d--one for boys, another for youths, a third for
men; the course for the boys we will fix at half, and that for the
youths at two-thirds of the entire length. Women shall join in the
races: young girls who are not grown up shall run naked; but after
thirteen they shall be suitably dressed; from thirteen to eighteen they
shall be obliged to share in these contests, and from eighteen to twenty
they may if they please and if they are unmarried. As to trials of
strength, single combats in armour, or battles between two and two, or
of any number up to ten, shall take the place of wrestling and the heavy
exercises. And there must be umpires, as there are now in wrestling,
to determine what is a fair hit and who is conqueror. Instead of the
pancratium, let there be contests in which the combatants carry bows
and wear light shields and hurl javelins and throw stones. The next
provision of the law will relate to horses, which, as we are in Crete,
need be rarely used by us, and chariots never; our horse-racing prizes
will only be given to single horses, whether colts, half-grown, or
full-grown. Their riders are to wear armour, and there shall be a
competition between mounted archers. Women, if they have a mind, may
join in the exercises of men.

But enough of gymnastics, and nearly enough of music. All musical
contests will take place at festivals, whether every third or every
fifth year, which are to be fixed by the guardians of the law, the
judges of the games, and the director of education, who for this
purpose shall become legislators and arrange times and conditions. The
principles on which such contests are to be ordered have been often
repeated by the first legislator; no more need be said of them, nor
are the details of them important. But there is another subject of the
highest importance, which, if possible, should be determined by the
laws, not of man, but of God; or, if a direct revelation is impossible,
there is need of some bold man who, alone against the world, will
speak plainly of the corruption of human nature, and go to war with the
passions of mankind. 'We do not understand you.' I will try to make my
meaning plainer. In speaking of education, I seemed to see young men and
maidens in friendly intercourse with one another; and there arose in my
mind a natural fear about a state, in which the young of either sex are
well nurtured, and have little to do, and occupy themselves chiefly with
festivals and dances. Ho