Nowwedonotneedmanyhorses，fortheycannotbeofmuchuseinacountrylikeCrete，andhencewenaturallydonottakegreatpainsabouttherearingofthemorabouthorseraces。Thereisnoonewhokeepsachariotamongus，andanyrivalryinsuchmatterswouldbealtogetheroutofplace；therewouldbenosensenoranyshadowofsenseininstitutingcontestswhicharenotafterthemannerofourcountry。Andthereforewegiveourprizesforsinglehorses-forcoltswhohavenotyetcasttheirteeth，andforthosewhoareintermediate，andforthefull-grownhorsesthemselves；andthusourequestriangameswillaccordwiththenatureofthecountry。Letthemhaveconflictandrivalryinthesemattersinaccordancewiththelaw，andletthecolonelsandgeneralsofhorsedecidetogetheraboutallcoursesandaboutthearmedcompetitorsinthem。Butwehavenothingtosaytotheunarmedeitheringymnasticexercisesorinthesecontests。Ontheotherhand，theCretanbowmanorjavelin-manwhofightsinarmouronhorsebackisuseful，andthereforewemayaswellplaceacompetitionofthissortamongamusements。Womenarenottobeforcedtocompetebylawsandordinances；butiffromprevioustrainingtheyhaveacquiredthehabitandarestrongenoughandliketotakepart，letthemdoso，girlsaswellasboys，andnoblametothem。
Thusthecompetitioningymnasticandthemodeoflearningithavebeendescribed；andwehavespokenalsoofthetoilsofthecontest，andofdailyexercisesunderthesuperintendenceofmasters。Likewise，whatrelatestomusichasbeen，forthemostpart，completed。Butastorhapsodesandthelike，andthecontestsofchoruseswhicharetoperformatfeasts，allthisshallbearrangedwhenthemonthsanddaysandyearshavebeenappointedforGodsanddemi-gods，whethereverythirdyear，oragaineveryfifthyear，orinwhateverwayormannertheGodsmayputintomen’smindsthedistributionandorderofthem。Atthesametime，wemayexpectthatthemusicalcontestswillbecelebratedintheirturnbythecommandofthejudgesandthedirectorofeducationandtheguardiansofthelawmeetingtogetherforthispurpose，andthemselvesbecominglegislatorsofthetimesandnatureandconditionsofthechoralcontestsandofdancingingeneral。Whattheyoughtseverallytobeinlanguageandsong，andintheadmixtureofharmonywithrhythmandthedance，hasbeenoftendeclaredbytheoriginallegislator；andhissuccessorsoughttofollowhim，makingthegamesandsacrificesdulytocorrespondatfittingtimes，andappointingpublicfestivals。Itisnotdifficulttodeterminehowtheseandthelikemattersmayhavearegularorder；
nor，again，willthealterationofthemdoanygreatgoodorharmtothestate。Thereis，however，anothermatterofgreatimportanceanddifficulty，concerningwhichGodshouldlegislate，iftherewereanypossibilityofobtainingfromhimanordinanceaboutit。Butseeingthatdivineaidisnottobehad，thereappearstobeaneedofsomeboldmanwhospeciallyhonoursplainnessofspeech，andwillsayoutrightwhathethinksbestforthecityandcitizens-ordainingwhatisgoodandconvenientforthewholestateamidthecorruptionsofhumansouls，opposingthemightiestlusts，andhavingnomanhishelperbuthimselfstandingaloneandfollowingreasononly。
Cle。Whatisthis，Stranger，thatyouaresaying？Forwedonotasyetunderstandyourmeaning。
Ath。Verylikely；Iwillendeavourtoexplainmyselfmoreclearly。