  D  ;  '  the  justice  and  suitableness  of 
the  discourse  on  laws,'  vii.  811  C  foil. ;  over-emphasis  at  ix.  861  D  ; 
*  best  of  Greeks,'  vii.  820  B,  said  of  all  the  Greeks,  and  the  like  : 
fifthly,  poor  and  insipid  illustrations  are  also  common,  e.  g.  i.  638 
C,  639  A,  ii.  644  E  :  sixthly,  we  may  observe  an  excessive  use  of 
climax  and  hyperbole,  yii-  808  A)  alaxpov  "Ktyeiv  xpn  '"'pos  avrovs 
8ov\6v  Tf  Koi  8ov\t]v  Kai  nalba  /cat  ei  ntos  olov  re  o\r]v  Trjv  oiKiav  :  i.  636  B, 
doKei  TOVTO  TO  fViT^Seufia  Kara  (pvaiv  rag  rrepl  ra  a.(ppo8i(ria  fiBovas  ov 
/JLOVOV  av6pu)lTU)V  dXXn  Kcii  Briplwv  8L€(pdapKevai, 

4.  The  peculiarities  in  the  use  of  words  which  occur  in  the 
Laws  have  been  collected  by  Zeller  (Platonische  Studien,  p.  85) 
and  Stallbaum  (Legg.  vol.  ii.  p.  Ivii) :  first,  in  the  use  of  nouns, 
such  as  iiWoStjfila,  dwfvinvTijcns,  y\vKv6vpia,  biaderrjp,  Opaav^tvin,  Kopos, 
pLcyaXuvnia,  jraiBovpyia  :  secondlj',  in  the  use  of  adjectives,  such  as 
aia-rtap,  PiodSrrjs,  fx^obonof,  rjideos,  ;^povtof,  and  of  adverbs,  such  as 
dvi6<rj,  dmrtl,  vrjiroivei :  thirdly,  iji  the  uge  of  verbs,  such  as  ndCpfiv, 
niVo-fiv  (dt^euv  elneiv,  iv.  709  A),  fldrjp.oveicT6ai,  irapanobi^eadai,  creSeiv, 
Tr]pt\flv,  Tj]Tav.  These  words  however,  as  Stallbaum  remarks,  are 
formed  according  to  analogy,  and  nearly  all  of  them  have  the 
support  of  some  poetical  or  other  authority. 

Zeller  and  Stallbaum  have  also  collected  forms  of  words  in  the 
Laws,  differing  from  the  forms  of  the  same  words  which  occur  in 
other  places  :  e.  g.  ^Xd^os  for  ^Xdfirj,  H^ws  for  d^iaros,  dxdpi(TTos  for 
axapis,  dovKecot  for  dovXiKos,  nalSeios  for  naiSiKos,  e^aypiZ  for  e^aypiaiva, 
IXtovpai  for  iXdcrKopm,  and  the  Ionic  word  a-axfjpovia-Tvs,  meaning 
'correction.'  Zeller  has  noted  a  fondness  for  substantives  ending 
in  -pa  and  -a-is,  such  as  yewpytjpn,  diaTTavpa,  em0vpr]pa,  (vf^^copa,  K<Ofiw- 
dqpa,  opikrjpa  ;  ^Xdyfris,  XoiSoprjcris,  TcapayyeXais,  and  others  ;  also  a  USe 

of  substantives  in  the  plural,  which  are  commonly  found  only  in 
the  singular,  pavlm,  ddfOTrjres,  (fiddvoi,  ^o'jSoi,  (picreLf ;  also,  a  peculiar 
use  of  prepositions  in  composition,  as  in  evdpya>,  dtro^XdnTa,  8iavo- 
podereco,  bieipr^Tai,  SifvXafidadai,  and  other  words ;  also,  a  frequent 
occurrence  of  the  Ionic  datives  plural  in  -mc-i  and  -oia-i,  perhaps 
used  for  the  sake  of  giving  an  ancient  or  archaic  effect. 
To  these  peculiarities  of  words  he  has  added  a  list  of  peculiar 


The  style  of  the  Laws. 


xxv 


expressions  and  constructions.  Among  the  most  characteristic  Laws. 
are  the  following :  viii.  841  D,  aBvTa  nnWaKav  (nrepfxaTa  ;  ix.  855  C,  introduc- 
aixop4>oi  edpai  ;  iii.  690  D,  oaa  a^iapara  npos  npxovras  ;  vi.  744  B,  01 
Kara  iroKiv  Kaipol ;  fivdos,  used  in  several  places  of  '  the  discourse 
about  laws ' ;  and  connected  with  this  the  frequent  use  of  irapap,vdiov 
and  Trapafj.vefia-6ai  in  the  general  sense  of  '  address,'  '  addressing ' ; 
vii.  823  E,  aliJivXos  epas  ;  xii.  960  B,  arafj^oi  ■n-pd^eis  ;  vi.  752  A,  ixvdos 
aK€(f)aXos;  vi.  775  D,  rjOos  ivdmropov.  He  remarks  also  on  the 
frequent  employment  of  the  abstract  for  the  concrete  ;  e.  g.  iirr^pea-la 
for  vTrrjphai,  <j)vyai  for  (j)vyd8es,  fj.Tjxaval  in  the  sense  of  '  contrivers,' 
SovXei'a  for  fiovAol,  jSao-iXetai  for  /Sao-iXelf,  fiaiv6p.eva  Krjdevfxara  for  yvvaiKa 
fiaivoiievrjv  ;  17  XP^'"^  ^'^^  ivaihav  in  the  sense  of  '  indigent  children,' 
and  TTOi'Scai'  iKavoTTjs  ;  to  (60s  rrjs  diveip'ias  for  f]  daBvla  direipla  ;  KVivapiT- 
Tcov  vyjAt]  re  Koi  KaWrj  Bavfidcria  for  KvirdpiTTOi  /jiaXa  (lylrrjXal  Koi  KoXaL  He 
further  notes  some  curious  uses  of  the  genitive  case,  e.  g.  cj^iXLas 
ofxoXoyiai,  ixaviai  opyijy,  Xoi^iapyiat  ^Soi'^y,  ;(ej/id)j'(Bi'  dvv7To8r](TLai,  dvoaioL 
n-Xi^yai' ToX^ai ;  and  of  the  dative,  opiXiai  txdpols,  vojxoQea-iai  eTrirpoTroiy ; 
and  also  some  rather  uncommon  periphrases,  dpep-fiara  Nei'Xov, 
^vyyevv!]Ta>p  TfKvccv  for  aXoxos,  Movcrr]s  Xt^is  for  TToirjcns,  ^a>ypd(paiv  TToibes, 
dv6pa>Tr(ov  arnepp.ara  and  the  like  ;  the  fondness  for  particles  of  limit- 
ation, especially  ns  and  ye,  avv  ricrt  xdpio-i,  tois  ye  bwafxevon  and  the 
like  ;  the  pleonastic  use  of  ravvv,  of  las,  of  ms  eVoy  elire'iu,  of  eKdo-Tore  ; 
and  the  periphrastic  use  of  the  preposition  wepl.  Lastly,  he 
observes  the  tendency  to  hyperbata  or  transpositions  of  words, 
and  to  rhythmical  uniformity  as  well  as  grammatical  irregularity 
in  the  structure  of  the  sentences. 

For  nearly  all  the  expressions  which  are  adduced  by  Zeller 
as  arguments  against  the  genuineness  of  the  Laws,  Stallbaum 
finds  some  sort  of  authority.  There  is  no  real  ground  for 
doubting  that  the  work  was  written  by  Plato,  merely  because 
several  words  occur  in  it  which  are  not  found  in  his  other 
writings.  An  imitator  may  preserve  the  usual  phraseology  of 
a  writer  better  than  he  would  himself.  But,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  fact  that  authorities  may  be  quoted  in  support  of  most  of 
these  uses  of  words,  does  not  show  that  the  diction  is  not 
peculiar.  Several  of  them  seem  to  be  poetical  or  dialectical, 
and  exhibit  an  attempt  to  enlarge  the  limits  of  Greek  prose 
by  the  introduction  of  Homeric  and  tragic  expressions.  Most 
of  them  do  not  appear  to  have  retained  any  hold  on  the  later 


xxvi  Remarkable  passages  in  the  Laws. 

Laws.     language  of  Greece.     Like  several   experiments  in  language 
Introduc.    of  the  Writers  of  the  Elizabethan  age,  they  were  afterwards 
lost;  and  though  occasionally  found  in  Plutarch  and  imitators 
of  Plato,  they  have  not  been  accepted  by  Aristotle  or  passed 
into  the  common  dialect  of  Greece. 

5.  Unequal  as  the  Laws  are  in  style,  they  contain  a  few 
passages  which  are  very  grand  and  noble.  For  example,  the 
address  to  the  poets  at  vii.  817  :  '  Best  of  strangers,  we  also 
are  poets  of  the  best  and  noblest  tragedy ;  for  our  whole  state 
is  an  imitation  of  the  best  and  noblest  life,  which  we  affirm  to 
be  indeed  the  very  truth  of  tragedy.'  Or  again,  the  sight  of 
young  men  and  maidens  in  friendly  intercourse  with  one  another, 
suggesting  the  dangers  to  which  youth  is  liable  from  the  violence 
of  passion  (viii.  835-S41)  ;  or  the  eloquent  denunciation  of  un- 
natural lusts  in  the  same  passage  ;  or  the  charming  thought 
that  the  best  legislator  '  orders  war  for  the  sake  of  peace  and 
not  peace  for  the  sake  of  war '  (i.  628  E) ;  or  the  pleasant  allu- 
sion, '  O  Athenian— inhabitant  of  Attica,  I  will  not  say,  for  you 
seem  to  me  worthy  to  be  named  after  the  Goddess  Athene 
because  you  go  back  to  first  principles '  (i.  626  D)  ;  or  the  pithy 
saying,  '  Many  a  victory  has  been  and  will  be  suicidal  to  the 
victors,  but  education  is  never  suicidal'  (i.  641  Cj;  or  the  fine 
expression  that  '  the  walls  of  a  city  should  be  allowed  to  sleep 
in  the  earth,  and  that  we  should  not  attempt  to  disinter  them ' 
(vi.  778  D)  ;  or  the  remark  that  '  God  is  the  measure  of  all 
things  in  a  sense  far  higher  tlian  any  man  can  be '  (iv.  716  C)  ; 
or  that  'a  man  should  be  from  the  first  a  partaker  of  the  truth, 
that  he  may  live  a  true  man  as  long  as  possible'  (v.  730  C); 
or  the  principle  repeatedly  laid  down,  that  'the  sins  of  the 
fathers  are  not  to  be  visited  on  the  children,'  e.  g.  ix.  856  C  ; 
or  the  description  of  the  funeral  rites  of  those  priestly  sages 
who  depart  in  innocence  (xii.  947  B,  foil.) ;  or  the  noble  senti- 
ment, that  we  should  do  more  justice  to  slaves  than  to  equals 
(vi.  777  D)  ;  or  the  curious  observation,  founded,  perhaps,  on 
his  own  experience,  that  there  are  a  few  '  divine  men  in  every 
state  however  corrupt,  whose  conversation  is  of  inestimable 
value'  (xii.  951  B)  ;  or  the  acute  remark,  that  public  opinion 
is  to  be  respected,  because  the  judgments  of  mankind  about 
virtue  are  better  than  their  practice  (xii.  950  Bj ;  or  the  deep 


Political  insight  shown  by  Plato. 


xxvii 


religious  and  also  modern  feeling  which  pervades  the  tenth  Laws. 

book  (whatever  may  be  thought  of  the  arguments)  ;  the  sense  Introduc 

of  the  duty  of  living  as  a  part  of  a  whole,  and  in  dependence 

on  the  will  of  God  (x.  903  D),  who  takes  care  of  the  least  things 

as  well  as  the  greatest  (x.  900  C) ;  and  the  picture  of  parents 

praying  for  their  children  (x.  887  D,  foil.)— not  as  we  may  say, 

slightly  altering  the  words  of  Plato,  as  if  there  were  no  truth 

or  reality  in  the  Gentile  religions,  but  as  if  there  were  the 

greatest — are  very  striking  to  us.     We  must  remember  that 

the  Laws,  unlike  the  Republic,  do  not  exhibit  an  ideal  state, 

but  are  supposed  to  be  on  the  level  of  human  motives  and 

feelings ;   they  are  also  on  the  level  of  the  popular  religion, 

though  elevated  and  purified  ;  hence  there  is  an  attempt  made 

to  show  that  the  pleasant  is  also  just.    But,  on  the  other  hand, 

the  priority  of  the  soul  to  the  body,  and  of  God  to  the  soul, 

is  always  insisted  upon  as  the  true  incentive  to  virtue  ;  especially 

with  great  force  and  eloquence  at  the  commencement  of  Book  v. 

And  the  work  of  legislation  is  carried  back  to  the  first  principles 

of  morals  (i.  630  E). 

6.  No  other  writing  of  Plato  shows  so  profound  an  insight 
into  the  world  and  into  human  nature  as  the  Laws.  That 
'  cities  will  never  cease  from  ill  until  they  are  better  governed,' 
is  the  text  of  the  Laws  as  well  as  of  the  Statesman  and  Republic. 
The  principle  that  the  balance  of  power  preserves  states  (iii.  691, 
692)  ;  the  reflection  that  no  one  ever  passed  his  whole  life  in 
disbelief  of  the  Gods  (x.  888  C)  ;  the  remark  that  the  characters 
of  men  are  best  seen  in  convivial  intercourse  (i.  649)  ;  the 
observation  that  the  people  must  be  allowed  to  share  not  only 
in  the  government,  but  in  the  administration  of  justice  (vi.  768  A, 
foil.) ;  the  desire  to  make  laws,  not  with  a  view  to  courage  only, 
but  to  all  virtue  (i.  630  D)  ;  the  clear  perception  that  education 
begins  with  birth,  or  even,  as  he  would  say,  before  birth 
(vii.  789  A)  ;  the  attempt  to  purify  religion  ;  the  modern  re- 
flections, that  punishment  is  not  vindictive  (ix.  854  D),  and  that 
limits  must  be  set  to  the  power  of  bequest  (xi.  922,  923)  ;  the 
impossibility  of  undeceiving  the  victims  of  quacks  and  jugglers 
(xi.  933  A) ;  the  provision  for  water  (vi.  761  B),  and  for  other 
requirements  of  health  (vi.  761),  and  for  concealing  the  bodies 
of  the  dead  with  as  little  hurt  as  possible  to  the  living  (xii.  958 


xxviii 


The  genuineness  of  ancient  writings. 


Laws.  D,  E) ;  above  all,  perhaps,  the  distinct  consciousness  that  under 
Introduc-  the  actual  circumstances  of  mankind  the  ideal  cannot  be  carried 
out  (v.  739  B,  746  B),  and  yet  may  be  a  guiding  principle— will 
appear  to  us,  if  we  remember  that  we  are  still  in  the  dawn  of 
politics,  to  show  a  great  depth  of  political  wisdom. 

IV.  The  Laws  of  Plato  contain  numerous  passages  which 
closely  resemble  other  passages  in  his  writings.  And  at  first 
sight  a  suspicion  arises  that  the  repetition  shows  the  unequal 
hand  of  the  imitator.  Fqr  why  should  a  writer  say  over  again, 
in  a  more  imperfect  form,  what  he  had  already  said  in  his  most 
finished  style  and  manner?  And  yet  it  may  be  urged  on  the 
other  side  that  an  author  whose  original  powers  are  beginning 
to  decay  will  be  very  liable  to  repeat  himself,  as  in  conversa- 
tion, so  in  books.  He  may  have  forgotten  what  he  had  written 
before  ;  he  may  be  unconscious  pf  the  decline  of  his  own  powers. 
Hence  arises  a  question  of  great  interest,  bearing  on  the  genuine- 
ness of  ancient  writers.  Is  there  any  criterion  by  which  we 
can  distinguish  the  genuine  resemblance  from  the  spurious, 
or,  in  other  words,  the  repetition  of  a  thought  or  passage  by 
an  author  himself  from  the  appropriation  of  it  by  another  ?  The 
question  has,  perhaps,  never  been  fully  discussed  ;  and,  though 
a  real  one,  does  not  admit  of  a  precise  answer.  A  few  general 
considerations  on  the  subject  may  be  offered  : — 

(a)  Is  the  difference  such  as  might  be  expected  to  arise  at 
different  times  of  life  or  under  different  circumstances  ? — There 
would  be  nothing  surprising  in  a  writer,  as  he  grew  older,  losing 
something  of  his  own  originality,  and  falling  more  and  more 
under  the  spirit  of  his  age.  '  What  a  genius  I  had  when  I  wrote 
that  book ! '  was  the  pathetic  exclamation  of  a  famous  English 
author,  when  in  old  age  he  chanced  to  take  up  one  of  his  early 
works.  There  would  be  nothing  surprising  again  in  his  losing 
somewhat  of  his  powers  of  expression,  and  becoming  less 
capable  of  frarning  language  into  a  harmonious  whole.  There 
would  also  be  a  strong  presumption  that  if  the  variation  of  style 
was  uniform,  it  was  attributable  to  some  natural  cause,  and  not 
to  the  arts  of  the  imitator.  The  inferiority  might  be  the  result 
of  feebleness  and  of  want  of  activity  of  mind.  But  the  natural 
weakness  of  a  great  author  would  commonly  be  different  from 
the  artificial  weakness  of  an  imitator;  it  would  be  continuous 


The  genuineness  of  ancient  writings. 


xxix 


and  uniform.  The  latter  would  be  apt  to  fill  his  work  with  Laws. 
irregular  patches,  sometimes  taken  verbally  from  the  writings  Introduc- 
of  the  author  whom  he  personated,  but  rarely  acquiring  his 
spirit.  His  imitation  would  be  obvious,  irregular,  superficial. 
The  patches  of  purple  would  be  easily  detected  among  his 
threadbare  and  tattered  garments.  He  would  rarely  take  the 
pains  to  put  the  same  thought  into  other  words.  There  were 
many  forgeries  in  English  literature  which  attained  a  consider- 
able degree  of  success  50  or  100  years  ago ;  but  it  is  doubtful 
whether  attempts  such  as  these  could  now  escape  detection,  if 
there  were  any  writings  of  the  same  author  or  of  the  same  age 
to  be  compared  with  them.  And  ancient  forgers  were  much  less 
skilful  than  modern  ;  they  were  far  from  being  masters  in  the 
art  of  deception,  and  had  rarely  any  motive  for  being  so. 

(b)  But,  secondly,  the  imitator  will  commonly  be  least  capable 
of  understanding  or  imitating  that  part  of  a  great  writer  which 
is  most  characteristic  of  him.  In  every  man's  writings  there  is 
something  like  himself  and  unlike  others,  which  gives  in- 
dividuality. To  appreciate  this  latent  quality  would  require  a 
kindred  mind,  and  minute  study  and  observation.  There  are  a 
class  of  similarities  which  may  be  called  undesigned  coincidences, 
which  are  so  remote  as  to  be  incapable  of  being  borrowed  from 
one  another,  and  yet,  when  they  are  compared,  find  a  natural 
explanation  in  their  being  the  work  of  the  same  mind.  The 
imitator  might  copy  the  turns  of  style — he  might  repeat  images 
or  illustrations,  but  he  could  not  enter  into  the  inner  circle  of 
Platonic  philosophy.  He  would  understand  that  part  of  it  which 
became  popular  in  the  next  generation,  as  for  example,  the 
doctrine  of  ideas  or  of  numbers  :  he  might  approve  of  com- 
munism. But  the  higher  flights  of  Plato  about  the  science  of 
dialectic,  or  the  unity  of  virtue,  or  a  person  who  is  above  the 
law,  would  be  unintelligible  to  him. 

(c)  The  argument  from  imitation  assumes  a  different  character 
when  the  supposed  imitations  are  associated  with  other  passages 
having  the  impress  of  original  genius.  The  strength  of  the  argu- 
ment from  undesigned  coincidences  of  style  is  much  increased 
when  they  are  found  side  by  side  with  thoughts  and  expressions 
which  can  only  have  come  from  a  great  original  writer.  The  great 
excellence,  not  only  of  the  whole,  but  even  of  the  parts  of 


XXX 


The  genuineness  of  ancient  writings. 


Laws.  writings,  is  a  strong  proof  of  their  genuineness — for  although 
Introduc-  the  great  writer  may  fall  below,  the  forger  or  imitator  cannot 
^'°*''  rise  much  above  himself.  Whether  we  can  attribute  the  worst 
parts  of  a  work  to  a  forger  and  the  best  to  a  great  writer,— as 
for  example,  in  the  case  of  some  of  Shakespeare's  plays,— 
depends  upon  the  probability  that  they  have  been  interpolated, 
or  have  been  the  joint  work  of  two  writers  ;  and  this  can  only 
be  established  either  by  express  evidence  or  by  a  comparison 
of  other  writings  of  the  same  class.  If  the  interpolation  or  double 
authorship  of  Greek  writings  in  the  time  of  Plato  could  be  shown 
to  be  common,  then  a  question,  perhaps  insoluble,  would  arise, 
not  whether  the  whole,  but  whether  parts  of  the  Platonic 
dialogues  are  genuine,  and,  if  parts  only,  which  parts.  Hebrew 
prophecies  and  Homeric  poems  and  Laws  of  Manu  majf  have 
grown  together  in  early  times,  but  there  is  no  reason  to  think 
that  any  of  the  dialogues  of  Plato  is  the  result  of  a  similar  pro- 
cess of  accumulation.  It  is  therefore  rash  to  say  with  Oncken 
(Die  Staatslehre  des  Aristoteles)  that  the  form  in  which  Aristotle 
knew  the  Laws  of  Plato  must  have  been  different  from  that  in 
which  they  have  come  down  to  us. 

It  must  be  admitted  that  these  principles  are  difficult  of 
application.  Yet  a  criticism  may  be  worth  making  which 
rests  only  on  probabilities  or  impressions.  Great  disputes 
will  arise  about  the  merits  of  different  passages,  about  what  is 
truly  characteristic  and  original  or  trivial  and  borrowed.  iVIany 
have  thought  the  Laws  to  be  one  of  the  greatest  of  Platonic 
writings,  while  in  the  judgment  of  Mr.  Grote  they  hardly  rise 
above  the  level  of  the  forged  epistles.  The  manner  in  which  a 
writer  would  or  would  not  have  written  at  a  particular  time  of  life 
must  be  acknowledged  to  be  a  matter  of  conjecture.  But  enough 
has  been  said  to  show  that  similarities  of  a  certain  kind,  whether 
criticism  is  able  to  detect  them  or  not,  may  be  such  as  must 
be  attributed  to  an  original  writer,  and  not  to  a  mere  imitator. 

(d)  Applying  these  principles  to  the  case  of  the  Laws,  we 
have  now  to  point  out  that  they  contain  the  class  of  refined  or 
unconscious  similarities  which  are  indicative  of  genuineness.  The 
parallelisms  are  like  the  repetitions  of  favourite  thoughts  into 
which  every  one  is  apt  to  fall  unawares  in  conversation  or  in 
writing.    They  are  found  in  a  work  which  contains  many  beautiful 


Shnilarities  behveen  the  Lazvs  and  the  Republic.  xxxi 

and  remarkable  passages,  as  will  be  admitted  by  any  one  who  Laws. 
refers  back  to  §  III.  5,  6.    We  may  therefore  begin  by  claiming    Introduc-  - 
this  presumption  in  their  favour.    Such  undesigned  coincidences, 
as  we  may  venture  to  call  them,  are  the  following.    The  con- 
ception of  justice  as  the  union  of  temperance,  wisdom,  courage 
(Laws  i.  631  C ;  Rep.  iv.  433)  :  the  latent  idea  of  dialectic  implied 
in  the  notion  of  dividing  laws  after  the  kinds  of  virtue  (Laws  i. 
630  E)  ;  and  again  (Laws  xii.  965  C),  the  approval  of  the  method  of 
looking  at  one  idea  gathered  from  many  things,  '  than  which  a  truer 
was  never  discovered  by  any  man '  (cp.  Rep.  vii.  525  A) :  or  again 
the  description  of  the  Laws  as  parents  (Laws  ix.  859  A;  Rep.  vii. 
538  D)  :  the  assumption  that  religion  has  been  already  settled 
by  the  oracle  of  Delphi  (Laws  v.  738  B  ;  Rep.  iv.  427  B),  to 
which  an  appeal  is  also  made  in  special  cases  (Laws  xi.  914  A)  : 
the  notion  of  the  battle  with  self,  a  paradox  for  which  Plato  in 
a  manner  apologizes  both   in  the   Laws  and    the  Republic 
(Laws  i.  626  E ;    Rep.  iv.   430  E   foil.)  :   the  remark  (Laws 
ix.  859  D)  that  just  men,  even  when  they  are  deformed  in 
body,  may  still  be  perfectly  beautiful  in  respect  of  the  ex- 
cellent justice  of  their  minds   (cp.    Rep.  iii.  402  D,  E)  :  the 
argument  that  ideals  are  none  the  worse  because  they  cannot 
be  carried  out  (Laws  v.  746  B,  foil.  ;  Rep.  v.  472  D)  :  the  near 
approach  to  the  idea  of  good  in  '  the  principle  which  is  common 
to  all  the  four  virtues,'  a  truth  which  the  guardians  must  be 
compelled  to  recognize  (Laws  xii.  965  D  ;  cp.  Rep.  vii.  534  C)  : 
or  again  the  recognition  by  reason  of  the  right  pleasure  and  pain, 
which  had  previously  been  matter  of  habit  (Laws  ii.  653  B  ; 
Rep.  iii.  402  A) :  or  the  blasphemy  of  saying  that  the  excellency  of 
music  is  to  give  pleasure  (Laws  ii.  655  D  ;  Rep.  vi.  509  A)  :  again 
the  story  of  the  Sidonian  Cadmus  (Laws  ii.  663  E),  which  is  a 
variation  of  the  Phoenician  tale  of  the  earth-born  men  (Rep. 
iii.  414  C)  :  the  comparison  of  philosophy  to  a  yelping  she-dog, 
both  in  the  Repubhc  and  in  the  Laws  (Laws  xii.  967  D  ;  Rep. 
X.  607  C)  :  the  remark  that  no  man  can  practise  two  trades 
(Laws  viii.  846  D  ;  Rep.  iii.  394  E,  etc.)  :  or  the  advantage  of 
the  middle  condition  (Laws  v.  736  E  ;  Rep.  iv.  421  foil.)  :  the 
tendency  to  speak  of  principles  as  moulds  or  forms ;  compare 
the  (Knayeia  of  song  (Laws  vii.  800  foil.),  and  the  tvttoi  of  religion 
(Rep.  ii.  379  foil.)  ;  or  the  remark  (Laws  xii.  945  E)  that  '  the 


xxxii 


Siviilarities  betiveen  the  Laws  and  the  Republic. 


Laws.  relaxation  of  justice  makes  many  cities  out  of  one,'  which  may 
•  Introduc-  be  compared  with  the  Republic  (Rep.  iv.  422  E) :  or  the  description 
of  lawlessness  '  creeping  in  little  by  little  in  the  fashions  of 
music  and  overturning  all  things,'— to  us  a  paradox,  but  to 
Plato's  mind  a  fixed  idea,  which  is  found  in  the  Laws  (iii.  701 
foil.)  as  well  as  in  the  Republic  (iv.  424)  :  or  the  figure  of  the 
parts  of  the  human  body  under  which  the  parts  of  the  state 
are  described  (Laws  v.  739 ;  Rep.  v.  462)  :  the  apology  for  delay 
and  diifuseness,  which  occurs  not  unfrequently  in  the  Republic, 
is  carried  to  an  excess  in  the  Laws  (i.  641  E  foil. ;  ix.  857  E  foil. ; 
cp.  Theaet.  172  C  foil.)  :  the  remarkable  thought  (Laws  x.  899 
B)  that  the  soul  of  the  sun  is  better  than  the  sun,  agrees  with 
the  relation  in  which  the  idea  of  good  stands  to  the  sun  in  the 
Republic,  and  with  the  substitution  of  mind  for  the  idea  of 
good  in  the  Philebus  (30  foil.) :  the  passage  about  the  tragic  poets 
(Laws  vii.  817  A  foil.)  agrees  generally  with  the  treatment  of 
them  in  the  Republic,  but  is  more  finely  conceived,  and  worked 
out  in  a  nobler  spirit.  Some  lesser  similarities  of  thought  and 
manner  should  not  be  omitted,  such  as  the  mention  of  the 
thirty  years'  old  students  in  the  Republic  (vii.  539  A),  and  the 
fifty  years'  old  choristers  in  the  Laws  (ii.  670  A) ;  or  the  making 
of  the  citizens  out  of  wax  (Laws  v.  746  A)  compared  with  the  other 
image  (Rep.  ix.  588)  ;  or  the  number  of  the  tyrant  (729),  which  is 
nearly  equal  with  the  number  of  days  and  nights  in  the  year 
(730),  compared  with  the  '  slight  correction '  of  the  sacred  num- 
ber 5040,  which  is  divisible  by  all  the  numbers  from  i  to  12 
except  II,  and  divisible  by  11,  if  two  families  be  deducted ; 
or  once  more,  we  may  compare  the  ignorance  of  solid  geometry 
of  which  he  complains  in  the  Republic  (vii.  528  B,  C)  and  the 
puzzle  about  fractions  (vii.  525  E)  with  the  difficulty  in  the  Laws 
about  commensurable  and  incommensurable  quantities  (Laws 
vii.  819,  820) — and  the  malicious  emphasis  on  the  word  ywaiKews 
(Laws  vii.  790  A)  with  the  use  of  the  same  word  (Rep.  v.  469  D). 
These  and  similar  passages  tend  to  show  that  the  author  of  the 
Republic  is  also  the  author  of  the  Laws.  They  are  echoes  of 
the  same  voice,  expressions  of  the  same  mind,  coincidences  too 
subtle  to  have  been  invented  by  the  ingenuity  of  any  imitator. 
The  force  of  the  argument  is  increased,  if  we  remember  that 
no  passage  in  the  Laws  is  exactly  copied,— nowhere  do  five  or 


Similarities  betiveen  the  Laws  and  other  Dialogues. 


xxxiii 


six  words  occur  together  which  are  found  together  elsewhere  Laws. 

in  Plato's  writings.  Introduc 

In  other  dialogues  of  Plato,  as  well  as  in  the  Republic,  there  are 
to  be  found  parallels  with  the  Laws.  Such  resemblances,  as  we 
might  expect,  occur  chiefly  (but  not  exclusively)  in  the  dialogues 
which,  on  other  grounds,  we  may  suppose  to  be  of  later  date. 
The  punishment  of  evil  is  to  be  like  evil  men  (Laws  v.  728  B), 
as  he  says  also  in  the  Theaetetus  (176  E).  Compare  again  the 
dependence  of  tragedy  and  comedy  on  one  another,  of  which 
he  gives  the  reason  in  the  Laws  (vii.  8x6  D)— '  For  serious 
things  cannot  be  understood  without  laughable,  nor  opposites  at 
all  without  opposites,  if  a  man  is  really  to  have  intelligence  of 
either  ' ;  here  he  puts  forward  the  principle  which  is  the  ground- 
work of  the  thesis  of  Socrates  in  the  Symposium  (223  D), '  that 
the  genius  of  tragedy  is  the  same  as  that  of  comedy,  and  that 
the  writer  of  comedy  ought  to  be  a  writer  of  tragedy  also.' 
There  is  a  truth  and  right  which  is  above  Law  (Laws  ix.  875  C), 
as  we  learn  also  from  the  Statesman  (297  A).  That  men  are 
the  possession  of  the  Gods  (Laws  x.  902  C),  is  a  reflection 
which  likewise  occurs  in  the  Phaedo  (62  B).  The  remark, 
whether  serious  or  ironical  (Laws  xii.  948  B),  that  '  the  sons 
of  the  Gods  naturally  believed  in  the  Gods,  because  they  had 
the  means  of  knowing  about  them,'  is  found  in  the  Timaeus 
(40  D).  The  reign  of  Cronos,  who  is  the  divine  ruler  (Laws  iv. 
713  B),  is  a  reminiscence  of  the  Statesman  (269  A,  foil.).  It  is 
remarkable  that  in  the  Sophist  and  Statesman  (Soph.  232  E), 
Plato,  speaking  in  the  character  of  the  Eleatic  Stranger,  has 
already  put  on  the  old  man.  The  madness  of  the  poets,  again, 
is  a  favourite  notion  of  Plato's,  which  occurs  also  in  the  Laws 
(iv.  719  C),  as  well  as  in  the  Phaedrus  (245  A),  Ion,  and  else- 
where. There  are  traces  in  the  Laws  (iii.  685  A,  foil.)  of  the 
same  desire  to  base  speculation  upon  history  which  we  find  in 
the  Critias.  Once  more,  there  is  a  striking  parallel  with  the 
paradox  of  the  Gorgias  (472  E,  foil.),  that  '  if  you  do  evil,  it  is 
better  to  be  punished  than  to  be  unpunished,'  in  the  Laws  (ii. 
66i  C) :  'To  live  having  all  goods  without  justice  and'virtue  is 
the  greatest  of  evils  if  life  be  immortal,  but  not  so  great  if  the 
bad  man  lives  but  a  short  time.' 

The  point  to  be  considered  is  whether  these  are  the  kind  of 
VOL.  V.  c 


xxxiv 


Relation  of  the  Laws  to  the  Repiiblic. 


Laws.  parallels  which  would  be  the  work  of  an  imitator.  Would  a 
Introduc-  forger  have  had  the  wit  to  select  the  most  peculiar  and  character- 
istic  thoughts  of  Plato ;  would  he  have  caught  the  spirit  of  his 
philosophy;  would  he,  instead  of  openly  borrowing,  have  half 
concealed  his  favourite  ideas ;  would  he  have  formed  them  into 
a  whole  such  as  the  Laws ;  would  he  have  given  another  the 
credit  which  he  might  have  obtained  for  himself ;  would  he  have 
remembered  and  made  use  of  other  passages  of  the  Platonic 
writings  and  have  never  deviated  into  the  phraseology  of  them  ? 
Without  pressing  such  arguments  as  absolutely  certain,  we  must 
acknowledge  that  such  a  comparison  affords  a  new  ground  of  real 
weight  for  believing  the  Laws  to  be  a  genuine  writing  of  Plato. 

V.  The  relation  of  the  Republic  to  the  Laws  is  clearly  set  forth 
by  Plato  in  Laws  v.  739..  The  Republic  is  the  best  state,  the  Laws 
is  the  best  possible  under  the  existing  conditions  of  the  Greek 
world.  The  Republic  is  the  ideal,  in  which  no  man  calls  anything 
his  own,  which  may  or  may  not  have  existed  in  some  remote 
clime,  under  the  rule  of  some  God,  or  son  of  a  God  (who  can 
say  ?),  but  is,  at  any  rate,  the  pattern  of  all  other  states  and  the 
exemplar  of  human  life.  The  Laws  distinctly  acknowledge  what 
the  Republic  partly  admits,  that  the  ideal  is  inimitable  by  us,  but 
that  we  should  '  lift  up  our  eyes  to  the  heavens '  and  try  to  regulate 
our  lives  according  to  the  divine  image.  The  citizens  are  no 
longer  to  have  wives  and  children  in  common,  and  are  no  longer 
to  be  under  the  government  of  philosophers.  But  the  spirit  of 
communism  or  communion  is  to  continue  among  them,  though 
reverence  for  the  sacredness  of  the  family,  and  respect  of  children 
for  parents,  not  promiscuous  hymeneals,  are  now  the  foundation  of 
the  state ;  the  sexes  are  to  be  as  nearly  on  an  equality  as  possible; 
they  are  to  meet  at  common  tables  (vii.  806  E),  and  to  share  war- 
like pursuits  (if  the  women  will  consent),  and  to  have  a  common 
education.  The  legislator  has  taken  the  place  of  the  philosopher, 
but  a  council  of  elders  is  retained,  who  are  to  fulfil  the  duties  of 
the  legislator  when  he  has  passed  out  of  life.  The  addition  of 
younger  persons  to  this  council  by  co-optation  is  an  improvement 
on  the  governing  body  of  the  Republic.  The  scheme  of  education 
in  the  Laws  is  of  a  far  lower  kind  than  that  which  Plato  had  con- 
ceived in  the  Republic.  There  he  would  have  his  rulers  trained 
in  all  knowledge  meeting  in  the  idea  of  good,  of  which  the 


Relation  of  the  Laws  to  the  Republic. 


XXXV 


different  branches  of  mathematical  science  are  but  the  hand-  Laws. 
maidens  or  ministers  ;  here  he  treats  chiefly  of  popular  education,  Introduc- 
stopping  short  with  the  preUminary  sciences,— these  are  to  be 
studied  partly  with  a  view  to  their  practical  usefulness,  which  in 
the  Republic  he  holds  cheap,  and  even  more  with  a  view  to 
avoiding  impiety,  of  which  in  the  Republic  he  says  nothing ;  he 
touches  very  lightly  on  dialectic,  which  is  still  to  be  retained  for 
the  rulers.  Yet  in  the  Laws  there  remain  traces  of  the  old  educa- 
tional ideas.  He  is  still  for  banishing  the  poets  (vii.  817) ;  and 
as  he  finds  the  works  of  prose  writers  equally  dangerous,  he  would 
substitute  for  them  the  study  of  his  own  laws  (vii.  810,  811).  He 
insists  strongly  on  the  importance  of  mathematics  as  an  educa- 
tional instrument  (v.  747  A,  B).  He  is  no  more  reconciled  to  the 
Greek  mythology  than  in  the  Repubhc,  though  he  would  rather 
say  nothing  about  it  out  of  a  reverence  for  antiquity  (x.  886  D)  ;  and 
he  is  equally  willing  to  have  recourse  to  fictions,  if  they  have  a 
moral  tendency  (ii.  663  D).  His  thoughts  recur  to  a  golden  age 
in  which  the  sanctity  of  oaths  was  respected  and  in  which  men 
living  nearer  the  Gods  were  more  disposed  to  believe  in  them ; 
but  we  must  legislate  for  the  world  as  it  is,  now  that  the  old 
beliefs  have  passed  away  (xii.  948  C).  Though  he  is  no  longer 
fired  with  dialectical  enthusiasm,  he  would  compel  the  guardians 
to  '  look  at  one  idea  gathered  from  many  things,'  and  to  '  perceive 
the  principle  which  is  the  same  in  all  the  four  virtues '  (xii.  965  C). 
He  still  recognizes  the  enormous  influence  of  music,  in  which 
every  youth  is  to  be  trained  for  three  years  ;  and  he  seems  to 
attribute  the  existing  degeneracy  of  the  Athenian  state  and  the 
laxity  of  morals  partly  to  musical  innovation,  manifested  in  the 
unnatural  divorce  of  the  instrument  and  the  voice,  of  the  rhythm 
from  the  words  (ii.  669  D),  and  partly  to  the  influence  of  the  mob 
who  ruled  at  the  theatres  (iii.  700  E).  He  assimilates  the  educa- 
tion of  the  two  sexes,  as  far  as  possible,  both  in  music  and 
gymnastic,  and,  as  in  the  Republic,  he  would  give  to  gymnastic  a 
purely  military  character.  In  marriage,  his  object  is  still  to  pro- 
duce the  finest  children  for  the  state.  As  in  the  Statesman,  he 
would  unite  in  wedlock  dissimilar  natures— the  passionate  with 
the  dull,  the  courageous  with  the  gentle.  And  the  virtuous  tyrant 
of  the  Statesman,  who  has  no  place  in  the  Republic,  again  appears 
fiv.  709  E).    In  this,  as  in  all  his  writings,  he  has  the  strongest 

c  2 


xxxvi     Relation  of  the  Laws  to  the  Republic  and  Statesfnan. 

Laius.     sense  of  the  degeneracy  and  incapacity  of  the  rulers  of  his  own 
Introduc-  time. 

In  the  Laws,  the  philosophers,  if  not  banished,  like  the  poets, 
are  at  least  ignored ;  and  religion  takes  the  place  of  philosophy  in 
the  regulation  of  human  life.  It  must  however  be  remembered 
that  the  religion  of  Plato  is  co-extensive  with  morality,  and  is  that 
purified  religion  and  mj^thology  of  which  he  speaks  in  the  second 
book  of  the  Republic.  There  is  no  real  discrepancy  in  the  two 
works.  In  a  practical  treatise,  he  speaks  of  religion  rather  than 
of  philosophy ;  just  as  he  appears  to  identify  virtue  with  pleasure, 
and  rather  seeks  to  find  the  common  element  of  the  virtues  than 
to  maintain  his  old  paradoxical  theses  that  they  are  one,  or  that 
they  are  identical  with  knowledge.  The  dialectic  and  the  idea  of 
good,  which  even  Glaucon  in  the  Republic  could  not  understand, 
would  be  out  of  place  in  a  less  ideal  work.  There  may  also  be  a 
change  in  his  own  mind,  the  purely  intellectual  aspect  of  philo- 
sophy having  a  diminishing  interest  to  him  ih  his  old  age. 

Some  confusion  occurs  in  the  passage  in  vvhich  Plato  speaks  of 
the  Republic,  occasioned  by  his  reference  to  a  third  state,  which 
he  proposes  (D.V.)  hereafter  to  expound  (v.  739  E).  Like  many 
other  thoughts  in  the  Laws,  the  allusion  is  obscure  from  not  being 
worked  out.  Aristotle  (Polit.  iv.  i)  speaks  of  a  state  which  is 
neither  the  best  absolutely,  nor  the  best  under  existing  conditions, 
but  an  imaginary  state,  inferior  to  either,  destitute,  as  he  supposes, 
of  the  necessaries  of  life— apparently  such  a  beginning  of  primi- 
tive society  as  is  described  in  Laws  iii.  But  it  is  not  clear  that  by 
this  the  third  state  of  Plato  is  intended.  It  is  possible  that  Plato 
may  have  meant  by  his  third  state  an  historical  sketch,  bearing 
the  same  relation  to  the  Laws  which  the  unfinished  Critias  would 
have  borne  to  the  Republic ;  or  he  may,  perhaps,  have  intended 
to  describe  a  state  more  nearly  approximating  than  the  Laws  to 
existing  Greek  states. 

The  Statesman  is  a  mere  fragment  when  compared  with  the 
Laws,  yet  combining  a  second  interest  of  dialectic  as  well  as 
politics,  which  is  wanting  in  the  larger  work.  Several  points  of 
similarity  and  contrast  may  be  observed  between  them.  In  some 
respects  the  Statesman  is  even  more  ideal  than  the  Republic, 
looking  back  to  a  former  state  of  paradisiacal  life,  in  which  the 
Gods  ruled  over  mankind,  as  the  Republic  looks  forward  to  a 


The  Laws  less  ideal,  but  not  more  practical.  xxxvii 


coming  kingdom  of  philosophers.  Of  this  kingdom  of  Cronos  Laws. 
there  is  also  mention  in  the  Laws  (iv.  713  B).  Again,  in  the  introdu. 
Statesman,  the  Eleatic  Stranger  rises  above  law  to  the  conception 
of  the  living  voice  of  the  lawgiver,  who  is  able  to  provide  for 
individual  cases.  A  similar  thought  is  repeated  in  the  Laws  (ix. 
875  C) :  'If  in  the  order  jof  nature,  and  by  divine  destiny,  a  man 
were  able  to  apprehend  the  truth  about  these  things,  he  would 
have  no  need  of  laws  to  rule  over  him ;  for  there  is  no  law  or 
order  above  knowledge,  nor  can  mind  without  impiety  be  deemed 
the  subject  or  slave  of  any,  but  rather  the  lord  of  all.'  The  union 
of  opposite  natures,  who  form  the  warp  and  the  woof  of  the 
political  web,  is  a  favourite  thought  which  occurs  in  both  dialogues 
(Laws  vi.  773  ;  Statesman  310  E). 

The  Laws  are  confessedly  a  Second-best,  an  inferior  Ideal,  to 
which  Plato  has  recourse,  when  he  finds  that  the  city  of  Philo- 
sophers is  no  longer  'within  the  horizon  of  practical  politics.' 
But  it  is  curious  to  observe  that  the  higher  Ideal  is  always  return- 
ing (cp.  Arist.  Polit.  ii.  6,  §  4),  and  that  he  is  not  much  nearer  the 
actual  fact,  nor  more  on  the  level  of  ordinary  life  in  the  Laws 
than  in  the  Republic.  It  is  also  interesting  to  remark  that  the 
new  Ideal  is  always  falling  away,  and  that  he  hardly  supposes  the 
one  to  be  more  capable  of  being  realized  than  the  other.  Human 
beings  are  troublesome  to  manage ;  and  the  legislator  cannot 
adapt  his  enactments  to  the  infinite  variety  of  circumstances  ; 
after  all  he  must  leave  the  administration  of  them  to  his  suc- 
cessors ;  and  though  he  would  have  liked  to  make  them  as 
permanent  as  they  are  in  Egypt,  he  cannot  escape  from  the 
necessity  of  change.  At  length  Plato  is  obliged  to  institute  a  Noc-, 
turnal  Council  which  is  supposed  to  retain  the  mind  of  the 
legislator,  and  of  which  some  of  the  members  are  even  supposed 
to  go  abroad  and  inspect  the  institutions  of  foreign  countries,  as 
a  foundation  for  changes  in  their  own.  The  spirit  of  such  changes, 
though  avoiding  the  extravagance  of  a  popular  assembly,  being 
only  so  much  change  as  the  conservative  temper  of  old  members 
is  likely  to  allow,  is  nevertheless  inconsistent  with  the  fixedness 
of  Egypt  which  Plato  wishes  to  impress  upon  Hellenic  institutions. 
He  is  inconsistent  with  himself  as  the  truth  begins  to  dawn  upon 
him  that  '  in  the  execution  things  for  the  most  part  fall  short  of 
our  conception  of  them  '  (Rep.  v.  473  A). 


xxxviii    The  Spartan  and  the  A  thenian  element  m  the  Laws. 

Laws.  And  is  not  this  true  of  ideals  of  government  in  general  ?  We 
Introduc-  are  always  disappointed  in  them.  Nothing  great  can  be  accom- 
plished  in  the  short  space  of  human  life ;  wherefore  also  we  look 
forward  to  another  (Rep.  x.  608  C).  As  we  grow  old,  we  are 
sensible  that  we  have  no  power  actively  to  pursue  our  ideals  any 
longer.  We  have  had  our  opportunity  and  do  not  aspire  to  be  more 
than  men  :  we  have  received  our  '  wages  and  are  going  home.' 
Neither  do  we  despair  of  the  future  of  mankind,  because  we  have 
been  able  to  do  so  little  in  comparison  of  the  whole.  We  look  in 
vain  for  consistency  either  in  men  or  things.  But  we  have  seen 
enough  of  improvement  in  our  own  time  to  justify  us  in  the  belief 
that  the  world  is  worth  working  for  and  that  a  good  man's  life  is 
not  thrown  away.  Such  reflections  may  help  us  to  bring  home  to 
ourselves  by  inward  sympathy  the  language  of  Plato  in  the  Laws, 
and  to  combine  into  something  like  a  whole  his  various  and  at 
first  sight  inconsistent  utterances. 

VI.  The  Republic  may  be  described  as  the  Spartan  constitution 
appended  to  a  government  of  philosophers.  But  in  the  Laws  an 
Athenian  element  is  also  introduced.  Many  enactments  are  taken 
from  the  Athenian ;  the  four  classes  are  borrowed  from  the  con- 
stitution of  Cleisthenes,  which  Plato  regards  as  the  best  form  of 
Athenian  government  (iii.  698),  and  the  guardians  of  the  law  bear 
a  certain  resemblance  to  the  archons.  In  the  constitution  of  the 
Laws  nearly  all  officers  are  elected  by  a  vote  more  or  less  popular 
and  by  lot.  But  the  assembly  only  exists  for  the  purposes  of 
election,  and  has  no  legislative  or  executive  powers.  The  Noc- 
turnal Council,  which  is  the  highest  body  in  the  state,  has  several 
of  the  functions  of  the  ancient  Athenian  Areopagus,  after  which  it 
appears  to  be  modelled.  Life  is  to  wear,  as  at  Athens,  a  joyous 
and  festive  look ;  there  are  to  be  Bacchic  choruses,  and  men  of 
mature  age  are  encouraged  in  moderate  potations.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  common  meals,  the  public  education,  the  crypteia  are 
borrowed  from  Sparta  and  not  from  Athens,  and  the  superintend- 
ence of  private  life,  which  was  to  be  practised  by  the  governors, 
has  also  its  prototype  in  Sparta.  The  extravagant  dislike  which 
Plato  shows  both  to  a  naval  power  (iv.  705-707)  and  to  extreme 
democracy  (iii.  701)  is  the  reverse  of  Athenian. 

The  best-governed  Hellenic  states  traced  the  origin  of  their 
laws  to  individual  lawgivers.   These  were  real  persons,  though 


Pythagorean  and  Egyptian  influences. 


xxxix 


we  are  uncertain  how  far  they  originated  or  only  modified  the  Laws. 
institutions  which  are  ascribed  to  them.  But  the  lawgiver,  though  introdui 
not  a  myth,  was  a  fixed  idea  in  the  mind  of  the  Greek, — as  fixed 
as  the  Trojan  war  or  the  earth-born  Cadmus.  '  This  was  what 
Solon  meant  or  said ' — was  the  form  in  which  the  Athenian  ex- 
pressed his  own  conception  of  right  and  justice,  or  argued  a 
disputed  point  of  law.  And  the  constant  reference  in  the  Laws 
of  Plato  to  the  lawgiver  is  altogether  in  accordance  with  Greek 
modes  of  thinking  and  speaking. 

There  is  also,  as  in  the  Republic,  a  Pythagorean  element.  The 
highest  branch  of  education  is  arithmetic  ;  to  know  the  order  of 
the  heavenly  bodies,  and  to  reconcile  the  apparent  contradiction 
of  their  movements,  is  an  important  part  of  religion  ;  the  lives 
of  the  citizens  are  to  have  a  common  measure,  as  also  their  vessels 
and  coins ;  the  great  blessing  of  the  state  is  the  number  5040. 
Plato  is  deeply  impressed  by  the  antiquity  of  Egypt,  and  the  un- 
changeableness  of  her  ancient  forms  of  song  and  dance.  And  he 
is  also  struck  by  the  progress  which  the  Egyptians  had  made  in 
the  mathematical  sciences— in  comparison  of  them  the  Greeks 
appeared  to  him  to  be  little  better  than  swine.  Yet  he  censures 
the  Egyptian  meanness  and  inhospitality  to  strangers.  He  has 
traced  the  growth  of  states  from  their  rude  beginnings  in  a  philo- 
sophical spirit ;  but  of  any  life  or  growth  of  the  Hellenic  world  in 
future  ages  he  is  silent.  He  has  made  the  reflection  that  past 
time  is  the  maker  of  states  (Book  iii.  sub  init.) ;  but  he  does  not 
argue  from  the  past  to  the  future,  that  the  process  is  always  going 
on,  or  that  the  institutions  of  nations  are  relative  to  their  stage  of 
civilization.  If  he  could  have  stamped  indelibly  upon  Hellenic 
states  the  will  of  the  legislator,  he  would  have  been  satisfied. 
The  utmost  which  he  expects  of  future  generations  is  that  they 
should  supply  the  omissions,  or  correct  the  errors  which  younger 
statesmen  detect  in  his  enactments.  When  institutions  have  been 
once  subjected  to  this  process  of  criticism,  he  would  have  them 
fixed  for  ever  (vi.  772  C,  D  ;  viii.  846  C,  D). 


THE  PREAMBLE. 


steph.  BOOK  I.  Strangers,  let  me  ask  a  question  of  you— Was  a  God  Analysis. 
624 

or  a  man  the  author  of  your  laws.'    'A  God,  Stranger.    In  Crete, 


xl  Analysis  624.-62 y. 

Laws/.  Zeus  is  said  to  have  been  the  author  of  them;  in  Sparta,  as 
Analysis.  Megillus  will  tell  you,  Apollo.'  You  Cretans  believe,  as  Homer 
says,  that  Minos  went  every  ninth  year  to  converse  with  his 
Olympian  sire,  and  gave  you  laws  which  he  brought  from  him. 
*  Yes ;  and  there  was  Rhadamanthus,  his  brother,  who  is  reputed 
among  us  to  have  been  a  most  righteous  judge.'  That  is  a  625 
reputation  worthy  of  the  son  of  Zeus.  And  as  you  and  Megillus 
iiave  been  trained  under  these  laws,  I  may  ask  you  to  give  me 
an  account  of  them.  We  can  talk  about  them  in  our  walk  from 
Cnosus  to  the  cave  and  temple  of  Zeus.  I  am  told  that  the 
distance  is  considerable,  but  probably  there  are  shady  places 
under  the  trees,  where,  being  no  longer  young,  we  may  often  rest 
and  converse.  'Yes,  Stranger,  a  little  onward  there  are  beautiful 
groves  of  cypresses,  and  green  meadows  in  which  we  may 
repose.' 

My  first  question  is.  Why  has  the  law  ordained  that  you  should 
have  common  meals,  and  practise  gymnastics,  and  bear  arms  ? 
'My  answer  is,  that  all  our  institutions  are  of  a  military  character.  626 
We  lead  the  life  of  the  camp  even  in  time  of  peace,  keeping  up 
the  organization  of  an  army,  and  having  meals  in  common ;  and 
as  our  country,  owing  to  its  ruggedness,  is  ill-suited  for  heavy- 
armed  cavalry  or  infantry,  our  soldiers  are  archers,  equipped, 
with  bows  and  arrows.  The  legislator  was  under  the  idea  that 
war  was  the  natural  state  of  all  mankind,  and  that  peace  is  only 
a  pretence ;  he  thought  that  no  possessions  had  any  value  which 
were  not  secured  against  enemies.'  And  do  j^ou  think  that 
superiority  in  war  is  the  proper  aim  of  government  ?  '  Certainly 
I  do,  and  my  Spartan  friend  will  agree  with  me.'  And  are 
there  wars,  not  only  of  state  against  state,  but  of  village  against 
village,  of  family  against  family,  of  individual  against  individual  ? 
'Yes.'  And  is  a  man  his  own  enemy?  'There  you  come  to 
first  principles,  like  a  true  votary  of  the  goddess  Athene ;  and 
this  is  all  the  better,  for  you  will  the  sooner  recognize  the  truth 
of  what  I  am  saying— that  all  men  everywhere  are  the  enemies 
of  all,  and  each  individual  of  every  other  and  of  himself;  and, 
further,  that  there  is  a  victory  and  defeat— the  best  and  the 
worst— which  each  man  sustains,  not  at  the  hands  of  another, 
but  of  himself  And  does  this  extend  to  states  and  villages  as  627 
well  as  to  individuals?    'Certainly;  there  is  a  better  in  them 


Analysis  627-629. 


xli 


which  conquers  or  is  conquered  by  the  worse.'  Whether  the  Laws  I. 
worse  ever  really  conquers  the  better,  is  a  question  which  may  be  analysis. 
left  for  the  present;  but  your  meaning  is,  that  bad  citizens  do  some- 
times overcome  the  good,  and  that  the  state  is  then  conquered 
by  herself,  and  that  when  they  are  defeated  the  state  is  victorious 
over  herself.  Or,  again,  in  a  family  there  may  be  several 
brothers,  and  the  bad  may  be  a  majority;  and  when  the  bad 
majority  conquer  the  good  minority,  the  family  are  worse  than 
themselves.  The  use  of  the  terms  '  better  or  worse  than  himself 
or  themselves '  may  be  doubtful,  but  about  the  thing  meant  there 
can  be  no  dispute.  'Very  true.'  Such  a  struggle  might  "be 
determined  by  a  judge.  And  which  will  be  the  better  judge — 
he  who  destroys  the  worse  and  lets  the  better  rule,  or  he  who 
lets  the  better  rule  and  makes  the  others  voluntarily  obey ;  or, 

628  thirdly,  he  who  destroys  no  one,  but  reconciles  the  two  parties  ? 
'  The  last,  clearly.'  But  the  object  of  such  a  judge  or  legislator 
would  not  be  war.  '  True.'  And  as  there  are  two  kinds  of  war, 
one  without  and  one  within  a  state,  of  which  the  internal  is  by 
far  the  worse,  will  not  the  legislator  chiefly  direct  his  attention 
to  this  latter  ?  He  will  reconcile  the  contending  factions,  and 
unite  them  against  their  external  enemies.  '  Certainly.'  Every 
legislator  will  aim  at  the  greatest  good,  and  the  greatest  good 
is  not  victory  in  war,  whether  civil  or  external,  but  mutual  peace 
and  good-will,  as  in  the  body  health  is  preferable  to  the  purga- 
tion of  disease.  He  who  makes  war  his  object  instead  of  peace, 
or  who  pursues  war  except  for  the  sake  of  peace,  is  not  a  true 
statesman.     'And  yet,  Stranger,  the  laws  both  of  Crete  and 

629  Sparta  aim  entirely  at  war.'  Perhaps  so  ;  but  do  not  let  us 
quarrel  about  your  legislators — let  us  be  gentle  ;  they  were  in 
earnest  quite  as  much  as  we  are,  and  we  must  try  to  discover 
their  meaning.  The  poet  Tyrtaeus  (you  know  his  poems  in 
Crete,  and  my  Lacedaemonian  friend  is  only  too  familiar  with 
them)— he  was  an  Athenian  by  birth,  and  a  Spartan  citizen: — 
'Well,'  he  says,  '  I  sing  not,  I  care  not  about  any  man,  however 
rich  or  happy,  unless  he  is  brave  in  war.'  Now  I  should  Hke, 
in  the  name  of  us  all,  to  ask  the  poet  a  question.  O  Tyrtaeus, 
I  would  say  to  him,  we  agree  with  you  in  praising  those  who 
excel  in  war,  but  which  kind  of  war  do  you  mean  ?— that  dreadful 
war  which  is  termed  civil,  or  the  milder  sort  which  is  waged 


xlii 


Analysis  629-632. 


Laws  I.  against  foreign  enemies  ?  You  say  that  you  abominate  '  those 
Analysis,    who  are  not  eager  to  taste  their  enemies'  blood,'  and  you  seem 

to  mean  chiefly  their  foreign  enemies.  '  Certainly  he  does.'  630 
But  we  contend  that  there  are  men  better  fiar  than  your  heroes, 
Tyrtaeus,  concerning  whom  another  poet,  Theognis  the  Sicilian, 
says  that  '  in  a  civil  broil  they  are  worth  their  weight  in  gold  and 
silver.'  For  in  a  civil  war,  not  only  courage,  but  justice  and 
temperance  and  wisdom  are  required,  and  all  virtue  is  better 
than  a  part.  The  mercenary  soldier  is  ready  to  die  at  his  post ; 
yet  he  is  commonly  a  violent,  senseless  creature.  And  the 
legislator,  whether  inspired  or  uninspired,  will  make  laws  with 
a  view  to  the  highest  virtue ;  and  this  is  not  brute  courage,  but 
loyalty  in  the  hour  of  danger.  The  virtue  of  Tyrtaeus,  although 
needful  enough  in  his  own  time,  is  really  of  a  fourth-rate  descrip- 
tion. '  You  are  degrading  our  legislator  to  a  very  low  level.' 
Nay,  we  degrade  not  him,  but  ourselves,  if  we  believe  that  the 
laws  of  Lycurgus  and  Minos  had  a  view  to  war  only.  A  divine 
lawgiver  would  have  had  regard  to  all  the  different  kinds  of 
virtue,  and  have  arranged  his  laws  in  corresponding  classes,  and 
not  in  the  modern  fashion,  which  only  makes  them  after  the  want 
of  them  is  felt, — about  inheritances  and  heiresses  and  assaults,  and 
the  like.  As  you  truly  said,  virtue  is  the  business  of  the  legis-  631 
lator;  but  you  went  wrong  when  you  referred  all  legislation  to 
a  part  of  virtue,  and  to  an  inferior  part.  For  the  object  of  laws, 
whether  the  Cretan  or  any  other,  is  to  make  men  happy.  Now 
happiness  or  good  is  of  two  kinds — there  are  divine  and  there 
are  human  goods.  He  who  has  the  divine  has  the  human  added 
to  him  ;  but  he  who  has  lost  the  greater  is  deprived  of  both. 
The  lesser  goods  are  health,  beauty,  strength,  and,  lastly, 
wealth ;  not  the  blind  God,  Pluto,  but  one  who  has  eyes  to  see 
and  follow  wisdom.  For  mind  or  wisdom  is  the  most  divine  of 
all  goods  ;  and  next  comes  temperance,  and  justice  springs  from 
the  union  of  wisdom  and  temperance  with  courage,  which  is  the 
fourth  or  last.  These  four  precede  other  goods,  and  the  legis- 
lator vwll  arrange  all  his  ordinances  accordingly,  the  human  going 
back  to  the  divine,  and  the  divine  to  their  leader  mind.  There 
will  be  enactments  about  marriage,  about  education,  about  all 
the  states  and  feelings  and  experiences  of  men  and  women,  at 
every  age,  in  weal  and  woe,  in  war  and  peace  ;  upon  all  the  law  632 


Analysis  632-634. 


xliii 


will  fix  a  stamp  of  praise  and  blame.  There  will  also  be  regu-  Laws  I. 
lations  about  property  and  expenditure,  about  contracts,  about  analysis. 
rewards  and  punishments,  and  finally  about  funeral  rites  and 
honours  of  the  dead.  The  lawgiver  will  appoint  guardians  to 
preside  over  these  things  ;  and  mind  will  harmonize  his  ordi- 
nances, and  show  them  to  be  in  agreement  with  temperance  and 
justice.  Now  I  want  to  know  whether  the  same  principles  are 
observed  in  the  laws  of  Lycurgus  and  Minos,  or,  as  I  should 
rather  say,  of  Apollo  and  Zeus.  We  must  go  through  the  virtues, 
beginning  with  courage,  and  then  we  will  show  that  what  has 
preceded  has  relation  to  virtue. 

633  '  I  wish,'  says  the  Lacedaemonian, '  that  you,  Stranger,  would  first 
criticize  Cleiniasand  the  Cretan  laws.'  Yes,  is  the  reply,  and  I  will 
criticize  you  and  myself,  as  well  as  him.  Tell  me,  Megillus,  were 
not  the  common  meals  and  gymnastic  training  instituted  by  your 
legislator  with  a  view  to  war  ?  '  Yes  ;  and  next  in  the  order  of 
importance  comes  hunting,  and  fourth  the  endurance  of  pain  in 
boxing  contests,  and  in  the  beatings  which  are  the  punishment  of 
theft.  There  is,  too,  the  so-called  Crypteia  or  secret  service,  in 
which  our  youth  wander  about  the  country  night  and  day  unattended, 
and  even  in  winter  go  unshod  and  have  no  beds  to  lie  on.  More- 
over they  wrestle  and  exercise  under  a  blazing  sun,  and  they 
have  many  similar  customs.'  Well,  but  is  courage  only  a  combat 
against  fear  and  pain,  and  not  against  pleasure  and  flattery  ? 
'  Against  both,  I  should  say.'  And  which  is  worse, — to  be  over- 
come by  pain,  or  by  pleasure '  The  latter.'  But  did  the  lawgivers 

634  of  Crete  and  Sparta  legislate  for  a  courage  which  is  lame  of  one 
leg,— able  to  meet  the  attacks  of  pain  but  not  those  of  pleasure, 
or  for  one  which  can  meet  both  ?  '  For  a  courage  which  can  meet 
both,  I  should  say.'  But  if  so,  where  are  the  institutions  which 
train  your  citizens  to  be  equally  brave  against  pleasure  and  pain, 
and  superior  to  enemies  within  as  well  as  without  ?  '  We  confess 
that  we  have  no  institutions  worth  mentioning  which  are  of  this 
character.'  I  am  not  surprised,  and  will  therefore  only  request 
forbearance  on  the  part  of  us  all,  in  case  the  love  of  truth  should 
lead  any  of  us  to  censure  the  laws  of  the  others.  Remember 
that  I  am  more  in  the  way  of  hearing  criticisms  of  your  laws 
than  you  can  be;  for  in  well-ordered  states  like  Crete  and 
Sparta,  although  an  old  man  may  sometimes  speak  of  theni  in 


xliv 


Analysis  62,^-6t,'j. 


Laws  I.  private  to  a  ruler  or  elder,  a  similar  liberty  is  not  allowed  to  the 
Analysis,    young.    But  now  being  alone  we  shall  not  offend  your  legislator 

by  a  friendly  examination  of  his  laws.    '  Take  any  freedom 

which  you  like.' 

My  first  observation  is,  that  your  lawgiver  ordered  you  to  635 
endure  hardships,  because  he  thought  that  those  who  had  not 
this  discipline  would  run  away  from  those  who  had.  But  he 
ought  to  have  considered  further,  that  those  who  had  never 
learned  to  resist  pleasure  would  be  equally  at  the  mercy  of  those 
who  had,  and  these  are  often  among  the  worst  of  mankind. 
Pleasure,  like  fear,  would  overcome  them,  and  take  away  their 
courage  and  freedom.  '  Perhaps ;  but  I  must  not  be  hasty 
in  giving  my  assent.' 

Next  as  to  temperance  :  what  institutions  have  you  which  are 
adapted  to  promote  temperance  ?  'There  are  the  common  meals  636 
and  gymnastic  exercises.'  These  are  partly  good  and  partly 
bad,"  and,  as  in  medicine,  what  is  good  at  one  time  and  for  one 
person,  is  bad  at  another  time  and  for  another  person.  Now 
although  gymnastics  and  common  meals  do  good,  they  are  also 
a  cause  of  evil  in  civil  troubles,  and  they  appear  to  encourage 
unnatural  love,  as  has  been  shown  at  Miletus,  in  Boeotia,  and  at 
Thurii.  And  the  Cretans  are  said  to  have  invented  the  tale  of 
Zeus  and  Ganjmiede  in  order  to  justify  their  evil  practices  by 
the  example  of  the  God  who  was  their  lawgiver.  Leaving  the 
story,  we  may  observe  that  all  law  has  to  do  with  pleasure  and 
pain  ;  these  are  two  fountains  which  are  ever  flowing  in  human 
nature,  and  he  who  drinks  of  them  when  and  as  much  as  he 
ought,  is  happj--,  and  he  who  indulges  in  them  to  excess,  is 
miserable.  'You  may  be  right,  but  I  still  incline  to  think  that 
the  Lacedaemonian  lawgiver  did  well  in  forbidding  pleasure, 
if  I  may  judge  from  the  result.  For  there  is  no  drunken  revelry  637 
in  Sparta,  and  any  one  found  in  a  state  of  intoxication  is  severely 
punished  ;  he  is  not  excused  as  an  Athenian  would  be  at  Athens 
on  account  of  a  festival.  I  myself  have  seen  the  Athenians  drunk 
at  the  Dionysia-and  at  our  colony,  Tarentum,  on  a  similar 
occasion,  I  have  beheld  the  whole  city  in  a  state  of  intoxication.' 
I  admit  that  these  festivals  should  be  properly  regulated.  Yet 
I  might  reply,  '  Yes,  Spartans,  that  is  not  your  vice  ;  but  look  at 
home  and  remember  the  licentiousness  of  your  women.'    And  to 


Analysis  637-640. 


xlv 


all  such  accusations   every  one  of  us  may  reply  in  turn : —     Laws  I. 
'  Wonder  not,  Stranger ;  there  are  different  customs  in  different  analysis. 
countries.'     Now  this  may  be  a  sufficient  answer ;  but  we  are 
speaking  about  the  wisdom  of  lawgivers  and  not  about  the 
customs  of  men.    To  return  to  the  question  of  drinking :  shall 
we  have  total  abstinence,  as  you  have,  or  hard  drinking,  like  the 

638  Scythians  and  Thracians,  or  moderate  potations  like  the  Persians  ? 
'  Give  us  arms,  and  we  send  all  these  nations  flying  before  us.' 
My  good  friend,  be  modest ;  victories  and  defeats  often  arise 
from  unknown  causes,  and  afford  no  proof  of  the  goodness  or 
badness  of  institutions.  The  stronger  overcomes  the  weaker, 
as  the  Athenians  have  overcome  the  Ceans,  or  the  Syracusans 
the  Locrians,  who  a.re,  perhaps,  the  best  governed  state  in  that 
part  of  the  world.  People  are  apt  to  praise  or  censure  practices 
without  enquiring  into  the  nature  of  them.  This  is  the  way  with 
drink  :  one  person  brings  many  witnesses,  who  sing  the  praises 
of  wine  ;  another  declares  that  sober  men  defeat  drunkards  in 
battle  ;  and  he  again  is  refuted  in  turn.  I  should  like  to  conduct 
the  argument  on  some  other  method  ;  for  if  you  regard  numbers, 
there  are  two  cities  on  one  side,  and  ten  thousand  on  the  other. 

639  '  I  am  ready  to  pursue  any  method  which  is  likely  to  lead  us  to 
the  truth.'  Let  me  put  the  matter  thus  :  Somebody  praises  the 
useful  qualities  of  a  goat ;  another  has  seen  goats  running  about 
wild  in  a  garden,  and  blames  a  goat  or  any  other  animal  which 
happens  to  be  without  a  keeper.  '  How  absurd  !  '  Would  a 
pilot  who  is  sea-sick  be  a  good  pilot  ?  '  No.'  Or  a  general  who 
is  sick  and  drunk  with  fear  and  ignorant  of  war  a  good  general  ? 
'  A  general  of  old  women  he  ought  to  be.'  But  can  any  one  form 
an  estimate  of  any  society,  which  is  intended  to  have  a  ruler, 
and  which  he  only  sees  in  an  unruly  and  lawless  state  ?  '  No.' 
There  is  a  convivial  form  of  society — is  there  not  ?  '  Yes.'  And 
has  this  convivial  society  ever  been  rightly  ordered  ?  Of  course 
you  Spartans  and  Cretans  have  never  seen  anything  of  the  kind, 
but  I  have  had  wide  experience,  and  made  many  enquiries  about 
such  societies,  and  have  hardly  ever  found  anything  right  or  good 

640  in  them.  '  We  acknowledge  our  want  of  experience,  and  desire 
to  learn  of  you.'  Will  you  admit  that  in  all  societies  there 
must  be  a  leader?  'Yes.'  And  in  time  of  war  he  must  be  a 
man  of  courage  and  absolutely  devoid  of  fear,  if  this  be  possible  ? 


xlvi 


Analysis  640-642. 


Laws  I.  '  Certainly.'  But  we  are  talking  now  of  a  general  who  shall  preside 
Analysis,  at  meetings  of  friends— and  as  these  have  a  tendency  to  be  up- 
roarious, they  ought  above  all  others  to  have  a  governor.  '  Very 
good.'  He  should  be  a  sober  man  and  a  man  of  the  world,  who 
will  keep,  make,  and  increase  the  peace  of  the  society;  a  drunkard 
in  charge  of  drunkards  would  be  singularly  fortunate  if  he  avoided 
doing  a  serious  mischief  '  Indeed  he  would.'  Suppose  a  person  641 
to  censure  such  meetings— he  may  be  right,  but  also  he  may  have 
known  them  only  in  their  disorderly  state,  under  a  drunken 
master  of  the  feast ;  and  a  drunken  general  or  pilot  cannot  save 
his  army  or  his  ships.  '  True  ;  but  although  I  see  the  advantage 
of  an  army  having  a  good  general,  I  do  not  equally  see  the  good 
of  a  feast  being  well  managed.'  If  you  mean  to  ask  what  good 
accrues  to  the  state  from  the  right  training  of  a  single  youth  or  a 
single  chorus,  I  should  reply, '  Not  much ' ;  but  if  you  ask  what  is 
the  good  of  education  in  general,  I  answer,  that  education  makes 
good  men,  and  that  good  men  act  nobly  and  overcome  their 
enemies  in  battle.  Victory  is  often  suicidal  to  the  victors,  be- 
cause it  creates  forgetfulness  of  education,  but  education  itself  is 
never  suicidal.  'You  imply  that  the  regulation  of  convivial  meet- 
ings is  a  part  of  education  ;  how  will  you  prove  this?'  I  will  tell 
you.  But  first  let  me  ofFer  a  word  of  apology.  We  Athenians 
are  always  thought  to  be  fond  of  talking,  whereas  the  Lacedae- 
monian is  celebrated  for  brevity,  and  the  Cretan  is  considered 
to  be  sagacious  and  reserved.  Now  I  fear  that  I  may  be  charged  642 
with  spinning  a  long  discourse  out  of  slender  materials.  For 
drinking  cannot  be  rightly  ordered  without  correct  principles  of 
music,  and  music  runs  up  into  education  generally,  and  to  dis- 
cuss all  these  matters  may  be  tedious ;  if  you  like,  therefore,  we 
will  pass  on  to  another  part  of  our  subject.  'Are  you  aware, 
Athenian,  that  our  family  is  your  proxenus  at  Sparta,  and  that 
from  my  boyhood  I  have  regarded  Athens  as  a  second  country, 
and  having  often  fought  your  battles  in  my  youth,  I  have  become 
attached  to  you,  and  love  the  sound  of  the  Attic  dialect  ?  The 
saying  is  true,  that  the  best  Athenians  are  more  than  ordinarily 
good,  because  they  are  good  by  nature ;  therefore,  be  assured 
that  I  shall  be  glad  to  hear  you  talk  as  much  as  you  please.'  '  I, 
too,'  adds  Cleinias,  '  have  a  tie  which  binds  me  to  you.  You 
know  that  Epimenides,  the  Cretan  prophet,  came  and  offered 


Analysis  642-645. 


xlvii 


sacrifices  in  your  city  by  the  command  of  an  oracle  ten  years     Lazus  I. 
before  the  Persian  war.    He  told  the  Athenians  that  the  Persian  analysis. 
host  would  not  come  for  ten  years,  and  would  go  away  again, 
having  suffered  more  harm  than  they  had  inflicted.    Now  Epi- 
menides  was  of  my  family,  and  when  he  visited  Athens  he 

643  entered  into  friendship  with  your  forefathers.'  I  see  that  you  are 
wiUing  to  listen,  and  I  have  the  will  to  speak,  if  I  had  only  the 
ability.  But,  first,  I  must  define  the  nature  and  power  of  educa- 
tion, and  by  this  road  we  will  travel  on  to  the  God  Dionysus. 
The  man  who  is  to  be  good  at  anything  must  have  early  train- 
ing ; — the  future  builder  must  play  at  building,  and  the  husband- 
man at  digging ;  the  soldier  must  learn  to  ride,  and  the  carpenter 
to  measure  and  use  the  rule, — all  the  thoughts  and  pleasures  of 
children  should  bear  on  their  after-profession. — Do  you  agree 
with  me  ?  '  Certainly.'  And  we  must  remember  further  that  we 
are  speaking  of  the  education,  not  of  a  trainer,  or  of  the  captain 
of  a  ship,  but  of  a  perfect  citizen  who  knows  how  to  rule  and 

644  how  to  obey ;  and  such  an  education  aims  at  virtue,  and  not  at 
wealth  or  strength  or  mere  cleverness.  To  the  good  man, 
education  is  of  all  things  the  most  precious,  and  is  also  in  con- 
stant need  of  renovation.  '  We  agree.'  And  we  have  before 
agreed  that  good  men  are  those  who  are  able  to  control  them- 
selves, and  bad  men  are  those  who  are  not.  Let  me  offer  you 
an  illustration  which  will  assist  our  argument.  Man  is  one  ;  but 
in  one  and  the  same  man  are  two  foolish  counsellors  who  con- 
tend within  him — pleasure  and  pain,  and  of  either  he  has  ex- 
pectations which  we  call  hope  and  fear  ;  and  he  is  able  to  reason 
about  good  and  evil,  and  reason,  when  affirmed  by  the  state,  be- 
comes law.  'We  cannot  follow  you.'  Let  me  put  the  matter  in 
another  way:  Every  creature  is  a  puppet  of  the  Gods — whether 
he  is  a  mere  plaything  or  has  any  serious  use  we  do  not  know ; 

645  but  this  we  do  know,  that  he  is  drawn  different  ways  by  cords  and 
strings.  There  is  a  soft  golden  cord  which  draws  him  towards 
virtue— this  is  the  law  of  the  state  ;  and  there  are  other  cords 
made  of  iron  and  hard  materials  drawing  him  other  ways.  The 
golden  reasoning  influence  has  nothing  of  the  nature  of  force, 
and  therefore  requires  ministers  in  order  to  vanquish  the  other 
principles.  This  explains  the  doctrine  that  cities  and  citizens 
both  conquer  and  are  conquered  by  themselves.    The  individual 


xlvlii 


Analysis  645-648. 


Laws  I.  follows  reason,  and  the  city  law,  which  is  embodied  reason, 
Analysis,  either  derived  from  the  Gods  or  from  the  legislator.  When 
virtue  and  vice  are  thus  distinguished,  education  will  be  better 
understood,  and  in  particular  the  relation  of  education  to  convivial 
intercourse.  And  now  let  us  set  wine  before  the  puppet.  You 
admit  that  wine  stimulates  the  passions  ?  '  Yes.'  And  does  wine 
equally  stimulate  the  reasoning  faculties '  No ;  it  brings  the 
soul  back  to  a  state  of  childhood.'  In  such  a  state  a  man  has  the 
least  control  over  himself,  and  is,  therefore,  worst.  '  Very  true.'  646 
Then  how  can  we  believe  that  drinking  should  be  encouraged  ? 
'  You  seem  to  think  that  it  ought  to  be.'  And  I  am  ready  to 
maintain  my  position.  '  We  should  like  to  hear  you  prove  that  a 
man  ought  to  make  a  beast  of  himself.'  You  are  speaking  of  the 
degradation  of  the  soul :  but  how  about  the  body  ?  Would  anj'  man 
willingly  degrade  or  weaken  that  ?  '  Certainly  not.'  And  yet  if  he 
goes  to  a  doctor  or  a  gymnastic  master,  does  he  not  make  himself  ill 
in  the  hope  of  getting  well  ?  for  no  one  would  like  to  be  always 
taking  medicine,  or  always  to  be  in  training.  '  True.'  And  may 
not  convivial  meetings  have  a  similar  remedial  use  ?  And  if  so, 
are  they  not  to  be  preferred  to  other  modes  of  training  because 
they  are  painless  ?  '  But  have  they  any  such  use  ? '  Let  us  see  : 
Are  there  not  two  kinds  of  fear— fear  of  evil  and  fear  of  an  evil 
reputation  ?  '  There  are.'  The  latter  kind  of  fear  is  opposed  both  to  647 
the  fear  of  pain  and  to  the  love  of  pleasure.  This  is  called  by  the 
legislator  reverence,  and  is  greatly  honoured  by  him  and  by  every 
good  man  ;  whereas  confidence,  which  is  the  opposite  quality,  is 
the  worst  fault  both  of  individuals  and  of  states.  This  sort  of  fear 
or  reverence  is  one  of  the  two  chief  causes  of  victory  in  war, 
fearlessness  of  enemies  being  the  other.  '  True.'  Then  every 
one  should  be  both  fearful  and  fearless  ?  '  Yes.'  The  right  sort 
of  fear  is  infused  into  a  man  when  he  comes  face  to  face  with 
shame,  or  cowardice,  or  the  temptations  of  pleasure,  and  has  to 
conquer  them.  He  must  learn  by  many  trials  to  win  the  victory 
over  himself,  if  he  is  ever  to  be  made  perfect.  'That  is  reason- 
able enough.'  And  now,  suppose  that  the  Gods  had  given  man- 
kind a  drug,  of  which  the  eifect  was  to  exaggerate  every  sort  of 
evil  and  danger,  so  that  the  bravest  man  entirely  lost  his  presence  64S 
of  mind  and  became  a  coward  for  a  time  :— would  such  a  drug 
have  any  value     '  But  is  there  such  a  drug  ? '    No  ;  but  suppose 


A  nalysis  648-653. 


xlix 


that  there  were ;  might  not  the  legislator  use  such  a  mode  of  testing    Laivs  I. 
courage  and  cowardice  ?    '  To  be  sure.'    The  legislator  would  in-  analysis. 
duce  fear  in  order  to  implant  fearlessness ;   and  would  give 
rewards  or  punishments  to  those  who  behaved  well  or  the 
reverse,  under  the  influence  of  the  drug.'    'Certainly.'    And  this 

,,  mode  of  training,  whether  practised  in  the  case  of  one  or  many, 
whether  in  solitude  or  in  the  presence  of  a  large  company— if  a 
man  have  sufficient  confidence  in  himself  to  drink  the  potion  amid 
his  boon  companions,  leaving  off  in  time  and  not  taking  too  much, — 

<  649  would  be  an  equally  good  test  of  temperance  ?  '  Very  true.'  Let 
us  return  to  the  lawgiver  and  say  to  him, '  Well,  lawgiver,  no  such 
fear-producing  potion  has  been  given  by  God  or  invented  by  man, 
but  there  is  a  potion  which  will  make  men  fearless.'  '  You  mean 
wine.'  Yes  ;  has  not  wine  an  effect  the  contrary  of  that  which  I 
was  just  now  describing,— first  mellowing  and  humanizing  a 
man,  and  then  filling  him  with  confidence,  making  him  ready  to 
say  or  do  anything  ?  '  Certainly.'  Let  us  not  forget  that  there 
are  two  qualities  which  should  be  cultivated  in  the  soul — first, 
the  greatest  fearlessness,  and,  secondly,  the  greatest  fear,  which 
are  both  parts  of  reverence.  Courage  and  fearlessness  are  trained 
amid  dangers  ;  but  we  have  still  to  consider  how  fear  is  to  be 
trained.  We  desire  to  attain  fearlessness  and  confidence  without 
the  insolence  and  boldness  which  commonly  attend  them.  For  do 
not  love,  ignorance,  avarice,  wealth,  beauty,  strength,  while  they 
stimulate  courage,  also  madden  and  intoxicate  the  soul What 
better  and  more  innocent  test  of  character  is  there  than  festive 
intercourse  ?    Would  you  make  a  bargain  with  a  man  in  order  to 

I  650  try  whether  he  is  honest?  or  would  you  ascertain  whether  he  is 
licentious  by  putting  your  wife  or  daughter  into  his  hands  ?  No 
one  would  deny  that  the  test  proposed  is  fairer,  speedier,  and 
safer  than  any  other.  And  such  a  test  will  be  particularly  useful 
in  the  political  science,  which  desires  to  know  human  natures  and 
characters.    '  Very  true.' 

BOOK  II.    And  are  there  any  other  uses  of  well-ordered 
potations  ?    There  are  ;  but  in  order  to  explain  them,  I  must 
repeat  what  I  mean  by  right  education ;  which,  if  I  am  not  mis- 
taken, depends  on  the  due  regulation  of  convivial  intercourse. 
'  653  '  A  high  assumption.'    I  believe  that  virtue  and  vice  are  originally 
VOL.  V.  d 


1 


Analysis  653-655. 


Laws  II.    present  to  the  mind  of  children  in  the  form  of  pleasure  and  pain  ; 

Analysis,  reason  and  fixed  principles  come  later,  and  happy  is  he  who 
acquires  them  even  in  declining  years  ;  for  he  who  possesses 
them  is  the  perfect  man.  When  pleasure  and  pain,  and  love  and 
hate,  are  rightly  implanted  in  the  yet  unconscious  soul,  and  after 
the  attainment  of  reason  are  discovered  to  be  in  harmony  with 
her,  this  harmony  of  the  soul  is  virtue,  and  the  preparatory  stage, 
anticipating  reason,  I  call  education.  But  the  finer  sense  of 
pleasure  and  pain  is  apt  to  be  impaired  in  the  course  of  life  ;  and 
therefore  the  Gods,  pit3'ing  the  toils  and  sorrows  of  mortals,  have 
allowed  them  to  have  holidays,  and  given  them  the  Muses  and 
Apollo  and  Dionysus  for  leaders  and  playfellows.  All  young 
creatures  love  motion  and  frolic,  and  utter  sounds  of  delight ;  but  654 
man  only  is  capable  of  taking  pleasure  in  rhythmical  and  har- 
monious movements.  With  these  education  begins ;  and  the 
uneducated  is  he  who  has  never  known  the  discipline  of  the 
chorus,  and  the  educated  is  he  who  has.  The  chorus  is  partly 
dance  and  partly  song,  and  therefore  the  well-educated  must  sing 
and  dance  well.  But  when  we  say, '  He  sings  and  dances  well,'  we 
mean  that  he  sings  and  dances  what  is  good.  And  if  he  thinks 
that  to  be  good  which  is  really  good,  he  will  have  a  much  higher 
music  and  harmony  in  him,  and  be  a  far  greater  master  of  imita- 
tion in  sound  and  gesture  than  he  who  is  not  of  this  opinion. 
'  True.'  Then,  if  we  know  what  is  good  and  bad  in  song  and  dance, 
we  shall  know  what  education  is  ?  '  Very  true.'  Let  us  now 
consider  the  beauty  of  figure,  melody,  song,  and  dance.  Will  the 
same  figures  or  sounds  be  equally  well  adapted  to  the  manly  and  655 
the  cowardly  when  they  are  in  trouble  ?  '  How  can  they  be, 
when  the  very  colours  of  their  faces  are  diff"erent?'  Figures  and 
melodies  have  a  rhythm  and  harmony  which  are  adapted  to  the 
expression  of  different  feelings  (I  may  remark,  by  the  way,  that 
the  term  '  colour,'  which  is  a  favourite  word  of  music-masters,  is 
not  really  appHcable  to  music).  And  one  class  of  harmonies  is 
akin  to  courage  and  all  virtue,  the  other  to  cowardice  and  all  vice. 
'We  agree.'  And  do  all  men  equally  like  all  dances?  'Far 
otherwise.'  Do  some  figures,  then,  appear  to  be  beautiful  which 
are  not  ?  For  no  one  will  admit  that  the  forms  of  vice  are  more 
beautiful  than  the  forms  of  virtue,  or  that  he  prefers  the  first 
kind  to  the  second.    And  yet  most  persons  say  that  the  merit  of 


Analysis  655-658. 


li 


music  is  to  give  pleasure.   But  this  is  impiety.   There  is,  however,    Laws  II. 
a  more  plausible  account  of  the  matter  given  by  others,  who  make  Analysis. 
their  lilces  or  dislikes  the  criterion  of  excellence.  Sometimes 
nature  crosses  habit,  or  conversely,  and  then  they  say  that  such 

656  and  such  fashions  or  gestures  are  pleasant,  but  they  do  not  like  to 
exhibit  them  before  men  of  sense,  although  they  enjoy  them  in 
private.  'Very  true.'  And  do  vicious  measures  and  strains  do 
any  harm,  or  good  measures  any  good  to  the  lovers  of  them  ? 
'  Probably.'  Say,  rather,  '  Certainly ' :  for  the  gentle  indulgence 
which  we  often  show  to  vicious  men  inevitably  makes  us  become 
like  them.  And  what  can  be  worse  than  this '  Nothing.'  Then 
in  a  well-administered  city,  the  poet  will  not  be  allowed  to  make 
the  songs  of  the  people  just  as  he  pleases,  or  to  train  his  choruses 
without  regard  to  virtue  and  vice.  '  Certainly  not.'  And  yet  he 
may  do  this  anywhere  exc6pt  in  Egypt ;  for  there  ages  ago  they 
discovered  the  great  truth  which  I  am  now  asserting,  that  the 
young  should  be  educated  in  forms  and  strains  of  virtue.  These 
they  fixed  and  consecrated  in  their  temples ;  and  no  artist  or 

657  musician  is  allowed  to  deviate  from  them.  They  are  Hterally  the 
same  which  they  were  ten  thousand  years  ago.  And  this  practice 
of  theirs  suggests  the  reflection  that  legislation  about  music  is  not 
an  impossible  thing.  But  the  particular  enactments  must  be  the 
work  of  God  or  of  some  God-inspired  man,  as  in  Egypt  their 
ancient  chants  are  said  to  be  the  composition  of  the  goddess  Isis. 
The  melodies  which  have  a  natural  truth  and  correctness  should 
be  embodied  in  a  law,  and  then  the  desire  of  novelty  is  not  strong 
enough  to  change  the  old  fashions.  Is  not  the  origin  of  music  as 
follows  ?  We  rejoice  when  we  think  that  we  prosper,  and  we 
think  that  we  prosper  when  we  rejoice,  and  at  such  times  we 
cannot  rest,  but  our  young  men  dance  dances  and  sing  songs,  and 
our  old  men,  who  have  lost  the  elasticity  of  youth,  regale  them- 
selves with  the  memory  of  the  past,  while  they  contemplate  the 

658  life  and  activity  of  the  young.  '  Most  true.'  People  say  that  he 
who  gives  us  most  pleasure  at  such  festivals  is  to  win  the  palm  : 
are  they  right?  'Possibly.'  Let  us  not  be  hasty  in  deciding, 
but  first  imagine  a  festival  at  which  the  lord  of  the  festival, 
having  assembled  the  citizens,  makes  a  proclamation  that  he 
shall  be  crowned  victor  who  gives  the  most  pleasure,  from  what- 
ever source  derived.    We  will  further  suppose  that  there  are 

d  2 


Hi 


Analysis  658-661. 


Laws  II.  exhibitions  of  rhapsodists  and  musicians,  tragic  and  comic  poets, 
Analysis,  and  even  marionette-players— which  of  the  pleasure-makers  will 
win  ?  Shall  I  answer  for  you  ?— The  marionette-players  will 
please  the  children;  youths  will  decide  for  comedy;  young  men, 
educated  women,  and  people  in  general  will  prefer  tragedy ;  we 
old  men  are  lovers  of  Homer  and  Hesiod.  Now  which  of  them  is 
right?  If  you  and  I  are  asked,  we  shall  certainly  say  that  the  old 
men's  way  of  thinking  ought  to  prevail.  'Very  true.'  So  far 
I  agree  with  the  many  that  the  excellence  of  music  is  to  be 
measured  by  pleasure  ;  but  then  the  pleasure  must  be  that  of  the 
good  and  educated,  or  better  still,  of  one  supremely  virtuous  and  659 
educated  man.  The  true  judge  must  have  both  wisdom  and 
courage.  For  he  must  lead  the  multitude  and  not  be  led  by  them, 
and  must  not  weakly  yield  to  the  uproar  of  the  theatre,  nor 
give  false  judgment  out  of  that  mouth  which  has  just  appealed  to 
the  Gods.  The  ancient  custom  of  Hellas,  which  still  prevails  in 
Italy  and  Sicily,  left  the  judgment  to  the  spectators,  but  this 
custom  has  been  the  ruin  of  the  poets,  who  seek  only  to  please 
their  patrons,  and  has  degraded  the  audience  by  the  representa- 
tion of  inferior  characters.  What  is  the  inference  ?  The  same 
which  we  have  often  drawn,  that  education  is  the  training  of  the 
young  idea  in  what  the  law  affirms  and  the  elders  approve.  And 
as  the  soul  of  a  child  is  too  young  to  be  trained  in  earnest,  a  kind 
of  education  has  been  invented  which  tempts  him  with  plays  and 
songs,  as  the  sick  are  tempted  by  pleasant  meats  and  drinks. 
And  the  wise  legislator  will  compel  the  poet  to  express  in  his 
poems  noble  thoughts  in  fitting  words  and  rhythms.  '  But  is  this  660 
the  practice  elsewhere  than  in  Crete  and  Lacedaemon  ?  In 
other  states,  as  far  as  I  know,  dances  and  music  are  constantly 
changed  at  the  pleasure  of  the  hearers.'  I  am  afraid  that  I  misled 
you ;  not  liking  to  be  always  finding  fault  with  mankind  as  they 
are,  I  described  them  as  they  ought  to  be.  But  let  me  understand  : 
you  say  that  such  customs  exist  among  the  Cretans  and  Lace- 
daemonians, and  that  the  rest  of  the  world  would  be  improved  by 
adopting  them  ?  '  Much  improved.'  And  you  compel  your  poets 
to  declare  that  the  righteous  are  happy,  and  that  the  wicked  man, 
even  if  he  be  as  rich  as  Midas,  is  unhappy  ?  Or,  in  the  words  of 
Tyrtaeus,  '  I  sing  not,  I  care  not  about  him  '  who  is  a  great  warrior 
not  having  justice ;  if  he  be  unjust,  '  I  would  not  have  him  look  661 


Analysis  661-663. 


liii 


calmly  upon  death  of  be  swifter  than  the  wind':  and  may  he  be    Laws  11. 

deprived  of  every  good— that  is,  of  every  true  good.    For  even  if  Analysis. 

he  have  the  goods  which  men  regard,  these  are  not  really  goods : 

first  health  ;  beauty  next ;  thirdly  wealth  ;  and  there  are  others. 

A  man  may  have  every  sense  purged  and  improved ;  he  may  be 

a  tyrant,  and  do  what  he  likes,  and  live  for  ever :  but  you  and 

I  will  maintain  that  all  these  things  are  goods  to  the  just^  but  to 

the  unjust  the  greatest  of  evils,  if  life  be  immortal ;  not  so  great  if 

he  live  for  a  short  time  only.    If  a  man  had  health  and  wealth, 

and  power,  and  was  insolent  and  unjust,  his  life  would  still  be 

miserable  ;  he  might  be  fair  and  rich,  and  do  what  he  liked,  but  he 

662  would  live  basely,  and  if  basely  evilly,  and  if  evilly  painfully. 
'There  I  cannot  agree  with  you.'  Then  may  heaven  give  us  the 
spirit  of  agreement,  for  I  am  as  convinced  of  the  truth  of  what 
I  say  as  that  Crete  is  an  island  ;  and,  if  I  were  a  lawgiver,  I  would 
exercise  a  censorship  over  the  poets,  and  I  would  punish  them  if 
they  said  that  the  wicked  are  happy,  or  that  injustice  is  pro- 
fitable. And  these  are  not  the  only  matters  in  which  I  should 
make  my  citizens  talk  in  a  different  way  to  the  world  in  general. 
If  I  asked  Zeus  and  Apollo,  the  divine  legislators  of  Crete  and 
Sparta, — '  Are  the  just  and  pleasant  life  the  same  or  not  the 
same  '  ? — and  they  replied, — '  Not  the  same  ';  and  I  asked  again — 
'  Which  is  the  happier'  ?  and  they  said — '  The  pleasant  life,'  this  is 
an  answer  not  fit  for  a  God  to  utter,  and  therefore  I  ought  rather  to 
put  the  same  question  to  some  legislator.  And  if  he  replies  '  The 
pleasant,'  then  I  should  say  to  him,  '  O  my  father,  did  you  not  tell 
me  that  I  should  live  as  justly  as  possible  '  ?  and  if  to  be  just  is  to 

663  be  happy,  what  is  that  principle  of  happiness  or  good  which  is 
superior  to  pleasure  ?  Is  the  approval  of  gods  and  men  to  be 
deemed  good  and  honourable,  but  unpleasant,  and  their  dis- 
approval the  reverse  ?  Or  is  the  neither  doing  nor  suffering  evil 
good  and  honourable,  although  not  pleasant  ?  But  you  cannot 
make  men  like  what  is  not  pleasant,  and  therefore  you  must  make 
them  believe  that  the  just  is  pleasant.  The  business  of  the  legis- 
lator is  to  clear  up  this  confusion.  He  will  show  that  the  just  and 
the  unjust  are  identical  with  the  pleasurable  and  the  painful,  from 
the  point  of  view  of  the  just  man,  of  the  unjust  the  reverse.  And 
which  is  the  truer  judgment  ?  .Surely  that  of  the  better  soul.  For 
if  not  the  truth,  it  is  the  best  and  most  moral  of  fictions;  and  the 


liv 


Analysis  663-666. 


Laws  II.  legislator  who  desires  to  propagate  this  useful  lie,  may  be  en- 
Analysis.  couraged  by  remarking  that  mankind  have  believed  the  story  of  664 
Cadmus  and  the  dragon's  teeth,  and  therefore  he  may  be  assured 
that  he  can  make  them  believe  anything,  and  need  only  consider 
what  fiction  will  do  the  greatest  good.  That  the  happiest  is  also 
the  holiest,  this  shall  be  our  strain,  which  shall  be  sung  by  all 
three  choruses  alike.  First  will  enter  the  choir  of  children,  who 
will  lift  up  their  voices  on  high  ;  and  after  them  the  young  men, 
who  will  pray  the  God  Paean  to  be  gracious  to  the  youth,  and  to 
testify  to  the  truth  of  their  words  ;  then  will  come  the  chorus  of 
elder  men,  between  thirty  and  sixty ;  and,  lastly,  there  will  be  the 
"old  men,  and  they  will  tell  stories  enforcing  the  same  virtues,  as 
with  the  voice  of  an  oracle.  'Whom  do  you  mean  by  the  third 
chorus?'  You  remember  how  I  spoke  at  first  of  the  restless 
nature  of  young  creatures,  who  jumped  about  and  called  out  in 
a  disorderly  manner,  and  I  said  that  no  other  animal  attained  any 
perception  of  rhythm  ;  but  that  to  us  the  Gods  gave  Apollo  and  665 
the  Muses  and  Dionysus  to  be  our  playfellows.  Of  the  two  first 
choruses  I  have  already  spoken,  and  I  have  now  to  speak  of  the 
third,  or  Dionysian  chorus,  which  is  composed  of  those  who  are 
between  thirty  and  sixty  years  old.  '  Let  us  hear.'  We  are 
agreed  (are  we  not.')  that  men,  women,  and  children  should  be 
always  charming  themselves  with  strains  of  virtue,  and  that  there 
should  be  a  variety  in  the  strains,  that  they  may  not  weary  of 
them Now  the  fairest  and  most  useful  of  strains  will  be  uttered 
by  the  elder  men,  and  therefore  we  cannot  let  them  off.  But  how 
can  we  make  them  sing?  For  a  discreet  elderly  man  is  ashamed 
to  hear  the  sound  of  his  own  voice  in  private,  and  still  more  in 
public.  The  only  way  is  to  give  them  drink  ;  this  will  mellow  the  666 
sourness  of  age.  No  one  should  be  allowed  to  taste  wine  until 
they  are  eighteen  ;  from  eighteen  to  thirty  they  may  take  a  little  ; 
but  when  they  have  reached  forty  years,  they  may  be  initiated 
into  the  mystery  of  drinking.  Thus  they  will  become  softer  and 
more  impressible ;  and  when  a  man's  heart  is  warm  within  him, 
he  will  be  more  ready  to  charm  himself  and  others  with  song. 
And  what  songs  shall  he  sing  ?  '  At  Crete  and  Lacedaemon  we 
only  know  choral  songs.'  Yes  ;  that  is  because  your  way  of  life  is 
military.  Your  young  men  are  like  wild  colts  feeding  in  a  herd 
together;  no  one  takes  the  individual  colt  and  trains  him  apart. 


Analysis  666—669. 


Iv 


and  tries  to  give  him  the  qualities  of  a  statesman  as  well  as  of  a  Laius  IT. 
soldier.  He  who  was  thus  trained  would  be  a  greater  warrior  Analysis. 
65/  than  those  of  whom  Tyrtaeus  speaks,  for  he  would  be  courageous, 
and  yet  he  would  know  that  courage  was  only  fourth  in  the  scale 
of  virtue.  'Once  more,  I  must  say,  Stranger,  that  you  run  down 
our  lawgivers.'  Not  intentionally,  my  good  friend,  but  whither 
the  argument  leads  I  follow;  and  I  am  trying  to  find  some  style 
of  poetry  suitable  for  those  who  dislike  the  common  sort.  'Very 
good.'  In  all  things  which  have  a  charm,  either  this  charm  is 
their  good,  or  they  have  some  accompanying  truth  or  advantage. 
For  example,  in  eating  and  drinking  there  is  pleasure  and  also 
profit,  that  is  to  say,  health  ;  and  in  learning  there  is  a  pleasure 
and  also  truth.  There  is  a  pleasure  or  charpi,  too,  in  the  imitative 
arts,  as  well  as  a  law  of  proportion  or  equality;  but  the  pleasure 
which  they  afford,  however  innocent,  is  not  the  criterion  of  theia 
truth.  The  test  of  pleasure  cannot  be  applied  except  to  that 
which  has  no  other  good  or  evil,  po  truth  or  falsehood.  But  that 
which  has  truth  must  be  judged  of  by  the  standard  of  truth,  and 
therefore  imitation  and  proportion  are  to  be  judged  of  by  their 

668  truth  alone.  '  Certainly.'  And  as  ^nusic  is  imitative,  it  is  not  to 
be  judged  by  the  criterion  of  pleasure,  and  the  Muse  whom  we 
seek  is  the  muse  not  of  pleasure  but  of  truth,  for  imitation  has  a 
truth.  '  Doubtless.'  And  if  so,  the  judge  rpust  know  what  is 
being  imitated  before  he  decides  on  the  quality  of  the  imitation, 
and  he  who  does  not  know  what  is  true  will  not  know  what  is 
good.  '  He  will  not.'  Will  any  one  be  able  to  imitate  the  human 
body,  if  he  does  not  know  the  number,  proportion,  colour,  or 
figure  of  the  limbs  ?  '  How  c^n  he  ? '  But  suppose  we  know 
some  picture  or  figure  to  be  an  exact  resemblance  of  a  man, 
should  we  not  also  require  tq  know  whether  the  picture  is 

669  beautiful  or  not  ?  '  Quite  right.'  The  judge  of  the  imitation  is 
required  to  know,  therefore,  first  the  original,  secondly  the  truth, 
and  thirdly  the  merit  of  the  execution  ?  'True.'  Then  let  us  not 
weary  in  the  attempt  to  bring  rnusic  to  the  standard  of  the  Muses 
and  of  truth.  The  Muses  are  not  like  human  poets  ;  they  never 
spoil  or  mix  rhythms  or  scales,  or  mingle  instruments  and  human 
voices,  or  confuse  the  manners  and  strains  of  men  and  women,  or 
of  freemen  and  slaves,  or  of  rational  beings  and  brute  animals. 
They  do  not  practise  the  baser  sorts  of  musical  arts,  such  as  the 


Ivi 


Analysis  669-672. 


Laivs  II.    'matured  judgments,'  of  whom  Orpheus  speaks,  would  ridicule. 

Analysis.  But  modern  pocts  Separate  metre  from  music,  and  melody  and 
rhythm  from  words,  and  use  the  instrument  alone  without  the 
voice.  The  consequence  is,  that  the  meaning  of  the  rhythm  and 
of  the  time  are  not  understood.  I  am  endeavouring  to  show  how  670 
our  fifty-year-old  choristers  are  to  be  trained,  and  what  they  are 
to  avoid.  The  opinion  of  the  multitude  about  these  matters  is 
worthless  ;  they  who  are  only  made  to  step  in  time  by  sheer  force 
cannot  be  critics  of  music.  '  Impossible.'  Then  our  newly- 
appointed  minstrels  must  be  trained  in  music  sufficiently  to 
understand  the  nature  of  rhythms  and  systems ;  and  they  should 
select  such  as  are  suitable  to  men  of  their  age,  and  will  enable 
them  to  give  and  receive  innocent  pleasure.  This  is  a  knowledge 
which  goes  beyond  that  either  of  the  poets  or  of  their  auditors  in 
general.  For  although  the  poet  must  understand  rhythm  and 
music,  he  need  not  necessarily  know  whether  the  imitation  is 
good  or  not,  which  was  the  third  point  required  in  a  judge;  but  671 
our  chorus  of  elders  must  know  all  three,  if  they  are  to  be  the 
instructors  of  youth. 

And  now  we  will  resume  the  original  argument,  which  may 
be  summed  up  as  follows :  A  convivial  meeting  is  apt  to  grow 
tumultuous  as  the  drinking  proceeds ;  every  man  becomes  light- 
headed, and  fancies  that  he  can  rule  the  whole  world.  '  Doubt- 
less.' And  did  we  not  say  that  the  souls  of  the  drinkers,  when 
subdued  by  wine,  are  made  softer  and  more  malleable  at  the 
hand  of  the  legislator  ?  the  docility  of  childhood  returns  to  them. 
At  times  however  they  become  too  vahant  and  disorderly, 
drinking  out  of  their  turn,  and  interrupting  one  another.  And 
the  business  of  the  legislator  is  to  infuse  into  them  that  divine 
fear,  which  we  call  shame,  in  opposition  to  this  disorderly  bold- 
ness. But  in  order  to  discipline  them  there  must  be  guardians 
of  the  law  of  drinking,  and  sober  generals  who  shall  take 
charge  of  the  private  soldiers  ;  they  are  as  necessary  in  drink- 
ing as  in  fighting,  and  he  who  disobeys  these  Dionysiac  com- 
manders will  be  equally  disgraced.  'Very  good.'  If  a  drinking 
festival  were  well  regulated,  men  would  go  awaj'',  not  as  they 
now  do,  greater  enemies,  but  better  friends.  Of  the  greatest  672 
gift  of  Dionysus  I  hardly  like  to  speak,  lest  I  should  be  mis- 
understood.   '  What  is  that  ? '   According  to  tradition  Dionysus 


Analysis  672-676. 


Ivii 


was  driven  mad  by  his  stepmother  Here,   and  in  order  to    Laws  II. 
revenge  himself  he  inspired  mankind  with  Bacchic  madness.  Analysis. 
But  these  are  stories  which  I  would  rather  not  repeat.  How- 
ever I  do  acknowledge  that  all  men  are  born  in  an  imperfect 
state,  and  are  at  first  restless,  irrational  creatures :  this,  as  you 
will  remember,  has  been  already  said  by  us.    'I  remember.' 
And  that  Apollo  and  the  Muses  and  Dionysus  gave  us  harmony 
and  rhythm?    'Very  true.'    The  other  story  implies  that  wine 
was  given  to  punish  us  and  make  us  mad ;  but  we  contend  that 
wine  is  a  balm  and  a  cure  ;  a  spring  of  modesty  in  the  soul, 
and  of  health  and  strength  in  the  body.    Again,  the  work  of  the 
chorus  is  co-extensive  with  the  work  of  education  ;  rhythm 
and  melody  answer  to  the  voice,  and  the  motions  of  the  body 
correspond  to  all  three,  and  the  sound  enters  in  and  educates 
1 673  the  soul  in  virtue.    'Yes.'    And  the  movement  which,  when 
pursued  as  an  amusement,  is  termed  dancing,  when  studied 
with  a  view  to  the  improvement  of  the  body,  becomes  gymnastic. 
Shall  we  now  proceed  to  speak  cf  this?    'What  Cretan  or 
Lacedaemonian  would   approve  of  your  omitting  gymnastic  ? ' 
Your  question  implies  assent ;  and  you  will  easily  understand 
a  subject  which  is  familiar  to  you.     Gymnastic  is  based  on  the 
natural  tendency  of  every  animal  to  rapid  motion ;  and  man 
adds  a  sense  of  rhythm,  which  is  awakened  by  music ;  music 
and  dancing  together  form  the  choral  art.    But  before  proceed- 
ing I  must  add  a  crowning  word  about  drinking.     Like  other 
pleasures,  it  has  a  lawful  use  ;  but  if  a  state  or  an  individual 
674  is  inclined  to  drink  at  will,  I  cannot  allow  them.    I  would  go 
further  than  Crete  or  Lacedaemon  and  have  the  law  of  the 
Carthaginians,  that  no  slave  of  either  sex  should  drink  wine  at 
all,  and  no  soldier  while  he  is  on  a  campaign,  and  no  magistrate 
or  officer  while  he  is  on  duty,  and  that  no  one  should  drink 
by  daylight  or  on  a  bridal  night.    And  there  are  so  many  other 
occasions  on  which  wine  ought  to  be  prohibited,  that  there  will 
not  be  many  vines  grown  or  vineyards  required  in  the  state. 

676  BOOK  III.  If  a  man  wants  to  know  the  origin  of  states  and 
societies,  he  should  behold  them  from  the  point  of  view  of  time. 
Thousands  of  cities  have  come  into  being  and  have  passed  away 
again  in  infinite  ages,  every  one  of  them  having  had  endless 


Analysis  676-679. 


///.  forms  of  government ;  and  if  we  can  ascertain  the  cause  of  these 
fsis.  changes  in  states,  that  will  probably  explain  their  origin.  What 
do  you  think  of  ancient  traditions  about  deluges  and  destructions 
of  mankind,  and  the  preservation  of  a  remnant  ?  '  Every  one  677 
believes  in  them.'  Then  let  us  suppose  the  world  to  have  been 
destroyed  by  a  deluge.  The  survivors  would  be  hill-shepherds, 
small  sparks  of  the  human  race,  dwelling  in  isolation,  and  un- 
acquainted with  the  arts  and  vices  of  civilization.  We  may 
further  suppose  that  the  cities  on  the  plain  and  on  the  coast 
have  been  swept  away,  and  that  all  inventions,  and  every  sort 
of  knowledge,  have  perished.  '  Why,  if  all  things  were  as  they 
now  are,  nothing  would  have  ever  been  invented.  All  our 
famous  discoveries  have  been  made  within  the  last  thousand 
years,  and  many  of  them  are  but  of  yesterday.'  Yes,  Cleinias, 
and  you  must  not  forget  Epimenides,  who  was  really  of  yester- 
day; he  practised  the  lesson  of  moderation  and  abstinence  which 
Hesiod  only  preached.  *  True.'  After  the  great  destruction  we 
may  imagine  that  the  earth  was  a  desert,  in  which  there  were  678 
a  herd  or  two  of  oxen  and  a  few  goats,  hardly  enough  to 
support  those  v/ho  tended  them  ;  while  of  politics  and  govern- 
ments the  survivors  would  know  nothing.  And  out  of  this 
state  of  things  have  arisen  arts  and  laws,  and  a  great  deal  of 
virtue  and  a  great  deal  of  vice  ;  little  by  little  the  world  has 
come  to  be  what  it  is.  At  first,  the  few  inhabitants  would  have 
had  a  natural  fear  of  descending  into  the  plains  ;  although  they 
would  want  to  have  intercourse  with  one  another,  they  would 
have  a  difficulty  in  getting  about,  having  lost  the  arts,  and  having 
no  means  of  extracting  metals  from  the  earth,  or  of  felling 
timber ;  for  even  if  they  had  saved  any  tools,  these  would  soon 
have  been  worn  out,  and  they  could  get  no  more  until  the  art 
of  metallurgy  had  been  again  revived.  Faction  and  war  would 
be  extinguished  among  them,  for  being  solitary  they  would 
incline  to  be  friendly;  and  having  abundance  of  pasture  and 
plenty  of  milk  and  flesh,  they  would  have  nothing  to  quarrel  67^ 
about.  We  may  assume  that  they  had  also  dwellings,  clothes, 
pottery,  for  the  weaving  and  plastic  arts  do  not  require  the  use  of 
metals.  In  those  days  they  were  neither  poor  nor  rich,  and 
there  was  no  insolence  or  injustice  among  them ;  for  they  were 
of  noble  natures,  and  lived  up  to  their  principles,  and  believed 


Analysis  679-681. 


lix 


what  they  were  told  ;  knowing  nothing  of  land  or  naval  warfare,  Laius  III. 
or  of  legal  practices  or  party  conflicts,  they  were  simpler  and  analysis. 
more  temperate,  and  also  more  just  than  the  men  of  our  day. 
o  '  Very  true.'  I  am  showing  whence  the  need  of  lawgivers  arises, 
for  in  primitive  ages  they  neither  had  nor  wanted  them.  Men 
lived  according  to  the  customs  of  their  fathers,  in  a  simple 
manner,  under  a  patriarchal  government,  such  as  still  exists 
both  among  Hellenes  and  barbarians,  and  is  described  in  Homer 
as  prevailing  among  the  Cyclopes  : — 

'  They  have  no  laws,  and  they  dwell  in  rocks  or  on  the  tops  of  mountains, 
and  every  one  is  the  judge  of  his  wife  and  children,  and  they  do  not  trouble 
themselves  about  one  another.' 

'  That  is  a  charming  poet  of  yours,  though  I  know  little  of  him, 
for  in  Crete  foreign  poets  are  not  much  read.'  '  But  he  is  well 
known  in  Sparta,  though  he  describes  Ionian  rather  than  Dorian 
manners,  and  he  seems  to  take  your  view  of  primitive  society.' 
May  we  not  suppose  that  government  arose  out  of  the  union 
of  single  families  who  survived  the  destruction,  and  were  under 
the  rule  of  patriarchs,  because  they  had  originally  descended 
681  from  a  single  father  and  mother  ?  '  That  is  very  probable.'  As 
time  went  on,  men  increased  in  number,  and  tilled  the  ground, 
living  in  a  common  habitation,  which  they  protected  by  walls 
against  wild  beasts  ;  but  the  several  families  retained  the  laws 
and  customs  which  they  separately  received  from  their  first 
parents.  They  would  naturally  like  their  own  laws  better  than 
any  others,  and  would  be  already  formed  by  them  when  they 
met  in  a  common  society :  thus  legislation  imperceptibly  began 
among  them.  For  in  the  next  stage  the  associated  families 
would  appoint  plenipotentiaries,  who  would  select  and  present 
to  the  chiefs  those  of  all  their  laws  which  they  thought  best. 
The  chiefs  in  turn  would  make  a  further  selection,  and  would 
thus  become  the  lawgivers  of  the  state,  which  they  would  form 
into  an  aristocracy  or  a  monarchy.  '  Probably.'  In  the  third 
stage  various  other  forms  of  government  would  arise.  This  state 
of  society  is  described  by  Homer  in  speaking  of  the  foundation 
of  Dardania,  which,  he  says, 

'  was  built  at  the  foot  of  many-fountaincd  Ida,  for  Ilium,  the  city  of  Ihc 
plain,  as  yd  was  not.' 


Ix  Analysis  682-684. 

Laws  III.  Here,  as  also  in  the  account  of  the  Cyclopes,  the  poet  by  682 
Analysis.  Some  divine  inspiration  has  attained  truth.  But  to  proceed 
with  our  tale.  Ilium  was  built  in  a  wide  plain,  on  a  low  hill, 
which  was  surrounded  by  streams  descending  from  Ida.  This 
shows  that  many  ages  must  have  passed  ;  for  the  men  who 
remembered  the  deluge  would  never  have  placed  their  city  at 
the  mercy  of  the  waters.  When  mankind  began  to  multiply, 
many  other  cities  were  built  in  similar  situations.  These  cities 
carried  on  a  ten  years'  war  against  Troy,  by  sea  as  well  as 
land,  for  men  were  ceasing  to  be  afraid  of  the  sea,  and,  in  the 
meantime,  while  the  chiefs  of  the  army  were  at  Troy,  their  homes 
fell  into  confusion.  The  youth  revolted  and  refused  to  receive 
their  own  fathers  ;  deaths,  murders,  exiles  ensued.  Under  the 
new  name  of  Dorians,  which  they  received  from  their  chief 
Dorieus,  the  exiles  returned  :  the  rest  of  the  story  is  part  of 
the  histor}'  of  Sparta. 

Thus,  after  digressing  from  the  subject  of  laws  into  music 
and  drinking,  we  return  to  the  settlement  of  Sparta,  which  in  683 
laws  and  institutions  is  the  sister  of  Crete.  We  have  seen  the 
rise  of  a  first,  second,  and  third  state,  during  the  lapse  of  ages ; 
and  now  we  arrive  at  a  fourth  state,  and  out  of  the  comparison 
of  all  four  we  propose  to  gather  the  nature  of  laws  and  govern- 
ments, and  the  changes  which  may  be  desirable  in  them.  '  If,' 
replies  the  Spartan,  '  our  new  discussion  is  likely  to  be  as  good 
as  the  last,  I  would  think  the  longest  day  too  short  for  such  an 
employment.' 

Let  us  imagine  the  time  when  Lacedaemon,  and  Argos,  and 
Messene  were  all  subject,  Megillus,  to  your  ancestors.  After- 
wards, they  distributed  the  army  into  three  portions,  and  made 
three  cities— Argos,  Messene,  Lacedaemon.  'Yes.'  Temenus 
was  the  king  of  Argos,  Cresphontes  of  Messene,  Procles  and 
Eurysthenes  ruled  at  Lacedaemon.  'Just  so.'  And  they  all 
swore  to  assist  any  one  of  their  number  whose  kingdom  was  sub- 
verted. '  Yes.'  But  did  we  not  say  that  kingdoms  or  govern- 
ments can  only  be  subverted  by  themselves  ?  '  That  is  true.' 
Yes,  and  the  truth  is  now  proved  by  facts :  there  were  certain  684 
conditions  upon  which  the  three  kingdoms  were  to  assist  one 
another ;  the  government  was  to  be  mild  and  the  people  obedient, 
and  the  kings  and  people  were  to  unite  in  assisting  either  of  the 


Analysis  684-686. 


two  others  when  they  were  wronged.  This  latter  condition  was  Laxvs  III. 
a  great  securitj'.  '  Clearly.'  Such  a  provision  is  in  opposition  to  analysis. 
the  common  notion  that  the  lawgiver  should  make  only  such  laws 
as  the  people  like  ;  but  we  say  that  he  should  rather  be  like  a 
physician,  prepared  to  effect  a  cure  even  at  the  cost  of  consider- 
able suffering.  'Very  true.'  The  early  lawgivers  had  another 
great  advantage— they  were  saved  from  the  reproach  which  at- 
tends a  division  of  land  and  the  abolition  of  debts.  No  one  could 
quarrel  with  the  Dorians  for  dividing  the  territory,  and  they  had 
no  debts  of  long  standing.    'They  had  not.'    Then  what  was  the 

,,85  reason  why  their  legislation  signally  failed  ?  For  there  were 
three  kingdoms,  and  two  of  them  quickly  lost  their  original  con- 
stitution. That  is  a  question  which  we  cannot  refuse  to  answer, 
if  we  mean  to  proceed  with  our  old  man's  game  of  enquiring  into 
laws  and  institutions.  And  the  Dorian  institutions  are  more 
worthy  of  consideration  than  any  other,  having  been  evidently 
intended  to  be  a  protection  not  only  to  the  Peloponnese,  but  to  all 
the  Hellenes  against  the  Barbarians.  For  the  capture  of  Troy  by 
the  Achaeans  had  given  great  offence  to  the  Assyrians,  of  whose 
empire  it  then  formed  part,  and  they  were  likely  to  retaliate. 
Accordingly  the  royal  Heraclid  brothers  devised  their  military 
constitution,  which  was  organised  on  a  far  better  plan  than  the  old 
Trojan  expedition ;  and  the  Dorians  themselves  were  far  superior 
to  the  Achaeans,  who  had  taken  part  in  that  expedition,  and  had 

t  686  been  conquered  by  them.  Such  a  scheme,  undertaken  by  men 
who  had  shared  with  one  another  toils  and  dangers,  sanctioned 
by  the  Delphian  oracle,  under  the  guidance  of  the  Heraclidae, 
seemed  to  have  a  promise  of  permanence.  '  Naturally.'  Yet  this 
has  not  proved  to  be  the  case.  Instead  of  the  three  being  one, 
they  have  always  been  at  war ;  had  they  been  united,  in  accord- 
ance with  the  original  intention,  they  would  have  been  invincible. 

And  what  caused  their  ruin  ?  Did  you  ever  observe  that  there 
are  beautiful  things  of  which  men  often  say,  '  What  wonders  they 
would  have  effected  if  rightly  used!'  and  yet,  after  all,  this  may  be 
a  mistake.  And  so  I  say  of  the  Heraclidae  and  their  expedition, 
which  I  may  perhaps  have  been  justified  in  admiring,  but  which 

•  nevertheless  suggests  to  me  the  general  reflection, — '  What 
wonders  might  not  strength  and  military  resources  have  accom- 
plished, if  the  possessor  had  only  known  how  to  use  them  !  '  For 


Ixii 


Analysis  687  689. 


Laws  III.  consider :  if  the  generals  of  the  army  had  only  known  how  to  687 
Analysis,  arrange  their  forces,  might  they  not  have  given  their  subjects 
everlasting  freedom,  and  the  power  of  doing  what  they  would  in 
all  the  world?  'Very  true.'  Suppose  a  person  to  express  his 
admiration  of  wealth  or  rank,  does  he  not  do  so  under  the  idea 
that  by  the  help  of  these  he  can  attain  his  desires  ?  All  men  wish 
to  obtain  the  control  of  all  things,  and  they  are  always  praying  for 
what  they  desire.  '  Certainly.'  And  we  ask  for  our  friends  what 
they  ask  for  themselves.  '  Yes.'  Dear  is  the  son  to  the  father, 
and  yet  the  son,  if  he  is  young  and  foolish,  will  often  pray  to 
obtain  what  the  father  will  pray  that  he  may  not  obtain.  'True.' 
And  when  the  father,  in  the  heat  of  youth  or  the  dotage  of  age, 
makes  some  rash  praj'er,  the  son,  like  Hippolytus,  may  have 
reason  to  pray  that  the  word  of  his  father  may  be  ineffectual. 
'  You  mean  that  a  man  should  pray  to  have  right  desires,  before  688 
he  prays  that  his  desires  maybe  fulfilled;  and  that  wisdom  should 
be  the  first  object  of  our  prayers  ? '  Yes  ;  and  you  will  remember 
my  saj'ing  that  wisdom  should  be  the  principal  aim  of  the  legis- 
lator ;  but  you  said  that  defence  in  war  came  first.  And  I  replied, 
that  there  were  four  virtues,  whereas  you  acknowledged  one  only — 
courage,  and  not  wisdom  which  is  the  guide  of  all  the  rest.  And 
I  repeat — in  jest  if  you  like,  but  I  am  willing  that  you  should  re- 
ceive my  words  in  earnest-  that  'the  prayer  of  a  fool  is  full  of 
danger.'  I  will  prove  to  you,  if  you  will  allow  me,  that  the  ruin  of 
those  states  was  not  caused  by  cowardice  or  ignorance  in  war, 
but  b}' ignorance  of  human  affairs.  '  Pray  proceed  :  our  attention 
will  show  better  than  compliments  that  we  prize  your  words.' 
I  maintain  that  ignorance  is,  and  always  has  been,  the  ruin  of 
states  ;  wherefore  the  legislator  should  seek  to  banish  it  from  the 
state  ;  and  the  greatest  ignorance  is  the  love  of  what  is  known  to  689 
be  evil,  and  the  hatred  of  what  is  known  to  be  good  ;  this  is  the 
last  and  greatest  conflict  of  pleasure  and  reason  in  the  soul.  I 
say  the  greatest,  because  affecting  the  greater  part  of  the  soul ;  for 
the  passions  are  in  the  individual  what  the  people  are  in  a  state. 
And  when  they  become  opposed  to  reason  or  law,  and  instruction 
no  longer  avails — that  is  the  last  and  greatest  ignorance  of  states 
and  men.  '  I  agree.'  Let  this,  then,  be  our  first  principle  : — That 
the  citizen  who  does  not  know  how  to  choose  between  good  and 
evil  must  not  have  authority,  although  he  possess  great  mental 


Analysis  689-691. 


Ixiii 


gifts,  and  many  accomplishments ;  for  he  is  really  a  fool.    On  the   Laws  III. 
other  hand,  he  who  has  this  knowledge  may  be  unable  either  to  analysis. 
read  or  swim ;  nevertheless,  he  shall  be  counted  wise  and  per- 
mitted to  rule.    For  how  can  there  be  wisdom  where  there  is  no 
harmony  ?— the  wise  man  is  the  saviour,  and  he  who  is  devoid  of 

690  wisdom  is  the  destroyer  of  states  and  households.  There  are 
rulers  and  there  are  subjects  in  states.  And  the  first  claim  to  rule 
is  that  of  parents  to  rule  over  their  children ;  the  second,  that  of 
the  noble  to  rule  over  the  ignoble  ;  thirdly,  the  elder  must  govern 
the  younger ;  in  the  fourth  place,  the  slave  must  obey  his  master ; 
fifthly,  there  is  the  power  of  the  stronger,  which  the  poet  Pindar 
declares  to  be  according  to  nature ;  sixthly,  there  is  the  rule  of 
the  wiser,  which  is  also  according  to  nature,  as  I  must  inform 
Pindar,  if  he  does  not  know,  and  is  the  rule  of  law  over  obedient 
subjects.  '  Most  true.'  And  there  is  a  seventh  kind  of  rule 
which  the  Gods  love, — in  this  the  ruler  is  elected  by  lot. 

Then,  now,  we  playfully  say  to  him  who  fancies  that  it  is  easy 
to  make  laws  : — You  see,  legislator,  the  many  and  inconsistent 
claims  to  authority ;  here  is  a  spring  of  troubles  which  you  must 
stay.  And  first  of  all  you  must  help  us  to  consider  how  the  kings 
of  Argos  and  Messene  in  olden  days  destroyed  their  famous 
empire— did  they  forget  the  saying  of  Hesiod,  that  'the  half  is 

691  better  than  the  whole '  ?  And  do  we  suppose  that  the  ignorance 
of  this  truth  is  less  fatal  to  kings  than  to  peoples  ?  '  Probably  the 
evil  is  increased  by  their  way  of  life.'  The  kings  of  those  days 
transgressed  the  laws  and  violated  their  oaths.  Their  deeds  were 
not  in  harmony  with  their  words,  and  their  folly,  which  seemed 
to  them  wisdom,  was  the  ruin  of  the  state.  And  how  could  the 
legislator  have  prevented  this  evil  ?— The  remedy  is  easy  to  see 
now,  but  was  not  easy  to  foresee  at  the  time.  '  What  is  the 
remedy  ? '  The  institutions  of  Sparta  may  teach  you,  Megillus. 
Wherever  there  is  excess,  whether  the  vessel  has  too  large  a  sail, 
or  the  body  too  much  food,  or  the  mind  too  much  power,  there 
destruction  is  certain.  And  similarly,  a  man  who  possesses 
arbitrary  power  is  soon  corrupted,  and  grows  hateful  to  his 
dearest  friends.  In  order  to  guard  against  this  evil,  the  God  who 
watched  over  Sparta  gave  you  two  kings  instead  of  one,  that  they 
might  balance  one  another ;  and  further  to  lower  the  pulse  of 
your  body  politic,  some  human  wisdom,  mingled  with  divine 


Ixiv  Analysis  691-694. 

Laios  lU.  power,  tempered  the  strength  and  self-sufficiencj'  of  youth  with 
Analysis,  the  moderation  of  age  in  the  institution  of  your  senate.  A  third  692 
saviour  bridled  your  rising  and  swelling  power  by  ephors,  whom 
he  assimilated  to  officers  elected  by  lot :  and  thus  the  kingly 
power  was  preserved,  and  became  the  preserver  of  all  the  rest. 
Had  the  constitution  been  arranged  by  the  original  legislators, 
not  even  the  portion  of  Aristodemus  would  have  been  saved  ;  for 
they  had  no  political  experience,  and  imagined  that  a  youthful 
spirit  invested  with  power  could  be  restrained  by  oaths.  Now  that 
God  has  instructed  us  in  the  arts  of  legislation,  there  is  no  merit 
in  seeing  all  this,  or  in  learning  wisdom  after  the  event.  But  if 
the  coming  danger  could  have  been  foreseen,  and  the  union  pre- 
served, then  no  Persian  or  other  enemy  would  have  dared  to 
attack  Hellas ;  and  nideed  there  was  not  so  much  credit  to  us 
in  defeating  the  enemy,  as  discredit  in  our  disloyalty  to  one 
another.  For  of  the  three  cities  one  only  fought  on  behalf  of 
Hellas ;  and  of  the  two  others,  Argos  refused  her  aid  ;  and  Mes- 
senia  was  actuallj'  at  war  with  Sparta  :  and  if  the  Lacedaemo- 
nians and  Athenians  had  not  united,  the  Hellenes  would  have 
been  absorbed  in  the  Persian  empire,  and  dispersed  among  the 
barbarians.  We  make  these  reflections  upon  past  and  present  693 
legislators  because  we  desire  to  find  out  what  other  course  could 
have  been  followed.  We  were  saying  just  now,  that  a  state  can 
only  be  free  and  wise  and  harmonious  when  there  is  a  balance 
of  powers.  There  are  many  words  by  which  we  express  the 
aims  of  the  legislator, — temperance,  wisdom,  friendship  ;  but  we 
need  not  be  disturbed  by  the  variety  of  expression,— these  words 
have  all  the  same  meaning.  '  I  should  like  to  know  at  what  in 
3'our  opinion  the  legislator  should  aim.'  Hear  me,  then.  There 
are  two  mother  forms  of  states— one  monarchy,  and  the  other 
democracy :  the  Persians  have  the  first  in  the  highest  form,  and 
the  Athenians  the  second  ;  and  no  government  can  be  well  ad- 
ministered which  does  not  include  both.  There  was  a  time 
when  both  the  Persians  and  Athenians  had  more  the  character 
of  a  constitutional  state  than  they  now  have.  In  the  days  of  694 
Cj'rus  the  Persians  were  freemen  as  well  as  lords  of  others,  and 
their  soldiers  were  free  and  equal,  and  the  kings  used  and 
honoured  all  the  talent  which  they  could  find,  and  so  the  nation 
waxed  great,  because  there  was  freedom  and  friendship  and  com- 


Analysis  694-696.  Ixv 

munion  of  soul.  But  Cyrus,  though  a  wise  general,  never  troubled  Laws  III. 
himself  about  the  education  of  his  family.  He  was  a  soldier  from  Analysis. 
his  youth  upward,  and  left  his  children  who  were  born  in  the 
purple  to  be  educated  by  women,  who  humoured  and  spoilt 
them.  '  A  rare  education,  truly  ! '  Yes,  such  an  education  as 
princesses  who  had  recently  grown  rich  might  be  expected  to 
give  them  in  a  country  where  the  men  were  solely  occupied  with 

695  warlike  pursuits.  '  Lilcely  enough.'  Their  father  had  possessions 
of  men  and  animals,  and  never  considered  that  the  race  to  whom 
he  was  about  to  make  them  over  had  been  educated  in  a  very 
different  school,  not  like  the  Persian  shepherd,  who  was  well 
able  to  take  care  of  himself  and  his  own.  He  did  not  see  that  his 
children  had  been  brought  up  in  the  Median  fashion,  by  women 
and  eunuchs.  The  end  was  that  one  of  the  sons  of  Cyrus  slew 
the  other,  and  lost  the  kingdom  by  his  own  folly.  Observe,  again, 
that  Darius,  who  restored  the  kingdom,  had  not  received  a  royal 
education.  He  was  one  of  the  seven  chiefs,  and  when  he  came  to 
the  throne  he  divided  the  empire  into  seven  provinces  ;  and  he 
made  equal  laws,  and  implanted  friendship  among  the  people. 
Hence  his  subjects  were  greatly  attached  to  him,  and  cheerfully 
helped  him  to  extend  his  empire.  Next  followed  Xerxes,  who 
had  received  the  same  royal  education  as  Cambyses,  and  met 
with  a  similar  fate.  The  reflection  naturally  occurs  to  us — How 
could  Darius,  with  all  his  experience,  have  made  such  a  mistake  ! 

696  The  ruin  of  Xerxes  was  not  a  mere  accident,  but  tlie  evil  life  which 
is  generally  led  by  the  sons  of  very  rich  and  royal  persons  ;  and 
this  is  what  the  legislator  has  seriously  to  consider.  Justly  may 
the  Lacedaemonians  be  praised  for  not  giving  special  honour 
to  birth  or  wealth  ;  for  such  advantages  are  not  to  be  highly 
esteemed  without  virtue,  and  hot  even  virtue  is  to  be  esteemed 
unless  it  be  accompanied  by  temperance.  '  Explain.'  No  one 
would  like  to  live  in  the  same  house  with  a  courageous  man  who  had 
no  control  over  himself,  nor  with  a  clever  artist  who  was  a  rogue. 
Nor  can  justice  and  wisdom  ever  be  separated  from  temperance. 
But  considering  these  qualities  with  reference  to  the  honour  and 
dishonour  which  is  to  be  assigned  to  them  in  states,  would  you 
say,  on  the  other  hand,  that  temperance,  if  existing  without  the 
other  virtues  in  the  soul,  is  worth  anything  or  nothing?  '  I  cannot 
tell.'    You  have  answered  well.    It  would  be  absurd  to  speak  of 

VOL.  V.  e 


Ixvi  Analysis  696-699. 

Laws  III.  temperance  as  belonging  to  the  class  of  honourable  or  of  dishonour- 
ANALYsts.  able  qualities,  because  all  other  virtues  in  their  various  classes  re- 
quire temperance  to  be  added  to  them  ;  having  the  addition,  they 
are  honoured  not  in  proportion  to  that,  but  to  their  own  excel- 
lence. And  ought  not  the  legislator  to  determine  these  classes  ? 
'  Certainly.'  Suppose  then  that,  without  going  into  details,  we  697 
make  three  great  classes  of  them.  Most  honourable  are  the  goods 
of  the  soul,  always  assuming  temperance  as  a  condition  of  them  ; 
secondly,  those  of  the  body;  thirdly,  external  possessions.  The 
legislator  who  puts  them  in  another  order  is  doing  an  unholy 
and  unpatriotic  thing. 

These  remarks  were  suggested  by  the  history  of  the  Persian 
kings  ;  and  to  them  I  will  now  return.  The  ruin  of  their  empire 
was  caused  by  the  loss  of  freedom  and  the  growth  of  despotism  ; 
all  community  of  feeling  disappeared.  Hatred  and  spoliation  took 
the  place  of  friendship ;  the  people  no  longer  fought  heartily 
for  their  masters  ;  the  rulers,  finding  their  myriads  useless  on 
the  field  of  battle,  resorted  to  mercenaries  as  their  only  salva- 
tion, and  were  thus  compelled  by  their  circumstances  to  proclaim 
the  stupidest  of  falsehoods — that  virtue  is  a  trifle  in  comparison  698 
of  money. 

But  enough  of  the  Persians :  a  different  lesson  is  taught  by 
the  Athenians,  whose  example  shows  that  a  limited  freedom 
is  far  better  than  an  unlimited.  Ancient  Athens,  at  the  time 
of  the  Persian  invasion,  had  such  a  limited  freedom.  The 
people  were  divided  into  four  classes,  according  to  the  amount  of 
their  property,  and  the  universal  love  of  order,  as  well  as  the 
fear  of  the  approaching  host,  made  them  obedient  and  willing 
citizens.  For  Darius  had  sent  Datis  and  Artaphernes,  com- 
manding them  under  pain  of  death  to  subjugate  the  Eretrians 
and  Athenians.  A  report,  whether  true  or  not,  came  to  Athens 
that  all  the  Eretrians  had  been  '  netted '  ;  and  the  Athenians  in 
terror  sent  all  over  Hellas  for  assistance.  None  came  to  their 
relief  except  the  Lacedaemonians,  and  they  arrived  a  day  too 
late,  when  the  battle  of  Marathon  had  been  already  fought.  In  699 
process  of  time  Xerxes  came  to  the  throne,  and  the  Athenians 
heard  of  nothing  but  the  bridge  over  the  Hellespont,  and  the 
canal  of  Athos,  and  the  innumerable  host  and  fleet.  They  knew 
that  these  were  intended  to  avenge  the  defeat  of  Marathon. 


Analysis  699-701. 


Ixvii 


Their  case  seemed  desperate,  for  there  was  no  Hellene  likely  to  Laws  III. 
assist  them  by  land,  and  at  sea  they  were  attacked  by  more  analysis, 
than  a  thousand  vessels  ; — their  only  hope,  however  slender, 
was  in  victory ;  so  they  relied  upon  themselves  and  upon  the 
Gods.  Their  common  danger,  and  the  influence  of  their  ancient 
constitution,  greatly  tended  to  promote  harmony  among  them. 
Reverence  and  fear — that  fear  which  the  coward  never  knows 
— made  them  fight  for  their  altars  and  their  homes,  and  saved 
them  from  being  dispersed  all  over  the  world.  '  Your  words, 
Athenian,  are  worthy  of  your  country.'  And  you,  Megillus,  who 
have  inherited  the  virtues  of  your  ancestors,  are  worthy  to 
hear  them.  Let  me  ask  you  to  take  the  moral  of  my  tale.  The 
Persians  have  lost  their  liberty  in  absolute  slavery,  and  we  in 

700  absolute  freedom.  In  ancient  times  the  Athenian  people  were 
not  the  masters,  but  the  servants  of  the  laws.  '  Of  what  laws?' 
In  the  first  place,  there  were  laws  about  music,  and  the  music 
was  of  various  kinds  :  there  was  one  kind  which  consisted  of 
hymns,  another  of  lamentations  ;  there  was  also  the  paean  and 
the  dithyramb,  and  the  so-called  '  laws  '  (yo^ot)  or  strains,  which 
were  played  upon  the  harp.  The  regulation  of  such  matters 
was  not  left  to  the  whistling  and  clapping  of  the  crowd ;  there 
was  silence  while  the  judges  decided,  and  the  boys,  and  the 
audience  in  general,  were  kept  in  order  by  raps  of  a  stick. 
But  after  a  while  there  arose  a  new  race  of  poets,  men  of 
genius  certainly,  however  careless  of  musical  truth  and  propriety, 
who  made  pleasure  the  only  criterion  of  excellence.  That  was 
a  test  which  the  spectators  could  apply  for  themselves ;  the 
whole  audience,  instead  of  being  mute,  became  vociferous,  and 

701  a  theatrocracy  took  the  place  of  an  aristocracy.  Could  the  judges 
have  been  free,  there  would  have  been  no  great  harm  done  ;  a 
musical  democracy  would  have  been  well  enough — but  conceit 
has  been  our  ruin.  Everybody  knows  everything,  and  is  ready 
to  say  anything ;  the  age  of  reverence  is  gone,  and  the  age  of 
irreverence  and  licentiousness  has  succeeded.  '  Most  true.'  And 
with  this  freedom  comes  disobedience  to  rulers,  parents,  elders, — 
in  the  latter  days  to  the  law  also ;  the  end  returns  to  the 
beginning,  and  the  old  Titanic  nature  reappears— men  have  no 
regard  for  the  Gods  or  for  oaths;  and  the  evils  of  the  human 
race  seem  as  if  they  would   never  cease.     Whither  are  we 

e  2 


Ixviii 


Analysis  701-705. 


Laws  III.  running  away  ?  Once  more  we  must  pull  up  the  argument 
Analysis,  with  bit  and  curb,  lest,  as  the  proverb  535^3,  we  should  fall  off 
our  ass.  '  Good.'  Our  purpose  in  what  we  have  been  saying 
is  to  prove  that  the  legislator  ought  to  aim  at  securing  for  a 
state  three  things — freedom,  friendship,  wisdom.  And  we  chose 
two  states;— one  was  the  type  of  freedom,  and  the  other  of 
despotism ;  and  we  showed  that  when  in  a  mean  they  at- 
tained their  highest  perfection.  In  a  similar  spirit  we  spoke  702 
of  the  Dorian  expedition,  and  of  the  settlement  on  the  hills  and 
in  the  plains  of  Troy;  and  of  music,  and  the  use  of  wine,  and 
of  all  that  preceded. 

And  now,  has  our  discussion  been  of  any  use  ?  '  Yes, 
stranger ;  for  by  a  singular  coincidence  the  Cretans  are  about 
to  send  out  a  colony,  of  which  the  settlement  has  been  confided 
to  the  Cnosians.  Ten  commissioners,  of  whom  I  am  one,  are 
to  give  laws  to  the  colonists,  and  we  may  give  any  which  we 
please — Cretan  or  foreign.  And  therefore  let  us  make  a  selection 
from  what  has  been  said,  and  then  proceed  with  the  construction 
of  the  state.'  Wcry  good  :  I  am  quite  at  your  service.  '  And  I 
too,'  says  Megillus. 

BOOK  IV.  And  now,  what  is  this  city  ?  I  do  not  want  to  704 
know  what  is  to  be  the  name  of  the  place  (for  some  accident, — 
a  river  or  a  local  deity,  will  determine  that),  but  what  the  situation 
is,  whether  maritime  or  inland.  '  The  city  will  be  about  eleven 
miles  from  the  sea.'  Are  there  harbours  ?  '  Excellent.'  And  is 
the  surrounding  country  self-supporting  ?  '  Almost.'  Any  neigh- 
bouring states  ?  '  No  ;  and  that  is  the  reason  for  choosing  the  place, 
which  has  been  deserted  from  time  immemorial.'  And  is  there 
a  fair  proportion  of  hill  and  plain  and  wood  ?  '  Like  Crete  in 
general,  more  hill  than  plain."  Then  there  is  some  hope  for  j'our 
citizens  ;  had  the  city  been  on  the  sea,  and  dependent  for  support 
on  other  countries,  no  human  power  could  have  preserved  you 
from  corruption.  Even  the  distance  of  eleven  miles  is  hardly 
enough.  For  the  sea,  although  an  agreeable,  is  a  dangerous 
companion,  and  a  highway  of  strange  morals  and  manners  as  705 
well  as  of  commerce.  But  as  the  country  is  only  moderately 
fertile  there  will  be  no  great  export  trade  and  no  great  returns 
of  gold  and  silver,  which  are  the  ruin  of  states.    Is  there  timber 


Analysis  705-707. 


Ixix 


for  ship-building  ?  '  There  is  no  pine,  nor  much  cypress  ;  and  Laivs  IV. 
very  little  stone-pine  or  planewood  for  the  interior  of  ships.'  That  Analysis. 
is  good.  '  Why  ? '  Because  the  city  will  not  be  able  to  imitate 
the  bad  ways  of  her  enemies.  'What  is  the  bearing  of  that  re- 
mark ? '  To  explain  my  meaning,  I  would  ask  you  to  remember 
what  we  said  about  the  Cretan  laws,  that  they  had  an  eye  to  war 
only ;  whereas  I  maintained  that  they  ought  to  have  included  all 
virtue.    And  I  hope  that  you  in  your  turn  will  retaliate  upon  me  if 

706  I  am  false  to  my  own  principle.  For  I  consider  that  the  lawgiver 
should  go  straight  to  the  mark  of  virtue  and  justice,  and  disregard 
wealth  and  every  other  good  when  separated  from  virtue.  What 
further  I  mean,  when  I  speak  of  the  imitation  of  enemies,  I  will 
illustrate  by  the  story  of  Minos,  if  our  Cretan  friend  will  allow  me 
to  mention  it.  Minos,  who  was  a  great  sea-king,  imposed  upon  the 
Athenians  a  cruel  tribute,  for  in  those  days  they  were  not  a  mari- 
time power ;  they  had  no  timber  for  ship-building,  and  therefore 
they  could  not  '  imitate  their  enemies  ' ;  and  better  far,  as  I  main- 
tain, would  it  have  been  for  them  to  have  lost  many  times  over  the 
lives  which  they  devoted  to  the  tribute  than  to  have  turned  soldiers 
into  sailors.  Naval  .warfare  is  not  a  very  praiseworthy  art ;  men 
should  not  be  taught  to  leap  on  shore,  and  then  again  to  hurry 
back  to  their  ships,  or  to  find  specious  excuses  for  throwing  away 
their  arms  ;  bad  customs  ought  not  to  be  gilded  with  fine  words. 
And  retreat  is  always  bad,  as  we  are  taught  in  Homer,  when  he 
introduces  Odysseus,  setting  forth  to  Agamemnon  the  danger  of 

707  ships  being  at  hand  when  soldiers  are  disposed  to  fly.  An  army 
of  lions  trained  in  such  ways  would  fly  before  a  herd  of  deer. 
Further,  a  city  which  owes  its  preservation  to  a  crowd  of  pilots  and 
oarsmen  and  other  undeserving  persons,  cannot  bestow  rewards  of 
honour  properly ;  and  this  is  the  ruin  of  states.  '  Still,  in  Crete  we 
say  that  the  battle  of  Salamis  was  the  salvation  of  Hellas.'  Such  is 
the  prevailing  opinion.  But  I  and  Megillus  say  that  the  battle  of 
Marathon  began  the  deliverance,  and  that  the  battle  of  Plataea 
completed  it ;  for  these  battles  made  men  better,  whereas  the  battles 
of  Salamis  and  Artemisium  made  them  no  better.  And  we  further 
affirm  that  mere  existence  is  not  the  great  political  good  of  indi- 
viduals or  states,  but  the  continuance  of  the  best  existence.  '  Cer- 
tainly.' Let  us  then  endeavour  to  follow  this  principle  in  coloniza- 
tion and  legislation. 


Ixx 


Analysis  707-710. 


Latvs  IV.  And  first,  let  me  ask  you  who  are  to  be  the  colonists  ?  May  any 
Analysis.  One  come  from  any  city  of  Crete  ?  for  you  would  surely  not  send 
a  general  invitation  to  all  Hellas.  Yet  I  observe  that  in  Crete  there 
are  people  who  have  come  from  Argos  and  Aegina  and  other  708 
places.  '  Our  recruits  will  be  drawn  from  all  Crete,  and  of  other 
Hellenes  we  should  prefer  Peloponnesians.  As  you  observe, 
there  are  Argives  among  the  Cretans ;  moreover  the  Gortynians, 
who  are  the  best  of  all  Cretans,  have  come  from  Gortys  in 
Peloponnesus.' 

Colonization  is  in  some  ways  easier  when  the  colony  goes  out 
in  a  swarm  from  one  country,  owing  to  the  pressure  of  population, 
or  revolution,  or  war.  In  this  case  there  is  the  advantage  that 
the  new  colonists  have  a  community  of  race,  language,  and  laws. 
But  then  again,  they  are  less  obedient  to  the  legislator ;  and  often 
they  are  anxious  to  keep  the  very  laws  and  customs  which  caused 
their  ruin  at  home.  A  mixed  multitude,  on  the  other  hand,  is 
more  tractable,  although  there  is  a  difficulty  in  making  them  pull 
together.  There  is  nothing,  however,  which  perfects  men's  virtue 
more  than  legislation  and  colonization.  And  yet  I  have  a  word  to 
say  which  may  seem  to  be  depreciatory  of  legislators.  '  What  is 
that?' 

I  was  going  to  make  the  saddening  reflection,  that  accidents  of  709 
all  sorts  are  the  true  legislators, — wars  and  pestilences  and  famines 
and  the  frequent  recurrence  of  bad  seasons.  The  observer  will 
be  inclined  to  say  that  almost  all  human  things  are  chance ;  and 
this  is  certainly  true  about  navigation  and  medicine,  and  the  art 
of  the  general.  But  there  is  another  thing  which  may  equally 
be  said.  '  What  is  it  ? '  That  God  governs  all  things,  and  that 
chance  and  opportunity  co-operate  with  Him.  And  according  to 
yet  a  third  view,  art  has  part  with  them,  for  surely  in  a  storm  it  is 
well  to  have  a  pilot  ?  And  the  same  is  true  of  legislation  :  even  if 
circumstances  are  favourable,  a  skilful  lawgiver  is  still  necessary. 
*  Most  true.'  All  artists  would  pray  for  certain  conditions  under 
which  to  exercise  their  art  :  and  would  not  the  legislator  do  the 
same  ?  '  Certainly  ? '  Come,  legislator,  let  us  say  to  him,  and 
what  are  the  conditions  which  you  would  have  ?  He  will  answer, 
Grant  me  a  city  which  is  ruled  by  a  tyrant ;  and  let  the  tyrant 
be  young,  mindful,  teachable,  courageous,  magnanimous  ;  and  let 
him  have  the  inseparable  condition  of  all  virtue,  which  is  temper-  710 


Analysis  710-713. 


Ixxi 


ance— not  prudence,  but  that  natural  temperance  which  is  the  gift   Latus  IV. 

of  children  and  animals,  and  is  hardly  reckoned  among  goods —  Analysis. 

with  this  he  must  be  endowed,  if  the  state  is  to  acquire  the  form 

most  conducive  to  happiness  in  the  speediest  manner.    And  I 

must  add  one  other  condition  :  the  tyrant  must  be  fortunate,  and 

his  good  fortune  must  consist  in  his  having  the  co-operation  of  a 

great  legislator.    When  .God  has  done  all  this.  He  has  done  the 

best  which  He  can  for  a  state  ;  not  so  well  if  He  has  given  them 

two  legislators  instead  of  one,  and  less  and  less  well  if  He  has 

given  them  a  great  many.  An  orderly  tyranny  most  easily  passes 

into  the  perfect  state ;  in  the  second  degree,  a  monarchy ;  in  the 

711  third  degree,  a  democracy;  an  oligarchy  is  worst  of  all.  '  I  do  not 
understand.'  I  suppose  that  you  have  never  seen  a  city  which  is 
subject  to  a  tyranny  '  I  have  no  desire  to  see  one.'  You  would 
have  seen  what  I  am  describing,  if  you  ever  had.  The  tyrant  can 
speedily  change  the  manners  of  a  state,  and  affix  the  stamp  of 
praise  or  blame  on  any  action  which  he  pleases  ;  for  the  citizens 
readily  follow  the  example  which  he  sets.  There  is  no  quicker 
way  of  making  changes  ;  but  there  is  a  counterbalancing  diffi- 
culty. It  is  hard  to  find  the  divine  love  of  temperance  and 
justice  existing  in  any  powerful  form  of  government,  whether  in 
a  monarchy  or  an  oligarchy.  In  olden  days  there  were  chiefs  like 
Nestor,  who  was  the  most  eloquent  and  temperate  of  mankind, 
but  there  is  no  one  his  equal  now.  If  such  an  one  ever  arises 
among  us,  blessed  will  he  be,  and  blessed  they  who  listen  to  his 

712  words.  For  where  power  and  wisdom  and  temperance  meet  in 
one,  there  are  the  best  laws  and  constitutions.  I  am  endeavouring 
to  show  you  how  easy  under  the  conditions  supposed,  and  how 
difficult  under  any  other,  is  the  task  of  giving  a  city  good  laws. 
'  How  do  you  mean  ? '  Let  us  old  men  attempt  to  mould  in  words 
a  constitution  for  your  new  state,  as  children  make  figures  out  of 
wax.  'Proceed.  What  constitution  shall  we  give— democracy, 
oligarchy,  or  aristocracy?'  To  which  of  these  classes,  Megil- 
lus,  do  you  refer  your  own  state  ?  '  The  Spartan  constitution 
seems  to  me  to  contain  all  these  elements.  Our  state  is  a 
democracy  and  also  an  aristocracy  ;  the  power  of  the  Ephors 
is  tyrannical,  and  we  have  an  ancient  monarchy.'  '  IVIuch  the 
same,'  adds  Cleinias,  '  may  be  said  of  Cnosus.'    The  reason  is 

713  that  you  have  polities,  but  other  states  are  mere  aggregations  of 


Ixxii 


Analysis  713-715. 


Laws  IV.  men  dwelling  together,  which  are  named  after  their  several  ruling 
Analysis,  powers ;  whereas  a  state,  if  an  '  ocracy '  at  all,  should  be  called 
a  theocracy.  A  tale  of  old  will  explain  my  meaning.  There  is  a 
tradition  of  a  golden  age,  in  which  all  things  were  spontaneous  and 
abundant.  Cronos,  then  lord  of  the  world,  knew  that  no  mortal 
nature  could  endure  the  temptations  of  power,  and  therefore  he 
appointed  demons  or  demi-gods,  who  are  of  a  superior  race,  to 
have  dominion  over  man,  as  man  has  dominion  over  the  animals. 
They  took  care  of  us  with  great  ease  and  pleasure  to  themselves, 
and  no  less  to  us  ;  and  the  tradition  says  that  only  when  God,  and 
not  man,  is  the  ruler,  can  the  human  race  cease  from  ill.  This 
was  the  manner  of  life  which  prevailed  under  Cronos,  and  which 
we  must  strive  to  follow  so  far  as  the  principle  of  immortality  still 
abides  in  us  and  we  live  according  to  law  and  the  dictates  of  714 
right  reason.  But  in  an  oligarchy  or  democracy,  when  the 
governing  principle  is  athirst  for  pleasure,  the  laws  are  trampled 
under  foot,  and  there  is  no  possibility  of  salvation.  Is  it  not  often 
said  that  there  are  as  many  forms  of  laws  as  there  are  governments, 
and  that  they  have  no  concern  either  with  any  one  virtue  or  with 
all  virtue,  but  are  relative  to  the  will  of  the  government  ?  Which 
is  as  much  as  to  say  that  '  might  makes  right.'  '  What  do  you 
mean  ? '  I  mean  that  governments  enact  their  own  laws,  and  that 
every  government  makes  self-preservation  its  principal  aim.  He 
who  transgresses  the  laws  is  regarded  as  an  evil-doer,  and  punished 
accordingly.  This  was  one  of  the  unjust  principles  of  govern- 
ment which  we  mentioned  when  speaking  of  the  different  claims 
to  rule.  We  were  agreed  that  parents  should  rule  their  children, 
the  elder  the  younger,  the  noble  the  ignoble.  But  there  were  also 
several  other  principles,  and  among  them  Pindar's  '  law  of  violence.'  715 
To  whom  then  is  our  state  to  be  entrusted  ?  For  many  a  govern- 
ment is  only  a  victorious  faction  which  has  a  monopoly  of  power, 
and  refuses  any  share  to  the  conquered,  lest  when  they  get  into 
office  they  should  remember  their  wrongs.  Such  governments 
are  not  polities,  but  parties  ;  nor  are  any  laws  good  which  are 
made  in  the  interest  of  particular  classes  only,  and  not  of  the 
whole.  And  in  our  state  I  mean  to  protest  against  making  any 
man  a  ruler  because  he  is  rich,  or  strong,  or  noble.  But  those 
who  are  obedient  to  the  laws,  and  who  win  the  victory  of  obe- 
dience, shall  be  promoted  to  the  service  of  the  Gods  according  to 


Analysis  715-717. 


Ixxiii 


the  degree  of  their  obedience.  When  I  call  the  ruler  the  servant  Laws  IV. 
or  minister  of  the  law,  this  is  not  a  mere  paradox,  but  I  mean  to  analysis. 
say  that  upon  a  willingness  to  obey  the  law  the  existence  of  the 
state  depends.  '  Truly,  Stranger,  you  have  a  keen  vision.'  Why, 
3^es  ;  every  man  when  he  is  old  has  his  intellectual  vision  most  keen. 
And  now  shall  we  call  in  our  colonists  and  make  a  speech  to  them  ? 
Friends,  we  say  to  them,  God  holds  in  His  hand  the  beginning, 

716  middle,  and  end  of  all  things,  and  He  moves  in  a  straight  line 
towards  the  accomplishment  of  His  will.  Justice  always  bears 
Him  company,  and  punishes  those  who  fall  short  of  His  laws. 
He  who  would  be  happy  follows  humbly  in  her  train  ;  but  he  who 
is  lifted  up  with  pride,  or  wealth,  or  honour,  or  beauty,  is  soon 
deserted  by  God,  and,  being  deserted,  he  lives  in  confusion  and 
disorder.  To  many  he  seems  a  great  man  ;  but  in  a  short  time 
he  comes  to  utter  destruction.  Wherefore,  seeing  these  things, 
what  ought  we  to  do  or  think  '  Every  man  ought  to  follow  God.' 
What  life,  then,  is  pleasing  to  God  ?  There  is  an  old  saying  that 
'  like  agrees  with  like,  measure  with  measure,'  and  God  ought  to  be 
our  measure  in  all  things.  The  temperate  man  is  the  friend  of  God 
because  he  is  like  Him,  and  the  intemperate  man  is  not  His  friend, 
because  he  is  not  like  Him.  And  the  conclusion  is,  that  the  best  of 
all  things  for  a  good  man  is  to  pray  and  sacrifice  to  the  Gods  ;  but 

717  the  bad  man  has  a  polluted  soul;  and  therefore  his  service  is 
wasted  upon  the  Gods,  while  the  good  are  accepted  of  them.  I  have 
told  you  the  mark  at  which  we  ought  to  aim.  You  will  say,  How, 
and  with  what  weapons  ?  In  the  first  place  we  affirm,  that  after 
the  Olympian  Gods  and  the  Gods  of  the  state,  honour  should  be 
given  to  the  Gods  below,  and  to  them  should  be  offered  everything 
in  even  numbers  and  of  the  second  choice  ;  the  auspicious  odd 
numbers  and  everything  of  the  first  choice  are  reserved  for  the 
Gods  above.  Next  demi-gods  or  spirits  must  be  honoured,  and 
then  heroes,  and  after  them  family  gods,  who  will  be  worshipped 
at  their  local  seats  according  to  law.  Further,  the  honour  due  to 
parents  should  not  be  forgotten ;  children  owe  all  that  they  have 
to  them,  and  the  debt  must  be  repaid  by  kindness  and  attention  in 
old  age.  No  unbecoming  word  must  be  uttered  before  them  ;  for 
there  is  an  avenging  angel  who  hears  them  when  they  are  angry, 
and  the  child  should  consider  that  the  parent  when  he  has  been 
wronged  has  a  right  to  be  angry.    After  their  death  let  them  have 


Ixxiv 


Analysis  717-720. 


Latus  IV.   a  moderate  funeral,  such  as  their  fathers  have  had  before  them  ; 

Analysis,    and  there  shall  be  an  annual  commemoration  of  them.    Living  on  718 

this  wise,  we  shall  be  accepted  of  the  Gods,  and  shall  pass  our 

days  in  good  hope.    The  law  will  determine  all  our  various 

duties  towards  relatives  and  friends  and  other  citizens,  and  the 

whole  state  will  be  happy  and  prosperous.    But  if  the  legislator 

would  persuade  as  well  as  command,  he  will  add  prefaces  to 

his  laws  which  will  predispose  the  citizens  to  virtue.    Even  a 

little  accomplished  in  the  way  of  gaining  the  hearts  of  men  is 

of  great  value.     For  most  rnen  are  in  no  particular  haste  to 

become  good.    As  Hesiod  saj's  : 

'  Long  and  steep  is  the  first  half  of  the  way  to  virtue, 
But  when  you  have  reached  the  top  the  rest  is  easy.' 

'Those  are'excellent  words.'  Yes;  but  may  I  tell  you  the  effect  719 
which  the  preceding  discourse  has  had  upon  me  ?  I  will  express 
my  meaning  in  an  address  to  the  lawgiver : — O  lawgiver,  if  you 
know  what  we  ought  to  do  and  say,  you  can  surely  tell  us;— you 
are  not  like  the  poet,  who,  as  you  were  just  now  saying,  does  not 
know  the  effect  of  his  own  words.  And  the  poet  may  reply,  that 
when  he  sits  down  on  the  tripod  of  the  Muses  he  is  not  in  his 
right  mind,  and  that  being  a  mere  imitator  he  may  be  allowed  to  say 
all  sorts  of  opposite  things,  and  cannot  tell  which  of  them  is  true. 
But  this  licence  cannot  be  allowed  to  the  lawgiver.  For  example, 
there  are  three  kinds  of  funerals ;  one  of  them  is  excessive, 
another  mean,  a  third  moderate,  and  you  say  that  the  last  is  right. 
Now  if  I  had  a  rich  wife,  and  she  told  me  to  bury  her,  and  I  were 
to  sing  of  her  burial,  I  should  praise  the  extravagant  kind  ;  a  poor 
man  would  commend  a  funeral  of  the  meaner  sort,  and  a  man 
of  moderate  means  would  prefer  a  moderate  funeral.  But  you, 
as  legislator,  would  have  to  say  exactly  what  you  meant  by 
'moderate.'  'Very  true.'  And  is  our  lawgiver  to  have  no  pre- 
amble or  interpretation  of  his  laws,  never  offering  a  word  of 
advice  to  his  subjects,  after  the  manner  of  some  doctors?  For 
of  doctors  are  there  not  two  kinds  ?  the  one  gentle  and  the  other  720 
rough,  doctors  who  are  freemen  and  learn  themselves  and  teach 
their  pupils  scientifically,  and  doctors'  assistants  who  get  their 
knowledge  empirically  by  attending  on  their  masters  ?  '  Of  course 
there  are.'  And  did  you  ever  observe  that  the  gentlemen  doctors 
practise  upon  freemen,  and  that  slave  doctors  confine  themselves 


Analysis  720-722. 


Ixxv 


to  slaves  ?    The  latter  go  about  the  country  or  wait  for  the  slaves   Laws  IV. 

at  the  (dispensaries.    They  hold  no  parley  with  their  patients  Analysis. 

about  their  diseases  or  the  remedies  of  them  ;  they  practise  by 

the  rule  of  thumb,  and  give  their  decrees  in  the  most  arbitrary 

manner.    When  they  have  doctored  one  patient  they  run  off  to 

another,  whom  they  treat  with  equal  assurance,  their  duty  being 

to  relieve  the  master  of  the  care  of  his  sick  slaves.    But  the  other 

doctor,  who  practises  on  freemen,  proceeds  in  quite  a  different 

way.    He  takes  counsel  with  his  patient  and  learns  from  him,  and 

never  does  anything  until  he  has  persuaded  him  of  what  he  is 

doing.    He  trusts  to  influence  rather  than  force.    Now  is  not  the 

use  of  both  methods  far  better  than  the  use  of  either  alone  ? 

And  both  together  may  be  advantageously  employed  by  us  in 

legislation. 

We  may  illustrate  our  proposal  by  an  example.    The  laws 

721  relating  to  marriage  naturally  come  first,  and  therefore  we  may 
begin  with  them.  The  simple  law  would  be  as  follows  : — A  man 
shall  marry  between  the  ages  of  thirty  and  thirty-five ;  if  he  do 
not,  he  shall  be  fined  or  deprived  of  certain  privileges.  The 
double  law  would  add  the  reason  why :  Forasmuch  as  man 
desires  immortality,  which  he  attains  by  the  procreation  of 
children,  no  one  should  deprive  himself  of  his  share  in  this  good. 
He  who  obeys  the  law  is  blameless,  but  he  who  disobeys  must 
not  be  a  gainer  by  his  celibacy;  and  therefore  he  shall  pay 
a  yearly  fine,  and  shall  not  be  allowed  to  receive  honour  from 
the  young.  That  is  an  example  of  what  I  call  the  double  law, 
which  may  enable  us  to  judge  how  far  the  addition  of  persuasion 

722  to  threats  is  desirable.  '  Lacedaemonians  in  general.  Stranger, 
are  in  favour  of  brevity;  in  "this  case,  however,  I  prefer  length. 
But  Cleinias  is  the  real  lawgiver,  and  he  ought  to  be  first  con- 
sulted.' '  Thank  you,  Megillus.'  Whether  words  are  to  be  many 
or  few,  is  a  foolish  question  : — the  best  and  not  the  shortest  forms 
are  always  to  be  approved.  And  legislators  have  never  thought 
of  the  advantages  which  they  might  gain  by  using  persuasion  as 
well  as  force,  but  trust  to  force  only.  And  I  have  something  else 
to  say  about  the  matter.    Here  have  we  been  from  early  dawn 

^  until  noon,  discoursing  about  laws,  and  all  that  we  have  been 
saying  is  only  the  preamble  of  the  laws  which  we  are  about  to 
give.    I  tell  you  this,  because  I  want  you  to  observe  that  songs 


Ixxvi 


The  divine  origin  of  law. 


Laws  IV.  and  strains  have  all  of  them  preludes,  but  that  laws,  though  called 
Analysis,  by  the  Same  name  (fijuoi),  have  never  any  prelude.  Now  I  am  723 
disposed  to  give  preludes  to  laws,  dividing  them  into  two  parts  — 
one  containing  the  despotic  command,  which  I  described  under 
the  image  of  the  slave  doctor— the  other  the  persuasive  part, 
which  I  term  the  preamble.  The  legislator  should  give  preludes 
or  preambles  to  his  laws.  'That  shall  be  the  way  in  my  colony.' 
I  am  glad  that  you  agree  with  me ;  this  is  a  matter  which  it  is 
important  to  remember.  A  preamble  is  not  always  necessary  to 
a  law :  the  lawgiver  must  determine  when  it  is  needed,  as  the 
musician  determines  when  there  is  to  be  a  prelude  to  a  song. 
'  Most  true  :  and  now,  having  a  preamble,  let  us  recommence  our 
discourse.'  Enough  has  been  said  of  Gods  and  parents,  and  we  724 
may  proceed  to  consider  what  relates  to  the  citizens — their  souls, 
bodies,  properties, — their  occupations  and  amusements ;  and  so 
arrive  at  the  nature  of  education. 

iNTRoRic-  The  first  word  of  the  Laws  somewhat  abruptly  introduces  the 
thought  which  is  present  to  the  mind  of  Plato  throughout  the  work, 
namely,  that  Law  is  of  divine  origin.  In  the  words  of  a  great 
English  writer—'  Her  seat  is  the  bosom  of  God,  her  voice  the 
harmony  of  the  world.'  Though  the  particular  laws  of  Sparta  and 
Crete  had  a  narrow  and  imperfect  aim,  this  is  not  true  of  divine 
■  laws,  which  are  based  upon  the  principles  of  human  nature,  and 
not  framed  to  meet  the  exigencies  of  the  moment.  They  have 
their  natural  divisions,  too,  answering  to  the  kinds  of  virtue 
(i.  630  E) ;  very  unlike  the  discordant  enactments  of  an  Athenian 
assembly  or  of  an  English  Parliament.  Yet  we  may  observe  two 
inconsistencies  in  Plato's  treatment  of  the  subject  :  first,  a  lesser, 
inasmuch  as  he  does  not  clearly  distinguish  the  Cretan  and  Spartan 
laws,  of  whicli  the  exclusive  aim  is  war,  from  those  other  laws  of 
Zeus  Snd  Apollo  which  are  said  to  be  divine,  and  to  comprehend 
all  virtue.  Secondly,  we  may  retort  on  him  his  own  complaint 
against  Sparta  and  Crete  (i.  628  D,  E).  that  he  has  himself  given  us 
a  code  of  laws,  wliich  for  the  most  part  have  a  military  character ; 
and  that  we  cannot  point  to  '  obvious  examples  of  similar  institu- 
tions which  are  concerned  with  pleasure'  (i.  634  A  foil.) ;  at  least 
there  is  only  one  such,  that  which  relates  to  the  regulation  of 
convivial  intercourse.    The  military  spirit  which  is  condemned 


The  germs  of  future  discussions. 


Ixxvii 


by  him  in  the  beginning  of  the  Laws,  reappears  in  the  seventh  and  Laws. 
eighth  books.  Introduc- 

The  mention  of  Minos  the  great  lawgiver,  and  of  Rhadamanthus 
the  righteous  administrator  of  the  law  (i.  624),  suggests  the  two 
divisions  of  the  laws  into  enactments  and  appointments  of  officers 
(vi.  751).  The  legislator  and  the  judge  stand  side  by  side,  and  their 
functions  cannot  be  wholly  distinguished.  For  the  judge  is  in  some 
sort  a  legislator,  at  any  rate  in  small  matters  (cp.  ix.  875  E  foil.) ; 
and  his  decisions  growing  into  precedents,  must  determine  the  in- 
numerable details  which  arise  out  of  the  conflict  of  circumstances. 
These  Plato  proposes  to  leave  to  a  younger  generation  of  legis- 
lators. The  action  of  courts  of  law  in  making  law  seems  to  have 
escaped  him,  probably  because  the  Athenian  law-courts  were 
popular  assemblies  ;  and,  except  in  a  mythical  form,  he  can  hardly 
be  said  to  have  had  before  his  eyes  the  ideal  of  a  judge.  In  reading 
the  Laws  of  Plato,  or  any  other  ancient  writing  about  Laws,  we 
should  consider  how  gradual  the  process  is  by  which  not  only  a 
legal  system,  but  the  administration  of  a  court  of  law,  becomes 
perfected. 

There  are  other  subjects  on  which  Plato  breaks  ground,  as  his 
manner  is,  early  in  the  work.  First,  he  gives  a  sketch  of  the 
subject  of  laws  (i.  631,  632) ;  they  are  to  comprehend  the  whole  of 
human  life,  from  infancy  to  age,  and  from  birth  to  death,  although 
the  proposed  plan  is  far  from  being  regularly  executed  in  the  books 
which  follow,  partly  owing  to  the  necessity  of  describing  the  con- 
stitution as  well  as  the  laws  of  his  new  colony.  Secondly,  he  touches 
on  the  power  of  music,  which  may  exercise  so  great  an  influence 
on  the  character  of  men  for  good  or  evil ;  he  refers  especially  to 
the  great  offence — which  he  mentions  again  (vii.  812  D,  E),  and 
which  he  had  condemned  in  the  Republic  (iii.  397)— of  varying  the 
modes  and  rhythms,  as  well  as  to  that  of  separating  the  words  from 
the  music  (Laws  ii.  669).  Thirdly,  he  reprobates  the  prevalence 
of  unnatural  loves  in  Sparta  and  Crete,  which  he  attributes  to 
the  practice  of  syssitia  and  gymnastic  exercises,  and  considers 
to  be  almost  inseparable  from  them  (i.  636  B).  To  this  subject 
he  again  returns  in  the  eighth  book  (836  foil.).  Fourthly,  the 
virtues  are  affirmed  to  be  inseparable  from  one  another  (i.  630  B), 
even  if  not  absolutely  one ;  this,  too,  is  a  principle  which  he  re- 
asserts at  the  conclusion  of  the  work  (xii.  963  foil.).    As  in  the 


Ixxviii 


Ethics,  politics,  lazv. 


Laws.      beginnings  of  Plato's  other  writings,  we  iiave  here  several  'notes' 
Inthoduc-    struck,  which  form  the  preludes  of  longer  discussions,  although 
the  hint  is  less  ingeniously  given,  and  the  promise  more  imperfectly 
fulfilled  than  in  the  earlier  dialogues. 

The  distinction  between  ethics  and  politics  has  not  yet  dawned 
upon  Plato's  mind.  To  him,  law  is  still  floating  in  a  region  between 
the  two.  He  would  have  desired  that  all  the  acts  and  laws  of  a 
state  should  have  regard  to  all  virtue  (i.  630  E).  But  he  did  not 
see  that  politics  and  law  are  subject  to  their  own  conditions,  and 
are  distinguished  from  ethics  by  natural  differences.  The  actions 
of  which  politics  take  cognisance  are  necessarily  collective  or 
representative;  and  law  is  limited  to  external  acts  which  affect 
others  as  well  as  the  agents.  Ethics,  on  the  other  hand,  include 
the  whole  duty  of  man  in  relation  both  to  himself  and  others.  But 
Plato  has  never  reflected  on  these  differences.  He  fancies  that  the 
life  of  the  state  can  be  as  easily  fashioned  as  that  of  the  individual. 
He  is  favourable  to  a  balance  of  power  (iii.  691),  but  never  seems 
to  have  considered  that  power  might  be  so  balanced  as  to  produce 
an  absolute  immobility  in  the  state.  Nor  is  he  alive  to  the  evils 
of  confounding  vice  and  crime;  or  to  the  necessity  of  governments 
abstaining  from  excessive  interference  with  their  subjects. 

Yet  this  confusion  of  ethics  and  politics  has  also  a  better  and  a 
truer  side.  If  unable  to  grasp  some  important  distinctions,  Plato 
is  at  any  rate  seeking  to  elevate  the  lower  to  the  higher ;  he  does 
not  pull  down  the  principles  of  men  to  their  practice,  or  narrow  the 
conception  of  the  state  to  the  immediate  necessities  of  politics. 
Political  ideals  of  freedom  and  equality,  of  a  divine  government 
which  has  been  or  will  be  in  some  other  age  or  country,  have 
greatly  tended  to  educate  and  ennoble  the  human  race.  And  if  not 
the  first  author  of  such  ideals  (for  tliey  are  as  old  as  Hesiod),  Plato 
has  done  more  than  any  other  writer  to  impress  them  on  the  world. 
To  those  who  censure  his  idealism  we  may  reply  in  his  own  words 
— '  He  is  not  the  worse  painter  who  draws  a  perfectly  beautiful 
figure,  because  no  such  figure  of  a  man  could  ever  have  existed  ' 
(Rep.  v.  472  D). 

A  new  thought  about  education  suddenly  occurs  to  him,  and  for 
a  time  exercises  a  sort  of  fascination  over  his  mind,  though  in  the 
later  books  of  the  Laws  it  is  forgotten  or  overlooked.  As  true 
courage  is  allied  to  temperance,  so  there  must  be  an  education 


The  education  in  pleasure. 


Ixxix 


which  shall  train  mankind  to  resist  pleasure  as  well  as  to  endure  Latvs. 
pain  (i.  633  foil).  No  one  can  be  on  his  guard  against  that  of  which  Introduc- 
he  has  no  experience.  The  perfectly  trained  citizen  should  have 
been  accustomed  to  look  his  enemy  in  the  face,  and  to  measure  his 
strength  against  her.  This  education  in  pleasure  is  to  be  given, 
partly  by  festive  intercourse,  but  chiefly  by  the  song  and  dance 
(ii.  653).  Youth  are  to  learn  music  and  gymnastics ;  their  elders 
are  to  be  trained  and  tested  at  drinking  parties.  According  to  the 
old  proverb,  in  vino  Veritas,  they  will  then  be  open  and  visible  to 
the  world  in  their  true  characters;  and  also  they  will  be  more 
amenable  to  the  laws,  and  more  easily  moulded  by  the  hand  of  the 
legislator  (i.  649  E  ;  ii.  671  C).  The  first  reason  is  curious  enough, 
though  not  important ;  the  second  can  hardly  be  thought  deserving 
of  much  attention.  Yet  if  Plato  means  to  say  that  society  is  one  of 
the  principal  instruments  of  education  in  after-life,  he  has  expressed 
in  an  obscure  fashion  a  principle  which  is  true,  and  to  his  con- 
temporaries was  also  new.  That  at  a  banquet  a  degree  of  moral 
discipline  might  be  exercised  is  an  original  thought,  but  Plato  has 
not  yet  learnt  to  express  his  meaning  in  an  abstract  form.  He 
is  sensible  that  moderation  is  better  than  total  abstinence,  and  that 
asceticism  is  but  a  one-sided  training.  He  makes  the  sagacious 
remark,  that  '  those  who  are  able  to  resist  pleasure  may  often  be 
among  the  worst  of  mankind  '  (i.  635  D).  He  is  as  much  aware  as 
any  modern  utilitarian  that  the  love  of  pleasure  is  the  great  motive 
of  human  action.  This  cannot  be  eradicated,  and  must  therefore  be 
regulated,— the  pleasure  must  be  of  the  right  sort  (v.  732  E  foil.). 
Such  reflections  seem  to  be  the  real,  though  imperfectly  expressed, 
groundwork  of  the  discussion.  As  in  the  juxtaposition  of  the 
Bacchic  madness  and  the  great  gift  of  Dionysus  (ii.  672),  or  where 
he  speaks  of  the  different  senses  in  which  pleasure  is  and  is  not  the 
object  of  imitative  art  (ii.  667  foil.),  or  in  the  illustration  of  the  failure 
of  the  Dorian  institutions  from  the  prayer  of  Theseus  (iii.  687),  we 
have  to  gather  his  meaning  as  well  as  we  can  from  the  connexion. 

The  feeling  of  old  age  is  discernible  in  this  as  well  as  in  several 
other  passages  of  the  Laws.  Plato  has  arrived  at  the  time  when 
men  sit  still  and  look  on  at  life  (ii.  657  D) ;  and  he  is  willing  to 
allow  himself  and  others  the  few  pleasures  which  remain  to 
them.  Wine  is  to  cheer  them  now  that  their  limbs  are  old  and 
their  blood  runs  cold.     They  are  the  best  critics  of  dancing 


Ixxx 


Moderation  and  total  abstinence. 


Laws.  and  music  (ii.  665  D),  but  cannot  be  induced  to  join  in  song 
Introduc  unless  they  have  been  enlivened  by  drinicing.  Youth  has  no  need 
of  the  stimulus  of  wine,  but  age  can  only  be  made  young  again 
by  its  invigorating  influence.  Total  abstinence  for  the  young, 
moderate  and  increasing  potations  for  the  old,  is  Plato's  principle. 
The  fire,  of  which  there  is  too  much  in  the  one,  has  to  be  brought 
to  the  other  (ii.  666).  Drunkenness,  like  madness,  had  a  sacred- 
ness  and  mystery  to  the  Greek ;  if,  on  the  one  hand,  as  in  the 
case  of  the  Tarentines  (i.  637  B),  it  degraded  a  whole  population, 
it  was  also  a  mode  of  worshipping  the  god  Dionysus,  which  was 
to  be  practised  on  certain  occasions.  Moreover,  the  intoxication 
produced  by  the  fruit  of  the  vine  was  very  different  from  the 
grosser  forms  of  drunkenness  which  prevail  among  some  modern 
nations. 

The  physician  in  modern  times  would  restrict  the  old  man's  use 
of  wine  within  narrow  limits.  He  would  tell  us  that  you  cannot 
restore  strength  by  a  stimulus.  Wine  may  call  back  the  vital 
powers  in  disease,  but  cannot  reinvigorate  old  age.  In  his  maxims 
of  health  and  longevity,  though  aware  of  the  importance  of  a 
simple  diet,  Plato  has  omitted  to  dwell  on  the  perfect  rule  of 
moderation.  His  commendation  of  wine  is  probably  a  passing 
fancy,  and  may  have  arisen  out  of  his  own  habits  or  tastes.  If  so, 
he  is  not  the  only  philosopher  whose  theory  has  been  based  upon 
his  practice. 

Plato's  denial  of  wine  to  the  young  and  his  approval  of  it  for 
their  elders  has  some  points  of  view  which  may  be  illustrated 
by  the  temperance  controversy  of  our  own  times.  Wine  may  be 
allowed  to  have  a  religious  as  well  as  a  festive  use  ;  it  is  com- 
mended both  in  the  Old  and  New  Testament;  it  has  been  sung 
of  by  nearly  all  poets ;  and  it  may  be  truly  said  to  have  a  heahng 
influence  both  on  body  and  mind.  Yet  it  is  also  very  liable  to 
excess  and  abuse,  and  for  this  reason  is  prohibited  by  Maho- 
metans, as -well  as  of  late  years  by  many  Christians,  no  less  than 
by  the  ancient  Spartans ;  and  to  sound  its  praises  seriously 
seems  to  partake  of  the  nature  of  a  paradox.  But  we  may  rejoin 
with  Plato  that  the  abuse  of  a  good  thing  does  not  take  away 
the  use  of  it  (i.  639).  Total  abstinence,  as  we  often  say,  is  not  the 
best  rule,  but  moderate  indulgence  ;  and  it  is  probably  true  that  a 
temperate  use  of  wine  may  contribute  some  elements  of  character 


Varioits  aspects  of  the  virhtes  in  Plato. 


Ixxxi 


to  social  life  which  we  can  ill  afford  to  lose.  It  draws  men  out  Laivs. 
of  their  reserve  ;  it  helps  them  to  forget  themselves  and  to  introduc 
appear  as  they  by  nature  are  when  not  on  their  guard,  and 
therefore  to  make  them  more  human  and  greater  friends  to  their 
fellow-men.  It  gives  them  a  new  experience ;  it  teaches  them 
to  combine  self-control  with  a  measure  of  indulgence ;  it  may 
sometimes  restore  to  them  the  simplicity  of  childhood.  We  en- 
tirely agree  with  Plato  in  forbidding  the  use  of  wine  to  the 
young ;  but  when  we  are  of  mature  age  there  are  occasions 
on  which  we  derive  refreshment  and  strength  from  moderate 
potations.  It  is  well  to  make  abstinence  the  rule,  but  the  rule  may 
sometimes  admit  of  an  exception.  We  are  in  a  higher,  as  well 
as  in  a  lower  sense,  the  better  for  the  use  of  wine.  The  question 
runs  up  into  wider  ones — What  is  the  general  effect  of  asceticism 
on  human  nature and,  Must  there  not  be  a  certain  proportion 
between  the  aspirations  of  man  and  his  powers  ? — questions  which 
have  been  often  discussed  both  by  ancient  and  modern  philoso- 
phers. So  by  comparing  things  old  and  new  we  may  sometimes 
help  to  realize  to  ourselves  the  meaning  of  Plato  in  the  altered 
circumstances  of  our  own  life. 

Like  the  importance  which  he  attaches  to  festive  entertain- 
ments, his  depreciation  of  courage  to  the  fourth  place  in  the 
scale  of  virtue  (i.  631  C)  appears-  to  be  somewhat  rhetorical 
and  exaggerated.  But  he  is  speaking  of  courage  in  the  lower 
sense  of  the  term,  not  as  including  loyalty  or  temperance.  He 
does  not  insist  in  this  passage,  as  in  the  Protagoras  (329  foil.), 
on  the  unity  of  the  virtues  ;  or,  as  in  the  Laches  (195  foil.),  on 
the  identity  of  wisdom  and  courage.  But  he  says  that  they 
all  depend  upon  their  leader  mind,  and  that,  out  of  the  union 
of  wisdom  and  temperance  with  courage,  springs  justice.  Else- 
where he  is  disposed  to  regard  temperance  rather  as  a  condition 
of  all  virtue  than  as  a  particular  virtue  (iii.  696).  He  generalizes 
temperance,  as  in  the  RepubUc  he  generalizes  justice.  The  nature 
of  the  virtues  is  to  run  up  into  one  another,  and  in  many  passages 
Plato  makes  but  a  faint  effort  to  distinguish  them.  He  still  quotes 
the  poets,  somewhat  enlarging,  as  his  manner  is,  or  playing 
with  their  meaning.  The  martial  poet  Tyrtaeus  (i.  629  foil.),  and 
the  oligarch  Theognis  (i.  630  A),  furnish  him  with  happy  illus- 
trations of  the  two  sorts  of  courage.   The  fear  of  fear  (i.  647  A,  B), 

VOL.  V.  f 


Ixxxii  Good,  7iot  pleasure,  the  trite  aifJt  of  m-t. 

Laws.  the  division  of  goods  into  human  and  divine  (i.  631  B),  the  acknow- 
Introduc  ledgment  that  peace  and  reconciliation  are  better  than  the  appeal 
to  the  sword  (i.  628),  the  analysis  of  temperance  into  resistance 
of  pleasure  as  well  as  endurance  of  pain  (i.  634),  the  distinction 
between  the  education  which  is  suitable  for  a  trade  or  profession, 
and  for  the  whole  of  life  (i.  643,  644),  are  important  and  probably 
new  ethical  conceptions.  Nor  has  Plato  forgotten  his  old  paradox 
(Gorg.  509  D  foil.),  that  to  be  punished  is  better  than  to  be  un- 
punished, when  he  says,  that  to  the  bad  man  death  is  the  only 
mitigation  of  his  evil  (ii.  661  B,  C).  He  is  not  less  ideal  in  many 
passages  of  the  Laws  than  in  the  Gorgias  or  Republic.  But  his 
wings  are  heav}^,  and  he  is  unequal  to  any  sustained  flight. 

There  is  more  attempt  at  dramatic  effect  in  the  first  book  than 
in  the  later  parts  of  the  work.  The  outburst  of  martial  spirit 
in  the  Lacedaemonian,  at  p.  638  A, '  O  best  of  men ' ;  the  protest 
which  the  Cretan  makes  against  the  supposed  insult  to  his  law- 
giver (i.  630  D);  the  cordial  acknowledgment  on  the  part  of  both 
of  them  that  laws  should  not  be  discussed  publicly  by  those 
who  live  under  their  rule  (i.  634,  635);  the  difficulty  which  they 
alike  experience  in  following  the  speculations  of  the  Athenian,  are 
highly  characteristic  (i.  635  E,  636  D). 

In  the  second  book,  Plato  pursues  further  his  notion  of  educating 
by  a  right  use  of  pleasure.  He  begins  by  conceiving  an  endless 
power  of  youthful  life,  which  is  to  be  reduced  to  rule  and  measure 
by  harmony  and  rhythm  (ii.  653  foil.).  Men  diff'er  from  the  lower 
animals  in  that  they  are  capable  of  musical  discipline.  But  music, 
like  all  art,  must  be  truly  imitative,  and  imitative  of  what  is  true 
and  good.  Art  and  morality  agree  in  rejecting  pleasure  as  the  cri- 
terion of  good.  True  art  is  inseparable  from  the  highest  and  most 
ennobling  ideas  (ii.  654  foil.).  Plato  only  recognizes  the  identity 
of  pleasure  and  good  when  the  pleasure  is  of  the  higher  kind 
(ii.  658  E).  He  is  the  enemy  of  'songs  without  words  '  (ii.  669  E), 
which  he  supposes  to  have  some  confusing  or  enervating  effect 
on  the  mind  of  the  hearer ;  and  he  is  also  opposed  to  the  modern 
degeneracy  of  the  drama  (ii.  659  foil.),  which  he  would  probably 
have  illustrated,  like  Aristophanes,  from  Euripides  and  Agathon. 
From  this  passage  may  be  gathered  a  more  perfect  conception 
of  art  than  from  any  other  of  Plato's  writings.  He  understands 
that  art  is  at  once  imitative  and  ideal,  an  exact  representation 


The  infinite  ages  of  the  past. 


Ixxxiii 


of  truth,  and  also  a  representation  of  the  highest  truth.    The  same  Laws. 
double  view  of  art  may  be  gathered  from  a  comparison  of  the  Introduc 
third  and  tenth  books  of  the  Republic,  but  is  here  more  clearly  ™''' 
and  pointedly  expressed. 

We  are  inclined  to  suspect  that  both  here  and  in  the  Republic 
Plato  exaggerates  the  influence  really  exercised  by  the  song  and 
the  dance.  But  we  must  remember  also  the  susceptible  nature 
of  the  Greek,  and  the  perfection  to  which  these  arts  were  carried 
by  him.  Further,  the  music  had  a  sacred  and  Pythagorean 
character;  the  dance  too  was  part  of  a  religious  festival.  And 
only  at  such  festivals  the  sexes  mingled  in  public,  and  the  youths 
passed  under  the  eyes  of  their  elders. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  third  book,  Plato  abruptly  asks  the 
question,  What  is  the  origin  of  states?  The  answer  is,  Infinite 
time.  We  have  already  seen— in  the  Theaetetus  (175  A,  B),  where 
he  supposes  that  in  the  course  of  ages  every  man  has  had 
numberless  progenitors,  kings  and  slaves,  Greeks  and  barbarians ; 
and  in  the  Critias  (108  D),  where  he  says  that  nine  thousand 
years  have  elapsed  since  the  island  of  Atlantis  fought  with  Athens 
— that  Plato  is  no  stranger  to  the  conception  of  long  periods 
of  time.  He  imagines  human  society  to  have  been  interrupted 
by  natural  convulsions ;  and  beginning  from  tne  last  of  these,  he 
traces  the  steps  by  which  the  family  has  grown  into  the  state,  and 
the  original  scattered  society,  becoming  more  and  more  civilized, 
has  finally  passed  into  military  organizations  like  those  of  Crete  and 
Sparta.  His  conception  of  the  origin  of  states  is  far  truer  in  the 
Laws  than  in  the  Republic ;  but  it  must  be  remembered  that 
here  he  is  giving  an  historical,  there  an  ideal  picture  of  the 
growth  of  society. 

Modern  enquirers,  like  Plato,  have  found  in  infinite  ages  the 
explanation  not  only  of  states,  but  of  languages,  men,  animals, 
the  world  itself ;  like  him,  also,  they  have  detected  in  later  insti- 
tutions the  vestiges  of  a  patriarchal  state  still  surviving.  Thus 
far  Plato  speaks  as  '  the  spectator  of  all  time  and  all  existence,' 
who  may  be  thought  by  some  divine  instinct  to  have  guessed 
at  truths  which  were  hereafter  to  be  revealed.  He  is  far  above 
the  vulgar  notion  that  Hellas  is  the  civilized  world  (Statesman 
262,  263),  or  that  civilization  only  began  when  the  Hellenes  ap- 
peared on  the  scene.    But  he  has  no  special  knowledge  of  '  the 

f  2 


Ixxxiv         Plato  s  early  history  often  based  on  analogy. 

Laivs.  days  before  the  flood';  and  when  he  approaches  more  historical 
Introduc  times,  in  preparing  the  way  for  his  own  theory  of  mixed  govern- 
ment,  he  argues  partially  and  erroneously.  He  is  desirous  of 
showing  that  unlimited  power  is  ruinous  to  any  state,  and  hence 
he  is  led  to  attribute  a  tyrannical  spirit  to  the  first  Dorian  kings 
(iii.  691  A).  The  decay  of  Argos  and  the  destruction  of  Messene 
are  adduced  by  him  as  a  manifest  proof  of  their  failure ;  and 
Sparta,  he  thinks,  was  only  preserved  by  the  hmitations  which 
the  wisdom  of  successive  legislators  introduced  into  the  govern- 
ment. But  there  is  no  more  reason  to  suppose  that  the  Dorian 
rule  of  life  which  was  followed  at  Sparta  ever  prevailed  in  Argos 
and  Messene,  than  to  assume  that  Dorian  institutions  were  framed 
to  protect  the  Greeks  against  the  power  of  Assyria ;  or  that  the 
empire  of  Assyria  was  in  any  way  affected  by  the  Trojan  war ; 
or  that  the  return  of  the  Heraclidae  was  only  the  return  of 
Achaean  exiles,  who  received  a  new  name  from  their  leader 
Dorieus.  Such  fancies  were  chiefly  based,  as  far  as  they  had 
any  foundation,  on  the  use  of  analogy,  which  played  a  great  part 
in  the  dawn  of  historical  and  geographical  research.  Because 
there  was  a  Persian  empire  which  was  the  natural  enemy  of  the 
Greek,  there  must  also  have  been  an  Assyrian  empire,  which 
had  a  similar  hostility ;  and  not  only  the  fable  of  the  island 
of  Atlantis,  but  the  Trojan  war,  in  Plato's  mind  derived  some 
features  from  the  Persian  struggle.  So  Herodotus  makes  the  Nile 
answer  to  the  Ister,  and  the  valley  of  the  Nile  to  the  Red  Sea  (ii. 
33)  34;  ii)-  In  the  Republic,  Plato  is  flying  in  the  air  regardless 
of  fact  and  possibility — in  the  Laws,  he  is  making  history  by 
analogy.  In  the  former,  he  appears  to  be  like  some  modern  philo- 
sophers, absolutely  devoid  of  historical  sense ;  in  the  latter,  he 
is  on  a  level,  not  with  Thucydides,  or  the  critical  historians  of 
Greece,  but  with  Herodotus,  or  even  with  Ctesias. 

The  chief  object  of  Plato  in  tracing  the  origin  of  society  is 
to  show  the  point  at  which  regular  government  superseded  the 
patriarchal  authority,  and  the  separate  customs  of  different  families 
were  systematized  by  legislators,  and  took  the  form  of  laws 
consented  to  by  them  all.  According  to  Plato,  the  only  sound 
principle  on  which  any  government  could  be  based  was  a  mixture 
or  balance  of  power.  The  balance  of  power  saved  Sparta,  when 
the  two  other  Heraclid  states  fell  into  disorder.    Here  is  probably 


The  lazv  should  perstiade  as  well  as  threaten.  Ixxxv 


the  first  trace  of  a  political  idea,  which  has  exercised  a  vast  Laws. 
influence  both  in  ancient  and  modern  times.    And  yet  we  might  introduc- 
fairly  ask,  a  little  parodying  the  language  of  Plato— O  legislator, 
is  unanimity  only  '  the  struggle  for  existence ' ;  or  is  the  balance 
of  powers  in  a  state  better  than  the  harmony  of  them  ? 

In  the  fourth  book  we  approach  the  realities  of  politics,  and 
Plato  begins  to  ascend  to  the  height  of  his  great  argument.  The 
reign  of  Cronos  has  passed  away  (iv.  713),  and  various  forms  of 
government  have  succeeded,  which  are  all  based  on  self-interest 
and  self-preservation.  Right  and  wrong,  instead  of  being  measured 
by  the  will  of  God,  are  created  by  the  law  of  the  state  (iv.  714). 
The  strongest  assertions  are  made  of  the  purely  spiritual  nature  of 
religion —' Without  hohness  no  man  is  accepted  of  God'  (iv.  716); 
and  of  the  duty  of  filial  obedience, — '  Honour  thy  parents '  (iv. 
717  C).  The  legislator  must  teach  these  precepts  as  well  as 
command  them  (iv.  722).  He  is  to  be  the  educator  as  well  as  the 
lawgiver  of  future  ages,  and  his  laws  are  themselves  to  form  a 
part  of  the  education  of  the  state.  Unlike  the  poet,  he  must 
be  definite  and  rational  (iv.  719  B  loll.) ;  he  cannot  be  allowed  to 
say  one  thing  at  one  time,  and  another  thing  at  another — he  must 
know  what  he  is  about.  And  yet  legislation  has  a  poetical  or  > 
rhetorical  element,  and  must  find  words  which  will  wing  their 
way  to  the  hearts  of  men.  Laws  must  be  promulgated  before 
they  are  put  in  execution,  and  mankind  must  be  reasoned  with 
before  they  are  punished.  The  legislator,  when  he  promulgates 
a  particular  law,  will  courteously  entreat  those  who  are  willing 
to  hear  his  voice.  Upon  the  rebellious  only  does  the  heavy  blow 
descend. '  A  sermon  and  a  law  in  one,  blending  the  secular 
punishment  with  the  religious  sanction,  appeared  to  Plato  a  new 
idea  which  might  have  a  great  result  in  reforming  the  world. 
The  experiment  had  never  been  tried  of  reasoning  with  mankind  ; 
the  laws  of  others  had  never  had  any  preambles,  and  Plato  seems 
to  have  great  pleasure  in  contemplating  his  discovery  (iv.  719-724). 

In  these  quaint  forms  of  thought  and  language,  great  principles 
of  morals  and  legislation  are  enunciated  by  him  for  the  first  time. 
They  all  go  back  to  mind  (iii.  688  A)  and  God,  who  holds  the 
beginning,  middle,  and  end  of  all  things  in  His  hand  (iv.  715  E). 
The  adjustment  of  the  divine  and  human  elements  in  the  world  is 
conceived  in  the  spirit  of  modern  popular  philosophy,  diftering 


Ixxxvi         T/ie  place  of  art  in  the  order  of  the  world. 

Laws.  not  much  in  the  mode  of  expression.  At  first  sight  the  legislator 
Imtrodl-c-    appears  to  be  impotent,  for  all  things  are  the  sport  of  chance. 

But  we  admit  also  that  God  governs  all  things,  and  that  chance 
and  opportunity  co-operate  with  Him  (compare  the  saying,  that 
chance  is  the  name  of  the  unknown  cause).  Lastly,  while  we 
acknowledge  that  God  and  chance  govern  mankind  and  provide 
the  conditions  of  human  action,  experience  will  not  allow  us  to 
deny  a  place  to  art.  We  know  that  there  is  a  use  in  having  a 
pilot,  though  the  storm  may  overwhelm  him ;  and  a  legislator  is 
required  to  provide  for  the  happiness  of  a  state,  although  he  will 
pray  for  favourable  conditions  under  which  he  may  exercise  his 
art  (iv.  709). 


Analysis.       BOOK  V.  Hear  now,  all  ye  who  heard  the  laws  about  Gods  and  steph. 

726 

ancestors  :  Of  all  human  possessions  the  soul  is  most  divine,  and 
most  truly  a  man's  own.  For  in  every  man  there  are  two  parts — 
a  better  which  rules,  and  an  inferior  which  serves ;  and  the  ruler 
is  to  be  preferred  to  the  servant.  Wherefore  I  bid  every  one  next  727 
after  the  Gods  to  honour  his  own  soul,  and  he  can  only  honour 
her  by  making  her  better.  A  man  does  not  honour  his  soul  by 
flattery,  or  gifts,  or  self-indulgence,  or  conceit  of  knowledge,  nor 
when  he  blames  others  for  his  own  errors  ;  nor  when  he  indulges 
in  pleasure  or  refuses  to  bear  pain  ;  nor  when  he  thinks  that  life 
at  any  price  is  a  good,  because  he  fears  the  world  below,  which, 
far  from  being  an  evil,  may  be  the  greatest  good  ;  nor  when  he 
prefers  beauty'  to  virtue — not  reflecting  that  the  soul,  which  came 
from  heaven,  is  more  honourable  than  the  body,  which  is  earth- 
born  ;  nor  when  he  covets  dishonest  gains,  of  which  no  amount  is  728 
equal  in  value  to  virtue ; — in  a  word,  when  he  counts  that  which 
the  legislator  pronounces  evil  to  be  good,  he  degrades  his  soul, 
which  is  the  divinest  part  of  him.  He  does  not  consider  that  the 
real  punishment  of  evil-doing  is  to  grow  like  evil  men,  and  to 
shun  the  conversation  of  the  good:  and  that  he  who  is  joined 
to  such  men  must  do  and  suffer  what  they  by  nature  do  and  say 
to  one  another,  which  suffering  is  not  justice  but  retribution.  For 
justice  is  noble,  but  retribution  is  only  the  companion  of  injustice. 
And  whether  a  man  escapes  punishment  or  not,  he  is  equally 
miserable  ;  for  in  the  one  case  he  is  not  cured,  and  in  the  other 
case  he  perishes  that  the  rest  may  be  saved. 


Analysis  728-731. 


Ixxxvii 


The  glory  of  man  is  to  follow  the  better  and  improve  the  Laws  V. 
inferior.  And  the  soul  is  that  part  of  man  which  is  most  inclined  Analysis. 
to  avoid  the  evil  and  dwell  with  the  good.  Wherefore  also  the 
soul  is  second  only  to  the  Gods  in  honour,  and  in  the  third  place 
the  body  is  to  be  esteemed,  which  often  has  a  false  honour.  For 
honour  is  not  to  be  given  to  the  fair  or  the  strong,  or  the  swift  or 
the  tall,  or  to  the  healthy,  any  more  than  to  their  opposites,  but  to 

729  the  mean  states  of  all  these  habits  ;  and  so  of  property  and  external 
goods.  No  man  should  heap  up  riches  that  he  may  leave  them  to 
his  children.  The  best  condition  for  them  as  for  the  state  is  a 
middle  one,  in  which  there  is  a  freedom  without  luxury.  And  the 
best  inheritance  of  children  is  modesty.  But  modesty  cannot  be 
implanted  by  admonition  only— the  elders  must  set  the  example. 
He  who  would  train  the  young  must  first  train  himself. 

He  who  honours  his  kindred  and  family  may  fairly  expect  that 
the  Gods  will  give  him  children.  He  who  would  have  friends 
must  think  much  of  their  favours  to  him,  and  little  of  his  to  them. 
He  who  prefers  to  an  Olympic,  or  any  other  victory,  to  win  the 
palm  of  obedience  to  the  laws,  serves  best  both  the  state  and  his 
fellow-citizens.  Engagements  with  strangers  ^re  to  be  deemed 
most  sacred,  because  the  stranger,  having  neither  kindred  nor 
friends,  is  immediately  under  the  protection  of  Zeus,  the  God  of 

730  strangers.  A  prudent  man  will  not  sin  against  the  stranger ;  and 
still  more  carefully  will  he  avoid  sinning  against  the  suppliant, 
which  is  an  offence  never  passed  over  by  the  Gods. 

I  will  now  speak  of  those  particulars  which  are  n^atters  of  praise 
and  blame  only,  and  which,  although  not  enforced  hy  the  law, 
greatly  affect  the  disposition  to  obey  the  law.  Truth  has  the  first 
place  among  the  gifts  of  Gods  and  men,  for  truth  begets  trust; 
but  he  is  not  to  be  trusted  who  loves  voluntary  falsehood,  and  he 
who  loves  involuntary  falsehood  is  2,  fool.  Neither  the  ignorant 
nor  the  untrustworthy  man  is  happy;  for  they  have  no  friends  in 
life,  and  die  unlamented  and  untended.  Good  is  he  who  does  no 
injustice — better  who  prevents  others  from  doing  any— best  of  all 
who  joins  the  rulers  in  punishing  injustice.  And  this  is  true  of 
goods  and  virtues  in  general;  he  who  has  and  communicates  them 

731  to  others  is  the  man  of  men  ;  he  who  would,  if  he  could,  is  second- 
*     best ;  he  who  has  them  and  is  jealous  of  imparting  them  to  others 

is  to  be  blamed,  but  the  good  or  virtue  which  he  has  is  to  be 


XXXVlll 


Analysis 


Laws  V.    valued  still.    Let  every  man  contend  in  the  race  without  envy  ; 

Analysis,  for  the  unenvious  man  increases  the  strength  of  the  city ;  himself 
foremost  in  the  race,  he  harms  no  one  with  calumny.  Whereas 
the  envious  man  is  weak  himself,  and  drives  his  rivals  to  despair 
with  his  slanders,  thus  depriving  the  whole  city  of  incentives  to  the 
exercise  of  virtue,  and  tarnishing  her  glory.  Every  man  should 
be  gentle,  but  also  passionate  ;  for  he  must  have  the  spirit  to  fight 
against  incurable  and  malignant  evil.  But  the  evil  which  is 
remediable  should  be  dealt  with  more  in  sorrow  than  anger.  He 
who  is  unjust  is  to  be  pitied  in  any  case  ;  for  no  man  voluntarily 
does  evil  or  allows  evil  to  exist  in  his  soul.  And  therefore  he  who 
deals  with  the  curable  sort  must  be  long-sulfering  and  forbearing ; 
but  the  incurable  shall  have  the  vials  of  our  wrath  poured  out 
upon  him.  The  greatest  of  all  evils  is  self-love,  which  is  thought 
to  be  natural  and  excusable,  and  is  enforced  as  a  duty,  and  yet  is 
the  cause  of  many  errors.  The  lover  is  blinded  about  the  beloved, 
and  prefers  his  own  interests  to  truth  and  right ;  but  the  truly  732 
great  man  seeks  justice  before  all  things.  Self-love  is  the  source 
of  that  ignorant  conceit  of  knowledge  which  is  always  doing  and 
never  succeeding.  Wherefore  let  every  man  avoid  self-love,  and 
follow  the  guidance  of  those  who  are  better  than  himself.  There 
are  lesser  matters  which  a  man  should  recall  to  mind;  for  wisdom 
is  like  a  stream,  ever  flowing  in  and  out,  and  recollection  flows  in 
when  knowledge  is  failing.  Let  no  man  either  laugh  or  grieve  over- 
much ;  but  let  him  control  his  feelings  in  the  day  of  good-  or  ill- 
fortune,  believing  that  the  Gods  will  diminish  the  evils  and  increase 
the  blessings  of  the  righteous.  These  are  thoughts  which  should 
ever  occupy  a  good  man's  mind  ;  he  should  remember  them  both 
in  lighter  and  in  more  serious  hours,  and  remind  others  of  them. 

So  much  of  divine  matters  and  the  relation  of  man  to  God.  But  733 
man  is  man,  and  dependent  on  pleasure  and  pain ;  and  therefore 
to  acquire  a  true  taste  respecting  either  is  a  great  matter.  And 
what  is  a  true  taste  ?  This  can  only  be  explained  by  a  comparison 
of  one  life  with  another.  Pleasure  is  an  object  of  desire,  pain  of 
avoidance  ;  and  the  absence  of  pain  is  to  be  preferred  to  pain,  but 
not  to  pleasure.  There  are  infinite  kinds  and  degrees  of  both  of 
them,  and  we  choose  the  life  which  has  more  pleasure  and  avoid 
that  which  has  less ;  but  we  do  not  choose  that  life  in  which  the 
elements  of  pleasure  are  either  feeble  or  equally  balanced  with  pain. 


Analysis 


Ixxxix 


All  the  lives  which  we  desire  are  pleasant ;  the  choice  of  any  others  Laws  V. 
is  due  to  inexperience.  Analysis. 

Now  there  are  four  lives— the  temperate,  the  rational,  the 
courageous,  the  healthful ;  and  to  these  let  us  oppose  four  others 
—the  intemperate,  the  foolish,  the  cowardly,  the  diseased.  The 
temperate  life  has  gentle  pains  and  pleasures  and  placid  desires, 
•  734  the  intemperate  life  has  violent  delights,  and  still  more  violent 
desires.  And  the  pleasures  of  the  temperate  exceed  the  pains, 
while  the  pains  of  the  intemperate  exceed  the  pleasures.  But  if 
this  is  true,  none  are  voluntarily  intemperate,  but  all  who  lack 
temperance  are  either  ignorant  or  wanting  in  self-control :  for  men 
always  choose  the  life  which  (as  they  think)  exceeds  in  pleasure. 
The  wise,  the  healthful,  the  courageous  life  have  a  similar  advantage 
— they  also  exceed  their  opposites  in  pleasure.  And,  generally 
speaking,  the  life  of  virtue  is  far  more  pleasurable  and  honourable, 
fairer  and  happier  far,  than  the  life  of  vice.  Let  this  be  the 
preamble  of  our  laws  ;  the;  strain  will  follow. 

As  in  a  web  the  warp  is  stronger  than  the  woof,  so  should  the 

735  rulers  be  stronger  than  their  half-educated  subjects.  Let  us  suppose, 
then,  that  in  the  constitution  of  a  state  there  are  two  parts,  the 
appointment  of  the  rulers,  and  the  laws  which  they  have  to 
administer.  But,  before  going  further,  there  are  some  preliminary 
matters  which  have  to  be  considered. 

As  of  animals,  so  also  of  men,  a  selection  must  be  rnade  ;  the  bad 
breed  must  be  got  rid  of,  and  the  good  retained.  The  legislator 
must  purify  them,  and  if  he  be  not  a  despot  he  will  find  this  task  to 
be  a  difficult  one.    The  severer  kinds  of  purification  are  practised 

736  when  great  offenders  are  punished  by  death  or  exile,  but  there  is 
a  milder  process  which  is  necessary  when  the  poor  show  a  dis- 
position to  attack  the  property  of  the  rich,  for  then  the  legislator 
will  send  them  off  to  another  land,  under  the  name  of  a  colony.  In 
our  case,  however,  we  shall  only  need  to  purify  the  streams  before 
they  meet.  This  is  often  a  troublesome  business,  but  in  theory  we 
may  suppose  the  operation  performed,  and-  the  desired  purity 
attained.  Evil  men  we  will  hinder  from  coming,  and  receive  the 
good  as  friends. 

Like  the  old  Heraclid  colony,  we  are  fortunate  in  escaping  the 
abolition  of  debts  and  the  distribution  of  land,  which  are  difficult 
and  dangerous  questions.    But,  perhaps,  now  that  we  are  speaking 


xc 


Analysis  736-739. 


Latvs  V.  of  the  subject,  we  ought  to  say  how,  if  the  danger  existed,  the 
Analysis,  legislator  should  try  to  avert  it.  He  would  have  recourse  to  prayers, 
and  trust  to  the  healing  influence  of  time.  He  would  create  a 
kindly  spirit  between  creditors  and  debtors  :  those  who  have  should 
give  to  those  who  have  not,  and  poverty  should  be  held  to  be  rather 
the  increase  of  a  man's  desires  than  the  diminution  of  his  property. 
Good-will  is  the  only  safe  and  enduring  foundation  of  the  political  737 
society;  and  upon  this  our  city  shall  be  built.  The  lawgiver,  if  he 
is  wise,  will  not  proceed  with  the  arrangement  of  the  state  until  all 
disputes  about  property  are  settled.  And  for  him  to  introduce 
fresh  grounds  of  quarrel  would  be  madness. 

Let  us  now  proceed  to  the  distribution  of  our  state,  and  determine 
the  size  of  the  territory  and  the  number  of  the  allotments.  The 
territory  should  be  sufficient  to  maintain  the  citizens  in  moderation, 
and  the  population  should  be  numerous  enough  to  defend  them- 
selves, and  sometimes  to  aid  their  neighbours.  We  will  fix  the 
number  of  citizens  at  5040,  to  which  the  number  of  houses  and 
portions  of  land  shall  correspond.  Let  the  number  be  divided  into 
two  parts  and  then  into  three  ;  for  it  is  very  convenient  for  the  pur-  738 
poses  of  distribution,  and  is  capable  of  fifty-nine  divisions,  ten  of 
which  proceed  without  interval  from  one  to  ten.  Here  are  numbers 
enough  for  war  and  peace,  and  for  all  contracts  and  dealings. 
These  properties  of  numbers  are  true,  and  should  be  ascertained 
with  a  view  to  use. 

In  carrying  out  the  distribution  of  the  land,  a  prudent  legislator 
will  be  careful  to  respect  any  provision  for  religious  worship  which 
has  been  sanctioned  by  ancient  tradition  or  by  the  oracles  of 
Delphi,  Dodona,  or  Amnion.  All  sacrifices,  and  altars,  and 
temples,  whatever  may  be  their  origin,  should  remain  as  they  are. 
Every  division  should  have  a  patron  God  or  hero ;  to  these  a 
portion  of  the  domain  should  be  appropriated,  and  at  their  temples 
the  inhabitants  of  the  districts  should  meet  together  from  time  to 
time,  for  the  sake  of  mutual  help  and  friendship.  All  the  citizens 
of  a  state  should  be  known  to  one  another ;  for  where  men  are  in 
the  dark  about  each  other's  characters,  there  can  be  no  justice  or 
right  administration.  Every  man  should  be  true  and  single-minded, 
and  should  not  allow  himself  to  be  deceived  by  others. 

And  now  the  game  opens,  and  we  begin  to  move  the  pieces.    At  739 
first  sight,  our  constitution  may  appear  singular  and  ill-adapted  to 


Analysis  739-741. 


xci 


a  legislator  who  has  not  despotic  power ;  but  on  second  thoughts  Laws  V. 
will  be  deemed  to  be,  if  not  the  very  best,  the  second  best.  For  Analysis. 
there  are  three  forms  of  government,  a  first,  a  second,  and  a  third 
best,  out  of  which  Cleinias  has  now  to  choose.  The  first  and 
highest  form  is  that  in  which  friends  have  all  things  in  common, 
including  wives  and  property, — in  which  they  have  common  fears, 
hopes,  desires,  and  do  not  even  call  their  eyes  or  their  hands  their 
own.  This  is  the  ideal  state ;  than  which  there  never  can  be  a 
truer  or  better— a  state,  whether  inhabited  bj'^  Gods  or  sons  of 
Gods,  which  will  make  the  dwellers  therein  blessed.  Here  is  the 
pattern  on  which  we  must  ever  fix  our  eyes ;  but  we  are  now  con- 
cerned with  another,  which  comes  next  to  it,  and  we  will  after- 
wards proceed  to  a  third. 

Inasmuch  as  our  citizens  are  not  fitted  either  by  nature  or  educa- 

740  tion  to  receive  the  saying,  Friends  have  all  things  in  common,  let 
them  retain  their  houses  and  private  property,  but  use  them  in  the 
service  of  their  country,  who  is  their  God  and  parent,  and  of  the 
Gods  and  demigods  of  the  land.  Their  first  care  should  be  to  pre- 
serve the  number  of  their  lots.  This  may  be  secured  in  the  follow-  • 
ing  manner :  when  the  possessor  of  a  lot  dies,  he  shall  leave  his 
lot  to  his  best-beloved  child,  who  will  become  the  heir  of  all  duties 
and  interests,  and  will  minister  to  the  Gods  and  to  the  family,  to 
the  living  and  to  the  dead.  Of  the  remaining  children,  the  females 
must  be  given  in  marriage  according  to  the  law  to  be  hereafter 
enacted  ;  the  males  may  be  assigned  to  citizens  who  have  no  children 
of  their  own.  How  to  equalize  families  and  allotments  will  be 
one  of  the  chief  cares  of  the  guardians  of  the  laws.  When  parents 
have  too  many  children  they  may  give  to  those  who  have  none, 
or  couples  may  abstain  from  having  children,  or,  if  there  is  a 
want  of  offspring,  special  care  may  be  taken  to  obtain  them ;  or 

if  the  number  of  citizens  becomes  excessive,  we  may  send  away 

741  the  surplus  to  found  a  colony.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  a  war  or 
plague  diminishes  the  number  of  inhabitants,  new  citizens  must 
be  introduced;  and  these  ought  not,  if  possible,  to  be  men  of 
low  birth  or  inferior  training;  but  even  God,  it  is  said,  cannot 
always  fight  against  necessity. 

Wherefore  we  will  thus  address  our  citizens  :— Good  friends, 
honour  order  and  equality,  and  above  all  the  number  5040. 
Secondly,  respect  the  original  division  of  the  lots,  which  must 


xcii  Analysis  741-743. 

Laws  V.  not  be  infringed  by  buying  and  selling;  for  tlie  law  says  that  the 
Analysis,  land  which  a  man  has  is  sacred  and  is  given  to  him  by  God.  And 
priests  and  priestesses  will  offer  frequent  sacrifices  and  pray  that 
he  who  alienates  either  house  or  lot  may  receive  the  punishment 
which  he  deserves,  and  their  prayers  shall  be  inscribed  on  tablets 
of  cypress-wood  for  the  instruction  of  posterity.  The  guardians 
will  keep  a  vigilant  watch  over  the  citizens,  and  they  will  punish 
those  who  disobey  God  and  the  law. 

To  appreciate  the  benefit  of  such  an  institution  a  man  requires 
to  be  well  educated  ;  for  he  certainly  will  not  make  a  fortune 
in  our  state,  in  which  all  illiberal  occupations  are  forbidden  to 
freemen.  The  law  also  provides  that  no  private  person  shall  742 
have  gold  or  silver,  except  a  little  coin  for  daily  use,  which  will 
not  pass  current  in  other  countries.  The  state  must  also  possess 
a  common  Hellenic  currencj^  but  this  is  only  to  be  used  in  de- 
fraying the  expenses  of  expeditions,  or  of  embassies,  or  while 
a  man  is  on  foreign  travels ;  but  in  the  latter  case  he  must 
deliver  up  what  is  over,  when  he  comes  back,  to  the  treasury  in 
return  for  an  equal  amount  of  local  currency,  on  pain  of  losing 
the  sum  in  question ;  and  he  who  does  not  inform  against  an 
oifender  is  to  be  mulcted  in  a  like  sum.  No  money  is  to  be 
given  or  taken  as  a  dowry,  or  to  be  lent  on  interest.  The  law 
will  not  protect  a  man  in  recovering  either  interest  or  principal. 
All  these  regulations  imply  that  the  aim  of  the  legislator  is  not 
to  make  the  as  rich  or  as  mighty  as  possible,  but  the  best 
and  happiest.  Now  men  can  hardly  be  at  the  same  time  very 
virtuous  and  very  rich.  And  why  ?  Because  he  who  makes  twice  743 
as  much  and  saves  twice  as  much  as  he  ought,  receiving  where  he 
ought  not  and  not  spending  where  he  ought,  will  be  at  least  twice 
as  rich  as  he  who  makes  money  where  he  ought,  and  spends 
where  he  ought.  On  the  other  hand,  an  utterly  bad  man  is 
generally  profligate  and  poor,  while  he  who  acquires  honestly, 
and  spends  what  he  acquires  on  noble  objects,  can  hardly  be 
very  rich.  A  very  rich  man  is  therefore  not  a  good  man,  and 
therefore  not  a  happy  one.  But  the  object  of  our  laws  is  to 
make  the  citizens  as  friendly  and  happy  as  possible,  which  thejf 
cannot  be  if  they  are  always  at  law  and  injuring  each  other  in 
the  pursuit  of  gain.  And  therefore  we  say  that  there  is  to  be  no 
silver  or  gold  in  the  state,  nor  usury,  nor  the  rearing  of  the  meaner 


Analysis  743-745. 


xciii 


kinds  of  live-stock,  but  only  agriculture,  and  only  so  much  of    Laws  V. 

this  as  will  not  lead  men  to  neglect  that  for  the  sake  of  which  analysis. 

money  is  made,  first  the  soul  and  afterwards  the  body;  neither 

of  which  are  good  for  much  without  music  and  gymnastic.  Money 

is  to  be  held  in  honour  last  or  third  ;  the  highest  interests  being 

those  of  the  soul,  and  in  the  second  class  are  to  be  ranked  those 

of  the  body.    This  is  the  true  order  of  legislation,  which  would  be 

744  inverted  by  placing  health  before  temperance,  and  wealth  before 
health. 

It  might  be  well  if  every  man  could  come  to  the  colony  having 
equal  property ;  but  equality  is  impossible,  and  therefore  we 
must  avoid  causes  of  offence  by  having  property  valued  and  by 
equalizing  taxation.  To  this  end,  let  us  make  four  classes  in 
which  the  citizens  may  be  placed  according  to  the  measure  of  their 
original  property,  and  the  changes  of  their  fortune.  The  greatest 
of  evils  is  revolution ;  and  this,  as  the  law  will  say,  is  caused  by 
extremes  of  poverty  or  wealth.  The  limit  of  poverty  shall  be  the 
lot,  which  must  not  be  diminished,  and  may  be  increased  fivefold, 

745  but  not  more.  He  who  exceeds  the  limit  must  give  up  the  excess 
to  the  state  ;  but  if  he  does  not,  and  is  informed  against,  the  surplus 
shall  be.  divided  between  the  informer  and  the  Gods,  and  he  shall 
pay  a  sum  equal  to  the  surplus  out  of  his  own  property.  All 
property  other  than  the  lot  must  be  inscribed  in  a  register,  so 
that  any  disputes  which  arise  may  be  easily  determined. 

The  city  shall  be  placed  in  a  suitable  situation,  as  nearly  as 
possible  in  the  centre  of  the  country,  and  shall  be  divided  into 
twelve  wards.  First,  we  will  erect  an  acropolis,  encircled  by 
a  wall,  within  which  shall  be  placed  the  temples  of  Hestia,  and 
Zeus,  and  Athene.  From  this  shall  be  drawn  lines  dividing 
the  city,  and  also  the  country,  into  twelve  sections,  and  the  country 
shall  be  subdivided  into  5040  lots.  Each  lot  shall  contain  two 
parts,  one  at  a  distance,  the  other  near  the  city ;  and  the  distance 
of  one  part  shall  be  compensated  by  the  nearness  of  the  other, 
the  badness  and  goodness  by  the  greater  or  less  size.  Twelve 
lots  will  be  assigned  to  twelve  Gods,  and  they  will  give  their 
names  to  the  tribes.  The  divisions  of  the  city  shall  corre- 
spond to  those  of  the  country ;  and  every  man  shall  have  two 
habitations,  one  near  the  centre  of  the  country,  the  other  at  the 
extremity. 


xciv 


Analysis  745-751. 


Laws  V.  The  objection  will  naturally  arise,  that  all  the  advantages  of 
Analysis,    which  we  have  been  speaking  will  never  concur.    The  citizens 

will  not  tolerate  a  settlement  in  which  they  are  deprived  of  gold  746 
and  silver,  and  have  the  number  of  their  families  regulated,  and 
the  sites  of  their  houses  fixed  by  law.  It  will  be  said  that  our 
city  is  a  mere  image  of  wax.  And  the  legislator  will  answer : 
'  I  know  it,  but  I  maintain  that  we  ought  to  set  forth  an  ideal 
which  is  as  perfect  as  possible.  If  difficulties  arise  in  the  execution 
of  the  plan,  we  must  avoid  them  and  carry  out  the  remainder. 
But  the  legislator  must  first  be  allowed  to  complete  his  idea 
without  interruption.' 

The  number  twelve,  which  we  have  chosen  for  the  number 
of  division,  must  run  through  all  parts  of  the  state, — phratries, 
villages,  ranks  of  soldiers,  coins,  and  measures  wet  and  dry, 
which  are  all  to  be  made  commensurable  with  one  another. 
There  is  no  meanness  in  requiring  that  the  smallest  vessels 
should  have  a  common  measure  ;  for  the  divisions  of  number  747 
are  useful  in  measuring  height  and  depth,  as  well  as  sounds  and 
motions,  upwards  or  downwards,  or  round  and  round.  The 
legislator  should  impress  on  his  citizens  the  value  of  arithmetic. 
No  instrument  of  education  has  so  much  power ;  nothing  more 
tends  to  sharpen  and  inspire  the  dull  intellect.  But  the  legis- 
lator must  be  careful  to  instil  a  noble  and  generous  spirit  into 
the  students,  or  they  will  tend  to  become  cunning  rather  than 
wise.  This  may  be  proved  by  the  example  of  the  Egyptians 
and  Phoenicians,  who,  notwithstanding  their  knowledge  of  arith- 
metic, are  degraded  in  their  general  character ;  whether  this 
defect  in  them  is  due  to  some  natural  cause  or  to  a  bad  legis- 
lator. For  it  is  clear  that  there  are  great  differences  in  the 
power  of  regions  to  produce  good  men  :  heat  and  cold,  and  water 
and  food,  have  great  effects  both  on  body  and  soul ;  and  those 
spots  are  pecuharly  fortunate  in  which  the  air  is  holy,  and  the 
Gods  are  pleased  to  dwell.  To  all  this  the  legislator  must  attend, 
so  far  as  in  him  lies. 

BOOK  VI.    And  now  we  are  about  to  consider  (i)  the  appoint-  751 
ment  of  magistrates  ;  (2)  the  laws  which  they  will  have  to  ad- 
minister must  be  determined.    I  may  observe  by  the  way  that 
laws,  however  good,  are  useless  and  even  injurious  unless  the 


•    Analysis  751-753-  ^^v 

magistrates  are  capable  of  executing  them.  And  therefore  (i)  Laws  VI. 
the  intended  rulers  of  our  imaginary  state  should  be  tested  from  analysis. 
their  youth  upwards  until  the  time  of  their  election  ;  and  (2)  those 
who  are  to  elect  them  ought  to  be  trained  in  habits  of  law,  that 
they  may  form  a  right  judgment  of  good  and  bad  men.  But  un- 
educated colonists,  who  are  unacquainted  with  each  other,  will  not 
be  likely  to  choose  well.  What,  then,  shall  we  do  ?  I  will  tell 
you :  The  colony  will  have  to  be  intrusted  to  the  ten  com- 
missioners, of  whom  you  are  one,  and  I  will  help  you  and  them, 
which  is  my  reason  for  inventing  this  romance.  And  I  cannot 
bear  that  the  tale  should  go  wandering  about  the  world  without 

752  a  head,— it  will  be  such  an  ugly  monster.  '  Very  good.'  Yes  ;  and 
I  will  be  as  good  as  my  word,  if  God  be  gracious  and  old  age 
permit.  But  let  us  not  forget  what  a  courageously  mad  creation 
this  our  city  is.  '  What  makes  you  say  so  ? '  Why,  surely  our 
courage  is  shown  in  imagining  that  the  new  colonists  will  quietly 
receive  our  laws?  for  no  man  likes  to  receive  laws  when  they 
are  first  imposed  :  could  we  only  wait  until  those  who  had  been 
educated  under  them  were  grown  up,  and  of  an  age  to  vote  in 
the  public  elections,  there  would  be  far  greater  reason  to  ex- 
pect permanence  in  our  institutions.  'Very  true.'  The  Cnosian 
founders  should  take  the  utmost  pains  in  the  matter  of  the 
colony,  and  in  the  election  of  the  higher  officers,  particularly  of 
the  guardians  of  the  law.  The  latter  should  be  appointed  in  this 
way  :  The  Cnosians,  who  take  the  lead  in  the  colony,  together 
with  the  colonists,  will  choose  thirty-seven  persons,  of  whom  nine- 

753  teen  will  be  colonists,  and  the  remaining  eighteen  Cnosians — 
you  must  be  one  of  the  eighteen  yourself,  and  become  a  citizen 
of  the  new  state.  '  Why  do  not  you  and  Megillus  join  us  ? ' 
Athens  is  proud,  and  Sparta  too  ;  and  they  are  both  a  long  way 
off.  But  let  me  proceed  with  my  scheme.  When  the  state  is 
permanently  established,  the  mode  of  election  will  be  as  fol- 
lows :  All  who  are  serving,  or  have  served,  in  the  army  will  be 
electors  ;  and  the  election  will  be  held  in  the  most  sacred  of  the 
temples.  The  voter  will  place  on  the  altar  a  tablet,  inscribing 
thereupon  the  name  of  the  candidate  whom  he  prefers,  and 
of  his  father,  tribe,  and  ward,  writing  at  the  side  of  them  his 
own  name  in  like  manner ;  and  he  may  take  away  any 
tablet  which  does  not  appear  written  to  his  mind,  and  place  it 


xcvi 


Analysis  753-755. 


Laws  VI.  in  the  Agora  for  thirty  days.  The  300  who  obtain  the  greatest 
Analysis,  number  of  votes  will  be  publicly  announced,  and  out  of  them 
there  will  be  a  second  election  of  100;  and  out  of  the  100 
a  third  and  final  election  of  thirty-seven,  accompanied  by  the 
solemnity  of  the  electors  passing  through  victims.  But  then  who 
is  to  arrange  all  this  ?  There  is  a  common  saying,  that  the 
beginning  is  hall  the  whole  ;  and  I  should  saj'  a  good  deal  more  754 
than  half.  '  Most  true.'  The  only  way  of  making  a  beginning 
is  from  the  parent  city;  and  though  in  after  ages  the  tie  may  be 
broken,  and  quarrels  may  arise  between  them,  yet  in  early  days 
the  child  naturally  looks  to  the  mother  for  care  and  education. 
And,  as  I  said  before,  the  Cnosians  ought  to  take  an  interest  in  the 
colony,  and  select  100  elders  of  their  own  citizens,  to  whom 
shall  be  added  100  of  the  colonists,  to  arrange  and  supervise 
the  first  elections  and  scrutinies  ;  and  when  the  colony  has  been 
started,  the  Cnosians  may  return  home  and  leave  the  colonists 
to  themselves. 

The  thirty-seven  magistrates  who  have  been  elected  in  the 
manner  described,  shall  have  the  following  duties  :  first,  they 
shall  be  guardians  of  the  law ;  secondly,  of  the  registers  of 
property  in  the  four  classes— not  including  the  one,  two,  three,  four 
minae,  which  are  allowed  as  a  surplus.  He  who  is  found  to 
possess  what  is  not  entered  in  the  registers,  in  addition  to  the 
confiscation  of  such  property  shall  be  proceeded  against  by  law,  755 
and  if  he  be  cast  he  shall  lose  his  share  in  the  public  property 
and  in  distributions  of  money;  and  his  sentence  shall  be  inscribed 
in  some  public  place.  The  guardians  are  to  continue  in  office 
twenty  years  only,  and  to  commence  holding  office  at  fifty 
years,  or  if  elected  at  sixty,  they  are  not  to  remain  after  seventy. 

Generals  have  now  to  be  elected,  and  commanders  of  horse 
and  brigadiers  of  foot.  The  generals  shall  be  natives  of  the 
city,  proposed  by  the  guardians  of  the  law,  and  elected  by  those 
who  are  or  have  been  of  the  age  for  military  service.  Any  one 
may  challenge  the  person  nominated  and  start  another  candidate, 
whom  he  affirms  upon  oath  to  be  better  quahfied.  The  three 
who  obtain  the  greatest  number  of  votes  shall  be  elected.  The 
generals  thus  elected  shall  propose  the  taxiarchs  or  brigadiers, 
and  the  challenge  may  be  made,  and  the  voting  shall  take  place, 
in  the  same  manner  as  before.    The  elective  assembly  will 


Analysis  755-757. 


xcvii 


be  presided  over  in  the  first  instance,  and  until  the  prytanes  and   Laws  VI. 
council  come  into  being,  by  the  guardians  of  the  law  in  some  Analysis. 
holy  place  ;  and  they  shall  divide  the  citizens  into  three  divisions, 
— hoplites,  cavalry,  and  the  rest  of  the  army— placing  each  of 
them  by  itself.  All  are  to  vote  for  generals  and  cavalry  officers. 
The  brigadiers  are  to  be  voted  for  only  by  the  hoplites.  Next, 

756  the  cavalry  are  to  choose  phylarchs  for  the  generals  ;  but  cap- 
tains of  archers  and  other  irregular  troops  are  to  be  appointed 
by  the  generals  themselves.  The  cavalry-officers  shall  be 
proposed  and  voted  upon  by  the  same  persons  who  vote  for  the 
generals.  The  two  who  have  the  greatest  number  of  votes  shall 
be  leaders  of  all  the  horse.  Disputes  about  the  voting  may  be  ' 
raised  once  or  twice,  but,  if  a  third  time,  the  presiding  officers 
shall  decide. 

The  council  shall  consist  of  360,  who  may  be  conveniently 
divided  into  four  sections,  making  ninety  councillors  of  each 
class.  In  the  first  place,  all  the  citizens  shall  select  candidates 
from  the  first  class  ;  and  they  shall  be  compelled  to  vote  under 
pain  of  a  fine.  This  shall  be  the  business  of  the  first  day.  On 
the  second  day  a  similar  selection  shall  be  made  from  the 
second  class  under  the  same  conditions.  On  the  third  day, 
candidates  shall  be  selected  from  the  third  class  ;  but  the  com- 
pulsion to  vote  shall  only  extend  to  the  voters  of  the  first  three 
classes.  On  the  fourth  day,  members  of  the  council  shall  be 
selected  from  the  fourth  class  ;  they  shall  be  selected  by  all, 
but  the  compulsion  to  vote  shall  only  extend  to  the  second 
class,  who,  if  they  do  not  vote,  shall  pay  a  fine  of  triple  the 
amount  which  was  exacted  at  first,  and  to  the  first  class,  who 
shall  pay  a  quadruple  fine.  On  the  fifth  day,  the  names  shall 
be  exnibited,  and  out  of  them  shall  be  chosen  by  all  the  citizens 
180  of  each  class :  these  are  severally  to  be  reduced  by  lot  to 
ninety,  and  90  x  4  will  form  the  council  for  the  year. 

The  mode  of  election  which  has  been  described  is  a  mean 

757  between  monarchy  and  democracy,  and  such  a  mean  should  ever 
be  observed  in  the  state.  For  servants  and  masters  cannot  be 
friends,  and,  although  equality  makes  friendship,  we  must  re- 
member that  there  are  two  sorts  of  equality.  One  of  them  is 
the  rule  of  number  and  measure  ;  but  there  is  also  a  higher 
equality,  which  is  the  judgment  of  Zeus.    Of  this  he  grants  but 

VOL.  V.  K 


c 


Analysis  jGi-jG^. 


Laws  VI.    aged ;  there  the  rustic  worn  with  toil  will    receive    a  kindly 
Analysis.    Welcome,  and  be  far  better  treated  than  at  the  hands  of  an 
unskilful  doctor. 

These  works  will  be  both  useful  and  ornamental ;  but  the 
sixty  wardens  must  not  fail  to  give  serious  attention  to  other 
duties.  For  they  must  watch  over  the  districts  assigned  to 
them,  and  also  act  as  judges.  In  small  matters  the  five  com- 
manders shall  decide  :  in  greater  matters  up  to  three  minae,  the 
five  commanders  and  the  twelve  guards.  Like  all  other  judges, 
except  those  who  have  the  final  decision,  they  shall  be  liable 
to  give  an  account.  If  the  wardens  impose  unjust  tasks  on  the  762 
villagers,  or  take  by  force  their  crops  or  implements,  or  yield  to 
flattery  or  bribes  in  deciding  suits,  let  them  be  publicly  dis- 
honoured. In  regard  to  any  other  wrong-doing,  if  the  question 
be  of  a  mina,  let  the  neighbours  decide ;  but  if  the  accused 
person  will  not  submit,  trusting  that  his  monthly  removals  will 
enable  him  to  escape  payment,  and  also  in  suits  about  a  larger 
amount,  the  injured  party  may  have  recourse  to  the  common 
court ;  in  the  former  case,  if  successful,  he  may  exact  a  double 
penalty. 

The  wardens  and  guards,  while  on  their  two  years'  service, 
shall  live  and  eat  together,  and  the  guard  who  is  absent  from 
the  daily  meals  without  permission  or  sleeps  out  at  night,  shall 
be  regarded  as  a  deserter,  and  may  be  punished  by  any  one  who 
meets  him.  If  any  of  the  commanders  is  guilty  of  such  an 
irregularity,  the  whole  sixty  shall  have  him  punished ;  and  he 
of  them  who  screens  him  shall  suffer  a  still  heavier  penalty  than 
the  offender  himself.  Now  by  service  a  man  learns  to  rule ;  and 
he  should  pride  himself  upon  serving  well  the  laws  and  the  Gods 
all  his  life,  and  upon  having  served  ancient  and  honourable  men 
in  his  youth.  The  twelve  and  the  five  should  be  their  own  763 
servants,  and  use  the  labour  of  the  villagers  only  for  the  good 
of  the  public.  Let  them  search  the  country  through,  and  acquire 
a  perfect  knowledge  of  every  locality;  with  this  view,  hunting 
and  field  sports  should  be  encouraged. 

Next  we  have  to  speak  of  the  elections  of  the  wardens  of  the 
agora  and  of  the  city.  The  wardens  of  the  city  shall  be  three  in 
number,  and  they  shall  have  the  care  of  the  streets,  roads,  build- 
ings, and  also  of  the  water-supply.   They  shall  be  chosen  out  of 


Analysis  763-765. 


ci 


the  highest  class,  and  when  the  number  of  candidates  has  been   Laws  VI. 
reduced  to  six  who  have  the  greatest  number  of  votes,  three  out  Analysis. 
of  the  six  shall  be  taken  by  lot,  and,  after  a  scrutiny,  shall  be 
admitted  to -their  office.    The  wardens  of  the  agora  shall  be  five 
in  number— ten  are  to  be  first  elected,  and  every  one  shall  vote 
for  all  the  vacant  places  ;  the  ten  shall  be  afterwards  reduced  to 

764  five  by  lot,  as  in  the  former  election.  The  first  and  second  class 
shall  be  compelled  to  go  to  the  assembly,  but  not  the  third  and 
fourth,  unless  they  are  specially  summoned.  The  wardens  of  the 
agora  shall  have  the  care  of  the  temples  and  fountains  which  are 
in  the  agora,  and  shall  punish  those  who  injure  them  by  stripes 
and  bonds,  if  they  be  slaves  or  strangers  ;  and  by  fines,  if  they  be 
citizens.  And  the  wardens  of  the  city  shall  have  a  similar  power 
of  inflicting  punishment  and  fines  in  their  own  department. 

In  the  next  place,  there  must  be  directors  of  music  and  gym- 
nastic ;  one  class  of  them  superintending  gymnasia  and  schools, 
and  the  attendance  and  lodging  of  the  boys  and  girls— the  other 
having  to  do  with  contests  of  music  and  gymnastic.  In  musical 
contests  there  shall  be  one  kind  of  judges  of  solo  singing  or  playing, 
who  will  judge  of  rhapsodists,  flute-players,  harp-players  and  the 
like,  and  another  of  choruses.  There  shall  be  choruses  of  men 
and  boys  and  maidens  — one  director  will  be  enough  to  introduce 
them  all,  and  he  should  not  be  less  than  forty  years  of  age  ; 

765  secondly,  of  solos  also  there  shall  be  one  director,  aged  not  less  than 
thirty  years  ;  he  will  introduce  the  competitors  and  give  judgment 
upon  them.  The  director  of  the  choruses  is  to  be  elected  in  an 
assembly  at  which  all  who  take  an  interest  in  music  are  compelled 
to  attend,  and  no  one  else.  Candidates  must  only  be  proposed  for 
their  fitness,  and  opposed  on  the  ground  of  unfitness.  Ten  are 
to  be  elected  by  vote,  and  the  one  of  these  on  whom  the  lot  falls 
shall  be  director  for  a  year.  Next  shall  be  elected  out  of  the  second 
and  third  classes  the  judges  of  gymnastic  contests,  who  are  to  be 
three  in  number,  and  are  to  be  tested,  after  being  chosen  by  lot  out 
of  twenty  who  have  been  elected  by  the  three  highest  classes — 
these  being  compelled  to  attend  at  the  election. 

One  minister  remains,  who  will  have  the  general  superintend- 
ence of  education.  He  must  be  not  less  than  fifty  years  old,  and 
be  himself  the  father  of  children  born  in  wedlock.  His  office 
must  be  regarded  by  all  as  the  highest  in  the  state.    For  the 


cii 


Analysis  765-767. 


Laws  VI.  right  growth  of  the  first  shoot  in  plants  and  animals  is  the  cliief 
Analysis,  cause  of  matured  perfection.  Man  is  supposed  to  be  a  tame  766 
animal,  but  he  becomes  either  the  gentlest  or  the  fiercest  of 
creatures,  accordingly  as  he  is  well  or  ill  educated.  Wherefore 
he  who  is  elected  to  preside  over  education  should  be  the  best 
man  possible.  He  shall  hold  office  for  five  years,  and  shall  be 
elected  out  of  the  guardians  of  the  law,  by  the  votes  of  the  other 
magistrates  with  the  exception  of  the  senate  and  prytanes  ;  and 
the  election  shall  be  held  by  ballot  in  the  temple  of  Apollo. 

When  a  magistrate  dies  before  his  term  of  office  has  expired, 
another  shall  be  elected  in  his  place  ;  and,  if  the  guardian  of  an 
orphan  dies,  the  relations  shall  appoint  another  within  ten  days, 
or  be  fined  a  drachma  a  day  for  neglect. 

The  city  which  has  no  courts  of  law  will  soon  cease  to  be  a  city  ; 
and  a  judge  who  sits  in  silence  and  leaves  the  enquiry  to  the  liti- 
gants, as  in  arbitrations,  is  not  a  good  judge.  A  few  judges  are 
better  than  many,  but  the  few  must  be  good.  The  matter  in  dis- 
pute should  be  clearly  elicited  ;  time  and  examination  will  find 
out  the  truth.  Causes  should  first  be  tried  before  a  court  of 
neighbours  :  if  the  decision  is  unsatisfactory,  let  them  be  referred 
to  a  higher  court ;  or,  if  necessary,  to  a  higher  still,  of  which  the  767 
decision  shall  be  final. 

Every  magistrate  is  a  judge,  and  every  judge  is  a  magistrate, 
on  the  day  on  which  he  is  deciding  a  suit.  This  will  therefore  be 
an  appropriate  place  to  speak  of  judges  and  their  functions.  The 
supreme  tribunal  will  be  that  on  which  the  litigants  agree  ;  and 
let  there  be  two  other  tribunals,  one  for  public  and  the  other  for 
private  causes.  The  high  court  of  appeal  shall  be  composed  as 
follows : — All  the  officers  of  state  shall  meet  on  the  last  day  but 
one  of  the  year  in  some  temple,  and  choose  for  a  judge  the  best  man 
out  of  every  magistracy  :  and  those  who  are  elected,  after  they  have 
undergone  a  scrutiny,  shall  be  judges  of  appeal.  Thej'  shall  give 
their  decisions  openly,  in  the  presence  of  the  magistrates  who  have 
elected  them ;  and  the  public  may  attend.  If  anybody  charges 
one  of  them  with  having  intentionally  decided  wrong,  he  shall  lay 
his  accusation  before  the  guardians  of  the  law,  and  if  the  judge  be  * 
found  guilty  he  shall  pay  damages  to  the  extent  of  half  the  injury, 
unless  the  guardians  of  the  law  deem  that  he  deserves  a  severer 
punishment,  in  which  case  the  judges  shall  assess  the  penalty. 


Analysis  768-771. 


ciii 


768  As  the  whole  people  are  injured  by  offences  against  the  state,  Laivs  VI. 
they  should  share  in  the  trial  of  them.  Such  causes  should  Analysis.  . 
originate  with  the  people  and  be  decided  by  them :  the  enquiry 

shall  take  place  before  any  three  of  the  highest  magistrates  upon 
whom  the  defendant  and  plaintiff  can  agree.  Also  in  private  suits 
all  should  judge  as  far  as  possible,  and  therefore  there  should  be 
a  court  of  law  in  every  ward ;  for  he  who  has  no  share  in  the 
administration  of  justice,  believes  that  he  has  no  share  in  the 
state.  The  judges  in  these  courts  shall  be  elected  by  lot  and  give 
their  decision  at  once.  The  final  judgment  in  all  cases  shall  rest 
with  the  court  of  appeal.  And  so,  having  done  with  the  appoint- 
ment of  courts  and  the  election  of  officers,  we  will  now  make  our 
laws. 

'  Your  way  of  proceeding,  Stranger,  is  admirable.' 

769  Then  so  far  our  old  man's  game  of  play  has  gone  off  well. 
'  Say,  rather,  our  serious  and  noble  pursuit.' 

Perhaps ;  but  let  me  ask  you  whether  you  have  ever  observed 
the  manner  in  which  painters  put  in  and  rub  out  colour  :  yet  their 
endless  labour  will  last  but  a  short  time,  unless  they  leave  behind 
them  some  successor  who  will  restore  the  picture  and  remove  its 
defects,  '  Certainly.'  And  have  we  not  a  similar  object  at  the 
present  moment?  We  are  old  ourselves,  and  therefore  we  must 
leave  our  work  of  legislation  to  be  improved  and  perfected  by  the 
next  generation ;  not  only  making  laws  for  our  guardians,  but 

770  making  them  lawgivers.  'We  must  at  least  do  our  best.'  Let  us 
address  them  as  follows.  Beloved  saviours  of  the  laws,  we  give 
you  an  outline  of  legislation  which  you  must  fill  up,  according 
to  a  rule  which  we  will  prescribe  for  you.  Megillus  and  Cleinias 
and  I  are  agreed,  and  we  hope  that  you  will  agree  with  us  in 
thinking,  that  the  whole  energies  of  a  man  should  be  devoted  to 
the  attainment  of  manly  virtue,  whether  this  is  to  be  gained  by 
study,  or  habit,  or  desire,  or  opinion.  And  rather  than  accept 
institutions  which  tend  to  degrade  and  enslave  him,  he  should  fly 
his  country  and  endure  any  hardship.  These  are  our  principles, 
and  we  would  ask  you  to  judge  of  our  laws,  and  praise  or  blame 
them,  accordingly  as  they  are  or  are  not  capable  of  improving  our 
citizens. 

771  And  first  of  laws  concerning  religion.  We  have  already  said 
that  the  number  5040  has  many  convenient  divisions:  and  we 


CIV 


Analysis  771-773. 


Laws  VI.  took  a  twelfth  part  of  this  (420),  which  is  itself  divisible  by  twelve, 
Analysis,  for  the  number  of  the  tribe.  Every  divisor  is  a  gift  of  God,  and 
corresponds  to  the  months  of  the  year  and  to  the  revolution  of  the 
universe.  All  cities  have  a  number,  but  none  is  more  fortunate 
than  our  own,  which  can  be  divided  by  all  numbers  up  to  12,  with 
the  exception  of  11,  and  even  by  11,  if  two  families  are  deducted. 
And  now  let  us  divide  the  state,  assigning  to  each  division  some 
God  or  demigod,  who  shall  have  altars  raised  to  them,  and 
sacrifices  offered  twice  a  month ;  and  assemblies  shall  be  held 
in  their  honour,  twelve  for  the  tribes,  and  twelve  for  the  city, 
corresponding  to  their  divisions.  The  object  of  them  will  be  first 
to  promote  religion,  secondly  to  encourage  friendship  and  inter- 
course between  families;  for  families  must  be  acquainted  before 
they  marry  into  one  another,  or  great  mistakes  will  occur.  At 
these  festivals  there  shall  be  innocent  dances  of  young  men  and 
maidens,  who  may  have  the  opportunity  of  seeing  one  another  in  772 
modest  undress.  To  the  details  of  all  this  the  masters  of  choruses 
and  the  guardians  will  attend,  embodying  in  laws  the  results 
of  their  experience ;  and,  after  ten  years,  making  the  laws  per- 
manent, with  the  consent  of  the  legislator,  if  he  be  alive,  or,  if  he 
be  not  alive,  of  the  guardians  of  the  law,  who  shall  perfect  them  and 
settle  them  once  for  all.  At  least,  if  any  further  changes  are 
required,  the  magistrates  must  take  the  whole  people  into  counsel, 
and  obtain  the  sanction  of  all  the  oracles. 

Whenever  any  one  who  is  between  the  ages  of  twenty-five  and 
thirty-five  wants  to  marry,  let  him  do  so ;  but  first  let  him  hear  the 
strain  which  we  will  address  to  him  :  — 

My  son,  you  ought  to  marry,  but  not  in  order  to  gain  wealth  or  to  773 
avoid  poverty;  neither  should  you,  as  men  are  wont  to  do,  choose 
a  wife  who  is  like  yourself  in  property  and  character.  You  ought 
to  consult  the  interests  of  the  state  rather  than  your  own  pleasure ; 
for  by  equal  marriages  a  society  becomes  unequal.  And  yet  to 
enact  a  law  that  the  rich  and  mighty  shall  not  marry  the  rich  and 
mighty,  that  the  quick  shall  be  united  to  the  slow,  and  the  slow  to 
the  quick,  will  arouse  anger  in  some  persons  and  laughter  in 
others ;  for  they  do  not  understand  that  opposite  elements  ought  to 
be  mingled  in  the  state,  as  wine  should  be  mingled  with  water.  The 
object  at  which  we  aim  must  therefore  be  left  to  the  influence 
of  public  opinion.    And  do  not  forget  our  former  precept,  that 

J. 


Analysis  773-776. 


cv 


every  one  should  seek  to  attain  imniortalit}'-  and  raise  up  a  fair  Laws  VL 
774  posterity  to  serve  God. — Let  this  be  the  prelude  of  the  lav^  about  analysis. 
the  duty  of  marriage.  But  if  a  man  will  not  listen,  and  at  thirty-five 
years  of  age  is  still  unmarried,  he  shall  pay  an  annual  fine :  if  he  be 
of  the  first  class,  100  drachmas ;  if  of  the  second,  70  ;  if  of  the  third, 
60 ;  and  if  of  the  fourth,  30.  This  fine  shall  be  sacred  to  Here ; 
and  if  he  refuse  to  pay,  a  tenfold  penalty  shall  be  exacted  by  the 
treasurer  of  Here,  who  shall  be  responsible  for  the  payment. 
Further,  the  unmarried  man  shall  receive  no  honour  or  obedience 
from  the  young,  and  he  shall  not  retain  the  right  of  punishing 
others.  A  man  is  neither  to  give  nor  receive  a  dowry  beyond 
a  certain  fixed  sum;  in  our  state,  for  his  consolation,  if  he  be 
poor,  let  him  know  that  he  need  neither  receive  nor  give  one,  for 
every  citizen  is  provided  with  the  necessaries  of  life.  Again, 
if  the  woman  is  not  rich,  her  husband  will  not  be  her  humble 
servant.  He  who  disobeys  this  law  shall  pay  a  fine  according  to 
his  class,  which  shall  be  exacted  by  the  treasurers  of  Here  and 
Zeus. 

The  betrothal  of  the  parties  shall  be  made  by  the  next  of  kin,  or 
if  there  are  none,  by  the  guardians.  The  offerings  and  ceremonies 
of  marriage  shall  be  determined  by  the  interpreters  of  sacred  rites. 
:  775  Let  the  wedding  party  be  moderate;  five  male  and  five  female 
friends,  and  a  like  number  of  kinsmen,  will  be  enough.  The 
expense  should  not  exceed,  for  the  first  class,  a  mina ;  and  for  the 
second,  half  a  mina ;  and  should  be  in  like  proportion  for  the  other 
classes.  Extravagance  is  to  be  regarded  as  vulgarity  and  ignor- 
ance of  nuptial  proprieties.  Much  wine  is  only  to  be  drunk  at  the 
festivals  of  Dionysus,  and  certainly  not  on  the  occasion  of  a 
marriage.  The  bride  and  bridegroom,  who  are  taking  a  great  step 
in  life,  ought  to  have  all  their  wits  about  them ;  they  should  be 
especially  careful  of  the  night  on  which  God  may  give  them 
increase,  and  which  this  will  be  none  can  say.  Their  bodies  and 
souls  should  be  in  the  most  temperate  condition ;  they  should  abstain 
from  all  that  partakes  of  the  nature  of  disease  or  vice,  which  will 
776  otherwise  become  hereditary.  There  is  an  original  divinity  in 
man  which  preserves  all  things,  if  used  with  proper  respect.  He 
who  marries  should  make  one  of  the  two  houses  on  the  lot  the 
nest  and  nursery  of  his  young;  he  should  leave  his  father  and 
mother,  and  then  his  affection  for  them  will  be  only  increased  by 


CVl 


Analysis  776-778. 


Laws  VI.    absence.   He  will  go  forth  as  to  a  colony,  and  will  there  rear  up  his 
Analysis,    offspring,  handing  on  the  torch  of  life  to  another  generation. 

About  property  in  general  there  is  little  diiiiiculty,  with  the 
exception  of  property  in  slaves,  which  is  an  institution  of  a  very 
doubtful  character.  The  slavery  of  the  Helots  is  approved  by 
some  and  condemned  by  others ;  and  there  is  some  doubt  even 
about  the  slavery  of  the  Mariandynians  at  Heraclea  and  of  the 
Thessalian  Penestae.  This  makes  us  ask,  What  shall  we  do  about 
slaves  ?  to  which  every  one  would  agree  in  replying, — Let  us  have 
the  best  and  most  attached  whom  we  can  get.  All  of  us  have 
heard  stories  of  slaves  who  have  been  better  to  their  masters  than 
sons  or  brethren.  Yet  there  is  an  opposite  doctrine,  that  slaves 
are  never  to  be  trusted  ;  as  Homer  says,  '  Slavery  takes  away  half  777 
a  man's  understanding.''  And  different  persons  treat  them  in 
different  ways :  there  are  some  who  never  trust  them,  and  beat 
them  like  dogs,  until  they  make  them  many  times  more  slavish 
than  they  were  before ;  and  others  pursue  the  opposite  plan. 
Man  is  a  troublesome  animal,  as  has  been  often  shown,  Megillus, 
notably  in  the  revolts  of  the  Messenians  ;  and  great  mischiefs  have 
arisen  in  countries  where  there  are  large  bodies  of  slaves  of  one 
nationality.  Two  rules  may  be  given  for  their  management :  first 
that  they  should  not,  if  possible,  be  of  the  same  country  or  have 
a  common  language ;  and  secondly,  that  they  should  be  treated  by . 
their  master  with  more  justice  even  than  equals,  out  of  regard  to 
himself  quite  as  much  as  to  them.  For  he  who  is  righteous  in  the 
treatment  of  his  slaves,  or  of  any  inferiors,  will  sow  in  them  the 
seed  of  virtue.  Masters  should  never  jest  with  their  slaves:  this,  778 
which  is  a  common  but  foolish  practice,  increases  the  difficulty  and 
painfulness  of  managing  them. 

Next  as  to  habitations.  These  ought  to  have  been  spoken  of 
before ;  for  no  man  can  marry  a  wife,  and  have  slaves,  who  has 
not  a  house  for  them  to  Uve  in.  Let  us  supply  the  omission. 
The  temples  should  be  placed  round  the  Agora,  and  the  city 
built  in  a  circle  on  the  heights.  Near  the  temples,  which  are  holy 
places  and  the  habitations  of  the  Gods,  should  be  buildings  for 
the  magistrates,  and  the  courts  of  law,  including  those  in  which 
capital  offences  are  to  -be  tried.  As  to  walls,  Megillus,  I  agree 
with  Sparta  that  they  should  sleep  in  the  earth ;  '  cold  steel  is 
the  best  wall,'  as  tiie  poet  finely  says.    Besides,  how  absurd 


Analysis  778-781. 


evil 


to  be  sending  out  our  youth  to  fortify  and  guard  the  borders  Laws  VI. 
of  our  country,  and  then  to  build  a  city  wall,  which  is  very  un-  Analysis. 

779  healthy,  and  is  apt  to  make  people  fancy  that  they  may  run 
there  and  rest  in  idleness,  not  knowing  that  true  repose  comes 
from  labour,  and  that  idleness  is  only  a  renewal  of  trouble.  If, 
however,  there  must  be  a  wall,  the  private  houses  had  better 
be  so  arranged  as  to  form  one  wall ;  this  will  have  an  agreeable 
aspect,  and  the  building  will  be  safer  and  more  defensible.  These 
objects  should  be  attended  to  at  the  foundation  of  the  city.  The 
wardens  of  the  city  must  see  that  they  are  carried  out ;  and  they 
must  also  enforce  cleanliness,  and  preserve  the  public  buildings 
from  encroachments.  Moreover,  they  must  take  care  to  let  the 
rain  flow  off  easily,  and  must  regulate  other  matters  concerning 
the  general  administration  of  the  city.  If  any  further  enactments 
prove  to  be  necessary,  the  guardians  of  the  law  must  supply  them. 

And  now,  having  provided  buildings,  and  having  married  our 

780  citizens,  we  will  proceed  to  speak  of  their  mode  of  life.  In  a 
well-constituted  state,  individuals  cannot  be  allowed  to  live  as 
they  please.  Why  do  I  say  this  ?  Because  I  am  going  to  enact 
that  the  bridegroom  shall  not  absent  himself  from  the  common 
meals.  They  were  instituted  originally  on  the  occasion  of  some 
war,  and,  though  deemed  singular  when  first  founded,  they  have 
tended  greatly  to  the  security  of  states.  There  was  a  difficulty 
in  introducing  them,  but  there  is  no  difficulty  in  them  now.  There 
is,  however,  another  institution  about  which  I  would  speak,  if  I 
dared.  I  may  preface  my  proposal  by  remarking  that  disorder 
in  a  state  is  the  source  of  all  evil,  and  order  of  all  good.  Now  in 
Sparta  and  Crete  there  are  common  meals  for  men,  and  this,  as 

781  I  was  saying,  is  a  divine  and  natural  institution.  But  the  women 
are  left  to  themselves ;  they  live  in  dark  places,  and,  being 
weaker,  and  therefore  wickeder,  than  men,  they  are  at  the 
bottom  of  a  good  deal  more  than  half  the  evil  of  states.  This 
must  be  corrected,  and  the  institution  of  common  meals  extended 
to  both  sexes.  But,  in  the  present  unfortunate  state  of  opinion, 
who  would  dare  to  establish  them  ?  And  still  more,  who  can 
compel  women  to  eat  and  drink  in  public  t  They  will  defy  the 
legislator  to  drag  them  out  of  their  holes.  And  in  any  other 
state  such  a  proposal  would  be  drowned  in  clamour,  but  in  our 
own  I  think  that  I  can  show  the  attempt  to  be  just  and  reasonable. 


cviii  Analysis  781- 784. 

Laius  VI.  'There  is  nothing  which  we  should  like  to  hear  better.'  Listen, 
Analysis,  then ;  having  plenty  of  time,  we  will  go  back  to  the  beginning 
of  things,  which  is  an  old  subject  with  us.  'Right.'  Either  the 
race  of  mankind  never  had  a  beginning  and  will  never  have  an 
end,  or  the  time  which  has  elapsed  since  man  first  came  into  782 
being  is  all  but  infinite.  '  No  doubt.'  And  in  this  infinity  of  time 
there  have  been  changes  of  every  kind,  both  in  the  order  of 
the  seasons  and  in  the  government  of  states  and  in  the  customs 
of  eating  and  drinking.  Vines  and  olives  were  at  length  dis- 
covered, and  the  blessings  of  Demeter  and  Persephone,  of  which 
one  Triptolemus  is  said  to  have  been  the  minister;  before  his 
time  the  animals  had  been  eating  one  another.  And  there  are 
nations  in  which  mankind  still  sacrifice  their  fellow-men,  and 
other  nations  in  which  they  lead  a  kind  of  Orphic  existence, 
and  will  not  sacrifice  animals,'  or  so  much  as  taste  of  a  cow — 
tliey  offer  fruits  or  cakes  moistened  with  honey.  Perhaps  you 
will  ask  me  what  is  the  bearing  of  these  remarks  ?  '  We  would 
gladly  hear.'  I  will  endeavour  to  explain  their  drift.  I  see  that 
the  virtue  of  human  life  depends  on  the  due  regulation  of  three 
wants  or  desires.  The  first  is  the  desire  of  meat,  the  second  of 
drink ;  these  begin  with  birth,  and  make  us  disobedient  to  any 
voice  other  than  that  of  pleasure.  The  third  and  fiercest  and  783 
greatest  need  is  felt  latest ;  this  is  love,  which  is  a  madness 
setting  men's  whole  nature  on  fire.  These  three  disorders  of 
mankind  we  must  endeavour  to  restrain  by  three  mighty  in- 
fluences— fear,  and  law,  and  reason,  which,  with  the  aid  of  the 
Muses  and  the  Gods  of  contests,  may  extinguish  our  lusts. 

But  to  return.  After  marriage  let  us  proceed  to  the  genera- 
tion of  children,  and  then  to  their  nurture  and  education — thus 
gradually  approaching  the  subject  of  syssitia.  There  are,  how- 
ever, some  other  points  which  are  suggested  by  the  three  words 
— meat,  drink,  love.  '  Proceed.'  The  bride  and  bridegroom  ought 
to  set  their  mind  on  having  a  brave  offspring.  Now  a  man  only 
succeeds  when  he  takes  pains  ;  wherefore  the  bridegroom  ought 
to  take  special  care  of  the  bride,  and  the  bride  of  the  bridegroom, 
at  the  time  when  their  children  are  about  to  be  born.  And  let  784 
there  be  a  committee  of  matrons  who  shall  meet  every  day  at 
the  temple  of  Eilithyia  at  a  time  fixed  by  the  magistrates,  and 
inform  against  any  man  or  woman  who  does  not  observe  the 


Analysis  784-788. 


cix 


laws  of  married  life.  The  time  of  begetting  children  and  the  Laws  V/. 
supervision  of  the  parents  shall  last  for  ten  years  only;  if  at  analysis. 
the  expiration  of  this  period  they  have  no  children,  they  may 
part,  with  the  consent  of  their  relatives  and  the  official  matrons, 
and  with  a  due  regard  to  the  interests  of  either;  if  a  dispute 
arise,  ten  of  the  guardians  of  the  law  shall  be  chosen  as  arbiters. 
The  matrons  shall  also  have  power  to  enter  the  houses  of  the 
young  people,  if  necessary,  and  to  advise  and  threaten  them. 
If  their  efforts  fail,  let  them  go  to  the  guardians  of  the  law; 
and  if  they  too  fail,  the  offender,  whether  man  or  woman,  shall  be 
forbidden  to  be  present  at  all  family  ceremonies.  If  when  the 
time  for  begetting  children  has  ceased,  either  husband  or  wife 
have  connexion  with  others  who  are  of  an  age  to  beget  children, 
they  shall  be  liable  to  the  same  penalties  as  those  who  are  still 
having  a  family.  But  when  both  parties  have  ceased  to  beget 
children  there  shall  be  no  penalties.  If  men  and  women  live 
785  soberljf,  the  enactments  of  law  may  be  left  to  slumber  ;  punishment 
is  necessary  only  when  there  is  great  disorder  of  manners. 

The  first  year  of  children's  lives  is  to  be  registered  in  their 
ancestral  temples ;  the  name  of  the  archon  of  the  year  is  to  be 
inscribed. on  a  whited  wall  in  every  phratry,  and  the  names  of  the 
living  members  of  the  phratry  close  to  them,  to  be  erased  at  their 
decease.  The  proper  time  of  marriage  for  a  woman  shall  be  from 
sixteen  years  to  twenty;  for  a  man,  from  thirty  to  thirty-five 
(cp.  Rep.  V.  460  E).  The  age  of  holding  office  for  a  woman  is  to 
be  forty,  for  a  man  thirty  years.  The  time  for  military  service 
for  a  man  is  to  be  from  twenty  years  to  sixty;  for  a  woman,  from 
the  time  that  she  has  ceased  to  bear  children  until  fifty. 

788  BOOK  VII.  Now  that  we  have  married  our  citizens  and 
brought  their  children  into  the  world,  we  have  to  find  nurture 
and  education  for  them.  This  is  a  matter  of  precept  rather  than 
of  law,  and  cannot  be  precisely  regulated  by  the  legislator.  For 
minute  regulations  are  apt  to  be  transgressed,  and  frequent 
transgressions  impair  the  habit  of  obedience  to  the  laws.  I  speak 
darkly,  but  I  will  also  try  to  exhibit  my  wares  in  the  light  of 
day.  Am  I  not  right  in  saying  that  a  good  education  tends  to  the 
improvement  of  body  and  mind  1  '  Certainly.'  And  the  body  is 
fairest  which  grows  up  straight  and  well-formed  from  the  time 


cx 


Analysis  788-791. 


Lazvs  VII.  of  birth.  'Very  true.'  And  we  observe  that  the  first  shoot  of 
Analysis,  every  living  thing  is  the  greatest ;  many  even  contend  that  man 
is  not  at  twenty-five  twice  the  height  that  he  was  at  five.  '  True.' 
And  growth  without  exercise  of  the  limbs  is  the  source  of  endless 
evils  in  the  body.  'Yes.'  The  body  should  have  the  most  exercise  789 
when  growing  most.  '  What,  the  bodies  of  young  infants  ? '  Na}', 
the  bodies  of  unborn  infants.  I  should  like  to  explain  to  j'ou 
this  singular  kind  of  gymnastics.  The  Athenians  are  fond  of 
cock-fighting,  and  the  people  who  keep  cocks  carry  them  about 
in  their  hands  or  under  their  arms,  and  take  long  walks,  to  im- 
prove, not  their  own  health,  but  the  health  of  the  birds.  Here 
is  a  proof  of  the  usefulness  of  motion,  whether  of  rocking, 
swinging,  riding,  or  tossing  upon  the  wave ;  for  all  these  kinds 
of  motion  greatly  increase  strength  and  the  powers  of  digestion. 
Hence  we  infer  that  our  women,  when  they  are  with  child,  should 
walk  about  and  fashion  the  embryo ;  and  the  children,  when  born, 
should  be  carried  by  strong  nurses, — there  must  be  more  than 
one  of  them, — and  should  not  be  suffered  to  walk  until  they  are 
three  j'ears  old.  Shall  we  impose  penalties  for  the  neglect  of 
these  rules  ?  The  greatest  penalty,  that  is,  ridicule,  and  the  790 
difficulty  of  making  the  nurses  do  as  we  bid  them,  will  be  in- 
curred by  ourselves.  'Then  why  speak  of  such  matters  ?'  In  the 
hope  that  heads  of  families  may  learn  that  the  due  regulation 
of  them  is  the  foundation  of  law  and  order  in  the  state. 

And  now,  leaving  the  body,  let  us  proceed  to  the  soul ;  but  we 
must  first  repeat  that  perpetual  motion  by  night  and  by  day  is 
good  for  the  young  creature.  This  is  proved  by  the  Corybantian 
cure  of  motion,  and  by  the  practice  of  nurses  who  rock  children  in 
their  arms,  lapping  them  at  the  same  time  in  sweet  strains.  And 
the  reason  of  this  is  obvious.  The  affections,  both  of  the  Bac- 
chantes and  of  the  children,  arise  from  fear,  and  this  fear  is  occa- 
sioned by  something  wrong  which  is  going  on  within  them.  Now  791 
a  violent  external  commotion  tends  to  calm  the  violent  internal 
one ;  it  quiets  the  palpitation  of  the  heart,  giving  to  the  children 
sleep,  and  bringing  back  the  Bacchantes  to  their  right  minds  by  the 
help  of  dances  and  acceptable  sacrifices.  But  if  fear  has  such 
power,  will  not  a  child  who  is  always  in  a  state  of  terror  grow  up 
timid  and  cowardly,  whereas  if  he  learns  from  the  first  to  resist 
fear  he  will  develop  a  habit  of  courage.'   'Very  true.'    And  we 


Analysis  791-794. 


CXI 


may  say  that  the  use  of  motion  will  inspire  the  souls  of  children  with  Lazus  VI F. 
cheerfulness  and  therefore  with  courage.  '  Of  course.'  Softness  Analysis. 
enervates  and  irritates  the  temper  of  the  young,  and  violence 
renders  them  mean  and  misanthropical.  '  But  how  is  the  state  to 
educate  them  when  they  are  as  yet  unable  to  understand  the  mean- 
ing of  words  ?'  Why,  surely  they  roar  and  cry,  like  the  young  of 
-92  any  other  animal,  and  the  nurse  knows  the  meaning  of  these  inti- 
mations of  the  child's  likes  or  dislikes,  and  the  occasions  which  call 
them  forth.  About  three  years  is  passed  by  children  in  a  state  of 
imperfect  articulation,  which  is  quite  long  enough  time  to  make 
them  either  good-  or  ill-tempered.  And,  therefore,  during  these  first 
three  years,  the  infant  should  be  as  free  as  possible  from  fear  and 
pain.  '  Yes,  and  he  should  have  as  much  pleasure  as  possible.' 
There,  I  think,  you  are  wrong ;  for  the  influence  of  pleasure  in  the 
beginning  of  education  is  fatal.  A  man  should  neither  pursue 
pleasure  nor  wholly  avoid  pain.  He  should  embrace  the  mean, 
and  cultivate  that  state  of  calm  which  mankind,  taught  by  some 
inspiration,  attribute  to  God  ;  and  he  who  would  be  like  God  should 
neither  be  too  fond  of  pleasure  himself,  nor  should  he  permit  any 
other  to  be  thus  given ;  above  all,  not  the  infant,  whose  character 
is  just  in  the  making.  It  may  sound  ridiculous,  but  I  affirm  that  a 
woman  in  her  pregnancy  should  be  carefully  tended,  and  kept 
from  excessive  pleasures  and  pains. 

•  793     '  I  quite  agree  with  you  about  the  duty  of  avoiding  extremes  and 
following  the  mean.' 

Let  us  consider  a  further  point.  The  matters  which  are  now 
in  question  are  generally  called  customs  rather  than  laws  ;  and 
we  have  already  made  the  reflection  that,  though  they  are  not, 
properly  speaking,  laws,  yet  neither  can  they  be  neglected.  For 
they  fill  up  the  interstices  of  law,  and  are  the  props  and  ligatures 
on  which  the  strength  of  the  whole  building  depends.  Laws  with- 
out customs  never  last ;  and  we  must  not  wonder  if  habit  and 
custom  sometimes  lengthen  out  our  laws.  '  Very  true.'  Up  to 
their  third  year,  then,  the  life  of  children  may  be  regulated  by 
customs  such  as  we  have  described.  From  three  to  six  their 
minds  have  to  be  amused ;  but  they  must  not  be  allowed  to  be- 
come self-willed  and  spoilt.  If  punishment  is  necessary,  the  same 
rule  will  hold  as  in  the  case  of  slaves;  they  must  neither  be 

'794  punished  in  hot  blood  nor  ruined  by  indulgence.    The  children 


cxii  Analysis  794-796. 

Laws  VIT.  of  that  age  will  have  their  own  modes  of  amusing  themselves  ; 
Analysis,  they  should  be  brought  for  their  play  to  the  village  temples,  and 
placed  under  the  care  of  nurses,  who  will  be  responsible  to  twelve 
matrons  annually  chosen  by  the  women  who  have  authority  over 
marriage.  These  shall  be  appointed,  one  out  of  each  tribe,  and 
their  duty  shall  be  to  keep  order  at  the  meetings  :  slaves  who 
break  the  rules  laid  down  by  them,  they  shall  punish  by  the 
help  of  some  of  the  public  slaves  ;  but  citizens  who  dispute 
their  authority  shall  be  brought  before  the  magistrates.  After 
six  years  of  age  there  shall  be  a  separation  of  the  sexes  ;  the  boys 
will  go  to  learn  riding  and  the  use  of  arms,  and  the  girls  may,  if 
they  please,  also  learn.  Here  I  note  a  practical  error  in  early 
training.  Mothers  and  nurses  foolishly  believe  that  the  left  hand 
is  by  nature  different  from  the  right,  whereas  the  left  leg  and  foot 
are  acknowledged  to  be  the  same  as  the  right.  But  the  truth  is 
that  nature  made  all  things  to  balance,  and  the  power  of  using  the 
left  hand,  which  is  of  little  importance  in  the  case  of  the  plectrum  795 
of  the  lyre,  may  make  a  great  difference  in  the  art  of  the  warrior, 
who  should  be  a  skilled  gymnast  and  able  to  fight  and  balance 
himself  in  any  position.  If  a  man  were  a  Briareus,  he  should  use 
all  his  hundred  hands  at  once  ;  at  any  rate,  let  everybody  employ 
the  two  which  they  have.  To  these  matters  the  magistrates,  male 
and  female,  should  attend  ;  the  women  superintending  the  nursing 
and  amusement  of  the  children,  and  the  men  superintending 
their  education,  that  all  of  them,  boys  and  girls  alike,  may  be  sound, 
wind  and  limb,  and  not  spoil  the  gifts  of  nature  by  bad  habits. 

Education  has  two  branches — gymnastic,  which  is  concerned  with 
the  body;  and  music,  which  improves  the  soul.  And  gymnastic 
has  two  parts,  dancing  and  wrestling.  Of  dancing  one  kind  imitates 
musical  recitation  and  aims  at  stateliness  and  freedom  ;  another 
kind  is  concerned  with  the  training  of  the  body,  and  produces 
health,  agility,  and  beauty.  There  is  no  military  use  in  the  com- 
plex systems  of  wrestling  which  pass  under  the  names  of  Antaeus  796 
and  Cercyon,  or  in  the  tricks  of  boxing,  which  are  attributed  to 
Amycus  and  Epeius  ;  but  good  wrestling  and  the  habit  of  extri- 
cating the  neck,  hands,  and  sides,  should  be  diligently  learnt  and 
taught.  In  our  dances  imitations  of  war  should  be  practised,  as  in 
the  dances  of  the  Curetes  in  Crete  and  of  the  Dioscuri  at  Sparta,  or 
as  in  the  dances  in  complete  armour  which  were  taught  us  Athenians 


Analysis  796-799. 


cxiii 


by  the  goddess  Athene.   Youths  who  are  not  yet  of  an  age  to  go  to  Laws  VII. 
war  should  make  religious  processions  armed  and  on  horseback  ;  Analysis. 
and  they  should  also  engage  in  military  games  and  contests.  These 
exercises  will  be  equally  useful  in  peace  and  war,  and  will  benefit 
both  states  and  families. 

Next  follows  music,  to  which  we  will  once  more  return  ;  and 

797  here  I  shall  venture  to  repeat  my  old  paradox,  that  amusements 
have  great  influence  on  laws.  He  who  has  been  taught  to  play  at 
the  same  games  and  with  the  same  playthings  will  be  content  with 
the  same  laws.  There  is  no  greater  evil  in  a  state  than  the  spirit 
of  innovation.  In  the  case  of  the  seasons  and  winds,  in  the 
management  of  our  bodies  and  in  the  habits  of  our  minds,  change 

798  is  a  dangerous  thing.  And  in  everything  but  what  is  bad  the  same 
rule  holds.  We  all  venerate  and  acquiesce  in  the  laws  to  which 
we  are  accustomed  ;  and  if  they  have  continued  during  long 
periods  of  time,  and  there  is  no  remembrance  of  their  ever  having 
been  otherwise,  people  are  absolutely  afraid  to  change  them.  Now 
how  can  we  create  this  quality  of  immobility  in  the  laws  ?  I  say,  by 
not  allowing  innovations  in  the  games  and  plays  of  children.  The 
children  who  are  always  having  new  plays,  when  grown  up  will  be 
always  having  new  laws.  Changes  in  mere  fashions  are  not  serious 
evils,  but  changes  in  our  estimate  of  men's  characters  are  most 
serious  ;  and  rhythms  and  music  are  representations  of  characters, 
and  therefore  we  must  avoid  novelties  in  dance  and  song.  For 
securing  permanence  no  better  method  can  be  imagined  than  that 

799  of  the  Egyptians.  '  What  is  their  method  ? '  They  make  a  calendar 
for  the  year,  arranging  on  what  days  the  festivals  of  the  various 
Gods  shall  be  celebrated,  and  for  each  festival  they  consecrate  an 
appropriate  hymn  and  dance.  In  our  state  a  similar  arrangement 
shall  in  the  first  instance  be  framed  by  certain  individuals,  and  after- 
wards solemnly  ratified  by  all  the  citizens.  He  who  introduces  other 
hymns  or  dances  shall  be  excluded  by  the  priests  and  priestesses 
and  the  guardians  of  the  law  ;  and  if  he  refuses  to  submit,  he  may 
be  prosecuted  for  impiety.  But  we  must  not  be  too  ready  to  speak 
about  such  great  matters.  Even  a  young  man,  when  he  hears 
something  unaccustomed,  stands  and  looks  this  way  and  that,  like 
a  traveller  at  a  place  where  three  ways  meet;  and  at  our  age 
a  man  ought  to  be  very  sure  of  his  ground  in  so  singular  an 
argument.    'Very  true.'    Then,  leaving  the  subject  for  further 

VOL.  V.  h 


CXIV 


Analysis  799-802. 


Laxvs  VII.  examination  at  some  future  time,  let  us  proceed  with  our  laws  about 
Analysis,     education,  for  in  this  manner  we  may  probably  throw  light  upon 
our  present  difficulty.   '  Let  us  do  as  you  say.'    The  ancients  used 
the  term  vojxoi  to  signify  harmonious  strains,  and  perhaps  they  800 
fancied  that  there  was  a  connexion  between  the  songs  and  laws  of 
a  country.   And  we  say — Whosoever  shall  transgress  the  strains 
by  law  established  is  a  transgressor  of  the  laws,  and  shall  be 
punished  by  the  guardians  of  the  law  and  by  the  priests  and 
priestesses.  '  Very  good.'   How  can  we  legislate  about  these  con- 
secrated strains  without  incurring  ridicule  ?   Moulds  or  types  must 
be  first  framed,  and  one  of  the  types  shall  be— Abstinence  from 
evil  words  at  sacrifices.    When  a  son  or  brother  blasphemes  at  a 
sacrifice  there  is  a  sound  of  ill-omen  heard  in  the  family;  and 
many  a  chorus  stands  by  the  altar  uttering  inauspicious  words,  and 
he  is  crowned  victor  who  excites  the  hearers  most  with  lamenta- 
tions.   Such  lamentations  should  be  reserved  for  evil  days,  and 
should  be  uttered  only  by  hired  mourners ;  and  let  the  singers 
not  wear  circlets  or  ornaments  of  gold.   To  avoid  every  evil  word,  801 
then,  shall  be  our  first  type.    'Agreed.'    Our  second  law  or  type 
shall  be,  that  prayers  ever  accompany  sacrifices;  and  our  third, 
that,  inasmuch  as  all  prayers  are  requests,  they  shall  be  only  for 
good  ;  this  the  poets  must  be  made  to  understand.  'Certainly.' 
Have  we  not  already  decided  that  no  gold  or  silver  Plutus  shall  be 
allowed  in  our  city  ?  and  did  not  this  show  that  we  were  dissatisfied 
with  the  poets  ?  and  may  we  not  fear  that,  if  they  are  allowed  to 
utter  injudicious  prayers,  they  will  bring  the  greatest  misfortunes 
on  the  slate  ?    And  we  must  therefore  make  a  law  that  the  poet  is 
not  to  contradict  the  laws  or  ideas  of  the  state  ;  nor  is  he  to  show 
his  poems  to  any  private  persons  until  they  have  first  received  the 
imprimatur  of  the  director  of  education.  A  fourth  musical  law  will 
be  to  the  effect  that  hymns  and  praises  shall  be  offered  to  Gods, 
and  to  heroes  and  demigods.     Still  another  law  will  permit 
eulogies  of  eminent  citizens,  whether  men  or  women,  but  only  802 
after  their  death.    As  to  songs  and  dances,  we  will  enact  as 
follows  :— There  shall  be  a  selection  made  of  the  best  ancient 
musical  compositions  and  dances  ;    these  shall  be  chosen  by 
judges,  who  ought  not  to  be  less  than  fifty  years  of  age.  They 
will  accept  some,  and  reject  or  amend  others,  for  which  purpose 
they  will  call,  if  necessary,  the  poets  themselves  into  council.  The 


Analysis  802-804. 


cxv 


severe  and  orderly  music  is  the  style  in  which  to  educate  children,  Laivs  VII. 
who,  if  they  are  accustomed  to  this,  will  deem  the  opposite  kind  to  Analysis. 
be  illiberal,  but  if  they  are  accustomed  to  the  other,  will  count  this 
to  be  cold  and  unpleasing.    'True.'    Further,  a  distinction  should 
be  made  between  the  melodies  of  men  and  women.    Nature  her- 
self teaches  that  the  grand  or  manly  style  should  be  assigned  to 

803  men,  and  to  women  the  moderate  and  temperate.  So  much  for  the 
subjects  of  education.  But  to  whom  are  they  to  be  taught,  and 
when  ?  I  must  try,  like  the  shipwright,  who  lays  down  the  keel  of 
a  vessel,  to  build  a  secure  foundation  for  the  vessel  of  the  soul  in 
her  voyage  through  life.  Human  affairs  are  hardly  serious,  and  yet 
a  sad  necessity  compels  us  to  be  serious  about  them.  Let  us, 
therefore,  do  our  best  to  bring  the  matter  to  a  conclusion.  '  Very 
good.'  I  say  then,  that  God  is  the  object  ol  a  man's  most  serious 
endeavours.  But  man  is  created  to  be  the  plaything  of  the  Gods  ; 
and  therefore  the  aim  of  every  one  should  be  to  pass  through  life, 
not  in  grim  earnest,  but  playing  at  the  noblest  of  pastimes,  in 
another  spirit  from  that  which  now  prevails.  For  the  common 
opinion  is,  that  work  is  for  the  sake  of  play,  war  of  peace  ;  whereas 
in  war  there  is  neither  amusement  nor  instruction  worth  speaking 
of.  The  life  of  peace  is  that  which  men  should  chiefly  desire  to 
lengthen  out  and  improve.  They  should  live  sacrificing,  singing, 
and  dancing,  with  the  view  of  propitiating  Gods  and  heroes.  I 
have  already  told  you  the  types  ot  song  and  dance  which  they 

804  should  follow  :  and 

'  Some  things,'  as  the  poet  well  says, '  you  will  devise  for  yourself — others, 
God  will  suggest  to  yon.' 

These  words  of  his  may  be  applied  to  our  pupils.  They  will 
partly  teach  themselves,  and  partly  will  be  taught  by  God,  the 
art  of  propitiating  Him  ;  for  they  are  His  puppets,  and  have  only 
a  small  portion  in  truth.  '  You  have  a  poor  opinion  of  man.' 
No  wonder,  when  I  compare  him  with  God ;  but,  if  you  are 
offended,  I  will  place  him  a  little  higher. 

Next  follow  the  building  for  gymnasia  and  schools  ;  these  will  be 
in  the  midst  of  the  city,  and  outside  will  be  riding-schools  and 
archery-grounds.  In  all  of  them  there  ought  to  be  instructors 
of  the  young,  drawn  from  foreign  parts  by  pay,  and  they  will 
teach  them  music  and  war.  Education  shall  be  compulsory ;  the 
children  must  attend  school,  whether  their  parents  like  it  or 

h  2 


cxvi  Analysis  804-807. 

Laws  VII.  not;  for  they  belong  to  the  state  more  than  to  their  parents. 
Analysis.  And  I  say  further,  without  hesitation,  that  the  same  education 
in  riding  and  gymnastic  shall  be  given  both  to  men  and  women. 
The  ancient  tradition  about  the  Amazons  confirms  my  view,  and  at  805 
the  present  day  there  are  myriads  of  women,  called  Sauromatides, 
dwelling  near  the  Pontus,  who  practise  the  art  of  riding  as  well 
as  archery  and  the  use  of  arms.  But  if  I  am  right,  nothing  can 
be  more  foolish  than  our  modern  fashion  of  training  men  and 
women  differently,  whereby  the  power  of  the  city  is  reduced  to 
a  half.  For  reflect— if  women  are  not  to  have  the  education  of 
men,  some  other  must  be  found  for  them,  and  what  other  can  we 
propose  ?  Shall  they,  like  the  women  of  Thrace,  tend  cattle  and 
till  the  ground  ;  or,  like  our  own,  spin  and  weave,  and  take  care 
of  the  house or  shall  they  follow  the  Spartan  custom,  which  806 
is  between  the  two  ? — there  the  maidens  share  in  gymnastic 
exercises  and  in  music ;  and  the  grown  women,  no  longer 
engaged  in  spinning,  weave  the  web  of  life,  although  they  are  not 
skilled  in  archery,  like  the  Amazons,  nor  can  they  imitate  our 
warrior  goddess  and  carry  shield  or  spear,  even  in  the  extremity  of 
their  country's  need.  Compared  with  our  women,  the  Sauroma- 
tides are  like  men.  But  your  legislators,  Megillus,  as  I  maintain, 
only  half  did  their  work  ;  they  took  care  of  the  men,  and  left 
the  women  to  take  care  of  themselves. 

'  Shall  we  suffer  the  Stranger,  Cleinias,  to  run  down  Sparta  in 
this  way  ? ' 

'  Why,  yes  ;  for  we  cannot  withdraw  the  liberty  which  we  have 
already  conceded  to  him.' 

What  will  be  the  manner  of  life  of  men  in  moderate  circum- 
stances, freed  from  the  toils  of  agriculture  and  business,  and 
having  common  tables  for  themselves  and  their  families  which  are 
under  the  inspection  of  magistrates,  male  and  female  ?  Are  men  807  . 
who  have  these  institutions  only  to  eat  and  fatten  like  beasts  ?  If 
they  do,  how  can  they  escape  the  fate  of  a  fatted  beast,  which  is  to 
be  torn  in  pieces  by  some  other  beast  more  valiant  than  himself? 
True,  theirs  is  not  the  perfect  way  of  life,  for  they  have  not  all 
things  in  common  ;  but  the  second  best  way  of  hfe  also  confers 
great  blessings.  Even  those  who  live  in  the  second  state  have  a 
work  to  do  twice  as  great  as  the  work  of  any  Pythian  or  Olympic 
victor;  for  their  labour  is  for  the  body  only,  but  ours  both  for 


Analysis  807-810, 


cxvii 


body  and  soul.    And  this  higher  work  ought  to  be  pursued  night  Laws  VII. 
and  day  to  the  exclusion  of  every  other.    The  magistrates  who  Analysis. 
keep  the  city  should  be  wakeful,  and  the  master  of  the  household 

508  should  be  up  early  and  before  all  his  servants ;  and  the  mistress, 
too,  should  awaken  her  handmaidens,  and  not  be  awakened  by 
them.  Much  sleep  is  not  required  either  for  our  souls  or  bodies. 
When  a  man  is  asleep,  he  is  no  better  than  if  he  were  dead  ;  and 
he  who  loves  life  and  wisdom  will  take  no  more  sleep  than  is 
necessary  for  health.  Magistrates  who  are  wide  awake  at  night 
are  terrible  to  the  bad ;  but  they  are  honoured  by  the  good,  and 
are  useful  to  themselves  and  the  state. 

When  the  morning  dawns,  let  the  boy  go  to  school.  As  the 
sheep  need  the  shepherd,  so  the  boy  needs  a  master ;  for  he  is 
at  once  the  most  cunning  and  the  most  insubordinate  of  creatures. 
Let  him  be  taken  away  from  mothers  and  nurses,  and  tamed  with 
bit  and  bridle,  being  treated  as  a  freeman  in  that  he  learns  and  is 
taught,  but  as  a  slave  in  that  he  may  be  chastised  by  all  other 

509  freemen ;  and  the  freeman  who  neglects  to  chastise  him  shall  be 
disgraced.  All  these  matters  will  be  under  the  supervision  of 
the  Director  of  Education. 

Him  we  will  address  as  follows  :  We  have  spoken  to  you,  O 
illustrious  teacher  of  youth,  of  the  song,  the  time,  and  the  dance, 
and  of  martial  strains  ;  but  of  the  learning  of  letters  and  of  prose 
writings,  and  of  music,  and  of  the  use  of  calculation  for  military 
and  domestic  purposes  we  have  not  spoken,  nor  yet  of  the  higher 
use  of  numbers  in  reckoning  divine  things— such  as  the  revolutions 
of  the  stars,  or  the  arrangements  of  days,  months,  and  years,  of 
which  the  true  calculation  is  necessary  in  order  that  seasons  and 
festivals  may  proceed  in  regular  course,  and  arouse  and  enliven 
the  city,  rendering  to  the  Gods  their  due,  and  making  men  know 
them  better.  There  are,  we  say,  many  things  about  which  we 
have  not  as  yet  instructed  you— and  first,  as  to  reading  and 
music  :  Shall  the  pupil  be  a  perfect  scholar  and  musician,  or  not 
810  even  enter  on  these  studies?  He  should  certainly  enter  on 
both  : — to  letters  he  will  apply  himself  from  the  age  of  ten  to 
thirteen,  and  at  thirteen  he  will  begin  to  handle  the  lyre,  and 
continue  to  learn  music  until  he  is  sixteen ;  no  shorter  and  no 
longer  time  will  be  allowed,  however  fond  he  or  his  parents 
may  be  of  the  pursuit.    The  study  of  letters  he  should  carry  to 


CXVlll 


Analysis  810-812. 


Laws  VII.  the  extent  of  simple  reading  and  writing,  but  he  need  not  care  for 
Analysis.  caUigraphy  and  tachygraphy,  if  his  natural  gifts  do  not  enable 
him  to  acquire  them  in  the  three  years.  And  here  arises  a 
question  as  to  the  learning  of  compositions  when  unaccompanied 
with  music,  I  mean,  prose  compositions.  They  are  a  dangerous 
species  of  literature.  Speak  then,  O  guardians  of  the  law,  and 
tell  us  what  we  shall  do  about  them.  '  You  seem  to  be  in  a 
difficulty.'  Yes ;  it  is  difficult  to  go  against  the  opinion  of  all 
the  world.  '  But  have  we  not  often  already  done  so  ? '  Very 
true.  And  you  imply  that  the  road  which  we  are  taking,  though 
disagreeable  to  many,  is  approved  by  those  whose  judgment  is 
most  worth  having.  '  Certainly.'  Then  I  would  first  observe 
that  we  have  many  poets,  comic  as  well  as  tragic,  with  whose 
compositions,  as  people  say,  youth  are  to  be  imbued  and  saturated.  811 
Some  would  have  them  learn  by  heart  entire  poets ;  others  prefer 
extracts.  Now  I  believe,  and  the  general  opinion  is,  that  some  of 
the  things  which  they  learn  are  good,  and  some  bad.  '  Then  how 
shall  we  reject  some  and  select  others  ? '  A  happy  thought  occurs 
to  me  ;  this  long  discourse  of  ours  is  a  sample  of  what  we  want, 
and  is  moreover  an  inspired  work  and  a  kind  of  poem.  I  am 
naturally  pleased  in  reflecting  upon  all  our  words,  which  appear 
to  me  to  be  just  the  thing  for  a  young  man  to  hear  and  learn. 
I  would  venture,  then,  to  offer  to  the  Director  of  Education  this 
treatise  of  laws  as  a  pattern  for  his  guidance  ;  and  in  case  he 
should  find  any  similar  compositions,  written  or  oral,  I  would  have 
him  carefully  preserve  them,  and  commit  them  in  the  first  place  to 
the  teachers  who  are  willing  to  learn  them  (he  should  turn  oft"  the 
teacher  who  refuses),  and  let  them  communicate  the  lesson  to  the 
young.  812 

I  have  said  enough  to  the  teacher  of  letters  ;  and  now  we  will 
proceed  to  the  teacher  of  the  lyre.  He  must  be  reminded  of  the 
advice  which  we  gave  to  the  sexagenarian  minstrels  ;  like  them  he 
should  be  quick  to  perceive  the  rhythms  suited  to  the  expression 
of  virtue,  and  to  reject  the  opposite.  With  a  view  to  the  attainment 
of  this  object,  the  pupil  and  his  instructor  are  to  use  the  lyre  because 
its  notes  are  pure;  the  voice  and  string  should  coincide  note  for  note : 
nor  should  there  be  complex  harmonies  and  contrasts  of  intervals, 
or  variations  of  times  or  rhythms.  Three  years'  study  is  not  long 
enough  to  give  a  knowledge  of  these  intricacies ;  and  our  pupils 


Analysis  812-815. 


cxix 


will  have  many  things  of  more  importance  to  learn.    The  tunes  Laws  VII. 
and  hymns  which  are  to  be  consecrated  for  each  festival  have  been  analysis. 
S13  already  determined  by  us. 

Having  given  these  instructions  to  the  Director  of  Music,  let  us 
now  proceed  to  dancing  and  gymnastic,  which  must  also  be  taught 
to  boys  and  girls  by  masters  and  mistresses.  Our  minister  of 
education  will  have  a  great  deal  to  do  ;  and  being  an  old  man,  how 
will  he  get  through  so  much  work?  There  is  no  difficulty;— the 
law  will  provide  him  with  assistants,  male  and  female  ;  and  he  will 
consider  how  important  his  office  is,  and  how  great  the  responsi- 
bility of  choosing  them.  For  if  education  prospers,  the  vessel  of 
state  sails  merrily  along  ;  or  if  education  fails,  the  consequences  are 
not  even  to  be  mentioned.  Of  dancing  and  gymnastics  something 
has  been  said  already.  We  include  under  the  latter  military  exer- 
cises, the  various  uses  of  arms,  all  that  relates  to  horseman- 
ship, and  military  evolutions  and  tactics.  There  should  be  public 
teachers  of  both  arts,  paid  by  the  state,  and  women  as  well  as  men 
should  be  trained  in  them.    The  maidens  should  learn  the  armed 

814  dance,  and  the  grown-up  women  be  practised  in  drill  and  the  use 
of  arms,  if  only  in  case  of  extremity,  when  the  men  are  gone  out  to 
battle,  and  they  are  left  to  guard  their  families.  Birds  and  beasts 
defend  their  young,  but  women  instead  of  fighting  run  to  the  altars, 
thus  degrading  man  below  the  level  of  the  animals.  '  Such  a  lack 
of  education.  Stranger,  is  both  unseemly  and  dangerous.' 

Wrestling  is  to  be  pursued  as  a  military  exercise,  but  the  meaning 
of  this,  and  the  nature  of  the  art,  can  only  be  explained  when  action 
is  combined  with  words.  Next  follows  dancing,  which  is  of  two 
kinds  ;  imitative,  first,  of  the  serious  and  beautiful ;  and,  secondly, 
of  the  ludicrous  and  grotesque.    The  first  kind  may  be  further 

815  divided  into  the  dance  of  war  and  the  dance  of  peace.  The  former 
is  called  the  Pyrrhic ;  in  this  the  movements  of  attack  and 
defence  are  imitated  in  a  direct  and  manly  style,  which  indicates 
strength  and  suf^iciency  of  body  and  mind.  The  latter  of  the  two, 
the  dance  of  peace,  is  suitable  to  orderly  and  law-abiding  men. 
These  must  be  distinguished  from  the  Bacchic  dances  which  imitate 
drunken  revelry,  and  also  from  the  dances  by  which  purifications 
are  effected  and  mysteries  celebrated.  Such  dances  cannot  be 
characterized  either  as  warlike  or  peaceful,  and  are  unsuited  to  a 
civilized  state.    Now  the  dances  of  peace  are  of  two  classes  : — the 


cxx  Analysis  815-818. 

Laws  VII.  first  of  them  is  the  more  violent,  being  an  expression  of  joy  and 
Analysis,  triumph  after  toil  and  danger  ;  the  other  is  more  tranquil,  symbol- 
izing the  continuance  and  preservation  of  good.  In  speaking  or 
singing  we  naturally  move  our  bodies,  and  as  we  have  more  or 
less  courage  or  self-control  we  become  less  or  more  violent  and 
excited.  Thus  from  the  imitation  of  words  in  gestures  the  art  of  816 
dancing  arises.  Now  one  man  imitates  in  an  orderly,  another  in  a 
disorderly  manner  :  and  so  the  peaceful  kinds  of  dance  have  been 
appropriately  called  Emmeleiai,  or  dances  of  order,  as  the  warlike 
have  been  called  Pyrrhic.  In  the  latter  a  man  imitates  all  sorts  of 
blows  and  the  hurling  of  weapons  and  the  avoiding  of  them  ;  in  the 
former  he  learns  to  bear  himself  gracefully  and  like  a  gentleman.  The 
types  of  these  dances  are  to  be  fixed  by  the  legislator,  and  when  the 
guardians  of  the  law  have  assigned  them  to  the  several  festivals,  and 
consecrated  them  in  due  order,  no  further  change  shall  be  allowed. 

Thus  much  of  tiie  dances  which  are  appropriate  to  fair  forms  and 
noble  souls.  Comedy,  which  is  the  opposite  of  them,  remains  to  be 
considered.  For  the  serious  implies  the  ludicrous,  and  opposites 
cannot  be  understood  without  opposites.  But  a  man  of  repute  will 
desire  to  avoid  doing  what  is  ludicrous.  He  should  leave  such 
performances  to  slaves, — thej'  are  not  fit  for  freemen  ;  and  there 
should  be  some  element  of  novelty  in  them.  Concerning  tragedy, 
let  our  law  be  as  follows:  When  the  inspired  poet  comes  to  us  817 
with  a  request  to  be  admitted  into  our  state,  we  will  reply  in 
courteous  words — We  also  are  tragedians  and  yo\iv  rivals  ;  and  the 
drama  which  we  enact  is  the  best  and  noblest,  being  the  imitation 
of  the  truest  and  noblest  life,  with  a  view  to  which  our  state  is 
ordered.  And  we  cannot  allow  you  to  pitch  your  stage  in  the  agora, 
and  make  your  voices  to  be  heard  above  ours,  or  suffer  you  to  address 
our  women  and  children  and  the  common  people  on  opposite 
principles  to  our  own.  Come  then,  ye  children  of  the  Lydian  Muse, 
and  present  yourselves  first  to  the  magistrates,  and  if  they  decide 
that  your  hymns  are  as  good  or  better  than  ours,  you  shall  have 
your  chorus  ;  but  if  not,  not. 

There  remain  three  kinds  of  knowledge  which  should  be  learnt 
by  freemen — arithmetic,  geometry  of  surfaces  and  of  solids,  and 
thirdly,  astronomy.    Few  need  make  an  accurate  study  of  such  818 
sciences ;  and  of  special  students  we  will  speak  at  another  time. 
But  most  persons  must  be  content  with  the  study  of  them  which  is 


Analysis  818-820, 


cxxi 


absolutely  necessary,  and  may  be  said  to  be  a  necessity  of  that  Laws  VI/. 
nature  against  which  God  himself  is  unable  to  contend.  '  What  are  Analysis. 
these  divine  necessities  of  knowledge  ? '  Necessities  of  a  knowledge 
without  which  neither  gods,  nor  demigods,  can  govern  mankind. 
And  far  is  he  from  being  a  divine  man  who  cannot  distinguish  one, 
two,  odd  and  even  ;  who  cannot  number  day  and  night,  and  is 
ignorant  of  the  revolutions  of  the  sun  and  stars ;  for  to  every  higher 
knowledge  a  knowledge  of  number  is  necessary — a  fool  may  see 
this  ;  how  much,  is  a  matter  requiring  more  careful  consideration. 
'  Very  true.'  But  the  legislator  cannot  enter  into  such  details,  and 
therefore  we  must  defer  the  more  careful  consideration  of  these 
matters  to  another  occasion.    '  You  seem  to  fear  our  habitual  want 

819  of  training  in  these  subjects.'  Still  more  do  I  fear  the  danger  of 
bad  training,  which  is  often  worse  than  none  at  all.  '  Very  true.' 
I  think  that  a  gentleman  and  a  freeman  may  be  expected  to  know 
as  much  as  an  Egyptian  child.  In  Egypt,  arithmetic  is  taught 
to  children  in  their  sports  by  a  distribution  of  apples  or  garlands 
among  a  greater  or  less  number  of  people  ;  or  a  calculation  is  made 
of  the  various  combinations  which  are  possible  among  a  set  of 
boxers  or  wrestlers  ;  or  they  distribute  cups  among  the  children, 
sometimes  of  gold,  brass,  and  silver  intermingled,  sometimes  of  one 
metal  only.  The  knowledge  of  arithmetic  which  is  thus  acquired 
is  a  great  help,  either  to  the  general  or  to  the  manager  of  a  house- 
hold ;  wherever  measure  is  employed,  men  are  more  wide-awake 
in  their  dealings,  and  they  get  rid  of  their  ridiculous  ignorance. 
'  What  do  you  mean  1 '  I  have  observed  this  ignorance  among  my 
countrymen— they  are  like  pigs— and  I  am  heartily  ashamed  both 
on  my  own  behalf  and  on  that  of  all  the  Hellenes.  '  In  what 
respect  ? '  Let  me  ask  you  a  question.  You  know  that  there  are 
such  things  as  length,  breadth,  and  depth  ?  '  Yes.'  And  the 
Hellenes  imagine  that  they  are  commensurable  (i)  with  themselves, 
and  (2)  with  each  other  ;  whereas  they  are  only  commensurable 

820  with  themselves.  But  if  this  is  true,  then  we  are  in  an  unfortunate 
case,  and  may  well  say  to  our  compatriots  that  not  to  possess 
necessary  knowledge  is  a  disgrace,  though  to  possess  such 
knowledge  is  nothing  very  grand.  '  Certainly.'  The  discussion 
of  arithmetical  problems  is  a  much  better  amusement  for  old  men 
than  their  favourite  game  of  draughts.  '  True.'  Mathematics,  then, 
will  be  one  of  the  subjects  in  which  youth  should  be  trained. 


cxxu 


Analysis  820-823. 


Laws  VII.  They  may  be  regarded  as  an  amusement,  as  well  as  a  useful  and 
Analysis,  innocent  branch  of  knowledge  ;— I  think  that  we  may  include  them 
provisionally.  '  Yes  ;  that  will  be  the  way.'  The  next  question  is, 
whether  astronomy  shall  be  made  a  part  of  education.  About  the 
stars  there  is  a  strange  notion  prevalent.  Men  often  suppose  that  821 
it  is  impious  to  enquire  into  the  nature  of  God  and  the  world, 
whereas  the  very  reverse  is  the  truth.  '  How  do  you  mean What 
I  am  going  to  say  may  seem  absurd  and  at  variance  with  the  usual 
language  of  age,  and  yet  if  true  and  advantageous  to  the  state,  and 
pleasing  to  God,  ought  not  to  be  withheld.  '  Let  us  hear.'  My 
dear  friend,  how  falsely  do  we  and  all  the  Hellenes  speak  about 
the  sun  and  moon  !  'In  what  respect  ? '  We  are  always  saying  that 
they  and  certain  of  the  other  stars  do  not  keep  the  same  path,  and  we 
term  them  planets.  '  Yes  ;  and  I  have  seen  the  morning  and  evening 
stars  go  all  manner  of  ways,  and  the  sun  and  moon  doing  what  we 
know  that  they  always  do.  But  I  wish  that  you  would  explain  your 
meaning  further.'  You  will  easily  understand  what  I  have  had  no 
difficulty  in  understanding  myself,  though  we  are  both  of  us  past  the 
time  of  learning.  '  True  ;  but  what  is  this  marvellous  knowledge  822 
which  youth  are  to  acquire,  and  of  which  we  are  ignorant?'  Men  say 
that  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars  are  planets  or  wanderers  ;  but  this  is 
the  reverse  of  the  fact.  Each  of  them  moves  in  one  orbit  only, 
which  is  circular,  and  not  in  many ;  nor  is  the  swiftest  of  them 
the  slowest,  as  appears  to  human  eyes.  What  an  insult  should  we 
offer  to  Olympian  runners  if  we  were  to  put  the  first  last  and  the  last 
first  !  And  if  that  is  a  ridiculous  error  in  speaking  of  men,  how 
much  more  in  speaking  of  the  Gods  ?  They  cannot  be  pleased  at 
our  telling  falsehoods  about  them.  '  They  cannot'  Then  people 
should  at  least  learn  so  much  about  them  as  will  enable  them  to 
avoid  impiety. 

Enough  of  education.  Hunting  and  similar  pursuits  now  claim 
our  attention.  These  require  for  their  regulation  that  mixture  of 
law  and  admonition  of  which  we  have  often  spoken ;  e.  g.,  in  what 
we  were  saying  about  the  nurture  of  young  children.  And  therefore 
the  whole  duty  of  the  citizen  will  not  consist  in  mere  obedience  to 
the  laws  ;  he  must  regard  not  only  the  enactments  but  also  the  pre- 
cepts of  the  legislator.  I  will  illustrate  my  meaning  by  an  example.  823 
Of  hunting  there  are  many  kinds— hunting  of  fish  and  fowl,  man 
and  beast,  enemies  and  friends;  and  the  legislator  can  neither 


Analysis  823-828. 


cxxiii 


omit  to  speak  about  these  things,  nor  make  penal  ordinances  about  Laws  VII. 
them  all.  'What  is  he  to  do  then?'  He  will  praise  and  blame  analysis. 
hunting,  having  in  view  the  discipline  and  exercise  of  youth.  And 
the  young  man  will  listen  obediently  and  will  regard  his  praises 
and  censures ;  neither  pleasure  nor  pain  should  hinder  him.  The 
legislator  will  express  himself  in  the  form  of  a  pious  wish  for  the 
welfare  of  the  young :— O  my  friends,  he  will  say,  may  you  never 
be  induced  to  hunt  for  fish  in  the  waters,  either  by  day  or  night ; 
or  for  men,  whether  by  sea  or  land.  Never  let  the  wish  to  steal 
824  enter  into  your  minds ;  neither  be  ye  fowlers,  which  is  not  an 
occupation  for  gentlemen.  As  to  land  animals,  the  legislator  will 
discourage  hunting  by  night,  and  also  the  use  of  nets  and  snares 
by  day ;  for  these  are  indolent  and  unmanly  methods.  The  only 
mode  of  hunting  which  he  can  praise  is  with  horses  and  dogs, 
running,  shooting,  striking  at  close  quarters.  Enough  of  the 
prelude  :  the  law  shall  be  as  follows  : — 

Let  no  one  hinder  the  holy  order  of  huntsmen ;  but  let  the 
nightly  hunters  who  lay  snares  and  nets  be  ever3where  prohibited. 
Let  the  fowler  confine  himself  to  waste  places  and  to  the  moun- 
tains. The  fisherman  is  also  permitted  to  exercise  his  calling, 
except  in  harbours  and  sacred  streams,  marshes  and  lakes ;  in  all 
other  places  he  may  fish,  provided  he  does  not  make  use  of 
poisonous  mixtures. 

828  BOOK  VIII.  Next,  with  the  help  of  the  Delphian  Oracle,  we 
will  appoint  festivals  and  sacrifices.  There  shall  be  365  of  them, 
one  for  every  day  in  the  year  ;  and  one  magistrate,  at  least,  shall 
olfer  sacrifice  daily  according  to  rites  prescribed  by  a  convocation 
of  priests  and  interpreters,  who  shall  co-operate  with  the  guardians 
of  the  law,  and  supply  what  the  legislator  has  omitted.  Moreover 
there  shall  be  twelve  festivals  to  the  twelve  Gods  after  whom  the 
twelve  tribes  are  named  :  these  shall  be  celebrated  every  month 
with  appropriate  musical  and  gymnastic  contests.  There  shall 
also  be  festivals  for  women,  to  be  distinguished  from  the  men's 
festivals.  Nor  shall  the  Gods  below  be  forgotten,  but  they  must 
-  be  separated  from  the  Gods  above— Pluto  shall  have  his  own  in 
the  twelfth  month.  He  is  not  the  enemy,  but  the  friend  of  man, 
who  releases  the  soul  from  the  body,  which  is  at  least  as  good  a 
work  as  to^  unite  them.    Further,  those  who  have  to  regulate  these 


cxxiv  Analysis  828-831. 

Laws  VIII.  matters  should  consider  that  our  state  has  leisure  and  abundance, 
Analysis,  and  wishing  to  be  happy,  like  an  individual,  should  lead  a  good  829 
life  ;  for  he  who  leads  such  a  life  neither  does  nor  suffers  injury,  of 
which  the  first  is  very  easy,  and  the  second  very  difficult  of  attain- 
ment, and  is  only  to  be  acquired  by  perfect  virtue.  A  good  city 
has  peace,  but  the  evil  city  is  full  of  wars  within  and  without.  To 
guard  against  the  danger  of  external  enemies  the  citizens  should 
practise  war  at  least  one  day  in  every  month  ;  they  should  go  out 
en  masse,  including  their  wives  and  children,  or  in  divisions,  as  the 
magistrates  determine,  and  have  mimic  contests,  imitating  in  a 
lively  manner  real  battles ;  they  should  also  have  prizes  and 
encomiums  of  valour,  both  for  the  victors  in  these  contests,  and  for 
the  victors  in  the  battle  of  life.  The  poet  who  celebrates  the 
victors  should  be  fifty  years  old  at  least,  and  himself  a  man  who 
has  done  great  deeds.  Of  such  an  one  the  poems  may  be 
sung,  even  though  he  is  not  the  best  of  poets.  To  the  director 
of  education  and  the  guardians  of  the  law  shall  be  committed 
the  judgment,  and  no  song,  however  sweet,  which  has  not  been 
licensed  by  them  shall  be  recited.  These  regulations  about 
poetry,  and  about  military  expeditions,  apply  equally  to  men 
and  to  women. 

The  legislator  may  be  conceived  to  make  the  following  address 
to  himself :— With  what  object  am  I  training  my  citizens?  Are  S30 
they  not  strivers  for  mastery  in  the  greatest  of  combats  ?  Certainly, 
will  be  the  reply.  And  if  they  were  boxers  or  wrestlers,  would 
they  think  of  entering  the  lists  without  many  days'  practice  ? 
Would  they  not  as  far  as  possible  imitate  all  the  circumstances 
of  the  contest ;  and  if  they  had  no  one  to  box  with,  would  they 
not  practise  on  a  lifeless  image,  heedless  of  the  laughter  of  the 
spectators.'  And  shall  our  soldiers  go  out  to  fight  for  life  and 
kindred  and  property  unprepared,  because  sham  fights  are  thought 
to  be  ridiculous Will  not  the  legislator  require  that  his  citizens 
shall  practise  war  daily,  performing  lesser  exercises  without  arms, 
while  the  combatants  on  a  greater  scale  will  carry  arms,  and  take 
up  positions,  and  lie  in  ambuscade  ?  And  let  their  combats  be  not 
without  danger,  that  opportunity  may  be  given  for  distinction,  and 
the  brave  man  and  the  coward  may  receive  their  meed  of  honour 
or  disgrace.  If  occasionally  a  man  is  killed,  there  is  no  great  harm 
done— there  are  others  as  good  as  he  is  who  will  replace  him  ;  and  831 


Analysis  831-833. 


cxxv 


the  state  can  better  afford  to  lose  a  few  of  her  citizens  than  to  lose  Laws  VIIL, 
the  only  means  of  testing  them.  Analysis. 

'  We  agree,  Stranger,  that  such  warlike  exercises  are  necessary.' 
But  why  are  they  so  rarely  practised  Or  rather,  do  we  not  all 
know  the  reasons  ?  One  of  them  (i)  is  the  inordinate  love  of  wealth. 
This  absorbs  the  soul  of  a  man,  and  leaves  him  no  time  for  any 
other  pursuit.  Knowledge  is  valued  by  him  only  as  it  tends  to  the 
attainment  of  wealth.  All  is  lost  in  the  desire  of  heaping  up  gold 
and  silver ;  anybody  is  ready  to  do  anything,  right  or  wrong,  for 
the  sake  of  eating  and  drinking,  and  the  indulgence  of  his  animal 
passions.  '  Most  true.'  This  is  one  of  the  causes  which  prevents 
a  man  being  a  good  soldier,  or  anything  else  which  is  good  ;  it  con- 
verts the  temperate  and  orderly  into  shopkeepers  or  servants, 
and  the  brave  into  burglars  or  pirates.    Many  of  these  latter  are 

S32  men  of  ability,  and  are  greatly  to  be  pitied,  because  their  souls  are 
hungering  and  thirsting  all  their  lives  long.  The  bad  forms  of 
government  (2)  are  another  reason— democracy,  oligarchy,  tyranny, 
which,  as  I  was  saying,  are  not  states,  but  states  of  discord,  in 
which  the  rulers  are  afraid  of  their  subjects,  and  therefore  do  not 
like  them  to  become  rich,  or  noble,  or  valiant.  Now  our  state  will 
escape  both  these  causes  of  evil ;  the  society  is  perfectly  free,  and 
has  plenty  of  leisure,  and  is  not  allowed  by  the  laws  to  be  absorbed 
in  the  pursuit  of  wealth ;  hence  we  have  an  excellent  field  for  a 
perfect  education,  and  for  the  introduction  of  martial  pastimes. 
Let  us  proceed  to  describe  the  character  of  these  pastimes.  All 
gymnastic  exercises  in  our  state  must  have  a  military  character ; 
no  other  will  be  allowed.    Activity  and  quickness  are  most  useful 

833  in  war ;  and  yet  these  qualities  do  not  attain  their  greatest 
efficiency  unless  the  competitors  are  armed.  The  runner  should 
enter  the  lists  in  armour,  and  in  the  races  which  our  heralds  pro- 
claim, no  prize  is  to  be  given  except  to  armed  warriors.  Let  there 
be  six  courses— first,  the  stadium  ;  secondly,  the  diaulos  or  double 
course;  thirdly,  the  horse  course;  fourthly,  the  long  course; 
fifthly,  races  (i)  between  heavy-armed  soldiers  who  shall  pass  over 
sixty  stadia  and  finish  at  a  temple  of  Ares,  and  (2)  between  still 
more  heavily-armed  competitors  who  run  over  smoother  ground  ; 
sixthly,  a  race  for  archers,  who  shall  run  over  hill  and  dale  a  dis- 
tance of  a  hundred  stadia,  and  their  goal  shall  be  a  temple  of 
Apollo  and  Artemis.    There  shall  be  three  contests  of  each  kind — 


cxxvi 


Analysts  833-835. 


LawsVIII.  one  for  boys,  another  for  youths,  a  third  for  men  ;  the  course  for  the 
Analysis,  boys  we  will  fix  at  half,  and  that  for  the  youths  at  two-thirds  of  the 
entire  length.  Women  shall  join  in  the  races :  young  girls  who  are 
not  grown  up  shall  run  naked ;  but  after  thirteen  they  shall  be 
suitably  dressed ;  from  thirteen  to  eighteen  they  shall  be  obliged 
to  share  in  these  contests,  and  from  eighteen  to  twenty  they  may 
if  they  please  and  if  they  are  unmarried.  As  to  trials  of  strength, 
single  combats  in  armour,  or  battles  between  two  and  two,  or  of 
any  number  up  to  ten,  shall  take  the  place  of  wrestling  and  the 
heavy  exercises.  And  there  must  be  umpires,  as  there  are  now  in  834 
wresthng,  to  determine  what  is  a  fair  hit  and  who  is  conqueror. 
Instead  of  the  pancratium,  let  there  be  contests  in  which  the  com- 
batants carry  bows  and  wear  light  shields  and  hurl  javelins  and 
throw  stones.  The  next  provision  of  the  law  will  relate  to  horses, 
which,  as  we  are  in  Crete,  need  be  rarely  used  by  us,  and  chariots 
never ;  our  horse-racing  prizes  will  only  be  given  to  single  horses, 
whether  colts,  half-grown,  or  full-grown.  Their  riders  are  to  wear 
armour,  and  there  shall  also  be  a  competition  between  mounted 
archers.  Women,  if  they  have  a  mind,  may  join  in  the  exercises 
of  men. 

But  enough  of  gymnastics,  and  nearly  enough  of  music.  All 
musical  contests  will  take  place  at  festivals,  whether  every  third  or 
every  fifth  year,which  are  to  be  fixed  by  the  guardians  of  the  law,  the  835 
judges  of  the  games,  and  the  director  of  education,  who  for  this 
purpose  shall  become  legislators  and  arrange  times  and  conditions. 
The  principles  on  which  such  contests  are  to  be  ordered  have  been 
often  repeated  by  the  first  legislator ;  no  more  need  be  said  of  them, 
nor  are  the  details  of  them  important.  But  there  is  another  subject 
of  the  highest  importance,  which,  if  possible,  should  be  determined 
by  the  laws,  not  of  man,  but  of  God  ;  or,  if  a  direct  revelation  is 
impossible,  there  is  need  of  some  bold  man  who,  alone  against  the 
world,  will  speak  plainly  of  the  corruption  of  human  nature,  and 
go  to  war  with  the  passions  of  mankind.  '  We  do  not  understand 
you.'  I  will  try  to  make  my  meaning  plainer.  In  speaking  of 
education,  I  seemed  to  see  young  men  and  maidens  in  friendly 
intercourse  with  one  another ;  and  there  arose  in  my  mind  a 
natural  fear  about  a  state,  in  which  the  young  of  either  sex  are 
well  nurtured,  and  have  little  to  do,  and  occupy  themselves  chiefly 
with  festivals  and  dances.    How  can  they  be  saved  from  those 


Analysis  835-83S. 


cxxvii 


passions  which  reason  forbids  them  to  indulge,  and  which  are  the  LawsVIIT. 
S36  ruin  of  so  many  ?  The  prohibition  of  wealth,  and  the  influence  Analysis. 
of  education,  and  the  all-seeing  eye  of  the  ruler,  will  alike  help  to 
promote  temperance ;  but  they  will  not  wholly  extirpate  the  un- 
natural loves  which  have  been  the  destruction  of  states ;  and 
against  this  evil  what  remedy  can  be  devised  ?  Lacedaemon  and 
Crete  give  no  assistance  here  ;  on  the  subject  of  love,  as  I  may 
whisper  in  your  ear,  they  are  against  us.  Suppose  a  person  were 
to  urge  that  you  ought  to  restore  the  natural  use  which  existed  be- 
fore the  days  of  Laius  ;  he  would  be  quite  right,  but  he  would  not 
be  supported  by  public  opinion  in  either  of  your  states.  Or  try  the 
matter  by  the  test  which  we  apply  to  all  laws, — who  will  say  that  the 
permission  of  such  things  tends  to  virtue  ?  Will  he  who  is  seduced 
learn  the  habit  of  courage ;  or  will  the  seducer  acquire  temperance  ? 
And  will  any  legislator  be  found  to  make  such  actions  legal  ? 

837  But  to  judge  of  this  matter  truly,  we  must  understand  the  nature 
of  love  and  friendship,  which  may  take  very  different  forms.  For 
we  speak  of  friendship,  first,  when  there  is  some  similarity  or 
equality  of  virtue  ;  secondly,  when  there  is  some  want ;  and  either 
of  these,  when  in  excess,  is  termed  love.  The  first  kind  is  gentle 
and  sociable ;  the  second  is  fierce  and  unmanageable ;  and  there  is 
also  a  third  kind,  which  is  akin  to  both,  and  is  under  the  dominion  of 
opposite  principles.  The  one  is  of  the  body,  and  has  no  regard  for 
the  character  of  the  beloved  ;  but  he  who  is  under  the  influence  of 
the  other  disregards  the  body,  and  is  a  looker  rather  than  a  lover, 
and  desires  only  with  his  soul  to  be  knit  to  the  soul  of  his  friend  ; 
while  the  intermediate  sort  is  both  of  the  body  and  of  the  soul.  Here 
are  three  kinds  of  love  :  ought  the  legislator  to  prohibit  all  of  them 
equally,  or  to  allow  the  virtuous  love  to  remain?  'The  latter, 
clearly.'  I  expected  to  gain  your  approval ;  but  I  will  reserve  the 
task  of  convincing  our  friend  Cleinias  for  another  occasion.  'Very 

838  good.'  To  make  right  laws  on  this  subject  is  in  one  point  of  view 
easy,  and  in  another  most  difficult;  for  we  know  that  in  some 
cases  most  men  abstain  willingly  from  intercourse  with  the  fair. 
The  unwritten  law  which  prohibits  members  of  the  same  family 
from  such  intercourse  is  strictly  obeyed,  and  no  thought  of  any- 
thing else  ever  enters  into  the  minds  of  men  in  general.  A  little 
word  puts  out  the  fire  of  their  lusts.  '  What  is  it  ? '  The  declara- 
tion that  such  things  are  hateful  to  the  Gods,  and  most  abominable 


cxxviii  Analysis  838-841. 

LawsVni.  and  unholy.  The  reason  is  that  everywhere,  in  jest  and  earnest 
Analysis,  alike,  this  is  the  doctrine  which  is  repeated  to  all  from  their  earliest 
youth.  They  see  on  the  stage  that  an  Oedipus  or  a  Thyestes  or  a 
Macareus,  when  undeceived,  are  ready  to  kill  themselves.  There  is 
an  undoubted  power  in  public  opinion  when  no  breath  is  heard 
adverse  to  the  law ;  and  the  legislator  who  would  enslave  these 
enslaving  passions  must  consecrate  such  a  public  opinion  all 
through  the  city.  'Good:  but  how  can  you  create  it?'  A  fair 
objection ;  but  I  promised  to  try  and  find  some  means  of  restrain- 
ing loves  to  their  natural  objects.  A  law  which  would  extirpate  839 
unnatural  love  as  effectually  as  incest  is  at  present  extirpated, 
would  be  the  source  of  innumerable  blessings,  because  it  would  be 
in  accordance  with  nature,  and  would  get  rid  of  excess  in  eating 
and  drinking  and  of  adulteries  and  frenzies,  making  men  love  their 
wives,  and  having  other  excellent  effects.  I  can  imagine  that 
some  lusty  youth  overhears  what  we  are  saying,  and  roars  out  in 
abusive  terms  that  we  are  legislating  for  impossibilities.  And  so 
a  person  might  have  said  of  the  syssitia,  or  common  meals ;  but 
this  is  refuted  by  facts,  although  even  now  they  are  not  extended 
to  women.  'True.'  There  is  no  impossibility  or  super-humanity 
in  my  proposed  law,  as  I  shall  endeavour  to  prove.  '  Do  so.' 
Will  not  a  man  find  abstinence  more  easy  when  his  body  is  sound 
than  when  he  is  in  ill-condition  ?  '  Yes.'  Have  we  not  heard  of  840 
Iccus  of  Tarentum  and  other  wrestlers  who  abstained  wholly 
for  a  time  ?  Yet  they  were  infinitely  worse  educated  than  our  citi- 
zens, and  far  more  lusty  in  their  bodies.  And  shall  they  have 
abstained  for  the  sake  of  an  athletic  contest,  and  our  citizens  be 
incapable  of  a  similar  endurance  for  the  sake  of  a  much  nobler 
victory,—  the  victory  over  pleasure,  which  is  true  happiness  ? 
Will  not  the  fear  of  impiety  enable  them  to  conquer  that  which 
many  who  were  inferior  to  them  have  conquered  ?  '  I  dare 
say.'  And  therefore  the  law  must  plainly  declare  that  our  citizens 
should  not  fall  below  the  other  animals,  who  live  all  together 
in  flocks,  and  yet  remain  pure  and  chaste  until  the  time  of  procrea- 
tion comes,  when  they  pair,  and  are  ever  after  faithful  to  their 
compact.  But  if  the  corruption  of  public  opinion  is  too  great  to  841 
allow  our  first  law  to  be  carried  out,  then  our  guardians  of  the  law 
must  turn  legislators,  and  try  their  hand  at  a  second  law.  They 
must  minimize  the  appetites,  diverting  the  vigour  of  youth  into 


Analysis  841-844. 


cxxix 


other  channels,  allowing  the  practice  of  love  in  secret,  but  making  LawsVIII. 
detection  shameful.  Three  higher  principles  may  be  brought  to  Analysis. 
bear  on  all  these  corrupt  natures.  '  What  are  they  ? '  Religion, 
honour,  and  the  love  of  the  higher  qualities  of  the  soul.  Perhaps 
this  is  a  dream  only,  yet  it  is  the  best  of  dreams ;  and  if  not  the 
whole,  still,  by  the  grace  of  God,  a  part  of  what  we  desire  may  be 
realized.  Either  men  may  learn  to  abstain  wholly  from  any  loves, 
natural  or  unnatural,  except  of  their  wedded  wives ;  or,  at  least, 
they  may  give  up  unnatural  loves ;  or,  if  detected,  they  shall  be 
punished  with  loss  of  citizenship,  as  aliens  from  the  state  in  their 

iS  842  morals.    'I  entirely  agree  with  you,'  said  Megillus,  'but  Cleinias 
must  speak  for  himself    *  I  will  give  my  opinion  by-and-by.' 

We  were  speaking  of  the  syssitia,  which  will  be  a  natural  insti- 
tution in  a  Cretan  colony.  Whether  they  shall  be  established  after 
the  model  of  Crete  or  Lacedaemon,  or  shall  be  different  from  either, 
is  an  unimportant  question  which  may  be  determined  without  diffi- 
culty. We  may,  therefore,  proceed  to  speak  of  the  mode  of  life 
among  our  citizens,  which  will  be  far  less  complex  than  in  other 
cities ;  a  state  which  is  inland  and  not  maritime  requires  only  half 
the  number  of  laws.  There  is  no  trouble  about  trade  and  com- 
merce, and  a  thousand  other  things.  The  legislator  has  only  to 
regulate  the  affairs  of  husbandmen  and  shepherds,  which  will 
be  easily  arranged,  now  that  the  principal  questions,  such  as 
marriage,  education,  and  government,  have  been  settled. 

Let  us  begin  with  husbandry:  First,  let  there  be  a  law  of  Zeus 
against  removing  a  neighbour's  landmark,  whether  he  be  a  citizen 

I  843  or  stranger.  For  this  is  '  to  move  the  immoveable ' ;  and  Zeus, 
the  God  of  kindred,  witnesses  to  the  wrongs  of  citizens,  and  Zeus, 
the  God  of  strangers,  to  the  wrongs  of  strangers.  The  offence  of 
removing  a  boundary  shall  receive  two  punishments — the  first  will 
be  inflicted  by  the  God  himself ;  the  second  by  the  judges.  In  the 
next  place,  the  differences  between  neighbours  about  encroach- 
ments must  be  guarded  against.  He  who  encroaches  shall  pay 
twofold  the  amount  of  the  injury;  of  all  such  matters  the  wardens 
of  the  country  shall  be  the  judges,  in  lesser  cases  the  officers,  and 
in  greater  the  whole  number  of  them  belonging  to  any  one  division. 
Any  injury  done  by  cattle,  the  decoying  of  bees,  the  careless  firing 

^  844  of  woods,  the  planting  unduly  near  a  neighbour's  ground,  shall  all  be 
visited  with  proper  damages.    Such  details  have  been  determined 
VOL.  V.  i 


c^'^^  Analysis  844,  845. 

LawsVIII.  by  previous  legislators,  and  need  not  now  be  mixed  up  with 
Analysis,  greater  matters.  Husbandmen  have  had  of  old  excellent  rules 
about  streams  and  waters  ;  and  we  need  not '  divert  their  course.' 
Anybody  may  take  water  from  a  common  stream,  if  he  does  not 
thereby  cut  off'  a  private  spring ;  he  may  lead  the  water  in  any 
direction,  except  through  a  house  or  temple,  but  he  must  do  no 
harm  beyond  the  channel.  If  land  is  without  water  the  occupier 
shall  dig  down  to  the  clay,  and  if  at  this  depth  he  find  no  water, 
he  shall  have  a  right  of  getting  water  from  his  neighbours  for  his 
household ;  and  if  their  supply  is  limited,  he  shall  receive  from 
them  a  measure  of  water  fixed  by  the  wardens  of  the  country. 
If  there  be  heavy  rains,  the  dweller  on  the  higher  ground  must 
not  recklessly  suffer  the  water  to  flow  down  upon  a  neighbour 
beneath  him,  nor  must  he  who  lives  upon  lower  ground  or  dwells 
in  an  adjoining  house  refuse  an  outlet.  If  the  two  parties  cannot 
agree,  they  shall  go  before  the  wardens  of  the  city  or  country,  and 
if  a  man  refuse  to  abide  by  their  decision,  he  shall  pay  double  the 
damage  which  he  has  caused. 

In  autumn  God  gives  us  two  boons — one  the  joy  of  Dionysus 
not  to  be  laid  up— the  other  to  be  laid  up.  About  the  fruits  of 
autumn  let  the  law  be  as  follows  :  He  who  gathers  the  storing 
fruits  of  autumn,  whether  grapes  or  figs,  before  the  time  of  the 
vintage,  which  is  the  rising  of  Arcturus,  shall  pay  fifty  drachmas 
as  a  fine  to  Dionysus,  if  he  gathers  on  his  own  ground  ;  if  on 
his  neighbour's  ground,  a  mina,  and  two-thirds  of  a  mina  if  on 
that  of  any  one  else.  The  grapes  or  figs  not  used  for  storing 
a  man  may  gather  when  he  pleases  on  his  own  ground,  but  on 
that  of  others  he  must  pay  the  penalty  of  removing  what  he 
has  not  laid  down.  If  he  be  a  slave  who  has  gathered,  he  shall  845 
receive  a  stroke  for  every  grape  or  fig.  A  metic  must  purchase 
the  choice  fruit ;  but  a  stranger  may  pluck  for  himself  and  his 
attendant.  This  right  of  hospitality,  however,  does  not  extend  to 
storing  grapes.  A  slave  who  eats  of  the  storing  grapes  or  figs 
shall  be  beaten,  and  the  freeman  be  dismissed  with  a  warning. 
Pears,  apples,  pomegranates,  may  be  taken  secretly,  but  he  who 
is  detected  in  the  act  of  taking  them  shall  be  lightly  beaten  off", 
if  he  be  not  more  than  thirty  years  of  age.  The  stranger  and 
the  elder  may  partake  of  them,  but  not  carry  any  away; 
the  latter,  if  he  does  not  obey  the  law,  shall  fail  in  the  com- 


Analysis  845-847.  cxxxi 
petition  of  virtue,  if  anybody  brings  up   iiis  offence  against  LawsVIIT. 

hini.  Analysis. 

