839–840
Megillus
Meg. And you were right in that.
Athenian
Ath. Still, to show that it is not beyond the power of man, but possible, would you like me to try to state an argument which is not without some plausibility?
Athenian
Ath. Would a man be more ready to abstain from sex-indulgence, and to consent to carry out the law on this matter soberly, if he had his body not ill-trained, but in good condition, than if he had it in bad condition?
5
Clinias
Clin. He would be much more ready if it were not ill-trained.
Athenian
Ath. Do we not know by report about IccusCp. Plat. Prot. 316d ff. of Tarentum, because of his contests at Olympia and elsewhere,— how, spurred on by ambition and skill, and possessing courage combined with temperance in his soul, during all the period of his training (as the story goes) he never touched a woman, nor yet a boy? And the same story is told about Crison and Astylus and Diopompus and very many others. And yet, Clinias, these men were not only much worse educated in soul then your citizens and mine, but they also possessed much more sexual vigor of body.
Clinias
Clin. That this really happened in the case of these athletes is indeed, as you say, confidently affirmed by the ancients.