DOCTOR
OF
T H E U N I V E R S I T Y OF L e Y D R N
IN 8 IVE VOL UMES
VOL. v
R E V I S E DA N D
CORRECkED T H R O U G H O U T ,W I T H ;MARG INALANALYSES
.4ND
7 N D E X OF
SUBJ ECTS A N DP R O P E RN A M E S
O X F O R D U N I V E R S I T Y P R E S S
L O N D O N : HUMPHREY
MILFORD
I pression o I 931
This impressionhasbeen prdwed phofogmphicallyfrom sheets o
thr Thi r d Bdiiion, and has been printed n Great Britain for the
MUSTONC O M P A N Y , B E L L Y A R D, T E M P L E B A R ,.C.
by
LUW
(I ) I N TRODUCT IONND
ANALYS IS . .
 
. INTRODUCT ION
A N D A N A L Y S I S .
THEgenuineness f the L ws is ffici tly prove (I ) by L aws.
ore than twenty citations f them in the writings of ristotl , I NTRODUC-
who was residing at thensduringthe I st twentyyears f the ‘IoN.
life of l to, and who, h ving l ft t fter his d th ( B. C. 347),
returned thither twelve years i ter (B. c.335); ( 2 )
by the allusion
c., a year fter the de thof
l to, and probably not ore than hreeor four years fter
the com osition f the L ws -whospeaks f theLawsand
Republicswrittenby philosophers
uor# rurfv); 3) by
the reference (Athen. 226 ) of the comic poet Al xis, a younger
contemporary of l to (fl.B. c. 356-306), to the enact ent about
prices, which occurs in L ws xi. 917
B
foll.,viz. that the sa
goods should not be off red at two prices on the same day*;
(4) by
 
X Thegenlcineness o tke aws.
taws. of any suspicion a ong nci nt writers worth spe king of to
I ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ .hecontrary; for it is n t s id of Philippus of pus hathe
of the waxen tabl ts, nd was thought by some to have written the
inomis (Diog. La rt. iii. 25). hat the .longest nd one f the
best writingsbe ring the na of l to should be a forgery,
ven if itsgenuinenesswereunsupportedbyexternal testi-
mony,would be a .singul rphenom non in nci nt literature;
nd lthough the critical worth f the consensus f l te writers
is
generally not to be compared with the express testi ony of
conte porari s, yet a som what greater value may be attributed
to their consent in the present instance, because the dmission
of theLaws is combined with doubts about the Epinomis,
spurious writing, which is a kind f pilogue to the l rger work
probably of a uch later date. his shows thatthe reception
f the L ws was not ltogether undiscri inating.
he suspicion which has attached to the L ws of Pl to n the
judg nt of some odern writers appears to rest partl (I ) on
difl rences in the style and form of the work, and (2 on differ-
ences f thought and opinion which they observe in the . hei
suspicion is ncreased by the f ct that hese diff rences are
ccompani d by res blances as strikingtopassages in other
l tonic writings. hey are sensible f a want f point n the
di logue and a general inf riority in the ide s, pl n, m nners,
and styl . hey iss the poetical low, the dra tic verisimili-
tude, the life nd vari ty of the characters, the di l ctic subtl ty,
the ttic purity, the luminous order, he xquisite urbanity;
inste d of which they findta tology, obscurity, s lf-suffici cy,
sermonizing, rhetorical decl tion, pedantry, egotism, uncout
forms f sentences, nd peculi riti s in theuse f words and
idioms. hey are unable to discover any unity in the patched,
irregul r structur . he sp cul tive l nt both n governm nt
and education is superseded by a narrow economical or religious
vein. Thegraceandcheerfulness f theni n life have dis-
appeared; nd a spirit f orosen ss nd religious intol r nce
;
the annerism of age kes itself unpl santly f lt. he con-
nexion is otten i perf ct ;and there is a want arrangement,
xhibited speci lly in the num ration of the aws towards the
 
Disappearance o Socrates. xi
nd of the work. he L ws are f ll of fl ws nd rep titions. Laws.
he Gre k is inplacesvery ungram tical and intractabl . I ~ ~
A cynical l vity is displ yed in some pass ges, and a tone f
disappointm nt and l ntation over hum n things others.
he critics se also oobserve in them bad i itations of
thoughts which are betterexpressed in Pl td’s other writings,
L stly, they wonder how the ind which conceived the Republic
could have l ft the riti s, H r ocr tes, nd Philosophus incom-
pleteor unwritten, and have devoted the l st years of life to the
L ws.
be considered by
under fiveor six heads: I, the characters ;
11, the plan ;111, the style; I , the i itations f other writin s
of Plato; V, the ore general rel tion of the L ws to the
public and theother dialogues ; and VI,o the xisting
theni n and partan states.
I. lready in the hil bus the distinctive ch racter f Socrates
hasdisappeared;and nthe i us, ophist, nd tatesman
is function
chi f speaker is handed over to the ythagorea
philosoph r i us, and to the l tic Stranger, t whose f t
he sits, and s sil nt. ore and ore l to see s tohave elt
in his ater writings that the character nd tho of Socrates
were no longer suited to be the vehicle of his own philosophy.
He sno onger nterrogative t dogm tic; not ‘a hesitating
nquirer,’ but one who speaks with the authority of a l gisl tor.
ven in the publ c we have seen that the argument which is
carried on bySocr tes in the old style with hrasym chus in
the first ook, soon passes into the form of exposition.
I n
the
L ws he s nowhere ntioned. t so compl tely in thetra-
dition of ntiquity s Socrates ide tifi withPlato, that in the
criticism of the Laws which we fi d n the so-call d Politics f
ristotle he is supposed by the writer still to be pl ying his part
of the chi f spe ker (cp. Pol. ii.6, Q
8 foll.).
he L ws are discuss by three representatives f thens,
rete, and Sparta. he theni n, as ight be expected, is the
protagonist or chi f speaker, while the second pl ce is assigne
to the retan, who, as one f the eaders of a new colony, has
a sp ci l interest in the conversation. t l st four-fifths f
theanswersare put into his outh. heSpartan is every
 
xii The ' s c c w , characters,
L aws. inch a soldi r, a m of f w words hi self, betteratdeeds
IXTEODVC.han words. he theni n talks to the two others, lthoug
they are his equals in age, in the styl
of
reverse of the refined ironyandcourtesy which characterize
the earlier i logues. We are no longer in such good company
i s in the Phaedrus nd Symposium. anners are lost sight of
in the earnestness of the speakers, and dogm tic assertions take
the pl ce f poetical f nci s.
he scene
the course
a walk rom Cnosus to the cave and emple of
eus, which takes pl ce on one f the longest and hottest days
of theyear (iii. 683 ). he companions start at d wn, and
arrive t the point n their conversation which terminatesthe
fourth book, about
he God to whosetempl
they are going is the lawgiver of rete, and this m y be suppose
to be the very cave t which he gave his or cles to inos. ut
the externals f thescene, which are ri fly nd inartistically
described, soon disappear, and weplunge abruptly into the subj ct
of the di logue. e are reminded by contrast of thehigher
art f the haedrus, in which the sum er's day, and the cool
strea , and the chirping f the grasshoppers, nd the fragrance
f the agnus castus, and the l gends of the pl ce are present to
he typical theni n pologizes for the tendency of his country-
men ' o spin a long discussion out of slender materials'(i. 642A),
nd in a si il r spirit the L ceda oni n illusapologizes
for the Spartan brevity (cp. hucyd. iv. 17), acknowledging at the
same i e hat here ay beoccasions when long discourses
are necessary (iv.
is
and he pays a be utiful compli nt
to the theni n, si ificant of the character f the work, which,
though borrowing many elements from Sparta, is lso pervad
by an th ni n spirit. A ood theni n, he says, is more tha
ordinarily good, because he is inspired by nature and not nu-
factured by law (642C). he loveof listening which
is
attributed
548 E) is lso xhibited i
TION.
...
683 B, C). Lazus.
speaking tothe L ceda oni n f the struggle i *which their I ~ ~
ncestors were jointly ng ged gainst the Persians (iii.699D).
A connexionwith thens is likewise nti te by the reta
Cleinias. He
D), whom, by
(Plat. Stud.
out of a confusion f the visit of Epimenides
nd ioti a (Sy p.201D),- e describes as coming to Athens,
not fter the attempt f ylon (596 B. c.), but ten ears before the
rsi n war. he ret n and L ceda oni n hardly contribute t
ll to the argum nt f which the Atheni n is the xpound r ; they
only supply inform tion when asked about the nstitutions of their
respective countries (i. 625 A ; iv. 712C). 4 ki d f si licity
or stupidity is scribed to the ( x. 885
ff., 888 ). t first, th
are diss tisfi d with the fr e criticisms which the theni n passe
upon the l ws of inos and Lycurgus, but they acqui sce
his greater xperi nce nd knowl dge f the world. hey dmit
that there can be no obj ction to the enquiry; for in the spirit f
the l gisl tor hi self, th y are discussinghis l ws when there
are no young n present to isten i. 635 A). Theyare un-
willing to llow that the Spartan and retan awgivers can have
been istaken n honouring cour ge as the first part of virtue
(ii.
6 67
), and are puzzl d t h ring for the first ti e (ii.661 D)
that 'Goods re only evilto the vil.' Several ti s they are
on
the point of qu rr lling, nd byan ffort l rn to restrai
their n tural f ling (cp. Shakespe re, Henr V , ct ii.sc. 2).
In Book vii. (806 ), the L ced oni n expresses a mom ntar
irritation atthe accusationwhich the theni n brings gainst
the partan institutions, f encouraging icentiousness
in
their
women,but he is remind by the retan that the permission
to criticize them freely has be n given, nd cannot be retract d.
giver ; he is' nterested
theni n, but inclines to prefer the ordinances of Lycurgus.
he hree interlocutors all of th m spe k in the character
ofoldmen,which orms a pleasant bond f unionbetween
the . hey have the f lings f old age about youth, bout the
state, abouthum n things in gener l. Nothingnife seems
 
