But what weapons shall we use,and how shall we direct them?In the first place,we affirm that next after the Olympian Gods and the Gods of the State,honour should be given to the Gods below;they should receive everything in even and of the second choice,and ill omen,while the odd numbers,and the first choice,and the things of lucky omen,are given to the Gods above,by him who would rightly hit the mark of piety.Next to these Gods,a wise man will do service to the demons or spirits,and then to the heroes,and after them will follow the private and ancestral Gods,who are worshipped as the law prescribes in the places which are sacred to them.Next comes the honour of living parents,to whom,as is meet,we have to pay the first and greatest and oldest of all debts,considering that all which a man has belongs to those who gave him birth and brought him up,and that he must do all that he can to minister to them,first,in his property,secondly,in his person,and thirdly,in his soul,in return for the endless care and travail which they bestowed upon him of old,in the days of his infancy,and which he is now to pay back to them when they are old and in the extremity of their need.
And all his life long he ought never to utter,or to have uttered,an unbecoming word to them;for of light and fleeting words the penalty is most severe;Nemesis,the messenger of justice,is appointed to watch over all such matters.When they are angry and want to satisfy their feelings in word or deed,he should give way to them;for a father who thinks that he has been wronged by his son may be reasonably expected to be very angry.At their death,the most moderate funeral is best,neither exceeding the customary expense,nor yet falling short of the honour which has been usually shown by the former generation to their parents.And let a man not forget to pay the yearly tribute of respect to the dead,honouring them chiefly by omitting nothing that conduces to a perpetual remembrance of them,and giving a reasonable portion of his fortune to the dead.Doing this,and living after this manner,we shall receive our reward from the Gods and those who are above us [i.e.,the demons];and we shall spend our days for the most part in good hope.And how a man ought to order what relates to his descendants and his kindred and friends and fellow-citizens,and the rites of hospitality taught by Heaven,and the intercourse which arises out of all these duties,with a view to the embellishment and orderly regulation of his own life-these things,I say,the laws,as we proceed with them,will accomplish,partly persuading,and partly when natures do not yield to the persuasion of custom,chastising them by might and right,and will thus render our state,if the Gods co-operate with us,prosperous and happy.But of what has to be said,and must be said by the legislator who is of my way of thinking,and yet,if said in the form of law,would be out of place-of this I think that he may give a sample for the instruction of himself and of those for whom he is legislating;and then when,as far as he is able,he has gone through all the preliminaries,he may proceed to the work of legislation.Now,what will be the form of such prefaces?There may be a difficulty in including or describing them all under a single form,but I think that we may get some notion of them if we can guarantee one thing.
Cle.What is that?
Ath.I should wish the citizens to be as readily persuaded to virtue as possible;this will surely be the aim of the legislator in all his laws.
Cle.Certainly.
Ath.The proposal appears to me to be of some value;and I think that a person will listen with more gentleness and good-will to the precepts addressed to him by the legislator,when his soul is not altogether unprepared to receive them.Even a little done in the way of conciliation gains his ear,and is always worth having.For there is no great inclination or readiness on the part of mankind to be made as good,or as quickly good,as possible.The case of the many proves the wisdom of Hesiod,who says that the road to wickedness is smooth and can be travelled without perspiring,because it is so very short:
But before virtue the immortal Gods have placed the sweat of labour,and long and steep is the way thither,and rugged at first;but when you have reached the top,although difficult before,it is then easy.
Cle.Yes;and he certainly speaks well.
Ath.Very true:and now let me tell you the effect which the preceding discourse has had upon me.
Cle.Proceed.
Ath.Suppose that we have a little conversation with the legislator,and say to him-"O,legislator,speak;if you know what we ought to say and do,you can surely tell."Cle.Of course he can.
Ath."Did we not hear you just now saying,that the legislator ought not to allow the poets to do what they liked?For that they would not know in which of their words they went against the laws,to the hurt of the state."Cle.That is true.
Ath.May we not fairly make answer to him on behalf of the poets?
Cle.What answer shall we make to him?