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  "chapter": {
    "num": 23,
    "slug": "23-critias",
    "title": "Critias",
    "of": 24,
    "words": 6804,
    "text": "## Critias\n\n\n#### 360 BC\n\n#### translated by Benjamin Jowett\n\n##### New York, C. Scribner's Sons, [1871]\n\nPERSONS OF THE DIALOGUE: CRITIAS; HERMOCRATES; TIMAEUS; SOCRATES\n\nTimaeus. How thankful I am, Socrates, that I have arrived at last,\nand, like a weary traveller after a long journey, may be at rest!\nAnd I pray the being who always was of old, and has now been by me\nrevealed, to grant that my words may endure in so far as they have\nbeen spoken truly and acceptably to him; but if unintentionally I have\nsaid anything wrong, I pray that he will impose upon me a just\nretribution, and the just retribution of him who errs is that he\nshould be set right. Wishing, then, to speak truly in future\nconcerning the generation of the gods, I pray him to give me\nknowledge, which of all medicines is the most perfect and best. And\nnow having offered my prayer I deliver up the argument to Critias, who\nis to speak next according to our agreement.\n\nCritias. And I, Timaeus, accept the trust, and as you at first\nsaid that you were going to speak of high matters, and begged that\nsome forbearance might be shown to you, I too ask the same or\ngreater forbearance for what I am about to say. And although I very\nwell know that my request may appear to be somewhat and\ndiscourteous, I must make it nevertheless. For will any man of sense\ndeny that you have spoken well? I can only attempt to show that I\nought to have more indulgence than you, because my theme is more\ndifficult; and I shall argue that to seem to speak well of the gods to\nmen is far easier than to speak well of men to men: for the\ninexperience and utter ignorance of his hearers about any subject is a\ngreat assistance to him who has to speak of it, and we know how\nignorant we are concerning the gods. But I should like to make my\nmeaning clearer, if Timaeus, you will follow me. All that is said by\nany of us can only be imitation and representation. For if we consider\nthe likenesses which painters make of bodies divine and heavenly,\nand the different degrees of gratification with which the eye of the\nspectator receives them, we shall see that we are satisfied with the\nartist who is able in any degree to imitate the earth and its\nmountains, and the rivers, and the woods, and the universe, and the\nthings that are and move therein, and further, that knowing nothing\nprecise about such matters, we do not examine or analyze the painting;\nall that is required is a sort of indistinct and deceptive mode of\nshadowing them forth. But when a person endeavours to paint the\nhuman form we are quick at finding out defects, and our familiar\nknowledge makes us severe judges of any one who does not render\nevery point of similarity. And we may observe the same thing to happen\nin discourse; we are satisfied with a picture of divine and heavenly\nthings which has very little likeness to them; but we are more precise\nin our criticism of mortal and human things. Wherefore if at the\nmoment of speaking I cannot suitably express my meaning, you must\nexcuse me, considering that to form approved likenesses of human\nthings is the reverse of easy. This is what I want to suggest to\nyou, and at the same time to beg, Socrates, that I may have not\nless, but more indulgence conceded to me in what I am about to say.\nWhich favour, if I am right in asking, I hope that you will be ready\nto grant.\n\nSocrates. Certainly, Critias, we will grant your request, and we\nwill grant the same by anticipation to Hermocrates, as well as to\nyou and Timaeus; for I have no doubt that when his turn comes a little\nwhile hence, he will make the same request which you have made. In\norder, then, that he may provide himself with a fresh beginning, and\nnot be compelled to say the same things over again, let him understand\nthat the indulgence is already extended by anticipation to him. And\nnow, friend Critias, I will announce to you the judgment of the\ntheatre. They are of opinion that the last performer was wonderfully\nsuccessful, and that you will need a great deal of indulgence before\nyou will be able to take his place.\n\nHermocrates. The warning, Socrates, which you have addressed to him,\nI must also take to myself. But remember, Critias, that faint heart\nnever yet raised a trophy; and therefore you must go and attack the\nargument like a man. First invoke Apollo and the Muses, and then let\nus hear you sound the praises and show forth the virtues of your\nancient citizens.