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to any young and tender thing? For it is then that it is best molded and takes the impression that one wishes to stamp upon each." And through such sayings he attempts to show that one should not pour undiluted falsehoods into the ears of the newly arrived, since the impressions of wrong opinion stamped on youths are wont to become unchangeable and hard to wash out. 28.3 Therefore he consistently adds again: "'Shall we then so lightly allow,' he said, 'the children to hear any chance fables fashioned by any chance persons and to receive in their souls for the most part beliefs opposite to those which we shall think they ought to hold when they are grown up?' 'Not in any way,' he has said, 'shall we allow it.' 28.4 First, it seems, we must supervise the story-makers, and what good story they make we must approve, and what is not we must reject. And we will persuade nurses and mothers to tell the approved stories to the children, and to mold their souls with the stories much more than their bodies with their hands. But most of the stories they now tell must be cast out.' 28.5 Then, when he was asked about the analogous difference of each, he said 'the lesser stories are recognized in the greater ones', when Adeimantus asked again, indicating that he did not know these either, he again retorted, saying: "'Those which Hesiod, I said, and Homer told us; for they, I suppose, composing false stories for men, both told and tell them.'"

29.1 If, therefore, he declares the epics of Homer and Hesiod to be false stories, which indeed

especially entertain their hearers for the sake of education, and moreover also with beauty of language rouse the mind to perfect eloquence, how much more will one define all the words that the possessed old woman uttered to be false story-making, when even the name of the ventriloquist suggests this meaning? 29.2 For if the sons of the Hellenes, who are also precise about the naming of each thing, in the Greek language call myths false fabrications, it is consistent to suspect from the name the thing which it properly designates. 29.3 But the fables of Aesop know such fabrications of myths, such as youths playing in their games make up in many ways and Corybantic old women sing with chattering words (sometimes they do this while moistening their throats with much wine, 20and while holding to a cup and a drink they babble20 excessively). 29.4 Those, however, who believe they uphold the morals of philosophy, slandered the poetic compositions as false forms of myths, as was right.

30.1 If, then, the name itself is correctly assigned to the thing, in

the belly the ventriloquist seems to fashion a story; for she does not speak sanely from her natural mind, but the demon, lurking in her innermost parts, preys upon her and harms her understanding, and from her belly he sounds forth, putting together mythical fabrications, and, transforming himself into various forms, he leads the soul astray with different apparitions. 30.2 And since, being many-faced, he changes into all sorts of shapes, he no less pretends to come up from the earth and speak; then, changing his services along with his forms on either side, he seems to present a different person rising up beside the one who summons, but it is the same one running about here and there who changes his appearances, in order to show by deeds and words that he is a liar. 30.3 At any rate, he pretends to bring up the very persons of the dead, as is reasonable to suppose from such a performance, introducing with artifice smileless faces and gloomy phantoms, and he makes them terrible by presenting them as wholly dejected and full of the stench of death, as if summoned from Hades, and as if released for a short time from a prison or chains, then again passing from here to there. 30.4 Therefore he also astonishes with the

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καὶ νέῳ καὶ ἁπαλῷ ὁτῳοῦν; μάλιστα γὰρ δὴ τότε πλάττεται καὶ ἐνδύεται τύπον, ὃν ἄν τις βούληται ἐνσημήνασθαι ἑκάστῳ». διὰ δὲ τῶν τοιούτων πειρᾶται ῥήσεων ἐκφαίνειν ὡς οὐ χρεὼν ἂν εἴη γε ψευδηγορίαις ἐπαντλεῖν ἀκράτοις τὰς τῶν νεηλύδων ἀκοάς, ἐπειδὴ τοῖς ἀρτίως ἐνσῃμαινόμενοι μείραξιν οἱ τύποι τῆς κακοδοξίας ἀμετάστατοι φιλοῦσι γίγνεσθαι καὶ δυσέκνιπτοι· 28.3 διόπερ ἀκολούθως ἐπιφέρει πάλιν· «ἆρ' οὖν ῥᾳδίως οὕτω παρήσομεν» ἔφη «τοὺς ἐπιτυχόντας ὑπὸ τῶν ἐπιτυχόντων μύθους πλασθέντας ἀκούειν τοὺς παῖδας καὶ λαμβάνειν ἐν ταῖς ψυχαῖς ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ πολὺ ἐναντίας δόξας ἐκείναις ἃς ἐπειδὰν τελειωθῶσιν ἔχειν οἰησόμεθα δεῖν αὐτούς; οὐδ' ὁπωστιοῦν» εἴρηκεν ὅτι «παρήσομεν. 28.4 πρῶτον μὲν ἡμῖν, ὡς ἔοικεν, ἐπιστατητέον τοῖς μυθοποιοῖς, καὶ ὃν μὲν ἂν καλὸν μῦθον ποιήσωσιν ἐγκριτέον, ὃν δὲ μὴ ἀποκριτέον. τοὺς δὲ ἐγκριθέντας πείσωμεν τὰς τροφούς τε καὶ μητέρας λέγειν τοῖς παισίν, καὶ πλάττειν τὰς ψυχὰς αὐτῶν τοῖς μύθοις πολὺ μᾶλλον ἢ τὰ σώματα ταῖς χερσίν. ὦν δὲ νῦν λέγουσι τοὺς πολλοὺς ἐκβλητέον.» 28.5 εἶτα ἐπειδή, περὶ τῆς ἑκάστων ἀναλόγου διαφορᾶς ἐρωτώμενος, «ἐν τοῖς μείζοσιν» ἔφασκε «μύθοις ἀναγνωρίζεσθαι καὶ τοὺς ἐλάττους», ὡς ἤρετο πάλιν ὁ Ἀδείμαντος, οὐδὲ τούτους εἰδέναι δηλῶν, αὖθις ἀνθυπενέγκας ἔφησεν· «οὓς Ἡσίοδός τε, εἶπον, καὶ Ὅμηρος ἡμῖν ἐλεγέτην· οὗτοι γάρ που μύθους τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ψευδεῖς συντιθέντες ἔλεγόν τε καὶ λέγουσιν».

