Platos Gorgias
SOCRATES: And what do you say of the choral art and of CALLICLES: There can be no doubt, Socrates, that Trag-dithyrambic poetry?are not they of the same nature? Do edy has her face turned towards pleasure and the gratifica-you imagine that Cinesias the son of Meles cares about what tion of the audience.
will tend to the moral improvement of his hearers, or about what will give pleasure to the multitude?
SOCRATES: And is not that the sort of thing, Callicles, which we were just now describing as flattery?
CALLICLES: There can be no mistake about Cinesias, Socrates.
CALLICLES: Quite true.
SOCRATES: And what do you say of his father, Meles the SOCRATES: Well now, suppose that we strip all poetry of harp-player? Did he perform with any view to the good of song and rhythm and metre, there will remain speech?
his hearers? Could he be said to regard even their plea-
(Compare Republic.)
sure? For his singing was an infliction to his audience. And of harp-playing and dithyrambic poetry in general, what CALLICLES: To be sure.
would you say? Have they not been invented wholly for the sake of pleasure?
SOCRATES: And this speech is addressed to a crowd of people?
CALLICLES: That is my notion of them.
CALLICLES: Yes.
SOCRATES: And as for the Muse of Tragedy, that sol-emn and august personagewhat are her aspirations? Is all SOCRATES: Then poetry is a sort of rhetoric?
her aim and desire only to give pleasure to the spectators, or does she fight against them and refuse to speak of their CALLICLES: True.
pleasant vices, and willingly proclaim in word and song truths welcome and unwelcome?which in your judgment is her SOCRATES: And do not the poets in the theatres seem to character?
you to be rhetoricians?