Laws
man, he who does so, must either think the neglect of such matters to be
of no consequence, or he is indolent and careless. For surely neither
of them can be charged with neglect if they fail to attend to something
which is beyond their power? 'Certainly not.'
And now we will examine the two classes of offenders who admit that
there are Gods, but say,--the one that they may be appeased, the other
that they take no care of small matters: do they not acknowledge that
the Gods are omnipotent and omniscient, and also good and perfect?
'Certainly.' Then they cannot be indolent, for indolence is the
offspring of idleness, and idleness of cowardice, and there is no
cowardice in God. 'True.' If the Gods neglect small matters, they must
either know or not know that such things are not to be regarded. But of
course they know that they should be regarded, and knowing, they
cannot be supposed to neglect their duty, overcome by the seductions
of pleasure or pain. 'Impossible.' And do not all human things share in
soul, and is not man the most religious of animals and the possession
of the Gods? And the Gods, who are the best of owners, will surely
take care of their property, small or great. Consider further, that the
greater the power of perception, the less the power of action. For it is
harder to see and hear the small than the great, but easier to control
them. Suppose a physician who had to cure a patient--would he
ever succeed if he attended to the great and neglected the little?
'Impossible.' Is not life made up of littles?--the pilot, general,
householder, statesman, all attend to small matters; and the builder
will tell you that large stones do not lie well without small ones.
And God is not inferior to mortal craftsmen, who in proportion to their
skill are careful in the details of their work; we must not imagine the
best and wisest to be a lazy good-for-nothing, who wearies of his work
and hurries over small and easy matters. 'Never, never!' He who charges
the Gods with neglect has been forced to admit his error; but I should
like further to persuade him that the author of all has made every part
for the sake of the whole, and that the smallest part has an appointed
state of action or passion, and that the least action or passion of any
part has a presiding minister. You, we say to him, are a minute fraction
of this universe, created with a view to the whole; the world is not
made for you, but you for the world; for the good artist considers the
whole first, and afterwards the parts. And you are annoyed at not seeing
how you and the universe are all working together for the best, so
far as the laws of the common creation admit. The soul undergoes many
changes from her contact with bodies; and all that the player does is to
put the pieces into their right places. 'What do you mean?' I mean that
God acts in the way which is simplest and easiest. Had each thing been
formed without any regard to the rest, the transposition of the Cosmos
would have been endless; but now there is not much trouble in the
government of the world. For when the king saw the actions of the living
souls and bodies, and the virtue and vice which were in them, and the
indestructibility of the soul and body (although they were not eternal),
he contrived so to arrange them that virtue might conquer and vice be
overcome as far as possible; giving them a seat and room adapted to
them, but leaving the direction of their separate actions to men's own
wills, which make our characters to be what they are. 'That is very
probable.' All things which have a soul possess in themselves the
principle of change, and in changing move according to fate and law;
natures which have undergone lesser changes move on the surface; but
those which have changed utterly for the worse, sink into Hades and the
infernal world. And in all great changes for good and evil which are
produced either by the will of the soul or the influence of others,
there is a change of place. The good soul, which has intercourse with
the divine nature, passes into a holier and better place; and the evil
soul, as she grows worse, changes her place for the worse. This,--as we
declare to the youth who fancies that he is neglected of the Gods,--is
the law of divine justice--the worse to the worse, the better to the
better, like to like, in life and in death. And from this law no man
will ever boast that he has escaped. Even if you say--'I am small,
and will creep into the earth,' or 'I am high, and will mount to
heaven'--you are not so small or so high that you shall not pay the
fitting penalty, either here or in the world below. This is also the
explanation of the seeming prosperity of the wicked, in whose actions
as in a mirror you imagined that you saw the neglect of the Gods, not
considering that they make all things contribute to the whole. And
how then could you form any idea of true happiness?--If Cleinias and
Megillus and I have succeeded in persuading you that you know not what
you say about the Gods, God will help you; but if there is still any
deficiency of proof, hear our answer to the third opponent.
Enough has been said to prove that the Gods exist and care for us;
that they can be propitiated, or that they receive gifts, is not to be
allowed or admitted for an instant. 'Let us proceed with the argument.'
Tell me, by the Gods, I say, how the Gods are to be propitiated by us?
