No man,living or dead,shall deprive the living of the sustenance which the earth,their foster-parent,is naturally inclined to provide for them.And let not the mound be piled higher than would be the work of five men completed in five days;nor shall the stone which is placed over the spot be larger than would be sufficient to receive the praises of the dead included in four heroic lines.Nor shall the laying out of the dead in the house continue for a longer time than is sufficient to distinguish between him who is in a trance only and him who is really dead,and speaking generally,the third day after death will be a fair time for carrying out the body to the sepulchre.Now we must believe the legislator when he tells us that the soul is in all respects superior to the body,and that even in life what makes each one us to be what we are is only the soul;and that the body follows us about in the likeness of each of us,and therefore,when we are dead,the bodies of the dead are quite rightly said to be our shades or images;for the true and immortal being of each one of us which is called the soul goes on her way to other Gods,before them to give an account-which is an inspiring hope to the good,but very terrible to the bad,as the laws of our fathers tell us;and they also say that not much can be done in the way of helping a man after he is dead.But the living-he should be helped by all his kindred,that while in life he may be the holiest and justest of men,and after death may have no great sins to be punished in the world below.
If this be true,a man ought not to waste his substance under the idea that all this lifeless mass of flesh which is in process of burial is connected with him;he should consider that the son,or brother,or the beloved one,whoever he may be,whom he thinks he is laying in the earth,has gone away to complete and fulfil his own destiny,and that his duty is rightly to order the present,and to spend moderately on the lifeless altar of the Gods below.But the legislator does not intend moderation to be take,in the sense of meanness.Let the law,then,be as follows:-The expenditure on the entire funeral of him who is of the highest class shall not exceed five minae;and for him who is of the second class,three minae,and for him who is of the third class,two minae,and for him,who is of the fourth class,one mina,will be a fair limit of expense.The guardians of the law ought to take especial care of the different ages of life,whether childhood,or manhood,or any other age.And at the end of all,let there be some one guardian of the law presiding,who shall be chosen by the friends of the deceased to superintend,and let it be glory to him to manage with fairness and moderation what relates to the dead,and a discredit to him if they are not well managed.
Let the laying out and other ceremonies be in accordance with custom,but to the statesman who adopts custom as his law we must give way in certain particulars.It would be monstrous for example that he should command any man to weep or abstain from weeping over the dead;but he may forbid cries of lamentation,and not allow the voice of the mourner to be heard outside the house;also,he may forbid the bringing of the dead body into the open streets,or the processions of mourners in the streets,and may require that before daybreak they should be outside the city.Let these,then,be our laws relating to such matters,and let him who obeys be free from penalty;but he who disobeys even a single guardian of the law shall be punished by them all with a fitting penalty.
Other modes of burial,or again the denial of burial,which is to be refused in the case of robbers of temples and parricides and the like,have been devised and are embodied in the preceding laws,so that now our work of legislation is pretty nearly at an end;but in all cases the end does not consist in doing something or acquiring something or establishing something-the end will be attained and finally accomplished,when we have provided for the perfect and lasting continuance of our institutions until then our creation is incomplete.
Cle.That is very good Stranger;but I wish you would tell me more clearly what you mean.
Ath.O Cleinias,many things of old time were well said and sung;and the saying about the Fates was one of them.
Cle.What is it?
Ath.The saying that Lachesis or the giver of the lots is the first of them,and that Clotho or the spinster is the second of them,and that Atropos or the unchanging one is the third of them;and that she is the preserver of the things which we have spoken,and which have been compared in a figure to things woven by fire,they both (i.e.,Atropos and the fire)producing the quality of unchangeableness.I am speaking of the things which in a state and government give not only health and salvation to the body,but law,or rather preservation of the law,in the soul;and,if I am not mistaken,this seems to be still wanting in our laws:we have still to see how we can implant in them this irreversible nature.
Cle.It will be no small matter if we can only discover how such a nature can be implanted in anything.
Ath.But it certainly can be;so much I clearly see.
Cle.Then let us not think of desisting until we have imparted this quality to our laws;for it is ridiculous,after a great deal of labour has been spent,to place a thing at last on an insecure foundation.
Megillus.I approve of your suggestion,and am quite of the same mind with you.
Cle.Very good:And now what,according to you,is to be the salvation of our government and of our laws,and how is it to be effected?