Water  is  also  in  need  of  protection,  being  the  greatest  element 
of  nutrition,  and,  unlike  the  other  elements— soil,  air,  and  sun — 
which  conspire  in  the  growth  of  plants,  easily  polluted.  And 
therefore  he  who  spoils  another's  water,  whether  in  springs  or 
reservoirs,  either  by  trenching,  or  theft,  or  by  means  of  poisonous 
substances,  shall  pay  the  damage  and  purify  the  stream.  At  the 
getting-in  of  the  harvest  everybody  shall  have  a  right  of  way 
S46  over  his  neighbour's  ground,  provided  he  is  careful  to  do  no 
damage  beyond  the  trespass,  or  if  he  himself  will  gain  three 
times  as  much  as  his  neighbour  loses.  Of  all  this  the  magis- 
trates are  to  take  cognizance,  and  they  are  to  assess  the  damage 
where  the  injury  does  not  exceed  three  minae  ;  cases  of  greater 
damage  can  be  tried  only  in  the  public  courts.  A  charge  against 
a  magistrate  is  to  be  referred  to  the  public  courts,  and  any  one 
who  is  found  guilty  of  deciding  corruptly  shall  pay  twofold  to 
the  aggrieved  person.  Matters  of  detail  relating  to  punishments 
and  modes  of  procedure,  and  summonses,  and  witnesses  to  sum- 
monses, do  not  require  the  mature  wisdom  of  the  aged  legis- 
lator;  the  younger  generation  may  determine  them  according  to 
their  experience  ;  but  when  once  determined,  they  shall  remain 
unaltered. 

The  following  are  to  be  the  regulations  respecting  handicrafts  : — 
No  citizen,  or  servant  of  a  citizen,  is  to  practise  them.  For  the 
citizen  has  already  an  art  and  mystery,  which  is  the  care  of  the 
state  ;  and  no  man  can  practise  two  arts,  or  practise  one  and 
superintend  another.  No  smith  should  be  a  carpenter,  and  no 
carpenter,  having  many  slaves  who  are  smiths,  should  look  after 
them  himself;  but  let  each  man  practise  one  art  which  shall  be 
his  means  of  livelihood.  The  wardens  of  the  city  should  see  to 
847  this,  punishing  the  citizen  who  offends  with  temporary  deprival 
of  his  rights— the  foreigner  shall  be  imprisoned,  fined,  exiled. 
Any  disputes  about  contracts  shall  be  determined  by  the  wardens 
of  the  city  up  to  fifty  drachmae— above  that  sum  by  the  public 
courts.  No  customs  are  to  be  exacted  either  on  imports  or  ex- 
ports. Nothing  unnecessary  is  to  be  imported  from  abroad,  whether 
for  the  service  of  the  Gods  or  for  the  use  of  man — neither  purple, 
nor  other  dyes,  nor  frankincense,— and  nothing  needed  in  the 

i  2 


cxxxii  Analysis  847-849. 

LawsVIII.  country  is  to  be  exported.  These  things  are  to  be  decided  on 
Analysis,  by  the  twelve  guardians  of  the  law  who  are  next  in  seniority  to  the 
five  elders.  Arms  and  the  materials  of  war  are  to  be  imported 
and  exported  only  with  the  consent  of  the  generals,  and  then  only 
by  the  state.  There  is  to  be  no  retail  trade  either  in  these  or 
any  other  articles.  For  the  distribution  of  the  produce  of  the  848 
country,  the  Cretan  laws  afford  a  rule  which  may  be  usefully 
followed.  All  shall  be  required  to  distribute  corn,  grain,  animals, 
and  other  valuable  produce,  into  twelve  portions.  Each  of  these 
shall  be  subdivided  into  three  parts— one  for  freemen,  another 
for  servants,  and  the  third  shall  be  sold  for  the  supply  of  artisans, 
strangers,  and  metics.  These  portions  must  be  equal  whether 
,the  produce  be  much  or  little  ;  and  the  master  of  a  household 
may  distribute  the  two  portions  among  his  family  and  his  slaves  as 
he  pleases — the  remainder  is  tp  be  measured  out  to  the  animals. 

Next  as  to  the  houses  in  the  country — there  shall  be  twelve 
villages,  one  in  the  centre  of  each  of  the  twelve  portions  ;  and  in 
every  village  there  shall  be  temples  and  an  agora— also  shrines 
for  heroes  or  for  any  old  Magnesian  deities  who  linger  about  the 
place.  In  every  division  there  shall  be  temples  of  Hestia,  Zeus, 
and  Athene,  as  well  as  of  the  local  deity,  surrounded  by  build- 
ings on  eminences,  which  will  be  the  guard-houses  of  the  rural 
police.  The  dwellings  of  the  artisans  will  be  thus  arranged : — 
The  artisans  shall  be  formed  into  thirteen  guilds,  one  of  which 
will  be  divided  into  twelve  parts  and  settled  in  the  city ;  of  the  rest 
there  shall  be  one  in  each  division  of  the  country.  And  the  magis- 
trates will  fix  them  on  the  spots  where  they  will  cause  the  least 
inconvenience  and  be  most  serviceable  in  supplying  the  wants  of 
the  husbandmen. 

The  care  of  the  agora  will  fall  to  the  wardens  of  the  agora.  849 
Their  first  duty  will  be  the  regulation  of  the  temples  which  sur- 
round the  market-place  ;  and  their  second  to  see  that  the  markets 
are  orderly  and  that  fair  dealing  is  observed.  They  will  also 
take  care  that  the  sales  which  the  citizens  are  required  to  make 
to  strangers  are  duly  executed.  The  law  shall  be,  that  on  the 
first  day  of  each  month  the  auctioneers  to  whom  the  sale  is  en- 
trusted shall  offer  grain  ;  and  at  this  sale  a  twelfth  part  of  the 
whole  shall  be  exposed,  and  the  foreigner  shall  supply  his  wants 
for  a  month.  On  the  tenth,  there  shall  be  a  sale  of  liquids,  and 


Analysis  849,  850. 


cxxxiii 


on  the  twenty-third  of  animals,  skins,  woven  or  woollen  stuffs,  and  Laws  VIII. 
other  things  which  husbandmen  have  to  sell  and  foreigners  want  Analysis. 
to  buy.  None  of  these  commodities,  any  more  than  barley  or 
flour,  or  any  other  food,  may  be  retailed  by  a  citizen  to  a 
citizen ;  but  foreigners  may  sell  them  to  one  another  in  the 
foreigners'  market.  There  must  also  be  butchers  who  will  sell 
parts  of  animals  to  foreigners  and  craftsmen,  and  their  servants  ; 
and  foreigners  may  buy  firewood  wholesale  of  the  commissioners 
of  woods,  and  may  sell  retail  to  foreigners.  All  other  goods  must 
be  sold  in  the  market,  at  some  place  indicated  by  the  magistrates, 
850  and  shall  be  paid  for  on  the  spot.  He  who  gives  credit,  and  is 
cheated,  will  have  no  redress.  In  buying  or  selling,  any  excess  or 
diminution  of  what  the  law  allows  shall  be  registered.  The  same 
rule  is  to  be  observed  about  the  property  of  metics.  Anybody  who 
practises  a  handicraft  may  come  and  remain  twenty  years  from 
the  day  on  which  he  is  enrolled ;  at  the  expiration  of  this  time 
he  shall  take  what  he  has  and  depart.  The  only  condition  which 
is  to  be  imposed  upon  him  as  the  tax  of  his  sojourn  is  good 
conduct ;  and  he  is  not  to  pay  any  tax  for  being  allowed  to  buy 
or  sell.  But  if  he  wants  to  extend  the  time  of  his  sojourn,  and 
has  done  any  service  to  the  state,  and  he  can  persuade  the 
council  and  assembly  to  grant  his  request,  he  may  remain.  The 
children  of  metics  may  also  be  metics  ;  and  the  period  of  twenty 
years,  during  which  they  are  permitted  to  sojourn,  is  to  count, 
in  their  case,  from  their  fifteenth  year. 

No  mention  occurs  in  the  Laws  of  the  doctrine  of  Ideas.  The  Introduc- 
will  of  God,  the  authority  of  the  legislator,  and  the  dignity  of 
the  soul,  have  taken  their  place  in  the  mind  of  Plato.  If  we 
ask  what  is  that  truth  or  principle  which,  towards  the  end  of  his 
Ufe,  seems  to  have  absorbed  him  most,  like  the  idea  of  good  in 
the  Republic,  or  of  beauty  in  the  Symposium,  or  of  the  unity  of 
virtue  in  the  Protagoras,  we  should  answer — The  priority  of  the 
soul  to  the  body  :  his  later  system  mainly  hangs  upon  this.  In 
the  Laws,  as  in  the  Sophist  and  Statesman,  we  pass  out  of  the 
region  of  metaphysical  or  transcendental  ideas  into  that  of 
psychology. 

The  opening  of  the  fifth  book,  though  abrupt  and  unconnected 
in  style,  is  one  of  the  most  elevated  passages  in  Plato.  The 


cxxxiv  Pleasure  variously  regarded  by  Plato. 

Laws.  religious  feeling  which  he  seeks  to  diffuse  over  the  commonest 
Introduc-  actions  of  hfe,  the  blessedness  of  living  in  the  truth,  the  great 
mistake  of  a  man  living  for  himself,  the  pity  as  well  as  anger 
which  should  be  felt  at  evil,  the  kindness  due  to  the  suppliant  and 
the  stranger,  have  the  temper  of  Christian  philosophy.  The 
remark  that  elder  men,  if  they  want  to  educate  others,  should 
begin  by  educating  themselves  ;  the  necessity  of  creating  a  spirit 
of  obedience  in  the  citizens  ;  the  desirableness  of  limiting  property; 
the  importance  of  parochial  districts,  each  to  be  placed  under 
the  protection  of  some  God  or  demigod,  have  almost  the  tone  of 
a  modern  writer.  In  many  of  his  views  of  politics,  Plato  seems 
to  us,  like  some  politicians  of  our  own  time,  to  be  half  socialist, 
half  conservative. 

In  the  Laws,  we  remark  a  change  in  the  place  assigned  by 
him  to  pleasure  and  pain.  There  are  two  ways  in  which  even 
the  ideal  systems  of  morals  may  regard  them  :  either  like  the 
Stoics,  and  other  ascetics,  we  may  say  that  pleasure  must  be 
eradicated  ;  or  if  this  seems  unreal  to  us,  we  may  affirm  that 
virtue  is  the  true  pleasure ;  and  then,  as  Aristotle  says,  '  to  be 
brought  up  to  take  pleasure  in  what  we  ought,  exercises  a  great 
and  paramount  influence  on  human  life  '  (Arist.  Eth.  Nic.  x.  i). 
Or  as  Plato  says  in  the  Laws,  '  A  man  will  recognize  the  noblest 
life  as  having  the  greatest  pleasure  and  the  least  pain,  if  he  have 
a  true  taste  '  (v.  732  E  foil.).  If  we  admit  that  pleasures  differ  in 
kind,  the  opposition  between  these  two  modes  of  speaking  is 
rather  verbal  than  real ;  and  in  the  greater  part  of  the  writings 
of  Plato  they  alternate  with  each  other.  In  the  Republic,  the 
mere  suggestion  that  pleasure  may  be  the  chief  good,  is  received 
by  Socrates  with  a  cry  of  abhorrence  (vi.  509  A)  ;  but  in  the 
Philebus,  innocent  pleasures  vindicate  their  right  to  a  place  in 
the  scale  of  goods  (66  D).  In  the  Protagoras  (357),  speaking 
in  the  person  of  Socrates  rather  than  in  his  own,  Plato  admits 
the  calculation  of  pleasure  to  be  the  true  basis  of  ethics,  while 
in  the  Phaedo  (68,  69)  he  indignantly  denies  that  the  exchange 
of  one  pleasure  for  another  is  the  exchange  of  virtue.  So  wide 
of  the  mark  are  they  who  would  attribute  to  Plato  entire  con- 
sistency in  thoughts  or  words. 

He  acknowledges  that  the  second  state  is  inferior  to  the  first— 
in  this,  at  any  rate,  he  is  consistent ;  and  he  still  casts  longing 


The  Second  ReptLblic  compared  with  the  First. 


cxxxv 


eyes  upon  the  ideal  (v.  739).  Several  features  of  the  first  are  Laws. 
retained  in  the  second  :  the  education  of  men  and  women  is  to  Introduc- 
be  as  far  as  possible  the  same  (vii.  804  foil. ;  especially  805  C) ;  they 
are  to  have  common  meals,  though  separate,  the  men  by  them- 
selves, the  women  with  their  children  (vii.  806  E) ;  and  they  are 
both  to  serve  in  the  army  (vii.  805,  806)  ;  the  citizens,  if  not  actually 
communists,  are  in  spirit  communistic  ;  they  are  to  be  lovers  of 
equahty  (v.  741  A)  ;  only  a  certain  amount  of  wealth  is  permitted 
to  them  (vi.  754),  and  their  burdens  and  also  their  privileges  are  to 
be  proportioned  to  this  (vi.  765  C  ;  xii.  955  D).  The  constitution 
in  the  Laws  is  a  timocracy  of  wealth  (v.  744  D),  modified  by  an 
aristocracy  of  merit  (vi.  755  ;  xii.  951).  Yet  the  political  philoso- 
pher will  observe  that  the  first  of  these  two  principles  is  fixed  and 
permanent,  while  the  latter  is  uncertain  and  dependent  on  the 
opinion  of  the  multitude.  Wealth,  after  all,  plays  a  great  part  in 
the  Second  Republic  of  Plato.  Like  other  politicians,  he  deems 
that  a  property  qualification  will  contribute  stability  to  the  state 
(iii.  698B,  C).  The  four  classes  are  derived  from  the  constitution  of 
Athens,  just  as  the  form  of  the  city,  which  is  clustered  around  a 
citadel  set  on  a  hill  (vi.  778  C),  is  suggested  by  the  Acropolis  at 
Athens.  Plato,  writing  under  Pythagorean  influences,  seems 
really  to  have  supposed  that  the  well-being  of  the  city  depended 
almost  as  much  on  the  number  5040  as  on  justice  and  moderation 
(v.  741  A,  B),  But  he  is  not  prevented  by  Pythagoreanism  from 
observing  the  effects  which  climate  and  soil  exercise  on  the 
characters  of  nations  (v.  747). 

He  was  doubtful  in  the  Republic  whether  the  ideal  or  com- 
munistic state  could  be  realized,  but  was  at  the  same  time  prepared 
to  maintain  that  whether  it  existed  or  not  made  no  difference  to 
the  philosopher,  who  will  in  any  case  regulate  his  life  by  it  (Rep. 
ix.  592  B).  He  has  now  lost  faith  in  the  practicability  of  his 
scheme — he  is  speaking  to  '  men,  and  not  to  Gods  or  sons  of  Gods  ' 
(Laws  ix.  853  C).  Yet  he  still  maintains  it  to  be  the  true  pattern 
of  the  state,  which  we  must  approach  as  nearly  as  possible  (v.  739 
E) :  as  Aristotle  says,  '  After  having  created  a  more  general  form  of 
state,  he  gradually  brings  it  round  to  the  other'  (Pol.  ii.  6,  §  4). 
He  does  not  observe,  either  here  or  in  the  Republic,  that  in  such  a 
commonwealth  there  would  be  little  room  for  the  development  of 
individual  character.    In  several  respects  the  second  state  is  an  im- 


cxxxvi       The  Second  Republic  compared  with  the  First. 


Lazvs.  provement  on  the  first,  especially  in  being  based  more  distinctly  on 
Introduc-  the  dignity  of  the  soul.  The  standard  of  truth,  justice,  temperance, 
is  as  high  as  in  the  Republic  ; — in  one  respect  higher,  for  tem- 
perance is  now  regarded,  not  as  a  virtue,  but  as  the  condition  of  all 
virtue  (iii.  696).  It  is  finally  acknowledged  that  the  virtues  are  all 
one  and  connected  (i.  630  A),  and  that  if  they  are  separated,  courage 
is  the  lowest  of  them  (i.  631  C).  The  treatment  of  moral  questions 
is  less  speculative  but  more  human.  The  idea  of  good  has  dis- 
appeared ;  the  excellences  of  individuals— of  him  who  is  faithful 
in  a  civil  broil  (i.  630),  of  the  examiner  who  is  incorruptible  (xii. 
947),  are  the  patterns  to  which  the  lives  of  the  citizens  are  to 
conform.  Plato  is  never  weary  of  speaking  of  the  honour  of  the 
soul,  which  can  only  be  honoured  truly  by  being  improved  (v.  727 
foil.).  To  make  the  soul  as  good  as  possible,  and  to  prepare  her 
for  communion  with  the  Gods  in  another  world  by  communion 
with  divine  virtue  in  this,  is  the  end  of  life  (x.  904  D).  If  the 
Republic  is  far  superior  to  the  Laws  in  form  and  style,  and  perhaps 
in  reach  of  thought,  the  Laws  leave  on  the  mind  of  the  modern 
reader  much  more  strongly  the  impression  of  a  struggle  against 
evil,  and  an  cnthusiam  for  human  improvement.  When  Plato 
says  that  he  must  carry  out  that  part  of  his  ideal  which  is  prac- 
ticable (Laws  V.  746),  he  does  not  appear  to  have  reflected  that  part 
of  an  ideal  cannot  be  detached  from  the  whole. 

The  great  defect  of  both  his  constitutions  is  the  fixedness  which 
he  seeks  to  impress  upon  them.  He  had  seen  the  Athenian 
empire,  almost  within  the  limits  of  his  own  life,  wax  and  wane, 
but  he  never  seems  to  have  asked  himself  what  would  happen  if, 
a  century  from  the  time  at  which  he  was  writing,  the  Greek 
character  should  have  as  much  changed  as  in  the  century  which 
had  preceded.  He  fails  to  perceive  that  the  greater  part  of  the 
political  hfe  of  a  nation  is  not  that  which  is  given  them  by 
their  legislators,  but  that  which  they  give  themselves.  He  has 
never  reflected  that  without  progress  there  cannot  be  order,  and 
that  mere  order  can  only  be  preserved  by  an  unnatural  and  despotic 
repression.  The  possibility  of  a  great  nation  or  of  an  universal 
empire  arising  never  occurred  to  him.  He  sees  the  enfeebled  and 
distracted  state  of  the  Hellenic  world  in  his  own  later  life,  and 
thinks  that  the  remedy  is  to  make  the  laws  unchangeable.  The 
same  want  of  insight  is  apparent  in  his  judgments  about  art.  He 


FixedjiesSy  not  progress,  the  aim  of  Plato.  cxxxvii 


would  like  to  have  the  forms  of  sculpture  and  of  music  fixed  as  in  Lmvs. 
Egypt.    He  does  not  consider  that  this  would  be  fatal  to  the  true  Introduc- 
principles  of  art,  which,  as  Socrates  had  himself  taught,  was  to  give 
life  (Xen.  Mem.  iii.  lo.  6).  We  wonder  how,  familiar  as  he  was  with 
the  statues  of  Pheidias,  he  could  have  endured  the  lifeless  and  half- 
monstrous  works  of  Egyptian  sculpture.    The  'chants  of  Isis ' 
(Laws  ii.  657  B),  we  might  think,  would  have  been  barbarous  in  an 
Athenian  ear.     But  although  he  is  aware  that  there  are  some 
things  which  are  not  so  well  among  '  the  children  of  the  Nile ' 
(xii.  953  E ;  V.  747  C),  he  is  deeply  struck  with  the  stability  of 
Egj'ptian  institutions.    Both  in  poUtics  and  in  art  Plato  seems  to 
have  seen  no  way  of  bringing  order  out  of  disorder,  except  by 
taking  a  step  backwards.    Antiquity,  compared  with  the  world  in 
which  he  lived,  had  a  sacredness  and  authority  for  him  :  the  men  of 
a  former  age  were  supposed  by  him  to  have  had  a  sense  of  rever- 
ence which  was  wanting  among  his  contemporaries  (xii.  948  B,  C). 
He  could  imagine  the  early  stages  of  civilization ;  he  never  thought 
of  what  the  future  might  bring  forth.   His  experience  is  confined  to 
two  or  three  centuries,  to  a  few  Greek  states,  and  to  an  uncertain 
report  of  Egypt  and  the  East.    There  are  many  ways  in  which 
the  limitations  of  their  knowledge  affected  the  genius  of  the  Greeks. 
In  criticism  they  were  like  children,  having  an  acute  vision  of 
things  which  were  near  to  them,  blind  to  possibilities  which  were 
in  the  distance. 

The  colony  is  to  receive  from  the  mother-country  her  original 
constitution,  and  some  of  the  first  guardians  of  the  law  (vi.  752). 
The  guardians  of  the  law  are  to  be  ministers  of  justice  (ix.  855  D), 
and  the  president  of  education  is  to  take  precedence  of  them  all 
(vi.  765  E).  They  are  to  keep  the  registers  of  property  (vi.  754 
D),  to  make  regulations  for  trade  (xi.  920  C),  and  they  are  to  be 
superannuated  at  seventy  years  of  age  (vi.  755  B).  Several 
questions  of  modern  politics,  such  as  the  limitation  of  property 
(vi.  754  D),  the  enforcement  of  education  (vii.  804  D),  the  relations 
of  classes  (vi.  759  B),  are  anticipated  by  Plato.  He  hopes  that  in 
his  state  will  be  found  neither  poverty  nor  riches  ;  every  man 
having  the  necessaries  of  life,  he  need  not  go  fortune-hunting  in 
•  marriage  (vi.  774  C).  Almost  in  the  spirit  of  the  Gospel  he  would 
say, '  How  hardly  can  a  rich  man  dwell  in  a  perfect  state.'  For  he 
cannot  be  a  good  man  who  is  always  gaining  too  much  and 


cxxxviii        Plato  s  attihide  toivards  wealth  and  trade. 


Laws.  spending  too  little  (Laws  v.  742  E  foil.;  cp.  Arist.  Eth.  Nic.  iv.  2, 
Introduc-  §  3).  Plato,  though  he  admits  wealth  as  a  political  element,  would 
deny  that  material  prosperity  can  be  the  foundation  of  a  really 
great  community.  A  man's  soul,  as  he  often  says,  is  more  to  be 
esteemed  than  his  body  ;  and  his  body  than  external  goods  fv.  743). 
He  repeats  (iv.  705  B)  the  complaint  which  has  been  made  in 
all  ages,  that  the  love  of  money  is  the  corruption  of  states.  He 
has  a  sympathy  with  thieves  and  burglars,  '  many  of  whom  are 
men  of  ability  and  greatly  to  be  pitied,  because  their  souls  are 
hungering  and  thirsting  all  their  lives  long '  (v.  831  E  foil.)  ;  but 
he  has  little  sj'mpathy  with  shopkeepers  or  retailers,  although  he 
makes  the  reflection,  which  sometimes  occurs  to  ourselves,  that 
such  occupations,  if  they  were  carried  on  honestly  by  the  best 
men  and  women,  would  be  delightful  and  honourable  (xi.  918  D). 
For  traders  and  artisans  a  moderate  gain  was,  in  his  opinion,  best 
(xi.  920  C).  He  has  never,  like  modern  writers,  idealized  the 
wealth  of  nations  (v.  742  C  foil.),  any  more  than  he  has  worked 
out  the  problems  of  political  economy,  which  among  the  ancients 
had  not  yet  grown  into  a  science.  The  isolation  of  Greek  states, 
their  constant  wars,  the  want  of  a  free  industrial  population,  and 
of  the  modem  methods  and  instruments  of  '  credit,'  prevented 
any  great  extension  of  commerce  among  them  ;  and  so  hindered 
them  from  forming  a  theory  of  the  laws  which  regulate  the 
accumulation  and  distribution  of  wealth. 

The  constitution  of  the  army  is  aristocratic  and  also  democratic  ; 
official  appointment  is  combined  with  popular  election.  The  two 
principles  are  carried  out  as  follows :  The  guardians  of  the 
law  nominate  generals  out  of  whom  three  are  chosen  by  those  who 
are  or  have  been  of  the  age  for  military  service  ;  and  the  generals 
elected  have  the  nomination  of  certain  of  the  inferior  officers. 
But  if  either  in  the  case  of  the  generals  or  of  the  inferior  of?icers 
any  one  is  ready  to  swear  that  he  knows  of  a  better  man  than 
those  nominated,  he  may  put  the  claims  of  his  candidate  to  the 
vote  of  the  whole  army,  or  of  the  division  of  the  service  which  he 
will,  if  elected,  command  (vi.  755).  There  is  a  general  assembly, 
but  its  functions,  except  at  elections,  are  hardly  noticed  (cp.  vi. 
758  D  and  764  A).  In  the  election  of  the  Boule,  Plato  again 
attempts  to  mix  aristocracy  and  democracy.  This  is  effected,  first, 
as  in  the  Servian  constitution,  by  balancing  wealth  and  numbers  ; 


Criticism  of  the  manner  of  election  in  the  Laws.  cxxxix 

for  it  cannot  be  supposed  that  those  who  possessed  a  higher  quahfi-  Laws. 
cation  were  equal  in  number  with  those  who  had  a  lower,  and  yet  Introduc- 
they  have  an  equal  number  of  representatives.  In  the  second 
place,  all  classes  are  compelled  to  vote  in  the  election  of  senators 
from  the  first  and  second  class  ;  but  the  fourth  class  is  not  com- 
pelled to  elect  from  the  third,  nor  the  third  and  fourth  from  the 
fourth.  Thirdly,  out  of  the  180  persons  who  are  thus  chosen  from 
each  of  the  four  classes,  720  in  all,  360  are  to  be  taken  by  lot ; 
these  form  the  council  for  the  year  (vi.  756). 

These  political  adjustments  of  Plato's  will  be  criticised  by  the 
practical  statesman  as  being  for  the  most  part  fanciful  and  in- 
effectual. He  will  observe,  first  of  all,  that  the  only  real  check 
on  democracy  is  the  division  into  classes.  The  second  of  the 
three  proposals,  though  ingenious,  and  receiving  some  light  from 
the  apathy  to  politics  which  is  often  shown  by  the  higher  classes 
in  a  democracy,  would  have  little  power  in  times  of  excitement 
and  peril,  when  the  precaution  was  most  needed.  At  such 
political  crises,  all  the  lower  classes  would  vote  equally  with  the 
higher.  The  subtraction  of  half  the  persons  chosen  at  the  first 
election  by  the  chances  of  the  lot  would  not  raise  the  character 
of  the  senators,  and  is  open  to  the  objection  of  uncertainty,  which 
necessarily  attends  this  and  similar  schemes  of  double  repre- 
sentative government.  Nor  can  the  voters  be  expected  to  retain 
the  continuous  political  interest  required  for  carrying  out  such  a 
proposal  as  Plato's.  Who  could  select  180  persons  of  each  class, 
fitted  to  be  senators  ?  And  whoever  were  chosen  by  the  voter 
in  the  first  instance,  his  wishes  might  be  neutralized  by  the 
action  of  the  lot.  Yet  the  scheme  of  Plato  is  not  really  so  ex- 
travagant as  the  actual  constitution  of  Athens,  in  which  all  the 
senators  appear  to  have  been  elected  by  lot  (d7r6  Kva/xov  ^ovXfvrai), 
at  least,  after  the  revolution  made  by  Cleisthenes ;  for  the  con- 
stitution of  the  senate  which  was  established  by  Solon  probably 
had  some  aristocratic  features,  though  their  precise  nature  is 
unknown  to  us.  The  ancients  knew  that  election  by  lot  was  the 
most  democratic  of  all  modes  of  appointment,  seeming  to  say  in 
the  objectionable  sense,  that  '  one  man  is  as  good  as  another.' 
Plato,  who  is  desirous  of  mingling  different  elements,  makes  a 
partial  use  of  the  lot,  which  he.  applies  to  candidates  already 
elected  by  vote.    He  attempts  also  to  devise  a  system  of  checks. 


The  constittttion  of  the  Laws. 


and  balances  such  as  he  supposes  to  have  been  intended  by  the 
ancient  legislators.  We  are  disposed  to  say  to  him,  as  he  himself 
says  in  a  remarkable  passage  (iv.  709  A),  that  'no  man  ever  legis- 
lates, but  accidents  of  all  sorts,  which  legislate  for  us  in  all  sorts 
of  ways.  The  violence  of  war  and  the  hard  necessity  of  poverty 
are  constantly  overturning  governments  and  changing  laws.'  And 
yet,  as  he  adds,  the  true  legislator  is  still  required :  he  must 
co-operate  with  circumstances.  Many  things  which  are  ascribed  to 
human  foresight  are  the  result  of  chance.  Ancient,  and  in  a  less 
degree  modern  political  constitutions,  are  never  consistent  with 
themselves,  because  they  are  never  framed  on  a  single  design, 
but  are  added  to  from  time  to  time  as  new  elements  arise  and 
gain  the  preponderance  in  the  state.  We  often  attribute  to  the 
wisdom  of  our  ancestors  great  political  effects  which  have  sprung 
unforeseen  from  the  accident  of  the  situation.  Power,  not  wisdom, 
is  most  commonly  the  source  of  political  revolutions.  And  the 
result,  as  in  the  Roman  Republic,  of  the  co-existence  of  opposite 
elements  in  the  same  state  is,  not  a  balance  of  power  or  an 
equable  progress  of  liberal  principles,  but  a  conflict  of  forces,  of 
which  one  or  other  may  happen  to  be  in  the  ascendant.  In  Greek 
history,  as  well  as  in  Plato's  conception  of  it,  this  '  progression 
by  antagonism '  involves  reaction  :  the  aristocracy  expands  into 
democracy  and  returns  again  to  tyranny. 

The  constitution  of  the  Laws  may  be  said  to  consist,  besides 
the  magistrates,  mainly  of  three  elements,— an  administrative 
Council,  the  judiciary,  and  the  Nocturnal  Council,  which  is 
an  intellectual  aristocracy,  composed  of  priests  and  the  ten 
eldest  guardians  of  the  law  and  some  younger  co-opted  members. 
To  this  latter  chiefly  are  assigned  the  functions  of  legislation, 
but  to  be  exercised  with  a  sparing  hand.  The  powers  of  the 
ordinary  council  are  administrative  rather  than  legislative.  The 
whole  number  of  360,  as  in  the  Athenian  constitution,  is  dis- 
tributed among  the  months  of  the  year  according  to  the  number 
of  the  tribes.  Not  more  than  one-twelfth  is  to  be  in  office  at 
once,  so  that  the  government  would  be  made  up  of  twelve  ad- 
ministrations succeeding  one  another  in  the  course  of  the  year. 
They  are  to  exercise  a  general  superintendence,  and,  like  the 
Athenian  counsellors,  are  to  preside  in  monthly  divisions  over 
all  assemblies  (vi.  758).    Of  the  ecclesia  over  which  they  presided 


Criticism  of  it. 


cxli 


(vi.  758  D,  see  above)  little  is  said,  and  that  little  relates  to  com-  Laivs. 
paratively  trifling  duties  (viii.  850).  Nothing  is  less  present  to  the  Introduc- 
mind  of  Plato  than  a  House  of  Commons,  carrying  on  j'^ear  by 
year  the  work  of  legislation.  For  he  supposes  the  laws  to  be 
already  provided.  As  little  would  he  approve  of  a  body  like  the 
Roman  Senate.  The  people  and  the  aristocracy  alike  are  to  be 
represented,  not  by  assemblies,  but  by  officers  elected  for  one 
or  two  years,  except  the  guardians  of  the  law,  who  are  elected 
for  twenty  years  (vi.  755  B). 

The  evils  of  this  system  are  obvious.  If  in  any  state,  as  Plato 
says  in  the  Statesman  (292  E),  it  is  easier  to  find  fifty  good 
draught-players  than  fifty  good  rulers,  the  greater  part  of  the 
360  who  compose  the  council  must  be  unfitted  to  rule.  The 
unfitness  would  be  increased  by  the  short  period  during  which 
they  held  office.  There  would  be  no  traditions  of  government 
among  them,  as  in  a  Greek  or  Italian  oligarchy,  and  no  indi- 
vidual would  be  responsible  for  any  of  their  acts.  Everything 
seems  to  have  been  sacrificed  to  a  false  notion  of  equality,  ac- 
cording to  which  all  have  a  turn  of  ruling  and  being  ruled.  In 
the  constitution  of  the  Magnesian  state  Plato  has  not  emancipated 
himself  from  the  limitations  of  ancient  politics.  His  government 
may  be  described  as  a  democracy  of  magistrates  elected  by  the 
people.  He  never  troubles  himself  about  the  political  consistency 
of  his  scheme.  He  does  indeed  say  that  the  greater  part  of  the 
good  of  this  world  arises,  not  from  equality,  but  from  proportion, 
which  he  calls  the  judgment  of  Zeus  (vi.  757 ;  cp.  Aristotle's 
Distributive  Justice,  N.  E.  v.  5),  but  he  hardly  makes  any  attempt 
to  carry  out  the  principle  in  practice.  There  is  no  attempt  to 
proportion  representation  to  merit ;  nor  is  there  any  body  in  his 
commonwealth  which  represents  the  life  either  of  a  class  or  of 
the  whole  state.  The  manner  of  appointing  magistrates  is  taken 
chiefly  from  the  old  democratic  constitution  of  Athens,  of  which 
it  retains  some  of  the  worst  features,  such  as  the  use  of  the 
lot,  while  by  doing  away  with  the  political  character  of  the 
popular  assembly  the  mainspring  of  the  machine  is  taken  out. 
The  guardians  of  the  law,  thirty-seven  in  number,  of  whom 
the  ten  eldest  reappear  as  a  part  of  the  Nocturnal  Council  at  the 
end  of  the  twelfth  book  (151  E),  are  to  be  elected  by  the  whole 
military  class  (vi.  753  B),  but  they  are  to  hold  office  for  twenty 


The  judicial  system, 

years,  and  would  therefore  have  an  ohgarchical  rather  than  a 
democratic  character.  Nothing  is  said  of  the  manner  in  which  the 
functions  of  the  Nocturnal  Council  are  to  be  harmonized  with 
those  of  the  guardians  of  the  law,  or  as  to  how  the  ordinary 
council  is  related  to  it. 

Similar  principles  are  applied  to  inferior  offices.  To  some  the  ap- 
pointment is  made  \iy  vote,  to  others  by  lot  (vi.  759).  In  the  elections 
to  the  priesthood,  Plato  endeavours  to  mix  or  balance  in  a  friendly 
manner  '  demus  and  not  demus '  (vi.  759  B).  The  commonwealth 
of  the  Laws,  like  the  Republic,  cannot  dispense  with  a  spiritual 
head,  which  is  the  same  in  both— the  oracle  of  Delphi.  From  this 
the  laws  about  all  divine  things  are  to  be  derived.  The  final 
selection  of  the  Interpreters  (vi.  759),  the  choice  of  an  heir  for  a 
vacant  lot  (ix.  856),  the  punishment  for  removing  a  deposit  (xi.  913, 
914),  are  also  to  be  determined  by  it.  Plato  is  not  disposed  to 
encourage  amateur  attempts  to  revive  religion  in  states.  For, 
as  he  says  in  the  Laws,  'To  institute  religious  rites  is  the  work 
of  a  great  intelligence'  (x.  909  E). 

Though  the  council  is  framed  on  the  model  of  the  Athenian 
Boul6,  the  law  courts  of  Plato  do  not  equally  conform  to  the 
pattern  of  the  Athenian  dicasteries.  Plato  thinks  that  the  judges 
should  speak  and  ask  questions : — this  is  not  possible  if  they  are 
numerous  ;  he  would,  therefore,  have  a  few  judges  only,  but  good 
ones  (vi.  766  D,  E  ;  ix.  855  D,  E).  He  is  nevertheless  aware  that  both 
in  public  and  private  suits  there  must  be  a  popular  element  (vi. 
768  A,  B).  He  insists  that  the  whole  people  must  share  in  the 
administration  of  justice — in  public  causes  they  are  to  take  the  first 
step,  and  the  final  decision  is  to  remain  with  them.  In  private 
suits  they  are  also  to  retain  a  share ;  '  for  the  citizen  who  has  no 
part  in  the  administration  of  justice  is  apt  to  think  that  he  has  no 
share  in  the  state.  For  this  reason  there  is  to  be  a  court  of  law  in 
everj'  tribe  (i.  e.  for  about  every  2,000  citizens),  and  the  judges  are 
to  be  chosen  by  lot.'  Of  the  courts  of  law  he  gives  what  he  calls 
a  superficial  sketch.  Nor,  indeed,  is  it  easy  to  reconcile  his  various 
accounts  of  them.  It  is  however  clear  that  although  some  officials, 
like  the  guardians  of  the  law,  the  wardens  of  the  agora,  city,  and 
country  have  power  to  "inflict  minor  penalties,  the  administration 
of  justice  is  in  the  main  popular.  The  ingenious  expedient  of 
dividing  the  questions  of  law  and  fact  between  a  judge  and  jury, 


and  the  Law  Courts. 


cxliii 


which  would  have  enabled  Plato  to  combine  the  popular  element  Laws. 
with  the  judicial,  did  not  occur  to  him  or  to  any  other  ancient  Introduc- 
political  philosopher.    Though  desirous  of  limiting  the  number  of 
judges,  and  thereby  confining  the  office  to  persons  specially  fitted 
for  it,  he  does  not  seem  to  have  understood  that  a  body  of  law  must 
be  formed  by  decisions  as  well  as  by  legal  enactments. 

He  would  have  men  in  the  first  place  seek  justice  from  their 
friends  and  neighbours,  because,  as  he  truly  remarks,  they  know 
best  the  questions  at  issue  (vi.  766  E) ;  these  are  called  in  another 
passage  (xii.  956  B)  arbiters  rather  than  judges.  But  if  they  can- 
not settle  the  matter,  it  is  to  be  referred  to  the  courts  of  the  tribes, 
and  a  higher  penalty  is  to  be  paid  by  the  party  who  is  unsuccess- 
ful in  the  suit  (xii.  956  C,  D).  There  is  a  further  appeal  allowed  to 
the  select  judges,  with  a  further  increase  of  penalty.  The  select 
judges  are  to  be  appointed  by  the  magistrates,  who  are  to  choose 
one  from  every  magistracy  (vi.  767  C).  They  are  to  be  elected 
annually,  and  therefore  probably  for  a  year  only,  and  are  liable  to 
be  called  to  account  before  the  guardians  of  the  law  (vi.  767  E). 
In  cases  of  which  death  is  the  penalty,  the  trial  takes  place  before 
a  special  court,  which  is  composed  of  the  guardians  of  the  law 
and  of  the  judges  of  appeal  (ix.  855  C,  D). 

In  treating  of  the  subject  in  Book  ix  (855 ;  cp.  xii.  956  E),  he 
proposes  to  leave  for  the  most  part  the  methods  of  procedure  to 
a  younger  generation  of  legislators  ;  the  procedure  in  capital  causes 
he  determines  himself.  He  insists  that  the  vote  of  the  judges  shall 
be  given  openly,  and  before  they  vote  they  are  to  hear  speeches 
from  the  plaintiff  and  defendant.  They  are  then  to  take  evidence 
in  support  of  what  has  been  said,  and  to  examine  witnesses.  The 
eldest  judge  is  to  ask  his  questions  first,  and  then  the  second,  and 
then  the  third.  The  interrogatories  are  to  continue  for  three  days, 
and  the  evidence  is  to  be  written  down  (ix.  855,  856).  Apparently 
he  does  not  expect  the  judges  to  be  professional  laviryers,  any 
more  than  he  expects  the  members  of  the  council  to  be  trained 
statesmen. 

In  forming  marriage  connexions,  Plato  supposes  that  the  public 
interest  will  prevail  over  private  inclination  (vi.  773).  There  was 
nothing  in  this  very  shocking  to  the  notions  of  Greeks,  among 
whom  the  feeling  of  love  towards  the  other  sex  was  almost 


I' 


The  mar7'iage  relation :  Slavery. 

deprived  of  sentiment  or  romance.  Married  life  is  to  be  regulated 
solely  with  a  view  to  the  good  of  the  state.  The  newly-married 
couple  are  not  allowed  to  absent  themselves  from  their  respective 
S3'ssitia,  even  during  their  honeymoon  (vi.  780  B)  ;  they  are  to 
give  their  whole  mind  to  the  procreation  of  children  (vi.  775  D,  E  ; 
783  D,  E) ;  their  duties  to  one  another  at  a  later  period  of  life  are 
not  a  matter  about  which  the  state  is  equally  solicitous  (vi.  784). 
Divorces  are  readily  allowed  for  incompatibility  of  temper  (xi.  929, 
930).  As  in  the  Republic,  physical  considerations  seem  almost  to 
exclude  moral  and  social  ones.  To  modern  feelings  there  is  a 
degree  of  coarseness  in  Plato's  treatment  of  the  subject.  Yet  he 
also  makes  some  shrewd  remarks  on  marriage,  as  for  example, 
that  a  man  who  does  not  marry  for  money  will  not  be  the  humble 
servant  of  his  wife  (vi.  774  C).  And  he  shows  a  true  conception  of 
the  nature  of  the  family,  when  he  requires  that  the  newly-married 
couple  '  should  leave  their  father  and  mother,'  and  have  a  separate 
home  (vi.  776  B).  He  also  provides  against  extravagance  in 
marriage  festivals  (vi.  775  A),  which  in  some  states  of  society, 
for  instance  in  the  case  of  the  Hindoos,  has  been  a  social  evil 
of  the  first  magnitude. 

In  treating  of  property,  Plato  takes  occasion  to  speak  of  property 
in  slaves  (vi.  776,  777).  They  are  to  be  treated  with  perfect  justice  ; 
but,  for  their  own  sake,  to  be  kept  at  a  distance.  The  motive  is 
not  so  much  humanity  to  the  slave,  of  which  there  are  hardly  any 
traces  (although  Plato  allows  that  many  in  the  hour  of  peril  have 
found  a  slave  more  attached  than  members  of  their  own  family), 
but  the  self-respect  which  the  freeman  and  citizen  owes  to  himself 
(cp.  Rep.  viii.  549  A).  If  they  commit  crimes,  they  are  doubly 
punished  (ix.  867,  868 ;  viii.  844  E  foil.) ;  if  they  inform  against 
illegal  practices  of  their  masters,  they  are  to  receive  a  protection, 
which  would  probably  be  ineffectual,  from  the  guardians  of  the 
law ;  in  rare  cases  they  are  to  be  set  free  (xi.  932  D,  E).  Plato 
still  breathes  the  spirit  of  the  old  Hellenic  world,  in  which  slavery 
was  a  necessity,  because  leisure  must  be  provided  for  the  citizen. 

The  education  propounded  in  the  Laws  differs  in  several 
points  from  that  of  the  Republic.  Plato  seems  to  have  reflected 
as  deeply  and  earnestly  on  the  importance  of  infancy  as  Rousseau, 
or  Jean  Paul  (cp.  the  saying  of  the  latter — '  Not  the  moment  of 
death,  but  the  moment  of  birth,  is  probably  the  more  important '). 


Poetry  in  education :  Mathematics. 


cxlv 


He  would  fix  the  amusements  of  children  in  the  hope  of  fixing 
their  characters  in  after-Hfe  (vii.  797,  8).  In  the  spirit  of  the 
statesman  who  said,  '  Let  me  make  the  ballads  of  a  country, 
and  I  care  not  who  make  their  laws,'  Plato  would  say,  '  Let  the 
amusements  of  children  be  unchanged,  and  they  will  not  want 
to  change  the  laws'  (vii.  798  C).  The  '  Goddess  Harmonia'  plays 
a  great  part  in  Plato's  ideas  of  education.  The  natural  restless 
force  of  life  in  children,  'who  do  nothing  but  roar  until  they 
are  three  years  old,'  is  gradually  to  be  reduced  to  law  and  order 
(vii.  792  A  ;  cp.  ii.  653  E  foil.).  As  in  the  Republic,  he  fixes 
certain  forms  in  which  songs  are  to  be  composed  :  (i)  they  are 
to  be  strains  of  cheerfulness  and  good  omen  ;  (2)  they  are  to  be 
hymns  or  prayers  addressed  to  the  Gods  ;  (3)  they  are  to  sing 
only  of  the  lawful  and  good  (vii.  800,  801).  The  poets  are  again 
expelled,  or  rather  ironically  invited  to  depart ;  and  those  who 
remain  are  required  to  submit  their  poems  to  the  censorship  of 
the  magistrates  (vii.  817.)  Youth  are  no  longer  compelled  to 
commit  to  memory  many  thousand  lyric  and  tragic  Greek  verses  : 
yet,  perhaps,  a  worse  fate  is  in  store  for  them.  Plato  has  no  belief 
in  the  '  liberty  of  prophesying ' ;  and  having  guarded  against 
the  dangers  of  lyric  poetry,  he  remembers  that  there  is  an  equal 
danger  in  other  writings.  He  cannot  leave  his  old  enemies,  the 
Sophists,  in  possession  of  the  field  ;  and  therefore  he  proposes 
that  youth  shall  learn  by  heart,  instead  of  the  compositions  of 
poets  or  prose  writers,  his  own  inspired  work  on  laws  (vii.  810, 
811).  These,  and  music  and  mathematics,  are  the  chief  parts  of 
his  education. 

Mathematics  are  to  be  cultivated,  not  as  in  the  Republic  with 
a  view  to  the  science  of  the  idea  of  good, — though  the  higher 
use  of  them  is  not  altogether  excluded  (vii.  818  C,  D), — but 
rather  with  a  religious  and  political  aim.  They  are  a  sacred 
study  which  teaches  men  how  to  distribute  the  portions  of  a 
state  (v.  737,  8 ;  746  D  foil.),  and  which  is  to  be  pursued  in 
order  that  they  may  learn  not  to  blaspheme  about  astronomy 
(vii.  821  C).  Against  three  mathematical  errors  Plato  is  in  pro- 
found earnest.  First,  the  error  of  supposing  that  the  three 
dimensions  of  length,  breadth,  and  height,  are  really  commen- 
surable with  one  another  (vii.  820).  The  difficulty  which  he  feels 
is  analogous  to  the  difficulty  which  he  formerly  felt  about  the 

VOL.  V.  k 


Laws. 
Introdvc- 

TION. 


cxlvi  The  edttcation  of  youth. 

Laws.  connexion  of  ideas,  and  is  equally  characteristic  of  ancient 
IntrodJc  philosophy :  he  fixes  his  mind  on  the  point  of  difference,  and 
cannot  at  the  same  time  take  in  the  similarity.  Secondly,  he  is 
puzzled  about  the  nature  of  fractions  :  in  the  Republic  (vii.  525  E), 
he  is  disposed  to  deny  the  possibility  of  their  existence.  Thirdly, 
his  optimism  leads  him  to  insist  (unlike  the  Spanish  king  who 
thought  that  he  could  have  improved  on  the  mechanism  of  the 
heavens)  on  the  perfect  or  circular  movement  of  the  heavenly 
bodies  (vii.  821,  822).  He  appears  to  mean,  that  instead  of  re- 
garding the  stars  as  overtaking  or  being  overtaken  by  one 
another,  or  as  planets  wandering  in  many  paths,  a  more  com- 
prehensive survey  of  the  heavens  would  enable  us  to  infer  that 
they  all  alike  moved  in  a  circle  around  a  centre  (cp.  Timaeus 
40  foil. ;  Rep.  X.  617).  He  probably  suspected,  though  unacquainted 
with  the  true  cause,  that  the  appearance  of  the  heavens  did  not 
agree  with  the  reality :  at  any  rate,  his  notions  of  what  was  right 
or  fitting  easily  overpowered  the  results  of  actual  observation. 
To  the  early  astronomers,  who  lived  at  the  revival  of  science, 
as  to  Plato,  there  was  nothing  absurd  in  a  priori  astronomy, 
and  they  would  probably  have  made  fewer  real  discoveries  if 
they  had  followed  any  other  track.  (Cp.  Introduction  to  the 
Republic,  p.  cix  foil.) 

The  science  of  dialectic  is  nowhere  mentioned  by  name  in 
the  Laws,  nor  is  anything  said  of  the  education  of  after-life. 
The  child  is  to  begin  to  learn  at  ten  years  of  age  :  he  is  to  be 
taught  reading  and  writing  for  three  years,  from  ten  to  thirteen, 
and  no  longer;  and  for  three  years  more,  from  thirteen  to  six- 
teen, he  is  to  be  instructed  in  music  (vii.  810).  The  great  fault 
which  Plato  finds  in  the  contemporary  education  is  the  almost 
total  ignorance  of  arithmetic  and  astronomy,  m  which  the  Greeks 
would  do  well  to  take  a  lesson  from  the  Egyptians  (vii.  819 
A,  B  ;  cp.  Rep.  vii.  525  foil.).  Dancing  and  wrestling  are  to  have 
a  military  character  (vii.  796),  and  women  as  well  as  men  are  to  be 
taught  the  use  of  arms  (vii.  794  D,  804  E).  The  military  spirit 
which  Plato  has  vainly  endeavoured  to  expel  in  the  first  two 
books  returns  again  in  the  seventh  and  eighth.  He  has  evidently 
a  sympathy  with  the  soldier,  as  well  as  with  the  poet,  and  he 
is  no  mean  master  of  the  art,  or  at  least  of  the  theory,  of  war 
(cp.  Laws  vi.  760  foil. ;  vii.  813  ;  viii.  829  ;  Rep.  v.  467-470),  though 


The  education  of  later  life. 


cxlvii 


inclining  rather  to  the  Spartan  than  to  the  Athenian  practice  of  Laws. 
it  (Laws  iv.  706,  707).  Of  a  supreme  or  master  science  which  Introduc- 
was  to  be  the  '  coping-stone '  of  the  rest,  few  traces  appear  in 
the  Laws.  He  seems  to  have  lost  faith  in  it,  or  perhaps  to 
have  reah'zed  that  the  time  for  such  a  science  had  not  yet  come, 
and  that  he  was  unable  to  fill  up  the  outline  which  he  had 
sketched.  There  is  no  requirement  that  the  guardians  of  the 
law  shall  be  philosophers,  although  they  are  to  know  the  unity 
of  virtue  (xii.  965),  and  the  connexion  of  the  sciences  (967,  968). 
Nor  are  we  told  that  the  leisure  of  the  citizens,  when  they  are 
grown  up,  is  to  be  devoted  to  any  intellectual  employment.  In 
this  respect  we  note  a  falling  off  from  the  Republic,  but  also 
there  is  'the  returning  to  it'  of  which  Aristotle  speaks  in  the 
Politics.  The  public  and  family  duties  of  the  citizens  are  to  be 
their  main  business,  and  these  would,  no  doubt,  take  up  a  great 
deal  more  time  than  in  the  modern  world  we  are  willing  to 
allow  to  either  of  them  (vii.  807).  Plato  no  longer  entertains  the 
idea  of  any  regular  training  to  be  pursued  under  the  superin- 
tendence of  the  state  from  eighteen  to  thirty,  or  from  thirty  to 
thirty-five  ;  he  has  taken  the  first  step  downwards  on  '  Constitution 
Hill '  (Rep.  viii.  547,  548).  But  he  maintains  as  earnestly  as  ever 
that  '  to  men  living  under  this  second  polity  there  remains  the 
greatest  of  all  works,  the  education  of  the  soul,'  and  that  no 
bye-work  should  be  allowed  to  interfere  with  it.  Night  and  day 
are  not  long  enough  for  the  consummation  of  it  (vii.  807  D). 

Few  among  us  are  either  able  or  willing  to  carry  education 
into  later  life  ;  five  or  six  years  spent  at  school,  three  or  four 
at  a  university,  or  in  the  preparation  for  a  profession,  an  occa- 
sional attendance  at  a  lecture  to  which  we  are  invited  by  friends 
when  we  have  an  hour  to  spare  from  house-keeping  or  money- 
rriaking— these  comprise,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  education  even 
of  the  educated  ;  and  then  the  lamp  is  extinguished  '  more  truly 
than  Heracleitus'  sun,  never  to  be  lighted  again'  (Rep.  vi. 
497  B).  The  description  which  Plato  gives  in  the  Republic  of 
the  state  of  adult  education  among  his  contemporaries  may  be 
applied  almost  word  for  word  to  our  own  age.  He  does  not 
however  acquiesce  in  this  widely-spread  want  of  a  higher  edu- 
cation ;  he  would  rather  seek  to  make  every  man  something 
of  a  philosopher  before  he  enters  on  the  duties  of  active  life. 

k  2 


:xlviii         The  seriotisness  and  frivolity  of  human  life. 

Laws.  But  in  the  Laws  he  no  longer  prescribes  any  regular  course  of 
Introdlc  study  which  is  to  be  pursued  in  mature  years.  Nor  does  he 
remark  that  the  education  of  after-life  is  of  another  kind,  and 
must  consist  with  the  majority  of  the  world  rather  in  the  im- 
provement of  character  than  in  the  acquirement  of  knowledge. 
It  comes  from  the  study  of  ourselves  and  other  men  :  from 
moderation  and  experience :  from  reflection  on  circumstances  : 
from  the  pursuit  of  high  aims :  from  a  right  use  of  the  oppor- 
tunities of  life.  It  is  the  preservation  of  what  we  have  been, 
and  the  addition  of  something  more.  The  power  of  abstract 
study  or  continuous  thought  is  very  rare,  but  such  a  training  as 
this  can  be  given  by  every  one  to  himself. 

The  singular  passage  in  Book  vii.  (803  C),  in  which  Plato 
describes  life  as  a  pastime,  like  many  other  passages  in  the 
Laws,  is  imperfectly  expressed.  Two  thoughts  seem  to  be 
struggling  in  his  mind  :  first,  the  reflection,  to  which  he  returns 
at  the  end  of  the  passage  (804  B),  that  men  are  playthings  or 
puppets,  and  that  God  only  is  the  serious  aim  of  human  en- 
deavours ;  this  suggests  to  him  the  afterthought  that,  although 
playthings,  they  are  the  playthings  of  the  Gods,  and  that  this  is 
the  best  of  them.  The  cynical,  ironical  fancy  of  the  moment 
insensibly  passes  into  a  religious  sentiment.  In  another  passage 
he  says  that  life  is  a  game  of  which  God,  who  is  the  player, 
shifts  the  pieces  so  as  to  procure  the  victory  of  good  on  the 
whole  (x.  903  D  foil.).  Or  once  more  :  Tragedies  are  acted  on 
the  stage ;  but  the  best  and  noblest  of  them  is  the  imitation  of 
the  noblest  life,  which  we  affirm  to  be  the  life  of  our  whole 
state  (vii.  817).  Again,  life  is  a  chorus,  as  well  as  a  sort  of 
mystery,  in  which  we  have  the  Gods  for  playmates  (ii.  653 
C,  D  ;  655  A).  Men  imagine  that  war  is  their  serious  pursuit, 
and  they  make  war  that  they  may  return  to  their  amusements. 
But  neither  wars  nor  amusements  are  the  true  satisfaction  of 
men,  which  is  to  be  found  only  in  the  society  of  the  Gods,  in 
sacrificing  to  them  and  propitiating  them  (vii.  803  D,  E).  Like  a 
Christian  ascetic,  Plato  seems  to  suppose  that  life  should  be 
passed  wholly  in  the  enjoyment  of  divine  things.  And  after 
meditating  in  amazement  on  the  sadness  and  unreality  of  the 
world,  he  adds,  in  a  sort  of  parenthesis,  '  Be  cheerful,  Sirs ' 
(Shakespeare,  Tempest,  act  iv.  sc.  i). 


The  relation  of  the  sexes. 


cxlix 


In  one  of  the  noblest  passages  of  Plato,  he  speaks  of  the  re-  Laws. 
lation  of  the  sexes  (viii.  835-842).  Natural  relations  between  introduc- 
members  of  the  same  family  have  been  established  of  old ;  a 
'  little  word '  has  put  a  stop  to  incestuous  connexions.  But  un- 
natural unions  of  another  kind  continued  to  prevail  at  Crete 
and  Lacedaemon,  and  were  even  justified  by  the  example  of  the 
Gods  (i.  636  C).  They,  too,  might  be  banished,  if  the  feeling  that 
they  were  unholy  and  abominable  could  sink  into  the  minds  of 
men.  The  legislator  is  to  cry  aloud,  and  spare  not,  '  Let  not  men 
fall  below  the  level  of  the  beasts'  (viii.  840  D).  Plato  does  not 
shrink,  like  some  modern  philosophers,  from  '  carrying  on  war 
against  the  mightiest  lusts  of  mankind  '  (viii.  835  C)  ;  neither 
does  he  expect  to  extirpate  them,  but  only  to  confine  them 
to  their  natural  use  and  purpose,  by  the  enactments  of  law, 
and  by  the  influence  of  public  opinion.  He  will  not  feed  them 
by  an  over-luxurious  diet,  nor  allow  the  healthier  instincts  ot 
the  soul  to  be  corrupted  by  music  and  poetry.  The  prohibition 
of  excessive  wealth  is,  as  he  says,  a  very  considerable  gain  in 
the  way  of  temperance  (viii.  836  A),  nor  does  he  allow  of  those  en- 
thusiastic friendships  between  older  and  younger  persons  which 
in  his  earlier  writings  appear  to  be  alluded  to  with  a  certain 
degree  of  amusement  and  without  reproof  (cp.  Introduction  to 
the  Symposium,  sub  fin.).  Sappho  and  Anacreon  are  celebrated 
by  him  in  the  Charmides  and  the  Phaedrus  ;  but  they  would  have 
been  expelled  from  the  Magnesian  state. 

Yet  he  does  not  suppose  that  the  rule  of  absolute  purity  can 
be  enforced  on  all  mankmd.  Something  must  be  conceded  to 
the  weakness  of  human  nature.  He  therefore  adopts  a  '  second 
legal  standard  of  honourable  and  dishonourable,  having  a  second 
standard  of  right.'  He  would  abolish  altogether  '  the  connexion 
of  men  with  men.  ...  As  to  women,  if  any  man  has  to  do  with 
any  but  those  who  come  into  his  house  duly  married  by  sacred 
rites,  and  he  offends  publicly  in  the  face  of  all  mankind,  we  shall 
be  right  in  enacting  that  he  be  deprived  of  civic  honours  and 
privileges.'  But  feeling  also  that  it  is  impossible  wholly  to  con- 
trol the  mightiest  passions  of  mankind,'  Plato,  like  other  legis- 
lators, makes  a  compromise.  The  offender  must  not  be  found 
out;  decency,  if  not  morality,  must  be  respected.  In  this  he 
appears  to   agree  with  the  practice  of  all  civilized  ages  and 


cl 


The  law  of  decency. 


countries.  Much  may  be  truly  said  by  the  moralist  on  the  com- 
parative harm  of  open  and  concealed  vice.  Nor  do  we  deny  that 
some  moral  evils  are  better  turned  out  to  the  light,  because,  like 
diseases,  when  exposed,  they  are  more  easily  cured.  And 
secrecy  introduces  mystery  which  enormously  exaggerates  their 
power ;  a  mere  animal  want  is  thus  elevated  into  a  sentimental 
ideal.  It  may  very  well  be  that  a  word  spoken  in  season  about 
things  which  are  commonly  concealed  may  have  an  excellent 
effect.  But  having  regard  to  the  education  of  youth,  to  the 
innocence  of  children,  to  the  sensibilities  of  women,  to  the 
decencies  of  society,  Plato  and  the  world  in  general  are  not 
wrong  in  insisting  that  some  of  the  worst  vices,  if  they  must 
exist,  should  be  kept  out  of  sight ;  this,  though  only  a  second-best 
rule,  is  a  support  to  the  weakness  of  human  nature.  There  are 
some  things  which  may  be  whispered  in  the  closet,  but  should 
not  be  shouted  on  the  housetop.  It  may  be  said  of  this,  as  of 
many  other  things,  that  it  is  a  great  part  of  education  to  know  to 
whom  they  are  to  be  spoken  of,  and  when,  and  where. 

Analysis.  BOOK  IX.  Punishments  of  offences  and  modes  of  procedure  853 
come  next  in  order.  We  have  a  sense  of  disgrace  in  making 
regulations  for  all  the  details  of  crime  in  a  virtuous  and  well- 
ordered  state.  But  seeing  that  we  are  legislating  for  men  and 
not  for  Gods,  there  is  no  uncharitableness  in  apprehending  that 
some  one  of  our  citizens  may  have  a  heart,  like  the  seed  which 
has  touched  the  ox's  horn,  so  hard  as  to  be  impenetrable  to 
the  law.  Let  our  first  enactment  be  directed  against  the  rob- 
bing of  temples.  No  well-educated  citizen  will  be  guilty  of  such 
a  crime,  but  one  of  their  servants,  or  some  stranger,  may,  and 
with  a  view  to  him,  and  at  the  same  time  with  a  remoter  eye  to  854 
the  general  infirmity  of  human  nature,  I  will  lay  down  the  law, 
beginning  with  a  prelude.  To  the  intending  robber  we  will  say  — 
O  sir,  the  complaint  which  troubles  you  is  not  human ;  but  some 
curse  has  fallen  upon  you,  inherited  from  the  crimes  of  your 
ancestors,  of  whicli  you  must  purge  yourself :  go  and  sacrifice  to 
the  Gods,  associate  with  the  good,  avoid  the  wicked ;  and  if  you 
are  cured  of  the  fatal  impulse,  well ;  but  if  not,  acknowledge 
death  to  be  better  than  life,  and  depart. 
These  are  the  accents,  soft  and  low,  in  which  we  address  the 


Laws. 

Introduc- 
tion. 


Analysis  854-856. 


cli 


would-be  criminal.  And  if  he  will  not  listen,  then  cry  aloud  as  Lmus  IX. 
with  the  sound  of  a  trumpet :  Whosoever  robs  a  temple,  if  he  be  Analysis. 
a  slave  or  foreigner  shall  be  branded  in  the  face  and  hands,  and 
scourged,  and  cast  naked  beyond  the  border.  And  perhaps  this 
may  improve  him  :  for  the  law  aims  either  at  the  reformation  of 
the  criminal,  or  the  repression  of  crime.  No  punishment  is  de- 
signed to  inflict  useless  injury.    But  if  the  offender  be  a  citizen, 

S55  he  must  be  incurable,  and  for  him  death  is  the  only  fitting  pen- 
alty. His  iniquity,  however,  shall  not  be  visited  on  his  children, 
nor  shall  his  property  be  confiscated. 

As  to  the  exaction  of  penalties,  any  person  who  is  fined  for  an 
offence  shall  not  be  liable  to  pay  the  fine,  unless  he  have  property 
in  excess  of  his  lot.  For  the  lots  must  never  go  uncultivated  for 
lack  of  means ;  the  guardians  of  the  law  are  to  provide  against  this. 
If  a  fine  is  inflicted  upon  a  man  which  he  cannot  pay,  and  for 
which  his  friends  are  unwilling  to  give  security,  he  shall  be  im- 
prisoned and  otherwise  dishonoured.  But  no  criminal  shall  go 
unpunished :— whether  death,  or  imprisonment,  or  stripes,  or  fines, 
or  the  stocks,  or  banishment  to  a  remote  temple,  be  the  penalty. 
Capital  offences  shall  come  under  the  cognizance  of  the  guardians 
of  the  law,  and  a  college  of  the  best  of  the  last  year's  magis- 
trates. The  order  of  suits  and  similar  details  we  shall  leave  to  the 
lawgivers  of  the  future,  and  only  determine  the  mode  of  voting. 
The  judges  are  to  sit  in  order  of  seniority,  and  the  proceedings 
shall  begin  with  the  speeches  of  the  plaintiff  and  the  defendant ; 
and  then  the  judges,  beginning  with  the  eldest,  shall  ask  questions 
and  collect  evidence  during  three  days,  which,  at  the  end  of  each 

856  day,  shall  be  deposited  in  writing  under  their  seals  on  the  altar  of 
Hestia  ;  and  when  they  have  evidence  enough,  after  a  solemn  de- 
claration that  they  will  decide  justly,  they  shall  vote  and  end  the  case. 
The  votes  are  to  be  given  openly  in  the  presence  of  the  citizens. 

Next  to  religion,  the  preservation  of  the  constitution  is  the  first 
object  of  the  law.  The  greatest  enemy  of  the  state  is  he  who 
attempts  to  set  up  a  tyrant,  or  breeds  plots  and  conspiracies  ;  not 
far  below  him  in  guilt  is  a  magistrate  who  either  knowingly,  or  in 
ignorance,  fails  to  bring  the  offender  to  justice.  Any  one  who  is 
good  for  anything  will  give  information  against  traitors.  The  mode 
of  proceeding  at  such  trials  will  be  the  same  as  at  trials  for 
sacrilege  ;  the  penalty,  death.    But  neither  in  this  case  nor  in  any 


clii 


Analysis  856-859. 


Laius  IX.  other  is  the  son  to  bear  the  iniquity  of  the  father,  unless  father, 
Analysis,  grandfather,  great-grandfather,  have  all  of  them  been  capitally 
convicted,  and  then  the  family  of  the  criminal  are  to  be  sent  off  to 
the  country  of  their  ancestor,  retaining  their  property,  with  the 
exception  of  the  lot  and  its  fixtures.  And  ten  are  to  be  selected 
from  the  younger  sons  of  the  other  citizens — one  of  whom  is  to  be 
chosen  by  the  oracle  of  Delphi  to  be  heir  of  the  lot. 

Our  third  law  will  be  a  general  one,  concerning  the  procedure  857 
and  the  judges  in  cases  of  treason.    As  regards  the  remaining  or 
departure  of  the  family  of  the  offender,  the  same  law  shall  apply 
equally  to  the  traitor,  the  sacrilegious,  and  the  conspirator. 

A  thief,  whether  he  steals  much  or  little,  must  refund  twice  the 
amount,  if  he  can  do  so  without  impairing  his  lot ;  if  he  cannot,  he 
must  go  to  prison  until  he  either  pays  the  plaintiff,  or  in  case  of  a 
public  theft,  the  city,  or  they  agree  to  forgive  him.  '  But  should  all 
kinds  of  theft  incur  the  same  penalty  ? '  You  remind  me  of  what 
I  know — that  legislation  is  never  perfect.  The  men  for  whom 
laws  are  now  made  may  be  compared  to  the  slave  who  is  being 
doctored,  according  to  our  old  image,  by  the  unscientific  doctor. 
For  the  empirical  practitioner,  if  he  chance  to  meet  the  educated 
physician  talking  to  his  patient,  and  entering  into  the  philosophj' 
of  his  disease,  would  burst  out  laughing  and  say,  as  doctors  delight 
in  doing,  '  Foolish  fellow,  instead  of  curing  the  patient  you  are 
educating  him  ! '  '  And  would  he  not  be  right  ? '  Perhaps  ;  and 
he  might  add,  that  he  who  discourses  in  our  fashion  preaches  to 
the  citizens  instead  of  legislating  for  them.  '  True.'  There  is,  858 
however,  one  advantage  which  we  possess — that  being  amateurs 
only,  we  may  either  take  the  most  ideal,  or  the  most  necessary 
and  utilitarian  view.  '  But  why  offer  such  an  alternative  ?  as  if  all 
our  legislation  must  be  done  to-day,  and  nothing  put  off  until  the 
morrow.  We  may  surely  rough-hew  our  materials  first,  and 
shape  and  place  them  afterwards.'  That  will  be  the  natural  way 
of  proceeding.  There  is  a  further  point.  Of  all  writings  either 
in  prose  or  verse  the  writings  of  the  legislator  are  the  most  im- 
portant. For  it  is  he  who  has  to  determine  the  nature  of  good  and 
evil,  and  how  they  should  be  studied  with  a  view  to  our  instruction. 
And  is  it  not  as  disgraceful  for  Solon  and  Lycurgus  to  lay  down  false 
precepts  about  the  institutions  of  life  as  for  Homer  and  Tyrtaeus  ? 
The  laws  of  states  ought  to  be  the  models  of  writing,  and  what  is  S59 


Analysis  859-862, 


cliii 


at  variance  with  them  should  be  deemed  ridiculous.  And  we  may  Laws  IX. 
further  imagine  them  to  express  the  affection  and  good  sense  of  a  Analysis. 
father  or  mother,  and  not  to  be  the  fiats  of  a  tyrant.    '  Very  true.' 

Let  us  enquire  more  particularly  about  sacrilege,  theft  and  other 
crimes,  for  which  we  have  already  legislated  in  part.  And  this 
leads  us  to  ask,  first  of  all,  whether  we  are  agreed  or  disagreed 
about  the  nature  of  the  honourable  and  just.  'To  what  are  you 
referring  ? '  I  will  endeavour  to  explain.  All  are  agreed  that  justice 
is  honourable,  whether  in  men  or  things,  and  no  one  who  maintains 
that  a  very  ugly  man  who  is  just,  is  in  his  mind  fair,  would  be 
)0  thought  extravagant.  '  Very  true.'  But  if  honour  is  to  be  attributed 
to  justice,  are  just  sufferings  honourable,  or  only  just  actions  ? 
'  What  do  you  mean  ? '  Our  laws  supply  a  case  in  point ;  for  we 
enacted  that  the  robber  of  temples  and  the  traitor  should  die  ;  and 
this  was  just,  but  the  reverse  of  honourable.  In  this  way  does  the 
language  of  the  many  rend  asunder  the  just  and  honourable.  '  That 
is  true.'  But  is  our  own  language  consistent  ?  I  have  already  said 
that  the  evil  are  involuntarily  evil  (v.  731  C)  ;  and  the  evil  are  the 
unjust.  Now  the  voluntary  cannot  be  the  involuntary ;  and  if  you 
two  come  to  me  and  say,  '  Then  shall  we  legislate  for  our  city  ? ' 
Of  course,  I  shall  reply. — '  Then  will  '^o\x  distinguish  what  crimes 
are  voluntary  and  what  involuntary,  and  shall  we  impose  lighter 

51  penalties  on  the  latter,  and  heavier  on  the  former  ?  Or  shall  we 
refuse  to  determine  what  is  the  meaning  of  voluntary  and  in- 
voluntary, and  maintain  that  our  words  have  come  down  from 
heaven,  and  that  they  should  be  at  once  embodied  in  a  law  ? '  All 
states  legislate  under  the  idea  that  there  are  two  classes  of  actions, 
the  voluntary  and  the  involuntary,  but  there  is  great  confusion 
about  them  in  the  minds  of  men  ;  and  the  law  can  never  act  unless 
they  are  distinguished.  Either  we  must  abstain  from  affirming 
that  unjust  actions  are  involuntary,  or  explain  the  meaning  of  this 
statement.  Believing,  then,  that  acts  of  injustice  cannot  be  divided 
into  voluntary  and  involuntary,  I  must  endeavour  to  find  some  other 

52  mode  of  classifying  them.  Hurts  are  voluntary  and  involuntary, 
but  all  hurts  are  not  injuries  :  on  the  other  hand,  a  benefit  when 
wrongly  conferred  may  be  an  injury.  An  act  which  gives  or  takes 
away  anything  is  not  simply  just ;  but  the  legislator  who  has  to 
decide  whether  the  case  is  one  of  hurt  or  injury,  must  consider  the 
animus  of  the  agent ;  and  when  there  is  hurt,  he  must,  as  far  as 


cliv 


Analysis  862-864. 


Laws  IX.  possible,  provide  a  remedy  and  reparation  :  but  if  tiiere  is  injustice, 
Analysis,  he  must,  when  Compensation  has  been  made,  further  endeavour 
to  reconcile  the  two  parties.  '  Excellent.'  Where  injustice,  hke 
disease,  is  remediable,  there  the  remedy  must  be  applied  in  word 
or  deed,  with  the  assistance  of  pleasures  and  pains,  of  bounties  and 
penalties,  or  any  other  influence  which  may  inspire  man  with  the 
love  of  justice,  or  hatred  of  injustice  ;  and  this  is  the  noblest  work 
of  law.  But  when  the  legislator  perceives  the  evil  to  be  incurable, 
he  will  consider  that  the  death  of  the  offender  will  be  a  good  to 
himself,  and  in  two  ways  a  good  to  society  :  first,  as  he  becomes 
an  example  to  others  ;  secondly,  because  the  city  will  be  quit  of  a  S63 
rogue  ;  and  in  such  a  case,  but  in  no  other,  the  legislator  will 
punish  with  death.  '  There  is  some  truth  in  what  you  say.  I  wish, 
however,  that  you  would  distinguish  more  clearly  the  difference 
of  injury  and  hurt,  and  the  complications  of  voluntary  and  in- 
voluntary.' You  will  admit  that  anger  is  of  a  violent  and  destruc- 
tive nature  ?  '  Certainly.'  And  further,  that  pleasure  is  different 
from  anger,  and  has  an  opposite  power,  working  by  persuasion 
and  deceit  ?  '  Yes.'  Ignorance  is  the  third  source  of  crimes ; 
this  is  of  two  kinds— simple  ignorance  and  ignorance  doubled  by 
conceit  of  knowledge  ;  the  latter,  when  accompanied  with  power, 
is  a  source  of  terrible  errors,  but  is  excusable  when  only  weak 
a;id  childish.  '  True.'  We  often  say  that  one  man  masters,  and 
another  is  mastered  by  pleasure  and  anger.  '  Just  so.'  But  no 
one  says  that  one  man  masters,  and  another  is  mastered  by 
ignorance.  '  You  are  right.'  All  these  motives  actuate  men  and 
sometimes  drive  them  in  different  ways.  '  That  is  so.'  Now,  then, 
I  am  in  a  position  to  define  the  nature  of  just  and  unjust.  By 
injustice  I  mean  the  dominion  of  anger  and  fear,  pleasure  and  pain,  864 
envy  and  desire,  in  the  soul,  whether  doing  harm  or  not :  by 
justice  I  mean  the  rule  of  the  opinion  of  the  best,  whether  in  states 
or  individuals,  extending  to  the  whole  of  life ;  although  actions 
done  in  error  are  often  thought  to  be  involuntary  injustice.  No 
controversy  need  be  raised  about  names  at  present  ;  we  are  only 
desirous  of  fixing  in  our  memories  the  heads  of  error.  And  the 
pain  which  is  called  fear  and  anger  is  our  first  head  of  error ;  the 
second  is  the  class  of  pleasures  and  desires ;  and  the  third,  of 
hopes  which  aim  at  true  opinion  about  the  best ; — this  latter  falls 
into  three  divisions  [i.  e.  (i)  when  accompanied  by  simple  ignorance. 


Analysis  864-866, 


civ 


(2)  when  accompanied  by  coiiceit  of  wisdom  combined  with  power,   Laws  IX. 
or  (3)  with  weakness],  so  that  there  are  in  all  five.    And  the  laws  Analysis. 
relating  to  them  may  be  summed  up  under  two  heads,  laws  which 
deal  with  acts  of  open  violence  and  with  acts  of  deceit ;  to  which 
may  be  added  acts  both  violent  and  deceitful,  and  these  last  should 
be  visited  with  the  utmost  rigour  of  the  law.    '  Very  properly.' 

Let  us  now  return  to  fhe  enactment  of  laws.  We  have  treated 
of  sacrilege,  and  of  conspiracy,  and  of  treason.  Any  of  these 
crimes  may  be  committed  by  a  person  not  in  his  right  mind,  or 
in  the  second  childhood  of  old  age.  If  this  is  proved  to  be  the  fact 
before  the  judges,  the  person  in  question  shall  only  have  to  pay 
for  the  injury,  and  not  be  punished  further,  unless  he  have  on 
PS  his  hands  the  stain  of  blood.  In  this  case  he  shall  be  exiled  for  a 
year,  and  if  he  return  before  the  expiration  of  the  year,  he  shall 
be  retained  in  the  public  prison  two  years. 

Homicides  may  be  divided  into  voluntary  and  involuntary  :  and 
first  of  involuntary  homicide.  He  who  unintentionally  kills  another 
man  at  the  games  or  in  military  exercises  duly  authorized  by  the 
magistrates,  whether  death  follow  immediately  or  after  an  in- 
terval, shall  be  acquitted,  subject  only  to  the  purification  required 
by  the  Delphian  Oracle.  Any  physician  whose  patient  dies  against 
his  will  shall  in  like  manner  be  acquitted.  Any  one  who  unin- 
tentionally kills  the  slave  of  another,  believing  that  he  is  his 
own,  with  or  without  weapons,  shall  bear  the  master  of  the  slave 
harmless,  or  pay  a  penalty  amounting  to  twice  the  value  of  the 
slave,  and  to  this  let  him  add  a  purification  greater  than  in  the 
case  of  homicide  at  the  games.  If  a  man  kill  his  own  slave,  a 
purification  only  is  required  of  him.  If  he  kill  a  freeman  un- 
intentionally, let  him  also  make  purification ;  and  let  him  re- 
member the  ancient  tradition  which  says  that  the  murdered 
man  is  indignant  when  he  sees  the  murderer  walk  about  in 
his  own  accustomed  haunts,  and  that  he  terrifies  him  with  the 
remembrance  of  his  crime.  And  therefore  the  homicide  should 
keep  away  from  his  native  land  for  a  year,  or,  if  he  have  slain 
'56  a  stranger,  let  him  avoid  the  land  of  the  stranger  for  a  like  period. 
If  he  complies  with  this  condition,  the  nearest  kinsman  of  the 
deceased  shall  take  pity  upon  him  and  be  reconciled  to  him  ;  but 
if  he  refuses  to  remain  in  exile,  or  visits  the  temples  unpurified, 
then  let  the  kinsman  proceed  against  him,  and  demand  a  double 


clvi 


Analysis  866-868. 


Laws  IX.  penalty.  The  kinsman  who  neglects  this  duty  shall  himself  incur 
Analysis,  the  curse,  and  any  one  who  likes  may  proceed  against  him,  and 
compel  him  to  leave  his  country  for  five  years.  If  a  stranger 
involuntarily  kill  a  stranger,  any  one  may  proceed  against  him 
in  the  same  manner :  and  the  homicide,  if  he  be  a  metic,  shall 
be  banished  for  a  year ;  but  if  he  be  an  entire  stranger,  whether 
he  have  murdered  metic,  citizen,  or  stranger,  he  shall  be  banished 
for  ever ;  and  if  he  return,  he  shall  be  punished  with  death,  and 
his  property  shall  go  to  the  next  of  kin  of  the  murdered  man.  If  he 
come  back  by  sea  against  his  will,  he  shall  remain  on  the  seashore, 
wetting  his  feet  in  the  water  while  he  waits  for  a  vessel  to  sail ; 
or  if  he  be  brought  back  by  land,  the  magistrates  shall  send  him 
unharmed  beyond  the  border. 

Next  follows  murder  done  from  anger,  which  is  of  two  kinds- 
cither  arising  out  of  a  sudden  impulse,  and  attended  with  re- 
morse ;  or  committed  with  premeditation,  and  unattended  with 
remorse.  The  cause  of  both  is  anger,  and  both  are  intermediate 
between  voluntary  and  involuntary.  The  one  which  is  com- 
mitted from  sudden  impulse,  though  not  wholly  involuntary, 
bears  the  image  of  the  involuntary,  and  is  therefore  the  more  867 
excusable  of  the  two,  and  should  receive  a  gentler  punishment. 
The  act  of  him  who  nurses  his  wrath  is  more  voluntary,  and 
therefore  more  culpable.  Tiie  degree  of  culpability  depends  on 
the  presence  or  absence  of  intention,  to  which  the  degree  of 
punishment  should  correspond.  For  the  first  kind  of  murder, 
that  which  is  done  on  a  momentary  impulse,  let  two  years'  exile 
be  the  penalty ;  for  the  second,  that  which  is  accompanied  with 
malice  prepense,  three.  When  the  time  of  any  one's  exile  has 
expired,  the  guardians  shall  send  twelve  judges  to  the  borders 
of  the  land,  who  shall  have  authority  to  decide  whether  he 
may  return  or  not.  He  who  after  returning  repeats  the  offence,  868 
shall  be  exiled  and  return  no  more,  and,  if  he  return,  shall  be 
put  to  death,  like  the  stranger  in  a  similar  case.  He  who  in  a 
fit  of  anger  kills  his  own  slave,  shall  purify  himself ;  and  he  who 
kills  another  man's  slave,  shall  pay  to  his  master  double  the  value. 
Any  one  may  proceed  against  the  offender  if  he  appear  in  public 
places,  not  having  been  purified ;  and  may  bring  to  trial  both 
the  next  of  kin  to  the  dead  man  and  the  homicide,  and  compel 
the  one  to  exact,  and  the  other  to  pay,  a  double  penalty.    If  a 


Analysis  868-870. 


clvii 


slave  kill  his  master,  or  a  freeman  who  is  not  his  master,  in  Lmvs  IX. 
anger,  the  kinsmen  of  the  murdered  person  may  do  with  the  Analysis. 
murderer  whatever  they  please,  but  they  must  not  spare  his 
life.  If  a  father  or  mother  kill  their  son  or  daughter  in  anger, 
let  the  slayer  remain  in  exile  for  three  years ;  and  on  the  return 
of  the  exile  let  the  parents  separate,  and  no  longer  continue 
to  cohabit,  or  have  the  same  sacred  rites  with  those  whom  he  or 
she  has  deprived  of  a  brother  or  sister.  The  same  penalty  is 
decreed  against  the  husband  who  murders  his  wife,  and  also 
against  the  wife  who  murders  her  husband.  Let  them  be  absent 
three  years,  and  on  their  return  never  again  share  in  the  same 
sacred  rites  with  their  children,  or  sit  at  the  same  table  with  them. 
Nor  is  a  brother  or  sister  who  have  lifted  up  their  hands  against 

69  a  brother  or  sister,  ever  to  come  under  the  same  roof  or  share  in 
the  same  rites  with  those  whom  they  have  robbed  of  a  child.  If  a 
son  feels  such  hatred  against  his  father  or  mother  as  to  take  the 
life  of  either  of  them,  then,  if  the  parent  before  death  forgive  him, 
he  shall  only  suffer  the  penalty  due  to  involuntary  homicide  ; 
but  if  he  be  unforgiven,  there  are  many  laws  against  which  he 
has  offended  ;  he  is  guilty  of  outrage,  impiety,  sacrilege  all  in 
one,  and  deserves  to  be  put  to  death  many  times  over.  For  if  the 
law  will  not  allow  a  man  to  kill  the  authors  of  his  being  even  in 
self-defence,  what  other  penalty  than  death  can  be  inflicted  upon 
him  who  in  a  fit  of  passion  wilfully  slays  his  father  or  mother  ? 
If  a  brother  kill  a  brother  in  self-defence  during  a  civil  broil,  or 
a  citizen  a  citizen,  or  a  slave  a  slave,  or  a  stranger  a  stranger, 
let  them  be  free  from  blame,  as  he  is  who  slays  an  enemy  in 
battle.  But  if  a  slave  kill  a  freeman,  let  him  be  as  a  parricide. 
In  all  cases,  however,  the  forgiveness  of  the  injured  party  shall 
acquit  the  agents ;  and  then  they  shall  only  be  purified,  and 
remain  in  exile  for  a  year. 

70  Enough  of  actions  that  are  involuntary,  or  done  in  anger ;  let 
us  proceed  to  voluntary  and  premeditated  actions.  The  great 
source  of  voluntary  crime  is  the  desire  of  money,  which  is 
begotten  by  evil  education  ;  and  this  arises  out  of  the  false  praise 
of  riches,  common  both  among  Hellenes  and  barbarians ;  they 
think  that  to  be  the  first  of  goods  which  is  really  the  third.  For 
the  body  is  not  for  the  sake  of  wealth,  but  wealth  for  the  body, 
as  the  body  is  for  the  soul.    If  this  were  better  understood,  the 


clviii  Analysis  870-872. 

J.a%us  IX.  crime  of  murder,  of  which  avarice  is  the  chief  cause,  would  soon 
Analysis,  cease  among  men.  Next  to  avarice,  ambition  is  a  source  of  crime, 
troublesome  to  the  ambitious  man  himself,  as  well  as  to  the  chief 
men  of  the  state.  And  next  to  ambition,  base  fear  is  a  motive, 
which  has  led  many  an  one  to  commit  murder  in  order  that  he 
may  get  rid  of  the  witnesses  of  his  crimes.  Let  this  be  said  as 
a  prelude  to  all  enactments  about  crimes  of  violence ;  and  the 
tradition  must  not  be  forgotten,  which  tells  that  the  murderer 
is  punished  in  the  world  below,  and  that  when  he  returns  to 
this  world  he  meets  the  fate  which  he  has  dealt  out  to  others. 
If  a  man  is  deterred  by  the  prelude  and  the  fear  of  future 
punishment,  he  will  have  no  need  of  the  law;  but  in  case  he 
disobey,  let  the  law  be  declared  against  him  as  follows : — He  871 
who  of  malice  prepense  kills  one  of  his  kindred,  shall  in  the  first 
place  be  outlawed ;  neither  temple,  harbour,  nor  agora  shall  be 
polluted  b}'  his  presence.  And  if  a  kinsman  of  the  deceased 
refuse  to  proceed  against  his  slayer,  he  shall  take  the  curse  of 
pollution  upon  himself,  and  also  be  liable  to  be  prosecuted  by 
any  one  who  will  avenge  the  dead.  The  prosecutor,  however, 
must  observe  the  customary  ceremonial  before  he  proceeds 
against  the  offender.  The  details  of  these  observances  will  be 
best  determined  by  a  conclave  of  prophets  and  interpreters  and 
guardians  of  the  law,  and  the  judges  of  the  cause  itself  shall 
be  the  same  as  in  cases  of  sacrilege.  He  who  is  convicted  shall 
be  punished  with  death,  and  not  be  buried  within  the  country 
of  the  murdered  person.  He  who  flies  from  the  law  shall  undergo 
perpetual  banishment ;  if  he  return,  he  may  be  put  to  death 
with  impunity  hy  any  relative  of  the  murdered  man  or  by  any 
other  citizen,  or  bound  and  delivered  to  the  magistrates.  He 
who  accuses  a  man  of  murder  shall  demand  satisfactory  bail  of  the 
accused,  and  if  this  is  not  forthcoming,  the  magistrate  shall  keep 
him  in  prison  against  the  day  of  trial.  If  a  man  commit  murder  872 
by  the  hand  of  another,  he  shall  be  tried  in  the  same  way  as 
in  the  cases  previously  supposed,  but  if  the  offender  be  a  citizen, 
his  body  after  execution  shall  be  buried  within  the  land. 

If  a  slave  kill  a  freeman,  either  with  his  own  hand  or  by  con- 
trivance, let  him  be  led  either  to  the  grave  or  to  a  place  whence 
he  can  see  the  grave  of  the  murdered  man,  and  there  receive 
as  many  stripes  at  the  hand  of  the  public  executioner  as  the 


Analysis  872-874. 


clix 


person  who  took  him  pleases ;  and  if  lie  survive  he  shall  be  Laws  IX. 
put  to  death.  If  a  slave  be  put  out  of  the  way  to  prevent  analysis. 
his  informing  of  some  crime,  his  death  shall  be  punished  like 
that  of  a  citizen.  If  there  are  any  of  those  horrible  murders  of 
kindred  which  sometimes  occur  even  in  well-regulated  societies, 
and  of  which  the  legislator,  however  unwilling,  cannot  avoid 
.  taking  cognizance,  he  will  repeat  the  old  myth  of  the  divine 
vengeance  against  the  perpetrators  of  such  atrocities.  The  myth 
will  say  that  the  murderer  must  suffer  what  he  has  done  :  if  he 
have  slain  his  father,  he  must  be  slain  by  his  children  ;  if  his 
mother,  he  must  become  a  woman  and  perish  at  the  hands  of 
his  ofispring  in  another  age  of  the  world.  Such  a  preamble 
.73  may  terrify  him ;  but  if,  notwithstanding,  in  some  evil  hour  he 
murders  father  or  mother  or  brethren  or  children,  the  mode  of 
proceeding  shall  be  as  follows  : — Him  who  is  convicted,  the 
officers  of  the  judges  shall  lead  to  a  spot  without  the  city  where 
three  ways  meet,  and  there  slay  him  and  expose  his  body  naked  ; 
and  each  of  the  magistrates  shall  cast  a  stone  upon  his  head  and 
justify  the  city,  and  he  shall  be  thrown  unburied  beyond  the 
border.  But  what  shall  we  say  of  him  who  takes  the  life  which 
is  dearest  to  him,  that  is  to  say,  his  own ;  and  this  not  from  any 
disgrace  or  calamity,  but  from  cowardice  and  indolence  ?  The 
manner  of  his  burial  and  the  purification  of  his  crime  is  a  matter 
for  God  and  the  interpreters  to  decide  and  for  his  kinsmen  to 
execute.  Let  him,  at  any  rate,  be  buried  alone  in  some  uncul- 
tivated and  nameless  spot,  and  be  without  name  or  monument. 
If  a  beast  kill  a  man,  not  in  a  public  contest,  let  it  be  prosecuted 
for  murder,  and  after  condemnation  slain  and  cast  without  the 
74  border.  Also  inanimate  things  which  have  caused  death,  except 
in  the  case  of  lightning  and  other  visitations  from  heaven,  shall 
be  carried  without  the  border.  If  the  body  of  a  dead  man  be 
found,  and  the  murderer  remain  unknown,  the  trial  shall  take 
place  all  the  same,  and  the  unknown  murderer  shall  be  warned 
not  to  set  foot  in  the  temples  or  come  within  the  borders  of  the 
land ;  if  discovered,  he  shall  die,  and  his  body  shall  be  cast  out. 
A  man  is  justified  in  taking  the  life  of  a  burglar,  of  a  footpad, 
of  a  violator  of  women  or  youth ;  and  he  may  take  the  life  of 
another  with  impunity  in  defence  of  father,  mother,  brother, 
wife,  or  other  relations. 


clx 


Analysis  874-877. 


Laws  IX.  The  nurture  and  education  which  are  necessary  to  the  existence 
Analysis,  of  men  have  been  considered,  and  the  punishment  of  acts  of 
violence  which  destroy  Hfe.  There  remain  maiming,  wounding, 
and  the  like,  which  admit  of  a  similar  division  into  voluntary  and 
involuntary.  About  this  class  of  actions  the  preamble  shall  be : 
Whereas  men  would  be  like  wild  beasts  unless  they  obeyed  the  875 
laws,  the  first  duty  of  citizens  is  the  care  of  the  public  interests, 
which  unite  and  preserve  states,  as  private  interests  distract  them. 
A  man  may  know  what  is  for  the  public  good,  but  if  he  have  abso- 
lute power,  human  nature  will  impel  him  to  seek  pleasure  instead 
of  virtue,  and  so  darkness  will  come  over  his  soul  and  over  the 
state.  If  he  had  mind,  he  would  have  no  need  of  law ;  for  mind  is 
the  perfection  of  law.  But  such  a  freeman,  'whom  the  truth  makes 
free,'  is  hardly  to  be  found  ;  and  therefore  law  and  order  are 
necessary,  which  are  the  second-best,  and  they  regulate  things  as 
they  exist  in  part  only,  but  cannot  take  in  the  whole.  For  actions 
have  innumerable  characteristics,  which  must  be  partly  deter- 
mined by  the  law  and  partly  left  to  the  judge.  The  judge  must 
determine  the  fact ;  and  to  him  also  the  punishment  must  some- 
times be  left.  What  shall  the  law  prescribe,  and  what  shall  be  876 
left  to  the  judge  ?  A  city  is  unfortunate  in  which  the  tribunals  are 
either  secret  and  speechless,  or,  what  is  worse,  noisy  and  pubhc, 
when  the  people,  as  if  they  were  in  a  theatre,  clap  and  hoot  the 
various  speakers.  Such  courts  a  legislator  would  rather  not  have  ; 
but  if  he  is  compelled  to  have  them,  he  will  speak  distinctly,  and 
leave  as  little  as  possible  to  their  discretion.  But  where  the 
courts  are  good,  and  presided  over  by  well-trained  judges,  the 
penalties  to  be  inflicted  may  be  in  a  great  measure  left  to  them  ; 
and  as  there  are  to  be  good  courts  among  our  colonists,  we  need 
not  determine  beforehand  the  exact  proportion  of  the  penalty  and 
the  crime.  Returning,  then,  to  our  legislator,  let  us  indite  a  law 
about  wounding,  which  shall  run  as  follows : — He  who  wounds 
with  intent  to  kill,  and  fails  in  his  object,  shall  be  tried  as  if  he  had 
succeeded.  But  since  God  has  favoured  both  him  and  his  victim,  877 
instead  of  being  put  to  death,  he  shall  be  allowed  to  go  into  exile 
and  take  his  property  with  him,  the  damage  due  to  the  sufferer 
having  been  previously  estimated  by  the  court,  which  shall  be  the 
same  as  would  have  tried  the  case  if  death  had  ensued.  If  a  child 
should  intentionally  wound  a  parent,  or  a  servant  his  master,  or 


Analysis  877-879. 


clxi 


brother  or  sister  wound  brother  or  sister  with  mahce  prepense,  Laws  IX. 
the  penalty  shall  be  death.  If  a  husband  or  wife  wound  one  analysis. 
another  with  intent  to  kill,  the  penalty  which  is  inflicted  upon 
them  shall  be  perpetual  exile  ;  and  if  they  have  young  children,  the 
guardians  shall  take  care  of  them  and  administer  their  property 
as  if  they  were  orphans.  If  they  have  no  children,  their  kinsmen 
male  and  female  shall  meet,  and  after  a  consultation  with  the 
priests  and  guardians  of  the  law,  shall  appoint  an  heir  of  the 
house;  for  the  house  and  family  belong  to  the  state,  being  a 
5040th  portion  of  the  whole.  And  the  state  is  bound  to  preserve 
her  famihes  happy  and  holy ;  therefore,  when  the  heir  of  a  house 
has  committed  a  capital  offence,  or  is  in  exile  for  Hfe,  the  house  is 
to  be  purified,  and  then  the  kinsmen  of  the  house  and  the  guardians 

^  878  of  the  law  are  to  find  out  a  family  which  has  a  good  name  and  in 
which  there  are  many  sons,  and  introduce  one  of  them  to  be  the 
heir  and  priest  of  the  house.  He  shall  assume  the  fathers  and 
ancestors  of  the  family,  while  the  first  son  dies  in  dishonour  and 
his  name  is  blotted  out. 

Some  actions  are  intermediate  between  the  voluntary  and  in- 
voluntary. Those  done  from  anger  are  of  this  class.  If  a  man 
wound  another  in  anger,  let  him  pay  double  the  damage,  if  the 
injury  is  curable ;  or  fourfold,  if  curable,  and  at  the  same  time 
dishonourable ;  and  fourfold,  if  incurable ;  the  amount  is  to  be 
assessed  by  the  judges.  If  the  wounded  person  is  rendered  in- 
capable of  military  service,  the  injurer,  besides  the  other  penalties, 
shall  serve  in  his  stead,  or  be  liable  to  a  suit  for  refusing  to  serve. 
If  brother  wounds  brother,  then  their  parents  and  kindred,  of  both 
sexes,  shall  meet  and  judge  the  crime.  The  damages  shall  be 
assessed  by  the  parents ;  and  if  the  amount  fixed  by  them  is 
disputed,  an  appeal  shall  be  made  to  the  male  kindred ;  or  in  the 
last  resort  to  the  guardians  of  the  law.  Parents  who  wound  their 
children  are  to  be  tried  by  judges  of  at  least  sixty  years  of  age, 
who  have  children  of  their  own  ;  and  they  are  to  determine 
whether  death,  or  some  lesser  punishment,  is  to  be  inflicted  upon 

>  S79  them — no  relatives  are  to  take  part  in  the  trial.  If  a  slave  in  anger 
smite  a  freeman,  he  is  to  be  delivered  up  by  his  master  to  the 
injured  person.  If  the  master  suspect  collusion  between  the 
slave  and  the  injured  person,  he  may  bring  the  matter  to  trial : 
and  if  he  fail  he  shall  pay  three  times  the  injury;  or  if  he  obtain  a 
VOL.  V.  1 


clxii 


Analysis  879-881. 


Laws  IX.   conviction,  the  contriver  of  tiie  conspiracy  shall  be  liable  to  an 
Analysis,     action  for  kidnapping.    He  who  wounds  another  unintentionally 
shall  only  pay  for  the  actual  harm  done. 

In  all  outrages  and  acts  of  violence,  the  elder  is  to  be  more 
regarded  than  the  younger.  An  injury  done  by  a  younger  man 
to  an  elder  is  abominable  and  hateful ;  but  the  younger  man  who 
is  struck  by  an  elder  is  to  bear  with  him  patiently,  considering 
that  he  who  is  twenty  years  older  is  loco  parentis,  and  remember- 
ing the  reverence  which  is  due  to  the  Gods  who  preside  over 
birth.  Let  him  keep  his  hands,  too,  from  the  stranger ;  instead  of 
taking  upon  himself  to  chastise  him  when  he  is  insolent,  he  shall 
bring  him  before  the  wardens  of  the  city,  who  shall  examine  into 
the  case,  and  if  they  find  him  guilty,  shall  scourge  him  with  as 
many  blows  as  he  has  given  ;  or  if  he  be  innocent,  they  shall  warn 
and  threaten  his  accuser.  When  an  equal  strikes  an  equal, 
whether  an  old  man  an  old  man,  or  a  young  man  a  young  man,  8S0 
let  them  use  only  their  fists  and  have  no  weapons.  He  who  being 
above  forty  years  of  age  commences  a  fight,  or  retaliates,  shall  be 
counted  mean  and  base. 

To  this  preamble,  let  the  law  be  added  :  If  a  man  smite  another 
who  is  his  elder  hy  twenty  years  or  more,  let  the  bystander,  in 
case  he  be  older  than  the  combatants,  part  them  ;  or  if  he  be 
younger  than  the  person  struck,  or  of  the  same  age  with  him,  let 
him  defend  him  as  he  would  a  father  or  brother;  and  let  the 
striker  be  brought  to  trial,  and  if  convicted  imprisoned  for  a  year 
or  more  at  the  discretion  of  the  judges.  If  a  stranger  smite  one 
who  is  his  elder  by  twentj'  years  or  more,  he  shall  be  imprisoned 
for  two  years,  and  a  metic,  in  like  case,  shall  sulTer  three  years' 
imprisonment.  He  who  is  standing  by  and  gives  no  assistance, 
shall  be  punished  according  to  his  class  in  one  of  four  penalties 
— a  mina,  fifty,  thirty,  twenty  drachmas.  The  generals  and  other 
superior  officers  of  the  army  shall  form  the  court  which  tries 
this  class  of  offences. 

Laws  are  made  to  instruct  the  good,  and  in  the  hope  that  there 
may  be  no  need  of  them  ;  also  to  control  the  bad,  whose  hardness 
of  heart  will  not  be  hindered  from  crime.  The  uttermost  penalty 
will  fall  upon  those  who  lay  violent  hands  upon  a  parent,  having 
no  fear  of  the  Gods  above,  or  of  the  punishments  which  will 
pursue  them  in  the  world  below.    They  are  too  wise  in  their  own  88i 


Analysis  881-885. 


clxiii 


conceits  to  believe  in  such  tilings  :  whierefore  tlie  tortures  wliich  Laws  IX. 
await  them  in  another  Ufe  must  be  anticipated  in  this.  Let  the  Analysis. 
law  be  as  follows  :  — 

If  a  man,  being  in  his  right  mind,  dare  to  smite  his  father  and 
mother,  or  his  grandfather  and  grandmother,  let  the  passer-by 
come  to  the  rescue  ;  and  if  he  be  a  metic  or  stranger  who  comes 
to  the  rescue,  he  shall  have  the  first  place  at  the  games  ;  or  if  he 
do  not  come  to  the  rescue,  he  shall  be  a  perpetual  exile.  Let  the 
citizen  in  the  like  case  be  praised  or  blamed,  and  the  slave  receive 
freedom  or  a  hundred  stripes.  The  wardens  of  the  agora,  the  city, 
or  the  country,  as  the  case  may  be,  shall  see  to  the  execution  of 
the  law.  And  he  who  is  an  inhabitant  of  the  same  place  and  is 
present  shall  come  to  the  rescue,  or  he  shall  fall  under  a  curse. 

If  a  man  be  convicted  of  assaulting  his  parents,  let  him  be 
banished  for  ever  from  the  city  into  the  country,  and  let  him 
abstain  from  all  sacred  rites ;  and  if  he  do  not  abstain,  let  him  be 
punished  by  the  wardens  of  the  country ;  and  if  he  return  to  the 
city,  let  him  be  put  to  death.  If  any  freeman  consort  with  him, 
882  let  him  be  purified  before  he  returns  to  the  city.  If  a  slave  strike  a 
freeman,  whether  citizen  or  stranger,  let  the  bystander  be  obliged 
to  seize  and  deliver  him  into  the  hands  of  the  injured  person,  who 
may  inflict  upon  him  as  many  blows  as  he  pleases,  and  shall  then 
return  him  to  his  master.  The  law  will  be  as  follows  : — The  slave 
who  strikes  a  freeman  shall  be  bound  by  his  master,  and  not  set 
at  liberty  without  the  consent  of  the  person  whom  he  has  injured. 
AH  these  laws  apply  to  women  as  well  as  to  men. 

884  BOOK  X.  The  greatest  wrongs  arise  out  of  youthful  insolence, 
and  the  greatest  of  all  are  committed  against  public  temples  ;  they 

885  are  in  the  second  degree  great  when  private  rites  and  sepulchres 
are  insulted ;  in  the  third  degree,  when  committed  against  parents  ; 
in  the  fourth  degree,  when  they  are  done  against  the  authority  or 
property  of  the  rulers ;  in  the  fifth  degree,  when  the  rights  of 
individuals  are  violated.  Most  of  these  offences  have  been  already 
considered  ;  but  there  remains  the  question  of  admonition  and 
punishment  of  offences  against  the  Gods.  Let  the  admonition  be 
in  the  following  terms  : — No  man  who  ever  intentionally  did  or 
said  anything  impious,  had  a  true  belief  in  the  existence  of  the 
Gods;  but  either  he  thought  that  there  were  no  Gods,  or  that 

I  2 


clxiv 


Analysis  885-887. 


.Lazes  X.  they  did  not  care  about  men,  or  that  they  were  easily  appeased 
Analysis,  by  sacrifices  and  prayers.  'What  shall  we  say  or  do  to  such 
persons?'  My  good  sir,  let  us  first  hear  the  jests  which  they  in 
their  superiority  will  make  upon  us.  '  What  will  they  say  ? ' 
Probably  something  of  this  kind  : — '  Strangers,  you  are  right  in 
thinking  that  some  of  us  do  not  believe  in  the  existence  of  the 
Gods  ;  while  others  assert  that  they  do  not  care  for  us,  and  others 
that  they  are  propitiated  by  prayers  and  offerings.  But  we  want 
you  to  argue  with  us  before  you  threaten  ;  you  should  prove  to  us 
by  reasonable  evidence  that  there  are  Gods,  and  that  they  are  too 
good  to  be  bribed.  Poets,  priests,  prophets,  rhetoricians,  even  the 
best  of  them,  speak  to  us  of  atoning  for  evil,  and  not  of  avoiding  it. 
From  legislators  who  profess  to  be  gentle  we  ask  for  instruction, 
which  may,  at  least,  have  the  persuasive  power  of  truth,  if  no 
other.'  What  have  you  to  say .''  '  Well,  there  is  no  difficulty  in  886 
proving  the  being  of  the  Gods.  The  sun,  and  earth,  and  stars, 
moving  in  their  courses,  the  recurring  seasons,  furnish  proofs  of 
their  existence  ;  and  there  is  the  general  opinion  of  mankind.'  I 
fear  that  the  unbelievers — not  that  I  care  for  their  opinion — will 
despise  us.  You  are  not  aware  that  their  impiety  proceeds,  not 
from  sensuality,  but  from  ignorance  taking  the  garb  of  wisdom. 
'  What  do  you  mean  ? '  At  Athens  there  are  tales  current  both  in 
prose  and  verse  of  a  kind  which  are  not  tolerated  in  a  well- 
regulated  state  like  yours.  The  oldest  of  them  relate  the  origin 
of  the  world,  and  the  birth  and  life  of  the  Gods.  These  narratives 
have  a  bad  infiuence  on  family  relations  ;  but  as  they  are  old  we 
will  let  them  pass,  and  consider  another  kind  of  tales,  invented  by 
the  wisdom  of  a  younger  generation,  who,  if  any  one  argues  for  the 
existence  of  the  Gods  and  claims  that  the  stars  have  a  divine 
being,  insist  that  these  are  mere  earth  and  stones,  which  can  have 
no  care  of  human  things,  and  that  all  theology  is  a  cooking  up  of 
words.  Now  what  course  ought  we  to  take  ?  Shall  we  suppose 
some  impious  man  to  charge  us  with  assuming  the  existence  of 
the  Gods,  and  make  a  defence  ?  Or  shall  we  leave  the  preamble  887 
and  go  on  to  the  laws  ?  '  There  is  no  hurry,  and  we  have  often 
said  that  the  shorter  and  worse  method  should  not  be  preferred 
to  the  longer  and  better.  The  proof  that  there  are  Gods  who  are 
good,  and  the  friends  of  justice,  is  the  best  preamble  of  all  our  laws.' 
Come,  let  us  talk  with  the  impious,  who  have  been  brought  up 


Analysis  887-889, 


clxv 


from  their  infancy  in  the  belief  of  religion,  and  have  heard  their    Laws  X. 
own  fathers  and  mothers  praying  for  them  and  talking  with  the  Analysis. 
Gods  as  if  they  were  absolutely  convinced  of  their  existence ;  who 
have  seen  mankind  prostrate  in  prayer  at  the  rising  and  setting 

888  of  the  sun  and  moon  and  at  every  turn  of  fortune,  and  have  dared 
to  despise  and  disbelieve  all  this.  Can  we  keep  our  temper  with 
them,  when  they  compel  us  to  argue  on  such  a  theme  ?  We  must; 
or  like  them  we  shall  go  mad,  though  with  more  reason.  Let  us 
select  one  of  them  and  address  him  as  follows  : 

0  my  son,  you  are  young ;  time  and  experience  will  make  you 
change  many  of  your  opinions.  Do  not  be  hasty  in  forming  a 
conclusion  about  the  divine  nature ;  and  let  me  mention  to  you 
a  fact  which  I  know.  You  and  your  friends  are  not  the  first  or 
the  only  persons  who  have  had  these  notions  about  the  Gods. 
There  are  always  a  considerable  number  who  are  infected  by 
them  :  I  have  known  many  myself,  and  can  assure  you  that  no 
one  who  was  an  unbeliever  in  his  youth  ever  persisted  till  he  was 
old  in  denying  the  existence  of  the  Gods.  The  two  other  opinions, 
first,  that  the  Gods  exist  and  have  no  care  of  men,  secondly,  that 
they  care  for  men,  but  may  be  propitiated  by  sacrifices  and 
prayers,  may  indeed  last  through  life  in  a  few  instances,  but  even 
this  is  not  common.  I  would  beg  of  you  to  be  patient,  and  learn 
the  truth  of  the  legislator  and  others  ;  in  the  mean  time  abstain 
from  impiety.    '  So  far,  our  discourse  has  gone  well.' 

1  will  now  speak  of  a  strange  doctrine,  which  is  regarded  by 

889  many  as  the  crown  of  philosophy.  They  affirm  that  all  things 
come  into  being  either  by  art  or  nature  or  chance,  and  that  the 
greater  things  are  done  by  nature  and  chance,  and  the  lesser 
things  by  art,  which  receiving  from  nature  the  greater  creations, 
moulds  and  fashions  all  those  lesser  works  which  are  termed 
works  of  art.  Their  meaning  is  that  fire,  water,  earth,  and  air  all 
exist  by  nature  and  chance,  and  not  by  art ;  and  that  out  of  these, 
according  to  certain  chance  affinities  of  opposites,  the  sun,  the 
moon,  the  stars,  and  the  earth  have  been  framed,  not  by  any  action 
of  mind,  but  by  nature  and  chance  only.  Thus,  in  their  opinion, 
the  heaven  and  earth  were  created,  as  well  as  the  animals  and 
plants.  Art  came  later,  and  is  of  mortal  birth  ;  by  her  power  were 
invented  certain  images  and  very  partial  imitations  of  the  truth, 
of  which  kind  are  the  creations  of  musicians  and  painters:  but 


clxvi 


Analysis  889-892. 


t 


Laws  X.  they  say  that  there  are  other  arts  which  combine  with  nature,  and 
Analysis,    have  a  deeper  truth,  such  as  medicine,  husbandry,  gymnastic. 

Also  the  greater  part  of  poHtics  they  imagine  to  co-operate  with 
nature,  but  in  a  less  degree,  having  more  of  art,  while  legislation 
is  declared  by  them  to  be  wholly  a  work  of  art.  '  How  do  you 
mean  ? '  In  the  first  place,  they  say  that  the  Gods  exist  neither 
by  nature  nor  by  art,  but  by  the  laws  of  states,  which  are  different 
in  different  countries  ;  and  that  virtue  is  one  thing  by  nature  and 
another  by  convention  ;  and  that  justice  is  altogether  conventional, 
made  by  law,  and  having  authority  for  the  moment  only.  This  is  890 
repeated  to  young  men  by  sages  and  poets,  and  leads  to  impiety, 
and  the  pretended  life  according  to  nature  and  in  disobedience  to 
law  ;  for  nobody  beheves  the  Gods  to  be  such  as  the  law  affirms. 
'  How  true !  and  oh  !  how  injurious  to  states  and  to  families  ! ' 
But  then,  what  should  the  lawgiver  do Should  he  stand  up  in 
the  state  and  threaten  mankind  with  the  severest  penalties  if 
they  persist  in  their  unbelief,  while  he  makes  no  attempt  to  win 
them  by  persuasion  ?  '  Nay,  Stranger,  the  legislator  ought  never 
to  weary  of  trying  to  persuade  the  world  that  there  are  Gods  ;  and 
he  should  declare  that  law  and  art  exist  by  nature.'  Yes,  Cleinias; 
but  these  are  difficult  and  tedious  questions.  'And  shall  our 
patience,  which  was  not  exhausted  in  the  enquiry  about  music  or 
drink,  fail  now  that  we  are  discoursing  about  the  Gods  ?  There  891 
may  be  a  difficulty  in  framing  laws,  but  when  written  down  they 
remain,  and  time  and  diligence  will  make  them  clear  ;  if  they  are 
useful  there  would  be  neither  reason  nor  religion  in  rejecting 
them  on  account  of  their  length.'  Most  true.  And  the  general 
spread  of  unbelief  shows  that  the  legislator  should  do  something 
in  vindication  of  the  laws,  when  they  are  being  undermined  by 
bad  men.  '  He  should.'  You  agree  with  me,  Cleinias,  that  the 
heresy  consists  in  supposing  earth,  air,  fire,  and  water  to  be  the 
first  of  all  things.  These  the  heretics  call  nature,  conceiving 
them  to  be  prior  to  the  soul.  '  I  agree.'  You  would  further  agree 
that  natural  philosophy  is  the  source  of  this  impiety — the  study 
appears  to  be  pursued  in  a  wrong  way.  '  In  what  way  do  3^ou 
mean?'  The  error  consists  in  transposing  first  and  second 
causes.  They  do  not  see  that  the  soul  is  before  the  body,  and  892 
before  all  other  things,  and  the  author  and  ruler  of  them  all.  And 
if  the  soul  is  prior  to  the  bodj',  then  the  things  of  the  soul  are  prior 


Analysis  892-894. 


clxvii 


to  the  things  of  the  body.    In  other  words,  opinion,  attention.    Laws  X. 
mind,  art,  law,  are  prior  to  sensible  quahties;  and  the  first  and  Analysis. 
greater  works  of  creation  are  the  results  of  art  and  mind,  whereas 
the  works  of  nature,  as  they  are  improperly  termed,  are  secondary 
and  subsequent.    '  Why  do  you  sa}'  "  improperly  "  ? '  Because 
when  they  speak  of  nature  they  seem  to  mean  the  first  creative 
power.    But  if  the  soul  is  first,  and  not  fire  and  air,  then  the  soul 
above  all  things  may  be  said  to  exist  by  nature.  And  this  can  only  be 
on  the  supposition  that  the  soul  is  prior  to  the  body.    Shall  we  try 
to  prove  that  it  is  so  ?    '  By  all  means.'    I  fear  that  the  greenness 
of  our  argument  will  ludicrously  contrast  with  the  ripeness  of  our 
ages.    But  as  we  must  go  into  the  water,  and  the  stream  is  strong, 
I  will  first  attempt  to  cross  by  myself,  and  if  I  arrive  at  the  bank, 
•  S93  you  shall  follow.    Remembering  that  you  are  unaccustomed  to 
such  discussions,  I  will  ask  and  answer  the  questions  myself, 
while  you  listen  in  safety.    But  first  I  must  pray  the  Gods  to 
assist  at  the  demonstration  of  their  own  existence — if  ever  we  are 
to  call  upon  them,  now  is  the  time.    Let  me  hold  fast  to  the  rope, 
and  enter  into  the  depths :  Shall  I  put  the  question  to  myself  in 
this  form  ? — Are  all  things  at  rest,  and  is  nothing  in  motion  ?  or 
are  some  things  in  motion,  and  some  things  at  rest  ?    '  The  latter.' 
And  do  they  move  and  rest,  some  in  one  place,  some  in  more  ?  '  Yes.' 
There  may  be  (i)  motion  in  the  same  place,  as  in  revolution  on  an 
axis,  which  is  imparted  swiftly  to  the  larger  and  slowly  to  the 
lesser  circle  ;  and  there  may  be  motion  in  different  places,  having 
sometimes  (2)  one  centre  of  motion  and  sometimes  (3)  more.  (4) 
When  bodies  in  motion  come  against  other  bodies  which  are  at 
rest,  they  are  divided  by  them,  and  (5)  when  they  are  caught 
between  other  bodies  corning  from  opposite  directions  they  unite 
with  them ;  and  (6)  they  grow  by  union  and  (7)  waste  by  dis- 
solution while  their  constitution  remains  the  same,  but  are  (8) 
894  destroyed  when  their  constitution  fails.    There  is  a  growth  from 
one  dimension  to  two,  and  from  a  second  to  a  third,  which  then 
becomes  perceptible  to  sense ;  this  process  is  called  generation, 
and  the  opposite,  destruction.    We  have  now  enumerated  all 
possible  motions  with  the  exception  of  two.    '  What  are  they  ? ' 
Just  the  two  with  which  our  enquiry  is  concerned  ;  for  our  enquiry 
relates  to  the  soul.    There  is  one  kind  of  motion  which  is  only 
able  to  move  other  things  ;  there  is  another  which  can  move  itself 


clxviii 


Analysis  894-897. 


Laws  X.  as  well,  working  in  composition  and  decomposition,  by  increase 
Analysis,  and  diminution,  by  generation  and  destruction.  '  Granted.'  (9)  That 
which  moves  and  is  moved  by  another  is  the  ninth  kind  of 
motion ;  (10)  that  which  is  self-moved  and  moves  others  is  the  tenth. 
And  this  tenth  kind  of  motion  is  the  mightiest,  and  is  really  the 
first,  and  is  followed  by  that  which  was  improperly  called  the 
ninth.  'How  do  you  mean?'  Must  not  that  which  is  moved  by 
others  finally  depend  upon  that  which  is  moved  by  itself?  Nothing  895 
can  be  affected  by  any  transition  prior  to  self-motion.  Then  the 
first  and  eldest  principle  of  motion,  whether  in  things  at  rest  or 
not  at  rest,  will  be  the  principle  of  self-motion ;  and  that  which  is 
moved  by  others  and  can  move  others  will  be  the  second.  '  True.' 
Let  me  ask  another  question  : 

What  is  the  name  which  is  given  to  self-motion  when  manifested 
in  any  material  substance  ?  '  Life.'  And  soul  too  is  life  ?  '  Very 
good.'  And  are  there  not  three  kinds  of  knowledge — a  knowledge 
(x)  of  the  essence,  (2)  of  the  definition,  (3)  of  the  name  ?  And 
sometimes  the  name  leads  us  to  ask  the  definition,  sometimes 
the  definition  to  ask  the  name.  For  example,  number  can  be 
divided  into  equal  parts,  and  when  thus  divided  is  termed  even, 
and  the  definition  of  even  and  the  word  '  even '  refer  to  the  same 
thing.  '  Very  true.'  And  what  is  the  definition  of  the  thing  which  896 
is  named  'soul'?  Must  we  not  reply,  'The  self-moved'?  And  , 
have  we  not  proved  that  the  self-moved  is  the  source  of  motion  in 
other  things  ?  '  Yes.'  And  the  motion  which  is  not  self-moved 
will  be  inferior  to  this  ?  '  True.'  And  if  so,  we  shall  be  right  in 
saying  that  the  soul  is  prior  and  superior  to  the  body,  and  the  body 
by  nature  subject  and  inferior  to  the  soul  ?  '  Quite  right.'  And  we 
agreed  that  if  the  soul  was  prior  to  the  body,  the  things  of  the  soul 
were  prior  to  the  things  of  the  body  ?  '  Certainly.'  And  therefore 
desires,  and  manners,  and  thoughts,  and  true  opinions,  and 
recollections,  are  prior  to  the  length  and  breadth  and  force  of 
bodies.  'To  be  sure.'  In  the  next  place,  we  acknowledge  that 
the  soul  is  the  cause  of  good  and  evil,  just  and  unjust,  if  we 
suppose  her  to  be  the  cause  of  all  things  ?  '  Certainly.'  And  the 
soul  which  orders  all  things  must  also  order  the  heavens?  'Of 
course.'  One  soul  or  nvore  ?  More  ;  for  less  than  two  are  incon- 
ceivable, one  good,  the  other  evil.  '  Most  true.'  The  soul  directs 
all  things  by  her  movements,  which  we  call  will,  consideration,  S97 


Analysis  897,  898. 


clxlx 


attention,  deliberation,  opinion  true  and  false,  joy,  sorrow,  courage,    Latvs  X. 
fear,  hatred,  love,  and  similar  affections.    These  are  the  primary  Analysis. 
movements,  and  they  receive  the  secondary  movements  of  bodies, 
and  guide  all  things  to  increase  and  diminution,  separation  and 
union,  and  to  all  the  qualities  which  accompany  them  —  cold, 
hot,  heavy,  light,  hard,  soft,  white,  black,  sweet,  bitter ;  these 
and  other  such  qualities  the  soul,  herself  a  goddess,  uses,  when 
truly  receiving  the  divine  mind  she  leads  all  things  rightly  to 
their  happiness  ;  but  under  the  impulse  of  folly  she  works  out  an 
opposite  result.    For  the  controller  of  heaven  and  earth  and  the 
circle  of  the  world  is  either  the  wise  and  good  soul,  or  the  foolish 
and  vicious  soul,  working  in  them.    '  What  do  you  mean  ?  ■'    If  we 
say  that  the  whole  course  and  motion  of  heaven  and  earth  is  in 
accordance  with  the  workings  and  reasonings  of  mind,  clearly  the 
best  soul  must  have  the  care  of  the  heaven,  and  guide  it  along  that 
better  way.    'True.'    But  if  the  heavens  move  wildly  and  dis- 
orderly, then  they  must  be  under  the  guidance  of  the  evil  soul. 
'  True  again.'    What  is  the  nature  of  the  movement  of  the  soul 
We  must  not  suppose  that  we  can  see  and  know  the  soul  with 
our  bodily  eyes,  any  more  than  we  can  fix  them  on  the  midday  sun  ; 
it  will  be  safer  to  look  at  an  image  only.  '  How  do  you  mean  ? '  Let 
us  find  among  the  ten  kinds  of  motion  an  image  of  the  motion  of  the 
mind.  You  remember,  as  we  said,  that  all  things  are  divided  into  two 
classes ;  and  some  of  them  were  moved  and  some  at  rest.  'Yes.'  And 
of  those  which  were  moved,  some  were  moved  in  the  same  place, 
others  in  more  places  than  one,    '  Just  so.'   The  motion  which  was 
•98  in  one  place  was  circular,  like  the  motion  of  a  spherical  body ; 
and  such  a  motion  in  the  same  place,  and  in  the  same  relations, 
is  an  excellent  image  of  the  motion  of  mind.    '  Very  true.'  The 
motion  of  the  olher  sort,  which  has  no  fixed  place  or  manner  or 
relation  or  order  or  proportion,  is  akin  to  folly  and  nonsense.  '  Very 
true.'    After  what  has  been  said,  it  is  clear  that,  since  the  soul 
carries  round  all  things,  some  soul  which  is  either  very  good  or  the 
opposite  carries  round  the  circumference  of  heaven.    But  that 
soul  can  be  no  other  than  the  best.    Again,  the  soul  carries  round 
the  sun,  moon,  and  stars,  and  if  the  sun  has  a  soul,  then  either  the 
soul  of  the  sun  is  within  and  moves  the  sun  as  the  human  soul 
moves  the  body ;  or,  secondly,  the  sun  is  contained  in  some 
external  air  or  fire,  which  the  soul  provides  and  through  which 


clxx 


Analysis  899-901. 


Laws  X.  she  operates  ;  or,  thirdly,  the  course  of  the  sun  is  guided  by  the  899 
Analysis,  soul  acting  in  a  Wonderful  manner  without  a  body.  '  Yes,  in  one  of 
those  ways  the  soul  must  guide  all  things.'  And  this  soul  of  the 
sun,  which  is  better  than  the  sun,  whether  driving  him  in  a  chariot 
or  employing  any  other  agencj',  is  by  every  man  called  a  God  ? 
'  Yes,  by  every  man  who  has  any  sense.'  And  of  the  seasons, 
stars,  moon,  and  year,  in  like  manner,  it  may  be  affirmed  that  the 
soul  or  souls  from  which  they  derive  their  excellence  are  divine ; 
and  without  insisting  on  the  manner  of  their  working,  no  one  can 
deny  that  all  things  are  full  of  Gods.  '  No  one.'  And  now  let  us 
offer  an  alternative  to  him  who  denies  that  there  are  Gods.  Either 
he  must  show  that  the  soul  is  not  the  origin  of  all  things,  or  he 
must  live  for  the  future  in  the  belief  that  there  are  Gods. 

Next,  as  to  the  man  who  beheves  in  the  Gods,  but  refuses  to 
acknowledge  that  they  take  care  of  human  things — let  him  too 
have  a  word  of  admonition.  '  Best  of  men,'  we  will  say  to  him, 
'some  affinity  to  the  Gods  leads  you  to  honour  them  and  to  believe 
in  them.  But  you  have  heard  the  happiness  of  wicked  men  sung 
by  poets  and  admired  by  the  world,  and  this  has  drawn  you  away 
from  your  natural  piety.  Or  you  have  seen  the  wicked  growing  900 
old  in  prosperity,  and  leaving  great  offices  to  their  children ;  or 
you  have  watched  the  tyrant  succeeding  in  his  career  of  crime  ; 
and  considering  all  these  things  you  have  been  led  to  believe  in  an 
irrational  way  that  the  Gods  take  no  care  of  human  affairs.  That 
your  error  may  not  increase,  I  will  endeavour  to  purify  your  soul.' 
Do  you,  Megillus  and  Cleinias,  make  answer  for  the  youth,  and 
when  we  come  to  a  difficulty,  I  will  carry  you  over  the  water  as  1 
did  before.  'Very  good.'  He  will  easily  be  convinced  that  the 
Gods  care  for  the  small  as  well  as  the  great ;  for  he  heard  what  was 
said  of  their  goodness  and  of  their  having  all  things  under  their 
care.  '  He  certainly  heard.'  Then  now  let  us  enquire  what  is 
meant  by  the  virtue  of  the  Gods.  To  possess  mind  belongs  to 
virtue,  and  the  contrary  to  vice.  '  That  is  what  we  say.'  And  is 
not  courage  a  part  of  virtue,  and  cowardice  of  vice  ?  '  Certainly.' 
And  to  the  Gods  we  ascribe  virtues  ;  but  idleness  and  indolence 
are  not  virtues.  '  Of  course  not.'  And  is  God  to  be  conceived  of  9°^ 
as  a  careless,  indolent  fellow,  such  as  the  poet  would  compare  to 
a  stingless  drone  ?  '  Impossible.'  Can  we  be  right  in  praising  any 
one  who  cares  for  great  matters  and  leaves  the  small  to  take  care 


Analysis  901-903.  clxxi 

of  themselves  ?   Whether  God  or  man,  he  who  does  so,  must    Laws  X. 
either  think  the  neglect  of  such  matters  to  be  of  no  consequence,  analysis. 
or  he  is  indolent  and  careless.    For  surely  neither  of  them  can 
be  charged  with  neglect  if  they  fail  to  attend  to  something  which  is 
beyond  their  power  ?    '  Certainly  not.' 

And  now  we  will  examine  the  two  classes  of  offenders  who 
admit  that  there  are  Gods,  but  say,— the  one  that  they  may  be 
appeased,  the  other  that  they  take  no  care  of  small  matters  :  do 
they  not  acknowledge  that  the  Gods  are  omnipotent  and  om- 
niscient, and  also  good  and  perfect  ?  '  Certainly.'  Then  they 
cannot  be  indolent,  for  indolence  is  the  offspring  of  idleness,  and 
idleness  of  cowardice,  and  there  is  no  cowardice  in  God.  '  True,' 
:  2  If  the  Gods  neglect  small  matters,  they  must  either  know  or  not 
know  that  such  things  are  not  to  be  regarded.  But  of  course  they 
know  that  they  should  be  regarded,  and  knowing,  they  cannot  be 
supposed,^  to  neglect  their  duty,  overcome  by  the  seductions  of 
pleasure  or  pain.  'Impossible.'  And  do  not  all  human  things  share 
in  soul,  and  is  not  man  the  most  religious  of  animals  and  the  pos- 
session of  the  Gods  ?  And  the  Gods,  who  are  the  best  of  owners, 
will  surely  take  care  of  their  property,  small  or  great.  Consider 
further,  that  the  greater  the  power  of  perception,  the  less  the 
power  of  action.  For  it  is  harder  to  see  and  hear  the  small  than 
the  great,  but  easier  to  control  them.  Suppose  a  physician  who 
had  to  cure  a  patient — would  he  ever  succeed  if  he  attended  to  the 
great  and  neglected  the  little  ?  '  Impossible.'  Is  not  life  made  up 
of  littles  ? — the  pilot,  general,  householder,  statesman,  all  attend  to 
small  matters ;  and  the  builder  will  tell  you  that  large  stones  do 
not  lie  well  without  small  ones.  And  God  is  not  inferior  to  niortal 
3  craftsmen,  who  in  proportion  to  their  sldll  are  careful  in  the  details 
of  their  work ;  we  must  not  imagine  the  best  and  wisest  to  be 
^  l^zy  good-for-nothing,  who  wearies  of  his  work  and  hurries  over 
small  and  easy  matters.  '  Never,  never  ! '  He  who  charges  the 
Gods  with  neglect  has  been  forced  to  admit  his  error  ;  but  I  should 
like  further  to  persuade  him  that  the  author  of  all  has  made  every 
part  for  the  sake  of  the  whole,  and  that  the  smallest  part  has  an 
appointed  state  of  action  or  passion,  and  that  the  least  action  or 
passion  of  any  part  has  a  presiding  minister.  You,  we  say  to  him, 
are  a  minute  fraction  of  this  universe,  created  with  a  view  to  the 
whole  ;  the  world  is  not  made  for  you,  but  you  for  the  world  ;  for 


clxxii  Analysis  903-905. 

Laws  X.    the  good  artist  considers  the  whole  first,  and  afterwards  the  parts. 

Analysis.  And  you  are  annoyed  at  not  seeing  how  you  and  the  universe  arc 
all  working  together  for  the  best,  so  far  as  the  laws  of  the  common 
creation  admit.  The  soul  undergoes  many  changes  from  her  con- 
tact with  bodies  ;  and  all  that  the  player  does  is  to  put  the  pieces 
into  their  right  places.  '  What  do  you  mean  ? '  I  mean  that  God 
acts  in  the  way  which  is  simplest  and  easiest.  Had  each  thing  been 
formed  without  any  regard  to  the  rest,  the  transposition  of  the  904 
Cosmos  would  have  been  endless  ;  but  now  there  is  not  much 
trouble  in  the  government  of  the  world.  For  when  the  king  saw 
the  actions  of  the  living  souls  and  bodies,  and  the  virtue  and  vice 
which  were  in  them,  and  the  indestructibility  of  the  soul  and  body 
(although  ihey  were  not  eternal),  he  contrived  so  to  arrange  them 
that  virtue  might  conquer  and  vice  be  overcome  as  far  as  possible ; 
giving  them  a  seat  and  room  adapted  to  them,  but  leaving  the 
direction  of  their  separate  actions  to  men's  own  wills,  wljich  make 
our  characters  to  be  what  they  are.  '  That  is  very  probable.'  All 
things  which  have  a  soul  possess  in  themselves  the  principle  of 
change,  and  in  changing  move  according  to  fate  and  law ;  natures 
which  have  undergone  lesser  changes  move  on  the  surface ;  but 
those  which  have  changed  utterly  for  the  worse,  sink  into  Hades 
and  the  infernal  world.  And  in  all  great  changes  for  good  and 
evil  which  are  produced  either  by  the  will  of  the  soul  or  the  in- 
fluence of  others,  there  is  a  change  of  place.  The  good  soul, 
which  has  intercourse  with  the  divine  nature,  passes  into  a  hoher 
and  better  place  ;  and  the  evil  soul,  as  she  grows  worse,  changes 
her  place  for  the  worse.  This, — as  we  declare  to  the  youth  who 
fancies  that  he  is  neglected  of  the  Gods,— is  the  law  of  divine 
justice — the  worse  to  the  worse,  the  better  to  the  better,  hke  to  905 
like,  in  life  and  in  death.  And  from  this  law  no  man  will  ever 
boast  that  he  has  escaped.  Even  if  you  say—'  I  am  small,  and  will 
creep  into  the  earth,'  or  '  I  am  high,  and  will  mount  to  heaven ' — 
you  are  not  so  small  or  so  high  that  you  shall  not  pay  the  fitting 
penalty,  either  here  or  in  the  world  below.  This  is  also  the 
explanation  of  the  seeming  prosperity  of  the  wicked,  in  whose 
actions  as  in  a  mirror  you  imagined  that  you  saw  the  neglect  of  the 
Gods,  not  considering  that  they  make  all  things  contribute  to  the 
whole.  And  how  then  could  you  form  any  idea  of  true  happiness? 
— If  Cleinias  and  Megillus  and  I  have  succeeded  in  persuading  you 


Analysis  905-907. 


clxxiii 


that  you  know  not  what  you  say  about  the  Gods,  God  will  help  Laws  X. 
you  ;  but  if  there  is  still  any  deficiency  of  proof,  hear  our  answer  Analysis. 
to  the  third  opponent. 

Enough  has  been  said  to  prove  that  the  Gods  exist  and  care  for 
us ;  that  they  can  be  propitiated,  or  that  they  receive  gifts,  is  not  to 
be  allowed  or  admitted  for  an  instant.    '  Let  us  proceed  with  the 

.  argument.'  Tell  me,  by  the  Gods,  I  say,  how  the  Gods  are  to  be 
propitiated  by  us  ?    Are  they  not  rulers,  who  may  be  compared 

5  to  charioteers,  pilots,  perhaps  generals,  or  physicians  providing 
against  the  assaults  of  disease,  husbandmen  observing  the  perils  of 
the  seasons,  shepherds  watching  their  flocks  ?  To  whom  shall  we 
compare  them  ?  We  acknowledged  that  the  world  is  full  both  of 
good  and  evil,  but  having  more  of  evil  than  of  good.  There  is  an 
immortal  conflict  going  on,  in  which  Gods  and  demigods  are  our 
allies,  and  we  their  property ;  for  injustice  and  folly  and  wicked- 
ness make  war  in  our  souls  upon  justice  and  temperance  and 
wisdom.  There  is  little  virtue  to  be  found  on  earth  ;  and  evil 
natures  fawn  upon  the  Gods,  like  wild  beasts  upon  their  keepers, 
and  believe  that  they  can  win  them  over  by  flattery  and  prayers. 
And  this  sin,  which  is  termed  dishonesty,  is  to  the  soul  what 
disease  is  to  the  body,  what  pestilence  is  to  the  seasons,  what 
injustice  is  to  states.  '  Quite  so.'  And  they  who  maintain  that  the 
Gods  can  be  appeased  must  say  that  they  forgive  the  sins  of  men, 
if  they  are  allowed  to  share  in  their  spoils ;  as  you  might  suppose 
wolves  to  mollify  the  dogs  by  throwing  them  a  portion  of  the  prey. 
'  That  is  the  argument.'  But  let  us  apply  our  images  to  the  Gods 
— are  they  the  pilots  who  are  won  by  gifts  to  wreck  their  own 
ships— or  the  charioteers  who  are  bribed  to  lose  the  race — or  the 
generals,  or  doctors,  or  husbandmen,  who  are  perverted  from 

7  their  duty— or  the  dogs  who  are  silenced  by  wolves  ?  '  God  forbid.' 
Are  they  not  rather  our  best  guardians;  and  shall  we  suppose 
them  to  fall  short  even  of  a  moderate  degree  of  human  or  even 
canine  virtue,  which  will  not  betray  justice  for  reward  ?  '  Im- 
possible.' He,  then,  who  maintains  such  a  doctrine,  is  the  most 
blasphemous  of  mankind. 

And  now  our  three  points  are  proven  ;  and  we  are  agreed  (i) 
that  there  are  Gods,  (2)  that  they  care  for  men,  (3)  that  they  cannot 
be  bribed  to  do  injustice.  I  have  spoken  warmly,  from  a  fear  lest 
this  impiety  of  theirs  should  lead  to  a  perversion  of  life.    And  our 


Analysis  907-909. 

Laws  X.    warmth  will  not  have  been  in  vain,  if  we  have  succeeded  in  per- 
Analysis.     suading  these  men  to  abominate  themselves,  and  to  change  their 
ways.    '  So  let  us  hope.'    Then  now  that  the  preamble  is  com- 
pleted, we  will  make  a  proclamation  commanding  the  impious  to 
renounce  their  evil  ways ;  and  in  case  they  refuse,  the  law  shall 
be  added  : — If  a  man  is  guilty  of  impiety  in  word  or  deed,  let  the 
bystander  inform  the  magistrates,  and  let  the  magistrates  bring  the 
offender  before  the  court ;  and  if  any  of  the  magistrates  refuses  to 
act,  he  likewise  shall  be  tried  for  impiety.    Any  one  who  is  found 
guilty  of  such  an  offence  shall  be  fined  at  the  discretion  of  the 
court,  and  shall  also  be  punished  by  a  term  of  imprisonment. 
There  shall  be  three  prisons— one  for  common  offences  against  908 
life  and  property;  another,  near  by  the  spot  where  the  Nocturnal 
Council  will  assemble,  which  is  to  be  called  the  '  House  of  Re- 
formation ' ;  the  third,  to  be  situated  in  some  desolate  region  in 
the  centre  of  the  country,  shall  be  called  by  a  name  indicating 
retribution.   There  are  three  causes  of  impiety,  and  from  each  of 
them  spring  impieties  of  two  kinds,  six  in  all.    First,  there  is  the 
impiety  of  those  who  deny  the  existence  of  the  Gods  ;  these  may 
be  honest  men,  haters  of  evil,  who  are  only  dangerous  because 
they  talk  loosely  about  the  Gods  and  make  others  like  them- 
selves ;   but  there  is  also  a  more  vicious  class,  who  are  full  of 
craft  and  licentiousness.   To  this  latter  belong  diviners,  jugglers, 
despots,  demagogues,  generals,  hierophants  of  private  mysteries, 
and  sophists.    The  first  class  shall  be  only  imprisoned  and  ad- 
monished.   The  second  class  should  be  put  to  death,  if  they  could 
be,  many  times  over.    The  two  other  sorts  of  impiety,  first  of 
those  who  deny  the  care  of  the  Gods,  and  secondly,  of  those  who 
affirm  that  they  may  be  propitiated,  have  similar  subdivisions, 
varying  in  degree  of  guilt.    Those  who  have  learnt  to  blaspheme 
from  mere  ignorance  shall  be  imprisoned  in  the  House  of  Re-  909 
formation  for  five  years  at  least,  and  not  allowed  to  see  any  one 
but  members  of  the  Nocturnal  Council,  who  shall  converse  with 
them  touching  their  souls'  health.    If  any  of  the  prisoners  come  to 
their  right  mind,  at  the  end  of  five  years  let  them  be  restored  to 
sane  company;  but  he  who  again  offends  shall  die.    As  to  that 
class  of  monstrous  natures  who  not  only  believe  that  the  Gods  are 
negligent,  or  may  be  propitiated,  but  pretend  to  practise  on  the 
souls  of  quick  and  dead,  and  promise  to  charm  the  Gods,  and  to 


Analysis  909-913. 


clxxv 


effect  the  ruin  of  houses  and  states — he,  I  say,  who  is  guilty  of  Laws  X. 
these  things,  shall  be  bound  in  the  central  prison,  and  shall  have  Analysis. 
no  intercourse  with  any  freeman,  receiving  only  his  daily  rations 
of  food  from  the  public  slaves  ;  and  when  he  dies,  let  him  be  cast 
beyond  the  border ;  and  if  any  freeman  assist  to  bury  him,  he  shall 
be  liable  to  a  suit  for  impiety.  But  the  sins  of  the  father  shall  not 
be  visited  upon  his  children,  who,  like  other  orphans,  shall  be 
educated  by  the  state.  Further,  let  there  be  a  general  law  which 
will  have  a  tendency  to  repress  impiety.  No  man  shall  have  re- 
ligious services  in  his  house,  but  he  shall  go  with  his  friends  to 
pray  and  sacrifice  in  the  temples.  The  reason  of  this  is,  that 
religious  institutions  can  only  be  framed  by  a  great  intelligence. 
But  women  and  weak  men  are  always  consecrating  the  event  of 
?o  the  moment ;  they  are  under  the  influence  of  dreams  and  appari- 
tions, and  they  build  altars  and  temples  in  every  village  and  in 
any  place  where  they  have  had  a  vision.  The  law  is  designed  to 
prevent  this,  and  also  to  deter  men  from  attempting  to  propitiate 
the  Gods  by  secret  sacrifices,  which  only  multiply  their  sins. 
Therefore  let  the  law  run : — No  one  shall  have  private  religious 
rites  ;  and  if  a  man  or  woman  who  has  not  been  previously  noted 
for  any  impiety  offend  in  this  way,  let  them  be  admonished  to 
remove  their  rites  to  a  public  temple  ;  but  if  the  offender  be  one  of 
the  obstinate  sort,  he  shall  be  brought  to  trial  before  the  guardians, 
and  if  he  be  found  guilty,  let  him  die. 

3  BOOK  XI.  As  to  dealings  between  man  and  man,  the  principle 
of  them  is  simple— Thou  shalt  not  take  what  is  not  thine ;  and 
shalt  do  to  others  as  thou  wouldst  that  they  should  do  to  thee. 
First,  of  treasure  trove  :— May  I  never  desire  to  find,  or  lift,  if  I 
find,  or  be  induced  by  the  counsel  of  diviners  to  lift,  a  treasure 
which  one  who  was  not  my  ancestor  has  laid  down  ;  for  I  shall  not 
gain  so  much  in  money  as  I  shall  lose  in  virtue.  The  saying, 
'  Move  not  the  immovable,'  may  be  repeated  in  a  new  sense  ;  and 
there  is  a  common  belief  which  asserts  that  such  deeds  prevent 
a  man  from  having  a  family.  To  him  who  is  careless  of  such 
consequences,  and,  despising  the  word  of  the  wise,  takes  up 
a  treasure  which  is  not  his— what  will  be  done  by  the  hand  of  the 
Gods,  God  only  knows,— but  I  would  have  the  first  person  who 
sees  the  offender,  inform  the  wardens  of  the  city  or  the  country  ; 


clxxvi  Analysis  913-915. 

Laws  XI.    and  they  shall  send  to  Delphi  for  a  decision,  and  whatever  the 
Analysis.    Oracle  orders,  they  shall  carry  out.   If  the  informer  be  a  freeman,  914 
he  shall  be  honoured,  and  if  a  slave,  set  free ;  but  he  who  does  not 
inform,  if  he  be  a  freeman,  shall  be  dishonoured,  and  if  a  slave, 
shajl  be  put  to  death.    If  a  man  leave  anywhere  anything  great  or 
small,  intentionally  or  unintentionally,  let  him  who  may  find  the 
property  deem  the  deposit  sacred  to  the  Goddess  of  ways.  And 
he  who  appropriates  the  same,  if  he  be  a  slave,  shall  be  beaten 
with  many  stripes ;  if  a  freeman,  he  shall  pay  tenfold,  and  be  held 
to  have  done  a  dishonourable  action.  If  a  person  says  that  another 
has  something  of  his,  and  the  other  allows  that  he  has  the  property 
in  dispute,  but  maintains  it  to  be  his  own,  let  the  ownership  be 
proved  out  of  the  registers  of  property.     If  the  property  is 
registered  as  belonging  to  some  one  who  is  absent,  possession  shall 
be  given  to  him  who  offers  sufficient  security  on  behalf  of  the 
absentee ;  or  if  the  property  is  not  registered,  let  it  remain  with 
the  three  eldest  magistrates,  and  if  it  should  be  an  animal,  the 
defeated  party  must  pay  the  cost  of  its  keep.   A  man  may  arrest 
his  own  slave,  and  he  may  also  imprison  for  safe-keeping  the 
runaway  slave  of  a  friend.   Any  one  interfering  with  him  must 
produce  three  sureties ;  otherwise,  he  will  be  liable  to  an  action 
for  violence,  and  if  he  be  cast,  must  pay  a  double  amount  of 
damages  to  him  from  whom  he  has  taken  the  slave.   A  freedman  915 
who  does  not  pay  due  respect  to  his  patron,  may  also  be  seized. 
Due  respect  consists  in  going  three  times  a  month  to  the  house  of 
his  patron,  and  offering  to  perform  any  lawful  service  for  him  ;  he 
must  also  marry  as  his  master  pleases ;  and  if  his  property  be 
greater  than  his  master's,  he  must  hand  over  to  him  the  excess.  A 
freedman  may  not  remain  in  the  state,  except  with  the  consent  of 
the  magistrates  and  of  his  master,  for  more  than  twenty  j^ears  ;  and 
whenever  his  census  exceeds  that  of  the  third  class,  he  must  in 
any  case  leave  the  country  within  thirty  days,  taking  his  property 
with  him.    If  he  break  this  regulation,  the  penalty  shall  be  death, 
and  his  property  shall  be  confiscated.    Suits  about  these  matters 
are  to  be  decided  in  the  courts  of  the  tribes,  unless  the  parties  have 
settled  the  matter  before  a  court  of  neighbours  or  before  arbiters. 
If  anybody  claim  a  beast,  or  anything  else,  let  the  possessor  refer 
to  the  seller  or  giver  of  the  property  within  thirty  days,  if  the  latter 
reside  in  the  city,  or,  if  the  goods  have  been  received  from  a 


Analysis  915  917. 


clxxvii 


stranger,  within  five  months,  of  which  the  middle  month  shall   Laws  XI. 
include  the  summer  solstice.    All  purchases  and  exchanges  are  to  Analysis. 
be  made  in  the  agora,  and  paid  for  on  the  spot ;  the  law  will  not 
allow  credit  to  be  given.  No  law  shall  protect  the  money  subscribed 

6  for  clubs.  He  who  sells  anything  of  greater  value  than  fifty 
drachmas  shall  abide  in  the  city  for  ten  days,  and  let  his  where- 
abouts be  known  to  the  buyer,  in  case  of  any  reclamation.  When 
a  slave  is  sold  who  is  subject  to  epilepsy,  stone,  or  any  other 
invisible  disorder,  the  buyer,  if  he  be  a  physician  or  trainer,  or  if 
he  be  warned,  shall  have  no  redress ;  but  in  other  cases  within  six 
months,  or  within  twelve  months  in  epileptic  disorders,  he  may 
bring  the  matter  before  a  jury  of  physicians  to  be  agreed  upon  by 
both  parties ;  and  the  seller  who  loses  the  suit,  if  he  be  an  expert, 
shall  pay  twice  the  price  ;  or  if  he  be  a  private  person,  the  bargain 
shall  be  rescinded,  and  he  shall  simply  refund.  If  a  person 
knowingly  sells  a  homicide  to  another,  who  is  informed  of  his 
character,  there  is  no  redress.  But  if  the  judges — who  are  to  be 
the  five  youngest  guardians  of  the  law— decide  that  the  purchaser 
was  not  aware,  then  the  seller  is  to  pay  threefold,  and  to  purify  the 
house  of  the  buyer. 

He  who  exchanges  money  for  money,  or  beast  for  beast,  must 
warrant  either  of  them  to  be  sound  and  good.  As  in  the  case  of 
other  laws,  let  us  have  a  preamble,  relating  to  all  this  class  of 
crime.  Adulteration  is  a  kind  of  falsehood  about  which  the  many 
commonly  say  that  at  proper  times  the  practice  may  often  be  right, 
but  they  do  not  define  at  what  times.  But  the  legislator  will  tell 
them,  that  no  man  should  invoke  the  Gods  when  he  is  practising 
deceit  or  fraud,  in  word  or  deed.  For  he  is  the  enemy  of  heaven, 
first,  who  swears  falsely,  not  thinking  of  the  Gods  by  whom  he 

7  swears,  and  secondly,  he  who  lies  to  his  superiors.  (Now  the 
superiors  are  the  betters  of  inferiors,— the  elder  of  the  younger, 
parents  of  children,  men  of  women,  and  rulers  of  subjects.)  The 
trader  who  cheats  in  the  agora  is  a  liar  and  is  perjured— he  respects 
neither  the  name  of  God  nor  the  regulations  of  the  magistrates.  If 
after  hearing  this  he  will  still  be  dishonest,  let  him  listen  to  the 
law :— The  seller  shall  not  have  two  prices  on  the  same  day, 
neither  must  he  puff  his  goods,  nor  offer  to  swear  about  them. 
If  he  break  the  law,  any  citizen  not  less  than  thirty  years  of  age 
may  smite  him.  If  he  sell  adulterated  goods,  the  slave  or  metic  who 

VOL.  V.  m 


clxxviii 


Analysis  917-919. 


Laws  XI.  informs  against  him  shall  have  the  goods  ;  the  citizen  who  brings 
Analysis,  such  a  charge,  if  he  prove  it,  shall  offer  up  the  goods  in  question 
to  the  Gods  of  the  agora ;  or  if  he  fail  to  prove  it,  shall  be  dis- 
honoured. He  who  is  detected  in  selling  adulterated  goods  shall  be 
deprived  of  them,  and  shall  receive  a  stripe  for  every  drachma  of 
their  value.  The  wardens  of  the  agora  and  the  guardians  of  the 
law  shall  take  experienced  persons  into  counsel,  and  draw  up  gig 
regulations  for  the  agora.  These  shall  be  inscribed  on  a  column  in 
front  of  the  court  of  the  wardens  of  the  agora. — As  to  the  wardens 
of  the  city,  enough  has  been  said  already*  But  if  any  omissions  in 
the  law  are  afterwards  discovered,  the  wardens  and  the  guardians 
shall  supply  them,  and  have  them  inscribed  after  the  original 
regulations  on  a  column  before  the  court  of  the  wardens  of  the 
city. 

Next  in  order  follows  the  subject  of  retail  trades,  which  in  their 
natural  use  are  the  reverse  of  mischievous ;  for  every  man  is  a 
benefactor  who  reduces  what  is  unequal  to  symmetry  and  propor- 
tion. Money  is  the  instrument  by  which  this  is  accomplished,  and 
the  shop-keeper,  the  merchant,  and  hotel-keeper  do  but  supply 
the  wants  and  equalize  the  possessions  of  mankind.  Why,  then, 
does  any  dishonour  attach  to  a  beneficent  occupation  ?  Let  us 
consider  the  nature  of  the  accusation  first,  and  then  see  whether  it 
can  be  removed.  '  What  is  your  drift  ? '  Dear  Cleinias,  there  are  few 
men  who  are  so  gifted  by  nature,  and  improved  by  education,  as  to 
be  able  to  control  the  desire  of  making  money ;  or  who  are  sober 
in  their  wishes  and  prefer  moderation  to  accumulation.  The  great 
majority  think  that  they  can  never  have  enough,  and  the  conse- 
quence is  that  retail  trade  has  become  a  reproach.  Whereas, 
however  ludicrous  the  idea  may  seem,  if  noble  men  and  noble 
women  could  be  induced  to  open  a  shop,  and  to  trade  upon  in- 
corruptible principles,  then  the  aspect  of  things  would  change,  and 
retail  traders  would  be  regarded  as  nursing  fathers  and  mothers. 
In  our  own  day  the  trader  goes  and  settles  in  distant  places,  and 
receives  the  weary  traveller  hospitably  at  first,  but  in  the  end  treats  919 
him  as  an  enemy  and  a  captive,  whom  he  only  liberates  for  an 
enormous  ransom.  This  is  what  has  brought  retail  trade  into 
disrepute,  and  against  this  the  legislator  ought  to  provide.  Men 
have  said  of  old,  that  to  fight  against  two  opponents  is  hard  ; 
and  the  two  opponents  of  whom  I  am  thinking  are  wealth  and 


Analysis  919-921. 


clxxix 


poverty — the  one  corrupting  men  by  luxury  ;  the  other,  through   Laws  XI. 
misery,  depriving  them  of  the  sense  of  shame.  What  remedies  can  Analysis. 
a  city  find  for  this  disease  ?    First,  to  have  as  few  retail  traders  as 
possible ;  secondly,  to  give  retail  trade  over  to  a  class  whose 
corruption  will  not  injure  the  state  ;  and  thirdly,  to  restrain  the 
insolence  and  meanness  of  the  retailers. 

Let  us  make  the  following  laws  : — (i)  In  the  city  of  the  Mag- 
netes  none  of  the  5040  citizens  shall  be  a  retailer  or  merchant, 
or  do  any  service  to  any  private  persons  who  do  not  equally 
serve  him,  except  to  his  father  and  mother  and  their  fathers  and 
mothers,  and  generally  to  his  elders  who  are  freemen,  and  whom 
he  serves  as  a  freeman.  He  who  follows  an  illiberal  pursuit  may 
be  cited  for  dishonouring  his  family,  and  kept  in  bonds  for  a  year ; 
.20  and  if  he  offend  again,  he  shall  be  bound  for  two  years  ;  and  for 
every  offence  his  punishment  shall  be  doubled  :  (2)  Every  re- 
tailer shall  be  a  metic  or  a  foreigner :  (3)  The  guardians  of  the 
law  shall  have  a  special  care  of  this  part  of  the  community,  whose 
calling  exposes  them  to  peculiar  temptations.  They  shall  consult 
with  persons  of  experience,  and  find  out  what  prices  will  yield 
the  traders  a  moderate  profit,  and  fix  them. 

When  a  man  does  not  fulfil  his  contract,  he  being  under  no 
legal  or  other  impediment,  the  case  shall  be  brought  before  the 
court  of  the  tribes,  if  not  previously  settled  by  arbitration.  The 
class  of  artisans  is  consecrated  to  Hephaestus  and  Athene;  the 
makers  of  weapons  to  Ares  and  Athene :  all  of  whom,  remem- 
bering that  the  Gods  are  their  ancestors,  should  be  ashamed  to 
J I  deceive  in  the  practice  of  their  craft.  If  any  man  is  lazy  in  the 
fulfilment  of  his  work,  and  fancies,  foolish  fellow,  that  his  patron 
God  will  not  deal  hardly  with  him,  he  will  be  punished  by  the 
God ;  and  let  the  law  follow  : — He  who  fails  in  his  undertaking 
shall  pay  the  value,  and  do  the  work  gratis  in  a  specified  time. 
The  contractor,  like  the  seller,  is  enjoined  by  law  to  charge  the 
simple  value  of  his  work;  in  a  free  city,  art  should  be  a  true 
thing,  and  the  artist  must  not  practise  on  the  ignorance  of  others. 
On  the  other  hand,  he  who  has  ordered  any  work  and  does  not 
pay  the  workman  according  to  agreement,  dishonours  Zeus  and 
Athene,  and  breaks  the  bonds  of  society.  And  if  he  does  not 
pay  at  the  time  agreed,  let  him  pay  double  ;  and  although  interest 
is  forbidden  in  other  cases,  let  the  workman  receive  after  the 

m  2 


clxxx  A  nalysis  921923. 

Laws  XI.  expiration  of  a  year  interest  at  the  rate  of  an  obol  a  month  for 
Analysis,  every  drachma  (equal  to  200  per  cent,  per  ann.).  And  we  may 
observe  by  the  way,  in  speaking  of  craftsmen,  that  if  our  mihtary 
craft  do  their  work  well,  the  state  will  praise  those  who  honour 
them,  and  blame  those  who  do  not  honour  them.  Not  that  the  922 
first  place  of  honour  is  to  be  assigned  to  the  warrior ;  a  higher 
still  is  reserved  for  those  who  obey  the  laws. 

Most  of  the  dealings  between  man  and  man  are  now  settled, 
with  the  exception  of  such  as  relate  to  orphans  and  guardian- 
ships. These  lead  us  to  speak  of  the  intentions  of  the  dying, 
about  which  we  must  make  regulations.  I  say  'must' ;  for  man- 
kind cannot  be  allowed  to  dispose  of  their  property  as  they 
please,  in  ways  at  variance  with  one  another  and  with  law  and 
custom.  But  a  dying  person  is  a  strange  being,  and  is  not  easily 
managed  ;  he  wants  to  be  master  of  all  he  has,  and  is  apt  to  use 
angry  words.  He  will  say, — '  May  I  not  do  what  1  will  with  my 
own,  and  give  much  to  my  friends,  and  little  to  my  enemies  ? ' 
'  There  is  reason  in  that.'  O  Cleinias,  in  my  judgment  the  older 
lawgivers  were  too  soft-hearted,  and  wanting  in  insight  into  human 
affairs.  They  were  too  ready  to  listen  to  the  outcry  of  a  dying 
man,  and  hence  they  were  induced  to  give  him  an  absolute 
power  of  bequest.  But  I  would  say  to  him :— O  creature  of  a  923 
day,  you  know  neither  what  is  yours  nor  yourself :  for  you  and 
your  property  are  not  your  own,  but  belong  to  your  whole  family, 
past  and  to  come,  and  property  and  family  alike  belong  to  the 
State.  And  therefore  I  must  take  out  of  3'our  hands  the  charge 
of  what  you  leave  behind  you,  with  a  view  to  the  interests  of  all. 
And  I  hope  that  you  will  not  quarrel  with  us,  now  that  you  are 
going  the  way  of  all  mankind  ;  we  will  do  our  best  for  you  and 
yours  when  you  are  no  longer  here.  Let  this  be  our  address  to 
the  living  and  dying,  and  let  the  law  be  as  follows  : — The  father 
who  has  sons  shall  appoint  one  of  them  to  be  the  heir  of  the 
lot;  and  if  he  has  given  any  other  son  to  be  adopted  by  another, 
the  adoption  shall  also  be  recorded ;  and  if  he  has  still  a  son 
who  has  no  lot,  and  has  a  chance  of  going  to  a  colony,  he 
may  give  him  what  he  has  more  than  the  lot ;  or  if  he  has 
more  than  one  son  unprovided  for,  he  may  divide  the  money 
between  them.  A  son  who  has  a  house  of  his  own,  and  a 
daughter  who  is  betrothed,  are  not  to  share  in    the  bequest  of 


Analysis  923-925. 


clxxxi 


money ;  and  the  son  or  daughter  who,  having  inherited  one  lot,  La-Ms  XI. 
acquires  another,  is  to  bequeath  the  new  inheritance  to  the  next  Analysis. 
of  kin.  If  a  man  have  only  daughters,  he  may  adopt  the  husband 
of  any  one  of  them ;  or  if  he  have  lost  a  son,  let  him  make 
24  mention  of  the  circumstance  in  his  will  and  adopt  another.  If 
he  have  no  children,  he  may  give  away  a  tenth  of  his  acquired 
property  to  whomsoever  he  likes ;  but  he  must  adopt  an  heir  to 
inherit  the  lot,  and  may  leave  the  remainder  to  him.  Also  he 
may  appoint  guardians  for  his  children ;  or  if  he  die  without  ap- 
pointing them  or  without  making  a  will,  the  nearest  kinsmen, — 
two  on  the  father's  and  two  on  the  mother's  side, — and  one 
friend  of  the  departed,  shall  be  appointed  guardians.  The 
fifteen  eldest  guardians  of  the  law  are  to  have  special  charge  of 
all  orphans,  the  whole  number  of  fifteen  being  divided  into  bodies 
of  three,  who  will  succeed  one  another  according  to  seniority 
every  year  for  five  years.  If  a  man  dying  intestate  leave  daughters, 
he  must  pardon  the  law  which  marries  them  for  looking,  first  to 
kinship,  and  secondly  to  the  preservation  of  the  lot.  The 
legislator  cannot  regard  the  character  of  the  heir,  which  to  the 
father  is  the  first  consideration.  The  law  will  therefore  run  as 
follows  : — If  the  intestate  leave  daughters,  husbands  are  to  be 
found  for  them  among  their  kindred  according  to  the  following 
table  of  affinity :  first,  their  father's  brothers  ;  secondly,  the  sons 
of  their  father's  brothers ;  thirdly,  of  their  father's  sisters  ;  fourthly, 
their  great-uncles  ;  fifthly,  the  sons  of  a  great-uncle  ;  sixthly,  the 
sons  of  a  great-aunt.  The  kindred  in  such  cases  shall  always 
•25  be  reckoned  in  this  way;  the  relationship  shall  proceed  upwards 
through  brothers  and  sisters  and  brothers'  and  sisters'  children, 
and  first  the  male  line  must  be  taken  and  then  the  female.  If 
there  is  a  dispute  in  regard  to  fitness  of  age  for  marriage,  this 
the  judge  shall  decide,  after  having  made  an  inspection  of  the 
youth  naked,  and  of  the  maiden  naked  down  to  the  waist.  If 
the  maiden  has  no  relations  within  the  degree  of  third  cousin, 
she  may  choose  whom  she  likes,  with  the  consent  of  her 
guardians  ;  or  she  may  even  select  some  one  who  has  gone  to  a 
colony,  and  he,  if  he  be  a  kinsman,  will  take  the  lot  by  law ;  if 
not,  he  must  have  her  guardians'  consent,  as  well  as  hers.  When 
a  man  dies  without  children  and  without  a  will,  let  a  young  man 
and  a  young  woman  go  forth  from  the  family  and  take  up  their 


clxxxii 


Analysis  925-927. 


Laws  XI.  abode  in  the  desolate  house.  The  woman  shall  be  selected  from 
Analysis,  the  kindred  in  the  following  order  of  succession : — first,  a  sister 
of  the  deceased ;  second,  a  brother's  daughter ;  third,  a  sister's 
daughter ;  fourth,  a  father's  sister ;  fifth,  a  daughter  of  a  father's 
brother ;  sixth,  a  daughter  of  a  father's  sister.  For  the  man  the 
same  order  shall  be  observed  as  in  the  preceding  case.  The 
legislator  foresees  that  laws  of  this  kind  will  sometimes  press 
heavily,  and  that  his  intention  cannot  always  be  fulfilled ;  as 
for  example,  when  there  are  mental  and  bodily  defects  in  the 
persons  who  are  enjoined  to  marry.  But  he  must  be  excused 
for  not  being  always  able  to  reconcile  the  general  principles  of 
public  interest  with  the  particular  circumstances  of  individuals ;' 
and  he  is  willing  to  allow,  in  like  manner,  that  the  individual  926 
cannot  always  do  what  the  lawgiver  wishes.  And  then  arbiters 
must  be  chosen,  who  will  determine  equitably  the  cases  which 
may  arise  under  the  law :  e.  g.  a  rich  cousin  may  sometimes 
desire  a  grander  match,  or  the  requirements  of  the  law  can 
only  be  fulfilled  by  marrying  a  madwoman.  To  meet  such  cases 
let  the  following  law  be  enacted  : — If  any  one  comes  forward  and 
says  that  the  lawgiver,  had  he  been  alive,  would  not  have  re- 
quired the  carrying  out  of  the  law  in  a  particular  case,  let  him 
go  to  the  fifteen  eldest  guardians  of  the  law  who  have  the  care 
of  orphans  ;  but  if  he  thinks  that  too  much  power  is  thus  given 
to  them,  he  may  bring  the  case  before  the  court  of  select  judges. 

Thus  will  orphans  have  a  second  birth.  In  order  to  make  their 
sad  condition  as  light  as  possible,  the  guardians  of  the  law 
shall  be  their  parents,  and  shall  be  admonished  to  take  care  of 
them.  And  what  admonition  can  be  more  appropriate  than  the  927 
assurance  which  we  formerly  gave,  that  the  souls  of  the  dead 
watch  over  mortal  affairs  ?  About  this  there  are  many  ancient 
traditions,  which  may  be  taken  on  trust  from  the  legislator.  Let 
men  fear,  in  the  first  place,  the  Gods  above ;  secondly,  the  souls 
of  the  departed,  who  naturally  care  for  their  own  descendants ; 
thirdly,  the  aged  living,  who  are  quick  to  hear  of  any  neglect  of 
family  duties,  especially  in  the  case  of  orphans.  For  they  are 
the  holiest  and  most  sacred  of  all  deposits,  and  the  peculiar 
care  of  guardians  and  magistrates  ;  and  those  who  try  to  bring 
them  up  well  will  contribute  to  their  own  good  and  to  that  of  their 
families.    He  who  listens  to  the  preamble  of  the  law  will  never 


Analysis  927-929.  clxxxiii 

I  know  the  severity  of  the  legislator  ;  but  he  who  disobeys,  and  Laws  XI. 
injures  the  orphan,  will  pay  twice  the  penalty  he  would  have  Analysis. 
paid  if  the  parents  had  been  alive.  More  laws  might  have  been 
made  about  orphans,  did  we  not  suppose  that  the  guardians 
have  children  and  property  of  their  own  which  are  protected  by 
the  laws  ;  and  the  duty  of  the  guardian  in  our  state  is  the  same 
as  that  of  a  father,  though  his  honour  or  disgrace  is  greater. 

;  28  A  legal  adrnonition  and  threat  rnay,  however,  be  of  service  :  the 
guardian  of  the  orphan  and  the  guardian  of  the  law  who  is  over 
him,  shall  love  the  orphan  as  their  own  children,  and  take  more 
care  of  his  or  her  property  than  of  their  own.  If  the  guardian 
of  the  child  neglect  his  duty,  the  guardian  of  the  law  shall  fine 
him ;  and  the  guardian  may  also  have  the  magistrate  tried  for 
neglect  in  the  court  of  select  judges,  and  he  shall  pay,  if  con- 
victed, a  double  penalty.  Further,  the  guardian  of  the  orphan  who 
is  careless  or  dishonest  may  be  fined  on  the  information  of 
any  of  the  citizens  in  a  fourfold  penalty,  half  to  go  to  the 
orphan  and  half  to  the  prosecutor  of  the  suit.  When  the  orphan 
is  of  age,  if  he  thinks  that  he  has  been  ill-used,  his  guardian 
may  be  brought  to  trial  by  him  within  five  years,  and  the  penalty 
shall  be  fixed  by  tfie  court.  Or  if  the  magistrate  has  neglected 
the  orphan,  he  shall  pay  danjages  to  hirfi ;  but  if  he  have  defrauded 
him,  he  shall  make  compensation  and  also  be  deposed  from  his 
office  of  guardian  of  the  law. 

If  irremediable  difierences  arise  between  fathers  and  sons,  the 
father  may  want  to  renounce  his  sqn,  or  the  son  may  indict  his 
father  for  imbecility :  such  violent  separations  only  take  place 
when  the  family  are  '  a  bad  lot ' ;  if  only  one  of  the  two  parties  is 
bad,  the  differences  do  not  grow  to  so  great  a  height.  But  here 
arises  a  difficulty.    Although  in  any  other  state  a  son  who  is 

'29  disinherited  does  not  cease  to  be  a  citizen,  in  ours  he  does  ;  for  the 
number  of  citizens  cannot  exceed  50^0.  And  therefore  he  who  is 
to  suffer  such  a  penalty  ought  to  be  abjured,  not  only  by  his  father, 
but  by  the  whole  family.  The  law,  then,  should  run  as  follows  :— 
If  any  man's  evil  fortune  or  temper  incline  him  to  disinherit  his 
son,  let  him  not  do  so  lightly  or  on  the  instant ;  but  let  him  have  a 
council  of  his  own  relations  and  of  the  maternal  relations  of  his  son, 
and  set  forth  to  them  the  propriety  of  disinheriting  him,  and  allow 
his  son  to  answer.    And  if  more  than  half  of  the  kindred  male  and 


clxxxiv 


Analysis  929-931, 


Laws  XL   female,  being  of  full  age,  condemn  the  son,  let  him  be  disinherited. 

Analysis.  If  any  other  citizen  desires  to  adopt  him,  he  may,  for  young  men's 
characters  often  change  in  the  course  of  life.  But  if,  after  ten  years, 
he  remains  unadopted,  let  him  be  sent  to  a  colony.  If  disease,  or 
old  age,  or  evil  disposition  cause  a  man  to  go  out  of  his  mind,  and 
he  is  ruining  his  house  and  property,  and  his  son  doubts  about 
indicting  him  for  insanity,  let  him  lay  the  case  before  the  eldest 
guardians  of  the  law,  and  consult  with  them.  And  if  they  advise 
him  to  proceed,  and  the  father  is  decided  to  be  imbecile,  he  shall 
have  no  more  control  over  his  property,  but  shall  live  henceforward 
like  a  child  in  the  house. 

If  a  man  and  his  wife  are  of  incompatible  tempers,  ten  guardians 
of  the  law  and  ten  of  the  matrons  who  regulate  marriage  shall  take  930 
their  case  in  hand,  and  reconcile  them,  if  possible.  If,  however, 
their  swelling  souls  cannot  be  pacified,  the  wife  may  try  and  find  a 
new  husband,  and  the  husband  a  new  wife  ;  probably  they  are  not 
very  gentle  creatures,  and  should  therefore  be  joined  to  milder 
natures.  The  younger  of  those  who  are  separated  should  also 
select  their  partners  with  a  view  to  the  procreation  of  children  ; 
while  the  older  should  seek  a  companion  for  their  declining  years. 
If  a  woman  dies,  leaving  children  male  or  female,  the  law  will 
advise,  but  not  compel,  the  widower  to  abstain  from  a  second 
marriage  ;  if  she  leave  no  children,  he  shall  be  compelled  to  marry. 
Also  a  widow,  if  she  is  not  old  enough  to  live  honestly  without 
marriage,  shall  marry  again  ;  and  in  case  she  have  no  children,  she 
should  marry  for  the  sake  of  them.  There  is  sometimes  an  un- 
certainty which  parent  the  oiTspring  is  to  follow :  in  unions  of  a 
female  slave  with  a  male  slave,  or  with  a  freedman  or  freeman,  or 
of  a  freewoman  with  a  male  slave,  the  offspring  is  to  belong  to  the 
master  ;  but  if  the  master  or  mistress  be  themselves  the  parent 
of  the  child,  the  slave  and  the  child  are  to  be  sent  away  to  another 
land. 

Concerning  duty  to  parents,  let  the  preamble  be  as  follows  : — 
We  honour  the  Gods  in  their  lifeless  images,  and  believe  that  we  931 
thus  propitiate  them.  But  he  who  has  an  aged  father  or  mother 
has  a  living  image,  which  if  he  cherish  it  will  do  him  far  more 
good  than  any  statue.  '  What  do  you  mean  by  cherishing  them  ? ' 
I  will  tell  you.  Oedipus  and  Amyntor  and  Theseus  cursed  their 
children,  and  their  curses  took  effect.    This  proves  that  the  Gods 


Analysis  931-933' 


clxxxv 


hear  the  curses  of  parents  who  are  wronged  ;  and  shall  we  doubt  Lazvs  XI. 
that  they  hear  and  fulfil  their  blessmgs  too  ?  '  Surely  not.'  And,  as  Analysis. 
we  were  saying,  no  image  is  more  honoured  by  the  Gods  than  an 
aged  father  and  mother ;  to  whom  when  honour  is  done,  the  God  who 
hears  their  prayers  is  rejoiced,  and  their  influence  is  greater  than 
that  of  the  lifeless  statue  ;  for  they  pray  that  good  or  evil  may  come 
to  us  in  proportion  as  they  are  honoured  or  dishonoured,  but  the 
statue  is  silent.  '  Excellent.'  Good  men  are  glad  when  their 
parents  live  to  extreme  old  age,  or  if  they  depart  early,  lament  their 
q2  loss  ;  but  to  bad  men  their  parents  are  always  terrible.  Wherefore 
let  every  one  honour  his  parents,  and  if  this  preamble  fails  of 
influencing  him,  let  him  hear  the  law: — If  any  one  does  not  take 
sufficient  care  of  his  parents,  let  the  aggrieved  person  inform  the 
three  eldest  guardians  of  the  law  and  three  of  the  women  who  are 
concerned  with  marriages.  Women  up  to  forty  years  of  age,  and 
men  up  to  thirty,  who  thus  offend,  shall  be  beaten  and  imprisoned. 
After  that  age  they  are  to  be  brought  before  a  court  composed  of 
the  eldest  citizens,  who  may  inflict  any  punishment  upon  them 
which  they  please.  If  the  injured  party  cannot  inform,  let  any 
freeman  who  hears  of  the  case  inform ;  a  slave  who  does  so 
shall  be  set  free, — if  he  be  the  slave  of  one  of- the  parties,  by  the 
magistrate, — if  owned  by  another,  at  the  cost  of  the  state  ;  and  let 
the  magistrates  take  care  that  he  is  not  wronged  by  any  one  out  of 
revenge. 

The  injuries  which  one  person  does  to  another  by  the  use  of 
poisons  are  of  two  kinds  ;— one  affects  the  body  by  the  employment 
of  drugs  and  potions ;  the  other  works  on  the  mind  by  the  practice 
of  sorcery  and  magic.  Fatal  cases  of  either  sort  have  been  already 
mentioned  ;  and  now  we  must  have  a  law  respecting  cases  which 
.13  are  not  fatal.  There  is  no  use  in  arguing  with  a  man  whose  mind 
is  disturbed  by  waxen  images  placed  at  his  own  door,  or  on  the 
sepulchre  of  his  father  or  mother,  or  at  a  spot  where  three  ways 
meet.  But  to  the  wizards  themselves  we  must  address  a  solemn 
preamble,  begging  them  not  to  treat  the  world  as  if  they  were 
children,  or  compel  the  legislator  to  expose  them,  and  to  show 
men  that  the  poisoner  who  is  not  a  physician  and  the  wizard  who 
is  not  a  prophet  or  diviner  are  equally  ignorant  of  what  they  are 
doing.  Let  the  law  be  as  follows  :— He  who  by  the  use  of  poison 
does  any  injury  not  fatal  to  a  man  or  his  servants,  or  any  injury 


XXXV 1 


Analysis  933-935- 


aws  XI.  whether  fatal  or  not  to  another's  cattle  or  bees,  is  to  be  punished 
LNALvsis.  with  death  if  he  be  a  physician,  and  if  he  be  not  a  physician  he  is 
to  suffer  the  punishment  awarded  by  the  court :  and  he  who  injures 
another  by  sorcery,  if  he  be  a  diviner  or  prophet,  shall  be  put  to 
death  ;  and,  if  he  be  not  a  diviner,  the  court  shall  determine  what 
he  ought  to  pay  or  suffer. 

Any  one  who  injures  another  by  theft  or  violence  shall  pay 
damages  at  least  equal  to  the  injurj^ ;  and  besides  the  compensa- 
tion, a  suitable  punishment  shall  be  inflicted.  The  foohsh  youth 
who  is  the  victim  of  others  is  to  have  a  lighter  punishment ;  he  934 
whose  folly  is  occasioned  by  his  own  jealousy  or  desire  or  anger  is 
to  suffer  more  heavily.  Punishment  is  to  be  inflicted,  not  for  the 
sake  of  vengeance,  for  what  is  done  cannot  be  undone,  but  for 
the  sake  of  prevention  and  reformation.  And  there  should  be  a 
proportion  between  the  punishment  and  the  crime,  in  which  the 
judge,  having  a  discretion  left  him,  must,  by  estimating  the  crime, 
second  the  legislator,  who,  like  a  painter,  furnishes  outlines  for 
him  to  fill  up. 

A  madman  is  not  to  go  about  at  large  in  the  city,  but  is  to 
be  taken  care  of  by  his  relatives.  Neglect  on  their  part  is  to  be 
punished  in  the  first  class  by  a  fine  of  a  hundred  drachmas,  and 
proportionally  in  the  others.  Now  madness  is  of  various  kinds; 
in  addition  to  that  which  arises  from  disease  there  is  the  madness 
which  originates  in  a  passionate  temperament, and  makes  men  when 
engaged  in  a  quarrel  use  foul  and  abusive  language  against  each 
other.  This  is  intolerable  in  a  well-ordered  state  ;  and  therefore  our 
law  shall  be  as  follows  : — No  one  is  to  speak  evil  of  another,  but 
when  men  differ  in  opinion  they  are  to  instruct  one  another  without  935 
speaking  evil.  Nor  should  any  one  seek  to  rouse  the  passions 
which  education  has  calmed  ;  for  he  who  feeds  and  nurses  his 
wrath  is  apt  to  make  ribald  jests  at  his  opponent,  with  a  loss  of 
character  or  dignity  to  himself  And  for  this  reason  no  one  may 
use  any  abusive  word  in  a  temple,  or  at  sacrifices,  or  games,  or  in 
any  public  assembly,  and  he  who  offends  shall  be  censured  by  the 
proper  magistrate ;  and  the  magistrate,  if  he  fail  to  censure  him, 
shall  not  claim  the  prize  of  virtue.  In  any  other  place  the  angry 
man  who  indulges  in  revilings,  whether  he  be  the  beginner  or  not, 
may  be  chastised  by  an  elder.  The  reviler  is  always  tr3nng  to 
make  his  opponent  ridiculous  ;  and  the  use  of  ridicule  in  anger  we 


Analysis  935-937- 


clxxxvii 


cannot  allow.    We  forbid  the  comic  poet  to  ridicule  our  citizens,    Laws  XL 
under  a  penalty  of  expulsion  from  the  country  or  a  fine  of  three  Analysis. 
!'56  minae.  Jest  in  which  there  is  no  offence  may  be  allowed  ;  but  the 
question  of  offence  shall  be  determined  by  the  director  of  education, 
who  is  to  be  the  licenser  of  theatrical  performances. 

The  righteous  man  who  is  in  adversity  will  not  be  allowed  to 
.  starve  in  a  well-ordered  city ;  he  will  never  be  a  beggar.  Nor  is 
a  man  to  be  pitied,  merely  because  he  is  hungry,  unless  he  be 
temperate.  Therefore  let  the  law  be  as  follows  :— Let  there  be  no 
beggars  in  our  state  ;  and  he  who  begs  shall  be  expelled  by  the 
magistrates  both  from  town  and  country. 

If  a  slave,  male  or  female,  does  any  harm  to  the  property  of 
another,  who  is  not  himself  a  party  to  the  harm,  the  master  shall 
compensate  the  injury  or  give  up  the  offending  slave.  But  if  the 
master  argue  that  the  charge  has  arisen  by  collusion,  with  the  view 
of  obtaining  the  slave,  he  may  put  the  plaintiff  on  his  trial  for 
malpractices,  and  recover  from  him  twice  the  value  of  the  slave ; 
or  if  he  is  cast  he  must  make  good  the  damage  and  deliver  up  the 
slave.  The  injury  done  by  a  horse  or  other  animal  shall  be 
compensated  in  like  manner. 

A  witness  who  will  not  come  of  himself  may  be  summoned, 
and  if  he  fail  in  appearing,  he  shall  be  liable  for  any  harm 
which  may  ensue  :  if  he  swears  that  he  does  not  know,  he  may 
"37  leave  the  court.  A  judge  who  is  called  upon  as  a  witness  must 
not  vote.  A  free  woman,  if  she  is  over  forty,  may  bear  witness 
and  plead,  and,  if  she  have  no  husband,  she  may  also  bring  an 
action.  A  slave,  male  or  female,  and  a  child  may  witness  and 
plead  only  in  case  of  murder,  but  they  must  give  sureties  that 
they  will  appear  at  the  trial,  if  they  should  be  charged  with 
false  witness.  Such  charges  must  be  made  pending  the  trial, 
and  the  accusations  shall  be  sealed  by  both  parties  and  kept  by 
the  magistrates  until  the  trial  for  perjury  comes  off.  If  a  man 
is  twice  convicted  of  perjury,  he  is  not  to  be  required,  if  three 
times,  he  is  not  to  be  allowed  to  bear  witness,  or,  if  he  persists  in 
bearing  witness,  is  to  be  punished  with  death.  When  more  than 
half  the  evidence  is  proved  to  be  false  there  must  be  a  new  trial. 

The  best  and  noblest  things  in  human  life  are  liable  to  be 
defiled  and  perverted.  Is  not  justice  the  civifizer  of  mankind  ? 
And  j^et  upon  the  noble  profession  of  the  advocate  has  come  an 


clxxxviii  Analysis  937-942. 

Laii^s  XI.  evil  name.  For  he  is  said  to  make  the  worse  appear  the  better 
Analysis,  cause,  and  only  requires  money  in  return  for  his  services.  Such  938 
an  art  will  be  forbidden  by  the  legislator,  and  if  existing  among 
us  will  be  requested  to  depart  to  another  city.  To  the  dis- 
obedient let  the  voice  of  the  law  be  heard  saying : — He  who 
tries  to  pervert  justice  in  the  minds  of  the  judges,  or  to  increase 
litigation,  shall  be  brought  before  the  supreme  court.  If  he 
does  so  from  contentiousness,  let  him  be  silenced  for  a  time, 
and,  if  he  offend  again,  put  to  death.  If  he  have  acted  from  a 
love  of  gain,  let  him  be  sent  out  of  the  country  if  he  be  a 
foreigner,  or  if  he  be  a  citizen  let  him  be  put  to  death. 

BOOK  XII.  If  a  false  message  be  taken  to  or  brought  from  941 
other  states,  whether  friendly  or  hostile,  by  ambassadors  or 
heralds,  they  shall  be  indicted  for  having  dishonoured  their 
sacred  office,  and,  if  convicted,  shall  suffer  a  penalty.— Stealing 
is  mean  ;  robbery  is  shameless.  Let  no  man  deceive  himself 
by  the  supposed  example  of  the  Gods,  for  no  God  or  son  of  a 
God  ever  really  practised  either  force  or  fraud.  On  this  point 
the  legislator  is  better  informed  than  all  the  poets  put  together. 
He  who  listens  to  him  shall  be  for  ever  happy,  but  he  who  will 
not  listen  shall  have  the  following  law  directed  against  him  : — 
He  who  steals  much,  or  he  who  steals  little  of  the  public 
property  is  deserving  of  the  same  penalty;  for  they  are  both 
impelled  by  the  same  evil  motive.  When  the  law  punishes  one 
man  more  lightlj'  than  another,  this  is  done  under  the  idea,  not 
that  he  is  less  guilty,  but  that  he  is  more  curable.  Now  a  thief 
who  is  a  foreigner  or  slave  may  be  curable ;  but  the  thief  who 
is  a  citizen,  and  has  had  the  advantages  of  education,  should  be 
put  to  death,  for  he  is  incurable. 

Much  consideration  and  many  regulations  are  necessary  about  942 
military  expeditions  ;  the  great  principle  of  all  is  that  no  one, 
male  or  female,  in  war  or  peace,  in  great  matters  or  small,  shall 
be  without  a  commander.  Whether  men  stand  or  walk,  or  drill, 
or  pursue,  or  retreat,  or  wash,  or  eat,  they  should  all  act 
together  and  in  obedience  to  orders.  We  should  practise  from 
our  youth  upwards  the  habits  of  command  and  obedience.  All 
dances,  relaxations,  endurances  of  meats  and  drinks,  of  cold  and 
heat,  and  of  hard  couches,  should  have  a  view  to  war,  and  care 


Analysis  942-945. 


clxxxix 


should  be  taken  not  to  destroy  the  natural  covering  and  use  of  Laws  XII. 
the  head  and  feet  by  wearing  shoes  and  caps  ;  for  the  head  is  Analysis. 

13  the  lord  of  the  body,  and  the  feet  are  the  best  of  servants.  The 
soldier  should  have  thoughts  like  these  ;  and  let  him  hear  the 
law : — He  who  is  enrolled  shall  serve,  and  if  he  absent  himself 
without  leave  he  shall  be  indicted  for  failure  of  service  before 
his  own  branch  of  the  army  when  the  expedition  returns,  and  if  he 
be  found  guilty  he  shall  suifer  the  penalty  which  the  courts  award, 
and  never  be  allowed  to  contend  for  any  prize  of  valour,  or  to 
accuse  another  of  misbehaviour  in  military  matters.  Desertion 
shall  also  be  tried  and  punished  in  the  same  manner.  After  the 
courts  for  trying  failure  of  service  and  desertion  have  been  held, 
the  generals  shall  hold  another  court,  in  which  the  several  arms 
of  the  service  will  award  prizes  for  the  expedition  which  has  just 
concluded.  The  prize  is  to  be  a  crown  of  olive,  which  the  victor 
shall  offer  up  at  the  temple  of  his  favourite  war  God.  .  .  In  any 
suit  which  a  man  brings,  let  the  indictment  be  scrupulously  true, 
for  justice  is  an  honourable  maiden,  to  whom  falsehood  is  naturally 
hateful.  For  example,  when  men  are  prosecuted  for  having  lost 
their  arms,  great  care  should  be  taken  by  the  witnesses  to  dis- 

.114  tinguish  between  cases  in  which  they  have  been  lost  from 
necessity  and  from  cowardice.  If  the  hero  Patroclus  had  not 
been  killed  but  had  been  brought  back  alive  from  the  field,  he 
might  have  been  reproached  with  having  lost  the  divine  armour. 
And  a  man  may  lose  his  arms  in  a  storm  at  sea,  or  from  a  fall, 
and  under  many  other  circumstances.  There  is  a  distinction  of 
language  to  be  observed  in  the  use  of  the  two  terms,  '  thrower 
away  of  a  shield'  {piyj/aams),  and  'loser  of  arms'  {diro^oXdis  onXav), 
one  being  the  voluntary,  the  other  the  involuntary  relinquishment 
of  them.  Let  the  law  then  be  as  follows  : — If  any  one  is  over- 
taken by  the  enemy,  having  arms  in  his  hands,  and  he  leaves 
them  behind  him  voluntarily,  choosing  base  life  instead  of  honour- 
able death,  let  justice  be  done.  The  old  legend  of  Caeneus, 
who  was  changed  by  Poseidon  from  a  woman  into  a  man,  may 
teach  by  contraries  the  appropriate  punishment.  Let  the  thrower 
away  of  his  shield  be  changed  from  a  man  into  a  woman— that 

)5  is  to  say,  let  him  be  all  his  life  out  of  danger,  and  never  again 
be  admitted  by  any  commander  into  the  ranks  of  his  army ;  and 
let  him  pay  a  heavy  fine  according  to  his  class.   And  any  com- 


cxc 


Analysis  945,  946. 


Laws  XIL  mander  who  permits  him  to  serve  shall  also  be  punished  by  a 

Analysis.  fine. 

All  magistrates,  whatever  be  their  tenure  of  office,  must  give 
an  account  of  their  magistracy.  But  where  shall  we  find  the 
magistrate  who  is  worthy  to  supervise  them  or  look  into  their 
short-comings  and  crooked  ways  ?  The  examiner  must  be  more 
than  man  who  is  sufficient  for  these  things.  For  the  truth  is 
that  there  are  many  causes  of  the  dissolution  of  states ;  which, 
.like  ships  or  animals,  have  their  cords,  and  girders,  and  sinews 
easily  relaxed,  and  nothing  tends  more  to  their  welfare  and 
preservation  than  the  supervision  of  them  by  examiners  who  are 
better  than  the  magistrates  ;  failing  in  this  they  fall  to  pieces, 
and  each  becomes  many  instead  of  one.  Wherefore  let  the 
people  meet  after  the  summer  solstice,  in  the  precincts  of  Apollo 
and  the  Sun,  and  appoint  three  men  of  not  less  than  fifty  years  946 
of  age.  They  shall  proceed  as  follows  : — Each  citizen  shall  select 
some  one,  not  himself,  whom  he  thinks  the  best.  The  persons 
selected  shall  be  reduced  to  one  half,  who  have  the  greatest 
number  of  votes,  if  they  are  an  even  number ;  but  if  an  odd 
number,  he  who  has  the  smallest  number  of  votes  shall  be  pre- 
viously withdrawn.  The  voting  shall  continue  in  the  same  manner 
until  three  only  remain  ;  and  if  the  number  of  votes  cast  for  them 
be  equal,  a  distinction  between  the  first,  second,  and  third  shall  be 
made  by  lot.  The  three  shall  be  crow'ned  with  an  olive  wreath, 
and  proclamation  made,  that  the  city  of  the  Magnetes,  once  more 
preserved  by  the  Gods,  presents  her  three  best  men  to  Apollo 
and  the  Sun,  to  whom  she  dedicates  them  as  long  as  their  lives 
answer  to  the  judgment  formed  of  them.  They  shall  choose  in 
the  first  year  of  their  office  twelve  examiners,  to  continue  until 
they  are  seventy-five  years  of  age  ;  afterwards  three  shall  be 
added  annually.  While  they  hold  office,  they  shall  dwell  within 
the  precinct  of  the  God.  They  are  to  divide  all  the  magistracies 
into  twelve  classes,  and  may  apply  any  methods  of  enquiry,  and 
inflict  any  punishments  which  they  please ;  in  some  cases 
singly,  in  other  cases  together,  announcing  the  acquittal  or 
punishment  of  the  magistrate  on  a  tablet  which  they  will  place 
in  the  agora.  A  magistrate  who  has  been  condemned  by  the 
examiners  may  appeal  to  the  select  judges,  and,  if  he  gain  his 
suit,  may  in  turn  prosecute  the  examiners  ;  but  if  the  appellant 


Analysis  946-948. 


cxci 


is  cast,  his  punishment  shall  be  doubled,  unless  he  was  pre-  £aws  XII. 
viously  condemned  to  death.  Analysis. 
And  what  honours  shall  be  paid  to  these  examiners,  whom  the 
XI  whole  state  counts  worthy  of  the  rewards  of  virtue  ?    They  shall 
have  the  first  place  at  all  sacrifices  and  other  ceremonies,  and  in 
all  assemblies  and  public  places ;  they  shall  go  on  sacred  em- 
bassies, and  have  the  exclusive  privilege  of  wearing  a  crown  of 
laurel.    They  are  priests  of  Apollo  and  the  Sun,  and  he  of  their 
,   number  who  is  judged  first  shall  be  high  priest,  and  give  his 
name  to  the  year.    The  manner  of  their  burial,  too,  shall  be 
different  from  that  of  the  other  citizens.    The  colour  of  their 
funeral  array  shall  be  white,  and,  instead  of  the  voice  of  lamen- 
tation, around  the  bier  shall  stand  a  chorus  of  fifteen  boys  and 
fifteen  maidens,  chanting  hymns  in  honour  of  the  deceased  in 
alternate  strains  during  an  entire  day;  and  at  dawn  a  band  of 
a  hundred  j'ouths  shall  carry  the  bier  to  the  grave,  marching  in 
the  garb  of  warriors,  and  the  boys  in  front  of  the  bier  shall  sing 
their  national  hymn,  while  the  maidens  and  women  past  child- 
bearing  follow  after.    Priests  and  priestesses  may  also  follow, 
unless  the  Pythian  oracle  forbids.    The  sepulchre  shall  be  a  vault 
built  underground,  which  will  last  for  ever,  having  couches  of 
stone  placed  side  by  side  ;  on  one  of  these  they  shall  lay  the 
departed  saint,  and  then  cover  the  tomb  With  a  mound,  and  plant 
trees  on  every  side  except  one,  where  an  opening  shall  be  left 
for  other  interments.    Every  year  there  shall  be  games — musical, 
gymnastic,  or  equestrian,  in  honour  of  those  who  have  passed 
every  ordeal.     But  if  any  of  them,  after  having  been  acquitted 
on  any  occasion,  begin  to  show  the  wickedness  of  human  nature, 
:.8  he  who  pleases  may  bring  them  to  trial  before  a  court  composed 
of  the  guardians  of  the  law,  and  of  the  select  judges,  and-  of  any 
of  the  examiners  who  are  alive.    If  he  be  convicted  he  shall  be 
deprived  of  his  honours,  and  if  the  accuser  do  not  obtain  a  fifth 
part  of  the  votes,  he  shall  pay  a  fine  according  to  his  class. 

What  is  called  the  judgment  of  Rhadanianthus  is  suited  to  '  ages 
of  faith,'  but  not  to  our  days.  He  knew  that  his  contemporaries 
believed  in  the  Gods,  for  many  of  them  were  the  sons  of  Gods  ; 
and  he  thought  that  the  easiest  and  surest  method  of  ending  litiga- 
tion was  to  commit  the  decision  to  Heaven.  In  our  own  day,  men 
either  deny  the  existence  of  Gods  or  their  care  of  men,  or  maintain 


cxcii 


Analysis  948-950. 


Laws  XII.  that  they  may  be  bribed  by  attentions  and  gifts ;  and  the  pro- 
Analysis.  cedure  of  Rhadamanthus  would  therefore  be  out  of  date.  When 
the  religious  ideas  of  mankind  change,  their  laws  should  also 
change.  Thus  oaths  should  no  longer  be  taken  from  plaintiif  and 
defendant ;  simple  statements  of  affirmation  and  denial  should  be 
substituted.  For  there  is  something  dreadful  in  the  thought,  that 
nearly  half  the  citizens  of  a  state  are  perjured  men.  There  is  no 
objection  to  an  oath,  where  a  man  has  no  interest  in  forswearing 
himself ;  as,  for  example,  when  a  judge  is  about  to  give  his  de-  949 
cision,  or  in  voting  at  an  election,  or  in  the  judgment  of  games  and 
contests.  But  where  there  would  be  a  premium  on  perjurj^,  oaths 
and  imprecations  should  be  prohibited  as  irrelevant,  like  appeals 
to  feeling.  Let  the  principles  of  justice  be  learned  and  taught 
without  words  of  evil  omen.  The  oaths  of  a  stranger  against 
a  stranger  may  be  allowed,  because  strangers  are  not  permitted  to 
become  permanent  residents  in  our  state. 

Trials  in  private  causes  are  to  be  decided  in  the  same  manner  as 
lesser  offences  against  the  state.  The  non-attendance  at  a  chorus 
or  sacrifice,  or  the  omission  to  pay  a  war-tax,  may  be  regarded  as 
in  the  first  instance  remediable,  and  the  defaulter  may  give  se- 
curity; but  if  he  forfeits  the  security,  the  goods  pledged  shall  be 
sold  and  the  money  given  to  the  state.  And  for  obstinate  dis- 
obedience, the  magistrate  shall  have  the  power  of  inflicting  greater 
penalties. 

A  city  which  is  without  trade  or  commerce  must  consider  what 
it  will  do  about  the  going  abroad  of  its  own  people  and  the  ad- 
mission of  strangers.  For  out  of  intercourse  with  strangers  there 
arises  great  confusion  of  manners,  which  in  most  states  is  not  of 
any  consequence,  because  the  confusion  exists  alreadjr;  but  in  950 
a  well-ordered  state  it  may  be  a  great  evil.  Yet  the  absolute  pro- 
hibition of  foreign  travel,  or  the  exclusion  of  strangers,  is  im- 
possible, and  would  appear  barbarous  to  the  rest  of  mankind. 
Public  opinion  should  never  be  lightly  regarded,  for  the  many  are 
not  so  far  wrong  in  their  judgments  as  in  their  lives.  Even  the 
worst  of  men  have  often  a  divine  instinct,  which  enables  them  to 
judge  of  the  differences  between  the  good  and  bad.  States  are 
rightly  advised  when  they  desire  to  have  the  praise  of  men ;  and 
the  greatest  and  truest  praise  is  that  of  virtue.  And  our  Cretan 
colony  should,  and  probably  will,  have  a  character  for  virtue,  such 


/ 


Analysis  950-952.  cxciii 

as  few  cities  have.  Let  this,  then,  be  our  law  about  foreign  travel  Laws  XII. 
and  the  reception  of  strangers  : — No  one  shall  be  allowed  to  leave  analysis. 
the  country  who  is  under  forty  years  of  age — of  course  military 
service  abroad  is  not  included  in  this  regulation — and  no  one  at  all 
except  in  a  public  capacity.  To  the  Olympic,  and  Pythian,  and 
Nemean,  and  Isthmian  games,  shall  be  sent  the  fairest  and  best 
and  bravest,  who  shall  support  the  dignity  of  the  city  in  time  of 

P51  peace.  These,  when  they  come  home,  shall  teach  the  youth  the 
inferiority  of  all  other  governments.  Besides  those  who  go  on 
sacred  missions,  other  persons  shall  be  sent  out  by  permission 
of  the  guardians  to  study  the  institutions  of  foreign  countries. 
For  a  people  which  has  no  experience,  and  no  knowledge  of  the 
characters  of  men  or  the  reason  of  things,  but  lives  by  habit  only, 
can  never  be  perfectly  civilized.  Moreover,  in  all  states,  bad  as 
well  as  good,  there  are  holy  and  inspired  men ;  these  the  citizen 
of  a  well-ordered  city  should  be  ever  seeking  out ;  he  should 
go  forth  to  find  them  over  sea  and  over  land,  that  he  may 
more  firmly  establish  institutions  in  his  own  state  which  are  good 
already  and  amend  the  bad.  '  What  will  be  the  best  way  of 
accomplishing  such  an  object?'  In  the  first  place,  let  the  visitor 
of  foreign .  countries  be  between  fifty  and  sixty  years  of  age,  and 
let  him  be  a  citizen  of  repute,  especially  in  military  matters.  On 
his  return  he  shall  appear  before  the  Nocturnal  Council :  this  is 
a  body  which  sits  from  dawn  to  sunrise,  and  includes  amongst 
its  members  the  priests  who  have  gained  the  prize  of  virtue,  and 
the  ten  oldest  guardians  of  the  law,  and  the  director  and  past 
directors  of  education  ;  each  of  whom  has  power  to  bring  with  him 
a  younger  friend  of  his  own  selection,  who  is  between  thirty  and 

52  forty.  The  assembly  thus  constituted  shall  consider  the  laws  of 
their  own  and  other  states,  and  gather  information  relating  to 
them.  Anything  of  the  sort  which  is  approved  by  the  elder 
members  of  the  council  shall  be  studied  with  all  diligence  by  the 
younger ;  who  are  to  be  specially  watched  by  the  rest  of  the 
citizens,  and  shall  receive  honour,  if  they  are  deserving  of  honour, 
or  dishonour,  if  they  prove  inferior.  This  is  the  assembly  to 
which  the  visitor  of  foreign  countries  shall  come  and  tell  anything 
which  he  has  heard  from  others  in  the  course  of  his  travels,  or 
which  he  has  himself  observed.  If  he  be  made  neither  better 
nor  worse,  let  him  at  least  be  praised  for  his  zeal;  and  let  him 
VOL.  V.  n 


cxciv 


Analysis  952-954. 


Laws  XII.  receive  still  more  praise,  and  special  honour  after  death,  if  he  be 
Analysis,    improved.    But  if  he  be  deteriorated  by  his  travels,  let  him  be 
prohibited  from  speaking  to  any  one  ;  and  if  he  submit,  he  may 
live  as  a  private  individual :  but  if  he  be  convicted  of  attempting  to 
make  innovations  in  education  and  the  laws,  let  him  die. 

Next,  as  to  the  reception  of  strangers.  Of  these  there  are  four 
classes  : — First,  merchants,  who,  like  birds  of  passage,  find  their 
way  over  the  sea  at  a  certain  time  of  the  year,  that  they  may 
exhibit  their  wares.  These  should  be  received  in  markets  and 
public  buildings  without  the  city,  by  proper  officers,  who  shall  see 
that  justice  is  done  them,  and  shall  also  watch  against  any  political 
designs  which  they  may  entertain ;  no  more  intercourse  is  to  be  953 
held  with  them  than  is  absolutely  necessary.  Secondly,  there  are 
the  visitors  at  the  festivals,  who  sliall  be  entertained  by  hospitable 
persons  at  the  temples  for  a  reasonable  time  ;  the  priests  and 
ministers  of  the  temples  shall  have  a  care  of  them.  In  small 
suits  brought  by  them  or  against  them,  the  priests  shall  be  the 
judges ;  but  in  the  more  important,  the  wardens  of  the  agora. 
Thirdly,  there  are  ambassadors  of  foreign  states ;  these  are  to  be 
honourably  received  by  the  generals  and  commanders,  and  placed 
under  the  care  of  the  Prytanes  and  of  the  persons  with  whom 
they  are  lodged.  Fourthly,  there  is  the  philosophical  stranger, 
who,  like  our  own  spectators,  from  time  to  time  goes  to  see  what 
is  rich  and  rare  in  foreign  countries.  Like  them  he  must  be  fifty 
years  of  age  :  and  let  him  go  unbidden  to  the  doors  of  the  wise 
and  rich,  that  he  maj'  learn  from  them,  and  they  from  him. 

These  are  the  rules  of  missions  into  foreign  countries,  and  of 
the  reception  of  strangers.  Let  Zeus,  the  God  of  hospitality,  be 
honoured  ;  and  let  not  the  stranger  be  excluded,  as  in  Egypt, 
from  meals  and  sacrifices,  or,  [as  at  Sparta,]  driven  away  by  savage 
proclamations. 

Let  guarantees  be  clearly  given  in  writing  and  before  witnesses.  954 
The  number  of  witnesses  shall  be  three  when  the  sum  lent  is 
under  a  thousand  drachmas,  or  five  when  above.  The  agent  and 
principal  at  a  fraudulent  sale  shall  be  equally  liable.  He  who 
would  search  another  man's  house  for  anything  must  swear  that  he 
expects  to  find  it  there  ;  and  he  shall  enter  naked,  or  having  on  a 
single  garment  and  no  girdle.  The  owner  shall  place  at  the  dis- 
posal of  the  searcher  all  his  goods,  sealed  as  well  as  unsealed  ;  if 


Analysis  954-956, 


cxcv 


he  refuse,  he  shall  be  liable  in  double  the  value  of  the  property,  if  Laws  XII. 
it  shall  prove  to  be  in  his  possession.  If  the  owner  be  absent.  Analysis. 
the  searcher  may  counter-seal  the  property  which  is  under  seal, 
and  place  watchers.  If  the  owner  remain  absent  more  than  five 
days,  the  searcher  shall  take  the  magistrates,  and  open  the  sealed 
property,  and  seal  it  up  again  in  their  presence.  The  recovery  of 
goods  disputed,  except  in  the  case  of  lands  and  houses,  (about 
which  there  can  be  no  dispute  in  our  state),  is  to  be  barred  by 
time.  The  public  and  unimpeached  use  of  anything  for  a  year  in 
the  city,  or  for  five  years  in  the  country,  or  the  private  possession 
and  domestic  use  for  three  years  in  the  city,  or  for  ten  years  in  the 
country,  is  to  give  a  right  of  ownership.  But  if  the  possessor  have 
the  property  in  a  foreign  country,  there  shall  be  no  bar  as  to  time. 
The  proceedings  of  any  trial  are  to  be  void,  in  which  either  the 
parties  or  the  witnesses,  whether  bond  or  free,  have  been  pre- 
vented by  violence  from  attending : — if  a  slave  be  prevented,  the 
suit  shall  be  invalid ;  or  if  a  freeman,  he  who  is  guilty  of  the 
violence  shall  be  imprisoned  for  a  year,  and  shall  also  be  liable  to 

955  an  action  for  kidnapping.  If  one  competitor  forcibly  prevents 
another  from  attending  at  the  games,  the  other  may  be  inscribed 
as  victor  in  the  temples,  and  the  first,  whether  victor  or  not,  shall 
be  liable  to  an  action  for  damages.  The  receiver  of  stolen  goods 
shall  undergo  the  same  punishment  as  the  thief  The  receiver  of 
an  exile  shall  be  punished  with  death.  A  man  ought  to  have  the 
same  friends  and  enemies  as  his  country ;  and  he  who  makes  war 
or  peace  for  himself  shall  be  put  to  death.  And  if  a  party  in 
the  state  make  war  or  peace,  their  leaders  shall  be  indicted  by  the 
generals,  and,  if  convicted,  they  shall  be  put  to  death.  The 
ministers  and  officers  of  a  country  ought  not  to  receive  gifts,  even 
as  the  reward  of  good  deeds.    He  who  disobeys  shall  die. 

With  a  view  to  taxation  a  man  should  have  his  property  and 
income  valued  :  and  the  government  may,  at  their  discretion,  levy 
the  tax  upon  the  annual  return,  or  take  a  portion  of  the  whole. 

The  good  man  will  offer  moderate  gifts  to  the  Gods  ;  his  land  or 
hearth  cannot  be  offered,  because  they  are  already  consecrated  to 
all  Gods.    Gold  and  silver,  which  arouse  envy,  and  ivory,  which  is 

956  taken  from  the  dead  body  of  an  animal,  are  unsuitable  offerings  ; 
iron  and  brass  are  materials  of  war.  Wood  and  stone  of  a  single 
piece  may  be  offered  ;  also  woven  work  which  has  not  occupied 

n  2 


c^cvi  Analysis  956-958, 

Laws  XII.  one  woman  more  than  a  month  in  making.    White  is  a  colour 
Analysis,    which  is  acceptable  to  the  Gods  ;  figures  of  birds  and  similar 
offerings  are  the  best  of  gifts,  but  they  must  be  such  as  the  painter 
can  execute  in  a  day. 

Next  concerning  lawsuits.  Judges,  or  rather  arbiters,  may  be 
agreed  upon  by  the  plaintiff  and  defendant ;  and  if  no  decision  is 
obtained  from  them,  their  fellow-tribesmen  shall  judge.  At  this 
stage  there  shall  be  an  increase  of  the  penalty :  the  defendant,  if 
he  be  cast,  shall  pay  a  fifth  more  than  the  damages  claimed.  If  he 
further  persist,  and  appeal  a  second  time,  the  case  shall  be  heard 
before  the  select  judges ;  and  he  shall  pay,  if  defeated,  the  penalty 
and  half  as  much  again.  And  the  pursuer,  if  on  the  first  appeal 
he  is  defeated,  shall  pay  one  fifth  of  the  damages  claimed  by  him  ; 
and  if  on  the  second,  one  half.  Other  matters  relating  to  trials, 
such  as  tlie  assignment  of  judges  to  courts,  the  times  of  sitting,  the 
number  of  judges,  the  modes  of  pleading  and  procedure,  as  we 
have  already  said,  may  be  determined  bj'  younger  legislators. 

These  are  to  be  the  rules  of  private  courts.   As  regards  pubHc  957 
courts,  many  states  have  excellent  modes  of  procedure  which  may 
serve  for  models  ;  these,  when  duly  tested  by  experience,  should 
be  ratified  and  made  permanent  by  us. 

Let  the  judge  be  accomplished  in  the  laws.  He  should  possess 
writings  about  them,  and  make  a  study  of  them  ;  for  laws  are  the 
highest  instrument  of  mental  improvement,  and  derive  their  name 
from  mind  (foOy,  v6\ioi).  They  afford  a  measure  of  all  censure  and 
praise,  whether  in  verse  or  prose,  in  conversation  or  in  books,  and 
are  an  antidote  to  the  vain  disputes  of  men  and  their  equally  vain 
acquiescence  in  each  other's  opinions.  The  just  judge,  who  imbibes 
their  spirit,  makes  the  city  and  himself  to  stand  upright.  He 
establishes  justice  for  the  good,  and  cures  the  tempers  of  the  bad, 
if  they  can  be  cured  ;  but  denounces  death,  which  is  the  only 
remedy,  to  the  incurable,  the  threads  of  whose  life  cannot  be 
reversed. 

When  the  suits  of  the  year  are  completed,  execution  is  to  follow.  95^ 
The  court  is  to  award  to  the  plaintiff  the  property  of  the  defendant, 
if  he  is  cast,  reserving  to  him  only  his  lot  of  land.  If  the  plaintiff 
is  not  satisfied  within  a  month,  the  court  shall  put  into  his  hands 
the  property  of  the  defendant.  If  the  defendant  fails  in  payment 
to  the  amount  of  a  drachma,  he  shall  lose  the  use  and  protection 


Analysis  958-960. 


cxcvii 


of  the  court ;  or  if  he  rebel  against  the  authority  of  the  court,  he  Laws  XII. 
shall  be  brought  before  the  guardians  of  the  law,  and  if  found  analysis. 
guilty  he  shall  be  put  to  death. 

Man  having  been  born,  educated,  having  begotten  and  brought 
up  children,  and  gone  to  law,  fulfils  the  debt  of  nature.  The  rites 
which  are  to  be  celebrated  after  death  in  honour  of  the  Gods  above 
and  below  shall  be  determined  by  the  Interpreters.  The  dead 
shall  be  buried  in  uncultivated  places,  where  they  will  be  out  of 
the  way  and  do  least  injury  to  the  living.  For  no  one  either  in  life 
or  after  death  has  any  right  to  deprive  other  men  of  the  sustenance 
which  mother  earth  provides  for  them.  No  sepulchral  mound 
is  to  be  piled  higher  than  five  men  can  raise  it  in  five  days,  and 
the  grave-stone  shall  not  be  larger  than  is  sufficient  to  contain  an 

5)59  inscription  of  four  heroic  verses.  The  dead  are  only  to  be  exposed 
for  three  days,  which  is  long  enough  to  test  the  reality  of  death. 
The  legislator  will  instruct  the  people  that  the  body  is  a  mere 
shadow  or  image,  and  that  the  soul,  which  is  our  true  being,  is  gone 
to  give  an  account  of  herself  before  the  Gods  below.  When  they 
hear  this,  the  good  are  full  of  hope,  and  the  evil  are  terrified. 
It  is  also  said  that  not  much  can  be  done  for  any  one  after  death. 
And  therefore  while  in  life  all  men  should  be  helped  by  their 
kindred  to  pass  their  days  justly  and  holily,  that  they  may  depart 
in  peace.  When  a  man  loses  a  son  or  a  brother,  he  should 
consider  that  the  beloved  one  has  gone  away  to  fulfil  his  destiny 
in  another  place,  and  should  not  waste  money  over  his  lifeless 
remains.  Let  the  law  then  order  a  moderate  funeral  of  five  minae 
for  the  first  class,  of  three  for  the  second,  of  two  for  the  third, 
of  one  for  the  fourth.  One  of  the  guardians  of  the  law,  to  be 
selected  by  the  relatives,  shall  assist  them  in  arranging  the  affairs 
of  the  deceased.  There  would  be  a  want  of  delicacy  in  prescribing 
that  there  should  or  should  not  be  mourning  for  the  dead.    But,  at 

6960  any  rate,  such  mourning  is  to  be  confined  to  the  house  ;  there  must 
be  no  processions  in  the  streets,  and  the  dead  body  shall  be  taken 
out  of  the  city  before  daybreak.  Regulations  about  other  forms  of 
burial  and  about  the  non-burial  of  parricides  and  other  sacrilegious 
persons  have  already  been  laid  down.  The  work  of  legislation  is 
therefore  nearly  completed ;  its  end  will  be  finally  accomplished 
when  we  have  provided  for  the  continuance  of  the  state. 
Do  you  remember  the  names  of  the  Fates?    Lachesis,  the  giver 


cxcviii 


Analysis  960-962. 


Laws  XI!.  of  the  lots,  is  the  first  of  them  ;  Clotho,  the  spinster,  the  second  ; 
Analysis.     Atropos,  the  unchanging  one,  is  the  third  and  last,  who  makes  the 
threads  of  the  web  irreversible.    And  we  too  want  to  make  our 
laws  irreversible,  for  the  unchangeable  quality  in  them  will  be  the 
salvation  of  the  state,  and  the  source  of  health  and  order  in  the 
bodies  and  souls  of  our  citizens.    '  But  can  such  a  quality  be 
implanted  ? '    I  think  that  it  may  ;  and  at  any  rate  we  must  try ; 
for,  after  all  our  labour,  to  have  been  piling  up  a  fabric  which  has 
no  foundation  would  be  too  ridiculous.   '  What  foundation  would 
you  lay  ? '   We  have  already  instituted  an  assembly  which  was  961 
composed  of  the  ten  oldest  guardians  of  the  law,  and  secondly,  of 
those  who  had  received  prizes  of  virtue,  and  thirdly,  of  the 
travellers  who  had  gone  abroad  to  enquire  into  the  laws  of  other 
countries.    Moreover,  each  of  the  members  was  to  choose  a  young 
man,  of  not  less  than  thirty  years  of  age,  to  be  approved  by  the 
rest  ;  and  they  were  to  meet  at  dawn,  when  all  the  world  is  at 
leisure.   This  assembly  will  be  an  anchor  to  the  vessel  of  state,  and 
provide  the  means  of  permanence  ;  for  the  constitutions  of  states, 
like  all  other  things,  have  their  proper  saviours,  which  are  to  them 
what  the  head  and  soul  are  to  the  living  being.    '  How  do  you 
mean  ? '    Mind  in  the  soul,  and  sight  and  hearing  in  the  head, 
or  rather,  the  perfect  union  of  mind  and  sense,  may  be  justly 
called  every  man's  salvation.   '  Certainly.'     Yes ;  but  of  what 
nature  is  this  union  ?   In  the  case  of  a  ship,  for  example,  the 
senses  of  the  sailors  are  added  to  the  intelligence  of  the  pilot,  and 
the  two  together  save  the  ship  and  the  men  in  the  ship.  Again, 
the  physician  and  the  general  have  their  objects ;  and  the  object  962 
of  the  one  is  health,  of  the  other  victory.    States,  too,  have  their 
objects,  and  the  ruler  must  understand,  first,  their  nature,  and 
secondly,  the  means  of  attaining  them,  whether  in  laws  or  men. 
The  state  which  is  wanting  in  this  knowledge  cannot  be  ex- 
pected to  be  wise  when  the  time  for  action  arrives.    Now  what 
class  or  institution  is  there  in  our  state  which  has  such  a  saving 
power  ?  '  I  suspect  that  3'ou  are  referring  to  the  Nocturnal  Council.' 
Yes,  to  that  council  which  is  to  have  all  virtue,  and  which  should 
aim  directly  at  the  mark.  '  Very  true.'  The  inconsistency  of  legis- 
lation in  most  states  is  not  surprising,  when  the  variety  of  their 
objects  is  considered.    One  of  them  makes  their  rule  of  justice 
the  government  of  a  class ;  another  aims  at  wealth  ;  another  at 


Analysis  962-965. 


cxcix 


freedom,  or  at  freedom  and  power ;  and  some  who  call  them-  La-ws  XII. 
selves  philosophers  maintain  that  you  should  seek  for  all  of  them  analysis. 
at  once.  But  our  object  is  unmistakeably  virtue,  and  virtue  is  of 
.963  four  kinds.  '  Yes ;  and  we  said  that  mind  is  the  chief  and  ruler 
of  the  three  other  kinds  of  virtue  and  of  all  else.'  True,  Cleinias  ; 
and  now,  having  already  declared  the  object  which  is  present  to 
the  mind  of  the  pilot,  the  general,  the  physician,  we  will  in- 
terrogate the  mind  of  the  statesman.  Tell  me,  I  say,  as  the 
physician  and  general  have  told  us  their  object,  what  is  the  object 
of  the  statesman.  Can  you  tell  me  ?  '  We  cannot.'  Did  we  not 
say  that  there  are  four  virtues— courage,  wisdom,  and  two  others, 
all  of  which  are  called  by  the  common  name  of  virtue,  and  are  in  a 
sense  one  ?  '  Certainly  we  did.'  The  difficulty  is,  not  in  under- 
standing the  differences  of  the  virtues,  but  in  apprehending  their 
unity.  Why  do  we  call  virtue,  which  is  a  single  thing,  by  the 
two  names  of  wisdom  and  courage  ?  The  reason  is  that  courage  is 
concerned  with  fear,  and  is  found  both  in  children  and  in  brutes ; 
for  the  soul  may  be  courageous  without  reason,  but  no  soul  was, 
^964  or  ever  will  be,  wise  without  reason.  '  That  is  true.'  I  have  ex- 
plained to  you  the  difference,  and  do  you  in  return  explain  to 
me  the  unity.  But  first  let  us  consider  whether  any  one  who 
knows  the  name  of  a  thing  without  the  definition  has  any  real 
knowledge  of  it.  Is  not  such  knowledge  a  disgrace  to  a  man  of 
sense,  especially  where  great  and  glorious  truths  are  concerned  ? 
and  can  any  subject  be  more  worthy  of  the  attention  of  our 
legislators  than  the  four  virtues  of  which  we  are  speaking — 
courage,  temperance,  justice,  wisdom.?  Ought  not  the  magis- 
trates and  officers  of  the  state  to  instruct  the  citizens  in  the 
nature  of  virtue  and  vice,  instead  of  leaving  them  to  be  taught 
by  some  chance  poet  or  sophist  ?  A  city  which  is  without  in- 
struction suffers  the  usual  fate  of  cities  in  our  day.  What  then 
shall  we  do  ?  How  shall  we  perfect  the  ideas  of  our  guardians 
about  virtue  ?  how  shall  we  give  our  state  a  head  and  eyes  ? 
'  Yes,  but  how  do  you  apply  the  figure  ? '  The  city  will  be  the 
body  or  trunk  ;  the  best  of  our  young  men  will  mount  into  the 
'965  head  or  acropolis  and  be  our  eyes  ;  they  will  look  about  them, 
and  inform  the  elders,  who  are  the  mind  and  use  the  younger 
men  as  their  instruments :  together  they  will  save  the  state. 
Shall  this  be  our  constitution,  or  shall  all  be  educated  alike,  and  the 


Analysis  965-967. 

XII.  special  training  be  given  up  ?  'That  is  impossible.'  Let  us  then 
ifsis.  endeavour  to  attain  to  some  more  exact  idea  of  education.  Did 
we  not  say  that  the  true  artist  or  guardian  ought  to  have  an  eye,  not " 
only  to  the  many,  but  to  the  one,  and  to  order  all  things  with  a 
view  to  the  one  ?  Can  there  be  any  more  philosophical  speculation 
than  how  to  reduce  many  things  which  are  unlike  to  one  idea? 
'Perhaps  not.'  Say  rather,  '  Certainly  not.'  And  the  rulers  of  our 
divine  state  ought  to  have  an  exact  knowledge  of  the  common 
principle  in  courage,  temperance,  justice,  wisdom,  which  is  called 
by  the  name  of  virtue  ;  and  unless  we  know  whether  virtue  is  one 
or  many,  we  shall  hardly  know  what  virtue  is.  Shall  we  contrive 
some  means  of  engrafting  this  knowledge  on  our  state,  or  give  the 
matter  up  ?  '  Anything  rather  than  that.'  Let  us  begin  by  making 
an  agreement.  '  By  all  means,  if  we  can.'  Well,  are  we  not 
agreed  that  our  guardians  ought  to  know,  not  only  how  the  good  966 
and  the  honourable  are  many,  but  also  how  they  are  one  ?  '  Yes, 
certainly.'  The  true  guardian  of  the  laws  ought  to  know  their 
truth,  and  should  also  be  able  to  interpret  and  execute  them  ?  '  He 
should.'  And  is  there  any  higher  knowledge  than  the  knowledge 
of  the  existence  and  power  of  the  Gods  ?  The  people  may  be 
excused  for  following  tradition  ;  but  the  guardian  must  be  able  to 
give  a  reason  of  the  faith  which  is  in  him.  And  there  are  two 
great  evidences  of  religion — the  priority  of  the  soul  and  the  order 
of  the  heavens.  For  no  man  of  sense,  when  he  contemplates  the 
universe,  will  be  likely  to  substitute  necessity  for  reason  and  will. 
Those  who  maintain  that  the  sun  and  the  stars  are  inanimate  967 
beings  are  utterly  wrong  in  their  opinions.  The  men  of  a  former 
generation  had  a  suspicion,  which  has  been  confirmed  by  later 
thinkers,  that  things  inanimate  could  never  without  mind  have 
attained  such  scientific  accuracy ;  and  some  [Anaxagoras]  even  in 
those  days  ventured  to  assert  that  mind  had  ordered  all  things  in 
heaven ;  but  thej'  had  no  idea  of  the  priority  of  mind,  and  they 
turned  the  world,  or  more  properly  themselves,  upside  down,  and 
filled  the  universe  with  stones,  and  earth,  and  other  inanimate 
bodies.  This  led  to  great  impiety,  and  the  poets  said  many  foolish 
things  against  the  philosophers,  whom  they  compared  to  '  yelping 
she-dogs,'  besides  making  other  abusive  remarks.  No  man  can 
now  truly  worship  the  Gods  who  does  not  believe  that  the  soul  is 
eternal,  and  prior  to  the  body,  and  the  ruler  of  all  bodies,  and  does 


Analysis  967,  968, 


cci 


not  perceive  also  that  there  is  mind  in  the  stars  ;  or  who  has  not  Lmus  XII. 
heard  the  connexion  of  these  things  with  music,  and  has  not  har-  Analysis. 
monized  them  with  manners  and  laws,  giving  a  reason  of  things 
which  are  matters  of  reason.    He  who  is  unable  to  acquire  this 
knowledge,  as  well  as  the  ordinary  virtues  of  a  citizen,  can  only  be 
a  servant,  and  not  a  ruler  in  the  state. 

Let  us  then  add  another  law  to  the  effect  that  the  Nocturnal 
Council  shall  be  a  guard  set  for  the  salvation  of  the  state.  '  Very 
good.'  To  establish  this  will  be  our  aim,  and  I  hope  that  others  be- 
sides myself  will  assist.  '  Let  us  proceed  along  the  road  in  which 
God  seems  to  guide  us.'  We  cannot,  Megillus  and  Cleinias,  an- 
ticipate the  details  which  will  hereafter  be  needed  ;  they  must  be 
supplied  by  experience.  '  What  do  you  mean '  First  of  all  a 
register  will  have  to  be  made  of  all  those  whose  age,  character,  or 
education  would  qualify  them  to  be  guardians.  The  subjects 
which  they  are  to  learn,  and  the  order  in  which  they  are  to  be 
learnt,  are  mysteries  which  cannot  be  explained  beforehand,  but 
not  mysteries  in  any  other  sense.  '  If  that  is  the  case,  what  is  to 
be  done  ? '  We  must  stake  our  all  on  a  lucky  throw,  and  I  will 
share  the  risk  by  stating  my  views  on  education.  And  I  would 
have  you,  Cleinias,  who  are  the  founder  of  the  Magnesian  state, 
and  will  obtain  the  greatest  glory  if  you  succeed,  and  will  at  least 
be  praised  for  your  courage,  if  you  fail,  take  especial  heed  of  this 
matter.  If  we  can  only  establish  the  Nocturnal  Council,  we  will 
hand  over  the  city  to  its  keeping ;  none  of  the  present  company 
will  hesitate  about  that.  Our  dream  will  then  become  a  reality; 
and  our  citizens,  if  they  are  carefully  chosen  and  well  educated, 
will  be  saviours  and  guardians  such  as  the  world  hitherto  has 
never  seen. 


The  want  of  completeness  in  the  Laws  becomes  more  apparent  Introduc 
in  the  later  books.  There  is  less  arrangement  in  them,  and  the 
transitions  are  more  abrupt  from  one  subject  to  another.  Yet  they 
contain  several  noble  passages,  such  as  the  'prelude  to  the  dis- 
course concerning  the  honour  and  dishonour  of  parents '  (xi.  931), 
or  the  picture  of  the  dangers  attending  the  '  friendly  intercourse 
of  young  men  and  maidens  with  one  another '  (viii.  835  D  fif.),  or 
the  soothing  remonstrance  which  is  addressed  to  the  dying  man 
respecting  his  right  to  do  what  he  will  with  his  own  (xi.  922  flf.),  or 


ccii  Too  much  inqtdsition  into  private  life. 

Laws.  the  fine  description  of  the  burial  of  the  dead  (xii.  958  C  ff.).  The 
Introduc-  subject  of  religion  in  Book  X  is  introduced  as  a  prelude  to  oiTences 
against  the  Gods,  and  this  portion  of  the  work  appears  to  be 
executed  in  Plato's  best  manner. 

In  the  last  four  books,  several  questions  occur  for  considera- 
tion :  among  them  are  (I)  the  detection  and  punishment  of 
offences;  (II)  the  nature  of  the  voluntary  and  involuntary;  (III) 
the  arguments  against  atheism,  and  against  the  opinion  that  the 
Gods  have  no  care  of  human  affairs ;  (IV)  the  remarks  upon 
retail  trade  ;  (V)  the  institution  of  the  Nocturnal  Council. 

I.  A  vireak  point  in  the  Laws  of  Plato  is  the  amount  of  in- 
quisition into  private  life  which  is  to  be  made  by  the  rulers.  The 
magistrate  is  always  watching  and  waylaying  the  citizens.  He  is 
constantly  to  receive  information  against  improprieties  of  life. 
Plato  does  not  seem  to  be  aware  that  espionage  can  only  have 
a  negative  effect.  He  has  not  j'et  discovered  the  boundary  line 
which  parts  the  domain  of  law  from  that  of  morality  or  social 
life.  Men  will  not  tell  of  one  another ;  nor  will  he  ever  be  the 
most  honoured  citizen,  who  gives  the  most  frequent  information 
about  offenders  to  the  magistrates  (v.  730  D,  E). 

As  in  some  writers  of  fiction,  so  also  in  philosophers,  we  may 
observe  the  effect  of  age.  Plato  becomes  more  conservative  as  he 
grows  older,  and  he  would  govern  the  world  entirely  by  men  like 
himself,  who  are  above  fifty  years  of  age  (cp.  vi.  755  A)  ;  for  in 
them  he  hopes  to  find  a  principle  of  stability.  He  does  not 
remark  that,  in  destroying  the  freedom  he  is  destroying  also  the 
life  of  the  State.  In  reducing  all  the  citizens  to  rule  and  measure, 
he  would  have  been  depriving  the  Magnesian  colony  of  those 
great  men  '  whose  acquaintance  is  beyond  all  price '  (xii.  951  B) ; 
and  he  would  have  found  that  in  the  worst-governed  Hellenic 
State,  there  was  more  of  a  carriere  oiiverte  for  extraordinary  genius 
and  virtue  than  in  his  own. 

Plato  has  an  evident  dislike  of  the  Athenian  dicasteries  ;  he 
prefers  a  few  judges  who  take  a  leading  part  in  the  conduct  of 
trials  to  a  great  number  who  only  listen  in  silence  (vi.  766  D  ;  cf 
also  ix.  855  D).  He  allows  of  two  appeals—  in  each  case  however 
with  an  increase  of  the  penalty  (xii.  956).  Modern  jurists  would 
disapprove  of  the  redress  of  injustice  being  purchased  only 
at  an  increasing  risk ;  though  indirectly  the  burden  of  legal  ex- 


Peculiar  notions  respecting  crimes  and,  punishment.  cciii 


penses,  which  seems  to  have  been  little  felt  among  the  Athenians,  Laws. 
has  a  similar  effect.    The  love  of  litigation,  which  is  a  remnant  of  intboduc 
barbarism  quite  as  much  as  a  corruption  of  civilization,  and  was 
innate  in  the  Athenian  people,  is  diminished  in  the  new  state  by 
the  imposition  of  severe  penalties  (xi.  938).    If  persevered  in,  it  is 
to  be  punished  with  death. 

In  the  Laws  murder  and  homicide  besides  being  crimes,  are 
also  pollutions.  Regarded  from  this  point  of  view,  the  estimate  of 
such  offences  is  apt  to  depend  on  accidental  circumstances,  such 
as  the  shedding  of  blood,  and  not  on  the  real  guilt  of  the  offender 
or  the  injury  done  to  society.  They  are  measured  by  the  horror 
which  they  arouse  in  a  barbarous  age.  For  there  is  a  superstition 
in  law  as  well  as  in  religion,  and  the  feelings  of  a  primitive  age 
have  a  traditional  hold  on  the  mass  of  the  people.  On  the  other 
hand,  Plato  is  innocent  of  the  barbarity  which  would  visit  the  sins 
of  the  fathers  upon  the  children,  and  he  is  quite  aware  that 
punishment  has  an  eye  to  the  future,  and  not  to  the  past  (ix. 
854  D  ff.).  Compared  with  that  of  most  European  nations  in  the 
last  century  his  penal  code,  though  sometimes  capricious,  is 
reasonable  and  humane. 

A  defect  in  Plato's  criminal  jurisprudence  is  his  remission  of 
the  punishment  when  the  homicide  has  obtained  the  forgiveness 
of  the  murdered  person  (ix.  869  E)  ;  as  if  crime  were  a  personal 
affair  between  individuals,  and  not  an  offence  against  the  State. 
There  is  a  ridiculous  disproportion  in  his  punishments.  Because 
a  slave  may  fairly  receive  a  blow  for  stealing  one  fig  or  one  bunch 
of  grapes,  or  a  tradesman  for  selling  adulterated  goods  to  the  value 
of  one  drachma,  it  is  rather  hard  upon  the  slave  that  he  should 
receive  as  many  blows  as  he  has  taken  grapes  or  figs  (viii.  845  A), 
or  upon  the  tradesman  who  has  sold  adulterated  goods  to  the 
value  of  a  thousand  drachmas  that  he  should  receive  a  thousand 
blows  (xi.  917). 

II.  But  before  punishment  can  be  inflicted  at  all,  the  legislator 
must  determine  the  nature  of  the  voluntary  and  involuntary.  The 
great  question  of  the  freedom  of  the  will,  which  in  modern  times 
has  been  worn  threadbare  with  purely  abstract  discussion,  was 
approached  both  by  Plato  and  Aristotle— first,  from  the  judicial ; 
secondly,  from  the  sophistical  point  of  view.  They  were  puzzled 
by  the  degrees  and  kinds  of  crime  ;  they  observed  also  that  the 


cciv  The  voluntary  and  invohmtary. 

Laws.  law  only  punished  hurts  which  are  inflicted  by  a  voluntary  agent 
Introduc-    on  an  involuntary  patient. 

In  attempting  to  distinguish  between  hurt  and  injury  (ix.  859  fi". ; 
cp.  also  870),  Plato  saj's  that  mere  hurt  is  not  injury ;  but  that 
a  benefit  when  done  in  a  wrong  spirit  may  sometimes  injure,  e.  g. 
when  conferred  without  regard  to  right  and  wrong,  or  to  the  good 
or  evil  consequences  which  may  follow.  He  means  to  say  that 
the  good  or  evil  disposition  of  the  agent  is  the  principle  which 
characterizes  actions  ;  and  this  is  not  sufficiently  described  by  the 
terms  voluntary  and  involuntary.  You  may  hurt  another  involun- 
tarily, and  no  one  would  suppose  that  you  had  injured  him  ;  and 
3'ou  may  hurt  him  voluntarily,  as  in  inflicting  punishment— neither 
is  this  injury ;  but  if  you  hurt  him  from  motives  of  avarice,  am- 
bition, or  cowardly  fear,  this  is  injury.  Injustice  is  also  described 
as  the  victory  of  desire  or  passion  or  self-conceit  over  reason,  as 
justice  is  the  subordination  of  them  to  reason.  In  some  para- 
doxical sense  Plato  is  disposed  to  affirm  all  injustice  to  be  in- 
voluntary ;  because  no  man  would  do  injustice  who  knew  that  it 
never  paid  and  could  calculate  the  consequences  of  what  he  was 
doing.  Yet,  on  the  other  hand,  he  admits  that  the  distinction  of 
voluntary  and  involuntary,  taken  in  another  and  more  obvious 
sense,  is  the  basis  of  legislation.  His  conception  of  justice  and 
injustice  is  complicated  (i)  by  the  want  of  a  distinction  between 
justice  and  virtue,  that  is  to  say,  between  the  quality  which  pri- 
marily regards  others,  and  the  quality  in  which  self  and  others 
are  equally  regarded  ;  (2)  by  the  confusion  of  doing  and  suiTering 
justice  ;  (3)  by  the  unwillingness  to  renounce  the  old  Socratic 
paradox,  that  evil  is  involuntary. 

HI.  The  Laws  rest  on  a  religious  foundation  ;  in  this  respect 
they  bear  the  stamp  of  primitive  legislation.  They  do  not  escape 
the  almost  inevitable  consequence  of  making  irreligion  penal.  If 
laws  are  based  upon  religion,  the  greatest  offence  against  them 
must  be  irreligion.  Hence  the  necessity  for  what  in  modern  lan- 
guage, and  according  to  a  distinction  which  Plato  would  scarcely 
have  understood,  might  be  termed  persecution.  But  the  spirit  of 
persecution  in  Plato,  unlike  that  of  modern  religious  bodies,  arises 
out  of  the  desire  to  enforce  a  true  and  simple  form  of  religion,  and 
is  directed  against  the  superstitions  which  tend  to  degrade  man- 
kind.   Sir  Thomas  More,  in  his  Utopia,  is  in  favour  of  tolerating 


The  being  of  God:  Epicureanism  before  Epiairus. 


ccv 


all  except  the  intolerant,  though  he  would  not  promote  to  high  Laws. 
offices  those  who  disbeheved  in  the  immortality  of  the  soul.  Plato  introduc- 
has  not  advanced  quite  so  far  as  this  in  the  path  of  toleration. 
But  in  judging  of  his  enlightenment,  we  must  remember  that  the 
evils  of  necromancy  and  divination  were  far  greater  than  those  of 
intolerance  in  the  ancient  world.  Human  nature  is  always  having 
recourse  to  the  first ;  but  only  when  organized  into  some  form  of 
priesthood  falls  into  the  other ;  although  in  primitive  as  in  later 
ages  the  institution  of  a  priesthood  may  claim  probably  to  be  an 
advance  on  some  form  of  religion  which  preceded.  The  Laws 
would  have  rested  on  a  sounder  foundation,  if  Plato  had  ever  dis- 
tinctly realized  to  his  mind  the  difference  between  crime  and  sin 
or  vice.  Of  this,  as  of  many  other  controversies,  a  clear  definition 
might  have  been  the  end.  But  such  a  definition  belongs  to  a  later 
age  of  philosophy. 

The  arguments  which  Plato  uses  for  the  being  of  a  God,  have 
an  extremely  modern  character  :  first,  the  consensus  gentium  ; 
secondly,  the  argument  which  has  already  been  adduced  in  the 
Phaedrus  (245  C),  of  the  priority  of  the  self-moved.  The  answer 
to  those  who  say  that  God  '  cares  not,'  is,  that  He  governs  by 
general  laws ;  and  that  he  who  takes  care  of  the  great  will  as- 
suredly take  care  of  the  small.  Plato  did  not  feel,  and  has  not 
attempted  to  consider,  the  difficulty  of  reconciling  the  special 
with  the  general  providence  of  God.  Yet  he  is  on  the  road  to 
a  solution,  when  he  regards  the  world  as  a  whole,  of  which  all  the 
parts  work  together  towards  the  final  end. 

We  are  surprised  to  find  that  the  scepticism,  which  we  attribute 
to  young  men  in  our  own  day,  existed  then  (cp.  Rep.  vii.  538)  ; 
that  the  Epicureanism  expressed  in  the  line  of  Horace  (borrowed 
from  Lucretius) — 

'  Namque  Deos  didici  securum  agere  aevum,' 

was  already  prevalent  in  the  age  of  Plato ;  and  that  the  terrors  of 
another  world  were  freely  used  in  order  to  gain  advantages  over 
other  men  in  this.  The  same  objection  which  struck  the  Psalmist 
— '  when  I  saw  the  prosperity  of  the  wicked '  (73.  3)— is  sup- 
posed to  lie  at  the  root  of  the  better  sort  of  unbelief.  And  the 
answer  is  substantially  the  same  which  the  modern  theologian 
would  offer:— that  the  ways  of  God  in  this  world  cannot  be 


ccvi 


Some  parallels  of  Theological  opinion 


Laws.  justified  unless  there  be  a  future  state  of  rewards  and  punish- 
Introduc-  ments.  Yet  this  future  state  of  rewards  and  punishments  is  in 
TioN.  Plato's  view  not  any  addition  of  happiness  or  suffering  imposed 
from  without,  but  the  permanence  of  good  and  evil  in  the  soul : 
here  he  is  in  advance  of  many  modern  theologians.  The  Greek, 
too,  had  his  difficulty  about  the  existence  of  evil,  which  in  one 
solitary  passage,  remarkable  for  being  inconsistent  with  his 
general  sj'Stem,  Plato  explains,  after  the  Magian  fashion,  by  a 
good  and  evil  spirit  (x.  896  E  ;  cp.  Theaet.  176,  Statesman  269  E). 
This  passage  is  also  remarkable  for  being  at  variance  with  the 
general  optimism  of  the  Tenth  Book — not  '  all  things  are  ordered 
by  God  for  the  best,'  but  some  things  by  a  good,  others  by  an  evil 
spirit. 

The  Tenth  Book  of  the  Laws  presents  a  picture  of  the  state  of 
belief  among  the  Greeks  singularly  like  that  of  the  world  in  which 
we  live.  Plato  is  disposed  to  attribute  the  incredulity  of  his  own 
age  to  several  causes.  First,  to  the  bad  effect  of  mythological 
tales,  of  which  he  retains  his  disapproval ;  but  he  has  a  weak  side 
for  antiquity,  and  is  unwilling,  as  in  the  Republic  (Books  II  and 
III),  wholly  to  proscribe  them  (Laws  x.  886).  Secondly,  he 
remarks  the  self-conceit  of  a  newly-fledged  generation  of  philo- 
sophers, who  declare  that  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars,  are  earth  and 
stones  only ;  and  who  also  maintain  that  the  Gods  are  made  by 
the  laws  of  the  state.  Thirdly,  he  notes  a  confusion  in  the  minds 
of  men  arising  out  of  their  misinterpretation  of  the  appearances  of 
the  world  around  them :  they  do  not  always  see  the  righteous 
rewarded  and  the  wicked  punished.  So  in  modern  times  there 
are  some  whose  infidelit}^  has  arisen  from  doubts  about  the  in- 
spiration of  ancient  writings ;  others  who  have  been  made  un- 
believers by  physical  science,  or  again  by  the  seemingly  political 
character  of  religion ;  while  there  is  a  third  class  to  whose  minds 
the  difficulty  of  '  justifying  the  ways  of  God  to  man '  has  been  the 
chief  stumblingblock.  Plato  is  very  much  out  of  temper  at  the 
impiety  of  some  of  his  contemporaries  (x.  888) ;  j'et  he  is 
determined  to  reason  with  the  victims,  as  he  regards  them,  of 
these  illusions  before  he  punishes  them.  His  answer  to  the 
unbelievers  is  twofold  :  first,  that  the  soul  is  prior  to  the  body 
(x.  891  E)  ;  secondly,  that  the  ruler  of  the  universe  being  perfect 
has  made  all  things  with  a  view  to  their  perfection  (x.  903  C,  904). 


m  Plato's  a7id  in  our  own  day. 


ccvii 


The  difficulties  arising  out  of  ancient  sacred  writings  were  far  less  Laws. 
serious  in  the  age  of  Plato  than  in  our  own.  Introdu( 

We  too  have  our  popular  Epicureanism,  which  would  allow  the 
world  to  go  on  as  if  there  were  no  God.  When  the  belief  in  Him, 
whether  of  ancient  or  modern  times,  begins  to  fade  away,  men 
relegate  Him,  either  in  theory  or  practice,  into  a  distant  heaven. 
They  do  not  like  expressly  to  deny  God  when  it  is  more  con- 
venient to  forget  Him  ;  and  so  the  theory  of  the  Epicurean 
becomes  the  practice  of  rnankind  in  general.  Nor  can  we  be  said 
to  be  free  from  that  which  Plato  justly  considers  to  be  the  worst 
unbelief — of  those  who  put  superstition  in  the  place  of  true 
religion.  For  the  larger  half  of  Christians  continue  to  assert 
that  the  justice  of  God  may  be  turned  aside  by  gifts,  and,  if  not  by 
the  'odour  of  fat,  and  the  sacrifice  steaming  to  heaven,'  still  by 
another  kind  of  sacrifice  placed  upon  the  altar — by  masses  for  the 
quick  and  dead,  by  dispensations,  by  building  churches,  by  rites 
and  ceremonies— by  the  same  means  which  the  heathen  used, 
taking  other  names  and  shapes.  And  the  indifference  of  Epicure- 
anism and  unbelief  is  in  two  ways  the  parent  of  superstition, 
partly  because  it  permits,  and  also  because  it  creates,  a  necessity 
for  its  development  in  religious  and  enthusiastic  temperaments. 
If  men  cannot  have  a  rational  belief,  they  will  have  an  irrational. 
And  hence  the  most  superstitious  countries  are  also  at  a  certain 
point  of  civilization  the  most  unbelieving,  and  the  revolution  which 
takes  one  direction  is  quickly  followed  by  a  reaction  in  the  other. 
So  we  may  read  '  between  the  lines '  ancient  history  and  philo- 
sophy into  modern,  and  modern  into  ancient.  Whether  we  com- 
pare the  theory  of  Greek  philosophy  with  the  Christian  religion, 
or  the  practice  of  the  Gentile  world  with  the  practice  of  the 
Christian  world,  they  will  be  found  to  differ  more  in  words  and 
less  in  reality  than  we  might  have  supposed.  The  greater  oppo- 
sition which  is  sometimes  made  between  them  seems  to  arise 
chiefly  out  of  a  comparison  of  the  ideal  of  the  one  with  the 
practice  of  the  other. 

To  the  errors  of  superstition  and  unbelief  Plato  opposes  the 
simple  and  natural  truth  of  religion  ;  the  best  and  highest, 
whether  conceived  in  the  form  of  a  person  or  a  principle— as  the 
divine  mind  or  as  the  idea  of  good— is  believed  by  him  to  be  the 
basis  of  human  life.    That  all  things  are  working  together  for  good 


ccviii       The  stmt  of  Plato  s  faith  :  Criticism  on  Anaxagoras. 

Laws.  to  the  good  and  evil  to  the  evil  in  this  or  in  some  other  world 
Introduc-  to  which  human  actions  are  transferred,  is  the  sum  of  his  faith 
or  theology.  Unlike  Socrates,  he  is  absolutely  free  from  super- 
stition. Religion  and  morality  are  one  and  indivisible  to  him. 
He  dishkes  the  'heathen  mythology,'  which,  as  he  significantly 
remarks,  was  not  tolerated  in  Crete,  and  perhaps  (for  the  meaning 
of  his  words  is  not  quite  clear)  at  Sparta  (x.  886  B,  C  :  cp.  iii. 
680  C).  He  gives  no  encouragement  to  individual  enthusiasm  ; 
'  the  establishment  of  religion  could  only  be  the  work  of  a  mighty 
intellect'  (x.  909  E).  Like  the  Hebrews,  he  prohibits  private 
rites ;  for  the  avoidance  of  superstition,  he  would  transfer  all 
worship  of  the  Gods  to  the  public  temples  (x.  909  D).  He  would 
not  have  men  and  women  consecrating  the  accidents  of  their  lives 
(x.  909  E).  He  trusts  to  human  punishments  and  not  to  divine 
judgments  ;  though  he  is  not  unwilling  to  repeat  the  old  tradition 
that  certain  kinds  of  dishonesty  '  prevent  a  man  from  having  a 
family '  (xi.  913  C).  He  considers  that  the  '  ages  of  faith '  have 
passed  awaj'  and  cannot  now  be  recalled  (xii.  948  B).  Yet  he  is  far 
from  wishing  to  extirpate  the  sentiment  of  religion,  which  he  sees 
to  be  common  to  all  mankind — Barbarians  as  well  as  Hellenes 
(x.  886  A).  He  remarks  that  no  one  passes  through  life  without, 
sooner  or  later,  experiencing  its  power  (x.  888  B,  C).  To  which 
we  may  add  the  further  remark  that  the  greater  the  irreligion, 
the  more  violent  has  often  been  the  religious  reaction. 

It  is  remarkable  that  Plato's  account  of  mind  at  the  end  of  the 
Laws  goes  beyond  Anaxagoras,  and  beyond  himself  in  any  of  his 
previous  writings.  Aristotle,  in  a  well-known  passage  (Met.  i.  4) 
which  is  an  echo  of  the  Phaedo  (97,  98),  remarks  on  the  incon- 
sistency of  Anaxagoras  in  introducing  the  agency  of  mind,  and  yet 
having  recourse  to  other  and  inferior,  probably  material  causes.  But 
Plato  makes  the  further  criticism,  that  the  error  of  Anaxagoras  con- 
sisted, not  in  denying  the  universal  agency  of  mind,  but  in  denying 
the  priority,  or,  as  we  should  say,  the  eternity  of  it  (xii.  967).  Yet 
in  the  Timaeus  (31  ff.)  he  had  himself  allowed  that  God  made  the 
world  out  of  pre-existing  materials  :  in  the  Statesman  (273  B)  he 
says  that  there  were  seeds  of  evil  in  the  world  arising  out  of  the 
remains  of  a  former  chaos  which  could  not  be  got  rid  of ;  and  even 
in  the  Tenth  Book  of  the  Laws  (896  E)  he  has  admitted  that  there 
are'two  souls,  a  good  and  evil.    In  the  Meno,  the  Phaedrus,  and 


Mind pi'ior  to  the  world. —  The  regulation  of  trade.  ccix 

the  Phaedo,  he  had  spoken  of  the  recovery  of  ideas  from  a  former  Laws. 
state  of  existence.    But  now  he  has  attained  to  a  clearer  point  of  Introduc- 
view  :  he  has  discarded  these  fancies.    From  meditating  on  the  """^ 
priority  of  the  human  soul  to  the  body,  he  has  learnt  the  nature  of 
soul  absolutely.    The  power  of  the  best,  of  which  he  gave  an 
intimation  in  the  Phaedo  and  in  the  Republic,  now,  as  in  the 
Philebus,  takes  the  form  of  an  intelligence  or  persofi.    He  no 
longer,  like  Anaxagoras,  supposes  mind  to  be  introduced  at  a 
certain  time  into  the  world  and  to  give  order  to  a  pre-existing 
chaos,  but  to  be  prior  to  the  chaos,  everlasting  and  evermoving, 
and  the  source  of  order  and  intelligence  in  all  things.  This 
appears  to  be  the  last  form  of  Plato's  religious  philosophy,  which 
might  almost  be  summed  up  in  the  words  of  Kant,  '  the  starry 
heaven  above  and  the  moral  law  within.'    Or  rather,  perhaps, 
'  the  starry  heaven  above  and  mind  prior  to  the  world.' 

IV.  The  remarks  about  retail  trade,  about  adulteration,  and 
about  mendicity,  have  a  very  modern  character.  Greek  social  life 
was  more  like  our  own  than  we  are  apt  to  suppose.  There  was 
the  same  division  of  ranks,  the  same  aristocratic  and  democratic 
feeling,  and,  even  in  a  democracy,  the  same  preference  for  land  and 
for  agricultural  pursuits.  Plato  may  be  claimed  as  the  first  free- 
trader, when  he  prohibits  the  imposition  of  customs  on  imports 
and  exports,  though  he  was  clearly  not  aware  of  the  importance 
of  the  principle  which  he  enunciated  (viii.  847  B,  C).  The  dis- 
credit of  retail  trade  he  attributes  to  the  rogueries  of  traders,  and 
is  inclined  to  believe  that  if  a  nobleman  would  keep  a  shop,  which 
heaven  forbid !  retail  trade  might  become  honourable  (xi.  918). 
He  has  hardly  hghted  upon  the  true  reason,  which  appears  to  be 
the  essential  distinction  between  buyers  and  sellers,  the  one  class 
being  necessarily  in  some  degree  dependent  on  the  other.  When 
he  proposes  to  fix  prices  '  which  would  allow  a  moderate  gain ' 
(xi.  920),  and  to  regulate  trade  in  several  minute  particulars,  we 
must  remember  that  this  is  by  no  means  so  absurd  in  a  city  consist- 
ing of  5040  citizens,  in  which  almost  every  one  would  know  and 
become  known  to  everybody  else,  as  in  our  own  vast  population. 
Among  ourselves  we  are  very  far  from  allowing  every  man  to 
charge  what  he  pleases.  Of  many  things  the  prices  are  fixed  by 
law.  Do  we  not  often  hear  of  wages  being  adjusted  in  proportion 
to  the  profits  of  employers  ?   The  objection  to  regulating  them  by 

VOL.  V.  o 


ccx  Pmiperism. 

Laivs.  law  and  thus  avoiding  the  conflicts  which  continually  arise  between 
Introduc.  the  buyers  and  sellers  of  labour,  is  not  so  much  the  undesirable- 
™'*'  ness  as  the  impossibility  of  doing  so.  Wherever  free  competition 
is  not  reconcileable  either  with  the  order  of  society,  or,  as  in  the 
case  of  adulteration,  with  common  honesty,  the  government  may 
lawfully  interfere.  The  only  question  is, — Whether  the  inter- 
ference win  be  effectual,  and  whether  the  evil  of  interference  may 
not  be  greater  than  the  evil  which  is  prevented  by  it. 

He  would  prohibit  beggars,  because  in  a  well-ordered  state  no 
good  man  would  be  left  to  starve  (xi.  936  B).  This  again  is  a  pro- 
hibition which  might  have  been  easily  enforced,  for  there  is  no 
difficulty  in  maintaining  the  poor  when  the  population  is  small. 
In  our  own  times  the  difficulty  of  pauperism  is  rendered  far 
greater,  (1)  by  the  enormous  numbers,  {2)  by  the  facility  of  loco- 
motion, (3)  by  the  increasing  tenderness  for  human  life  and 
suffering.  And  the  only  way  of  meeting  the  difficulty  seems  to 
be  by  modern  nations  subdividing  themselves  into  small  bodies 
having  local  knowledge  and  acting  together  in  the  spirit  of  ancient 
communities  (cp.  Arist.  Pol.  vi.  5,  §§  5-11). 

V.  Regarded  as  the  framework  of  a  polity  the  Laws  are  deemed 
by  Plato  to  be  a  decline  from  the  Republic,  which  is  the  dream 
of  his  earlier  years  (Laws  v.  739).  He  nowhere  imagines  that  he 
has  reached  i  higher  point  of  speculation.  He  is  only  descending 
to  the  level  of  human  things,  and  he  often  returns  to  his  original 
idea.  For  the  guardians  of  the  Republic,  who  were  the  elder 
citizens,  and  were  all  supposed  to  be  philosophers,  is  now  substi- 
tuted a  special  body,  who  are  to  review  and  amend  the  laws, 
preserving  the  spirit  of  the  legislator.  These  are  the  Nocturnal 
Council,  who,  although  they  are  not  specially  trained  in  dialectic, 
are  not  wholly  destitute  of  it ;  for  they  must  know  the  relation  of 
particular  virtues  to  the  general  principle  of  virtue  (xii.  965). 
Plato  has  been  arguing  throughout  the  Laws  that  temperance 
is  higher  than  courage,  peace  than  war,  that  the  love  of  both 
must  enter  into  the  character  of  the  good  citizen.  And  at  the 
end  the  same  thought  is  summed  up  by  him  in  an  abstract  form. 
The  true  artist  or  guardian  must  be  able  to  reduce  the  manj'  to 
the  one,  than  which,  as  he  says  with  an  enthusiasm  worthy  of  the 
Phaedrus  or  Philebus,  '  no  more  philosophical  method  was  ever 
devised  by  the  wit  of  man '  (xii.  965  C).    But  the  sense  of  unity  in 


Characteristics  of  the  second  best  state. 


ccxi 


difference  can  only  be  acquired  by  study  ;  and  Plato  does  not  Laws. 
explain  to  us  the  nature  of  this  study,  which  we  may  reasonably  Introduc- 
infer,  though  there  is  a  remarkable  omission  of  the  word,  to  be 
akin  to  the  dialectic  of  the  Republic. 

The  Nocturnal  Council  is  to  cons'ist  of  the  priests  who  have 
obtained  the  rewards  of  virtue,  of  the  ten  eldest  guardians  of 
the  law,  and  of  the  director  and  ex-directors  of  education ;  each 
of  whom  is  to  select  for  approval  a  younger  coadjutor.  To  this 
council  the  '  Spectator,'  who  is  sent  to  visit  foreign  countries,  has 
to  make  his  report  (xii.951  ff.).  It  is  not  an  administrative  body, 
but  an  assembly  of  sages  who  are  to  make  legislation  their  study. 
Plato  is  not  altogether  disinclined  to  changes  in  the  law  where 
experience  shows  them  to  be  necessary ;  but  he  is  also  anxious 
that  the  original  spirit  of  the  constitution  should  never  be  lost 
sight  of. 

The  Laws  of  Plato  contain  the  latest  phase  of  his  philosophy, 
showing  in  many  respects  an  advance,  and  in  others  a  decline, 
in  his  views  of  life  and  the  world.  His  Theory  of  Ideas  in  the 
next  generation  passed  into  one  of  Numbers,  the  nature  of  which 
we  gather  chiefly  from  the  Metaphysics  of  Aristotle.  Of  the 
speculative  side  of  this  theory  there  are  no  traces  in  the  Laws, 
but  doubtless  Plato  found  the  practical  value  which  he  attributed 
to  arithmetic  greatly  confirmed  by  the  possibility  of  applying 
number  and  measure  to  the  revolution  of  the  heavens,  and  to  the 
regulation  of  human  life.  In  the  return  to  a  doctrine  of  numbers 
there  is  a  retrogression  rather  than  an  advance ;  for  the  most 
barren  logical  abstraction  is  of  a  higher  nature  than  number  and 
figure.  Philosophy  fades  away  into  the  distance ;  in  the  Laws 
it  is  confined  to  the  members  of  the  Nocturnal  Council.  The 
speculative  truth  which  was  the  food  of  the  guardians  in  the 
Republic,  is  for  the  majority  of  the  citizens  to  be  superseded  by 
practical  virtues.  The  law,  which  is  the  expression  of  mind 
written  down,  takes  the  place  of  the  living  word  of  the  philoso- 
pher. (Compare  the  contrast  of  Phaedrus  275  E,  and  Laws  x. 
891  A ;  also  the  plays  on  the  words  vovs,  vdjuor,  vov  8iavofxr]  (Laws 
iv.  714  A ;  xii.957C) ;  and  the  discussion  in  the  Statesman  (293  ff.) 
of  the  difference  between  the  personal  rule  of  a  king  and  the 
impersonal  reign  of  law).  The  State  is  based  on  virtue  and 
religion  rather  than  on  knowledge ;   and  virtue  is  no  longer 

o  2 


ccxii  The  historical  foundation  of  the  Laws. 

Laws.  identified  with  knowledge,  being  of  the  commoner  sort,  and 
Introdl'c-  spoken  of  in  the  sense  generally  understood.  Yet  there  are 
many  traces  of  advance  as  well  as  retrogression  in  the  Laws  of 
Plato.  The  attempt  to  reconcile  the  ideal  with  actual  life  is  an 
advance ;  to  '  have  brought  philosophy  down  from  heaven  to 
earth,'  is  a  praise  which  may  be  claimed  for  him  as  well  as  for 
his  master  Socrates.  And  the  members  of  the  Nocturnal  Council 
are  to  continue  students  of  the  '  one  in  many '  and  of  the  nature  of 
God.  Education  is  the  last  word  with  which  Plato  supposes  the 
theory  of  the  Laws  to  end  and  the  reality  to  begin  (Laws,  sub 
/'».). 

Plato's  increasing  appreciation  of  the  difficulties  of  human 
affairs,  and  of  the  element  of  chance  which  so  largely  influences 
them,  is  an  indication  not  of  a  narrower,  but  of  a  maturer  mind, 
which  had  become  more  conversant  with  realities.  Nor  can  we 
fairly  attribute  any  want  of  originality  to  him,  because  he  has 
borrowed  many  of  his  provisions  from  Sparta  and  Athens.  Laws 
and  institutions  grow  out  of  habits  and  customs ;  and  they  have 
'  better  opinion,  better  confirmation,'  if  they  have  come  down 
from  antiquity  and  are  not  mere  literary  inventions.  Plato  would 
have  been  the  first  to  acknowledge  that  the  Book  of  Laws  was 
not  the  creation  of  his  fancj',  but  a  collection  of  enactments 
which  had  been  devised  by  inspired  legislators,  like  Minos, 
Lycurgus,  and  Solon,  to  meet  the  actual  needs  of  men,  and  had 
been  approved  by  time  and  experience. 

In  order  to  do  justice  therefore  to  the  design  of  the  work,  it  is 
necessary  to  examine  how  far  it  rests  on  an  historical  foundation 
and  coincides  with  the  actual  laws  of  Sparta  and  Athens.  The 
consideration  of  the  historical  aspect  of  the  Laws  has  been 
reserved  for  this  place.  In  working  out  the  comparison  the 
writer  has  been  greatly  assisted  by  the  excellent  essays  of  C.  F. 
Hermann  ('  De  vestigiis  institutorum  veterum,  imprimis  Atticorum, 
per  Platonis  de  Legibus  libros  indagandis,'  and  '  Juris  domestici 
at  familiaris  apud  Platonem  in  Legibus  cum  veteris  Graeciae 
inque  primis  Athenarum  institutis  comparatio  '  :  Marburg,  1836), 
and  by  J.  B.  Telfy's  '  Corpus  Juris  Attici '  (Leipzig,  1868). 


(ccxiii) 


Excursus  on  the  relation  of  the  Laws  of  Plato  to 
THE  Institutions  of  Crete  and  Lacedaemon  and  to 
THE  Laws  and  Constitution  of  Athens. 

The  Laws  of  Plato  are  essentially  Greek :  unlike  Xenophon's  Laws. 
Cyropaedia,  they  contain  nothing  foreign  or  oriental.  Their  aim  introduc- 
is  to  reconstruct  the  work  of  the  great  lawgivers  of  Hellas  in  a 
literary  form.  They  partake  both  of  an  Athenian  and  a  Spartan 
character.  Some  of  them  too  are  derived  from  Crete,  and  are 
appropriately  transferred  to  a  Cretan  colony.  But  of  Crete  so 
little  is  known  to  us,  that  although,  as  Montesquieu  (Esprit  des 
Lois,  iv.  6)  remarks,  '  the  Laws  of  Crete  are  the  original  of  those 
of  Sparta  and  the  Laws  of  Plato  the  correction  of  these  latter,' 
there  is  only  one  point,  viz.  the  common  meals,  in  which  they 
can  be  compared.  Most  of  Plato's  provisions  resemble  the  laws 
and  customs  which  prevailed  in  these  three  states  (especially  in 
the  two  former),  and  which  the  personifying  instinct  of  the  Greeks 
attributed  to  Minos,  Lycurgus,  and  Solon.  A  very  few  particulars 
may  have  been  borrowed  from  Zaleucus  (Cic.  de  Legibus,  ii.  6), 
and  Charondas,  who  is  said  to  have  first  made  laws  against  per- 
jury (Arist.  Pol.  ii.  12,  §  11)  and  to  have  forbidden  credit  (Stob. 
Florileg.  44,  p.  204,  Gaisford).  Some  enactments  are  Plato's  own, 
and  were  suggested  by  his  experience  of  defects  in  the  Athenian 
and  other  Greek  states.  The  Laws  also  contain  many  lesser  pro- 
visions, which  are  not  found  in  the  ordinary  codes  of  nations, 
because  they  cannot  be  properly  defined,  and  are  therefore  better 
left  to  custom  and  common  sense.  '  The  greater  part  of  the 
work,'  as  Aristotle  remarks  (Pol.  ii.  6,  §  4),  '  is  taken  up  with 
laws '  :  yet  this  is  not  wholly  true,  and  applies  to  the  latter  rather 
than  to  the  first  half  of  it.  The  book  rests  on  an  ethical  and 
religious  foundation :  the  actual  laws  begin  with  a  hymn  of  praise 
in  honour  of  the  soul  (v.  726  foil.).  And  the  same  lofty  aspiration 
after  the  good  is  perpetually  recurring,  especially  in  Books  X,  XI, 
XII,  and  whenever  Plato's  mind  is  filled  with  his  highest  themes. 
In  prefixing  to  most  of  his  laws  a  prooemium  he  has  two  ends 
in  view,  to  persuade  and  also  to  threaten.  They  are  to  have  the 
sanction  of  laws  and  the  effect  of  sermons.  And  Plato's  '  Book  of 
Laws,'  if  described  in  the  language  of  modern  philosophy,  may  be 


ccxiv 


Compa^nson  of  the  Lazvs  of  Plato  zuith 


Laws.  said  to  be  as  much  an  ethical  and  educational,  as  a  political  or 
Introduc-    legal  treatise. 

But  although  the  Laws  partake  both  of  an  Athenian  and  a 
Spartan  character,  the  elements  which  are  borrowed  from  either 
state  are  necessarily  very  different,  because  the  character  and 
origin  of  the  two  governments  themselves  differed  so  widely. 
Sparta  was  the  more  ancient  and  primitive  :  Athens  was  suited  to 
the  wants  of  a  later  stage  of  society.  The  relation  of  the  two 
states  to  the  Laws  may  be  conceived  in  this  manner : — The  founda- 
tion and  ground-plan  of  the  work  are  more  Spartan,  while  the 
superstructure  and  details  are  more  Athenian.  At  Athens  the 
laws  were  written  down  and  were  voluminous ;  more  than  a 
thousand  fragments  of  them  have  been  collected  by  Telfy.  Like 
the  Roman  or  English  law,  they  contained  innumerable  par- 
ticulars. Those  of  them  which  regulated  daily  life  were  familiarly 
known  to  the  Athenians ;  for  every  citizen  was  his  own  lawyer, 
and  also  a  judge,  who  decided  the  rights  of  his  fellow-citizens 
according  to  the  laws,  oflen  after  hearing  speeches  from  the 
parties  interested  or  from  their  advocates.  It  is  to  Rome  and  not 
to  Athens  that  the  invention  of  law,  in  the  modern  sense  of  the 
term,  is  commonly  ascribed.  But  it  must  be  remembered  that 
long  before  the  times  of  the  Twelve  Tables  (b.  c.  451),  regular 
courts  and  forms  of  law  had  existed  at  Athens  and  probably  in 
the  Greek  colonies.  And  we  may  reasonably  suppose,  though 
without  any  express  proof  of  the  fact,  that  many  Roman  institu- 
tions and  customs,  like  Latin  literature  and  mythology,  were 
partly  derived  from  Hellas  and  had  imperceptibly  drifted  from 
one  shore  of  the  Ionian  Sea  to  the  other  (cp.  especially  the  con- 
stitutions of  Servius  Tullius  and  of  Solon). 

It  is  not  proved  that  the  laws  of  Sparta  were  in  ancient  times 
either  written  down  in  books  or  engraved  on  tablets  of  marble  or 
brass.  Nor  is  it  certain  that,  if  they  had  been,  the  Spartans  could 
have  read  them.  They  were  ancient  customs,  some  of  them  older 
probably  than  the  settlement  in  Laconia,  of'which  the  origin  is 
unknown ;  they  occasionally  received  the  sanction  of  the  Delphic 
oracle,  but  there  was  a  still  stronger  obligation  by  which  they 
were  enforced, — the  necessity  of  self-defence  :  the  Spartans  were 
always  living  in  the  presence  of  their  enemies.  They  belonged 
to  an  age  when  written  law  had  not  yet  taken  the  place  of  custom 


spartan  and  Athenian  Laws  and  Instittitions.  ccxv 

and  tradition.  The  old  constitution  was  very  rarely  affected  by  Laws. 
new  enactments,  and  these  only  related  to  the  duties  of  the  Kings  Introduc- 
or  Ephors,  or  the  new  relations  of  classes  which  arose  as  time 
went  on.  Hence  there  was  as  great  a  difference  as  could  well  be 
conceived  between  the  Laws  of  Athens  and  Sparta  :  the  one  was 
the  creation  of  a  civilized  state,  and  did  not  differ  in  principle 
from  our  modern  legislation,  the  other  of  an  age  in  which  the 
people  were  held  together  and  also  kept  down  by  force  of  arms, 
and  which  afterwards  retained  many  traces  of  its  barbaric  origin 
'  surviving  in  culture.' 

Nevertheless  the  Lacedaemonian  was  the  ideal  of  a  primitive 
Greek  state.  According  to  Thucydides  (i.  i8)  it  was  the  first 
which  emerged  out  of  confusion  and  became  a  regular  govern- 
ment. It  was  also  an  army  devoted  to  military  exercises,  but 
organized  with  a  view  to  self-defence  and  not  to  conquest.  It  was 
not  quick  to  move  or  easily  excited  ;  but  stolid,  cautious,  unam- 
bitious, procrastinating.  For  many  centuries  it  retained  the  same 
character  which  was  impressed  upon  it  by  the  hand  of  the  legis- 
lator. This  singular  fabric  was  partly  the  result  of  circumstances, 
partly  the  invention  of  some  unknown  individual  in  prehistoric 
times,  whose  ideal  of  education  was  military  discipline,  and  who, 
by  the  ascendency  of  his  genius,  made  a  small  tribe  into  a  nation 
which  became  famous  in  the  world's  history.  The  other  Hellenes 
wondered  at  the  strength  and  stability  of  his  work.  The  rest  of 
Hellas,  says  Thucydides  (iii.  93  ;  cp.  iv.  108),  undertook  the  colonisa- 
tion of  Heraclea  the  more  readily,  having  a  feeling  of  security 
now  that  they  saw  the  Lacedaemonians  taking  part  in  it.  The 
Spartan  state  appears  to  us  in  the  dawn  of  history  as  a  vision  of 
armed  men,  irresistible  by  any  other  power  then  existing  in  the 
world.  It  can  hardly  be  said  to  have  understood  at  all  the  rights 
or  duties  of  nations  to  one  another,  or  indeed  to  have  had  any 
moral  principle  except  patriotism  and  obedience  to  commanders. 
Men  were  so  trained  to  act  together  that  they  lost  the  freedom 
and  spontaneity  of  human  life  in  cultivating  the  qualities  of  the 
soldier  and  ruler.  The  Spartan  state  was  a  composite  body  in 
which  kings,  nobles,  citizens,  perioeci,  artisans,  slaves,  had  to  find 
modus  Vivendi'  with  one  another.  All  of  them  were  taught 
some  use  of  arms.  The  strength  of  the  family  tie  was  diminished 
among  them  by  an  enforced  absence  from  home  and  by  common 


ccxvi 


Comparison  of  the  Laws  of  Plato  with 


Laws.  meals.  Sparta  had  no  life  or  growth  ;  no  poetry  or  tradition  of 
Introduc-  the  past ;  no  art,  no  thought.  The  Athenians  started  on  their 
great  career  some  centuries  later,  but  the  Spartans  would  have 
been  easily  conquered  by  them,  if  Athens  had  not  been  deficient 
in  the  qualities  which  constituted  the  strength  (and  also  the  weak- 
ness) of  her  rival. 

The  ideal  of  Athens  has  been  pictured  for  all  time  in  the  speech 
which  Thucydides  puts  into  the  mouth  of  Pericles,  called  the 
Funeral  Oration.  He  contrasts  the  activity  and  freedom  and 
pleasantness  of  Athenian  life  with  the  immobility  and  severe 
looks  and  incessant  drill  of  the  Spartans.  The  citizens  of  no  city 
were  more  versatile,  or  more  readily  changed  from  land  to  sea  or 
more  quickly  moved  about  from  place  to  place.  They  'took  their 
pleasures '  merrily,  and  yet,  when  the  time  for  fighting  arrived, 
were  not  a  whit  behind  the  Spartans,  who  were  like  men  living  in 
a  camp,  and,  though  always  keeping  guard,  were  often  too  late  for 
the  fray.  Any  foreigner  might  visit  Athens ;  her  ships  found  a 
way  to  the  most  distant  shores  ;  the  riches  of  the  whole  earth 
poured  in  upon  her.  Her  citizens  had  their  theatres  and  festivals ; 
they  '  provided  their  souls  with  many  relaxations ' ;  yet  they  were 
not  less  manly  than  the  Spartans  or  less  willing  to  sacrifice  this 
enjoyable  existence  for  their  country's  good.  The  Athenian  was 
a  nobler  form  of  life  than  that  of  their  rivals,  a  life  of  music  as  w6ll 
as  of  gymnastic,  the  life  of  a  citizen  as  well  as  of  a  soldier.  Such 
is  the  picture  which  Thucydides  has  drawn  of  the  Athenians  in 
their  glory.  It  is  the  spirit  of  this  life  which  Plato  would  infuse 
into  the  Magnesian  state  and  which  he  seeks  to  combine  with  the 
common  meals  and  gymnastic  discipline  of  Sparta. 

The  two  great  types  of  Athens  and  Sparta  had  deeply  entered 
into  his  mind.  He  had  heard  of  Sparta  at  a  distance  and  from 
common  Hellenic  fame  :  he  was  a  citizen  of  Athens  and  an 
Athenian  of  noble  birth.  He  must  often  have  sat  in  the  law- 
courts,  and  may  have  had  personal  experience  of  the  duties  of 
offices  such  as  he  is  establishing.  There  is  no  need  to  ask  the 
question,  whence  he  derived  his  knowledge  of  the  Laws  of 
Athens  :  they  were  a  part  of  his  daily  life.  Many  of  his  enact- 
ments are  recognized  to  be  Athenian  laws  from  the  fragments 
preserved  in  the  Orators  and  elsewhere  :  many  more  would  be 
found  to  be  so  if  we  had  better  information.    Probably  also  still 


spartan  and  Athenian  Laivs  and  InstitiUions.  ccxvii 


more  of  them  would  have  been  incorporated  in  the  Magnesian  Laws. 
code,  if  the  work  had  ever  been  finally  completed.  But  it  seems  Introduc 
to  have  come  down  to  us  in  a  form  which  is  partly  finished  and 
partly  unfinished,  having  a  beginning  and  end,  but  wanting 
arrangement  in  the  middle.  The  Laws  answer  to  Plato's  own 
.description  of  them,  in  the  comparison  (ix.  858  B)  which  he  makes 
of  himself  and  his  two  friends  to  gatherers  of  stones  or  the  be- 
ginners of  some  composite  work,  'who  are  providing  materials 
-and  partly  putting  them  together :— having  some  of  their  laws, 
i;like  stones,  already  fixed  in  their  places,  while  others  lie  about.' 

Plato's  own  life  coincided  with  the  period  at  which  Athens  rose 
to  her  greatest  heights  and  sank  to  her  lowest  depths.    It  was 
impossible  that  he  should  regard  the  blessings  of  democracy  in 
the  same  light  as  the  men  of  a  former  generation,  whose  view  was 
not  intercepted  by  the  evil  shadow  of  the  taking  of  Athens,  and 
who  had  only  the  glories  of  Marathon  and  Salamis  and  the  admin- 
istration of  Pericles  to  look  back  upon.    On  the  other  hand  the 
•fame  and  prestige  of  Sparta,  which  had  outlived  so  many  crimes  and 
.blunders,  was  not  altogether  lost  at  the  end  of  the  life  of  Plato. 
iHerswas  the  only  great  Hellenic  government  which  preserved 
something  of  its  ancient  form  ;  and  although  the  Spartan  citizens 
;  were  reduced  to  almost  one-tenth  of  their  original  number  (Arist. 
Pol.  ii.  9,  §§  16,  17),  she  still  retained,  until  the  rise  of  Thebes  and 
Macedon,  a  certain  authority  and  predominance  due  to  her  final 
success,  in  the  struggle  with  Athens  and  to  the  victories  which 
.  Agesilaus  won  in  Asia  Minor. 

Plato,  like  Aristotle,  had  in  his  mind  some  form  of  a  mean  state 
which  should  escape  the  evils  and  secure  the  advantages  of  both 
aristocracy  and  democracy.    It  may  however  be  doubted  whether 
:he  creation  of  such  a  state  is  not  beyond  the  legislator's  art 
cp.  iv.  709),  although  there  have  been  examples  in  history  of  forms 
)f  government,  which  through  some  community  of  interest  or  of 
)rigin,  through  a  balance  of  parties  in  the  state  itself,  or  through 
he  fear  of  a  common  enemy,  have  for  a  while  preserved  such  a 
I  haracter  of  moderation.    But  in  general  there  arises  a  time  in 
he  history  of  a  state  when  the  struggle  between  the  few  and  the 
nany  has  to  be  fought  out.    No  system  of  checks  and  balances, 
uch  as  Plato  has  devised  in  the  Laws,  could  have  given  equipoise 
nd  stability  to  an  ancient  state,  any  more  than  the  skill  of  the 


ccxviii 


Comparison  of  the  Laws  of  Plato  with 


Laws.      legislator  could  have  withstood  the  tide  of  democracy  in  England 
Introduc-    or  France  during  the  last  hundred  years,  or  have  given  life  to 
China  or  India. 


The  basis  of  the  Magnesian  constitution  is  the  equal  division  of 
land  (v.  737  foil.).  In  the  new  state  (v.  744  D),  as  in  the  Republic 
(iv.  421,  422),  there  was  to  be  neither  poverty  nor  riches.  Every 
citizen  under  all  circumstances  retained  his  lot,  and  as  much 
money  as  was  necessary  for  the  cultivation  of  it  (ix.  855  B),  and  no 
one  was  allowed  to  accumulate  property  to  the  amount  of  more 
than  five  times  the  value  of  the  lot,  inclusive  of  it  (v.  744  D,  E). 
The  equal  division  of  land  was  a  Spartan  institution,  not  known  to 
have  existed  elsewhere  in  Hellas.  The  mention  of  it  in  the  Laws 
of  Plato  affords  considerable  presumption  that  it  was  of  ancient 
origin,  and  not  first  introduced,  as  Mr.  Grote  and  others  have 
imagined,  in  the  reformation  of  Cleomcnes  III.  But  at  Sparta,  if 
we  may  judge  from  the  frequent  complaints  of  the  accumulation  of 
property  in  the  hands  of  a  few  persons  (Arist.  Pol.  ii.  9,  §  14),  no 
provision  could  have  been  made  for  the  maintenance  of  the  lot. 
Plutarch  indeed  speaks  of  a  law  introduced  by  the  Ephor  Epita- 
deus  soon  after  the  Peloponnesian  War,  which  first  allowed  the 
Spartans  to  sell  their  land  (Agis,  c.  5)  :  but  from  the  manner  in 
which  Aristotle  refers  to  the  subject,  we  should  imagine  this  evil 
in  the  state  to  be  of  a  much  older  standing.  Like  some  other 
countries  in  which  small  proprietors  have  been  numerous,  the 
original  equality  passed  into  inequality,  and,  instead  of  a  large 
middle  class,  there  was  probably  at  Sparta  greater  disproportion 
in  the  property  of  the  citizens  than  in  any  other  state  of  Hellas. 
Plato  was  aware  of  the  danger,  and  has  improved  on  the  Spartan 
custom.  The  land,  as  at  Sparta,  must  have  been  tilled  by  slaves, 
since  other  occupations  were  found  for  the  citizens  (vii.  806  E  ; 
viii.  835  E).  Bodies  of  young  men  between  the  ages  of  twenty-five 
and  thirty  were  engaged  in  making  biennial  peregrinations  of  the 
country.  They  and  their  officers  are  to  be  the  magistrates,  police, 
engineers,  aediles,  of  the  twelve  districts  into  which  the  colony 
was  divided  (vi.  760  ff.).  Their  way  of  life  may  be  compared  with 
that  of  the  Spartan  secret  police  or  Crypteia,  a  name  which  Plato 
freely  applies  to  them  (vi.  763  B)  without  apparently  any  conscious- 
ness of  the  odium  which  has  attached  to  the  word  in  history. 


spartan  and  Athenian  Laws  and  InstittUions.  ccxix 


Another  great  institution  which  Plato  borrowed  from  Sparta  (or  Laws. 
Crete)  is  the  Syssitia  or  common  meals.  These  were  established  intkoduc- 
in  both  states,  and  in  some  respects  were  considered  by  Aristotle 
to  be  better  managed  in  Crete  than  at  Lacedaemon  (Pol.  ii.  lo, 
§§  7-10).  In  the  Laws  (viii.  842  B)  the  Cretan  custom  appears  to  be 
adopted  ' :  that  is  to  say,  if  we  may  interpret  Plato  by  Aristotle, 
the  cost  of  them  was  defrayed  by  the  state  and  not  by  the  indi- 
viduals (Arist.  Pol.  ii.  9,  §§  31, 32)  ;  so  that  the  members  of  the  mess, 
who  could  not  pay  their  quota,  still  retained  their  rights  of  citizen- 
ship. But  this  explanation  is  hardly  consistent  with  Laws  xii.  955 
D,  E,  where  contributions  to  the  Syssitia  from  private  estates  are 
expressly  mentioned,  Plato  goes  further  than  the  legislators  of 
Sparta  and  Crete,  and  would  extend  the  common  meals  to  women- 
as  well  as  men  :  he  desires  to  curb  the  disorders,  which  existed 
among  the  female  sex  in  both  states  (vi.  781),  by  the  application  to 
women  of  the  same  military  discipline  to  which  the  men  were 
already  subject.  It  was  an  extension  of  the  custom  of  Syssitia  from 
which  the  ancient  legislators  shrank,  and  which  Plato  himself 
believed  to  be  very  difficult  of  enforcement. 

Like  Sparta,  the  new  colony  was  not  to  be  surrounded  by 
walls, — a  state  should  learn  to  depend  upon  the  bravery  of  its 
citizens  only  (vi.  778  D,  E)— a  fallacy  or  paradox,  if  it  is  not  to  be 
regarded  as  a  poetical  fancy,  which  is  fairly  enough  ridiculed  by 
Aristotle  (Pol.  vii.  11,  §  8).  Women,  too,  must  be  ready  to  assist 
in  the  defence  of  their  country :  they  are  not  to  rush  to  the 
temples  and  altars,  but  to  arm  themselves  with  shield  and  spear 
(vii.  794  D).  In  the  regulation  of  the  Syssitia,  in  at  least  one  of 
his  enactments  respecting  property,  and  in  the  attempt  to  correct 
the  licence  of  women,  Plato  shows,  that  while  he  borrowed  from 
the  institutions  of  Sparta  and  favoured  the  Spartan  mode  of  life, 
he  also  sought  to  improve  upon  them. 

The  enmity  to  the  sea  is  another  Spartan  feature  which  is 
transferred  by  Plato  to  the  Magnesian  state  (iv.  704  foil.).  He  did 
not  reflect  that  a  non- maritime  power  would  always  be  at  the 
mercy  of  one  which  had  a  command  of  the  great  highway.  Their 
many  island  homes,  the  vast  extent  of  coast  which  had  to  be  pro- 
tected by  them,  their  struggles  first  of  all  with  the  Phoenicians 

'  This  is  not  proved  by  viii.  847  E,  as  Hermann  supposes  ('  De  Vestigiis,' 
etc.,  p.  29). 


ccxx 


Comparison  of  the  Laws  of  Plato  with 


Laws.  and  Carthaginians,  and  secondly  with  the  Persian  fleets,  forced 
Introduc-  the  Greeks,  mostly  against  their  will,  to  devote  themselves 
to  the  sea.  The  islanders  before  the  inhabitants  of  the  con- 
tinent, the  maritime  cities  before  the  inland,  the  Corinthians  and 
Athenians  before  the  Spartans,  were  compelled  to  fit  out  ships  : 
last  of  all  the  Spartans,  by  the  pressure  of  the  Peloponnesian 
War,  were  driven  to  establish  a  naval  force,  which,  after  the 
battle  of  Aegospotami,  for  more  than  a  generation  commanded 
the  Aegean.  Plato,  like  the  Spartans,  had  a  prejudice  against  a 
navy,  because  he  regarded  it  as  the  nursery  of  democracy  (iv.  704- 
707).  But  he  either  never  considered,  or  did  not  care  to  explain, 
how  a  city,  set  upon  an  island  and  '  distant  not  more  than  ten 
miles  from  the  sea,  having  a  seaboard  provided  with  excellent 
harbours  '  (iv.  704),  could  have  safely  subsisted  without  one. 

Neither  the  Spartans  nor  the  Magnesian  colonists  (xi.  919  D) 
were  permitted  to  engage  in  trade  or  commerce.  In  order  to  limit 
their  dealings  as  far  as  possible  to  their  own  ccamtry,  they  had  a 
separate  coinage;  the  Magnesians  were  only  allowed  to  use  the 
common  currency  of  Hellas  when  they  travelled  abroad,  which 
they  were  forbidden  to  do  unless  they  received  permission  from  the 
government  (v.  742  :  cp.  xii.  949  E  ff.).  Like  the  Spartans,  Plato 
was  afraid  of  the  evils  which  might  be  introduced  into  his  state  by 
intercourse  with  foreigners  (iv.  704  D)  ;  but  he  also  shrinks  from 
the  utter  exclusiveness  of  Sparta  (xii.  950  B),  and  is  not  unwilling 
to  allow  visitors  of  a  suitable  age  and  rank  to  come  from  other 
states  to  his  own,  as  he  also  allows  citizens  of  his  own  state  to  go 
to  foreign  countries  and  bring  back  a  report  of  them.  Such  in- 
ternational communication  seemed  to  him  both  honourable  and 
useful. 

We  may  now  notice  some  points  in  which  the  commonwealth 
of  the  Laws  approximates  to  the  Athenian  model.  These  are 
much  more  numerous  than  the  previous  class  of  resemblances ; 
we  are  better  able  to  compare  the  laws  of  Plato  with  those  of 
Athens,  because  a  good  deal  more  is  known  to  us  of  Athens  than 
of  Sparta. 

The  information  which  we  possess  about  Athenian  law,  though 
comparatively  fuller,  is  still  fragmentary.  The  sources  from 
which  our  knowledge  is  derived  are  chiefly  the  following  :— 


spartan  and  Athenian  Lazvs  and  Institntions.  ccxxi 

(1)  The  Orators,  —  Antiphon,   Andocides,   Lysias,   Isocrates,  Laws. 
Demosthenes,  Aeschines,  Lycurgus,  and  others.  Introduc 

(2)  Herodotus,  Thucydides,  Xenophon,  Plato,  Aristotle,  as  well 
as  later  writers,  such  as  Cicero  de  Legibus,  Plutarch,  Aelian, 
Pausanias. 

(3)  Lexicographers,  such  as  Harpocration,  Pollux,  Hesychius, 
Suidas,  and  the  compiler  of  the  Etymologicum  Magnum,  many  of 
whom  are  of  uncertain  date,  and  to  a  great  extent  based  upon  one 
another.  Their  writings  extend  altogether  over  more  than  eight 
hundred  years,  from  the  second  to  the  tenth  century. 

(4)  The  Scholia  on  Aristophanes,  Plato,  Demosthenes. 

(5)  A  few  inscriptions. 

Our  knowledge  of  a  subject  derived  from  such  various  sources 
and  for  the  most  part  of  uncertain  date  and  origin,  is  necessarily 
precarious.  No  critic  can  separate  the  actual  laws  of  Solon  from 
those  which  passed  under  his  name  in  later  ages.  Nor  do  the 
Scholiasts  and  Lexicographers  attempt  to  distinguish  how  many 
of  these  laws  were  still  in  force  at  the  time  when  they  wrote, 
or  when  they  fell  into  disuse  and  were  to  be  found  in  books 
only.  Nor  can  we  hastily  assume  that  enactments  which  occur 
in  the  Laws  of  Plato  were  also  a  part  of  Athenian  law,  however 
probable  this  may  appear. 

There  are  two  classes  of  similarities  between  Plato's  Laws  and 
those  of  Athens  :  (i)  of  institutions  ;  (ii)  of  minor  enactments. 

(i)  The  constitution  of  the  Laws  in  its  general  character  re- 
sembles much  more  nearly  the  Athenian  constitution  of  Solon's 
time  than  that  which  succeeded  it,  or  the  extreme  democracy 
which  prevailed  in  Plato's  own  day  (iii.  698  If.).  It  was  a  mean 
state  which  he  hoped  to  create,  equally  unlike  a  Syracusan 
tyranny  or  the  mob-government  of  the  Athenian  assembly. 
There  are  various  expedients  by  which  he  sought  to  impart  to 
it  the  quality  of  moderation,  (i)  The  whole  people  were  to  be 
educated :  they  could  not  be  all  trained  in  philosophy,  but  they 
were  to  acquire  the  simple  elements  of  music,  arithmetic,  geo- 
metry, astronomy  (vii.  809  flf.) ;  they  were  also  to  be  subject 
to  military  discipline,  lipxpvTes  xal  npxojxfvoi  (xii.  942  C).  (2)  The 
majority  of  them  were,  or  had  been  at  some  time  in  their  lives, 
magistrates,  and  had  the  experience  which  is  given  by  office. 
(3)  The  persons  who  held  the  highest  offices  were  to  have  a 


ccxxviii  Comparison  of  the  Laws  of  Plato  tvith 

Laws.      impiety  (Telfy,  1078,  1080).    In  the  Laws  it  is  punished  in  various 
Introduc-    cases  by  imprisonment  for  five  years,  for  life,  and  by  death 
(X.  908,  909). 

(6)  Sacrilege.  Robbery  of  temples  at  Athens  was  punished  by 
death,  refusal  of  burial  in  the  land,  and  confiscation  of  property 
(Telfy,  1148).  In  the  Laws  (ix.  854,  855)  the  citizen  who  is  guilty 
of  such  a  crime  is  to  '  perish  ingloriously  and  be  casj:  beyond  the 
borders  of  the  land,'  but  his  property  is  not  confiscated. 

(7)  Sorcery.  The  sorcerer  at  Athens  was  to  be  executed  (Telfy, 
1 156):  cp.  Laws  xi.  933,  where  it  is  enacted  that  the  physician 
who  poisons  and  the  professional  sorcerer  shall  be  punished  with 
death. 

(8)  Treason.  Both  at  Athens  and  in  the  Laws  the  penalty  for 
treason  was  death  (Telfy,  1027  :  Laws  ix.  856  E),  and  refusal  of 
burial  in  the  country  (Telfy,  1028  :  Laws  ix.  855  A). 

(9)  Sheltering  exiles.  '  If  a  man  receives  an  exile,  he  shall  be 
punished  with  death '  (Laws  xii.  955  B).  So,  too,  in  Athenian  law 
(Telfy,  1034). 

(10)  Wounding.  Athenian  law  compelled  a  man  who  had 
wounded  another  to  go  into  exile;  if  he  returned,  he  was  to  be  put 
to  death  (Telfy,  1142).  Plato  only  punishes  the  offence  with  death 
when  children  wound  their  parents  or  one  another,  or  a  slave 
wounds  his  master  (Laws  ix.  877). 

(11)  Bribery.  Death  was  the  punishment  for  taking  a  bribe, 
both  at  Athens  (Telfy,  1054)  and  in  the  Laws  (xii.  955) ;  but 
Athenian  law  offered  an  alternative — the  payment  of  a  fine  of  ten 
times  the  amount  of  the  bribe. 

(12)  Theft.  Plato,  like  Athenian  law  (Telfy,  1150  ff.),  punishes 
the  theft  of  public  property  by  death  (Laws  xii.  941 :  cp.,  however, 
ix.  857) ;  the  theft  of  private  property  in  both  involves  a  fine  of 
double  the  value  of  the  stolen  goods  (Telfy,  1575  :  Laws  ix.  857). 

(13)  Suicide.  He  '  who  slays  him  who  of  all  men,  as  they  say, 
is  his  own  best  friend,'  is  regarded  in  the  same  spirit  by  Plato 
and  by  Athenian  law.  Plato  (Laws  ix.  873)  would  have  him 
'  buried  ingloriously  on  the  borders  of  the  twelve  portions  of  the 
land,  in  such  places  as  are  uncultivated  and  nameless,'  and  '  no 
column  or  inscription  is  to  mark  the  place  of  his  interment.' 
Athenian  law  enacted  that  the  hand  which  did  the  deed  should  be 
separated  from  the  body  and  be  buried  apart  (Telfy,  1141). 


spartan  and  Athenian  Laws  and  Institutions,  ccxxix 

(14)  Injury.    In  cases  of  wilful  injury,  Athenian  law  compelled  Laws. 
the  guilty  person  to  pay  double  the  damage  ;  in  cases  of  involun-  Introduc- 
tary  injury,  simple  damages  (Telfy,  1552).    Plato  (Laws  ix.  878) 

enacts  that  if  a  man  wounds  another  in  passion,  and  the  wound  is 
curable,  he  shall  pay  double  the  damage,  if  incurable  or  disfiguring, 
fourfold  damages.  If,  however,  the  wounding  is  accidental,  he 
shall  simply  pay  for  the  harm  done  (ix.  879). 

(15)  Treatment  of  parents.  Athenian  law  allowed  any  one  to 
indict  another  for  neglect  or  illtreatment  of  parents  (Telfy,  1164). 
So  Plato  bids  bystanders  assist  a  father  who  is  assaulted  by  his  son 
(ix.  881),  and  allows  any  one  to  give  information  against  children 
who  neglect  their  parents  (xi.  932). 

(16)  Execution  of  sentences.  Both  Plato  and  Athenian  law  give 
to  the  winner  of  a  suit  power  to  seize  the  goods  of  the  loser,  if  he 
does  not  pay  within  the  appointed  time  (Telfy,  763  n. :  Laws  xii. 
958).  At  Athens  the  penalty  was  also  doubled  (Telfy,  761) ;  not  so 
in  Plato.  Plato  however  punishes  contempt  of  court  by  death  (xii. 
958),  which  at  Athens  seems  only  to  have  been  visited  with  a 
further  fine  (Telfy,  768). 

(17)  Property,  {a)  Both  at  Athens  and  in  the  Laws  a  man  who 
has  disputed  property  in  his  possession  must  give  the  name  of  the 
person  from  whom  he  received  it  (Telfy,  1458  :  Laws  xi.  915  C,  D) ; 
and  any  one  searching  for  lost  property  must  enter  a  house  naked 
(Telfy,  1579),  or,  as  Plato  says  (Laws  xii.  954  A),  '  naked,  or  wear- 
ing only  a  short  tunic  and  without  a  girdle.'  {b)  Athenian  law,  as 
well  as  Plato,  did  not  allow  a  father  to  disinherit  his  son  without 
good  reason  and  the  consent  of  impartial  persons  (Telfy,  1329  : 
Laws  xi.  929).  Neither  grants  to  the  eldest  son  any  special  claim 
on  the  paternal  estate  (Telfy,  1386 :  Laws  xi.  923  C).  In  the  law  of 
inheritance  both  prefer  males  to  females  (Telfy,  1387  :  Laws  xi. 
925  A),  {c)  Plato  and  Athenian  law  enacted  that  a  tree  should  be 
planted  at  a  fair  distance  from  a  neighbour's  property  (Telfy,  1463  : 
Laws  viii.  843),  and  that  when  a  man  could  not  get  water,  his 
neighbour  must  supply  him  (Telfy,  1462  :  Laws  viii.  844),  Both  at 
Athens  and  in  Plato  there  is  a  law  about  bees,  the  former  pro- 
viding that  a  beehive  must  be  set  up  at  not  less  a  distance  than 
300  feet  from  a  neighbour's  (Telfy,  1464),  and  the  latter  forbidding 
the  decoyhig  of  bees  (Laws  viii.  843). 

(18)  Orphans.    A  ward  must  proceed  against  a  guardian  whom 


ccxxx 


Comparison  of  the  Laws  of  Plato  ivith 


Laws.  he  suspects  of  fraud  within  five  years  of  the  expiration  of  the 
Introduc-  guardianship.  This  provision  is  common  to  Plato  (Laws  xi.  928  C) 
and  to  Athenian  law  (Telfy,  1584).  Further,  the  latter  enacted  that 
the  nearest  male  relation  should  marry  or  provide  a  husband  for 
an  heiress  (Telfy,  1046), — a  point  in  which  Plato  follows  it  closely 
(Laws  xi.  925  ff.). 

(19)  Contracts.  Plato's  law  (xi.  920  D)  that  'when  a  man  makes 
an  agreement  which  he  does  not  fulfil,  unless  the  agreement  be  of 
a  nature  which  the  law  or  a  vote  of  the  assembly  does  not  allow, 
or  which  he  has  made  under  the  influence  of  some  unjust  compul- 
sion, or  which  he  is  prevented  from  fulfilling  against  his  will  by 
some  unexpected  chance, — the  other  party  may  go  to  law  with  him,' 
according  to  Pollux  (quoted  in  Telfy's  note  on  1492)  prevailed  also 
at  Athens. 

(20)  Trade  regulations,  (a)  Lying  was  forbidden  in  the  agora 
both  by  Plato  and  at  Athens  (Laws  xi.  917 :  Telfy,  1543).  (b) 
Athenian  law  allowed  an  action  of  recovery  against  a  man  who 
sold  an  unsound  slave  as  sound  (Telfy,  1499).  Plato's  enactment  is 
more  explicit  :  he  allows  only  an  unskilled  person  (i.e.  one  who  is 
not  a  trainer  or  physician)  to  take  proceedings  in  such  a  case 
(xi.  916).  (c)  Plato  diverges  from  Athenian  practice  in  the  dis- 
approval of  credit,  and  does  not  even  allow  the  supply  of  goods  on 
the  deposit  of  a  percentage  of  their  value  (Telfy,  1495,  1496).  He 
enacts  that  'when  goods  are  exchanged  by  buying  and  selling,  a 
man  shall  deliver  them  and  receive  the  price  of  them  at  a  fixed 
place  in  the  agora,  and  have  done  with  the  matter '  (xi.  915  D),  and 
that  '  he  who  gives  credit  must  be  satisfied  whether  he  obtain  his 
money  or  not,  for  in  such  exchanges  he  will  not  be  protected  by 
law  '  (viii.  850  A),  {d)  Athenian  law  forbad  an  extortionate  rate  of 
interest  (Telfy,  1505)  ;  Plato  allows  interest  in  one  case  only— if  a 
contractor  does  not  receive  the  price  of  his  work  within  a  year  of 
the  time  agreed— and  at  the  rate  of  200  per  cent,  per  annum  ('for 
every  drachma  a  monthly  interest  of  an  obol ' ;  Laws  xi.  921).  {«) 
Both  at  Athens  and  in  the  Laws  sales  were  to  be  registered 
(Telfy,  1496 :  Laws  xi.  914  C),  as  well  as  births  (Telfy,  1324  : 
Laws  vi.  785). 

(21)  Sumptuary  laws.  Extravagance  at  weddings  (Telfy,  135?) 
1359 :  Laws  vi.  774),  and  at  funerals  (Laws  xii.  959  :  Telfy,  note  on 
1443)  was  forbidden  at  Athens  and  also  in  the  Magnesian  state. 


spartan  and  Athenian  Laws  and  Institutions.  ccxxxi 


There  remains  the  subject  of  family  life,  which  in  Plato's  Laws 
partakes  both  of  an  Athenian  and  Spartan  character.  Under  this 
head  may  conveniently  be  included  the  condition  of  women  and  of 
slaves.    To  family  life  may  be  added  citizenship. 

As  at  Sparta,  marriages  are  to  be  contracted  for  the  good  of  the 
state  (vi.  773  E) ;  and  they  may  be  dissolved  on  the  same  ground, 
where  there  is  a  failure  of  issue  (vi.  784  B), — the  interest  of  the 
state  requiring  that  every  one  of  the  5040  lots  should  have  an  heir. 
Divorces  are  likewise  permitted  by  Plato  where  there  is  an  incom- 
patibility of  temper  (xi.  929  E),  as  at  Athens  by  mutual  consent. 
The  duty  of  having  children  is  also  enforced  by  a  still  higher 
motive,  expressed  by  Plato  in  the  noble  words  : — '  A  man  should 
cling  to  immortality,  and  leave  behind  him  children's  children  to 
be  the  servants  of  God  in  his  place'  (vi.  774  A;  cp.  iv.  721  C). 
Again,  as  at  Athens,  the  father  is  allowed  to  put  away  his  un- 
dutiful  son,  but  only  with  the  consent  of  impartial  persons  (xi.  929  : 
Telfy,  1329),  and  the  only  suit  which  may  be  brought  by  a  son 
against  a  father  is  for  imbecility  (xi.  929).  The  class  of  elder  and 
younger  men  and  women  are  still  to  regard  one  another,  as  in  the 
Republic,  as  standing  in  the  relation  of  parents  and  children. 
This  is  a  trait  of  Spartan  character  rather  than  of  Athenian.  A 
peculiar  sanctity  and  tenderness  was  to  be  shown  towards  the 
aged  ;  the  parent  or  grandparent  stricken  with  years  was  to  be 
loved  and  worshipped  like  the  image  of  a  God,  and  was  to  be 
deemed  far  more  able  than  any  Hfeless  statue  to  bring  good  or  ill  to 
his  descendants  (xi.  931).  Great  care  is  to  be  taken  of  orphans  : 
they  are  entrusted  to  the  fifteen  eldest  Guardians  of  the  Law,  who 
are  to  be  'lawgivers  and  fathers  to  them  not  inferior  to  their 
natural  fathers '  (xi.  926  E),  as  at  Athens  they  were  entrusted  to 
the  Archons.  Plato  wishes  to  make  the  misfortune  of  orphanhood 
as  little  sad  to  them  as  possible. 

Plato,  seeing  the  disorder  into  which  half  the  human  race  had 
fallen  at  Athens  and  Sparta,  is  minded  to  frame  for  them  a  new  rule 
of  life.  He  renounces  his  fanciful  theory  of  communism,  but  still 
desires  to  place  women  as  far  as  possible  on  an  equality  with 
men.  They  were  to  be  trained  in  the  use  of  arms,  they  are  to  live 
m  public.  Their  time  was  partly  taken  up  with  gymnastic  exer- 
cises ;  there  could  have  been  little  family  or  private  life  among 
Their  lot  was  to  be  neither  like  that  of  Spartan  women, 


Laws. 

Introduc- 
tion. 


them. 


ccxxxii  Comparison  of  the  Laws  of  Plato  with 


Laws.  who  were  made  hard  and  common  by  excessive  practice  of  gym- 
Introduc  nastic  and  the  want  of  all  other  education,— nor  yet  like  that  of 
TioN.  Athenian  women,  who,  at  least  among  the  upper  classes,  retired 
into  a  sort  of  oriental  seclusion,— but  something  better  than  either. 
They  were  to  be  the  perfect  mothers  of  perfect  children,  yet  not 
wholly  taken  up  with  the  duties  of  motherhood,  which  were  to  be 
made  easy  to  them  as  far  as  possible  (vii.  789  ;  cp.  Rep.  v.  460), 
but  able  to  share  in  the  perils  of  war  and  to  be  the  companions  of 
their  husbands.  Here,  more  than  anywhere  else,  the  spirit  of  the 
Laws  reverts  to  the  Republic.  In  speaking  of  them  as  the  com- 
panions of  their  husbands  we  must  remember  that  it  is  an  Athenian 
and  not  a  Spartan  way  of  life  which  they  are  invited  to  share,  a  life 
of  gaiety  and  brightness,  not  of  austerity  and  abstinence,  which 
often  by  a  reaction  degenerated  into  licence  and  grossness. 

In  Plato's  age  the  subject  of  slavery  greatly  interested  the  minds 
of  thoughtful  men  (vi.  776)  ;  and  how  best  to  manage  this  'trouble- 
some piece  of  goods'  exercised  his  own  mind  a  good  deal.  He 
admits  that  they  have  often  been  found  better  than  brethren  or 
sons  in  the  hour  of  danger  (vi.  776'  D),  and  are  capable  of  render- 
ing important  public  services  b}'  informing  against  offenders— for 
this  they  are  to  be  rewarded  ;  and  the  master  who  puts  a  slave  to 
death  for  the  sake  of  concealing  some  crime  which  he  has  com- 
mitted, is  held  guilty  of  murder  (ix.  872  C).  But  they  are  not 
always  treated  with  equal  consideration.  The  punishments  in- 
flicted on  them  bear  no  proportion  to  their  crimes.  They  are  to 
be  addressed  only  in  the  language  of  command.  Their  masters 
are  not  to  jest  with  them,  lest  they  should  increase  the  hardship  of 
their  lot  (vi.  778  A).  Some  privileges  were  granted  to  them  by 
Athenian  law  of  which  there  is  no  mention  in  Plato ;  they  were 
allowed  to  purchase  their  freedom  from  their  master,  and  if  they 
despaired  of  being  liberated  by  him  they  could  demand  to  be 
sold,  on  the  chance  of  falling  into  better  hands.  But  there  is 
no  suggestion  in  the  Laws  that  a  slave  who  tried  to  escape  should 
be  branded  with  the  words— /care'^f  /xfj  4'^vya>,  or  that  evidence 
should  be  extracted  from  him  by  torture,  or  that  the  whole  house- 
hold was  to  be  executed  if  the  master  was  murdered  and  the 
perpetrator  remained  undetected :  all  these  were  provisions  of 
Athenian  law.  Plato  is  more  consistent  than  either  the  Athenians 
or  the  Spartans  ;  for  at  Sparta  too  the  Helots  were  treated  in  a 


Spartan  and  Athenian  Laws  and  Institutions.  ccxxxiii 


manner  almost  unintelligible  to  us.  On  the  one  hand,  they  had  Laws. 
arms  put  into  their  hands,  and  served  in  the  army,  not  only,  as  at  Introduc 
Plataea,  in  attendance  on  their  masters,  but,  after  they  had  been 
manumitted,  as  a  separate  body  of  troops  called  Neodamodes  :  on 
the  other  hand,  they  were  the  victims  of  one  of  the  greatest  crimes 
recorded  in  Greek  history  (Thucyd.  iv.  80).  The  two  great  philo- 
sophers of  Hellas  sought  to  extricate  themselves  from  this  cruel 
condition  of  human  hfe,  but  acquiesced  in  the  necessity  of  it.  A 
noble  and  pathetic  sentiment  of  Plato,  suggested  by  the  thought  of 
their  misery,  may  be  quoted  in  this  place  : — '  The  right  treatment 
of  slaves  is  to  behave  properly  to  them,  and  to  do  to  them,  if 
possible,  even  more  justice  than  to  those  who  are  our  equals  ;  for 
he  who  naturally  and  genuinely  reverences  justice,  and  hates  in- 
justice, is  discovered  in  his  dealings  with  any  class  of  men  to 
whom  he  can  easily  be  unjust.  And  he  who  in  regard  to  the 
natures  and  actions  of  his  slaves  is  undefiled  by  impiety  and 
injustice,  will  best  sow  the  seeds  of  virtue  in  them  ;  and  this  may 
be  truly  said  of  every  master,  and  tyrant,  and  of  every  other 
having  authority  in  relation  to  his  inferiors '  (vi.  777  D,  E). 

All  the  citizens  of  the  Magnesian  state  were  free  and  equal  ; 
there  was  no  distinction  of  rank  among  them,  such  as  is  believed 
to  have  prevailed  at  Sparta.  Their  number  was  a  fixed  one, 
corresponding  to  the  5040  lots.  One  of  the  results  of  this  is  the 
requirement  that  younger  sons  or  those  who  have  been  disin- 
herited shall  go  out  to  a  colony  (Laws  xi.  929).  At  Athens,  where 
there  was  not  the  same  religious  feeling  against  increasing  the  size 
of  the  city,  the  number  of  the  citizens  must  have  been  liable  to  con- 
siderable fluctuations.  Several  classes  of  persons,  who  were  not 
citizens  by  birth,  were  admitted  to  the  privilege.  Perpetual  exiles 
from  other  countries,  people  who  settled  there  to  practise  a  trade 
(Telfy,  17),  any  one  who  had  shown  distinguished  valour  in  the 
cause  of  Athens  (18),  the  Plataeans  who  escaped  from  the  siege 
(20),  metics  and  strangers  who  offered  to  serve  in  the  army 
(37),  the  slaves  who  fought  at  Arginusae  (45),— all  these  could  or 
did  become  citizens.  Even  those  who  were  only  on  one  side 
of  Athenian  parentage  were  at  more  than  one  period  accounted 
citizens.  But  at  times  there  seems  to  have  arisen  a  feeling  against 
Ihis  promiscuous  extension  of  the  citizen  body,  an  expression  of 
which  is  to  be  found  in  the  law  of  Pericles— /xwour 'A^jji/iu'ovr  erwt 


ccxxxlv 


Compariso7i  of  the  Laws  of  Plato  with 


Laws.  Tovi  eK  Svo'iv  ^ k6r]vaLwv  •yeyoforor  (Plutarch,  Pericles  37)  ;  and  at  no 
Introdlc-  time  did  the  adopted  citizen  enjoy  the  full  rights  of  citizenship — 
e.  g.  he  might  not  be  elected  archon  or  to  the  office  of  priest  (Telfy, 
19,  20),  although  this  prohibition  did  not  extend  to  his  children, 
if  born  of  a  citizen  wife.  Plato  never  thinks  of  making  the  metic, 
much  less  the  slave,  a  citizen.  His  treatment  of  the  former  class  is 
at  once  more  gentle  and  more  severe  than  that  which  prevailed 
at  Athens.  He  imposes  upon  them  no  tax  but  good  behaviour 
(viii.  850),  whereas  at  Athens  they  were  required  to  pay  twelve 
drachmae  per  annum,  and  to  have  a  patron  :  on  the  other  hand, 
he  only  allows  them  to  reside  in  the  Magnesian  state  on  condition 
of  following  a  trade  ;  they  were  required  to  depart  when  their 
property  exceeded  that  of  the  third  class,  and  in  any  case  after  a 
residence  of  twenty  years,  unless  they  could  show  that  they  had 
conferred  some  great  benefit  on  the  state  (viii.  850).  This 
privileged  position  reflects  that  of  the  u/oreXttj  at  Athens,  who 
were  excused  from  the  fieTinKiov.  It  is  Plato's  greatest  concession 
to  the  metic,  as  the  bestowal  of  freedom  is  his  greatest  concession 
to  the  slave. 


Lastly,  there  is  a  more  general  point  of  view  under  which  the 
Laws  of  Plato  may  be  considered,— the  principles  of  Jurisprudence 
which  are  contained  in  them.  These  are  not  formally  announced, 
but  are  scattered  up  and  down,  to  be  observed  by  the  reflective 
reader  for  himself  Some  of  them  are  only  the  common  prin- 
ciples which  all  courts  of  justice  have  gathered  from  experience  ; 
others  are  peculiar  and  characteristic.  That  judges  should  sit  at 
fixed  times  and  hear  causes  in  a  regular  order  (xii.  956),  that 
evidence  should  be  laid  before  them,  that  false  witnesses  should 
be  disallowed  (xi.  937),  and  corruption  punished  (xii.  955  C),  that 
defendants  should  be  heard  before  they  are  convicted, — these  are 
the  rules,  not  only  of  the  Hellenic  courts,  but  of  courts  of  law  in 
all  ages  and  countries.  But  there  are  also  points  which  are 
peculiar,  and  in  which  ancient  jurisprudence  differs  considerably 
from  modern  ;  some  of  them  are  of  great  importance. ...  It  could 
not  be  said  at  Athens,  nor  was  it  ever  contemplated  by  Plato,  that 
all  men,  including  metics  and  slaves,  should  be  equal  '  in  the  eye 
of  the  law.'  There  was  some  law  for  the  slave,  but  not  much ; 
no  adequate  protection  was  given  him  against  the  cruelty  of  his 


spartan  and  Athenian  Laws  and  Institutions.  ccxxxv 


master.  ...  It  was  a  singular  privilege  granted,  both  by  the  Laws. 
Athenian  and  Magnesian  law,  to  a  murdered  man,  that  he  might,  introdw 
before  he  died,  pardon  his  murderer,  in  which  case  no  legal  steps 
were  afterwards  to  be  taken  against  him  (ix.  869  D).  This  law 
is  the  remnant  of  an  age  in  which  the  punishment  of  offences 
against  the  person  was  the  concern  rather  of  the  individual  and 
his  kinsmen  than  of  the  state.  .  .  .  Plato's  division  of  crimes  into 
voluntary  and  involuntary  and  those  done  from  passion,  only 
partially  agrees  with  the  distinction  which  modern  law  has  drawn 
between  murder  and  manslaughter ;  his  attempt  to  analyze  them 
is  confused  by  the  Socratic  paradox,  that  'All  vice  is  involuntary'  (cf. 
supra,  cciv).  ...  It  is  singular  that  both  in  the  Laws  and  at  Athens 
theft  is  commonly  punished  by  a  twofold  restitution  of  the  article 
stolen.  The  distinction  between  civil  and  criminal  courts  or  suits 
was  not  yet  recognized.  .  .  .  Possession  gives  a  right  of  property 
after  a  certain  time.  .  .  .  The  religious  aspect  under  which  cer- 
tain offences  were  regarded  greatly  interfered  with  a  just  and 
natural  estimate  of  their  guilt.  .  .  .  As  among  ourselves,  the  intent 
:  to  murder  was  distinguished  by  Plato  from  actual  murder  (ix. 
;  876  E).  .  .  .  We  note  that  both  in  Plato  and  the  laws  of  Athens, 
libel  in  the  market-place  and  personality  in  the  theatre  were  for- 
bidden. .  .  .  Both  in  Plato  and  Athenian  law,  as  in  modern  times, 
;  the  accomplice  of  a  crime  is  to  be  punished  as  well  as  the  principal. 
....  Plato  does  not  allow  a  witness  in  a  cause  to  act  as  a  judge  of 

it  Oaths  are  not  to  be  taken  by  the  parties  to  a  suit.  .  .  .  Both  at 

Athens  and  in  Plato's  Laws  capital  punishment  for  murder  was  not  to 
be  inflicted,  if  the  off"ender  was  willing  to  go  into  exile. . . .  Respect 
for  the  dead,  duty  towards  parents,  are  to  be  enforced  by  the  law 
as  well  as  by  public  opinion.  . .  .  Plato  proclaims  the  noble  senti- 
ment that  the  object  of  all  punishment  is  the  improvement  of  the 
offender  (ix.  854  D).  .  .  .  Finally,  he  repeats  twice  over,  as  with  the 
'.voice  of  a  prophet,  that  the  crimes  of  the  fathers  are  not  to  be 
A  visited  upon  the  children  (ix.  855  A,  856  C).     In  this  respect  he  is 
r  nobly  distinguished  from  the  Oriental,  and  indeed  from  the  spirit 
'  of  Athenian  law  (cp.  Telfy,  1012 — Set  koi  ovtovs  koI  tovs  ex  tovtcov 
aarifiovs  uvai),  as  the  Hebrew  in  the  age  of  Ezekiel  (c.  xviii)  is  from 
tthe  Jewish  people  of  former  ages. 

Of  all  Plato's  provisions  the  object  is  to  bring  the  practice  of  the 
Uaw  more  into  harmony  with  reason  and  philosophy ;  to  secure 


ccxxxvi 


Conchision. 


Laws.     impartiality,  and  while  acknowledging  that  every  citizen  has  a 
Introduc-    right  to  share  in  the  administration  of  justice,  to  counteract  the 
™'*'       tendency  of  the  courts  to  become  mere  popular  assemblies. 


Thus  we  have  arrived  at  the  end  of  the  writings  of  Plato,  and  at 
the  last  stage  of  philosophy  which  was  really  his.  For  in  what 
followed,  which  we  chiefly  gather  from  the  uncertain  intimations 
of  Aristotle,  the  spirit  of  the  master  no  longer  survived.  The 
doctrine  of  Ideas  passed  into  one  of  numbers;  instead  of  advancing 
from  the  abstract  to  the  concrete,  the  theories  of  Plato  were  taken 
out  of  their  context,  and  either  asserted  or  refuted  with  a  pro- 
voking literalism  ;  the  Socratic  or  Platonic  element  in  his  teaching 
was  absorbed  into  the  Pythagorean  or  Megarian.  His  poetry  was 
converted  into  mysticism ;  his  unsubstantial  visions  were  assailed 
secundum  artem  by  the  rules  of  logic.  His  political  speculations 
lost  their  interest  when  the  freedom  of  Hellas  had  passed  away. 
Of  all  his  writings  the  Laws  were  the  furthest  removed  from  the 
traditions  of  the  Platonic  school  in  the  next  generation.  Both  his 
political  and  his  metaphysical  philosophy  are  for  the  most  part 
misinterpreted  by  Aristotle.  The  best  of  him — his  love  of  truth, 
and  his  '  contemplation  of  all  time  and  all  existence,'  was  soonest 
lost ;  and  some  of  his  greatest  thoughts  have  slept  in  the  ear  of 
mankind  almost  ever  since  they  were  first  uttered. 

We  have  followed  him  during  his  forty  or  fifty  years  of  author- 
ship, from  the  beginning  when  he  first  attempted  to  depict  the 
teaching  of  Socrates  in  a  dramatic  form,  down  to  the  time  at 
which  the  character  of  Socrates  had  disappeared,  and  we  have  the 
latest  reflections  of  Plato's  own  mind  upon  Hellas  and  upon  phi- 
losophy. He,  who  was  '  the  last  of  the  poets,'  in  his  book  of 
Laws  writes  prose  only  ;  he  has  himself  partly  fallen  under  the 
rhetorical  influences  which  in  his  earlier  dialogues  he  was  com- 
bating. The  progress  of  his  writings  is  also  the  history  of  his 
life  ;  we  have  no  other  authentic  life  of  him.  They  are  the  true 
self  of  the  philosopher,  stripped  of  the  accidents  of  time  and  place. 
The  great  effort  which  he  makes  is,  first,  to  realize  abstractions, 
secondly,  to  connect  them.  In  the  attempt  to  realize  them,  he  was 
carried  into  a  transcendental  region  in  which  he  isolated  them 
from  experience,  and  we  pass  out  of  the  range  of  science  into 


Conchision. 


ccxxxvil 


poetry  or  fiction.  The  fancies  of  mythology  for  a  time  cast  a  veil  Laws. 
over  the  gulf  which  divides  phenomena  from  onta  (Meno,  Phaedrus,  Introduce 
Symposium,  Phaedo).  In  his  return  to  earth  Plato  meets  with  a 
difficulty  which  has  long  ceased  to  be  a  difficulty  to  us.  He 
cannot  understand  how  these  obstinate,  unmanageable  ideas, 
residing  alone  in  their  heaven  of  abstraction,  can  be  either 
combined  with  one  another,  or  adapted  to  phenomena  (Par- 
menides,  Philebus,  Sophist).  That  which  is  the  most  familiar 
process  of  our  own  minds,  to  him  appeared  to  be  the  crowning 
achievement  of  the  dialectical  art.  The  difficulty  which  in  his 
own  generation  threatened  to  be  the  destruction  of  philosophy,  he 
has  rendered  unmeaning  and  ridiculous.  For  by  his  conquests  in 
the  world  of  mind  our  thoughts  are  widened,  and  he  has  furnished 
us  with  new  dialectical  instruments  which  are  of  greater  compass 
and  power.  We  have  endeavoured  to  see  him  as  he  truly  was,  a 
great  original  genius  struggling  with  unequal  conditions  of  know- 
ledge, not  prepared  with  a  system  nor  evolving  in  a  series  of 
dialogues  ideas  which  he  had  long  conceived,  but  contradictory, 
enquiring  as  he  goes  along,  following  the  argument,  first  from  one 
point  of  view  and  then  from  another,  and  therefore  arriving  at 
opposite  conclusions,  hovering  around  the  light,  and  sometimes 
dazzled  with  excess  of  light,  but  always  moving  in  the  same 
element  of  ideal  truth.  We  have  seen  him  also  in  his  decline, 
when  the  wings  of  his  imagination  have  begun  to  droop,  but  his 
experience  of  life  remains,  and  he  turns  away  from  the  contem- 
plation of  the  eternal  to  take  a  last  sad  look  at  human  affairs. 


And  so  having  brought  into  the  world  '  noble  children '  (Phaedr. 
261  A),  he  rests  from  the  labours  of  authorship.  More  than  two 
thousand  two  hundred  years  have  passed  away  since  he  returned 
to  the  place  of  Apollo  and  the  Muses.  Yet  the  echo  of  his  words 
continues  to  be  heard  among  men,  because  of  all  philosophers  he 
has  the  most  melodious  voice.  He  is  the  inspired  prophet  or 
teacher  who  can  never  die,  the  only  one  in  whom  the  outward 
form  adequately  represents  the  fair  soul  within;  in  whom  the 
thoughts  of  all  who  went  before  him  are  reflected  and  of  all  who 
come  after  him  are  partly  anticipated.  Other  teachers  of  philosophy 
are  dried  up  and  withered,— after  a  few  centuries  they  have  become 


CCXXXVlll 


Conchision. 


Laws.  dust ;  but  he  is  fresh  and  blooming,  and  is  always  begetting  new 
Introduc-    ideas  in  the  minds  of  men.   They  are  one-sided  and  abstract; 

but  he  has  many  sides  of  wisdom.  Nor  is  he  always  consistent 
with  himself,  because  he  is  always  moving  onward,  and  knows 
that  there  are  many  more  things  in  philosophy  than  can  be  ex- 
pressed in  words,  and  that  truth  is  greater  than  consistency.  He 
who  approaches  him  in  the  most  reverent  spirit  shall  reap  most 
of  the  fruit  of  his  wisdom ;  he  who  reads  him  by  the  light  of 
ancient  commentators  will  have  the  least  understanding  of  him. 

We  may  see  him  with  the  eye  of  the  mind  in  the  groves  of  the 
Academy,  or  on  the  banks  of  the  Ilissus,  or  in  the  streets  of 
Athens,  alone  or  walking  with  Socrates,  full  of  those  thoughts 
which  have  since  become  the  common  possession  of  mankind. 
Or  we  may  compare  him  to  a  statue  hid  away  in  some  temple 
of  Zeus  or  Apollo,  no  longer  existing  on  earth,  a  statue  which  has 
a  look  as  of  the  God  himself.  Or  we  may  once  more  imagine 
him  following  in  another  state  of  being  the  great  company  of 
heaven  which  he  beheld  of  old  in  a  vision  (Phaedr.  248).  So, 
'partly  trifling,  but  with  a  certain  degree  of  seriousness '  (Symp. 
197  E),  we  linger  around  the  memory  of  a  world  which  has 
passed  away  (Phaedr.  250  C). 


LAWS. 


LAWS. 


BOOK  I. 


PERSONS  OF  THE  DIALOGUE. 

An  Athenian  Stranger.  Cleinias,  a  Cretan. 

Megillus,  a  Lacedaemonian. 

ibh.    Athenian  Stranger.    Tell  me,  Strangers,  is  a  God  or    Laws  I. 
4  some  man  supposed  to  be  the  author  of  your  laws?  Athenian, 
Cleinias.  A  God,  Stranger ;  in  very  truth  a  God :  among  ^''^^^'^^5 
us  Cretans  he  is  said  to  have  been  Zeus,  but  in  Lacedae-  ^ 

Crete  and 

mon,  whence  our  friend  here  comes,  I  believe  they  would  Lacedae- 
say  that  Apollo  is  their  lawgiver:  would  they  not,  Megillus?  mon  both 

received, 

Megillus.  Certainly.  their  laws 

Ath.  And  do  you,  Cleinias,  believe,  as  Homer  tells,  that  from  a 
every  ninth  year  Minos  went  to  converse  with  his  Olympian  2Jus^ 
sire,  and  was  inspired  by  him  to  make  laws  for  your  cities  ?  Lacedae- 
Cle.  Yes,  that  is  our  tradition  ;  and  there  was  Rhada- 

'  '  Apollo. 

manthus,  a  brother  of  his,  with  whose  name  you  are  familiar; 
1C5  he  is  reputed  to  have  been  the  justest  of  men,  and  we 
Cretans  are  of  opinion  that  he  earned  this  reputation  from 
his  righteous  administration  of  justice  when  he  was  alive. 

Ath.  Yes,  and  a  noble  reputation  it  was,  worthy  of  a  son 
of  Zeus.  As  you  and  Megillus  have  been  trained  in  these 
institutions,  I  dare  say  that  you  will  not  be  unwilling  to  give 
an  account  of  your  government  and  laws ;  on  our  way  we 
can  pass  the  time  pleasantly  in  talking  about  them,  for  I  am 
told  that  the  distance  from  Cnosus  to  the  cave  and  temple  of 
VOL.  v.  B 
^1 


2 


The  Cretan  Institutions. 


Laws  I. 

Athenian, 
Clbinias. 


The  Cretan 
institutions 
are  de- 
signed 
witli  a  view 
to  war, 
whicli  tlie 
lawgiver 
tliouglit  to 
be  the 
natural 
state  of 


Zeus  is  considerable ;  and  doubtless  there  are  shady  places 
under  the  lofty  trees,  which  will  protect  us  from  this  scorch- 
ing sun.  Being  no  longer  young,  we  may  often  stop  to  rest 
beneath  them,  and  get  over  the  whole  journey  without 
difficulty,  beguiling  the  time  by  conversation. 

Cle.  Yes,  Stranger,  and  if  we  proceed  onward  we  shall 
come  to  groves  of  cypresses,  which  are  of  rare  height  and 
beauty,  and  there  are  green  meadows,  in  which  we  may 
repose  and  converse. 

Ath.  Very  good, 

Cle.  Very  good,  indeed ;  and  still  better  when  we  see 
them  ;  let  us  move  on  cheerily, 

Ath.  I  am  willing. — And  first,  I  want  to  know  why  the  law 
has  ordained  that  you  shall  have  common  meals  and  gym- 
nastic exercises,  and  wear  arms, 

Cle.  I  think.  Stranger,  that  the  aim  of  our  institutions  is 
easily  intelligible  to  any  one.  Look  at  the  character  of  our 
country :  Crete  is  not  like  Thessaly,  a  large  plain ;  and  for 
this  reason  they  have  horsemen  in  Thessaly,  and  we  have 
runners — the  inequality  of  the  ground  in  our  country  is  more 
adapted  to  locomotion  on  foot ;  but  then,  if  you  have  runners 
you  must  have  light  arms, — no  one  can  carry  a  heavy  weight 
when  running,  and  bows  and  arrows  are  convenient  because 
they  are  light.  Now  all  these  regulations  have  been  made 
with  a  view  to  war,  and  the  legislator  appears  to  me  to  have 
looked  to  this  in  all  his  arrangements : — the  common  meals, 
if  I  am  not  mistaken,  were  instituted  by  him  for  a  similar 
reason,  because  he  saw  that  while  they  are  in  the  field  the 
citizens  are  by  the  nature  of  the  case  compelled  to  take  their 
meals  together  for  the  sake  of  mutual  protection.  He  seems 
to  me  to  have  thought  the  world  foolish  in  not  understanding 
that  all  men  are  always  at  war  with  one  another ;  and  if  in  626 
war  there  ought  to  be  common  meals  and  certain  persons  regu- 
larly appointed  under  others  to  protect  an  army,  they  should 
be  continued  in  peace.  For  what  men  in  general  term  peace 
would  be  said  by  him  to  be  only  a  name ;  in  reality  every 
city  is  in  a  natural  state  of  war  with  every  other,  not  indeed 
proclaimed  by  heralds,  but  everlasting.  And  if  you  look 
closely,  you  will  find  that  this  was  the  intention  of  the  Cretan 
legislator ;  all  institutions,  private  as  well  as  public,  were 


J 


Onmes  homines  ex  naittj'd  hostes. 


3 


arranged  by  him  with  a  view  to  war ;  in  giving  them  he  was  Laws  I. 
under  the  impression  that  no  possessions  or  institutions  are  Athenian, 
of  any  value  to  him  who  is  defeated  in  battle  ;  for  all  the  good  Cleinias, 

IVL  EG  I  LLUS« 

things  of  the  conquered  pass  into  the  hands  of  the  con- 
querors. 

Ath.  You  appear  to  me,  Stranger,  to  have  been  thoroughly 
trained  in  the  Cretan  institutions,  and  to  be  well  informed 
about  them  ;  will  you  tell  me  a  little  more  explicitly  what  is 
the  principle  of  government  which  you  would  lay  down  ? 
You  seem  to  imagine  that  a  well-governed  state  ought  to  be  There  is 
so  ordered  as  to  conquer  all  other  states  in  war :  am  I  right  ^^^^^ 
in  supposing  this  to  be  your  meaning  ?  tween 

Cle.  Certainly;  and  our  Lacedaemonian  friend,  if  I  am  not 
mistaken,  will  agree  with  me, 

Meg.  Why,  my  good  friend,  how  could  any  Lacedaemonian 
say  anything  else  ? 

Ath.  And  is  what  you  say  applicable  only  to  states,  or  also  butbetween 
to  villages  ? 

Cle.  To  both  alike. 
Ath.  The  case  is  the  same? 
Cle.  Yes. 

Ath,  And  in  the  village  will  there  be  the  same  war  of  beuyeen 
family  against  family,  and  of  individual  against  individual  ?  between 

Cle.  The  same.  individuals 

Ath.  And  should  each  man  conceive  himself  to  be  his  own  ^rdua"^'" 
enemy : — what  shall  we  say  ? 

Cle.  O  Athenian  Stranger,— inhabitant  of  Attica  I  will  not 
call  you,  for  you  seem  to  deserve  rather  to  be  named  after 
the  goddess  herself,  because  you  go  back  to  first  principles, 
—you  have  thrown  a  light  upon  the  argument,  and  will  now 
be  better  able  to  understand  what  I  was  just  saying, — that 
all  men  are  publicly  one  another's  enemies,  and  each  man 
privately  his  own. 

{Ath.  My  good  sir,  what  do  you  mean  ?)— 

Cle  Moreover,  there  is  a  victory  and  defeat, — the  Tliebest 

first  and  best  of  victories,  the  lowest  and  worst  of  defeats,—  vi'^toryand 

,  •  ,  ,  .  '       the  worst 

Which  each  man  gams  or  sustams  at  the  hands,  not  of  defeat, 
another,  but  of  himself;  this  shows  that  there  is  a  war 
against  ourselves  going  on  within  every  one  of  us. 
77     Ath.  Let  us  now  reverse  the  order  of  the  argument : 

B  2 


4 


Supe7'io7'ity  or  inferiority  to  self  in  men  and  states. 


Laws  I. 
Athenian, 

Cl-EINIAS, 

Megillus. 


The  state 
superior  to 
itself  when 
the  better 
citizens  win 
a  victory 
over  the 
mob  ; 
inferior 
when  the 
mob  wins 
a  victory 
over  them. 


The  parallel 
of  the 
family 


Seeing  that  every  individual  is  either  his  own  superior  or  his 
own  inferior,  may  we  say  that  there  is  the  same  principle  in 
the  house,  the  village,  and  the  state  ? 

Cle.  You  mean  that  in  each  of  them  there  is  a  principle  of 
superiority  or  inferiority  to  self? 

Ath.  Yes. 

Cle.  You  are  quite  right  in  asking  the  question,  for  there 
certainly  is  such  a  principle,  and  above  all  in  states ;  and  the 
state  in  which  the  better  citizens  win  a  victory  over  the  mob 
and  over  the  inferior  classes  may  be  truly  said  to  be  better 
than  itself,  and  may  be  justly  praised,  where  such  a  victory 
is  gained,  or  censured  in  the  opposite  case. 

Ath.  Whether  the  better  is  ever  really  conquered  by  the 
worse,  is  a  question  which  requires  more  discussion,  and 
may  be  therefore  left  for  the  present.  But  I  now  quite 
understand  your  meaning  when  you  say  that  citizens  who 
are  of  the  same  race  and  live  in  the  same  cities  may  unjustly 
conspire,  and  having  the  superiority  in  numbers  may  over- 
come and  enslave  the  few  just ;  and  when  they  prevail,  the 
state  may  be  truly  called  its  own  inferior  and  therefore  bad  ; 
and  when  they  are  defeated,  its  own  superior  and  therefore 
good. 

Cle.  Your  remark.  Stranger,  is  a  paradox,  and  yet  we 
cannot  possibly  deny  it. 

Ath.  Here  is  another  case  for  consideration  ; — in  a  family 
there  may  be  several  brothers,  who  are  the  offspring  of  a 
single  pair;  very  possibly  the  majority  of  them  may  be 
unjust,  and  the  just  may  be  in  a  minority. 

Cle.  Very  possibly. 

Ath.  And  you  and  I  ought  not  to  raise  a  question  of  words 
as  to  whether  this  family  and  household  are  rightly  said  to 
be  superior  when  they  conquer,  and  inferior  when  they  are 
conquered ;  for  we  are  not  now  considering  what  may  or 
may  not  be  the  proper  or  customary  way  of  speaking,  but 
we  are  considering  the  natural  principles  of  right  and  wrong 
in  laws. 

Cle.  What  you  say.  Stranger,  is  most  true. 
Meg.  Quite  excellent,  in  my  opinion,  as  far  as  we  have  gone. 
Ath.  Again ;  might  there  not  be  a  judge  over  these 
brethren,  of  whom  we  were  speaking? 


Is  victory  in  civil  war  or  reconciliation  the  better? 


5 


Cle.  Certainly.  Laws  I. 

Ath.  Now,  which  would  be  the  better  judge, — one  who  Athenian, 
destroyed  the  bad  and  appointed  the  good  to  govern  them-  Cleinias. 
selves ;  or  one  who,  while  allowing  the  good  to  govern,  let 
the  bad  live,  and  made  them  voluntarily  submit  ?  Or  third, 
I  suppose,  in  the  scale  of  excellence  might  be  placed  a  judge, 
628  who,  finding  the  family  distracted,  not  only  did  not  destroy 
any  one,  but  reconciled  them  to  one  another  for  ever  after, 
and  gave  them  laws  which  they  mutually  observed,  and  was 
able  to  keep  them  friends. 

