317 e

SOC. Who is the best at distributing nourishment to the human body? Is it not the one who knows its worth?
COMP. Yes.
SOC. His distributions and laws, therefore, are the best; and whoever is most skilled in law regarding these matters is the best distributor.
COMP. Absolutely.
SOC. Who is this?
COMP. The physical trainer.
SOC. Is he the best at managing the human herd of the body?
COMP. Yes.
SOC. Who is the best at managing the herd of sheep? What is his name?
COMP. The shepherd.
SOC. The shepherd's laws are therefore best for the sheep.
COMP. Yes.
SOC. And the herdsman's for the cows.
COMP. Yes.
SOC. And whose laws are best for the souls of men? Are they not the king's? Answer me.
COMP. I say they are.
SOC. You speak well. Could you tell me who among the ancients has proven to be a good lawgiver in the musical laws? Perhaps you do not realize it, but shall I remind you?
COMP. By all means.
SOC. Is Marsyas a mythical satyr mentioned, and his pupil Olympus a legendary flute player the Phrygian?
COMP. You speak the truth.
SOC. Their musical pieces are the most divine, and they alone stir and reveal those who are in need of the gods, and even now they alone remain, as they are divine.
COMP. That is true.
SOC. Who is said to have been a good lawgiver among the ancient kings, whose customs even now remain as if they were divine?
COMP. I do not know.
SOC. Do you not know who among the Greeks use the most ancient laws?
COMP. Do you mean the Lacedaemonians and the lawgiver Lycurgus the traditional lawgiver of Sparta?
SOC. But these are perhaps not yet three hundred years old, or a little more than that. But do you know from where the best of these customs come?
COMP. They say from Crete.
SOC. Do these people, therefore, use the most ancient laws of the Greeks?