§3.400ἑπόμενον γὰρ δὴ ταῖς ἁρμονίαις ἂν ἡμῖν εἴη τὸ περὶ ῥυθμούς, μὴ ποικίλους αὐτοὺς διώκειν μηδὲ παντοδαπὰς βάσεις, ἀλλὰ βίου ῥυθμοὺς ἰδεῖν κοσμίου τε καὶ ἀνδρείου τίνες εἰσίν· οὓς ἰδόντα τὸν πόδα τῷ τοῦ τοιούτου λόγῳ ἀναγκάζειν ἕπεσθαι καὶ τὸ μέλος, ἀλλὰ μὴ λόγον ποδί τε καὶ μέλει.
"For following after the harmonies, the matter concerning rhythms would be next for us, namely, not to pursue varied rhythms nor all kinds of meters, but to see what are the rhythms of an orderly and brave life; and having seen them, to compel the foot and the melody to follow the speech of such a life, but not the speech to follow the foot and melody.
οἵτινες δʼ ἂν εἶεν οὗτοι οἱ ῥυθμοί, σὸν ἔργον, ὥσπερ τὰς ἁρμονίας, φράσαι. ἀλλὰ μὰ Δίʼ, ἔφη, οὐκ ἔχω λέγειν.
But what these rhythms might be, is your task to tell, just as you did with the harmonies." "But by Zeus," he said, "I am not able to say.
ὅτι μὲν γὰρ τρίʼ ἄττα ἐστὶν εἴδη ἐξ ὧν αἱ βάσεις πλέκονται, ὥσπερ ἐν τοῖς φθόγγοις τέτταρα, ὅθεν αἱ πᾶσαι ἁρμονίαι, τεθεαμένος ἂν εἴποιμι· ποῖα δὲ ὁποίου βίου μιμήματα, λέγειν οὐκ ἔχω. ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μέν, ἦν δʼ ἐγώ, καὶ μετὰ Δάμωνος βουλευσόμεθα, τίνες τε ἀνελευθερίας καὶ ὕβρεως ἢ μανίας καὶ ἄλλης κακίας πρέπουσαι βάσεις, καὶ τίνας τοῖς ἐναντίοις λειπτέον ῥυθμούς·
For that there are some three kinds from which the meters are woven, just as in sounds there are four, from which all the harmonies come, I could say from having observed them; but what sort are imitations of what sort of life, I am not able to say." "But these things," I said, "we shall deliberate upon also with Damon: which meters are fitting for illiberality and insolence, or madness and other vice, and what rhythms we must leave for their opposites.
οἶμαι δέ με ἀκηκοέναι οὐ σαφῶς ἐνόπλιόν τέ τινα ὀνομάζοντος αὐτοῦ σύνθετον καὶ δάκτυλον καὶ ἡρῷόν γε, οὐκ οἶδα ὅπως διακοσμοῦντος καὶ ἴσον ἄνω καὶ κάτω τιθέντος, εἰς βραχύ τε καὶ μακρὸν γιγνόμενον, καί, ὡς ἐγὼ οἶμαι, ἴαμβον καί τινʼ ἄλλον τροχαῖον ὠνόμαζε, μήκη δὲ καὶ βραχύτητας προσῆπτε.
And I think I have heard him, though not clearly, naming a certain composite enoplios, and a dactyl, and a heroic meter, arranging them I know not how, and setting them equal up and down, making them into short and long; and, as I think, he named an iamb, and another, a trochee, and attached lengths and shortnesses to them.
καὶ τούτων τισὶν οἶμαι τὰς ἀγωγὰς τοῦ ποδὸς αὐτὸν οὐχ ἧττον ψέγειν τε καὶ ἐπαινεῖν ἢ τοὺς ῥυθμοὺς αὐτούς—ἤτοι συναμφότερόν τι· οὐ γὰρ ἔχω λέγειν —ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μέν, ὥσπερ εἶπον, εἰς Δάμωνα ἀναβεβλήσθω·
And for some of these, I think, he blamed and praised the movement of the foot no less than the rhythms themselves—or some combination of both, for I cannot say.
διελέσθαι γὰρ οὐ σμικροῦ λόγου.
But let these things, as I said, be postponed for Damon; for to distinguish them is not a matter of a brief discourse.