Cle.  The  last  would  be  by  far  the  best  sort  of  judge  and 
legislator. 

Ath.  And  yet  the  aim  of  all  the  laws  which  he  gave  would 
be  the  reverse  of  war, 
Cle.  Very  true. 

Ath.  And  will  he  who  constitutes  the  state  and  orders  the  transferred 
life  of  man  have  in  view  external  war,  or  that  kind  of  intestine  ^'^  ^  ^ 
war  called  civil,  which  no  one,  if  he  could  prevent,  would 
like  to  have  occurring  in  his  own  state ;  and  when  occurring, 
every  one  would  wish  to  be  quit  of  as  soon  as  possible  ? 
Cle.  He  would  have  the  latter  chiefly  in  view. 

Ath.  And  would  he  prefer  that  this  civil  war  should  be  is  it  better 
terminated  by  the  destruction  of  one  of  the  parties,  and  by  '"^  '^'^'^ 
the  victory  of  the  other,  or  that  peace  and  friendship  should  party  to 
be  re-established,  and  that,  being  reconciled,  they  should  conquer  the 

.       ..  .  r      ■  •'^  other,  or 

give  their  attention  to  foreign  enemies  ?  for  both  to 

Cle.  Every  one  would  desire  the  latter  in  the  case  of  his  ""^''^ 

,   ,  conquer 
own  state.  their  ene- 

Ath.  And  would  not  that  also  be  the  desire  of  the  legislator? 
Cle.  Certainly. 

Ath.  And  would  not  every  one  always  make  laws  for  the 
sake  of  the  best  ? 
Cle.  To  be  sure. 

Ath.  But  war,  whether  external  or  civil,  is  not  the  best.  Peace 
and  the  need  of  either  is  to  be  deprecated  :  but  peace  with 

1^  '  ^  victory  in 

one  another,  and  good  will,  are  best.    Nor  is  the  victory  of  war,  just  as 
the  state  over  itself  to  be  regarded  as  a  really  good  thing,  but  ^g^^J^j^g^j^ 
as  a  necessity ;  a  man  might  as  well  say  that  the  body  was  in  the  cure  of 
the  best  state  when  sick  and  purged  by  medicine,  forgetting  disease, 
that  there  is  also  a  state  of  the  body  which  needs  no  purge. 


better  than 


6 


The  judgment  of  Tyrtaetts  is  good, 


Laws  I.  And  in  like  manner  no  one  can  be  a  true  statesman,  whether 
Athenian,  he  aims  at  the  happiness  of  the  individual  or  state,  who  looks 
Uk^ITvs.  ^^^^  °f  ^11;  to  external  warfare ;  nor  will  he  ever  be 

a  sound  legislator  who  orders  peace  for  the  sake  of  war,  and 
not  war  for  the  sake  of  peace. 

Cle.  I  suppose  that  there  is  truth,  Stranger,  in  that  remark 
of  yours ;  and  yet  I  am  greatly  mistaken  if  war  is  not  the 
entire  aim  and  object  of  our  own  institutions,  and  also  of 
the  Lacedaemonian. 

Ath.  I  dare  say ;  but  there  is  no  reason  why  we  should  629 
rudely  quarrel  with  one  another  about  your  legislators, 
instead  of  gently  questioning  them,  seeing  that  both  we 
and  they  are  equally  in  earnest.    Please  follow  me  and  the 
The  praise   argument  closely  : — And  first  I  will  put  forward  Tyrtaeus,  an 
if  ^stowed  Athenian  by  birth,  but  also  a  Spartan  citizen,  who  of  all  men 
on  those      was  most  eager  about  war  :  Well,  he  says, 

who  excel 

war,  '  I  sing  not,  I  care  not,  about  any  man, 

even  if  he  were  the  richest  of  men,  and  possessed  every  good 
(and  then  he  gives  a  whole  list  of  them),  if  he  be  not  at  all 
times  a  brave  warrior.'  I  imagine  that  you,  too,  must  have 
heard  his  poems ;  our  Lacedaemonian  friend  has  probably 
heard  more  than  enough  of  them. 
Meg.  Very  true. 

Cle.  And  they  have  found  their  way  from  Lacedaemon  to 
Crete. 

Ath.  Come  now  and  let  us  all  join  in  asking  this  question 
of  Tyrtaeus :  O  most  divine  poet,  we  will  say  to  him,  the 
excellent  praise  which  you  have  bestowed  on  those  who 
excel  in  war  sufficiently  proves  that  you  are  wise  and  good, 
and  I  and  Megillus  and  Cleinias  of  Cnosus  do,  as  I  believe, 
entirely  agree  with  you.  But  we  should  like  to  be  quite  sure 
that  we  are  speaking  of  the  same  men  ;  tell  us,  then,  do  you 
agree  with  us  in  thinking  that  there  are  two  kinds  of  war  ;  or 
what  would  you  say  ?  A  far  inferior  man  to  Tyrtaeus  would 
have  no  difficulty  in  replying  quite  truly,  that  war  is  of  two 
kinds, — one  which  is  universally  called  civil  war,  and  is,  as 
we  were  just  now  saying,  of  all  wars  the  worst ;  the  other, 
as  we  should  all  admit,  in  which  we  fall  out  with  other  nations 
who  are  of  a  different  race,  is  a  far  milder  form  of  warfare. 


but  that  of  Theognis  far  better. 


7 


Cle.  Certainly,  far  milder.  Laws  1. 

Ath.  Well,  now,  when  you  praise  and  blame  war  in  this  Athenian, 

high-flown  strain,  whom  are  you  praising  or  blaming,  and  to  Cleinias. 

which  kind  of  war  are  you  referring?    I  suppose  that  you  and  by  war 

r      •  •  r  T  -in  •  ^  he  means 

must  mean  foreign  war,  if  1  am  to  judge  irom  expressions  oi  foreign  war. 
yours  in  which  you  say  that  you  abominate  those 

'  Who  refuse  to  look  upon  fields  of  blood,  and  will  not  draw  near  and  strike 
at  their  enemies.' 

And  we  shall  naturally  go  on  to  say  to  him, — You,  Tyrtaeus, 
as  it  seems,  praise  those  who  distinguish  themselves  in 
external  and  foreign  war ;  and  he  must  admit  this. 
C/e.  Evidently. 

Aih.  They  are  good ;  but  we  say  that  there  are  still  better 
.530  men  whose  virtue  is  displayed  in  the  greatest  of  all  battles. 
And  we  too  have  a  poet  whom  we  summon  as  a  witness, 
Theognis,  citizen  of  Megara  in  Sicily:  — 


'  Cymus,'  he  says, '  he  who  is  faithful  in  a  civil  broil  is  worth  his  weight  in 
gold  and  silver.' 

And  such  an  one  is  far  better,  as  we  affirm,  than  the  other  in 
a  more  difficult  kind  of  war,  much  in  the  same  degree  as 
justice  and  temperance  and  wisdom,  when  united  with  courage, 
are  better  than  courage  only ;  for  a  man  cannot  be  faithful 
and  good  in  civil  strife  without  having  all  virtue.  But  in  the 
war  of  which  Tyrtaeus  speaks,  many  a  mercenary  soldier  will 
take  his  stand  and  be  ready  to  die  at  his  post,  and  yet  they 
are  generally  and  almost  without  exception  insolent,  unjust, 
violent  men,  and  the  most  senseless  of  human  beings. 
You  will  ask  what  the  conclusion  is,  and  what  I  am  seeking 
to  prove :  I  maintain  that  the  divine  legislator  of  Crete,  like 
any  other  who  is  worthy  of  consideration,  will  always  and 
above  all  things  in  making  laws  have  regard  to  the  greatest 
virtue ;  which,  according  to  Theognis,  is  loyalty  in  the  hour 
of  danger,  and  may  be  truly  called  perfect  justice.  Whereas, 
that  virtue  which  Tyrtaeus  highly  praises  is  well  enough, 
and  was  praised  by  the  poet  at  the  right  time,  yet  in  place 
and  dignity  may  be  said  to  be  only  fourth-rate  \ 

Cle.  Stranger,  we  are  degrading  our  inspired  lawgiver  to  a 
rank  which  is  far  beneath  him. 

'  i.e.,  it  ranks  after  justice,  temperance,  and  wisdom. 


But  the 
civil  strife 
of  which 
Theognis 
speaks  is  a 
far  higher 
test  of  a 
man's  cha- 
racter, 
because  it 
demands 
the  other 
virtues  as 
well  as 
courage. 


And  the 
legislator 
must  aim, 
not  at  one 
virtue  only, 
but  at 
virtue  whole 
and  com- 
plete. 


8 


The  spirit  in  which  the  enquiry  is  to  be  pursued. 


Laws  I. 

Athenian, 
Clf.inias. 


Virtue  the 
foundation 
of  law. 


Two  kinds 
of  goods, 

(1)  the  lesser 
or  human  : 

(2)  the 
greater  or 
divine 
goods. 


Ath.  Nay,  I  think  that  we  degrade  not  him  but  ourselves, 
if  we  imagine  that  Lycurgus  and  Minos  laid  down  laws  both 
in  Lacedaemon  and  Crete  mainly  with  a  view  to  war. 

Cle.  What  ought  we  to  say  then  ? 

Ath.  What  truth  and  what  justice  require  of  us,  if  I  am 
not  mistaken,  when  speaking  in  behalf  of  Mivine  excellence'; 
— that  the  legislator  when  making  his  laws  had  in  view  not  a 
part  only,  and  this  the  lowest  part  of  virtue,  but  all  virtue, 
and  that  he  devised  classes  of  laws  answering  to  the  kinds  of 
virtue  ;  not  in  the  way  in  which  modern  inventors  of  laws 
make  the  classes,  for  they  only  investigate  and  offer  laws  when- 
ever a  want  is  felt,  and  one  man  has  a  class  of  laws  about 
allotments  and  heiresses,  another  about  assaults ;  others 
about  ten  thousand  other  such  matters.  But  we  maintain  631 
that  the  right  way  of  examining  into  laws  is  to  proceed  as  we 
have  now  done,  and  I  admired  the  spirit  of  your  exposition  ; 
for  you  were  quite  right  in  beginning  with  virtue,  and  saying 
that  this  was  the  aim  of  the  giver  of  the  law,  but  I  thought 
that  you  went  wrong  when  you  added  that  all  his  legislation 
had  a  view  only  to  a  part,  and  the  least  part  of  virtue,  and 
this  called  forth  my  subsequent  remarks.  Will  you  allow  me 
then  to  explain  how  I  should  have  liked  to  have  heard  you 
expound  the  matter? 

Cle.  By  all  means. 

Aih.  You  ought  to  have  said.  Stranger, — The  Cretan  laws 
are  with  reason  famous  among  the  Hellenes ;  for  they  fulfil 
the  object  of  laws,  which  is  to  make  those  who  use  them 
happy ;  and  they  confer  every  sort  of  good.  Now  goods  are 
of  two  kinds  :  there  are  human  and  there  are  divine  goods, 
and  the  human  hang  upon  the  divine ;  and  the  state  which 
attains  the  greater,  at  the  same  time  acquires  the  less,  or,  not 
having  the  greater,  has  neither.  Of  the  lesser  goods  the  first 
is  health,  the  second  beauty,  the  third  strength,  including 
swiftness  in  running  and  bodily  agihty  generally,  and  the 
fourth  is  wealth,  not  the  blind  god  [Pluto]',  but  one  who  is 
keen  of  sight,  if  only  he  has  wisdom  for  his  companion.  For 
wisdom  is  chief  and  leader  of  the  divine  class  of  goods,  and 
next  follows  temperance ;  and  from  the  union  of  these  two 
with  courage  springs  justice,  and  fourth  in  the  scale  of  virtue 
'  Some  word,  such  as  d/)f  t^s  or  noKirdas,  seems  to  have  fallen  out. 


The  chief  S2ibjects  of  legislation. 


9 


Is  courage.    All  these  naturally  take  precedence  of  the  other    Laws  I. 
goods,  and  this  is  the  order  in  which  the  legislator  must  Athenian. 
place  them,  and  after  them  he  will  enjoin  the  rest  of  his 
ordinances  on  the  citizens  with  a  view  to  these,  the  human  The  legis- 
looking  to  the  divine,  and  the  divine  looking  to  their  leader 
mind.     Some  of  his  ordinances  will  relate  to.  contracts  of  first  on  the 
marriage  which  they  make  one  with  another,  and  then  to  the  second, 
procreation  and  education  of  children,  both  male  and  female  ;  He  will 

1  the  duty  of  the  lawgiver  will  be  to  take  charge  of  his  citizens,  alfthe^re- 

;  in  youth  and  age,  and  at  every  time  of  life,  and  to  give  them  lations  and 
punishments  and  rewards ;  and  in   reference  to  all  their  stances" 
intercourse  with  one  another,  he  ought  to  consider  their  pains  life ; 
and  pleasures  and  desires,  and  the  vehemence  of  all  their 
passions  ;  he  should  keep  a  watch  over  them,  and  blame  and 

;  praise  them  rightly  by  the  mouth  of  the  laws  themselves. 

.  Also  with  regard  to  anger  and  terror,  and  the  other  perturba- 

t  tions  of  the  soul,  which  arise  out  of  misfortune,  and  the 
deliverances  from  them  which  prosperity  brings,  and  the  ex- 

i  periences  which  come  to  men  in  diseases,  or  in  war,  or  poverty, 
or  the  opposite  of  these  ;  in  all  these  states  he  should  deter- 
mine and  teach  what  is  the  good  and  evil  of  the  condition  of 
each.    In  the  next  place,  the  legislator  has  to  be  careful  how 

t  the  citizens  make  their  money  and  in  what  way  they  spend  it, 
and  to  have  an  eye  to  their  mutual  contracts  and  dissolutions 
of  contracts,  whether  voluntary  or  involuntary  :  he  should  see 
how  they  order  all  this,  and  consider  where  justice  as  well  as 
injustice  is  found  or  is  wanting  in  their  several  dealings  with 
one  another;  and  honour  those  who  obey  the  law,  and 
impose  fixed  penalties  on  those  who  disobey,  until  the  round 
of  civil  life  is  ended,  and  the  time  has  come  for  the  considera- 
tion of  the  proper  funeral  rites  and  honours  of  the  dead. 
And  the  lawgiver  reviewing  his  work,  will  appoint  guardians  and  will 
to  preside  over  these  things,— some  who  walk  by  intelligence,  appoint 
others  by  true  opinion  only,  and  then  mind  will  bind  together  f" taklTcare 
all  his  ordinances  and  show  them  to  be  in  harmony  with  'hat  his 

.  ,    .     , .  ,  .  ,  ,  ,  ...  regulations 

temperance  and  justice,  and  not  with  wealth  or  ambition,  areob- 
This  is  the  spirit.  Stranger,  in  which  I  was  and  am  desirous  served, 
that  you  should  pursue  the  subject.   And  I  want  to  know  the 
nature  of  all  these  things,  and  how  they  are  arranged  in  the 
laws  of  Zeus,  as  they  are  termed,  and  in  those  of  the  Pythian 


lO 


The  Spartans  prescribe  a  training  against  pain. 


Laws  I. 

Athenian, 

Cleinias, 

Megillus. 


At  Sparta 
the 

(1)  com- 
mon meals, 

(2)  gym- 
nastic, 

(3)  hunting, 

(4)  Cryi> 
teia  and 
other  trials 
of  en- 
durance, 
are  all  de- 
signed with 
a  view  to 
war,  and  to 
inure  men 
against 
pain. 


Apollo,  which  Minos  and  Lycurgus  gave  ;  and  how  the  order 
of  them  is  discovered  to  his  eyes,  who  has  experience  in 
laws  gained  either  by  study  or  habit,  although  they  are  far 
from  being  self-evident  to  the  rest  of  mankind  like  ourselves. 

Cle.  How  shall  we  proceed.  Stranger? 

Ath.  I  think  that  we  must  begin  again  as  before,  and  first 
consider  the  habit  of  courage ;  and  then  we  will  go  on  and 
discuss  another  and  then  another  form  of  virtue,  if  you  please. 
In  this  way  we  shall  have  a  model  of  the  whole  ;  and  with 
these  and  similar  discourses  we  will  beguile  the  way.  And 
when  we  have  gone  through  all  the  virtues,  we  will  show,  by 
the  grace  of  God,  that  the  institutions  of  which  I  was  speaking 
look  to  virtue. 

Meg.  Very  good ;  and  suppose  that  you  first  criticize  this 
praiser  of  Zeus  and  the  laws  of  Crete. 

Ath.  I  will  try  to  criticize  you  and  myself,  as  well  as  him, 
for  the  argument  is  a  common  concern.  Tell  me, — were  not 
first  the  syssitia,  and  secondly  the  gymnasia,  invented  by 
your  legislator  with  a  view  to  war  ? 

Meg.  Yes. 

Ath.  And  what  comes  third,  and  what  fourth  ?  For  that,  I 
think,  is  the  sort  of  enumeration  which  ought  to  be  made  of 
the  remaining  parts  of  virtue,  no  matter  whether  you  call 
them  parts  or  what  their  name  is,  provided  the  meaning  is 
clear. 

Meg.  Then  I,  or  any  other  Lacedaemonian,  would  reply 
that  hunting  is  third  in  order. 

Ath.  Let  us  see  if  we  can  discover  what  comes  fourth  and 
fifth. 

Meg.  I  think  that  I  can  get  as  far  as  the  fourth  head, 
which  is  the  frequent  endurance  of  pain,  exhibited  among  us 
Spartans  in  certain  hand-to-hand  fights  ;  also  in  stealing  with 
the  prospect  of  getting  a  good  beating ;  there  is,  too,  the  so- 
called  Crypteia,  or  secret  service,  in  which  wonderful  en- 
durance is  shown, — our  people  wander  over  the  whole 
country  by  day  and  by  night,  and  even  in  winter  have  not 
a  shoe  to  their  foot,  and  are  without  beds  to  lie  upon, 
and  have  to  attend  upon  themselves.  Marvellous,  too,  is  the 
endurance  which  our  citizens  show  in  their  naked  exercises, 
contending  against  the  violent  summer  heat ;  and  there  are 


But  have  they  any  similar  training  against  pleasure  ? 


'.  many  similar  practices,  to  speak  of  which  in  detail  would  be    Laws  I. 

endless.  Athenian, 
Ath.  Excellent,  O  Lacedaemonian   stranger.     But  how  Cleinias, 

.  Ill  Megillus. 

I  ought  we  to  define  courage?    Is  it  to  be  regarded  only 
;as  a  combat  against  fears  and  pains,  or  also  against  desires 
;  and  pleasures,  and  against  flatteries ;  which  exercise  such  a  merely  en- 
l  tremendous  power,  that  they  make  the  hearts  even  of  respect-  durance  of 
i able  citizens  to  melt  like  wax? 
Meg.  I  should  say  the  latter. 

Ath.  In  what  preceded,  as  you  will  remember,  our  Cnosian 
I  friend  was  speaking  of  a  man  or  a  city  being  inferior  to  them- 
: selves: — Were  you  not,  Cleinias? 

Cle.  I  was. 

Ath.  Now,  which  is  in  the  truest  sense  inferior,  the  man 
who  is  overcome  by  pleasure  or  by  pain  ? 

Cle.  I  should  say  the  man  who  is  overcome  by  pleasure  ;  it  is  also 
for  all  men  deem  him  to  be  inferior  in  a  more  disgraceful  shownmre- 

°  sistance  to 

sense,  than  the  other  who  is  overcome  by  pain.  pleasure. 

Ath.  But  surely  the  lawgivers  of  Crete  and  Lacedaemon 
have  not  legislated  for  a  courage  which  is  lame  of  one  leg, 
able  only  to  meet  attacks  which  come  from  the  left,  but 
impotent  against  the  insidious  flatteries  which  come  from  the 
right  ? 

Cle.  Able  to  meet  both,  I  should  say. 

Ath.  Then  let  me  once  more  ask,  what  institutions  have  There 
you  in  either  of  your  states  which  give  a  taste  of  pleasures,  j^""^*^ 
and  do  not  avoid  them  any  more  than  they  avoid  pains  ;  but  directed 
which  set  a  person  in  the  midst  of  them,  and  compel  or  ag^msit  the 
induce  him  by  the  prospect  of  reward  to  get  the  better  of  pleasure, 
tithem  ?  Where  is  an  ordinance  about  pleasure  similar  to  that  ^^'^ 
about  pain  to  be  found  n  your  laws?    Tell  me  what  there  is  fear  of  pain, 
aof  this  nature  among  you  : — What  is  there  which  makes  your 
:citizen  equally  brave  against  pleasure  and  pain,  conquering 
*what  they  ought  to  conquer,  and  superior  to  the  enemies  who 
tare  most  dangerous  and  nearest  home  ? 

Meg.  I  was  able  to  tell  you.  Stranger,  many  laws  which  Yet  neither 
ere  directed  against  pain:  but  I  do  not  know  that  I  can  '"Crete 

.  .  nor  at 

pomt  out  any  great  or  obvious  examples  of  similar  institu-  Sparta  are 
itions  which  are  concerned  with  pleasure;  there  are  some  any  of  the 
lesser  provisions,  however,  which  I  might  mention.  to'i^found. 


12 


Old  men  may  criticize. 


Laws  I. 

Athenian, 
Cleinias, 


A  well- 
governed 
Slate  re- 
quires of 
young  men 
an  unhesi- 
tating belief 
in  the  good- 
ness of  her 
laws.  But 
old  men 
may  be 
allowed  to 
discuss 
them. 


Cle.  Neither  can  I  show  anything  of  that  sort  which  is  at 
all  equally  prominent  in  the  Cretan  laws. 

Ath.  No  wonder,  my  dear  friends ;  and  if,  as  is  very  likely, 
in  our  search  after  the  true  and  good,  one  of  us  may  have  to 
censure  the  laws  of  the  others,  we  must  not  be  offended,  but 
take  kindly  what  another  says. 

Cle.  You  are  quite  right,  Athenian  Stranger,  and  we  will  do 
as  you  say. 

Ath.  At  our  time  of  life,  Cleinias,  there  should  be  no  feeling 
of  irritation. 

Cle.  Certainly  not. 

Ath.  I  will  not  at  present  determine  whether  he  who  cen- 
sures the  Cretan  or  Lacedaemonian  polities  is  right  or  wrong. 
But  I  believe  that  I  can  tell  better  than  either  of  you  what 
the  many  say  about  them.  For  assuming  that  you  have 
reasonably  good  laws,  one  of  the  best  of  them  will  be  the  law 
forbidding  any  young  men  to  enquire  which  of  them  are  right 
or  wrong ;  but  with  one  mouth  and  one  voice  they  must  all 
agree  that  the  laws  are  all  good,  for  they  came  from  God ; 
and  any  one  who  says  the  contrary  is  not  to  be  listened  to. 
But  an  old  man  who  remarks  any  defect  in  your  laws  may 
communicate  his  observation  to  a  ruler  or  to  an  equal  in 
years  when  no  young  man  is  present. 

Cle.  Exactly  so,  Stranger ;  and  like  a  diviner,  although  not  635 
there  at  the  time,  you  seem  to  me  quite  to  have  hit  the 
meaning  of  the  legislator,  and  to  say  what  is  most  true. 

Ath.  As  there  are  no  young  men  present,  and  the  legis- 
lator has  given  old  men  free  licence,  there  will  be  no 
impropriety  in  our  discussing  these  very  matters  now  that 
we  are  alone. 

Cle.  True.  And  therefore  you  may  be  as  free  as  you  like 
in  your  censure  of  our  laws,  for  there  is  no  discredit  in  know- 
ing what  is  wrong;  he  who  receives  what  is  said  in  a  generous 
and  friendly  spirit  will  be  all  the  better  for  it. 

Ath.  Very  good  ;  however,  I  am  not  going  to  say  anything 
against  your  laws  until  to  the  best  of  my  ability  I  have  examined 
them,  but  I  am  going  to  raise  doubts  about  them.  For  you 
are  the  only  people  known  to  us,  whether  Greek  or  barbarian, 
whom  the  legislator  commanded  to  eschew  all  great  pleasures 
and  amusements  and  never  to  touch  them ;  whereas  in  the 


Good  mstitutions  may  have  inciii'eci  evils. 


13 


matter  of  pains  or  fears  which  we  have  just  been  discussing,    Laws  I. 
he  thought  that  they  who  from  infancy  had  always  avoided  Athenian, 
pains  and  fears  and  sorrows,  when  they  were  compelled  to  ^''^^^l'^^^^"^ 
face  them  would  run  away  from  those  who  were  h?rdened 
in  them,  and  would  become  their  subjects.    Now  the  legis-  legislators 
lator  ought  to  have  considered  that  this  was  equally  true  of  of  Sparta 
pleasure ;  he  should  have  said  to  himself,  that  if  our  citizens  ^g^^j.  j.g. 
are  from  their  youth  upward  unacquainted  with  the  greatest  fleeted  that 
pleasures,  and  unused  to  endure  amid  the  temptations  of  ^^^^^^ 
pleasure,  and  are  not  disciplined  to  refrain  from  all  things  resist 
evil,  the  sweet  feeling  of  pleasure  will  overcome  them  just  as  ^^"^^j^g 
fear  would  overcome  the  former  class;  and  in  another,  and  slave  of  any 
even  a  worse  manner,  they  will  be  the  slaves  of  those  who 
are  able  to  endure  amid  pleasures,  and  have  had  the  oppor-  this  power 
tunity  of  enjoying  them,  they  being  often  the  worst  of  man-  °f 
kind.    One  half  of  their  souls  will  be  a  slave,  the  other  half 
free ;  and  they  will  not  be  worthy  to  be  called  in  the  true 
sense  men  and  freemen.    Tell  me  whether  you  assent  to  my 
words  ? 

Cle.  On  first  hearing,  what  you  say  appears  to  be  the  truth  ; 
but  to  be  hasty  in  coming  to  a  conclusion  about  such  important 
matters  would  be  very  childish  and  simple. 

Ath.  Suppose,  Cleinias  and  Megillus,  that  we  consider  the  Enough  of 
virtue  which  follows  next  of  those  which  we  intended  to  <^o"''^g^- 
discuss  (for  after  courage  comes  temperance),  what  institu-  Next  let  us 
tions  shall  we  find  relating  to  temperance,  either  in  Crete  or 

....  temper- 

Lacedaemon,  which,  like  your  military  institutions,  differ  from  ance. 
those  of  any  ordinary  state. 

Meg.  That  is  not  an  easy  question  to  answer  ;  still  I  should 
say  that  the  common  meals  and  gymnastic  exercises  have 
been  excellently  devised  for  the  promotion  both  of  temper- 
ance and  courage. 

Aih.  There  seems  to  be  a  difficulty,  Stranger,  with  regard  Thesyssitia 
to  states,  in  making  words  and  facts  coincide  so  that  there  ^"^.S)™- 

°  nasia  were 

can  be  no  dispute  about  them.    As  in  the  human  body,  the  intended  to 

regimen  which  does  good  in  one  way  does  harm  in  another  :  Py°™°'f 

,  °  '  this  virtue, 

and  we  can  hardly  say  that  any  one  course  of  treatment  is  but  they 

adapted  to  a  particular  constitution.    Now  the  gymnasia  and  g^g^/Jf 

common  meals  do  a  great  deal  of  good,  and  yet  they  are  a  encour- 
source  of  evil  in  civil  troubles  ;  as  is  shown  in  the  case  of  the 


14 


Defence  of  Lacedaemonian  and  retort  of  Athenian. 


Laws  I. 

Athenian, 
Megillus. 

natural 
love. 


The  story 
of  Zeus  and 
Ganymede 
invented  in 
Crete. 


Yet  surely 
the  Spartan 
lawgiver 
was  right. 
For  Sparta 
is  a  most 
orderly 
city :  there 
is  no 
drunken- 
ness such 
as  is  found 
at  Athens 
or  at 

Tarentum. 


Milesian,  and  Boeotian,  and  Thurian  youth,  among  whom 
these  institutions  seem  always  to  have  had  a  tendency  to 
degrade  the  ancient  and  natural  custom  of  love  below  the 
level,  not  only  of  man,  but  of  the  beasts.  The  charge  may  be 
fairly  brought  against  your  cities  above  all  others,  and  is  true 
also  of  most  other  states  which  especially  cultivate  gymnastics. 
Whether  such  matters  are  to  be  regarded  jestingly  or 
seriously,  I  think  that  the  pleasure  is  to  be  deemed  natural 
which  arises  out  of  the  intercourse  between  men  and  women  ; 
but  that  the  intercourse  of  men  with  men,  or  of  women  with 
women,  is  contrary  to  nature,  and  that  the  bold  attempt  was 
originally  due  to  unbridled  lust.  The  Cretans  are  always 
accused  of  having  invented  the  story  of  Ganymede  and  Zeus 
because  they  wanted  to  justify  themselves  in  the  enjoyment 
of  unnatural  pleasures  by  the  practice  of  the  god  whom  they 
believe  to  have  been  their  lawgiver.  Leaving  the  story,  we 
may  observe  that  any  speculation  about  laws  turns  almost 
entirely  on  pleasure  and  pain,  both  in  states  and  in  indi- 
viduals :  these  are  two  fountains  which  nature  lets  flow,  and 
he  who  draws  from  them  where  and  when,  and  as  much  as 
he  ought,  is  happy;  and  this  holds  of  men  and  animals — of 
individuals  as  well  as  states  ;  and  he  who  indulges  in  them 
ignorantly  and  at  the  wrong  time,  is  the  reverse  of  happy. 

Meg.  I  admit,  Stranger,  that  your  words  are  well  spoken, 
and  I  hardly  know  what  to  say  in  answer  to  you ;  but  still  I 
think  that  the  Spartan  lawgiver  was  quite  right  in  forbidding 
pleasure.  Of  the  Cretan  laws,  I  shall  leave  the  defence  to 
my  Cnosian  friend.  But  the  laws  of  Sparta,  in  as  far  as  they 
relate  to  pleasure,  appear  to  me  to  be  the  best  in  the  world  ;  637 
for  that  which  leads  mankind  in  general  into  the  wildest 
pleasure  and  licence,  and  every  other  folly,  the  law  has  clean 
driven  out ;  and  neither  in  the  country  nor  in  towns  which 
are  under  the  control  of  Sparta,  will  you  find  revelries  and 
the  many  incitements  of  every  kind  of  pleasure  which  accom- 
pany them  ;  and  any  one  who  meets  a  drunken  and  disorderly 
person,  will  immediately  have  him  most  severely  punished, 
and  will  not  let  him  off  on  any  pretence,  not  even  at  the  time 
of  a  Dionysiac  fe.stival ;  although  I  have  remarked  that  this 
may  happen  at  your  performances  'on  the  cart,'  as  they  are 
called;  and  among  our  Tarentine  colonists  I  have  seen  the 


Success  in  arms  need  not  imply  real  superiority . 


15 


whole  city  drunk  at  a  Dionysiac  festival ;  but  nothing  of  the 
sort  happens  among  us. 

Ath.  O  Lacedaemonian  Stranger,  these  festivities  are 
praiseworthy  where  there  is  a  spirit  of  endurance,  but  are 
very  senseless  when  they  are  under  no  regulations.  In  order 
to  retaliate,  an  Athenian  has  only  to  point  out  the  licence 
which  exists  among  your  women.  To  all  such  accusations, 
whether  they  are  brought  against  the  Tarentines,  or  us,  or 
you,  there  is  one  answer  which  exonerates  the  practice  in 
question  from  impropriety.  When  a  stranger  expresses 
wonder  at  the  singularity  of  what  he  sees,  any  inhabitant  will 
naturally  answer  him  : — Wonder  not,  O  stranger ;  this  is  our 
custom,  and  you  may  very  likely  have  some  other  custom 
about  the  same  things.  Now  we  are  speaking,  my  friends, 
not  about  men  in  general,  but  about  the  merits  and  defects 
of  the  lawgivers  themselves.  Let  us  then  discourse  a  little 
more  at  length  about  intoxication,  which  is  a  veiy  important 
subject,  and  will  seriously  task  the  discrimination  of  the 
legislator.  I  am  not  speaking  of  drinking,  or  not  drinking, 
wine  at  all,  but  of  intoxication.  Are  we  to  follow  the 
custom  of  the  Scythians,  and  Persians,  and  Carthaginians, 
and  Celts,  and  Iberians,  and  Thracians,  who  are  all  warlike 
nations,  or  that  of  your  countrymen,  for  they,  as  you  say, 
altogether  abstain  ?  But  the  Scythians  and  Thracians,  both 
men  and  women,  drink  unmixed  wine,  which  they  pour 
on  their  garments,  and  this  they  think  a  happy  and  glorious 
institution.  The  Persians,  again,  are  much  given  to  other 
practices  of  luxury  which  you  reject,  but  they  have  more 
moderation  in  them  than  the  Thracians  and  Scythians. 
58  Meg.  O  best  of  men,  we  have  only  to  take  arms  into  our 
hands,  and  we  send  all  these  nations  flying  before  us. 

Ath.  Nay,  my  good  friend,  do  not  say  that;  there  have  been, 
as  there  always  will  be,  flights  and  pursuits  of  which  no 
account  can  be  given,  and  therefore  we  cannot  say  that 
victory  or  defeat  in  battle  affords  more  than  a  doubtful  proof 
of  the  goodness  or  badness  of  institutions.  For  when  the 
greater  states  conquer  and  enslave  the  lesser,  as  the  Syra- 
cusans  have  done  the  Locrians,  who  appear  to  be  the  best- 
governed  people  in  their  part  of  the  world,  or  as  the  Athenians 
have  done  the  Ceans  (and  there  are  ten  thousand  other 


Laws  I. 

Athenian, 
Mecillus. 

Those  are 
matters  of 
custom. 


But  cus- 
toms vary  : 
for  in- 
stance, in- 
toxication is 
encouraged 
among 
many  war- 
like nations, 
and  dis- 
allowed at 
Sparta. 


The  ques- 
tion is, 
which  cus- 
tom is  the 
better  ? 


'  Give  us 
arms,  and 
we  can  con- 
quer all 
other  men.' 
Victory 
may  be  a 
matter  of 
chance. 


i6 


Wrong  ways  of  reasoning. 


Lwius  I. 

Athenian, 
Mecillus. 


No  ques- 
tion can  be 
determined 
by  num- 
bers. 


Fallacy  of 
a  dido  se- 
cundum 
guem  ad 
dictum 
simpliciter. 


instances  of  the  same  sort  of  thing),  all  this  is  not  to  the  point ; 
let  us  endeavour  rather  to  form  a  conclusion  about  each 
institution  in  itself  and  say  nothing,  at  present,  of  victories 
and  defeats.  Let  us  only  say  that  such  and  such  a  custom  is 
honourable,  and  another  not.  And  first  permit  me  to  tell 
you  how  good  and  bad  are  to  be  estimated  in  reference  to 
these  very  matters. 

Meg.  How  do  you  mean  ? 

Ath.  All  those  who  are  ready  at  a  moment's  notice  to 
praise  or  censure  any  practice  which  is  matter  of  discussion, 
seem  to  me  to  proceed  in  a  wrong  way.  Let  me  give  you-  an 
illustration  of  what  I  mean  : — You  may  suppose  a  person  to 
be  praising  wheat  as  a  good  kind  of  food,  whereupon  another 
person  instantly  blames  wheat,  without  ever  enquiring  into 
its  effect  or  use,  or  in  what  way,  or  to  whom,  or  with  what, 
or  in  what  state  and  how,  wheat  is  to  be  given.  And  that 
is  just  what  we  are  doing  in  this  discussion.  At  the  very 
mention  of  the  word  intoxication,  one  side  is  ready  with  their 
praises  and  the  other  with  their  censures  ;  which  is  absurd. 
For  either  side  adduce  their  witnesses  and  approvers,  and 
some  of  us  think  that  we  speak  with  authority  because  we 
have  many  witnesses ;  and  others  because  they  see  those 
who  abstain  conquering  in  battle,  and  this  again  is  disputed 
by  us.  Now  I  cannot  say  that  I  shall  be  satisfied,  if  we  go 
on  discussing  each  of  the  remaining  laws  in  the  same  way. 
And  about  this  very  point  of  intoxication  I  should  like  to 
speak  in  another  way,  which  I  hold  to  be  the  right  one ;  for 
if  number  is  to  be  the  criterion,  are  there  not  myriads  upon 
myriads  of  nations  ready  to  dispute  the  point  with  you,  who 
are  only  two  cities  ? 

Meg.  I  shall  gladly  welcome  any  method  of  enquiry  which  639 
is  right. 

Ath.  Let  me  put  the  matter  thus  : — Suppose  a  person  to 
praise  the  keeping  of  goats,  and  the  creatures  themselves  as 
capital  things  to  have,  and  then  some  one  who  had  seen  goats 
feeding  without  a  goatherd  in  cultivated  spots,  and  doing 
mischief,  were  to  censure  a  goat  or  any  other  animal  who  has 
no  keeper,  or  a  bad  keeper,  would  there  be  any  sense  or 
justice  in  such  censure  ? 

Meg.  Certainly  not. 


The  importance  of  a  well-ordered  feast. 


17 


should  have 
a  president 


Ath.  Does  a  captain  require  only  to  have  nautical  know-  Lmus  I. 
ledge  in  order  to  be  a  good  captain,  whether  he  is  sea-sick  Athenian, 
or  not?    What  do  you  say?  _  _ 

Meg.  I  say  that  he  is  not  a  good  captain  if,  althoujh  he 
have  nautical  skill,  he  is  liable  to  sea-sickness. 

Ath.  And  what  would  you  say  of  the  commander  of  an 
army  ?  Will  he  be  able  to  command  merely  because  he  has 
mihtary  skill  if  he  be  a  coward,  who,  when  danger  comes,  is 
sick  and  drunk  with  fear  ? 

Meg.  Impossible. 

Ath.  And  what  if  besides  being  a  coward  he  has  no  skill  ? 

Meg.  He  is  a  miserable  fellow,  not  fit  to  be  a  commander 
of  men,  but  only  of  old  women. 

Ath.  And  what  would  you  say  of  some  one  who  blames  or  a  feast 
praises  any  sort  of  meeting  which  is  intended  by  nature  to 
have  a  ruler,  and  is  well  enough  when  under  his  presidency  ?  to'maintain 
The  critic,  however,  has  never  seen  the  society  meeting  order, 
together  at  an  orderly  feast  under  the  control  of  a  president, 
but  always  without   a  ruler  or  with   a   bad  one :— when 
observers  of  this  class  praise  or  blame  such  meetings,  are 
we  to  suppose  that  what  they  say  is  of  any  value  ? 

Meg.  Certainly  not,  if  they  have  never  seen  or  been  present 
at  such  a  meeting  when  rightly  ordered, 

Ath.  Reflect ;  may  not  banqueters  and  banquets  be  said  to 
constitute  a  kind  of  meeting  ? 

Meg.  Of  course. 

Ath.  And  did  any  one  ever  see  this  sort  of  convivial  Feasts  are 
meeting  rightly  ordered  ?    Of  course  you  two  will  answer  ^}™°y5 
that  you  have  never  seen  them  at  all,  because  they  are  not  disorderly, 
customary  or  lawful  in  your  country ;  but  I  have  come  across 
many  of  them  in  many  different  places,  and  moreover  I  have 
made  enquiries  about  them  wherever  I  went,  as  I  may  say, 
and  never  did  I  see  or  hear  of  anything  of  the  kind  which  was 
carried  on  altogether  rightly;  in  some  few  particulars  they 
might  be  right,  but  in  general  they  were  utterly  wrong. 

Cle.  What   do  you   mean,   Stranger,  by  this  remark  ? 
Explain.    For  we,  as  you  say,  from  our  inexperience  in  such 
matters,  might  very  likely  not  know,  even  if  they  came  in  our 
way,  what  was  right  or  wrong  in  such  societies, 
o    Ath.  Likely  enough  ;  then  let  me  try  to  be  your  instructor  : 
VOL,  V.  c 


1 8  The  qualities  ivkich  make  a  good  7'iiler  of  a  feast. 


Laws  I. 

Athenian, 
Cleinias. 

As  the 

leader  of 
an  army 
should  be 
brave, 


so  the  ruler 
of  a  feast 
should  be 
sober, 


genial, 
sociable, 


sensible. 


You  would  acknowledge,  would  you  not,  that  in  all  gatherings 
of  mankind,  of  whatever  sort,  there  ought  to  be  a  leader  ? 
Cle.  Certainly  I  should. 

Ath.  And  we  were  saying  just  now,  that  when  men  are  at 
war  the  leader  ought  to  be  a  brave  man  ? 
Cle.  We  were. 

Ath.  The  brave  man  is  less  likely  than  the  coward  to  be 
disturbed  by  fears  ? 
Cle.  That  again  is  true, 

Ath.  And  if  there  were  a  possibility  of  having  a  general 
of  an  army  who  was  absolutely  fearless  and  imperturbable, 
should  we  not  by  all  means  appoint  him  ? 

Cle.  Assuredly. 

Ath.  Now,  however,  we  are  speaking  not  of  a  general  who 
is  to  command  an  army,  when  foe  meets  foe  in  time  of  war, 
but  of  one  who  is  to  regulate  meetings  of  another  sort,  when 
friend  meets  friend  in  time  of  peace. 

Cle.  True. 

Ath.  And  that  sort  of  meeting,  if  attended  with  drunken- 
ness, is  apt  to  be  unquiet. 

Cle.  Certainly  ;  the  reverse  of  quiet. 

Ath.  In  the  first  place,  then,  the  revellers  as  well  as  the 
soldiers  will  require  a  ruler  ? 

Cle.  To  be  sure ;  no  men  more  so. 

Ath.  And  we  ought,  if  possible,  to  provide  them  with  a 
quiet  ruler  ? 
Cle.  Of  course. 

Ath.  And  he  should  be  a  man  who  understands  society; 
for  his  duty  is  to  preserve  the  friendly  feelings  which  exist 
among  the  company  at  the  time,  and  to  increase  them  for  the 
future  by  his  use  of  the  occasion. 

Cle.    Very  true. 

Ath.  Must  we  not  appoint  a  sober  man  and  a  wise  to  be 
our  master  of  the  revels  ?  For  if  the  ruler  of  drinkers  be 
himself  young  and  drunken,  and  not  over- wise,  only  by  some 
special  good  fortune  will  he  be  saved  from  doing  some  great 
evil. 

Cle.  It  will  be  by  a  singular  good  fortune  that  he  is  saved. 
Ath.  Now  suppose  such  associations  to  be  framed  in  the 
best  way  possible  in  states,  and  that  some  one  blames  the 


Education  never  suicidal. 


19 


very  fact  of  their  existence — he  may  very  likely  be  right.  Laws  J. 

But  if  he  blames  a  practice  which  he  only  sees  very  much  Athenian, 

mismanaged,  he  shows  in  the  first  place  that  he  is  not  aware  Cleinias. 

of  the  mismanagement,  and  also  not  aware  that  ever)  thing  He  who  has 

,  .  .,,  ,  ,  J  only  seen 

done  m  this  way  will  turn  out  to  be  wrong,  because  done  feasts  which 

without  the  superintendence  of  a  sober  ruler.    Do  you  not  have  a  bad 

see  that  a  drunken  pilot  or  a  drunken  ruler  of  any  sort  will  ™  t^con-" 

ruin  ship,  chariot,  army — anything,  in  short,  of  which  he  has  demn  those 

. ,      , .      , .      ^  which  have 

the  direction  ?  a  good  one. 

Cle.  The  last  remark  is  very  true,  Stranger;  and  I  see 
quite  clearly  the  advantage  of  an  army  having  a  good  leader — 
he  will  give  victory  in  war  to  his  followers,  which  is  a  very 
great  advantage ;  and  so  of  other  things.  But  I  do  not  see 
any  similar  advantage  which  either  individuals  or  states  gain 
from  the  good  management  of  a  feast ;  and  I  want  you  to  tell 
me  what  great  good  will  be  effected,  supposing  that  this 
drinking  ordinance  is  duly  established. 

Ath.  If  you  mean  to  ask  what  great  good  accrues  to  the  The  good 
state  from  the  right  training  of  a  single  youth,  or  of  a  single  °[(^g^^^^' 
chorus, — when  the  question  is  put  in  that  form,  we  cannot  feast  is 
deny  that  the  good  is  not  very  great  in  any  particular  ^J^^q^^j 
instance.    But  if  you  ask  what  is  the  good  of  education  in  meetings 
general,  the  answer  is  easy — that  education  makes  good  ^'"'^ 

,     ,  ,  ,  T  ,  1    •  portant 

men,  and  that  good  men  act  nobly,  and  conquer  their  pan  of 
enemies  in  battle,  because  they  are  good.  Education  education, 
certainly  gives  victory,  although  victory  sometimes  produces 
forgetfulness  of  education  ;  for  many  have  grown  insolent 
from  victory  in  war,  and  this  insolence  has  engendered  in 
them  innumerable  evils ;  and  many  a  victory  has  been  and 
will  be  suicidal  to  the  victors ;  but  education  is  never 
suicidal. 

Cle.  You  seem  to  imply,  my  friend,  that  convivial  meetings, 
when  rightly  ordered,  are  an  important  element  of  education. 
Ath.  Certainly  I  do. 

Cle.  And  can  you  show  that  what  you  have  been  saying  is 
true  ? 

Ath.  To  be  absolutely  sure  of  the  truth  of  matters  con- 
cerning which  there  are  many  opinions,  is  an  attribute  of  the 
Gods  not  given  to  man.  Stranger;  but  I  shall  be  very 
happy  to  tell  you  what  I  think,  especially  as  we  are  now 

c  2 


20 


Fa7mly  ties  bind  Megillus  and  Cleinias  to  Athens. 


Laius  I. 

Athenian, 

Cleinias, 

Megillus. 


I  am  afraid 
of  bestow- 
ing upon 
you  my 
Athenian 
tedious- 
ness  ;  but 
the  subject 
runs  up 
into  music 
and  educa- 
tion gener- 
ally. 


The  Lace- 
daemonian 
is  the 
Proxenus 
of  Athens. 


proposing  to  enter  on  a  discussion  concerning  laws  and 
constitutions. 

Cle.  Your  opinion,  Stranger,  about  the  questions  which 
are  now  being  raised,  is  precisely  what  we  want  to  hear. 

Ath.  Very  good ;  I  will  try  to  find  a  way  of  explaining  my 
meaning,  and  you  shall  try  to  have  the  gift  of  understanding 
me.  But  first  let  me  make  an  apology.  The  Athenian 
citizen  is  reputed  among  all  the  Hellenes  to  be  a  great 
talker,  whereas  Sparta  is  renowned  for  brevity,  and  the 
Cretans  have  more  wit  than  words.  Now  I  am  afraid  of  64 
appearing  to  elicit  a  very  long  discourse  out  of  very  small 
materials.  For  drinking  indeed  may  appear  to  be  a  slight 
matter,  and  yet  is  one  which  cannot  be  rightly  ordered 
according  to  nature,  without  correct  principles  of  music ; 
these  are  necessary  to  any  clear  or  satisfactory  treatment 
of  the  subject,  and  music  again  runs  up  into  education 
generally,  and  there  is  much  to  be  said  about  all  this.  What 
would  you  say  then  to  leaving  these  matters  for  the  present, 
and  passing  on  to  some  other  question  of  law  ? 

Meg.  O  Athenian  Stranger,  let  me  tell  you  what  perhaps 
you  do  not  know,  that  our  family  is  the  proxenus  of  your 
state.  I  imagine  that  from  their  earliest  youth  all  boys, 
when  they  are  told  that  they  are  the  proxeni  of  a  particular 
state,  feel  kindly  towards  their  second  country;  and  this  has 
certainly  been  my  own  feeling.  I  can  well  remember  from 
the  days  of  my  boyhood,  how,  when  any  Lacedaemonians 
praised  or  blamed  the  Athenians,  they  used  to  say  to  me, — 
'See,  Megillus,  how  ill  or  how  well,'  as  the  case  might  be, 
'  has  your  state  treated  us ; '  and  having  always  had  to  fight 
your  battles  against  detractors  when  I  heard  you  assailed,  I 
became  warmly  attached  to  you.  And  I  always  like  to  hear 
the  Athenian  tongue  spoken ;  the  common  saying  is  quite 
true,  that  a  good  Athenian  is  more  than  ordinarily  good,  for 
he  is  the  only  man  who  is  freely  and  genuinely  good  by 
the  divine  inspiration  of  his  own  nature,  and  is  not  manu- 
factured. Therefore  be  assured  that  I  shall  like  to  hear  you 
say  whatever  you  have  to  say. 

Cle.  Yes,  Stranger ;  and  when  you  have  heard  me  speak, 
say  boldly  what  is  in  your  thoughts.  Let  me  remind  you  of 
a  tie  which  unites  you  to  Crete.    You  must  have  heard  here 


Education  in  play,  a  preparation  for  after-life. 


21 


the  story  of  the  prophet  Epimenides,  who  was  of  my  family,    Laws  I. 
and  came  to  Athens  ten  years  before  the  Persian  war,  in  Athenian, 
accordance  with  the  response  of  the  Oracle,  and  ofered 
certain  sacrifices  which  the  God  commanded.    The  Athe-  '^^^  ^ 
nians  were  at  that  time  in  dread  of  the  Persian  invasion  ;  is  con-' 
and  he  said  that  for  ten  years  they  would  not  come,  and  that  nectedwith 
when  they  came,  they  would  go  away  again  without  accom-  through 
plishing  any  of  their  objects,  and  would  suffer  more  evil  than  Epimen- 
they  inflicted.    At  that  time  my  forefathers  formed  ties  of 
hospitality  with  you  ;  thus  ancient  is  the  friendship  which 
I  and  my  parents  have  had  for  you. 
43    Ath.  You  seem  to  be  quite  ready  to  listen  ;  and  I  am  also 
ready  to  perform  as  much  as  I  can  of  an  almost  impossible 
task,  which  I  will  nevertheless  attempt.    At  the  outset  of  the 
discussion,  let  me  define  the  nature  and  power  of  education ; 
for  this  is  the  way  by  which  our  argument  must  travel 
onwards  to  the  God  Dionysus. 
Cle.  Let  us  proceed,  if  you  please. 

Ath.  Well,  then,  if  I  tell  you  what  are  my  notions  of  what  is 
education,  will  you  consider  whether  they  satisfy  you  ?  education? 
Cle.  Let  us  hear. 

Ath.  According  to  my  view,  any  one  who  would  be  good  Education 
at  anything  must  practise  that  thing  from  his  youth  upwards,  training 
both  in  sport  and  earnest,  in  its  several  branches:  for  work  of 
example,  he  who  is  to  be  a  good  builder,  should  play  at  after-life, 
building  children's  houses ;  he  who  is  to  be  a  good  husband- 
man, at  tilling  the  ground ;  and  those  who  have  the  care  of 
their  education  should  provide  them  when  young  with 
mimic  tools.    They  should  learn  beforehand  the  knowledge 
which  they  will   afterwards  require  for  their  art.  For 
example,  the  future  carpenter  should  learn  to  measure  or 
apply  the  line  in  play;  and  the  future  warrior  should  learn 
riding,  or  some  other  exercise,  for  amusement,  and  the 
teacher  should  endeavour  to  direct  the  children's  inclina-  it  should 
tions  and  pleasures,  by  the  help  of  amusements,  to  their  final  ^^g'"  ^''h 
aim  in  life.    The  most  important  part  of  education  is  right  directSnof 
training  in  the  nursery.    The  soul  of  the  child  in  his  play  children's 
should  be  guided  to  the  love  of  that  sort  of  excellence  in  'P"'"- 
which  when  he  grows  up  to  manhood  he  will  have  to  be 
perfected.    Do  you  agree  with  me  thus  far? 


22 


Education  (i)  in  the  lower,  (2)  in  the  higher  sense. 


Laws  I. 

Athenian, 
Cleinias. 

The  true 
education 
fits  men, 
not  for 
mere  suc- 
cess in  life, 
but  to  be 
perfect 
citizens. 


It  is  the 
first  and 
fairest  thing 
which  tlie 
best  of  men 
can  have. 


Cle.  Certainly. 

Ath.  Then  let  us  not  leave  the  meaning  of  education  am- 
biguous or  ill-defined.  At  present,  when  we  speak  in  terms 
of  praise  or  blame  about  the  bringing-up  of  each  person,  we 
call  one  man  educated  and  another  uneducated,  although  the 
uneducated  man  may  be  sometimes  very  well  educated  for 
the  calling  of  a  retail  trader,  or  of  a  captain  of  a  ship,  and 
the  like.  For  we  are  not  speaking  of  education  in  this 
narrower  sense,  but  of  that  other  education  in  virtue  from 
youth  upwards,  which  makes  a  man  eagerly  pursue  the  ideal 
perfection  of  citizenship,  and  teaches  him  how  rightly  to 
rule  and  how  to  obey.  This  is  the  only  education  which,  644 
upon  our  view,  deserves  the  name ;  that  other  sort  of 
training,  which  aims  at  the  acquisition  of  wealth  or  bodily 
strength,  or  mere  cleverness  apart  from  intelligence  and 
justice,  is  mean  and  illiberal,  and  is  not  worthy  to  be  called 
education  at  all.  But  let  us  not  quarrel  with  one  another 
about  a  word,  provided  that  the  proposition  which  has  just 
been  granted  hold  good  :  to  wit,  that  those  who  are  rightly 
educated  generally  become  good  men.  Neither  must  we 
cast  a  slight  upon  education,  which  is  the  first  and  fairest 
thing  that  the  best  of  men  can  ever  have,  and  which,  though 
liable  to  take  a  wrong  direction,  is  capable  of  reformation. 
And  this  work  of  reformation  is  the  great  business  of  every 
man  while  he  lives. 

Cle.  Very  true ;  and  we  entirely  agree  with  you. 

Ath.  And  we  agreed  before'  that  they  are  good  m.en  who 
are  able  to  rule  themselves,  and  bad  men  who  are  not. 

Cle.  You  are  quite  right. 

Ath.  Let  me  now  proceed,  if  I  can,  to  clear  up  the  subject 
a  little  further  by  an  illustration  which  I  will  offer  you. 
Cle.  Proceed. 

Ath.  Do  we  not  consider  each  of  ourselves  to  be  one  ? 
Cle.  We  do. 

Ath.  And  each  one  of  us  has  in  his  bosom  two  counsellors, 
both  foolish  and  also  antagonistic ;  of  which  we  call  the  one 
pleasure,  and  the  other  pain. 

Cle.  Exactly. 

Ath.  Also  there  are  opinions  about  the  future,  which  have 
the  general  name  of  expectations ;  and  the  specific  name  of 


Mail  like  a  puppet,  drawn  by  many  strings. 


23 


fear,  when-  the  expectation  is  of  pain  ;  and  of  hope,  when  of    Laws  I. 
pleasure ;  and  further,  there  is  reflection  about  the  good  or  Athenian, 
evil  of  them,  and  this,  when  embodied  in  a  decree  b. '  the 
State,  is  called  Law. 

Cle.  I  am  hardly  able  to  follow  you  ;  proceed,  however,  as 
if  I  were. 

Meg.  I  am  in  the  like  case. 

Ath.  Let  us  look  at  the  matter  thus  :  May  we  not  conceive  Man  the 
each  of  us  living  beings  to  be  a  puppet  of  the  Gods,  either  fi^i^GocTs! 
their  plaything  only,  or  created  with  a  purpose — which  of 
the  two  we  cannot  certainly  know  ?    But  we  do  know,  that 
these  affections  in  us  are  like  cords  and  strings,  which  pull 
us  different  and  opposite  ways,  and  to  opposite  actions ;  and 
herein  lies  the  difference  between  virtue  and  vice.    Accord-  He  is 
ing  to  the  argument  there  is  one  among  these  cords  which  p^s'te ways 
every  man  ought  to  grasp  and  never  let  go,  but  to  pull  with  by  the 
64s  it  against  all  the  rest ;  and  this  is  the  sacred  and  golden  cord  ^*"?|^g°/ 
of  reason,  called  by  us  the  common  law  of  the  State  ;  there  are  tions,  but 
others  which  are  hard  and  of  iron,  but  this  one  is  soft  because  "J^^^p^™' 
golden  ;  and  there  are  several  other  kinds.    Now  we  ought  against 
always  to  co-operate  with  the  lead  of  the  best,  which  is  law.  th'^™  "'■'^ 
For  inasmuch  as  reason  is  beautiful  and  gentle,  and  not  corcfof^^" 
violent,  her  rule  must  needs  have  ministers  in  order  to  help  reason, 
the  golden  principle  in  vanquishing  the  other  principles. 
And  thus  the  moral  of  the  tale  about  our  being  puppets  will 
not  have  been  lost,  and  the  meaning  of  the  expression  'superior 
or  inferior  to  a  man's  self  will  become  clearer ;  and  the  indi- 
vidual, attaining  to  right  reason  in  this  matter  of  pulling  the 
strings  of  the  puppet,  should  live  according  to  its  rule ;  while 
the  city,  receiving  the  same  from  some  god  or  from  one  who  has 
knowledge  of  these  things,  should  embody  it  in  a  law,  to  be 
her  guide  in  her  dealings  with  herself  and  with  other  states. 
In  this  way  virtue  and  vice  will  be  more  clearly  distinguished 
by  us.    And  when  they  have  become  clearer,  education  and 
other  institutions  will  in  like  manner  become  clearer;  and  in 
particular  that  question  of  convivial  entertainment,  which 
may  seem,  perhaps,  to  have  been  a  very  trifling  matter,  and  to 
have  taken  a  great  many  more  words  than  were  necessary. 

Cle.  Perhaps,  however,  the  theme  may  turn  out  not  to  be 
unworthy  of  the  length  of  discourse. 


24 


Let  lis  set  drink  before  our  puppet. 


Laws  I. 

Athenian, 
Clf.inias. 


When  the 
puppet 
drinks,  his 
desires  in- 
crease in 
strength 
and  his 
rational 
faculties 
diminish. 


He  be- 
comes a 
child  again. 


But,  al- 
though 
drinking 
degrades 
both  soul 
and  body, 
it  may  be 
of  use  in 
some  other 
way. 


Ath.  Very  good  ;  let  us  proceed  with  any  enquiry  which 
really  bears  on  our  present  object. 
Cle.  Proceed. 

Ath.  Suppose  that  we  give  this  puppet  of  ours  drink, — 
what  will  be  the  effect  on  him  ? 

Cle.  Having  what  in  view  do  you  ask  that  question? 

Aih.  Nothing  as  yet ;  but  I  ask  generally,  when  the  puppet 
is  brought  to  the  drink,  what  sort  of  result  is  likely  to  follow. 
I  will  endeavour  to  explain  my  meaning  more  clearly:  what 
I  am  now  asking  is  this — Does  the  drinking  of  wine  heighten 
and  increase  pleasures  and  pains,  and  passions  and  loves  ? 

Cle.  Very  greatly. 

Ath.  And  are  perception  and  memory,  and  opinion  and 
prudence,  heightened  and  increased  ?  Do  not  these  qualities 
entirely  desert  a  man  if  he  becomes  saturated  with  drink  ? 

Cle.  Yes,  they  entirely  desert  him. 

Ath.  Does  he  not  return  to  the  state  of  soul  in  which  he 
was  when  a  young  child  ? 
Cle.  He  does. 

Ath.  Then  at  that  time  he  will  have  the  least  control  over 
himself? 

Cle.  The  least. 

Ath.  And  will  he  not  be  in  a  most  wretched  plight  ?  6 
Cle.  Most  wretched. 

Ath.  Then  not  only  an  old  man  but  also  a  drunkard  be- 
comes a  second  time  a  child  ? 
Cle.  Well  said,  Stranger. 

Ath.  Is  there  any  argument  which  will  prove  to  us  that 
we  ought  to  encourage  the  taste  for  drinking  instead  of  doing 
all  we  can  to  avoid  it  ? 

Cle.  I  suppose  that  there  is;  you,  at  any  rate,  were  just 
now  saying  that  you  were  ready  to  maintain  such  a  doctrine. 

Ath.  True,  I  was ;  and  I  am  ready  still,  seeing  that  you 
have  both  declared  that  you  are  anxious  to  hear  me. 

Cle.  To  be  sure  we  are,  if  only  for  the  strangeness  of  the 
paradox,  which  asserts  that  a  man  ought  of  his  own  accord  to 
plunge  into  utter  degradation. 

Ath.  Are  you  speaking  of  the  soul  ? 

Cle.  Yes. 

Ath.  And  what  would  you  say  about  the  body,  my  friend  ? 


Tivo  kinds  of  fear. 


25 


Are  you  not  surprised  at  any  one  of  his  own  accord  bringing    Laws  I. 
upon  himself  deformity,  leanness,  ugliness,  decrepitude  ?  Athenian, 
Cle.  Certainly.  ^ 
Ath.  Yet  when  a  man  goes  of  his  own  accord  to  a  doctor's 
shop,  and  takes  medicine,  is  he  not  quite  aware  that  soon, 
and  for  many  days  afterwards,  he  will  be  in  a  state  of  body 
which  he  would  die  rather  than  accept  as  the  permanent  con- 
dition of  his  life  ?    Are  not  those  who  train  in  gymnasia,  at 
first  beginning  reduced  to  a  state  of  weakness  ? 
Cle.  Yes,  all  that  is  well  known, 

Aih.  Also  that  they  go  of  their  own  accord  for  the  sake  of 
the  subsequent  benefit  ? 
Cle.  Very  good. 

Ath.  And  we  may  conceive  this  to  be  true  in  the  same  way 
of  other  practices  ? 
Cle.  Certainly. 

Ath.  And  the  same  view  may  be  taken  of  the  pastime  of 
drinking  wine,  if  we  are  right  in  supposing  that  the  same 
good  effect  follows  ? 
Cle.  To  be  sure. 

Ath.  If  such  convivialities  should  turn  out  to  have  any 
advantage  equal  in  importance  to  that  of  gymnastic,  they  are 
in  their  very  nature  to  be  preferred  to  mere  bodily  exercise, 
inasmuch  as  they  have  no  accompaniment  of  pain. 

Cle.  True ;  but  I  hardly  think  that,  we  shall  be  able  to 
discover  any  such  benefits  to  be  derived  from  them. 

Ath.  That  is  just  what  we  must  endeavour  to  show.    And  Two  kinds 
let  me  ask  you  a  question  : — Do  we  not  distinguish  two  kinds 

,  .  ,  •        o  one,  the 

of  fear,  which  are  very  different  ?  expecta- 
Cle.  What  are  they  ?  tio/^  of 

Aih.  There  is  the  fear  of  expected  evil.  evii";^the 

Cle.  Yes.  other,  the 

Ath.  And  there  is  the  fear  of  an  evil  reputation ;  we  are  disgrace. 
i'47  afraid  of  being  thought  evil,  because  we  do  or  say  some  dis- 
honourable thing,  which  fear  we  and  all  men  term  shame. 
Cle.  Certainly. 

Ath.  These  are  the  two  fears,  as  I  called  them ;  one  of 
which  is  the  opposite  of  pain  and  other  fears,  and  the  opposite 
also  of  the  greatest  and  most  numerous  sort  of  pleasures. 
Cle.  Very  true. 


26 


What  if  there  were  a  potion  against  fear  ? 


Laws  I. 

Athenian, 
Cleinias. 

The  latter 
is  termed 
reverence. 


Reverence 
is  trained 
amid  con- 
flicts with 
sliameless- 
ness,  as 
courage  is 
amid  con- 
flicts with 
danger. 


Suppose 
there  were 
a  potion 
which 
tested 
courage : 


Ath.  And  does  not  the  legislator  and  every  one  Who  is 
good  for  anything,  hold  this  fear  in  the  greatest  honour? 
This  is  what  he  terms  reverence,  and  the  confidence  which 
is  the  reverse  of  this  he  terms  insolence  ;  and  the  latter  he 
always  deems  to  be  a  very  great  evil  both  to  individuals  and 
to  states. 

Cle.  True. 

Ath.  Does  not  this  kind  of  fear  preserve  us  in  many  im- 
portant ways  ?  What  is  there  which  so  surely  gives  victory 
and  safety  in  war?  For  there  are  two  things  which  give 
victory — confidence  before  enemies,  and  fear  of  disgrace 
before  friends. 

Clc.  There  are. 

Ath.  Then  each  of  us  should  be  fearless  and  also  fearful ; 
and  why  we  should  be  either  has  now  been  determined. 
Cle.  Certainly. 

Ath.  And  when  we  want  to  make  any  one  fearless,  we  and 
the  law  bring  him  face  to  face  with  many  fears. 
Clc.  Clearly. 

Ath.  And  when  we  want  to  make  him  rightly  fearful,  must 
we  not  introduce  him  to  shameless  pleasures,  and  train  him 
to  take  up  arms  against  them,  and  to  overcome  them  ?  Or 
does  this  principle  apply  to  courage  only,  and  must  he  who 
would  be  perfect  in  valour  fight  against  and  overcome  his 
own  natural  character, — since  if  he  be  unpractised  and  in- 
experienced in  such  conflicts,  he  will  not  be  half  the  man 
which  he  might  have  been, — and  are  we  to  suppose,  that 
with  temperance  it  is  otherwise,  and  that  he  who  has  never 
fought  with  the  shameless  and  unrighteous  temptations  of 
his  pleasures  and  lusts,  and  conquered  them,  in  earnest  and 
in  play,  by  word,  deed,  and  act,  will  still  be  perfectly 
temperate  ? 

Cle.  A  most  unlikely  supposition. 

Ath.  Suppose  that  some  God  had  given  a  fear-potion  to 
men,  and  that  the  more  a  man  drank  of  this  the  more  he 
regarded  himself  at  every  draught  as  a  child  of  misfortune, 
and  that  he  feared  everything  happening  or  about  to  happen 
to  him ;  and  that  at  last  the  most  courageous  of  men  utterly 
lost  his  presence  of  mind  for  a  time,  and  only  came  to  himself 
again  when  he  had  slept  off  the  influence  of  the  draught.  64S 


The  iise  to  be  fuade  of  stick  a  potion. 


27 


Cle.  But  has  such  a  draught,  Stranger,  ever  really  been    Laws  I. 

known  among  men  ?  Athenian, 

Ath.  No ;  but,  if  there  had  been,  might  not  such  a  draught  Cleinias. 
have  been  of  use  to  the  legislator  as  a  test  of  courage  ?  should  we 
Might  we  not  go  and  say  to  him,  '  O  legislator,  whether  you  ^™P^°y 
are  legislating  for  the  Cretan,  or  for  any  other  state,  would 
you  not  like  to  have  a  touchstone  of  the  courage  and 
cowardice  of  your  citizens  ?  ' 

Cle.  '  I  should,'  will  be  the  answer  of  every  one. 

Ath.  'And  you  would  rather  have  a  touchstone  in  which 
there  is  no  risk  and  no  great  danger  than  the  reverse  ? ' 

Cle.  In  that  proposition  every  one  may  safely  agree. 

Ath.  'And  in  order  to  make  use  of  the  draught,  you  would 
lead  them  amid  these  imaginary  terrors,  and  prove  them,  when 
the  affection  of  fear  was  working  upon  them,  and  compel 
them  to  be  fearless,  exhorting  and  admonishing  them ;  and 
also  honouring  them,  but  dishonouring  any  one  who  will  not 
be  persuaded  by  you  to  be  in  all  respects  such  as  you  com- 
mand him ;  and  if  he  underwent  the  trial  well  and  manfully, 
you  would  let  him  go  unscathed ;  but  if  ill,  you  would  inflict  a 
■  punishment  upon  him?  Or  would  you  abstain  from  using  the 
potion  altogether,  although  you  have  no  reason  for  abstaining? ' 

Cle.  He  would  be  certain,  Stranger,  to  use  the  potion. 

Ath.  This  would  ~be  a  mode  of  testing  and  training  which  The  drinker 
would  be  wonderfully  easy  in  comparison  with  those  now  in  °^ 

,  .  potion 

use,  and  might  be  applied  to  a  single  person,  or  to  a  few,  or  might  test 
indeed  to  any  number ;  and  he  would  do  well  who  provided  q^^^^j^" 
himself  with  the  potion  only,  rather  than  with  any  number  either  alone 
of  other  things,  whether  he  preferred  to  be  by  himself  in  or  among 
solitude,  and  there  contend  with  his  fears,  because  he  was 
ashamed  to  be  seen  by  the  eye  of  man  until  he  was  perfect ; 
or  trusting  to  the  force  of  his  own  nature  and  habits,  and 
believing  that  he  had  been  already  disciplined  sufficiently,  he 
did  not  hesitate  to  train  himself  in  company  with  any  number 
of  others,  and  display  his  power  in  conquering  the  irresistible 
change  effected  by  the  draught— his  virtue  being  such,  that 
he  never  in  any  instance  fell  into  any  great  unseemliness,  but 
was  always  himself,  and  left  off  before  he  arrived  at  the  last 
cup,  fearing  that  he,  like  all  other  men,  might  be  overcome 
by  the  potion. 


28 


Courage  trained  amid  fears,  temperance  at  feasts. 


Laws  I. 

Athenian, 

Cleinias, 

Megii.lus. 

There  is 
no  such 
potion ,  but 
there  is  a 
potion 
which  will 
test  a 
man's  self- 
control. 


A  man's 
nature 
should  be 
proved,  not 
in  the  busi- 
ness of 


Cle.  Yes,  Stranger,  in  that  last  case,  too,  he  might  equally 
show  his  self-control. 

Ath.  Let  us  return  to  the  lawgiver,  and  say  to  him : —  649 
'  Well,  lawgiver,  there  is  certainly  no  such  fear-potion  which 
man  has  either  received  from  the  Gods  or  himself  discovered; 
for  witchcraft  has  no  place  at  our  board.  But  is  there  any 
potion  which  might  serve  as  a  test  of  overboldness  and  ex- 
cessive and  indiscreet  boasting?' 

Clc.  I  suppose  that  he  will  say,  Yes, — meaning  that  wine  is 
such  a  potion. 

Aih.  Is  not  the  effect  of  this  quite  the  opposite  of  the  effect 
of  the  other?  When  a  man  drinks  wine  he  begins  to  be 
better  pleased  with  himself,  and  the  more  he  drinks  the  more 
he  is  filled  full  of  brave  hopes,  and  conceit  of  his  power,  and 
at  last  the  string  of  his  tongue  is  loosened,  and  fancying 
himself  wise,  he  is  brimming  over  with  lawlessness,  and  has 
no  more  fear  or  respect,  and  is  ready  to  do  or  say  an3'thing. 

Clc.  I  think  that  every  one  will  admit  the  truth  of  your 
description. 

Meg.  Certainly. 

Ath.  Now,  let  us  remember,  as  we  were  saying,  that  there- 
are  two  things  which  should  be  cultivated  in  the  soul  :  first, 
the  greatest  courage ;  secondly,  the  greatest  fear — • 

Cle.  Which  you  said  to  be  characteristic  of  reverence,  if 
I  am  not  mistaken. 

Ath.  Thank  you  for  reminding  me.  But  now,  as  the  habit 
of  courage  and  fearlessness  is  to  be  trained  amid  fears,  let  us 
consider  whether  the  opposite  quality  is  not  also  to  be  trained 
among  opposites. 

Cle.  That  is  probably  the  case. 

Ath.  There  are  times  and  seasons  at  which  we  are  by 
nature  more  than  commonly  valiant  and  bold ;  now  we  ought 
to  train  ourselves  on  these  occasions  to  be  as  free  from  im- 
pudence and  shamelessness  as  possible,  and  to  be  afraid  to 
say  or  suffer  or  do  anything  that  is  base. 

Cle.  True. 

Ath.  Are  not  the  moments  in  which  we  are  apt  to  be  bold 
and  shameless  such  as  these  ?— when  we  are  under  the  in- 
fluence of  anger,  love,  pride,  ignorance,  avarice,  cowardice  ? 
or  when  wealth,  beauty,  strength,  and  all  the  intoxicating 


Festive  intercourse  the  test  of  cha7'acter. 


29 


workings  of  pleasure  madden  us?  What  is  better  adapted  than    Laws  I. 
the  festive  use  of  wine,  in  the  first  place  to  test,  and  in  the  Athenian, 
second  place  to  train  the  character  of  a  man,  if  care  be  tak  ^n  Cleinias. 
in  the  use  of  it  ?    What  is  there  cheaper,  or  more  innocent  ?  life,  bwt 
For  do  but  consider  which  is  the  greater  risk  : — Would  |,"tercourse 
you  rather  test  a  man  of  a  morose  and  savage  nature,  which 
is  the  source  of  ten  thousand  acts  of  injustice,  by  making 
bargains  with  him  at  a  risk  to  yourself,  or  by  having  him  as 
10  a  companion  at  the  festival  of  Dionysus  ?    Or  would  you,  if 
you  wanted  to  apply  a  touchstone  to  a  man  who  is  prone  to 
love,  entrust  your  wife,  or  your  sons,  or  daughters  to  him, 
perilling  your  dearest  interests  in  order  to  have  a  view  of  the 
condition  of  his  soul  ?    I  might  mention  numberless  cases, 
in  which  the  advantage  would  be  manifest  of  getting  to  know 
a  character  in  sport,  and  without  paying  dearly  for  expe- 
rience.   And  I  do  not  believe  that  either  a  Cretan,  or  any 
other  man,  will  doubt  that  such  a  test  is  a  fair  test,  and  safer, 
cheaper,  and  speedier  than  any  other. 
Cle.  That  is  certainly  true. 

Ath.  And  this  knowledge  of  the  natures  and  habits  of  The  know- 
men's  souls  will  be  of  the  greatest  use  in  that  art  which  has  '^^^^^  °f 
the  management  of  them  ;  and  that  art,  if  I  am  not  mistaken,  tiai  toTh" ' 

is  politics.  statesman. 

Cle.  Exactly  so. 


BOOK  II. 


Laws  II. 

Athenian, 
Clcinias. 


Our  first 
impressions 
are  of 
pleasure 
and  pain  : 
wisdom 
comes  later. 


Education 
is  the  right 
training  of 
these  im- 
pressions. 


Athenian  Stranger.  And  now  we  have  to  consider  whether  652 
the  insight  into  human  nature  is  the  only  benefit  derived 
from  well-ordered  potations,  or  whether  there  are  not  other 
advantages  great  and  much  to  be  desired.  The  argument 
seems  to  imply  that  there  are.  But  how  and  in  what  way 
these  are  to  be  attained,  will  have  to  be  considered  atten- 
tively, or  we  may  be  entangled  in  error. 

Clcinias.  Proceed. 

Ath.  Let  me  once  more  recall  our  doctrine  of  right  educa- 
tion ;  which,  if  1  am  not  mistaken,  depends  on  the  due  653 
regulation  of  convivial  intercourse. 

Cle.  You  talk  rather  grandly. 

Ath.  Pleasure  and  pain  I  maintain  to  be  the  first  percep- 
tions of  children,  and  I  say  that  they  are  the  forms  under 
which  virtue  and  vice  are  originally  present  to  them.  As  to 
wisdom  and  true  and  fixed  opinions,  happy  is  the  man  who 
acquires  them,  even  when  declining  in  years ;  and  we  may 
say  that  he  who  possesses  them,  and  the  blessings  which  are 
contained  in  them,  is  a  perfect  man.  Now  I  mean  by  educa- 
tion that  training  which  is  given  by  suitable  habits  to  the  first 
instincts  of  virtue  in  children  ; — when  pleasure,  and  friend- 
ship, and  pain,  and  hatred,  are  rightly  implanted  in  souls 
not  yet  capable  of  understanding  the  nature  of  them,  and 
who  find  them,  after  they  have  attained  reason,  to  be  in 
harmony  with  her.  This  harmony  of  the  soul,  taken  as  a 
whole,  is  virtue ;  but  the  particular  training  in  respect  of 
pleasure  and  pain,  which  leads  you  always  to  hate  what  you 
ought  to  hate,  and  love  what  you  ought  to  love  from  the 


Education  begins  tvith  Apollo  and  the  Muses. 


31 


beginning  of  life  to  the  end,  may  be  separated  oflf ;  and,  in  Laws  II. 

my  view,  will  be  rightly  called  education.  Athenian, 

Cle.  I  think,  Stranger,  that  you  are  quite  right  in  all  thac  Ci-e.n>as. 
you  have  said  and  are  saying  about  education. 

Ath.  I  am  glad  to  hear  that  you  agree  with  me;  for, 
indeed,  the  discipline  of  pleasure  and  pain  which,  when 
rightly  ordered,  is  a  principle  of  education,  has  been  often 
relaxed  and  corrupted  in  human  life.    And  the  Gods,  pitying  The  Gods 
the  toils  which  our  race  is  born  to  undergo,  have  appointed  p^inj^^" 
holy  festivals,  wherein  men  alternate  rest  with  labour ;  and  festivals  for 
have  given  them  the  Muses  and  Apollo,  the  leader  of  the  pj^^y^g^j 
Muses,  and  Dionysus,  to  be  companions  in  their  revels,  that  They  are 
they  may  improve  their  education  by  taking  part  in  the  o"!"  part- 
festivals  of  the  Gods,  and  with  their  help.    I  should  like  to  the  dance, 
know  whether  a  common  saying  is  in  our  opinion  true  to  ^nd  have 

i->  IT  r    11  given  us 

nature  or  not.    For  men  say  that  the  young  01  all  creatures  the  sense  of 
cannot  be  quiet  in  their  bodies  or  in  their  voices ;  they  are  harmony 
always  wanting  to  move  and  cry  out ;  some  leaping  and  rhythm, 
skipping,  and  overflowing  with  sportiveness  and  delight  at 
something,  others  uttering  all  sorts  of  cries.    But,  whereas 
the  animals  have  no  perception  of  order  or  disorder  in  their 
movements,  that  is,  of  rhythm  or  harmony,  as  they  are  called, 
to  us,  the  Gods,  who,  as  we  say,  have  been  appointed  to 
-54  be  our  companions  in  the  dance,  have  given  the  pleasurable 
sense  of  harmony  and  rhythm  ;  and  so  they  stir  us  into  life, 
and  we  follow  them,  joining  hands  together  in  dances  and 
songs  ;  and  these  they  call  choruses,  which  is  a  term  naturally 
expressive  of  cheerfulness  \    Shall  we  begin,  then,  with  the 
acknowledgment  that  education  is  first  given  through  Apollo 
and  the  Muses?  What  do  you  say? 
Cle.  I  assent. 

Ath.  And  the  uneducated  is  he  who  has  not  been  trained  in 
the  chorus,  and  the  educated  is  he  who  has  been  well  trained? 
Cle.  Certainly. 

Ath.  And  the  chorus  is  made  up  of  two  parts,  dance  and  The  edu- 

SOne  ?  cated  is  he 

°  ■  vi'ho  can 

Lie.  True.  sing  and 

Ath.  Then  he  who  is  well  educated  will  be  able  to  sing  and  ^^"'^^  '< 
dance  well  ? 

'  Xopos,  erroneously  connected  with  xa'P*'"- 


32 


True  beauty  is  the  i7nitation  of  virtue. 


Laws  II. 

Athenian, 
Cleinias. 

and  who 
can  sing 
and  dance 
what  is 
good. 


What 
makes  the 
beauty  of 
figure, 
melody, 
song, 
dance  ? 


(Note  that 
you  cannot 
speak  of  the 
'  colour '  of 
a  melody.) 


Cle.  I  suppose  that  he  will. 

Aih.  Let  us  see  ;  what  are  we  saying? 

Cle.  What? 

Aih.  He  sings  well  and  dances  well ;  now  must  we  add 
that  he  sings  what  is  good  and  dances  what  is  good  ? 
Cle.  Let  us  make  the  addition. 

Ath.  We  will  suppose  that  he  knows  the  good  to  be  good, 
and  the  bad  to  be  bad,  and  makes  use  of  them  accordingly: 
which  now  is  the  better  trained  in  dancing  and  music — he 
who  is  able  to  move  his  body  and  to  use  his  voice  in  what  is 
understood  to  be  the  right  manner,  but  has  no  delight  in 
good  or  hatred  of  evil ;  or  he  who  is  incorrect  in  gesture 
and  voice,  but  is  right  in  his  sense  of  pleasure  and  pain,  and 
welcomes  what  is  good,  and  is  offended  at  what  is  evil  ? 

Cle.  There  is  a  great  difference,  Stranger,  in  the  two  kinds 
of  education. 

Ath.  If  we  three  know  what  is  good  in  song  and  dance, 
then  we  truly  know  also  who  is  educated  and  who  is  unedu- 
cated ;  but  if  not,  then  we  certainly  shall  not  know  wherein 
lies  the  safeguard  of  education,  and  whether  there  is  any 
or  not. 

Cle.  True. 

Aih.  Let  us  follow  the  scent  like  hounds,  and  go  in  pursuit 
of  beauty  of  figure,  and  melody,  and  song,  and  dance ;  if 
these  escape  us,  there  will  be  no  use  in  talking  about  true 
education,  whether  Hellenic  or  barbarian. 

Cle.  Yes. 

Aih.  And  what  is  beauty  of  figure,  or  beautiful  melody? 
When  a  manly  soul  is  in  trouble,  and  when  a  cowardly  soul  655 
is  in  similar  case,  are  they  likely  to  use  the  same  figures  and 
gestures,  or  to  give  utterance  to  the  same  sounds  ? 

Cle.  How  can  they,  when  the  very  colours  of  their  faces 
differ? 

Aih.  Good,  my  friend  ;  I  may  observe,  however,  in  passing, 
that  in  music  there  certainly  are  figures  and  there  are 
melodies  :  and  music  is  concerned  with  harmony  and  rhythm, 
so  that  you  may  speak  of  a  melody  or  figure  having  good 
rhythm  or  good  harmony— the  term  is  correct  enough  ;  but  to 
speak  metaphorically  of  a  melody  or  figure  having  a  '  good 
colour,'  as  the  masters  of  choruses  do,  is  not  allowable, 


Why  we  do  not  all  agree  about  music  and  dancing. 


33 


Cleinias. 

Melodies 
whichi  ex- 


although  you  cart  speak  of  the  melodies  or  figures  of  tiie    Laws  ii. 
brave  and  tlie  coward,  praising  the  one  and  censuring  \kyt  Athenian, 
other.    And  not  to  be  tedious,  let  us  say  that  the  figures  and 
melodies  which  are  expressive  of  virtue  of  soul  or  body,  or  of 
images  of  virtue,  are  without  exception  good,  and  those  which  press  virtue 
are  expressive  of  vide  are  the  reverse  of  good.  those°which 
Cle.  Your  suggestion  is  excellent ;  and  let  us  answer  that  express  vice 
these  things  are  so. 

rGVGrss 

Ath.  Once  more,  are  all  of  us  equally  delighted  with  every 
sort  of  dance  ? 

Cle.  Far  otherwise. 

Ath.  What,  then,  leads  us  astray?    Are  beautiful  things 
not  the  same  to  us  all,  or  are  they  the  same  in  themselves, 
but  not  in  our  opinion  of  them  ?    For  no  one  will  admit  that 
forms  of  vice  in  the  dance  are  more  beautiful  than  forms  of 
virtue,  or  that  he  himself  delights  in  the  forms  of  vice,  and 
others  in  a  muse  of  another  character.   And  yet  most  persons  But  some 
say,  that  the  excellence  of  music  is  to  give  pleasure  to  our  mousi'y  "say 
souls.    But  this  is  intolerable  and  blasphemous ;  there  is,  that  the  ex- 
however,  a  much  more  plausible  account  of  the  delusion.  mu^c'^^to 
Cle.  What  ?  give  plea- 

Ath.  The  adaptation  of  art  to  the  characters  of  men.  Choric  ^"'"f  -^^"^^ 

^  ...         so  It  be- 

movements  are  imitations  of  manners  occurring  in  various  comes  a 
actions,  fortunes,  dispositions, — each  particular  is  imitated,  matter  of 

lilccs  ^nd 

and.  those  to  whom  the  words,  or  songs,  or  dances  are  disiiices. 
suited,  either  by  nature  or  habit  or  both,  cannot  help  feeling 
pleasure  in  them  and  applauding  them,  and  calling  them 
beautiful.  But  those  whose  natures,  or  ways,  or  habits  are 
unsuited  to  them,  cannot  delight  in  them  or  applaud  them, 
and  they  call  them  base.  There  are  others,  again,  whose 
natures  are  right  and  their  habits  wrong,  or  whose  habits  are 
right  and  their  natures  wrong,  and  they  praise  one  thing,  but 
are  pleased  at  another.  For  they  say  that  all  these  imita- 
i56tions  are  pleasant,  but  not  good.  And  in  the  presence  of 
those  whom  they  think  wise,  they  are  ashamed  of  dancing  and 
singing  in  the  baser  manner,  or  of  deliberately  lending  any 
countenance  to  such  proceedings  ;  and  yet,  they  have  a  secret 
pleasure  in  them. 
Cle.  Very  true. 

Ath.  And  is  any  harm  done  to  the  lover  of  vicious  dances 

VOL.  V.  D 


34 


In  Egypt  77iusic  and  art  are  expressive  of  virttte. 


Laws  II. 

Athenian, 
Cleinias. 

The  effect 
of  good  and 
bad  music 
like  that  of 
good  and 
bad  com- 
pany. 


Egypt  has 
fixed  forms 
of  art 

which  have 
existed  for 
ten  thou- 
sand years. 


or  songs,  or  any  good  done  to  the  approver  of  the  opposite 
sort  of  pleasure  ? 

Cle.  I  think  that  there  is. 

Alh.  '  I  thinlc '  is  not  the  word,  but  I  would  say,  rather,  '  I 
am  certain.'  For  must  they  not  have  the  same  effect  as  when 
a  man  associates  with  bad  characters,  whom  he  likes  and 
approves  rather  than  dislikes,  and  only  censures  playfully 
because  he  has  a  suspicion  of  his  own  badness  ?  In  that 
case,  he  who  takes  pleasure  in  them  will  surely  become  like 
those  in  whom  he  takes  pleasure,  even  though  he  be  ashamed 
to  praise  them.  And  what  greater  good  or  evil  can  any 
destiny  ever  make  us  undergo  ? 

C/e.  I  know  of  none. 

Ath.  Then  in  a  city  which  has  good  laws,  or  in  future  ages 
is  to  have  them,  bearing  in  mind  the  instruction  and  amuse- 
ment which  are  given  by  music,  can  we  suppose  that  the 
poets  are  to  be  allowed  to  teach  in  the  dance  anything  which 
they  themselves  like,  in  the  way  of  rhythm,  or  melody,  or 
words,  to  the  young  children  of  any  well-conditioned  parents  ? 
Is  the  poet  to  train  his  choruses  as  he  pleases,  without 
reference  to  virtue  or  vice  ? 

C/e.  That  is  surely  quite  unreasonable,  and  is  not  to  be 
thought  of. 

Alh.  And  yet  he  may  do  this  in  almost  any  state  with  the 
exception  of  Egypt. 

C/e.  And  what  are  the  laws  about  music  and  dancing  in 
Egypt? 

Ath.  You  will  wonder  when  I  tell  you :  Long  ago  they 
appear  to  have  recognized  the  very  principle  of  which  we  are 
now  speaking — that  their  young  citizens  must  be  habituated 
to  forms  and  strains  of  virtue.  These  they  fixed,  and  ex- 
hibited the  patterns  of  them  in  their  temples  ;  and  no  painter 
or  artist  is  allowed  to  innovate  upon  them,  or  to  leave  the 
traditional  forms  and  invent  new  ones.  To  this  day,  no  altera- 
tion is  allowed  either  in  these  arts,  or  in  music  at  all.  And 
you  will  find  that  their  works  of  art  are  painted  or  moulded 
in  the  same  forms  which  they  had  ten  thousand  years  ago  ;— 
this  is  literally  true  and  no  exaggeration, — their  ancient 
paintings  and  sculptures  are  not  a  whit  better  or  worse  than  657 
the  work  of  to-day,  but  are  made  with  just  the  same  skill. 


The  origin  and  tise  of  mttsic  and  dancing. 


35 


Cle.  How  extraordinary  !  Laws  IT. 

Ath.  I  should  rather  say,  How  statesmanlike,  how  worthy  Athenian, 
of  a  legislator  !   I  know  that  other  things  in  Egypt  are  not  so  ^leinias. 
well.     But  what  I  am  telling  you  about  music  is  true  and 
deserving  of  consideration,  because  showing  that  a  lawgiver 
may  institute  melodies  which  have  a  natural  truth  and  cor- 
rectness without  any  fear  of  failure.    To  do  this,  however,  The  Egyp- 
must  be  the  work  of  God,  or  of  a  divine  person  :  in  Egypt  chants 

'  _  /  1      were  ongin- 

they  have  a  tradition  that  their  ancient  chants  which  have  ally  com- 
been  preserved  for  so  many  aeres  are  the  composition  of  the  po^ed  by 

T  ■        T  theGoddess 

Goddess  Isis.    And  therefore,  as  1  was  saymg,  ii  a  person  isis,  and 
can  only  find  in  any  way  the  natural  melodies,  he  may  con-  t^eir  sacred 
fidently  embody  them  in  a  fixed  and  legal  form.    For  the  preserves 
love  of  novelty  which  arises  out  of  pleasure  in  the  new  and  them, 
weariness  of  the  old,  has  not  strength  enough  to  corrupt  the 
consecrated  song  and  dance,  under  the  plea  that  they  have 
become  antiquated.    At  any  rate,  they  are  far  from  being 
corrupted  in  Egypt. 

Cle.  Your  arguments  seem  to  prove  your  point. 

Ath.  May  we  not  confidently  say  that  the  true  use  of  music 
and  of  choral  festivities  is  as  follows  :  We  rejoice  when  we 
think  that  we  prosper,  and  again  we  think  that  we  prosper 
when  we  rejoice  ? 

Cle.  Exactly. 

Ath.  And  when  rejoicing  in  our  good  fortune,  we  are  Music 
unable  to  be  still  ?  ^^P!"^ 

r~  rejoicing ; 

L,le.   1  rue.  our  young 

Ath.  Our  young  men  break  forth  into  dancing  and  singing,  ^^jj"^^^^^^ 
and  we  who  are  their  elders  deem  that  we  are  fulfilling  our  and  the 
part  in  life  when  we  look  on  at  them.    Having;  lost  our  aiders  look 

1  T  1     •      1    •  1  on  and 

agility,  we  delight  in  their  sports  and  merry-making,  because  remember 
we  love  to  think  of  our  former  selves ;  and  gladly  institute  "^'^ 
contests  for  those  who  are  able  to  awaken  in  us  the  memory 
of  our  youth. 
Cle.  Very  true. 

Ath.  Is  it  altogether  unmeaning  to  say,  as  the  common  who  will 
people  do  about  festivals,  that  he  should  be  adjudged  the  be  first  in 
wisest  of  men,  and  the  winner  of  the  palm,  who  gives  us  the  ^^'^  '^o^test? 
greatest  amount  of  pleasure  and  mirth?     For  on   such  He  who 
occasions,  and  when  mirth  is  the  order  of  the  day,  ought  not  Irllte^ 

D  2 


36 


Entertainments  suited  for  different  ages. 


Laws  II. 

Athenian, 
Cleinias. 

pleasure  to 
the  greatest 
number  ? — 

Suppose 
that  there 
are  divers 
exhibitions : 


an  Homeric 
rhapsody,  a 
perform- 
ance on  the 
lule,  a 
tragedy,  a 
comedy,  a 
puppet- 
show. 


Small 
children 
will  decide 
for  the 
puppet- 
show  :  older 
children  for 
,  comedy  : 
educated 
women  and 
young  men 
and  people 
in  general 
for  tragedy : 


he  to  be  honoured  most,  and,  as  I  was  saying,  bear  the  palm, 
who  gives  most  mirth  to  the  greatest  number  ?    Now  is  this  658 
a  true  way  of  speaking  or  of  acting  ? 
Cle.  Possibly. 

Ath.  But,  my  dear  friend,  let  us  distinguish  between 
different  cases,  and  not  be  hasty  in  forming  a  judgment :  One 
way  of  considering  the  question  will  be  to  imagine  a  festival 
at  which  there  are  entertainments  of  all  sorts,  including 
gymnastic,  musical,  and  equestrian  contests  :  the  citizens  are 
assembled  ;  prizes  are  offered,  and  proclamation  is  made 
that  any  one  who  likes  may  enter  the  lists,  and  that  he  is  to 
bear  the  palm  who  gives  the  most  pleasure  to  the  spectators 
— there  is  to  be  no  regulation  about  the  manner  how ;  but  he 
who  is  most  successful  in  giving  pleasure  is  to  be  crowned 
victor,  and  deemed  to  be  the  pleasantest  of  the  candidates  : 
What  is  likely  to  be  the  result  of  such  a  proclamation  ? 
Cle.  In  what  respect  ? 

Ath.  There  would  be  various  exhibitions :  one  man,  like 
Homer,  will  exhibit  a  rhapsody,  another  a  performance  on 
the  lute  ;  one  will  have  a  tragedy,  and  another  a  comedy.  Nor 
would  there  be  anything  astonishing  in  some  one  imagining 
that  he  could  gain  the  prize  by  exhibiting  a  puppet-show. 
Suppose  these  competitors  to  meet,  and  not  these  only,  but 
innumerable  others  as  well — can  you  tell  me  who  ought  to  be 
the  victor  ? 

Cle.  I  do  not  see  how  any  one  can  answer  you,  or  pretend 
to  know,  unless  he  has  heard  with  his  own  ears  the  several 
competitors  ;  the  question  is  absurd. 

Ath.  Well,  then,  if  neither  of  you  can  answer,  shall  I  answer 
this  question  which  you  deem  so  absurd  ? 

Cle.  By  all  means. 

Ath.  If  very  small  children  are  to  determine  the  question, 
they  will  decide  for  the  puppet-show. 
Cle.  Of  course. 

Ath.  The  older  children  will  be  advocates  of  comedy ; 
educated  women,  and  young  men,  and  people  in  general,  will 
favour  tragedy. 

Cle.  Very  likely. 

Ath.  And  I  believe  that  we  old  men  would  have  the  greatest 
pleasure  in  hearing  a  rhapsodist  recite  well  the  Iliad  and 


Btit  zuko  ought  to  be  the  judges  ? 


37 


Odyssey,  or  one  of  the  Hesiodic  poems,  and  would  award    Laws  II. 
the  victory  to  him.      But,  who  would  really  be  the  victor  ?<-  Athenian, 
that  is  the  question.  '  Cle.n.as. 

-y  older  men 

will  say, 


Ath.  Clearly  you  and  I  will  have  to  declare  that  those  'Give  us 

Homer ; 
Hesiod. 


whom  we  old  men  adjudge  victors  ought  to  win ;  for  our  ways  Homer  and 


are  far  and  away  better  than  any  which  at  present  exist  any- 
where in  the  world. 
Cle.  Certainly. 

Ath.  Thus  far  I  too  should  agree  with  the  many,  that  the  The  cri- 
excellence  of  music  is  to  be  measured  by  pleasure.    But  the  °^ 

•'  _  excellence 

pleasure  must  not  be  that  of  chance  persons ;  the  fairest  should  be 

music  is  that  which  delights  the  best  and  best  educated,  and  Pleasure, 

•         ,  ,      •  •  but  not  the 

659  especially  that  which  delights  the  one  man  who  is  pre-eminent  pleasure  of 
in  virtue  and  education.    And  therefore  the  judges  must  be  chance 
men  of  character,  for  they  will  require  both  wisdom  and 
courage ;  the  true  judge  must  not  draw  his  inspiration  from 
the  theatre,  nor  ought  he  to  be  unnerved  by  the  clamour  of 
the  many  and  his  own  incapacity;  nor  again,  knowing  the 
truth,  ought  he  through  cowardice  and  unmanliness  carelessly 
to  deliver  a  lying  judgment,  with  the  very  same  lips  which 
have  just  appealed  to  the  Gods  before  he  judged.     He  is  The  judge 
sitting  not  as  the  disciple  of  the  theatre,  but,  in  his  proper  should  be 

1  1    •     •  11  ,  .        ,  the  in- 

place,  as  their  instructor,  and  he  ought  to  be  the  enemy  of  structor, 
all  pandering  to  the  pleasure  of  the  spectators.    The  ancient  "otthedis- 
and  common  custom  of  Hellas,  which  still  prevails  in  Italy  the'lheltre. 
and  Sicily,  did  certainly  leave  the  judgment  to  the  body  of 
spectators,  who  determined  the  victor  by  show  of  hands. 
But  this  custom  has  been  the  destruction  of  the  poets ;  for 
they  are  now  in  the  habit  of  composing  with  a  view  to  please 
the  bad  taste  of  their  judges,  and  the  result  is  that  the 
spectators  instruct  themselves  ;— and  also  it  has  been  the  ruin 
of  the  theatre  ;  they  ought  to  be  having  characters  put  before 
them  better  than  their  own,  and  so  receiving  a  higher  pleasure, 
but  now  by  their  own  act  the  opposite  result  follows.  What 
inference  is  to  be  drawn  from  all  this  ?    Shall  I  tell  you  ? 
Cle.  What? 

Aih.  The  inference  at  which  we  arrive  for  the  third  or  The  souls  of 
fourth  time  is,  that  education  is  the  constraining  and  directing  gJouid^bf 
of  youth  towards  that  right  reason,  which  the  law  affirms,  and  channedV 


38 


The  ideal  is  very  tmlike  the  fact. 


Laws  II. 

Athknian, 
Cleinias. 

song  into 
harmony 
with  the 
l:iw. 


But  all  this 
is  an  ideal. 
No  fixed 
principles 
of  music 
except 
among 
Cretans 
and  l^ce- 
daemo- 


which  the  experience  of  the  eldest  and  best  has  agreed  to  be 
truly  right.  In  order,  then,  that  the  soul  of  the  child  may 
not  be  habituated  to  feel  joy  and  sorrow  in  a  manner  at 
variance  with  the  law,  and  those  who  obey  the  law,  but  may 
rather  follow  the  law  and  rejoice  and  sorrow  at  the  same 
things  as  the  aged — in  order,  I  say,  to  produce  this  effect, 
chants  appear  to  have  been  invented,  which  really  enchant, 
and  are  designed  to  implant  that  harmony  of  which  we  speak. 
And,  because  the  mind  of  the  child  is  incapable  of  enduring 
serious  training,  they  are  called  plays  and  songs,  and  are 
performed  in  play;  just  as  when  men  are  sick  and  ailing  in 
their  bodies,  their  attendants  give  them  wholesome  diet  in 
pleasant  meats  and  drinks,  but  unwholesome  diet  in  disagree-  660 
able  things,  in  order  that  they  may  learn,  as  they  ought,  to 
like  the  one,  and  to  dislike  the  other.  And  similarly  the  true 
legislator  will  persuade,  and,  if  he  cannot  persuade,  will 
compel  the  poet  to  express,  as  he  ought,  by  fair  and  noble 
words,  in  his  rhythms,  the  figures,  and  in  his  melodies,  the 
music  of  temperate  and  brave  and  in  every  way  good  men. 

Cle.  But  do  you  really  imagine.  Stranger,  that  this  is  the 
way  in  which  poets  generally  compose  in  States  at  the  present 
day  ?  As  far  as  I  can  observe,  except  among  us  and  among 
the  Lacedaemonians,  there  are  no  regulations  like  those  of 
which  you  speak  ;  in  other  places  novelties  are  always  being 
introduced  in  dancing  and  in  music,  generally  not  under  the 
authority  of  any  law,  but  at  the  instigation  of  lawless  pleasures; 
and  these  pleasures  are  so  far  from  being  the  same,  as  you 
describe  the  Egyptian  to  be,  or  having  the  same  principles,  that 
they  are  never  the  same. 

Ath.  Most  true,  Cleinias ;  and  I  daresay  that  I  may  have 
expressed  myself  obscurely,  and  so  led  you  to  imagine  that  I 
was  speaking  of  some  really  existing  state  of  things,  whereas 
I  was  only  saying  what  regulations  I  would  like  to  have 
about  music  ;  and  hence  there  occurred  a  misapprehension  on 
your  part.  For  when  evils  are  far  gone  and  irremediable, 
the  task  of  censuring  them  is  never  pleasant,  although  at 
times  necessary.  But  as  we  do  not  really  differ,  will  you  let 
me  ask  you  whether  you  consider  such  institutions  to  be 
more  prevalent  among  the  Cretans  and  Lacedaemonians  than 
among  the  other  Hellenes? 


To  the  tmjust  goods  are  evils  and  evils  goods. 


39 


Cle.  Certainly,  they  are.  /.«tc/w^ 
Ath.  And  if  they  were  extended  to  the  other  Hellenes-^  Athenian, 

would  it  be  an  improvement  on  the  present  state  of  things  ? 
Cle.  A  very  great  improvement,   if  the  customs  which 

prevail  among  them  were  such  as  prevail  among  us  and  the 

Lacedaemonians,  and  such  as  you  were  just  now  saying  ought 

to  prevail. 

Ath.  Let  us  see  whether  we  understand  one  another :— Are 
not  the  principles  of  education  and  music  which  prevail  among 
you  as  follows :  you  compel  your  poets  to  say  that  the  good 
man,  if  he  be  temperate  and  just,  is  fortunate  and  happy;  and 
this  whether  he  be  great  and  strong  or  small  and  weak,  and 
whether  he  be  rich  or  poor;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  if  he 
have  a  wealth  passing  that  of  Cinyras  or  Midas,  and  be  un- 
just, he  is  wretched  and  lives  in  misery  ?  As  the  poet  says,  ^yr'^^^^ 
and  with  truth :  I  sing  not,  I  care  not  about  him  who  h^veTnii 
accomplishes  all  noble  things,  not  having  justice;  let  him  a  brave 
who  'draws  near  and  stretches  out  his  hand  against  his  y^j^she 
6i  enemies  be  a  just  man.'  But  if  he  be  unjust,  I  would  not  be  a  just 
have  him  '  look  calmly  upon  bloody  death,'  nor  '  surpass  in 
swiftness  the  Thracian  Boreas  ; '  and  let  no  other  thing  that 
is  called  good  ever  be  his.  For  the  goods  of  which  the  many 
speak  are  not  really  good  :  first  in  the  catalogue  is  placed 
health,  beauty  next,  wealth  third ;  and  then  innumerable 
others,  as  for  example  to  have  a  keen  eye  or  a  quick  ear,  and 
in  general  to  have  all  the  senses  perfect ;  or,  again,  to  be  a 
tyrant  and  do  as  you  like ;  and  the  final  consummation  of 
happiness  is  to  have  acquired  all  these  things,  and  when  you 
have  acquired  them  to  become  at  once  immortal.  But  you  and 
I  say,  that  while  to  the  just  and  holy  all  these  things  are  the 
best  of  possessions,  to  the  unjust  they  are  all,  including  even 
health,  the  greatest  of  evils.  For  in  truth,  to  have  sight,  and 
hearing,  and  the  use  of  the  senses,  or  to  live  at  all  without 
justice  and  virtue,  even  though  a  man  be  rich  in  all  the  so- 
called  goods  of  fortune,  is  the  greatest  of  evils,  if  life  be 
immortal ;  but  not  so  great,  if  the  bad  man  lives  only  a  very 
short  time.  These  are  the  truths  which,  if  I  am  not 
mistaken,  you  will  persuade  or  compel  your  poets  to  utter 
with  suitable  accompaniments  of  harmony  and  rhythm,  and 
in  these  they  must  train  up  your  youth.    Am  I  not  right  ? 


40 


The  Just,  the  pleasatit,  and  the  profitable. 


Laws  II. 

Athenian, 
Cleinias. 


He  who 
has  external 
goods  only 
is  miser- 
able. 


Injustice 
naturally 
base,  and 
also  evil 
and  painful. 


Men  are 
not  always 
agreed  in 
their 

opinions  ; 
but  the 
Gods  and 
the  legis- 
lator will 
never  cease 
to  affirm 
that  the  just 
is  also  the 
pleasant. 


For  I  plainly  declare  that  evils  as  they  are  termed  are  goods 
to  the  unjust,  and  only  evils  to  the  just,  and  that  goods  are 
truly  good  to  the  good,  but  evil  to  the  evil.  Let  me  ask 
again,  Are  you  and  I  agreed  about  this  ? 

Cle.  I  think  that  we  partly  agree  and  partly  do  not. 

Ath.  When  a  man  has  health  and  wealth  and  a  tyranny 
which  lasts,  and  when  he  is  pre-eminent  in  strength  and 
courage,  and  has  the  gift  of  immortahty,  and  none  of  the 
so-called  evils  which  counter-balance  these  goods,  but  only 
the  injustice  and  insolence  of  his  own  nature — of  such  an  one 
you  are,  I  suspect,  unwilling  to  believe  that  he  is  miserable 
rather  than  happy. 

Clc.  That  is  quite  true. 

Ath.  Once  more  :  Suppose  that  he  be  valiant  and  strong, 
and  handsome  and  rich,  and  does  throughout  his  whole  life 
whatever  he  likes,  still,  if  he  be  unrighteous  and  insolent, 
would  not  both  of  you  agree  that  he  will  of  necessity  live 
basely  ?  You  will  surely  grant  so  much  ? 
Cle.  Certainly, 
Ath.  And  an  evil  life  too  ? 

I  am  not  equally  disposed  to  grant  that. 
Will  he  not  live  painfully  and  to  his  own  disadvan- 


662 


Cle. 

Ath. 
tage? 

Cle. 

Ath 
mind, 


How  can  I  possibly  say  so? 

How !  Then  may  Heaven  make  us  to  be  of  one 
for  now  we  are  of  two.  To  me,  dear  Cleinias,  the 
truth  of  what  I  am  saying  is  as  plain  as  the  fact  that  Crete  is 
an  island.  And,  if  I  were  a  lawgiver,  I  would  try  to  make 
the  poets  and  all  the  citizens  speak  in  this  strain  ;  and  I 
would  inflict  the  heaviest  penalties  on  any  one  in  all  the  land 
who  should  dare  to  say  that  there  are  bad  men  who  lead 
pleasant  lives,  or  that  the  profitable  and  gainful  is  one  thing, 
and  the  just  another  ;  and  there  are  many  other  matters 
about  which  I  should  make  my  citizens  speak  in  a  manner 
different  from  the  Cretans  and  Lacedaemonians  of  this  age, 
and  I  may  say,  indeed,  from  the  world  in  general.  For  tell  me, 
my  good  friends,  by  Zeus  and  Apollo  tell  me,  if  I  were  to  ask 
these  same  Gods  who  were  your  legislators, — Is  not  the  most 
just  life  also  the  pleasantest  ?  or  are  there  two  lives,  one  of 
which  isthe  justest  and  the  other  the  pleasantest? — and  they 


The  jtist  and  the  pleasant  should  be  identified  by  law. 


41 


were  to  reply  that  there  are  two  ;  and  thereupon  I  proceeded  Lmvs  II. 
to  ask,  (that  would  be  the  right  way  of  pursuing  the  enquiry),  .Athenian, 
Which  are  the  happier— those  who  lead  the  justest,  or  those  ^leinias. 
who  lead  the  pleasantest  life  ?  and  they  replied,  Those  who 
lead  the  pleasantest — that  would  be  a  very  strange  answer, 
which  I  should  not  like  to  put  into  the  mouth  of  the  Gods. 
The  words  will  come  with  more  propriety  from  the  lips  of 
fathers  and  legislators,  and  therefore  I  will  repeat  my  former 
questions  to  one  of  them,  and  suppose  him  to  say  again  that 
he  who  leads  the  pleasantest  life  is  the  happiest.  And  to 
that  I  rejpin:— O  my  father,  did  you  not  wish  me  to  live  as 
happily  as  possible  ?  And  yet  you  also  never  ceased  telling 
me  that  I  should  live  as  justly  as  possible.  Now,  here  the 
giver  of  the  rule,  whether  he  be  legislator  or  father,  will  be  in 
a  dilemma,  and  will  in  vain  endeavour  to  be  consistent  with 
himself.  But  if  he  were  to  declare  that  the  justest  life  is  also 
the  happiest,  every  one  hearing  him  would  enquire,  if  I  am 
53  not  mistaken,  what  is  that  good  and  noble  principle  in  life 
which  the  law  approves,  and  which  is  superior  to  pleasure. 
For  what  good  can  the  just  man  have  which  is  separated 
from  pleasure  ?  Shall  we  say  that  glory  and  fame,  coming 
from  Gods  and  men,  though  good  and  noble,  are  neverthe- 
less unpleasant,  and  infamy  pleasant  ?  Certainly  not,  sweet 
legislator.  Or  shall  we  say  that  the  not-doing  of  wrong  and 
there  being  no  wrong  done  is  good  and  honourable,  although 
there  is  no  pleasure  in  it,  and  that  the  doing  wrong  is 
pleasant,  but  evil  and  base? 
Cle.  Impossible. 

Ath.  The  view  which  identifies  the  pleasant  and  the  just 
and  the  good  and  the  noble  has  an  excellent  moral  and 
religious  tendency.    And   the   opposite  view  is  most   at  The  dif- 
variance  with  the  designs  of  the  legislator,  and  is,  in  his 

•   r  r  -r    y  ,  points  of 

opmion,  infamous;  for  no  one,  if  he  can  help,  will  be  view  taken 
persuaded  to  do  that  which   gives   him  more  pain  than  ^^^'^^ 

„l«  n   4_        !•  .      .  .  ..  lower  and 

pleasure,    but  as  distant  prospects  are  apt  to  make  us  dizzy,  the  higher 
especially  in  childhood,  the  legislator  will  try  to  purge  away  soul, 
the  darkness  and  exhibit  the  truth  ;  he  will  persuade  the 
citizens,  in  some  way  or  other,  by  customs  and  praises  and 
words,  that  just  and  unjust  are  shadows  only,  and  that  injustice, 
which  seems  opposed  to  justice,  when  contemplated  by  the 


9 


42 


Laws  II. 

Athenian, 
Cleinias. 


Even  if  the 
higher  soul 
did  not 
speak  the 
truth  about 
tlie  un- 
pleasant- 
ness of  in- 
justice, it 
would  be  a 
useful  lie, 
and  much 
more  credi- 
ble than  the 
tale  of 
Cadmus. 


That  the 
holiest  life 
is  the  hap- 
piest,— this 
is  the  strain 
to  be  sung 
by  all  the 
three 

choruses  of 


The  young  may  be  perstiaded  to  believe  anything. 

unjust  and  evil  man  appears  pleasant  and  the  just  most 
unpleasant ;  but  that  from  the  just  man's  point  of  view,  the 
very  opposite  is  the  appearance  of  both  of  them. 
Cle.  True. 

Ath.  And  which  maybe  supposed  to  be  the  truer  judgment 
— that  of  the  inferior  or  of  the  better  soul? 
Cle.  Surely,  that  of  the  better  soul. 

Ath.  Then  the  unjust  life  must  not  only  be  more  base  and  de- 
praved, but  also  more  unpleasant  than  the  just  and  holy  life  ? 

Cle,  That  seems  to  be  implied  in  the  present  argument. 

Ath.  And  even  supposing  this  were  otherwise,  and  not  as 
the  argument  has  proven,  still  the  lawgiver,  who  is  worth 
anything,  if  he  ever  ventures  to  tell  a  lie  to  the  young  for 
their  good,  could  not  invent  a  more  useful  lie  than  this,  or 
one  which  will  have  a  better  effect  in  making  them  do  what 
is  right,  not  on  compulsion  but  voluntarily. 

Cle.  Truth,  Stranger,  is  a  noble  thing  and  a  lasting,  but  a 
thing  of  which  men  are  hard  to  be  persuaded. 

Ath.  And  yet  the  story  of  the  Sidonian  Cadmus,  which  is 
so  improbable,  has  been  readily  believed,  and  also  innumer- 
able other  tales. 

Cle.  What  is  that  story  ? 

Ath.  The  story  of  armed  men  springing  up  after  the  sowing 
of  teeth,  which  the  legislator  may  take  as  a  proof  that  he  can 
persuade  the  minds  of  the  young  of  anything ;  so  that  he  has  664 
only  to  reflect  and  find  out  what  belief  will  be  of  the  greatest 
public  advantage,  and  then  use  all  his  efforts  to  make  the 
whole  community  utter  one  and  the  same  word  in  their  songs 
and  tales  and  discourses  all  their  life  long.  But  if  you  do 
not  agree  with  me,  there  is  no  reason  why  you  should  not 
argue  on  the  other  side. 

Cle.  I  do  not  see  that  any  argument  can  fairly  be  raised 
by  either  of  us  against  what  you  are  now  saying. 

Ath.  The  next  suggestion  which  I  have  to  offer  is,  that  all 
our  three  choruses  shall  sing  to  the  young  and  tender  souls 
of  children,  reciting  in  their  strains  all  the  noble  thoughts  of 
which  we  have  already  spoken,  or  are  about  to  speak ;  and 
the  sum  of  them  shall  be,  that  the  life  which  is  by  the  Gods 
deemed  to  be  the  happiest  is  also  the  best ;— we  shall  affirm 
this  to  be  a  most  certain  truth  ;  and  the  minds  of  our  young 


A  strange  proposal. 


43 


disciples  will  be  more  likel}'  to  receive  these  words  of  ours 
than  any  others  which  we  might  address  to  them. 
Cle.  I  assent  to  what  you  say. 

Ath.  First  will  enter  in  their  natural  order  the  sacred  choir 
composed  of  children,  which  is  to  sing  lustily  the  heaven- 
taught  lay  to  the  whole  city.  Next  will  follow  the  choir  of 
young  men  under  the  age  of  thirty,  who  will  call  upon  the 
God  Paean  to  testify  to  the  truth  of  their  words,  and  will 
pray  him  to  be  gracious  to  the  youth  and  to  turn  their  hearts. 
Thirdly,  the  choir  of  elder  men,  who  are  from  thirty  to  sixty 
years  of  age,  will  also  sing.  There  remain  those  who  are 
too  old  to  sing,  and  they  will  tell  stories,  illustrating  the  same 
virtues,  as  with  the  voice  of  an  oracle. 

Cle.  Who  are  those  who  compose  the  third  choir,  Stranger? 
for  I  do  not  clearly  understand  what  you  mean  to  say  about 
them. 

Ath.  And  yet  almost  all  that  I  have  been  saying  has  been 
said  with  a  view  to  them. 

Cle.  Will  you  try  to  be  a  little  plainer  ? 

Atk.  I  was  speaking  at  the  commencement  of  our  discourse, 
as  you  will  remember,  of  the  fiery  nature  of  young  creatures  : 
I  said  that  they  were  unable  to  keep  quiet  either  in  limb  or 
voice,  and  that  they  called  out  and  jumped  about  in  a  dis- 
orderly manner;  and  that  no  other  animal  attained  to  any 
perception  of  order,  but  man  only.  Now  the  order  of  motion 
is  called  rhythm,  and  the  order  of  the  voice,  in  which  high 
and  low  are  duly  mingled,  is  called  harmony;  and  both 
together  are  termed  choric  song.  And  I  said  that  the  Gods 
had  pity  on  us,  and  gave  us  Apollo  and  the  Muses  to  be  our 
playfellows  and  leaders  in  the  dance;  and  Dionysus,  as  I 
dare  say  that  you  will  remember,  was  the  third. 

Cle.  I  quite  remember. 

Ath.  Thus  far  I  have  spoken  of  the  chorus  of  Apollo  and 
the  Muses,  and  I  have  still  to  speak  of  the  remaining  chorus, 
which  is  that  of  Dionysus. 

Cle.  H  ow  is  that  arranged  ?  There  is  something  strange, 
at  any  rate  on  first  hearing,  in  a  Dionysiac  chorus  of  old 
men,  if  you  really  mean  that  those  who  are  above  thirty,  and 
may  be  fifty,  or  from  fifty  to  sixty  years  of  age,  arc  to  dance 
in  his  honour. 


Laws  II. 

Athenian, 
CleiNias. 

children, 
young  men, 
old  men. 


Recapitu- 
lation. 
Apollo  and 
the  Muses 
our  play- 
fellows ; 
also  Dion- 
ysus. The 
cries  and 
movements 
of  children 
are  con- 
verted into 
harmony 
and 

rhythm. 


The  Dion- 
ysiac 
chorus  of 
old  men. 


44 


Regulations  as  to  the  tise  of  wine  at  different  ages. 


Laws  11. 

Athenian, 
Cleinias. 


The  whole 
city  will 
break  out 
into  sing- 
ing, and 
the  songs 
will  be 
varied  to 
avoid  same- 
ness. 


Least  of  all 
can  the 
chorus  of 
old  men  be 
excused  ; 
for  they 
will  give  us 
the  best 
and  fairest 
strains. 


But  they 
must  be  en- 
couraged 
by  the  use 
of  wine. 


Ath,  Very  true  ;  and  therefore  it  must  be  shown  that  there 
is  good  reason  for  the  proposal. 
Cle.  Certainly. 

Ath.  Are  we  agreed  thus  far? 
Cle.  About  what  ? 

Ath.  That  every  man  and  boy,  slave  and  free,  both  sexes, 
and  the  whole  city,  should  never  cease  charming  themselves 
with  the  strains  of  which  we  have  spoken  ;  and  that  there 
should  be  every  sort  of  change  and  variation  of  them  in  order 
to  take  away  the  effect  of  sameness,  so  that  the  singers  may 
always  receive  pleasure  from  their  hymns,  and  may  never 
weary  of  them  ? 

Cle.  Every  one  will  agree. 

Aih.  Where,  then,  will  that  best  part  of  our  city  which,  by 
reason  of  age  and  intelligence,  has  the  greatest  influence,  sing 
these  fairest  of  strains,  which  are  to  do  so  much  good  ?  Shall 
we  be  so  foolish  as  to  let  them  off  who  would  give  us  the 
most  beautiful  and  also  the  most  useful  of  songs  ? 

Cle.  But,  says  the  argument,  we  cannot  let  them  off. 

Aih.  Then  how  can  we  carry  out  our  purpose  with 
decorum?  Will  this  be  the  way? 

Cle.  What? 

Ath.  When  a  man  is  advancing  in  years,  he  is  afraid  and 
reluctant  to  sing  ; — he  has  no  pleasure  in  his  own  perform- 
ances ;  and  if  compulsion  is  used,  he  will  be  more  and  more 
ashamed,  the  older  and  more  discreet  he  grows ; — is  not  this 
true? 

Cle.  Certainly. 

Ath.  Well,  and  will  he  not  be  yet  more  ashamed  if  he  has 
to  stand  up  and  sing  in  the  theatre  to  a  mixed  audience  ? — 
and  if  moreover  when  he  is  required  to  do  so,  like  the  other 
choirs  who  contend  for  prizes,  and  have  been  trained  under 
a  singing  master,  he  is  pinched  and  hungry,  he  will  certainly 
have  a  feeling  of  shame  and  discomfort  which  will  make  him  666 
very  unwilling  to  exhibit. 

Cle.  No  doubt. 

Ath.  How,  then,  shall  we  reassure  him,  and  get  him  to 
sing  ?  Shall  we  begin  by  enacting  that  boys  shall  not  taste 
wine  at  all  until  they  are  eighteen  years  of  age  ;  we  will  tell 
them  that  fire  must  not  be  poured  upon  fire,  whether  in  the 


The  elders  will praUe,  not  only  soldiers,  but  statesmen.  45 


body  or  in  the  soul,  until  they  begin  to  go  to  work — this  is  a  Laws  IL 
precaution  which  has  to  be  taken  against  the  excitableness  of  Athenian, 
youth ; — afterwards  they  rtiay  taste  wine  in  moderation  up  to  Clbinias. 
the  age  of  thirty,  but  while  a  man  is  young  he  should  abstain 
altogether  from  intoxication  and  frotn  excess  of  wine;  When, 
at  length,  he  has  reached  forty  years,  after  dinner  at  a 
public  mess,  he  may  invite  not  only  the  other  Gods,  but 
Dionysus  above  all,  to  the  mystery  and  festivity  of  the  elder 
men,  making  use  of  the  wine  which  he  has  given  men  to 
lighten  the  sourness  of  old  age ;  that  in  age  we  may  renew 
our  youth,  and  forget  our  sorrows ;  and  also  in  order  that 
the  nature  of  the  soul,  like  iron  melted  in  the  fire,  may 
become  softer  and  so  rhore  impressible.  In  the  first  place, 
will  not  any  one  who  is  thus  mellowed  be  more  ready  and 
less  ashamed  to  sing, — I  do  not  say  before  a  large  audience, 
but  before  a  moderate  company ;  nor  yet  among  strangers, 
but  among  his  familiars,  and,  as  we  have  often  said,  to  chant, 
and  to  enchant  ? 

Cle.  He  will  be  far  more  ready. 

Ath.  There  will  be  no  inipropriety  in  our  using  such  a 
method  of  persuading  them  to  join  with  us  in  song, 
Cle.  None  at  all. 

Ath.  And  what  strain  will  they  sing,  and  what  muse  will  What  will 
they  hymn  ?  The  strain  should  clearly  be  one  suitable  to  ^^^^  ^'"S  ? 
them. 

Cle.  Certainly. 

Ath.  And  what  strain  is  suitable  for  heroes?    Shall  they 
sing  a  choric  strain  ? 

Cle.  Truly,  Stranger,  we  of  Crete  and  Lacedaemon  know  At  Sparta 
no  strain  other  than  that  which  we  have  learnt  and  been  "^^^  ^^^'^^  , 

.  T  ,       •       •  ,  only  martial 

accustomed  to  smg  m  our  chorus.  strains  are 

Ath.  I  dare  say ;  for  you  have  never  acquired  the  know-  heard, 
ledge  of  the  most  beautiful  kind  of  song,  in  your  military  way 
of  life,  which  is  modelled  after  the  camp,  and  is  not  like  that 
of  dwellers  in  cities;  and  you  have  your  young  men  herding 
and  feeding  together  like  young  colts.  No  one  takes  his 
own  individual  colt  and  drags  him  away  from  his  fellows 
against  his  will,  raging  and  foaming,  and  gives  him  a  groom  to 
attend  to  him  alone,  and  trains  and  rubs  him  down  privately, 
and  gives  him  the  qualities  in  education  which  will  make 


46 


Pleamre  only  an  accompanying  charm. 


Laws  II.    him  not  only  a  good  soldier,  but  also  a  governor  of  a  state 
Athenian,     and  of  cities.    Such  an  one,  as  we  said  at  first,  would  be  a 
Cleinias.      greater  warrior  than  he  of  whom  Tyrtaeus  sings ;  and  he  667 
would  honour  courage  everywhere,  but  always  as  the  fourth, 
and  not  as  the  first  part  of  virtue,  either  in  individuals  or 
states. 

Cle.  Once  more,  Stranger,  I  must  complain  that  you 
depreciate  our  lawgivers. 
The  com-       Ath.  Not  intentionally,  if  at  all,  my  good  friend;  but 
mon forms  -^y]^ {(•]-, gj-  j-j^g  argument  leads,  thither  let  us  follow;  for  if 

of  song  are  °  '  ' 

not  thu  there  be  indeed  some  strain  of  song  more  beautiful  than  that 
highest.  choruses  or  the  public  theatres,  I  should  like  to 

impart  it  to  those  who,  as  we  say,  are  ashamed  of  these,  and 

want  to  have  the  best. 
C/e.  Certainly. 

Aih.  When  things  have  an  accompanying  charm,  either 
the  best  thing  in  them  is  this  very  charm,  or  there  is  some 
rightness  or  utility  possessed  by  them ; — for  example,  I  should 
say  that  eating  and  drinking,  and  the  use  of  food  in  general, 
have  an  accompanying  charm  which  we  call  pleasure ;  but 
that  this  rightness  and  utility  is  just  the  healthfulness  of  the 
things  served  up  to  us,  which  is  their  true  rightness. 

C/c.  Just  so. 

Many  -^//'.  Thus,  too,  I  should  say  that  learning  has  a  certain 

tilings  have  accompanying  charm  which  is  the  pleasure ;  but  that  the 

tin  nccom-  r      ./     o  *  ^  ^ 

panying      right  and  the  profitable,  the  good  and  the  noble,  are  qualities 
charm,  but  which  the  truth  gives  to  it. 

this  is  no  .1 

criterion  of      C/c.  Exactly. 

their  excel-      A(h.  And  SO  in  the  imitative  arts,  — if  they  succeed  in 
therebeany  making  likenesses,  and  are  accompanied  by  pleasure,  may 
higher  one.  not  their  works  be  said  to  have  a  charm? 
Cle.  Yes. 

At/i.  But  equal  proportions,  whether  of  quality  or  quantity, 
and  not  pleasure,  speaking  generally,  would  give  them  truth 
or  rightness. 

Cle.  Yes. 

Ath.  Then  that  only  can  be  rightly  judged  by  the  standard 
of  pleasure,  which  makes  or  furnishes  no  utility  or  truth  or 
likeness,  nor  on  the  other  hand  is  productive  of  any  hurtful 
quality,  but  exists  solely  for  the  sake  of  the  accompanying 


The  criterion  of  excelle^ice  is  imitation  of  the  good.  47 

charm ;  and  the  term    '  pleasure '  is   most  appropriately  Laim  II. 

applied  to  it  when  these  other  qualities  are  absent.  Athenian, 

Cle.  You  are  speaking  of  harmless  pleasure,  are  you  not  ?  Cleinias. 
Ath.  Yes  ;  and  this  I  term  amusement,  when  doing  neither 
harm  nor  good  in  any  degree  worth  speaking  of. 
Cle.  Very  true, 

Ath.  Then,  if  such  be  our  principles,  we  must  assert  that  The  good- 
imitation  is  not  to  be  judged  of  by  pleasure  and  false  ||^-tjfo^" 
opinion  ;  and  this  is  true  of  all  equality,  for  the  equal  is  not  is  to  be 
equal  or  the  symmetrical  symmetrical,  because  somebody  ^y\7s"t|^th. 
thinks  or  likes  something,  but  they  are  to  be  judged  of  by 
the  standard  of  truth,  and  by  no  other  whatever. 
Cle.  Quite  true. 

Ath.  Do  we  not  regard  all  music  as  representative  and 
668  imitative  ? 

Cle.  Certainly. 

Ath.  Then,  when  any  one  says  that  music  is  to  be  judged  not  by  the 

of  by  pleasure,  his  doctrine  cannot  be  admitted  :  and  if  there  P'^fsure 

J  tr  t  ^  J  ^      which  It 

be  any  music  of  which  pleasure  is  the  criterion,  such  music  gives, 
is  not  to  be  sought  out  or  deemed  to  have  any  real  excel- 
lence, but  only  that  other  kind  of  music  which  is  an  imitation 
of  the  good, 
Cle.  Very  true, 

Ath.  And  those  who  seek  for  the  best  kind  of  song  and 
music  ought  not  to  seek  for  that  which  is  pleasant,  but  for 
that  which  is  true ;  and  the  truth  of  imitation  consists,  as  we 
were  saying,  in  rendering  the  thing  imitated  according  to 
quantity  and  quality. 
Cle.  Certainly, 

Ath.  And  every  one  will  admit  that  musical  compositions 
are  all  imitative  and  representative.    Will  not  poets  and         ■  ■  • 
spectators  and  actors  all  agree  in  this  ? 
Cle.  They  will. 

Ath.  Surely  then  he  who  would  judge  correctly  must 
know  what  each  composition  is ;  for  if  he  does  not  know 
what  is  the  character  and  meaning  of  the  piece,  and  what  it 
represents,  he  will  never  discern  whether  the  intention  is 
true  or  false, 

Cle.  Certainly  not. 

Ath.  And  will  he  who  does  not  know  what  is  true  be  able 


48 


Poets  human  and  divine. 


Laws  II. 

Athenian, 
Cleimias. 


But  to  know 
whether  an 
imitation  is 
faithful,  we 
must  know, 

(1)  of  what 
it  is  the 
imitation  ; 

(2)  whether 
it  is  true  ; 


(3)  whether 
it  is  beauti- 
ful or  well 
executed. 


Injurious 
influence  of 
some  kinds 
of  music. 


to  distinguish  what  is  good  and  bad  ?    My  statement  is  not 
very  clear ;  but  perhaps  you  will  understand  me  better  if  I 
put  the  matter  in  another  way. 
Cle.  How? 

Ath.  There  are  ten  thousand  likenesses  of  objects  of  sight? 
Cle.  Yes. 

Ath.  And  can  he  who  does  not  know  what  the  exact  object 
is  which  is  imitated,  ever  know  whether  the  resemblance  is 
truthfully  executed  ?  I  mean,  for  example,  whether  a  statue 
has  the  proportions  of  a  body,  and  the  true  situation  of  the 
parts  ;  what  those  proportions  are,  and  how  the  parts  fit  into 
one  another  in  due  order ;  also  their  colours  and  conforma- 
tions, or  whether  this  is  all  confused  in  the  execution  :  do 
you  think  that  any  one  can  know  about  this,  who  does  not 
know  what  the  animal  is  which  has  been  imitated  ? 

Cle.  Impossible. 

Ath.  But  even  if  we  know  that  the  thing  pictured  or 
sculptured  is  a  man,  who  has  received  at  the  hand  of  the 
artist  all  his  proper  parts  and  colours  and  shapes,  must  we  669 
not  also  know  whether  the  work  is  beautiful  or  in  any  respect 
deficient  in  beauty  ? 

Cle.  If  this  were  not  required,  Stranger,  we  should  all  of 
us  be  judges  of  beauty. 

Ath.  Very  true ;  and  may  we  not  say  that  in  everything 
imitated,  whether  in  drawing,  music,  or  any  other  art,  he 
who  is  to  be  a  competent  judge  must  possess  three  things ; — 
he  must  know,  in  the  first  place,  of  what  the  imitation  is  ; 
secondly,  he  must  know  that  it  is  true  ;  and  thirdly,  that  it 
has  been  well  executed  in  words  and  melodies  and  rhythms  ? 

Cle.  Certainly. 

Ath.  Then  let  us  not  faint  in  discussing  the  peculiar  diffi- 
culty of  music.  Music  is  more  celebrated  than  any  other 
kind  of  imitation,  and  therefore  requires  the  greatest  care  of 
them  all.  For  if  a  man  makes  a  mistake  here,  he  may  do 
himself  the  greatest  injury  by  welcoming  evil  dispositions, 
and  the  mistake  may  be  very  difficult  to  discern,  because  the 
poets  are  artists  very  inferior  in  character  to  the  Muses 
themselves,  who  would  never  fall  into  the  monstrous  error 
of  assigning  to  the  words  of  men  the  gestures  and  songs  of 
women ;  nor  after  combining  the  melodies  with  the  gestures 


Who  are  the  best  judges  of  music  ? 


49 


of  freemen  would  they  add  on  the  rhythms  of  slaves  and     laws  TI. 
men  of  the  baser  sort ;  nor,  beginning  with  the  rhjlhms  and  Athenian, 
gestures  of  freemen,  would  they  assign  to  them  a  melody  or  Cleinias. 
words  which  are  of  an  opposite  character;  nor  would  they  incongm- 

.      ,  J     r  J  unions 

mix  up  the  voices  and  sounds  of  animals  and  ot  men  and  of  gestures, 
instruments,  and  every  other  'sort  of  noise,  as  if  they  were  ^yj^^^.^^ 
all  one.    But  human  poets  are  fond  of  introducing  this  sort  J^ythms,' 
of  inconsistent  mixture,  and  so  make  themselves  ridiculous  sounds, 
in  the  eyes  of  those  who,  as  Orpheus  says,  '  are  ripe  for  true 
pleasure.'    The  experienced  see  all  this  confusion,  and  yet  Absurdity 
the  poets  go  on  and  make  still  further  havoc  by  separating 
the  rhythm  and  the  figure  of  the  dance  from  the  melody,  rhythm 
setting  bare  words  to   metre,    and   also   separating   the  ^f^'^!' 
melody  and  the  rhythm  from  the  words,  using  the  lyre  or  strumental 
the  flute  alone.    For  when  there  are  no  words,  it  is  very  music  and 

J  rhythm 

difficult  to  recognize  the  meaning  of  the  harmony  and  without 
rhythm,  or  to  see  that  any  worthy  object  is  imitated  by  them,  words. 
And  we  must  acknowledge  that  all  this  sort  of  thing,  which 
aims  only  at  swiftness  and  smoothness  and  a  brutish  noise, 
and  uses  the  flute  and  the  lyre  not  as  the  mere  accompani- 
■67oments  of  the  dance  and  song,  is  exceedingly  coarse  and 
tasteless.    The  use  of  either  instrument,  when  unaccom- 
panied, leads  to  every  sort  of  irregularity  and  trickery.  This 
is  all  rational  enough.    But  we  are  considering  not  how  our  Only 
choristers,  who  are  from  thirty  to  fifty  years  of  age,  and  may  learned  and 

'  ,      Tvyr  1        ,  ,  experienced 

be  over  fifty,  are  not  to  use  the  Muses,  but  how  they  are  to  judges,  like 
use  them.    And  the  considerations  which  we  have  urged  ^f'y 
seem  to  show  in  what  way  these  fifty  years'  old  choristers  choristers, 
who  are  to  sing,  may  be  expected  to  be  better  trained.    For  can  see 
they  need  to  have  a  quick  perception  and  knowledge  of  'throiighall 
harmonies  and  rhythms  ;  otherwise,  how  can  they  ever  know  this, 
whether  a  melody  would  be  rightly  sung  to  the  Dorian  mode, 
or  to  the  rhythm  which  the  poet  has  assigned  to  it  ? 
Cle.  Clearly  they  cannot. 

Ath.  The  many  are  ridiculous  in  imagining  that  they  know 
what  is  in  proper  harmony  and  rhythm,  and  what  is  not, 
when  they  can  only  be  made  to  sing  and  step  in  rhythm 
by  force ;  it  never  occurs  to  them  that  they  are  ignorant  of 
what  they  are  doing.  Now  every  melody  is  right  when  it  has 
suitable  harmony  and  rhythm,  and  wrong  when  unsuitable. 

VOL.  V.  E 


50 


Wine  makes  men  docile. 


'Laws  II. 

Athenian, 
Cleinias. 


They  will 
have  a  far 
more  com- 
plete know- 
ledge of 
the  art  of 
music  than 
the  people 
and  even 
than  the 
poets  them- 
selves. 


The  drink- 
ing as- 
sembly is 
apt  to  be 
tumultu- 
ous. Every 
man  grows 
light- 
headed. 


At  such 
times  the 
soul  may 
be  easily 
fashioned 
by  the  legis- 
lator who 


Cle.  That  is  most  certain. 

Ath.  But  can  a  man  who  does  not  know  a  thing,  as  we 
were  saying,  know  that  the  thing  is  right  ? 
Cle.  Impossible. 

Ath.  Then  now,  as  would  appear,  we  are  making  the  dis- 
covery that  our  newly-appointed  choristers,  whom  we  hereby 
invite  and,  although  they  are  their  own  masters,  compel  to  sing, 
must  be  educated  to  such  an  extent  as  to  be  able  to  follow 
the  steps  of  the  rhythm  and  the  notes  of  the  song,  that  they 
may  know  the  harmonies  and  rhythms,  and  be  able  to  select 
what  are  suitable  for  men  of  their  age  and  character  to  sing; 
and  may  sing  them,  and  have  innocent  pleasure  from  their 
own  performance,  and  also  lead  younger  men  to  welcome 
with  dutiful  delight  good  dispositions.  Having  such  training, 
they  will  attain  a  more  accurate  knowledge  than  falls  to  the 
lot  of  the  common  people,  or  even  of  the  poets  themselves. 
For  the  poet  need  not  know  the  third  point,  viz.  whether  the 
imitation  is  good  or  not,  though  he  can  hardly  help  knowing 
the  laws  of  melody  and  rhythm.  But  the  aged  chorus  must  671 
know  all  the  three,  that  they  may  choose  the  best,  and  that 
which  is  nearest  to  the  best;  for  otherwise  they  will  never  be 
able  to  charm  the  souls  of  young  men  in  the  way  of  virtue. 
And  now  the  original  design  of  the  argument  which  was 
intended  to  bring  eloquent  aid  to  the  Chorus  of  Dionysus, 
has  been  accomplished  to  the  best  of  our  ability,  and  let  us 
see  whether  we  were  right : — I  should  imagine  that  a  drink- 
ing assembly  is  likely  to  become  more  and  more  tumultuous 
as  the  drinking  goes  on  :  this,  as  we  were  saying  at  first,  will 
certainly  be  the  case. 

Cle.  Certainly. 

Ath.  Every  man  has  a  more  than  natural  elevation  ;  his 
heart  is  glad  within  him,  and  he  will  say  anything  and  will  be 
restrained  by  nobody  at  such  a  time ;  he  fancies  that  he  is 
able  to  rule  over  himself  and  all  mankind. 

Cle.  Quite  true. 

Ath.  Were  we  not  saying  that  on  such  occasions  the  souls 
of  the  drinkers  become  like  iron  heated  in  the  fire,  and  grow 
softer  and  younger,  and  are  easily  moulded  by  him  who  knows 
how  to  educate  and  fashion  them,  just  as  when  they  were 
young,  and  that  this  fashioner  of  them  is  the  same  who 


The  two  legends  about  Dionystis. 


51 


prescribed  for  them  in  the  days  of  their  youth,  viz.  the  good    -^aws  ir. 
legislator ;  and  that  he  ought  to  enact  laws  of  the  banquet,  Athenian, 
which,  when  a  man  is  confident,  bold,  and  impudent,  and 
unwilling  to  wait  his  turn  and  have  his  share  of  silence  and  should  pre- 

scribe  rules 

speech,  and  drinking  and  music,  will  change  his  character  ofbe- 
into  the  opposite — such  laws  as  will  infuse  into  him  a  just  haviour. 
and  noble  fear,  which  will  take  up  arms  at  the  approach  of 
insolence,  being  that  divine  fear  which  we  have  called  rever- 
ence and  shame  ? 
Cle.  True. 

Ath.  And  the  guardians  of  these  laws  and  fellow- workers  But  there 
with  them  are  the  calm  and  sober  generals  of  the  drinkers ;  ^^^^'j.^^ 
and  without  their  help  there  is  greater  difficulty  in  fighting  generals  of 
against  drink  than  in  fighting  against  enemies  when  the  ^'^^^g^^^' 
commander  of  an  army  is  not  himself  calm ;  and  he  who  is  whose  com- 
unwilling  to  obey  them  and  the  commanders  of  Dionysiac  '"^"'1  "i^n 
feasts  who  are  more  than  sixty  years  of  age,  shall  suffer  againft*'^ 
a  disgrace  as  great  as  he  who  disobeys  military  leaders,  or  drink, 
even  greater. 

Cle.  Right. 

Ath.  If,  then,  drinking  and  amusement  were  regulated  in 
this  way,  would  not  the  companions  of  our  revels  be  im- 
672  proved  ?  they  would  part  better  friends  than  they  were,  and 
not,  as  now,  enemies.  Their  whole  intercourse  would  be 
regulated  by  law  and  observant  of  it,  and  the  sober  would  be 
the  leaders  of  the  drunken. 

Cle.  I  think  so  too,  if  drinking  were  regulated  as  you 
propose. 

Ath.  Let  us  not  then  simply  censure  the  gift  of  Dionysus 
as  bad  and  unfit  to  be  received  into  the  State.  For  wine 
has  many  excellences,  and  one  pre-eminent  one,  about 
which  there  is  a  difficulty  in  speaking  to  the  many,  from  a 
fear  of  their  misconceiving  and  misunderstanding  what  is 
said. 

Cle.  To  what  do  you  refer  ? 

Ath.  There  is  a  tradition  or  story,  which  has  somehow  There  is  a 
crept  about  the  world,  that  Dionysus  was  robbed  of  his  wits  fs°a'^ba7^^^ 
by  his  stepmother  Here,  and  that  out  of  revenge  he  inspires  tradition 
Bacchic  furies  and  dancing  madnesses  in  others  ;  for  which  nJs^s.'^He 
reason  he  gave  men  wine.    Such  traditions  concerning  the  is  not  only 


52 


The  choral  art  co-extensive  ivith  education. 


Laws  II. 

Athenian, 
Cleinias. 

said  to 
have  given 
men  wine 
to  make 
them  mad, 
but  also  as 
a  balm. 


Harmony 
and 

rhythm, 
which  form 
one  part  of 
the  choral 
art,  have 
been 
already 
discussed. 


Gods  I  leave  to  those  who  think  that  they  may  be  safely 
uttered ' ;  I  only  know  that  no  animal  at  birth  is  mature  or 
perfect  in  intelligence ;  and  in  the  intermediate  period,  in 
which  he  has  not  yet  acquired  his  own  proper  sense,  he 
rages  and  roars  without  rhyme  or  reason ;  and  when  he  has 
once  got  on  his  legs  he  jumps  about  without  rh3mie  or  reason  ; 
and  this,  as  you  will  remember,  has  been  already  said  by  us 
to  be  the  origin  of  music  and  gymnastic 
Cle.  To  be  sure,  I  remember. 

Ath.  And  did  we  not  say  that  the  sense  of  harmony  and 
rhythm  sprang  from  this  beginning  among  men,  and  that 
Apollo  and  the  Muses  and  Dionysus  were  the  Gods  whom  we 
had  to  thank  for  them  ? 

Cle.  Certainly. 

Ath,  The  other  story  implied  that  wine  was  given  man  out 
of  revenge,  and  in  order  to  make  him  mad;  but  our  present 
doctrine,  on  the  contrary,  is,  that  wine  was  given  him  as 
a  balm,  and  in  order  to  implant  modesty  in  the  soul,  and 
health  and  strength  in  the  body. 

Cle.  That,  Stranger,  is  precisely  what  was  said. 

Ath.  Then  half  the  subject  may  now  be  considered  to  have 
been  discussed  ;  shall  we  proceed  to  the  consideration  of  the 
other  half? 

Cle.  What  is  the  other  half,  and  how  do  you  divide  the 
subject? 

Ath.  The  whole  choral  art  is  also  in  our  view  the  whole  of 
education ;  and  of  this  art,  rhythms  and  harmonies  form  the 
part  which  has  to  do  with  the  voice. 

Cle.  Yes. 

Ath.  The  movement  of  the  body  has  rhythm  in  common 
with  the  movement  of  the  voice,  but  gesture  is  peculiar  to  it, 
whereas  song  is  simply  the  movement  of  the  voice. 

Cle.  Most  true. 

Ath.  And  the  sound  of  the  voice  which  reaches  and  edu-  673 
cates  the  soul,  we  have  ventured  to  term  music. 
Cle.  We  were  right. 

Ath.  And  the  movement  of  the  body,  when  regarded  as  an 
amusement,  we  termed  dancing;  but  when  extended  and 


•  Cp.  Euthyph.  6,  ff.  ;  Rep.  ii.  378 ;  iii.  388,  408  C. 
'  Supra,  653  D,  E. 


Pleasures  may  be  allowed;  bzU  mitst  be  tmder  control. 


53 


pursued  with  a  view  to  the  excellence  of  the  body,  this  Lmus  II. 
scientific  training  may  be  called  gymnastic.  Athenian, 

Cle.  Exactly.  Clein.as. 

Ath,  Music,  which  was  one  half  of  the  choral  art,  may  be  Gymnastic, 
said  to  have  been  completely  discussed.    Shall  we  proceed  to  g^ji^'j^^"^' 
the  other  half  or  not  ?  What  would  you  like  ?  mains. 

Cle.  My  good  friend,  when  you  are  talking  with  a  Cretan 
and  Lacedaemonian,  and  we  have  discussed  music  and  not 
gymnastic,  what  answer  are  either  of  us  likely  to  make  to 
such  an  enquiry  ? 

Ath.  An  answer  is  contained  in  your  question ;  and  I  un- 
derstand and  accept  what  you  say  not  only  as  an  answer,  but 
also  as  a  command  to  proceed  with  gymnastic. 

Cle.  You  quite  understand  me ;  do  as  you  say. 

Ath.  I  will ;  and  there  will  not  be  any  difficulty  in  speaking 
intelligibly  to  you  about  a  subject  with  which  both  of  you  are 
far  more  familiar  than  with  music. 

Cle.  There  will  not. 

Ath.  Is  not  the  origin  of  gymnastics,  too,  to  be  sought  in 
the  tendency  to  rapid  motion  which  exists  in  all  animals; 
man,  as  we  were  saying,  having  attained  the  sense  of  rhythm, 
created  and  invented  dancing;  and  melody  arousing  and 
awakening  rhythm,  both  united  formed  the  choral  art  ? 

Cle.  Very  true. 

Ath.  And  one  part  of  this  subject  has  been  already  dis- 
cussed by  us,  and  there  still  remains  another  to  be  dis- 
cussed '  ? 

Cle.  Exactly. 

Ath.  I  have  first  a  final  word  to  add  to  my  discourse  about 
drink,  if  you  will  allow  me  to  do  so. 
Cle.  What  more  have  you  to  say  ? 

Ath.  I  should  say  that  if  a  city  seriously  means  to  adopt  The  final 
the  practice  of  drinking  under  due  regulation  and  with  a  view  ^"[^j^.^^ 
to  the  enforcement  of  temperance,  and  in  like  manner,  and  shouid"o^nly 
on  the  same  principle,  will  allow  of  other  pleasures,  designing  be  allowed 
to  gain  the  victory  over  them-in  this  way  all  of  them  may  Tofhe  pJ-o^ 
be  used.    But  if  the  State  makes  drinking  an  amusement  mot'on  of 
only,  and  whoever  likes  may  drink  whenever  he  likes,  and  '^^^^^ 
674  with  whom  he  likes,  and  add  to  this  any  other  indulgences,  ' 

'  Cp.  infra,  vii.  813,  Si 4. 


54 


The  '  crown '  of  the  discourse  about  drinking. 


Laws  II. 

Athenian, 
Cleinias. 

The  law  of 
the  Cartha- 
ginians 
about 
drinking. 


I  shall  never  agree  or  allow  that  this  city  or  this  man  should  . 
practise  drinking.  I  would  go  farther  than  the  Cretans  and 
Lacedaemonians,  and  am  disposed  rather  to  the  law  of  the 
Carthaginians,  that  no  one  while  he  is  on  a  campaign  should 
be  allowed  to  taste  wine  at  all,  but  that  he  should  drink 
water  during  all  that  time,  and  that  in  the  city  no  slave,  male 
or  female,  should  ever  drink  wine ;  and  that  no  magistrates 
should  drink  during  their  year  of  office,  nor  should  pilots  of 
vessels  or  judges  while  on  duty  taste  wine  at  all,  nor  any 
one  who  is  going  to  hold  a  consultation  about  any  matter  of 
importance  ;  nor  in  the  day-time  at  all,  unless  in  consequence 
of  exercise  or  as  medicine ;  nor  again  at  night,  when  any 
one,  either  man  or  woman,  is  minded  to  get  children.  There 
are  numberless  other  cases  also  in  which  those  who  have 
good  sense  and  good  laws  ought  not  to  drink  wine,  so  that  if 
what  I  say  is  true,  no  city  will  need  many  vineyards.  Their 
husbandry  and  their  way  of  life  in  general  will  follow  an 
appointed  order,  and  their  cultivation  of  the  vine  will  be  the 
most  limited  and  the  least  common  of  their  employments. 
And  this.  Stranger,  shall  be  the  crown  of  my  discourse  about 
wine,  if  you  agree. 

Ck.  Excellent :  we  agree. 


BOOK  III. 


676    Athenian  Stranger.  Enough  of  this.    And  what,  then,  is  to  Laws  III. 

be  regarded  as  the  origin  of  government  ?    Will  not  a  man  Athenian, 

be  able  to  judge  of  it  best  from  a  point  of  view  in  which  he  Cleinias. 

may  behold  the  progress  of  states  and  their  transitions  to  The  point 

J  .,  o  of  view  of 

good  or  evil  ?  ti^^^ 
Cleinias.  What  do  you  mean  ? 

Ath.  I  mean  that  he  might  watch  them  from  the  point  of 
view  of  time,  and  observe  the  changes  which  take  place  in 
them  during  infinite  ages. 

Cle.  How  so  ? 

Ath.  Why,  do  you  think  that  you  can  reckon  the  time  innumer- 
which  has  elapsed  since  cities  first  existed  and  men  were 

r.u       -3  ofgovern- 
Cltizens  of  them  ?  ment  have 

Cle.   Hardly.  arisen  in 

/fj;     T>   ,  1         ■  ,  ...     the  course 

Ath.  But  you  are  sure  that  it  must  be  vast  and  incal-  of  ages: 
culable  ? 

Cle.  Certainly. 

Ath.  And  have  not  thousands  and  thousands  of  cities 
come  into  being  during  this  period  and  as  many  perished  ? 
And  has  not  each  of  them  had  every  form  of  government 
many  times  over,  now  growing  larger,  now  smaller,  and  again 
improving  or  declining  ? 

Cle.  To  be  sure. 

Ath.  Let  us  endeavour  to  ascertain  the  cause  of  these 
changes;  for  that  will  probably  explain  the  first  origin 
and  development  of  forms  of  government. 


56 


The  destructions  and  renewals  of  mankind. 


Laws  111. 

Athenian, 
Cleinias. 


and  many 
destruc- 
tions of 
mankind 
have  taken 
place 
through 
deluges  and 
plagues. 

A  few 
survivors. 


The  arts 
perished. 


The  last 

recovery  of 

civilization 

quite 

recent. 

Famous 

discoveries; 

Daedalus, 

&c. 


Cle.  Very  good.  You  shall  endeavour  to  impart  your 
thoughts  to  us,  and  we  will  make  an  eflfort  to  understand 
you. 

Ath.  Do  you  believe  that  there  is  any  truth  in  ancient  677 
traditions  ? 

Cle.  What  traditions  ? 

Aih.  The  traditions  about  the  many  destructions  of  man- 
kind which  have  been  occasioned  by  deluges  and  pestilences, 
and  in  many  other  ways,  and  of  the  survival  of  a  remnant  ? 

Cle.  Every  one  is  disposed  to  believe  them. 

Ath.  Let  us  consider  one  of  them,  that  which  was  caused 
by  the  famous  deluge. 

Cle.  What  are  we  to  observe  about  it  ? 

Ath.  I  mean  to  say  that  those  who  then  escaped  would  only 
be  hill  shepherds, — small  sparks  of  the  human  race  preserved 
on  the  tops  of  mountains. 

Cle.  Clearly. 

Ath.  Such  survivors  would  necessarily  be  unacquainted 
with  the  arts  and  the  various  devices  which  are  suggested  to 
the  dwellers  in  cities  by  interest  or  ambition,  and  with  all  the 
wrongs  which  they  contrive  against  one  another. 

Cle.  Very  true. 

Ath.  Let  us  suppose,  then,  that  the  cities  in  the  plain  and 
on  the  sea- coast  were  utterly  destroyed  at  that  time. 
Cle.  Very  good. 

Ath.  Would  not  all  implements  have  then  perished  and 
every  other  excellent  invention  of  political  or  any  other  sort 
of  wisdom  have  utterly  disappeared  ? 

Cle.  Why,  yes,  my  friend ;  and  if  things  had  always  con- 
tinued as  they  are  at  present  ordered,  how  could  any  discovery 
have  ever  been  made  even  in  the  least  particular  ?  For  it  is 
evident  that  the  arts  were  unknown  during  ten  thousand 
times  ten  thousand  years.  And  no  more  than  a  thousand 
or  two  thousand  years  have  elapsed  since  the  discoveries 
of  Daedalus,  Orpheus  and  Palamedes, — since  Marsyas  and 
Olympus  invented  music,  and  Amphion  the  lyre, — not  to 
speak  of  numberless  other  inventions  which  are  but  of 
yesterday. 

Ath.  Have  you  forgotten,  Cleinias,  the  name  of  a  friend 
who  is  really  of  yesterday? 


The  survivors  in  the  mountains. 


57 


Cle.  I  suppose  that  you  mean  Epimenides  '.  Laius  III. 

Aih.  The  same,  my  friend  ;  he  does  indeed  far  overleap  Athenian, 

the  heads  of  all  mankind  by  his  invention  ;  for  he  carried  Cleinias. 

out  in  practice,  as  you  declare,  what  of  old  Hesiod'  only  "pf^°g^^f"'^ 

preached.  ides. 

Cle.  Yes,  according  to  our  tradition. 

Ath.  After  the  great  destruction,  may  we  not  suppose  that  Growth  of 

the  state  of  man  was  something  of  this  sort :— In  the  begin-  '""I'^'y- 

>    •        til  -1       ^  lew  poor 

ning  of  things  there  was  a  fearful  illimitable  desert  and  a  shepherds 
vast  expanse  of  land  :  a  herd  or  two  of  oxen  would  be  the  left  with 

.  tlieir  scanty 

only  survivors  of  the  animal  world  ;  and  there  might  be  a  few  flocks 
78  goats,  these  too  hardly  enough  to  maintain  the  shepherds 
who  tended  them  ? 
Cle.  True. 

Ath.  And  of  cities  or  governments  or  legislation,  about 
which  we  are  now  talking,  do  you  suppose  that  they  could 
have  any  recollection  at  all  ? 

Cle.  None  whatever. 

Ath.  And  out  of  this  state  of  things  has  there  not  sprung  have  de- 
all  that  we  now  are  and  have :  cities  and  governments,  and  ^siop^^d 

°  intogovern- 

arts  and  laws,  and  a  great  deal  of  vice  and  a  great  deal  of  ments  and 
virtue  ? 

Cle.  What  do  you  mean  ? 

Ath.  Why,  my  good  friend,  how  can  we  possibly  suppose 
that  those  who  knew  nothing  of  ail  the  good  and  evil  of  cities 
could  have  attained  their  full  development,  whether  of  virtue 
or  of  vice  ? 

Cle.  I  understand  your  meaning,  and  you  are  quite  right. 
Ath.  But,  as  time  advanced  and  the  race  multiplied,  the 
world  came  to  be  what  the  world  is. 
Cle.  Very  true. 

Ath.  Doubtless  the  change  was  not  made  all  in  a  moment, 
but  little  by  little,  during  a  very  long  period  of  time. 
Cle.  A  highly  probable  supposition. 

Ath.  At  first,  they  would  have  a  natural  fear  ringing  in 
their  ears  which  would  prevent  their  descending  from  the 
heights  into  the  plain. 

Cle.  Of  course. 

Ath.  The  fewness  of  the  survivors  at  that  time  would  have 

'  Cp.  i.  642  D.  2  Works  and  Days,  11.  40,  41. 


58 


Characteristics  of  this  primitive  society. 


Laws  III. 

Athenian, 
Cleinias. 

After  the 

deluge  no 
arts  or 
metals  or 
implements 
or  means 
of  transit. 


Isolation  ; 
friendli- 
ness : 

no  wants  ; 
no  wars  : 


plastic  and 
weaving 
arts  : 


made  them  all  the  more  desirous  of  seeing  one  another ;  but 
then  the  means  of  travelling  either  by  land  or  sea  had  been 
almost  entirely  lost,  as  I  may  say,  with  the  loss  of  the  arts, 
and  there  was  great  difficulty  in  getting  at  one  another ;  for 
iron  and  brass  and  all  metals  were  jumbled  together  and  had 
disappeared  in  the  chaos  ;  nor  was  there  any  possibility  of 
extracting  ore  from  them  ;  and  they  had  scarcely  any  means 
of  felling  timber.  Even  if  you  suppose  that  some  imple- 
ments might  have  been  preserved  in  the  mountains,  they 
must  quickly  have  worn  out  and  vanished,  and  there  would 
be  no  more  of  them  until  the  art  of  metallurgy  had  again 
revived. 

Clc.  There  could  not  have  been. 

Ath.  In  how  many  generations  would  this  be  attained  ? 

Clc.  Clearly,  not  for  many  generations. 

Ath.  During  this  period,  and  for  some  time  afterwards,  all 
the  arts  which  require  iron  and  brass  and  the  like  would 
disappear. 

Cle.  Certainly. 

Ath.  Faction  and  war  would  also  have  died  out  in  those 
days,  and  for  many  reasons. 
Clc.  How  would  that  be  ? 

Ath.  In  the  first  place,  the  desolation  of  these  primitive 
men  would  create  in  them  a  feeling  of  affection  and  good- 
will towards  one  another ;  ^d,  secondly,  they  would  have  no 
occasion  to  quarrel  about  their  subsistence,  for  they  would 
have  pasture  in  abundance,  except  just  at  first,  and  in  some  679 
particular  cases ;  and  from  their  pasture-land  they  would 
obtain  the  greater  part  of  their  food  in  a  primitive  age, 
having  plenty  of  milk  and  flesh  ;  moreover  they  would  pro- 
cure other  food  by  the  chase,  not  to  be  despised  either  in 
quantity  or  quality.  They  would  also  have  abundance  of 
clothing,  and  bedding,  and  dwellings,  and  utensils  either 
capable  of  standing  on  the  fire  or  not ;  for  the  plastic  and 
weaving  arts  do  not  require  any  use  of  iron  :  and  God  has 
given  these  two  arts  to  man  in  order  to  provide  him  with  all 
such  things,  that,  when  reduced  to  the  last  extremity,  the 
human  race  may  still  grow  and  increase.  Hence  in  those 
days  mankind  were  not  very  poor ;  nor  was  poverty  a  cause 
of  difference  among  them  ;  and  rich  they  could  not  have 


No  need  as  yet  of  a  lawgiver. 


59 


been,  having  neither  gold  nor  silver  :— such  at  that  time  was  Laws  III. 
their  condition.     And   the  community  which  has  neither  Athenian, 
poverty  nor  riches  will  always  have  the  noblest  principles ;  Cleinias. 
in  it  there  is  no  insolence  or  injustice,  nor,  again,  are  there  ^^'^P^^JJ^^ 
any  contentions  or  envyings.    And  therefore  they  were  good,  character, 
and  also  because  they  were  what  is  called  simple-minded  ; 
•    and  when  they  were  told  about  good  and  evil,  they  in  their 
simplicity  believed  what  they  heard  to  be  very  truth  and 
practised  it.    No  one  had  the  wit  to  suspect  another  of  a 
falsehood,  as  men  do  now ;  but  what  they  heard  about  Gods 
and  men  they  believed  to  be  true,  and  lived  accordingly;  and 
therefore  they  were  in  all  respects  such  as  we  have  described 
them. 

Cle.  That  quite  accords  with  my  views,  and  with  those  of 
my  friend  here. 

Ath.  Would  not  many  generations  living  on  in  a  simple  Men  were 
manner,  although  ruder,  perhaps,  and  more  ignorant  of  the  ^go^^^gjier, 
arts  generally,  and  in  particular  of  those  of  land  or  naval  than  a  later 
warfare,  and  likewise  of  other  arts,  termed  in  cities  legal  g^.'ieration. 
practices  and  party  conflicts,  and  including  all  conceivable 
ways  of  hurting  one  another  in  word  and  deed ; — although 
inferior  to  those  who  lived  before  the  deluge,  or  to  the  men 
of  our  day  in  these  respects,  would  they  not,  I  say,  be  simpler 
and  more  manly,  and  also  more  temperate  and  altogether 
more  just?    The  reason  has  been  already  explained. 
Cle.  Vei-y  true. 

Ath.  I  should  wish  you  to  understand  that  what  has  pre-  No  laws, 
ceded  and  what  is  about  to  follow,  has  been,  and  will  be  said, 
>8o  with  the  intention  of  explaining  what  need  the  men  of  that 
time  had  of  laws,  and  who  was  their  lawgiver. 

Cle.  And  thus  far  what  you  have  said  has  been  very  well 
said. 

Ath.  They  could  hardly  have  wanted  lawgivers  as  yet ;  No  letters, 
nothing  of  that  sort  was  likely  to  have  existed  in  their  days, 
for  they  had  no  letters  at  this  early  period  ;  they  lived  by 
habit  and  the  customs  of  their  ancestors,  as  they  are  called. 

Cle.  Probably. 

Ath.  But  there  was  already  existing  a  form  of  government  The  oldest 
which,  if  I  am  not  mistaken,  is  generally  termed  a  lordship,  °'" 
and  this  still  remains  in  many  places,  both  among  Hellenes  lordship: 


6o 


Further  progress  and  development. 


Laws  III. 

Athenian, 

Cleinias, 

Megillus. 

men  lived 
by  custom, 
like  the 
Cyclopes. 
(Homer  un- 
known in 
Crete,  but 
well  known 
at  Sparta. ) 
The  Ho- 
meric way 
of  life 
Ionian 
rather  than 
Spartan. 


The  origin 
of  society 
patriarchal. 


The  second 
stage  : — 
larger 
settle- 
ments at 
the  foot  of 
the  moun- 
tain ;  begin- 
ning of 
agriculture. 


The  lesser 
settlements 
bring  with 


and  barbarians',  and  is  the  government  which  is  declared  by 
Homer  to  have  prevailed  among  the  Cyclopes  : — 

'  They  have  neither  councils  nor  judgments,  but  they  dwell  in  hollow  caves 
on  the  tops  of  high  mountains,  and  every  one  gives  law  to  his  wife  and  children, 
and  they  do  not  busy  themselves  about  one  another 

Cle.  That  seems  to  be  a  charming  poet  of  yours ;  I  have 
read  some  other  verses  of  his,  which  are  very  clever ;  but  I 
do  not  know  much  of  him,  for  foreign  poets  are  very  little 
read  among  the  Cretans. 

Meg.  But  they  are  in  Lacedaemon,  and  he  appears  to  be 
the  prince  of  them  all ;  the  manner  of  life,  however,  which  he 
describes  is  not  Spartan,  but  rather  Ionian,  and  he  seems 
quite  to  confirm  what  you  are  saying,  when  he  traces  up 
the  ancient  state  of  mankind  by  the  help  of  tradition  to 
barbarism. 

A  til.  Yes,  he  does  confirm  it ;  and  we  may  accept  his 
witness  to  the  fact  that  such  forms  of  government  sometimes 
arise. 

Cle.  We  may. 

Atli.  And  were  not  such  states  composed  of  men  who  had 
been  dispersed  in  single  habitations  and  families  by  the  poverty 
which  attended  the  devastations ;  and  did  not  the  eldest  then 
rule  among  them,  because  with  them  government  originated 
in  the  authority  of  a  father  and  a  mother,  whom,  like  a  flock 
of  birds,  they  followed,  forming  one  troop  under  the  patri- 
archal rule  and  sovereignty  of  their  parents,  which  of  all 
sovereignties  is  the  most  just? 

Cle.  Very  true. 

Ath.  After  this  they  came  together  in  greater  numbers,  and 
increased  the  size  of  their  cities,  and  betook  themselves  to 
husbandry,  first  of  all  at  the  foot  of  the  mountains,  and  made  68i 
enclosures  of  loose  walls  and  works  of  defence,  in  order  to 
keep  off  wild  beasts  ;  thus  creating  a  single  large  and  com- 
mon habitation. 

Cle.  Yes ;  at  least  we  may  suppose  so. 

Ath.  There  is  another  thing  which  would  probably  happen. 

Cle.  What? 

Ath.  When  these  larger  habitations  grew  up  out  of  the 
lesser  original  ones,  each  of  the  lesser  ones  would  survive  in 
i  Cp.  Arist.  Pol.  i.  2,  §§  6,  7.  =  Odyss.  ix.  112,  IT. 


Groivth  of  cities:  descent  into  the  plain.  6i 

the  larger;  every  family  would  be  under  the  rule  of  the  Laws  III. 
eldest,  and,  owing  to  their  separation  from  one  another,  Athenian, 
would  have  peculiar  customs  in  things  divine  and  human, 
which  they  would  have  received  from  their  several  parents  JheTarger 
who  had  educated  them;  and  these  customs  would  incline  society 
them  to  order,  when  the  parents  had  the  element  of  order  in 
their  nature,  and  to  courage,  when  they  had  the  element  of  peculiar 
courage.    And  they  would  naturally  stamp  upon  their  chil- 
dren,  and  upon  their  children's  children,  their  own  likings'; 
and,  as  we  are  saying,  they  would  find  their  way  into  the 
larger  society,  having  already  their  own  peculiar  laws, 
Cle.  Certainly. 

Ath.  And  every  man  surely  likes  his  own  laws  best,  and 
the  laws  of  others  not  so  well. 
Cle.  True. 

Ath.  Then  now  we  seem  to  have  stumbled  upon  the  be- 
ginnings of  legislation. 
Cle.  Exactly. 

Ath.  The  next  step  will  be  that  these  persons  who  have  Then  arises 
met  together,  will  select  some  arbiters,  who  will  review  the      ^^^^  °^ 

°  '  '  the  legis- 

laws  of  all  of  them,  and  will  publicly  present  such  as  they  lator. 
approve  to  the  chiefs  who  lead  the  tribes,  and  who  are  in  a 
manner  their  kings,  allowing  them  to  choose  those  which 
they  think  best.  These  persons  will  themselves  be  called 
legislators,  and  will  appoint  the  magistrates,  framing  some 
sort  of  aristocracy,  or  perhaps  monarchy,  out  of  the  dynasties 
or  lordships,  and  in  this  altered  state  of  the  government  they 
will  live. 

Cle.  Yes,  that  would  be  the  natural  order  of  things. 
Ath.  Then,  now  let  us  speak  of  a  third  form  of  government.  The  third 
in  which  all  other  forms  and  conditions  of  polities  and  cities  ^'^s^^  •  ''^^ 

city  finally 

concur.  settled  in 

Cle.  What  is  that  ?  the  plain. 

Ath.  The  form  which  in  fact  Homer  indicates  as  following 
the  second.  This  third  form  arose  when,  as  he  says,  Dar^ 
danus  founded  Dardania  : — 

'  For  not  as  yet  had  the  holy  Ilium  been  built  on  the  plain  to  be  a  city  of 
speaking  men ;  but  they  were  still  dwelling  at  the  foot  of  many-foimtained 
IdaV 


'  Reading  alpea-fts  :  but  ? 


'  II.  XX.  216,  ff. 


62 


The  Trojan  War  and  the  return  of  the  He7'aclidae. 


Laws  III. 

Athenian, 
Cleinias. 


The  deluge 
is  now  for- 
gotten. 


For  indeed,  in  these  verses,  and  in  what  he  said  of  the  682 
Cyclopes,  he  speaks  the  words  of  God  and  nature ;  for  poets 
are  a  divine  race',  and  often  in  their  strains,  by  the  aid  of  the 
Muses  and  the  Graces,  they  attain  truth. 
Cle.  Yes. 

Ath.  Then  now  let  us  proceed  with  the  rest  of  our  tale, 
which  will  probably  be  found  to  illustrate  in  some  degree  our 
proposed  design  : — Shall  we  do  so  ? 

Cle.  By  all  means. 

Ath.  Ilium  was  built,  when  they  had  descended  from  the 
mountain,  in  a  large  and  fair  plain,  on  a  sort  of  low  hill, 
watered  by  many  rivers  descending  from  Ida. 

Cle.  Such  is  the  tradition. 

Ath.  And  we  must  suppose  this  event  to  have  taken  place 
many  ages  after  the  deluge  ? 

Cle.  Yes  ;  many  ages  must  have  elapsed. 

Ath.  A  marvellous  forgetfulness  of  the  former  destruction 
would  appear  to  have  come  over  them,  when  they  placed 
their  town  right  under  numerous  streams  flowing  from  the 
heights,  trusting  for  their  security  to  not  very  high  hills, 
either. 

Cle.  There  must  have  been  a  long  interval,  clearly. 
Ath.  And,  as  population  increased,  many  other  cities  would 
begin  to  be  inhabited. 
Cle.  Doubtless. 

Ath.  Those  cities  made  war  against  Troy — by  sea  as  well 
as  land— for  at  that  time  men  were  ceasing  to  be  afraid  of 
the  sea. 

Cle.  Clearly. 

Ath.  The  Achaeans  remained  ten  years,  and  overthrew 
Troy. 

Cle.  True. 

Ath.  And  during  the  ten  years  in  which  the  Achaeans 
wei"e  besieging  Ilium,  the  homes  of  the  besiegers  were 
falling  into  an  evil  plight.  Their  youth  revolted ;  and 
when  the  soldiers  returned  to  their  own  cities  and  families, 
they  did  not  receive  them  properly,  and  as  they  ought  to 
have  done,  and  numerous  deaths,  murders,  exiles,  were  the 


'  Omitting  ivOtaariKiv. 


Contimiation  of  the  History  of  G^'eece. 


63 


consequence.    The  exiles  came  again,  under  a  new  name,   Laws  TIL 
no  longer  Achaeans,  but  Dorians, — a  name  which  they  de-  Athenian, 
rived   from  Dorieus ;   for  it  was  he  who  gathered  them  Megillus. 
together.    The  rest  of  the  story  is  told  by  you  Lacedae-  The  return 
monians  as  part  of  the  history  of  Sparta.  Achaeans 

Meg.  To  be  sure.  under  the 

Ath.  Thus,  after  digressing  from  the  original  subject  of  of  Doriajis 
laws  into  music  and  drinking-bouts,  the  argument  has,  pro- 
videntially, come  back  to  the  same  point,  and  presents  to  us 
another  handle.     For  we  have  reached  the  settlement  of  Settlement 
>,83  Lacedaemon ;  which,  as  you  truly  say,  is  in  laws  and  in 

institutions  the  sister  of  Crete.    And  we  are  all  the  better  sister  settle- 
for  the  digression,  because  we  have  gone  through  various  ^^g"g°^ 
governments  and  settlements,  and  have  been  present  at  the 
foundation  of  a  first,  second,  and  third  state,  succeeding  one 
another  in  infinite  time.     And  now  there  appears  on  the  The  fourth 
horizon  a  fourth  state  or  nation  which  was  once  in  process         '  ^ 

^  nation  or 

of  settlement  and  has  continued  settled  to  this  day.  If,  out  federation, 
of  all  this,  we  are  able  to  discern  what  is  well  or  ill  settled, 
and  what  laws  are  the  salvation  and  what  are  the  destruction 
of  cities,  and  what  changes  would  make  a  state  happy,  O 
Megillus  and  Cleinias,  we  may  now  begin  again,  unless  we 
have  some  fault  to  find  with  the  previous  discussion. 

Meg.  If  some  God,  Stranger,  would  promise  us  that  our 
new  enquiry  about  legislation  would  be  as  good  and  full  as 
the  present,  I  would  go  a  great  way  to  hear  such  another, 
and  would  think  that  a  day  as  long  as  this — and  we  are  now 
approaching  the  longest  day  of  the  year— was  too  short  for 
the  discussion. 
Ath.  Then  I  suppose  that  we  must  consider  this  subject  ? 
Meg.  Certainly. 

Ath.  Let  us  place  ourselves  in  thought  at  the  moment  The  time 
when  Lacedaemon  and  Argos  and  Messene  and  the  rest  of 

,11-,,  ,,  .  conquest. 

tne  l^eloponnesus  were  all  ni  complete  subjection,  Megillus, 
to  your  ancestors ;  for  afterwards,  as  the  legend  informs  us, 
they  divided  their  army  into  three  portions,  and  settled  three 
cities,  Argos,  Messene,  Lacedaemon. 
Meg.  True. 

Ath.  Temenus  was  the  king  of  Argos,  Cresphontes  of 
Messene,  Procles  and  Eurysthenes  of  Lacedaemon. 


64 


The  confederacy  of  the  three  Dorian  States. 


Laws  III. 

Athenian, 
Megillus. 


The  three 
Dorian 
kingdoms 
were  to  be 
governed 
by  common 
laws,  and 
to  help  one 
another  in 
case  of 
need. 


Meg.  Certainly. 

Ath.  To  these  kings  all  the  men  of  that  day  made  oath 
that  they  would  assist  them,  if  any  one  subverted  their 
kingdom. 

Meg.  True. 

Ath.  But  can  a  kingship  be  destroyed,  or  was  any  other 
form  of  government  ever  destroyed,  by  any  but  the  rulers 
themselves?  No  indeed,  by  Zeus.  Have  we  already  for- 
gotten what  was  said  a  little  while  ago^  ? 

Meg.  No. 

Ath.  And  may  we  not  now  further  confirm  what  was  then 
mentioned  ?  For  we  have  come  upon  facts  which  have 
brought  us  back  again  to  the  same  principle  ;  so  that,  in 
resuming  the  discussion,  we  shall  not  be  enquiring  about  an  6 
empty  theory,  but  about  events  which  actually  happened. 
The  case  was  as  follows : — Three  royal  heroes  made  oath 
to  three  cities  which  were  under  a  kingly  government,  and 
the  cities  to  the  kings,  that  both  rulers  and  subjects  should 
govern  and  be  governed  according  to  the  laws  which  were 
common  to  all  of  them  :  the  rulers  promised  that  as  time 
and  the  race  went  forward  they  would  not  make  their  rule 
more  arbitrary;  and  the  subjects  said  that,  if  the  rulers 
observed  these  conditions,  they  would  never  subvert  or 
permit  others  to  subvert  those  kingdoms ;  the  kings  were 
to  assist  kings  and  peoples  when  injured,  and  the  peoples 
were  to  assist  peoples  and  kings  in  like  manner.  Is  not 
this  the  fact  ? 

Meg.  Yes. 

Ath.  And  the  three  states  to  whom  these  laws  were  given, 
whether  their  kings  or  any  others  were  the  authors  of  them, 
had  therefore  the  greatest  security  for  the  maintenance  of 
their  constitutions? 

Meg.  What  security? 

Ath.  That  the  other  two  states  were  always  to  come  to  the 
rescue  against  a  rebellious  third. 
Meg.  True. 

Ath.  Many  persons  say  that  legislators  ought  to  impose 
such  laws  as  the  mass  of  the  people  will  be  ready  to  receive  ; 


'  Cp.  supra,  682  D,  E. 


Its  failure  in  spite  of  favourable  conditions. 


65 


but  this  is  just  as  if  one  were  to  command  g3minastic  masters  Laws  III. 
or  physicians  to  treat  or  cure  their  pupils  or  patients  in  an  Athenian, 
agreeable  manner.  MEa,i.Lus. 
Meg.  Exactly. 

Ath.  Whereas  the  physician  may  often  be  too  happy  if 
he  can  restore  health,  and  make  the  body  whole,  without 
any  very  great  infliction  of  pain. 

Meg.  Certainly. 

Ath.  There  was  also  another  advantage  possessed  by  the  Andbe- 
men  of  that  day,  which  greatly  lightened  the  task  of  passing  ^^^^^ 

laws  ^.  alliance 

Meg.  What  advantage  ?  there  was 

°  1-      1  another 

Ath.  The  legislators  of  that  day,  when  they  equalized  pro-  advantage, 
pertv,  escaped  the  great  accusation  which  generally  arises  in  ^'^^  ^^""'y 

f    .  ,    .  .     1  •         r  legislators 

legislation,  11  a  person  attempts  to  disturb  the  possession  01  ^ad  a  clear 
land,  or  to  abolish  debts,  because  he  sees  that  without  this  stage, 
reform  there  can  never  be  any  real  equality.     Now,  in  No  debts 
general,  when  the  legislator  attempts  to  make  a  new  set-  ^^'^tJ^g^^j^g*^ 
tlement  of  such  matters,  every  one  meets  him  with  the  cry, 
that  'he  is  not  to  disturb  vested  interests,' — declaring  with 
imprecations  that  he  is  introducing  agrarian  laws  and  cancel- 
ling of  debts,  until  a  man  is  at  his  wits'  end ;  whereas  no  one 
could  quarrel  with  the  Dorians  for  distributing  the  land, — 
there  was  nothing  to  hinder  them  ;  and  as  for  debts,  they  had 
none  which  were  considerable  or  of  old  standing. 
Meg.  Very  true. 

Ath.  But  then,  my  good  friends,  why  did  the  settlement  Yet  the 
and  legislation  of  their  country  turn  out  so  badly?  f  u"ement 

685     Meg.  How  do  you  mean ;  and  why  do  you  blame  them  ?      turned  out 

Ath.  There  were  three  kingdoms,  and  of  these,  two  quickly 
corrupted  their  original  constitution  and  laws,  and  the  only  originally 
one  which  remained  was  the  Spartan.  &>ven  to  the 

Meg.  The  question  which  you  ask  is  not  easily  answered,    doms  tere' 

Ath.  And  yet  must  be  answered  when  we  are  enquiring  only  ""e- 
about  laws,  this  being  our  old  man's  sober  game  of  play,  spartl''^ 
whereby  we  beguile  the  way,  as  I  was  saying  when  we  first 
set  out  on  our  journey^. 

Meg.  Certainly;  and  we  must  find  out  why  this  was. 

Ath.  What  laws  are  more  worthy  of  our  attention  than 

'  Cp.  infra,  v.  736  C.  a  Cp.  stipra,  i.  625. 

VOL.  V.  F 


66 


The  original  conception 


■Laws  III. 

Athenian, 
Mecillus. 

The  Dorian 
confederacy 
was  de- 
signed to 
protect  the 
Hellenes 
against  the 
Assyrian 
Empire. 


Why,  with 
its  great 
prestige 
and  many 
advantages, 
did  it  fall 
to  pieces? 


those  which  have  regulated  such  cities  ?  or  what  settlements 
of  states  are  greater  or  more  famous  ? 
Meg.  I  know  of  none. 

Ath.  Can  we  doubt  that  your  ancestors  intended  these 
institutions  not  only  for  the  protection  of  Peloponnesus, 
but  of  all  the  Hellenes,  in  case  they  were  attacked  by  the 
barbarian  ?  For  the  inhabitants  of  the  region  about  Ilium, 
when  they  provoked  by  their  insolence  the  Trojan  war, 
relied  upon  the  power  of  the  Assyrians  and  the  Empire  of 
Ninus,  which  still  existed  and  had  a  great  prestige ;  the 
people  of  those  days  fearing  the  united  Assyrian  Empire 
just  as  we  now  fear  the  Great  King.  And  the  second  capture 
of  Troy  was  a  serious  offence  against  them,  because  Troy 
was  a  portion  of  the  Assyrian  Empire.  To  meet  the  danger 
the  single  army  was  distributed  between  three  cities  by  the 
royal  brothers,  sons  of  Heracles, — a  fair  device,  as  it  seemed, 
and  a  far  better  arrangement  than  the  expedition  against  Troy. 
For,  firstly,  the  people  of  that  day  had,  as  they  thought,  in  the 
Heraclidae  better  leaders  than  the  Pelopidae  ;  in  the  next 
place,  they  considered  that  their  army  was  superior  in  valour 
to  that  which  went  against  Troy;  for,  although  the  latter 
conquered  the  Trojans,  they  were  themselves  conquered  by 
the  Heraclidae — Achaeans  by  Dorians.  May  we  not  suppose 
that  this  was  the  intention  with  which  the  men  of  those  days 
framed  the  constitutions  of  their  states  ? 

Meg.  Quite  true. 

Ath.  And  would  not  men  who  had  shared  with  one  another  686 
many  dangers,  and  were  governed  by  a  single  race  of  royal 
brothers,  and  had  taken  the  advice  of  oracles,  and  in  parti- 
cular of  the  Delphian  Apollo,  be  likely  to  think  that  such 
states  would  be  firmly  and  lastingly  established  ? 

Meg.  Of  course  they  would. 

Ath.  Yet  these  institutions,  of  which  such  great  expecta- 
tions were  entertained,  seem  to  have  all  rapidly  vanished 
away;  with  the  exception,  as  I  was  saying,  of  that  small  part 
of  them  which  existed  in  your  land.  And  this  third  part 
has  never  to  this  day  ceased  warring  against  the  two  others ; 
whereas,  if  the  original  idea  had  been  carried  out,  and  they 
had  agreed  to  be  one,  their  power  would  have  been  invin- 
cible in  war. 


and  final  rtiin  of  the  alliance. 


67 


Meg.  No  doubt.  Lazus  III. 

Ath.  But  what  was  the  ruin  of  this  glorious  confederacy? 

Athenian, 

Here  is  a  subject  well  worthy  of  consideration.  Megillus. 

Meg.  Certainly,  no  one  will  ever  find  more  striking  in- 
stances of  laws  or  governments  being  the  salvation  or  de- 
struction of  great  and  noble  interests,  than  are  here  pre- 
sented to  his  view. 

Ath.  Then  now  we  seem  to  have  happily  arrived  at  a 
real  and  important  question. 
Meg.  Very  true. 

Ath.  Did  you  never  remark,  sage  friend,  that  all  men, 
and  we  ourselves  at  this  moment,  often  fancy  that  they  see 
some  beautiful  thing  which  might  have  eflFected  wonders  if; 
any  one  had  only  known  how  to  make  a  right  use  of  it 
in  some  way;  and  yet  this  mode  of  looking  at  things  may 
turn  out  after  all  to  be  a  mistake,  and  not  according  to 
nature,  either  in  our  own  case  or  in  any  other  ? 

Meg.  To  what  are  you  referring,  and  what  do  you  mean  ? 
Ath.  I  was  thinking  of  my  own  admiration  of  the  aforesaid  The  con- 
Heracleid  expedition,  which  was  so  noble,  and  might  have  ^^j^^^^j^^ 
had  such  wonderful  results  for  the  Hellenes,  if  only  rightly  understand 
used  ;  and  I  was  just  laughing  at  myself.  together^^^ 

Meg.  But  were  you  not  right  and  wise  in  speaking  as  you  Had  they 
did,  and  we  in  assenting  to  you  ?  on|y  ^^en 

Ath.  Perhaps ;  and  yet  I  cannot  help  observing  that  any  might  have 
one  who  sees  anything  great  or  powerful,  immediately  has  doneany- 
the  feeling  that — 'If  the  owner  only  knew  how  to  use  his  ''^'"S* 
great  and  noble  possession,  how  happy  would  he  be,  and 
what  great  results  would  he  achieve ! ' 
,687     Meg.  And  would  he  not  be  justified  ? 

Ath.  Reflect;  in  what  point  of  view  does  this  sort  of  praise 
appear  just:  First,  in  reference  to  the  question  in  hand  : — If 
the  then  commanders  had  known  how  to  arrange  their  army 
properly,  how  would  they  have  attained  success?  Would 
not  this  have  been  the  way?  They  would  have  bound  them 
all  firmly  together  and  preserved  them  for  ever,  giving  them 
freedom  and  dominion  at  pleasure,  combined  with  the  power 
of  doing  in  the  whole  world,  Hellenic  and  barbarian,  what- 
ever they  and  their  descendants  desired.  What  other  aim 
would  they  have  had  ? 

F  2 


68 


The  infahmtion  of  mortals. 


Laws  III. 

Athenian, 
Megillus. 


Men  desire 
things 
whicli  are 
not  for 
their  good. 


The  states- 
man in 
making 


Meg.  Very  good. 

Ath.  Suppose  any  one  were  in  the  same  way  to  express 
his  admiration  at  the  sight  of  great  wealth  or  family  honour, 
or  the  like,  he  would  praise  them  under  the  idea  that  through 
them  he  would  attain  either  all  or  the  greater  and  chief  part 
of  what  he  desires. 

Meg.  He  would. 

Ath.  Well,  now,  and  does  not  the  argument  show  that 
there  is  one  common  desire  of  all  mankind  ? 
Meg.  What  is  it? 

Ath.  The  desire  which  a  man  has,  that  all  things,  if  pos- 
sible,— at  any  rate,  things  human, — may  come  to  pass  in 
accordance  with  his  soul's  desire. 

Meg.  Certainly. 

Ath.  And  having  this  desire  always,  and  at  every  time  of 
life,  in  youth,  in  manhood,  in  age,  he  cannot  help  always 
praying  for  the  fulfilment  of  it. 

Meg.  No  doubt. 

Ath.  And  we  join  in  the  prayers  of  our  friends,  and  ask 
for  them  what  they  ask  for  themselves. 
Meg.  We  do. 

Ath.  Dear  is  the  son  to  the  father — the  younger  to  the 
elder. 

Meg.  Of  course. 

Ath.  And  yet  the  son  often  prays  to  obtain  things  which 
the  father  prays  that  he  may  not  obtain. 

Meg.  When  the  son  is  young  and  foolish,  you  mean  ? 

Ath.  Yes ;  or  when  the  father,  in  the  dotage  of  age  or  the 
heat  of  youth,  having  no  sense  of  right  and  justice,  prays 
with  fervour,  under  the  influence  of  feelings  akin  to  those  of 
Theseus  when  he  cursed  the  unfortunate  Hippolytus,  do  you 
imagine  that  the  son,  having  a  sense  of  right  and  justice,  will 
join  in  his  father's  prayers  ? 

Meg.  I  understand  you  to  mean  that  a  man  should  not 
desire  or  be  in  a  hurry  to  have  all  things  according  to  his 
wish,  for  his  wish  may  be  at  variance  with  his  reason.  But 
every  state  and  every  individual  ought  to  pray  and  strive  for  688 
wisdom. 

Ath.  Yes;  and  I  remember,  and  you  will  remember,  what 
I  said  at  first,  that  a  statesman  and  legislator  ought  to  ordain 


W/tai  is  the  greatest  and  zvorst  ignorance  ? 


69 


laws  should 


power. 


laws  with  a  view  to  wisdom  ;  while  you  were  arguing  that  the  Laius  III. 
good  lawgiver  ought  to  order  all  with  a  view  to  war.   And  to  Athenian, 
this  I  replied  that  there  were  four  virtues,  but  that  upon  your  Cleinias, 

"  .         .  Mecillus. 

view  one  of  them  only  was  the  aim  of  legislation ;  whereas 
you  ought  to  regard  all  virtue,  and  especially  that  which  iTaveln" 
comes  first,  and  is  the  leader  of  all  the  rest — I  mean  wisdom  view  all  the 
and  mind  and  opinion,  having  affection  and  desire  in  their 
train.    And  now  the  argument  returns  to  the  same  point,  one  only, 
and  I  say  once  more,  in  jest  if  you  like,  or  in  earnest  if  you 
like,  that  the  prayer  of  a  fool  is  full  of  danger,  being  likely  to 
end  in  the  opposite  of  what  he  desires.    And  if  you  would  Ignorance 
rather  receive  my  words  in  earnest,  I  am  willing  that  you  °st'|'i^ingf^' 
should  ;  and  you  will  find,  I  suspect,  as  I  have  said  already,  the  rain  of 
that  not  cowardice  was  the  cause  of  the  ruin  of  the  Dorian  Donan 
kings  and  of  their  whole  design,  nor  ignorance  of  military 
matters,  either  on  the  part  of  the  rulers  or  of  their  subjects ; 
but  their  misfortunes  were  due  to  their  general  degeneracy, 
and  especially  to  their  ignorance  of  the  most  important 
human  affairs.    That  was  then,  and  is  still,  and  always  will 
be  the  case,  as  I  will  endeavour,  if  you  will  allow  me,  to 
make  out  and  demonstrate  as  well  as  I  am  able  to  you  who 
are  my  friends,  in  the  course  of  the  argument. 

Cle.  Pray  go  on.  Stranger; — compliments  are  troublesome, 
but  we  will  show,  not  in  word  but  in  deed,  how  greatly  we 
prize  your  words,  for  we  will  give  them  our  best  attention  ; 
and  that  is  the  way  in  which  a  freeman  best  shows  his 
approval  or  disapproval. 

Meg.  Excellent,  Cleinias  ;  let  us  do  as  you  say. 

Cle.  By  all  means,  if  Heaven  wills.    Go  on. 

Ath.  Well,  then,  proceeding  in  the  same  train  of  thought, 
I  say  that  the  greatest  ignorance  was  the  ruin  of  the  Dorian 
power,  and  that  now,  as  then,  ignorance  is  ruin.  And  if  this 
be  true,  the  legislator  must  endeavour  to  implant  wisdom  in 
states,  and  banish  ignorance  to  the  utmost  of  his  power. 

Cle.  That  is  evident, 
9    Ath.  Then  now  consider  what  is  really  the  greatest  igno- 
rance.   I  should  like  to  know  whether  you  and  Megillus 
would  agree  with  me  in  what  I  am  about  to  say;  for  my 
opinion  is  ■ 

Cle.  What? 


70 


What  IS  the  highest  and  trtiest  wisdom  ? 


JLaws  III.  Ath,  That  the  greatest  ignorance  is  when  a  man  hates 
Athenian,  that  which  he  nevertheless  thinks  to  be  good  and  noble,  and 
Cleinias.  loves  and  embraces  that  which  he  knows  to  be  unrighteous 
'^^^  and  evil.    This  disagreement  between  the  sense  of  pleasure 

^noran'ce  ^he  judgment  of  reason  in  the  soul  is,  in  my  opinion,  the 

is  to  know  worst  ignorance ;  and  also  the  greatest,  because  affecting 
do'^thegood  great  mass  of  the  human  soul ;  for  the  principle  which 
and  noble,  feels  pleasure  and  pain  in  the  individual  is  like  the  mass  or 
populace  in  a  state.  And  when  the  soul  is  opposed  to  know- 
ledge, or  opinion,  or  reason,  which  are  her  natural  lords,  that 
I  call  folly,  just  as  in  the  state,  when  the  multitude  refuses  to 
obey  their  rulers  and  the  laws ;  or,  again,  in  the  individual, 
when  fair  reasonings  have  their  habitation  in  the  soul  and 
yet  do  no  good,  but  rather  the  reverse  of  good.  All  these 
cases  I  term  the  worst  ignorance,  whether  in  individuals  or 
in  states.  You  will  understand,  Stranger,  that  I  am  speaking 
of  something  which  is  very  different  from  the  ignorance  of 
handicraftsmen. 

Cle.  Yes,  my  friend,  we  understand  and  agree. 
Ath.  Let  us,  then,  in  the  first  place  declare  and  affirm  that 
the  citizen  who  does  not  know  these  things  ought  never  to 
have  any  kind  of  authority  entrusted  to  him  :  he  must  be 
stigmatized  as  ignorant,  even  though  he  be  versed  in  calcu- 
lation and  skilled  in  all  sorts  of  accomplishments,  and  feats 
of  mental  dexterity ;  and  the  opposite  are  to  be  called  wise, 
even  although,  in  the  words  of  the  proverb,  they  know 
neither  how  to  read  nor  how  to  swim ;  and  to  them,  as  to 
No  wisdom  men  of  sense,  authority  is  to  be  committed.    For,  O  my 
where  there  fj-jends,  how  Can  there  be  the  least  shadow  of  wisdom  when 

IS  no  har-  . ' 

mony.  there  is  no  harmony  ?  There  is  none ;  but  the  noblest  and 
greatest  of  harmonies  may  be  truly  said  to  be  the  greatest 
wisdom ;  and  of  this  he  is  a  partaker  who  lives  according  to 
reason ;  whereas  he  who  is  devoid  of  reason  is  the  destroyer 
of  his  house  and  the  very  opposite  of  a  saviour  of  the  state  : 
he  is  utterly  ignorant  of  political  wisdom.  Let  this,  then,  as 
I  was  saying,  be  laid  down  by  us. 
Cle.  Let  it  be  so  laid  down. 

Ath.  I  suppose  that  there  must  be  rulers  and  subjects  in 
states? 

Cle.  Certainly. 


The  principles  of  government. 


71 


o    Ath.  And  what  are  the  principles  on  which  men  rule  and  Laws  III. 
obey  in  cities,  whether  great  or  small ;  and  similarly  in  Athenian, 
families?    What  are  they,  and  how  many  in  number?    Is  Cleinias. 
there  not  one  claim  of  authority  which  is  always  just,— that  of  The  various 

,      -  .  ,     kinds  of 

fathers  and  mothers  and  in  general  of  progenitors  to  rule  author- 
over  their  offspring  ?  •~ 

Lie.  There  is.  parents 

Ath.  Next  follows  the  principle  that  the  noble  should  rule  over 

over  the  ignoble;  and,  thirdly,  that  the  elder  should  rule  j'ajo/noble 

and  the  younger  obey?  over 

CIp   To  be  sure  ignoble  ; 

\^ie.  X  o  oe  sure.  ^  ^^^^^ 

Ath.  And,  fourthly,  that  slaves  should  be  ruled,  and  their  over 

masters  rule  ?  = 

(4)  °f 

Cle.  Of  course.  master  over 

Ath.  Fifthly,  if  I  am  not  mistaken,  comes  the  principle  slave; 

that  the  stronger  shall  rule,  and  the  weaker  be  ruled  ?  stronger 

Cle.  That  is  a  rule  not  to  be  disobeyed.  over 

Ath.  Yes,  and  a  rule  which  prevails  very  widely  among  all  ^^^^'^  • 

creatures,  and  is  according  to  nature,  as  the  Theban  poet 

Pindar  once  said ;  and  the  sixth  principle,  and  the  greatest  (6)  of  wise 

of  all,  is,  that  the  wise  should  lead  and  command,  and  the  °^^\ 
'     '  _  '  rant ; 

ignorant  follow  and  obey ;  and  yet,  O  thou  most  wise  Pindar, 
as  I  should  reply  to  him,  this  surely  is  not  contrary  to  nature, 
but  according  to  nature,  being  the  rule  of  law  over  willing 
subjects,  and  not  a  rule  of  compulsion. 
Cle.  Most  true. 

Ath.  There  is  a  seventh  kind  of  rule  which  is  awarded  by  (7)  of  the 
lot,  and  is  dear  to  the  Gods  and  a  token  of  good  fortune :  he 

°  the  lot  over 

on  whom  the  lot  falls  is  a  ruler,  and  he  who  fails  in  obtain-  the  loser, 
ing  the  lot  goes  away  and  ig  the  subject;  and  this  we  affirm 
to  be  quite  just. 
Cle.  Certainly. 

Ath.  'Then  now,'  as  we  say  playfully  to  any  of  those  who 
lightly  undertake  the  n^aking  of  laws,  '  you  see,  legislator, 
the  principles  of  government,  how  many  they  are,  and  that 
they  are  naturally  opposed  to  each  other.  There  we  have 
discovered  a  fountain-head  of  seditions,  to  which  you  must 
attend.  And,  first,  we  will  ask  you  to  consider  with  us,  how  The  kings 
and  in  what  respect  the  kings  of  Argos  and  Messene  violated 

.1  .  ,       .       .  and  Mp^- 

these  our  maxims,  and  ruined  themselves  and  the  great  and  sene  did 


72 


Excess  the  ruin  of  states. 


Laws  III. 

Athenian, 

Cleinias, 

Megillus. 

not  know 
that  '  the 
half  is  often 
more  than 
the  whole.' 


Too  much 
of  anything 
is  fatal  to 
any  man, 
especially 


famous  Hellenic  power  of  the  olden  time.  Was  it  because 
they  did  not  know  how  wisely  Hesiod  spoke  when  he  said 
that  the  half  is  often  more  than  the  whole?  His  meaning 
was,  that  when  to  take  the  whole  would  be  dangerous,  and 
to  take  the  half  would  be  the  safe  and  moderate  course,  then 
the  moderate  or  better  was  more  than  the  immoderate  or 
worse.' 

Cle.  Very  true. 

Ath.  And  may  we  suppose  this  immoderate  spirit  to  be 
more  fatal  when  found  among  kings  than  when  among 
peoples  ? 

Cle.  The  probability  is  that  ignorance  will  be  a  disorder  6< 
especially  prevalent  among  kings,  because  they  lead  a  proud 
and  luxurious  life. 

Ath.  Is  it  not  palpable  that  the  chief  aim  of  the  kings 
of  that  time  was  to  get  the  better  of  the  established  laws,  and 
that  they  were  not  in  harmony  with  the  principles  which 
they  had  agreed  to  observe  by  word  and  oath  ?  This  want 
of  harmony  may  have  had  the  appearance  of  wisdom,  but 
was  really,  as  we  assert,  the  greatest  ignorance,  and  utterly 
overthrew  the  whole  empire  by  dissonance  and  harsh  discord. 

Cle.  Very  likely. 

Ath.  Good ;  and  what  measures  ought  the  legislator  to 
have  then  taken  in  order  to  avert  this  calamity?  Truly 
there  is  no  great  wisdom  in  knowing,  and  no  great  difficulty 
in  telling,  after  the  evil  has  happened  ;  but  to  have  foreseen 
the  remedy  at  the  time  would  have  taken  a  much  wiser  head 
than  ours. 

Meg.  What  do  you  mean  ? 

Ath.  Any  one  who  looks  at  what  has  occurred  with  you 
Lacedaemonians,  Megillus,  may  easily  know  and  may  easily 
say  what  ought  to  have  been  done  at  that  time. 

Meg.  Speak  a  little  more  clearly. 

Ath.  Nothing  can  be -clearer  than  the  observation  which  I 
am  about  to  make. 
Meg.  What  is  it  ? 

Ath.  That  if  any  one  gives  too  great  a  power  to  anything, 
too  large  a  sail  to  a  vessel,  too  much  food  to  the  body,  too 
much  authority  to  the  mind,  and  does  not  observe  the  mean, 
everything  is  overthrown,  and,  in  the  wantonness  of  excess, 


and 
Ephors. 


No  wisdom  in  jzidging  after  the  event.  73 

• 

runs  in  the  one  case  to  disorders,  and  in  the  other  to  in-  Laws  III. 
justice,  which  is  the  child  of  excess.    I  mean  to  say,  my  dear  Athenian, 
friends,  that  there  is  no  soul  of  man,  young  and  irresponsible,  m^gillus. 
who  will  be  able  to  sustain  the  temptation  of  arbitrary  too  much 

J      .  power  to 

power — no  one  who  will  not,  under  such  circumstances,  be-  a  despot, 
come  filled  with  folly,  that  worst  of  diseases,  and  be  hated 
by  his  nearest  and  dearest  friends :  when  this  happens  his 
kingdom  is  undermined,  and  all  his  power  vanishes  from 
him.  And  great  legislators  who  know  the  mean  should  take 
heed  of  the  danger.  As  far  as  we  can  guess  at  this  distance 
of  time,  what  happened  was  as  follows  : — 
Meg.  What? 

Ath.  A  God,  who  watched  over  Sparta,  seeing  into  the  Sparta  was 
future,  gave  you  two  families  of  kings  instead  of  one ;  and  thrduaf 
thus  brought  you  more  within  the  limits  of  moderation.    In  monarchy 
the  next  place,  some  human  wisdom  mingled  with  divine 

^  .      '  °  institution 

power,  observing  that  the  constitution  of  your  government  of  Elders 
was  still  feverish  and  excited,  tempered  your  inborn  strength 
and  pride  of  birth  with  the  moderation  which  comes  of  age, 
12  making  the  power  of  your  twenty-eight  elders  equal  with  that 
of  the  kings  in  the  most  important  matters.  But  your  third 
saviour,  perceiving  that  your  government  was  still  swelling 
and  foaming,  and  desirous  to  impose  a  curb  upon  it,  instituted 
the  Ephors,  whose  power  he  made  to  resemble  that  of 
magistrates  elected  by  lot;  and  by  this  arrangement  the 
kingly  office,  being  compounded  of  the  right  elements  and 
duly  moderated,  was  preserved,  and  was  the  means  of  pre- 
serving all  the  rest.  Since,  if  there  had  been  only  the 
original  legislators,  Temenus,  Cresphontes,  and  their  con- 
temporaries, as  far  as  they  were  concerned  not  even  the 
portion  of  Aristodemus  would  have  been  preserved;  for  they 
had  no  proper  experience  in  legislation,  or  they  would  surely 
not  have  imagined  that  oaths  would  moderate  a  youthful 
spirit  invested  with  a  power  which  might  be  converted  into 
a  tyranny.  Now  that  God  has  instructed  us  what  sort  of 
government  would  have  been  or  will  be  lasting,  there  is  no 
wisdom,  as  I  have  already  said,  in  judging  after  the  event; 
there  is  no  difficulty  in  learning  from  an  example  which  has 
already  occurred.  But  if  any  one  could  have  foreseen  all 
this  at  the  time,  and  had  been  able  to  moderate  the  govern- 


74  The  behaviour  of  Hellas  in  the  Persian  War. 

■ 

Laws  III.  ment  of  the  three  kingdoms  and  unite  them  into  one,  he 
Athenian,  might  have  savcd  ah  the  excellent  institutions  which  were 
Cleinias.      \}cv&Vi.  conceived ;  and  no  Persian  or  any  other  armament 

would  have  dared  to  attack  us,  or  would  have  regarded 

Hellas  as  a  power  to  be  despised. 
Cle.  True. 

TheAthe-       Ath.  There  was  small  credit  to  us,  Cleinias,  in  defeating 
assisteT"^^   them ;  and  the  discredit  was,  not  that  the  conquerors  did 
against  the  not  win  glorious  victories  both  by  land  and  sea,  but  what,  in 
byThe"*      my  Opinion,  brought  discredit  was,  first  of  all,  the  circum- 
Spartans     Stance  that  of  the  three  cities  one  only  fought  on  behalf  of 
alone.        Hellas,  and  the  two  others  were  so  utterly  good  for  nothing 
conduct  of   ^'^'^  '^he  one  was  waging  a  mighty  war  against  Lacedaemon, 
Messene      and  was  thus  preventing  her  from  rendering  assistance,  while 
and  Argos.        ^j^.^     Argos,  which  had  the  precedence  at  the  time  of  the 
distribution,  when  asked  to  aid  in  repelling  the  barbarian, 
would  not  answer  to  the  call,  or  give  aid.     Many  things 
might  be  told  about  Hellas  in  connexion  with  that  war 
which  are  far  from  honourable  ;  nor,  indeed,  can  we  rightly 
say  that  Hellas  repelled  the  invader;  for  the  truth  is,  that 
unless  the  Athenians  and  Lacedaemonians,  acting  in  concert, 
had  warded  off  the  impending  yoke,  all  the  tribes  of  Hellas 
would  have  been  fused  in  a  chaos  of  Hellenes  mingling  with 
one  another,  of  barbarians  mingling  with    Hellenes,  and 
Hellenes  with  barbarians  ;  just  as  nations  who  are  now  sub- 
ject to  the  Persian  power,  owing  to  unnatural  separations 
and  combinations  of  them,  are  dispersed  and  scattered,  and 
live  miserably.    These,  Cleinias  and  Megillus,  are  the  re- 
proaches which  we  have  to  make  against  statesmen  and 
legislators,  as  they  are  called,  past  and  present,  if  we  would 
analyze  the  causes  of  their  failure,  and  find  out  what  else 
might  have  been  done.    We  said,  for  instance,  just  now, 
that  there  ought  to  be  no  great  and  unmixed  powers ;  and 
this  was  under  the  idea  that  a  state  ought  to  be  free  and  wise 
and  harmonious,  and  that  a  legislator  ought  to  legislate  with 
a  view  to  this  end.    Nor  is  there  any  reason  to  be  surprised 
at  our  continually  proposing  aims  for  the  legislator  which 
appear  not  to  be  always  the  same ;  but  we  should  consider 
when  we  say  that  temperance  is  to  be  the  aim,  or  wisdom 
is  to  be  the  aim,  or  friendship  is  to  be  the  aim,  that  all 


Monarchy  and  democracy  to  be  tempered  by  each  other. 


75 


these  aims  are  really  the  same ;  and  if  so  a  variety  in  the  Laws  III. 
modes  of  expression  ought  not  to  disturb  us.  Athenian, 
Cle.  Let  us  resume  the  argument  in  that  spirit.  And  now,  Cleinias. 
speaking  of  friendship  and  wisdom  and  freedom,  I  wish  that 
you  would  tell  me  at  what,  in  your  opinion,  the  legislator 
should  aim. 

Ath.  Hear  me,  then  :  there  are  two  mother  forms  of  states  Two 
from  which  the  rest  may  be  truly  said  to  be  derived ; 
one  of  them  may  be  called  monarchy  and  the  other  demo-  states:— 
cracy:  the  Persians  have  the  highest  form  of  the  one,  and 
we  of  the  other ;  almost  all  the  rest,  as  I  was  saying,  are  the  Per- 
variations  of  these.    Now,  if  you  are  to  have  liberty  and  the  sians ;  de- 

.  ,      .    ,  ,  i_     1  mocracy, 

combination  of  friendship  with  wisdom,  you  must  have  both  at 
these  forms  of  government  in  a  measure  ;  the  argument  em-  Athens, 
phatically  declares  that  no  city  can  be  well  governed  which 
is  not  made  up  of  both  \ 
Cle.  Impossible. 

Ath.  Neither  the  one,  if  it  be  exclusively  and  excessively 
attached  to  monarchy,  nor  the  other,  if  it  be  similarly  attached 
to  freedom,  observes  moderation ;  but  your  states,  the  La- 
conian  and  Cretan,  have  more  of  it ;  and  the  same  was  the 
case  with  the  Athenians  and  Persians  of  old  time,  but  now 
they  have  less.    Shall  I  tell  you  why? 
4     Cle.  By  all  means,  if  it  will  tend  to  elucidate  our  subject. 
Ath.  Hear,  then : — There  was  a  time  when  the  Persians 
had  more  of  the  state  which  is  a  mean  between  slavery  and 
freedom.    In  the  reign  of  Cyrus  they  were  freemen  and  also  The  Per- 
lords  of  many  others  :  the  rulers  gave  a  share  of  freedom  to  cymsT^d*^ 
the  subjects,  and  being  treated  as  equals,  the  soldiers  were  a  good  deal 
on  better  terms  with  their  generals,  and  showed  themselves 

°  '  which  they 

more  ready  in  the  hour  of  danger.  And  if  there  was  any  lost  under 
wise  man  among  them,  who  was  able  to  give  good  counsel,  Cambyses. 
he  imparted  his  wisdom  to  the  public;  for  the  king  was 
not  jealous,  but  allowed  him  full  hberty  of  speech,  and 
gave  honour  to  those  who  could  advise  him  in  any  matter. 
And  the  nation  waxed  in  all  respects,  because  there  was 
freedom  and  friendship  and  communion  of  mind  among 
them. 

Cle.  That  certainly  appears  to  have  been  the  case. 
'  Cp.  infra,  vi.  756  E  ;  Arist.  Pol.  ii.  6,  §  18. 


76 


The  children  of  Cyrus  spoilt  by  indulgence. 


Laws  III, 

Athenian, 
Cleinias. 


Cyrus  him- 
self had 
been 

brought  up 
well,  but  he 
neglected 
the  educa- 
tion of  his 
children. 


Ath.  How,  then,  was  this  advantage  lost  under  Cambyses, 
and  again  recovered  under  Darius  ?    Shall  I  try  to  divine  ? 

Cle.  The  enquiry,  no  doubt,  has  a  bearing  upon  our  subject. 

Ath.  I  imagine  that  Cyrus,  though  a  great  and  patriotic 
general,  had  never  given  his  mind  to  education,  and  never 
attended  to  the  order  of  his  household. 

Cle.  What  makes  you  say  so  ? 

Ath.  I  think  that  from  his  youth  upwards  he  was  a  soldier, 
and  entrusted  the  education  of  his  children  to  the  women  ; 
and  they  brought  them  up  from  their  childhood  as  the 
favourites  of  fortune,  who  were  blessed  already,  and  needed 
no  more  blessings.  They  thought  that  they  were  happy 
enough,  and  that  no  one  should  be  allowed  to  oppose  them 
in  any  way,  and  they  compelled  every  one  to  praise  all  that 
they  said  or  did.    This  was  how  they  brought  them  up. 

Cle.  A  splendid  education  truly  1 

Ath.  Such  an  one  as  women  were  likely  to  give  them,  and 
especially  princesses  who  had  recently  grown  rich,  and  in  the 
absence  of  the  men,  too,  who  were  occupied  in  wars  and 
dangers,  and  had  no  time  to  look  after  them. 

Cle.  What  would  you  expect  ? 

Ath.  Their  father  had  possessions  of  cattle  and  sheep,  and 
many  herds  of  men  and  other  animals  ;  but  he  did  not  con-  695 
sider  that  those  to  whom  he  was  about  to  make  them  over 
were  not  trained  in  his  own  calling,  which  was  Persian ;  for 
the  Persians  are  shepherds — sons  of  a  rugged  land,  which 
is  a  stern  mother,  and  well  fitted  to  produce  a  sturdy  race 
able  to  live  in  the  open  air  and  go  without  sleep,  and  also  to 
fight,  if  fighting  is  required He  did  not  observe  that  his 
sons  were  trained  differently;  through  the  so-called  blessing 
of  being  royal  they  were  educated  in  the  Median  fashion  by 
women  and  eunuchs,  which  led  to  their  becoming  such  as 
people  do  become  when  they  are  brought  up  unreproved. 
And  so,  after  the  death  of  Cyrus,  his  sons,  in  the  fulness  of 
luxury  and  licence,  took  the  kingdom,  and  first  one  slew  the 
other  because  he  could  not  endure  a  rival ;  and,  aftemards, 
the  slayer  himself,  mad  with  wine  and  brutality,  lost  his  king- 
dom through  the  Medes  and  the  Eunuch,  as  they  called  him, 
who  despised  the  folly  of  Cambyses. 

'  Cp.  Arist.  Pol.  vii.  2,  §  10. 


Darhis  was  not  insh'ucted  by  the  mistake  of  Cyrus. 


77 


Cle.  So  runs  the  tale,  and  such  probably  were  the  facts.        Laws  ill. 
Ath.  Yes;  and  the  tradition  says,  that  the  empire  came  Athenian, 
)ack  to  the  Persians,  through  Darius  and  the  seven  chiefs.  Cleinias. 
Cle.  True. 

Ath.  Let  us  note  the  rest  of  the  story.    Observe,  that  Darius,  too, 
Darius  was  not  the  son  of  a  king,  and  had  not  received  a  ^Jj^g^j 
luxurious  education.    When  he  came  to  the  throne,  being  prince: 
one  of  the  seven,  he  divided  the  country  into  seven  portions, 
and  of  this  arrangement  there  are  some  shadowy  traces  still 
remaining ;  he  made  laws  upon  the  principle  of  introducing 
universal  equality  in  the  order  of  the  state,  and  he  embodied 
in  his  laws  the  settlement  of  the  tribute  which  Cyrus  pro- 
mised,— thus  creating  a  feeling  of  friendship  and  community 
among  all  the  Persians,  and  attaching  the  people  to  him  with 
money  and  gifts.    Hence  his  armies  cheerfully  acquired  for 
him  countries  as  large  as  those  which  Cyrus  had  left  behind 
him.    Darius  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Xerxes  ;  and  he  but,  like 
again  was  brought  up  in  the  royal  and  luxurious  fashion.  [^^^^J^*^ 
Might  we  not  most  justly  say :  '  O  Darius,  how  came  you  to  care  about 
bring  up  Xerxes  in  the  same  way  in  which  Cyrus  brought  up  ^'^.g^f^'^' 
Cambyses,  and  not  to  see  his  fatal  mistake  ?  '    For  Xerxes,  education, 
being  the  creation  of  the  same  education,  met  with  much  the 
same  fortune  as  Cambyses ;  and  from  that  time  until  now 
there  has  never  been  a  really  great  king  among  the  Persians, 
although  they  are  all  called  Great.    And  their  degeneracy  is 
not  to  be  attributed  to  chance,  as  I  maintain ;  the  reason  is 
rather  the  evil  life  which  is  generally  led  by  the  sons  of  very 
rich  and  royal  persons ;  for  never  will  boy  or  man,  young  or 
old,  excel  in  virtue,  who  has  been  thus  educated.    And  this, 
I  say,  is  what  the  legislator  has  to  consider,  and  what  at  the 
present  moment  has  to  be  considered  by  us.    Justly  may 
you,  O  Lacedaemonians,  be  praised,  in  that  you  do  not  give 
special  honour  or  a  special  education  to  wealth  rather  than 
to  poverty,  or  to  a  royal  rather  than  to  a  private  station, 
where  the  divine  and  inspired  lawgiver  has  not  originally 
commanded  them  to  be  given.    For  no  man  ought  to  have 
pre-eminent  honour  in  a  state  because  he  surpasses  others  in 
wealth,  any  more  than  because  he  is  swift  of  foot  or  fair  or 
strong,  unless  he  have  some  virtue  in  him  ;  nor  even  if  he 
have  virtue,  unless  he  have  this  particular  virtue  of  temperance. 


78 


The  virtues  inseparable  from  te77tperance. 


Laws  III. 

Athenian, 
Mecillus. 


Temper- 
ance not  a 
virtue,  but 
rather  an 
appendage 
orcondition 
of  the 
virtues. 
Not  much 
to  be  said 
about  it. 


Meg.  What  do  you  mean,  Stranger  ? 

Ath.  I  suppose  that  courage  is  a  part  of  virtue  ? 

Meg.  To  be  sure. 

Ath.  Then,  now  hear  and  judge  for  yourself : — Would  you 
like  to  have  for  a  fellow-lodger  or  neighbour  a  very  courageous 
man,  who  had  no  control  over  himself? 

Meg.  Heaven  forbid  ! 

Ath.  Or  an  artist,  who  was  clever  in  his  profession,  but  a 
rogue  ? 

Meg.  Certainly  not. 

Ath.  And  surely  justice  does  not  grow  apart  from  tem- 
perance ? 

Meg.  Impossible. 

Ath.  Any  more  than  our  pattern  wise  man,  whom  we  ex- 
hibited as  having  his  pleasures  and  pains  in  accordance  with 
and  corresponding  to  true  reason,  can  be  intemperate '  ? 

Meg.  No. 

Ath.  There  is  a  further  consideration  relating  to  the  due 
and  undue  award  of  honours  in  states. 
Meg.  What  is  it  ? 

Ath.  I  should  like  to  know  whether  temperance  without 
the  other  virtues,  existing  alone  in  the  soul  of  man,  is  rightly 
to  be  praised  or  blamed  ? 

Meg.  I  cannot  tell. 

Ath.  And  that  is  the  best  answer ;  for  whichever  alter- 
native you  had  chosen,  I  think  that  you  would  have  gone 
wrong. 

Meg.  I  am  fortunate. 

Ath.  Very  good ;  a  quality,  which  is  a  mere  appen- 
dage of  things  which  can  be  praised  or  blamed,  does  not 
deserve  an  expression  of  opinion,  but  is  best  passed  over 
in  silence. 

Meg.  You  are  speaking"  of  temperance  ? 

Ath.  Yes  ;  but  of  the  other  virtues,  that  which  having  this 
appendage  is  also  most  beneficial,  will  be  most  deserving  of 
honour,  and  next  that  which  is  beneficial  in  the  next  degree ; 
and  so  each  of  them  will  be  rightly  honoured  according  to  a 
regular  order. 

Meg.  True. 

'  Cp.  supra,  689  D. 


The  degeneracy  of  the  Persians.  79 

Ath.  And  ought  not  the  legislator  to  determine  these  Laws  III. 

classes  ?  Athenian, 

Meg.  Certainly  he  should.  Meg.llus. 
Ath.  Suppose  that  we  leave  to  him  the  arrangement  of 
{details.    But  the  general  division  of  laws  according  to  their 
iimportance  into  a  first  and  second  and  third  class,  we  who 
.are  lovers  of  law  may  make  ourselves. 
Meg.  Very  good. 

Ath.  We  maintain,  then,  that  a  State  which  would  be  safe  The  order 

land  happy,  as  far  as  the  nature  of  man  allows,  must  and  1^^^,^'* 

vought  to  distribute  honour  and  dishonour  in  the  right  way.  should 

^And  the  right  way  is  to  place  the  goods  of  the  soul  first  and  arrange 

highest  in  the  scale,  always  assuming  temperance  to  be  the  (j)  goods  of 

condition  of  them ;  and  to  assign  the  second  place  to  the  t^^^  : 

;goods  of  the  body;  and  the  third  place  to  money  and  pro-  the^body;°'^ 

>perty.    And  if  any  legislator  or  state  departs  from  this  rule  (3)  money 

iby  giving  money  the  place  of  honour,  or  in  any  way  pre-  pgfty  ™' 
(ferring  that  which  is  really  last,  may  we  not  say,  that  he  or 
the  state  is  doing  an  unholy  and  unpatriotic  thing  ? 
Meg.  Yes ;  let  that  be  plainly  declared. 

Ath.  The  consideration  of  the  Persian  governments  led  us  Thegrowth 

thus  far  to  enlarge.    We  remarked  that  the  Persians  errew  °^  despot- 

°  °  ism  among 

worse  and  worse.    And  we  affirm  the  reason  of  this  to  have  the  Per- 
been,  that  they  too  much  diminished  the  freedom  of  the  ^.^^ 
people,  and  introduced  too  much  of  despotism,  and  so  de-  of  their 
stroyed  friendship  and  community  of  feeling.     And  when  nationality, 
there  is  an  end  of  these,  no  longer  do  the  governors  govern 
on  behalf  of  their  subjects  or  of  the  people,  but  on  behalf  of 
themselves ;  and  if  they  think  that  they  can  gain  ever  so 
small  an  advantage  for  themselves,  they  devastate  cities,  and 
send  fire  and  desolation  among  friendly  races.    And  as  they 
:  hate  ruthlessly  and  horribly,  so  are  they  hated  ;  and  when 
they  want  the  people  to  fight  for  them,  they  find  no  com- 
^munityof  feeling  or  willingness  to  risk  their  lives  on  their 
'behalf;  their  untold  myriads  are  useless  to  them  on  the  field 
of  battle,  and  they  think  that  their  salvation  depends  on  the 
employment  of  mercenaries  and  strangers  whom  they  hire, 
as  if  they  were  in  want  of  more  men.    And  they  cannot 
help  being  stupid,  since  they  proclaim  by  their  actions 
that  the  ordinary  distinctions  of  right  and  wrong  which  are 


8o 


The  lesson  to  be  gathered  from  the  Persian  invasion. 


Laws  III.  made  in  a  state  are  a  trifle,  when  compared  with  gold  and 
Athenian,  silver. 

Ath.  And  now  enough  of  the  Persians,  and  their  present 
maladministration  of  their  government,  which  is  owing  to  the 
excess  of  slavery  and  despotism  among  them. 

Meg.  Good. 

TheAthe-  Aih.  Next,  we  must  pass  in  review  the  government  of 
tution°was"  -A-ttica  in  like  manner,  and  from  this  show  that  entire  free- 
excellent  at  dom  and  the  absence  of  all  superior  authority  is  not  by 
the  Persian  means  SO  good  as  government  by  others  when  properly 
invasion,  limited,  which  was  our  ancient  Athenian  constitution  at  the 
time  when  the  Persians  made  their  attack  on  Hellas,  or, 
speakingly  more  correctly,  on  the  whole  continent  of  Europe. 
There  were  four  classes,  arranged  according  to  a  property 
census,  and  reverence  was  our  queen  and  mistress,  and 
made  us  willing  to  live  in  obedience  to  the  laws  which  then 
prevailed.  Also  the  vastness  of  the  Persian  armament,  both 
by  sea  and  on  land,  caused  a  helpless  terror,  which  made  us 
more  and  more  the  servants  of  our  rulers  and  of  the  laws; 
and  for  all  these  reasons  an  exceeding  harmony  prevailed 
among  us.  About  ten  years  before  the  naval  engagement  at 
Salamis,  Datis  came,  leading  a  Persian  host  by  command  ,  of 
Darius,  which  was  expressly  directed  against  the  Athenians 
and  Eretrians,  having  orders  to  carry  them  away  captive; 
and  these  orders  he  was  to  execute  under  pain  of  death. 
Now  Datis  and  his  myriads  soon  became  complete  masters 
of  Eretria,  and  he  sent  a  fearful  report  to  Athens  that  no 
Eretrian  had  escaped  him ;  for  the  soldiers  of  Datis  had 
joined  hands  and  netted  the  whole  of  Eretria.  And  this 
report,  whether  well  or  ill  founded,  was  terrible  to  all  the 
Hellenes,  and  above  all  to  the  Athenians,  and  they  dis- 
patched embassies  in  all  directions,  but  no  one  was  willing 
to  come  to  their  relief,  with  the  exception  of  the  Lacedae- 
monians ;  and  they,  either  because  they  were  detained  by 
the  Messenian  war,  which  was  then  going  on,  or  for  some 
other  reason  of  which  we  are  not  told,  came  a  day  too  late 
for  the  battle  of  Marathon.  After  a  while,  the  news  arrived 
of  mighty  preparations  being  made,  and  innumerable  threats 
came  from  the  king.    Then,  as  time  went  on,  a  rumour 


The  noble  spirit  of  the  A thenians.  8 1 

reached  us  that  Darius  had  died,  and  that  his  son,  who  was  Laws  III. 
99  young  and  hot-headed,  had  come  to  the  throne  and  was  Athenian, 
persisting  in  his  design.    The  Athenians  were  under  the  megillus. 
impression  that  the  whole  expedition  was  directed  against 
them,  in  consequence  of  the  battle  of  Marathon;  and  hearing  xerxes. 
of  the  bridge  over  the  Hellespont,  and  the  canal  of  Athos, 
and  the  host  of  ships,  considering  that  there  was  no  salvation 
for  them  either  by  land  or  by  sea,  for  there  was  no  one  to 
help  them,  and  remembering  that  in  the  first  expedition, 
when  the  Persians  destroyed  Eretria,  no  one  came  to  their 
help,  or  would  risk  the  danger  of  an  alliance  with  them,  they 
thought  that  this  would  happen  again,  at  least  on  land  ;  nor,  The 
when  they  looked  to  the  sea,  could  they  descry  any  hope  of  ^'^^g^^J]^' 
salvation ;  for  they  were  attacked  by  a  thousand  vessels  and  supported, 
more.    One  chance  of  safety  remained,  slight  indeed  and  conquered, 
desperate,  but  their  only  one.    They  saw  that  on  the  former  they  were 
occasion  they  had  gained  a  seemingly  impossible  victory,  a  united 
and  borne  up  by  this  hope,  they  found  that  their  only  refuge  ^j-tisted  to"^ 
was  in  themselves  and  in  the  Gods.   All  these  things  created  themselves 
in  them  the  spirit  of  friendship  ;  there  was  the  fear  of  the 
moment,  and  there  was  that  higher  fear,  which  they  had 
acquired  by  obedience  to  their  ancient  laws,  and  which  I  Their  habit 
have  several  times  in  the  preceding  discourse  called  rever-  dience'to 
ence,  of  which  the  good  man  ought  to  be  a  willing  servant,  lawinspired 
and  of  which  the  coward  is  independent  and  fearless.    If     ^^"^  '^'^ 

^  fear  of  dis- 

this  fear  had  not  possessed  them,  they  would  never  have  grace, 
met  the  enemy,  or  defended  their  temples  and  sepulchres 
and  their  country,  and  everything  that  was  near  and  dear  to 
them,  as  they  did ;  but  little  by  little  they  would  have  been 
all  scattered  and  dispersed. 

Meg.  Your  words,  Athenian,  are  quite  true,  and  worthy  of 
yourself  and  of  your  country. 

Ath.  They  are  true,  Megillus ;  and  to  you,  who  have 
inherited  the  virtues  of  your  ancestors,  I  may  properly  speak 
of  the  actions  of  that  day.    And  I  would  wish  you  and  Too  much 
Cleinias  to  consider  whether  my  words  have  not  also  a  mie  the 
bearing  on  legislation ;  for  I  am  not  discoursing  only  for  peTsians'^ 
the  pleasure  of  talking,  but  for  the  argument's  sake.    Please  too  much 
to  remark  that  the  experience  both  of  ourselves  and  the 

•r,      .  .  .  of  the 

Persians  was,  m  a  certam  sense,  the  same;  for  as  they  led  Athenians. 

VOL.  V.  G 


82 


Laws  relating  to  music  and  the  theatre. 


Laws  III. 

Athenian, 
Megillus. 


Ancient 
simplicity 
and  good 
order  of 
music. 


The  reign 
of  misrule 
introduced 
by  the 
poets. 


their  people  into  utter  servitude,  so  we  too  led  ours  into  all 
freedom.  And  now,  how  shall  we  proceed  ?  for  I  would  like 
you  to  observe  that  our  previous  arguments  have  a  good 
deal  to  say  for  themselves. 

Meg.  True ;  but  I  wish  that  you  would  give  us  a  fuller  71 
explanation. 

Ath.  I  will.  Under  the  ancient  laws,  my  friends,  the 
people  was  not  as  now  the  master,  but  rather  the  willing 
servant  of  the  laws. 

Meg.  What  laws  do  you  mean  ? 

Ath.  In  the  first  place,  let  us  speak  of  the  laws  about 
music, — that  is  to  say,  such  music  as  then  existed,  —in  order 
that  we  may  trace  the  growth  of  the  excess  of  freedom  from 
the  beginning.  Now  music  was  early  divided  among  us  into 
certain  kinds  and  manners.  One  sort  consisted  of  prayers 
to  the  Gods,  which  were  called  hymns ;  and  there  was 
another  and  opposite  sort  called  lamentations,  and  another 
termed  paeans,  and  another,  celebrating  the  birth  of  Diony- 
sus, called,  I  believe,  'dithyrambs.'  And  they  used  the 
actual  word  '  laws,'  or  v6\).oi,  for  another  kind  of  song ;  and 
to  this  they  added  the  term  'citharoedic'  All  these  and 
others  were  duly  distinguished,  nor  were  the  performers 
allowed  to  confuse  one  style  of  music  with  another.  And 
the  authority  which  determined  and  gave  judgment,  and 
punished  the  disobedient,  was  not  expressed  in  a  hiss,  nor 
in  the  most  unmusical  shouts  of  the  multitude,  as  in  our 
da3'S,  nor  in  applause  and  clapping  of  hands.  But  the 
directors  of  public  instruction  insisted  that  the  spectators 
should  listen  in  silence  to  the  end ;  and  boys  and  their 
tutors,  and  the  multitude  in  general,  were  kept  quiet  by  a 
hint  from  a  stick.  Such  was  the  good  order  which  the 
multitude  were  willing  to  observe ;  they  would  never  have 
dared  to  give  judgment  by  noisy  cries.  And  then,  as  time 
went  on,  the  poets  themselves  introduced  the  reign  of  vulgar 
and  lawless  innovation.  They  were  men  of  genius,  but  they 
had  no  perception  of  what  is  just  and  lawful  in  music ;  raging 
like  Bacchanals  and  possessed  with  inordinate  delights — 
mingling  lamentations  with  hymns,  and  paeans  with  dithy- 
rambs; imitating  the  sounds  of  the  flute  on  the  lyre,  and 
making  one  general  confusion ;  ignorantly  affirming  that 


Degeneracy  in  music  leads  to  degeneracy  in  morals.  83 

music  has  no  truth,  and,  whether  good  or  bad,  can  only  be  Laws  III. 
judged  of  rightly  by  the  pleasure  of  the  hearer ^    And  by  Athenian, 
composing  such  licentious  works,  and  adding  to  them  words  ^^gillus. 
as  licentious,  they  have  inspired  the  multitude  with  lawless- 
ness and  boldness,  and  made  them  fancy  that  they  can  judge 
'01  for  themselves  about  melody  and  song.    And  in  this  way  the 
theatres  from  being  mute  have  become  vocal,  as  though  they 
had  understanding  of  good  and  bad  in  music  and  poetry; 
and  instead  of  an  aristocracy,  an  evil  sort  of  theatrocracy  has 
grown  up^.    For  if  the  democracy  which  judged  had  only 
consisted  of  educated  persons,  no  fatal  harm  would  have  been 
done ;  but  in  music  there  first  arose  the  universal  conceit  of  The  con- 
omniscience  and  general  lawlessness  ; — freedom  came  follow-  ^^'^  °^ 


niscience 


ing  afterwards,  and  men,  fancying  that  they  knew  what  they  led  to  law- 
did  not  know,  had  no  longer  any  fear,  and  the  absence  of 
fear  begets  shamelessness.  For  what  is  this  shamelessness, 
which  is  so  evil  a  thing,  but  the  insolent  refusal  to  regard 
the  opinion  of  the  better  by  reason  of  an  over-daring  sort 
of  liberty? 

Meg.  Very  true. 

Ath.  Consequent  upon  this  freedom  comes  the  other  free-- 
dom,  of  disobedience  to  rulers  ^ ;  and  then  the  attempt  to 
escape  the  control  and  exhortation  of  father,  mother,  elders, 
and  when  near  the  end,  the  control  of  the  laws  also ;  and  at 
the  very  end  there  is  the  contempt  of  oaths  and  pledges,  and 
no  regard  at  all  for  the  Gods, — herein  they  exhibit  and 
imitate  the  old  so-called  Titanic  nature,  and  come  to  the 
same  point  as  the  Titans  when  they  rebelled  against  God, 
leading  a  hfe  of  endless  evils.  But  why  have  I  said  all  this  ? 
I  ask,  because  the  argument  ought  to  be  pulled  up  from 
time  to  time,  and  not  be  allowed  to  run  away,  but  held  with 
bit  and  bridle,  and  then  we  shall  not,  as  the  proverb  says, 
fall  off  our  ass.  Let  us  then  once  more  ask  the  question. 
To  what  end  has  all  this  been  said  ? 

Meg.  Very  good. 

Ath.  This,  then,  has  been  said  for  the  sake  

Meg.  Of  what? 

Ath.  We  were  maintaining  that  the  lawgiver  ought  to 


'  Cp.  Rep.  iii  397  foil.       "  Cp.  Ar.  Pol.  viii.  6.       ^  Cp.  Rep.  iv.  424  E. 

G  2 


84 


Summary  of  results.  —  A  neiv  departure. 


Laws  111. 

Athenian, 

Clf.inias, 

Megii.lus. 

Three  chief 
objects  of 
legis- 
lation :— • 
freedom, 
harmony, 
good  sense. 


A  lucky 
omen. 

Cleinias 
and  nine 
other  Cno- 
sians  have 
been  em- 
powered by 
the  Cretan 
states  to 
superintend 
the  arrange- 
ments of  a 
colony. 


have  three  things  in  view :  first,  that  the  city  for  which  he 
legislates  should  be  free ;  and  secondly,  be  at  unity  with 
herself;   and  thirdly,  should  have   understanding; — these 
were  our  principles,  were  they  not  ? 
Meg.  Certainly. 

Ath.  With  a  view  to  this  we  selected  two  kinds  of  govern- 
ment, the  one  the  most  despotic,  and  the  other  the  most 
free  ;  and  now  we  are  considering  which  of  them  is  the  right 
form  :  we  took  a  mean  in  both  cases,  of  despotism  in  the 
one,  and  of  liberty  in  the  other,  and  we  saw  that  in  a  mean 
they  attained  their  perfection ;  but  that  when  they  were 
carried  to  the  extreme  of  either,  slavery  or  licence,  neither 
party  were  the  gainers. 

Meg.  Very  true.  702 

Aih.  And  that  was  our  reason  for  considering  the  settle- 
ment of  the  Dorian  army,  and  of  the  city  built  by  Dardanus 
at  the  fo'ot  of  the  mountains,  and  the  removal  of  cities  to 
the  seashore,  and  of  our  mention  of  the  first  men,  who  were 
the  survivors  of  the  deluge.  And  all  that  was  previously 
said  about  music  and  drinking,  and  what  preceded,  was  said 
with  the  view  of  seeing  how  a  state  might  be  best  adminis- 
tered, and  how  an  individual  might  best  order  his  own  life. 
And  now,  Megillus  and  Cleinias,  how  can  we  put  to  the 
proof  the  value  of  our  words  ? 

Cle.  Stranger,  I  think  that  I  see  how  a  proof  of  their 
value  may  be  obtained.  This  discu.ssion  of  ours  appears  to 
me  to  have  been  singularly  fortunate,  and  just  what  I  at  this 
moment  want ;  most  auspiciously  have  you  and  my  friend 
Megillus  come  in  my  way.  For  I  will  tell  you  what  has 
happened  to  me ;  and  I  regard  the  coincidence  as  a  sort 
of  omen.  The  greater  part  of  Crete  is  going  to  send  out 
a  colony,  and  they  have  entrusted  the  management  of  the 
affair  to  the  Cnosians ;  and  the  Cnosian  government  to  me 
and  nine  others.  And  they  desire  us  to  give  them  any  laws 
which  we  please,  whether  taken  from  the  Cretan  model  or 
from  any  other;  and  they  do  not  mind  about  their  being 
foreign  if  they  are  better.  Grant  me  then  this  favour,  which 
will  also  be  a  gain  to  yourselves  :— Let  us  make  a  selection 
from  what  has  been  said,  and  then  let  us  imagine  a  State  of 
which  we  will  suppose  ourselves  to  be  the  original  founders. 


The  Cnosian  Colony. 


85 


Thus  we  shall  proceed  with  our  enquiry,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
I  may  have  the  use  of  the  framework  which  you  are  con- 
structing, for  the  city  which  is  in  contemplation. 

AtJi.  Good  news,  Cleinias ;  if  Megillus  has  no  objection, 
you  may  be  sure  that  I  will  do  all  in  my  power  to  please 
you. 

Cle.  Thank  you. 

Meg.  And  so  will  I. 

Cle.  Excellent ;  and  now  let  us  begin  to  frame  the  State. 


Laivs  III. 

Athenian, 

Clf.inias, 

Megillus. 

The  three 
proceed  to 
make  l.iws 
for  it. 


BOOK  IV. 


Zaii's  IV. 

Athenian, 
Cleinias. 

The  situ- 
ation of 
the  new 
colony  : 


near  the 
sea,  and 
therefore 
favourable 
to  virtue  : 


Aihcnian  Stranger.  And  now,  what  will  this  city  be  ?  I 
do  not  mean  to  ask  what  is  or  will  hereafter  be  the  name 
of  the  place ;  that  may  be  determined  by  the  accident  of 
locality  or  of  the  original  settlement, — a  river  or  fountain, 
or  some  local  deity  may  give  the  sanction  of  a  name  to  the 
newly-founded  city;  but  I  do  want  to  know  what  the  situation 
is,  whether  maritime  or  inland. 

Cleinias.  I  should  imagine,  Stranger,  that  the  city  of  which 
we  are  speaking  is  about  eighty  stadia  distant  from  the  sea. 

Ath.  And  are  there  harbours  on  the  seaboard  ? 

Cle.  Excellent  harbours.  Stranger ;  there  could  not  be 
better. 

Ath.  Alas  !  what  a  prospect !  And  is  the  surrounding 
country  productive,  or  in  need  of  importations  ? 

Cle.  Hardly  in  need  of  anything. 

Ath.  And  is  there  any  neighbouring  State  ? 

Cle.  None  whatever,  and  that  is  the  reason  for  selecting 
the  place ;  in  days  of  old,  there  was  a  migration  of  the 
inhabitants,  and  the  region  has  been  deserted  from  time 
immemorial. 

Ath.  And  has  the  place  a  fair  proportion  of  hill,  and  plain, 
and  wood  ? 

Cle.  Like  the  rest  of  Crete  in  that. 

Ath.  You  mean  to  say  that  there  is  more  rock  than  plain  ? 
Cle.  Exactly. 

Ath.  Then  there  is  some  hope  that  your  citizens  may  be 
virtuous :  had  you  been  on  the  sea,  and  well  provided  with 
harbours,  and  an  importing  rather  than  a  producing  country, 


704 


J 


Natural  advantages  of  the  site. 


87 


some  mighty  saviour  would  have  been  needed,  and  lawgivers  Lmvs  IV. 
more  than  mortal,  if  you  were  ever  to  have  a  chance  of  pre-  Athenian, 
serving  your  state  from  degeneracy  and  discordance  of  man-  Clkinias. 
ners  \    But  there  is  comfort  in  the  eighty  stadia;  although  the 
sea  is  too  near,  especially  if,  as  you  say,  the  harbours  are  so 
good.    Still  we  may  be  content.    The  sea  is  pleasant  enough 
as  a  daily  companion,  but  has  indeed  also  a  bitter  and 
brackish  quality;  filling  the  streets  with  merchants  and  shop- 
keepers, and  begetting  in  the  souls  of  men  uncertain  and 
unfaithful  ways — making  the  state  unfriendly  and  unfaithful 
both  to  her  own  citizens,  and  also  to  other  nations.    There  self-sup- 
is  a  consolation,  therefore,  in  the  country  producing  all  things  P°"'"S  • 
at  home ;  and  yet,  owing  to  the  ruggedness  of  the  soil,  not 
providing  anything  in  great  abundance.    Had  there  been 
abundance,  there  might  have  been  a  great  export  trade,  and  a 
great  return  of  gold  and  silver;  which,  as  we  may  safely 
affirm,  has  the  most  fatal  results  on  a  State  whose  aim  is  the 
attainment  of  just  and  noble  sentiments  :  this  was  said  by  us, 
if  you  remember,  in  the  previous  discussion  ^ 

Cle.  I  remember,  and  am  of  opinion  that  we  both  were  and 
are  in  the  right. 

Ath.  Well,  but  let  me  ask,  how  is  the  country  supplied  with 
timber  for  ship-building  ? 

Clc.  There  is  no  fir  of  any  consequence,  nor  pine,  and  not  deficient  in 
much  cypress ;  and  you  will  find  very  little  stone-pine  or  ''"^^^ ' 
plane-wood,  which  shipwrights  always  require  for  the  interior 
of  ships. 

Ath.  These  are  also  natural  advantages. 
Cle.  Why  so  ? 

Ath.  Because  no  city  ought  to  be  easily  able  to  imitate  its 
enemies  in  what  is  mischievous. 

Cle.  How 'does  that  bear  upon  any  of  the  matters  of  which 
we  have  been  speaking  ? 

Ath.  Remember,  my  good  friend,  what  I  said  at  first "  about  and  there- 
the  Cretan  laws,  that  they  looked  to  one  thing  only,  and  this,  c 

,     ,  o  7  ;   adaptea  for 

as  you  both  agreed,  was  war ;  and  I  replied  that  such  laws,  maritime 

in  so  far  as  they  tended  to  promote  virtue,  were  good  :  but  in  '"f^^?'"?' 
that  they  regarded  a  part  only,  and  not  the  whole  of  virtue,  an  ad- 
I  disapproved  of  them.    And  now  I  hope  that  you  in  your  '^''^"tfige. 
'  Cp.  Ar.  Pol.  vii.  6,  §§  1-4.  2  sup.  iii.  679  13.  »  Cp.  i.  625  D. 


88 


The  story  of  Minos. 


Lwivs  IV. 
Athenian. 


For  mari- 
time war- 
fare often 
teaclies 
men  to  be 
cowards. 


Illustration 
of  this  from 
Homer. 


turn  will  follow  and  watch  me  if  I  legislate  with  a  view  to 
anything  but  virtue,  or  with  a  view  to  a  part  of  virtue  only. 
For  I  consider  that  the  true  lawgiver,  like  an  archer,  aims 
only  at  that  on  which  some  eternal  beauty  is  always  attend-  706 
ing,  and  dismisses  everything  else,  whether  wealth  or  any 
other  benefit,  when  separated  from  virtue.  I  was  saying  that 
the  imitation  of  enemies  was  a  bad  thing ;  and  I  was  thinking 
of  a  case  in  which  a  maritime  people  are  harassed  by 
enemies,  as  the  Athenians  were  by  Minos  (I  do  not  speak 
from  any  desire  to  recall  past  grievances) ;  but  he,  as  we 
know,  was  a  great  naval  potentate,  who  compelled  the  in- 
habitants of  Attica  to  pay  him  a  cruel  tribute  ;  and  in  those 
days  they  had  no  ships  of  war  as  they  now  have,  nor  was  the 
country  filled  with  ship-timber,  and  therefore  they  could  not 
readily  build  them.  Hence  they  could  not  learn  how  to 
imitate  their  enemy  at  sea,  and  in  this  way,  becoming  sailors 
themselves,  directly  repel  their  enemies.  Better  for  them  to 
have  lost  many  times  over  the  seven  youths,  than  that  heavy- 
armed  and  stationary  troops  should  have  been  turned  into 
sailors,  and  accustomed  to  be  often  leaping  on  shore,  and  again 
to  come  running  back  to  their  ships  ;  or  should  have  fancied 
that  there  was  no  disgrace  in  not  awaiting  the  attack  of  an 
enemy  and  dying  boldly;  and  that  there  were  good  reasons,, 
and  plenty  of  them,  for  a  man  throwing  away  his  arms,  and 
betaking  himself  to  flight, — which  is  not  dishonourable,  as 
people  say,  at  certain  times.  This  is  the  language  of  naval 
warfare,  and  is  anything  but  worthy  of  extraordinary  praise. 
For  we  should  not  teach  bad  habits,  least  of  all  to  the  best 
part  of  the  citizens.  You  may  learn  the  evil  of  such  a  prac- 
tice from  Homer,  by  whom  Odysseus  is  introduced,  rebuking 
Agamemnon,  because  he  desires  to  draw  down  the  ships  to 
the  sea  at  a  time  when  the  Achaeans  are  hard  pressed  by  the 
Trojans, — he  gets  angry  with  him,  and  says  : — 

'  Who,  at  a  time  when  the  battle  is  in  full  cry,  biddest  to  drag  the  well- 
benched  ships  into  the  sea,  that  the  prayers  of  the  Trojans  may  be  accomplished 
yet  more,  and  high  ruin  fall  upon  us.  P"or  the  Achaeans  will  not  maintain 
the  battle,  when  the  ships  arc  drawn  into  the  sea,  but  they  will  look  behind 
and  will  cease  from  strife;  in  that  the  counsel  which  you  give  will  prove 
injurious.' 


707 


You  sec  that  he  quite  knew  triremes  on  the  sea,  in  the  neigh- 


Mai^atlion  and  Plataea ;  Salamis  and  Artonisium. 


89 


bourhood  of  fighting  men,  to  be  an  evil; — lions  might  be  Lmus  IV. 
trained  in  that  way  to  fly  from  a  herd  of  deer.  Moreover,  Athenian, 
naval  powers  which  owe  their  safety  to  ships,  do  not  give 
honour  to  that  sort  of  warlike  excellence  which  is  most  de- 
serving of  it.  For  he  who  owes  his  safety  to  the  pilot  and 
:  the  captain,  and  the  oarsman,  and  all  sorts  of  rather  inferior 
j  persons,  cannot  rightly  give  honour  to  whom  honour  is  due. 
But  how  can  a  state  be  in  a  right  condition  which  cannot 
justly  award  honour  ? 

Cle.  It  is  hardly  possible,  I  admit ;  and  yet.  Stranger,  we  The  vic- 
Cretans  are  in  the  habit  of  saying  that  the  battle  of  Salamis  ^"^^^^^^ 
was  the  salvation  of  Hellas.  and  Pla- 

Ath.  Why,  yes;  and  that  is  an  opinion  which  is  widely  taea.not 
spread  both  among  Hellenes  and  barbarians.    But  Megillus  saiamis 
and  I  say  rather,  that  the  battle  of  Marathon  was  the  begin-  and  Arte- 
ning,  and  the  battle  of  Plataea  the  completion,  of  the  great  ™ivatk,'n  of 
deliverance,  and  that  these  battles  by  land  made  the  Hellenes  Hellas, 
better ;  whereas  the  sea-fights  of  Salamis  and  Artemisium — 
for  I  may  as  well  put  them  both  together — made  them  no 
better,  if  I  may  say  so  without  offence  about  the  battles  which 
helped  to  save  us.    And  in  estimating  the  goodness  of  a  Not  the 
state,  we  regard  both  the  situation  of  the  country  and  the  order  ™^''^  P''^" 

.       .  servation 

of  the  laws,  considering  that  the  mere  preservation  and  con-  of  life,  but 

tinuance  of  life  is  not  the  most  honourable  thing  for  men,  as  ^ 

the  vulgar  think,  but  the  continuance  of  the  best  life,  while  the  best 

we  live ;  and  that  again,  if  I  am  not  mistaken,  is  a  remark  the 

1  .  L  u      1,  J      1       J   1  'rwe  end  of 

which  has  been  made  already  .  ti^g  ^^^^^ 

Cle.  Yes. 

Ath.  Then  we  have  only  to  ask,  whether  we  are  taking 
the  course  which  we  acknowledge  to  be  the  best  for  the 
settlement  and  legislation  of  states. 

Cle.  The  best  by  far. 

Ath.  And  now  let  me  proceed  to  another  question  :  Who  Who  are  to 
are  to  be  the  colonists?  May  any  one  come  out  of  all 
Crete;  and  is  the  idea  that  the  population  in  the  several 
states  is  too  numerous  for  the  means  of  subsistence  ?  For  I 
suppose  that  you  are  not  going  to  send  out  a  general  invi- 
tation to  any  Hellene  who  likes  to  come.  And  yet  I  observe 
8  that  to  your  country  settlers  have  come  from  Argos  and 

'  Cp.  ii.  66 1. 


colonists? 


90 


A  qtiery  about  colonization. 


Laws  IV. 

Athenian, 
Cleinias. 

They  are  to 
be  drawn 
from  all 
Crete. 
Of  other 
Hellenes 
Pelopon- 
nesians  will 
be  spe- 
cially ac- 
ceptable. 


Should 
colonists 
be  of  one 
or  of  many 
races  ? 


Aegina  and  other  parts  of  Hellas,  Tell  me,  then,  whence  do 
you  draw  your  recruits  in  the  present  enterprise  ? 

Ch.  They  will  come  from  all  Crete  ;  and  of  other  Hellenes, 
Peloponnesians  will  be  most  acceptable.  For,  as  you  truly 
observe,  there  are  Cretans  of  Argive  descent ;  and  the  race 
of  Cretans  which  has  the  highest  character  at  the  present 
day  is  the  Gortynian,  and  this  has  come  from  Gortys  in  the 
Peloponnesus. 

Ath.  Cities  find  colonization  in  some  respects  easier  if  the 
colonists  are  one  race,  which  like  a  swarm  of  bees  is  sent  out 
from  a  single  country,  either  when  friends  leave  friends, 
owing  to  some  pressure  of  population  or  other  similar  neces- 
sity, or  when  a  portion  of  a  state  is  driven  by  factions  to 
emigrate.  And  there  have  been  whole  cities  which  have 
taken  flight  when  utterly  conquered  by  a  superior  power  in 
war.  This,  however,  which  is  in  one  way  an  advantage  to 
the  colonist  or  legislator,  in  another  point  of  view  creates  a 
difficulty.  There  is  an  element  of  friendship  in  the  com- 
munity of  race,  and  language,  and  laws,  and  in  common 
temples  and  rites  of  worship  ;  but  colonies  which  are  of  this 
homogeneous  sort  are  apt  to  kick  against  any  laws  or  any 
form  of  constitution  differing  from  that  which  they  had  at 
home  ;  and  although  the  badness  of  their  own  laws  may  have 
been  the  cause  of  the  factions  which  prevailed  among  them, 
yet  from  the  force  of  habit  they  would  fain  preserve  the  very 
customs  which  were  their  ruin,  and  the  leader  of  the  colony, 
who  is  their  legislator,  finds  them  troublesome  and  rebellious. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  conflux  of  several  populations  might 
be  more  disposed  to  listen  to  new  laws  ;  but  then,  to  make 
them  combine  and  pull  together,  as  they  say  of  horses,  is  a 
most  difficult  task,  and  the  work  of  years.  And  yet  there 
is  nothing  which  tends  more  to  the  improvement  of  mankind 
than  legislation  and  colonization. 

Cle.  No  doubt ;  but  I  should  like  to  know  why  you 
say  so. 

Ath.  My  good  friend,  I  am  afraid  that  the  course  of  my 
speculations  is  leading  me  to  say  something  depreciatory  of 
legislators ;  but  if  the  word  be  to  the  purpose,  there  can  be 
no  harm.  And  yet,  why  am  I  disquieted,  for  I  believe  that 
the  same  principle  applies  equally  to  all  human  things  ? 


The  antecedent  conditions  of  legislation. 


91 


09     Cle.  To  what  are  you  referring  ?  £aws  IV. 
Ath.  I  was  going  to  say  that  man  never  legislates,  but  Athenian, 
accidents  of  all  sorts,  which  legislate  for  us  in  all  sorts  of  Cleinus. 
ways.   The  violence  of  war  and  the  hard  necessity  of  poverty  it  some- 
are  constantly  overturning  governments  and  changing  laws.  ^"^^  ^P" 
And  the  power  of  disease  has  often  caused  innovations  in  if  man 
the  state,  when  there  have  been  pestilences,  or  when  there  "^verlegis- 

....        lated,  but 

has  been  a  succession  of  bad  seasons  contmuing  during  thatevery- 
many  years.    Any  one  who  sees  all  this,  naturally  rushes  to  J'^^l^s  ^^""^ 
the  conclusion  of  which  I  was  speaking,  that  no  mortal  legis-  chance, 
lates  in  anything,  but  that  in  human  affairs  chance  is  almost 
everything.    And  this  may  be  said  of  the  arts  of  the  sailor, 
and  the  pilot,  and  the  physician,  and  the  general,  and  may 
seem  to  be  well  said ;  and  yet  there  is  another  thing  which 
may  be  said  with  equal  truth  of  all  of  them. 
Cle.  What  is  it  ? 

Ath.  That  God  governs  all  things,  and  that  chance  and  The  truth 
opportunity  co-operate  with  Him  in  the  government  of  human  ^^^^^^ 
affairs.    There  is,  however,  a  third  and  less  extreme  view,  chance 
that  art  should  be  there  also;  for  I  should  say  that  in  a  working 
storm  there  must  surely  be  a  great  advantage  in  having  the  Art  too'is 
aid  of  the  pilot's  art.    You  would  agree  ?  a  cause. 

Cle.  Yes. 

Ath.  And  does  not  a  like  principle  apply  to  legislation  as 
well  as  to  other  things  :  even  supposing  all  the  conditions 
to  be  favourable  which  are  needed  for  the  happiness  of  the 
state,  yet  the  true  legislator  must  from  time  to  time  appear 
on  the  scene  ? 

Cle.  Most  true. 

Ath.  In  each  case  the  artist  would  be  able  to  pray  rightly 
for  certain  conditions,  and  if  these  were  granted  by  fortune, 
he  would  then  only  require  to  exercise  his  art  ? 

Cle.  Certainly. 

Ath.  And  all  the  other  artists  just  now  mentioned,  if  they  All  artists 
were  bidden  to  offer  up  each  their  special  prayer,  would  do  so  ?  ^"^^^  '^^^j''^ 

Cle.  Of  course.  conditions; 

Ath.  And  the  legislator  would  do  likewise  ?  ^"'^  ^° 

Cle.  I  believe  that  he  would. 

Ath.  '  Come,  legislator,'  we  will  say  to  him  ;  '  what  are  the 
conditions  which  you  require  in  a  state  before  you  can  organize 


92 


The  patriotic  tyrant,  pltcs  the  good  lawgiver. 


Laws  IV. 

Athenian, 
Cleinias. 

He  would 
say : — '  Let 
there  be 
a  tyrant 
who  has 
every 
virtue, 


and  tem- 
perance as 
the  con- 
dition of 
all  the  rest.' 


The  tyrant 
must  be  the 
contem- 
porary of 
a  great 
legislator. 


it  ?  '    How  ought  he  to  answer  this  question  ?    Shall  I  give 
his  answer  ? 
Cle.  Yes. 

Ath.  He  will  saj^ — 'Give  me  a  state  which  is  governed  by 
a  tyrant,  and  let  the  tyrant  be  young  and  have  a  good  memory ; 
let  him  be  quick  at  learning,  and  of  a  courageous  and  noble 
nature  ;  let  him  have  that  qualtity  which,  as  I  said  before,  is 
the  inseparable  companion  of  all  the  other  parts  of  virtue,  if  71 
there  is  to  be  any  good  in  them.' 

Cle.  I  suppose,  Megillus,  that  this  companion  virtue  of  which 
the  Stranger  speaks,  must  be  temperance  ? 

Alh.  Yes,  Cleinias,  temperance  in  the  vulgar  sense ;  not 
that  which  in  the  forced  and  exaggerated  language  of  some 
philosophers  is  called  prudence,  but  that  which  is  the  natural 
gift  of  children  and  animals,  of  whom  some  live  continently 
and  others  incontinently,  but  when  isolated,  was,  as  we  said, 
hardly  worth  reckoning  in  the  catalogue  of  goods'.  I  think 
that  you  must  understand  my  meaning. 

Cle.  Certainly. 

Ath.  Then  our  tyrant  must  have  this  as  well  as  the  other 
qualities,  if  the  state  is  to  acquire  in  the  best  manner  and  in 
the  shortest  time  the  form  of  government  which  is  most 
conducive  to  happiness ;  for  there  neither  is  nor  ever  will  be 
a  better  or  speedier  way  of  establishing  a  polity  than  by  a 
tyranny. 

Cle.  By  what  possible  arguments.  Stranger,  can  any  man 
persuade  himself  of  such  a  monstrous  doctrine  ? 

Ath.  There  is  surely  no  difficulty  in  seeing,  Cleinias,  what 
is  in  accordance  with  the  order  of  nature  ? 

Cle.  You  would  assume,  as  you  say,  a  tyrant  who  was 
young,  temperate,  quick  at  learning,  having  a  good  memory', 
courageous,  of  a  noble  nature? 

Ath.  Yes ;  and  you  must  add  fortunate ;  and  his  good 
fortune  must  be  that  he  is  the  contemporary  of  a  gi-eat 
legislator,  and  that  some  happy  chance  brings  them  together. 
When  this  has  been  accomplished,  God  has  done  all  that  He 
ever  does  for  a  state  which  He  desires  to  be  eminently 
prosperous ;  He  has  done  second  best  for  a  state  in  which 
there  are  two  such  rulers,  and  third  best  for  a  state  in  which 

'  Cj).  supra,  iii.  6y')  1). 


The  ty7'ant  can  make  his  people  2vhat  he  wills. 


93 


an  oli- 
garchy. 


there  are  three.  The  difficulty  increases  with  the  increase,  Laws  IV. 
and  diminishes  with  the  diminution  of  the  number.  Athenian, 

Cle.  You  mean  to  say,  I  suppose,  that  the  best  government  ^'-^'^ias. 
is  produced  from  a  tyranny,  and  originates  in  a  good  lawgiver 
and  an  orderly  tyrant,  and  that  the  change  from  such  a 
tyranny  into  a  perfect  form  of  government  takes  place  most 
easily;  less  easily  when  from  an  oligarchy;  and,  in  the  third 
degree,  from  a  democracy:  is  not  that  your  meaning  ? 

Ath.  Not  so;  I  mean  rather  to  say  that  the  change  is  best  The  perfect 
made  out  of  a  tyranny;  and  secondly,  out  of  a  monarchy;  be^formed, 
and  thirdly,  out  of  some  sort  of  democracy  :  fourth,  in  the  (i)  most 
capacity  for  improvement,  comes  oligarchy,  which  has  the  easily  from 
greatest  difficulty  in  admitting  of  such  a  change,  because  the  (2)  less  so 
government  is  in  the  hands  of  a  number  of  potentates.    I  am  from  a 
supposing  that  the  legislator  is  by  nature  of  the  true  sort,  (^""^nness 
and  that  his  strength  is  united  with  that  of  the  chief  men  of  from  a 
the  state ;  and  when  the  ruling  element  is  numerically  small,  ^^y^^^^"^ ' 
I  and  at  the  same  time  very  strong,  as  in  a  tyranny,  there  the  easily  from 
change  is  likely  to  be  easiest  and  most  rapid. 

Cle.  How  ?  I  do  not  understand. 

Ath.  And  yet  I  have  repeated  what  I  am  saying  a  good 
many  times  ;  but  I  suppose  that  you  have  never  seen  a  city 
which  is  under  a  tyranny  ? 

Ck.  No,  and  I  cannot  say  that  I  have  any  great  desire  to 
see  one. 

Alh.  And  yet,  where  there  is  a  tyranny,  you  might  certainly 
see  that  of  which  I  am  now  speaking. 
Cle,  What  do  you  mean  ? 

Ath.  I  mean  that  you  might  see  how,  without  trouble  and  The  change 
in  no  very  long  period  of  time,  the  tyrant,  if  he  wishes,  can  gg-gg^g^^'^y 
change  the  manners  of  a  state :  he  has  only  to  go  in  the  the  ex- 
direction  of  virtue  or  of  vice,  whichever  he  prefers,  he  himself  ^""^'^  ^"^^ 
indicating  by  his  example  the  lines  of  conduct,  praising  and  povverofa 
rewarding  some  actions  and  reproving  others,  and  degrading  tyrant, 
those  who  disobey. 

Cle.  But  how  can  we  imagine  that  the  citizens  in  general 
will  at  once  follow  the  example  set  to  them ;  and  how  can  he 
have  this  power  both  of  persuading  and  of  compelling  them  ? 

Ath.  Let  no  one,  my  friends,  persuade  us  that  there  is  any 
quicker  and  easier  way  in  which  states  change  their  laws  than 


94 


The  difficulty  is  zvhere  to  find  such  a  tyrant. 


Laws  I V. 

Athenian, 
Cleinias. 


Rare  is  the 
combina- 
tion of 
power  and 
wisdom. 


What  is  to 
be  the 
govern- 
ment of  tlie 
colony  ? 


when  the  rulers  lead :  such  changes  never  have,  nor  ever  will, 
come  to  pass  in  any  other  way.  The  real  impossibility  or 
difficulty  is  of  another  sort,  and  is  rarely  surmounted  in  the 
course  of  ages;  but  when  once  it  is  surmounted,  ten  thousand 
or  rather  all  blessings  follow. 
Cle.  Of  what  are  you  speaking  ? 

Ath.  The  difficulty  is  to  find  the  divine  love  of  temperate 
and  just  institutions  existing  in  any  powerful  forms  of  govern- 
ment, whether  in  a  monarchy  or  oligarchy  of  wealth  or  of 
birth.  You  might  as  well  hope  to  reproduce  the  character 
of  Nestor,  who  is  said  to  have  excelled  all  men  in  the  power 
of  speech,  and  yet  more  in  his  temperance.  This,  however, 
according  to  the  tradition,  was  in  the  times  of  Troy ;  in  our 
own  days  there  is  nothing  of  the  sort ;  but  if  such  an  one 
either  has  or  ever  shall  come  into  being,  or  is  now  among  us, 
blessed  is  he  and  blessed  are  they  who  hear  the  wise  words 
that  flow  from  his  lips.  And  this  may  be  said  of  power  in 
general :  When  the  supreme  power  in  man  coincides  with  the  7 
greatest  wisdom  and  temperance,  then  the  best  laws  and  the 
best  constitution  come  into  being ;  but  in  no  other  way.  And 
let  what  I  have  been  saying  be  regarded  as  a  kind  of  sacred 
legend  or  oracle,  and  let  this  be  our  proof  that,  in  one  point 
of  view,  there  may  be  a  difficulty  for  a  city  to  have  good  laws, 
but  that  there  is  another  point  of  view  in  which  nothing  can 
be  easier  or  sooner  effected,  granting  our  supposition. 

Cle.  How  do  you  mean  ? 

Ath.  Let  us  try  to  amuse  ourselves,  old  boys  as  we  are,  by 
moulding  in  words  the  laws  which  are  suitable  to  your  state  \ 
Cle.  Let  us  proceed  without  delay. 

Ath.  Then  let  us  invoke  God  at  the  settlement  of  our  state; 
may  He  hear  and  be  propitious  to  us,  and  come  and  set  in 
order  the  State  and  the  laws  ! 

Cle.  May  He  come  ! 

Ath.  But  what  form  of  polity  are  we  going  to  give  the 
city? 

Cle.  Tell  us  what  you  mean  a  little  more  clearly.  Do  you 
mean  some  form  of  democracy,  or  oligarchy,  or  aristocracy,  or 
monarchy  ?  For  we  cannot  suppose  that  you  would  include 
tyranny. 

1  Cp.  V.  746  A. 


The  age  of  Cronos. 


95 


Ath.  Which  of  you  will  first  tell  me  to  which  of  these   Laws  IV. 

classes  his  own  government  is  to  be  referred?  Athenian, 
Meg.    Ought  I  to  answer  first,  since  I  am  the  elder  ?  MEcI'Ltus 
Cle.  Perhaps  you  should.  ^i^^^ 
Meg.  And  yet,  Stranger,  I  perceive  that  I  cannot  say,  your  own 

without  more  thought,  what  I  should  call  the  government  of  govern- 

ments? 

Lacedaemon,  for  it  seems  to  me  to  be  like  a  tyranny,— the  ^^^^^ 
power  of  our  Ephors  is  marvellously  tyrannical ;  and  some-  seems  to  be 
times  it  appears  to  me  to  be  of  all  cities  the  most  democratical ;  of™Sny, 
and  who  can  reasonably  deny  that  it  is  an  aristocracy^  ?   We  monarchy, 
have  also  a  monarchy  which  is  held  for  life,  and  is  said  by  aristocracy, 

,  democracy. 

all  mankind,  and  not  by  ourselves  only,  to  be  the  most  ancient 
of  all  monarchies  ;  and,  therefore,  when  asked  on  a  sudden,  I 
cannot  precisely  say  which  form  of  government  the  Spartan  is. 

Cle.  I  am  in  the  same  difficulty,  Megillus ;  for  I  do  not  feel  So  too 

confident  that  the  polity  of  Cnosus  is  any  of  these.  Cnosus. 

Ath.  The  reason  is,  my  excellent  friends,  that  you  really  Most  states 

have  polities,  but  the  states  of  which  we  were  just  now  "i^^^^jng^'^ 

speaking  are  merely  aggregations  of  men  dwelling  in  cities  power. 
3  who  are  the  subjects  and  servants  of  a  part  of  their  own 
state,  and  each  of  them  is  named  after  the  dominant  power ; 

they  are  not  polities  at  all.    But  if  states  are  to  be  named  The  perfect 

after  their  rulers,  the  true  state  ought  to  be  called  by  the  state  should 

'  .  °  •'be  called 

name  of  the  God  who  rules  over  wise  men.  the  City  of 

Cle.  And  who  is  this  God  ? 

Ath.  May  I  still  make  use  of  fable  to  some  extent,  in  the 
hope  that  I  may  be  better  able  to  answer  your  question : 
shall  I? 

Cle.  By  all  means. 

Ath.  In  the  primeval  world,  and  a  long  while  before  the 
cities  came  into  being  whose  settlements  we  have  described, 
there  is  said  to  have  been  in  the  time  of  Cronos  a  blessed 
rule  and  life,  of  which  the  best-ordered  of  existing  states 
is  a  copy^ 

Cle.  It  will  be  very  necessary  to  hear  about  that. 

Ath.  I  quite  agree  with  you ;  and  therefore  I  have  intro- 
duced the  subject. 

Cle.  Most  appropriately;  and  since  the  tale  is  to  the  point, 
you  will  do  well  in  giving  us  the  whole  story. 

'  Cp.  Ar.  Pol.  ii.  6,  §  17.  2  Cp.  Statesman  271. 


96 


Theoci'acy  the  only  true  form  of  governinent. 


Laws  IV. 

Athenian, 
Cleinias. 

In  the  days 
of  Cronos 
men  were 
governed 
by  demi- 
gods, 


who  were 
to  mankind 
what  shep- 
herds are 
to  animals. 


To  the 
divine  rule 
we  must 
return,  as 
far  as  we 
can. 


Ath.  I  will  do  as  you  suggest.  There  is  a  tradition  of  the 
happy  life  of  mankind  in  days  when  all  things  were  spon- 
taneous and  abundant.  And  of  this  the  reason  is  said  to 
have  been  as  follows: — Cronos  knew  what  we  ourselves  were 
declaring^  that  no  human  nature  invested  with  supreme 
power  is  able  to  order  human  affairs  and  not  overflow  with 
insolence  and  wrong.  Which  reflection  led  him  to  appoint 
not  men  but  demigods,  who  are  of  a  higher  and  more  divine 
race,  to  be  the  kings  and  rulers  of  our  cities ;  he  did  as  we 
do  with  flocks  of  sheep  and  other  tame  animals.  For  we  do 
not  appoint  oxen  to  be  the  lords  of  oxen,  or  goats  of  goats; 
but  we  ourselves  are  a  superior  race,  and  rule  over  them. 
In  like  manner  God,  in  His  love  of  mankind,  placed  over  us 
the  demons,  who  are  a  superior  race,  and  they  with  great 
ease  and  pleasure  to  themselves,  and  no  less  to  us,  taking 
care  of  us  and  giving  us  peace  and  reverence  and  order  and 
justice  never  failing,  made  the  tribes  of  men  happy  and 
united.  And  this  tradition,  which  is  true,  declares  that 
cities  of  which  some  mortal  man  and  not  God  is  the  ruler, 
have  no  escape  from  evils  and  toils.  Still  we  must  do  all 
that  we  can  to  imitate  the  life  which  is  said  to  have  existed 
in  the  days  of  Cronos,  and,  as  far  as  the  principle  of  immor- 
talit}'  dwells  in  us,  to  that  we  must  hearken,  both  in  private 
and  public  life,  and  regulate  our  cities  and  houses  according  714 
to  law,  meaning  by  the  very  term  'law,'  the  distribution  of 
mind".  But  if  either  a  single  person  or  an  oligarchy  or  a 
democracy  has  a  soul  eager  after  pleasures  and  desires  — 
wanting  to  be  filled  with  them,  yet  retaining  none  of  them, 
and  perpetually  afflicted  with  an  endless  and  insatiable  dis- 
order; and  this  evil  spirit,  having  first  trampled  the  laws 
under  foot,  becomes  the  master  either  of  a  state  or  of  an 
individual, — then,  as  I  was  saying,  salvation  is  hopeless.  ' 
And  now,  Cleinias,  we  have  to  consider  whether  you  will  or 
will  not  accept  this  tale  of  mine. 

Ch.  Certainly  we  will. 

Ath.  You  are  aware, — are  you  not? — that  there  are  often 
said  to  be  as  many  forms  of  laws  as  there  are  of  governments, 
and  of  the  latter  we  have  already  mentioned '  all  those  which 
are  commonly  recognized.    Now  you  must  regard  this  as 

'  supra,  iii.  691.  °  j'(Jyuoy  =  vo?  Smvo/f^.  '  supra .  712  C. 


The  vtilgar  notion  of  Jtistice. 


97 


a  matter  of  first-rate  importance.    For  what  is  to  be  the  Laws  IV. 

standard  of  just  and  unjust,  is  once  more  the  point  at  Athenian, 

issue.    Men  say  that  the  law  ought  not  to  regard  either  Cleinias. 

miUtary  virtue,  or  virtue  in  general,  but  only  the  interests  |^^^jy°j]^' 

and  power  and  preservation  of  the  established  form  of  fine  justice 

government;  this  is  thought  by  them  to  be  the  best  way  1°^^^^^^ 

of  expressing  the  natural  definition  of  justice.  of  the 

Cle.  How?  stronger, 

Ath.  Justice  is  said  by  them  to  be  the  interest  of  the  stronger\ 
Cle.  Speak  plainer. 

Ath.  I  will: — 'Surely,'  they  say,  'the  governing  power  meaning  by 
makes  whatever  laws  have  authority  in  any  state  '  ?  ^^^^ 

•'  security 
Cle.  True.  and  con- 

Ath.  'Well,'  they  would  add,  'and  do  you  suppose  that  ^'""^g*^^ 
tyranny  or  democracy,  or  any  other  conquering  power,  does  rulingclass. 
not  make  the  continuance  of  the  power  which  is  possessed  by 
them  the  first  or  principal  object  of  their  laws '  ? 

Cle.  How  can  they  have  any  other? 

Ath.  'And  whoever  transgresses  these  laws  is  punished  as 
an  evil-doer  by  the  legislator,  who  calls  the  laws  just '  ? 
Cle.  Naturally. 

Ath.  'This,  then,  is  always  the  mode  and  fashion  in  which 
justice  exists.' 

Cle.  Certainly,  if  they  are  correct  in  their  view. 

Ath.  Why,  yes,  this  is  one  of  those  false  principles  of 
government  to  which  we  were  referring^. 

Cle.  Which  do  you  mean  ? 

Ath.  Those  which  we  were  examining  when  we  spoke  of 
who  ought  to  govern  whom.  Did  we  not  arrive  at  the  con- 
clusion that  parents  ought  to  govern  their  children,  and  the 
elder  the  younger,  and  the  noble  the  ignoble?  And  there 
were  many  other  principles,  if  you  remember,  and  they  were 
not  always  consistent.  One  principle  was  this  very  principle 
of  might,  and  we  said  that  Pindar  considered  violence  natural 
and  justified  it. 
715     Cle.  Yes;  I  remember. 

Ath.  Consider,  then,  to  whom  our  state  is  to  be  entrusted.  But  the 
For  there  is  a  thing  which  has  occurred  times  without  forms  of 
number  in  states   government 

which  are 

'  Rep.  i.  338,  ii.  367.  2  Supra,  iii.  690  B. 

VOL.  V.  H 


98 


The  best  subject  shall  be  the  highest  ruler. 


Laws  IV. 

Athenian, 
Cleinus. 

based  on 
this  prin- 
ciple are  not 
govern- 
mentsat  all. 


Rulesliould 
be  given, 
not  to  the 
richest 
or  the 
strongest, 
but  to  him 
who  is  most 
obedient  to 
the  law. 


The  keen 
sight  of 
the  aged. 


Address 
to  the 
colonists. 


God  moves 
in  a  straight 


Cle.  What  thing  ? 

Ath.  That  when  there  has  been  a  contest  for  power,  those 
who  gain  the  upper  hand  so  entirely  monopolize  the  govern- 
ment, as  to  refuse  all  share  to  the  defeated  party  and  their 
descendants— they  live  watching  one  another,  the  ruling  class 
being  in  perpetual  fear  that  some  one  who  has  a  recollection 
of  former  wrongs  will  come  into  power  and  rise  up  against 
them.    Now,  according  to  our  view,  such  governments  are 
not  polities  at  all,  nor  are  laws  right  which  are  passed  for  the 
good  of  particular  classes  and  not  for  the  good  of  the  whole 
state.    States  which  have  such  laws  are  not  polities  but 
parties,  and  their  notions  of  justice  are  simply  unmeaning. 
I  say  this,  because  I  am  going  to  assert  that  we  must  not 
entrust  the  government  in  your  state  to  any  one  because  he 
is  rich,  or  because  he  possesses  any  other  advantage,  such  as 
strength,  or  stature,  or  again  birth :  but  he  who  is  most 
obedient  to  the  laws  of  the  state,  he  shall  win  the  palm  ;  and 
to  him  who  is  victorious  in  the  first  degree  shall  be  given  the 
highest  office  and  chief  ministry  of  the  gods  ;  and  the  second 
to  him  who  bears  the  second  palm ;  and   on   a  similar 
principle  shall  all  the  other  offices  be  assigned  to  those  who 
come  next  in  order.    And  when  I  call  the  rulers  servants  or 
ministers  of  the  law,  I  give  them  this  name  not  for  the  sake 
of  novelty,  but  because  I  certainly  believe  that  upon  such 
service  or  ministry  depends  the  well-  or  ill-being  of  the  state. 
For  that  state  in  which  the  law  is  subject  and  has  no 
authority,  I  perceive  to  be  on  the  highway  to  ruin ;  but  I  see 
that  the  state  in  which  the  law  is  above  the  rulers,  and  the 
rulers  are  the  inferiors  of  the  law,  has  salvation,  and  every 
blessing  which  the  Gods  can  confer. 

Cle.  Truly,  Stranger,  you  see  with  the  keen  vision  of  age*. 

Ath.  Why,  yes ;  every  man  when  he  is  young  has  that 
sort  of  vision  dullest,  and  when  he  is  old  keenest. 

Cle.  Very  true, 

Ath.  And  now,  what  is  to  be  the  next  step  ?  May  we  not 
suppose  the  colonists  to  have  arrived,  and  proceed  to  make 
our  speech  to  them  ? 

Cle.  Certainly. 

Ath.  '  Friends,'  we  say  to  them, — 'God,  as  the  old  tradition 
'  Or : — '  for  a  man  of  your  age  you  have  a  keen  sight.' 


The  life  of  measure. 


99 


declares,  holding  in  His  hand  the  beginning,  middle,  and  end  Laws  IV. 

716  of  all  that  is,  travels  according  to  His  nature  in  a  straight  Athenian, 

line  towards  the  accomplishment  of  His  end.    Justice  alwa3's  Cleinias. 

accompanies  Him,  and  is  the  punisher  of  those  who  fall  short  path  ac- 

of  the  divine  law.    To  justice,  he  who  would  be  happy  holds  a°dfvinV° 

fast,  and  follows  in  her  company  with  all  humility  and  order;  law,  and 

but  he  who  is  lifted  up  with  pride,  or  elated  by  wealth  or  ^oiji^^e 

rank,  or  beauty,  who  is  young  and  foolish,  and  has  a  soul  hot  happy 

with  insolence,  and  thinks  that  he  has  no  need  of  any  guide  fas°t"to  thaf 

or  ruler,  but  is  able  himself  to  be  the  guide  of  others,  he,  law. 
I  say,  is  left  deserted  of  God ;  and  being  thus  deserted, 
he  takes  to  him  others  who  are  like  himself,  and  dances 
about,  throwing  all  things  into  confusion,  and  many  think 
that  he  is  a  great  man,  but  in  a  short  time  he  pays  a  penalty 
which  justice  cannot  but  approve,  and  is  utterly  destroyed, 

and  his  family  and  city  with  him.    Wherefore,  seeing  that  Seeing 

human  things  are  thus  ordered,  what  should  a  wise  man  *!^f^^ 

°  '  things, 

do  or  think,  or  not  do  or  think'?  whatshould 
Clc.  Every  man  ought  to  make  up  his  mind  that  he  will 

or  be  ? 

be  one  of  the  followers  of  God  ;  there  can  be  no  doubt  of 
that. 

Ath.  Then  what  life  is  agreeable  to  God,  and  becoming  in 
His  followers?  One  only,  expressed  once  for  all  in  the  old 
saying  that  'like  agrees  with  like,  with  measure  measure,' 
but  things  which  have  no  measure  agree  neither  with  them- 
selves nor  with  the  things  which  have.  Now  God  ought  to  God  is  the 
be  to  us  the  measure  of  all  things,  and  not  man',  as  men  "Jf a^ure  of 

all  things  ; 

commonly  say  (Protagoras) :  the  words  are  far  more  true  of  and  they 
Him.    And  he  who  would  be  dear  to  God  must,  as  far  as  is  ^'^^ 
possible,  be  like  Him  and  such  as  He  is.    Wherefore  the  conform  to 
temperate  man  is  the  friend  of  God,  for  he  is  like  Him  ;  and  ^^'^ 
the  intemperate  man  is  unlike  Him,  and  different  from  Him,  They  are 
and  unjust.   And  the  same  applies  to  other  things ;  and  this  is  His  friends 
the  conclusion,  which  is  also  the  noblest  and  truest  of  all  accepts 
sayings,— that  for  the  good  man  to  offer  sacrifice  to  the  their 
Gods,  and  hold  converse  with  them  by  means  of  prayers  and 
offerings  and  every  kind  of  service,  is  the  noblest  and  best  of 
all  things,  and  also  the  most  conducive  to  a  happy  life,  and 
very  fit  and  meet.    But  with  the  bad  man,  the  opposite  of 

'  Cp.  Crat.  386  A  foil. ;  Theact.  152  A. 
H  2 


lOO 


The  whole  duty  of  man. 


Laws  IV. 
Athenian. 


The  first 
honour  is 
to  be  given 
to  the  Gods 
of  Olympus 
and  of  the 
state  ;  the 
second  to 
the  Gods 
below  ; 
the  third 
honour  to 
demons, 
heroes, 
ancestral 
Gods ;  next 
comes  the 
honour  of 
parents, 
living  or 
dead. 


this  is  true  :  for  the  bad  man  has  an  impure  soul,  whereas  the 
good  is  pure ;  and  from  one  who  is  polluted,  neither  a  good 
man  nor  God  can  without  impropriety  receive  gifts.  Where- 
fore the  unholy  do  only  waste  their  much  service  upon  the  7 
Gods,  but  when  offered  by  any  holy  man,  such  service  is 
most  acceptable  to  them.  This  is  the  mark  at  which  we 
ought  to  aim.  But  what  weapons  shall  we  use,  and  how 
shall  we  direct  them  ?  In  the  first  place,  we  affirm  that  next 
after  the  Olympian  Gods  and  the  Gods  of  the  State,  honour 
should  be  given  to  the  Gods  below ;  they  should  receive 
everything  in  even  numbers,  and  of  the  second  choice,  and 
ill  omen,  while  the  odd  numbers,  and  the  first  choice,  and  the 
things  of  lucky  omen,  are  given  to  the  Gods  above,  by  him 
who  would  rightly  hit  the  mark  of  piety.  Next  to  these 
Gods,  a  wise  man  will  do  service  to  the  demons  or  spirits, 
and  then  to  the  heroes,  and  after  them  will  follow  the  private 
and  ancestral  Gods,  who  are  worshipped  as  the  law  pre- 
scribes in  the  places  which  are  sacred  to  them.  Next  comes 
the  honour  of  living  parents,  to  whom,  as  is  meet,  we  have  to 
pay  the  first  and  greatest  and  oldest  of  all  debts,  considering 
that  all  which  a  man  has  belongs  to  those  who  gave  him  birth 
and  brought  him  up,  and  that  he  must  do  all  that  he  can 
to  minister  to  them,  first,  in  his  property,  secondly,  in  his 
person,  and  thirdly,  in  his  soul,  in  return  for  the  endless 
care  and  travail  which  they  bestowed  upon  him  of  old,  in  the 
days  of  his  infancy,  and  which  he  is  now  to  pay  back  to  them 
when  they  are  old  and  in  the  extremity  of  their  need.  And 
all  his  life  long  he  ought  never  to  utter,  or  to  have  uttered, 
an  unbecoming  word  to  them ;  for  of  light  and  fleeting 
words  the  penalty  is  most  severe ;  Nemesis,  the  messenger 
of  justice,  is  appointed  to  watch  over  all  such  matters.  When 
they  are  angry  and  want  to  satisfy  their  feelings  in  word  or 
deed,  he  should  give  way  to  them ;  for  a  father  who  thinks 
that  he  has  been  wronged  by  his  son  may  be  reasonably 
expected  to  be  very  angry.  At  their  death,  the  most 
moderate  funeral  is  best,  neither  exceeding  the  customary 
expense,  nor  yet  falling  short  of  the  honour  which  has  been 
usually  shown  by  the  former  generation  to  their  parents. 
And  let  a  man  not  forget  to  pay  the  yearly  tribute  of  respect 
to  the  dead,  honouring  them  chiefly  by  omitting  nothing  that 


The  saying  of  Hesiod  abotU  virtue. 


lOI 


i8  conduces  to  a  perpetual  remembrance  of  them,  and  giving  a  Laws  IV. 

reasonable  portion  of  his  fortune  to  the  dead.    Doing  this,  Athenian, 

and  hving  after  this  manner,  we  shall  receive  our  reward  Cleinias. 
from  the  Gods  and  those  who  are  above  us  [i.e.  the  demons]  ; 
and  we  shall  spend  our  days  for  the  most  part  in  good 

hope.    And  how  a  man  ought  to  order  what  relates  to  his  Hospi- 

descendants  and  his  kindred  and  friends  and  fellow-citizens,  l^^'^^.f;'^'^ 

the  other 

and  the  rites  of  hospitality  taught  by  Heaven,  and  the  inter-  duties  of 
course  which  arises  out  of  all  these  duties,  with  a  view  to  social  hfe 

1    •         r  1  •  IT        Will  also  be 

the  embellishment  and  orderly  regulation  of  his  own  life —  regulated 
these  things,  I  say,  the  laws,  as  we  proceed  with  them,  will  '^w- 
accomplish,  partly  persuading,  and  partly  when  natures  do 
not  yield  to  the  persuasion  of  custom,  chastising  them  by 
might  and  right,  and  will  thus  render  our  state,  if  the  Gods 
co-operate  with  us,  prosperous  and  happy.    But  of  what 
has  to  be  said,  and  must  jDe  said  by  the  legislator  who  is 
of  my  way  of  thinking,  and  yet,  if  said  in  the  form  of 
law,  would  be  out  of  place — of  this  I  think  that  he  may 
give  a  sample  for  the  instruction  of  himself  and  of  those 
for  whom  he  is  legislating ;  and  then  when,  as  far  as  he 
is  able,  he  has  gone  through  all  the  preliminaries,  he  may 
proceed  to  the  work  of  legislation.    Now,  what  will  be  And  the 
the  form  of  such  prefaces  ?    There  may  be  a  difficulty  in  [^^^ 

^  J  J         have  pre- 

including  or  describing  them  all  under  a  single  form,  but  faces,  which 
I  think  that  we  may  get  some  notion  of  them  if  we  can  "^^^ 

summed  up 

guarantee  one  thing.  in  a  general 

Cle.  What  is  that  ?  preface,  or 

Ath.  I  should  wish  the  citizens  to  be  as  readily  persuaded  fo?vh-'tue°" 
to  virtue  as  possible  ;  this  will  surely  be  the  aim  of  the 
legislator  in  all  his  laws. 

Cle.  Certainly. 

Ath.  The  proposal  appears  to  me  to  be  of  some  value  ; 
and  I  think  that  a  person  will  listen  with  more  gentleness  and 
good-will  to  the  precepts  addressed  to  him  by  the  legislator, 
when  his  soul  is  not  altogether  unprepared  to  receive  them. 
Even  a  little  done  in  the  way  of  conciliation  gains  his  ear, 
and  is  always  worth  having.  For  there  is  no  great  inclina- 
tion or  readiness  on  the  part  of  mankind  to  be  made  as  good, 
or  as  quickly  good,  as  possible.  The  case  of  the  many  proves 
the  wisdom  of  Hesiod,  who  says  that  the  road  to  wickedness 


I02 


The  poet  and  the  lawgiver. 


Lmvs  IV. 

Athenian, 
Cleinias. 

for  the  way 
is  difficult, 
as  Hesiod 
says. 


The  poet 
may  con- 
tradict him- 
self as 
often  as  he 
pleases,  but 
the  legis- 
lator must 
be  definite 
and  con- 
sistent. 


is  smooth  and  can  be  travelled  without  perspiring,  because  it 
is  so  very  short : — 

'But  before  virtue  the  immortal  Gods  have  placed  the  sweat  of  labour,  and 
long  and  steep  is  the  way  thither,  and  rugged  at  first;  but  when  you  have  71 
reached  the  top,  although  difficult  before,  it  is  then  easy '.' 

Cle.  Yes  ;  and  he  certainly  speaks  well. 
Ath.  Very  true :  and  now  let  me  tell  you  the  effect  which 
the  preceding  discourse  has  had  upon  me. 
Cle.  Proceed. 

Ath.  Suppose  that  we  have  a  little  conversation  with  the 
legislator,  and  say  to  him — 'O,  legislator,  speak  ;  if  you  know 
what  we  ought  to  say  and  do,  you  can  surely  tell.' 

Cle.  Of  course  he  can. 

Ath.  '  Did  we  not  hear  you  just  now  saying  that  the  legis- 
lator ought  not  to  allow  the  poets  to  do  what  they  liked  ? 
For  that  they  would  not  know  iri  which  of  their  words  they 
went  against  the  laws,  to  the  hurt  of  the  state.' 

Cle.  That  is  true. 

Ath.  May  we  not  fairly  make  answer  to  him  on  behalf  of 
the  poets  ? 

Cle.  What  answer  shall  we  make  to  him  ? 

Ath.  That  the  poet,  according  to  the  tradition  which  has 
ever  prevailed  among  us,  and  is  accepted  of  all  men,  when  he 
sits  down  on  the  tripod  of  the  muse,  is  not  in  his  right  mind  ; 
like  a  fountain,  he  allows  to  flow  out  freely  whatever  comes 
in,  and  his  art  being  imitative,  he  is  often  compelled  to 
represent  men  of  opposite  dispositions,  and  thus  to  con- 
tradict himself ;  neither  can  he  tell  whether  there  is  more 
truth  in  one  thing  that  he  has  said  than  in  another.  But 
this  is  not  the  case  in  a  law ;  the  legislator  must  give  not 
two  rules  about  the  same  thing,  but  one  only.     Take  an 
example  from  what  you  have  just  been  saying  ^    Of  three 
kinds  of  funerals,  there  is  one  which  is  too  extravagant, 
another  is  too  niggardly,  the  third  in  a  mean  ;  and  you  choose 
and  approve  and  order  the  last  without  qualification.    But  if 
I  had  an  extremely  rich  wife,  and  she  bade  me  bury  her  and 
describe  her  burial  in  a  poem,  I  should  praise  the  extrava- 
gant sort ;  and  a  poor  miserly  man,  who  had  not  much  money 
to  spend,  would  approve  of  the  niggardly;  and  the  man  of 

'  Works  and  Days,  287  sqc].         =  ii.  656  foil.  "  Cp.  supra,  717  E. 


Two  methods  of  cit7'e. 


103 


moderate  means,  who  was  himself  moderate,  would  praise  a   Lmus  IV. 
moderate  funeral.    Now  you  in  the  capacity  of  legislator  Athenian, 
must  not  barely  say  'a  moderate  funeral,'  but  you  must  Cleinias. 
define  what  moderation  is,  and  how  much ;  unless  you  are  Ambiguous 
definite,  you  must  not  suppose  that  you  are  speaking  a  aT"moder- 
language  that  can  become  law.  ate,'  should 

.   .  ,         ,  be  defined. 

Lie.  Certamly  not. 

Ath.  And  is  our  legislator  to  have  no  preface  to  his  laws, 
but  to  say  at  once  Do  this,  avoid  that — and  then  holding  the 
penalty  in  terrorem,  to  go  on  to  another  law  ;  offering  never 
720  a  word  of  advice  or  exhortation  to  those  for  whom  he  is  legis- 
lating, after  the  manner  of  some  doctors  ?    For  of  doctors,  illustration 
as  I  may  remind  you,  some  have  a  gentler,  others  a  ruder  ^o'^^tors^^'" 
method  of  cure  ;  and  as  children  ask  the  doctor  to  be  gentle  and  their 
with  them,  so  we  will  ask  the  legislator  to  cure  our  disorders  assistants, 
with  the  gentlest  remedies.    What  I  mean  to  say  is,  that 
besides  doctors  there  are  doctors'  servants,  who  are  also 
styled  doctors. 
Cle.  Very  true. 

Ath.  And  whether  they  are  slaves  or  freemen  makes  no 
difference  ;  they  acquire  their  knowledge  of  medicine  by 
obeying  and  observing  their  masters ;  empirically  and  not 
according  to  the  natural  way  of  learning,  as  the  manner  of 
freemen  is,  who  have  learned  scientifically  themselves  the  art 
which  they  impart  scientifically  to  their  pupils.  You  are 
aware  that  there  are  these  two  classes  of  doctors  ? 

Cle.  To  be  sure. 

Ath.  And  did  you  ever  observe  that  there  are  two  classes  The  siave- 
of  patients  in  states,  slaves  and  freemen  :  and  the  slave  ^ 

J  '  '  very  per- 

doctbrs  run  about  and  cure  the  slaves,  or  wait  for  them  in  emptory 
the  dispensaries— practitioners  of  this  sort  never  talk  to  their 

...  rannical 

patients  individually,  or  let  them  talk  about  their  own  indi-  person; 
vidual  complaints  ?    The  slave-doctor  prescribes  what  mere  doctor 

„         .  ,  . .  ,      ,     ,  ,         ,    ,  ,   who  attends 

experience  suggests,  as  if  he  had  exact  knowledge  ;  and  freemen  is 
when  he  has  given  his  orders,  like  a  tyrant,  he  rushes  off  courteous 
with  equal  assurance  to  some  other  servant  who  is  ill :  and 
so  he  relieves  the  master  of  the  house  of  the  care  of  his 
invalid  slaves.  But  the  other  doctor,  who  is  a  freeman, 
attends  and  practices  upon  freemen ;  and  he  carries  his  en- 
quiries far  back,  and  goes  into  the  nature  of  the  disorder ;  he 


104 


Two  forms  of  legislation. 


Laws  IV. 

Athenian, 
Cleinias. 


The  double 
method, 
vvhich  in- 
cludes both 
persuasion 
and  com- 
mand, is 
the  better 
both  in 
medicine 
and  in 
legislation. 


Simple 


and 
double 
law  of 
marriage. 


enters  into  discourse  with  the  patient  and  with  his  friends, 
and  is  at  once  getting  information  from  the  sick  man,  and 
also  instructing  him  as  far  as  he  is  able,  and  he  will  not  pre- 
scribe for  him  until  he  has  first  convinced  him ;  at  last,  when 
he  has  brought  the  patient  more  and  more  under  his  per- 
suasive influences  and  set  him  on  the  road  to  health,  he 
attempts  to  effect  a  cure.  Now  which  is  the  better  way  of 
proceeding  in  a  physician  and  in  a  trainer  ?  Is  he  the  better 
who  accomplishes  his  ends  in  a  double  way,  or  he  who  works 
in  one  way,  and  that  the  ruder  and  inferior  ? 

Cle.  I  should  say,  Stranger,  that  the  double  way  is  far 
better. 

Aih.  Should  3'ou  like  to  see  an  example  of  the  double  and 
single  method  in  legislation  ? 
Clc.  Certainly  I  should. 

Atb.  What  will  be  our  first  law  ?    Will  not  the  legislator,  ; 
observing  the  order  of  nature,  begin  by  making  regulations 
for  states  about  births  ? 

Clc.  He  will. 

Aih.  In  all  states  the  birth  of  children  goes  back  to  the 
connexion  of  marriage? 
Clc.  Very  true. 

Ath.  And,  according  to  the  true  order,  the  laws  relating  to. 
marriage  should  be  those  which  are  first  determined  in  every 
state  ? 

Cle.  Quite  so. 

Ath.  Then  let  me  first  give  the  law  of  marriage  in  a  simple 
form ;  it  may  run  as  follows :— A  man  shall  marry  between 
the  ages  of  thirty  and  thirty-five,  or,  if  he  does  not,  he  shall 
pay  such  and  such  a  fine,  or  shall  suifer  the  loss  of  such'  and 
such  privileges.  This  would  be  the  simple  law  about  mar- 
riage. The  double  law  would  run  thus  : — A  man  shall  marry 
between  the  ages  of  thirty  and  thirty-five,  considering  that 
in  a  manner  the  human  race  naturally  partakes  of  immortality, 
which  every  man  is  by  nature  inclined  to  desire  to  the  utmost ; 
for  the  desire  of  every  man  that  he  may  become  famous,  and 
not  lie  in  the  grave  without  a  name,  is  only  the  love  of  con- 
tinuance. Now  mankind  are  coeval  with  all  time,  and  are 
ever  following,  and  will  ever  follow,  the  course  of  time  ;  and 
so  they  are  immortal,  because  they  leave  children's  children 


The  advantage  of  preludes  in  law  and  politics. 


behind  them,  and  partake  of  immortality  in  the  unity  of  Laws  IV. 

generation.    And  for  a  man  voluntarily  to  deprive  himself  of  Athenian, 

this  gift,  as  he  deliberately  does  w^ho  yN\\\  not  have  a  wife  or 

children,  is  impiety.    He  who  obeys  the  law  shall  be  free, 

and  shall  pay  no  fine  ;  but  he  who  is  disobedient,  and  does 

not  marry,  when  he  has  arrived  at  the  age  of  thirty-five,  shall 

pay  a  yearly  fine  of  a  certain  amount,  in  order  that  he  may 

not  imagine  his  celibacy  to  bring  ease  and  profit  to  him  ;  and 

he  shall  not  share  in  the  honours  which  the  young  men  in 

the  state  give  to  the  aged.    Comparing  now  the  two  forms  of 

the  law,  you  will  be  able  to  arrive  at  a  judgment  about  any 

other  laws— whether  they  should  be  double  in  length  even 

when  shortest,  because  they  have  to  persuade  as  well  as 

threaten,  or  whether  they  shall  only  threaten  and  be  of  half 

the  length. 

Meg.  The  shorter  form.  Stranger,  would  be  more  in  accord-  The  shorter 
ance  with  Lacedaemonian  custom;  although,  for  my  own  ^Tpreferred 
part,  if  any  one  were  to  ask  me  which  I  myself  prefer  in  the  by  the 
state,  I  should  certainly  determine  in  favour  of  the  longer :  Lacedae- 

'  .  monians. 

2  and  I  would  have  every  law  made  after  the  same  pattern,  if 
I  had  to  choose.  But  I  think  that  Cleinias  is  the  person  to 
be  consulted,  for  his  is  the  state  which  is  going  to  use  these 
laws. 

Cle.  Thank  you,  Megillus. 

Ath.  Whether,  in  the  abstract,  words  are  to  be  many  or  Legislators 
few,  is  a  very  foolish  question  ;  the  best  form,  and  not  the 

^  '  '  persuasion 

shortest,  is  to  be  approved ;  nor  is  length  at  all  to  be  as  well  as 
regarded.    Of  the  two  forms  of  law  which  have  been  recited,  • 
the  one  is  not  only  twice  as  good  in  practical  usefulness 
as  the  other,  but  the  case  is  like  that  of  the  two  kinds  of 
doctors,  which  I  was  just  now  mentioning.    And  yet  legis- 
lators never  appear  to  have  considered  that  they  have  two 
instruments  which  they  might  use  in  legislation — persuasion 
and  force ;  for  in  dealing  with  the  rude  and  uneducated 
multitude,  they  use  the  one  only  as  far  as  they  can;  they 
do  not  mingle  persuasion  with  coercion,  but  employ  force 
pure  and  simple.    Moreover,  there  is  a  third  point,  sweet 
friends,  which  ought  to  be,  and  never  is,  regarded  in  our 
existing  laws. 
Cle.  What  is  it? 


1  o6        The  previous  discussion  is  the  pi'elude  of  our  laws. 


Laws  IV. 

Athenian, 
Cleinias. 


and  the 
law  should 
contain  a 
preamble 
or  exhorta- 
tion as 
well  as  a 
command. 


The  pre- 
amble is 
intended 
to  create 
good-will 
towards  the 
law,  and  to 
make  it 
more  ac- 
ceptable. 


Ath.  A  point  arising  out  of  our  previous  discussion,  which 
comes  into  my  mind  in  some  mysterious  way.  All  this  time, 
from  early  dawn  until  noon,  have  we  been  talking  about  laws 
in  this  charming  retreat :  now  we  are  going  to  promulgate 
our  laws,  and  what  has  preceded  was  only  the  prelude  of 
them.  Why  do  I  mention  this  ?  For  this  reason  : — Because 
all  discourses  and  vocal  exercises  have  preludes  and  over- 
tures, which  are  a  sort  of  artistic  beginnings  intended  to 
help  the  strain  which  is  to  be  performed  ;  lyric  measures 
and  music  of  every  other  kind  have  preludes  framed  with 
wonderful  care.  But  of  the  truer  and  higher  strain  of  law 
and  politics,  no  one  has  ever  yet  uttered  any  prelude,  or 
composed  or  published  any,  as  though  there  was  no  such 
thing  in  nature.  Whereas  our  present  discussion  seems  to 
me  to  imply  that  there  is ;— these  double  laws,  of  which  we 
were  speaking,  are  not  exactly  double,  but  they  are  in  two 
parts,  the  law  and  the  prelude  of  the  law.  The  arbitrary  723 
command,  which  was  compared  to  the  commands  of  doctors, 
whom  we  described  as  of  the  meaner  sort,  was  the  law  pure 
and  simple ;  and  that  which  preceded,  and  was  described  by 
our  friend  here  as  being  hortatory  only,  was,  although  in 
fact,  an  exhortation,  likewise  analogous  to  the  preamble  of 
a  discourse\  For  I  imagine  that  all  this  language  of  con- 
ciliation, which  the  legislator  has  been  uttering  in  the  preface 
of  the  law,  was  intended  to  create  good-will  in  the  person 
whom  he  addressed,  in  order  that,  by  reason  of  this  good- 
will, he  might  more  intelligently  receive  his  command,  that 
is  to  say,  the  law.  And  therefore,  in  my  way  of  speaking, 
this  is  more  rightly  described  as  the  preamble  than  as  the 
matter  of  the  law.  And  I  must  further  proceed  to  observe, 
that  to  all  his  laws,  and  to  each  separately,  the  legislator 
should  prefix  a  preamble ;  he  should  remember  how  great 
will  be  the  difference  between  them,  according  as  they  have, 
or  have  not,  such  preambles,  as  in  the  case  already  given. 

Cle.  The  lawgiver,  if  he  asks  my  opinion,  will  certainly 
legislate  in  the  form  which  you  advise. 

Ath.  I  think  that  you  are  quite  right,  Cleinias,  in  affirm- 
ing that  all  laws  have  preambles,  and  that  throughout  the 
whole  of  this  work  of  legislation  every  single  law  should 

'  Cp.  supra,  718. 


A  second  and  better  beginning. 


107 


have  a  suitable  preamble  at  the  beginning;  for  that  which   Lmm  IV. 
is  to  follow  is  most  important,  and  it  makes  all  the  difference  Athenian, 
whether  we  clearly  remember  the  preambles  or  not.    Yet  we  Cleinias. 
should  be  wrong  in  requiring  that  all  laws,  small  and  great  Preambles 
alike,  should  have  preambles  of  the  same  kind,  any  more  but  not  ' 
than  all  songs  or  speeches ;  although  they  may  be  natural  always 
to  all,  they  are  not  always  necessary,  and  whether  they  are  "^''^^^^''y- 
to  be  employed  or  not  has  in  each  case  to  be  left  to  the 
judgment  of  the  speaker  or  the  musician,  or,  in  the  present 
instance,  of  the  lawgiver. 

Cle.  That  I  think  is  most  true.  And  now,  Stranger,  with- 
out delay,  let  us  return  to  the  argument,  and,  as  people 
say  in  play,  make  a  second  and  better  beginning,  if  you 
please,  with  the  principles  which  we  have  been  laying  down, 
which  we  never  thought  of  regarding  as  a  preamble  before, 
but  of  which  we  may  now  make  a  preamble,  and  not  merely 
consider  them  to  be  chance  topics  of  discourse.  Let  us 
acknowledge,  then,  that  we  have  a  preamble.  About  the  The  prin- 
honour  of  the  Gods  and  the  respect  of  parents,  enough  has  ^'p'^^  . 

,  11  J  ,         ,  -  already  laid 

been  already  said ;  and  we  may  proceed  to  the  topics  which  down  about 
follow  next  in  order,  until  the  preamble  is  deemed  by  you  to  honour 
be  complete ;  and  after  that  you  shall  go  through  the  laws  ^nd  the 
themselves.  respect  of 

24    Ath.  I  understand  you  to  mean  that  we  have  made  a  areTpart 
sufficient  preamble  about  Gods  and  demigods,  and  about  of  our 
parents  living  or  dead ;  and  now  you  would  have  us  bring  P""®^™*^'^- 
the  rest  of  the  subject  into  the  light  of  day? 
Cle.  Exactly. 

Ath.  After  this,  as  is  meet  and  for  the  interest  of  us  all, 
I  the  speaker,  and  you  the  listeners,  will  try  to  estimate  all 
that  relates  to  the  souls  and  bodies  and  properties  of  the 
citizens,  as  regards  both  their  occupations  and  amusements, 
and  thus  arrive,  as  far  as  in  us  lies,  at  the  nature  of  edu- 
cation. These  then  are  the  topics  which  follow  next  in 
order. 

Cle,  Very  good. 


BOOK  V. 


Laws  V. 

Athenian. 

Next  to  the 
Gods,  a 
man  should 
honour  his 
own  soul. 


False  ways 
of  honour- 
ing the 
soul : — 


(I)  by 
praise  ; 


(2)  by 
excuse ; 


Athenian  Stranger.  Listen,  all  ye  who  have  just  now  heard  726 
the  laws  about  Gods,  and  about  our  dear  forefathers : — Of 
all  the  things  which  a  man  has,  next  to  the  Gods,  his  soul  is 
the  most  divine  and  most  truly  his  own.  Now  in  every  man 
there  are  two  parts  :  the  better  and  superior,  which  rules, 
and  the  worse  and  inferior,  which  serves ;  and  the  ruling 
part  of  him  is  alwa^'s  to  be  preferred  to  the  subject.  Where-  727 
fore  I  am  right  in  bidding  every  one  next  to  the  Gods,  who 
are  our  masters,  and  those  who  in  order  follow  them  [i.  e. 
the  demons],  to  honour  his  own  soul,  which  every  one  seems 
to  honour,  but  no  one  honours  as  he  ought ;  for  honour 
is  a  divine  good,  and  no  evil  thing  is  honourable ;  and  he 
who  thinks  that  he  can  honour  the  soul  by  word  or  gift, 
or  any  sort  of  compliance,  without  making  her  in  any 
way  better,  seems  to  honour  her,  but  honours  her  not  at 
all.  For  example,  every  man,  from  his  very  boyhood, 
fancies  that  he  is  able  to  know  everything,  and  thinks  that 
he  honours  his  soul  by  praising  her,  and  he  is  very  ready 
to  let  her  do  whatever  she  may  like.  But  I  mean  to  say 
that  in  acting  thus  he  injures  his  soul,  and  is  far  from 
honouring  her;  whereas,  in  our  opinion,  he  ought  to  honour 
her  as  second  only  to  the  Gods.  Again,  when  a  man  thinks 
that  others  are  to  be  blamed,  and  not  himself,  for  the  errors 
which  he  has  committed  from  time  to  time,  and  the  many  and 
great  evils  which  befell  him  in  consequence,  and  is  always 
fancying  himself  to  be  exempt  and  innocent,  he  is  under  the 
idea  that  he  is  honouring  his  soul ;  whereas  the  very  reverse 
is  the  fact,  for  he  is  really  injuring  her.    And  when,  dis- 


The  penalty  of  dishonouring  the  soul. 


109 


regarding  the  word   and   approval   of  the  legislator,  he    Laius  V. 
indulges  in  pleasure,  then  again  he  is  far  from  honouring 

Athenian. 

her ;  he  only  dishonours  her,  and  fills  her  full  of  evil  and  (3)  by  self- 
remorse ;  or  when  he  does  not  endure  to  the  end  the  labours  indulgence; 
and  fears  and  sorrows  and  pains  which  the  legislator  ap-  end^-"' 
proves,  but  gives  way  before  them,  then,  by  yielding,  he  does  ance ; 
not  honour  the  soul,  but  by  all  such  conduct  he  makes  her  to 
be  dishonourable ;  nor  when  he  thinks  that  life  at  any  price  (s)  by  ex- 
is  a  good,  does  he  honour  her,  but  yet  once  more  he  dis-  ^^^^J^. 
honours  her;  for  the  soul  having  a  notion  that  the  world 
below  is  all  evil,  he  yields  to  her,  and  does  not  resist  and 
teach  or  convince  her  that,  for  aught  she  knows,  the  world  of 
the  Gods  below,  instead  of  being  evil,  may  be  the  greatest  of 
all  goods.    Again,  when  any  one  prefers  beauty  to  virtue,  (6)  by  pre- 
what  is  this  but  the  real  and  utter  dishonour  of  the  soul  ?  f^mng 

beauty  to 

For  such  a  preference  implies  that  the  body  is  more  honour-  virtue; 
able  than  the  soul ;  and  this  is  false,  for  there  is  nothing  of 
earthly  birth  which  is  more  honourable  than  the  heavenly, 
and  he  who  thinks  otherwise  of  the  soul  has  no  idea  how 
28  greatly  he  undervalues  this  wonderful  possession  ;  nor,  again,  (7)  by 
when  a  person  is  willing,  or  not  unwilling,  to  acquire  dis-  ^jg^^'Jj^gj 
honest  gains,  does  he  then  honour  his  soul  with  gifts — far  gains, 
otherwise ;  he  sells  her  glory  and  honour  for  a  small  piece  of 
gold ;  but  all  the  gold  which  is  under  or  upon  the  earth  is 
not  enough  to  give  in  exchange  for  virtue.    In  a  word,  I  may 
say  that  he  who  does  not  estimate  the  base  and  evil,  the  good 
and  noble,  according  to  the  standard  of  the  legislator,  and 
abstain  in  every  possible  way  from  the  one  and  practise 
the  other  to  the  utmost  of  his  power,  does  not  know  that  in 
all  these  respects  he  is  most  foully  and  disgracefully  abusing 
his  soul,  which  is  the  divinest  part  of  man ;  for  no  one,  as  The  penalty 
I  may  say,  ever  considers  that  which  is  declared  to  be  the  of  yeWing 

.  to  evil  IS 

greatest  penalty  01  evil-doing — namely,  to  grow  into  the  to  grow 
likeness  of  bad  men,  and  growing  like  them  to  fly  from  the  '^^ 
conversation  of  the  good,  and  be  cut  off  from  them,  and 
cleave  to  and  follow  after  the  company  of  the  bad.  And 
he  who  is  joined  to  them  must  do  and  suffer  what  such  men 
by  nature  do  and  say  to  one  another, — a  suffering  which  is  not 
justice  but  retribution ;  for  justice  and  the  just  are  noble, 
whereas  retribution  is  the  suffering  which  waits  upon  in- 


I  lO 


^Maxima  debehir  puero  reverentia! 


Laws  V. 
Athenian. 


The  honour 
of  the  body 
comes  next 
after  the 
honour  of 
the  soul ; 
the  mean, 
not  the 
excess,  of 
bodily  ex- 
cellence 
is  best. 


Parents 
should 
bequeath 
to  their 
children, 
not  money, 
but  the 
spirit  of 
reverence. 


justice ;  and  whether  a  man  escape  or  endure  this,  he  is 
miserable, — in  the  former  case,  because  he  is  not  cured  ; 
while  in  the  latter,  he  perishes  in  order  that  the  rest  of 
mankind  may  be  saved. 

Speaking  generally,  our  glory  is  to  follow  the  better  and 
improve  the  inferior,  which  is  susceptible  of  improvement, 
as  far  as  this  is  possible.  And  of  all  human  possessions,  the 
soul  is  by  nature  most  inclined  to  avoid  the  evil,  and  track  out 
and  find  the  chief  good  ;  which  when  a  man  has  found,  he 
should  take  up  his  abode  with  it  during  the  remainder  of 
his  life.  Wherefore  the  soul  also  is  second  [or  next  to  God] 
in  honour  ;  and  third,  as  every  one  will  perceive,  comes  the 
honour  of  the  body  in  natural  order.  Having  determined 
this,  we  have  next  to  consider  that  there  is  a  natural  honour 
of  the  body,  and  that  of  honours  some  are  true  and  some  are 
counterfeit.  To  decide  which  are  which  is  the  business  of 
the  legislator;  and  he,  I  suspect,  would  intimate  that  they  are 
as  follows : — Honour  is  not  to  be  given  to  the  fair  body,  or  to 
the  strong  or  the  swift  or  the  tall,  or  to  the  healthy  body 
(although  many  may  think  otherwise),  any  more  than  to  their 
opposites ;  but  the  mean  states  of  all  these  habits  are  by 
far  the  safest  and  most  moderate ;  for  the  one  extreme 
makes  the  soul  braggart  and  insolent,  and  the  other,  illiberal 
and  base ;  and  money,  and  property,  and  distinction  all  go  to 
the  same  tune.  The  excess  of  any  of  these  things  is  apt  to  7; 
be  a  source  of  hatreds  and  divisions  among  states  and  in- 
dividuals ;  and  the  defect  of  them  is  commonly  a  cause  of 
slavery.  And,  therefore,  I  would  not  have  any  one  fond  of 
heaping  up  riches  for  the  sake  of  his  children,  in  order  that 
he  may  leave  them  as  rich  as  possible.  For  the  possession 
of  great  wealth  is  of  no  use,  either  to  them  or  to  the  state. 
The  condition  of  youth  which  is  free  from  flattery,  and  at  the 
same  time  not  in  need  of  the  necessaries  of  life,  is  the  best 
and  most  harmonious  of  all,  being  in  accord  and  agreement 
with  our  nature,  and  making  life  to  be  most  entirely  free  from 
sorrow.  Let  parents,  then,  bequeath  to  their  children  not 
a  heap  of  riches,  but  the  spirit  of  reverence.  We,  indeed, 
fancy  that  they  will  inherit  reverence  from  us,  if  we  rebuke 
them  when  they  show  a  want  of  reverence.  But  this  quality 
is  not  really  imparted  to  them  by  the  present  style  of  admo- 


Family  and  social  virtues  and  their  7'eivard. 


1 1 1 


nition,  which  only  tells  them  that  the  young  ought  always  to    Lmus  V. 
be  reverential.    A  sensible  legislator  will  rather  exhort  the  Athenian. 
elders  to  reverence  the  younger,  and  above  all  to  take  heed 
that  no  young  man  sees  or  hears  one  of  themselves  doing  or  younger 
saying  anything  disgraceful ;  for  where  old  men  have  no  ^g°gj!5 
shame,  there  young  men  will  most  certainly  be  devoid  of  ence  the 
reverence.    The  best  way  of  training  the  young  is  to  train 
yourself  at  the  same  time ;  not  to  admonish  them,  but  to  be  younger, 
always  carrying  out  your  own  admonitions  in  practice.    He  The  best 
who  honours  his  kindred,  and  reveres  those  who  share  in  the  Irafnhlg  the 
same  Gods  and  are  of  the  same  blood  and  family,  may  fairly  young  is  to 
expect  that  the  Gods  who  preside  over  generation  will  be 
propitious  to  him,  and  will  quicken  his  seed.    And  he  who  Honour 
deems  the  services  which  his  friends  and  acquaintances  do  kindred, 
for  him,  greater  and  more  important  than  they  themselves  |)^ay{,ave 
deem  them,  and  his  own  favours  to  them  less  than  theirs  to  offspring, 
him,  will  have  their  good-will  in  the  intercourse  of  life.  Esteem 
And  surely  in  his  relations  to  the  state  and  his  fellow-  than 
citizens,  he  is  by  far  the  best,  who  rather  than  the  Olympic  yourself, 
or  any  other  victory  of  peace  or  war,  desires  to  win  the  palm  Obey  the 
of  obedience  to  the  laws  of  his  country,  and  who,  of  all  man- 
kind,  is  the  person  reputed  to  have  obeyed  them  best  through 
life.    In  his  relations  to  strangers,  a  man  should  consider 
that  a  contract  is  a  most  holy  thing,  and  that  all  concerns 
and  wrongs  of  strangers  are  more  directly  dependent  on 
the  protection  of  God,  than  wrongs  done  to  citizens;  for 
the  stranger,  having  no  kindred  and  friends,  is  more  to  be 
pitied  by  Gods  and  men.    Wherefore,  also,  he  who  is  most 
able  to  avenge  him  is  most  zealous  in  his  cause ;  and  he  who 
is  most  able  is  the  genius  and  the  god  of  the  stranger,  who 
o  follow  in  the  train  of  Zeus,  the  god  of  strangers.    And  for  Respect 
this  reason,  he  who  has  a  spark  of  caution  in  him,  will  do  his  ^"■■)"g^'"s 

.        .  '  and  sup- 

best  to  pass  through  life  without  sinning  against  the  stranger,  piiants. 

And  of  offences  committed,  whether  against  strangers  or 

fellow-countrymen,  that  against  suppliants  is  the  greatest. 

For  the  God  who  witnessed  to  the  agreement  made  with  the 

suppliant,  becomes  in  a  special  manner  the  guardian  of  the 

sufferer;  and  he  will  certainly  not  suffer  unavenged. 

Thus  we  have  fairly  described  the  manner  in  which  a  man 

is  to  act  about  his  parents,  and  himself,  and  his  own  affairs  ; 


I  I  2 


T^'iith  and  jttstice  to  be  imparted  as  zvell  as  possessed. 


Laws  V. 

AjHENtAN. 


Truth  the 
beginning 
of  every 
good. 


The  misery 
of  being 
ignorant 
and  un- 
trust- 
worthy. 

Justice 
is  to  be 
honoured 
and  vindi- 
cated. 


To  impart 
the  good 
more  than 
only  to 
possess  it. 


The  con- 
trast of  the 
envious  and 
unenvious 
natures. 


and  in  relation  to  the  state,  and  his  friends,  and  kindred,  both 
in  what  concerns  his  own  countrymen,  and  in  what  concerns 
the  stranger.  We  will  now  consider  what  manner  of  man  he 
must  be  who  would  best  pass  through  life  in  respect  of  those 
other  things  which  are  not  matters  of  law,  but  of  praise  and 
blame  only ;  in  which  praise  and  blame  educate  a  man,  and 
make  him  more  tractable  and  amenable  to  the  laws  which 
are  about  to  be  imposed. 

Truth  is  the  beginning  of  every  good  thing,  both  to  Gods 
and  men ;  and  he  who  would  be  blessed  and  happy,  should 
be  from  the  first  a  partaker  of  the  truth,  that  he  may  live  a 
true  man  as  long  as  possible,  for  then  he  can  be  trusted  ;  but 
he  is  not  to  be  trusted  who  loves  voluntary  falsehood,  and  he 
who  loves  involuntary  falsehood  is  a  fool.  Neither  condition 
is  enviable,  for  the  untrustworthy  and  ignorant  has  no  friend, 
and  as  time  advances  he  becomes  known,  and  lays  up  in 
store  for  himself  isolation  in  crabbed  age  when  life  is  on  the 
wane  :  so  that,  whether  his  children  or  friends  are  alive  or 
not,  he  is  equally  solitary. — Worthy  of  honour  is  he  who 
does  no  injustice,  and  of  more  than  twofold  honour,  if  he  not 
only  does  no  injustice  himself,  but  hinders  others  from  doing 
any ;  the  first  ma}'  count  as  one  man,  the  second  is  worth 
many  men,  because  he  informs  the  rulers  of  the  injustice  of 
others.  And  yet  more  highly  to  be  esteemed  is  he  who  co- 
operates with  the  rulers  in  correcting  the  citizens  as  far  as 
he  can — he  shall  be  proclaimed  the  great  and  perfect  citizen, 
and  bear  away  the  palm  of  virtue.  The  same  praise  may  be 
given  about  temperance  and  wisdom,  and  all  other  goods 
which  may  be  imparted  to  others,  as  well  as  acquired  by 
a  man  for  himself;  he  who  imparts  them  shall  be  honoured 
as  the  man  of  men,  and  he  who  is  willing,  yet  is  not  able, 
may  be  allowed  the  second  place  ;  but  he  who  is  jealous  and  73^ 
will  not,  if  he  can  help,  allow  others  to  partake  in  a  friendly 
way  of  any  good,  is  deserving  of  blame  :  the  good,  however, 
which  he  has,  is  not  to  be  undervalued  by  us  because  it  is 
possessed  by  him,  but  must  be  acquired  by  us  also  to  the 
utmost  of  our  power.  Let  every  man,  then,  freely  strive  for 
the  prize  of  virtue,  and  let  there  be  no  envy.  For  the  un- 
envious nature  increases  the  greatness  of  states — he  himself 
contends  in  the  race,  blasting  the  fair  fame  of  no  man ;  but 


The  origin  of  all  offences  is  selffskness. 


113 


the  envious,  who  thinks  that  he  ought  to  get  the  better  by    Laius  V. 
defaming  others,  is  less  energetic  himself  in  the  pursuit  of 

Athenian. 

true  virtue,  and  reduces  his  rivals  to  despair  by  his  unjust 
slanders  of  them.    And  so  he  makes  the  whole  city  to  enter 
the  arena  untrained  in  the  practice  of  virtue,  and  diminishes 
her  glory  as  far  as  in  him  lies.    Now  every  man  should  be 
valiant,  but  he  should  also  be  gentle.    From  the  cruel,  or  Thein- 
hardly  curable,  or  altogether  incurable  acts  of  injustice  done  to  ^^^^gj^'^ 
him  by  others,  a  man  can  only  escape  by  fighting  and  defending  punished, 
himself  and  conquering,  and  by  never  ceasing  to  punish 
them ;  and  no  man  who  is  not  of  a  noble  spirit  is  able  to 
accomplish  this.    As  to  the  actions  of  those  who  do  evil.  But  the  un- 
but  whose  evil  is  curable,  in  the  first  place,  let  us  remember  ^^^^^^^ 
that  the  unjust  man  is  not  unjust  of  his  own  free  will.    For  be  pitied, 
no  man  of  his  own  free  will  would  choose  to  possess  the  ^"f^^g^" 
greatest  of  evils,  and  least  of  all  in  the  most  honourable  part  may  be 
of  himself.    And  the  soul,  as  we  said,  is  of  a  truth  deemed  ^rgiven. 
by  all  men  the  most  honourable.    In  the  soul,  then,  which  is 
the  most  honourable  part  of  him,  no  one,  if  he  could  help, 
would  admit,  or  allow  to  continue  the  greatest  of  evils  \  The 
imrighteous  and  vicious  are  always  to  be  pitied  in  any  case  ; 
and  one  can  afford  to  forgive  as  well  as  pity  him  who  is 
curable,  and  refrain  an'd  calm  one's  anger,  not  getting  into  a 
passion,  hke  a  woman,  and  nursing  ill-feeling.     But  upon 
him  who  is  incapable  of  reformation  and  wholly  evil,  the 
vials  of  our  wrath  should  be  poured  out ;  wherefore  I  say 
that  good  men  ought,  when  occasion  demands,  to  be  both 
gentle  and  passionate. 

Of  all  evils  the  greatest  is  one  which  in  the  souls  of  most  Selfishness 
men  is  innate,  and  which  a  man  is  always  excusing  in  him-  ^'j-gy^g^'^^'^ 
self  and  never  correcting ;  I  mean,  what  is  expressed  in  the 
saying  that '  Every  man  by  nature  is  and  ought  to  be  his  own 
friend.'  Whereas  the  excessive  love  of  self  is  in  reality  the 
source  to  each  man  of  all  offences ;  for  the  lover  is  blinded 
about  the  beloved,  so  that  he  judges  wrongly  of  the  just,  the 
732  good,  and  the  honourable,  and  thinks  that  he  ought  always 

to  prefer  himself  to  the  truth.    But  he  who  would  be  a  great  A  great 
man  ought  to  regard,  not  himself  or  his  interests,  but  what  bJ^^^ovT''^ 
is  just,  whether  the  just  act  be  his  own  or  that  of  another,  his  own 

interests. 

'  Cp.  Rep.  ii.  382. 
VOL.  v.  ] 


114 


The  proprieties  of  life. 


Laws  V. 
Athenian. 


Every  man 
should  be 
willing  to 
follow 
another 
who  is  wiser 
or  better 
than  him- 
self. 


The  neces- 
sity of  self- 
control. 


The  con- 
solation 
of  hope. 


There  must 
be  a  true 
sense  or 
taste  of 
pleasure 
and  pain. 


Through  a  similar  error  men  are  induced  to  fancy  that  their 
own  ignorance  is  wisdom,  and  thus  we  who  may  be  truly 
said  to  know  nothing,  think  that  we  know  all  things  ;  and 
because  we  will  not  let  others  act  for  us  in  what  we  do  not 
know,  we  are  compelled  to  act  amiss  ourselves.  Wherefore 
let  every  man  avoid  excess  of  self  love,  and  condescend  to 
follow  a  better  man  than  himself,  not  allowing  any  false 
shame  to  stand  in  the  way.  There  are  also  minor  precepts 
which  are  often  repeated,  and  are  quite  as  useful ;  a  man 
should  recollect  them  and  remind  himself  of  them.  For 
when  a  stream  is  flowing  out,  there  should  be  water  flowing 
in  too  ;  and  recollection  flows  in  while  wisdom  is  departing. 
Therefore  I  say  that  a  man  should  refrain  from  excess  either 
of  laughter  or  tears,  and  .should  exhort  his  neighbour  to  do 
the  same  ;  he  should  veil  his  immoderate  sorrow  or  joy,  and 
seek  to  behave  with  propriety,  whether  the  genius  of  his 
good  fortune  remains  with  him,  or  whether  at  the  crisis  of 
his  fate,  when  he  seems  to  be  mounting  high  and  steep 
places,  the  Gods  oppose  him  in  some  of  'his  enterprises. 
Still  he  may  ever  hope,  in  the  case  of  good  men,  that  what- 
ever afflictions  are  to  befall  them  in  the  future  God  will 
lessen,  and  that  present  evils  He  will  change  for  the  better ; 
and  as  to  the  goods  which  are  the  opposite  of  these  evils,  he 
will  not  doubt  that  they  will  be  added  to  them,  and  that  they 
will  be  fortunate.  Such  should  be  men's  hopes,  and  such 
should  be  the  exhortations  with  which  they  admonish  one 
another,  never  losing  an  opportunity,  but  on  every  occasion 
distinctly  reminding  themselves  and  others  of  all  these 
things,  both  in  jest  and  earnest. 

Enough  has  now  been  said  of  divine  matters,  both  as 
touching  the  practices  which  men  ought  to  follow,  and  as 
to  the  sort  of  persons  who  they  ought  severally  to  be. 
But  of  human  things  we  have  not  as  yet  spoken,  and  we 
must ;  for  to  men  we  are  discoursing  and  not  to  Gods. 
Pleasures  and  pains  and  desires  are  a  part  of  human  nature, 
and  on  them  every  mortal  being  must  of  necessity  hang  and 
depend  with  the  most  eager  interest.  And  therefore  we 
must  praise  the  noblest  life,  not  only  as  the  fairest  in  appear- 
ance, but  as  being  one  which,  if  a  man  will  only  taste,  and  not, 
while  still  in  his  3'outh,  desert  for  another,  he  will  find  to 


Pleasures  and  pains  weighed  in  the  balance. 


733  surpass  also  in  the  very  thing  which  we  all  of  us  desire, — I    Laws  V. 
mean  in  having  a  greater  amount  of  pleasure  and  less  of  pain  Athenian. 
during  the  whole  of  life.    And  this  will  be  plain,  if  a  man 
has  a  true  taste  of  them,  as  will  be  quickly  and  clearly  seen. 
But  what  is  a  true  taste  ?    That  we  have  to  learn  from  the 
argument, — the  point  being  what  is  according  to  nature,  and 
what  is  not  according  to  nature.     One  life  must  be  com- 
pared with  another,  the  more  pleasurable  with  the  more 
painful,  after  this  manner :— We  desire  to  have  pleasure,  but 
we  neither  desire  nor  choose  pain  ;  and  the  neutral  state  we 
are  ready  to  take  in  exchange,  not  for  pleasure  but  for  pain  ; 
and  we  also  wish  for  less  pain  and  greater  pleasure,  but  less 
pleasure  and  greater  pain  we  do  not  wish  for  ;  and  an  equal 
balance  of  either  we  cannot  venture  to  assert  that  we  should 
desire.    And  all  these  differ  or  do  not  differ  severally  in 
number  and  magnitude  and  intensity  and  equality,  and  in 
the  opposites  of  these  when  regarded  as  objects  of  choice,  in 
relation  to  desire.    And  such  being  the  necessary  order  of  Men  choose 
things,  we  wish  for  that  life  in  which  there  are  many  great  'yj^jch'has 
and  intense  elements  of  pleasure  and  pain,  and  in  which  the  great  piea- 
pleasures  are  in  excess,  and  do  not  wish  for  that  in  which  the  ^""^^  ^""^ 

1  -1  •  ,    r      1       •       1  •  1    pains,  and 

opposites  exceed  ;  nor,  agam,  do  we  wish  for  that  in  which  in  which 
the  elements  of  either  are  small  and  few  and  feeble,  and  the  thepieasure 
pains  exceed.   And  when,  as  I  said  before,  there  is  a  balance  pain, 
of  pleasure  and  pain  in  life,  this  is  to  be  regarded  by  us  as 
the  balanced  life ;  while  other  lives  are  preferred  by  us 
because  they  exceed  in  what  we  like,  or  are  rejected  by 
us  because  they  exceed  in  what  we  dislike.    All  the  lives 
of  men  may  be  regarded  by  us  as  bound  up  in  these,  and  we 
must  also  consider  what  sort  of  lives  we  by  nature  desire. 
And  if  we  wish  for  any  others,  I  say  that  we  desire  them 
only  through  some  ignorance  and  inexperience  of  the  lives 
which  actually  exist. 

Now,  what  lives  are  they,  and  how  many  in  which,  having  The  most 
searched  out  and  beheld  the  objects  of  will  and  desire  and  P'easant 
their  opposites,  and  making  of  them  a  law,  choosing,  I  say,  noblest 
the  dear  and  the  pleasant  and  the  best  and  noblest,  a  man  lives  are 
may  live  in  the  happiest  way  possible?    Let  us  say  that  the  pgrate-'^™' 
temperate  life  is  one  kind  of  life,  and  the  rational  another,  (2)  the' 
and  the  courageous  another,  and  the  healthful  another ;  and  : 

I  2 


ii6 


Vice  is  ignorance. 


Lmvs  V. 
Athenian. 

(3)  the 
courage- 
ous ; 

(4)  the 
healthful. 


