🜔 Hierophant the Temple library
TextsShelvesGodsAskMythology StudioRemakesWikiData

Plato, Laws 840e

← the shelves · Plato, Laws · ← Plato, Laws 840d · Plato, Laws 841a →

Plato, Laws 840e Ancient Greek Plato, Laws
βεβαίως ταῖς πρώταις τῆς φιλίας ὁμολογίαις· δεῖν δὴ θηρίων γε αὐτοὺς ἀμείνους εἶναι. ἐὰν δʼ οὖν ὑπὸ τῶν ἄλλων Ἑλλήνων καὶ βαρβάρων τῶν πλείστων διαφθείρωνται, τὴν λεγομένην ἄτακτον Ἀφροδίτην ἐν αὐτοῖς ὁρῶντές τε καὶ ἀκούοντες μέγιστον δυναμένην, καὶ οὕτω δὴ μὴ δυνατοὶ γίγνωνται κατακρατεῖν, δεύτερον νόμον ἐπʼ αὐτοῖς μηχανᾶσθαι χρὴ τοὺς νομοφύλακας νομοθέτας γενομένους.
they live in a way that is holy and just, remaining constant to their first contracts of love: surely our citizens should at least be better than these animals. If, however, they become corrupted by most of the other Hellenes or barbarians, through seeing and hearing that among them the lawless Love (as it is called) is of very great power, and thus become unable to overcome it, then the Law-wardens, acting as lawgivers, must devise for them a second law.
English (Perseus/OGL perseus-eng2)
Cite as

Plato, Laws 840e — Perseus Digital Library — canonical-greekLit (Tufts University) (CC BY-SA 4.0) · urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0059.tlg034.perseus-grc2:840e