\n\nCrit. Friend Hermocrates, you, who are stationed last and have\nanother in front of you, have not lost heart as yet; the gravity of\nthe situation will soon be revealed to you; meanwhile I accept your\nexhortations and encouragements. But besides the gods and goddesses\nwhom you have mentioned, I would specially invoke Mnemosyne; for all\nthe important part of my discourse is dependent on her favour, and\nif I can recollect and recite enough of what was said by the priests\nand brought hither by Solon, I doubt not that I shall satisfy the\nrequirements of this theatre. And now, making no more excuses, I\nwill proceed.\n\nLet me begin by observing first of all, that nine thousand was the\nsum of years which had elapsed since the war which was said to have\ntaken place between those who dwelt outside the Pillars of Heracles\nand all who dwelt within them; this war I am going to describe. Of the\ncombatants on the one side, the city of Athens was reported to have\nbeen the leader and to have fought out the war; the combatants on\nthe other side were commanded by the kings of Atlantis, which, as\nwas saying, was an island greater in extent than Libya and Asia, and\nwhen afterwards sunk by an earthquake, became an impassable barrier of\nmud to voyagers sailing from hence to any part of the ocean. The\nprogress of the history will unfold the various nations of\nbarbarians and families of Hellenes which then existed, as they\nsuccessively appear on the scene; but I must describe first of all\nAthenians of that day, and their enemies who fought with them, and\nthen the respective powers and governments of the two kingdoms. Let us\ngive the precedence to Athens.\n\nIn the days of old the gods had the whole earth distributed among\nthem by allotment. There was no quarrelling; for you cannot rightly\nsuppose that the gods did not know what was proper for each of them to\nhave, or, knowing this, that they would seek to procure for themselves\nby contention that which more properly belonged to others. They all of\nthem by just apportionment obtained what they wanted, and peopled\ntheir own districts; and when they had peopled them they tended us,\ntheir nurselings and possessions, as shepherds tend their flocks,\nexcepting only that they did not use blows or bodily force, as\nshepherds do, but governed us like pilots from the stern of the\nvessel, which is an easy way of guiding animals, holding our souls\nby the rudder of persuasion according to their own pleasure;-thus\ndid they guide all mortal creatures. Now different gods had their\nallotments in different places which they set in order. Hephaestus and\nAthene, who were brother and sister, and sprang from the same\nfather, having a common nature, and being united also in the love of\nphilosophy and art, both obtained as their common portion this land,\nwhich was naturally adapted for wisdom and virtue; and there they\nimplanted brave children of the soil, and put into their minds the\norder of government; their names are preserved, but their actions have\ndisappeared by reason of the destruction of those who received the\ntradition, and the lapse of ages. For when there were any survivors,\nas I have already said, they were men who dwelt in the mountains;\nand they were ignorant of the art of writing, and had heard only the\nnames of the chiefs of the land, but very little about their\nactions. The names they were willing enough to give to their children;\nbut the virtues and the laws of their predecessors, they knew only\nby obscure traditions; and as they themselves and their children\nlacked for many generations the necessaries of life, they directed\ntheir attention to the supply of their wants, and of them they\nconversed, to the neglect of events that had happened in times long\npast; for mythology and the enquiry into antiquity are first\nintroduced into cities when they begin to have leisure, and when\nthey see that the necessaries of life have already been provided,\nbut not before. And this is reason why the names of the ancients\nhave been preserved to us and not their actions. This I infer\nbecause Solon said that the priests in their narrative of that war\nmentioned most of the names which are recorded prior to the time of\nTheseus, such as Cecrops, and Erechtheus, and Erichthonius, and\nErysichthon, and the names of the women in like manner. Moreover,\nsince military pursuits were then common to men and women, the men\nof those days in accordance with the custom of the time set up a\nfigure and image of the goddess in full armour, to be a testimony that\nall animals which associate together, male as well as female, may,\nif they please, practise in common the virtue which belongs to them\nwithout distinction of sex.