The  plea- 
sures of 
the  temper- 
ate, wise, 
courageous 
and  healthy 
life  are 
greater 
than  those 
of  the  in- 
temperate, 
foolish, 
cowardly 
and  dis- 
eased life. 
How  then 
can  a  man 
voluntarily 
choose  the 
latter  ? 


to  these  four  let  us  oppose  four  other  lives, — the  foolish,  the 
cowardly,  the  intemperate,  the  diseased.  He  who  knows  the 
temperate  life  will  describe  it  as  in  all  things  gentle,  having 
gentle  pains  and  gentle  pleasures,  and  placid  desires  and 
loves  not  insane ;  whereas  the  intemperate  life  is  impetuous  7 
in  all  things,  and  has  violent  pains  and  pleasures,  and  vehe- 
ment and  stinging  desires,  and  loves  utterly  insane  ;  and  in 
the  temperate  life  the  pleasures  exceed  the  pains,  but  in  the 
intemperate  life  the  pains  exceed  the  pleasures  in  greatness 
and  number  and  frequenc}'.  Hence  one  of  the  two  lives  is 
naturally  and  necessarily  more  pleasant  and  the  other  more 
painful,  and  he  who  would  live  pleasantly  cannot  possibly 
choose  to  live  intemperately.  And  if  this  is  true,  the  in- 
ference clearly  is  that  no  man  is  voluntarily  intemperate  ; 
but  that  the  whole  multitude  of  men  lack  temperance  in  their 
lives,  either  from  ignorance,  or  from  want  of  self-control,  or 
both.  And  the  same  holds  of  the  diseased  and  healthy 
life;  they  both  have  pleasures  and  pains,  but  in  health  the 
pleasure  exceeds  the  pain,  and  in  sickness  the  pain  exceeds 
the  pleasure.  Now  our  intention  in  choosing  the  lives  is  not 
that  the  painful  should  exceed,  but  the  life  in  which  pain  is 
exceeded  by  pleasure  we  have  determined  to  be  the  more 
pleasant  life.  And  we  should  say  that  the  temperate  life  has 
the  elements  both  of  pleasure  and  pain  fewer  and  smaller 
and  less  frequent  than  the  intemperate,  and  the  wise  life  than 
the  foolish  life,  and  the  life  of  courage  than  the  life  of 
cowardice  ;  one  of  each  pair  exceeding  in  pleasure  and  the 
other  in  pain,  the  courageous  surpassing  the  cowardly,  and 
the  wise  exceeding  the  foolish.  And  so  the  one  class  of 
lives  exceeds  the  other  class  in  pleasure  ;  the  temperate  and 
courageous  and  wise  and  healthy  exceed  the  cowardly  and 
foolish  and  intemperate  and  diseased  lives ;  and  generally 
speaking,  that  which  has  any  virtue,  whether  of  body  or  soul, 
is  pleasanter  than  the  vicious  life,  and  far  superior  in  beauty 
and  rectitude  and  excellence  and  reputation,  and  causes 
him  who  lives  accordingly  to  be  infinitely  happier  than  the 
opposite. 

Enough  of  the  preamble  ;  and  now  the  laws  should  follow  ; 
or,  to  speak  more  correctly,  an  outline  of  them.  As,  then, 
in  the  case  of  a  web  or  any  other  tissue,  the  warp  and  the 


The  ptLvification  of  states.  117 

woof  cannot  be  made  of  the  same  materials  \  but  the  warp  is    Laws  V. 
735  necessarily  superior  as  being  stronger,  and  having  a  certain 

Athenian. 

character  of  firmness,  whereas  the  woof  is  softer  and  has  a  as  in 
proper  degree  of  elasticity; — in  a  similar  manner  those  who  a  web  the 
are  to  hold  great  offices  in  states,  should  be  distinguished  firmer  than 
truly  in  each  case  from  those  who  have  been  but  slenderly  the  woof, 
proven  by  education.     Let  us  suppose  that  there  are  two  g^^te  the 
parts  in  the  constitution  of  a  state— one  the  creation  of  magistrates 
offices,  the  other  the  laws  which  are  assigned  to  them  to 
administer.  than  tlie 

But,  before  all  this,  comes  the  following  consideration : —  people. 
The  shepherd  or  herdsman,  or  breeder  of  horses  or  the  like, 
when  he  has  received  his  animals  will  not  begin  to  train 
them  until  he  has  first  purified  them  in  a  manner  which 
befits  a  community  of  animals ;  he  will  divide  the  healthy 
and  unhealthy,  and  the  good  breed  and  the  bad  breed,  and 
will  send  away  the  unhealthy  and  badly  bred  to  other  herds, 
and  tend  the  rest,  reflecting  that  his  labours  will  be  vain  and 
have  no  eflfect,  either  on  the  souls  or  bodies  of  those  whom 
nature  and  ill  nurture  have  corrupted,  and  that  they  will 
involve  in  destruction  the  pure  and  healthy  nature  and  being 
of  every  other  animal,  if  he  should  neglect  to  purify  them. 
Now  the  case  of  other  animals  is  not  so  important — they 
are  only  worth  introducing  for  the  sake  of  illustration ;  but 
what  relates  to  man  is  of  the  highest  importance ;  and  the 
legislator  should  make  enquiries,  and  indicate  what  is  proper 
for  each  one  in  the  way  of  purification  and  of  any  other 
procedure.  Take,  for  example,  the  purification  of  a  city — 
there  are  many  kinds  of  purification,  some  easier  and  others 
more  difficult;  and  some  of  them,  and  the  best  and  most 
difficult  of  them,  the  legislator,  if  he  be  also  a  despot,  may  be 
able  to  effect;  but  the  legislator,  who,  not  being  a  despot, 
sets  up  a  new  government  and  laws,  even  if  he  attempt  the 
mildest  of  purgations,  may  think  himself  happy  if  he  can 
complete  his  work.  The  best  kind  of  purification  is  painful,  There  are 
like  similar  cures  in  medicine,  involving  righteous  punish-  I^'J,'|J^cMable 
ment  and  inflicting  death  or  exile  in  the  last  resort.  For  in  diseases  in 
this  way  we  commonly  dispose  of  great  sinners  who  are 


'  Cp.  Statesman  309  A,  B. 


ii8 


Laws  V. 

Athenian. 

The  first 
are  purged 
away  by 
exile  or 
death  ;  tlie 
second  by 
coloniza- 
tion. 


But  in  our 
state,  no 
purgation 
will  be 
needed  ; 
for  we  shall 
only  admit 
good 
citizens  ; 


nor  shall  we 
require  a 
division  of 
lands  or 
the  aboli- 
tion of 
debts. 


Advantages  of  the  proposed  colony. 

incurable,  and  are  the  greatest  injury  of  the  whole  state. 
But  the  milder  form  of  purification  is  as  follows :— when 
men  who  have  nothing,  and  are  in  want  of  food,  show  a 
disposition  to  follow  their  leaders  in  an  attack  on  the 
property  of  the  rich — these,  who  are  the  natural  plague  of  7 
the  state,  are  sent  away  by  the  legislator  in  a  friendly  spirit 
as  far  as  he  is  able;  and  this  dismissal  of  them  is  euphemisti- 
cally termed  a  colony.  And  every  legislator  should  contrive 
to  do  this  at  once.  Our  present  case,  however,  is  peculiar. 
For  there  is  no  need  to  devise  any  colony  or  purifying 
separation  under  the  circumstances  in  which  we  are  placed. 
But  as,  when  many  streams  flow  together  from  many  sources, 
whether  springs  or  mountain  torrents,  into  a  single  lake,  we 
ought  to  attend  and  take  care  that  the  confluent  waters 
should  be  perfectly  clear,  and  in  order  to  effect  this,  should 
pump  and  draw  off  and  divert  impurities,  so  in  every 
political  arrangement  there  may  be  trouble  and  danger.  But, 
seeing  that  we  are  now  only  discoursing  and  not  acting,  let 
our  selection  be  supposed  to  be  completed,  and  the  desired 
purity  attained.  Touching  evil  men,  who  want  to  join  and 
be  citizens  of  our  state,  after  we  have  tested  them  by  every 
sort  of  persuasion  and  for  a  sufficient  time,  we  will  prevent 
them  from  coming ;  but  the  good  we  will  to  the  utmost  of 
our  ability  receive  as  friends  with  open  arms. 

Another  piece  of  good  fortune  must  not  be  forgotten, 
which,  as  we  were  saying^  the  Heraclid  colony  had,  and 
which  is  also  ours, — that  we  have  escaped  division  of  land 
and  the  abolition  of  debts ;  for  these  are  always  a  source 
of  dangerous  contention,  and  a  city  which  is  driven  by  neces- 
sity to  legislate  upon  such  matters  can  neither  allow  the  old 
ways  to  continue,  nor  yet  venture  to  alter  them.  We  must 
have  recourse  to  prayers,  so  to  speak,  and  hope  that  a  slight 
change  may  be  cautiously  effected  in  a  length  of  time.  And 
such  a  change  can  be  accomplished^  by  those  who  have 
abundance  of  land,  and  having  also  many  debtors,  are 
willing,  in  a  kindly  spirit,  to  share  with  those  who  are  in 
want,  sometimes  remitting  and  sometimes  giving,  holding 
fast  in  a  path  of  moderation,  and  deeming  poverty  to  be 


■  Cp.  supra,  iii.  6S4  D,  E. 


'  Reading  iirdpxft- 


The  mmiber  of  the  citizens. 


119 


the  increase  of  a  man's  desires  and  not  the  diminution  of   Laws  V. 
his  property.    For  this  is  the  great  beginning  of  salvation  Athenian. 
to  a  state,  and  upon  this  lasting  basis  may  be  erected  after- 
wards whatever  political  order  is  suitable  under  the  circum- 
stances; but  if  the  change  be  based  upon  an  unsound  prin- 
ciple, the  future  administration  of  the  country  will  be  full  of 
737  difficulties.  That  is  a  danger  which,  as  I  am  saying,  is  escaped  That  is  a 
by  us,  and  yet  we  had  better  say  how,  if  we  had  not  escaped,  ^^^^^^''^^^ 
we  might  have  escaped ;  and  we  may  venture  now  to  assert  colony  has 
that  no  other  way  of  escape,  whether  narrow  or  broad,  can  escaped ; 

,  ^  .      .  and  which 

be  devised  but  freedom  from  avarice  and  a  sense  of  justice — ■  in  another 
upon  this  rock  our  city  shall  be  built ;  for  there  ought  to  be  ^an  only 

,.  .  .  ,  xr  ii  be  escaped 

no  disputes  among  citizens  about  property,    li  there  are  by  inspiring 
quarrels  of  long  standing  among  them,  no  legislator  of  any  content- 
degree  of  sense  will  proceed  a  step  in  the  arrangement  of  the  ^"^g  ^1,3 
state  until  they  are  settled.    But  that  they  to  whom  God  has  citizens, 
given,  as  He  has  to  us,  to  be  the  founders  of  a  new  state  as 
yet  free  from  enmity — that  they  should  create  themselves 
enmities  by  their  mode  of  distributing  lands  and  houses, 
would  be  superhuman  folly  and  wickedness. 

How  then  can  we  rightly  order  the  distribution  of  the 
land  ?    In  the  first  place,  the  number  of  the  citizens  has  to 
be  determined,  and  also  the  number  and  size  of  the  divisions 
into  which  they  will  have  to  be  formed ;  and  the  land  and 
the  houses  will  then  have  to  be  apportioned  by  us  as  fairly 
as  we  can.    The  number  of  citizens  can  only  be  estimated  The  citizens 
satisfactorily  in  relation  to  the  territory  and  the  neighbouring  ^^^j^^^jy 
states.    The  territory  must  be  sufficient  to  maintain  a  certain  numerous 
number  of  inhabitants  in  a  moderate  way  of  life — more  than  '°  protect 
this  is  not  required ;  and  the  number  of  citizens  should  be  and  to 
sufficient  to  defend  themselves  against  the  injustice  of  their  assist  their 
neighbours,  and  also  to  give  them  the  power  of  rendering  tfe'^hour 
efficient  aid  to  their  neighbours  when  they  are  wronged,  of  need. 
After  having  taken  a  survey  of  their's  and  their  neighbours' 
territory,  we  will  determine  the  limits  of  them  in  fact  as  well 
as  in  theory.    And  now,  let  us  proceed  to  legislate  with 
a  view  to  perfecting  the  form  and  outline  of  our  state.  The 
number  of  our  citizens  shall  be  5040— this  will  be  a  con- 
venient number;  and  these  shall  be  owners  of  the  land  and 
protectors  of  the  allotment.    The  houses  and  the  land  will 


1 20 


Ancient  rites  and  temples  to  be  presei^ed. 


Laws  V. 
Athenian. 


5040  IS  a 
very  good 
number 
because  it 
has  so 
many 
divisions. 


Ancient 
religious 
traditions 
and  cus- 
toms should 
be  retained. 


The 

country  to 
be  divided 
into  dis- 
tricts, and 
to  each  of 
these  is  to 
be  assigned 
a  God  or 
hero. 


be  divided  in  the  same  way,  so  that  every  man  may  corre- 
spond to  a  lot.  Let  the  whole  number  be  first  divided  into 
two  parts,  and  then  into  three ;  and  the  number  is  further 
capable  of  being  divided  into  four  or  five  parts,  or  any 
number  of  parts  up  to  ten.  Every  legislator  ought  to  know 
so  much  arithmetic  as  to  be  able  to  tell  what  number  is  most 
likely  to  be  useful  to  all  cities ;  and  we  are  going  to  take  that  738 
number  which  contains  the  greatest  and  most  regular  and 
unbroken  series  of  divisions.  The  whole  of  number  has 
every  possible  division,  and  the  number  5040  can  be  divided 
by  exactly  fifty-nine  divisors,  and  ten  of  these  proceed  with- 
out interval  from  one  to  ten :  this  will  furnish  numbers  for 
war  and  peace,  and  for  all  contracts  and  dealings,  including 
taxes  and  divisions  of  the  land.  These  properties  of  number 
should  be  ascertained  at  leisure  by  those  who  are  bound  by 
law  to  know  them ;  for  they  are  true,  and  should  be  pro- 
claimed at  the  foundation  of  the  city,  with  a  view  to  use. 
Whether  the  legislator  is  establishing  a  new  state  or  restoring 
an  old  and  decayed  one,  in  respect  of  Gods  and  temples, 
— the  temples  which  are  to  be  built  in  each  city,  and  the 
Gods  or  demi-gods  after  whom  they  are  to  be  called, — if  he 
be  a  man  of  sense,  he  will  make  no  change  in  anything  which 
the  oracle  of  Delphi,  or  Dodona,  or  the  God  Amnion,  of 
any  ancient  tradition  has  sanctioned  in  whatever  manner, 
whether  by  apparitions  or  reputed  inspiration  of  Heaven,  in 
obedience  to  which  mankind  have  established  sacrifices  in 
connexion  with  mystic  rites,  either  originating  on  the  spot, 
or  derived  from  Tyrrhenia  or  Cyprus  or  some  other  place, 
and  on  the  strength  of  which  traditions  they  have  consecrated 
oracles  and  images,  and  altars  and  temples,  and  portioned 
out  a  sacred  domain  for  each  of  them.  The  least  part  of  all 
these  ought  not  to  be  disturbed  by  the  legislator;  but  he 
should  assign  to  the  several  districts  some  God,  or  demi-god, 
or  hero,  and,  in  the  distribution  of  the  soil,  should  give  to 
these  first  their  chosen  domain  and  all  things  fitting,  that  the 
inhabitants  of  the  several  districts  may  meet  at  fixed  times, 
and  that  they  may  readily  supply  their  various  wants,  and 
entertain  one  another  with  sacrifices,  and  become  friends 
and  acquaintances  ;  for  there  is  no  greater  good  in  a  state 
than  that  the  citizens  should  be  known  to  one  another. 


The  three  states. 


121 


When  not  light  but  darkness  and  ignorance  of  each  other's  Lmvs  V. 

characters  prevails  among  them,  no  one  will  receive  the  Athenian. 

honour  of  which  he  is  deserving,  or  the  power  or  the  justice  -p^e  citizens 

to  which  he  is  fairly  entitled :  wherefore,  in  every  state,  should 
above  all  things,  every  man  should  take  heed  that  he  have  no  ^""^ 

°  '  1     •      1  ^x-asK.  one 

deceit  in  him,  but  that  he  be  always  true  and  simple ;  and  another, 
that  no  deceitful  person  take  any  advantage  of  him. 
)    The  next  move  in  our  pastime  of  legislation,  like  the 
withdrawal  of  the  stone  from  the  holy  line  in  the  game  of 
draughts,  being  an  unusual  one,  will  probably  excite  wonder 
when  mentioned  for  the  first  time.    And  yet,  if  a  man  will  The  form 
only  reflect  and  weigh  the  matter  with  care,  he  will  see  that  °^  consti- 

,-T-r  ii  -1       tution  not 

our  city  is  ordered  in  a  manner  which,  if  not  the  best,  is  the  the  best, 
second  best.  Perhaps  also  some  one  may  not  approve  this 
form,  because  he  thinks  that  such  a  constitution  is  ill  adapted  test, 
to  a  legislator  who  has  not  despotic  power.  The  truth  is, 
that  there  are  three  forms  of  government,  the  best,  the  second 
and  the  third  best,  which  we  may  just  mention,  and  then 
leave  the  selection  to  the  ruler  of  the  settlement.  Following 
this  method  in  the  present  instance,  let  us  speak  of  the  states 
which  are  respectively  first,  second,  and  third  in  excellence, 
and  then  we  will  leave  the  choice  to  Cleinias  now,  or  to  any 
one  else  who  may  hereafter  have  to  make  a  similar  choice 
among  constitutions,  and  may  desire  to  give  to  his  state  some 
feature  which  is  congenial  to  him  and  which  he  approves  in 
his  own  country. 

The  first  and  highest  form  of  the  state  and  of  the  govern-  The  best 
ment  and  of  the  law  is  that  in  which  there  prevails  most  is  that  in 
widely  the  ancient  saying,  that  '  Friends  h  ave  all  things  in  is  absolute 
common.'    Whether  there  is  an3rvvhere  now,  or  will  ever  be,  community, 
this  communion  of  women  and  children  and  of  property,  in 
which  the  private  and  individual  is  altogether  banished  from 
life,  and  things  which  are  by  nature  private,  such  as  eyes 
and  ears  and  hands,  have  become  common,  and  in  some  way 
see  and  hear  and  act  in  common,  and  all  men  express  praise 
and  blame  and  feel  joy  and  sorrow  on  the  same  occasions, 
and  whatever  laws  there  are  unite  the  city  to  the  utmost',— 
whether  all  this  is  possible  or  not,  I  say  that  no  man,  acting 
upon  any  other  principle,  will  ever  constitute  a  state  which 

'  Cp.  Rep.  V.  462  foil. 


122 


The  preservation  of  the  number  of  citizens. 


Laws  V. 
Athenian. 

This  is  our 
pattern . 


The  estab- 
lishment of 
the  second- 
best  state. 
Distribu- 
tion of 
land  and 
houses. 


The  heir  of 
the  lot. 


What  is 
to  be  done 
with  the 
other 
children  ? 


will  be  truer  or  better  or  more  exalted  in  virtue.  Whether 
such  a  state  is  governed  by  Gods  or  sons  of  Gods,  one,  or 
more  than  one,  happy  are  the  men  who,  living  after  this 
manner,  dwell  there ;  and  therefore  to  this  we  are  to  look 
for  the  pattern  of  the  state,  and  to  cling  to  this,  and  to  seek 
with  all  our  might  for  one  which  is  like  this.  The  state 
which  we  have  now  in  hand,  when  created,  will  be  nearest 
to  immortalit}'  and  the  only  one  which  takes  the  second 
place  ;  and  after  that,  by  the  grace  of  God,  we  will  complete 
the  third  one.  And  we  will  begin  by  speaking  of  the  nature 
and  origin  of  the  second. 

Let  the  citizens  at  once  distribute  their  land  and  houses, 
and  not  till  the  land  in  common,  since  a  community  of  goods  740 
goes  beyond  their  proposed  origin,  and  nurture,  and  education. 
But  in  making  the  distribution,  let  the  several  possessors 
feel  that  their  particular  lots  also  belong  to  the  whole  city; 
and  seeing  that  the  earth  is  their  parent,  let  them  tend 
her  more  carefully  than  children  do  their  mother.  For  she 
is  a  goddess  and  their  queen,  and  they  are  her  mortal  sub- 
jects. Such  also  are  the  feelings  which  they  ought  to  enter- 
tain to  the  Gods  and  demi-gods  of  the  country.  And  in 
order  that  the  distribution  may  always  remain,  they  ought  to 
consider  further  that  the  present  number  of  families  should 
be  always  retained,  and  neither  increased  nor  diminished. 
This  may  be  secured  for  the  whole  city  in  the  following 
manner  : — Let  the  possessor  of  a  lot  leave  the  one  of  his 
children  who  is  his  best  beloved,  and  one  only,  to  be  the 
heir  of  his  dwelling,  and  his  successor  in  the  duty  of  minis- 
tering to  the  Gods,  the  state  and  the  family,  as  well  the  living 
members  of  it  as  those  who  are  departed  when  he  comes  into 
the  inheritance ;  but  of  his  other  children,  if  he  have  more 
than  one,  he  shall  give  the  females  in  marriage  according  to 
the  law  to  be  hereafter  enacted and  the  males  he  shall  dis- 
tribute as  sons  to  those  citizens  who  have  no  children,  and 
are  disposed  to  receive  them  ;  or  if  there  should  be  none 
such,  and  particular  individuals  have  too  many  children, 
male  or  female,  or  too  few,  as  in  the  case  of  barrenness— in 
all  these  cases  let  the  highest  and  most  honourable  magis- 
tracy created  by  us  judge  and  determine  what  is  to  be  done 

'  Cp.  infra,  xi.  923-926. 


God  and  the  lazv  protect  the  lot. 


123 


with  the  redundant  or  deficient,  and  devise  a  means  that  the    Laws  V. 
number  of  5040  houses  shall  always  remain  the  same.   There  Athenian. 
are  many  ways  of  regulating  numbers ;   for  they  in  whom  Rgg^ia.. 
generation  is  affluent  may  be  made  to  refrain  \  and,  on  the  tion  of  re- 
other  hand,  special  care  may  be  taken  to  increase  the  num-  ^^^^^^^  °'" 
ber  of  births  by  rewards  and  stigmas,  or  we  may  meet  the  population, 
evil  by  the  elder  men  giving  advice  and  administering  rebuke 
to  the  younger— in  this  way  the  object  may  be  attained. 
And  if  after  all  there  be  very  great  difficulty  about  the  equal 
preservation  of  the  5040  houses,  and  there  be  an  excess  of 
citizens,  owing  to  the  too  great  love  of  those  who  live 
together,  and  we  are  at  our  wits'  end,  there  is  still  the  old 
device  often  mentioned  by  us  of  sending  out  a  colony,  which 
will  part  friends  with  us,  and  be  composed  of  suitable  per- 
I  sons.    If,  on  the  other  hand,  there  come  a  wave  bearing  a 
deluge  of  disease,  or  a  plague  of  war,  and  the  inhabitants 
become  much  fewer  than  the  appointed  number  by  reason  of 
bereavement,  we  ought  not  to  introduce  citizens  of  spurious 
birth  and  education,  if  this  can  be  avoided  ;  but  even  God  is 
said  not  to  be  able  to  fight  against  necessity. 

Wherefore  let  us  suppose  this  '  high  argument '  of  ours  to  Honour 
address  us  in  the  following  terms : — Best  of  men,  cease  not  ^^^^^^'j^^ 
to  honour  according  to  nature  similarity  and  equality  and  serve  the 
sameness  and  agreement,  as  regards  number  and  every  good  ""™tier 
and  noble  quality.    And,  above  all,  observe  the  aforesaid 
number  5040  throughout  life ;  in  the  second  place,  do  not 
disparage  the  small  and  modest  proportions  of  the  inherit- 
ances which  you  received  in  the  distribution,  by  buying  and 
selling  them  to  one  another.    For  then  neither  will  the  God 
who  gave  you  the  lot  be  your  friend,  nor  will  the  legislator  ; 
and  indeed  the  law  declares  to  the  disobedient  that  these  are 
the  terms  upon  which  he  may  or  may  not  take  the  lot.  In 
the  first  place,  the  earth  as  he  is  informed  is  sacred  to  the 
Gods ;  and  in  the  next  place,  priests  and  priestesses  will 
offer  up  prayers  over  a  first,  and  second,  and  even  a  third 
sacrifice,  that  he  who  buys  or  sells  the  houses  or  lands  which 
he  has  received,  may  suffer  the  punishment  which  he  de- 
serves ;  and  these  their  prayers  they  shall  write  down  in  the 
temples,  on  tablets  of  cypress-wood,  for  the  instruction  of 

'  Cp.  Arist.  Pol.  vii.  16,  §  15. 


124 


Regulations  respecting  money. 


Laws  V. 

Athekian. 


No  man 
should 
possess 
gold  and 
silver  except 
in  money. 

Foreign  and 

domestic 

currency. 


No  dow- 
ries, 

or  lending 
money 
upon 
interest. 


posterity.  Moreover  they  will  set  a  watch  over  all  these 
things,  that  they  may  be  observed ; — the  magistracy  which 
has  the  sharpest  eyes  sliall  keep  watch  that  any  infringe- 
ment of  these  commands  may  be  discovered  and  punished 
as  offences  both  against  the  law  and  the  God.  How  great  is 
the  benefit  of  such  an  ordinance  to  all  those  cities,  which  obey 
and  are  administered  accordingly,  no  bad  man  can  ever  know, 
as  the  old  proverb  says ;  but  only  a  man  of  experience  and 
good  habits.  For  in  such  an  order  of  things  there  will  not 
be  much  opportunity  for  making  money;  no  man  either 
ought,  or  indeed  will  be  allowed,  to  exercise  any  ignoble 
occupation,  of  which  the  vulgarity  is  a  matter  of  reproach  to 
a  freeman,  and  should  never  want  to  acquire  riches  by  any 
such  means. 

Further,  the  law  enjoins  that  no  private  man  shall  be  742 
allowed  to  possess  gold  and  silver,  but  only  coin  for  daily 
use,  which  is  almost  necessary  in  dealing  with  artisans,  and 
for  payment  of  hirelings,  whether  slaves  or  immigrants,  by  all 
those  persons  who  require  the  use  of  them.  Wherefore  our 
citizens,  as  we  say,  should  have  a  coin  passing  current  among 
themselves,  but  not  accepted  among  the  rest  of  mankind  ; 
with  a  view,  however,  to  expeditions  and  journeys  to  other 
lands, — for  embassies,  or  for  any  other  occasion  which  may 
arise  of  sending  out  a  herald,  the  state  must  also  possess  a 
common  Hellenic  currency.  If  a  private  person  is  ever 
obliged  to  go  abroad,  let  him  have  the  consent  of  the  magis- 
trates and  go ;  and  if  when  he  returns  he  has  any  foreign 
money  remaining,  let  him  give  the  surplus  back  to  the 
treasury,  and  receive  a  corresponding  sum  in  the  local 
currency.  And  if  he  is  discovered  to  appropriate  it,  let  it  be 
confiscated,  and  let  him  who  knows  and  does  not  inform  be 
subject  to  curse  and  dishonour  equally  with  him  who  brought 
the  monej',  and  also  to  a  fine  not  less  in  amount  than  the 
foreign  money  which  has  been  brought  back.  In  marrying 
and  giving  in  marriage,  no  one  shall  give  or  receive  any 
dowry  at  all ;  and-  no  one  shall  deposit  money  with  another 
whom  he  does  not  trust  as  a  friend,  nor  shall  he  lend  money 
upon  interest ;  and  the  borrower  should  be  under  no  obliga- 
tion to  repay  either  capital  or  interest.  That  these  principles 
are  best,  any  one  may  see  who  compares  them  with  the  first 


A  very  rich  man  can  hardly  be  a  very  good  man . 


125 


state  nor 
individual 


principle  and  intention  of  a  state.  The  intention,  as  we  affirm,    Laws  V. 
of  a  reasonable  statesman,  is  not  what  the  many  declare  Athenian. 
to  be  the  object  of  a  good  legislator,  namely,  that  the  state  The  state 
for  the  true  interests  of  which  he  is  advising  should  be  as  to  be  good 
great  and  as  rich  as  possible,  and  should  possess  gold  and  ^f^i'l'^'^si'^^g 
silver,  and  have  the  greatest  empire  by  sea  and  land ; — this  neither 
they  imagine  to  be  the  real  object  of  legislation,  at. the  same 
time  adding,  inconsistently,  that  the  true  legislator  desires  to  can  be 
have  the  city  the  best  and  happiest  possible.    But  they  do 
not  see  that  some  of  these  things  are  possible,  and  some  of 
them  are  impossible ;  and  he  who  orders  the  state  will  desire 
what  is  possible,  and  will  not  indulge  in  vain  wishes  or 
attempts  to  accomplish  that  which  is  impossible.   The  citizen 
must  indeed  be  happy  and  good,  and  the  legislator  will  seek 
to  make  him  so  ;  but  very  rich  and  very  good  at  the  same 
time  he  cannot  be,  not,  at  least,  in  the  sense  in  which  the 
5  many  speak  of  riches.    For  they  mean  by  '  the  rich  '  the  few 
who  have  the  most  valuable  possessions,  although  the  owner 
of  them  may  quite  well  be  a  rogue.   And  if  this  is  true,  I  can 
never  assent  to  the  doctrine  that  the  rich  man  will  be  happy 
— he  must  be  good  as  well  as  rich.    And  good  in  a  high 
degree,  and  rich  in  a  high  degree  at  the  same  time,  he  cannot 
be.    Some  one  will  ask,  why  not  ?    And  we  shall  answer, —  The  good 
Because  acquisitions  which  come  from  sources  which  are  just  s^'"^ 
and  unjust  indifferently,  are  more  than  double  those  which  much  as  the 
come  from  just  sources  only;  and  the  sums  which  are  ex-  bad  and 
pended  neither  honourably  nor  disgracefully,  are  only  half  twice^as 
as  great  as  those  which  are  expended  honourably  and  on  ™uch ;  so 
honourable  purposes.    Thus,  if  the  one  acquires  double  and  cannot^ 
spends  half,  the  other  who  is  in  the  opposite  case  and  is  a  easily  be 
good  man  cannot  possibly  be  wealthier  than  he.    The  first — 
I  am  speaking  of  the  saver  and  not  of  the  spender — is  not 
always  bad ;  he  may  indeed  in  some  cases  be  utterly  bad, 
but,  as  I  was  saying,  a  good  man  he  never  is.    For  he  who 
receives  money  unjustly  as  well  as  justly,  and  spends  neither 
justly  nor  unjustly,  will  be  a  rich  man  if  he  be  also  thrifty. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  utterly  bad  is  in  general  profligate, 
and  therefore  very  poor;  while  he  who  spends  on  noble 
objects,  and  acquires  wealth  by  just  means  only,  can  hardly 
be  remarkable  for  riches,  anymore  than  he  can  be  very  poor. 


rich. 


126  The  scale  of  goods :  (i)  soul ;  (2)  body (3)  wealth. 


Laws  V. 
Athenian. 


The  making 
of  money 
not  to  be 
allowed  to 
interfere 
with 

education. 


The  citizens 
to  be 

arranged  in 
classes  ac- 
cording to 
theircensus. 


Our  statement,  then,  is  true,  that  the  very  rich  are  not  good, 
and,  if  they  are  not  good,  they  are  not  happy.  But  the 
intention  of  our  laws  was,  that  the  citizens  should  be  as 
happy  as  may  be,  and  as  friendly  as  possible  to  one  another. 
And  men  who  are  always  at  law  with  one  another,  and 
amongst  whom  there  are  many  wrongs  done,  can  never  be 
friends  to  one  another,  but  only  those  among  whom  crimes 
and  lawsuits  are  few  and  slight.  Therefore  we  say  that  gold 
and  silver  ought  not  to  be  allowed  in  the  city,  nor  much  of 
the  vulgar  sort  of  trade  which  is  carried  on  by  lending 
money,  or  rearing  the  meaner  kinds  of  live  stock  ;  but  only 
the  produce  of  agriculture,  and  only  so  much  of  this  as  will 
not  compel  us  in  pursuing  it  to  neglect  that  for  the  sake  of 
which  riches  exist, — I  mean,  soul  and  body,  which  without 
gymnastics,  and  without  education,  will  never  be  worth  any- 
thing ;  and  therefore,  as  we  have  said  not  once  but  many 
times,  the  care  of  riches  should  have  the  last  place  in  our 
thoughts.  For  there  are  in  all  three  things  about  which 
every  man  has  an  interest ;  and  the  interest  about  money, 
when  rightly  regarded,  is  the  third  and  lowest  of  them : 
midway  comes  the  interest  of  the  body;  and,  first  of  all,  that 
of  the  soul ;  and  the  state  which  we  are  describing  will  have 
been  rightly  constituted  if  it  ordains  honours  according  to 
this  scale.  But  if,  in  any  of  the  laws  which  have  been  744 
ordained,  health  has  been  preferred  to  temperance,  or  wealth 
to  health  and  temperate  habits,  that  law  must  clearly  be 
wrong.  Wherefore,  also,  the  legislator  ought  often  to  im- 
press upon  himself  the  question — 'What  do  I  want?'  and 
'  Do  I  attain  my  aim,  or  do  I  miss  the  mark  ? '  In  this  way, 
and  in  this  way  only,  he  may  acquit  himself  and  free  others 
from  the  work  of  legislation. 

Let  the  allottee  then  hold  his  lot  upon  the  conditions  which 
we  have  mentioned  \ 

It  would  be  well  that  every  man  should  come  to  the  colony 
having  all  things  equal  ;  but  seeing  that  this  is  not  possible, 
and  one  man  will  have  greater  possessions  than  another,  for 
many  reasons  and  in  particular  in  order  to  preserve  equality 
in   special  crises  of  the  state,  qualifications  of  property 


'  Supra,  740,  741 . 


The  limit  of  poverty  a7id  of  wealth. 


127 


must  be  unequal,  in  order  that  offices  and  contributions  and    Laws  V. 
distributions  may  be  proportioned  to  thie  value  of  each  Athenian. 
person's  wealth,  and  not  solely  to  the  virtue  of  his  ancestors 
or  himself,  nor  yet  to  the  strength  and  beauty  of  his  person, 
but  also  to  the  measure  of  his  wealth  or  poverty ;  and  so  by 
a  law  of  inequality,  which  will  be  in  proportion  to  his  wealth, 
he  will  receive  honours  and  offices  as  equally  as  possible, 
and  there  will  be  no  quarrels  and  disputes.    To  which  end  There  are 
there  should  be  four  different  standards  appointed  according 
to  the  amount  of  property :  there  should  be  a  first  and  a  classes,  the 
second  and  a  third  and  a  fourth  class,  in  which  the  citizens  ^^^^^^ 
will  be  placed,  and  they  will  be  called  by  these  or  similar  below  the 
names:  they  may  continue  in  the  same  rank,  or  pass  into 
another  in  any  individual  case,  on  becoming  richer  from  exceeding 
beina:  poorer,  or  poorer  from  being  richer.    The  form  of  law  five  times 
which  I  should  propose  as  the  natural  sequel  would  be  as 
follows : — In  a  state  which  is  desirous  of  being  saved  from 
the  greatest  of  all  plagues — not  faction,  but  rather  distraction 
— there  should  exist  among  the  citizens  neither  extreme 
poverty,  nor,  again,  excess  of  wealth,  for  both  are  productive 
of  both  these  evils.     Now  the  legislator  should  determine 
what  is  to  be  the  limit  of  poverty  or  wealth.    Let  the  limit 
of  poverty  be  the  value  of  the  lot ;  this  ought  to  be  preserved, 
and  no  ruler,  nor  any  one  else  who  aspires  after  a  reputation 
for  virtue,  will  allow  the  lot  to  be  impaired  in  any  case. 
This  the  legislator  gives  as  a  measure,  and  he  will  permit  a 
man  to  acquire  double  or  triple,  or  as  much  as  four  times  the 
amount  of  this^    But  if  a  person  have  yet  greater  riches, 
whether  he  has  found  them,  or  they  have  been  given  to  him, 
or  he  has  made  them  in  business,  or  has  acquired  by  any 
stroke  of  fortune  that  which  is  in  excess  of  the  measure,  if  he 
i  give  back  the  surplus  to  the  state,  and  to  the  Gods  who  are 
the  patrons  of  the  state,  he  shall  suffer  no  penalty  or  loss  of 
reputation;  but  if  he  disobeys  this  our  law,  any  one  who 
likes  may  inform  against  him  and  receive  half  the  value  of 
the  excess,  and  the  delinquent  shall  pay  a  sum  equal  to  the 
excess  out  of  his  own  property,  and  the  other  half  of  the 
(  excess  shall  belong  to  the  Gods.    And  let  every  possession 
of  every  man,  with  the  exception  of  the  lot,  be  publicly 

'  Cp.  Arist.  Pol.  ii.  6,  §  15. 


128 


The  city  to  be  in  the  centre  of  the  cotmtry. 


Laws  V. 

Athenian. 

Twelve-fold 
division  of 
city  and 
country. 


The  land 
to  be  dis- 
tributed into 
5040  lots. 
Each  lot  to 
be  divided, 
— half  to  be 
near  the 
city,  half 
more 
distant. 


Less  of 
good  land 
to  be  given, 
more  of 
inferior. 


Twelve 
tribes, 
named  after 
twelve 
Gods. 


Every  citi- 
zen to  have 
a  town  and 
a  country 
house. 

But  this  is 
only  a 
dream. 


registered  before  the  magistrates  whom  the  law  appoints,  so 
that  all  suits  about  money  may  be  easy  and  quite  simple. 

The  next  thing  to  be  noted  is,  that  the  city  should  be 
placed  as  nearly  as  possible  in  the  centre  of  the  country; 
we  should  choose  a  place  which  possesses  what  is  suitable 
for  a  cit}^,  and  this  may  easily  be  imagined  and  described. 
Then  we  will  divide  the  city  into  twelve  portions,  first  found- 
ing temples  to  Hestia,  to  Zeus  and  to  Athene,  in  a  spot 
which  we  will  call  the  Acropolis,  and  surround  with  a  circular 
wall,  making  the  division  of  the  entire  city  and  country  radiate 
from  this  point.  The  twelve  portions  shall  be  equalized  by 
the  provision  that  those  which  are  of  good  land  shall  be 
smaller,  while  those  of  inferior  quality  shall  be  larger.  The 
number  of  the  lots  shall  be  5040,  and  each  of  them  shall  be 
divided  into  two,  and  eyery  allotment  shall  be  composed 
of  two  such  sections ;  one  of  land  near  the  city,  the 
other  of  land  which  is  at  a  distance  \  This  arrangement 
shall  be  carried  out  in  the  following  manner :  The  section 
which  is  near  the  city  shall  be  added  to  that  which  is  on  the 
borders,  and  form  one  lot,  and  the  portion  which  is  next 
nearest  shall  be  added  to  the  portion  which  is  next  farthest ; 
and  so  of  the  rest.  Moreover,  in  the  two  sections  of  the  lots 
the  same  principle  of  equalization  of  the  soil  ought  to  ,  be 
maintained;  the  badness  and  goodness  shall  be  compensated' 
by  more  and  less.  And  the  legislator  shall  divide  the 
citizens  into  twelve  parts,  and  arrange  the  rest  of  their 
property,  as  far  as  possible,  so  as  to  form  twelve  equal 
parts  ;  and  there  shall  be  a  registration  of  all.  After  this 
they  shall  assign  twelve  lots  to  twelve  Gods,  and  call  them 
by  their  names,  and  dedicate  to  each  God  their  several 
portions,  and  call  the  tribes  after  them.  And  they  shall 
distribute  the  twelve  divisions  of  the  city  in  the  same  way 
in  which  they  divided  the  country;  and  every  man  shall  have 
two  habitations  one  in  the  centre  of  the  countr}^,  and  the 
other  at  the  extremity.    Enough  of  the  manner  of  settlement. 

Now  we  ought  by  all  means  to  consider  that  there  can 
never  be  such  a  happy  concurrence  of  circumstances  as  we 
have  described ;  neither  can  all  things  coincide  as  they  are 
wanted.     Men  who  will  not  take  offence  at  such  a  mode  746 

>  Cp.  Arist.  Pol.  vii.  10,  §  11.  =  Cp.  ibid.  ii.  6,  §  15. 


The  ideal  and  the  possible. 


129 


of  living  together,  and  will  endure  all  their  life  long  to    Laws  v. 
have  their  property  fixed  at  a  moderate  limit,  and  to  beget  Athenian. 
children  in  accordance  with  our  ordinances,  and  will  allow 
themselves  to  be  deprived  of  gold  and  other  things  which 
the  legislator,  as  is  evident  from  these  enactments,  will 
certainly  forbid  them  ;  and  will  endure,  further,  the  situation 
of  the  land  with  the  city  in  the  middle  and  dwellings  round 
about ; — all  this  is  as  if  the  legislator  were  telling  his  dreams, 
or  making  a  city  and  citizens  of  wax.     There  is  truth  in 
these  objections,  and  therefore  every  one  should  take  to 
heart  what  I  am  going  to  say.    Once  more,  then,  the  legis- 
lator shall  appear  and  address  us  : — '  O  my  friends,'  he  will  The  legis- 
say  to  us,  'do  not  suppose  me  ignorant  that  there  is  a  certain  jf^sTbe  al-'^ 
degree  of  truth  in  your  words ;  but  I  am  of  opinion  that,  in  lowed  to 
matters  which  are  not  present  but  future,  he  who  exhibits  p^""!^^*^' 

...  design,  and 

a  pattern  of  that  at  which  he  aims,  should  in  nothing  fall  then  we 
short  of  the  fairest  and  truest ;  and  that  if  he  finds  any  part 
of  this  work  impossible  of  execution  he  should  avoid  and  far  it  can  be 
not  execute  it,  but  he  should  contrive  to  carry  out  that  executed, 
which  is  nearest  and  most  akin  to  it ;  you  must  allow  the 
legislator  to  perfect  his  design,  and  when  it  is  perfected,  you 
should  join  with  him  in  considering  what  part  of  his  legis- 
lation is  expedient  and  what  will  arouse  opposition  ;  for 
surely  the  artist  who  is  to  be  deemed  worthy  of  any  regard 
at  all,  ought  always  to  make  his  work  self-consistent.' 

Having  determined  that  there  is  to  be  a  distribution  into 
twelve  parts,  let  us  now  see  in  what  way  this  may  be  ac- 
complished. There  is  no  difficulty  in  perceiving  that  the 
twelve  parts  admit  of  the  greatest  number  of  divisions  of  that 
which  they  include,  or  in  seeing  the  other  numbers  which  are 
consequent  upon  them,  and  are  produced  out  of  them  up  to 
5040;  wherefore  the  law  ought  to  order  phratries  and  demes 
and  villages,  and  also  military  ranks  and  movements,  as  well 
as  coins  and  measures,  dry  and  liquid,  and  weights,  so  as 
to  be  commensurable  and  agreeable  to  one  another.  Nor 
should  we  fear  the  appearance  of  minuteness,  if  the  law 
commands  that  all  the  vessels  which  a  man  possesses  should 
have  a  common  measure,  when  we  consider  generally  that 
47  the  divisions  and  variations  of  numbers  have  a  use  in  respect 
of  all  the  variations  of  which  they  are  susceptible,  both  in 

VOL.  V.  K 


130 


N limbec's :  their  educational  and  also  meaner  use. 


Laws  V. 

Athenian, 
Cleinias. 


The  study 
of  arith- 
metic the 
most 
powerful 
instrument 
of  educa- 
tion. But 
it  may  also 
encourage 
meanness, 
as  among 
the  Egyp- 
tians and 
Phoeni- 
cians. 


Effects  of 
soil  and 
climate  on 
national 
character. 


themselves  and  as  measures  of  height  and  depth,  and  in  all 
sounds,  and  in  motions,  as  well  those  which  proceed  in  a 
straight  direction,  upwards  or  downwards,  as  in  those  which 
go  round  and  round.  The  legislator  is  to  consider  all  these 
things  and  to  bid  the  citizens,  as  far  as  possible,  not  to  lose 
sight  of  numerical  order;  for  no  single  instrument  of  youthful 
education  has  such  mighty  power,  both  as  regards  domestic 
economy  and  politics,  and  in  the  arts,  as  the  study  of 
arithmetic.  Above  all,  arithmetic  stirs  up  him  who  is  by 
nature  sleepy  and  dull,  and  makes  him  quick  to  learn,  reten- 
tive, shrewd,  and  aided  by  art  divine  he  makes  progress 
quite  beyond  his  natural  powers \  All  such  things,  if  only 
the  legislator,  by  other  laws  and  institutions,  can  banish  mean- 
ness and  covetousness  from  the  souls  of  men,  so  that  they 
can  use  them  properly  and  to  their  own  good,  will  be  excellent 
and  suitable  instruments  of  education.  But  if  he  cannot,  he 
will  unintentionally  create  in  them,  instead  of  wisdom,  the 
habit  of  craft,  which  evil  tendency  may  be  observed  in  the 
Egyptians  and  Phoenicians,  and  many  other  races,  through  the 
general  vulgarity  of  their  pursuits  and  acquisitions,  whether 
some  unworth}'  legislator  of  theirs  has  been  the  cause,  or 
some  impediment  of  chance  or  nature.  For  we  must  not 
fail  to  observe,  O  Megillus  and  Cleinias,  that  there  is  a  dif- 
ference in  places,  and  that  some  beget  better  men  and  others 
worse  ;  and  we  must  legislate  accordingly.  Some  places  are 
subject  to  strange  and  fatal  influences  by  reason  of  diverse 
winds  and  violent  heats,  some  by  reason  of  waters ;  or,  again, 
from  the  character  of  the  food  given  by  the  earth,  which  not 
only  affects  the  bodies  of  men  for  good  or  evil,  but  produces 
similar  results  in  their  souls.  And  in  all  such  qualities  those 
spots  excel  in  which  there  is  a  divine  inspiration,  and  in  which 
the  demigods  have  their  appointed  lots,  and  are  propitious,  not 
adverse,  to  the  settlers  in  them.  To  all  these  matters  the 
legislator,  if  he  have  any  sense  in  him,  will  attend  as  far  as 
man  can,  and  frame  his  laws  accordingly.  And  this  is  what  you, 
Cleinias,  must  do,  and  to  matters  of  this  kind  you  must  turn 
your  mind  since  you  are  going  to  colonize  a  new  country. 

Cleinias.  Your  words,  Athenian  Stranger,  are  excellent, 
and  I  will  do  as  you  say. 

'  Cp.  Rep.  vii.  526  B. 


BOOK  VI. 


'51     Athenian  Stranger.  And  now  having  made  an  end  of  the  Lazvs  VI. 
preliminaries  we  will  proceed  to  the  appointment  of  magis-  Athenian, 
trades.  Cleinias. 
Cleinias.  Very  good. 

Ath.  In  the  ordering  of  a  state  there  are  two  parts :  first, 
the  number  of  .  the  magistracies,  and  the  mode  of  establishing 
them ;  and,  secondly,  when  they  have  been  established,  laws 
again  will  have  to  be  provided  for  each  of  them,  suitable  in 
nature  and  number.  But  before  electing  the  magistrates 
let  us  stop  a  little  and  say  a  word  in  season  about  the 
election  of  them. 

Cle.  What  have  you  got  to  say  ? 

Ath.  This  is  what  I  have  to  say; — every  one  can  see,  Theap- 
that  although  the  work  of  legislation  is  a  most  important  ^f'^f^^f^Jg 
matter,  yet  if  a  well-ordered  city  superadd  to  good  laws  a  matter 
unsuitable  offices,  not  only  will  there  be  no  use  in  having 
the  good  laws, — not  only  will  they  be  ridiculous  and  useless,  be  left  to 
but  the  greatest  political  injury  and  evil  will  accrue  from  ^^hance  un- 

educated 

them.  persons 
Cle.  Of  course.  who  are 

Ath.  Then  now,  my  friend,  let  us  observe  what  will  happen  together  for 
in  the  constitution  of  our  intended  state.  In  the  first  place,  first 
you  will  acknowledge  that  those  who  are  duly  appointed  to 
magisterial  power,  and  their  families,  should  severally  have 
given  satisfactory  proof  of  what  they  are,  from  youth  upward 
until  the  time  of  election ;  in  the  next  place,  those  who  are  to 
elect  should  have  been  trained  in  habits  of  law,  and  be  well 
educated,  that  they  may  have  a  right  judgment,  and  may  be 


132 


An  incomplete  discourse,  a  headless  monster. 


Laws  VI. 

Athenian, 
Cleinias. 


The  first 
magistrates 
must  be 
elected 
by  some 
already 
existing 
authority. 


able  to  select  or  reject  men  whom  they  approve  or  disap- 
prove, as  they  are  worthy  of  either.  But  how  can  we  imagine 
that  those  who  are  brought  together  for  the  first  time,  and 
are  strangers  to  one  another,  and  also  uneducated,  will  avoid 
making  mistakes  in  the  choice  of  magistrates  ? 
Cle.  Impossible. 

Ath.  The  matter  is  serious,  and  excuses  will  not  serve  the 
turn.  I  will  tell  you,  then,  what  you  and  I  will  have  to  do, 
since  you,  as  you  tell  me,  with  nine  others,  have  offered  to 
settle  the  new  state  on  behalf  of  the  people  of  Crete,  and 
I  am  to  help  you  by  the  invention  of  the  present  romance.  7 
I  certainly  should  not  like  to  leave  the  tale  wandering  all 
over  the  world  without  a  head ; — a  headless  monster  is 
such  a  hideous  thing. 

Cle.  Excellent,  Stranger. 

Ath.  Yes ;  and  I  will  be  as  good  as  my  word. 
Cle.  Let  us  by  all  means  do  as  you  propose. 
Ath.  That  we  will,  by  the  grace  of  God,  if  old  age  will 
only  permit  us. 

Cle.  But  God  will  be  gracious. 

Ath.  Yes  ;  and  under  His  guidance  let  us  consider  a 
further  point. 
Cle.  What  is  it? 

Ath.  Let  us  remember  what  a  courageously  mad  and 
daring  creation  this  our  city  is. 

Cle.  What  had  you  in  your  mind  when  you  said  that? 

Ath.  I  had  in  my  mind  the  free  and  easy  manner  in 
which  we  are  ordaining  that  the  inexperienced  colonists  shall 
receive  our  laws.  Now  a  man  need  not  be  very  wise, 
Cleinias,  in  order  to  see  that  no  one  can  easily  receive  laws 
at  their  first  imposition.  But  if  we  could  anyhow  wait  until 
those  who  have  been  imbued  with  them  from  childhood,  and 
have  been  nurtured  in  them,  and  become  habituated  to  them, 
take  their  part  in  the  public  elections  of  the  state ;  I  say, 
if  this  could  be  accomplished,  and  rightly  accomplished  by 
any  way  or  contrivance, — then,  I  think  that  there  would  be 
very  little  danger,  at  the  end  of  the  time,  of  a  state  thus 
trained  not  being  permanent. 

Cle.  A  reasonable  supposition. 

Ath.  Then  let  us  consider  if  we  can  find  anyway  out  of  the 


The  first  magistrates. 


133 


difficulty ;  for  I  maintain,  Cleinias,  that  the  Cnosians,  above  Lazvs  VI. 
all  the  other  Cretans,  should  not  be  satisfied  with  barely 

Athenian, 

discharging  their  duty  to  the  colony,  but  they  ought  to  take  Cleinias. 
the  utmost  pains  to  establish  the  offices  which  are  first  created 
by  them  in  the  best  and  surest  manner.  Above  all,  this 
applies  to  the  selection  of  the  guardians  of  the  law,  who 
must  be  chosen  first  of  all,  and  with  the  greatest  care; 
the  others  are  of  less  importance. 

Cle.  What  method  can  we  devise  of  electing  them  ? 
Ath.  This  will  be  the  method : — Sons  of  the  Cretans,  I  The  Cno- 
shall  say  to  them,  inasmuch  as  the  Cnosians  have  precedence  ^'ct?ng  in 
over  the  other  states,  they  should,  in  common  with  those  concert 
who  join  this  settlement,  choose  a  body  of  thirty-seven  in  ^''^ 

•'  1  J  J  new  colo- 

all,  nineteen  of  them  being  taken  from  the  settlers,  and  the  nists.should 
753  remainder  from  the  citizens  of  Cnosus.    Of  these  latter  the  appoint  a 

body  of  37 

Cnosians  shall  make  a  present  to  your  colony,  and  you  your-  guardians 
self  shall  be  one  of  the  eighteen,  and  shall  become  a  citizen  °f  i^*- 
of  the  new  state  ;  and  if  you  and  they  cannot  be  persuaded 
to  go,  the  Cnosians  may  fairly  use  a  little  violence  in  order 
to  make  you. 

Cle.  But  why.  Stranger,  do  not  you  and  Megillus  take  a 
part  in  our  new  city  ? 

Ath.  O,  Cleinias,  Athens  is  proud,  and  Sparta  too  ;  and 
they  are  both  a  long  way  offi    But  you  and  likewise  the 
other  colonists  are  conveniently  situated  as  you  describe. 
I  have  been  speaking  of  the  way  in  which  the  new  citizens 
may  be  best  managed  under  present  circumstances;  but  in 
after-ages,  if  the  city  continues  to  exist,  let  the  election  be 
on  this  wise.    All  who  are  horse  or  foot  soldiers,  or  have  In  after- 
seen  military  service  at  the  proper  ages  when  they  were  gf^nJe^ 
severally  fitted  for  it  ^,  shall  share  in  the  election  of  magis-  eiected\y 
trates;  and  the  election  shall  be  held  in  whatever  temple  J^^  "^j^'g 
the  state  deems  most  venerable,  and  every  one  shall  carry  ^^^^ 
his  vote  to  the  altar  of  the  God,  writing  down  on  a  tablet 
the  name  of  the  person  for  whom  he  votes,  and  his  father's 
name,  and  his  tribe,  and  ward;  and  at  the  side  he  shall 
write  his  own  name  in  like  manner.    Any  one  who  pleases 
may  take  away  any  tablet  which  he  does  not  think  properly 
filled  up,  and  exhibit  it  in  the  Agora  for  a  period  of 
•  Cp.  Arist.  Pol.  ii.  6,  §  16. 


134 


'A  good  beginning  is  half  the  whole! 


Laws  VI. 

Athenian, 
Cleinias. 

Manner  of 
election. 


Cnosus, 
the  parent 
state, 

should  take 
an  interest 
in  her 
offspring. 


not  less  than  thirty  days.  The  tablets  which  are  judged 
to  be  first,  to  the  number  of  300,  shall  be  shown  by  the 
magistrates  to  the  whole  city,  and  the  citizens  shall  in  like 
manner  select  from  these  the  candidates  whom  they  prefer  ; 
and  this  second  selection,  to  the  number  of  100,  shall  be 
again  exhibited  to  the  citizens ;  in  the  third,  let  any  one  who 
pleases  select  whom  he  pleases  out  of  the  100,  walking 
through  the  parts  of  victims,  and  let  them  choose  for  magis- 
trates and  proclaim  the  seven -and -thirty  who  have  the 
greatest  number  of  votes.  But  who,  Cleinias  and  Megillus, 
will  order  for  us  in  the  colony  all  this  matter  of  the  magis- 
trates, and  the  scrutinies  of  them  ?  If  we  reflect,  we  shall 
see  that  cities  which  are  in  process  of  construction  like 
ours  must  have  some  such  persons,  who  cannot  possibly 
be  elected  before  there  are  any  magistrates  ^ ;  and  yet  they 
must  be  elected  in  some  way,  and  they  are  not  to  be  inferior 
men,  but  the  best  possible.  For  as  the  proverb  says,  '  a  good 
beginning  is  half  the  business  ; '  and  'to  have  begun  well '  is 
praised  by  all,  and  in  my  opinion  is  a  great  deal  more  than 
half  the  business,  and  has  never  been  praised  by  any  one  754 
enough. 

Clc.  That  is  very  true. 

Ath.  Then  let  us  recognize  the  difficulty,  and  make  clear 
to  our  own  minds  how  the  beginning  is  to  be  accomplished. 
There  is  only  one  proposal  which  I  have  to  offer,  and  that  is 
one  which,  under  our  circumstances,  is  both  necessary  and 
expedient. 

Cle.  What  is  it? 

Ath.  I  maintain  that  this  colony  of  ours  has  a  father  and 
mother,  who  are  no  other  than  the  colonizing  state.  Well 
I  know  that  many  colonies  have  been,  and  will  be,  at  enmity 
with  their  parents.  But  in  early  da3'S  the  child,  as  in  a 
family,  loves  and  is  beloved ;  even  if  there  come  a  time  later 
when  the  tie  is  broken,  still,  while  he  is  in  want  of  education, 
he  naturally  loves  his  parents  and  is  beloved  by  them,  and 
flies  to  his  relatives  for  protection,  and  finds  in  them  his 
only  natural  allies  in  time  of  need  ;  and  this  parental  feeling 
already  exists  in  the  Cnosians,  as  is  shown  by  their  care  of 
the  new  city;  and  there  is  a  similar  feeling  on  the  part  of  the 

'  Reading  irph  iraaui/. 


The  number,  duties,  age  of  the  gtiardians  of  the  law. 


^35 


young  city  towards  Cnosus.    And  I  repeat  what  I  was  saying  Laws  VJ. 

— for  there  is  no  harm  in  repeating  a  good  thing — that  the  Athenian. 
Cnosians  should  take  a  common  interest  in  all  these  matters, 

and  choose,  as  far  as  they  can,  the  eldest  and  best  of  the  She  should 

colonists,  to  the  number  of  not  less  than  a  hundred  :  and  let  ^PP°'"'^^ 

'  '  constituent 

there  be  another  hundred  of  the  Cnosians  themselves.   These,  body  of  200 
I  say,  on  their  arrival,  should  have  a  joint  care  that  the  ^^^'^^  ^''i 
magistrates  should  be  appointed  according  to  law,  and  that  first  eiec- 
when  they  are  appointed  they  should  undergo  a  scrutiny. 
When  this  has  been  effected,  the  Cnosians  shall  return  home, 
and  the  new  city  do  the  best  she  can  for  her  own  preserva- 
tion and  happiness.    I  would  have  the  seven-and-thirty  now, 
and  in  all  future  time,  chosen  to  fulfil  the  following  duties  : — 
Let  them,  in  the  first  place,  be  the  guardians  of  the  law ;  and.  The  37  to 
secondly,  of  the  registers  in  which  each  one  registers  before .  '^^f 

°  °  guardians 

the  magistrate  the  amount  of  his  property,  excepting  four  of  the  law 
minae  which  are  allowed  to  citizens  of  the  first  class,  three  and  of  the 

registers  of 

allowed  to  the  second,  two  to  the  third,  and  a  single  mina  to  property, 
the  fourth.  And  if  any  one,  despising  the  laws  for  the  sake 
of  gain,  be  found  to  possess  anything  more  which  has  not 
been  registered,  let  all  that  he  has  in  excess  be  confiscated, 
and  let  him  be  liable  to  a  suit  which  shall  be  the  reverse  of 
honourable  or  fortunate.  And  let  any  one  who  will,  indict 
him  on  the  charge  of  loving  base  gains,  and  proceed  against 
'55  him  before  the  guardians  of  the  law.  And  if  he  be  cast,  let 
him  lose  his  share  of  the  public  possessions,  and  when  there 
is  any  pubHc  distribution,  let  him  have  nothing  but  his 
original  lot ;  and  let  him  be  written  down  a  condemned  man 
as  long  as  he  lives,  in  some  place  in  which  an}^  one  who 
pleases  can  read  about  his  offences.  The  guardian  of  the  They 
law  shall  not  hold  office  longer  than  twenty  years,  and  shall 

°  J  J         ^  between 

not  be  less  than  fifty  years  of  age  when  he  is  elected  ;  or  if  the  ages  of 
he  is  elected  when  he  is  sixty  years  of  age,  he  shall  hold  5°  and  70. 
office  for  ten  years  only;  and  upon  the  same  -principle,  he 
must  not  imagine  that  he  will  be  permitted  to  hold  such  an 
important  office  as  that  of  guardian  of  the  laws  after  he  is 
seventy  years  of  age,  if  he  live  so  long. 

These  are  the  three  first  ordinances  about  the  guardians 
of  the  law;  as  the  work  of  legislation  progresses,  each  law  in 
turn  will  assign  to  them  their  further  duties.    And  now  we 


136 


Appointment  of  military  officers. 


Laws  VI. 
Athenian. 


Generals  to 
be  taken 
from  a  list 
formed  Ijy 
them,  three 
in  number, 
by  those 
who  are  or 
have  been 
soldiers. 


The 

generals 
shall  ap- 
point 12 
brigadiers. 


The  elec- 
tion of 
cavalry 
oflicers. 


may  proceed  in  order  to  speak  of  the  election  of  other 
officers;  for  generals  have  to  be  elected,  and  these  again 
must  have  their  ministers,  commanders,  and  colonels  of  horse, 
and  commanders  of  brigades  of  foot,  who  would  be  more 
rightly  called  by  their  popular  name  of  brigadiers.  The 
guardians  of  the  law  shall  propose  as  generals  men  who  are 
natives  of  the  city,  and  a  selection  from  the  candidates 
proposed  shall  be  made  by  those  who  are  or  have  been  of  the 
age  for  military  service.  And  if  one  who  is  not  proposed  is 
thought  by  somebody  to  be  better  than  one  who  is,  let  him 
name  whom  he  prefers  in  the  place  of  whom,  and  make  oath 
that  he  is  better,  and  propose  him  ;  and  whichever  of  them  is 
approved  by  vote  shall  be  admitted  to  the  final  selection ;  and 
the  three  who  have  the  greatest  number  of  votes  shall  be 
appointed  generals,  and  superintendents  of  military  affairs, 
after  previously  undergoing  a  scrutiny,  like  the  guardians  of 
the  law.  And  let  the  generals  thus  elected  propose  twelve 
brigadiers,  one  for  each  tribe  ;  and  there  shall  be  a  right  of 
counter-proposal  as  in  the  case  of  the  generals,  and  the 
voting  and  decision  shall  take  place  in  the  same  way.  Until 
the  prytanes  and  council  are  elected,  the  guardians  of  the  law 
shall  convene  the  assembly  in  some  holy  spot  which  is 
suitable  to  the  purpose,  placing  the  hoplites  by  themselves, 
and  the  cavalry  by  themselves,  and  in  a  third  division  all  the 
rest  of  the  arm}'.  All  are  to  vote  for  the  generals  [and  for  the 
colonels  of  horse],  but  the  brigadiers  are  to  be  voted  for  only 
by  those  who  carry  shields  [i.  e.  the  hoplites].  Let  the  body  756 
of  cavalry  choose  phylarchs  for  the  generals  ;  but  captains  of 
light  troops,  or  archers,  or  any  other  division  of  the  army, 
shall  be  appointed  by  the  generals  for  themselves.  There 
only  remains  the  appointment  of  officers  of  cavalry :  these 
shall  be  proposed  by  the  same  persons  who  proposed  the 
generals,  and  the  election  and  the  counter-proposal  of 
other  candidates  shall  be  arranged  in  the  same  way  as  in 
the  case  of  the  generals,  and  let  the  cavalry  vote  and  the 
infantry  look  on  at  the  election ;  the  two  who  have  the 
greatest  number  of  votes  shall  be  the  leaders  of  all  the 
horse.  Disputes  about  the  voting  may  be  raised  once  or 
twice ;  but  if  the  dispute  be  raised  a  third  time,  the  officers 
who  preside  at  the  several  elections  shall  decide. 


The  council  and  the  mode  of  appointing  councillors. 


137 


the  mode 
of  election. 


The  council  shall  consist  of  30  x  12  members, — 360  will  Laws  VI. 

be  a  convenient  number  for  sub-division.   If  we  divide  the  Athenian. 

whole  number  into  four  parts  of  ninety  each,  we  get  ninety  ^j^g^g^jj^i, 

counsellors  for  each  class.    First,  all  the  citizens  shall  select  to  consist 

candidates  from  the  first  class:  they  shall  be  compelled  to  °^36o 

nrT,  persons. 

vote,  and,  if  they  do  not,  shall  be  duly  fined.    When  the  .p,^^  penalty 

candidates  have  been  selected,  some  one  shall  mark  them  for  not 
down ;  this  shall  be  the  business  of  the  first  day.    And  on 

the  following  day,  candidates  shall  be  selected  from  the  the  council 

second  class  in  the  same  manner  and  under   the  same  shall  vary 

with  the 

conditions  as  on  the  previous  day;  and  on  the  third  day  class, 
a  selection  shall  be  made  from  the  third  class,  at  which  every  Details  of 
one  may  if  he  likes  vote,  and  the  three  first  classes  shall  be 
compelled  to  vote ;  but  the  fourth  and  lowest  class  shall  be 
under  no  compulsion,  and  any  member  of  this  class  who  does 
not  vote  shall  not  be  punished.  On  the  fourth  day  candidates 
shall  be  selected  from  the  fourth  and  smallest  class;  they  shall 
be  selected  by  all,  but  he  who  is  of  the  fourth  class  shall 
suffer  no  penalty,  nor  he  who  is  of  the  third,  if  he  be  not 
willing  to  vote  ;  but  he  who  is  of  the  first  or  second  class,  if 
he  does  not  vote  shall  be  punished  ; — he  who  is  of  the  second 
class  shall  pay  a  fine  of  triple  the  amount  which  was  exacted 
at  first,  and  he  who  is  of  the  first  class  quadruple.  On  the 
fifth  day  the  rulers  shall  bring  out  the  names  noted  down,  for 
all  the  citizens  to  see,  and  every  man  shall  choose  out  of  them, 
under  pain,  if  he  do  not,  of  suffering  the  first  penalty;  and 
when  they  have  chosen  180  out  of  each  of  the  classes,  they 
shall  choose  one-half  of  them  by  lot,  who  shall  undergo  a 
scrutiny : — These  are  to  form  the  council  for  the  year. 

The  mode  of  election  which  has  been  described  is  in  a  The  state 
mean  between  monarchy  and  democracy,  and  such  a  mean     be  m  a 

,  .  mean 

17  the  State  ought  always  to  observe ;  for  servants  and  masters  between 
never  can  be  friends,  nor  good  and  bad,  merely  because  they  ™o"archy 
are  declared  to  have  equal  privileges.  For  to  unequals  equals 
become  unequal,  if  they  are  not  harmonised  by  measure  ;  and 
both  by  reason  of  equality,  and  by  reason  of  inequality,  cities 
are  filled  with  seditions.  The  old  saying,  that  'equality 
makes  friendship,'  is  happy  and  also  true;  but  there  is 
obscurity  and  confusion  as  to  what  sort  of  equality  is 
meant.    For  there  are  two  equalities  which  are  called  by 


cracy. 


138 


Dislnbution  of  equality  among  unequals. 


Laws  VI. 

Athenian. 

Two  kinds 
of  equality, 
simple,  and 
propor- 
tionate— 


that  is,  the 
distribution 
of  more 
to  the 
superior, 
and  of  less 
to  the 
inferior. 


Equality, 
like  justice, 
is  often 
used  in  a 
lax  sense, 
as  when 
applied  to 
the  lot :  the 
less  there 
is  of  chance 
the  better. 


the  same  name,  but  are  in  reality  in  many  ways  almost 
the  opposite  of  one  another;  one  of  them  may  be  introduced 
without  difficulty,  by  any  state  or  any  legislator  in  the  dis- 
tribution of  honours  :  this  is  the  rule  of  measure,  weight,  and 
number,  which  regulates  and  apportions  them.  But  there  is 
another  equality,  of  a  better  and  higher  kind,  which  is  not  so 
easily  recognized.  This  is  the  judgment  of  Zeus  ;  among 
men  it  avails  but  little  ;  that  little,  however,  is  the  source  of 
the  greatest  good  to  individuals  and  states.  For  it  gives  to 
the  greater  more,  and  to  the  inferior  less  and  in  proportion 
to  the  nature  of  each  ;  and,  above  all,  greater  honour  always 
to  the  greater  virtue,  and  to  the  less  less ;  and  to  either  in 
proportion  to  their  respective  measure  of  virtue  and  education. 
And  this  is  justice,  and  is  ever  the  true  principle  of  states,  at 
which  we  ought  to  aim,  and  according  to  this  rule  order  the 
new  city  which  is  now  being  founded,  and  any  other  city 
which  may  be  hereafter  founded.  To  this  the  legislator 
should  look, — not  to  the  interests  of  tyrants  one  or  more,  or 
to  the  power  of  the  people,  but  to  justice  always ;  which,  as 
I  was  saying,  is  the  distribution  of  natural  equality  among 
unequals  in  each  case.  But  there  are  times  at  which  every 
state  is  compelled  to  use  the  words,  'just,'  'equal,'  in  a 
secondary  sense,  in  the  hope  of  escaping  in  some  degree 
from  factions.  For  equity  and  indulgence  are  infractions  of 
the  perfect  and  strict  rule  of  justice.  And  this  is  the  reason 
why  we  are  obliged  to  use  the  equality  of  the  lot,  in  order  to 
avoid  the  discontent  of  the  people ;  and  so  we  invoke  God 
and  fortune  in  our  prayers,  and  beg  that  they  themselves  will 
direct  the  lot  with  a  view  to  supreme  justice.  And  therefore, 
although  we  are  compelled  to  use  both  equalities,  we  should 
use  that  into  which  the  element  of  chance  enters  as  seldom 
as  possible.  758 

Thus,  O  my  friends,  and  for  the  reasons  given,  should  a 
state  act  which  would  endure  and  be  saved.  But  as  a  ship 
sailing  on  the  sea  has  to  be  watched  night  and  day,  in  like 
manner  a  city  also  is  sailing  on  a  sea  of  politics,  and  is 
liable  to  all  sorts  of  insidious  assaults ;  and  therefore  from 
morning  to  night,  and  from  night  to  morning,  rulers  must 
join  hands  with  rulers,  and  watchers  with  watchers,  re- 
ceiving and  giving  up  their  trust  in  a  perpetual  succession. 


The  care  of  the  city  and  of  the  country. 


139 


Now  a  multitude  can  never  fulfil  a  duty  of  this  sort  with  Laivs  VI. 
anything  like  energy.    Moreover,  the  greater  number  of  the  Athenian, 
senators  will  have  to  be  left  during  the  greater  part  of  the  Cleinias. 
year  to  order  their  concerns  at  their  own  homes.    They  will  The  council 
therefore  have  to  be  arranged  in  twelve  portions,  answering 
to  the  twelve  months,  and  furnish  guardians  of  the  state,  each  into  twelve 
portion  for  a  single  month.    Their  business  is  to  be  at  hand  Qf^j^^^*^^ 
and  receive  any  foreigner  or  citizen  who  comes  to  them,  will  serve 
whether  to  give  information,  or  to  put  one  of  those  questions,  foramonth. 
to  which,  when  asked  by  other  cities,  a  city  should  give  an  J^^^^^ 
answer,  and  to  which,  if  she  ask  them  herself,  she  should  receive 
an  answer ;  or  again,  when  there  is  a  likelihood  of  internal 
commotions,  which  are  always  liable  to  happen  in  some  form 
or  other,  they  will,  if  they  can,  prevent  their  occurring ;  or  if 
they  have  already  occurred,  will  lose  no  time  in  making  them 
known  to  the  city,  and  healing  the  evil.    Wherefore,  also, 
this  which  is  the  presiding  body  of  the  state  ought  always  to 
have  the  control  of  their  assemblies,  and  of  the  dissolutions  of 
them,  ordinary  as  well  as  extraordinary.    All  this  is  to  be 
ordered  by  the  twelfth  part  of  the  council,  which  is  always 
to  keep  watch  together  with  the  other  officers  of  the  state 
during  one  portion  of  the  year,  and  to  rest  during  the  re- 
maining eleven  portions. 

Thus  will  the  city  be  fairly  ordered.  And  now,  who  is  to 
have  the  superintendence  of  the  country,  and  what  shall  be 
the  arrangement  ?  Seeing  that  the  whole  city  and  the  entire 
country  have  been  both  of  them  divided  into  twelve  portions, 
ought  there  not  to  be  appointed  superintendents  of  the  streets 
of  the  city,  and  of  the  houses,  and  buildings,  and  harbours, 
and  the  agora,  and  fountains,  and  sacred  domains,  and 
temples,  and  the  like? 

Cle.  To  be  sure  there  ought. 
)    Ath.  Let  us  assume,  then,  that  there  ought  to  be  servants  Threekinds 
of  the  temples,  and  priests  and  priestesses.    There  must  also  °^  officers 

,  .  .  necessary 

be  supenntendents  of  roads  and  buildings,  who  will  have  for  the 
a  care  of  men,  that  they  may  do  no  harm,  and  also  of  beasts,  fi'^^p^^^j^ 
both  within  the  enclosure  and  in  the  suburbs.  Three  kinds  of  inter-'^^'^' 
officers  will  thus  have  to  be  appointed,  in  order  that  the  city  preters,  and 
may  be  suitably  provided  according  to  her  needs.    Those  Se'^sirers: 
who  have  the  care  of  the  city  shall  be  called  wardens  of  the  (2)Wardens 


140 


The  laws  about  religion  to  be  brought  from  Delphi. 


Lwivs  VI. 

Athenian. 

of  the 
city : 

(3)Wardens 
of  the 
Agora. 


Mixture  of 
classes  in 
election  to 
offices. 


Election  of 
priests  and 
priestesses, 


of  inter- 
preters, 


and  of 
temple- 
treasurers. 


city;  and  those  who  have  the  care  of  the  agora  shall  be 
called  wardens  of  the  agora ;  and  those  who  have  the  care  of 
the  temples  shall  be  called  priests.  Those  who  hold  here- 
ditary offices  as  priests  or  priestesses,  shall  not  be  disturbed ; 
but  if  there  be  few  or  none  such,  as  is  probable  at  the 
foundation  of  a  new  city,  priests  and  priestesses  shall  be 
appointed  to  be  servants  of  the  Gods  who  have  no  servants. 
Some  of  our  officers  shall  be  elected,  and  others  appointed 
by  lot,  those  who  are  of  the  people  and  those  who  are  not  of 
the  people  mingling  in  a  friendly  manner  in  every  place  and 
city,  that  the  state  may  be  as  far  as  possible  of  one  mind. 
The  officers  of  the  temples  shall  be  appointed  by  lot ;  in  this 
way  their  election  will  be  committed  to  God,  that  He  may  do 
what  is  agreeable  to  Him.  And  he  who  obtains  a  lot  shall 
undergo  a  scrutiny,  first,  as  to  whether  he  is  sound  of  body 
and  of  legitimate  birth ;  and  in  the  second  place,  in  order  to 
show  that  he  is  of  a  perfectly  pure  family,  not  stained  with 
homicide  or  any  similar  impiety  in  his  own  person,  and  also 
that  his  father  and  mother  have  led  a  similar  unstained  life. 
Now  the  laws  about  all  divine  things  should  be  brought  from 
Delphi,  and  interpreters  appointed,  under  whose  direction 
they  should  be  used.  The  tenure  of  the  priesthood  should 
always  be  for  a  year  and  no  longer ;  and  he  who  will  duly 
execute  the  sacred  office,  according  to  the  laws  of  religion, 
must  be  not  less  than  sixty  years  of  age, — the  laws  shall  be 
the  same  about  priestesses.  As  for  the  interpreters,  they 
shall  be  appointed  thus : — let  the  twelve  tribes  be  distributed 
into  groups  of  four,  and  let  each  group  select  four,  one  out  of 
each  tribe  within  the  group,  three  times ;  and  let  the  three 
who  have  the  greatest  number  of  votes  [out  of  the  twelve 
appointed  by  each  group],  after  undergoing  a  scrutiny,  nine 
in  all,  be  sent  to  Delphi,  in  order  that  the  God  may  return 
one  out  of  each  triad  ;  their  age  shall  be  the  same  as  that  of 
the  priests,  and  the  scrutiny  of  them  shall  be  conducted  in 
the  same  manner;  let  them  be  interpreters  for  life,  and  when 
any  one  dies  let  the  four  tribes  select  another  from  the  tribe 
of  the  deceased.  Moreover,  besides  priests  and  interpreters, 
there  must  be  treasurers,  who  will  take  charge  of  the 
property  of  the  several  temples,  and  of  the  sacred  domains, 
and  shall  have  authority  over  the  produce  and  the  letting  of 


The  defence  of  the  country. 


141 


0  them ;  and  three  of  them  shall  be  chosen  from  the  highest  Laws  VI. 
classes  for  the  greater  temples,  and  two  for  the  lesser,  and  Athenian. 
one  for  the  least  of  all ;  the  manner  of  their  election  and  the 
scrutiny  of  them  shall  be  the  same  as  that  of  the  generals \ 
This  shall  be  the  order  of  the  temples. 

Let  everything  have  a  guard  as  far  as  possible.    Let  the 
defence  of  the  city  be  committed  to  the  generals,  and  taxi- 
archs,  and  hipparchs,  and  phylarchs,  and  prytanes,  and  the 
wardens  of  the  city,  and  of  the  agora,  when  the  election  of 
them  has  been  completed.    The  defence  of  the  country  shall 
be  provided  for  as  follows  : — The  entire  land  has  been  The  war- 
already  distributed  into  twelve  as  nearly  as  possible  equal  ^^^t^^*^^ 
parts,  and  let  the  tribe  allotted  to  a  division  provide  annually 
for  it  five  wardens  of  the   country  and  commanders   of  • 
the  watch;  and  let  each  body  of  five  have  the  power  of  Fivetokeep 
selecting  twelve  others  out  of  the  youth  of  their  own  tribe, —  gach'divi 
these  shall  be  not  less  than  twenty-five  years  of  age,  and  not  sion  with 
more  than  thirty.   And  let  there  be  allotted  to  them  severally  twelve 

11  .  T      •        •  1        1        1  11   young  men 

every  month  the  various  districts,  in  order  that  they  may  all  appointed 
acquire  knowledge  and  experience  of  the  whole  country,  by  them. 
The  term  of  service  for  commanders  and  for  watchers  shall 
continue  during  two  years.    After  having  had  their  stations  A  different 
allotted  to  them,  they  will  go  from  place  to  place  in  regular 
order,  making  their  round  from  left  to  right  as  their  com-  every 
manders  direct  them ;  (when  I  speak  of  going  to  the  right,  and 
I  mean  that  they  are  to  go  to  the  east).    And  at  the  com-  of  the  land 
mencement  of  the  second  year,  in  order  that  as  many  as  twice  made 
possible  of  the  guards  may  not  only  get  a  knowledge  of  the  years^'ser^° 
country  at  any  one  season  of  the  year,  but  may  also  have  vice, 
experience  of  the  manner  in  which  different  places  are 
affected  at  different  seasons  of  the  year,  their  then  com- 
manders shall  lead  them  again  towards  the  left,  from  place 
to  place  in  succession,  until  they  have  completed  the  second 
year.    In  the  third  year  other  wardens  of  the  country  shall 
be  chosen  and  commanders  of  the  watch,  five  for  each 
division,  who  are  to  be  the  superintendents  of  the  bands  ^^^^.^ 
of  twelve.    While  on  service  at  each  station,  their  attention  duties  :— 
shall  be  directed  to  the  following  points :— In  the  first  place.  Protection 
they  shall  see  that  the  country  is  well  protected  against  °o„|jj,.y. 

'  Cp.  stipra,  755  C. 


division  to 
be  taken 


142 


Other  arrangements  about  the  coimtry. 


Laws  VI. 
Athenian. 


road- 
making  ; 


the  care  of 

fountains 

and 

streams  ; 


and  of 
irrigation. 


Gymnasia 
for  youth. 

Warm 
baths  for 
the  aged 
rustic, 
better  than 
a  doctor. 


The  war- 
dens of 
the  country 


enemies;  they  shall  trench  and  dig  wherever  this  is  required 
and,  as  far  as  they  can,  they  shall  by  fortifications  keep  off 
the  evil-disposed,  in  order  to  prevent  them  from  doing  any 
harm  to  the  country  or  the  property ;  they  shall  use  the 
beasts  of  burden  and  the  labourers  whom  they  find  on  the 
spot :  these  will  be  their  instruments  whom  they  will  super-  761 
intend,  taking  them,  as  far  as  possible,  at  the  times  when 
they  are  not  engaged  in  their  regular  business.  They  shall 
make  every  part  of  the  country  inaccessible  to  enemies,  and 
as  accessible  as  possible  to  friends' ;  there  shall  be  wa3's  for 
man  and  beasts  of  burden  and  for  cattle,  and  they  shall  take 
care  to  have  them  always  as  smooth  as  they  can ;  and  shall 
provide  against  the  rains  doing  harm  instead  of  good  to  the 
land,  when  they  come  down  from  the  mountains  into  the 
hollow  dells ;  and  shall  keep  in  the  overflow  by  the  help  of 
works  and  ditches,  in  order  that  the  valleys,  receiving  and 
drinking  up  the  rain  from  heaven,  and  providing  fountains  and 
streams  in  the  fields  and  regions  which  lie  underneath,  may 
furnish  even  to  the  dry  places  plenty  of  good  water.  The 
fountains  of  water,  whether  of  rivers  or  of  springs,  shall  be 
ornamented  with  plantations  and  buildings  for  beauty;  and 
let  them  bring  together  the  streams  in  subterraneous  chan- 
nels, and  make  all  things  plenteous;  and  if  there  be  a  sacred 
grove  or  dedicated  precinct  in  the  neighbourhood,  they  shall 
conduct  the  water  to  the  actual  temples  of  the  Gods,  and  so 
beautify  them  at  all  seasons  of  the  year.  Everywhere  in 
such  places  the  youth  shall  make  gymnasia  for  themselves, 
and  warm  baths  for  the  aged,  placing  by  them  abundance  of 
dry  wood,  for  the  benefit  of  those  labouring  under  disease- 
there  the  weary  frame  of  the  rustic,  worn  with  toil,  will 
receive  a  kindly  welcome  %  far  better  than  he  would  at  the 
hands  of  a  not  over-wise  doctor. 

The  building  of  these  and  the  like  works  will  be  useful 
and  ornamental ;  they  will  provide  a  pleasing  amusement,  but 
they  will  be  a  serious  employment  too ;  for  the  sixty  wardens 
will  have  to  guard  their  several  divisions,  not  only  with 
a  view  to  enemies,  but  also  with  an  eye  to  professing  friends. 
When  a  quarrel  arises  among  neighbours  or  citizens,  and 
any  one  whether  slave  or  freeman  wrongs  another,  let  the 

'  Cp.  Arist.  Pol.  vii.  5,  §  3.  »  Reading  S^f"-- 


The  judicial  fimctions  of  the  wardens  of  the  country.  143 


five  wardens  decide  small  matters  on  their  own  authority ;   Laivs  VI. 
but  where  the  charge  against  another  relates  to  greater  Athenian. 
matters,  the  seventeen  composed  of  the  fives  and  twelves,  shall  decide 

.  ,  1-1  1    •  •     L  minor 

shall  determme  any  charges  which  one  man  brings  against  ^^55^ 
another,  not  involving  more  than  three  minae\  Every  judge 
and  magistrate  shall  be  liable  to  give  an  account  of  his 
conduct  in  office,  except  those  who,  like  kings,  have  the  final 
decision.  Moreover,  as  regards  the  aforesaid  wardens  of  the  They 
country,  if  they  do  any  wrong  to  those  of  whom  they  have 
the  care,  whether  by  imposing  upon  them  unequal  tasks,  or  oppressing 
by  taking  the  produce  of  the  soil  or  implements  of  husbandry 
without  their  consent;  also  if  they  receive  anything  in  the 
way  of  a  bribe,  or  decide  suits  unjustly,  or  if  they  yield  to 
the  influences  of  flattery,  let  them  be  publicly  dishonoured ; 
and  in  regard  to  any  other  wrong  which  they  do  to  the 
inhabitants  of  the  country,  if  the  question  be  of  a  mina,  let 
them  submit  to  the  decision  of  the  villagers  in  the  neighbour- 
hood ;  but  in  suits  of  greater  amount,  or  in  the  case  of  lesser 
if  they  refuse  to  submit,  trusting  that  their  monthly  removal 
into  another  part  of  the  country  will  enable  them  to  escape — 
in  such  cases  the  injured  party  may  bring  his  suit  in  the 
common  court,  and  if  he  obtain  a  verdict  he  may  exact  from 
the  defendant,  who  refused  to  submit,  a  double  penalty. 

The  wardens  and  the  overseers  of  the  country,  while  on  Common 
their  two  years'  service,  shall  have  common  meals  at  their  '"^^'s- 
several  stations,  and  shall  all  live  together ;  and  he  who  is 
absent  from  the  common  meal,  or  sleeps  out,  if  only  for  No  sleeping 
one  day  or  night,  unless  by  order  of  his  commanders,  or  by 
reason  of  absolute  necessity,  if  the  five  denounce  him  and 
inscribe  his  name  in  the  agora  as  not  having  kept  his  guard, 
let  him  be  deemed  to  have  betrayed  the  city,  as  far  as  lay  in 
his  power,  and  let  him  be  disgraced  and  beaten  with  impunity 
by  any  one  who  meets  him  and  is  willing  to  punish  him.  If 
any  of  the  commanders  is  guilty  of  such  an  irregularity,  the 
whole  company  of  sixty  shall  see  to  it,  and  he  who  is 
cognisant  of  the  offence,  and  does  not  bring  the  offender 
to  trial,  shall  be  amenable  to  the  same  laws  as  the  younger 
offender  himself,  and  shall  pay  a  heavier  fine,  and  be  in- 
capable of  ever  commanding  the  young.    The  guardians  of 

'  Cp.  infra,  viii.  843  D. 


144 


Command  is  best  learned  in  the  school  of  obedience. 


Laws  VI. 
Athenian. 


The  service 
of  the  laws 
is  the 
service  of 
the  Gods. 


The  war- 
dens of  the 
country 
are  to  wait 
on  them- 
selves. 


A  man 
should 
acquire  an 
exact  know- 
ledge of 
his  own 
country. 


The  war- 
dens of  the 
city  are  to 
be  three, 
the  wardens 
of  the 
agora  to 
be  five  in 
number. 


the  law  are  to  be  careful  inspectors  of  these  matters,  and 
shall  either  prevent  or  punish  offenders.  Every  man  should 
remember  the  universal  rule,  that  he  who  is  not  a  good 
servant  will  not  be  a  good  master;  a  man  should  pride 
himself  more  upon  serving  well  than  upon  commanding 
well :  first  upon  serving  the  laws,  which  is  also  the  service 
of  the  Gods ;  in  the  second  place,  upon  having  served 
ancient  and  honourable  men  in  the  days  of  his  youth. 
Furthermore,  during  the  two  years  in  which  any  one  is  a 
warden  of  the  country,  his  daily  food  ought  to  be  of  a  simple 
and  humble  kind.  When  the  twelve  have  been  chosen,  let 
them  and  the  five  meet  together,  and  determine  that  they  will  763 
be  their  own  servants,  and,  like  servants,  will  not  have  other 
slaves  and  servants  for  their  own  use,  neither  will  they  use 
those  of  the  villagers  and  husbandmen  for  their  private 
advantage,  but  for  the  public  service  only ;  and  in  general 
they  should  make  up  their  minds  to  live  independently  by 
themselves,  servants  of  each  other  and  of  themselves.  Fur- 
ther, at  all  seasons  of  the  year,  summer  and  winter  alike,  let 
them  be  under  arms  and  survey  minutely  the  whole  country ; 
thus  they  will  at  once  keep  guard,  and  at  the  same  time 
acquire  a  perfect  knowledge  of  every  locality.  There  can  be 
no  more  important  kind  of  information  than  the  exact  know- 
ledge of  a  man's  own  country;  and  for  this  as  well  as  for 
more  general  reasons  of  pleasure  and  advantage,  hunting 
with  dogs  and  other  kinds  of  sports  should  be  pursued  by 
the  young.  The  service  to  whom  this  is  committed  may  be 
called  the  secret  police^  or  wardens  of  the  country;  the 
name  does  not  much  signify,  but  every  one  who  has  the 
safety  of  the  state  at  heart  will  use  his  utmost  diligence  in 
this  service. 

After  the  wardens  of  the  country,  we  have  to  speak  of  the 
election  of  wardens  of  the  agora  and  of  the  city.  The 
wardens  of  the  country  were  sixty  in  number,  and  the 
wardens  of  the  city  will  be  three,  and  will  divide  the  twelve 
parts  of  the  city  into  three  ;  like  the  former,  they  shall  have 
care  of  the  ways,  and  of  the  different  high  roads  which  lead 
out  of  the  country  into  the  city,  and  of  the  buildings,  that 
they  may  be  all  made  according  to  law  ;— also  of  the  waters, 

'  Cp.  s^^p)■a,  i.  633  C. 


Wardens  of  the  city  and  of  the  agora. 


145 


which  the  guardians  of  the  supply  preserve  and  convey  to  Laivs  VI. 
them,  care  being  taken  that  they  may  reach  the  fountains  Athenian. 
pure  and  abundant,  and  be  both  an  ornament  and  a  benefit 
to  the  city.    These  also  should  be  men  of  influence,  and  at 
leisure  to  take  care  of  the  public  interest.    Let  every  man  The 
propose  as  warden  of  the  city  any  one  whom  he  likes  out  of  ^g^j^^^"*^ 
the  highest  class,  and  when  the  vote  has  been  given  on  them,  them, 
and  the  number  is  reduced  to  the  six  who  have  the  greatest 
number  of  votes,  let  the  electing  officers  choose  by  lot  three 
out  of  the  six,  and  when  they  have  undergone  a  scrutiny  let 
them  hold  office  according  to  the  laws  laid  down  for  them. 
Next,  let  the  wardens  of  the  agora  be  elected  in  like  manner, 
out  of  the  first  and  second  class,  five  in  number:  ten  are  to 
be  first  elected,  and  out  of  the  ten  five  are  to  be  chosen  by 
lot,  as  in  the  election  of  the  wardens  of  the  city : — these 
when  they  have  undergone  a  scrutiny  are  to  be  declared 
magistrates.     Every  one  shall  vote  for  every  one,  and  he 
4  who  will  not  vote,  if  he  be  informed  against  before  the 
magistrates,  shall  be  fined  fifty  drachmae,  and  shall  also  be 
deemed  a  bad  citizen.    Let  any  one  who  likes  go  to  the  Attendance 
assembly  and  to  the  general  council ;  it  shall  be  compulsory  ^'gg'^^jjy 
to  go  on  citizens  of  the  first  and  second  class,  and  they  and  general 
shall  pay  a  fine  of  ten  drachmae  if  they  be  found  not  answer-  council, 
ing  to  their  names  at  the  assembly.    But  the  third  and 
fourth  class  shall  be  under  no  compulsion,  and  shall  be  let 
off  without  a  fine,  unless  the  magistrates  have  commanded 
all  to  be  present,  in  consequence  of  some  urgent  necessity. 
The  wardens  of  the  agora  shall  observe  the  order  appointed  Powers  of 
by  law  for  the  agora,  and  shall  have  the  charge  of  the  'he  wardens 

o       '  °  of  the  city 

temples  and  fountains  which  are  in  the  agora  ]  and  they  shall  and  agora. 

see  that  no  one  injures  anything,  and  punish  him  who  does, 

with  stripes  and  bonds,  if  he  be  a  slave  or  stranger ;  but  if  he 

be  a  citizen  who  misbehaves  in  this  way,  they  shall  have  the 

power  themselves  of  inflicting  a  fine  upon  him  to  the  amount 

of  a  hundred  drachmae,  or  with  the  consent  of  the  wardens 

of  the  city  up  to  double  that  amount.   And  let  the  wardens  of 

the  city  have  a  similar  power  of  imposing  punishments  and 

fines  in  their  own  department ;  and  let  them  impose  fines  by 

their  own  authority,  up  to  a  mina,  or  up  to  two  minae  with 

the  consent  of  the  wardens  of  the  agora. 

VOL.  V.  L 


146 


Directors  of  music  and  gyimtasiic. 


Laws  VI.  In  the  next  place,  it  will  be  proper  to  appoint  directors  of 
Athenian.  music  and  gymnastic,  two  kinds  of  each — of  the  one  kind  the 
Two  kinds  business  will  be  education,  of  the  other,  the  superintend- 
of directors  ence  of  Contests.  In  speaking  of  education,  the  law  means 
andofgym-  speak  of  those  who  have  the  care  of  order  and  instruction 
nastic :—  in  gymnasia  and  schools,  and  of  the  going  to  school,  and  of 
structors  •  school  buildings  for  boys  and  girls  ;  and  in  speaking  of  con- 
(2)  judges,  tests,  the  law  refers  to  the  judges  of  gymnastics  and  of 
music ;  these  again  are  divided  into  two  classes,  the  one 
Tlie  three  having  to  do  with  music,  the  other  with  gymnastics  ;  and  the 
gy^nas°[c  ^^"^^  ^ho  judge  of  the  gymnastic  contests  of  men,  shall 
shall  judge  judge  of  horses ;  but  in  music  there  shall  be  one  set  of 
al'so°"ln  judges  of  solo  singing,  and  of  imitation— I  mean  of  rhapso- 
music  there  dists,  players  on  the  harp,  the  flute  and  the  like,  and  another 
shall  be  one  y^^i^  shall  judge  of  choral  song.    First  of  all,  we  must  choose 

judge  of  .  °  ° 

the  solo      directors  for  the  choruses  of  boys,  and  men,  and  maidens, 

singers,  and  whom  they  shall  follow  in  the  amusement  of  the  dance,  and 
one  of  the     .  ,  .     ,  ,.  .,,  , 

choruses.     lO""  o^r  other  musical  arrangements  ;  — one  director  will  be 

enough  for  the  choruses,  and  he  should  be  not  less  than  765 
forty  years  of  age.     One  director  will  also  be  enough 
to  introduce  the  solo  singers,  and  to  give  judgment  on  the 
competitors,  and  he  ought  not  to  be  less  than  thirty  years  of 
The  age.    The  director  and  manager  of  the  choruses  shall  be 

decting°he  ^^^^'^^  ^^^^^  following  manner: — Let  any  persons  who 
judges.  commonly  take  an  interest  in  such  matters  go  to  the  meeting, 
and  be  fined  if  they  do  not  go  (the  guardians  of  the  law  shall 
judge  of  their  fault),  but  those  who  have  no  interest  shall  not 
be  compelled.  The  elector  shall  propose  as  director  some  one 
who  understands  music,  and  he  in  the  scrutiny  may  be  chal- 
lenged on  the  one  part  by  those  who  say  he  has  no  skill,  and 
defended  on  the  other  hand  by  those  who  say  that  he  has. 
Ten  are  to  be  elected  by  vote,  and  he  of  the  ten  who  is 
chosen  by  lot  shall  undergo  a  scrutiny,  and  lead  the  choruses 
for  a  year  according  to  law.  And  in  like  manner  the  com- 
petitor who  wins  the  lot  shall  be  leader  of  the  solo  and 
concert  music  for  that  year ;  and  he  who  is  thus  elected 
shall  deliver  the  award  to  the  judges.  In  the  next  place, 
we  have  to  choose  judges  in  the  contests  of  horses  and  of 
men  ;  these  shall  be  selected  from  the  third  and  also  from 
the  second  class  of  citizens,  and  the  three  first  classes  shall 


The  great  minister  of  edzication. 


147 


be  compelled  to  go  to  the  election,  but  the  lowest  may  stay  Laws  VI. 
away  with  impunity;  and  let  there  be  three  elected  by  lot  out  of 

Athenian. 

the  twenty  who  have  been  chosen  previously,  and  they  must 
also  have  the  vote  and  approval  of  the  examiners.  But  if 
any  one  is  rejected  in  the  scrutiny  at  any  ballot  or  decision, 
others  shall  be  chosen  in  the  same  manner,  and  undergo  a 
similar  scrutiny. 

There  remains  the  minister  of  the  education  of  youth,  male  The 
and  female;  he  too  will  rule  according  to  law;   one  such  t™"e(Jyca-^ 
minister  will  be  sufficient,  and  he  must  be  fifty  years  old,  and  tion  of 
have  children  lawfully  begotten,  both  boys  and  girls  by  pre-  g°g"|^gg|^^f 
ference,  at  any  rate,  one  or  the  other.    He  who  is  elected,  the  officers 
and  he  who  is  the  elector,  should  consider  that  of  all  the  of  state, 
great  offices  of  state  this  is  the  greatest ;  for  the  first  shoot 
of  any  plant,  if  it  makes  a  good  start  towards  the  attainment 
of  its  natural  excellence,  has  the  greatest  effect  on  its 
maturity;  and  this  is  not  only  true  of  plants,  but  of  animals 
t56  wild  and  tame,  and  also  of  men.    Man,  as  we  say,  is  a  tame 
or  civilized  animal ;  nevertheless,  he  requires  proper  instruc- 
tion and  a  fortunate  nature,  and  then  of  all  animals  he 
becomes  the  most  divine  and  most  civilized  ^ ;  but  if  he  be 
insufficiently  or  ill  educated  he  is  the  most  savage  of  earthly 
creatures.    Wherefore  the  legislator  ought  not  to  allow  the 
education  of  children  to  become  a  secondary  or  accidental 
matter.    In  the  first  place,  he  who  would  be  rightly  provi- 
dent about  them,  should  begin  by  taking  care  that  he  is 
elected,  who  of  all  the  citizens  is  in  every  way  best ;  him 
the  legislator  shall  do  his  utmost  to  appoint  guardian  and 
superintendent.     To  this  end  all  the  magistrates,  with  the  He  is  to 
exception  of  the  council  and  prytanes,  shall  go  to  the  temple  ^  elected 
of  Apollo,  and  elect  by  ballot  him  of  the  guardians  of  the  law  m^agh^- 
whom  they  severally  think  will  be  the  best  superintendent  of  ^"'^ 
education.    And  he  who  has  the  greatest  number  of  votes,  office  for 
after  he  has  undergone  a  scrutiny  at  the  hands  of  all  the  five  years, 
magistrates  who  have  been  his  electors,  with  the  exception 
of  the  guardians  of  the  law,— shall  hold  office  for  five  years  ; 
and  in  the  sixth  year  let  another  be  chosen  in  like  manner 
to  fill  his  office. 

If  any  one  dies  while  he  is  holding  a  public  office,  and 

'  Arist.  Pol.  i.  2,  §§  15,  16. 
L  2 


148 


Laiu  courts. 


La7vs  VI. 
Athfnian. 


Disputes 
to  be 
referred 

(1)  to  a 
council  of 
friends  and 
noigli- 
bours  : 

(2)  to  an 
ordinary 
court : 

(3)  to  ^ 
court  of 
appeal. 


Litigants 
may  ap- 
point tlieir 
own  tri- 
bunal. 
There  will 
be  courts 

(1)  for  pri- 
vate, and 

(2)  for  pub- 
lic causes. 


more  than  thirty  days  before  his  term  of  ofifice  expires,  let 
those  whose  business  it  is  elect  another  to  the  office  in  the 
same  manner  as  before.  And  if  any  one  who  is  entrusted 
with  orphans  dies,  let  the  relations  both  on  the  father's  and 
mother's  side,  who  are  residing  at  home,  including  cousins, 
appoint  another  guardian  within  ten  days,  or  be  fined  a 
drachma  a  day  for  neglect  to  do  so. 

A  city  which  has  no  regular  courts  of  law  ceases  to  be  a 
city ;  and  again,  if  a  judge  is  silent  and  says  no  more  in  pre- 
liminary proceedings  than  the  litigants,  as  is  the  case  in 
arbitrations,  he  will  never  be  able  to  decide  justly;  wherefore 
a  multitude  of  judges  will  not  easily  judge  well,  nor  a  few  if 
they  are  bad.  The  point  in  dispute  between  the  parties 
should  be  made  clear ;  and  time,  and  deliberation,  and  re- 
peated examination,  greatly  tend  to  clear  up  doubts.  For 
this  reason,  he  who  goes  to  law  with  another,  should  go  first 
of  all  to  his  neighbours  and  friends  who  know  best  the  ques- 
tions at  issue.  And  if  he  be  unable  to  obtain  from  them  a 
satisfactory  decision,  let  him  have  recourse  to  another  court; 
and  if  the  two  courts  cannot  settle  the  matter,  let  a  third  put 
an  end  to  the  suit. 

Now  the  establishment  of  courts  of  justice  may  be  regarded 
as  a  choice  of  magistrates,  for  every  magistrate  must  also  be 
a  judge  of  some  things ;  and  the  judge,  though  he  be  not  a 
magistrate,  yet  in  certain  respects  is  a  very  important  magis- 
trate on  the  day  on  which  he  is  determining  a  suit.  Regard- 
ing then  the  judges  also  as  magistrates,  let  us  say  who  are 
fit  to  be  judges,  and  of  what  they  are  to  be  judges,  and  how 
many  of  them  are  to  judge  in  each  suit.  Let  that  be  the 
supreme  tribunal  which  the  litigants  appoint  in  common  for 
themselves,  choosing  certain  persons  by  agreement.  And 
let  there  be  two  other  tribunals :  one  for  private  causes, 
when  a  citizen  accuses  another  of  wronging  him  and  wishes 
to  get  a  decision  ;  the  other  for  public  causes,  in  which  some 
citizen  is  of  opinion  that  the  public  has  been  wronged  by  an 
individual,  and  is  willing  to  vindicate  the  common  interests. 
And  we  must  not  forget  to  mention  how  the  judges  are  to  be 
qualified,  and  who  they  are  to  be.  In  the  first  place,  let 
there  be  a  tribunal  open  to  all  private  persons  who  are  trying 
causes  one  against  another  for  the  third  time,  and  let  this  be 


The  Jiidicahire:  (i)  Private,  and  {2)  public  suits.  149 


composed  as  follows  : — All  the  officers  of  state,  as  well  annual  Laws  VI. 

as  those  holding  office  for  a  longer  period,  when  the  new  year  Athenian-. 

is  about  to  commence,  in  the  month  following  after  the  sum-  The  court 

mer  solstice,  on  the  last  day  but  one  of  the  year,  shall  meet  in  of  appeal : 

some  temple,  and  calling  God  to  witness,  shall  dedicate  one  [oVe"^^*^^ 

judge  from  every  magistracy  to  be  their  first-fruits,  choosing  selected 

from  eac 
magistracy. 


in  each  office  him  who  seems  to  them  to  be  the  best,  and  ^^^^ 


whom  they  deem  likely  to  decide  the  causes  of  his  fellow- 
citizens  during  the  ensuing  year  in  the  best  and  holiest 
manner.    And  when  the  election  is  completed,  a  scrutiny 
shall  be  held  in  the  presence  of  the  electors  themselves,  and 
if  any  one  be  rejected  another  shall  be  chosen  in  the  same 
manner.     Those  who  have  undergone  the  scrutiny  shall 
judge  the  causes  of  those  who  have  declined  the  inferior 
courts,  and  shall  give  their  vote  openly.    The  councillors 
and  other  magistrates  who  have  elected  them  shall  be  re- 
quired to  be  hearers  and  spectators  of  the  causes ;  and  any 
one  else  may  be  present  who  pleases.    If  one  man  charges 
another  with  having  intentionally  decided  wrong,  let  him  go 
to  the  guardians  of  the  law  and  lay  his  accusation  before 
them,  and  he  who  is  found  guilty  in  such  a  case  shall  pay 
damages  to  the  injured  party  equal  to  half  the  injury;  but  if 
he  shall  appear  to  deserve  a  greater  penalty,  the  judges  shall 
determine  what  additional  punishment  he  shall  suffer,  and 
how  much  more  he  ought  to  pay  to  the  public  treasury,  and 
to  the  party  who  brought  the  suit. 
8     In  the  judgment  of  offences  against  the  state,  the  people 
ought  to  participate,  for  when  any  one  wrongs  the  state  all 
are  wronged,  and  may  reasonably  complain  if  they  are  not 
allowed  to  share  in  the  decision.    Such  causes  ought  to  Public  suits 
originate  with  the  people,  and  they  ought  also  to  have  the  shoiiid 
final  decision  of  them,  but  the  trial  of  them  shall  take  place  w?th"the^ 
before  three  of  the  highest  magistrates,  upon  whom  the  plain-  people,  and 
tiff  and  the  defendant  shall  agree  ;  and  if  they  are  not  able  to  bedded  by 
come  to  an  agreement  themselves,  the  council  shall  choose  them, 
one  of  the  two  proposed.    And  in  private  suits,  too,  as  far  as  s"it^"too! 
is  possible,  all  should  have  a  share  ;  for  he  who  has  no  share  all  should 
in  the  administration  of  justice,  is  apt  to  imagine  that  he  has 
no  share  in  the  state  at  all.    And  for  this  reason  there  shall  J-'^jl^^"""^ 
be  a  court  of  law  in  every  tribe,  and  the  judges  shall  be  °ribes. 


A  transition. 


Laws  VI. 

Athenian, 
Cleinias. 


From 

magistrates 
we  proceed 
to  laws. 


Laws,  like 
pictures, 
require 
renewal  in 
the  course 
of  ages. 


chosen  by  lot; — they  shall  give  their  decisions  at  once,  and 
shall  be  inaccessible  to  entreaties.  The  final  judgment  shall 
rest  with  that  court  which,  as  we  maintain,  has  been  estab- 
lished in  the  most  incorruptible  form  of  which  human  things 
admit :  this  shall  be  the  court  established  for  those  who 
are  unable  to  get  rid  of  their  suits  either  in  the  courts  of 
neighbours  or  of  the  tribes. 

Thus  much  of  the  courts  of  law,  which,  as  I  was  saying, 
cannot  be  precisely  defined  either  as  being  or  not  being 
offices ;  a  superficial  sketch  has  been  given  of  them,  in  which 
some  things  have  been  told  and  others  omitted.  For  the 
right  place  of  an  exact  statement  of  the  laws  respecting  suits, 
under  their  several  heads,  will  be  at  the  end  of  the  body  of 
legislation  ;— let  us  then  expect  them  at  the  end^  Hitherto 
our  legislation  has  been  chiefly  occupied  with  the  appoint- 
ment of  offices.  Perfect  unity  and  exactness,  extending  to 
the  whole  and  every  particular  of  political  administration, 
cannot  be  attained  to  the  full,  until  the  discussion  shall  have 
a  beginning,  middle,  and  end,  and  is  complete  in  every  part. 
At  present  we  have  reached  the  election  of  magistrates,  and 
this  may  be  regarded  as  a  sufficient  termination  of  what  has 
preceded.  And  now  there  need  no  longer  be  any  delay  or 
hesitation  in  beginning  the  work  of  legislation. 

Cle.  I  like  what  you  have  said.  Stranger ;  and  I  particularly 
like  your  manner  of  tacking  on  the  beginning  of  your  new 
discourse  to  the  end  of  the  former  one. 

Ath.  Thus  far,  then,  the  old  men's  rational  pastime  has  769 
gone  off  well. 

Cle.  You  mean,  I  suppose,  their  serious  and  noble  pursuit? 
Ath.  Perhaps  ;  but  I  should  like  to  know  whether  you  and 
I  are  agreed  about  a  certain  thing. 
Cle.  About  what  thing  ? 

Ath.  You  know  the  endless  labour  which  painters  expend 
upon  their  pictures— they  are  always  putting  in  or  taking  out 
colours,  or  whatever  be  the  term  which  artists  employ;  they 
seem  as  if  they  would  never  cease  touching  up  their  works, 
which  are  always  being  made  brighter  and  more  beautiful. 

Cle.  I  know  something  of  these  matters  from  report, 
although  I  have  never  had  any  great  acquaintance  with  the  art. 

'  Cp.  infra,  ix.  853  foil.  ;  xii.  956  foil. 


The  amendment  of  laws  to  be  always  going  on.  151 


Cleinias. 


Ath.  No  matter ;  we  may  make  use  of  the  illustration  not-  Laws  VI. 
withstanding : — Suppose  that  some  one  had  a  mind  to  paint  Athenian, 
a  figure  in  the  most  beautiful  manner,  in  the  hope  that  his 
work  instead  of  losing  would  always  improve  as  time  went  on 
— do  you  not  see  that  being  a  mortal,  unless  he  leaves  some 
one  to  succeed  him  who  will  correct  the  flaws  which  time  may 
introduce,  and  be  able  to  add  what  is  left  imperfect  through 
the  defect  of  the  artist,  and  who  will  further  brighten  up 
and  improve  the  picture,  all  his  great  labour  will  last  but  a 
short  time? 

Cle.  True. 

Ath.  And  is  not  the  aim  of  the  legislator  similar  ?  First, 
he  desires  that  his  laws  should  be  written  down  with  all 
possible  exactness ;  in  the  second  place,  as  time  goes  on  and 
he  has  made  an  actual  trial  of  his  decrees,  will  he  not  find 
omissions  ?  Do  you  imagine  that  there  ever  was  a  legislator 
so  foolish  as  not  to  know  that  many  things  are  necessarily 
omitted,  which  some  one  coming  after  him  must  correct,  if 
the  constitution  and  the  order  of  government  is  not  to 
deteriorate,  but  to  improve  in  the  state  which  he  has 
established  ? 

Cle.  Assuredly,  that  is  the  sort  of  thing  which  every  one 
would  desire. 

Ath.  And  if  any  one  possesses  any  means  of  accomplishing  The  guard- 
this  by  word  or  deed,  or  has  any  way  great  or  small  by  which 
he  can  teach  a  person  to  understand  how  he  can  maintain  be  also 
and  amend  the  laws,  he  should  finish  what  he  has  to  say,  and  isg'si3'to''s 
not  leave  the  work  incomplete. 

Cle.  By  all  means, 
o    Ath.  And  is  not  this  what  you  and  I  have  to  do  at  the 
present  moment  ? 

Cle.  What  have  we  to  do  ? 

Ath.  As  we  are  about  to  legislate  and  have  chosen  our 
guardians  of  the  law,  and  are  ourselves  in  the  evening  of 
life,  and  they  as  compared  with  us  are  young  men,  we  ought 
not  only  to  legislate  for  them,  but  to  endeavour  to  make 
them  not  only  guardians  of  the  law  but  legislators  them- 
selves, as  far  as  this  is  possible. 

Cle.  Certainly;  if  we  can. 

Ath.  At  any  rate,  we  must  do  our  best. 


ians  of  the 
law  should 


Address  to  the  gitardians  of  the  law. 


Laius  VI. 

Athenian, 
Cleinias. 


A  man's 
whole 
energies  to 
be  devoted 
to  virtue. 


If  the 

government 
of  his 
country 
grows  cor- 
rupt, he 
must  go 
into  exile. 


The 
number 
5040  and  its 
numerous 
divisors. 


Cle.  Of  course. 

Ath.  We  will  say  to  them, — O  friends  and  saviours  of  our 
laws,  in  laying  down  any  law,  there  are  many  particulars 
which  we  shall  omit,  and  this  cannot  be  helped ;  at  the  same 
time,  we  will  do  our  utmost  to  describe  what  is  important, 
and  will  give  an  outline-  which  you  shall  fill  up.  And  I 
will  explain  on  what  principle  you  are  to  act.  Megillus  and 
Cleinias  and  I  have  often  spoken  to  one  another  touching 
these  matters,  and  we  are  of  opinion  that  we  have  spoken 
well.  And  we  hope  that  3'ou  will  be  of  the  same  mind  with 
us,  and  become  our  disciples,  and  keep  in  view  the  things 
which  in  our  united  opinion  the  legislator  and  guardian  of 
the  law  ought  to  keep  in  view.  There  was  one  main  point 
about  which  we  were  agreed  — that  a  man's  whole  energies 
throughout  life  should  be  devoted  to  the  acquisition  of  the 
virtue  proper  to  a  man,  whether  this  was  to  be  gained  by 
stud}',  or  habit,  or  some  mode  of  acquisition,  or  desire,  or 
opinion,  or  knowledge — and  this  applies  equally  to  men  and 
women,  old  and  3'oung— the  aim  of  all  should  always  be  such 
as  I  have  described  ;  anything  which  may  be  an  impediment, 
the  good  man  ought  to  show  that  he  utterly  disregards.  And 
if  at  last  necessity  plainly  compels  him  to  be  an  outlaw  from 
his  native  land,  rather  than  bow  his  neck  to  the  yoke  of 
slavery  and  be  ruled  by  inferiors,  and  he  has  to  fly,  an  exile 
he  must  be  and  endure  all  such  trials,  rather  than  accept 
another  form  of  government,  which  is  likely  to  make  men 
worse.  These  are  our  original  principles  ;  and  do  you  now, 
fixing  your  eyes  upon  the  standard  of  what  a  man  and  a 
citizen  ought  or  ought  not  to  be,  praise  and  .blame  the 
laws — blame  those  which  have  not  this  power  of  making 
the  citizen  better,  but  embrace  those  which  have ;  and  with  77i 
gladness  receive  and  live  in  them ;  bidding  a  long  farewell 
to  other  institutions  which  aim  at  goods,  as  they  are  termed, 
of  a  different  kind. 

Let  us  proceed  to  another  class  of  laws,  beginning  with 
their  foundation  in  religion.  And  we  must  first  return  to 
the  number  5040 — the  entire  number  had,  and  has,  a  great 
many  convenient  divisions,  and  the  number  of  the  tribes 
which  was  a  twelfth  part  of  the  whole,  being  correctly  formed 
by  21  X  20  [5040  H-  (21  X  20),  i.e.  5040  -^  420  =  12],  also  has  them. 


The  number  ^o^o. 


153 


And  not  only  is  the  whole  number  divisible  by  twelve,  but  Laivs  VI. 
also  the  number  of  each  tribe  is  divisible  by  twelve.    Now  Athenian. 
every  portion  should  be  regarded  by  us  as  a  sacred  gift  of 
Heaven,  corresponding  to  the  months  and  to  the  revolution 
of  the  universe  ^    Every  city  has  a  guiding  and  sacred  prin- 
ciple given  by  nature,  but  in  some  the  division  or  distribution 
has  been  more  right  than  in  others,  and  has  been  more  sacred 
and  fortunate.    In  our  opinion,  nothing  can  be  more  right 
than  the  selection  of  the  number  5040,  which  may  be  divided 
by  all  numbers  from  one  to  twelve  with  the  single  exception 
of  eleven,  and  that  admits  of  a  very  easy  correction ;  for  if, 
turning  to  the  dividend  (5040),  we  deduct  two  families,  the 
defect  in  the  division  is  cured.    And  the  truth  of  this  may  be 
easily  proved  when  we  have  leisure.    But  for  the  present, 
trusting  to  the  mere  assertion  of  this  principle,  let  us  divide 
the  state;  and  assigning  to  each  portion  some  God  or  son 
of  a  God,  let  us  give  them  altars  and  sacred  rites,  and  at  the 
altars  let  us  hold  assemblies  for  sacrifice  twice  in  the  month 
—twelve  assemblies  for  the  tribes,  and  twelve  for  the  city, 
according  to  their  divisions ;  the  first  in  honour  of  the  Gods 
and  divine  things,  and  the  second  to  promote  friendship  and 
'better  acquaintance,'  as  the  phrase  is,  and  every  sort  of  good 
fellowship  with  one  another.    For  people  must  be  acquainted  Games  to 
with  those  into  whose  families  and  whom  they  marry  and 
with  those  to  whom  they  give  in  marriage ;  in  such  matters,  which ' 
as  far  as  possible,  a  man  should  deem  it  all  important  to  yout'^s  and 
avoid  a  mistake,  and  with  this  sei'ious  purpose  let  games  be  dance 
instituted in  which  youths  and  maidens  shall  dance  together,  together  in 
seeing  one  another  and  being  seen  naked,  at  a  proper  age,  J^akedness 
and  on  a  suitable  occasion,  not  transgressing  the  rules  of  as  a  pre- 
modesty.  J™'"^''^ 

to  mar- 

The  directors  of  choruses  will  be  the  superintendents  and  riage. 
regulators  of  these  games,  and  they,  together  with  the 
guardians  of  the  law,  will  legislate  in  any  matters  which 
we  have  omitted  ;  for,  as  we  said^,  where  there  are  numerous 
and  minute  details,  the  legislator  must  leave  out  something. 
And  the  annual  officers  who  have  experience,  and  know  what 
is  wanted,  must  make  arrangements  and  improvements  year 
by  year,  until  such  enactments  and  provisions  are  sufficiently 

'  Cp.  Tim.  39,  47  A.         2  Cp.  Rep.  v.  459  E.        ^  Cp.  sufra,  770 B. 


154 


Prelude  to  the  marriage  law. 


Laws  VI. 

Athenian, 
Cleinias. 


When  ex- 
perience 
has  deter- 
mined what 
customs 
are  de- 
sirable, 
there  shall 
rarely,  if 
ever,  be 
any  further 
change. 


In  marriage 
there 

should  be 
a  union  of 
opposite 
qualities. 


determined.  A  ten  years'  experience  of  sacrifices  and  dances, 
if  extending  to  all  particulars,  will  be  quite  sufficient ;  and  if 
the  legislator  be  alive  they  shall  communicate  with  him,  but 
if  he  be  dead  then  the  several  officers  shall  refer  the  omis- 
sions which  come  under  their  notice  to  the  guardians  of  the 
law,  and  correct  them,  until  all  is  perfect ;  and  from  that  time 
there  shall  be  no  more  change,  and  they  shall  establish  and 
use  the  new  laws  with  the  others  which  the  legislator  ori- 
ginally gave  them,  and  of  which  they  are  never,  if  they  can 
Ij^lp,  to  change  aught ;  or,  if  some  necessity  overtakes  them, 
the  magistrates  must  be  called  into  counsel,  and  the  whole 
people,  and  they  must  go  to  all  the  oracles  of  the  Gods  ;  and 
if  they  are  all  agreed,  in  that  case  they  may  make  the  change, 
but  if  they  are  not  agreed,  by  no  manner  of  means,  and  any 
one  who  dissents  shall  prevail,  as  the  law  ordains. 

Whenever  any  one  over  twenty-five  years  of  age,  having 
seen  and  been  seen  by  others,  believes  himself  to  have  found 
a  marriage  connexion  which  is  to  his  mind,  and  suitable  for 
the  procreation  of  children,  let  him  marry  if  he  be  still  under 
the  age  of  five-and-thirty  years ;  but  let  him  first  hear  how  he 
ought  to  seek  after  what  is  suitable  and  appropriate '.  For, 
as  Cleinias  says  ^,  every  law  should  have  a  suitable  prelude. 

Cle.  You  recollect  at  the  right  moment,  Stranger,  and  do 
not  miss  the  opportunity  which  the  argument  affords  of 
saying  a  word  in  season. 

Ath.  I  thank  you.  We  will  say  to  him  who  is  born  of  773 
good  parents, — O  my  son,  you  ought  to  make  such  a  mar- 
riage as  wise  men  would  approve.  Now  they  would  advise 
you  neither  to  avoid  a  poor  marriage,  nor  specially  to  desire 
a  rich  one ;  but  if  other  things  are  equal,  always  to  honour 
inferiors,  and  with  them  to  form  connexions; — this  will  be 
for  the  benefit  of  the  city  and  of  the  families  which  are 
united ;  for  the  equable  and  symmetrical  tends  infinitely 
more  to  virtue  than  the  unmixed.  And  he  who  is  conscious 
of  being  too  headstrong,  and  carried  away  more  than  is 
fitting  in  all  his  actions,  ought  to  desire  to  become  the 
relation  of  orderly  parents;  and  he  who  is  of  the  opposite 
temper  ought  to  seek  the  opposite  alliance.  Let  there  be 
one  word  concerning  all  marriages : — Every  man  shall 

'  Cp.  supra,  iv.  721,  and  Arist.  Pol.  vii.  16,  §  9.  "  Supra,  iv.  723  C. 


4 


The  duty  of  marrying. 


155 


follow,  not  after  the  marriage  which  is  most  pleasing  to  Laws.  VI. 
himself,  but  after  that  which  is  most  beneficial  to  the  state, 

Athenian. 

For  somehow  every  one  is  by  nature  prone  to  that  which  :„  marriage 
is  likest  to  himself,  and  in  this  way  the  whole  city  becomes  every  man 
unequal  in  property  and  in  disposition ;  and  hence  there  \ 
arise  in  most  states  the  very  results  which  we  least  desire  what  is 
to  happen.    Now,  to  add  to  the  law  an  express  provision,  P^^^^^Jf' 
not  only  that  the  rich  man  shall  not  marry  into  the  rich  but  what  is 
family,  nor  the  powerful  into  the  family  of  the  powerful, 
but  that  the  slower  natures  shall  be  compelled  to  enter 

rich  should 

into  marriage  with  the  quicker,  and  the  quicker  with  the  marry  the 
slower,  may  awaken  anger  as  well  as  laughter  in  the  minds  quicker 
of  many;  for  there  is  a  difficulty  in  perceiving  that  the  city  natures  the 
ought  to  be  well  mingled  like  a  cup,  in  which  the  maddening  ^  °^  ^' 
wine  is  hot  and  fiery,  but  when  chastened  by  a  soberer  God, 
receives  a  fair  associate  and  becomes  an  excellent  and  tem- 
perate drinks   Yet  in  marriage  no  one  is  able  to  see  that  the 
same  result  occurs.    Wherefore  also  the  law  must  let  alone  These  prin- 
such  matters,  but  we  should  try  to  charm  the  spirits  of  men  '^'P^'^^ 

,  ., .        r  1     •      1  M  1       >      T         •  •  only  be 

into  believing  the  equability  of  their  children  s  disposition  to  suggested  ; 
be  of  more  importance  than  equality  in  excessive  fortune  when  they  cannot 

,  ,  .         ,      .    ,        ,     .  r       I  •  .  ,    be  enforced 

they  marry;  and  him  who  is  too  desirous  of  making  a  rich  byjaw, 
marriage  we  should  endeavour  to  turn  aside  by  reproaches, 
not,  however,  by  any  compulsion  of  written  law. 

Let  this  then  be  our  exhortation  concerning  marriage,  and 
let  us  remember  what  was  said  before  — that  a  man  should 
\  cling  to  immortality,  and  leave  behind  him  children's  children 
to  be  the  servants  of  God  in  his  place  for  ever.    All  this  and 
much  more  may  be  truly  said  by  way  of  prelude  about  the  duty 
of  marriage.    But  if  a  man  will  not  listen,  and  remains  unsocial  The  un- 
and  alien  among  his  fellow-citizens,  and  is  still  unmarried 
at  thirty-five  years  of  age,  let  him  pay  a  yearly  fine;— he  who  gned 
is  of  the  highest  class  shall  pay  a  fine  of  a  hundred  drachmae,  ^nd  dis- 
and  he  who  is  of  the  second  class  a  fine  of  seventy  drachmae ; 
the  third  class  shall  pay  sixty  drachmae,  and  the  fourth  thirty 
drachmae,  and  let  the  money  be  sacred  to  Here;  he  who 
does  not  pay  the  fine  annually  shall  owe  ten  times  the  sum, 
which  the  treasurer  of  the  goddess  shall  exact ;  and  if  he 
fails  in  doing  so,  let  him  be  answerable  and  give  an  account 

'  Cp.  Statesman,  306  foil.  a  Supra,  iv.  721. 


156 


Dowries  and  betrothals. 


Laivs  VI. 
Athenian. 


No  one 
need,  marry 
for  money. 


Marriage 
garments 
to  be  in- 
expensive. 


Betrothals. 


Marriage 
festivals 
to  be 
moderate. 


of  the  money  at  his  audit.  He  who  refuses  to  marry  shall  be 
thus  punished  in  money,  and  also  be  deprived  of  all  honour 
which  the  younger  show  to  the  elder ;  let  no  young  man 
voluntarily  obey  him,  and,  if  he  attempt  to  punish  any  one, 
let  every  one  come  to  the  rescue  and  defend  the  injured 
person,  and  he  who  is  present  and  does  not  come  to  the 
rescue,  shall  be  pronounced  by  the  law  to  be  a  coward  and 
a  bad  citizen.  Of  the  marriage  portion  I  have  already 
spoken ' ;  and  again  I  say  for  the  instruction  -  of  poor  men 
that  he  who  neither  gives  nor  receives  a  dowry  on  account 
of  poverty,  has  a  compensation ;  for  the  citizens  of  our  state 
are  provided  with  the  necessaries  of  life,  and  wives  will  be 
less  likely  to  be  insolent,  and  husbands  to  be  mean  and  sub- 
servient to  them  on  account  of  property.  And  he  who  obeys 
this  law  will  do  a  noble  action ;  but  he  who  will  not  obey, 
and  gives  or  receives  more  than  fifty  drachmae  as  the  price 
of  the  marriage  garments  if  he  be  of  the  lowest,  or  more  than 
a  mina,  or  a  mina-and-a-half,  if  he  be  of  the  third  or  second 
classes,  or  two  minae  if  he  be  of  the  highest  class,  shall  owe 
to  the  public  treasury  a  similar  sum,  and  that  which  is  given 
or  received  shall  be  sacred  to  Here  and  Zeus;  and  let  the 
treasurers  of  these  Gods  exact  the  money,  as  was  said  before 
about  the  unmarried — that  the  treasurers  of  Here  were  to 
exact  the  money,  or  pay  the  fine  themselves. 

The  betrothal  by  a  father  shall  be  valid  in  the  first  degree, 
that  by  a  grandfather  in  the  second  degree,  and  in  the  third 
degree,  betrothal  by  brothers  who  have  the  same  father ;  but 
if  there  are  none  of  these  alive,  the  betrothal  by  a  mother 
shall  be  valid  in  like  manner ;  in  cases  of  unexampled  fatality, 
the  next  of  kin  and  the  guardians  shall  have  authority. 
What  are  to  be  the  rites  before  marriages,  or  any  other 
sacred  acts,  relating  either  to  future,  present,  or  past  mar- 
riages, shall  be  referred  to  the  interpreters ;  and  he  who 
follows  their  advice  may  be  satisfied.  Touching  the  marriage  775 
festival,  they  shall  assemble  not  more  than  five  male  and  five 
female  friends  of  both  families,  and  a  like  number  of  mem- 
bers of  the  family  of  either  sex,  and  no  man  shall  spend  more 
than  his  means  will  allow;  he  who  is  of  the  richest  class  may 
spend  a  mina,— he  who  is  of  the  second,  half  a  mina,  and  in 

'  Cp.  supra,  V.  742  C.  ^  Reading  with  Stallbaum,  5i5o(rKei»'- 


The  ditty  of  temperance. 


157 


the  same  proportion  as  the  census  of  each  decreases :  all  Laws  VI. 
men  shall  praise  him  who  is  obedient  to  the  law ;  but  he 

Athenian. 

who  is  disobedient  shall  be  punished  by  the  guardians  of 
the  law  as  a  man  wanting  in  true  taste,  and  uninstructed  in 
the  laws  of  bridal  song.    Drunkenness  is  always  improper, 
except  at  the  festivals  of  the  God  who  gave  wine ;   and  A  man 
peculiarly  dangerous,  when  a  man  is  engaged  in  the  business  ^^^g^'^Jj'^g,^ 
of  marriage  ;  at  such  a  crisis  of  their  lives  a  bride  and  bride-  he  is  en- 
groom  ought  to  have  all  their  wits  about  them — they  ought  to  ^^J^^^J" 
take  care  that  their  offspring  may  be  born  of  reasonable  ness  of 
beings  ;  for  on  what  day  or  night  Heaven  will  give  them  marriage ; 

1  -^     nT  1  Lfo""  cliildren 

increase,  who  can  say?    Moreover,  they  ought  not  to  be  receive  the 
begetting  children  when  their  bodies  are  dissipated  by  in-  impress  of 
toxication,  but  their  offspring  should  be  compact  and  solid,  parents, 
quiet  and  compounded  properly;  whereas  the  drunkard  is  both  in 
all  abroad  in  all  his  actions,  and  is  beside  himself  both  in  s°„f  ^""^ 
body  and  soul.    Wherefore,  also,  the  drunken  man  is  bad 
and  unsteady  in  sowing  the  seed  of  increase,  and  is  likely  to 
beget  offspring  who  will  be  unstable  and  untrustworthy,  and 
cannot  be  expected  to  walk  straight  either  in  body  or  mind. 
Hence  during  the  whole  year  and  all  his  life  long,  and 
especially  while  he  is  begetting  children,  he  ought  to  take 
care  and  not  intentionally  do  what  is  injurious  to  health, 
or  what  involves  insolence  and  wrong ;  for  he  cannot  help 
leaving  the  impression  of  himself  on  the  souls  and  bodies  of 
his  ofispring,  and  he  begets  children  in  every  way  inferior. 
And  especially  on  the  day  and  night  of  marriage  should  a 
man  abstain  from  such  things.    For  the  beginning,  which  is 
also  a  God  dwelling  in  man,  preserves  all  things,  if  it  meet 
3  with  proper  respect  from  each  individual.    He  who  marries  'A  man 
is  further  to  consider,  that  one  of  the  two  houses  in  the  lot  is  ^'j'^^^J^g^^ 
the  nest  and  nursery  of  his  young,  and  there  he  is  to  marry  and 
and  make  a  home  for  himself  and  bring  up  his  children,  mother, 
going  away  from  his  father  and  mother.    For  in  friendships  unto'^liir 
there  must  be  some  degree  of  desire,  in  order  to  cement  and  w'f^.' 
bind  together  diversities  of  character ;  but  excessive  inter- 
course not  having  the  desire  which  is  created  by  time, 
insensibly  dissolves  friendships  from  a  feeling  of  satiety; 
wherefore  a  man  and  his  wife  shall  leave  to  his  and  her 
father  and  mother  their  own  dwelling-places,  and  themselves 


158 


Slavery. 


Laivs  VI. 

Athenian, 
Megillus. 

'  Handing 
on  the 
torch  of 
life.' 

Slaves  the 
most 
trouble- 
some kind 
of  property. 


Two  kinds 
of  slaves. 
There  are 
good  slaves, 
'  better  than 
brethren 
or  sons.' 


Another 

class  are 
like  brute 
animals,  or 
are  made 
so  by  the 
treatment 
of  their 
masters. 


go  as  to  a  colony  and  dwell  there,  and  visit  and  be  visited  by 
their  parents;  and  they  shall  beget  and  bring  up  children, 
handing  on  the  torch  of  life  from  one  generation  to  another, 
and  worshipping  the  Gods  according  to  law  for  ever. 

In  the  next  place,  we  have  to  consider  what  sort  of  pro- 
perty will  be  most  convenient.  There  is  no  difficulty  either 
in  understanding  or  acquiring  most  kinds  of  property,  but 
there  is  great  difficulty  in  what  relates  to  slaves.  And  the 
reason  is,  that  we  speak  about  them  in  a  way  which  is  right 
and  which  is  not  right ;  for  what  we  say  about  our  slaves  is 
consistent  and  also  inconsistent  with  our  practice  about  them. 

Meg.  I  do  not  understand,  Stranger,  what  you  mean. 

Ath.  I  am  not  surprised,  Megillus,  for  the  state  of  the  Helots 
among  the  Lacedaemonians  is  of  all  Hellenic  forms  of  slavery 
the  most  controverted  and  disputed  about,  some  approving 
and  some  condemning  it ;  there  is  less  dispute  about  the 
slavery  which  exists  among  the  Heracleots,  who  have  subju- 
gated the  Mariandynian.s,  and  about  the  Thessalian  Penestae. 
Looking  at  these  and  the  like  examples,  what  ought  we  to  do 
concerning  property  in  slaves  ?  I  made  a  remark,  in  passing, 
which  naturally  elicited  a  question  about  my  meaning  from 
you.  It  was  this: — We  know  that  all  would  agree  that  we 
should  have  the  best  and  most  attached  slaves  whom  we  can 
get.  For  many  a  man  has  found  his  slaves  better  in  every 
way  than  brethren  or  sons,  and  many  times  they  have  saved 
the  lives  and  property  of  their  masters  and  their  whole  house 
— such  tales  are  well  known. 

Meg.  To  be  sure. 

Ath.  But  may  we  not  also  say  that  the  soul  of  the  slave  is 
utterly  corrupt,  and  that  no  man  of  sense  ought  to  trust 
them  ?  And  the  wisest  of  our  poets,  speaking  of  Zeus,  says : 

'  Far-seeing  Zeus  takes  away  half  the  understanding  of  men  whom  the  day  of 
slavery  subdues.' 

Different  persons  have  got  these  two  different  notions  of 
slaves  in  their  minds — some  of  them  utterly  distrust  their 
servants,  and,  as  if  they  were  wild  beasts,  chastise  them  with 
goads  and  whips,  and  make  their  souls  three  times,  or  rather 
many  times,  as  slavish  as  they  were  before  ; — and  others  do 
just  the  opposite. 


777 


Precautions  respecting  slaves. 


159 


Meg.  True.  Laws  VI. 

Cle.  Then  what  are  we  to  do  in  our  own  country,  Stranger,  Athenian, 
seeing  that  there  are  such  differences  in  the  treatment  of  ^^^'^^^^ 

-  slaves  by  their  owners  ? 

Ath.  Well,  Cleinias,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  man  is  a 
itroublesome  animal,  and  therefore  he  is  not  very  manageable, 
nor  likely  to  become  so,  when  you  attempt  to  introduce  the 
nnecessary  division  of  slave,  and  freeman,  and  master. 
Cle.  That  is  obvious. 

Ath.  He  is  a  troublesome  piece  of  goods,  as  has  been  often 
>  shown  by  the  frequent  revolts  of  the  Messenians,  and  the 
V  great  mischiefs  which  happen  in  states  having  many  slaves 
'.^who  speak  the  same  language,  and  the  numerous  robberies 
and  lawless  Hfe  of  the  Italian  banditti,  as  they  are  called.  A 
man  who  considers  all  this  is  fairly  at  a  loss.    Two  remedies  Slaves 
alone  remain  to  us, — not  to  have  the  slaves  of  the  same  f.^°"if 

'  .  .        .     be  of  the 

c  country,  nor  if  possible,  speaking  the  same  language  * ;  in  this  same 
way  they  will  more  easily  be  held  in  subjection  :  secondly,  we  g^j^^'^jj 
should  tend  them  carefully,  not  only  out  of  regard  to  them,  be  tended 
but  yet  more  out  of  respect  to  ourselves.    And  the  right  '^^^'l'^^^^  ^ 
treatment  of  slaves  is  to  behave  properly  to  them,  and  to  do  justly. 

:  to  them,  if  possible,  even  more  justice  than  to  those  who  are 
our  equals ;  for  he  who  naturally  and  genuinely  reverences 
justice,  and  hates  injustice,  is  discovered  in  his  dealings  with 
any  class  of  men  to  whom  he  can  easily  be  unjust.  And  he 
who  in  regard  to  the  natures  and  actions  of  his  slaves  is  un- 
defiled  by  impiety  and  injustice,  will  best  sow  the  seeds  of 
virtue  in  them ;  and  this  may  be  truly  said  of  every  master, 
and  tyrant,  and  of  every  other  having  authority  in  relation 
to  his  inferiors.  Slaves  ought  to  be  punished  as  they 
deserve,  and  not  admonished  as  if  they  were  freemen,  which 
will  only  make  them  conceited.    The  language  used  to  a 

-  servant  ought  always  to  be  that  of  a  command  ^,  and  we  ought 
not  to  jest  with  them,  whether  they  are  males  or  females — 
this  is  a  foolish  way  which  many  people  have  of  setting  up 
their  slaves,  and  making  the  life  of  servitude  more  disagree- 
able both  for  them  and  for  their  masters. 

Cle.  True. 

Ath.  Now  that  each  of  the  citizens  is  provided,  as  far  as 

■  Cp.  Arist.  Pol.  vii.  10,  §  13.  2  Cp.  Arist.  Pol.  i.  13,  §  14. 


i6o 


^The  city  to  be  set  on  a  hill! 


Laws  VI. 

Athenian, 
Cleinias. 


The  houses 
should  have 
come  before 
marriages  ; 
but  no 
matter. 


The  city  to 
be  placed 
on  the 
heights, 
and  the 
temples, 
near  which 
are  the  law- 
courts,  to 
be  built 
round  the 
Agora. 

The  walls 
should 
slumber  in 
the  earth. 


possible,  with  a  sufficient  number  of  suitable  slaves  who  can 
help  him  in  what  he  has  to  do,  we  may  next  proceed  to 
describe  their  dwellings. 
Cle.  Very  good. 

Ath.  The  city  being  new  and  hitherto  uninhabited,  care 
ought  to  be  taken  of  all  the  buildings,  and  the  manner  of 
building  each  of  them,  and  also  of  the  temples  and  walls. 
These,  Cleinias,  were  matters  which  properly  came  before 
the  marriages ;— but,  as  we  are  only  talking,  there  is  no 
objection  to  changing  the  order.  If,  however,  our  plan  of 
legislation  is  ever  to  take  effect,  then  the  house  shall  precede 
the  marriage  if  God  so  will,  and  afterwards  we  will  come  to 
the  regulations  about  marriage ;  but  at  present  we  are  only  • 
describing  these  matters  in  a  general  outline. 

Clc.  Quite  true. 

Ath.  The  temples  are  to  be  placed  all  round  the  agora,  and 
the  whole  city  built  on  the  heights  in  a  circle  \  for  the  sake  of 
defence  and  for  the  sake  of  purity.  Near  the  temples  are  to 
be  placed  buildings  for  the  magistrates  and  the  courts  of  law; 
in  these  plaintiff  and  defendant  will  receive  their  due,  and 
the  places  will  be  regarded  as  most  holy,  partly  because  they 
have  to  do  with  holy  things,  and  partly  because  they  are  the 
dwelling-places  of  holy  Gods  :  and  in  them  will  be  held  the 
courts  in  which  cases  of  homicide  and  other  trials  of  capital 
offences  may  fitly  take  place.  As  to  the  walls,  Megillus,  I 
agree  with  Sparta  in  thinking  that  they  should  be  allowed  to 
sleep  in  the  earth,  and  that  we  should  not  attempt  to  disinter 
them^;  there  is  a  poetical  saying,  which  is  finely  expressed,  | 
that  '  walls  ought  to  be  of  steel  and  iron,  and  not  of  earth  ; ' 
besides,  how  ridiculous  of  us  to  be  sending  out  our  young 
men  annually  into  the  country  to  dig  and  to  trench,  and  to 
keep  off  the  enemy  by  fortifications,  under  the  idea  that  they  ■ 
are  not  to  be  allowed  to  set  foot  in  our  territory,  and  then, 
that  we  should  surround  ourselves  with  a  wall,  which,  in  the 
first  place,  is  by  no  means  conducive  to  the  health  of  cities, 
and  is  also  apt  to  produce  a  certain  effeminacy  in  the  minds 
of  the  inhabitants,  inviting  men  to  run  thither  instead  of  re- 
pelling their  enemies,  and  leading  them  to  imagine  that  their  779 
safety  is  due  not  to  their  keeping  guard  day  and  night,  but 

'  Cp.  Arist.  Pol.  vii.  12,  §  i.  ^  Cp.  Arist.  Pol.  vii.  11,  §  S. 


//  shotUd  be  like  a  single  btdlding. 


i6i 


that  when  they  are  protected  by  walls  and  gates,  then  they  Laws  VI. 

may  sleep  in  safety;  as  if  they  were  not  meant  to  labour,  and  Athenian, 

did  not  know  that  true  repose  comes  from  labour,  and  that  Cleinias. 
disgraceful  indolence  and  a  careless  temper  of  mind  is  only 

the  renewal  of  trouble.    But  if  men  must  have  walls,  the  if  cities  are 

private  houses  ought  to  be  so  arranged  from  the  first  that  the  ^^|]g^tj,g 

whole  city  may  be  one  wall,  having  all  the  houses  capable  of  private 

defence  by  reason  of  their  uniformity  and  equality  towards  ^°"^ff^ 

•'  .  should  form 

the  streets'.    The  form  of  the  city  being  that  of  a  smgle  them, 
dwelling  will  have  an  agreeable  aspect,  and  being  easily 
guarded  will  be  infinitely  better  for  security.     Until  the 
original  building  is  completed,  these  should  be  the  principal 
objects  of  the  inhabitants  ;  and  the  wardens  of  the  city  should 
superintend  the  work,  and  should  impose  a  fine  on  him  who 
is  negligent ;  and  in  all  that  relates  to  the  city  they  should 
have  a  care  of  cleanliness,  and  not  allow  a  private  person  to 
encroach  upon  any  public  property  either  by  buildings  or 
excavations.    Further,  they  ought  to  take  care  that  the  rains  The  rain 
from  heaven  flow  off  easily,  and  of  any  other  matters  which  should  be 
may  have  to  be  administered  either  within  or  without  the  flow  off 
city.    The  guardians  of  the  law  shall  pass  any  further  enact-  easily, 
ments  which  their  experience  may  show  to  be  necessary,  and 
supply  any  other  points  in  which  the  law  may  be  deficient. 
And  now  that  these  matters,  and  the  buildings  about  the 
agora,  and  the  gymnasia,  and  places  of  instruction,  and 
theatres,  are  all  ready  and  waiting  for  scholars  and  spec- 
tators, let  us  proceed  to  the  subjects  which  follow  marriage 
in  the  order  of  legislation. 
Clc.  By  all  means. 

Ath.  Assuming  that  marriages  exist  already,  Cleinias,  the  Life  after 
mode  of  life  during  the  year  after  marriage,  before  children  niarriage. 
are  born,  will  follow  next  in  order.  In  what  way  bride  and 
bridegroom  ought  to  live  in  a  city  which  is  to  be  superior  to 
other  cities,  is  a  matter  not  at  all  easy  for  us  to  determine. 
There  have  been  many  difficulties  already,  but  this  will  be 
the  greatest  of  them,  and  the  most  disagreeable  to  the  many. 
Still  I  cannot  but  say  what  appears  to  me  to  be  right  and 
true,  Cleinias. 

Cle.  Certainly. 

'  Cp.  Arist.  Pol.  vii.  ii,  §  6. 
VOL.  V.  M 


Common  tables  for  women  as  well  as  for  men. 


Laws  VI. 

Athenian, 
Cleinias. 


As  at 

Sparta  and 
Crete,  the 
bridegroom 
should  con- 
tinue to 
live  at  the 
common 
tables. 


Women 
should  be 
drawn  into 


Aih.  He  who  imagines  that  he  can  give  laws  for  the  public 
conduct  of  states,  while  he  leaves  the  private  life  of  citizens 
wholly  to  take  care  of  itself ;  who  thinks  that  individuals  may 
pass  the  day  as  they  please,  and  that  there  is  no  necessity  of 
order  in  all  things ;  he,  I  say,  who  gives  up  the  control  of 
their  private  lives,  and  supposes  that  they  will  conform  to  law 
in  their  common  and  public  life,  is  making  a  great  mistake. 
Why  have  I  made  this  remark  ?  Why,  because  I  am  going 
to  enact  that  the  bridegrooms  should  live  at  the  common 
tables,  just  as  they  did  before  marriage.  This  was  a  sin- 
gularity when  first  enacted  by  the  legislator  in  your  parts  of 
the  world,  Megillus  and  Cleinias,  as  I  should  suppose,  on  the 
occasion  of  some  war  or  other  similar  danger  \  which  caused 
the  passing  of  the  law,  and  which  would  be  likely  to  occur  in 
thinly-peopled  places,  and  in  times  of  pressure.  But  when 
men  had  once  tried  and  been  accustomed  to  a  common  table, 
experience  showed  that  the  institution  greatly  conduced  to 
security;  and  in  some  such  manner  the  custom  of  having 
common  tables  arose  among  you. 

Cle.  Likely  enough. 

Ath.  I  said  that  there  may  have  been  singularity  and 
danger  in  imposing  such  a  custom  at  first,  but  that  now  there 
is  not  the  same  difficulty.  There  is,  however,  another  insti- 
tution which  is  the  natural  sequel  to  this,  and  would  be 
excellent,  if  it  existed  anywhere,  but  at  present  it  does  not. 
The  institution  of  which  I  am  about  to  speak  is  not  easily 
described  or  executed ;  and  would  be  like  the  legislator 
'combing  wool  into  the  fire,'  as  people  say,  or  performing 
any  other  impossible  and  useless  feat. 

Cle.  What  is  the  cause.  Stranger,  of  this  extreme  hesitation  ? 

Ath.  You  shall  hear  without  any  fruitless  loss  of  time. 
That  which  has  law  and  order  in  a  state  is  the  cause  of  every 
good,  but  that  which  is  disordered  or  ill-ordered  is  often 
the  ruin  of  that  which  is  well-ordered ;  and  at  this  point  the 
argument  is  now  waiting.  For  with  you,  Cleinias  and  Megillus,  781 
the  common  tables  of  men  are,  as  I  said,  a  heaven-born  and 
admirable  institution,  but  you  are  mistaken  in  leaving  the 
women  unregulated  by  law.  They  have  no  similar  institution 
of  public  tables  in  the  light  of  day,  and  just  that  part  of  the 

'  Cp.  supra,  i.  625,  633. 


The  stealthiness  and  obstinacy  of  the  female  sex.  163 


human  race  which  is  by  nature  prone  to  secrecy  and  stealth  Lams  VI. 
on  account  of  their  weakness— I  mean  the  female  sex — has  Athenian, 
been  left  without  regulation  by  the  legislator,  which  is  a  great  Cleinus. 
mistake.    And,  in  consequence  of  this  neglect,  many  things  'he  light 
have  grown  lax  among  you,  which  might  have  been  far  better,  nofbele^ftfo 
if  they  had  been  only  regulated  by  law;  for  the  neglect  of  themselves, 
-regulations  about  women  may  not  only  be  regarded  as  a 
neglect  of  half  the  entire  matter',  but  in  proportion  as  woman's 
nature  is  inferior  to  that  of  men  in  capacity  for  virtue,  in  that 
degree  the  consequence  of  such  neglect  is  more  than  twice  as 
important.    The  careful  consideration  of  this  matter,  and  the 
arranging  and  ordering  on  a  common  principle  of  all  our 
institutions  relating  both  to  men  and  women,  greatly  con- 
duces to  the  happiness  of  the  state.    But  at  present,  such  is  No  one 
the  unfortunate  condition  of  mankind,  that  no  man  of  sense  ventures  to 

.  1       •       1  introduce 

Will  even  venture  to  speak  of  common  tables  in  places  and  common 
cities  in  which  they  have  never  been  established  at  all  ;  and  tables 
how  can  any  one  avoid  being  utterly  ridiculous,  who  attempts  donot*^^^ 
to  compel  women  to  show  in  public  how  much  they  eat  and  exist 
drink  ?    There  is  nothing  at  which  the  sex  is  more  likely  to  women 
take  offence.    For  women  are  accustomed  to  creep  into  dark  certainly 
places,  and  when  dragged  out  into  the  light  they  will  exert 
their  utmost  powers  of  resistance,  and  be  far  too  much  for  them 
the  legislator.    And  therefore,  as  I  said  before,  in  most  places 
'they  will  not  endure  to  have  the  truth  spoken  without  raising 
a  tremendous  outcry,  but  in  this  state  perhaps  they  may. 
And  if  we  may  assume  that  our  whole  discussion  about  the 
state  has  not  been  mere  idle  talk,  I  should  like  to  prove  to 
you,  if  you  will  consent  to  listen,  that  this  institution  is  good 
and  proper ;  but  if  you  had  rather  not,  I  will  refrain. 

Cle.  There  is  nothing  which  we  should  both  of  us  like 
better.  Stranger,  than  to  hear  what  you  have  to  say. 

Ath.  Very  good ;  and  you  must  not  be  surprised  if  I  go 
back  a  little,  for  we  have  plenty  of  leisure,  and  there  is 
nothing  to  prevent  us  from  considering  in  every  point  of 
view  the  subject  of  law. 

Cle.  True. 

Ath.  Then  let  us  return  once  more  to  what  we  were  saying  Antiquity 
at  first.     Every  man  should  understand  that  the  human  race  ^nd 

'  Arist.  Pol.  i.  13,  §§  15,  16. 
M  2 


win  not 
submit  to 


I 


164 


Eating  and  drinking  customs. 


Laws  VI. 

Athenian, 
Cleinias. 


All  sorts  of 
changes 
have  oc- 
curred in 
the  course 
of  ages. 


The  growth 
of  vines, 
olives,  corn. 


Some 

nations  still 

sacrifice 

human 

beings  ; 

others  are 

said  to  have 

abstained 

from 

animal 

food. 


Three  great 
desires  : — 

(1)  of  eat- 
ing ; 

(2)  of  drink- 
ing ; 


either  had  no  beginning  at  all,  and  will  never  have  an  end, 
but  always  will  be  and  has  been  ;  or  that  it  began  an  immense 
while  ago  \  782 
Cle.  Certainly. 

Ath.  Well,  and  have  there  not  been  constitutions  and 
destructions  of  states,  and  all  sorts  of  pursuits  both  orderly 
and  disorderly,  and  diverse  desires  of  meats  and  drinks 
always,  and  in  all  the  world,  and  all  sorts  of  changes  of  the 
seasons  in  which  animals  may  be  expected  to  have  under- 
gone innumerable  transformations  of  themselves  ? 

Cle.  No  doubt. 

Aih.  And  may  we  not  suppose  that  vines  appeared,  which 
had  previously  no  existence,  and  also  olives,  and  the  gifts  of 
Demeter  and  her  daughter,  of  which  one  Triptolemus  was 
the  minister,  and  that,  before  these  existed,  animals  took  to 
devouring  each  other  as  they  do  still  ? 

Cle.  True. 

Ath.  Again,  the  practice  of  men  sacrificing  one  another  still 
exists  among  many  nations ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  we  hear 
of  other  human  beings  who  did  not  even  venture  to  taste^  the 
flesh  of  a  cow  and  had  no  animal  sacrifices,  but  only  cakes 
and  fruits  dipped  in  honey,  and  similar  pure  offerings,  but 
no  flesh  of  animals ;  from  these  they  abstained  under  the 
idea  that  they  ought  not  to  eat  them,  and  might  not  stain  the 
altars  of  the  Gods  with  blood.  For  in  those  days  men  are 
said  to  have  lived  a  sort  of  Orphic  life,  having  the  use  of  all 
lifeless  things,  but  abstaining  from  all  living  things. 

Cle.  Such  has  been  the  constant  tradition,  and  is  very 
likely  true. 

Ath.  Some  one  might  say  to  us.  What  is  the  drift  of  all 
this  ? 

Cle.  A  very  pertinent  question.  Stranger. 
Ath.  And  therefore  I  will  endeavour,  Cleinias,  if  I  can,  to 
draw  the  natural  inference. 
Cle.  Proceed. 

Ath.  I  see  that  among  men  all  things  depend  upon  three 
wants  and  desires,  of  which  the  end  is  virtue,  if  they  are 
rightly  led  by  them,  or  the  opposite  if  wrongly.  Now  these 
are  eating  and  drinking,  which  begin  at  birth— every  animal 

'  Cp.  iii.  supra,  676.  '  Reading  8ti  and  iT&Kfuav. 


The  procreation  of  child7'-en. 


165 


has  a  natural  desire  for  them,  and  is  violently  excited,  and   Laws  VI. 
rebels  against  him  who  says  that  he  must  not  satisfy  all  his  Athenian, 
pleasures  and  appetites,  and  get  rid  of  all  the  corresponding  Cleinias. 
783  pains— and  the  third  and  greatest  and  sharpest  want  and  (3)  of  sexual 
desire  breaks  out  last,  and  is  the  fire  of  sexual  lust,  which 
kindles  in  men  every  species  of  wantonness  and  madness. 
And  these  three  disorders  we  must  endeavour  to  master  by  Three 
the  three  great  principles  of  fear  and  law  and  right  reason ; 
turning  them  away  from  that  which  is  called  pleasantest  to  princi- 
the  best,  using  the  Muses  and  the  Gods  who  preside  over  pies:— 
contests  to  extinguish  their  increase  and  influx.  andVight 

But  to  return  : — After  marriage  let  us  speak  of  the  birth  of  reason, 
children,  and  after  their  birth  of  their  nurture  and  education. 
In  the  course  of  discussion  the  several  laws  will  be  perfected, 
and  we  shall  at  last  arrive  at  the  common  tables.  Whether 
such  associations  are  to  be  confined  to  men,  or  extended  to 
women  also,  we  shall  see  better  when  we  approach  and  take 
a  nearer  view  of  them ;  and  we  may  then  determine  what 
previous,  institutions  are  required  and  will  have  to  precede 
them.  As  I  said  before,  we  shall  see  them  more  in  detail, 
and  shall  be  better  able  to  lay  down  the  laws  which  are 
proper  or  suited  to  them. 

Cle.  Very  true. 

Ath.  Let  us  keep  in  mind  the  words  which  have  now  been 
spoken ;  for  hereafter  there  may  be  need  of  them. 

Cle.  What  do  you  bid  us  keep  in  mind  ? 

Ath.  That  which  we  comprehended  under  the  three  words 
—  first,  eating,  secondly,  drinking,  thirdly,  the  excitement 
of  love. 

Cle.  We  shall  be  sure  to  remember.  Stranger. 

Ath.  Very  good.  Then  let  us  now  proceed  to  marriage, 
and  teach  persons  in  what  way  they  shall  beget  children, 
threatening  them,  if  they  disobey,  with  the  terrors  of  the  law. 

Cle.  What  do  you  mean  ? 

Ath.  The  bride  and  bridegroom  should  consider  that  they  The  bride 
are  to  produce  for  the  state  the  best  and  fairest  specimens  of  ^"^  "^''^^ 
children  which  they  can.    Now  all  men  who  are  associated  fwd 
m  any  action  always  succeed  when  they  attend  and  give  =^"end 
their  mind  to  what  they  are  doing,  but  when  they  do  not  business, 
give  their  mind  or  have  no  mind,  they  fail;  wherefore  let  the 


i66 


Regulations  respecting  married  people. 


Laws  VI. 

Athenian. 

The  women 
who  are  the 
overseers  of 
marriage 
shall  see 
that  the 
provisions 
of  the  law 
are  ob- 
served. 


bridegroom  give  his  mind  to  the  bride  and  to  the  begetting 
of  children,  and  the  bride  in  Hke  manner  give  her  mind  to 
the  bridegroom,  and  particularly  at  the  time  when  their 
children  are  not  yet  born.  And  let  the  women  whom  we 
have  chosen  be  the  overseers  of  such  matters,  and  let  them 
in  whatever  number,  large  or  small,  and  at  whatever  time  the 
magistrates  may  command,  assemble  every  day  in  the  temple 
of  Eileithyia  during  a  third  part  of  the  day,  and  being  there 
assembled,  let  them  inform  one  another  of  any  one  whom 
they  see,  whether  man  or  woman,  of  those  who  are  begetting 
children,  disregarding  the  ordinances  given  at  the  time  when 
the  nuptial  sacrifices  and  ceremonies  were  performed.  Let  the 
begetting  of  children  and  the  supervision  of  those  who  are 
begetting  them  continue  ten  years  and  no  longer,  during  the 
time  when  marriage  is  fruitful.  But  if  any  continue  without 
children  up  to  this  time,  let  them  take  counsel  with  their  kin- 
dred and  with  the  women  holding  the  office  of  overseer  and 
be  divorced  for  their  mutual  benefit.  If,  however,  any  dispute 
arises  about  what  is  proper  and  for  the  interest  of  either 
party,  they  shall  choose  ten  of  the  guardians  of  the  law  and 
abide  by  their  permission  and  appointment.  The  women 
who  preside  over  these  matters  shall  enter  into  the  houses  of 
the  young,  and  parti}'  by  admonitions  and  partly  by  threats 
make  them  give  over  their  folly  and  error :  if  they  persist, 
let  the  women  go  and  tell  the  guardians  of  the  law,  and  the 
guardians  shall  prevent  them.  But  if  they  too  cannot  prevent 
them,  they  shall  bring  the  matter  before  the  people;  and  let 
them  write  up  their  names  and  make  oath  that  they  cannot 
reform  such  and  such  an  one  ;  and  let  him  who  is  thus  vsrritten 
up,  if  he  cannot  in  a  court  of  law  convict  those  who  have  in- 
scribed his  name,  be  deprived  of  the  privileges  of  a  citizen  in 
the  following  respects : — let  him  not  go  to  weddings  nor  to 
the  thanksgivings  after  the  birth  of  children ;  and  if  he  go, 
let  any  one  who  pleases  strike  him  with  impunity;  and  let 
the  same  regulations  hold  about  women  :  let  not  a  woman  be 
allowed  to  appear  abroad,  or  receive  honour,  or  go  to  nuptial 
and  birthday  festivals,  if  she  in  like  manner  be  written  up  as 
acting  disorderly  and  cannot  obtain  a  verdict.  And  if,  when 
they  themselves  have  done  begetting  children  according  to 
the  law,  a  man  or  woman  have  connexion  with  another  man 


Registration  of  births. 


167 


or  woman  who  are  still  begetting  children,  let  the  same  Laws  VI. 
penalties  be  inflicted  upon  them  as  upon  those  who  are  still  Athenian. 
having  a  family;  and  when  the  time  for  procreation  has 
passed  let  the  man  or  woman  who  refrains  in  such  matters  be 
held  in  esteem,  and  let  those  who  do  not  refrain  be  held  in 
785  the  contrary  of  esteem — that  is  to  say,  disesteem.  Now, 
if  the  greater  part  of  mankind  behave  modestly,  the  enact- 
ments of  law  may  b*e  left  to  slumber ;   but,  if  they  are 
disorderly,  the  enactments  having  been  passed,  let  them  be 
carried  into  execution.    To  every  man  the  first  year  is  the  Every 
beginning  of  life,  and  the  time  of  birth  ought  to  be  written  ^^'^ 
down  in  the  temples  of  their  fathers  as  the  beginning  of  inscribed 
existence  to  every  child,  whether  boy  or  girl.    Let  every  "P°"  ^  ^^'^ 

1         -     I  •         M     .  I  •      T        Ti    1  r    1       the  names 

phratria  have  inscribed  on  a  whited  wall  the  names  of  the  of  its  living 
successive  archons  by  whom  the  years  are  reckoned.    And  members, 
near  to  them  let  the  living  members  of  the  phratria  be  in- 
scribed, and  when  they  depart  life  let  them  be  erased.    The  The  ages 
limit  of  marriageable  ages  for  a  woman  shall  be  from  sixteen 

°  °  nage,  for 

to  twenty  years  at  the  longest,— for  a  man,  from  thirty  to  office,  and 
thirty-five  years ;  and  let  a  woman  hold  office  at  forty,  and  ^""^ 
a  man  at  thirty  years.  Let  a  man  go  out  to  war  from  twenty 
to  sixty  years,  and  for  a  woman,  if  there  appear  any  need  to 
make  use  of  her  in  military  service,  let  the  time  of  service  be 
after  she  shall  have  brought  forth  children  up  to  fifty  years 
of  age;  and  let  regard  be  had  to  what  is  possible  and 
suitable  to  each. 


BOOK  VII. 


Laws  VII. 

Athenian, 
Cleinias. 

Education 
comes  next. 

There  are 
many  small 
matters 
which  can- 
not be 
legislated 
about,  but 
need  some 
other  kind 
of  regu- 
lation. 


And  now,  assuming  children  of  both  sexes  to  have  been  7? 
born,  it  will  be  proper  for  us  to  consider,  in  the  next  place, 
their  nurture  and  education  ;  this  cannot  be  left  altogether 
unnoticed,  and  yet  may  be  thought  a  subject  fitted  rather  for 
precept  and  admonition  than  for  law.  In  private  life  there 
are  many  little  things,  not  always  apparent,  arising  out  of 
the  pleasures  and  pains  and  desires  of  individuals,  which  run 
counter  to  the  intention  of  the  legislator,  and  make  the 
characters  of  the  citizens  various  and  dissimilar  : — this  is  an 
evil  in  states ;  for  by  reason  of  their  smallness  and  frequent 
occurrence,  there  would  be  an  unseemliness  and  want  of  pro- 
priety in  making  them  penal  by  law;  and  if  made  penal,  they 
are  the  destruction  of  the  written  law  because  mankind  get 
the  habit  of  frequently  transgressing  the  law  in  small  matters. 
The  result  is  that  you  cannot  legislate  about  them,  and  still 
less  can  you  be  silent.  I  speak  somewhat  darkly,  but  I  shall 
endeavour  also  to  bring  my  wares  into  the  light  of  day,  for 
I  acknowledge  that  at  present  there  is  a  want  of  clearness 
in  what  I  am  saying. 

Cle.  Very  true. 

Ath.  Am  I  not  right  in  maintaining  that  a  good  education  is 
that  which  tends  most  to  the  improvement  of  mind  and  body  ? 
Cle.  Undoubtedly. 

Ath.  And  nothing  can  be  plainer  than  that  the  fairest 
bodies  are  those  which  grow  up  from  infancy  in  the  best 
and  straightest  manner? 

Cle.  Certainly. 

Ath.  And  do  we  not  further  observe  that  the  first  shoot  of 


Early  training  to  begin  before  birth. 


every  living  thing  is  by  far  the  greatest  and  fullest?    Many  Laws  VIL 
will  even  contend  that  a  man  at  twenty-five  does  not  reach  Athenian, 
twice  the  height  which  he  attained  at  five.  Cleinias. 

Cle.   True.  During  the 

J  first  years 

Ath.  Well,  and  is  not  rapid  growth  without  proper  and  ofiifethe 

abundant  exercise  the  source  of  endless  evils  in  the  body  ?  body  grows 

most 

Cle.  Yes.  rapidly, 

78g    Ath.  And  the  body  should  have  the  most  exercise  when  and  there- 

•  forG  iiGGcis 

it  receives  most  nourishment  ?  ^^3^  g^^gj.- 

Cle.  But,  Stranger,  are  we  to  impose  this  great  amount  of  cise. 

exercise  upon  newly-born  infants  ? 
Ath.  Nay,  rather  on  the  bodies  of  infants  still  unborn. 
Cle.  What  do  you  mean,  my  good  sir  ?    In  the  process  of 

gestation  ? 

Ath.  Exactly.  I  am  not  at  all  surprised  that  you  have 
never  heard  of  this  very  peculiar  sort  of  gymnastic  applied 
to  such  little  creatures,  which,  although  strange,  I  will 
endeavour  to  explain  to  you. 

Cle.  By  all  means. 

Ath.  The  practice  is  more  easy  for  us  to  understand  than  The  Athe- 
for  you,  by  reason  of  certain  amusements  which  are  carried 

•I      '     -J  1  r  1 J       their  quails 

to  excess  by  us  at  Athens.    Not  only  boys,  but  often  older  and  cocks. 

persons,  are  in  the  habit  of  keeping  quails  and  cocks\  which 

they  train  to  fight  one  another.    And  they  are  far  from 

thinking  that  the  contests  in  which  they  stir  them  up  to  fight 

with  one  another  are  sufficient  exercise ;  for,  in  addition  to 

this,  they  carry  them  about  tucked  beneath  their  armpits, 

holding  the  smaller  birds  in  their  hands,  the  larger  under 

their  arms,  and  go  for  a  walk  of  a  great  many  miles  for  the 

sake  of  health,  that  is  to  say,  not  their  own  health,  but  the 

health  of  the  birds ;  whereby  they  prove  to  any  intelligent  The  benefit 

person,  that  all  bodies  are  benefited  by  shakings  and  move-  °^  ^eaUh" 

ments,  when  they  are  moved  without  weariness,  whether  the  and  diges- 

motion  proceeds  from  themselves,  or  is  caused  by  a  swing,  or 

at  sea,  or  on  horseback,  or  by  other  bodies  in  whatever  way 

moving,  and  that  thus  gaining  the  mastery  over  food  and  drink, 

they  are  able  to  impart  beauty  and  health  and  strength.  But 

admitting  all  this,  what  follows  ?   Shall  we  make  a  ridiculous  Pregnant 

law  that  the  pregnant  woman  shall  walk  about  and  fashion  ^l^^^^ 

'  Cp.  Rep.  V.  459. 


170 


Infants  to  be  always  kept  moving. 


Laws  VII. 

Athenian, 
Cleinias. 

walk  about, 
and  infants 
should  be 
carried  in 
the  arms 
of  strong 
nurses, 
until  they 
are  three 
years  old. 


Public  law 
is  based 
upon  the 
customs  of 
private  life. 


Motion  is 
good  for 
the  soul  as 
well  as  for 
the  body. 


the  embryo  within  as  we  fashion  wax  before  it  hardens,  and 
after  birth  swathe  the  infant  for  two  years?  Suppose  that 
we  compel  nurses,  under  penalty  of  a  legal  fine,  to  be  always 
carrying  the  children  somewhere  or  other,  either  to  the 
temples,  or  into  the  country,  or  to  their  relations'  houses, 
until  they  are  well  able  to  stand,  and  to  take  care  that  their 
limbs  are  not  distorted  by  leaning  on  them  when  they  are  too 
young', — they  should  continue  to  carry  them  until  the  infant 
has  completed  its  third  year;  the  nurses  should  be  strong, 
and  there  should  be  more  than  one  of  them.  Shall  these  be 
our  rules,  and  shall  we  impose  a  penalty  for  the  neglect 
of  them  ?  No,  no  ;  the  penalty  of  which  we  were  speaking  790 
will  fall  upon  our  own  heads  more  than  enough. 
Cle.  What  penalty? 

Ath.  Ridicule,  and  the  difficulty  of  getting  the  feminine 
and  servant-like  dispositions  of  the  nurses  to  comply. 

Cle.  Then  why  was  there  any  need  to  speak  of  the  matter 
at  all  ? 

Alli.  The  reason  is,  that  masters  and  freemen  in  states, 
when  they  hear  of  it,  are  very  likely  to  arrive  at  a  true  con- 
viction that  without  due  regulation  of  private  life  in  cities, 
stability  in  the  laying  down  of  laws  is  hardly  to  be  expected-; 
and  he  who  makes  this  reflection  may  himself  adopt  the  laws 
just  now  mentioned,  and,  adopting  them,  may  order  his  house 
and  state  well  and  be  happy. 

Cle.  Likely  enough. 

Ath.  And  therefore  let  us  proceed  with  our  legislation  until 
we  have  determined  the  exercises  which  are  suited  to  the 
souls  of  young  children,  in  the  same  manner  in  which  we 
have  begun  to  go  through  the  rules  relating  to  their  bodies. 

Cle.  By  all  means. 

Ath.  Let  us  assume,  then,  as  a  first  principle  in  relation 
both  to  the  body  and  soul  of  very  young  creatures,  that 
nursing  and  moving  about  by  day  and  night  is  good  for 
them  all,  and  that  the  younger  they  are,  the  more  they  will 
need  it' ;  infants  should  live,  if  that  were  possible,  as  if  they 
were  always  rocking  at  sea.  This  is  the  lesson  which  we 
may  gather  from  the  experience  of  nurses,  and  likewise  from 
the  use  of  the  remedy  of  motion  in  the  rites  of  the  Cory- 

'  Cp.  Arist.  Pol.  vii.  17,  §  2.  '  Cp.  Rep.  v.  449  E. 


Hoiv  co7trage  and  cowardice  are  produced. 


171 


bantes ;  for  when  mothers  want  their  restless  children  to  go  Laws  VII. 
to  sleep  they  do  not  employ  rest,  but,  on  the  contrary,  motion 

Athenian, 

— rocking  them  in  their  arms;  nor  do  they  give  them  silence,  Cleinias. 
but  they  sing  to  them  and  lap  them  in  sweet  strains  ;  and  the 
Bacchic  women  are  cured  of  their  frenzy  in  the  same  manner  . 
by  the  use  of  the  dance  and  of  music. 

Cle.  Well,  Stranger,  and  what  is  the  reason  of  this  ? 

Aih.  The  reason  is  obvious. 

Cle.  What? 

Ath.  The  affection  both  of  the  Bacchantes  and  of  the  It  quiets 
children   is   an    emotion  of  fear,  which  springs   out  of 
an  evil  habit  of  the  soul.    And  when  some  one  applies 
791  external  agitation  to  affections  of  this  sort,  the  motion 
coming  from  without  gets  the  better  of  the  terrible  and 
violent  internal  one,  and  produces  a  peace  and  calm  in  the 
soul,  and  quiets  the  restless  palpitation  of  the  heart,  which  is 
a  thing  much  to  be  desired,  sending  the  children  to  sleep, 
and  making  the  Bacchantes,  although  they  remain  awake, 
to  dance  to  the  pipe  with  the  help  of  the  Gods  to  whom  they 
offer  acceptable  sacrifices,  and  producing  in  them  a  sound 
mind,  which  takes  the  place  of  their  frenzy.    And,  to  express 
what  I  mean  in  a  word,  there  is  a  good  deal  to  be  said  in 
favour  of  this  treatment. 
Cle.  Certainly. 

Ath.  But  if  fear  has  such  a  power  we  ought  to  infer  from  Familiarity 
these  facts,  that  every  soul  which  from  youth  upward  has  ^j^-Jjj^^^'^jj'" 
been  familiar  with  fears,  will  be  made  more  liable  to  fear\  breeds 
and  every  one  will  allow  that  this  is  the  way  to  form  a  habit  cowardice ; 
of  cowardice  and  not  of  courage. 

Cle.  No  doubt. 

Ath.  And,  on  the  other  hand,  the  habit  of  overcoming,  from  the  habit  of 
our  youth  upwards,  the  fears  and  terrors  which  beset  us,  may  [l^'cowTge^ 
be  said  to  be  an  exercise  of  courage. 

Cle.  True. 

Ath.  And  we  may  say  that  the  use  of  exercise  and  motion 
in  the  earliest  years  of  life  greatly  contributes  to  create  a 
part  of  virtue  in  the  soul. 

Cle.  Quite  true. 

Ath.  Further,  a  cheerful  temper,  or  the  reverse,  may  be 
*  Cp.  Rep.  iii.  386  A. 


The  ways  of  infants. 


Laws  VII. 

Athenian, 
Cleinias. 


Luxury 
creates  dis- 
content in 
the  young  ; 
constraint 
makes  them 
sullen. 


The  infant 
manifests 
his  dislikes 
by  tears 
and  cries  ; 
his  likes  by 
silence. 


Very  young 
children 
should  be 
made 
happy. 


regarded  as  having  much  to  do  with  high  spirit  on  the  one 
hand,  or  with  cowardice  on  the  other. 
Cle.  To  be  sure. 

Ath.  Then  now  we  must  endeavour  to  show  how  and  to 
what  extent  we  may,  if  we  please,  without  difficulty  implant 
either  character  in  the  young. 

Cle.  Certainly. 

Ath.  There  is  a  common  opinion,  that  luxury  makes  the 
disposition  of  youth  discontented  and  irascible  and  vehe- 
mently excited  by  trifles ;  that  on  the  other  hand  excessive 
and  savage  servitude  makes  men  mean  and  abject,  and 
haters  of  their  kind,  and  therefore  makes  them  undesirable 
associates. 

Cle.  But  how  must  the  state  educate  those  who  do  not  as 
yet  understand  the  language  of  the  country,  and  are  therefore 
incapable  of  appreciating  any  sort  of  instruction  ? 

Aih.  I  will  tell  you  how  : — Every  animal  that  is  born  is 
wont  to  utter  some  cry,  and  this  is  especially  the  case  with 
man,  and  he  is  also  affected  with  the  inclination  to  weep 
more  than  any  other  animal. 

Cle.  Quite  true. 

Ath.  Do  not  nurses,  when  they  want  to  know  what  an 
infant  desires,  judge  by  these  signs? — when  anything  is  7 
brought  to  the  infant  and  he  is  silent,  then  he  is  supposed 
to  be  pleased,  but,  when  he  weeps  and  cries  out,  then  he  is 
not  pleased.  For  tears  and  cries  are  the  inauspicious  signs 
by  which  children  show  what  they  love  and  hate.  Now  the 
time  which  is  thus  spent  is  no  less  than  three  years,  and  is  a 
very  considerable  portion  of  life  to  be  passed  ill  or  well. 

Cle.  True. 

Ath.  Does  not  the  discontented  and  ungracious  nature 
appear  to  you  to  be  full  of  lamentations  and  sorrows  more 
than  a  good  man  ought  to  be  ? 

Cle.  Certainly. 

Ath.  Well,  but  if  during  these  three  years  every  possible 
care  were  taken  that  our  nursling  should  have  as  little  of 
sorrow  and  fear,  and  in  general  of  pain  as  was  possible,  might 
we  not  expect  in  early  childhood  to  make  his  soul  more 
gentle  and  cheerful  *  ? 

'  Cp.  Arist.  rd.  vii.  17,  §  6. 


Happiness  a  mean  state. 


173 


Cle.  To  be  sure,  Stranger, — more  especially  if  we  could  Laws  Vll. 

procure  him  a  variety  of  pleasures.  Athknian, 

Ath.  There  I  can  no  longer  agree,  Cleinias :  you  amaze  ^'-'^"^"^s- 
me.     To  bring  him  up  in  such  a  way  would  be  his  utter 
ruin  ;  for  the  beginning  is  always  the  most  critical  part  of 
education.    Let  us  see  whether  I  am  right, 

Cle.  Proceed. 

Ath.  The  point  about  which  you  and  I  differ  is  of  great  Seek  not 

importance,  and  I  hope  that  you,  Megillus,  will  help  to  decide  [°^j.g^g^^^Q,. 

between  us.    For  I  maintain  that  the  true  life  should  neither  avoid  pains; 

seek  for  pleasures,  nor,  on  the  other  hand,  entirely  avoid 

pains,  but  should  embrace  the  middle  state ^,  which  I  just  middle 

spoke  of  as  gentle  and  benign,  and  is  a  state  which  we  by  some  ^^"^•^ 

.  is  divine, 

divine  presage  and  inspiration  rightly  ascribe  to  God.  Now, 

I  say,  he  among  men,  too,  who  would  be  divine  ought  to 

pursue  after  this  mean  habit — he  should  not  rush  headlong 

into  pleasures,  for  he  will  not  be  free  from  pains ;  nor  should 

we  allow  any  one,  young  or  old,  male  or  female,  to  be  thus 

given  any  more  than  ourselves,  and  least  of  all  the  newly-  Application 

born  infant,  for  in  infancy  more  than  at  any  other  time  the  ceptto^'^^" 

character  is  engrained  by  habit.    Nay,  more,  if  I  were  not  infants  and 

afraid  of  appearing  to  be  ridiculous,  I  would  say  that  a  woman 

during  her  year  of  pregnancy  should  of  all  women  be  most  women. 

carefully  tended,  and  kept  from  violent  or  excessive  pleasures 

and  pains,  and  should  at  that  time  cultivate  gentleness  and 

benevolence  and  kindness. 

793     Cle.  You  need  not  ask  Megillus,  Stranger,  which  of  us  has 

most  truly  spoken  ;  for  I  myself  agree  that  all  men  ought  to 

avoid  the  life  of  unmingled  pain  or  pleasure,  and  pursue 

always  a  middle  course.    And  having  spoken  well,  may  I  add 

that  you  have  been  well  answered  ? 

Ath.  Very  good,  Cleinias ;  and  now  let  us  all  three  consider 
a  further  point. 

Cle.  What  is  it  ? 

Ath.  That  all  the  matters  which  we  are  now  describing  are  ^^^^^'"'"^j^^ 
commonly  called  by  the  general  name  of  unwritten  customs,  j„tersfices^ 
and  what  are  termed  the  laws  of  our  ancestors  are  all  of  of  laws, 
similar  nature.    And  the  reflection  which  lately  arose  in  our 
minds that  we  can  neither  call  these  things  laws,  nor  yet 
'  Cp.  Rep.  X.  619  A.  '  Cp.  supra,  788  A. 


174 


The  regulation  of  the  sports  of  children. 


Laws  VIT. 

Athentan, 
Cleinias. 

and  is  the 
supplement 
and  prop 
of  them. 


The  age  for 
amusement 
between 
3  and  6. 


Between 
these  ages, 
children 
should  meet 
daily  at  the 
village 
temples 
under  the 
superin- 
tendence 
of  matrons 
and  nurses. 


leave  them  unmentioned,  is  justified  ;  for  they  are  the  bonds 
of  the  whole  state,  and  come  in  between  the  written  laws 
which  are  or  are  hereafter  to  be  laid  down ;  they  are  just 
ancestral  customs  of  great  antiquity,  which,  if  they  are  rightly 
ordered  and  made  habitual,  shield  and  preserve  the  pre- 
viously existing  written  law;  but  if  they  depart  from  right 
and  fall  into  disorder,  then  they  are  like  the  props  of  builders 
which  slip  away  out  of  their  place  and  cause  a  universal 
ruin — one  part  drags  another  down,  and  the  fair  super- 
structure falls  because  the  old  foundations  are  undermined. 
Reflecting  upon  this,  Cleinias,  you  ought  to  bind  together 
the  new  state  in  every  possible  way,  omitting  nothing,  whether 
great  or  small,  of  what  are  called  laws  or  manners  or  pursuits, 
for  by  these  means  a  city  is  bound  together,  and  all  these 
things  are  only  lasting  when  they  depend  upon  one  another ; 
and,  therefore,  we  must  not  wonder  if  we  find  that  many 
apparently  trifling  customs  or  usages  come  pouring  in  and 
lengthening  out  our  laws. 

Cle.  Very  true  :  we  are  disposed  to  agree  with  you. 

Ath.  Up  to  the  age  of  three  years,  whether  of  boy  or  girl, 
if  a  person  strictly  carries  out  our  previous  regulations  and 
makes  them  a  principal  aim,  he  will  do  much  for  the  ad- 
vantage of  the  young  creatures.  But  at  three,  four,  five,  and 
even  six  years  the  childish  nature  will  require  sports  ;  now  is 
the  time  to  get  rid  of  self-will  in  him,  punishing  him,  but  not 
so  as  to  disgrace  him.  We  were  saying  about  slaves',  that 
we  ought  neither  to  add  insult  to  punishment  so  as  to  anger 
them,  nor  yet  to  leave  them  unpunished  lest  they  become  794 
self-willed  ;  and  a  like  rule  is  to  be  observed  in  the  case  of  the 
free-born.  Children  at  that  age  have  certain  natural  modes 
of  amusement  which  they  find  out  for  themselves  when  they 
meet.  And  all  the  children  who  are  between  the  ages  of 
three  and  six  ought  to  meet  at  the  temples  of  the  villages, 
the  several  families  of  a  village  uniting  on  one  spot.  The 
nurses  are  to  see  that  the  children  behave  properly  and 
orderly, — they  themselves  and  all  their  companies  are  to  be 
under  the  control  of  twelve  matrons,  one  for  each  company, 
who  are  annually  selected  to  inspect  them  from  the  women 
previously  mentioned  ^  [i.  e.  the  women  who  have  authority 

»  vi.  777  D,  E.  =  lb.  784  A. 


The  folly  of  mothers  and  nurses. 


175 


over  marriage],  whom  the  guardians  of  the  law  appoint.  Laws  VII. 
These  matrons  shall  be  chosen  by  the  women  who  have  Athenian, 
authority  over  marriage,  one  out  of  each  tribe ;  all  are  to  Cleinias. 
be  of  the  same  age  ;  and  let  each  of  them,  as  soon  as  she 
is  appointed,  hold  office  and  go  to  the  temples  every  day, 
punishing  all  offenders,  male  or  female,  who  are  slaves  or 
strangers,  by  the  help  of  some  of  the  public  slaves  ;  but  if  any 
citizen  disputes  the  punishment,  let  her  bring  him  before  the 
wardens  of  the  city;  or,  if  there  be  no  dispute,  let  her  punish 
him  herself.    After  the  age  of  six  years  the  time  has  arrived  At  six,  boys 
for  the  separation  of  the  sexes, — let  boys  live  with  boys,  and  ^^^^f^'^l^g 
girls  in  like  manner  with  girls.     Now  they  must  begin  to  separated ; 
learn — the  boys  going  to  teachers  of  horsemanship  and  the  ^"y^^^^j^j 
use  of  the  bow,  the  javelin,  and  sling,  and  the  girls  too,  if  the  girls 
they  do  not  object,  at  any  rate  until  they  know  how  to  manage  should 
these  weapons,  and  especially  how  to  handle  heavy  arms  ;  for  use  of 
I  may  note,  that  the  practice  which  now  prevails  is  almost  weapons, 
universally  misunderstood. 
Cle.  In  what  respect  ? 

Ath.  In  that  the  right  and  left  hand  are  supposed  to  be  They 
by  nature  differently  suited  for  our  various  uses  of  them  :  ^^ouid  be 

.  taught  to 

whereas  no  difference  is  found  in  the  use  of  the  feet  and  the  use  the 
lower  limbs  ;  but  in  the  use  of  the  hands  we  are,  as  it  were,  '^'^^  ^^"'^ 

as  well  as 

maimed  by  the  lolly  of  nurses  and  mothers  ;  for  although  our  the  right, 
several  limbs  are  by  nature  balanced,  we  create  a  difference 
in  them  by  bad  habit.  In  some  cases  this  is  of  no  con- 
sequence, as,  for  example,  when  we  hold  the  lyre  in  the  left 
hand,  and  the  plectrum  in  the  right,  but  it  is  downright  folly 
795  to  make  the  same  distinction  in  other  cases.  The  custom  of 
the  Scythians  proves  our  error ;  for  they  not  only  hold  the 
bow  from  them  with  the  left  hand  and  draw  the  arrow  to  them 
with  their  right,  but  use  either  hand  for  both  purposes.  And 
there  are  many  similar  examples  in  charioteering  and  other 
things,  from  which  we  may  learn  that  those  who  make  the 
left  side  weaker  than  the  right  act  contrary  to  nature.  In  the 
case  of  the  plectrum,  which  is  of  horn  only,  and  similar 
instruments,  as  I  was  saying,  it  is  of  no  consequence,  but 
makes  a  great  difference,  and  may  be  of  very  great  importance  This  is 
to  the  warrior  who  has  to  use  iron  weapons,  bows  and  veryu"- 

y      portant  for 

javelins,  and  the  like ;  above  all,  when  in  heavy  armour,  he 

the  warrior. 


\ 


176 


Gymnastic  a  p7'eparation  for  war. 


Laws  VII. 
Athenian. 


Two 

branches  of 
education, 
gymnastic 
and  music ; 
and  two 
parts  of 
gymnastic, 
dancing 
and  wrest- 
ling. 


Only  those 
forms  of 
wrestling 
which  are 
useful  in 
war  to  be 
practised. 


has  to  fight  against  heavy  armour.  And  there  is  a  very  great 
difference  between  one  who  has  learnt  and  one  who  has  not, 
and  between  one  who  has  been  trained  in  gymnastic  exercises 
and  one  who  has  not  been.  For  as  he  who  is  perfectly 
skilled  in  the  Pancratium  or  boxing  or  wrestling,  is  not  unable 
to  fight  from  his  left  side,  and  does  not  limp  and  draggle  in 
confusion  when  his  opponent  makes  him  change  his  position, 
so  in  heavy-armed  fighting,  and  in  all  other  things,  if  I  am 
not  mistaken,  the  like  holds — he  who  has  these  double  powers 
of  attack  and  defence  ought  not  in  any  case  to  leave  them 
either  unused  or  untrained,  if  he  can  help ;  and  if  a  person 
had  the  nature  of  Geryon  or  Briareus  he  ought  to  be  able 
with  his  hundred  hands  to  throw  a  hundred  darts.  Now, 
the  magistrates,  male  and  female,  should  see  to  all  these 
things,  the  women  superintending  the  nursing  and  amuse- 
ments of  the  children,  and  the  men  superintending  their 
education,  that  all  of  them,  boys  and  girls  alike,  may  be 
sound  hand  and  foot,  and  may  not,  if  they  can  help,  spoil 
the  gifts  of  nature  by  bad  habits. 

Education  has  two  branches, — one  of  gymnastic,  which  is 
concerned  with  the  body,  and  the  other  of  music,  which  is 
designed  for  the  improvement  of  the  soul'.  And  gymnastic 
has  also  two  branches — dancing  and  wrestling ;  and  one  sort 
of  dancing  imitates  musical  recitation,  and  aims  at  preserving 
dignity  and  freedom,  the  other  aims  at  producing  health, 
agility,  and  beauty  in  the  limbs  and  parts  of  the  body,  giving 
the  proper  flexion  and  extension  to  each  of  them,  a  har- 
monious motion  being  diffused  everywhere,  and  forming  a 
suitable  accompaniment  to  the  dance.  As  regards  wrestling,  7 
the  tricks  which  Antaeus  and  Cercyon  devised  in  their  sys- 
tems out  of  a  vain  spirit  of  competition,  or  the  tricks  of 
boxing  which  Epeius  or  Amycus  invented,  are  useless  and 
unsuitable  for  war,  and  do  not  deserve  to  have  much  said 
about  them ;  but  the  art  of  wrestling  ei-ect  and  keeping  free 
the  neck  and  hands  and  sides,  working  with  energy  and  con- 
stancy, with  a  composed  strength,  and  for  the  sake  of  health 
— these  are  always  useful,  and  are  not  to  be  neglected,  but  to 
be  enjoined  alike  on  masters  and  scholars,  when  we  reach 
that  part  of  legislation  ;  and  we  will  desire  the  one  to  give 
'  Cp.  Rep.  ii.  376  E ;  iii.  403,  410. 


Militaiy  dances. 


177 


their  instructions  freely,  and  the  others  to  receive  them  Lmvs  VII. 
thankfully  ^    Nor,  again,  must  we  omit  suitable  imitations  of  Athenian, 
war  in  pur  choruses  ;  here  in  Crete  you  have  the  armed  Cleinias. 
dances  of  the  Curetes,  and  the  Lacedaemonians  have  those  imitations 
of  the  Dioscuri.    And  our  virgin  lady,  delighting  in  the  begiven° 
amusement  of  the  dance,  thought  it  not  fit  to  amuse  herself  also  by 
with  empty  hands ;  she  must  be  clothed  in  a  complete  suit  of  armouV&c. 
armour,  and  in  this  attire  go  through  the  dance  ^ ;  and  youths 
and  maidens  should  in  every  respect  imitate  her,  esteeming 
highly  the  favour  of  the  Goddess,  both  with  a  view  to  the  neces- 
sities of  war,  and  to  festive  occasions :  it  will  be  right  also 
for  the  boys,  until  such  time  as  they  go  out  to  war,  to  make 
processions  and  supplications  to  all  the  Gods  in  goodly  array, 
armed  and  on  horseback,  in  dances  and  marches,  fast  or  slow, 
offering  up  prayers  to  the  Gods  and  to  the  sons  of  Gods ; 
and  also  engaging  in  contests  and  preludes  of  contests,  if  at 
all,  with  these  objects.    For  these  sorts  of  exercises,  and  no 
others,  are  useful  both  in  peace  and  war,  and  are  beneficial 
alike  to  states  and  to  private  houses.    But  other  labours  and 
sports  and  exercises  of  the  body  are  unworthy  of  freemen,  O 
Megillus  and  Cleinias. 

I  have  now  completely  described  the  kind  of  gymnastic 
which  I  said  at  first  ought  to  be  described ;  if  you  know  of 
any  better,  will  you  communicate  your  thoughts  ? 

Cle.  It  is  not  easy,  Stranger,  to  put  aside  these  principles 
of  gymnastic  and  wrestling  and  to  enunciate  better  ones. 

Ath.  Now  we  must  say  what  has  yet  to  be  said  about  the  Music 
gifts  of  the  Muses  and  of  Apollo  :  before,  we  fancied  that 
we  had  said  all,  and  that  gymnastic  alone  remained^;  but 
now  we  see  clearly  what  points  have  been  omitted,  and  should 
be  first  proclaimed  ;  of  these,  then,  let  us  proceed  to  speak. 

Cle.  By  all  means. 

Ath.  Let  me  tell  you  once  more— although  you  have  heard 
me  say  the  same  before— that  caution  must  be  always 
exercised,  both  by  the  speaker  and  by  the  hearer,  about 
anything  that  is  very  singular  and  unusual.  For  my  tale 
is  one  which  many  a  man  would  be  afraid  to  tell,  and  yet  I 
have  a  confidence  which  makes  me  go  on. 

Cle.  What  have  you  to  say,  Stranger  ? 

'  Cp.  infra,  814  D.         =  Cp.  Crit.  no  B.  Cp.  supra,  ii.  673. 

VOL.  V.  N 


178 


The  danger  of  innovation  in  amusements. 


Laws  VII. 

Athenian, 
Cleinias. 

The  plays 
of  children 
should  be 
fixed  that 
their  cha- 
racters may 
become 
fixed. 


Changes 
are  gener- 
ally danger- 
ous, 


Ath.  I  say  that  in  states  generally  no  one  has  observed  that 
the  plays  of  childhood  have  a  great  deal  to  do  with  the  per- 
manence or  want  of  permanence  in  legislation.  For  when 
plays  are  ordered  with  a  view  to  children  having  the  same 
plays,  and  amusing  themselves  after  the  same  manner,  and 
finding  delight  in  the  same  playthings,  the  more  solemn 
institutions  of  the  state  are  allowed  to  remain  undisturbed. 
Whereas  if  sports  are  disturbed,  and  innovations  are  made  in 
them,  and  they  constantly  change,  and  the  young  never  speak 
of  their  having  the  same  likings,  or  the  same  established 
notions  of  good  and  bad  taste,  either  in  the  bearing  of  their 
bodies  or  in  their  dress,  but  he  who  devises  something  new 
and  out  of  the  way  in  figures  and  colours  and  the  like  is  held 
in  special  honour,  we  may  truly  say  that  no  greater  evil  can 
happen  in  a  state' ;  for  he  who  changes  the  sports  is  secretly 
changing  the  manners  of  the  young,  and  making  the  old  to  be 
dishonoured  among  them  and  the  new  to  be  honoured.  And 
I  affirm  that  there  is  nothing  which  is  a  greater  injury  to  all 
states  than  saying  or  thinking  thus.  Will  you  hear  me  tell 
how  great  I  deem  the  evil  to  be  ? 

Cle.  You  mean  the  evil  of  blaming  antiquity  in  states  ? 

Ath.  Exactly. 

Cle.  If  you  are  speaking  of  that,  you  will  find  in  us  hearers 
who  are  disposed  to  receive  what  you  say  not  unfavourably 
but  most  favourably. 

Ath,  I  should  expect  so. 

Cle.  Proceed. 

Ath.  Well,  then,  let  us  give  all  the  greater  heed  to  one 
another's  words.  The  argument  affirms  that  any  change 
whatever  except  from  evil  is  the  most  dangerous  of  all  things; 
this  is  true  in  the  case  of  the  seasons  and  of  the  winds,  in  the 
management  of  our  bodies  and  the  habits  of  our  minds— true 
of  all  things  except,  as  I  said  before,  of  the  bad.  He  who 
looks  at  the  constitution  of  individuals  accustomed  to  eat  any 
sort  of  meat,  or  drink  any  drink,  or  to  do  any  work  which  they 
can  get,  may  see  that  they  are  at  first  disordered  by  them, 
but  afterwards,  as  time  goes  on,  their  bodies  grow  adapted  to 
them,  and  they  learn  to  know  and  like  variety,  and  have  good 
health  and  enjoyment  of  life  ;  and  if  ever  afterwards  they  are  7 

'  Cp.  Rep.  iv.  424  C. 


Hotv  can  we  attam  stability  in  imisic  ? 


179 


who  make 
innovation 


confined  again  to  a  superior  diet,  at  first  they  are  troubled  Laws  VII. 
with  disorders,  and  with  difficulty  become  habituated  to  their  Athenian, 
new  food.    A  similar  principle  we  may  imagine  to  hold  good  '^'•^""'^s. 
about  the  minds  of  men  and  the  natures  of  their  souls.    For  "^e 
when  they  have  been  brought  up  in  certain  laws,  which  by  ^gii  as  for 
some  Divine  Providence  have  remained  unchanged  during  the  body, 
long  ages,  so  that  no  one  has  any  memory  or  tradition  of 
their  ever  having  been  otherwise  than  they  are,  then  every 
one  is  afraid  and  ashamed  to  change  that  which  is  estab- 
lished.   The  legislator  must  somehow  find  a  way  of  implant- 
ing this  reverence  for  antiquity,  and  I  would  propose  the 
following  way : — People  are  apt  to  fancy,  as  I  was  saying 
before,  that  when  the  plays  of  children  are  altered  they  are 
merely  plays,  not  seeing  that  the  most  serious  and  detri- 
mental consequences  arise  out  of  the  change ;  and  they  Children 
readily  comply  with  the  child's  wishes  instead  of  deterring 
him,  not  considering  that  these  children  who  make  innova-  in  their 
tions  in  their  games,  when  they  grow  up  to  be  men,  will  be  games  will 
different  from  the  last  generation  of  children,  and,  being  into  revo- 
different,  will  desire  a  different  sort  of  life,  and  under  the  lutionists. 
influence  of  this  desire  will  want  other  institutions  and  laws ; 
and  no  one  of  them  reflects  that  there  will  follow  what  I  just 
now  called  the  greatest  of  evils  to  states.    Changes  in  bodily 
fashions  are  no  such  serious  evils,  but  frequent  changes  in 
the  praise  and  censure  of  manners  are  the  greatest  of  evils, 
and  require  the  utmost  prevision. 
Cle.  To  be  sure. 

Ath.  And  now  do  we  still  hold  to  our  former  assertion, 
that  rhythms  and  music  in  general  are  imitations  of  good  and 
evil  characters  in  men'  ?    What  say  you  ? 

Cle.  That  is  the  only  doctrine  which  we  can  admit. 

Ath.  Must  we  not,  then,  try  in  every  possible  way  to  pre- 
vent our  youth  from  even  desiring  to  imitate  new  modes 
either  in  dance  or  song^  ?  nor  must  any  one  be  allowed  to 
offer  them  varieties  of  pleasures. 

Cle.  Most  true. 

Ath.  Can  any  of  us  imagine  a  better  mode  of  effecting  this 
object  than  that  of  the  Egyptians  ? 
Cle.  What  is  their  method  ? 

'  Cp.  supra,  ii.  655  D  foil.  *  Cp.  Rep.  iv.  424. 

N  2 


i8o 


Let  us  adopt  the  Egyptian  method. 


Laws  VII. 

Athenian, 
Cleinias. 

We,  like  the 
Egyptians, 
should  con- 
secrate the 
forms  of 
song  and 
dance. 


Before 
stating  our 
paradoxical 
law  about 
music,  we 
should 
ponder  and 
reflect. 


A(h.  To  consecrate  every  sort  of  dance  or  melody.  First  we 
should  ordain  festivals, — calculating  for  the  year  what  they 
ought  to  be,  and  at  what  time,  and  in  honour  of  what  Gods,  sons 
of  Gods,  and  heroes  they  ought  to  be  celebrated  ;  and,  in  the 
next  place,  what  hymns  ought  to  be  sung  at  the  several  sacri- 
fices, and  with  what  dances  the  particular  festival  is  to  be 
honoured.  This  has  to  be  arranged  at  first  by  certain  persons, 
and,  when  arranged,  the  whole  assembly  of  the  citizens  are 
to  offer  sacrifices  and  libations  to  the  Fates  and  all  the  other 
Gods,  and  to  consecrate  the  several  odes  to  Gods  and 
heroes :  and  if  any  one  offers  any  other  hymns  or  dances  to 
any  one  of  the  Gods,  the  priests  and  priestesses,  acting  in 
concert  with  the  guardians  of  the  law,  shall,  with  the  sanction 
of  religion  and  the  law,  exclude  him,  and  he  who  is  excluded, 
if  he  do  not  su"bmit,  shall  be  liable  all  his  life  long  to  have  a 
suit  of  impiety  brought  against  him  by  any  one  who  likes. 

Cle.  Very  good. 

Alh.  In  the  consideration  of  this  subject,  let  us  remember 
what  is  due  to  ourselves. 

Cle.  To  what  are  you  referring  ? 

A  tit.  I  mean  that  any  young  man,  and  much  more  any  old 
one,  when  he  sees  or  hears  anything  strange  or  unaccus- 
tomed, does  not  at  once  run  to  embrace  the  paradox,  but  he 
stands  considering,  like  a  person  who  is  at  a  place  where 
three  paths  meet,  and  does  not  very  well  know  his  way — he 
may  be  alone  or  he  may  be  walking  with  others,  and  he  will 
say  to  himself  and  them,  'Which  is  the  way?'  and  will  not 
move  forward  until  he  is  satisfied  that  he  is  going  right. 
And  this  is  what  we  must  do  in  the  present  instance: — A 
strange  discussion  on  the  subject  of  law  has  arisen,  which 
requires  the  utmost  consideration,  and  we  should  not  at 
our  age  be  too  ready  to  speak  about  such  great  matters, 
or  be  confident  that  we  can  say  anything  certain  all  in  a 
moment. 

Cle.  Most  true. 

Ath.  Then  we  will  allow  time  for  reflection,  and  decide 
when  we  have  given  the  subject  sufficient  consideration.  But 
that  we  may  not  be  hindered  from  completing  the  natural 
arrangement  of  our  laws,  let  us  proceed  to  the  conclusion 
of  them  in  due  order;  for  very  possibly,  if  God  will,  the 


A  law  about  laws,  i.e.  about  strains  of  music.  i8i 


exposition  of  them,  when  completed,  may  throw  light  on  our  Laws  VII. 

present  perplexity.  Athenian, 

Cle.  Excellent,  Stranger ;  let  us  do  as  you  propose.  Cleinias. 

Ath.  Let  us  then  affirm  the  paradox  that  strains  of  music 
are  our  laws  (wm'");  '^his  latter  being  the  name  which  the 
800  ancients  gave  to  lyric  songs  \  they  probably  would  not  have 
very  much  objected  to  our  proposed  application  of  the  word. 
Some  one,  either  asleep  or  awake,  must  have  had  a  dreamy 
suspicion  of  their  nature.  And  let  our  decree  be  as  follows  : —  The  law. 
No  one  in  singing  or  dancing  shall  offend  against  public  and 
consecrated  models,  and  the  general  fashion  among  the 
youth,  any  more  than  he  would  offend  against  any  other  law. 
And  he  who  observes  this  law  shall  be  blameless ;  but  he 
who  is  disobedient,  as  I  was  saying,  shall  be  punished  by  the 
guardians  of  the  laws,  and  by  the  priests  and  priestesses. 
Suppose  that  we  imagine  this  to  be  our  law. 

Cle.  Very  good. 

Ath.  Can  any  one  who  makes  such  laws  escape  ridicule?  Rules  ac- 
Let  us  see.     I  think  that  our  only  safety  will  be  in  first  '=°'''^J"g 

•)  to  which 

.  framing  certain  models  for  composers.    One  of  these  models  songs  are 
shall  be  as  follows  : — If  when  a  sacrifice  is  going  on,  and  the  tobecom- 

.  posed  : — 

victims  are  being  burnt  according  to  law, — if,  I  say,  any  one 
who  may  be  a  son  or  brother,  standing  by  another  at  the 
altar  and  over  the  victims,  horribly  blasphemes,  will  not  his  (i)  Words 
words  inspire  despondency  and  evil  omens  and  forebodings  o*^*^^'' 

.  .  .  .  omen  to  be 

m  the  mmd  of  his  father  and  of  his  other  kinsmen  ?  avoided. 
C/e.  Of  course. 

Ath.  And  this  is  just  what  takes  place  in  almost  all  our 
cities.  A  magistrate  offers  a  public  sacrifice,  and  there  come 
in  not  one  but  many  choruses,  who  take  up  a  position  a 
little  way  from  the  altar,  and  from  time  to  time  pour  forth  all 
sorts  of  horrible  blasphemies  on  the  sacred  rites,  exciting  the 
souls  of  the  audience  with  words  and  rhythms  and  melodies 
most  sorrowful  to  hear;  and  he  who  at  the  moment  when  the 
city  is  offering  sacrifice  makes  the  citizens  weep  most,  carries 
away  the  palm  of  victory.  Now,  ought  we  not  to  forbid  such 
strains  as  these  ?  And  if  ever  our  citizens  must  hear  such 
lamentations,  then  on  some  unblest  and  inauspicious  day  let 
there  be  choruses  of  foreign  and  hired  minstrels,  like  those 

'  Cp.  supra,  iii.  700  B. 


l82 


Principles  of  song. 


Laws  VII.  hirelings  who  accompany  the  departed  at  funerals  with  bar- 
Athenmn,  barous  Carian  chants.  That  is  the  sort  of  thing  which  will 
Cleinias.  appropriate  if  We  have  such  strains  at  all ;  and  let  the 

apparel  of  the  singers  be,  not  circlets  and  ornaments  of  gold, 
but  the  reverse.  Enough  of  all  this.  I  will  simply  ask  once 
more  whether  we  shall  lay  down  as  one  of  our  principles 

of  song  

Cle.  What? 

Ath.  That  we  should  avoid  every  word  of  evil  omen  ;  let  8oi 
that  kind  of  song  which  is  of  good  omen  be  heard  every- 
where and  alwa3's  in  our  state.    I  need  hardly  ask  again,  but 
shall  assume  that  you  agree  with  me. 

Cle.  By  all  means ;  that  law  is  approved  by  the  suffrages 
of  us  all. 

Ath.  But  what  shall  be  our  next  musical  law  or  type? 
Ought  not  prayers  to  be  offered  up  to  the  Gods  when  we 
sacrifice  ? 

Cle.  Certainly. 

Ath.  And  our  third  law,  if  I  am  not  mistaken,  will  be  to  the 
effect  that  our  poets,  understanding  prayers  to  be  requests  ■ 
which  we  make  to  the  Gods,  will  take  especial  heed  that  they 
do  not  by  mistake  ask  for  evil  instead  of  good.    To  make 
such  a  prayer  would  surely  be  too  ridiculous. 
Cle.  Very  true. 

Ath.  Were  we  not  a  little  while  ago  quite  convinced  that 
no  silver  or  golden  Plutus  should  dwell  in  our  state'  ? 
Cle.  To  be  sure. 

Ath.  And  what  has  it  been  the  object  of  our  argument  to 
show  ?  Did  we  not  imply  that  the  poets  are  not  always 
quite  capable  of  knowing  what  is  good  or  evil  ?  And  if  one 
of  them  utters  a  mistaken  prayer  in  song  or  words,  he  will 
make  our  citizens  pray  for  the  opposite  of  what  is  good  in 
matters  of  the  highest  import ;  than  which,  as  I  was  sa3'ing, 
there  can  be  few  greater  mistakes.    Shall  we  then  propose 

as  one  of  our  laws  and  models  relating  to  the  Muses  

Cle.  What?— will  you  explain  the  law  more  precisely? 
Thepoetsto    Ath.  Shall  we  make  a  law  that  the  poet  shall  compose 
Wira^of  the  nothing  contrary  to  the  ideas  of  the  lawful,  or  just,  or 
just,  the     beautiful,  or  good,  which  are  allowed  in  the  state  ?  nor  shall 

'  Cp.  supra,  V.  741  E. 


(2)  Prayers 
to  be 
offered  at 
sacrifices. 


(3)  Good, 
and  not 
evil,  to  be 
asked. 


Ancienl  and  severe  nmsic  to  be  preferred.  183 

he  be  permitted  to  communicate  his  compositions  to  any  Lmvs  VII. 
private  individuals,  until  he  shall  have  shown  them  to  the  Athenian, 
appointed  judges  and  the  guardians  of  the  law,  and  they  are  Cleinias. 
satisfied  with  them.    As  to  the  persons  whom  we  appoint  to  beautiful, 

•   1  1  1       J  •  r  "''^  good, 

be  our  legislators  about  music^  and  as  to  the  director  01  which  the 
education'^,  these  have  been  already  indicated.    Once  more  state  ap- 
then,  as  I  have  asked  more  than  once,  shall  this  be  our  third  P"""^^^' 
law,  and  type,  and  model— What  do  you  say? 
Cle.  Let  it  be  so,  by  all  means. 

Ath.  Then  it  will  be  proper  to  have  hymns  and  praises  (4)  There 
of  the  Gods^  intermingled  with  prayers  ;  and  after  the  Gods  ^^f/^^jg 
prayers  and  praises  should  be  offered  in  like  manner  to  hymns  for 
demigods  and  heroes,  suitable  to  their  several  characters. 

Cle.  Certainly.  heroes. 

Ath.  In  the  next  place  there  will  be  no  objection  to  a  law,  (5)  The 
that  citizens  who  are  departed  and  have  done  good  and  f°°ou'ed  ^ 
energetic  deeds,  either  with  their  souls  or  with  their  bodies,  after  death, 
and  have  been  obedient  to  the  laws,  should  receive  eulogies ; 
this  will  be  very  fitting. 
802     Cle.  Quite  true. 

Ath.  But  to  honour  with  hymns  and  panegyrics  those  who 
are  still  alive  is  not  safe ;  a  man  should  run  his  course,  and 
make  a  fair  ending,  and  then  we  will  praise  him ;  and  let 
praise  be  given  equally  to  women  as  well  as  men  who  have 
been  distinguished  in  virtue.    The  order  of  songs  and 
dances  shall  be  as  follows  :  —There  are  many  ancient  musical  The  law 
compositions  and  dances  which  are  excellent,  and  from  these  [^g^order^f 
the  newly-founded  city  may  freely  select  what  is  proper  and  songs  and 
suitable ;  and  they  shall  choose  judges  of  not  less  than  fifty  dances, 
years  of  age,  who  shall  make  the  selection,  and  any  of  the  old 
poems  which  they  deem  sufficient  they  shall  include  ;  any 
that  are  deficient  or  altogether  unsuitable,  they  shall  either 
utterly  throw  aside,  or  examine  and  amend,  taking  into  their 
counsel  poets  and  musicians,  and  making  use  of  their 
poetical  genius ;  but  explaining  to  them  the  wishes  of  the 
legislator  in  order  that  they  may  regulate  dancing,  music, 
and  all  choral  strains,  according  to  the  mind  of  the  judges; 
and  not  allowing  them  to  indulge,  except  in  some  few 


'  Cp.  supra,  vi.  764  C.  -  Cp.  supra,  vi.  765  D. 

'  Cp.  Rep.  X.  607  A. 


184  Strains  and  rhytJinis  for  men  and  for  women. 


Laws  VII.  matters,  their  individual  pleasures  and  fancies.     Now  the 
Athenian,    irregular  Strain  of  music  is  always  made  ten  thousand  times 
Cleinias.     better  by  attaining  to  law  and  order,  and  rejecting  the  honeyed 
Muse— not  however  that  we  mean  wholly  to  exclude  pleasure, 
which  is  the  characteristic  of  all  music.    And  if  a  man  be 
brought  irp  from  childhood  to  the  age  of  discretion  and 
maturity  in  the  use  of  the  orderly  and  severe  music,  when  he 
hears  the  opposite  he  detests  it,  and  calls  it  illiberal ;  but  if 
trained  in  the  sweet  and  vulgar  music,  he  deems  the  severer 
kind  cold  and  displeasing'.    So  that,  as  I  was  saying  before, 
while  he  who  hears  them  gains  no  more  pleasure  from  the 
one  than  from  the  other,  the  one  has  the  advantage  of 
making  those  who  are  trained  in  it  better  men,  whereas 
the  other  makes  them  worse. 
Clc.  V ery  true. 

To  men  Ath.  Again,  we  must  distinguish  and  determine  on  some 
assigned^  general  principle  what  songs  are  suitable  to  women,  and 
a  grand  what  to  men,  and  must  assign  to  them  their  proper  melodies 
which'is  '^"'^  rh3'thms.  It  is  shocking  for  a  whole  harmony  to  be 
expressive  inharmonical,  or  for  a  rhythm  to  be  unrhythmical,  and  this 
of  courage;        happen  when  the  melody  is  inappropriate  to  them.  And 

therefore  the  legislator  must  assign  to  these  also  their  forms. 

Now   both   sexes   have  melodies   and  rhythms  which  of 

necessity  belong  to  them;  and  those  of  women  are  clearly 
to  women  enough  indicated  by  their  natural  difference.  The  grand, 
andTenr"^  and  that  which  tends  to  courage,  may  be  fairly  called  manly; 
perate  but  that  which  inclines  to  moderation  and  temperance,  may 
rhythm.  declared  both  in  law  and  in  ordinary  speech  to  be  the  803 

more  womanly  quality.    This,  then,  will  be  the  general  order 

of  them. 

Let  us  now  speak  of  the  manner  of  teaching  and  imparting 
them,  and  the  persons  to  whom,  and  the  time  when,  they  are 
severally  to  be  imparted.  As  the  shipwright  first  lays  down 
the  lines  of  the  keel,  and  thus,  as  it  were,  draws  the  ship  in 
outline,  so  do  I  seek  to  distinguish  the  patterns  of  life,  and 
lay  down  their  keels  according  to  the  nature  of  different 
men's  souls  ;  seeking  truly  to  consider  by  what  means,  and 
in  what  ways,  we  may  go  through  the  vo^^age  of  life  best. 
Now  human  affairs  are  hardly  worth  considering  in  earnest, 

'  Cp.  Arist.  Pol.  viii.  6,  §  8  ;  7,  §  7. 


Life  to  be  spent  in  the  service  of  God.  185 

and  yet  we  must  be  in  earnest  about  them,— a  sad  necessity  Laws  VII. 
constrains  us.    And  having  got  thus  far,  there  will  be  a  Athenian, 
fitness  in  our  completing  the  matter,  if  we  can  only  find  Cleinias. 
some  suitable  method  of  doing  so.    But  what  do  I  mean  ?  Human 
Some  one  may  ask  this  very  question,  and  quite  rightly,  too.  hardly ^"^^ 
Cle.  Certainly.  serious, 
Ath.  I  say  that  about  serious  matters  a  man  should  be  ^"^sf^g^*^ 
serious,  and  about  a  matter  which  is  not  serious  he  should  in  earnest 
not  be  serious;  and  that  God  is  the  natural  and  worthy  ^^"'^^ 
object  of  our  most  serious  and  blessed  endeavours,  for  man,  The  best  of 
as  I  said  before',  is  made  to  be  the  plaything  of  God,  and  f'^" ^^^^ 

...  ,         .      '  he  is  the 

this,  truly  considered,  is  the  best  of  him ;  wherefore  also  plaything 
every  man,  and  woman  should  walk  seriously,  and  pass  life  of  the  Gods, 
in  the  noblest  of  pastimes,  and  be  of  another  mind  from  what 
they  are  at  present. 
Cle.  In  what  respect  ? 

Ath.  At  present  they  think  that  their  serious  pursuits 
should  be  for  the  sake  of  their  sports,  for  they  deem  war 
a  serious  pursuit,  which  must  be  managed  well  for  the  sake 
of  peace  ;  but  the  truth  is,  that  there  neither  is,  nor  has 
been,  nor  ever  will  be,  either  amusement  or  instruction  in 
any  degree  worth  speaking  of  in  war,  which  is  nevertheless 
deemed  by  us  to  be  the  most  serious  of  our  pursuits.    And  The  life  of 
therefore,  as  we  say,  every  one  of  us  should  live  the  life  of  [j^^^'^the"" 
peace  as  long  and  as  well  as  he  can''.    And  what  is  the  life  of  war. 
..right  way  of  living?    Are  we  to  live  in  sports  always?    If  But  what 
so,  in  what  kind  of  sports?    We  ought  to  live  sacrificing,  |^f'pgjj,g'^p_ 
and  singing,  and  dancing,  and  then  a  man  will  be  able  to  The  hfe  of 
propitiate  the  Gods,  and  to  defend  himself  against  his  dance  and 
enemies  and  conquer  them  in  battle.    The  type  of  song 
or  dance  by  which  he  will  propitiate  them  has  been  de- 
scribed, and  the  paths  along  which  he  is  to  proceed  have 
804  been  cut  for  him.    He  will  go  forward  in  the  spirit  of  the 
poet '  :  — 

'  Telemachus,  some  things  thou  wilt  thyself  find  in  thy  heart,  but  other 
things  God  will  suggest ;  for  I  deem  that  thoTi  wast  not  bom  or  brought  up 
without  the  will  of  the  Gods.' 

And  this  ought  to  be  the  view  of  our  alumni ;  they  ought  to 
think  that  what  has  been  said  is  enough  for  them,  and  that 

'  Cp.  supra,  i.  644  D,  E.  *  Cp.  supra,  i.  628. 

^  Homer,  Odyss.  iii.  26  foil. 


1 86       Gymnasia  and  schools  for  women  as  well  as  men. 


Laws  VII. 

Athenian, 
Megillus. 


A  new  sub- 
ject : — 
Gymnasia  ; 
schools  ; 
places  for 
horse  exer- 
cise ;  open 
spaces  for 
archery. 


The 
teachers 
to  be 
foreigners 
and  paid. 


Education 
to  be  com- 
pulsory 
on  both 
se.\es. 


The  state  is 
reduced  to 
a  half,  if 


any  other  things  their  Genius  and  God  will  suggest  to  them 
— he  will  tell  them  to  whom,  and  when,  and  to  what  Gods 
severally  they  are  to  sacrifice  and  perform  dances,  and  how 
they  may  propitiate  the  deities,  and  live  according  to  the 
appointment  of  nature  ;  being  for  the  most  part  puppets,  but 
having  some  little  share  of  reality. 

Meg.  You  have  a  low  opinion  of  mankind.  Stranger. 

Ath.  Nay,  Megillus,  be  not  amazed,  but  forgive  me  : — I 
was  comparing  them  with  the  Gods ;  and  under  that  feeling 
I  spoke.  Let  us  grant,  if  you  wish,  that  the  human  race  is 
not  to  be  despised,  but  is  worthy  of  some  consideration. 

Next  follow  the  buildings  for  gymnasia  and  schools  open 
to  all ;  these  are  to  be  in  three  places  in  the  midst  of  the 
city;  and  outside  the  city  and  in  the  surrounding  country, 
also  in  three  places,  there  shall  be  schools  for  horse  exer- 
cise, and  large  grounds  arranged  with  a  view  to  archery  and 
the  throwing  of  missiles,  at  which  young  men  may  learn  and 
practise.  Of  these  mention  has  already  been  made';  and  if 
the  mention  be  not  sufficiently  explicit,  let  us  speak  further 
of  them  and  embody  them  in  laws.  In  these  several  schools 
let  there  be  dwellings  for  teachers,  who  shall  be  brought  from 
foreign  parts  by  pay,  and  let  them  teach  those  who  attend 
the  schools  the  art  of  war  and  the  art  of  music,  and  the 
children  shall  come  not  only  if  their  parents  please,  but 
if  they  do  not  please ;  there  shall  be  compulsory  education, 
as  the  saying  is,  of  all  and  sundry,  as  far  as  this  is  possible ; 
and  the  pupils  shall  be  regarded  as  belonging  to  the  state 
rather  than  to  their  parents^  My  law  would  apply  to 
females  as  well  as  males;  they  shall  both  go  through  the 
same  exercises.  I  assert  without  fear  of  contradiction  that 
gymnastic  and  horsemanship  are  as  suitable  to  women  as  to 
men'.  Of  the  truth  of  this  I  am  persuaded  from  ancient 
tradition,  and  at  the  present  day  there  are  said  to  be  count- 
less myriads  of  women  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Black 
Sea,  called  Sauromatides,  who  not  only  ride  on  horseback 
like  men,  but  have  enjoined  upon  them  the  use  of  bows  and  805 
other  weapons  equally  with  the  men.  And  I  further  affirm, 
that  if  these  things  are  possible,  nothing  can  be  more  absurd 

'  Cp.  supra,  vi,  764,  779.  '  Cp.  Arist.  Pol.  viii.  i,  §§  3.  4- 

Cp.  Rep.  V.  451  foil. 


What  shall  lue  do  with  ottr  women  ? 


187 


than  the  practice  which  prevails  in  our  own  country,  of  men  Laws  VII. 
and  women  not  following  the  same  pursuits  with  all  their  Athenian, 
strength  and  with  one  mind,  for  thus  the  state,  instead  of  Cleinias. 
being  a  whole,  is  reduced  to  a  half  \  but  has  the  same  the  training 
imposts  to  pay  and  the  same  toils  to  undergo ;  and  what  can 
be  a  greater  mistake  for  any  legislator  to  make  than  this  ?  lected. 

Cle.  Very  true ;  yet  much  of  what  has  been  asserted  by  us. 
Stranger,  is  contrary  to  the  custom  of  states ;  still,  in  saying 
that  the  discourse  should  be  allowed  to  proceed,  and  that 
when  the  discussion  is  completed,  we  should  choose  what 
seems  best,  you  spoke  very  properly  ^,  and  I  now  feel  com- 
punction for  what  I  have  said.  Tell  me,  then,  what  you 
would  next  wish  to  say. 

Ath.  I  should  wish  to  say,  Cleinias,  as  I  said  before,  that  it  is  a  well- 
if  the  possibility  of  these  things  were  not  sufficiently  proven  known  fact 

r  J  o  ^  J  r  women 

in  fact,  then  there  might  be  an  objection  to  the  argument,  but  are  able  to 
the  fact  being  as  I  have  said,  he  who  rejects  the  law  must  ^^^""f 

men  s  pur- 

find  some  other  ground  of  objection ;  and,  failing  this,  our  suits.  If 
exhortation  will  still  hold  good,  nor  will  any  one  deny  that  "^^y  ^° 

,  ,  r  -1  1     •        J  J  •      they  must 

women  ought  to  share  as  lar  as  possible  in  education  and  in  ^ave  an 
other  ways  with  men.  For  consider ; — if  women  do  not  share  inferior  life, 
in  their  whole  life  with  men,  then  they  must  have  some  other 
order  of  life. 
Cle.  Certainly. 

Ath.  And  what  arrangement  of  life  to  be  found  anywhere  Lives  of 
is  preferable  to  this  community  which  we  are  now  assigning  ^^j.^'J^^" 
to  them  ?    Shall  we  prefer  that  which  is  adopted  by  the  countries. 
Thracians  and  many  other  races  who  use  their  women  to  till 
the  ground  and  to  be  shepherds  of  their  herds  and  flocks, 
and  to  minister  to  them  like  slaves  ? — Or  shall  we  do  as  we 
and  people  in  our  part  of  the  world  do— getting  together,  as 
the  phrase  is,  all  our  goods  and  chattels  into  one  dweUing, 
we  entrust  them  to  our  women,  who  are  the  stewards  of 
them,  and  who  also  preside  over  the  shuttles  and  the  whole 
art  of  spinning?    Or  shall  we  take  a  middle  course,  as  in 
806  Lacedaemon,  Megillus — letting  the  girls  share  in  gymnastic 
and  music,  while  the  grown-up  women,  no  longer  employed 
in  spinning  wool,  are  hard  at  work  weaving  the  web  of 
life,  which  will  be  no  cheap  or  mean  employment,  and  in  the 

'  Cp.  supra,  vi.  781  B;  Arist.  Pol.  i.  13,  §§  15,  i6.  ^  Supra,  799  C. 


i88 


The  business  of  our  citizens  luill  be 


Laius  VII. 

Athenian, 

Clf.inias, 

Megillus. 


The  Spar- 
tan type 
falls  sliort 
of  the 
Sauro- 
matid. 


Our  citizens 
are  not  to 
live  like 
cattle  ;  they 
have  a 
work  to  do. 


duty  of  serving  and  taking  care  of  the  household  and  bring- 
ing up  children,  in  which  they  will  observe  a  sort  of  mean, 
not  participating  in  the  toils  of  war ;  and  if  there  were  any 
necessity  that  they  should  fight  for  their  city  and  families, 
unlike  the  Amazons,  they  would  be  unable  to  take  part  in 
archery  or  any  other  skilled  use  of  missiles,  nor  could  the}', 
after  the  example  of  the  Goddess,  carry  shield  or  spear, 
or  stand  up  nobly  for  their  country  when  it  was  being 
destroyed,  and  strike  terror  into  their  enemies,  if  only 
because  they  were  seen  in  regular  order  ?  Living  as  they 
do,  they  would  never  dare  at  all  to  imitate  the  Sauro- 
matides,  who,  when  compared  with  ordinary  women,  would 
appear  to  be  like  men.  Let  him  who  will,  praise  your 
legislators,  but  I  must  say  what  I  think.  The  legislator 
ought  to  be  whole  and  perfect,  and  not  half  a  man  only;  he 
ought  not  to  let  the  female  sex  live  softly  and  waste  money 
and  have  no  order  of  life,  while  he  takes  the  utmost  care  of 
the  male  sex,  and  leaves  half  of  life  only  blest  with  happi- 
ness, when  he  might  have  made  the  whole  state  happy. 

Meg.  What  shall  we  do,  Cleinias?  Shall  we  allow  a 
stranger  to  run  down  Sparta  in  this  fashion  ? 

Clc.  Yes ;  for  as  we  have  given  him  liberty  of  speech  we 
must  let  him  go  on  until  we  have  perfected  the  work  of 
legislation. 

Meg.  Very  true. 

Ath.  Then  now  I  may  proceed  ? 

Cle.  By  all  means. 

Ath.  What  will  be  the  manner  of  life  among  men  who  may 
be  supposed  to  have  their  food  and  clothing  provided  for  them 
in  moderation,  and  who  have  entrusted  the  practice  of  the 
arts  to  others,  and  whose  husbandry  committed  to  slaves 
paying  a  part  of  the  produce,  brings  them  a  return  sufficient 
for  men  living  temperately;  who,  moreover,  have  common 
tables  in  which  the  men  are  placed  apart,  and  near  them  are 
the  common  tables  of  their  families,  of  their  daughters  and 
mothers,  which  day  by  day,  the  officers,  male  and  female,  are 
to  inspect — they  shall  see  to  the  behaviour  of  the  company, 
and  so  dismiss  them  ;  after  which  the  presiding  magistrate  and 
his  attendants  shall  honour  with  libations  those  Gods  to  whom  807 
that  day  and  night  are  dedicated,  and  then  go  home  ?  To 


the  piirstiit  of  bodily  and  mental  excellence. 


189 


men  whose  lives  are  thus  ordered,  is  there  no  work  remaining  Lmvs  VII. 

to  be  done  which  is  necessary  and  fitting,  but  shall  each  one  Athenian. 
of  them  live  fattening  like  a  beast?    Such  a  life  is  neither 
just  nor  honourable,  nor  can  he  who  lives  it  fail  of  meeting 
his  due ;  and  the  due  reward  of  the  idle  fatted  beast  is  that 
he  should  be  torn  in  pieces  by  some  other  valiant  beast  whose 

fatness  is  worn  down  by  brave  deeds  and  toil.    These  regu-  The  perfect 

lations,  if  we  duly  consider  them,  will  never  be  exactly  carried  ^eTeTby"^^ 

into  execution  under  present  circumstances,  nor  as  long  as  men  who 

women  and  children  and  houses  and  all  other  things  are  the  ^^""^ 

.  .  things  in 

private  property  of  individuals ;  but  if  we  can  attain  the  common, 

second-best  form  of  polity,  we  shall  be  very  well  off.    And  to  Yet  even 

men  living  under  this  second  polity  there  remains  a  work  to  jg  private 

be  accomplished  which  is  far  from  being  small  or  insignificant,  property, 

but  is  the  greatest  of  all  works,  and  ordained  by  the  appoint-  ordetiifg 

ment  of  righteous  law.    For  the  life  which  may  be  truly  said  of  home 

to  be  concerned  with  the  virtue  of  body  and  soul  is  twice,  or  '''^^  * 

_     '        more  ar- 

more  than  twice,  as  full  of  toil  and  trouble  as  the  pursuit  after  duous  task 
Pythian  and  Olympic  victories  \  which  debars  a  man  from 

r  ^^  r  purSUit 

every  employment  of  life,     ror  there  ought  to  be  no  bye-  ofoiym- 
work  interfering  with  the  greater  work  of  providing  the  P'^"  vic- 
necessary  exercise  and  nourishment  for  the  body,  and  in- 
struction  and  education  for  the  soul.    Night  and  day  are  not 
long  enough  for  the  accomplishment  of  their  perfection  and 
consummation  ;  and  therefore  to  this  end  all  freemen  ought 
to  arrange  the  way  in  which  they  will  spend  their  time  during 
the  whole  course  of  the  day,  from  morning  till  evening  and 
from  evening  till  the  morning  of  the  next  sunrise.    There  The  duty 
may  seem  to  be  some  impropriety  in  the  legislator  determining  °gg^^^'^'^^''' 
minutely  the  numberless  details  of  the  management  of  the 
house,  including  such  particulars  as  the  duty  of  wakefulness 
in  those  who  are  to  be  perpetual  watchmen  of  the  whole  city ; 
for  that  any  citizen  should  continue  during  the  whole  of  any  The  citizens 
808  night  in  sleep,  instead  of  being  seen  by  all  his  servants,  ^"^ 

.  ^  D  J  I  Wives 

always  the  first  to  awake  and  get  up— this,  whether  the  should  rise 
regulation  is  to  be  called  a  law  or  only  a  practice,  should  be  ^^^^y- 
deemed  base  and  unworthy  of  a  freeman ;  also  that  the 
mistress  of  the  house  should  be  awakened  by  her  hand- 
maidens instead  of  herself  first  awakening  them,  is  what  the 

'  Cp.  Rep.  V.  465  D,  466  A. 


1 90  Nature  of  the  school-boy. 

Laws  VII.  slaves,  male  and  female,  and  the  serving-boys,  and,  if  that 
Athenian.  wcre  possible,  everybody  and  everything  in  the  house  should 
regard  as  base.  If  they  rise  early,  they  may  all  of  them  do 
much  of  their  public  and  of  their  household  business,  as 
magistrates  in  the  city,  and  masters  and  mistresses  in  their 
private  houses,  before  the  sun  is  up.  Much  sleep  is  not 
required  by  nature,  either  for  our  souls  or  bodies,  or  for  the 
actions  which  they  perform.  For  no  one  who  is  asleep  is 
good  for  anything,  any  more  than  if  he  were  dead  ;  but  he  of 
us  who  has  the  most  regard  for  life  and  reason  keeps  awake 
as  long  as  he  can,  reserving  onl}'  so  much  time  for  sleep  as  is 
expedient  for  health  ;  and  much  sleep  is  not  required,  if  the 
habit  of  moderation  be  once  rightly  formed.  Magistrates  in 
states  who  keep  awake  at  night  are  terrible  to  the  bad, 
whether  enemies  or  citizens,  and  are  honoured  and  reverenced 
by  the  just  and  temperate,  and  are  useful  to  themselves  and 
to  the  whole  state. 

A  night  which  is  passed  in  such  a  manner,  in  addition  to 
all  the  above-mentioned  advantages,  infuses  a  sort  of  courage 
At  day-       into  the  minds  of  the  citizens.    When  the  day  breaks,  the 
break  the     ^.j^^^  ^^^^  arrived  for  youth  to  go  to  their  schoolmasters.  Now 

boy  IS  to  be  j  o 

taken  to  neither  sheep  nor  any  other  animals  can  live  without  a  shep- 
school.  herd,  nor  can  children  be  left  without  tutors,  or  slaves  without 
o/that^'""^^  masters.  And  of  all  animals  the  boy  is  the  most  unmanage- 
animal.  able,  inasmuch  as  he  has  the  fountain  of  reason  in  him  not 
yet  regulated';  he  is  the  most  insidious,  sharp-witted,  and 
insubordinate  of  animals.  Wherefore  he  must  be  bound  with 
manj'  bridles ;  in  the  first  place,  when  he  gets  away  from 
mothers  and  nurses,  he  must  be  under  the  management  of 
tutors  on  account  of  his  childishness  and  foolishness ;  then, 
again,  being  a  freeman,  he  must  be  controlled  by  teachers,  no 
matter  what  they  teach,  and  by  studies ;  but  he  is  also  a  slave, 
and  in  that  regard  any  freeman  who  comes  in  his  way  may 
punish  him  and  his  tutor  and  his  instructor,  if  any  of  them 
does  anything  wrong;  and  he  who  comes  across  him  and 
does  not  inflict  upon  him  the  punishment  which  he  deserves,  809 
shall  incur  the  greatest  disgrace  ;  and  let  the  guardian  of  the 
law,  who  is  the  director  of  education,  see  to  him  who  coming 
in  the  way  of  the  offences  which  we  have  mentioned,  does 

'  Cp.  supra,  vi.  766  A. 


Insh'iictions  for  the  Director  of  Edtication. 


191 


not  chastise  them  when  he  ought,  or  chastises  them  in  a  way  Laws  VII. 
which  he  ought  not ;  let  him  keep  a  sharp  look-out,  and  take  Athenian. 
especial  care  of  the  training  of  our  children,  directing  their 
natures,  and  always  turning  them  to  good  according  to  the 
law. 

But  how  can  our  law  sufficiently  train  the  director  of  edu-  The  Di- 
cation  himself ;  for  as  yet  all  has  been  imperfect,  and  nothing  2^^°^^^^]^^^ 
has  been  said  either  clear  or  satisfactory?  Now,  as  far  as  is  to  pro- 
possible,  the  law  ought  to  leave  nothing  to  him,  but  to  explain  ^^^^j^^' 
everything,  that  he  may  be  an  interpreter  and  tutor  to  others,  fixed  rules. 
About  dances  and  music  and  choral  strains,  I  have  already 
spoken  both  as  to  the  character  of  the  selection  of  them,  and 
the  manner  in  which  they  are  to  be  amended  and  consecrated. 
But  we  have  not  as  yet  spoken,  O  illustrious  guardian  of 
education,  of  the  manner  in  which  your  pupils  are  to  use 
those  strains  which  are  written  in  prose,  although  you  have 
been  informed  what  martial  strains  they  are  to  learn  and 
practise ;  what  relates  in  the  first  place  to  the  learning  of 
letters,  and  secondly,  to  the  lyre,  and  also  to  calculation, 
which,  as  we  were  saying^  is  needful  for  them  all  to  learn, 
and  any  other  things  which  are  required  with  a  view  to  war 
and  the  management  of  house  and  city,  and,  looking  to  the 
same  object,  what  is  useful  in  the  revolutions  of  the  heavenly 
bodies — the  stars  and  sun  and  moon,  and  the  various  regula- 
tions about  these  matters  which  are  necessary  for  the  whole 
state — I  am  speaking  of  the  arrangements  of  days  in  periods 
of  months,  and  of  months  in  years,  which  are  to  be  observed, 
in  order  that  seasons  and  sacrifices  and  festivals  may  have  their 
regular  and  natural  order,  and  keep  the  city  alive  and  awake, 
the  Gods  receiving  the  honours  due  to  them,  and  men  having 
a  better  understanding  about  them^ :  all  these  things,  O  my 
friend,  have  not  yet  been  sufficiently  declared  to  you  by  the 
legislator.  Attend,  then,  to  what  I  am  now  going  to  say  : — 
We  were  telling  you,  in  the  first  place,  that  you  were  not 
sufficiently  informed  about  letters,  and  the  objection  was  to 
this  effect, — that  you  were  never  told  whether  he  who  was 
meant  to  be  a  respectable  citizen  should  apply  himself  in 
detail  to  that  sort  of  learning,  or  not  apply  himself  at  all ; 
and  the  same  remark  holds  good  of  the  study  of  the  lyre. 

'  Cp.  stifira,  V.  747.  ^  Cp.  infra,  viii.  828. 


192 


The  study  of  prose  tvriters. 


Laws  VII.  But  now  we  say  that  he  ought  to  attend  to  them.    A  fair 

Athenian,     time  for  a  boy  of  ten  years  old  to  spend  in  letters  is  three  810 

Cleinias.      years  ;  the  age  of  thirteen  is  the  proper  time  for  him  to  begin 

Three  years  to  handle  the  lyre,  and  he  may  continue  at  this  for  another 

(10-13)  to  1 

be  spent  in  three  years,  neither  more  nor  less,  and  whether  his  father  or 

learning  to  himself  like  or  dislike  the  study,  he  is  not  to  be  allowed  to 

read  and  ....  •     i         i     i  i, 

write :        Spend  more  or  less  time  in  learning  music  than  the  law  allows, 
another       And  let  him  who  disobeys  the  law  be  deprived  of  those 
in'^learaing   youthful  honours  of  which  we  shall  hereafter  speak'.  Hear, 
music.        however,  first  of  all,  what  the  young  ought  to  learn  in  the 
early  years  of  life,  and  what  their  instructors  ought  to  teach 
them.    They  ought  to  be  occupied  with  their  letters  until  they 
are  able  to  read  and  write ;  but  the  acquisition  of  perfect 
beauty  or  quickness  in  writing,  if  nature  has  not  stimulated 
them  to  acquire  these  accomplishments  in  the  given  number 
Dangerous   of  years,  they  should  let  alone.    And  as  to  the  learning  of 
many  prose  compositions  Committed  to  writing  which  are  not  set  to  the 
writings.      lyre,  whether  metrical  or  without  rhythmical  divisions,  com- 
positions in  prose,  as  they  are  termed,  having  no  rhythm  or 
harmony — seeing  how  dangerous  are  the  writings  handed 
down  to  us  by  many  writers  of  this  class — what  will  you  do 
with  them,  O  most  excellent  guardians  of  the  law?  or  how 
can  the  lawgiver  rightly  direct  you  about  them  ?    I  believe 
that  he  will  be  in  great  difficulty. 

Clc.  What  troubles  you,  Stranger?  and  why  are  you  so 
perplexed  in  your  mind  ? 

Ath.  You  naturally  ask,  Cleinias,  and  to  you  and  Megillus, 
who  are  my  partners  in  the  work  of  legislation,  I  must  state 
the  more  difficult  as  well  as  the  easier  parts  of  the  task. 
Cle.  To  what  do  you  refer  in  this  instance  ? 
Ath.  I  will  tell  you.     There  is  a  difficulty  in  opposing 
many  myriads  of  mouths. 

Cle.  Well,  and  have  we  not  already  opposed  the  popular 
voice  in  many  important  enactments  ? 

Aih.  That  is  quite  true ;  and  you  mean  to  imply  that  the 
road  which  we  are  taking  may  be  disagreeable  to  some  but  is 
agreeable  to  as  many  others,  or  if  not  to  as  many,  at  any  rate 
to  persons  not  inferior  to  the  others,  and  in  company  with 
them  you  bid  me,  at  whatever  risk,  to  proceed  along  the  path  of 

'  Cp.  infra,  viii.  829  C. 


What  shall  ou7'  youth  commit  to  memory  ? 


193 


legislation  which  has  opened  out  of  our  present  discourse,  Laius  VII. 
and  to  be  of  good  cheer,  and  not  to  faint.  Athenian, 

Cle.  Certainly.  Cle.nias. 

Ath.  And  I  do  not  faint;  I  say,  indeed,  that  we  have  a  Practice  of 
great  many  poets  writing  in  hexameter,  trimeter,  and  all  sorts  pQgj""^y 
of  measures— some  who  are  serious,  others  who  aim  only  at  heart, 
raising  a  laugh — and  all  mankind  declare  that  the  youth  who 
are  rightly  educated  should  be  brought  up  in  them  and 
saturated  with  them ;  some  insist  that  they  should  be  con- 
Si  i  stantly  hearing  them  read  aloud,  and  always  learning  them, 
so  as  to  get  by  heart  entire  poets  ;  while  others  select  choice 
passages  and  long  speeches,  and  make  compendiums  of  them, 
saying  that  these  ought  to  be  committed  to  memory,  if  a  man 
is  to  be  made  good  and  wise  by  experience  and  learning  of 
many  things.    And  you  want  me  now  to  tell  them  plainl}''  in 
what  they  are  right  and  in  what  they  are  wrong. 

Cle.  Yes,  I  do. 

Ath.  But  how  can  I  in  one  word  rightly  comprehend  all  We  should 
of  them  ?    I  am  of  opinion,  and,  if  I  am  not  mistaken,  there 


is  a  general  agreement,  that  every  one  of  these  poets  has  selection 
said  many  things  well  and  many  things  the  reverse  of  well  ;  ^"^'^"^  ^ 
and  if  this  be  true,  then  I  do  affirm  that  much  learning  is 
dangerous  to  youth. 

Cle.  How  would  you  advise  the  guardian  of  the  law  to 
act? 

Ath.  In  what  respect  ? 

Cle.  I  mean  to  what  pattern  should  he  look  as  his  guide  in 
permitting  the  young  to  learn  some  things  and  forbidding 
them  to  learn  others.    Do  not  shrink  from  answering. 

Ath.  My  good  Cleinias,  I  rather  think  that  I  am  fortunate. 

Cle.  How  so  ? 

Ath.  I  think  that  I  am  not  wholly  in  want  of  a  pattern,  for  ' 
when  I  consider  the  words  which  we  have  spoken  from  early 
dawn  until  now,  and  which,  as  I  believe,  have  been  inspired  by 
Heaven,  they  appear  to  me  to  be  quite  like  a  poem.  When  I 
reflected  upon  all  these  words  of  ours,  I  naturally  felt  pleasure, 
for  of  all  the  discourses  which  I  have  ever  learnt  or  heard, 
either  in  poetry  or  prose,  this  seemed  to  me  to  be  the  justest, 
and  most  suitable  for  young  men  to  hear  ;  I  cannot  imagine 
any  better  pattern  than  this  which  the  guardian  of  the  law 

VOL.  v.  o 


194 


This  discourse  of  lazu  the  true  pattern. 


Laws  VII. 

Athenian, 
Cleinias. 

The  Di- 
rector of 
Education 
shall  au- 
thorize the 
teachers  to 
instruct 
their  pupils 
in  our  laws 
and  in 
works  of 
a  similar 
character. 


The  teach- 
ing of  the 
lyre. 


who  is  also  the  director  of  education  can  have.  He  cannot 
do  better  than  advise  the  teachers  to  teach  the  young  these 
words  and  any  which  are  of  a  Hke  nature,  if  he  should 
happen  to  find  them,  either  in  poetry  or  prose,  or  if  he  come 
across  unwritten  discourses  akin  to  ours,  he  should  certainly 
preserve  them,  and  commit  them  to  writing.  And,  first  of 
all,  he  shall  constrain  the  teachers  themselves  to  learn  and 
approve  them,  and  any  of  them  who  will  not,  shall  not  be 
employed  by  him,  but  those  whom  he  finds  agreeing  in  his 
judgment,  he  shall  make  use  of  and  shall  commit  to  them  the 
instruction  and  education  of  youth.  And  here  and  on  this  8i 
wise  let  my  fanciful  tale  about  letters  and  teachers  of  letters 
come  to  an  end. 

Cle.  I  do  not  think.  Stranger,  that  we  have  wandered  out  of 
the  proposed  limits  of  the  argument ;  but  whether  we  are 
right  or  not  in  our  whole  conception,  I  cannot  be  very 
certain. 

Atlt.  The  truth,  Cleinias,  may  be  expected  to  become 
clearer  when,  as  we  have  often  said,  we  arrive  at  the  end 
of  the  whole  discussion  about  laws. 

Cle.  Yes. 

Ath.  And  now  that  we  have  done  with  the  teacher  of 
letters,  the  teacher  of  the  lyre  has  to  receive  orders  from  us. 
Cle.  Certainly. 

Aili.  I  think  that  we  have  only  to  recollect  our  previous 
discussions,  and  we  shall  be  able  to  give  suitable  regulations 
touching  all  this  part  of  instruction  and  education  to  the 
teachers  of  the  lyre. 

Cle.  To  what  do  you  refer  ? 

Ath.  We  were  saying,  if  I  remember  rightly,  that  the  sixty 
years  old  choristers  of  Dionysus  were  to  be  specially  quick  in 
their  perceptions  of  rhythm  and  musical  composition,  that 
they  might  be  able  to  distinguish  good  and  bad  imitation, 
that  is  to  say,  the  imitation  of  the  good  or  bad  soul  when 
under  the  influence  of  passion,  rejecting  the  one  and  dis- 
playing the  other  in  hymns  and  songs,  charming  the  souls  of 
youth,  and  inviting  them  to  follow  and  attain  virtue  by  the 
way  of  imitation'. 

Cle.  Very  true. 

'  Cp.  supra,  ii.  664  foil. 


ShnpLicity  in  Music. 


195 


Ath.  And  with  this  view  the  teacher  and  the  learner  ought  Laws  VII. 

to  use  the  sounds  of  the  lyre,  because  its  notes  are  pure,  the  Athenian, 

player  who  teaches  and  his  pupil  rendering  note  for  note  in  ^'-^"'"^s. 
unison  ;  but  complexity,  and  variation  of  notes,  when  the 
strings  give  one  sound  and  the  poet  or  composer  of  the 

melody  gives  another,— also  when  they  make  concords  and  Variety  and 

harmonies  in  which  lesser  and  greater  intervals,  slow  and  complexity 

°         ,  .  of  notes  and 

quick,  or  high  and  low  notes,  are  combined, — or,  again,  when  rhythms  to 
they  make  complex  variations  of  rhythms,  which  they  adapt  avoided, 
to  the  notes  of  the  lyre\ — all  that  sort  of  thing  is  not  suited 
to  those  who  have  to  acquire  a  speedy  and  useful  knowledge 
of  music  in  three  years  ;  for  opposite  principles  are  con- 
fusing, and  create  a  difficulty  in  learning,  and  our  young 
men  should  learn  quickly,  and  their  mere  necessary  acquire- 
ments are  not  few  or  trifling,  as  will  be  shown  in  due  course. 
Let  the  director  of  education  attend  to  the  principles  con- 
cerning music  which  we  are  laying  down.  As  to  the  songs 
and  words  themselves  which  the  masters  of  choruses  are  to 
teach  and  the  character  of  them,  they  have  been  already 
5i3  described  by  us,  and  are  the  same  which,  when  consecrated 
and  adapted  to  the  different  festivals,  we  said  were  to  benefit 
cities  by  affording  them  an  innocent  amusement  ^ 
Cle.  That,  again,  is  true. 

Ath.  Then  let  him  who  has  been  elected  a  director  of 
music  ^  receive  these  rules  from  us  as  containing  the  very 
truth ;  and  may  he  prosper  in  his  office  !  Let  us  now  pro-  The  teach- 
ceed  to  lay  down  other  rules  in  addition  to  the  preceding  ^^^^^^ 
about  dancing  and  gymnastic  exercise  in  general.  Having 
said  what  remained  to  be  said  about  the  teaching  of  music, 
let  us  speak  in  like  manner  about  gymnastic.  For  boys  and 
girls  ought  to  learn  to  dance  and  practise  gymnastic  exer- 
cises— ought  they  not  ? 

Cle.  Yes. 

Ath,  Then  the  boys  ought  to  have  dancing  masters,  and 
the  girls  dancing  mistresses  to  exercise  them. 
Cle.  Very  good. 

Ath.  Then  once  more  let  us  summon  him  who  has  the 
chief  concern  in  the  business,  the  superintendent  of  youth 

'  Cp.  Rep.  iii.  397.  2  Cp  supra,  799. 

^  Cp.  supra,  vi.  764  C. 

O  2 


196 


Military  gymnastics. 


Laws  VII. 
Athenian, 

Cl.EINlAS. 


Gymnas- 
tics (under 
which, 
besides 
dancing, 
all  military 
exercises 
are  in- 
cluded) 
are  to  be 
learned  by 
women  as 
well  as  by 
men. 


Women, 
like  birds, 
should  be 
willing  to 
fight  for 
their  young. 


[i.  e.  the  director  of  education] ;  he  will  have  plenty  to  do,  if 
he  is  to  have  the  charge  of  music  and  gymnastic. 

Cle.  But  how  will  an  old  man  be  able  to  attend  to  such 
great  charges  ? 

Ath.  O  my  friend,  there  will  be  no  difficulty,  for  the  law 
has  already  given  and  will  give  him  permission  to  select  as 
his  assistants  in  this  charge  any  citizens,  male  or  female, 
whom  he  desires ;  and  he  will  know  whom  he  ought  to 
choose,  and  will  be  anxious  not  to  make  a  mistake,  from 
a  due  sense  of  responsibility,  and  from  a  consciousness  of 
the  importance  of  his  office,  and  also  because  he  will  consider 
that  if  young  men  have  been  and  are  well  brought  up, 
then  all  things  go  swimmingly,  but  if  not,  it  is  not  meet 
to  say,  nor  do  we  say,  what  will  follow,  lest  the  regarders  of 
omens  should  take  alarm  about  our  infant  state.  Many  things 
have  been  said  by  us  about  dancing  and  about  gymnastic 
movements  in  general ;  for  we  include  under  gymnastics  all 
military  exercises,  such  as  archery,  and  all  hurling  of  weapons, 
and  the  use  of  the  light  shield,  and  all  fighting  with  heavy 
arms,  and  military  evolutions,  and  movements  of  armies, 
and  encampings,  and  all  that  relates  to  horsemanship.  Of 
all  these  things  there  ought  to  be  public  teachers,  receiving 
pay  from  the  state,  and  their  pupils  should  be  the  men 
and  bo3's  in  the  state,  and  also  the  girls  and  women,  who 
are  to  know  all  these  things.  While  they  are  yet  girls  they 
should  have  practised  dancing  in  arms  and  the  whole  art  of 
fighting— when  grown-up  women,  they  should  apply  them-  814 
selves  to  evolutions  and  tactics,  and  the  mode  of  grounding 
and  taking  up  arms  ;  if  for  no  other  reason,  yet  in  case  the 
whole  military  force  should  have  to  leave  the  city  and  carry 
on  operations  of  war  outside,  that  those  who  will  have  to  guard 
the  young  and  the  rest  of  the  city  may  be  equal  to  the  task  ; 
and,  on  the  other  hand,  when  enemies,  whether  barbarian  or 
Hellenic,  come  from  without  with  mighty  force  and  make  a 
violent  assault  upon  them,  and  thus  compel  them  to  fight  for 
the  possession  of  the  city,  which  is  far  from  being  an  im- 
possibility, great  would  be  the  disgrace  to  the  state,  if  the 
women  had  been  so  miserably  trained  that  they  could  not 
fight  for  their  young,  as  birds  will,  against  any  creature 
however  strong,  and  die  or  undergo  any  danger,  but  must 


The  dance  of  tvar  and  the  dance  of  peace. 


197 


most  akin 
to  the  mili- 


instantly  rush  to  the  temples  and  crowd  at  the  altars  and  Laws  VII. 
shrines,  and  bring  upon  human  nature  the  reproach,  that  Athenian, 
of  all  animals  man  is  the  most  cowardly  !  Cleinias. 

Cle.  Such  a  want  of  education.  Stranger,  is  certainly  an 
unseemly  thing  to  happen  in  a  state,  as  well  as  a  great 
misfortune. 

Atli.  Suppose  that  we  carry  our  law  to  the  extent  of 
saying  that  women  ought  not  to  neglect  military  matters, 
but  that  all  citizens,  male  and  female  alike,  shall  attend  to 
them  ? 

Clc.  I  quite  agree. 

Ath'.  Of  wrestling  we  have  spoken  in  part,  but  of  what 
I  should  call  the  most  important  part  we  have  not  spoken, 
and  cannot  easily  speak  without  showing  at  the  same  time  by 
gesture  as  well  as  in  word  what  we  mean ;  when  word  and  Wrestling 
action  combine,  and  not  till  then,  we  shall  explain  clearly 
what  has  been  said,  pointing  out  that  of  all  movements  taryart 
wrestling  is  most  akin  to  the  military  art,  and  is  to  be 
pursued  for  the  sake  of  this,  and  not  this  for  the  sake  of 
wrestling. 

Cle.  Excellent. 

Ath.  Enough  of  wrestling;  we  will  now  proceed  to  speak  Two  forms 
of  other  movements  of  the  body.    Such  motion  may  be  in 

•'  ■  dance,  a 

general  called  dancing,  and  is  of  two  kinds  :  one  of  nobler  noble  and 

figures,  imitating  the  honourable,  the  other  of  the  more  oVthe"^^^" 

ignoble  figures,  imitating  the  mean ;   and   of  both  these  former 

there  are  two  further  subdivisions.     Of  the  serious,  one  there  are 

kind  is  of  those  engaged  in  war  and  vehement  action,  and  kfnds:— ° 
is  the  exercise  of  a  noble  person  and  a  manly  heart ;  the 
other  exhibits  a  temperate  soul  in  the  enjoyment  of  pros- 
perity and  modest  pleasures,  and  may  be  truly  called  and 

815  is  the  dance  of  peace.    The  warrior  dance  is  different  from  (i)thePyr- 

the  peaceful  one,  and  may  be  rightly  termed  Pyrrhic;  this  [^'|^tatr"g^' 

imitates  the  modes  of  avoiding  blows  and  missiles  by  drop-  the  postures 

ping  or  giving  way,  or  springing  aside,  or  rising  up  or  falling  "l^^'^g*^^ 

down ;  also  the  opposite  postures  which  are  those  of  action,  fence ; 
as,  for  example,  the  imitation  of  archery  and  the  hurling  of 
javelins,  and  of  all  sorts  of  blows.   And  when  the  imitation  is 
of  brave  bodies  and  souls,  and  the  action  is  direct  and  mus- 
cular, giving  for  the  most  part  a  straight  movement  to  the 


198 


The  significance  of  gesture. 


Laws  VII. 

Athenian. 

(2)  the 
dance  of 
peace, 
Emmeleia, 
easy  and 
graceful. 

The  Bac- 
chic dance 
condemned. 


The  peace- 
ful dance 
may  express 
increase  of 
good  or 
escape  from 
evil  : 


and  has 
more  or 
less  of 
motion,  as 
tlie  plea- 
sure is 
greater 
or  less. 


limbs  of  the  body — that,  I  say,  is  the  true  sort;  but  the 
opposite  is  not  right.  In  the  dance  of  peace  what  we  have  to 
consider  is  whether  a  man  bears  himseh'  naturally  and  grace- 
fully, and  after  the  manner  of  men  who  duly  conform  to  the 
law.  But  before  proceeding  I  must  distinguish  the  dancing 
about  which  there  is  any  doubt,  from  that  about  which  there 
is  no  doubt.  Which  is  the  doubtful  kind,  and  how  are  the  two 
to  be  distinguished  ?  There  are  dances  of  the  Bacchic  sort, 
both  those  in  which,  as  they  say,  they  imitate  drunken 
men,  and  which  are  named  after  the  N3'mphs,  and  Pan,  and 
Silenuses,  and  Satyrs  ;  and  also  those  in  which  purifications 
are  made  or  mj'steries  celebrated, — all  this  soi-t  of  dancing 
cannot  be  rightly  defined  as  having  either  a  peaceful  or  a  war- 
like character,  or  indeed  as  having  any  meaning  whatever, 
and  may,  I  think,  be  most  truly  described  as  distinct  from 
the  warlike  dance,  and  distinct  from  the  peaceful,  and  not 
suited  for  a  cit}'  at  all.  There  let  it  lie ;  and  so  leaving  it  to 
lie,  we  will  proceed  to  the  dances  of  war  and  peace,  for 
with  these  we  are  undoubtedly  concerned.  Now  the  unwar- 
like  muse,  which  honours  in  dance  the  Gods  and  the  sons 
of  the  Gods,  is  entirely  associated  with  the  consciousness  of 
prosperity;  this  class  maybe  subdivided  into  two  lesserclasses, 
of  which  one  is  expressive  of  an  escape  from  some  labour  or 
danger  into  good,  and  has  greater  pleasures,  the  other  ex-  • 
pressive  of  preservation  and  increase  of  former  good,  in 
which  the  pleasure  is  less  exciting ; — in  all  these  cases,  every 
man  when  the  pleasure  is  greater,  moves  his  body  more, 
and  less  when  the  pleasure  is  less ;  and,  again,  if  he  be  more 
orderly  and  has  learned  courage  from  discipline  he  moves 
less,  but  if  he  be  a  coward,  and  has  no  training  or  self-  816 
control,  he  makes  greater  and  more  violent  movements,  and 
in  general  when  he  is  speaking  or  singing  he  is  not  altogether 
able  to  keep  his  body  still ;  and  so  out  of  the  imitation  of  ' 
words  in  gestures  the  whole  art  of  dancing  has  arisen.  And  in 
these  various  kinds  of  imitation  one  man  moves  in  an  orderly, 
another  in  a  disorderly  manner ;  and  as  the  ancients  may  be 
observed  to  have  given  many  names  which  are  according  to 
nature  and  deserving  of  praise,  so  there  is  an  excellent  one 
which  they  have  given  to  the  dances  of  men  who  in  tlieir 
times  of  prosperity  are  moderate  in  their  pleasures — the  giver 


Regulations  about  Comedy. 


199 


of  names,  whoever  he  was,  assigned  to  them  a  very  true,  and  Laws  VII. 
poetical,  and  rational  name,  when  he  called  them  Emmeleiai,  Athenian. 
or  dances  of  order,  thus  establishing  two  kinds  of  dances  of 
the  nobler  sort,  the  dance  of  war  which  he  called  the  Pyrrhic, 
and  the  dance  of  peace  which  he  called  Emmeleia,  or  the 
dance  of  order;  giving  to  each  their  appropriate  and  be- 
coming name  ^  These  things  the  legislator  should  indicate  in 
general  outline,  and  the  guardian  of  the  law  should  enquire 
into  them  and  search  them  out,  combining  dancing  with 
music,  and  assigning  to  the  several  sacrificial  feasts  that 
which  is  suitable  to  them  ;  and  when  he  has  consecrated  all 
of  them  in  due  order,  he  shall  for  the  future  change  nothing, 
whether  of  dance  or  song.  Thenceforward  the  city  and  the 
citizens  shall  continue  to  have  the  same  pleasures,  them- 
selves being  as  far  as  possible  alike,  and  shall  live  well  and 
happily. 

I  have  described  the  dances  which  are  appropriate  to  noble  Laughable 
bodies  and  generous  souls.    But  it  is  necessary  also  to  con-  ''""^^ 

°  •'  be  iinder- 

sider  and  know  uncomely  persons  and  thoughts,  and  those  stood  by 
which  are  intended  to  produce  laughter  in  comedy,  and  have  citizens 
a  comic  character  in  respect  of  style,  song,  and  dance,  and  of  serious,  but 
the  imitations  which  these  afford.    For  serious  things  cannot  "ot  to  be 
be  understood  without  laughable  things,  nor  opposites  at  all  Ihem'^*^ 
without  opposites,  if  a  man  is  really  to  have  intelligence  of 
either  ;  but  he  cannot  carry  out  both  in  actipn,  if  he  is  to  have 
any  degree  of  virtue.    And  for  this  very  reason  he  should 
learn  them  both,  in  order  that  he  may  not  in  ignorance  do  or 
say  anything  which  is  ridiculous  and  out  of  place — he  should  Comedies 
command  slaves  and  hired  strangers  to  imitate  such  thiners,  '°  p*^""' 

1.111  1  •         •  -1         .  •       formed  only 

but  he  should  never  take  any  serious  interest  in  them  him-  by  slaves 
self,  nor  should  any  freeman  or  freewoman  be  discovered  ^"^ 

.  .  lings. 

taking  pains  to  learn  them ;  and  there  should  always  be 
some  element  of  novelty  in  the  imitation.  Let  these  then 
be  laid  down,  both  in  law  and  in  our  discourse,  as  the  regu- 
817  lations  of  laughable  amusements  which  are  generally  called 
comedy.  And,  if  any  of  the  serious  poets,  as  they  are  termed, 
who  write  tragedy,  come  to  us  and  say — '  O  strangers,  may 
we  go  to  your  city  and  country  or  may  we  not,  and  shall  we 
bring  with  us  our  poetry — what  is  your  will  about  these 

'  Cp.  Crat.  388  E  foil. 


200 


The  three  sttcdies  suitable  to  freemen. 


Laws  VII. 

Athenian, 
Cleinias. 

The  serious 
poet  too  is 
required  to 
conform  to 
our  models. 


Three  sub- 
jects of 
education 
remain  : 

(1)  Arith- 
metic ; 

(2)  Geo- 
metry ; 

(3)  Astro- 
nomy. 

Of  all  three 
there  is  a 
scientific 
knowledge 
for  the 
few  ;  a 
popular 


matters  ?  ' — how  shall  we  answer  the  divine  men  ?  I  think 
that  our  answer  should  be  as  follows —Best  of  strangers, 
we  will  say  to  them,  we  also  according  to  our  ability  are 
tragic  poets,  and  our  tragedy  is  the  best  and  noblest;  for 
our  whole  state  is  an  imitation  of  the  best  and  noblest  life, 
which  we  affirm  to  be  indeed  the  very  truth  of  tragedy.  You 
are  poets  and  we  are  poets,  both  makers  of  the  same  strains, 
rivals  and  antagonists  in  the  noblest  of  dramas,  which  true 
law  can  alone  perfect,  as  our  hope  is.  Do  not  then  sup- 
pose that  we  shall  all  in  a  moment  allow  you  to  erect  your 
stage  in  the  agora,  or  introduce  the  fair  voices  of  your  actors, 
speaking  above  our  own,  and  permit  you  to  harangue  our 
women  and  children,  and  the  common  people,  about  our 
institutions,  in  language  other  than  our  own,  and  very  often 
the  opposite  of  our  own.  For  a  state  would  be  mad  which 
gave  you  this  licence,  until  the  magistrates  had  determined 
whether  your  poetry  might  be  recited,  and  was  fit  for  pub- 
lication or  not.  Wherefore,  O  ye  sons  and  scions  of  the 
softer  Muses,  first  of  all  show  your  songs  to  the  magistrates, 
and  let  them  compare  them  with  our  own,  and  if  they  are  the 
same  or  better  we  will  give  you  a  chorus  ;  but  if  not,  then,  my 
friends,  we  cannot.  Let  these,  then,  be  the  customs  ordained 
by  law  about  all  dances  and  the  teaching  of  them,  and  let 
matters  relating  to  slaves  be  separated  from  those  relating  to 
masters,  if  you  do  not  object. 

Cle.  We  can  have  no  hesitation  in  assenting  when  you  put 
the  matter  thus. 

Atli.  There  still  remain  three  studies  suitable  for  freemen. 
Arithmetic  is  one  of  them ;  the  measurement  of  length,  sur- 
face, and  depth  is  the  second  ;  and  the  third  has  to  do  with 
the  revolutions  of  the  stars  in  relation  to  one  another.  Not 
every  one  has  need  to  toil  through  all  these  things  in  a  strictly  81 
scientific  manner,  but  only  a  few,  and  who  they  are  to  be 
we  will  hereafter  indicate  at  the  end,  which  will  be  the 
proper  place'';  not  to  know  what  is  necessary  for  mankind  in 
general,  and  what  is  the  truth,  is  disgraceful  to  everyone  :  and 
yet  to  enter  into  these  matters  minutely  is  neither  easy,  nor 
at  all  possible  for  every  one ;  but  there  is  something  in  them 
which  is  necessary  and  cannot  be  set  aside,  and  probably  he 
'  Cp.  Rep.  iii.  398  A  ;  x.  607  A.  '  Cp.  infra,  xii.  967. 


'The  little  matter  of  one,  tivo,  three!  201 


who  made  the  proverb  about  God  originally  had  this  in  view  Laws  VII. 

when  he  said,  that  '  not  even  God  himself  can  fight  against  Athenian, 

necessity;' — he  meant,  if  I  am  not  mistaken,  divine  neces-  Cleinias. 

sitv:  for  as  to  the  human  necessities  of  which  the  many  knowledge 

for  the 

speak,  when  they  talk  m  this  manner,  nothing  can  be  more  many, 
ridiculous  than  such  an  application  of  the  words. 

Cle.  And  what  necessities  of  knowledge  are  there.  Stranger, 
which  are  divine  and  not  human  ? 

Ath.  I  conceive  them  to  be  those  of  which  he  who  has  no  (i)  in  arith- 
use  nor  any  knowledge  at  all  cannot  be  a  God,  or  demi-god,  l^^^'^iy^^r 
or  hero  to  mankind,  or  able  to  take  any  serious  thought  or  necessity; 
charge  of  them.    And  very  unlike  a  divine  man  would  he  be, 
who  is  unable  to  count  one,  two,  three,  or  to  distinguish  odd 
and  even  numbers or  is  unable  to  count  at  all,  or  reckon 
night  and  day,  and  who  is  totally  unacquainted  with  the 
revolution  of  the  sun  and  moon,  and  the  other  stars.  There 
would  be  great  folly  in  supposing  that  all  these  are  not  and  it  is  a 
necessary  parts  of  knowledge  to  him  who  intends  to  know  "^^^f^sary 

.  ,  .  „  ,  „  preliminary 

anything  about  the  highest  kinds  of  knowledge  ;  but  which  to  the 
these  are,  and  how  many  there  are  of  them,  and  when  they  j^js^er  ^ 
are  to  be  learned,  and  what  is  to  be  learned  together  and  knowledge, 
what  apart,  and  the  whole  correlation  of  them,  must  be 
rightly  apprehended  first ;  and  these  leading  the  way  we 
may  proceed  to  the  other  parts  of  knowledge.    For  so  neces- 
sit}'^. grounded  in  nature  constrains  us,  against  which  we  say 
that  no  God  contends,  or  ever  will  contend. 

Cle.  I  think,  Stranger,  that  what  you  have  now  said  is  very 
true  and  agreeable  to  nature. 

Ath.  Yes,  Cleinias,  that  is  so.  But  it  is  difficult  for  the 
legislator  to  begin  with  these  studies ;  at  a  more  convenient 
time  we  will  make  regulations  for  them. 

Cle.  You  seem.  Stranger,  to  be  afraid  of  our  habitual 
ignorance  of  the  subject :  there  is  no  reason  why  that  should 
819  prevent  you  from  speaking  out. 

Ath.  I  certainly  am  afraid  of  the  difficulties  to  which  you  Cleverness 
allude,  but  I  am  still  more  afraid  of  those  who  apply  them-  ''i-directed 

*  ^  often  more 

selves  to  this  sort  of  knowledge,  and  apply  themselves  badly,  fatal  than 
For  entire  ignorance  is  not  so  terrible  or  extreme  an  evil,  'gnorance. 
and  is  far  from  being  the  greatest  of  all ;  too  much  cleverness 
■  Cp.  Rep.  vii.  522.  ^  Cp.  ibid.  523,  524,  525,  &c. 


202 


'  Swinish  '  ignorance  of  the  Hellenes. 


Laws  VII. 

Athenian, 
Cleinias. 

Arith- 
metical 
games  prac- 
tised by  tVie 
Egyptians 
and  tlieir 
uses. 


(2)  Geo- 
metry. 


Illustra- 
tions of  the 
ignorance 
of  the  Hel- 
lenes : 
(a)  Their 
mistaken 
notion  that 
various  di- 
mensions 
are  com- 
mensurable. 


and  too  much  learning,  accompanied  with  an  ill  bringing  up, 
are  far  more  fatal  \ 
Cle.  True. 

Ath.  All  freemen.  I  conceive,  should  learn  as  much  of  these 
branches  of  knowledge  as  eyery  child  in  Egypt  is  taught  when 
he  learns  the  alphabet.  In  that  country  arithmetical  games 
have  been  invented  for  the  use  of  mere  children,  which  they 
learn  as  a  pleasure  and  amusement.  They  have  to  distribute 
apples  and  garlands,  using  the  same  number  sometimes  for 
a  larger  and  sometimes  for  a  lesser  number  of  persons  ;  and 
they  arrange  pugilists  and  wrestlers  as  they  pair  together  by 
lot  or  remain  over,  and  show  how  their  turns  come  in  natural 
order.  Another  mode  of  amusing  them  is  to  distribute  vessels, 
sometimes  of  gold,  brass,  silver,  and  the  like,  intermixed  with 
one  another,  sometimes  of  one  metal  only;  as  I  was  saying 
they  adapt  to  their  amusement  the  numbers  in  common  use, 
and  in  this  way  make  more  intelligible  to  their  pupils  the 
arrangements  and  movements  of  armies  and  expeditions,  and 
in  the  management  of  a  household  they  make  people  more 
useful  to  themselves,  and  more  wide  awake  ;  and  again  in 
measurements  of  things  which  have  length,  and  breadth,  and 
depth,  they  free  us  from  that  natural  ignorance  of  all  these 
things  which  is  so  ludicrous  and  disgraceful 

Oe.  What  kind  of  ignorance  do  you  mean  ? 

Aih.  O  my  dear  Cleinias,  I,  like  yourself,  have  late  in  life 
heard  with  amazement  of  our  ignorance  in  these  matters;  to 
me  we  appear  to  be  more  like  pigs  than  men,  and  I  am  quite 
ashamed,  not  only  of  myself,  but  of  all  Hellenes. 

Clc.  About  what  ?    Say,  Stranger,  what  you  mean. 

Ath.  I  will;  or  rather  I  will  show  you  my  meaning  by 
a  question,  and  do  you  please  to  answer  me :  You  know, 
I  suppose,  what  length  is? 

Cle.  Certainly. 

Ath.  And  what  breadth  is? 

Clc.  To  be  sure. 

Ath.  And  you  know  that  these  are  two  distinct  things, 
and  that  there  is  a  third  thing  called  depth  ? 
Cle.  Of  course. 


Cp.  Rep.  vii.  519. 


Cp.  ibid.  52S. 


Mathematical  puzzles  better  than  a  game  of  dra  iLghts . 


203 


Ath.  And  do  not  all  these  seem  to  you  to  be  commen-  Laws  VII. 

SUrable  with  themselves  ?  Athenian, 


Cle.  Yes, 

Ath.  That  is  to  say,  length  is  naturally  commensurable 


Cleinias. 


with  length,  and  breadth  with  breadth,  and  depth  in  like 
820  manner  with  depth  ? 
Cle.  Undoubtedly. 

Ath.  But  if  some  things  are  commensurable  and  others 
wholly  incommensurable,  and  you  think  that  all  things 
are  commensurable,  what  is  your  position  in  regard  to 
them  ? 

Cle.  Clearly,  far  from  good. 

Ath.  Concerning  length  and  breadth  when  compared  with 
depth,  or  breadth  and  length  when  compared  with  one  an- 
other, are  not  all  the  Hellenes  agreed  that  these  are  com- 
mensurable with  one  another  in  some  way? 

Cle.  Quite  true. 

Ath.  But  if  they  are  absolutely  incommensurable,  and  yet 
all  of  us  regard  them  as  commensurable,  have  we  not  reason 
to  be  ashamed  of  our  compatriots ;  and  might  we  not  say  to 
them  : — O  ye  best  of  Hellenes,  is  not  this  one  of  the  things  of 
which  we  were  saying  that  not  to  know  them  is  disgraceful, 
and  of  which  to  have  a  bare  knowledge  only  is  no  great 
distinction  ? 

Cle.  Certainly. 

Ath.  And  there  are  other  things  akin  to  these,  in  which 
there  spring  up  other  errors  of  the  same  family, 
Cle.  What  are  they? 

Aih.  The  natures  of  commensurable  and  incommensurable  (b)  Their  in- 
quantities  in  their  relation  to  one  another.    A  man  who  is  ^j^gjl^g^^^j^ 
good  for  anything  ought  to  be  able,  when  he  thinks,  to  dis-  between  the 
tinguish  them;  and  different  persons  should  compete  with  commen- 

.        .         .  .  .  ,  •  1  ,  r  surable  and 

one  another  in  asking  questions,  which  will  be  a  far  better  the  incom- 
and  more  graceful  way  of  passing  their  time  than  the  old  mensurable, 
man's  game  of  draughts. 

Cle.  I  dare  say;  and  these  pastimes  are  not  so  very  unlike 
a  game  of  draughts. 

Ath.  And  these,  as  I  maintain,  Cleinias,  are  the  studies 
which  our  youth  ought  to  learn,  for  they  are  innocent  and 
not  difficult ;  the  learning  of  them  will  be  an  amusement, 


204 


The  sttLcly  of  astronomy  to  be  adtivated 


Laws  VII. 

Athenian, 
Cleinias. 


(3)  Astro- 
nomy. 


inquiries 
respecting 
the  nature 
of  God  and 
the  uni- 
verse, the 
reverse  of 
impious. 


At  present 
the  sun, 
moon,  and 
other  stars 
are  blas- 
phemously 
said  to  be 
wanderers. 


and  they  will  benefit  the  state.    If  any  one  is  of  another 
mind,  let  him  say  what  he  has  to  say. 
Cle.  Certainly, 

AlJi.  Then  if  these  studies  are  such  as  we  maintain,  we 
will  include  them  ;  if  not,  they  shall  be  excluded. 

Cle.  Assuredly :  but  may  we  not  now,  Stranger,  prescribe 
these  studies  as  necessary,  and  so  fill  up  the  lacunae  of  our 
laws  ? 

Ath.  They  shall  be  regarded  as  pledges  which  may  be 
hereafter  redeemed  and  removed  from  our  state,  if  they  do 
not  please  either  us  who  give  them,  or  you  who  accept 
them. 

Cle.  A  fair  condition. 

Ath.  Next  let  us  see  whether  we  are  or  are  not  willing 
that  the  study  of  astronomy  shall  be  proposed  for  our 
youth '. 

Cle.  Proceed. 

Ath.  Here  occurs  a  strange  phenomenon,  which  certainly 
cannot  in  any  point  of  view  be  tolerated. 

Cle.  To  what  are  you  referring  ?  g 
Ath.  Men  say  that  we  ought  not  to  enquire  into  the 
supreme  God  and  the  nature  of  the  universe,  nor  busy  our- 
selves in  searching  out  the  causes  of  things,  and  that  such 
enquiries  are  impious ;  whereas  the  very  opposite  is  the 
truth. 

Cle.  What  do  you  mean  ? 

Ath.  Perhaps  what  I  am  saying  may  seem  paradoxical, 
and  at  variance  with  the  usual  language  of  age.  But  when 
any  one  has  any  good  and  true  notion  which  is  for  the 
advantage  of  the  state  and  in  every  way  acceptable  to  God, 
he  cannot  abstain  from  expressing  it. 

Cle'.  Your  words  are  reasonable  enough ;  but  shall  we 
find  any  good  or  true  notion  about  the  stars  ? 

Aih.  My  good  friends,  at  this  hour  all  of  us  Hellenes  tell 
lies,  if  I  may  use  such  an  expression,  about  those  great 
Gods,  the  Sun  and  the  Moon. 

Cle.  Lies  of  what  nature  ? 

Aih.  We  say  that  they  and  divers  other  stars  do  not  keep 
the  same  path,  and  we  call  them  planets  or  wanderers. 
'  Cp.  Rep.  vii.  527  foil. 


as  a  safegiiard  against  blasphemy. 


205 


Cle.  Very  true,  Stranger;  and  in  the  course  of  my  life  Laivs  Vll. 
I  have  often  myself  seen  the  morning  star  and  the  evening  Athenian, 
star  and  divers  others  not  moving  in  their  accustomed  course, 
but  wandering  out  of  their  path  in  all  manner  of  ways,  and 
I  have  seen  the  sun  and  moon  doing  what  we  all  know  that 
they  do. 

Ath.  Just  so,  Megillus  and  Cleinias ;  and  I  maintain  that 
our  citizens  and  our  youth  ought  to  learn  about  the  nature 
of  the  Gods  in  heaven,  so  far  as  to  be  able  to  offer  sacrifices 
and  pray  to  them  in  pious  language,  and  not  to  blaspheme 
about  them. 

Cle.  There  you  are  right,  if  such  a  knowledge  be  only 
attainable ;  and  if  we  are  wrong  in  our  mode  of  speaking 
now,  and  can  be  better  instructed  and  learn  to  use  better 
language,  then  I  quite  agree  with  you  that  such  a  degree 
of  knowledge  as  will  enable  us  to  speak  rightly  should  be 
acquired  by  us.  And  now  do  you  try  to  explain  to  us  your 
whole  meaning,  and  we,  on  our  part,  will  endeavour  to 
understand  you. 

Ath.  There  is  some  difficulty  in  understanding  my  mean- 
ing, but  not  a  very  great  one,  nor  will  any  great  length  of 
time  be  required.  And  of  this  I  am  myself  a  proof;  for  I  did 
not  know  these  things  long  ago,  nor  in  the  days  of  my  youth, 
and  yet  I  can  explain  them  to  you  in  a  brief  space  of  time ; 
whereas  if  they  had  been  difficult  I  could  certainly  never 
have  explained  them  all,  old  as  I  am,  to  old  men  like  your- 
selves. 

Cle.  True ;  but  what  is  this  study  which  you  describe  as 
822  wonderful  and  fitting  for  youth  to  learn,  but  of  which  we 
are  ignorant  ?    Try  and  explain  the  nature  of  it  to  us  as 
clearly  as  you  can. 

Ath.  I  will.    For,  O  my  good  friends,  that  other  doctrine  All  the  stars 
about  the  wandering  of  the  sun  and  the  moon  and  the  other  move  m  a 

°  circle ;  their 

stars  IS  not  the  truth,  but  the  very  reverse  of  the  truth,  wanderings 
Each  of  them  moves  in  the  same  path — not  in  many  paths,  ^'"^ 

,       .  .  i         '  apparent. 

but  m  one  only,  which  is  circular,  and  the  varieties  are  only 
apparent.  Nor  are  we  right  in  supposing  that  the  swiftest  of 
them  is  the  slowest,  nor  conversely,  that  the  slowest  is  the 
quickest.  And  if  what  I  say  is  true,  only  just  imagine  that 
we  had  a  similar  notion  about  horses  running  at  Olympia,  or 


206 


The  good  cihzen  mo7'e  than  a  mere  obse7'ver  of  the  law. 


Laws  VII. 

Athenian, 
Cleinias. 


Hunting. 


The  highest 
honour  to 
be  given  to 
him  who 
not  only 
obeys  the 
laws,  but 
earns  the 
praise  of 
the  legis- 
lator. 


about  men  who  ran  in  the  long  course,  and  that  we  addressed 
the  swiftest  as  the  slowest  and  the  slowest  as  the  swiftest,  and 
sang  the  praises  of  the  vanquished  as  though  he  were  the 
victor, — in  that  case  our  praises  would  not  be  true,  nor  very 
agreeable  to  the  runners,  though  they  be  but  men ;  and  now, 
to  commit  the  same  error  about  the  Gods  which  would  have 
been  ludicrous  and  erroneous  in  the  case  of  men, — is  not 
that  ludicrous  and  erroneous? 

Cle.  Worse  than  ludicrous,  I  should  say. 

Ath.  At  all  events,  the  Gods  cannot  like  us  to  be  spreading 
a  false  report  of  them. 

Cle.  Most  true,  if  such  is  the  fact. 

Ath.  And  if  we  can  show  that  such  is  really  the  fact,  then 
all  these  matters  ought  to  be  learned  so  far  as  is  necessary 
for  the  avoidance  of  impiety;  but  if  we  cannot,  they  may  be 
let  alone,  and  let  this  be  our  decision. 

Cle.  Very  good. 

Ath.  Enough  of  laws  relating  to  education  and  learning. 
But  hunting  and  similar  pursuits  in  like  manner  claim  our 
attention.  For  the  legislator  appears  to  have  a  duty  im- 
posed upon  him  which  goes  beyond  mere  legislation.  There 
is  something  over  and  above  law  which  lies  in  a  region 
between  admonition  and  law,  and  has  several  times  occurred 
to  us  in  the  course  of  discussion ;  for  example,  in  the  educa- 
tion of  very  young  children  there  were  things,  as  we  maintain, 
which  are  not  to  be  defined,  and  to  regard  them  as  matters  of 
positive  law  is  a  great  absurdity.  Now,  our  laws  and  the 
whole  constitution  of  our  state  having  been  thus  delineated, 
the  praise  of  the  virtuous  citizen  is  not  complete  when  he  is 
described  as  the  person  who  serves  the  laws  best  and  obeys 
them  most,  but  the  higher  form  of  praise  is  that  which 
describes  him  as  the  good  citizen  who  passes  through  life  823 
undefiled  and  is  obedient  to  the  words  of  the  legislator,  both 
when  he  is  giving  laws  and  when  he  assigns  praise  and 
blame.  This  is  the  truest  word  that  can  be  spoken  in  praise 
of  a  citizen  ;  and  the  true  legislator  ought  not  only  to  write 
his  laws,  but  also  to  interweave  with  them  all  such  things  as 
seem  to  him  honourable  and  dishonourable.  And  the  per- 
fect citizen  ought  to  seek  to  strengthen  these  no  less  than 
the  principles  of  law  which  are  sanctioned  by  punishments. 


A  specimen  of  adinonition  and  legislation.  207 

I  will  adduce  an  example  which  will  clear  up  my  meaning,  Laws  Vll. 
and  will  be  a  sort  of  witness  to  my  words.  Hunting  is  of  Athenian. 
wide  extent,  and  has  a  name  under  which  many  things  are 
included,  for  there  is  a  hunting  of  creatures  in  the  water,  and 
of  creatures  in  the  air,  and  there  is  a  great  deal  of  hunting 
of  land  animals  of  all  kinds,  and  not  of  wild  beasts  only.  The 
hunting  after  man  is  also  worthy  of  consideration ;  there  is 
the  hunting  after  him  in  war,  and  there  is  often  a  hunting 
after  him  in  the  way  of  friendship,  which  is  praised  and  also 
blamed ;  and  there  is  thieving,  and  the  hunting  which  is 
practised  by  robbers,  and  that  of  armies  against  armies. 
Now  the  legislator,  in  laying  down  laws  about  hunting,  can 
neither  abstain  from  noting  these  things,  nor  can  he  make 
threatening  ordinances  which  will  assign  rules  and  penalties 
about  all  of  them.  What  is  he  to  do  ?  He  will  have  to 
praise  and  blame  hunting  with  a  view  to  the  exercise  and 
pursuits  of  youth.  And,  on  the  other  hand,  the  young  man 
must  listen  obediently;  neither  pleasure  nor  pain  should 
hinder  him,  and  he  should  regard  as  his  standard  of  action 
the  praises  and  injunctions  of  the  legislator  rather  than  the 
punishments  which  he  imposes  by  law.  This  being  pre- 
mised, there  will  follow  next  in  order  moderate  praise  and 
censure  of  hunting ;  the  praise  being  assigned  to  that  kind 
which  will  make  the  souls  of  young  men  better,  and  the 
censure  to  that  which  has  the  opposite  effect.  And  now  let 
us  address  young  men  in  the  form  of  a  prayer  for  their 
welfare :  O  friends,  we  will  say  to  them,  may  no  desire  or  Forms  of 
love  of  hunting  in  the  sea,  or  of  angling  or  of  catching  the  hunting 

,  ,  .         r  •  t        which  are 

creatures  m  the  waters,  ever  take  possession  01  you,  either  approved, 
when  you  are  awake  or  when  you  are  asleep,  by  hook  or  disap- 
with  weels,  which  latter  is  a  very  lazy  contrivance ;  and  let  fo™bidden!'^ 
not  any  desire  of  catching  men  and  of  piracy  by  sea  enter 
into  your  souls  and  make  you  cruel  and  lawless  hunters. 
And  as  to  the  desire  of  thieving  in  town  or  country,  may 
it  never  enter  into  your  most  passing  thoughts ;  nor  let  the 
insidious  fancy  of  catching  birds,  which  is  hardly  worthy  of 
824  freemen,  come  into  the  head  of  any  youth.    There  remains 
therefore  for  our  athletes  only  the  hunting  and  catching  of 
land  animals,  of  which  the  one  sort  is  called  hunting  by 
night,  in  which  the  hunters  sleep  in  turn  and  are  lazy;  this 


208 


The  law  abotU  hunting. 


Laws  VII.  is  not  to  be  commended  any  more  than  that  which  has 
Athenian,  intervals  of  rest,  in  which  the  wild  strength  of  beasts  is 
Clf.inias.  subdued  by  nets  and  snares,  and  not  by  the  victory  of 
a  laborious  spirit.  Thus,  only  the  best  kind  of  hunting  is 
allowed  at  all — that  of  quadrupeds,  which  is  carried  on  with 
horses  and  dogs  and  men's  own  persons,  and  they  get  the 
victory  over  the  animals  by  running  them  down  and  striking 
them  and  hurling  at  them,  those  who  have  a  care  of  godlike 
manhood  taking  them  with  their  own  hands.  The  praise 
and  blame  which  is  assigned  to  all  these  things  has  now 
been  declared ;  and  let  the  law  be  as  follows  : — Let  no  one 
hinder  these  who  verily  are  sacred  hunters  from  following 
the  chase  wherever  and  whithersoever  they  will ;  but  the 
hunter  by  night,  who  trusts  to  his  nets  and  gins,  shall  not  be 
allowed  to  hunt  anywhere.  The  fowler  in  the  mountains  and 
waste  places  shall  be  permitted,  but  on  cultivated  ground  and 
on  consecrated  wilds  he  shall  not  be  permitted ;  and  any 
one  who  meets  him  may  stop  him.  As  to  the  hunter  in 
waters,  he  may  hunt  anywhere  except  in  harbours  or  sacred 
streams  or  marshes  or  pools,  provided  only  that  he  do  not 
pollute  the  water  with  poisonous  juices.  And  now  we  may 
say  that  all  our  enactments  about  education  are  complete. 
Ch.  Very  good. 


BOOK  VIII. 


828    Athenian  Stranger.  Next,  with  the  help  of  the  Delphian  LawsVlIL 

oracle,  we  have  to  institute  festivals  and  make  laws  about  Athenian, 

them,  and  to  determine  what  sacrifices  will  be  for  the  good  Cleinias. 

of  the  city,  and  to  what  Gods  they  shall  be  offered ;  but  Festivals 

when  they  shall  be  offered,  and  how  often,  may  be  partly  ficesf^'^"" 
regulated  by  us. 

Cleinias.  The  number — yes. 

Ath.  Then  we  will  first  determine  the  number ;  and  let  There  shall 

the  whole  number  be  365 — one  for  every  day, — so  that  one  g^grmces- 
magistrate  at  least  will  sacrifice  daily  to  some  God  or  demi- 
god on  behalf  of  the  city,  and  the  citizens,  and  their 
possessions.  ,  And  the  interpreters,  and  priests,  and  priest- 
esses, and  prophets  shall  meet,  and,  in  company  with  the 
guardians  of  the  law,  ordain  those  things  which  the  legislator 
of  necessity  omits  ;  and  I  may  remark  that  they  are  the  very 

persons  who  ought  to  take  note  of  what  is  omitted  ^    The  also  a 

law  will  say  that  there  are  twelve  feasts  dedicated  to  the  |^°"t'to^ 

twelve  Gods,  after  whom  the  several  tribes  are  named ;  each  of 

and  that  to  each  of  them  they  shall  sacrifice  every  month,  q^^j^J^q^^^ 

and  appoint  choruses,  and  musical  and  gymnastic  contests,  the  tribes ; 

assigning  them  so  as  to  suit  the  Gods  and  seasons  of  the  ^""^ 

vals  set 

year.  And  they  shall  have  festivals  for  women,  distinguishing  apart  for 
those  v/hich  ought  to  be  separated  from  the  men's  festivals,  women, 
and  those  which  ought  not.    Further,  they  shall  not  confuse  The  rites 
the  infernal  deities  and  their  rites  with  the  Gods  who  are  °f'h^Gods 

above  ana 

termed  heavenly  and  their  rites,  but  shall  separate  them,  of  the  Gods 
giving  to  Pluto  his  own  in  the  twelfth  month,  which  is  sacred  i^e'ow 

,  .  ,.  ...       should  be 

to  him,  according  to  the  law.    To  such  a  deity  warlike  kept  dis- 
tinct. 

'  Cp.  supra,  vi.  770,  and  Rep.  v.  458  C. 
VOL.  V.  P 


2IO 


Martial  pastimes. 


Laws  V  11  I. 

Athenian. 

The  God  of 
Death  the 
best  friend 
of  man. 


Neither 
individual 
nor  city  can 
live  happily 
if  not  per- 
fectly good. 

With  a 
view  to 
war  tliere 
sliould  be 
military 
festivals. 


The  victors 
in  these 
are  to  be 
celebrated 
by  poets 
who  have 
themselves 
done  noble 
actions. 


men  should  entertain  no  aversion,  but  they  should  honour 
him  as  being  always  the  best  friend  of  man For  the 
connexion  of  soul  and  body  is  no  way  better  than  the  dis- 
solution of  them,  as  I  am  ready  to  maintain  quite  seriously. 
Moreover,  those  who  would  regulate  these  matters  rightly 
should  consider,  that  our  city  among  existing  cities  has  no 
fellow,  either  in  respect  of  leisure  or  command  of  the 
necessaries  of  life,  and  that  like  an  individual  she  ought 
to  live  happily.  And  those  who  would  live  happily  should  ! 
in  the  first  place  do  no  wrong  to  one  another,  and  ought  not 
themselves  to  be  wronged  by  others ;  to  attain  the  first  is  not 
difficult,  but  there  is  great  difficulty  in  acquiring  the  power  of 
not  being  wronged.  No  man  can  be  perfectly  secure  against 
wrong,  unless  he  has  become  perfectly  good ;  and  cities  are 
like  individuals  in  this,  for  a  city  if  good  has  a  life  of  peace, 
but  if  evil,  a  life  of  war  within  and  without.  Wherefore  the 
citizens  ought  to  practise  war — not  in  time  of  war,  but  rather 
while  they  are  at  peace.  And  every  city  which  has  any 
sense,  should  take  the  field  at  least  for  one  day  in  every 
month,  and  for  more  if  the  magistrates  think  fit,  having  no 
regard  to  winter  cold  or  summer  heat ;  and  they  should  go 
out  cn  masse,  including  their  wives  and  their  children, 
when  the  magistrates  determine  to  lead  forth  the  whole 
people,  or  in  separate  portions  when  summoned  by  them  ; 
and  they  should  always  provide  that  there  should  be  games 
and  sacrificial  feasts,  and  they  should  have  tournaments, 
imitating  in  as  lively  a  manner  as  they  can  real  battles.  And 
they  should  distribute  prizes  of  victory  and  valour  to  the 
competitors,  passing  censures  and  encomiums  on  one  another 
according  to  the  characters  which  they  bear  in  the  contests 
and  in  their  whole  life,  honouring  him  who  seems  to  be  the 
best,  and  blaming  him  who  is  the  opposite.  And  let  poets 
celebrate  the  victors, — not  however  every  poet,  but  only  one 
who  in  the  first  place  is  not  less  than  fifty  years  of  age  ;  nor 
should  he  be  one  who,  although  he  may  have  musical  and 
poetical  gifts,  has  never  in  his  life  done  any  noble  or 
illustrious  action  ;  but  those  who  are  themselves  good  and 
also  honourable  in  the  state,  creators  of  noble  actions— let  their 
poems  be  sung,  even  though  they  be  not  very  musical.  And 

'  Cp.  Crat.  403 ;  Rep.  iii.  .^86. 


The  reflections  of  the  legislator. 


2  I  I 


let  the  judgment  of  them  rest  with  the  instructor  of  youth  ^  LawsVIII. 
and  the  other  guardians  of  the  laws,  who  shall  give  them  this  Athenian, 
privilege,  and  they  alone  shall  be  free  to  sing ;  but  the  rest  Cleinias. 
of  the  world  shall  not  have  this  liberty.    Nor  shall  any  one  All  songs 
dare  to  sing  a  song  which  has  not  been  approved  by  the  p°o^ved'^" 
judgment  of  the  guardians  of  the  laws,  not  even  if  his  by  the 
strain  be  sweeter  than  the  songs  of  Thamyras  and  Orpheus  ;  ^j^e'kw 
but  only  such  poems  as  have   been  judged  sacred  and 
dedicated  to  the  Gods,  and  such  as  are  the  works  of  good 
men,  in  which  praise  or  blame  has  been  awarded  and  which 
have  been  deemed  to  fulfil  their  design  fairly. 

The  regulations  about  war,  and  about  liberty  of  speech  in 
poetry,  ought  to  apply  equally  to  men  and  women.  The  legis- 
lator may  be  supposed  to  argue  the  question  in  his  own  mind  : 
— Who  are  my  citizens  for  whom  I  have  set  in  order  the 
830  city?  Are  they  not  competitors  in  the  greatest  of  all  contests^,  Our  citizens 
and  have  they  not  innumerable  rivals  ?    To  be  sure,  will  be 

_    _  '  petitors  m 

the  natural  reply.  Well,  but  if  we  were  training  boxers,  or  the  greatest 
pancratiasts,  or  any  other  sort  of  athletes,  would  they  never 
meet  until  the  hour  of  contest  arrived ;  and  should  we  do  enter  it 
nothing  to  prepare  ourselves  previously  by  daily  practice  ?  well-pre- 
Surely,  if  we  were  boxers,  we  should  have  been  learning  to 
fight  for  many  days  before,  and  exercising  ourselves  in 
imitating  all  those  blows  and  wards  which  we  were  in- 
tending to  use  in  the  hour  of  conflict ;  and  in  order  that  we 
might  come  as  near  to  reality  as  possible,  instead  of  cestuses 
we  should  put  on  boxing-gloves,  that  the  blows  and  the  wards 
might  be  practised  by  us  to  the  utmost  of  our  power.  And 
if  there  were  a  lack  of  competitors,  the  ridicule  of  fools  would 
not  deter  us  from  hanging  up  a  lifeless  image  and  practising 
at  that.  Or  if  we  had  no  adversary  at  all,  animate  or  inani- 
mate, should  we  not  venture  in  the  dearth  of  antagonists  to 
spar  by  ourselves  ?  In  what  other  manner  could  we  ever 
study  the  art  of  self-defence? 

Cle.  The  way  which  you  mention,  Stranger,  would  be  the 
only  way. 

Ath.  And  shall  the  warriors  of  our  city,  who  are  destined 
when  occasion  calls  to  enter  the  greatest  of  all  contests,  and 
to  fight  for  their  lives,  and  their  children,  and  their  property, 

'  i.  e.  the  director  of  education.  ^  Cp.  Rep.  iii.  403  E. 

P  2 


2  I  2 


Mimic  contests. 


LaxvsVJIL 

Athenian, 
Cleinias. 

Gymnastics 
and  military 
drill  to  be 
practised 
continually. 


One  of  the 
reasons 
(t)  why 
martial 
dances  and 
contests  are 
neglected 
is  the  love 
of  money. 


and  the  whole  city,  be  worse  prepared  than  boxers?  And 
will  the  legislator,  because  he  is  afraid  that  their  practising 
with  one  another  may  appear  to  some  ridiculous,  abstain 
from  commanding  them  to  go  out  and  fight ;  will  he  not 
ordain  that  soldiers  shall  perform  lesser  exercises  without 
arms  every  day,  making  dancing  and  all  gymnastic  tend  to 
this  end ;  and  also  will  he  not  require  that  they  shall  practise 
some  gymnastic  exercises,  greater  as  well  as  lesser,  as  often 
as  every  month  ;  and  that  they  shall  have  contests  one  with 
another  in  every  part  of  the  country,  seizing  upon  posts  and 
lying  in  ambush,  and  imitating  in  every  respect  the  reality  of 
war;  fighting  with  boxing-gloves  and  hurling  javelins,  and 
using  weapons  somewhat  dangerous,  and  as  nearly  as  possible 
like  the  true  ones,  in  order  that  the  sport  may  not  be  alto- 
gether without  fear,  but  may  have  terrors  and  to  a  certain 
degree  show  the  man  who  has  and  who  has  not  courage ;  and  831 
that  the  honour  and  dishonour  which  are  assigned  to  them 
respectively,  may  prepare  the  whole  city  for  the  true  conflict 
of  life  ?  If  any  one  dies  in  these  mimic  contests,  the  homicide 
is  involuntary',  and  we  will  make  the  slayer,  when  he  has 
been  purified  according  to  law,  to  be  pure  of  blood,  con- 
sidering that  if  a  few  men  should  die,  others  as  good  as 
they  will  be  born ;  but  that  if  fear  is  dead,  then  the  citizens 
will  never  find  a  test  of  superior  and  inferior  natures, 
which  is  a  far  greater  evil  to  the  state  than  the  loss  of  a 
few. 

Cle.  We  are  quite  agreed,  Stranger,  that  we  should  legis- 
late about  such  things,  and  that  the  whole  state  should 
practise  them. 

Ath.  And  what  is  the  reason  that  dances  and  contests 
of  this  sort  hardly  ever  exist  in  states,  at  least  not  to  any 
extent  worth  speaking  of?  Is  this  due  to  the  ignorance 
of  mankind  and  their  legislators  ? 

Cle.  Perhaps. 

Ath.  Certainly  not,  sweet  Cleinias ;  there  are  two  causes, 
which  are  quite  enough  to  account  for  the  deficiency. 
Cle.  What  are  they? 

Ath.  One  cause  is  the  love  of  wealth,  which  wholly  absorbs 
men,  and  never  /or  a  moment  allows  them  to  think  of  any- 
thing but  their  own  private  possessions  ;  on  this  the  soul  of 


The  cazises  of  the  neglect  of  military  training. 


213 


ever}'  citizen  hangs  suspended,  and  can  attend  to  nothing  LawsVIlI. 
but  his  daily  gain;  mankind  are  ready  to  learn  any  branch  Athenian, 
of  Icnowledge,  and  to  follow  any  pursuit  which  tends  to  Cleinias. 
this  end,   and  they  laugh  at  every  other : — that  is  one 
reason  why  a  city  will  not  be  in  earnest  about  such  contests 
or  any  other  good  and  honourable  pursuit.    But  from  an 
insatiable  love  of  gold  and  silver,  every  man  will  stoop  to 
any  art  or  contrivance,  seemly  or  unseemly,  in  the  hope  of 
becoming  rich  ;  and  will  make  no  objection  to  performing 
any  action,  holy,  or  unholy  and  utterly  base,  if  only  like  a 
beast  he  have  the  power  of  eating  and  drinking  all  kinds  of 
things,  and  procuring  for  himself  in  every  sort  of  way  the 
gratification  of  his  lusts. 
Cle.  True. 

Ath.  Let  this,  then,  be  deemed  one  of  the  causes  which  The  orderly 
prevent  states  from  pursuing  in  an  efficient  manner  the  art  of  ^^.^^^^^ 
war,  or  any  other  noble  aim,  but  makes  the  orderly  and  the  valiant 
temperate  part  of  mankind  into  merchants,  and  captains  of  robbers, 
ships,  and  servants,  and  converts  the  valiant  sort  into  thieves 
and  burglars,  and  robbers  of  temples,  and  violent,  tyrannical 
832  persons  ;  many  of  whom  are  not  without  ability,  but  they  are  The  latter 
unfortunate'.  have  often 

consider- 

Cle.  What  do  you  mean  ?  able  natural 

Ath.  Must  not  they  be  truly  unfortunate  whose  souls  are  S'fts. 

compelled  to  pass  through  life  always  hungering  ? 

Cle.  Then  that  is  one  cause,  Stranger;  but  you  spoke  of 

another. 

AJh.  Thank  you  for  reminding  me. 

Cle.  The  insatiable  lifelong  love  of  wealth,  as  you  were 
saying,  is  one  cause  which  absorbs  mankind,  and  prevents 
them  from  rightly  practising  the  arts  of  war: — Granted; 
and  now  tell  me,  what  is  the  other  ? 

Ath.  Do  you  imagine  that  I  delay  because  I  am  in  a 
perplexity  ? 

Cle.  No;  but  we  think  that  you  are  too  severe  upon  the 
money-loving  temper,  of  which  you  seem  in  the  present 
discussion  to  have  a  peculiar  dislike. 

Ath.  That  is  a  very  fair  rebuke,  Cleinias ;  and  I  will  now 
proceed  to  the  second  cause. 

'  Cp.  Kep.  vi.  491  E,  495  B. 


2 1 4        The  chief  military  qualities,  swiftness  and  strength. 


LawsVIII. 

Athenian, 
Cleinias. 

(2)  Bad 
govern- 
ments are 
a  second 
cause. 


Our  state 
is  free  from 
both  these 
evils. 


Military 
gymnastics 
to  be  alone 
encour- 
aged. 


Contests  of 
swiftness. 


Clc.  Proceed. 

Ath.  I  say  that  governments  are  a  cause — democracy, 
oligarchy,  tyranny,  concerning  which  I  have  often  spoken 
in  the  previous  discourse ' ;  or  rather  governments  they  are 
not,  for  none  of  them  exercises  a  voluntary  rule  over  volun- 
tary subjects  ;  but  they  may  be  truly  called  states  of  discord, 
in  which  while  the  government  is  voluntary,  the  subjects 
always  obey  against  their  will,  and  have  to  be  coerced  ; 
and  the  ruler  fears  the  subject,  and  will  not,  if  he  can 
help,  allow  him  to  become  either  noble,  or  rich,  or  strong,  or 
valiant,  or  warlike  at  all  ^  These  two  are  the  chief  causes  of 
almost  all  evils,  and  of  the  evils  of  which  I  have  been  speak- 
ing they  are  notably  the  causes.  But  our  state  has  escaped 
both  of  them ;  for  her  citizens  have  the  greatest  leisure,  and 
they  are  not  subject  to  one  another,  and  will,  I  think,  be 
made  by  these  laws  the  reverse  of  lovers  of  money.  Such 
a  constitution  may  be  reasonably  supposed  to  be  the  only 
one  existing  which  will  accept  the  education  which  we  have 
described,  and  the  martial  pastimes  which  have  been  perfected 
according  to  our  idea. 
Cle.  True. 

Ath.  Then  next  we  must  remember,  about  all  gymnastic 
contests,  that  only  the  warlike  sort  of  them  are  to  be  prac- 
tised and  to  have  prizes  of  victory;  and  those  which  are  not 
military  are  to  be  given  up.  The  military  sort  had  better  be 
completely  described  and  established  by  law;  and  first,  let 
us  speak  of  running  and  swiftness. 

Clc.  Very  good. 

Ath.  Certainly  the  most  military  of  all  qualities  is  general 
activity  of  body,  whether  of  foot  or  hand.  For  escaping  or 
for  capturing  an  enemy,  quickness  of  foot  is  required  ;  but 
hand-to-hand  conflict  and  combat  need  vigour  and  strength. 

Cle.  Very  true. 

Ath.  Neither  of  them  can  attain  their  greatest  efficiency 
without  arms. 

Cle.  How  can  they  ? 

Ath.  Then  our  herald,  in  accordance  with  the  prevailing 
practice,  will   first  summon  the  runner ;— he  will  appear 

'  Cp.  supra,  iv.  712  E,  715  B. 
2  Cp.  Arist.  Pol.  V.  II,  §§  5, 13- 


833 


The  >7iamier  and  order  of  contests. 


215 


armed,  for  to  an  unarmed  competitor  we  will  not  give  a  prize.  LawsVlll. 
And  he  shall  enter  first  who  is  to  run  the  single  course  bear-  Athenian, 
ing  arms  ;  next,  he  who  is  to  run  the  double  course ;  third,  Cleinias. 
he  who  is  to  run  the  horse-course  ;  and  fourthly,  he  who  is  to  The  seven 
run  the  long  course  ;  the  fifth  whom  we  start,  shall  be  the  first  ^nntng'iti 
sent  forth  in  heavy  armour,  and  shall  run  a  course  of  sixty  light  or 
stadia  to  some  temple  of  Ares — and  we  will  send  forth  another,  "^^^^^ 

^  _  '  armour. 

whom  we  will  style  the  more  heavily  armed,  to  run  over 
smoother  ground.  There  remains  the  archer  ;  and  he  shall 
run  in  the  full  equipments  of  an  archer  a  distance  of  100 
stadia  over  mountains,  and  across  every  sort  of  country,  to  a 
temple  of  Apollo  and  Artemis  ;  this  shall  be  the  order  of 
the  contest,  and  we  will  wait  for  them  until  they  return,  and 
will  give  a  prize  to  the  conqueror  in  each. 
Cle,  Very  good. 

Ath,  Let  us  suppose  that  there  are  three  kinds  of  contests.  Different 
— one  of  boys,  another  of  beardless  youths,  and  a  third  of 
men.    For  the  youths  we  will  fix  the  length  of  the  contest  at  youtiis,  and 
two-thirds,  and  for  the  boys  at  half  of  the  entire  course, 
whether  they  contend  as  archers  or  as  heavy-armed.    Touch-  Women 
ing  the  women,  let  the  girls  who  are  not  grown  up  compete  ^i^^'^g^j^ 
naked  in  the  stadium  and  the  double  course,  and  the  horse-  the  con- 
course and  the  long  course,  and  let  them  run  on  the  race- 
ground  itself ;  those  who  are  thirteen  years  of  age  and 
upwards  until  their  marriage  shall  continue  to  share  in  con- 
tests if  they  are  not  more  than  twenty,  and  shall  be  compelled 
to  run  up  to  eighteen ;  and  they  shall  descend  into  the  arena 
in  suitable  dresses.     Let  these  be  the  regulations  about  • 
contests  in  running  both  for  men  and  women. 

Respecting  contests  of  strength,  instead  of  wrestling  and  Contests  of 
similar  contests  of  the  heavier  sort,  we  will  institute  conflicts  f  ^"sth. 

'  Men  and 

in  armour  of  one  against  one,  and  two  against  two,  and  so  on  women  to 
up  to  ten  against  ten.     As  to  what  a  man  ought  not  to  suffer  contend  in 

J  J  ,  .         ,  ...  .  armour. 

or  do,  and  to  what  extent,  in  order  to  gain  the  victory — as  in 
wrestling,  the  masters  of  the  art  have  laid  down  what  is  fair 
and  what  is  not  fair,  so  in  fighting  in  armour— we  ought  to 
call  in  skilful  persons,  who  shall  judge  for  us  and  be  our 
assessors  in  the  work  of  legislation  ;  they  shall  say  who 
deserves  to  be  victor  in  combats  of  this  sort,  and  what  he  is 
not  to  do  or  have  done  to  him,  and  in  like  manner  what  rule 


2l6 


Horse  races. 


LawsVJII. 

Athenian. 

The  mili- 
tary pan- 
cration. 


No  prizes 
for  chariot- 
races,  but 
only  for 
single 
horses, 


and  for 
mounted 
archers  and 
spearmen. 


determines  who  is  defeated ;  and  let  tliese  ordinances  apply  834 
to  women  until  they  are  married  as  well  as  to  men.  The 
pancration  shall  have  a  counterpart  in  a  combat  of  the  light- 
armed  ;  they  shall  contend  with  bows  and  with  light  shields 
and  with  javelins  and  in  the  throwing  of  stones  by  slings  and 
by  hand :  and  laws  shall  be  made  about  it,  and  rewards  and 
prizes  given  to  him  who  best  fulfils  the  ordinances  of  the 
law. 

Next  in  order  we  shall  have  to  legislate  about  the  horse 
contests.  Now  we  do  not  need  many  horses,  for  they 
cannot  be  of  much  use  in  a  country  iike  Crete and  hence 
we  naturally  do  not  take  great  pains  about  the  rearing  of 
them  or  about  horse  races.  There  is  no  one  who  keeps 
a  chariot  among  us,  and  any  rivalry  in  such  matters  would  be 
altogether  out  of  place  ;  there  would  be  no  sense  nor  any 
shadow  of  sense  in  instituting  contests  which  are  not  after 
the  manner  of  our  country.  And  therefore  we  give  our 
prizes  for  single  horses, — for  colts  who  have  not  yet  cast 
their  teeth,  and  for  those  who  are  intermediate,  and  for  the 
full-grown  horses  themselves  ;  and  thus  our  equestrian  games 
will  accord  with  the  nature  of  the  country.  Let  them  have 
conflict  and  rivalry  in  these  matters  in  accordance  with  the 
law,  and  let  the  colonels  and  generals  of  horse  decide  to- 
gether about  all  courses  and  about  the  armed  competitors 
in  them.  But  we  have  nothing  to  say  to  the  unarmed  either 
in  gymnastic  exercises  or  in  these  contests.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  Cretan  bowman  or  javelin-man  who  fights  in 
armour  on  horseback  is  useful,  and  therefore  we  may  as 
well  place  a  competition  of  this  sort  among  our  amusements. 
Women  are  not  to  be  forced  to  compete  by  laws  and 
ordinances  ;  but  if  from  previous  training  they  have  acquired 
the  habit  and  are  strong  enough  and  like  to  take  pai-t,  let  them 
do  so,  girls  as  well  as  bo^'S,  and  no  blame  to  them. 

Thus  the  competition  in  gymnastic  and  the  mode  of  learning 
it  have  been  described ;  and  we  have  spoken  also  of  the  toils  of 
the  contest,  and  of  daily  exercises  under  the  superintendence 
of  masters  I  Likewise,  what  relates  to  music  has  been,  for 
the  most  part,  completed.  But  as  to  rhapsodes  and  the  like, 
and  the  contests  of  choruses  which  are  to  perform  at  feasts, 

'  Cp.  supra,  i.  625  D.  ^  Omitting  iv,  a  conjecture  of  Winkelmann. 


The  loves  of  men  and  women. 


217 


all  this  shall  be  arranged  when  the  months  and  days  and  years  LawsVIll. 

have  been  appointed  for  Gods  and  demi-gods,  whether  every  Athenian, 

third  year,  or  again  every  fifth  year,  or  in  whatever  way  Cleinias. 

8^!;  or  manner  the  Gods  may  put  into  men's  minds  the  distribu-  "^^^ 

r  »      1  •  rangements 

tion  and  order  of  them.  At  the  same  time,  we  may  expect  forrecita- 
that  the  musical  contests  will  be  celebrated  in  their  turn  by  t'ons  and 
the  command  of  the  judges  and  the  director  of  education  and  ^^^^  ' 
the  guardians  of  the  law  meeting  together  for  this  purpose, 
and  themselves  becoming  legislators  of  the  times  and  nature 
and  conditions  of  the  choral  contests  and  of  dancing  in 
general.  What  they  ought  severally  to  be  in  language  and 
song,  and  in  the  admixture  of  harmony  with  rhythm  and  the 
dance,  has  been  often  declared  by  the  original  legislator;  and 
his  successors  ought  to  follow  him,  making  the  games  and 
sacrifices  duly  to  correspond  at  fitting  times,  and  appointing 
public  festivals.  It  is  not  difficult  to  determine  how  these 
and  the  like  matters  may  have  a  regular  order ;  nor,  again, 
will  the  alteration  of  them  do  any  great  good  or  harm  to  the 
state.  There  is,  however,  another  matter  of  great  import- 
ance and  difficulty,  concerning  which  God  should  legislate, 
if  there  were  any  possibility  of  obtaining  from  Him  an 
ordinance  about  it.  But  seeing  that  divine  aid  is  not  to 
be  had,  there  appears  to  be  a  need  of  some  bold  man  who 
specially  honours  plainness  of  speech,  and  will  say  outright 
what  he  thinks  best  for  the  city  and  citizens, — ordaining  what 
is  good  and  convenient  for  the  whole  state  amid  the  corrup- 
tions of  human  souls,  opposing  the  mightiest  lusts,  and 
having  no  man  his  helper  but  himself  standing  alone  and 
following  reason  only. 

Cie.  What  is  this,  Strange.r,  that  you  are  saying  ?  For 
we  do  not  as  yet  understand  your  meaning. 

Aih.  Very  likely ;  I  will  endeavour  to  explain  myself  more 
clearly.    When  I  came  to  the  subject  of  education,  I  beheld 
young  men  and  maidens  holding  friendly  intercourse  with  one 
another.    And  there  naturally  arose  in  my  mind  a  sort  of  How  can 
apprehension — I  could  not  help  thinking  how  one  is  to  deal 

.'^         ...  women 

with  a  city  in  which  youths  and  maidens  are  well  nurtured,  living  at 
and  have  nothing  to  do,  and  are  not  undergoing  the  ex-  ^^^e  be 

°  '  ,  saved  from 

cessive  and  servile  toils  which  extinguish  wantonness,  and  their  lusts? 
whose  only  cares  during  their  whole  life  are  sacrifices  and 


2l8 


UnnatiLral  love. 


Laws  VI//. 
Athenian. 


The  evil  of 

unnatural 

loves. 


Bad  ex- 
ample set 
by  Crete 
and  Lace- 
daemon, 


festivals  and  dances.  How,  in  such  a  state  as  this,  will 
they  abstain  from  desires  which  thrust  many  a  man  and 
woman  into  perdition  ;  and  from  which  reason,  assuming 
the  functions  of  law,  commands  them  to  abstain  ?  The  ordi- 
nances already  made  may  possibly  get  the  better  of  most  of 
these  desires ;  the  prohibition  of  excessive  wealth  is  a  very 
considerable  gain  in  the  direction  of  temperance,  and  the 
whole  education  of  our  youth  imposes  a  law  of  moderation 
on  them  ;  moreover,  the  eye  of  the  rulers  is  required  always 
to  watch  over  the  young,  and  never  to  lose  sight  of  them  ; 
and  these  provisions  do,  as  far  as  human  means  can  effect 
anything,  exercise  a  regulating  influence  upon  the  desires  in 
general.  But  how  can  we  take  precautions  against  the 
unnatural  loves  of  either  sex,  from  which  innumerable  evils 
have  come  upon  individuals  and  cities  ?  How  shall  we 
devise  a  remedy  and  way  of  escape  out  of  so  great  a  danger  ? 
Truly,  Cleinias,  here  is  a  difficulty.  In  many  ways  Crete 
and  Lacedaenion  furnish  a  great  help  to  those  who  make 
peculiar  laws ;  but  in  the  matter  of  love,  as  we  are  alone,  I 
must  confess  that  they  are  quite  against  us.  For  if  any  one 
following  nature  should  lay  down  the  law  which  existed 
before  the  days  of  Laius,  and  denounce  these  lusts  as  con- 
trary to  nature,  adducing  the  animals  as  a  proof  that  such 
unions  were  monstrous,  he  might  prove  his  point,  but  he 
would  be  wholly  at  variance  with  the  custom  of  your  states,. 
Further,  they  are  repugnant  to  a  principle  which  we  say  that 
a  legislator  should  always  observe ;  for  we  are  always  en- 
quiring which  of  our  enactments  tends  to  virtue  and  which 
not  ^  And  suppose  we  grant  that  these  loves  are  accounted 
by  law  to  be  honourable,  or  at  least  not  disgraceful,  in  what 
degree  will  they  contribute  to  virtue  ?  Will  such  passions 
implant  in  the  soul  of  him  who  is  seduced  the  habit  of 
courage,  or  in  the  soul  of  the  seducer  the  principle-  of 
temperance  ?  Who  will  ever  believe  this  ? — or  rather,  who 
will  not  blame  the  effeminacy  of  him  who  yields  to  pleasures 
and  is  unable  to  hold  out  against  them  ?  Will  not  all  men 
censure  as  womanly  him  who  imitates  the  woman  ?  And 
who  would  ever  think  of  establishing  such  a  practice  by  law? 
Certainly  no  one  who  had  in  his  mind  the  image  of  true  law, 
1  Cp.  iii.  693  B ;  iv.  705  E ;  vi.  770 ;       963  A. 


Three  sorts  of  love.  2 1 9 

S37  How  can  we  prove  that  what  I  am  saying  is  true  ?    He  who  La-wsVIII. 
would  rightly  consider  these  matters  must  see  the  nature  of  Athenian, 
friendship  and  desire,  and  of  these  so-called  loves,  for  they  Cleinias. 
are  of  two  kinds,  and  out  of  the  two  arises  a  third  kind, 
having  the  same  name ;  and  this  similarity  of  name  causes  all 
the  difficulty  and  obscurity. 
Cle.  How  is  that  ? 

Ath.  Dear  is  the  like  in  virtue  to  the  like,  and  the  equal 
to  the  equal  ;  dear  also,  though  unlike,  is  he  who  has 
abundance  to  him  who  is  in  want.  And  when  either  of  these 
friendships  becomes  excessive,  we  term  the  excess  love. 

Cle.  Very  true. 

Ath.  The   friendship    which   arises  from   contraries  is 
horrible  and  coarse,  and  has  often  no  tie  of  communion ; 
but  that  which  arises  from  likeness  is  gentle,  and  has  a  tie  of 
communion  which  lasts  through  life.    As  to  the  mixed  sort  There  is 
which  is  made  up  of  them  both,  there  is,  first  of  all,  a  ofth^J^o^y. 
difficulty  in  determining  what  he  who  is  possessed  by  this  (2)  a  love 
third  love  desires  ;  moreover,  he  is  drawn  different  ways,  and  °V''^ 

.     .  .        (3)  a  mixed 

is  in  doubt  between  the  two  principles ;  the  one  exhorting  sort  which 
him  to  enjoy  the  beauty  of  youth,  and  the  other  forbidding  '^j.^^^^'^^P 
him.    For  the  one  is  a  lover  of  the  body,  and  hungers  after 
beauty,  like  ripe  fruit,  and  would  fain  satisfy  himself  without 
any  regard  to  the  character  of  the  beloved  ;  the  other  holds 
the  desire  of  the  body  to  be  a  secondary  matter,  and  looking 
rather  than  loving  and  with  his  soul  desiring  the  soul  of  the 
other  in  a  becoming  manner,  regards  the  satisfaction  of  the 
bodily  love  as  wantonness ' ;  he  reverences  and  respects 
temperance  and  courage  and  magnanimity  and  wisdom,  and 
wishes  to  live  chastely  with  the  chaste  object  of  his  affection. 
Now  the  sort  of  love  which  is  made  up  of  the  other  two 
is  that  which  we  have  described  as  the  third.    Seeing  then 
that  there  are  these  three  sorts  of  love,  ought  the  law  to 
prohibit  and  forbid  them  all  to  exist  among  us?     Is  it  Weap- 
not  rather  clear  that  we  should  wish  to  have  in  the  state  the 
love  which  is  of  virtue  and  which  desires  the  beloved  youth  second, 
to  be  the  best  possible ;  and  the  other  two,  if  possible,  we 
should  hinder?    What  do  you  say,  friend  Megillus? 


'  Cp.  rhaedr.  251. 


220 


The  tmwritten  law  aboid  family  relations. 


LawsVIII. 

Athenian, 
Mrgillus. 


An  en- 
couraging 
circum- 
stance that 
the  purity 
of  the 
family  is 
perfectly 
preserved. 


The  reason 
of  this  is 
that  in- 
cestuous 
connexions 
have  ever 
been 
deemed 
infamous. 


Meg.  I  think,  Stranger,  that  you  are  perfectly  right  in 
what  you  have  been  now  saying. 

Ath.  I  knew  well,  my  friend,  that  I  should  obtain  your 
assent,  which  I  accept,  and  therefore  have  no  need  to  analyze 
your  custom  any  further.  Cleinias  shall  be  prevailed  upon 
to  give  me  his  assent  at  some  other  time.  Enough  of  this ; 
and  now  let  us  proceed  to  the  laws. 

Meg.  Very  good.  838 

Ath.  Upon  reflection  I  see  a  way  of  imposing  the  law, 
which,  in  one  respect,  is  easy,  but,  in  another,  is  of  the  utmost 
difficulty. 

Meg.  What  do  you  mean  ? 

Ath.  We  are  all  aware  that  most  men,  in  spite  of  their 
lawless  natures,  are  very  strictly  and  precisely  restrained  from 
intercourse  with  the  fair,  and  this  is  not  at  all  against  their 
will,  but  entirely  with  their  will. 

Meg.  When  do  you  mean  ? 

Ath.  When  anyone  has  a  brother  or  sister  who  is  fair; 
and  about  a  son  or  daughter  the  same  unwritten  law  holds, 
and  is  a  most  perfect  safeguard,  so  that  no  open  or  secret 
connexion  ever  takes  place  between  them.  Nor  does  the 
thought  of  such  a  thing  ever  enter  at  all  into  the  minds  of 
most  of  them. 

Meg.  Very  true. 

Ath.  Does  not  a  little  word  extinguish  all  pleasures  of  that 
sort  ? 

Meg.  What  word  ? 

Ath.  The  declaration  that  they  are  unholy,  hated  of  God, 
and  most  infamous ;  and  is  not  the  reason  of  this  that  no  one 
has  ever  said  the  opposite,  but  every  one  from  his  earliest 
childhood  has  heard  men  speaking  in  the  same  manner  about 
them  always  and  everywhere,  whether  in  comedy  or  in  the 
graver  language  of  tragedy  ?  When  the  poet  introduces  on 
the  stage  a  Thyestes  or  an  Oedipus,  or  a  Macareus  having 
secret  intercourse  with  his  sister,  he  represents  him,  when 
found  out,  ready  to  kill  himself  as  the  penalty  of  his  sin. 

Meg.  You  are  very  right  in  saying  that  tradition,  if  no 
breath  of  opposition  ever  assails  it,  has  a  marvellous  power. 

Ath.  Am  I  not  also  right  in  saying  that  the  legislator 
who  wants  to  master  any  of  the  passions  which  master  man 


The  outcry  raised  by  youth  against  restraint. 


221 


may  easily  know  how  to  subdue  them?    He  will  consecrate  LawsVIlI. 
the  tradition  of  their  evil  character  among  all,  slaves  and  Athenian, 
freemen,  women  and  children,  throughout  the  city : — that  megillus. 
will  be  the  surest  foundation  of  the  law  which  he  can 
make. 

Meg.  Yes  ;  but  will  he  ever  succeed  in  making  all  mankind 
use  the  same  language  about  them  ? 

Ath.  A  good  objection  ;  but  was  I  not  just  now  saying  that  Other  vile 
I  had  a  way  to  make  men  use  natural  love  and  abstain  from  , 

■J  _  should  be 

839  unnatural,  not  intentionally  destroying  the  seeds  of  human  prevented 

increase,  or  sowing  them  in  stony  places,  in  which  they  will  '"a similar 

I  1   1       T         1  1  11  1       •  manner, 

take  no  root ;  and  that  I  would  command  them  to  abstain  too 

from  any  female  field  of  increase  in  which  that  which  is  sown 
is  not  likely  to  grow  ?   Now  if  a  law  to  this  effect  could  only 
be  made  perpetual,  and  gain  an  authority  such  as  already 
prevents  intercourse  of  parents  and  children — such  a  law, 
extending  to  other  sensual  desires,  and  conquering  them, 
would  be  the  source  of  ten  thousand  blessings.    For,  in  the  Moderation 
first  place,  moderation  is  the  appointment  of  nature,  and  'J^  j^'^^^g 
deters  men  from  all  frenzy  and  madness  of  love,  and  from  all  appoint- 
adulteries  and  immoderate  use  of  meats  and  drinks,  and  '"^"^  °^ 
makes  them  good  friends  to  their  own  wives.    And  innumer- 
able other  benefits  would  result  if  such  a  law  could  only  be 
enforced.    I  can  imagine  some  lusty  youth  who  is  standing 
by,  and  who,  on  hearing  this  enactment,  declares  in  scurrilous 
terms  that  we  are  making  foolish  and  impossible  laws,  and 
fills  the  world  with  his  outcry.    And  therefore  I  said  that  I 
knew  a  way  of  enacting  and  perpetuating  such  a  law,  which 
was  very  easy  in  one  respect,  but  in  another  most  difficult. 
There  is  no  difficulty  in  seeing  that  such  a  law  is  possible, 
and  in  what  way;  for,  as  I  was  saying,  the  ordinance  once 
consecrated  would  master  the  soul  of  every  man,  and  terrify 
him  into  obedience.    But  matters  have  now  come  to  such  a  A  law  once 
pass  that  even  then  the  desired  result  seems  as  if  it  could  ^^^"^^^^ 

.  _  ,  would 

not  be  attained,  just  as  the  continuance  of  an  entire  state  in  master  the 
the  practice  of  common  meals  is  also  deemed  impossible. 

sucri  3,  ln.\v 

And  although  this  latter  is  partly  disproven  by  the  fact  of  can  no 
their  existence  among  you,  still  even  in  your  cities  the  longer  be 
common  meals  of  women  would  be  regarded  as  unnatural  P^^^*^" 
and  impossible.    I  was  thinking  of  the  rebelliousness  of  the 


222 


Chastity  a  virtue  not  above  human  nature. 


Laws  VIII. 

Athenian, 
Mecjillus, 
Cleinias. 


Iccus  of 
'Jarentum 
and  other 
athletes 
have  prac- 
tised entire 
continence 
to  gain  a 
prize  at 
Olympia. 


And  shall 
not  our 
citizens 
endure  that 
they  may 
win  the 
prize  of  a 
far  nobler 
victory  ? 


The  first 
law  : — 


human  heart  when  I  said  that  the  permanent  estabHshment 
of  these  things  is  very  difficult. 
Meg.  Very  true. 

Ath.  Shall  I  try  and  find  some  sort  of  persuasive  argument 
which  will  prove  to  you  that  such  enactments  are  possible, 
and  not  beyond  human  nature  ? 

Cle.  By  all  means. 

Ath.  Is  a  man  more  likely  to  abstain  from  the  pleasures  of 
love  and  to  do  what  he  is  bidden  about  them,  when  his  body 
is  in  a  good  condition,  or  when  he  is  in  an  ill  condition,  and 
out  of  training? 

Cle.  He  will  be  far  more  temperate  when  he  is  in  training. 

Ath.  And  have  we  not  heard  of  Iccus  of  Tarentum,  who, 
with  a  view  to  the  Olympic  and  other  contests,  in  his  zeal  for  840 
his  art,  and  also  because  he  was  of  a  manly  and  temperate 
disposition,  never  had  any  connexion  with  a  woman  or  a 
youth  during  the  whole  time  of  his  training  ?  And  the  same 
is  said  of  Crison  and  Astylus  and  Diopompus  and  many 
others ;  and  yet,  Cleinias,  they  were  far  worse  educated  in 
their  minds  than  your  and  my  citizens,  and  in  their  bodies 
far  more  lusty. 

Cle.  No  doubt  this  fact  has  been  often  affirmed  positively 
by  the  ancients  of  these  athletes. 

Ath.  And  had  they  the  courage  to  abstain  from  what  is 
ordinarily  deemed  a  pleasure  for  the  sake  of  a  victory  in 
wrestling,  running,  and  the  like  ;  and  shall  our  young  men  be 
incapable  of  a  similar  endurance  for  the  sake  of  a  much 
nobler  victory,  which  is  the  noblest  of  all,  as  from  their  youth 
upwards  we  will  tell  them,  charming  them,  as  we  hope,  into 
the  belief  of  this  by  tales  and  sayings  and  songs  ? 

Cle.  Of  what  victory  are  you  speaking? 

Ath.  Of  the  victory  over  pleasure,  which  if  they  win,  they 
will  live  happily ;  or  if  they  are  conquered,  the  reverse  of 
happily.  And,  further,  may  we  not  suppose  that  the  fear 
of  impiety  will  enable  them  to  master  that  which  other 
inferior  people  have  mastered? 

Cle.  I  dare  say. 

Ath.  And  since  we  have  reached  this  point  in  our  legisla- 
tion, and  have  fallen  into  a  difficulty  by  reason  of  the  vices  of 
mankind,  I  affirm  that  our  ordinance  should  simply  run  in 


The  example  of  the  animals. 


223 


the  following  terms :  Our  citizens  ought  not  to  fall  below  LawsVUI. 

the  nature  of  birds  and  beasts  in  general,  who  are  born  in  athenun, 

great  multitudes,  and  yet  remain  until  the  age  for  procrea-  Cleinias. 
tion  virgin  and  unmarried,  but  when  they  have  reached  the  ckizens 

proper  time  of  life  are  coupled,  male  and  female,  and  lovingly  be  less  in- 

pair  together,  and  live  the  rest  of  their  lives  in  holiness  and  nocentthan 

,  .  ,.       ^      ,    .    ^,    .        •  •     1  .  1  theanimals. 

mnocence,  abidmg  hrmly  m  their  original  compact: — surely, 
we  will  say  to  them,  you  should  be  better  than  the  animals. 
But  if  they  are  corrupted  by  the  other  Hellenes  and  the 
common  practice  of  barbarians,  and  they  see  with  their  eyes 
and  hear  with  their  ears  of  the  so-called  free  love  everywhere 
prevailing  among  them,  and  they  themselves  are  not  able  to 
get  the  better  of  the  temptation,  the  guardians  of  the  law, 
exercising  the  functions  of  lawgivers,  shall  devise  a  second 
law  against  them. 

Cle.  And  what  law  would  you  advise  them  to  pass  if  this 
one  failed  ? 

Ath.  Clearly,  Cleinias,  the  one  which  would   naturally  The  second 
follow.  •- 
Cle.  What  is  that  ? 

Ath.  Our  citizens  should  not  allow  pleasures  to  strengthen  Labour 
with  indulgence,  but  should  by  toil  divert  the  aliment  and 

.  divert  the 

exuberance  of  them  into  other  parts  of  the  body ;  and  this  aliment  of 
will  happen  if  no  immodesty  be  allowed  in  the  practice  of  passion  into 
love.    Then  they  will  be  ashamed  of  frequent  intercourse,  of  the  body, 
and  they  will  find  pleasure,  if  seldom  enjoyed,  to  be  a  less 
imperious  mistress.    They  should  not  be  found  out  doing 
anything  of  the  sort.    Concealment  shall  be  honourable,  and  Conceal 
sanctioned  by  custom  and  made  law  by  unwritten  prescrip- 
tion ;  on  the  other  hand,  to  be  detected  shall  be  esteemed 
dishonourable,  but  not,  to  abstain  wholly.    In  this  way  there 
will  be  a  second  legal  standard  of  honourable  and  dishonour- 
able, involving  a  second  notion  of  right.    Three  principles  Three  cor- 
will  comprehend  all  those  corrupt  natures  whom  we  call  ""ectiveprm 

.        .  '  ciples. 

inferior  to  themselves,  and  who  form  but  one  class,  and  will 
compel  them  not  to  transgress. 
Cle.  What  are  they  ? 

Ath.  The  principle  of  piety,  the  love  of  honour,  and  the 
desire  of  beauty,  not  in  the  body  but  in  the  soul.  These  are, 
perhaps,  romantic  aspirations  ;  but  the}'  are  the  noblest  of 


ment  better 
than  open 
vice. 


224 


Laws  respecting  the  intercourse  of  the  sexes. 


LawsVni. 

Athenian, 
Megillus, 
Cleinias. 

No  man 
shall  touch 
a  woman 
except  his 
wedded 
wife. 

Prohibition 
of  loves  be- 
tween man 
and  man. 


The  way  of 
providing 
food  being 
more  simple 
than  in 
otherstates, 
the  laws 
relating  to 


aspirations,  if  they  could  only  be  realized  in  all  states,  and, 
God  willing,  in  the  matter  of  love  we  may  be  able  to  enforce 
one  of  two  things — either  that  no  one  shall  venture  to  touch 
any  person  of  the  freeborn  or  noble  class  except  his  wedded 
wife,  or  sow  the  unconsecrated  and  bastard  seed  among 
harlots,  or  in  barren  and  unnatural  lusts ;  or  at  least  we  may 
abolish  altogether  the  connexion  of  men  with  men ;  and 
as  to  women,  if  any  man  has  to  do  with  any  but  those  who 
come  into  his  house  duly  married  by  sacred  rites,  whether 
they  be  bought  or  acquired  in  any  other  way,  and  he  offends 
publicly  in  the  face  of  all  mankind,  we  shall  be  right  in  enact- 
ing that  he  be  deprived  of  civic  honours  and  privileges,  and 
be  deemed  to  be,  as  he  truly  is,  a  stranger.  Let  this  law, 
then,  whether  it  is  one,  or  ought  rather  to  be  called  two,  be 
laid  down  respecting  love  in  general,  and  the  intercourse  of 
the  sexes  which  arises  out  of  the  desires,  whether  rightly  or 
wrongly  indulged. 

