Page - 1347 - in The Complete Plato

young of all creatures cannot be quiet in their bodies or in their voices; they are always wanting to move and cry out; some leaping and skipping, and overflowing with sportiveness and delight at something, others uttering all sorts of cries. But, whereas the animals have no perception of order or disorder in their movements, that is, of rhythm or harmony, as they are called, to us, the Gods, who, as we say, have been appointed to be our companions in the dance, have given the pleasurable sense of harmony and rhythm; and so they stir us into life, and we follow them, joining hands together in dances and songs; and these they call choruses, which is a term naturally expressive of cheerfulness. Shall we begin, then, with the acknowledgment that education is first given through Apollo and the Muses? What do you say? Cleinias. I assent. Athenian. And the uneducated is he who has not been trained in the chorus, and the educated is he who has been well trained? Cleinias. Certainly. Athenian. And the chorus is made up of two parts, dance and song? Cleinias. True. Athenian. Then he who is well educated will be able to sing and dance well? Cleinias. I suppose that he will. Athenian. Let us see; what are we saying? Cleinias. What? Athenian. He sings well and dances well; now must we add that he sings what is good and dances what is good? Cleinias. Let us make the addition. Athenian. We will suppose that he knows the good to be good, and the bad to be bad, and makes use of them accordingly: which now is the better trained in dancing and music—he who is able to move his body and to use his voice in what is understood to be the right manner, but has no delight in good or hatred of evil; or he who is incorrect in gesture and voice, but is right in his sense of pleasure and pain, and welcomes what is good, and is offended at what is evil? Cleinias. There is a great difference, Stranger, in the two kinds of education. Athenian. If we three know what is good in song and dance, then we truly know also who is educated and who is uneducated; but if not, then we 1347