Gods receiving the honours due to them, and men having a better understanding about them:  all these things, O my friend, have not yet been sufficiently declared to you by the legislator.  Attend, then, to what I am now going to say:  We were telling you, in the first place, that you were not sufficiently informed about letters, and the objection was to this effect—­that you were never told whether he who was meant to be a respectable citizen should apply himself in detail to that sort of learning, or not apply himself at all; and the same remark holds good of the study of the lyre.  But now we say that he ought to attend to them.  A fair time for a boy of ten years old to spend in letters is three years; the age of thirteen is the proper time for him to begin to handle the lyre, and he may continue at this for another three years, neither more nor less, and whether his father or himself like or dislike the study, he is not to be allowed to spend more or less time in learning music than the law allows.  And let him who disobeys the law be deprived of those youthful honours of which we shall hereafter speak.  Hear, however, first of all, what the young ought to learn in the early years of life, and what their instructors ought to teach them.  They ought to be occupied with their letters until they are able to read and write; but the acquisition of perfect beauty or quickness in writing, if nature has not stimulated them to acquire these accomplishments in the given number of years, they should let alone.  And as to the learning of compositions committed to writing which are not set to the lyre, whether metrical or without rhythmical divisions, compositions in prose, as they are termed, having no rhythm or harmony—­seeing how dangerous are the writings handed down to us by many writers of this class—­what will you do with them, O most excellent guardians of the law? or how can the lawgiver rightly direct you about them?  I believe that he will be in great difficulty.

Cleinias:  What troubles you, Stranger? and why are you so perplexed in your mind?

Athenian:  You naturally ask, Cleinias, and to you and Megillus, who are my partners in the work of legislation, I must state the more difficult as well as the easier parts of the task.

Cleinias:  To what do you refer in this instance?

Athenian:  I will tell you.  There is a difficulty in opposing many myriads of mouths.

Cleinias:  Well, and have we not already opposed the popular voice in many important enactments?

Athenian:  That is quite true; and you mean to imply that the road which we are taking may be disagreeable to some but is agreeable to as many others, or if not to as many, at any rate to persons not inferior to the others, and in company with them you bid me, at whatever risk, to proceed along the path of legislation which has opened out of our present discourse, and to be of good cheer, and not to faint.