Ath. Again, we must distinguish and determine on some generalprinciple what songs are suitable to women, and what to men, andmust assign to them their proper melodies and rhythms. It isshocking for a whole harmony to be inharmonical, or for a rhythm to beunrhythmical, and this will happen when the melody is inappropriate tothem. And therefore the legislator must assign to these also theirforms. Now both sexes have melodies and rhythms which of necessitybelong to them; and those of women are clearly enough indicated bytheir natural difference. The grand, and that which tends tocourage, may be fairly called manly; but that which inclines tomoderation and temperance, may be declared both in law and in ordinaryspeech to be the more womanly quality. This, then, will be the generalorder of them.
Let us now speak of the manner of teaching and imparting them, andthe persons to whom, and the time when, they are severally to beimparted. As the shipwright first lays down the lines of the keel, andthus, as it were, draws the ship in outline, so do I seek todistinguish the patterns of life, and lay down their keels accordingto the nature of different men"s souls; seeking truly to consider bywhat means, and in what ways, we may go through the voyage of lifebest. Now human affairs are hardly worth considering in earnest, andyet we must be in earnest about them-a sad necessity constrains us.
And having got thus far, there will be a fitness in our completing thematter, if we can only find some suitable method of doing so. But whatdo I mean? Some one may ask this very question, and quite rightly,too.
Cle. Certainly.
Ath. I say that about serious matters a man should be serious, andabout a matter which is not serious he should not be, serious; andthat God is the natural and worthy object of our most serious andblessed endeavours, for man, as I said before, is made to be theplaything of God, and this, truly considered, is the best of him;wherefore also every man and woman should walk seriously, and passlife in the noblest of pastimes, and be of another mind from what theyare at present.
Cle. In what respect?
Ath. At present they think that their serious suits should be forthe sake of their sports, for they deem war a serious. pursuit,which must be managed well for the sake of peace; but the truth is,that there neither is, nor has been, nor ever will be, eitheramusement or instruction in any degree worth, speaking of in war,which is nevertheless deemed by us to be the most serious of ourpursuits. And therefore, as we say, every one of us should live thelife of peace as long and as well as he can. And what is the right wayof living? Are we to live in sports always? If so, in what kind ofsports? We ought to live sacrificing, and singing, and dancing, andthen a man will be able to propitiate the Gods, and to defendhimself against his enemies and conquer them in battle. The type ofsong or dance by which he will propitiate them has been described, andthe paths along which he is to proceed have been cut for him. Hewill go forward in the spirit of the poet:
Telemachus, some things thou wilt thyself find in thy heart, butother things God will suggest; for I deem that thou wast not broughtup without the will of the Gods.
And this ought to be the view of our alumni; they ought to thinkthat what has been said is enough for them, and that any otherthings their Genius and God will suggest to them-he will tell themto whom, and when, and to what Gods severally they are to sacrificeand perform dances, and how they may propitiate the deities, andlive according to the appointment of nature; being for the most partpuppets, but having some little share of reality.
Megillus. You have a low opinion of mankind, Stranger.
Ath. Nay, Megillus, be not amazed, but forgive me:-I was comparingthem with the Gods; and under that feeling I spoke. Let us grant, ifyou wish, that the human race is not to be despised, but is worthyof some consideration.
Next follow the buildings for gymnasia and schools open to all;these are to be in three places in the midst of the city; andoutside the city and in the surrounding country, also in three places,there shall be schools for horse exercise, and large groundsarranged with a view to archery and the throwing of missiles, at whichyoung men may learn and practise. Of these mention has already beenmade, and if the mention be not sufficiently explicit, let us speak,further of them and embody them in laws. In these several schoolslet there be dwellings for teachers, who shall be brought from foreignparts by pay, and let them teach those who attend the schools theart of war and the art of music, and the children shall come notonly if their parents please, but if they do not please; there shallbe compulsory education, as the saying is, of all and sundry, as farthis is possible; and the pupils shall be regarded as belonging to thestate rather than to their parents. My law would apply to females aswell as males; they shall both go through the same exercises. I assertwithout fear of contradiction that gymnastic and horsemanship are assuitable to women as to men. Of the truth of this I am persuadedfrom ancient tradition, and at the present day there are said to becountless myriads of women in the neighbourhood of the Black Sea,called Sauromatides, who not only ride on horseback like men, but haveenjoined upon them the use of bows and other weapons equally withthe men. And I further affirm, that if these things are possible,nothing can be more absurd than the practice which prevails in our owncountry, of men and women not following the same pursuits with alltheir strength and with one mind, for thus the state, instead of beinga whole, is reduced to a half, but has the same imposts to pay and thesame toils to undergo; and what can be a greater mistake for anylegislator to make than this?
Cle. Very true; yet much of what has been asserted by us, Strangeris contrary to the custom of states; still, in saying that thediscourse should be allowed to proceed, and that when the discussionis completed, we should choose what seems best, you spoke veryproperly, and I now feel compunction for what I have said. Tell me,then, what you would next wish to say.