\n\nNow the country was inhabited in those days by various classes of\ncitizens;-there were artisans, and there were husbandmen, and there\nwas also a warrior class originally set apart by divine men. The\nlatter dwelt by themselves, and had all things suitable for nurture\nand education; neither had any of them anything of their own, but they\nregarded all that they had as common property; nor did they claim to\nreceive of the other citizens anything more than their necessary food.\nAnd they practised all the pursuits which we yesterday described as\nthose of our imaginary guardians. Concerning the country the\nEgyptian priests said what is not only probable but manifestly true,\nthat the boundaries were in those days fixed by the Isthmus, and\nthat in the direction of the continent they extended as far as the\nheights of Cithaeron and Parnes; the boundary line came down in the\ndirection of the sea, having the district of Oropus on the right,\nand with the river Asopus as the limit on the left. The land was the\nbest in the world, and was therefore able in those days to support a\nvast army, raised from the surrounding people. Even the remnant of\nAttica which now exists may compare with any region in the world for\nthe variety and excellence of its fruits and the suitableness of its\npastures to every sort of animal, which proves what I am saying; but\nin those days the country was fair as now and yielded far more\nabundant produce. How shall I establish my words? and what part of\nit can be truly called a remnant of the land that then was? The\nwhole country is only a long promontory extending far into the sea\naway from the rest of the continent, while the surrounding basin of\nthe sea is everywhere deep in the neighbourhood of the shore. Many\ngreat deluges have taken place during the nine thousand years, for\nthat is the number of years which have elapsed since the time of which\nI am speaking; and during all this time and through so many changes,\nthere has never been any considerable accumulation of the soil\ncoming down from the mountains, as in other places, but the earth\nhas fallen away all round and sunk out of sight. The consequence is,\nthat in comparison of what then was, there are remaining only the\nbones of the wasted body, as they may be called, as in the case of\nsmall islands, all the richer and softer parts of the soil having\nfallen away, and the mere skeleton of the land being left. But in\nthe primitive state of the country, its mountains were high hills\ncovered with soil, and the plains, as they are termed by us, of\nPhelleus were full of rich earth, and there was abundance of wood in\nthe mountains. Of this last the traces still remain, for although some\nof the mountains now only afford sustenance to bees, not so very\nlong ago there were still to be seen roofs of timber cut from trees\ngrowing there, which were of a size sufficient to cover the largest\nhouses; and there were many other high trees, cultivated by man and\nbearing abundance of food for cattle. Moreover, the land reaped the\nbenefit of the annual rainfall, not as now losing the water which\nflows off the bare earth into the sea, but, having an abundant\nsupply in all places, and receiving it into herself and treasuring\nit up in the close clay soil, it let off into the hollows the\nstreams which it absorbed from the heights, providing everywhere\nabundant fountains and rivers, of which there may still be observed\nsacred memorials in places where fountains once existed; and this\nproves the truth of what I am saying.\n\nSuch was the natural state of the country, which was cultivated,\nas we may well believe, by true husbandmen, who made husbandry their\nbusiness, and were lovers of honour, and of a noble nature, and had\na soil the best in the world, and abundance of water, and in the\nheaven above an excellently attempered climate. Now the city in\nthose days was arranged on this wise. In the first place the Acropolis\nwas not as now. For the fact is that a single night of excessive\nrain washed away the earth and laid bare the rock; at the same time\nthere were earthquakes, and then occurred the extraordinary\ninundation, which was the third before the great destruction of\nDeucalion. But in primitive times the hill of the Acropolis extended\nto the Eridanus and Ilissus, and included the Pnyx on one side, and\nthe Lycabettus as a boundary on the opposite side to the Pnyx, and was\nall well covered with soil, and level at the top, except in one or two\nplaces. Outside the Acropolis and under the sides of the hill there\ndwelt artisans, and such of the husbandmen as were tilling the\nground near; the warrior class dwelt by themselves around the\ntemples of Athene and Hephaestus at the summit, which moreover they\nhad enclosed with a single fence like the garden of a single house. On\nthe north side they had dwellings in common and had erected halls\nfor dining in winter, and had all the buildings which they needed\nfor their common