10.  “And it seems tome,” he said, “that if AEsop had observed this he would have made a fable from it, how the deity, wishing to reconcile these warring principles, when he could not do so, united their heads together, and from hence whomsoever the one visits the other attends immediately after; as appears to be the case with me, since I suffered pain in my leg before from the chain, but now pleasure seems to have succeeded.”

Hereupon Cebes, interrupting him, said:  “By Jupiter!  Socrates, you have done well in reminding me; with respect to the poems which you made, by putting into metre those Fables of AEsop and the hymn to Apollo, several other persons asked me, and especially Evenus recently, with what design you made them after you came here, whereas before you had never made any. 11.  If therefore, you care at all that I should be able to answer Evenus, when he asks me again—­for I am sure he will do so—­tell me what I must say to him.”

“Tell him the truth, then, Cebes,” he replied, “that I did not make them from a wish to compete with him, or his poems, for I knew that this would be no easy matter; but that I might discover the meaning of certain dreams, and discharge my conscience, if this should happen to be the music which they have often ordered me to apply myself to.  For they were to the following purport:  often in my past life the same dream visited me, appearing at different times in different forms, yet always saying the same thing—­’Socrates,’ it said, ’apply yourself to and practice music.’ 12.  And I formerly supposed that it exhorted and encouraged me to continue the pursuit I was engaged in, as those who cheer on racers, so that the dream encouraged me to continue the pursuit I was engaged in—­namely, to apply myself to music, since philosophy is the highest music, and I was devoted to it.  But now since my trial took place, and the festival of the god retarded my death, it appeared to me that if by chance the dream so frequently enjoined me to apply myself to popular music, I ought not to disobey it, but do so, for that it would be safer for me not to depart hence before I had discharged my conscience by making some poems in obedience to the dream.  Thus, then, I first of all composed a hymn to the god whose festival was present; and after the god, considering that a poet, if he means to be a poet, ought to make fables, and not discourses, and knowing that I was not skilled in making fables, I therefore put into verse those Fables of AEsop, which were at hand, and were known to me, and which first occurred to me.”

13.  “Tell this, then, to Evenus, Cebes, and bid him farewell, and if he is wise, to follow me as soon as he can.  But I depart, as it seems, to-day; for so the Athenians order.”

To this Simmias said, “What is this, Socrates, which you exhort Evenus to do? for I often meet with him; and, from what I know of him, I am pretty certain that he will not at all be willing to comply with your advice.”