§7.788ΑΘ. γενομένων δὲ παίδων ἀρρένων καὶ θηλειῶν, τροφὴν μέν που καὶ παιδείαν τὸ μετὰ ταῦτα λέγειν ὀρθότατʼ ἂν γίγνοιθʼ ἡμῖν, ἣν εἶναι μὲν ἄρρητον πάντως ἀδύνατον, λεγομένη δὲ διδαχῇ τινι καὶ νουθετήσει μᾶλλον ἢ νόμοις εἰκυῖʼ ἂν ἡμῖν φαίνοιτο.
ATH.: Now after the birth of children, male and female, it would surely be most correct for us to speak next of their nurture and education; which it is completely impossible to leave unsaid, but when spoken of, it would seem to us to resemble some teaching and admonition rather than laws.
ἰδίᾳ γὰρ καὶ κατʼ οἰκίας πολλὰ καὶ σμικρὰ καὶ οὐκ ἐμφανῆ πᾶσι γιγνόμενα, ῥᾳδίως ὑπὸ τῆς ἑκάστων λύπης τε καὶ ἡδονῆς καὶ ἐπιθυμίας ἕτερα παρὰ τὰς τοῦ νομοθέτου συμβουλὰς παραγενόμενα, παντοδαπὰ καὶ οὐχ ὅμοια ἀλλήλοις ἀπεργάζοιτʼ ἂν τὰ τῶν πολιτῶν ἤθη.
For privately and in their homes, many small and inconspicuous things occur to everyone, and easily, under the influence of each one's pain, pleasure, and desire, they go astray contrary to the advice of the legislator, producing all sorts of characters in the citizens, unlike one another.
τοῦτο δὲ κακὸν ταῖς πόλεσιν· καὶ γὰρ διὰ σμικρότητα αὐτῶν καὶ πυκνότητα ἐπιζήμια τιθέντα ποιεῖν νόμους ἀπρεπὲς ἅμα καὶ ἄσχημον, διαφθείρει δὲ καὶ τοὺς γραφῇ τεθέντας νόμους, ἐν τοῖς σμικροῖς καὶ πυκνοῖς ἐθισθέντων τῶν ἀνθρώπων παρανομεῖν.
And this is an evil for states; for because of their smallness and frequency, it is both unbecoming and unseemly to make laws that penalize them, and yet they corrupt even the written laws, since men become accustomed to transgressing in these small and frequent matters.
ὥστε ἀπορία μὲν περὶ αὐτὰ νομοθετεῖν, σιγᾶν δὲ ἀδύνατον.
So that while there is difficulty in legislating about them, it is impossible to remain silent.
ἃ δὲ λέγω, δηλῶσαι πειρατέον οἷον δείγματα ἐξενεγκόντα εἰς φῶς· νῦν γὰρ λεγομένοις ἔοικε κατά τι σκότος.
But what I mean, I must try to make clear by bringing, as it were, samples into the light; for at present, what is said seems to be in some darkness.
ΚΛ. ἀληθέστατα λέγεις.
CLIN.: You speak most truly.
ΑΘ. οὐκοῦν ὅτι μὲν σώματα καὶ ψυχὰς τήν γε ὀρθὴν πάντως δεῖ τροφὴν φαίνεσθαι δυναμένην ὡς κάλλιστα καὶ ἄριστα ἐξεργάζεσθαι, τοῦτο μὲν ὀρθῶς εἴρηταί που.
ATH.: Is it not then correctly said, I suppose, that the correct nurture must completely appear able to produce bodies and souls as beautiful and as good as possible?
ΚΛ. τί μήν;
CLIN.: Of course.
ΑΘ. σώματα δὲ κάλλιστα, οἴομαι, τό γε ἁπλούστατον, ὡς ὀρθότατα δεῖ νέων ὄντων εὐθὺς φύεσθαι τῶν παίδων.
ATH.: And the most beautiful bodies, I think, to put it most simply, must grow immediately from childhood as correctly as possible.