xvi Th $an o the work.
Laws. tonl llow the austerity f age, and ake them amenable to the
fter having id down s the first principle f politics, th t
pe ce, and not war, is the true im of the l gisl tor, and bri fl
discmsed music and f stive intercourse, at the com ncem nt
f the third book l to m kes a digression, in which he speaks
f the origin f soci ty. e describes, first of all, the f ily;
secondly, the patri rchal stage, which is an ggreg tion f
families; thirdly, the fou ding f regul r citi s, ike lium ;
fourthly, the stablish nt of a ilitary and political syst , like
that f Spart , withwhich he identifi s rgos nd ss ne,
dating from the return f the raclida . ut the i s f states
should be good, or lse, like the prayer f heseus, they y be
ruinous to the selves. his was the case in two out of three of
the racl id ingdo s. hey inot understand that th
powers in a state shoul bebal nced. he bal nce f powers
saved Sparta, while the excess of tyranny in rsia and he
excess of liberty at thens have be n the ruin of both. . . This
discourseon politics is suddenly discovered to have an i di te
practical use; for l ini s the Cr tan is bout to give l ws to
new colony.
t the beginning f the fourth book, fter nquiring into the
circumstances and situation of the colony, the theni n proceeds
to ke further r fl ctions. Chance, nd God, and the skill f the
l gisl tor, ll co-operate in the form tion f states. nd the ost
f vourabie condition for the foundation of a n w one is when the
government is in the hands f a virtuous tyrant who has the goo
fortune to be the conte porary of a great l gisl tor. ut a vir-
tuous
tyr nt is a contradiction in terms;we can at best only hope
his l ds to the nquiry, what is t e the polity of our new
state. nd the answer is, that we are to f r God, and honour
our par nts, nd to cultivate virtue and justice; these are to be
our first rinci l s. L ws ust
be
definite, nd we should cr te
in the citizens a predisposition to ob y th . he l gisl tor will
teach as well as command; nd with this vi w he willprefix
prea bl s to his principal l ws.
he fifth k com nces in a sort f dithyr b with nother
and higher prea ble about the honour due to the soul, whence
INTRoDUC- laws.
Th plan o th w o d .
are deduced the duties of a man to his parents and is fri nds, t
the suppli nt nd strang r. e should be true nd just, fr e from
nvy nd xc ss of all sorts, forgiving to cri s which are not
incurable nd are p rtly involuntary; nd he should have a true
taste. he nobl st ife has the greatest pleasures nd the f west
pains. . . ving finished the pr bl , and touch d on somother
i preli inary considerations, we proce d tohe L ws, beginning
with the constitution f the state. his s not the best or ide l
State,having ll i gscommon, t onl the second-best, i
which the l ndnd houses are o be distributed among 5040
citizens divided into four cl ss s. here is to be no gold or silver
among them, and they ar to have oderate wealth, and to respect
nu ber nd num rical order in all things.
In the first part f the sixth book, Pl t0 co pl tes his sketch f
the constitution by the ppointm nt f officers. e xpl ins the
nner in which guardi ns of the l w, g nerals, pri sts, w rdens
of
town and country, inisters of ducation, nd other gistrates
are to be appointe ; and lso in what way courts of ppe l are to
be constituted, and omissions in the l w to be suppli d. xt-
nd t this point (p. 774 the L ws strictly spe king begin-there
follow enactments r specting m rri gend the procreation f
children, resp cting property in sl ves as well as of oth r kinds,
resp cting houses, m rri d lif ,commonablesormenand
women. he question f age in arriage suggests the considqra-
tion f a si il r qu stion bout the ti e for holding offices, nd
for military service, which had been previously omitted.
suming the order f the discussion, which w s indicated i
the previous book, from arriage nd birth we proceed to educa-
tion in theseventh book.Education is to begin at or rather
before birth ; to be continued for a ti e by others and nurses
und r the supervision of the state; finally, to compreh nd music
nd gymnastics. nder usic
is
includedeading,writing,
playing on the lyr , rithm tic, geom try, nd a knowl dge f
stronomy suffici nt to prese ve the inds f the citizens from
impiety in fter-lif . Gymnastics are to be practised chi fly with
a vi w to their use in w r.. he discussion of ducation, which
was lightly touched upon in Bo k ii, ishere compl ted.
he eighth bookcont i s regul tions for civil if ,beginning
with estivals,ga s, and contests, ilitary xercises nd the
VOL. v. b
see
I ~ ~ ~ ~ .aidens eeting ogether, andhencehe s l d into discussing
the rel tions f the sexes, the evil consequences which arise out
of the ndulgence f the p ssions, ndtheremedies for them.
hen he proc eds to speak f griculture, of arts and trades, of
buying and selling, and f foreign comm rc .
he r ining ooks f the L ws, ix-xii, are chi fly concerne
with cri inal off ces. In he firstclass
are
placed offences
gainst the Gods, esp ci lly sacril ge or robberyof temples: next
follow off nc s gainst the st te,-conspiracy, treason, th ft. he
involuntary,curabe and incurable off nc s. roc ding o he
greatercrime of homicide, Plato distinguishesbetweenmere
ho icide, m nsl ughter, which is partly voluntary nd partly in-
voluntary, and urder, which rises from varice, bition, f r.
e lso enumeratesmurders bykindred, urders by sl ves,
wounds with or without intent to kill, wounds inflicted in nger,
cri s f or gainst sl ves, insults to parents. To these, various
odes of purification or degrees f punishm nt are ssigned, and
the terrors f another world are lso invoked against the .
t the b ginning of ook x, all cts f viol nc , including sacri-
l ge, are sum d up in a single l w. e l w is preceded by an
dmonition, in which the off nd rs are infor d that no one ver
did an unholy ct or s id an unl wful word while he ret ined his
li f in the xistenceof theGods; but either hedenied their exist-
ence, or he beli ved that they took no care f n, or that they
ight be turned from their course y sacrifices nd prayers. he
remainder of the book is devoted to the refutation of these three
classesof unb li vers, and concludes with the means to be taken
for their reform tion, and the nnounce nt of their punishments
if they continue obstinate nd i penitent.
he l venth book is taken up with l ws and with admonitions
relatingto i divi uals, which follow one notherwithout any exact
order. Thereare aws concerningdepositsand the findi of
.treasure; concerningslavesand reedme concerning etail
trade, bequests, divorces, enchantments, poisonings, m gical arts,
nd the like. In the twelfth book the same subjects are ontinu d.
Laws
are
passedconcerning violations of military discipline,
;
xi x
ceming oaths and the viol tion of them, and the punishm nts
of Laws.
those who neglect their duti s as citize s. Foreign travel is then INTEODUC.
discussed, and the permission to be ccorded to citizens f journey- *ON'
ing in foreign parts ; the strangers who may come to visit the city
are lso spoken f, and the anner in which they are to be re-
ceive . Lawsare dd d respecting .sureti s, searches for pro-
perty, right of possession by prescription, bduction of witnesses,
the trical competition, waging of private warf re, and bribery in
offices. ul s are laid down resp cting- taxation, resp cting
cono y in sacred rites, r specting judges, their duties and 'sen-
tences, andrespectingsepulchralplacesand ceremoni s. er
(at p.g6o ) the L ws end. L stly, a octurnal Cou cil is institute
for the pres rv tion of the state, consistingof older and younger
bers, who are to xhi it in their lives that virtue which is the
basis of the state, toknow the one in any, and to be educated i
divine nd every other kind f knowl dge which will nable the
to fulfil their office.
111. he style f the L ws iff rs in several i portant respects
from that of theother dialogues of Plato: (I ) in the want of
charact r, power, nd lively ill stration ; ( 2) in the frequency f
nnerisms (cp. Introd. to the hil bus, sub init.) ; (3) in the form
and rhythm of the sentences; (4) in theuse f words. On the
other hand, there are many passages (5) which are characterized
y a sort of ethical grandeur ; and (6) in which, perhaps, a greater
insight into hum n nature, ana greater reach of practical wisdom
isshown, than n any other f Pl to's writings.
I . he discourse of the three old m n is described by them-
selves asan old m n's game f pl y (vi. 769 A), et th re
is
little of the liveliness f a ga e in their ode of treating the sub-
j ct. They do not throw the ll to an fro, but two out of the
three re isteners to the third, who is constantly ss rting his
superior wisdom nd opportuniti s of knowl dge (i.639D, E),and
ologizing (not without reason) for his own want of clearness of
sp ch. e will carry them over the strea ' (x. 92 D foll.) ;he
will answer for th m when the argument is beyond their compre-
hension;he i s afraidof their ignoranceof m the tics, and thinks
that gymnastic is likely to be ore intelligible to them ;-he has
repeated his words several ti s, and yet they cannot understand
him ii. 664 D). he subject di not properly take the form f
b 2
I'ION.
Th styl'e o
t h aw .
di logu , and also the literary vigour of l to had passed way.
he old n speak as they ight be expected to spe k, and i
this there is a touch f dra tic truth. l to has given the Laws
that form or want of form which indicates the f ilure f natural
power. here is no regular pl n-none f that consciousness of
what has preceded and what is to follow, which kes a perf ct
styl ,-but there are several attempts t aplan ;the argum nt is
'pulled up' (iii.701 C, ), nd frequent expl nations are off red
why a particul r topic was introduced (iv.713B).
The fictionsof theL ws haveo longer the verisi ilitu
which ischaracteristic f the haedrus nd the i us, or even
of the tatesm n. e can hardly suppose hatan educated
thenian would have pl ced the visit f pi nides to thens
ten years before the Persi n war
(i. 642D), or have i gine
that a war with Messene prevented the L ceda onians from
coming to the rescue of ll s (iii. 2 D). he narrati e f the
origin of the Dorian institutions (iii.685 foll.), which are said to
have b n due to a f r of the growing power f the Assyri ns, is
a pl usible invention, which may be compared with the tale f the
isl nd f tl ntis nd the poem f Solon, but is not accr dited b
si il r arts f deception. he other state nt that the ori ns
were Acha n xil s ss bl d by Dori us (ii .68 E), and the
ssertion hat roy was incl de
in
the ssyri n pire (iii.
685 C), have some foundation cp. or the l tter point,Diod.
Sicul. ii. 2). Nor is h renywhere in theL ws hat livel
tvdpytra, that vivid mise en
scdne,
lato as of some modern novelists.
he old m n are afraid of the ridicule which 'will fall on their
heads more than enough
781 C ; vii. 790A ,
800 B ; x. 885C),
nd they do not often indulge in a joke. In one of the f w which
occur, the k f the L ws, if l ft incompl te, is co pared to a
onster wandering bout without a he d (vi.
752
longer breathe the atmosphere f humour which pervades the
Sy posium and the uthydemus, in which we pass withi a few
sentences from the broadest Aristophanic jok tothesubtlest
refine nt f wit and f ncy; inste d f this, in the L ws an i -
pression f baldness nd f bl ness is often l ft upon our minds.
ome f the most a using descriptions,as, for exa pl , f childre
roaring for the first three years f life (vii. 792
A)
th nians walking intohecountry with fighting-cocks under Laws-
theirarms (vii. 789 B,C) ;or of theslave doctor who knocks I NTUODUC-
bout his p ti nts finely (iv. 7ao C); and he gentlemandoctor
now‘
who courteously persuades hem ; or of the way of keeping
order n the theatre, by a hint from a stick’ ( i i .p C), are
narr ted with
-co on l ce gravity; but where we find this
sort
f dry hu our we sh ll not be far wrong n thinking that
the nter intended to ke us l ugh. he seriousness f ag
takes the pl ce f the jollity of youth. Life should have holidays
and f sfivals; yetweebukeourselveswhen e l ugh, and
’
take our pleasures sadly. he rony of the earlier di logues, of
which some races occur in the enth book, is repl ced by a
severity which hardlycondescendso egarhuman things.
‘Let us say, if you pl ase, that m n i of some account; but I
was speaking f him in comparison with God’(vii. 804 B).
he i gery nd illustrations are poor in the selves, and are
not assisted by the surrounding phraseology. Wehave seen how
in the R public, and n the earlier dialogues, figures f speech
such as ‘the v ,’ ‘the ron ,’ ‘the ch s ,’ ‘the ri ,’ appear
and reappear at interv ls. otes are struck which are rep te
from ti e to ti , as in a strain f music. here is none of this
subtle rt in the L ws. he ill strations, such as the two kinds
of doctors (iv.720 C), ‘the three kinds f funerals’ (iv.719D), the
f r potion (i. 647
E), the puppet (i. 644 D), the painter l ving
a successor to restore his picture vi. 769), the ‘person stopping to
consider where three ways m t’ (vii. 799 C), the ‘old l ws bout
water of which he will not divert the course’ (viii. 844 A), can
hardly be said to do uch credit to Pl to’s invention. he cita-
tions from the poets have lost that f nciful character which gave
them heircharm n hee rli r i logu s. e are tired f
i ges taken from the arts f navigation, or archery, or weaving,
or painting, or m dicine, or music. t the comparisons f life to
a tragedy (vii. ),or of the working of ind to the revolution
of the s lf- oved (x.897), or of the aged parent to the i ge of
aGod dwelling
the house (xi.931) ’or the refl ction that ‘man
is de to be he playthingof God, nd that this rightly onsidered
is the bestof him’ (vii.803C), have great beauty.
 