Meg.  I,  for  my  part.  Stranger,  would  gladly  receive  this  842 
law.    Cleinias  shall  speak  for  himself,  and  tell  you  what  is 
his  opinion. 

Ch.  I  will,  Megillus,  when  an  opportunity  offers  ;  at  pre- 
sent, I  think  that  we  had  better  allow  the  Stranger  to  proceed 
with  his  laws. 

Meg.  Very  good. 

Ath.  We  had  got  about  as  far  as  the  establishment  of  the 
common  tables,  which  in  most  places  would  be  difficult,  but 
in  Crete  no  one  would  think  of  introducing  any  other  custom. 
There  might  arise  a  question  about  the  manner  of  them — 
whether  they  shall  be  such  as  they  are  here  in  Crete,  or  such 
as  they  are  in  Lacedaemon, — or  is  there  a  third  kind  which 
may  be  better  than  either  of  them  ^  ?  The  answer  to  this 
question  might  be  easily  discovered,  but  the  discovery  would 
do  no  great  good,  for  at  present  they  are  very  well  ordered. 

Leaving  the  common  tables,  we  may  therefore  proceed  to 
the  means  of  providing  food.  Now,  in  cities  the  means  of 
life  are  gained  in  many  ways  and  from  divers  sources,  and  in 
general  from  two  sources,  whereas  our  city  has  only  one. 
For  most  of  the  Hellenes  obtain  their  food  from  sea  and 
land,  but  our  citizens  from  land  only.    And  this  makes  the 

1  Cp.  Arist.  Pol.  vii.  10,  §  10. 


The  law  about  boundaries. 


225 


task  of  the  legislator  less  difficult  —half  as  many  laws  will  be  LawsVIII. 
enough,  and  much  less  than  half;  and  they  will  be  of  a  kind  Athenian. 
better  suited  to  free  men.    For  he  has  nothing  to  do  with  this  subject 
laws  about  shipownei-s  and  merchants  and  retailers  and  inn-  will  also  be 
keepers  and  tax  collectors  and  mines  and  moneylending  and  ^1°^^ 
compound  interest  and  innumerable  other  things — bidding 
good-bye  to  these,  he  gives  laws  to  husbandmen  and  shep- 
herds and  bee-keepers,  and  to  the  guardians  and  superin- 
tendents of  their  implements  ;  and  he  has  already  legislated 
for  greater  matters,  as  for  example,  respecting  marriage  and 
the  procreation  and  nurture  of  children,  and  for  education, 
and  the  establishment  of  offices — and  now  he  must  direct  his 
laws  to  those  who  provide  food  and  labour  in  preparing  it. 

Let  us  first  of  all,  then,  have  a  class  of  laws  which  shall  be  Laws  con- 
called  the  laws  of  husbandmen.    And  let  the  first  of  them  be  husband- 
the  law  of  Zeus,  the  god  of  boundaries.    Let  no  one  shift  the  ""en  :— 
boundary  line  either  of  a  fellow-citizen  who  is  a  neighbour,  or,  bound- 

•  riiii  1  •        riiir  1      aries  not  be 

u  he  dwells  at  the  extremity  01  the  land,  of  any  stranger  who  disturbed. 
843  is  conterminous  with  him,  considering  that  this  is  truly  '  to 
move  the  immovable,'  and  every  one  should  be  more  willing 
to  move  the  largest  rock  which  is  not  a  landmark,  than  the 
least  stone  which  is  the  sworn  mark  of  friendship  and  hatred 
between  neighbours ;  for  Zeus,  the  god  of  kindred,  is  the 
witness  of  the  citizen,  and  Zeus,  the  god  of  strangers,  of  the 
stranger,  and  when  aroused,  terrible  are  the  wars  which  they 
stir  up.  He  who  obeys  the  law  will  never  know  the  fatal 
consequences  of  disobedience,  but  he  who  despises  the  law 
shall  be  liable  to  a  double  penalty,  the  first  coming  from  the 
Gods,  and  the  second  from  the  law.  For  let  no  one  wilfully 
remove  the  boundaries  of  his  neighbour's  land,  and  if  any 
one  does,  let  him  who  will  inform  the  landowners,  and  let 
them  bring  him  into  court,  and  if  he  be  convicted  of  re- 
dividing  the  land  by  stealth  or  by  force,  let  the  court  deter- 
mine what  he  ought  to  suffer  or  pay.  In  the  next  place, 
many  small  injuries  done  by  neighbours  to  one  another, 
through  their  multiplication,  may  cause  a  weight  of  enmity, 
and  make  neighbourhood  a  very  disagreeable  and  bitter 
thing.  Wherefore  a  man  ought  to  be  very  careful  of  com-  Let  no  man 
mitting  any  offence  against  his  neighbour,  and  especially  of  encroach  m 
encroaching  on  his  neighbour's  land  ;  for  any  man  may  ^"^ 

VOL.  V.  Q 


226 


Encroachment,  rights  of  zvaier. 


LawsVIII.  easily  do  harm,  but  not  every  man  can  do  good  to  another. 

Athenian.  ^^o  encroaches  On  his  neighbour's  land,  and  transgresses 

his  boundaries,  shall  make  good  the  damage,  and,  to  cure 
him  of  his  impudence  and  also  of  his  meanness,  he  shall  pay 
a  double  penalty  to  the  injured  party.  Of  these  and  the  like 
matters  the  wardens  of  the  country  shall  take  cognizance, 
and  be  the  judges  of  them  and  assessors  of  the  damage  ;  in 
the  more  important  cases,  as  has  been  already  said the 
whole  number  of  them  belonging  to  any  one  of  the  twelve 
divisions  shall  decide,  and  in  the  lesser  cases  the  com- 
manders :  or,  again,  if  any  one  pastures  his  cattle  on  his 
neighbour's  land,  they  shall  see  the  injury,  and  adjudge  the 
penalty.  And  if  any  one,  by  decoying  the  bees,  gets  pos- 
session of  another's  swarms,  and  draws  them  to  himself  by 
making  noises,  he  shall  pay  the  damage ;  or  if  any  one  sets 
fire  to  his  own  wood  and  takes  no  care  of  his  neighbour's 
property,  he  shall  be  fined  at  the  discretion  of  the  magistrates. 
And  if  in  planting  he  does  not  leave  a  fair  distance  between 
his  own  and  his  neighbour's  land,  he  shall  be  punished,  in 
accordance  with  the  enactments  of  many  lawgivers,  which  we 
may  use,  not  deeming  it  necessary  that  the  great  legislator  of  844 
our  state  should  determine  all  the  trifles  which  might  be 

The  ancient  decided  by  any  body;  for  example,  husbandmen  have  had  of 

laws  about  excellent  laws  about  waters,  and  there  is  no  reason  why 

water  quite  '  _ 

sufficient.  we  should  propose  to  divert  their  course  :  He  who  likes 
may  draw  water  from  the  fountain-head  of  the  common 
stream  on  to  his  own  land,  if  he  do  not  cut  off  the  spring 
which  clearly  belongs  to  some  other  owner ;  and  he  may 
take  the  water  in  any  direction  which  he  pleases,  except 
through  a  house  or  temple  or  sepulchre,  but  he  must  be 
careful  to  do  no  harm  beyond  the  channel.  And  if  there  be 
in  any  place  a  natural  dryness  of  the  earth,  which  keeps  in 
the  rain  from  heaven,  and  causes  a  deficiency  in  the  supply 
of  water,  let  him  dig  down  on  his  own  land  as  far  as  the  clay, 
and  if  at  this  depth  he  finds  no  water,  let  him  obtain  water 
from  his  neighbours,  as  much  as  is  required  for  his  servants' 
drinking,  and  if  his  neighbours,  too,  are  limited  in  their 
supply,  let  him  have  a  fixed  measure,  which  shall  be  deter- 
mined by  the  wardens  of  the  country.    This  he  shall  receive 

'  Cp.  mfra,  vi.  761  D,  E, 


Laivs  7'especting  the  fi'uits  of  autumn. 


227 


each  day,  and  on  these  terms  have  a  share  of  his  neighbours'  LawsVlII. 
water.  If  there  be  heavy  rain,  and  one  of  those  on  the  lower  Athenian. 
ground  injures  some  tiller  of  the  upper  ground,  or  some  one 
who  has  a  common  wall,  by  refusing  to  give  them  an  outlet 
for  water ;  or,  again,  if  some  one  living  on  the  higher  ground 
recklessly  lets  off  the  water  on  his  lower  neighbour,  and  they 
cannot  come  to  terms  with  one  another,  let  him  who  will  call 
in  a  warden  of  the  city,  if  he  be  in  the  city,  or  if  he  be  in  the 
country,  a  warden  of  the  country,  and  let  him  obtain  a  de- 
cision determining  what  each  of  them  is  to  do.  And  he  who 
will  not  abide  by  the  decision  shall  suffer  for  his  malignant 
and  morose  temper,  and  pay  a  fine  to  the  injured  party, 
equivalent  to  double  the  value  of  the  injury,  because  he  was 
H     unwilling  to  submit  to  the  magistrates. 

Now  the  participation  of  fruits  shall  be  ordered  on  this 
wise.    The  goddess  of  Autumn  has  two  gracious  gifts  :  one, 
the  joy  ^  of  Dionysus  which  is  not  treasured  up ;  the  other, 
which  nature  intends  to  be  stored.    Let  this  be  the  law,  then,  The  citizen 
concerning  the  fruits  of  autumn  :  He  who  tastes  the  common  ™^y"°' 

.  pluck  the 

or  Storing  fruits  of  autumn,  whether  grapes  or  figs,  before  the  storing 
season  of  vintage  which  coincides  with  Arcturus,  either  on  ^"y" 
his  own  land  or  on  that  of  others, — let  him  pay  fifty  drachmae,  he  may 
which  shall  be  sacred  to  Dionysus,  if  he  pluck  them  from  his  piu^k  the 
own  land  ;  and  if  from  his  neighbour's  land,  a  mina,  and  if  grapes  or 
from  any  others',  two-thirds  of  a  mina.    And  he  who  would  figs  on  his 
gather  the  '  choice '  grapes  or  the  '  choice  '  figs,  as  they  are  now 
termed,  if  he  take  them  off  his  own  land,  let  him  pluck  them 
how  and  when  he  likes ;  but  if  he  take  them  from  the  ground 
of  others  without  their  leave,  let  him  in  that  case  be  always 
punished  in  accordance  with  the  law  which  ordains  that  he 
should  not  move  what  he  has  not  laid  down^.    And  if  a  slave 
845  touches  any  fruit  of  this  sort,  without  the  consent  of  the 
owner  of  the  land,  he  shall  be  beaten  with  as  many  blows  as 
there  are  grapes  on  the  bunch,  or  figs  on  the  fig-tree.    Let  a 
metic  purchase  the  '  choice '  autumnal  fruit,  and  then,  if  he 
pleases,  he  may  gather  it ;  but  if  a  stranger  is  passing  along  a  stranger 
the  road,  and  desires  to  eat,  let  him  take  of  the  '  choice  '  grape  "1^ 

.  '  or  ofthechoice 

for  himself  and  a  single  follower  without  payment,  as  a  tribute  grape,  but 
of  hospitality.  The  law  however  forbids  strangers  from  sharing 

'  Reading  iroiSicJi'.  Cp.  xi.  913. 

Q  2 


228 


Pollution  of  water ;  rights  of  way. 


LawsVJII.  in  the  sort  which  is  not  used  for  eating  ;  and  if  any  one, 
Athenian,     whether  he  be  master  or  slave,  takes  of  them  in  ignorance, 
let  the  slave  be  beaten,  and  the  freeman  dismissed  with 
admonitions,  and  instructed  to  take  of  the  other  autumnal 
fruits  which  are  unfit  for  making  raisins  and  wine,  or  for 
Pears  and    laying  by  as  dried  figs.    As  to  pears,  and  apples,  and 
be^taken^^  pomegranates,  and  similar  fruits,  there  shall  be  no  disgrace 
secretly;      in  taking  them  secretly;  but  he  who  is  caught,  if  he  be  of  less 
but  anyone  jh^n  thirty  years  of  age,  shall  be  struck  and  beaten  off,  but 

under  thirty  j  j  o  •  i 

who  is  not  wounded  ;  and  no  freeman  shall  have  any  right  of 
caught  satisfaction  for  such  blows.  Of  these  fruits  the  stranger  may 
beaten^off  partake,  just  as  he  may  of  the  fruits  of  autumn.  And  if  an 
elder,  who  is  more  than  thirty  years  of  age,  eat  of  them  on  the 
spot,  let  him,  like  the  stranger,  be  allowed  to  partake  of  all 
such  fruits,  but  he  must  carry  away  nothing.  If,  however, 
he  will  not  obey  the  law,  let  him  run  the  risk  of  failing  in  the 
competition  of  virtue,  in  case  any  one  takes  notice  of  his 
actions  before  the  judges  at  the  time. 

Water  is  the  greatest  element  of  nutrition  in  gardens,  but 
is  easily  polluted.  You  cannot  poison  the  soil,  or  the  sun, 
or  the  air,  which  are  the  other  elements  of  nutrition  in  plants, 
or  divert  them,  or  steal  them ;  but  all  these  things  may  very 
likely  happen  in  regard  to  water,  which  must  therefore  be 
Thepenalty  protected  by  law.  And  let  this  be  the  law :— If  any  one 
[ntin°'"  intentionall}'^  pollutes  the  water  of  another,  whether  the 
water  of  a  spring,  or  collected  in  reservoirs,  either  by 
poisonous  substances,  or  by  digging,  or  by  theft,  let  the 
injured  party  bring  the  cause  before  the  wardens  of  the  city, 
and  claim  in  writing  the  value  of  the  loss ;  if  the  accused 
be  found  guilty  of  injuring  the  water  by  deleterious  sub- 
stances, let  him  not  only  pay  damages,  but  purify  the  stream 
or  the  cistern  which  contains  the  water,  in  such  manner  as 
the  laws  of  the  interpreters'  order  the  purification  to  be  made 
by  the  offender  in  each  case. 
Regulations  With  respect  to  the  gathering  in  of  the  fruits  of  the  soil, 
about  har-    j^j.  ^  x:^2iX\.,  if  he  pleases,  carry  his  own  fruits  through  any 

place  in  which  he  either  does  no  harm  to  any  one,  or  himself  846 
gains  three  times  as  much  as  his  neighbour  loses.    Now  of 
these  things  the  magistrates  should  be  cognisant,  as  of  all 

'  Cp.  supra,  vi.  759  C. 


luting 
water 


vesting. 


Minor  matters  to  be  left  to  ftUure  legislators.  229 


other  things  in  which  a  man  intentionally  does  injury  to  LawsVIII. 
another  or  to  the  property  of  another,  by  fraud  or  force,  in  Athenian. 
the  use  which  he  makes  of  his  own  property.  All  these 
matters  a  man  should  lay  before  the  magistrates,  and  receive 
damages,  supposing  the  injury  to  be  not  more  than  three 
minae  ;  or  if  he  have  a  charge  against  another  which  in- 
volves a  larger  amount,  let  him  bring  his  suit  into  the 
public  courts  and  have  the  evil-doer  punished.  But  if  any 
of  the  magistrates  appear  to  adjudge  the  penalties  which 
he  imposes  in  an  unjust  spirit,  let  him  be  liable  to  pay 
double  to  the  injured  party.  Any  one  may  bring  the  offences 
of  magistrates,  in  any  particular  case,  before  the  public  courts. 
There  are  innumerable  little  matters  relating  to  the  modes 
of  punishment,  and  applications  for  suits,  and  summonses 
and  the  witnesses  to  summonses — for  example,  whether 
two  witnesses  should  be  required  for  a  summons,  or  how 
many — and  all  such  details,  which  cannot  be  omitted  in  legis- 
lation, but  are  beneath  the  wisdom  of  an  aged  legislator. 
These  lesser  matters,  as  they  indeed  are  in  comparison  with 
the  greater  ones,  let  a  younger  generation  regulate  by  law, 
after  the  patterns  which  have  preceded,  and  according  to 
their  own  experience  of  the  usefulness  and  necessity  of  such 
laws ;  and  when  they  are  duly  regulated  let  there  be  no 
alteration,  but  let  the  citizens  live  in  the  observance  of  them. 

Now  of  artisans,  let  the  regulations  be  as  follows  : — In  the  No  citizen 
first  place,  let  no  citizen  or  servant  of  a  citizen  be  occupied 
in  handicraft  arts ;  for  he  who  is  to  secure  and  preserve  the 
public  order  of  the  state,  has  an  art  which  requires  much 
study  and  many  kinds  of  knowledge,  and  does  not  admit 
of  being  made  a  secondary  occupation ;  and  hardly  any 
human  being  is  capable  of  pursuing  two  professions  or 
two  arts  rightly,  or  of  practising  one  art  himself,  and 
superintending  some  one  else  who  is  practising  another. 
Let  this,  then,  be  pur  first  principle  in  the  state  : — No  one  No  man 
who  is  a  smith  shall  also  be  a  carpenter,  and  if  he  be  a  shouidhave 

more  than 

carpenter,  he  shall  not  superintend  the  smith's  art  rather  than  one  craft, 
his  own,  under  the  pretext  that  in  superintending  many 
servants  who  are  working  for  him,  he  is  likely  to  superintend 
them  better,  because  more  revenue  will  accrue  to  him  from 
847  them  than  from  his  own  art ;  but  let  every  man  in  the  state 


to  be  an 
artisan. 


Importation  and  exportation. 


Laws  VI II. 
Athenian. 


Free  trade. 


The  pro- 
duce of  the 
land  shall 
be  divided 
into  twelve 
portions, 
and  each 
]3ortion 
into  three 
parts, — 


have  one  art,  and  get  his  living  by  that.  Let  the  wardens  of 
the  city  labour  to  maintain  this  law,  and  if  any  citizen  incline 
to  any  other  art  rather  than  the  study  of  virtue,  let  them  punish 
him  with  disgrace  and  infamy,  until  they  bring  him  back  into 
his  own  right  course ;  and  if  any  stranger  profess  two  arts, 
let  them  chastise  him  with  bonds  and  money  penalties,  and 
expulsion  from  the  state,  until  they  compel  him  to  be  one 
only  and  not  many\ 

But  as  touching  payments  for  hire,  and  contracts  of  work, 
or  in  case  any  one  does  wrong  to  any  of  the  citizens,  or  they 
do  wrong  to  any  other,  up  to  fifty  drachmae,  let  the  wardens 
of  the  city  decide  the  case ;  but  if  a  greater  amount  be 
involved,  then  let  the  public  courts  decide  according  to  law. 
Let  no  one  pay  any  duty  either  on  the  importation  or  ex- 
portation of  goods ;  and  as  to  frankincense  and  similar 
perfumes,  used  in  the  service  of  the  Gods,  which  come 
from  abroad,  and  purple  and  other  dyes  which  are  not 
produced  in  the  country,  or  the  materials  of  any  art  which 
have  to  be  imported,  and  which  are  not  necessary — no  one 
should  import  them  ;  nor,  again,  should  any  one  export 
anything  which  is  wanted  in  the  country.  Of  all  these  things 
let  there  be  inspectors  and  superintendents,  taken  from  the 
guardians  of  the  law;  and  they  shall  be  the  twelve  next  in 
order  to  the  five  seniors.  Concerning  arms,  and  all  im- 
plements which  are  required  for  military  purposes,  if  there 
be  need  of  introducing  any  art,  or  plant,  or  metal,  or  chains 
of  any  kind,  or  animals  for  use  in  war,  let  the  commanders  of 
the  horse  and  the  generals  have  authority  over  their  importa- 
tion and  exportation ;  the  city  shall  send  them  out  and  also 
receive  them,  and  the  guardians  of  the  law  shall  make  fit  and 
proper  laws  about  them.  But  let  there  be  no  retail  trade  ^ 
for  the  sake  of  moneymaking,  either  in  these  or  any  other 
articles,  in  the  city  or  country  at  all. 

With  respect  to  food  and  the  distribution  of  the  produce 
of  the  country,  the  right  and  proper  way  seems  to  be  nearly 
that  which  is  the  custom  of  Crete  ' ;  for  all  should  be  required 
to  distribute  the  fruits  of  the  soil  into  twelve  parts,  and  in 
this  way  consume  them.  Let  the  twelfth  portion  of  each  'as 
for  instance  of  wheat  and  barley,  to  which  the  rest  of  the 

'  Cp.  Rep.  iii  397  E.      =  Cp.  Arist.  Pol.  vii.  9,  §  7.      '  Cp.  ibid.  ii.  10,  §  S. 


Distribtition  of  prodtice. 


231 


S48  fruits  of  the  earth  shall  be  added,  as  well  as  the  animals  LawsVlII. 

which  are  for  sale  in  each  of  the  twelve  divisions)  be  Athenian, 

divided  in  due  proportion  into  three  parts  ;  one  part  for  free-  Cleinias. 
men,  another  for  their  servants,  and  a  third  for  craftsmen  for 

,  .  ,   r-  II-  1  freemen ; 

and  in  general  for  strangers,  whether  sojourners  who  may  another  for 
be  dwelling  in  the  city,  and  like  other  men  must  live,  or  slaves; 
those  who  come  on  some  business  which  they  have  with  strangers?'^ 
the  state,  or  with  some  individual.    Let  only  this  third 
part  of  all  necessaries  be  required  to  be  sold  ;  out  of  the 
other  two-thirds  no  one  shall  be  compelled  to  sell.  And 
how  will  they  be  best  distributed  ?    In  the  first  place,  we 
see  clearly  that  the  distribution  will  be  of  equals  in  one 
point  of  view,  and  in  another  point  of  view  of  unequals. 
Cle.  What  do  you  mean? 

Ath.  I  mean  that  the  earth  of  necessity  produces  and 
nourishes  the  various  articles  of  food,  sometimes  better  and 
sometimes  worse. 

Cle.  Of  course. 

Ath.  Such  being  the  case,  let  no  one  of  the  three  portions 
be  greater  than  either  of  the  other  two  ; — neither  that  which 
is  assigned  to  masters  or  to  slaves,  nor  again  that  of  the 
stranger  ;  but  let  the  distribution  to  all  be  equal  and  alike,  and 
let  every  citizen  take  his  two  portions  and  distribute  them 
among  slaves  and  freemen,  he  having  power  to  determine 
the  quantity  and  quality.  And  what  remains  he  shall 
distribute  by  measure  and  number  among  the  animals  who 
have  to  be  sustained  from  the  earth,  taking  the  whole 
number  of  them. 

In  the  second  place,  our  citizens  should  have  separate 
houses  duly  ordered  ;  and  this  will  be  the  order  proper 
for  men  like  them.    There  shall  be  twelve  hamlets,  one  in  Twelve 
the  middle  of  each  twelfth  portion,  and  in  each  hamlet  they  '^^"^'.^'s- 
shall  first  set  apart  a  market-place,  and  the  temples  of  the  middle  of 
Gods,  and  of  their  attendant  demi-gods  ;  and  if  there  be  any  ^^^"^ 

.         twelve  di- 

local  deities  of  the  Magnetes,  or  holy  seats  of  other  ancient  visions,  and 
deities,  whose  memory  has  been  preserved,  to  these  let  them  temples  in 
pay  their  ancient  honours'.    But  Hestia,  and  Zeus,  and 
Athene  will  have  temples  everywhere  together  with  the  God 
who  presides  in  each  of  the  twelve  districts  ^    And  the  first 

'  Cp.  supra,  V.  738  C.  '  Cp.  ibid.  7.15. 


232  The  thirteen  divisions  of  craftsmen. 

LawsVlll.  erection  of  houses  shall  be  around  these  temples,  where  the 
Athenian.     ground  is  highest,  in  order  to  provide  the  safest  and  most 
defensible  place  of  retreat  for  the  guards.    All  the  rest  of  the 
Of  the        country  they  shall  settle  in  the  following  manner : — They 
visions  of     shall  make  thirteen  divisions  of  the  craftsmen  ;  one  of  them 
the  crafts-    they  shall  establish  in  the  city,  and  this,  again,  they  shall 
bTsettied'"  Subdivide  into  twelve  lesser  divisions,  among  the  twelve 
in  the  city,   districts  of  the  city,  and  the  remainder  shall  be  distributed  in 
ihecountry        Country  round  about ;  and  in  each  village  they  shall  settle 
various  classes  of  craftsmen,  with  a  view  to  the  convenience 
of  the  husbandmen.    And  the  chief  officers  of  the  wardens  of 
the  country  shall  superintend  all  these  matters,  and  see  how 
many  of  them,  and  which  class  of  them,  each  place  requires ; 
and  fix  them  where  they  are  likely  to  be  least  troublesome,  849 
and  most  useful  to  the  husbandman.    And  the  wardens  of 
the  city  shall  see  to  similar  matters  in  the  city. 
Duties  of        Now  the  wardens  of  the  agora  ought  to  see  to  the  details 
denrof  the   °^      agora.    Their  first  care,  after  the  temples  which  are  in 
agora.        the  agora  have  been  seen  to,  should  be  to  prevent  any  one 
from  doing  any  wrong  in  dealings  between  man  and  man  ;  in 
the  second  place,  as  being  inspectors  of  temperance  and 
violence,  they  should  chastise  him  who  requires  chastisement. 
Touching  articles  of  sale,  they  should  first  see  whether  the 
articles  which  the  citizens  are  under  regulations  to  sell  to 
strangers  are  sold  to  them,  as  the  law  ordains.    And  let  the 
The  market  law  be  as  follows: — On  the  first  day  of  the  month,  the 
days.         persons  in  charge,  whoever  they  are,  whether  strangers  or 
slaves,  who  have  the  charge  on  behalf  of  the  citizens,  shall 
produce  to  the  strangers  the  portion  which  falls  to  them,  in 
the  first  place,  a  twelfth  portion  of  the  corn; — the  stranger  shall 
purchase  corn  for  the  whole  month,  and  other  cereals,  on  the 
first  market  day;  and  on  the  tenth  day  of  the  month  the  one 
party  shall  sell,  and  the  other  buy,  liquids  sufficient  to  last 
during  the  whole  month  ;  and  on  the  twenty-third  day  there 
shall  be  a  sale  of  animals  by  those  who  are  willing  to  sell 
to  the  people  who  want  to  buy,  and  of  implements  and 
other  things  which  husbandmen  sell,  (such  as  skins  and  all 
kinds  of  clothing,  either  woven  or  made  of  felt  and  other 
goods  of  the  same  sort,)  and  which  strangers  are  compelled 
to  buy  and  purchase  of  others.    As  to  the  retail  trade 


Buying  and  selling :  the  law  respectiftg  metics. 


233 


in  these  things,  whether  of  barley  or  wheat  set  apart  for  meal  LawsVlll. 
and  flour,  or  any  other  kind  of  food,  no  one  shall  sell  them  to  Athenian. 
citizens  or  their  slaves,  nor  shall  any  one  buy  of  a  citizen ;  prohibition 
but  let  the  stranger  sell  them  in  the  market  of  strangers,  to  of  retail 
artisans  and  their  slaves,  making  an  exchange  ot  wine  and  cept  among 
food,  which  is  commonly  called  retail  trade.    And  butchers  strangers, 
shall  offer  for  sale  parts  of  dismembered  animals  to  the 
strangers,  and  artisans,  and  their  servants.   Let  any  stranger 
who  likes  buy  fuel  from  day  to  day  wholesale,  from  those 
who  have  the  care  of  it  in  the  country,  and  let  him  sell  to  the 
strangers  as  much  as  he  pleases  and  when  he  pleases.    As  to 
other  goods  and  implements  which  are  likely  to  be  wanted, 
they  shall  sell  them  in  the  common  market,  at  any  place 
which  the  guardians  of  the  law  and  the  wardens  of  the 
market  and  city,  choosing  according  to  their  judgment,  shall 
determine;  at  such  places  they  shall  exchange  money  for 
goods,  and  goods  for  money,  neither  party  giving  credit  to 
the  other  ;   and  he  who  gives  credit  must  be  satisfied.  Credit  not 
850  whether  he  obtain  his  money  or  not,  for  in  such  exchanges  he  '°  . 

■'       _  J  I  o  recognized 

will  not  be  protected  by  law.    But  whenever  property  has  by  law. 
been  bought  or  sold,  greater  in  quantity  or  value  than  is 
allowed   by  the  law,  which  has  determined  within  what 
limits  a  man  may  increase  and  diminish  his  possessions, 
let  the  excess  be  registered  in  the  books  of  the  guardians 
of  the  law;  or  in  case  of  diminution,  let  there  be  an  erasure 
made.  And  let  the  same  rule  be  observed  about  the  registra- 
tion of  the  property  of  the  metics.    Any  one  who  likes  may  Metics  may- 
come  and  be  a  metic  on  certain  conditions  ;  a  foreigner,  if  he  ^^^^^'^f^" 
likes,  and  is  able  to  settle,  may  dwell  in  the  land,  but  he  must  twenty 
practise  an  art,  and  not  abide  more  than  twenty  years  from  ^^^^ ' 
the  time  at  which  he  has  registered  himself ;  and  he  shall 
pay  no  sojourner's  tax,  however  small,  except  good  conduct, 
nor  any  other  tax  for  buying  and  selling.    But  when  the 
twenty  years  have  expired,  he  shall  take  his  property  with 
him  and  depart.    And  if  in  the  course  of  these  years  he  (or  longer, 
should  chance  to  distinguish  himself  by  any  considerable  perm^s-^'^'^' 
benefit  which  he  confers  on  the  state,  and  he  thinks  that  sion ;) 
he  can  persuade  the  council  and  assembly,  either  to  grant 
him  delay  in   leaving  the  country,  or  to  allow  him  to 

'  Cp.  infra,  xi.  915  D. 


234 


The  icuv  respecting  luetics. 


LawsVin. 

Athenian. 

and  their 
children  for 
the  same 
term,  reck- 
oning from 
tlie  ago  of 
fifteen. 


remain  for  the  whole  of  his  life,  let  him  go  and  persuade 
the  city,  and  whatever  they  assent  to  at  his  instance  shall 
take  effect.  For  the  children  of  the  metics,  being  artisans, 
and  of  fifteen  years  of  age,  let  the  time  of  their  sojourn 
commence  after  their  fifteenth  year  ;  and  let  them  remain 
for  twenty  years,  and  then  go  where  they  like  ;  but  any  of 
them  who  wishes  to  remain,  may  do  so,  if  he  can  persuade 
the  council  and  assembly.  And  if  he  depart,  let  him  erase 
all  the  entries  which  have  been  made  by  him  in  the  register 
kept  by  the  magistrates. 


BOOK  IX. 


Next  to  all  the  matters  which  have  preceded  in  the  natural  Laws  IX. 

order  of  legislation  will  come  suits  of  law.    Of  suits  those  Athenian, 

which  relate  to  agriculture  have  been  already  described,  but  Cleinias. 
the  more  important  have  not  been  described.    Having  men- 
tioned them  severally  under  their  usual  names,  we  will 
proceed  to  say  what  punishments  are  to  be  inflicted  for  each 
offence,  and  who  are  to  be  the  judges  of  them. 

Cle.  Very  good. 

Ath.  There  is  a  sense  of  disgrace  in  legislating,  as  we  are  'i^'  ™"st  be 

about  to  do,  for  all  the  details  of  crime  in  a  state  which,  as  come/since 

we  say,  is  to  be  well  regulated  and  will  be  perfectly  adapted  we  are 

to  the  practice  of  virtue.    To  assume  that  in  such  a  state  fof^gn"^ 

there  will  arise  some  one  who  will  be  guilty  of  crimes  as  and  not  for 
heinous  as  any  which  are  ever  perpetrated  in  other  states,  °\ 

■'  _  r  ...  demi-gods. 

and  that  we  must  legislate  for  him  by  anticipation,  and 
threaten  and  make  laws  against  him  if  he  should  arise,  in 
order  to  deter  him,  and  punish  his  acts,  under  the  idea  that 
he  will  arise — this,  as  I  was  saying,  is  in  a  manner  disgrace- 
ful. Yet  seeing  that  we  are  not  like  the  ancient  legislators, 
who  gave  laws  to  heroes  and  sons  of  gods,  being,  according 
to  the  popular  belief,  themselves  the  offspring  of  the  gods, 
and  legislating  for  others,  who  were  also  the  children  of 
divine  parents,  but  that  we  are  only  men  who  are  legislating 
for  the  sons  of  men,  there  is  no  uncharitableness  in  appre- 
hending that  some  one  of  our  citizens  may  be  like  a  seed 
which  has  touched  the  ox's  horn,  having  a  heart  so  hard  that 
it  cannot  be  softened  any  more  than  those  seeds  can  be 
softened  by  fire.  Among  our  citizens  there  may  be  those 
who  cannot  be  subdued  by  all  the  strength  of  the  laws ;  and 
for  their  sake,  though  an  ungracious  task,  I  will  proclaim  m}^ 


236 


Admonition  and  lazv  relating  to  sacrilege. 


Laws  IX. 
Athenian. 


The  pre- 
lude to  the 
law  about 
sacrilege : — 


Sacrilege  is 
an  inherited 
malady, 
begotten  of 
crime, 
which  men 
should  do 
their  ut- 
most to 
cure. 


The  law  : — 
The  slave 
or  stranger 
who  robs 
a  temple 
shall  be 
branded, 
beaten,  and 
cast  out  of 
the  land  ; — 


first  law  about  the  robbing  of  temples,  in  case  any  one  should 
dare  to  commit  such  a  crime.  I  do  not  expect  or  imagine 
that  any  well-brought-up  citizen  will  ever  take  the  infection, 
but  their  servants,  and  strangers,  and  strangers'  servants 
may  be  guilty  of  many  impieties.  And  with  a  view  to  them  854 
especially,  and  yet  not  without  a  provident  eye  to  the  weak- 
ness of  human  nature  generally,  I  will  proclaim  the  law  about 
robbers  of  temples  and  similar  incurable,  or  almost  incurable, 
criminals.  Having  already  agreed  that  such  enactments 
ought  always  to  have  a  short  prelude,  we  may  speak  to  the 
criminal,  whom  some  tormenting  desire  by  night  and  by  day 
tempts  to  go  and  rob  a  temple,  the  fewest  possible  words  of 
admonition  and  exhortation  : — O  sir,  we  will  say  to  him,  the 
impulse  which  moves  you  to  rob  temples  is  not  an  ordinary 
human  malady,  nor  yet  a  visitation  of  heaven,  but  a  madness 
which  is  begotten  in  a  man  from  ancient  and  unexpiated 
crimes  of  his  race,  an  ever-recurring  curse ; — against  this 
you  must  guard  with  all  your  might,  and  how  3'ou  are  to 
guard  we  will  explain  to  you.  When  any  such  thought  comes 
into  3'our  mind,  go  and  perform  expiations,  go  as  a  suppliant 
to  the  temples  of  the  Gods  who  avert  evils,  go  to  the  society 
of  those  who  are  called  good  men  among  you  ;  hear  them  tell 
and  yourself  try  to  repeat  after  them,  that  every  man  should 
honour  the  noble  and  the  just.  Fly  from  the  company  of 
the  wicked — fly  and  turn  not  back  ;  and  if  your  disorder 
is  lightened  by  these  remedies,  well  and  good,  but  if  not, 
then  acknowledge  death  to  be  nobler  than  life,  and  depart 
hence. 

Such  are  the  preludes  which  we  sing  to  all  who  have 
thoughts  of  unholy  and  treasonable  actions,  and  to  him  who 
hearkens  to  them  the  law  has  nothing  to  say.  But  to  him 
who  is  disobedient  when  the  prelude  is  over,  cry  with  a  loud 
voice — He  who  is  taken  in  the  act  of  robbing  temples,  if  he 
be  a  slave  or  stranger,  shall  have  his  evil  deed  engraven  on 
his  face  and  hands,  and  shall  be  beaten  with  as  many  stripes 
as  may  seem  good  to  the  judges,  and  be  cast  naked  beyond 
the  borders  of  the  land.  And  if  he  suffers  this  punishment 
he  will  probably  return  to  his  right  mind  and  be  improved ; 
for  no  penalty  which  the  law  inflicts  is  designed  for  evil,  but 
always  makes  him  who  suffers  either  better  or  not  so  much 


The  integrity  of  the  lot  is  to  be  maintained. 


237 


worse  as  he  would  have  been      But  if  any  citizen  be  found  Laws  IX. 

guilty  of  any  great  or  unmentionable  wrong,  either  in  relation  Athenian. 

to  the  gods,  or  his  parents,  or  the  state,  let  the  judge  deem  the  citizen 

him  to  be  incurable,  remembering  that  after  receiving  such  shall  be  put 

'  .    f  °  to  death  ; 

an  excellent  education  and  training  from  youth  upward,  he  for  he  is 
has  not  abstained  from  the  greatest  of  crimes      His  punish-  ^curable. 
85  s  ment  shall  be  death,  which  to  him  will  be  the  least  of  evils  ; 
and  his  example  will  benefit  others,  if  he  perish  ingloriously, 
and  be  cast  beyond  the  borders  of  the  land.    But  let  his  'The father 
children  and  family,  if  they  avoid  the  ways  of  their  father,  . 
have  glory,  and  let  honourable  mention  be  made  of  them,  as 
having  nobl}'  and  manfully  escaped  out  of  evil  into  good. 
None  of  them  should  have  their  goods  confiscated  to  the 
state,  for  the  lots  of  the  citizens  ought  always  to  continue  the 
same  and  equal. 

Touching  the  exaction  of  penalties,  when  a  man  appears  to 
have  done  anything  which  deserves  a  fine,  he  shall  pay  the 
fine,  if  he  have  anything  in  excess  of  the  lot  which  is 
assigned  to  him ;  but  more  than  that  he  shall  not  pay.  And 
to  secure  exactness,  let  the  guardians  of  the  law  refer  to  the 
registers,  and  inform  the  judges  of  the  precise  truth,  in  order 
that  none  of  the  lots  may  go  uncultivated  for  want  of  money. 
But  if  any  one  seems  to  deserve  a  greater  penalty,  let  him 
undergo  a  long  and  public  imprisonment  and  be  dishonoured, 
unless  some  of  his  friends  are  willing  to  be  surety  for  him,  and 
liberate  him  by  assisting  him  to  pay  the  fine.  No  criminal  No  criminal 
shall  go  unpunished,  not  even  for  a  single  offence,  nor  if  he  *°  ^s°^ps- 
have  fled  the  country ;  but  let  the  penalty  be  according  to  his 
deserts, — death,  or  bonds,  or  blows,  or  degrading  places  of 
sitting  or  standing,  or  removal  to  some  temple  on  the  borders 
of  the  land ;  or  let  him  pay  fines,  as  we  said  before.  In  cases 
of  death,  let  the  judges  be  the  guardians  of  the  law,  and  a 
court  selected  by  merit  from  the  last  year's  magistrates. 
But  how  the  causes  are  to  be  brought  into  court,  how  the 
summonses  are  to  be  served,  and  the  like,  these  things  may 
be  left  to  the  younger  generation  of  legislators  to  determine  ; 
the  manner  of  voting  we  must  determine  ourselves. 

Let  the  vote  be  given  openly ;  but  before  they  come  to  the  Manner  of 
vote  let  the  judges  sit  in  order  of  seniority  over  against  Procedure. 

'  Cp.  Protag.  323  D  foil. ;  Gorg.  525.  *  Cp.  Statesman  308  E. 


238 


Crimes  against  the  State. 


Laws  IX. 
Athenian. 


The  fac- 
tious per- 
son is  the 
greatest 
enemy  of 
the  state  ; 
and  the 
magistrate 
who  does 
not  sup- 
press him 
is  nearly  as 
bad. 


He  shall  be 
punished 
with  death. 


plaintiff  and  defendant,  and  let  all  the  citizens  who  can  spare 
time  hear  and  take  a  serious  interest  in  listening  to  such 
causes.  First  of  all  the  plaintiff  shall  make  one  speech,  and 
then  the  defendant  shall  make  another  ;  and  after  the 
speeches  have  been  made  the  eldest  judge  shall  begin  to 
examine  the  parties,  and  proceed  to  make  an  adequate 
enquiry  into  what  has  been  said ;  and  after  the  oldest  has 
spoken,  the  rest  shall  proceed  in  order  to  examine  either 
party  as  to  what  he  finds  defective  in  the  evidence,  whether  of 
statement  or  omission ;  and  he  who  has  nothing  to  ask  shall 
hand  over  the  examination  to  another.  And  on  so  much  of 
what  has  been  said  as  is  to  the  purpose  all  the  judges  shall 
set  their  seals,  and  place  the  writings  on  the  altar  of  Hestia. 
On  the  next  day  they  shall  meet  again,  and  in  like  manner  856 
put  their  questions  and  go  through  the  cause,  and  again  set 
their  seals  upon  the  evidence  ;  and  when  they  have  three 
times  done  this,  and  have  had  witnesses  and  evidence 
enough,  they  shall  each  of  them  give  a  holy  vote,  after 
promising  by  Hestia  that  they  will  decide  jtistly  and  truly  to 
the  utmost  of  their  power ;  and  so  they  shall  put  an  end  to 
the  suit. 

Next,  after  what  relates  to  the  Gods,  follows  what  relates 
to  the  dissolution  of  the  state : — Whoever  by  promoting  a 
man  to  power  enslaves  the  laws,  and  subjects  the  city  to 
factions,  using  violence  and  stirring  up  sedition  contrary  to 
law,  him  we  will  deem  the  greatest  enemy  of  the  whole  state. 
But  he  who  takes  no  part  in  such  proceedings,  and,  being 
one  of  the  chief  magistrates  of  the  state,  has  no  knowledge 
of  the  treason,  or,  having  knowledge  of  it,  by  reason  of 
cowardice  does  not  interfere  on  behalf  of  his  country,  such 
an  one  we  must  consider  nearly  as  bad.  Every  man  who  is 
worth  anything  will  inform  the  magistrates,  and  bring  the 
conspirator  to  trial  for  making  a  violent  and  illegal  attempt 
to  change  the  government.  The  judges  of  such  cases  shall 
be  the  same  as  of  the  robbers  of  temples ;  and  let  the  whole 
proceeding  be  carried  on  in  the  same  way,  and  the  vote  of 
the  majority  condemn  to  death.  But  let  there  be  a  general 
rule,  that  the  disgrace  and  punishment  of  the  father  is  not  to 
be  visited  on  the  children,  except  in  the  case  of  some  one 
whose  father,  grandfather,  and  great-grandfather  have  sue- 


The  ptmishment  of  theft. 


239 


cessively  undergone  the  penalty  of  death.    Such  persons  the  Laws  IX. 
city  shall  send  away  with  all  their  possessions  to  the  city  and  Athenian, 
country  of  their  ancestors,  retaining  only  and  wholly  their  ap-  ^.'-^''^'as. 
pointed  lot.    And  out  of  the  citizens  who  have  more  than 
one  son  of  not  less  than  ten  years  of  age,  they  shall  select  ten 
whom  their  father  or  grandfather  by  the  mother's  or  father's 
side  shall  appoint,  and  let  them  send  to  Delphi  the  names  of 
those  who  are  selected,  and  him  whom  the  God  chooses  they 
shall  establish  as  heir  of  the  house  which  has  failed ;  and 
may  he  have  better  fortune  than  his  predecessors  ! 
Cle.  Very  good. 

Ath.  Once  more  let  there  be  a  third  general  law  respecting  The  law 
the  judges  who  are  to  give  judgment,  and  the  manner  of  con-  ^^^^^ 
ducting  suits  -against  those  who  are  tried  on  an  accusation 
857  of  treason  ;  and  as  concerning  the  remaining  or  departure  of 
their  descendants, — there  shall  be  one  law  for  all  three,  for 
the  traitor,  and  the  robber  of  temples,  and  the  subverter  by 
violence  of  the  laws  of  the  state.    For  a  thief,  whether  he  One  law 
steal  much  or  little,  let  there  be  one  law,  and  one  punishment 
for  all  alike  :  in  the  first  place,  let  him  pay  double  the  amount  restitution 
of  the  theft  if  he  be  convicted,  and  if  he  have  so  much  over 

the  amount 

and  above  the  allotment ; — if  he  have  not,  he  shall  be  bound  stolen, 
until  he  pay  the  penalty,  or  persuade  him  who  has  obtained 
the  sentence  against  him  to  forgive  him.  But  if  a  person  be 
convicted  of  a  theft  against  the  state,  then  if  he  can  persuade 
the  city,  or  if  he  will  pay  back  twice  the  amount  of  the  theft, 
he  shall  be  set  free  from  his  bonds 

Cle.  What  makes  you  say,  Stranger,  that  a  theft  is  all 
one,  whether  the  thief  may  have  taken  much  or  little,  and 
either  from  sacred  or  secular  places— and  these  are  not  the 
only  differences  in  thefts  :— seeing,  then,  that  they  are  of 
many  kinds,  ought  not  the  legislator  to  adapt  himself  to 
them,  and  impose  upon  them  entirely  different  penalties  ? 

Ath.  Excellent.  I  was  running  on  too  fast,  Cleinias,  and 
you  impinged  upon  me,  and  brought  me  to  my  senses, 
reminding  me  of  what,  indeed,  had  occurred  to  my  mind 
already,  that  legislation  was  never  yet  rightly  worked  out,  as 
I  may  say  in  passing. — Do  you  remember  the  image  in  TheAthe- 
which  I  likened  the  men  for  whom  laws  are  now  made  to  "^f™" 

pares  his 

'  Cp.  infra,  xi.  933  E;  xii.  941. 


240       Not  being  actual  legislators  we  have  more  freedom. 


Laws  IX.  slaves  who  are  doctored  by  slaves '  ?    For  of  this  you  may 

Athenian,  be  Very  sure,  that  if  one  of  those  empirical  physicians,  who 

Cleinias.  practise  medicine  without  science,  were  to  come  upon  the 

th't'^fth'°  gentleman  physician  talking  to  his  gentleman  patient,  and 

scientific  using  the  language  almost  of  philosophy,  beginning  at  the  be- 

doctor,  ginning  of  the  disease  and  discoursing  about  the  whole  nature 

to'his^"'^  of  the  body,  he  would  burst  into  a  hearty  laugh — he  would 

patient  so  say  what  most  of  those  who  are  called  doctors  always  have  at 
hTseeirrto  tongue's  end  : — Foolish  fellow,  he  would  say,  you  are 

be  educat-  not  healing  the  sick  man,  but  yoM  are  educating  him  ;  and  he 

ing  rather  Joes  not  want  to  be  made  a  doctor,  but  to  get  well. 

than  curing  . 

him.  Cle.  And  would  he  not  be  right  ? 

Ath.  Perhaps  he  would ;  and  he  might  remark  upon  us, 
that  he  who  discourses  about  laws,  as  we  are  now  doing,  is 
giving  the  citizens  education  and  not  laws ;  that  would  be 
rather  a  telling  observation. 

Cle.  Very  true. 

Ath.  But  we  are  fortunate. 

Cle.  In  what  way?  g 
Ath.  Inasmuch  as  we  are  not  compelled  to  give  laws,  but 
we  may  take  into  consideration  every  form  of  government, 
and  ascertain  what  is  best  and  what  is  most  needful,  and 
how  they  may  both  be  carried  into  execution  ;  and  we  may 
also,  if  we  please,  at  this  very  moment  choose  what  is  best, 
or,  if  we  prefer,  what  is  most  necessary — which  shall 
we  do? 

Cle.  There  is  something  ridiculous.  Stranger,  in  our  pro- 
posing such  an  alternative,  as  if  we  were  legislators,  simply 
bound  under  some  great  necessity  which  cannot  be  deferred 
The  truth  is  to  the  morrow.    But  we,  as  I  may  by  the  grace  of  Heaven 
coHecting'^^  affirm,  like  gatherers  of  stones  or  beginners  of  some  com- 
materials.     posite  work,  may  gather  a  heap  of  materials,  and  out  of  this, 
at  our  leisure,  select  what  is  suitable  for  our  projected  con- 
struction.   Let  us  then  suppose  ourselves  to  be  at  leisure, 
not  of  necessity  building,  but  rather  like  men  who  are  partly 
providing  materials,  and  partly  putting  them  together.  And 
we  may  truly  say  that  some  of  our  laws,  like  stones,  are 
already  fixed  in  their  places,  and  others  lie  at  hand. 

Ath.  Certainly,  in  that  case,  Cleinias,  our  view  of  law  will 

'  Cp.  supra,  iv.  720. 


Laws,  like  poems,  should  co7itaiii  noble  senthnents. 


241 


be  more  in  accordance  with  nature.    For  there  is  another  Lmus  IX. 

matter  affecting  legislators,  which  I  must  earnestly  entreat  Athenian, 
you  to  consider. 
Cle.  What  is  it  ? 

Ath.  There  are  many  writings  to  be  found  in  cities,  and 
among  them  there  are  discourses  composed  by  legislators  as 
well  as  by  other  persons. 

Cle.  To  be  sure. 

Ath.  Shall  we  give  heed  rather  to  the  writings  of  those  Poets  and 

others,— poets  and  the  like,  who  either  in  metre  or  out  of  5°'?^^^^^^^^^ 

metre  have  recorded  their  advice  about  the  conduct  of  life,  rules  of  life, 

and  not  to  the  writings  of  legislators  ?  or  shall  we  give  heed  pj^g^gp^^ 

to  them  above  all  ?  legislators 

Cle.  Yes  ;  to  them  far  above  all  others.  f  ""''^  ^..^ 

.  ,     ,     ,  ,       ,       ,     .  1  1  .  far  superior. 

Ath.  And  ought  the  legislator  alone  among  writers  to 
withhold  his  opinion  about  the  beautiful,  the  good,  and  the 
just,  and  not  to  teach  what  they  are,  and  how  they  are  to  be 
pursued  by  those  who  intend  to  be  happy? 

Cle.  Certainly  not. 

Ath.  And  is  it  disgraceful  for  Homer  and  Tyrtaeus  and 
other  poets  to  lay  down  evil  precepts  in  their  writings  re- 
specting life  and  the  pursuits  of  men,  but  not  so  disgraceful 
for  Lycurgus  and  Solon  and  others  who  were  legislators  as 
well  as  writers?  Is  it  not  true  that  of  all  the  writings  to  be 
found  in  cities,  those  which  relate  to  laws,  when  you  unfold 
and  read  them,  ought  to  be  by  far  the  noblest  and  the  best  ? 
859  and  should  not  other  writings  either  agree  with  them,  or  if 
they  disagree,  be  deemed  ridiculous?  We  should  consider 
whether  the  laws  of  states  ought  not  to  have  the  character  of 
loving  and  wise  parents,  rather  than  of  tyrants  and  masters, 
who  command  and  threaten,  and,  after  writing  their  decrees 
on  walls,  go  their  ways ;  and  whether,  in  discoursing  of 
laws,  we  should  not  take  the  gentler  view  of  them  which 
may  or  may  not  be  attainable, — at  any  rate,  we  will  show 
our  readiness  to  entertain  such  a  view,  and  be  prepared  to 
undergo  whatever  may  be  the  result.  And  may  the  result  be 
^good,  and  if  God  be  gracious,  it  will  be  good  ! 
Cle.  Excellent ;  let  us  do  as  you  say. 

Ath.  Then  we  will  now  consider  accurately,  as  we  pro- 
posed, what  relates  to  robbers  of  temples,  and  all  kinds  of 

VOL.  V.  R 


242 


jftist  action  and  just  suffering. 


Laws  IX. 

Athenian, 
Cleinias. 


We  say — 
'  the  just  is 
the  honour- 
able' :  this 
is  true  of 
just  actions, 
but  not  of 
just  suffer- 
ings or 
punish- 
ments. 


thefts,  and  offences  in  general ;  and  we  must  not  be  annoyed 
if,  in  the  course  of  legislation,  we  have  enacted  some  things, 
and  have  not  made  up  our  minds  about  some  others ;  for  as 
yet  we  are  not  legislators,  but  we  may  soon  be.  Let  us, 
if  you  please,  consider  these  matters. 
Cle.  By  all  means. 

Ath.  Concerning  all  things  honourable  and  just,  let  us  then 
endeavour  to  ascertain  how  far  we  are  consistent  with  our- 
selves, and  how  far  we  are  inconsistent,  and  how  far  the 
many,  from  whom  at  any  rate  we  should  profess  a  desire 
to  differ,  agree  and  disagree  among  themselves. 

Cle.  What  are  the  inconsistencies  which  you  observe 
in  us  ? 

Ath.  I  will  endeavour  to  explain.  If  I  am  not  mistaken, 
we  are  all  agreed  that  justice,  and  just  men  and  things  and 
actions,  are  all  fair,  and,  if  a  person  were  to  maintain  that 
just  men,  even  when  the}^  are  deformed  in  body,  are  still  per- 
fectly beautiful  in  respect  of  the  excellent  justice  of  their  minds, 
no  one  would  say  that  there  was  any  inconsistency  in  this. 

Cle.  They  would  be  quite  right. 

Ath.  Perhaps ;  but  let  us  consider  further,  that  if  all 
things  which  are  just  are  fair  and  honourable,  in  the  term 
'  all '  we  must  include  just  sufferings  which  are  the  cor- 
relatives of  just  actions. 

Cle.  And  what  is  the  inference  ? 

Ath.  The  inference  is,  that  a  just  action  in  partaking  of 
the  just  partakes  also  in  the  same  degree  of  the  fair  and 
honourable. 

Cle.  Certainly. 

Ath.  And  must  not  a  suffering  which  partakes  of  the  just 
principle  be  admitted  to  be  in  the  same  degree  fair  and  860 
honourable,  if  the  argument  is  consistently  carried  out  ? 

Cle.  True. 

Ath.  But  then  if  we  admit  suffering  to  be  just  and  yet 
dishonourable,  and  the  term  '  dishonourable '  is  applied  to 
justice,  will  not  the  just  and  the  honourable  disagree? 

Cle.  What  do  you  mean  ? 

Ath.  A  thing  not  difficult  to  understand  ;  the  laws  which 
have  been  already  enacted  would  seem  to  announce  prin- 
ciples directly  opposed  to  what  we  are  saying. 


DifficiUty  of  speaking  consistently  about  both. 


243 


Cle.  To  what  ?  Laws  IX. 

Ath.  We  had  enacted,  if  I  am  not  mistaken,  that  the  Athenian, 
robber  of  temples,  and  he  who  was  the  enemy  of  law  and 
order,  might  justly  be  put  to  death,  and  we  were  proceeding 
to  make  divers  other  enactments  of  a  similar  nature.  But 
we  stopped  short,  because  we  saw  that  these  sufferings  are 
infinite  in  number  and  degree,  and  that  they  are,  at  once,  the 
most  just  and  also  the  most  dishonourable  of  all  sufferings. 
And  if  this  be  true,  are  not  the  just  and  the  honourable  at  one 
time  all  the  same,  and  at  another  time  in  the  most  diame- 
trical opposition  ? 

Cle.  Such  appears  to  be  the  case. 

Ath.  In  this  discordant  and  inconsistent  fashion  does  the 
language  of  the  many  rend  asunder  the  honourable  and  just. 
Cle.  Very  true.  Stranger. 

Ath.  Then  now,  Cleinias,  let  us  see  how  far  we  ourselves 
are  consistent  about  these  matters. 
Cle.  Consistent  in  what  ? 

Ath.  I  think  that  I  have  clearly  stated  in  the  former  part 

of  the  discussion,  but  if  I  did  not,  let  me  now  state  

Cle.  What? 

Ath.  That  all  bad  men  are  always  involuntarily  bad  ;  and 
from  this  I  must  proceed  to  draw  a  further  inference. 
Cle.  What  is  it  ? 

Ath.  That  the  unjust  man  may  be  bad,  but  that  he  is  bad  All  unjust 
against  his  will.     Now  that  an  action  which  is  voluntary  ^'^'^ 

°  ...  voluntary, 

should  be  done  involuntarily  is  a  contradiction;  wherefore  butinvoiun- 
he  who  maintains  that  injustice  is  involuntary  will  deem  that  ^^^^  '■^'^ 
the  unjust  does  injustice  involuntarily.    I  too  admit  that  all  can  we 
men  do  injustice  involuntarily,  and  if  any  contentious  or  dis-  punish 
putatious  person  says  that  men  are  unjust  against  their 
will,  and  yet  that  many  do  injustice  willingly,  I  do  not 
agree  with  him.    But,  then,  how  can  I  avoid  being  incon- 
sistent with  myself,  if  you,  Cleinias,  and  you,  Megillus,  say 
to  me, — Well,  Stranger,  if  all  this  be  as  you  say,  how  about 
legislating  for  the  city  of  the  Magnetes — shall  we  legislate  or 
not— what  do  you  advise  ?  Certainly  we  will,  I  should  reply. 
Then  will  you  determine  for  them  what  are  voluntary  and 
what  are  involuntary  crimes,  and  shall  we  make  the  punish- 
ments greater  of  voluntary  errors  and  crimes  and  less  for 

R  2 


244 


Voluntary  and  involuntary  injustice. 


Laws  IX. 

Athenian, 
Cleinias. 


All  legis- 
lators have 
distin- 
guished the 
voluntary 
from  the  in- 
voluntary. 


If  we  dis- 
card this 
distinction, 
we  must 
find  an- 
other. 


the  involuntary?  or  shall  we  make  the  punishment  of  all 
to  be  alike,  under  the  idea  that  there  is  no  such  thing  as  86i 
voluntary  crime  ? 

Cle.  Very  good,  Stranger ;  and  what  shall  we  say  in  answer 
to  these  objections  ? 

Ath.  That  is  a  very  fair  question.    In  the  first  place,  let 
us  

Cle.  Do  what? 

Ath.  Let  us  remember  what  has  been  well  said  by  us 
already,  that  our  ideas  of  justice  are  in  the  highest  degree 
confused  and  contradictory.  Bearing  this  in  mind,  let  us 
proceed  to  ask  ourselves  once  more  whether  we  have  dis- 
covered a  way  out  of  the  difficulty.  Have  we  ever  deter- 
mined in  what  respect  these  two  classes  of  actions  differ 
from  one  another?  For  in  all  states  and  by  all  legislators 
whatsoever,  two  kinds  of  actions  have  been  distinguished — 
the  one,  voluntary,  the  other,  involuntary;  and  they  have 
legislated  about  them  accordingly.  But  shall  this  new 
word  of  ours,  like  an  oracle  of  God,  be  only  spoken,  and 
get  away  without  giving  any  explanation  or  verification 
of  itself?  How  can  a  word  not  understood  be  the  basis 
of  legislation?  Impossible.  Before  proceeding  to  legislate, 
then,  we  must  prove  that  they  are  two,  and  what  is  the  dif- 
ference between  them,  that  when  we  impose  the  penalty 
upon  either,  every  one  may  understand  our  proposal,  and 
be  able  in  some  way  to  judge  whether  the  penalty  is  fitly 
or  unfitl}'  inflicted. 

Cle.  I  agree  with  you.  Stranger ;  for  one  of  two  things 
is  certain  :  either  we  must  not  say  that  all  unjust  acts  are 
involuntary,  or  we  must  show  the  meaning  and  truth  of  this 
statement. 

Ath.  Of  these  two  alternatives,  the  one  is  quite  intoler- 
able— not  to  speak  what  1  believe  to  be  the  truth  would  be  to 
me  unlawful  and  unholy.  But  if  acts  of  injustice  cannot  be 
divided  into  voluntary  and  involuntary,  I  must  endeavour  to 
find  some  other  distinction  between  them. 

Cle.  Very  true,  Stranger ;  there  cannot  be  two  opinions 
among  us  upon  that  point. 

Ath.  Reflect,  then  ;  there  are  hurts  of  various  kinds  done 
by  the  citizens  to  one  another  in  the  intercourse  of  life, 


The  distinction  between  injustice  and  hurt. 


245 


aflfording  plentiful  examples  both  of  the  voluntary  and  in-   Laws  IX. 

voluntary.  Athenian, 

Cle,  Certainly. 

Ath.  I  would  not  have  any  one  suppose  that  all  these  Forvolun- 
hurts  are  injuries,  and  that  these  injuries  are  of  tvi^o  kinds,  l^^^luntary 
— one,  voluntary,  and  the  other,  involuntary;  for  the  in-  injustice  we 
voluntary  hurts  of  all  men  are  quite  as  many  and  as  great  ^"j^'g"^' 
2  as  the  voluntary  \    And  please  to  consider  whether  I  am  right  justice  and 
or  quite  wrong  in  what  I  am  going  to  say;  for  I  deny,  Cleinias 
and  Megillus,  that  he  who  harms  another  involuntarily  does 
him  an  injury  involuntarily,  nor  should  I  legislate  about  such 
an  act  under  the  idea  that  I  am  legislating  for  an  involuntary 
injury.    But  I  should  rather  say  that  such  a  hurt,  whether 
great  or  small,  is  not  an  injury  at  all ;  and,  on  the  other 
hand,  if  I  am  right,  when  a  benefit  is  wrongly  conferred,  the 
author  of  the  benefit  may  often  be  said  to  injure.    For  I  in  judging 
maintain,  O  my  friends,  that  the  mere  giving  or  taking  away  "^^^j^ 
of  anything  is  not  to  be  described  either  as  just  or  unjust ;  to  the  in- 
but  the  legislator  has  to  consider  whether  mankind  do  good  Mention, 
or  harm  to  one  another  out  of  a  just  principle  and  intention. 
On  the  distinction  between  injustice  and  hurt  he  must  fix  his 
eye ;  and  when  there  is  hurt,  he  must,  as  far  as  he  can,  make 
the  hurt  good  by  law,  and  save  that  which  is  ruined,  and 
raise  up  that  which  is  fallen,  and  make  that  which  is  dead  or 
wounded  whole.    And  when  compensation  has  been  given 
for  injustice,  the  law  must  always  seek  to  win  over  the  doers 
and  sufferers  of  the  several  hurts  from  feelings  of  enmity  to 
those  of  friendship. 
Cle.  Very  good. 

Ath.  Then  as  to  unjust  hurts  (and  gains  also,  supposing 
the  injustice  to  bring  gain),  of  these  we  may  heal  as  many 
as  are  capable  of  being  healed,  regarding  them  as  diseases 
of  the  soul;  and  the  cure  of  injustice  will  take  the  following 
direction. 

Cle.  What  direction  ? 

Ath.  When  any  one  commits  any  injustice,  small  or  great,  The  true 
the  law  will  admonish  and  compel  him  either  never  at  all  to  pl^j",^ 
do  the  like  again,  or  never  voluntarily,  or  at  any  rate  in  mentis  the 
a  far  less  degree  ;  and  he  must  in  ad'dition  pay  for  the  hurt,  reformation 

'  Cp.  Arist.  N.  E.  iii.  cc.  1-5  ;  v.  c.  8. 


246 


Sources  of  crime  ;  conceit  of  wisdom  the  greatest. 


Laws  IX. 

Athenian, 
Cleinias. 

of  the 
offender. 

Death  only 
for  the 
incurable. 


Three 
causes  of 
crime : — 
(i)  Passion 
working  by 
violence  ; 


(2)pleasure, 
by  persua- 
sion and 
deceit : 


(3)  ignor- 
ance, of 
which  there 
are  two 
kinds, 
simple 
ignorance 
and  conceit 
of  wisdom  ; 
and  the 
latter  may 
be  either 
powerful  or 
weak. 


Whether  the  end  is  to  be  attained  by  word  or  action,  with 
pleasure  or  pain,  by  giving  or  taking  away  privileges,  by 
means  of  fines  or  gifts,  or  in  whatsoever  way  the  law  shall 
proceed  to  make  a  man  hate  injustice,  and  love  or  not  hate 
the  nature  of  the  just, — this  is  quite  the  noblest  work  of  law. 
But  if  the  legislator  sees  any  one  who  is  incurable,  for  him 
he  will  appoint  a  law  and  a  penalty.  He  knows  quite  well 
that  to  such  men  themselves  there  is  no  profit  in  the  con- 
tinuance of  their  lives,  and  that  they  would  do  a  double 
good  to  the  rest  of  mankind  if  they  would  take  their  de- 
parture, inasmuch  as  they  would  be  an  example  to  other  8 
men  not  to  offend,  and  they  would  relieve  the  city  of  bad 
citizens.  In  such  cases,  and  in  such  cases  only,  the  legis- 
lator ought  to  inflict  death  as  the  punishment  of  offences. 

Cle.  What  you  have  said  appears  to  me  to  be  very  reason- 
able, but  will  you  favour  me  by  stating  a  little  more  clearly 
the  difference  between  hurt  and  injustice,  and  the  various 
complications  of  the  voluntary  and  involuntary  which  enter 
into  them  ? 

Ath.  I  will  endeavour  to  do  as  you  wish  : — Concerning  the 
soul,  thus  much  would  be  generally  said  and  allowed,  that 
one  element  in  her  nature  is  passion,  which  may  be  de- 
scribed either  as  a  state  or  a  part  of  her,  and  is  hard  to  be 
striven  against  and  contended  with,  and  by  irrational  force 
overturns  many  things. 

Cle.  Very  true. 

Ath.  And  pleasure  is  not  the  same  with  passion,  but  has  an 
opposite  power,  working  her  will  by  persuasion  and  by  the 
force  of  deceit  in  all  things. 

Cle.  Quite  true. 

Ath.  A  man  may  truly  say  that  ignorance  is  a  third  cause 
of  crimes.  Ignorance,  however,  may  be  conveniently  divided 
by  the  legislator  into  two  sorts :  there  is  simple  ignorance, 
which  is  the  source  of  lighter  offences,  and  double  ignorance, 
which  is  accompanied  by  a  conceit  of  wisdom ;  and  he  who  is 
under  the  influence  of  the  latter  fancies  that  he  knows  all 
about  matters  of  which  he  knows  nothing.  This  second  kind 
of  ignorance,  when  possessed  of  power  and  strength,  will  be 
held  by  the  legislator  to  be  the  source  of  great  and  monstrous 
crimes,  but  when  attended  with  weakness,  will  only  result  in 


Five  motives  of  actions  broitght  under  two  heads  of  law.  247 

the  errors  of  children  and  old  men  ;  and  these  he  will  treat  as  Laws  IX. 
errors,  and  will  make  laws  accordingly  for  those  who  commit  Athenian, 
them,  which  will  be  the  mildest  and  most  merciful  of  all  laws.  Cleinias. 
Cle.  You  are  perfectly  right. 

Ath.  We  all  of  us  remark  of  one  man  that  he  is  superior  Passions 
to  pleasure  and  passion,  and  of  another  that  he  is  inferior  to  ^"f^fj^^y 
them  ;  and  this  is  true  be  con- 

Cle.  Certainly.  trolled,  but 

Ath.  But  no  one  was  ever  yet  heard  to  say  that  one  ol  us  ance. 
is  superior  and  another  inferior  to  ignorance. 

Cle.  Very  true. 

Ath.  We  are  speaking  of  motives  which  incite  men  to  the 
fulfilment  of  their  will ;  although  an  individual  may  be  often 
drawn  by  them  in  opposite  directions  at  the  same  time. 

Cle.  Yes,  often. 

Ath.  And  now  I  can  define  to  you  clearly,  and  without 
ambiguity,  what  I  mean  by  the  just  and  unjust,  according 
to  my  notion  of  them  : — When  anger  and  fear,  and  pleasure  The  unjust 
and  pain,  and  jealousies  and  desires,  tyrannize  over  the  soul,  ^^^^g^g^j 
864  whether  they  do  any  harm  or  not, — I  call  all  this  injustice,  by  passion 
But  when  the  opinion  of  the  best,  in  whatever  part  of  human  and  desire  ; 

•••11  1  JUL       the  just 

nature  states  or  individuals  may  suppose  that  to  dwell,  has  soul  follows 
dominion  in  the  soul  and  orders  the  life  of  every  man,  even  ti^e  opinion 
if  it  be  sometimes  mistaken,  yet  what  is  done  in  accordance 
therewith,  and  the  principle  in  individuals  which  obeys  this 
rule,  and  is  best  for  the  whole  life  of  man,  is  to  be  called 
just ;  although  the  hurt  done  by  mistake  is  thought  by  many 
to  be  involuntary  injustice.  Leaving  the  question  of  names,  Recapitu- 
about  which  we  are  not  going  to  quarrel,  and  having  already 
delineated  three  sources  of  error,  we  may  begin  by  recalling 
them  somewhat  more  vividly  to  our  memory: — One  of  them 
was  of  the  painful  sort,  which  we  denominate  anger  and  fear. 
Cle.  Quite  right. 

Ath.  There  was  a  second  consisting  of  pleasures  and 
desires,  and  a  third  of  hopes,  which  aimed  at  true  opinion 
about  the  best.  The  latter  being  subdivided  into  three, 
we  now  get  five  sources  of  actions,  and  for  these  five  we  will 
make  laws  of  two  kinds. 

Cle.  What  are  the  two  kinds  ? 


lation. 


'  Cp.  Rep.  iv.  430  E ;  supra,  i.  626  E,  foil. 


248 


Cases  in  which  the  law  is  to  be  relaxed. 


Laws  IX. 

Athenian, 
Cleinias. 

Two  kinds 
of  actions, 
and  two 
kinds  of 
laws. 


Cases  of 
involuntary 
homi- 
cide : — • 
(i)  He  who 
kills  an- 
other at 
the  games 
must  be 
purified, 
but  is  guilt- 
less ; 


so  also  is 
(2)  the  doc- 
tor whose 
patient 
dies. 


Ath.  There  is  one  kind  of  actions  done  by  violence  and  in 
the  light  of  day,  and  another  kind  of  actions  which  are  done 
in  darkness  and  with  secret  deceit,  or  sometimes  both  with 
violence  and  deceit ;  the  laws  concerning  these  last  ought  to 
have  a  character  of  severity. 

Cle.  Naturally. 

Ath.  And  now  let  us  return  from  this  digression  and  com- 
plete the  work  of  legislation.  Laws  have  been  already  enacted 
by  us  concerning  the  robbers  of  the  Gods,  and  concerning 
traitors,  and  also  concerning  those  who  corrupt  the  laws 
for  the  purpose  of  subverting  the  government.  A  man  may 
very  likely  commit  some  of  these  crirries,  either  in  a  state  of 
madness  or  when  affected  by  disease,  or  under  the  influence 
of  extreme  old  age,  or  in  a  fit  of  childish  wantonness,  himself 
no  better  than  a  child.  And  if  this  be  made  evident  to  the 
judges  elected  to  try  the  cause,  on  the  appeal  of  the  criminal 
or  his  advocate,  and  he  be  judged  to  have  been  in  this  state 
when  he  committed  the  offence,  he  shall  simply  pay  for  the 
hurt  which  he  may  have  done  to  another;  but  he  shall  be 
exempt  from  other  penalties,  unless  he  have  slain  some  one, 
and  have  on  his  hands  the  stain  of  blood.  And  in  that  case 
he  shall  go  to  another  land  and  country,  and  there  dwell  for 
a  year;  and  if  he  return  before  the  expiration  of  the  time 
which  the  law  appoints,  or  even  set  his  foot  at  all  on  his 
native  land,  he  shall  be  bound  by  the  guardians  of  the  law 
in  the  public  prison  for  two  years,  and  then  go  free. 

Having  begun  to  speak  of  homicide,  let  us  endeavour  to 
lay  down  laws  concerning  every  different  kind  of  homicide ; 
and,  first  of  all,  concerning  violent  and  involuntary  homicides. 
If  any  one  in  an  athletic  contest,  and  at  the  public  games, 
involuntarily  kills  a  friend,  and  he  dies  either  at  the  time  or 
afterwards  of  the  blows  which  he  has  received ;  or  if  the  like 
misfortune  happens  to  any  one  in  war,  or  military  exercises, 
or  mimic  contests  of  which  the  magistrates  enjoin  the  prac- 
tice, whether  with  or  without  arms,  when  he  has  been 
purified  according  to  the  law  brought  from  Delphi  relating 
to  these  matters,  he  shall  be  innocent.  And  so  in  the  case 
of  physicians  :  if  their  patient  dies  against  their  will,  they 
shall  be  held  guiltless  by  the  law.  And  if  one  slay  another 
with  his  own  hand,  but  unintentionally,  whether  he  be  un- 


Involuntary  homicide  and  its  atonement. 


249 


armed  or  have  some  instrument  or  dart  in  his  hand  ;  or  if  he  Larvs  IX. 

kill  him  by  administering  food  or  drink,  or  by  the  appli-  Athenian. 
cation  of  fire  or  cold,  or  by  suflfocating  him,  whether  he  do 
the  deed  by  his  own  hand,  or  by  the  agency  of  others,  he 
shall  be  deemed  the  agent,  and  shall  suffer  one  of  the  following 

penalties: — If  he  kill  the  slave  of  another  in  the  belief  that  (3)  if  a 

he  is  his  own,  he  shall  bear  the  master  of  the  dead  man  ^jfjljl'g'ig 

harmless  from  loss,  or  shall  pay  a  penalty  of  twice  the  value  slave,  he 

of  the  dead  man,  which  the  judges  shall  assess;  but  puri-  must  make 

'  JO  '  i  restitution 

fications  must  be  used  greater  and  more  numerous  than  to  the 
for  those  who  committed  homicide  at  the  games ; — what  they         '  ^"'^ 

•        I    u  n  L  undergo 

are  to  be,  the  interpreters  whom  the  God  appoints  shall  be  purifica- 
authorized  to  declare.    And  if  a  man  kills  his  own  slave,  •''^s 

when  he  has  been  purified  according  to  law,  he  shall  be  quit  (4)  who  kills 

of  the  homicide.    And  if  a  man  kills  a  freeman  uninten-  his  own 
tionally,  he  shall  undergo  the  same  purification  as  he  did 

who  killed  the  slave.     But  let  him  not  forget  also  a  tale  (s)  The 

of  olden  time,  which  is  to  this  effect: — He  who  has  suffered  f'eeman,^ 

a  violent  end,  when  newly  dead,  if  he  has  had  the  soul  of  whether 

a  freeman  in  life,  is  angry  with  the  author  of  his  death  ;  and  stmnge°"^ 

being  himself  full  of  fear  and  panic  by  reason  of  his  violent  must  be 

end,  when  he  sees  his  murderer  walking  about  in  his  own  ^"^'j^^'^j^^g"'' 

accustomed  haunts,  he  is  stricken  with  terror  and  becomes  ghost  of  the 

disordered,  and  this  disorder  of  his,  aided  by  the  guilty  sufferer  for 

recollection  of  the  other,  is  communicated  by  him  with  ^ 
overwhelming  force  to  the  murderer  and  his  deeds.  Where- 
fore also  the  murderer  must  go  out  of  the  way  of  his  victim 
for  the  entire  period  of  a  year,  and  not  himself  be  found  in 
any  spot  which  was  familiar  to  him  throughout  the  country. 
And  if  the  dead  man  be  a  stranger,  the  homicide  shall  be 
866  kept  from  the  country  of  the  stranger  during  a  like  period. 

If  any  one  voluntarily  obeys  this  law,  the  next  of  kin  to  the  if  he  obeys 
deceased,  seeing  all  that  has  happened,  shall  take  pity  on  him,  gj^^jj^^g^^ 
and  make  peace  with  him,  and  show  him  all  gentleness.    But  forgiven  by 
if  any  one  is  disobedient,  and  either  ventures  to  go  to  any  of  if°^ 
the  temples  and  sacrifice  unpurified,  or  will  not  continue  in  he  disobey 
exile  during  the  appointed  time,  the  next  of  kin  to  the 
deceased  shall  proceed  against  him  for  murder ;  and  if  he  s^aii  prose- 
be  convicted,  every  part  of  his  punishment  shall  be  doubled,  cute  him 

'  Cp.  supra,  vi.  759. 


250  Homicide  committed  in  anger 

Laws  IX.  And  if  the  next  of  kin  do  not  proceed  against  the  perpetrator 
Athenian,  of  the  Crime,  then  the  pollution  shall  be  deemed  to  fall  upon 
for  murder  his  own  head  ;— the  murdered  man  will  fix  the  guilt  upon  his 
sei?^^™"  he  who  has  a  mind  to  proceed  against  him 

cuted  for  ^'^^  Compel  him  to  be  absent  from  his  country  during  five 
neglect.  years,  according  to  law.  If  a  stranger  unintentionally  kill 
a  stranger  who  is  dwelling  in  the  city,  he  who  likes  shall 
(6)  A  metic  prosecute  the  cause  according  to  the  same  rules.  If  he  be 
su^a°nger^^  a  metic,  let  him  be  absent  for  a  year,  or  if  he  be  an  entire 
must  be  Stranger,  in  addition  to  the  purification,  whether  he  have  slain 
punfiedand  ^  stranger,  or  a  metic,  or  a  citizen,  he  shall  be  banished 

go  into  exile  . 

for  a  year;  for  life  from  the  country  which  is  in  possession  of  our 
(T^'a  stran  return  contrary  to  law,  let  the  guardians 

gerwho  of  the  law  punish  him  with  death;  and  let  them  hand  over 
kilisanyone  his  property,  if  he  have  any,  to  him  who  is  next  of  kin  to 
banished  Sufferer.    And  if  he  be  wrecked,  and  driven  on  the 

for  life.  coast  against  his  will,  he  shall  take  up  his  abode  on  the  sea- 
shore, wetting  his  feet  in  the  sea,  and  watching  for  an 
opportunity  of  sailing ;  but  if  he  be  brought  by  land,  and 
is  not  his  own  master,  let  the  magistrate  whom  he  first 
comes  across  in  the  city,  release  him  and  send  him  un- 
harmed over  the  border. 
Homicide  If  any  one  slays  a  freeman  with  his  own  hand,  and  the 
arismgfrom  (jegj  j^g  done  in  passion,  in  the  case  of  such  actions  we 

passion,  if  ' , 

premcdi-     must  begin  by  making  a  distinction.    For  a  deed  is  done 
tated,  is  the  H-om  passion  either  when  men  suddenly,  and  without  inten- 
the  volun-    ^ion  to  kill,  cause  the  death  of  another  by  blows  and  the  like 
tary;  ifun-  on  a  momentary  impulse,  and  are  sorry  for  the  deed  imme- 
fated'^^'"     diately  afterwards ;  or  again,  when  after  having  been  insulted 
of  the  in-     in  deed  or  word,  men  pursue  revenge,  and  kill  a  person  inten- 
voluntaiy.    tJonally,  and  are  not  sorry  for  the  act.    And,  therefore, 
we  must  assume  that  these  homicides  are  of  two  kinds,  both 
of  them  arising  from  passion,  which  may  be  justly  said  to  be 
in  a  mean  between  the  voluntary  and  involuntary;  at  the  8 
same  time,  they  are  neither  of  them  anything  more  than 
a  likeness  or  shadow  of  either.    He  who  treasures  up  his 
anger,  and  avenges  himself,  not  immediately  and  at  the 
moment,  but  with  insidious  design,  and  after  an  interval, 
is  like  the  voluntary;  but  he  who  does  not  treasure  up  his 
anger,  and  takes  vengeance  on  the  instant,  and  without  malice 


zvith  or  withoiU  premeditation. 


prepense,  approaches  to  the  involuntary;  and  yet  even  he  is   Laws  IX. 
not  altogether  involuntary,  but  is  only  the  image  or  shadow 

Athenian, 

of  the  involuntary;  wherefore  about  homicides  committed  in  Cleinias. 
hot  blood,  there  is  a  difficulty  in  determining  whether  in 
legislating  we  shall  reckon  them  as  voluntary  or  as  partly 
involuntary.    The  best  and  truest  view  is  to  regard  them  re- 
spectively as  likenesses  only  of  the  voluntary  and  involuntary, 
and  to  distinguish  them  accordingly  as  they  are  done  with  or 
without  premeditation.    And  we  should  make  the  penalties  The  former 
heavier  for  those  who  commit  homicide  with  angry  premedita-  ^^^^^^l 
tion,  and  lighter  for  those  who  do  not  premeditate,  but  smite  heavier 
upon  the  instant ;  for  that  which  is  like  a  greater  evil  should  be 
punished  more  severely,  and  that  which  is  like  a  less  evil  should 
be  punished  less  severely :  this  shall  be  the  rule  of  our  laws. 
Cle.  Certainly. 

Ath.  Let  us  proceed  :— If  any  one  slays  a  freeman  with  his  Cases  of 
own  hand,  and  the  deed  be  done  in  a  moment  of  anger,  and 

'  .  done  in  pas- 

^   without  premeditation,  let  the  offender  suffer  in  other  respects  sion  :— 

as  the  involuntary  homicide  would  have  suffered,  and  also  ^j)    a  man 

undergo  an  exile  of  two  years,  that  he  may  learn  to  school  his  man  with- 
passions.     But  he  who  slays  another  from  passion,  yet  with  P''^" 

^  „  '  ^.  meditation, 

premeditation,  shall  m  other  respects  suffer  as  the  former ;  he  shall  be 
and  to  this  shall  be  added  an  exile  of  three  instead  of  two  exiled  for 

,  .  .  ,  •         1      1  1  1  •  •       ■     two  years  ; 

years, — his  punishment  is  to  be  longer  because  his  passion  is      if  with 
greater.    The  manner  of  their  return  shall  be  on  this  wise  :  premedita- 
(and  here  the  law  has  difficulty  in  determining  exactly;  for  Jhre'e  years 
in  some  cases  the  murderer  who  is  judged  by  the  law  to  be 
the  worse  may  really  be  the  less  cruel,  and  he  who  is  judged 
the  less  cruel  may  be  really  the  worse,  and  may  have  exe- 
cuted the  murder  in  a  more  savage  manner,  whereas  the 
other  may  have  been  gentler.    But  in  general  the  degrees  of 
guilt  will  be  such  as  we  have  described  them.    Of  all  these 
things  the  guardians  of  the  law  must  take  cognizance) : — 
When  a  homicide  of  either  kind  has  completed  his  term  The  return 
of  exile,  the  guardians  shall  send   twelve  judges  to  the 
borders  of  the  land  ;  these  during  the  interval  shall  have 
informed  themselves  of  the  actions  of  the  criminals,  and 
they  shall  judge  respecting  their  pardon  and  reception  ; 
868  and  the  homicides  shall  abide  by  their  judgment.    But  if  The  second 
after  they  have  returned  home,  any  one  of  them  in  a  moment 


252 


Homicide  unpremeditated  but  unnatural. 


Laws  IX. 
Athenian. 

(3)  If  a  man 
killshisown 
slave,  he 
shall  be 
purified  ; 

(4)  if  an- 
other's, pay 
to  the  owner 
double  his 
value. 


(5)The  slave 
who  kills  a 
freeman  to 
be  punished 
with  death. 


(6)  The 
parent  who 
killsachild 
shall  be 
exiled  for 
three  years 
and  de- 
barred from 
sharing  in 
the  family 
rites : 


so  too 
(7)  the  hus- 
band who 
kills  his 
wife  or  the 
wife  who 
kills  her 
husband  ; 


and  (8)  the 
brother  or 
sister  who 
kills  a 


of  anger  repeats  the  deed,  let  him  be  an  exile,  and  return  no 
more ;  or  if  he  returns,  let  him  suffer  as  the  stranger  was  to 
suffer  in  a  similar  case.  He  who  kills  his  own  slave  shall 
undergo  a  purification,  but  if  he  kills  the  slave  of  another  in 
anger,  he  shall  pay  twice  the  amount  of  the  loss  to  his  owner. 
And  if  any  homicide  is  disobedient  to  the  law,  and  without 
purification  pollutes  the  agora,  or  the  games,  or  the  temples, 
he  who  pleases  may  bring  to  trial  the  next  of  kin  to  the  dead 
man  for  permitting  him,  and  the  murderer  with  him,  and  may 
compel  the  one  to  exact  and  the  other  to  suffer  a  double 
amount  of  fines  and  purifications;  and  the  accuser  shall  him- 
self receive  the  fine  in  accordance  with  the  law.  If  a  slave  in 
a  fit  of  passion  kills  his  master,  the  kindred  of  the  deceased 
man  may  do  with  the  murderer  (provided  only  they  do  not 
spare  his  life)  whatever  they  please,  and  they  will  be  pure ; 
or  if  he  kills  a  freeman,  who  is  not  his  master,  the  owner 
shall  give  up  the  slave  to  the  relatives  of  the  deceased,  and 
they  shall  be  under  an  obligation  to  put  him  to  death,  but 
this  may  be  done  in  any  manner  which  they  please.  And  if 
(which  is  a  rare  occurrence,  but  does  sometimes  happen) 
a  father  or  a  mother  in  a  moment  of  passion  slays  a  son  or 
daughter  by  blows,  or  some  other  violence,  the  slayer  shall 
undergo 'the  same  purification  as  in  other  cases,  and  be 
exiled  during  three  years ;  but  when  the  exile  returns  the 
wife  shall  separate  from  the  husband,  and  the  husband  from 
the  wife,  and  they  shall  never  afterwards  beget  children 
together,  or  live  under  the  same  roof,  or  partake  of  the  same 
sacred  rites  with  those  whom  they  have  deprived  of  a  child 
or  of  a  brother.  And  he  who  is  impious  and  disobedient  in 
such  a  case  shall  be  brought  to  trial  for  impiety  by  any  one 
who  pleases.  If  in  a  fit  of  anger  a  husband  kills  his  wedded 
wife,  or  the  wife  her  husband,  the  slayer  shall  undergo  the 
same  purification,  and  the  term  of  exile  shall  be  three  years. 
And  when  he  who  has  committed  any  such  crime  returns, 
let  him  have  no  communication  in  sacred  rites  with  his 
children,  neither  let  him  sit  at  the  same  table  with  them, 
and  the  father  or  son  who  disobeys  shall  be  liable  to  be 
brought  to  trial  for  impiety  by  any  one  who  pleases.  If 
a  brother  or  a  sister  in  a  fit  of  passion  kills  a  bi-other  or 
a  sister,  they  shall  undergo  purification  and  exile,  as  was 


Hotnicide  jtistifiable  and  excusable. 


253 


the  case  with  parents  who  killed  their  offspring :  they  shall  Laws  IX. 
not  come  under  the  same  roof,  or  share  in  the  sacred  rites  Athenian. 
of  those  whom  they  have  deprived  of  their  brethren,  or  of  brother  or 
869  their  children.    And  he  who  is  disobedient  shall  be  justly 
liable  to  the  law  concerning  impiety,  which  relates  to  these 
matters.    If  any  one  is  so  violent  in  his  passion  against  his  (9)  The 
parents,  that  in  the  madness  of  his  anger  he  dares  to  kill  ^^^/js^^^'^" 
one  of  them,  if  the  murdered  person  before  dying  freely  parent  to  be 
forgives  the  murderer,  let  him  undergo  the  purification  which  ^'j'^^'^^'^^'j^ 
is  assigned  to  those  who  have  been  guilty  of  involuntary  if  not  for-' 
homicide,  and  do  as  they  do,  and  he  shall  be  pure.    But  if  g'ven. 
he  be  not  acquitted,  the  perpetrator  of  such  a  deed  shall 
be  amenable  to  many  laws ; — he  shall  be  amenable  to  the 
extreme  punishments  for  assault,  and  impiety,  and  robbing 
of  temples,  for  he  has  robbed  his  parent  of  life ;  and  if  a 
man  could  be  slain  more  than  once,  most  justly  would  he 
who  in  a  fit  of  passion  has  slain  father  or  mother,  undergo 
many  deaths.    How  can  he,  whom,  alone  of  all  men,  even 
in  defence  of  his  life,  and  when  about  to  suffer  death  at 
the  hands  of  his  parents,  no  law  will  allow  to  kill  his  father 
or  his  mother  who  are  the  authors  of  his  being,  and  whom  the 
legislator  will  command  to  endure  any  extremity  rather  than 
do  this — how  can  he,  I  say,  lawfully  receive  any  other  punish- 
ment ?    Let  death  then  be  the  appointed  punishment  of  him 
who  in  a  fit  of  passion  slays  his  father  or  his  mother.    But  if  Homicide 
brother  kills  brother  in  a  civil  broil,  or  under  other  like  cir- 

or  in  self- 

cumstances,  if  the  other  has  begun,  and  he  only  defends  defence  (ex- 
himself,  let  him  be  free  from  guilt,  as  he  would  be  if  he  had  "^^p'  ^hen 

sls-VG  kills 

slain  an  enemy;  and  the  same  rule  will  apply  if  a  citizen  kill  a  freeman) 
a  citizen,  or  a  stranger  a  stranger.    Or  if  a  stranger  kill  a  is  free  from 
citizen  or  a  citizen  a  stranger  in  self-defence,  let  him  be 
free  from  guilt  in  Hke  manner ;  and  so  in  the  case  of  a  slave 
who  has  killed  a  slave ;  but  if  a  slave  have  killed  a  freeman 
in  self-defence,  let  him  be  subject  to  the  same  law  as  he  who 
has  killed  a  father;  and  let  the  law  about  the  remission  of 
penalties  in  the  case  of  parricide  apply  equally  to  every 
other  remission.    Whenever  any  sufferer  of  his  own  accord  j^f °rgiven^' 
remits  the  guilt  of  homicide  to  another,  under  the  idea  that  his  by  his 
act  was  involuntary,  let  the  perpetrator  of  the  deed  undergo  te'^brnished 
a  purification  and  remain  in  exile  for  a  year,  according  to  law.  for  a  year. 


254 


The  causes  of  voluntary  homicide. 


Laws  IX. 

Athenian, 
Cleinias. 


Crimes 
committed 
voluntarily 
and  with 
premedita- 
tion are  due 
to  three 
causes : — 

(i)  avarice : 


(2)  ambi- 
tion : 


(3)  coward- 
ly fear. 


Enough  has  been  said  of  murders  violent  and  involuntary 
and  committed  in  passion :  we  have  now  to  speak  of  volun- 
tary crimes  done  with  injustice  of  every  kind  and  with  pre- 
meditation, through  the  influence  of  pleasures,  and  desires, 
and  jealousies. 

Cle.  Very  good. 

Ath.  Let  us  first  speak,  as  far  as  we  are  able,  of  their 
various  kinds.  The  greatest  cause  of  them  is  lust,  which  870 
gets  the  mastery  of  the  soul  maddened  by  desire  ;  and  this 
is  most  commonly  found  to  exist  where  the  passion  reigns 
which  is  strongest  and  most  prevalent  among  the  mass  of 
mankind  :  I  mean  where  the  power  of  wealth  breeds  endless 
desires  of  never-to-be-satisfied  acquisition,  originating  in 
natural  disposition,  and  a  miserable  want  of  education.  Of 
this  want  of  education,  the  false  praise  of  wealth  which  is 
bruited  about  both  among  Hellenes  and  barbarians  is  the 
cause ;  they  deem  that  to  be  the  first  of  goods  which  in 
reality  is  only  the  third.  And  in  this  way  they  wrong  both 
posterity  and  themselves,  for  nothing  can  be  nobler  and 
better  than  that  the  truth  about  wealth  should  be  spoken  in 
all  states — namely,  that  riches  are  for  the  sake  of  the  body,  as 
the  body  is  for  the  sake  of  the  soul.  They  are  good,  and 
wealth  is  intended  by  nature  to  be  for  the  sake  of  them,  and 
is  therefore  inferior  to  them  both,  and  third  in  order  of  ex- 
cellence. This  argument  teaches  us  that  he  who  would  be 
happy  ought  not  to  seek  to  be  rich,  or  rather  he  should  seek 
to  be  rich  justly  and  temperately,  and  then  there  would  be 
no  murders  in  states  requiring  to  be  purged  away  by  other 
murders.  But  now,  as  I  said  at  first,  avarice  is  the  chiefest 
cause  and  source  of  the  worst  trials  for  voluntary  homicide. 
A  second  cause  is  ambition  :  this  creates  jealousies,  which 
are  troublesome  companions,  above  all  to  the  jealous  man 
himself,  and  in  a  less  degree  to  the  chiefs  of  the  state.  And 
a  third  cause  is  cowardly  and  unjust  fear,  which  has  been  the 
occasion  of  many  murders.  When  a  man  is  doing  or  has 
done  something  which  he  desires  that  no  one  should  know 
him  to  be  doing  or  to  have  done,  he  will  take  the  life  of  those 
who  are  likely  to  inform  of  such  things,  if  he  have  no  other 
means  of  getting  rid  of  them.  Let  this  be  said  as  a  prelude 
concerning  crimes  of  violence  in  general ;  and  I  must  not 


Ptmishments  and  modes  of  procedinr. 


255 


the  nearest 
kinsmen. 


omit  to  mention  a  tradition  which  is  firmly  believed  by  many,  Lmus  IX. 
and  has  been  received  by  them  from  those  who  are  learned 

Athenian. 

in  the  mysteries  :  they  say  that  such  deeds  will  be  punished  in  xhepunish- 
the  world  below,  and  also  that  when  the  perpetrators  return  to  mentsof  the 

,  ,  ,         1  •  1    •      1       I.  worldbelow 

this  world  they  will  pay  the  natural  penalty  which  is  due  to  ^^^^^ 
the  sufferer,  and  end  their  lives  in  like  manner  by  the  hand  men  re- 
of  another.    If  he  who  is  about  'to  commit  murder  beheves  g^^h." 
this,  and  is  made  by  the  mere  prelude  to  dread  such  a  penalty, 
there  is  no  need  to  proceed  with  the  proclamation  of  the  law. 
But  if  he  will  not  listen,  let  the  following  law  be  declared  and  The  law:— 
I  registered  against  him :— Whoever  shall  wrongfully  and  of 
design  slay  with  his  own  hand  any  of  his  kinsmen,  shall  in  slayers  of 
the  first  place  be  deprived  of  legal  privileges ;  and  he  shall  '^'"'^''ed. 
not  pollute  the  temples,  or  the  agora,  or  the  harbours,  or  any 
other  place  of  meeting,  whether  he  is  forbidden  of  men  or 
not;  for  the  law,  which  represents  the  whole  state,  forbids 
him,  and  always  is  and  will  be  in  the  attitude  of  forbidding 
him.    And  if  a  cousin  or  nearer  relative  of  the  deceased.  Duties  of 
whether  on  the  male  or  female  side,  does  not  prosecute  the 
homicide  when  he  ought,  and  have  him  proclaimed  an  outlaw,  and  the 
he  shall  in  the  first  place  be  involved  in  the  pollution,  and  incur  punishment 
the  hatred  of  the  Gods,  even  as  the  curse  of  the  law  stirs  up  neglects 
the  voices  of  men  against  him  ;  and  in  the  second  place  he 
shall  be  liable  to  be  prosecuted  by  any  one  who  is  willing  to 
inflict  retribution  on  behalf  of  the  dead.    And  he  who  would 
avenge  a  murdershallobserveall  the  precautionary  ceremonies 
of  lavation,  and  any  others  which  the  God  commands  in  cases 
of  this  kind.    Let  him  have  proclamation  made,  and  then  go 
forth  and  compel  the  perpetrator  to  suffer  the  execution  of 
justice  according  to  the  law.    Now  the  legislator  may  easily 
show  that  these  things  must  be  accomplished  by  prayers  and 
sacrifices  to  certain  Gods,  who  are  concerned  with  the  pre- 
vention of  murders  in  states.    But  who  these  Gods  are,  and 
what  should  be  the  true  manner  of  instituting  such  trials  with 
due  regard  to  religion,  the  guardians  of  the  law,  aided  by  the 
interpreters,  and  the  prophets,  and  the  God,  shall  determine, 
and  when  they  have  determined  let  them  carry  on  the  prose- 
cution at  law.    The  cause  shall  have  the  same  judges  ^  who 
are  appointed  to  decide  in  the  case  of  those  who  plunder 

'  Cp.  supra,  855  C. 


256 


The  instigator  of  murder. 


Laws  IX. 

Athenian. 
The  mur- 
derer to  be 
punished 
with  death 
if  convicted. 
He  mayfly, 
but  must 
not  return. 


The  insti- 
gator of  a 
murder  is 
as  guilty  as 
the  doer, 
and  lil<e 
him,  shall 
sufferdeath, 


Various 
cases  of 
murder 
and  their 
punish- 
ments. 


temples.  Let  him  who  is  convicted  be  punished  with  death, 
and  let  him  not  be  buried  in  the  country  of  the  murdered 
man,  for  this  would  be  shameless  as  well  as  impious.  But  if 
he  fly  and  will  not  stand  his  trial,  let  him  fly  for  ever;  or,  if  he 
set  foot  anywhere  on  any  part  of  the  murdered  man's  country, 
let  any  relation  of  the  deceased,  or  any  other  citizen  who  may 
first  happen  to  meet  with  him,  kill  him  with  impunity,  or 
bind  and  deliver  him  to  those  among  the  judges  of  the  case 
who  are  magistrates,  that  they  ma}'  put  him  to  death.  And  let 
the  prosecutor  demand  surety  of  him  whom  he  prosecutes ; 
three  sureties  sufficient  in  the  opinion  of  the  magistrates  who 
try  the  cause  shall  be  provided  by  him,  and  they  shall  under- 
take to  produce  him  at  the  trial.  But  if  he  be  unwilling  or 
unable  to  provide  sureties,  then  the  magistrates  shall  take  him 
and  keep  him  in  bonds,  and  produce  him  at  the  day  of  trial. 

If  a  man  do  not  commit  a  murder  with  his  own  hand,  but  872 
contrives  the  death  of  another,  and  is  the  author  of  the  deed 
in  intention  and  design,  and  he  continues  to  dwell  in  the  city, 
having  his  soul  not  pure  of  the  guilt  of  murder,  let  him  be 
tried  in  the  same  way,  except  in  what  relates  to  the  sureties ; 
and  also,  if  he  be  found  guilty,  his  body  after  execution  may 
have  burial  in  his  native  land,  but  in  all  other  respects  his 
case  shall  be  as  the  former ;  and  whether  a  stranger  shall  kill 
a  citizen,  or  a  citizen  a  stranger,  or  a  slave  a  slave,  there 
shall  be  no  difference  as  touching  murder  by  one's  own  hand 
or  by  contrivance,  except  in  the  matter  of  sureties ;  and 
these,  as  has  been  said,  shall  be  required  of  the  actual  mur- 
derer only,  and  he  who  brings  the  accusation  shall  bind 
them  over  at  the  time.  If  a  slave  be  convicted  of  slaying  a 
freeman  voluntarily,  either  by  his  own  hand  or  by  contrivance, 
let  the  public  executioner  take  him  in  the  direction  of  the 
sepulchre,  to  a  place  whence  he  can  see  the  tomb  of  the  dead 
man,  and  inflict  upon  him  as  many  stripes  as  the  person  who 
caught  him  orders,  and  if  he  survive,  let  him  put  him  to  death. 
And  if  any  one  kills  a  slave  who  has  done  no  wrong,  because 
he  is  afraid  that  he  may  inform  of  some  base  and  evil  deeds 
of  his  own,  or  for  any  similar  reason,  in  such  a  case  let  him 
pay  the  penalty  of  murder,  as  he  would  have  done  if  he  had 
slain  a  citizen.  There  are  things  about  which  it  is  terrible 
and  unpleasant  to  legislate,  but  impossible  not  to  legislate. 


The  punishment  of  slayers  of  kindred. 


257 


If,  for  example,  there  should  be  murders  of  kinsmen,  either  Laws  IX. 
perpetrated  by  the  hands  of  kinsmen,  or  by  their  contrivance,  Athenian. 
voluntary  and  purely  malicious,  which  most  often  Iiappen  in 
ill-regulated  and  ill-educated  states,  and  may  perhaps  occur 
even  in  a  country  where  a  man  would  not  expect  to  find 
them,  we  must  repeat  once  more  the  tale  which  we  narrated 
a  little  while  ago,  in  the  hope  that  he  who  hears  us  will  be 
the  more  disposed  to  abstain  voluntarily  on  these  grounds 
from  murders  which  are  utterly  abominable.    For  the  myth,  The  retri- 
or  saying,  or  whatever  we  ought  to  call  it',  has  been  plainly  |^g"°g" 
set  forth  by  priests  of  old  ;  they  have  pronounced  that  the  the  slayers 
justice  which  guards  and  avenges  the  blood  of  kindred,  of  kinsmen, 
follows  the  law  of  retaliation,  and  ordains  that  he  who  has 
done  any  murderous  act  should  of  necessity  suffer  that  which 
he  has  done.    He  who  has  slain  a  father  shall  himself  be 
slain  at  some  time  or  other  by  his  children,— if  a  mother,  he 
shall  of  necessity  take  a  woman's  nature,  and  lose  his  life  at 
the  hands  of  his  offspring  in  after  ages  ;  for  where  the  blood 
of  a  family  has  been  polluted  there  is  no  other  purification,  nor 
can  the  pollution  be  washed  out  until  the  homicidal  soul  which 
did  the  deed  has  given  life  for  life,  and  has  propitiated  and 
873  laid  to  sleep  the  wrath  of  the  whole  family.    These  are  the 
retributions  of  Heaven,  and  by  such  punishments  men  should 
be  deterred.    But  if  they  are  not  deterred,  and  any  one  The  earthly 
should  be  incited  by  some  fatality  to  deprive  his  father,  or 
mother,  or  brethren,  or  children,  of  life  voluntarily  and  of 
purpose,  for  him  the  earthly  lawgiver  legislates  as  follows  : — 
There  shall  be  the  same  proclamations  about  outlawry,  and 
there  shall  be  the  same  sureties  which  have  been  enacted  in 
the  former  cases.    But  in  his  case,  if  he  be  convicted,  the  The  pun- 
servants  of  the  judges  and  the  magistrates  shall  slay  him  at  ^^^^^^^jj^g 
an  appointed  place  without  the  city  where  three  ways  meet,  manner  of 
and  there  expose  his  body  naked,  and  each  of  the  magistrates  executmg 
on  behalf  of  the  whole  city  shall  take  a  stone  and  cast  it  upon 
the  head  of  the  dead  man,  and  so  deliver  the  city  from  pollu- 
tion ;  after  that,  they  shall  bear  him  to  the  borders  of  the 
land,  and  cast  him  forth  unburied,  according  to  law.  And 
what  shall  he  suffer  who  slays  him  who  of  all  men,  as  they 
say,  is  his  own  best  friend  ?    I  mean  the  suicide,  who  de- 

'  Cp.  supra,  870  D. 
VOL.  v.  S 


258 


The  suicide. 


Laws  IX. 

Athenian. 

The  suicide 
to  be  buried 
alone  in  no- 
man's-land. 


Animals 
which  take 
away  life 
to  be  slain 
and  cast 
forth. 


Lifeless 
things  also 
to  be  cast 
forth. 


When  a 
murderer  is 
unknown, 
he  shall 
still  be 
tried,  and 
if  after- 
wards dis- 
covered, he 
shall  die. 


prives  himself  by  violence  of  his  appointed  share  of  life,  not 
because  the  law  of  the  state  requires  him,  nor  yet  under  the 
compulsion  of  some  painful  and  inevitable  misfortune  which 
has  come  upon  him,  nor  because  he  has  had  to  suffer  from 
irremediable  and  intolerable  shame,  but  who  from  sloth  or 
want  of  manliness  imposes  upon  himself  an  unjust  penalt}'. 
For  him,  what  ceremonies  there  are  to  be  of  purification  and 
burial  God  knows,  and  about  these  the  next  of  kin  should 
enquire  of  the  interpreters  and  of  the  laws  thereto  relating, 
and  do  according  to  their  injunctions.  They  who  meet  their 
death  in  this  way  shall  be  buried  alone,  and  none  shall  be 
laid  by  their  side ;  they  shall  be  buried  ingloriously  in  the 
borders  of  the  twelve  portions  of  the  land,  in  such  places  as 
are  uncultivated  and  nameless,  and  no  column  or  inscription 
shall  mark  the  place  of  their  interment.  And  if  a  beast  of 
burden  or  other  animal  cause  the  death  of  any  one,  except  in 
the  case  of  an3fthing  of  that  kind  happening  to  a  competitor 
in  the  public  contests,  the  kinsmen  of  the  deceased  shall 
prosecute  the  slayer  for  murder,  and  the  wardens  of  the 
country,  such,  and  so  many  as  the  kinsmen  appoint,  shall  try 
the  cause,  and  let  the  beast  when  condemned  be  slain  by 
them,  and  let  them  cast  it  be3'ond  the  borders.  And  if  any 
lifeless  thing  deprive  a  man  of  life,  except  in  the  case  of  a 
thunderbolt  or  other  fatal  dart  sent  from  the  Gods, — whether 
a  man  is  killed  by  lifeless  objects  falling  upon  him,  or  by  his  874 
falling  upon  them,  the  nearest  of  kin  shall  appoint  the  nearest 
neighbour  to  be  a  judge,  and  thereby  acquit  himself  and  the 
whole  family  of  guilt.  And  he  shall  cast  forth  the  guilty 
thing  beyond  the  border,  as  has  been  said  about  the  animals. 

If  a  man  is  found  dead,  and  his  murderer  be  unknown,  and 
after  a  diligent  search  cannot  be  detected,  there  shall  be  the 
same  proclamation  as  in  the  previous  cases,  and  the  same 
interdict  on  the  murderer  ;  and  having  proceeded  against 
him,  they  shall  proclaim  in  the  agora  by  a  herald,  that  he 
who  has  slain  such  and  such  a  person,  and  has  been  con- 
victed of  murder,  shall  not  set  his  foot  in  the  temples,  nor  at 
all  in  the  country  of  the  murdered  man,  and  if  he  appears 
and  is  discovered,  he  shall  die,  and  be  cast  forth  unburied 
beyond  the  border.  Let  this  one  law  then  be  laid  down  by 
us  about  murder;  and  let  cases  of  this  sort  be  so  regarded. 


Homicide  in  self-defence,  Wotmding. 


259 


And  now  let  us  say  in  what  cases  and  under  what  circum-   Laws  IX. 
stances  the  murderer  is  rightly  free  from  guilt:— If  a  man  Athenian. 
catch  a  thief  coming  into  his  house  by  night  to  steal,  and  he  c^ses  of 
take  and  kill  him,  or  if  he  slay  a  footpad  in  self-defence,  he  justifiable 
shall  be  guiltless.    And  any  one  who  does  violence  to  a  free  ^' 
woman  or  a  youth,  shall  be  slain  with  impunity  by  the  injured 
person,  or  by  his  or  her  father  or  brothers  or  sons.    If  a  man 
find  his  wife  suflFering  violence,  he  may  kill  the  violator,  and 
be  guiltless  in  the  eye  of  the  law ;  or  if  a  person  kill  another 
in  warding  off  death  from  his  father  or  mother  or  children  or 
brethren  or  wife  who  are  doing  no  wrong,  he  shall  assuredly 
be  guiltless. 

Thus  much  as  to  the  nurture  and  education  of  the  living 
soul  of  man,  having  which,  he  can,  and  without  which,  if  he 
unfortunately  be  without  them,  he  cannot  live ;  and  also  con- 
cerning the  punishments  which  are  to  be  inflicted  for  violent 
deaths,  let  thus  much  be  enacted.  Of  the  nurture  and  edu- 
cation of  the  body  we  have  spoken  before,  and  next  in  order 
we  have  to  speak  of  deeds  of  violence,  voluntary  and  in- 
voluntary, which  men  do  to  one  another ;  these  we  will  now 
distinguish,  as  far  as  we  are  able,  according  to  their  nature 
and  number,  and  determine  what  will  be  the  suitable  penalties 
of  each,  and  so  assign  to  them  their  proper  place  in  the  series 
of  our  enactments.  The  poorest  legislator  will  have  no  diffi- 
culty in  determining  that  wounds  and  mutilations  arising 
out  of  wounds  should  follow  next  in  order  after  deaths.  Let 
wounds  be  divided  as  homicides  were  divided — into  those 
which  are  involuntary,  and  which  are  given  in  passion  or 
from  fear,  and  those  inflicted  voluntarily  and  with  premedita- 
tion. Concerning  all  this,  we  must  make  some  such  pro- 
clamation as  the  following  : — Mankind  must  have  laws,  and  Prelude  to 
875  conform  to  them,  or  their  life  would  be  as  bad  as  that  of  the  ^"^^^^^ 
most  savage  beast  \  And  the  reason  of  this  is  that  no  man's  wound- 
nature  is  able  to  know  what  is  best  for  human  society ;  or  '"^ '~ 
knowing,  always  able  and  willing  to  do  what  is  best.  In  the 
first  place,  there  is  a  difficulty  in  apprehending  that  the  true 
art  of  politics  is  concerned,  not  with  private  but  with  public 
good  (for  public  good  binds  together  states,  but  private  only 
distracts  them) ;  and  that  both  the  public  and  private  good 

^  Cp.  Arist.  Pol.  i.  2,  §  15. 


26o 


Mankind  not  able  to  dispense  with  Law. 


Laws  IX. 

Athenian, 
Cleinias. 

Laws  are 
necessary 
because  of 
the  selfish- 
ness of 
human 
nature. 


as  well  of  individuals  as  of  states  is  greater  when  the  state 
and  not  the  individual  is  first  considered.  In  the  second 
place,  although  a  person  knows  in  the  abstract  that  this  is 
true,  yet  if  he  be  possessed  of  absolute  and  irresponsible 
power,  he  will  never  remain  firm  in  his  principles  or  persist 
in  regarding  the  public  good  as  primary  in  the  state,  and  the 
private  good  as  secondary.  Human  nature  will  be  always 
drawing  him  into  avarice  and  selfishness,  avoiding  pain  and 
pursuing  pleasure  without  any  reason,  and  will  bring  these 
to  the  front,  obscuring  the  juster  and  better ;  and  so  working 
darkness  in  his  soul  will  at  last  fill  with  evils  both  him  and 
the  whole  city\  For  if  a  man  were  born  so  divinely  gifted 
that  he  could  naturally  apprehend  the  truth,  he  would  have 
no  need  of  laws  to  rule  over  him " ;  for  there  is  no  law  or 
order  which  is  above  knowledge,  nor  can  mind,  without  im- 
piety, be  deemed  the  subject  or  slave  of  any  man,  but  rather 
the  lord  of  all.  I  speak  of  mind,  true  and  free,  and  in  har- 
mony with  nature.  But  then  there  is  no  such  mind  anywhere, 
or  at  least  not  much  ;  and  therefore  we  must  choose  law  and 
order,  which  are  second  best.  These  look  at  things  as  they 
exist  for  the  most  part  only,  and  are  unable  to  survey  the 
whole  of  them.    And  therefore  I  have  spoken  as  I  have. 

And  now  we  will  determine  what  penalty  he  ought  to  pay 
or  suffer  who  has  hurt  or  wounded  another.  Any  one  may 
easily  imagine  the  questions  which  have  to  be  asked  in  all 
such  cases  : — What  did  he  wound,  or  whom,  or  how,  or 
when  ?  for  there  are  innumerable  particulars  of  this  sort 
which  greatly  vary  from  one  another.  And  to  allow  courts 
of  law  to  determine  all  these  things,  or  not  to  determine  any 
of  them,  is  alike  impossible.  There  is  one  particular  which 
they  must  determine  in  all  cases — the  question  of  fact.  And 
then,  again,  that  the  legislator  should  not  permit  them  to 
determine  what  punishment  is  to  be  inflicted  in  any  of  these  876 
cases,  but  should  himself  decide  about  all  of  them,  small  or 
great,  is  next  to  impossible. 

Cle.  Then  what  is  to  be  the  inference  ? 

Aih.  The  inference  is,  that  some  things  should  be  left  to 
courts  of  law ;  others  the  legislator  must  decide  for  himself. 

*  Cp.  supra,  in.  691 ;  iv.  71 1  E,  713  C,  716  A. 
'  Cp.  Statesman,  297  A. 


Hotv  much  power  may  be  given  to  the  courts  ? 


261 


Cle.  And  what  ought  the  legislator  to  decide,  and  what  Laws  IX. 

ought  he  to  leave  to  the  courts  of  law  ?  Athenian, 

Ath.  I  may  reply,  that  in  a  state  in  which  the  courts  are  bad  Cleinias. 
and  mute,  because  the  judges  conceal  their  opinions  and  decide 
causes  clandestinely;  or  what  is  worse,  when  they  are  dis- 
orderly and  noisy,  as  in  a  theatre,  clapping  or  hooting  in  turn 
this  or  that  orator— I  say  that  then  there  is  a  very  serious  evil, 
which  affects  the  whole  state.    Unfortunate  is  the  necessity  if  the 
of  having  to  legislate  for  such  courts,  but  where  the  necessity  j''°^'"are°bad 
exists,  the  legislator  should  only  allow  them  to  ordain  the  they  should 
penalties  for  the  smallest  offences ;  if  the  state  for  which  he  ^^''jf^j''"*'^ 
is  legislating  be  of  this  character,  he  must  take  most  matters  power  of 
into  his  own  hands  and  speak  distinctly.    But  when  a  state  f„g"™"i". 
has  good  courts,  and  the  judges  are  well  trained  and  scrupu-  ties:  to 
louslv  tested,  the  determination  of  the  penalties  or  punish-  good  courts 
ments  which  shall  be  inflicted  on  the  guilty  may  fairly  and  be  left, 
with  advantage  be  left  to  them.    And  we  are  not  to  be 
blamed  for  not  legislating  concerning  all  that  large  class  of 
matters  which  judges  far  worse  educated  than  ours  would  be 
able  to  determine,  assigning  to  each  offence  what  is  due  both 
to  the  perpetrator  and  to  the  sufferer.    We  believe  those  for 
whom  we  are  legislating  to  be  best  able  to  judge,  and  there- 
fore to  them  the  greater  part  may  be  left.    At  the  same  time, 
as  I  have  often  said  \  we  should  exhibit  to  the  judges,  as  we 
have  done,  the  outline  and  form  of  the  punishments  to  be 
inflicted,  and  then  they  will  not  transgress  the  just  rule. 
That  was  an  excellent  practice,  which  we  observed  before, 
and  which  now  that  we  are  resuming  the  work  of  legislation, 
may  with  advantage  be  repeated  by  us. 

Let  the  enactment  about  wounding  be  in  the  following  Wounding 
terms  : — If  any  one  has  a  purpose  and  intention  to  slay  ^"^^/"t^  ^e 
another  who  is  not  his  enemy,  and  whom  the  law  does  not  deemed 
permit  him  to  slay,  and  he  wounds  him,  but  is  unable  to  kill  '""■"der, 

of.,,  1      •  but  only 

877  huTi,  he  who  had  the  intent  and  has  wounded  him  is  not  to  when  chii- 

be  pitied — he  deserves  no  consideration,  but  should  be  re-  drenwound 

garded  as  a  murderer  and  be  tried  for  murder.    Still  having  rents  or  one 

respect  to  the  fortune  which  has  in  a  manner  favoured  him,  another,  or 

and  to  the  providence  which  in  pity  to  him  and  to  the  wounded  wounds  a 

man  saved  the  one  from  a  fatal  blow,  and  the  other  from  an  master,  to 

'  Cp.  supra,  V.  734  E  ;  vi.  770. 


262 


Wounding  with  premeditation, 


Laws  IX. 
Athenian. 

be  punished 
with  death. 


Husband 
wounding 
wife  or  wife 
husband 
shall  be 
exiled  for 
life. 


When  the 
lot  becomes 
vacant 
through 
crime,  the 
kinsmen 
and  the 
guardians 
of  the  law 
shall  select 
some  one  of 
a  virtuous 
family  to 
succeed. 


accursed  fate  and  calamity — as  a  thank-offering  to  this  deity, 
and  in  order  not  to  oppose  his  will — in  such  a  case  the  law  will 
remit  the  punishment  of  death,  and  only  compel  the  offender 
to  emigrate  to  a  neighbouring  city  for  the  rest  of  his  life, 
where  he  shall  remain  in  the  enjoyment  of  all  his  possessions. 
But  if  he  have  injured  the  wounded  man,  he  shall  make  such 
compensation  for  the  injury  as  the  court  deciding  the  cause 
shall  assess,  and  the  same  judges  shall  decide  who  would 
have  decided  if  the  man  had  died  of  his  wounds.  And  if  a 
child  intentionally  wound  his  parents,  or  a  servant  his  master, 
death  shall  be  the  penalty.  And  if  a  brother  or  a  sister 
intentionally  wound  a  brother  or  a  sister,  and  is  found  guilty, 
death  shall  be  the  penalty.  And  if  a  husband  wound  a  wife, 
or  a  wife  a  husband,  with  intent  to  kill,  let  him  or  her 
undergo  perpetual  exile  ;  if  they  have  sons  or  daughters  who 
are  still  young,  the  guardians  shall  take  care  of  their  pro- 
perty, and  have  charge  of  the  children  as  orphans.  If  their 
sons  are  grown  up,  they  shall  be  under  no  obligation  to 
support  the  exiled  parent,  but  they  shall  possess  the  property 
themselves.  And  if  he  who  meets  with  such  a  misfortune 
has  no  children,  the  kindred  of  the  exiled  man  to  the  degree 
of  sons  of  cousins,  both  on  the  male  and  female  side,  shall 
meet  together,  and  after  taking  counsel  with  the  guardians  of 
the  law  and  the  priests,  shall  appoint  a  5040th  citizen  to  be 
the  heir  of  the  house,  considering  and  reasoning  that  no 
house  of  all  the  5040  belongs  to  the  inhabitant  or  to  the. 
whole  family,  but  is  the  public  and  private  property  of  the 
state.  Now  the  state  should  ^eek  to  have  its  houses  as  holy 
and  happy  as  possible.  And  if  any  one  of  the  houses  be 
unfortunate,  and  stained  with  impiety,  and  the  owner  leave 
no  posterity,  but  dies  unmarried,  or  married  and  childless, 
having  suffered  death  as  the  penalty  of  murder  or  some  other 
crime  committed  against  the  Gods  or  against  his  fellow- 
citizens,  of  which  death  is  the  penalty  distinctly  laid  down  in 
the  law ;  or  if  any  of  the  citizens  be  in  perpetual  exile,  and 
also  childless,  that  house  shall  first  of  all  be  purified  and 
undergo  expiation  according  to  law ;  and  then  let  the  kins- 
men of  the  house,  as  we  were  just  now  saying,  and  the 
guardians  of  the  law,  meet  and  consider  what  family  there  is  8 
in  the  state  which  is  of  the  highest  repute  for  virtue  and  also 


and  withoiU  premeditation. 


263 


for  good  fortune,  in  which  there  are  a  number  of  sons  ;  from  Laws  IX. 
that  family  let  them  take  one  and  introduce  him  to  the  father 

Athenian. 

and  forefathers  of  the  dead  man  as  their  son,  and,  for  the 
sake  of  the  omen,  let  him  be  called  so,  that  he  may  be  the 
continuer  of  their  family,  the  keeper  of  their  hearth,  and  the 
minister  of  their  sacred  rites  with  better  fortune  than  his 
father  had  ;  and  when  they  have  made  this  supplication,  they 
shall  make  him  heir  according  to  law,  and  the  offending 
person  they  shall  leave  nameless  and  childless  and  portionless 
when  calamities  such  as  these  overtake  him. 

Now  the  boundaries  of  some  things  do  not  touch  one  Punish- 
another,  but  there  is  a  borderland  which  comes  in  between,  ™o"n^jis°n- 
preventing  them  from  touching.    And  we  were  saying  that  flicted  in 
actions  done  from  passion  are  of  this  nature,  and  come  in  P'^^^'°'^- 
between  the  voluntary  and  involuntary.    If  a  person  be  con- 
victed of  having  inflicted  wounds  in  a  passion,  in  the  first 
place  he  shall  pay  twice  the  amount  of  the  injury,  if  the 
wound  be  curable,  or,  if  incurable,  four  times  the  amount  of 
the  injury;  or  if  the  wound  be  curable,  and  at  the  same  time 
cause  great  and  notable  disgrace  to  the  wounded  person,  he 
shall  pay  fourfold.    And  whenever  any  one  in  wounding 
another  injures  not  only  the  sufferer,  but  also  the  city,  and 
makes  him  incapable  of  defending  his  country  against  the 
enemy,  he,  besides  the  other  penalties,  shall  pay  a  penalty  for 
the  loss  which  the  state  has  incurred.   And  the  penalty  shall 
be,  that  in  addition  to  his  own  times  of  service,  he  shall  serve 
on  behalf  of  the  disabled  person,  and  shall  take  his  place  in 
war;  or,  if  he  refuse,  he  shall  be  liable  to  be  convicted  by 
law  of  refusal  to  serve.    The  compensation  for  the  injury, 
whether  to  be  twofold  or  threefold  or  fourfold,  shall  be  fixed 
by  the  judges  who  convict  him.    And  if,  in  like  manner,  a  The  case  of 
brother  wounds  a  brother,  the  parents  and  kindred  of  either  ^y^^""^^'^ 
sex,  including  the  children  of  cousins,  whether  on  the  male  wounds  a 
or  female  side,  shall  meet,  and  when  they  have  judged  the  ti^other; 
cause,  they  shall  entrust  the  assessment  of  damages  to  the 
parents,  as  is  natural ;  and  if  the  estimate  be  disputed,  then 
the  kinsmen  on  the  male  side  shall  make  the  estimate,  or  if 
they  cannot,  they  shall  commit  the  matter  to  the  guardians  of  of  parents 
the  law.   And  when  similar  charges  of  wounding  are  brought 
by  children  against  their  parents,  those  who  are  more  than  children; 


264 


Variotis  cases  of  asscmll. 


Laivs  IX. 
Athenian. 


of  a  slave 
who 

wounds  a 
freeman. 


Uninten- 
tional hurts 
not  to  be 
punished, 
but  only 
compen- 
sated. 

The  law 
respecting 
assaults 
committed 
by  elders 
and  stran- 
gers. 


The  elder, 
if  he  com- 
mits an  as- 
sault, not 
to  be  struck 
in  return  : 


sixty  years  of  age,  having  children  of  their  own,  not  adopted, 
shall  be  required  to  decide  ;  and  if  any  one  is  convicted,  they 
shall  determine  whether  he  or  she  ought  to  die,  or  suffer 
some  other  punishment  either  greater  than  death,  or,  at  any 
rate,  not  much  less.  A  kinsman  of  the  offender  shall  not  be  879 
allowed  to  judge  the  cause,  not  even  if  he  be  of  the  age 
which  is  prescribed  by  the  law.  If  a  slave  in  a  fit  of  anger 
wound  a  freeman,  the  owner  of  the  slave  shall  give  him  up 
to  the  wounded  man,  who  may  do  as  he  pleases  with  him, 
and  if  he  do  not  give  him  up  he  shall  himself  make  good  the 
injury.  And  if  any  one  says  that  the  slave  and  the  wounded 
man  are  conspiring  together,  let  him  argue  the  point,  and  if 
he  is  cast,  he  shall  pay  for  the  wrong  three  times  over,  but  if  he 
gains  his  case,  the  freeman  who  conspired  with  the  slave  shall 
be  liable  to  an  action  for  kidnapping.  And  if  any  one  un- 
intentionally wounds  another  he  shall  simply  pay  for  the 
harm,  for  no  legislator  is  able  to  control  chance.  In  such  a 
case  the  judges  shall  be  the  same  as  those  who  are  appointed 
in  the  case  of  children  suing  their  parents ;  and  they  shall 
estimate  the  amount  of  the  injury. 

All  the  preceding  injuries  and  every  kind  of  assault  are 
deeds  of  v'olence  ;  and  every  man,  woman,  or  child  ought  to 
consider  that  the  elder  has  the  precedence  of  the  younger  in 
honour',  both  among  the  Gods  and  also  among  men  who 
would  live  in  security  and  happiness.  Wherefore  it  is  a  foul 
thing  and  hateful  to  the  Gods  to  see  an  elder  man  assaulted 
by  a  younger  in  the  city ;  and  it  is  reasonable  that  a  young 
man  when  struck  by  an  elder  should  lightly  endure  his  anger, 
laying  up  in  store  for  himself  a  like  honour  when  he  is  old. 
Let  this  be  the  law: — Every  one  shall  reverence  his  elder 
in  word  and  deed  ;  he  shall  respect  any  one  who  is  twenty 
years  older  than  himself,  whether  male  or  female,  regarding 
him  or  her  as  his  father  or  mother;  and  he  shall  abstain 
from  laying  hands  on  any  one  who  is  of  an  age  to  have  been 
his  father  or  his  mother,  out  of  reverence  to  the  Gods  who 
preside  over  birth  ;  similarly  he  shall  keep  his  hands  from 
a  stranger,  whether  he  be  an  old  inhabitant  or  newly  arrived  ; 
he  shall  not  venture  to  correct  such  an  one  by  blows,  either 
as  the  aggressor  or  in  self-defence.    If  he  thinks  that  some 

>  Cp.  Rep.  V.  465  A. 


and  tkeir  punishments. 


265 


stranger  has  struck  him  out  of  wantonness  or  insolence,  and   Laws  IX. 
ought  to  be  punished,  he  shall  take  him  to  the  wardens  of  Athenian. 
the  city,  but  let  him  not  strike  him,  that  the  stranger  may  be  the  stranger 
kept  far  away  from  the  possibility  of  lifting  up  his  hand  to  be  taken 
against  a  citizen,  and  let  the  wardens  of  the  city  take  the  ^ardens^of 
offender  and  examine  him,  not  forgetting  their  duty  to  the  the  city. 
God  of  Strangers,  and  in  case  the  stranger  appears  to  have 
struck  the  citizen  unjustly,  let  them  inflict  upon  him  as  many 
blows  with  the  scourge  as  he  has  himself  inflicted,  and  quell 
his  presumption.    But  if  he  be  innocent,  they  shall  threaten 
and  rebuke  the  man  who  arrested  him,  and  let  them  both  go. 
880  If  a  person  strikes  another  of  the  same  age  or  somewhat  older  Cases  of 
than  himself,  who  has  no  children,  whether  he  be  an  old  man  (") 

'  '  on  equals 

who  Strikes  an  old  man  or  a  young  man  who  strikes  a  young  in  age  ; 
man,  let  the  person  struck  defend  himself  in  the  natural  way 
without  a  weapon  and  with  his  hands  only.  He  who,  being 
more  than  forty  years  of  age,  dares  to  fight  with  another, 
whether  he  be  the  aggressor  or  in  self-defence,  shall  be  re- 
garded as  rude  and  ill-mannered  and  slavish ; — this  will  be  a 
disgraceful  punishment,  and  therefore  suitable  to  him.  The 
obedient  nature  will  readily  yield  to  such  exhortations,  but 
the  disobedient,  who  heeds  not  the  prelude,  shall  have  the 
law  ready  for  him  : — If  any  man  smite  another  who  is  older  (2)  on 
than  himself,  either  by  twenty  or  by  more  years,  in  the  first  ^l'^^''^-— by 

'    .  .  J         '  citizens ; 

place,  he  who  is  at  hand,  not  being  younger  than  the  com- 
batants, nor  their  equal  in  age,  shall  separate  them,  or  be 
disgraced  according  to  law;  but  if  he  be  the  equal  in  age  of 
the  person  who  is  struck  or  younger,  he  shall  defend  the 
person  injured  as  he  would  a  brother  or  father  or  still  older 
relative.  Further,  let  him  who  dares  to  smite  an  elder  be 
tried  for  assault,  as  I  have  said,  and  if  he  be  found  guilty,  let 
him  be  imprisoned  for  a  period  of  not  less  than  a  year,  or  if 
the  judges  approve  of  a  longer  period,  their  decision  shall  be 
final.  But  if  a  stranger  or  metic  smite  one  who  is  older  by  iindby 
twenty  years  or  more,  the  same  law  shall  hold  about  the  ^"'^"s^''^ 

or  metics. 

bystanders  assisting,  and  he  who  is  found  guilty  in  such  a 
suit,  if  he  be  a  stranger  but  not  resident,  shall  be  imprisoned 
during  a  period  of  two  years  ;  and  a  metic  who  disobeys  the 
laws  shall  be  imprisoned  for  three  years,  unless  the  court 
assign  him  a  longer  term.    And  let  him  who  was  present  in 


266 


The  terro7'-s  of  the  law  and  of  the  world  below. 


Laws  IX. 
Athenian. 


Laws  partly 
for  instruc- 
tion, partly 
for  those 
who  will 
not  listen 
to  instruc- 
tion. 


Hardened 
criminals 
are  not 
affected 
by  the  tales 
of  the  world 
below  :  and 
must  there- 
fore be 
punished 
on  earth. 


Law  about 
striking  a 
parent. 


any  of  these  cases  and  did  not  assist  according  to  law  be 
punished,  if  he  be  of  the  highest  class,  by  paying  a  fine  of  a 
mina ;  or  if  he  be  of  the  second  class,  of  fifty  drachmas  ;  or  if 
of  the  third  class,  by  a  fine  of  thirty  drachmas ;  or  if  he  be 
of  the  fourth  class,  by  a  fine  of  twenty  drachmas  ;  and  the 
generals  and  taxiarchs  and  phylarchs  and  hipparchs  shall 
form  the  court  in  such  cases. 

Laws  are  partly  framed  for  the  sake  of  good  men,  in  order 
to  instruct  them  how  they  may  live  on  friendly  terms  with 
one  another,  and  partly  for  the  sake  of  those  who  refuse  to 
be  instructed,  whose  spirit  cannot  be  subdued,  or  softened, 
or  hindered  from  plunging  into  evil.  These  are  the  persons 
who  cause  the  word  to  be  spoken  which  I  am  about  to  utter ; 
for  them  the  legislator  legislates  of  necessity,  and  in  the 
hope  that  there  may  be  no  need  of  his  laws.  He  who  shall 
dare  to  lay  violent  hands  upon  his  father  or  mother,  or  any 
still  older  relative,  having  no  fear  either  of  the  wrath  of  the 
Gods  above,  or  of  the  punishments  that  are  spoken  of  in  the  i 
world  below,  but  transgresses  in  contempt  of  ancient  and 
universal  traditions  as  though  he  were  too  wise  to  believe  in 
them,  requires  some  extreme  measure  of  prevention.  Now 
death  is  not  the  worst  that  can  happen  to  men  ;  far  worse 
are  the  punishments  which  are  said  to  pursue  them  in  the 
world  below.  But  although  they  are  most  true  tales,  they 
work  on'  such  souls  no  prevention  ;  for  if  they  had  any  effect 
there  would  be  no  slayers  of  mothers,  or  impious  hands 
lifted  up  against  parents ;  and  therefore  the  punishments  of 
this  world  which  are  inflicted  during  life  ought  not  in  such 
cases  to  fall  short,  if  possible,  of  the  terrors  of  the  world 
below.  Let  our  enactment  then  be  as  follows:  — If  a  man 
dare  to  strike  his  father  or  his  mother,  or  their  fathers  or 
mothers,  he  being  at  the  time  of  sound  mind,  then  let  any 
one  who  is  at  hand  come  to  the  rescue  as  has  been  already 
said,  and  the  metic  or  stranger  who  comes  to  the  rescue  shall 
be  called  to  the  first  place  in  the  games  ;  but  if  he  do  not 
come  he  shall  suffer  the  punishment  of  perpetual  exile.  He 
who  is  not  a  metic,  if  he  comes  to  the  rescue,  shall  have 
praise,  and  if  he  do  not  come,  blame.  And  if  a  slave  come  to 
the  rescue,  let  him  be  made  free,  but  if  he  do  not  come  to  the 
rescue,  let  him  receive  loo  strokes  of  the  whip,  by  order  of 


Assaults  committed  by  children  and  slaves. 


267 


the  wardens  of  the  agora,  if  the  occurrence  take  place  in  the  Laws  IX. 
agora ;  or  if  somewhere  in  the  city  beyond  the  Hmits  of  the 

Athenian. 

agora,  any  warden  of  the  city  who  is  in  residence  shall  punish 
him  ;   or  if  in  the  country,  then  the  commanders  of  the 
wardens  of  the  country  \    If  those  who  are  near  at  the  time 
be  inhabitants  of  the  same  place,  whether  they  be  youths,  or 
men,  or  women,  let  them  come  to  the  rescue  and  denounce 
him  as  the  impious  one ;  and  he  who  does  not  come  to  the 
rescue  shall  fall  under  the  curse  of  Zeus,  the  God  of  kindred 
and  of  ancestors,  according  to  law.     And  if  any  one  is  The  pun- 
found  guilty  of  assaulting  a  parent,  let  him  in  the  first  place 
be  for  ever  banished  from  the  city  into  the  country,  and  let  jg  perpetual 
him  abstain  from  the  temples ;  and  if  he  do  not  abstain,  the  exile  from 
wardens  of  the  country  shall  punish  him  with  blows,  or  in  '^^"^"y- 
any  way  which  they  please,  and  if  he  return  he  shall  be  put 
to  death.    And  if  any  freeman  eat  or  drink,  or  have  any 
other  sort  of  intercourse  with  him,  or  only  meeting  him  have 
voluntarily  touched  him,  he  shall  not  enter  into  any  temple, 
nor  into  the  agora,  nor  into  the  city,  until  he  is  purified ;  for 
he  should  consider  that  he  has  become  tainted  by  a  curse. 
And  if  he  disobeys  the  law,  and  pollutes  the  city  and  the 
temples  contrary  to  law,  and  one  of  the  magistrates  sees  him 
and  does  not  indict  him,  when  he  gives  in  his  account  this 
omission  shall  be  a  most  serious  charge. 
2     If  a  slave  strike  a  freeman,  whether  a  stranger  or  a  citizen,  Thepunish- 
let  any  one  who  is  present  come  to  the  rescue,  or  pay  the 
penalty  already  mentioned  ;  and  let  the  bystanders  bind  him,  strikes  a 
and  deliver  him  up  to  the  injured  person,  and  he  receiving  freeman, 
him  shall  put  him  in  chains,  and  inflict  on  him  as  many 
stripes  as  he  pleases  ;  but  having  punished  him  he  must  sur- 
render him  to  his  master  according  to  law,  and  not  deprive 
him  of  his  property.    Let  the  law  be  as  follows  : — The  slave 
who  strikes  a  freeman,  not  at  the  command  of  the  magistrates, 
his  owner  shall  receive  bound  from  the  man  whom  he  has 
stricken,  and  not  release  him  until  the  slave  has  persuaded 
the  man  whom  he  has  stricken  that  he  ought  to  be  released. 
And  let  there  be  the  same  laws  about  women  in  relation  to 
women,  and  about  men  and  women   in  relation  to  one 
another. 

'  Cp.  supra,  vi.  760  B. 


BOOK  X. 


Laws  X. 
Athenian. 

A  general 
law  about 
deeds  of 
violence. 


Insolence 
towards  the 
Gods  arises 
from  irre- 
ligion,  of 
which  there 
are  three 
forms. 


And  now  having  spoken  of  assaults,  let  us  sum  up  all  acts  884 
of  violence  under  a  single  law,  which  shall  be  as  follows  : — 
No  one  shall  take  or  carry  away  any  of  his  neighbour's 
goods,  neither  shall  he  use  anything  which  is  his  neighbour's 
without  the  consent  of  the  owner ;  for  these  are  the  offences 
which  are  and  have  been,  and  will  ever  be,  the  source  of  all 
the  aforesaid  evils.  The  greatest  of  them  are  excesses  and 
insolences  of  youth,  and  are  offences  against  the  greatest 
when  they  are  done  against  religion ;  and  especially  great 
when  in  violation  of  public  and  holy  rites,  or  of  the  partly- 
common  rites  in  which  tribes  and  phratries  share  ;  and  in  885 
the  second  degree  great  when  they  are  committed  against 
private  rites  and  sepulchres,  and  in  the  third  degree  (not  to 
repeat  the  acts  formerly  mentioned),  when  insults  are  offered 
to  parents ;  the  fourth  kind  of  violence  is  when  any  one, 
regardless  of  the  authority  of  the  rulers,  takes  or  carries 
away  or  makes  use  of  anything  which  belongs  to  them,  not 
having  -their  consent ;  and  the  fifth  kind  is  when  the  violation 
of  the  civil  rights  of  an  individual  demands  reparation.  There 
should  be  a  common  law  embracing  all  these  cases.  For  we 
have  already  said  in  general  terms  what  shall  be  the  punish- 
ment of  sacrilege,  whether  fraudulent  or  violent,  and  now  we 
have  to  determine  what  is  to  be  the  punishment  of  those  who 
speak  or  act  insolently  toward  the  Gods.  But  first  we  must 
give  them  an  admonition  which  may  be  in  the  following  terms  : 
— No  one  who  in  obedience  to  the  laws  believed  that  there 
were  Gods,  ever  intentionally  did  any  unholy  act,  or  uttered 
any  unlawful  word  ;  but  he  who  did  must  have  supposed  one 
of  three  things, — either  that  they  did  not  exist, — which  is  the 


The  bad  injitience  of  the  popttlar  religion. 


269 


first  possibility,  or  secondly,  that,  if  they  did,  they  took  no    Laws  X. 
care  of  man,  or  thirdly,  that  they  were  easily  appeased  and  Athenian, 
turned  aside  from  their  purpose  by  sacrifices  and  prayers.  Cleinias. 

Cle.  What  shall  we  say  or  do  to  these  persons  ? 

Ath.  My  good  friend,  let  us  first  hear  the  jests  which  I 
suspect  that  they  in  their  superiority  will  utter  against  us. 

Cle.  What  jests? 

Ath.  They  will  make  some  irreverent  speech  of  this  sort : —  The  un- 
'  O  inhabitants  of  Athens,  and  Sparta,  and  Cnosus,'  they  will  ^^^^l^l 
reply,  'in  that  you  speak  truly;  for  some  of  us  deny  the  very  that  they 
existence  of  the  Gods,  while  others,  as  you  say,  are  of  should  be 
opinion  that  they  do  not  care  about  us  ;  and  others  that  they  with  be- 
are  turned  from  their  course  by  gifts.    Now  we  have  a  right  they 
to  claim,  as  you  yourself  allowed,  in  the  matter  of  laws,  that  demned. 
before  you  are  hard  upon  us  and  threaten  us,  you  should 
argue  with  us  and  convince  us  ^ — you  should  first  attempt  to 
teach  and  persuade  us  that  there  are  Gods  by  reasonable 
evidences,  and  also  that  they  are  too  good  to  be  unrighteous, 
or  to  be  propitiated,  or  turned  from  their  course  by  gifts. 
For  when  we  hear  such  things  said  of  them  by  those  who  are 
esteemed  to  be  the  best  of  poets,  and  orators,  and  prophets, 
and  priests,  and  by  innumerable  others,  the  thoughts  of  most 
of  us  are  not  set  upon  abstaining  from  unrighteous  acts,  but 
upon  doing  them  and  atoning  for  them^.    When  lawgivers 
profess  that  they  are  gentle  and  not  stern,  we  think  that  they 
should  first  of  all  use  persuasion  to  us,  and  show  us  the  ex- 
istence of  Gods,  if  not  in  a  better  manner  than  other  men,  at 
any  rate  in  a  truer ;  and  who  knows  but  that  we  shall  hearken 
to  you  ?    If  then  our  request  is  a  fair  one,  please  to  accept 
our  challenge.' 

Cle.  But  is  there  any  difficulty  in  proving  the  existence  of 
the  Gods  ? 
6    Ath.  How  would  you  prove  it  ? 

Cle.  How  ?    In  the  first  place,  the  earth  and  the  sun,  and  The  ex- 
the  stars  and  the  universe,  and  the  fair  order  of  the  seasons,  'f^'^^  °f 

,  .  ,  '  '    the  Gods 

and  the  division  of  them  into  years  and  months,  furnish  is  proved 
proofs  of  their  existence :  and  also  there  is  the  fact  that  all  ^'^ , 

T  T  11  J  L     1      •  order  of 

Hellenes  and  barbarians  believe  in  them.  theuni- 
Ath.  I  fear,  my  sweet  friend,  though  I  will  not  say  that  I  ^^'"s^- 
'  Cp.  supra,  iv.  718  foil.  »  Cp.  Rep.  ii.  364. 


270         Anaxag07'as,  Democritzis  {^),  and  their  followers. 


Laws  X, 

Athenian, 
Cleinias. 


Impiety 
arises  out 
of  conceit 
of  wisdom. 


Supersti- 
tion of  the 
ancients  ; 
irreligion 
of  the 
moderns. 


The  latter 
say  that  tlie 
sim,  moon 
and  stars 
are  earth 
and  stone 
only. 


much  regard,  the  contempt  with  which  the  profane  will  be 
likely  to  assail  us.  For  you  do  not  understand  the  nature  of 
their  complaint,  and  you  fancy  that  they  rush  into  impiety 
only  from  a  love  of  sensual  pleasure. 

Cle.  Why,  Stranger,  what  other  reason  is  there  ? 

Ath.  One  which  you  who  live  in  a  diflferent  atmosphere 
would  never  guess. 

Cle.  What  is  it  ? 

Ath.  A  very  grievous  sort  of  ignorance  which  is  imagined 
to  be  the  greatest  wisdom. 
Cle.  What  do  you  mean  ? 

Ath.  At  Athens  there  are  tales  preserved  in  writing  which 
the  virtue  of  your  state,  as  I  am  informed,  refuses  to  admit. 
They  speak  of  the  Gods  in  prose  as  well  as  verse,  and  the 
oldest  of  them  tell  of  the  origin  of  the  heavens  and  of  the 
world,  and  not  far  from  the  beginning  of  their  story  they 
proceed  to  narrate  the  birth  of  the  Gods,  and  how  after  they 
were  born  the^'  behaved  to  one  another.  Whether  these 
stories  have  in  other  ways  a  good  or  a  bad  influence,  I 
should  not  like  to  be  severe  upon  them,  because  they  are 
ancient ;  but,  looking  at  them  with  reference  to  the  duties  of 
children  to  their  parents,  I  cannot  praise  them,  or  think  that 
they  are  useful,  or  at  all  true Of  the  words  of  the  ancients 
I  have  nothing  more  to  say;  and  I  should  wish  to  say  of 
them  only  what  is  pleasing  to  the  Gods,  But  as  to  our 
younger  generation  and  their  wisdom,  I  cannot  let  them  off 
when  they  do  mischief  For  do  but  mark  the  effect  of  their 
words :  when  you  and  I  argue  for  the  existence  of  the  Gods, 
and  produce  the  sun,  moon,  stars,  and  earth,  claiming  for 
them  a  divine  being,  if  we  would  listen  to  the  aforesaid 
philosophers  we  should  say  ^  that  they  are  earth  and  stones 
only',  which  can  have  no  care  at  all  of  human  affairs, 
and  that  all  religion  is  a  cooking  up  of  words  and  a  make- 
believe. 

Cle.  One  such  teacher,  O  Stranger,  would  be  bad  enough, 
and  you  imply  that  there  are  many  of  them,  which  is  worse. 

Ath.  Well,  then ;  what  shall  we  say  or  do  ?— Shall  we 
assume  that  some  one  is  accusing  us  among  unholy  men. 


'  Cp.  Rep.  ii.  378  foil. 
=  Reading  \eyoifiev.  Cp.  Apology,  26  foil. 


'  We  do  ivell  to  be  angry! 


271 


887  who  are  trying  to  escape  from  the  effect  of  our  legislation  ;  and    Laivs  X. 
that  they  say  of  us— How  dreadful  that  you  should  legislate  Athenian, 
on  the  supposition  that  there  are  Gods !  Shall  we  make  a 
defence  of  ourselves  ?  or  shall  we  leave  them  and  return 
to  our  laws,  lest  the  prelude  should  become  longer  than  the 
law  ?   For  the  discourse  will  certainly  extend  to  great  length,  The  pre- 
if  we  are  to  treat  the  impiously  disposed  as  they  desire,  e';^S„7t'o 
partly  demonstrating  to  them  at  some  length  the  things  of  a  great 
which  they  demand  an  explanation,  partly  making  them 
afraid  or  dissatisfied,  and  then  proceed  to  the  requisite 
enactments. 

Cle.  Yes,  Stranger ;  but  then  how  often  have  we  repeated 
already  that  on  the  present  occasion  there  is  no  reason  why 
brevity  should  be  preferred  to  length  ^ ;  for  who  is  '  at  our 
heels  ? ' — as  the  saying  goes,  and  it  would  be  paltry  and 
ridiculous  to  prefer  the  shorter  to  the  better.  It  is  a  matter 
of  no  small  consequence,  in  some  way  or  other  to  prove  that 
there  are  Gods,  and  that  they  are  good,  and  regard  justice 
more  than  men  do.  The  demonstration  of  this  would  be  the  It  should 
best  and  noblest  prelude  of  all  our  laws.     And  therefore,  I'f  \ 

^  _  '  and  noblest 

without  impatience,  and  without  hurry,  let  us  unreservedly  prelude 

consider  the  whole  matter,  s,ummoning  up  all  the  power  of 
persuasion  which  we  possess. 

Aih.  Seeing  you  thus  in  earnest,  I  would  fain  offer  up  a 
prayer  that  I  may  succeed : — but  I  must  proceed  at  once. 
Who  can  be  calm  when  he  is  called  upon  to  prove  the  exist- 
ence of  the  Gods  ?    Who  can  avoid  hating  and  abhorring  Can  we 
the  men  who  are  and  have  been  the  cause  of  this  argument ;  that^aiTthe 
I  speak  of  those  who  will  not  believe  the  tales  which  they  practices 
have  heard  as  babes  and  sucklings  from  their  mothers  and 

°  with  which 

nurses,  repeated  by  them  both  in  jest  and  earnest,  like  we  have 
charms,  who  have  also  heard  them  in  the  sacrificial  prayers, 

1  -1  -1  -1  ,  ,     liar  from 

and  seen  sights  accompanying  them, — sights  and  sounds  childhood, 

delightful  to  children, — and  their  parents  during  the  sacrifices  ^"'^  '^'^''^'^ 

showing  an  intense  earnestness  on  behalf  of  their  children  mon  to 

and  of  themselves,  and  with  eager  interest  talking  to  the  Greeks  and 

Gods,  and  beseeching  them,  as  though  they  were  firmly  con-  have  no  ' 

vinced  of  their  existence;  who  hkewise  see  and  hear  the  meaning? 
prostrations  and  invocations  which  are  made  by  Hellenes 

'  Cp.  supra,  iv.  719  E  foil.  ;  ix.  857-8. 


272 


But  it  is  better  to  be  calm. 


Laws  X. 

Athenian, 
Cleinias. 


We  say 
to  the 
young  : — • 
Do  not 
meddle 
with  things 
above  you  ; 
but  know 
that  no 
one  ever 
continues 
through 
life  an 
unbeliever. 


and  barbarians  at  the  rising  and  setting  of  the  sun  and  moon, 
in  all  the  vicissitudes  of  life,  not  as  if  they  thought  that  there 
were  no  Gods,  but  as  if  there  could  be  no  doubt  of  their 
existence,  and  no  suspicion  of  their  non-existence  ;  when 
men,  knowing  all  these  things,  despise  them  on  no  real 
grounds,  as  would  be  admitted  by  all  who  have  any  particle  < 
of  intelligence,  and  when  they  force  us  to  say  what  we  are 
now  saying,  how  can  any  one  in  gentle  terms  remonstrate 
with  the  like  of  them,  when  he  has  to  begin  by  proving  to 
them  the  very  existence  of  the  Gods  ?  Yet  the  attempt  must 
be  made  ;  for  it  would  be  unseemly  that  one  half  of  mankind 
should  go  mad  in  their  lust  of  pleasure,  and  the  other  half  in 
their  indignation  at  such  persons.  Our  address  to  these  lost 
and  perverted  natures  should  not  be  spoken  in  passion ;  let 
us  suppose  ourselves  to  select  some  one  of  them,  and  gently 
reason  with  him,  smothering  our  anger : — O  my  son,  we  will 
say  to  him,  you  are  young,  and  the  advance  of  time  will 
make  you  reverse  many  of  the  opinions  which  you  now 
hold.  Wait  awhile,  and  do  not  attempt  to  judge  at  present  of 
the  highest  things  ;  and  that  is  the  highest  of  which  you  now 
think  nothing — to  know  the  Gods  rightly  and  to  live  accord- 
ingly. And  in  the  first  place  let  me  indicate  to  you  one 
point  which  is  of  great  importance,  and  about  which  I  cannot 
be  deceived  : — You  and  your  friends  are  not  the  first  who 
have  held  this  opinion  about  the  Gods.  There  have  always 
been  persons  more  or  less  numerous  who  have  had  the  same 
disorder.  I  have  known  many  of  them,  and  can  tell  you, 
that  no  one  who  had  taken  up  in  youth  this  opinion,  that  the 
Gods  do  not  exist,  ever  continued  in  the  same  until  he  was 
old  ;  the  two  other  notions  certainly  do  continue  in  some 
cases,  but  not  in  many;  the  notion,  I  mean,  that  the  Gods 
exist,  but  take  no  heed  of  human  things,  and  the  other  notion 
that  they  do  take  heed  of  them,  but  are  easily  propitiated 
with  sacrifices  and  prayers.  As  to  the  opinion  about  the 
Gods  which  may  some  day  become  clear  to  you,  I  advise  you 
to  wait  and  consider  if  it  be  true  or  not ;  ask  of  others,  and 
above  all  of  the  legislator.  In  the  meantime  take  care  that  you 
do  not  offend  against  the  Gods.  For  the  duty  of  the  legislator 
is  and  alwa3's  will  be  to  teach  you  the  truth  of  these  matters. 
Cle.  Our  address.  Stranger,  thus  far,  is  excellent. 


'All  things  exist  by  natit7'e,  by  chance,  or  by  art! 


273 


Ath.  Quite  true,  Megillus  and  Cleinias,  but  I  am  afraid    Laws  X. 
that  we  have  unconsciously  lighted  on  a  strange  doctrine.  Athenian, 

Cle.  What  doctrine  do  you  mean  ?  Cleinias. 

Ath.  The  wisest  of  all  doctrines,  in  the  opinion  of  many. 

Cle.  I  wish  that  you  would  speak  plainer. 

Ath.  The  doctrine  that  all  things  do  become,  have  become, 
and  will  become,  some  by  nature,  some  by  art,  and  some  by 
chance. 

Cle.  Is  not  that  true  ? 

Ath.  Well,  philosophers  are  probably  right;  at  any  rate  Thedoc- 
889  we  may  as  well  follow  in  their  track,  and  examine  what  is  the 

meaning  of  them  and  their  disciples.  phiioso- 
Cle.  By  all  means.  i^l^^^f" 

■'  .  .  plained. 

Ath.  They  say  that  the  greatest  and  fairest  things  are 
the  work  of  nature  and  of  chance,  the  lesser  of  art,  which, 
receiving  from  nature  the  greater  and  primeval  creations, 
moulds  and  fashions  all  those  lesser  works  which  are 
generally  termed  artificial. 

Cle.  How  is  that  ? 

Ath.  I  will  explain  m}'  meaning  still  more  clearly.    They  They  say 
say  that  fire  and  water,  and  earth  and  air,  all  exist  by 
nature  and  chance,  and  none  of  them  by  art,  and  that  as  to  exist, 
the  bodies  which  come  next  in  order, — earth,  and  sun,  and  ''^^ 

'  '  '  heavenly 

moon,  and  stars, — they  have  been  created  by  means  of  these  bodies  are 
absolutely  inanimate  existences.    The  elements  are  severally  created  out 

,  ,  .  of  them, 

moved  by  chance  and  some  inherent  force  according  to  by  nature 
certain  affinities  among  them — of  hot  with  cold,  or  of  dry  andchance. 

r      r       •  T     1       1  !•  11     1       '^i''  comes 

With  moist,  or  01  soit  with  hard,  and  according  to  all  the  later,  some- 
other  accidental  admixtures  of  opposites  which  have  been  times  work- 
formed  by  necessity.    After  this  fashion  and  in  this  manner  sometimes 
the  whole  heaven  has  been  created,  and  all  that  is  in  the  co-opera- 
heaven,  as  well  as  animals  and  all  plants,  and  all  the  seasons  nature"^ 
come  from  these  elements,  not  by  the  action  of  mind,  as  they 
say,  or  of  any  God,  or  from  art,  but  as  I  was  saying,  by 
nature  and  chance  only.    Art  sprang  up  aftei-wards  and  out 
of  these,  mortal  and  of  mortal  birth,  and  produced  in  play 
certain  images  and  very  partial  imitations  of  the  truth,  having 
an  affinity  to  one  another,  such  as  music  and  painting  create 
and  their  companion  arts.    And  there  are  other  arts  which 
have  a  serious  purpose,  and  these  co-operate  with  nature, 
VOL.  v.  T 


that  the 
elements 


274 


Some  favourite  sophistic  doctrines. 


Laivs  X. 

Athenian, 
Cleinias. 


They  main- 
tain further 
that  re- 
ligion and 
morality- 
are  a  mere 
convention; 
and  that 
•  The  high- 
est right  is 
might." 


The  laws 
should  per- 
suade 
rather  than 
threaten. 


such,  for  example,  as  medicine,  and  husbandry,  and  gym- 
nastic. And  they  say  that  poHtics  co-operate  with  nature, 
but  in  a  less  degree,  and  have  more  of  art ;  also  that  legisla- 
tion is  entirely  a  work  of  art,  and  is  based  on  assumptions 
which  are  not  true. 

Cle.  How  do  you  mean  ? 

Ath.  In  the  first  place,  my  dear  friend,  these  people  would 
say  that  the  Gods  exist  not  by  nature,  but  by  art,  and  by  the 
laws  of  states,  which  are  different  in  different  places,  accord- 
ing to  the  agreement  of  those  who  make  them  ;  and  that  the 
honourable  is  one  thing  by  nature  and  another  thing  by  law, 
and  that  the  principles  of  justice  have  no  existence  at  all  in 
nature,  but  that  mankind  are  alwa3's  disputing  about  them 
and  altering  them ;  and  that  the  alterations  which  are  made 
by  art  and  bylaw  have  no  basis  in  nature,  but  are  of  authority  890 
for  the  moment  and  at  the  time  at  which  they  are  made. — 
These,  my  friends,  are  the  sayings  of  wise  men,  poets  and 
prose  writers,  which  find  a  way  into  the  minds  of  youth. 
They  are  told  by  them  that  the  highest  right  is  might,  and  in 
this  way  the  young  fall  into  impieties,  under  the  idea  that  the 
Gods  are  not  such  as  the  law  bids  them  imagine ;  and  hence 
arise  factions,  these  philosophers  inviting  them  to  lead  a  true 
life  according  to  nature,  that  is,  to  live  in  real  dominion  over 
others,  and  not  in  legal  subjection  to  them  \ 

Clc.  What  a  dreadful  picture.  Stranger,  have  you  given, 
and  how  great  is  the  injury  which  is  thus  inflicted  on  young 
men  to  the  ruin  both  of  states  and  families  ! 

Ath.  True,  Cleinias ;  but  then  what  should  the  lawgiver 
do  when  this  evil  is  of  long  standing?  should  he  only  rise  up 
in  the  state  and  threaten  all  mankind,  proclaiming  that  if  they 
will  not  say  and  think  that  the  Gods  are  such  as  the  law 
ordains  (and  this  may  be  extended  generally  to  the  honour- 
able, the  just,  and  to  all  the  highest  things,  and  to  all  that 
relates  to  virtue  and  vice),  and  if  they  will  not  make  their 
actions  conform  to  the  copy  which  the  law  gives  them, 
then  he  who  refuses  to  obey  the  law  shall  die,  or  suffer 
stripes  and  bonds,  or  privation  of  citizenship,  or  in  some 
cases  be  punished  by  loss  of  property  and  exile  ?  Should 
he  not  rather,  when  he  is  making  laws  for  men,  at  the  same 

»  Cp.  Gorg.  483. 


The  legislato7'  rmist  come  to  the  rescue  of  the  law.  275 


time  infuse  thie  spirit  of  persuasion  into  his  words,  and    Laws  X. 
mitigate  the  severity  of  them  as  far  as  he  can  ?  Athenian, 
Ck.  Why,  Stranger,  if  such  persuasion  be  at  all  possible,  Cleimas, 
then  a  legislator  who  has  anything  in  him  ought  never  to 
weary  of  persuading  men  ;  he  ought  to  leave  nothing  unsaid 
in  support  of  the  ancient  opinion  that  there  are  Gods,  and  of 
all  those  other  truths  which  you  were  just  now  mentioning  ; 
he  ought  to  support  the  law  and  also  art,  and  acknowledge 
that  both  alike  exist  by  nature,  and  no  less  than  nature,  if 
they  are  the  creations  of  mind  in  accordance  with  right 
reason,  as  you  appear  to  me  to  maintain,  and  I  am  disposed 
to  agree  with  3'^ou  in  thinking. 

Ath.  Yes,  my  enthusiastic  Cleinias ;  but  are  not  these 
things  when  spoken  to  a  multitude  hard  to  be  understood, 
not  to  mention  that  they  take  up  a  dismal  length  of  time  ? 

Cle.  Why,  Stranger,  shall  we,  whose  patience  failed  not 
when  drinking  or  music  were  the  themes  of  discourse,  weary 
now  of  discoursing  about  the  Gods,  and  about  divine  things? 
And  the  greatest  help  to  rational  legislation  is  that  the  laws  The  laws 
891  when  once  written  down  are  always  at  rest ;  they  can  be  put  ^ 

to  the  test  at  any  future  time,  and  therefore,  if  on  first  down  may- 
hearing  they  seem  difficult,  there  is  no  reason  for  appre- 
hension about  them,  because  any  man  however  dull  can  stood, 
go  over  them  and  consider  them  again  and  again  ;  nor  if  they 
are  tedious  but  useful,  is  there  any  reason  or  religion,  as  it 
seems  to  me,  in  any  man  refusing  to  maintain  the  principles 
of  them  to  the  utmost  of  his  power. 

Meg.  Stranger,  I  like  what  Cleinias  is  saying. 
Aih.  Yes,  Megillus,  and  we  should  do  as  he  proposes  ;  for 
if  impious  discourses  were  not  scattered,  as  I  may  say, 
throughout  the  world,  there  would  have  been  no  need  for 
any  vindication  of  the  existence  of  the  Gods — but  seeing  that 
they  are  spread  far  and  wide,  such  arguments  are  needed  ; 
and  who  should  come  to  the  rescue  of  the  greatest  laws, 
when  they  are  being  undermined  by  bad  men,  but  the  . 
legislator  himself? 

Meg.  There  is  no  more  proper  champion  of  them. 
Ath.  Well,  then,  tell  me,  Cleinias, — for  I  must  ask  you  to  be  The  error 
my  partner, — does  not  he  who  talks  in  this  way  conceive  fire  p^gf;,^^! 
and  water  and  earth  and  air  to  be  the  first  elements  of  all  philosophers 

T  2 


in  time  be 
under- 


276 


P7'iorily  of  ike  soul. 


Laws  X. 

Atheniak, 
Cleinias, 

is  that  they 
speak  of 
the  four 
elements  as 
the  first 
elements. 


They  put 
what  is  first 
last ;  they 
do  not 
know  that 
the  soul  is 
prior  to  the 
body. 


Mind  and 
art  and  law 
come  first, 
and  then 
the  works 


things^  ?  these  he  calls  nature,  and  out  of  these  he  supposes 
the  soul  to  be  formed  afterwards ;  and  this  is  not  a  mere 
conjecture  of  ours  about  his  meaning,  but  is  what  he  really 
means. 

Cle.  Very  true. 

Ath.  Then,  by  Heaven,  we  have  discovered  the  source  of 
this  vain  opinion  of  all  those  physical  investigators ;  and  I 
would  have  you  examine  their  arguments  with  the  utmost 
care,  for  their  impiety  is  a  very  serious  matter ;  they  not 
only  make  a  bad  and  mistaken  use  of  argument,  but  they  lead 
away  the  minds  of  others  :  that  is  my  opinion  of  them. 

Cle.  You  are   right ;  but  I  should  like   to   know  how 
this  happens. 

Ath.  I  fear  that  the  argument  may  seem  singular. 

Cle.  Do  not  hesitate.  Stranger ;  I  see  that  you  are  afraid 
of  such  a  discussion  carr3'ing  3'ou  beyond  the  limits  of  legis- 
lation. But  if  there  be  no  other  way  of  showing  our  agree- 
ment in  the  belief  that  there  are  Gods,  of  whom  the  law  is 
said  now  to  approve,  let  us  take  this  way,  my  good  sir. 

Ath.  Then  I  suppose  that  I  must  repeat  the  singular  argu- 
ment of  those  who  manufacture  the  soul  according  to  their  own 
impious  notions  ;  the}'  affirm  that  which  is  the  first  cause 
of  the  generation  and  destruction  of  all  things,  to  be  not  first, 
but  last,  and  that  which  is  last  to  be  first,  and  hence  they 
have  fallen  into  error  about  the  true  nature  of  the  Gods. 

Cle.  Still  I  do  not  understand  you.  ^9 

Ath.  Nearly  all  of  them,  my  friends,  seem  to  be  ignorant  of 
the  nature  and  power  of  the  soul,  especially  in  what  relates  to 
her  origin  :  they  do  not  know  that  she  is  among  the  first  of 
things,  and  before  all  bodies,  and  is  the  chief  author  of  their 
changes  and  transpositions.  And  if  this  is  true,  and  if  the 
soul  is  older  than  the  body,  must  not  the  things  which 
are  of  the  soul's  kindred  be  of  necessity  prior  to  those  which 
appertain  to  the  body? 

Cle.  Certainly. 

Ath.  Then  thought  and  attention  and  mind  and  art  and 
law  will  be  prior  to  that  which  is  hard  and  soft  and  heavy 
and  light ;  and  the  great  and  primitive  works  and  actions 
will  be  works  of  art  ;  they  will  be  the  first,  and  after  them 

>  Cp.  Tim.  46  D. 


The  crossing  of  the  river. 


277 


will  come  nature  and  works  of  nature,  which  however  is    Laivs  X. 

a  wrong  term  for  men  to  apply  to  them  ;  these  will  follow,  and  Athenian, 

will  be  under  the  government  of  art  and  mind.  Cleinias. 

C/e.  But  why  is  the  word  '  nature  '  wrong  ?  of  nature, 

,  ,        which  are, 

Ath.  Because  those  who  use  the  term  mean  to  say  that  however,  so 
nature  is  the  first  creative  power  ;  but  if  the  soul  turn  out  to  termed  in 
be  the  primeval  element,  and  not  fire  or  air,  then  in  the 
truest  sense  and  beyond  other  things  the  soul  may  be  said  to 
exist  by  nature ;  and  this  would  be  true  if  you  proved  that 
the  soul  is  older  than  the  body,  but  not  otherwise. 

C/e.  You  are  quite  right. 

Ath.  Shall  we,  then,  take  this  as  the  next  point  to  which 
our  attention  should  be  directed  ? 
C/e.  By  all  means. 

A//i.  Let  us  be  on  our  guard  lest  this  most  deceptive 
argument  with  its  youthful  looks,  beguiling  us  old  men,  give 
us  the  slip  and  make  a  laughing-stock  of  us.    Who  knows 
but  we  may  be  aiming  at  the  greater,  and  fail  of  attaining  the 
lesser?    Suppose  that  we  three  have  to  pass  a  rapid  river,  The 
and  I,  being  the  youngest  of  the  three  and  experienced  ^[Jjf^'^f" 
in  rivers,  take  upon  me  the  duty  of  making  the  attempt  first  undertake 
by  myself;  leaving  you  in  safety  on  the  bank,  I  am  to  ^^'^^""j^^ 
examine  whether  the  river  is  passable  by  older  men  like  argument 
yourselves,  and  if  such  appears  to   be  the  case  then  I     his  own 
shall  invite  you  to  follow,  and  my  experience  will  help  to  P^""^""" 
convey  you  across ;  but  if  the  river  is  impassable  by  you,  then 
there  will  have  been  no  danger  to  anybody  but  myself, — 
would  not  that  seem  to  be  a  very  fair  proposal  ?    I  mean 
to  say  that  the  argument  in  prospect  is  likely  to  be  too 
much  for  you,  out  of  your  depth  and  beyond  your  strength, 
3  and  I  should  be  afraid  that  the  stream  of  my  questions  might 
create  in  you  who  are  not  in  the  habit  of  answering,  giddiness 
and  confusion  of  mind,  and  hence  a  feeling  of  unpleasantness 
and  unsuitableness  might  arise.    I  think  therefore  that  I  had 
better  first  ask  the  questions  and  then  answer  them  myself 
while  you  listen  in  safety ;  in  that  way  I  can  carry  on  the 
argument  until  I  have  completed  the  proof  that  the  soul  is 
prior  to  the  body. 

C/e.  Excellent,  Stranger,  and  I  hope  that  you  will  do  as 
you  propose. 


278 


The  divei'se  motions  of  bodies. 


Laivs  X. 
Athenian. 


Some  things 
are  in 
motion  ; 
otliers  at 
rest. 


Of  motion 
there  are 
ten  kinds:— 


(i)  Motion 
on  an  axis  ; 


(2)  locomo- 
tion •; 

(3)  a  com- 
bination of 
these  ; 

(4)  separa- 
tion ; 

(5)  compo- 
sition ; 


(6)  growth  ; 

(7)  decay  ; 


Ath.  Come,  then,  and  if  ever  we  are  to  call  upon  the  God.s, 
let  us  call  upon  them  now  in  all  seriousness  to  come  to 
the  demonstration  of  their  own  existence.  And  so  holding 
fast  to  the  rope  we  will  venture  upon  the  depths  of  the 
argument.  When  questions  of  this  sort  are  asked  of  me, 
my  safest  answer  would  appear  to  be  as  follows  : — Some 
one  says  to  me,  '  O  Stranger,  are  all  things  at  rest  and 
nothing  in  motion,  or  is  the  exact  opposite  of  this  true, 
or  are  some  things  in  motion  and  others  at  rest  ? ' — To 
this  I  shall  reply  that  some  things  are  in  motion  and  others 
at  rest.  '  And  do  not  things  which  move  move  in  a  place, 
and  are  not  the  things  which  are  at  rest  at  rest  in  a  place  ? ' 
Certainly.  '  And  some  move  or  rest  in  one  place  and  some 
in  more  places  than  one  ? '  You  mean  to  say,  we  shall 
rejoin,  that  those  things  which  rest  at  the  centre  move  in  one 
place,  just  as  the  circumference  goes  round  of  globes  which 
are  said  to  be  at  rest  ?  '  Yes.'  And  we  observe  that,  in 
the  revolution,  the  motion  which  carries  round  the  larger  and 
the  lesser  circle  at  the  same  time  is  proportionally  dis- 
tributed to  greater  and  smaller,  and  is  greater  and  smaller  in 
a  certain  proportion.  Here  is  a  wonder  which  might  be 
thought  an  impossibilit}',  that  the  same  motion  should 
impart  swiftness  and  slowness  in  due  proportion  to  larger 
and  lesser  circles.  '  Very  true.'  And  when  you  speak  of 
bodies  moving  in  many  places,  you  seem  to  me  to  mean 
those  which  move  from  one  place  to  another,  and  sometimes 
have  one  centre  of  motion  and  sometimes  more  than  one 
because  they  turn  upon  their  axis ;  and  whenever  they  meet 
anything,  if  it  be  stationary,  they  are  divided  by  it ;  but  if 
tliey  get  in  the  midst  between  bodies  which  are  approaching 
and  moving  towards  the  same  spot  from  opposite  directions, 
they  unite  with  them.  '  I  admit  the  truth  of  what  you  are 
saying.'  Also  when  they  unite  they  grow,  and  when  they  are 
divided  they  waste  away, — that  is,  supposing  the  constitution 
of  each  to  remain,  or  if  that  fails,  then  there  is  a  second 
reason  of  their  dissolution.  'And  when  are  all  things 
created  and  how  ? '  Clearly,  they  are  created  when  the  g 
first  principle  receives  increase  and  attains  to  the  second 
dimension,  and  from  this  arrives  at  the  one  which  is 
neighbour  to  this,  and  after  reaching  the  third  becomes 


The  tenth,  or  rather  the  first  motion,  spontaneous.  279 


perceptible  to  sense.    Everything  which  is  thus  changing    -Laws  X. 
and  moving  is  in  process  of  generation  ;   only  when  at  Athenian, 
rest  has  it  real  existence,  but  when  passing  into  another  Cleinias. 
state  it  is  destroyed  utterly.    Have  we  not  mentioned  all  (8)destruc- 
motions  that  there  are,  and  comprehended  them  under  their 
kinds  and  numbered  them  with  the  exception,  my  friends, 
of  two  ? 

Cle.  Which  are  they? 

Ath.  Just  the  two,  with  which  our  present  enquiry  is 
concerned. 

Cle.  Speak  plainer. 

Ath.  I  suppose  that  our  enquiry  has  reference  to  the  soul? 
Cle.  Very  true. 

Ath.  Let  us  assume  that  there  is  a  motion  able  to  move 
other  things,  but  not  to  move  itself; — that  is  one  kind;  and 
there  is  another  kind  which  can  move  itself  as  well  as  other 
things,  working  in  composition  and  decomposition,  by  in- 
crease and  diminution  and  generation  and  destruction, — that 
is  also  one  of  the  many  kinds  of  motion. 

Cle.  Granted. 

Ath.  And  we  will  assume  that  which  moves  other,  and  (9)  external, 
is  changed  by  other,  to  be  the  ninth,  and  that  which  changes 
itself  and  others,  and  is  co-incident  with  every  action  and  (10)  spon- 
ever}'  passion,  and  is  the  true  principle  of  change  and  motion 
in  all  that  is, — that  we  shall  be  inclined  to  call  the  tenth. 

Cle.  Certainly. 

Ath.  And  which  of  these  ten  motions  ought  we  to  prefer  as  The  last  is 
being  the  mightiest  and  most  efficient  ?  th^^^'th"^  ^° 

Cle.  I  must  say  that  the  motion  which  is  able  to  move  itself  y^-^^^ 
is  ten  thousand  times  superior  to  all  the  others  \ 

Ath.  Very  good ;  but  may  I  make  one  or  two  corrections 
in  what  I  have  been  saying? 

Cle.  What  are  thej'  ? 
-  Ath.  When  I  spoke  of  the  tenth  sort  of  motion,  that  was  and  should 
not  quite  correct.  i"^"'^ 

being  the 

Cle.  What  was  the  error  ?  ultimate 
Ath.  According  to  the  true  order,  the  tenth  was  really  the  source  of 

_        .  .  '  all  motion. 

hrst  m  generation  and  power;  then  follows  the  second.  The  ninth 

which  was  strangely  enough  termed  the  ninth  by  us.  should  rank 

second. 

1  Cp.  Tim.  89  A. 


taneous, 
motion. 


28o 


Sottl  or  the  self -moving  power  is 


Laws  X. 

Athenian, 
Cleinias. 

A  demon- 
stration of 
the  priority 
of  spontan- 
eous to  ex- 
ternal 
motion. 


Tlie  self- 
moving 
principle  is 
life  and 
soul. 


The  know- 
ledge of 
things  is 
threefold:— 


Clc.  What  do  you  mean  ? 

Aih.  I  mean  this :  when  one  thing  changes  another,  and 
that  another,  of  such  will  there  be  any  primary  changing 
element  ?  How  can  a  thing  which  is  moved  by  another  ever 
be  the  beginning  of  change?  Impossible.  But  when  the 
self-moved  changes  other,  and  that  again  other,  and  thus 
thousands  upon  tens  of  thousands  of  bodies  are  set  in 
motion,  must  not  the  beginning  of  all  this  motion  be  the  8 
change  of  the  self-moving  principle  ^  ? 

Cle.  Very  true,  and  I  quite  agree. 

Ath.  Or,  to  put  the  question  in  another  way,  making 
answer  to  ourselves  : — If,  as  most  of  these  philosophers 
have  the  audacity  to  affirm,  all  things  were  at  rest  in  one 
mass,  which  of  the  above-mentioned  principles  of  motion 
would  first  spring  up  among  them  ? 

Cle.  Clearly  the  self-moving ;  for  there  could  be  no  change 
in  them  arising  out  of  any  external  cause ;  the  change  must 
first  take  place  in  themselves. 

Ath.  Then  we  must  say  that  self-motion  being  the  origin 
of  all  motions,  and  the  first  which  arises  among  things  at 
rest  as  well  as  among  things  in  motion,  is  the  eldest  and 
mightiest  principle  of  change,  and  that  which  is  changed  by 
another  and  yet  moves  other  is  second. 

Cle.  Quite  true. 

Aih.  At  this  stage  of  the  argument  let  us  put  a  question. 
Cle.  What  question  ? 

Aih.  If  we  were  to  see  this  power  existing  in  any  earthy, 
watery,  or  fiery  substance,  simple  or  compound— how  should 
we  describe  it  ? 

Cle.  You  mean  to  ask  whether  we  should  call  such  a  self- 
moving  power  life  ? 

Aih.  I  do. 

Cle.  Certainly  we  should. 

Ath.  And  when  we  see  soul  in  anything,  must  we  not  do 
the  same — must  we  not  admit  that  this  is  life  ? 
Cle.  We  must. 

Aih.  And  now,  I  beseech  you,  reflect ;— you  would  admit 
that  we  have  a  threefold  knowledge  of  things  ? 
Cle.  What  do  you  mean  ? 

>  Cp.  rhaedr.  245  D. 


the  eldest  and  ?mgktiest  principle  of  change. 


281 


Ath.  I  mean  that  we  know  the  essence,  and  that  we  know  Laws  X. 

the  definition  of  the  essence,  and  the  name, — these  are  the  Athenian, 

three  ;  and  there  are  two  questions  which  may  be  raised  Cleimas. 

about  anything.  oithe 

essence 

Cle.   How  two?  thedefini- 

Ath.  Sometimes  a  person  may  give  the  name  and  ask  the  t'o".  and 
definition ;  or  he  may  give  the  definition  and  ask  the  name. 
I  may  illustrate  what  I  mean  in  this  way. 

Cle.  How? 

Ath.  Number  like  some  other  things  is  capable  of  being 
divided  into  equal  parts ;  when  thus  divided,  number  is 
named  'even,'  and  the  definition  of  the  name  'even'  is 
'  number  divisible  into  two  equal  parts '  ? 

Cle.  True. 

Ath.  I  mean,  that  when  we  are  asked  about  the  definition 
and  give  the  name,  or  when  we  are  asked  about  the  name 
and  give  the  definition — in  either  case,  whether  we  give 
name  or  definition,  we  speak  of  the  same  thing,  calling 
'  even  '  the  number  which  is  divided  into  two  equal  parts. 

Cle.  Quite  true. 

Ath.  And  what  is  the  definition  of  that  which  is  named  The  soul 
6  '  soul '  ?    Can  we  conceive  of  any  other  than  that  which  has  "^^J' 

•'  fined  as  the 

been  already  given — the  motion  which  can  move  itself?  self-moved, 
Cle.  You  mean  to  say  that  the  essence  which  is  defined  ^"'^ 

,  .  source  of 

as  the  self-moved  is  the  same  with  that  which  has  the  name  motion  in 

soul  ?  all  things. 

Ath.  Yes ;  and  if  this  is  true,  do  we  still  maintain  that 
there  is  anything  wanting  in  the  proof  that  the  soul  is  the 
first  origin  and  moving  power  of  all  that  is,  or  has  become, 
or  will  be,  and  their  contraries,  when  she  has  been  clearly 
shown  to  be  the  source  of  change  and  motion  in  all  things  ? 

Cle.  Certainly  not ;  the  soul  as  being  the  source  of  motion, 
has  been  most  satisfactorily  shown  to  be  the  oldest  of  all 
things. 

Ath.  And  is  not  that  motion  which  is  produced  in  another,  External 
by  reason  of  another,  but  never  has  any  self-moving  power  at  . 

.       _  '  J  °  ^  is  posterior 

all,  being  in  truth  the  change  of  an  inanimate  body,  to  be  to  spon- 
reckoned  second,  or  by  any  lower  number  which  you  may 
prefer  ?  fore  the 

Cle.  Exactly.  body  to 

the  soul. 


282 


Pj'imary  motions  are  of  the  soul, secondary  of  the  body. 

Laws  X.  Ath.  Then  we  are  right,  and  speak  the  most  perfect  and 
Athenian,  absolute  truth,  when  we  say  that  the  soul  is  prior  to  the  body, 
Cleinias.      j^j^j  body  is  second  and  comes  afterwards,  and  is 

born  to  obey  the  soul,  which  is  the  ruler  ? 
Cle.  Nothing  can  be  more  true. 
And  mental     Ath.  Do  you  remember  our  old  admission,  that  if  the  soul 
prior  to^thT        prior  to  the  body  the  things  of  the  soul  were  also  prior  to 
qualities  of  those  of  the  body  ? 
body.  Certainly. 

Ath.  Then  characters  and  manners,  and  wishes  and  reason- 
ings, and  true  opinions,  and  reflections,  and  recollections  are 
prior  to  length  and  breadth  and  depth  and  strength  of  bodies, 
if  the  soul  is  prior  to  the  bod}'. 
Cle.  To  be  sure. 

The  soul  Ath.  In  the  next  place,  must  we  not  of  necessity  admit  that 
souls)^of      ^'^^  ^'^^  cause  of  good  and  evil,  base  and  honourable, 

the  world  is  just  and  unjust,  and  of  all  other  opposites,  if  we  suppose  her 

of  goor"    ^°      ^'""^  ^^^^^  °f  '•^'"gs 
and  evil,  CIc.  We  must. 

Ath.  And  as  the  soul  orders  and  inhabits  all  things  that 
move,  however  moving,  must  we  not  say  that  she  orders 
also  the  heavens? 

Cle.  Of  course. 

Ath.  One  soul  or  more?  More  than  one — I  will  answer 
for  you  ;  at  any  rate,  we  must  not  suppose  that  there  are  less 
than  two — one  the  author  of  good,  and  the  other  of  evil. 

Cle.  Very  true. 

•and  orders  Ath.  Yes,  ver}'  true ;  the  soul  then  directs  all  things  in 
fn\icavcn  heaven,  and  earth,  and  sea  by  her  movements,  and  these  are 
and  earth,  described  by  the  terms — will,  consideration,  attention,  8 
deliberation,  opinion  true  and  false,  joy  and  sorrow,  con- 
fidence, fear,  hatred,  love,  and  other  primary  motions  akin 
to  these  ;  which  again  receive  the  secondary  motions  of 
corporeal  substances,  and  guide  all  things  to  growth  and 
decay,  to  composition  and  decomposition,  and  to  the  qualities 
which  accompany  them,  such  as  heat  and  cold,  heaviness 
and  lightness,  hardness  and  softness,  blackness  and  white- 
ness, bitterness  and  sweetness,  and  all  those  other  qualities 
which  the  soul  uses,  herself  a  goddess,  when  truly  receiving 
the  divine  mind  she  disciplines  all  things  rightly  to  their 


The  motions  of  the  good  and  evil  sotil. 


happiness ;  but  when  she  is  the  companion  of  folly,  she  does    Laws  X. 
the  very  contrar}'  of  all  this.    Shall  we  assume  so  much,  or  Athenian, 
do  we  still  entertain  doubts  ?  Clein.as.  , 

Cle.  There  is  no  room  at  all  for  doubt. 

Ath.  Shall  we  say  then  that  it  is  the  soul  which  controls  is  the  world 
heaven  and   earth,   and  the  whole  world  ?— that  it  is  a  1°^*^™°^ 
principle  of  wisdom  and  virtue,  or  a  principle  which  has  better  of 
neither  wisdom  nor  virtue  ?     Suppose  that  we  make  answer 
as  follows  : — 

Cle.  How  would  you  answer  ? 

Ath.  If,  my  friend,  we  say  that  the  whole  path  and  move- 
ment of  heaven,  and  of  all  that  is  therein,  is  by  nature  akin 
to  the  movement  and  revolution  and  calculation  of  mind,  and 
proceeds  by  kindred  laws,  then,  as  is  plain,  we  must  say  that 
the  best  soul  takes  care  of  the  world  and  guides  it  along  the 
good  path. 

Cle.  True. 

Ath.  But  if  the  world  moves  wildly  and  irregularly,  then 
the  evil  soul  guides  it. 
Cle.  True  again. 

Ath.  Of  what  nature  is  the  movement  of  mind? — To  this  Yes:— for 
question  it  is  not  easy  to  give  an  intelligent  answer ;  and  Ig^^j"""^" 
therefore  I  ought  to  assist  you  in  framing  one.  that  of 

Cle.  Very  good.  mmd.which 

IS  circulcii* 

Ath.  Then  let  us  not  answer  as  if  we  would  look  straight 
at  the  sun,  making  ourselves  darkness  at  midday\ — I  mean 
as  if  we  were  under  the  impression  that  we  could  see  with 
mortal  eyes,  or  know  adequately  the  nature  of  mind  ; — it  will 
be  safer  to  look  at  the  image  only. 

Cle.  What  do  you  mean  ? 

Ath.  Let  us  select  of  the  ten  motions  the  one  which  mind 
chiefly  resembles  ;  this  I  will  bring  to  your  recollection,  and 
will  then  make  the  answer  on  behalf  of  us  all. 

Cle.  That  will  be  excellent. 

Ath.  You  will  surely  remember  our  saying  that  all  things 
were  either  at  rest  or  in  motion  ? 
Cle.  I  do. 

Ath.  And  that  of  things  in  motion  some  were  moving  in 
8  one  place,  and  others  in  more  than  one  ? 

»  Cp.  Rep.  vii.  515. 


284 


The  world  is  guided  by  the  best  soul. 


Laws  X. 

Athenian, 
Cleinias. 


The  irregu- 
lar motion 
is  tlie 
motion  of 
senseless- 
ness and 
folly. 


The  soul 
or  mind 
carries 
round  the 
whole  ; — 
does  it 
carry  round 
each  of  the 
heavenly 
bodies  ? 
e.  g.,  the 
sun? 


Cle.  Yes. 

Ath.  Of  these  two  kinds  of  motion,  that  which  moves  in 
one  place  must  move  about  a  centre  like  globes  made  in 
a  lathe,  and  is  most  entirely  akin  and  similar  to  the  circular 
movement  of  mind. 

Cle.  What  do  you  mean  ? 

Ath.  In  saying  that  both  mind  and  the  motion  which  is  in 
one  place  move  in  the  same  and  like  manner,  in  and  about 
the  same,  and  in  relation  to  the  same,  and  according  to  one 
proportion  and  order,  and  are  like  the  motion  of  a  globe, 
we  invented  a  fair  image,  which  does  no  discredit  to  our 
ingenuity. 

Cle.  It  does  us  great  credit. 

Ath.  And  the  motion  of  the  other  sort  which  is  not  after 
the  same  manner,  nor  in  the  same,  nor  about  the  same, 
nor  in  relation  to  the  same,  nor  in  one  place,  nor  in  order, 
nor  according  to  any  rule  or  proportion,  may  be  said  to  be 
akin  to  senselessness  and  folly  ? 

Cle.  That  is  most  true. 

Ath.  Then,  after  what  has  been  said,  there  is  no  difficulty 
in  distinctly  stating,  that  since  soul  carries  all  things  round, 
either  the  best  soul  or  the  contrary  must  of  necessity  carry 
round  and  order  and  arrange  the  revolution  of  the  heaven. 

Cle.  And  judging  from  what  has  been  said,  Stranger,  there 
would  be  impiety  in  asserting  that  any  but  the  most  perfect 
soul  or  souls  carries  round  the  heavens. 

Ath.  You  have  understood  my  meaning  right  well,  Cleinias, 
and  now  let  me  ask  you  another  question. 

Cle.  What  are  you  going  to  ask  ? 

Ath.  If  the  soul  carries  round  the  sun  and  moon,  and 
the  other  stars,  does  she  not  carry  round  each  individual 
of  them  ? 

Cle,  Certainly. 

Ath.  Then  of  one  of  them  let  us  speak,  and  the  same 
argument  will  apply  to  all. 
Cle.  Which  will  you  take  ? 

Ath.  Every  one  sees  the  body  of  the  sun,  but  no  one 
sees  his  soul,  nor  the  soul  of  any  other  body  living  or  dead  ; 
and  yet  there  is  great  reason  to  believe  that  this  nature, 
unperceived  by  any  of  our  senses,  is  circumfused  around 


'All  thmgs  are  fzcll  of  Gods.''  285 

them  all,  but  is  perceived  by  mind  ;  and  therefore  by  mind  Laws  X. 
and  reflection  only  let  us  apprehend  the  following  point. 

Athenian, 

Cle.  What  is  that  ?  Cle.n.as. 
Ath.  If  the  soul  carries  round  the  sun,  we  shall  not  be  far 
wrong  in  supposing  one  of  three  alternatives, 
Cle.  What  are  they? 

Ath.  Either  the  soul  which  moves  the  sun  this  way  and  Either 

that,  resides  within  the  circular  and  visible  body,  like  the  of the^sim' 

soul  which  carries  us  about  every  way;  or  the  soul  provides  (like  the 

i  899  herself  with  an  external  body  of  fire  or  air,  as  some  affirm,  pggjjjgg  ' 

and  violently  propels  body  by  body ;  or  thirdly,  she  is  with-  within  it ; 

out  such  a  body,  but  guides  the  sun  by  some  extraordinary  °^ 

J '         G  J  J  propels 

and  wonderful  power.  it  with,  or 

Cle.  Yes,  certainly;  the  soul  can  only  order  all  things  (3)  without 

'  -J  '  •'  °     the  help  of 

in  one  of  these  three  ways.  some  ex- 

Aih.  And  this  soul  of  the  sun,  which  is  therefore  better  temaibody. 
than  the  sun,  whether  taking  the  sun  about  in  a  chariot 
to  give  light  to  men,  or  acting  from  without,  or  in  what- 
ever way,  ought  by  every  man  to  be  deemed  a  God  \ 

Cle.  Yes,  by  every  man  who  has  the  least  particle  of  sense. 

A/h.  And  of  the  stars  too,  and  of  the  moon,  and  of  the  years  The  soul 
and  months  and  seasons,  must  we  not  say  in  like  manner,  ^^},f°hare 
that  since  a  soul  or  souls  having  every  sort  of  excellence  are  the  causes 
the  causes  of  all  of  them,  those  souls  are  Gods,  whether  "n^'^the'^" 
they  are  living  beings  and  reside  in  bodies,  and  in  this  way  seasons, 
order  the  whole  heaven,  or  whatever  be  the  place  and  mode 
of  their  existence ; — and  will  any  one  who  admits  all  this 
venture  to  deny  that  all  things  are  full  of  Gods  ? 

Cle.  No  one.  Stranger,  would  be  such  a  madman. 

Alh.  And  now,  Megillus  and  Cleinias,  let  us  offer  terms  to 
him  who  has  hitherto  denied  the  existence  of  the  Gods,  and 
leave  him. 

Cle.  What  terms  ? 

Ath.  Either  he  shall  teach  us  that  we  were  wrong  in  saying  Enough  of 
that  the  soul  is  the  original  of  all  things,  and  arguing  accord-  [J^iieygr  in 
ingly;  or,  if  he  be  not  able  to  say  anything  better,  then  he  the  Gods, 
must  yield  to  us  and  live  for  the  remainder  of  his  life  in  the 
belief  that  there  are  Gods. — Let  us  see,  then,  whether  we 


are  divine 
beings. 


'  Cp.  tn//-a,  xii.  966,  967. 


286 


The  second  class  of  unbelievers. 


Laws  X. 

Athenian, 
Cleinias. 

To  those 
who  be- 
lieve that 
the  Gods 
exist,  but 
take  no 
heed  of 
man,  we 
say : — 
'.  You  feel 
that  you  are 
tlie  Itindred 
oftheGods, 
and  you 
cannot  be- 
lieve tliat 
the  in- 
justice of 
this  world 
is  to  be 
ascribed  to 
them. 


We  will 
justify  the 
ways  of 
God  to  you. 


The  Gods 
are  per- 
fectly good : 


have  said  enough  or  not  enough  to  those  who  deny  that 
there  are  Gods, 

Cle.  Certainly, — quite  enough,  Stranger. 

Aih.  Then  to  them  we  will  say  no  more.  And  now  we  are 
to  address  him  who,  believing  that  there  are  Gods,  believes  also 
that  they  take  no  heed  of  human  affairs  :  To  him  we  say, — 
O  thou  best  of  men,  in  believing  that  there  are  Gods  you  are 
led  by  some  affinity  to  them,  which  attracts  you  towards  your 
kindred  and  makes  you  honour  and  believe  in  them.  But 
the  fortunes  of  evil  and  unrighteous  men  in  private  as  well  as 
public  life,  which,  though  not  really  happy,  are  wrongly 
counted  happy  in  the  judgment  of  men,  and  are  celebrated 
both  by  poets  and  prose  writers ' — these  draw  you  aside 
from  your  natural  piety.  Perhaps  you  have  seen  impious  900 
men  growing  old  and  leaving  their  children's  children  in 
high  offices,  and  their  prosperity  shakes  your  faith — you  have 
known  or  heard  or  been  yourself  an  eyewitness  of  many 
monstrous  impieties,  and  have  beheld  men  by  such  criminal 
means  from,  small  beginnings  attaining  to  sovereignty  and 
the  pinnacle  of  greatness  ;  and  considering  all  these  things 
you  do  not  like  to  accuse  the  Gods  of  them,  because  they  are 
your  relatives;  and  so  from  some  want  of  reasoning  power, 
and  also  from  an  unwillingness  to  find  fault  with  them,  you 
have  come  to  believe  that  they  exist  indeed,  but  have  no 
thought  or  care  of  human  things.  Now,  that  your  present 
evil  opinion  may  not  grow  to  still  greater  impiety,  and  that 
we  may  if  possible  use  arguments  which  may  conjure  away 
the  evil  before  it  arrives,  we  will  add  another  argument  to 
that  originally  addressed  to  him  who  utterly  denied  the 
existence  of  the  Gods.  And  do  you,  Megillus  and  Cleinias, 
answer  for  the  young  man  as  you  did  before ;  and  if  any  im- 
pediment comes  in  our  way,  I  will  take  the  word  out  of 
your  mouths,  and  carry  you  over  the  river  as  I  did  just  now, 

Cle.  Very  good  ;  do  as  you  say,  and  we  will  help  you 
as  well  as  we  can. 

Ath.  There  will  probably  be  no  difficulty  in  proving  to  him 
that  the  Gods  care  about  the  small  as  well  as  about  the  great. 
For  he  was  present  and  heard  what  was  said,  that  they  are 


Cp.  Rep.  ii.  364  A. 


The  Gods,  being  vi^'tiwiis,  cannot  be  indolent. 


287 


perfectly  good,  and  that  the  care  of  all  things  is  most  entirely    Laws  X. 

natural  to  them\  Athenian, 

Clc.  No  doubt  he  heard  that.  Clein.as. 

Aih.  Let  us  consider  together  in  the  next  place  what  we 
mean  by  this  virtue  which  we  ascribe  to  them.  Surely 
we  should  say  that  to  be  temperate  and  to  possess  mind 
belongs  to  virtue,  and  the  contrary  to  vice  ? 

Clc.  Certainly. 

Ath.  Yes ;  and  courage  is  a  part  of  virtue,  and  cowardice 
of  vice  ? 

Clc.  True.  . 
Ath.  And  the  one  is  honourable,  and  the  other  dishonour- 
able ? 

Clc.  To  be  sure. 

Ath.  And  the  one,  like  other  meaner  things,  is  a  human 
quality,  but  the  Gods  have  no  part  in  anything  of  the  sort  ? 

Cle.  That  again  is  what  everybody  will  admit. 

Ath.  But  do  we  imagine  carelessness  and  idleness  and 
luxury  to  be  virtues  ?   What  do  you  think  ? 

Cle.  Decidedly  not. 

Ath.  They  rank  under  the  opposite  class? 
Cle.  Yes. 

Ath.  And  their  opposites,  therefore,  would  fall  under  the 
opposite  class  ? 
Cle.  Yes. 

Ath.  But  are  we  to  suppose  that  one  who  possesses  all  and  there- 
these  good  qualities  will  be  luxurious  and  heedless  and  idle,  ["""ecannoi 

°         ^  _  'be  charged 

like  those  whom  the  poet  compares  to  stingless  drones  ■  ?       with  idie- 
Cle.  And  the  comparison  is  a  most  iust  one.  ness  and 

C3.re]  GS5~ 

Ath,  Surely  God  must  not  be  supposed  to  have  a  nature  ness. 
which  He  Himself  hates? — he  who  dares  to  say  this  sort 
of  thing  must  not  be  tolerated  for  a  moment. 

Cle.  Of  course  not.    How  could  He  have? 

Ath.  Should  we  not  on  any  principle  be  entirely  mistaken 
in  praising  any  one  who  has  some  special  business  entrusted 
to  him,  if  he  have  a  mind  which  takes  care  of  great  matters 
and  no  care  of  small  ones  ?  Reflect ;  he  who  acts  in  this 
way,  whether  he  be  God  or  man,  must  act  from  one  of  two 
principles. 

'  Cp.  mpra,  899  B.  '  Hesiod,  Works  and  Days,  307. 


288 


If  they  neglect  us,  it  is  not  from  indolence. 


Laws  X. 

Athenian, 
Clkinias. 


We  and 
our  adver- 
saries alike 
admit  tliat 
the  Gods 
see  and 
know  all 
things  ; 
that  they 
have  all 
power ; 


and  that 
they  are 
good  and 
perfect. 

They  can- 
not there- 
fore neglect 
small  mat- 
ters from 
idleness ; 


but  either 
they  think 
them  un- 
worthy of 
regard, 
or  are 
ignorant  :— 


Cle.  What  are  they  ? 

Ath.  Either  he  must  think  that  the  neglect  of  the  small 
matters  is  of  no  consequence  to  the  whole,  or  if  he  knows 
that  they  are  of  consequence,  and  he  neglects  them,  his 
neglect  must  be  attributed  to  carelessness  and  indolence.  Is 
there  any  other  way  in  which  his  neglect  can  be  explained  ? 
For  surely,  when  it  is  impossible  for  him  to  take  care  of  all, 
he  is  not  negligent  if  he  fails  to  attend  to  these  things  great 
or  small,  which  a  God  or  some  inferior  being  might  be 
wanting  in  strength  or  capacity  to  manage  ? 

Cle.  Certainly  not. 

Ath.  Now,  then,  let  us  examine  the  offenders,  who  both 
alike  confess  that  there  are  Gods,  but  with  a  difference, — the 
one  saying  that  they  may  be  appeased,  and  the  other  that 
they  have  no  care  of  small  matters  :  there  are  three  of  us  and 
two  of  them,  and  we  will  say  to  them, — In  the  first  place,  you 
both  acknowledge  that  the  Gods  hear  and  see  and  know  all 
things,  and  that  nothing  can  escape  them  which  is  matter  of 
sense  and  knowledge  : — do  you  admit  this  ? 

Cle.  Yes. 

Ath.  And  do  you  admit  also  that  they  have  all  power  which 
mortals  and  immortals  can  have  ? 

Cle.  They  will,  of  course,  admit  this  also. 

Ath.  And  surely  we  three  and  they  two — five  in  all — have 
acknowledged  that  they  are  good  and  perfect  ? 

Cle.  Assuredly. 

Ath.  But,  if  they  are  such  as  we  conceive  them  to  be,  can 
we  possibly  suppose  that  they  ever  act  in  the  spirit  of  careless- 
ness and  indolence  ?  For  in  us  inactivity  is  the  child  of 
cowardice,  and  carelessness  of  inactivity  and  indolence. 

Cle.  Most  true. 

Ath.  Then  not  from  inactivity  and  carelessness  is  any  God 
ever  negligent ;  for  there  is  no  cowardice  in  them. 
Cle.  That  is  very  true. 

Ath.  Then  the  alternative  which  remains  is,  that  if  the  Gods  9 
neglect  the  lighter  and  lesser  concerns  of  the  universe,  they 
neglect  them  because  they  know  that  they  ought  not  to  care 
about  such  matters — what  other  alternative  is  there  but  the 
opposite  of  their  knowing  ? 

Cle.  There  is  none. 


PVe  are  their  property  and  they  must  care  for  us. 


289 


Aih.  And,  O  most  excellent  and  best  of  men,  do  I  under- 
stand you  to  mean  that  they  are  careless  because  they  are 
ignorant,  and  do  not  know  that  they  ought  to  take  care,  or 
that  they  know,  and  yet  like  the  meanest  sort  of  men,  knowing 
the  better,  choose  the  worse  because  they  are  overcome  by 
pleasures  and  pains  ? 

Cle.  Impossible. 

Ath.  Do  not  all  human  things  partake  of  the  nature  of  soul  ? 
And  is  not  man  the  most  religious  of  all  animals  ^  ? 
Cle.  That  is  not  to  be  denied. 

Aih.  And  we  acknowledge  that  all  mortal  creatures  are  the 
property  of  the  Gods,  to  whom  also  the  whole  of  heaven 
belongs  -  ? 

Cle.  Certainly. 

Ath.  And,  therefore,  whether  a  person  says  that  these 
things  are  to  the  Gods  great  or  small — in  either  case  it 
would  not  be  natural  for  the  Gods  who  own  us,  and  who  are 
the  most  careful  and  the  best  of  owners,  to  neglect  us. — 
There  is  also  a  further  consideration. 

Cle.  What  is  it? 

Ath.  Sensation  and  power  are  in  an  inverse  ratio  to  each 
other  in  respect  to  their  ease  and  difficulty. 
Cle.  What  do  you  mean  ? 

Ath.  I  mean  that  there  is  greater  difficulty  in  seeing  and 
hearing  the  small  than  the  great,  but  more  facility  in  moving 
and  controlling  and  taking  care  of  small  and  unimportant 
things  than  of  their  opposites. 

Cle.  Far  more. 

Ath.  Suppose  the  case  of  a  physician  who  is  willing  and 
able  to  cure  some  living  thing  as  a  whole, — how  will  the 
whole  fare  at  his  hands  if  he  takes  care  only  of  the  greater 
and  neglects  the  parts  which  are  lesser  ? 

Cle.  Decidedly  not  well. 

Ath.  No  better  would  be  the  result  with  pilots  or  generals, 
or  householders  or  statesmen,  or  any  other  such  class,  if  they 
neglected  the  small  and  regarded  only  the  great; — as  the 
builders  say,  the  larger  stones  do  not  lie  well  without  the 
lesser. 

Cle.  Of  course  not. 


Laws  X. 

Athenian, 
Cleinias. 

they  cannot 
be  igno- 
rant, and 
they  will 
not  know- 
ingly neg- 
lect man 
who  is  their 
possession. 


Small 
things 
harder  to 
be  seen, 
but  more 
easily  man- 
aged than 
great. 
The  physi- 
cian, the 
pilot,  the 
general, 
&c.,  take 
care  of 
small  things 
as  well  as 
great :  will 
the  all-wise 
God  neglect 
them  ? 


'  Cp.  Tim.  42  A. 
VOL.  v. 


Cp.  Phaedo  62. 


290 


The  scheme  of  Providence 


Laws  X. 

Athenian, 
Clfinias. 


Words  of 
consola- 
tion :— 


Let  the 
youth  re- 
member 
that  God 
created  him 
for  the 
whole,  not 
the  whole 
for  the  sake 
of  him. 


Ath.  Let  us  not,  then,  deem  God  inferior  to  human  work- 
men, who,  in  proportion  to  their  skill,  finish  and  perfect  their 
works,  small  as  well  as  great,  by  one  and  the  same  art ;  or  903 
that  God,  the  wisest  of  beings,  who  is  both  willing  and  able 
to  take  care,  is  like  a  lazy  good-for-nothing,  or  a  coward,  who 
turns  his  back  upon  labour  and  gives  no  thought  to  smaller 
and  easier  matters,  but  to  the  greater  only. 

Cle.  Never,  Stranger,  let  us  admit  a  supposition  about  the 
Gods  which  is  both  impious  and  false. 

Ath.  I  think  that  we  have  now  argued  enough  with  him 
who  delights  to  accuse  the  Gods  of  neglect. 

Cle.  Yes. 

Ath.  He  has  been  forced  to  acknowledge  that  he  is  in  error, 
but  he  still  seems  to  me  to  need  some  words  of  consolation. 

Cle.  What  consolation  will  you  offer  him  ? 

Ath.  Let  us  say  to  the  youth  : — The  ruler  of  the  universe 
has  ordered  all  things  with  a  view  to  the  excellence  and 
preservation  of  the  whole,  and  each  part,  as  far  as  may  be, 
has  an  action  and  passion  appropriate  to  it.  Over  these, 
down  to  the  least  fraction  of  them,  ministers  have  been 
appointed  to  preside,  who  have  wrought  out  their  perfection 
with  infinitesimal  exactness.  And  one  of  these  portions  of 
the  universe  is  thine  own,  unhappy  man,  which,  however 
little,  contributes  to  the  whole ;  and  you  do  not  seem  to  be 
aware  that  this  and  every  other  creation  is  for  the  sake  of  the 
whole,  and  in  order  that  the  life  of  the  whole  may  be  blessed  ; 
and  that  you  are  created  for  the  sake  of  the  whole,  and  not 
the  whole  for  the  sake  of  you.  For  every  physician  and 
every  skilled  artist  does  all  things  for  the  sake  of  the  whole, 
directing  his  effort  towards  the  common  good,  executing  the 
part  for  the  sake  of  the  whole,  and  not  the  whole  for  the  sake 
of  the  part.  And  you  are  annoyed  because  you  are  ignorant 
how  what  is  best  for  you  happens  to  you  and  to  the  universe, 
as  far  as  the  laws  of  the  common  creation  admit.  Now,  as 
the  soul  combining  first  with  one  body  and  then  with  another 
undergoes  all  sorts  of  changes,  either  of  herself,  or  through 
the  influence  of  another  soul,  all  that  remains  to  the  player  of 
the  game  is  that  he  should  shift  the  pieces  ;  sending  the 
better  nature  to  the  better  place,  and  the  worse  to  the  worse, 
and  so  assigning  to  them  their  proper  portion. 


ordains  the  victory  of  good. 


Cle.  In  what  way  do  you  mean  ?  Laws  X. 

Ath.  In  a  way  which  may  be  supposed  to  make  the  care  of  Athenian, 
all  things  easy  to  the  Gods.    If  any  one  were  to  form  or  Cleinias. 
fashion  all  things  without  any  regard  to  the  whole  \ — if,  for 
example,  he  formed  a  living  element  of  water  out  of  fire, 
instead  of  forming  many  things  out  of  one  or  one  out  of 
904  many  in  regular  order  attaining  to  a  first  or  second  or  third 
birth  ^,  the  transmutation  would   have  been  infinite ;  but 
now  the  ruler  of  the  world  has  a  wonderfully  easy  task. 

Cle.  How  so  ? 

Ath.  I  will  explain : — When  the  king  saw  that  our  actions  God  as- 
had  life,  and  that  there  was  much  virtue  in  them  and  much  f'^"^ 

'  _  human 

vice,  and  that  the  soul  and  body,  although  not,  like  the  Gods  souls  their 
of  popular  opinion,  eternal,  yet  having  once  come  into  exist-  Peaces  m 
ence,  were  indestructible  (for  if  either  of  them  had  been  manner  as 
destroyed,  there  would  have  been  no  generation  of  living  t°  ensure 
beings) ;  and  when  he  observed  that  the  good  of  the  soul  was  of  evil, 
ever  by  nature  designed  to  profit  men,  and  the  evil  to  harm 
them— he,  seeing  all  this,  contrived  so  to  place  each  of  the 
parts  that  their  position  might  in  the  easiest  and  best  manner 
procure  the  victory  of  good  and  the  defeat  of  evil  in  the  whole. 
And  he  contrived  a  general  plan  by  which  a  thing  of  a  certain 
nature  found  a  certain  seat  and  room.    But  the  formation  -phe 
of  qualities '  he  left  to  the  wills  of  individuals.   For  every  one  fashioning 
of  us  is  made  pretty  much  what  he  is  by  the  bent  of  his  cti^racters 
desires  and  the  nature  of  his  soul.  he  leaves  to 

Cle.  Yes,  that  is  probably  true.  themselves. 

Aih.  Then  all  things  which  have  a  soul  change,  and  pos- 
sess in  themselves  a  principle  of  change,  and  in  changing 
move  according  to  law  and  to  the  order  of  destiny :  natures 
which  have  undergone  a  lesser  change  move  less  and  on  the 
earth's  surface,  but  those  which  have  suffered  more  change 
and  have  become  more  criminal  sink  into  the  abyss,  that 
is  to  say,  into  Hades  and  other  places  in  the  world  below, 
of  which  the  very  names  terrify  men,  and  which  they  picture 
to  themselves  as  in  a  dream,  both  while  alive  and  when 
released  from  the  body.  And  whenever  the  soul  receives 
more  of  good  or  evil  from  her  own  energy  and  the  strong 

'  Reading  ij.'ti  irphs  rh  SAou.  '  Cp.  Timaeus  42  B,  C. 

^  Reading  toO  irofou. 
U  2 


292        ^  If  I  clhnb  up  into  heaven,  or  go  down  into  the  abyss! 


Laws  X. 

Atheniak. 

If  a  soul 
grows  bet- 
ter, it  goes 
to  a  better 
place ;  if 
worse,  to 
a  worse. 


You  com- 
plain of  the 
prosperity 
of  the 
wicked, 
not  seeing 
how  all 
things  work 
together  for 
the  good  of 
the  whole. 


We  turn  to 
him  who 
believes 
that  the 


influence  of  others  — when  she  has  communion  with  divine 
virtue  and  becomes  divine,  she  is  carried  into  another  and 
better  place,  which  is  perfect  in  holiness ;  but  when  she  has 
communion  with  evil,  then  she  also  changes  the  place  of  her 
life. 

'  This  is  the  justice  of  the  Gods  who  inhabit  Olympus '.' 

O  youth  or  young  man>  who  fancy  that  you  are  neglected  by 
the  Gods,  know  that  if  you  become  worse  you  shall  go  to  the 
worse  souls,  or  if  better  to  the  better,  and  in  every  succession 
of  life  and  death  you  will  do  and  suffer  what  like  may  fitly 
suffer  at  the  hands  of  like.  This  is  the  justice  of  heaven,  905 
which  neither  you  nor  any  other  unfortunate  will  ever  glory 
in  escaping,  and  which  the  ordaining  powers  have  specially 
ordained  ;  take  good  heed  thereof,  for  it  will  be  sure  to  take 
heed  of  you.  If  you  say  : — I  am  small  and  will  creep  into 
the  depths  of  the  earth,  or  I  am  high  and  will  fly  up  to 
heaven,  you  are  not  so  small  or  so  high  but  that  you  shall 
pay  the  fitting  penalty,  either  here  or  in  the  world  below  or 
in  some  still  more  savage  place  whither  you  shall  be  conveyed. 
This  is  also  the  explanation  of  the  fate  of  those  whom  you 
saw,  who  had  done  unholy  and  evil  deeds,  and  from  small 
beginnings  had  grown  great,  and  you  fancied  that  from  being 
miserable  they  had  become  happy;  and  in  their  actions,  as 
in  a  mirror,  you  seemed  to  see  the  universal  neglect  of  the 
Gods,  not  knowing  how  they  make  all  things  work  together 
and  contribute  to  the  great  whole.  And  thinkest  thou,  bold 
man,  that  thou  needest  not  to  know  this?— he  who  knows  it 
not  can  never  form  any  true  idea  of  the  happiness  or  unhappi- 
ness  of  life  or  hold  any  rational  discourse  respecting  either. 
If  Cleinias  and  this  our  reverend  company  succeed  in  proving 
to  you  that  you  know  not  what  you  say  of  the  Gods,  then 
will  God  help  you  ;  but  should  you  desire  to  hear  more, 
listen  to  what  we  say  to  the  third  opponent,  if  you  have 
any  understanding  whatsoever.  For  I  think  that  we  have 
sufficiently  proved  the  existence  of  the  Gods,  and  that  they 
care  for  men  : — The  other  notion  that  they  are  appeased  by 
the  wicked,  and  take  gifts,  is  what  we  must  not  concede  to 
any  one,  and  what  every  man  should  disprove  to  the  utmost 
of  his  power. 

'  Hom.  Odyss.  xix.  43. 


# 


The  conflict  of  good  and  evil. 


293 


Clc.  Very  good  ;  let  us  do  as  you  say.  Laws  X. 

Ath.  Well,  then,  by  the  Gods  themselves  I  conjure  you  Athenian, 
to  tell  me, — if  they  are  to  be  propitiated,  how  are  they  to  Cleinias. 
be  propitiated  ?    Who  are  they,  and  what  is  their  nature  ?  G°ds  may- 
Must  they  not  be  at  least  rulers  who  have  to  order  un-  pea^g^. 
ceasingly  the  whole  heaven  ? 

Cle.  True. 

Ath.  And  to  what  earthly  rulers  can  they  be  compared,  or  The  Gods 
who  to  them  ?    How  in  the  less  can  we  find  an  image  of  the  """^ 

~.  allies  m 

greater  ?   Are  they  charioteers  of  contending  pairs  of  steeds,  the  great 
or  pilots  of  vessels  ?     Perhaps  thev  might  be  compared  to  conflict 

which  IS 

the  generals  of  armies,  01:  they  might  be  likened  to  physicians  going  on 
906  providing  against  the  diseases  which  make  war  upon  the  between 
body,  or  to  husbandmen  observing  anxiously  the  effects  of  fvH.^^"'^ 
the  seasons  on  the  growth  of  plants;  or  perhaps  to  shepherds 
of  flocks.    For  as  we  acknowledge  the  world  to  be  full  of 
many  goods  and  also  of  evils,  and  of  more  evils  than  goods, 
there  is,  as  we  affirm,  an  immortal  conflict  going  on  among 
us,  which  requires  marvellous  watchfulness ;  and  in  that  con- 
flict the  Gods  and  demigods  are  our  allies,  and  we  are  their 
property.    Injustice  and  insolence  and  folly  are  the  destruc- 
tion of  us,  and  justice  and  temperance  and  wisdom  are  our 
salvation ;  and  the  place  of  these  latter  is  in  the  life  of 
the  Gods,  although  some  vestige  of  them  may  occasionally  be 
discerned  among  mankind.    But  upon  this  earth  we  know  But  some 
that  there  dwell  souls  possessing  an  unjust  spirit  S  who  J"^"  f^^n 

.  .  .     upon  them 

may  be  compared  to  brute  animals,  which  fawn  upon  their  in  the  be- 
keepers,  whether  dogs  or  shepherds,  or  the  best  and  most  I'^fthat 

c  r,-,-,  ■        ,  •  r  ,       they  can  be 

perfect  masters  ;  lor  they  in  like  manner,  as  the  voices  of  the  flattered 
wicked  declare,  prevail  by  flattery  and  prayers  and  incanta-  bribed 
tions,  and  are  allowed  to  make  their  gains  with  impunity,  betrayal  of 
And  this  sin,  which  is  termed  dishonesty,  is  an  evil  of  the  justice, 
same  kind  as  what  is  termed  disease  in  living  bodies  or 
pestilence  in  years  or  seasons  of  the  year,  and  in  cities  and 
governments  has  another  name,  which  is  injustice. 
Cle.  Quite  true. 

Ath.  What  else  can  he  say  who  declares  that  the  Gods  are 
always  lenient  to  the  doers  of  unjust  acts,  if  they  divide  the 
spoil  with  them  ?    As  if  wolves  were  to  toss  a  portion  of 

'  Reading  A^jiua. 


294        '^he  Gods  are  the  guardians  of  our  highest  interests. 


Laws  X. 

Athenian, 
Cleinias. 


We  cannot, 
however, 
suppose  the 
Gods  to  be 
worse  than 
even  moder- 
ately good 
men. 


A  righteous 
zeal  must 
excuse  our 
warmth. 


their  prey  to  the  dogs,  and  they,  mollified  by  the  gift,  suffered 
them  to  tear  the  flocks  \    Must  not  he  who  maintains  that 
the  Gods  can  be  propitiated  argue  thus  ? 
Cle.  Precisely  so. 

Ath.  And  to  which  of  the  above-mentioned  classes  of 
guardians  would  any  man  compare  the  Gods  without  ab- 
surdity? Will  he  say  that  they  are  like  pilots,  who  are 
themselves  turned  away  from  their  duty  by  '  libations  of  wine 
and  the  savour  of  fat,'  and  at  last  overturn  both  ship  and 
sailors  ? 

Cle.  Assuredly  not. 

Ath.  And  surely  they  are  not  like  charioteers  who  are 
bribed  to  give  up  the  victory  to  other  chariots  ? 

Cle.  That  would  be  a  fearful  image  of  the  Gods. 

Ath.  Nor  are  they  like  generals,  or  physicians,  or  husband- 
men, or  shepherds  ;  and  no  one  would  compare  them  to  dogs 
who  have  been  silenced  by  wolves. 

Cle.  A  thing  not  to  be  spoken  of 

Ath.  And  are  not  all  the  Gods  the  chiefest  of  all  guardians,  907 
and  do  they  not  guard  our  highest  interests  ? 
Cle.  Yes ;  the  chiefest. 

Ath.  And  shall  we  say  that  those  who  guard  our  noblest 
interests,  and  are  the  best  of  guardians,  are  inferior  in  virtue 
to  dogs,  and  to  men  even  of  moderate  excellence,  who  would 
never  betray  justice  for  the  sake  of  gifts  which  unjust  men 
impiously  offer  them  ? 

Cle.  Certainly  not ;  nor  is  such  a  notion  to  be  endured,  and 
he  who  holds  this  opinion  may  be  fairly  singled  out  and 
characterized  as  of  all  impious  men  the  wickedest  and  most 
impious. 

Ath.  Then  are  the  three  assertions — that  the  Gods  exist, 
and  that  they  take  care  of  men,  and  that  they  can  never  be 
persuaded  to  do  injustice,  now  sufficiently  demonstrated  ? 
May  we  say  that  they  are  ? 

Cle.  You  have  our  entire  assent  to  your  words. 

Ath.  I  have  spoken  with  vehemence  because  I  am  zealous 
against  evil  men ;  and  I  will  tell  you,  dear  Cleinias,  why  I 
am  so.  I  would  not  have  the  wicked  think  that,  having  the 
superiority  in  argument,  they  may  do  as  they  please  and  act 

'  Cp.  Rep.  ii.  365  E. 


The  three  kinds  of  impiety  developed  into  six. 


295 


about  im- 
piety. 


according  to  their  various  imaginations  about  the  Gods;  and    Laws  X. 
this  zeal  has  led  me  to  speak  too  vehemently;  but  if  we  have  Athenian, 
at  all  succeeded  in  persuading  the  men  to  hate  themselves  Cleinias. 
and  love  their  opposites,  the  prelude  of  our  laws  about 
impiety  will  not  have  been  spoken  in  vain. 

Cle.  So  let  us  hope ;  and  even  if  we  have  failed,  the  style 
of  our  argument  will  not  disci-edit  the  lawgiver. 

Ath.  After  the  prelude  shall  follow  a  discourse,  which  The  law 
will  be  the  interpreter  of  the  law ;  this  shall  proclaim  to  all 
impious  persons  that  they  must  depart  from  their  ways  and 
go  over  to  the  pious.  And  to  those  who  disobey,  let  the  law 
about  impiety  be  as  follows: — If  a  man  is  guilty  of  any  Method  of 
impiety  in  word  or  deed,  any  one  who  happens  to  be  present  Procedure, 
shall  give  information  to  the  magistrates,  in  aid  of  the  law ; 
and  let  the  magistrates  who  first  receive  the  information 
bring  him  before  the  appointed  court  according  to  the  law; 
and  if  a  magistrate,  after  receiving  information,  refuses  to 
act,  he  shall  be  tried  for  impiety  at  the  instance  of  any  one 
who  is  willing  to  vindicate  the  laws  ;  and  if  any  one  be  cast, 
the  court  shall  estimate  the  punishment  of  each  act  of  impiety; 
908  and  let  all  such  criminals  be  imprisoned.  There  shall  be 
three  prisons  in  the  state  :  the  first  of  them  is  to  be  the 
common  prison  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  agora  for  the 
safe-keeping  of  the  generality  of  offenders  ;  another  is  to  be 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  nocturnal  council  \  and  is  to  be 
called  the  '  House  of  Reformation  ' ;  another,  to  be  situated  in 
some  wild  and  desolate  region  in  the  centre  of  the  country, 
shall  be  called  by  some  name  expressive  of  retribution.  Now,  The  three 
men  fall  into  impiety  from  three  causes,  which  have  been  sorts  of  im- 

pious  per- 

already  mentioned,  and  from  each  of  these  causes  arise  two  sons  are 
sorts  of  impiety,  in  all  six,  which  are  worth  distinguishing,  and  either 

,11  111  1  •  ,  T-      1        ,1         (i)  honest, 

should  not  all  have  the  same  punishment,  r  or  he  who  does  or  {2)  dis- 
not  believe  in  the  Gods,  and  yet  has  a  righteous  nature,  honest, 
hates  the  wicked  and  dislikes  and  refuses  to  do  injustice,  and 
avoids  unrighteous  men,  and  loves  the  righteous.  But  they 
who  besides  believing  that  the  world  is  devoid  of  Gods 
are  intemperate,  and  have  at  the  same  time  good  memories 
and  quick  wits,  are  worse ;  although  both  of  them  are  un- 
believers, much  less  injury  is  done  by  the  one  than  by  the 

*  Cp.  infra,  xii.  951,  961. 


296 


The  penalties  of  impiety. 


Laws  X. 
Athenian. 


The  first 
class  are  to 
be  placed 
in  solitary 
confine- 
ment for 
five  years  ; 
and,  if  tliey 
repent,  at 
the  end  of 
that  time 
they  shall 
be  restored 
to  society. 
If  they 
again  of- 
fend, ihey 
shall  die. 

The  second 
class  are 
to  be  im- 
prisoned 
for  life,  and 
wlien  dead 
to  be  cast 
beyond  the 
border. 


Other.  The  one  may  talk  loosely  about  the  Gods  and  about 
sacrifices  and  oaths,  and  perhaps  by  laughing  at  other  men 
he  may  make  them  like  himself,  if  he  be  not  punished.  But 
the  other  who  holds  the  same  opinions  and  is  called  a  clever 
man,  is  full  of  stratagem  and  deceit — men  of  this  class  deal  in 
prophecy  and  jugglery  of  all  kinds,  and  out  of  their  ranks 
sometimes  come  tyrants  and  demagogues  and  generals  and 
hierophants  of  private  mysteries  and  the  Sophists,  as  they  are 
termed,  vs^ith  their  ingenious  devices.  There  are  many  kinds 
of  unbelievers,  but  tw^o  only  for  whom  legislation  is  required  ; 
one  the  hypocritical  sort,  whose  crime  is  deserving  of  death 
many  times  over,  while  the  other  needs  only  bonds  and 
admonition.  In  like  manner  also  the  notion  that  the  Gods 
take  no  thought  of  men  produces  two  other  sorts  of  crimes, 
and  the  notion  that  they  may  be  propitiated  produces  two 
more.  Assuming  these  divisions,  let  those  who  have  been 
made  what  they  are  only  from  want  of  understanding,  and 
not  from  malice  or  an  evil  nature,  be  placed  by  the  judge  in 
the  House  of  Reformation,  and  ordered  to  suffer  imprison-  9 
ment  during  a  period  of  not  less  than  five  years.  And  in 
the  meantime  let  them  have  no  intercourse  with  the  other 
citizens,  except  with  members  of  the  nocturnal  council,  and 
with  them  let  them  converse  with  a  view  to  the  improvement 
of  their  soul's  health.  And  when  the  time  of  their  imprison- 
ment has  expired,  if  any  of  them  be  of  sound  mind  let  him  be 
restored  to  sane  company,  but  if  not,  and  if  he  be  condemned 
a  second  time,  let  him  be  punished  with  death.  As  to  that 
class  of  monstrous  natures  who  not  only  believe  that  there 
are  no  Gods,  or  that  they  are  negligent,  or  to  be  propitiated, 
but  in  contempt  of  mankind  conjure  the  souls  of  the  living' 
and  say  that  they  can  conjure  the  dead  and  promise  to  charm 
the  Gods  with  sacrifices  and  prayers,  and  will  utterly  over- 
throw individuals  and  whole  houses  and  states  for  the  sake 
of  money— let  him  who  is  guilty  of  any  of  these  things  be 
condemned  by  the  court  to  be  bound  according  to  law  in  the 
prison  which  is  in  the  centre  of  the  land,  and  let  no  freeman 
ever  approach  him,  but  let  him  receive  the  rations  of  food 
appointed  by  the  guardians  of  the  law  from  the  hands  of  the 
public  slaves  ;  and  when  he  is  dead  let  him  be  cast  beyond 

'  Cp.  Rep.  ii.  364- 


The  superstitions  of  luonien  and  of  weak  and  evil  7nen.  297 


the  borders  unburied,  and  if  any  freeman  assist  in  burying    Laws  X. 
him,  let  him  pay  the  penalty  of  impiety  to  any  one  who  IS  Athenian. 
willing  to  bring  a  suit  against  him.    But  if  he  leaves  behind  Their  cWi- 
him  children  who  are  fit  to  be  citizens,  let  the  guardians  of  '^ren  to  be 
orphans  take  care  of  them,  just  as  they  would  of  any  other  ijj^^g  o^her 
orphans,  from  the  day  on  which  their  father  is  convicted.  orphans. 

In  all  these  cases  there  should  be  one  law,  which  will  make  Men  must 
men  in  general  less  liable  to  transgress  in  word  or  deed,  and       ^^^^  ^ 

°  .        °  .       rehgion  for 

less  foolish,  because  they  will  not  be  allowed  to  practise  themselves. 

religious  rites  contrary  to  law.  And  let  this  be  the  simple  form 

of  the  law : — No  man  shall  have  sacred  rites  in  a  private 

house.    When  he  would  sacrifice,  let  him  go  to  the  temples 

and  hand  over  his  offerings  to  the  priests  and  priestesses, 

who  see  to  the  sancity  of  such  things,  and  let  him  pray  himself, 

and  let  any  one  who  pleases  join  with  him  in  prayer.    The  Only  a 

reason  of  this  is  as  follows  : — Gods  and  temples  are  not  easily  P^^' 

\  ligence  can 

instituted,  and  to  establish  them  rightly  is  the  work  of  a  establish 
mighty  intellect.    And  women  especially,  and  men  too,  when  ^^pj^"'^ 
they  are  sick  or  in  danger,  or  in  any  sort  of  difficulty,  or 
again  on  their  receiving  any  good  fortune,  have  a  way  of 
o  consecrating  the  occasion,  vowing  sacrifices,  and  promising 
shrines  to  Gods,  demigods,  and  sons  of  Gods ;  and  when 
they  are  awakened  by  terrible  apparitions  and  dreams  or 
remember  visions,  they  find  in  altars  and  temples  the  remedies 
of  them,  and  will  fill  every  house  and  village  with  them, 
placing  them  in  the  open  air,  or  wherever  they  may  have  had 
such  visions ;  and  with  a  view  to  all  these  cases  we  should 
obey  the  law.    The  law  has  also  regard  to  the  impious,  and 
would  not  have  them  fancy  that  by  the  secret  performance  of 
these  actions — by  raising  temples  and  by  building  altars  in 
private  houses,  they  can  propitiate  the  God  secretly  with 
sacrifices  and  prayers,  while  they  are  really  multiplying  their 
crimes  infinitely,  bringing  guilt  from  heaven  upon  themselves, 
and  also  upon  those  who  permit  them,  and  who  are  better 
men  than  they  are  ;  and  the  consequence  is  that  the  whole 
state  reaps  the  fruit  of  their  impiety,  which,  in  a  certain  sense, 
is  deserved.    Assuredly  God  will  not  blame  the  legislator,  tobetrans- 
who  will  enact  the  following  law : — No  one  shall  possess  ferred  to 
sh  rines  of  the  Gods  in  private  houses,  and  he  who  is  found  Jf^g^^^ 
to  possess  them,  and  perform  any  sacred  rites  not  publicly  penalty. 


298         Religious  rites  to  be  prohibited  in  private  hottses. 

Laws  X.  authorized,  —supposing  the  offender  to  be  some  man  or  woman 
Athenian,  who  is  not  guilty  of  any  other  great  and  impious  crime, — shall 
be  informed  against  by  him  who  is  acquainted  with  the  fact, 
which  shall  be  announced  by  him  to  the  guardians  of  the 
law ;  and  let  them  issue  orders  that  he  or  she  shall  carry  away 
their  private  rites  to  the  public  temples,  and  if  they  do  not 
persuade  them,  let  them  inflict  a  penalty  on  them  until  they 
comply.  And  if  a  person  be  proven  guilty  of  impiety,  not 
merely  from  childish  levity,  but  such  as  grown-up  men  may  be 
guilty  of,  whether  he  have  sacrificed  publicly  or  privately  to 
any  Gods,  let  him  be  punished  with  death,  for  his  sacrifice 
is  impure.  Whether  the  deed  has  been  done  in  earnest,  or 
only  from  childish  levity,  let  the  guardians  of  the  law  deter- 
mine, before  they  bring  the  matter  into  court  and  prosecute 
the  offender  for  impiety. 


BOOK  XL 


3     In  the  next  place,  dealings  between  man  and  man  require  Laws  XT. 
to  be  suitably  regulated.    The  principle  of  them  is  very  Athenian. 
simple  : — Thou  shalt  not,  if  thou  canst  help,  touch  that  which  Dealings 
is  mine,  or  remove  the  least  thing  which  belongs  to  me  without  between 
my  consent ;  and  may  I  be  of  a  sound  mind,  and  do  to  others  .^"jjg 
as  I  would  that  they  should  do  to  me.    First,  let  us  speak  of  principles 
treasure-trove : — May  I  never  pray  the  Gods  to  find  the  hidden  ^^^^^ 
treasure,  which  another  has  laid  up  for  himself  and  his  family,  regulate 
he  not  being  one  of  my  ancestors,  nor  lift,  if  I  should  find, 
such  a  treasure.    And  may  I  never  have  any  dealings  with  trove!""^^" 
those  who  are  called  diviners,  and  who  in  any  way  or  manner 
counsel  me  to  take  up  the  deposit  entrusted  to  the  earth,  for 
I  should  not  gain  so  much  in  the  increase  of  my  possessions, 
if  I  take  up  the  prize,  as  I  should  grow  in  justice  and  virtue 
of  soul,  if  I  abstain ;  and  this  will  be  a  better  possession  to 
me  than  the  other  in  a  better  part  of  myself ;  for  the  posses- 
sion of  justice  in  the  soul  is  preferable  to  the  possession  of 
wealth.    And  of  many  things  it  is  well  said, — '  Move  not  the 
immovables,'  and  this  may  be  regarded  as  one  of  them.  And 
we  shall  do  well  to  believe  the  common  tradition  which  says, 
that  such  deeds  prevent  a  man  from  having  a  family.  Now 
as  to  him  who  is  careless  about  having  children  and  regardless 
of  the  legislator,  taking  up  that  which  neither  he  deposited, 
nor  any  ancestor  of  his,  without  the  consent  of  the  depositor, 
violating  the  simplest  and  noblest  of  laws  which  was  the 
enactment  of  no  mean  man  : — '  Take  not  up  that  which  was 
not  laid  down  by  thee,'— of  him,  I  say,  who  despises  these 
two  legislators,  and  takes  up,  not  some  small  matter  which 
he  has  not  deposited,  but  perhaps  a  great  heap  of  treasure, 


300 


Treasure-trove. 


Laws  XI. 
Athenian. 


The  punish- 
ment of  a 
man  whore- 
moves  trea- 
sure to  be 
fixed  by  the 
God  of 
Delphi. 


The  penal- 
ties of  the 
law  for 
those  who 
take  away 
what  others 
leave  be- 
hind. 


How  cases 
of  disputed 
ownership 
are  to  be 
deter- 
mined. 


what  he  ought  to  suffer  at  the  hands  of  the  Gods,  God  only 
knows ;  but  I  would  have  the  first  person  who  sees  him  go 
and  tell  the  wardens  of  the  city,  if  the  occurrence  has  taken 
place  in  the  city,  or  if  the  occurrence  has  taken  place  in  the 
agora  he  shall  tell  the  wardens  of  the  agora,  or  if  in  the 
country  he  shall  tell  the  wardens  of  the  country  and  their 
commanders'.  When  information  has  been  received  the  city 
shall  send  to  Delphi,  and,  whatever  the  God  answers  about  9 
the  money  and  the  remover  of  the  money,  that  the  city  shall 
do  in  obedience  to  the  oracle ;  the  informer,  if  he  be  a  free- 
man, shall  have  the  honour  of  doing  rightly,  and  he  who 
informs  not,  the  dishonour  of  doing  wrongly;  and  if  he  be  a 
slave  who  gives  information,  let  him  be  freed,  as  he  ought  to 
be,  by  the  state,  which  shall  give  his  master  the  price  of  him; 
but  if  he  do  not  inform  he  shall  be  punished  with  death. 
Next  in  order  shall  follow  a  similar  law,  which  shall  apply 
equally  to  matters  great  and  small : — If  a  man  happens  to 
leave  behind  him  some  part  of  his  property,  whether  inten- 
tionally or  unintentionally,  let  him  who  may  come  upon  the 
left  property  suffer  it  to  remain,  reflecting  that  such  things 
are  under  the  protection  of  the  Goddess  of  ways,  and  are 
dedicated  to  her  by  the  law.  But  if  any  one  defies  the  law, 
and  takes  the  property  home  with  him,  let  him,  if  the  thing  is 
of  little  worth,  and  the  man  who  takes  it  a  slave,  be  beaten 
with  many  stripes  by  him  who  meets  him,  being  a  person  of 
not  less  than  thirty  years  of  age.  Or  if  he  be  a  freeman,  in 
addition  to  being  thought  a  mean  person  and  a  despiser  of  the 
laws,  let  him  pay  ten  times  the  value  of  the  treasure  which  he 
has  moved  to  the  leaver.  And  if  some  one  accuses  another 
of  having  anything  which  belongs  to  him,  whether  little  or 
much,  and  the  other  admits  rtiat  he  has  this  thing,  but  denies 
that  the  property  in  dispute  belongs  to  the  other,  if  the 
property  be  registered  with  the  magistrates  according  to  law, 
the  claimant  shall  summon  the  possessor,  who  shall  bring  it 
before  the  magistrates ;  and  when  it  is  brought  into  court,  if 
it  be  registered  in  the  public  registers,  to  which  of  the 
litigants  it  belonged,  let  him  take  it  and  go  his  way.  Or  if 
the  property  be  registered  as  belonging  to  some  one  who  is 
not  present,  whoever  will  offer  sufficient  surety  on  behalf  of 

^  Cp.  supra,  vi.  760. 


Laws  abotd  rttnaway  slaves  and  about  freedmen. 


301 


the  absent  person  that  he  will  give  it  up  to  him,  shall  take  Laws  XI. 

it  away  as  the  representative  of  the  other.  But  if  the  property  Athenian. 

which  is  deposited  be  not  registered  with  the  magistrates,  let 

it  remain  until  the  time  of  trial  with  three  of  the  eldest  of 

the  magistrates  ;  and  if  it  be  an  animal  which  is  deposited, 

then  he  who  loses  the  suit  shall  pay  the  magistrates  for  its 

keep,  and  they  shall  determine  the  cause  within  three  days. 

Any  one  who  is  of  sound  mind  may  arrest  his  own  slave,  a  man  may 
and  do  with  him  whatever  he  will  of  such  things  as  are  law-  carry  ofFhis 

-     .     own  slave, 

ful ;  and  he  may  arrest  the  runaway  slave  01  any  01  his  the  run- 
friends  or  kindred  with  a  view  to  his  safe-keeping.    And  away  slave 
if  any  one  takes  away  him  who  is  being  carried  off  as  a  oradis- 
slave,  intending  to  liberate  him,  he  who  is  carrying  him  off  loyal  freed- 
shall  let  him  go;  but  he  who  takes  him  away  shall  give 
three  sufficient  sureties  ;  and  if  he  give  them,  and  not  without 
giving  them,  he  may  take  him  away,  but  if  he  take  him  away 
after  any  other  manner  he  shall  be  deemed  guilty  of  violence, 
and  being  convicted  shall  pay  as  a  penalty  double  the  amount 
915  of  the  damages  claimed  to  him  who  has  been  deprived  of  the 
slave.    Any  man  may  also  carry  off  a  freedman,  if  he  do  not 
pay  respect  or  sufficient  respect  to  him  who  freed  him.    Now  The  duties 
the  respect  shall  be,  that  the  freedman  go  three  times  in  the  ^"^  co'o^-^ 
month  to  the  hearth  of  the  person  who  freed  him,  and  offer  freedman- 
to  do  whatever  he  ought,  so  far  as  he  can ;  and  he  shall  ship, 
agree  to  make  such  a  marriage  as  his  former  master  ap- 
proves.    He  shall  not  be  permitted  to  have  more  property 
than  he  who  gave  him  liberty,  and  what  more  he  has  shall 
belong  to  his  master.    The  freedman  shall  not  remain  in  the 
state  more  than  twenty  years,  but  like  other  foreigners^  shall 
go  away,  taking  his  entire  property  with  him,  unless  he  has 
the  consent  of  the  magistrates  and  of  his  former  master  to 
remain.   If  a  freedman  or  any  other  stranger  has  a  property 
greater  than  the  census  of  the  third  class,  at  the  expiration  of 
thirty  days  from  the  day  on  which  this  comes  to  pass,  he 
shall  take  that  which  is  his  and  go  his  way,  and  in  this  case  he 
shall  not  be  allowed  to  remain  any  longer  by  the  magistrates. 
And  if  any  one  disobeys  this  regulation,  and  is  brought 
into  court  and  convicted,  he  shall  be  punished  with  death, 
and  his  property  shall  be  confiscated.    Suits  about  these 

'  Cp.  sup7-a,  viii.  850. 


302 


No  credit  allowed. 


Laws  XL 
Athenian. 

Disputed 
possessions. 


Goods  to  be 
sold  at  a 
fixed  place ; 
no  credit  to 
be  given. 


There  will 
be  no  laws 
about  con- 
tributions. 

Precaution 
against 
fraudulent 
sale. 


When 
restitution 
is  or  is  not 
to  be  made. 


matters  shall  take  place  before  the  tribes,  unless  the  plaintiff 
and  defendant  have  got  rid  of  the  accusation  either  before 
their  neighbours  or  before  judges  chosen  by  them.  If  a 
man  lay  claim  to  any  animal  or  anything  else  which  he 
declares  to  be  his,  let  the  possessor  refer  to  the  seller  or  to 
some  honest  and  trustworthy  person,  who  has  given,  or  in 
some  legitimate  way  made  over  the  property  to  him  ;  if  he  be 
a  citizen  or  a  metic,  sojourning  in  the  city,  within  thirty  days, 
or,  if  the  property  have  been  delivered  to  him  by  a  stranger, 
within  five  months,  of  which  the  middle  month  shall  include 
the  summer  solstice  ^.  ^Vhen  goods  are  exchanged  by  selling 
and  buying,  a  man  shall  deliver  them,  and  receive  the  price 
of  them,  at  a  fixed  place  in  the  agora,  and  have  done  with 
the  matter ;  but  he  shall  not  buy  or  sell  anywhere  else,  nor 
give  credit.  And  if  in  any  other  manner  or  "in  any  other 
place  there  be  an  exchange  of  one  thing  for  another,  and  the 
seller  give  credit  to  the  man  who  buys  from  him,  he  must 
do  this  on  the  understanding  that  the  law  gives  no  protection 
in  cases  of  things  sold  not  in  accordance  with  these  regula- 
tions ^.  Again,  as  to  contributions,  any  man  who  likes  may  go 
about  collecting  contributions  as  a  friend  among  friends,  but  if 
any  difference  arises  about  the  collection,  he  is  to  act  on  the 
understanding  that  the  law  gives  no  protection  in  such  cases. 
He  who  sells  an3'thing  above  the  value  of  fifty  drachmas  916 
shall  be  required  to  remain  in  the  city  for  ten  days,  and  the 
purchaser  shall  be  informed  of  the  house  of  the  seller,  with  a 
view  to  the  sort  of  charges  which  are  apt  to  arise  in  such 
cases,  and  the  restitutions  which  the  law  allows.  And  let 
legal  restitution  be  on  this  wise  : — If  a  man  sells  a  slave  who 
is  in  a  consumption,  or  who  has  the  disease  of  the  stone,  or 
of  strangury,  or  epilepsy,  or  some  other  tedious  and  incurable 
disorder  of  body  or  mind,  which  is  not  discernible  to  the 
ordinary  man,  if  the  purchaser  be  a  physician  or  trainer,  he 
shall  have  no  right  of  restitution ;  nor  shall  there  be  any 
right  of  restitution  if  the  seller  has  told  the  truth  beforehand 
to  the  buyer.  But  if  a  skilled  person  sells  to  another  who  is 
not  skilled,  let  the  buyer  appeal  for  restitution  within  six 
months,  except  in  the  case  of  epilepsy,  and  then  the  appeal 
may  be  made  within  a  year.  The  cause  shall  be  determined 
»  Cp.  infra,  xii.  952  E.  =  Cp.  supra,  viii.  849  E. 


A  dtilte7'ation. 


303 


by  such  physicians  as  the  parties  may  agree  to  choose  ;  and  Laws  XI. 
the  defendant,  if  he  lose  the  suit,  shall  pay  double  the  price  Athenian. 
at  which  he  sold.  If  a  private  person  sell  to  another  private 
person,  he  shall  have  the  right  of  restitution,  and  the  decision 
shall  be  given  as  before,  but  the  defendant,  if  he  be  cast,  shall 
only  pay  back  the  price  of  the  slave.  If  a  person  sells  a 
homicide  to  another,  and  they  both  know  of  the  fact,  let 
there  be  no  restitution  in  such  a  case,  but  if  he  do  not  know 
of  the  fact,  there  shall  be  a  right  of  restitution,  whenever  the 
buyer  makes  the  discovery;  and  the  decision  shall  rest  with 
the  five  youngest  guardians  of  the  law,  and  if  the  decision  be 
that  the  seller  was  cognisant  of  the  fact,  he  shall  purify  the 
house  of  the  purchaser,  according  to  the  law  of  the  in- 
terpreters, and  shall  pay  back  three  times  the  purchase- 
money. 

If  a  man  exchanges  either  money  for  money,  or  anything  Prelude  to 
whatever  for  anything  else,  either  with  or  without  life,  let  '^^ 

...  ,  .        ,  .  ,  ,  ,  ,     .      about  adul- 

him  give  and  receive  them  genuine  and  unadulterated,  in  teration:— 
accordance  with  the  law.    And  let  us  have  a  prelude  about  Adultera- 
all  this  sort  of  roguery,  like  the  preludes  of  our  other  laws.  kinVof^ 
Every  man  should  regard  adulteration  as  of  one  and  the  falsehood 
same  class  with  falsehood  and  deceit,  concerning  which  the  j^ury^^"^" 
many  are  too  fond  of  saying  that  at  proper  times  and  places 
the  practice  may  often  be  right.    But  they  leave  the  occasion, 
and  the  when,  and  the  where,  undefined  and  unsettled,  and 
from  this  want  of  definiteness  in  their  language  they  do  a 
great  deal  of  harm  to  themselves  and  to  others.    Now  a  legis- 
lator ought  not  to  leave  the  matter  undetermined  ;  he  ought 
to  .  prescribe  some  limit,  either  greater  or  less.     Let  this  be 
the  rule  prescribed  : — No  one  shall  call  the  Gods  to  witness, 
when  he  says  or  does  anything  false  or  deceitful  or  dis- 
honest, unless  he  would  be  the  most  hateful  of  mankind  to 
7  them.    And  he  is  most  hateful  to  them  who  takes  a  false 
oath,  and  pays  no  heed  to  the  Gods ;  and  in  the  next  degree, 
he  who  tells  a  falsehood  in  the  presence  of  his  superiors. 
Now  better  men  are  the  superiors  of  worse  men,  and  in 
general  elders  are  the  superiors  of  the  young ;  wherefore 
also  parents  are  the  superiors  of  their  offspring,  and  men  ot 
women  and  children,  and  rulers  of  their  subjects  ;  for  all 
men  ought  to  reverence  any  one  who  is  in  any  position  of 


304 


The  dishonesty  of  trade. 


Laws  XI. 

Athenian. 


The  law  : — 
One  price 
to  be  asked ; 
no  puffing, 
or  taking 
of  oaths. 


Penalties 
for  adulter- 
ation. 


authority,  and  especially  those  who  are  in  state  offices.  And 
this  is  the  reason  why  I  have  spoken  of  these  matters.  For 
every  one  who  is  guilty  of  adulteration  in  the  agora  tells 
a  falsehood,  and  deceives,  and  when  he  invokes  the  Gods, 
according  to  the  customs  and  cautions  of  the  wardens  of  the 
agora,  he  does  but  swear  without  any  respect  for  God  or 
man.  Certainly,  it  is  an  excellent  rule  not  lightly  to  defile 
the  names  of  the  Gods,  after  the  fashion  of  men  in  general, 
who  care  little  about  piety  and  purity  in  their  religious 
actions.  But  if  a  man  will  not  conform  to  this  rule,  let  the 
law  be  as  follows  : — He  who  sells  anything  in  the  agora  ghall 
not  ask  two  prices  for  that  which  he  sells,  but  he  shall  ask 
one  price,  and  if  he  do  not  obtain  this,  he  shall  take  away  his 
goods ;  and  on  that  day  he  shall  not  value  them  either  at 
more  or  less ;  and  there  shall  be  no  praising  of  any  goods, 
or  oath  taken  about  them.  If  a  person  disobeys  this  com- 
mand, any  citizen  who  is  present,  not  being  less  than  thirty 
years  of  age,  may  with  impunity  chastise  and  beat  the  swearer, 
but  if  instead  of  obeying  the  laws  he  takes  no  heed,  he  shall 
be  liable  to  the  charge  of  having  betrayed  them.  If  a  man  sells 
any  adulterated  goods  and  will  not  obey  these  regulations,  he 
who  knows  and  can  prove  the  fact,  and  does  prove  it  in  the 
presence  of  the  magistrates,  if  he  be  a  slave  or  a  metic,  shall 
have  the  adulterated  goods  ;  but  if  he  be  a  citizen,  and  do  not 
pursue  the  charge,  he  shall  be  called  a  rogue,  and  deemed 
to  have  robbed  the  Gods  of  the  agora ;  or  if  he  proves  the 
charge,  he  shall  dedicate  the  goods  to  the  Gods  of  the  agora. 
He  who  is  proved  to  have  sold  any  adulterated  goods,  in 
addition  to  losing  the  goods  themselves,  shall  be  beaten  with 
stripes,— a  stripe  for  a  drachma,  according  to  the  price  of  the 
goods ;  and  the  herald  shall  proclaim  in  the  agora  the  offence 
for  which  he  is  going  to  be  beaten.  The  wardens  of  the 
agora  and  the  guardians  of  the  law  shall  obtain  information 
from  experienced  persons  about  the  rogueries  and  adultera- 
tions of  the  sellers,  and  shall  write  up  what  the  seller  ought 
and  ought  not  to  do  in  each  case ;  and  let  them  inscribe 
their  laws  on  a  column  in  front  of  the  court  of  the  wardens 
of  the  agora,  that  they  may  be  clear  instructors  of  those  who 
have  business  in  the  agora.  Enough  has  been  said  in  what  giJ 
has  preceded  about  the  wardens  of  the  city,  and  if  anything 


Retail  h'ade  a  good  thing  when  rightly  ptirsued.  305 


seems  to  be  wanting,  let  them  communicate  with  the  guardians  Laws  XI. 

of  the  law,  and  write  down  the  omission,  and  place  on  a  Athenian, 

column  in  the  court  of  the  wardens  of  the  city  the  primary  Clein.as. 

and  secondary  regulations  which  are  laid  down  for  them 

about  their  office. 

After  the  practices  of  adulteration  naturally  follow  the  prac-  Retail 

tices  of  retail  trade.    Concerning  these,  we  will  first  of  all  give 

a  word  of  counsel  and  reason,  and  the  law  shall  come  after- 

wards.    Retail  trade  in  a  city  is  not  by  nature  intended  to  do  able  : 

any  harm,  but  quite  the  contrary ;  for  is  not  he  a  benefactor 

who  reduces  the  inequalities  and  incommensurabilities  of 

goods  to  equality  and  common  measure  ?     And  this  is  what 

the  power  of  money  accomplishes,  and  the  merchant  may  be 

said  to  be  appointed  for  this  purpose.    The  hireling  and  the 

tavern-keeper,  and  many  other  occupations,  some  of  them  • 

more  and  others  less  seemly — all  alike  have  this  object ; — 

they  seek  to  satisfy  our  needs  and  equalize  our  possessions  \ 

Let  us  then  endeavour  to  see  what  has  brought  retail  trade  why,  then, 

into  ill-odour,  and  wherein  lies  the  dishonour  and  unseem-  "f ^°  ,  , 
'  .  despised  ? 

liness   of  it,   in  order  that  if  not  entirely,  we  may  yet 
partially,  cure  the  evil  by  legislation.    To  effect  this  is  no 
easy  matter,  and  requires  a  great  deal  of  virtue. 
Cle.  What  do  you  mean  ? 

Ath.  Dear  Cleinias,  the  class  of  men  is  small — they  must  Because  it 
have  been  rarely  gifted  by  nature,  and  trained  by  education,  t^e°ove^of 
— who,  when   assailed  by  wants  and  desires,  are  able  to  gain, 
hold  out  and  observe  moderation,  and  when  they  might  make 
a  great  deal  of  money  are  sober  in  their  wishes,  and  prefer  a 
moderate  to  a  large  gain.    But  the  mass  of  mankind  are  the 
very  opposite  :  their  desires  are  unbounded,  and  when  they 
might  gain  in  moderation  they  prefer  gains  without  limit  ; 
wherefore  all  that  relates  to  retail  trade,  and  merchandise, 
and  the  keeping  of  taverns,  is  denounced  and  numbered  among 
dishonourable  things.    For  if  what  I  trust  may  never  be  and  if  good 
will  not  be,  we  were  to  compel,  if  I  may  venture  to  say  a 

'  _  r    »  J  women 

ridiculous  thing,  the  best  men  everywhere  to  keep  taverns  only  kept 
for  a  time,  or  carry  on  retail  trade,  or  do  anything  of  that  ^'^°p^  ^"'^ 

.  '  JO  •  taverns, 

sort ;  or  if,  in  consequence  of  some  fate  or  necessity,  the  best  retail  trade 
women  were  compelled  to  follow  similar  callings,  then  we  would  be 

'  Cp.  Arist.  Pol.  i.  9,  §§  i-ii. 
VOL.  v.  X 


3o6 


The  rogueries  of  tave^'ii-keeping. 


Laws  XI 

Athenian. 

thought  a 
beneficent 
occupation. 

The  ex- 
tortionate 
practices 
now-a-days 
have 
brought 
it  into  ill- 
repute. 


The 

remedy  :  — 
Retailers  to 
be  few,  of 
the  meaner 
sort,  and 
well  looked 
after. 


The  law  :— 
Retail 
traders  to 
be,  not 
citizens,  but 
metics  or 
strangers. 


should  know  how  agreeable  and  pleasant  all  these  things  are  ; 
and  if  all  such  occupations  were  managed  on  incorrupt  prin- 
ciples, they  would  be  honoured  as  we  honour  a  mother  or  a 
nurse.  But  now  that  a  man  goes  to  desert  places  and  builds 
houses  which  can  only  be  reached  by  long  journeys,  for  the  9 
sake  of  retail  trade,  and  receives  strangers  who  are  in  need 
at  the  welcome  resting-place,  and  gives  them  peace  and  calm 
when  they  are  tossed  by  the  storm,  or  cool  shade  in  the 
heat ;  and  then  instead  of  behaving  to  them  as  friends,  and 
showing  the  duties  of  hospitality  to  his  guests,  treats  them  as 
enemies  and  captives  who  are  at  his  mere}',  and  will  not 
release  them  until  they  have  paid  the  most  unjust,  abominable, 
and  extortionate  ransom, — these  are  the  sort  of  practices, 
and  foul  evils  they  are,  which  cast  a  reproach  upon  the  suc- 
cour of  adversity.  And  the  legislator  ought  always  to  be 
devising  a  remedy  for  evils  of  this  nature.  There  is  an 
ancient  saying,  which  is  also  a  true  one — 'To  fight  against 
two  opponents  is  a  difficult  thing,'  as  is  seen  in  diseases  and 
in  many  other  cases.  And  in  this  case  also  the  war  is  against 
two  enemies — wealth  and  poverty;  one  of  whom  corrupts  the 
soul  of  man  with  luxury,  while  the  other  drives  him  by  pain 
into  utter  shamelessness.  What  remedy  can  a  city  of  sense 
find  against  this  disease?  In  the  first  place,  they  must  have 
as  few  retail  traders  as  possible ;  and  in  the  second  place, 
they  must  assign  the  occupation  to  that  class  of  men  whose 
corruption  will  be  the  least  injury"  to  the  state ;  and  in  the 
third  place,  the}'  must  devise  some  way  whereby  the  followers 
of  these  occupations  themselves  will  not  readily  fall  into 
habits  of  unbridled  shamelessness  and  meanness. 

After  this  preface  let  our  law  run  as  follows,  and  may  for- 
tune favour  us  : — No  landowner  among  the  Magnetes,  whose 
city  the  God  is  restoring  and  resettling — no  one,  that  is,  of 
the  5040  families,  shall  become  a  retail  trader  either  volun- 
tarily or  involuntarily ;  neither  shall  he  be  a  merchant,  or  do 
any  service  for  private  persons  unless  they  equally  serve  him, 
except  for  his  father  or  his  mother,  and  their  fathers  and 
mothers ;  and  in  general  for  his  elders  who  are  freemen  \ 
and  whom  he  serves  as  a  freeman.  Now  it  is  difficult  to 
detei-mine  accurately  the  things  which  are  worthy  or  un- 

'  Placing  a  comma  after  iKivQtpoi. 


The  regulation  of  retail  trade. 


307 


worthy  of  a  freeman,  but  let  those  who  have  obtained  the  Laws  XI. 
prize  of  virtue  give  judgment  about  them  in  accordance  with  Athenian. 
tlieir  feelings  of  right  and  wrong.    He  who  in  any  way 
shares  in  the  illiberality  of  retail  trades  may  be  indicted  for  Thepunish- 
dishonouring  his  race  by  any  one  who  likes,  before  those        ^'^^ , 

°  -J       •1  '  citizens  who 

who  have  been  judged  to  be  the  first  in  virtue ;  and  if  he  disobey, 
appear  to  throw  dirt  upon  his  father's  house  by  an  unworthy 
920  occupation,  let  him  be  imprisoned  for  a  year  and  abstain  from 
that  sort  of  thing ;  and  if  he  repeat  the  offence,  for  two 
years;  and  every  time  that  he  is  convicted  let  the  length  of  his 
imprisonment  be  doubled.  This  shall  be  the  second  law : — 
He  who  engages  in  retail  trade  must  be  either  a  metic  or  a 
stranger.  And  a  third  law  shall  be  : — In  order  that  the  retail 
trader  who  dwells  in  our  city  may  be  as  good  or  as  little  bad 
as  possible,  the  guardians  of  the  law  shall  remember  that 
they  are  not  only  guardians  of  those  who  may  be  easily 
watched  and  prevented  from  becoming  lawless  or  bad,  be- 
cause they  are  well-born  and  bred ;  but  still  more  should 
they  have  a  watch  over  those  who  are  of  another  sort,  and 
follow  pursuits  which  have  a  very  strong  tendency  to  make 
men  bad.  And,  therefore,  in  respect  of  the  multifarious  The  guard- 
occupations  of  retail  trade,  that  is  to  say,  in  respect  of  such  1^"^  °} 

ri  11         1  -11  law  shall 

01  them  as  are  allowed  to  remam,  because  they  seem  to  be  determine 
quite  necessary  in  a  state, — about  these  the  guardians  of  the  ""^'^ 
law  should  meet  and  take  counsel  with  those  who  have 
experience  of  the  several  kinds  of  retail  trade,  as  we  before 
commanded  concerning  adulteration  (which  is  a  matter  akin 
to  this),  and  when  they  meet  they  shall  consider  what  amount 
of  receipts,  after  deducting  expenses,  will  produce  a  moderate 
gain  to  the  retail  trades,  and  they  shall  fix  in  writing  and 
strictly  maintain  what  they  find  to  be  the  right  percentage 
of  profit;  this  shall  be  seen  to  by  the  wardens  of  the  agora, 
and  by  the  wardens  of  the  city,  and  by  the  wardens  of 
the  country.  And  so  retail  trade  will  benefit  every  one, 
and  do  the  least  possible  injury  to  those  in  the  state  who 
practise  it. 

When  a  man  makes  an  agreement  which  he  does  not  fulfil.  Breaches  of 
unless  the  agreement  be  of  a  nature  which  the  law  or  a  vote  '° 

„  ,  ,  ,  be  action- 

ot  the  assembly  does  not  allow,  or  which  he  has  made  under  able, 
the  influence  of  some  unjust  compulsion,  or  which  he  is 

X  2 


3o8         Fulfilment  of  contracts  the  foundation  of  society. 


Laws  XI. 
Athenian. 


Punish- 
ment for 
not  fulfil- 
ling a  con- 
tract within 
the  ap- 
pointed 
time. 


No  over- 
charge. 


The  price, 
if  not  paid 
at  the  time 
agreed, 


prevented  from  fulfilling  against  his  will  by  some  unexpected 
chance,  the  other  party  may  go  to  law  with  him  in  the  courts 
of  the  tribes,  for  not  having  completed  his  agreement,  if  the 
parties  are  not  able  previously  to  come  to  terms  before 
arbiters  or  before  their  neighbours.  The  class  of  craftsmen 
who  have  furnished  human  life  with  the  arts  is  dedicated  to 
Hephaestus  and  Athene ;  and  there  is  a  class  of  craftsmen 
who  preserve  the  works  of  all  craftsmen  by  arts  of  defence, 
the  votaries  of  Ares  and  Athene,  to  which  divinities  they 
too  are  rightly  dedicated.  All  these  continue  through  life 
serving  the  country  and  the  people  ;  some  of  them  are  leaders 
in  battle  ;  others  make  for  hire  implements  and  works,  and 
they  ought  not  to  deceive  in  such  matters,  out  of  respect  to  921 
the  Gods  who  are  their  ancestors.  If  any  craftsman  through 
indolence  omit  to  execute  his  work  in  a  given  time,  not 
reverencing  the  God  who  gives  him  the  means  of  life,  but 
considering,  foolish  fellow,  that  he  is  his  own  God  and  will 
let  him  off  easily,  in  the  first  place,  he  shall  suffer  at  the 
hands  of  the  God,  and  in  the  second  place,  the  law  shall 
follow  in  a  similar  spirit.  He  shall  owe  to  him  who  con- 
tracted with  him  the  price  of  the  works  which  he  has  failed 
in  performing,  and  he  shall  begin  again  and  execute  them 
gratis  in  the  given  time.  When  a  man  undertakes  a  work, 
the  law  gives  him  the  same  advice  which  was  given  to  the 
seller,  that  he  should  not  attempt  to  raise  the  price,  but 
simply  ask  the  value  ;  this  the  law  enjoins  also  on  the  con- 
tractor ;  for  the  craftsman  assuredly  knows  the  value  of  his 
work.  Wherefore,  in  free  states  the  man  of  art  ought  not  to 
attempt  to  impose  upon  private  individuals  by  the  help  of  his 
art,  which  is  by  nature  a  true  thing ;  and  he  who  is  wronged 
in  a  matter  of  this  sort,  shall  have  a  right  of  action  against 
the  party  who  has  wronged  him.  And  if  any  one  lets  out 
work  to  a  craftsman,  and  does  not  pay  him  duly  according  to 
the  lawful  agreement,  disregarding  Zeus  the  guardian  of  the 
city  and  Athene,  who  are  the  partners  of  the  state,  and  over- 
throws the  foundations  of  society  for  the  sake  of  a  little  gain, 
in  his  case  let  the  law  and  the  Gods  maintain  the  common 
bonds  of  the  state.  And  let  him  who,  having  already  re- 
ceived the  work  in  exchange,  does  not  pay  the  price  in  the 
time  agreed,  pay  double  the  price ;  and  if  a  year  has  elapsed, 


Testamentary  beqicests. 


309 


although  interest  is  not  to  be  taken  on  loans,  yet  for  every  Laws  XI. 

drachma  which  he  owes  to  the  contractor  let  him  pay  a  Athenian, 

monthly  interest  of  an  obol.    Suits  about  these  matters  are  Cleinias. 

to  be  decided  by  the  courts  of  the  tribes ;  and  by  the  way,  shall  be 

since  we  have  mentioned  craftsmen  at  all,  we  must  not  forget  ^  "  .  ^  " 

.  .  .  .         °  Soldiers 

that  Other  craft  of  war,  in  which  generals  and  tacticians  are  .-md  gener- 
the  craftsmen,  who  undertake  voluntarily  or  involuntarily  the  ,^1^-  ^^f°' 
work  of  our  safety,  as  other  craftsmen  undertake  other  public  craftsmen, 
works;— if  they  execute  their  work  well  the  law  will  never  ^11°;^'^^^^^ 
tii'e  of  praising  him  who  gives  them  ^  those  honours  which  ^vard, 
are  the  just  rewards  of  the  soldier;  but  if  any  one,  having  though  not 
already  received  the  benefit  of  any  noble  service  in  war,  does  !!!.th^s^s^^'' 
not  make  the  due  return  of  honour,  the  law  will  blame  him.  reserved  for 
Let  this  then  be  the  law,  having  an  ingredient  of  praise,  not  ^o^nou^^^he 
923  compelling  but  advising  the  great  body  of  the  citizens  to  law, 
honour  the  brave  men  who  are  the  saviours  of  the  whole 
state,  whether  by  their  courage  or  by  their  military  skill ; — 
they  should  honour  them,  I  say,  in  the  second  place  ;  for  the 
first  and  highest  tribute  of  respect  is  to  be  given  to  those 
who  are  able  above  other  men  to  honour  the  words  of  good 
legislators. 

The  greater  part  of  the  dealings  between  man  and  man 
have  been  now  regulated  by  us  with  the  exception  of  those 
that  relate  to  orphans  and  the  supervision  of  orphans  by 
their  guardians.  These  follow  next  in  order,  and  must  be 
regulated  in  some  way.  But  to  arrive  at  them  we  must  begin  The  wishes 
with  the  testamentary  wishes  of  the  dying  and  the  case  of  of  the  dying 

.    .  .      to  be  made 

those  who  may  have  happened  to  die  intestate.   When  I  said,  subject  to 
Cleinias,  that  we  must  regulate  them,  I  had  in  my  mind  the  the^interests 
difficulty  and  perplexity  in  which  all  such  matters  are  in-  living, 
volved.    You  cannot  leave  them  unregulated,  for  individuals 
would  make  regulations  at  variance  with  one  another,  and 
repugnant  to  the  laws  and  habits  of  the  living  and  to  their 
own  previous  habits,  if  a  person  were  simply  allowed  to  make 
any  will  which  he  pleased,  and  this  were  to  take  effect  in 
whatever  state  he  may  have  been  at  the  end  of  his  life ;  for 
most  of  us  lose  our  senses  in  a  manner,  and  feel  crushed 
when  we  think  that  we  are  about  to  die. 
Cle.  What  do  you  mean.  Stranger  ? 

'  Reading,  according  to  Schneider,  %s  rovrots  a\>. 


Making  a  will. 


Laws  XI.      Ath.  O  Cleinias,  a  man  when  he  is  about  to  die  is  an 
Athenian,     intractable  crcature,  and  is  apt  to  use  language  which  causes 
Cleinias.      ^  grtsA  deal  of  anxiety  and  trouble  to  the  legislator. 
Cle.  In  what  way  ? 

Ath.  He  wants  to  have  the  entire  control  of  all  his 
property,  and  will  use  angry  words. 
Cle.  Such  as  what  ? 
The  fretful      Ath.  O  ye  Gods,  he  will  say,  how  monstrous  that  I  am 
of  Uie'dying  "^'^  ^^'owed  to  givc.  Or  not  to  give,  my  own  to  whom  I  will — 
man;        less  to  him  who  has  been  bad  to  me,  and  more  to  him  who 
has  been  good  to  me,  and  whose  badness  and  goodness 
have  been  tested  by  me  in  time  of  sickness  or  in  old  age 
and  in  every  other  sort  of  fortune  ! 

Cle.  Well,  Stranger,  and  may  he  not  very  fairly  say  so  ? 
Ath.  In  my  opinion,  Cleinias,  the  ancient  legislators  were 
too  good-natured,  and  made  laws  without  sufficient  observa- 
tion or  consideration  of  human  things. 
Cle.  What  do  you  mean  ? 

Ath.  I  mean,  my  friend,  that  the}'  were  afraid  of  the 
testator's  reproaches,  and  so  they  passed  a  law  to  the  effect 
that  a  man  should  be  allowed  to  dispose  of  his  property 
in  all  respects  as  he  liked ;  but  you  and  I,  if  I  am  not 
mistaken,  will  have  something  better  to  say  to  our  departing 
citizens.  923 

Cle.  What? 

.md  die  Ath.  O  my  friends,  we  will  say  to  them,  hard  is  it  for 

ans'wer°to^  you,  who  are  creatures  of  a  day,  to  know  what  is  yours, — 
them.  hard  too,  as  the  Delphic  oracle  says,  to  know  yourselves  at 
this  hour.  Now  I,  as  the  legislator,  regard  you  and  your 
possessions,  not  as  belonging  to  yourselves,  but  as  belonging 
to  your  whole  family,  both  past  and  future,  and  yet  more  do 
I  regard  both  family  and  possessions  as  belonging  to  the 
state ;  wherefore,  if  some  one  steals  upon  you  with  flattery, 
when  you  are  tossed  on  the  sea  of  disease  or  old  age,  and 
persuades  you  to  dispose  of  your  property  in  a  way  that  is 
not  for  the  best,  I  will  not,  if  I  can  help,  allow  this ;  but  I 
will  legislate  with  a  view  to  the  whole,  considering  what  is 
best  both  for  the  state  and  for  the  famil}',  esteeming  as  I 
ought  the  feelings  of  an  individual  at  a  lower  rate ;  and  I  hope 
that  you  will  depart  in  peace  and  kindness  towards  us. 


Regulations  respecting  testaments  and  intestacy. 


as  you  are  going  the  way  of  all  mankind  ;  and  we  will  Laws  XI. 
impartially  take  care  of  all  your  concerns,  not  neglecting  Athenian. 
any  of  them,  if  we  can  possibly  help.    Let  this  be  our 
prelude  and  consolation  to  the  living  and  dying,  Cleinias, 
and  let  the  law  be  as  follows: — He  who  makes  a  disposi-  The  father 
tion  in  a  testament,  if  he  be  the  father  of  a  family,  shall  '"^y  leave 

-  ,  .  / '  the  lot  to 

first  of  all  inscribe  as  his  heir  any  one  of  his  sons  whom  he  any  of  his 
may  think  fit:  and  if  he  gives  any  of  his  children  to  be  adopted  ^"'^ 

,  1         .  •  1       7        1       •       1      •         Ml       A     1  •  r  1  distribute 

by  another  citizen,  let  the  adoption  be  inscribed.    And  ii  he  ^i,at  re- 
has  a  son  remaining  over  and  above  who  has  not  been  mains  to 
adopted  upon  any  lot,  and  who  may  be  expected  to  be  sent  j^jg  ^j^gj. 
out  to  a  colony  according  to  law,  to  him  his  father  may  give  children  as 
as  much  as  he  pleases  of  the  rest  of  his  property,  with  the  v[ded"for°" 
exception  of  the  paternal  lot  and  the  fixtures  on  the  lot.  And 
if  there  are  other  sons,  let  him  distribute  among  them  what 
there  is  more  than  the  lot  in  such  portions  as  he  pleases.  And 
if  one  of  the  sons  has  already  a  house  of  his  own,  he  shall 
not  give  him  of  the  money,  nor  shall  he  give  money  to  a 
daughter  who  has  been  betrothed,  but  if  she  is  not  betrothed 
he  may  give  her  money.    And  if  any  of  the  sons  or  daughters 
shall  be  found  to  have  another  lot  of  land  in  the  country, 
which  has  accrued  after  the  testament  has  been  made,  they 
shall  leave  the  lot  which  they  have  inherited  to  the  heir  of 
the  man  who  has  made  the  will.    If  the  testator  has  no  sons,  other  regu- 
but  only  daughters,  let  him  choose  the  husband  of  any  one  'ations  re- 
of  his  daughters  whom  he  pleases,  and  leave  and  inscribe  fnherit!»ice, 
him  as  his  son  and  heir.    And  if  a  man  have  lost  his  son,  adoption, 
when  he  was  a  child,  and  before  he  could  be  reckoned  among 
grown-up  men,  whether  his  own  or  an  adopted  son,  let  the 
924  testator  make  mention  of  the  circumstance  and  inscribe  whom 
he  will  to  be  his  second  son  in  hope  of  better  fortune.  If 
the  testator  has  no  children  at  all,  he  may  select  and  give  to 
any  one  whom  he  pleases  the  tenth  part  of  the  property 
which  he  has  acquired ;  but  let  him  not  be  blamed  if  he 
gives  all  the  rest  to  his  adopted  son,  and  makes  a  friend  of 
him  according  to  the  law.    If  the  sons  of  a  man  require 
guardians,  and  the  father  when  he  dies  leaves  a  will  ap- 
pointing guardians,  those  who  have  been  named  by  him,  who- 
ever they  are  and  whatever  their  number  be,  if  they  are  able 
and  willing  to  take  charge  of  the  children,  shall  be  recognized 


312 


The  77tarriage  of  fatherless  maidens. 


Laws  XI, 
Athenian. 


The  prin- 
ciples on 
which  the 
daughters 
of  persons 
dying  in- 
testate sliall 
be  given  in 
marriage. 


according  to  the  provisions  of  the  will.  But  if  he  dies  and 
has  made  no  will,  or  a  will  in  which  he  has  appointed  no 
guardians,  then  the  next  of  kin,  two  on  the  father's  and  two 
on  the  mother's  side,  and  one  of  the  friends  of  the  deceased, 
shall  have  the  authority  of  guardians,  whom  the  guardians 
of  the  law  shall  appoint  when  the  orphans  require  guardians. 
And  the  fifteen  eldest  guardians  of  the  law  shall  have  the 
whole  care  and  charge  of  the  orphans,  divided  into  threes 
according  to  seniorit}^, — a  body  of  three  for  one  year,  and 
then  another  body  of  three  for  the  next  year,  until  the  cycle 
of  the  five  periods  is  complete  ;  and  this,  as  far  as  possible,  is 
to  continue  always.  If  a  man  dies,  having  made  no  will  at 
all,  and  leaves  sons  who  require  the  care  of  guardians,  they 
shall  share  in  the  protection  which  is  afforded  by  these  laws. 
And  if  a  man  dying  by  some  unexpected  fate  leaves  daughters 
behind  him,  let  him  pardon  the  legislator  if  when  he  gives 
them  in  marriage,  he  have  a  regard  only  to  two  out  of  three 
conditions,— nearness  of  kin  and  the  preservation  of  the  lot, 
and  omits  the  third  condition,  which  a  father  would  naturally 
consider,  for  he  would  choose  out  of  all  the  citizens  a  son  for 
himself,  and  a  husband  for  his  daughter,  with  a  view  to  his 
character  and  disposition — the  father,  I  say,  shall  forgive  the 
legislator  if  he  disregards  this,  which  to  him  is  an  impossible 
consideration.  Let  the  law  about  these  matters  where  prac- 
ticable be  as  follows  : — If  a  man  dies  without  making  a  will, 
and  leaves  behind  him  daughters,  let  his  brother,  being  the 
son  of  the  same  father  or  of  the  same  mother,  having  no  lot, 
marr}'  the  daughter  and  have  the  lot  of  the  dead  man.  And 
if  he  have  no  brother,  but  only  a  brother's  son,  in  like  manner 
let  them  marry,  if  they  be  of  a  suitable  age ;  and  if  there  be 
not  even  a  brother's  son,  but  only  the  son  of  a  sister,  let  them 
do  likewise,  and  so  in  the  fourth  degree,  if  there  be  only  the 
testator's  father's  brother,  or  in  the  fifth  degree,  his  father's 
brother's  son,  or  in  a  sixth  degree,  the  child  of  his  father's 
sister.  Let  kindred  be  always  reckoned  in  this  way :  if 
a  person  leaves  daughters  the  relationship  shall  proceed 
upwards  through  brothers  and  sisters,  and  brothers'  and 
sisters'  children,  and  first  the  males  shall  come,  and  after  925 
them  the  females  in  the  same  family.  The  judge  shall 
consider  and  determine  the  suitableness  or  unsuitableness  of 


The  desolate  house. 


313 


age  in  marriage ;  he  shall  make  an  inspection  of  the  males   Laws  XI. 
naked,  and  of  the  women  naked  down  to  the  navel.    And  if  Athenian. 
there  be  a  lack  of  kinsmen  in  a  family  extending  to  grand- 
children of  a  brother,  or  to  the  grandchildren  of  a  grand- 
father's children,  the  maiden  may  choose  with  the  consent 
of  her  guardians  any  one  of  the  citizens  who  is  willing  and 
whom  she  wills,  and  he  shall  be  the  heir  of  the  dead  man, 
and  the  husband  of  his  daughter.    Circumstances  vary,  and 
there  may  sometimes  be  a  still  greater  lack  of  relations  within 
the  limits  of  the  state ;  and  if  any  maiden  has  no  kindred 
living  in  the  city,  and  there  is  some  one  who  has  been  sent 
out  to  a  colony,  and  she  is  disposed  to  make  him  the  heir 
of  her  father's  possessions,  if  he  be  indeed  of  her  kindred, 
let  him  proceed  to  take  the  lot  according  to  the  regulation 
of  the  law;  but  if  he  be  not  of  her  kindred,  she  having  no 
kinsmen  within  the  city,  and  he  be  chosen  by  the  daughter 
of  the  dead  man,  and  empowered  to  marry  by  the  guard- 
ians, let  him  return  home  and  take  _  the  lot  of  him  who 
died  intestate.    And  if  a  man  has  no  children,  either  male  ifachild- 
or  female,  and  dies  without  making  a  will,  let  the  previous  ^^j^g^^gg 
law  in  general  hold ;  and  let  a  man  and  a  woman  go  forth  tate,  he 
from  the  family  and  share  the  deserted  house,  and  let  the  ^'^^'^  , 

SUCC6GQGQ 

lot  belong  absolutely  to  them;  and  let  the  heiress  in  the  by  his  near- 
first  degree  be  a  sister,  and  in  a  second  degree  a  daughter  ^^t  kinsman 
of  a  brother,  and  in  the  third,  a  daughter  of  a  sister,  in  ^oman. 
the  fourth  degree  the  sister  of  a  father,  and  in  the  fifth 
degree  the  daughter  of  a  father's  brother,  and  in  a  sixth 
degree  of  a  father's  sister ;  and  these  shall  dwell  with 
their  male  kinsmen,  according  to  the  degree  of  relation- 
ship and  right,  as  we  enacted  before.  Now  we  must  not 
conceal  from  ourselves  that  such  laws  are  apt  to  be  op- 
pressive and  that  there  may  sometimes  be  a  hardship  in 
the  lawgiver  commanding  the  kinsman  of  the  dead  man  to 
marry  his  relation  ;  he  maybe  thought  not  to  have  considered 
the  innumerable  hindrances  which  may  arise  among  men  in 
the  execution  of  such  ordinances  ;  for  there  may  be  cases 
in  which  the  parties  refuse  to  obey,  and  are  ready  to  do 
anything  rather  than  marry,  when  there  is  some  bodily  or 
mental  malady  or  defect  among  those  who  are  bidden  to 
marry  or  be  married.    Persons  may  fancy  that  the  legis- 


314 


The  7narriage  of  next-of-kin  not  always  to  be  enforced. 


Laws  XI.  lator  never  thought  of  this,  but  they  are  mistaken  ;  where- 

Athenian,  fore  let  us  make  a  common  prelude  on  behalf  of  the 

Cleinias.  lawgiver  and  of  his  subjects,  the  law  begging  the  latter  to 

The  legis-  forgive  the  legislator,  in  that  he,  having  to  take  care  of  the 

lator  IS  well  common  weal,  cannot  order  at  the  same  time  the  various 

his  law  circumstances  of  individuals,  and  begging  him  to  pardon  g 

maybe  them  if  naturally  they  are  sometimes  unable  to  fulfil  the  act 

oppressive,       i  ■  ,    .      .        .     .  . 

but  he  must  which  he  in  his  ignorance  imposes  upon  them. 

sometmies  And  how.  Stranger,  can  we  act  most  fairly  under  the 

sacnficein-  . 

dividuals     circumstances  ? 

for  the  Ath.  There  must  be  arbiters  chosen  to  deal  with  such  laws 

and  the  subjects  of  them. 
Cle.  What  do  you  mean  ? 
Hard  cases      Atlt.  I  mean  to  Say,  that  a  case  may  occur  in  which  the 
sidered  by '  "^P^^^'  having  a  rich  father,  will  be  unwilling  to  marry  the 
fifteen  of  the  daughter  of  his  uncle;  he  will  have  a  feeling  of  pride,  and  he 
guardians    ^vill  wish  to  look  higher.     And  there  are  cases  in  which  the 

of  the  law,    ...  mi  i      •  •  i  •       i  ,  . 

or  tried  legislator  Will  be  imposing  upon  him  the  greatest  calamity, 
before  the    and  he  will  be  compelled  to  disobey  the  law,  if  he  is  required, 

select  n 

judges.  example,  to  take  a  wife  who  is  mad,  or  has  some  other 

terrible  malady  of  soul  or  body,  such  as  makes  life  intolerable 
to  the  sufferer.  Then  let  what  we  are  saying  concerning 
these  cases  be  embodied  in  a  law: — If  any  one  finds  fault 
with  the  established  laws  respecting  testaments,  both  as  to 
other  matters  and  especially  in  what  relates  to  marriage,  and 
asserts  that  the  legislator,  if  he  were  alive  and  present,  would 
not  compel  him  to  obey, — that  is  to  say,  would  not  compel 
those  who  are  by  our  law  required  to  marry  or  be  given  in 
marriage,  to  do  either, —  and  some  kinsman  or  guardian 
dispute  this,  the  reply  is  that  the  legislator  left  fifteen  of  the 
guardians  of  the  law  to  be  arbiters  and  fathers  of  orphans, 
male  or  female,  and  to  them  let  the  disputants  have  recourse, 
and  by  their  aid  determine  any  matters  of  the  kind,  admitting 
their  decision  to  be  final.  But  if  any  one  thinks  that  too 
great  power  is  thus  given  to  the  guardians  of  the  law,  let  him 
bring  his  adversaries  into  the  court  of  the  select  judges,  and 
there  have  the  points  in  dispute  determined.  And  he  who 
loses  the  cause  shall  have  censure  and  blame  from  the  legis- 
lator, which,  by  a  man  of  sense,  is  felt  to  be  a  penalty  far 
heavier  than  a  great  loss  of  money. 


Orphans  the  most  sacred  of  trusts. 


315 


Thus  will  orphan  children  have  a  second  birth.  After  Laios  XI. 
their  first  birth  we  spoke  of  their  nurture  and  education,  and  Athenian. 
after  their  second  birth,  when  they  have  lost  their  parents, 
we  ought  to  take  measures  that  the  misfortune  of  orphan- 
hood maybe  as  little  sad  to  them  as  possible.    In  the  first  Thegiiard- 
place,  we  say  that  the  guardians  of  the  law  are  lawgivers  (.^ 
and  fathers  to  them,  not  inferior  to  their  natural  fathers,  the  second 
Moreover,  they  shall  take  charge  of  them  year  by  year'  as  of  ^/p^^^^"^ 
their  own  kindred  ;  and  we  have  given  both  to  them  and  to 
the  children's  own  guardians  a  suitable  admonition  concern- 
7  ing  the  nurture  of  orphans.    And  we  seem  to  have  spoken 
opportunely  in  our  former  discourse  ^  when  we  said  that  the 
souls  of  the  dead  have  the  power  after  death  of  taking  an 
interest  in  human  affairs,  about  which  there  are  many  tales 
and  traditions,  long  indeed,  but  true ;  and  seeing  that  they 
are  so  many  and  so  ancient,  we  must  believe  them,  and  we 
must  also  believe  the  lawgivers,  who  tell  us  that  these  things 
are  true,  if  they  are  not  to  be  regarded  as  utter  fools.    But  The  Gods 
if  these  things  are  really  so,  in  the  first  place  men  should  ^^^J  j[jg 
have  a  fear  of  the  Gods  above,  who  regard  the  loneliness  departed 
of  the  orphans  ;  and  in  the  second  place  of  the  souls  of  the 

.      .  .  them,  and 

departed,  who  by  nature  incline  to  take  an  especial  care  of  aged  and 
their  own  children,  and  are  friendly  to  those  who  honour,  venerable 
and  unfriendly  to  those  who  dishonour  them.    Men  should  have°acare 
also  fear  the  souls  of  the  living  who  are  aged  and  high  in  of  them, 
honour ;  wherever  a  city  is  well  ordered  and  prosperous,  their 
descendants  cherish  them,  and  so  live  happily ;  old  persons 
are  quick  to  see  and  hear  all  that  relates  to  them,  and 
are  propitious  to  those  who  are  just  in  the  fulfilment  of  such 
duties,  and  they  punish  those  who  wrong  the  orphan  and  the 
desolate,  considering  that  they  are  the  greatest  and  most 
sacred  of  trusts.    To  all  which  matters  the  guardian  and 
magistrate  ought  to  apply  his  mind,  if  he  has  any,  and  take 
heed  of  the  nurture  and  education  of  the  orphans,  seeking  in 
every  possible  way  to  do  them  good,  for  he  is  making  a  con- 
tribution ^  to  his  own  good  and  that  of  his  children.   He  who 
obeys  the  tale  which  precedes  the  law,  and  does  no  wrong  to 
an  orphan,  will  never  experience  the  wrath  of  the  legislator. 

'  Cp.  supra,  924  C.  ^  Cp.  supra,  ix.  865  E. 

'  Or,  'as  if  he  were  making  a  contribution.' 


3i6 


The  lazv  respecting  the  gtLardianship  of  orphans. 


Laws  XL 
Athenian. 


The  guard- 
ian shall 
educate  the 
orphan  and 
manage  his 
property  as 
if  he  were 
his  own 
child. 


Punish- 
ment of  the 
fraudulent 
or  negli- 
gent trustee 
or  magis- 
trate. 


But  he  who  is  disobedient,  and  wrongs  any  one  who  is  bereft 
of  father  or  mother,  shall  pay  twice  the  penalty  which  he 
would  have  paid  if  he  had  wronged  one  whose  parents  had 
been  alive.  As  touching  other  legislation  concerning  guard- 
ians in  their  relation  to  orphans,  or  concerning  magistrates 
and  thair  superintendence  of  the  guardians,  if  they  did  not 
possess^  examples  of  the  manner  in  which  children  of  free- 
men should  be  brought  up  in  the  bringing  up  of  their  own 
children,  and  of  the  care  of  their  property  in  the  care  of  their 
own,  or  if  they  had  not  just  laws  fairly  stated  about  these 
very  things, — there  would  have  been  reason  in  making  laws 
for  them,  under  the  idea  that  they  were  a  peculiar  class,  and 
we  might  distinguish  and  make  separate  rules  for  the  life  of 
those  who  are  orphans  and  of  those  who  are  not  orphans. 
But  as  the  case  stands,  the  condition  of  orphans  with  us  is 
not  different  from  the  case  of  those  who  have  a  father, 
though  in  regard  to  honour  and  dishonour,  and  the  attention 
given  to  them,  the  two  are  not  usually  placed  upon  a  level. 
Wherefore,  touching  the  legislation  about  orphans,  the  law  9 
speaks  in  serious  accents,  both  of  persuasion  and  t'nreatening, 
and  such  a  threat  as  the  following  will  be  by  no  means  out  of 
place  :  — He  who  is  the  guardian  of  an  orphan  of  either  sex, 
and  he  among  the  guardians  of  the  law  to  whom  the  superin- 
tendence of  this  guardian  has  been  assigned,  shall  love  the 
unfortunate  orphan  as  though  he  were  his  own  child,  and  he 
shall  be  as  careful  and  diligent  in  the  management  of  his 
possessions  as  he  would  be  if  they  were  his  own,  or  even 
more  careful  and  diligent.  Let  every  one  who  has  the  care 
of  an  orphan  observe  this  law.  But  any  one  who  acts  con- 
trary to  the  law  on  these  matters,  if  he  be  a  guardian  of 
the  child,  ma}'  be  fined  by  a  magistrate,  or,  if  he  be  himself 
a  magistrate,  the  guardian  may  bring  him  before  the  court 
of  select  judges,  and  punish  him,  if  convicted,  by  exacting  a 
fine  of  double  the  amount  of  that  inflicted  by  the  court. 
And  if  a  guardian  appears  to  the  relations  of  the  orphan,  or 
to  any  other  citizen,  to  act  negligently  or  dishonestly,  let 
them  bring  him  before  the  same  court,  and  whatever  damages 
are  given  against  him,  let  him  pay  fourfold,  and  let  half 
belong  to  the  orphan  and  half  to  him  who  procured  the  con- 

^  Reading  et  i^\v  fi^fj. 


^ Peres  et  enfant 


317 


viction.  If  any  orphan  arrives  at  years  of  discretion,  and  La%vs  XI. 
thinks  that  he  has  been  ill-used  by  his  guardians,  let  him  Athenian. 
within  five  years  of  the  expiration  of  the  guardianship  be 
allowed  to  bring  them  to  trial ;  and  if  any  of  them  be  convicted, 
the  court  shall  determine  what  he  shall  pay  or  suffer.  And 
if  a  magistrate  shall  appear  to  have  wronged  the  orphan  by 
neglect,  and  he  be  convicted,  let  the  court  determine  what  he 
shall  suffer  or  pay  to  the  orphan,  and  if  there  be  dishonesty 
in  addition  to  neglect,  besides  paying  the  fine,  let  him  be 
deposed  from  his  office  of  guardian  of  the  law,  and  let 
the  state  appoint  another  guardian  of  the  law  for  the  city  and 
for  the  country  in  his  room. 

Greater  differences  than  there  ought  to  be  sometimes  Quarrels 
arise  between  fathers  and  sons,  on  the  part  either  of  fathers  between 

~       .    .  ,1-1  fathers  and 

who  Will  be  of  opmion  that  the  legislator  should  enact  that  sons. 

they  may,  if  they  wish,  lawfully  renounce  their  son  by  the 

proclamation  of  a  herald  in  the  face  of  the  world,  or  of  sons 

who  think  that  they  should  be  allowed  to  indict  their  fathers 

on  the  charge  of  imbecility  when  they  are  disabled  by  disease 

or  old  age.    These  things  only  happen,  as  a  matter  of  fact, 

where  the  natures  of  men  are  utterly  bad  ;  for  where  only  half 

is  bad,  as,  for  example,  if  the  father  be  not  bad,  but  the  son 

be  bad,  or  conversely,  no  great  calamity  is  the  result  of  such 

an  amount  of  hatred  as  this.   In  another  state,  a  son  disowned  A  son  can 

by  his  father  would  not  of  necessity  cease  to  be  a  citizen,  but  ^ 

.  .  '  renounced 

in  our  state,  of  which  these  are  to  be  the  laws,  the  disin-  by  a  father 
I2Q  herited  must  necessarily  emigrate  into  another  country,  for  ^"'^ 

1  1-  •  1  r       ■      1     r  consent  of 

no  addition  can  be  made  even  of  a  single  family  to  the  5040  the  family, 
households  ;  and,  therefore,  he  who  deserves  to  suffer  these  When  re- 
things  must  be  renounced  not  only  by  his  father,  who  is  he  may  be 
a  single  person,  but  by  the  whole  family,  and  what  is  done  in  adopted  by 
these  cases  must  be  regulated  by  some  such  law  as  the  citizen :  but 
following: — He  who  in  the  sad  disorder  of  his  soul  has  if  he  be  not 
a  mind,  justly  or  unjustly,  to  expel  from  his  family  a  son  ^tthin  ten 
whom  he  has  begotten  and  brought  up,  shall  not  lightly  or  at  years,  he 
once  execute  his  purpose;  but  first  of  all  he  shall  collect  grate^™'" 
together  his  own  kinsmen,  extending  to  cousins,  and  in  hke 
manner  his  son's  kinsmen  by  the  mother's  side,  and  in  their 
presence   he  shall  accuse  his  son,  setting  forth  that  he 
deserves  at  the  hands  of  them  all  to  be  dismissed  from  the 


3i8 


Imbecility  of  a  fathe7' :  tmhappy  marriages. 


Laws  XI. 
Athenian. 


The  charac- 
ters of 
young  men 
are  subject 
to  many 
changes. 


An  imbecile 
father  may 
be  deprived 
of  the  con- 
trol of  his 
affairs. 


If  husband 
and  wife  do 
not  agree, 
let  them 
separate 
and  find 
other  part- 
ners. 


family;  and  the  son  shall  be  allowed  to  address  them  in  a 
similar  manner,  and  show  that  he  does  not  deserve  to  suffer 
any  of  these  things.  And  if  the  father  persuades  them,  and 
obtains  the  suffrages  of  more  than  half  of  his  kindred,  ex- 
clusive of  the  father  and  mother  and  the  offender  himself — I 
say,  if  he  obtains  more  than  half  the  suffrages  of  all  the  other 
grown-up  members  of  the  family,  of  both  sexes,  the  father 
shall  be  permitted  to  put  away  his  son,  but  not  otherwise. 
And  if  any  other  citizen  is  willing  to  adopt  the  son  who  is 
put  away,  no  law  shall  hinder  him  ;  for  the  characters  of 
young  men  are  subject  to  many  changes  in  the  course  of 
their  lives.  And  if  he  has  been  put  away,  and  in  a  period 
of  ten  years  no  one  is  willing  to  adopt  him,  let  those  who 
have  the  care  of  the  superabundant  population  which  is  sent 
out  into  colonies,  see  to  him,  in  order  that  he  maybe  suitably 
provided  for  in  the  colony.  And  if  disease  or  age  or  harsh- 
ness of  temper,  or  all  these  together,  makes  a  man  to  be  more 
out  of  his  mind  than  the  rest  of  the  world  are, — but  this  is 
not  observable,  except  to  those  who  live  with  him, — and  he, 
being  master  of  his  property,  is  the  ruin  of  the  house,  and 
his  son  doubts  and  hesitates  about  indicting  his  father  for  in- 
sanity, let  the  law  in  that  case  ordain  that  he  shall  first  of 
all  go  to  the  eldest  guardians  of  the  law  and  tell  them  of 
his  father's  misfortune,  and  they  shall  duly  look  into  the 
matter,  and  take  counsel  as  to  whether  he  shall  indict  him  or 
not.  And  if  they  advise  him  to  proceed,  they  shall  be  both 
his  witnesses  and  his  advocates  ;  and  if  the  father  is  cast,  he 
shall  henceforth  be  incapable  of  ordering  the  least  particular 
of  his  life ;  let  him  be  as  a  child  dwelling  in  the  house  for  the 
remainder  of  his  days.  And  if  a  man  and  his  wife  have  an 
unfortunate  incompatibility  of  temper,  ten  of  the  guardians 
of  the  law,  who  are  impartial and  ten  of  the  women  who 
regulate  marriages',  shall  look  to  the  matter,  and  if  they  93° 
are  able  to  reconcile  them  they  shall  be  formally  reconciled  ; 
but  if  their  souls  are  too  much  tossed  with  passion,  they 
shall  endeavour  to  find  other  partners.  Now  they  are  not 
likely  to  have  very  gentle  tempers  ;  and,  therefore,  we  must 

'  Or,  'who  are  intermediate  in  age' : — i.e.  who  are  neither  the  youngest  nor 
the  oldest  guardians  of  the  law. 

'  Cp.  supra,  vi.  784  A  foil. ;  vii.  794. 


'  Honour  thy  father  and  thy  mother! 


319 


endeavour  to  associate  with  them  deeper  and  softer  natures.   Laws  XI, 
Those  who  have  no  children,  or  only  a  few,  at  the  time  of  Athenian. 
their  separation,  should  choose  their  new  partners  with 
a  view  to  the  procreation  of  children  ;  but  those  who  have  a 
sufficient  number  of  children  should  separate  and  marry  again 
in  order  that  they  may  have  some  one  to  grow  old  with  and  that 
the  pair  may  take  care  of  one  another  in  age.  If  a  woman  dies,  Regula- 
leaving  children,  male  or  female,  the  law  will  advise  rather  tions  re- 

1        I  M  1  -1  specting 

than  compel  the  husband  to  bnng  up  the  children  without  widowers 
introducing  into  the  house  a  stepmother.    But  if  he  have  no  andwidows. 
children,  then  he  shall  be  compelled  to  marry  until  he  has 
begotten  a  sufficient  number  of  sons  to  his  family  and  to  the 
state.    And  if  a  man  dies  leaving  a  sufficient  number  of  chil- 
dren, the  mother  of  his  children  shall  remain  with  them  and 
bring  them  up.    But  if  she  appears  to  be  too  young  to  live 
virtuously  without  a  husband,  let  her  relations  communicate 
with  the  women  who  superintend  marriage,  and  let  both 
together  do  what  they  think  best  in  these  matters ;  if  there  is 
a  lack  of  children,  let  the  choice  be  made  with  a  view  to 
having  them ;  two  children,  one  of  either  sex,  shall  be 
deemed  sufficient  in  the  eye  of  the  law.    When  a  child  is  The  cus- 
admitted  to  be  the  offspring  of  certain   parents   and  is 
acknowledged  by  them,  but  there  is  need  of  a  decision  as  to  whom  one 
which  parent  the  child  is  to  follow, — in  case  a  female  slave 

.  ,         „  parents  are 

have  intercourse  with  a  male  slave,  or  with  a  freeman  or  slaves, 
freedman,  the  offspring  shall  always  belong  to  the  master  of 
the  female  slave.  Again,  if  a  free  woman  have  intercourse 
with  a  male  slave,  the  offspring  shall  belong  to  the  master  of 
the  slave ;  but  if  a  child  be  born  either  of  a  slave  by  her 
master,  or  of  his  mistress  by  a  slave — and  this  be  proven — 
the  offspring  of  the  woman  and  its  father  shall  be  sent  away 
by  the  women  who  superintend  marriage  into  another 
country,  and  the  guardians  of  the  law  shall  send  away  the 
offspring  of  the  man  and  its  mother. 

Neither  God,  nor  a  man  who  has  understanding,  will  ever 
advise  any  one  to  neglect  his  parents.  To  a  discourse  con- 
cerning the  honour  and  dishonour  of  parents,  a  prelude  such 
as  the  following,  about  the  service  of  the  Gods,  will  be  a 
suitable  introduction  : — There  are  ancient  customs  about  the 
Gods  which  are  universal,  and  they  are  of  two  kinds  :  some 


320        The  Gods  hear  blessings,  as  zvell  as  ctirses,  of  parents. 


Laws  XI. 

Athenian, 
Cleinias. 


A  father  or 
mother 
stricken  in 
years  is  as 
potent  to 
grant  a  re- 
quest as 
any  hfeless 
image. 


The  curses 
of  parents 
upon  their 
children 
are  heard 
by  the 
Gods,  and 
so  are  the 
prayers 
which  tliey 
offer  for 
their 
welfare. 


The  wor- 
ship of  a 
living  an- 
cestor 
higher  than 
of  a  lifeless 
image. 


of  the  Gods  we  see  with  our  eyes  and  we  honour  them,  of  931 
others  we  honour  the  images,  raising  statues  of  them  which 
we  adore ;  and  though  they  are  lifeless,  yet  we  imagine  that 
the  living  Gods  have  a  good  will  and  gratitude  to  us  on  this 
account.  Now,  if  a  man  has  a  father  or  mother,  or  their 
fathers  or  mothers  treasured  up  in  his  house  stricken  in 
years,  let  him  consider  that  no  statue  can  be  more  potent  to 
grant  his  requests  than  they  are,  who  are  sitting  at  his 
hearth,  if  only  he  knows  how  to  show  true  service  to  them. 

Clc.  And  what  do  you  call  the  true  mode  of  service? 

Ath.  I  will  tell  you,  O  my  friend,  for  such  things  are  worth 
listening  to. 

Cle.  Proceed. 

Ath.  Oedipus,  as  tradition  says,  when  dishonoured  by  his 
sons,  invoked  on  them  curses  which  every  one  declares  to 
have  been  heard  and  ratified  by  the  Gods,  and  Amyntor  in 
his  wrath  invoked  curses  on  his  son  Phoenix,  and  Theseus 
upon  Hippolytus,  and  innumerable  others  have  also  called 
down  wrath  upon  their  children,  whence  it  is  clear  that  the 
Gods  listen  to  the  imprecations  of  parents ;  for  the  curses  of 
parents  are,  as  they  ought  to  be,  mighty  against  their  children 
a.s  no  others  are.  And  shall  we  suppose  that  the  prayers  of 
a  father  or  mother  who  is  specially  dishonoured  by  his  or 
her  children,  are  heard  by  the  Gods  in  accordance  with 
nature  ;  and  that  if  a  parent  is  honoured  by  them,  and  in  the 
gladness  of  his  heart  earnestly  entreats  the  Gods  in  his 
prayers  to  do  them  good,  he  is  not  equally  heard,  and  that 
they  do  not  minister  to  his  request?  If  not,  they  would  be 
very  unjust  ministers  of  good,  and  that  we  affirm  to  be 
contrary  to  their  nature. 

Clc.  Certainly. 

Ath.  May  we  not  think,  as  I  was  saying  just  now,  that  we 
can  possess  no  image  which  is  more  honoured  by  the  Gods, 
than  that  of  a  father  or  grandfather,  or  of  a  mother  stricken 
in  years  ?  whom  when  a  man  honours,  the  heart  of  the  God 
rejoices,  and  he  is  ready  to  answer  their  prayers.  And, 
truly,  the  figure  of  an  ancestor  is  a  wonderful  thing,  far 
higher  than  that  of  a  lifeless  image.  For  the  living,  when 
they  are  honoured  by  us,  join  in  our  prayers,  and  when  they 
are  dishonoured,  they  utter  imprecations  against  us ;  but 


Neglect  and  ill-treatment  of  parents. 


321 


lifeless  objects  do  neither.     And  therefore,  if  a  man  makes   Laws  XI. 
a  right  use  of  his  father  and  grandfather  and  other  aged  Athenian, 
relations,  he  will  have  images  which  above  all  others  will  Cleinias. 
win  him  the  favour  of  the  Gods. 
Ck.  Excellent. 

Afh.  Every  man  of  any  understanding  fears  and  respects 
the  prayers  of  parents,  knowing  well  that  many  times  and  to 
many  persons  they  have  been  accomplished.  Now  these 
2  things  being  thus  ordered  by  nature,  good  men  think  it  a 
blessing  from  heaven  if  their  parents  live  to  old  age  and 
reach  the  utmost  limit  of  human  life,  or  if  taken  away  before 
their  time  they  are  deeply  regretted  by  them  ;  but  to  bad  men 
parents  are  always  a  cause  of  terror.  Wherefore  let  every 
man  honour  with  every  sort  of  lawful  honour  his  own  parents, 
agreeably  to  what  has  now  been  said.  But  if  this  prelude  be 
an  unmeaning  sound  in  the  ears  of  any  one,  let  the  law 
follow,  which  may  be  rightly  imposed  in  these  terms  : — If  any  Thepenalty 
one  in  this  city  be  not  sufficiently  careful  of  his  parents,  and  ^ 

■'  •'  .    ^  .  '  neglect  of 

do  not  regard  and  gratify  in  every  respect  their  wishes  more  parents  in 
than  those  of  his  sons  and  of  his  other  offspring  or  of  him-  "''^  '^^^^  °^ 

.  .  the  young 

self, — let  him  who  experiences  this  sort  of  treatment  either  be 
come  himself,  or  send  some  one  to' inform  the  three  eldest  bonds  and 
guardians  of  the  law,  and  three  of  the  women  who  have  the  ^'"^^^  ' 
care  of  marriages ;  and  let  them  look  to  the  matter  and 
punish  youthful  evil-doers  with  stripes  and  bonds  if  they  are 
under  thirty  years  of  age,  that  is  to  say,  if  they  be  men,  or  if 
they  be  women,  let  them  undergo  the  same  punishment  up  to 
forty  years  of  age.    But  if,  when  they  are  still  more  advanced  if  they 
in  years,  they  continue  the  same  neglect  of  their  parents,  and  s^airbe'^^^ 
do  any  hurt  to  any  of  them,  let  them  be  brought  before  a  court  brought 
in  which  every  single  one  of  the  eldest  citizens  shall  be  the  ^ 

court  of 

judges,  and  if  the  offender  be  convicted,  let  the  court  deter-  elders  and 
mine  what  he  ought  to  pay  or  suffer,  and  any  penalty  may  be  P"iiished 
imposed  on  him  which  a  man  can  pay  or  suffer.    If  the  severely, 
person  who  has  been  wronged  be  unable  to  inform  the  magis- 
trates, let  any  freeman  who  hears  of  his  case  inform,  and  if 
he  do  not,  he  shall  be  deemed  base,  and  shall  be  liable  to  have 
a  suit  for  damage  brought  against  him  by  any  one  who  likes. 
And  if  a  slave  inform,  he  shall  receive  freedom ;  and  if  he  be 
the  slave  of  the  injurer  or  injured  party,  he  shall  be  set  free 

VOL.  V.  Y 


322 


Poisoning  and  witchcraft. 


Laws  XI. 
Athenian. 


Two  kinds 
of  poison- 
ing : 

(1)  by  meats 
and  drinks  ; 

(2)  by 
magic. 


Men  can- 
not be 
tauglit  to 
despise 
sorcery, 
and  there- 
fore the 
practice  of 
it  must  be 
punished. 


The  phy- 
sician who 
employs 
poison,  and 
the  pro- 
fessional 
sorcerer. 


by  the  magistrates,  or  if  he  belong  to  any  other  citizen,  the 
pubhc  shall  pay  a  price  on  his  behalf  to  the  owner ;  and  let 
the  magistrates  take  heed  that  no  one  wrongs  him  out  of 
revenge,  because  he  has  given  information. 

Cases  in  which  one  man  injures  another  by  poisons,  and 
which  prove  fatal,  have  been  already  discussed ' ;  but  about 
other  cases  in  which  a  person  intentionally  and  of  malice 
harms  another  with  meats,  or  drinks,  or  ointments,  nothing 
has  as  yet  been  determined.  For  there  are  two  kinds  of 
poisons  used  among  men,  which  cannot  clearly  be  distin- 
guished. There  is  the  kind  just  now  explicitly  mentioned, 
which  injures  bodies  by  the  use  of  other  bodies  according  to  933 
a  natural  law ;  there  is  also  another  kind  which  persuades 
the  more  daring  class  that  they  can  do  injury  by  sorceries, 
and  incantations,  and  magic  knots,  as  they  are  termed,  and 
makes  others  believe  that  they  above  all  persons  are  injured 
by  the  powers  of  the  magician.  Now  it  is  not  easy  to  know 
the  nature  of  all  these  things  ;  nor  if  a  man  do  know  can  he 
readily  persuade  others  to  believe  him.  And  when  men  are 
disturbed  in  their  minds  at  the  sight  of  waxen  images  fixed 
either  at  their  doors,  or  in  a  place  where  three  ways  meet,  or 
on  the  sepulchres  of  parents,  there  is  no  use  in  trying  to  per- 
suade them  that  they  should  despise  all  such  things  because 
they  have  no  certain  knowledge  about  them.  But  we  must 
have  a  law  in  two  parts,  concerning  poisoning,  in  whichever  of 
the  two  waj's  the  attempt  is  made,  and  we  must  entreat,  and 
exhort,  and  advise  men  not  to  have  recourse  to  such  prac- 
tices, by  which  they  scare  the  multitude  out  of  their  wits,  as 
if  they  were  children,  compelling  the  legislator  and  the  judge 
to  heal  the  fears  which  the  sorcerer  arouses,  and  to  tell  them 
in  the  first  place,  that  he  who  attempts  to  poison  or  enchant 
others  knows  not  what  he  is  doing,  either  as  regards  the 
body  (unless  he  has  a  knowledge  of  medicine),  or  as  regards 
his  enchantments  (unless  he  happens  to  be  a  prophet  or 
diviner).  Let  the  law,  then,  run  as  follows  about  poisoning 
or  witchcraft : — He  who  employs  poison  to  do  any  injury,  not 
fatal,  to  a  man  himself,  or  to  his  servants,  or  any  injur}', 
whether  fatal  or  not,  to  his  cattle  or  his  bees,  if  he  be  a 
physician,  and  be  convicted  of  poisoning,  shall  be  punished 
'  i.  e.  they  are  cases  of  murder :  cp.  supra,  ix.  870  foil. 


The  object  of  pzmishment. 


323 


with  death ;  or  if  he  be  a  private  person,  the  court  shall  Laws  XL 
determine  what  he  is  to  pay  or  suffer.    But  he  who  seems  to  Athenian. 
be  the  sort  of  man  who  injures  others  by  magic  knots,  or  shall  be 
enchantments,  or  incantations,  or  any  of  the  like  practices,  if  put  to 
he  be  a  prophet  or  diviner,  let  him  die  ;  and  if,  not  being  a 
prophet,  he  be  convicted  of  witchcraft,  as  in  the  previous 
case,  let  the  court  fix  what  he  ought  to  pay  or  suffer. 

When  a  man  does  another  any  injury  by  theft  or  violence.  He  who 
for  the  greater  injury  let  him  pay  greater  damages  to  the  fj°^^j.y  gj^^^H 
injured  man,  and  less  for  the  smaller  injury;  but  in  all  not  only 
cases,  whatever  the  injury  may  have  been,  as  much  as  will  '"^''^ 

.  ,  .  -  ,  pensalion, 

compensate  the  loss.    And  besides  the  compensation  ot  the  but  suffer 
wrong:,  let  a  man  pay  a  further  penalty  for  the  chastisement  of  punish- 

,  .       L  ,         ,      ,         ,  ,  •      •         111  ment. 

934  his  offence :  he  who  has  done  the  wrong  instigated  by  the 
folly  of  another  \  through  the  lightheartedness  of  youth  or 
the  like,  shall  pay  a  lighter  penalty;  but  he  who  has  injured 
another  through  his  own  folly,  when  overcome  by  pleasure 
or  pain,  in  cowardly  fear,  or  lust,  or  envy,  or  implacable 
anger,  shall  endure  a  heavier  punishment.  Not  that  he  is  Punish- 
punished  because  he  did  wrong,  for  that  which  is  done  can 

^  .  .  vindictive, 

never  be  undone,  but  in  order  that  in  future  times,  he,  and  butpre- 
those  who  see  him  corrected,  may  utterly  hate  injustice,  or  ^entive. 
at  any  rate  abate  much  of  their  evil-doing.    Having  an  eye 
to  all  these  things,  the  law,  like  a  good  archer,  should  aim  at 
the  right  measure  of  punishment,  and  in  all  cases  at  the  de- 
served punishment.    In  the  attainment  of  this  the  judge  shall 
be  a  fellow-worker  with  the  legislator,  whenever  the  law 
leaves  to  him  to  determine  what  the  offender  shall  suffer  or 
pay;  and  the  legislator,  like  a  painter,  shall  give  a  rough  v 
sketch  of  the  cases  in  which  the  law  is  to  be  applied.   This  is 
what  we  must  do,  Megillus  and  Cleinias,  in  the  best  and  fairest 
manner  that  we  can,  saying  what  the  punishments  are  to  be 
of  all  actions  of  theft  and  violence,  and  giving  laws  of  such 
a  kind  as  the  Gods  and  sons  of  Gods  would  have  us  give. 

If  a  man  is  mad  he  shall  not  be  at  large  in  the  city,  but  A  madman 
his  relations  shall  keep  him  at  home  in  any  way  which  they  f""^'  "^f 
can;  or  if  not,  let  them  pay  a  penalty, — he  who  is  of  the  homebyhis 
highest  class  shall  pay  a  penalty  of  one  hundred  drachmas,  relations, 
whether  he  be  a  slave  or  a  freeman  whom  he  neglects  ;  and 

*  Putting  the  comma  after  aWorpli}. 
Y  2 


324 


Abuse  and  ridicule. 


Laws  XI. 
Athenian. 

The  mad- 
ness 

(1)  of  dis- 
ease, 

(2)  of  pas- 
sion. 


The  law  re- 
specting 
abuse. 


He  who 
ridicules 
another 
misses  vir- 
tue and 
loses  the 
better  half 
of  great- 
ness. 

The  punish- 
ment of  the 
offender. 


he  of  the  second  class  shall  pay  four-fifths  of  a  mina ;  and  he 
of  the  third  class  three-fifths ;  and  he  of  the  fourth  class  two- 
fifths.  Now  there  are  many  sorts  of  madness,  some  arising 
out  of  disease,  which  we  have  already  mentioned  ;  and  there 
are  other  kinds,  which  originate  in  an  evil  and  passionate 
temperament,  and  are  increased  by  bad  education ;  out  of  a 
slight  quarrel  this  class  of  madmen  will  often  raise  a  storm  of 
abuse  against  one  another,  and  nothing  of  that  sort  ought  to 
be  allowed  to  occur  in  a  well-ordered  state.  Let  this,  then, 
be  the  law  about  abuse,  which  shall  relate  to  all  cases  : — No 
one  shall  speak  evil  of  another;  and  when  a  man  disputes 
with  another  he  shall  teach  and  learn  of  the  disputant  and 
the  compan}',  but  he  shall  abstain  from  evil-speaking;  for 
out  of  the  imprecations  which  men  utter  against  one  another, 
and  the  feminine  habit  of  casting  aspersions  on  one  another,  935 
and  using  foul  names,  out  of  words  light  as  air,  in  very  deed 
the  greatest  enmities  and  hatreds  spring  up.  For  the  speaker 
gratifies  his  anger,  which  is  an  ungracious  element  of  his 
nature  ;  and  nursing  up  his  wrath  by  the  entertainment  of 
evil  thoughts,  and  exacerbating  that  part  of  his  soul  which 
was  formerl}'  civilized  by  education,  he  lives  in  a  state  of 
savageness  and  moroseness,  and  pays  a  bitter  penalty  for  his 
anger.  And  in  such  cases  almost  all  men  take  to  saying 
something  ridiculous  about  their  opponent,  and  there  is  no 
man  who  is  in  the  habit  of  laughing  at  another  who  does 
not  miss  virtue  and  earnestness  altogether,  or  lose  the  better 
half  of  greatness.  Wherefore  let  no  one  utter  any  taunting 
word  at  a  temple,  or  at  the  public  sacrifices,  or  at  the  games, 
or  in  the  agora,,  or  in  a  court  of  justice,  or  in  any  public 
assembl}'.  And  let  the  magistrate  who  presides  on  these 
occasions  chastise  an  offender,  and  he  shall  be  blameless ; 
but  if  he  fails  in  doing  so,  he  shall  not  claim  the  prize  of 
virtue ;  for  he  is  one  who  heeds  not  the  laws,  and  does  not 
do  what  the  legislator  commands.  And  if  in  any  other  place 
any  one  indulges  in  these  sort  of  revilings,  whether  he  has 
begun  the  quarrel  or  is  only  retaliating,  let  any  elder  who  is 
present  support  the  law,  and  control  with  blows  those  who 
indulge  in  passion,  which  is  another  great  evil ;  and  if  he  do 
not,  let  him  be  liable  to  pay  the  appointed  penalty.  And  we 
say  now,  that  he  who  deals  in  reproaches  against  others 


Hotv  far  ridicitle  is  to  be  allozved. 


325 


the  citizens. 


cannot  reproach  them  without  attempting  to  ridicule  tliem  ;  Laivs  XL 

and  this,  when  done  in  a  moment  of  anger,  is  what  we  make  Athenian. 

matter  of  reproach  against  him.  But  then,  do  we  admit  into  our  jesting  in 

state  the  comic  writers  ^  who  are  so  fond  of  making  mankind  ^^""^^ 

°  out  anger 

ridiculous,  if  they  attempt  in  a  good-natured  manner  to  turn  may  be  al- 
the  laugh  against  our  citizens  ?  or  do  we  draw  the  distinction  lowed,  if 

.  approved 

of  jest  and  earnest,  and  allow  a  man  to  make  use  01  ridicule  by  the 
in  jest  and  without  anger  about  any  thing  or  person;  though  minister  of 

•  .Ti     u  J  u  %  education, 

as  we  were  saying,  not  if  he  be  angry  and  have  a  set  purpose     ^ut  not 
We  forbid  earnest — that  is  unalterably  fixed ;  but  we  have  serious  or 
still  to  say  who  are  to  be  sanctioned  or  not  to  be  sanctioned  satire'^'or 
by  the  law  in  the  employment  of  innocent  humour.    A  comic  ridicule  of 
poet,  or  maker  of  iambic  or  satirical  lyric  verse,  shall  not  be 
permitted  to  ridicule  any  of  the  citizens,  either  by  word  or 
likeness,  either  in  anger  or  without  anger.    And  if  any  one  is 
disobedient,  the  judges  shall  either  at  once  expel  him  from 
the  country,  or  he  shall  pay  a  fine  of  three  minae,  which 
shall  be  dedicated  to  the  God  who  presides  over  the  contests. 
936  Those  only  who  have  received  permission  shall  be  allowed  to 
write  verses  at  one  another,  but  they  shall  be  without  anger 
and  in  jest;  in  anger  and  in  serious  earnest  they  shall  not  be 
allowed.    The  decision  of  this  matter  shall  be  left  to  the 
superintendent  of  the  general  education  of  the  young,  and 
whatever  he  may  license,  the  writer  shall  be  allowed  to  pro- 
duce, and  whatever  he  rejects  let  not  the  poet  himself  ex- 
hibit, or  ever  teach  anybody  else,  slave  or  freeman,  under 
the  penalty  of  being  dishonoured,  and  held  disobedient  to 
the  laws. 

Now  he  is  not  to  be  pitied  who  is  hungry,  or  who  suffers 
any  bodily  pain,  but  he  who  is  temperate,  or  has  some  other 
virtue,  or  part  of  a  virtue,  and  at  the  same  time  suffers  from 
misfortune ;  it  would  be  an  extraordinary  thing  if  such  an 
one,  whether  slave  or  freeman,  were  utterly  forsaken  and  fell 
into  the  extremes  of  poverty  in  any  tolerably  well-ordered 
city  or  government.  Wherefore  the  legislator  may  safely  Beggars 
make  a  law  applicable  to  such  cases  in  the  following  terms  : — 
Let  there  be  no  beggars  in  our  state ;  and  if  anybody  begs,  in  our 
seeking  to  pick  up  a  livelihood  by  unavailing  prayers,  let  the 
wardens  of  the  agora  turn  him  out  of  the  agora,  and  the 
'  Cp.  Rep.  Hi.  394;  X.  606  ;  Arist.  Pol.  vii.  17,  §  11. 


are  not  to 
be  tolerated 


326 


Witftesses, 


Laws  XI. 
Athenian. 


The  owner 
of  a  slave 
or  an  ani- 
mal respon- 
sible for 
any  harm 
done  by 
them. 


Regula- 
tions re- 
specting 
witnesses. 


False 
witness. 


wardens  of  the  city  out  of  the  city,  and  the  wardens  of  the 
country  send  him  out  of  any  other  parts  of  the  land  across 
the  border,  in  order  that  the  land  may  be  cleared  of  this  sort 
of  animal. 

If  a  slave  of  either  sex  injure  anything,  which  is  not  his  or 
her  own,  through  inexperience,  or  some  improper  practice, 
and  the  person  who  suffers  damage  be  not  himself  in  part  to 
blame,  the  master  of  the  slave  who  has  done  the  harm  shall 
either  make  full  satisfaction,  or  give  up  the  slave  who  has 
done  the  injury.  But  if  the  master  argue  that  the  charge 
has  arisen  by  collusion  between  the  injured  party  and  the 
injurer,  with  the  view  of  obtaining  the  slave,  let  him  sue  the 
person,  who  says  that  he  has  been  injured,  for  malpractices. 
And  if  he  gain  a  conviction,  let  him  receive  double  the  value 
which  the  court  fixes  as  the  price  of  the  slave ;  and  if  he  lose 
his  suit,  let  him  make  amends  for  the  injury,  and  give  up  the 
slave.  And  if  a  beast  of  burden,  or  horse,  or  dog,  or  any 
other  animal,  injure  the  property  of  a  neighbour,  the  owner 
shall  in  like  manner  pay  for  the  injury. 

If  any  man  refuses  to  be  a  witness,  he  who  wants  him 
shall  summon  him,  and  he  who  is  summoned  shall  come  to 
the  trial ;  and  if  he  knows  and  is  willing  to  bear  witness,  let 
him  bear  witness,  but  if  he  sa3's  he  does  not  know  let  him 
swear  by  the  three  divinities  Zeus,  and  Apollo,  and  Themis, 
that  he  does  not,  and  have  no  more  to  do  with  the  cause.  And  937 
he  who  is  summoned  to  give  witness  and  does  not  answer  to 
his  sunimoner,  shall  be  liable  for  the  harm  which  ensues 
according  to  law.  And  if  a  person  calls  up  as  a  witness  any 
one  who  is  acting  as  a  judge,  let  him  give  his  witness,  but  he 
shall  not  afterwards  vote  in  the  cause.  A  free  woman  may 
give  her  witness  and  plead,  if  she  be  more  than  forty  years 
of  age,  and  may  bring  an  action  if  she  have  no  husband  ;  but 
if  her  husband  be  alive  she  shall  only  be  allowed  to  bear 
witness.  A  slave  of  either  sex  and  a  child  shall  be  allowed 
to  give  evidence  and  to  plead,  but  only  in  cases  of  murder ; 
and  they  must  produce  sufficient  sureties  that  they  will  cer- 
tainly remain  until  the  trial,  in  case  they  should  be  charged 
with  false  witness.  And  either  of  the  parties  in  a  cause 
may  bring  an  accusation  of  perjury  against  witnesses,  touch- 
ing their  evidence  in  whole  or  in  part,  if  he  asserts  that 


and  false  witness. 


327 


such  evidence  has  been  given  ;  but  the  accusation  must  be  Laws  XI. 

brought  previous  to  the  final  decision  of  the  cause.    The  Athenian. 

magistrates  shall  preserve  the  accusations  of  false  witness, 

and  have  them  kept  under  the  seal  of  both  parties,  and 

produce  them  on  the  day  v^hen  the  trial  for  false  vi^itness 

takes  place.    If  a  man  be  tvi^ice  convicted  of  false  witness,  he  Penalties 

for  i3.Is6 

shall  not  be  required,  and  if  thrice,  he  shall  not  be  allowed  witness, 
to  bear  witness  ;  and  if  he  dare  to  witness  after  he  has 
been  convicted  three  times,  let  any  one  who  pleases  inform 
against  him  to  the  magistrates,  and  let  the  magistrates 
hand  him  over  to  the  court,  and  if  he  be  convicted  he  shall 
be  punished  with  death.  And  in  any  case  in  which  the 
evidence  is  rightly  found  to  be  false,  and  yet  to  have  given 
the  victory  to  him  who  wins  the  suit,  and  more  than  half  the 
witnesses  are  condemned,  the  decision  which  was  gained  by 
these  means  shall  be  rescinded,  and  there  shall  be  a  dis- 
cussion and  a  decision  as  to  whether  the  suit  was  determined 
by  that  false  evidence  or  not ;  and  in  whichever  way  the 
decision  may  be  given,  the  previous  suit  shall  be  determined 
accordingly. 

There  are  many  noble  things  in  human  life,  but  to  most  of  Good  and 
them  attach  evils  which  are  fated  to  corrupt  and  spoil  them.  ^^'^  '^^ 

.  r .  .  near  to- 

Is  not  justice  noble,  which  has  been  the  civilizer  of  humanity  ?  gether  in 
How  then  can  the  advocate  of  justice  be  other  than  noble  ?  human  life. 

A     1  1  •  f      •  1  •  1    •  ends 

And  yet  upon  this  profession  which  is  presented  to  us  under  of  the  law 
the  fair  name  of  art  has  come  an  evil  reputation  ^    In  the  apt  to  be 
first  place,  we  are  told  that  by  ingenious  pleas  and  the  help  bythein- 
of  an  advocate  the  law  enables  a  man  to  win  a  particular  genuity  of 
8  cause,  whether  just  or  unjust;  and  that  both  the  art,  and  the 
power  of  speech  which  is  thereby  imparted,  are  at  the  service 
of  him  who  is  willing  to  pay  for  them.     Now  in  our  state 
this  so-called  art,  whether  really  an  art  ^  or  only  an  experience 
and  practice  destitute  of  any  art,  ought  if  possible  never  to 
come  into  existence,  or  if  existing  among  us  should  listen  to 
the  request  of  the  legislator  and  go  away  into  another  land, 
and  not  speak  contrary  to  justice.    If  the  offenders  obey  we 
say  no  more ;  but  for  those  who  disobey,  the  voice  of  the  law 
is  as  follows :— If  any  one  thinks  that  he  will  pervert  the 
power  of  justice  in  the  minds  of  the  judges,  and  unseasonably 
■  The  text  is  probably  corrupt.  ^  Cp.  Gorg.  463  A. 


328 


The  dishonesty  of  advocates. 


Laws  XI. 

Athenian. 

Tlie  punish- 
ment of  un- 
scrupulous 
advocacy, 
which  in 
certain 
cases  is  to 
be  death. 


litigate  or  advocate,  let  any  one  who  likes  indict  him  for 
malpractices  of  law  and  dishonest  advocacy,  and  let  him  be 
judged  in  the  court  of  select  judges  ;  and  if  he  be  convicted, 
let  the  court  determine  whether  he  may  be  supposed  to  act 
from  a  love  of  money  or  from  contentiousness.  And  if  he 
is  supposed  to  act  from  contentiousness,  the  court  shall  fix 
a  time  during  which  he  shall  not  be  allowed  to  institute  or 
plead  a  cause  ;  and  if  he  is  supposed  to  act  as  he  does  from 
love  of  money,  in  case  he  be  a  stranger,  he  shall  leave  the 
country,  and  never  i-eturn  under  penalty  of  death  ;  but  if  he 
be  a  citizen,  he  shall  die,  because  he  is  a  lover  of  money,  in 
whatever  manner  gained ;  and  equally,  if  he  be  judged  to 
have  acted  more  than  once  from  contentiousness,  he  shall 
die. 


BOOK  XII. 


If  a  herald  or  an  ambassador  carry  a  false  message  from  Laws  XII. 

our  city  to  any  other,  or  bring  back  a  false  message  from  the  Athenian. 

city  to  which  he  is  sent,  or  be  proved  to  have  brought  back,  Misconduct 

whether  from  friends  or  enemies,  in  his  capacity  of  herald  or  of  heralds 

ambassador,  what  they  have  never  said,  let  him  be  indicted  sadors. 
for  having  violated,  contrary  to  the  law,  the  commands  and 
duties  imposed  upon  him  by  Hermes  and  Zeus,  and  let  there 
be  a  penalty  fixed,  which  he  shall  suffer  or  pay  if  he  be 
convicted. 

Theft  is  a  mean,  and  robbery  a  shameless  thing ;  and  none  No  God  or 

of  the  sons  of  Zeus  delisrht  in  fraud  and  violence,  or  ever  son  of  a 

°  '  God  ever 

practised  either.    Wherefore  let  no  one  be  deluded  by  poets  was  a  thief, 
or  mythologers  into  a  mistaken  belief  of  such  things,  nor  let 
him  suppose,  when  he  thieves  or  is  guilty  of  violence,  that  he 
is  doing  nothing  base,  but  only  what  the  Gods  themselves 
do.    For  such  tales  are  untrue  and  improbable  ;  and  he  who 
steals  or  robs  contrary  to  the  law,  is  never  either  a  God  or 
the  son  of  a  God  ;  of  this  the  legislator  ought  to  be  better 
informed  than  all  the  poets  put  together Happy  is  he  and 
may  he  be  for  ever  happy,  who  is  persuaded  and  listens  to 
our  words  ;  but  he  who  disobeys  shall  have  to  contend  against 
the  following  law: — If  a  man  steal  anything  belonging  to  Punish- 
the  public,  whether  that  which  he  steals  be  much  or  little,  he  ['j^gft'or 
shall  have  the  same  punishment.    For  he  who  steals  a  little  pubhc 
steals  with  the  same  wish  as  he  who  steals  much,  but  with  less  Property, 
power,  and  he  who  takes  up  a  greater  amount,  not  having 
deposited  it,  is  wholly  unjust.    Wherefore  the  law  is  not 
disposed  to  inflict  a  less  penalty  on  the  one  than  on  the  other 
'  Cp.  Rep.  iii.  388  C,  391  D. 


330 


The  discipline  of  a  military  life. 


Laws  XII. 

Athenian. 

The 

stranger  or 
slave,  as 
curable,  to 
be  dealt 
with  leni- 
ently ;  the 
citizen,  as 
incurable, 
to  suffer 
death. 


Obedience 
the  great 
military 
virtue. 


Soldiers  to 
have  a  com- 
mon life. 


Agility  and 
endurance 
to  be  culti- 
vated. 


because  his  theft  is  less,  but  on  the  ground  that  the  thief  may 
possibly  be  in  one  case  still  curable,  and  may  in  another  case 
be  incurable.  If  any  one  convict  in  a  court  of  law  a  stranger 
or  a  slave  of  a  theft  of  public  property,  let  the  court  deter- 
mine what  punishment  he  shall  suffer,  or  what  penalty  he 
shall  pay,  bearing  in  mind  that  he  is  probably  not  incurable. 
But  the  citizen  who  has  been  brought  up  as  our  citizens  will 
have  been,  if  he  be  found  guilty  of  robbing  his  country  by 
fraud  or  violence,  whether  he  be  caught  in  the  act  or  not, 
shall  be  punished  with  death  ;  for  he  is  incurable'. 

Now  for  expeditions  of  war  much  consideration  and  many  942 
laws  are  required  ;  the  great  principle  of  all  is  that  no  one  of 
either  sex  should  be  without  a  commander  ^ ;  nor  should  the 
mind  of  any  one  be  accustomed  to  do  anything,  either  in  jest 
or  earnest,  of  his  own  motion,  but  in  war  and  in  peace  he 
should  look  to  and  follow  his  leader,  even  in  the  least  things 
being  under  his  guidance  ;  for  example,  he  should  stand  or 
move,  or  exercise,  or  wash,  or  take  his  meals,  or  get  up  in 
the  night  to  keep  guard  and  deliver  messages  when  he  is 
bidden  ;  and  in  the  hour  of  danger  he  should  not  pursue  and 
not  retreat  except  by  order  of  his  superior  ;  and  in  a  word, 
not  teach  the  soul  or  accustom  her  to  know  or  understand 
how  to  do  anything  apart  from  others.  Of  all  soldiers  the 
life  should  be  always  and  in  all  things  as  far  as  possible 
in  common  and  together;  there  neither  is  nor  ever  will  be  a 
higher,  or  better,  or  more  scientific  principle  than  this  for  the 
attainment  of  salvation  and  victory  in  war.  And  we  ought  in 
time  of  peace  from  youth  upwards  to  practise  this  habit  of 
commanding  others,  and  of  being  commanded  by  others  ; 
anarchy  should  have  no  place  in  the  life  of  man  or  of  the 
beasts  who  are  subject  to  man.  I  may  add  that  all  dances 
ought  to  be  performed  with  a  view  to  military  excellence^; 
and  agility  and  ease  should  be  cultivated  for  the  same  object, 
and  also  endurance  of  the  want  of  meats  and  drinks,  and  of 
winter  cold  and  summer  heat,  and  of  hard  couches;  and,  above 
all,  care  should  be  taken  not  to  destroy  the  peculiar  qualities 
of  the  head  and  the  feet  by  surrounding  them  with  extraneous 


'  This  passage  is  not  consistent  with  ix.  857  A,  where  theft  of  public 
property  is  punished  by  imprisonment. 

Cp.  Thucyd.  v.  66.  =  Cp.  supra,  vii.  796  B. 


Military  regulations. 


