e or blame them, accordingly as they are or are not capable of
improving our citizens.

And first of laws concerning religion. We have already said that the
number 5040 has many convenient divisions: and we took a twelfth part of
this (420), which is itself divisible by twelve, for the number of the
tribe. Every divisor is a gift of God, and corresponds to the months
of the year and to the revolution of the universe. All cities have a
number, but none is more fortunate than our own, which can be divided by
all numbers up to 12, with the exception of 11, and even by 11, if two
families are deducted. And now let us divide the state, assigning to
each division some God or demigod, who shall have altars raised to them,
and sacrifices offered twice a month; and assemblies shall be held
in their honour, twelve for the tribes, and twelve for the city,
corresponding to their divisions. The object of them will be first
to promote religion, secondly to encourage friendship and intercourse
between families; for families must be acquainted before they marry
into one another, or great mistakes will occur. At these festivals there
shall be innocent dances of young men and maidens, who may have the
opportunity of seeing one another in modest undress. To the details
of all this the masters of choruses and the guardians will attend,
embodying in laws the results of their experience; and, after ten years,
making the laws permanent, with the consent of the legislator, if he be
alive, or, if he be not alive, of the guardians of the law, who shall
perfect them and settle them once for all. At least, if any further
changes are required, the magistrates must take the whole people into
counsel, and obtain the sanction of all the oracles.

Whenever any one who is between the ages of twenty-five and thirty-five
wants to marry, let him do so; but first let him hear the strain which
we will address to him:--

My son, you ought to marry, but not in order to gain wealth or to avoid
poverty; neither should you, as men are wont to do, choose a wife who
is like yourself in property and character. You ought to consult the
interests of the state rather than your own pleasure; for by equal
marriages a society becomes unequal. And yet to enact a law that the
rich and mighty shall not marry the rich and mighty, that the quick
shall be united to the slow, and the slow to the quick, will arouse
anger in some persons and laughter in others; for they do not u