LAWS

第11章

Ath。Werewenotsayingthatonsuchoccasionsthesoulsofthedrinkersbecomelikeironheatedinthefire,andgrowsofterandyounger,andareeasilymouldedbyhimwhoknowshowtoeducateandfashionthem,justaswhentheywereyoung,andthatthisfashionerofthemisthesamewhoprescribedfortheminthedaysoftheiryouth,viz。,thegoodlegislator;andthatheoughttoenactlawsofthebanquet,which,whenamanisconfident,bold,andimpudent,andunwillingtowaithisturnandhavehisshareofsilenceandspeech,anddrinkingandmusic,willchangehischaracterintotheopposite-suchlawsaswillinfuseintohimajustandnoblefear,whichwilltakeuparmsattheapproachofinsolence,beingthatdivinefearwhichwehavecalledreverenceandshame?

Cle。True。

Ath。Andtheguardiansoftheselawsandfellow-workerswiththemarethecalmandsobergeneralsofthedrinkers;andwithouttheirhelpthereisgreaterdifficultyinfightingagainstdrinkthaninfightingagainstenemieswhenthecommanderofanarmyisnothimselfcalm;andhewhoisunwillingtoobeythemandthecommandersofDionysiacfeastswhoaremorethansixtyyearsofage,shallsufferadisgraceasgreatashewhodisobeysmilitaryleaders,orevengreater。

Cle。Right。

Ath。If,then,drinkingandamusementwereregulatedinthisway,wouldnotthecompanionsofourrevelsbeimproved?theywouldpartbetterfriendsthantheywere,andnot,asnowenemies。Theirwholeintercoursewouldberegulatedbylawandobservantofit,andthesoberwouldbetheleadersofthedrunken。

Cle。Ithinksotoo,ifdrinkingwereregulatedasyoupropose。

Ath。LetusnotthensimplycensurethegiftofDionysusasbadandunfittobereceivedintotheState。Forwinehasmanyexcellences,andonepre-eminentone,aboutwhichthereisadifficultyinspeakingtothemany,fromafearoftheirmisconceivingandmisunderstandingwhatissaid。

Cle。Towhatdoyourefer?

Ath。Thereisatraditionorstory,whichhassomehowcreptabouttheworld,thatDionysuswasrobbedofhiswitsbyhisstepmotherHere,andthatoutofrevengeheinspiresBacchicfuriesanddancingmadnessesinothers;forwhichreasonhegavemenwine。SuchtraditionsconcerningtheGodsIleavetothosewhothinkthattheymaybesafelyuttered;Ionlyknowthatnoanimalatbirthismatureorperfectinintelligence;andintheintermediateperiod,inwhichhehasnotyetacquiredhisownpropersense,heragesandroarswithoutrhymeorreason;andwhenhehasoncegotonhislegshejumpsaboutwithoutrhymeorreason;andthis,asyouwillremember,hasbeenalreadysaidbyustobetheoriginofmusicandgymnastic。

Cle。Tobesure,Iremember。

Ath。Anddidwenotsaythatthesenseofharmonyandrhythmsprangfromthisbeginningamongmen,andthatApolloandtheMusesandDionysusweretheGodswhomwehadtothankforthem?

Cle。Certainly。

Ath。Theotherstoryimpliedthatwinewasgivenmanoutofrevenge,andinordertomakehimmad;butourpresentdoctrine,onthecontrary,is,thatwinewasgivenhimasabalm,andinordertoimplantmodestyinthesoul,andhealthandstrengthinthebody。

Cle。That,Stranger,ispreciselywhatwassaid。

Ath。Thenhalfthesubjectmaynowbeconsideredtohavebeendiscussed;shallweproceedtotheconsiderationoftheotherhalf?

Cle。Whatistheotherhalf,andhowdoyoudividethesubject?

Ath。Thewholechoralartisalsoinourviewthewholeofeducation;andofthisart,rhythmsandharmoniesformthepartwhichhastodowiththevoice。

Cle。Yes。

Ath。Themovementofthebodyhasrhythmincommonwiththemovementofthevoice,butgestureispeculiartoit,whereassongissimplythemovementofthevoice。

Cle。Mosttrue。

Ath。Andthesoundofthevoicewhichreachesandeducatesthesoul,wehaveventuredtotermmusic。

Cle。Wewereright。

Ath。Andthemovementofthebody,whenregardedasanamusement,wetermeddancing;butwhenextendedandpursuedwithaviewtotheexcellenceofthebody,thisscientifictrainingmaybecalledgymnastic。

Cle。Exactly。

Ath。Music,whichwasonehalfofthechoralart,maybesaidtohavebeencompletelydiscussed。Shallweproceedtotheotherhalfornot?Whatwouldyoulike?

Cle。Mygoodfriend,whenyouaretalkingwithaCretanandLacedaemonian,andwehavediscussedmusicandnotgymnastic,whatanswerareeitherofuslikelytomaketosuchanenquiry?

Ath。Anansweriscontainedinyourquestion;andIunderstandandacceptwhatyousaynotonlyasananswer,butalsoasacommandtoproceedwithgymnastic。

Cle。Youquiteunderstandme;doasyousay。

Ath。Iwill;andtherewillnotbeanydifficultyinspeakingintelligiblytoyouaboutasubjectwithwhichbothofyouarefarmorefamiliarthanwithmusic。

Cle。Therewillnot。

Ath。Isnottheoriginofgymnastics,too,tobesoughtinthetendencytorapidmotionwhichexistsinallanimals;man,asweweresaying,havingattainedthesenseofrhythm,createdandinventeddancing;andmelodyarousingandawakeningrhythm,bothunitedformedthechoralart?