ΚΛ. πάνυ μὲν οὖν.
CLIN.: Very much so.
ΑΘ. τί δέ;
ATH.: And what of this?
τόδε οὐκ ἐννοοῦμεν, ὡς ἡ πρώτη βλάστη παντὸς ζῴου πολὺ μεγίστη καὶ πλείστη φύεται, ὥστε καὶ ἔριν πολλοῖς παρέσχηκεν μὴ γίγνεσθαι τά γʼ ἀνθρώπινα μήκη διπλάσια ἀπὸ πέντε ἐτῶν ἐν τοῖς λοιποῖς εἴκοσιν ἔτεσιν αὐξανόμενα;
Do we not observe that the first growth of every living creature is by far the greatest and most abundant, so that it has even caused a dispute to many that human heights do not become double from five years of age in the remaining twenty years of growth?
ΚΛ. ἀληθῆ.
CLIN.: True.
§7.789ΑΘ. τί οὖν;
ATH.: What then?
πολλὴ αὔξη ὅταν ἐπιρρέῃ πόνων χωρὶς πολλῶν καὶ συμμέτρων, οὐκ ἴσμεν ὅτι μυρία κακὰ ἐν τοῖς σώμασιν ἀποτελεῖ;
When much growth flows in without many and proportionate labors, do we not know that it produces countless evils in bodies?
ΚΛ. πάνυ γε.
CLIN.: Certainly.
ΑΘ. οὐκοῦν τότε δεῖται πλείστων πόνων, ὅταν ἡ πλείστη τροφὴ προσγίγνηται τοῖς σώμασι.
ATH.: Therefore, it needs the most labors then, when the most nurture is added to the bodies.
ΚΛ. τί δῆτʼ, ὦ ξένε;
CLIN.: What do you mean, stranger?
ἦ τοῖς ἄρτι γεγονόσι καὶ νεωτάτοις πόνους πλείστους προστάξομεν;
Shall we prescribe the most labors for those just born and youngest?
ΑΘ. οὐδαμῶς γε, ἀλλʼ ἔτι καὶ πρότερον τοῖς ἐντὸς τῶν αὑτῶν μητέρων τρεφομένοις.
ATH.: Not at all, but even earlier, to those being nurtured inside their own mothers.
ΚΛ. πῶς λέγεις, ὦ λῷστε;
CLIN.: How do you mean, best of men?
ἢ τοῖς κυουμένοισι φράζεις;
Do you mean to those being carried in the womb?
ΑΘ. ναί.
ATH.: Yes.
θαυμαστὸν δʼ οὐδέν ἐστιν ἀγνοεῖν ὑμᾶς τὴν τῶν τηλικούτων γυμναστικήν, ἣν βουλοίμην ἂν ὑμῖν καίπερ ἄτοπον οὖσαν δηλῶσαι.
And it is not at all surprising that you are ignorant of the gymnastics of such ones, which I should like to show you, even if it is strange.
ΚΛ. πάνυ μὲν οὖν.
CLIN.: By all means.
ΑΘ. ἔστι τοίνυν παρʼ ἡμῖν μᾶλλον τὸ τοιοῦτον κατανοεῖν διὰ τὸ τὰς παιδιὰς αὐτόθι μειζόνως τινὰς παίζειν ἢ δεῖ· τρέφουσι γὰρ δὴ παρʼ ἡμῖν οὐ μόνον παῖδες ἀλλὰ καὶ πρεσβύτεροί τινες ὀρνίθων θρέμματα, ἐπὶ τὰς μάχας τὰς πρὸς ἄλληλα.
ATH.: It is easier, then, to understand such a thing among us, because the sports there are played somewhat more than they should be; for among us, not only children but also some older people breed birds for fighting against one another.