o the L aws.
Laws. consists n the ccur cywithwhich the question and nswer are
I U~ODU C -itted into one noth r, nd the regul rity with which the steps f
the rgum nt succe d one nother. his finish f styl is no
longer disc rnible in the L ws. here
is
a want of variety in the
answers; nothing can be drawn out of the respondents but s ’
or No,’ ‘True,’ ‘To e sure,’ etc.; he i si id brms, ‘ hat
you mean? ’‘ o what are you referring? ’ are constantly return-
ing. gain nd gain the speaker is charged, or charges hi self,
with obscurity; and he repe ts ag in and gain that he will ex-
plain his vi wsmorecl rly. he process f thoughtwhich
should be l tent in the mind of the writer appe rs on the surf ce
(iv.719
A, 713B). I n several passages the Atheni n praises hi -
self in the ost unblushing nner, very unlike the irony of the
earlier di logues, as when he decl res that ‘the l ws are a divine
work givenbysome nspiration of the Gods,’ nd that ‘youth
should com it them to memory instea f the compositions f th
po ts’ (vii. ). he prosopopoeia which is dopted by l to
the rotagoras and other di logues s pe teduntilwe grow
weary of it. he l gisl tor is lways ddressing the spe kers or
the youth f the state, and the speakers are constantly m king
addresses to the l gisl tor. A tendency to a paradoxical anner
f statement is alsoobs rva l . ‘ e ust have drinking’ (i.
646B), ‘we ust have a virtuous tyrant’ (IV. 710C)-this is too
uch for the dull r wits of the L ced oni n nd retan, who
t first start ck n surprise. ore than in ny oth r writing o
l to the tone
is
hort tory; the l ws are sermons as well as l ws;
they are considered to have a r ligious sanction, and to rest upo
a religious senti nt in the m f the citizens. he words of
the theni n are ttributed o the L ceda oni n andCretan,
who are supposed to have made them their own, after the manner
of the rli r di logu s. sumptions of subj cts which have
be n half dispos d f in a previous passage constantly occur (vii.
7 6
E ;xii. 956) : the arrangement has neither the clearnessof art
nor the freedom of na re. Irr l vant remarksare ade her
nd there, or illustrations us d which are not prop rly fitted n..
he di logue is generally we k nd l boured, and is in the later
books f rly given up, pparently, because unsuited to the subject
of the work. he long spe ches or sermons of the Atheni n,
often extending over several pages,have never the grace and
TIOH
is
incapableof sustained composition;his genius is dra tic r ther
than oratorical ;he can converse, but he cannot make a speech.
ven the i us, which
is
one f his ost finished works, isfull
f brupt transitions. here is the sa e kind of difference
between the di logue nd the continuousdiscourse f l to as
between the narrative and speeches of hucydides.
3. he perf ction f style is vari ty in unity, reedom, se,
cl rness, the power of saying anything, nd f striking any note
in the scale f hum n f lings without i propri ty; nd such is
the divine ift of l ngu ge possessed by l to in the Sy posium
and Phaedrus.From this thereare ny f lli gs-offn the
Laws: first, in the structure of the sentences, which are, rhyth-
ical and onotonous,-the form l nd sophistical m nner of the
ge is superseding the n tural genius f l to : secondly, any of
them are of normous l ngth, and the latter nd often forgets th
beginning f them,-they seem never to have received the second
thoughts f the author ; ither the e phasis i s wrongly placed, or
there is a want f point n a cl use; or an bsolute case occurs
which is not properly separated from the r st f the sentence;
or
words are ggregated n a nner which ils o show their
rel tion to one another; or the conn cting particl s are omitte
at the beginning of sentences ; the uses f the r l tive and ante-
ced nt are more ndistinct, the changes f person and number
ore frequent, examples f pl onasm, tautology, and periphrasis,
ntitheses f positive and neg tive, lseemphasis,and other
ff ctations, are ore num rous than n he other writings of
Plato ; there s also a more com on and someti es unmeaning
useof qualifying formulae,&E &os ct t iu , ~arhCvapw, and f doubl
expressions,
&Gap$ odbapir, Co s ai Cn-these are
too num rous to be ttributed to errors in the text;again, there
is
an over-curious djustm nt f erb and participl , noun nd
pithet, and other artifici l forms of cadence nd expression take
the pl ce f natur l vari ty
:
language
is
r rkabl -the st le is not devoid f ornam nt, but
the ornament is of a debased hetoricalkind,patchedon to
instead of growing out f the subj ct; there is a great com nd
f words, and a l boured use of them; forc d attempts at eta-
phor occur in severalpassages,-e.g.viii. 844 A,
~ r a p x y c t t i c t v
I
rh p 2 w As rr8ipva rh %'s naparr8iptva;vi. 773D
I ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ .wor rtoXaCdpwoc imb n j$owroc irCpov Be03 ; thepl ys on the word
a foolish xtr vag nce of language in other pass ges,--' the swinish
' ignorance of arith tic,' vii.819D ; ' he justice nd uitabl ness of
the discourse on l ws,' vii. 811 C foll.; over- phasis t ix.861D ;
'best f Gr ks,' vii
:
fifth y;poor and insipid illustrations are also com on, e.
g.
i.
638
C, 639 A, ii. 644 E : sixthly, we y observe an xcessive use of
cli x and hyperbol , vii. 808 A, aioXpdwXiyrrw xpi rpbs airrois
%ockdwre mi Boihqv m aai6axai ci
BUS
riw
oi~iaw
. 636 B,
Bortri r o h rb irrrjbrvpa Karh $&JLW rh- mpi rh &+&uta 46owhs 06
pdwow
4.
he culiarities in theuse f words which occur in the
Laws have be n coll cted by ell r (Pl tonische Studi n, . 85)
and Stallbhum (Legg. vol. i. . vii) : first, in the use f nouns,
such as ciXXoBqpia,
drrtwrahqurs, yXvuu8upia, Bra8rr$p, Bpauuttwia, K ~ P O S ,
pyaXdwora, mdovpyia ; secondly, in the use f dj ctives, such as
riimop, @08drqs, ix80bmOs, ~ $ ~E o s , ~pdwros, nd of adverbs, such as
dwr8cri, riwarri, ynocuti : thirdly, in the use of verbs, suchas ci86pcw,
ritcrutrw (o't&eccw titiw,
rqprXeiw, rqri. hese words however, as Stallbaum r arks, ar
formed according to nalogy, andnearlyall f them have the
support of some poetical or other authority.
eller and Stallbaum have lso coll cted forms of words in the
L ws, diff ring from the forms f the same words which occur i
other places : e.g. $Xd,8os
&%oror, o'xdpccrros for
Zxapcs,6oiXeroc for B O V X L L ~ S ,naiBccos for Irarbutds, i ypt& for itaypraiww,
ihtoGpac for iAdurtopr, nd the Ionic word uo$~povrcrrk, eaning
'correction.' eller has noted a fondness for substantives ending
in -pa and
-OLE,
such asyc&py7pa, brcisaupo, i r r & p 7 p , [ q p ' w p , KO&
&pa, 6pAqpa
of
substantives in the plural, which are com only fou d only i
the singular, pwiar, ai8ednps, $86woc,
$dpoc, $);utcc ; lso, a peculi r
us 'of prepositions in co osition, as i i~ripyo,rroj3r\dmcu, %&avo-
p08crio, Bcripqrac,%tcuAafirZo8at, and other words; lso, a frequent
occurrence f the Ionic datives plural i
- am
used for the sakeof giving an ancient or archaic effect.
To these peculi riti s of words he has dd d a list
of
peculiar
:
laws.
1 are the following: viii. 841D &a raM ax3vmippata ; x. 8.55
C, I ~ ~
+op+or :%par ; ii. 690 Dl 8ua &&para up& 6pXoyTas; vi. 744 B, oi
KO&
rrdArv
aorpoi; pSeos, used in several pl ces f ‘ he discourse
bout l ws’; nd connected with this the requent useof aapap66tov
: and
; vii. 823E, aipihoo Zpws ;xii. g60 B, &+ I rpgtrs
;vi. 752 A,
frequept employ ent
the bstract for the concr te; e.g. inqpcuia
for +rvp&ui, +uyai for +u*aco, pqxavai in the sense of ‘contrivers,’
8ouXriafor 8oCXor, @auAtiarfor fiauArt,patvdpua Kq%c&aTafor yvvaiua
’ parvopivqv; 4
p i a &v rai%r in the sense f ‘indigent children,’
rai8ov Iuuvdrqs; i , 6o s
T ~ Scrpias j riohia cisrrpia ;
awoplr-
av&durafor uwdpr~ror i l a b tlXaiKaiKahui. He
further notes some curious .us s of the genitive case, e. . r#rXias
dpohyiac, paviar
rX7yQu rdhpar ;
and lso some ather uncom on periphrases, Opippara NriXov,
~ K V O Vor Bho~os, o&rqs hi& for RO I ~U I E ,
00ypci@0v
aiass,
civ6pbrovurippara and the like; the fondness for p rticl s of li it-
ation, especially T I S a dY E ,uth rrur Xdprur,
roio ye 6uvapivors nd th
like; the pl onastic use of ravSv, of &s, of &s
k o s clrciv, of
irtolurorc;
nd the periphrastic use of the preposition srpi. L stly, he
observ s the tendency to hyperbata or tr nspositions of words,
nd to rhythmical uniformity as well as gra tical irr gul rity
in the structure f the sentences.
For ne rly ll the expressions which are a ce by Zeller
as arguments against the genuineness of the L ws, Stallbaum
finds some sort of uthority. here is no real ground for
doubting that the work was written by l to, rely because
several words occur in itwhich are not ound in his other
writings. n i itator m y pres rve the usualphraseology f
a writer better than he would hi self. ut, on the other hand,
the f ct that uthoriti s m bequoted n support f ost f
these ,uses f words, do snot show that the diction is not
peculi r, everal f them se
to
bepoetical
or
dialectical,
andxhibit an atte pt to enl rge the li its of Greek prose
by the introduction
om ric nd tragic xpressions. st
 
