Ath. Well, then; what shall we say or do?-Shall we assume thatsome one is accusing us among unholy men, who are trying to escapefrom the effect of our legislation; and that they say of us-Howdreadful that you should legislate on the supposition that there areGods! Shall we make a defence of ourselves? or shall we leave them andreturn to our laws, lest the prelude should become longer than thelaw? For the discourse will certainly extend to great length, if weare to treat the impiously disposed as they desire, partlydemonstrating to them at some length the things of which they demandan explanation, partly making them afraid or dissatisfied, and thenproceed to the requisite enactments.
Cle. Yes, Stranger; but then how often have we repeated already thaton the present occasion there is no reason why brevity should bepreferred to length; who is "at our heels"?-as the saying goes, and itwould be paltry and ridiculous to prefer the shorter to the better. Itis a matter of no small consequence, in some way or other to provethat there are Gods, and that they are good, and regard justice morethan men do. The demonstration of this would be the best and noblestprelude of all our laws. And therefore, without impatience, andwithout hurry, let us unreservedly consider the whole matter,summoning up all the power of persuasion which we possess.
Ath. Seeing you thus in earnest, I would fain offer up a prayer thatI may succeed:-but I must proceed at once. Who can be calm when heis called upon to prove the existence of the Gods? Who can avoidhating and abhorring the men who are and have been the cause of thisargument; I speak of those who will not believe the tales which theyhave heard as babes and sucklings from their mothers and nurses,repeated by them both in jest and earnest, like charms, who havealso heard them in the sacrificial prayers, and seen sightsaccompanying them-sights and sounds delightful to children-and theirparents during the sacrifices showing an intense earnestness on behalfof their children and of themselves, and with eager interest talkingto the Gods, and beseeching them, as though they were firmly convincedof their existence; who likewise see and hear the prostrations andinvocations which are made by Hellenes and barbarians at the risingand setting of the sun and moon, in all the vicissitudes of life,not as if they thought that there were no Gods, but as if therecould be no doubt of their existence, and no suspicion of theirnon-existence; when men, knowing all these things, despise them onno real grounds, as would be admitted by all who have any particleof intelligence, and when they force us to say what we are now saying,how can any one in gentle terms remonstrate with the like of them,when he has to begin by proving to them the very existence of theGods? Yet the attempt must be made; for it would be unseemly thatone half of mankind should go mad in their lust of pleasure, and theother half in their indignation at such persons. Our address tothese lost and perverted natures should not be spoken in passion;let us suppose ourselves to select some one of them, and gently reasonwith him, smothering our anger:-O my son, we will say to him, youare young, and the advance of time will make you reverse may of theopinions which you now hold. Wait awhile, and do not attempt tojudge at present of the highest things; and that is the highest ofwhich you now think nothing-to know the Gods rightly and to liveaccordingly. And in the first place let me indicate to you one pointwhich is of great importance, and about which I cannot bedeceived:-You and your friends are not the first who have held thisopinion about the Gods. There have always been persons more or lessnumerous who have had the same disorder. I have known many of them,and can tell you, that no one who had taken up in youth thisopinion, that the Gods do not exist, ever continued in the sameuntil he was old; the two other notions certainly do continue insome cases, but not in many; the notion, I mean, that the Godsexist, but take no heed of human things, and the other notion thatthey do take heed of them, but are easily propitiated withsacrifices and prayers. As to the opinion about the Gods which maysome day become clear to you, I advise you go wait and consider ifit be true or not; ask of others, and above all of the legislator.
In the meantime take care that you do not offend against the Gods. Forthe duty of the legislator is and always will be to teach you thetruth of these matters.
Cle. Our address, Stranger, thus far, is excellent.
Ath. Quite true, Megillus and Cleinias, but I am afraid that we haveunconsciously lighted on a strange doctrine.
Cle. What doctrine do you mean?
Ath. The wisest of all doctrines, in the opinion of many.
Cle. I wish that you would speak plainer.
Ath. The doctrine that all things do become, have become, and willbecome, some by nature, some by art, and some by chance.
Cle. Is not that true?
Ath. Well, philosophers are probably right; at any rate we may aswell follow in their track, and examine what is the meaning of themand their disciples.
Cle. By all means.
Ath. They say that the greatest and fairest things are the work ofnature and of chance, the lesser of art, which, receiving fromnature the greater and primeval creations, moulds and fashions allthose lesser works which are generally termed artificial.
Cle. How is that?