Cle。Verytrue。

Ath。Andonepartofthissubjecthasbeenalreadydiscussedbyus,andtherestillremainsanothertobediscussed?

Cle。Exactly。

Ath。Ihavefirstafinalwordtoaddtomydiscourseaboutdrink,ifyouwillallowmetodoso。

Cle。Whatmorehaveyoutosay?

Ath。Ishouldsaythatifacityseriouslymeanstoadoptthepracticeofdrinkingunderdueregulationandwithaviewtotheenforcementoftemperance,andinlikemanner,andonthesameprinciple,willallowofotherpleasures,designingtogainthevictoryovertheminthiswayallofthemmaybeused。ButiftheStatemakesdrinkinganamusementonly,andwhoeverlikesmaydrinkwheneverhelikes,andwithwhomhelikes,andaddtothisanyotherindulgences,Ishallneveragreeorallowthatthiscityorthismanshouldpractisedrinking。IwouldgofurtherthantheCretansandLacedaemonians,andamdisposedrathertothelawoftheCarthaginians,thatnoonewhileheisonacampaignshouldbeallowedtotastewineatall,butthatheshoulddrinkwaterduringallthattime,andthatinthecitynoslave,maleorfemale,shouldeverdrinkwine;andthatnomagistratesshoulddrinkduringtheiryearofoffice,norshouldpilotsofvesselsorjudgeswhileondutytastewineatall,noranyonewhoisgoingtoholdaconsultationaboutanymatterofimportance;norinthedaytimeatall,unlessinconsequenceofexerciseorasmedicine;noragainatnight,whenanyone,eithermanorwoman,ismindedtogetchildren。Therearenumberlessothercasesalsoinwhichthosewhohavegoodsenseandgoodlawsoughtnottodrinkwine,sothatifwhatIsayistrue,nocitywillneedmanyvineyards。Theirhusbandryandtheirwayoflifeingeneralwillfollowanappointedorder,andtheircultivationofthevinewillbethemostlimitedandtheleastcommonoftheiremployments。Andthis,Stranger,shallbethecrownofmydiscourseaboutwine,ifyouagree。

Cle。Excellent:weagree。

BOOKIII

AthenianStranger。Enoughofthis。Andwhat,then,istoberegardedastheoriginofgovernment?Willnotamanbeabletojudgeofitbestfromapointofviewinwhichhemaybeholdtheprogressofstatesandtheirtransitionstogoodorevil?

Cleinias。Whatdoyoumean?

Ath。Imeanthathemightwatchthemfromthepointofviewoftime,andobservethechangeswhichtakeplaceinthemduringinfiniteages。

Cle。Howso?

Ath。Why,doyouthinkthatyoucanreckonthetimewhichhaselapsedsincecitiesfirstexistedandmenwerecitizensofthem?

Cle。Hardly。

Ath。Butaresurethatitmustbevastandincalculable?

Cle。Certainly。

Ath。Andhavenotthousandsandthousandsofcitiescomeintobeingduringthisperiodandasmanyperished?Andhasnoteachofthemhadeveryformofgovernmentmanytimesover,nowgrowinglarger,nowsmaller,andagainimprovingordeclining?

Cle。Tobesure。

Ath。Letusendeavourtoascertainthecauseofthesechanges;forthatwillprobablyexplainthefirstoriginanddevelopmentofformsofgovernment。

Cle。Verygood。Youshallendeavourtoimpartyourthoughtstous,andwewillmakeanefforttounderstandyou。

Ath。Doyoubelievethatthereisanytruthinancienttraditions?

Cle。Whattraditions?

Ath。Thetraditionsaboutthemanydestructionsofmankindwhichhavebeenoccasionedbydelugesandpestilences,andinmanyotherways,andofthesurvivalofaremnant?

Cle。Everyoneisdisposedtobelievethem。

Ath。Letusconsideroneofthem,thatwhichwascausedbythefamousdeluge。

Cle。Whatarewetoobserveaboutit?

Ath。Imeantosaythatthosewhothenescapedwouldonlybehillshepherds-smallsparksofthehumanracepreservedonthetopsofmountains。

Cle。Clearly。

Ath。Suchsurvivorswouldnecessarilybeunacquaintedwiththeartsandthevariousdeviceswhicharesuggestedtothedwellersincitiesbyinterestorambition,andwithallthewrongswhichtheycontriveagainstoneanother。

Cle。Verytrue。

Ath。Letussuppose,then,thatthecitiesintheplainandonthesea-coastwereutterlydestroyedatthattime。

Cle。Verygood。

Ath。Wouldnotallimplementshavethenperishedandeveryotherexcellentinventionofpoliticaloranyothersortofwisdomhaveutterlydisappeared?

Cle。Why,yes,myfriend;andifthingshadalwayscontinuedastheyareatpresentordered,howcouldanydiscoveryhaveeverbeenmadeevenintheleastparticular?Foritisevidentthattheartswereunknownduringtenthousandtimestenthousandyears。AndnomorethanathousandortwothousandyearshaveelapsedsincethediscoveriesofDaedalus,OrpheusandPalamedes-sinceMarsyasandOlympusinventedmusic,andAmphionthelyre-nottospeakofnumberlessotherinventionswhicharebutofyesterday。

Ath。Haveyouforgotten,Cleinias,thenameofafriendwhoisreallyofyesterday?

Cle。IsupposethatyoumeanEpimenides。

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