29.1 Εἰ τοίνυν Ὁμήρου τὰ ἔπη καὶ Ἡσιόδου μύθους ἀποφαίνει ψευδεῖς, ἃ δὴ

μάλιστα καὶ παιδείας ἕνεκα ψυχαγωγεῖ τοὺς αὐτηκόους, οὐ μὴν ἀλλά γε καὶ καλλιλεξίᾳ διεγείρει τὸ φρόνημα πρὸς εὐγλωττίαν ἐντελῆ, πόσῳ δὴ μᾶλλον ὅσους ἡ δαιμονῶσα γραῦς ἀπεφθέγξατο λόγους οὐχὶ μυθοποιίας ὁριεῖταί τις εἶναι ψευδεῖς, ὁπηνίκα καὶ τοὔνομα τῆς ἐγγαστριμύθου τοῦτον ὑπαγορεύει τὸν νοῦν; 29.2 εἰ γὰρ Ἑλλήνων παῖδες, οἱ καὶ τὰς ὀνοματοποιίας ἑκάστου πράγματος ἀκριβοῦντες, ἐν τῇ Ἑλλάδι φωνῇ πλάσματα ψευδῆ τοὺς μύθους ὀνομάζουσιν, ἀκόλουθον ἐκ τοῦ ὀνόματος ὑποπτεῦσαι τὸ πρᾶγμα καθ' οὗ τέτακται κυρίως. 29.3 ἀλλ' αἱ μὲν Αἰσώπου λογοποιίαι τοιαῦτα μύθων ἴσασι πλάσματα, οἷα καὶ τὰ μειράκια πολλαχῶς ἐν ταῖς παιδιαῖς ἀσταϊζόμενα παίζει καὶ κορυβαντιῶσαι γραῖαι κωτίλοις ἐπᾴδουσι λόγοις (ἔσθ' ὅτε ταῦτα δρῶσιν οἴνῳ μὲν ἐπιβρέχουσαι τὸν φάρυγγα συχνῷ, 20κύλικι δὲ προσέχουσαι καὶ ποτῷ φλυαροῦσιν20 ἀμέτρως). 29.4 οἱ μέντοιγε φιλοσοφίας ἤθη πρεσβεύειν ἡγούμενοι καὶ τὰς ἐμμούσους ποιήσεις οἷα ψευδῆ μύθων εἴδη διέβαλλον, ὡς δέον.

30.1 Εἰ οὖν αὐτὸ τοὔνομα κατὰ τοῦ πράγματός ἐστι τεταγμένον ὀρθῶς, ἐν

γαστρὶ μῦθον ἔοικεν ἀναπλάττειν ἡ ἐγγαστρίμυθος· οὐ γὰρ ἐκ τοῦ φυσικοῦ φθέγγεται νοῦ σωφρόνως, ἀλλ' ἐν τοῖς ἐνδοτάτω μορίοις ἐμφωλεύων ὁ δαίμων αὐτὴν ἐπινέμεται καὶ βλάπτει τὴν φρόνησιν, ἐκ δὲ τῆς γαστρὸς ἐξηχεῖ μυθώδη πλάσματα συγκροτῶν, εἰς ποικίλα δὲ μεταμορφούμενος εἴδη διαφόροις ἰνδάλμασιν ὑπάγει τὴν ψυχήν. 30.2 ἐπειδὴ δὲ παντοδα ποῖς ἐξαλλάττεται σχήμασι πολυπρόσωπος ὤν, οὐδὲν ἧττον ἔτι καὶ ἐκ τῆς γῆς ἀναβαίνειν ὑποκρίνεται καὶ φωνεῖν· εἶτα παρ' ἑκάτερα τὰς διακονίας ἀμείβων ὁμοῦ ταῖς μορφαῖς, ἄλλον μὲν τὸν ἀναβαίνοντα παρὰ τὸν καλοῦντα δοκεῖ παριστᾶν, ὁ αὐτὸς δὲ τῇδε κἀκεῖσε περιτρέχων ἀλλάττει τὰς ἰδέας, ἵνα ἔργοις ἀποδεικνύῃ καὶ λόγοις ὅτι ψεύστης ἐστίν. 30.3 ὑποτυποῦται γοῦν αὐτὰ τὰ πρόσωπα νεκρῶν ἀνάγειν, ὡς εἰκός ἐστιν ἐκ τοῦ τοιοῦδε δράματος ὑπολαβεῖν, ἀμειδεῖς μὲν ὄψεις, σκυθρωπὰ δὲ φάσματα πεπλασμένως εἰσάγων, ὅλα δὲ κατηφῆ καὶ νεκρᾶς ὀδμῆς ἀνάπλεα παριστῶν ὡς ἐξ ᾅδου μετακεκλημένα δεινοποιεῖ, καὶ καθάπερ εἱρκτῆς ἢ δεσμῶν ἀνειμένα πρὸς ὀλίγον, εἶτα πάλιν ἐντεῦθεν ἐκεῖσε διαβαίνοντα. 30.4 τοιγάρτοι καὶ καταπλήττει τοῖς