But before proceeding I must distinguish the dancing about which there is any doubt,from that about which there is no doubt.Which is the doubtful kind,and how are the two to be distinguished?There are dances of the Bacchic sort,both those in which,as they say,they imitate drunken men,and which are named after the Nymphs,and Pan,and Silenuses,and Satyrs;and also those in which purifications are made or mysteries celebrated-all this sort of dancing cannot be rightly defined as having either a peaceful or a warlike character,or indeed as having any meaning whatever and may,I think,be most truly described as distinct from the warlike dance,and distinct from the peaceful,and not suited for a city at all.There let it lie;and so leaving it to lie,we will proceed to the dances of war and peace,for with these we are undoubtedly concerned.Now the unwarlike muse,which honours in dance the Gods and the sons of the Gods,is entirely associated with the consciousness of prosperity;this class may be subdivided into two lesser classes,of which one is expressive of an escape from some labour or danger into good,and has greater pleasures,the other expressive of preservation and increase of former good,in which the pleasure is less exciting;-in all these cases,every man when the pleasure is greater,moves his body more,and less when the pleasure is less;and,again,if he be more orderly and has learned courage from discipline he waves less,but if he be a coward,and has no training or self-control,he makes greater and more violent movements,and in general when he is speaking or singing he is not altogether able to keep his body still;and so out of the imitation of words in gestures the whole art of dancing has arisen.And in these various kinds of imitation one man moves in an orderly,another in a disorderly manner;and as the ancients may be observed to have given many names which are according to nature and deserving of praise,so there is an excellent one which they have given to the dances of men who in their times of prosperity are moderate in their pleasures-the giver of names,whoever he was,assigned to them a very true,and poetical,and rational name,when he called them Emmeleiai,or dances of order,thus establishing two kinds of dances of the nobler sort,the dance of war which he called the Pyrrhic,and the dance of peace which he called Emmeleia,or the dance of order;giving to each their appropriate and becoming name.These things the legislator should indicate in general outline,and the guardian of the law should enquire into them and search them out,combining dancing with music,and assigning to the several sacrificial feasts that which is suitable to them;and when he has consecrated all of them in due order,he shall for the future change nothing,whether of dance or song.Thenceforward the city and the citizens shall continue to have the same pleasures,themselves being as far as possible alike,and shall live well and happily.
I have described the dances which are appropriate to noble bodies and generous souls.But it is necessary also to consider and know uncomely persons and thoughts,and those which are intended to produce laughter in comedy,and have a comic character in respect of style,song,and dance,and of the imitations which these afford.For serious things cannot be understood without laughable things,nor opposites at all without opposites,if a man is really to have intelligence of either;but he can not carry out both in action,if he is to have any degree of virtue.And for this very reason he should learn them both,in order that he may not in ignorance do or say anything which is ridiculous and out of place-he should command slaves and hired strangers to imitate such things,but he should never take any serious interest in them himself,nor should any freeman or freewoman be discovered taking pains to learn them;and there should always be some element of novelty in the imitation.Let these then be laid down,both in law and in our discourse,as the regulations of laughable amusements which are generally called comedy.And,if any of the serious poets,as they are termed,who write tragedy,come to us and say-"O strangers,may we go to your city and country or may we not,and shall we bring with us our poetry-what is your will about these matters?"-how shall we answer the divine men?I think that our answer should be as follows:-Best of strangers,we will say to them,we also according to our ability are tragic poets,and our tragedy is the best and noblest;for our whole state is an imitation of the best and noblest life,which we affirm to be indeed the very truth of tragedy.You are poets and we are poets,both makers of the same strains,rivals and antagonists in the noblest of dramas,which true law can alone perfect,as our hope is.Do not then suppose that we shall all in a moment allow you to erect your stage in the agora,or introduce the fair voices of your actors,speaking above our own,and permit you to harangue our women and children,and the common people,about our institutions,in language other than our own,and very often the opposite of our own.For a state would be mad which gave you this licence,until the magistrates had determined whether your poetry might be recited,and was fit for publication or not.
Wherefore,O ye sons and scions of the softer Muses,first of all show your songs to the magistrates,and let them compare them with our own,and if they are the same or better we will give you a chorus;but if not,then,my friends,we cannot.Let these,then,be the customs ordained by law about all dances and the teaching of them,and let matters relating to slaves be separated from those relating to masters,if you do not object.
Cle.We can have no hesitation in assenting when you put the matter thus.
Ath.There still remain three studies suitable for freemen.