33^ 


coverings,  and  so  hindering  their  natural  growth  of  hair  and  Laws  XII. 
soles.     For  these  are  the  extremities,  and  of  all  the  parts  Athenian. 
of  the  body,  whether  they  are  preserved  or  not  is  of  the  Careofthe 
greatest  consequence ;  the  one  is  the  servant  of  the  whole  extremities, 
body,  and  the  other  the  master,  in  whom  all  the  ruling  senses 
3  are  by  nature  set.    Let  the  young  man  imagine  that  he 
hears  in  what  has  preceded  the  praises  of  the  military  life ; 
the  law  shall  be  as  follows: — He  shall  serve  in  war  who  The  man- 
is  on  the  roll  or  appointed  to  some  special  service,  and  if  any  "^^p^l^-g^j^. 


one  is  absent  from  cowardice,  and  without  the  leave  of  the  ment  of 

those  wh 
fail  to  serve. 


generals,  he  shall  be  indicted  before  the  military  commanders 


for  failure  of  service  when  the  army  comes  home ;  and  the 
soldiers  shall  be  his  judges;  the  heavy-armed,  and  the 
cavalry,  and  the  other  arms  of  the  service  shall  form  separate 
courts ;  and  they  shall  bring  the  heavy-armed  before  the 
heavy-armed,  and  the  horsemen  before  the  horsemen,  and 
the  others  in  like  manner  before  their  peers ;  and  he  who  is 
found  guilty  shall  never  be  allowed  to  compete  for  any  prize 
of  valour,  or  indict  another  for  not  serving  on  an  expedition, 
or  be  an  accuser  at  all  in  any  military  matters.  Moreover, 
the  court  shall  further  determine  what  punishment  he  shall 
suffer,  or  what  penalty  he  shall  pay.  When  the  suits  for  The  award 
failure  of  service  are  completed,  the  leaders  of  the  several  °f  P"^^^  of 

valour, 

kinds  of  troops  shall  again  hold  an  assembly,  and  they  shall 
adjudge  the  prizes  of  valour ;  and  he  who  likes  shall  give 
judgment  in  his  own  branch  of  the  service,  saying  nothing 
about  any  former  expedition,  nor  producing  any  proof  or 
witnesses  to  confirm  his  statement,  but  speaking  only  of  the 
present  occasion.  The  crown  of  victory  shall  be  an  olive 
wreath  which  the  victor  shall  offer  up  at  the  temple  of  any 
war-god  whom  he  likes,  adding  an  inscription  for  a  testimony 
to  last  during  life,  that  such  an  one  has  received  the  first,  the 
second,  or  the  third  prize.  If  anyone  goes  on  an  expedition,  Desertion 
and  returns  home  before  the  appointed  time,  when  the  receive 

,  the  same 

generals  have  not  withdrawn  the  army,  he  shall  be  indicted  punishment 
for  desertion  before  the  same  persons  who  took  cognizance  of  refusal 
failure  of  service,  and  if  he  be  found  guilty,  the  same  punish- 
ment shall  be  inflicted  on  him.     Now  every  man  who  is 
engaged  in  any  suit  ought  to  be  very  careful  of  bringing  false 
witness  against  any  one,  either  intentionally  or  uninten- 


332 


Loss  of  arjns,  when  excusable  or  not. 


Laws  XII. 

Athenian. 

Witnesses 
to  be  care- 
ful not  to 
confound 
the  losing 
and  the 
throwing 
away  of 
arms. 


The  law 

respecting 

cowardice. 


tionally,  if  he  can  help ;  for  justice  is  truly  said  to  be  an 
honourable  maiden  \  and  falsehood  is  naturally  repugnant  to 
honour  and  justice.  A  witness  ought  to  be  very  careful  not 
to  sin  against  justice,  as  for  example  in  what  relates  to  the 
throwing  away  of  arms— he  must  distinguish  the  throwing 
them  away  when  necessary,  and  not  make  that  a  reproach,  or 
bring  an  action  against  some  innocent  person  on  that 
account.  To  make  the  distinction  may  be  difficult ;  but  still  9 
the  law  must  attempt  to  define  the  different  kinds  in  some 
way.  Let  me  endeavour  to  explain  my  meaning  by  an  ancient 
tale  : — If  Patroclus  had  been  brought  to  the  tent  still  alive 
but  without  his  arms  (and  this  has  happened  to  innumerable 
persons),  the  original  arms,  which  the  poet  says  were  pre- 
sented to  Peleus  by  the  Gods  as  a  nuptial  gift  when  he 
married  Thetis,  remaining  in  the  hands  of  Hector,  then  the 
base  spirits  of  that  day  might  have  reproached  the  son  of 
Menoetius  with  having  cast  away  his  arms.  Again,  there  is 
the  case  of  those  who  have  been  thrown  down  precipices  and 
lost  their  arms ;  and  of  those  who  at  sea,  and  in  stormy 
places,  have  been  suddenly  overwhelmed  by  floods  of  water; 
and  there  are  numberless  things  of  this  kind  which  one 
might  adduce  by  way  of  extenuation,  and  with  the  view  of 
justif3'ing  a  misfortune  which  is  easily  misrepresented. 
We  must,  therefore,  endeavour  to  divide  to  the  best  of  our 
power  the  greater  and  more  serious  evil  from  the  lesser. 
And  a  distinction  may  be  drawn  in  the  use  of  terms  of  reproach. 
A  man  does  not  always  deserve  to  be  called  the  thrower  away 
of  his  shield ;  he  may  be  only  the  loser  of  his  arms.  For 
there  is  a  great  or  rather  absolute  difference  between  him 
who  is  deprived  of  his  arms  by  a  sufficient  force,  and  him 
who  voluntarily  lets  his  shield  go.  Let  the  law  then  be  as 
follows  : — If  a  person  having  arms  is  overtaken  by  the 
enemy  and  does  not  turn  round  and  defend  himself,  but  lets 
them  go  voluntarily  or  throws  them  away,  choosing  a  base 
life  and  a  swift  escape  rather  than  a  courageous  and  noble 
and  blessed  death — in  such  a  case  of  the  throwing  away  of 
arms  let  justice  be  done,  but  the  judge  need  take  no  note  of 
the  case  just  now  mentioned ;  for  the  bad  man  ought  always 
to  be  punished,  in  the  hope  that  he  maybe  improved,  but  not 

'  Reading  alSolii. 


The  punishment  of  coivardice. 


333 


the  unfortunate,  for  there  is  no  advantage  in  that.   And  what  Laws  XII. 

shall  be  the  punishment  suited  to  him  who  has  thrown  away  Athenian. 

his  weapons  of  defence  ?     Tradition  says  that  Caeneus,  the  would  that 

Thessalian,  was  changed  by  a  God  from  a  woman  into  a  the  coward 

man ;  but  the  converse  miracle  cannot  now  be  wrought,  ci°"n'^e^ 

or  no  punishment  would  be  more  proper  than  that  the  man  into  a 
who  throws  away  his  shield  should  be  changed  into  a  ■ 
woman  \    This  however  is  impossible,  and  therefore  let  us 
make  a  law  as  nearly  like  this  as  we  can — that  he  who  loves 
his  life  too  well  shall  be  in  no  danger  for  the  remainder  of 
his  days,  but  shall  live  for  ever  under  the  stigma  of  cowardice. 

And  let  the  law  be  in  the  following  terms  : — When  a  man  is  since  such 

found  guilty  of  disgracefully  throwing  away  his  arms  in  war,  ^g^™^'^' 

no  general  or  military  officer  shall  allow  him  to  serve  as  impossible, 
a  soldier,  or  give  him  any  place  at  all  in  the  ranks  of 

11-  1    1        rr^  1         •  1  1  1  allowed 

945  soldiers ;  and  the  omcer  who  gives  the  coward  any  place,  to  serve, 
shall  suffer  a  penalty  which  the  public  examiner  shall  exact  f"''  him 
of  him  ;  and  if  he  be  of  the  highest  class,  he  shall  pay  a  '"'^"'^ 
thousand  drachmae ;  or  if  he  be  of  the  second  class,  five 
minae ;  or  if  he  be  of  the  third,  three  minae  ;  or  if  he  be 
of  the  fourth  class,  one  mina.    And  he  who  is  found  guilty  of 
cowardice,  shall  not  only  be  dismissed  from  manly  dangers, 
which  is  a  disgrace  appropriate  to  his  nature,  but  he  shall 
pay  a  thousand  drachmae,  if  he  be  of  the  highest  class,  and 
five  minae  if  he  be  of  the  second  class,  and  three  if  he  be 
of  the  third  class,  and  a  mina,  like  the  preceding,  if  he  be  of 
the  fourth  class. 

What  regulations  will  be  proper  about  examiners,  seeing  Examiners 
that  some  of  our  magistrates  are  elected  by  lot,  and  for  a  '•°  better 

men  than 

year,  and  some  for  a  longer  time  and  from  selected  persons  ?  the  other 
Of  such  magistrates,  who  will  be-  a  sufficient  censor  or  magis- 
examiner,  if  any  of  them,  weighed  down  by  the  pressure  of 
office  or  his  own  inability  to  support  the  dignity  of  his  office, 
be  guilty  of  any  crooked  practice  ?  It  is  by  no  means  easy  to 
find  a  magistrate  who  excels  other  magistrates  in  virtue,  but 
still  we  must  endeavour  to  discover  some  censor  or  examiner 
who  is  more  than  man.  For  the  truth  is,  that  there  are  many 
elements  of  dissolution  in  a  state,  as  there  are  also  in  a  ship, 
or  in  an  animal  ;  they  all  have  their  cords,  and  girders,  and 

'  Cp.  Tim.  90  E. 


334 


The  appointment  of  exa7niners. 


Laws  XII. 
Athenian. 

Importance 
of  the  office. 


Three 
men  pre- 
eminent in 
virtue  to  be 
elected 
annually 
from 

among  the 
citizens. 


Honours  to 
be  paid  to 
them. 


sinews, — one  nature  diffused  in  many  places,  and  called  by 
many  names ;  and  the  office  of  examiner  is  a  most  important 
element  in  the  preservation  and  dissolution  of  states.  For  if 
the  examiners  are  better  than  the  magistrates,  and  their  duty 
is  fulfilled  justly  and  without  blame,  then  the  whole  state  and 
country  flourishes  and  is  happy;  but  if  the  examination  of 
the  magistrates  is  carried  on  in  a  wrong  way,  then,  by  the 
relaxation  of  that  justice  which  is  the  uniting  principle  of  all 
constitutions,  every  power  in  the  state  is  rent  asunder  from 
every  other ;  they  no  longer  incline  in  the  same  direction, 
but  fill  the  city  with  faction,  and  make  many  cities  out  of 
one'\  and  soon  bring  all  to  destruction.  Wherefore  the 
examiners  ought  to  be  admirable  in  every  sort  of  virtue.  Let 
us  invent  a  mode  of  creating  them,  which  shall  be  as 
follows: — Every  year,  after  the  summer  solstice,  the  whole 
city  shall  meet  in  the  common  precincts  of  Helios  and 
Apollo,  and  shall  present  to  the  God  three  men  out  of  their 
own  number  in  the  manner  following : — Each  citizen  shall 
select,  not  himself,  but  some  other  citizen  whom  he  deems  in  946 
every  way  the  best,  and  who  is  not  less  than  fifty  years  of  age. 
And  out  of  the  selected  persons  who  have  the  greatest  num- 
ber of  votes,  they  shall  make  a  further  selection  until  they 
reduce  them  to  one-half,  if  they  are  an  even  number;  but  if 
they  are  not  an  even  number,  they  shall  subtract  the  one 
who  has  the  smallest  number  of  votes,  and  make  them  an 
even  number,  and  then  leave  the  half  which  have  the  greater 
number  of  votes.  And  if  two  persons  have  an  equal  number 
of  votes,  and  thus  increase  the  number  beyond  one-half,  they 
shall  withdraw  the  younger  of  the  two  and  do.  away  the 
excess  ;  and  then  including  all  the  rest  they  shall  again  vote, 
until  there  are  left  three  having  an  unequal  number  of  votes. 
But  if  all  the  three,  or  two  out  of  the  three,  have  equal  votes, 
let  them  commit  the  election  to  good  fate  and  fortune,  and 
separate  off  by  lot  the  first,  and  the  second,  and  the  third ; 
these  they  shall  crown  with  an  olive  wreath  and  give  them 
the  prize  of  excellence,  at  the  same  time  proclaiming  to 
all  the  world  that  the  city  of  the  Magnetes,  by  the  providence 
of  the  Gods,  is  again  preserved,  and  presents  to  the  Sun  and 
to  Apollo  her  three  best  men  as  first-fruits,  to  be  a  common 

'  Cp.  Rep.  iv.  422  E. 


Their  dttties  and  privileges. 


335 


offering  to  them,  according  to  tlie  ancient  law,  as  long  as  Laws  XII. 
their  lives  answer  to  the  judgment  formed  of  them.  And  these  Athenian. 
shall  appoint  in  their  first  year  twelve  examiners,  to  continue  Examiners 
until  each  has  completed  seventy-five  years,  to  whom  three  to  beap- 
shall  afterwards  be  added  yearly;  and  let  these  divide  all  the  ['hem.'^who 
magistracies  into  twelve  parts,  and  prove  the  holders  of  them  shall  have 
by  every  sort  of  test  to  which  a  freeman  maybe  subjected;  pu^sh\he 
and  let  them  live  while  they  hold  office  in  the  precinct  of  magis- 
Helios  and  Apollo,  in  which  they  were  chosen,  and  let  each 
one  form  a  judgment  of  some  things  individually,  and  of 
others  in  company  with  his  colleagues ;  and  let  him  place  a 
writing  in  the  agora  about  each  magistracy,  and  what  the 
magistrate  ought  to  suffer  or  pay,  according  to  the  decision 
of  the  examiners.  And  if  a  magistrate  does  not  admit  that  he  The  magis- 
has  been  justly  judged,  let  him  bring  the  examiners  before  ^^ppg^j™*^ 
the  select  judges,  and  if  he  be  acquitted  by  their  decision,  let  against 
him,  if  he  will,  accuse  the  examiners  themselves ;  if,  however,  "^^"^^ '° 
he  be  convicted,  and  have  been  condemned  to  death  by  the  select 
examiners,  let  him  die  (and  of  course  he  can  only  die  once) : —  judges, 
but  any  other  penalties  which  admit  of  being  doubled  let  him 
suffer  twice  over. 

And  now  let  us  pass  under  review  the  examiners  them-  The 
selves  ;  what  will  their  examination  be,  and  how  conducted  ?  honours 
947  During  the  life  of  these  men,  whom  the  whole  state  counts  andafter^ 
worthy  of  the  rewards  of  virtue,  they  shall  have  the  first  seat  death  of 
at  all  public  assemblies,  and  at  all  Hellenic  sacrifices  and  aminei-s  if 
sacred  missions,  and  other  public  and  holy  ceremonies  in  they  pass 
which  they  share.    The  chiefs  of  each  sacred  mission  shall  tljfy^'^™" 
be  selected  from  them,  and  they  only  of  all  the  citizens  shall 
be  adorned  with  a  crown  of  laurel ;  they  shall  all  be  priests 
of  Apollo  and  Helios;  and  one  of  them,  who  is  judged  first 
of  the  priests  created  in  that  year,  shall  be  high  priest ;  and 
they  shall  write  up  his  name  in  each  year  to  be  a  measure  of 
time  as  long  as  the  city  lasts;  and  after  their  death  they 
shall  be  laid  out  and  carried  to  the  grave  and  entombed  in  a 
manner  different  from  the  other  citizens.    They  shall  be 
decked  in  a  robe  all  of  white,  and  there  shall  be  no  crying 
or  lamentation  over  them  ;  but  a  chorus  of  fifteen  maidens, 
and  another  of  boys,  shall  stand  around  the  bier  on  either 
side,  hymning  the  praises  of  the  departed  priests  in  alternate 


336 


Funeral  rites  of  the  examiners. 


Laws  XII. 
Athenian. 


But  if  after 
the  scru- 
tiny llicy 
do  wrong, 
tliey  shall 
be  deprived 
of  their 
honours. 


The  oath 
of  Rhada- 
manthus 


responses,  declaring  their  blessedness  in  song  all  day  long ; 
and  at  dawn  a  hundred  of  the  youths  who  practise  gymnastic 
exercises,  and  whom  the  relations  of  the  departed  shall 
choose,  shall  carry  the  bier  to  the  sepulchre,  the  young  men 
marching  first,  dressed  in  the  garb  of  warriors, — the  cavalry 
with  their  horses,  the  heavy-armed  with  their  arms,  and  the 
others  in  like  manner.  And  boys  near  the  bier  and  in 
front  of  it  shall  sing  their  national  hymn,  and  maidens  shall 
follow  behind,  and  with  them  the  women  who  have  passed 
the  age  of  child-bearing ;  next,  although  they  are  interdicted 
from  other  burials,  let  priests  and  priestesses  follow,  unless 
the  Pythian  oracle  forbid  them  ;  for  this  burial  is  free  from 
pollution.  The  place  of  burial  shall  be  an  oblong  vaulted 
chamber  underground,  constructed  of  tufa,  which  will  last  for 
ever,  having  stone  couches  placed  side  by  side.  And  here 
they  will  lay  the  blessed  person,  and  cover  the  sepulchre  with 
a  circular  mound  of  earth  and  plant  a  grove  of  trees  around  on 
every  side  but  one ;  and  on  that  side  the  sepulchre  shall  be 
allowed  to  extend  for  ever,  and  a  new  mound  will  not  be 
required.  Every  year  they  shall  have  contests  in  music  and 
gymnastics,  and  in  horsemanship,  in  honour  of  the  dead. 
These  are  the  honours  which  shall  be  given  to  those  who 
at  the  examination  are  found  blameless  ;  but  if  any  of  them, 
trusting  to  the  scrutiny  being  over,  should,  after  the  judgment 
has  been  given,  manifest  the  wickedness  of  human  nature, 
let  the  law  ordain  that  he  who  pleases  shall  indict  him,  and  9 
let  the  cause  be  tried  in  the  following  manner.  In  the  first 
place,  the  court  shall  be  composed  of  the  guardians  of  the 
law,  and  to  them  the  surviving  examiners  shall  be  added,  as 
well  as  the  court  of  select  judges;  and  let  the  pursuer  lay 
his  indictment  in  this  form — he  shall  say  that  so-and-so  is 
unworthy  of  the  prize  of  virtue  and  of  his  office  ;  and  if  the 
defendant  be  convicted  let  him  be  deprived  of  his  office,  and 
of  the  burial,  and  of  the  other  honours  given  him.  But  if 
the  prosecutor  do  not  obtain  the  fifth  part  of  the  votes,  let 
him,  if  he  be  of  the  first  class,  pay  twelve  minae,  and  eight  if 
he  be  of  the  second  class,  and  six  if  he  be  of  the  third  class, 
and  two  minae  if  he  be  of  the  fourth  class. 

The  so-called  decision  of  Rhadamanthus  is  worthy  of  all 
admiration.    He  knew  that  the  men  of  his  own  time  believed 


The  use  and  abuse  of  oaths. 


337 


and  had  no  doubt  that  there  were  Gods,  which  was  a  reason-  Laws  XII, 
able  beUef  in  those  days,  because  most  men  were  the  sons  of  Athenian. 
Gods\  and  according  to  tradition  he  was  one  himself.    He  suited  to  a 
appears  to  have  thought  that  he  ought  to  commit  judgment  to  God-feanng 
no  man,  but  to  the  Gods  only,  and  in  this  way  suits  were  to  our^own. 
simply  and  speedily  decided  by  him.    For  he  made  the  two 
parties  take  an  oath  respecting  the  points  in  dispute,  and  so 
got  rid  of  the  matter  speedily  and  safely.    But  now  that  a 
certain  portion  of  mankind  do  not  believe  at  all  in  the  exist- 
ence of  the  Gods,  and  others  imagine  that  they  have  no  care 
of  us,  and  the  opinion  of  most  men,  and  of  the  worst  men,  is 
that  in  return  for  a  small  sacrifice  and  a  few  flattering  words 
they  will  be  their  accomplices  in  purloining  large  sums  and 
save  them  from  many  terrible  punishments,  the  way  of 
Rhadamanthus  is  no  longer  suited  to  the  needs  of  justice  ;  for 
as  the  opinions  of  men  about  the  Gods  are  changed,  the  laws 
should  also  be  changed  ; — in  the  granting  of  suits  a  rational  Oaths  are 
legislation  ought  to  do  away  with  the  oaths  of  the  parties  on  "°j^g'°^y 
either  side — he  who  obtains  leave  to  bring  an  action  should  the  parties 
write  down  the  charges,  but  should  not  add  an  oath ;  and  ^ 
the  defendant  in  like  manner  should  give  his  denial  to  the 
magistrates  in  writing,  and  not  swear ;  for  it  is  a  dreadful 
thing  to  know,  when  many  lawsuits  are  going  on  in  a  state, 
that  almost  half  the  people  who  meet  one  another  quite  un- 
concernedly at  the  public  meals  and  in  other  companies  and 
relations  of  private  life  are  perjured.    Let  the  law,  then,  be 
as  follows  : — A  judge  who  is  about  to  give  judgment  shall  Judges, 
take  an  oath,  and  he  who  is  choosing  magistrates  for  the  ^^"^^^"^f.""' 

/  .  ^'id  citizens 

state  shall  either  vote  on  oath  or  with  a  voting  tablet  which  when  elect- 
he  brings  from  a  temple  ;  so  too  the  judge  of  dances  and  of  '"^  magis- 
949  all  music,  and  the  superintendents  and  umpires  of  gymnastic  the  umpires 
and  equestrian  contests,  and  any  matters  in  which,  as  far  as  "^'^"j^'j^^^g^' 
men  can  judge,  there  is  nothing  to  be  gained  by  a  false  oath  ;  an  oath, 
but  all  cases  in  which  a  denial  confirmed  by  an  oath  clearly 
results  in  a  great  advantage  to  the  taker  of  the  oath,  shall  be 
decided  without  the  oath  of  the  parties  to  the  suit,  and  the 
presiding  judges  shall  not  permit  either  of  them  to  use  an 
oath  for  the  sake  of  persuading,  nor  to  call  down  curses  on 
himself  and  his  race,  nor  to  use  unseemly  supplications  or 

'  Cp.  Tim.  40  D. 
VOL.  v.  Z 


338 


Foreign  travel 


Laws  XII. 
Athenian. 


Note  ;— the 
prohibition 
of  oaths 
does  not 
extend  to 
strangers. 


Penalty  for 
neglect  of 
certain  pub- 
lic duties. 


Admission 
of  foreign- 
ers, and 
foreign 
travel, 


are  evils  in 
a  well-or- 
dered state, 
but  of  no 
conse- 
quence in 
an  ordin- 
ary slate. 


womanish  laments.  But  they  shall  ever  be  teaching  and 
learning  what  is  just  in  auspicious  words  ;  and  he  who  does 
otherwise  shall  be  supposed  to  speak  beside  the  point,  and  the 
judges  shall  again  bring  him  back  to  the  question  at  issue. 
On  the  other  hand,  strangers  in  their  dealings  with  strangers 
shall  as  at  present  have  power  to  give  and  receive  oaths,  for 
they  will  not  often  grow  old  in  the  city  or  leave  a  fry  of  young 
ones  like  themselves  to  be  the  sons  and  heirs  of  the  land. 

As  to  the  initiation  of  private  suits,  let  the  manner  of 
deciding  causes  between  all  citizens  be  the  same  as  in  cases 
in  which  any  freeman  is  disobedient  to  the  state  in  minor 
matters,  of  which  the  penalty  is  not  stripes,  imprisonment,  or 
death.  But  as  regards  attendance  at  choruses  or  processions 
or  other  shows,  and  as  regards  public  services,  whether 
the  celebration  of  sacrifice  in  peace,  or  the  payment  of 
contributions  in  war — in  all  these  cases,  first  comes  the 
necessity  of  providing  a  remedy  for  the  loss  ;  and  by  those 
who  will  not  obey,  there  shall  be  security  given  to  the  officers 
whom  the  city  and  the  law  empower  to  exact  the  sum  due  ; 
and  if  they  forfeit  their  security,  let  the  goods  which  they 
have  pledged  be  sold  and  the  money  given  to  the  city ;  but  if 
they  ought  to  pay  a  larger  sum,  the  several  magistrates  shall 
impose  upon  the  disobedient  a  suitable  penalty,  and  bring 
them  before  the  court,  until  they  are  willing  to  do  what  they 
are  ordered. 

Now  a  state  which  makes  money  from  the  cultivation  of 
the  soil  only,  and  has  no  foreign  trade,  must  consider  what  it 
will  do  about  the  emigration  of  its  own  people  to  other 
countries,  and  the  reception  of  strangers  from  elsewhere. 
About  these  matters  the  legislator  has  to  consider,  and  he 
will  begin  by  trying  to  persuade  men  as  far  as  he  can.  The 
intercourse  of  cities  with  one  another  is  apt  to  create  a  con- 
fusion of  manners  ;  strangers  are  always  suggesting  novelties 
to  strangers  \  When  states  are  well  governed  by  good  laws  950 
the  mixture  causes  the  greatest  possible  injury;  but  seeing 
that  most  cities  are  the  reverse  of  well-ordered,  the  confusion 
which  arises  in  them  from  the  reception  of  strangers,  and 
from  the  citizens  themselves  rushing  off  into  other  cities, 
when  any  one  either  young  or  old  desires  to  travel  any- 

^  Cp.  supra,  iv.  704  E. 


and  the  reception  of  strangers. 


where  abroad  at  whatever  time,  is  of  no  consequence.  On  the  Laws  XII. 
other  hand,  the  refusal  of  states  to  receive  others,  and  for  Athenian. 
their  own  citizens  never  to  go  to  other  places,  is  an  utter  inhospi- 
impossibility,  and  to  the  rest  of  the  world  is  likely  to  appear  ''^''ty  ^on- 
ruthless  and  uncivilized  ;  it  is  a  practice  adopted  by  people  themany f 
who  use  harsh  words,  such  as  xenelasia  or  banishment  of  the  good 
strangers,  and  who  have  harsh  and  morose  ways,  as  men  think. 
And  to  be  thought  or  not  to  be  thought  well  of  by  the  rest  of  be  desired, 
the  world  is  no  light  matter ;  for  the  many  are  not  so  far 
wrong  in  their  judgment  of  who  are  bad  and  who  are  good, 
as  they  are  removed  from  the  nature  of  virtue  in  themselves. 
Even  bad  men  have  a  divine  instinct  which  guesses  rightly, 
and  very  many  who  are  utterly  depraved  form  correct  notions 
and  judgments  of  the  differences  between  the  good  and  bad. 
And  the  generality  of  cities  are  quite  right  in  exhorting  us  both 
to  value  a  good  reputation  in  the  world,  for  there  is  no  ^^jj'^'/^^^j' 
truth  greater  and  more  important  than  this — that  he  who  is  viduais.but 
really  good  (I  am  speaking  of  the  man  who  would  be  perfect)  l^'j^^ ^"'"^ 
seeks  for  reputation  with,  but  not  without,  the  reality  of  served, 
goodness.    And  our  Cretan  colony  ought  also  to  acquire  the 
fairest  and  noblest  reputation  for  virtue  from  other  men  ;  and 
there  is  every  reason  to  expect  that,  if  the  reality  answers  to 
the  idea,  she  will  be  one  of  the  few  well-ordered  cities  which 
the  sun  and  the  other  Gods  behold.    Wherefore,  in  the 
matter  of  journeys  to  other  countries  and  the  reception  of 
strangers,  we  enact  as  follows  : — In  the  first  place,  let  no  The  law  :— 
one  be  allowed  to  go  anywhere  at  all  into  a  foreign  country 
who  is  less  than  forty  years  of  age ;  and  no  one  shall  go  in  No  one  to 
a  private  capacity,  but  only  in  some  public  one,  as  a  herald,  f^eign"  ^ 
or  on  an  embassy,  or  on  a  sacred  mission.    Going  abroad  on  country 
an  expedition  or  in  war  is  not  to  be  included  among  travels  'P'''^ 

^  ^  °  .   years  of 

of  the  class  authorized  by  the  state.  To  Apollo  at  Delphi  age,  or  in  a 
and  to  Zeus  at  Olvmpia  and  to  Nemea  and  to  the  Isthmus,  P^^^'^ 

capacity. 

Citizens  should  be  sent  to  take  part  in  the  sacrifices  and 
games  there  dedicated  to  the  Gods ;  and  they  should  send  as 
many  as  possible,  and  the  best  and  fairest  that  can  be  found, 
and  they  will  make  the  city  renowned  at  holy  meetings  in 
I  time  of  peace,  procuring  a  glory  which  shall  be  the  converse 
of  that  which  is  gained 'in  war ;  and  when  they  come  home 
they  shall  teach  the  young  that  the  institutions  of  other  states 


340 


The  nocturnal  council  and  its  constitution. 


Laws  XII. 

Athenian, 
Cleinias. 

The  state 
to  send  out 
men  to  be 
spectators 
of  the 
world. 


Saints  and 
sages  are 
to  be  found 
even  in  ill- 
governed 
cities. 


The  spec- 
tator to  be 
a  model 
citizen  of 
his  own 
city. 

He  shall 
report  to 
the  assem- 
bly which 
revises  the 
laws. 

The  assem- 
bly to  con- 
sist of 
elders  and 
of  younger 
men  co- 
opted  by 
them. 


are  inferior  to  their  own.  And  they  shall  send  spectators  of 
another  sort,  if  they  have  the  consent  of  the  guardians,  being 
such  citizens  as  desire  to  look  a  little  more  at  leisure  at  the 
doings  of  other  men ;  and  these  no  law  shall  hinder.  For 
a  city  which  has  no  experience  of  good  and  bad  men  or 
intercourse  with  them,  can  never  be  thoroughly  and  perfectly 
civilized,  nor,  again,  can  the  citizens  of  a  city  properly 
observe  the  laws  by  habit  only,  and  without  an  intelligent 
understanding  of  them And  there  always  are  in  the  world 
a  few  inspired  men  whose  acquaintance  is  beyond  price, 
and  who  spring  up  quite  as  much  in  ill-ordered  as  in  well- 
ordered  cities.  These  are  they  whom  the  citizens  of  a 
well-ordered  city  should  be  ever  seeking  out,  going  forth 
over  sea  and  over  land  to  find  him  who  is  incorruptible — 
that  he  may  establish  more  firmly  institutions  in  his  own 
state  which  are  good  already,  and  amend  what  is  deficient; 
for  without  this  examination  and  enquiry  a  city  will  never 
continue  perfect  any  more  than  if  the  examination  is  ill- 
conducted. 

Cle.  How  can  we  have  an  examination  and  also  a  good 
one  ? 

Ath.  In  this  way  : — In  the  first  place,  our  spectator  shall  be 
of  not  less  than  fifty  years  of  age;  he  must  be  a  man  of  reputa- 
tion, especially  in  war,  if  he  is  to  exhibit  to  other  cities 
a  model  of  the  guardians  of  the  law,  but  when  he  is  more 
than  sixty  3'ears  of  age  he  shall  no  longer  continue  in  his 
office  of  spectator.  And  when  he  has  carried  on  his  inspec- 
tion during  as  many  out  of  the  ten  years  of  his  office  as  he 
pleases,  on  his  return  home  let  him  go  to  the  assembly  of 
those  who  review  the  laws.  This  shall  be  a  mixed  body  of 
young  and  old  men,  who  shall  be  required  to  meet  daily 
between  the  hour  of  dawn  and  the  rising  of  the  sun.  They 
shall  consist,  in  the  first  place,  of  the  priests  who  have 
obtained  the  rewards  of  virtue  ^ ;  and,  in  the  second  place, 
of  guardians  of  the  law,  the  ten  eldest  being  chosen ;  the 
general  superintendent  of  education  shall  also  be  a  member, 
as  well  the  last  appointed  as  those  who  have  been  released 
from  the  office  ;  and  each  of  them  shall  take  with  him  as  his 
companion  a  young  man,  whomsoever  he  chooses,  between 

'  Cp.  Rep.  X.  619.  Cp.  sup-a,  947. 


The  good  and  bad  spectator. 


341 


the  ages  of  thirty  and    forty.    These   shall    be    always  Laws  XII. 
holding   conversation   and   discourse  about  the    laws   of  Athenian. 
2  their  own  city  or  about  any  specially  good  ones  which  they 
may  hear  to  be  existing  elsewhere ;  also  about  kinds  of 
knowledge  which  may  appear  to  be  of  use  and  will  throw 
light  upon  the  examination,  or  of  which  the  want  will  make 
the  subject  of  laws  dark  and  uncertain  to  them.    Any  know- 
ledge of  this  sort  which  the  elders  approve,  the  younger  men 
shall  learn  with  all  diligence;  and  if  anyone  of  those  who 
have  been  invited  appear  to  be  unworthy,  the  whole  assembly 
shall  blame  him  who  invited  him.    The  rest  of  the  city  shall  The  city  to 
watch  over  those  among  the  young  men  who  distinguish  ^^^^^^^^^^ 
themselves,   having  an   eye   upon   them,   and   especially  men  dis- 
honouring them  if  they  succeed,  but  dishonouring  them  i)j"f]^g^^j'^^ 
above  the  rest  if  they  turn  out  to  be  inferior.    This  is  the  sembly. 
assembly  to  which  he  who  has  visited  the  institutions  of  other 
men,  on  his  return  home  shall  straightway  go,  and  if  he  have 
discovered  any  one  who  has  anything  to  say  about  the 
enactment  of  laws  or  education  or  nurture,  or  if  he  have 
himself  made  any  observations,  let  him  communicate  his  dis- 
coveries to  the  whole  assembly.    And  if  he  be  seen  to  have  The  re- 
come  home  neither  better  nor  worse,  let  him  be  praised  at  ^""^ 

'  ^  punish- 

any  rate  for  his  enthusiasm  ;  and  if  he  be  much  better,  let  ments  of 

him  be  praised  so  much  the  more :  and  not  only  while  he  spectators 

accordingly 

lives  but  after  his  death  let  the  assembly  honour  him  with  as  they 
fitting  honours.    But  if  on  his  return,  home  he  appear  to  have  j^eturn 
been  corrupted,  pretending  to  be  wise  when  he  is  not,  let  him  or  worse, 
hold  no  communication  with  any  one,  whether  young  or  old; 
and  if  he  will  hearken  to  the  rulers,  then  he  shall  be 
permitted  to  live  as  a  private  individual ;  but  if  he  will  not, 
let  him  die,  if  he  be  convicted  in  a  court  of  law  of  in,terfering 
about  education  and  the  laws.    And  if  he  deserve  to  be 
indicted,  and  none  of  the  magistrates  indict  him,  let  that  be 
counted  as  a  disgrace  to  them  when  the  rewards  of  virtue 
are  decided. 

Let  such  be  the  character  of  the  person  who  goes  abroad,  Regulations 
and  let  him  go  abroad  under  these  conditions.    In  the  next 
place,  the  stranger  who  comes  from  abroad  should  be  received 
in  a  friendly  spirit.    Now  there  are  four  kinds  of  strangers.  Four 
of  whom  we  must  make  some  mention- the  first  is  he  who  '^'"'^^ 


about 
strangers. 


342 


Visitors,  non-official  and  official. 


Laws  XII. 

Athenian. 

(i)  the  bird 
of  passage, 
who  comes 
in  the  sum- 
mer to 
trade ; 


(2)  the 
visitor  of 
festivals  ; 


(3)  the 
representa- 
tive of  a 
foreign 
country  ; 


(4)  the  of- 
ficial spec- 
tator. 


comes  and  stays  throughout  the  summer ' ;  this  class  are 
like  birds  of  passage,  taking  wing  in  pursuit  of  commerce, 
and  fl3'ing  over  the  sea  to  other  cities,  while  the  season  lasts; 
he  shall  be  received  in  market-places  and  harbours  and  public 
buildings,  near  the  city  but  outside'',  by  those  magistrates 
who  are  appointed  to  superintend  these  matters ;  and  they 
shall  take  care  that  a  stranger,  whoever  he  be,  duly  receives 
justice  ;  but  he  shall  not  be  allowed  to  make  any  innovation. 
They  shall  hold  the  intercourse  with  him  which  is  necessary,  953 
and  this  shall  be  as  little  as  possible.  The  second  kind  is 
just  a  spectator  who  comes  to  see  with  his  eyes  and  hear 
with  his  ears  the  festivals  of  the  Muses ;  such  ought  to  have 
entertainment  provided  them  at  the  temples  by  hospitable 
persons,  and  the  priests  and  ministers  of  the  temples  should 
see  and  attend  to  them.  But  they  should  not  remain  more 
than  a  reasonable  time ;  let  them  see  and  hear  that  for  the 
sake  of  which  they  came,  and  then  go  away,  neither  having 
suffered  nor  done  any  harm.  The  priests  shall  be  their 
judges,  if  any  of  them  receive  or  do  any  wrong  up  to  the 
sum  of  fifty  drachmae,  but  if  any  greater  charge  be  brought, 
in  such  cases  the  suit  shall  come  before  the  wardens  of  the 
agora.  The  third  kind  of  stranger  is  he  who  comes  on  some 
public  business  from  another  land,  and  is  to  be  received 
with  public  honours.  He  is  to  be  received  only  by  the 
generals  and  commanders  of  horse  and  foot,  and  the  host  by 
whom  he  is  entertained,  in  conjunction  with  the  Prytanes, 
shall  have  the  sole  charge  of  what  concerns  him.  There  is  a 
fourth  class  of  persons  answering  to  our  spectators,  who  come 
from  another  land  to  look  at  ours.  In  the  first  place,  such 
visits  will  be  rare,  and  the  visitor  should  be  at  least  fifty  years 
of  age  ;  he  may  possibly  be  wanting  to  see  something  that  is 
rich  and  rare  in  other  states,  or  himself  to  show  something  in 
like  manner  to  another  city.  Let  such  an  one,  then,  go 
unbidden  to  the  doors  of  the  wise  and  rich,  being  one  of  them 
himself:  let  him  go,  for  example,  to  the  house  of  the  superin- 
tendent of  education,  confident  that  he  is  a  fitting  guest  of 
such  a  host,  or  let  him  go  to  the  house  of  some  of  those  who 
have  gained  the  prize  of  virtue  and  hold  discourse  with 
them,  both  learning  from  them,  and  also  teaching  them ;  and 

'  Cp.  supra,  xi.  915  D.  '  Cp.  Arist.  Pol.  vii.  6,  §  5. 


Process  of  search. 


when  he  has  seen  and  heard  all,  he  shall  depart,  as  a  friend  Lmvs  XII. 
taking  leave  of  friends,  and  be  honoured  by  them  with  gifts  Athenian. 
and  suitable  tributes  of  respect.  These  are  the  customs, 
according  to  which  our  city  should  receive  all  strangers 
of  either  sex  who  come  from  other  countries,  and  should 
send  forth  her  own  citizens,  showing  respect  to  Zeus,  the 
God  of  hospitality,  not  forbidding  strangers  at  meals  and 
sacrifices,  as  is  the  manner  which  prevails  among  the  children 
of  the  Nile,  nor  driving  them  away  by  savage  proclamations 

When  a  man  becomes  surety,  let  him  give  the  security  in  Themanner 
a  distinct  form,  acknowledging  the  whole  transaction  in  a  °*^gi^>ng 

.  r         1         ^  security. 

written  document,  and  m  the  presence  of  not  less  than  three 
witnesses  if  the  sum  be  under  a  thousand  drachmae,  and  of 
not  less  than  five  witnesses  if  the  sum  be  above  a  thousand 
954  drachmae.  The  agent  of  a  dishonest  or  untrustworthy  seller 
shall  himself  be  responsible ;  both  the  agent  and  the 
principal  shall  be  equally  liable.  If  a  person  wishes  to  find  The  right 
anything  in  the  house  of  another,  he  shall  enter  naked,  or  ^earch- 

°  \  _  _       '         ing  houses 

wearing  only  a  short  tunic  and  without  a  girdle,  having  first  allowed. 

taken  an  oath  by  the  customary  Gods  that  he  expects  to  find 

it  there ;  he  shall  then  make  his  search,  and  the  other  shall 

throw  open  his  house  and  allow  him  to  search  things  both 

sealed  and  unsealed.    And  if  a  person  will  not  allow  the  Penalty  for 

searcher  to  make  his  search,  he  who  is  prevented  shall  go  to  ""efusmg. 

law  with  him,  estimating  the  value  of  the  goods  after  which 

he  is  searching,  and  if  the  other  be  convicted  he  shall  pay 

twice  the  value  of  the  article.    If  the  master  be  absent  from 

home,  the  dwellers  in  the  house  shall  let  him  search  the 

unsealed  property,  and  on  the  sealed  property  the  searcher 

shall  set  another  seal,  and  shall  appoint  any  one  whom  he 

likes  to  guard  them  during  five  days ;  and  if  the  master  of 

the  house  be  absent  during  a  longer  time,  he  shall  take  with 

him  the  wardens  of  the  city,  and  so  make  his  search,  opening 

the  sealed  property  as  well  as  the  unsealed^  and  then, 

together  with  the  members  of  the  family  and  the  wardens 

of  the  city,  he  shall  seal  them  up  again  as  they  were 

before.    There  shall  be  a  limit  of  time  in  the  case  of  Statute  of 

disputed  things,  and  he  who  has  had  possession  of  them 

during  a  certain  time  shall  no  longer  be  liable  to  be  dis-  disputed 

'  Cp.  supra,  950  A,  13. 


344 


Cases  of  intimidation. 


Laws  XII. 

Athenian. 

property 
other  than 
land  or 
houses. 


Penalty  for 
preventing 
tlic  appear- 
ance of  a 
person  in 
the  courts 
or  at 
contests. 


The  receiver 
as  bad  as 
the  thief. 


turbed.  As  to  houses  and  lands  there  can  be  no  dispute  in 
this  state  of  ours ;  but  if  a  man  has  any  other  possessions 
which  he  has  used  and  openly  shown  in  the  city  and  in  the 
agora  and  in  the  temples,  and  no  one  has  put  in  a  claim  to 
them,  and  some  one  says  that  he  was  looking  for  them  during 
this  time,  and  the  possessor  is  proved  to  have  made  no 
concealment,  if  they  have  continued  for  a  year,  the  one 
having  the  goods  and  the  other  looking  for  them,  the 
claim  of  the  seeker  shall  not  be  allowed  after  the  expiration 
of  the  year ;  or  if  he  does  not  use  or  show  the  lost  property 
in  the  market  or  in  the  city,  but  only  in  the  country,  and  no 
one  offers  himself  as  the  owner  during  five  years,  at  the 
expiration  of  the  five  years  the  claim  shall  be  barred  for  ever 
after;  or  if  he  uses  them  in  the  city  but  within  the  house, 
then  the  appointed  time  of  claiming  the  goods  shall  be  three 
years,  or  ten  years  if  he  has  them  in  the  country  in  private. 
And  if  he  has  them  in  another  land,  there  shall  be  no  limit  of 
time  or  prescription,  but  whenever  the  owner  finds  them  he 
may  claim  them. 

If  any  one  prevents  another  by  force  from  being  present  at 
a  trial,  whether  a  principal  party  or  his  witnesses ;  if  the 
person  prevented  be  a  slave,  whether  his  own  or  belonging 
to  another,  the  suit  shall  be  incomplete  and  invalid  ;  but  if  he 
who  is  prevented  be  a  freeman,  besides  the  suit  being  in- 
complete, the  other  who  has  prevented  him  shall  be  imprisoned  5 
for  a  year,  and  shall  be  prosecuted  for  kidnapping  by  any  one 
who  pleases.  And  if  any  one  hinders  by  force  a  rival  com- 
petitor in  gymnastic  or  music,  or  any  other  sort  of  contest,  from 
being  present  at  the  contest,  let  him  who  has  a  mind  inform 
the  presiding  judges,  and  they  shall  liberate  hirti  who  is 
desirous  of  competing  ;  and  if  they  are  not  able,  and  he  who 
hinders  the  other  from  competing  wins  the  prize,  then  they 
shall  give  the  prize  of  victory  to  him  who  is  prevented,  and 
inscribe  him  as  the  conqueror  in  any  temples  which  he 
pleases;  and  he  who  hinders  the  other  shall  not  be  permitted 
to  make  any  offering  or  inscription  having  reference  to  that 
contest,  and  in  any  case  he  shall  be  liable  for  damages, 
whether  he  be  defeated  or  whether  he  conquer. 

If  any  one  knowingly  receives  anything  which  has  been 
stolen,  he  shall  undergo  the  same  punishment  as  the  thief, 


Miscellaneous  provisions. 


345 


and  if  a  man  receives  an  exile  he  shall  be  punished  with  Laws  xii. 

death.    Every  man  should  regard  the  friend  and  enemy  of  Athenian. 
the  state  as  his  own  friend  and  enemy;  and  if  any  one  makes 
peace  or  war  with  another  on  his  own  account,  and  without 
the  authority  of  the  state,  he,  like  the  receiver  of  the  exile, 

shall  undergo  the-  penalty  of  death.    And  if  any  fraction  of  Death  to  be 

the  city  declare  war  or  peace  against  any,  the  generals  shall  ^^gj^'^™'^'^' 

indict  the  authors  of  this  proceeding,  and  if  they  are  con-  those  who 

victed  death  shall  be  the  penalty.     Those  who  serve  their  (i)  receive 

exiles  or 

country  ought  to  serve  without  receiving  gifts,  and  there  ^ho  ('2) 
ought  to  be  no  excusing  or  approving  the  saying,  'Men  make  war 
should  receive  gifts  as  the  reward  of  good,  but  not  of  evil  °heh-^own° 
deeds ' ;  for  to  know  which  we  are  doing,  and  to  stand  fast  account, 
by  our  knowledge,  is  no  easy  matter.    The  safest  course  t^^^bribes 
is  to  obey  the  law  which  says,  'Do  no  service  for  a  bribe,' 
and  let  him  who  disobeys,  if  he  be  convicted,  simply  die. 
With  a  view  to  taxation,  for  various  reasons,  every  man  Registra- 
ought  to  have  had  his  property  valued  :  and  the  tribesmen  ^'""^  °^ 
should  likewise  bring  a  register  of  the  yearly  produce  to  w^hTvIew 
the  wardens  of  the  country,  that  in  this  way  there  may  be  to  income- 
two  valuations ;  and  the  public  officers  may  use  annually 
whichever  on  consideration  they  deem  the  best,  whether 
the}'  prefer  to  take  a  certain  portion  of  the  whole  value,  or 
of  the  annual  revenue,  after  subtracting  what  is  paid  to  the 
common  tables. 

Touching  offerings  to  the  Gods,  a  moderate  man  should  Offerings  to 
observe  moderation  in  what  he  offers.    Now  the  land  and  '° 

be  simple 

the  hearth  of  the  house  of  all  men  is  sacred  to  all  Gods ;  and  inex- 
wherefore  let  no  man  dedicate  them  a  second  time  to  the  P^'^^''^^- 
Gods.  Gold  and  silver,  whether  possessed  by  private  per- 
sons or  in  temples,  are  in  other  cities  provocative  of  envy, 
956  and  ivory,  the  product  of  a  dead  body,  is  not  a  proper 
offering  ;  brass  and  iron,  again,  are  instruments  of  war  ;  but 
of  wood  let  a  man  bring  what  offering  he  likes,  provided  it  be 
a  single  block,  and  in  like  manner  of  stone,  to  the  public 
temples  ;  of  woven  work  let  him  not  offer  more  than  one 
woman  can  execute  in  a  month.  White  is  a  colour  suitable 
to  the  Gods,  especially  in  woven  works,  but  dyes  should  only 
be  used  for  the  adornments  of  war.  The  most  divine  of 
gifts  are  birds  and  images,  and  they  should  be  such  as  one 


346 


The  administration  of  jtistice. 


Laius  XII. 

Athenian. 

Private 
suits  to 
be  tried, 


(i)  before 
arbiters : 


(a)  there 
may  be  an 
appeal  from 
their  de- 
cision to 
the  tribal 
courts : 


and  (3) 
from  the 
tribal  courts 
to  the  court 
of  select 
judges  ; 
in  the  two 
last  cases 
with  an  in- 
crease of 
the  penalty 


The 
younger 
legislator 
will  arrange 
minor  mat- 
ters. 


painter  can  execute  in  a  single  day.    And  let  all  other 
offerings  follow  a  similar  rule. 

Now  that  the  whole  city  has  been  divided  into  parts  of 
which  the  nature  and  number  have  been  described,  and  laws 
have  been  given  about  all  the  most  important  contracts  as  far 
as  this  was  possible,  the  next  thing  will  be  to  have  justice 
done.    The  first  of  the  courts  shall  consist  of  elected  judges, 
who  shall  be  chosen  by  the  plaintiff  and  the  defendant  in 
common  :  these  shall  be  called  arbiters  rather  than  judges. 
And  in  the  second  court  there  shall  be  judges  of  the  villages 
and  tribes  corresponding  to  the  twelvefold  division  of  the  land, 
and  before  these  the  litigants  shall  go  to  contend  for  greater 
damages,  if  the  suit  be  not  decided  before  the  first  judges ; 
the  defendant,  if  he  be  defeated  the  second  time,  shall  pa}'  a 
fifth  more  than  the  damages  mentioned  in  the  indictment ; 
and  if  he  find  fault  with  his  judges  and  would  try  a  third 
time,  let  him  carry  the  suit  before  the  select  judges,  and  if  he 
be  again  defeated,  let  him  pay  the  whole  of  the  damages  and 
half  as  much  again.    And  the  plaintiff,  if  when  defeated 
before  the  first  judges  he  persist  in  going  on  to  the  second, 
shall  if  he  wins  receive  in  addition  to  the  damages  a  fifth  part 
more,  and  if  defeated  he  shall  pay  a  like  sum ;  but  if  he  is 
not  satisfied  with  the  previous  decision,  and  will  insist  on 
proceeding  to  a  third  court,  then  if  he  win  he  shall  receive 
from  the  defendant  the  amount  of  the  damages  and,  as  I 
said  before,  half  as  much  again,  and  the  plaintiff,  if  he  lose, 
shall  pay  half  of  the  damages  claimed.    Now  the  assignment 
by  lot  of  judges  to  courts  and  the  completion  of  the  number 
of  them,  and  the  appointment  of  servants  to  the  different 
magistrates,  and  the  times  at  which  the  several  causes  should 
be  heard,  and  the  votings  and  delays,  and  all  the  things  that 
necessarily  concern  suits,  and  the  order  of  causes,  and  the 
time  in  which  answers  have  to  be  put  in  and  parties  are  to 
appear — of  these  and  other  things  akin  to  these  we  have 
indeed  already  spoken  \  but  there  is  no  harm  in  repeating 
what  is  right  twice  or  thrice : — All  lesser  and  easier  matters 
which  the  elder  legislator  has  omitted  may  be  supplied  by  the 
younger  one.    Private  courts  will  be  sufficiently  regulated  in  957 
this  way,  and  the  public  and  state  courts,  and  those  which 
'  Cp.  stipra,  vi.  766 ;  ix.  S53  foil. 


The  knoivledge  of  good  laivs  the  best  of  education. 


347 


the  masfistrates  must  use  in  the  administration  of  their  several  Laws  XII. 
offices,  exist  in  many  other  states.    Many  very  respectable  Athenian. 
institutions  of  this  sort  have  been  framed  by  good  men,  and 
from  them  the  guardians  of  the  law  may  by  reflection  derive 
what  is  necessary  for  the  order  of  our  new  state,  considering 
and  correcting  them,  and  bringing  them  to  the  test  of  ex- 
perience, until  every  detail  appears  to  be  satisfactorily  deter- 
mined;  and  then  putting  the  final  seal  upon  them,  and 
making  them  irreversible,  they  shall  use  them  for  ever 
afterwards.    As  to  what  relates  to  the  silence  of  judges  and 
the  abstinence  from  words  of  evil  omen  and  the  reverse,  and 
the  different  notions  of  the  just  and  good  and  honourable 
which  exist  in  our  own  as  compared  with  other  states,  they 
have  been  partly  mentioned  already,  and  another  part  of  them 
will  be  mentioned  hereafter  as  we  draw  near  the  end.    To  all  The  judge 
these  matters  he  who  would  be  an  equal  judge  shall  justly  look,  ^^"^y^jjjg 
and  he  shall  possess  writings  about  them  that  he  may  learn  writings  of 
them.    For  of  all  kinds  of  knowledge  the  knowledge  of  good  ^^elegis- 

°    .  ,         lator  and 

laws  has  the  greatest  power  of  improving  the  learner  ;  other-  test  all 
wise  there  would  be  no  meaning  in  the  divine  and  admirable  o*er  writ- 

1  •  !•  •     1   I    ~       ,      \       \     ^     r    ^■^    Ingsbv  their 

law  possessing  a  name  akm  to  mmd  (vovr,  ku/xos).    And  oi  all  standard, 
other  words,  such  as  the  praises  and  censures  of  individuals  and  then  he 
which  occur  in  poetry  and  also  in  prose,  whether  written  ^^gh^ous 
down  or  uttered  in  daily  conversation,  whether  men  dispute  judgment, 
about  them  in  the  spirit  of  contention  or  weakly  assent  to 
them,  as  is  often  the  case — of  all  these  the  one  sure  test  is  the 
writings  of  the  legislator  \  which  the  righteous  judge  ought 
to  have  in  his  mind  as  the  antidote  of  all  other  words,  and 
thus  make  himself  and  the  city  stand  upright,  procuring  for 
the  good  the  continuance  and  increase  of  justice,  and  for  the 
bad,  on  the  other  hand,  a  conversion  from  ignorance  and  in- 
temperance, and  in  general  from  all  unrighteousness,  as  far 
as  their  evil  minds  can  be  healed,  but  to  those  whose  web  of 
life  is  in  reality  finished,  giving  death,  which  is  the  only 
remedy  for  souls  in  their  condition,  as  I  may  say  truly  again 
958  and  again.    And  such  judges  and  chiefs  of  judges  will  be 
worthy  of  receiving  praise  from  the  whole  city. 

When  the  suits  of  the  year  are  completed  the  following 
laws  shall  regulate  their  execution  : — In  the  first  place,  the 

'  Cp.  supra,  vii.  811  D. 


348 


The  execution  of  sentences. 


Laws  XII. 

Athenian. 

The  goods 
of  the 

losing  party 
in  a  suit  to 
be  handed 
over  to  the 
gainer  if  the 
damages 
are  not 
paid  with- 
in a  month. 


Contempt 
of  court 
to  be  pun- 
ished with 
death. 


The  end 
of  life. 


The  dead 
are  to  be 
buried  in 
some  bar- 
ren region, 
where  they 
will  do  least 
harm  to  the 
living. 


judge  shall  assign  to  the  party  who  wins  the  suit  the  whole 
property  of  him  who  loses,  with  the  exception  of  mere  neces- 
sariesand  the  assignment  shall  be  made  through  the  herald 
immediately  after  each  decision  in  the  hearing  of  the  judges ; 
and  when  the  month  arrives  following  the  month  in  which  the 
courts  are  sitting,  (unless  the  gainer  of  the  suit  has  been  pre- 
viously satisfied,)  the  court  shall  follow  up  the  case,  and  hand 
over  to  the  winner  the  goods  of  the  loser ;  but  if  they  find  that 
he  has  not  the  means  of  paying,  and  the  sum  deficient  is  not  less 
than  a  drachma,  the  insolvent  person  shall  not  have  any  right 
of  going  to  law  with  any  other  man  until  he  have  satisfied  the 
debt  of  the  winning  party;  but  other  persons  shall  still  have 
the  right  of  bringing  suits  against  him.  And  if  any  one  after 
he  is  condemned  refuses  to  acknowledge  the  authority  which 
condemned  him,  let  the  magistrates  who  are  thus  deprived  of 
their  authority  bring  him  before  the  court  of  the  guardians  of 
the  law,  and  if  he  be  cast,  let  him  be  punished  with  death,  as 
a  subverter  of  the  whole  state  and  of  the  laws. 

Thus  a  man  is  born  and  brought  up,  and  after  this  manner 
he  begets  and  brings  up  his  own  children,  and  has  his  share 
of  dealings  with  other  men,  and  suffers  if  he  has  done  wrong 
to  any  one,  and  receives  satisfaction  if  he  has  been  wronged, 
and  so  at  length  in  due  time  he  grows  old  under  the  protection 
of  the  laws,  and  his  end  comes  in  the  order  of  nature. 
Concerning  the  dead  of  either  sex,  the  religious  ceremonies 
which  may  fittingly  be  performed,  whether  appertaining  to 
the  Gods  of  the  under-world  or  of  this,  shall  be  decided  by 
the  interpreters  with  absolute  authority.  Their  sepulchres 
are  not  to  be  in  places  which  are  fit  for  cultivation,  and  there 
shall  be  no  monuments  in  such  spots,  either  large  or  small, 
but  they  shall  occupy  that  part  of  the  country  which  is  natur- 
ally adapted  for  receiving  and  concealing  the  bodies  of  the 
dead  with  as  little  hurt  as  possible  to  the  living.  No  man, 
living  or  dead,  shall  deprive  the  living  of  the  sustenance  which 
the  earth,  their  foster-parent,  is  naturally  inclined  to  provide 
for  them.  And  let  not  the  mound  be  piled  higher  than  would 
be  the  work  of  five  men  completed  in  five  days  ;  nor  shall 
the  stone  which  is  placed  over  the  spot  be  larger  than  would 
be  sufficient  to  receive  the  praises  of  the  dead  included  in 

'  Cp.  supra,  ix.  S55  B. 


Moderation  in  funerals. 


349 


four  heroic  lines.    Nor  shall  the  laying  out  of  the  dead  in  Laws  XII. 
;S9  the  house  continue  for  a  longer  time  than  is  sufficient  to  dis-  Athenian. 
tinguish  between  him  who  is  in  a  trance  only  and  him  who  is 
really  dead,  and  speaking  generally,  the  third  day  after  death 
will  be  a  fair  time  for  carrying  out  the  body  to  the  sepulchre. 
Now  we  must  believe  the  legislator  when  he  tells  us  that  the 
soul  is  in  all  respects  superior  to  the  body,  and  that  even  in 
life  what  makes  each  one  of  us  to  be  what  we  are  is  only  the 
soul ;  and  that  the  body  follows  us  about  in  the  likeness  of  The  body 
each  of  us.  and  therefore,  when  we  are  dead,  the  bodies  of  s^,°^o^ . 
the  dead  are  quite  rightly  said  to  be  our  shades  or  images  ;  for  the  soul  or 
the  true  and  immortal  being  of  each  one  of  us  which  is  called  ^^^^  ''/'"^ 

°  _       goes  to 

the  soul  goes  on  her  way  to  other  Gods before  them  to  give  judgment 

an  account — which  is  an  inspiring  hope  to  the  good,  but  very  ^'^'^  death. 

terrible  to  the  bad,  as  the  laws  of  our  fathers  tell  us;  and  they 

also  say  that  not  much  can  be  done  in  the  way  of  helping 

a  man  after  he  is  dead.    But  the  living — he  should  be  helped  Burials 

by  all  his  kindred,  that  while  in  life  he  may  be  the  holiest  ^1'°"}'^ 

'  ,  simple. 

and  justest  of  men,  and  after  death  may  have  no  great  sins  to  The  living 
be  punished  in  the  world  below.    If  this  be  true,  a  man  ^^^^  ^l?^ 

.  .  help  of 

ought  not  to  waste  his  substance  under  the  idea  that  all  this  kindred 

lifeless  mass  of  flesh  which  is  in  process  of  burial  is  con-  ''^^'^ 

nected  with  him  ;  he  should  consider  that  the  son,  or  brother, 

or  the  beloved  one,  whoever  he  may  be,  whom  he  thinks  he 

is  laying  in  the  earth,  has  gone  away  to  complete  and  fulfil 

his  own  destiny,  and  that  his  duty  is  rightly  to  order  the 

present,  and  to  spend  moderately  on  the  lifeless  altar  of  the 

Gods  below.    But  the  legislator  does  not  intend  moderation 

to  be  taken  in  the  sense  of  meanness  ^.    Let  the  law,  then,  be  The  law  :— 

as  follows: — The  expenditure  on  the  entire  funeral  of  him  The  cost  of 

who  is  of  the  highest  class,  shall  not  exceed  five  minae ;  and 

for  him  who  is  of  the  second  class,  three  minae,  and  for 

him  who  is  of  the  third  class,  two  minae,  and  for  him  who  is 

of  the  fourth  class,  one  mina,  will  be  a  fair  limit  of  expense. 

The  guardians  of  the  law  ought  to  take  especial  care  of  the  The  funeral 

different  ages  of  life,  whether  childhood,  or  manhood,  or  any  ceremonies 

,  All  to  be  super- 

other  age.    And  at  the  end  of  all,  let  there  be  some  one  intended 


guardian  of  the  law  presiding,  who  shall  be  chosen  by  the  tiysome 
friends  of  the  deceased  to  superintend,  and  let  it  be  glory  ^"e^[f\^" 
'  Cp.  Phaedo  63  B.  2  Cp.  supi-a,  iv.  717  E,  719. 


350 


Decorum  at  fimerals. 


Laws  XII. 

Athenian, 
Cleinias. 


Ostenta- 
tious grief 
to  be  re- 
pressed, 
but  some 
allowance 
to  be  made 
for  human 
weakness. 


We  have 
still  to  pro- 
vide for  the 
continu- 
ance of  our 
laws, 


We  want 
some 

power,  like 
Atropos 
among  the 
fates,  to 
make  them 
irreversible. 


to  him  to  manage  with  fairness  and  moderation  what  relates  to 
the  dead,  and  a  discredit  to  him  if  they  are  not  well  managed. 
Let  the  laying  out  and  other  ceremonies  be  in  accordance 
with  custom,  but  to  the  statesman  who  adopts  custom  as  his 
law  we  must  give  way  in  certain  particulars.  It  would  be 
monstrous  for  example  that  he  should  command  any  man  to 
weep  or  abstain  from  weeping  over  the  dead  ;  but  he  may 
forbid  cries  of  lamentation,  and  not  allow  the  voice  of  the 
mourner  to  be  heard  outside  the  house  ;  also,  he  may  forbid  960 
the  bringing  of  the  dead  body  into  the  open  streets,  or  the 
processions  of  mourners  in  the  streets,  and  may  require  that 
before  daybreak  they  should  be  outside  the  city.  Let  these, 
then,  be  our  laws  relating  to  such  matters,  and  let  him  who 
obeys  be  free  from  penalty ;  but  he  who  disobeys  even  a 
single  guardian  of  the  law  shall  be  punished  by  them  all  with 
a  fitting  penalty.  Other  modes  of  burial,  or  again  the  denial 
of  burial,  which  is  to  be  refused  in  the  case  of  robbers  of 
temples  and  parricides  and  the  like,  have  been  devised  and 
are  embodied  in  the  preceding  laws,  so  that  now  our  work  of 
legislation  is  pretty  nearly  at  an  end  ;  but  in  all  cases  the  end 
does  not  consist  in  doing  something  or  acquiring  something 
or  establishing  something, — the  end  will  be  attained  and 
finally  accomplished,  when  we  have  provided  for  the  perfect 
and  lasting  continuance  of  our  institutions  ;  until  then  our 
creation  is  incomplete. 

Cle.  That  is  very  good,  Stranger ;  but  I  wish  you  would 
tell  me  more  clearly  what  you  mean. 

Aih.  O  Cleinias,  many  things  of  old  time  were  well  said 
and  sung ;  and  the  saying  about  the  Fates  was  one  of  them. 

Cle.  What  is  it  ? 

Ath.  The  saying  that  Lachesis  or  the  giver  of  the  lots  is 
the  first  of  them,  and  that  Clotho  or  the  spinster  is  the  second 
of  them,  and  that  Atropos  or  the  unchanging  one  is  the  third 
of  them';  and  that  she  is  the  preserver  of  the  things  which 
we  have  spoken,  and  which  have  been  compared  in  a  figure  to 
things  woven  by  fire,  they  both  (i.  e.  Atropos  and  the  fire) 
producing'^  the  quality  of  unchangeableness.    I  am  speaking 


'  Cp.  Rep.  X.  620  E. 

-  Reading  aTtifyaQaiiivuiv  with  the  MSS.  and  as  in  the  text,  not  as  in  the  notes 
of  Stallbaum.    The  construction  is  harsh  ;  but  iveiKaa-neva  may  be  taken  as  if 


Can  lazvs  be  made  i7'7''eve7'sible  ?  351 

of  the  things  which  in  a  state  and  government  give  not  only  Laws  XII. 
health  and  salvation  to  the  body,  but  law,  or  rather  preserva-  Athenian, 
tion  of  the  law,  in  the  soul ;  and,  if  I  am  not  mistaken,  this  Cleinias, 

/  .        .  '  .  Megillus. 

seems  to  be  still  wanting  in  our  laws :  we  have  still  to  see 
how  we  can  implant  in  them  this  irreversible  nature. 

Cle.  It  will  be  no  small  matter  if  we  can  only  discover  how 
such  a  nature  can  be  implanted  in  anything. 

Ath.  But  it  certainly  can  be ;  so  much  I  clearly  see. 

Cle.  Then  let  us  not  think  of  desisting  until  we  have  im- 
parted this  quality  to  our  laws  ;  for  it  is  ridiculous,  after 
a  great  deal  of  labour  has  been  spent,  to  place  a  thing  at  last 
on  an  insecure  foundation. 

Meg.  I  approve  of  your  suggestion,  and  am  quite  of  the 
same  mind  with  you. 

Cle.  Very  good  :  And  now  what,  according  to  you,  is  to  be 
the  salvation  of  our  government  and  of  our  laws,  and  how  is 
it  to  be  effected  ? 

Ath.  Were  we  not  saying  that  there  must  be  in  our  city  a  The  noc- 
61  council  which  was  to  be  of  this  sort  : — The  ten  oldest  guard-  '"™^Jcoun- 

cil  will  be 

ians  of  the  law,  and  all  those  who  have  obtained  prizes  of  such  a  pre- 
virtue,  were  to  meet  in  the  same  assembly,  and  the  council  s^''^'"? 

'  ,  ,       power  in 

was  also  to  include  those  who  had  visited  foreign  countries  our  state, 
in  the  hope  of  hearing  something  that  might  be  of  use  in  the 
preservation  of  the  laws,  and  who,  having  come  safely  home, 
and  having  been  tested  in  these  same  matters,  had  proved 
themselves  to  be  worthy  to  take  part  in  the  assembly  ; — each 
of  the  m.embers  was  to  select  some  young  man  of  not  less  than 
thirty  years  of  age,  he  himself  judging  in  the  first  instance 
whether  the  young  man  was  worthy  by  nature  and  education, 
and  then  suggesting  him  to  the  others,  and  if  he  seemed  to 
them  also  to  be  worthy  they  were  to  adopt  him ;  but  if  not, 
the  decision  at  which  they  arrived  was  to  be  kept  a  secret  from 
the  citizens  at  large,  and,  more  especially,  from  the  rejected 
candidate.  The  meeting  of  the  council  was  to  be  held  early 
in  the  morning,  when  everybody  was  most  at  leisure  from  all 
other  business,  whether  public  or  private — was  not  something 
of  this  sort  said  by  us  before  ? 
Cle.  True. 


in  apposition  with  the  previous  sentence.  With  rfi  may  be  supplied  Swti/iei, 
and  iwepyaCofifvuv  may  be  regarded  as  a  'genitive  absolute.' 


352 


The  two  chief  saviours  of  living  things. 


Laws  XII.      Ath.  Then,  returning  to  the  council,  I  would  say  further, 
Athenian,     that  if  we  let  it  down  to  be  the  anchor  of  the  state,  our  city, 
Cleinias.      having  everything  which  is  suitable  to  her,  will  preserve  all 
that  we  wish  to  preserve. 
Cle.  What  do  you  mean  ? 

Ath.  Now  is  the  time  for  me  to  speak  the  truth  in  all 
earnestness. 

Cle.  Well  said,  and  I  hope  that  you  will  fulfil  your  intention. 

Ath.  Know,  Cleinias,  that  everything,  in  all  that  it  does,  has 
a  natural  saviour,  as  of  an  animal  the  soul  and  the  head  are 
the  chief  saviours. 

Cle.  Once  more,  what  do  you  mean  ? 

Ath.  The  well-being  of  those  two  is  obviously  the  preserva- 
tion of  every  living  thing. 
Cle.  How  is  that? 
Mind  and       Ath.  The  soul,  besides  other  things,  contains  mind,  and 
fn"^are"he         head,  besides  other  things,  contains  sight  and  hearing ; 
salvation  of  and  the  mind,  mingling  with  the  noblest  of  the  senses,  and 
all  things,    becoming  one  with  them,  may  be  truly  called  the  salvation 
of  all. 

Cle.  Yes,  quite  so. 

Ath.  Yes,  indeed  ;  but  with  what  is  that  intellect  concerned 
which,  mingling  with  the  senses,  is  the  salvation  of  ships  in 
storms  as  well  as  in  fair  weather  ?  In  a  ship,  when  the  pilot 
and  the  sailors  unite  their  perceptions  with  the  piloting  mind, 
do  they  not  save  both  themselves  and  their  craft  ? 

Cle.  Very  true. 

Ath.  We  do  not  want  many  illustrations  about  such 
As  the  matters  : — What  aim  would  the  general  of  an  army,  or 
fhe physi-^  what  aim  would  a  physician  propose  to  himself,  if  he  were 
cian  must    seeking  to  attain  salvation? 

know  the  y 

aim  of  their  °  . 

arts :  Ath.  Does  not  the  general  aim  at  victory  and  superiority  962 

in  war,  and  do  not  the  physician  and  his  assistants  aim  at 

producing  health  in  the  body? 

Cle.  Certainly. 

Ath.  And  a  physician  who  is  ignorant  about  the  body,  that 
is  to  say,  who  knows  not  that  which  we  just  now  called  health, 
or  a  general  who  knows  not  victory,  or  any  others  who  are 
ignorant  of  the  particulars  of  the  arts  which  we  mentioned, 


The  nochirnal  council  the  7nind  of  the  state. 


353- 


cannot  be  said  to  have  understanding  about  any  of  these  Laws  XII. 

matters.  Athenian, 

Cle.  They  cannot.  Cleinias. 

Ath.  And  what  would  you  say  of  the  state  ?    If  a  person  so  too  the 
proves  to  be  ignorant  of  the  aim  to  which  the  statesman 
should  look,  ought  he,  in  the  first  place,  to  be  called  a  ruler  must  know 
at  all :  and  further,  will  he  ever  be  able  to  preserve  that  of      ^™  °^ 

'  '  the  state. 

which  he  does  not  even  know  the  aim  ? 
Cle.  Impossible. 

Ath.  And  therefore,  if  our  settlement  of  the  country  is  to 
be  perfect,  we  ought  to  have  some  institution,  which,  as  I  was 
saying,  will  tell  what  is  the  aim  of  the  state,  and  will  inform 
us  how  we  are  to  attain  this,  and  what  law  or  what  man  will 
advise  us  to  that  end.  Any  state  which  has  no  such  institu- 
tion is  likely  to  be  devoid  of  mind  and  sense,  and  in  all  her 
actions  will  proceed  by  mere  chance. 

Cle.  Very  true. 

Ath,  In  which,  then,  of  the  parts  or  institutions  of  the 
state  is  any  such  guardian  power  to  be  found  ?  Can  we 
say? 

Cle.  I  am  not  quite  certain.  Stranger  ;  but  I  have  a  suspicion 
that  you  are  referring  to  the  assembly  which  you  just  now 
said  was  to  meet  at  night. 

Ath.  You  understand  me  perfectly,  Cleinias ;  and  we  must 
assume,  as  the  argument  implies,  that  this  council  possesses 
all  virtue  ;  and  the  beginning  of  virtue  is  not  to  make  mistakes 
by  guessing  many  things,  but  to  look  steadily  at  one  thing, 
and  on  this  to  fix  all  our  aims. 

Cle.  Quite  true. 

Ath.  Then  now  we  shall  see  why  there  is  nothing  wonderful  which  is 
in  states  going  astray — the  reason  is  that  their  legislators  have  ig°e^e^]"t}, 
such  different  aims  ;  nor  is  there  anything  wonderful  in  some  or  freedom, 
laying  down  as  their  rule  of  justice,  that  certain  individuals 
should  bear  rule  in  the  state,  whether  they  be  good  or  bad, 
and  others  that  the  citizens  should  be  rich,  not  caring  whether 
they  are  the  slaves  of  other  men  or  not.    The  tendency  of 
others,  again,  is  towards  freedom  ;  and  some  legislate  with  a 
view  to  two  things  at  once, — they  want  to  be  at  the  same  time 
free  and  the  lords  of  other  states ;  but  the  wisest  men,  as  they 
deem  themselves  to  be,  look  to  all  these  and  similar  aims, 

VOL.  V.  A  a 


.354 


Mind  the  leader  of  the  virtues. 


Laws  XII.  and  there  is  no  one  of  them  which  they  exclusively  honour, 

Athenian     and  to  which  they  would  have  all  things  look. 

Cllinias.         qi^^  Then,  Stranger,  our  former  assertion  will  hold,  for  we  963 

were  saying  that  laws  generally  should  look  to  one  thing 
but  virtue.    Only;  and  this,  as  we  admitted,  was  rightly  said  to  be 

virtue. 
Ath.  Yes. 

Cle.  And  we  said  that  virtue  was  of  four  kinds  ? 
Ath.  Quite  true. 

Cle.  And  that  mind  was  the  leader  of  the  four,  and  that 
to  her  the  three  other  virtues  and  all  other  things  ought 
to  have  regard  ? 

We  have  Ath.  You  follow  me  capitally,  Cleinias,  and  I  would  ask  you 
endVf'the  ^o^^ow  me  to  the  end,  for  we  have  already  said  that  the 
mind  of  the  mind  of  the  pilot,  the  mind  of  the  physician  and  of  the  general 
general  and         to  that  One  thing  to  which  they  ought  to  look  ;  and  now 

the  physi-  °  J       &  > 

cian ;— but  we  may  turn  to  mind  political,  of  which,  as  of  a  human 
what  IS  the  creature,  we  will  ask  a  question  : — O  wonderful  being,  and  to 

end  of  mind  .      ^  °' 

political?  what  are  you  looking?  The  physician  is  able  to  tell  his 
single  aim  in  life,  but  you,  the  superior,  as  you  declare 
yourself  to  be,  of  all  intelligent  beings,  when  you  are  asked 
are  not  able  to  tell.  Can  you,  Megillus,  and  you,  Cleinias, 
say  distinctly  what  is  the  aim  of  mind  political,  in  return  for 
the  many  explanations  of  things  which  I  have  given  you? 
Cle.  We  cannot.  Stranger. 

Ath.  Well,  but  ought  we  not  to  desire  to  see  it,  and  to  see 
where  it  is  to  be  found  ? 

Cle.  For  example,  where  ? 
The  four        Ath.  For  example,  we  were  saying  that  there  are  four 
disthict^"^^    kinds  of  virtue,  and  as  there  are  four  of  them,  each  of  them 
yet  one.      must  be  One. 

Cle.  Certainly. 

Ath.  And  further,  all  four  of  them  we  call  one ;  for  we 
say  that  courage  is  virtue,  and  that  prudence  is  virtue,  and 
the  same  of  the  two  others,  as  if  they  were  in  realit}'  not 
many  but  one,  that  is,  virtue. 

Cle.  Quite  so. 

It  is  easy  to      Ath.  There  is  no  difficulty  in  seeing  in  what  way  the  two 


see  how 

of  the  rest.    But  there  is  more  difficulty  in  explaining  why 


they  differ  •  differ  from  One  another,  and  have  received  two  names,  and  so 


Distinction  of  virttie  from  particular  virtues. 


355 


we  call  these  two  and  the  rest  of  them  by  the  single  name  of  Laws  XIT. 

virtue.  Athenian. 

Cle.  How  do  you  mean  ?  Cleinus. 
Ath.  I  have  no  difficulty  in  explaining  what  I  mean.  Let 
us  distribute  the  subject  into  questions  and  answers. 
Cle.  Once  more,  what  do  you  mean  ? 

Ath.  Ask  me  what  is  that  one  thing  which  I  call  virtue,  e.g.  how 
and  then  again  speak  of  as  two,  one  part  being  courage  and  ^iffe^f  from 
the  other  wisdom.    I  will  tell  you  how  that  occurs  : — One  of  wisdom.; 
them  has  to  do  with  fear ;  in  this  the  beasts  also  participate  ^, 
and  quite  young  children, — I  mean  courage  ;  for  a  courageous 
temper  is  a  gift  of  nature  and  not  of  reason.    But  without 
reason  there  never  has  been,  or  is,  or  will  be  a  wise  and 
understanding  soul ;  it  is  of  a  different  nature. 

Cle.  That  is  true. 

Ath.  I  have  now  told  you  in  what  way  the  two  are  but  how  are 
964  different,  and  do  you  in  return  tell  me  in  what  way  they  are  o^Y?^ 
one  and  the  same.  Suppose  that  I  ask  you  in  what  way  the 
four  are  one,  and  when  you  have  answered  me,  you  will  have 
a  right  to  ask  of  me  in  return  in  what  way  they  are  four ;  and 
then  let  us  proceed  to  enquire  whether  in  the  case  of  things 
which  have  a  name  and  also  a  definition  to  them,  true 
knowledge  consists  in  knowing  the  name  only  and  not  the 
definition.  Can  he  who  is  good  for  anything  be  ignorant  of 
all  this  without  discredit  where  great  and  glorious  truths  are 
concerned  ? 

Cle.  I  suppose  not. 

Ath.  And  is  there  anything  greater  to  the  legislator  and 
the  guardian  of  the  law,  and  to  him  who  thinks  that  he  excels 
all  other  men  in  virtue,  and  has  won  the  palm  of  excellence, 
than  these  very  qualities  of  which  we  are  now  speaking, — 
courage,  temperance,  wisdom,  justice  ? 

Cle.  How  can  there  be  anything  greater  ? 

Ath.  And  ought  not  the  interpreters,  the  teachers,  the  law-  The  nature 

givers,  the  guardians  of  the  other  citizens,  to  excel  the  rest  of 

mankind,  and  perfectly  to  show  him  who  desires  to  learn  and  taught  by 

know  or  whose  evil  actions  require  to  be  punished  and  'fiwgivers 

1     1      •    1  ^111  guard- 

reproved,  what  IS  the  nature  of  virtue  and  vice  ?    Or  shall  ians,  not  by 

some  poet  who  has  found  his  way  into  the  city,  or  some  the  poets. 

'  Cp.  Laches  196  D. 


356 


Analogy  of  the  rational  being  and  of  the  state. 


Laws  XII. 

Athenian, 
Cleinus. 


Tlie 

younger 
guardians 
are  the  eyes 
of  the  city, 
and  they 
tell  what 
they  have 
seen  to  the 
elders,  who 
are  the 
mind  of  the 
citv. 


The  guard- 
ians should 
have  a 
special 
training, 


chance  person  who  pretends  to  be  an  instructor  of  youth, 
show  himself  to  be  better  than  him  who  has  won  the  prize  for 
every  virtue  ?  And  can  we  wonder  that  when  the  guardians 
are  not  adequate  in  speech  or  action,  and  have  no  adequate 
knowledge  of  virtue,  the  city  being  unguarded  should  ex- 
perience the  common  fate  of  cities  in  our  day? 
Cle.  Wonder !  no. 

Ath.  Well,  then,  must  we  do  as  we  said  ?  Or  can  we  give 
our  guardians  a  more  precise  knowledge  of  virtue  in  speech 
and  action  than  the  many  have  ?  or  is  there  any  way  in 
which  our  city  can  be  made  to  resemble  the  head  and  senses 
of  rational  beings  because  possessing  such  a  guardian  power  ? 

Cle.  What,  Stranger,  is  the  drift  of  your  comparison  ? 

Ath.  Do  we  not  see  that  the  city  is  the  trunk,  and  are  not 
the  younger  guardians,  who  are  chosen  for  their  natural 
gifts,  placed  in  the  head  of  the  state,  having  their  souls  all 
full  of  eyes,  with  which  they  look  about  the  whole  city? 
They  keep  watch  and  hand  over  their  perceptions  to  the 
memory,  and  inform  the  elders  of  all  that  happens  in  the 
city ;  and  those  whom  we  compared  to  the  mind,  because  9 
they  have  many  wise  thoughts — that  is  to  say,  the  old  men — 
take  counsel,  and  making  use  of  the  younger  men  as  their 
ministers,  and  advising  with  them, — in  this  way  both  together 
truly  preserve  the  whole  state  : — Shall  this  or  some  other  be 
the  order  of  our  state  ?  Are  all  our  citizens  to  be  equal  in 
acquirements,  or  shall  there  be  special  persons  among  them 
who  have  received  a  more  careful  training  and  education  ? 

Cle.  That  they  should  be  equal,  my  good  sir,  is  impossible. 

Ath.  Then  we  ought  to  proceed  to  some  more  exact  train- 
ing than  any  which  has  preceded. 

Cle.  Certainly. 

Ath.  And  must  not  that  of  which  we  are  in  need  be  the 
one  to  which  we  were  just  now  alluding? 
Cle.  Very  true. 

Ath.  Did  we  not  say  that  the  workman  or  guardian,  if  he 
be  perfect  in  every  respect,  ought  not  only  to  be  able  to  see 
the  many  aims,  but  he  should  press  onward  to  the  one'? 
this  he  should  know,  and  knowing,  order  all  things  with  a 
view  to  it. 


Cp.  Rep.  vii.  53?  K. 


The  knoiv ledge  of  virtue  essential  to  a  virtziozcs  life. 


357 


Clc.  True.  Lmvs  XII. 

Atli.  And  can  any  one  have  a  more  exact  way  of  consider-  Athenian 
ing  or  contemplating  anything,  than  the  being  able  to  look  at  Cleinias. 
one  idea  gathered  from  many  different  things  ? 

Cle.  Perhaps  not. 

Ath.  Not  '  Perhaps  not,'  but  '  Certainly  not,'  my  good  sir,  is 
the  right  answer.  There  never  has  been  a  truer  method  than 
this  discovered  by  any  man. 

Cle.  I  bow  to  your  authority,  Stranger ;  let  us  proceed  in 
the  way  which  you  propose. 

Ath.  Then,  as  would  appear,  we  must  compel  the  guardians  which  will 
of  our  divine  state  to  perceive,  in  the  first  place,  what  that  to  see  the 
principle  is  which  is  the  same  in  all  the  four — the  same,  as  we  unity  as 
affirm,  in  courage  and  in  temperance,  and  in  justice  and  in  piura^yof 
prudence,  and  which,  being  one,  we  call  as  we  ought,  by  the  virtue, 
single  name  of  virtue.    To  this,  my  friends,  we  will,  if  you 
please,  hold  fast,  and  not  let  go  until  we  have  sufficiently  ex- 
plained what  that  is  to  which  we  are  to  look,  whether  to  be 
regarded  as  one,  or  as  a  whole,  or  as  both,  or  in  whatever 
way.    Are  we  likely  ever  to  be  in  a  virtuous  condition,  if 
we  cannot  tell  whether  virtue  is  many,  or  four,  or  one  ? 
Certainly,  if  we  take  counsel  among  ourselves,  we  shall  in 
some  way  contrive  that  this  principle  has  a  place  amongst  us; 
but  if  you  have  made  up  your  mind  that  we  should  let  the 
matter  alone,  we  will. 

Cle.  We  must  not,  Stranger,  by  the  God  of  strangers  I 
swear  that  we  must  not,  for  in  our  opinion  you  speak  most 
truly ;  but  we  should  like  to  know  how  you  will  accomplish 
your  purpose. 

966  Ath.  Wait  a  little  before  you  ask ;  and  let  us,  first  of  all, 
be  quite  agreed  with  one  another  that  the  purpose  has  to  be 
accomplished. 

Cle.  Certainly,  it  ought  to  be,  if  it  can  be. 

Ath.  Well,  and  about  the  good  and  the  honourable,  are  we  'ind  of  t'^e 
to  take  the  same  view?    Are  our  guardians  only  to  know  honourable, 
that  each  of  them  is  many,  or  also  how  and  in  what  way  they 
are  one  ? 

Cle.  They  must  consider  also  in  what  sense  they  are  one. 
Ath.  And  are  they  to  consider  only,  and  to  be  unable  to  set 
forth  what  they  think  ? 


358 


The  trtLe  knowledge  of  the  Gods. 


Laws  XII. 
Athenian, 

Ci.EINlAS. 


They  must 
also  know 
about  tlie 
Gods. 


Two  argu- 
ments for 
tlie  exist- 
ence of 
Gods  :— 

(1)  the  pri- 
ority of  the 
soul  ; 

(2)  the  order 
of  the  uni- 
verse. 

Astronomy 
need  not 
tend  to 
Atheism, 
as  the  many 
think. 


Cle.  Certainly  not ;  that  would  be  the  state  of  a  slave. 

Ath.  And  may  not  the  same  be  said  of  all  good  things— that 
the  true  guardians  of  the  laws  ought  to  know  the  truth  about 
them,  and  to  be  able  to  interpret  them  in  words,  and  carry 
them  out  in  action,  judging  of  what  is  and  of  what  is  not 
well,  according  to  nature  ? 

Cle.  Certainly. 

Ath.  Is  not  the  knowledge  of  the  Gods  which  we  have  set 
forth  with  so  much  zeal  one  of  the  noblest  sorts  of  know- 
ledge ; — to  know  that  the}'  are,  and  know  how  great  is  their 
power,  as  far  as  in  man  lies?  We  do  indeed  excuse  the 
mass  of  the  citizens,  who  only  follow  the  voice  of  the  laws, 
but  we  refuse  to  admit  as  guardians  any  who  do  not  labour 
to  obtain  every  possible  evidence  that  there  is  respecting  the 
Gods  ;  our  city  is  forbidden  and  not  allowed  to  choose  as  a 
guardian  of  the  law,  or  to  place  in  the  select  order  of  virtue, 
him  who  is  not  an  inspired  man,  and  has  not  laboured  at 
these  things. 

Cle.  It  is  certainly  just,  as  3'ou  say,  that  he  who  is  indolent 
about  such  matters  or  incapable  should  be  rejected,  and  that 
things  honourable  should  be  put  away  from  him, 

Ath.  Are  we  assured  that  there  are  two  things  which  lead 
men  to  believe  in  the  Gods,  as  we  have  already  stated  ? 

Cle.  What  are  they  ? 

Ath.  One  is  tl-ie  argument  about  the  soul,  which  has  been 
already  mentioned — that  it  is  the  eldest  and  most  divine  of  all 
things,  to  which  motion  attaining  generation  gives  perpetual 
existence  ^ ;  the  other  was  an  argument  from  the  order  of  the 
motion  of  the  stars,  and  of  all  things  under  the  dominion  of 
the  mind  which  ordered  the  universe  ^  If  a  man  look  upon 
the  world  not  lightly  or  ignorantly,  there  was  never  any  one 
so  godless  who  did  not  experience  an  effect  opposite  to  that 
which  the  many  imagine.  For  they  think  that  those  who  967 
handle  these  matters  by  the  help  of  astronomy,  and  the 
accompanying  arts  of  demonstration,  may  become  godless, 
because  they  see,  as  far  as  they  can  see,  things  happening  b)' 
necessity,  and  not  by  an  intelligent  will  accomplishing  good. 

Cle.  But  what  is  the  fact  ? 

Ath.  Just  the  opposite,  as  I  said,  of  the  opinion  which  once 
'  Cp.  supra,  X.  893  A.  '  Cp.  ih.  896  C. 


The  soul  the  ruler  of  bodies  and  the  eldest  of  all. 


359 


prevailed  among  men,  that  the  sun  and  stars  are  without  sou).  Laws  XII 

Even  in  those  days  men  wondered  about  them,  and  that  which  Athenian 

is  now  ascertained  was  then  conjectured  by  some  who  had  a  Cleinias. 

more  exact  knowledge  of  them — that  if  they  had  been  things  Long  ago 

without  soul,  and  had  no  mind,  they  could  never  have  moved  pected  that 

with  numerical  exactness  so  wonderful;  and  even  at  that  time  mind  was 

some  ventured  to  hazard  the  conjecture  that  mind  was  the  o'rthe'^^'^^'^ 

orderer  of  the  universe.     But  these  same  persons  again  mis-  heavens, 

taking  the  nature  of  the  soul,  which  they  conceived  to  be  But  man- 

°  1111  v~vn.Q.  went 

younger  and  not  older  than  the  body,  once  more  overturned  wrong  by 

the  world,  or  rather,  I  should  say,  themselves  :  for  the  bodies  putting 

1  .  1     1  .       -1  11  J  ,     1-     r  1,     r  bodybefore 

which  they  saw  movmg  in  heaven  all  appeared  to  be  lull  oi  mind, 
stones,  and  earth,  and  many  other  lifeless  substances,  and  to 
these  they  assigned  the  causes  of  all  things.  Such  studies 
gave  rise  to  much  atheism  and  perplexity,  and  the  poets  took 
occasion  to  be  abusive, — comparing  the  philosophers  to  she- 
dogs  uttering  vain  bowlings,  and  talking  other  nonsense  of 
the  same  sort.  But  now,  as  I  said,  the  case  is  reversed  '. ' 
Cle.  How  so  ? 

Ath.  No  man  can  be  a  true  worshipper  of  the  Gods  who  The  true 

does  not  know  these  two  principles — that  the  soul  is  the  ^ave™"^' 

eldest  of  all  things  which  are  born,  and  is  immortal  and  rules  grasped 

over  all  bodies  ;  moreover,  as  I  have  now  said  several  times,  '"""^  pnnci- 

'  .  .       .  pies,  and 

he  who  has  not  contemplated  the  mind  of  nature  which  is  have  gone 

said  to  exist  in  the  stars,  and  gone  through  the  previous  through  the 

training,  and  seen  the  connexion  of  music  with  ftiese  things,  training 

and  harmonized  them  all  with  laws  and  institutions,  is  not  and  seen 

able  to  give  a  reason  of  such  things  as  have  a  reason  ^.    And  nexion"" 

968  he  who  is  unable  to  acquire  this  in  addition  to  the  ordinary  of  the 
virtues  of  a  citizen,  can  hardly  be  a  good  ruler  of  a  whole 
state ;  but  he  should  be  the  subordinate  of  other  rulers. 

Wherefore,  Cleinias  and  Megillus,  let  us  consider  whether  The  noc- 

we  may  not  add  to  all  the  other  laws  which  we  have  discussed  turnalcoun- 

_  cil  the  guard 

this  further  one, — that  the  nocturnal  assembly  of  the  magis-  of  the  state, 
trates,  which  has  also  shared  in  the  whole  scheme  of  educa- 
tion proposed  by  us,  shall  be  a  guard  set  according  to  law  for 
the  salvation  of  the  state.    Shall  we  propose  this  ? 

Cle.  Certainly,  my  good  friend,  we  will  if  the  thing  is  in 
any  degree  possible. 

'  Cp.  Rep.  X.  607.  2  Cp.  Rep.  vii.  531  foil. 


360         When  the  nocturnal  cotmcil  has  been  established, 


Laws  XII. 

Athenian, 
Cleinias. 


We  can 
proceed  no 
further  in 
determining 
either  the 
powers  of 
the  council. 


or  the 
qualifica- 
tions and 
education 
of  the 
guardians. 


We  must 
stake  every- 
thing on  the 
successful 
establish- 
ment of  the 
council. 
To  its  care 
we  will  then 
hand  over 
the  new 
city, 


Ath.  Let  us  make  a  common  effort  to  gain  such  an  object ; 
for  I  too  will  gladly  share  in  the  attempt.  Of  these  matters 
I  have  had  much  experience,  and  have  often  considered  them, 
and  I  dare  say  that  I  shall  be  able  to  find  others  who  will 
also  help. 

Cle.  I  agree,  Stranger,  that  we  should  proceed  along  the 
road  in  which  God  is  guiding  us ;  and  how  we  can  proceed 
rightly  has  now  to  be  investigated  and  explained. 

Ath.  O  Megillus  and  Cleinias,  about  these  matters  we 
cannot  legislate  further  until  the  council  is  constituted  ;  when 
that  is  done,  then  we  will  determine  what  authority  they 
shall  have  of  their  own ;  but  the  explanation  of  how  this 
is  all  to  be  ordered  would  only  be  given  rightly  in  a  long 
discourse. 

Clc.  What  do  you  mean,  and  what  new  thing  is  this  ? 

Ath.  In  the  first  place,  a  list  would  have  to  be  made  out  of 
those  who  by  their  ages  and  studies  and  dispositions  and 
habits  are  well  fitted  for  the  duty  of  a  guardian.  In  the  next 
place,  it  will  not  be  easy  for  them  to  discover  themselves  what 
they  ought  to  learn,  or  become  the  disciple  of  one  who  has 
already  made  the  discovery.  Furthermore,  to  write  down 
the  times  at  which,  and  during  which,  they  ought  to  receive 
the  several  kinds  of  instruction,  would  be  a  vain  thing ;  for 
the  learners  themselves  do  not  know  what  is  learned  to  ad- 
vantage until  the  knowledge  which  is  the  result  of  learning 
has  found  a"  place  in  the  soul  of  each.  And  so  these  details, 
although  they  could  not  be  truly  said  to  be  secret,  might  be 
said  to  be  incapable  of  being  stated  beforehand,  because  when 
stated  they  would  have  no  meaning. 

Cle.  What  then  are  we  to  do,  Stranger,  under  these  cir- 
cumstances ? 

Ath.  As  the  proverb  says,  the  answer  is  no  secret,  but 
open  to  all  of  us  : — We  must  risk  the  whole  on  the  chance 
of  throwing,  as  they  say,  thrice  six  or  thrice  ace,  and  I  am  9 
willing  to  share  with  you  the  danger  by  stating  and  explaining 
to  you  my  views  about  education  and  nurture,  which  is  the 
question  coming  to  the  surface  again.  The  danger  is  not  a 
slight  or  ordinary  one,  and  I  would  advise  you,  Cleinias,  in 
particular,  to  see  to  the  matter ;  for  if  you  order  rightly  the 
city  of  the  Magnetes,  or  whatever  name  God  may  give  it,  you 


the  city  shall  be  entrusted  to  it. 


Cleinias, 
Megillus. 

and  so  our 


reality. 


will  obtain  the  greatest  glory;  or  at  any  rate  you  will  be  Laius  XII. 
thought  the  most  courageous  of  men  in  the  estimation  of  poS-  Athenian, 
terity.    Dear  companions,  if  this  our  divine  assembly  can 
only  be  established,  to  them  we  will  hand  over  the  city ;  none 
of  the  present  company  of  legislators,  as  I  may  call  them,  dream  wm 
would  hesitate  about  that.    And  the  state  will  be  perfected  become  a 
and  become  a  w^aking  reality,  which  a  little  while  ago  we 
attempted  to  create  as  a  dream  ^  and  in  idea  only,  mingling 
together  reason  and  mind  in  one  image,  in  the  hope  that  our 
citizens  might  be  duly  mingled  and  rightly  educated ;  and 
being  educated,  and  dwelling  in  the  citadel  of  the  land,  might 
become  perfect  guardians,  such  as  we  have  never  seen  in  all 
our  previous  life,  by  reason  of  the  saving  virtue  which  is  in 
them. 

Meg.  Dear  Cleinias,  after  all  that  has  been  said,  either  we  The 
must  detain  the  Stranger,  and  by  supplications  and  in  all 

,      ,  .        ,  .  must  give 

manner  of  ways  make  him  share  in  the  foundation  of  the  his  help, 
city,  or  we  must  give  up  the  undertaking. 

Cle.  Very  true,  Megillus  ;  and  you  must  join  with  me  in 
detaining  him. 

Meg.  I  will. 

^  Cp.  Rep.  ix.  592. 


Athenian 


INDEX. 


The  following  Index  refers  to  the  pages  of  Stephens,  which  are  given  in 
the  margin  of  the  translation.  The  page  of  Stephens  is  divided  into  five  parts 
by  the  letters  A,  B,  C,  D,  E,  which  are  retained  in  the  Index,  though  they  are 
not  given  in  the  margin.  Thus  the  letter  A  signifies  the  first  portion  of  the 
page,  the  letter  B  the  second,  and  so  on. 

The  order  in  which  the  dialogues  are  arranged  in  the  translation  is  as 
follows : — 

VOL.  I. 

Charmides,  .  .  pages  9-38. 
Lysis,        ...  „  49-75- 

Laches,     ...  „    85-111.  „        ii.  178. 

Protagoras,     .       .  ,,    129-187.  „        i.  309. 

EuTHYDEMUS,     .       .  „    205  249.  „        i.  271. 

Cratylus,  ...         „    333-389-  ).  383- 

Phaedrus,  .  „    431-489.  „       iii.  227. 

Ion   „    497-511-  »  i-53o- 

Symposium,       .       .         ,,    541-594-  „  172- 


Meno, 
euthyphro 
Apology, 
Crito, 
Phaedo, 

GORGIAS, 


Lesser  Hippias, 

Al.CIBIADES  I., 

Menexenus, 


Alcibiades  II., 
Eryxias,  . 


Republic, 

TiMAEUS, 

Critias, 


Parmenides, 
theaetetu8, 
Sophist, 
Statesman, 
Philebus,  . 


Laws, 


VOL.  II. 

.,  27-63- 

„  75-93- 

»  109-135- 

„  143-136. 

„  195-266. 

,.  325-421. 

APPENDIX  I. 

..  439-456- 
„  463-509- 
„  517-533- 

APPENDIX  II. 

539-554- 
.,  559-576. 

VOL.  III. 

1-338. 
„  437-515- 
„  527-543- 

VOL.  IV. 
„  45-106. 
„  193-280. 
„  339-407- 
,,  451-518- 

575-645- 

VOL.  V. 
„  1-361. 


Stephens,  ii.  153. 
„        ii.  203. 


H.  70, 

i.  2 
i.  17 
i-  43 
'-  57 
447 

'•  363- 
ii.  103. 
it-  234. 

ii.  138. 

iii.  392. 


11.  327. 
iii.  17. 
iii.  106. 


iii.  126. 
i.  142. 
i.  ai6. 

ii-  257- 
ii.  II. 


634. 


INDEX. 


A. 

Abaris,  the  Hyperborean,  his 
charms,  Charm.  158  B. 

Abdera,  Protagoras  of,  Protag.  309 
C  ;  Rep.  10.  600  C. 

Abolition  of  debts,  proposed  by 
ancient  legislators.  Laws  5.  736 
C  (cp.  3.  684  D). 

Abortion,  allowed  in  certain  cases, 
Rep.  5.  461  C  ;  practised  by  mid- 
wives,  Theaet.  149  D. 

Above  and  below,  Tim.  62  D. 

Absolute  and  relative,  Phil.  53  E  ; 
the  absolute  unknown,  Parm.  133, 
134  : — absolute  beauty,  Euthyd. 
301  A ;  Crat.  439  C  ;  Phaedr. 
249  E,  254  A  ;  Symp.  211;  Rep. 
5.  476,  479  ;  6.  494  A,  SOI  B,  507 
B  (cp.  Laws  2.  655  C)  : — abso- 
lute equality,  Phaedo  74,  75  ; 
Parm.  131  D  : — absolute  essence, 
Phaedo  65  ;  Parm.  135  A: — ab- 
solute existence,  Phaedr.  248  ;  i 
Alcib.  130  : — absolute  greatness 
and  smallness,  Parm.  131  D,  132 
B,  150: — absolute  good,  Rep.  6. 
507  B;  7.  540A: — absolute  justice, 
ib.  5.  479  E  ;  6.  501  B  ;  7.  517 
E  : — absoluteknowledge,  Phaedr. 
248  ;  possessed  by  God,  Parm. 
134: — absolute  hke  and  unlike, 
lb.  129  B  : — absolute  same  and 
other,  ib.  146  D  : — absolute  swift- 
ness and  slowness,  Rep.  7.  529 
D  :— absolute  temperance,  ib.  6. 
501  B  : — absolute  truth,  Phil.  58 
D  : — absolute  unity.  Rep.  7.  524 


E,  525  E  ;  Soph.  245  A : — the  ab- 
solute and  the  many.  Rep.  6.  507. 
Absolute  power  dangerous  to  the 
possessor,  Laws  3.691  ;  4.  711  E, 
713  D,  716  A;  9.  875  B  ;  i  Alcib. 
135. 

Abstract  ideas,  origin  of,  Phaedo 
74 ;  Rep.  7.  523  ; — abstract  and 
concrete  in  opposition,  Phaedo 
103.    See  Ideas. 

Abuse,  law  about.  Laws  11.  935. 

Academy,  The,  at  Athens,  Lysis 
203  A. 

Acarnanians,  the  two,  Euthyd. 
271  C. 

Accents,  change  of,  Crat.  399  B. 

Accident,  the  real  legislator.  Laws 
4.  709  A  : — accident  and  essence. 
Lysis  217;  Rep.  5.  454;  Soph. 
247. 

Acesimbrotus,  a  physician's  name, 

Crat.  394  C. 
Achaeans,  Rep.  3.  389  E,  390  E, 

393  A,  D,  394  A  ;  Laws  3.  682 

D,  E,  685  E,  706  D,  E  ;  I  Alcib. 

112  B. 

Achaemenes,  i  Alcib.  120  E. 
Acharnian,  Callicles  the,  Gorg.  495 
D. 

Achelous,  Phaedr.  230  B,  263  D. 

Acheron,  Phaedo  112  E,  113  D. 

Acherusian  lake,  Phaedo  113  A,  B, 
C,  114  A. 

Achilles,  attacks  Scamander,  Pro- 
tag.  340  A  ;  his  speech  to  Ajax 
(II.  9.  644),  Crat.  428  C  ;  fights 
with  Hector,  Ion  535  B  ;  sent  by 
the  Gods  to  the  Islands  of  the 


366 


Index. 


Blest,  Symp.  179  E,  180  A,  B  ; 
erroneously  called  by  Aeschylus 
the  lover  of  Patroclus,  ib.  179  E  ; 
dies  for  Patroclus,  ib.  208  D  ; 
Brasidas  compared  to,  ib.  221  D  ; 
the  son  of  Peleus  and  Thetis, 
Apol.  28  C  ;  Rep.  3.  391  C  ;  Hipp. 
Min.  371  D ;  his  grief,  Rep.  3. 
388  A  ;  his  avarice,  cruelty,  and 
insolence,  ib.  390  E,  391  A,  B  ; 
his  master  Phoenix,  ib.  390  E  ; 
•better  than  Odysseus,  Hipp.  Min. 
363  B,  364  B,  C,  D,  365  B, 
369  B,  C,  371  D  ;  taught  by 
Cheiron,  ib.  371  D. 

Acid,  vegetable  (on-oy),  Tim.  60  B. 

Acquaintance,  importance  of  friend- 
ship and,  Laws  6.  771  E. 

Acropolis,  the,  Euthyph.  6  B ; 
Eryx.  398  E  ; — in  ancient  Athens, 
Crit.  112  A  ;  in  Atlantis,  ib.  115 
D  foil. ;  of  the  Model  City,  Laws 
5.  745  (cp.  6.  778  C). 

Act,  the,  distinguished  from  the 
state,  Euthyph.  10. 

Actions,  a  class  of  being,  Crat.  386 
E  ;  not  good  or  bad  in  them- 
selves, Symp.  181  A  ;  voluntary 
and  involuntary.  Laws  9.  860  ; 
Hipp.  Min.  373,  374 ;  kinds  of. 
Laws  9.  864 ;  have  life,  ib.  lo. 
904  A. 

Active  and  passive  states.  Laws  9. 
859  E  ;  10.  903  B. 

Active  life,  age  for,  Rep.  7.  539,  540. 

Actors  cannot  perform  both  tragic 
and  comic  parts,  Rep.  3.  395  A. 

Acumenus,  father  of  Eryximachus, 
Protag.  315  C  ;  Phaedr.  268  A  ; 
Symp.  176  B ;  a  physician, 
Phaedr.  227  A,  269  A  ;  a  com- 
panion of  Socrates,  ib.  227  A. 

Acusilaus,  the  poet,  Symp.  178  C. 

Adamant,  Tim.  59  B. 

Adeimantus,  son  of  Ariston, 
brother  of  Plato,  Apol.  34  A;— 
a  person  in  the  dialogue  Repub- 
lic, Rep.  I.  327  C  ;  his  genius, 
ib.  2.  368  A ;  distinguished  at 
the  battle  of  Megara,^^5^■^/. ;  takes 


up  the  discourse,  ib.  362  D,  368  E, 
376  D;  4.419  A;  6.  487  A;  8.  548 
E;  urges  Socrates  to  speak  in 
detail  about  the  community  of 
women  and  children,  ib.  5.  449 ; 
— a  person  in  the  dialogue  Par- 
menides,  Parm.  126  A. 

Adeimantus,  son  of  Cepis,  present 
at  the  Protagoras,  Protag.  315  E. 

Adeimantus,  son  of  Leucolophides, 
present  at  the  Protagoras,  Protag. 
31S  E. 

Admetus,  Symp.  179  B,  208  D. 
Admonition,  the  traditional  mode  of 

education.  Soph.  230  A  ;  Laws  5. 

729  B. 

Adonis,  the  gardens  of,  Phaedr. 
276  B. 

Adoption,  Laws  9.  877,  S78  ;  1 1. 923 

C,  E,  929  C. 
Adrasteia  (Destiny),  her  ordinance, 

Phaedr.  248  C  ;  prayed  to.  Rep. 

S.451A. 
Adrastus,  the  '  mellifluous,'  Phaedr. 

269  A. 

Adulteration,  Laws  I1.916  D  ;  pun- 
ishment of,  ib.  giy. 

Adultery,  Rep.  5.  461  A ;  Laws  6. 
784  E  ;  8.  841  E  ;  Eryx.  396  E. 

Advocates,  law  respecting.  Laws 
II.  937  E. 

Aeacus,  a  judge  in  Hades,  Apol. 
41  A  ;  Gorg.  523  E,  524  A,  526 
C,  E  ;  son  of  the  nymph  Aegina, 
Gorg.  526  E  ;  dwelt  in  the  island 
of  Aegina,  1  Alcib.  121  B. 

Aeantodorus,  brother  of  Apollo- 
dorus,  Apol.  34  A. 

Aegina,  Phaedo  59  D  ;  the  habita- 
tion of  Aeacus,  i  Alcib.  121  B  ; 
two  obols  required  for  the 
passage  from  Aegina  to  Athens, 
Gorg.  511;  'the  belated  traveller 
in  Aegina,'  Crat.  433  A: — Aegine- 
tan  colonists  in  Crete,  Laws  4. 
707  E. 

Aegina,  the  nymph,    mother  of 

Aeacus,  Gorg.  526  E. 
Aeneas,  his  horses  (II.  5.  223  ;  8. 

108),  Laches  191  B. 


Index. 


367 


Aeschines,  son  of  Lysanias,  Apol. 
33  E  ;  was  present  at  the  death 
of  Socrates,  Phaedo  59  B. 

Aeschylus,  his  false  statement  con- 
cerning Achilles,  Symp.  180  A. 
Quoted : — 

~S.  c.  T.I,  Euthyd.  291  D  ; 

„      451,  Rep.  8.  550  C  ; 

„       592,  ib.  2.  361  B,  E  ; 

»       593)  ib.  362  A  ; 
Niobe,  fr.  146,  ib.  3.  391  E  ; 

„      fr.  151,  ib.  380  A  ; 
Telephus,    fr.    222,  Phaedo 

108  A  ; 

Xanthians,  fr.    159,  Rep.  2. 
3£i  D  ; 

Fab.  incert.  266,  Rep.  3.  383  B  ; 
„     326,  ib.  8.  563  C. 

Aesculapius,  see  Asclepius. 

Aesop,  his  fables,  Phaedo  60  C,  D, 
61  B,  C  ;  his  fable  of  the  fox  and 
the  lion  (fab.  137),  i  Alcib.  123  A. 

Aexone,  an  Attic  deme.  Demo- 
crates  of,  Lysis  204  E ;  Laches 
of,  Laches  197  C. 

Affidavits,  Theaet.  172  E. 

Affinity,  degrees  of,  within  which 
marriage  is  prohibited.  Rep.  5. 
461  C. 

Affirmation  and  denial.  Soph.  264  A. 

Agamemnon,  meaning  of  the  name, 
Crat.  395  A,  B  ;  excellence  of, 
Symp.  174  C  ;  his  dream.  Rep.  2. 
383  A ;  his  gifts  to  Achilles,  ib. 
3.  390  E ;  his  anger  against 
Chryses,  ib.  392  E  foil. ;  reproved 
in  the  tragedies  by  Palamedes, 
ib.  7.  522  D  ;  his  soul  became  an 
eagle,  ib.  10.  620  B  ;  abused  by 
Odysseus,  Laws  4.  706  D  ;  Aga- 
memnon and  Achilles,  Hipp.  Min. 
370  C. 

Agathocles,  the  teacher  of  Damon, 
Laches  180  D  ;  a  great  Sophist, 
Protag.  316  E. 

Agathon,  the  beloved  of  Pausanias, 
Protag.  315  E;  absent  from 
Athens,  Symp.  172  C  ;  his  first 
victory,  ib.  173  A,  174  A;  his 
wisdom, 175  E;  his  courage 


in  the  theatre,  ib.  194  A ;  his 
speech,  ib.  E  foil. ;  Agathon  and 
Alcibiades,  ib.  212  D  foil. 

Age,  authority  of,  Laws  3.  690  A  ;  9. 
879  C  ;  II.  917  A  {see  Old)  : — age 
for  active  life,  Rep.  7.  539 : — for 
going  abroad.  Laws  12.  950  D  : 
— for  marriage.  Rep.  5.  460 ; 
Laws  4.  721  ;  6.  772  E,  774, 
785  : — for  office.  Laws  6.  785  ; 
guardians,  ib.  755  A;  leaders 
of  choruses,  ib.  765  A  ;  minister 
of  education,  ib.  D ;  priests, 
priestesses,  and  interpreters,  ib. 
759  : — for  philosophy.  Rep.  7. 
S39  : — for  military  service.  Laws 
6.  753  B,  760  B,  785. 

Agent,  the,  responsible  for  a  fraudu- 
lent sale,  Laws  12.  954  A. 

Agent  and  patient  have  the  same 
qualities,  Gorg.  476  ;  Rep.  4.  437 ; 
Phil.  26  E  :  agent  and  patient  in 
respect  of  sensation,  Theaet.  157 
A,  159,  182: — agent  and  cause 
identical,  Phil.  27  A. 

Agis,  a  general's  name,  Crat.  394 
C  : — the  son  of  Archidamus,  i 
Alcib.  124  A. 

Aglaon,  father  of  Leontius,  Rep.  4. 
439  E. 

Aglaophon,  a  painter,  father  of  Aris- 
tophon,  Gorg.  448  B  ;  of  Poly- 
gnotus.  Ion  532  E. 

Agora,  (of  Athens)  Eryx.  400  C  : — 
(in  the  Model  City),  Laws  6.  778 
C  ;  8.  849;  II.  917  ;  Wardens  of 
the  Agora,  ib.  6.  759  A.  See 
Wardens. 

Agra  (Artemis),  Phaedr.  229  C. 

Agrarian  legislation,  difficulty  of, 
Laws  3.  684  D  (cp.  5.  736  D). 

Agreement,  breach  of,  Laws  1 1 . 920. 

Agriculture,  tools  required  for.  Rep. 
2.  370  C  ;  wild  trees,  etc.  older 
than  cultivated,  Tim.  77  A ; — 
one  of  the  productive  arts,  Soph. 
219B;  allowed  in  the  Model  State, 
Laws  5.  743  D  (cp.  12.949  E)  ; 
among  the  nobler  arts,  ib.  10.  889 
D  : — laws  concerning  (cp.  Model 


368 


Index. 


City) ;  about  boundaries,  ib.  8. 
842  E ;  about  neighbours,  ib. 
843 ;  about  trespass  of  cattle, 
ibid. ;  about  swarms  of  bees, 
ibia. ;  about  damage  by  fire,  ibid. ; 
about  distances  in  planting,  ibid.  ; 
about  watering,  844  ;  about 
injury  by  flood  water,  ibid. ; 
about  tasting  fruits,  ib.  foil. ;  about 
pollution  of  water,  ib.  845  C  ; 
about  harvesting,  ib.  846  A. 

Aim,  the,  of  life,  the  acquisition  of 
virtue.  Laws  6.  770. 

Air,  Tim.  32,  49,  53 ;  form  of,  ib. 
56 ;  kinds  of,  ib.  58  D  : — air- 
passages,  ib.  78. 

Ajax,  the  son  of  Telamon,  ad- 
dressed by  .A.chilles  (11.  9.  644), 
Crat.  428  C  ;  not  to  be  wounded 
by  steel,  Symp.  219  E  ;  Socrates 
hopes  to  converse  with,  in  Hades, 
Apol.  41  A  ;  the  reward  of  his 
bravery.  Rep.  5.  468  D  ;  his  soul 
turns  into  a  lion,  ib.  10.  620  B  ; 
Ajax  and  Odysseus,  Hipp.  Min. 
371- 

Alcestis,  her  love  for  Admetus, 
Symp.  179  B,  D,  iSo  B,  208 
D. 

Alcetas,  brother  of  Perdiccas,  Gorg. 
471  A. 

Alcibiadcs  (a  person  in  the  Dia- 
logues, I  Alcibiades,  2  Alci- 
biadcs, Protagoras,  and  Sym- 
posiuDt),  son  of  Cleinias  and  Di- 
nomach^,  Protag.  309  C  ;  Gorg. 
481  D;  I  Alcib.  103,  105  D, 
113  B  ;  brother  of  Cleinias,  Pro- 
tag.  320  A  ;  grandfather  of  the 
younger  Cleinias,  Euthyd.  275  B  ; 
father  of  Axiochus,  ib.  A: — a 
descendant  of  Eurysaces,  i  Alcib. 

121  A  ;  his  attendant  Zopyrus,  ib. 

122  B:— Pericles  his  guardian, 
ib.  104  A,  118  C;  2  Alcib. 
144  A: — his  beauty,  Protag. 
309  A,  316  A  ;  I  Alcib.  104  A  ;  his 
pride,  1  Alcib.  103  ;  his  ambition, 
ib.  105 ;  2  Alcib.  141  ;  would 
not   learn    the   flute,    1  Alcib. 


106  E  ;  his  property,  ib.  123 
C  : — Alcibiades  and  Socrates, 
Protag.  309  A  ;  Symp.  213  B ; 
Gorg.  481  D  ;  i  Alcib.  103,  131 
E,  135  E;  2  Alcib.  150,  151  :— 
takes  Socrates'  side  against 
Protagoras,  Protag.  336  C,  348 
B  ;  a  lover  of  opposition,  ib.  336 
E  ;  checks  Hippias,  ib.  347  B  : — 
his  drunken  entry  into  Agathon's 
house,  Symp.  212  C;  his  praise 
of  Socrates,  ib.  215  A  foil. ;  with 
Socrates  at  Delium,  ib. 220  E  foil.; 
at  Potidaea,  ib.  A,  221  A. 
Alcibiades,  the  younger,  Euthyd. 
275  B. 

Alcinous,  '  tales  of,'  Rep.  10.  614  B. 
Alcmaeon,  2  Alcib.  143  D. 
Aleuadae,  Meno  70  B. 
Alexander,  son  of  Alcetas,  Gorg. 
471  B. 

Alexidemus,  father  of  Meno,  Meno 
76  E. 

Aliens,  chosen  to  be  generals  at 

Athens,  Ion  541.  Aliens. 
'  All' or  '  one,'  Soph.  244,  245;  all 

in  the  singular  and  in  the  plural, 

Theaet.  204. 
Allegory,  cannot  be  understood  by 

the  young,  Rep.  2.  378  E. 
Allotments  (in  the  Model  City), 

Laws  5.  745  ;  always  to  remain 

the  same,  ib.  9.  855  A,  856  D. 
Alopec^  ('Foxmoor'  ),  the  deme  of 

Socrates,  Gorg.  495  D. 
Alphabet,  Phil.  17>  18  ;  invented  by 

Theuth,  Phaedr.  274  C;  Phil. 

18   B  :  —  alphabet  of  things, 

Statesm.  278  C.    See  Letters. 
Alternation,  a  condition  of  existence, 

Phaedo  72. 
Amasis,  king  of  Egypt,  Tim.  21  E. 
Amazons,  famous  as  archers,  Laws 

7.  806  A  ;  their  invasion  of  Attica, 

Menex.  239  B. 
Ambassadors,    laws  concerning. 

Laws  12.  941  A. 
Amber,  attraction  of,  Tim.  80  C. 
Ambition,  is  of  immortality,  Symp. 

208  ;  disgraceful,  Rep.  i .  347  ! 


Index. 


369 


characteristic  of  the  timocratic 
state  and  man,  ib.  8.  545,  548, 
550  B,  553  E;  assigned  to  the 
passionate  element  of  the  soul,  ib. 
550  B ;  9.  581  A  ;  easily  passes 
into  avarice,  ib.  553  E ;  a  cause 
of  murder,  Laws  9.  870: — ambi- 
tious life,  inferior  to  the  philo- 
sophical, Phaedr.  256  (cp.  Tim. 
90)  \ — -ambitious  men.  Rep.  5. 
475  A  ;  6.  485  B  ; — ambitious 
temper  of  the  Lacedaemonians, 
I  Alcib.  122  D  (cp.  Rep.  8.  545  A, 
548  C). 

Ambrosia,  the  food  of  the  horses  of 

the  Gods,  Phaedr.  247  E. 
Ameles,  the  river  (= Lethe),  Rep. 

10.  621  A,  C. 

Amestris,  the  wife  of  Xerxes,  i  Alcib. 
123  C. 

Ammon,  a  god  in  Egypt,  Phaedr. 

274  D  ;  the  oracle  of,  ib.  275  C  ; 

Laws  5.  738  C  ;  2  Alcib.  148,  149  ; 

— '  by  Ammon,'  the  oath  of  Theo- 

dorus,  Statesm.  257  B. 
Ampheres,  a  son  of  Poseidon,  Crit. 

114  B. 

Amphion  in  the  play  of  Euripides, 
Gorg.  485  E,  489  E,  506  B  ;  in- 
vented the  lyre,  Laws  3.  677  D. 

Amphipolis,  Socrates  at,  Apol.  28  E. 

Amphitryon,  Theaet.  175  A. 

Amusement,  a  means  of  education. 
Rep.  4. 425  A;  7.  537  A;  defined. 
Laws  2.  667 ;  comparative  value 
of,  ib.  658  : — arts  of  amusement, 
Statesm.  288:  —  amusements  of 
children  not  to  be  changed,  Laws 
7-797- 

Amycus,  a  boxer.  Laws  7.  796. 
Amynander,  a  tribesman  of  Critias, 

Tim.  21  C. 
Amyntor,  father  of  Phoenix,  Laws 

11.  931  B. 

Anacharsis  the  Scythian,  his  inven- 
tions, Rep.  ID.  600  A. 

Anacreon,  his  verses  in  honour  of 
the  house  of  Critias,  Charm.  157 
E  ;  'the  wise,'  Phaedr.  235  C. 

Analogy,  argument  from,  H ipp.  M in. 

VOL.  V.  B 


373;  use  of, in  arguments,  Statesm. 
285,  286,  297  :— of  the  arts  ap- 
plied to  rulers.  Rep.  I.  341  ;  of 
the  arts  and  justice,  ib.  349  ;  of 
the  arts  and  moral  qualities, 
Hipp.  Min.  373  ;  of  the  arts  and 
politics,  I  Alcib.  107  : — of  death 
and  sleep,  Phaedo  71  : — of  medi- 
cine and  education.  Laches  185  ; 
of  medicine  and  friendship.  Lysis 
217;  of  medicine  and  love,  Symp. 
186;  of  medicine  and  punish- 
ment, Gorg.  479 ;  Laws  5.  735 
E  ;  of  medicine  and  rhetoric, 
Phaedr.  270:  — of  men  and  ani- 
mals. Rep.  2.  375  ;  5.  459  :— of 
politics  to  medicine  and  gym- 
nastic, Gorg.  464,  518  A: — of 
sense  and  mental  qualities.  Laches 
190  : — of  the  statesman  and  the 
physician,  Statesm.  293, 296 ;  of  the 
statesman  and  the  pilot,  ib.  298: 
— of  thought  and  sense,  Theaet. 
188: — of  the  wise  man  and  the 
physician,  ib.  167. 
Analysis  in  the  arts,  Phaedr.  270  D 
(cp.  Crat.  424  D)  ;  of  language, 
Crat.  421, 422  ;  of  primary  names, 
ib.  424. 

Analytic  method.  Soph.  235;  an- 
alytic and  synthetic  methods, 
Statesm.  285  foil.    Cp.  Dialectic. 

Anapaestic  rhythm.  Rep.  3.  400  B. 

Anarchy,  begins  in  music.  Rep. 
4.  424  E  ;  Laws  3.  701  B  ;  in 
democracies.  Rep.  8.  562  D  ; 
'  should  have  no  place  in  the  life 
of  man,'  Laws  12.  942  C. 

Anatomy  of  the  human  body,  Tim. 
69  foil. 

Anaxagoras,  of  Clazomenae,  a 
friend  of  Pericles,  Phaedr.  270 
A;  I  Alcib.  118  C  ; — his  books 
and  opinions,  Apol. 26  D  (cp.Laws 
ID.  886  D)  ;  Socrates  heard 
some  one  reading  out  of  one  of 
his  books,  Phaedo  97  B,  D,  98 
B  ;— the  '  mind '  of,  Crat.  400  A  ; 
Phaedr.  270  A ;  Phaedo  97  C  (cp. 
Laws  12.  967);  his  definition  of 


370 


Index. 


justice  as  mind,  Crat.  413  B; — 
the  '  Chaos  '  of,  Phaedo  72  C  ; 
Gorg.  465  D  ; — his  discovery  that 
the  moon  receives  her  Hght  from 
the  sun,  Crat.  409  B  ;— disciples 
of,  ibid. 

[Anaximenes],  his  principle  of 
growth,  Phaedo  96  C. 

Ancestors,  every  man  must  have 
had  thousands  of,  Theaet.  175  A 
(cp.  I  Alcib.  120  E) ;— reputation 
given  by  noble  ancestors,  Menex. 
247  A  (cp.  Gorg.  512  C). 

'Ancient  story,'  the,  Statesm.  269 
foil. 

Ancients,  the,  spoke  in  parables, 
Theaet.  1 80  D  ;  did  not  rightly 
distinguish  genera  and  species. 
Soph.  267  D  ;  nearer  the  Gods 
than  ourselves,  Phil.  16  C  (cp. 
Tim.  40  D ;  Statesm.  271 A ;  Laws 
12.  948  B)  ;  were  excellent  givers 
of  names.  Laws  7.  816  A. 

Andromache,  Ion  535  B. 

Andron,  with  Hippias,  Protag.  315 
C  ;  studied  with  Callicles,  Gorg. 
487  C. 

Andros,  Phanosthenesof,  Ion  541  D. 

Androtion,  father  of  Andron,  Pro- 
tag.  315  C  ;  Gorg.  487  C. 

Anger,  stirred  by  injustice.  Rep.  4. 
440 ;  origin  of,  Tim.  42  A ;  right- 
eous, a  pleasure  mingled  with 
pain,  Phil.  47  E  ;  'an  ungracious 
element  of  our  nature,'  Laws  11. 
935  A. 

Angler  and  Sophist,  Soph.  219  foil. 

Angling,  an  acquisitive  art.  Soph. 
219;  defined,  27a  221 ;  regulations 
respecting,  Laws  7.  823,  824. 

Animal,  the  world  an,  Tim.  30  E, 
32  D  : — the  ideal  animal,  ib.  39 
E  :— animals  not  to  be  called 
courageous,  Laches  196  E  {but 
cp.  Laws  12.  693  E) ;  love  their 
offspring,  Symp.  207  A  ;  liberty 
enjoyed  by,  in  a  democracy,  Rep. 
8.  562  E,  563  C  ;  choose  their 
destiny  in  the  next  world,  ib.  10. 
620  D  (cp.  Phaedr.  249  B);  four 


kinds  of,  Tim.  40  foil. ;  creation 
of,  ib.  91  ;  division  of,  Soph.  220, 
222  ;  Statesm.  262 ;  subject  to 
man,  Statesm.  271  E  ;  held  con- 
verse with  men  in  the  days  of 
Cronos,  ib.  272  C  ;  destroyed  by 
the  reversal  of  the  universe,  ib. 
273  (cp.  Laws  3.  677  E) ;  breeding 
of,  Laws  5.  735  (cp.  Rep.  5. 459) ; 
have  undergone  many  transfor- 
mations in  the  course  of  ages, 
Laws  6.  782  A  ;  not  sacrificed  or 
eaten  in  primitive  times,  ib.  C  ; 
an  example  to  men,  ib.  8.  840  E  ; 
blemished  animals  offered  to  the 
Gods  by  the  Lacedaemonians,  2 
Alcib.  149  A: — animals  which 
have  caused  death,  to  be  slain, 
Laws  9.  873  E  ;  animals  as  pro- 
perty, ib.  1 1.  914  D,  915  C  ;  injury 
done  by,  ih.  936  E. 

Antaeus,  famous  (in  mythology)  for 
his  skill  in  wrestling,  Theaet.  169 
B  ;  Laws  7.  796  A. 

Antenor,  may  have  been  like  Peri- 
cles, Symp.  221  C. 

Anthemion,  father  of  Anytus,  a 
wealthy  and  wise  man,  Meno  90  A. 

Anticipations  of  pleasure  and  pain, 
Rep.  9.  584  D. 

Antilochus,  son  of  Nestor,  Ion  537  A. 

Antimoerus  of  Mende,  most  famous 
of  the  disciples  of  Protagoras, 
Protag.  315  A. 

Antiochis,  the  tribe  to  which  So- 
crates belonged,  Apol.  32  B. 

Antiphon,  (i)  half-brother  of  Adei- 
mantus,  Parm.  126  E  foil. : — (2) 
father  of  Pyrilampes,  ib.  C  :— (3) 
of  Cephisus,  present  at  the  trial 
of  Socrates,  Apol.  33  E  :— (4) 
of  Rharanus,  the  orator,  Menex. 
236  A. 

Antiquarianism,  a  pursuit  which  is 
only  followed  in  cities  where  men 
have  wealth  and  leisure,  Crit. 
110  A. 

Antiquity,  to  be  reverenced,  Soph. 
243  A  ;  Laws  7.  798  A  ;— tales  of 
antiquity,  sec  Tradition. 


Index. 


371 


Antisthenes,  present  at  the  death  of 
Socrates,  Phaedo  59  B. 

Anytus,  a  friend  of  Meno,  Meno 
90  A  ;  takes  part  in  the  dialogue 
Meno,  ib.  90  B-gs  A ;  his  advice 
to  Socrates,  ib.  94  E  ;  in  a  rage, 
ib.  95  A  ;  representative  of  the 
craftsmen  against  Socrates,  Apol. 
23  E,  25  B  ;  not  the  destruction 
of  Socrates,  ib.  28  A  ;  wishes  for 
Socrates  to  be  put  to  death,  ib. 
29  B,  31  A  ;  a  bad  man,  ib.  30 
D,  36  A  (cp.  34  B). 

Apaturia,  Tim.  21  A. 

Apemantus, father  of  Eudicus,  Hipp. 
Min.  363  A,  373  A. 

Aphidn^,  Tisander  of,  Gorg.  487  C. 

Aphrodite,  meaning  of  the  name, 
Crat.  406  B,  C  ;  mother  of  Eros, 
Phaedr.  242  E  ;  her  inspiration, 
ib.  265  B  ;  Aristophanes  always 
in  her  company,  Symp.  177  E; 
two  goddesses  of  this  name,  ib. 
180  D,  C;  her  love  of  Ares,  ib. 
196  D  ;  why  attended  by  Love, 
ib.  203  C  ;  bound  by  Hephaestus, 
Rep.  3. 390  C  ;  goddess  of  peace 
and  friendship,  Soph.  243  A;  god- 
dess of  pleasure,  Phil.  12  B. 

Apodyterium,  Lysis  206  E. 

Apollo,  the  father  of  Ion,  Euthyd. 
302  D  ;  meaning  of  his  name, 
Crat.  404,  405 ;  inventor  of  music, 
ib.  405  A  ;  called  'AttXimj  by  the 
Thessalians,  ib.  D  ;  his  followers, 
Phaedr.  253  B  ;  his  inspiration, 
ib.  265  B  ;  discovered  the  arts  of 
medicine,  archery,  and  divina- 
tion, Symp.  197  A  ;  his  decla- 
ration with  regard  to  Socrates, 
Apol.  21  B  ;  Theseus'  vow  to, 
Phaedo  58  B ;  hymn  to,  com- 
posed by  Socrates,  ib.  60  D  ; 
swans  sacred  to,  ib.  85  A;  his 
song  at  the  nuptials  of  Thetis, 
Rep.  2.  383  A  ;  Apollo  and 
Achilles,  ib.  3.  391  A;  Chryses' 
prayer  to,  ib.  394  A  ;  lord  of  the 
lyre,  ib.  399  E  ;  father  of  Ascle- 
pius,/(5.4o8C  ;  the  God  of  Delphi, 

B 


ib.  4.  427  A;  invoked,  Crit.  108  C  ; 
law-giver  of  Lacedaemon,  Laws  i. 
624,  632  D  ;  2.  662  B  ;  his  pre- 
sence at  festivals,  ib.  2.  653  D, 
665  A ;  7.  796  E  ;  education 
first  given  through  Apollo  and 
the  Muses,  ib.  2.  654  A,  665  A, 
672  C  ;  his  oracle  consulted  by 
the  Heraclidae,  ib.  3.  686  A  ;  the 
Director  of  Education  elected  in 
his  temple,  ib.  6.  766  C ;  temple 
of  Apollo  and  Artemis,  ib.  8.  833 
B  ;  oath  by,  ib.  11.  936  E  ;  the 
citizens  to  meet  in  his  precincts 
at  the  election  of  censors,  ib.  12. 
945  E  ;  the  three  best  men  of 
the  state  dedicated  to  his  service, 
ib,  946  C,  D,  947  A  ;  sacrifice  to, 
at  Delphi,  ib.  950  E  : — the  in- 
scriptions in  his  temple  at  Delphi, 
Charm.  164  D  ;  Protag.  343  B  ; 
Phaedr.  229  E  ;  Phil.  48  C;  Laws 
12. 923  A  ;  I  Alcib.  124  B,  129  A, 
132  C.    Cp.  Delphi. 

Apollodorus,  brother  of  Aeanto- 
dorus,  present  at  the  trial  of 
Socrates,  Apol.  34  A,  38  B. 

Apollodorus  of  Cyzicus,  general  of 
the  Athenians,  Ion  541  C. 

Apollodorus,  father  of  Hippocrates, 
Protag.  310  A,  316  B,  328  E. 

Apollodorus  of  Phalerum,  narrates 
the  Syinposiic7ii,  Symp.  172  A  ; 
his  acquaintance  with  Socrates, 
ib.  E  ;  the  '  madman,'  ib.  173  D,  E 
(cp.  Phaedo  59  A) ;  present  at  the 
death  of  Socrates,  Phaedo  59  A, 
B  ;  his  passionate  grief,  z^.  117  D. 

Apparitions,  Phaedo  81  D  ;  Laws  5. 
738  C  ;  10.  910  A  (cp.  Tim.  72  A). 

Appeal,  court  of  (in  the  Model  City), 
Laws  6.  767  A,  C;  11.  926  D, 
928  B,  938;  12.  946  E,  948  A, 
956  C,  D. 

Appearance,  deceptiveness  of,  Pro- 
tag.  356  D  ;  power  of.  Rep.  2. 
365,  366  C  ; — appearance  and  per- 
ception, Theaet.  152,  158  E  foil., 
162,  170  A; — appearance  in  art, 
Soph.  236. 

2 


372 


Index. 


Appetite,  good  and  bad,  Rep.  5. 
475  C. 

Appetites,  Rep.  8.  559  ;  9.  571  (cp. 
4-  439). 

Appetitive  element  of  the  soul. 
Rep.  4.  439  ;  must  be  subordi- 
nate to  passion  and  reason,  ib. 
442  A;  9.  571  D  (cp.  Phaedr. 
253  foil.  ;  Tim.  70  A  ;  Laws  3. 
687,  689) ;  may  be  described  as 
the  love  of  gain.  Rep.  9.  581  A ; 
seat  of,  Tim.  70  E  ;  compared  to 
the  mass  of  people  in  the  state, 
Laws  3.  689  A. 

Arbiters,  Laws  6.  766  D  ;  the  Court 
of  Neighbours  (in  the  Model  City) 
to  act  as  arbiters  rather  than 
judges,  ib.  12.  956  C. 

Arcadia,  temple  of  Lycaean  Zeus  in, 
Rep.  8.  565  D  :— Arcadians  dis- 
persed into  villages  by  the  Lace- 
daemonians, Symp.  193  A. 

Archelaus,  son  of  Perdiccas,  ruler 
of  Macedonia,  Gorg.  470  D  (cp. 
2  Alcib.  141  E) ;  his  crimes, 
Gorg.  471  A,  479  A,  E  ;  thought 
happy  by  the  Sophist  Polus,  tb. 
470  D,  472  D;  will  be  found 
punished  in  the  next  world,  tb. 
525  D. 

Archepolis,  meaning  of  the  name, 
Crat.  394  C. 

Archers  in  Crete,  Laws  i.  625  D  ; 
races  for  archers,  tb.  8.  833  C  ; — 
the  Sauromatides  or  Amazons 
famous  as  archers,  ib.  7.  804 
E,  806  A  ; — archery,  teaching 
of  (in  the  Model  City),  ib.  804 
D, 813  D. 

Archidamus,  King  of  Sparta,  i  Al- 
cib. 124  A. 

Archilochus,  not  included  in  the 
rhapsode's  art,  Ion  531  A;  infe- 
rior to  Homer,  ib.  532  A  :  — 
quoted.  Rep.  2.  365  C  ;  Eryx. 
397  E. 

Archinus,  an  Athenian  orator,  Me- 

nex.  234  B. 
Architecture,    Rep.    4.    438    C ; 

Statesm.  259  E,  280  C  ;  necessity 


ofpuretastein,  Rep.3.401;  instru- 
ments required  in,  Phil.  56  B  ; — 
architecture  of  Atlantis,  Crit.  1 1 6. 

Archon ;  King  Archon  a  priest, 
Statesm.  290  E  ;  represents  the 
ancient  king,  Menex.  238  D;  Porch 
of  the  King  Archon,  Charm.  153 
A  ;  Euthyph.  2A;  Theaet.  210; — 
golden  images  set  up  by  the  nine 
Archons  at  Delphi,  Phaedr.  235 
D:— Archons(in  the  Model  City), 
lists  of,  Laws6.  785  (cp.  Guardians 
of  the  Law,  Model  City). 

Arcturus  brings  the  vintage,  Laws 
8.  844  D. 

Ardiaeus,  tyrant  of  Pamphylia,  his 
endless  punishment  in  Hades, 
Rep.  10.  615  C,  E. 

Areopagus,  scene  of  the  rape  of 
Orithyia,  Phaedr.  229  D. 

Ares,  meaning  of  his  name,  Crat. 
407  C,  D  ;  effect  of  love  on  his 
companions,  Phaedr.  252  C ; 
conquered  by  love,  Symp.  196 
D  ;  Ares  and  Aphrodite,  Rep.  3. 
390  C ;  temples  of,  Laws  8.  833 
B  ;  his  votaries  a  class  of  crafts- 
men, ib.  1 1.  920  D. 

Arginusae,  condemnation  of  the 
generals  after,  Apol.  32  B. 

Argos,  Agamemnon,  king  of.  Rep. 
3.  393  E ;  subject  to  the  Dorians, 
Laws  3. 683  D  ;  ruin  of  the  kings 
of,  ib.  690  D  ;  kings  of,  i  Alcib. 
121  A : — the  Argive  oath,  Phaedo 
89  C : — Argive  colonists  in  Crete, 
Laws  4.  708  A : — Argives  took 
no  part  in  the  Persian  war,  ib.  3. 
692  E  ;  defended  by  the  Athe- 
nians, Menex.  239  B  ;  assisted 
by  the  Athenians,  ib.  244  D ; 
willing  to  give  up  the  Asiatic 
allies,  ib.  245  C. 

Argument,  apt  to  end  in  a  quarrel, 
Gorg.  457  D  ;  the  longer  and  the 
shorter  method  of.  Rep.  4.  435  ; 

6.  504  ;  misleading  nature  of 
(Adeimantus),  ib.  6.  487  (cp.  Erjoc. 
395  A)  ;  youthful  love  of.  Rep. 

7.  539  (cp.  Phil.  15  E);  the  right 


Index. 


373 


and  the  wrong  way  of,  Theaet. 
167  E ;  courtesy  required  in, 
Soph.  246  D  (cp.  Laws  i.  629  A, 
634  C,  635  A): — arguments  (in 
rhetoric),  Phaedr.  271,  272,  277. 
For  the  personification  of  the 
argument,  see  Personification. 

Argumentation,  i.e.  Eristic,  Soph. 
225  D. 

Arion,  Rep.  5.  453  E. 

Ariphron,  teacher  of  Cleinias,  Pro- 
tag.  320  A. 

Aristides,  son  of  Lysimachus,  failed 
in  training  his  son  Lysimachus, 
Meno  94  A  (cp.  Laches  179  C)  ; 
famous  for  his  virtue,  Gorg.  526 
B. 

Aristides  the  younger,  Laches  179 
A ;  did  not  profit  by  converse 
with  Socrates,  Theaet.  150  E. 

Aristippus  of  Cyrene,  not  present 
at  the  death  of  Socrates,  Phaedo 
59  C. 

Aristippus  of  Larisa,  lover  of  Meno, 
Meno  70  B. 

Aristocracy  (i.e.  the  ideal  state  or 
government  of  the  best),  Rep.  4. 
445  C  (cp.  8.  544  E,  545  D)  ; 
mode  of  its  decline,  ib.  8.  546  ; — 
the  aristocratical  man,  ib.  7.  541 
B  ;  8.  544  E  [see  Guardians,  Phi- 
losopher, Ruler) : — (in  the  ordi- 
nary sense),  ib.  i.  338  D;  Statesm, 
291  E,  301  A,  302  D  ;  origin  of. 
Laws  3.  681  ;  in  ancient  Attica, 
Menex.  238  C.    Cp.  Constitution. 

Aristocrates,  son  of  Scellius,  his 
offering  at  Delphi,  Gorg.  472 
B. 

Aristodemus,  his  portion  in  Pelo- 
ponnesus, Laws  3.  692  B. 

Aristodemus,  of  the  deme  of  Cyda- 
thenaeum,  an  admirer  of  Socrates, 
Symp.  173  B  ;  narrates  the  dia- 
logue Sympositim,  ib.  174  A  ;  a 
'weak  head,'  ib.  176  C  (cp.  ib. 

233  C). 

Aristogeiton  overthrew  the  tyrants, 

Symp.  182  C. 
Ariston,  father  of  Adeimantus,Glau- 


con,  (and  Plato),  Apol.  34  A ; 
Rep.  I.  327  A  ;  2.  368  A. 

Aristonymus,  father  of  Cleitophon, 
Rep.  I.  328  B. 

Aristophanes,  the  comic  poet,  un- 
willing to  drink,  Symp.  176  A; 
the  constant  servant  of  Dionysus 
and  Aphrodite,  ib.  177  'E  ;  has 
a  hiccough,  ib.  185  C,  E;  his 
speech  in  honour  of  love,  ib.  189 
B  foil. ;  a  lover  of  jokes,  ib. 
213  C;  his  description  of  So- 
crates, ib.  221  B  ;  converses  with 
Socrates,  ib.  223  C  ;  satirized  So- 
crates, Apol.  18  D,  19  C. 

Aristophon,  son  of  Aglaophon,  a 
painter,  Gorg.  448  B. 

Aristoteles,  one  of  the  Thirty,  Parm. 
127  D  ;  a  friend  of  Socrates,  id. 
135  D;  respondent  in  the  dialogue 
Parinenides,  ib.  136  E. 

Arithmetic,  invented  by  Theuth, 
Phaedr.  274  C  ;  defined,  Gorg. 
451  ;  must  be  learnt  by  the  rulers 
(in  the  best  state).  Rep.  7.  522, 
526  (cp.  Laws  7.  818,  819)  ;  use 
of  in  forming  ideas.  Rep.  7.  525  ; 
spirit  in  which  it  should  be  pur- 
sued, ib.  D  ;  common  notions 
about,  mistaken,  ib.  E  ;  an  excel- 
lent instrument  of  education,  ib. 
526;  Laws  5.747  ;  7.  809  C,  819 
C  ;  employed,  in  order  to  express 
the  interval  between  the  king  and 
the  tyrant.  Rep.  9.  587  ;  taught 
to  mankind  by  the  movements 
of  the  heavenly  bodies,  Tim.  39, 
47  A  (cp.  Laws  6. 771  B) ;  abstract 
nature  of,  Statesm.  258  D  ;  in  the 
arts,  Phil.  55  E  ;  two  kinds  of,  ib. 
56  D  ;  useful  to  the  legislator, 
Laws  5.  737  E  : — puzzles  in, 
Phaedo  96  E,  loi  D  ;  Laws  7. 
819  :— classes  of  roots,  Theaet. 
147  : — arithmetical  notions  per- 
ceived by  a  faculty  of  the  soul, 
ib.  185  D  (cp.  Rep.  6.  511  C)  : 
—nature  of  the  process  of  cal- 
culation, Theaet.  198,  199.  Cp. 
Mathematics. 


374 


Index. 


Armenius,  father  of  Er,  the  Pam- 
phylian,  Rep.  lo.  614  B. 

Armour,  fighting  in,  Laches  178  A, 
179  E,  181  D  foil.;  Euthyd.  272 
A,  273  D,  E  ;  not  practised  by 
the  Lacedaemonians,  and  useless, 
Laches  183  foil.;  requires  the 
use  of  both  hands.  Laws  7.  795 
B ;  women  to  leam,  ib.  813  E  ; 
conflicts  in  armour  for  men  and 
women,  ib.  8.  833  E  ; — dances  in 
armour,  ib.  7.  796  B. 

Arms,  of  Hellenes  not  to  be  offered 
as  trophies  in  the  temples.  Rep. 
5.  470  A  ;  worn  in  daily  life  by  the 
Cretans,  Laws  1.625  C  ; — impor- 
tation and  exportation  of  arms, 
ib.  8.  847  D  ;— throwing  away  of, 
disgraceful.  Rep.  5.  468  A  ;  Laws 
12.  943  E  foil. ;  permitted  in  naval 
warfare,  Laws  4.  706  C  ;— use  of, 
taught  by  the  Goddess  Athene, 
Tim.  24  B  ;  Crit.  1 10  C  (cp.  Laws 
7.  796  B  ;  Menex.  238  B)  ;  to  be 
learnt  by  women,  Laws  7.  794  D, 
804,  S13  E  (see  War). 

Army  needed  in  a  state,  Rep.  2. 
374.    See  Soldiers. 

Art,  requires  knowledge,  Ion  532, 
540  ;  criticism  of,  ib.  532  foil.  ; 
Laws  2.  667-669  ;  is  piety  an 
art?  Euthyph.  13;  influence  of, 
on  character,  Rep.  3.  400  foil. ; 
illusion  in.  Soph.  235  E ;  crea- 
tion and  imitation  in,  ib.  266  D 
(cp.  Rep.  10.  596  A  foil.) ;  selects 
good  material  on  which  to  work, 
Statesm.  308  C ;  a  true  thing. 
Laws  1 1 . 921  C  : — art  and  chance, 
ib.  4.  709 ;  10.  889 ;  art  and 
the  conditions  of  art,  Phaedr. 
268,  269  (cp.  Laws  4.  709  C)  ;  art 
and  experience,  Gorg.  448  C, 
501  ;  art  and  language,  Statesm. 
277  (cp.  Rep.  9.  588  D) ;  art 
and  natui'e.  Laws  10.  889,  890, 
892  (cp.  Soph.  265)  ;  art  and 
politics.  Laws  10.  889  :— art  of 
agriculture.  Soph.  219  B;  Laws 
10.  889  D  {v.  sub  voce) ;  angling, 


Soph.  219-221;  Laws  7.  823; 
bird-catching,  Soph.  220  B ;  Laws 
7.  823 ;  boxing,  Gorg.  456  D ; 
Rep.  4.  422  ;  Laws  7.  795  C,  796 
A  ;  8.  830  A,  E  ;  building,  Eu- 
thyph. 13  D  ;  Rep.  3.  401  A;  4. 438 
C ;  Soph.  266  D  ;  Phil.  56  B ; 
Eryx.  403  D  ;  calculation,  Gorg. 
451  ;  Rep.  7.  524-526;  10.  602 
D  ;  Theaet.  198 ;  Statesm.  259  D  ; 
carding,  Statesm.  281  A,  282  B ; 
carpentry.  Ion  537  B  ;  Rep.  4. 428 
C  ;  Phil.  56  B  ;  chariot  driving. 
Ion  537  A ;  the  choral  art,  Gorg. 
501  E  ;  Laws  2.  672  ;  i  Alcib. 
125  D;  command,  Statesm.  260 
C,  292 ;  cookery,  Gorg.  462  foil., 
465,  501  A,  518;  Rep.  1.332  D; 
disputation,  Phaedr.  261  ;  Soph. 
225,  232  ;  dyeing.  Rep.  4.  429  D  ; 
embroidery,  ib.  3.  401  A ;  en- 
chantment, Euthyd.  290  A  ;  Laws 
II.  933;  exchange,  Rep.  2.369 
C;  Soph.  219  D,  223";  fence, 
Laches  178  A,  179  E,  181  D  foil.; 
Euthyd.  272  A,  273  D,  E  ;  Gorg. 
456  D  ;  Laws  7.  795  ;  8.  833  E  ; 
flattery,  Gorg.  463  foil.,  501,  502  ; 
Soph.  222  E  ;  flute-playing.  Pro- 
tag.  327  B  ;  Meno  90  E ;  Gorg. 
501  E  ;  Phil.  56  A  ;  Laws  3.  700 
E  ;  fulling,  Statesm.  281  B,  282  A ; 
gem-engraving,  Hipp.  Min.  368 
B  ;  I  Alcib.  128  C,  E;  of  the 
general,  Euthyd.  290;  Soph.  219; 
Statesm. '304 E,  305  A;  Phil.56A; 
harp-playing,  Gorg.  502  A  ;  herd- 
tending,  Statesm.  261  D  foil.,  275 
foil;  horsemanship,  Euthyph.  13 
A;  Eryx.  396  A,  403  C  ;  hunting, 
Euthyd.  290;  Soph.  219  foil.; 
Laws  7.  823  {v.  sub  voce) ;  imita- 
tion. Soph.  219,  267  {v.  sub  voce); 
the  kingly  art,  Protag.  321,  322  ; 
Statesm.  260, 276,  289-293, 295  B, 
300  E,  305  A,  308,  311  ;  measure- 
ment, Protag.  356  ;  Rep.  10. 602 ; 
Statesm.  283-285 ;  i  Alcib.  126  C ; 
medicine  {v.  sub  voce)  ;  memory, 
Hipp.   Min.  368    E,  369  A; 


Index. 


375 


mimicry,  Soph.  267 ;  money- 
making,  Gorg.  452  B;  Rep.  i. 
330  B;  8.  556;  Laws  5.  741 
E,  743  D  ;  8.  842  D,  847  E  ; 
II.  918  ;  painting,  Crat.  423 
D  ;  Ion  532  E ;  Gorg.  450  D  ; 
Soph.  234,  235  E  {v.  sub 
voce)  ;  payment,  Rep.  i.  346; 
persuasion,  Soph.  222  C  ;  Phil. 
58  A  (cp.  Phaedr.  267  A ;  Gorg. 
452  foil.)  ;  phantasy,  Soph.  236, 
260  E,  265-267 ;  of  the  pilot, 
Ion  537  B  ;  Gorg.  511  D  ;  Phil. 
56  A;  pottery,  Soph.  219  A; 
Laws  3.  679  A ;  purification. 
Soph.  226,  227 ;  retail  trade. 
Soph.  223  D  ;  Statesm.  260  C  ; 
rhapsody.  Ion  531  foil.;  riding. 
Laches  193  B  (v.  sub  voce)  ; 
shoemaking,  Theaet.  146  D,  147 
B;  I  Alcib.  125  A,  128,  129; 
of  sophistry,  Euthyd.  274  E ; 
Gorg.  449  {v.  sub  voce) ;  speech- 
making,  Euthyd.  290  A  {v.  sub 
voce)  ;  statuary,  Gorg.  450  D  ; 
Statesm.  277  A;  tactics.  Rep.  7. 
522  E,  525  B ;  Statesm.  304  E  ; 
Laws  4. 706 ;  weaving,  Gorg.  449 
C;  Rep.  3.  401  A  ;  5.  455  D  ; 
Statesm.  279-283 ;  Laws  3. 679  A; 
5.734E;  I  Alcib.  12SD;  weighing. 
Charm.  166  A  ;  Rep.  10.  602  D  ; 
Phil.  55  E ;  wool  working,  Statesm. 
282 :  — the  arts  stolen  from  Athene 
and  Hephaestus  by  Prometheus, 
Protag.  321  D: — the  plastic  and 
weaving  arts  require  no  use  of  iron, 
Laws  3.  679  A  : — the  arts  divided 
accordingly  as  they  use  or  do  not 
use  words,  Gorg.  450  ;  productive 
arts,  Rep.  3.  401  A  ;  Soph.  219, 
265  A;  Phil.  55  E;  acquisitive. 
Soph.  219, 265  A  ;  subdivided,  ib. 
219  foil.,  223  C;  practical  and 
intellectual,  Statesm.  258  E  ;  co- 
operative and  causal,  tb.  281,  282, 
287  B  ;  of  composition  and  divi- 
sion, ib.  283  ;  three  arts  con- 
cerned with  all  things.  Rep.  10. 
601  ;   the  handicraft  arts  a  re- 


proach, ib.  9.  590  C  (cp.  Gorg. 
512  C  ;  Rep.  7.  522  B  ;  Laws  7. 
806  E ;  8.  846  D)  :— the  lesser 
arts  (rfp^vuSpia),  Rep.  5.  475 
D ;  {rexvi-n),  ib.  6.  495  D  : — 
the  arts  unequally  distributed 
among  men,  Protag.  322  ;  ex- 
ercised for  the  good  of  their 
subject,  Euthyph.  13;  Rep.  i. 
342,  345-347  ;  not  to  be  confused 
with  their  conditions,  Phaedr. 
269  A  ;  correlative  to  their  sub- 
ject-matter. Ion  537  ;  not  to  be 
abused,  Gorg.  456  D,  460  D  ;  not 
commonly  practised  with  a  view 
to  moral  improvement,  ib.  501, 
502  ;  training  required  in,  ib.  513 ; 
interested  in  their  own  perfection. 
Rep.  I.  342  ;  differ  according  to 
their  functions,  ib.  346 ;  full  of 
grace,  ib.  3.  401  A ;  must  be 
subject  to  a  censorship,  ib.  B  ; 
causes  of  the  deterioration  of,  ib. 

4.  421  ;  employment  of  children 
in,  ib.  5.  467  A ;  ideals  in,  ib. 
472  U  ;  chiefly  useful  for  prac- 
tical purposes,  ib.  7.  533  A  ;  de- 
pend on  a  mean,  Statesm.  284 ; 
differ  in  exactness,  Phil.  55  E  foil.; 
based  upon  opinion,  ib.  59  ;  in 
relation  to  the  good,  ib.  66 ;  no 
alteration  allowed  in,  by  the 
Egyptians,  Laws  2.  656  E  ;  un- 
known for  many  centuries,  ib.  3. 
677  (cp.  Tim.  22  E  ;  Grit.  109  E  ; 
Statesm.  274) ;  no  one  to  practise 
two  arts.  Laws  8.  846  D  ;  the  arts 
are  wealth,  Eryx.  402  C : — the  arts 
and  experience,  Gorg.  448,  462, 
501  ;  the  arts  and  knowledge, 
Theaet.  146  foil  ;  the  arts  and 
moral  qualities,  Hipp.  Min.  373  ; 
I  Alcib.  125  ;  the  arts  and  philo- 
sophy. Rep.  6.  495  E,  496  (cp. 

5.  475  D,  476  A) ;  the  arts  and 
politics,  analogy  of,  i  Alcib.  107 
foil.  For  the  analogy  of  the  arts 
and  virtues  cp.  Analogy. 

Art.  [No  dialogue  of  Plato  co7i- 
/aijis  a  discussion  upon  art  in  the 


376 


Index. 


general  sense  of  the  term.  In 
Hellas,  as  in  all  countries  where 
art  has  most  flourished,  the  age 
of  creation  preceded  the  age  of 
criticism  and  analysis.  Plato 
knows  7iothing  of  '  schools '  or  of 
the  history  of  art,  nor  does  he 
select  any  buildi?tg  or  statue  for 
conde?nnatio7t  or  admiration. 
Pheidias  is  only  twice  jnentiofted, 
once  casually  as  the  typical  sculp- 
tor (Protag.  311  C),  and  again 
in  the  Meno  (91  D),  where  So- 
crates says  that  Pheidias,  'although 
he  wrought  such  exceedingly 
noble  works,'  did  not  make 
nearly  so  much  money  by  them  as 
Protagoras  did  by  his  wisdom. 
Equally  slight  are  the  references 
to  painters  :  the  names  of  Zcux- 
ippus  (Protag.  318  B),  Polygnotus 
(Ion  532  E),  and  Zeuxis  (Gorg. 
453  C)  occur ;  hut  we  hear  710- 
thing  of  a7iy  7itastcrpicce  of  theirs, 
nor  is  the  attempt  made  to  poi/it 
out  their  seve7al  characteristics. 
Art,  accordi7ig  to  the  conception 
of  Plato,  is  not  a  collectio7t  of 
ca7ions  of  criticis7n,  but  7  ather  a 
subtle  i/iflucnce  which  pervades 
all  things  animate  as  well  as  in- 
atii/nate  (Rep.  3.  400,  401).  He 
judges  art  by  07 te  test,  'simplicity,' 
but  U7ider  this  he  includes  moder- 
atio7i,  purity,  and  harmony  of 
prop07-tio7t  J  a7id,  171  the  Republic 
at  least,  he  places  sculpture  a7id 
architecture  U7ider  the  sa/ne  rigid 
ce7isorship  which  he  applies  to 
poetry  a7id7nusic  (Rep.  3.  401  A). 
He  dislikes  the  '  ilhtsio7is '  of 
painti7tg  (Rep.  10.  602),  and  the 
'false  proportions'  given  by 
sculptors  to  their  subjects  (Soph. 
235, 236):  both  these  he  classes  as 
a  sort  of  magic.  He  has  observed 
that  excessive  devotion  to  art  is 
apt  to  produce  effemi7tacy  of 
character  (Rep.  3.  411  ;  5.  475) ; 
but  he  hopes  to  prese7-ve  the 


gtiardians  of  his  state  frotn  this 
evil  by  the  severe  discipline  and 
trai7ii7ig  of  their  early  years. 
Thus  i7i  art  as  in  ma7iy  other 
respects  Plato  co7/tbines  the  re- 
actionary and  the  refor/iii/ig 
spirit.  He  is  willi7ig  to  follow 
the  Egyptia7i  fashio7i  and  con- 
sec7-ate  the  for7/is  of  art  which 
have  received  the  sanctio7i  of  the 
authorities  (Laws  2.  657  A). 
But  he  will  ba7iish  from  the  state 
all  that  is  base  a7td  i7npure,  a7id 
surround  his  citize7is  with  ati 
atmosphere  of  grace  and  beauty 
which  will  i7istil  noble  a7td  true 
ideas  i/tto  their  7ni7ids.] 

Artemis,  meaning  of  the  name, 
Crat.  406  B ;  goddess  of  child- 
birth, Theaet.  149  B  : — temple  of 
[Artemis]  Agra,  Phaedr.  229  C. 

Artemisium,  battle  of,  Laws  4. 
707  C  ;  Menex.  241  A. 

Artisans,  not  wise,  Apol.  22  D ; 
necessary  in  the  state.  Rep.  2. 
370 ;  have  no  time  to  be  ill,  ib.  3. 
406  D:— [in  the  Model  City] 
no  citizen  to  be  an  artisan,  Laws 
8.  846 ;  rules  concerning,  ib.  846- 
848.    Cp.  Craftsmen. 

Artist,  the,  must  be  inspired  by  love, 
Symp.  197  A  ;  ought  not  to  abuse 
his  strength,  Gorg.  456  D,  460  D  ; 
does  not  work  for  his  own  benefit. 
Rep.  I.  346,  347  ;  must  imitate 
the  good  only,  ib.  3.  401  C ; 
requires  favourable  conditions, 
Laws  4.  709  D ;  ought  to  make  his 
work  self-consistent,  ib.  5.  746  D 
(cp.  Gorg.  503  E) ;  has  regard  to 
the  whole.  Laws  10.  903  D ; 
must  not  use  his  art  to  deceive 
an  unskilled  person,  ib.  1 1. 921  C ; 
difference  between  the  clever 
artist  and  the  wise  man,  2  Alcib. 
145  E  :— the  Great  Artist,  Rep. 
10.  596  (cp.  Laws  ID.  902  E)  :— 
artists  and  dialecticians,  Phil.  59. 

Art-seller,  the.  Soph.  224. 

Asclepiadae,  Rep.  4.  405  D,  406  B, 


Index. 


Z11 


C ;  lo.  599  C ;  Hippocrates  of 
Cos,  an  Asclepiad,  Protag.  311 
B  (cp.  Phaedr.  270  C) ;  Eryxi- 
niachus,  an  Asclepiad,  Symp.  186 
E. 

Asclepiaea  at  Epidaurus,  Ion  530  A. 

Asclepius,  father  of  physicians, 
Symp.  186  E;  patron  of  gym- 
nastic and  husbandry,  ibid.  ;  his 
sons  at  Troy,  Rep.  3.  406  A, 
408  A ;  not  ignorant  of  the 
Hngering  treatment,  ib.  406  D  ;  a 
statesman,  ib.  407  E ;  said  by 
the  poets  to  have  been  bribed 
to  restore  a  rich  man  to  life,  ib. 
408  B  ;  son  of  Apollo,  ib.  C  ;  left 
disciples,  10.  599  C  : — '  we  owe  a 
cock  to,'  Phaedo  1 18  A : — festival 
in  honour  of,  at  Epidaurus  (As- 
clepiaea), Ion  530  A. 

Ashes,  applied  to  sore  eyes.  Lysis 
210  A. 

Asia,  Charm.  158  A;  Tim.  24  B, 
E  ;  Crit.  108  E,  112  E. 

Asia,  Prince  of.  Lysis  209  D  (cp.  i 
Alcib.  121  C). 

Asopus,  the  ancient  boundary  of 
Attica,  Crit.  lie  E. 

Aspasia,  her  speech,  Menex.  236  A 
foil.  (cp.  249  D) ;  her  eloquence, 
ib.  235  E. 

Assaults,  Rep.  5.  464  E ;  Laws  9. 
879-882  ;  on  strangers,  Laws  9. 
879 ;  on  elders,  ib.  880 ;  in  self- 
defence,  ibid. ;  on  parents,  ib. 
881 ;  by  slaves,  ib.  882. 

Assembly  (in  the  Model  City),  Laws 
8.  850  C  ;  summoned  and  dis- 
solved by  the  council,  ib.  6.  758 
D  ;  attendance  at,  ib.  764  A. 

Association  of  ideas,  Phaedo  73  D, 
76  A. 

Assyrian  Empire,  the.  Laws  3. 685  C. 

Astronomy,  a  discovery  of  Theuth, 
Phaedr.  274  C  ;  defined,  Gorg. 
451  C  ;  to  be  studied  by  the 
rulers  (in  the  best  state).  Rep.  7. 
527-530  (cp.  Laws  7.  817  E) ; 
spirit  in  which  it  should  be  pur- 
sued. Rep.  7.  528  E  foil.  ;  is  it 


impious.''  Laws  7.  821  ;  12.  967 

A  ; — motions  of  the  planets.  Rep. 

10.  616  E  ;  Tim.  38  foil. ;  Laws  7. 

822  (cp.  Stars) ; — astronomy  and 

love,  Symp.  188  B. 
Astyanax,  meaning  of  the  name, 

Crat.  392  D. 
Astylus,  his  continence,  Laws  8. 

840  A. 

Atalanta,  chose  the  life  of  an  ath- 
lete, Rep.  10.  620  B. 

At^,  the  goddess,  Symp.  195  D. 

Atheism,  charged  against  Socrates, 
Apol.  26 ;  against  astronomers, 
Laws  12.  967  A  (cp.  7.  821)  ;  re- 
futed, ib.  10.  886-900  ;  12.  966. 
Cp.  God. 

Atheists,  Laws  10.  885,  887  foil. ; 
12.  948  C  ;  advice  to,  ib.  10. 888  ; 
punishment  of,  ib.  907  E  foil. 

Athene,  Prometheus'  theft  upon, 
Protag.  321  D,  E  :  Athene 
^parpia,  Euthyd.  302  D ;  her 
name  Pallas  Athene,  Crat.  406 
E  foil.  ;  her  weaving  due  to  love, 
Symp.  197  B  ;  not  to  be  con- 
sidered author  of  the  strife  be- 
tween Trojans  and  Achaeans, 
Rep.  2.  379  E  ;  =Neith,  Tim.  21 
E,  23  E ;  Goddess  of  Attica, 
Crit.  109  C  ;  Laws-  i.  626  E  (cp. 
Crat.  406  E) ;  why  armed,  Crit. 
no  A  ;  Laws  7.  806  A  (cp.  Tim. 
24  B) ;  goddess  of  arts,  Statesm. 
274  C  ;  of  all  craftsmen,  including 
warriors.  Laws  11.  920  E  foil.: — 
her  temple  on  the  Acropolis  (in 
ancient  Athens),  Crit.  1 12  B  : — in 
the  Model  State,  Laws  5.  745  B 
(cp.  8.  848  D) ;  dances  in  honour 
of,  ib.  7.  796  C,  D: — the  Panathe- 
naea.  Ion  530  B ;  Euthyph.  6  B  ; 
Parm.  127  A  (cp.  Rep.  2.  378 
C) : — the  'song'  or  'strain'  of 
Athene  (o  rrjg  'A.dr]mias  vopios), 
Crat.  417  E. 
Athens,  the  ancient  city  of,  Tim.  21 
A,  D,  E  ;  Crit.  112  A  ;  its  topo- 
graphy, Crit.  112  E  :— the  Acro- 
polis,Euthyph.6B;  Eryx.  398  E  ; 


378 


Index. 


the  Agora,  Gorg.  447  A ;  Farm. 
126  A  ;  Menex.  234  A  ;  Eryx.  400 
A  ;  judgment-hall  and  prison  of 
Socrates,  Crito  43  A ;  Phaedo 
59  D ;  Porch  of  the  King  Archon, 
Charm.  153  A;  Euthyph.  2  A; 
Theaet.  210;  the  Tholus,  Apol. 
32  C,  D  ;  the  walls.  Lysis  203  A  ; 
Phaedr.  227  A;  Gorg.  455  E; 
Menex.  244  C,  245  A ;  the  docks 
and  harbours,  Gorg.  455  E ; — 
the  temple  of  [Agra]  Artemis, 
Phaedr.  229  B ;  of  Olympian 
Zeus,  ib.  227  A ; — altar  of  Bo- 
reas, ib.  229  B  ; — the  foun- 
tain of  Panops,  Lysis  203  A ; — 
the  Academy,  ibid. ;  the  Lyceum, 
ibid. ;  Euthyd.  271  A,  272  E,  273 
A  ;  Symp.  223  D  ;  Euthyph.  2 
A  ;  Eryx.  397  C ;  the  Palaestra 
of  Taureas,  Charm.  153  A ;  the 
Palaestra  of  Miccus,  Lysis  204 
A  ; — Ceramicus,  outside  the  wall, 
Parm.  127  C  ;  M elite,  ib.  A  ;— the 
house  of  Agathon,  Symp.  1 74 ;  of 
Callias,  Protag.  311  A,  337  D  ;  of 
Callicles,  Gorg.  447  B  ;  of  Cepha- 
lus  (at  the  Piraeus),  Rep.  1.328 
B  ;  of  Mor)'chus,  Phaedr.  227  B  ; 
of  Polytion,  Eryx.  394,  400  C  ; — 
corpses  exposed  outside  the  north- 
ern wall.  Rep.  4.  439  E  ; — the 
road  to  Athens  made  for  conver- 
sation, Symp.  173  B. 

Early  history  of  Athens,  Tim. 
21  D  foil.;  Crit.  no  A  foil.; 
war  of  Athens  and  Atlantis,  Tim. 
24  E  ;  Crit.  108  E  ;  early  wars  of 
the  Athenians,  Menex.  239  B ; 
the  Athenians  compelled  to  pay 
tribute  to  Minos,  Laws  4.  706  A; 
— conspiracy  of  Harmodius  and 
Aristogeiton,  Symp.  182  C  ;— the 
Persian  War,  Laws  3.  692  foil., 
698  B  foil. ;  4.  707  B,  C  ;  Menex. 
239 ;  Athenians  and  Lacedae- 
monians the  saviours  of  Hellas, 
Laws  3. 692  ;  battle  of  Marathon, 
Gorg.  516  D  ;  Laws  3.  698  E  ;  4. 
707  C  ;  Menex.  240  C,  241  B ; 


Artemisium,  Laws  4.  707  C ; 
Menex.  241  A ;  Salamis,  Laws 
3.  698  C  ;  4.  707  B,  C  ;  Menex. 
241  A,  245  A ;  Plataea,  Menex. 

241  D,  245  A ;  the  Eurj'medon, 
Cyprus,  Egypt,  ib.  241  E  ;— 
Athenian  colonists  at  Naxos,  Eu- 
thyph. 4  C  ;  conquest  of  Ceos, 
Laws  I.  638  A  ;— battle  of  Tana- 
gra,  I  Alcib.  112  B;  Menex.  242 
A  ;  battle  of  Oenophyta,  Menex. 

242  A  ;  battle  of  Coronea,  i  Alcib. 
112  B  ; — outbreak  of  the  Pelopon- 
nesian  War,  Menex.  242  C  ;  the 
Plague  at  Athens,  Symp.  201  D  ; 
capture  of  the  Spartans  in  Spha- 
gia,  Menex.  242  D  ;  the  expe- 
dition to  Potidaea,  Charm.  153; 
Symp.  219  E,  221  A;  Apol.  28 
E  ;  battle  of  Delium,  Laches  iSi 
B,  188  E;  Symp.  221  A;  Apol. 
28  E  ;  battle  of  Amphipolis,  Apol. 
28  E ;  the  Athenians  in  Sicily, 
Eryx.  392 ;  battle  of  Arginusae, 
Apol.  32  B;  Menex.  243  C  ;  — 
rule  of  the  Thirty,  Apol.  32 
C ;  Parm.  127  C ;  exile  and 
return  of  the  people,  Apol.  21  A  ; 
war  with  the   tyrants,  Menex. 

243  E  ;  reconciliation  of  the  City 
and  the  Piraeus,  ibid. ; — battle  of 
Corinth,  Theaet.  142 ;  Menex. 
245  E  ;  battle  of  Lechaeum,  Me- 
nex. 245  E : — story  of  the  em- 
bassy sent  by  the  Athenians  to 
the  oracle  of  Amnion,  2  Alcib. 
148,  149. 

The  early  republic.  Laws  3.  698 
B  foil. ;  its  degeneracy,  ib.  693 ; 
character  of  the  Athenian  govern- 
ment, Menex.  238  C;  the  Athenian 
statesmen  did  not  improve  the 
people,  Gorg.  515,  519  (cp.  Peri- 
cles):— the  Prytanes,  Apol.  32  B  ; 
Gorg.  473  E  ;  the  Eleven,  Apol. 
37  C  ;  Phaedo  59  E,  85  B,  1 16  B  ; 
golden  images  set  up  by  the  Nine 
Archons  at  Delphi,  Phaedr.  235 
D  ;  the  Council,  Menex.  234  B  :— 
no  law  at  Athens  about  the  lime 


Index. 


379 


of  deciding  causes,  Apol.  37  B  ; 
the  law  compels  the  plaintiff  to 
answer  questions,  ib.  25  D  ;  pri- 
soners not  put  to  death  till  the 
return  of  the  mission-ship  from 
Delphi,  Crito  43  D  (cp.  Phaedo 
58  A  foil.)  ;  laws  on  education, 
marriage,  &c.,  Crito  50  foil. ;  laws 
about  love  affairs,  Symp.  182  A, 
183  C;  public  funerals,  Menex. 
234 ;  provision  for  children  of 
citizens  slain  in  battle,  ib.  249  :  — 
festival  of  the  Apaturia,  Tim.  21 
A  ;  Bendidea,  Rep.  i.  327  A,  354 
A ;  Dionysia,  Rep.  5.  475  E ; 
the  'performances  on  the  cart,' 
Laws  I.  637  B;  intoxication  at, 
ib.  C ;  Hermaea,  Lysis  206  D  ; 
Lenaea,  Protag.  327  D ;  Pana- 
thenaea,  Ion  530  B  ;  Euthyph.  6 
B  ;  Parm.  1 27  A  ;  armed  dances 
in  honour  of  Athene,  Laws  7.  796 
C,  D. 

Athenians  considered  the  best 
judges  of  tragedy.  Laches  183  B; 
have  no  Zfiiy  Trarpwor,  Euthyd. 
302  D;  freedom  of  speech  among, 
Protag.  319;  Gorg.  461  E;  wis- 
dom of,  Protag.  319  B,  337  D  ; 
temporary  dearth  of  that  com- 
modity among  them,  Meno  71 
A  ;  jealous  of  any  one  who 
attempts  to  impart  wisdom  to 
them,  Euthyph.  3  D  ;  named 
from  the  Goddess,  Laws  i.  626 
D  (cp.  Athene)  ;  thought  to  be 
great  talkers,  ib.  641  E  ;  if  good, 
very  good,  ib.  642  C  ;  the  multi- 
tude in  old  days  required  to  keep 
silence  in  the  theatre,  ib.  3.  700  ; 
pride  of  the  Athenians,  ib.  6.  753 
B;  breedingof  birds  among,  z^.  7. 
789B(cp.Lysis2i2D;  Rep.5.459; 
1  Alcib.  120  A) ;  their  neglect  of 
education,  i  Alcib.  122  B  ;  easy 
to  praise  the  Athenians  among 
the  Athenians,  Menex.  235  D,  236 
A  ;  the  Athenians  children  of 
the  soil,  ib.  iy],  245  D  :  -Megil- 
lus  the  npd^evos  of  Athens,  Laws 


1. 642  B ;  friendship  of  Athenians 
and  Cretans,  ib.  D  : — Athenian 
confectionery,  Rep.  3.  404  D  : 
— Athenian  speakers  dragged 
from  the  Bema  by  force,  Protag. 

319  c. 

Athlete,  Atalanta  chooses  the  soul 
of  an,  Rep.  10. 620  B:  —victorious 
athletes  maintained  in  the  Pry- 
taneium,  Apol.  36  D  ;  athletes 
obliged  to  pay  excessive  attention 
to  diet,  Rep.  3.  404  A  ;  sleep 
away  their  lives,  ibid. ;  apt  to  be- 
come brutalized,  ib.  410  (cp.  7. 
535  D);  training  of  athletes.  Laws 
8.  830  A  : — the  guardians  athletes 
of  war.  Rep.  3.  403  E,  404  B  ;  4. 
422  ;  7.  521  E  ;  8.  543  (cp.  Laches 
182  B;  Laws  7.  824  A;  8. 
830). 

Athos,  cut  through  by  Xerxes,  Laws 
3.  699  A. 

Atlantic  Ocean,  navigable  in  early 
times,  Tim.  24  E  (cp.  Crit.  108 
E)  ;  origin  of  the  name,  Crit. 
114  A. 

Atlantis,  Tim.  25  A ;  Crit.  108  E, 
113  C  foil. ;  the  lot  of  Poseidon, 
Crit.  113  C;  received  its  name 
from  Atlas,  ib.  114  A;  produc- 
tions of,  ib.  114,  115;  arrange- 
ment of  the  country,  ib.  11^  C ; 
temples,  ib.  116  C,  D,  E  ;  baths, 
etc.,  ib.  117  A  ;  harbours  in,  ib. 
E  ;  the  mountains  of,  ib.  118  A  ; 
the  plain  in,  ib.  C  ;  population, 
ib.  119  A  ;  army  of,  ib.  A,  B  ; 
government  of,  ib.  C  ;  sacrifice  of 
a  bull  in,  ib.  D,  E. 

Atlas,  Phaedo  99  C  ;  Crit.  1 14  A  ; 
his  family,  Crit.  114  C  (cp.  120 
D). 

Atonement  for  crimes,  not  easily 
made,  as  wicked  men  suppose, 
Rep.  2.  364  ;  Laws  4.  716  E  ; 
10.  885  C,  888  E,  905,  90S  E; 
12.  948  ;  2  Alcib.  149  E. 

Atreus,  his  name,  Crat.  395  B; 
quarrel  of  Atreus  and  Thyestes, 
Statesm.  268  E. 


38o 


Index. 


Atridae,  Rep.  3.  393  A. 

Atropos  (one  of  the  Fates),  her 
song,  Rep.  10.  617  C  ;  spins  the 
threads  of  destiny  and  makes 
them  irreversible,  ib.  620  E  (cp. 
Laws  12.  960  C). 

Attention,  various  meanings  of  the 
word,  Euthyph.  13  ;  a  motion  of 
the  soul,  Theaet.  153  B. 

Attica,  strife  of  the  Gods  respect- 
ing, Menex.  237  C  [btet  cp.  Crit. 
109  A) ;  ancient  kings  of,  Menex. 
238  D;  tribute  paid  to  Minos, 
Laws  4.  706  A  ;  ancient  popu- 
lation of,  Tim.  24  ;  Crit.  no  C  ; 
ancient  fertility  of,  Crit.  in  C 
(cp.  Menex.  237  E) ;  —  ancient 
dialect  of ;  bat^ixovei,  Crat.  398 
B;  eVin,  id.  401  C;  opnj,  tl).  410 
C  ;  use  of  o  for  o),  ibid.,  420  B  ; 
of  I  and  5  for  17  or  «  and  (,  ib. 
418  B  ;  of  e  for  t),  ib.  426  C ; — 
government  of,  reviewed,  com- 
mencing with  the  Persian  War, 
Laws  3.  698  A ; — little  wood  in, 
ib.  4.  706  B  : — Attic  confections, 
Rep.  3.  404  E  ;  heroes,  Crit.  1 10 
A. 

Attraction,  Tim.  80  C. 

Attribute  and  essence,  to  be  dis- 
tinguished, Euthyph.  II  A  (cp. 
Lysis  217). 

Audience  at  theatres,  included  wo- 
men, children,  and  slaves,  Gorg. 
502  D  ;  Laws  2.  658 ;  7.  817  C  ; 
as  judges,  Laws  2.  659 ;  3.  700. 
Cp.  Spectator. 

Authority ;  value  of  a  celebrated 
name,  Phaedr.  270  D  ; — claims 
to  authority  in  the  state,  Laws  3. 
690  A;  4.  714. 

Authorship  honourable,  Phaedr. 
258. 

Autochthon,  son  of  Poseidon,  Crit. 
114  B. 

Autochthones,  Statesm.  269  A,  271 
(cp.Symp.  191);  — in  Atlantis,Crit. 
113  C  ;— the  Athenians  boast  that 
they  are,  ib.  109 ;  Menex.  237  E, 
245  D. 


Autolycus,  the  grandfather  of  Odys- 
seus, Rep.  I.  334  A. 

Autumn,  the  gifts  of.  Laws  8.  844 
E. 

Auxiliaries,  the  young  warriors  of 
the  state.  Rep.  3.414;  compared 
to  dogs,  ib.  2.  376  ;  4.  440  D  ;  5. 

451  D;  have  silver  mingled  in 
their  veins,  ib.  3.  415  A.  Cp. 
Guardians. 

Avarice,  disgraceful.  Rep.  1.347  B  ; 
forbidden  in  the  guardians,  ib.  3. 

390  E  ;  falsely  imputed  to  Achil- 
les and  Asclepius  by  the  poets,  z'^. 

391  B,  408  C ;  characteristic  of 
timocracy  and  oligarchy,  ib.  8. 
548  A,  553  ;  in  despotic  rulers. 
Laws  3.  697  E  ;  a  cause  of  mur- 
der, ib.  9.  870. 

Aviary  in  the  mind,  Theaet.  197  C 
foil. 

Axiochus,  father  of  Cleinias,Euthyd. 

271  B,  275  A. 
Azaes,  son  of  Poseidon,  Crit.  114 

C. 

B. 

Bacchic  dances,  Laws  7.  815  C  ; — 
women,  Ion  534  A  ;  Laws  7.  790 
E  (cp.  Phaedr.  253  A). 

Bad,  see  Evil,  Unjust. 

Balance  required  in  the  state  and  in 
the  individual.  Laws  3.  691,  693 
B  ;  4.  716  A. 

Ball,  the  earth  compared  to  a  parti- 
coloured leathern,  Phaedo  iio 
B.    Cp.  Games. 

Banditti,  in  Italy,  Laws  6.  777  C. 

Barbarian  words,  Crat.  409  E  (cp. 
4x7  C,  421  D,  425  E) ;  barba- 
rian forms  of  government.  Rep. 
8.  544  D: — barbarians  older  than 
Greeks,  Crat.  425  E ;  regard 
nakedness  as  improper,  Rep.  5. 

452  D  ;  the  natural  enemies  of 
the  Hellenes,  ib.  470  (cp.  Statesm. 
262  D) ;  admire  wealth,  Laws  9. 
870  A. 

Baths,  at  the  Lyceum,  Symp.  223 


Index. 


D  ;  in  the  island  of  Atlantis, 
Crit.  117  A;  warm  baths  to  be 
provided  for  the  aged,  Laws  6. 
761  C  ; — Socrates  takes  the  bath 
before  his  death,  Phaedo  115  A, 
116  A. 

Batiea,  name  of  a  hill  near  Troy 
(Hom.  II.  2.  813  foil.),  Crat.  392 
A. 

Beast,  the  great,  Rep.  6.  493  ;  the 
many-headed,  ib.  9.  588,  589:  — 
'  the  wild  beast  within  us,'  ib.  571, 
572  : — 'the  fatted  beast,'  Laws 
7.  807  A :— the  beast  which  has 
killed  a  man,  to  be  tried  for 
murder,  ib.  9.  873  E. 

Beautiful,  the,  and  the  good  are 
one,  Lysis  216;  Symp.  201  B, 
204  E  foil. ;  Rep.  5.  452  (cp.  Eu- 
thyd.  301  A  ;  Crat.  439;  Phaedo 
100) ;  the  many  beautiful  con- 
trasted with  absolute  beauty,  Rep. 
6.  507  B  ;  he  is  beautiful  who 
utters  the  beautiful,  Theaet.  185 
E ;  the  beautiful  and  the  not- 
beautiful,  Soph.  257. 

Beauty,  '  a  slippery  thing,'  Lysis 
216  C  (cp.  I  Alcib.  131);  nature 
of.  Lysis  216  ;  Phaedr.  250  foil. ; 
beauty  and  goodness,  Symp.  201 ; 
beauty  and  love,  ib.  206  ;  grada- 
tions of  beauty,  ib.  210;  univer- 
sal science  of,  ibid. ;  standard  of, 
Gorg.  474 ;  a  means  of  education, 
Rep.  3.  401  foil. ;  pleasure  of,  Phil. 
51  ;  allied  to  measure,  ib.  64  E; 
to  mind,  ib.  65  E  ;  in  the  scale  of 
goods,  ib.  65,  66  ;  inferior  to  vir- 
tue. Laws  5.  727  E  (cp.  Symp. 
218  D,  E)  ;  the  desire  of  beauty 
in  the  soul,  Laws  8.  841  C; — 
absolute,  Euthyd.  301  A ;  Crat. 
439  C  ;  Phaedr.  249  E,  254  A  ; 
Symp.  211 ;  Rep.  5.  476,  479  ;  6. 
494  A ,  501  B,  507  B  (cp.  Laws 
2.  655  C); — beauty  of  Alcibiades, 
Symp.  217  A,  219  B  ;  1  Alcib. 
104  A ;  of  Charmides,  Charm. 
154. 

Becoming  and  being,  Rep.  7.  518 


D,  521  D,  525  D;  Tim.  27  E 
foil.;  Theaet.  152,  157  (cp.  Pro- 
tag.  340). 
Beds,  the  figure  of  the  three.  Rep. 

10.  596  foil. 

Bee, — '  like  the  bee,  leave  my  sting 
in  you  before  I  die,'  Phaedo  91 
C  ; — laws  concerning  bees.  Laws 
8.  843  E  ;  poisoning  of  bees,  ib. 

11.  933  D  : — bee-masters,  Rep. 
8.  564  C. 

Beggars,  to  be  banished  from  the 
state,  Laws  11.  936  B. 

Beginning,  the,  unbegotten  and  in- 
destructible, Phaedr.  245  C. 

Being,  concerned  with  the  invari- 
able, Rep.  9.  585 ;  nature  of, 
Tim.  51  E  ;  perceived  by  the 
soul,  Theaet.  185  C;  being  in 
early  Greek  philosophy.  Soph. 
243,  244  ;  (existence)  defined  as 
power,  ib.  247,  248 ;  as  a  genus, 
ib.  254  foil. ;  as  expressed  by 
language,  ib.  261  : — being  and 
becoming,  Rep.  7.  518  D,  521  D, 
525  D  ;  Tim.  27  E  foil. ;  Theaet. 
152,  157  (cp.  Protag.  340)  :— 
being  and  the  many,  Parm.  127 
E  : — being  and  motion,  Theaet. 
153  A,  180  E  ;  Soph.  249  ;  mov- 
able and  immovable  in  being. 
Soph.  249  ;  being  neither  in  mo- 
tion nor  rest,  ib.  250  : — being 
and  not-being.  Rep.  5.  477; 
Theaet.  188;  Soph.  257  foil.  :— 
being  and  number,  Parm.  144  : — 
being  and  the  one,  ib.  142  foil. ; 
Theaet.  180  E  (cp.  One) : — being 
and  other.  Soph.  259: — being  and 
unity,  ib.  245: — true  being  beheld 
by  the  soul  which  follows  God, 
Phaedr.  249,  250 ;  the  object  of 
the  philosopher's  desire.  Rep.  6. 
484,  485,  486  E,  490,  500  C,  501 
D;  7.  521,  537  D;  9.  581  E,  582 
C  (cp.  Phaedr.  249  ;  Phaedo  65, 
82;  Rep.  5. 475  E  ;  7.  520  B,  525; 
Theaet.  173  E;  Soph.  249  D, 
254  A) ;  the  subject  of  mind  and 
wisdom,  Phil.  59.    Cp.  Essence. 


382 


Index. 


Belief,  distinguished  from  learning, 

Gorg.  454.    Cp.  Faith. 
Belief  in  Gods,  not  universal.  Laws 

12.  948.    Cp.  Atheism,  Atheists, 

God. 

Belly,  the,  Tim.  72  E. 

Below  and  above,  Tim.  62  D. 

Bendis,  a  title  of  Artemis,  Rep.  i. 
327  A  : — Bendidea,  a  feast  of 
Artemis,  ib.  i.  354  A  (cp.  327 
A,  B). 

Bequest,  freedom  of,  restricted. 
Laws  II.  922  foil. 

Betrothal,  regulations  respecting, 
Laws  6.  774  E. 

'Better'  and  'wiser,'  Gorg.  489; 
meaning  of  'better'  in  going  to 
war,  I  Alcib.  109  ;  can  the  better 
be  conquered  by  the  worse? 
Laws  1.627:— the  knowledge  of 
the  best,  2  Alcib.  144  E  foil. 

Bias  of  Priene,  one  of  the  Seven 
Wise  Men,  Protag.  343  A  ;  Rep. 

I-  335  E. 
Bile,  Tim.  83,  85. 

Birds,  do  not  sing  when  in  pain, 
Phaedo  85  A ;  divination  by, 
Phaedr.244  C  ;  Phil.  67  C ;  breed- 
ing of,  at  Athens,  Rep.  5.  459  ; 
Laws  7.  789  B  (cp.  Lysis  212  D; 
I  Alcib.  120  A)  ;  creation  of,  Tim. 
91  D  ;  their  lives  an  example  to 
men.  Laws  8.  840  D ;— as  offer- 
ings, ib.  12.  956  A  : — bird-catch- 
ing. Soph.  220  B  ;  Laws  7.  823. 

Birth,  pride  of,  Gorg.  512  (cp.  i 
Alcib.  120  E) ;  despised  by  the 
philosopher,  Theaet.  174  E ; 
authority  of,  Laws  3.  690  A ; 
not  a  ground  of  superiority  at 
Athens,  Menex.  238  E  ;  obliga- 
tions of,  ib.  247  :— birth  in  love, 
Symp.  206  :— birth  in  thought, 
Theaet.  148  E  foil. : — birth  in  man, 
an  imitation  of  the  earth,  Menex. 
238  A : — the  many  births  of 
things,  Laws  10.  904  A  (cp.  Tim. 
42  B). 

Birthdays,  to  be  registered  m  the 
temples.  Laws  6.  785. 


Blasphemy,  at  sacrifices,  Laws  7. 
800  (cp.  821  D). 

Blest,  Islands  of  the,  Symp.  180  B  ; 
Gorg.  523  B,  526  C;  Rep.  7. 
519  C,  540  C  ;  Menex.  235  B. 

Blood,  Tim.  80  E,  85. 

Body,  in  materialistic  philosophy. 
Soph.  246  ; — Bodies,  nature  of, 
Tim.  53  C  foil. ;  forms  of,  ibid. ; 
change  of,  ib.  56. 

Body,  the,  and  the  members,  com- 
parison of  the  state  to.  Rep.  5. 
462  D,  464  B  (cp.  Laws  12.  964 
E). 

Body,  the  human,  Tim.  44 ;  growth 
of,  Phaedo  96  C  ;  Laws  7.  788  D ; 
principles  on  which  it  is  framed, 
Tim.  72  E  foil. ;  channels  in  the 
body,  ib.  77;  the  youthful  body, 
ib.  81;  sympathy  of  body  and 
soul,  ib.  88  ;  motions  of  the  body, 
ib.  89;  organs  of  thebody,  Theaet. 
184,  185  :  — state  of  thebody  after 
death,  Gorg.  524  A : — bodies  and 
shades.  Laws  12.  959  A  (cp. 
Phaedo  81) : — the  body  a  source 
of  evil,  Phaedo  66  (cp.  Tim.  70  E) ; 
akin  to  the  seen  and  the  changing, 
Phaedo  79;  not  self-sufficing,  Rep. 
1.341E;  the  honour  due  to.  Laws 
5.  728  E;  not  eternal,  but  inde- 
structible, ib.  10.  904;  — the  plea- 
sures of  the  body  slavish,  Phaedr. 
258  E ; — the  index  (a-rjixalvei)  of 
the  soul,  Crat.  400  C  ;  the  tomb 
(crrma)  of  the  soul,  ibid. ;  Phaedr. 
250  C  ;  Gorg.  493  A  ;  the  prison 
of  the  soul,  Phaedo  81,  82,  83  (cp. 
Crat.  400) ;— under  the  rule  of  the 
soul,  Phaedo  80,  94  ;  Tim.  34  E  ; 
Laws  5.  726;  10.  892  A,  896  ;  12. 
959  A,  966  E,  967  B  ;  I  Alcib.  130 
A;  harmony  of  body  and  soul. 
Rep.  3.  402 ;  the  body  has  less 
truth  and  essence  than  the  soul, 
ib.  9.  585  D  ;  inferior  to  the  soul. 
Laws  5.  728, 743  E  ;  10.  892  ;  12. 
959  A  ;  the  connexion  of  body  and 
soul  not  better  than  their  dissolu- 
tion, ib.  8.  828  E  (cp.  Crat.  403) ; 


Index. 


3B3 


exists  forthe  sake  of  the  soul,  Laws 
9.  870  B  ; — the  excessive  care  of 
the  body  inimical  to  virtue,  Rep. 
3.  407  (cp.  9.  591  D) ;  unworthy 
of  a  freeman,  Laws  7.  796  B  : — 
operations  deahng  with  the  body, 
Gorg.  517. 

Boeotia,  Socrates'  bones,  if  free, 
would  go  off  to,  Phaedo  99  A  : — 
the  Boeotians  approve  of  un- 
natural love,  Symp.  182  B  (cp. 
Laws  I.  636  B)  ;  —  Boeotians 
at  Tanagra,  Oenophyta,  and 
Coronea,  i  Alcib.  112  C  (cp. 
Menex.  242  A,  B)  ; — Boeotians 
ask  aid  of  Athens,  Menex.  244 
D  ;  willing  to  betray  the  Hellenes 
in  Asia,  ib.  245  C. 

Bones,  Tim.  73. 

Books,  the  Athenian  orators  like, 

because  they  can  neither  ask  nor 

answer  questions,  Protag.  329  A. 

Cp.  Anaxagoras,  Writing. 
Boreas  carried  off  Orithyia,  Phaedr. 

229  B,  C  ;  Thracian  Boreas,  Laws 

2.  66i  A. 
Boundaries,  laws  concerning,  Laws 

8.  842  E. 
Bowels,  Tim.  73  A. 
Bowmen,  in  Crete,  Laws  l.  625  E  ; 

mounted,   ib.  8.  834  D.  See 

Archers. 

Boxers,  training  of.  Laws  8.  830  A. 

Boxing,  Gorg.  456  D ;  Rep.  4. 
422 ;  Laws  7.  795  C  ;  8.  830  E  ; 
tricks  of,  invented  byEpeius  and 
Amycus,  Laws  7.  796  A. 

Boys,  set  to  learn  poetry  in  schools, 
Protag.  326  A  ;  Laws  7.  810,  81 1 ; 
ought  not  to  drink  wine.  Laws  2. 
666  A  ;  processions  of,  ib.  7.  796 
D  ;  the  most  unmanageable  of 
animals,  ib.  808  D ;  education  of, 
810  (cp.  Education) ;  contests  of, 
ib.  8.  833  C  :— boy-life  at  Athens, 
Charm.  154;  Lysis  206-208,211, 
223  ;  I  Alcib.  110  B  (cp.  Alcib- 
iades,  Charmides,  Lysis,  Theae- 
tetus,  a7id  Games). 

Brain,  Tim.  73  D. 


Brasidas  compared  to  Achilles, 
Symp.  221  C. 

Brass  and  iron  mingled  by  the 
God  in  the  husbandmen  and 
craftsmen.  Rep.  3.  415  A  (cp.  8. 
547  A)  ;  not  to  be  offered  to  the 
Gods,  Laws  12.  955  E. 

Breeding  of  animals.  Rep.  5.  459; 
Laws  5.  735  B  ;  of  cocks  and 
quails  at  Athens,  Laws  7.  789  B 
(cp.  Lysis  212  D  ;  i  Alcib.  120 
A). 

Brevity  (proverbial),  of  the  Lace- 
daemonians, Protag.  342  A  foil. ; 
Laws  I.  642  A  ;  4.  722  A  ;  not 
always  to  be  regarded,  Statesm. 
283,  286;  Laws  4.  721  E;  10. 
887  B. 

Briareus,  how  to  be  armed,  Euthyd. 

299  C ;   fabled  to  have  had  a 

hundred  hands.  Laws  7.  795  C. 
Bribes,  taking  of,  punished  by  death. 

Laws  12.  955  C. 
Building,  Rep.  3.  401  A  ;  4.  438  C  ; 

Soph.  266  D  ;  Eryx.  403  D  ;  an 

exact  art,  Phil.  56  B. 
Bulls  sacrificed  in  Atlantis,  Crit. 

119  E  ;  bulls  with  gilded  horns 

offered  to  the  Gods,  2  Alcib. 

149  B. 

Burial,  of  the  rulers  (in  the  best 
state),  Rep.  3.  413  E  ;  5.  465  E, 
469  A  ;  7.  540  B ;  of  parents, 
Laws  4.  717  E  ;  of  a  rich  wife, 
how  to  be  described  in  poetiy,  ib. 
719  E  ;  of  the  suicide,  ib.  9.  873  ; 
of  the  censors  of  magistrates,  ib. 
12.  947;  regulations  for  burial, 
ib.  958,  959  ;  burial  of  the  dead 
in  battle  at  Athens,  Menex.  234. 
Cp.  Funeral. 

Buying  and  selling,  regulations 
concerning.  Laws  8.  849;  il. 
915,  916. 

C, 

Cadmus,  the  story  of.  Laws  2. 663  E 
(cp.  Rep.  3.  414  C ;  Soph.  247  C) ; 
a  barbarian,  Menex.  245  C  ; — 
Cadmus    of    Thebes  (Cebes), 


Index. 


Phaedo  95  A  : — '  Cadmeian  vic- 
tory,'Laws  1. 641  C: — Cadmeians 
at  war  with  Argives,  Menex. 
239  B. 

Caeneus  the  Thessalian,  changed 
from  woman  to  man,  Laws  12. 
944  D- 

Caestus,  the,  worn  by  would-be 
Laconizers,  Protag.  342  B. 

Calculation,  defined,  Gorg.  451  ; 
corrects  the  illusions  of  sight, 
Rep.  10.  602  D  (cp.  Protag.  356  ; 
Rep.  7.  524) ;  the  talent  for, 
accompanied  by  general  quick- 
ness, Rep.  7.  526  B  ;  the  art  of, 
Theaet.  198  ;  Statesm.  259  D. 
Cp.  Arithmetic. 

Callaeschrus,  father  of  Critias, 
Charm.  153  C,  169  B  ;  Protag. 
316  A. 

Calliades,  father  of  Callias,  i  Alcib. 
119  A. 

Callias,  son  of  Calliades,  a  disciple 
of  Zeno,  I  Alcib.  119  A. 

Callias,  son  of  Hipponicus,  Protag. 
311  A,  314  E,  315  D,  335  D  ; 
Protagoras  at  his  house,  ib.  311 
A ;  half-brother  to  Paralus,  ib. 
314  E;  his  house  the  finest  in 
the  city,  ib.  337  D ;  'the  noble,' 
ib.  362  A  ;  has  spent  a  '  world  of 
money '  on  the  Sophists,  Crat. 
391  C  ;  Apol.  20  A  ;  guardian  of 
Protagoras'  interests  at  Athens, 
Theaet.  165  A;  famous  for  his 
wealth,  Eryx.  395  A  ;  father  of 
Protarchus,  Phil.  19  B. 

Callicles,  a  person  in  the  dialogue 
Gorgias,  Gorg.  481  B-S05  E ; 
loves  the  son  of  Pyrilampes,  ib. 
481  D,  513  B;  Socrates'  account 
of  him,  ib.  487  A  foil. ;  his  view  of 
temperance,  ib,  491  E  foil.  ;  an 
Achamian,  ib.  495  D  ;  unfair  in 
argument,  ib.  499  C  foil. ;  will  not 
continue  the  argument,  ib.  506  C  ; 
beginning  to  be  a  public  character, 
ib.  515  A. 

Calliope,  eldest  of  the  Muses, 
Phaedr.  259  D. 


Cambyses,  the  son  of  Cyrus,  nearly 
ruined  the  Persian  empire,  Laws 
3.  694  C  ;  his  folly,  ib.  695  B,  C  ; 
his  conquests,  Menex.  239  E. 

Capital  causes,  in  some  states  not 
allowed  to  be  decided  in  one  day, 
Apol.  37  A : — capital  punishment, 
Statesm.  297  D  ;  Laws  9.  854,  859- 
863, 880  E  ;  12. 957  E.  Cp.  Death. 

Captain,  parable  of  the  deaf.  Rep. 
6.  488  : — rogueries  practised  by 
ship  captains,  Statesm.  298  B. 
Cp.  Pilot. 

Carding,  Statesm.  281  A,  282  B. 

Carelessness,  not  to  be  ascribed  to 
the  gods.  Laws  10.  900  foil.  Cp. 
God. 

Carian  (proverbial).  Laches  187  B  ; 
Euthyd.  285  B  ;  Carian  wailers, 
Laws  7.  800  E. 

Carpentry,  Ion  537  B  ;  Rep.  4. 
428  C ;  an  exact  art,  Phil.  56  B. 

'  Cart,'  performances  on  the  (at 
Athens),  Laws  i.  637  B. 

Carthaginians,  given  to  intoxication, 
Laws  I.  637  D  ;  restrictions  on 
drinking  among,  ib.  2.  674  B  ; 
use  pieces  of  leather  for  money, 
Eryx.  400  A. 

Carving,  an  image  of  the  dialectical 
process,  Phaedr.  265  E  ;  Statesm. 
287  B.    Cp.  Dialectic. 

Casks,  image  of  the,  Gorg.  493. 

Caste,  in  Egypt,  Tim.  24 ;  in  ancient 
Athens, /<^zV/. ;  Crit.  110,  112. 

Castor  and  Pollux,  Euthyd.  293  A  ; 
games  in  honour  of  (at  Lace- 
daemon),  Laws  7.  796  B. 

Causal  arts,  Statesm.  281,  282,  287 
B.    Cp.  Art. 

Cause,  the  idea  of  the ;  cause  and 
effect,  Euthyph.  10  ;  Phil.  26,  27; 
'the  tie  of  the  cause,'  Meno  98 
A  ;  cause  and  condition  distin- 
guished, Phaedo  99;  the  good 
denied  by  some  to  be  a  cause, 
ibid. ;  a  cause  necessary  to  crea- 
tion, Tim.  28  A  ;  the  power  of 
the  cause,  Phil.  30 : — God  the 
best  of  causes,  Tim.  29  A  : — final 


Index. 


385 


causes,  Phaedo  97,  98  ;  argument 
from,  applied  to  justice.  Rep.  i. 
352  ;  second  causes,  Tim.  46 
(cp.  76  E) ;  two  kinds  of  causes, 
lb.  68  E ;  creative  causes,  Phil. 
27 ;  the  causes  of  things,  ought 
to  be  enquired  into  by  men,  Laws 

7.  821  A;  first  causes,  ib.  10. 
891  E  : — causes  of  crimes.  Rep. 

8.  552  D  ;  9.  575  A  ;  Laws  8. 
831  E,  832  D  ;  9.  863,  870. 

Cavalry,  Laches  191  ; — cavalry  of- 
ficers, election  of,  Laws  6.  755  E. 

Cave,  the  image  of  the.  Rep.  7. 
514  foil.,  532  (cp.  539  E). 

Cebes  of  Thebes,  willing  to  provide 
money  for  Socrates'  escape, 
Crito  45  B  ;  present  at  the  death 
of  Socrates,  and  taking  part  in 
the  dialogue  Phaedo,  Phaedo  59 
B ;  a  friend  of  Philolaus,  ib.  61 
D  ;  his  native  speech,  ib.  62  A ; 
his  eai-nestness,  ib.  63  A ;  his 
incredulity,  ib.  70  A  foil.,  77  B  ; 
he  compares  the  soul  to  a  weaver's 
coat,  ib.  87  B  foil. ;  apt  to  be 
disconcerted,  ib.  103  C. 

Cecrops,  Crit.  110  A. 

Celibacy,  fines  on,  Laws  4.  721  D  ; 

6.  774  A. 

Celts  given  to  intoxication.  Laws  I. 
637  D. 

Censors  of  magistrates.  Laws  12. 
945-947  ;  creation  of  censors,  ib. 
946  ;  burial  of,  ib.  947 ;  trial  of, 
ib.  E. 

Censorship  of  fiction,  Rep.  2.  377 ; 
3.  386  foil.  ;  10.  595  foil. ;— of  the 
arts,  ib.  3.  401  ; — of  poetry,  Laws 

7.  801,  817  D  ;  8.  829  D.  Cp. 
Fiction,  Poets. 

Centaurs,  Phaedr.  229  D  ;  chorus 
of  (sophist-politicians),  Statesm. 
291  A,  303  D. 

Ceos,  subject  to  Athens,  Laws  i.  638 
B  ;— Prodicus  of  Ceos,  Protag. 
314  C;  ApoL  19  E;  Rep.  10. 
600  C  ;  Eryx.  397  C ;  Pythocleides 
of,  Protag.  316  E  :— Cean  use  of 
the  word  ■xoKtitov,  Protag.  341 

VOL.  V.  C 


A  : — character  of  the  Ceans.  ib. 
E. 

Cephalus  of  Clazomenae,  Rep.  i. 
330  B  ;  Parm.  126  A  foil. 

Cephalus,  father  of  Lysias,  Phaedr. 
227  A,  263  D  ;  father  of  Pole- 
marchus.  Rep.  i.  327  B  ;  offers 
sacrifice,  ib.  328  B,  331  D  ;  his 
views  on  old  age,  ib.  328  E  ;  his 
views  on  wealth,  ib.  330  A  foil. 

Cephisus,  Antiphon  of,  Apol.  33  E. 

Cepis,  father  of  Adeimantus,  Protag. 
315  E. 

Cerameis,  deme  of,  Protag.  315  E. 
Ceramicus,    outside    the   wall  of 

Athens,  Parm.  127  C. 
Cerberus,  two  natures  in  one.  Rep. 

9.  588  C. 

Cercyon,  famous  (in  mythology)  for 
his  skill  in  wrestling.  Laws  7. 
796  A. 

Chaeredemus,  father  of  Patrocles, 
half-brother  to  Socrates,  Euthyd. 
297  E,  298  A,  B. 

Chaerephon,  a  person  in  the 
dialogue  Charmides,  Charm.  153 
A  foil. ;  a  kind  of  madman,  ib.  B 
(cp.  Apol.  21  A)  ;  consulted  the 
oracle  at  Delphi  concerning 
Socrates,  Apol.  20  E  ;  dead  at 
the  time  of  the  Apology,  ib.  21  A ; 
goes  with  Socrates  to  Gorgias, 
Gorg.  447  A  foil. 

Chalcis,  name  of  a  bird  in  Homer, 
Crat.  392  A. 

XaA€7roV,use  of  the  word,  Protag.  341. 

Chance  in  war.  Rep.  5.  467  E  ; 
blamed  by  men  for  their  mis- 
fortunes, ib.  ID.  619  C  (cp.  Laws 
5.  727  B)  ;  the  great  legislator, 
Laws  4.  709  ;  together  with  God, 
ibid.  ;  and  art,  ibid.  ;  10.  889  ; 
and  nature,  ib.  10.  889. 

Change,  in  music,  not  to  be  allowed. 
Rep.  4.  424  ;  Laws  7.  799  ;  in  the 
laws,  Statesm.  295  foil. ;  evil  of, 
Laws  7.  797,  798  ;  the  principles 
of  change,  ib.  10.  893,  894: — 
changes  of  the  soul,  ib.  903  E,  904 
D  ;  changes  in  the  character  of 


386 


Index. 


young  men,  ib.  1 1 . 929  C ;  changes 
in  body  and  mind  during  life, 
Symp.  207  D. 

Chaos,Tim.S3  A,  69B  ;  Theaet.  153 
D  ;  Statesm.  273  :— the  '  Chaos' 
of  Anaxagoras,  Phaedo  72  C  ; 
Gorg.  465  D. 

Character,  differences  of,  in  men, 
Statesm.  307  ;  Rep.  I.  329  D  ;  in 
women.  Rep.  5.  456 ;  affected  by 
the  imitation  of  unworthy  objects, 
il'-  3-  395  ;  Laws  2. 668  ;  7. 798  E  ; 
formed  in  infancy.  Laws  7.  791, 
792  ;  character  and  will,  ib.  10. 
904 ;  character  of  young  men,  apt 
to  change,  ib.  1 1. 929  C  (cp.Symp. 
207  D)  :  —  national  character. 
Rep.  4.  435  ;  affected  by  climate 
and  soil,  Laws  5.  747 :— great 
characters  may  be  ruined  by  bad 
education,  Rep.  6.  491  E,  495  B  ; 

7.  519  (cp.  Laws  8.  831  E):— 
faults  of  character,  Theaet.  144 
B  ;  Rep.  6.  503. 

Chariot  driving,  Lysis  208  A  ;  Ion 
537  A. 

Charioteer  of  the  soul,  Phaedr,  246, 
253.  254- 

Chariots,  not  kept  in  Crete,  Laws 

8.  834  B. 

Charmantides,  the  Paeanian,  pre- 
sent at  the  Republic,  Rep.  i .  3?.8  B. 

Charmers,  punishment  of.  Laws  10. 
909  (cp.  Rep.  2.  364;  Law?  11. 
933  A). 

Charmides,  the  son  of  Glaucon, 
Protag.  315  A  ;  a  person  in  the 
dialogue  Charmides  {see  Tem- 
perance) ;  the  most  beautiful 
youth  of  his  time,  Charm.  1 54  A, 
C,  157  C,  175  E  ;  his  disposition, 
ib.  154  E,  157  C,  D;  Critias 
his  guardian  and  cousin,  ib.  155 
A,  156  A,  157  C,  176  C  ;  great- 
ness of  his  ancestors,  ib.  157  E 
(cp.  Tim.  20  E) ;  Socrates'  in- 
fluence on  him,  Symp.  222  B. 

Charondas,  lawgiver  of  Italy  and 
Sicily,  Rep.  10.  599  E. 

Chastisement  of  the  soul,  Gorg.  505. 


Chastity,  Laws  i.  636  ;  8.  835  foil. 

Cheerfulness,  usually  accompanied 
by  a  high  spirit.  Laws  7.  791  C. 

Cheese,  Rep.  2.  372  C  ;  3.  405  E. 

Cheiron,  teacher  of  Achilles,  Rep. 
3.  391  C  ;  Hipp.  Min.  371  C. 

Chene,  Myson  of,  Protag.  343  A. 

Child,  the  new-born,  carried  round 
the  hearth,  Theaet.  160  E  :— '  the 
child  within  us,'  Phaedo  77  E  : — 
Children,  the  greatest  riches  of 
their  parents.  Laches  185  A  (cp. 
Lysis  219  D) ;  have  spirit,  but  not 
reason.  Rep.  4.  441  A  (cp.  Laws 
12.  963  E) ;  why  under  authority, 
Rep.  9.  590  E  ;  instincts  of.  Laws 

2.  653  ;  conceive  virtue  and  vice 
under  the  forms  of  pleasure  and 
pain,  ib.  A  ;  prefer  comedy  to 
tragedy,  ib.  658  (cp.  Rep.  3.  397 
D) ;  a  means  of  immortality. 
Laws  4.  721  ;  6.  773  E,  776  B 
(cp.  Symp.  207,  208) ;  fear  and 
courage  in.  Laws  7.  791  (cp. 
Laches  197  A) ;  loss  of,  consoled, 
Menex.  247,  248  ;  often  bring  un- 
happiness  on  their  parents,  2 
Alcib.  142  : — in  the  state,  Rep. 

3.  416;  5.  449  E,  457  foil;  8. 
543;  Tim.  18;  must  not  hear 
improper  stories.  Rep.  2.  377 ;  4. 
408  C  (cp.  Laws  12.  941  B) ; 
must  be  reared  amid  fair  sights 
and  sounds,  Rep.  3.  401  ;  trans- 
fer of  children  from  one  class 
to  another,  ib.  415  ;  4.  423  D  ; 
must  receive  education  even  in 
their  games,  ib.  4.  425  A  ;  7. 
537  A  ;  Laws  i.  643  B  ;  must 
learn  to  ride.  Rep.  5.  467  (cp. 
Laws  7.  804  C) ;  must  go  with 
their  fathers  and  mothers  into 
war.  Rep.  5.  467;  7.  537  A  ;  ex- 
posure of  children  allowed,  ib. 
5.  460  C,  461  C ;  illegitimate 
children,  ib.  5.  461  A  ;  children 
greatly  influenced  by  song,  Laws 
2.  659  D  ;  easily  persuaded  of 
anything  by  the  legislator,  ib. 
664  A  ;  ought  not  to  touch  wine, 


Index. 


387 


ib.  666  A ;  must  honour  and 
reverence  their  parents,  ib.  4. 
717  C;  II.  931,  932;  are  hap- 
piest when  only  possessed  of  a 
moderate  fortune,  ib.  5.  729  A  ; 

6.  773  E  ;  great  care  necessary 
in  the  education  of,  ib.  6.  766  A  ; 

7.  788,  808,  809  ;  procreation  of, 
ib.  6.  775,  784,  785  (cp.  2.  674 
B)  ;  registration  of,  ib.  6.  785  ; 
must  have  experience  of  pain 
as  well  as  pleasure,  ib.  7.  792  A  ; 
sports  of,  ib.  793  E  ;  to  meet 
at  the  village  temples,  ib.  794 
A ;  innovation  in  the  games  of, 
forbidden,  ib.  797,  798 ;  belong 
to  the  state  rather  than  to  their 
parents,  ib.  804  E  ;  must  take 
part  in  military  exercises,  ib.  8. 
829  C  ;  not  to  suffer  for  the  sins 
of  their  fathers,  ib.  9.  855  A,  856 
D  ;  may  not  defend  themselves 
against  their  parents,  ib.  869  B 
(cp.  Crito  51  C)  ;  denied  to  the 
treasure  taker,  ib.  11.  913  (cp. 
Rep.  2.  363  D)  ;  number  of,  re- 
cognized by  the  law  as  sufficient. 
Laws  II.  930  : — chastisement  of, 
ib.  7.  808  E: — quarrels  between 
children  and  parents,  ib.  11.  928 
foil. : — children  in  Egj^pt,  ib.  7. 
819: — children  of  slaves,  ib.  11. 
930  : — provision  for  the  children 
of  citizens  fallen  in  battle  at 
Athens,  Menex.  248E  : — 'children 
of  the  mind,'  Symp.  209  (cp. 
Phaedr.  258  C) ;  arguments  com- 
pared to  children,  Phaedr.  261  A. 

Chilo,  the  Lacedaemonian,  one  of  the 

Seven  Wise  Men,  Protag.  343  A. 
Chimaera,   two  natures    in  one, 

Phaedr.  229  D  ;  Rep.  9.  588  C. 
Chines,  presented  to   the  brave 

warrior.  Rep.  5.  468  C. 
Chios,  home  of  Euthydemus  and 

Dionysodorus,   Euthyd.  271  C, 

288  A. 

Cholarges,  Nausicydes  of,  Gorg. 
487  C. 

Choral  art,  Gorg.  501  E  ;  i  Alcib. 


125  D  ;  co-extensive  with  educa- 
tion. Laws  2.  653  D,  664  E,  672. 
Chorus,  divided  into  two  parts, 
dance  and  song,  Laws  2.  654 ; 
the  word  derived  from  x^pa,  ib. 
A  ;  imitates  actions  of  virtue  and 
vice,  ib.  7.  798  (cp.  2.  655  E  ;  7. 
812  B)  ; — chorus  of  Apollo  and 
the  Muses,  ib.  2.  664,  665  ;  of 
Dionysus,  ib.  665  B,  670  A ;  7. 
812  B  ;  of  the  aged,  ib.  2.  664  D ; 
— the  three  choruses,  ib.  664  ; — 
choruses  of  boys  and  girls,  ibid. ; 

6.  772  A  ;  —choruses  in  Egypt,  ib. 

7.  799  A  (cp.  2.  656  D,  660  B)  ;— 
attendance  at  choruses,  ib.  12. 
949  C  ;  contests  of  choruses,  ib. 

8.  834  E  ;  judges  of  choruses,  to 
take  an  oath,  ib.  12.  949  A  ; 
leaders  and  masters  of  choruses, 
Ion  536  A  ;  Laws  2.  655  A  ;  6. 
764  E  foil.,  772  A  ;  7.  812  E  :— 
choric  song,  Laws  2. 665;  at  Crete 
and  Lacedaemon,  ib.  666  D. 

Chryses,  the  priest  of  Apollo  (II.  i. 

1 1  foil.).  Rep.  3.  392  E  foil. 
Chrysippus  murdered  by  Atreus, 

Crat.  395  B. 
Cimon,  a  good  man  in  common 

opinion,  Gorg.  503  C,  515  D  ; 

ostracized,  ib.  516  D  ;  real  author 

of  the  Athenian  calamities,  ib. 

519  A. 

Cinesias,  a  dithyrambic  poet,  Gorg. 
501  E. 

Cinyras,  his  wealth.  Laws  2.  660  E. 

Cithaeron,  Grit.  110  D. 

Cithara,  (harp),  used  in  contests, 
Gorg.  501  E  (cp.  Rep.  3.  399  D). 
Cp.  Harp. 

Citizen,  the,  owes  his  first  duty  to 
his  fatherland,  Crito  51;  must 
know  both  how  to  rule  and  how  to 
obey.  Laws  i.  643  E  (cp.  6.  762  E  ; 
12.  942  C) ;  requires  more  than 
a  mere  military  education,  ib.  2. 
666  E ;  must  possess  true  wisdom, 
ib.  3.  689  ;  must  aid  the  rulers  by 
giving  information  of  the  faults 
of  others,  ib.  5.  730  D,  742  B  ;  6. 


e  c  2 


388 


Index. 


762  D  (cp.  Informer)  ;  must  be 
virtuous,  ib.  6.  770  ;  must  not  be 
praised  until  after  death,  ib.  7. 
801  E  ;  the  true  praise  of,  ib.  822 
E  ;■  must  practise  no  art  but 
poHtics,z'(5.8.S46  D  (cp.Rep.8. 551 
E)  : — the  good  citizens  separated 
from  the  bad  by  the  royal  science, 
Statesm.  308,  309: — the  citizens 
[in  the  best  state],  compared  to 
a  garrison  of  mercenaries  (Adei- 
mantus),  Rep.  4.  419  (cp.  8.  543  ; 
Tim.  18  B) ;  will  form  one  family, 
Rep.  5. 462 foil.  (cp.  Guardians): — 
[in  the  Model  City],  number  of 
citizens,  Laws  5.  737, 738  ;  6.  771 ; 
9.  877D;  II,  919  0,929  A  ;  the 
citizens  must  not  quaiTel,  ib.  5. 737 
A  ;  must  know  and  be  friends  of 
each  other,  738  E,  743  C  ; 
6.  759  B,  771  E;  to  be  happy 
rather  than  rich,  ib.  5.  743 ; 
divided  into  four  classes,  ib.  744 
C ;  6.  754  E ;  must  not  lead  an 
idle  life,  ib.  7.  807 ;  not  to  take 
part  in  comic  performances,  ib. 
816  E;  competitors  in  the  great- 
est of  all  contests,  ib.  830  A,  C  ; 
must  not  be  lovers  of  money,  ib. 
S32  D  ;  must  be  able  to  control 
their  passions,  //'.  840  ;  must  not 
practise  handicraft  arts,  ib.  846 
D  ;  not  to  be  retail  traders,  ib.  11. 
919  (cp.  8.  842  D,  S47  E). 
City,  a,  compared  to  a  ship.  Laws 
6.  758  ;  must  have  experience  of 
the  world,  ib.  12.  951  A: — (the 
imaginary  city),  situation  of,  Rep. 
3.  415  D  ;  Laws  5.  745  ;  purifica- 
tion of,  Laws  5.  735,  736 ;  di- 
visions of,  ib.  745  ;  must  be  well 
mingled,  ib.  6.  773  D  ;  manner 
of  its  building,  ib.  77S  (cp.  8.  848 
D)  ;  happiness  of,  ib.  8.  829  A  ; 
compared  to  a  man,  ib.  12.  964 
E  foil.  (cp.  Model  City) :— the 
heavenly  city,  Rep.  9.  592 : — the 
'  city  of  pigs,'  ib.  2. 372: — the  good 
city  leads  a  life  of  peace,  Laws  8. 
829  A     cities  generally  divided 


between  rich  and  poor.  Rep.  4. 
422  E;  8.  551  E;  most  cities 
many  in  one,  ib.  4.  422  E  ;  Laws 
12.  945  E ;  maritime  cities  un- 
stable, Laws  4.  705  A  (cp.  12. 
949  E)  ;  early  cities,  Protag.  322 
B  ;  Laws  3.  680,  681  ;  names  of 
cities,  whence  derived.  Laws  4. 
704  A;  most  cities  not  polities,  but 
mere  aggregations  of  citizens,  ib. 
713  A.    Cp.  Constitution,  State. 

Clans,  Laws  3.  680  E. 

'Class'  and  'part,'  Statesm.  262, 
263  ;  names  of  classes  (in  the 
Heraclitean  philosophy),  Theaet. 
157  C  ;  division  into  classes, 
Soph.  253  ;  Statesm.  258,  262  B, 
285,  287  (cp.  Phaedr.  265  E  foil.) ; 
classes  of  being,Soph.  254,  255 : — 
classes,  in  the  state,  to  be  kept 
distinct,  Rep.  2.  374 ;  3.  397  E, 
415  A;  4.  421,  433,  434,  441  E, 
443  ;  5-  453  ;  Tim.  17  C  ;  Laws 
8.  846  E  (cp.  Rep.  8.  552  A) ;  dis- 
tinction of,  in  Egypt,  Tim.  24  A  ; 
in  ancient  Attica,  Crit.  no  D  ; — 
all  classes  should  be  protected  by 
law,  Laws  4.  7x5  B  ;  the  four 
classes  in  the  Model  City,  ib.  5. 
744  C;  6.  754  E. 

Classification  (in  rhetoric),  Phaedr. 
271  B. 

Clazomenae,  Anaxagoras  of,  Apol. 
26  D  ;  Cephalus  of,  Parm.  126  A, 
B  ;  Heracleides  of,  Ion  541  D. 

Cleinias,  father  of  Alcibiades,  Pro- 
tag.  309  C  ;  Gorg.  48 1  D  ;  i  Al- 
cib.  103  A,  105  D,  113  B  ;  fell  at 
Coronea,  i  Alcib.  112  C. 

Cleinias,  younger  brother  of  Alci- 
biades, ward  of  Pericles,  Protag. 
320  A ;  I  Alcib.  104  B  ;  a  mad- 
man, I  Alcib.  118  E. 

Cleinias,  son  of  Axiochus,  Euthyd. 
271  A,  273  A  ;  his  education,  ib. 
275  A  foil. ;  joins  in  the  conversa- 
tion in  the  dialogue  Euthydevius, 
ib.  275  D-2S2  D,  2S8  D-290  E. 

Cleinias,  of  Cnosus  in  Crete,  a 
person  in  the  Laws,  Laws  i .  624 


Index. 


389 


foil.  (cp.  3.  702  C  ;  6.  753  A)  ; 
does  not  agree  in  the  condemna- 
tion of  unnatural  love,  ib.  8.  837 
E,  842  A. 
Cleito,  the  nymph,  Crit.  113  D, 
116  C. 

Cleitophon,  the  son  of  Aristonymus, 
Rep.  I.  328  B  ;  interposes  on  be- 
half of  Thrasymachus,  ib.  340  A. 

Cleobulus  of  Lindus,  one  of  the 
Seven  Wise  Men,  Protag.  343  A. 

Cleombrotus,  absent  at  the  time  of 
Socrates'  death,  Phaedo  59  C. 

Cleopatra,  mother  of  Perdiccas, 
Gorg.  471  C. 

Cleophantus,  son  of  Themistocles,  a 
famous  horseman,  Meno  93  C. 

Cleverness,  no  match  for  honesty, 
Rep.  3.  409  C  (cp.  10.  613  C)  ; 
needs  an  ideal  direction,  ib.  7. 
519;  Laws  I.  643  E;  5.  747  C; 
true  cleverness,  Theaet.  176  C  ; 
cleverness  in  excess,  Laws  7.  819 
A  (cp.  10.  90S  C)  : — clever  persons 
usually  volatile  and  changeable, 
Theaet.  144  B  (cp.  Rep.  6.  503). 

Climate,  influence  of,  on  men,  Laws 
5.  747  D. 

Clotho,  second  of  the  Fates,  Rep. 
10.  617  C,  620  E  ;  Laws  12.  960 
C  ;  sings  of  the  present.  Rep.  10. 
617  C  ;  the  souls  brought  to  her, 
ib.  620  E. 

Clownishness,  Phil.  48  B. 

Cnosus,  a  city  in  Crete,  Laws  i. 
625  A  ;  6.  752  E,  754  D  ;  form  of 
government  in,  ib.  4.  712  E  : — 
Cleinias  a  Cnosian,  ib.  i.  629 
C  : — colony  from  Cnosus  and 
other  Cretan  states,  ib.  3.  702  C  ; 
4.  707  E  ;  6.  752  D,  E,  754  B,  C, 
D  (cp.  J  2.  950  D,  969). 

Cocks,  training  of,  Laws  7.  789  : — 
cock-fighting,  Theaet.  164  D. 

Cocytus,  Phaedo  113  C;  Rep.  3. 
387  B  ;  homicides  cast  forth  by, 
Phaedo  114  A. 

Codrus,  died  to  preserve  the  king- 
dom for  his  sons,  Symp.  208 
D. 


Coinage  (in  the  Model  City),  Laws 
5.  742  A,  746  E.    See  Money. 

Cold,  Phaedo  103  C  ;  Tim.  62  B ; 
Phil.  32  A ;  the  sense  of,  in 
the  Heraclitean  philosophy,  The- 
aet. 156  B. 

Collusion,  Laws  11.  936  D. 

Colonization,  Laws  4.  708  C  ;  5. 
736  A,  740  E. 

Colony,  Cretan  or  Cnosian,  Laws  3. 
702  C  ;  4.  707  E  ;  6.  752  D,  E, 
754  B,  C,  D  ;  12.  950  D,  969  (cp. 
Model  City)  : — colonies,  founda- 
tion of,  and  purgation  of  the  state, 
ib.  5.  736  A  (cp.  4.  708  C  ;  5. 
740  E)  ;  relation  of,  to  their 
parent  states,  ib.  6.  754  B  ;  dis- 
inherited and  younger  sons  sent 
into,  ib.  II.  923,  925,  929. 

Colour,  Tim.  67,  68  ;  a  common 
notion,  Meno  74 ;  defined,  ib. 
76;  origin  of,  Theaet.  153,  156; 
colour  and  colours,  Phil.  12  E  ; 
pleasures  of  colour,  ib.  51  : — 
employment  of  colours  by 
painters,  Crat.  424  E  ;  indelible 
colours.  Rep.  4.  429  D  ;  compari- 
son of  colours,  ib.  9.  585  A;  con- 
trast of  colours,  ib.  586  C  ;  not  to 
be  employed  in  offerings  to  the 
Gods,  Laws  12. 956  A  : — colours  of 
the  earth,  Phaedo  no: — 'colours' 
in  music.  Laws  2.  655: — '  colours ' 
of  poetry,  Rep.  10.  601  A. 

Column,  the,  of  light.  Rep.  10.  616  B; 
— columns,  \uT<]kai\  with  figures 
on  them,  Symp.  193  A  ;  with  laws 
written  on  them,  Crit.  119  C,  E, 
120  A  (cp.  Laws  II.  917  E). 

Comedy,  can  it  be  allowed  in  the 
state  ?  Rep.  3.  394  (cp.  Laws  7. 
816  D;  11.935);  accustoms  the 
mind  to  vulgarity.  Rep.  10.  606  ; 
produces  both  pleasure  and  pain 
in  the  spectator,  Phil.  48  A  ;  pre- 
ferred to  tragedy  by  children, 
Laws  2.  658  (cp.  Rep.  3.  397  D) ; 
the  amusement  of  slaves.  Laws  7. 
816  D  foil. : — same  poet  can  write 
both  comedy  and  tragedy,  Symp. 


390 


Index. 


223 ;  same  actors  cannot  act 
both,  Rep.  3.  395. 

Gomic  poets,  Laws  11.  935;  the 
enemies  of  Socrates,  Apol.  18, 19 ; 
Phaedo  70  B. 

Command  and  obedience,  Laws  i. 
643  E  ;  6. 762  E  ;  1 2. 942  C : — art 
of  command,  Statesm.  260  C,  292. 

Commensurable  things,  Laws  7. 
819,  820  (cp.  Farm.  140). 

Common  life  in  the  state.  Rep.  5. 
458,  464  foil.  (cp.  Laws  5.  739):— 
common  meals  of  the  guardians. 
Rep.  3.  416  (cp.  8.  543  C)  :— 
common  meals  (aua-tn'rin)  at 
Lacedaemon,  Laws  i.  633  A ; 
6.  780  B  foil.;  8.  842  B;  in 
Crete,  ib.  i.  625,  633 ;  6.  780 
B  foil.,  8.  842  B  ;  in  the  Model 
City,  ib.  6.  780,  783  B  ;  7.  806 
E  ;  8.  842  B  ;  designed  with  a 
view  to  war,  ib.  i,  625,  633;  6. 
780  B  (cp.  12.  942  B) ;  evil  of,  ib. 
I.  636  :  — common  meals  of  the 
wardens  of  the  country,  ib.  6. 
762  : — common  meals  for  women. 
Rep.  5.  458  D  ;  Laws  6.  781 ;  7. 
806  E  ;  8.  839  D  : — common 
property  (among  the  guardians), 
Rep.  3.  416;  4.  420  A,  422  D  ; 
5.  464;  8.  543;  Tim.  18  C  ;  in 
ancient  Attica,  Crit.  110  D;  in 
the  days  of  Cronos,  Statesm.  272 
A ;  the  ideal  of  the  legislator. 
Laws  5.  739  (cp.  7.  807  B). 

Common  notions,  Meno74 1  Theaet. 
185,  208  D: — common  places, 
Phaedr.  236  A. 

Communion  of  things  with  one 
another.  Soph.  252,  254,  259  A. 

Communism,  highest  form  of,  Laws 
5.  739  (cp.  7.  807  B). 

Community  of  feeling,  Gorg.  481 
D  ;  Rep.  5.  464  ;  Laws  3.  694  B, 
697  D  ;  5.  739  G  of  property. 
Rep.  3.  416;  4.  420,  422  D; 
5.  464;  8.  543;  Tim.  18  C; 
Laws  5.  739 ;  7.  807  B ;  in 
ancient  Attica,  Crit.  1 10  D ;  in  the 
days  of  Cronos,  Statesm.  272  A  ; 


not  proposed  for  the  second-best 
state,  Laws  5.  740  A  :— of  women 
and  children,  Rep.  3. 416  ;  5.449 
E  foil.,  457  foil.,  461  E  foil. ;  8. 543 
A;  Tim.  18;  Statesm.  272  A; 
Laws  5.  739  ;  7.  807  B. 
Community.  \Tlte  communism 
upon  which  Plato  has  based 
his  ideal  polity  seems  to  have 
been  suggested  by  his  desire  for 
the  unity  of  the  state  (Rep.  5. 
462  foil. :  and  cp.  Arist.  Pol. 
ii.  2-4).  ^  If  those  two  small 
pestilent  words  "  meum  ' '  and 
"  tuum,"  which  have  etigendered 
so  much  strife  among  men  and 
created  so  much  mischief  in  the 
world^  could  be  banished  from 
the  lips  and  thoughts  of  inankind, 
the  dream  of  the  philosopher 
would  soon  be  realized.  The 
citizens  would  have  parents, 
wives,  childrett,  and  property  in 
common;  they  would  rejoice  in 
each  other's  prosperity  and  sor- 
row at  each  other's  misfortune ; 
they  would  call  their  rulers, 
not  ^lords'  and  'masters,'  but 
'friends'  and  'saviours'  Plato 
was  aware  that  such  a  conception 
could  hardly  be  carried  out  in 
this  world;  and  he  evades  or 
adjourns  rather  than  solves  the 
difficulty  by  the  assertion  of  the 
famous  'paradox'  that  only 
when  the  philosopher  rules  i>i  the 
city  will  the  ills  of  human  life 
find  an  end  [cp.  Introduction  to 
Republic,  p.  clxxiii].  In  the 
Critias,  where  the  ideal  state,  as 
Plato  himself  intimates  to  us,  is 
to  some  extent  7-eproduced  in  an 
imaginary  description  of  ancient 
Attica,  property  is  common,  but 
there  is  no  mention  of  a  com- 
munity of  wives  and  children. 
Finally  in  the  Laws  (5.  739), 
Plato,  while  still  maintaining 
the  blessings  of  communism,  re- 
cognises the  impossibility  of  its 


Index. 


391 


realization,  and  sets  about  the 
construction  of  a  'second-best 
state'  in  ivhich  the  rights  of 
property  are  conceded;  although, 
according  to  Aristotle  (Pol.  ii.  6, 
§  5))  gradually  reverts  to  the 
ideal  constitution  in  all  except 
a  few  unimportant  particulars. 
See  s.  V.  State]. 

Comparison,  difficulties  occasioned 
by,  Theaet.  154,  155. 

Compassionateness  of  Athens  to 
the  weak,  Menex.  244,  245. 

Compensation  for  injury.  Laws  9. 
S77,  878. 

Competitors,  obstruction  of,  Laws 
12.  955  A.    See  Contests. 

Compound  and  simple,  Phaedo  78. 

Conceit,  the  cure  of,  Soph.  230  (cp. 
Theaet.  211  E).  See  Self-conceit. 

Conception,  in  love,  Symp.  206 ;  in 
thought,  Theaet.  148  E  (cp.  160 
E,  211  E)  ;  of  truth,  Rep.  6.  490 
A  ; — union  of  conceptions.  Soph. 
259  E  ; — conception  and  genera- 
tion of  man,  an  imitation  of  the 
earth,  Menex.  238  A. 

Conciliation,  spirit  of,  always  desir- 
able, Laws  4.  718  E,  723  A  (cp. 
10.  885  E). 

Condemnation  of  Socrates,  Apol. 
38,  39- 

Confidence  and  courage.  Laches 
197  B;  Protag.  349  C  foil.,  351, 
359  foil.  ;  Meno  88  A  (cp.  Rep.  4. 
430  B) ;  confidence  and  reverence, 
Laws  I.  647  A. 

Confiscation  of  the  property  of  the 
rich  in  democracies,  Rep.  8.  565  ; 
of  goods  (of  citizens),  not  allowed 
in  the  Model  City,  Laws  9.  855  A. 

Conflagrations,  great  periodical, 
signifiedby  the  myth  of  Phaethon, 
Tim.  22  C. 

Conflict,  the,  of  reason  with  desire, 
Phaedr.  253  foil.  ;  Rep.  4. 
439-442  ;  9-  571  D  ;  Tim.  69  E 
foil.;  Laws  3.  687,  689  :  — the 
immortal  conflict  of  good  and 
evil.  Laws  ic.  906. 


Connexion  (in  style),  Phaedr. 
264  B, 

Connus,  son  of  Metrobius,  music- 
master  of  Socrates,  a  harp-player, 
Euthyd.  272  C  (cp.  Menex.  235 
E) ;  disliked  opposition,  Euthyd. 
295  D. 

Consciousness,  Phil.  34,  43. 

Consonants,  Crat.  424  C  ;  Theaet. 
203  B  ;  Soph.  253  A  ;  Phil.  18  C. 

Constitution,  the  aristocratir,  is  the 
ideal  state  sketched  in  Rep.  bk.  4 
(cp.  8.  544  E,  545  D;  Laws  5. 
739);— the  'Laws'  the  'second- 
best'  constitution,  Laws  5.  739 ;  7. 
807  B ;— the '  third-best,'  A  5. 739 : 
—  defective  forms  of  constitution. 
Rep.  4.  445  B  ;  8.  544  ;  Statesm. 
291  foil.,  301  foil. ;  '  timocracy'  or 
Spartan  polity,  Rep.  8..  545  foil. ; 
aristocracy  (in  the  ordinary 
sense),  ib.  I.  338  D  ;  Statesm.  291 
E,  301  A,  302  U  ;  Laws  3.  681  ; 
Menex.  238  C  ;  oligarchy.  Rep.  8. 
55ofoll.,  S54E;  Statesm.  291, 301, 
302;  democracy.  Rep.  8.  555  foil., 
557  D  ;  Statesm.  291,  301  ;  ty- 
ranny. Rep.  8.  544  C,  562  ;  9.  576  ; 
Statesm.  276  E,  291 E,  302; — ordi- 
nary constitutions  not  to  be  called 
'polities,'  Laws  4.  713  A,  715  A. 
Cp.  Government  (forms  of).  State. 

Constitution,  the  bodily,  different 
in  different  individuals.  Laws  i. 
636  A.    Cp.  Body. 

Contentiousness,  a  characteristic  of 
timocracy,  Rep.  8.  546. 

Contest,  the,  of  virtue,  Laws  5. 
731  : — various  kinds  of  contests, 
ib.  2.  658 ;  training  for  contests, 
Rep.  3.  404  A  ;  6.  503  E  ;  7.  535 
B  ;  Laws  I.  646  D  ;  7.  807  C  ;  8. 
830,  839  E,  840  A  (cp.  Train- 
ing) ; — contests  of  rhapsodes.  Ion 
530  ;  Laws  2.  658  ; — the  cithara 
in  contests,  Gorg.  501  E ; — 
funeral  contests  at  Athens, 
Menex.  249  B  : — (in  the  Model 
City), gymnastic  contests.  Laws  6. 
764  C  foil.;  8.  828  C,  830,834;  12. 


392 


Index. 


.  947  E  ; — contests  of  horses,  ib.  6. 
764  E;  8.  834  B  ;  12.  947  E  ;— 
musical,  ib.  2.  658  A  ;  6.  764  D 
foil.  ;  8.  828  C,  834  E;  12.  947 
E  ;  judges  of,  ib.  2.  659 ;  6.  764 
D  ;  12,  948  E  ;— in  running,  ib. 
8.  833  D  ;— in  strength,  ib.  C  ; 
umpires  of,  ib.  E  ;  12.  949  A  ; — 
contests  in  honour  of  the  dead, 
ib.  12.  947  E  ; — homicide  at  con- 
tests,-zi^.  8.  831  A;  9.  865  A  ;  no 
abuse  to  be  allowed  at,  ib.  1 1 . 935  ; 
law  against  the  obstruction  of 
competitors,  ib.  955  A. 

Contracts,  sometimes  not  protected 
by  law,  Rep.  8.  556  A;  are  holy, 
Laws  5.  729  E  ;  laws  concerning, 
ib.  8.  847  ;  II.  920,  921. 

Contradiction,  proved  impossible, 
Euthyd,  285  D  foil. ;  nature  of. 
Rep.  4.  436  ;  10.  602  E  ;  power 
of,  ib.  5.  454  A. 

Contributions  (friendly),  collection 
of.  Laws  II.  915  E  ;  (in  time  of 
war),  ib.  12.  949  D. 

Controversy,  kinds  of.  Soph.  225. 

Convention  in  morals,  Gorg.  482  E ; 
convention  and  nature,  Laws  10. 
88  E : — the  conventional  theory 
of  justice  (Glaucon),  Rep.  2.  359 
A  ;  (Protagoras),  Theaet.  172  A, 
177  C.    Cp.  Names. 

Conversation,  should  not  be  per- 
sonal, Rep.  6.  500  B  (cp.  Theaet. 
174  C). 

Conversion  of  the  soul,  Rep.  7.  518, 
531,  525  (cp.  Laws  12.  957  E). 

Convivial  meetings,  should  be  under 
a  ruler.  Laws  i .  639  foil. ;  2.  671 
E  ;  a  kind  of  education,  ib.  i. 
641  ;  bring  out  character,  ib. 
650.  For  a  description  of  a  Greek 
banquet,  cp.  the  Symposium,  and 
references  under  '  Greek  Life.' 

Cook  and  physician,  Gorg.  521  E  ; 
the  cook  a  better  judge  than 
the  guest,  Theaet.  178  D. 

Cookery,  how  far  an  art,  Gorg.  462 
foil. ;  art  of,  ib.  465,  518;  cookery 
and  medicine,  ib.  501 A ;  —analogy 


of,  employed  in  the  definition  of 
justice.  Rep.  i.  332  D. 

Co-operative  arts,  Statesm.  281, 
282,  287  B. 

Copper,  Tim.  59  C. 

Corinth,  battle  of,  Theaet.  142 
A  ;  Menex.  245  E  : — Corinthian 
courtezans,  Rep.  3.  404  D  : — Co- 
rinthians, the,  ask  aid  of  Athens, 
Menex.  244  D  ;  willing  to  betray 
the  Asiatic  Greeks,  ib.  245  C  :  — 
0  Aioj  Kdptv^oy,  Euthyd.  292  E. 

Coronea,  battle  of,  i  Alcib.  112 
C. 

Corpses,  not  to  be  spoiled,  Rep.  5. 
469  : — corpses  of  criminals,  out- 
side the  north  wall  of  Athens,  ib. 
4.  439  E  ;  to  be  cast  beyond  the 
border.  Laws  9.  855  A,  873  B ; 
10.  909  B. 

Correction,  art  of,  Soph.  229  A. 

Correlations,  Phil.  53  E. 

Correlative  and  relative,  qualifica- 
tions of,  Gorg.  476 ;  Rep.  4.  437 
foil. ;  how  corrected,  Rep.  7.  524. 

Corniptio  optimi  pessima,  Rep.  6. 
491. 

Corruption,  the,  of  youth,  laid  to 
Socrates'  charge,  Euthyph.2, 3,5  ; 
Apol.  24  foil. ;  not  the  work  of 
the  Sophists,  but  of  public  opi- 
nion, Rep.  6. 492  A.  Cp.  Sophist. 

Corruption  and  generation,  Phaedo 
96  ;  corruption  in  pleasures  and 
pains,  Phil.  41  A. 

Corybantes,  Symp.  215  E  ;  at  the 
mysteries,  Euthyd.  277  D  ;  not 
in  their  right  mind,  Ion  534  A  ; 
remedial  effects  of  their  dances, 
Laws  7.  790  D. 

Cos,  Hippocrates  of,  Protag.  311  B. 

Cosmos,  Statesm.  273  B  ;  meaning  of 
the  name,  Gorg.  508  A  ;  a  body, 
because  composed  of  the  same 
elements  as  the  human  body, 
Phil.  29  E.    Cp.  Universe. 

Council,  the,  at  Athens,  Menex.  234 
B  in  the  Model  City,  Laws  6. 
756  ;  division  of,  ib.  758  ;  duties 
of,  the  Nocturnal  Council, 


Index. 


393 


ib.  lo.  908  A,  909  A  ;  12.  951, 
961,  968,  969. 

Counsellors,  the  two,  of  man  (plea- 
sui'e  and  pain),  Laws  i.  644  C. 

Countr)',  arrangements  for  the  de- 
fence of  the.  Laws  6.  760,  778  E 
(cp.  Wardens  of  the  Country)  : — 
a  man's  country  to  be  served 
without  taking  of  rewards,  ib, 
12.  955  C. 

Courage,  a  part  of  virtue,  Laches 
190,  199;  Protag.  349,  350, 
353)  359;  Laws  i.  631  D 
foU. ;  3.  688  A,  696  B  ;  12.  963  ; 
fourth  in  the  scale  of  virtue. 
Laws  I.  630  C,  631  D  ;  2.  667 
A  :  =  staying  at  one's  post. 
Laches  190  E  ;  =  endurance  of  the 
soul,  ib.  192  ;  =  knowledge  of  that 
which  inspires  fear  or  confidence, 
ib.  195    (cp.  Rep.  2.  376;  4. 

429  C,  442  B) ;  =  knowledge  of 
that  which  is  not  dangerous, 
Protag.  360  ; — courage  not  to  be 
ascribed  to  children  or  animals. 
Laches  196  E  {but  cp.  Rep.  4. 

430  B;  Laws  12.  963  E)  ; 
distingdished  from  fearlessness. 
Laches  197  B  (cp.  Protag.  349  C 
foil.,  351,  359  foil.  ;  Meno  88  A  ; 
Rep.  4.  430  B) ;  concerned 
with  the  good  and  evil  of  all 
time,  Laches  199 ;  may  exist 
in  bad  men,  Protag.  349  D, 
359  B  ;  Laws  i.  630  B  ;  springs 
in  many  cases  merely  from 
dread,  Phaedo  68  ;  inconsistent 
with  the  fear  of  death,  ibid.  ; 
Rep.  3.  386 ;  6.  486  A  ;  one  of 
the  philosopher's  virtues,  Phaedo 
68 ;  Rep.  6.  486  A,  490  E,  495 
A ;  required  in  the  guardians. 
Rep.  2.  375  ;  3.  386  ;  4.  429  ;  6. 
503  E  ;  a  good,  i  Alcib.  115; — 
courage  and  temperance  opposed, 
Statesm.  307,  308  ;  to  be  blended, 
ib.  310  (cp.  Laws  i.  630  A;  3. 
696  A); — courage  and  wisdom, 
Protag.  350,  360  (cp.  Laches  194 
D;  Gorg.49i,49S  ;  Laws  12.963); 


— the  courage  which  resists  plea- 
sure. Laws  I.  633  : — the  cou- 
rageous life,  ib.  5.  733  E  : — the 
courageous  temper  averse  to  in- 
tellectual toil,  Rep.  6.  503  D  (cp. 
Tim.  88  D)  ;  dangerous  to  the 
state,  when  in  excess,  Statesm. 
308  A  ;  apt  to  make  men  brutal, 
ib.  309  D  ;  a  gift  of  nature,  Laws 
12.  963  E. 
Courage.  [/«  treating  of  courage 
Plato  shows  a  tende?tcy,  as  in  the 
case  of  the  virtues  generally,  to 
connect  or  eveft  identify  it  with 
knowledge.  The  subject  is  first 
discicssed  in  the  Laches,  of  which 
it forms  the  main  topic.  A  series 
of  defitiitions  is  there  giveti, 
which  are  all  found  to  be  in- 
adequate, but  which  exhibit  the 
progression  from  a  loiver  to  a 
higher  conception  of  cotcrage. 
Laches  begins  by  saying  that 
courage  is  the  quality  which 
makes  a  man  stand  to  his  post  j 
but  this  is  ref  uted  by  the  observa- 
tion that  courage  may  also  be 
displayed  in  flight.  A  second 
dejittitioji,  according  to  which 
courage  is  the  same  as  endurance, 
is  equally  futile :  for  endurance 
may  be  mere  persistence  in  a 
wrong  coicrse.  Nicias  then  inter- 
poses : —  Courage  is  a  species  of 
wisdom,  which  teaches  us  the  true 
grounds  of  hope  and  fear.  Lt 
is  thus  distinguished  from  con- 
fidence or  fearlessness,  which 
causes  men  and  a7iimals  to  be 
bold  because  they  are  ignorant  of 
danger.  Socrates  answers  that 
such  a  knowledge,  like  any  other, 
must  include  the  f  uture  and  the 
past  as  well  as  the  present,  if  it 
is  to  be  of  any  use  to  tis.  Btit 
the7i  courage,  which  is  the 
'  knowledge  of  all,'  will  be  iden- 
tical with  ^  all  virtue,'  and  we 
have  gained,  not  a  definition  of 
courage,  but  of  virtue  in  general. 


394 


Index. 


— A  similar  identification  of 
courage  a?id  wisdom  is  found  ift 
the  Protagoras,  and  is  there  left 
unrefuted,  although  Socrates  is 
made  to  intimate  that  the  argu- 
ment is  inconclusive. — In  the  Re- 
public, where  courage,  like  the 
other  virtues,  is  regat'ded  princi- 
pally in  relation  to  the  state,  it  is 
declared  to  be  the  especial  virtue 
of  the  '  spirited  element '  in  the 
soul  which  is  represented  by  the 
warrior  class  among  the  citizens. 
But  it  is  also  {as  in  the  Phaedo) 
a  virtue  of  the  philosopher,  who 
alone  of  men  fears  neither  death 
nor  the  life  to  come. —  Tlie  States- 
man contains  an  interesting  con- 
trast between  temperance  and 
courage.  The  courageous  man 
is  all  fire  and  energy;  he  neither 
rests  himself  nor  suffers  others  to 
rest.  The  orderly  and  moderate 
character  on  the  contrary  is  long- 
suffering  and  patient,  nor  has  he 
any  inclination  to  intcffere  witli 
Ids  neighbours.  The  two  dispo- 
sitions are  rarely  or  never  united 
in  tlie  same  person;  and  hot  It 
when  in  excess  are  the  cause  of 
great  evils  (cp.  the  similar  re- 
marks in  Rep.  6.  503  C  and 
Theaet.  1 44  B,  and  v.  s.  v.  Tem- 
perance).— ///  tlie  Laws,  of  which 
one  main  thesis  is  '  that  peace  is 
better  than  war^  courage  is  placed 
fourth  and  lowest  in  the  scale  of 
virtues.  Courage  is  a  mere  gift 
of  nature,  and  may  be  shown  even 
by  children  and  the  brutes.  This 
is  a  fact  which  has  been  over- 
looked by  the  legislators  of  Crete 
and  Sparta.  They  have  tried  to 
make  their  citizens  courageous 
and  etidwing,  but  they  have  07tly 
regarded  cour  age  of  the  vulgar 
sort,  and  have  neglected  that 
nobler  kind  which  teaches  men  to 
resist  the  insidious  temptations 
of  pleasure  and  desire.  The 


Spartans  boast  that  they  are  su- 
perior to  all  other  men  in  battle  ; 
but  war  is  a  matter  of  chance, 
and  victory  does  not  always 
prove  the  goodness  or  badness  of 
institutions.  {V.  s.  v.  Virtue).'] 
Courtesans,  Phaedr.  240  B  ;  Rep. 

3-  404  D- 

Courts  of  Law,  at  Athens,  Apol. 
34 ;— in  the  Model  City,  Laws  5. 
766  ;  9.  876.    See  Law  courts. 

Covetousness,  not  found  in  the 
philosopher,  Rep.  6.  485  E  ; 
characteristic  of  timocracy  and 
oligarchy,  ib.  8.  548,  SS3  ;  =the 
appetitive  element  of  the  soul,  ib. 
9.  581  A. 

Cowardice,  Protag.  359  foil.;  Me- 
nex.  246;  I  Alcib.  115  D;  in 
war,  to  be  punished,  Rep.  5.  468 
A  ;  Laws  12.  944  E;  not  found 
in  the  philosopher,  Rep.  6.  486 
B  ;  alien  to  the  nature  of  God, 
Laws  10.  901  E. 

Craftsmen,  dedicated  to  the  Gods, 
Laws  II.  920  D  ;  regulations  for 
(in  the  Model  City),  ib.  920,  921. 
Cp.  Artisans. 

Cranes,  proverbial  for  cleverness, 
Statesm.  263  D  ;  nurseries  of,  ib. 
264  C. 

Cratylus,  a  person  in  the  dialogue 
Cratylus,  Crat.  383  A,  427  E 
foil. ;  his  name,  ib.  383  B ;  on 
names,  ib.  383  A,  428  B  foil.; 
Cratylus  and  the  image  of  Craty- 
lus, ib.  432  B. 

Creation,  myth  of,  Protag.  320  D 
foil. ;  Statesm.  269  foil.  :— reason 
of,  Tim.  29  ;  species  of,  ib.  39, 
40 ;  divine  and  human  creation. 
Soph.  265,  266  (cp.  Rep.  10.  596 
foil.) ;  physical  theories  of  crea- 
tion, Laws  10.  889 ;  origin  of 
creation,  ib.  893,  894. 

Creator  of  the  world,  Protag.  320 
foil. ;  Tim.  28  ;  Soph.  265  ; 
Statesm.  269  foil. ;  Laws  10.  886 
foil.   Cp.  God. 

Credit,  not  to  be  recognized  by 


Index, 


395 


law,  Laws  8.  849  E;  n.  9^5 
D. 

Creon,  a  Thessalian,  father  of  Sco- 

pas,  Protag.  339  A. 
Creophylus,  '  the  child   of  flesh,' 

companion  of  Homer,  Rep.  10. 

600  B. 

Cresphontes,  King  of  Messene, 
Laws  3.  683  D  ;  an  inexperienced 
legislator,  ib.  692  B. 

Crete,  Theseus'  voyage  to,  Phaedo 
58  A  ;  scenery  of,  Laws  I.  625 
B  ;  evil  effect  of  gymnasia  in, 
ib.  636  B  ;  '  as  plain  as  that  Crete 
is  an  island,'  ib.  2.  662  B  ;  Crete 
and  Lacedaemon  akin,  ib.  3.  683 
A,  693  E  ;  rocky  nature  of  Crete, 
ib.  4.  704  C ;  not  suitable  for 
horses,  ib.  8.  834  B  :— armed 
dances  in  Crete,  ib.  7.  796  B  : — 
common  tables,  ib.  i.  625,  633  A  ; 
6.  780  B,  781  A  ;  8.  842  B  :— 
Cretan  constitution  generally  ap- 
plauded, Crito  52  E  ;   Rep.  8. 

544  C ;    a  timocracy,  Rep.  8. 

545  B  ;  designed  with  a  view  to 
war,  Laws  i.  625  foil. ;  4.  705  E  ; 
has  a  certain  moderation,  ib.  3. 
693  E  ;  hardly  to  be  called  by 
any  definite  name,  ib.  4.  712  E  ; 
helpful  to  lawgivers,  ib.  8.  836 
B  : — Cretan  laws,  given  to  Minos 
by  Zeus,  ib.  i.  624  A  ;  2.  662  B  ; 
famous  among  the  Hellenes,  ib. 

1.  631  B  ;  give  no  experience  in 
pleasure,  ib.  635  B  foil. ;  imper- 
fect, ib.  2.  662  C  :— Cretan  treat- 
ment of  love,  ib.  I.  636  C  ;  8.  836 
B  ;  estimation  of  gymnastic,  ib. 

2.  673  B  ;  drinking  regulations, 
ib.  674  A  (cp.  I.  639  D)  ;  mode 
of  distributing  produce,  ib.  8.  847 
E  : — Cretan  and  Lacedaemonian 
philosophy,  Protag.  342  A  :— the 
Cretan  colony.  Laws  3.  702  C  ;  4. 
707  E;  6.752  D,E,754  B,C,D; 
12.  950  D,  969  : — Cretan  young 
men  not  allowed  to  go  into  other 
cities,  Protag.  342  D  : — Cretan 
women,  noted  for  their  cultiva- 


tion, ibid.  : —  Cretan  mounted 
archers  and  javelin-men.  Laws 

8.  834  D  :— Cretans,  like  the 
Lacedaemonians,  exercise  naked, 
Rep.  5.  452  C  ;  call  their 
country  '  motherland,'  ib.  9.  575 
E  ;  think  that  Rhadamanthus 
was  the  justest  of  men.  Laws  i. 
625  A  ;  know  the  poems  of  Tyr- 
taeus,  ib.  629  B  ;  invented  the 
tale  of  Ganymede,  ib.  636  C  ; 
have  more  wit  than  words,  ib. 
641  E  ;  conservative  in  music,  ib. 
2.  660  B  ;  their  education  that  of 
a  camp,  ib.  666  E  ;  not  much 
acquainted  with  Homer,  ib.  3. 
680  C ;  suppose  that  Salamis 
was  the  salvation  of  Hellas,  ib, 
4.  707  B  ;  partly  descendants  of 
colonists  from  the  Peloponnesus, 
ib.  708  A. 

Cretic  rhythm.  Rep.  3.  400  B. 
Crime,  a  madness  begotten  of  some 
ancient  and  unexpiated  sin,  Laws 

9.  854  B  : — crimes,  great  and 
small,  differently  estimated  by 
mankind.  Rep.  I.  344  (cp.  348 

D)  ;  causes  of,  ib.  6.  491  E,  495 
B  ;  8.  552  D  ;  9.  575  A  ;  Laws  8. 
832  D  ;  9.  863,  870  ;  divided  into 
voluntary  and  involuntaiy,  Laws 
9.  860  foil. ;  pleas  in  extenuation 
of,  ib.  864  D  ;  crimes  caused  by 
unbelief,  ib.  10.  908,  909. 

Criminals,  great,  chiefly  come  from 
the  class  of  kings  and  tyrants, 
Gorg.  525  E  (cp.  Rep.  10.  615 

E)  ;  are  usually  men  of  strong 
character  spoiled  by  bad  edu- 
cation. Rep.  6.  491  E,  495  B ; 
numerous  in  oligarchies,  ib,  8. 
552  D  ;  may  exist  even  in  a  well- 
ordered  state.  Laws  9.  853,  872 
D  : — children  of  criminals,  ib.  855 
A,  856D: — criminal  law,  ib.  853 
foil. 

Crison  of  Himera,  a  famous  run- 
ner, Protag.  336  A ;  his  absti- 
nence during  training.  Laws  8. 
840  A. 


396 


Index. 


Critias,  the  elder,  son  of  Dropidas, 
Charm.  157  E  ;  Tim.  20  E,  21  A  ; 
Crit.  113  B. 

Critias,  the  younger,  son  of  Callaes- 
chrus,  a  descendant  of  Solon, 
Charm.  153  C,  155  A;  Tim.  20 
E;  Crit.  113  B;  guardian  and 
cousin   of  Charmides,  Charm. 

155  A,  156  A,  157  C,  176 
C  ;  a  friend  of  Socrates,  Charm. 

156  A;  a  wise  man,  ib.  161 
B ;  present  at  the  Protagoras, 
Protag.  316  A  foil.;  well  ac- 
quainted with  politics,  Tim.  20 
A;  tells  the  'ancient  tale,'  ib.  21 
A,  B  ;  Crit.  108  C  foil.  Critias 
takes  part  in  the  dialogues  Char- 
mides, Timaeus,  and  Critias. 

Critias,  a  person  in  the  Eryxias, 
Eryx.  392  A,  ct  passim. 

Criticism,  applies  to  good  and  bad 
equally.  Ion  531  ;  implies  know- 
ledge of  the  whole,  ib.  532  ; 
difficult,  without  knowledge  of 
the  subject,  Crit.  107  ;  value  of, 
in  science,  Statesm.  29S  : — quali- 
ties necessary  for  criticism  of  the 
soul,  Ciorg.  487  : — friendly  criti- 
cism, valuable,  Laws  i.  635  A  : — 
criticism  of  painting,  sculpture, 
and  music.  Ion  533  (cp.  Crit. 
107  C) ;  of  poetr>'.  Ion  532  ;  of 
sophistry,  Euthyd.  303,  304 ;  of 
speeches,  Phaedr.  262  foil.;  verbal 
criticism,  Protag.  343  foil. 

Crito,  willing  to  go  to  Eiithydemus 
with  Socrates,  Euthyd.  272  E  ; 
joins  in  the  dialogue  Euthydemus, 
ib.  290  E-292  E,  304  C-307  B  ; 
doubts  the  value  of  philosophy, 
ib.  305  B  ;  anxious  about  the 
education  of  his  son,  ib.  306  D  ; 
of  the  same  age  and  deme  as 
Socrates,  Apol.  33  D ;  offers  to 
be  one  of  the  sureties,  ib.  38  B 
(cp.  Phaedo  115  E) ;  comes  to 
Socrates  in  prison,  Crito  43  A, 
etc.;  urges  Socrates  to  escape,  ib. 
45  A  foil.  ;  his  means,  ib.  45  A 
(cp.  Euthyd.  304  C) ;  his  friends 


in  Thessaly,  Crito  45  B,  53  D  ; 
with  Socrates  at  the  last,  Phaedo 

59  B,  60  A,  63  D  ;  Socrates  en- 
trusts Xanthippe  to  his  care,  ib. 

60  A ;  receives  the  last  com- 
mands, ib.  115  A,  118  D. 

Critobulus,  son  of  Crito,  Apol.  33 
E ;  his  appearance  as  a  boy, 
Euthyd.  271  B  ;  needs  a  teacher, 
ib.  306  D  ;  offers  to  be  one  of  the 
sureties,  Apol.  38  B  ;  present  at 
the  death  of  Socrates,  Phaedo 
59  B. 

Croesus,  Rep.  2.  359  C;  'as  the 
oracle  said  to  Croesus,'  ib.  8. 
566  C. 

Crommyonian  sow,  not  to  be  called 
courageous.  Laches  196  E. 

Cronos,  ill  treated  by  Zeus,  Eu- 
thyph.  6  A,  8  B  ;  Rep.  2.  377  E  ; 
etymology  of  his  name,  Crat.  396 
B  ;  his  stupidity,  ibid.  (cp.  Eu- 
thyd. 287  B) ;  old-fashioned  days 
of,  Crat.  402  A  ;  his  chains,  ib. 
404  A  (cp.  Symp.  195  C)  ;  love  not 
older  than,  Symp.  195  C;  judg- 
ment of  men  under,  Gorg.  523  A, 
B  ;  his  treatment  of  Uranus,  Rep. 
2.  377  E  ;  the  son  of  Oceanus  and 
Tethys,  Tim.  40  E  ;  kingdom  of, 
Statesm.  269  A  (cp.  271  C) ;  life 
in  the  days  of,  ib.  272  A,  B ; 
Laws  4.  713  A  foil.  (cp.  Statesm. 
276  A). 

Crypteia,  Laws  i.  633  C. 

Ctesippus,  the  Paeanian,  Lysis  203 
A  foil.  ;  the  friend  of  Menexenus, 
ib.  206  D  ;  takes  part  in  the  dia- 
logue Euthydemus,  Euthyd.  283 
foil.  ;  well-bred,  but  wild,  ib.  273 
A  (cp.  Lysis  204,  205) ;  the  friend 
of  Cleinias,  Euthyd.  274  B,  C, 
283  E,  etc. ;  eager  for  virtue,  ib. 
2S5  C  ;  his  passionate  character, 
ib.  283  E,  288  A,  294  C,  300  E  ; 
present  at  the  death  of  Socrates, 
Phaedo  59  B. 

Cunning  man,  the,  no  match  for 
the  virtuous.  Rep.  3.  409  D. 

Cupping-glasses,  Tim.  80  A. 


Index. 


Curetes,  the,  in  Crete,  Laws  7.  796 
B. 

Currency  (in  the  Model  City),  Laws 

5.  742  A,  746  E.    Cp.  Money. 
Curse  arising  from  ancient  crime. 

Laws  9.  854  B  : — the  curses  of 
a  parent  terrible,  ib.  11.  931  (cp. 
3.  687;  2  Alcib.  138,  141  A)  ;— 
curses,  not  to  be  uttered  during 
a  suit.  Laws  12.  949  A,  957  B  : — 
cursing  and  swearing,  forbidden, 
ib.  II.  934  E. 
Custom,  in  language,  Crat.  434  E 
(cp.  Names) ;  an  excuse  for  im- 
proper practices.  Laws  l.  637  D ; 
the  law  of  primitive  society,  ib. 
3.  680  A  ;  varieties  of,  ib.  681  B; 

6.  782 ;  custom  and  law,  ib.  7. 
793 ;  8.  822  E,  841  B  (cp. 
Statesm.  295  A,  298  D  ;  Laws 
12.  959  E). 

Cycles,  recurrence  of,  in  nature. 

Rep.  8.  546  A ;   Tim.  22   C  ; 

Statesm.  269  foil. ;  Laws  3.  677 

(cp.  Crit.  109  D). 
Cyclopes,  Homer's  picture  of  the 

(Od.  ix.  112-115),  Laws  3.  680  B 

(cp.  ib.  682  A). 
Cydathenaeum,  the  deme  of,  Symp. 

173  B. 

Cydias  quoted  on  love.  Charm.  155 
D. 

Cymindis,  name  of  a  bird  in  Ho- 
mer, Crat.  392  A. 

Cypress,  groves  of,  near  Cnosus, 
Laws  I.  625  B  : — cypress-wood, 
ib.  4.  705  C ;  Eryx.  394  E  ;  cy- 
press-wood tablets.  Laws  5.  741 
C. 

Cyprus,  the  expedition  to,  Menex. 
241  E  : — Cypriote  rites.  Laws  5. 
738  C. 

Cypselids,  their  offerings  at  Olym- 
pia,  Phaedr.  236  B. 

Cyrene,  Theodoras  of,  Theaet.  143 
C  ;  Ammon,  the  God  of,  Statesm. 
257  B. 

Cyrnus,  Laws  i.  630  A. 

Cyrus,  never  had  any  real  edu- 
cation, Laws  3.  694  A  foil.  ;  his 


397 

sons  not  well  brought  up,  ib.  695 
B  foil. ;  an  object  of  emulation  to 
Alcibiades,  i  Alcib.  105  C,  D  ; 
freed  the  Persians,  Menex.  239 
D. 

Cyzicus,  Apollodorus  of,  Ion  541  C. 
D. 

Dactylic  metre.  Rep.  3.  400  C. 

Daedalus,  son  of  Metion,  the 
famous  sculptor  of  antiquity, 
Ion  533  A ;  ancestor  of  So- 
crates, Euthyph.  II  B  ;  I  Alcib. 
121  A;  his  date.  Laws  3.  677 
D  :— moving  figures  of,  Meno  97 
D  foil. ;  arguments  compared  to 
them,  Euthyph.  11  B  foil.,  15  B  ; 
beauty  of  his  works,  Rep.  7.  529 
E. 

Damages,  actions  for,  Laws  8.  846 
A  ;  12.  956  C. 

Damon,  tutor  of  the  sons  of  Nicias, 
recommended  by  Socrates,  La- 
ches 180  C  ;  a  friend  of  So- 
crates, always  with  Prodicus, 
ib.  197  D  ;  his  wisdom,  ib.  200 
A,  B  ;  an  authority  on  rhythm, 
Rep.  3.  400  B  (cp.  ib.  4.  424 
C)  ;  tutor  of  Pericles,  i  Alcib. 
118  C. 

Danaus,  descendants  of,  Menex, 
245  D. 

Dancing,  in  education,  Rep.  3. 412 ; 
Laws  2.  655;  7.  813;  origin  of, 
due  to  a  sense  of  rhythm,  Laws 
2.  654  A,  672,  673 ;  consecrated 
in  Egypt,  ib.  656  E  ;  7.  799  A  ; 
novelties  in,  not  allowed  in  Crete 
or  at  Lacedaemon,  ib.  2.  660 
B  ;  dancing  and  gymnastic,  ib. 
673  ;  7-  795  E,  813  ;  effect  of,  on 
the  soul,  ib.  7.  7^)1  A;  two  kinds 
of,  ib.  795  E,  814  E  ;  imitative 
nature  of,  ib.  796,  798,  814;  in- 
novation in,  forbidden,  ib.  799, 
800,  802,  809  B,  816  C  ;  to  be 
made  part  of  the  training  for 
war,  ib.  796;  8.  830  D;  12. 
942  C  : — dances  of  youths  and 


398 


Index. 


maidens,  ib.  6.  771  E;  mili- 
tary dances,  ib.  7.  796;  12. 
942  C  ;  dances  in  propitiation  of 
the  Gods,  ib.  7.  804  A  ;  Pyrrhic 
dances,  ib.  815,  816;  dances  of 
peace,  ibid.: — dancers,  Ion  536 
A;  Rep.  2.  373  B :  — dancing 
girls,  Protag.  347  C. 

Dardania,  founding  of,  Laws  3.  681 
E,  702  A. 

Darius,  his  wealth,  Lysis  211  E; 
an  author  (by  his  laws),  Phaedr. 
258  C  ;  his  expedition  against 
the  Scythians,  Gorg.  483  E ;  his 
parentage,  Laws  3.  695  C  ;  laws 
enacted  by  him,  ibid. ;  his  inva- 
sion of  Hellas,  ib.  698  ;  his  con- 
quests, Menex.  239  E. 

Datis,  commander  of  the  Persian 
army,  Laws  3.  698  C ;  Menex. 
240  A. 

Day  and  night, Tim.  39  -.—dies fasti 
et  7iefasti,  Laws  7.8c)oE  : — Days 
of  festival,  ib.  8.  828,  834  E  ; 
days  for  selling  and  buying,  ib. 
849. 

Day-dreams,  Rep.  5.  458  A,  476 
C. 

Dead,  the,  judgment  of,  Gorg.  523  ; 
Rep.  10.  615  (cp.  Hades,  World 
below);  condition  of,  Gorg.  524; 
souls  of,  take  an  interest  in  hu- 
man affairs,  Laws  11.  927  A  (cp. 
9.  870  E,  872  E) ;  not  pleased 
by  the  grief  of  their  relations, 
Menex.  249  B : — the  dead  in 
battle,  not  to  be  stripped.  Rep. 
5.  469  ;  honour  paid  to,  at 
Athens,  Menex.  234  C,  249  A : 
— eulogies  over.  Laws  7.  801  ; 
contests  in  honour  of,  ib.  12.  947 
E  ;  Menex.  249  B  ;  sepulchres 
of,  Laws  12.958  C;  laying  out 
of,  ib.  959. 

Death,  Tim.  81  D;  Apol.  37;  is 
not  feared  by  the  wise  man, 
29,  35  ;  Phaedo  62-68 ;  either  a 
sleep  or  a  migration,  Apol.  40 ; 
philosophic  desire  of,  Phaedo  61, 
64,  67,  80 ;  nature  of,  ib.   64  ; 


necessary  to  pure  knowledge,  ib. 
66 ;  fears  of,  ib.  77  E  (cp.  Rep. 

I.  330  E  ;  3.  386  ;  Laws  10.  904 
C);  such  fears  natural,  Phaedo 
95 ;  death,  not  the  end  of  all,  ib. 
107  E  ;  nature  of,  Gorg.  524  B  ; 
must  not  be  feared  by  the  guard- 
ians. Rep.  3.  386,  387  (cp.  6.  486 
C) ;  preferable  to  slavery,  ?'^3.386 
A;  death  or  life,  which  is  better? 
Laws  8.  S28  E  (cp.  Phaedo  62  A ; 
Laws  12.  944  D) : — (as  a  punish- 
ment) the  only  remedy  for  the 
wicked.  Laws  12. 957  E  (cp.  Gorg. 
512A;  Rep.  3.410  A;  Statesm. 
308  E;  Laws  5.  735  E;9.854C,E, 
862  E) ;  cases  in  which  it  ought 
to  be  inflicted,  Laws  9.  854,  859- 
863,  880  E  ;  12.  957  E  (cp. 
Statesm.  297  D)  ; — ^judges  in 
cases  of  death,  Laws  9. 855  C,  866 
C,  868  E,  871  C;  12.  958  C  (cp. 

II.  916  C) ; — death  the  penalty  of 
temple-robbing,  etc.,  ib.  9.  854  E  ; 
of  treason,  ib.  856  D  ;  of  homi- 
cide (in  the  case  of  the  stranger 
who  returns  after  the  crime),  ib. 
866  C  ;  (where  the  criminal  is  a 
slave),  ib.  868  C ;  of  parricide, 
matricide,  etc.,  ib.  869,  873  ;  of 
murder,  ib.  871  ;  in  certain  cases 
of  wounding  with  intent,  ib.  877; 
of  wilful  unbelief,  ib.  10. 908, 909  ; 
—  incurred  by  the  slave  who  kills 
a  freeman,  ib.  9.  872  B  ;  by  the 
citizen  who  kills  a  slave  informer, 
ibid.  ;  by  a  murderer  who  re- 
mains undiscovered,  ib.  874  ;  by 
the  slave  who  does  not  inform, 
ib.  II.  914  A  ;  by  the  freedman 
who  possesses  more  than  the 
legal  amount  of  property,  ib.  915 
B  ;  by  the  physician  who  admi- 
nisters poison  and  the  diviner 
who  practises  magic,  ib.  933  D  ; 
by  the  perjurer,  ib.  937  D ;  by 
the  citizen  who  advocates  an  un- 
just cause,  ib.  938  B ;  by  the 
thief  who  robs  public  property, 
ib.  12.   941   E  {hilt  cp.  ib.  9- 


Index. 


399 


857  A) ;  by  magistrates  who  are 
guilty  of  any  serious  breach  of 
trust,  13.  946  E  ;  by  the  specta- 
tor of  foreign  countries,  who  en- 
deavours after  his  return  to  alter 
the  laws,  ib.  952  D  ;  by  him  who 
receives  an  exile,  ib.  955  B  ;  by 
him  who  declares  war  or  peace 
on  his  own  account,  ibid. ;  by 
him  who  takes  a  bribe,  ib.  C  ;  by 
the  criminal  who  impedes  a  court 
of  justice,  ib.  958  C. 

Debts,  abolition  of,  proclaimed  by 
the  would-be  tyrant.  Rep.  8.  565 
E,  566  E  ;  a  favourite  cry  against 
the  legislator  who  attempts  to  re- 
gulate property,  Laws  3. 684  D  ;  a 
source  of  contention,  ib.  5. 736  D. 

Decemvirs  for  founding  a  Cretan 
colony,  Laws  3.  702  :  6.  751  E. 

Deception  in  art.  Rep.  10.  602  C  ; 
Soph.  235  E  {v.  s.  V.  Art)  :— in 
trade,  Protag.  313  D  ;  Laws  11. 
916,917. 

Defence,  arrangements  for  (in  the 
Model  City),  Laws  6.  760  (cp.  778 
E).  _ 

Definition,  necessary  in  writing, 
Phaedr.  263  ;  definition  by  enu- 
meration, Meno  71,  72  ;  Euthyph. 
6 ;  definition  and  common  no- 
tions, Meno  74  foil. ;  a  definition 
not  to  be  given  in  terms  unex- 
plained, ib.  79  ;  difficulty  of  ob- 
taining a  definition,  Euthyph.  10; 
definition  or  explanation,  Theaet. 
202,  206 ;  definition  and  names, 
Soph.  218;  Laws  10.  895  C. 

Deformity  and  vice.  Soph.  228,  229. 
See  Disease. 

Aetvdr,  use  of  the  word  as  a  term  of 
praise,  Protag.  341  A. 

Delium,  Socrates  at,  Laches  181  B, 
188  E  ;  Apol.  28  E  ;  Symp.  221 
A. 

Delos,  the  mission-ship  to,  Crit0  43 
D  ;  Phaedo  58  A,  B,  59  E. 

Delphi,  the  God  of,  a  witness  to 
the  wisdom  of  Socrates,  Apol.  20 
E,  21  A;  religion  left  to,  Rep.  4. 


427  B  ;  Laws  5.  738  B  ;  6.  759  C, 
D  ;  8.  828  A  (cp.  Rep.  5.  461  E, 
469  A  ;  7.  540  B  ;  Laws  9.  865 
B,87i  C  ;  11.914A;  12.947  D) ; 
election  of  interpreters  referred 
to,  Laws  6.  759  E;  consulted 
when  a  new  citizen  is  to  be  intro- 
duced, ib.  9.  856  E  ;  an  authority 
in  removing  deposits,  ib.  11.  914 
A  : — golden  images  at,  Phaedr. 
235  E  (cp.  Euthyd.  399  B) ; 
offering  of  Aristocrates  at,  Gorg. 
472  B  :  —  inscriptions  in  the 
temple  at.  Charm.  164  D  foil. ; 
Protag.  343  B  ;  Phaedr.  229  J) ; 
Phil.  45  E,  48  C  ;  Laws  11.  923 
A;  1  Alcib.  124  B,  129  A,  132 
C  : — Delphian  oracle  consulted 
by  the  Heracleidae,  Laws  3.  686 
A  : — Delphian  priestess,  mad, 
Phaedr.  244  A. 

Delta,  the  Egyptian,  Tim.  21  E. 

Deluge,  the,  of  Deucalion,  Tim.  22 
A;  Crit.  112A;  traditions  of  de- 
luges, Laws  3.  677,  678,  702  A 
(cp.  Crit.  109,  III  B,  112  A). 

Demagogues,  Rep.  8.  564,  565 ; 
Laws  10.  908  D. 

Demeter,  etymology  of  the  name, 
Crat.  404  B  ;  her  gifts  to  men, 
Laws  6.  782  B. 

Demigods,  Apol.  27;  Tim.  41  E 
foil.;  Statesm.  271  D  ;  Laws  4. 
713  D,  717  B  ;  5. 727  A,  738  B,  D, 
740  A  ;  7.  801  E ;  8.  848  D  ;  9. 
853  C  ;  10.  906  A,  910  A.  Cp. 
Demons. 

Democracy,  Rep.  i.  338  D  ;  spoken 
of  under  the  parable  of  the  cap- 
tain and  the  mutinous  crew,  ib.  6. 
488  ;  philosophy  and  democracy, 
ib.  494,  500  ;  the  third  form  of  im- 
perfect state,  ib.  8.  544  ;  Statesm. 
291,  292  ;  detailed  account  of. 
Rep.  8.  555  foil.  ;  characterized 
by  freedom,  ib.  557  B,  561-563  ; 
Statesm.  292  A ;  a  bazaar  of 
constitutions,  Rep.  8.  557  D ; 
the  humours  of  democracy,  ib. 
E,  561  ;  liberty  enjoyed  by  the 


400 


htctex. 


animals  under,  ib.  563  ;  elements 
combined  in,  ib.  564 ;  may  be 
either  with  or  without  law, 
Statesm.  302  D  ;  the  worst  of 
lawful  governments,  the  best  of 
lawless  ones,  ib.  303  A  ;  one  of 
the  two  mother-forms  of  states. 
Laws  3.  693  D  ;  to  be  com- 
bined with  monarchy,  ibid., 
698,  701  D  ;  the  third  state  in 
capacity  for  improvement,  ib.  4. 
710  E  : — the  democratical  man, 
Rep.  8.  558,  559  foil.,  561,  562  ; 
9.  572  ;  his  place  in  regard  to 
pleasure,  ib.  9.  587. 
Democrates,  father  of  Lysis,  Lysis 

204  E,  209  A ;  his  wealth,  ib. 

205  C,  208. 

Demodocus,  father  of  Paralus,  Apol. 
33  E. 

Demon  (spirit,  genius,  Smixaiv)  ; 
etymology  of  the  word,  Crat.  397  ; 
Love  a  great  demon  (spirit), 
Symp.  202  E  ;  every  man  has  a 
demon  (attendant  genius),  Phaedo 
107  E,  108  B,  113  D  ;  the  genius 
of  good  fortune.  Laws  5. 732  C  : — 
Socrates'  denial  of  the  existence 
of  demons,  Apol.  27  foil. ;  the 
demons  intermediate  between 
God  and  man,  Symp.  202  E  ; 
Statesm.  271  D  (cp.  Rep.  4.  427 
B  ;  Laws  4-  713  D,  717  B  ;  5.  727 
A,  738  B,  D,  740  A  ;  7.  801  E ;  8. 
848  D  ;  9.  853  C;  10.  906  A, 910 
A)  ;  the  agents  under  God  in  the 
creation  of  the  universe,  Tim. 
41  foil. ;  assist  in  the  government 
of  the  world,  Statesm.  271  foil. 

Demophon,  father  of  Menexenus, 
Lysis  207  B. 

Demus,  the  Athenian,  Gorg.  481  D, 
E,  513  B  (cp.  1  Alcib.  132  A). 

Demus,  son  of  Pyrilampes,  Gorg, 
481  E,  513  B. 

Denial  and  affirmation.  Soph.  264 
A. 

Dependents  as  day-labourers,  Eu- 

thyph.  4  C. 
Depletion,  Tim.  Si  A. 


Deposits,  law  respecting,  Laws  11. 
913- 

Desertion,  indictment  for.  Laws  12. 
943  D- 

Desire,  a  stronger  tie  than  neces- 
sity, Crat.  403  ;  nature  of,  Symp. 
192,  200,  201  (cp.  Phaedr.  237, 
251)  ;  has  a  relaxing  effect  on  the 
soul,  Rep.  4.  430  A ;  conflict  of 
desire  and  reason,  ib.  439-442 ; 
9.  571  (cp.  Phaedr.  253  foil.; 
Tim.  69  E  foil.;  Laws  3.  687, 
689)  ;  is  of  the  soul  only,  Phil.  34, 
35  ;  a  mingled  pain  and  pleasure, 
ib.  47  E  ;  the  sense  of  (in  the 
Heraclitean  philosophy),  Theaet. 
156  B; — desire  and  friendship, 
Laws  6.  776  A  :  —  the  desires, 
should  they  be  regulated.?  Gorg. 
491  E  foil  ,  505  ;  painful,  ib.  496 
D  ;  divided  into  simple  and  quali- 
fied. Rep.  4. 437  foil. ;  into  neces- 
sary and  unnecessary,  ib.  8.  559; 
make  men  immoderate.  Laws 
II.  918  C: — desires  of  men,  ib. 
6.  782,  783  ;  control  of,  ibid. ;  8. 
835,  836  (cp.  Gorg.  505  B).  Cp. 
Love. 

Despotism,  evils  of.  Laws  3.  697, 
7oi^E. 

Despots  (masters),  Rep.  5.  463  A. 

See  Tyrants. 
Dessert,  Rep.  2.  372  C;  Crit.  115  B. 
Destiny,  the,  bf  man  in  his  own 

power.  Rep.  10.   617   E ;  the 

order  of  destiny.  Laws  10.  904. 
Destiny,  [the  Goddess],  Phaedr. 

248  C  ;  Rep.  5.  451  A. 
Destructions  of  mankind  in  past 

ages,  Tim.  22  C  ;  Statesm.  269 

foil.;  Laws  3.  677  (cp.  Crit.  109 

D). 

Deucalion,  the  deluge  of,  Tim.  22 

A  ;  Crit.  112  A. 
Diagnosis,  Greek  method  of,  Protag. 

352.    Cp.  Medicine. 
Diagonal,  see  Mathematics. 
Dialect,  Old  Attic,  bmitiopes,  Crat. 

398  13  ;  eaiti,  ib.  401  C  ;  opai,  ib. 

410  C  ;  0=0),  ibid.,  420  B  ;  use  of 


Index. 


401 


t  and  6  for  x]  ox  (  and  ib.  418 
B  ;  e  =  »?,  z^.  426  C  :  — Cean,  Pro- 
tag.  341  A  : — Doric,  Phaedo  62 
A ;  Crat.  409  A :— Ereirian, 
Crat.  434: — Thessalian,  ib.  405 
C. 

Dialectic,  distinguished  from  eristic, 
Euthyd.  275  foil.,  293  foil. ;  Meno 
75  D,  80  E;  Phaedo  loi  E; 
Rep.  5.  454  A;  6.  499  A;  7. 
539;  Theaet.  167  E;  Soph.  216 
E  ;  Phil.  17  A;  divides  things  into 
their  classes,  Phaedr.  277  ;  Soph. 
253 ;  Statesm.  286  (cp.  Soph. 
264  E) ;  leads  from  earthly 
to  heavenly  conceptions,  Symp. 
210 ;  aids  to  define  ideas,  Phaedo 
75-79  ; — the  most  difficult  branch 
of  philosophy.  Rep.  6.  498 ; 
proceeds  by  a  double  method, 
ib.  511;  objects  of,  ibid.\ 
7.  537  D  ;  compared  to  sight, 
7-  532  A ;  ca.pable  of  at- 
taining to  the  idea  of  good, 
ibid. ;  gives  firmness  to  hypo- 
theses, ib.  533  ;  the  copingstone 
of  the  sciences,  ib.  534  ;  must 
be  studied  by  the  rulers  (in 
the  best  state),  ib.  537  ;  dangers 
of  the  study,  ibid. ;  years  to  be 
spent  in,  ib.  539  ;  despised  by  the 
many,  Parm.  135  D  ;  useless,  if 
'man  is  the  measure  of  all 
things,'  Theaet.  161  E  ;  regard- 
less of  fine  names,  Soph.  227  ; 
needed,  because  ideas  have  no 
sensible  image  or  form,  Statesm. 
285  E ;  a  gift  of  the  Gods,  Phil. 
16  C  ;  first  among  all  learning, 
ib.  57  (cp.  Rep.  7.  534)  ;  wrongly 
employed  by  physical  philoso- 
phers. Laws  10.  891  D  ;  Athen- 
ian skill  in,  ib.  892  :— the  dia- 
lectical method  of  argument 
Parm.  135;  compared  to  carving 
Phaedr.  265  E  ;  Statesm.  287  B  ; 
has  no  place  in  the  arts,  Phil.  59  ; 
'no  respecter  of  persons,'  Statesm. 
266  D  : — synthetic  and  analytic 
method,  Phaedr.  265  .'—division, 

VOL.  V.  ]) 


Statesm.  258,  262,  265  (cp.  261- 
268)  : — dichotomy,  ib.  262  :  — the 
'  dialectical  net,'  Soph.  235  (cp. 
Theaet.  165  E)  : — dialectic  and 
the  doctrine  of  recollection, 
Meno  81  E  foil.  (cp.  Recollec- 
tion) : — dialectic  and  rhetoric, 
Phaedr.  266,  270  (cp.  Gorg.  448 
E,  471  E) ;  dialectic  and  writing, 
Phaedr.  277. 
Dialectic.  \Dialecti.c,  the  '  copins;- 
stone  of  knowledge,'  is  every- 
where distingtcished  by  Plato 

from  eristic,  i.e.  argwnetit  for 
argicmenf s  sake,  but  takes  va- 
rious shapes  with  the  changing 

forms  of  his  philosophy.  In  the 
Symposium,  where  the  lover  and 
the  philosopher  are  shown  by 
Socrates  to  be  07ie  and  the  same, 
dialectic  is  the  gradual  process 
by  the  aid  of  which  we  pass  from 
the  sensible  to  the  ideal,  and  the 
earthly  love  is  refined  into  the 
'  birth  in  beauty.^  A  like  co7i- 
ception  is  found  in  the  Republic. 
There  it  is  the  vieafis  by  which  we 
learn  to  employ  the  hypotheses  of 
science,  not  as  final  results,  but 
as  points  from  which  the  mind 
may  rise  into  the  higher  heaven 
of  ideas  and  behold  truth  and 
being  (Rep.  6.  510,  511).  This 
vague  and  magnificent  concep- 
tion was, perhaps,  scarcely  clearer 
to  Plato  himself  at  the  time  when 
he  wrote  than  it  is  to  \is  [cp.  In- 
troduction to  Repubhc,  p.  xcii]. 
When  Glaucon  asks  Socrates  for 
an  explanation,  the  latter  gives 
an  evasive  reply : — Glaucon  can- 
not follow  him  because  he  has 
never  studied  the  preliminary 
sciences  (Rep.  7.  533  ;  and  cp. 
Symp.  210  A).  In  the  So- 
phist and  Statesman  dialectic 
assumes  a  more  definite  and  less 
ideal  fo7-m,  and  appears  as  a 
combi?iaiiott  of  analysis  and  syn- 
thesis by  which  we  arrive  at  a 


402 


Index. 


trite  ?io/ion  of  things,  and  are 
enabled  to  penetrate  the  many 
disguises  of  the  Sophist  and  to 
distinguish  the  true  statesmatt 
from  his  imitators  and  rivals. 
[Cp.  Phaedrus  265  E,  where  the 
dialectician  is  compared  to  a 
skilful  carver  because  he  under- 
stands the  art  of  '  division  into 
species.'  So  also  Aristotle  in  the 
Politics  (I.  I,  §  3  ;  8,  §  i)  speaks 
of  a  '  customary  method  '  {y^r\yr)- 
fi€VTj  ixf668os)  by  the  aid  of  which 
he  resolves  the  whole  into  its 
parts  or  elements.]  In  the  Laws 
dialectic  no  longer  occupies  a 
prominent  place ;  it  is  the  '  old 
man's  harmless  amusement '  (7. 
820  C),  or,  regarded  more  seri- 
ously, the  method  of  discussion 
by  question  and  answer,  which  is 
abused  by  the  natural  philoso- 
phers to  disprove  the  existence 
of  the  Gods  (10.  891).] 
Dialectician,  the,  user  of  names, 
Crat.  390  ;  gardener  of  the  soul, 
Phaedr.  276  E  ;  has  a  conception 
of  essence.  Rep.  7.  534  (cp.  Phaedo 
75  D) ;  cares  only  for  truth, 
Statesm.  287  A  :— enthusiasm  of 
the  youthful  dialectician,  Phil.  15, 
16. 

Diaprepes,  son  of  Poseidon,  Crit. 
114  C. 

Dice  (fiCTTpayaXoi),  Lysis  206  E  ;  i 
Alcib.  no  B; — ((cu^f)t),  Rtp.  10. 
604  C;  Theaet.  154  C,  155  B; 
the  game  of  dice  {Kvffeia)  in- 
vented by  Theuth,  Phaedr.  274 
C  ; — '  thrice  six  or  thrice  ace,' 
(the  highest  and  the  lowest 
throw),  Laws  12.  968  E; — skill 
required  in  dice-playing,  Rep.  2. 
374  C. 

Dictation  in  schools,  Euthyd.  276 
C, 277  A. 

Diet,  Rep.  3.  404  foil. ;  8.  559  C  ; 
Tim.  89  ;  Laws  2.  659  E ;  effects 
of  change  of,  Laws  7.  797  E. 

Differences  in  natural  inclination 


explained,  Phaedr.  252  :— differ- 
ences and  likenesses  in  things, 
ib.  261  E,  262  A  ;  accidental  and 
essential  differences.  Rep.  5.  454. 

Difficult  (xfiXfTToV),  =  '  evil '  in  the 
Cean  dialect,  Protag.  341  A. 

Dinomachfe,  mother  of  Alcibiades, 
I  Alcib.  105  D ;  her  wardrobe 
not  worth  fifty  minae,  ib.  123 
D. 

Diodes,  father  of  Euthydemus, 
Symp.  222  B. 

Diomede,  Symp.  218  E  ;  his  com- 
mand to  the  Greeks  (II.  iv.  412), 
Rep.  3.  389  E. 

Dion,  an  orator,  Menex.  234  B. 

Dion^,  mother  of  Aphrodite  Pande- 
mus,  Sym]).  180  E. 

Dionysodorus,  comes  to  Athens, 
Euthyd.  271  B;  his  disciples,  ib. 
273  A,  274  B,  276  C ;  in  a  large  way 
of  wisdom,  ib.  273  C  ;  a  Sophist 
instead  of  a  Pancratiast,  ib.  D  ; 
elder  of  the  '  Thurian  brothers,' 
ib.  283  A  ;  converses  with  Ctesip- 
pus,  ib.  E,  285  D  foil.,  298  D  ; 
converses  with  Socrates,  ib.  293 
E  foil.,  297  A  foil. 

Dionysus,  meaning  of  the  name, 
Crat.  406  B  ;  his  influence  on  Bac- 
chic maidens,  Ion  534  A ;  Aris- 
tophanes always  in  his  company, 
Symp.  177  E  ;  the  god  of  mixing, 
Phil.  61  C ;  the  partner  of  our 
revels,  Laws  2.  653  D,  665  A, 
672  B  ;  may  be  invited  by  men 
over  forty  years  of  age,  ib.  2. 
666  B ;  his  gift  not  to  be  cen- 
sured, ib.  672  A ;  robbed  of  his 
wits  by  his  stepmother  Her^,  ib. 
B  ;  his  birth,  celebrated  in  dithy- 
rambs, ib.  3.  700  C  ;  choristers  of, 
ib.  2.  665  B  foil.,  670  A ;  7.  812  B ; 
the  joy  of,  id.  8.  844  E  temple 
of  (at  Athens),  Gorg.  472  A  :— 
the  Dionysia,  Rep.  5.  475  D ; 
drunkenness  at,  Laws  i.  637  B. 

Diopompus,  his  abstinence.  Laws 
8.  840  A. 

Dioscuri,  Euthyd,  293  A  ;  games 


Index. 


403 


in  honour  of  (at  Lacedaemon), 

Laws  7.  796  B. 
Diotima,  the  wise  woman  of  Man- 

tineia,  Symp.  201  D-212  A. 
Director,  the,  of  education  (6  vrept 

Tr\s    TraiSet'ay    iracrrjs  eVtfieXrjTijr), 

Laws  6.  76s  D  foil. ;  7-  801  D  ; 

II.  936  A;  12.^  951  E,  953  D; 

(6  raiv  voiJio(pv\dKQ>v  fVi  rfjv  t5>u 
iraidcou  apx^jf  jjprifievos),  ib.  7-  809  : 
(6  naibevTTjs),  ib.  811  D,  8i2  E  ; 
8.  829  D,  835  A  ;  (6  Ta>v  ■Kaihuiv 
(inixe\r)Tr]s),  ib.  7.  8x3  C  : — direc- 
tor of  music  (6  TTfpl  Tx]v  Movo-ni'), 
ib.  A  ; — directors  of  music  (ovr 
ftXo/Lie^a  vofioSerns  nepi  tci  povcri- 
Ka),  ib.  801  D  ; — directors  of 
music  and  gymnastic  {apxovres 
fiova-LKris  Koi  yvfivaaTlKTjs),  ib.  6. 
764. 

Discerning,  art  of  {BiaKpiTiKTj),  sub- 
divided. Soph.  226. 

Discipline,  importance  and  neces- 
sity of,  Laws  12.  942  A  (cp.  6.  762 
B  foil). 

Discord,  causes  of,  Rep.  5.  462  ;  8. 
547  A,  556  E  ;  the  ruin  of  states, 
ib.  5.  462  (cp.  Laws  3. 686  B) ;  dis- 
tinguished from  war.  Rep.  5.  470 
(cp.  Laws  I.  628,  629)  ; — discord 
and  disease.  Soph.  228  ; — discord 
and  vice,  ibid. 

Discourse,  love  of,  Protag.  317  E, 
335  D,  347  ;  Apol.  23,  33  ;  Gorg. 
458  C:  Rep.  I.  328  A;  5.  450 
B;  Theaet.  218  A  ;  pleasure  of, 
in  the  other  world,  Apol.  41  ; 
Rep.  6.  498  D ;  exemplified  in 
Phaedrus,  Phaedr.  228,  242  A, 
243  D,  258  E,  276  E  ;  in  Socrates, 
ib.  227  B,  230,  236  (cp.  Phil.  67 
C) ;  •  increases  in  old  age.  Rep. 
I.  328  D  :— the  art  with  which 
rhetoric  is  concerned,  Gorg.  450 
(cp.  Rhetoric) ;  nature  of.  Soph. 
260  foil.;  =  connexion  of  verbs 
and  nouns,  ib.  262  ;  length  of, 
not  always  to  be  regarded, 
Statesm,  283,  286,  287 ;  Laws 
xo.  887  B  (cp.  Rep.  5.  450  C  ; 

D 


Laws  4.  721  E  ;  10.  890  E) ;  Pro- 
dicus'  rule  of  discourse,  Phaedr. 
267  B  ; — the  'music  of  discourse,' 
Theaet.  176  A; — false  discourse, 
Soph.  263  : — the  discourses  of 
the  legislator  to  be  learnt  by  the 
young.  Laws  7.  8x1. 

Discussion,  not  the  same  as  speech- 
making,  Protag.  336  A. 

Disease,  not  essential,  but  ac- 
cidental to  the  body,  Lysis  217  ; 
origin  of,  Symp.  188;  Rep.  3. 
404;  Tim.  81,  82  foil. ;  the  right 
treatment  of,  Rep.  3.  405  foil. ; 
the  physician  must  have  expe- 
rience of,  ib.  408  ;  inherent  in 
evei-ything,  ib.  10.  609;  akin  to 
the  living  being,  Tim.  89  B ; 
made  an  argument  against  the 
truth  of  perception, Theaet.  1 57  E ; 
pleasures  arising  from,  Phil.  46  A, 
51  D  (cp.  Gorg.  494  C  ;  Tim.  86); 
a  cause  of  revolution,  Laws  4. 
709  A  ;  a  cause  of  crime,  ib.  9. 
864  D  : — disease  in  life,  Laws  5. 
734  : — disease  of  body  and  soul 
compared,  Crito  47  ;  disease  and 
vice  compared.  Rep.  4.  444 ; 
xo.  609  foil. ;  Soph.  228  ;  Laws 
10.  906  (cp.  Statesm.  296  D) : — 
disease  and  discord,  Soph.  228  : — 
diseases  of  the  soul,  Tim.  44  C,  86. 

Disease,  the  'sacred'  (epilepsy), 
Tim.  85  A;  Laws  11.  916  A. 

Dishonour  and  justice  inconsistent. 
Laws  9.  859,  860. 

D  isinheritance  of  children,  Laws  I  x . 
928  E  foil. 

Display,  art  of.  Soph.  224. 

Dispositions,  difference  of,  Theaet. 
144 ;  Statesm.  306  foil.  Cp. 
Character. 

Disputation,  art  of,  Phaedr.  26X  ; 
Soph.  232  ;  kinds  of.  Soph.  225  ; 
Greek  love  of,  C^org.  458  (cp. 
Discourse). 

Dissolution  and  replenishment,  Phil. 

31,  32. 

Dithyrambic  poetry,  seeks  pleasure 
only,  Gorg.   502  A ;   nature  of, 

2 


Index, 


^ep.  3.  394  B  ;  sacred  to  Bac- 
chus, Laws  3.  700  B. 

Diversities  of  natural  gifts,  Rep.  2. 
370  A;  s.  455  ;  7.  535  A. 

Divine  beauty,  wisdom,  goodness, 
etc.,  Phaedr.  247. 

Divination  and  love,  Symp.  188  B  ; 
of  the  dying,  Apol.  39  C  ;  fiavTLKi], 
Phaedr.  244 ;  olatnariKri,  ibid. ; 
Phil.  67  C ;  divination  by  the 
liver,  Tim.  71. 

Diviners,  Ion  534;  Euthyph.  4; 
Tim.  71  E  ;  Statesm.  290 ;  Phil. 
67;  Laws  II.  913,  933. 

Division  (in  Arithmetic),  puzzles  of, 
Phaedo  loi  :— (in  style),  Phaedr. 
265  ;  logical  method  of.  Soph. 
219;  Phil.  16  ;  division  and  pre- 
dication. Soph.  253  (cp.  Dialec- 
tic) ;  division  into  classes,  ibid. ; 
Statesm.  258,  262  B,  285,  287  ; 
of  sciences,  Statesm.  258 ;  of 
knowledge,  ib.  259,  260 ;  of 
objects  of  production,  ib.  261  ; 
of  the  art  of  command,  ibid. ;  of 
the  breeding  of  living  creatures, 
ibid. ;  process  of,  ib.  262 ;  of 
animals,  ib.  D,  263  ;  of  herds,  ib. 
264,  265  ;  process  of,  illustrated 
by  weaving,  ib.  279 ;  division  into 
members,  ib.  287  (cp.  Phaedr.  265 

Division  of  labour,  Rep.  2.  370, 
374  A  ;  3.  394  E,  395  B,  397  E  ; 
4.  423  E,  433  A,  435  A,  441  E, 
443;.5-4S3B;  Laws  8.  846  D;  a 
part  of  justice,  Rep.  4.  433, 435  A, 
441  E  (cp.  I.  332,  349,  350). 

Division  of  land,  proclaimed  by  the 
would-be  tyrant,  Rep.  8.  565  E, 
566  E  ;  a  source  of  contention. 
Laws  3.  684  E  ;  5.  736  D  ;  how 
it  may  be  carried  out,  ib.  5.'  736  ; 
in  the  model  state,  ib.  737. 

Divorce,  allowed  in  case  of  child- 
lessness, Laws  6.  784  B  ;  II.  930 
A  ;  of  incompatibility  of  temper, 
ib.  II.  929 E. 

Doctors,  flourish  when  luxury  in- 
creases in  the  state,  Rep.  2.  373 


C  ;  3.  405  A  ;  two  kinds  of,  ib.  5. 
459  C  ;  Laws  4.  720,  722  C,  723 
A ;  9.  857  D  ;  inutility  of.  Laws 
6.  761  C ;  doctors'  assistants, 
slaves,  ib.  4.  720  ;  9.  857  D.  Cp. 
Acusilaus,  Eryximachus,  Herodi- 
cus,  Medicine,  Physician. 

Dodona,  the  priestesses  of,  mad, 
Phaedr.  244  B  ;  the  oaks  of,  ib. 
275  B  ;  oracle  of.  Laws  5.  738  C. 

Dog,  Socrates'  oath  by  the,  Charm. 
172  E;  Lysis  211  E;  Phaedr. 
228  B  ;  Apol.  21  E  ;  Phaedo  99 
A;  Crat.  411  B;  Gorg.  461  A, 
466  C,  482  B ;  Rep.  3.  399  E  ; 
8.  567  E  ;  9.  592  A  :— Ctesippus' 
dog,  Euthyd.  298  :— art  of  attend- 
ing to  dogs,  Euthyph.  13;  dogs 
are  philosophers.  Rep.  2.  376  ; 
breedingof  dogs, 5.459  ;  hunt- 
ing with  dogs.  Laws  7.  824  A : — 
the  auxiliaries  the  watch-dogs  of 
the  state.  Rep.  2.  376  ;  4.440  D  ; 
5.451  D. 

Doing  and  making  distinguished, 
Charm.  163;  Euthyd.  284. 

Dolphin,  Arion's,  Rep.  5.453  D  :— 
the  Nereids  represented  as  riding 
on  dolphins,  Crit.  116  E. 

Dorian  dialect,  Phaedo  62  A ;  Crat. . 
409  A  : — Dorian  harmony,  Laws 
2. 670  B  ;  the  true  Hellenic  mode, 
Laches  188  D;  a  harmony  of 
words  and  deeds,  ib.  193  D; 
allowed  (with  the  Phrygian)  in 
the  best  state.  Rep.  3.  399  A  : — 
Dorians,  the,  origin  of,  Laws  3. 
682  E  ;  distribution  of  land  by,  ib. 
684  E  ;  =Heraclidae,  ib.  685  E  ; 
settlement  of  the  army,  ib.  702 
A. 

Dowries,  not  allowed  (in  the  Model 
City),  Laws  5.  742  C ;  6.  774  C. 

Dragon's  teeth,  story  of  the.  Laws 
2.  663  E  (cp.  Soph.  247  C).  See 
Cadmus. 

Draughts,  Charm.  174  B ;  Gorg. 
,450  D  ;  Rep.  i.  333  A;  Laws  7. 
820  C  ;  I  Alcib.  1 10  E  ;  invented 
by  Theuth,  Phaedr.  274  D  ;  skill 


Index. 


405 


required  in,  Rep.  2.  374  C  ; — the 
'  move  from  the  holy  line '  (pro- 
verbial), Laws  5.  739  A ;— com- 
parison of  an  argument  to  a 
game  of  draughts,  ib.  6.  487  C 
(cp.  Laws  7.  820  C  ;  Eryx.  395 
A)  : — draught-players  more  plen- 
tiful than  statesmen,  Statesm.  292 
E. 

Dreadful  (Ssii/dr),  not  to  be  used  as 
a  term  of  praise,  Protag.  341  B. 

Dream  of  the  reign  of  knowledge, 
Charm.  173  ;'  that  existence  can- 
not be  predicated  of  the  elements, 
Theaet.  201  E  : — dreams  of  So- 
crates; ('the  third  day  hence'), 
Crito  44  ;  ('  compose  music '), 
Phaedo  60  -E  : — dreams  an  in- 
dication of  the  bestial  element  in 
human  nature.  Rep.  9.  571,  574 
E  ;  cause  of  dreams,  Tim.  46  A  ; 
interpretation  of,  ib.  72  A ;  dis- 
prove the  truth  of  perception, 
Theaet.  157  E ;  dreams  and 
realities,  ib.  158;  superstitions 
aroused  by  dreams.  Laws  10. 
910  A. 

Drinking  bad  for  the  health,  Symp. 
176  D;  drinking  and  music. 
Laws  I.  642 ;  effect  of  drinking 
on  the  passions,  ib.  645  D  ;  regu- 
lations on,  zi^.  2. 671-674  ;  the  law 
of  Carthage  respecting,  ib.  674  (cp. 
Intoxication) : — pleasure  of  drink- 
ing (and  eating),  ib.  667 ;  6.  782 
E,  783  C(cp.  Rep.  8.  559). 

Drones,  the.  Rep.  8.  552,  554  C, 
555  E,  559  C,  564  B,  567  E;  9. 
573  A  (cp.  Laws  10.  901  A). 

Dropidas,  great-grandfather  of 
Critias,  Charm.  157  E  ;  Tim.  20 
E  ;  Crit.  113  A. 

Drunkenness,  Phaedr.  238  A ;  in 
heaven.  Rep.  2.  363  D  ;  forbidden 
in  the  guardians,  ib.  3.  398  E, 
403  E ;  not  allowed  at  Lace- 
daemon,  Laws  I.  637  B  ;  injury 
caused  by,  ib.  640  E  ;  at  mar- 
riages unlawful,  ib.  6.  775  : — the 
drunken  man  apt  to  be  tyrannical. 


Rep.  8.  573  C ;  is  in  a  second 

childhood,  Laws  I.  645  E,  646  A  ; 

fancies  himself  able  to  rule  the 

whole  world,  ib.  2.  671  B. 
Duty  not  to  be  paid  on  imports  or 

exports  (in  the  Model  City),  Laws 

8.  847. 
Dyeing,  Rep.  4.  429  D. 
Dyes,  not  to  be  imported.  Laws  8. 

847  C  : — dyed  work  not  to  be 

employed  in  the  service  of  the 

Gods,  ib.  12.  956  A. 
Dynasties  (or  lordships),  the  form 

of  government  in  ancient  times, 

Laws  3.  680  B,  681  D. 
Dysentery  in  the  army  at  Corinth, 

Theaet.  142  B. 

E. 

Early  man,  Laws  3.  678,  679  (cp. 
Statesm.  274); — early  rising,Laws 
7. 808 ; — early  society.  Rep.  2. 359. 

Earth,  the,  mother  of  Oceanus, 
Tim.  40  E  ;  a  goddess.  Laws  5. 
740  A  ;  10.  886  A  ; — the  mother 
of  the  female  sex,  Symp.  190  B  ; 
the  mother-deity  of  Athens,  Tim. 
23  E  ;  the  mother  of  the  human 
race.  Laws  5.  740  A  ;  12. 958  E ; — • 
the  earth  sacred  to  the  Gods,  ib. 
12.  955  E  ; — the  guardians  sup- 
posed to  be  earth-born.  Rep.  3. 
414 ;  the  Athenians  children  of 
the  soil,  Crit.  109 ;  Menex.  237  E, 
(cp.  245  D) ;  the  first  men  sprung 
from,  Statesm.  269  A,  271  (cp. 
Symp.  191;  Crit.  113  C)  : — the 
earth  the  eldest  of  the  created  and 
visible  gods,  Tim.  40  C  ;  creation 
of,  ib.  33  foil. ;  origin  of.  Laws 
ID.  889  : — the  earth,  according  to 
some  philosophers,  in  the  form 
of  a  trough,  Phaedo  99  B  ;  de- 
scription of,  ib.  109-114;  why 
made  in  a  spherical  form,  Tim. 
34  :  —  earth,  one  of  the  four 
elements,  ib.  32,  49,  53 ;  Soph.  266 
B ;  Phil.  29  A ;  Laws  10.  889  B, 
891  C  foil.  (cp.  Elements)  ;  its 


4o6 


Index. 


form,  Tim.  55  E  ;  earth  and  fire, 
the  source  of  the  universe,  ib.  31  ; 
compounds  of  earth  and  water, 
ib.  60,  61. 

Eating,  pleasure  accompanying. 
Rep.  8.  559  ;  Laws  2.  667  B  ;  6. 
782  E,  783  C. 

Echecratesof  PhHus,  Phaedo  57  A, 
88  C,  102  A. 

Education,  commonly  divided  into 
music  for  the  soul  and  gymnastic 
for  the  body.  Rep.  2. 376  E ;  3. 403 
(cp.  Crito  50  D  ;  Laws  2.  672, 
673  ;  7-  795  E)  ;  both  music  and 
gymnastic  really  designed  for 
the  soul,  Rep.  3.  410  (cp.  Tim. 
88 :  afid  see  Gymnastic  and 
Music)  : — a  matter  of  the  most 
serious  importance,  Laches  185, 
186;  Protag.  313;  Euthyd.  306 
E;  Laws  6.  766;  7.  808,  809; 
what  advice  to  be  taken  about. 
Laches  186;  a  life-long  process, 
Protag.  325  D  (cp.  Rep.  6.  498 
B) ;  good  manners  a  branch  of, 
Protag.  325  E  ;  poetry  the  prin- 
cipal part  of,  [Protagoras],  ib, 
339  A  (cp.  Laws  7.  810  E)  ; 
difficulty  of  finding  a  teacher, 
Apol.  20  ;  use  of  fiction  in  educa- 
tion, Rep.  2.  377  foil. ;  3.  391  ; 
the  poets  bad  educators,  ib.  2. 
377  ;  3-  391,  392,  408  B;  10. 
600,  606  E,  607  B  ;  Laws  10. 
886  C,  890  A  (cp.  Laws  7.  810, 
811)  ;  must  be  simple.  Rep.  3. 
397,  404  E  ;  melody  in,  ib.  398 
foil. ;  mimetic  art  in,  ib.  399  ; 
importance  of  good  surround- 
ings, ib.  401  ;  influence  of,  on 
manners  and  customs,  ib.  4.  424, 
425  ;  innovation  in,  dangerous, 
ibid.  ;  should  be  given  in  infancy 
through  amusement,  ib.  425  A ; 
7.  536  E  ;  Laws  i.  643  B  ;  should 
be  the  same  for  men  and  women. 
Rep.  5.  45 1  foil.,  466  ;  Laws  7. 804 
E ;  dangerous  when  ill  directed, 
Rep. 6. 491  (cp. /3.7. 518  E;  Laws 
7.  819) ;  not  a  process  of  acqui- 


sition, but  the  use  of  powers 
already  existing  in  us,  Rep.  7. 
518;  value  of  arithmetic  in,  ib. 
526;  Laws  5.  747;  7.  809  C, 
819  C  ;  ought  not  to  be  com- 
pulsory. Rep.  7.  537  A  {but  cp. 
Laws  7.  804  E)  ;  makes  the  life 
of  man  perfect,  Tim.  44  C ;  in- 
tended to  promote  virtue,  ib.  87 
(cp.  Laws  I.  643  E ;  7. 788  C) ;  the 
two  methods  of.  Soph.  229,  230  ; 
gives  victory.  Laws  i.  641  C ;  con- 
vivial meetings,  an  element  of, 
ib.  D  ;  2.  653,  657  ;  aims  at  ideals, 
ib.  I.  643,  644  ;  is  the  first  and 
fairest  thing,  ib.  644  A  (cp.  Rep. 
2.  377  A);  in  temperance,  Laws 
I.  647;  =  training  of  instincts 
in  children,  ib.  2.  653,  659  C ; 
first  given  through  Apollo  and 
the  Muses,  ib.  654;  inculcates 
conformity  with  reason  and  the 
laws,  ib.  659;  relation  of,  to  the 
choral  art,  ib.  672  E ;  should 
begin  even  before  birth,  ib.  7.  788 
foil. ;  use  of  exercise  and  motion 
in,  ib.  791  foil. ;  —  carelessness 
about,  at  Athens,  i  Alcib.  122; 
education  in  Crete  and  at  Lace- 
daemon,  Laws  2.  660  E,  666  E ; 
in  Egypt,  ib.  656  ;  7.  819  ;  of  the 
Persian  Kings,  ib.  3.  694  foil. ; 
I  Alcib.  121  E;— of  the  sons 
of  good  and  great  men  often 
neglected.  Laches  179,  180;  Pro- 
tag.  320,  324,  325  ;  Meno  93  (cp. 
Laws  3. 694  D ;  I  Alcib.  1 1 8  E) : — 
subjects  of,  in  Greek  schools,  Pro- 
tag.  325,326;  Euthyd.  276;  Laws 
7.810  foil. ;  I  Alcib.  106  E  ;  dicta- 
tion and  grammar,  Euthyd.  276 
C,  277  A  ;  music.  Charm.  159  C, 
160  A  ;  Protag.  326  B  ;  Euthyd. 
276  C  ;  Crito  50  D  ;  Laws  2. 
654,  660;  7.  810,  812;  I  Alcib. 
106  E;  poetry  learnt  by  heart, 
Protag.  326  A ;  Laws  7.  810  C, 
811  A;  reading  and  writing, 
Charm.  159  C,  160  A,  161  D; 
Protag.  326  C  ;  Laws  7.  810  B  ; 


Index. 


407 


I  Alcib.  106  E  (cp.  Lysis  209  B  ; 
Theaet.  206,  207  E) ;  Greek  not 
taught,  Protag.  328  (cp.  I  Alcib. 
Ill  A):  —  [in  the  best  state]; 
the  preliminary,  Rep.  2.  376  foil. ; 
4.  429,  430 ;  7.  521 ;  the  higher 
or  philosophic  education,  ib.  6. 
498,  503  E  ;  7.  537  foil. ;  'the 
longer  way,'  ib.  6.  504  (cp.  ib.  4. 
435)  ;  '  the  prelude  or  preamble,' 
7. 532  E  (cp.  Guardians,  Rulers) : — 
[in  the  Model  City]  ;  the  prelimi- 
nary, Laws  7.  788  foil.,  808  foil. ; 
the  higher,  ib.  817  E;  12.  967; — 
Director  or  Minister  of  Educa- 
tion, ib.  6.  765  D  foil. ;  7.  801  D, 
809,  811  D,  812  E,  813  C  ;  8. 
829  D,  83s  A  ;  II.  936  A  ;  12. 
951  E,  953  D  (cp.  Director). 
Education.  \The  subject  of  educa- 
tion is  incidentally  treated  in 
many  of  the  Dialogues  of  Plato  j 
for  Socrates  is  the  especial  friend 
of  youth,  and  takes  the  greatest 
interest  in  their  growth  and 
progress.  Melesias  and  Lysinia- 
chus  come  to  him  for  advice 
about  the  training  of  their  sons  : 
the  youthful  Hippocrates  entreats 
him  for  an  introduction  to  Pro- 
tagoras :  Theaetetus  stcbniits him- 
self gladly  to  the  treatment  of 
the  skilful  practitioner.  Plato's 
oivn  views  are  given  at  length  in 
the  Republic  and  in  the  Laws, 
and  form  a  main  part  of  their 
contents.  The  Greek  philosophers 
were  profoundly  convinced  of  the 
necessity  and  importance  of 
education :  in  this  respect  their 
views  were  in  advance  of  those 
which  have  been  entertained  in 
modern  countries  until  quite 
recent  times.  [Cp.  Arist.  Pol. 
v'ii-  I,  §  3;  3,  §  10.]  The  system 
of  education  which  Plato  has 
sketched  in  the  Republic  appears 
to  be  nearly  the  same  with  that 
which  is  contained  in  the  Laws  : 
their  principal  features  may  be 


summed  up  as  follows :  —  There  is 
the  common  education  of  the  (i) 
citizens  ;  (ii)  the  special  education 
of  the  riders.  (i)  The  first, 
beginning  with  childhood  in  the 
plays  of  the  children,  is  the  old 
Hellenic  education,  [the  mra- 
^e^\rjfieva  Traidevfiara  of  Aristotle, 
Pol.  viii.  2,  §  6],  '  music  for  the 
mind  and  gymnastic  for  the  body.^ 
Put,  according  to  Plato,  both  are 
really  ititended  for  the  be?tefit 
of  the  soul  {cp.  Tim.  88) :  and 
rtnder'  tnusic'  he  includes  litera- 
ture (\oyoi),  i.  e.  humane  culture 
as  distinguished  from  scientific 
knowledge.  Music  precedes  gym- 
nastic :  both  are  not  to  be  learned 
together  J  only  the  simpler  kinds 
of  either  are  tolerated.  Boys  and 
girls  share  equally  in  both.  The 
7nost  careful  attention  mustbepaid 
to  good  surroundings ;  nothing 
mean  or  vile  must  meet  the  eye 
or  strike  the  ear  of  the  young 
scholar.  The  fairy  tales  of  child- 
hood and  the  fictions  of  the  poets 
a7-e  alike  placed  imder  censorship. 
[Cp.  the  Politics  of  Aristotle,  vii. 
17,  and  see  s.  v.  Poetry].  Gentle- 
f  iess  is  to  be  united  with  manlinesss 
beauty  of  form  and  activity  of 
mind  are  to  mingle  in  perfect  and 
harmonious  accord. —  The  ages  at 
which  children  should  commetice 
their  various  studies  are  not 
stated  in  the  Republic ;  but  in  the 
Vllth  Book  of  the  Laws,  where 
the  subject  is  treated  more  in 
detail,  the  children  begin  going 
to  school  at  ten,  atid  spend  three 
years  in  learning  to  read  and 
write,  and  another  three  years 
in  music  (Laws  7.  810).  This 
agrees  very  fairly  with  the  se- 
lection of  the  most  promising 
youth  at  the  age  of  twenty  (Rep. 
?•  537)1  ^-f  would  allow  a 
corresponding  period  of  three 
years  for  gymnastic  training. — 


4o8 


Index. 


(ii)  The  special  education  is 
scarcely  more  than  alluded  to  in 
the  Laws  (7.  817  E  ;  12.  967), 
but  is  described  at  length  in  the 
Republic.  According  to  the 
latter  the  selected  students  are  to 
spend  ten  years  in  the  acquisition 
of  the  higher  branches  of  arith- 
metic, geometry.,  astronomy.,  har- 
mony, which  are  not  to  be 
pursued  in  a  scientific  spirit  or 
for  utility  only,  but  rather  with 
a  view  to  their  combination  by 
means  of  dialectic  into  an  ideal 
of  all  knowledge  {see  s.  v.  Dia- 
lectic). At  thirty  a  further 
selection  is  made:  those  selected 
spend  five  years  in  the  study  of 
philosophy,  are  then  sent  into 
active  life  for  fifteen  years,  and 
finally  after  fifty  return  to  phi- 
losophy, which  for  the  r  emainder 
of  their  days  is  to  form  their  chief 
occupationi\ 

Effect  and  cause,  Euthyph.  10 ; 
Phil.  26,  27. 

Effluences  of  existence,  Meno  76. 

Eg)'pt,  embalmment  in,  Phaedo 
80  C  ;  passage  money  from,  to 
Athens,  =  two  drachmae,  Gorg. 
511  D;  tale  brought  by  Solon 
from,  Tim.  21  C ;  Crit.  108  D,  1 13; 
kings  of,  priests,  Statesm.  290  E  ; 
conquered  by  the  Persians,  Menex. 
239  E  ;  Athenian  expedition  to, 
ib.  241  E  I— Egj'ptian  Delta, 
Tim.  21  E  : — Egyptian  deities  ; 
Neith,  ibid.,  23  E ;  Theuth, 
Phaedr.  274  C,  275  C ;  Phil,  18 
B: — 'Egyptian  tales,'  Phaedr. 
27s  B  : — the  Egyptian  wizard 
(Proteus),  Euthyd.  288  B  :— 
Egyptians  characterized  by  the 
love  of  money.  Rep.  4.  435  E  ; 
consecrate  every  form  of  art. 
Laws  2.  656  D,  660  B  ;  7.  799  A  ; 
cunning  and  crafty,  ib.  5.  747  C  ; 
teach  their  children  arithmetic  by 
means  of  games,  ib.  7. 8 1 9  B  ;  in- 
hospitable, ib.  12.  953  E. 


Egyptus,  descendants  of,  Menex. 
245  D. 

Eileithyia,  women  to  assemble  in 

the  temple  of,  Laws  6.  784  A  ; 

(goddess  of  parturition)  =  beauty, 

Symp.  206  C. 
Elasippus,  son  of  Poseidon,  Crit. 

114  C. 

Elder,  the,  to  bear  rule  in  the 
state,  Rep.  3.  412  B ;   Laws  3. 

690  A  ;  4.  714  E  (cp.  Laws  3. 

680  E)  ;  to  be  over  the  younger, 
Rep.  5.  465  A  ;  Laws  4.  721  D  ; 
9.  879  C  ;  II.  917  A ;  held  in 
honour  both  by  Gods  and  men. 
Laws  9.  879  C  ;  the  eldest  the 
king  of  the  family.  Laws  3.  680  E, 

681  B. 

Elders,  the,  of  Sparta,   Laws  3. 

691  E. 

Elea,  Soph.  216  A. 

Eleatic  philosophy  criticized,  Soph. 
241  E  foil.; — Eleatic  stranger,  z^. 
216  A; — the  Eleatic  Palamedes 
(Zeno),  Phaedr.  261  D. 

Election  of  magistrates  (in  the 
Model  City),  Laws  6.  753  foil. ; 
of  generals,  etc.,  ib.  755  ;  of  the 
council,  ib.  756 ;  of  priests,  in- 
terpreters, and  temple  officers, 
759  )  of  the  wardens  of  the 
country,  ib.  760  ;  of  the  wardens 
of  the  city  and  the  agora,  ib.  763  ; 
of  the  choregus  and  the  judges  of 
contests,  ib.  765  ;  of  the  judges  of 
appeals,  ib.  767 ;  of  censors,  ib. 
12.  945  foil. ; — the  mixed  mode  of 
election,  ib.  6.  753,  756,  763,  767  ; 
such  a  mode,  a  mean  between 
monarchy  and  democracy,  ib.  756 
E. 

Elements,  the  four  in  creation,  Tim. 
32;  Soph.  266  B  ;  Laws  10.  889 
B,  891  C  foil. ;  nature  of,  Tim.  49, 
51  ;  origin  of,  id.  52,  53  ;  their 
forms,  ib.  55,  56;  their  passage 
into  one  another,  ib.  56 ;  their 
degrees  of  penetration,  ib.  58  A  ; 
their  various  kinds,  ib.  C  ;  are 
names  only,  Theaet.  2oi  E  (cp. 


Index. 


Tim.  51  C)  ;  in  man  and  in  the 

cosmos,  Phil.  29. 
Elephants  in  Atlantis,  Crit.  115  A. 
Eleusis,  war  against  the  tyrants  in, 

Menex.  243  E. 
EHs,  Hippias  of,   Protag.  314  C, 

315  C  ;  Apol.  19  E  ;  Hipp.  Min. 

363  C,  364  A; — treatment  of  love 

at,  Symp.  182  B. 
Embroidery,  the  art  of.  Rep.  3. 

401  A. 

Emigration,  rules  concerning.  Laws 

12.  949  E  foil. 
Emmeleiai,  or  'dances  of  order,' 

Laws  7.  816  B. 
Empedocles,  Meno  76  C  ;  Theaet. 

152  E. 

Empiricism  in  the  arts,  Phil.  55  E. 

Emulation,  a  mingled  pain  and 
pleasure,  Phil.  47  E. 

Enchanter,  the  speech-maker  an, 
Euthyd.  290  A ;  the  sophist. 
Soph.  235  A  ;  the  sophist-poli- 
tician, Statesm.  291  C,  303  C. 

Enchantment,  art  of,  Euthyd.  290 
A;  Laws  11.  933.  Cp.  Magic, 
Sorcery. 

Enchanf  uients,  used  by  mendicant 
prophets.  Rep.  2.  364  B  ; — law 
against,  Laws  11.  933: — en- 
chantments, i.e.  tests  to  which 
the  guardians  are  to  be  subjected, 
Rep.  3.  413  (cp.  6.  503  A  ;  7.  539 
E). 

End,  the,  distinguished  from  the 
means.  Laches  185  : — end  and 
use  of  the  soul,  Rep.  i.  353  ;  end 
of  hfe.  Laws  7.  807:— Ends  as 
final  causes,  Lysis  219,  220;  as 
causes,  Gorg.  467  : — ends  and 
excellences  (aperat)  of  things, 
Rep.  I.  353  ;  things  distinguished 
by  their  ends,  ib.  5.  478. 

Endurance  must  be  inculcated  on 
the  young.  Rep.  3.  390  C ;  of 
pain,  shown  by  the  Lacedae- 
monians, Laws  I.  633  ;  i  Alcib. 
T22C;  the  habit  of,  must  be 
acquired  by  the  soldier,  Laws  12. 
742  D  (cp.  6.  762  E). 


Endymion,  Phaedo  72  C. 
Enemies,   treatment  of,   Rep.  5. 
469. 

Engine-makers,  Gorg.  512. 

Enquiry,  sophistical  hmitation  of, 
Meno  80 ;  into  things  unknown 
is  possible,  ib.  81  foil.;  duty  of, 
ib.  86  ;  Phaedo  85  ;  roused  by 
some  objects  of  sense.  Rep.  7. 
523  ; — enquiry  into  the  nature  of 
God,  not  impious.  Laws  7.  821 
(cp.  I2i  966). 

Envy,  a  mingled  pain  and  pleasure, 
Phil.  47  E,  49,  50  ;  evil  of.  Laws 
5.  731  ;  begotten  by  jealousy, 
Menex.  242  A. 

Epeius,  son  of  Panopeus,  works  of 
sculpture  attributed  to,  Ion  533 
A  ;  his  soul  turns  into  a  woman, 
Rep.  10. 620  C  ;  invented  tricks  of 
boxing.  Laws  7.  796  A. 

Ephesus,  the  native  city  of  Ion,  Ion 
530  A,  533  C ;  subject  to  Athens, 
ib.  541  C ;  'no  mean  city,'  ib.  D  : — 
Ephesians,  originally  Athenians, 
ibid. ;  mad  about  Heracleitus, 
Theaet.  179  E. 

Ephialtes,  Symp.  190  B. 

Ephors,  their  power,  Laws  3.  692 
A;  4.  712  D;  watch  over  the 
queens  of  Sparta,  i  Alcib.  121  B. 

Epic  poetry,  a  combination  of 
imitation  and  narration,  Rep.  3. 
394  B,  396  E  ;— epic  poets,  reci- 
tations from,  at  festivals,  Ion 
53O)  535  ;  Laws  2.  658  ;  8.  834  E 
(cp.  Rhapsodes) ;  imitators  in 
the  highest  degree.  Rep.  10. 602  C. 

Epicharmus,  quoted,  Gorg.  505  D  ; 
the  'prince  of  comedy,'  Theaet. 
152  E. 

Epicrates,  Lysias  with,  Phaedr. 
227  B. 

EpidauruS)  Festival  of  Asclepius  at, 
Ion  530  A  : — Epidaurians  have 
contests  of  rhapsodes,  ibid. 

Epigenes,  a  pupil  of  Socrates,  Apol. 
33  E ;  present  in  the  prison, 
Phaedo  59  B. 

Epilepsy, Tim. 85  A;  Laws  11.916A. 


Index. 


Epimenides,  at  Athens,  Laws  i. 
642  D  ;  his  ingenuity,  ib.  3. 
677  D. 

Epimetheus,  Protag.  320  D,  321  B, 
foil. 

Epitaph,  on  the  tomb  of  Midas, 
Phaedr.  264  D  :— epitaphs,  not  to 
exceed  four  lines.  Laws  12. 958  E. 

Equality  distinguished  from  im- 
partiahty,  Protag.  337  A;  equality 
and  friendship,  Phaedr.  240  B  ; 
Laws  6. 757  A;  absolute  equality, 
Phaedo  74,  75  ;  Parm.  131  D  ; 
equality  only  desired  by  the  in- 
ferior, Gorg.  483  D  ;  is  between 
greatness  and  smallness,  Parm. 
161  ;  the  especial  characteristic 
of  democracy,  Rep.  8.  557  B,  561- 
563  (cp.  Democracy);  equality 
and  inequality  in  the  state,  Laws 
5.  744  ;  6.  757;  the  two  kinds  of 
equality,  ib.  6.  757  ;  equality  at 
Athens,  Menex.  238  E. 

Equity,  an  infraction  of  perfect 
justice,  Laws  6.  757  E. 

Er,  myth  of.  Rep.  10.  614  B  foil. 

Erasistratus,  son  of  Phaeax,  Eryx. 
392  A,  et  passivt. 

Erato,  muse  of  lovers,  Phaedr.  259 
D. 

Erchiae,  Alcibiades  owned  300 
acres  there,  i  Alcib.  123  C. 

Erectheus,  prior  to  Theseus,  Crit. 
110  A: — demus  of,  (the  Athen- 
ians), I  Alcib.  132  A. 

Eretria,  invaded  by  Persians,  Laws 
3.  698  C,  699  A;  Menex.  240  B, 
C  : — Eretrian  dialect,  Crat.  434 
C  : — Eretrians  and  Darius,  Laws 
3.  698  C,  D  ;  Menex.  240  A,  C. 

Erichthonius,  Crit.  no  A. 

Eridanus,  hill  of  the  Acropolis  once 
extended  to  the,  Crit.  112  A. 

Erineus,  in  Attica,  Theaet.  143  B. 

Eriphyle,  Rep.  9.  590  A. 

Eristic,  distinguished  froni  dialectic, 
Euthyd.  275  foil.,  293  foil.  ; 
Meno  75,  80  E ;  Phaedo  loi 
E  ;  Rep.  5.  454  A ;  6.  499 
A  ;  7.  539 ;  Theaet.  167  E  ;  Soph. 


216  E  ;  Phil.  17  A;  subdivisions. 
Soph.  225  ;  nature  of,  ib.  259;  — 
Eristic  arguments,  Theaet.  165. 
Cp.  Dialectic. 

Eros,  a  '  mighty  God,'  Phaedr. 
242  E  ;  Symp.  201  E  ;  Socrates 
prays  to,  Phaedr.  257  A ;  his 
inspiration,  ib.  265  B ;  lord  of 
Phaedrus  and  Socrates,  ib.  C ; 
his  nature,  Symp.  201  E  foil. ; — 
Eros  and  Pteros,  Phaedr.  252  B  ; 
— the  word  '  hero '  derived  from 
Eros,  Crat.  398  D  ;  meaning  of 
the  name,  ib.  420  A.    Cp.  Love. 

Error,  not  possible  in  the  skilled 
person  (Thrasymachus),  Rep.  3. 
340  D ;  three  kinds  of.  Laws  9. 
863,  864  ;  three  erroneous  opi- 
nions about  the  Gods,  ib.  10.  885. 

Erysichthon,  prior  to  Theseus,  Crit. 
no  A. 

Eryxias,  the  Steirian,  Eryx.  392  A, 
ct  passim. 

Eryximachus,  son  of  Acumenus,  a 
physician,  Protag.  315  C ;  Phaedr. 
268  A ;  with  Hippias,  Protag.  315 
C ;  objects  to  drinking,  Symp. 
176  A  ;  cures  Aristophanes  of  the 
hiccough,  ib.  185  D  ;  his  speech 
in  praise  of  love,  ib.  186  foil. 