ἢ σὺ οἴει; μὰ Δίʼ, οὐκ ἔγωγε. ἀλλὰ τόδε γε, ὅτι τὸ τῆς εὐσχημοσύνης τε καὶ ἀσχημοσύνης τῷ εὐρύθμῳ τε καὶ ἀρρύθμῳ ἀκολουθεῖ, δύνασαι διελέσθαι; πῶς δʼ οὔ; ἀλλὰ μὴν τὸ εὔρυθμόν γε καὶ τὸ ἄρρυθμον τὸ μὲν τῇ καλῇ λέξει ἕπεται ὁμοιούμενον, τὸ δὲ τῇ ἐναντίᾳ, καὶ τὸ εὐάρμοστον καὶ ἀνάρμοστον ὡσαύτως, εἴπερ ῥυθμός γε καὶ ἁρμονία λόγῳ, ὥσπερ ἄρτι ἐλέγετο, ἀλλὰ μὴ λόγος τούτοις. ἀλλὰ μήν, ἦ δʼ ὅς, ταῦτά γε λόγῳ ἀκολουθητέον.
Or do you think so?" "By Zeus, not I." "But this at least, that gracefulness and ungracefulness follow good rhythm and bad rhythm, can you distinguish?" "How could I not?" "And indeed, good rhythm and bad rhythm, the one follows beautiful speech, being made like it, and the other follows the opposite; and good harmony and bad harmony likewise, if indeed rhythm and harmony follow speech, as was just now said, but not speech follow these." "But indeed," he said, "these must follow speech." "And what about the manner of speech," I said, "and the speech itself?
τί δʼ ὁ τρόπος τῆς λέξεως, ἦν δʼ ἐγώ, καὶ ὁ λόγος; οὐ τῷ τῆς ψυχῆς ἤθει ἕπεται; πῶς γὰρ οὔ; τῇ δὲ λέξει τὰ ἄλλα; ναί. εὐλογία ἄρα καὶ εὐαρμοστία καὶ εὐσχημοσύνη καὶ εὐρυθμία εὐηθείᾳ ἀκολουθεῖ, οὐχ ἣν ἄνοιαν οὖσαν ὑποκοριζόμενοι καλοῦμεν, ἀλλὰ τὴν ὡς ἀληθῶς εὖ τε καὶ καλῶς τὸ ἦθος κατεσκευασμένην διάνοιαν. παντάπασι μὲν οὖν, ἔφη.
Do they not follow the character of the soul?" "How could they not?" "And does everything else follow the speech?" "Yes." "Therefore, good speech, good harmony, gracefulness, and good rhythm follow good character—not that foolishness which we euphemistically call 'good nature,' but the mind truly well and finely equipped in character." "By all means," he said.
ἆρʼ οὖν οὐ πανταχοῦ ταῦτα διωκτέα τοῖς νέοις, εἰ μέλλουσι τὸ αὑτῶν πράττειν; διωκτέα μὲν οὖν. §3.401ἔστιν δέ γέ που πλήρης μὲν γραφικὴ αὐτῶν καὶ πᾶσα ἡ τοιαύτη δημιουργία, πλήρης δὲ ὑφαντικὴ καὶ ποικιλία καὶ οἰκοδομία καὶ πᾶσα αὖ ἡ τῶν ἄλλων σκευῶν ἐργασία, ἔτι δὲ ἡ τῶν σωμάτων φύσις καὶ ἡ τῶν ἄλλων φυτῶν·
"Must these not, then, be pursued everywhere by the young, if they are to do their own job?" "They must indeed be pursued." "And indeed, painting is full of them, as is all such craftsmanship, and weaving is full of them, and embroidery, and architecture, and in turn all the workmanship of other utensils, and furthermore the nature of bodies and that of other plants; for in all these there is gracefulness or ungracefulness.
ἐν πᾶσι γὰρ τούτοις ἔνεστιν εὐσχημοσύνη ἢ ἀσχημοσύνη. καὶ ἡ μὲν ἀσχημοσύνη καὶ ἀρρυθμία καὶ ἀναρμοστία κακολογίας καὶ κακοηθείας ἀδελφά, τὰ δʼ ἐναντία τοῦ ἐναντίου, σώφρονός τε καὶ ἀγαθοῦ ἤθους, ἀδελφά τε καὶ μιμήματα. παντελῶς μὲν οὖν, ἔφη.
And ungracefulness, bad rhythm, and lack of harmony are sisters to bad speech and bad character, while their opposites are sisters and imitations of the opposite, the temperate and good character." "By all means," he said.
