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Ath。Ishouldexpectso。
Cle。Proceed。
Ath。Well，then，letusgiveallthegreaterheedtooneanother’swords。Theargumentaffirmsthatanychangewhateverexceptfromevilisthemostdangerousofallthings；thisistrueinthecaseoftheseasonsandofthewinds，inthemanagementofourbodiesandthehabitsofourminds-trueofallthingsexcept，asIsaidbefore，ofthebad。Hewholooksattheconstitutionofindividualsaccustomedtoeatanysortofmeat，ordrinkanydrink，ortodoanyworkwhichtheycanget，mayseethattheyareatfirstdisorderedbythem，butafterwards，astimegoeson，theirbodiesgrowadaptedtothem，andtheylearntoknowandlikevariety，andhavegoodhealthandenjoymentoflife；andifeverafterwardstheyareconfinedagaintoasuperiordiet，atfirsttheyaretroubledwithdisorders，andwithdifficultybecomehabituatedtotheirnewfood。Asimilarprinciplewemayimaginetoholdgoodaboutthemindsofmenandthenaturesoftheirsouls。Forwhentheyhavebeenbroughtupincertainlaws，whichbysomeDivineProvidencehaveremainedunchangedduringlongages，sothatnoonehasanymemoryortraditionoftheireverhavingbeenotherwisethantheyare，theneveryoneisafraidandashamedtochangethatwhichisestablished。Thelegislatormustsomehowfindawayofimplantingthisreverenceforantiquity，andIwouldproposethefollowingway：-Peopleareapttofancy，asIwassayingbefore，thatwhentheplaysofchildrenarealteredtheyaremerelyplays，notseeingthatthemostseriousanddetrimentalconsequencesariseoutofthechange；andtheyreadilycomplywiththechild’swishesinsteadofdeterringhim，notconsideringthatthesechildrenwhomakeinnovationsintheirgames，whentheygrowuptobemen，willbedifferentfromthelastgenerationofchildren，and，beingdifferent，willdesireadifferentsortoflife，andundertheinfluenceofthisdesirewillwantotherinstitutionsandlaws；andnooneofthemreflectsthattherewillfollowwhatIjustnowcalledthegreatestofevilstostates。Changesinbodilyfashionsarenosuchseriousevils，butfrequentchangesinthepraiseandcensureofmannersarethegreatestofevils，andrequiretheutmostprevision。
Cle。Tobesure。
Ath。Andnowdowestillholdtoourformerassertion，thatrhythmsandmusicingeneralareimitationsofgoodandevilcharactersinmen？Whatsayyou？
Cle。Thatistheonlydoctrinewhichwecanadmit。
Ath。Mustwenot，then，tryineverypossiblewaytopreventouryouthfromevendesiringtoimitatenewmodeseitherindanceorsong？
normustanyonebeallowedtoofferthemvarietiesofpleasures。
Cle。Mosttrue。
Ath。CananyofusimagineabettermodeofeffectingthisobjectthanthatoftheEgyptians？
Cle。Whatistheirmethod？
Ath。Toconsecrateeverysortofdanceormelody。Firstweshouldordainfestivals-calculatingfortheyearwhattheyoughttobe，andatwhattime，andinhonourofwhatGods，sonsofGods，andheroestheyoughttobecelebrated；and，inthenextplace，whathymnsoughttobesungattheseveralsacrifices，andwithwhatdancestheparticularfestivalistobehonoured。Thishastobearrangedatfirstbycertainpersons，and，whenarranged，thewholeassemblyofthecitizensaretooffersacrificesandl