Essence  (ova-la),  perceived  by  the 
mind,  Phaedr.  247 ;  Phaedo  79 ; 
nature  of,  Phaedo  75  D,  78  ;  in 
early  philosophy.  Soph.  246  : — 
essence  and  accident.  Lysis  217  ; 
Rep.  5.  454;  Soph. 247;  essence 
and  attribute,  Euthyph.  1 1  A ; 
essence  and  generation,  Soph. 
248,  249  ;  Phil.  54 ;  essence  and 
the  good.  Rep.  6.  509 ;  essence 
and  the  soul.  Laws  10.  895,  896 
(cp.  Phaedr.  245  C-E  ;  Phaedo 
78  ;  Soph.  246)  : — essence  of 
things.  Rep.  6.  507  B ;  Theaet. 
186  ;  apprehended  by  the  dialec- 
tician. Rep.  7.  534  B  ;  of  things 
and  names,  Crat.  423  : — essence 
of  the  soul,  Tim.  35  :— essence  of 
the  invariable.  Rep.  9.  585 : — 
separated   essence,  Tim.  36  : — 


Index. 


41 


eternal  essence,  ib.  37: — intelli- 
gible essence,  ib.  51  C  : — absolute 
essence,  Phaedo  65  ;  Farm.  135 
A.  Cp.  Being. 
Eternity,  contrasted  with  human 
life.  Rep.  10.  608  D  (cp.  Phaedo 
107  C). 

Ethiopia,  engraved  stones  used  as 

money  in,  Eryx.  400  B. 
Ethonoe  (= Athene),  Crat.  407  B. 
Etymology,  argument  from  (^ofia, 

fiavTiKT],  etc.),  Phaedr.  244  ;  {vovs, 

vo/xos),  Laws  4.  714  A  ;  7.  800  A  ; 

12.  957  C  (cp.  Rep.  7.  532  E); 

(xopos,  xd-P^'^"),  Laws  2.  654  A  ; 

change  of  accents,  Crat.  399 ; 

influence  of  euphony,  zb.  404  E, 

412  E,  414  C,  418  B;  use  of 

letters  in,  z'b.  414,  426,  427 ;  in- 
sertion of  K,  ib.  412  E  ;  change  of 

letters,   ib.  418;    Phaedr.  244; 

addition  of  letters,  Crat.  414 ; 

Phaedr.  244. 
Etymology  of — 

a^ovKia,  Crat.  420  D. 

dya^dr,  ib.  412  B,  422  A. 

'AyafiffjLVcov,  ib.  395  A. 

'Ayiy,  ib.  394  B. 

"Afiijf,  ib.  404  B. 

drjp,  ib.  410  B. 

drjTris,  ibid. 

^Adrjva,  ib.  407  A. 

'A^j^mloy,  Laws  i.  626  D. 

aWrjp,  Crat.  410  B. 

alnoXos,  ib.  408  C. 

aladrjcreis,  Tim.  43  C. 

alcrxpov,  Crat.  416  B. 

'AKtaLp^poTOi,  ib.  394  C. 

aKokaffLa,  ib.  437  C. 

aKyqhaiv,  ib.  419  C. 

dXr]6€ia,  ib.  421  B. 

aXios,  ib.  409  A. 

dpaOLa,  ib.  437  B. 

cLpapria,  ibid. 

dvayKalov,  ib.  42O  D. 

dvdpeia,  ib.  413  E. 

dvTjp,  ib.  414  A. 

avQpwnos,  ib.  399  B. 

dfi'o,  ib.  419  C. 

'AiroWmv,  ib.  404  E  foil. 


aTTopia,  ib.  415  C. 
dpcTTj,  ib.  41 5  A. 
"Apijt,  ib.  407  C. 
Apre/xiy,  ib.  406  B. 
'ApxtTToXis,  ib.  394  C. 
fippfv,  ib.  414  A. 
dcnraXifvTiKt),  Soph.  221  B. 
aarpa,  Crat.  409  C. 
'AaTvdva$,  ib.  392  D. 
'Arpevs,  ib.  395  B. 
'A(f)podiTri,  ib.  406  C. 
dx6q8<l>i>,  ib.  419  C. 
^efiaiov,  ib.  437  A. 
(iXa^epov,  ib.  417  D. 
^Xdrrrov,  ibid. 
^ovXeadai,  ib.  420  C. 
^ouXrj,  ibid, 
yaia,  ib.  410  B. 
yr),  ibid. 

y\i(TXPov,  ib.  427  B. 

yXoimSsy,  ibid. 

y\vKv,  ibid. 

yvwpt],  ib.  411  D. 

yoyyvXos,  ib.  427  C. 

yvvi],  ib.  414  A. 

dalpovfs,  ib.  397  E. 

fietXia,  ib.  415  B. 

8fov,  ib.  418  B,  E. 

dea-pos,  ib.  E. 

ArjpTjTT}p,  ib.  404  B. 

tia'ioi/,  ib.  412  E. 

dUaios,  ibid.,  413. 

diKaioavvij,  lb.  412  C. 

Aif)j>vo-or,  ib.  406  B. 

Ai(f)i\os,  ib.  399  B. 

60^0,  ib.  420  B. 

f'lpeiv,  ib.  398  D,  408  A. 

"Exrcop,  ib.  393  A. 

€Kov(riov,  ib.  420  D. 

fvdov,  ib.  427  C. 

fviavTos,  ib.  410  C. 

tvros,  ib.  427  C. 

tTTidvpla,  ib.  419  D- 

eiTiaTripr],  ib.  412  A,  437  A. 

ipeiKfLv,  ib.  426  E. 

''Epfj.Tjs,  ib.  407  E. 

'Eppoyevrjs,  ib.  383,  384,  407  E 

429  B. 
tptos,  ib.  420  A. 
'Eirria,  ib.  40I  B. 


412 


Index. 


fa-v6rj,  ib.  412  B. 
eror,  ib.  410  C. 

(uQlvai  (account),  Protag.  326  E. 

EuTrdXf/ior,  Crat.  394  C. 

dcj^poa-vvr],  ib.  419  D. 

(foi;  ib.  427  A. 

Zeis,  ib.  396  A  (cp.  410  E). 

f>;/xim8ef,  ib.  418  A. 

fuyoi/,  ib.  D. 

17801/;},  ib.  419  B. 

"HXioj,  ib.  408  E. 

fjnipa,  ib.  418  C ;  Tim.  45  B. 

"Hpn,  Crat.  404  B. 

ijptof,  ib.  398  C. 

"H(j)aicrTO(,  ib.  407  C. 

^aXXfii/,  ib.  414  A. 

^foi,  /i^.  397  C. 

efocjiiXos,  ib.  394  E,  397  B. 

Oepfxos,  Tim.  62  A. 

fl;jXi7,  Crat.  414  A. 

drjXv,  ibid. 

Opaveiv,  ib.  426  El 

OpvTTTfiv,  ibid. 

Ovixos,  ib.  419  E. 

'larpoKXiji,  ib.  394  C. 

i€i>ai,  ib.  427  A. 

leudai,  ibid. 

Ipepos,  ib,  41^  E;  Phaedr.  251  D  j 

^  255  C. 

1 1)1',  Crat.  421  B. 

"l/jiy,  ib.  408  B. 

laropin,  ib.  437  B. 

KaKta,  ib.  415  A. 

KnKiiv,  ib.  416  A. 

KuXov,  ib.  B. 

KaroTTTpov,  ib.  414  C, 

KfpddXeov,  ib.  417  A. 

Kfp8ot,  ibid. 

(tfp/iariffii',  ib.  426  E. 

Kieiv,  ib.  C. 

KivT)(ris,  ibid. 

(coXXtoSfj,      427  B. 

Kopos,  ib.  396  B. 

Kpi'wos,  ibid. 

Kpovetv,  ib.  426  E. 

Kva)i',  ib.  410  A. 

Xfiof,  ib.  427  B. 

A»)Td),  ib.  406  A.' 

Xiyfint,  Phaedr.  237  A. 

\nrap6v,  Crat.  427  B. 


XvatTeKoiiv,  ib.  417  B. 
p.alf<Tdai,  ib.  421  A. 
pavTLKrj,  Phaedr.  244  C. 
fte'yar,  Crat.  427  C. 
P-fis,  ib.  409  C. 
prjKos,  ib.  427  C. 
p.r)xavij,  ib.  415  A. 

2(5.  437  B. 
Mv/;o-i'^eoy,       394  E. 
MoCcrai,       406  A. 
vo/jo-ir,  ib.  411  D. 
I/O/to?,  Laws  4.  714  A  ;  7.  800  A ; 

12.  957  C  (cp.  Rep.  7.  532  E). 
v(£)p.av,  Crat.  411  D. 
^vfifjiopd,  ib.  437  B.. 
68uvr],  ib.  419  C. 
oiijtTis,  ib.  420  C. 
ou/oy,      406  C. 
iilcavttTTiKr],  Phaedr.  244  C. 
oXiadavfii/,  Crat.  427  B. 
ov,  ib.  421  A. 
ovo/xa,  ibid. 
'OpecTTiji,  ib.  394  E. 
Ovpavos,  ib.  396  B. 
ovaia,  ib.  42 1  B. 
o<f}e\\fiv,  ib.  417  C. 
liaXXnr,  ib.  406  D. 
TraXXeti',  ib.  407  A. 
ndu,  ib.  408  B. 
ne\o\jf,  ib.  395  C. 
TTicTTov,  ib.  \y]  B. 
nXoiirti)!',  2(5.  403  A. 
ito6qs,  ib.  420  A. 
TToitlv,  Charm.  163. 
IloXepnpxoi,  Crat.  394  C. 
JloaeibStv,  ib.  402  E. 
TTpaTTCLv,  Charm.  163. 
TTvp,  Crat.  410  A. 
'Pt'n,  ib.  402  A. 
/jfti',  2(5.  426  D. 

pfov,  ib.  421  C,  424  A,  426  D. 

poT],  ib.  426  D. 

pvpjBeiv,  ib.  E. 

aelecrdai,  ib.  427  A. 

acKas,  ib.  409  A. 

^eXrjvq,  ib.  B. 

SoCy,  2(5.  412  B. 

(ro<p[a,  ibid. 

o-Tdais,  ib.  426  D. 

avp(f>€pov,  ib.  417  A. 


Index. 


413 


(Tvvt(Tis,  ib.  412  A. 

a-<})iy^,  ib.  414  D. 

(rx((m,  ib.  424  A. 

aS)fin,  ib.  400  C  (cp.  Gorg.  493  A). 

araxppoavpt],  Crat.  4II  E. 

Tdi/raXof,  ib.  395  D. 

repnvov,  ib.  419  I-^' 

Tfxf],  ib.  414  B. 

Tjj^uy,      402  B. 

Tpaxvs,  ib.  426  E. 

Tpofxas,  ibid. 

v8a>i),  ib.  410  A. 

^fppe(f)aTTa,  ib.  404  C. 

ippovrjcris,  ib.  411  D. 

X^^p")  ib.  419  C. 

Xopo?,  Laws  2.  654  A. 

^/revSny,  Crat.  421  B. 
^vx^i,  ib.  399  E. 
^Qpni,  ib.  410  C. 

Q)(f)e\iixov,  ib.  417  C. 

Euclid,  of  Megara,  Theaet.  142  A 

foil. ;  with  Socrates  at  the  last, 

Phaedo  59  C. 
Eudicus,  son  of  Apemantus,  Hipp. 

Min.  363  A  foil. 
Eudorus,  a  famous  wrestler,  Meno 

94  C. 

Eulogies,  of  departed  citizens,  per- 
mitted. Laws  7.  801  E. 

Eumelus,  son  of  Poseidon,  =  Ga- 
deirus,  Grit.  114  B. 

Eumolpus,  the  son  of  Musaeus, 
Rep.  2.  363  D  ;  [the  son  of 
Poseidon],  his  invasion  of  Attica, 
Menex.  239  B. 

Eunuch,  the,  (the  Pseudo-Smerdis), 
Laws  3.  695  B. 

Eunuch,  the  riddle  of  the.  Rep.  5. 
479  : — eunuchs  as  door-keepers, 
Protag.  314  D  ;  bad  educators  of 
children,  Laws  3.  695  B ;  held 
in  great  honour  at  the  Persian 
Court,  I  Alcib.  121  D. 

Euphemism,  Crat.  403  E,  405  A. 

Euphemus,  father  of  Stesichorus, 
Phaedr.  244  A. 

Euphony,  in  etymology,  Crat.  404 
E,  412  E,  414  C,  418  B. 

Euphronius,  the  Sunian,  father  of 
Theaetetus,  Theaet.  144  C. 


Eupolemus,   name   of  a  general, 

Crat.  394  C. 
Euripides,  inventor  of  the  name 
magnet.  Ion  533  D  ;    a  great 
tragedian.  Rep.  8.  568  A  ;  his 
maxims    about    tyrants,  ibid. 
Quoted  : — 
Antiope,  fr.  xx,  Gorg.  484  E ; 
2  Alcib.  146  A. 
„      „       xxi,  Gorg.  485  E. 
,,      ,,       XXV,  ib.  486  B. 
Hippolytus,  1.  352,   I  Alcib. 
113  C. 

„     „       1.  612,  Symp.  199 
A  ;  Theaet.  154  D. 
Melanippe,  fr.  vi,  Symp.  177  A. 
Phoenissae,  865,  866,  2  Alcib. 
151  C. 

Polyeides,  fr.  vii,  Gorg.  492  E. 
Troades,  1.  1 169,  Rep.  8.  568  A. 
Euripus,  currents  in  the,  Phaedo 
90  C. 

Europe,  the  dead  from,  judged  by 
Aeacus,  Gorg.  524  A  ;  empire  of 
Atlantis  extended  to  Tyrrhenia 
in,  Tim.  25  B ;  ancient  Athenians 
renowned  over,  Crit.  112  E; 
Persians  attempt  to  enslave. 
Laws  3.  698  B  ;  Menex.  239  D  ; 
Alcibiades  not  content  with,  i 
Alcib.  ICS  B  (cp.  2  Alcib.  141  B). 

Eurybates,  a  notorious  villain, 
Protag.  327  D. 

Eurycles,  a  wonderful  ventriloquist. 
Soph. 252  C. 

Eurymedon,  battle  of,  Menex. 
241  E. 

Eurypylus,  treatment  of,  when 
wounded,  Rep.  3.  405  E,  408  A. 

Eurysaces,  ancestor  of  Alcibiades, 
I  Alcib.  121  A,  B. 

Eurysthenes,  king  of  Lacedaemon, 
Laws  3.  683  D. 

Euthydemus  the  Chian,  younger  of 
the  '  Thurian  brothers,'  comes  to 
Athens  from  Thurii,  Euthyd.  271 
B ;  his  disciples,  ib.  273  A,  274  B, 
276  D ;  in  a  large  way  of  wisdom, 
ib.  273  C  ;  a  sophist  instead  of  a 
pancratiast,  ib.  D  ;  his  method  of 


4H 


Index. 


questioning^,  ib.  275  D  ;  dis- 
courses, ib.  275  foil.,  284  foil.,  293 
foil. ;  his  thesis,  '  that  all  things 
belong  to  all,'  Crat.  386  D. 
Euthydemus,  son  of  Diodes,  Symp. 
222  B. 

Euthydemus,  brother  of  Pole- 
marchus,  Rep.  i.  328  B. 

Euthyphro  of  the  Prospaltian  deme, 
a  soothsayer,  Euthyph.  3  B  ; 
prosecutes  his  father,  ib.  4  A 
foil. ;  has  an  exact  knowledge  of 
piety  and  impiety,  ib.  5  A,  13  E, 
15  D;  too  indolent  to  instruct 
Socrates,  ib.  11  E,  12  A ;  on 
names,  Crat.  396  D,  399  A,  400 
A,  407  E,  428  C. 

Eutychides,  meaning  of  the  name, 
Crat.  397  B. 

Evaemon,  a  son  of  Poseidon,  Crit. 
114  B. 

Even  numbers,  sacred  to  the  Gods 
below,  Laws  4.  717  A. 

Evenness  and  oddness,  Euthyph.  12 
C  ;  Phaedo  104,  106  : — even  and 
odd,  Farm.  143  : — definition  of 
the  word  'even,'  Laws  10.  895  E. 

Evenor  of  Atlantis,  Crito  113  C. 

Evenus  of  Paros,  his  inventions  in 
rhetoric,  Phaedr.  267  A ;  his 
modest  price  for  instruction, 
Apol.  20  B  ;  Socrates'  message 
to,  Phaedo  60  D. 

Evidence,  law  respecting  the  giving 
of,  Laws  II.  937. 

Evil,  like  good,  originates  in  the 
soul.  Charm.  156  E  (cp.  Soph. 
228) ;  has  no  love  for  wisdom. 
Lysis  218;  evil  and  ignorance 
connected,  Protag.  345  B,  353 
foil. ;  Meno  77 ;  involuntary.  Pro- 
tag.  345  foil-.  352,  355 ;  Tim. 
86;  Laws  5.  731  C;  9.  860; 
Hipp.  Min.  372  (cp.  Apol.  25  E  ; 
Gorg.  468,  509  E  ;  Soph.  228)  ; 
desired  by  no  one,  Meno  78  ; 
Laws  5.  731  C  ;  removed  by 
wisdom  only,  Phaedo  107  (cp.  79 
D);  worse  to  do  than  to  sulTer, 
Gorg.  469  foil.,  475,  489.  5o8,  509; 


God,  not  the  author  of,  Rep.  2. 
379,  380  A  ;  3.  391  C  (cp.  2.364; 
Laws  2.  672  B) ;  the  destructive 
element  in  the  soul,  Rep.  10. 
609  foil.  (cp.  4.  444)  ;  evil  for 
evil,  Crito  49 ;  evil  will  always 
exist,  Theaet.  176  A ;  origin  of, 
Statesm.  273  (cp.  Tim.  42) ;  more 
evil  than  good  in  the  world,  Laws 
I  o.  906  A : — evil-doing,  the  penalty 
of,  to  become  like  the  evil,  Laws 
5.  728  (cp.  Theaet.  176  E) :— evil- 
speaking.  Laws  1 1 .  934  E  foil. : 
— Evils  of  body  and  soul,  Gorg. 
477;  evils  of  the  soul.  Soph. 
227  E,  228  ;  evils  good  to  the 
unjust,  Laws  2.  661  D  : — Evil 
men  incapable  of  friendship, 
Lysis  214  D,  217  B,  218  A; 
Phaedr.  255  A  ;  cannot  injure  the 
good,  Apol.  30  C,  41  ;  are  not 
without  justice,  Rep.  i.  351  foil. ; 
more  numerous  than  the  good, 
ib.  3.  409  D  {bttt  cp.  Phaedo  89 
E) ;  their  company  dangerous  to 
virtue.  Laws  2.  656  B  ;  their  gifts 
not  received  by  God,  ib.  4.  716  E 
(cp.  God)  ;  their  prosperity,  ib. 
10.  899,  900,  905  (cp.  Gorg.  470 
foil.  ;  Rep.  2.  364  ;  Laws  2.  661) ; 
have  a  correct  judgment  about 
good  and  bad.  Laws  12.  950  B  ; 
are  better  without  wealth,  E17X. 

396,  397- 
Evil  eye,  Phaedo  95  B. 
Evil  omen,  words  of,  to  be  avoided. 

Laws  7.  800  C  ;  II.  935  B  ;  12. 

949  B,  957  B. 
Exactness    in  the  arts,  Phil.  56, 

57- 

Examiners  ;  see  Censors  of  magis- 
trates. 

Example,  better  than  precept,  Laws 
5.  729  : — Examples,  use  of,  illus- 
trated, Statesm.  279  foil. 

Excellence,  relative  to  use.  Rep.  10. 
601  D  ;  often  determined  by  likes 
and  dishkes.  Laws  2.  655  D  :— 
Excellences  (dpfrai')  and  ends  of 
things,  Rep.  i.  353. 


11 


Index. 


415 


Excess  in  argument,  Statesm.  277, 
283,  286,  287. 

Exchange,  two  kinds  of,  Soph.  219 
D  : — art  of,  ib.  223  ;  necessary 
in  the  formation  of  the  state,  Rep. 
2.  369  C.    Cp.  Retail  Trade. 

Executioners,  Rep.  4. 439  E  ;  Laws 
9.  872  B,  873  A. 

Exercise,  bodily,  needed  as  a 
counterpoise  to  intellectual  exer- 
tion, Tim.  88  ;  good  for  children, 
Laws  7.  791. 

Exercises,  naked,  in  Greece,  Rep. 
5.  452  ;  Theaet.  162  A,  169  B  ; 
Laws  I.  633  D  ;  6.  772  A  ;  8,  833 
D.    Cp.  Dances,  Gymnastic. 

Exile,  the  punishment  of  involuntary 
homicide,  Laws  9.  865,  867,  868  ; 
in  certain  cases  of  wounding  with 
intent,  ib.  877 ;  of  him  who 
strikes  a  parent,  ib.  881  : — recep- 
tion of  an  exile  punished  with 
death,  ib.  12.  955  C. 

Existence  a  participation  in  essence, 
Phaedo  loi  (cp.  Rep.  9.  585) ;  not 
to  be  predicated  of  the  original 
elements,  Theaet.  201  E ;  revo- 
lutions of,  Statesm.  270-272 ;  dif- 
ficulties respecting,  Phil.  16  : — 
relative  and  absolute  existence, 
Soph.  255  ;  absolute  existence, 
Phaedr.  247  E;  i  Alcib.  130  :— 
Existence  of  the  Gods  proved, 
Laws  10.  886  foil. 

Expectations  (e\7riy  roii/  yLiKKovTiov) , 
Laws  I.  644  C. 

Expediency,  in  politics,  Theaet. 
172  A  ;  the  aim  of  the  legislator, 
ib.  177  {but  cp.  Laws  3.  693)  ; 
expediency  and  justice,  i  Alcib. 
113-116. 

Expedient,  the,  and  the  good, 
Protag.  333  E  foil.  (cp.  Theaet. 
177  D). 

Experience  and  the  arts,  Gorg.  448, 
462,  501  ;  experience  the  criterion 
of  true  and  false  pleasures.  Rep. 
9.  582. 

Experiment,  nature  cannot  be  veri- 
fied by,  Tim.  68  U. 


Expiation  of  guilt,  Rep.  2.  364 ; 
Laws  8.  831  A;  9.  854  C,  865, 
868,  869,  872  E,  881  E  ;  required 
for  the  purification  of  a  house, 
Laws  8.  877.    Cp.  Purification. 

Expiration,  Tim.  78,  79. 

Explanation  or  definition,  mean- 
ings of,  Theaet.  206. 

Exports  and  imports,  laws  relating 
to.  Laws  8.  847. 

Exposure  of  children,  Rep.  5.  460  C, 
461  C. 

Extremes  in  men,  uncommon, 
Phaedo  90  A. 

Eye  of  the  soul,  Rep.  7.  518  D,  527 
E)  533  D,  540  A  ; — the  soul  like 
the  eye,  ib.  6.  508;  7.  518:  — 
Eyes,  the,  Tim.  45  ;  medicine  for. 
Charm.  156:  Lysis  210  A;  in 
relation  to  sight.  Rep.  6.  507 ; 
Theaet.  1 56  D.  Cp.  Sight,  Vision. 

P. 

Fact  and  ideal.  Rep.  5.  472,  473 ; 

the  '  long  and  difficult  language  ' 

of  facts,  Statesm;  278. 
Faction,  prevention  of,  Rep.  7.  521  ; 

causes  of,  Laws  5.  744  ;  6.  757  ; 

12.  945  E  ;  punishment  of,  ib.  9. 

856.    Cp.  Revolution. 
Faculties,  how  different.  Rep.  5. 

477 ;   faculties  of  the  soul,  ib. 

6.  511  E  ;  7.  533  E  (cp.  Theaet. 

185  D,  E). 
Failure  of  military  service,  Laws 

12.  943. 

Faith  [or  persuasion],  one  of  the 
faculties  of  the  soul,  Rep.  6.  511 
D  ;  7.  533  E.    Cp.  Belief,  God. 

Faithfulness  in  civil  strife,  Laws  i. 
630. 

Fallacies,  sophistical,  Euthyd.  275 
foil.,  284  foil.,  293  foil.,  298  foil.  ; 
Meno  80  ;  Theaet.  165  A. 

False,  discussion  of  the  word,  Hipp. 
Min.  365  ;  false  and  good,  ib. 
367 : — false  opinion,  Euthyd.  286  ; 
Soph.  240  : — false  witness.  Laws 
II.  937;  12.  943  E,  948,  949. 


4i6 


Index. 


Falsehood,  impossible,  Euthyd. 
284-286;  Crat.  429;  Soph.  260, 
261  ;  alien  to  the  nature  of  God, 
Rep.  2.  382  (cp.  Laws  1 1. 917  A) ; 
a  medicine  only  to  be  used  by  the 
state,  Rep.  2.  382  ;  3.  389  A,  414 
C ;  5.  459  D  (cp.  Laws  2.  663 
E) ;  hateful  to  the  philosopher, 
Rep.  6.  486,  490 ;  in  opinion, 
Theaet.  167  A,  187  foil.;  Soph. 
260  C,  264;  Phil.  38  foil.  (cp. 
Opinion) ;  its  nature,  Theaet. 
189,  191  E  ;  Soph.  240 ;  in 
language,  Soph.  263 ;  false- 
hood and  the  assertion  of  not 
being,  ib.  240,  241  ;  unknown  in 
primitive  society.  Laws  3.  679  C 
(cp.  12.  948  C) ;  voluntary  and 
involuntary,  ib.  5.  730  C  ;  inten- 
tional, Hipp.  Min.  371,  372  C  foil. 

Fame,  immortality  of,  Symp.  208  ; 
the  universal  desire  for.  Laws  4. 
721  C. 

Family  life  in  the  state,  Rep.  5. 

449 ;  Laws  5.  740 ;  family  and 

state.  Rep.  5.  463 ;  the  family 

ruled  by  the  eldest,  Laws  3.  680 

E,  681  B  ;— cares  of  family  life, 

Euthyd.  306  E  ;  Rep.  5.  465  C  ; 

family  pride,  Gorg.  512  ;  Theaet. 

174  E  (cp.  I  Alcib.  120  E);— 

family  disagreements.  Laws  11. 

928,  929 ;— family  worship, 10. 

887  E  :— families  in  the  state, 

Rep.  5.  461. 
Fate,  Statesm.  272  E ; — Fates,  Rep. 

10.  617  C  ;  Laws  7.  799  B  ;  12. 

960  B.    See    Atropos,  Clotho, 

Lachesis. 
Fatherland,  duty  of  the  citizen  to, 

Crito  51  D. 
Fathers    and    sons,  differences 

between.  Laws  1 1 .  928,  929.  See 

Parents. 

Fear,  nature  of.  Laches  198  A ; 
=  expectation  of  evil,  Protag.  358 
D  ;  Laws  i.  644  D,  646  E  ;  dis- 
tinguished from  terror,  Protag. 
358  D  ;  fear  and  reverence, 
Euthyph.  12  ;  Laws  i.  647,  649 


C  ;  2.  671  C  ;  3.  699  C;  a  sol- 
vent of  the  soul.  Rep.  4.  430 
A  ;  fear  and  shame,  ib.  5. 465  A  ; 
Laws  2.  671  C  ;  origin  of  fear, 
Tim.  42  A  ;  an  unwise  counsellor, 
ib.  69  D  ;  the  sense  of  (in  the 
Heraclitean  philosophy),  Theaet. 
1 56  B ;  a  mingled  pain  and  plea- 
sure, Phil.  47  E  ;  must  be  over- 
come from  childhood,  Laws  7. 
791  ;  a  test  of  manhood,  ib.  8. 
831  A  ;  a  cause  of  murder,  ib. 
9.  870  C:— the  'fear-potion'  (i.e. 
wine),  ib.  i.  647  E  foil. 

Fearlessness,  to  be  distinguished 
from  courage.  Laches  197  B  (cp. 
Protag.  349  C  foil.,  351,  359  foil. ; 
Meno  88  A ;  Rep.  4. 430  B). 

Feasts,  require  a  ruler.  Laws  i.  639 
D  foil. ;  2.  671  D.    See  Festival. 

Feeling,  and  the  memory  of  feeling, 
Theaet.  163, 166  (cp.  Perception, 
Sense)  : — community  of  feeling 
in  the  state,  Gorg.  481  D  ;  Rep, 
5.  464  ;  Laws  3.  694  B,  D;  5. 
739  C  ;  destroyed  by  despotism, 
Laws  3.  697  E. 

P'eet,  not  to  be  covered.  Laws  12. 
942  E  (cp.  I.  633  C). 

Fence,  art  of,  Laches  178  A,  179  E, 
181  D  foil. ;  Euthyd.  272  A,  273 D, 
E ;  Gorg.  456  D  ;  Laws  7.  795  B, 
813  E;  8.  833  E.    Cp.  Fighting. 

Fencing  masters,  never  distin- 
guished in  war.  Laches  183  C. 

Festival  of  the  Apaturia  (at 
Athens),  Tim.  21  A  ;  of  Asclepius 
(at  Epidaurus),  Ion  530  A; 
Bendidea  (at  the  Piraeus),  Rep. 
I.  327  A,  354  A  ;  of  Dionysus  (at 
Athens),  Rep.  5.  475  D  ;  Laws 
I.  637  B;  of  the  Dioscuri  (at 
Lacedaemon),  Laws  7.  796  B  ; 
Hermaea,  Lysis  206  D,  E,  223 ; 
Lenaea,  Protag.  327  D ;  at  Olym- 
pia  {see  Olympia) ;  Panathenaea, 
Euthyph.  6  C ;  Ion  530  B ; 
Parm.  127  A;— festivals  in  ho- 
nour of  the  dead  at  Athens, 
Menex.   249   B  ; — festivals  ap- 


Index. 


417 


pointed  by  the  Gods  as  a  relief 
for  men,  Laws  2.  653  D,  665  A  ; 
—  (in  the  Model  City),  intended 
to  promote  friendship,  ib.  5.  738 
D  ;  6.  771  E  ;  common  to  both 
sexes,  ib.  6.  77 1  E  ;  at  marriage, 
775  )  regulations  respecting 
festivals,  7.809  C,  816;  8.828, 
834  E,  835  B  ; — festivals  for  wo- 
men, ib.  8.  828  C  ; — festivals  of 
the  Egyptians,  ib.  7.  799. 

Festivities,  true  use  of,  Laws  2. 657  ; 
mixed  amusements  at,  ib.  658. 

Fevers,  Tim.  86  A. 

Fibres,  Tim.  85  C. 

Fiction  in  education,  Rep.  2.  377  ; 
censorship  of,  ibid.  foil.  ;  3.  386, 
391  ;  10.  595  foil.  ;  not  to  repre- 
sent sorrow,  ib.  3.  387  foil.  ; 
representing  intemperance  to  be 
discarded,  ib.  390  :  —  common 
stories  about  the  Gods,  not  to  be 
received,  Euthyph.  6,  8  ;  Rep.  2, 
378  foil.,  388  foil.,  408  C  ;  Laws 
10.  886  C  ;  12.  941  (cp.  Symp. 
19s  C  ;  Crit.  109  B  ;  Laws  2.  672 
B)  : — stories  of  the  world  below, 
objectionable.  Rep.  3.  386  foil, 
(cp.  Hades,  World  below). 

Fighting,  an  art.  Soph.  219  ;  sub- 
divisions of,  ib.  225  : — fighting  in 
armour.  Laches  178  A,  179  E, 
181  D  foil.;  Euthyd.  272  A,  273 
D,  E  ;  Gorg.  456  D  ;  Laws  7. 
795  B,  813E;  8.  833  E. 

Figs,  regulations  respecting  the 
gathering  of.  Laws  8.  844  E. 

Figure,  a  common  notion,  Meno  74; 
=  that  which  follows  colour,  ib. 
75;  =  the  limit  of  solid,  2(5.  76  : — 
figures  and  figure,  Phil.  12  E. 

Final  causes,  Phaedo  97, 98  ;  argu- 
ment from,  applied  to  justice, 
Rep.  I.  352. 

Fines,  payment  of.  Laws  9.  855. 

Finite  and  infinite,  Phil.  15, 16,23,24 
foil.,  31,  32  ;  the  finite  comprises 
what  admits  of  measure,  ib.  25. 

Fire,  Tim.  31  E,  49,  53  ;  form  of,  ib. 
53,  56  ;  the  most  penetrating  of 


the  elements,  ib.  58  B,  62  A,  78 
A ;  the  various  kinds  of,  ib.  C  ; 
why  hot,  ib.  61  E  ;  the  fire  within 
us,  and  that  contained  in  the 
universe,  Phil.  29 ;  obtained  by 
friction.  Rep.  4.  434  E  (cp.  Theaet. 
153  A). 

First  principles,  importance  of, 
Phaedo  107  B  ;  Crat.  436. 

Fish,  creation  of,  Tim.  92  : — fish- 
preserves  in  the  Nile,  Statesm. 
264  C  : — fishing.  Soph.  219  foil. ; 
regulations  respecting.  Laws  7. 
823.    Cp.  Angling. 

Flatterers,  Phaedr.  240  A  ;  Soph. 
222,  223 ;  flatterers  and  rhe- 
toricians, Gorg.  463,  464. 

Flattery,  should  be  avoided  by  the 
good  man,  Gorg.  527  C  ;  of  the 
multitude  by  their  leaders,  in 
ill-ordered  states.  Rep.  4.  426  ; 
9.  590  B ;  power  of,  over  the 
soul.  Laws  I.  633  D;  11.  923 
A  ;  pernicious  effect  of,  on  the 
young,  ib.  5.  729  A; — the  art 
of  flattery,  Gorg.  463  foil.,  501, 
502  (cp.  Soph.  222  E). 

Flesh,  Tim.  61  D,  73,  74 ;  not 
eaten  or  offered  in  sacrifice  in 
primitive  times.  Laws  6.  782  C 
(cp.  Rep.  2.  372 ;  Statesm.  272  A). 

Flute,  the,  employed  in  preludes  to 
Athene,  Crat.  417  E  ;  in  mystic 
rites,  Crito  52  D  ;  to  be  rejected, 
Rep.  3.  399 ;  used  for  music 
without  words.  Laws  2.  669  E  ; 
Alcibiades  would  not  learn,  i 
Alcib.  106  E: — flute  girls,  Protag. 
347  C  ;  Symp.  176  E,  212  E  : — 
flute  music,  Phil.  56  A  :— flute 
players  and  flute  makers.  Rep.  3. 
399  D  ;  10.601  D: — flute  playing, 
Protag.  327  B  ;  Meno  90  E ; 
Laws  3.  700  E  ;  an  art  which 
seeks  pleasure  only,  Gorg.  501  E. 

Flux  of  being,  Crat.  401  D,  402  A, 
B,  41 1,  437,  440  ;  Symp.  207  D ; 
Theaet.  152  E,  156  A,  160  D, 
177  C,  179  D,  181  D,  182,  183  C  ; 
Phil.  43  A.    Cp.  Heracleitus. 


VOL.  V. 


4i8 


Index 


Folly,  an  inanition  (/ce'i/ajCT-tr)  of  the 
soul,  Rep.  8.  585  A  ;  =anarchy 
in  the  soul,  Laws  3.  689  B  ;  the 
worst  of  diseases,  ib.  691  D  ; 
names  for  folly,  2  Alcib.  140,  142 
E,  150  C. 

Food,  the  condition  of  life  and 
existence,  Rep.  2.  369  C  ; — arts 
concerned  with  the  provision  of, 
Statesm.  288  E  ; — distribution  of 
food  (in  the  Model  City),  Laws  8. 
847  E. 

Foreign  origin  of  words,  Crat.  409 
D,  416  A,  421  D  :— foreigners, 
reception  of.  Laws  12.  949  E, 
952  E  (cp.  Strangers). 

Forgetfulness,  Phil.  33  E  ;  a  mark 
of  an  unphilosophical  nature, 
Rep.  6.  486  D,  490  E  : — the  plain 
of  Forgetfulness,  ib.  10.  621  A. 

Form  and  matter,  Crat.  389,  390  ;  — 
beauty  of  form,  Phil.  51. 

Fortune  and  wisdom  identical,  Eu- 
thyd.  279 ;  good  fortune  without 
justice  an  evil,  Laws  2.  661  B. 

Fountains,  ancient,  in  Attica,  Crit. 
Ill  D  ;  in  Atlantis,  1 1 3  E,  1 1 7 
A : — to  be  ornamented.  Laws  6. 
761  ;  in  the  Agora,  ib.  764  A. 

Fowling,  Soph.  220  B  ;  regulations 
respecting.  Laws  7.  823. 

Fo.K,  emblem  of  subtlety,  Rep.  2. 

365  c. 

Fractions,  Rep.  7.  525  E. 

Frankincense,  not  to  be  imported. 
Laws  8.  S47  C. 

Freedmen,  regulations  respecting. 
Laws  II.  915. 

Freedom,  the  characteristic  of  de- 
mocracy, Rep.  8.  557  B,  561-563 
(cp.  Laws  12.  962  E  ;  Menex. 
238  E) ;  among  the  ancient  Per- 
sians, Laws  3.  694  B  ;  neces- 
sary in  the  state,  ibid.,  697  D  ; 
entire  freedom  not  so  good  as 
a  limited  government,  ib.  698 
B ;  easily  passes  into  anarchy^ 
ib.  701  B  : — freedom  of  action 
acquired  by  knowledge,  Lysis 
209  : — freedom  of  bequest,  not 


allowed  (in  the  Model  City), 
Laws  11.922: — freedom  of  speech 
at  Athens,  Protag.  3 1 9  A  ;  Gorg. 
461  E  ;  in  ancient  Persia,  Laws 

3.  694  A  : — freedom  of  the  will, 
ib.  10.  904  C  (cp.  Rep.  10.617  E). 

Friction,  used  to  obtain  fire.  Rep. 

4.  434  E  ;  Theaet.  1 53  A. 
Friend,  the,  must  be,  as  well  as 

seem,  good,  Rep.  i.  334,  335; 
friends  have  all  things  in  com- 
mon, Lysis  207  C  ;  Phaedr.  279 
B  ;  Rep.  5.  449  C  ;  Laws  5.  739 
C : — the  friends  of  the  tyrant, 
Rep.  8.  567  E ;  9.  576  (cp.  Gorg. 
510). 

Friendship,  Lysis  212  foil. ;  Phaedr. 
232,  255,  256  {see  Love) ;  impos- 
sible between  the  evil,  Lysis  214 
D,  217  B,  218  A;  Phaedr.  255  A; 
like  and  unlike  in.  Lysis  214, 215  ; 
Laws  8.  837  ;  illustrated  by  the 
analogy  of  medicine.  Lysis  217; 
fostered  by  equality,  Phaedr. 
240  B  ;  helps  to  bind  together 
the  universe,  Gorg.  508  A  ;  arises 
out  of  similarity  of  character,  ib. 
510  B  ;  implies  justice.  Rep.  i. 
351  foil.;  in  the  state,  ib.  5.  462, 
463 ;  Laws  3.  694  A ;  5.  738  D, 
743  C  ;  6. 759  B,  771  E  ;  I  Alcib; 
126;  destroyed  by  despotism. 
Laws  3.  697  U  ;  injured  by  the 
feeling  of  satiety,  ib.  6.  776  A ; 
a  species  of  hunting,  ib.  7.  823  B 
(cp.  Soph.  222  E) ;  friendship 
and  love.  Laws  8.  837  ;  friendship 
and  agreement,  i  Alcib.  127. 

Frost,  Tim.  59  E. 

Fruits,  laws  concerning,  Laws  8. 
844,  845. 

Fulling,  Statesm.  281  B,  282  A. 

Funeral  of  the  guardians,  Rep.  3. 
413  E;  5.  465  E,  468  E;  7-  54° 
B  ;  funeral  of  a  censor  of  the 
magistrates.  Laws  12.  947: — 
Funerals,  expenditure  on,  to  be 
moderate,  ib.  4.  719  ;  12.  959:— 
washing  of  the  corpse,  Phaedo 
115  A:— corpses  placed  on  the 


hidex. 


419 


pyre  on  the  twelfth  day,  Rep.  10. 
614  B  : — lamentations,  Laws  12. 
959  E  (cp.  ib.  7.  Soo  E  ;  Menex. 
248) : — funeral  orations,  Menex. 
235.  Cp.  Burial. 
Future  life,  Crat.  398,  403  ;  Phaedo 
63,  67  ;  Rep.  3.  387;  10.  614 
foil. ;  punishment  of  the  wicked 
in,  Phaedr.  249  A  ;  Phaedo  108  B, 
114;  Gorg.  523  B,  525  ;  Rep.  2. 
363  ;  10.  614  foil. ;  Theaet.  177 
A ;  Laws  9.  870  E,  881  B  ;  10. 
904  C  ;  12.  959 ;  the  good  happy 
in,  Apol.  41 ;  Phaedo  63, 107, 1 14 ; 
Gorg.  526  C,  527  D;  union  of 
friends  in,  Phaedo  68  A  (cp.  Apol. 
41)  ;  mystic  view  of,  Phaedo  69 ; 
the  dead  not  pleased  by  the  la- 
mentations of  the  living,  Menex. 
248.    Cp.  Hades,  World  below. 

G. 

Gadeirus  =  Eumelus,  Crit.  114  B. 

Gades,  country  of,  Crit.  1 14  B. 

Gadfly,  Socrates  compared  to  a, 
Apol.  30  E. 

Games  of  children,  a  means  of 
education,  Rep.  4.  425  A  ;  Laws 
I.  643  B  (cp.  Rep.  7.  536  E)  ; 
influence  of,  upon  manners  and 
morals.  Laws  7.  797  B : — ball 
{(TCpalpa),  Euthyd.  277  B  ;  Phaedo 
110  B;  Theaet.  146  A  :— city 
(ttoXis),  Rep.  4.  422  E  : — dancing 
on  a  leathern  bottle  (no-KcoXtufeti/), 
Symp.  190  D : — dice  (da-TpayaXoi), 
Lysis  206  E;  i  Alcib.  no  B  ; 
(K(j/3ot),  Rep.  2.  374  C  ;  10.  604 
C;  Laws  12.  968  E;  invented 
by  Theuth,  Phaedr.  274  D  : — 
draughts  (jj-fTrf I'a),  Charm.  1 74  B  ; 
Gorg.  450  D  ;  Rep.  i.  333  A  ;  2. 
374  C  ;  6.  487  B ;  Statesm.  292  E ; 
Laws  5. 739  A;  7.  820  C  ;  i  Alcib. 
110  E;  Eryx.  395  A;  invented 
by  Theuth,  Phaedr.  274  D  : — 
prisoner's  base  (?)  (Sia  ypafxur^s 
TTo/feti'),  Theaet.  181  A: — puppets, 
Laws  I.  644  E  (cp.  Rep.  7.  514):— 
games  to  be  instituted  for  both 


sexes  (in  the  Model  City),  Laws  6, 
771  E;  7.  813  foil. ;  8.  828  foil, 
(cp.  Dancing,  Festival,  Gymnas- 
tic) :— [the  Olympic,  &:c.],  glory 
gained  by  success  in.  Rep.  5. 
465  D,  466  A  ;  10.  618  A  ;  the 
training  for,  laborious.  Laws  7. 
807  C  (cp.  zd.  8.  840  A) ;  the  first 
place  at,  a  reward  of  honour,  id. 
9.  881  B  ;  12.  946  E. 

Ganymede,  Phaedr.  255  C  ;  story 
of  Ganymede  invented  by  the 
Cretans,  Laws  I.  636  C. 

Garments  (marriage),  price  of, 
given  as  a  dowry,  Laws  6.  774 
D. 

Geese,  nurseries  of,  in  Thessaly, 

Statesm.  264  C. 
Gems,  in  the  upper  earth,  Phaedo 

no  E  : — gem-engraving,  Hipp. 

Min.  368  C  ;  i  Alcib.  128  C,  E. 
Genealogies,   Hellenic,   Tim.  22, 

23- 

Genera  and  species,  Euthyph.  12  ; 
difficulty  in  fixing,  Soph.  267  (cp. 
Phil.  18  E);    not  rightly  dis- 
tinguished by  the  ancients.  Soph. 
■  267  D. 

General  ideas,  Soph.  254;  unity 
and  existence  of,  Phil.  15.  See 
Idea. 

General,  the,  why  superior  to  the 
soothsayer,  Laches  198  E  ;  the 
general  and  the  rhapsode.  Ion 
541  ;  the  general  ought  to  know 
arithmetic  and  geometry,  Rep. 
7.  522  E,  525  B,  526  D,  527  B 
(cp.  Laws  7.  8i8  C)  ;  must  him- 
self be  brave,  Laws  i.  639  B, 
640  A  ;  2.  671  E  : — the  general's 
art,  a  branch  of  hunting,  Euthyd. 
290  (cp.  Soph.  219) ;  a  matter  of 
science,  Statesm.  304  E  ;  minis- 
terial, not  political,  zi>.  305  A ; 
empirical,  Phil.  56  A  :— generals 
and  tacticians, '  craftsmen  of  war,' 
Laws  II.  921  E  : — names  for 
generals,  Crat.  394  B  :— election 
of  generals  (in  the  Model  City), 
Laws  6.  755. 


E  e  2 


l>n<>rv»lvjiHK»n  (in  style),  Thiie^Jr. 

'n»u.  50,  5a;  cau<t  of,  rhaedo 
«X>  /.C  io>  ;  run.  27) ;  the 
'  nurse  of  s;xM\or,\tion,*  "Hn^.  40- 
52  :  -5;!ipner,\tion  anvl  v\Kruption, 
Phaeiio  go;  j;encnition  an^l  es- 
sence. Soph.  24V) ;  Phil.  54  : 
— S*""^'";xtion  and  motion,  Tini, 
A ;  L;»v\-s  lev  So,?.  {>04  ;  1 2.  000 
E: — generation  and  pleasure,  Thil. 
53,  55  toll. :— the  generation  ^vf 
animals,  Tim.  90,  ot. 

Genesis,  ^^f  animals,  Trv^tas;.  j?ai  ) 
of  man.  Svmp.  1S9  E  foil, : 
Stsitesm.  371  ftUl, 

Gentleness  of  the  just,  Gorg,  510 
C :  characteristic  of  the  philo- 
sopher. Rep.  3,  375.j;76;  3.  410; 
6.  4S6  C ;  ought  to  l>e  found  in 
e\-er>-  man.  Laws  5,  731  1^, 

C^e\v.rr,\phers,  mistaken  in  their 
notions  about  the  earth,  Thaeiio 
loS  C. 

Crts<metr>',  invented  by  Theuth, 
Phaedr.  374  C :  must  be  learnt 
by  the  rulers  in  the  best  state, 
Rep.  7.  536  foil,  ^cp.  Laws  7.  S17 
E< ;  erronwusly  supiH«ed  to 
servx  for  practical  pur^H^ses  only. 
Rep.  7.  537  : — gevMnetr>- 1^"  plane 
surfaces.  Laws  7.  819.  Sao;  of 
solids.  Meno  Sa  :  Rep.  7.  53S  ; 
Theaet.  147  D  foil.:— geometrj-  in 
the  division  of  species,  Statesm. 
266 :—  geometrical  diagrams,Crat. 
436  D  ;  —  geometrical  figures, 
be.^uty  of,  Phil.  51  C  ;— geometri- 
cal h)-potheses,  Meno  87  B:— geo- 
metric-al  necessity.  Rep.  5.  45S 
D  :— geometrical  notions  appre- 
hended by  a  faculty  of  the  soul. 
Id*,  6.  5  n  C  icp.  Thejiet.  1 S5  D, 
E): — geometrical  ratios.  Statesm. 
257- 

Gerousia.  the,  at  Lacedaemon,  Laws 

3.  691  E. 
Gerj-on,  Euthjxi.  399   C ;  Gor^. 

4S4  B  :  Laws  7.  795  C. 


Gestation  and  nursing,  l  aws  - 

Ghivsts,  Phaedo  Si   l>;  Law^ 
738  C  ;  to.  QIC  .-V  (cp.  Tim,  73  .vV 

Gi.mts.  hutles  of  the,  Rep.  37S 
U  ;  Soph.  340  A  ^cp,  Kmtupl). 
U,  C  ;  Symp.  190  B>. 

Gitts  given  to  victors.  Rep,  3.  4 14  .\ ; 
5.  400  B.  4(>8 :  gifts  of  n.ituiv. 
Phatxir.  at>9  K  ;  Rep.  2.  370  .A  , 
.I- 455:  /•  5.^5  A;  may  f>e  pei 
verteil,  Re\\  6.  401  K.  495  .\ ;  7. 
510  (cp.  Uvw-S  S,  747  ;  7.  SlO  .V  ; 
lo,  90S  C), 

Girls,  education  v>f.  Laws  7.  704  P, 
S04  K.  Si 3;  ciMitests  of,  t\ 
S33  C,  S34  n.   Cp.  Women. 

(.livers  of  names,  Grat.  3SQ,  393  E, 
404  .\,  40S  .-X.  414  B,  437  0.  439 
K,  431  K,  436,  437  K  ;  Laws  7, 
Sit>  B.   Cp.  Names. 

Glass,  Tim.  61  C, 

Glamvn,  son  of  .\ristou.  Kep.  1,337 
.•\  ;  takes  up  the  discourse.  347 
A :  a.  357.  37a  C ;  3.  30S  B :  4. 
437  D ;  5.  450  A :  6.  506  n ;  9. 
$76  B ;  anxious  to  contribute 
money  for  Socrates,  /A  1.337  E  ; 
the  boldest  of  u\en.  if>.  a.  357  .A  ; 
his  g^niusj  />.  36S  .\ ;  distin- 
guisheil  at  the  battle  of  Meg;ira, 
irui. ;  a  musician,  id.  3.  59S  D ; 
7.  331  .\ ;  dosirvnis  that  Socr.ites 
should  discuss  the  subject  of 
women  and  children,  ti>.  5.  450 
A  ;  breeds  dogs  and  birds,  if: 
459  .A  ;  a  lover,  id.  474  D  \,cp.  3 
40a  E  ;  5.  45S  E)  :  not  a  dia- 
lectician, id.  7.  533  ;  his  conten- 
tiousness id.  S.  54S  E ;  not  ac- 
quainted with  the  doctrine  of 
the  immortality  of  the  soul,  »A 
la  60S  :  —  mentioned,  Pann. 
ia6  A. 

Glaucon,  father  of  Charmides, 
Chann.  154  B.  158  B;  Protag. 
315  .\  ;  Symp.  233  B. 

Glaucon,  a  famous  rhapsode.  Ion 
530  D. 

Glaucon,  the  Sympt'siuM  n.xrnitco 


Index. 


to,  by  Apollodorus,  Symp.  172 
B. 

Glaucus,  the  sea-god,  Rep.  10.  61  r 
C  : — '  the  art  of  Glaucus,'  [  ?  the 
Chian  artist],  Phaedo  108  D. 

Gluttony,  Phaedr.  238  A  ;  Rep.  9. 
586  A  ;  Tim.  72  E. 

Goats,  keeping  of.  Laws  I.  639 
A : — '  the  goat  of  tragedy,'  Crat. 
408  C. 

God,  the  Great  Artist,  Rep.  10. 

596  (cp.  Laws  10.  902  E) ;  the 
Maker  of  all  things.   Rep.  10. 

597  C ;  the  best  of  causes,  Tim.  29 
A ;  the  Creator,  ib.  30  foil.  ; 
Soph.  265  ;  Statesm.  269,  270  (cp. 
Laws  10.  886  foil.)  ;  assisted  in 
His  work  by  subordinate  deities, 
Tim.  41  A  ;  the  Shepherd,  Grit. 
109;  Statesm.  271,  275  ; — alone 
is  wise,  Phaedr.  278  D  (cp.  Tim. 
5 1  E) ;  not  the  author  of  evil, 
Rep.  2.  379,  380  A  ;  3.  391  C  (cp. 
2.  364 ;  Laws  2.  672  B)  ;  never 
changes,  Rep.  2.  380  ;  will  not 
lie,  ib.  382  ;  alone  able  to  combine 
the  many  into  one  or  dissolve 
the  one  into  many,  Tim.  68  D ; 
alone  has  absolute  knowledge. 
Farm.  134  D  ;  is  perfect  right- 
eousness, Theaet.  176  C  ;  aided 
by  chance  and  art  in  the  govern- 
ment of  the  world,  Laws  4.  709 
(cp.  10.  889) ;  moves  in  a  straight 
line  towards  His  end,  ib.  4.  716A ; 
the  measure  of  all  things,  ib.  D  ; 
will  not  receive  the  gifts  of  the 
wicked,  ib.  E ;  watches  over  the 
stranger  and  the  suppliant,  ib. 
5.  729  E  ;  cannot  fight  against 
necessity,  ib.  741  A;  7.  818  A 
(cp.  Protag.  345  D) ;  approves  of 
the  middle  state,  Laws  7.  792  D  ; 
the  nature  of,  a  fit  subject  of  en- 
quiry, ib.  821  (cp.  12.  966) ;  has 
no  cowardice,  ib.  10.  901  E  ; 
exercises  thought  for  all,  ib.  902 
B  ; — takes  away  the  mind  of  the 
poet.  Ion  534  (cp.  Laws  3.  682  A  ; 
4.  719  B  ;  2  Alcib.  147  C). 


Gods,  the,  Socrates'  belief  in,  Apol. 
26 ;  human  ignorance  of,  Crat. 
400  E,  425  C  (cp.  Rep.  2.  365  E  ; 
Crit.  107  ;  Parm.  134  E)  ;  dis- 
belief in.  Rep.  2.  365;  Laws  10. 
885  foil.,  887,  909;  12.  948  ;  exist- 
ence of,  proved.  Laws  10.  886- 
900 ;  1 2.  966 ;  said  to  exist  by  con- 
vention, ib.  10.  889  E ;  supposed 
to  take  no  heed  of  human  affairs, 
ib.  885  C,  888  E  foil.;  12.  948 
(cp.  Rep.  2.  365  E;  Parm.  134 
E) ;  not  careless  or  ignorant. 
Laws  10.  900 ;  eternal,  but  the 
soul  and  body  indestructible, 
ib.  904  A ;  not  to  be  appeased 
by  gifts,  ib.  905,  908  E  (cp. 
Rep.  2.  364  ;  Laws  4.  716  E  ;  10. 
885  C,  888  D ;  12.  948  C,  D  ;  2 
Alcib.  149  E);  hate  falsehood. 
Laws  II.  917  A;  belief  in,  not 
universal,  ib.  12.  948  :— common 
stories  about  the  gods,  not  to  be 
received,  Euthyph.  6,  8  ;  Rep.  2. 
378  foil. ;  3.  388  foil.,  408  C  ; 
Laws  10.  886  C  ;  12.  941  (cp. 
Symp.  195  C  ;  Grit.  109  B  ;  Laws 
2. 672  B  ;  and  see  Menex.  237  C)  ; 
the  Gods  ought  not  to  be  repre- 
sented grieving  or  laughing,  Rep. 
3.  388  ;  have  neither  joy  nor  sor- 
row, Phil.  33  B,  C  : — sun  and 
moon  are  gods,  Apol.  26  ;  Laws 
7.  821  (cp.  10.  886) ;  the  gods 
of  Hades,  Phaedo  63  C ;  Laws 
12.  958  C ;  gods  of  the  na- 
tural world,  Crat.  408  E  ;  gods 
who  'wander  about  at  night  in 
the  disguise  of  strangers,'  Rep.  2. 
381  D  ;  the  earth  the  first  and 
oldest  of  gods  in  heaven,  Tim. 
40  C ;  genealogy  of  the  gods, 
ib.  E  (cp.  Crat.  402)  ;  the  gods 
divided  into  the  Olympian  gods, 
gods  of  the  state,  gods  of  the 
world  below,  ancestral  and  pri- 
vate gods.  Laws  4.  4x7  A; 
gods  of  generation,  ib.  5.  729 
C  ;  9.  879  D ;  the  twelve,  in 
the  Model  City,  ib.  5.  745  ;  6, 


Index. 


771;  8.  828  3,848  D;  the  gods 
who  preside  over  contests, (dyconot 
Qfoi),  ib.  6.  783  A ;  the  gods  to 
whom  the  several  days  and 
nights  are  dedicated,  ib,  7.  807 
A ;  heavenly  and  infernal  gods, 
ib.  8.  828  D  ;  the  gods  who  avert 
evils,  (dTTorpoTTrn'ot  6(oi),  ib.  9. 
854  B  ;  the  gods  who  are  con- 
cerned with  the  prevention  of 
murder,  ib.  871  C  ;  the  gods  of  the 
Agora,  ib.  11.  917  D  : — proces- 
sion of  the  gods,  Phaedr.  246  E 
foil. : — names  of  the  gods,  Crat. 
397,  400  foil. : — war  of  the  gods 
and  giants.  Rep.  2. 378  B  ;  Soph. 
246  A  (cp.  Eiithyph.  6  B,  C ; 
Symp.  190  B): — strife  of  the  gods 
respecting  Attica,  Menex.  237  C 
(cp.  Crit.  109  B)  : — sacrifices  to 
the  gods  below  at  places  where 
three  ways  meet,  Phaedo  108  A ; 
laws  about  the  gods.  Laws  4. 
716,  717;  arrangements  for  their 
worship  in  a  new  state,  ib.  5.  738  ; 
ancient  local  deities,  to  be  hon- 
oured, ib.  B  ;  8.  848  C  ;  gods  and 
temples  not  easily  established,  ib. 
II.  909  C  ;  invocation  of  gods  at 
sales,  ib.  916  £,917  B  ;  law  re- 
specting offerings  to,  ib.  12.  955 
E : — the  gods  love  a  joke,  Crat. 
406  C  ;  have  each  their  appointed 
work,  Phaedr.  247  A  ;  influence 
of,  on  love,  ib.  252,  253;  the  givers 
of  good,  Euthyph.  14,  15  (cp.  2 
Alcib.  148  C);  our  guardians  and 
masters,  Phaedo  62  (cp.  Laws  5. 
727  A;  I  Alcib.  124);  are  thought 
to  favour  the  unjust,  Rep.  2.  362 
B,  364  (cp.  Laws  10.  899  E) ; 
share  in  immortality  by  the  will 
of  the  Creator,  Tim.  41  A  ;  visit 
the  good  and  evil  among  men. 
Soph.  216  A  ;  their  gifts  to  men, 
Statesm.  274  (cp.  Protag.  320  D) ; 
excuse  the  perjuries  of  lovers,  Phil. 
65  C  (cp.  Symp.  183  B);  unlike  men, 
have  absolute  knowledge,  Laws  i. 
641  E  ;  have  appointed  festivals 


as  a  relief  to  men,  ib.  2.  653  D, 
665  A  ;  cease  to  be  reverenced 
when  anarchy  prevails,  ib.  3.  701 
C  ;  a  man's  most  precious  pos- 
session, ib.  5.  726,  727  ;  some- 
times oppose  men,  ib.  732  ;  exist 
in  all  things,  ib.  10.  899  ;  are  our 
kindred,  ib.  900  A  (cp.  Protag. 
322  A) ;  have  care  of  orphans. 
Laws  II.  927  B;  the  aged  bear 
their  likeness,  ib.  930  E  foil. ; 
listen  to  the  imprecations  of  pa- 
rents, ib.  931  B  (cp.  2  Alcib.  138). 
God.  [  TAe  dialogues  of  Plaio  show 
us  ihc  ancient  religious  system  of 
Hellas  in  a  state  of  disintegra- 
tion and  transitioti.  Old  ideas 
were  passing  away: — Homer  had 
ceased  to  be  a  sufficient  guide  to 
men  who  had  sat  at  the  feet  of  the 
Sophists:  the  traditional  con- 
cept io?is  of  right  attd  wrong  were 
made  topics  of'  debate  i7t  the 
schools.  Amid  this  chaos  of 
opinion  Plato  strove  to  separate 
the  truer  and  more  permatient 
elements  of  religion  and  to  give 
a  new  sanction  to  than.  The 
ancient  mythology  was  intolerable 
to  him  J  the  stories  of  the  gods 
'  were  lies,  and,  what  is  tnore, 
bad  lies'  How  could  the  guard- 
ians be  the  '  virtuous  rulers  of  a 
virtuous  state'  if  they  %vere  taught 
in  the  impressible  days  of  their 
childhood  that  the  gods  were  the 
authors  of  evil,  or  would  accept 
the  gifts  of  the  wicked,  or  show 
favour  to  the  unjust?  Would 
they  not  be  tempted  to  make  tlie 
crimes  which  the  poets  impute 
to  the  gods  an  excuse  for  their 
own  tratisgressiotis  ?  Accordingly 
Plato  lays  down  in  the  second 
book  of  the  Republic  two  canons 
of  religioti :  '  God  is  perfect  and 
unchafigeable,'  and  '  God  is  true 
and  the  author  of  t7-uth'  These 
opinions  must  be  held  and  acted 
upon  by  all  the  citisetts  of  the 


Index. 


423 


perfect  state  j  and  they  also  serve 
as  a  test  by  which  to  try  poetry 
a?id  the  poets  (see  s.  v.  Poetry). 
Homer  and  the  t?-agedians  repre- 
sent the  gods  as  changing  their 
forms  attd  deceiving  men  by 
lying  dreams  J  and  therefore 
they  must  be  expelled  from  the 
state. — A  similar  spirit  charac- 
terizes the  Laws;  but  sotne 
differences  may  be  noted.  A 
more  austet-e  temper  is  shown  in 
the  later  treatise  j  the  qicestion  of 
the  existence  of  the  gods  is  de- 
bated with  the  greatest  earnest- 
ness, and  the  unbeliever  who 
remains  i?npettetrable  to  argu- 
ment  is  threatened  with  bonds 
and  death.  The  Laws  is  also 
more  pessimistic  in  tone  than 
the  Republic  J  the  thought  of  the 
insignificance  of  man  and  the 
shortness  of  human  life  is  con- 
stantly prese7it  to  Platds  mind 
and  forms  a  backgroujid  to  the 
whole  work.  Huma?t  affairs  are 
not  worth  much  consideration  : 
we  are  but  the  puppets  of  the 
gods,  playing  our  parts  for  a 
brief  while  in  the  tragi-comedy 
of  life. —  The  conception  of  God 
as  the  Demiurgus  or  Creator  of 
the  universe,  which  is  prominent 
in  the  Timaeus,  the  Statesman, 
and  to  a  lesser  degree  in  the 
Sophist  (265  id\\.),hardly  appears 
in  the  Republic  or  Laws  (cp.  Rep. 
10.  596  foil. ;  Laws  10.  886  foil.). 
The  Timaeus  is  rejuarkable  for  the 
tnanner  in  which  Plato  attetnpts 
to  solve  the  problem  of  the  ex- 
istence of  evil.  The  Maker  first 
creates  the  mtiverse,  and  then  dele- 
gates the  creation  of  man  and  the 
animals  to  an  inferior  order  of 
gods,  of  whom  He  is  '  the  Father 
and  Artificer!  They  receive from 
Him  the  divine  and  immortal 
element,  i.e.  the  soul,  and  combine 
it  in  due  proportion  with  the 


material  and  perishable.  Thus 
man,  '  the  most  religiotis  of 
animals,'  comes  into  beifig,  but 
evil  is  born  within  him  by  reason 
of  his  composite  ?iature.  Yet 
with  the  aid  of  education  he  can 
struggle  against  his  passions 
and  desires,  and  pass  through 
the  pilgritnage  of  life  unharmed. 
Lf  he  yields  to  temptation,  he 
himself  and  not  his  Creator  is 
respotisible  for  his  evil  state  (cp. 
Rep.  10.  617  E).—Ln  the  States- 
man the  riddle  of  the  universe 
receives  a  somewhat  different 
solution.  There  was  a  time 
when  the  Creator  Himself  pre- 
sided over  the  revolutions  of  the 
world.  This  was  the  so-called 
''age  of  Cronos,'  during  which 
men  lived  the  life  of  nature  in 
peace  and  innocence.  But  in  the 
fulness  of  time  He  withdrew  His 
hand  fro7n  the  hebn,  and  the 
world  itirned  back  in  its  course 
with  a  mighty  shock  which 
caused  the  destruction  of  all 
living  creatures.  A  new  race 
then  succeeded,  and  at  first  things 
wefit  fairly  well.  Rut  gradually 
the  evil  which  was  itiherent  in 
matter  reasserted  itself,  atid  the 
world  was  ready  to  fall  into 
chaos  again.  The  Creator  once 
more  took  the  helm  and  restored 
order  to  creation.  At  the  same 
time  He  made  the  world itnmortal 
and  self-creating :  men  and  ani- 
mals no  lo?tger  grew  out  of  the 
earth,  but  reproduced  their  species, 
each  after  their  kind,  Ln  the  begiti- 
ning  the  human  race  was  poor  and 
helpless,  but  gradually  by  the  aid 
of  the  gods  they  acquired  the  arts 
of  life  a?td  learnt  to  form  social 
communities (cp.Laws  3.677  foil.). 
In  this  manner  Plato  sets  forth 
under  a  mythical  disguise  both 
the  origin  of  evil  and  the  growth 
of  civilization  among  men.] 


424 


Index. 


Goddess  of  ways,  Laws  ii.  914  B. 

Gold  (and  silver),  not  allowed  to  the 
guardians,  Rep.  3.  416  E  ;  4.  419, 
422  D  ;  5.  464  C  ;  Tim.  18  B  ; 
mingled  by  the  God  in  those  who 
are  to  rule,  Rep.  3.415  A(cp.  8.546 
E) ;  nature  of,  Tim.  59 ;  not  used 
in  ancient  Attica,  Crit.  112  C  ;  un- 
.  known  to  primitive  society.  Laws 

3.  679  B  ;  not  to  be  possessed  in 
the  Model  City,  ib.  5.  742  A,  743 
D,  746  A  ;  not  to  be  offered  to 
the  gods,  ib.  12.  955  E  : — refining 
of  gold,  Statesm.  303  D. 

Golden  age,  Statesm.  271, 272;  Laws 

4.  713  (cp.  Cronos)  : — the  golden 
race,  Crat.  398  A. 

Good,  the  saving  element,  Rep.  10. 
609: — the  good  =  the  beautiful. 
Lysis  216  ;  Symp.  201  B,  204  E 
foil.  ;  Rep.  5.  452  (cp.  Euthyd. 
301  A  ;  Crat.  439  ;  Phaedo  100) ; 
how  far  identical  with  the  expe- 
dient, Protag.  333   E  foil.  (cp. 
Thcaet.  177  D)  ;  hard  to  know, 
Crat.  384  B  ;  confers  happiness 
on  the  possessor,  Symp.  204  E  ; 
the  object  of  desire  in  love,  ib. 
206  ;  the  end  of  action,  Gorg. 
468,  499  ;  the  cause  of  the  good, 
ib.  497  E  ;  Phil.  22  ;  the  good 
and  pleasure,  Gorg.  497  ;  Rep. 
6.  505,  509  A  ;  Phil.  11,  22  E,  60 
A  (cp.  Protag.  358)  ;   the  good 
superior  to  essence,  Rep.  6.  509  ; 
the  brightest  and  best  of  being, 
ib.  7.  518  E  ;   neither  wisdom 
nor  pleasure,  Phil.  20  B  foil.,  60 
(cp.  Rep.  6.  505  B) ;  universally 
desired,  Phil.  20  U  ;  sufficient, 
ib.  20,  60 ;   needs  no  addition, 
ib.  21  ;  in  the  mixed  life,  ib.  61, 
65  ;  mixture  of,  ib.  62  foil.,  64 ; 
nieasure  an  ingredient  in,  ib.  64  ; 
the  cause  of,  is  in  mind  only,  ib. 
65  foil. :— absolute  good.  Rep.  6. 
507  B  ;  7.  540  A : — the  idea  of 
good,  ib.  6.  505,  508;   7.  517, 
534  ;  is  the  highest  knowledge, 
ib.  6.  505  ;  7.  526  E  ;  nature  of. 


ib.  6.  505,  506:— the  'child  of 
the  good,'  ib.  506  E  : — good  in 
relation  to  pleasure,  Protag.  354, 
356;  Phil.  II,  20  foil.,  55,  60, 
63  foil. ;  Laws  2.  662,  663,  667 ; 
^  corruptio  opiivii  pessimal  Eu- 
thyd. 281  ;   good  and  honour- 
able, Gorg.  474  ;  Laws  1 2.  966 
A;    I   Alcib.    116;    good  and 
order,  Gorg.  504 ;   meaning  of 
'  good '  as  applied  to  law,  Theaet. 
177  D  ;  good  and  false,  Hipp. 
Min.  367  : — good  and  evil  alike 
originate  in  the  soul.  Charm.  156 
E ;  explained  by  the  hypothesis 
of  a  twofold  nature  of  the  soul. 
Laws  10.  896  E  {v.  s.  V.  Soul) : — 
good  fortune  =  wisdom,  Euthyd. 
279  : — good  things  least  liable  to 
change.  Rep.  2.  381 ;  doing  good 
things  a  work  of  human  agency, 
Eryx.  398:  —  Goods  classified, 
Protag.  334;  Gorg.  451  E  ;  Rep. 
2-  357,  367  D  ;  Phil.  66  ;  Laws  i. 
631  ;  2.  661  A ;  3,  697  (cp.  Laws 
9.  870  A)  ;  enumerated,  Euthyd. 
279  ;  Meno  78  ;  remedial  goods, 
Protag.  354  A  ;  goods  an  object  of 
desire  to  all,  Euthyd.  279;  use  of, 
depends  on  knowledge,  ib.  287  ; 
Meno  88;    goods  of  the  soul, 
Meno  88  ;  the  goods  of  life  often 
a  temptation.  Rep.  6.  491  E, 
495  A  (cp.  Laws  5.  729  A) ;  goods 
not  to  be  over-estimated,  Crit. 
1 20 ;    wrongly  judged   by  the 
many.  Laws  2.  661  A ;  5.  742 
E  ;   an  evil  to  the  evil,  ib.  2. 
661  (cp.  Eryx.  396  E  foil.). 
Good  man,  the,  no  evil  can  happen 
to,  Apol.  30  D,  41  (cp.  Rep.  3. 
387  C)  ;   like  the  good  artist, 
has  a  view  to  the  best,  Gorg. 
503  E  ;   will  disdain  to  imitate 
ignoble  actions.  Rep.  3.  396 : — 
Good  men  are  like  and  friends 
to  one  another,  Lysis  214  C  (cp. 
Phaedr.  255  A)  ;  self-sufficient. 
Lysis  215  A;  Rep.  3.  387  (cp. 
Menex.  247  E)  ;   not  good  by 


Index. 


425 


nature,  Meno  89 ;  hated  by  the 
world,  Apol.  28  A  ;  enjoy  happi- 
ness in  the  hfe  to  come,  ib. 
41  ;  Phaedo  63,  107,  114;  Gorg. 
526  C,  527  D ;  why  they  take 
office,  Rep.  i.  347;  =the  wise,  ib. 
350;  I  Alcib.  124,  125;  unfortu- 
nate (Adeimantus),  Rep.  2.  364  ; 
will  not  give  way  to  sorrow,  ib.  3. 
387 ;  10.  603  E  (cp.  Laws  5. 
732  B  ;  7. 792  B,  800  D  ;  Menex. 
247  D)  ;  appear  simple  from 
their  inexperience  of  evil,  Rep.  3. 
409  A  ;  hate  the  tyrant,  ib.  8. 
568  A;  able  to  rule  themselves. 
Laws  I.  626,  627,  644  B  ;  the 
friends  of  God,  and  like  Him, 
ib.  4.  716  D  (cp.  Symp.  212  A; 
Rep. 2.383  C;  10.613  A;  Theaet. 
176  B;  Phil.  39  E);  ought  to 
impart  their  virtue.  Laws  5.  730 
E ;  ought  to  be  both  gentle 
and  passionate,  ib.  731  D  (cp. 
Rep.  3.  410)  ;  will  prefer  exile  to 
an  unjust  form  of  government. 
Laws  6.  770  E  ;  are  the  enemies 
of  the  evil,  ib.  10.  908  B  ;  are 
found  even  in  ill-ordered  states, 
ib.  12.  951  B  (cp.  Phaedo  78  A) ; 
best  able  to  tell  a  falsehood, 
Hipp.  Min.  367  foil. :— sons  of 
good  men  not  good.  Laches  179, 
180 ;  Protag.  320, 324,325  ;  Meno 
93  (cp.  Laws  3.  694  D  ;  i  Alcib. 
ilS  E). 

Goods,  community  of.  Rep.  3.  416  ; 
5.  464  ;  8.  543  A  ;  Laws  5.  739  ; 
7.  807  B  ;  in  ancient  Attica,  Crit. 
no  D;  in  the  days  of  Cronos, 
Statesm.  272  A.  Cp.  Community. 

Gorgias,  a  great  master  of  rhetoric, 
Phaedr.  261  C;  Symp.  198  C  ; 
well  aware  that  proloability  is 
superior  to  truth,  Phaedr.  267  A ; 
his  influence  at  Larisa,  Meno  70 ; 
his  style  of  answer,  ibid.  (cp.  76 
C) ;  his  influence  on  Meno,  ib.  71 
E  ;  his  definition  of  virtue,  ib.  73 
D ;  does  not  profess  to  teach 
virtue,  ib.  95  C  ;  has  failed  10 


educate  Meno,  ib.  96  E ;  goes 
the  round  of  the  cities,  Apol.  19 
E  ;  the  guest  of  Callicles,  Gorg. 
447  B  ;  converses  with  Socrates, 
ib.  449  A-461  A ;  accustomed  to 
go  with  his  brother  Herodicus  to 
persuade  patients  to  take  medi- 
cine, ib.  456  B  ;  his  deference  to 
opinion,  ib.  482  D,  487  A,  494 
D  ;  used  to  maintain  that  the  art 
of  persuasion  was  superior  to 
every  other  art,  Phil.  58  B  foil. 
Cp.  Rhetoric. 

Gorgons,  Phaedr.  229  E. 

Gortys,  in  Crete,  colonized  from 
Gortys  in  Peloponnesus,  Laws  4. 
708  A. 

Gout,  2  Alcib.  139  E,  140  A. 

Government,  the  art  of,  slowly  grew 
up  among  mankind,  Protag.  322 
B  ;  a  science,  Statesm.  292,  293  ; 
good  government  possible  with- 
out laws,  ib.  294 ;  science  of 
government  attained  by  few,  ib. 
■2<)2,  300 ;  government  without 
knowledge,  a  source  of  misery, 
ib.  301  E  ;  origin  of  government, 
Laws  3.  676  foil. 

Government,  forms  of,  should  they 
be  administered  in  the  interest  of 
the  rulers?  Rep.  1.3380,343,346 
(cp.  Statesm.  295  E) ;  have  under- 
gone many  changes  in  the  course 
of  ages.  Laws  3.  676  B  (cp.  6.  782 
A) ;  no  form  can  be  destroyed 
except  by  the  fault  of  the  rulers, 
ib.  3. 683  C ;—  the  patriarchal  form 
the  oldest  of  all,  ib.  680  ;  gradual 
development  of  the  earlier  forms, 
ib.  6S0,  681  ;  —  the  two  mother 
forms,  democracy  and  monarchy, 
ib.  693  C  ; — the  five  [or  four]  im- 
perfect forms.  Rep.  4.  445  B  ;  8. 
544 ;  Statesm.  291  foil.,  301  foil, 
(cp.  Laws  4. 712  B,  C);  arise  from 
unwillingness  to  accept  the  rule 
of  the  one  best  man,  Statesm.  301 
D  ;  their  order  in  capacity  for  im- 
provement, Laws  4.  711;— suc- 
cession of  changes  in  states,  Rep. 


426 


Index. 


8.  545  foil.  ; — present  forms  of 
government  in  an  evil  condition, 
ib.  6.  492  E,  496  ;  none  of  them 
adapted  to  philosophy,  ib.  497 ; 
are  '  states  of  discord,'  Laws  8. 
832  C  ;  all  depend  upon  a  prin- 
ciple of  justice,  ib.  12.  945  D  (cp. 
Rep.  I.  338  E) ;  based  on  the 
supremacy   of  certain  classes, 
Laws  12.  962  E  (cp.  4.  714)  : — 
peculiar  barbarian  forms,  Rep.  8. 
544  D ; — the  Persian  Government 
in  the  days  of  Cyrus,  Laws  3.  694 
foil.  ;— the  ancient  Athenian  con- 
stitution, ib.  698  foil.  (cp.  Menex. 
238  C) ;  —  the  elements  of  all 
forms  combined  in  the  Lacedae- 
monian and  Cretan  governments, 
Laws  4.  712: — the  first,  second, 
and  third  forms  of  the  ideal  state, 
i^-  5-  739;  7-  807  B.    Cp.  Con- 
stitution, Model  City,  State. 
Government,  forms  of.    [  The  three 
dialogues  of  Plato  which  more 
especially  deal    with  political 
science, — the  Republic,  the  States- 
man, and  the  Laws, — all  contain 
discussions  of  the  different  forms 
of  government  and  the  manner 
in  which  they  should  be  classified; 
and  in  each  of  them  sotnewhat 
di_fferent  conclusions  are  reached. 
— In  the  Republic  the  series  com- 
mences with   the  perfect  state 
which  may  be  either  monarchy 
or  aristocracy,   accordingly  as 
'  the  one  best  man  '  bears  rule  or 
many  who  are  all  ^perfect  in 
virtue^  [cp.  Arist.  Po).  iv.  2,  §  i]. 
The  further  succession  is  then 
somewhat  fancifully  connected 
with  the  divisions  of  the  soul. 
The  rule  of  reason  \i.  e.  the  per- 
fect state']  passes  into  timocracy, 
in  which  the  '  spirited  elemetit ' 
is  predominant ;  timocracy  in- 
to three  gove}-njne?its  in  turn, 
which  represent  the  '  appetitive 
principle,'- first,   oligarchy,  in 
which  the  desire  of  wealth  is 


supreme;  secondly,  democracy, 
characterized  by  an  unbounded 
hist  for freedom;  thirdly,  tyranny, 
in  which  all  evil  desires  grow 
unchecked,  and  the  tyrant  be- 
comes '  the  waking  reality  of 
what  he  once  was  in  his  dreams 
only.'     Each  of  these  inferior 
forms  is  illustrated  in  the  indi- 
vidual who  corresponds  to  the 
state  and  is  '  set  over  against  it.' 
— Iti  the  Statesman,  after  the 
government  of  the  one  or  inany 
good   has  been  separated,  the 
remaining  forms  are  classified 
accordingly  as  the  government 
has  or  has  not  regard  to  law,  and 
democracy  is  said  to  be  '  the 
worst  of  lawful  and  the  best  of 
lawless  governmcfits '   (an  ex- 
pression to  which  Aristotle  takes 
objection,  Pol.  iv.  2,  §  3).— In  the 
Laws  the  subject  is  differently 
treated:  monarchy  and  demo- 
cracy are  considered  to  be  the  '  two 
mother  forms,'  which  must  be 
combined  in  order  to  produce  a 
good  state,  and  the  Spartan  and 
Cretan  constitutions  are  therefore 
praised  as  polities  in  which  every 
form  of  government  isrepresented. . 
But  the    majority  of  existing 
states  are  mere  class-governjnents 
afid  have  no  regard  to  virtue. — 
These  various  ideas  are  nearly 
all  reproduced  or  criticized  by 
Aristotle  in  the  Politics,  who, 
however,  does  not  there  employ 
the  term  '  timocracy,'  and  adds 
one  great  original  conception,  the 
/^ey-;/  itoKiT^'ia,  or  government  of 
the  middle  class.     He  divides 
existing  governments  into  three 
true foriiis  and  three  'perversions^ 
accordingly  as  the  state  is  or  is 
not  ruled  with  a  view  to  the 
common  interest :  the  true  forms 
are  monarchy,  aristocracy,  ^ polity i 
and  the  ' pet  versions,'  tyranny, 
oligarchy,    democracy    (iii.  7)- 


Index. 


427 


All  alike,  good  and  bad,  may 
also  be  considered  perversions  of 
the  perfect  state  (iv.  8,  §  l).  In 
the  Ethics  (viii.  10)  he  speaks  of 
the  '  tiviocratic  state,  which  is 
tisiially  'called  polity^;  but  he 
derives  the  name  from  rifn'iixa 
(17  dno  Tt/xj/juaroji/  noXireia, — '  that 
government  which  is  based  upon 
a  property  qualification '),  not,  as 
Plato  does,  from  rifxi]  (17  (ptXoTiixos 
TToAireia, — 'the  government  of 
honour')^ 

Governments,  sometimes  bought 
and  sold,  Rep.  8.  544  D. 

Grace  {eia-x'ji^ou-vvr}),  the  effect  of 
good  rhythm  accompanying  good 
style.  Rep.  3.  400  D  ;  all  life  and 
every  art  full  of  grace,  id.  401 
A. 

Grammar,  in  education,  Euthyd. 
276  ;  taught  by  Prodicus,  Crat. 
384  B  ;  the  art  which  teaches 
the  proper  combination  of  letters. 
Soph.  253  A ;  the  invention  of 
Theuth,  Phil.  18  (cp.  Phaedr. 
274  D) : — 'a  copulativus,'  Crat. 
405  D  ;  change  of  letters  in 
Greek,  lb.  410  C,  418  B,  420  B, 
426  C  :  — Cean  dialect,  Protag. 
341  A  ; — Doric,  Phaedo  62  A  ; 
Crat.  409  A; — Eretrian,  Crat.  434 
C  ;  —  Thessalian,  ib.  405.  Cp. 
Dialect,  Etymology. 

Grapes,  regulations  about  the 
gathering  of.  Laws  8.  844  E. 

Grasshoppers,  the  story  of  the, 
Phaedr.  259. 

Gratification,  distinct  from  pleasure, 
Protag.  337  C. 

Gratitude,  most  felt  by  the  needy, 
Phaedr.  233  E. 

Great  men,  sons  of,  commonly  re- 
ceive a  bad  education,  Laws  3. 
696.    Cp.  Good  man. 

Greatness  and  smallness,  Phaedo 
96  E,  loi  A,  102  C  ;  Rep.  5.  479 
B  ;  Parm.  149  E,  161  ;  Statesm. 
283 ;  absolute  and  relative,  Rep. 
4.  438  B  ;  7.  523,  524;  9.  575  C  ; 


10.  602  D,  605  C  ;  Parm.  131, 
132. 

Greek  life  ;  procession  at  the  Pana- 
thenea,  Euthyph.  6  B  ;  the  holy 
season  at  Athens,  Crito  43  ; 
Phaedo  58  B,  C  ;  procession  in 
honour  of  Artemis,  Rep.  i.  327 
A  ;  intoxication  at  Athens  during 
the  Dionysia,  Laws  i.  637  C  : — 
athletes.  Rep.  404  A  (see  Athlete); 
naked  exercises,  ib.  5.  452  A,  B 
{see  Exercises) : — amusements  of 
boys,  Lysis  206  C  ;  i  Alcib.  1 10 
B  ;  Greek  games,  Theaet.  146 
A  {see  Games)  : — slaves  as  tutors 
of  boys.  Lysis  223;  i  Alcib.  122 
A: — lovers.  Lysis  204 B;  Euthyd. 
273  A;  Rep.  5. 474  E  (see  Lovers): 
— young  men  at  Athens,  Apol. 
23  C  : — delight  in  intellectual  ex- 
hibitions, Protag.  335  D  ;  Eu- 
thyd. 274  D,  E,  303  B  ;  Apol.  33 
B  ;  love  of  discourse,  Apol.  23  ; 
Gorg.  458  C ;  Rep.  5.  450  D  {see 
Discourse)  :  —  practical  joking, 
Euthyd.  278  C  : — wit,  Meno  77 
A  : — incidents  of  a  dinner,  Synip. 
174,  175)  176,  212  foil.,  223; 
drinking,  ib.  176,  223;  Rep.  5.  475 
A;  flute  girls,  Symp.  212  E  (cp. 
Protag.  347  C  ;  Symp.  176  E) ; 
conversation,  Symp.  177  A  ;  after- 
dinner  amusements,  Protag.  347 
C  ;  dessert.  Rep.  2.  372  C  ;  Crit. 
115  B;  Syracusan  dinners  and 
Athenian  confectionary.  Rep.  3. 
404  D,  E  : — female  occupations, 
Lysis  208  E;  Rep.  5.  455  C; 
Laws  7.  S05  E ;  hours  of  rising, 
Protag.  310  A,  311  A  (cp.  Laws 
7.  808  A) ;  door-keepers,  Protag. 
314  D  ;  house  of  Cahias,  ii>.  315 
I^j  337  E  ;  house  of  Agathon, 
Symp.  174  ;  sacrifices  in  houses, 
Rep.  I.  328  C  (cp.  Laws  10.  909 
D  foil.)  ; — the  mistress  and  the 
servants.  Laws  7.  808  A  : — courts 
of  justice  at  Athens,  Apol.  34  C  : — 
Greeks  and  barbarians.  Rep.  5. 
469  B  ;  6.  494  C  ;  Statesm.  262 


428 


Index. 


C  foil. ;  Laws  I.  635  B  ;  i  Alcib. 

105  C ;  2  Alcib.  141  C  (cp.  Hellas). 

For  the    characters   of  Greek 

youth,  see  Alcibiades,  Charmides, 

Cleinias,  Ctesippus,  Lysis  ;  and 

cp.  Phaedr.  238  E  foil. 
Greek  states,  causes  of  the  ruin  of, 

Rep.  8.  564 ;  Laws  i.  636  B  ;  3. 

684  D  ;  5-  736  C  ;  8.  839. 
Grief,  not  to  be  indulged,  Rep.  3. 

387  ;  ID.  603-606 ;  Laws  5.  732 

B ;  7.  792  B,  800  D  ;  Menex. 

247  D  (cp.  Laws  5.  727  D).  Cp. 

Sorrow. 

Guard,  the  tyrant's  request  for  a, 
Rep.  8.  566  B,  567  E  :— Guards 
of  the  country,  Laws  6.  760  foil., 
778  E  ;  8.  843  D,  848  D  (cp. 
Wardens  [of  the  Country]). 

Guardians  of  orphans.  Laws  6.  766 
D;  10. 909  C;  11.922  A,  924-928. 
Cp.  Orphans. 

Guardians  of  the  law  (in  the  Model 
City),  Laws  i.  632  C  ;  6.  762  E, 
765  B,  767  E,  775  A,  7S4  B  ;  7. 
794  B,  799  B,  800  B,  801  D,  811 
B;  8.  829  0,835  A,  850  A;  9-878 
E;  10.910;  11.930E;  12. 95 1. A.; 
their  number,  ib.  6.  752  E,  753 ; 
mode  of  their  election,  ib.  753  ; 
their  duties,  ib.  754  D  ;  tenure  of 
their  office,  ib.  755  A  ;  to  keep 
the  Registers  of  Property,  ib.  5. 
745  A  ;  6.  754  E  ;  8.  850  ;  9.  855 
B;  II.  914  C;  to  be  the  future 
legislators  of  the  state,  ib.  6.  770, 
772  C,  779  D,  816  C  ;  8.  828  B, 
840  E,  846  C,  847  E ;  9.  855  C, 
871  C  ;  12.  956  E  (cp.  Rep.  5. 
458  C)  ;  the  Director  of  Educa- 
tion chosen  from  among  them. 
Laws  6.  766  A ;  7.  809,  81 1  D  ;  8. 
829  D  ;  twelve  of  them  to  be  In- 
spectors of  Exports  and  Imports, 
ib.  8.  847  D  ;  judges  (with  certain 
magistrates)  in  capital  causes,  ib. 
9.  855  C,  856  C,  866  C,  867  E, 
871  C;  12.  958  C  (cp.  II. 916 C); 
to  make  regulations  (with  the 
Wardens  of  the  Agora,  etc.)  for 


retail  trade,  ib.  8.  849  E;  11. 
917  E,  920  ;  to  have  the  care  of 
orphans,  ib.  11.  924-928  (cp.  9. 
877  ;  10.  909  C  ;  12.  959  D)  ;  to 
advise  the  son  who  wishes  to 
indict  his  father  for  insanity,  ib. 
II.  929  D;  to  aid  in  settling 
divorce  cases,  ib.  E  ;  to  punish 
the  son  who  does  not  honour  his 
parents,  ib.  932  ;  to  decide  (with 
other  judges)  whether  a  censor  is 
unworthy  of  the  prize  of  virtue, 
ib.  12.  948  ;  [the  ten  eldest]  to 
form  part  of  the  nocturnal  council, 
ib.  951  E,  961  ;  to  preside  over 
burials,  ib.  959  E ; — the  guardians 
must  have  a  right  conception  of 
virtue,  ib.  963  foil. ;  the  older 
guardians  the  mind,  the  younger 
the  eyes  of  the  state,  ib.  964  E ;  the 
guardians  to  practise  induction,?^. 
965  (cp.  Rep.  6. 484) ;  to  know  the 
Gods,  Laws  12.  966  (cp.  Rep.  2. 
383  C);  selection  and  education  of 
the  first  guardians,  Laws  12.  968. 
Guardians  of  the  state,  must  be 
philosophers.  Rep.  2. 376 ;  6. 484, 
498,  501,  503  B  ;  7.  520,  521,  525 
B,  540 ;  8.  543  ;  must  be  both 
spirited  and  gentle,  ib.  2.  375  ;  3. 
410;  6.  503;  Tim.  18  A  (cp. 
Laws  5.  731  B) ;  must  be  tested 
by  pleasures  and  pains.  Rep.  3. 
413  (cp.  6.  503  A;  7.  539  E; 
Laws  I.  633  D  foil.) ;  have  gold 
and  silver  mingled  in  their  veins. 
Rep.  3.  415  A  (cp.  416  E  ;  8.  546 
E)  ;  their  happiness,  ib.  4.  419 
foil. ;  5.  465  E  foil. ;  6.  498  C  ;  7- 
519  E;  will  be  the  class  in  the 
state  which  possesses  wisdom,  ib. 
4.  428  (cp.  Laws  12.  965  A)  ;  will 
form  one  family  with  the  citizens. 
Rep.  5.  462-466 ;  must  preserve 
moderation,  ib.  466  B ;  divided 
into  auxiliaries  and  guardians 
proper,  ib.  3.  414  (cp.  5.  458  C ; 
8.  545  E  :  Mid  see  Auxiliaries ; 
Rulers)  : — the  guardians  [i.e.  the 
auxiliaries]  must  be  courageous. 


Index. 


429 


/•/;.  2.  375  ;  3.  386,  413  E,  416  E  ; 
4.  429 ;  6.  503  E  ;  must  have  no 
fear  of  death,  ib.  3.  386  (cp.  6. 
486  C)  ;  not  to  weep,  ib.  3.  387 
(cp.  10.  603  E  ;  Laws  5.  732  B) ; 
nor  to  be  given  to  laughter.  Rep. 

3.  388  E  (cp.  Laws  5.  732  B  ;  11. 
935);  must  be  temperate,  Rep.  3. 
389  D  ;  must  not  be  avaricious, 
ib.  390  E ;  must  only  imitate 
noble  characters  and  actions,  ib. 
395  E  foil.,  402  E ;  must  only 
learn  the  Dorian  and  Phrygian 
harmonies,  and  play  on  the  lyre 
and  harp,  ib.  398,  399  ;  must  be 
sober,  ib.  398  E,  403  E  ;  must  be 
reared  amid  fair  surroundings, 
401  ;  athletes  of  war,  ib.  403,  404 
B;  4.  422  ;  7.  521  E  ;  8.  543  (cp. 
Laches  182  A ;  Laws  7.  824  A  ; 
8.  830) ;  must  live  according  to 
rule,  Rep.  3.  404 ;  will  not  go  to 
law  or  have  resort  to  medicine,  ib. 
410  A;  must  have  common  meals 
and  live  a  soldier's  life,  ib.  416  ; 
will  not  require  gold  or  silver,  or 
property  of  any  kind,  ib.  E,  417  ; 

4.  419,  420  A,  422  D  ;  5.  464  C  ;  8. 
543  ;  compared  to  a  garrison  of 
mercenaries  [Adeimantus],  ib.  4. 
419  (cp.  8.  543) ;  must  go  to  war 
on  horseback  in  their  childhood, 
ib.  5.  467  ;  7.  537  A  ;  regulations 
for  their  conduct  in  war,  ib.  5. 
467-471  : — female  guardians,  ib. 
456,  458)  468;  7.  540  C  (cp. 
Women)  :  —  prototypes  of  the 
guardians  in  ancient  Attica,  Crit. 
no  D,  112  D. 

Gyges,  Rep.  2.  359  C  ;  10.  612  B. 

Gymnasia,  at  Athens,  Statesm.  294 
D;  [the  Lyceum], d7roSi;Ti7ptoi',Eu- 
thyd.  272  E  ;  fcnrncrTfyof  Spo^oy,  ib, 
273  A  ;— in  Lacedaemon,  Theaet. 
162  A,  169  B  ;— [in  the  Model 
City],  Laws  6.  761  C  ;  7. 804  C  :— 
masters  of  (TrtitSorpi'/Sr/f),  Pi-otag. 
326  C  ;  Rep.  3.  389  C  ;  Statesm. 
294  E. 

Gymnastic,  supposed  to  be  intended 


only  for  the  body.  Rep.  2. 376  E  ; 
3.  403  ;  7.  521  E  (cp.  Crito  50  D  ; 
Laws  2. 673  A  ;  7.  795  E) ;  really 
designed  for  the  improvement  of 
the  soul,  Rep.  3.  410  (cp.  Protag. 
326  C  ;  Laws  5.  743  D)  ;  must 
co-operate  with  music  in  creating 
a  harmony  of  the  soul.  Rep.  4. 
441  E : — allied  to  medicine,  Gorg. 
464,  517  E,  518  ;  Soph.  228  E  ; 
like  music,  should  be  continued 
through  life,  Rep.  3.  403  C  ;  the 
inferior  sort,  perilous  to  health,  ib. 
404  A ;  should  be  simple,  ibid., 
410  A  ;  when  carried  to  excess, 
enfeebles  and  brutalizes  the  mind, 
ib.  410, 41 1 ;  7.  537  B  ;  the  ancient 
forms  of,  to  be  retained,  ib.  4. 424 
(cp.  Laws  7.  796  A)  ;  suitable  to 
women,  ib.  5.  452-457 ;  Laws  7. 
804,  813,  833  ;  ought  to  be  com- 
bined with  intellectual  pursuits, 
Rep.  7.  535  D  ;  Tim.  88  ;  time 
to  be  spent  in,  Rep.  7.  537 
(cp.  Laws  7.  810) ;  states  which 
especially  cultivate,  accused  of 
immorality,  Laws  i.  636  B  (cp. 
Symp.  182  C);  origin  of,  Laws 
2.  653,  654,  672,  673  D;  in- 
cludes both  dancing  and  wrest- 
ling, ib.  7.  795  E  (cp.  2.  673  A  ;  7. 
813;  I  Alcib.  108);  should  have 
a  military  character,  Laws  7. 
813  ;  8.  830  E,  832;  =care  of 
the  body,  i  Alcib.  128  :— Director 
of  Gymnastic  [in  the  Model 
City],  Laws  6.  764  :— Gymnastic 
exercises,  ordained  by  the 
legislator  with  a  view  to  war,  ib. 
I.  625,  633  ;  8.  830,  832  E  ;  for 
infants,  ib.  7.  789  ;  for  boys  and 
girls,  ib.  813  : — Gymnastic  con- 
tests, ib.  6.  765  C  ;  8.  828  C  ;— 
fighting  in  armour,  Laches  1 78  A; 
179  E,  181  D  foil. ;  Euthyd.  272 
A,  273  D,  E  ;  Gorg.  456  D  ; 
Laws  7.  795  B,  813  E  ;  8.  833 
E  ;— running,  Laws  8.  833; — 
horse  races,  ib.  6.  765  C  ;  8. 
834  :  —  Judges  or  Umpires  of 


430 


hidex. 


contests  :  [d^Xo^eVat],  ib.  6.  765 
C;  n.  935  E  (cp.  8.  835  A)  ; 
\a&K(Siv  eVtcrruTai],  ib.  12.  949 
A  ;  [/3pa/3eiy],  ibid. : — Gymnastic 
training,  dangers  of,  Rep.  3.  404 
A  ;  not  so  severe  a  test  as  intense 
study,  ib.  7.  535 ;  the  same 
amount  prescribed  for  all  the 
pupils,  Statesm.  294  E ;  at  first  in- 
jurious. Laws  1. 646  D  ;  conduces 
to  temperance,  ib.  8.  839  E  ; — 
training  of  boxers,  ib.  830 ; — 
training  for  the  games,  Rep.  6. 
504  A  ;  Laws  7.  807  C  ;  8.  S40  A. 

H. 

Habit  and  virtue.  Rep.  7.  518  E; 
10.  619  D  ;  habit  and  nature, 
Laws  2.  655  ;  7.  794  E  ;  force  of 
habit,  ib.  4.  708  D  ;  habit  in  the 
education  of  infancy,  ib.  7.  792  E. 

Hades,  why  no  one  returns  from, 
Crat.  403  E  ;  the  invisible  world 
(dfiSf'y),  Gorg.  493  B  (cp.  Crat. 
403  A) ;  tales  about  the  terrors  of, 
Crat.  403  A  ;  Rep.  i.  330  D  ;  2. 
366  A  (cp.  Laws  10.  904  C) ;  such 
tales  not  to  be  heeded,  Rep.  3. 
386  B  ;— the  place  of  punishment, 
Phaedr.  249  B  ;  Phaedo  108,  1 14  ; 
Gorg.  523  B,  525  ;  Rep.  2.  363  ; 
10.  614  foil.;  Theaet.  177  A; 
Laws  9.  870  E,  88 1  B  ;  10.  904 
C  ;  12.  959;  Musaeus'  account 
of  the  good  and  the  bad  in,  Rep. 
2.  363  C  ;— the  journey  to,  Phaedo 
108  A  ;  Rep.  10.  614  : — (Pluto), 
helmet  of,  Rep.  10.  612  B.  Cp. 
World  below. 

Hail,  Tim.  59  E. 

Hair,  Tim.  76 ;  cut  in  mourning, 
Phaedo  89  B  ;  the  growth  of, 
hindered  by  coverings,  Laws  12. 
942  E. 

Half,  the,  better  than  the  whole, 
(Hesiod),  Rep.  5. 466  B  ;  Laws  3. 
690  E. 

Hamlets,  the  country  population  to 
be  arranged  in,  Laws  8.  848. 


Handicraft  arts,  a  reproach.  Rep.  9. 
590  (cp.  Gorg.  512). 

Hands,  both  to  be  trained  equally, 
Laws  7.  794. 

Happiness,  connected  with  know- 
ledge, Charm.  173  ;  Euthyd.  281  ; 
Meno  88  ;  i  Alcib.  134  ;  univer- 
sally desired,  Euthyd.  279  (cp. 
Laws  9.  870  A) ;  =  use  of  good 
things,  Euthyd.  280;  art  of,  ib. 
290 ;  gained  by  the  possession  of 
the  good,  Synip.  204  E  ;  depends 
on  justice,  Gorg.470;  consists,not 
in  deliverance  from  evils,  but  in 
never  having  had  them,  ib.  478 
D ;  the  object  of  laws.  Laws  i. 
631  ;  wrongly  conceived  by  the 
many,  ib.  2.  661 ; — happiness  and 
pleasure,  Gorg.  494  E  ;  Phil.  47 ; 
Laws  2.  662  ;  —  happiness  and 
wealth.  Laws  5.  743 ;  9.  870 ; 
Erj'x.  393  E  ;  —  happiness  and 
wisdom,  I  Alcib.  134  (cp.  Charm. 
173;  Meno  88): — happiness  of 
the  citizens  [in  the  Model  City], 
Laws  5. 743  C  ;— of  the  guardians. 
Rep.  4.  419  foil. ;  5.  465  E  foil. ; 
6.  498  C  ;  7.  519  E  ;— of  Olympic 
victors,  ib.  5.  465  D,  466  A ;  10. 
618  A  ;— of  the  tyrant,  ib.  9.  576 
foil. :  —  happiness  in  the  in- 
dividual and  in  the  state.  Laws  S. 
828  E  .'  —  happiness  of  the  unjust 
(Polus),  Gorg.  470  foil. ;  (Thrasy- 
machus).  Rep.  i.  354;  8.  545  A 
(cp.  2.  364;  Laws  2.  661);  not 
really  granted  to  them,  Gorg.  470 
foil. ;  Laws  2.  661,  662  ;  10.  899 
E,  905  A;  1  Alcib.  134;  the 
greatest  happiness  awarded  to  the 
most  just,  Rep.  10.  580  foil.  (cp. 
Laws  2.  664  B). 

Hard  (p^nXeTrov),  ='evil'  in  the 
Cean  Dialect,  Protag.  341  A. 

Hardness,  Tim.  62  C. 

Harmodius  and  Aristogeiton,  Symp. 
182  C. 

Harmonia  of  Thebes,  Phaedo  95  A. 
Harmony,  the  soul  compared  to  a, 
Phaedo  86  (cp.  91  foil.) :— nature 


Index. 


431 


of  harmony,  Symp.  187;  Phaedo 
92,  93  ;  Phil.  17,  25  E  ;  Laws  2. 
664  E  ;  akin  to  virtue,  Rep.  3. 401 
A  (cp.  7.  522  A)  ;  chiefly  intended 
for  the  improvement  of  the  soul, 
ib.  3.  410  ;  7.  531  ;  Tim.  47  (cp. 
Protag.  326  B) ;  science  of,  must 
be  acquired  by  the  rulers  in  the 
best  state,  Rep.  7.  531  (cp.  Music); 
— harmony  and  pleasure,  Phil. 
31 ;  —  harmony  of  words  and 
deeds,  Laches  188  C; — harmony 
of  the  soul,  effected  by  temper- 
ance. Rep.  4.  430,  442,  443  (cp. 
9.  591  D) ;  virtue  a  harmony  of 
the  soul.  Laws  2.  653  B  ;  harmony 
of  reason  and  pleasure,  ib.  3. 
689 ;— harmony  in  the  acquisition 
of  wealth,  Rep.  9.  591  E : — 
Harmonies,  the  various  kinds  of. 
Laches  188  D  ;  Rep.  3.  397-399  ; 
the  more  complex  to  be  rejected, 
Rep.  3.  397  foil. ;  the  Lydian 
harmony,  ib.  398  D  ;  the  Ionian, 
ib.  E  ;  the  Dorian  and  Phrygian 
alone  to  be  accepted,  ib.  399. 

Harp,  the  (Kiddpd),  allowed  in  the 
best  state.  Rep.  3.  399  : — harp- 
playing,  invented  for  the  sake  of 
pleasure,  Gorg.  502  A  : — harp- 
girls  (xl/'nXrpiui),  Protag.  347  C. 

Hatred,  between  the  despot  and  his 
subjects,  Rep.  8.  567  E  ;  9.  576  A 
(cp.  Laws  3.  697  E). 

'  Having  '  and  '  possessing,'  Theaet. 
197. 

Head,  Tim.  44  D,  74  A,  75, 76  ;  not 
to  be  covered.  Laws  12.  942  E. 

Headache,  charms  for,  Charm. 
155; — '  every  headache  ascribed 
to  philosophy,'  Rep.  3.  407  C. 

Health,  Tim.  82 ;  like  virtue,  the 
same  quality  in  ail,  Meno  72  D  ; 
health  and  justice  compared.  Rep. 
4.  444 ;  pleasures  of  health, 
ib.  9.  583  C  (cp.  Eryx.  393  C) ; 
secondary  to  virtue.  Rep.  9.  591 
D  ; — the  healthy  life,  Laws  5. 
733  E  foil. 

Hearing,  Tim.  47,  67  ;  Theaet.  156 


B,  182  D,  184, 185  ;  an  inaccurate 
witness,  Phaedo  65  A;  classed 
among  faculties.  Rep.  5.  477  E  ; 
composed  of  two  elements,  speech 
and  hearing,  and  not  requiring, 
like  sight,  a  third  intermediate 
nature,  ib.  6.  507  C  ;  illusions  of, 
Theaet.  1 57  E  ;  one  of  the  noblest 
of  the  senses,  Laws  12.  961  D. 

Heart,  Tim.  70  B. 

Heat,  Phaedo  103  C  ;  Tim.  62  A  ; 
Phil.  32  A ;  the  sense  of  (in  the 
Heraclitean  philosophy),  Theaet, 
156  B,  182  A. 

Heaven  above  the  heavens,  Phaedr. 
247 ;  the  starry  heaven  the  fairest 
of  visible  things,  Rep.  7.  529  D  ; 
the  motions  of  the  heaven  not 
eternal,  ib.  530  A  ;  one  only  be- 
gotten and  created  heaven,  Tim. 
31  A,  92  ;  the  heavens  partake 
of  a  bodily  nature,  Statesm. 
269  D. 

Heaviness,  Rep.  5.  479  B,  C ;  7.  524 

A ;  Tim.  63. 
Hecamede,  the  concubine  of  Nestor, 

Ion  538  C. 
[Hecate],   the  goddess  of  ways, 

Laws  II.  914  B. 
Hector,  meaning  of  the  name,  Crat. 

393  A,   394  B;    attacked  by 

Achilles,  Ion  535  B;  Symp.  180  A; 

Apol.  28  C  ;  dragged  by  Achilles 

round  the  tomb  of  Patroclus,  Rep. 

3.  391  B  ;  the  slayer  of  Patroclus, 

Laws  12.  944  A. 
Hecuba,  her  sorrows.  Ion  535  B. 
Heirs  and  heiresses,  laws  relating 

to,  Laws  5.  740;  II.  923-926. 
Helen    reviled    by  Stesichorus, 

Phaedr.  243  A  ;  never  went  to 

Troy,  Rep.  9.  586  C. 
Helios,  meaning  of  the  name,  Crat. 

409  ;  father  of  Phaethon,  Tim.  22 

C  ;  meeting  in  the  precincts  of. 

Laws  12.  945  E  ;  priests  of,  ib. 

947  A. 

Hellas,  not  to  be  devastated  in  civil 
war.  Rep.  5.  470  A  foil.,  471  A  :— 
invasion  of,  by  Atlantis,  Tim.  24  E 


432 


Index. 


foil. ;  administeredby  the  ancient 
Athenians,  Crit.  112;  during  the 
Trojan  War,  Laws  3.  682  D  ; 
conduct  of,  in  the  Persian  war,  ib. 
692  C,  D,  E,  698  E  :— youth  of, 
compared  to  Egypt,  Tim.  22  B, 
23  B :  —  Hellenes,  the,  protected 
against  the  barbarian  by  the  H  era- 
clid  confederacy,  Laws  3. 685  C  ; 
in  the  Persian  invasion,  ib.  692  D 
foil.  ;  Menex.  240  B  foil.,  241  A 
foil. ;  subsequent  wars  among,  ib. 
242  A  foil.,  243  B  foil.,  244  B 
foil.,  245  A  foil. : — at  first  only 
worshipped  the  sun,  moon,  and 
stars,  Crat.  397  D  ;  characterized 
by  the  love  of  knowledge,  Rep.  4. 
435  E  ;  did  not  originally  strip  in 
the  gymnasia,  ib.  5.  452  D  ;  not 
to  be  enslaved  by  Hellenes,  ib. 
469  B,  C  ;  united  by  ties  of  blood, 
ib.  470  C ;  not  to  devastate 
Hellas,  ib.  471  A  foil. ;  Hellenes 
and  barbarians  are  strangers,  ib. 
469  B  ;  6.  494  C  ;  Laws  i.  635  B 
(cp.  Lysis  210  B  ;  Theaet.  175  A  ; 
Statesm.  262  D  foil. ;  i  Alcib. 
105  D,  124  B ;  2  Alcib.  141 
C)  ;  the  Hellenes  have  no  know- 
ledge of  antiquity,  Tim.  22  A,  23 
B ;  swinishly  ignorant  of  arith- 
metic, Laws  7.  819  D  ;  have 
wrong  ideas  about  the  sun  and 
the  planets,  ib.  821,  822  ;  admire 
wealth,  ib.<).  870  A,  B ;  family  wor- 
ship among,  ib.  10.  887  E  ;  poor, 
compared  to  the  Persians,  i  Al- 
cib. 122. 

Hellenic  and  barbarian  names,  Crat. 

383  A,  385  E,  390  C,  409  E. 
Hellespont,  the.  Rep.   3.  404  C ; 

bridge  over.  Laws  3. 699  A  ;  naval 

engagements  at,  Menex.  243  A. 
Helots,  Laws  6.  766  C ;   i  Alcib. 

122  D. 

Hephaestus,  the  arts  of,  stolen  by 
Prometheus,  Protag.  321  D,  E ; 
his  combat  with  Xanthus,  Crat. 
391  E  ;  etymology  of  the  name, 
ib.  404  B,  407  C ;  supposed  to 


weld  a  pair  of  lovers  together, 
Symp.  192  C  ;  his  metallurgy  due 
to  love,  ib.  197  B  ;  thrown  by  Zeus 
from  heaven.  Rep.  2.  378  D ; 
improperly  delineated  by  Homer, 
ib.  3.  389  A ;  bound  Ares  and 
Aphrodite,  ib.  390  C  ;  the  God  of 
Attica,  Crit.  109  C  ;  arts  given  to 
men  by,  Statesm.  274  C  ;  fellow- 
worker  with  Athene,  ibid.  (cp. 
Protag.  321  D)  ;  god  of  mixing, 
Phil.  61  C  ;  craftsmen  dedicated 
to,  Laws  II.  920  E;  Socrates' 
descent  from,  i  Alcib.  121  A. 
Heraclea,  Zeuxippus  of,  Protag.  318 
B  ;  inhabitants  of,  have  enslaved 
the  Mariandynians,  Laws  6.  776 
D. 

Heraclea,  stone  of,  =  the  magnet. 
Ion  533  D  ;  Tim.  80  C. 

Heracleidae,  their  conquest  of  the 
Peloponnesus,  Laws  3.  684  C, 
685  E  ;  institutions  given  by 
them,  ib.  685  D  ;  5.  736  C  ;  ruin 
of  their  confederacy,  ib,  3.  686 
foil.  ;  ruling  at  Argos  and  Lace- 
daemon,  I  Alcib.  121  A;  their 
expedition  against  the  Argives, 
Menex.  239  B. 

Heracleides  of  Clazomenae,  chosen 
general  by  the  Athenians,  Ion 
541  D. 

Heracleitus,  his  thesis  that  '  all 
things  are  in  a  flux,'  Crat.  401  D, 
402  A,  B,  411,  440  (cp.  437  foil. ; 
Symp.  207  D ;  Theaet.  160  D,  177 
C,  179  D,  182,  183;  Phil.  43  A); 
his  reconciliation  of  opposites, 
Symp.  187  A  ;  the  'sun  of  He- 
racleitus,' Rep.  6.  498  A ;  his 
sect,  Theaet.  179  D  foil. :— He- 
raclitean  philosophy,  in  regard 
to  names,  Crat.  411  B  foil.,  416  B, 
437  A,  B,  440  A  foil. ;  applied  to 
sensation  and  perception,  Theaet. 
152  E,  156  A  foil.,  160  D,  181  D 
foil. 

Heracles,  connected  with  the  family 
of  Lysis,  Lysis  205  C  ;  could  not 
fight  against  the  Hydra,  Euthyd. 


Index. 


433 


297  C  ;  his  brother  and  nephew, 
ib.  D,  E  ;  '  Bravo  !  Heracles,'  ib. 
303  A ;  Prodicus  on  his  virtues, 
Symp.  177  B  ;  'not  a  match  for 
two,'  Phaedo  89  C  ;  '  Heracles 
and  Geryon,  Gorg.  484  B  ; 
genealogies  traced  to  Heracles, 
Theaet.  175  A  ;  sons  of.  Laws  3. 
685  D  ;  ancestor  of  the  kings  of 
Lacedaemon,  i  Alcib.  120  E  : — a 
Heracles  of  argument,  Theaet. 
169  B. 

Heracles,  columns  of,  Phaedo  109 
B  ;  Tim.  24  E,  25  B  ;  Crit.  108 
E,  114  B. 

Heralds,  Statesm.  260  D,  290  B  ; 
Laws  I.  626  A  ;  II.  928  D  ;  laws 
concerning,  Laws  12.  941. 

Herds  divided,  Statesm.  264,  265  ; 
art  of  managing  herds,  ib.  261 
foil.,  275  D  foil. 

Her&,  meaning  of  the  name  (eparij 
Tij),  Crat.  404  B,  C  ;  followers  of, 
seek  a  royal  love,  Phaedr.  253  B  ; 
bound  by  Hephaestus,  Rep.  2. 
378  D  (cp.  Euthyph.  8  B)  ;  Herfe 
and  Zeus,  Rep.  2.  378  D;  3. 
390  B  ;  begged  alms  for  the 
daughters  of  Inachus,  ib.  2.  381 
D ;  daughter  of  Cronos  and 
Rhea,  Tim.  41  A ;  said  to  have 
deprived  Dionysus  of  his  wits. 
Laws  2.  672  B ;  fines  on  celi- 
bacy, &c.  to  be  paid  to,  ib.  6. 
774  A  foil. 

Hereditary  tendencies ;  sons  of 
good  men  not  good.  Laches  179, 
180;  Protag.  320,  324,  325; 
Meno  93  (cp.  Laws  3.  694  D  ;  I 
Alcib.  118  E) ;  reason  of  this, 
Protag.  327  :  —  hereditary  ten- 
dency to  crime.  Laws  9.  856 
D.  Cp.  Good  men.  Great 
men. 

Hermaea,  Lysis  206  D,  E,  223. 

Hermes,  messenger  of  Zeus,  Protag, 
322  C  ;  meaning  of  the  name, 
Crat.  408  A,  429  C  ;  father  of 
Pan,  Crat.  408  B  ;  Phaedr.  263  E  ; 
the  star  sacred   to,  (Mercury), 

VOL.  V.  F 


Rep.  10.  617  A;  Tim.  38  D  ; 
the  god  of  heralds.  Laws  12. 
941  A. 

Hermocrates,    Tim.    20    B  ;  his 

promised  speech,  Crit.  xo8  A. 
Hermogenes,  son  of  Hipponicus,  a 
person  in  the  dialogue  Cratyltis, 
Crat.  383  foil. ;  meaning  of  his 
name,    ib.  B,   384   C,  408  B, 
429  C  ;  with  Socrates  at  the  last, 
Phaedo  59  B. 
Hermus,  Rep.  8.  566  C. 
Hero,  derivation  of  the  word,  Crat. 
398 ;— heroes  ought  not  to  lament. 
Rep.  3.  387,  388;  10.  603-606; 
to    be  rewarded,    ib.   5.    468 ; 
to  receive  divine  honours  after 
death,  ibid.  (cp.  Laws  12.  947 
E) ;  —  heroes     associated,  in 
worship,  with  gods  and  demi- 
gods. Rep.  4.  427  B ;  Laws  4. 
717  A;  5.  727  A,  738  D;  7.  801 
E  ;  9.  853  C  ;  10.  910  A. 
Heroic  rhythm.  Rep.  3.  400  C ; 

heroic  verses.  Laws  12.  958  E. 
Herodicus,  brother  of  Gorgias,  a 

physician,  Gorg.  448  B,  456  A. 
Herodicus  of  Selymbria,  a  first-rate 
sophist,  Protag.  316  E;  recom- 
mends the  walk  to  Megara  and 
back,  Phaedr.  227  D ;  the  in- 
ventor of  valetudinarianism.  Rep. 
3.  406  A  foil. 
Hesiod,  a  sophist,  Protag.  316  D  ; 
his  works  recited  by  rhapsodes, 
Ion  531  A,  B  ;  Laws  2.  658  D  ; 
pleasure  of  conversing  with,  in 
the  world  below,  Apol.  41  A  ;  his 
genealogy  of  the  Gods,  Ion  531 
C  ;  Crat.  396  C  ;  Tim.  40  E  ;  his 
use  of  the  word  'demons,'  Crat. 
397  E  ;  his  childi'en  (poems), 
Symp.  209  D  ;  his  rewards  of 
justice.  Rep.  2. 363  B  ;  10.  612  A; 
his  stories  improper  for  youth,  ib. 
2.  377  D,  E,  378  A  (cp.  Euthyph. 
6  A  ;  Symp.  195  C)  ;  his  classifi- 
cation of  the  races.  Rep.  8.  547  A  ; 
a  wandering  rhapsode,  ib.  10.  600 
D  ;  his  fame,  Tim.  21  C  ;  Hesiod 

f 


434 


Index. 


and  Epimenides,  Laws  3.  677  E. 
Quoted  : — 
Theogony. 

1.  116,  foil.,  Symp.  178  B. 

1.  154,  459,  Rep.  2.  377  E. 

1.  195,  Crat.  406  C. 

1.  203,  ib.  398  A. 

1.  780,  Theaet.  155  D. 
Works  and  Days. 

I.  25,  Lysis  215  C. 

1.  40,  Rep.  5.  466  B  ;  Laws  3. 
690  E. 

1.  41,  Laws  3.  677  E. 

1.  109,  Rep.  8.  546  E. 

1.  120  foil.,  Crat.  398  A  ;  Rep. 
5.  468  E. 

1.  233,  Rep.  2.  363  B, 

].  256  foil..  Laws  12.  943  E. 

1.  264,  Protag.  340  C  ;  Rep.  2. 
364  D  ;  Laws  4.  71 8  E. 

1.  305  foil..  Laws  10.  901  A. 

1.  309,  Charm.  163  B. 

J-  359,  Crat.  428  A. 

1.  454,  Theaet.  207  A. 
Frag.  117,  Rep.  3.  390  E  ;  incert. 
Crat.  402  B. 
Hestia,  meaning  of  the  name,  Crat. 
401  D  ;  remains  at  home  while 
the  other  gods  go  in  procession, 
Phaedr.  247  A ; — a  temple  dedi- 
cated to,  [in  the  Model  City], 
Laws  5. 745  B  ;  to  have  temples 
everywhere,  ib.  8.  84S  D ;  evi- 
dence in  trials  with  the  seals  of 
the  judges  to  be  placed  on  her 
altar,  ib.  9.  S56  A. 
Hiccough,  cure  for  the,  Symp.  185 

D, 189  A. 
Hieronymus,  father  of  Hippothales, 

Lysis  203  A,  204  B. 
Himera,  Crison  of,  Protag.  336  A; 

— Stesichorus  of,  Phaedr.  244  A. 
Hippias  of  Elis,  Protag.  314  C,  315 
C  ;  Phaedr.  267  B  ;  urges  So- 
crates and  Protagoras  to  con- 
tinue the  discussion,  Protag. 
337  D  ;  offers  an  interpretation 
of  Simonides,  ib.  347  A  ;  goes 
the  round  of  the  cities,  Apol.  19  E 
(cp.  Protag.  314  C,  315  C,  337  D 


foil.) ;  at  Olympia,  willing  to 
answer  all,  Hipp.  Min.  363  E  foil, 
(cp.  Protag.  315  Cj ;  his  view  of 
the  Trojan  heroes,  Hipp.  Min. 
364  C  foil. ;  a  skilful  calculator, 
ib.  366  C  foil. ;  his  boasting,  ib. 
368  B  foil.  (cp.  Protag.  337  D) ; 
his  art  of  memory,  Hipp.  Min. 
368  E,  369  A.  A  person  in  the 
dialogues  Protagoras  and  Hip- 
pias A/ifior. 

Hippocentaurs,  Phaedr.  229  D. 

Hippocrates  the  Physician,  Protag. 
3 1 1  B  ;  contends  that  the  know- 
ledge of  a  part  requires  knowledge 
of  the  whole,  Phaedr.  270  C  (cp. 
Charm.  1 56  E).    See  Asclepius. 

Hippocrates,  son  of  ApoUodorus,  his 
visit  to  Socrates,  Protag.  310  A; 
his  impetuous  temper,  ib.  C ; 
goes  with  Soci'ates  to  Protagoras, 
'ib.  314  D. 

Hippodamia,  Crat.  395  U. 

Hippolytus,  cursed  by  his  father 
Theseus,  Laws  3.  687  E  ;  il.  931 
B. 

Hipponicus,    father    of  Callias, 

Protag.  311  A,  314  E,  315  D  ; 

Apol.  20  A  ;   of  Hermogenes, 

Crat.  384  A. 
Hippothales,  lover  of  Lysis,  Lysis. 

203  A,  207  B  ;  is  '  stark-mad,'  ib. 

205  A  foil. ;  does  not  want  to  be 

seen  by  Lysis,  ib.  207  A,  210  E. 
Hire,  laws  concerning,  Laws  8.  847: 

— Hirelings  required  in  the  state. 

Rep.  2.  370  (cp.  Laws  5.  742  A). 
History,  early  Greek,  Laws  3.  682, 

683  ;  of  Athens  sketched,  Menex. 

239  foil. 

Holiness  (oo-toTT/y),  one  of  the  five 
virtues,  Protag.  329  C,  359  A ; 
nature  of,  Euthyph.  10.  foil. ; — 
accepted  of  God,  Laws  4.  716  ; — 
holiness  and  justice,  Protag.  330, 
331  ;  Euthyph.  12.   See  Piety. 

Holiness.  {^Holiness  is  efiumerated 
as  one  of  the  virtues  only  in  the 
Protagoras  and  Euthyphro. — In 
the  Protagoras  it  is  cursorily  men- 


Index. 


435 


Honed  in  the  discission  upon  the 
unity  of  virtue  (v.  s.  v.  Virtue), 
and  is  there  said  to  have  an 
especial  affinity  to  justice.- — Jji  the 
Euthyphro  the  tiature  of  holiness 
is  the  prijicipal  theme.  Socrates, 
who  is  just  going  to  stand  his 
trial  on  a  charge  of  impiety, 
meets  the  soothsayer  Euthyphro 
and  takes  the  opportunity  of 
having  a  lesson  upon  holiness 
from  him.  Etithyphro  first  sug- 
gests that  holiness  is  doing  as  he 
is  doing,prosecuting  his father for 
homicide.  But  this  is  clearly  an 
example,  not  a  definition,  of  piety. 
A7tother  endeavour  is  made : — 
^  Piety  is  that  which  is  dear  to 
the  Gods,  and  impiety  that  which 
is  hateful  to  them'  The  Gods, 
however,  may  difier,  like  men, 
about  what  is  just  or  tmjust,  and 
the  action  which  pleases  one  God 
tnay  displease  another.  And  if, 
by  way  of  correction,  we  affirm 
that  what  all  the  Gods  love  is 
pious,  and  what  they  all  hate  is 
impious,  still  this  only  gives  us 
an  attribute  of  the  Gods  j  it  does 
not  show  the  real  nature  of  piety. 
Again  Euthyphro  attempts  a 
definition  : — '  Piety  is  that  part 
of  justice  which  gives  to  the 
Gods  their  due.'  But  piety  thus 
becomes  tnerely  a  way  of  doing 
business  with  the  Gods.  They 
give  us  various  good  things,  and 
receive  in  retu7'n  gratittcde  from 
us.  Once  more  then,  piety  is,  not 
what  is  beneficial,  but  what  is 
dear  or  grateful  to  the  Gods.  The 
argianent  has  gone  round  i7t  a 
circle :  but  Euthyphro  is  in  a 
hurry  and  cannot  stay  to  explain 
his  meaning. —  The  subject  is  not 
elsewhere  resumed  by  Plato,  7ior 
is  holi7iess  reckoned  a7nong  the 
virtues  in  his  later  dialogues. 
Probably,  if  we  7nay  judge  fro77t 
the  indications  which  he  has  sup- 

F  f 


plied  in  the  Protagoras  and  the 
Euthyphro,  he  regarded  holiness 
as  a  part  of  justice,  and  thought, 
therefore,  that  it  did  not  require 
further  discussio7i  apart  fro7)i  the 
virtue  tender  which  it  was  in- 
cluded-l 

Holiness  of  marriage,  Rep.  5.  458 
E  foil. ;  Laws  6.  775.  Cp.  Mar- 
riage. 

Homer,  a  sophist,  Protag.  316  D  ; 
the  best  and  most  divine  of  poets, 
Ion  530  B,  531  ;  2  Alcib.  147 
C  ;  the  principal  study  of  the 
rhapsodes,  Ion  531  A ;  subjects  of 
his  poetry,  ib.  C  ;  Hke  a  magnetic 
ring,  ib.  536  A,  B  ;  his  knowledge 
of  the  arts,  ib.  537  A  foil.  (cp. 
Rep.  10.  598  E) ;  quoted  on 
names,  Crat.  391  D  foil. ;  had 
not  the  wit  to  discover  why  he 
was  blind,  Phaedr.  243  A  ;  his 
children  (poems),  Symp.  209  D  ; 
supports  the  theory  that  justice 
is  a  thief,  Rep.  i.  334  B;  his 
rewards  of  justice,  ib.  2.  363 
B ;  10.  612  A  ;  his  stories  not 
approved  for  youth,  ib.  2.  377  D 
foil.  (cp.  10.  595)  ;  his  mode  of 
narration,  ib.  3.  393  A  foil. ;  feeds 
his  heroes  on  campaigners'  fare, 
ib.  404  C  ;  Socrates'  feeling  of 
reverence  for  him,  ib.  10.  595  C 
(cp.  3.  391  A)  ;  the  captain  and 
teacher  of  the  tragic  poets,  ib.  10. 
S95  B,  598  D,  E  (cp.  Theaet.  152 
E);  not  a  legislator,  Rep.  10. 
599  E  ;  or  a  general,  ib.  600  A  ; 
or  inventor,  ibid.  ;  or  teacher, 
ibid. ;  no  educator,  ib.  600,  606 
E,  607  B  ;  not  much  esteemed  in 
his  lifetime,  ib.  600  B  foil. ;  went 
about  as  a  rhapsode,  ibid.  ;  his 
"golden  chain,"  Theaet.  153  C  ;  a 
supporter  of  the  notion  that  all  is 
flux,  ib.  160  D,  179  E  ;  his  poems 
pleasing  to  age,  Laws  2.  658  E  ; 
not  much  read  by  the  Cretans,  ib. 
3.  680  B  ;  appears  to  describe  an 
Ionian  mode  of  life,  ib.  C  ;  '  the 


436 


Index. 


wisest  of  our  poets,'  ib.  6.  777  A 
(cp.  Theat.  194  E).  Passages 
quoted  or  referred  to : — 
Iliad  i. 

1.  1 1  foil.,  Rep.  3.  392  E  foil. 

1.  131,  ib.  6.  501  B. 

1.  169  foil.,  Hipp.  Min.  370  D. 

1.  225,  Rep.  3.  389  E. 

1-  343>  Crat.  428  D. 

1.  590  foil.,  Rep.  2.  378  D. 

1.  599  foil,  ib.  3.  389  A. 
Iliad  ii. 

1.  361,  Phaedr.  260  A. 

1.  408,  Symp.  174  C. 

1.  547,  I  Alcib.  132  A. 

1.  623,  Rep.  6.  501  C. 

1.  813,  Crat.  392  A. 

1.  851,  Theaet.  194  D. 
Iliad  iii. 

1.  8,  Rep.  3.  389  E. 

1.  109,  Crat.  428  D. 

I.  172,  Theaet.  183  E. 
Iliad  iv. 

1.  50  foil.,  Rep.  2.  379  E. 

1.  218,  ib.  3.  408  A. 

1.  412,  ib.  389  E. 

1.  431,  ibid. 

1.  453,  Phil.  62  D. 
Iliad  V. 

I.  127,  2  Alcib.  150  D. 

1.  221,  Crat.  407  D. 

1.  223,  Laches  191  A. 

1.  84s,  Rep.  10.  612  B. 
Iliad  vi. 

1.  211,  Soph.  268  D. 

1.  265,  Crat.  415  A. 

1.  402,  ib.  392  B. 

1.  403,  ibid.  E. 
Iliad  vii. 

I.  321,  Rep.  5.  468  D. 
Iliad  viii. 

1.  13,  Phaedo  112  A. 

1.  19,  Theaet.  153  D, 

1.  108,  Laches  191  A. 

1.  162,  Rep.  5.  468  E. 

1.  281,  Phaedr.  264  A. 

1.  548,  2  Alcib.  149  D. 
Iliad  ix. 

'  Prayers,'  Crat.  428  B  ;  Hipp. 
Min.  364  E. 


1.  308  foil,  Hipp.  Min.  365  A, 

370  A. 
1.  357  foil.,  ib.  370  B. 
1.  363,  Crito  44  B. 
I.  441,  Gorg.  485  D. 
I.  447,  Laws  II.  931  B. 
1.  493  foil..  Rep.  2.  364  D. 
1.  500,  Laws  10.  906  D. 
1.  513  foil..  Rep.  3.  390  E. 
I.  644  foil.,  Crat.  428  B. 
I.  650  foil.,  Hipp.  Min.  371  B. 
Iliad  X. 

1.  224,  Protag.  348  C  ;  Symp. 

174  D  ;  2  Alcib.  140  A. 
I.  482,  Symp.  179  A. 
Iliad  xi. 
1.  514,  ib.  214  B. 
1.  576,  Rep.  3.  405  E. 
1.  624,  ibid. 

1.  638,  630,  Ion  538  C. 

1.  844,  Rep.  3.  406  A. 
Iliad  xii. 

'  Battle  at  the  Wall,'  Ion  539  A. 

1.  200  foil.,  ibid. 

1.  311,  Rep.  5.  468  E. 
Iliad  xiv. 

I.  96,  Laws  4.  706  E. 

1.  201,  Theaet.  152  E  (cp.  Crat. 
402  B). 

1.  291,  Crat.  392  A. 

I.  294  foil.,  Rep.  3. 390  C. 

1.  302,  Theaet.  152  E  (cp.  Crat. 
402  B). 
Iliad  XV. 

1.  187  foil.,  Gorg.  523  A. 

1.  262,  Symp.  179  A. 
Iliad  xvi. 

1.  433,  Rep.  3.  38S  C. 

1.  554,  Theaet.  194  D. 

1.  776,  Rep.  8.  566  D. 

1.  856  foil.,  ib.  3.  386  E. 
Iliad  xviii. 

1.  23  foil.,  ib.  388  A. 

1.  54,  ibid.  B. 

I.  84  foil.  Laws  12.  944  A. 
1.  96  foil.,  Apol.  28  C. 
I.  108  foU.,  Phil.  47  E. 
Iliad  xix. 
1.  92  foil.,  Symp.  195  D. 
1.  278  foil.,  Rep.  3.  390  D. 


Index. 


437 


Iliad  XX. 

1.  4  foil.,  ib.  2.  379  E. 

1.  64  foil.,  ib.  3.  386  C. 

1.  74  foil.,  Crat.  391  E. 

1.  216  foil.,  Laws  3.  681  E. 
Iliad  xxi. 

1.  222  foil.,  Rep.  3.  391  B. 

I.  308,  Protag.  340  A. 
Iliad  xxii. 

II.  15,  20,  Rep.  3.  391  A. 
1.  168  foil.,  ib.  388  C. 

I.  362  foil.,  ib.  386  E. 

1.  414,  ib.  388  B. 

1.  507,  Crat.  392  E. 
Iliad  xxiii. 

1.  100  foil.,  Rep.  3.  387  A. 

1.  103  foil.,  ib.  386  D. 

I.  151,  ib.  391  B. 

1.  175,  ibid. 

1.  335,  Ion  537  A. 
Iliad  -xxiv. 

1.  10  foil.,  Rep.  3.  388  A. 

1.  80  foil.,  Ion  538  D. 

1.  348,  Protag.  309  A. 

1.  527,  Rep.  2.  379  D. 
Odyssey  i. 

1.  32,  2  Alcib.  142  E. 

1.  351  foU.,  Rep.  4.  424  B. 
Odyssey  iii. 

1.  26  foil..  Laws  7.  803  E. 
Odyssey  iv. 

1.  252,  Symp.  220  C. 
Odyssey  v. 

1.  193,  Phaedr.  266  B. 
Odyssey  viii. 

1.  22,  Theaet.  183  E, 

1.  266  foil..  Rep.  3.  390  D. 
Odyssey  ix. 

1.  9  foil.,  ib.  B. 

1.  91  foil.,  ib.  8.  560  C. 

1.  112  foil..  Laws  3.  680  B. 
Odyssey  x. 

1.  279,  Protag.  309  A. 

1.  495,  Rep.  3.  386  E. 
Odyssey  xi. 

1.  489   foil.,  ib.   C ;    7.  516 
D. 

1.  569,  Gorg.  526  D. 
1.  576  foil.,  ib.  525  E. 
1.  582,  Protag.  315  D. 


1.  601,  ib.  B. 

1.  633  foil.,  Symp.  198  C. 
Odyssey  xii. 

1.  342,  Rep.  3.  390  B. 
Odyssey  xiv. 

1.  234,  Theaet.  183  E. 
Odyssey  xvi. 

1.  121,  ib.  170  E. 
Odyssey  xvii. 

1.  218,  Lysis  214  A. 

1.  322,  Laws  6.  777  A. 

1.  347,  Charm.  161  A  ;  Laches 
201  B. 

1.  383  foil..  Rep.  3.  389  D. 

1.  485  foil.,  ib.  2.  381  D, 
Odyssey  xix. 

1.  43,  Laws  10.  904  E",. 

1.  109  foil..  Rep.  2.  363  B. 

1.  163,  Apol.  34  D. 

1.  174  foil,  Laws  I.  624  B. 

1.  395,  Rep.  I.  334  B. 

1.  563,  Charm.  173  B. 
Odyssey  xx. 

1. 17,  Phaedo  94  E  ;  Rep.  3. 390 
D  ;  4.  441  B. 

1.  351  foil..  Ion  539  A. 
Odyssey  xxiv. 

1.  6,  Rep.  3.  387  A. 

1.  40,  ib.  8.  566  D. 
Homer,  allusions  to  :— Euthyd.  288 
B  ;  Phaedr.  275  C  ;  Ion  535  B  ; 
Symp.  179  A,  180  A,  216  A,  219 
A  ;  Phaedo  95  B  ;  Gorg.  516  C  ; 
Rep.  I.  328  E  ;  2.  381  D  ;  3.  390 
E  ;  8.  544  E ;  Theaet.  194  C ; 
Soph.  216  B  ;  I  Alcib.  132  A;  2 
Alcib.  140  A. 
Homeric      Apocrypha  quoted, 

Phaedr.  252  B. 
Homeridae,  Ion  530  E  ;  Rep.  10. 
599  E. 

Homicide,  the,  exiled,  Laws  9.  864 
D,  E  ;  return  of,  ib.  867  D  foil.  ; 
the  disobedient,  ib.  868  ;  the  slave 
who  has  committed  homicide  not 
to  be  sold  unless  his  crime  is 
known  to  the  purchaser,  ib.  II. 
916  C : — involuntary  homicide,  ib. 
9. 865-869 ;  homicide  in  contests, 
ib.  8.  831  A ;  9.  865  A  ;  of  a  slave, 


43« 


Index. 


ib.  9.  865  ;  of  a  freeman,  ibid.  ;  of  a 
stranger,  ib.  866;  of  a  metic, 
ibid. ;  by  a  stranger,  ibid. ;  man- 
slaughter, z<5. 866  E  foil. ;  with  pre- 
meditation, ib.  867;  by  a  slave, 
ib.  868  ;  by  a  father  or  mother, 
ibid. ;  by  a  husband  or  wife,  ibid. ; 
by  a  brother  or  sister,  ibid. ;  by 
a  child,  ib.  869 ;  by  brothers, 
citizens,  strangers,  slaves,  ibid. ; 
voluntary,  ib.  870-874  ;  causes 
of,  ib.  870 ;  homicide  of  a  kins- 
man, ib.  871  ;  punishment  of 
homicide,  ibid. ;  indirect  homi- 
cide, ib.  872  ;  homicide  of  slaves, 
ibid. ;  of  father,  mother,  «fec.,  ib. 
873  ;  by  beasts,  ibid. ;  by  in- 
animate objects,  ib.  873  E ;  by 
persons  unknown,  ib.  874  A ; 
justifiable  homicide,  ib.  C. 

Honest  man,  the,  a  match  for  the 
rogue.  Rep.  3.  409  C  (cp.  10. 
613  C). 

Honey,  Tim.  60  B. 

Honour,  where  to  be  given.  Laws 
3.  696  A,  E  ;  4.  707  A,  715  ;  5. 
730,  743  E  ;  6.  7S7;  11.  921  E; 
must  be  rightly  distributed,  ib.  5. 
738  E;— to  be  given  to  the  dif- 
ferent classes  of  Gods,  ib.  4.  717 
A; — paid  to  the  aged,  ib.  721 
D  ;  of  parents,  ib.  1 1.  930  E  foil. ; 
— due  to  the  soul,  ib.  5.  727,  728  ; 
to  the  body,  ib.  728,  729 ; — 
honour  and  justice,  ib.  9.  859  ; — 
pleasure  enjoyed  by  the  lover  of 
honour.  Rep.  9.  581  C,  586  E  :— 
the  honourable  said  to  be  a  mat- 
ter of  convention.  Laws  10.  889  E 
(cp.  12.  957  B) ;  different  ideas 
of  the  honourable  and  the  dis- 
honourable, Erj'x.  400  C  ; — the 
honourable  and  the  good,  Gorg. 
474;  Laws  12.  966  A;  1  Alcib. 
116;  the  honourable  and  the 
just.  Laws  9.  859,  860. 

Hope,  the  comfort  of  the  righteous 
in  old  age,  Rep.  i.  331  ;  their 
consolation  in  the  hour  of  mis- 
fortune. Laws  5.  732  C  ;=the  ex- 


pectation of  pleasure,  ib.  i.  644 
D  ;— pleasures  of  hope,  Phil.  39. 

Horse  contests.  Laws  6.  765  D  ;  8. 
834  ;  horse  racing  in  the  isle  of 
Atlantis,  Crit.  1 17  C :— Horses  of 
the  soul,  Phaedr.  246,  253,  254 ; 
— horses  in  Thessaly,  Laws  i. 
625  D  ;  not  much  used  in  Crete, 
ib.  8.  834  B. 

Horsemanship,  art  of.  Laches  193 
B  ;  Apol.  27  C  ;  Euthyph.  13 ; 
Eryx.  396  A  ;  403  C  ;  suitable  to 
women,  Laws  7.  804  C  foil.,  813 
D,  E  ;  8.  834  E.    Sec  Riding. 

Hospices,  Laws  il.  919  A.  Cp. 
Inns. 

Hospitality,  enjoined  by  Heaven, 

Laws  4.  718  A;  in  the  Model 

City,      12.  952  E  foil. 
Hours   (ojpnt),   derivation  of  the 

name,  Crat.  410  C. 
'  House  of  Correction,'   Laws  10. 

908; — 'House  of  Retribution,' 

ibid. 

Household  and  state  compared, 
Statesm.  259 ;  the  household  must 
all  rise  early.  Laws  7.  808  A  ;  the 
childless  household,  ib.  9.  877  C  ; 
II.  924,  925: — household  cares. 
Rep.  5.  465  C  (cp.  Euthyd.  306  E). 

Houses,  division  of  the  men's  and 
women's  apartments  in,  Tim.  70 
A  (cp.  Symp.  176  E)  ; — arrange- 
ment of  Greek  houses,  Protag. 
314,  315  ;  Symp.  174,  175  ;— sa- 
crifices in  houses.  Rep.  i.  328  B, 
331  D  (cp.  Laws  10.  909  D  foil.) : 
— [in  the  Model  City],  two  houses 
for  each  citizen,  Laws  5.  745  ;  the 
houses  in  the  country,  ib.  8.  848. 

Human  affairs,  not  wholly  governed 
by  accident.  Laws  4.  709  A : — 
body,  growth  of,  ib.  7.  788  D  (cp. 
Body) : — character,  differences  in. 
Rep.  6.  503 ;  Theaet.  144  A ; 
Statesm.  307: — grandeur,  de- 
spised by  the  philosopher,  Theaet. 
174  E: — interests,  unimportance 
of.  Rep.  10.  604  B  (cp.  6.  486  A) ; 
Theaet.  173  E  ;  Laws  i.  644  E  ; 


Index.  .  439 


7.  803  :— life,  full  of  evils,  Rep.  2. 
379  C ;  shortness  of,  ib.  10.  608 
D  (cp.  Phaedo  107  C)  ;  not 
much  to  be  valued,  Statesm.  299 
E  ;  a  scene  of  mingled  pleasure 
and  pain,  Phil.  50  A;  requires 
the  empirical  arts  (music,  &c.), 
ib.  62  (cp.  Life) :  —  nature,  in- 
capable of  doing  many  things 
well,  Rep.  3.  395  B  ;  rebellious, 
Laws  8.  839  D  ;  its  weakness,  ib. 
9.  854  A,  875  B  : — race,  has 
always  existed,  ib.  6.  781  E  : — 
sacrifices.  Rep.  8.  565  D  ;  Laws 
6.  782  C. 

Hunger,  Rep.  4.  437  E,  439  ;  Phil. 
31  E,  34  D ;  an  inanition  (Kfvaxris) 
of  the  body.  Rep.  9.  585  A. 

Hunting,  one  of  the  acquisitive  arts, 
Soph.  219  (cp.  Rep.  2.  373  B) ; 
divisions  of.  Soph.  220  foil.  (cp. 
Euthyd.  290 ;  Laws  7.  823  A)  ; 
considered  by  the  Lacedaemo- 
nians a  training  for  war,  Laws  i. 
633  B  (cp.  Protag.  322  B  ;  Soph. 
2190,222);  valuable  to  the  young. 
Laws  6.  763  B  ;  law  respecting, 
ib.  7.  823. 

Hurts,  voluntary  and  involuntary. 
Laws  9.  861  E  foil.;  hurts  and  in- 
justice, ib.  862. 

Husbandmen,  needed  in  the  state. 
Rep.  2.  369  C  foil. ;  formed  a 
separate  caste  in  ancient  Attica, 
Grit.  110  C,  III  E  ;  laws  con- 
cerning, Laws  8.  842  D  foil. ; 
to  be  slaves,  ib.  7.  806  E. 

Husbandry,  origin  of.  Laws  3.  681 
A  ;  an  empirical  art,  Phil.  56  A  : 
— husbandry  of  the  soul,  Phaedr. 
276  (cp.  Theaet.  167  B).  See 
Agriculture. 

Hydra,  Heracles  and  the,  Euthyd. 
297  C. 

Hymn  to  Apollo,  composed  by 
Socrates,  Phaedo  60  D  ; — the 
national  hymn  (to  naTpLou  ixfXof), 
Laws  12.  947  C  : — Hymns  to  the 
Gods,  may  be  allowed  in  the 
state,  Rep.  10.  607  A  (cp.  Laws  3. 


700  A ;  7.  801  E) ;  to  follow  a 
fixed  type.  Laws  7.  799,  801  ; — 
marriage-hymns.  Rep.  5.  459;  — 
funeral-hymns,  Laws  7.  800  E ; 
12.  947  B. 
Hyperborean,  Abaris  the.  Charm. 
158  B. 

Hypothesis,  use  of,  Meno  86,  87 ; 
Phaedo  100;  in  mathematics  and 
in  the  intellectual  world,  Rep.  6. 
510;  in  method,  Parm.  136;  in 
the  sciences,  Rep.  7.  533; — hy- 
potheses of  the  one,  Parm.  137 
foil.  (cp.  One): — hypothetical  case 
at  law,  Phaedr.  273. 

I. 

Iambic  measure.  Rep.  3.  400  C  ; — 
Iambic  poets.  Laws  1 1.  935  E. 

lapetus,  Symp.  195  B. 

latrocles,  name  of  a  physician,  Crat. 
394  C. 

Iberians,  given  to  intoxication.  Laws 
I.  637  D. 

Ibis,  the  bird  sacred  to  Theuth, 
Phaedr.  274  C. 

Ibycus ;  '  like  Ibycus  I  was  trou- 
bled,' Phaedr.  242  C  ;  fell  in  love 
in  his  old  age,  Parm.  136  E. 

Iccus  of  Tarentum,  a  gymnastic 
master  and  sophist,  Protag.  316 
D ;  his  self-restraint,  Laws  8. 
839  E. 

Ice,  Tim.  59  E. 

Ida,  altar  of  the  gods  on.  Rep.  3. 
391  E  ;  dwellers  at  the  foot  of, 
Laws  3.  681  E. 

Idea,  the,  prior  to  the  reality, 
Phaedo  75  : — idea  of  beauty, 
Euthyd.  301  A  : — idea  of  good 
the  source  of  truth.  Rep.  6.  508 
(cp.  505)  ;  a  cause  like  the  sun, 
ib.  6.  508  ;  7.  516,  517;  must  be 
apprehended  by  the  lover  of 
knowledge,  ib.  7.  534  (cp.  Phil. 
65  foil.  ;  Laws  12.  965)  :— doc- 
trine of  ideas.  Lysis  217  foil.  ; 
innate  ideas,  Euthyd.  296 ;  re- 
collection of  ideas,  Meno  81,  86  ; 
Phaedo   75  ;  Phaedr.  249  (cp. 


440 


Index. 


Recollection) ;  ideas  and  names, 
Crat.  389 ;  existence  of  ideas,  ib. 
439  ;  knowledge  connected  with 
ideas,/(^.  440 ;  loveliness  of,Phaedr. 
250;  the  cause  of  love,  ib.  251  ; 
progress  toward,  Symp.  211 ;  ab- 
solute ideas.  Phaedo  65,  74 ; 
Rep.  5.  476 ;  Farm.  133  ;  asso- 
ciation of  ideas,  Phaedo  73  D, 
76  A ;  knowledge  of,  must  pre- 
cede particular  knowledge,  ib.  75  ; 
ideas  and  immortality,  ib.  76 ; 
the  ideas  unchangeable,  ib.  78  ; 
a  kind  of  stepping  stones,  ib. 
100  ;  are  causes,  ibid. ;  names  of 
ideas,  ib.  103  ;  ideas  and  pheno- 
mena, Rep.  5.  476  ;  6.  507  ;  ideas 
and  hypotheses,  ib.  6.  5 10  ;  origin 
of  abstract  ideas,  ib.  7.  523  ;  na- 
ture of  ideas,  ib.  10.  596  ;  single- 
ness of,  ib.  597  (cp.  Tim.  28,  51); 
ideas  in  the  creation  of  the 
world,  Tim.  30  foil.  (cp.  37)  ; 
idea*  of  likeness  and  unlikeness, 
Farm.  1 29 ;  ideas  distinguished 
from  the  things  which  partake  of 
them,  ibid.  ;  ideas  and  moral 
qualities,  ib.  130;  one  and  many 
\xi,ib.  131 ;  participation  of  things 
in,  ib.  131-133,  135  ;  infinite,  ib. 
lyi ;  exist  in  the  mind,  ibid.  ; 
are  patterns,  ibid. ;  necessary  to 
philosophy,  ib.  135;  =  common 
notions,  Soph.  240  ;  ideas  and 
being,  ib.  246  ;  general  ideas,  ib. 
254 ;  require  examples,  Statesm. 
277  ;  difficulties  in  the  way  of 
ideas,  Fhil.  15  foil. ;  ideas  in  indi- 
viduals, ib.  16 ;  knowledge  and 
ideas.  Laws  12.  965. 
Idea.  \The  Idea  of  Good  is  an 
abstraction.,  which,  u?ider  that 
name  at  least,  does  not  occur  in 
any  other  of  Plato^s  writings 
except  the  Republic.  But  it  is 
probably  not  essentially  diffe?-ent 
from  another  abstraction,  '  the 
true  being  of  things^  which  is 
mentioned  in  many  of  his 
dialogues.  He  has  nowhere  givett 


an  explanation  of  his  meaning, 
not  because  he  was  Regardless 
whether  we  understood  him  or 
not,'  but  rather,  perhaps,  because 
he  was  himself  unable  to  state  in 
precise  tei-ms  the  ideal  which 
floated  before  his  mind.  He 
belonged  to  an  age  in  which  men 
felt  too  stro7igly  the  first  pleasure 
of  metaphysical  speculation  to  be 
able  to  estimate  the  true  value  of 
the  ideas  which  they  conceived 
{cp.  his  own  picture  of  the  effect  of 
dialectic  on  the  youthful  iritellect. 
Rep.  7.  539).  To  him,  as  to  the 
Schoolmen  of  the  Middle  Ages, 
an  abstraction  seemed  truer  than 
a  fact :  he  was  impatient  to  shake 
off  the  shackles  of  sense  and  rise 
i?ito  the  purer  atmosphere  of 
ideas.  Yet  in  the  allegory  of  the 
cave  (Republic  vii),  whose  i7i- 
habitants  must  go  up  to  the  light 
of  perfect  knowledge,  but  descend 
again  into  the  obscurity  of 
opinion,  he  has  shown  that  he 
was  not  utiaware  of  the  necessity 
of  finding  a  firm  starling-point 
for  these  fiights  of  metaP)hysical 
imagination  {cp.  Rep.  6.  510).  A 
passage  in  the  Philebus  (65  A) 
will  give  the  best  insight  itito  his 
meaning :  '  If  we  are  not  able 
to  hunt  the  good  with  one  idea 
only,  with  three  we  may  take 
our  prey, — Beauty,  Syinmetry, 
Truth!  The  three  were  insepar- 
able to  the  Greek  mind,  and  no 
co7iception  of  perfection  could  be 
formed  in  which  they  did  not 
unite  {cp.  Introduction  to  Rep.  p. 
Ixix).] 

Ideas.  \No  part  of  Plato's  philo- 
sophy has  been  more  cojnmo?ily 
associated  with  his  name  than 
'the  doctrine  of  ideas'  But  his 
meaning  has  beett  often  misutider- 
stood,  or  he  has  been  supposed  to 
be  formulating  a  system  when  he 
is  only  'guessing  at  truth.'  His 


Index. 


441 


opinions  did  not  always  remain 
the  same,  and  in  his  later  works 
the  ideas  a7-e  not  so  -prominent  as 
in  the  Phacdo  or  Phaedrus.  He 
is  his  own  best  critic  in  the 
Parmejiides  and  the  Sophist,  and 
has  there  shown  how  fully  he 
appreciates  the  difficulties  of  the 
argument. — The  ideas  are  one 
phase  of  a  conception  which  he 
has  expressed  in  many  forms  in 
his  various  writings :  —  That 
there  is  a  truth  zvhich  is  beyond 
sense,  and  which  is  perceived  by 
the  mind  alone  wheti  freed  from 
the  '  disturbing  element '  of  the 
body  (Phaedo  65  ;  Tim.  51  ;  and 
cp.  Theaet.  185  foil.).  In  this 
spirit  the  subjects  of  the  higher 
education  are  discussed  in  the 
Republic  (Book  vii),  and  the 
sciences  are  declared  to  be 
valuable  only  in  proportion  as 
they  enable  us  to  attain  trtie 
being.  The  ideas  may  be  gained 
by  association,  which  Plato  calls 
'the  retniniscence  of  knowledge 
acquired  in  a  previous  state,' 
when  we  beheld  them  'shining 
in  h-ightness '  (Phaedr.  250),  and 
makes  a  proof  of  immortality 
(Phaedo  73,  76)  :  or  they  may  be 
reached  by  the  'gracious  aid'  of 
dialectic,  which  uses  the  objects 
of  sense  as  steps  by  which  we  are 
able  to  ?nount  to  the  sphere  of  the 
absolute  (Symp.  211,  andcp.  Rep. 
5.  476;  6.  510).  They  are  un- 
cha?igeable  and  invisible,  ajid 
therefore  akin  to  the  divine 
element  in  us,  that  is,  the  soul 
(Phaedo  78  E).  By  participatio7i 
in  them  things  are  what  they  are  : 
the  beautiful  is  beautiful  because 
it  shares  in  the  idea  of  beauty, 
that  which  is  just  is  just  because 
it  partakes  of  the  nature  of justice 
(Phaedo  100-105  ;  Parm.  130). 
Nor  could  names  ever  have  been 
found  for   things,   U7iless  the 


legislator,  who  was  the  original 
name  giver,  had  been  acquainted 
with  the  ideas  which  they  re- 
present (Crat.  389).  Again,  the 
ideas  afford  an  argument  against 
the  Heracliteaji  doctrine  of  flux  : 
for  that  which  is  absolute  and 
true  cantiot  change,  but  must 
always  abide  and  exist  (ib.  439, 
440).  The  ideas  are  the  work  oj 
God,  and  the  artist  only  imitates 
them  at  second-  or  even  third- 
haJtd :  for  there  canno/  be  two  or 
more  ideas  of  the  same  thing  (Rep. 
10. 596  foil. ;  Tim.28).  The  Creator 
when  the  worlds  were  ?nade  had 
such  a  single,  perfect  idea  of  the 
universe,  in  accordance  with 
which  He  contrived  all  His  work 
(Tim.  31).  They  are  almost  un- 
itttelligible  to  human  apprehen- 
sion,  unless  they  are  expressed 
by  examples,  or  translated  into 
the  language  of  facts  (Statesm. 
277).  —  In  the  Philebus  Plato 
begins  to  discuss  the  '  iroublesotne 
questions '  which  are  raised  by 
the  doctrine  of  ideas.  How  can 
the  one  be  predicated  of  the  tnany  ? 
Have  the  ideas  real  existence? 
His  reply  is  somewhat  crude  and 
unsatisfactory  : —  There  are  four 
categories,  the  ittfnite,  the  finite, 
that  which  is  intermediate 
between  them,  and  the  cause 
which  unites  them.  The  inter- 
mediate element  is  'law'  or 
'order'  or  'proportion';  and 
since  all  thiftgs  share  in  it,  the 
finite  is  thus  joined  with  the  in- 
finite, the  one  with  the  many, 
and  ideas  are  proved  to  be  real 
and  cotmected  with  phejiomeiia. 
The  cause  of  uniojt  is  explained 
to  be  7nind  or  God. — /«  the 
Pa7-i/te7tides  the  criticis7>i  of  the 
ideas  is  carried  still  fu7-ther j 
nor  can  Plato  apparently  provide 
a  sufficie7it  answer  to  his  own 
objectio7ts.    He  is  applying  the 


442 


Index. 


test  of  logic  to  the  vague  thoughts 
and  dreams  which  had  filled  his 
viind  at  an  earlier  period;  and 
we  cafinot  wonder  that  they  are 
not  always  able  to  endure  the 
trial.  He  does  not  know  how  to 
prove  to  the  sceptic  the  existence 
of  the  ideas,  which  seevi  to  dwell 
apart  in  the  sphere  of  the  absolute; 
or  how  these  tmknown,  unknow- 
able conceptions  can  be  brought 
from  heaven  to  earth. — Zeno  has 
denied  the  '  being  of  many  'j  for 
if  being  is  many,  it  must  be  both 
like  and  unlike,  which  is  impos- 
sible. And  when  Socrates  in 
reply  disti^iguishes  bctweeti  the 
idea  and  the  object,  and  says  that 
the  two  ideas  of  likeness  and  u?i- 
likeness,  which  are  incompatible, 
may  yet  inhere  in  the  same  in- 
dividual, he  is  met  by  the  ^in- 
evitable question  '  .• —  What  is  the 
nature  of  this  participation  in 
the  idea  : — docs  the  individual 
share  in  the  whole  of  the  idea  or 
in  a  pai't  only  ?  Socrates  replies 
that  the  idea  may  be  like  the  day, 
which  is  one  and  the  same  in 
many  places  atid  yet  continuous 
with  itself,  or  like  a  sail  which 
covers  several  persons  and  still  is 
one.  But  he  cannot  meet  the 
objcciioti  that  the  idea,  wliich  is 
in  itself  an  inseparable  whole,  is 
thus  regarded  also  as  divisible 
into  parts. — Another  difficulty  is 
theti  started.  Ideas  are  fo7-med 
by  abstractions  made  from  some 
class  of  objects :  e.g.  the  idea  of 
greatness  is  draW7i  from  the  con- 
templation of  a  7iumber  of  things 
which  have  greatness.  But  then 
the  idea  of  greatness  must  itself 
be  added  to  the  class  of  great 
things,  and  a  new  idea  which 
embraces  the?n  all  will  be  re- 
quired, and  this  process  will 
go  on  ad  infinitutn. — Although 
Plato  cannot  fijid  a  reply  to  these 


and  similar  objections,  he  is  still 
coftvinced  that  without  abstract 
ideas  thought  atid  reasoning  are 
ijnpossible,  and  he  hints  by  the 
mouth  of  Partnenides  that  a  more 
searching  analysis  of  them  both 
from  the  negative  and  the  positive 
side  will  at  last  co7iduct  tes  to  a 
sound  doctrine  of  ideas  [cp.  Soph. 
259). — In  the  Sophist  he  once 
more  seeks  to  prove  the  connexion 
of  ideas.  He  is  attacking  the 
Eleatic  doctj-ine  that  there  is  no 
such  thing  as  falsehood,  because 
?iot-being  is  7iot  and  therefore 
ca7i7iot  exist.  He  shows  that  the 
e7iti7-e  separatio7i  of  the  spheres 
of  the  absolute  and  the  relative, 
of  bei7ig  and  not-bei7tg,  ca7mot 
be  77iai7iiai7ied.  It  is  7tot  true 
that  all  ideas  are  i7tco7/tpatible, 
although  so77ie  a7-e.  A7id  it  is 
the  busi/tess  of  dialectic,  which  is 
the  art  of  divisio7t  itito  classes, 
to  teach  us  U7ider  what  category 
a  particular  idea  is  included. 
Being,  for  insta7tce,  has  co7/i- 
77!  utiio7i  with  rest  a7id  7710 1 ion  j 
but  rest  a7id  77iotio7i  are  in- 
consiste7tt.  Not-bei7tg  is  only  the 
negation  of  being,  just  as  }iot- 
77iotio7i  or  rest  is  the  7tegatio7i  of. 
77iotio7i. — In  the  Statesma7i  a7id 
the  Laws  the  doct7-i7ie  of  ideas 
occupies  a  subordi7iate  place,  and 
see77is  to  have  lost  its  for7ner 
att7-active7iess  to  Plato.  Yet  at 
the  very  e7id  of  the  Laws  he 
exhibits  a  trace  of  the  old  feeli7ig 
in  the  fi7ial  i7iju7iction  that  the 
guardians  77iust  be  7iie7i  who  are 
able  to  see  'the  07ie  171 77ia7ty^  a7id 
to  order  all  thi7tgs  accordingly 
(12.  96s  B).] 
Ideal  state,  the,  difficulty  of.  Rep.  5. 
472  ;  6.  502  E  ;  Laws  4.  711 ;  is 
it  possible  ?  Rep.  5.  471,  473  ;  6. 
499  j  7-  54°  (cp-  ib.  7-  520 ;  Laws 
4.  711  E  ;  5.  739  ;  12.  96S  A) ; 
how  to  be  commenced,  Rep.  6. 


Index. 


443 


501  ;  7.  540 : — Ideals,  value  of, 
ib.  5.  473 ;  use  of,  in  education, 
Laws  1.  643  ;  in  legislation,  ib.  5. 
746  : — Idealists,  Soph.  246,  248 
(cp.  Phaedo  100;  Rep.  6.  505 
A).  For  the  Ideal  State  of  the 
Republic,  see  City,  Constitution, 
Education,  Guardians,  Rulers, 
etc. 

Idleness,  the  mother  of  wantonness, 
Laws  8.  83s  E  ;  not  to  be  attri- 
buted to  God,  ib.  10.  900  E.  foil. 

Ignorance,  the  source  of  evil, 
Protag.  345,  353  foil.  (cp.  Meno 
77) ;  ignorance  and  pleasure, 
Protag.  357  ;  impossible,  Euthyd. 
286;  ignorance  about  the  soul  dis- 
graceful to  therhetorician,Phaedr. 
277  E  ;  ignorance  self-satisfied, 
Symp.  204  A  ;  excludes  know- 
ledge, Meno  80;  nature  of.  Rep.  5. 
477,  478  ;  an  inanition  (Kevcoais) 
of  the  soul,  ib.  9.  585  ;  =  slowness 
of  perception,  Theaet.  194  E ; 
ignorance  and  false  opinion,  ib. 
199  E  ;  involuntary.  Soph.  228, 
230  A  ;  an  evil  of  the  soul,  ib.  228 
(cp.  Tim.  86  B,  88  B  ;  Statesm. 
296  D  ;  Phil.  48  B) ;  divisions 
of,  Soph.  229 ;  ignorance  of  self, 
Phil.  48 ;  having  the  conceit  of 
knowledge,  ib.  49  A  ;  Laws  9. 863 
B;  I  Alcib.  117  foil.  (cp.  Apol.  29); 
either  ridiculous  or  mischievous, 
Phil.  48;  I  Alcib.  118;  is  ruin, 
Laws  3.  688  ;  the  worst,  to  know 
the  evil  and  refuse  the  good, 
ib.  689  ;  ignorance  a  prevalent 
disorder  among  kings,  ib.  691  ; 
complete  ignorance  not  so  bad 
as  misapplied  knowledge,  ib.  7. 
819  A ;  ignorance  a  cause  of 
crimes,  ib.  9.  863  B ;  twofold, 
ibid. ;  ignorance  of  statesmen,  i 
Alcib.  118,  119;  igivprance  some- 
times better  than  knowledge,  2 
Alcib.  143  foil. : — ignorance  of  the 
world,  Phaedo  89  :—  the  ignorant 
ought  to  submit  to  the  wise. 
Laws  3.  690  B. 


Iliad,  the  style  of,  illustrated.  Rep. 
3.  392  E  foil. ;  mentioned,  ib. 
393  A  ;  Laws  2.  658  E  ;  i  Alcib, 
112  A;  heroes  of,  Hipp.  Min. 
363  B.    Cp.  Homer,  Odyssey. 

Ilion  (Troy),  Rep.  3.  393  E  ;  Laws 
3.  685  B  ;  foundation  of.  Laws  3, 
681  E  foil.    See  Troy. 

Ilissus,  the,  Socrates  and  Phaedrus 
sit  beside,  Phaedr.  229  A,  B  ; 
hill  of  the  Acropolis  once  ex- 
tended to,  Crit.  112  A. 

Illegitimate  children.  Rep.  5.  461 
A  ;  Laws  11.  930. 

Ill-health  destroys  the  profit  of  life, 
Gorg.  505  A.  See  Disease,  In- 
valids. 

Illusion  in  art.  Soph.  235  E  : — illu- 
sions of  hearing,  Theaet.  157  E 
(cp.  Phaedo  65  A)  ; — of  hope, 
Phil.  40  A  ; — of  pleasure,  ib.  D, 
42  ;— of  sight.  Rep.  7.  523  ;  10. 
602  ;  Theaet.  157  E  ;  Phil.  38  D, 
42  A  (cp.  Phaedo  65  A). 

Image-making,  Soph.  236,  260  E, 
265,  266. 

Images  (z.  e.  reflections  of  visible 
objects).  Rep.  6.  510;  Tim.  52 
D  (cp.  Rep.  10.  596) ;  a  proof 
that  not-being  exists,  Soph.  240 ; 
no  images  of  the  highest  thoughts, 
Statesm.  285  E  : — golden  images 
at  Delphi,  Phaedr.  235  E  ;  at 
Olympia,  ib.  236  B  : — images 
made  by  shepherds,  Phil.  38  D  : 
— images  set  up  in  fulfilment  of 
vows.  Laws  ID.  909  E  ;  as  offer- 
ings to  the  Gods,  ib.  12.  956  A  : 
— waxen  images  (used  in  sorcery), 
ib.  II.  933  B. 

Imagination, = the  union  of  sense 
and  opinion.  Soph.  264  A. 

"ifxfpos,  Phaedr.  251  C. 

Imitation,  in  dancing.  Laws  2.  655, 
668  ;  7.  796,  798,  814  E  ;— in  lan- 
guage, Crat.  423,  426,  427  ;  —  in 
music,  ib.  423  ;  Laws  2.  655,  668 
foil.;  7.798  E,  812  C  (cp.  Rep. 
3.  397;  Lawsjtio.  889  D);— in 
painting, Crit.  107  (cp.Tim.  19D  ; 


444 


Index. 


Laws  lo.  889  D)  ;— in  science, 
Soph.  266  ;— in  style,  Rep.  3.  393, 
394 ;  10.  596  foil.,  600  E  foil. ; 
Laws  4.  719  C  :  —  affects  the 
character.  Rep.  3.  395  ;  Laws  2. 
668  ;  7.  798  E  ;  thrice  removed 
from  the  truth.  Rep.  10.  596- 
598,  602  B  ;  concerned  with  the 
weaker  part  of  the  soul,  ib. 
604;  Tim.  19;  Soph.  234,  235  ; 
of  appearances,  Soph.  267 ; 
pleasure  accompanying,  Laws  2. 
667 ;  criteria  of,  ib.  667, 668 : — the 
art  of,  Soph.  219;  a  kind  of 
creation,  ib.  265  ;  parts  of,  ib. 
266  (cp.  23s). 

Imitative  arts,  inferior,  Rep.  10. 
605;  divisions  of  them.  Soph.  235; 
— imitative  gestures,  Crat.  423 
— imitative  poetry,  Rep.  10.  595. 

Imitators  ignorant,  Rep.  10.  602; 
the  two  kinds  of,  Soph.  268. 

Immortality  and  love,  Symp.  206- 
209 ; — the  prospect  of  immortality, 
delightful  to  the  good  man,  Apol. 
40  E  ;  no  great  boon  to  the 
wicked,  Laws  2.  661  ;  — immor- 
tality of  the  soul,  and  the  principle 
of  self-motion,  Phaedr.  245  (cp. 
Laws  10.  894  foil.;  12.  966  E) ; 
connected  with  the  doctrine  of 
recollection, Meno  81,86;  Phaedo 
73-76  (cp.  Symp.  208) ;  argu- 
ments in  favour  of,  Phaedo  70 ; 
arguments  against,  (Simmias), 
ib.  86 ;  (Cebes),  87  ;  the  argu- 
ments answered,  ib.  91  foil. ;  the 
proof  of,  ib.  105  foil.  ;  Rep.  10. 
608  foil.  (cp.  6.  498) ;  given  to 
man  by  the  Creator,  Tim.  41 
foil.,  69  ;  belief  in,  must  be  pos- 
sessed by  the  true  worshipper  of 
God,  Laws  12.  967  E  : — immor- 
tality by  children,  Symp.  207, 
208  ;  Laws  4.  721 ;  6.  773  E, 
776  B  :  —  immortality  of  fame, 
Symp.  208  C  .•—immortality  of 
the  Gods,  Tim.  41  B:— 'the 
principle  of  immortality  within 
us,'  Laws  4.  713  E.    Cp.  Soul. 


Impartiality  and  equality,  not  the 

same,  Protag.  337  A. 
Impatience,  uselessness  of,  Rep.  10. 

604  C. 

Impetuosity,  Rep.  6.  503  C  (cp. 
Theaet.  144  A  ;  Statesm.  307  C). 

Impiety  towards  the  gods.  Laws  10. 
885,  907 ;  causes  of,  ib.  900 ; 
punishment  of,  ib.  907  E  : — suits 
for  impiety,  ib.  7.  799  B  ;  10. 
910  : — the  law  concerning  im- 
piety, ib.  9.  868  E. 

Imports  and  Exports,  law  respect- 
ing (in  the  Model  City),  Laws  8. 
847. 

Inachus,  Herfe  asks  alms  for  the 

daughters  of,  Rep.  2.  381  D. 
Inanimate    objects    which  have 

caused  death,  Laws  9.  873  E. 
Inanitions  ((cevoxrfif)  of  the  body 

and  soul.  Rep.  9.  585  A. 
Incantations,  Laws  11.  932  E  foil.; 

in  medicine,  Charm.  155;  Rep. 

4. 426  A ;  Theaet.  149  D  ;  used  by 

mendicant  prophets.  Rep.  2.  364 

B.    Cp.  Enchantment. 
Incense,  Tim.  61   C ;   not  to  be 

imported,  Laws  8.  847  C. 
Incest,  universal  horror  of.  Laws  8. 

838. 

Income  Tax,  Rep.  i.  343  D. 

Incommensurable  things.  Laws  7- 
819,  820  (cp.  Farm.  140). 

Incompatibility  of  temper,  a  ground 
for  divorce.  Laws  11.  929  E. 

Incontinence  in  the  soul,  Gorg.  493. 

Incurable  criminals,,  death  the  fit- 
ting penalty  for,  Laws  9.  853  foil.; 
— in  the  world  below,  Gorg.  525 
(cp.  Phaedo  113  E  ;  Rep.  10.  615 
D). 

Indestructibility  of  the  soul  and 
body.  Laws  10.  904  A  (cp.  Tim. 
41,  and  v.s.v.  Soul). 

Indifference  to  money,  character- 
istic of  those  who  inherit  a  for- 
tune, Rep.  I.  330  B. 

'  Indifferent '  things,  Gorg.  46S. 

Individual,  inferior  types  of  the, 
Rep.   8.   545 ;— individual  and 


Index. 


445 


"  state,  ib.  2.  368  ;  4.  434.  44 1 ;  5- 
462  ;  8.  544  ;  9-  577  B  ;  Laws  3. 
689 ;  5-  739 ;  8.  828  E  ;  9.  875, 
877  C;  II.  923,  925  E>930  B  ;— 
the  individual  and  the  idea, 
Farm.  133  D  : — individuals  and 
things,  Crat.  386. 

Indolence,  evils  of.  Laws  6.  788  E  ; 
not  to  be  attributed  to  God,  ib. 
10.  903  A. 

Induction,  the  source  of  knowledge. 
Laws  12.  965. 

Infantry,  to  be  preferred  to  sailors. 
Laws  4.  706. 

Infants,  have  spirit,  but  not  reason. 
Rep.  4.441  A  (cp.  Laws  12.  963 
E) ;  to  be  exercised,  Laws  7, 
789,  790.    Cp.  Child. 

Inferiors,  ought  to  be  treated  with 
special  regard  to  justice  by  their 
superiors,  Laws  6.  777  E. 

Infidels,  advice  to,  Laws  10.  888  ; 
are  in  ignorance  of  the  nature  of 
the  soul,  ib.  892.    Cp.  Atheists. 

Infinite,  nature  of,  Phil.  15,  16,  23, 
24  foil. ;  comprises  what  admits 
of  degrees,  ib.  25,  31,  32. 

Inflammations,  Tim.  85. 

Informer,  the,  held  in  honour  in  the 
Model  City,  Laws  5.  730  E,  742 
B ;  II.  914  A,  932  B  (cp.  6.  762 
D;  9.  872  B;  10.  907  E;  11. 
917  D) ;  to  receive  half  the  fine, 
ib.  5.  745  A;  9.  868  B  ;  11.  928 
B  ; — Informers,  Crito  45  A  ; 
Rep.  9.  575  B. 

Inheritance,  laws  of  (in  the  Model 
City),  Laws  5.  740.    Cp.  Lots. 

Initiation  in  the  mysteries,  Euthyd. 
277  E  ;  Phaedo  69  C  (cp.  Meno 
76  E). 

Injury  done  by  slaves  and  animals, 
law  concerning,  Laws  11.  936  C; 
'  injuries '  and  '  hurts,'  ib.  9.  862. 

Injustice,  why  punished,  Protag. 
323  E  (cp.  Gorg.  476,  477)  ;  in- 
justice and  temperance,  Protag. 
333  ;  injustice  an  evil  to  the  un- 
just, Crito  49  ;  to  do,  worse  than 
to  suffer,  Gorg.  469  foil.,  475, 


489,  508,  509,  522  C  ;  the  most 
disgraceful  of  evils,  ib.  6,TJ  C  ; 
advantage  of.  Rep.  i.  343 ;  de- 
fined by  Thrasymachus  as  dis- 
cretion, ib.  348  D ;  injustice 
and  vice,  ibid. ;  suicidal  to  states 
and  individuals,  ib.  351  E  (cp. 
Laws  10.  906  A) ;  in  perfection, 
Rep.  2.  360 ;  eulogists  of,  ib.  361, 
366,  367  ;  3.  392  B  (cp.  8.  545 
A ;  9.  588  ;  Laws  2.  662  B) ; 
only  blamed  by  those  who  have 
not  the  power  to  be  unjust.  Rep. 
2.  366  C ;  in  the  state,  ib.  4. 
434 ;  =  anarchy  in  the  soul,  ib. 
444  B  (cp.  Soph.  228  ;  Laws  10. 
906  A) ;  brings  no  profit,  Rep.  9. 
589,  590;  10.  613  ;  Laws  2.  662 
B  ;  injustice  and  justice,  Laws  2. 
663  ;  5. 730  ;  curable  and  incur- 
able, ib.  5.  731  ;  involuntary, 
ibid. ;  9.  860,  864  A  (cp.  Evil) ;  to 
be  pitied,  ib.  5.  731  ; — injustice 
and  disease,  ib.  10.  906  C  {see 
Disease) ; — injustice  and  hurt, 
ib.  9.  862. 

Innkeeping,  Laws  11.  918  E. 

Innovation,  in  education  dangerous. 
Rep.  4.  424 ;  Laws  2.  656,  660 
A ;  in  the  sports  of  children, 
leads  to  a  change  in  manners, 
Laws  7.  797  C.  Cp.  Education, 
Gymnastic,  Music. 

Insanity,  as  a  hindrance  to  mar- 
riage. Laws  II.  925  E,  926  B  ;  in  a 
parent,  ib.  929.    See  Madness. 

Inscriptions,  at  Delphi,  Charm. 
1 64  D  foil.  ;  Protag.  343  B ; 
Phaedr.  229  E ;  Phil.  45  E,  48 
C;  Laws  11.  923  A;  i  Alcib. 
124  B,  129  A,  132  C  : — over  the 
dead,  Laws  12.  958  E. 

Insolence  [5/3ptt],  engendered  by 
conquest.  Laws  i.  641  C ; 
\avaih(ui\,  a  great  evil  both  to 
individuals  and  states,  ib.  647  B. 

Inspectors  of  Exports  and  Im- 
ports, Laws  8.  847  C. 

Inspiration  of  the  philosopher, 
Phaedr.  249  ; — of  the  poet,  ib. 


446 


Index. 


245  A,  265  B ;  Ion  534 ;  Meno 
99  C,  D  ;  Apol.  22  A ;  Laws  3. 
682  A ;  4.  719  B  (cp.  2  Alcib.  147 
C) ; — of  the  prophet,  Meno  99 
C,  D  ;  Phaedr.  265  B  ;— of  the 
rhapsode,  Ion  536,  541  ; — of  the 
statesman,  Meno  99  : — the  gods 
of  inspiration,  Phaedr.  265  B. 

Instruction,  the  art  of.  Soph.  229. 

Instrument  and  user  distinguished, 
I  Alcib.  129. 

Intellect ;  objects  of  opinion  and 
intellect  classified.  Rep.  7.  534 
(cp.  5.  476) ;  relation  of  the  in- 
tellect and  the  good,  ib.  6.  508 ; 
intellect  and  true  opinion,  Tim. 
51.    Cp.  Mind. 

Intellectual  world,  divisions  of, 
Rep.  6.  510  foil.  ;  7.  517;  com- 
pared to  the  visible,  ib.  6.  508, 
509  ;  7-  532  A  : — intellectual  pur- 
suits, not  to  be  carried  to  excess, 
Tim.  88. 

Intemperance,    sec  Drunkenness, 

Intoxication  :— intemperance  of 

love,  Tim.  86. 
Intemperate  life,  the,  not   to  be 

preferred  to  the  temperate,  Gorg. 

493,  494;  Laws  5.  733  E  foil.; 

no  man  voluntarily  intemperate, 

Laws  5.  734  B. 
Intercourse    between    the  se.xes, 

Rep.  5. 458  foil. ;  Laws  8.  835  E, 

839-841  ;  in  a  democracy.  Rep.  8. 

563  A : — unnatural,  condemned, 

Laws  I.  636 ;  8.  836  foil.  (cp. 

Symp.  181). 
Interest  forbidden.  Laws  5.  742  C  ; 

II.  921  D  (cp.  Rep.  8.  556  A). 
Intermediates,   Protag.    346    D  ; 

Euthyd.  306  ;  Rep.  9.  583  ;  Phil. 

33.  36,  43  (cp-  Laws  9.  879  B). 
Interpreters  of  sacred  rites.  Laws 

6.  759  C,  774  E  ;  8.  S28  B,  845 

E;  9.865  D,  871  C,  873  D;  II. 

916  C  ;  12. 95S  D,  964  C  ;  election 

of,  ib.  6.  759  D. 
Intestate,  children  of  the,  Laws  11. 

924.    Cp.  Orphans. 
Intimations,  the,   given    by  the 


senses,  imperfect.  Rep.  7.  523 
foil. ;  10.  602 ;  of  the  mind,  re- 
flected in  the  liver,  Tim.  71. 

Intoxication,  not  allowed  in  the 
state,  Rep.  3.  398  E,  403  ;  for- 
bidden at  Lacedaemon,  Laws  i. 
637  ;  common  at  Athens  during 
the  Dionysia,  C  ;  permitted 
among  the  Scythians,  etc.,  ibid.  • 
nature  of,  discussed,  ibid.  foil. ; 
use  of,  ib.  645,  646 ;  only  to  be 
allowed  to  the  old,  ib.  2.  666  B. 
See  Drinking,  Festivities. 

Intuition,  Phaedo  66,  79. 

Invalids,  Gorg.  504  E  ;  Rep.  3.  406, 
407  ;  4.  425  E.    Cp.  Medicine. 

Invention,  divisions  of,  Soph.  266. 

Involuntary  and  voluntary  actions, 
Laws  9.  861,  S78  B  ;— involuntary 
falsehood,  ib.  5.  730  C ;  Hipp. 
Min.  371  E  foil.; — involuntary 
and  voluntary  homicide.  Laws 
9.  865-869  {see  Homicide)  ; — in- 
voluntary nature  of  evil  and  injus- 
tice, Protag.  345  foil.,  352,  355  ; 
Tim.  86  ;  Laws  5.  731  C  ;  9.  860, 
864  A ;  Hipp.  Min.  372  (cp.  Apol. 
25  E  ;  Gorg.  468,  509  E  ;  Soph. 
228). 

lolaus  and  Heracles,  Euthyd.  297 
D  ;  Phaedo  89  C. 

Ion  (of  Ephesus),  knows  Homer 
better  than  any  one.  Ion  530  D, 
533  D  ;  cannot  speak  equally 
well  about  other  poets,  ib.  533  D 
foil.,  536  ;  inspired,  ib.  533  D  foil. 
536  C  ;  professes  to  speak  well  on 
all  Homer,  ib.  536  E  ;  quotes 
Homer,  ib.  537  A  foil. ;  why  not 
chosen  general,  ib.  541  B  ;  a  Pro- 
teus, ib.  E  ;  inspired  rather  than 
dishonest,  ib.  542. 

Ion,  son  of  Apollo,  Euthyd.  302 
D. 

Ionia,  progress  of  the  "doctrine  of 
Protagoras  in,  Theaet.  179  D  : — 
Ionian  harmony.  Laches  18S  D  ; 
must  be  rejected.  Rep.  3.  399  A  : 
— life  described  by  Homer,  Laws 
3.  680   C  : — philosophy,  Soph. 


Index. 


447 


242;  philosopherSjTheaet.  179  D: 
— Ionian  soldiers  in  Athenian 
service,  Symp.  220  D  : — lonians 
have  no  ancestral  Zeus,  Euthyd. 
302  C ;  averse  to  the  love  of 
boys,  Symp.  182  B. 

Iphicles,  brother  of  Heracles,  Eu- 
thyd. 297  E. 

Iris,  meaning  of  the  name,  Crat. 
408  B  ;  daughter  of  Thaumas, 
Theaet.  155  D. 

Iron  (and  brass),  mingled  by  the 
God  in  the  craftsmen  and  hus- 
bandmen, Rep.  3.  415  A  (cp.  8. 
547  A)  ;  iron  not  needed  in  the 
plastic  and  weaving  arts.  Laws 
3.  679  A ;  not  to  be  offered  to 
the  Gods,  ib.  12.  956  A;  pieces 
of  iron  employed  as  money  at 
Lacedaemon,  Eryx.  400  B  : — the 
iron  race,  Crat.  398  A. 

Irrigation  works,  to  be  provided. 
Laws  6.  761  B  ;  in  ancient  Attica, 
Grit.  Ill  ;  in  Atlantis,  ib.  117, 
118. 

Isis,  Egyptian  chants  are  the  com- 
position of.  Laws  2.  657  B. 

Ismenias,  the  Theban,  his  wealth, 
Meno  90  A ;  a  '  rich  and  mighty 
man,'  Rep.  i.  336  A. 

Isocrates,  Socrates  prophesies  of 
him,  Phaedr.  279  A,  B. 

Isolochus,  father  of  Pythodorus,  i 
Alcib.  119  A. 

Isthmus,  the,  ancient  boundary  of 
Attica  fixed  at,  Crit.  1 10  D  : — 
Isthmian  games.  Lysis  205  D  ; 
once  visited  by  Socrates,  Grito 
52  B ;  citizens  (of  the  Model 
City)  to  be  sent  to,  Laws  12. 
950  E. 

Italy, 'can  tell  of  Gharondas  as  a 
law-giver,'  Rep.  10.  599  E  ;  in 
Italy  the  spectators  are  judges  of 
theatrical  performances.  Laws  2. 
659  B  : — Italian  banditti,  ib.  6. 
777  C. 

Ithaca,  Ion  533  C,  535  G. 

Ivory,  not  to  be  offered  to  the  Gods, 
Laws  12.  955  E. 


J. 

Jealousy,  excited  by  love,  Phaedr. 
232  ;  unknown  to  the  Gods,  iB. 
2^7  A  (cp.  Tim.' 29  E)  ;  hateful- 
ness  of.  Laws  5.  731  A  ;  engen- 
dered by  prosperity,  Menex.  242 
A. 

Jesting,  with  slaves,  unwise.  Laws 
6.  778  A. 

Joints,  the,  Tim.  74  E. 

Joy,  should  not  be  immoderate, 
Laws  5.  732  B. 

Judge,  the,  ought  not  to  be  in- 
fluenced by  compassion,  Apol. 
35  (cp.  Laws  12.  949  A) ;  a  phy- 
sician of  the  soul,  Gorg.  478,  480 
A ;  must  himself  be  virtuous, 
Rep.  3.  409 ;  his  virtue,  only  to 
decide  according  to  the  standard 
fixed  by  the  legislator,  Statesm. 
305 ;  distinguished  from  the  states- 
man, ibid. ;  should  aim  at  recon- 
ciling the  contending  parties. 
Laws  1. 627  E  ;  should  co-operate 
with  the  legislator,  ib.  11.  934  B  ; 
must  take  the  writings  of  the 
legislator  as  his  guide,  ib.  12. 
957: — Judges  ought  not  to  drink 
wine,  ib.  2.  674  A  ;  must  give  an 
account  of  their  office,  ib.  6.  761 
E  ;  must  supply  the  omissions 
of  the  legislator,  ib.  9.  876  ;  1 1. 934 
B  ;  must  keep  the  speakers  to  the 
point,  ib.  12.  949  B  : — laws  con- 
cerning, ib.  6.  766  E  foil. ;  9. 
855-857  ;  12.  956  :— election  of, 
ib.  6.  767;  12.  956: — judges  in 
cases  of  death,  ib.  9.  855  G,  856 

C,  866  C,  867  E,  871  C  ;  12.  958 
C  (cp.  II.  916  C) ;  in  cases  of 
wounding,  ib.  9. 877  B,  878  D,  879 
B,  E  ;  in  cases  where  assistance 
has  not  been  rendered,  ib.  880 
D  ;  where  a  son  has  neglected 
his  parents,  ib.  11.  932  C  (cp. 
Guardians  of  the  Laws)  : — select 
judges,  ib.  9.  855  C;   11.  926 

D,  928,  938;  12.  946,  948  A, 
956 : — Judges  of  art,  must  have 


448 


Index. 


knowledge,  ib.  2.  669 ; — of  con- 
tests in  armour,  ib.  8.  S33  E  ; — 
of  gymnastic  contests,  ib.  6.  765 

•  C;  8.  835  A;  11.  935  E  ;-of 
horse  races,  ib.  8.  834  B; — of 
music,  ib.  6.  765  C  ;  7.  S02  ;  12. 
949  A  ; —  of  the  theatre,  ought 
not  to  yield  to  clamour,  ib.  2.  659. 

Judgment,  final,  Phaedo  108  ;  Gorg. 
523 ;  Rep.  10.  614  foil. ;  Laws 
12.  959.    Cp.  Hades. 

Juggling,  Rep.  10.  602  D. 

Juices,  vegetable,  Tim.  60  B. 

'Just,' defined,  Laws  9.  863,  864; 
— just  and  unjust,  their  opposition 
dimly  discerned  by  mankind, 
zb.  2.  663 ;  how  distinguished, 
I  Alcib.  109 ;  their  nature, 
learned  from  the  many,  //'.  1 10  ; 
a  frequent  cause  of  dispute,  ib. 
Ill  E  foil.  (cp.  Euthyph.  7)  ;— 
the  just  and  the  gainful,  Laws  2. 
662  ; — the  just  and  the  honour- 
able, ib.  9.  859,  860. 

Just  life,  the,  ought  to  be  con- 
sidered the  pieasantest  and  hap- 
piest. Laws  2.  662. 

Just  man,  the,  is  gentle,  Gorg.  516 
C  ;  at  a  disadvantage  compared 
with  the  unjust  (Thrasymachus), 
Rep.  I.  343;  happy,  ib.  354; 
Laws  I.  660  E  ;  attains  hamiony 
in  his  soul.  Rep.  4.  443 ;  pro- 
claimed the  happiest,  ib.  9.  580 
foil. ;  is  especially  careful  towards 
his  inferiors.  Laws  6.  777  E  ; — 
the  just,  friends  of  the  Gods,  Gorg. 
507  E ;  Rep.  10.  613 ;  Phil.  39 
E;  Laws  4.  716  D; — just  and 
unjust  are  at  heart  the  same 
(Glaucon),  Rep.  2.  360. 

Justice,  popular  definitions  of,  Crat. 
413;  =to  speak  the  truth  and 
pay  one's  debts,  Rep.  i.  331  foil. ; 
=  the  interest  of  the  stronger, 
zb.  338 ;  2.  367  (cp.  Gorg.  489 ; 
Laws  4.  714  B);  =  honour  among 
thieves,  Rep.  i.  352;  =the  ex- 
cellence of  the  soul,  ib.  353 ; 
=  the  opinion  of  the  best.  Laws  9. 


864 ;  =power  of  knowledge,  Hipp. 
Min.  375  ;  =  doing  one's  own 
work,  I  Alcib.  127  (cp.  Rep.  4. 
443) :— a  part  of  virtue,  Meno 
73  E,  79  (cp.  Rep.  1.  350);  the 
art  which  gives  good  and  evil  to 
friends  and  enemies,  Rep.  i. 
332  foil.,  336  ;  is  a  thief,  ib.  334  ; 
the  proper  virtue  of  man,  ib.  335 ; 
'sublime  simphcity,'  ib.  348; 
does  not  aim  at  excess,  ib.  349 ; 
identical  with  wisdom  and  virtue, 
ib.  351  ;  a  principle  of  harmony, 
ibid.  (cp.  9.  591  D) ;  in  the 
highest  class  of  goods,  ib.  2.  357, 
367  D  (cp.  Euthyd.  279  ;  Laws 
I.  631  C) ;  the  union  of  tem- 
perance, wisdom,  and  courage. 
Rep.  4.  433  ;  Laws  i.  631  C ; 
a  division  of  labour,  Rep.  4.  433 
foil.  (cp.  I.  332,  349,  350) ;  'an 
honourable  maiden,'  Laws  12. 
943  E  : — given  by  Zeus  to  man- 
kind, Protag.  322  C,  329  C  ;  love 
the  cause  of,  Symp.  196  ;  nature 
and  origin  of  (Glaucon),  Rep.  2. 
358,  359;  conventional,  ib.  359 
A  ;  Theaet.  172  A,  177  C  ;  Laws 
10.  889  E ;  praised  for  its 
consequences  only  (Adeimantus), 
Rep.  2.  362  E,  366 ;  a  matter  of 
appearance,  ib.  365  :— essential 
to  states,  Protag.  322  D  (cp. 
Phaedo  82  B) ;  supposed  to 
exist  to  some  degree  in  eveiy 
man,  Protag.  323  B  ;  acquired  by 
habit,  Phaedo  82  B  ;  happiness 
dependent  upon,  Gorg.  470 ; 
useful  alike  in  war  and  peace. 
Rep.  I.  333  ;  can  do  no  harm,  ib. 
335  ;  more  precious  than  gold, 
ib.  336  E  (cp.  Laws  11.  913  B); 
toilsome,  Rep.  i.  364  (cp.  Pro- 
tag.  340  C  ;  Laws  4.  718  E) ;  fol- 
lows after  God,  Laws  4.  716  A; 
worthy  of  honour,  ib.  5.  730  D  ; 
the  administration  of,  ought  to 
be  shared  in  by  all  the  citizens, 
ib.  6.  768  ;  especially  necessary 
towards  slaves  and  inferiors,  ib. 


Index. 


449 


777  E  ;  the  salvation  of  men,  ib. 
lo.  906  B;  the  civilizer  of  hu- 
manity, ib.  11.937  E;  found  to 
some  extent  in  every  constitution, 
ib.  12.  945  D  (cp.  Rep.  i.  338 
E)  : — compared  to  health,  Rep. 
4.  444 : — the  poets  on,  ib.  2. 
363,  364,  365  E  :— in  perfection, 
ib.  361  :  —  justice  and  equity, 
Laws  6.  757  ; — ^justice  and  ex- 
pediency, I  Alcib.  113,  116; — 
justice  and  holiness,  Protag.  330, 
331  ;  Euthyph.  12  ; — justice  and 
politics,  Gorg.  464 ; — ^justice  and 
retribution.  Laws  5.  728  ; — ^justice 
and  virtue.  Rep.  i.  348  : — ^justice 
more  profitable  than  injustice,  ib. 
4.  445  ;  9.  589  foil. ;  superior  to 
injustice,  ib.  9.  589  ;  final  triumph 
of,  ib.  580  ;  10.  612,  613  : — in  the 
state,  ib.  2.  369;^  4.  431,  433; 
the  same  in  the  individual  and 
the  state,  ib.  4.  435  foil.,  441  foil. : 
— absolute  justice,  ib.  5.  479  E  ; 
6.  501  B;  7.  517  E: — natural 
justice,  Gorg.  483,  484,  488,  492  ; 
Laws  10.  890  A  (cp.  ib.  3.  690 
B)  : — '  the  justice  of  the  Gods,' 
Laws  10.  904. 
Justice.  \_The  happiness  which  is 
conferred  by  justice  is  one  of  the 
main  theses  of  the  Gorgias.  The 
yoimg  Sophist,  Polus,  and  Cal- 
licies,  the  ma9i  of  the  world,  agree 
in  thinking  that  the  tmjtist  is 
happy  so  long  as  he  is  able  to  es- 
cape punishment.  But  Socrates 
maintains  a  higher  view,  which 
he  sets  forth  under  a  paradoxical 
form.  The  wicked  ynan  is  U7i- 
happy  because  he  is  wicked,  and 
still  more  unhappy  when  he  is 
not  pujiished  for  his  evil  deeds. 
On  the  other  hand  the  just  and 
innocent  are  happy  even  on  earth 
and  amidst  the  greatest  suffer- 
ings J  and  in  the  world  to  come 
all  the  advantages  are  on  their 
side.  The  argument  is  confirmed 
in  Plato's  fashion  by  a  myth. 


0?tce  upon  a  time  the  judgment 
of  souls  took  place  upon  the  day 
of  death  while  both  the  judges 
and  the  judged  were  alive.  The 
result  was  tmsatisfactory :  the 
veil  of  the  body  hid  the  soul  from 
the  ghmce  of  the  judge,  who  was 
himself  hindered  by  a  like  im- 
pedimetit.  In  order  to  7-emedy 
this  evil  Zeus  made  his  sons 
judges  in  the  world  below,  and 
the  souls  were  tried  after  death. 
There  was  no  more  escape  for 
the  wicked:  the  judges  beheld 
his  soul  stained  and  corrupted  by 
lust  and  wickedness  and  pro- 
nounced the ftti?tg  penalty. —  The 
argument  of  the  Gorgias  is  iti  a 
manner  resumed  atid  completed 
in  the  Republic.  In  the  first 
Book  several  definitions  of  jtcstice 
are  attempted,  all  of  which  fall 
before  the  dialectic  of  Socrates. 
Glaucon  aJtd  Adeima7ttus  then 
intervene  :—manki7id  regard jus- 
tice as  a  Jtecessiiy,  not  as  a  good 
in  itself,  or  at  best  as  only  to  be 
practised  because  of  the  temporal 
bejiefits  which  flow  from  it :  can 
Socrates  prove  that  it  belongs  to 
a  higher  class  of  goods  f  So- 
crates in  reply  proposes  to  con- 
struct an  ideal  state  in  which 
justice  will  be  more  easily  recog- 
nized tha7i  in  the  individual. 
Justice  is  thus  discovered  to  be 
the  essential  virtue  of  the  state 
{a  thesis  afterwards  enlarged 
upon  by  Aristotle  [Pol.  i.  2.  16  ; 
iii.  13,  §  3]),  the  bond  of  the 
social  organizatio7i,  and,  like 
te7nperance  in  the  Laws  (3.  696, 
697  ;  4.  709  E),  rather  the  ac- 
C077ipa7iii/ient  or  conditio7i  of  the 
virtues  than  a  virtue  in  itself. 
Expressed  in  an  outward  or 
political  fo7'77t  it  beco77ies  the 
great  p7-i7iciple  which  has  been 
already  e7iu7tciated  [^e'p.  I.  332), 
*  that  every  man  shall  do  his  own 


VOL.  V. 


450 


Index. 


work';  on  this  Plato  bases  the 
necessity  of  the  division  into 
classes  which  underlies  the  whole 
fabric  of  the  ideal  state  (Rep.  4. 
433  foil. ;  Tim.  17  C).  Thus  we 
are  led  to  acknowledge  the  hap- 
piness of  the  just;  for  he  alone 
reflects  in  himself  this  vital  prin- 
ciple of  the  state  (Rep.  4.  445). 
The  final  proof  is  supplied  by  a 
comparison  of  the  pejfect  state 
with  actual  forms  of  gov  em- 
inent. These,  like  the  individuals 
who  correspond  to  them,  becojue 
more  and  moi'e  miserable  as  they 
recede  further  from  the  ideal,  and 
the  climax  is  reached  (Rep.  9. 
587)  tvhen  the  tyrant  is  shown 
by  the  aid  of  arithmetic  to  have 
'  729  times  less  pleasure  than 
the  king'  [i.e.  the  perfectly  just 
ruler'].  Lastly,  the  happiness  of 
the  just  is  proved  to  extend  also 
ifito  the  next  world,  where  men 
appear  before  the  judgment-seat 
of  heaven  and  receive  the  due 
reward  of  their  deeds  in  this  life. 
— In  the  Laws,  no  less  than  in  the 
Republic,  justice  is  assigned  a 
high  place  among  the  virtues. 
Eve?y  constitution,  however  im- 
perfect, must  share  in  justice  to 
some  degree  J-  for  no  association, 
even  of  the  bad,  can  be  formed 
unless  regard  is  had  to  justice 
[cp.  Lysis  214).  It  is  the  virtue 
which  makes  men  civilized,  and 
fits  them  to  dwell  together  in  the 
state.  But  injustice  is  the  dis- 
ease of  cities  and  governments, 
corresponding  to  sickness  in  the 
bodily  frame.  Again,  the  just 
man  shows  his  justice  especially 
in  his  dealings  with  slaves  and 
inferiors,  whom  he  endeavours  to 
train  in  virtue  [cp.  Arist.  Pol.  i. 
13,  §  14].  He  alone  enjoys  true 
happiness  J- for  to  him  the  good 
and  the  pleasant  are  one  and  the 
same.  He  has  God  always  as  his 


friend  and  guide,  whereas  the 
unjust  passes  through  life  in 
wild  confusion  and  soon  comes  to 
the  end  of  his  seeming  pros- 
perity.'] 

Justice,  courts  of ;  see  Law  Courts. 

Kindred,  honour  of,  Laws  5. 729  ;  — 
marriages  of  kindred,  ib.  1 1 .  924 
E. 

King,  the,  pleasures  of,  compared 
with  those  of  the  tyrant,  Rep.  9. 
587  foil. ;  art  of,  Statesm.  260,  276, 
289,  290,  291,  292,  293,  295  B, 
300  E,  305  A,  308, 31 1  (cp.  Protag. 
321,  322)  ;  —  king  and  states- 
man, Statesm.  259  ; — king  and 
shepherd,  ib.  261, 276  (cp.  Theaet. 
174  D;  Laws  5.73s); — king  and 
tyrant,  Statesm.  301,  302: — Kings 
and  philosophers.  Rep.  5. 473  (cp. 
6. 487  E,  498  foil.,  501  E  foil. ;  7. 
540;  8.  543  ;  9.  592) ;— ignorance 
common  among  kings,  Laws  3. 
691  ; — kings  of  ancient  Attica, 
Menex.  238  C  ;  of  Egypt,  always 
priests,  Statesm.  290  E ;  of  Persia, 
Laws  3.  694;  I  Alcib.  121,  122; 
of  Sparta,  Laws  3.  691,  696  A ;  i 
Alcib.  121 ;  of  Thrace,  Charm. 
156  C. 

King,  the  Great,  Lysis  209  C ; 

Euthyd.  274  A  ;   Meno  78  D  ; 

Gorg.  470  E  ;  Rep.  8.  553  D  ; 

Soph.  230  E  ;  Statesm.  264  C  ;  i 

Alcib.  120. 
King  Archon  ;  see  Archon. 
Kingship,    in    primitive  society. 

Laws  3.  681. 
Kinsmen,  to  prosecute  for  murder. 

Laws  9.  866,  868,  871,  873  E  ; 

not  to  be  judges,  ib.  879  A ; 

duties  of,  towards  orphans,  ib.  6. 

766  D;  II.  923-925;  to  decide 

whether  a  son  may   be  dis- 
inherited, ib.  929. 
Kisses,  the  reward  of  the  brave 

warrior,  Rep.  5.  46S  C. 


Index. 


451 


Knots,  magical,  Laws  11.  933  B,  D. 

Knowledge  {eTna-Tt'jfir],  yiyvoaaKeiv)  ; 
'  know  thyself  at  Delphi,  Charm. 
164  D  foil. ;  Protag.  343  B ; 
Phaedr.  229  E ;  Phil.  48  C  ; 
Laws  II.  923  A  ;  i  Alcib.  124  A, 
129  A,  132  C  ;  knowledge  of  self, 
not  =  knowing  what  you  know 
and  what  you  do  not  know. 
Charm.  169 ;  the  proper  study 
of  mankind,  Phaedr.  230  A : 
— knowing  and  not  knowing, 
Theaet.  197;  knowing  and  pos- 
sessing knowledge,  ;  know- 
ing and  being  known.  Soph.  248 
E ;  knowing  and  communica- 
ting knowledge,  i  Alcib.  118: — 
knowledge = knowledge  of  ideas, 
Rep.  6.  484 ;  =  the  sciences, 
Theaet.  146;  =  perception,  td. 
151,  160  E,  163  foil.,  179,  182  E, 

183  ;  =true  opinion  with  a  reason, 
zd.  201  foil. ;  =  power  of  divi- 
sion and  composition,  Phil.  17  ; 
=  knowledge  of  the  soul,  i  Alcib. 
130, 131, 133  : — source  of,  Phaedr. 
247;  distinguished  from  belief, 
Gorg.  454;  nature  of.  Rep.  5.  477, 
478  ;  classed  among  faculties,  z^. 
477;  6.  511  E;  7.  533  E;  origin 
of,  Tim.  37  ;  consists  in  reasoning 
about  sensations,  Theaet.  186  ;  is 
true  opinion,  id.  187  foil. : — divi- 
sions of,  Statesm.  260,  267 ;  parts 
of, .  Phil.  5  5  D  ;  tlireefold,  Laws 
10.  895  :  —  previous  to  birth, 
Phaedo  75;  Rep.  7.  518  C;  a 
process  of  recollection,  Meno  81, 
98  A  ;  Phaedo  73,  75,  92 ;  Phil. 
34  ;  Laws  5.  732  (cp.  Recollec- 
tion) :  —  how  far  given  by  the 
senses,  Phaedo  65  E,  75 ;  Theaet. 

184  foil.  (cp.  Rep.  7.  529);  its 
relation  to  sight,  Theaet.  163, 
164,  165  B  (cp.  Phil.  38  C)  :— 
creates  trust.  Lysis  209,  210 ; 
must  decide  a  question,  Laches 
1 84  ;  the  food  of  the  soul,  Protag. 
313  D  ;  more  valuable  than  food, 
id.  314;  peril  of  buying,  ibid.\ 


the  deprivation  of,  the  only  real 
evil,  ib.  345  B  ;  highest  of  human 
things,  ib.  352  ;  source  of  true 
pleasure  and  good,  ib.  356  foil. ; 
must  use  as  well  as  make,  Euthyd. 
289  ;  the  only  good,  ib.  292  B ; 
difficulty  of,  Crat.  384  A;  not 
given  by  names,  ib.  436,  440 ; 
the  conceit  of,  Phaedr.  237  C  ; 
Apol.  22,  29  ;  Soph.  230  ;  Phil.  49 
A;  Laws  3.  701  A;  5.  727  B, 
732  A;  9.  863  C  ;  10.  886  B  ;  ne- 
cessary to  right  actions,  Meno  97; 
hindered  by  the  body,  Phaedo  66  ; 
to  be  obtained  after  death,  ib.  E 
foil.;  should  not  be  acquired  under 
compulsion.  Rep.  7.  536  E  (but 
cp.  Laws  7.  810) ;  desire  of,  in 
the  soul,  Tim.  90 ;  gives  the 
right  of  command,  Theaet.  170 
B,  178  (cp.  I  Alcib.  134  C);  plea- 
sures of, .  Phil.  52  ;  differences 
of  clearness  in,  ib.  57  B  ;  the 
supreme  law.  Laws  9.  875  ;  makes 
free,  i  Alcib.  135;  not  to  be 
divorced  from  justice,  Menex. 
246  E  ;  not  always  better  than 
ignorance,  2  Alcib.  143  foil.  :  — 
knowledge  and  courage,  Laches 
193,  197;  Protag.  350,  360  (cp. 
Gorg.  490  foil.,  495  ;  Rep.  4.  429 ; 
Laws  12.  963)  :— knowledge  and 
definition,  Theaet.  202,  208  : — 
knowledge  and  good,  Euthyd. 
281  :  —  knowledge  and  happi- 
ness. Charm.  173  ;  Euthyd.  281  ; 
Meno  88  ;  i  Alcib.  134  ; — know- 
ledge and  justice,  Hipp.  Min. 
375  : — knowledge  and  learning, 
Euthyd.  278  A  : — knowledge  and 
opinion,  Meno  96-98 ;  Phaedr. 
247,  248  ;  Rep.  5.  476-478  ;  6.  508 
D,  510  A  ;  7.  534  ;  Theaet.  187, 
201  foil.  (z/.  s.  V.  Opinion)  : — 
knowledge  and  pleasure,  Rep.  6. 
505  : — knowledge  and  rhetoric, 
Phaedr.  262 :  —  knowledge  and 
success,  Euthyd.  281  :  —  know- 
ledge and  virtue,  Protag.  356  foil.; 
Euthyd.  274  E  ;  Meno  87-89  :— 


G  g  2 


452 


Index. 


knowledge  and  wisdom,  Rep.  4. 
428  (cp.  Laws  3.  689  C):- ab- 
stract and  relative  knowledge, 
Charm.  1 70  :  —  absolute  know- 
ledge, Phaedr.  247  E ;  Farm. 
134:  —  knowledge  of  absolute 
ideas,  Phaedo  75  (cp.  Parm.  134, 
136)  : — the  highest  knowledge, 
the  Idea  of  Good,  Rep.  6.  504  ; 
7.  514  foil.  (cp.  Laws  12.  965)  :— 
the  best  knowledge,  to  discern 
between  good  and  evil.  Rep.  10. 
618: — knowledge  of  the  good 
implies  knowledge  of  the  bad. 
Ion  531,  532  {cp.  Rep.  i.  334)  :— 
knowledge  of  the  just  and  unjust, 
I  Alcib.  109  foil.:  —  unity  of 
knowledge,  Phaedo  loi  ;  Rep. 
5.  479 ;  Soph.  257  : — knowledge 
which  is  superhuman  only, 
ridiculous,  Phil.  62  B  :— universal 
knowledge  (of  the  Sophists), 
impossible,  Euthyd.  293,  294 ; 
Soph.  233,  234  : — knowledge  of 
shadows.  Rep.  6.  511  D  ;  7.  534 
A  :— knowledge  of  the  Gods,  un- 
attainable, Crat.  400  E,  425  C ; 
Rep.  2.  365  E  ;  Grit.  107  ;  Parm. 
134  E;  noble.  Laws  12.  966: — 
knowledge  of  the  world,  ib. 
I.  640  C:— love  of  knowledge, 
characteristic  of  the  Hellenes, 
Rep.  4.  435  E  ;  peculiar  to  the 
rational  element  of  the  soul,  ib.  9. 
581  B. 

Ii. 

Labour,  blessings  of,  Laws  6.  779 
A  ;  the  enemy  of  lust,  ib.  8.  841 
A  : — division  of.  Rep.  2.  370,  374 
A ;  3-  394  E,  395  B,  397  E  ;  4. 
423  E,  433  A,  435  A,  441  E,  443, 
453  B  (cp.  Laws  8.  846  C  foil.). 

Labourers,  free,  Euthyph.  4  C. 

Lacedaemon,  early  history  of.  Laws 
3.  682  E,  683  D  foil. ;  owes  its 
good  order  to  Lycurgus,  Rep.  10. 
599  E ;  in  laws  and  institutions 
the  sister  of  Crete,  Laws  3.  683  A ; 
Tyrtaeus  made  a  citizen  of,  ib.  i . 


629  A  ; — fencing  masters  do  not 
visit.  Laches  183  B:  —  Lace- 
daemonian and  Cretan  philo- 
sophy, Protag.  342  A  foil.  :— 
Lacedaemonian  brevity  and 
sententiousness,  ibid. ;  Laws  i. 
642  A  ;  4.  721  E  :  —  Lace- 
daemonian use  of  Qtioi  avrjp, 
Meno  99  D  ;  the  Lacedae- 
monian word  SoCr,  Crat.  412 
B  : — Lacedaemonian  constitution 
commonly  extolled.  Rep.  8.  544  C 
(cp.  Crito  52  E)  ;  a  timocracy. 
Rep.  8.  545  B;  designed  with  a 
view  to  superiority  in  war.  Laws 
I.  626  C,  628  E,  630  D  (cp. 
Laches  183  A)  ;  akin  to  the 
Cretan,  Laws  3.  683  A  ;  balance 
of  powers  in,  ib.  691  E  ;  (like 
the  Cretan)  in  a  mean  between 
democracy  and  monarchy,  ib.  693 
E  ;  combines  the  elements  of  all 
forms  of  government,  ib.  4. 
712: — Lacedaemonian  laws  said 
to  have  been  derived  by  Lycurgus 
from  Apollo,  ib.  1.  624  A,  632 
D  ;  do  not  make  the  citizens 
equally  brave  against  pleasure 
and  pain,  ib.  634;  not  allowed 
to  be  criticized  by  the  young,  ib. 
D  ;  laws  concerning  paederastia, 
Symp.  182  A  ;  Laws  8.  836  B  :— 
the  double  monarchy  intended  to 
be  a  check  on  the  state.  Laws  3. 

691  E ;  the  most  ancient  of 
monarchies,  ib.  4.  712  E;  the 
kings  descended  from  Zeus,  i 
Alcib.  120  E  foil.;  their  wives, 
ib.  121  B  ;  compared  to  the  Per- 
sian kings,  ibid.;  their  wealth, 
ibid.,  122  D  foil. :— the  Gerousia, 
Laws  3.  691  E  :  —the  Ephors,  ib. 

692  A ;  4.  712  D  ;  watch  over 
the  queens,  i  Alcib.  121  C: — 
Crypteia,  Laws  I.  633  B  :— 
Games  in  honour  of  the  Dioscori, 
ib.  7.  796  B  : — Gymnasia  ;  Lace- 
daemonians first  after  the  Cretans 
to  strip  in.  Rep.  5.  452  D  (cp. 
Theaet.  162  B,  169  B) ;  moral 


Index. 


453 


effect  of,  Laws  i.  636  B  foil.  ; 
virgins  take  part  in  gymnastic 
exercises,  ib.  7.  S06  A  ;  spectators 
bidden  to  take  part  or  go,  Theaet. 
162  B,  169  B  : — syssitia.  Laws  i. 
633  A  ;  6.  780  C  foil. ;  8.  842 
B  : — training,  ib.  I.  633  foil.  :— 
Lacedaemonians  at  Plataea, 
Laches  191  C;  came  to  Marathon 
a  day  too  late,  Laws  3.  698  E  ; 
Menex.  240  C ;  at  Tanagra, 
I  Alcib.  112  C;  Menex.  242 
A;  at  Coronea,  i  Alcib.  112  C; 
obliged  to  surrender  to  the 
Athenians  at  Sphagia,  Menex. 
243  C  ;  driven  by  the  Athenians 
from  the  sea,  ib.  246  A  ;  their 
conquest  and  division  of  Arcadia, 
Symp.  193  A  ; — take  the  greatest 
interest  in  war  of  all  Hellenes, 
Laches  183  A  ;  fond  of  the  poems 
of  Tyrtaeus,  Laws  i.  629 ;  con- 
sider hunting  a  training  for  war, 
ib.  633  B  ;  their  endurance  of 
pain,  ibid.  ;  i  Alcib.  122  D  ;  re- 
straint laid  upon.  Laws  i.  635  B, 
636  E  ;  absence  of  intoxication 
among,  ib.  637  A  foil. ;  licence  of 
women  among,  ib.  B  ;  6. 781  foil. ; 
superior  to  all  other  men  in  war, 
1.638A;  conservative  in  music, 
ib.  2.  660  B  ;  their  education  that 
of  a  camp,  ib.  666  E  ;  better  at 
gymnastic  than  music,  ib.  673  C  ; 
well  acquainted  with  Homer,  ib. 
3.  680  D  ;  have  preserved  the 
ancient  institutions  of  the  Hera- 
cleidae,  ib.  685  A ;  constantly  at 
war  with  the  sister  states,  ib.  686 
B  ;  defenders  of  Hellas,  ib.  692 
D  ;  equality  of  society  among, 
ib.  696  A  ;  their  treatment  of  the 
Helots,  ib.  6.  776  C  ;  think  that  a 
brave  city  has  no  need  of  walls, 
ib.  778  D  ;  mode  of  life  among 
their  women,  ib.  7.  806  D  ;  their 
temperance  and  discipline,  i 
Alcib.  122  D ;  their  ambitious 
character,  ibid.  (cp.  Rep.  8.  545  A, 
548  C) ;  use  pieces  of  iron  instead 


of  coined  money,  Eryx.  400  A  ; 
■ — the  prayer  of  the  Lacedae- 
monians, 2  Alcib.  148  ;  offer 
blemished  animals  to  the  Gods, 
ib.  149  A. 

Laches,  a  person  in  the  dialogue 
Laches,  Laches  1 80  A  foil. ;  a 
pubhc  man,  ib.  180  B,  187  A; 
was  with  Socrates  at  Delium,  ib. 
181  B  (cp.  188  E  ;  Symp.  221  A) ; 
his  view  of  fighting  in  armour, 
Laches  182  D  foil. ;  his  wealth, 
ib.  186  C  ;  his  feeling  about  an 
argument,  ib.  188  C  foil.  ;  dis- 
cusses courage  with  Socrates  and 
Nicias,  ib.  190  B  foil. 

Lachesis,  eldest  of  the  fates.  Laws 
12.  960  C  ;  turns  the  spindle  of 
Necessity  together  with  Clotho 
and  Atropos,  Rep.  10.  617  C  ; 
daughter  of  Necessity,  her 
speech,  ib.  D  ;  apportions  a 
genius  to  each  soul,  ib.  620  D, 

Laconizers,  'who  go  about  with 
their  ears  bruised,'  Protag.  342 
B  ;  Gorg.  515  E. 

Laius,  Laws  8.  836  D. 

Lamachus,  the  Athenian  general, 
Laches  197  C. 

Lamentation,  to  be  checked.  Rep. 
3.  387 ;  10.  603  E  (cp.  Laws  7. 
792  B  ;  12. 949  B)  ; — at  sacrifices. 
Laws  7.  800 ; — over  the  dead, 
Rep.  3.  387  D  ;  Laws  12.  959 
E  :  —  Lamentations  (Bprjvoi),  a 
division  of  music.  Laws  3.  700  A. 

Lampido,  mother,  daughter,  and 
wife  of  a  king,  i  Alcib.  124  A. 

Lamprus,  a  musician,  Menex.  236 
A. 

Lampsacus,  Metrodorus  of,  Ion 
530  D. 

Land,  division  of,  proclaimed  by  the 
would-be  tyrant,  Rep.  8.  565  E, 
566  D  ;  difficulty  of  legislating 
about.  Laws  3.  684 ;  5.  736  D  ;  — 
(in  the  Model  City),  distribution 
of,  ib.  5.  737-740,  745  ;  not  to  be 
.sold  or  bought,  ib.  741.  Cp. 
Model  City. 


454 


Index. 


Landmarks,  not  to  be  moved,  Laws 
8.  843  A. 

Language,  invention  of,  Protag.  322 
A;  analysis  of,  Crat.  421,  422; 
of  the  deaf  and  dumb,  ib.  /\22 
E ;  origin  of,  zb.  425,  426 ; 
scientific  construction  of,  ib.  425  ; 
ancient  framers  of,  ibid. ;  com- 
plete analysis  of,  impossible,  ibid. ; 
greatness  of,  ib.  427  E  ;  pliability 
or  plastic  power  of,  Rep.  9.  588  D 
(cp.  Statesm.  277  B  ;  Laws  4.  712 
B ;  5.  746  A) ;  proper  use  of, 
Theaet.  165  A,  168  B,  184  C,  196 
E  ;  analysis  of.  Soph.  261  foil. ; — 
distinctions  of  language,  Laws  12. 
944  B ;  invented  by  Prodicus, 
Charm.  163  D;  Laches  197  D; 
Protag.  337  A,  340  A,  358  A,  D  ; 
Euthyd.  277  E  ;  Meno  75  E ; — 
languages  altered  by  time,  Crat. 
418,  421  :— 'the  long  and  difficult 
language  of  facts,'  Statesm.  278 
D. 

Larisa,  Meno  97  A  :— Larisaeans 
given  to  philosophy,  ib.  70  B. 

Laughter,  not  to  be  allowed  in  the 
guardians,  Rep.  3. 388  E  (cp.  Laws 
5.  732B;  II.  935  B) ;  nor  repre- 
sented in  the  Gods,  Rep.  3.  389  A. 

Laurel,  wreath  of,  to  be  worn  by  the 
censors  of  magistrates.  Laws  12. 
947  A. 

Lavation,  ceremonies  of.  Laws  9. 
871  B. 

Law,  in  some  Greek  states,  that 
capital  causes  should  not  be 
decided  in  one  day,  Apol.  37  A  ; 
law  at  Athens  respecting  the 
maintenance  of  the  children  of 
citizens  slain  in  battle,  Menex.  249 ; 
at  Carthage,  respecting  drink- 
ing. Laws  2.  674  : — ancient  laws, 
often  excellent,  ib.  8.  844  A  : — 
Laws  of  Atlantis,  Crit.  119, 
120; — of  Crete,  Laws  1.625,  626, 
631,  633  foil.  ;— of  t:gypt,  similar 
to  those  of  ancient  Attica,  Tim. 
24;— of  Lacedaemon,  Laws  i. 
626;— of  Persia  (Darius),  ib.  3. 


695  D  :  —  Laws  engraved  on 
tablets,  Statesm.  298  D  ;  in- 
scribed on  columns,  Laws  11.917 
E,  918  A  (cp.  Crit.  119  C,  E,  120 
A).  Cp.  Legislator,  Model  City. 
Law,  the  tyrant  of  mankind,  Protag. 
337  D  (cp.  Statesm.  294  B) ;  un- 
written in  ancient  times,  Statesm. 
29s  A  ;  Laws  2.  680  A ;  7.  793 
C ;  defined,  Laws  i.  644  D  ;  the 
'  sacred  and  golden  cord,'  ib.  645 
A ;  etymology  of  the  word  (i/o'/ior 

=  vov  Sinvofirj),  ib.  4.  714  A;  12. 

957  D  (cp.  Rep.  7.  532  E) ;  the 
noblest  work  of,  to  make  men  hate 
injustice,  Laws  9. 862  E  ;  inferior 
to  mind,  ib.  875  D  :— should  the 
law  or  the  monarch  rule?  Statesm. 

294  foil. :— the  law  and  the  pre- 
lude. Laws  4. 718, 722, 723;  6. 772 
E  ;  9.  880  A  ;  10.  887  A  :— Laws 
a  species  of  written  composition, 
Phaedr.257, 258,  278  D  (cp.  Laws 
9.  858  C  ;  12.  957  C) ;  the  'lords 
of  the  city,'  Symp.  196  C ;  are 
teachers  of  youth,  Apol.  24  (cp. 
Protag.  326  U) ;  are  for  punish- 
ment, not  instruction,  Apol.  26 
A ;  plead  their  cause  against 
Socrates,  Crito  50  foil. ;  are 
powerful  in  the  next  world,  ib.  54 ; 
made  by  the  majority  in  the 
interest  of  the  weak,  Gorg.  483 
D,  488  E  ;  may  be  given  in  error, 
Rep.  I.  339  E  ;  supposed  to  arise 
from  a  convention  among  man- 
kind, ib.  2.  359  A  ;  Laws  10.  890 
A ;  cause  of.  Rep.  3.  405  ;  on 
special  subjects  of  little  use,  ib.  4. 
425, 426 ;  Laws  7. 788  (cp.  Statesm. 

295  A) ;  treated  with  contempt 
in  democracies.  Rep.  8.  563  E  ; 
bring  help  to  all  in  the  state,  ib. 
9.  590  ;  when  to  be  called  '  good,' 
Theaet.  177  D  ;  cannot  compre- 
hend all  particulars,  Statesm.  294, 
295,  299  ;  how  far  to  be  changed, 
ib.  295,  296;  Laws  6.  769,  772; 
in  ordinary  constitutions,  must  be 
obeyed  by  all,  Statesm.  297-300 : 


Index. 


455 


are  for  the  sake  of  the  best,  Laws 
1 . 628  C  ;  should  regard  all  virtue 
and  not  a  part  only,  ib.  630  E  ; 
4.  70s  E  ;  intended  to  make  men 
happy,  ib.  I.  631  B  ;  young  men 
are  not  to  criticize,  ib.  634  ;  the 
proper  tests  of,  ib.  638  ;  unknown 
in  primitive  society,  ib.  3.  680  A  ; 
aim  at  virtue  only,  ib.  693  B ; 
12.  963  A;  may  be  divided  into 
three  classes,  ib.  3.  697 ;  must  be 
enforced  by  the  example  of  the 
rulers,  ib.  4.  71 1  C  ;  wrongly  sup- 
posed to  regard  only  the  interest 
of  the  existing  government,  ib. 
714  B;  supremacy  of,  is  the 
salvation  of  the  state,  ib.  715  ; 
obedience  to,  ib.  C  ;  5.  729 ;  6.  762 
E  ;  must  be  definite,  ib.  4.  719  ; 
may  have  a  longer  or  a  shorter 
form,  ib.  720 ;  useless  unless  the 
rulers  are  good,  ib.  6.  751  ;  not 
easily  received  at  their  first 
imposition,  752  B  ;  the  service 
of,  the  service  of  God,  ib.  762  E  ; 
require  correction  from  experi- 
ence, ib.  769  D,  772  ;  8.  846 
C  ;  compared  to  music,  ib. 
7.  800  (cp.  3.  700  B) ;  should 
they  threaten  or  persuade  ?  ib.  9. 
859  A  (cp.  4.  718  E ;  10.  890)  ; 
necessity  of,  ib.  9.  859  A,  875  ; 
object  of,  ib.  880  E  ;  value  of, 

.  when  written  down,  ib.  10.  890 
E  ;  should  be  understood  by  the 
citizens,  ib.  12.  951  B  ;  knowledge 
of,  most  valuable,  ib.  957  D. 

Law,  the  divine,  of  justice.  Laws  4. 
716  A  : — the  law  of  nature  (the 
*  natural  justice '  of  Pindar), 
Gorg.  484  B,  488  B  ;  Laws  3.  690 
B  ;  4.  715  A  (cp.  10.  890  A). 

Laws  of  the  banquet^  Laws  2.  671 
(cp.  Ruler  of  the  Feast). 

Laws,  reviewers  of.  Laws  12.  951. 
Cp.  Spectator. 

'  Laws,'  the,  a  romance,  Laws  6.  752 
A ;  a  model  for  the  Director  of 
Education,  ib.  7.  81 1  D  ;  a  collec- 
tion of  materials  for  legislation, 


ib.  9.  858; — the  constitution 
described  in,  the  second-best,  ib. 

5.  739  ;  7.  807  B. 

Laws  (fd/iot),  the  old  name  for 
particular  kinds  of  music,  Laws  3. 
700  B  ;  7.  800  A  (cp.  Crat.  417 
E) ; — '  laws '  and '  strains,'  Laws  7. 
800  A  (cp.  Rep.  7.  532  E  ;  Laws 
4.  722  E  ;  6.  772  E). 

Lawcourts  (at  Athens),  in  the 
Porch  of  the  King  Archon, 
Euthyph.  2  ;  Theaet.  210 ; — 
attempts  to  influence  the  di  casts, 
Apol.  34,  35  ;  fine  imposed  on  the 
plaintiff,  if  unsuccessful,  ib.  36  A  ; 
fixing  of  the  pehalty  by  the 
accused,  ib.  37,  38  :  —  (in  the 
Model  City),  position  of.  Laws 

6.  778  C  ; — three  kinds  of,  ib. 
767  ;  12.  956  (cp.  Judges) ;  po- 
pular courts,  ib.  6.  768  B ;  courts 
of  the  tribes,  ibid.  ;  11.  915  C; 
court  of  appeal,  ib.  9.  855  C  ; 
II.  926  D,  928,  938;  12.  946, 
948  A,  956 ; — the  court  of  the 
eldest  citizens,  ib.  11.  932  C  ; — to 
be  open  to  the  public,  ib.  6.  767 
E  ;  proceedings  in,  ib.  9.  855  E  ; 
must  supply  the  omission  of  the 
legislator  (in  regard  to  penalties, 
&c.),  ib.  876 : — Lawcourts,  a  place 
of  punishment,  not  of  education, 
Apol.  26  A  ;  importance  of  their 
good  arrangement,  Laws  9.  876. 

Lawgiver,  see  Legislator. 

Lawlessness,  begins  in  music.  Rep. 
4.  424  E  ;  Laws  3.  701  A. 

Lawsuits,  will  be  almost  unknown 
in  the  Model  City,  Laws  5.  743  C. 

Lawyer,  the,  Theaet.  173-175  ; — 
Lawyers  increase  when  wealth 
abounds,  Rep.  3.  405  A. 

'  Learn,'  double  sense  of  the  word, 
Euthyd.  278  A. 

Learning,  pleasure  accompanying. 
Laws  2.  667  C  (cp.  Rep.  6. 486  C  ; 
9.  581,  586  E)  ;  is  recollecting, 
Meno  81  ;  distinguished  from 
belief,  Gorg.  454.  Cp.  Know- 
ledge. 


456 


Index. 


Leather,  pieces  of,  used  as  money  at 
Carthage,  Eryx.  400  A. 

Lechaeum,  Athenians  defeated  at, 
Menex.  245  E. 

Legislation,  a  subdivision  of  the  art 
of  politics,  Gorg.  464;  requires  the 
help  of  God,  Rep.  4.  425  E  ;  prin- 
ciple of,  Statesm.  297  ;  legislation 
and  education.  Laws  2. 659  D  foil.; 
origin  of,  ib.  3.680  ;  early  legisla- 
tion, a  simple  matter,  ib.  684  C 
(cp.  9.  853) ;  conditions  of  legisla- 
tion, ib.  4.  709  ;  order  of,  ib.  721  ; 
imperfection  of,  ib.  6.  769,  772 ; 
9.  876 ;  aim  of,  ib.  6.  770  (cp.  3. 
693  B)  ;  cannot  include  minute 
details,  ib.  7.  788,  807  E  (cp.  Rep. 
4.  425,  426 ;  Statesm.  295  A) ; 
necessity  of  permanence  in.  Laws 
7.  797 ;  may  conform  to  a  higher 
or  a  lower  standard,  ib.  8.  841  B  ; 
has  never  been  rightly  worked 
out,  ib.  9.  857  D  ;  sometimes 
thought  to  be  wholly  a  work  of 
art,  ib.  10.  889  D.    Cp.  Laws. 

Legislator,  the  giver  of  names,  Crat. 
389.  393  404  A,  408  A,  414 
B,  427  D,  429  A,  431  E,  436,  437 
E  ;  must  desire  unity  above  all 
things  in  the  state,  Rep.  5.  462 ; 
aims  at  expediency,  Theaet.  177 
E  {but  cp.  Laws  3.  693  C) ;  legis- 
lator and  physician  compared, 
Statesm.  295,  298  ;  Laws  4.  720  ; 
legislator  and  pilot  compared, 
Statesm.  298  ;  legislator  will  im- 
plant in  his  citizens  true  opinions 
about  the  honourable,  the  just,  and 
the  good,  ib.  309  ;  his  object,  not 
war  but  peace,  Laws  i.  627,  628, 
630 ;  should  have  in  view  all 
virtue,  and  not  merely  try  to  sup- 
ply a  want,  ib.  630  E  ;  must  order 
the  whole  state  in  accordance  with 
wisdom,  temperance,  and  justice, 
ib.  631,  632  ;  3.  688  ;  should  teach 
his  citizens  to  hold  out  against 
pleasure  as  well  as  pain,  ib.  i.  634 
foil.,  647  foil.;  must  adopt  and 
consecrate  the  melodies  which 


may  be  allowed  in  the  state,  ib.  2. 
657  A,  660  A;  must  insist  that  the 
just  life  is  the  pleasantest,  ib.  663  ; 
may  tell  a  falsehood  for  a  good 
end,  ib.  E  (cp.  Rep.  3.  389  A, 
414  C  ;  5.  459  D)  ;  must  enact 
laws  of  the  banquet.  Laws  2.  671 
C ;  ought  to  regard,  not  the 
people's  wishes,  but  their  true  in- 
terests, 2(^.3.684  C  ;  II.  922  E,923 
B  (cp.  Statesm.  293  foil.) ;  must 
banish  ignorance  from  the  state. 
Laws  3.  688  E ;  must  secure  a 
balance  of  power  in  the  state,  ib. 
691,  693  B ;  aims  at  one  end, 
virtue,  though  under  different 
names,  ib.  693  B  (cp.  701  D  ;  4. 
706  A;  6.  770;  8.  835  D;  12. 
963  A) ;  must  determine  the 
honour  which  is  to  be  paid  to 
each  virtue,  ib.  3.  696  E ;  must 
give  wealth  the  last  place  in  the 
state,  ib.  697  C  (cp.  679  C ;  4. 
705  B,  706  A  ;  5.  742,  743  E  ;  9. 
870) ;  like  other  artists,  requires 
favourable  conditions,  ib.  4.  709 
C  ;  needs  the  aid  of  a  virtuous 
tyrant,  ib.  710  D  (cp.  5.  735  E, 
739  A) ;  will  wish  his  citizens  to 
be  receptive  of  virtue,  ib.  4.  718 
U  ;  6.  770  (cp.  Statesm.  309) ; 
will  use  persuasion  as  well  as 
force.  Laws  4.  718  E  foil.;  10. 
890  (cp.  9.  859  A  ;  10.  885  E  ; 
II.  928  A);  must  be  definite 
in  his  enactments,  ib.  4.  719 
(cp.  6.  769  D;  10.  885  B  ;  11. 
916  E)  ;  compared  to  a  breeder 
of  animals,  ib.  5.  735  B ;  his 
purification  of  the  city,  ib.  D  ; 
must  prevent  the  citizens  from 
quarrelling,  ib.  737  A  (cp.  9.  862 
C)  ;  must  have  a  knowledge  of 
arithmetic,  ib.  5.  737  E,  747  A ; 
will  not  interfere  with  established 
religious  rites,  ib.  739  (cp.  6.  759 
B  ;  8.848  D)  ;  is  more  concerned 
with  virtue  than  wealth,  ib.  5. 
742 ;  must  not  be  expected  to 
attempt  impossibilities,  ib.  E : 


Index. 


457 


should  make  his  work  perfect  and 
self-consistent,  ib.  746  D  (cp.  7. 
823  A) ;  must  not  regard  class 
interests,  ib.  6.  757  D  ;  must  pay 
the  greatest  attention  to  educa- 
tion, ib.  766  A ;  compared  to  a 
painter,  ib.  769  ;  II.  934  B  ;  must 
leave  the  correction  of  his  work  to 
the  magistrates,  ib.  6.  769,  772, 
779  D  (cp.  7.  816  ;  8.  846  C  ;  9. 
876;  II.  934  B;  12.  956  E); 
must  control  the  private  life  of 
the  citizens,  ib.  6.  780  A  (cp.  7. 
790  A)  ;  cannot  regulate  the 
minutiae  of  life,  7.  78S,  807  E  (cp. 
Rep.  4.  425,  426 ;  Statesm.  295 
A)  ;  must  inculcate  reverence  for 
antiquity.  Laws  7.  798  ;  must  not 
neglect  the  regulation  of  women, 
ib.  805  A,  806  C  ;  is  the  rival  of 
the  poet,  ib.  817;  must  express 
his  approval  and  disapproval  in 
matters  which  cannot  be  reached 
by  law,  ib.  823  A  ;  will  avail  him- 
self of  ancient  traditions,  ib.  8.  838 
E  (cp.  9.  870  E,  872  E ;  II.  913, 
927  A) ;  may  make  use  of  old 
laws,  ib.  8.  843  E  ;  must  leave 
some  things  for  the  lawcourts  to 
determine,  ib.  9.  876 ;  ought  to 
teach  the  truth  about  religion,  ib. 

10.  888-890  ;  must  be  pardoned 
if  he  sometimes  demands  impos- 
sibilities, ib.  II.  925  E;  his 
censure,  a  far  heavier  penalty 
than  a  loss  of  money,  ib.  926  D 
(CP.7.823C);  may  concede  some- 
what to  custom,  ib.  12.  959  E  : — 
the  ancient  legislators  had  no  dif- 
ficulty in  regard  to  land  or  debts, 
ib.  3.  684  C  ;  5.  736  C  ;  gave  laws 
todemi-gods  and  sons  of  Gods,  ib. 
9. 853  ;  were  too  good-natured,  ib. 

11.  922  E;  —  the  various  aims 
proposed  by  legislators,  ib.  12. 
962  D  ; — writings  of  legislators 
(i.e.  their  laws),  ib.  9.  858  C  (cp. 
Phaedr.  257,  278  D  ;  Symp.  209 
E) ;  to  be  preferred  to  the  com- 
positions of  the  poets.  Laws  9. 


858;  12.  957  D,  964  D  (cp.  7. 
811). 

Leisure,  the  freeman's  life  of, 
Theaet.  172  E  ;  Laws  7.  806  E. 

Lenaea,  festival  of  the,  Protag.  327 
D. 

Leon  of  Salamis,  Apol.  32  D,  E. 

Leontium,  Gorgias  of,  Apol.  ig 
E  ; — Leoritines  assisted  by  the 
Athenians,  Menex.  243  A. 

Leontius,  story  of.  Rep.  4.  439  E. 

Leotychides,  king  of  the  Lacedae- 
monians, I  Alcib.  123  E, 

Leprosies,  Tim.  85  A. 

Lesbian  dialect,  Protag.  341  C,  346 
E. 

Less  and  more,  Phil.  24  foil.,  52. 

Lethe,  Rep.  10.  621  C. 

Leto  or  Letho,  so  called  from  her 
gentle  nature,  Crat.  406  A. 

Letter  a,  Crat.  427  C  ;  5,  ib.  B ; 
ib.  A  ;  T),  ib.  C ;  t,  ib.  A ;  X,  ib. 
B  (cp.  434  D)  ;  V,  ib.  427  C  ;  o,  ib. 
D  ;  p,  ib.  426,  434  D  ;  o-,  ib.  427  A, 
434  D ;  r,  ib.  427  B  ;  0,  ij!^,  ib.  A  :— 
Letters,  insertion  of,  Crat.  414, 
417;  Phaedr.  244  C;  invention  of, 
by  Theuth,  Phaedr.  274  C  ;  Phil. 
18  B  ;  names  of,  different  from 
the  letters  themselves,  with  four 
exceptions,  f ,  v,  o,  ta,  Crat.  393  D  ; 
changes  of,  ib.  399,  418;  classi- 
fication of,  ib.  424  ;  Phil.  17,  18  ; 
meaning  of,  illustrated,  Crat.  427 ; 
letters  and  syllables,  Theaet.  202 
foil. ;  combination  of,  analogous 
to  predication.  Soph.  253 ;  how 
learnt,  Statesm.  277  E  ;  time  to  be 
spent  in  learning.  Laws  7.  810 
B  :  —  image  of  the  large  and 
small  letters,  Rep.  2.  368  C  foil.  ; 
3.  402  A  :  —  primaeval  letters 
(=  elements),  Theaet.  201  E  foil. 

Leucippe,  Crit.  113  D. 

Leucolophides,  father  of  Adei- 
mantus,  Protag.  315  E. 

Libations,  Crit.  120  A  ;  Laws  7.  807 
A  (cp.  Phaedo  117  B). 

Liberality,  one  of  the  virtues  of  the 
philosopher,  Rep.  6.  485  E. 


458 


Index. 


Liberty,  characteristic  of  demo- 
cracy, Rep.  8.  557  B,  561-563 
(cp.  Laws  12.  962  E) :— liberty  of 
speech  at  Athens,  Protag.sigA; 
Gorg.  461  E ;  in  ancient  Persia, 
Laws  3.  694  A.    Cp.  Freedom. 

Libya,  Tim.  24  £,256;  Crit.  108 
E. 

License,  begins  in  music.  Rep.  4. 
424  E  ;  Laws  3.  701  B  ;  in  demo- 
cracies. Rep.  8.  562  D  ;  of  women 
at  Sparta,  Laws  I.  637  B  ;  6.  781 
B. 

Licentiousness  forbidden,  Rep.  5. 
458  (cp.  Laws  6.  782  E  foil. ;  8. 
83s  E). 

'  Licymnaean  words,'  Phaedr.  267 
C. 

Lie,  a,  impossible,  Euthyd.  283  E 
(cp.  Falsehood)  ;  hateful  to  the 
philosopher,  Rep.  6.  490  C ; — 
the  true  lie  and  the  lie  in  words, 
ib.  2.  382  ;  —  the  '  royal  lie,' 
(yevvdiov  \|^fC5ov),  t6.  3.  414  C  ; — 
the  Gods  not  to  be  represented 
as  lying,  id.  2.  382  ; — rulers  of 
the  state  may  lie,  ih'ei. ;  3.  389 
A,  414  C ;  5.  459  D  (cp.  Laws 
2.  663  E) ; — lies  of  poets,  Rep.  2. 
377  ;  3.  408  B  (cp.  10.  597  foil. ; 
Laws  12.  941  B). 

Life,  in  the  early  state.  Rep.  2.  372  ; 
— in  the  days  of  Cronos,  Statesm. 
271  foil.;  primitive  life, /VJ.  274 ; 
Laws  3.  677  foil. : — life  must  be 
guided  in  every  part  by  hannony 
and  rhythm,  Protag.  326  B  ;  Rep. 
7.  522  A;  Laws  2.  654  foil.; 
changes  in  us,  during  the  course 
of,  Symp.  207  D  (cp.  Laws  7. 788 
E;  II.  929  C) ;  not  always  to 
be  preferred  to  death,  Apol. 
28  A,  38  E;  Gorg.  511,  512, 
522  E ;  Laws  8.  828  E,  831 
A  (cp.  Laws  12.  944  D) ;  only 
valuable  when  good,  Crito  48 ; 
Laws  2.  661  ;  4.  707  B  (cp.  Rep. 
4.  445  A,  B  ;  Laws  5.  727  D) ;  a 
guardianship  of  the  Gods,  Phaedo 
62  ;  loses  its  zest  in  old  age,  Rep. 


I.  329  A  ;  full  of  evils,  id.  2.  379 
C  (cp.  Laws  II.  937  E)  ;  intoler- 
able without  virtue.  Rep.  4.  445 
A,  B  ;  shormess  of,  compared  to 
eternity,  id.  10. 608  D  (cp.  Phaedo 
107  C) ;  not  of  much  account, 
Statesm.  299  E  (cp.  Laws  7.  804 
A) ;  a  scene  of  mingled  pleasure 
and  pain,  Phil.  50  A  ;  requires  the 
empirical  arts  (music,  etc.),  id. 
62 ;  valueless  to  the  bad.  Laws 

9.  S62  E  : — '  the  voyage  of  life,'  2 
Alcib.  146  E  (cp.  Phaedo  85  C; 
Laws  7.S03  A) :— life  of  the  citizens 
(in  the  Model  City),  Laws  7.  805- 
807  : — life  of  women  ought  to 
resemble  that  of  men.  Rep.  5. 
451  foil.;  Laws  7.  804  E  .-—three 
kinds  of  lives.  Rep.  9.  581 ;  four 
kinds  of  lives,  Laws  5.  733  ; — the 
true  way  of  life,  Gorg.  527 ;  Laws 
7. 803  ;  the  just  life  or  the  unjust, 
which  is  more  advantageous? 
Rep.  I.  347  foil.;  the  just  Hfe  is  the 
pleasant.  Laws  2.  662  ;  the  good 
life  acceptable  to  God,  id.  4.  716 
C  (cp.  Rep.  10.  613)  ;  the  noblest 
life  is  the  pleasantest,  Laws  5. 
733  foil. ;  the  true  life  that  which 
is  in  a  mean  state,  id.  7.  792  C 
(cp.  Rep.  10.  619  A;  Laws  5. 
728  E)  ;  the  life  of  virtue  toilr 
some.  Laws  7.  807  D  (cp.  Protag. 
340  C  ;  Rep.  2.  364  D  ;  Laws  4. 
718  E) ; — the  life  of  philosophy 
contrasted  with  that  of  ambition, 
Phaedr.  256  (cp.  Theaet.  172); — 
the  life  of  pleasure,  Phil.  21,  61 ; 
the  life  of  wisdom,  idid.,  ibid. ; — 
the  mixed  life,  ib.  21,  22,  61 ; — 
the  life  of  peace  better  than  the 
life  of  war.  Laws  i.  628,  629;  7. 
803  ; — life  according  to  nature,  ib. 

10.  890  (cp.  Gorg.  483):— the 
necessities  of  life,  Rep.  2.  369, 
373  A : — the  prime  of  life,  ib.  5. 
460  E  : — '  a  life  for  a  life,'  Laws 
9.  870  E,  872  E  :— hfe  and  being. 
Soph.  249  A: — future  life,  sec 
Future  Life. 


Index. 


459 


Light,  Rep.  6.  507  E  (cp.  Sight, 
Vision) :— the  '  column  of  light,' 
ib.  10.  616  C. 

Light  and  heavy.  Rep.  5. 479 ;  7.  524 
A  ;  Tim.  63. 

Ligures,  a  musical  race  (Xtyupal 
Ai'yufs),  Phaedr.  237  A. 

Like,  friend  or  enemy  of  the  like. 
Lysis  214,  215  ; — like  and  con- 
genial, ib.  222  ; — like  and  unlike, 
Protag.  331  ;  Parm.  127  D,  128 
E  ;  Theaet.  186  A  ;  like  to  like. 
Lysis  214  A ;  Symp.  195  A ; 
Gorg.  510  B  ;  Rep.  i.  329  A  ;  4. 
425  C  ;  Laws  8.  837  A. 

Likeness,  a  slippery  thing,  Soph. 
231 : — the  art  of  finding  likenesses 
(Disputation  or  Rhetoric),  Phaedr. 
261  E  ; — likeness  and  unlikeness, 
Parm.  127  D,  128  E; — likeness- 
making,  Soph.  235,  264,  266  E 
(cp.  Imitation). 

Liking,  often  made  the  criterion  of 
excellence,  Laws  2.  655  D. 

Limbs,  the,  Tim.  44  E. 

Limit,  the  (ro  mpas),  Phil.  26,  30. 

Limit  (of  time)  in  disputes  about 
property.  Laws  12.  954. 

Lindus,  Cleobulus  of,  Protag.  343  A. 

Literature  (X0701),  included  under 
'music'  in  education.  Rep.  2.  376 
E. 

Litigation,  the  love  of,  ignoble, 
Rep.  3.  405  (cp.  Theaet.  172  E  ; 
Laws  5.  743  C  ;  11.  938). 

Liturgies    {Xetrovpyiai),   Laws  12. 

949  C. 

Liver,  the,  Tim.  71  A, 

Living  men  not  to  be  praised. 
Laws  7.  802  A. 

Locality,  influence  of,  on  the  bodies 
and  minds  of  men,  Laws  5.  747  D. 

Locris  (in  Italy),  celebrated  for  her 
laws,  Tim.  20  A ;  Laws  i.  638 
B  : — Locrians  conquered  by  the 
Syracusans,  Laws  i.  638  B. 

Logic  ;  essence  and  attribute  dis- 
tinguished, Euthyph.  1 1 ;  essence 
and  accidents  distinguished,  Rep. 
5.  454 ;    Soph.   247    (cp.  Lysis 


217); — distinction  of  species  and 
individual,  Phaedr.  277;  distinc- 
tion of  species,  Statesm.  285  ; — 
method  of  residues.  Rep.  4. 428 ; — 
(definitions),  difficulty  of  obtain- 
ing definitions,  Euthyph.  11  ; 
Meno  71,  75  ;  definitions  must 
contain  no  unexplained  term, 
Meno  79; — (opposition),  nature 
of  opposition,  Protag.  331,  332  ; 
Rep.  4.  436  (cp.  2  Alcib.  139  B)  ; 
essential  opposites,  Phaedo  102  ; 
opposites  exclude  each  other,  zb. 
104 ;  opposition  and  negation, 
Soph.  257  ; — predication,  tb.  251  ; 
division  of  noun  and  verb,  tb.  262 ; 
— categories,  Parm.  135 ;  Laws  10. 
895  ;  noioTrjs,  Theaet.  182  ;  ttoctov, 
Soph.  245  ;  npos  Ti,  Rep.  4.  437; 
quality  and  relation,  ibid. ;  yevfats, 
dvvafjiis,  ardais,  Kivrjcris,  Soph. 
254  ;  —  classification,  Statesm. 
262  ;  division  and  generalization, 
Phaedr.  265  foil. ; — fallacies,  Rep. 
6.  487  (cp.  Eryx.  395  A).  For 
Plato's  method  of  definitions,  see 
Knowledge,  Temperance ;  and 
the  opening  of  the  Sophist,  and 
Statesman.  Cp.  Dialectic,  Meta- 
physics. 

Loquacity,  Soph.  225  E. 

Lordship  {dwaa-rela),  the  common 
form  of  government  in  primitive 
society.  Laws  3.  680  B,  681  D. 

Lot,  the,  dear  to  the  Gods,  Laws 
3.  690  C  (cp.  6.  757  E,  759  C)  :— 
use  of  lots.  Rep.  5.  460  A,  461  E  ; 
Laws  9.  856  D;    12.  946  B; — 

.  election  by,  Laws  6.  759  (cp. 
Elections)  ;  characteristic  of  de- 
mocracy, Rep.  8.  557  A. 

Lotophagi,  Rep.  8.  560  C. 

Lots,  the,  of  the  citizens,  equal  for 
all,  Laws  5.  745  ;  always  to 
remain  the  same,  ib.  740,  741  B, 
744  E  ;  6.  755  A;  9-  855  A,  856 
D,  857  A, 877  D  ;  II.  923. 

Love  (fpcor),  lovers. 

Lysis. — The   ridiculous  lover, 
204  foil. ;  the  lover  not  to  write 


460 


Index. 


poetry,  205  ;  love  of  father  and 
mother,  207  foil.  Love  and 
friends/lip  {(pi\ia).  Friends  must 
be  useful,  210,  215;  better  than 
the  gold  of  Darius,  211  ;  the 
nature  of  friendship,  212  foil.; 
the  poets  on  friendship,  214 ; 
friendship  between  likes,  tdid. ; 
between  unlikes,  215  foil.;  be- 
tween the  indifferent  and  the 
good,  216  ;  defined,  218;  has  an 
alternate  end,  219;  is  of  the 
natural  or  congenial,  221, 

P/iaedrtis. — Advantages  of  un- 
impassioned  love,  231-234,  237- 
242;  of  passionate  love,' 244-257; 
love  a  madness,  231  E,  265  A  ; 
excites  jealousies,  232  ;  is  fickle, 
234  ;  nature  of  love  defined,  237 ; 
passionate  love  leads  to  loss  of 
character,  239  ;  of  health  and 
possessions,  240;  an  old  love 
intolerable,  /'iid.  ;  a  passionate 
lover  changeable,  241  ;  love  a 
mighty  god,  242  ;  love-madness 
a  blessing,  245  ;  the  true  nature 
of  love-madness,  251-256. 

Syvtj)Osiinii. —  Love  neglected 
by  the  poets,  177  : — Phaedrus' 
speech  in  praise  of  love,  178-180; 
eldest  of  the  gods,  etc.,  178 ; 
lovers  in  arms  would  overcome 
the  world,  179  A;  love  stronger 
than  death  in  Alcestis  and 
Achilles,  179. 

Pausanias  in  praise  of  love, 
180-185. — Two  loves,  heavenly 
and  common,  180  ;  common  love 
of  male  and  female  parents ; 
heavenly  love  of  male  only,  181  ; 
love  of  boys  forbidden,  182  ; 
feeling  on  this  subject  in  various 
parts  of  Greece,  ibid.  (cp.  Laws 
I.  636) ;  Athenian  views  of,  182- 
184;  virtuous  service  in  love 
honourable,  184;  heavenly  love, 
185. 

Ery.\imachus  in  praise  of  love, 
186-188.— Desire  of  the  healthy 
and  diseased  distinguished,  186  ; 


reconciliation  of  these  loves  in 
medicine,  ibid. ;  in  music  also, 
187  ;  love  in  the  seasons,  188 ;  in 
divination,  ibid. 

Aristophanes  in  praise  of  love, 
189-193. — Love  neglected,  189; 
origin  of  love,  191-192;  love  the 
lord  of  good,  193. 

Agathon  in  praise  of  love, 
195-198. — Love  the  youngest  and 
fairest  of  the  gods,  195  ;  his 
tenderness,  ibid. ;  his  virtue  and 
courage,  196  ;  love  a  poet,  ibid. ; 
master  of  all  arts  and  source  of 
peace,  etc.,  197. 

Socrates  in  praise  of  love,  201- 
212. — Love  a  desire  of  what  it 
needs,  200,  201  ;  love  neither  fair 
nor  foul,  202 ;  not  a  god,  ibid. ; 
a  great  spirit,  ibid. ;  the  birth  of 
love,  203  ;  qualities  of  love,  ibid. ; 
love  not  to  be  confused  with  the 
beloved,  204  ;  love  only  a  part  of 
love,  205  ;  =  the  desire  of  good, 
205,  206  ;  is  birth  in  beauty,  206 ; 
love  and  immortality,  207,  208 ; 
love  in  creative  minds,  209; 
love  and  the  science  of  beauty, 
210;  leads  up  to  absolute  beauty, 
211. 

Love,  the  only  subject  of  which 
Socrates  has  knowledge,  Symp. 
177  E  (cp.  Phaedr.  257  A) ;  love  of 
the  beautiful,  Rep.  3.  402  ;  bodily 
love  and  true  love,  ib.  403 ;  love 
and  the  love  of  knowledge,  ib.  5. 
474  foil. ;  is  of  the  whole,  not 
of  the  part,  ib.  474  C,  475  B  ;  6. 
485  C  ;  a  tyrant,  ib.  9.  573,  574  E 
(cp.  ib.  I.  329) ;  love,  mingled  of 
pain  and  pleasure,  Tim.  42  A ; 
Phil.  47  E  ;  sexual  love,  Tim.  86 
B,  91  ;  love  a  species  of  hunting, 
Soph.  222  E  (cp.  Laws  7.  823  B) ; 
three  kinds  of  love.  Laws  8.  837 
foil. ;  unlawful  love  condemned, 
ib.  I.  636  ;  8.  836  (cp.  Symp. 
181)  ;  love  and  friendship,  Laws 
8.  837  ;  the  love  of  body  and  of 
soul,  Phaedo  68  A  ;  Laws  8.  S37 


Index. 


C;  I  Alcib.  131;— Alcibiades' love 
of  Socrates,  Symp.  215  foil.;  i 
Alcib.  131  E,  135  D  (cp.  2  Alcib. 
151). 

Lover,  the,  familiarities  which  may 
be  allowed  between,  and  the  be- 
loved. Rep.  3.  403  B  ;  is  blinded 
about  the  beloved,  Laws  5.  731 
E  : — ways  of  lovers,  Lysis  204 
foil.;  Symp.  183  A;  praises  of 
lovers,  Lysis  205 ;  anger  of  lovers, 
Euthyd.  283  E  ;  lovers'  names. 
Rep.  5.  474 ;  perjuries  of  lovers, 
Symp.  183  B  ;  Phil.  65  C  :— lovers 
of  wine.  Rep.  5.  475  A : — lovers 
of  beautiful  sights  and  sounds,  ib. 
476  B,  479  A,  480. 

Loyalty  (Trtoror^y)  in  civil  strife, 
Laws  I.  630. 

Lucifer  and  Mercury  (the  stars), 
Tim.  38  D  (cp.  Rep.  10.  616  E  ; 
Laws  7.  821  C). 

Lucina  :  see  Eileithyia. 

Lunacy :  see  Madness. 

Lunatics,  Laws  11.  934;  lunatic 
parents,  ib.  929. 

Lungs,  Tim.  70  D. 

Lustrations,  Laws  9.  871  B. 

Luxury  in  the  state.  Rep.  2.  372, 
373  ;  a  cause  of  disease,  ib^  3. 
405  E  ;  would  not  give  happiness 
to  the  citizens,  ib,  4.  420,  421  ; 
makes  men  cowards,  ib.  9.  590  B ; 
renders  the  young  morose  and 
irascible,  Laws  7.  791  E ;  cor- 
rupts the  soul  of  man,  ib.  11. 
919  B. 

Lycabettus,  Eryx.  400  C  ;  formerly 
adjacent  to  the  Acropolis,  Crit. 
112  A. 

Lycean  Zeus,  temple  of.  Rep.  8. 
565  D. 

Lyceum,  Lysis  203  A ;  Euthyph.  2 
A ;  Symp.  223  D  ;  Eryx.  397  C ; 
a  resort  of  talkers,  Euthyd.  271 
A,  273  A  ;  scene  of  the  Etcthy- 
deinus,  ib.  2^2  E  (cp.  ib.  303  B). 

Lycon,  a  prosecutor  of  Socrates, 
representative  of  the  rhetoricians, 
Apol.  24  A,  36  B. 


Lycurgus,  obtained  an  immortality 
of  authorship  by  his  laws,  Phaedr. 
258  B  (cp.  Laws  9.  85S  E) ;  his 
'  children,'  Symp.  209  D  ;  the 
author  of  the  greatness  of  Lace- 
daemon,  Rep.  10.  599  E  ; — his 
laws  of  a  warlike  tendency.  Laws 

1.  630  D  ;  derived  from  Apollo, 
ib.  632  D  (cp.  624). 

Lydian  harmony,  Laches  188  D  ; 
to  be  rejected.  Rep.  3.  398  E 
foil. ;  —  Lydian  throne  obtained 
by  Gyges,  ib.  2.  359  D  foil. : — 
Lydians,  Statesm.  262  E. 

Lying  proved  impossible,  Euthyd. 
284-286  ;  a  privilege  of  the  state. 
Rep.  3.  389  A,  414  C  ;  5.  459  D 
(cp.  Laws  2.  663  E).    See  Lie. 

Lymph,  Tim.  83. 

Lyre,  the  instrument  of  Apollo,  and 
allowed  in  the  best  state.  Rep.  3. 
399  ;  employed  in  music  without 
words.  Laws  2.  669  E  ;  mode  of 
playing,  ib.  7. 794  E  (cp.  Lysis  209 
B) ;  to  be  taught  in  the  schools. 
Laws  7.  810-812  (cp.  Protag.  326  ; 
Euthyd.  276  A)  ; — lyre-playing 
seeks  pleasure  only,  Gorg.  501  E. 

Lyric  poets  compared  to  Bacchan- 
tes, Ion  534 ;  contests  of,  Laws 

2.  658  B  ;  must  not  be  allowed  to 
ridicule  any  of  the  citizens,  ib. 
1 1 .  935  E ; — lyric  poetry  in  educa- 
tion, ib.  7.  812  (cp.  Protag.  326 
B).    See  Poetry,  Poets. 

Lysanias,  father  of  Aeschines,  Apol. 
33  E. 

Lysanias,  father  of  Cephalus,  Rep. 
I,  330  B. 

Lysias,  the  son  of  Cephalus,  Phaedr. 
227  B  foil. ;  Rep.  i.  328  B  ; 
the  brother  of  Polemarchus, 
Rep.  I.  328  B  ;  his  skill  in 
writing,  Phaedr.  228  A ;  his 
speech,  ib.  231  A  foil.  ;  his 
speech  criticized,  ib.  235  A,  263  A 
foil.  (cp.  257  B,  269  B,  272  C,  277 
B,  278  C) ;  the  message  of  the 
nymphs  to,  ib.  278  C  ;  inferior  to 
Isocrates,  ib.  279  A. 


462 


Index. 


Lysimachus,  father  of  Aristides  the 
Just,  Meno  94  A ;  Gorg.  526  B. 

Lysimachus,  son  of  Aristides,  takes 
part  in  the  dialogue  Laches, 
Laches  178  A  foil.;  father  of 
Aristides  the  younger,  ih.  179  A; 
Theaet.  151  A;  not  equal  to  his 
father.  Laches  179  C  ;  Meno  94 
A  (cp.  Theaet.  150  E);  a  fellow- 
tribesman  of  Socrates,  Laches  180 
C  ;  a  friend  of  Sophroniscus,  ib. 
D,  187  D;  gives  over  the  argu- 
ment to  Socrates,  ib.  189  C. 

Lysis,  father  of  Democrates,  Lysis 
205  C. 

Lj'sis,  son  of  Democrates,  a  person 
in  the  dialogue  Lysis,  Lysis  204 
C  foil. ;  beloved  of  Hippothales, 
ib.  204  C ;  descended  from  the 
Gods,  ib.  205  C  ;  his  friendship 
with  Menexenus,  ib.  206  D-207 
A,  C,  etc. ;  'like  a  fair  vision,'  ib. 
207  A  ;  his  life  as  a  boy,  ib.  207 
D,  211  A,  212  A  foil.;  converses 
with  Socrates,  ib.  207  D  foil., 
214  A;  his  eagerness,  ib.  213 
D. 

M. 

Macareus,  his  incest,  Laws  8.  838 
C. 

Macedonia,  Gorg.  470  D,  471  C. 
Cp.  Archelaus. 

Machaon,  wounded  and  attended 
by  Hecamed6,  Ion  538  B. 

Madman,  arms  not  to  be  returned 
to  a,  Rep.  I.  331 ;  madmen's 
fancies,  ib.  8.  573  C ;  injuries 
inflicted  by  madmen,  2  Alcib. 
139  C  ;  madmen  to  be  kept  at 
home.  Laws  11.  934  C. 

Madness,  Tim.  86 ;  made  an 
argument  against  the  truth  of 
perception,  Theaet.  157  E  ;  some- 
times the  penalty  of  ancient 
crime,  Laws  9.  854  B  ;  a  cause  of 
crime,  ib.  864  D  ;  madness  as  a 
hindrance  to  marriage,  ib.  11. 
925  E  foil. ;  in  a  parent,  ib.  929  C  ; 
different  kinds  of  madness,  ib. 


934  D ;  nature  of  madness,  2 
Alcib.  139  ; — madness  of  love, 
Phaedr.  231  E,  245  foil.,  265  A;— 
divine  madness  a  blessing,  ib. 
244  ;  allied  to  prophecy  {jxavriKi^, 
fiaviKt'i),  ibid. ;  the  four  kinds  of, 
ibid.,  265  ;  the  Gods  who  preside 
over  the  different  kinds  of,  ib. 
265  ; — philosophic  madness,  ib. 
249  D. 

Magianism  in  Persia,  i  Alcib.  122 
A. 

Magic,  Phaedo  95  B ;  Rep.  10. 
602  D  ;  Laws  11.  933. 

Magician,  comparison  of  the  speech- 
maker  to  a,  Euthyd.  290  A ;  of 
the  sophist,  Soph.  235  A  ;  of  the 
sophist-politician,  Statesm.  291 

C,  303  c. 

Magistrates,  elected  by  lot  in  de- 
mocracy. Rep.  8.  557  A ;  in  many 
states  offer  the  great  sacrifices, 
Statesm.  290  E ;— wakeful  ma- 
gistrates a  terror  to  evil-doers, 
Laws  7.  808  C  ;— (in  the  Model 
City),  selection  of  magistrates, 
ib.  6.  751;  election,  ib.  753; 
duties  of,  ib.  754  (cp.  Guardians 
of  the  Laws) ;  provisions  in  case 
of  their  decease  in  office,  ib.  766 
C  ;  must  supply  the  omissions  of 
the  legislator,  ib.  769  E  ;  offences 
of,  ib.  8.  846  B  ; — buildings  for, 
ib.  6.  778  C  ;— magistrates  and 
judges,  ib.  767  A ; — censors  of 
magistrates,  ib.  12.  945-947. 

Magnanimity  (nfynXonpenfia),  enu- 
merated among  goods  of  the 
soul,  Meno  88  A  ;  one  of  the 
philosopher's  virtues.  Rep.  6.  486 
A,  490  E,  495  A  (cp.  Theaet.  173 
C). 

Magnet  (stone  of  Heraclea),  Ion 

533  D  ;  Tim.  80  C. 
Magnetes,  the,  city  of.  Laws  9.  860 

E  ;  II.  919  D  ;  12.  946  B,  969  A  ; 

— the  local  deities  to  be  honoured 

in  the  new  state,  ib.  8.  848  D. 

Cp.  Cnosus,  Crete,  Model  City. 
Maker,  the,  not  so  good  a  judge  as 


Index. 


463 


the  user,  Crat.  390;  Phaedr. 
274  E  ;  Rep.  10.  601  C. 

Making,  distinguished  from  doing, 
Charm.  163  ;  Euthyd.  284. 

Man, creation  of, Protag.32oD  foil.; 
Tim.  42,  43,  69  ;  Menex.  237  E  ; 
primaeval,  described,  Symp.  189 
E  foil. ;  periodical  destructions  of 
men,  Tim.  22  C  ;  Statesm.  270 ; 
Laws,  3. 677  A  (cp.  Crit,  109  D) ; 
earthborn  men,  Statesm.  269- 
271  ;  life  of  primitive  man,  ib. 
274 ;  man  after  the  deluge.  Laws 
3. 677,  678  ;  has  existed  from  in- 
finite time,  ib.  6.  781  E;  —  men 
change  much  in  body  and  cha- 
racter during  life,  Symp.  207  D 
(cp.  Laws  II.  929  C) ;  influenced 
by  climate,  Laws  5.  747;  at 
twenty-five  are  not  twice  the 
height  which  they  were  at  five, 
ib.  7.  788  D  ; — three  classes  of, 
Rep.  9.  581  ; — men  wiser  than 
women,  Crat.  392  C  ;  the  nature 
of  men  and  women,  Rep.  5.  453- 
455  ;  men  superior  to  women  in 
capacity  for  virtue.  Laws  6.  781 
B  ; — analogy  of  men  and  ani- 
mals, Rep.  5. 459  (cp.  Laws  5.  735 
B) : — Man,  not  provided  for, 
like  other  animals,  Protag.  321 
C  ;  without  political  wisdom,  ib. 
D  ;  reverence  and  justice  given 
by  Zeus  to,  ib.  322  C ;  must  be 
honest,  ib.  323  ;  '  the  measure  of 
all  things,'  Crat.  386  A  ;  Theaet. 
152  A,  160  D,  161,  166  D,  168, 
170,  178  B,  183  B  (cp.  Laws  4. 
716  D)  ;  needs  the  knowledge  of 
himself,  Phaedr.  230  A  (cp.  i 
Alcib.  129  A)  ;  his  soul  has  seen 
true  being,  Phaedr.  249,  250 
(cp.  Symp.  212  A) ;  a  possession 
of  the  Gods,  Phaedo  62  ;  Laws 
10.  902,  906 ;  his  feebleness, 
Phaedo  107  A ;  '  the  master  of 
himself,'  Gorg.  491  E  ;  Rep.  4. 
430  E  (cp.  Phaedr.  237  E,  256 ; 
Laws  I.  626  E  foil,  645  A;  8. 
840;  10.  904  C  ;  I  Alcib.  122  A); 


the  form  and  likeness  of  God, 
Rep.  6.  501  B  (cp.  Phaedr.  248 
A  ;  Theaet.  176  C  ;  Laws  4.  716 
D) ;  his  unimportance,  Rep.  io< 
604  B  (cp.  6.  486  A;  Laws  i. 
644  E  ;  7.  803) ;  has  the  power 
to  choose  his  own  destiny,  Rep. 
10.  617  E,  619  C  ;  must  follow  the 
higher  instincts  of  his  nature, 
Tim.  90  ;  more  intractable  than 
other  animals,  Theaet.  174  E  ;  a 
god  to  the  animals,  Statesm.  271 
E  ;  has  two  counsellors,  pleasure 
and  pain.  Laws  1.644  C;  the 
puppet  and  plaything  of  the 
Gods,  ib.  E  ;  7.  803 ;  the  only 
animal  who  has  attained  to  a 
perception  of  order,  ib.  2.  653, 
664  E  ;  must  obey  and  follow 
God,  2^.  4.  716  A;  a  partaker 
of  immortality  and  coeval  with 
time,  ib.  721  C  (cp.  Symp. 
208  E) ;  must  honour  his  own 
soul  next  to  the  Gods,  Laws  5. 
727  A ;  without  education  the 
most  savage  of  creatures,  ib.  6. 
766  A  (cp.  II.  935  A);  has  a 
divinity  dwelling  within  him, 
which  preserves  all  things,  ib.  6. 
775  E ;  a  troublesome  piece  of 
goods,  ib.  777  C  ;  more  inclined 
to  weep  than  any  other  animal, 
ib.  791  E  ;  said  to  be  the  most 
cowardly  of  animals,  ib.  7.  814 
B  ;  '  every  man  his  own  best 
friend,'  ib.  9.  873  B  ;  man  without 
law  would  be  worse  than  the 
beasts,  2/5.  875  A  (cp.  Protag.  322 
D);  the  most  religious  of  animals, 
Laws  10.  902  (cp.  Tim.  41  E  ; 
Menex.  237  E) ;  created  for  the 
sake  of  the  world.  Laws  10.  903  : 
— the  best  man  a  law  to  himself, 
ib.  9.  875  C  ;  the  one  best  man, 
Crito  47;  Gorg.  490  A  ;  Rep.  6. 
502  ;  Statesm.  301  ;  Laws  2.  659 
A  : — Men  always  look  at  their 
neighbours  and  not  at  them- 
selves. Laches  200  A  ;  have  a 
mutual  interest  in  each  other's 


464 


Index. 


virtue,  Piotag.  327  B ;  ignorant 
about  the  Gods,  Crat.  400  E,  425 
C  (cp.  Rep.  2.  365  E  ;  Crit.  107  ; 
Farm.  134  E) ;  better  teachers 
than  nature,  Phaedr.  230  E  ;  are 
not  generally  very  good  or  very 
bad,  Phaedo  90  A  (cp.  Crat.  386) ; 
havea  community  of  feeling,  Gorg. 
481  D  ;  are  not  just  of  their  own 
will,  Rep.  2.  366  C  ;  unite  in  the 
state  in  order  to  supply  each 
other's  wants,  ib.  369  ;  cannot  fol- 
low two  occupations,  ib.  370 ;  Laws 
8.  846  D ;  are  always  full  of  hope, 
Phil.  39  E ;  ever  at  war  with 
one  another.  Laws  i.  625  E ; 
have  in  themselves  a  conflict  of 
good  and  evil,  ib.  626  E ;  are 
slow  to  believe  the  truth,  ib.  1. 
663  E ;  desire  to  have  their 
wishes  fulfilled,  whether  wise  or 
foolish,  ib.  3.  687  (cp.  2  Alcib. 
138,  141  foil.) ;  cannot  be  en- 
trusted with  arbitrary  power, 
Laws  3.691;  4.713  D;  haveno 
particular  desire  for  virtue,  ib.  4. 
718  E ;  always  think  others  to 
blame  and  not  themselves,  ib.  5. 
727  B  (cp.  Rep.  10.  619  C;  2 
Alcib.  142  E) ;  must  neither  joy 
nor  sorrow  overmuch.  Laws  5. 
732  C ;  are  not  voluntarily  in- 
temperate, ib.  724  B  ;  not  willing 
to  receive  laws  at  their  first  im- 
position, ib.  6.  752  ;  will  commit 
any  meanness  in  order  to  gain 
wealth,  ib.  8.  831  D  ;  do  evil  in- 
voluntarily, ib.  9.  860  D  (cp. 
Evil) ;  the  kindred  of  the  Gods, 
ib.  10.  899  E  ;  saved  by  virtue, 
ib.  906  B  ;  unbounded  in  their 
desires,  ib.  11.  918  D  ;  are  all  a 
little  out  of  their  minds,  ib.  929 
D. 

Man-haters,  chorus  of,  in  Phere- 
crates'  play,  Protag.  327  D. 

Man-hunting,  Soph.  222  C  (cp. 
Laws  7.  823  B). 

Man-slaughter,  Laws  9.  864-874. 
(Cp.  Homicide.) 


Management,  voluntary  and  com- 
pulsory, Statesm.  276. 

Manners,  attended  to  in  schools, 
Protag.  325  E;  influenced  by 
education.  Rep.  4.  424,  425  ;  can- 
not be  made  the  subject  of  legis- 
lation, ib.  425  B  ;  freedom  of,  in 
democracies,  ib.  8.  563  A ;  never 
to  be  changed.  Laws  7.  797,  798. 

McivTLKfj  (um  iKt]),  Phaedr.  244  C. 

Mantinea,  Diotima  of,  Symp.  201. 

Many,  the,  their  opinion  not  to 
be  regarded.  Laches  184;  Pro- 
tag.  353  A  ;  Crito  44,  47,  48  (cp. 
Phaedr.  260  A) ;  cannot  make 
a  man  wise  or  foolish,  Crito  44  ; 
their  morality,  ib.  49  C  ;  opinion 
of  =  opinion  of  the  stronger,  Gorg. 
488 ;  flatter  their  leaders  into 
thinking  themselves  statesmen. 
Rep.  4.  426 ;  would  lose  their 
harsh  feeling  toward  philosophy 
if  they  could  see  the  true  philo- 
sopher, ib.  6.  500 ;  their  pleasures 
and  pains,  ib.  9.  586  ;  suppose 
that  the  object  of  music  is 
pleasure,  Tim.  47  E ;  Laws  2. 
(>S5>  658  E,  700  E  ;  their  mode 
of  argument,  Theaet.  168  B ; 
used  to  be  the  judges  in  the 
theatre,  Laws  2.  659  B  ;  form 
a  wrong  estimate  of  goods,  ib.  661 
A  ;  5.  742  E  (cp.  Rep.  6.  493  E  ; 
Phil.  67;  Laws  4.  707  D) ;  ignorant 
about  music.  Laws  2.  670  B  ;  3. 
700  E  ;  in  old  days  were  the  ser- 
vants of  the  laws,  ib.  3.  700  A ; 
wrong  in  their  notions  about  the 
honourable  and  the  just,  ib.  9. 
859,  860;  think  adulteration 
justifiable,  ib.  1 1.  916  E  ;  good 
judges  of  virtue  though  not 
virtuous  themselves,  ib.  12.  950 
B ;  wrongly  suppose  that  as- 
tronomy leads  to  atheism,  ib. 
967  A ;  as  teachers,  i  Alcib. 
no.  III; — 'the  great  beast,' 
Rep.  6.  493.    Cp.  Multitude. 

Many,  the,  as  applied  to  the  beauti- 
ful, the  good,  etc..  Rep.  6.  507 ; 


Index. 


465 


Zeno's  argument  concerning  the 
many,  Parm.  127;  the  many  can 
coexist  with  the  one,  ib.  1 29  ;  the 
many  and  the  one,  Phil.  14-16; 
Soph.  251.    See  One. 

Marathon,  Miltiades  the  hero  of, 
Gorg.  516  D;  battle  of,  Laws  3. 
699  A ;  4.  707  C ;  Menex.  240 
C-241  B  ;  '  the  Lacedaemonians 
a  day  too  late  for,'  Laws  3.  698 
E  ;  Menex.  240  D  ;  trophies  of, 
Menex.  245  A. 

Margites,  [the  Pseudo-Homeric 
poem],  2  Alcib.  147. 

Mariandynians,  Laws  6.  776  D. 

Marionette  players.  Rep.  7.  514  B  ; 
Soph. 224  A. 

Maritime  towns.  Laws  4.  705. 

Marriage,  holiness  of.  Rep.  5.  458 
E,  459 ;  age  for,  ib.  460 ;  Laws 
4.  721:  6.  772  E,  774,  785; 
prayers  and  sacrifices  atj  Rep.  5. 
460  A;  opposite  natures  to  be 
harmonized  in,  Statesm.  310; 
Laws  6.  773  A  (cp.  1 1 .  930  A) ; 
rules  concerning.  Laws  4. 721  ;  6. 
773,  foil. ; — grounds  for  divorce; 
barrenness,  ib.  6.  784  B  ;  incom- 
patibility of  temper,  ib.  1 1 . 929  E  ; 
— female  controllers  of,  ib.  6. 
784;  7.  794;  II.  930  A,  932  B;— 
marriage  festivals,  Rep.  5.459E; 
Laws  6.  775  ;  —  marriage  gar- 
ments, Laws  6.  774  D  ; — early 
manied  life,  ib.  780 ;  second 
marriage,  zi^.  11.  930; — marriage 
of  orphans,  ib.  923-926. 

Marrow,  Tim.  73,  77  D. 

Marsyas,  his  skin  made  into  a 
leathern  bottle,  Euthyd.  285  D  ; 
Socrates  like,  Symp.  215  B  foil. ; 
Apollo  to  be  preferred  to,  Rep.  3. 
399  E ;  invented  music,  Laws  3. 
677  D. 

Masters  and  slaves,  Laws  6.  777. 

Materialism,  Soph.  247  ; — material- 
ists, Theaet.  155  E;  Soph.  246, 
247;  Laws  10.  889  foil. 

Mathematics,  Rep.  7.  522-532  ;  use 
of  hypotheses  in,  Meno  87 ;  Rep. 

VOL.  V.  H 


6.  510;  do  not  allow  of  argu- 
ments from  probability,  Phaedo 
92  E  ;  Theaet.  162  E  ;  purely  ab- 
stract, Statesm.  258  D  ;  divisions 
of,  Phil.  56,  57;  value  of,  in 
education,  Laws  7.  818,  819 ; 
Greek  ignorance  of,  ib.  820 ; 
—  mathematical  education  in 
Egypt,  ib.  819;  —  mathematical 
notions  perceived  by  a  faculty 
of  the  soul.  Rep.  6.  511  C ; 
Theaet.  184  D  ; — commensur- 
able and  incommensurable  in 
mathematics.  Laws  7.  819,  820; — 
the  diameter,  as  a  measure  of  dif- 
ference, Statesm.  266; — classes  of 
roots,  Theaet.  147  ; — the  square, 
Meno  82-85  : —  Mathematician, 
the,  not  usually  a  dialectician. 
Rep.  7.  531  E  (cp.  Theaet.  165  A). 

Matricide,  Laws  9.  869. 

Matter,  the  evil  element  in  the 
universe,  Statesm.  273  B  (cp. 
Tim.  41,  42) ; — matter  and  form, 
Crat.  389,  390. 

Mean,  the,  happiness  of.  Rep.  10. 
619  A;  Laws  3.  679  B,  691  C, 
701  E  ;  5.  728  E  ;  7.  792  D  ;  re- 
quired as  a  standard  of  relation, 
Statesm.  284  ;  arts  depend  on  the 
existence  of,  ibid. 

Meanness,  unknown  to  the  philoso- 
pher. Rep.  6.  486  A  (cp.  Theaet. 
173  E) ;  characteristic  of  the 
oligarchs.  Rep.  8.  554. 

Means  and  ends.  Lysis  219,  220; 
Laches  185.    Cp.  End. 

Measure,  in  the  arts,  Statesm.  284 ; 
akin  to  beauty,  ib.  A  ;  Phil.  64  E  ; 
opposed  to  more  and  less,  Phil. 
24  (cp.  Protag.  357  A) ;  found  in 
true  pleasures,  Phil.  52  B ;  the  ele- 
ment of  good,  ib.  64,  65  ;  allied 
to  virtue,  ib.  64  E;  has  nothing 
in  common  with  pleasure,  ib. 
65  D. 

Measurement,  art  of,  Protag.  356 ; 
I  Alcib.  126  C;  Statesm.  283-285 ; 
corrects  the  illusions  of  sight, 
Rep.  TO.  602  (cp.  Protag.  356). 

h 


466 


Index. 


Measures,  in  the  Model  City,  Laws 
5.  746  E. 

Meat,  roast,  the  best  diet  for  sol- 
diers. Rep.  3.  404  D  : — Meats 
and  drinks,  custom  in.  Laws  6. 
782. 

Medea,  the  Colchian,  Euthyd.  285 
C. 

Medes,  subjected  by  Cyrus,  Menex. 
239  E  ; — '  corrupt  Median  educa- 
tion,' Laws  3.  694  E,  695  B. 

Medicine,  must  consider  the  whole, 
Charm.  156;  Phaedr.  270  C  (cp. 
Laws  10.  903  D) ;  dear  for  the 
sake  of  health.  Lysis  219;  cause 
of,  Rep.  3.  405  ;  not  intended  to 
preserve  unhealthy  and  intem- 
perate subjects,  ib.  406  foil.,  408 
A  ;  4.  426  A  (cp.  Tim.  89  B) ;  true 
use  of.  Rep.  3.  406;  useless  if  the 
patient  is  intemperate,  ib.  4.  426 
A  ;  the  two  sorts  of,  ib.  5.  459 ; 
Laws  4.  720;  an  empirical  art, 
Phil.  56  A  ;  may  aid  in  the  ac- 
quisition of  virtue,  Ery.x.  404  ; — 
compared  to  friendship.  Lysis 
217;  to  punishment,  Gorg.  478; 
to  rhetoric,  Phaedr.  270; — ana- 
logy of,  employed  in  the  definition 
of  justice.  Rep.  1.  332  C; — 
medicine  and  education,  Laches 
185  ;  medicine  and  government, 
Statesm.  293  B  ;  medicine  and 
gymnastic,  Gorg.  464,  517  E, 
518;  Soph.  228  E;  medicine 
and  love,  Symp.  186  foil.; — diet 
in  medicine,  Laws  2.  659  E ; — 
incantations, Charm.  155  E;  Rep. 
4.  426  A ;  Theaet.  149  C ;  cure 
for  headache.  Charm.  156  ;  ashes 
for  sore  eyes,  Lysis  210  A ; 
oil  forbidden  to  the  sick,  Yxo- 
tag-  334  C ;  Greek  method  of 
diagnosis,  ib.  352  : — Medicines, 
of  doubtful  use,  Tim.  89  B. 

Mediterranean,  the,  Tim.  25  A. 

Megara,  walk  to  and  back,  recom- 
mended by  Herodicus,  Phaedr. 
227  D  ;  a  well-governed  city, 
Crito  53  B  ;— battle  of.  Rep.  2. 


368  A  ;  —  Euclid  and  Terpsion 
of,  Phaedo  59  C  (cp.  Theaet. 
142  D) ;  Herodicus  of,  see  He- 
rodicus ; —  Megarians,  Socrates' 
bones,  if  free,  would  go  to  the, 
Phaedo  99  A. 
Megara  (in  Sicily),  Theognis,  the 
poet,  a  citizen  of.  Laws  i.  630 
A. 

Megillus,  a  person  in  the  Laws, 
Laws  I.  624  B,  etc. ;  willing  to 
accept  the  laws  concerning  love, 
ib.  8.  837  E,  842  A. 

Melampodidae,  Theoclymenus,  pro- 
phet of  the.  Ion  538  E. 

Melancholy,  Tim.  87  A. 

Melanippe  in  Euripides,  Symp.  177 
A :  see  Euripides. 

Meles,  a  harp-player  and  bad  singer, 
Gorg.  502  A. 

Melesias,  son  of  Thucydides,  a  per- 
son in  the  Laches,  Laches  1 78  A 
foil. ;  lives  with  Lysimachus,  ib. 

179  B ;  not  equal  to  his  father, 
ib.  C ;  Meno  94  C ;  joins  in  the 
conversation.  Laches  1 84  E  ;  one 
of  the  best  wrestlers  in  Athens, 
Meno  94  C. 

Meletus,  of  the  deme  of  Pitthis, 
Euthyph.  2  B ;  his  appearance, 
ibid. ;  his  impeachment,  ib.  2  A, 
3  B,  5,  12  E,  15  E  (cp.  Apol.  19 
B  ;  Theaet.  210) ;  defender  of  the 
poets,  Apol.  23  E  ;  questioned 
hy  Socrates,  ib.  24-28  ;  could  not 
have  obtained  a  conviction  alone, 
ib.  36  A. 

Melissus,  the  philosopher,  Theaet. 

180  E,  183  E. 

Melita,  a  deme  of  Attica,  Farm. 
126  C. 

Melody,  in  education.  Rep.  3.  398 
foil.;  Laws  2.  654,655,  670;  its 
influence,  Rep.  10.  601 ;  expres- 
sive of  virtue  and  vice,  Laws  2. 
654,  655  ;— melodies  and  rhythms 
should  be  accommodated  to  each 
other,  ib.  665  A,  669,  670  ;  7.  802 
E  ;  should  be  consecrated,  as  in 
Egypt,  ib.  7.  799  :— the  melodies 


Index. 


467 


of  Marsyas  and  Olympus,  Symp. 
215  C.    Cp.  Rhythm. 

Memoria  tedinica,  of  Evenus, 
Phaedr.  267  A. 

Memory,  distinguished  from  remi- 
niscence, Phaedr.  275  A ;  Phil. 
34 ;  injured  by  the  invention  of 
writing,  Phaedr.  274  E ;  active 
in  childhood,  Tim.  26  ;  the  me- 
mory of  perception,  Theaet.  163, 
166;  nature  of,  ib.  191,  193-196; 
an  element  in  pleasure,  Phil.  21 ; 
unites  with  perception  to  form 
opinion,  ib.  38,  39  ; — art  of,  Hipp. 
Min.  368  E,  369  A  ;— the  philoso- 
pher should  have  a  good  memory, 
Rep.  6.  4S6  D,  490  E,  494  B  ;  7. 
535  B. 

Memory,  the  mother  of  the  Muses, 

Theaet.  191  D. 
Mende,  Antimoerus  of,  Protag.  315 

A. 

Mendicant  prophets.  Rep.  2.  364 
C; — Mendicants,  Laws  11.936  C. 

Menelaus  and  Proteus,  Euthyd. 
288  B  ;  a  '  faint-hearted  warrior,' 
Symp.  174  C  ;  treatment  of,  when 
wounded.  Rep.  3.  408  A. 

Menexenus,  the  friend  of  Lysis, 
Lysis  206  D  ;  pugnacious,  ib.  211 
B  ;  converses  with  Socrates,  ib. 
212  K  foil.,  216  A  foil.  ;  present 
at  the  death  of  Socrates,  Phaedo 
59  B  ;  a  person  in  the  dialogue 
Menexenus,  Menex.  234  A  foil. 

Meno,  a  person  in  the  dialogue 
Meno,  Meno  70  A,  etc. ;  '  a  fair 
creature,'  ib.  76  B,  80  C ;  son  of 
Alexidemus,  ib.  76  E ;  beloved 
by  Aristippus,  ib.  70;  his  impe- 
rious nature,  ib.  76  B,  86  E  ;  the 
hereditary  friend  of  the  Great 
King,  ib.  78  D  ;  torpified  by  So- 
crates, ib.  80  A;  examination  of 
his  slave  by  Socrates,  ib.  82  A 
foil. 

Menoetius,  father  of  Patroclus,  Rep. 

3.  388  C  ;  Laws  12.  944  A. 
Mensuration  in  the  arts,  Phil.  55  E  ; 

twofold,  ib.  57  A. 

H 


Mental  blindness,  causes  of,  Rep. 

7.  518: — mental  states,  Phil.  33 
D. 

Mercenary  soldiers,  violent  and  un- 
just men,  Laws  i.  630  B  ;  the 
resource  of  the  despot,  ib.  3.  697 
E  (cp.  Rep.  8.  566  foil.):— the 
guardians  compared  to  a  garrison 
of  mercenaries.  Rep.  4.  419  (cp. 

8.  543)- 

Merchandise  of  the  soul,  Soph.  224. 

Merchants,  Soph.  223,  224 ;  neces- 
sary in  the  state,  Rep.  2.  371  {but 
cp.  Laws  4.  705  A). 

Messene,  early  history  of,  Laws  3. 
683  D  foil. ; — war  of,  against 
Lacedaemon,  ib.  692  E,  698  E  ; — 
richness  of,  I  Alcib.  122  D  : — 
Messenians  always  in  revolt, 
Laws  6.  777  C. 

Mestor,  Crit.  114  C. 

Metaphysics ;  analysis  of  know- 
ledge. Rep.  6.  510;— being  and 
becoming,  Tim.  27,  28  ;  Theaet. 
152,  157  (cp.  Protag.  340:  a7id 
see  Being) ; — cause  and  effect  dis- 
tinguished, Euthyph.  10;  Phil. 
26,  27; — essence  and  attribute 
distinguished,  Euthyph.  12  {see 
Essence) ; — existence  revealed  by 
thought,  Phaedo  65  ; — genera  and 
species  distinguished,  Euthyph. 
12  {see  Genera) ; — absolute  ideas, 
Phaedo  65,  74;  Rep.  5.  476; 
Parm.  133 ;  knowledge  of,  must 
precede  particular  knowledge, 
Phaedo  75 ;  unchangeable,  ib. 
78  ;  origin  of  abstract  ideas.  Rep. 
7.  523  {see  Idea); — intuition, 
Phaedo  66,  79  ; — recollection  and 
generalization,  Phaedr.  249  ; — • 
relation,  difficulty  of.  Charm.  168  ; 
Phaedo  96,  97,  loi  ;  axioms  of, 
Theaet.  155  (cp.  Relation);  re- 
lative and  correlative,  qualifica- 
tion of,  Gorg.  476;  Rep.  4.  437 
foil. ;  7.  524 ;— thought  at  its  best, 
Phaedo  65  ;  thought  attains  the 
idea  of  the  absolute,  ib.  65,  66 ; 
the  conversation  of  the  soul  with 

2 


468 


Index. 


herself,  Soph.  264  A :— Eleatic 
metaphysics,  Farm.  137  foil.  Cp. 
Logic,  One. 

Metempsychosis,  Rep.  10.  617  D 
foil. ;  Tim.  42,  91,  92.    Cp.  Soul. 

Metics  (in  the  Model  City),  rules 
concerning,  Laws  8.  850 ;  dura- 
tion of  their  stay,  ibid.  ;  murders 
of,  ib.  9.  866 ;  metics  who  are 
murderers,  ibid. ;  metics,  not  ci- 
tizens, to  be  the  retail  traders,  ib. 
1 1.  920. 

Metion,  father  of  Daedalus,  Ion 
533  A. 

Metis  (Discretion),  mother  of  Poros 

(Plenty),  Symp.  203  B. 
Metrobius,  father  of  Connus,  Eu- 

thyd.  272  C  ;  Menex.  235  E. 
Metrodorus,of  Lampsacus,  a  famous 

rhapsode.  Ion  530  C. 
Miccus,  palaestra  of.  Lysis  204  A, 

206  E. 

Midas,  his  wealth,  Rep.  3.  408  R ; 
Laws  2.  660  E  ;  king  of  Phrygia, 
inscription  upon  his  tomb,  Phaedr. 
264  D. 

Midias,  a  quail  breeder,  i  Alcib. 
120  A. 

Midriff,  Tim.  A. 

Midwives,  Theaet.  149  foil. 

Might  and  right,  Gorg.  483,  484, 
489;  Rep.  I.  338  foil.;  Laws  i. 
627;  3.  690;  10.  890  A. 

Miletus,  Aspasia  of,  JVlenex.  249  D  ; 
Thales  of,  Protag.  343  A ;  Rep. 
10.  600  A  : — Milesian  youths  de- 
grade love,  Laws  i.  636  B. 

Military  profession,  the,  Rep.  2. 
374  (cp.  Laws  II.  921  E) ;— mili- 
tary science,  Statesm.  304  E  ; 
— election  of  military  officers. 
Laws  6.  755  B  ; — age  for  service, 
ib,  760  B,  785  ;  military  service, 
to  confer  a  vote  in  the  election 
of  magistrates,  ib.  753  B ;  rules 
for,  ib.  1 2.  942  ; — gymnastic  to 
have  a  military  character,  ib.  7. 
813 ;  8.  830  E,  832 ;  military 
exercises,  ib.  12.  942. 

Miltiades,  a  good  man  in  common 


estimation,  Gorg.  1,03  C  (cp.  ib. 
515  D)  ;  condemned,  ib.  516 
D. 

Mimetic  art,  in  education.  Rep.  3. 
394  foil. ;  the  same  person  cannot 
succeed  in  tragedy  and  comedy, 
ib.  395  A ;  imitations  lead  to 
habit,  ib.  D  ;  men  acting  women's 
parts,  ib.  E  :  influence  on  charac- 
ter, ib.  395  foil.    Cp.  Imitation. 

Mimicry,  art  of.  Soph.  267. 

Mind,  the  disposer  and  cause  of  all 
[Anaxagoras],  Crat.  400  A,  413  ; 
Phaedr.  270  A ;  Phaedo  97  C ; 
Phil.  30  D  ;  Laws  12.  966  foil.  ; 
the  cause  of  names,  Crat.  416 ; 
=  beauty,  ibid.  (cp.  Phil.  65  E) ;  to 
be  distinguished  from  true  opinion, 
Tim.  52  D  ;  mind  and  motion. 
Soph.  249  (cp.  Laws  10.  897  foil.) ; 
the  life  of  mind,  Phil.  21  E;  mind 
and  wisdom,  ib.  28  foil. ;  Laws  i. 
631  C,  632  C  ;  10.  897;  12.  963 
A ;  mind  belongs  to  the  cause, 
Phil.  31  ;  should  be  engaged  in 
the  contemplation  of  true  being, 
ib.  59 ;  as  a  good,  ib.  66  ;  not  the 
absolute  good,  ib.  67 ;  above  law. 
Laws  9.  875  C  (cp.  Statesm.  293 
foil.) ;  mind  and  virtue.  Laws 
10.  900  C  (cp.  12.  961-963); 
mind,  the  salvation  of  all  things, 
ib.  12.  961  : — 'the  fair  mind  in 
the  fair  body,'  Tim.  87  E  : — mind 
political,  Laws  12.  963  foil. : — the 
mind  compared  to  a  block  of  wax, 
Theaet.  191  C,  193-196,  200  C  ;— 
the  'aviary'  of  the  mind,  ib.  197, 
200  C  :— the  minds  of  men  dif- 
ferent, ib.  171. 

'  Mine '  and  '  thine,'  a  common 
cause  of  dispute,  Rep.  5.  462. 

Minister  of  education  (in  the  Model 
City),  Laws  6.  764  D,  765  D  ;  7. 
801  D,  809,811  D,  812  E,  813 
C;  8.  829  D,  83s  A;  11.  936  A; 
12.951  E,  953  D; — ministers  of 
music  and  gymnastic,  ib.  6.764  C ; 
7.  801  D,  813  A  ;  8.  83s  A  ;  12. 
949  A  (cp.  Director)  .---Ministers 


Index. 


469 


of  the  state  must  be  educated, 
Rep.  7.  519.    See  Ruler. 

Minos,  a  judge  among  the  dead, 
Apol.  41  A ;  Gorg.  523  E  ;  '  went 
every  ninth  year  to  converse 
with  his  Olympian  sire,'  Laws 
I.  624;  the  Cretan  lawgiver,  ibid., 
630  D  ;  his  laws  derived  from 
Zeus,  ib.  624,  632  D  ;  harassed 
the  Athenians,  ib.  4.  706  B. 

Minstrels  (hired),  at  funerals,  Laws 
7.  800  E  (cp.  12.  959  E). 

Mirrors,  images  in,  Tim.  46  A  (cp. 
Theaet.  193  D ;  Soph.  239 
E). 

Misanthropists,  Phaedo  89  C. 

Miser,  the,  typical  of  the  oligarchi- 
cal state,  Rep.  8.  555  A  (cp.  559 
D). 

Misfortune,  to  be  borne  with 
patience,  Rep.  3.  387;  10.603  E- 
606.    Cp.  Grief,  Sorrow. 

Misologists,  Phaedo  89  C  foil.  (cp. 
Rep.  3.  411  D). 

Mission  ship,  sent  from  Athens  to 
Delos,  Crito  44  ;  Phaedo  58. 

Mithoecus,  wrote  the  Sicilian  cook- 
ery-book, Gorg.  518  B. 

Mitylene,  Athenian  ships  blockaded 
at,  Menex.  243  C  ; — Pittacus  of, 
Protag.  339  C  foil.,  343  A. 

Mixed  principles,  Phil.  25,  26. 

Mnemosyne  (Memory),  mother  of 
the  Muses,  Theaet.  191  D  ;  invo- 
cation of,  Euthyd.  275  D  ;  Crit. 
108  D. 

Mneseus,  Crit.  114  D. 

Mnesitheus  (Mindful  of  God),  Crat. 
394  E. 

Model  City  :  [The  territory],  dis- 
tribution of  lands  into  5040  lots. 
Laws  5.  737  B  foil. ;  the  lots  not 
to  be  sold,  ib.  741  ;  arrangement 
and  division  of  the  lots,  ib.  745 
{v.  s.  V.  Lots);  provisions  for  de- 
fence, 6.  760 ;  public  works,  ib. 
761  ;  arrangement  of  villages,  8. 
848  C  :— 

[The  city],  situation  of  the  city, 
5.  745  ;  public  works,  6.  763  ; 


buildings,  ib.  778  ;  walls  not  re- 
quired, ib.  D  ;  sanitation,  ib.  779 
C  :— 

[The  Citizens],  number  of,  5. 
737;  6.  771  ;  classes  of  citizens, 

5.  744 ;  6.  754  E ;  tribes,  ib.  5. 745 ; 
registration  of  births,  6.  785  ; — 
control  of  private  life,  ib.  780  A  ; 
—  common  tables  for  men,  ib. 
780,  783  B  ;  7.  806  E  ;  8.  842 
B  ; — common  tables  for  women, 

6.  781  ;  7-  806  E  ;  8.  839  D  ;— 
social  meetings  of  youths  and 
maidens,  6.  771  E  ;  age  for  mar- 
riage, 4.  721  ;  6. 772  D,  774,  785  ; 
the  birth  of  children,  6.  783  ; — 
age  for  military  service,  ib.  785  ; 
— age  for  office,  ibid. ; — not  to 
follow    money-making  pursuits, 

5.  741  E,  743  (cp.  II.  919  D 
foil.)  ;  not  to  possess  gold  or 
silver,  5.  742  A,  743  D,  746  A ; 
may  pursue  agriculture  to  a 
moderate  extent,  ib.  743  D  ;  each 
to  have  two  habitations,  ib.  745  ; 
their  counti'y  dwellings,  8.  848  C  ; 
—register  of  property,  5.  745  A  ; 

6.  754  E;  8.  850  A;  9.  855  B; 
II.  914  C  ;— the  good  citizen,  7. 
823  :— 

[Education],  education  to  be 
compulsory,  ib.  804  D  ;  the  same 
for  men  and  women,  ib.  E ;  in- 
fant education,  ib.  788-794 ;  plays 
of  children  a  means  of  education, 
ib.  793  E,  798 ;  subsequent  edu- 
cation, ib.  794  foil.,  808,  809 ; 
gymnasia  and  schools,  ib.  804  C  ; 
teachers,  ibid. ;  boys  and  their 
tutors,  ib.  808,  809 ;  separation 
of  the  sexes,  ib.  794  C  ;  order  of 
the  different  studies  and  age  at 
which  they  should  be  pursued, 
ib.  808-812  ;  reading  and  writ- 
ing, ib.  809,  810;  music, 800 
foil.,  810-812  ;  learning  of  com- 
positions in  poetry  and  prose, 
ib.  810,  811  ;  both  hands  to  be 
trained, 794  D  foil. ;  gymnastic, 
ib.  795,  813  foil.;   dancing,  ib. 


470 


Index. 


795,  796,  798  E,  815,  816;  wrest- 
ling, ib.  796 ;  mathematics,  ib. 
818  foil.;  astronomy,  ib.  821, 
822  ; — life  of  the  women,  ib.  805, 
806;  life  of  the  men,  ib.  807 
foil.  ; — regulations  for  the  per- 
formance of  comedy  and  tragedy, 
ib.  816,  817  :— 

Hunting,  ib.  823, 824  ;  practice 
of  war  and  tournaments,  8.  829, 
830;  military  gymnastic,  ib.  832  E 
foil.;  foot-races,  ib.  833  ;  women  in 
gymnastic  contests,  ib.  C,  834  A, 
D  ;  fighting  in  armour,  ib.  833  D  : 
horse  contests,  ib.  834  A ;  mounted 
bowmen,  ib.  C  ;  rhapsodes,  ib.  E  ; 
musical  contests,  ib.  835  : — 

[Government],  the  Senate,  6. 
756,  758;  the  Nocturnal  Council, 
10.  908  A,  909  A ;  12.9510,968, 
969 ;  the  Assembly,  6.  758  D,  764 
A  ; — magistrates,  ib.  752,  753  ; — 
censors  or  examiners  of  magis- 
trates, II.  945,  946;  burial  of 
censors,  ib.  947  ;  trial  of  censors, 
ib.  948  A ; — archons  (eponymous), 

6.  785 ;  controllers  (female)  of 
marriage,  ib.  784;  7.  794  A,  B ;  11. 
930  A,  932  B  ;  gut^rdians  of  the 
law,  6.  754  D  foil.  {v.s.v.)\ 
guardians  of  orphans,  10.  909 
C;  II.  924  B,  C,  926  C-928 
{v.  s.  V.  Orphans) ;  inspectors  of 
exports  and  imports,  8.  847  C  ; 
matrons,  the  twelve,  who  have 
the  superintendence  of  children, 

7.  794  B  ;  minister  of  education, 
6.  765  D;  7.  801  D,  809,  811 
D,  812  E,  813  C ;  8.  829  D,  835 
A;  II.  936  A;  12.  951  E,  953 
D  ;  ministers  of  music  and  gym- 
nastic, 6.  764  C  ;  7.  801  D,  813 
A ;  wardens  of  the  Agora,  6.  764 
{v.s.v^  ;  wardens  of  the  City,  ib. 
763,  764  {v.s.v.) ;  wardens  of  the 
Country,  ib.  759-763  (v.s.v.)  : — 
decease  of  officers,  ib.  766  C  ; 
—  generals  and  other  military 
officers,  ib.  755  B,  760  A  ;— scru- 
tinies at  elections, 753  E,,  755 


D,  756  E,  759  C,  760  A,  763  E, 
765  D,  766  B,  767  D  :— 

[Law  Courts],  Courts  of  Jus- 
tice, ib.  766,  768;  12.  956,  957; 
advocates,  11.  937  E  ;  execution 
of  suits,  12.  958;  penalties,  9. 
853  foil. ;  procedure,  summons, 
etc.,  8.  846  C;  9.  855  C  ;  12. 
956  E ;  witnesses  and  evidence, 
11.936,  937;— arbiters,  12.  956  B; 
judges,  6.  767  (v.s.v.  and  cp. 
Guardians  of  the  Law) ;  select 
judges  or  Court  of  Appeal,  9. 
855  C  ;  II.  926  C,  928,  938  ;  12. 
946  E,  948  A,  956  C 

[Religious  Worship],  5.  738  ; 
temples,  ib.  759  ;  8.  848  C  ;  priest- 
hood, ib.  759  ;  interpreters,  ibid., 
774  E  ;  8.  828  B,  845  E  ;  9. 865  D, 
871  C,  873  D  ;  II.  916  C ;  12. 
958  D,  964  B ;  treasurers,  6. 
759 ; — festivals  and  rites  of  reli- 
gion, 5.  738  ;  8.  828  ;  offerings  to 
the  Gods,  12.  955  E  ;  prayers, 

7.  800,  801  ;  laws  about  religious 
matters  to  be  obtained  from  Del- 
phi, 6.  759  (cp.  Delphi)  ;  rites  in 
private  houses,  10.  909  C  ;  sacri- 
fices, 6.  771 ;  7.  800  ;  worship  of 
gods,  demons,  heroes,  7. 801  E : — 

[Laws] :  laws  concerning 
Adoption,  9.  877 ;  adulteration, 
II.  916  D  foil.;  agora,  sales  in 
the,  8.  849  ;  1 1.  91 5  D  ;  ambassa- 
dors, 12.  941 ;  animals,  1 1.  914  D ; 
artisans,  8.  846  D,  848  E  ;  assault, 
9.  879-882  {v.s.v.) :  —  Beasts 
which  kill  a  man,  ib.  873  E ; 
beggars,  ii.  936  C;  boundaries, 

8.  842  E  ;  breach  of  contract,  11. 
921  ;  bribery,  12.  955  C  ;  burial, 
ib.  958  D  ;  buying  and  selling, 
8.849;  11.9150: — Channersand 
wizards,  10.  909  ;  11.  933  ;  child- 
less houses,  9.  877  ;  children  of 
slaves,  II.  930  D;  choruses,  12. 
949  D  ;  contributions,  ibid.  ; 
craftsmen  and  their  dwellings, 
8.  848  E  ;  craftsmen  (including 
generals  and  tacticians),  11.  921  : 


Index. 


471 


crimes  against  the  state,  9. 
856  ;  currency,  5.  742  A: — Deo- 
dands,  9.  S73  E;  deposits,  11. 
913  ;  distribution  of  produce,  8. 
847  E;  dowries,  5. 742  C  : — Emi- 
gration, II.  923  C,  925  A,  929  A; 
12.  950  foil. ;  enmities  between 
private  persons,  12.  955  C;  evil- 
speaking,  II.  934  D  foil.;  ex- 
change, lb.  915  D  ;  exports  and 
imports,  8.  847  :  —  Family  dis- 
agreements, II.  928  D-930  : 
foreigners,  12.  949  E  ;  fruits,  8. 
844  D  ;  funerals,  12.  959  D  : — 
Hire,  8.  847  B  ;  homicide,  9. 864- 
874;  1 1. 916  C  {v.s.v.)  \  husband- 
men, 8.  842  D : — Impiety,  10. 907- 
909;  injury  done  by  slaves,  11. 
936  C  ;  interest,  5.  742  C  ;  il.  921 
D  : — Killing  {v.  s.v.  Homicide)  : 
—  Lamentations  at  funerals  {v.  s.  v. 
Funeral)  ;  limit  of  time  in  dis- 
putes, 12.  954 ;  love,  8.  839- 
841 ;  lunatics,  11.  934  C  :— Man- 
slaughter (v.  s.  V.  Homicide);  me- 
tics,  8.  850  ;  9.  866  C  ;  11.  920  A 
{v.s.v^  ;  military  service  (throw- 
ing away  of  arms,  etc.),  12.  942- 
945 ;  murder,  9. 869  E-874  [v.s.  v. 
Homicide): — Neighbours,  8.  843 : 
—Oaths,  12.  948,  949  ;  obstruc- 
tion of  witnesses  and  competitors, 
ib.  954  D;  offences  of  magistrates, 
8.  846  B  ;  orphans,  11.  924-928  : 
— Parents,  /<5.93i,  932  ;  parricide, 
matricide,  etc.,  9.  868,  872,  873  ; 
payment,  11.  921  ;  physicians  and 
their  patients,  9.  865  ;  poison  and 
witchcraft,  11.  932  E;  prices,  ib. 
917  ;  prisons,  10. 908  ;  private  en- 
mities, 12. 955  C  ;  property,  6.  776 
foil.  ;  II. 913-916,  923  ;  12.  955  D 
(Z/.J.Z/.) : — Receiptor  stolen  goods, 
12.  955  B;  retail  trade,  8.  847;  11. 
918-921  ;  right  of  way,  8.  846  A  : 
— Sale  (fraudulent),  12.  954  A; 
sale  of  diseased  slaves  and  ho- 
micides, II.  916  A-C  ;  satire,  ib. 
935;  search,  12.  954;  second 
marriages,  II.  930;  sepulchres, 


12.  958  D  ;  slaves  (v.s.  v.  Slave)  ; 
sorcery,  10.  909;  11.  932  E; 
strangers,  12.  952,  953;  suicide,  9. 
873  ;  surety,  1 2. 95  3  E  :  — Taverns, 

11.  919  ;  temple  robbing,  9.  854  ; 
theft,  ib.  857,  874  C  ;  n.  933  E  ; 

12.  941  ;  trade,  8.  847  ;  11.  918- 
921  ;  travelling  spectators,  12. 
951,952;  treasure  trove,  II.  913  : 
—Violence,  10.  884,885 :— Water, 
8.  844,  845  C ;  weights  and 
measures,  5.  746  E  ;  wills,  1 1. 922- 
924  ;  witchcraft  and  poison,  ib. 
933;  wizards  and  charmers,  10. 
909  ;  wounding,  9.  874-882. 

Models  (or  types),  by  which  the 
poets  are  to  be  guided  in  their 
compositions.  Rep.  2.  379 ;  in 
legislation  about  music,  Laws  7. 
800. 

Moderation,  necessity  of.  Rep.  5. 
466  B  ;  Laws  3. 690  E,  693  E  ;  5. 
732,  736  E  (cp.  Crat.  414  E; 
Crit.  112  C) ;  the  appointment  of 
nature.  Laws  8.  839  B  ;  not 
observed  by  the  majority  of  men, 
ib.  II.  918  C  ;  not  to  be  taken  in 
the  sense  of  meanness,  ib.  12. 
959  D- 

Modesty,  becoming  to  youth. 
Charm.  158  C  ;  a  definition  of 
temperance,  ib.  160 ;  charac- 
teristic of  the  true  lover,  Phaedr. 
254  ;  produced  by  education. 
Soph.  230  D  ;  in  excess,  Statesm. 
310  E. 

Moment,  the.  Farm.  156  D. 
Momus  (god  of  jealousy).  Rep.  6. 
487  A. 

Monad,  the,  Phaedo  105  C. 

Monarchy,  distinguished  from  aris- 
tocracy, as  that  form  of  the 
perfect  state  in  which  one  rules. 
Rep.  4.  445  C  (cp.  9.  576  D; 
Statesm.  301)  ;  the  happiest  form 
of  government.  Rep.  9.  576  E  (cp. 
580  C,  587  B)  : — (in  the  ordinary 
sense)  the  best  of  the  imperfect 
forms,  Statesm.  303  B;  divided 
into  royalty  and  tyranny,  ib.  302  ; 


472 


Index. 


origin  of,  Laws  3.  681  ;  one  of 
the  two  mother-forms  of  states, 
ib.  693  D  ;  ought  to  be  combined 
with  democracy,  ibid.,  698,  701 
D;  6.  756  E. 

Money,  needed  in  the  state,  Rep. 
2.  371  B  ;  not  necessary  in  order 
to  carry  on  war,  ib.  4.  422  ;  two 
kinds  of,  in  the  Model  City,  Laws 
5.  742;  a  medium,  ib.  11.  918 
B ;  the  different  kinds  of,  in 
different  countries,  Eryx.  400 : — 
love  of,  among  the  Egyptians 
and  Phoenicians,  Rep.  4.  435  E  ; 
characteristic  of  timocracy  and 
oligarchy,  ib.  8.  548  A,  553,  562 
A ;  referred  to  the  appetitive 
element  of  the  soul,  ib.  9.  5S0  E  ; 
despicable,  ib.  589  E,  590  C  (cp. 
3.390  E;  Laws  5.741  E;  8. 832  A). 

Money-changers,  Hipp.  Min.  368  B. 

Money-lending,  in  oligarchies,  Rep. 
8-  5SS>  5.s6. 

Money-maker,  the,  Gorg.  452  B,  C. 

Money-making,  art  of,  in  Cephalus' 
family,  Rep.  i.  330  B  ;  evil  of, 
ib.  8.  556  ;  pleasure  of,  ib.  9.  581 
C,  586  E  ;  forbidden  in  the 
Model  City,  Laws  5.741  £,743  D ; 
8.  842  D,  847  E  ;  why  regarded 
as  dishonourable,  ib.  11.  918. 

Money-qualifications  in  oligarchies. 
Rep.  8.  551  B  (cp.  Laws  3.  698 
B) ;  in  the  Model  City,  Laws  5. 
744- 

Monuments,  Laws  12.  958  E. 

Moon,  a  goddess,  Apol.  26  D ; 
Laws  7.  821  B  ;  10.  886,  887 ; 
reputed  mother  of  Orpheus,  Rep. 
2.  364  E  : — Anaxagoras  on  the 
nature  of,  Apol.  26  D  (cp.  Laws 
10.  886  E) ;  creation  of,  Tim.  38 
C  ;  orbit  of,  ib.  D  ;  Laws  7.  822 
A  ;  has  a  soul.  Laws  10.  899  B  ; 
12.  967  A. 

Moral  qualities  and  arts,  Hipp. 
Min.  373  ;  —  moral  differences 
the  cause  of  war,  Euthyph.  7  ; 
I  Alcib.  112,  113 :— different 
standards  of  morals,  Eryx.  400  C. 


More  and  less,  Phil.  24  foil.,  52. 

Morychus,  house  of,  Phaedr.  227  B. 

Mothers  in  the  state.  Rep.  5.  460 ; 
— mother  country,  Menex.  237, 
238  (cp.  Rep.  9.  575  E). 

Motion  and  rest.  Rep.  4.  436  ;  Tim. 
57  foil.  ;  Theaet.  153,  iSi  ;  Soph. 
250,  25s  foil.;  Laws  10.  893 
foil. : — Motion,  expressed  by  the 
letter  p,  Crat.  426  B,  434  B  ;  six 
kinds  of,  Tim.  36  D,  38  C,  43  B  ; 
philosophy  of,  Theaet.  181  ;  two 
kinds  of,  Pann.  138  C  ;  Theaet. 
1 56  A,  181  ;  ten  kinds  of  motion, 
Laws  10.  893  foil. : — motion  and 
being,  Theaet.  153  A  ;  Soph.  249 ; 
motion  and  generation,  Tim.  38 
A;  Laws  10.  893,  894;  12.  966 
E  ;  motion  and  mind.  Soph.  249 ; 
Laws  10.  897,  898 ;  motion  and 
the  senses,  Theaet.  156,  182: — 
motion  of  the  same  and  other, 
Tim.  36  foil. : — motion  of  the 
universe,  Statesm.  269,  270 ;  of 
the  planets,  Tim.  38  ;  of  the  stars. 
Rep.  7.  529,  530;  10.  616  E; 
Tim.  40  C;  Laws  7.  821,  822; 
12.  966  E  motion  in  the  soul, 
Phaedr.  245  ;  Tim.  89  E ;  Laws 

10.  894  :— the  various  motions  of 
the  body,  Tim.  88,  89  : — motion 
beneficial  to  children.  Laws  7. 
789,  791. 

Mourners,  Laws  7.  800  D  (cp.  12. 

960  A) : — hair  cut  in  mourning, 

Phaedo  89. 
Mouth,  Tim.  75  D. 
'  Move  not  the  immovable,'  Laws 

11.  913- 

Multitude,  the,  the  great  Sophist, 
Rep.  6.  492  ;  their  madness,  ib. 
496  C  ;  used  to  be  the  judges  in 
the  theatre,  Laws  2.  659  B ; 
obliged  to  keep  silence  in  ancient 
Athens,  ib.  3.  700 ;  not  able  to 
manage  a  state,  ib.  6.  758  A  (cp. 
Statesm.  292  E,  297  B).  See 
Many. 

Murder,  Euthyph.  4,  8  ;  Laws  9. 
869  E-S74.    Cp.  Homicide. 


Index. 


473 


Murderers,  Euthyph.  4 ;  punish- 
ment of,  in  a  future  existence, 
Laws  9.  870  E,  872  D.  Cp. 
Homicide. 

Musaeus,  a  sophist,  Protag.  316  D  ; 
a  source  of  inspiration.  Ion  536 
B ;  in  the  other  world,  Apol.  41 
A  ;  his  pictures  of  a  future  life, 
Rep.  2.  363  p,  E,  364  E. 

Muses,  invocation  to  the,  Euthyd. 
275  D  ;  Phaedr.  237  A  ;  Crit.  108 
C  ;  the  name  (amo  toC  fiStaduL), 
Crat.  406  A  ;  inspire  madness  in 
the  poet,  Phaedr.  245  A,  265 
E  ;  Ion  534  ;  Laws  3.  682  A;  4. 
719  B  (cp.  Apol.  22  A)  ;  the 
Muses  and  the  grasshoppers, 
Phaedr.  259  A  ;  names  and  at- 
tributes of  the  Muses,  z'S.  D  ;  the 
Muses  compared  to  a  magnet, 
Ion  533  E,  536  A  ;  their  melody 
due  to  love,  Symp.  197  B  ;  Mu- 
saeus and  Orpheus,  children  of 
the  Muses,  Rep.  2.  364  E ;  use  of 
the  Muses,  Tim.  47  E  ;  Laws 

2.  670  A ;  the  Muses,  the 
daughters  of  Memory,  Theaet. 
191  D  ;  partners  in  our  revels. 
Laws  2.  653  D,  665  A,  672  C  ; 
give  education,  id.  654  A  ;  source 
of  the  sense  of  harmony,  zi>.  672 
D  (cp.  Tim.  47  E) ;  aid  men  to 
control  their  desires,  Laws  6.  783 
A ;  their  gifts,  td.  7.  796  E ; 
patronesses  of  art,  I  Alcib.  108 
C; — 'the  hymeneal  Muses,'  Laws 
6.  775  B. 

Music,  Socrates  recommended  in  a 
dream  to  compose,  Phaedo  60 
E  ; — music  an  art  of  imitation, 
Crat.  423;  Laws  2.  655,668;  7. 
798  E,  812  C  (cp.  Rep.  3.  397  ; 
Laws  10.  889  D)  ;  music  and 
love,  Symp.  187,  197  A  ;  the  end 
of  music  the  love  of  beauty.  Rep. 

3.  403  C  ;  the  simpler  kinds  of, 
foster  temperance  in  the  soul,  id. 
404  E,  410  A  (cp.  Laws  7. 802  E) ; 
effect  of  excessive,  Rep.  3.  410, 
411;  license  in,  leads  to  anarchy  in 


the  state,  16.  4.  424  E ;  Laws  3. 
701  B  (cp.  Laws  7.  798  E)  ;  not 
intended  to  give  pleasure,  Tim. 
47  E  ;  Laws  2.  655  D,  668  A  ;  3. 
700  E  {dzii  cp.  Laws  2.  658  E  ;  7. 
802  D);  correspondence  of  strings 
and  notes  in,  Theaet.  206  B  (cp. 
Laws  7.  812)  ;  music  and  predi- 
cation, Soph. 253  B  ;  sounds  and 
tones  \n,ibid.\  Phil.  17;  empiri- 
cal, Phil.  56,  62  C ;  origin  of, 
Laws  2.  653, 654,  672  (cp.  Tim.  47 
E) ;  figures  and  gestures  in.  Laws 
2.  655  ;  '  colours'  in,  ibid. ;  right 
and  wrong  use  of,  ib.  655,  656; 
importance  and  difficulty  of  form- 
ing a  correct  judgment  about,  ib. 
669 ;  music  corrupted  by  the 
poets,  ibid. ;  3.  700 ;  the  three 
kinds  of  music,  ib.  3.  700  A  ;  the 
excellence  of  music,  i  Alcib.  108 
D  : — Music  in  education,  Protag. 
326  B  ;  Crito  50  D  ;  Rep.  2.  398 
foil. ;  7.  522  A  ;  Laws  2.  654,  660 
(cp.  Poetry,  Poets)  ;  includes 
literature  (XtJyoi),  Rep.  2.  376  E  ; 
to  be  taught  before  gymnastic, 
ibid.  (cp.  3.  403  B) ;  like  gym- 
nastic, should  be  studied  through- 
out life,  ib.  3.  403  C  ;  ancient 
forms  of,  not  to  be  altered,  ib. 
4.  424  ;  Laws  2.  657  ;  7.  799,  801 
(cp.  Laws  7.  816  C)  ;  must  be 
taught  to  women.  Rep.  5.  452  (cp. 
Laws  7.804  D);  designed  to  give  a 
wholesome  disciphne  in  a  pleasant 
form,  Laws  2.  659  D  ;  the  severe 
and  the  vulgar  sort,  ib.  7.  802  (cp. 
Rep.  3.  397)  ;  time  to  be  spent  in 
learning.  Laws  7.  810,  812  ;  com- 
plex kinds  of,  to  be  rejected,  ib. 
812  D  (cp.  Rep.  3.  397);— 
ministei's  or  directors  of  music, 
Laws  6.  764  C  ;  7.  801  D,  813  A  ; 
12.  949  A; — solo  singing,  ib.  6. 
764  E; — choruses,  zW^/. ;— laws 
(or  types)  of  music,  ib.  7.  800 ; 
— songs  for  men  and  women,  ib. 
802: — music  in  ancient  Athens 
not  judged  by  the  people,  ib.  3. 


474 


Index. 


700 ;  strictly  regulated  in  Crete 
and  at  Lacedaemon,  ib.  2.  660 ; 
unchangeable  in  Egypt,  ib.  657  ; 
7.  799  A. 
Music.  \Music  to  the  aficietits 
had  a  far  wider  significance 
than  it  has  to  us.  It  was  op- 
posed to  gyvmastic  as  ^mental'' 
to  '  bodily '  training,  and  in- 
cluded equally  reading  and 
writing,  mathematics,  harmony, 
poetry,  and  music  strictly  speak- 
ing:  drawing,  as  Aristotle  tells 
us  (Pol.  viii.  3,  §  i),  was  some- 
times made  a  separate  division. 
I.  Music  {in  the  wider  sense), 
Plato  says,  should  precede  gym- 
nastic;  and,  according  to  a  re- 
markable  passage  in  the  Pro- 
tagoras (325  C),  the  pupils  in  a 
Greek  school  were  actually  in- 
structed in  reading  and  writing, 
made  to  learn  poetry  by  heart, 
and  taught  to  play  on  the  lyre  be- 
fore they  went  to  the  gymnasium. 
In  the  Republic  Plato  docs  7iot 
etiter  into  the  details  of  elementaty 
education,  but  confines  himself  to 
the  discussion  of  general  prin- 
ciples. He  is  more  explicit  in 
the  Laws.  The  children  will 
begin  to  attend  school  at  the  age 
of  ten,  and  will  spend  three 
years  in  learning  to  read  and 
write  (Laws  7.  810  foil. ;  and  see 
S.  V.  Education).  This  seems  to 
us  a  short  time  for  the  purpose; 
but  Plato  expressly  says  that 
only  a  moderate  standard  of 
proficiency  will  be  required.  He 
also  wishes  the  children  to  com- 
mit to  memory  compositions  in 
prose  and  verse;  but  they  are  to 
learn  nothing  which  has  not 
received  the  sanction  of  the 
Director  of  Education; — his  own 
discourses  i?t  the  Laws  will  be  an 
exxellent  model.  Arithmetic  and 
elementary  mathematics  ought  in 
his  opinion  to  be  acquired  by 


means  of  object  lessons,  as  was 
the  custom  among  the  Egyptians, 
an  idea  which  would  be  approved 
by  matiy  ynodern  educators. 
\Aristoile  in  the  Politics  appears 
to  think  that  education  should 
commence  at  seven  (vii.  17,  §  7), 
and  should  continue  for  seven 
years ;  bid  his  language  is  ob- 
scure, and  we  cannot  gather  in 
what  order  he  intends  that  the 
different  subjects  should  be  taken 
(cp.  viii.  4,  §§  7-9).]  II.  Music, 
strictly  so  called,  plays  a  great 
part  in  Plato's  scheme  of  educa- 
tio?t.  He  hopes  by  its  aid  to 
make  the  lives  of  his  youthful 
scholars  harmonious  and  gra- 
cio7ts,  and  to  implatit  in  their 
souls  true  conceptions  of  good 
and  evil.  Music  is  a  gift  of  the 
Gods  to  men,  and  was  never 
intended,  '  as  the  tnany  foolishly 
and  blasphemously  suppose,' 
merely  to  give  us  an  idle  plea- 
sure. Neither  should  a  freemati 
aim  at  aitai?tiftg  perfect  execu- 
tion \cp.  Arist.  Pol.  viii.  6,  §§7, 
15]  :  i7i  the  Laws  (7.  810)  we 
are  told  that  every  one  must  go 
through  the  three  years'  course  of 
music,  '  neither  jnore  nor  less, 
whether  he  like  or  whether  he 
dislike  the  study. ^  Both  instru- 
ments and  music  are  to  be  of  a 
simple  character :  in  the  Repub- 
lic only  the  lyre,  the  pipe,  and 
the  fiute  are  tolerated,  and  the 
Dorian  and  Phrygian  harmonies 
[cp.  Laws  7.  815,  and  the  criti- 
cisms of  Aristotle,  Pol.  viii.  7]. 
No  change  in  the  fashions  of 
music  is  permitted;  for  where 
there  is  license  in  miisic  there 
will  be  afiarchy  in  the  state.  In 
this  desire  for  simplicity  and 
fixity  in  fnusic  Plato  was  prob- 
ably opposed  to  the  tendencies  of 
his  own  age.  The  severe  har- 
mony which  had  once  distiu- 


Index. 


475 


guished  Hellenic  art  was  passing 
out  of  favour :  alike  in  archi- 
tecture, sculpture,  painting, 
literature,  and  nmsic,  richer  and 
more  ornate  styles  prevailed. 
We  regard  the  change  as  inevit- 
able, and  not  perhaps  wholly  to 
be  regretted :  to  Plato  it  was  a 
cause  rather  than  a  sign  of  the 
decline  of  Hellas.^ 

Music-masters,  Charm.  1 60  A  ; 
Laws  7. 812.  Cp.  Connus,  Damon. 

Musical  amateurs,  Rep.  5.  475  ; — 
contests.  Laws  2.  657  E  ;  6.  764 
D  foil.  ;  8.  828  C,  834  E  ;  12. 
947  E  ; — education,  Theaet.  206 
B  ;  effect  of,  Protag.  326  B  ;  Rep. 
2.  377  ;  3- 401  E-403;  7.  522  A; 
Tim.  47  E  ;  Laws  2.  654,  660  ; 
7.  810 ;— instruments,  the  more 
complex  kinds  of,  to  be  rejected. 
Rep.  3. 399  (cp.  Laws  7.  812  D);— 
modes,  Laches  1 88  D ;  Rep.  3. 397- 
399;  changes  in,  involve  changes 
in  the  laws.  Rep.  4. 424  C. 

Myrrhina,  tomb  of  (Batiaea),  Crat. 
392  A. 

Myrrhinusian,  Phaedrus  the.  Pro- 
tag.  315  C;  Phaedr.  244.A;  Symp. 
176  D. 

Myrtilus,  the  murder  of,  Crat.  395  C. 

Mysian,  a  term  of  reproach,  Gorg. 
521  B  ;  Theaet.  209  B. 

Myson  the  Chenian,  one  of  the 
Seven  Wise  Men,  Protag.  343  A. 

Mysteries,  Phaedr.  250  B;  Meno 
76  E  ;  Crito  54  C ;  Phaedo 
69  C  ;  Gorg.  497  C ;  Rep.  2. 
365  A,  366  A,  378  A ;  8.  560  E  ; 
accompanied  by  sport,  Euthyd. 
277  E ;  celebrated  in  Bacchic 
dances.  Laws  7.  815  C;  their 
teaching  about  the  murder  of 
kindred,  ib.  9.  870  D,  E,  872  E. 

Myth,  more  interesting  than  argu- 
ment, Protag.  320  C  : — myth  of 
Zamolxis,  Charm.  156;  of  the 
creation  of  man,  Protag.  320  C 
foil. ;  of  the  soul,  Phaedr.  245- 
257 ;   of  the   grasshoppers,  ib. 


259;  of  Theuth,  ib.  274;  of  the 
origin  of  love,  Symp.  191,  192  ; 
of  the  lower  and  the  upper  world, 
Phaedo  107  foil. ;  of  Er,  the  son 
of  Armenius,  Rep.  10.  614  foil. ; 
of  Atreus  and  Thyestes,  Statesm. 

268  E  ;  of  Cadmus,  Rep.  3.  414 
C  ;  Soph.  247  C  ;  Laws  2.  683  E ; 
— the  legend  of  Atalantis,  Tim. 
21-26 ;  Crit.  1 06  foil ; — the  Sicilian 
tale,  Gorg.  493 ;  parable  of  the 
casks,  ibid. ;  Socrates'  tale,  ib.  523 
foil. ;  the  '  ancient  story,'  Statesm. 

269  foil.  : — myths  of  the  ancient 
philosophers,  Soph.  242  D. 

Mythology,  in  family  pedigrees, 
Lysis  205  C  ;  i  Alcib.  120  E  (cp. 
Euthyph.  1 1  B)  ;  Socrates  dis- 
believes in,  Euthyph.  6  ;  Phaedr. 
229  C  ;  misrepresentations  of  the 
Gods  in,  Euthyph.  6,  8  ;  Rep.  2. 
378  foil.;  3.  388  foil.,  408  C; 
Laws  10.  886  C  ;  12.  941  (cp. 
Crit.  109  B ;  Laws  2.  672  B) ; 
attempts  to  rationalize,  valueless, 
Phaedr.  229  C  ;  Socrates'  use  of, 
ib.  265,  275  ;  only  studied  when 
men  have  leisure,  Crit.  109  E  ; 
like  poetry,  has  an  imitative 
character.  Rep.  3.  392  D  foil. 

N. 

Nails,  Tim.  76  E. 

Name,  authority  of  a  great,  Phaedr. 

270  C. 

Names,  natural  truth  of,  Crat.  383  ; 
conventional  theory  of,  ib.  384, 
385  foil,  434  E,  435  ;  are  parts 
of  propositions,  ib.  385  ;  things 
have  an  essence,  ib.  386  ;  actions 
have  an  essence,  ib.  E  foil. ; 
naming  a  kind  of  action,  ib.  387  ; 
names  the  instruments  of  naming, 
ib.  388  ;  defined,  ibid. ;  the  work 
of  the  legislator,  ib.  388  E  foil., 
404  A,  408  A,  414  B,  427  D, 
429  B,  431  E,  436,  437  E  ;  Laws 
7.  816  B  ;  formed  on  an  ideal, 
Crat.  389  ;  speech  must  be  natu- 
ral, ibid. ;  names  differ  in  syl- 


476 


Index. 


lables,  ih.  390 ;  used  by  the 
dialectician,  ibid. ;  barbarian 
and  Hellenic  names,  ib.  385  E, 
390  A ;  syllables  of  names,  ib. 
393 ;  names  of  Greek  letters,  ibid. ; 
meaning  and  form  of  names,  ib. 
394 ;  reason  in,  ib.  393,  394 ; 
names  of  men  and  heroes,  ib.  394 
foil. ;  of  Gods,  ib.  400  foil. ; 
the  imposers  of  names,  ib.  401, 
41 1  ;  foreign  names,  ib.  401  C  (cp. 
416  A) ;  foreign  origin  of  names, 
ib.  409  D  ;  the  cause  of,  ib.  416  ; 
primary  and  secondary,  ib.  ; 
names  indicate  nature  of  things, 
ibid. ;  are  vocal  imitations,  ib.  423 ; 
sophistical  view  of,  ib.  428  foil. ; 
names  and  pictures  compared,  ib. 
42g,  430,  434  ;  how  true,  ib.  431  ; 
how  related  to  things,  ib.  432  ; 
when  good,  ib.  433  ;  theories  of 
names,  ib.  433,  434  ;  knowledge 
given  by,  ib.  436  ;  consistency  in, 
ibid. ;  rest  rather  than  motion 
signified  by,  ib.  437  ;  more  than 
human,  ib.  438  ;  in  education,  ib. 
440 ;  names  and  things,  Parm. 
148  D  ;  names  and  definitions. 
Soph.  218  ;  Laws  10.  895  ;  have 
no  real  existence,  Soph.  244 ;  con- 
nexion of,  ib.  261  ;  not  to  be 
pressed,  Statesm.  261  E  (cp.  Rep. 
7-  533  E) ;  ancient  names  excel- 
lent, Laws  7.  816  A:— distinctions 
of  names  ascribed  to  Prodicus, 
Charm.  163  D  ;  Laches  197  D  ; 
Protag.  337  A,  340  A,  358  A,  D  ; 
Euthyd.  277  E  ;  Meno  75  E  ; — 
generic  names,  Phaedo  104 ; — 
names  of  ideas,  ibid. ; — names  of 
classes,  Theaet.  157  C  :  — children 
sometimes  called  by  their  fathers' 
names,  Lysis  204  D. 
Narration,  styles  of.  Rep.  3.  392, 
393,  396- 

National  qualities,  Rep.  4.  435  E  ; 

national  characteristics,  Laws  i. 