i n the Laws.
l nguage of reece. Lik everalxperi ents in l ngu ge
of thewriters of the Eliza th n age, heywereafterwards
lost;and though occasionally ound i Plutarchand mitators
of l to, they have not be n accepted byAristotle or passed
into the com on di l ct f reece.
5. Unequal as theL ws are in styl , hey contain a f
passages which are Gery grandand noble. For xa pl , th
address to thepoetsat vii. : ‘ st of strangers, wealso
are poets of the best and nobl st tragedy; for our whole state
is an
imitation of the best and nobl st lif , which we ffirm to
be indeed hevery ruth f tragedy.’
Or
young n and idens in friendly intercourse with one another,
suggesting the dangers to which youth is li ble from the viol ce
f passion (viii. -84 ) ; or the loquent denunci tion of un-
natural usts in thesamepassage ; r hecharming hought
thatthe st l islator ‘orders war for thesake of peaceand
not peace for the sake f ar’ (i. 28 ;or the pl sant l u-
sion, ‘ 0 theni n-inhabitant f ttica, I willnot say, for you
seem to meworthy tobe namedfter the odd ss thene
because you go b ck to first principl s’ (i. D)
;or the pithy
saying, ‘ ny a victory has b n and will be suici l tothe
victors, but ducation
never suicidal ’ (i. 641 C) ; or the fine
xpression that ‘the walls f a city should be llowed to sle
in the rth, nd that we should not attempt to disinter them’
(vi. 778 D)
or the em rk hat ‘God is hemeasure f ll
things n a sense far higher than any n can be’ (iv. 71 C) ;
or that ‘a n should be from the first a partaker f the truth,
that he ay live a true m n as long as possibl ’ (v. C) ;
or theprinciple pe tedly l id down, that thesins f the
fathers are not to be visited on the children,’ .g . ix, 856 C ;
or the description of the funeralrites f thosepriestlysages
who depart n innocence (xii. B, foll.); r the noble senti-
nt, that we should do more ustice to slavesthantoequals
(vi. 777 D)
; or thecuriousobservation, founded, perhaps, on
his own experi nce, that there are a f w ‘divine en n every
state howevercorrupt,whose conversation is f inesti bl
value
virtue arebetterthantheir practice (xii. B) ; or thedeep
 
religiousnd also oderneelingwhich pervadesheenth k.
book (whatever may be thought of the arguments) ; thesense I~~~~~
f theduty f livi g as a part0f.a whole, nd in dependence mow.
on the will of Go (x. 903
D),
as well as the greatest (x. goo
C); and the picture of parents
praying for their childre (x.887 D fol1.)-not as e y say,
slightly ltering the words fPl to, as if there were no truth
or reality in the G ntile ligions, ut as if ther were he
gre test-are ery striking to us. We must remember that
the L ws,unlike the Republic, do not exhibit n ide l state,
but are supposed to be on the l vel f hum otives and
feelings; theyare also on the l vel f the popul r ligion,
though l vated and purifi ; hence there is an attempt de
to show that the pl sant is lso just. ut,on the otherhand,
the priority of the soul
to
the body, and ofGod to th soul,
is lways insisted upon as the true incentive to virtue; especially
with great force and eloquence at the com nce nt of ook v.
nd the work of l isl tion is carri d ck to the first principl s
f orals (i.
630 E).
6. No otherwriting f Pl to shows so profound an insight
into the worldandntohuman nature ashe L ws. hat
‘citi s will never ce se from ll until they are better governed,’
is the text of the L ws as well as f the Statesm n nd public.
he principle that the bal nce f power pres rv s states (iii.6g1,
6gz) ; the refl ction that
no
one ever passe hiswhole ife
disb li f f the Gods (x. 888 C) ; the remark that the characters
of en arbest se n in convivi lntercoursei. 649); the
obs rv tion thatthe peopl mustbeallowedto share notonly
in the governm nt, but in the dministration f justice (vi.768 A,
foll.) ; the desire to ke ws, not with a vi w to courage only,
t to all virtue (i. 630 D) ; the cl r perception that education
beginswithbirth, or ven, ashe would say, beforebirth
(vii. 789 A ) ; the tte pt o urify ligion ; the modern re-
fl ctions, that punishm nt is not vindictive (ix. 854D), and that
li its ust be set to the power f bequ st (xi.
922, 923);
the
i possibility of undeceiving the victi s of qu cks nd juggl rs
(xi. 9 3 A ); the provision for water (vi. 761 ), nd or other
requirements f he lth(vi,
and for conce ling the bodi s
 
xxviii Th ge ze ss. o aac&nt writings.
L w s . D, E) ; bove ll, perhaps, the distinct consciousness thatunder
I ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ -he ctual circumstances f nkind the ide l cannot be carried
out (v. 739 B, 746 ), nd yet y be a guiding princi l -will
appear t us, if we rem ber that we are still in the dawn of
politics, to show a great depth f political wisdom.
IV . TheLaws f l to contain nu rouspassages which
closely resembleotherpass ges in his writi gs. nd t irst
sight a suspicion arisesthattherepetitionshowstheunequal
hand of the i itator. For why should a writer say over again,
in a ore i perf ct form, what he h d lready said in his ost
finished styleandmanner?Andyet itmaybeurged onthe
other side that an uthor whose original powers are beginning
to d cay will bevery liableo repeat hi self, asn conversa- ,
tion, so in books. e y have forgotten what he had written
before;he y be unconscious of the decline f his own powers.
ence arises a qu stion of great interest, bearing on the g nuine-
ness of ancientwriters. Is thereanycriterionby which
can distinguish thegenuineese blance from the purious,
or, in other words, the r petition of a thought
r
passageby
an author hi self from the ppropri tion f it by nother ? The
qu stion has, perhaps, never be n fully discussed; and, though
a real one, does not admit of a precise answer. A f w general
considerations on the subject ay be off red -
(a) Is the diff rence such as ight beexpected to ariseat
different times of life or under diff rent circumstances ?- here
would, benothing surprising in a writer, as he grew older, losing
so thing of his own originality, and falli g moreand more
und r the spirit f his . ‘ hat a genius I had when I wrote
that book
as the pathetic xcl tion of a f ous English
uthor, when in old age he chanced to take up one f his earl
works. here would be othing surprising gain in his osing
somewhat of hispowers f xpr ssion,and becoming less
capable f framing l nguage into a harmonious whol . her
would also be a strong presu ption that if the vari tion of style
as uniform, it was attributable to some natural caus , and not
to the arts of the i itator. he i feriority mi t be the result
of
great author would com only be diff rent from
 
