Greek Texts & Translations

Certainly.

Such must necessarily be the account of the matter given by the man who says that the gods are always merciful to unjust men 906dand those who act unjustly, provided that one gives them a share of one's unjust gains; it is just as if wolves were to give small bits of their prey to watch-dogs, and they being mollified by the gifts were to allow them to go ravening among the flocks. Is not this the account given by the man who asserts that the gods are open to bribes?

It is.

To which of the guardians aforementioned might a man liken the gods without incurring ridicule? Is it to pilots, 906ewho, when warped themselves by wine's “flow and flavor,” ^note overturn both ships and sailors?

By no means.

And surely not to drivers ranged up for a race and seduced by a gift to lose it in favor of other teams?

If that was the account you gave of them, it would indeed be a horrible comparison.

Nor, surely, to generals or physicians or farmers or herdsmen; nor yet to dogs charmed by wolves?

Hush! That is quite impossible. 907a

Are not all gods the greatest of all guardians, and over the greatest things?

Yes, by far.

Shall we say that those who watch over the fairest things, and who are themselves eminently good at keeping watch, are inferior to dogs and ordinary men, who would never betray justice for the sake of gifts impiously offered by unjust men? 907b

By no means; it is an intolerable thing to say, and whoever embraces such an opinion would most justly be adjudged the worst and most impious of all the impious men who practice impiety in all its forms.

May we now say that we have fully proved our three propositions,—namely, that the gods exist, and that they are careful, and that they are wholly incapable of being seduced to transgress justice?

Certainly we may; and in these statements you have our support.

And truly they have been made in somewhat vehement terms, in our desire for victory 907cover those wicked men; and our desire for victory was due to our fear lest haply, if they gained the mastery in argument, they should suppose they had gained the right to act as they chose—those men who wickedly hold all those false notions about the gods. On this account we have been zealous to speak with special honor; and if we have produced any good effect, however small, in the way of persuading the men to hate themselves and to feel some love for an opposite kind of character, then our prelude to the laws respecting impiety 907dwill not have been spoken amiss.

Well, there is hope; and if not, at any rate no fault will be found with the lawgiver in respect of the nature of the argument.

After the prelude it will be proper for us to have a statement of a kind suitable to serve as the laws' interpreter, forewarning all the impious to quit their ways for those of piety. For those who disobey, this shall be the law concerning impiety:—If anyone commits impiety either by word or deed, he that meets with him 907eshall defend the law by informing the magistrates, and the first magistrates who hear of it shall bring the man up before the court ^note appointed to decide such cases as the laws direct; and if any magistrate on hearing of the matter fail to do this, he himself shall be liable to a charge of impiety at the hands of him who wishes to punish him on behalf of the laws. And if a man be convicted, the court shall assess one penalty 908afor each separate act of impiety. Imprisonment shall be imposed in every case; and since there are three prisons in the State (namely, one public prison near the market for most cases, to secure the persons of the average criminals; a second, situated near the assembly-room of the officials who hold nightly assemblies, ^note and named the “reformatory”; and a third, situated in the middle of the country, in the wildest and loneliest spot possible, and named after “retribution” ^note), and since men are involved in impiety 908bfrom the three causes which we have described, and from each such cause two forms of impiety result—consequently those who sin in respect of religion fall into six classes which require to be distinguished, as needing penalties that are neither equal nor similar. For while those who, though they utterly disbelieve in the existence of the gods, possess by nature a just character, both hate the evil and, because of their dislike of injustice, are incapable of being induced to commit unjust actions, and flee from unjust men