ἀσκοῦντας τὰ τοιαῦτα τῶν θηρίων πολλοῦ δὴ δέουσιν ἡγεῖσθαι τοὺς πόνους αὐτοῖς εἶναι τοὺς πρὸς ἄλληλα μετρίους, ἐν οἷς αὐτὰ ἀνακινοῦσι γυμνάζοντες· πρὸς γὰρ τούτοις λαβόντες ὑπὸ μάλης ἕκαστος, τοὺς μὲν ἐλάττονας εἰς τὰς χεῖρας, μείζους δʼ ὑπὸ τὴν ἀγκάλην ἐντός, πορεύονται περιπατοῦντες σταδίους παμπόλλους ἕνεκα τῆς εὐεξίας οὔτι τῆς τῶν αὑτῶν σωμάτων, ἀλλὰ τῆς τούτων τῶν θρεμμάτων, καὶ τό γε τοσοῦτον δηλοῦσι τῷ δυναμένῳ καταμαθεῖν, ὅτι τὰ σώματα πάντα ὑπὸ τῶν σεισμῶν τε καὶ κινήσεων κινούμενα ἄκοπα ὀνίναται πάντων, ὅσα τε ὑπὸ ἑαυτῶν, ἢ καὶ ἐν αἰώραις ἢ καὶ κατὰ θάλατταν, ἢ καὶ ἐφʼ ἵππων ὀχουμένων καὶ ὑπʼ ἄλλων ὁπωσοῦν δὴ φερομένων τῶν σωμάτων, κινεῖται, καὶ διὰ ταῦτα τὰς τῶν σίτων τροφὰς καὶ ποτῶν κατακρατοῦντα, ὑγίειαν καὶ κάλλος καὶ τὴν ἄλλην ῥώμην ἡμῖν δυνατά ἐστι παραδιδόναι.
In training such beasts, they are far from thinking that the labors of fighting against one another, in which they stir them up for exercise, are moderate for them; for in addition to these, each one taking them under his arm, the smaller ones in their hands, and the larger ones inside their embrace, they walk many stadia for the sake of health, not of their own bodies, but of these creatures, and they demonstrate at least this much to anyone able to understand, that all bodies moved by shaking and motions benefit without fatigue from all movements, whether those moved by themselves, or on swings, or at sea, or riding on horses, or carried in any other way whatsoever, and because of this, mastering the nourishment of food and drink, they are able to impart health, beauty, and other strength to us.
τί οὖν ἂν φαῖμεν ἐχόντων οὕτω τούτων τὸ μετὰ τοῦτο ἡμᾶς δεῖν ποιεῖν;
What then should we say we must do after this, things being so?
βούλεσθε ἅμα γέλωτι φράζωμεν, τιθέντες νόμους τὴν μὲν κύουσαν περιπατεῖν, τὸ γενόμενον δὲ πλάττειν τε οἷον κήρινον, ἕως ὑγρόν, καὶ μέχρι δυοῖν ἐτοῖν σπαργανᾶν;
Do you wish that we speak with a laugh, enacting laws that the pregnant woman must walk, and that we must mold the newborn like wax as long as it is plastic, and swaddle it until two years of age?
καὶ δὴ καὶ τὰς τροφοὺς ἀναγκάζωμεν νόμῳ ζημιοῦντες τὰ παιδία ἢ πρὸς ἀγροὺς ἢ πρὸς ἱερὰ ἢ πρὸς οἰκείους ἀεί πῃ φέρειν, μέχριπερ ἂν ἱκανῶς ἵστασθαι δυνατὰ γίγνηται, καὶ τότε, διευλαβουμένας ἔτι νέων ὄντων μή πῃ βίᾳ ἐπερειδομένων στρέφηται τὰ κῶλα, ἐπιπονεῖν φερούσας ἕως ἂν τριετὲς ἀποτελεσθῇ τὸ γενόμενον;
And indeed, let us compel the nurses by law, under penalty, to carry the children always somewhere, either to the fields, or to temples, or to relatives, until they become able to stand sufficiently, and even then, taking care while they are still young lest their limbs be twisted by being violently pressed, to continue carrying them with effort until the child becomes three years old?