life, besides temples, but there was no adorning of\nthem with gold and silver, for they made no use of these for any\npurpose; they took a middle course between meanness and ostentation,\nand built modest houses in which they and their children's children\ngrew old, and they handed them down to others who were like\nthemselves, always the same. But in summer-time they left their\ngardens and gymnasia and dining halls, and then the southern side of\nthe hill was made use of by them for the same purpose. Where the\nAcropolis now is there was a fountain, which was choked by the\nearthquake, and has left only the few small streams which still\nexist in the vicinity, but in those days the fountain gave an abundant\nsupply of water for all and of suitable temperature in summer and in\nwinter. This is how they dwelt, being the guardians of their own\ncitizens and the leaders of the Hellenes, who were their willing\nfollowers. And they took care to preserve the same number of men and\nwomen through all time, being so many as were required for warlike\npurposes, then as now-that is to say, about twenty thousand. Such were\nthe ancient Athenians, and after this manner they righteously\nadministered their own land and the rest of Hellas; they were renowned\nall over Europe and Asia for the beauty of their persons and for the\nmany virtues of their souls, and of all men who lived in those days\nthey were the most illustrious. And next, if I have not forgotten what\nI heard when I was a child, I will impart to you the character and\norigin of their adversaries. For friends should not keep their stories\nto themselves, but have them in common.\n\nYet, before proceeding further in the narrative, I ought to warn\nyou, that you must not be surprised if you should perhaps hear\nHellenic names given to foreigners. I will tell you the reason of\nthis: Solon, who was intending to use the tale for his poem,\nenquired into the meaning of the names, and found that the early\nEgyptians in writing them down had translated them into their own\nlanguage, and he recovered the meaning of the several names and when\ncopying them out again translated them into our language. My\ngreat-grandfather, Dropides, had the original writing, which is\nstill in my possession, and was carefully studied by me when I was a\nchild. Therefore if you hear names such as are used in this country,\nyou must not be surprised, for I have told how they came to be\nintroduced. The tale, which was of great length, began as follows:-\n\nI have before remarked in speaking of the allotments of the gods,\nthat they distributed the whole earth into portions differing in\nextent, and made for themselves temples and instituted sacrifices. And\nPoseidon, receiving for his lot the island of Atlantis, begat children\nby a mortal woman, and settled them in a part of the island, which I\nwill describe. Looking towards the sea, but in the centre of the whole\nisland, there was a plain which is said to have been the fairest of\nall plains and very fertile. Near the plain again, and also in the\ncentre of the island at a distance of about fifty stadia, there was\na mountain not very high on any side.\n\nIn this mountain there dwelt one of the earth born primeval men of\nthat country, whose name was Evenor, and he had a wife named Leucippe,\nand they had an only daughter who was called Cleito. The maiden had\nalready reached womanhood, when her father and mother died; Poseidon\nfell in love with her and had intercourse with her, and breaking the\nground, inclosed the hill in which she dwelt all round, making\nalternate zones of sea and land larger and smaller, encircling one\nanother; there were two of land and three of water, which he turned as\nwith a lathe, each having its circumference equidistant every way from\nthe centre, so that no man could get to the island, for ships and\nvoyages were not as yet. He himself, being a god, found no\ndifficulty in making special arrangements for the centre island,\nbringing up two springs of water from beneath the earth, one of warm\nwater and the other of cold, and making every variety of food to\nspring up abundantly from the soil. He also begat and brought up\nfive pairs of twin male children; and dividing the island of\nAtlantis into ten portions, he gave to the first-born of the eldest\npair his mother's dwelling and the surrounding allotment, which was\nthe largest and best, and made him king over the rest; the others he\nmade princes, and gave them rule over many men, and a large territory.