STRANGER: All these stories, and ten thousand YOUNG SOCRATES: Why is that?
others which are still more wonderful, have a common origin; many of them have been lost in the STRANGER: Why, because only the most divine lapse of ages, or are repeated only in a disconnected things of all remain ever unchanged and the same, form; but the origin of them is what no one has and body is not included in this class. Heaven and told, and may as well be told now; for the tale is the universe, as we have termed them, although they suited to throw light on the nature of the king.
have been endowed by the Creator with many glories, partake of a bodily nature, and therefore can-YOUNG SOCRATES: Very good; and I hope that not be entirely free from perturbation. But their you will give the whole story, and leave out noth-motion is, as far as possible, single and in the same ing.
place, and of the same kind; and is therefore only subject to a reversal, which is the least alteration STRANGER: Listen, then. There is a time when possible. For the lord of all moving things is alone God himself guides and helps to roll the world in able to move of himself; and to think that he moves its course; and there is a time, on the completion of them at one time in one direction and at another a certain cycle, when he lets go, and the world be-time in another is blasphemy. Hence we must not ing a living creature, and having originally received say that the world is either self-moved always, or intelligence from its author and creator, turns about all made to go round by God in two opposite and by an inherent necessity revolves in the oppo-courses; or that two Gods, having opposite purposes, site direction.
make it move round. But as I have already said (and this is the only remaining alternative) the world is 72
Plato
guided at one time by an external power which is YOUNG SOCRATES: How is that the cause?
divine and receives fresh life and immortality from the renewing hand of the Creator, and again, when STRANGER: Of all changes of the heavenly mo-let go, moves spontaneously, being set free at such a tions, we may consider this to be the greatest and time as to have, during infinite cycles of years, a most complete.
reverse movement: this is due to its perfect balance, to its vast size, and to the fact that it turns on the YOUNG SOCRATES: I should imagine so.
smallest pivot.
STRANGER: And it may be supposed to result in YOUNG SOCRATES: Your account of the world the greatest changes to the human beings who are seems to be very reasonable indeed.
the inhabitants of the world at the time.
STRANGER: Let us now reflect and try to gather YOUNG SOCRATES: Such changes would natu-from what has been said the nature of the phenom-rally occur.
enon which we affirmed to be the cause of all these wonders. It is this.
STRANGER: And animals, as we know, survive with difficulty great and serious changes of many differ-YOUNG SOCRATES: What?
ent kinds when they come upon them at once.
STRANGER: The reversal which takes place from YOUNG SOCRATES: Very true.
time to time of the motion of the universe.