Th genuineness of anctcient wv2'tings. X X i X
and niform. The l tter wo l be apto fill hisworkwith
Laws.,
I ~~O DV C .
of theauthor whom hepersonated,but arelyacquiringhis
spirit. is imitation wo ld bobvious, irr gul r, superfici l.
Thepatches of purple would beeasily detected ong his
threadbareand atteredgarments.He would 'rarely ake he
pains to put the same hought into other words. Ther were
ny forgeri s in nglish literature which ttained a consider-
able degree of success 50 or
100
whether attempts suc as these could now escape detection, f
there were any writings of the same author or of the same age
to be compared with the . nd ancient forgers were m ch less
skilful th n modern; they were far from being sters in the
art of deception, and had rarely any otive for being so.
(b) ut, secondly, the i itator will com only be l st capabl
bf understanding or i itati g that part of a gre t writer which
is ost characteristic of i . In very n's writings there is
som thingike himself and unlike others, which givesn-
dividuality. Toppreciate his l tent qu lity would require
kindred mind, andminutestudyand observation. There are a
class of si il riti s which m y be call d und sign d coincidences,
which are
oneanother,andyet,whenthey are compared, find a natural
xpl nation in theirbeing hework of thesame ind. The
i itator might copy the turns of styl -he ight repeat i ag s
or illustrations, but he coul not nter nto the nner circle of
Pl tonic philosophy. e would understand that part of it which
became popular in thenext generation, as for example, he
doctrine of ideas or of numbers : he ight approve ofcom-
unism. ut thehigher lights of Pl to bout the sci nce of
i l ctic, or the unity of virtu , or a p rson who
is
l w, would be unint lligible to i .
(c) The argument from i itation assu es a diff rent character
when the supposed i itations are ssoci ted with other passages
having the i press of original genius. The strength of the argu-
ent rom und signed coincidences of styl is uch increased
when they are found side by side with thoughts and xpressions
which can only have come from a great original writer. The gre t
 
Laws. writings, is a strong proof f their genuineness-for lthoug
INTRODUC- the gre t writer m y f llbelow, the forger or imitator cannot
rise uch bove i s lf. hether we can ttribute the worst
parts of a work to a forger nd the best to a great writer,- s
for xampl , in the case of some f hakespeare’s pl ys,-
;
nd this can onl
be stablished either by e press evidence or by a comparison
f oth r writings f the sa e cl ss. If the interpol tion or double
uthorship of Greek writings in the ti e of l to could be shown
to be com on, then a question, perhaps insolubl , would rise,
not whether the whol ,but whetherparts f the l tonic
di logu s are genuine, nd, if parts only,which parts. brew
propheci s and Hom ric poe s nd .L ws ofManumayhave
grown together in rly ti s, but ther
is no
reason to think
that any of the di logu s of l to is the result of a si il r pro-
cess of ccu ul tion. It is therefore rash to say with Oncke
(Die Staatsl hre des ristotel s) that the form in which ristotl
knew the L ws f Pl to must have be n diff rent from that i
which they have come down to us.
It must b dmitted that these principl s are difficult of
application. t a criticism y be worth kingwhich
rests only on probabilities
i pressions. Gr t disputes
will arise bout the m rits of diff rent passages, about what is
truly characteristic and ori inal or trivi l nd borrowe .Many
have thought the L ws to be on
of
the greatest ,of Pl tonic
writings, while in the judgm nt f r. Grote they hardly rise
bove the l vel of the forged pistl s. he nner in which a
writer would or would not h ve written at a particul r ti of life
ust be cknowl dged to be a atter of conj ctur . ut nough
has be n said to show that si il riti s f a certain kind, whether
criticism is able to detect the or not, maybe suc as must
be ttributed to an original writer, and not to a mere i itator.
(d) pplying these principl s to the case f the L ws, we
have now to point out that they cont in the cl ss of refined
or
unconscious si il riti s which are indicative of genuineness, he
parall lisms are like the repetitions of f vourite thoughts int
which everyone is aptto f ll unawares in conversation or in
writing, hey are ound in a work which contains m ny be utiful
TIOW.
i
passages, as will be dmitted by any one who
”
We
this presumption in their f vour. uch und signed coincidences,
as e y ventur to call he , arethe followi . he co -
ception f justice as the union of temperance, wisdom, courag
(Laws i. 631 C;Rep. iv. 433)
: the l tent idea f di l ctic i pli
in the otion of divi ing l ws fter the kinds of virtue (L ws i.
630E) ; nd ain (L ws xii. 965C), theapproval of the method of
looking at one d a gathered from ny things, ‘than which a truer
was
never discovered by any ’ (cp. Rep. vii. 525 A) : or again
the description of the L ws as parents (Laws x. 859A ; Rep. vii.
538
D) : the ssu ption that religion has b n already s ttl
y the oracle f lphi (Laws
v. 738 B ; Rep. iv.
427 B), to
which an appeal is lso de in sp ci l cases (L ws xi. g14A ) :
the notion of the battle with self, a paradox for which l to i
a anner pologizes both in the Laws nd theRepublic
(Laws i.
626 E ;
Rep. iv.
430 E
foll.) : the rk (L ws
ix. 859 D) that ust en, even when theyare deformed i
body, y stillbeperfectlybe utiful in respect f theex-
cellent justice of their minds (c . ep. iii. 402
D,
argumentthat ideals are none the worse because theycannot
be carri d out (L ws v. 746 B, foll. ; p. v. 472 D) : the near
pproach to the idea of good n ‘the principle which is common
to ll the our virtu s,’ a truth which theguardians ust be
com ll d to recognize (Laws xii. 965 D ; cp. R p. vii.
534
C) :
or gain the recognition by reason of the right pleasure and pain,
whioh h d previously be n matter of habit (Laws ii. 653 B ;
Rep. iii. 402 A):or the bl sph y of saying that theexcellency of
usic is to ive pl sure (L ws ii. 655
D ; Rep. vi. 509 A) :again
the story f the Sidoni n dmus (Laws ii. 663 E), which is a
vari tion of the hoenici n tale of theearth-born n ( ep.
iii.
414
C) : the comparison of philosophy to a yelping she-dog,
oth in the ublic and in the Laws (L ws xii. 967 D ; Rep.
X. 607 C ):
two
trades
etc.) : or the advantage of
the iddle condition (L ws v. 736 E ; Rep. iv. 421 fd.) : the
tendency to speak of principles
as
oulds or for s; compare
the ~ K ~ Y C Lf song (L ws vii. 800 foll.), and the
T&O~
945 E)
xxxii. Similarities betweenhe L awsand the RepubZic.
Laws. rel xation of justice makes many citi s out of one,'which may
IWT~ODUC.be compared with the R public ( ep. iv. 422 E):orthe description
of lawlessness 'creeping in littleby ittle in the f shions f
usic andoverturning ll t ings,'to s a par dox, buto
Plato's i d a fixed ide , which is found in the L ws (iii. 701
foll.) as weli as in the Repu lic (iv. 424) : or the figure f th
parts of the hum n body under which theparts f thestate
are described (L ws v. 739;Rep. v. 462) : the apology for delay
and diffus ness, which occurs not unfrequently in the R public,
is carri d to n excess in the L ws (i. 641E foll. ; x. 857E foll.;
cp. Theaet. 172 C foll.) : the rem rk ble thought (L ws x. 899
B) that the soul f the sun is better than the sun, agrees with
the rel tion n which the idea f d stands to the sun in th
public, nd with the substitution of ind for the idea of
good in the Philebus (30foll.): the passage bout the tragic poets
(Laws vii.817 A foll.) grees generally with thetreatment of
them in the R public, but is more finely conceived, nd work
out in a nobl r spirit. So e esser si il riti s f thought and
anner should notbeomitted, such as the ntion cd the
thirty ye rs' old students in the R public (vii. 539 A ), and the
fifty years' old choristers in the L ws (ii. 670
A ) ;or the making
v.
i e ( ep. ix.
is
tzeur&
qual with the number f daysandnights in theyear
(730), compared with the sl ght correction ' f the sacred num-
ber 5040, which is ivisibl by ll the numbers from I to 12
except 11, and divisibleby 11, if two familiesbe deducted;
or once ore, e may compare the ignorance of solid geom tr
f which he compl ins in the public(vii.
528 B, C) and the
puzzle about fractions (vii. 525 E) with the difficulty in the L ws
bout con~ ensurable nd incom nsurable quantities Laws
vii.819,8zo)" nd the m licious e phasis on the word Y U V ~K C C O P
(L ws vii. 790A)with the use of the sa e word ( ep. v. 69D.
h'ese and si il r passages tend to show that the author f the
ublic is also th uthor f the L ws. hey are choes f
the same voice, expressions of the same ind, coincidences too
subtle to have be n invented by the ingenuity f any i itator.
he force f the rgument is increased, if we remember that
no passage n the Laws is xactly copi d,-nowh re do five or
TIOB.
a
i
si x words occur togetherwhich
are
found togetherelsewhere L ows.
in Plato’s IXTIODUC.
In other i log s of Pl to, as well as in the Republic, there are ‘ ‘ON
to be found parallelswth the L ws. Such rese bl nces,
as
we
ight expect, occur chi fly (but not exclusively) in the di logu s
which, on other grounds, we ay suppose to be of later date.
he punish nt f vil is to be like evil n (Laws v. 728 B),
as he says lso in the heaetetus (176 E). ompare again the
dependence of tragedyandcomedyonone nother, of which
he gives the eason n he Laws (vii.
816D)--c Forserious
things cannot be understood without l ughabl , nor opposites t
ll without opposites, if a m n is really to have int lligence of
either ’; here he puts forward the principle which is the ground-
work f the thesis f Socrates in the Symposium (223D), & that
the genius f tragedy s the sam
as
that of comedy, and that
th writer of co edy ought tobe a writer of tr gedy lso.’
There is a truth and right which is above L w (L ws ix. 875 C),
as e learn lso from the Statesm (297 A). hat n ar
the possession of the Gods (Laws x. go2 C), is a refl ction
which likewise occurs in the Phaedo ( 62 B).
Theemark,
whetherserious or iro ical (L ws xii. 948 B), th t ‘thesons
of the Gods naturally beli ved n the Gods, because theyhad
the eans f knowing bout th ,’ is found in the.Timaeus
(40 D). he rei f‘Cronos, who is the ivi e rul r (Laws iv.
713 B), is a reminiscence f the Statesman (269 A, foll.). It s
rem rk ble hat in theSophistandStatesman (Soph. 2% E),
Pl to, sp king in thecharacter f the l tic Stranger,has
lready put on the ol n. e adness of the poets, gain,
is a favourite notion of Pl to’s, which occurs also in the L ws
(iv. 719
C), as well as n the haedrus (245 A ), Ion, and else-
wh re. There re traces in the‘ L ws (iii.
685 A, foll.) of the
same desire to base sp cul tion upon history which we find i
the riti s. , nce ore, there is a striking parallel with the
paradox of the Gorgias (472 E, foll.), that if you do evil, it
is
better to be punished than to be un unish ,’ in the Laws (ii.
661 C) : o live h vi g all goods without justice nd virtue s
the greatest f evils if ife be i ortal, but not so great if the
bad man ives but a short ti .’
The pointtobe considered is whether these are the kind of
VOL. v.
xxxiv
LOWS.
parall ls which !d be the work of n i itator. oula
INmoovc. forger have had the wit to sel ct the most peculi r and character-
philosophy; wouldhe, inste d of openl borrowing, have lf
concealedhis vourite ideas; would he have formed them nto
a whole such as he Laws; would he h ve given another he
credit which he might have obtained for hi self; would he h ve
remembered and made use of otherpassages of the l tonic
writings nd have never devi ted into the phraseology f them?
ithout pressing such arguments as bsolutely certain, we ust
cknowl dge that such a comparison ffords a new ground of real
weight for li ving the L ws to be a genuine writingf Plato.
V. he rel tion of the public to the L ws iscl rly set fort
y Pl to in L ws v.739. The Republic isthe b st state, the L ws
is the b st possible under the existing conditions f the Gr k
world. he Republic is the ide l, in which no m n calls anything
his own, which ay or ay not have existed in some remote
cli , under the rule f some God, or son of a od who can
say?),but is, t any rate, the pattern f ll other states nd the
xempl r f hum n li . he L ws distinctly acknowl dge what
the R public partly dmits, that the ide l is inimitable by us, but
’
our lives ccording to the divine i ge. hecitizens areno
longer to have wives nd children in com on, and are no longer
tobe under.the governm nt f philosophers. ut thespirit of
communism or communion is to continue ong them, though
r verence for the sacredness f the f ily, nd respect of children
for parents, not promiscuous hym ne ls, are now the found tion of
the state; the sexes areo be s ne rly on n equ lity as possible;
they areto eet at co on tables (vii.806 E), and to share war-
like pursuits (if the wom n will consent), and to have a com on
ducation. he l gisl tor has taken the pl ce of the philosopher,
but a council f elders is retained, who are to f lfil the duties of
the l gisl tor when hehas pass d out f lif . he ddition of
younger persons to this council by co-optation is n i provem nt
on thegoverning body f the public. he scheme of education
in the L ws is of a far lowerkind than that which Pl t0 had con-
ceived n the public. here he would have his rul rs traine
in all knowl dge m ting in the idea of good, of which the
TION. ’
 