\nAnd he named them all; the eldest, who was the first king, he named\nAtlas, and after him the whole island and the ocean were called\nAtlantic. To his twin brother, who was born after him, and obtained as\nhis lot the extremity of the island towards the Pillars of Heracles,\nfacing the country which is now called the region of Gades in that\npart of the world, he gave the name which in the Hellenic language\nis Eumelus, in the language of the country which is named after him,\nGadeirus. Of the second pair of twins he called one Ampheres, and\nthe other Evaemon. To the elder of the third pair of twins he gave the\nname Mneseus, and Autochthon to the one who followed him. Of the\nfourth pair of twins he called the elder Elasippus, and the younger\nMestor. And of the fifth pair he gave to the elder the name of\nAzaes, and to the younger that of Diaprepes. All these and their\ndescendants for many generations were the inhabitants and rulers of\ndivers islands in the open sea; and also, as has been already said,\nthey held sway in our direction over the country within the Pillars as\nfar as Egypt and Tyrrhenia.\n\nNow Atlas had a numerous and honourable family, and they retained\nthe kingdom, the eldest son handing it on to his eldest for many\ngenerations; and they had such an amount of wealth as was never before\npossessed by kings and potentates, and is not likely ever to be again,\nand they were furnished with everything which they needed, both in the\ncity and country. For because of the greatness of their empire many\nthings were brought to them from foreign countries, and the island\nitself provided most of what was required by them for the uses of\nlife. In the first place, they dug out of the earth whatever was to be\nfound there, solid as well as fusile, and that which is now only a\nname and was then something more than a name, orichalcum, was dug\nout of the earth in many parts of the island, being more precious in\nthose days than anything except gold. There was an abundance of wood\nfor carpenter's work, and sufficient maintenance for tame and wild\nanimals. Moreover, there were a great number of elephants in the\nisland; for as there was provision for all other sorts of animals,\nboth for those which live in lakes and marshes and rivers, and also\nfor those which live in mountains and on plains, so there was for\nthe animal which is the largest and most voracious of all. Also\nwhatever fragrant things there now are in the earth, whether roots, or\nherbage, or woods, or essences which distil from fruit and flower,\ngrew and thrived in that land; also the fruit which admits of\ncultivation, both the dry sort, which is given us for nourishment\nand any other which we use for food-we call them all by the common\nname pulse, and the fruits having a hard rind, affording drinks and\nmeats and ointments, and good store of chestnuts and the like, which\nfurnish pleasure and amusement, and are fruits which spoil with\nkeeping, and the pleasant kinds of dessert, with which we console\nourselves after dinner, when we are tired of eating-all these that\nsacred island which then beheld the light of the sun, brought forth\nfair and wondrous and in infinite abundance. With such blessings the\nearth freely furnished them; meanwhile they went on constructing their\ntemples and palaces and harbours and docks. And they arranged the\nwhole country in the following manner:\n\nFirst of all they bridged over the zones of sea which surrounded the\nancient metropolis, making a road to and from the royal palace. And at\nthe very beginning they built the palace in the habitation of the\ngod and of their ancestors, which they continued to ornament in\nsuccessive generations, every king surpassing the one who went\nbefore him to the utmost of his power, until they made the building\na marvel to behold for size and for beauty. And beginning from the sea\nthey bored a canal of three hundred feet in width and one hundred feet\nin depth and fifty stadia in length, which they carried through to the\noutermost zone, making a passage from the sea up to this, which became\na harbour, and leaving an opening sufficient to enable the largest\nvessels to find ingress. Moreover, they divided at the bridges the\nzones of land which parted the zones of sea, leaving room for a single\ntrireme to pass out of one zone into another, and they covered over\nthe channels so as to leave a way underneath for the ships; for the\nbanks were raised considerably above the water. Now the largest of the\nzones into which a passage was cut from the sea was three stadia in\nbreadth, and the zone of land which came next of equal breadth; but\nthe next two zones, the one of water, the other of land, were two\nstadia, and the one which surrounded the central island was a\nstadium only in width. The island in which the palace was situated had\na diameter of five stadia. All this including the zones and the\nbridge, which was the sixth part of a stadium in width, they\nsurrounded by a stone wall on every side, placing towers and gates\non the bridges