641  E  ;  5.  747. 
Natural  gifts,  Phaedr.  269  E  ;  Rep. 

2.  370  A;  5.  455  ;  6.  491  £,495 


A;  7-519,  535;  I'^i^vs  7- 819  A; 
10.  908  C  ; — justice,  Gorg.  483- 
485  ;  Laws  10.  890  A;  Callicles' 
view  of,  Gorg.  492 ;— philoso- 
phers, teach  that  'like  loves 
like,'  Lysis  214  A  ;  deny  pleasure, 
Phil.  44 ;  are  not  godless.  Laws 
12.  966,  967  ;— philosophy,  Phae- 
do 97;  Laws  10.  889  (cp.  Apol. 
26)  ; — scenery,  Greek  feeling  for, 
Phaedr.  230  (cp.  Laws  I.  625 
A,  B) ; — science,  Socrates  disap- 
pointed in,  Phaedo  96  foil. 
Nature,  no  incompleteness  in, 
Phaedo  71  E  ;  nature  in  names, 
Crat.  387,  390,  393,  394, 422, 423 ; 
nature  and  convention  in  morals, 
Gorg.  483 ;  Laws  10.  889  E ; 
Eryx.  400  C  ;  nature  and  creation, 
Soph.  265  ;  the  true  nature  of 
things  seen  in  their  extreme 
forms,  Phil.  44  E,  45  ;  nature  and 
habit.  Laws  2.  655;  nature,  art, 
and  chance,  ib.  10.  889 ;  in 
politics,  ibid. ;  life  according  to, 
/'/'.  890  B  ;  meaning  of  the  word, 
/■/;.  892. 

Nature,  recurrent  cycles  in,  Rep.  8. 

546  A  ;    Statesm.  269  foil.  ; — 

divisions  of.  Rep.  9.  584;  Phil. 

23  ;— upper  and  lower  in,  Tim.  62 

foil. ; — universal  nature,  ib.  50. 
Naucratis,  the  home  of  Theuth,  in 

Egypt,  Phaedr.  274  C. 
Nausicydes,  of  the  deme  of  Cho- 

larges,  a  student  of  philosophy, 

Gorg.  487  C. 
Nautical  population,  evil  of,  Laws 

4.  705. 

Naval  warfare,  not  to  be  com- 
mended. Laws  4.  706. 

Naxos,  Euthyph.  4  C. 

Necessities,  the,  of  life.  Rep.  2.  369, 
373  A. 

Necessity,  the  mother  of  the  Fates, 
Rep.  10.  616,  617,  621  A. 

Necessity,  not  so  strong  a  tie  as 
desire,  Crat.  403  ;  not  even  God 
can  fight  against,  Laws  5.  741 
A;  7.  818  A;— 'the  necessity 


Index. 


477 


which  lovers  know,'  Rep.  5.  458 
E  ; — '  the  necessity  of  Diomedes,' 
ib.  6.  493  D. 

Nectar,  drunk  by  the  horses  of  the 
Gods,  Phaedr.  247  D  ;  the  drink 
of  the  Gods,  Symp.  203  B. 

Negation  and  opposition,  Soph. 
257; — negation  of  pain,  not 
=  pleasure,  Phil.  43,  44. 

Neighbours  not  to  be  injured,  Laws 
8.  843  ; — court  of  neighbours,  ib. 
6.  766  E  ;  12.  956  C. 

Neith  =  Athene,  Tim.  21  E,  23  E. 

Nemea,  Lysis  205  C  ; — citizens  (of 
the  Model  City)  to  be  sent  to. 
Laws  12.  950  E. 

Nemesis,  Rep.  5.  451  A  ;  the  mes- 
senger of  justice,  Laws  4.  717  D. 

Nereids,  Crit.  116  E. 

Nestor,  counsel  of,  to  Antilochus, 
Ion  537  A ;  his  concubine,  ib. 
538  C  ;  like  Pericles,  Symp.  221 
C  ;  excelled  all  men  in  speech 
and  temperance.  Laws  4.  711  E  ; 
wisest  of  those  who  went  to  Troy, 
Hipp.  Min.  364  C  (cp.  Eryx. 
394)  :  —  the  rhetoric  of  Nestor 
[Gorgias],  Phaedr.  261  C. 

Neutral  state,  Phil.  33. 

Niceratusj  father  of  Nicias,  Gorg. 
472  A. 

Niceratus,  son  of  Nicias,  Laches 
200  D  ;  Rep.  i.  327  C. 

Nicias,  Gorg.  472  A;  Rep.  i.  327 
C  ;  a  person  in  the  dialogue 
Laches,  Laches  178  A,  etc.  ;  a 
public  man,  ib.  180  B,  187  A,  197 
D  ;  his  opinion  on  the  art  of 
fighting  in  armour,  ib.  182  A  foil. ; 
his  wealth,  ib.  186  C  ;  used  to 
cross-examination  by  Socrates,  ib. 
188  A,  B  ;  his  opinion  on  courage, 
ib.  195  A  foil. ;  a  philosopher,  ib. 
200  C. 

Nicostratus,  a  pupil  of  Socrates, 

Apol.  33  E. 
Night  and  day,  Tim.  39. 
Nightingale,   Thamyras  changed 

into  a,  Rep.  10.  620  A. 
Nile,  divided  at  the  Delta,  Tim.  21 


E  ;  saviour  of  Egypt,  ib.  22  D  ; 
preserves  of  fishes  in  the  Nile, 
Statesm.  264  C  ;  children  of  the 
Nile,  inhospitable.  Laws  12.  953 
E  : — '  the  long  and  difficult^arm ' 
of  the  Nile,  Phaedr.  257  E. 

Ninus,  empire  of.  Laws  3.  685  C. 

Niobe,  Tim.  22  A  ;  sufferings  of,  in 
tragic  poetry.  Rep.  2.  380  A. 

Nitre,  Tim.  60  D. 

Noble,  the,  should  rule  over  the 
ignoble.  Laws  3. 690  A ;  4.  714  E. 

Nocturnal  council  (in  the  Model 
City),  Laws  10.  908  A,  909  A  ; 
12.  951,  961,  968  : — in  the  island 
of  Atlantis,  Crit.  119  E  foil. 

l<l6fj.os=vov  dtavofit],  Laws  4.  714  A  ; 
12.  957  D  ; — Nd/Moi,  'strains 'and 
'  laws,'  Laws  7.  Soo  A  (cp.  Rep. 
7.  532  E  ;  Laws  4.  722  E  ;  6. 
772  E). 

'  Not-beautiful,'  the.  Soph.  257. 

'Not-beingj'  Rep.  5.  477;  Parm. 
160  ;  Soph.  237,  241  (cp.  ib.  257) ; 
cannot  be  predicated  of  being. 
Soph. 237:  'not-being,'  'nothing,' 
ibid. ;  not-being  and  number,  ib. 
238  ;  in  the  abstract,  ibid. ;  not- 
being  and  images,  ib.  240  ;  not- 
being  and  falsehood,  ibid.  (cp. 
Euthyd.  283  E  foil.)  ;  not-being 
and  being.  Soph.  257  ;  exists,  ib. 
258  ;  not-being  and  language,  ib. 
260. 

Not-great,  the,  Soph.  257. 

'  Nothing  too  much,'   at  Delphi, 

Charm.  165  A  ;  Protag.  343  B  ; 

Phil.  45  E. 
Nouns,  Soph.  261,  262. 
Novelties  in  music  and  gymnastic 

to  be  discouraged.  Rep.  4.  424  ; 

Laws  2.  657,  660  A  ;  7.  798  E, 

801. 

Number,  said  to  have  been  invented 
by  Palamedes,  Rep.  7.  522  D  (cp. 
Laws  3.  677  D) ;  number  and 
being,  Parm.  144  : — the  number 
of  the  State,  Rep.  8.  546 ; — 
number  of  the  citizens.  Laws  5. 
737,  738;  6.  771  ;  9.  877  D;  — 


478 


Index. 


number  of  families,  not  to  change, 
ib.  5.  740: — puzzles  caused  by 
numbers,  Phaedo  96  E,  loi  D  : 
— the  odd  numbers  sacred  to  the 
Gods  above,  the  even  to  those 
below,  Laws  4.  717  A. 

Numerical  systems  to  be  commen- 
surate, Laws  5.  746  E. 

Nurses,  Rep.  2.  373  C  ;  5.  460 ; 
Laws  7.  792  A,  794; — nursing 
and  gestation,  Laws  7.  789. 

Nymphs,  spots  dedicated  to, 
Phaedr.  230  B;  overtake  Socrates, 
ib.  241  E  ;  Bacchic,  inspired  by 
Zeus,  ib.  253  A  ;  of  Achelous  and 
Pan,  better  rhetoricians  than 
Lysias,  ib.  263  E  ;  their  message 
to  Lysias,  ib.  278  B  ;  imitated  in 
Bacchic  dances.  Laws  7.  815  B. 

O. 

Oaths,  sworn  by  the  Heracleidae, 
Laws  3.  683  E,  684  A  ;  their 
futility,  ib.  692  :— false  oaths,  ib. 
II.  916  E: — suits  decided  by 
oaths  in  the  days  of  Khadaman- 
thus,  ib.  12.  948  ;— cases  in  which 
oaths  may  be  taken,  ib.  E  foil. 

Obedience  to  the  laws,  the  palm  of 
civic  life,  Laws  4.  715  C  ;  5.  729 
D;  II.  919  E,  935  C  (cp.  3. 
690) ;  to  God,  required  of  every 
man.  Laws  4.  717  A. 

Objects  and  ideas,  to  be  distin- 
guished, Rep.  5.  476  ;  6.  507. 

Obstruction  of  witnesses  and  com- 
petitors. Laws  12.  954,  955. 

Occupations,  ignoble,  not  permitted 
in  the  Model  City,  Laws  5.  741. 

Oceanus,  the  river  of,  Phaedo  112 
E. 

Oceanus  and  Tethys,  the  origin  of 
all,  Crat.  402  B;  Tim.  40  E; 
Theaet.  152  t:,  180  D. 

Odd  and  even,  Euthyphro  12  C  ; 
Phaedo  104  A,  106  ;  Parm.  143  ; 
— odd  numbers  sacred  to  the 
Gods  above,  Laws  4.  717A. 

Odysseus,  Apol.  41  C  ;   Rep.  i. 


334  A ;  Odysseus  and  the  Syrens, 
Phaedr.  259  B  ;  declares  himself 
to  the  suitors.  Ion  535  C  (cp.  i 
Alcib.  112  B) ;  Odysseus  and 
Alcinous,  Rep.  10.  614  B; 
chooses  the  lot  of  a  private  man, 
ib.  620  D  ;  rebukes  Agamemnon, 
Laws  4.  706  D  ;  an  inferior  hero 
to  Achilles,  Hipp.  Min.  363,  364 
B,  C,  D,  365  B,  369  B,  C,  371 
D  :— the  rhetoric  of  Odysseus, 
[Theodoras  or  Thrasymachus], 
Phaedr.  261  B. 

Odyssey,  Ion  539  D  ;  Rep.  3.  393 
A  ;  Laws  2.  658  E  ;  Hipp.  Min. 
363  B;  I  Alcib.  112  A.  Cp. 
Homer,  Iliad. 

Oeagrus,  father  of  Orpheus,  Symp. 
179  D. 

Oedipus,  on  the  stage.  Laws  8.  838 
C  ;  his  curse  upon  his  sons,  ib. 
1 1. 931  B  ;  2  Alcib.  138  B,  141  A. 

Oenoe,  Protag.  310  C. 

Oenophyta,  battle  of,  Menex.  242  B. 

Offerings  to  the  Gods,  regulations 
respecting,  Laws  12.  955  E. 

Office,  not  desired  by  the  good 
ruler.  Rep.  7.  520  A  ;  should  be 
the  reward  of  obedience  to  the 
laws.  Laws  4.  715  B  ;  —  age  for 
office,  ib.  6.  785  (cp.  Age). 

Officers  (public),  decease  of.  Laws 
6.  766  C. 

Officials,  the  class  of,  Statesm.  290. 

Offspring,  the  love  of,  common  to 
men  and  animals,  Symp.  207  A. 

Oil,  Tim.  60  A ;  properties  of, 
Protag.  334. 

OitdwoTiKi;,  Phaedr.  244  C,  D. 

Old  age,  complaints  against.  Rep.  i. 
328,  329  ;  Sophocles  quoted  in 
regard  to,  ib.  329  ;  wealth,  a  com- 
forter of  age,  ib.  E  ;  wretchedness 
of,  to  the  false  and  ignorant, 
Laws  5.  730  D  : — Old  men  may 
go  to  school.  Laches  201  (cp. 
Euthyd.  272  C) ;  think  more 
of  the  future  life,  Rep.  i.  330; 
not  students,  ib.  7.  536  (cp. 
Laches  1 89)  ;  may  remark  defects 


Index. 


479 


in  the  laws,  Laws  I.  634  E  ; 
would  prefer  a  good  recitation  of 
Homer  or  Hesiod  to  any  other 
pleasure,  ib.  2.  658 ;  as  singers, 
ib.  665,  666,  670 ;  allowed  to 
invite  Dionysus  to  the  feast,  ib. 
666  B  ;  have  a  keen  mental 
vision,  ib.  4.  715  E;  must  re- 
verence the  young,  ib.  5.  729  B  ; 
must  not  be  over-confident,  ib.  7. 
799  ;  take  great  care  of  orphans, 
ib.  II.  927  B;  the  mind  of  the 
state,  ib.  12.  965  A :— the  older  to 
bear  rule  in  the  state.  Rep.  3.412; 
Laws  3.  690  A ;  4.  714  E  (cp. 
Laws  3.  680  E  :  and  see  Elder) : — 
the  old  man's  game  of  laws. 
Laws  3. 685  B  ;  6.  769  A  (cp.  7. 820 
C) : — the  old  men  play  at  model- 
ling the  state,  as  it  were,  in  wax, 
ib.  4.  712  B  ;  5.  746  A. 

Oligarchy,  Statesm.  291  E ;  a  form 
of  government  which  has  many 
evils,  Rep.  8.  544  C,  551,  552  ; 
origin  of,  ib.  550  ;  nature  of,  ibid. ; 
Statesm.  301 , 302 ;  always  divided 
against  itself.  Rep.  8.  551  D, 
554  E  ;  the  most  difficult  form 
of  government  to  improve.  Laws 
4.  710  E  : — oligarchical  man,  the, 
Rep.  8.  553  ;  a  miser,  ib.  555  ; 
his  place  in  regard  to  pleasure, 
ib.  9.  587. 

Olive  wreath,  the  prize  of  victory. 
Laws  12.  943  C;  of  virtue,  ib. 
946  B  ; — first  appearance  of  the 
olive,  ib.  6.  782  B  ;  Menex.  238  A. 

Olympia,  offerings  of  the  Cypselids 
at,  Phaedr.  236  B  ;  Hippias  at, 
Hipp.  Min.  363  C-364  A  : — 
Olympic  games,  training  for, 
Laws  7.  807  C  ;  8.  840  A ;  the 
horse  races,  ib.  7.  822  B  (cp.  Apol. 
36  E) ;  the  long  course.  Laws  7. 
822  B  ;  citizens  [of  the  Model 
City]  to  be  sent  to,  ib.  12.  950 
E  : — Olympic  victors,  maintained 
in  the  Prytaneum,  Apol.  36  E  ; 
Rep.  5.  465  E;  their  happiness 
and  gloi-y.  Rep.  5.  465  D,  466  A; 


10.  618  A  (cp.  Laws  5.  729  D  ;  7. 
807  C)  : — Olympic  victories,  the 
three  heavenly,  Phaedr.  256  B. 

Olympian  Gods,  the.  Laws  4.  717 
A  (cp.  Phaedr.  247  A):— Olym- 
pian Zeus,  temple  of  (at  Athens), 
Phaedr.  227  B  ;  the  Saviour, 
Rep.  9.  583  B  (cp.  Zeus). 

Olympus,  melodies  of.  Ion  533  B  ; 
Symp.  215  C  ;  inventor  of  music, 
Laws  3.  677  D. 

Omens,  observers  of  (^iXo^ai/reurat), 
Laws  7.  813  D. 

Omniscience,  the  conceit  of,  Phil. 
49  A ;  Laws  3.  701  A  ;  5.  727  B, 
732  A ;  9.  863  C ;  10.  886  B 
(cp.  Phaedr.  237  C;  Apol.  22,29; 
Soph.  230) ;  —  the  omniscience 
of  Hippias,  Hipp.  Min.  368. 

One,  the  study  of,  draws  the  mind 
to  the  contemplation  of  true 
being,  Rep.  7.  525  A; — one  and 
many.  Soph.  251 ;  Phil.  14  foil.  ; 
the  one  and  many  in  nature, 
Phaedr.  266  B  : — Parmenides' 
doctrine  that  '  all  is  one,'  Parm. 
128  A;  Theaet.  180  E;  Soph. 
244  : — the  one  united  by  disunion 
(Heracleitus),  Symp.  187  A  : — 
hypotheses  of  the  one,  Parm.  137 
foil. ;  L  a.  that  the  one  is,  ib.  137; 
L  b.  that  the  one  has  being,  ib. 
142  foil. ;  L  b.  2.  if  one  is  one  and 
many,  ib.i^^;  I.  aa.  if  one  exists, 
ib.  157  ;  L  bb.  if  one  is,  ib.  159  ; 
IL  a.  if  one  does  not  exist,  ib. 
160  ;  n.  b.  if  one  is  not,  ib.  163  ; 
IL  aa.  if  one  has  no  existence,  ib. 

164  ;  \\.bb.\i  the  others  exist,  ib. 

165  ; — one  cannot  have  parts,  ib. 
137  ;  is  unlimited,  ibid. ;  is  form- 
less, Z(5.  138  ;  cannot  be  anywhere, 
ibid. ;  incapable  of  motion,  ib. 
139  ;  is  never  in  the  same,  ibid.  ; 
never  in  rest,  ibid. ;  not  the  same 
with  other,  or  other  of  itself,  ibid. ; 
different  from  the  same,  ibid. ;  one 
not  like  or  unlike  itself  or  other,  ib. 
140;  neither  equal  nor  unequal 
to  itself  or  other,  ibid. ;  not  older 


480 


Index. 


or  younger,  ib.  141 ;  does  not 
partake  of  time,  ibid. ;  is  not  one, 
ib.  142  ;  is  infinite,  ib.  143 ;  has 
infinite  parts,  ib.  144  ;  is  limited, 
ib.  145  ;  has  form,  ibid.  ;  is  in 
itself  and  other,  ibid. ;  is  in  rest 
and  motion,  ib.  146 ;  is  the  same 
and  other  with  itself,  ibid. ;  is 
like  and  unlike  itself  and  others, 
ib.  147;  touches  and  does  not 
touch  itself  and  others,  ib.  148 ; 
is  equal  and  unequal  to  itself  and 
others,  ib.  149  ;  partakes  of  time, 
ib.  151,  152;  becomes  older  and 
younger  than  itself,  ib.  153;  has 
name  and  definition,  ib.  155  ;  is 
generated  and  destroyed,  ib.  1 56  ; 
is  exposed  to  many  affections, 
ibid.,  159  A  ;  a  whole  and  parts, 
ib.  157  ;  others  of  the  one  are  in- 
finite, ib.  158;  are  like  and  un- 
like, ibid. ;  non-existent  one  may 
participate  in  many,  ib.  160  ;  is 
unlike  others  and  like  itself,  ib. 
161 ;  partakes  of  inequality,  ibid.; 
partakes  of  existence  and  non- 
existence, ibid.  ;  has  motion,  ib. 
162;  and  stands,  ib.  163;  is 
changed  and  not  changed,  ibid. 
Ophthalmia,  Gorg.  495  E  ;  2  Alcib. 
139,  140. 

Opinion  and  knowledge,  Phaedr. 
247,  248  ;  Rep.  s.  476-478 ;  6. 
508  D,  510  A  ;  7.  534;  source  of 
opinion,  Phaedr.  248 ;  opinion 
and  persuasion,  ib.  260  A ;  the 
lovers  of  opinion,  Rep.  5.  479, 
480 ;  opinion  a  blind  guide,  ib. 
6.  506 ;  objects  of  opinion  and 
intellect  classified,  ib.  7.  534  (cp. 
5.  476)  ;  opinion  the  end  of 
thinking,  Soph.  264  A ;  opinion 
and  imitation,  ib.  267 ;  opinion 
and  pleasure,  Phil.  36  foil.  ;  the 
arts  based  upon  opinion,  ib. 
59  : — True  opinion,  in  a  mean 
between  wisdom  and  ignorance, 
Symp.  202  A;  why  inferior  to 
knowledge  as  a  guide  to  action, 
Meno  97  foil. ;  like  the  images  of 


Daedalus,  ib.  E  ;  true  opinion  and 
courage,  Rep.  4.  429,  430  ;  origin 
of,  Tim.  37  ;  distinct  from  mind, 
ib.  51  ;  is  it  identical  with  know- 
ledge ?  Theaet.  170  B,  187  foil., 
200  E  foil.,  206  E,  208,  209; 
in  relation  to  the  good,  Phil. 
66 :  —  False  opinion,  how  far 
possible,  Theaet.  170  foil.,  192 
foil.,  195  ;  Soph.  260,  264  ;  nature 
of,  Theaet.  189,  193  foil. ;  Soph. 
240 ;  not  heterodoxy,  Theaet.  190; 
arises  in  the  union  of  thought 
and  perception,  Zi!'.  195;  in  regard 
to  numbers,  ib.  E  ;  not  =  ex- 
change of  knowledge,  ib.  1 99;  false 
opinion  and  wisdom,  Statesm.  278 
E  : — the  opinion  of  the  best. 
Laws  9.  864  A  ;— opinion  of  the 
many,  of  no  value,  Laches  184  ; 
Protag.  353  A ;  Crito  44,  47,  48 
(cp.  Phaedr.  260  A). 

Opisthonotus,  Tim.  84  E. 

Opium  (?  dn-n's),  Tim.  60  B. 

Opposites  desire  each  other.  Lysis 
215  E;  have  something  in 
common,  Protag.  331  E  ;  every- 
thing has  one  opposite, /A  332 ;  2 
Alcib.  139  B  ;  reconciliation  of,  in 
the  philosophy  of  Heracleitus, 
Symp.  1 87  A ;  opposites  generated 
out  of  opposites,  Phaedo  70  E,  103 
A ;  exclusion  of  opposites,  ib.'  102 
E,  104  B  ;  Gorg.  496;  qualifica- 
tion of.  Rep.  4.  436  ;  opposites  in 
nature,  ib.  454  ;  5.  475  E  ;  parti- 
cipation in  opposites,  Parm.  129 
B  ;  admixtures  of  opposites,  Phil. 
2  5, 26  ;  opposites  must  be  learned 
from  opposites.  Laws  7.  816  D  ; 
united  in  the  creation  of  the 
universe,  ib.  10.  889.  Cp.  Con- 
tradiction. 

Opposition,  nature  of,  Phaedo  104, 
105  ;  Rep.  5.475  E;— opposition  of 
ideas  and  things,  Parm.  129;  of 
'  like '  and  '  unlike,'  '  many '  and 
'one,'  ibid.;  Soph.  251;  Phil. 
14-16  (see  One) : — opposition  and 
negation.  Soph.  257  ;  opposition 


Index. 


and  essence,  258 ;— oppositions 
in  the  soul,  Rep.  10.  603  D  ;  Soph. 
228  ;  Laws  10.  896  E ; — opposi- 
tions of  character,  Theaet.  144 
B  ;  Statesm.  307,  308;  Rep.  I. 
329  D  ;  6.  503. 

Orator,  the,  like  a  book,  can  neither 
ask  nor  answer  a  question,  Protag. 
329  A  ;  distinguished  from  the 
statesman,  Soph.  268. 

Oratory,  a  part  of  the  great  art  of 
enchantment,  Euthyd.  290  A  (cp. 
Menex.  235  A) ;  the  true  principles 
of,  Phaedr.  271,  277. 

Orestes,  2  Alcib.  143  D  ;  etymology 
of  the  name,  Crat.  394  E. 

Organs  of  sense,  Theaet.  184,  185. 

Oricalchum,  Crit.  116,  119  C. 

Orithyia,  carried  off  by  Boreas, 
Phaedr.  229  B. 

Oromasus,  father  of  Zoroaster,  1 
Alcib.  122  A. 

Oropia,  ancient  boundary  of  Attica, 
Crit.  110  E. 

Orphans,  Laws  li.  922  foil.  ; 
guardians  of,  ib.  6.  766  D  ;  11. 
924  folL,  926  E  foil.,  928 ; 
orphans  to  be  under  the  special 
care  of  the  fifteen  eldest  guard- 
ians of  the  law,  ib.  10.  909  C  ; 
II.  924  B,  C,  926  C-928  (cp.  12. 
959  D) ;  marriage  of,  ib.  il.  924- 
926  ;  care  of,  at  Athens,  Menex. 
249. 

Orpheus,  Protagoras  like,  Protag. 
315  A;  a  sophist,  ib.  316  D;  a 
theme  of  rhapsodes.  Ion  533  C  ; 
a  source  of  inspiration  to  the 
poets,  ib.  536  B  ;  a  '  cowardly 
harper,'  Symp.  179  D  ;  'child  of 
the  Moon  and  the  Muses,'  Rep. 
2.  364  E  ;  soul  of,  chooses  a 
swan's  life,  ib.  10.  620  A  ;  date  of 
his  discoveries,  Laws  3.  677  D  ; 
songs  of,  ib.  8.  829  E  : — quoted, 
Crat.  402  B  ;  Phil.  66  C  ;  Laws 
2.  669  D  : — Orphic  life.  Laws  6. 
782  C,  D  ; — Orphic  poems,  Rep. 
2.  364  E  ; — Orphic  poets,  Crat. 
400  C. 
VOL.  V. 


Orthagoras,  the  Theban,  a  famous 
flute  player,  Protag.  318  C. 

Ostracism  of  Cimon,  Gorg.  516  D. 

Other,  the,  and  the  same,  Tim. 
36  foil.  ;  Theaet.  158  E,  186  A  ; 
Soph.  254  E ;  the  other  and  the 
one,  Parm.  139  (i'l?^  One) ;  mean- 
ing of  the  word  '  other,'  Soph. 
254,  255  ;  nature  of  the  other,  ib. 
257;  other  and  being,  ib.  259. 

Otys,  tale  of,  Symp.  190  B. 

Overseers  (female),  of  matters 
relating  to  marriage.  Laws  6.  784 ; 
7.  794  A,  B  ;  II.  930  A,  932  B. 

P. 

Paean,  the  God  (Apollo),  Crit.  108 
C  ;  invoked  by  the  chorus  of 
young  men.  Laws  2.  664  D. 

Paeanian,  Ctesippus  the.  Lysis  203 
A ;  Euthyd.  273  A ;  Phaedo  59 
B  ; — Charmantides  the,  Rep.  i. 
328  B. 

Paeans,  a  division  of  music,  Laws 
3.  700  A. 

Pain,  Phaedo  83  ;  Tim.  64 ;  cessa- 
tion of,  causes  pleasure,  Phaedr. 
258  E;  Phaedo  60  A;  Rep.  9. 
583  D  {but  cp.  Phil.  51  A) ;  pain 
and  pleasure  simultaneous,  Gorg. 
496  ;  Phil.  36,  41  D  ;  not  =  evil, 
Gorg.  497  (cp.  Phil.  55  B);  a 
motion  of  the  soul,  Rep.  9.  583 
E  ;  deters  from  good,  Tim.  69  D  ; 
sense  of  pain  (in  the  Heraclitean 
philosophy),  Theaet.  156  B  ;  pain 
belongs  to  the  infinite,  Phil.  27, 
28  A,  31,  41  E  ;  to  the  mixed 
class,  ib.  31  B,  41  E,  49  A  ;  origin 
of,  z(5. 31,  42  D  ;  pain  and  pleasure 
in  different  goods,  ib.  32 ;  pain 
and  longing,  ib.  36 ;  negation  of 
pain,  not  =  pleasure,  ib.  43,  44 ; 
mixtures  of  pain  and  pleasure,  ib. 
46 ;  pain  of  the  soul,  ib.  47 ;  endur- 
ance of  pain,  shown  by  the  Lace- 
daemonians, Laws  I.  633  C  ;  i 
Alcib.  122  D  ;  pain  and  pleasure, 
Laws  I.  633-635. 

i 


482 


Index. 


Painters,  Crat.434  E  ;  Rep.  10.  596, 
597 ;  Laws  6.  769 ;  are  imita- 
tors, Rep.  10.  597  (cp.  Soph.  234) ; 
painters  and  poets,  Rep.  10.  597, 
603,  605  ;  painters  of  landscape, 
Crit.  107  ;  of  figure,  ibid ;  great 
pains  taken  by  painters,  Laws  6. 
769  A  : — 'the  painter  of  constitu- 
tions,' Rep.  6.  501  : — '  the  painter 
in  the  soul,'  Phil.  39  A. 

Painting,  the  art  of,  a  whole.  Ion 
532  E  ;  like  writing,  apt  to  be  un- 
intelligible, Phaedr.  275  ;  one  of 
the  arts  concerned  with  action, 
Gorg.  450  D  ;  an  art  of  imitation, 
Crat.  423  D  (cp.  Soph.  234)  ; 
Laws  10.  889  D  ;  illusion  in. 
Rep.  10.  596 ;  Soph.  235  E  (cp. 
Crit.  107  C)  ;  painting  in  Egypt, 
Laws  2.  656  E ;  compared  to 
legislation,  ib.  6.  769; — painting 
in  light  and  shade.  Rep.  lo.  602 
C. 

Palaestra  of  Miccus,  Lysis  204  A, 
206  E  ;  of  Taureas,  Charm.  153  A. 

Palamcdes,  Apol.  41  B  ;  Palamedes 
and  Agamemnon  in  the  play, 
Rep.  7.  522  D  ;  date  of  his  dis- 
coveries, Laws  3.  677  D ; — 
the  Eleatic  Palamedes  (Zeno), 
Phaedr.  261  C. 

Pallas,  meaning  of  the  name,  Crat. 
406  E.   See  Athene. 

Pamphylia,  Ardiaeus  a  tyrant  of 
some  city  in,  Rep.  10.  615  C. 

Pan,  etymology  of  the  name  (d  irav 
fj.i]vvtt)v  Kai  Of  I  noXSiv),  Crat.  408  B, 
C,  D ;  the  son  of  Hermes, 
Phaedr.  263  E  ;  prayer  to,  ib. 
279  B ;  imitated  in  Bacchic 
dances,  Laws  7.  815  C. 

Panathenaea,  Euthyph.  6  B  ;  Ion 
530  B  ;  Farm.  127  A. 

Pancratiastic  art,  the,Euthyd.  271 E. 

Pancratiasts,  Laws  8.  830  A. 

Pancratium,  Charm.  159  C  ;  Laws 
7.795  B;  8.  833  C. 

Pandarus,  author  of  the  violation 
of  the  oaths,  Rep.  2.  379  E ; 
wounded  Menelaus,  ib.  3.  408  A. 


Panharmonic  scale,  the.  Rep.  3. 399. 
Panopeus,  father  of  Epeius,  Ion  533 

A  ;  Rep.  10.  620  B. 
Panops,  the  fountain  of,  Lysis  203 

A. 

Pantomimic  representations,  not  to 
be  allowed.  Rep.  3.  397. 

Paradox  about  punishment,  Gorg. 
472,  473 ;  about  justice  and  in- 
justice. Rep.  I.  348 ;— sophistical 
paradoxes,  Euthyd.  275  foil,  293 
foil. ;  Meno  80  ;  Theaet.  165  A. 

Paralus,  son  of  Demodocus,  Apol. 
34  A. 

Paralus,  son  of  Pericles,  Protag. 
314  E;  very  inferior  to  his  father, 
ib.  320  A,  328  C  ;  Meno  94  B  ;  i 
Alcib.  118  E. 

Parental  anxieties,  Euthyd.  306  E  ; 
Rep.  5.  465  C  (cp.  2  Alcib. 
142) ; — parental  love,  Lysis  207 
foil. ; — parental  mode  of  educa- 
tion, Soph. 229  E. 

Parents  and  children,  in  the  state. 
Rep.  5.  461  ; — parents  the  oldest 
and  most  indispensable  of  friends, 
ib.  9.  574  C  ;  the  natural 
sovei-eigns  of  the  family.  Laws 
3.  680  E,  690  A;  4.  714  E; 
reverence  for,  lost  when  a  spirit 
of  anarchy  prevails,  ib.  3.  701  B; 
honour  due  to,  ib.  4.  717;  ii. 
917  A,  930  E  foil.  ;  remembrance 
of  dead  parents,  ib.  4.  71 7  E ;  dif- 
ferences between  parents  and 
children,  ibid.;  11.  928  D  foil.  ; 
parents  ought  not  to  heap  up 
riches  for  their  children,  ib.  5. 
729  A ;  6.  773  E  ;  homicide  by 
parents,  ib.  9.  868  D  ;  murder 
of  parents,  ib.  869  A  ;  lunatic 
parents,  ib.  il.  929  D;  curse  of 
parents,  ib.  931  (cp.  2  Alcib.  138 
B) ;  parents  are  images  of  the 
Gods,  Laws  11.  931;  laws  con- 
cerning parents,  ib.  932  ;  honour 
derived  from  illustrious  parents, 
Menex.  247  A ;  parents  often  suf- 
fer unhappiness  through  their 
children,  2  Alcib.  142. 


Index. 


483 


Parmenides,  Soph.  216  A  ;  descrip- 
tion of,  Parm.  127  B  ;  his  admira- 
tion of  Socrates,  ib.  130  A,  E,  135 
D  ;  Parmenides  and  Zeno,  ib.  127 
A  ;  '  venerable  and  awful,'  Theaet. 
183  E  ;  talked  in  rather  a  light 
and  easy  strain,  Soph.  242  C  : — 
his  'process,'  Parm.  136  (cp.  Soph. 
217  C) ;— his  thesis  that  'All  is 
one  and  at  rest,'  Parm.  1 28  A ; 
Theaet.  152  E,  180  E,  183  E  (cp. 
One) ;  that  '  Not-being  is  impos- 
sible,' Soph.  237,  241,  258  : — 
Quoted;  Symp.  178  B  ;  Theaet. 
180  E  ;  Soph.  237  A,  244  E,  258 
C. 

Parnes,  ancient  boundary  of  Attica, 
Crit.  110  D. 

Paros,  Evenus  of,  Apol.  20  B ; 
Phaedr.  267  A  ; — Parians,  Athens 
fought  in  behalf  of,  Menex.  245  B. 

Parricide,  Laws  9.  869,  872,  873. 

Part  and  class,  Statesm.  262,  263  ; 
■ — parts  and  whole,  Theaet.  204 ; 
in  medicine.  Charm.  156  E; 
Phaedr.  270  C  ;  Laws  10.  902  E, 
903  D  ;  of  virtue,  Protag.  329 
D,  349  foil.  (cp.  Laws  I.  630  E  ; 
12.  965);  in  propositions,  Crat. 
385 ;  in  regard  to  the  happiness 
of  the  state,  Rep.  4.  420  D  ;  5. 
466;  7.  S19E;  in  love, /(J.  5.474  C, 
475  B  ;  6.  485  B  ;  in  the  one, 
Parm.  137,  138  E,  142,  144,  145, 
146,  147  B,  150,  155  C,  157  C, 
158,  159  D;  Soph.  245  ;  in  the 
universe,  Tim.  30  E ;  Laws  10. 
903,  905. 

Participation,  definition  of.  Soph. 

248  C  ;  participation  and  predica- 
tion, ib.  252. 
Partisan,  the,  and  the  philosopher, 

Phaedo  91  A. 
Passage  money,  rates  of,  in  Greece, 

Gorg.  511  D. 
Passion,  in  a  mean  betwixt  the 

voluntary  and  involuntary.  Laws 

9.  861,  878. 
Passionate  element  of  the  soul.  Rep. 

4.  440 ;  6.  504  A  ;  8.  548  D  ;  9. 


571,  580  E  ;  Tim.  70  A,  89  E ; 
Laws  9.  863  B.    See  Spirit. 

Passions,  the,  ought  they  to  be  con- 
trolled ?  Gorg.  492  E  ;  tyranny 
of,  Rep.  I.  329  C  ;  fostered  by 
poetry,  ib.  10. 606  ;  effect  of  drink 
upon.  Laws  i.  645  D. 

Passive  and  active  states.  Laws  9. 
859  E. 

Pasturage  of  cattle  on  a  neighbour's 
land,  penalty  for,  to  be  assessed 
by  the  Wardens  of  the  Country, 
Laws  8.  843  D. 

Patient  and  agent  equally  qualified, 
Gorg.  476;  Rep.  4.  436;  Phil. 
27  A  ;  in  the  Heraclitean  philo- 
sophy, Theaet.  157  A,  159  : — 
patient  and  physician,  law  re- 
specting. Laws  9.  865  B  ;  two 
classes  of  patients,  ib.  4.  720 ;  9. 
857  D  (cp.  Doctors). 

Patriarchal  government.  Laws  3. 
680,  681. 

Patriotism,  Crito  51;  Menex.  246, 
247. 

Patrocles,  '  the  statuary,'  half- 
brother  of  Socrates,  Euthyd.  297 
D,  E. 

Patroclus,  Apol.  28  C  ;  Laws  12.944 
A  ;  the  horse-race  in  honour  of, 
Ion  537  A  ;  the  lover  of  Achilles, 
Symp.  179  E  ;  avenged  by 
Achilles  at  the  price  of  his  life, 
ib.  208  D  ;  cruel  vengeance  taken 
by  Achilles  for,  Rep.  3.  391  B ; 
his  treatment  of  the  wounded 
Eurypylus,  ib.  406  A. 

Patrol  of  the  country.  Laws  6.  760. 
See  Wardens  of  the  Country. 

Patronymics  used  of  young  children. 
Lysis  204  E. 

Pattern,  the  heavenly.  Rep.  6.  500 
E  ;  7.  540  A  ;  9.  592  (cp.  Laws  5. 
739  D) ; — the  patterns  of  creation, 
Tim.  38,  48  E  ; — the  two  patterns 
of  life,  Theaet.  176  E. 

Paupers,  see  Poor. 

Pausanias,  of  Cerameis,  with 
Prodicus,  Protag.  315  E;  wishes 
to   have    the    drinking  easier, 

2 


484 


Index. 


Symp.  176  A  ;  his  speech  in 
honour  of  Love,  ib.  180  C  foil. 
Payment  for  teaching,  Laches  186 
B  ;  Protag.  328  B,  348  E  ;  Crat. 
384  B,  391  C ;  Meno  91  B ; 
Apol.  20  A  ;  Gorg.  519  B,  520  B  ; 
Theaet.  167D;  Soph.  223  A,  231 
D,  233  B  ;  I  Alcib.  119  A  (cp. 
Euthyd.  304  A;  Rep.  i.  337  D; 
Laws  7.  804  D) ; — payment  of  the 
Athenian  democracy,  begun  by 
Pericles,  Gorg.  515  E;  — the  art 
of  payment,  Rep.  i.  346; — laws 
concerning  payment,  Laws  11. 
921. 

Peace,  too  great  love  of,  injurious, 
Statesm.  307  E  ;  only  a  name 
among  men.  Laws  i.  626  A  ; 
better  than  war,  ib.  628,  629  ;  7. 
803  E  ;  8.  829  A  ;  life  of  peace, 
ib.  7.  803  E ;  8.  829  A ;  dances 
of  peace,  ib.  7.  815,  816;  peace 
secured  by  preparation  for  war, 
ib.  8.  829 ;  not  to  be  made 
without  the  authority  of  the  state, 
ib.  12.  955  B  ;  peace  and  war,  the 
chief  subject  of  the  politician's 
knowledge,  i  Alcib.  107  E  foil, 
(cp.  Statesm.  304  E). 

Pegasi  (winged  steeds),  Phaedr.  229 
D. 

Peirithous,  son  of  Zeus,  the  tale  of, 

not  to  be  repeated',  Rep.  3-391  D. 
Peleus,  the  gentlest  of  men,  Rep.  3. 

391  C  ;  nuptial  gift  of  arms  to. 

Laws  T  2.  944  A. 
Pelias,  father  of  Alcestis,  Symp. 

179  B. 

Pelopidae,  Rep.  2.  380  A  ;  Menex. 
245  D  ;  Pelopidae  and  Hera- 
clidae,  Laws  3.  685  D. 

Peloponnesus,  Laws  3.  685  B 
Peloponnesians,  their  jealousy  of 
the  Athenians,  Menex.  235  D. 

Pelops,  his  name,  Crat.  395  C  ;  de- 
scendants of,  see  Pelopidae. 

Penalties,  exaction  of.  Laws  9.  855. 

Penelope's  web,  Phaedo  84  A ; 
her  suitors,  i  Alcib.  112  B  (cp. 
Ion  535  B). 


Penestae,  Laws  6.  776  D. 
Pentelicus,  marble  of,  Erj'x.  394 
E. 

People,  the,  in  ancient  Attica  were, 
not  the  masters,  but  the  servants 
of  the  law.  Laws  3.  700  A ; 
ought  to  have  a  share  in  the 
administration  of  justice,  ib.  6. 
768  B.    Cp.  Many,  Multitude. 

Peparethians,  the  'ignoble,'  i  Alcib. 
116  D. 

Perception  (nto-^r^friy),  Phaedo  65, 
79 ;  Rep.  6.  508  foil. ;  Theaet. 
151  foil.;  Phil.  33  D,  38,  39; 
contradictions  of,  Theaet.  154; 
theory  of  motion  in  relation  to, 
ib.  156  ;  may  be  false,  ib.  157  E; 
relativity  of,  ib.  159,  160;  per- 
ception and  understanding,  ib. 
160;  perception  and  the  memory 
of  perception,  ib.  163,  166,  191 
B  ;  Heraclitean  theory  of,  ib.  182 
(cp.  160)  ;  perception  and  know- 
ledge, ib.  151  foil.,  163  foil.,  165, 
179, 184,  192  foil. ;  organs  of  per- 
ception, 184,  185;  perception  of 
universals,  ib.  185  ;  medium  of, 
ibid.    Cp.  Pleasure,  Sensation. 

Perdiccas,  father  of  Archelaus, 
Gorg.  470  D  (cp.  471  A,  B); 
Rep.  I.  336  A. 

Perfect  state,  difficulty  of.  Rep.  5. 
472;  6.  502  E;  Laws  4.  711; 
possible.  Rep.  5.  471,  473 ;  6. 
499  ;  7-  540  (cp-  7-  520;  Laws  4. 
711  E;  5.739;  12.  968  A);  manner 
of  its  decline.  Rep.  8.  546  (cp.  Crit. 
120,  121).    See  Ideal  state. 

Perfection,  given  partly  by  nature, 
partly  by  art,  Phaedr.  269  D,  E. 

Perfumes,  Tim.  65  A;  not  to  be 
import  ed,  Laws  8.847  C. 

Pergama,  the  citadel  of  Troy, 
Phaedr.  243  B. 

Periander,  the  tyrant.  Rep.  i.  336 
A. 

Pericles,  Protag.  329  A  ;  guardian 
of  Alcibiades  and  Cleinias,  ib. 
320  A  ;  I  Alcib.  104  B  ;  what  he 
would  have  said  about  rhetoric. 


Index. 


485 


rhaedr.  369  A  ;  learned  philoso- 
phy from  Anaxagoras,  ib.  270  (cp. 
I  Alcib.  118  C,  D)  ;  not  equal  to 
Socrates  as  an  orator,  Symp.  215 
E  ;  compared  to  Nestor  and 
Antenor,  ib.  221  C  ;  '  magnificent 
in  his  wisdom,'  Meno  94  A  ;  long 

■  walls  partly  built  by  his  counsel, 
Gorg.  455  E  ;  his  family,  ib.  472 
B  ;  mentioned  as  '  lately  dead,' 
ib.  503  C  ;  a  good  man  in  com- 
mon estimation,  ibid.  ;  first  to 
give  the  people  pay,  ib.  515  D, 
E  ;  effect  of  his  administration, 
ibid. ;  convicted  of  theft,  ib.  516 
A ;  his  badness,  ibid. ;  one  of 
the  real  authors  of  the  calamities 
of  Athens,  ib.  519  A;  Pericles 
and  Aspasia,  Menex.  235  E  ;  his 
funeral  oration,  ib.  236  B; — the 
sons  of,  Protag.  314  E  ;  inferior 
to  their  father,  ib.  320  A,  328  C  ; 
Meno  94  B  ;  I  Alcib.  118  E. 

Perjury,  Laws  11.  916  E,  937 ;  12. 
943  E,  948,  949;  perjuries  of 
lovers,  Symp.  183  A;  Phil.  65  C. 

Persephone,  sends  souls  back  to 
the  light  in  the  ninth  year,  Meno 
81  C  ;  meaning  of  the  name, 
Crat.  404  C  ;  daughter  of  De- 
meter,  Laws  6.  782  B. 

Perseus,  ancestor  of  the  Achae- 
menids,  I  Alcib.  120  E. 

Persia,  a  rugged  land.  Laws  3.  695 
A  : — Persian  fabrics,  Hipp.  Min. 
368  D  ;  —  Persian  government, 
Laws  3.  694  A  foil.,  697  C  ; — 
Persian  kings,  ib.  694  ;  represent 
the  highest  form  of  monarchy,  ib. 
693  D  ;  their  education,  ib.  694 
foil. ;  I  Alcib.  121  D  foil. ;  Persian 
invasion,  Laws  3.  692  C  foil., 
698  B  foil. ;  4.  707  B,  C  ;  Me- 
nex. 239  ;  prophecies  concerning, 
Laws  I.  642  D,  E  ; — history  of 
the  Persians,  Menex.  239  D  foil, 
(cp.  Laws  3.  694  A  foil.) ; — 
Persians  at  the  battle  of  Plataea, 
Laches  191  C  ;  their  reputation 
as  sailors  destroyed  by  the  battle 


of  Salamis,  Menex.  241  B  ;  their 
policy  towards  subject  nations, 
Laws  3,  693  A ;  —  moderate 
drinkers,  ib.  i.  637  D  ;  their 
luxury,  ib.  E  ;  i  Alcib.  122  C  ; 
are  shepherds,  Laws  3.  695  A. 

Personal  identity,  Symp.  207  D ; 
Theaet.  154. 

Personalities,  avoided  by  the  philo- 
sopher, Rep.  6.  500  B  ;  Theaet. 
174  C. 

Personification  :  the  argument,  like 
a  bird  which  slips  from  our 
grasp,  Euthyd.  291  B  ;  like  a 
horse,  must  be  given  the  rein, 
Protag.  338  A  ;  must  be  pulled 
up,  Laws  3.  701  C  : — compared  to 
a  troublesome  road.  Lysis  213 
E  ;  to  an  ocean  of  words,  Protag. 
338  A;  Parm.  137  A  (cp.  Phaedr. 
264  A ;  Rep.  4.  441  B  ;  5.  453 
D) ;  to  a  physician,  Gorg.  475 
D  ;  to  a  search  or  chase,  Rep.  2. 
368  C  ;  4.  427  C,  432  (cp.  Lysis 
218  C  ;  Laches  194  B;  Tim.  64 
B;  Soph.  235;  Phil.  65  A; 
Laws  2.  654  E);  to  a  game  of 
draughts,  Rep.  6.  487  B  (cp. 
Laws  7.  820  C  ;  Eryx.  395  A) ; 
to  a  journey.  Rep.  7.  532  E  ; 
to  a  charm,  ib.  10.  608  A  ;  to 
a  river  which  has  to  be  forded, 
Laws  10.  892  E,  900  B ;  to  a 
vesture,  l  Alcib,  113  E  : — says 
'No'  to  us.  Charm.  175  C; 
supposed  to  take  a  human  voice, 
Protag.  361  A  (cp.  Phaedr.  274 
A  ;  Phaedo  87  A) ;  addresses  an 
oration  to  us.  Laws  5.  741  A : — ■ 
like  to  die,  Phaedo  89  B ;  gives 
way  to  an  attack,  ib.  95  B  ;  must 
not  wander  about  without  a  head, 
Gorg.  505  D  (cp.  Laws  6.  752  A); 
'  has  travelled  a  long  way,'  Rep. 
6.  484  A ;  veils  her  face,  ib.  503 
A ;  a  servant  who  waits  our 
leisure,  Theaet.  173  C  (cp.  Laws 
6.  781  E) ;  in  danger  of  being 
drowned  by  digressions,  Theaet. 
177  C  ;  should  not  be  allowed  to 


486 


Index. 


trample  us  underfoot,  ib.  191  A  ; 
likely  to  be  blown  away,  Phil.  13 
C  ;  to  suffer  shipwreck,  ib.  14  A  ; 
strikes  a  deadly  blow,  ib.  23  A 
(cp.  Euthyd.  303  A ;  Phaedo  89 
A) ;  has  to  be  wrestled  with, 
Phil.  41  B  (cp.  Soph.  241  D) ; 
is  in  play,  Phil.  53  E  : — '  we  are 
tossing  on  the  waves  of  the  argu- 
ment,' Laches  194  C  ;  the  three 
waves,  Rep.  5.  457  C,  472  A,  473 
C  (cp.  Euthyd.  293  A)  : — 'follow- 
ing the  footsteps  of  the  argument,' 
Rep.  2.  365  C  : — '  whither  the 
argument  may  blow,  thither  we 
go,'  ib.  3.  394  D  (cp.  Laws  2.  667 
A): — 'a  swarm  of  words,'  Rep.  5. 
450  B  : — the  argument  presents 
to  us  another  handle,  Laws 
3.  682  E  :— the  taste  of  the 
argument,  I  Alcib.  114  B: — new 
arguments  appear  as  witnesses, 
Phaedr.  260  E  ;  come  crowding 
in  like  unbidden  guests,  Theaet. 
184  A: — arguments  from  proba- 
bilities, apt  to  be  impostors, 
Phaedo  92  D. 
Persuasion,  comes  from  opinion, 
not  truth,  Phaedr.  260  ;  produced 
by  the  art  of  rhetoric,  Gorg.  453 
E ;  Theaet.  201  A  ;  Statesm.  304 
C  ;  two  kinds  of,  Gorg.  454 ;  the 
art  of.  Soph.  222  C  ;  Phil.  58 
A ;  persuasion  and  force,  the 
two  instruments  of  the  legislator, 
Laws  4.  719  E,  722  (cp.  10.  885 
D) ;  the  power  of  persuasion  given 
by  knowledge,  i  Alcib.  114: — per- 
suasion [or  faith]  one  of  the  facul- 
ties of  the  soul.  Rep.  6.  511  D  ; 

7-  533  E- 

Pestilence,  a  cause  of  revolution, 
Laws  4.  709  A. 

Phaedo,  narrates  the  Phaedo  to 
Echecrates  of  Phlius,  Phaedo  57 
A  foil. ;  present  at  Socrates' 
death,  /i^.  57  A,  117  D  ;  Socrates 
plays  with  his  hair,  ib.  89  B  ; 
Phaedo  and  Simmias,  ib.  102 
B. 


Phaedondes,  present  at  the  death 
of  Socrates,  Phaedo  59  C. 

Phaedrus,  the  Myrrhinusian,  Pro- 
tag.  315  C;  Symp.  176  D; 
Phaedr.  244  A;  with  Hippias, 
Protag.  315  C;  his  eagerness, 
Phaedr.  228  A,  B,  236  D,  E ;  a 
lover  of  discourse,  ib.  228,  242 
A,  243  U,  258  E,  276  E  ;  son  of 
Vain  Man,  ib.  244  A ;  a  '  weak 
head,'  Symp.  176  D  ;  complains 
that  love  has  no  encomiast,  ib. 
177  A;  his  speech  in  honour  of 
love,  ib.  178  A  foil. 

Phaenaret^,  mother  of  Socrates,  i 
Alcib.  131  E;  a  midwife,  Theaet. 
149  A. 

Phaethon,  story  of,  Tim.  22  C. 
Phalerum,  Apollodorus  of,  Symp. 
172  A. 

Phanosthenes     of     Andros,  a 

foreigner,  chosen  general  by  the 

Athenians,  Ion  541  C. 
Phantastic  art.  Soph.  236,  260  E, 

265  ;  divisions  of,  ib.  266,  267. 
Pharmacia  and  Orithyia,  Phaedr. 

229  C. 

Phasis,  eastern  extremity  of  the 
Hellenic  world,  Phaedo  109 
B. 

Phason,  brother  of  Hippocrates, 

Protag.  310  A. 
Pheidias,  an  Athenian,  the  statuary, 

Protag.  311  C;   did  not  make 

so  much  money  as  Protagoras, 

Meno  91  D. 
Phelleus,  plains  of,  Crit.  iii  C. 
Phemius,  the  rhapsode  of  Ithaca, 

Ion  533  C. 
Pherecrates,  exhibited  savages  at 

the   Lenaean    festival,  Protag. 

327  D. 

Pherephatta,  meaning  of  the  name, 
Crat.  404  C. 

Philebus,  a  person  in  the  dialogue 
Philebiis,  Phil.  11  A,  etc.  ;  main- 
tains that  enjoyments  and  plea- 
sures are  a  good  to  every  living 
being,  ib.  Ii  (cp.  12  A,  60  A,  66 
D)  ;  his  '  boys,'  ib.  16  B  ;  joins 


Index. 


487 


in  the  conversation,  ib.  18  A,  20 
A,  28  A. 

Philippides,  son    of  Philomelus, 
Protag.  315  A. 

Philippus  (Philip),  father  of  Phoe- 
nix, Symp.  172  B. 

Philolaus,  Phaedo  61  D. 

Philomelus,  father  of  Philippides, 
Protag.  315  A. 

Philosopher,  the,  is  inspired, 
Phaedr.  249  ;  will  not  repine  at 
death,  Phaedo  63  E  foil.,  68  A 
(cp.  Rep.  6.  486  A) ;  his  virtues, 
Phaedo  68  A ;  unlike  the  partisan, 
cares  only  for  truth,  ib.  91  A  ;  sup- 
posed to  be  helpless  in  a  court  of 
law,  Gorg.  484,  485 ;  Theaet. 
172,  174  B ;  has  the  quality  of 
gentleness.  Rep.  2.  375,  376  ;  3. 
410  ;  6.  486  ;  '  the  spectator  of 
all  time  and  all  existence,'  ib.  6. 
486;  Theaet.  173  E;  should  have 
a  good  memory,  Rep.  6.  486  D, 
490  D  ;  7.  535  B  ;  has  his  mind 
fixed  upon  true  being,  ib.  6. 
484,  485,  486  E,  490,  500  C,  501 
D  ;  7-  521,  537  D  ;  9.  5S1  E, 
582  C  (cp.  Phaedr.  249  ;  Phaedo 
65,  82  ;  Rep.  5.  475  E  ;  7.  520  B, 
525  ;  Theaet.  173  E  ;  Soph.  249 
D,  254  A)  ;  his  qualifications 
and  excellences.  Rep.  6.  485  foil., 
490  E,  491  B,  495  A  ;  corrup- 
tion of  the  philosopher,  ib. 
494 ;  is  apt  to  retire  from  the 
world,  ib.  496  (cp.  Theaet.  173) ; 
does  not  delight  in  personal 
conversation.  Rep.  6.  500  B  (cp. 
Theaet.  174  C)  ;  must  be  an 
arithmetician.  Rep.  7.  525  B ; 
pleasure  of  the  philosopher,  ib. 
9.  581  E  ;  must  be  trained  in 
dialectic,  Parm.  135  D  ;  picture 
of  the  philosopher,  Theaet.  173  C 
foil. ;  thinks  lightly  of  human 
greatness,  ib.  1 74  E ;  the  only  pro- 
fessor of  the  dialectic  art.  Soph. 
253  E  ;  distinguished  from  the 
sophist,  ib.  268  : — Philosophers, 
popular  view  of,  Euthyd.  304  D 


foil. ;  Phaedo  64 ;  the  original 
givers  of  names,  Crat.  401 ;  philo- 
sophers and  lovers,  Phaedr.  248 
D,  E;  Symp.  184;  follow  in  the 
train  of  Zeus,  Phaedr.  250 ;  philo- 
sophers and  authors,  ib.  278  D  ; 
common  charges  against  philo- 
sophers, Apol.  23  D  ;  desire 
death,  Phaedo  61,  64,  67  ;  will 
not  commit  suicide,  ib.  61  ; 
averse  to  pleasure,  ib.  64,  82 ; 
Gorg.  495  foil. ;  are  the  true 
mystics,  Phaedo  69  C  ;  are  not 
defenceless,  Gorg.  508,  509  (cp. 
Rep.  7.  517  E)  ;  their  view  of 
life,  Gorg.  512;  are  to  be  kings, 
Rep.  5.  473  (cp.  6.  487  E,  498 
foil.,  501  E  foil. ;  7.  540 ;  8. 
543  )  9-  592) ;  are  lovers  of  all 
knowledge,  ib.  5.  475  ;  6.  486 
A,  490 ;  true  and  false  philoso- 
phers, ib.  5.  475  foil. ;  6.  484, 
49i»  494,  496  A,  500;  7.  535; 
philosophers  to  be  guardians,  ib. 
2.375  (j^'e  Guardians)  ;  why  they 
are  useless,  ib.  487  foil. ;  few  in 
number,  ib.  487  D,  496, 499  B,  503 
B  (cp.  Phaedo  69  C)  ;  will  frame 
the  state  after  the  heavenly 
pattern,  Rep.  6.  501 ;  7.  540  A  ;  9. 
592 ;  education  of,  ib.  6.  503 ; 
philosophers  and  poets,  ib.  10. 
607;  Laws  12.967  ;  divine.  Soph. 
216  B  ;  thought  by  the  many  to 
be  mad,  ib.  C  ;  philosophers  and 
the  multitude,  ib.  254  B  ;  mag- 
nify themselves  in  praising  mind, 
Phil.  28  C ;  despise  religion. 
Laws  10.  886  E  ; — the  ancient 
philosophers  did  not  take  much 
trouble  to  explain  themselves. 
Soph.  242  D  ; — philosophers  of 
the  Heraclitean  school,  Crat. 
411;  Theaet.  179  D  foil,  (see 
Heracleitus) ; — materialistic  phi- 
losophers, Theaet.  155  E;  Soph. 
246  foil. ; — natural  philosophers 
teach  that  '  like  loves  like,'  Lysis 
214  A  ;  confuse  conditions  and 
causes,    Phaedo  99    A ;  deny 


488 


Index. 


pleasure,  Phil.  44 ;  invite  men  to 
live  according  to  nature,  Laws 
10.  890  A ;  are  not  godless,  ib. 
12.  966  E  ; — philosopher-politi- 
cians, Euthyd.  305  C  (cp.  Gorg. 
484  E). 

Philosophic  nature,  the,  rarity  of. 
Rep.  6.  491  ;  causes  of  the  ruin 
of,  ibid. 

Philosophy,  secretly  cultivated  in 
Lacedaemon  and  Crete,  Protag. 
342  ;  censured,  Euthyd.  304  D  ; 
confused  with  sophistry  at  Athens, 
ib.  305 ;  defended  by  Socrates, 
ib.  307 ;  philosophy  and  love, 
Phaedr.  256 ;  the  madness  of 
philosophy,  Symp.  218  A;  philo- 
sophy the  noblest  and  best  of 
music,  Phaedo  61  A  ;  a  purifica- 
tion, ib.  67  B,  82  D  ;  the  practice 
of  death,  ib.  80  ;  effect  of,  on  the 
soul,  ib.  83  ;  the  noblest  kind  of 
music,  ib.  90  E  ;  the  love  of 
Socrates,  Gorg.  481  ;  an  elegant 
accomplishment,  not  to  be 
carried  too  far  (Callicles),  ib. 
484,  487  (cp.  Menex.  234  A) ; 
every  headache  ascribed  to.  Rep. 
3.407C;  =loveof  real  knowledge, 
ib.  6.  485  ;  the  corruption  of,  ib. 
491  ;  philosophy  and  the  world, 
ib.  494 ;  the  desolation  of,  ib. 
495 ;  philosophy  and  the  arts, 
ib.  E,  496  C  (cp.  5.  475  D, 
476  A)  ;  true  and  false  philoso- 
phy, ib.  6.  496  E,  498  E  ;  philo- 
sophy and  governments,  ib.  497 ; 
time  set  apart  for,  ib.  498  ;  7. 
539 ;  commonly  neglected  in 
after  life,  ib.  6.  498 ;  prejudice 
against,  ib.  500,  501  ;  why  it  is 
useless,  ib.  7.  517,  535,  539  ;  the 
guardian  and  saviour  of  virtue, 
ib.  8.  549  B  ;  philosophy  and 
poetry,  ib.  10.  607  (cp.  Laws  12. 
967  D) ;  aids  a  man  to  make  a 
wise  choice  in  the  next  world, 
Rep.  10.618;  impossible  without 
ideas,  Parm.  135  ;  begins  in  won- 
der, Theaet.  155  D  (cp.  Rep.  5. 475 


C) ;  the  uninitiated  in,  Theaet. 
155  E;  philosophy  and  leisure, 
ib.  172  ;— natural  philosophy,  So- 
crates disappointed  in,  Phaedo 
97  foil.; — philosophy  of  relativity, 
Theat.  152  foil.,  157  B,  160, 166^ 
170  A. 

Phlegm,  Tim.  83,  84. 

Phlius,  Phaedo  57  A. 

Phocylides,  his  saying,  'that  as 
soon  as  a  man  has  a  livelihood 
he  should  practise  virtue,'  Rep. 
3-  407  B. 

Phoenician  tale,  the,  Rep.  3.  414  C 
foil.  (cp.  Laws  2.  663  E). 

Phoenicians,  their  love  of  money, 
Rep.  4.  436  A  (cp.  Laws  5.  747 
C). 

Phoenix,  tutor  of  Achilles,  Rep.  3. 

390  E  ;  cursed  by  Amyntor,  his 

father.  Laws  11.  931  B. 
Phoenix,  son  of  Philip,  Symp.  172 

B,  173  B. 

Phorcys,  son  of  Oceanus  and  Te- 

thys,  Tim.  40  E. 
Phoroneus,  called  '  the  first,'  Tim. 

22  A. 

Phrygian  harmony,  Laches  188  D; 
Rep.  3.  399  ; — Phrygian  words 
[kvo}v,  TTvp,  vdu)}],  Crat.  409  E ; — 
Midas  the  Phrygian,  Phaedr.  264 
D  ; — Phrygians,  Statesm.  262  E. 

Phrynondas,  a  notorious  villain, 
Protag.  327  D. 

Phthia,  '  The  third  day  hence  to 
Phthia  shalt  thou  go '  (II.  ix.  363), 
Crito  44  B  (cp.  Hipp.  Min.  370  C). 

Phylarchs,  election  of,  Laws  6.  756 
A. 

Physical  philosophy,  Phaedo  97 
foil. ;  Laws  10.  889.  Cp.  Philo- 
sophy. 

Physician,  the,  ought  to  have  regard 
to  the  whole.  Charm.  156, 157  (cp. 
Laws  ID.  902  E,  903  D) :  not  a 
mere  money-maker,  Rep.  i.  341 

C,  342  D  ;  the  good  physician, 
ib.  3.  408  ;  the  wise  man  a  phy- 
sician, Theaet.  167  B;  the  physi- 
cian and  his  patients,  Laws  9- 


Index. 


489 


865  B  ;  -  comparison  of  the  physi- 
cian and  the  judge,  Gorg.  478, 
480  A ;  of  the  physician  and  the 
sophist;  Theaet.  167  A;  of  the 
phj'sician  and  the  true  educator, 
Soph.  230  ;  of  the  physician  and 
the  true  statesman  or  legislator, 
S  tatesm.  293, 295, 296; — physician 
V.  cook,  Gorg.  5  2 1 E  (cp.  464  E) : — 
physicians  in  the  state.  Rep.  3. 408; 
find  employment  when  luxury  in- 
creases, ib.  2.  373  C ;  3.  405  A ; 
have  sometimes  played  their  pa- 
tients false,  Statesm.  298  A ; — 
names  for  physicians,  Crat.  394 
B.    Cp.  Doctors,  Medicine. 

Piety  defined,  =  prosecuting  the 
guilty,  Euthyph.  5  E ;  =  that 
which  is  dear  to  the  gods,  ib.  9  ; 
further  defined,  ibid. ;  a  part  of 
justice,  ib.  12  ;  a  ministration,  ib. 
13  ;  an  art,  ibid. ;  a  science  of 
praying  and  sacrificing,  ib.  14. 
See  Holiness. 

Pigs,  sacrificed  at  the  Mysteries, 
Rep.  2.  378  A  ;  '  not  even  such 
a  big  pig  as  the  Crommyonian 
sow  could  be  called  courageous,' 
Laches  196  D. 

Pilot,  the,  and  the  just  man,  Rep. 
I.  332  (cp.  341)  ;  the  true  pilot, 
ib.  6.  488  E  ;  pilot  and  legislator 
compared,  Statesm.  297  A ;  evil 
practices  of  pilots,  ib.  298  B  ; — 
pilot's  art,  Ion  537  B  ;  Gorg.  511 
D;  empirical,  Phil.  56  A; — the 
philosophic  pilot,  Gorg.  511  E. 
Cp.  Captain. 

Pindar,  his  natural  justice,  Gorg. 
484  B,  488  B  ;  Laws  3.  690  B  ; 
4.  714  E  ;  on  the  hope  of  the 
righteous,  Rep.  i.  331  A;  on 
Asclepius,  ib.  3.  408  B  ;  believed 
the  soul  immortal,  Meno  81  B  : — 
Quoted  ;  Euthyd.  304  B  ;  Phaedr. 
227  B,  236  D  ;  Meno  76  D,  81  B  ; 
Rep.  2.  365  B  ;  Theaet.  173  E. 

Pipe,  the  iavpiy^),  one  of  the  mu- 
sical instruments  permitted  to  be 
used,  Rep.  3.  399  D. 


Piracy,  Soph.  222  C  ;  Statesm.  298 
C  (cp.  Laws  7.  823  B). 

Piraeus,  Gorg.  511  E  ;  Rep.  i.  327 
A ;  4.  439  E ;  Socrates  seldom 
goes  there,  i.  328  C  : — reconcilia- 
tion of  those  who  came  from 
Piraeus  with  the  rest  of  the  city 
(B.C.  403),  Menex.  243  E. 

Pittacus  of  Mitylene,  one  of  the 
Seven  Wise  Men,  Protag.  343  A  ; 
a  saying  of  his  criticized,  ib.  339 
C  ;  a  sage,  Rep.  i.  335  E. 

Pitthis,  deme  of,  Euthyph.  2  B. 

Pity,  only  felt  for  involuntary  evils, 
Protag.  323  E. 

Plague,  the,  at  Athens,  delayed  by 
Diotima  for  ten  years,  Symp.  201 
D. 

Planets,  the,  Laws  7.  821  ;  orbits 
of,  Tim.  36  (cp.  Rep.  10.  616  E) ; 
creation  of,  Tim.  38. 

Planting,  laws  respecting.  Laws  8. 
843  E. 

Plants,  Tim.  77  A. 

Plataea,  battle  of,  Laws  4.  707  C  ; 
Menex.  241  C,  245  A ;  manner 
in  which  the  Lacedaemonians 
fought  at.  Laches  191  C. 

Plato,  present  at  the  trial  of  So- 
crates, Apol.  34  A  ;  offers  to  be 
one  of  Socrates'  securities,  ib. 
38  B  ;  was  ill  at  the  time  of  So- 
crates' death,  Phaedo  59  B. 

Plays,  the,  of  children,  should  be 
made  a  means  of  instruction,  Rep. 
4.  425  A;  7-  537  A;  Laws  1.643 
B  ;  not  to  be  altered.  Laws  7. 
797,  798.    Cp.  Games. 

Pleasure,  sometimes  defined  as 
knowledge.  Rep.  6.  505  B  ;  =  the 
good,  Phil.  II,  60  A  (cp.  Protag. 
358  ;  Gorg.  495  foil. ;  Rep.  6.  505 
B);— nature  of  pleasure,  Tim.  64  ; 
pleasure  a  replenishment,  Phil.  31 
B,  42  D  ; — pleasure  not  akin  to 
virtue.  Rep.  3.  402  E ;  a  motion 
of  the  soul,  ib.  9.  583  E ;  not 
the  object  of  music,  Tim.  47  E  ; 
Laws  2.  655  D,  668  A  ;  3.  700 
E   {bui  cp.   Laws  2,  658  E ; 


490 


Index. 


7.  802  D) ;  'the  greatest  incite- 
ment of  evil,'  Tim.  69  D  ;  varie- 
ties of,  Phil.  12;  how  far  one, 
ibid. ;  needs  addition,  ib.  21  ;  is 
infinite,  ib.  27,  28,  31  A,  41  E  ; 
belongs  to  the  mixed  class,  ib. 
31  B,  41  E  ;  admits  of  qualities, 
ib.  37;  existence  of,  denied  by 
natural  philosophers,  ib.  44;  a 
generation,  ib.  53 ;  Socrates'  view 
of,  ib.  60  ;  insufficient  without  the 
addition  of  wisdom,  ibid.  foil. ; 
devoid  of  reason,  ib.  65  foil. ;  one 
of  the  first  perceptions  of  children, 
Laws  2.  653  A;  no  criterion  of 
Tightness,  ib.  667 ;  the  love  of, 
natural,  ib.  5.  732  E ;  desired  by  all 
men,  ib.  733  ;  moderate  pleasure 
to  be  preferred,  ib.  7.  792 ;  plea- 
sure not  to  be  allowed  to  young 
children,  ibid. ;  the  desire  of,  a 
cause  of  crime,  ib.  9.  863  : — 
pleasure  caused  by  the  cessa- 
tion of  pain,  Phaedo  60  A ; 
Phaedr.  258  E ;  Rep.  9.  583 
D  {bui  cp.  Phil.  51  A);  plea- 
sure and  pain  simultaneous,  Gorg. 
496;  Phil.  31,  41  D;  pleasure 
not  =  negation  of  pain,  Phil.  43, 
44  A ;  pleasure  and  pain  in 
alternation,  ib.  46 ;  coalescing, 
ib.  47 ;  in  the  mind,  ib.  50  (cp. 
Laws  I.  633  D) ;  pleasure  without 
pain,  Phil.  52  ;  Laws  5.  733  A ; 
6.  782  E  ;  pleasure  and  pain,  the 
two  counsellors  of  man.  Laws 
I.  644  : — pleasure  and  desire, 
Phaedr.  237,  238 ;  pleasure  and 
good,  Gorg.  498  foil. ;  Phil.  66, 
67;  pleasure  and  gratification, 
Protag.  337  B ;  pleasure  and 
happiness,  Gorg.  494  E ;  Phil. 
47 ;  Laws  2.  662 ;  pleasure  and 
love,  Rep.  3.  402,  403 ;  pleasure 
and  opinion,  Phil.  37  foil. ;  plea- 
sure and  reason.  Laws  3.  689 ; 
pleasure  and  the  soul,  ib.  5.  727 ; 
pleasure  and  temperance,  ib.  734 : 
— '  overcome  by  pleasure,'  Protag. 
353-357;  Phaedo  69  A  (cp.  Laws 


1.633  E  ;  8.  836  E)  ;~the  victory 
over  pleasure.  Laws  8.  840; — 
degrees  of  pleasure,  Protag.  356  ; 
— the  sense  of  pleasure  (in  the 
Heraclitean  philosophy),  Theaet. 
156  B  ;  pleasure  and  the  theory 
of  flux,  Phil.  43 ; — pleasure  arising 
from  a  diseased  state,  ib.  46  A, 
S I  D  (cp.  Gorg.  494  C  ;  Tim.  86) ; 
— pleasure  and  the  philosopher, 
Phaedo  64 ;  Gorg.  495  foil. ;  the 
highest  pleasure  that  of  the  wise 
man.  Rep.  9.  583  ;  the  just  life 
the  pleasantest.  Laws  i.  662; — 
real  pleasure  unknown  to  the 
tyrant.  Rep.  9.  587  ; — no  Spartan 
or  Cretan  laws  which  train  men 
to  resist  pleasure.  Laws  i.  634, 
635;  pleasure  forbidden  at  Sparta, 
ib.  637  A  : — pleasure  of  drinking. 
Laws  2.  667 ;  6.  782  E,  783  C ; 
pleasure  of  eating,  Rep.  8.  559; 
Laws  2.  667;  6.  782  E,  783  C; 
of  hope,  Phil.  40  A  ;  given  by  the 
imitative  arts.  Laws  2.  667  C  ;  of 
learning,  ibid.  (cp.  Rep.  6.  486 
C) ;  of  memory,  Phil.  35  ;  of  re- 
plenishment, Tim.  65  A  ; — arts  of 
pleasure,  Gorg.  501  ;  —  sensual 
pleasure.  Rep.  7.  519;  9.  586; 
a  solvent  of  the  soul,  ib.  4.  430 
A  (cp.  Laws  I.  633  E);  not  de- 
sired by  the  philosopher.  Rep.  6. 
485  E  : — Pleasures,  division  of, 
into  necessary  and  unnecessary. 
Rep.  8.  558,  559,  561  A  ;  9.  572, 
591  E ;  honourable  and  disho- 
nourable, ib.  8.  561  C  ; — three 
classes  of,  ib.  9.  581  ; — criterion 
of,  ib.  582 ; — classification  of,  ib. 
583; — connexion  of  pleasures 
with  good  and  evil,  Protag.  351- 
354  foil. ;  pleasures  fasten  the 
body  to  the  soul,  Phaedo  83 ; 
are  pleasures  false  ?  Phil.  36,  40, 
41 ;  mixed,  ib.  46,  47;  unmixed, 
ib.  5 1  ;  true,  ibid.,  63  E  ;  true, 
belong  to  the  idea  of  measure,  ib. 
52;  pure  and  impure,  ib.  53; — 
pleasures  of  knowledge,  ib.  52 ; 


Index. 


491 


— of  sight,  smell,  beauty,  ib.  51  ; 
of  smell.  Rep.  9.  584  B  ; — plea- 
sures of  the  many,  ib.  E  foil.  (cp. 
Phil.  52  B) ;  of  the  passionate, 
Rep.  9.  586;  of  the  philosopher, 
ib.  586,  587; — pleasures  of  the 
body,  ib.  6.  485  E  ;  Phil.  45  ;  of 
the  soul,  Rep.  6.  485  E  ;  Phil.  47 
E. 

Plurality  in  unity,  Phil.  17  A. 

Pluto,  meaning  of  the  name  (rrXoO- 
roy),  Crat.  402  D  foil. ;  a  great 
Sophist,  ib.  403  E  ;  his  complaint 
to  Zeus,  Gorg.  523  A,  B ;  the 
blind  God,  Rep.  8.  554  B  (cp. 
Laws  I.  631  C);  =riches,  Laws  7. 
801  B  ;  the  twelfth  month  sacred 
to,  ib.  8.  828  C  ;  the  best  friend 
of  man,  ib.  D.    Cp.  Hades. 

Pnyx,  included  in  the  Acropolis  in 
early  times,  Crit.  112  A. 

Poetry,  place  of,  in  Greek  education, 
Protag.  325  E  foil.,  339  ;  Laws  2. 
659  (cp.  Education) ;  learnt  by 
heart  in  schools,  Protag.  326  A ; 
Laws  7.  810  C,  811  A;  poetry 
and  inspiration,  Phaedr.  245  A, 
265  B  ;  Ion  533-535  ;  Apol.  22  B  ; 
Laws  3.  682  A  ;  4. 719  B  ;  poetry 
a  whole,  Ion  532  ;  complex  and 
manifold,  Symp.  205  B  ;  a  sort  of 
rhetoric,  Gorg.  502 ;  made  up 
of  song,  rhythm,  metre,  speech, 
ibid. ;  styles  of,  Rep.  3.  392-394, 
398 ;  in  the  state,  ib.  398 ;  8. 
568  B ;  10.  595  foil.,  607  A  (cp. 
Laws  7.  817);  effect  of.  Rep.  10. 
605  ;  feeds  the  passions,  ib.  606  ; 
poetry  and  philosophy,  ib.  607 
(cp.  Laws  12.  967) ;  poetry  and 
prose,  Laws  7.  811; — 'colours' 
of  poetry.  Rep.  10.  601  A; — 
Tragic  poetry  native  to  Athens, 
Laches  183. 

Poetry.  \Poeiry  held  a  far  greater 
place  in  Hellenic  life  tha7i  it  has 
ever  do?te  in  modern  times,  and, 
like  the  kindred  art  of  music, 
exercised  an  influetice  which  it  is 
difficult  for  us  to  understand.  A 


large  part  of  elementary  educa- 
tion consisted  in  learning  poetry 
by  heart  (Protag.  326  A;  Laws 
7.  810  C)  ;  the  rhapsode  moved 
the  crowds  to  laughter  and  tears 
at  the  festivals  (Ion  535)  ;  the 
theatres  were  free,  or  abnost  free, 
to  all,  '  costijig  but  a  drachma  at 
the  most'  (Apol.  26  D)  ;  the  in- 
tervals of  a  banquet  were  filled 
up  by  conversation  about  the  poets 
(Protag.  347  C).  The  ancient 
philosopher,  therefore,  who  pro- 
posed to  cotistruct  an  ideal  state 
was  obliged  to  consider  whether 
the  poet  could  be  allowed  to 
practise  his  art  without  any 
restrictions  in  a  city  which  was 
designed  to  be  '■an  imitation  of 
the  best  and  noblest  life'  (Laws 
7.  817  A).  But  there  was  'an 
ancient  quarrel  between  philo- 
sophy and  poetry^  which  had 
found  its  fij'st  expression  in  the 
attacks  of  Xenoplianes  (538  B.C.) 
andHeracleiius  (508  B.C.)  up07i  the 
popular  mythology.  A  fid  Plato, 
though  he  had  himself  a  doicble 
portion  of  the  poetic  spirit,  fully 
shares  in  this  hostile  feeling. 
Even  in  the  earlier  dialogues 
there  is  often  an  antagonisjn  to 
the  poets  which  is  only  slightly 
veiled  by  the  ironical  courtesy  of 
the  language.  They  are  '  winged 
and  holy  beings''  (Ion  534  B), 
who  sing  by  inspiration  without 
knowi7ig  the  7tieani7ig  of  what 
they  utter,  for  not  by  art  can  a 
man  e7iter  i7ifo  the  te77iple  of  the 
Muses '  (Phaedr.  245  A) ;  but  at 
the  sa7ne  ti77ie  they  are  the  worst 
possible  critics  of  their  own 
writings  a7id  the  7nost  self  con- 
ceited of  77tortals  (Apol.  22  D). — 
In  the  Republic  (II.  and  III.) 
Plato  grows  7nore  i7t  earnest  and 
brings  poetry  to  a  for7nal  trial. 
Are  the  tales  a7td  lege7ids,  he 
asks,  which  the  tragic  and  epic 


492 


Index. 


poets  relate,  either  true  in  them- 
selves or  likely  to  furnish  good 
examples  to  the  citizejis  of  the 
model  state?  They  cannot  be 
true  for  they  are  contrary  to  the 
nature  of  God(%^e.  s.  v.  God),  and 
they  are  certainly  not  proper 
lessons  for  youth.  There  inust  be 
a  censorship  of  poetry,  and  all 
objectio7iable  passages  expunged; 
suitable  rules  and  regulatiofis 
will  be  laid  down,  and  to  these 
the  poets  must  conform.  In  the 
Tenth  Book  the  argument  takes 
a  still  deeper  tone.  The  poet  is 
proved  to  be  an  impostor  thrice 
removed  frotn  the  truth;  a 
wizard  who  steals  the  hearts  of 
the  unwary  by  his  spells  and 
enchantments.  Men  easily  fall 
into  the  habit  of  imitating  what 
they  admire,  and  the  lametitations 
and  woes  of  the  tragic  hero  and 
the  unseemly  buffoonery  of  the 
comedian  are  equally  bad  models 
for  the  citizens  of  a  free  and  noble 
state.  The  poets  ?nust  therefore 
be  banished,  unless,  Plato  adds, 
the  lovers  of  poetry  can  persuade 
us  of  her  innocence  of  the  charges 
laid  against  her.— In  the  Laws 
the  subject  is  treated  more  shortly, 
but  a  similar  conclusion  is 
reached.  The  poet  is  the  rival  of 
the  legislator,  who  is  striving  to 
set  the  noblest  of  dramas  in  action 
(cp.  Tim.  19  A)  ;  and  he  cannot 
be  allowed  to  address  the  citizens 
in  a  manner  which  is  not  in 
accord  with  the  institutions  of 
the  state.  The  magistrates  must 
maintain  a  censorship  of  poetry, 
and  see  that  the  injunctio7ts  of  the 
legislator  are  obeyed.  Nor  must 
any  poet  be  licensed  by  them 
unless  he  be  a  ma?i  of  years  and 
good  repute,  and  he  must  only 
sing  of  noble  thoughts  and  deeds  : 
it  will  not  matter  if  his  strains 
are  a  little  inharmonious.  [The 


expulsion  of  the  poets  from 
Plato's  commonwealth  is  not 
mentioned  by  Aristotle  in  the 
Politics.  He  may  have  thought 
that  such  a  topic  was  one  of  the 
^digressions'  of  whch  he  com- 
plains (ii.  6,  §  3)  ;  or  the  omission 
may  be  due  to  the  fragmentary 
nature  of  his  observations  on 
education.)'] 
Poets,  the,  quoted  on  friendship, 
Lysis  212;  fathers  and  authors 
of  wisdom,  ib.  21 4  A.;  their  works 
learnt  in  schools,  Protag.  326  A ; 
Laws  7.  810  C,  811  A;  talk 
about,  commonplace,  Protag.  347 
C  ;  sing  by  inspiration,  Phaedr. 
245  A,  26s  B ;  Ion  534 ;  Apol. 
22  A ;  Laws  3.  682  A  ;  4.  7 1 9  B 
(cp.MenoSi  A,99D);  first  in  the 
chain  of  persons  who  derive  in- 
spiration from  the  Muses,  Ion 
533  E,  535  E ;  winged  and  holy, 
534 ;  various  kinds  of,  ibid. ; 
each  good  in  his  own  kind  only, 
ibid.  ;  how  distinguished  from 
other  makers,  Symp.  205  ;  create 
conceptions  of  wisdom  and  virtue, 
ib.  209  A;  their  children  (i.e. 
works),  ib.  C  (cp.  Rep.  I.  330  C) ; 
bear  witness  to  the  immortality 
of  the  soul,  Meno  81 ;  not  wise, 
Apol.  22  ;  speak  in  parables,  Rep. 
I.  332  B  (cp.  3.  413  B ;  2  Alcib.  147 
C)  ;  on  justice.  Rep.  2.  363,  364, 
365  E  ;  bad  teachers  of  youth,  ib. 
Z77;  3-  391,  392,  408  C;  10.  600, 
606  E,  607  B  ;  Laws  10.  886  C,  890 
A;  12.  941  B;  must  be  restrained 
by  certain  rules,  Rep.  2.  379  foil. ; 

3.  398  A  (cp.  Laws  2.  656,  660  A  ; 

4.  719  ;  7.  817  D  ;  8.  829  D  ;  11. 
936  A) ;  banished  from  the  state, 
Rep.  3.  398  A;  8.  568  B;  10. 
595  foil.,  60s  A,  607  A  (cp.  Laws 

7.  817);  poets  and  tyrants,  Rep. 

8.  568 ;  thrice  removed  from  the 
truth,  ib.  10.  596,  597,  598  E,  603 
B,  605  C  ;  imitators  only,  ib.  600 
E;  Tim.  19  (cp.  Rep.  3.  393; 


Index. 


493 


Laws  4.  719  C) ;  poets  and  paint- 
ers, Rep.  10.  601 ,  603,  605 ;  ought 
to  be  controlled  by  law,  Laws  2. 
656,  660,  661  C,  662  B;  4.  719 
A  ;  7.  801,  802,  81 1,  817;  8.  829 
D  ;  degraded  by  the  applause  of 
the  theatre,  ib.  2.  659  ;  their  cor- 
rupt use  of  music,  ib.  669,  670 
E  ;  3.  700 ;  need  not  know  whe- 
ther their  imitations  are  good  or 
not,  ib.  2.  670  E;  4.  719  C; 
often  attain  truth,  ib.  3.  682  A ; 
when  they  make  prayer  for  the 
state,  must  be  careful  that  they 
ask  only  what  is  good,  ib.  7.  801  ; 
to  celebrate  the  victors  in  con- 
tests fin  the  Model  City),  ib.  8. 
829 ;  poets  and  legislators,  ib.  9. 
858;  12.  957,  964  D;  poets  and 
philosophers,  ib.  12.  967  (cp.  Rep. 
10.  607); — 'the  poets  who  were 
children  and  prophets  of  the 
gods  '  Ci  Orpheus  and  Musaeus), 
Rep.  2.  366  A  (cp.  ib.  364  E); — 
comic  and  iambic  poets,  regula- 
tions respecting  (in  the  Model 
City),  Laws  11.  935;  the  comic 
poets  the  enemies  of  Socrates, 
Apol.  18,  19;  Phaedo  70  B; — 
the  lyric  poets  set  to  music  in 
schools,  Protag.  326  B ;— tragic 
poets,  all  come  to  Athens,  Laches 
183. 

Poison,  its  action  hindered  by  exer- 
cise, Phaedo  63  E  ;  operation  of, 
ib.  ny;  employed  in  the  capture 
of  fish,  Laws  7.  824 : — Poisoning, 
ib.  1 1.  932  E. 

Polemarchus,  brother  of  Lysias,  a 
student  of  philosophy,  Phaedr. 
257  B  ;  the  son  of  Cephalus,  Rep. 
I.  327  B  ;  'the  heir  of  the  argu- 
ment,'2(^.  331  C  foil. ;  intervenes  in 
the  discussion,  ib.  340  A  ;  wishes 
Socrates  to  speak  in  detail  about 
the  community  of  women  and 
children,  ib.  5.  449  : — meaning  of 
the  name,  Crat.  394  C. 

Politician,  the  honest,  always  in 
danger  of  his  life,  Apol.  32  E  ; — 


.Socrates  the  only  politician,  Gorg. 
521  D:  —  Politicians,  not  wise, 
Meno  99;  Apol.  21;  politicians 
and  philo.sophers,  Euthyd.  305, 
306 ;  politicians  and  sophists, 
Statesm.  291,  303  ;  politicians  in 
democracies.  Rep.  8.  564. 

Politics,  =  management  of  the 
voluntary,  Statesm.  298  (cp.  292); 
=  the  art  of  managingmen's  nature 
and  habits.  Laws  i.  650  B; — art  of 
politics,  Gorg.  464  ;  Statesm.  304, 
305;  lAlcib.  107  foil.,  124;  its  sub- 
divisions, Gorg.  464  ; — Protago- 
ras professes  to  teach,  Protag. 
319;  Socrates  denies  that  they 
can  be  taught,  ibid. ;  do  not  re- 
quire special  knowledge,  ib.  322, 
323  (bzti  cp.  Laws  8.  846  D); 
politics  and  the  good,  Euthyd. 
291,  292  ;  limits  of  expediency  in 
politics,  Theaet.  172  A;  want  of 
science  in,  Statesm.  298  (cp.  292) ; 
politics  and  states.  Laws  4.  715  ; 
the  only  art  which  may  be  prac- 
tised by  the  citizen,  ib.  8.  846  D  ; 
regards  public,  not  private  good, 
ib.  9.  875  A ;  nature  and  art  in 
politics,  ib.  10.  889;  politics  and 
art,  I  Alcib.  107  foil ;— politics  of 
Athens,  ib.  120: — political  virtue 
may  be  taught,  Protag.  324  ;  po- 
litical wisdom,  not  given  by  the 
Gods  to  man,  ib.  321  E. 

Polity,  the  name,  incorrectly  applied 
to  ordinary  states.  Laws  4.  712 
B,  715  B;  Crete  and  Sparta  the 
only  examples,  ib.  713  A. 

Pollution  of  families.  Laws  9.  872 
E ;  incurred  by  murder,  Eu- 
thyph.  4  B  ;  Laws  8.  831  A  ;  9. 
865,  869  E,  871  A,  873  A;  by 
burial,  Laws  12.  947  D. 

Pollux,  Euthyd.  293  A. 

Polus,  his  schools  of  rhetoric, 
Phaedr.  267  B  ;  a  speaker  in 
the  dialogue  Gorgias,  Gorg.  461 
B  foll.-48i  ;  his  rudeness,  ib. 
448  A,  461  B ;  more  of  a  rheto- 
rician than  a  dialectician,  ib.  448 


494 


Index. 


E ;  like  a  young  colt  apt  to  run 
away,  ib.  463  E ;  Callicles  and 
Polus,  ib.  482  C  ;  too  modest,  ib. 
482  E,  487  A  (cp.  ib.  494  D). 

Polycleitus  of  Argos,  the  statuary, 
Protag.  311  C  ;  the  sons  of,  very 
inferior  to  their  father,  ib.  328  C. 

Polycrates,  his  wealth,  Meno  90  A. 

Polydamas,  the  pancratiast,  Rep.  I. 

338  C. 

Polygnotus,  son  of  Aglaophon,  the 
painter.  Ion  532  E  ;  Gorg.  448 
B. 

Polyhymnia,  Symp.  187  E. 

Polytion,  proverbial  for  his  wealth, 
Er>'x.  394,  400  C. 

Pontus  (Black  Sea),  Laws  7.  804 
E  ;  voyage  from,  to  Athens,  for 
two  drachmae,  Gorg.  511  D. 

Poor,  the,  have  no  leisure  to  be  ill. 
Rep.  3.  406  E  ;  everj'where  hos- 
tile to  the  rich,  ib.  4.  423  A  ;  8. 

551  E  (cp.  Laws  5.  736  A) ;  very 
numerous  in  oligarchies.  Rep.  8. 

552  E  ;  not  despised  by  the  rich 
in  time  of  danger,  ib.  556  C. 

Population,  to  be  regulated,  Rep.  5. 

460 ;  Laws  5.  740. 
Porch  of  the  King  Archon,  Charm. 

153  A;  Euthyph.  2  A;  Theaet. 

210. 

Poros  (Plenty),  son  of  Metis  (Dis- 
cretion), Symp.  203  B,  C. 

Poseidon,  meaning  of  the  name, 
Crat.  402  D,  E ;  divided  the 
empire  with  Zeus  and  Pluto, 
Gorg.  523  A ;  the  god  of  Atlan- 
tis, Crit.  113  C  ;  his  sons  by  the 
nymph  Clyto,  ibid.  foil. ;  temple 
of  Poseidon  and  Clyto,  ib.  1 16  C  ; 
grove  of,  ib.  1 1 7  B  ;  the  laws  of 
Poseidon,  ib.  119  C,  D;  'the 
earth-shaker,'  Hipp.  Min.  370  C. 

'  Possessing '  and  '  having,'  Theaet. 
197. 

Possession,  right  given  by.  Laws 

12.  954  C. 
Potidaea,  battle  of,  Charm.  1 53  B  ; 

Socrates  at,  ib.  A  ;  Symp.  219  E, 

221  A  ;  Apol.  28  E. 


Pottery,  Tim.  60  D;  making  of, 
one  of  the  productive  arts.  Soph! 
219  A;  does  not  need  the  use  of 
iron.  Laws  3.  679  A. 

Poverty,  prejudicial  to  the  arts.  Rep. 
4.  421  ;  poverty  and  crime,  ib.  8. 
552  ;  poverty  not  a  cause  of  con- 
tention among  primitive  man- 
kind, Laws  3.  679 ;  a  motive  of 
revolution,  ib.  4.  708  C,  709  A 
(cp.  5.  736  A,  744  D);  not  the 
loss  of  property,  but  the  increase 
of  desires,  ib.  5. 736  D  ;  limit  of,  in 
the  state,  ib.  744  D ;  poverty  and 
wealth,  alike  injurious,  z/^/rf. ;  11. 
919  B  ;  poverty,  not  disgraceful  at 
Athens,  Menex.  238  E. 

Power,  a  good  to  the  possessor, 
Gorg.  466;  useless  without  know- 
ledge, ib.  467 ;  the  struggle  for 
power.  Rep.  7.  520  C  ;  Laws  4. 
715  A;  arbitrai-y  power  a  temp- 
tation, Laws  3. 691 ;  4.  714  D,  716 
A;  9.  875  B  ;  I  Alcib.  135  ;  not 
often  conjoined  with  temperance 
and  justice,  Laws  4.  711  E; 
meaning  of  the  word,  Hipp.  Min. 
366. 

Practice  for  war  necessary.  Laws  8. 
830; — homicide  in  the  practice 
for  war,  ib.  831  A. 

Praise,  Protag.  337  ;  Symp.  198  E  ; 
—'easy  to  praise  the  Athenians 
among  the  Athenians,'  Menex. 
235  D,  236  A ; — praises  of  the 
Gods,  Laws  7.  801  E. 

Pramnian  wine.  Ion  538  C ;  Rep. 
3.  405  E,  408  A. 

Prayer,  offered  to  the  Gods  at  the 
beginning  of  every  enterprise, 
Tim.  27;  may  be  misdirected. 
Laws  3.  687;  7.  801  B;  of  the 
fool,  dangerous,  ib.  3.  688 ;  the 
nature  of  prayer,  2  Alcib.  138  el 
passim  (cp.  Eryx.  398); — prayer 
of  Timaeus,  Crit.  106  : — prayers, 
phraseology  of,  Crat.  400  E ;  at 
sacrifice.  Laws  7.  801  A : — 
'  Prayers  '  (Iliad  ix),  Crat.  428  C  ; 
Hipp.  Min.  364  E. 


Index. 


495 


Preambles  to  laws,  Laws  4.  719  E, 
723  E,  723  ;  6.  772  E  ;  9.  880  A ; 
10.  8S7  A. 

Predication,  Soph.  251  ;  denial  of, 
ib.  251,  252;  universal,  ibid.\ 
partial,  ibid. ;  compared  to  the 
combination  of  letters/  ib.  253  ; 
to  music,  ibid. 

Pregnancy,  Laws  7.  789  D,  792  E. 

Preludes  to  laws,  Laws  4.  719  E, 
722  E,  723  ;  6.  772  E ;  9.  880 
A  ;  10.  887  A. 

Pre-Socratic  philosophy.  Soph.  242 
foil. 

Priam,  sorrows  of,  Ion  535  B  ;  Ho- 
mer's delineation  condemned, 
Rep.  3.  388  B. 

Prices  in  the  Agora,  Laws  1 1 . 9 1 7 ;  to 
be  fixed  by  the  magistrates,  ib.  920. 

Priene,  Bias  of,  Protag.  343  A. 

Priests,  Statesm.  290 ;  priests  and 
priestesses  (in  the  Model  City), 
Laws  6.  759 ;  7.  799  B,  800  B  ; 
the  priests  to  take  care  of  foreign 
guests,  ib.  12.  953 ; — the  priests 
of  Apollo  and  Helios,  ib.  946,  947 ; 
to  be  members  of  the  nocturnal 
council,  ib.  951  E  (cp.  961  A). 

Primaiy  names,  Crat.  424. 

Primitive  man,  Symp.  190 ;  Tim. 
22  D ;  Crit.  109  D ;  Statesm. 
269-271,  274;  Laws  3.  677,  680 
foil.  (cp.  Man) :— primitive  forms 
of  government.  Laws  3.  690. 

Prince  of  Asia,  Lysis  209  D  (cp.  I 
Alcib.  121  C). 

Principal  and  agent,  law  of.  Laws 
12.  954  A. 

Principles,  importance  of  first,  Crat. 
436:  Phaedo  107;  principles  of 
existence,  Phil.  23. 

Prison-attendant  of  Socrates,  Crito 
43  A;  Phaedo  63  D,  116  B. 

Prisoners  in  war,  Rep.  5.  468-470. 

Prisons,  Laws  10.  908. 

Private  life  to  be  controlled,  Laws 
6.  780  foil. ;  7. 788  foil.,  790  A  :— 
private  persons,  not  represented 
by  the  poets  as  suffering  everlast- 
ing punishment,  Gorg.  525  E  : — 


private  property  not  allowed  to 
the  guardians.  Rep.  3.  416  E  ;  4. 
420  A,  422  D  ;  5.  464  C  ;  8.  543 
{v.s.v.  Common  [property]): — 
private  rites  forbidden.  Laws  10. 
909  D. 

Prize  of  valour,  awarded  to 
Alcibiades  at  Potidaea,  Symp. 
220  E  ; — prizes  of  valour,  Rep.  5. 
468  ;  Laws  8.  829  C  ;  12.  943  C  ; 
of  virtue.  Laws  3.  689;  4.  715  C  ; 
5.  729  D,  730  E  ;  8.  845  C  ;  11. 
919  E,  935  C ;  12.  946  B,  948  A, 
952  D,  953  D,  961  A,  964  B. 

Probability,  thought  superior  to 
truth  in  Rhetoric,  Phaedr.  259  E, 
267  A,  272  E,  273  ;  Tisias'  defini- 
tion of,  ib.  273  :  arguments  from, 
not  to  be  trusted,  Phaedo  92  ; 
Theaet.  162  E  ; — the  language  of 
probability,  Tim.  29  E,  30  B,  48 
E,  55  C,  59  C,  72  E. 

Probation,  states  of,  in  the  future 
hfe,  Phaedr.  248. 

Procles,  king  of  Lacedaemon,  Laws 
3-  683  D. 

Procuresses,  Theaet.  150  A. 

Prodicus  of  Ceos,  a  person  in  the 
dialogue  Protagoras,  Protag.  314 
C,  3i5D,etc. ;  afriendof  Damon, 
Laches  197  D ;  description  of, 
Protag.  315  C;  lodged  in  the 
house  of  Callias,  ib.  D  ;  Socrates' 
opinion  of,  ib.  E  ;  his  powerful 
voice,  ib.  316  A;  begs  Socrates 
and  Protagoras  to  continue  the 
discussion,  ib.  337  ;  a  countrj^man 
of  Simonides,  ib.  339  E  ;  '  has 
a  more   than  human  wisdom,' 

.  ib.  340  E  (cp.  Theaet.  151  B) ; 
corrects  Socrates  for  using  Sstvoy 
as  a  term  of  praise,  Protag.  341 
A;  on  the  Cean  Dialect,  ib. 
B  ;  describes  the  professional 
speech-makers  as  a  class  between 
philosophers  and  statesmen, 
Euthyd.  305  C ;  his  '  fifty 
drachma'  and  '  single  drachma' 
courses,  Crat.  384  B  ;  his  rule  of 
art,  Phaedr.  267  B ;    his  dis- 


496 


Index. 


course  on  Heracles,  Symp.  177 
B  ;  a  tutor  of  Socrates,  Meno  96 
D  ;  goes  the  round  of  the  cities, 
Apol.  19  E  (cp.  Rep.  10.  600  C) ; 
receives  pupils  from  Socrates, 
Theaet.  151  B  ;  beaten  in  argu- 
ment by  an  impertinent  youth, 
Eryx.  397  foil.  ;— his  distinctions 
of  words.  Charm.  163  D  ;  Laches 
197  D ;  Protag.  337  A,  340  A, 
358  A,  D;  Euthyd.277E;  Meno 
75  E. 

Produce,  division  of,  in  Crete,  Laws 
8.  847  E  ;  in  the  Model  City, 
ib.  848  A;  register  of,  ib.  12. 
955  D. 

Production,  division  of.  Soph.  265, 
266 ;  Statesm.  261. 

Prometheus,  myth  of,  Protag.  320 
D-321  E  ;  commanded  by  Zeus 
to  deprive  men  of  the  foreknow- 
ledge of  death,  Gorg.  523  D  ;  fire 
given  by,  Statesm.  274  C  ;  Phil. 
16  C. 

Proper  names,  etymology  of,  Crat. 
392. 

Property,  to  be  common,  Rep.  3. 
416  E  ;  4.  420  A,  422  D ;  5. 
464  C  ;  8.  543  ;  community  of 
property  abandoned  in  the 
second-best  state,  Laws  5.  740 
A  : — restrictions  on  the  disposi- 
tion of  property,  Rep.  8.  556  A; 
Laws  1 1 . 923  ;  classes  of  property, 
Statesm.  287-2S9 ;  difficulty  of 
regulating,  Laws  3.  684  E  ;  5. 
736  D  ;  property  the  basis  of  the 
state,  ib.  5.  736  E ;  registered  in 
the  Model  City,  ib.  745  A  ;  6. 
754  E;  8.  850  A;  9.  855  B  ; 

11.  914  C;  property  in  slaves, 
ib.  6.  776  C ;  principle  of  pro- 
perty, ib.  II.  913;  property  left 
behind  or  in  dispute,  ib.  914- 
916  ;  valuation  of  property,  ib. 

12.  955  D  :— property  qualifica- 
tions in  oligarchies.  Rep.  8.  551 
B ;  in  the  old  Athenian  state. 
Laws  3. 698  B  ;  in  the  Model  City, 
zb.  5.  744. 


Proportion,  akin  to  truth.  Rep.  6. 
486  E  ;  in  the  universe,  Tim.  32  ; 
between  body  and  soul,  id.  87; 
in  sculpture  and  painting.  Soph. 
235  E  ;  an  element  in  the  Good, 
Phil.  64  foil. 

Propositions,  Crat.  385. 

Prophecy,  the  gift  of,  possessed  by 
the  soul,  Phaedr.  242  C  ;  a  kind 
of  madness,  ib.  244  A  ;  Tim.  71 
E  ; — prophecy  of  Socrates,  Apol. 
39  C  ; — mendicant  prophets.  Rep. 
2.  364  B  ; — prophetic  art  in  Ho- 
mer, Ion  538  E.    Cp.  Diviners. 

Prose  writers  on  justice,  Rep.  2. 
364  A  ; — compositions,  Laws  7. 
810;  12.  957  D. 

Prosecution  for  murder,  Euthyph.  4. 
Cp.  Homicide. 

Prospaltian  deme,  Crat.  396  D. 

Prosperity,  creates  jealousy,  Menex. 
242  A. 

Protagoras  of  Abdera,  Protag.  309 
B ;  excitement  on  his  arrival  at 
Athens,  ib.  310  B,  C,  D  ;  will 
teach  for  money,  ib.  310  E  (cp. 
Theaet.  161  D) ;  stays  at  the 
house  of  Callias,  Protag.  311  A, 
314  C  ;  a  sophist,  ib.  311  E  ;  like 
Orpheus,  ib.  315  B;  desires  a 
display,  ib.  317  C  ;  differs  from 
other  sophists — teaches  politics, 
etc.,  ib.  318  D,  E  ;  his  myth,  ib. 
320  D  foil. ;  his  views  of  punish- 
ment, ib.  324  A  foil.  ;  his  scale  of 
payment,  ib.  328  B  ;  displeased 
with  the  course  of  the  argument, 
ib.  333  E  ;  he  objects  to  Socrates' 
method,  ib.  338  A,  348  A;  his 
thesis  that  '  Man  is  the  measure 
of  all  things,'  Crat.  386  A  foil. ; 
Theaet.  152  A,  160  D,  161,  162  C, 
164  D  (the  '  Protagorean  fable '), 
166  D,  168,  170  E,  171  C,  178  B, 
183  B  (cp.  Laws  4.  716  D)  ;  his 
rules  of  correctness,  Phaedr.  267 
D  ;  his  fame  as  a  teacher,  Meno 
91  D,  E;  Rep.  10.  600  C  ;  his 
theories  in  regard  to  perception, 
Theaet.  151  E  foil.,  170  (cp.  Per- 


Index. 


497 


ception) ;  his  work  on  Truth, 
Theaet.  152  C,  161,  166  A,  167, 
168  C,  171  C  (cp.  Crat.  391  C)  ; 
a  wonderfully  wise  man,  Theaet. 
152  C;  his  measure  applies  to 
gods  as  well  as  men.  ib.  162  C ; 
not  applicable  to  the  future,  ib. 
178  B,  E ;  more  truly  applies  to 
God  than  to  man,  Laws  4.  716 
D  ; — his  conventional  theory  of 
justice,  Theaet.  172  A,  177  C; 
his  skill  in  rhetoric,  ib.  178  E; 
his  precepts  about  wrestling. 
Soph.  232  D  ; — his  disciples 
deny  the  possibility  of  falsehood, 
Euthyd.  286  (cp.  Theaet.  152  A). 

Protarchus,  a  person  in  the  dialogue 
Philebus,  Phil.  11  A-18  B;  son 
of  Callias,  ib.  19  B  ;  continues  the 
conversation,  ib.  21  A ;  a  hearer 
of  Gorgias,  ib.  58  A. 

Proteus,  Euthyph.  15  D  ;  the 
Egyptian  wizard,  Euthyd.  288  B  ; 
Ion  compared  to.  Ion  541  E  ; 
not  to  be  slandered.  Rep.  2.  381  D. 

Proverbs  : — '  Know  thyself,'  Charm. 
1 64  D  foil. ;  Protag.  343  B  ; 
Phaedr.  229  E;  Phil.  48  C; 
Laws  II.  923  A  ;  i  Alcib.  124  A, 
129A,  132C;  'nothing  too  much,' 
Charm.  165  A;  Protag.  343  B; 
Phil.  45  E;  'give  a  pledge  and 
evil  is  nigh  at  hand,'  Charm.  165 

A  ;  T(»  Scor^pt  TO  Tp'lTOV  (the  third 

or  lucky  time),  ib.  167  B  ;  Rep. 
9.  583  B  ;  '  friends  have  all  things 
in  common,'  Lysis  207  C  ;  Rep.  5. 
449  C  ;  Laws  5.  739  (cp.  Crit.  112 
E) ;  '  the  beautiful  is  the  friend,' 
Lysis  216;  'we  have  gained  but 
a  dream '  {ovap  ■nenXovTrjKevai), 
ib.  218  C;  Carian  (proverbial), 
Laches  187  B;  Euthyd.  285  B; 
'  break  the  large  vessel  in  learn- 
ing to  make  pots,'  Laches  187  B  ; 
Gorg.  514E;  'a  thing  which  every 
pig  would  know,'  Laches  196  D  ; 
Aioy  KnpivOos  ('  why  here  is  itera- 
tion'), Euthyd.  292  E ;  oil  XiVoi/XiVo) 
(rvviiiTTeis  ('  you  answer  beside  the 

VOL.  V.  •  K 


point'),  ib.  295  C  ;  '  putting  on  the 
lion's  skin,'  Crat.  411  A ;  'over 
the  barriers,'  ib.  414  B ;  Gorg. 
494  C  (cp.  Laws  8.  847  A) ; 
'  excuses  will  not  serve,'  Crat. 
421  D  ;  Laws  6.  751  D  ;  'birds 
of  a  feather'  ('like  to  like'), 
Phaedr.  240  B  ;  Symp.  195  B  ; 
Gorg.  510  B;  Rep.  i.  329  A; 
4.  425  C ;  Laws  8.  837  A ;  '  in 
the  turning  of  an  oyster  shell,' 
Phaedr.  241  B;  'sweet  elbow' 
(=  'sour  grapes'),  ib.  257  E; 
'wolf  may  claim  a  hearing,'  ib. 
272  D  ;  '  writing  in  water,'  ib. 
276  C  ;  'to  the  feasts  of  lesser 
men,'  etc.,  Symp.  174  B;  'at 
lovers'  perjuries,'  ib.  183  B  ;  Phil. 
65  C;  '  i?i  vino  Veritas^  Symp. 
217  E;  'invulnerable  as  Ajax,' 
ib.  219  D;  'fools  learn  by  ex- 
perience,' ib.  222  B  ;  '  many  are 
the  thyrsus-bearers,  but  few  the 
initiated,'  Phaedo  69  D ;  rhv 
SevTfpov  ttXovv  ('  the  second  best'), 
ib.  99  D  ;  '  ready  to  start  at  one's 
own  shadow,'  ib.  loi  D  ;  the  art 
of  Glaucus,  ib.  108  D  ;  'the  wise 
man  is  late  for  a  fray,'  etc.,  Gorg. 
447  A ; '  the  good  may  be  repeated 
twice  or  thrice,'  ib.  498  E  ;  Phil. 
60  A  ;  Laws  6.  754  C  ;  12.  956  E; 
'  make  the  best  of  a  bad  business,' 
Gorg.  499  C ;  Mysian  (proverbial), 
ib.  521  B ;  Theaet.  209  B ;  'shave  a 
lion,'  Rep.  i.  341  C  ;  'let  brother 
help  brother,'  ib.  2.  362  D  ;  'wolf 
and  flock,'  ib.  3.  415  D;  'one 
great  thing,'  ib.  4.  423  E  ;  '  hard 
is  the  good,'  ib.  435  C  ;  'the  useful 
is  the  noble,'  ib.  457  B  ;  '  the  wise 
must  go  to  the  doors  of  the  rich,' 
ib.  6. 489  B  (cp.  2.  364  B  ;  Laws  12. 
953  C) ;  '  what  is  more  than  hu- 
man,' Rep.  6.  492  E  ;  'the  neces- 
sity of  Diomedes,'  ib.  493  D  ;  '  the 
she-dog  as  good  as  her  mistress,' 
ib.  8.  563  D  ;  '  out  of  the  smoke 
into  the  fire,'  ib.  569  B  ;  '  does  not 
come  within  a  thousand  miles,' 


498 


Index. 


{ovK  iKTap  /3dXXfi),  zd.  9.  575  D  ; 
'  faint  heart  never  took  a  city,' 
Crit.  108  B  ;  Soph.  261  B  ;  'your 
will  is  my  will,'  Theaet.  162  B; 
'caught  in  a  well,'  t6.  165  B; 
Xoes  da\aaa-t)s  (a  trifle),  zl>.  173  E  ; 
'  the  experiment  will  show,'  zd.  200 
E  ;  '  when  every  way  is  blocked,' 
Soph.  231  C;  'what  any  blind 
man  could  see,'  ti>.  241  E  ;  'too 
much  haste  too  little  speed,' 
Statesm.  264  B ;  '  land  ahead,' 
Phil.  29  A;  'suicidal  victory' 
(KaBfidn  vIkt]),  Laws  I.  641  C  ; 
'  second  childhood,'  id.  646  A ; 
'  they  know  neither  how  to  read 
nor  swim,'  id.  3.  689  D  ;  '  fall  off 
an  ass,'  id.  701  D ;  '  make  a 
second  beginning,'  /i.  4.  723  D  ; 
'  every  man  is  his  own  best 
friend,'  ik  5.  731  E;  'not  even 
God  can  fight  against  necessity,' 
a.  741  A;  7.  818  E;  'no  bad 
man  can  ever  know,'  if>.  5.  741  E  ; 
'equality  makes  friendship,'  I'd. 
757  A  ;  8.  837  A  (cp.  'birds  of  a 
feather');  'well  begun  is  half 
done,'  id.  6.  753  E;  'combing 
wool  into  the  fire,'  id.  780  E  ; 
'  move  not  the  immovable,'  id.  8. 
843  A;  12.  913;  'bard  to  fight 
against  two  antagonists,'  id.  11. 
919  B  (cp.Euthyd.  297  C;  Phaedo 
89  C)  ;  fV  Koiua  Kn\  fietrcp  Kt'itrdai, 
Laws  12.  968  E  ;  'thrice  six  or 
thrice  ace,'  iditi. ;  '  neither  re- 
joicing too  much  nor  grieving  too 
much,'  Menex.  248  A;  'boihng 
a  stone,'  Eryx.  405  C. 

Proxeni,  Laws  i.  642: — Meno  the 
hereditary  friend  of  the  Great 
King,  Meno  78  D. 

Prytaneum,  maintenance  in,  Apol. 
36  E  : — Socrates  a  Prj'tanis,  id. 
32  B ;  Gorg.  473  E  ;— the  Pry- 
tanes  (in  the  Model  City),  Laws 
6-  755  E,  758,  766  B  ;  to  take  care 
of  strangers  who  come  on  public 
business,  id.  12.  953  C. 

Public,  the,  the  great  Sophist,  Rep. 


6.  492  A ;  compared  to  a  beast, 
id.  6.  493  ;  cannot  be  philosophic, 
id.  494  (cp.  Statesm.  292  D) ; — 
admitted  to  the  law  courts,  Laws 
6. 767  E  (cp.  Many,  Multitude)  :  — 
Public  executioner  (at  Athens), 
Rep.  4. 439  E;  (in  the  Model  City), 
Laws  9.  872  B,  873  A :— public 
games,  id.  1 2. 950  E  : — public  men 
should  improve  the  citizens,  Gorg. 
515;  neglect  their  own  children. 
Laches  179  C,  180  A;  Protag. 
320  A,  326  E ;  Meno  93,  94 ;  i 
Alcib.  118. 

Punishment,  nature  and  office  of, 
Protag.  323  D-324  B  ;  Gorg.  476 
foil.,  525  A;  Statesm.  308  E; 
Laws  5.  735  E;  9.  854  E,S63A; 
II.  934  A;  12.  944  D,  964  C  (cp. 
Gorg.  480,  507  E,  525  A,  527  C ; 
Rep.  2.  380  A) ;  paradox  con- 
cerning, Gorg.  472,  473  ;  punish- 
ment compared  to  medicine,  id. 
479 ;  Laws  5.  735  E  ;  the  true 
punishment  =  likeness  to  evil, 
Laws  5.  728  (cp.  Theaet.  176  E); 
the  punishment  of  the  father 
not  to  be  visited  on  the  children, 
Laws  9.  855  A,  856  D  ;  principles 
of  punishment,  id.  860 : — punish- 
ment of  death,  see  Death ;  — 
punishment  of  slaves,  Laws  7.  777 
E,  793  E  (cp.  Slaves) : — punish- 
ment of  the  wicked,  Phaedr.  249 
A  ;  Meno  81  B  ;  Phaedo  107  E, 
114;  Gorg.  523,  525  ;  Rep.  2.  363 ; 
10.  614;  Theaet.  176;  Laws  9. 
870  E,  880  E  ;  10.  905  A  ;  12.  959 
A  (cp.  Hades):  —  punishments 
good  when  just,  Gorg.  470  (cp. 
Statesm.  293).    Cp.  Retribution. 

Puppets,  the  moral  tale  of  the.  Laws 
1.644E;  7.803; — puppet  shows, 
Rep.  7.  514;  Laws  2.  658. 

Purgation,  Tim.  89  ;— purgation  of 
mythological  error  (Socrates  in 
imitation  of  Stesichorus),  Phaedr. 
243  A  (cp.  Crat.  396  E) ;— purga- 
tion of  the  luxurious  state,  Rep.  3- 
399  E  ;— of  the  city  by  the  tyrant, 


m 


Index. 


499 


ib.  8.  567  D  ; — of  the  soul  by  the 
tyrannical  man,  ib.  573  A;  — of 
the  state  by  the  legislator,  Laws 
5.  735  D  : — of  sin  in  the  other 
world,  see  Hades. 
Purification,  art  of,  Soph.  226,  230  ; 
divisions  of,  ib.  226,  227  puri- 
fication of  the  soul  by  philosophy 
after  death,  Phaedo  67  B,  82  D  ; 
of  a  city.  Laws  5.  735,  736 ;  in 
dances,  Zi^.  7.  815  C  ;  for  homicide, 
ib.  8.  831  A  ;  9.  865,  868,  869  A, 
E,  871B;  1 1. 916  C;  for  contact 
with  the  striker  of  a  parent,  ib.  9. 
881. 

Purity,  in  colour,  etc.,  Phil.  52  E ; 

of  life,  to  be  enforced,  Laws  8. 

83s  E  foil. 
Purple  dye,  not  to  be  imported, 

Laws  8.  847  C. 
Puzzles,  in  disputation.  Soph.  259. 
Pyrilampes,   father  of  Antiphon, 

Parm.  126  B. 
Pyrilampes,  father  of  Demus,  Gorg. 

481  D,  513  B. 
Pyrilampes,    maternal    uncle  of 

Charmides,  Charm.  158  A. 
Pyriphlegethon,  Phaedo  113  B,  C; 

parricides  and  matricides  cast 

forth  by,  ib.  114  A. 
Pyrrha,  wife  of  Deucalion,  Tim.  22 

A. 

Pyrrhic  dance,  Laws  7.  815  A  foil. 
Pythagoreans,  the,  authorities  on 

the  science  of  harmony.  Rep.  7. 

530  D  ;  never  reach  the  natural 

harmonies  of  number,  ib.  531 

C  ; — the  Pythagorean  way  of  life, 

ib.  10.  600  A. 
Pythian  games.  Lysis  205  C  ;  Laws 

7.  807  C  ;  12.  950  E. 
Pythian  oracle,  Apol.  21  A  ;  Rep.  5. 

461  E ;  7.  540  C ;  Laws  12.  947 

D.    See  Delphi. 
Pythocleides,  the  Cean,  an  eminent 

sophist,  Protag.  316  E  ;  a  friend 

of  Pericles,  i  Alcib.  118  C. 
Pythocles,  [Vain  Man],  father  of 

Phaedrus,  Phaedr.  244  A. 
Pythodorus,  son  of   Isolochus,  a 


friend  of  Zeno,  Parm.  126  B; 
described  the  appearance  of  Zeno 
and  Parmenides,  ib.  127  A;  has 
grown  wiser  in  the  society  of 
Zeno,  I  Alcib.  119  A. 

Q. 

Quacks,*  Rep.  5.  459  C ;  Laws  4. 
720;  9.  857  D. 

Quails,  training  of.  Laws  7.  789  B 
(cp.  Lysis  212  D  ;  Euthyd.  290  D). 

Quality,  Theaet.  182  A; — in  the 
sentence.  Soph.  262  E,  263  A  :-  - 
quality  and  quantity  in  the  state. 
Laws  6.  757. 

Quantity,  opposed  to  'more  and 
less,'  Phil.  24 ;  quantity  and  the 
whole,  Soph.  245  : — quantity  and 
quality  in  the  state,  Laws  6.  757. 

Quarrels,  dishonourable.  Rep.  2. 
378 ;  3-  395  E  ;  will  be  unknown 
in  the  best  state,  ib.  5.  464  (cp. 
Laws  5.  737  A) ; — quarrels  arising 
from  disputes  about  boundaries. 
Laws  8.  843  C  ; — quarrels  of  the 
Gods,  Euthyph.  7  D  ;  Rep.  2.  378 
(cp. Crit.  109B;  Menex.237  C): — 
the  quarrelsome  temper,  Statesm. 
307  D  (cp.  Theaet.  144  A). 

Questioning,  sophistic  method  of, 
Euthyd:  275  foil.  Cp.  Dialectic, 
Sophists. 

Quietness,  a  definition  of  temper- 
ance, Charm.  159: — the  quiet 
character,Theaet.  144 A;  Statesm. 
307- 

R. 

Rational  element  of  the  soul,  Rep. 
4.  435-442;  6.  504  A;  8.  550  A; 
9.  571,  580  E,  581  ;  Tim.  69E-72, 
89  E  ;  ought  to  bear  rule,  and  be 
assisted  by  the  spirited  element 
against  the  passions.  Rep.  4.441, 
442  ;  Tim.  30  C  ;  characterized 
by  the  love  of  knowledge.  Rep. 
9.  581  B;  the  pleasures  of,  the 
truest,  ib.  582 ;  preserves  the 
mind  from  the  illusions  of  sense, 
ib.  10.  602. 


K  k  2 


500 


Index. 


Rational  life,  the,  Laws  5.  733  E. 

Rationalism,  in  myths,  Phaedr.  229; 
among  youth,  Rep.  7.  538  ;  Laws 
10.  886. 

Reaction,  Rep.  8.  564  A. 

Read,  learning  to,  Rep.  3.  402  A ; 
Theaet.  206  A,  207  E ; — reading  in 
schools,  Charm.  159  C,  160  A,  161 
D  ;  Protag.  325  E  ;  Theaet.  206 
A;  Laws  7.810  (cp.  Education). 

Realities  of  virtues,  Phaedr.  250. 

Reason,  a  faculty  of  the  soul.  Rep.  6. 
511  D  (cp.  7.  533  E) ;  reason  and 
appetite,  ib.  4.  439-442;  9.  571 
D  (cp.  Phaedr.  253  foil.;  Tim. 69 
E  foil. ;  Laws  3. 687,  689) ;  reason 
should  be  the  guide  of  pleasure, 
Rep.  9.  585-587 ;  reason  and 
pleasure,  Phil.  65 ;  reason  and 
knowledge,  Theaet.  201,  202;  — 
the  'golden  cord'  of  reason, 
Laws  I.  644  E. 

Reasons,  some,  an  excuse  for  having 
no  reason,  Crat.  426  A. 

Receiving  stolen  goods,  Laws  12. 
955  B. 

Recollect  ion  {(ii'itfxvrjij i^^y  explained, 
Phaedr.  250;  Phaedo  73-76; 
implies  the  departure  of  know- 
ledge, Symp.  208 ;  recollection 
=  recovery  of  knowledge,  Meno 
81  foil.,  98  A;  Theaet.  198  E  ; 
Phil.  34 ;  Laws  5.  732  B  ;  a  proof 
of  immortality,  Meno  86  ;  Phaedo 
73 ;  connected  with  association, 
Phaedo  73 ;  knowledge  and  recol- 
lection, z6.  72  E,  75,  92.  Cp.  Re- 
miniscence. 

Reflection  and  sensation,  Theaet. 
1 86. 

Reflections,  Rep.  6.  510  A;  Tim. 
71  B. 

Refractions,  Tim.  46  ;  Soph.  266  D. 

Refutation,  in  a  court  of  law,  Gorg. 
472  A ; — the  art  of  refutation. 
Soph.  230. 

Registration  of  children  (in  the 
Model  City),  Laws  6.  785  ;— of 
metics,  il>.  8.  850 ;— of  property, 
zl>.  5.  745  A ;  6.  754 ;  8.  850  A ; 


9.  855B;  1 1. 914  C;— of  produce, 
id.  13.  955  D. 
Relation,  to  self,  contradictory  in 
magnitudes,  Charm.  168  ; — dif- 
ficulty of  understanding,  Phaedo 
96,  loi ;— relation  and  the  ob- 
ject of  relation.  Charm.  168; — 
axioms  of  relation,  Theaet.  155; 
— 'greater  and  less,'  Statesm. 
283-285. 

Relations,  slights  inflicted  by,  in  old 
age,  Rep.  i.  329  C.  Cp.  Kindred. 

Relationship,  degrees  of,  Laws  11. 
924,  925. 

Relative  and  absolute,  Phil.  53  E ; — 
relative  and  correlative,  qualifica- 
tions of,  Gorg.  476 ;  Rep.  4.  437 
foil. ;  —  relative  notions,  Parm. 
141,  155  ;  how  corrected,  Rep.  7. 
524. 

Relativity  denied  by  the  Sophists, 
Euthyd.  297  foil. ;  relativity  of 
things  and  individuals,  Crat.  3S6 ; 
Rep.  5.  479 ;  fallacies  caused  by, 
Rep.  9.  584,  585 ;  10.  602  D, 
60s  C ;  relativity  in  philosophy, 
Theaet.  152  foil.,  157  B,  160,  166, 
170  A. 

Religion,  Greek,  Euthyph.  7  foil.; 
Apol.  26  foil. ;  Phaedo  58  ;  Laws 
4.  716,  718;  early  Greek,  Crat. 
397  C  ; — matters  of  religion  left  to 
the  god  at  Delphi,  Rep.  4.  427 
B  ;  Laws  5.  738  B  ;  6.  759  C,  D  ; 
8.  828  A  (cp.  Rep.  5.  461  E,  469 
A  ;  7.  540  B  ;  Laws  9. 865  B,  871 
C;  II.  914  A ;  12.  947  D  ;  antf  see 
Delphi) ;  religion,  despised  by 
natural  philosophers.  Laws  10. 
886  E  ;  influence  of,  in  childhood, 
ti).  887  ;  convention  in,  id.  889  E  ; 
shown  in  the  superstitions  of 
sick  people,  id.  909  E  :— sacri- 
fices at  three  ways,  Phaedo 
108  A ;  private  sacrifices.  Rep.  i. 
328,331  D;  choruses  at  sacrifices. 
Laws  7.  800  (cp.  Sacrifice) ;  — 
worship  of  Asclepius,  Phaedo 
118; — prayers  to  gods,  demons, 
heroes,  Laws  7.  801  E  ;— praises 


Index. 


of  the  dead,  ibid.  : — religious 
worship  not  easily  established, 
ib.  lo.  909  C.    Cp.  Gods. 

Reminiscence  {a.va\ivr\uii),  a  source 
of  knowledge,  Meno  81  foil.,  98 
A  ;  Phil.  34  ;  illustrated  by  ques- 
tions to  the  slave-boy,  Meno  82 
foil.  (cp.  Phaedo  73  A) ;  distin- 
guished from  memory,  Phaedr. 
275  A ;  Phil.  34. 

Renunciation,  public,  of  children  by 
a  parent.  Laws  11.  928  D. 

Repetition  (in  style),  Phaedr.  235  A. 

Replenishment,  or  Repletion  (TrXr;- 
pcocrir),  Tim.  81  ;  Phil.  31,  34  E, 
42  D. 

Reptiles,  Tim.  92. 

Republic,  narration  of  the  dialogue 
of  the,  Tim.  17  B. 

Reputation,  value  of  a  good,  Laws 
12.  950. 

Rescue,  duty  of  coming  to  the,  in 
cases  of  assault,  Laws  9.  880  foil. 

Residues,  method  of,  Rep.  4.  427  E. 

Respiration,  Tim.  78,  79. 

Rest  and  motion.  Rep.  4. 436 ;  Tim. 
57  foil.;  Soph.  249,  250,  255; 
Laws  10.  893  ;  rest  and  motion 
source  of  life  and  death,  Theaet. 
153;  all  things  at  rest  (Par- 
menides),  ib.  180  E,  183 ;  rest  as 
a  genus.  Soph.  254  foil. 

Retail  trade.  Soph.  223  D  ;  Statesm. 
260  C  ;  the  citizens  not  allowed  to 
practise  (in  the  Model  City),  Laws 
8.  842  D,  847  A  ;  II.  919 ;  laws 
concerning,  ib.  8.  849;  11. 9i8foll.; 
its  dishonourable  nature,  ib.  11. 
918  (cp.  4.  705  A)  : — retail  traders 
necessary  in  the  state.  Rep.  2. 371 ; 
Laws  II.  918  (but  cp.  Laws  4. 
705  A). 

Retaliation  not  to  be  practised, 
Crito  49  ;  '  the  law  of  retaliation,' 
Laws  9.  870  D,  E,  872  E. 

Retribution  (rt/zmpia),  Laws  5.  728 ; 
cannot  be  escaped,  ib.  9.  873  A  ; 
10.  904  D; — in  a  future  life,  Apol. 
41;  Phaedo  63,  107,  114;  Gorg. 
526  C,  527  D  ;  law  of,  Phaedr. 


248.  Cp.  Future  Life,  Punish- 
ment. 

Revellers,  Symp.  212. 

Reverence,  given  by  Zeus  to  men, 
Protag.  322  C,  329  C  ;  reverence 
and  fear,  Euthyph.  12 ;  Laws 
I.  647,  649  C;  2.  671  C;  dis- 
tinguished from  confidence.  Laws 
I.  647  ;  3.  699  C  ;  in  the  young, 
Rep.  5.  465  A  ;  Laws  5.  729 ;  9. 
879;  II.  917  A  ;  due  to  antiquity. 
Soph.  243  A  ;  Laws  7.  798  A  (cp. 
Tim.  40  D)  ;  toward  the  young, 
Laws  5.  729 ;  for  the  laws,  in 
ancient  Athens,  ib.  3.  698  C, 
699  C. 

Reviewers  or  Censors  of  laws, 
[the  Nocturnal  Council],  Laws  10. 
908  A,  909  A;  12.  951,  961, 
968. 

Revival  or  new  birth  of  the  soul, 

Phaedo  71  E. 
Revolution,  causes  of,  Rep.  8.  545  ; 

Laws  3.  690  D;  4.  709  A;  5. 

736  A,  744  D  ;  6.  757  A,  D  ;  12. 

945  E.    Cp.  Faction. 
Revolution  of  the  heavens,  Tim. 

36  ;  Statesm.  269,  270. 
Rhadamanthus,  a  judge  in  the 

other  woi'ld,  Apol.  41  A  ;  judges 

those  who  come  from  Asia,  Gorg. 

524  A;  reputed  the  justest  of  men, 

ib.'K,  526  B;  Laws  1.624  B; 

the  decision  of,  ib.  12.  948  B, 

C. 

Rhamnusian,  Antiphon  the,  Menex. 
236  A. 

Rhapsodes,  Laws  2.  658  ;  Eryx. 
403  C  ; — Hesiod  a  wandering 
rhapsode,  Rep.  10.  600  D ; — 
contests  of  rhapsodes.  Ion  530  ; 
Laws  8.  834  E  ;  rhapsodes  have 
an  enviable  profession.  Ion  530 
B ;  are  the  inspired  interpreters  of 
the  poets,  ib.  C,  533  foil.,  535  A  ; 
moved  at  their  own  stories,  ib. 
535  ;  are  paid,  ib.  E  ;  have  golden 
crowns,  ib.  535,  541  B  ;  their 
knowledge  of  arts,  ib.  537  foil. ; 
can  point  to  nothing  in  Homer 


502 


Index. 


which  their  art  alone  can  inter- 
pret, ib.  539 ;  rhapsodes  and 
generals,  ib.  541. 

Rhea,  Crat.  401  E,  402  A,  B  ; 
Tim.  41  A. 

Rhetoric,  the  art  of  persuasion, 
Phaedr.  259  E  foil.  (cp.  Rep.  2. 
365  D) ;  has  no  true  knowledge 
of  the  subjects  with  which  it  deals, 
Phaedr.  268 ;  concerned  only 
with  probabilities,  ib.  272,  273 ; 
defined  by  Gorgias  as  the  art  of 
discourse,  Gorg.  449  ;  the  arti- 
ficer of  persuasion  about  the 
just  and  unjust,  ib.  453-455  (cp. 
Theaet.  167  C  ;  Laws  11. 937  E) ; 
power  of,  Gorg.  456,  466  (cp. 
Apol.  17  A;  Menex.  235  A); 
defended  by  Gorgias,  Gorg.  457  ; 
is  most  potent  with  the  ig- 
norant, ib.  459 ;  defined  by 
Socrates  as  the  shadow  of  a  part 
of  politics,  ib.  462  foil. ;  useful 
only  in  discovering  injustice,  ib. 
480  ; — rhetoric  and  flattery,  ib. 
462,  501,  503;  —  rhetoric  and 
justice,  ib.  460,  527  C  ;— rhetoric 
and  poetry,  ib.  502 ; — rhetoric  and 
politics,  Statesm.  304  ; — rhetoric 
and  psychology,  Phaedr.  271  ; — 
rhetoric  and  sophistry,  Gorg. 
520  ; — art  of  rhetoric,  according 
to  books,  Phaedr.  266,  269  (cp. 
Gorg.  44S  D,  471  E) ;  professors 
of  rhetoric,  Phaedr.  266  ;  Rep.  2. 
365  D  ;  rhetoric  of  Nestor, 
[Gorgias],  Odysseus,  [Theodorus 
or  Thrasymachus],  Palaniedes, 
[Zeno],  Phaedr.  261  ; — rhetoric 
at  Athens,  Gorg.  502,  503  : — the 
true  art  of  rhetoric  based  on  an 
exact  analysis  of  the  soul,  Phaedr. 
269  E  foil.,  277 ;  requires  a 
knowledge  of  the  truth,  ib.  262 
(cp.  273) ;  division  of  subject- 
matter  necessary,  ib.  263  ;  defini- 
tion, division,  and  generalization 
required,  ib.  264-266;  distin- 
guished from  dialectic,  ib.  266, 
269  (cp.  Gorg.  448  D,  471  E) ; 


aims  at  the  improvement  of  the 
souls  of  the  citizens,  Gorg.  503. 

Rhythm,  Symp.  187;  Crat.  424  C; 
Rep.  3.400  ;  Phil.  17  ;  necessary 
for  the  life  of  man,  Protag.  326 
B  ;  goes  with  the  subject.  Rep. 
3.  398  D  ;  its  persuasive  in- 
fluence, ib.  3.  401  E  ;  10.  601  B  ; 
imitative.  Laws  7.  798  E ; — 
rhythms  and  melodies  to  be 
accommodated  to  each  other,  ib. 
2.  665  A  ;  7.  802  E  ;  rhythms  for 
men  and  women  to  be  different, 
ib.  7.  802  E.  Cp.  Harmony ; 
Music. 

Riches,  see  Wealth. 

Riddle,  the,  of  the  eunuch  and  the 
bat,  Rep.  5.  479  C. 

Ridicule,  only  to  be  directed  against 
folly  and  vice.  Rep.  5.  452  E ; 
danger  of  unrestrained  ridicule, 
ib,  10.606  C  ;  how  far  to  be  per- 
mitted. Laws  II.  935  A  :— the 
ridiculous  =  ignorance  of  self, 
Phil.  48,  49. 

Riding,  an  art  most  befitting  a  free- 
man, Laches  182  A;  the  Thes- 
salians  famous  for,  Meno  70  A 
(cp.  Laws  I.  625  U);  the  children 
of  the  guardians  to  be  taught. 
Rep.  5.  467  (cp.  Laws  7.  794  D, 
813  D) ;  women  to  learn,  Laws 
7.  794  D,  804  E,  813  D. 

Right  and  might,  Gorg.  483,  484, 
489;  Rep.  I.  338  foil.;  Laws  i. 
627;  3.  690  ;  10.  890  A. 

Rites  forbidden  in  private  houses, 
Laws  10.909  (cp.  12.  955  E); 
ancient  rites  not  to  be  disturbed, 
ib.  5.  738  C  (cp.  6.  759  B  ;  8. 
848  D). 

Rivers  (underground),  Phaedo  I13; 
— rivers  of  mud  in  Sicily,  ib.  iil 
E. 

Roads  to  be  made,  Laws  6.  761  A, 
763  C  ; — right  of  road,  ib.  8.  845 
E. 

Rock,  Tim.  60  C. 

Rocking  of  infants.  Laws  7.  790. 

Roots  (in  numbers),  Theaet.  147- 


Index. 


Royalty,  Statesm.  291  E  ;  see  Mon- 
archy : — royal  fashions  of  educa- 
tion, Laws  3.  695,  696. 

Rule,  the  seven  kinds  of,  Laws  3. 
690;  4.  714  E;  the  right  to, 
acquired  by  obedience,  ib.  12, 
942. 

Ruler,  the,  in  the  strict  and  in  the 
popular  sense.  Rep.  i.  341  B  ; 
the  true  ruler  does  not  ask  but 
claims  obedience,  ib.  6.  489  C  (cp. 
Statesm.  300,  301) ;  the  ideal 
ruler.  Rep.  6.  502  ;  the  ruler  must 
possess  true  wisdom,  Laws  3. 
689. 

Ruler  of  the  feast.  Laws  i.  639  D 
foil. ;  must  be  sober,  ib.  640  E  ; 
2.  671  D. 

Ruler  of  the  universe.  Laws  10. 
903  A,  904  A. 

Rulers  of  states ;  do  they  study 
their  own  interests?  Rep.  i.  338 
D,  343.  346  (cp.  Gorg.  491  ; 
Rep.  7.  520  C ;  Laws  9.  875)  ; 
are  not  infallible,  Rep.  i.  339; 
how  they  are  paid,  ib.  347  ;  good 
men  do  not  desire  office,  ibid.  ; 
7.  520  D  ;  why  they  become 
rulers,  ib.  i.  347  ;  present  rulers, 
dishonest,  ib.  6.  496  D  ;  ought 
not  to  drink  wine  during  their 
term  of  office,  Laws  2.  674  A  ; 
must  not  have  despotic  power, 
ib.  3.  697,  701  E  ;  number  of, 
adds  to  the  difficulty  of  effecting 
a  reform,  ib.  4.  710  D  ;  must 
lead  the  way,  if  the  laws  are  to 
be  enforced,  ib.  Jii  C  ;  must  be 
the  servants  or  ministers  of  the 
law,  ib.  715  C  (cp.  Statesm. 
293  foil.  ;  Laws  6.  762  E) ; 
must  be  held  in  reverence  by 
those  under  them,  ib.  11.  917 
A  : — [in  the  best  state],  must  be 
tested  by  pleasures  and  pains. 
Rep.  3.  413  (cp.  6.  503  A  ;  7.  539 
E) ;  have  the  sole  privilege  of 
lying,  ib.  3.  389  A,  414  C  ;  5.  459 
D  (cp.  Laws  2.  663  E)  ;  must  be 
taken  from  the  older  citizens, 


Rep.  3.  412  (cp.  6.  498  C)  ;  will 
be  called  friends  and  saviours,  ib. 
5.  463  ;  6.  502  D  ;  must  be  phi- 
losophers, ib.  2.  376 ;  5.  473 ;  6. 
484,  497  foil.,  501,  503  B  ;  7.  520, 
521,  525  B,  540;  8.  543;  the 
qualities  which  must  be  found  in 
them,Z(5.  6.  503  A  ;  7.  535  ;  must 
attain  to  the  knowledge  of  the 
good,  ib.  6.  506;  7.  519;  will 
accept  office  as  a  necessity,  ib.  7. 
520  E,  540  A ;  will  be  selected  at 
twenty,  and  again  at  thirty,  from, 
the  guardians,  ib.  537  ;  must 
learn  arithmetic,  ib.  522-526 ; 
geometry,  il.  526,  527  ;  astro- 
nomy, z'i^.  527-530;  harmony,  ib. 
531  ;  at  thirty  must  be  initiated 
into  philosophy,  ib.  537-539;  at 
thirty-five  must  enter  on  active 
life,  ib.  539  E  ;  after  fifty  may 
return  to  philosophy,  ib.  540 ; 
when  they  die  will  be  buried  by 
the  State  and  paid  divine  honours, 
ib.  5.  465  E,  469  A  ;  7.  540  B  (cp. 
Guardians)  :— ought  to  regard, 
not  the  wishes,  but  the  interests 
of  the  citizens,  Statesm.  296  A  ; 
the  one  best  man  the  true  and 
perfect  ruler,  ib.  301 ;  must  com- 
bine courage  and  temperance,  ib. 
310: — [in  the  Model  City],  com- 
pared to  their  subjects  as  the 
warp  to  the  woof.  Laws  5.  734 
E ;  must  exercise  perpetual 
watchfulness,  ib.  6.  758  A;  7. 
807  E,  808  C ;  must  give  an 
account  of  their  office,  ib.  6.  761 
E  ;  must  keep  an  especial  watch 
over  the  young,  ib.  8.  836  A  (cp. 
Guardians  of  the  Law). 

Running,  contests  in.  Laws  8.  833 
(cp.  Protag.  336  A). 

Rust,  Tim.  59  C. 

S. 

Sacrifice,  to  the  Gods  below,  Phae- 
do  108  A  ;  to  the  Gods,  Laws  4. 
716  D  foil. ;  7.  804  A  ;  to  pro- 


Index. 


504 

mote  friendship,  ib.  6.  771  ;  blas- 
phemies at,  ib.  7.  800; — mourning 
at,  ibid. ; — number  of  sacrifices, 
in  the  Model  City,  ib.  809  C  ; 
8.  828  ; — offered  by  boys,  Lysis 
207 ;  — private,  Rep.  i.  328  B, 
331  D  ;  —  in  atonement,  ib,  2. 
364  ; — human  sacrifices,  ib.  8.  565 
D  ;  Laws  6.  782  C  ; — attendance 
at  sacrifices.  Laws  12.  949  D  ; — 
ceremony  of  walking  through  the 
parts  of  victims,  ib.  6.  753  D. 

Sailors,  proverbial  roughness  of, 
Phaedr.  243  B  ;  necessary  in  the 
state.  Rep.  2.  371  B. 

Sais,  Tim.  21  E. 

Salamis,  battle  of,  Laws  3.  698  C  ; 
4.  707  B,  C  ;  the  sailors  of,  the 
schoolmasters  of  Hellas,  Menex. 
241  A,  B  ;  trophies  of,  ib.  245  A  ; 
the  island  of  Eurysaces,  i  Alcib. 
121  B  ;  — Leon  of  Salamis,  Apol. 
32  C,  D,  E. 

Sale,  art  of,  Soph.  223. 

Sales,  limit  in,  Laws  8.  849 ;  of 
diseased  slaves,  ib.  11.  916;  of 
homicides,  ibid. ;  invocation  of 
Gods  at,  ib.  E  ;  prices  not  to  be 
altered,  ib.  917  ;  fraudulent  sales, 
ib.  12.  954  A. 

Salt,  Tim.  60  D  ;  in  cooking,  Lysis 
209  ;  utility  of,  made  the  theme 
of  a  philosophical  discourse, 
Symp.  177  A. 

Same,  meaning  of  the  word.  Soph. 
254  E  ;  —  the  same  and  the 
other,  Tim.  36  foil.  ;  Theaet.  158 
E,  186  A;  Soph.  254  E  ; — same- 
ness, Parm.  139,  140  D. 

Samos,  Theodoras  of.  Ion  533  B. 

Sanitation,  in  the  Model  City,  Laws 
6.  779  C. 

Sappho,  the  fair,  Phaedr.  235  C. 

Saps  of  plants,  Tim.  60  A. 

Sarambus,  the  vintner,  Gorg.  518  B. 

Sardis,  Athenian  conspiracy  against, 
Menex.  240  A. 

Sarpedon,  Rep.  3.  388  C. 

Satire,  personal  not  allowed.  Laws 

II-  935- 


Satyr,  Socrates  compared  to  a, 
Symp.  215,  216  C,  221  D,  E,  222 
D  ;  the  sophist-politician  like  a 
satyr,  Statesm.  291  A,  303  D  ;— 
satyrs  imitated  in  Bacchic  dances. 
Laws  7.  815  C. 

Satyrus,  a  runaway  slave  of  Hip- 
pocrates, Protag.  310  C. 

Sauces,  not  mentioned  in  Homer, 
Rep.  3.  404  D- 

Sauromatides,  the  women  ride  on 
horseback.  Laws  7.  804  E ;  like 
men,  compared  with  Hellenic 
women,  ib.  806  B. 

Savages,  exhibited  in  a  play  at  the 
Lenaean  festival,  Protag.  327  D. 

Scamander,  Crat.  391  E ;  be- 
leaguered by  Achilles,  Protag. 
340  A  (cp.  Rep.  3.  391  B). 

Scamandrius,  =  Astyanax,  Crat.  392 
B  foil. 

Scellius,  father    of  Aristocrates, 

Gorg.  472  B. 
Scepticism,  danger  of.  Rep.  7.  538, 

539- 

Schools,  manners  attended  to  in, 
Protag.  325  E  ;  situation  of  (in 
the  Model  City),  Laws  6.  764  C  ; 
7,  804  C  :  —  subjects  taught  in 
Greek  schools,  Protag.  326 ; 
Laws  7.  810,  811.  {See  Educa- 
tion.) 

Science  (fVio-T^/ii»;),  distinguished 
from  the  object  of  science,Charm. 
166;  compared  with  the  senses, 
ib.  167 ;  requires  a  subject- 
matter,  ib.  168  ;  teaches  that  we 
know,  not  what  we  know,  ib. 
170 ;  universal,  Laches  198  D  ;  a 
division  of  the  intellectual  world. 
Rep.  7-  533  E  (cp.  6.  511); 
science  and  imitation.  Soph.  267  ; 
— is  there  a  science  of  science  ? 
Charm.  167  ;— science  of  good 
and  evil,  ib.  174;  of  government, 
found  in  a  few  only,  Statesm.  292, 
293,  297  ;  of  the  king  or  states- 
man, ib.  259,  309-31 1  ;— Sciences 
distinguished  by  their  objects. 
Charm.    171;     Rep.   4-  438; 


Index. 


505 


changes  in  the  sciences,  Symp. 
208  A ;  not  to  be  studied  with  a 
view  to  utility  only,  Rep.  7.  527 
A,  529,  530  ;  their  unity,  ib.  531  ; 
use  hypotheses,  ib.  533  ;  correla- 
tion of,  ib.  537 ;  divided  into 
practical  and  intellectual,  Statesm. 
258 ;  subordination  of,  ib.  304  ; 
are  many,  Phil.  14  A  ;  pure  and 
impure,  ib.  56  ;  exact  and  inex- 
act, ib.  56-58,  61  E  ;  in  relation 
to  good,  ib.  66. 

Scirrhon,  threw  travellers  from  the 
rocks,  Theaet.  169  A. 

Scopas,  son  of  Creon,  Protag.  339  A. 

Scratching,  to  be  regarded  as  a 
pleasure  ?  Gorg.  494  C  ;  Phil.  46 

A,  51  D. 

Scrutinies  at  the  election  of  officers. 
Laws  6.  753  E,  755  D,  756  E, 
759  C,  760  A,  763  E,  76s  D,  766 

B,  767  D  (cp.  12.  947  E). 
Sculpture,  must  only  express  the 

image  of  the  good.  Rep.  3.  401 
B  ;  painting  of,  ib.  4.  420  D  ; 
Laws  2. 668  E  ;  illusion  in.  Soph  . 
235  E  ;  —  sculpture  in  Egypt, 
Laws  2.  657  A. 

Scylla,  Rep.  9.  588  C. 

Scythia,  invaded  by  Darius,  Gorg. 
483  D;  Menex.  239  E: — Scy- 
thian cavalry.  Laches  191  A,  B  ; — 
Anacharsis  the  Scythian,  Rep. 
10.  600  A;  —  Scythians  count 
those  '  the  bravest  of  men  who 
have  gold  in  their  own  skulls,' 
Euthyd.  299  E  ;  characterized  by 
spirit  or  passion,  Rep.  4.  435  E  ; 
drink  unmixed  wine.  Laws  1.637 
D,  E  ;  use  both  hands  alike,  ib. 
7.  795  A  ;  nomads,  Eryx.  400  B, 
D. 

Sea,  the,  a  dangerous  neighbour, 

Laws  4.  704. 
Search,  right  of,  Laws  12.  954. 
Seasons,  the,  Symp.    188 ;  have 

undergone  many  changes  in  the 

course  of  ages.  Laws  6.  782  A. 
Security  against  wrong,  difficulty  of 

obtaining,  Laws  8.  829  A. 


Sedition,  causes  of,  Laws  3.  690  D  ; 

punishment  of,  ib.  9.  856. 
Seeds,  touched  by  the  ox's  horn. 

Laws  9.  853  C. 
Selene,  meaning  of  the  name,  Crat. 

409  B. 

Self-conceit,  Phaedr.  237  C  ;  Apol. 
21,  22,  29  A  ;  Phil.  48  D  ;  Laws 
5.  727  B,  732  A;  9.  863  C; 
Soph.  230  : — self-consistency  in 
art.  Laws  5.  746  D  (cp.  Gorg. 
503  E) : — self-contradiction,  evil 
of,  Gorg.  482  : — self-control,  ib. 
4g2  ;  Laws  3.  696  ;  necessary  in 
love,  Phaedr.  237  E,  256  (cp. 
Temperance)  :  — self  -  deception, 
Crat.  428  D  : — self-defence,  the 
state  must  have  the  power  of. 
Laws  8.  829,  830  (cp.  7.  814  A)  ; 
not  lawful  against  parents,  ib.  9. 
869  B  ;  nor  against  a  stranger,  ib. 

879  D  ;  when  allowed,  ib.  874  C, 

880  A  (cp.  Rep.  5.  465  A) :— self- 
existence,  Tim.  51 ;  Theaet.  153  E, 
157  B;  Phil.  53;  self-existent, 
1  Alcib.  129  : — self-government, 
Gorg.  491  :■ — self-indulgence  in 
men  and  states.  Rep.  4.  425 
E  :  —  self-interest,  the  natural 
guide  of  man,  ib.  2.  359  B  : — 
self-knowledge,  not  =  knowing 
what  you  know  and  what  you 
do  not  know,  Charm.  169  ;  the 
proper  study  of  man,  Phaedr. 
230  A;  =  knowledge  of  the  soul, 
I  Alcib.  130,  131,  133  : — self-love, 
the  source  of  all  offences.  Laws 
5.  731  E  : — self-made  men  bad- 
company,  Rep.  I.  330  C  : — self- 
mastery,  ib.  4.  430  E  ;  Laws  i. 
626  E  foil. ;  8.  840  ;  i  Alcib.  122 
A  :  —  self-moved,  =  first  prin- 
ciple. Laws  10.  895  ;  self-moving 
=  hfe,  ibid.  (cp.  Phaedr.  245  C) ; 
self-motion,  Tim.  88  E  ;  Statesm. 
269  E  ;  the  essence  of  the  soul, 
Phaedr.  245  E  :  —  self-reliance, 
Menex.  248  A  ;— self-respect,  ib. 
247  A:  —  self-sufficiency  of  the 
good  man.  Lysis  215;  necessary 


5o6 


Index. 


in  the  state,  Laws  5.  738  D  : — 
self-will  in   children,   must  be 
mastered,  ib.  7.  793  E. 
Selfishness  the  greatest  evil,  Laws 
5-  731  E. 

Selymbria,  Herodicus  of,  Protag. 
316  E. 

Sensation  (ai'o-^ijo-is),  origin  of,  Tim. 
42  A,  43  ;  not  the  test  of  truth 
(against  Protagoras),  Theaet.  152 
A,  160-162,  171  E  ;  Heraclitean 
theory  of,  ib.  156,  182  ;  sensation 
and  knowledge,  ib.  163  ;  sensa- 
tion and  reflection,  ib.  186;  sen- 
sation and  power,  Laws  10.  902 
C.    Cp.  Perception. 

Sense,  objects  of,  Charm.  167  ; 
Rep.  7.  523;  Theaet.  156  D, 
185  ;  knowledge  given  by,  imper- 
fect, Phaedo  75  ;  Rep.  7.  523  ; 
10.  602  (cp.  Phil.  38  C,  42 
A) ;  sense  and  intellect.  Rep.  7. 
524 ;  perceptions  of  sense,  Tim. 
66  ;  sense  and  thought  compared, 
Theaet.  188;— the  senses  inac- 
curate witnesses,  Phaedo  65, 83  A ; 
cannot  give  abstractions,  ib.  65, 
66,  79  ;  classed  among  faculties. 
Rep.  5.  477  C  ;  are  not  discon- 
nected in  us,  Theaet.  184  D. 

Sentence,  the,  Soph.  262  ;  false  and 
true  sentences,  ib.  263. 

Separation  (universal),  irrational, 
Soph.  259,  260. 

Sepulchres,  apparitions  at,  Phaedo 
81  C ;  regulations  respecting. 
Laws  12.  958  D  folL 

Seriphian,  story  of  Themistocles 
and  the,  Rep.  i.  329  E. 

Servant,  the  bad,  cannot  make  a 
good  master,  Laws  6.  762  E ; — 
old  family  servants,  Rep.  8.  549 
E  ;— classes  of  servants,  Statesm. 
289. 

Service,  kinds  of,  Statesm.  289,  290 ; 
— service  of  the  gods  and  of  our 
elders,  honourable,  Laws  6.  762 
E  ; — of  the  state,  ought  to  be 
performed  without  taking  of  gifts, 
ib.  12.  955  : — military  service,  ib. 


943;  age  for,  ib.  6.  760  B, 
785. 

Servitude,  lowers  human  character. 
Laws  7.  791  E. 

Sex  in  the  world  below,  Rep.  10. 
618  B  : — Sexes  to  follow  the 
same  training,  ib.  5.  451,  466; 
Laws  7.  805  ;  equality  of,  advan- 
tageous, Rep.  5.  456,  457  ;  rela- 
tion between,  ib.  458  foil, ;  Laws 
8.  835  E;  freedom  of  intercourse 
between,  in  a  democracy.  Rep. 
8.  563  B  ;  separation  of  (for  pur- 
poses of  instruction).  Laws  7. 
794  C.    Cp.  Women. 

Sexual  desires.  Rep.  5. 458  E  ;  Laws 
6.  783  A;  8.  835  E. 

Shades  and  bodies,  Laws  12.  959 
(cp.  Phaedo  81). 

Shadows,  Rep.  6.  510  A;  Soph. 
266  D  ; — knowledge  of  shadows 
(elKuaUi),  one  of  the  faculties  of 
the  soul,  Rep.  6.  5 1 1  E  ;  7. 533  E. 

Shame  and  fear.  Rep.  5.  465  A; 
Laws  2.  671  C. 

Shamelessness  (dviao-p^ui'Tta),  Laws 

3.  701  B. 

Shepherd,  the  analogy  of,  with  the 
ruler,  Rep.  i.  343,  345  ;  Statesm. 
275  (cp.  Theaet.  174  D  ;  Laws 
5-  735) ; — ihe  Divine  Shepherd, 
Statesm.  271,  275,  276  (cp.  Crit. 
109  B):— shepherds,  Rep.  2.  370; 
Statesm.  275,  276  ;  the  survivors 
of  the  deluge,  a  few  shepherds. 
Laws  3.  377  foil,  (cp,  Crit.  109  D). 

Ship,  comparison  of  the  state  to  a, 
Statesm.  302  A  ;  Laws  6.  758  A. 

Ship-building,  woods  used  in,  Laws 

4.  705  C. 

Shipwright,  the  lawgiver  compared 

to  a,  Laws  7.  803  A. 
Shoemaking,  Theaet.  146  D,  147 

I  Alcib.  125  A,  128,  129. 
Shopkeepers,  necessary  in  the  state. 

Rep.  2.  371;  Laws  11.  918  (<^«/ 

cp.  Laws  4.  705  A). 
Short  sight.  Rep.  2.  368  D. 
Shrines, forbidden  in  private  houses, 

Laws  10.  910. 


Index. 


507 


Sibyl,  the,  Phaedr.  244  B. 

Sicily,  rivers  of  mud  in,  Phaedo  1 1 1 
D  ;  '  can  tell  of  Charondas,'  Rep. 
10.  599  E ;  Athenians  killed  in, 
Menex.  242  E  ; — spectators  are 
judges  in  Sicilian  theatres.  Laws 

2.  659  B  ;  —  Sicilian  cookery, 
Gorg.  518  B;  Rep.  3.  404  D  ;— 
Sicilian  philosophy,  Soph.  242 
E  ; — the '  Sicilian  tale,'  Gorg.  493 
A ; — hostility  of  the  Sicilians  to 
the  Athenians,  Eryx.  392. 

Sight,  Laches  190  A;  Euthyd.  300; 
Tim.  45  B  foil.;  Theaet.  156,  182 
D,  184,  185;  the  keenest  of  our 
senses,  Phaedr.  250  D  (cp.  Phaedo 
65  A) ;  placed  in  the  class  of  fa- 
culties. Rep.  5.  477  C  ;  requires 
in  addition  to  vision  and  colour, 
a  third  element,  light,  ib.  6.  507; 
the  most  wonderful  of  the  senses, 
ibid.  (cp.  Laws  12.  961  U);  com- 
pared to  mind.  Rep.  6.  508 ;  7. 
532  A ;  illusions  of,  ib.  7.  523 ; 
10.  602,  603  D  ;  Phil.  38  D,  42 
A;  Theaet  157  E  (cp.  Phaedo 
65  A);  sight  and  knowledge, 
Theaet.  163,  164,  165  B ;  sight 
and  opinion,  Phil.  38  ;  pleasures 
of  sight,  ib.  51  : — the  world  of 
sight.  Rep.  7.  517. 

Sign,  the,  of  Socrates,  Euthyd.  273 
A ;  Phaedr.  242  C ;  Euthyph.  3 
B;  Apol.  31  C,  40  A;  Rep.  6. 
496  C  ;  1  Alcib.  103, 105  E,  124  C. 

Silenus,  Socrates  compared  to  a 
figure  of,  Symp.  215  A,  216 
D,  221  E  ;  imitated  in  Bacchic 
dances.  Laws  7.  815  C. 

Silver,  mingled  by  the  God  in  the 
auxiliaries,  Rep.  3.  415  A  (cp. 
416  E;  8.  547  A);— [and  gold] 
not  allowed  to  the  guardians,  ib. 

3.  416E;  4.419,4220;  5.464D; 
Tim.  18  B  (cp.  Rep.  8.  543);  un- 
known in  primitive  times.  Laws  3. 
679  B  ;  not  to  be  possessed  in  the 
Model  City,  5.  742  A,  743  D 
(cp.  746A);  not  to  be  offered  to 
the  Gods,  ib.  12.  955  E. 


Simile  in  multis,  or  '  common  no- 
tion,' Meno  74. 

Simmias,  the  Theban,  cause  of 
more  speeches  than  any  one 
living,  Phaedr.  242  B  ;  has 
brought  money  for  Socrates'  es- 
cape, Crito  45  B  ;  an  interlocutor 
in  the  Phaedo,  Phaedo  passim ; 
a  believer  in  the  doctrine  of  ideas, 
ib.  74  B,  76  E ;  his  earnestness 
in  enquiry,  ib.  85  C  ;  regards  the 
soul  as  a  harmony,  ib.  85  E  foil. 

Simois,  summoned  by  Scamander 
to  aid  him,  Protag.  340  A. 

Simonides,  a  Sophist  in  disguise, 
Protag.  316  D  ;  a  poem  of,  criti- 
cized, ib.  339  A-347  A ;  his  defi- 
nition of  justice  discussed,  Rep. 
I.  331  D-335  E;  a  sage,  ib.  335 
E. 

Simplicity,  the  first  principle  of 
education.  Rep.  3.  397  foil,  400 
E,  404;  Laws  7.  812;— the  two 
kinds  of  simplicity.  Rep.  3. 400  E  ; 
— simplicity  of  the  good  man,  ib. 
409  A  ; — ^simplicity  in  diet,  ib.  8. 
559  C  (cp.  3.  404  D) ;— in  primi- 
tive society,  Crit.  109  D  ;  Laws  3. 
679  C  (cp.  Statesm.  271  D ;  Laws 
12.  948  B); — in  music,  see  Music. 

Sin,  punishment  of,  Rep.  2.  363 ; 
10.  614  foil.  See  Hades,  World 
below. 

Sinews,  Tim.  74,  75. 

Singing  masters,  Laws  2.  665  E. 

Siphons  of  wool,  Symp.  175  D. 

Siren,  Socrates  compared  to  a, 
Symp.  216  A  ; — Sirens  have  been 
laid  under  the  spells  of  Pluto, 
Crat.  403  D ;  harmony  of  the 
Sirens,  Rep.  10.  617  B. 

Sisyphus,  Apol.41  C;  suffers  punish- 
ment in  the  world  below,  Gorg. 
525  E. 

Skill  and  rhetoric,  Gorg.  455,  458 

E  foil.,  514. 
Skilled    person,   the,   cannot  err 

(Thrasymachus),    Rep.    I.  340 

D. 

Skin,  Tim.  76. 


5o8 


Index. 


Skull,  Tim.  74  A  :— Scythians  drink 
out  of  skulls,  Euthyd.  299  E. 

Slavery,  more  to  be  dreaded  than 
death.  Rep.  3.  387  A ;  slavery  of 
Hellenes,  condemned,  ib.  5.  469  ; 
opposite  views  about,  Laws  6. 
776-778. 

Slaves,  helpless  against  injustice, 
Gorg.  483  B ;  the  uneducated 
man  harsh  towards.  Rep.  8.  549 
A ;  enjoy  great  freedom  in  a 
democracy,  ib.  563  B ;  always 
inclined  to  rise  against  their 
masters,  ib.  9.  578  C ;  have  often 
been  better  than  brethren  or  sons, 
Laws  6.  776  E  ;  untrustworthy 
as  a  class,  ibid. ;  ought  not  to  be 
of  one  nation  or  speak  the  same 
language,  ib.  jyj  D  ;  ought  to  be 
more  justly  treated  than  equals, 
ibid. ;  must  receive  virtue  from 
their  masters,  ib.  E  ;  punishment 
of  slaves,  ibid.,  793  E  ;  ought  to 
be  addressed  only  in  the  language 
of  command,  ib.  778  A : — Slave 
who  kills  his  master,  ib.  9.  868  (cp. 
872,  879  E) ;  who  strikes  a  free- 
man, ib.  882  ;  the  slave  who  pre- 
vents an  assault  upon  a  parent, 
enfranchised ;  he  who  does  not, 
scourged,  ib.  881  C ;  punish- 
ment of  the  slave  who  takes  up 
a  treasure  which  is  not  his  own, 
r'^.  1 1. 914  C  ; — killing  of  slaves, /i^. 
9.865,872;  slaves  to  inform  under 
penalty  of  death,  ib.  11.  914  A; 
runaway  slaves,  ib.  E ;  sale  of 
diseased  slaves,  ib.  916 ;  children 
of  slaves,  ib.  930  ;  injury  done  by 
slaves,  ib.  936  C  ; — the  runaway 
slave  of  Hippocrates,  Protag.  310 
C ; — a  slave  killed  by  neglect,  Eu- 
thyph.  4 ; — Meno's  slave  speaks 
Greek,  Meno  82  A ;— employments 
of  slaves,  Lysis  208  ;  slaves  as 
tutors,  ib.  C,  223  ;  Laws  7.  808  D  ; 
I  Alcib.  122  B  (cp.  Symp.  183  D); 
slave  doctors.  Laws  4.  720 ;  9. 
857  D  ;— [proverbial]  the  'Carian 
slave,'  Laches  187  B;  Euthyd.  285 


B  ;  'the  Mysian,'  Gorg.  521  B  ; 
Theaet.  209  B ;  '  the  slaves'  cut 
of  hair,'  i  Alcib.  120  B. 

Sleep,  Tim.  45  E  ;  much,  not  re- 
quired, Laws  7.  808  B. 

Sleeping  and  waking,  Theaet.  158. 

Slinging,  Laws  8.  834  A. 

Smallness  and  greatness,  Phaedo 
96  E,  loi  A,  102  C  ;  Rep.  4.  438 
B;  5-479B;  7-523,  524;  9-S75C; 
10.  602  D,  606  C  ;  Parm.  149  E, 
161;  Statesm.  283 ;— absolute 
smallness,  Parm.  131  D,  150. 

Smell,  Tim.  66  C  ;  Theaet.  1 56  B  ; 
pleasures  of.  Rep.  9.  584  B  ;  Phil. 
51  E. 

Smicrion,  (imaginary)  father  of 
Hermogenes,  Crat.  429  E. 

Snow,  Tim.  59  E. 

Snubnosedness,  Theaet.  209  B. 

Society,  origin  of,  Protag.  320,  322  ; 
Laws  3.  676  foil.    Cp.  '  State.' 

Socrates. 

C/tarmides,  returns  from  Poti- 
daea,  153  A;  his  interest  in 
philosophy  and  youth,  ibid. ;  his 
charm  for  the  headache,  1 56  B 
foil. ;  his  dream  of  the  reign  of 
knowledge,  1 73  A ;  his  self-depre- 
ciation, ib.  175  C. 

Lysis,  understands  love,  204 
B  ;  his  passion  for  friends,  211 
D  foil. ;  his  oath  by  the  T>og,ib.  E. 

Laches,  his  reputation,  180  C; 
his  father,  181  A;  at  Delium,  ib. 
B  ;  has  had  no  teachers,  186  C  ; 
his  poverty,  ibid. ;  his  method 
of  examination,  187  E,  188  A; 
his  humour,  196  D,  E  ;  proposes 
to  go  to  school,  200  E,  201  A. 

Protagoras,  the  lover  of  Alci- 
biades,  309  A  ;  his  memory,  334 
D  ;  cannot  make  long  speeches, 
ib.  C  ;  will  not  choose  an  arbiter 
of  discourse,  338  ;  calls  Prodicus 
to  his  aid,  340 ;  criticizes  a  poem 
of  Simonides,  343  foil.;  thinks 
talk  about  the  poets  common- 
place, 347  C  ;  sums  up  the  argu- 
ment, 361. 


Index. 


509 


Euthydemus,  talking  at  the 
Lyceum,  271  A ;  intends  going 
to  school  to  Euthydemus,  272 
B  ;  his  sign,  273  A  ;  his  care  for 
youth,  275  A,  306  C  ;  his  view  of 
verbal  discussions,  278  A ;  gives 
a  sample  of  the  exhortations 
which  he  prefers,  278-283,  288  ; 
pacifies  Ctesippus  and  offers 
himself  to  the  Sophists,  285  C  ; 
not  wise,  295  B  ;  quotes  mytho- 
logy, 297  C  ;  his  religion,  302  C  ; 
his  irony,  303  C  ;  makes  a  speech 
in  praise  of  the  Sophists,  ibid. ; 
defends  philosophy,  307  A. 

Cratyhis,  a  prophet,  396  D  ; 
his  humour,  407  D,  411  A;  is 
afraid  of  the  gods,  407  D,  408  D ; 
his  oath  by  the  Dog,  411  A ;  his 
enquiiy  concerning  justice,  413 
A ;  frightened  at  his  own  wisdom, 
428  D. 

P/iaedries,  his  oath  by  the  Dog, 
228  B  ;  never  wears  sandals,  229 
A ;  a  stranger  in  Attica,  230  D  ; 
knows  nothing,  235  C ;  inspired, 
238  D,  262  D  ;  his  sign,  242  C  ; 
has  enough  religion  for  his  needs, 
ibid. ;  his  humour  in  parodying 
names,  261  B  (cp.  244  A) ;  has  no 
skill  in  rhetoric,  262  D  ;  a  great 
lover  of  generalization  and  divi- 
sion, 266  B  ;  his  religious  feeling, 
273  E,  279  B  ;  his  power  of  inven- 
tion, 275  B. 

Ion,  envies  the  profession  of 
a  rhapsode,  530  B  ;  a  common 
man,  who  only  speaks  the  truth, 
532  E. 

Symposiujn,  does  not  com- 
monly wear  sandals,  174  A  ;  goes 
to  Agathon's  supper,  ib.  B ;  his 
fits  of  abstraction,  ib.  D,  175  A ; 
has  a  knowledge  of  love,  177  E  ; 
his  love  of  talk,  194  D;  cannot 
praise  love,  but  will  speak  the 
truth,  199  A,  B ;  his  capacity 
for  drinking,  214  A;  like  the 
masks  of  Silenus,  215  A,  216  D, 
221  E;  like  Marsyas  or  some 


great  flute-player,  215  C,  216  D  ; 
power  of  his  conversation,  215  E, 
216  A;  his  virtues,  216  E;  his 
temperance  with  Alcibiades,  217 
A  foil. ;  his  conduct  at  Potidaea, 
219  E,  220  A;  his  powers  of 
thought,  220  C ;  his  conduct  at 
DeHum,  221  A ;  talks  only  of 
pack-asses,  etc.,  ib.  E. 

Meno,  does  not  know  what 
virtue  is,  71  B  ;  has  a  bad  me- 
mory, ib.  C ;  has  a  weakness  for 
the  fair,  76  C ;  compared  by 
Meno  to  a  torpedo-fish,  80  A; 
illustrates  the  argument  by  ques- 
tioning Meno's  slave,  82  foil. ;  his 
earnestness  in  enquiry,  86  E. 

Euthyphro,  accused  by  Mele- 
t  us  as  a  maker  of  gods,  3  A  ;  his 
sign,  ib.  B  ;  a  neologian,  ibid. ; 
has  a  habit  of  pouring  himself 
out  to  everybody,  ib.  D  ;  will  be 
a  disciple  of  Euthyphro,  5  A ; 
averse  to  mythology,  6  D ;  a 
descendant  of  Daedalus,  1 1  B. 

Apology,  has  only  the  elo- 
quence of  truth,  17  B  ;  has  never 
appeared  in  a  court  of  law,  ib.  D ; 
his  worst  slanderers,  18  B  ;  the 
accusation  against  him,  19  B; 
his  views  on  natural  philosophy, 
ib,  C  ;  takes  no  money,  ib.  D,  31 
C,  33  A ;  is  no  teacher,  20  C ; 
declared  by  the  oracle  to  be  the 
wisest  of  men,  21  A;  examines 
the  politicians,  ib.  C ;  the  poets, 
22  A ;  the  artisans,  ib.  D ;  his 
obedience  to  the  god,  ib.  A ;  his 
enemies  and  poverty,  23  B,  31 
C  ;  his  connexion  with  Athenian 
youth,  23  C  ;  questions  Meletus, 
24  B,  28  A ;  has  no  terror  of 
death,  28  B,  37  B;  at  Potidaea, 
Amphipolis,  and  Delium,  28  E ; 
will  continue  to  teach,  29  D  ;  has 
a  divine  mission,  30  A ;  a  gad- 
fly, ib.  E;  his  sign,  31  C,  40  A; 
his  reason  for  not  becoming  a 
poHtician,  31  C  ;  in  office  (Argi- 
nusae),  32  B  ;  would  not  help  to 


Index. 


bring  Leon  from  Salamis,  ib.  C ; 
his  disciples,  33  E,  34  A ;  will 
not  bring  his  children  into  court, 
34  C  ;  his  conviction,  36  A  ;  pro- 
poses his  penalty,  ib.  E,  38  B ; 
his  view  of  death,  37  B,  39  A,  40 
C  ;  his  accusers  will  be  punished, 

39  C  ;  his  death  a  gain  to  him, 

40  B  ; — sons  of  Socrates,  34  D, 

41  E. 

Crifo,  his  cheerfulness  at  the 
prospect  of  death,  43  B ;  his 
dream,  44  A  ;  his  view  of  the 
world  and  the  good  man,  ib. 
C  ;  devotion  of  his  friends,  45 
B ;  will  obey  reason  only,  46 
B  ;  regards  the  opinions  of  the 
good,  47  A  ;  values  only  the  good 
life,  48  A ;  will  not  return  evil 
for  evil,  49  C ;  his  regard  for 
the  laws,  50  B ;  his  patriotism, 
51  A;  never  left  Athens,  52  B, 

53  A ;  his  view  of  a  future  life, 

54  B. 

P/iaedo,h\s  death  delayed,  58  A, 
B  ;  his  calmness,  tb.  E  ;  friends 
present  at  his  death,  59  B ;  last 
morning  of  his  life,  ib.  D  foil. ; 
his  wife  and  children,  60  A,  116 
B ;  makes  poetry,  60  D  ;  his 
dream,  ib.  E  ;  his  view  of  suicide, 
61  D  ;  pleased  with  the  earnest- 
ness of  Cebes,  63  A ;  ready  to 
die,  ib.  B  ;  his  belief  in  a  future 
state,  ib.  C,  69  C,  72  D,  80  C  ; 
has  sought  to  find  a  place  among 
philosophers,  69  D  ;  his  humour, 
77  D,  95  A,  99  A  ;  compares  him- 
self to  a  swan,  85  A  ;  compared  to 
a  general,  89  A ;  plays  with  the 
hair  of  Phaedo,  ib.  B  ;  a  partisan, 
91  B  ;  his  studyof  natural  science, 
96  A  foil.  ;  his  death,  1 1 5  B  foil. ; 
his  last  words,  118. 

Gorgias,  heard  a  speech  of 
Pericles,  455  E,  503  C;  his  love 
of  discussion,  458  A ;  his  oath  by 
the  Dog,  461  A,  466  C,  482  B  ;  his 
way  of  refutation,  471  E,  474  A, 
475  E  ;  alone  in  his  view  of  ty- 


ranny, 472  B  ;  not  a  public  man, 
473  E  ;  as  a  senator,  ibid. ;  a 
lover,  481  D  ;  description  of,  by 
Callicles,  485  E,  486  A ;  always 
talking  about  cooks,  cobblers, 
etc.,  490  E ;  Socrates  of  Fox- 
moor,  495  D  ;  his  humour,  505 
D;  the  only  politician,  521  D; 
his  position  at  Athens,  522  D ; 
anticipates  death,  ibid. ;  his  de- 
fence, ibid. 

Republic,  goes  down  to  the 
Peiraeus  to  see  the  feast  of 
Bendis,  i.  327  ;  detained  by  Pole- 
marchus  and  Glaucon,  ibid. ;  con- 
verses with  Cephalus,  ib.  328-332 ; 
trembles  before  Thrasymachus, 
ib.  336  D  ;  his  irony,  ib.  337  A  ; 
his  poverty,  ib.  D  ;  a  sharper  in 
argument,  ib.  340  D  ;  ignorant  of 
what  justice  is,  ?'(^.354  C ;  his  powers 
of  fascination,  2.  358  A;  requested 
by  Glaucon  and  Adeimantus  to 
praise  justice  per  se,  ib.  367  B  ; 
cannot  refuse  to  help  justice,  ib. 
368  C ;  4. 427  D  ;  his  oath  by  the 
I^og,  3.  399  E  ;  8.  567  E  ;  9.  592 
A ;  hoped  to  have  evaded  dis- 
cussing the  subject  of  women 
and  children,  5.  449,  472,  473  (cp. 
6.  502  E);  his  love  of  truth,  5. 
45 1  A  ;  6.  504 ;  his  power  in 
argument,  6.  487  B  ;  not  unac- 
customed to  speak  in  parables, 
ib.  E  ;  his  sign,  ib.  496  C ;  his 
earnestness  in  behalf  of  philo- 
sophy, 7.  536  B ;  his  reverence 
for  Homer,  10.  595  C,  607  (cp. 
3-  391  A). 

Tiviaeus,  his  feeling  about  the 
state,  Tim.  19  B. 

Parmenides,  his  conversation 
with  Parmenides,  Parm.  127  C; 
a  Spartan  hound,  128  C;  his 
youth,  130  E,  135  D. 

Theaetetus,  his  prediction  about 
Theaetetus,  142  C ;  his  interest 
in  Athenian  youth,  143  D  ;  his 
appearance,  ib.  E,  144  D,  209  C 
(cp.  Statesm.  257  E) ;  a  man  mid- 


Index. 


5" 


wife,  149  A  foil.,  157  D,  160  E, 
184  A,  2lo;  his  sign,  151  A; 
unfair  in  discussion,  167  E  ;  his 
love  of  argument,  169  B;  his 
veneration  for  Parmenides,  183 
E;  not  a  hero  of  dialectic,  197 
A  ;  his  dream  about  letters,  201 
E  foil. ;  goes  to  meet  Meletus, 
210  D. 

Philebus,  considers  wisdom  the 
good,  II  B  ;  has  a  more  than 
human  awe  about  the  names  of 
the  gods,  12  C;  his  method,  16 
A  ;  inspired,  20  B  ;  his  religious 
feeling,  25  B,  61  C. 

Hippias  Mhior,  his  method  of 
argument,  369 ;  knows  nothing, 
372;  dishonest  in  argument,  373  B. 

Alcibiades  /,  the  lover  of  Alci- 
biades,  103 ;  his  sign,  ibid.,  105 
E,  124  C;  claims  descent  from 
Zeus,  121  A. 

Menexeniis,  is  always  making 
fun  of  the  rhetoricians,  235  C. 

Socrates,  the  young,  Theaet.  147  C; 
Soph.  218  B  ;  Statesm.  257  C  ;  a 
person  in  the  Statesman,  passim. 

Softness,  Tim.  62  C. 

Soldiers,  must  form  a  separate  class. 
Rep.  2.  374  (cp.  Tim.  24  B) ;  the 
diet  suited  for.  Rep.  3.  404  D  ; — 
women  to  be  soldiers,  ib.  5.  452, 
466,  471  E  ; — punishment  of  sol- 
diers for  cowardice,  ib.  468  A ; 
Laws  12.  944,  945  ; — soldiers  to 
be  second  in  honour  in  the  state, 
Laws  II.  922  A;— the  life  of  the 
soldier,  ib.  12.  942  (cp.  6.  761- 
763).    Cp.  Guardians,  Warrior. 

Solo-singing,  Laws  6.  764  D  foil. 

Solon,  a  poet,  Charm.  155  A,  157 
E  ;  one  of  the  Seven  Wise  Men, 
Protag.  343  A  ;  had  the  power  of 
gaining  an  immortality  of  author- 
ship, Phaedr.  258  B ;  writer  of 
laws,  ib.  278  C  ;  Laws  9.  858  E  ; 
the  revered  father  of  the  Athenian 
laws,  Symp.  209  D  (cp.  Rep.  10. 
599  E) ;  in  Egypt,  Tim.  22  A;  — 
the  tale  of,  ib.  20  E  foil. ;  Crit. 


108  D  foil.  (cp.  1 10  B) ;  translated 
the  Egyptian  names,  Crit.  113 
A  ;— quoted.  Laches  188  B  ;  Rep. 
7.  536  D.  \The  legal  maxim, 
'  Take  not  tip  that  which  thou 
hast  not  laid  down,'  (Laws  8.  844 
E  ;  II.  913  C)  zj  said  to  be  bor- 
rowed from  the  Solonian  legis- 
lation; and  there  is  a7i  allusion 
to  the  tablets  o?i  which  the  laws 
of  Solon  were  inscribed,  Statesm. 
298  E]. 

Solstice,  the  summer.  Laws  3.  683 
B  ;  6.  767  C  ;  12.  945  E. 

Song,  parts  of.  Rep.  3.  398  D  ;  songs 
for  the  old  men.  Laws  2.  665  ;  7. 
812  B ;  for  men  and  women,  ib. 
7.  802  D  ;  innovations  in,  not  to 
be  permitted,  ib.  798  E,  816  C; 
songs  are  charms  for  the  souls  of 
the  young,  ib.  2.  659  D  : — an  old 
drinking  song  quoted,  Gorg.  451 
E. 

Sons  of  great  men,  inferior  to  their 
fathers,  Laches  179,  180  ;  Protag. 
320,3240  foil.;  Meno93  foil.  (cp. 
Laws  3.  694  D) ; — the  suppositi- 
tious son,  parable  of.  Rep.  7.  537 
E; — the  expelled  son.  Laws  11. 
929. 

Soothsayer,  why  subordinate  to  the 
general,  Laches  198  E.  Cp. 
Diviners,  Prophecy. 

Sophist,  the,  quoted,  Statesm.  284 
B  (cp.  257  A). 

Sophist,  the,  compared  to  the  phy- 
sician, Theaet.  167  A  ;  not  easily 
defined.  Soph.  218;  sophist  and 
angler,  218,  219;  the  sophist 
a  hunter,  ib.  221,  222;  his  art 
defined,  ib.  223  ;  a  money-making 
Eristic,  ib.  225,  226  ;  the  descrip- 
tion of  him,  ib.  231 ;  a  disputer, 
ib.  232  ;  has  only  apparent  know- 
ledge, ib.  233  ;  a  magician  and 
imitator  of  true  being,  ib.  235  ; 
concerned  with  ideas,  ib.  240 ; 
apt  to  conceal  himself  in  the 
darkness  of  not-being,  ib.  254  A, 
260  D  ;   final  description  of  the 


Index. 


sophist,   ib.    265    foil.,  268;— 
sophist,  statesman,  and  philo- 
sopher, Statesm.  257 ;— sophist 
and  politician,  ib.  291,  303  (cp. 
Euthyd.  305,  306) ;— the  public 
the  great  sophist.  Rep.  6.  492  : — 
Sophists,  payment  of.  Laches  186 
B  ;  Protag.  328  B,  348  E  ;  Crat. 
3846,3910;  Meno9iB;  Apol. 
20  A;   Gorg.   519  B,  520  B; 
Theaet.  167  D  ;   Soph.  223  A, 
231  D,  233  B;    I  Alcib.  119  A 
(cp.  Rep.  I.  337.  D) ;  the  only  pro- 
fessors of  moral  improvement, 
Laches  1 86  B  ;  the  character  a 
reproach,  Protag.  312  A,  316  D, 
348  E  (cp.  Mcnogi ;  Phaedr.  257 
D;  Rep. 6. 492 A;  Eryx.399  C); 
what  do  they  teach    Protag.  312, 
318  ;  retailers  of  knowledge,  ib. 
313;   Soph.  223,  224,  231  D; 
their  art  ancient,  but  concealed, 
Protag.  316  D  ;   their  teaching, 
Euthyd.  272,   273,  274;  hold 
lying  impossible,  ib.  284;  Soph. 
260,  261  (cp.  Crat.  429) ;  think 
that  contradiction  cannot  exist, 
Euthyd.  285  ;  are  like  Proteus, 
ib.  288  B ;  on  knowing  and  not 
knowing,  ib.  293  ;  omniscient,  ib. 
294  ;  Soph.  232 ;  deny  relati\'ity, 
Euthyd.  297  ;  sophists  of  mytho- 
logy,/fo'rt'.;  sophists  hold  enquiry 
impossible,MenoSo;  Any tus' view 
of,  ib.  91  ;  as  teachers  of  virtue,  ib. 
92,  95  ;  the  world  in  doubt  about 
their  true  character,  ib.  95  D  ; 
their  view  of  justice,  Rep.  i.  338 
foil. ;  their  verbal  quibbles,  ib. 
340 ;  compared  to  the  feeders  of 
a  beast,     6.  493  ;  incompetent  as 
managers  of  mankind,  Tim.  19  E  ; 
only  argue  out  of  the  superfluity 
of  their  wits,  Theaet.   154  E; 
often  come  from  the  class  of  un- 
believers. Laws  10.   908   D:  — 
Socrates'  advice  to  the  Sophists 
Euthydemus  and  Dionysodorus, 
Euthyd.  303  C  foil. ;— sophisti- 
cal dialectics,  ib.  726  foil.,  284 


foil.,  296  foil. ;— the  'sophistical 
ritual,'  ib.  277  E.  Cp.  Gorgias, 
Hippias,  Prodicus,  Protagoras, 
Thrasymachus,  and  Verbal. 

Sophistry,  Gorg.  465  ;  a  branch  of 
the  art  of  flattery,  ib.  463;  so- 
phistry and  rhetoric,  ib.  520  ;  de- 
fined. Soph.  223  ;  =the  art  which 
retails  knowledge,  ib.  224 ;  =  re- 
futation of  vain  conceit,  ib.  231. 

Sophocles,  supposed  to  discourse 
on  the  art  of  tragedy,  Phaedr. 
268  C  ;  a  remark  of,  quoted.  Rep. 
I.  329  B. 

Sophroniscus,  father  of  Socrates, 
Laches  180  E,  181  A;  Euthyd. 
297  E,  298  B  ;  I  Alcib.  131  E  ;  a 
friend  of  Lysimachus,  Laches  180 
D,  187 D. 

Sorcery,  Laws  11.  933. 

Sorrow,  not  to  be  indulged.  Rep.  3. 
387;  10.  603-606;  Laws  5.  732 
B  ;  7.  792  B,  800  D  ;  Menex.  247 
D  (cp.  Laws  5.  727  D) ;  has  a  re- 
laxing effect  on  the  soul,  Rep.  4. 
430  A  ;  10.  606 ;  a  mingled  pain 
and  pleasure,  Phil.  47  E. 

Sosias,  the  name  an  expression  of  a 
wish,  Crat.  397  B. 

Soul,  the,  has  the  gift  of  prophecy, 
Phaedr.  242  C  (cp.  Tim.  71  E) ; 
knowledge  of,  the  basis  of  rhetoric, 
Phaedr.  271,  273,  277;  has  ends 
and  excellences.  Rep.  i.  353  D; 
beauty  in  the  soul,  ib.  3.  401 ; 
conversion  of  the  soul  from  dark- 
ness to  light,  ib.  7.  518,  521 '(cp. 
Laws  12.  957  E)  ;  the  soul  re- 
quires the  aid  of  calculation  and  in- 
telligence in  order  to  interpret  the 
intimations  of  sense.  Rep.  7.  523, 
524;  10.602;  has  more  truth  and 
essence  than  the  body,  ib.  9.  585 
D  ;  better  in  motion  than  at  rest, 
Theaet.  153  B;  in  relation  to 
the  senses,  ib.  184;  perceives 
universals  by  a  faculty  of  her 
own,  ib.  185  ;  merchandise  of  the 
soul,  Soph.  224  ;  food  of,  ibid. ; 
evil  in,  ib.  227,  228 ;  false  opinion 


Index. 


513 


in,  Statesm.  278;  memory  and  per- 
ception in  the  sou],  Pliil.  34,  38 ; 
ignorance  in,  Laws  3.  6S9 ;  a 
precious  possession,  ib.  5.  726, 
727  ;  honour  of,  ibid. ;  pleasure 
and  the  soul,  ibid. ;  the  sou]  must 
attain  harmony,  ib.  729  ;  the  most 
honourable  part  of  man,  ib.  731 
D,  743  D  ;  passion  in  the  soul, 
ib.  9.  863  ;  the  soul  the  origin  of 
all  things,  ib.  10.  892  A,  895  C, 
899  ;  influence  of  the  soul  on 
character,  ib.  904  ;  soul  and  mind, 
ib.  12.  961  ;  soul  and  man,  i  Alcib. 
130  ;  the  soul  requires  the  know- 
ledge of  the  best,  2  Alcib.  147 
A  : — the  soul  self-moved,  Phaedr. 
245  E;  Laws  10.  896;  12.  966 
E  ;  uncompounded  and  unchang- 
ing, Phaedo  78  ;  origin  of  the 
sou],  Phil.  30 ;  wrongly  supposed 
by  some  to  be  formed  out  of  the 
four  elements.  Laws  10.  891  ; 
=  life,  ib.  89s  (cp.  Phaedo  71) ; 
=  the  cause  of  moral  qualities, 
Laws  10.  896;  =  the  principle 
of  change,  ib.  904  : — better  and 
worse  principles  in  the  soul.  Rep. 
4.  431  ;  the  soul  divided  into 
reason,  spirit,  appetite,  ib.  435- 
442;  6.  504  A;  8.550  A;  9.571, 
580  E,  581  ;  Tim.  69  E-72,  89  E 
(cp.  Laws  9.  863) ;  faculties  of 
the  soul.  Rep.  6.  511  E  ;  7.  533  E 
(cp.  Theaet.  1 85  D,  E) ;  opposi- 
tions in  the  soul.  Rep.  10. 603  D  ; 
Soph.  228  A  ;  Laws  10.  896  D  : — 
two  souls,  a  good  and  evil.  Laws 
10.  896  E  : — disease  in  the  soul, 
worse  than  disease  in  the  body, 
Gorg.  479 ;  the  lame  soul.  Rep.  3. 
402  ;  7.  535 ;  Tim.  44  (cp.  Tim.  87 
E  ;  Soph.  228) ;  the  soul  marred 
by  meanness.  Rep.  6.  495  E  (cp. 
Gorg.  524  E) ;  diseases  of  the 
soul,  Tim.  86 ;  Soph.  228  E  : — 
immortality  of  the  soul,  Phaedr. 
245;  IVIeno  81,  86;  Phaedo  86, 
87,  92  foil.,  ICS  foil. ;  Rep.  10. 
608  foil.  (cp.  6.  498  C);  Tim. 

VOL.  V.  L 


41,  43,  69;  Laws  12.  959  B,  967 
E  ;  doubted,  Phaedo  70  ;  proved 
from  the  nature  of  opposites,  ib. 
71,  103  foil. ;  is  a  process  of  re- 
vival or  successive  birth,  ib.  71 
E,  72  ;  the  argument  of  recollec- 
tion, ib.  73-76  (cp.  Recollection) ; 
immortality  dependent  on  exist- 
ence of  general  ideas,  ib.  76  ;  im- 
mortality ex  parte  post,  ib.  77 
foil.  ;  the  soul  unchangeable,  and 
therefore  akin  to  the  divine  and 
eternal,  ib.  79  foil. ;  a  harmony 
and  so  perishable  (Simmias),  ib. 

86  ;  figure  of  the  weaver's  coat,  ib. 

87  ;  the  soul  not  like  a  harmony, 
because  it  does  not  admit  of 
degrees,  ib.  93  ;  number  of  souls 
does  not  increase,  Rep.  10.  611 
A  ;  the  soul  not  eternal  but  inde- 
structible. Laws  10.  904  •  A  : — 
condition  of  the  soul  after  death, 
Crat.  403  ;  Phaedr.  249 ;  Phaedo 
107,  108,  113,  114;  Gorg.  523- 
525  ;  Rep.  10.  614 foil. ;  Laws  10. 
904  D;  12.959; — transmigration 
of  souls,  Phaedr.  248,  249 ;  IVIeno 
81  foil. ;  Phaedo  70,  81 ;  Rep.  10. 
617;  Tim.  42,  91 D  foil. ;  Laws  10. 
903  E,  904  E  : — the  soul  incor- 
porate in  the  body,  Phaedr.  246  C ; 
Soph.  247 ;  must  see  true  being 
before  it  can  take  a  human  form, 
Phaedr.  248-250 ;  imprisoned  or 
entombed  in  the  body,  ib.  250; 
Phaedo  81,  82,  83  (cp.  Crat.  400 
C,  403  E) ;  opposition  of  soul  and 
body,  Phaedo  80,  94 ;  the  soul 
superior  and  prior  to  the  body, 
ibid.,  ibid. ;  Tim.  34  E  ;  Laws  10. 
S92  A,  896;  12.  959  A,  966  E, 
967  B,  E  ;  I  Alcib.  130  A  ;  when 
impure  does  not  wholly  lose  the 
corporal  element,  Phaedo  81  foil, 
(cp.  Rep.  10. 61 1)  ;  the  fair  soul  in 
the  fair  body,  Rep.  3. 402  D;  Tim. 
87  E;  sympathy  of  soul  and  body, 
Rep.  5.  462  D,  464  B  ;  symmetry 
of  soul  and  body,  Tim.  87  E  ;  the 
connexion  of  soul  and  body  not 

1 


I 


5 1 4  Index. 


better  than  the  dissolution  of 
them,  Laws  8.  828  E  : — the  soul 
compared  to  a  charioteer  and 
pair  of  horses,  Phaedr.  246  foil.; 
to  a  vessel,  Gorg.  493 ;  to  a 
many-headed  monster.  Rep.  9. 
588  ;  to  the  images  of  the  sea-god 
Glaucus,  ib.  10.61 1 : — like  the  eye, 
ib.  6.  508  ;  7.  518  : — like  a  book, 
in  which  the  feelings  and  percep- 
tions are  written,  Phil.  38  E  : — 
harmony  of  the  soul,  produced  by 
temperance.  Rep.  4.  430, 442, 443 
(cp.  9.  591  D  ;  Laws  2.  653  B) : — 
eyeof  the  soul,  Phaedo  99  E ;  Rep. 
7.  518  D,  527  E,  533  D,  540  A:— 
the  soul's  wings,  Phaedr.  251  : — 
the  soul's  horses,  253  D  foil. : — 
the  soul's  painter,  Phil.  39  : — five 
forms  of  the  state  and  soul,  Rep. 
4-  4*45  ;  5-  449;  9-  577:— proces- 
sion of  the  souls,  Phaedr.  247 ; 
order  of,  ib.  248  : — creative  souls, 
Symp.  209: — the  world-soul,  Tim. 
30  B,  34  E ;  soul  and  universe, 
ib.  90  (cp.  Phil.  30 ;  Laws  10. 
896-898) : — souls  of  the  sun  and 
stars,  Tim.  41  ;  Laws  10.  899 ; 
12.  967  A. 
Soul.  \The  psychology  of  Plato, 
like  the  rest  of  his  philosopliical 
teaching,  is  not  to  be  regarded  as 
a  formal  system  to  which  he 
always  adhered.  The  progress  of 
thought  ifi  his  viitid  is  reflected 
in  the  Dialogues,  while  their 
dra7natic  form  and  tentative 
character  cause  some  difficulty  iti 
distinguishing  the  opiniotts  which 
he  himself  would  have  main- 
tained. A  llowing for  this  eletnent 
of  uncertainty,  his  conchcsions 
may  be  summed  tip  as  follows  : — 
(l)  The  sot/ 1  is  prior  to  the  body, 
both  i7i  creation  and  iti  order  of 
thought,  although  in  our '  random 
way  of  talking^  we  sometimes 
invert  the  relation  between  them 
(Tim.  34  E).  77/1?  body  is  in- 
tended by  nature  to  be  its  servant, 


and  to  listen  to  its  commands  and 
admonitioTts.  It  is  ifnmaterial, 
not  made,  '  as  the  physical  philo- 
sophers say,'  after  the  fotir 
elements  and  by  their  aid  (Laws 
10.  891) ;  and,  being  akin  to  the 
divine,  it  is  ever  desirous  to  escape 
from  the  body  in  which  it  is 
^encaged'  or  ^entombed,'  a?td  to 
go  to  its  hojne  with  God. — (2) 
'  There  are  two  souls^  Plato  says 
in  the  Laws,  a  good  and  an  evil.' 
Such  a  dualism  is  not  found  else- 
where in  his  W7-itings,  and  it  is 
not  easy  to  apprehe7id  his  precise 
meaniftg.  But  he  probably  wishes 
in  this  tnattner  to  account  for  the 
existence  of  evil  in  the  wo7id,just 
as  i7i  the  Tit/iaeus  he  explai7ts  the 
wicked7iess  of  man  by  the  hypo- 
thesis of  a  '  77tortal  soul'  which  is 
the  wo7-k  of  the  i7iferior  Gods,  and 
in  which  the  passions  and  desires 
have  their  seat  (see  s.  v.  God). — 
(3)  The  division  of  the  soul  itito 
three  ele77ie7its,  reaso7i,  spirit, 
appetite,  is  first  clearly  stated  iti 
the  Republic,  where  it  is  7/iade  the 
7/ieans  of  classifying  the  different 
fo7-77is  of  gover7i7netit.  Virtue  is 
the  ha7-77tony  or  accord  of  these 
eletnents,  when  the  dictates  of 
reason  are  enforced  by  passion 
agai7ist  the  appetites,  while  vice  is 
the  a7ia7xhy  or  discord  of  the  said 
whe7i  passion  and  appetite  joni 
in  7-ebellion  against  reaso7i. — (4) 
Regarded  fro77i  the  intellectual 
side  the  soul  7/iay  be  a7ialy  zed  into 
fojir  facilities,  reaso7i,  undcr- 
sta7tdi7ig,  faith,  knowledge  of 
shadows.  They  correspottd  to  the 
four  divisions  of  ktiowledge,  two 
for  intellect  a7id  two  foropi7tion; 
a7idthus  arises  the  Plato7iic  'pro- 
portion' bei7ig  :  beco77mig  : :  in- 
tellect :  opifiion,  and  science  : 
belief  :  :  tinder  standing  :  know- 
ledge of  shadows.  These  divisio7is 
are  partly  real,  partly  fort/ted  by 


Index. 


515 


a  logical  process,  which,  as  in 
so  many  distinctions  of  ancient 
philosophers,  has  outrun  fact,  and 
are  further  explained  by  the 
allegory  of  the  cave  (Rep.  Book 
vii).  —  (5)  The  pre-existence  of 
the  soul  is  especially  dwelt  upon 
in  the  Meno,  Phaedo,  and 
Phaedrus,  in  the  two  former  of 
which  the  ^  re7nembrance  of  a 
previous  existence^  (avd^vrjo-is)  is 
made  a  proof  of  immortality 
(Meno  86;  Phaedo  73).  It  is 
apparently  alluded  to  in  the  myth 
of  Er  (Rep.  10.  621  A),  where  we 
are  told  that '  the  pilgrims  drank 
the  waters  of  Unmindfulness  j 
the  foolish  took  too  deep  a 
draught,  but  the  wise  were  more 
7noderate.'  In  the  later  dialogues 
it  is  nowhere  mentioned. — C6) 
The  immortality  of  the  soul  is 
chiefly  discussed  in  the  Phaedo 
and  the  Republic,  but  it  occupies 
a  considerable  place  in  many  of 
Plato's  other  writings.  In  the 
Phaedo  the  two  Thebans,  Sim- 
mias  and  Cebes,  admit  that  the 
soul  has  pre-existence,  but  doubt 
that  it  is  immortal.  Sijnmias 
afflr?ns  that  the  soul  and  the  body 
are  related  as  the  harmony  is  to 
the  lyre :  the  harmony  is  invisible 
and  incorporeal,  yet  it  does  not 
survive  the  lyre,  which  is  visible 
and  corporeal.  Cebes  fears  that 
the  soul,  although  she  may  outlive 
many  bodies,  may  be  worn  out  i?t 
the  end,  like  a  garment,  which, 
after  belongi7tg  to  many  owners, 
at  last  perishes  and  decays. 
Socrates  denies  the  assumption 
that  the  soul  is  a  harmony :  for 
( l)  //  is  a  cause,  not  an  effect :  (2) 
it  leads  the  body,  btit  har^nony 
follows  the  instrument:  (3)  it 
does  not  admit  of  degrees :  (4) 
it  allows  of  discord,  as  when 
reason  is  arrayed  against  passion. 
Against   Cebes    he    urges  the 

L  1 


doctrine  of  the '  exclusion  of 
opposites.  Life,  which  is  the 
essential  attribute  of  the  soul, 
excludes  death,  and  therefore 
death  cannot  be  predicated  of  the 
soul. — In  the  Republic  (10.  608), 
Glaucon  hears  with  amazejnent 
Socrates'  confident  belief  in  itn- 
mortality,  although  a  previous 
allusio7i  to  another  state  of  exist- 
ence has  fallen  unheeded  (6.  498 
D) ;  attd  ift  earlier  parts  of  the 
discussion  (e.g.  2.  362 ;  3.  386)  the 
censure  which  is  passed  on  the 
common  representations  of  Hades 
implies  in  itself  some  belief  in  a 
future  life.  The  argument  by 
which  Socrates  seeks  to  prove  the 
iimtiortality  of  the  soul  is  of  a 
purely  verbal  character:  —  All 
things  which  perish  are  destroyed 
by  some  inherent  evil,  but  the  soul 
is  not  destroyed  by  sin,  which  is 
the  evil  proper  to  her,  and  tnust 
therefore  be  immortal. — In  the 
Phaedrus  and  the  Laws  the  soul 
is  said  to  be  self-Jnoved  and  a 
cause  of  ^notion;  and  upon  this 
assertion  the  proof  of  immoj-tality 
is  tnade  to  rest.  But  there  is  a 
curious  passage  in  the  Laws  (10. 
904  B),  which  is  not  apparently 
in  accord  with  the  opinions  which 
Plato  elsewhere  maintains.  '  The 
Kitig  [i.e.  the  Creator]  .  .  .  saw 
that  the  soul  a7id  body,  although 
not,  like  the  Gods  whot/i  the  laws 
recognize,  eternal,  were  i7tde- 
structiblej  for  if  either  of  the7n 
had  bee7i  destroyed,  there  would 
have  been  no  ge7ieratio7i  of  living 
beings' — (7)  The  condition  of  the 
soul  after  death  is  described  by 
Plato  in  several  dialogues  U7tder 
the  for77i  of  7ftyths,  for  which  he 
is  careful  7iot  to  de7na7id  e7itire 
crede7tce.  These  represe7ttations 
agree  i7i  their  7iiai7i  features.  The 
soul  on  her  release  fro77i  the  body 
goes  to  give  account  of  herself 


5i6 


Index. 


before  the  judgment  seat.  The 
righteous  are  sent  to  the  Isles 
of  the  Blessed  J  the  -wicked  go  to 
Tartarus,  and  there  suffer putiish- 
7)ient,  not  hopeless  or  eternal,  but 
duly  propo7-tio7ied  to  their  offefices. 
{In  the  Phaedo  (113  E)  and  the 
Gorgias  (525),  however,  a  few 
great  sinners,  chiefly  kings  and 
potentates,  are  kept  in  Hades  as 
a  salutary  terror  to  others.) 
When  the  penalty  has  bee?!  paid, 
the  soul  must  choose  a  new  life  : 
the  responsibility  of  choice  rests 
on  herself,  and  if  she  has  learnt 
wisdom  in  her  travail  she  secures 
a  better  lot;  but  if  she  persists  in 
folly  and  chooses  unwisely,  she 
takes  a?i  inferior  life  or  even 
assumes  the  form  of  some  lower 
attimal.  There  is  also  a  limit  to 
the  blessedness  of  the  righteous, 
and  when  the  appointed  time 
comes,  they  too  must  make  a  new 
choice.  This  at  least  is  Platds 
usual  statement  {cp.  Phaedr.  249 ; 
Rep.  10.  619  C);  but  in  the 
Phaedo,  Socrates,  who  is  so  soon 
to  die,  consoles  himself  with  the 
thought  that  the  soul  of  the  philo- 
sopher will  live  after  death 
'  altogether  without  the  body ' 
(114  C).— (8)  The  doctrine  of 
the  transmigration  of  souls  was 
probably  adopted  by  Plato  because 
it  agreed,  or  could  be  tnade  to 
agree,  with  the  conviction  which 
he  everywhere  expresses  of  the 
remedial  nature  of  punishtuent. 
It  was  in  all  likelihood  derived 
by  him  from  Oriental  sources,  but 
through  Pythagorean  channels."] 

Sounds,  Tim.  80  A; — in  music,  Rep. 
7.  531  A  ;  Phil.  17. 

Sous  (Rush),  Crat.  412  B. 

Space,  Tim.  52. 

Sparta,  proud.  Laws  6.  753  A ;  walls 
not  approved  of  there,  ib.  778  D  ; 
licence  of  women  at,  ib.  7.  806 
C  (cp.  I.  637  C) :— Spartan  rhe- 


toric, Phaedr.  260  E  : — Spartans 
call  men  '  divine,'  Meno  99  D ; 
drunkenness  not  allowed  among 
them,  Laws  i.  637  A.  Cp.  Lace- 
daemon. 

Speaking,  first  rule  of,  Phaedr.  260. 

Species,  Statesm.  262, 286  E  ;  Phil. 
17; — species  and  genera  not 
rightly  distinguished  by  the 
ancients,  Soph.  267  D  (cp. 
Classes). 

Spectator,  the,  last  in  the  chain  of 
persons  who  derive  inspiration 
from  the  Muses,  Ion  533  E,  535 
E ;  unconsciously  influenced  by 
what  he  sees  and  hears,  Rep. 
10.  605,  606;  Laws  2.  656  A, 
659  C;  —  the  philosopher  the 
spectator  of  all  time  and  exist- 
ence. Rep.  6.  486  A  ;  Theaet.  173 
E  ; — spectators  used  to  determine 
the  victors  by  show  of  hands, 
Laws  2.  659  J3 ;  obliged  to  keep 
silence  in  ancient  Athens,  ib.  3. 
700  :  —  travelling  spectators  (in 
the  Model  City),  ib.  12.  951,  952, 
961  A. 

Speech,  Tim.  47,  75  E  ;  speech  and 
thought,  Soph.  263  (cp.  Language, 
Names) :  —  liberty  of  speech 
among  the  ancient  Persians,  Laws 
3.  694  A  ;  at  Athens,  Protag.  319 
A  ;  Gorg.  461  E. 

Speech,  of  Lysias,  Phaedr.  231-234; 
criticized,  ib.  235  foil.,  263,  264  ;— 
of  Socrates,  ib.  237-241 ;  of 
Socrates  again,  ib.  244-257  ;— 
speech-writing  of  politicians,  ib. 
258  ;— speeches  of  Socrates  and 
Lysias  compared,  ib.  262  foil. ; — 
speeches  ought  to  be  duly  ar- 
ranged, 264 ;  motive  of  thegood 
man  in,  ib.  273  D ;  written  speeches 
condemned,  ib.  275  ;  the  true  art 
of  writing  speeches,  ib.  276 ;  the 
place  of  writing  in  speeches,  ib. 
277  E:— Speech  of  Phaedrus, 
Symp.  178-180;  of  Pausanias, 
ib.  180-185;  of  Eryximachus,  z^. 
186-188;    of  Aristophanes,  il>. 


Index. 


517 


189-193;  of  Agathon,/(5. 195-198; 
of  Socrates,  /(5.2oi-2i2;  of  Alcibi- 
ades,  ib.  214-222  (cp.  Love) : — pro- 
fessional composers  of  speeches, 
Eutliyd.  305  :  —  Speechmaking, 
compared  to  conversation,  like 
the  beating  of  brazen  pots,  Protag. 
329  A  (cp.  Phaedr.  275  E) ;  art  of, 
a  kind  of  enchantment,  Euthyd, 
290  A.  Cp.  Rhetoric,  Writing. 
Spendthrifts,  in  Greek  states.  Rep. 
8.  564. 

Spercheius,  the  river  god.  Rep.  3. 
391  B. 

Sphagia,  Spartans  at,  Menex.  242  C. 

Sphettus,  Lysanias  of,  Apol.  33  E. 

Spirit,  must  be  combined  with 
gentleness  in  the  guardians, 
Rep.  2.  376;  3.  410;  6.  503; 
Tim.  18  A  (cp.  Laws  5.  731  B) ; 
characteristic  of  northern  nations, 
Rep.  4.  435  E  ;  found  in  quite 
young  children,  ib.  441  A  (cp. 
Laws  12.  963  E): — the  spirited 
(or  passionate)  element  in  the 
soul,  Rep.  4.  440  foil. ;  6.  504  A  ; 
8.  550  A  ;  9.  572  A,  580  E  ;  Tim. 
70  A,  89  E;  Laws  9.  863  A; 
must  be  subject  to  the  rational 
part.  Rep.  4.  441  E;  Tim.  30  C, 
70  A,  89  D  ;  predominant  in  the 
timocratic  state  and  man,  Rep. 
8.  548,  550  B;  characterized  by 
ambition,  ib.  9.  581  B ;  its  plea- 
sures, ib.  586  D  ;  the  favourite 
object  of  the  poet's  imitation,  ib. 
10.  604,  605  ;  its  seat,  Tim.  70  A. 

Spleen,  the,  Tim.  72  C. 

Square,  the,  see  Mathematics. 

Stars,  motions  of  the.  Rep.  7.  529, 
530;  10.  616  E;  Tim.  40  C; 
Laws  7.  821,  822;  12.  966  E; 
seven  stars  created  (sun,  moon, 
and  planets),  Tim.  38  ;  the  fixed 
stars,  ib.  40 :  stars  and  souls,  ib. 
41;  Laws  10.  899;  12.  967  A; 
orbits  of  the  stars,  Laws  7.  821, 
822. 

Stasinus  quoted,  Euthyph.  12  B. 
State,  the,  distinguished  from  the 


act,  Euthyph.  10 :— intermediate 
states,  Protag.  346  D  ;  Euthyd. 
306;  Rep.  9.  583;  Phil.  33,  36, 43. 
State,  the,  existence  of,  depends  on 
virtue,  Protag.  322,  325,  326,  327 
(cp.  I  Alcib.  134) ;  relation  of,  to 
the  individual,  Rep.  2.  368 ;  4. 
434,  441 ;  5-  462  ;  8.  544 ;  9.  577 
B  ;  Laws  3.  689  ;  5.  739 ;  8.  828 
E;  9-  87S>877C;  11.  923,925  E, 
930  B  ;  origin  of.  Rep.  2.  369  foil. ; 
Laws  3.  678  foil. ;  should  be  in 
unity.  Rep.  4.  422;  5.  463  (cp. 
Laws  5.  739 ;  8.  832  C) ;  place  of 
the  virtues  in.  Rep.  4.  428  foil. ; 
virtue  of  state  and  individual,  ib. 
441  ;  6.  498  E  ;  family  life  in,  ib. 
5.  449 ;  Laws  5.  740 ;  compared 
to  a  household,  Statesm.  259 ; 
designed,  not  for  war,  but  for 
peace.  Laws  i.  625  foil. ;  ought  to 
be  in  a  mean  between  poverty  and 
wealth,  ib.  3..  679  B  ;  5.  742  E, 
744 ;  importance  of  friendship  in, 
ib.  3.  694  A  ;  5.  738  D,  743  C  ;  6. 
759  B,  771  E  (cp.  I  Alcib.  126) ; 
honours  in,  must  be  given  to 
merit,  Laws  3. 696  E ;  4. 707  A,  7 1 5 ; 
5.  738  E,  743;  6.757;  II.  921  E; 
requires  friendship  and  freedom 
for  its  preservation,  ib.  3.  694  B, 
697  D,  701  D  ;  must  give  the  last 
place  to  wealth,  ib.  697  C  ;  5.  743 
E  (cp.  4.  705  A ;  7.  801  B  ;  9. 
870  A,  B) ;  cannot  be  saved  un- 
less the  law  is  above  the  rulers, 
ib.  4.  715  D  ;  is  based  on  a  right 
regulation  of  property,  ib.  5.  736 
E  ;  must  be  self-sufficient,  ib.  ^yj 
D  ;  is  not  great  by  reason  of 
wealth  or  empire,  ib.  742  C  ;  must 
have  good  rulers  as.  well  as  good 
laws,  6.  75 1 ;  'is  sailing  on  a  sea 
of  politics,'  ib.  758  A  (cp.  Statesm. 
302  A ;  Laws  12.  945  C) ;  cannot 
be  happy  without  proper  regula- 
tion of  women.  Laws  6.  781  B  ;  7. 
805  ;  is  an  imitation  of  the  best 
and  noblest  life,  ib.  7.  817  B; 
must  be  capable  of  self-defence, 


Index. 


lb.  8.  829,  830  (cp.  7.  814  A) ; 
is  preserved  by  friendship  and 
agreement  among  the  citizens,  i 
Alcib.  126;  must  have  the  know- 
ledge of  the  best,  2  Alcib.  145  \ — 
the  luxurious  state.  Rep.  2.  372  D 
foil. ; — [the  best  state]  classes  in, 
must  be  kept  distinct,  ib.  2.  374; 
3.  397  E,  415  A;  4.  421,  433  A, 

434,  441  E,  443 ;  5-  453  (cp-  8. 
552  A;  Laws  8.  846  E) ;  the 
rulers  must  be  philosophers.  Rep. 

2-  376 ;  5-  473  ;  6.  484,  497  foH-, 
501,  503  B  ;  7.  520,  521,  525  B, 
540 ;  8.  543  (cp.  Rulers) ;  will  be 
free  from  quarrels  and  lawsuits, 
ib.  2.  378;  5.  464,  465;  the 
government  must  have  the  mono- 
poly of  lying,  ib.  2.  382;  3.  389  A, 
414  C  ;  5.  459  D  (cp.  Laws  2.  663 
E);  the  poets  to  be  banished,  Rep. 
3.  398  A  ;  8.  568  B  ;  10.  595  foil., 
605  A,  607  A  (cp.  Laws  7.  817) ; 
the  older  must  bear  rule,  the 
younger  obey,  Rep.  3. 412 ;  Laws 
3.  690  A;  4.  714  E;  women, 
children,  and  goods  to  be  com- 
mon, Rep.  3.  416  ;  5.  450  E,  457 
foil.,  462,  464;  8.  543  A;  Tim. 
18  (cp.  Laws  5.  739;  7.  807  B); 
must  be  happy  as  a  whole,  Rep. 
4.420;  5.  466  A;  7.  519E;  will 
easily  master  other  states  in  war, 
ib.  4. 422  ;  must  be  of  a  size  which 
is  nat  inconsistent  with  unity, 
ib.  423  (cp.  Laws  5.  737) ;  com- 
posed of  three  classes,  traders, 
auxiliaries,  counsellors.  Rep.  4. 
441  A  ;  may  be  either  a  monarchy 
or  an  aristocracy,  ib.  445  C  (cp.  9. 
576  D) ;  will  form  one  family,  ib. 
5.  463  (cp.  Statesm.  259) ;  is  it 

possible? Rep.  5.471,473;  6-499; 
7.  540  (cp.  7.  520  ;  Laws  4.  71 1  E ; 
5.  739  ;  12.  968  A) ;  framed  after 
the  heavenly  pattern,  Rep.  6.  500 
E  ;  7.  540  A  ;  9.  592  ;  how  to  be 
commenced,  ib.  6.  501 ;  7-  54° ; 
manner  of  its  decline,  ib.  8.  546 
(cp.  Crit,   120);    briefly  re-dc- 


scribed,  Tim.  17,  iS;— the  best 
state  that  in  which  the  rulers  least 
desire  office,  Rep.  7.  520,  521 ; 
in  which  the  rulers  regard,  not  the 
wishes,  but  the  true  interests  of 
the  citizens,  Statesm.  293-301, 303 
A ;  will  be  most  easily  produced 
out  of  a  tyranny.  Laws  4.  709  E 
(cp.  5.  739  A) ;  is  that  which  is 
most  completely  one,  ib.  5. 739; — 
the  'second-best'  state,  Laws  5, 
739 ;  7.  807  B  ;— the  four  imper- 
fect forms  of  states.  Rep.  4. 445  B ; 
8.  544  ;  Statesm.  291  foil.,  301  foil, 
(cp.  Government,  forms  of) ;  suc- 
cession of  states.  Rep.  8. 545  foil.; 
causes  of  revolution  in  states. 
Laws  4.  709  A  ;  5.  744  D  ;  6.  757 
A  ;  12.  945  D  ;  how  they  may  be 
preserved  from  change,  ib.  12. 
960  foil. ; — existing  slates,  not 
one  but  many,  Rep.  4.  423  A ; 
nearly  all  corrupt,  ib.  6.  496 ;  7. 
519,  520;  9.  592  (cp.  Laws  12. 
950  A) ;  based  upon  wrong 
principles,  Laws  12.  962  D  ;— 
states  can  only  perish  by  the 
fault  of  their  rulers,  ib.  3.  683 
E ;  are  ruined  by  ignorance,  ib. 
688  E ;  goodness  of,  to  be 
estimated  by  the  situation  of  the 
country  and  tlie  order  of  the  laws, 
ib.  4.  707  D  ;  states  in  which  the 
laws  regard  the  interest  of  par- 
ticular classes,  not  polities  but 
parties,  7 1 5  B  ;  '  states  of  dis- 
cord,' ib.  8.  832  C ;  even  bad 
states  are  not  without  good  men, 
ib.  12.  951  B  ;  states  are  well  ad- 
ministered in  which  individuals 
do  their  own  work,  i  Alcib. 
127:  —  state  offences.  Laws  6. 
768  ;  9.  856. 
•State.  {Plato  has  left  us  in  the 
Republic  and  the  Laws  two  com- 
panion pictures  of  the  '  best '  and 
the  '  second-best '  state.  The  one 
is  confessedly  an  ideal,  which  will 
only  be  accepted,  if  ever,  when 
men   see  the  true  philosopher. 


Index. 


519 


ruling  the  state  in  righteousness 
and  justice :  the  other  is  supposed 
to  be  more  adapted  to  ordinary 
circumstances^  and  might  be  set 
up  without  any  considerable  diffi- 
culty by  a  benevolent  tyrant  or 
a  legislator  who  had  despotic 
power. — [I.]  The  polity  of  which 
Plato  '  sketches  the  outline '  in  the 
Republic  may  be  analyzed  into 
two  principal  elements: — (i)  an 
Hellenic  stale  of  the  older  or 
Spartan  type,  with  some  traits 
borrowed  from  Athens j  (ii)  an 
ideal  city  in  which  the  citizens 
have  all  things  in  common,  and 
the  governjnent  is  carried  o?t  by  a 
class  of  philosopher  rulers  who 
are  selected  by  merit.  These  two 
elements  are  not  perfectly  com- 
bined; and,  as  Aristotle  com- 
plains (Pol.  ii.  5,  §  i?>),  very  much 
is  left  ill-defined  and  uncer- 
tain.— (i)  Like  Hellenic  cities 
in  general,  the  number  of  the 
citizens  is  not  to  be  great.  The 
size  of  tne  state  is  limited  by  the 
requirement  that '  it  shall  not  be 
larger  or  smaller  than  is  con- 
sistent with  unity^  Again,  the 
individual  is  subordinate  to  the 
state.  When  Adeimantus  com- 
plains of  the  hard  life  which  the 
citizens  will  lead,  '  like  mer- 
cenaries in  a  garrison'  (4.  419), 
he  is  answered  by  Socrates  that 
if  the  happiness  of  the  whole  is 
secured,  the  happiness  of  the 
parts  will  inevitably  follow. 
Once  more,  war  is  conceived  to 
be  the  Jtormal  condition  of  the 
state,  and  military  service  is  im- 
posed upon  all.  Trade  is  re- 
garded as  dishonourable  J — '  those 
who  are  good  for  nothing  else  sit 
in  the  Agora  buying  and  selling^ 
(2.371  D)  :  the  warrior  can  spare 
no  time  for  such  an  employment. — 
In  these  respects,  as  well  as  in  the 
introduction  of  comnio7i  meals, 


Plato  was  probably  influeticed  by 
the  traditional  ideal  of  Sparta. 
The  Athenian  element  appears 
in  the  intellectual  trainitig  of  the 
citizens,  and  generally  in  the 
atmosphere  of  grace  a?id  refne- 
ment  which  they  are  to  breathe 
(see  s.  V.  Art).  The  restless 
ettergy  of  the  Athejtian  character 
is  perhaps  reflected  in  the  dis- 
cipline imposed  tipon  the  ruling 
class,  who  when  they  have  reached 
fifty  are  dispensed from  continual 
public  service,  but  must  theft 
devote  themselves  to  abstract 
study,  and  also  be  willing  to 
take  their  turn  when  necessary 
at  the  helm  of  state  \cp.  Thucyd. 

i.  70 ;  ii.  40]. — (ii.)  The  most 
peculiar  features  of  Plato's 
state  are  (i)  the  community 
of  property,  (2)  the  position  of 
women,  (3)  the  governtnent  of 
philosophers.  The  first  (see  s. 
v.),  though  suggested  in  sotne 
measure  by  the  example  of 
Sparta  or  Crete  [cp.  Arist.  Pol.  ii. 
5,  §  6],  is  not  known  to  have  been 
actually  practised  anywhere  in 
Hellas,  unless  possibly  among 
such  a  body  as  the  Pythagorean 
brotherhood.  (2)  Nothing  in 
all  the  Republic  was  probably 
stranger  to  the  contemporaries  of 
Plato  than  the  place  assigned  by 
him  to  women  in  the  state.  The 
community  of  wives  and  childre7t, 
though  carefully  guarded  by  him 
from  the  charge  of  licentiousness, 
would  appear  worse  in  Athenian 
eyes  thajt  the  traditional '  licence ' 
of  the  Spartan  women  [cp.  Arist. 
Pol.  ii.  9,  §  5].  Again,  the  egual 
share  in  education,  in  war,  and 
in  administration  which  is  en- 
joyed by  the  women  in  Plato's 
state  was,  if  not  so  revolting, 
quite  as  contrary  to  common 
Hellenic  sentiment  [cp.  Thucyd. 

ii.  45].     The  Spartan  women 


520 


Index. 


exercised  a  great  influence  on 
public  affairs^  hit  this  was  mai7ily 
indirect  \cp.  Laws  7.  806 ;  Arist. 
Pol.  ii.  9,  §  8]  :  they  did  not  hold 
office  or  learn  the  use  of  arms. 
At  Athens  the  women,  of  the 
upper  classes  at  least,  lived  in 
an  almost  Oriental  seclusion,  a?id 
were  wholly  absorbed  in  house- 
hold duties.  (3)  Finally,  the 
governtnetit  of  philosophers  had 
no  analogy  in  the  Hellenic  world 
of  Plato's  time.  The  suggestio?i 
may  have  been  taken  from  the 
stories  of  the  Pythagorean  rule 
iti  Magna  Graecia;  but  we  can- 
not doubt  that  Plato  was  chiefly 
'indebted  to  his  own  imagination 
for  his  ki?igdom  of  philosophers, 
or  that  it  7-cmaiticd  to  himself  an 
ideal,  rather  than  a  state  which 
would  ever  ^play  her  part  in 
actual  life'  (Tim.  19,  20).  //  is 
at  least  significant  that  he  never 
finished  the  Critias,  as  though  he 
were  unable  to  embody,  even  in  a 
mythical  form,  the  '  city  of  which 
the  pattern  is  I  aid  up  in  heaven.' — 
[II.]  The  slate  which  is  pour- 
irayed  in  the  Laws  is  said  by 
Aristotle  to  be  'a  mixture  of 
oligarchy  and  democracy,  leaning 
rather  to  oligarchy '  (Pol.  ii.  6,  § 
18).  The  description  is  an  in- 
accurate one;  for  the  ottly 
democratic  characteristic  which 
Aristotle  7nentions  is  the  use  of 
the  lot  i?t  elections,  and  this,  he 
himself  admits,  is  neutralised 
by  other  regulations.  Plato's 
'  secojid-best  state '  is  in  fact  att 
aristocratical  government  of  a 
narrow  and  exchisive  type,  in 
which  wealth  plays  an  itnportant 
part.  The  admi?iistratioti  is  in 
the  hands  of  the  higher  classes, 
and  the  tnode  of  election  is  so  con- 
trived that  they  always  have  a 
preponderance.  The  chief  magis- 
trates are  the  thirty-seven  guard- 


ians of  the  law,  who  combine 
executive  and  judicial  functions 
i?i  the  manner  common  to  Hellenic 
states.  There  is  also  a  nocturftal 
council,  composed  of  thete?i  oldest 
guardiatis,  of  all  those  who  have 
gained  the  prize  of  virtue,  of  the 
Director  attd  the  ex-Directors  of 
Education,  and  of  those  who  have 
travelled  to  see  the  institutions  of 
other  cotmtries,  besides  an  equal 
number  of  younger  colleagues 
betweett  thirty  and  forty,  ap- 
pointed, one  by  each  oj  the  seniors. 
This  council  seems  o?ilyto  exercise 
powers  of  advice  and  revision, 
atid  not  to  have  the  itiitiative  in 
legislation,  which  was  probably 
intended  to  be  restricted  to  the 
guardians.  Further,  there  is  a 
Senate  of  360  members,  of  which 
a  twelfth  part  sits  each  month 
in  succession,  and  a  General 
Assembly.  Of  the  latter  very 
little  is  said,  but  we  cannot  sup- 
pose that  Plato  ifttended  it  to 
have  much  authority.  —  The 
greatest  departure  from  the  ideal 
state  is  the  abandonmejit  of  com- 
?nunism,  which,  as  Plato  re- 
luctantly confesses,  will  hardly 
be  accepted  by  mankind  in  ge7ieral 
(see  s.  V.  Community).  O71  the 
other  ha7td,  the  com7no7i  7>ieals 
are  extended  to  wo7>ien,  who  are 
thus  brought  fro77t  the  retire7iient 
of  do7nestic  life  into  the  orga7iiza- 
tion  of  the  state. — In  two  poi7its 
there  is  an  advance  07i  the  Re- 
public : — (i)  Plato  has  discovered 
that  peace  is  7iobler  tha7t  war, 
a7id  passes  a  severe  censure  071 
the  77iilitary  states  of  which 
Sparta  is  the  typical  exa7nple. 
Yet  he  has  hi7/iself  give7i  a 
warlike  character  to  the  whole 
co77i77ionwealth,  and  the  5040 
citizens  would  have  for7/ied  with 
their  wives  an  ar/7ied  force  such 
as  was  hardly  possessed  by  Spa7ia 


Index. 


521 


at  the  time  of  her  greatest  power. 
(ii)  Although  in  an  earlier  part 
of  the  work  (4.  705  A)  Plato  re- 
peats the  old  idea  that  trade 
exerts  a  corrupting  influence  on 
men  and  cities,  he  exhibits  to- 
wards the  end  a  more  liberal 
spirit  (11.  918).  He  recognizes 
the  necessity  of  commerce,  and 
even  speculates  on  the  possibility 
of  redeeming  trade  from  reproach 
by  compelling  some  of  the  best 
citizens  to  open  a  shop  or  keep  a 
tavern.  [Cp.  the  discussion  of  the 
question  by  Aristotle,  Pol.  vii. 
6.] — In  most  respects,  however, 
Plato's  political  speculations  in 
the  Laws  have  a  reactionary  cast, 
akin  to  the  pessimism  by  which  his 
view  of  human  life  is  coloured. 
The  energy  atid  enterprize  of 
Athens  are  exchanged  for  a 
rigid  and  monotonous  existence 
in  which  every  thought  and 
action  must  conform  to  the  word 
of  the  legislator.  Plato  had 
shown  in  the  Statesman  (293 
foil.)  that  the  law  was  only 
a  general  rule  which  tnust  be 
modified  by  circtmistances,  and 
he  woiild  therefore  set  the  ^  one 
best  man'  above  the  law.  But 
he  seems,  like  Aristotle,  to  have 
afterwards  come  to  the  conclusion 
that  there  was  no  one  to  be  found 
among  matikiiid'thus  immeasiir- 
ably  superior  to  his  fellows '  (Pol. 
V-  10,  §  37).  He  is  still  miwil- 
li?tg,  however,  to  allow  the  citi- 
zens at  large  to  control  the 
destinies  of  the  commonwealth, 
and  seeks  to  ensure  stability  by  the 
imitation  of  an  antiquated  and 
unprogressive  polity  like  that  of 
Egypt  (2.  657  A),  or  by  the  insti- 
tution of  the  Nocturnal  Council, 
which  he  expects  to  be  '  the  anchor 
of  the  whole  state  '  (12.  961  B.)] 
Statesman,  the,  vocation  of,  Gorg. 
515  ;  Laws  12.  963;  has  science. 


Statesm.  258,  259;  must  he  al- 
ways follow  the  laws  ?  ib.  293 
foil. ;  will  implant  in  his  citizens 
true  opinions  about  the  just  and 
the  good,  ib.  309 ;  will  combine 
courage  and  temperance,  ib.  311; 
the  true  statesman  aims  at  peace 
rather  than  war.  Laws  i.  629  D 
(cp.  Legislator) ;  —  distinguished 
from  the  orator.  Soph.  268  ;  from 
the  politician,  Statesm.  291,  292, 
303  ;  from  the  general  or  judge,  ib. 
304,305  ;  will  preserve  the  state  by 
the  aid  of  mind.  Laws  12.  961  ; — 
statesman  and  king,  Statesm.  259; 
statesman  and  herdsman,  ib.  261, 
265,  275  ; — art  of  the  statesman, 
ib.  260,  276,  289,  290,  292,  293, 
295  B,  300  E,  305  A,  308,  311 
(cp.  Gorg.  517)  ;  a  division  of  the 
art  of  command,  Statesm.  267  : — 
Statesmen  are  afraid  to  leave 
written  speeches,  Phaedr.  257  D  ; 
are  not  teachers  of  virtue,  Meno 
93;  have  right  opinion,  not  know- 
ledge, ib.  99  ;  act  by  inspiration, 
ibid. ;  true  statesmen  rarer  than 
good  draught-players,  Statesm. 
292  E  ; — statesmen  in  their  own 
imagination.  Rep.  4.  426  (cp. 
Statesm.  302  A) ;  statesmen  at 
Athens,  Gorg.  515,  519;  i  Alcib. 
119,  122. 

Statuary,  art  of,  Gorg.  450  D  ; — 

statuaries,   Statesm.  277.  Cp. 

Sculpture. 
Statues  of  Daedalus,  Euthyph.  11 

C,  15  B  ;  Meno  97  D  foil. ;  Rep. 

7.  529  E  (cp.  Daedalus) : — statues 

polished  for  a  decision,  Rep.  2. 

361  D  ;  painted  statues,  ib.  4.  420 

D  ;  Laws  2.  668  E. 
Steadiness  of  character,  apt  to  be 

accompanied  by  stupidity.  Rep. 

6.  503  ;  Theaet.  144  B. 
Stealing,  permitted  at  Lacedaemon, 

Laws  I.  633  C.    See  Theft. 
Stephanus,  son  of  Thucydides,  a 

famous  wrestler,  Meno  94  C. 
Stepmothers,  Laws  II.  930  B. 


522 


Index. 


Stesichorus,  his  Recantation, 
Phaedr.  243  A  (cp.  Rep.  9.  586 
C) ;  Socrates  compares  himself  to, 
Phaedr.  244  A. 

Stesilaus,  his  invention  of  the 
scythe-spear.  Laches  183  C. 

Stesimbrotus,  of  Thasos,  a  rhap- 
sode. Ion  530  D. 

Stone,  Tim.  60  C. 

Stories,  improper,  not  to  be  told  to 
children,  Rep.  2.  377;  3.  391  ;  4. 
408  C ;  Laws  12.  941  B.  Cp. 
Children,  Education. 

Stork,  the,  proverbial  affectionate- 
ness  of,  1  Alcib.  135  E. 

Strangers,  under  the  protection  of 
God,  Laws  5.  729,  730  ;  8.  843 
A- ;  9.  879  D  ;  may  partake  of 
fruits,  ib.  8.  845  ;  provision  for 
their  support,  ib.  848  A,  849 ; 
murder  of,  ib.  9.  866,  872  A ; 
reverence  for,  ib.  879  ;  permitted 
to  take  oaths,  ib.  12.  949  B  ; 
regulations  for  the  reception  of 
strangers,  ib.  950  (cp.  6.  758  C) ; 
strangers  on  travel,  ib.  12.  949  E, 
952.  953- 

Strength,  like  virtue,  the  same 
quality  in  all,  Meno  72  D  ; — the 
rule  of  strength,  Gorg.  483,  484, 
489  ;  Rep.  I.  338  ;  Laws  i.  627  ; 
3.  690  ;  10.  890  A.    Cp.  Might. 

Strife,  principle  of,  in  the  universe, 
Soph.  242  E. 

Style,  of  poetry,  Rep.  3.  392  ; — (in 
prose)  — repetition,  Phaedr.  235  A; 
common-places,  ib.  236  A ;  ne- 
cessity of  connexion,  ib.  264  B  ; 
definition  and  division,  ib.  265 
D  ;  generalization,  ib.  266  A  ; — 
various  styles.  Rep.  3.  397.  Cp. 
Rhetoric. 

Styx,  Phaedo  113  B;  Rep.  3.  387 
B. 

Subject  of  the  sentence.  Soph.  262. 
Substances,  assimilation  of.  Lysis 
217. 

Suffering,  is  it  honourable  when  con- 
nected with  justice?  Laws  9. 859. 
Suicide,  Phaedo  61  foil, ; — philo- 


sophic disregard  of  life,  id.  62 
burial  of  the  suicide.  Laws  9 
873- 

Suits,  will  be  unknown  in  the  best 
state,  Rep.  5.  464  E  ;— decision 
of,  in  the  Model  City,  Laws  6. 
761  D  ;  suits  at  law,  ib.  766  D  ;  9. 
853;  12.  956;  penalty  for  using 
force  in  order  to  prevent  a  suit 
being  heard,  ib.  12.  954  E  ;  exe- 
cution of  suits,  ib.  958. 

Summonses,  Laws  8.  846  C ;  9. 
8S5  D. 

Sumptuary  laws.  Rep.  4. 423  E,  425. 
Cp.  Laws. 

Sun,  the,  compared  with  the  idea 
of  good.  Rep.  6.  508 ;  not  sight, 
but  the  author  of  sight,  ib.  509  ; 
creation  of,  Tim.  38 ;  motion  of, 
the  condition  of  all  existence, 
Theaet.  153  D  ;  orbit  of.  Laws 
7.  822  ;  a  god,  ib.  821  ;  10. 
899  A  ;  12.  950  D  (cp.  Apol. 
26)  ;  has  a  soul.  Laws  10.  898 
E;  12.  967;  contemplation  of 
the  sun  and  stars,  ought  not  to 
produce  Atheism,  ib.  12.  967; — 
'  the  sun  of  Heracleitus,'  Rep.  6. 
498  A. 

Sunium,  Crito  43  D  ; — Euphronius 
the  Sunian,  Theaet.  144  C. 

Superintendents  of  music  and  gym- 
nastics, see  Director  : — Superin- 
tendents of  exports  and  imports. 
Laws  8.  847  C. 

Superior,  the,  and  the  stronger,  are 
they  the  same  ?  Gorg.  489  (cp. 
Laws  I.  627) ;  superiors  must  be 
just  towards  those  subject  to 
them.  Laws  6.  777  E. 

Suppliants,  under  the  special  care 
of  God,  Laws  5.  730  A. 

Supposititious  son,  parable  of  the. 
Rep.  7.  538. 

Surety,  rules  about,  Laws  9.  871 
E,  873  A;   II.  914  D,  E;  12. 

953  E- 

Swallowing,  Tim.  80. 

Swans,  their  death-song  not  a  la- 
ment, Phaedo  84  E. 


523 


Sweetness,  Theaet.  159  D. 

Swimming,  the  art  of,  Gorg.  511  C. 

Syllables  and  letters,  Tim.  48 ; 
Theaet.  202  foil. ;  Statesm.  278  A. 

Symmetry,  Soph.  228  ;  an  element 
of  the  good,  Phil.  65,  66  ; — sym- 
metries in  nature,  Tim.  87.  Cp. 
Measure. 

Sympathy  of  soul  and  body,  Rep. 
5.  462  D  ;  ai'oused  by  poetry,  ib. 
10.  605  D.    Cp.  Feeling. 

Synonyms,  Prodicus'  '  charming 
philosophy '  of,  Protag.  340.  Cp. 
Prodicus. 

Synthesis,  Statesm.  285.  Cp.  Dia- 
lectic. 

Syracusan  dinners.  Rep.  3.  404  D 
(cp.  Gorg.  518  B) : — conquest  of 
Locri  by  the  Syracusans,  Laws 
I.  638  A  ;  their  hostility  to  the 
Athenians,  Eryx.  392  A. 

T. 

Tablets  for  writing,  Protag.  326  D  ; 
— laws  engraved  on  tablets,  [an 
allusion  to  the  laws  of  Solon], 
Statesm.  298  E  ; — prayers  written 
on  tablets  of  cypress  wood  in 
temples.  Laws  5.  741  C  ; — use  of 
tablets  in  voting,  ib.  6.  753  (cp. 
12.  948  E)  : — the  '  waxen  tablet ' 
of  the  mind,  Theaet.  191  D,  194 
C. 

Tactics,  use  of  arithmetic  in.  Rep.  7. 
522  E,  525  B  ;  a  science,  Statesm. 
304  E ; — naval  tactics,  dishonour- 
able. Laws  4.  706  : — tacticians 
and  generals,  ib.  11.  921  D. 

Tanagra,  battle  of,  i  Alcib.  112  B  ; 
Menex.  242  A. 

Tantalus  ('  my  eyes  beheld  Tanta- 
lus'=  Prodicus),  Protag.  315  C; 
his  wealth,  Euthyph.  11  D  ;  his 
name,  Crat.  395  D,  E  ;  suffers 
in  the  world  below,  Gorg.  525  E. 

Tarentum,  I  ecus  of,  Protag.  316  D  ; 
intoxication  at,  Laws  i.  637  B. 

Tartarus,  a  chasm  piercing  through 
the  whole  world,  Phaedo  112  A, 


D  (cp.  ii3B,E,  1 14 A);  (  =  hell), 
Rep.  10.  616  A;  Gorg.  523  A.  Cp, 
Hades. 

Taste,  good,  importance  of.  Rep.  3. 
401,  402  ;  innovations  in,  danger- 
ous. Laws  7.  797  :— the  sense  of 
taste,  Tim.  65. 

Taureas,  the  palaestra  of.  Charm. 
153  A. 

Taverns,  Laws  11.  918  D  foil. 

Taxation,  Laws  12.  955  D. 

Taxes,  heavy,  imposed  by  the 
tyrant.  Rep.  8.  567  A,  568  E  ;  on 
sojourners.  Laws  8.  850  B. 

Taxiarchs,  Laws  6.  755  D. 

Teachers,  not  to  be  blamed  if  their 
disciples  abuse  their  instruction, 
Gorg.  456  D,  460  E  : — in  the 
Model  City,  Laws  7.  804  D,  808 
C,  813  E  ;  patterns  to  be  fol- 
lowed by  them,  ib.  811  ; — teachers 
of  music,  ib.  812  ; — teachers  of 
gymnastic,  ib.  813; — the  guard- 
ians to  be  teachers  of  virtue  in 
the  state,  ib.  12.  964. 

Tears,  Tim.  68  A. 

Teiresias,  alone  has  understanding 
among  the  dead  (Od.  x.  495), 
Meno  100  A ;  Rep.  3.  386  E  ; 
Teiresias  and  Creon  (Eurip. 
Phoenissae  865,  866),  2  Alcib. 
151  C. 

Telamon,  Crat.  428  C  ;  Apol.  41  B  ; 
Rep.  10.  620  B. 

Telemachus,  Laws  7.  804  A. 

Telephus  of  Aeschylus,  (fr.  222), 
Phaedo  108  A. 

Temenus,  king  of  Argos,  Laws  3. 
683  D  ;  an  inexperienced  legis- 
lator, ib.  692  B. 

Temper,  incompatibility  of,  a 
ground  of  divorce,  Laws  11.  930. 

Temperance  {a-axppoa-vvr]),  defined 
as  quietness.  Charm.  159;  as 
modesty,  ib.  160  ;  as  doing  one's 
own  business,  ib.  161 ;  as  doing 
good  actions,  ib.  163  E  ;  as 
self-knowledge,  ib.  165  ;  as  know- 
ing what  we  know  and  do  not 
know,  ib.167  ;  =  the  health  of  the 


524 


Index. 


soul,  Gorg.  504,  507 ;  wrongly 
defined  as  prudence,  Laws  4.  710 
A  ;  — a  part  of  virtue,  Meno  73  ; 
— one  of  the  virtues  of  the  phi- 
losopher, Phaedo  68 ;  Rep.  6. 
485  E,  490  E,  491  B,  494  B  ;— a 
social  virtue,  Phaedo  82  B  ; — not 
a  virtue,  but  a  condition  of  virtue. 
Laws  3.  696,  697  A ;  4.  709  E  ; — 
the  victory  over  desire,  Phaedr. 
237  E  ;  the  order  of  the  soul, 
Gorg.  507,  508  ;  a  harmony  of 
the  soul.  Rep.  4.  430,  441  E,  442 
443  ;  9-  591  D  ;  Laws  2.  653 
B ; — the  science  of  itself  and  of 
other  sciences,  Charm.  170  ;— 
is  a  good,  ib.  159,  160,  169  ;  how 
far  possible  or  advantageous, 
ib.  167,  170;  acquired  by  habit, 
Phaedo  82  B ;  fostered  in  the 
soul  by  the  simple  kind  of  music, 
Rep.  3.  404  E,  410  A  (cp.  Laws 
7.  802  E)  ;  ought  to  be  blended 
with  courage,  Statesm.  309,  310 
(cp.  Laws  3.  696  A) ;  promoted  by 
common  meals  and  gymnastic 
exercises.  Laws  i.  636  A;  re- 
quires experience  of  pleasure,  ib. 
647  D,  649 ;  worthy  of  praise,  ib. 
5. 730  E ;  principles  to  support,  ib. 
8.841 ; — temperance  and  courage, 
Statesm.  306 ;  temperance  and 
love,  Rep.  3.  403  A ;  Laws  8. 
839,  840  ;  temperance  and  plea- 
sure, Phil.  45  D  ;  temperance 
and  wisdom.  Charm.  165,  170 ; 
Protag.  332  ;  Symp.  209  A  ; — the 
'  foolish  temperance'  of  the  many, 
Phaedo  68,  69 ;  temperance  an 
invention  of  the  weak  to  protect 
themselves  against  the  strong 
[Callicles],  Gorg.  492,  494 
temperance  in  the  state.  Rep.  3. 
389 ;  4. 430  foil. ;  Laws  3. 696  ; — 
in  the  tyrant.  Laws  4.  710  (cp. 
712  A). 

Temperance,  [  The  virtue  of '  tein- 
perance,' — a-oiffiporrwr],  a  word for 
which  there  is  no  exact  equivalent 
in  English, — may  perhaps  be  best 


explained  as  a  conception  by 
which  the  Greek  carried  his 
favourite  idea  of  inoderation  into 
the  moral  sphere,  and  which 
found  expression  in  'the  wise 
man's  aphorism,— Nothittg  too 
much'  (Phil.  45  E).  //  marked 
the  line  at  which  indulgence 
passed  into  excess;  the  unjust 
man  is  ifitemperate  because  his 
desires  have  710  limit,  but  the 
just  7estrains  himself  and  is 
sober  aiid  moderate  in  all  his 
ways.  It  was  liable  to  be  con- 
fused with  wisdom,  for  prudence 
and  temperance  are  Jtaturally 
allied,  and  the  confusion  was 
aided  by  a  false  etymology  which 
confiected <pi>6vT]<ns  with  a<i}(j)pov€iv 
(Laws  4.  710  A).—Ofie  of  the 
earliest  Platonic  Dialogues,  the 
Charmides,  is  devoted  to  the 
examination  of  the  question, 
'  What  is  temperance  f '  Several 
definitions  are  offered : —  Temper- 
ance is  '  Quietttess'' :  '■Modesty' : 
'■Doing  one's  own  business': 
'  Doing  good' : '  Self-knowledge' : 
'Knowing  what  we  know  and 
what  we  do  not  know.'  But  all 
these  prove  inadequate,  and  the 
result  is,  as  tistial,  only  a  nega- 
tive one. — /«  the  Gorgias  an 
advance  is  made.  When  Callicles 
maititains  that  happiness  depends 
upon  the  indulgeftce  of  the  desires, 
Socrates,  i7i  order  to  coftfute 
this  itiunoral  doctrine,  shows  that 
temperance  in  the  soul  corre- 
sponds to  health  i7i  the  body,  atid 
that,  just  as  the  sick  via7i  is  in 
want  of  restraint  and  direction, 
so  the  diseased  or  inte77iperate 
soul  needs  chastise7iient  a7id  re- 
proof. But  he  who  is  tetnperate 
knows  his  duty  both  to  Gods  a7ui 
7nen  and  lives  in  happiness  and 
freedo7n,  because  he  does  not  re- 
quire to  be  rest7-ai7ied  by  putnsh- 
7)ient,—In  the  Republic  temper- 


Index. 


525 


ance  is  said  to  be,  in  the  indi- 
vidual, the  accord  or  agreement 
of  the  three  elements  of  the  sotil, 
and,  in  the  state,  the  arrangement 
which  allozvs  those  who  are 
superior  by  nature  to  rule  over 
the  inferior,  and  thtcs  produces  a 
perfect  harmony  of  the  different 
classes.  It  is  therefore,  milike 
•wisdom  or  courage,  not  the  ex- 
clusive possession  of  one  portion 
of  the  citizetis,  but  a  virtue  which 
is  common  to  all. — In  the  States- 
man one  of  the  definitions  of  the 
Charmides  is  revived,  and  tem- 
perance is  explained  to  be  quiet- 
ness. Now  there  are  two  varieties 
of  character  among  men,  the 
quiet  or  temperate  and  the  active 
or  courageous,  a7id  these  stand 
in  ftatural  opposition  to  each 
other  (cp.  s.  v.  Courage).  It  is 
the  work  of  the  '  royal  science ' 
to  effect  a  union  of  these  dis- 
positions, both  in  the  soul  of  the 
individual  and  in  the  state  at 
large.  Thus  the  warp  and  the 
woof  of  the  state  will  be  fitly 
woven  'ittto  one  smooth  a?td  even 
web.' — In  the  Laws  temperance 
is  the  quality  which  gives  con- 
trol over  self.  By  this  Plato 
wotild  have  us  understand,  not 
that  '  lame  and  one-sided  virtue ' 
which  etiables  us  to  retain  our 
self-possession  in  time  of  danger 
or  to  endure  physical  suffering, 
but  a  higher  kind  which  arms  us 
also  against  the  enchantments  of 
pleasure.  This  .  virtue,  as  he 
afterwards  tells  us,  can  hardly 
be  said  to  have  a  separate  exist- 
ence, but  is  rather  the  ground  or 
accompaniment  of  all  virtue.  If 
it  is  conjoined  with  wisdom  in 
the  mind  of  the  ruler,  the  ideal 
state  may  be  easily  realized  in 
action,  and  it  must  eqically  exist 
among  the  citizens,  or  they  can- 
not hope  to  live  the  life  of  true 


happiness  in  the  political  com- 
munity^ 

Temperate  life,  the,  better  than  the 
intemperate,  Gorg.  493  foil. ; 
Laws  5.  733  E  foil.  ;— the  tem- 
perate man  the  friend  of  God, 
Laws  4.  716  D. 

Temples  in  a  new  state,  Laws  5. 
738 ;  not  easily  established,  ib. 
10.  909  E  ; — their  situation  in  the 
Model  City,  ib.  6.778  C;— temples 
of  Hestia,  Zeus,  and  Athene,  ib. 
5.745;  8.848; — ofificersof  temples, 
ib.  6.  759 ;  —  water-supply  for 
temples,  ib.  761  C  ;  —  temple- 
robbing.  Rep.  9.  574  D,  575  B ; 
Laws  8.  831  E  ;  9.  854. 

Terpsichore,  Phaedr.  259  C. 

Terpsion,  present  at  the  death  of 
Socrates,  Phaedo  59  C  (cp. 
Theaet.  142  A- 143  C). 

Territory,  devastation  of  Hellenic, 
not  to  be  allowed.  Rep.  5.  470 ; 
— unlimited,  not  required  by  the 
good  state,  ib.  4.  423 ;  Laws  5. 
737- 

Terror,  to  be  distinguished  from 
fear,  Protag.  358  D.    See  Fear. 

Testamentary  disposition,  Laws  II. 
923,  924. 

Tetanus,  Tim.  84  E. 

Tethys  and  Oceanus,  parents  of  all, 
Crat.  402  B,  C,  D  ;  Tim.  40  E  ; 
Theaet.  152  E,  180  D  ;  meaning 
of  the  name,  Crat.  402  C. 

Thales,  one  of  the  Seven  Wise  Men, 
Protag.  343  A ;  his  inventions, 
Rep.  10.  600  A  ;  story  of  Thales 
and  the  Thracian  maid,  Theaet. 
174  A,  C,  175  D- 

Thamus,  Phaedr.  274  D-275  B. 

Thamyras,  Ion  533  B  ;  his  soul 
chooses  the  life  of  a  nightingale, 
Rep.  10.  620  A ;  the  sweet  singer, 
Laws  8.  829  E. 

Thasos,  Stesimbrotus  of.  Ion  530  D. 

Thaumas ;  Iris  is  the  child  of 
Thaumas  (wonder),  Theaet.  155 
D. 

Theaetetus,  a  person  in  the  dialogue 


526 


Index. 


Theaetetus,  Theaet.  144  E  foil. ; 
wounded  at  Corinth,  ib.  142  A ; 
his  appearance  and  mental 
powers,  ib.  143E  (cp.  Statesm.  257 
E) ;  his  studies  in  mathematics, 
Theaet.  147  C  ;  Statesm.  266  A; 
thefriend  of  theyoungerSocrates, 
Theaet.  147  C  ;  Soph.  218  B ; 
a  person  in  the  dialogue  Sophist, 
Soph.  218  A  foil.  (cp.  Statesm. 
257  A). 

Theaetetus,  time  of  the  dialogue, 
Theaet.  142  E  (cp.  209  E) ;  the 
dialogue  written  down  by  Euclid, 
ib.  143  A. 

Theages,  the  brother  of  Paralus, 
Apol.  33  E  ;  the  bridle  of.  Rep. 
6.  496  B. 

Thearion,  the  baker,  Gorg.  518  B. 

Theatre,  the,  price  of  admission  to, 
Apol.  26  E  ;  audience  at,  Gorg. 
502  ;  Laws  2.  658 ;  7.  817  ;  de- 
cline of.  Laws  2.  659  ;  3.  700. 

'  Theatrorracy,'  at  Athens,  Laws 
3-  701  A. 

Thebes,  a  well-governed  city,  Crito 
S3  B  ;  home  of  Philoiaus,  Phaedo 
61  E  ; — Orthagoras  the  Theban, 
Protag.  318  C;  Simmias  the 
Theban,  Crito  45  B  ;  Phaedo  59 
C,  92  A  ; — Cadmus  the  Theban, 
Phaedo  95  A  ; — Harmonia  the 
Theban  goddess,  ibid. 

Thebes  (in  Egypt),  Phaedr.  274  D. 

Theft,  Laws  8.  831  E  ;  9.  857,  874 
C;  II.  933  E;  12.941;  (against 
the  state),  punished  with  death, 
ib.  12.  941  {but  cp.  9.  857  A); 
not  to  be  ascribed  to  the  Gods, 
ib.  12.  941  ; — receiving  stolen 
goods,  ib.  955  : — Prometheus' 
theft  of  fire,  Protag.  321. 

Themis,  did  not  instigate  the  strife 
of  the  gods,  Rep.  2.  379  E  ; — the 
oath  by  Zeus,  Apollo,  and  Themis, 
Laws  1 1.  936  E. 

Themistocles,  failed  in  training  his 
son  Cleophantus,  Meno  93 ;  a 
good  man  in  common  opinion, 
Gorg.  503  C,  515  C  (cp.  Meno 


93  B)  ;  real  author  of  Athenian 
calamities,  Gorg.  519  A  (cp. 
Meno  98  B) ;  originator  in  part 
of  the  docks  and  walls,  Gorg.  455 
E  ;  exiled,  516  D  ;  story  of  his 
answer  to  the  Seriphian,  Rep.  1. 
330  A. 

Theoclymenus  (the  seer  in  Homer), 
Ion  538  E. 

Theodorus,  of  Byzantium,  Phaedr. 
266  E  ;  compared  to  Odysseus, 
ib.  261  C. 

Theodorus,  of  Cyrene,  a  geometri- 
cian, Theaet.  143  B,  165  A ; 
joins  in  the  conversation,  ib.  168 
C  foil.  (cp.  Soph.  216  A  ;  Statesm. 
257  A). 

Theodorus,  of  Samos,  a  sculptor, 
Ion  533  A. 

Theodotus,  dead  at  the  time  of 
Socrates'  trial,  Apol.  33  E. 

Theognis,  quoted,  Meno  95  D,  E  ; 
his  definition  of  virtue.  Laws  i. 
630  A,  C. 

Theology  of  Plato,  Rep.  2.  379  foil. 
Cp.  God. 

Theonoe,  meaning  of  the  name, 
Crat.  407  B. 

Theophilus,  meaning  of  the  name, 
Crat.  394  E,  397  B. 

Theosdotides,  father  of  Nicostratus, 
Apol.  33  E. 

Thersites,  in  the  world  below,  Gorg. 
525  E  ;  puts  on  the  form  of  a 
monkey.  Rep.  10.  620  C. 

Theseus,  his  expedition  to  Crete, 
Phaedo  58  A  ;  cursed  his  son, 
Laws  3.  687  E  ;  11.  931  B  the 
tale  of  Theseus  and  Peirithous  not 
permitted.  Rep.  3.  391  C ;— names 
recorded  prior  to  the  time  of 
Theseus,  Crit.  1 10  A a  Theseus 
of  argument,  Theaet.  169  B. 

Thessaly,  Crito  has  friends  in,  Crito 
45  C,  53  D  ;  disordered  state  of, 
ib.  53  D  ;  nurseries  of  geese  in, 
Statesm.  264  C;  a  large  plain,  Laws 
I.  625  D  ;— Thessalian  dialect, 
Crat.  405  D ;  Thessalian  enchant- 
resses, Gorg.  513  A;  Thessalian 


Index. 


527 


Penestae,  Laws  6.  776  D ; — ■ 
Caeneus  the  Thessalian,  ib.  12. 
944  D,  E  ; — Creon  the  Thessa- 
lian,Protag.  339  A ; — Thessalians, 
once  famous  for  riches  and  riding, 
now  for  wisdom,  Meno  70  A  ; 
willing  to  receive  Socrates,  Crito 
45  C. 

Thetis,  mother  of  Achilles,  Symp. 
180  A;  Apol.  28  C  ;  Hipp.  Min. 
371  C  ;  not  to  be  slandered.  Rep. 
2.  381  D  ;  her  accusation  of 
Apollo,  ib.  383  A ;  marriage  of 
Peleus  and  Thetis,  Laws  12.  944 
A. 

Theuth,  Phaedr.  274  C,  275  C ; 

Phil.  18  B. 
Things  and  individuals,  Crat.  386 ; 

— things  and  the  ideas  which 

partake   of   them,  Parm.  129, 

131-133, 135 ; — things  and  names, 

Soph.  244. 
Thinking,  =  the  soul's  conversation 

with  herself,  Theaet.  187  A,  190  ; 

Soph. 263  E,  264  A. 
Thirst,  Rep.  4.  437  E,  439  ;  Phil. 

32  A,  34  E  ;  an  inanition  (KeVcoo-is) 

of  the  soul.  Rep.  9.  585  A. 
Thirty,  the,  tyranny  of,  Apol.  32  C  ; 

Aristoteles,  one  of  the  Thirty, 

Parm.  127  C. 
Tholus,  the,  at  Athens,  Apol.  32  C, 

D. 

Thorax,  Tim.  69  E. 

Thought,  when  best,  Phaedo  65  ; 
aided  by  generalization,  Phaedr. 
266  B  ;  thought  and  the  ideas, 
Parm.  132,  135  E  ;  thought  a 
motion  of  the  soul,  Theaet.  153 
B ;  thought  and  speech,  Soph. 
263  ;  the  only  expression  of  im- 
material things,  Statesm.  286  A. 

Thracians,  their  procession  in  hon- 
our of  Bendis,  Rep.  i.  327  A  ; 
characterized  by  spirit  or  passion, 
ib.  4.  435  E ;  drink  unmixed 
wine,  Laws  l.  637  U,  E  ;  employ 
their  women  to  till  the  ground, 
etc.,  ib.  7.  805  D  ; — the  Thracian 
Zamolxis,  Charm.  156  D,  E  (cp. 


175  E) ; — the  Thracian  hand- 
maid and  Thales,  Theaet.  174 
A,  C,  175  D  ; — Zopyrus  the 
Thracian,  tutor  of  Alcibiades,  I 
Alcib.  122  B  ; — the  Thracian  Bo- 
reas, Laws  2.  661  A  (cp.  Phaedr. 
229). 

Thrasymachus,  the  Chalcedonian, 
Phaedr.  267  E ;  a  person  in  the 
Republic,  Rep.  I.  328  B;  breaks  in 
on  the  discussion,  ib.  336  B  ;  will 
be  paid,  ib.  337  D  ;  defines  justice, 
ib.  338  C  foil. ;  his  rudeness,  ib. 
343  A  ;  his  views  of  government, 
ibid.  (cp.  9.  590  D)  ;  his  en- 
comium on  injustice,  ib.  i.  343  A  ; 
his  manner  of  speech,  ib.  345  B  ; 
his  paradox  about  justice  and 
injustice,  ib.  348  B  foil.  ;  he 
blushes,  ib.  350  D  ;  is  pacified 
and  retires  from  the  argument, 
ib.  354  (cp.  6.  498  C) ;  would  have 
Socrates  discuss  the  subject  of 
women  and  children,  ib.  5.  450  A ; 
— his  rhetoric,  Phaedr.  261  C,  269 
E,  271  A. 

Thucydides,  the  Athenian  states- 
man. Laches  178  ;  Meno  94  C  ; 
his  sons,  Laches  179;  Meno  94 
C. 

Thucydides,  the  younger.  Laches 
179  A. 

Thunderbolts,  Tim.  80  C  ;  Laws 

9-  873  E. 
Thurii,  Euthyd.  271  C,  283  E,  288 

A  ; — Thurian  youth  degrade  love. 

Laws  I.  636  B. 
Thyestes,   cruelty  of  Atreus  to, 

Crat.  395  B  ;  Thyestes  and  the 

golden  lamb,  Statesm.  268  E ; 

Thyestes  on  the  stage,  Laws  8. 

838  C. 

Timaeus,  the  principal  speaker  in 
the  dialogue  Timaeus,  17  A  foil.  ; 
begins  his  discourse,  27  C  ; 
prayer  of,  Crit.  106  A,  B. 

Timber,  formerly  abundant  in 
Attica,  Crit.  1 1 1  C  ;  required  in 
shipbuilding.  Laws  4.  705  C. 

Time,  created,  Tim.   37-39 ;  ^x- 


528 


Index. 


pressions  of  time,  Farm.  141, 152 
B;  time  and  the  one,  ibid.,  ibid, 
(see  One) ;  changes  brought  about 
by  time.  Laws  3.  676 ; — prescrip- 
tion of  time  (legal),  ib.  12.  954  C. 
Tiniocracy,  Rep.  8.  545  foil. ;  origin 
of,  ib.  547  :  —  the  timocratical 
man  described,  549;  his  origin, 
ibid. 

Tinker,  the  prosperous.  Rep.  6. 495, 
496. 

Tiring,  art  of,  Gorg.  463  B. 
Tisander,  of  Aphidnae,  a  student  of 

philosophy,  Gorg.  487  C. 
Tisias,  aware  that  probability  is 

superior  to  truth,  Phaedr.  267  A  ; 

his  definition  of  probability,  ib. 

273  A  foil. 
Titanic  nature,  the  old,  Laws  3. 701 

C. 

Tityus,  suffers  punishment  in  Tar- 
tarus, Gorg.  525  E. 

Topography  of  Athens,  Charm.  153  ; 
Lysis  203  ;  Phaedr.  227,  229.  Cp. 
Athens. 

Tops,  Rep.  4.  436. 

Torch  race,  an  equestrian,  Rep.  i. 
328  A. 

Torpedo  fish,  Socrates  compared  to 
a,  Meno  80  A. 

Touch,  Rep.  7.  523  E. 

Touchstones,  Gorg.  486  E. 

Tournaments,  Laws  8.  829  B. 

Trade,  one  of  the  acquisitive  arts. 
Soph.  219;  divisions  of,  Statesm. 
260  C  : — injurious  effects  of.  Laws 
4. 70s  A ;  5.  741  E,  743  D  ;  no  one 
to  profess  two  trades,  ib.  8.  S46  D. 

Traders,  praise  their  goods  in  order 
to  deceive  customers,  Protag.  313 
D  ;  necessary  in  the  state,  Rep. 
2.  371;  Laws  II.  918  (but  cp. 
Laws  4.  705  A). 

Tradition,  power  of,  Laws  8.  838 ; 
II.  913;  the  ancient  tradition 
about  the  slayer  of  kindred,  ib. 
9.  870  D,  872  E ;  tradition  of 
deluges,  ib.  3. 677,  702  A  (cp.  Tim. 
22;  Grit.  109,  III  B,  112  A); — 
traditions  of  ancient  times,  their 


truth  not  certainly  known  to  us, 
Phaedr.  274  C ;  Rep.  2.  382  C ; 
3.  414  C  ;  Tim.  40  D  ;  Grit.  107; 
Statesm.  271  A;  Laws  4.  713  E; 

6.  782  D;  II.  927  A;  ancient 
traditions  about  the  world  below 
despised  by  the  wicked.  Laws  10. 
881  A. 

Tragedy,  =  the  goat  song,  Crat. 
408  C  ;  seeks  pleasure  only,  Gorg. 
502  A ;  produces  a  mingled  feel- 
ing of  pleasure  and  pain,  Phil. 
48  A;  the  favourite  entertainment 
of  most  persons.  Laws  2.  658  : — 
tragedy  and  comedy  the  same  as 
to  genius,  Symp.  223  (butcp.  Ion 
534) ; — tragedy  and  comedy  in 
the  state,  Rep.  3.  394  (cp.  Laws 

7.  817). 

Tragic  poets,  the,  fond  of  having 
recourse  to  a  '  Deus  ex  Machini,' 
Crat. 425  E;  eulogizers  of  tyranny, 
Rep.  8.  568  A  ;  imitators,  ib.  10. 
597)  598  ;  their  representations  of 
Oedipus,  etc..  Laws  8. 838  D.  Cp. 
Poets. 

Training,  of  body  and  soul,  Gorg. 
513  D;  —  dangers  of  training. 
Rep.  3.  404  A ;  not  so  severe  a 
test  as  intense  study,  ib.  7.  535  B  ; 
the  same  amount  prescribed  for 
all  the  pupils  in  the  gymnasia, 
Statesm.  294  D ;  at  first  injurious. 
Laws  I.  646  D;  conducive  to  tem- 
perance, ib.  8.  839  E  ;— training 
of  boxers,  ib.  830 ; — training  for 
the  games,  Rep.  6.  504  A ;  Laws 
7.  807  C  ;  8.  840  A. 

Transfer  of  children  from  one  class 
in  the  state  to  another,  Rep.  3. 
415  ;  4.  423  D. 

Transmigration  of  souls,  Phaedr. 
248, 249  ;  Meno  81  foil. ;  Phaedo 
70,  81  ;  Rep.  10.  617  ;  Tim.  42, 
91  D  foil. ;  Laws  10.  903  E,  904 
E.    See  Soul. 

Travel,  value  of.  Laws  12.  950,  951. 

Treason,  Laws  9.  856  E. 

Treasure-trove,  Laws  1 1. 913  (cp.  8. 
844  E). 


Index. 


529 


Treasurers  of  temples  (in  the  Model 

City),  Laws  6.  759  E. 
Trees,  Tim.  77  A. 
Trials,  conduct  of,  Laws  9.  855. 
Triangles  in  bodies,  Tim.  54  foil., 

81  ;  perfect  forms  of  triangles, 

54- 

Tribes,  twelve  in  the  Model  City, 
Laws  5.  745  (cp.  6.  771) : — courts 
of  the  tribes,  ib.  6.  768  B  ;  11. 
915  c. 

Tribunals,  Laws  6.  767.  See  Law 
Courts. 

Triptolemus,  one  of  the  judges  in 
Hades,  Apol.  41  A ;  minister  of 
Demeter,  Laws  6.  782  B. 

Trochaic  rhythms.  Rep.  3.  400  B. 

Troy,  Rep.  3.  393  E  ;  heroes  at,  Ion 
535  C  ;  Apol.  28  C  ;  Hipp.  Min. 
364  ;  Helen  never  at,  Rep.  9.  586 
C  (cp.  Phaedr.  243  B) ;  over- 

•  thrown  after  ten  years.  Laws  3. 
682  D  ;  a  part  of  the  Assyrian 
Empire,  ib.  685  C,  D  ; — Trojan 
horse,  Theaet.  184  D  ; — Trojan 
War,  Apol.  41  C  ;  Rep.  2.  3  So 
A ;  Laws  3.  682  C,  685  C  ;  i 
Alcib.  112  B;  treatment  of  the 
wounded  in,  Rep.  3.  405  E,  408 
A  ;  the  army  numbered  by  Pala- 
medes,  ib.  7.  522  D  ; — Trojans, 
press  hard  on  the  Achaeans  (II. 
xi\^  96),  Laws  4.  706  D,  E. 

True  men  and  false,  the  same,  Hipp. 
Min.  365-369- 

Truth,  =  the  right  assignment  of 
names,  Crat.  385,  431  ;  the  basis 
of  good  speaking  and  writing, 
Phaedr.  260,  278  ;  truth  and  per- 
suasion, ib.  260 ;  the  power  of, 
Apol.  17  A;  how  obtained, 
Phaedo  65  ;  the  discovery  of,  a 
common  good,  Gorg.  505  E  ;  is 
not  lost  by  men  of  their  own  will. 
Rep.  3.  413  A;  the  aim  of  the 
philosopher,  ib.  6.  484,  485,  486 
E,  490,  500  C,  501  D;  7-521,537 
D  ;  9.  581,  582  C  (cp.  Phaedr. 
249 ;  Phaedo  82 ;  Rep.  5.  475 
E  ;  7.  520,  525  ;  Theaet.  173  E  ; 


Soph.  249,  254  A);  akin  to 
wisdom.  Rep.  6.  485  D  ;  to  pro- 
portion, ib.  486  E  ;  no  partial 
measure  of,  sufficient,  ib.  504  ; 
love  of,  essential  in  this  world  and 
the  next,  ib.  10.  618  ;  only  to  be 
attained  by  a  lengthened  process 
of  dialectic,  Parm.  136;  akin  to 
the  eternal,  Phil.  59  C  (cp.  Rep. 
9.  585) ;  an  element  of  the  good, 
Phil.  64  ;  unknown  to  pleasure, 
ib.  65  ;  not  readily  believed  by 
men,  Laws  2.  663  E  ;  the  begin- 
ning of  goods,  ib.  5.  730  C  ;  duty 
of  speaking  the  truth,  ib.  9.  861 
D  ; — truth  in  the  state,  ib.  5.  738 
E;  — absolute  truth,  Phil.  58 
D  ; — the  vision  of  truth,  Phaedr. 
248 ; — Protagoras  on  Truth,  Crat. 
391  C  ;  Theaet.  152  C,  161  E,  166 
A,  167,  168  C,  171  C. 

Tunnels,  Crit.  116  A. 

Tutelary  deities  of  craftsmen,  Laws 
II.  920,  921. 

Tutors,  Lysis  208  C,  223  ;  Symp. 
183  D  ;  Laws  7.  808  D  ;  i  Alcib. 
122  B. 

Tynnichus  of  Chalcis,  author  of  one 
famous  poem,  Ion  534  D. 

Types  (or  models)  in  legislation. 
Laws  7.  800. 

Typho,  the  serpent,  Phaedr.  230  A. 

Tyranny,  Rep.  i.  338  D  ;  =  in- 
justice on  the  grand  scale,  Gorg. 
469  ;  Rep.  I.  344;  the  wretchedest 
form  of  government,  Rep.  8.  544 
C  ;  9.  576  ;  Statesm.  302 E;  origin 
of.  Rep.  8.  562 ;  a  kind  of  hunt- 
ing by  force,  Soph.  222  C  ;  =  the 
management  of  violent  rulers, 
Statesm.  276  E ;  =  the  rule  of  one 
over  involuntary  subjects,  ib.  291 
E  ;  opposed  to  the  government 
of  the  one  best  man,  ib.  302  ; 
the  readiest  way  of  establishing 
a  polity.  Laws  4.  710  C ;  not 
reckoned  among  constitutions,  ib. 
712  C:  —  the  tyrannical  man. 
Rep.  9.  571  foil. ;  life  of,  ib.  573  ; 
his  treatment  of  his  parents,  ib. 


VOL.  V. 


M  m 


530 


Index. 


574  foil. ;  most  miserable,  ib.  576, 
578  ;  has  the  soul  of  a  slave,  ib. 
577- 

Tyrant,  the,  paradox  concerning, 
Gorg.  468  ;  origin  of.  Rep.  8.  565  ; 
happiness  of,  ib.  566  foil. ;  9.  576 
foil. ;  Laws  2.  661  B  (cp.  2  Alcib. 
141  E) ;  his  rise  to  power.  Rep.  8. 
566 ;  his  ta.xes,  ib.  567  A,  568  E  ; 
his  army,  ib.  567  A,  569 ;  his 
purgation  of  the  city,  ib.  567  B  ; 
misery  of,  ib.  9.  579 ;  Laws  2.  661, 
662 ;  has  no  real  pleasure,  Rep. 
9.  587 ;  how  far  distant  from 
pleasure,  ibid. ;  compared  to  a 
tender  of  animals,  Theaet.  174  C  ; 
the  opposite  of  the  one  best  man 
or  true  monarch,  Statesm.  301  ; 
his  influence  on  the  manners  of 
the  citizens.  Laws  4. 711  B  ;— the 
young  tyrant,  ib.  709: — Tyrants 
have  no  power,  Gorg.  466 ;  Laws 
4.  714;  punishment  of,  in  the 
world  below,  Gorg.  525  ;  Rep.  10. 
615;  have  no  friends,  Rep.  8.  568  ; 
9.  576  (cp.  Gorg.  510  C);  tyrants 
and  poets,  Rep.  8.  568. 

Tyrrhenia,  Tim.  25  B  (cp.  Crit.  114 
C) ; — Tyrrhenic  rites.  Laws  5.  738 
C. 

Tyrtaeus,  Laws  9.  858  E ;  '  of  all 
men  most  eager  about  war,'  ib. 
I.  629  A  foil.  (cp.  2.  667  A) : — 
alluded  to  (jov  ne^Lytjpw  'A- 
8pa<rTop),  Phaedr.  269  A. 

U. 

Umpires,  Laws  8.  833  E  (cp.  Rep. 

9.  580  A,  and  see  Judges). 
Unbelievers,  punishment  of,  Laws 

10.  908,  909. 
Unconsciousness,  Phil.  34. 
Understanding,  a  faculty  of  the  soul. 

Rep.  6.  511  D  ;  =  science,  ib.  7. 
533  E  : — differences  in  the  under- 
standings of  men,  Theaet.  170, 
171. 

Union  impossible  among  the  bad. 
Lysis'  214  (cp.  Phaedr.  255  A  ; 


Rep.  I.  351);— union  of  friends 
after  death,  Phaedo  68  (cp.  Apol 
41). 

Unison  in  music.  Laws  7.  812  D. 

Unity  of  the  state,  Rep.  4. 422, 423 ; 
5.  462,  463  ;  Laws  5.  739 ;— ab- 
solute unity.  Rep.  7.  524  E,  525 
E  ;  Soph.  245  A  ; — unity  and  in- 
finity. Rep. 7.  525  A;  Phil.  15, 16; 
unity  and  being.  Soph.  245  ; — 
pleasantness  of  unity,  Statesm.260 
B  ; — the  unity  of  things,  ib.  285  B. 

Universals,  Meno  74 ;  Theaet.  185  ; 
Soph.  253. 

Universe,  the,  body  of,  Tim.  31,  32 
(cp.  Phil.  30  A) ;  motion  of,  Tim. 
34  ;  pattern  of,  ib.  48  ;  bound  to- 
gether by  friendship  and  justice, 
Gorg.  508  A  ;  partakes  of  a  bodily 
nature,  Statesm.  269 ;  revolutions 
of,  ib.  270  foil.;  ruled  by  mind,  Phil. 
28,  30,  31  (cp.  Laws  I.  631,  632 
C;  10.  897;  12.  963  A,  966  E, 
967  B) ;  a  body,  because  com- 
posed of  the  same  elements  as  the 
human  body,  Phil.  29  E  ;  has  in 
itself  an  infinite,  a  limit,  and  a 
cause,  ib.  30  C  ;  may  be  enquired 
into,  Laws  7.  821  ;  soul  in,  ib.  10. 
898  (cp.  Tim.  90  D  ;  Phil.  30  A) ; 
whole  and  parts  of,  Laws  10. 903; 
man  and  the  universe,  ibid. 

Unjust  man,  the,  happy  (Polus), 
Gorg.  470  foil. ;  (Thrasymachus), 
Rep.  1. 343,  344;  his  unhappiness 
finally  proved,  ib.  9.  580 ;  10.  613 
(cp.  Laws  2.  661) ;  not  unjust  of 
his  own  free-will,  Laws  5.  731  C  ; 
9.  860 ; — '  unjust '  defined,  ib.  9. 
863  ; — injustice  =  private  profit. 
Rep.  I.  344.    See  Evil. 

Unwritten  laws.  Laws  7.  822  D. 
See  Custom,  Laws. 

Urania,  Phaedr.  259  D  ;  Symp.  187 
E. 

Uranus,  so  called  citto  toO  opav  ra 
(ivu),  Crat.  396  B ;  father  of  the 
heavenly  Aphrodite,  Symp.  180 
U,  E ;  immoral  stories  about. 
Rep.  2.  377  E  (cp.  Euthyph.  6  A, 


Index. 


531 


8  B) ;  son  of  Oceanus,  Tim.  40 
E. 

User,  the,  a  better  judge  than  the 
maker,  Crat.  390 ;  Phaedr.  274 
E  ;  Eep.  10.  601  C  ;  user  and  in- 
strument distinguished,  i  Alcib. 
129. 

Usury,  forbidden  (in  the  Model 
City),  Laws  5.  742  C  (cp.  Rep.  8. 
556  A) ;  except  in  the  case  of 
overdue  accounts.  Laws  11.  921 
D. 

V. 

Vacuum,  Tim.  80  C. 
Valetudinarianism,  Rep.  3.  406  ;  4. 
426  A. 

Valour,  prizes  of.  Rep.  5. 468  ;  Laws 
8.  829  C;  12.  943  C. 

Valuation  of  property  (in  the  Model 
City),  Laws  12.  955  D. 

Vapour,  Tim.  49  C. 

Vegetarians,  Laws  6.  782  D. 

Veins,  Tim.  77  D. 

Ventriloquism,  Soph.  252  C. 

Verbal  distinctions  ;  '  making '  and 
'doing,'  Charm.  163; — 'being' 
and  'becoming,'  Protag.  340, 
344 ; — '  learning '  and  '  knowing,' 
Euthyd.  278  ;  —  '  having '  and 
'  possessing,'  Theaet.  197 ; — '  will- 
ing '  and  '  wishing,'  Gorg.  467 ; — 
distinctions  attributed  to  Pro- 
dicus,  Charm.  163  D  ;  Laches 
197  D;  Protag.  337  A,  340  A, 
358  A,  D  ;  Euthyd.  277  E ; 
Meno  75  E  : — verbal  discussions, 
Euthyd.  276  foil.,  284  foil.,  293 
foil.  : — verbal  fallacy,  'justice  dis- 
honourable,' Laws  9. 860 : — verbal 
quibbles  of  sophists.  Rep.  i. 
340  : — Socrates'  use  of  the  word 
Seti/dy,  Protag.  341.   Cp.  Sophists. 

Verbs,  Soph.  261,  262. 

Vested  interests,  Laws  3.  684. 

Vice,  the  disease  of  the  soul,  Rep.  4. 
444 ;  10.  609  foil. ;  Soph.  228  (cp. 
Statesm.  296  D;  Laws  10.  906  A) ; 
is  many.  Rep.  4.  445  ;  the  proper 
object  of  ridicule,  ib.  5.  452  E  ; 


^  virtue  out  of  place,  Statesm.  307; 
inferior  to  virtue  in  pleasure.  Laws 
5-  733  ;  the  destruction  of  men,  ib. 
10.  906  D  (cp.  Rep.  I.  351  E)  ; 
slavish,  I  Alcib.  135  ; — fine  names 
for  the  vices.  Rep.  8.  560  E.  Cp. 
Injustice. 

Victory  in  battle,  no  proof  of  the 
goodness  or  badness  of  institu- 
tions. Laws  I.  638  A ;  often 
suicidal  to  the  victors,  ib.  641  C  ; 
the  two  things  which  give  victory, 
ib.  647  B  ;  bestowed  by  the  Gods 
on  those  who  propitiate  them 
rightly,  ib.  7.  803  E  ; — victory  in 
civic  life,  the  prize  of  obedience 
to  the  laws,  Zi^.  4.  715  C  ;  5.  729 
D  ;  8.  840  B,  84s  D  :— Olympian 
victories,  glory  conferred  by, 
Laws  5.  729  D  ;  7.  807  C  [see 
Olympia). 

Vine,  the,  only  to  be  cultivated  on 
a  moderate  scale.  Laws  2.  674 
B  ; — first  appearance  of  the  vine, 
ib.  6.  782  B. 

Vintage,  the  season  of.  Laws  8.  844 
E. 

Violence,  laws  concerning,  Laws  9. 
874  C  ;  10.  884,  885. 

Virtue,  divided  into  many  parts, 
Lajches  190,  198  A;  five  virtues 
enumerated  (wisdom,  temper- 
ance, courage,  justice,  holiness), 
Protag.  349,  359  A  ;  four  virtues, 
wisdom,  courage,  temperance, 
and  justice.  Rep.  4.  428  foil.,  433  ; 
Laws  I.  631  D  ;  3,  688  A ;  12. 
963,  965  : — virtue  =  the  power  of 
governing  mankind,  Meno  73 ; 
=  the  love  and  attainment  of  the 
honourable,  ib.  77  ;  =  the  power 
of  attaining  good,  ib.  78 ; — the 
health  of  the  soul,  Rep.  4.  444 
(cp.  10.  609  foil. ;  Soph.  228 ; 
Statesm.  296  D  ;  Laws  10.  906 
A) ;  —  a  harmony  of  the  soul, 
Laws  2.  653  ; — whether  one  or 
many,  Protag.  329;  Meno  71  E 
foil.,  74  (cp.  Statesm.  306  ;  Laws 
12.  963  C,  965) ;  unity  of,  restated, 


M  m  2 


532 


Index. 


Protag.  349;  is  one,  Rep.  4. 
44S  ;— virtue  and  courage,  Laches 
190  foil, ;  Protag.  349,  350,  353, 
359;  Laws  i.  631  D  foil. ;  2.  667 
A  ;  3.  688  A,  696  B;  12.  963  E  ; 
virtue  and  justice,  Meno  73  E, 
79  (cp.  Rep.  1.  350) ;  virtue  and 
temperance,  Laws  3. 696 ; — virtue 
and  knowledge,  Protag.  356  foil. ; 
Euthyd.  274  E ;  Meno  87,  89 ; 
virtue  and  mind.  Laws  10.  900  C 
(cp.  12.  961-963);  virtue  and 
wisdom,  Meno  88 ;  Phaedo  69 ; 
Rep.  3.  409  E  ; — is  it  given  by  in- 
struction? Meno  70,  86,  89  (cp. 
Protag.  323,  361  ;  Euthyd.  274  ; 
Laws  5.  730  E) ;  innate  or  ac- 
quired "i  Eryx.  398 ;  no  teachers 
of,  Meno  89  foil.,  96;  comes  by 
the  gift  of  God,  ib.  100  A  ;  ought 
to  be  freely  imparted  by  men  to 
each  other.  Laws  5. 730,  731  ;  the 
magistrates  to  be  teachers  of 
virtue  in  the  state,  ib.  12.  964  ; — 
virtue  and  the  desires,  ib.  6.  782 
E  ;  —  virtue  and  good,  Gorg. 
506  ; — virtue  and  harmony.  Rep. 
3.  401  A  (cp.  7.  522  A) ;— virtue 
and  pleasure,  ib.  3.  402  E  (cp. 
Pleasure) ; — virtue  not  a  private 
possession,  but  a  common  interest 
of  mankind,  Protag.  325  foil. ;  not 
perceived  by  our  bodily  senses, 
Phaedr.  250 ;  always  the  same, 
Meno  73  ;  the  ordinary  views  of, 
paradoxical,  Phaedo  68 ;  true 
motives  of,  ib.  83, 84  ;  thought  by 
mankind  to  be  toilsome.  Rep.  2. 
364  A  (cp.  Laws  7.  807  D) ;  not 
promoted  by  excessive  care  of  the 
body,  Rep.  3.  407  ;  may  be  a 
matter  of  habit,  ib.  7.  518  E  ;  10. 
619  D  ;  impeded  by  wealth,  ib.  8. 
550  E  ;  Laws  5. 742  ;  8. 831  C,  836 
A ;  misplaced  =  vice,  Statesm. 
307;  is  the  greatest  of  goods,  Laws 
2. 661 ;  the  object  of  the  legislator, 
il>.  3. 693,  701  D;  4. 70SE ;  6. 770 ; 
8.  835  D  ;  12.  962,  963  ;  more  to 
be  esteemed  than  riches,  ib.  5. 728 


A ;  gives  more  pleasure  than  vice, 
ib-  733  ;  l^he  chief  business  of  life, 
ib.  7.  807 ;  the  salvation  of  men, 
ib.  10.  906  A  ;  the  attribute  of  a 
freeman,  i  Alcib.  135;  the  prize 
of  life,  Menex.  246,  247  ; — virtue 
according  to  Simonides,  Protag. 
339;  according  to  Theognis, 
Laws  I.  630  (cp.  Poets) ; — virtue 
in  the  individual  and  in  the  state, 
Rep.  4.  435  foil.,  441  (cp.  Jus- 
tice) : — absolute  virtue,  seen  by 
the  soul,  Phaedr.  247: — political 
virtue,  unlike  the  arts,  common 
to  all  men,  Protag.  322,  323 : — 
nature  of  the  virtues,  ib.  330 
foil.  (cp.  Laches  199) ;  the  virtues 
numberless,  Meno  72 ;  place  of 
the  several  virtues  in  the  state, 
Rep.  4.  427  foil. ;  the  virtues  (ex- 
cept wisdom)  akin  to  the  body 
and  attained  by  habit,  ib.  7.  518 
E  (cp.  Phaedo  82  B) ;  are  they 
invisible  and  incorporeal  t  Soph. 
247  (cp.  Phaedr.  250) ;  honour  to 
be  assigned  to  the  several  virtues. 
Laws  3.  696 ; — the  social  virtues 
(temperance  and  justice),  Phaedo 
82  B ; — virtues  of  the  philosopher, 
ib.  68  A;  Rep.  6.  485  foil., 
490  E,  491  B,  495  A  [see  Philo- 
sopher). 

Virtue.  [  The  nature  of  virtue  is  a 
subject  which  is frequently  treated 
by  Plato.  In  the  earlier  dialogues 
the  Socratic  thesis  that  '  virtue 
is  knowledge'  appears  under 
va?-ious  forms  and  is  brought  to 
bear  on  almost  every  argtiment, 
nor  does  it  lose  its  hold  over 
Plato's  mind  tnitil  we  reach  the 
very  latest  stages  of  his  philo- 
sophy. At  the  outset  he  is 
especially  beset  with  two  ques- 
tions, '  Can  virtue  be  taught  ?' 
and,  '  Is  virtue  one  or  many  f — 
The  Protagoras  and  the  Meno 
contaijt  a  discussiofi  of  these 
poi?its.  In  the  former  the  great 
Sophist  endeavours  to  pr  ove  that 


Index. 


virtue  can  be  imparted  by  ?nan  to 
men.    He  shows,  in  the  form  of 
an  apologue,  that  virtue,  unlike 
the  arts,  is  the  common  property 
of  all,  and  remarks  that,  if  we  did 
tiot  believe  that  we  could  improve 
those  with  whom  we  come  in  con- 
tact, we  should  not  consent  to  the 
efnploymefit  of  punishment. —  The 
question  is  next  asked  whether 
virtue  is  a  whole  of  which  the 
separate  virtues  are  paj-ts,  or 
whether  virtue  and  the  virtues 
are  to  be  identified.  Protagoras 
inclines  to  the  former  view,  but 
is  met  by  an  application  of  the 
doctrine   of  opposites.  Every 
quality  has  one  opposite;  but 
justice  is  not  opposed  to  holiness, 
7ior  wisdom  to  temperance :  how 
then  can  there  be  a  difference  be- 
tween them  ?    The  reply  is,  that 
although  these  four  virtues  are 
similar,  the  fifth,  courage,  is  of 
another  kind.    But  courage  is 
identical  with   co7ifidence,  ajtd 
confidence  rests  on  knowledge. 
Knowledge,  again,  is  the  basis  of 
the  other  virtues :  a  man  is  tem- 
perate because  he  knows  that  tem- 
perance will  bring  him  greater 
pleasure  and  less  pain  than  in- 
temperance j  and  he  is  just  or 
holy  for  a  similar  reason.  Vice 
is  ignorance,  and  evil  comes  only 
by  want  of  knowledge.  From 
this  point  of  view  the  virtues  ap- 
pear to  be  one,  and,  as  virtue  has 
been  shown  to  be  knowledge,  there 
is  no  doubt  that  it  can  be  taught. — 
In  the  Meno,  when  Socrates  asks 
for  a  definition  of  virtue,  Meno  is 
with  difficulty  brought  to  under- 
stand  the    tiature   of  general 
notions.    At  last  he  answers  that 
^virtue  is  to  delight  in  things 
honourable  and  to  have  the  power 
of  getting  ihem^    But  the  words 
must  be  added  ^with  justice^ 
and  the  definition  thus  becomes. 


'  Virtue  is  the  power  of  getting 
good  with  a  part  of  virtue'  As 
the  absurdity  of  this  is  manifest 
a  netv  attempt  is  made.  Soc7'ates, 
staj-ting  with  the  hypothesis  that, 
if  virtue  is  knowledge,  it  can  be 
taught,  argues  that  virtice  is  a 
good :  and  all  goods,  whether  of 
the  body  or  the  soul,  must  be  used 
with  knowledge  or  they  become 
unprofitable.    But  if  so,  virtue 
may  be  taught.     Yet  who  are  the 
teachers?  Certainly  not  the  world 
in  general  {for  how  then  could 
good  men  have  bad  sons?),  and 
the  Sophists,  who  make  it  their 
business  to  teach  virtue,  are  them- 
selves good  for  nothing.  The  con- 
clusion is  that  ordinary  virtue  is 
founded,  not  on  knowledge,  but  on 
true  opinion,  and  therefore  can- 
not be  taught  J  but  that  there  is 
a  higher  virtue  which  could  be 
taught,  if  any  one  could  be  found 
to  possess  it. — In  the  Phaedo  the 
virtues  are  idealized.    The  philo- 
sopher alofte  has  true  virtue  :  he 
does  not  act,  like  other  men,  from 
a  balance  of  motives  or  from  a 
consideration  of  what  he  is  likely 
to  gain  or  lose  by  the  indulgence 
of  his  passions  J  but  he  is  desirous 
to  keep  his  soul  pure  from  the 
contamittatio7is  of  the  body  and 
ready  when  the  hour  of  departure 
arrives  to  fly  away  to  God. — 
A  similar  transcendentalism  is 
found  ifi  the  Phaedrus.  The 
earthly  virtues  are  feeble  copies 
of  the  absolute  qualities  which  are 
beheld  by  the  soul  when  she  ac- 
companies  the   Gods   in  their 
pilgri7nage  {cp.  Laws  lo.  906  B). 
Most  men  remember  little  from 
their  previous  existence;  but  the 
philosopher,  who  has  a  better 
memory,  is  filled  with  rapture 
when  he  contemplates  the  earthly 
copies  of  the  virtues  shining  iti 
some  noble  soul.— In  the  Republic 


534 


Index. 


the  virtues  are  considered  chiefly 
with  a  view  to  the  state.  Four 
virtues  are  enumerated,  wisdom, 
courage,  temperance,  justice: 
^holiness,'  which  makes  the  fifth 
in  the  Protagoras,  is  not  men- 
tiotied,  being  regarded,  probably, 
as  a  part  of  justice  (cp.  Euthyph. 
1 2).  Each  of  these  virtues  has 
an  appropriate  place  in  the  state. 
Wisdom  resides  in  the  govern- 
ing class,  who  typify  the  rule  of 
reason  in  the  soul:  courage  is 
peculiar  to  the  warriors,  the 
representatives  of  the  '■spirited 
element  'j  temperance  is  the  har- 
mony of  the  state,  an  agreement 
by  which  superiors  rule  and  in- 
feriors obey.  Justice,  finally,  is 
the  virtue  of  the  state,  the  cause 
or  condition  of  the  other  virtues, 
and  may  be  summed  up  in  the 
formula  that '  every  man  must  do 
his  own  work.' — In  the  Laws  the 
four  virtues  of  the  Republic  re- 
appear. They  are  declared  to 
have  a  common  principle,  which 
is  the  guide  of  the  legislator  in 
all  his  enactments,  and  which 
the  guardians  must  be  especially 
trained  to  recognise.  Virtue  is 
710  longer  identified  with  know- 
ledge, though  the  companion 
paradox  with  which  this  is 
usually  associated  by  Plato,  '  thai 
no  man  does  evil  of  his  own  will,' 
is  not  given  up;  atid  he  is  still 
iticlined  to  assign  wisdom  or 
'  mind'  the  highest  place  in  the 
state.  In  the  same  spirit,  too,  he 
remarks  (v.  730  E)  that  the  good 
man  should  not  be  churlish  of  his 
virtue,  but  freely  impart  it  to  his 
fellow-citizens.  On  the  whole, 
however,  the  cojiception  of  virtue 
in  the  Laws  takes,  in  accordance 
with  the  more  serious  tone  which 
marks  the  later  writings  of  Plato, 
a  religious  or  theological  rather 
than  an  intellectual  character. 


(See  s.  vv.  Courage,  Holiness, 
Justice,  Temperance,  Wisdom.)] 
Visible  world,  divisions  of.  Rep.  6. 
510  foil.;  7.  517;  compared  to 
the  intellectual,  ib.  6.  508,  509; 

7.  532  A;— visible  things  and 
ideas,  Farm.  130,  135  E. 

Vision,  Charm.  167  ;  Euthyd.  300; 
Rep.  5.  477;  6.508;  7.  517;  Tim. 
45 ;  Theaet.  153  E,  156.  Cp. 
Sight. 

Voluntary  and  involuntaiy,  Hipp. 
Min.  373,  374 ;  in  actions,  Laws 
9.  861,  87S  B  ;  voluntary  and  in- 
voluntary homicide,  ib.  866  E. 

Vowels,  Crat.  424  C ;  Theaet.  203 
C;  Soph.  253  A;  Phil.  18  C. 

W. 

Waking  and  sleeping,  Theaet.  158. 

Walls  injurious.  Laws  6.  778,  779. 

War,  an  art.  Rep.  2.  374  A  (cp.  4. 
422;  Statesm.  304  E  ;  Laws  11. 
921  E) ;— the  art  of  war,  a  part  of 
government,  Protag.  322  B  ;  one 
of  the  acquisitive  arts.  Soph.  219  ; 
hunting  a  part  of,  ib.  222 ;  Laws  I . 
633  B ;  7.  823  B  ; — causes  of  war, 
Euthyph.  7;  Phaedo66C;  Rep. 
2.  373;  4.  422  foil.;  8.  547  A;  i 
Alcib.  Ill  foil.; — distinction  be- 
tween internal  and  external  war. 
Rep.  5. 470  A;  Laws  1.628;  civil 
worse  than  external  war.  Laws  i. 
629  D  ; — war,  a  favourite  theme 
of  poets.  Ion  531  C  ;  a  matter  of 
chance.  Rep.  5.  467  E  ;  Laws  i. 
638  A ;  the  guilt  of,  always  con- 
fined to  a  few  persons.  Rep.  5- 
471  B  ;  the  natural  state  of  man- 
kind. Laws  I.  625  E  ;  the  object 
of,  not  conquest,  but  peace  and 
reconciliation,  ib.  626-628 ;  in- 
ferior to  peace,  ib.  628 ;  7.  803  ; 

8.  829  A ;  a  cause  of  revolutions, 
ib.4.  708  C,  709  A;  aserious  thing, 
iiJ.  7. 8 1 4  E  ;— love  of  war,  dangers 
of,  Statesm.  308  A;  especially 
characteristic  of  timocracy.  Rep. 


Index. 


535 


8.  547  E  ; — war,  not  easily  waged 
by  an  oligarchy,  ib.  551  E;  the 
rich  and  the  poor  in  war,  ib.  556 
C ;  war,  a  favourite  resource  of 
the  tyrant,  ib.  567  A  ;  —  men, 
women,  and  children  to  take  part 
in  war,  ib.  5.  452  foil.,  467, 471  E  ; 
7-  537  A.  (cp.  Crit.  1 10  B,  1 1 3  D  ; 
Laws  6.  785  ;  7.  805,  806,  813  E  ; 
and  see  Women) ;  regulations 
concerning.  Rep.  5.  467-471  ; 
ought  to  be  practised  in  time  of 
peace,  Laws  8.  829,  830  ;  12.942; 
why  not  practised,  ib.  8.  831, 
832 ; — dances  of  war,  ib.  7.  796 
C,  815,  816  ;  12.  942  C  ;  dancing 
and  wrestling  a  preparation  for 
war,  ib.  7.  796  (cp.  ib.  813  D  ; 
12.  942  D) ; — war  not  to  be  de- 
clared without  the  authority  of 
the  state,  ib.  12. 955  B  ; — war  and 
peace,  the  chief  subject  of  the 
politician's  knowledge,  i  Alcib. 
107  E  foil.  (cp.  Statesm.  304  E). 
Wardens  of  the  Agora,  Laws  6.  759 

A,  B,763;  ii.9i3E,9i7 A,E,92o; 
their  duties,  ib.  6.  764  B  ;  8.  849 ; 
9.881C;  II.  936  C;  12.  953  B:— 
of  the  City,z/J.  6. 759  A,  6,763,  764 

B,  779C;  7-794B;  8.849E;  11. 
913  E,  918  A,  920  C,  936  C ;  12. 

954  B ;  to  decide  in  questions 
about  water,  ib.  8.  844  C,  845  C  ; 
in  matters  relating  to  artisans,  ib. 
847,  849  A ;  in  cases  where  a 
stranger  wounds  a  citizen,  ib.  9. 
879  E  ;  to  punish  slaves  who  do 
not  assist  according  to  law,  ib. 
881  C :— of  the  Country,  ib.  6.  760, 
761;  1 1.  913  E,  920  C,  936  C;  12. 

955  E  ;  punishment  of,  for  neglect 
of  duty,  ib.  6.  761  E  ;  to  have 
common  meals,  ib.  762  ;  to  have 
no  servants,  ib.  763  A ;  to  know 
every  part  of  the  country,  ibid.  ; 
to  decide  in  disputes  respecting 
boundaries,  ib.  8.  843  D  ;  in  ques- 
tions about  water,  ib.  844  C  ;  to 
settle  the  craftsmen  in  the  different 
villages,  ib.  849  A ;  to  try  cases 


in  which  an  animal  has  killed  a 
man,  ib.  9.  873  E  ;  to  punish 
slaves  who  do  not  assist  accord- 
ing to  law,  ib.  881  C  ;  to  restrain 
the  striker  of  a  parent  from  sacred 
rites,  ib.  D. 

Wares  of  the  soul,  Soph.  224. 

Warp,  the,  and  the  woof,  Crat.  388 
A  ;  Statesm.  281,  282  ; — in  the 
poHtical  science,  Statesm.  306 
foil. ;  rulers  and  subjects  com- 
pared to,  Laws  5.  734  E. 

Warrior,  the  brave,  rewards  of.  Rep. 
5.  468  ;  Laws  12.  943  ;  his  burial, 
Rep.  5.  468  E  ; — the  warrior  must 
know  how  to  count,  ib.  7.  522  E, 
525  ;  must  be  a  geometrician, 
ib.  526;  must  be  ambidextrous, 
Laws  7.  794  E.  Cp.  Guardians, 
Soldiers. 

Watchfulness,  necessity  of,  in  the 
state.  Laws  6.  758  A ;  7.  807  E, 
808  C. 

Water,  laws  concerning.  Laws  8. 
844;  pollution  of,  ib.  845  : — one 
of  the  elements,  Tim.  32,  53; 
nature  of,  ib.  49  ;  form  of,  ib.  56  ; 
kinds  of,  ib.  58  D  ;  compounds  of 
water  and  earth,  ib.  60,  61. 

Waves,  the  three,  Rep.  5.  457  C, 
472  A,  473  C. 

Wax,  block  of,  in  the  mind,  Theaet. 
191  D,  193-196,  200  C. 

Wax,  Tim.  61  C  : — waxen  images 
(in  sorcery).  Laws  11.  933  B. 

Ways,  the  goddess  of  (/>;-f<J.  Hecat^), 
Laws  II.  914  B. 

Weak,  the,  make  the  laws  as  a 
protection  to  themselves,  Gorg. 
483  ;  by  nature  subject  to  the 
strong.  Rep.  i.  338  ;  Laws  3.  690 
B;  4.  715  A  (cp.  Gorg.  483  E, 
489) ;  not  capable  of  much,  either 
for  good  or  evil,  Rep.  6. 491  £,495. 

Wealth,  the  advantage  of,  in  old 
age.  Rep.  i.  329, 330  ;  the  greatest 
blessing  of,  ib.  330,  331  ;  the 
destruction  of  the  arts,  ib.  4.  421  ; 
influence  of,  on  the  State,  ib.  ^22 
A  (cp.  Laws  4.  705  ;  5-  729  A)  ; 


536 


Index. 


'  the  sinews  of  war,'  Rep.  4.  422 
A ;  all-powerful  in  timocracies 
and  oligarchies,  zl>.  8.  548  A, 
B,  553,  562  A;  an  impedi- 
ment to  virtue,  t'6.  550  E  ;  Laws 
5.  728  A,  742  E;  8.  831  C,  836 
A ;  should  only  be  acquired  to  a 
moderate  amount,  Rep.  9.  591  E  ; 
Laws  9.  870  B ;  not  to  be  con- 
sidered in  forming  a  marriage  con- 
nexion, Statesm.  310  B  ;  Laws  6. 
773>  774  D  ;  not  unduly  honoured 
at'  Sparta,  Laws  3.  696  A ;  must 
have  the  last  place  in  the  state, 
zd.  697  C  ;  5.  743  E  (cp.  7. 801  B  ; 
9.  870  A,  B)  ;  evils  of,  zd.  4.  705 
B;  s.  742,  743;  8.831  C;  9.870; 
not  to  be  amassed  for  the  sake  of 
one's  children,  t/>.  5.  729  ;  wealth 
and  happiness,  /d.  743;  9.  870; 
Eryx.  393  E  ;  excessive  wealth,  a 
cause  of  revolution,  Laws  5.  744 
D  ;  limit  of,  in  the  state,  z'd.  E  (cp. 
Property) ;  the  love  of,  prevents 
the  practice  of  war,  id.  8.  831  C  ; 
a  cause  of  crime,  id.  9.  870 ;  not  so 
valuable  a  possession  as  justice, 
i6.  II.  913  B  (cp.  Apol.  29  D, 
41  E) ;  wealth  and  poverty  alike 
injurious,  Laws  11.  919  (cp.  5. 
744  D) ;  the  nature  of  wealth, 
Eryx.  393  et  passim  ;  wealth  less 
esteemed  by  men  than  health,  ib. 
393  C  ;  bad  for  some  men,  ib.  395 
E  foil. ;  made  the  standard  of  our 
judgment  of  others,  ib.  396  B ; 
defined  as  a  quantity  of  money, 
if'-  399  E  ;  must  be  useful,  ib.  400 
E  ;  implies  many  wants,  ib.  405, 
406  ; — wealth  of  the  Persians,  i 
Alcib.  122  B,  123  ;  of  the  Lacedae- 
monian kings,  ib.  I2X  B,  123  A ; 
of  Alcibiades,  ib.  123  : — the  blind 
god  of  wealth  (Pluto),  Rep.  8.  554 
B  (cp.  Laws  I.  631  C  ;  7.  801  B). 
Wealthy,  the,  everywhere  hostile  to 
the  poor.  Rep.  4. 423  A  ;  8.  551  E 
(cp.  Laws  5. 736  A)  ;  flattered  by 
them,  Rep.  5.  465  C;  the  wealthy 
and  the  wise,  ib.  6.  489  B ;  the 


wealthy  plundered  by  the  multi- 
tude in  democracies,  ib.  8.  564, 
565  ;  are  not  happy.  Laws  5. 743  ; 
9.  S70  (cp.  Rep.  1 . 329,  330  ;  Eryx. 
405,  406)  ;  evil  life  led  by  the  sons 
of  the  wealthy,  Laws  3.  695  E. 

Weaver's  coat,  the,  Phaedo  87. 

Weaving,  the  art  of,  Gorg.  449  C  ; 
I  Alcib.  128  D ;  one  of  the 
creative  arts.  Rep.  3.  401  A ;  an 
art  in  which  women  excel,  ib.  5. 
455  D  ;  divisions  of,  Statesm.  279- 
283  ;  the  warp  and  the  woof  in, 
ib.  281,  282,  309  A  ;  Laws  5.  734 
E  ;  defined,  Statesm.  283 ;  does 
not  require  the  use  of  iron.  Laws 
3.  679  A. 

Web,  the  political,  Statesm.  309, 
310. 

Weeping,  to  be  discouraged  in  the 
guardians,  Rep.  3.  387  C  (cp.  10. 
603  E  ;  Laws  7.  792  B,  800  D) ; 
characteristic  of  men  rather  than 
of  animals.  Laws  7.  791  E. 

Weighing,  art  of.  Charm.  166  A; 
corrects  the  illusions  of  sight, 
Rep.  10.  602  D;  —  weighing  in 
the  arts,  Phil.  55  E. 

Weights  and  measures,  in  the  Model 
City,  Laws  5.  746  E. 

White,  a  colour  suitable  to  the  Gods, 
Laws  12.  956  A;-- colours  pro- 
duced by  an  admixture  of  white, 
Tim.  68. 

White  lead.  Lysis  217  C. 

Whiteness,  Lysis  217  ;  Meno  74  C  ; 
Theaet.  153  E,  156  D,  182;  Phil. 

53,  58  D. 
Whole  and  parts.  Ion  532  ;  Theaet. 
204;  in  medicine.  Charm.  156 
E  ;  Phaedr.  270  C  (cp.  Laws  10. 
902  E,  903  D) ;  of  virtue,  Protag. 
329  D,  349  foil.  (cp.  Laws  I.  630 
E;  12.  965);  in  propositions, 
Crat.  3S5  ;  in  regard  to  the  happi- 
ness of  the  state,  Rep.  4.  420 ;  5- 
466 ;  7.  519  E ;  Laws  7.  806  C ;  in 
love,  Rep.  5.  474  C,  475  B  ;  6. 485 
B  ;  in  the  one,  Parm.  137,  138  E, 
142,  144,  145,  147  B,  150,  153  C, 


Index. 


537 


157  C,  158,  159  D  ;  Soph.  245  ; 
in  the  universe,  Tim.  30  E  ;  Laws 
10. 903,  905  ;  in  legislation,  Laws 
I.  630  E. 

Whorl,  the  great,  Rep.  10.  616. 

Wicked,  the,  punishment  of,  in  the 
world  below,  Phaedr.  249  A ; 
Phaedo  108  B,  114;  Gorg.  523 
B,  525  ;  Rep.  2.  363  ;  10.  614  ; 
Theaet.  177  A;  Laws  9. 870  E,  881 
B  ;  10.  904  C  ;  12.  959  ;  miserable 
in  this  hfe, Gorg. 470  foil.;  i  Alcib. 
1 34  B  ;  thought  by  men  to  be 
happy.  Rep.  i.  354  ;  2.  364  A  ;  3. 
392  B  ;  Laws  2.  661  ;  10.  899  E, 
905  A  (cp.  Gorg.  470)  ;  their  gifts 
not  received  by  God,  Rep.  2.  365 
E  ;  Laws  4.  716  E ;  10.  885  C, 
888  E,  905,  908  E ;  12.  948  C  ;  2 
Alcib.  149  E. 

Wild  animals,  creation  of,  Tim.  91. 

Will,  freedom  of  the.  Laws  10. 904  C. 

'  Willing '  and  '  wishing,'  Gorg.  467. 

Wills,  freedom  in  making,  restricted. 
Laws  II.  922;  regulations  con- 
cerning, ib.  923. 

Wine,  Tim.  60  A  ;  a  cure  for  drink- 
ing hemlock.  Lysis  219  E ;  makes 
men  think  they  have  a  mind,  Crat. 
406  D  ;  =  fear  potion.  Laws  i . 
647  foil. ;  in  education,  ibid. ; 
use  of,  ib.  2.  666 ;  forbidden  to 
children,  ib.  A  ;  why  given  to 
men,  2^.  672  ;  when  and  by  whom 
it  may  be  drunk,  ib.  674  ; — lovers 
of  wine.  Rep.  5.  475  A. 

Wings  of  the  soul,  Phaedr.  246,  251. 

Wisdom  {<rn(f)ia,  (jjpovrjais),  =gOod 
fortune,  Euthyd.  282 ;  =  true 
thought,  Theaet.  170; — the  true 
wisdom,  to  know  God,  ib.  176; 
to  have  harmony  in  the  soul, 
Laws  3.  689 ;  —  wisdom,  the 
highest  of  human  things,  Protag. 
352  D  ;  the  most  valuable  of 
treasures,  Euthyd.  282  ;  Eryx. 
394  A ;  can  it  be  taught  ?  Euthyd. 
282  (cp.  Virtue) ;  loveliness  of, 
Phaedr.  250 ;  unseen,  ibid. ;  to 
be  ascribed  to  God  only,  ib,  278 


(cp.  Apol.  23  A) ;  the  one  true 
coin  for  which  all  things  ought  to 
exchange,  Phaedo  69;  the  com- 
munion of  the  soul  with  the  un- 
changing, ib.  79  ;  the  only  release 
from  evil,  ib.  107  ;  akin  to  truth, 
Rep.  6.  485  D  ;  the  power  of, 
ib.  7.  518,  519;  the  only  virtue 
which  is  innate  in  us,  ib.  518  E  ; 
a  real  thing,  Theaet.  166  E ;  a 
good,  Phil.  II,  66  (cp.  Laws  i. 
631  C) ;  not  wholly  to  be  severed 
from  pleasure,  Phil.  21,  60  foil.; 
occupied  in  the  contemplation 
of  true  being,  ib.  59 ;  to  be 
prayed  for  both  by  states  and 
men.  Laws  3.  688 ;  first  among 
virtues,  ib.  A  ;  after  the  event,  an 
easy  matter,  ib.  691  B,  692  B ;  the 
source  of  happiness,  i  Alcib.  134 
(cp.  Charm.  173  ;  Meno  88) ;  — 
wisdom  and  courage.  Laws  12. 
963  (cp.  Protag.  350,  360  ;  Gorg. 
495) ; — wisdom  and  false  opinion, 
Statesm.  278 ;  —  wisdom  and 
friendship,  Lysis  210; — wisdom 
and  goodness,  i  Alcib.  124; — wis- 
dom and  injustice,  Rep.  i.  349  ; — 
wisdom  and  knowledge,  Theaet. 
145  E;  —  wisdom  and  science. 
Charm.  165  ; — wisdom  and  self- 
conceit,  Phil.  48  U  (cp.  Laws  5. 
727  B,  732  A  ;  9.  863) ; — wisdom 
and  temperance,  Charm.  165  C, 
170,  171;  Protag.  332;  Symp. 
209  A  ;  —  wisdom  and  virtue, 
Meno  88  ; — wisdom  in  the  state, 
Rep.  4.  428  (cp.  Laws  3.  689  ;  12. 
964,  965) ;  the  fairest  wisdom 
that  which  is  concerned  with  the 
ordering  of  states,  Symp.  209  A. 
Wisdom.  [Wisdom  is  the  eqtciva- 
lent  in  English  of  two  Greek 
words,  (To^'ia  and  (jipovqcris,  be- 
tween which,  however,  there  is  a 
slight  diffe7'cnce  of  meaning.  By 
the  former  is  intended  '  wisdom ' 
in  the  wider  sense,  i.e.  the  highest 
combination  of  virtue  and  in- 
telligence.    The  latter  has  the 


538 


Index. 


narrower  signification  of  'pru- 
dence '  or  'forethought^  and  con- 
tains less  of  the  moral  element. — 
Like  temperance,  wisdom  is 
with  difficulty  distinguished  as  a 
separate  virtue,  and  may  be  re- 
garded rather  as  the  cuhnination 
or  perfection  of  all  virtue,  under 
which  the  other  virtues  are  in- 
cluded (Meno  88  ;  Phaedo  69 ; 
Symp.  209  A).  It  is  the  virtue 
which  purges  the  soul  from  error 
(Phaedo  79,  107),  or,  to  use 
another  metaphor,  which  effects 
her  conversion  from  darkness  to 
light  and  enables  her  to  behold 
true  being  (Rep.  7.  518).  Unlike 
most  of  the  other  virtues  it  is  not 
a  matter  of  habit,  but  innate  and 
the  gift  of  God,  of  whom  it  is  the 
peculiar  at  tribute  and  prerogative 
(Phaedr.  27S  D  ;  Rep.  7.  519  A  ; 
Theaet.  176).  Yet  it  is  also  the 
virtue  which  '  every  man  from 
his  very  boyhood '  fancies  that  he 
possesses,  and  this  universal  self- 
conceit  leads  us  into  all  kinds  of 
error  and folly  (Phil.  49  A  ;  Laws 
5.  727  A).  Again,  it  is  more  akin 
to  the  good  than  pleasure,  be- 
cause it  has  a  larger  share  of 
the  three  elefnents  of  the  good, — 
beauty, symmetry,  truth  (Philebus 
passim). — Finally,  in  the  state 
wisdom  is  the  virtue  which  more 
especially  belofigs  to  the  legislator 
and  the  ruler.  Those  who  have 
it  will  form  the  smallest  class 
among  the  citizens,  and  may  be 
fitly  called  the  '  mind '  of  the  state, 
because  they  are  the  guiding  or 
directing  faculty  of  the  whole 
community  (Rep.  4.  428 ;  Laws 
1 2.  964).  Afid,  just  as  in  the  soul 
the  commands  of  reason  ought  to 
be  obeyed  by  the  desires,  so  in  the 
state  the  mandates  of  the  rulers 
and  the  laws  should  be  accepted 
without  question  by  the  mass  of 
the  citizens  (Laws  3.  689  A).]. 


Wise  man,  the,  the  friend  and 
kindred  of  all.  Lysis  210  C  ;  does 
not  fear  death,  Apol.  29,  35  A ; 
Phaedo  62-68  ;  =the  good,  Rep. 
1.350;  I  Alcib.  124, 125  ;  defini- 
tion of,  Rep.  4.  442  C  ;  alone  has 
true  pleasure,  ib.  9.  583  B  ;  life  of, 
ib.  591 ;  according  to  Protagoras' 
philosophy,  Theaet.  166  E ;  the 
only  'measure  of  all  things,'  ib. 
183  B  ;  different  from  the  clever 
artist,  2  Alcib.  145  E  ;— 'the  wise 
to  go  to  the  doors  of  the  rich,' 
Rep.  6.  489  B  {see  s.  v.  Pro- 
verbs) ; — wise  men  ^nlfioves,  Crat. 
398  ;  said  to  be  the  friends  of  the 
tyrant,  Rep.  8.  568 ;  compared 
to  physicians  and  husbandmen, 
Theaet.  167  B  ;  are  those  whose 
impressions  are  acute,  ib.  194D  ; 
ought  to  rule  over  the  ignorant, 
Laws  3.  690  B  ; — the  seven  wise 
men,  Protag.  343  ; — Socrates  the 
wisest  of  men,  Apol.  21  A. 

Witchcraft,  Laws  i.  649  A ;  10.  909 

B;  n.  933- 

Witness,  false,  Laws  11.  937  B  ;  12. 
943  E  ; — value  of  character  in  a 
witness,  Eryx.  398  B  ; — witnesses, 
Laws  8.  846  C  ;  1 1.  937  ;  obstruc- 
tion of  witnesses,  ib.  12.  954  E. 

Wives  to  be  common  in  the  state. 
Rep.  5.  457  foil. ;  8.  543 ;  Tim. 
18;  Laws  5.  739;  apt  to  be  in- 
solent when  possessed  of  pro- 
perty, Laws  6.  774  C.  Cp.  Com- 
munity of  Women. 

Wizard,  comparison  of  the  speech- 
maker  to  a,  Euthyd.  290  A  ;  of 
the  sophist,  Soph.  235  A ;  of 
the  sophist-politician,  Statesm. 
291  C,  303  C  : — punishment  of 
wizards.  Laws  10.  909;  11.  933: 
— '  no  room  for  the  wizard  at  our 
feast,'  ib.  i.  649  A. 

Wolf,  the,  a  bad  likeness  of  the 
dog,  Soph.  231  A  : — wolves  and 
tyrants  akin,  Phaedo  82  A  ;  men 
changed  into  wolves.  Rep.  8. 
565  D  :— (proverbial)  '  wolf  may 


Index. 


539 


claim  a  hearing,'  Phaedr.  272  D  ; 
'  wolf  and  flock,'  Rep.  3.  415  D. 

Women,  creation  of,  Tim.  91  ; — em- 
ployments of.  Lysis  208  ;  Rep.  5. 
455;  Laws  7.805  E;  conservative  in 
language,  Crat.  418B;  differences 
of  taste  in.  Rep.  5.  456;  fond  of 
complaining,  ib.  8.  549  D  ;  bad 
educators  of  children,  Laws  3. 694 
E,  695  B  ;  given  to  concealment, 
ib.  6.  781  ;  cowardly  in  time  of 
danger,  ib.  7.  814  A; — in  ancient 
Attica  shared  in  military  pursuits, 
Crit.  iioB,  112D;  in  Crete, highly 
cultivated,  Protag.  342  E ;  at  Lace- 
daemon,  ibid.;  Laws  I.  637;  6. 
780 ;  7.  806  ;  in  Thrace,  Laws  7. 
805  E  ;  of  the  Sauromatides,  ib. 
804  E,  806  B  ;  in  Hellas,  ibid. ; — 
supposed  to  differ  in  nature  from 
men,  Rep.  5. 453  (cp.  Laws  7.  802 
E) ;  inferior  to  men.  Rep.  5.  455  ; 
Tim.  42 ;  Laws  6.  781;  ought  to 
be  trained  like  men,  Rep.  5.  451, 
466 ;  Laws  7.  805  ;  8.  829  E  ; — 
in  the  gymnasia,  Rep.  5.  452, 
■457;  Laws  7.  813,  814;  8.  833; 
in  war,  Rep.  5.  453  foil.,  466  E, 
471  E ;  Laws  6.  785  ;  7. 805,  806, 
813  E;  to  be  guardians.  Rep.  5. 
456,  458,  466;  7.  540  C;  (and 
children)  to  be  common,  5.  450 
E,  457  foil.,  462,  464 ;  8.  543 ; 
Tim.  18;  Laws  5.  739  (cp.  Com- 
munity of  Women) ;  to  have 
common  meals.  Laws  6.  781  ;  to 
learn  martial  exercises,  ib.  7.  794 
D,  804  foil.,  813  ;  8.  829  B  ;  music 
for,  ib.  7.  802  E ;  women's  festivals, 
ib.  8.  828  ;  races  for,  ib.  833  D  ; 
contests  in  armour,  ib.  E ; — con- 
trollers of  marriage,  ib.  6.  784 ;  7. 
794;  II.  930  A,  932  B. 

Wonder,  philosophy  begins  in, 
Theaet.  15s  D  (cp.  Rep.  5. 475  C). 

Wooden  objects,  may  be  offered  to 
the  Gods,  Laws  12.  956  A. 

Woods,  firing  of,  Laws  8.  843  E. 

Woof,  Crat.  388  A  ;  Statesm.  281, 
282,  309  A  ;  Laws  5.  734  E. 


Wool-working,  Statesm.  282. 

Words  without  music,  Laws  2.  669 
(cp.  Gorg.  502). 

Work  honourable.  Charm.  163. 

World,  the,  the  natural  enemy  of 
good  men,  Apol.  28  A;  cannot 
be  a  philosopher.  Rep.  6.  494  A ; 
knowledge  of,  necessary  in  the 
ruler  of  the  feast,  Laws  i.  640  C  ; 
always  more  or  less  out  of  its 
mind,  ib.  11.  929  D  ;  its  judgment 
not  to  be  despised,  ib.  12.  950 
B. 

World,  the,  creation  of,  Tim.  28 

foil. ;  patterns  of,  ib.  29  ;  soul  of, 
3°)  34)  90  ;  Phil.  30 ;  Laws  10. 

896-898;  an  animal,  Tim.  31; 

free  from  disease  and  old  age,  ib. 

33  A ;  figure  of,  ib.  B  ;  a  god,  ib. 

34 ;  motion  of,  ib.  36 ;  Statesm. 

269, 270 : — are  there  more  worlds 

than  one?  Tim.  55  C  (cp.  31  B). 
World  above,  the,  Phaedo  no  A 

foil. 

World  below,  the,  seems  very  near 
to  the  aged,  Rep.  i.  330  E ; 
not  to  be  reviled,  ib.  3.  386  foil, 
(cp.  Crat.  403  ;  Laws  5.  727  E ; 
8.  828  D) ;  pleasure  of  discourse 
in,  Apol.  41 ;  Rep.  6.  498  D  ; 
punishment  of  the  wicked  in, 
Phaedr.  249  A ;  Phaedo  108  B, 
114;  Gorg.  523  B,  525  ;  Rep.  2. 
363;  10.  614;  Theaet.  177  A; 
Laws  9.  870  E,  881  B  ;  10.904  C; 
12.  959 ;  sex  in.  Rep.  10. 618  B  ; — 
[heroes]  who  have  ascended  from 
the  world  below  to  the  Gods,  ib. 
7.  521  C.    Cp.  Hades. 

Wounding,  voluntary  and  involun- 
tary, Laws  9.  874,  875  ;  enact- 
ments concerning,  ib.  876-882. 

Wounds,  a  question  of  fact,  Laws  9. 
875  E. 

Woven  work,  may  be  offered  (in 
certain  quantities)  to  the  Gods, 
Laws  12.  956  A. 

Wrestling,  Meno94;  Euthyd.  277  ; 
Theaet.  162  A  ;  Laws  7.  795,  796, 
814  D  ;  I  Alcib.  108  ;  precepts  of 


540 


Index. 


Protagoras  about,  Soph.  232  E  ; — 
laws  of  wrestling,  Laws  8.  833  E. 
Cp.  Gymnastic. 

Writing,  the  art  of,  taught  in  schools, 
Protag.  326  C  ;  Laws  7.  810  B ; 
invented  by  Theuth,  Phaedr.274; 
injurious  to  the  memory,  E  : — 
written  compositions  apt  to  be 
unintelligible,  ib.  275;  require  the 
aid  of  dialectic,  ib.  276 ;  ought  to 
have  a  serious  purpose,  ib.  277 
E ;  inferior  to  the  thoughts  and 
aspirations  of  the  soul,  ib.  278 
A  : — the  'writings  of  our  minds,' 
Phil.  39  A. 

Writing  masters,  Charm.  159  C,  160 
A,  161  D  ;  Protag.  326  C. 

X. 

Xanthias,  a  famous  wrestler,  Meno 
94  C. 

Xanthippe,  wife  of  Socrates,  Phaedo 
60  A  (cp.  116  A). 

Xanthippus,  father  of  Pericles,  i 
Alcib.  104  B  ;  Menex.  235  E. 

Xanthippus,  son  of  Pericles,  Protag. 
31 5  A  ;  very  inferior  to  his  father, 
ib.  320  A,  328  C  ;  Meno  94  B  ;  i 
Alcib.  118  E. 

Xanthus,  a  river  of  Troy  (  =  Sca- 
mander),  Crat.  391  E. 

Xenelasia,  Protag.  342;  Laws  12. 
950  (cp.  ib.  953  E). 

Xenophanes  of  Elea,  Soph.  242  D. 

Xerxes,  invaded  Hellas,  Gorg.  483 
E  ;  perhaps  author  of  the  maxim 
that  justice  =  doing  good  to  your 
friends  and  harm  to  your  enemies. 
Rep.  I.  336  A  ;  brought  up  in  the 
royal  and  luxurious  fashion,  Laws 
3.695E;  Xerxes  and  Alcibiades, 
I  Alcib.  105  C ;  father  of  Arta- 
xerxes,  ib.  121  B,  123  C. 

Y. 

Year,  the  perfect,  Tim.  39. 
Young,  the,  how  affected  by  the 

common  praises  of  injustice.  Rep. 

2.  365  ;  cannot  understand  alle- 


gory, ib.  378  E  ;  must  be  subject 
in  the  state,  ib.  3.  412;  Laws  3. 
690  A ;  4.  714  E  (cp.  Laws  3.  680 
E) ;  must  submit  to  their  elders. 
Rep.  5.  465  A ;  Laws  4.  721  D  ; 
9.  879  C;  II.  917  A;  must  not 
criticize  the  laws.  Laws  i.  634  E  ; 
restlessness  of  young  creatures, 
ib.  2.  653  E,  664  E  ;  the  young 
easily  persuaded  by  the  legislator 
to  believe  anything,  ib.  664  (cp. 
2.  671  C) ;  best  way  of  training, 
ib.  5.  729  C ;  made  morose  and 
irascible  by  luxury,  ib.  7.  791  D  ; 
must  keep  their  old  sports  and 
ways,  ib.  797 ;  must  be  obedient 
to  the  legislator,  ib.  823  D : — 
the  younger  men  to  be  the  ad- 
ministrators, and  the  older  the 
counsellors  of  the  state,  ib.  12. 
965  A.    Cp.  Children,  Education. 

Youthful  body,  the,  Tim.  81. 

Youths,  contests  of,  Laws  8.  833  C ; 
to  attend  the  burial  of  the  censor 
of  magistrates,  ib.  12.  947: — 
youthful  character,  apt  to  change, 
ib.  II.  929  C; — youthful  corrup- 
tion, to  be  attributed,  not  to  the 
Sophists,  but  to  public  opinion, 
Rep.  6.  492  A  ;  —  youthful  en- 
thusiasm for  metaphysics,  ib.  7. 
539  B;  Phil.  15  E;— youthful 
regard  for  authority.  Farm.  130 
E ;— youthful  scepticism,  not  of 
long  continuance.  Laws  10.  888  B 
(cp.  Rep.  7.  539  D  ;  Soph.  234  E). 

Z. 

Zamolxis,  the  Thracian,  Charm.  156 
D,i58B(cp.  175E). 

Zeno,  Soph.  216  A;  the  Eleatic 
Palamedes,  Phaedr.261  B,D;  the 
friend  of  Pythodorus,  Parm.  126 
B;  description  of,  ib.  127  B,  C; 
a  person  in  the  dialogue  Par- 
menides,  128  A-130,  136  D,  E; 
well  paid  for  teaching,  i  Alcib. 
119  A. 

Zethus,  in  the  play  of  Euripides, 
Gorg.  485  E,  489  E,  506  B. 


Index, 


Zeus,  son  of  Cronos,  Tim.  41  A; 
his  treatment  of  his  father, 
Euthyph.  6  A,  8  B  ;  Rep.  3.  377 
E  ; — the  father  of  Aphrodite  Pan- 
demus,  Symp.  180  E  ; — the  sons 
of,  Laws  12.  941  B; — Achilles 
descended  from.  Rep.  3.  391  C  ; — 
ancestor  of  Lysis,  Lysis  205  D  ;  of 
the  Lacedaemonian  and  Persian 
kings,  I  Alcib.  120  E  ;  of  Alci- 
biades  and  Socrates,  ib.  121  A  ; — 
divided  men  into  halves,  Symp. 
190  C  foil. ;  his  love  for  Gany- 
mede, Phaedr.  255  C;  makes  his 
sons  judges  in  the  world  below, 
Gorg.  523  A  foil.  ;  author  of  the 
laws  of  Crete,  Laws  i.  624  A, 
632  D  ;  2.  662  B  ;—  the  tale  of 
his  throwing  Hephaestus  out  of 
heaven  not  to  be  received  in  the 
state.  Rep.  2.  378  D  ;  did  not 
cause  the  violation  of  the  treaty 
in  the  Trojan  War,  or  the  strife 
of  the  Gods,  ib.  379  E  ;  or  send 
the  lying  dream  to  Agamemnon, 
ib.  383  A  ;  or  lust  for  Her^,  ib.  3. 
390  B ;  ought  not  to  have  been 
described  by  Homer  as  lamenting 
for  Achilles  and  Sarpedon,  ib.  388 
C  ;  the  tale  of  his  love  for  Gany- 
mede invented  by  the  Cretans, 
Laws  I.  636  C ;  —  Zeus  the 
Saviour,  Charm.  167  B  ;  Rep.  9. 
583  A,  B  ;  Eryx.  392  A  ;  guardian 
of  the  phratry,  Euthyd.  302  C, 


D,  E  ;  Lycaean  Zeus,  Rep.  8.  565 
D  ;  the  god  of  boundaries,  of 
kindred,  of  strangers,  Laws  5. 730 
A;  8.  842  E,  843  A;  9.  879  D, 
881  D  ;  of  ancestry,  9.  881  D ; 
Zeus  Poliuchus,  z(5.  11.  921  C;  the 
god  of  friendship,  Euthyph.  6  B; 
I  Alcib.  109  D  ; — ancestral  Zeus 
unknown  among  lonians,  Euthyd. 
302  C,  D,  E  ; — keeper  of  political 
wisdom,  Protag.  321  D  (cp.  329 
C) ;  his  empire  due  to  love,  Symp. 
197  B  ;  has  in  himself  the  power 
of  the  cause,  Phil.  30  D  ;  judg- 
ment of  Zeus,  =  equality,  Laws  6. 
757; — meaning  of  the  name, 
Crat.  396  A  (cp.  410E) ; — proces- 
sions of,  in  heaven,  Phaedr.  246 
E  foil. ;  attendants  of,  ib.  252  C 
foil. ;  —  temple  of,  at  Athens, 
ib.  227  B;  at  Cnosus,  Laws  i. 
625  A;  at  Olympia,  ib.  12.  950 
E  ; — (in  the  Model  City)  temples 
of,  Laws  5.  745  B  ;  8.  848  D ; 
fines  sacred  to,  ib.  6.  774  D  ;  oath 
of  the  witness  by,  ib.  11.  936  E  ; 
office  of  heralds  and  ambassadors 
sacred  to,  ib.  12.  941  A. 

Zeuxippus  of  Heraclea,  a  famous 
painter,  Protag.  318  B. 

Zeuxis,  the  painter,  Gorg.  453  C,  D. 

Zopyrus,  the  Thracian,  tutor  of 
Alcibiades,  i  Alcib.  122  B. 

Zoroaster,  son  of  Oromasus,  i  Alcib. 
122  A. 


THE  END. 


Other  Works  by  Professor  Jowett. 


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