Are they not rulers, who may be compared to charioteers, pilots, perhaps
generals, or physicians providing against the assaults of disease,
husbandmen observing the perils of the seasons, shepherds watching their
flocks? To whom shall we compare them? We acknowledged that the world is
full both of good and evil, but having more of evil than of good. There
is an immortal conflict going on, in which Gods and demigods are our
allies, and we their property; for injustice and folly and wickedness
make war in our souls upon justice and temperance and wisdom. There is
little virtue to be found on earth; and evil natures fawn upon the Gods,
like wild beasts upon their keepers, and believe that they can win them
over by flattery and prayers. And this sin, which is termed dishonesty,
is to the soul what disease is to the body, what pestilence is to the
seasons, what injustice is to states. 'Quite so.' And they who maintain
that the Gods can be appeased must say that they forgive the sins of
men, if they are allowed to share in their spoils; as you might suppose
wolves to mollify the dogs by throwing them a portion of the prey. 'That
is the argument.' But let us apply our images to the Gods--are they the
pilots who are won by gifts to wreck their own ships--or the charioteers
who are bribed to lose the race--or the generals, or doctors, or
husbandmen, who are perverted from their duty--or the dogs who
are silenced by wolves? 'God forbid.' Are they not rather our best
guardians; and shall we suppose them to fall short even of a moderate
degree of human or even canine virtue, which will not betray justice for
reward? 'Impossible.' He, then, who maintains such a doctrine, is the
most blasphemous of mankind.
And now our three points are proven; and we are agreed (1) that there
are Gods, (2) that they care for men, (3) that they cannot be bribed
to do injustice. I have spoken warmly, from a fear lest this impiety of
theirs should lead to a perversion of life. And our warmth will not have
been in vain, if we have succeeded in persuading these men to abominate
themselves, and to change their ways. 'So let us hope.' Then now that
the preamble is completed, we will make a proclamation commanding the
impious to renounce their evil ways; and in case they refuse, the law
shall be added:--If a man is guilty of impiety in word or deed, let
the bystander inform the magistrates, and let the magistrates bring the
offender before the court; and if any of the magistrates refuses to act,
he likewise shall be tried for impiety. Any one who is found guilty of
such an offence shall be fined at the discretion of the court, and
shall also be punished by a term of imprisonment. There shall be three
prisons--one for common offences against life and property; another,
near by the spot where the Nocturnal Council will assemble, which is to
be called the 'House of Reformation'; the third, to be situated in some
desolate region in the centre of the country, shall be called by a name
indicating retribution. There are three causes of impiety, and from each
of them spring impieties of two kinds, six in all. First, there is the
impiety of those who deny the existence of the Gods; these may be honest
men, haters of evil, who are only dangerous because they talk loosely
about the Gods and make others like themselves; but there is also a more
vicious class, who are full of craft and licentiousness. To this latter
belong diviners, jugglers, despots, demagogues, generals, hierophants
of private mysteries, and sophists. The first class shall be only
imprisoned and admonished. The second class should be put to death, if
they could be, many times over. The two other sorts of impiety, first of
those who deny the care of the Gods, and secondly, of those who affirm
that they may be propitiated, have similar subdivisions, varying in
degree of guilt. Those who have learnt to blaspheme from mere ignorance
shall be imprisoned in the House of Reformation for five years at least,
and not allowed to see any one but members of the Nocturnal Council,
who shall converse with them touching their souls health. If any of the
prisoners come to their right mind, at the end of five years let them be
restored to sane company; but he who again offends shall die. As to
that class of monstrous natures who not only believe that the Gods are
negligent, or may be propitiated, but pretend to practise on the souls
of quick and dead, and promise to charm the Gods, and to effect the ruin
of houses and states--he, I say, who is guilty of these things, shall
be bound in the central prison, and shall have no intercourse with
any freeman, receiving only his daily rations of food from the public
slaves; and when he dies, let him be cast beyond the border; and if any
freeman assist to bury him, he shall be liable to a suit for impiety.
But the sins of the father shall not be visited upon his children, who,
like other orphans, shall be educated by the state. Further, let there
be a general law which will have a tendency to repress impiety. No man
shall have religious services in his house, but he shall go with his
friends to pray and sacrifice in the temples. The reason of this is,
that religious institutions can only be framed by a great intelligence.
But women and weak men are always consecrating the event of the moment;
they are under the influence of dreams and apparitions, and they build
altars and temples in every village and in any place where they have
had a vision. The law is designed to prevent this, and also to deter men
from attempting to propitiate the Gods by secret sacrifices, which
only multiply their sins. Therefore let the law run:--No one shall
have private religious rites; and if a man or woman who has not been
previously noted for any impiety offend in this way, let them be
admonished to remove their rites to a public temple; but if the offender
be one of the obstinate sort, he shall be brought to trial before the
guardians, and if he be found guilty, let him die.
BOOK XI. As to dealings between man and man, the principle of them is
simple--Thou shalt not take what is not thine; and shalt do to others as
thou wouldst that they should do to thee. First, of treasure trove:--May
I never desire to find, or lift, if I find, or be induced by the counsel
of diviners to lift, a treasure which one who was not my ancestor has