where the sea passed in. The stone which was used in\nthe work they quarried from underneath the centre island, and from\nunderneath the zones, on the outer as well as the inner side. One kind\nwas white, another black, and a third red, and as they quarried,\nthey at the same time hollowed out double docks, having roofs formed\nout of the native rock. Some of their buildings were simple, but in\nothers they put together different stones, varying the colour to\nplease the eye, and to be a natural source of delight. The entire\ncircuit of the wall, which went round the outermost zone, they covered\nwith a coating of brass, and the circuit of the next wall they\ncoated with tin, and the third, which encompassed the citadel, flashed\nwith the red light of orichalcum.\n\nThe palaces in the interior of the citadel were constructed on\nthis wise:-in the centre was a holy temple dedicated to Cleito and\nPoseidon, which remained inaccessible, and was surrounded by an\nenclosure of gold; this was the spot where the family of the ten\nprinces first saw the light, and thither the people annually brought\nthe fruits of the earth in their season from all the ten portions,\nto be an offering to each of the ten. Here was Poseidon's own temple\nwhich was a stadium in length, and half a stadium in width, and of a\nproportionate height, having a strange barbaric appearance. All the\noutside of the temple, with the exception of the pinnacles, they\ncovered with silver, and the pinnacles with gold. In the interior of\nthe temple the roof was of ivory, curiously wrought everywhere with\ngold and silver and orichalcum; and all the other parts, the walls and\npillars and floor, they coated with orichalcum. In the temple they\nplaced statues of gold: there was the god himself standing in a\nchariot-the charioteer of six winged horses-and of such a size that he\ntouched the roof of the building with his head; around him there\nwere a hundred Nereids riding on dolphins, for such was thought to\nbe the number of them by the men of those days. There were also in the\ninterior of the temple other images which had been dedicated by\nprivate persons. And around the temple on the outside were placed\nstatues of gold of all the descendants of the ten kings and of their\nwives, and there were many other great offerings of kings and of\nprivate persons, coming both from the city itself and from the foreign\ncities over which they held sway. There was an altar too, which in\nsize and workmanship corresponded to this magnificence, and the\npalaces, in like manner, answered to the greatness of the kingdom\nand the glory of the temple.\n\nIn the next place, they had fountains, one of cold and another of\nhot water, in gracious plenty flowing; and they were wonderfully\nadapted for use by reason of the pleasantness and excellence of\ntheir waters. They constructed buildings about them and planted\nsuitable trees, also they made cisterns, some open to the heavens,\nothers roofed over, to be used in winter as warm baths; there were the\nkings' baths, and the baths of private persons, which were kept apart;\nand there were separate baths for women, and for horses and cattle,\nand to each of them they gave as much adornment as was suitable. Of\nthe water which ran off they carried some to the grove of Poseidon,\nwhere were growing all manner of trees of wonderful height and beauty,\nowing to the excellence of the soil, while the remainder was\nconveyed by aqueducts along the bridges to the outer circles; and\nthere were many temples built and dedicated to many gods; also gardens\nand places of exercise, some for men, and others for horses in both of\nthe two islands formed by the zones; and in the centre of the larger\nof the two there was set apart a race-course of a stadium in width,\nand in length allowed to extend all round the island, for horses to\nrace in. Also there were guardhouses at intervals for the guards,\nthe more trusted of whom were appointed-to keep watch in the lesser\nzone, which was nearer the Acropolis while the most trusted of all had\nhouses given them within the citadel, near the persons of the kings.\nThe docks were full of triremes and naval stores, and all things\nwere quite ready for use. Enough of the plan of the royal palace.\n\nLeaving the palace and passing out across the three you came to a\nwall which began at the sea and went all round: this was everywhere\ndistant fifty stadia from the largest zone or harbour, and enclosed\nthe whole, the ends meeting at the mouth of the channel which led to\nthe sea. The entire area was densely crowded with habitations; and the\ncanal and the largest of the harbours were full of vessels and\nmerchants coming from all parts, who, from their numbers, kept up a\nmultitudinous sound of human voices, and din and clatter of all\nsorts night and day.