t o the Rq%bZic. xxxv
sci nce are ut theand- Laws.
aidens or ministers; here he treats chi fly of popul r education, INTRODZTC.
stoppingshortwith hepreli inary sci nc s,-th se are be ‘ IoK
studied partly with avi w to their practical us fulness, which i
theRepubliche holds cheap,andevenmorewith a view to
voi ing i iety, f which in the public he says nothing; he
touches very lightly on di lectic, which is still to be retained for
the rul rs. t in the Laws there rem in tr ces f the old duca-
tion l i s. e s still for banishingthepoets (vii. ) ; and
as he finds the worksf prose writers equally dangerous, heould
substitute for them the study f his own aws (vii.810, 811) . He
insists strongly on the mportance of mathe atics as an duca-
tional instrument (v. 7 ,
He is no ore reconcil d to the
r ek mythology than in the epublic, though he would rather
say nothing bout it out of a reverence for ntiquity (x.
886D) and
he is qually willing. to have r course to fictions, if they have a
moral tendency (ii,663 D). is thoughts recur to
a
oaths was respected and in which en
living nearer the Gods were ore disposed to beli ve in them;
but we ust l isl te for the world as it is, nowthatthe old
beliefs havepassedaway (xii.948 C). Thoughhe sno onger
fired with di l ctical enthusiasm, he would compel the guardians
to ‘look at one idea gathered from any things,’ and to ‘perceive
’
very youth
to be trained for three years ; and he seems to
attribute the xisting degeneracy f the Atheni n state and the
laxity of orals partly to m sical innovation, nif sted in the
unn tural divorce f the instrument and the voice, of the rhythm
from the words (ii.66g D), and partly to the influence
of
the mob
who rul d at the theatres (iii. 700 E). e ssi il tes the duca-
tion of the two sexes,as aras possibl , both in usic and
gymnastic, and, s in the epublic, he would give to gymnastic
purely military charact r. In arri ge, his object is still to pro-
duce the finest children for the state. As intheStatesman,he
would unite in wedlock dissi il r natures-the passionate with
the ll, the courag ous with the ntl . nd the virtuous tyrant
of the Statesman, who has no place
n
(iv. 709 E).
In this, as in ll his writings, he has the strongest
c 2
xxxvi ReZation o theLaws to theReplbZic and Statesman.
~ a ~ .enseof the degeneracy and incapacity of the ders Of his Own
I U ~O D W C - time.
TIOX. In he L ws, the philosophers, if not banish d, like the Poets,
are at st ignored;and reli ion takes the place f ilos PhY i
the regulation
hu n lif . It ust howeverberemembered
that the reli ion of l to is co-ext nsive with orality, and is that
purifi d religion and ythology of which he speaks in the second
book
of
the R lic. There i s no re l discrep ncy in the two
works. In a practical treatise, he spe ks f religion rather than
of philosophy
just as he appears todentify virtue with pleasure,
and rather seeks to find the com on element of the virtues tha
to m intain his old p radoxical theses that they are one, or that
they are identical with knowl dg . he i l ctic and the ide o
good, which even Gl ucon in the epublic could not understand,
would be out of place n a less ide l work. here ay also be a
change in his own mind, the purely int ll ctu l spect of philo-
sophy having a di inishing interest to him n his old ge. .
So e confusion occurs in the passage in which Pl to speaks of
the Republic, occasion d by his reference to a third state, which
he proposes (D.V.) hereafter to expound (v. 739Ej . Like m ny
other thoughts n the L ws, the allusion is obscure from not being
worked out. ristotle (Polit. iv. I ) speaks of a state which is
neither the best absolutely, nor the best under existing conditions,
but an i aginary state,nferior to ither, destitute,as he supposes,
of the necessaries of lif - pp rently such a beginning of primi-
tive soci ty as is described in L ws iii. t t isnot clear that by
this the third state f Pl to is int nd d. It is possible that l t0
y have me nt by his third state an historical sketch, bearing
the same rel tion to the Laws which the unfinish Critiaswould
have borne to the public ; or he y, perhaps, have intende
to describe a state more nearly approxi ating than the Laws to
existing Greek states,
he Statesman s a ere fragment when compared with th
s, yet co ining a s cond interest of ial ctic as well as
politics, which iswanting in the arger work. Several points f
si il rity and contrast maybeobserved between them, I some
respects the tatesman s ven more ide l than the public,
looking b ck
to
a for er state of p radisi cal lif , in which the
Gods
 
comingkingdom of philosophers. Of this kin omof Cronos Lnzss.
there s also ntion in theLaws (iv. 713 B). A i , in he ImPODVC-
Statesm n, the l tic tranger rises bove l w to the conception fto'+
of the livingvoice f the l wgiver, who is able to provide for
individu l cases. A si il r thought is repe ted n the L ws (ix.
875 C) : If in the order of nature, nd y divine d stiny, a man
ere able to pprehend the truth bout these things, he would
have no ne d of l ws to rule over hi ; for there is no law or
order above knowl dge, nor can mind without i piety be de
the subj ct or sl ve of any, but rather the lord f ll.' he union
of opposite natures, who form thewarpandthe wooof the
political web, is a favourite thought which occurs in both di logues
(Laws vi. 773;Statesman310 E).
The L ws are confessedly a S cond-best, an inferior Ide l, t
which Pl to has recourse, when he finds that the city of Philo-
sophers is no long r 'within the horizon of practical litics.'
t it is curious to observe that the higher Ide l isalways return-
.ing (c . Arist. Polit. ii. 6,$ 4), and that he is not uch nearer the
actual fact, nor ore on the l vel f ordinary life in the L ws
th n in the public. It s also interesting to remarkthatthe
new Ide l is lways falling way, and that he hardly supposes the
one to be ore capable f being realized than the other. uman
beings are troubl some to nage; andthe l gisl tor cannot
adapt his enact entstothe infinite vari ty f circumstances;
afterallhe ust l ve the dministration
of
them to his suc-
cessors ; and though he would have liked to make them as
permanent as they re in gypt,he cannot escape from th
necessity f ch ng . t l ngth Pl to is obliged to institute a oc-
turnal Council which is suppos d to etain he i d f the
l gisl tor, and of which some f the embers are even suppose
to go broad nd inspect the institutions f foreign countri s, as
a found tion for chang s in their own. he spirit f such chang s,
though voiding the xtr vagance of a popul r sse bly, being
only
so
uch change as the conservative te per of old embers
is likely
llow, is neverthel ss inconsist nt with the fixedn ss
f gypt which Pl to wish s to i pressupon Hellenic institutions,
e is inconsistent with hi self as the truth begins to dawn upon
him that 'in the execution things for the most part f ll short .of
our conception of them' (R p. v. 473 A).
 
