y know that no animal at birth is
mature or perfect in intelligence; and in the intermediate period, in
which he has not yet acquired his own proper sense, he rages and roars
without rhyme or reason; and when he has once got on his legs he jumps
about without rhyme or reason; and this, as you will remember, has been
already said by us to be the origin of music and gymnastic.

CLEINIAS: To be sure, I remember.

ATHENIAN: And did we not say that the sense of harmony and rhythm
sprang from this beginning among men, and that Apollo and the Muses and
Dionysus were the Gods whom we had to thank for them?

CLEINIAS: Certainly.

ATHENIAN: The other story implied that wine was given man out of
revenge, and in order to make him mad; but our present doctrine, on the
contrary, is, that wine was given him as a balm, and in order to implant
modesty in the soul, and health and strength in the body.

CLEINIAS: That, Stranger, is precisely what was said.

ATHENIAN: Then half the subject may now be considered to have been
discussed; shall we proceed to the consideration of the other half?

CLEINIAS: What is the other half, and how do you divide the subject?

ATHENIAN: The whole choral art is also in our view the whole of
education; and of this art, rhythms and harmonies form the part which
has to do with the voice.

CLEINIAS: Yes.

ATHENIAN: The movement of the body has rhythm in common with the
movement of the voice, but gesture is peculiar to it, whereas song is
simply the movement of the voice.

CLEINIAS: Most true.

ATHENIAN: And the sound of the voice which reaches and educates the
soul, we have ventured to term music.

CLEINIAS: We were right.

ATHENIAN: And the movement of the body, when regarded as an amusement,
we termed dancing; but when extended and pursued with a view to
the excellence of the body, this scientific training may be called
gymnastic.

CLEINIAS: Exactly.

ATHENIAN: Music, which was one half of the choral art, may be said to
have been completely discussed. Shall we proceed to the other half or
not? What would you like?

CLEINIAS: My good friend, when you are talking with a Cretan and
Lacedaemonian, and we have discussed music and not gymnastic, what
answer are either of us likely to make to such an enquiry?

ATHENIAN: An answer is contained in your question; and I understand
and accept what you say not only as an answer, but also as a command to
proceed with gymnastic.

CLEINIAS: You quit