Phaedrus — Plato

not depict or be able tOj imitate any kind of illiberality or other baseness, lest from limitation they should come to be what they imitate. Did you never observe how imitations, j j beginning in early youth, at last sink into the constitution' ' and become a second nature of body, voice, and mind ?

For this reason there is one sort of narration which may be used or spoken by a truly good man, and there is another sort « Since the study of poetry involved the singing and reciting of it, the style had more effect on the student than in the simple reading to one's self.

p. 232which wdll be exclusively adapted to a man of another character and education. And which are these two sorts ? he asked. Suppose, I answered, that a just and good man in the course of narration comes on some saying or action of another good man, — I should imagine that he will like to impersonate him, and will not be ashamed of this sort of imitation ; he will be most ready to play the part of the good man when he is acting firmly and wisely ; in a less degree when his steps<falter, owing to sickness or love, or again from intoxication or any other mishap. But when he comes to a character which is rnworthy of him, he will not make a study of that ; he will disdain to wear the likeness of his inferiors, unless indeed during some brief interval when they may be doing any good ; at other times he will be ashamed to play a part which he has never practiced, nor will he like to fashion and frame himself after the baser models ; he feels that this would be beneath him, when carried beyond a pastime. [The sijnplicity of that style of writing which is largely narration with no imitation or at least only the imitation of virt- J ue, is best suited to the simplicity of the ideal state 1^ ^ ' where one man plays but one part. Socrates continues :]

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And therefore when any one of these clever multiform gentlemen, who can imitate anything, comes to our State, and proposes to exhibit himself and his poetry, we will fall down Aoo ^^^ worship him as a sweet and holy and wonderful being j but we must also inform him that there is no place for such as he is in our State, — the law will not allow them.

And so when we have anointed him with myrrh, and set a garland of wool upon his head, we shall send him away to another city.

For we mean to employ for our souls* health the rougher and severer ppet and story-teller, who will imitate the style of the virtuous only, ^nd will follow those modds which we prescribed at first whfen we began to speak of tne [education of our soldiers. [Having discussed both the subject matter and style of myth and poetry, Socrates turns next to song. The song or ode he says, has three parts, the woi;ds, the mejj^dy, and the rhythm.