\n\nI have described the city and the environs of the ancient palace\nnearly in the words of Solon, and now I must endeavour to represent\nthe nature and arrangement of the rest of the land. The whole\ncountry was said by him to be very lofty and precipitous on the side\nof the sea, but the country immediately about and surrounding the city\nwas a level plain, itself surrounded by mountains which descended\ntowards the sea; it was smooth and even, and of an oblong shape,\nextending in one direction three thousand stadia, but across the\ncentre inland it was two thousand stadia. This part of the island\nlooked towards the south, and was sheltered from the north. The\nsurrounding mountains were celebrated for their number and size and\nbeauty, far beyond any which still exist, having in them also many\nwealthy villages of country folk, and rivers, and lakes, and meadows\nsupplying food enough for every animal, wild or tame, and much wood of\nvarious sorts, abundant for each and every kind of work.\n\nI will now describe the plain, as it was fashioned by nature and\nby the labours of many generations of kings through long ages. It\nwas for the most part rectangular and oblong, and where falling out of\nthe straight line followed the circular ditch. The depth, and width,\nand length of this ditch were incredible, and gave the impression that\na work of such extent, in addition to so many others, could never have\nbeen artificial. Nevertheless I must say what I was told. It was\nexcavated to the depth of a hundred, feet, and its breadth was a\nstadium everywhere; it was carried round the whole of the plain, and\nwas ten thousand stadia in length. It received the streams which\ncame down from the mountains, and winding round the plain and\nmeeting at the city, was there let off into the sea. Further inland,\nlikewise, straight canals of a hundred feet in width were cut from\nit through the plain, and again let off into the ditch leading to\nthe sea: these canals were at intervals of a hundred stadia, and by\nthem they brought down the wood from the mountains to the city, and\nconveyed the fruits of the earth in ships, cutting transverse passages\nfrom one canal into another, and to the city. Twice in the year they\ngathered the fruits of the earth-in winter having the benefit of the\nrains of heaven, and in summer the water which the land supplied by\nintroducing streams from the canals.\n\nAs to the population, each of the lots in the plain had to find a\nleader for the men who were fit for military service, and the size\nof a lot was a square of ten stadia each way, and the total number\nof all the lots was sixty thousand. And of the inhabitants of the\nmountains and of the rest of the country there was also a vast\nmultitude, which was distributed among the lots and had leaders\nassigned to them according to their districts and villages. The leader\nwas required to furnish for the war the sixth portion of a\nwar-chariot, so as to make up a total of ten thousand chariots; also\ntwo horses and riders for them, and a pair of chariot-horses without a\nseat, accompanied by a horseman who could fight on foot carrying a\nsmall shield, and having a charioteer who stood behind the man-at-arms\nto guide the two horses; also, he was bound to furnish two heavy armed\nsoldiers, two slingers, three stone-shooters and three javelin-men,\nwho were light-armed, and four sailors to make up the complement of\ntwelve hundred ships. Such was the military order of the royal\ncity-the order of the other nine governments varied, and it would be\nwearisome to recount their several differences.\n\nAs to offices and honours, the following was the arrangement from\nthe first. Each of the ten kings in his own division and in his own\ncity had the absolute control of the citizens, and, in most cases,\nof the laws, punishing and slaying whomsoever he would. Now the\norder of precedence among them and their mutual relations were\nregulated by the commands of Poseidon which the law had handed down.\nThese were inscribed by the first kings on a pillar of orichalcum,\nwhich was situated in the middle of the island, at the temple of\nPoseidon, whither the kings were gathered together every fifth and\nevery sixth year alternately, thus giving equal honour to the odd\nand to the even number. And when they were gathered together they\nconsulted about their common interests, and enquired if any one had\ntransgressed in anything and passed judgment and before they passed\njudgment they gave their pledges to one another on this wise:-There\nwere bulls who had the range of the temple of Poseidon; and the ten\nkings, being left alone in the temple, after they had offered\nprayers to the god that they might capture the victim which was\nacceptable