Ath. Well, then, let us give all the greater heed to one another"swords. The argument affirms that any change whatever except fromevil is the most dangerous of all things; this is true in the caseof the seasons and of the winds, in the management of our bodies andthe habits of our minds-true of all things except, as I said before,of the bad. He who looks at the constitution of individuals accustomedto eat any sort of meat, or drink any drink, or to do any work whichthey can get, may see that they are at first disordered by them, butafterwards, as time goes on, their bodies grow adapted to them, andthey learn to know and like variety, and have good health andenjoyment of life; and if ever afterwards they are confined again to asuperior diet, at first they are troubled with disorders, and withdifficulty become habituated to their new food. A similar principle wemay imagine to hold good about the minds of men and the natures oftheir souls. For when they have been brought up in certain laws, whichby some Divine Providence have remained unchanged during long ages, sothat no one has any memory or tradition of their ever having beenotherwise than they are, then every one is afraid and ashamed tochange that which is established. The legislator must somehow find away of implanting this reverence for antiquity, and I would proposethe following way:-People are apt to fancy, as I was saying before,that when the plays of children are altered they are merely plays, notseeing that the most serious and detrimental consequences arise out ofthe change; and they readily comply with the child"s wishes instead ofdeterring him, not considering that these children who makeinnovations in their games, when they grow up to be men, will bedifferent from the last generation of children, and, beingdifferent, will desire a different sort of life, and under theinfluence of this desire will want other institutions and laws; and noone of them reflects that there will follow what I just now called thegreatest of evils to states. Changes in bodily fashions are no suchserious evils, but frequent changes in the praise and censure ofmanners 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, thatrhythms and music in general are imitations of good and evilcharacters 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 prevent ouryouth 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 objectthan that of the Egyptians?
Cle. What is their method?
Ath. To consecrate every sort of dance or melody. First we shouldordain festivals-calculating for the year what they ought to be, andat what time, and in honour of what Gods, sons of Gods, and heroesthey ought to be celebrated; and, in the next place, what hymnsought to be sung at the several sacrifices, and with what dances theparticular festival is to be honoured. This has to be arranged atfirst by certain persons, and, when arranged, the whole assembly ofthe citizens are to offer sacrifices and libations to the Fates andall the other Gods, and to consecrate the several odes to gods andheroes: and if any one offers any other hymns or dances to any oneof the Gods, the priests and priestesses, acting in concert with theguardians of the law, shall, with the sanction of religion and thelaw, exclude him, and he who is excluded, if he do not submit, shallbe liable all his life long to have a suit of impiety broughtagainst him by any one who likes.
Cle. Very good.
Ath. In the consideration of this subject, let us remember what isdue to ourselves.
Cle. To what are you referring?
Ath. I mean that any young man, and much more any old one, when hesees or hears anything strange or unaccustomed, does not at once runto embrace the paradox, but he stands considering, like a person whois at a place where three paths meet, and does not very well knowhis way-he may be alone or he may be walking with others, and hewill say to himself and them, "Which is the way?" and will not moveforward until he is satisfied that he is going right. And this is whatwe must do in the present instance:-A strange discussion on thesubject of law has arisen, which requires the utmost consideration,and we should not at our age be too ready to speak about such greatmatters, or be confident that we can say anything certain all in amoment.
Cle. Most true.
Ath. Then we will allow time for reflection, and decide when we havegiven the subject sufficient consideration. But that we may not behindered from completing the natural arrangement of our laws, let usproceed to the conclusion of them in due order; for very possibly,if God will, the exposition of them, when completed, may throw lighton our present perplexity.
Cle. Excellent, Stranger; let us do as you propose.
Ath. Let us then affirm the paradox that strains of music are ourlaws (nomoi), and this latter being the name which the ancients gaveto lyric songs, they probably would not have very much objected to ourproposed application of the word. Some one, either asleep or awake,must have had a dreamy suspicion of their nature. And let our decreebe as follows:-No one in singing or dancing shall offend againstpublic and consecrated models, and the general fashion among theyouth, any more than he would offend against any other law. And he whoobserves this law shall be blameless; but he who is disobedient, asI was saying, shall be punished by the guardians of the laws, and bythe priests and priestesses. Suppose that we imagine this to be ourlaw.
Cle. Very good.
Ath. Can any one who makes such laws escape ridicule? Let us see.