xxxviii 2% Spartan and theAthenian clemerzt in t bLaws.
LWJ . d is ot this rue f ide ls f governm nt n general?
I ~ - ~ ~ .re lways disappointed in the . othing great cabe a~om-
forward o another ep. x. 608 C). As we grow O W we are
sensible that we h ve no power ctively to pursue our ideals any
long r. e have had our opportunity nd do not aspire to be more
than me : wehavereceived
‘wages and are oinghome.’
either do we despair of the futureof ankind, because we have
been able to do so little n com rison f the whol . e look
vain
for
consistency either in n or things. ut we have see
enough of i prov nt in our own ti tojustify US in the li f
that the worl isworth working for nd ,that a good n’s life is
not thrown way. Such refl ctions y hel us to bring home to
ourselves by inward sympathy the l nguage f lato in the L ws,
andtocombine ntosom thing ike a whol his various nd at
first sight inconsistent utterances.
VI. he R public y be described as the Spartan constitution
appended to a governm nt of philosophers. ut n the Laws an
theni n el ent is lso introduced. y nactments are taken
from the thenian; the four cl sses are borrowe from the con-
stitution f l isthenes, which l to regads as the best form of
theni n government (iii. 6@), nd the guardiansof the l w bear
a certain rese blance to the rchons. In the constitution f th
L ws ne rly all officers are el cte by a vote moreor less popular
andby ot. ut the asse blyonly xists for thepurposes of
election, nd has no gisl tive or xecutive powers. he
Noc-
turnal ou cil, which is the highest body in the state, has several
of
the functions of the nci nt Atheni n Areop gus, after which it
appears to be od ll d. Lif is to we r, as at thens, a joyous
nd stive look; there are to be cchic choruses, and of
ature age are encouraged in moderate potations. n the other
hand, the com on m als, the public ducation, the crypteia ar
borrowed from Sparta and not from thens, nd the superintend-
ence of private lif , which was to be practised by the governors,
has also its prototype in Sparta. he xtravag nt islike which
l t0 shows both to a naval power
(iv.
he best-governed ll nic states raced the origin of their
laws to ndividu l l wgivers. hese were l persons, thoug
TION. plish d n the short space of hum n if ;wherefore also we look
I
624
Steph.
we are uncertainhow ar hey originated oronly odifi d th L aws.
institutions whichare scribed to them. ut the l wgiver, thoug
I ~ ~
notamyth, was a fixed idea in the ind of the Gr k," fixe TK)N.
as the Troj n war
or
the rth-born us. 'This was what
Solon eant or s id '"was the form in which the theni ex-
pressedhisown conception f rightand justice, or argued a
disputed oint of l w. nd the constant reference in the Laws
f lato to the l wgiver is ltogether n ccordance with Gr k
odes of thinking and sp king.
high st branch of ducation is arithmetic ; to know the order of
the he venly bodies, and to reconcile the apparent contradiction
of their movem nts,. is n i portant part f reli ion ; the- lives
of the citizens are to have
a
co on measure, as also their vessels
and coins; the great bl ssing of the state is the number 5040.
Plato is deeply impressed by the antiquity of gypt, and the un-
chang ableness f her ancient forms of song and dance. nd he
is
also struck by the progress which the gyptians had ade i
the the tical sci nces-in comparison of themtheGreeks
appeared to him to be ittle better than swine. t he censures
theEgyptianmeanness nd nhospitality to strang rs. e has
traced the growth of states from their rude beginnings inaphilo-
sophical spirit; but of ny lifeor growth of the Hellenic world in
future ageshe s sile t. He hasmadethe refl ction thatpast
time is the maker of states (Book iii. sub init.);but he does not
argue from the past to the uture, that the process isalways going
on, or that the institutions of nations are rel tive to th ir stage of
civilization. If he co ld have sta ped ind li ly u on H ll nic
statesthe will of the l gislator, he would havebeen satisfied.
he utmost which he xpects of future generations is that they
should.supply the omissions, or correct the errors which young r
states en detect in his enactments. en institutions h ve be
once subj cted to this process of criticism, he would have them
fixed for ver (vi.
772 C, D ;viii.846 C, D).
Thereis also, as in the R pu lic, a Pythagore l nt. The -
THE PREAMBLE.
I. Strangers, let me askaquestionof you-Was aGod
 
.
Zeus i s said to havebeen theauthor of the ; in SPafla,
as
as
Homer
says, that inos went every ninth year o onversewith his
Olympi n sire, nd gave you l ws which he brought from hi .
6 yes nd there was hada nthus, his brother, who is reputed
among us tohavebeen a ostighteousud .’ hat sa625
reputation worthy f the son f Zeus. nd as Y OU and Megillus
have be n trained under these l ws, I ay ask Y OU to five me
n ccount of the . e can talk bout them in our walk from
Cnosus to the cave and temple of eus. I am told that th
distance is considerabl ,but probably ther are ShadyPlaces
under the tre s, where, beingno longer young, we m y often rest
and converse. 4 s, Str nger, a little onward there are be utiful
groves of cypresses,and green eadowsnwhich wemay
repose.’
havecommon ls, nd practise gymnastics, and bear arms?
‘My answer is, that ail our institutions are f a ilitary character. 6
e l d the life f the ca p ven n ti of pe ce, keeping up
the organization of an army, and having ls in common; and
as our country, owing to ts ruggedness, is ill-suited for he vy-
armed cavalry or infantry, our soldiers arearchers, equipped
withbows nd rrows. he l gisl tor was under the idea that
war was the natural state of ll nkind, nd that peace is only
a pretence ; he thought that no possessions h d any value which
were not secured againstene ies.’ nd do you thinkhat
superiority in war
? ‘Certainly
I do, and y Spartan fri ndwill agreewith m .’And are
there wars, not only f state gainst state, but of vill ge gainst
vill , f fa iy gainst f ily,of indivi ual ag inst indivi ual ?
s.’ nd is a hisown enemy? here you omo
first principl s, like a true votary of the goddess thene; and
this is ll the tt F, for you will the sooner recognize the truth
f what
am saying-that ll en everywhere are the en ies
f ll, and each ndividu l of very other nd f hi self; nd,
further, hat here
worst-which ch ‘man sustains, not at the hands f another,
but of hi self.’ nd does this extend to states and vill ges as
 
627-629. Xli
which conquers or is conqu red by the worse.‘ hether he. b s L
worse ever really conquers the better, isaquestion which ma be ~u~lrsrs.
leb for the present; but your ning is, that ba citizensdo some-
ti es overcome t e good, and that the state s then conquered
by herself, and tK t when they are def ted the stateisvictorious
over herself. Or, i , in . f ily theremay be several
brothers, and the bad maybe a jority;and when the ba
jority conqu r th good inority, the fa ily are worse tha
the selves. he use of the ter s‘better orworse than hi self
or the selves’ y be doubtful, but bout the thing nt ther
caneo dispute. ‘ ery tru’e: Such a struggle ight be ,
determined by a judge. nd whichwill be the better j dg -
he who destroys the worse and l ts the better rul , or he who
l ts the better rule and kes the others voluntar,ily obey; or,
628thirdly, he who destroys no one, but reconcil s the two parties?
‘ he l st, cl rly.‘ t the obj ct of such a judge
or
legislator
wouldnot e war. rue.’ d as there re two kinds f war,
one without and one within a state, of which the internal is by
f r the worse, will not the l gisl tor chi fly direct his attention
to
t is latter? e will concile the cont nding f ctions, nd
unite themgainst heir xternal ne i s. ‘ rtainly.’ very
l gisl tor will aim at the greatest good, and the greatest good
is ot victory in war, whether civil or external, but utu l pe ce
nd good-will, as in the body he lth
is
preferable to the purga-
tion f dise se. e who kes war his obj ct inste d of pe ce,
or who pursues war except for the sak of peace, is not a true
statesman. “ndyet, tranger, he aws both f rete nd
629 parta im ntirely t war.’ erhaps so: but do not l t us
quarrel about your legislators-let us e gentle;they were i
earnest quite as uch as we are, nd we must try to discover
their ning. he po t yrtaeus (you know his poems i
rete, nd my L ceda oni n fri nd is onl too amiliarwith
the )-he was an theni n by birth, nd a Spartan citize :-
‘Well,’ he says, ‘ I sing not, I care not bout any man, however
rich or happy,unlesshe is brave in war.’Now
I
all,to ask the poet a question. 0 Tyrtaeus,
I would say to hi ,we agree with you in praising those who
excel in war, but which kind of war do you n ?-that dreadful
war which
is
 
