nderstand
that opposite elements ought to be mingled in the state, as wine should
be mingled with water. The object at which we aim must therefore be
left to the influence of public opinion. And do not forget our former
precept, that every one should seek to attain immortality and raise up
a fair posterity to serve God.--Let this be the prelude of the law about
the duty of marriage. But if a man will not listen, and at thirty-five
years of age is still unmarried, he shall pay an annual fine: if he be
of the first class, 100 drachmas; if of the second, 70; if of the third,
60; and if of the fourth, 30. This fine shall be sacred to Here; and if
he refuse to pay, a tenfold penalty shall be exacted by the treasurer of
Here, who shall be responsible for the payment. Further, the unmarried
man shall receive no honour or obedience from the young, and he shall
not retain the right of punishing others. A man is neither to give
nor receive a dowry beyond a certain fixed sum; in our state, for his
consolation, if he be poor, let him know that he need neither receive
nor give one, for every citizen is provided with the necessaries of
life. Again, if the woman is not rich, her husband will not be her
humble servant. He who disobeys this law shall pay a fine according to
his class, which shall be exacted by the treasurers of Here and Zeus.

The betrothal of the parties shall be made by the next of kin, or
if there are none, by the guardians. The offerings and ceremonies of
marriage shall be determined by the interpreters of sacred rites. Let
the wedding party be moderate; five male and five female friends, and a
like number of kinsmen, will be enough. The expense should not exceed,
for the first class, a mina; and for the second, half a mina; and should
be in like proportion for the other classes. Extravagance is to be
regarded as vulgarity and ignorance of nuptial proprieties. Much wine is
only to be drunk at the festivals of Dionysus, and certainly not on the
occasion of a marriage. The bride and bridegroom, who are taking a great
step in life, ought to have all their wits about them; they should be
especially careful of the night on which God may give them increase, and
which this will be none can say. Their bodies and souls should be in the
most temperate condition; they should abstain from all that partakes of
the nature of disease or vice, which will otherwise become hereditary.
There is an original divinity in man which preserv