Athenian
Ath. Next after this form of liberty would come that which refuses to be subject to the rulers;Cp. Plat. Rep. 4.424e. and, following on that, the shirking of submission to one’s parents and elders and their admonitions; then, as the penultimate stage, comes the effort to disregard the laws; while the last stage of all is to lose all respect for oaths or pledges or divinities,—wherein men display and reproduce the character of the Titans of story, who are said to have reverted to their original state, dragging out a painful existence with never any rest from woe. What, again, is our object in saying all this? Evidently, I must, every time, rein in my discourse, like a horse, and not let it run away with me as though it had no bridleCp. Eur. Ba. 385. in its mouth, and so get a toss off the donkeyA play on ἀπ’ ὄνου=ἀπὸ νοῦ: to show oneself a fool: cr. Artist. Nubes 1274: τί δῆτα ληρεῖς, ὥσπερ ἀπ’ ὄνου καταπεσών. (as the saying goes): consequently, I must once more repeat my question, and ask—With what object has all this been said?
Athenian
Ath. We saidCp. Plat. Laws 693b. that the lawgiver must aim, in his legislation, at three objectives—to make the State he is legislating for free, and at unity with itself, and possessed of sense. That was so, was it not?