Analysis 629- 632.
U S I . ag inst foreign ene ies? Y ou say hat you abominate those
A , , ~ ~ ~ ~ho are not eager to taste their enemies’ loo ,’ and YOU seem
to n chi fly their forei n ne i s. ‘C rtainlye does.’ 630
ut we cont nd that there are men better far than your heroes,
yrta us, concerning whom another poet, hCognis the Sicili n,
says that ‘ n a civil broil they areworth their weight in gold and
silver.’ For in a civil war, not only courage, but justiceand
temperance and wisdom ar required,and allvirtue i s better
than a part. he m rcenary soldi r is ready to die at his post;
yethes com only a viol nt, senselesscreature.Andhe
l isl tor, whether inspir uninspired, will ke aws with
a
vi w to the highest virtue; nd this s not brute courage, but
loyalty in the hour f dang r. he virtue f yrtaeus, lthough
ne dful nough in his own ti ,
is
really of a fourth-rate descrip-
tion. ‘ You are degrading our l gisl tor to a very low l vel.’
y, we degrade not hi , but ourselves, if we beli ve that the
lawsof Lycurgus and Minos h d a vi w to war only. A divine
l wgiver would have had regard all differentkinds of
virtue, and have arranged his laws in corresponding cl ss s, and
not in the odern f shion, which only makes them after the want
of them is f lt,- bout inheritances and heiresses and ssaults, an
the like. s you truly said, virtue
is
the business of the l gis- 631
lator; b t you went wrong when you ref rr d ll l gislation to
a part f virtue, and to an inferior part.
For
the object of laws,
whether the ret n or any oth r, is to ake en happy. ow
happiness or ood is f two kinds-there are divine and there
are hum n goods. e who has the divine has the hum n adde
to him; t he who has lost thegreater sdeprived f oth.
he l sser goods are he lth, be uty, strength,nd, lastly,
wealth; not the bli God, luto, but one who has
eyes
all goods;and next com s temperance, and justice springs from
the union of wisdom and temperance with courage, which is the
fourth or l st. hese four precedeother goods, andthe legis-
l tor will arrange ll his ordinances ccordingly, the hu n going
back t o the ivi , and the divine to their ader ind. her
Will beenactments about arri ge, about ducation, about all
the states and f lings and xperiences
of
en and women, at
 
xliii
will fix a stamp of praise nd l . here will ls be rep- Law5 L
l tions bout propert andexpenditure, bout contracts,about us
rewardsandpunishments, nd fi lly bout funeral itesand
honours of the de d. he l wgiver will ppointguardians o
presideoverthesethings;and ind will harmonize his ordi-
nances, and show them to be in agree ent with temperance and
justice. Now I want to know whether the sa principles are
observ d i the aws f Lycurgus nd i os, or, s I should
rather say, of Apollo and Zeus. e ust go through the virtues,
beginning with courage, and then we will show that what has
preceded has rel tion to virtue.
633 ‘ wis ,’ says theL ceda oni n, ‘that you, Str nger, would first
criticize l i i s nd the Cretan ws.’ s, is the reply, and I will
criticize you and ys lf, as well as i . ll , ill s, were
not the com on me ls and gymnastic training instituted by your
legislator with a view to war? ‘Yes; and next in the order f
i portance com s hunting, and fourth the endurance f pain i
boring cont sts, and in the beatings which are the punishm nt of
th ft. here is, too, the so-call d Crypt ia or secr t service, i
whichouryouth wander bout thecountry night and dayunattended,
nd even in winter go unshod and have no beds to lie on. ore-
over theywrestleandexerciseunder a bl zing sun,andthey
have any si il r customs.’ ell, but is courage only a combat
against earand pain, and not gainst pleasur and flattery ?
‘ gainst bot , I should s y.’ nd which is worse,-to be over-
come by pain, or by pleasure ? he l tter.’ t id the l wgivers
634 f rete nd parta l gisl te for a courage which is lame f one
l ,- le to t the attacks of p in but not those of pl sure,
or for one which can m t both ? ‘For a courage which can m t
both, I should say.’But if so, where re the nstitutions which
train your citizens to be equally br ve against pl sure andpain,
nd superior to ene i s within as well s without ? ‘ e co fess
that we have no institutions worth ntioning which are f this
character.’ I am not surprised, nd will therefore only r quest
i forbearance on thepart of us
ll, n case the love f truth shoul
l d any of us tocensurethe aws f theothers.Remember
that I am ore in the ay f hearing criticisms of your ws
than you can e; for in well-ordered states like reteand
 
private to a ruler or elder,asi il r liberty is not allow
t o
the
young. ut now being lonewe sh ll not off nd your gisl tor
by a fri ndly exa ination
of
endurehardships, because he thought thatthose whohad not
this iscipline wo ld runaway from those who had. ut he
ought to have considered further, hat hosewho had never
l rned to r sist pleasure would be qu lly at the mercy of those
who had, and heseare often among theworst f nkind.
l sure, like f r, would overcome them, and take away their
courage and fre do . erhaps; but I must not behasty
in giving my assent.‘
ext as to te perance : what institutions have you which are
adapted to promote temperanc ? ‘ here are the com on ls636
andgymnastic xercises.’ hesarepartly ood and. partly
bad, and, as in dicine, what is good at one ti e and for on
person, s d at another i and for anotherperson. Now
although gy nastics and common meals do good, they are also
a cause of evil ncivil troubl s, nd they appear to encourage
unnatural love, as has be n shown at il tus, in Boeoti , and at
urii. d theCretansare said to have invented the tal of
Zeus andGanym de in order to justify their vil practices by
the example of the God wh wastheir l wgiver. L ving the
story, we y observ that ll w has to do with pleasure an
pain ; these are two fountains which are ever flowing n hu
nature, and hewhodrinks f th whenand as uch as he
ought, ishappy, nd he who indulges in them o xcess, is
miserable.
‘ You
may b right,but I still incline tothinkthat
the L ceda oni n l wgiver did well in forbidding pl sure,
if I y judge from the result. For there is no drunken revelry 637
in Sparta, and any one ound in a state f intoxication is severely
punished; he is not xcus d as an theni would be at thens
on account of a f stival.
1
yself have seen the Athenians drunk
at he ionysi - nd atour colony, arentum, on a si il r
occasion, I have beheld the whole city in a state of intoxication,’
I admit thatthese f stivals should beproperly re ulat . t
I i t reply, ‘Y s, Spartans, that is not your vice; but look at
 
.
6 onder not, Stranger; there are diff rent customs in diff rent
ha-.
countries.’ ow this ay be a suffici nt answer; but we are
speakingbout he wis om f lawgiversand not bout th
custo s of e . o return to the qu stion of drinking: shall
e have total bstinence, as you have, or hard drinking, like the
638
Scythians and Thracians, or oderate pot tions like the ersians?
Give us rms, nd we send ll these nations flying b fore us.)
y good fri nd, be odest; victori s and def ts often arise
from unknown caus s, and afford no proof f the goodness or
badness f institutions. hestronger overcom s the weaker,
as the thenians have overcome the ns, or the yracusans
the Locri ns, who are, perhaps, the best governed state n that
part of the world. eople are apt to praise or censure practices
witho t enquiring into the nature f th . his is the way with
drink : one person brings many witnesses, who sing the praises
of wine; another declares that sober n def t drunkards i
battle; and he gain is refuted n turn. I should like to conduct
the argument on some other thod ; for if you regard nu bers,
there are two citi s on one side, and ten thous nd on the other.
639 ‘ I m ready to pursue any thod which is likely to l us to
the truth.’ Let me put the atter thus: Somebody praises the
us ful qu liti s of agoat;another has seen goats running about
wild in a garden, and bl s a goat or any other ani l which
happenso e without a keeper. ‘ ow bsurd!’ Would a
pilot who is se -sick be a goodpilot ? No.’ Or a general who
is sick and drunk with f ar and ignorant of war agood general ?
‘ A general of old women he ought to b .’ ut can any one form
an esti ate of any soci ty, which is intended to have a rul r,
?
s.’ A
has this convivi l soci ty ever b n rightly ordered ? Of course
you Spartans and Cretans have never seen anything f the kind,
but I have had wide experience, and made any enquiries bout
such soci ti s, and have hardly ever ound anything right or ood
640 in them. ‘We cknowl dge our want of experience, and desir
to l rn ofyou.’ Will you ad it hat in all soci ti s there
ust b
leader ? ‘Yes.’ An in ti e f warhe ust be
 
hf
‘Certainly.’ Butwe are talking now of a g neral who sh ll preside
AwhLtvsrs. at meetings of friends-and as these have a tendency to be UP-
roarious, they ought bove ll others to have a governor. ‘ ery
oo .’ e should be a sober m n and a n ft e world, who
will keep, make; andncrease the pe ce of the society;a drwhrd
in chargeof drunkards wo ld be singul rlyfortunate
if
he voide
doing a serious mischief. ‘ nd d he would.’ uppose a rson 641
to censure such tings-he y be right, but lso he ay have
known he only n their disorderly state, und r a drunke
ster of the feast; nd a drunken general or pilot cannot save
his army or is shi s. ‘ rue; but lthou I see the advantage
of an army having a good general, I do not qually see the good
of a f st being well naged.’ If you m an to ask what good
ccrues to the state from the right training f a single youth or
single chorus, I should reply, ‘ ot much ’;but if you ask what is
the g od of education in general, I answer, that education m kes
good men,and hat goodmenactnobly nd overcome their
ne i s i battle.Victory is oftensuicidal o the victors,be-
cause it creates forgetfulness f education, but ducation itself is
never suicidal. ‘You i ply that the regul tion f convivi l m t-
ings is a part f ducation; w will you prove this?’ I ill tell
you. But first letmeoff r a word,of ology. e th ni ns
are lways thought to be fond of talking, whereas the L ceda -
monian
is
is
considered
to be sagacious and reserv d. ow I fear that I ay be charged 642
withspinning a longdiscourseout f slender teri ls.
For
drinking cannot be rightly ordered without correct principl s of
usic, and usic runs up into ducation generally, nd to dis-
cuss ll these atters m y be tedious; if you ike, therefor , we
will pass on o nother part of our subj ct. ‘ re you ware,
theni n, that our family is your proxenus at Sparta, nd that
from my boyhood I have regarded Athens as a second country,
nd having often fought your battl s in y youth, I have become
attached t you, nd ove the sound f the Attic di l ct?
The
saying
is
good,because theyare goodby nature; therefore,be assured
that I shall be gl d to hear you talk as much as you please: ‘ l j
too,’
dds Cl i i s, ‘have a tiewhichbinds me to YOU. YOU
know hat pi nides, the retan prophet, ca andoffered
 
Ana&& 642-645.
sacrifices in your city by the com nd f an oracle ten years
before the rsian war. e told the thenians that the ersian
host would not come for ten years, and would go away
again,
having suff red ore harm thanthey had inflicted.Now Epi-
nides was of y f ily, andwhenhe visited thenshe
643 ntered into fri ndship with your foref th rs.’ I see that you
are
willing to listen, and I have the will to spe k, if I had only the
, ability. But, first, I ust d fine thenatureand power of educa-
I
.
ing ;-t ‘ future builder must pl y at building, and he husband-
’ man atdigging; he soldi r must l rn to ride, and hecarpenter
I