Cleinias:  What is it?

Athenian:  A point arising out of our previous discussion, which comes into my mind in some mysterious way.  All this time, from early dawn until noon, have we been talking about laws in this charming retreat:  now we are going to promulgate our laws, and what has preceded was only the prelude of them.  Why do I mention this?  For this reason:—­Because all discourses and vocal exercises have preludes and overtures, which are a sort of artistic beginnings intended to help the strain which is to be performed; lyric measures and music of every other kind have preludes framed with wonderful care.  But of the truer and higher strain of law and politics, no one has ever yet uttered any prelude, or composed or published any, as though there was no such thing in nature.  Whereas our present discussion seems to me to imply that there is;—­these double laws, of which we were speaking, are not exactly double, but they are in two parts, the law and the prelude of the law.  The arbitrary command, which was compared to the commands of doctors, whom we described as of the meaner sort, was the law pure and simple; and that which preceded, and was described by our friend here as being hortatory only, was, although in fact, an exhortation, likewise analogous to the preamble of a discourse.  For I imagine that all this language of conciliation, which the legislator has been uttering in the preface of the law, was intended to create good-will in the person whom he addressed, in order that, by reason of this good-will, he might more intelligently receive his command, that is to say, the law.  And therefore, in my way of speaking, this is more rightly described as the preamble than as the matter of the law.  And I must further proceed to observe, that to all his laws, and to each separately, the legislator should prefix a preamble; he should remember how great will be the difference between them, according as they have, or have not, such preambles, as in the case already given.

Cleinias:  The lawgiver, if he asks my opinion, will certainly legislate in the form which you advise.

Athenian:  I think that you are right, Cleinias, in affirming that all laws have preambles, and that throughout the whole of this work of legislation every single law should have a suitable preamble at the beginning; for that which is to follow is most important, and it makes all the difference whether we clearly remember the preambles or not.  Yet we should be wrong in requiring that all laws, small and great alike, should have preambles of the same kind, any more than all songs or speeches; although they may be natural to all, they are not always necessary, and whether they are to be employed or not has in each case to be left to the judgment of the speaker or the musician, or, in the present instance, of the lawgiver.