to him, hunted the bulls, without weapons but with staves\nand nooses; and the bull which they caught they led up to the pillar\nand cut its throat over the top of it so that the blood fell upon\nthe sacred inscription. Now on the pillar, besides the laws, there was\ninscribed an oath invoking mighty curses on the disobedient. When\ntherefore, after slaying the bull in the accustomed manner, they had\nburnt its limbs, they filled a bowl of wine and cast in a clot of\nblood for each of them; the rest of the victim they put in the fire,\nafter having purified the column all round. Then they drew from the\nbowl in golden cups and pouring a libation on the fire, they swore\nthat they would judge according to the laws on the pillar, and would\npunish him who in any point had already transgressed them, and that\nfor the future they would not, if they could help, offend against\nthe writing on the pillar, and would neither command others, nor\nobey any ruler who commanded them, to act otherwise than according\nto the laws of their father Poseidon. This was the prayer which each\nof them-offered up for himself and for his descendants, at the same\ntime drinking and dedicating the cup out of which he drank in the\ntemple of the god; and after they had supped and satisfied their\nneeds, when darkness came on, and the fire about the sacrifice was\ncool, all of them put on most beautiful azure robes, and, sitting on\nthe ground, at night, over the embers of the sacrifices by which\nthey had sworn, and extinguishing all the fire about the temple,\nthey received and gave judgment, if any of them had an accusation to\nbring against any one; and when they given judgment, at daybreak\nthey wrote down their sentences on a golden tablet, and dedicated it\ntogether with their robes to be a memorial.\n\nThere were many special laws affecting the several kings inscribed\nabout the temples, but the most important was the following: They were\nnot to take up arms against one another, and they were all to come\nto the rescue if any one in any of their cities attempted to overthrow\nthe royal house; like their ancestors, they were to deliberate in\ncommon about war and other matters, giving the supremacy to the\ndescendants of Atlas. And the king was not to have the power of life\nand death over any of his kinsmen unless he had the assent of the\nmajority of the ten.\n\nSuch was the vast power which the god settled in the lost island\nof Atlantis; and this he afterwards directed against our land for\nthe following reasons, as tradition tells: For many generations, as\nlong as the divine nature lasted in them, they were obedient to the\nlaws, and well-affectioned towards the god, whose seed they were;\nfor they possessed true and in every way great spirits, uniting\ngentleness with wisdom in the various chances of life, and in their\nintercourse with one another. They despised everything but virtue,\ncaring little for their present state of life, and thinking lightly of\nthe possession of gold and other property, which seemed only a\nburden to them; neither were they intoxicated by luxury; nor did\nwealth deprive them of their self-control; but they were sober, and\nsaw clearly that all these goods are increased by virtue and\nfriendship with one another, whereas by too great regard and respect\nfor them, they are lost and friendship with them. By such\nreflections and by the continuance in them of a divine nature, the\nqualities which we have described grew and increased among them; but\nwhen the divine portion began to fade away, and became diluted too\noften and too much with the mortal admixture, and the human nature got\nthe upper hand, they then, being unable to bear their fortune, behaved\nunseemly, and to him who had an eye to see grew visibly debased, for\nthey were losing the fairest of their precious gifts; but to those who\nhad no eye to see the true happiness, they appeared glorious and\nblessed at the very time when they were full of avarice and\nunrighteous power. Zeus, the god of gods, who rules according to\nlaw, and is able to see into such things, perceiving that an\nhonourable race was in a woeful plight, and wanting to inflict\npunishment on them, that they might be chastened and improve,\ncollected all the gods into their most holy habitation, which, being\nplaced in the centre of the world, beholds all created things. And\nwhen he had called them together, he spake as follows-*\n\n* The rest of the Dialogue of Critias has been lost.\n\n-THE END-\n\n## Laws\n\n\n##### 360 BC\n\n##### translated by Benjamin Jowett New York, C. Scribner's sons, 1871\n\nBOOK I\n\nBOOK II\n\nBOOK III\n\nBOOK IV\n\nBOOK V\n\nBOOK VI\n\nBOOK VII\n\nBOOK VIIII\n\nBOOK IX\n\nBOOK X\n\nBOOK XI\n\nBOOK XII",
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}