ἆρʼ οὖν τοῖς ποιηταῖς ἡμῖν μόνον ἐπιστατητέον καὶ προσαναγκαστέον τὴν τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ εἰκόνα ἤθους ἐμποιεῖν τοῖς ποιήμασιν ἢ μὴ παρʼ ἡμῖν ποιεῖν, ἢ καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις δημιουργοῖς ἐπιστατητέον καὶ διακωλυτέον τὸ κακόηθες τοῦτο καὶ ἀκόλαστον καὶ ἀνελεύθερον καὶ ἄσχημον μήτε ἐν εἰκόσι ζῴων μήτε ἐν οἰκοδομήμασι μήτε ἐν ἄλλῳ μηδενὶ δημιουργουμένῳ ἐμποιεῖν, ἢ ὁ μὴ οἷός τε ὢν οὐκ ἐατέος παρʼ ἡμῖν δημιουργεῖν, ἵνα μὴ ἐν κακίας εἰκόσι τρεφόμενοι ἡμῖν οἱ φύλακες ὥσπερ ἐν κακῇ βοτάνῃ, πολλὰ ἑκάστης ἡμέρας κατὰ σμικρὸν ἀπὸ πολλῶν δρεπόμενοί τε καὶ νεμόμενοι, ἕν τι συνιστάντες λανθάνωσιν κακὸν μέγα ἐν τῇ αὑτῶν ψυχῇ, ἀλλʼ ἐκείνους ζητητέον τοὺς δημιουργοὺς τοὺς εὐφυῶς δυναμένους ἰχνεύειν τὴν τοῦ καλοῦ τε καὶ εὐσχήμονος φύσιν, ἵνα ὥσπερ ἐν ὑγιεινῷ τόπῳ οἰκοῦντες οἱ νέοι ἀπὸ παντὸς ὠφελῶνται, ὁπόθεν ἂν αὐτοῖς ἀπὸ τῶν καλῶν ἔργων ἢ πρὸς ὄψιν ἢ πρὸς ἀκοήν τι προσβάλῃ, ὥσπερ αὔρα φέρουσα ἀπὸ χρηστῶν τόπων ὑγίειαν, καὶ εὐθὺς ἐκ παίδων λανθάνῃ εἰς ὁμοιότητά τε καὶ φιλίαν καὶ συμφωνίαν τῷ καλῷ λόγῳ ἄγουσα; πολὺ γὰρ ἄν, ἔφη, κάλλιστα οὕτω τραφεῖεν. ἆρʼ οὖν, ἦν δʼ ἐγώ, ὦ Γλαύκων, τούτων ἕνεκα κυριωτάτη ἐν μουσικῇ τροφή, ὅτι μάλιστα καταδύεται εἰς τὸ ἐντὸς τῆς ψυχῆς ὅ τε ῥυθμὸς καὶ ἁρμονία, καὶ ἐρρωμενέστατα ἅπτεται αὐτῆς φέροντα τὴν εὐσχημοσύνην, καὶ ποιεῖ εὐσχήμονα, ἐάν τις ὀρθῶς τραφῇ, εἰ δὲ μή, τοὐναντίον;
"Must we, then, supervise only the poets and compel them to implant the image of good character in their poems or else not to write among us, or must we supervise the other craftsmen as well and prevent them from implanting this bad character, licentiousness, illiberality, and ungracefulness either in images of living things or in buildings or in any other crafted thing; or is the one who is not able to do so not to be permitted to practice craftsmanship among us? This is so that our guardians, being reared among images of vice as if in a bad pasture, harvesting and grazing upon many things every day little by little from many sources, may not without noticing it build up one great evil in their own soul. Instead, we must seek out those craftsmen who are gifted with the ability to track down the nature of the beautiful and graceful, so that the young, dwelling as if in a healthy place, may receive benefit from everything, from wherever anything from the beautiful works strikes their sight or hearing, like a breeze carrying health from good places, and from childhood on, without noticing it, leads them into likeness, friendship, and harmony with the beautiful reason." "In this way," he said, "they would be reared by far the most finely." "Is it not then for these reasons, Glaucon," I said, "that rearing in music is most sovereign, because rhythm and harmony sink most deeply into the inmost part of the soul, and grip it most strongly, bringing gracefulness, and make it graceful, if one is correctly reared, but if not, the opposite?"