ional discourse, yet lie down or rise up at the sound of a shell or
whistle, or of a chirp or clap; so the brutish part of the soul, which
is either incapable of understanding or obeying reason, men conquer by
songs and tunes, and by music reduce it to tolerable order. But to speak
freely what I think, no pipe nor harp simply played upon, and without a
song with it, can be very fit for an entertainment. For we should still
accustom ourselves to take our chiefest pleasure from discourse, and
spend our leisure time in profitable talk, and use tunes and airs as
a sauce for the discourse, and not singly by themselves, to please the
unreasonable delicacy of our palate. For as nobody is against pleasure
that ariseth from sauce or wine going in with our necessary food, but
Socrates flouts and refuseth to admit that superfluous and vain pleasure
which we take in perfumes and odors at a feast; thus the sound of a pipe
or harp, when singly applied to our ears, we utterly reject, but if
it accompanies words, and together with an ode feasts and delights our
reason, we gladly introduce it. And we believe the famed Marsyas was
punished by Apollo for pretending, when he had nothing but his single
pipe, and his muzzle to apply to his lips, to contend with the harp and
song of the god. Let us only take care that, when we have such guests as
are able to cheer one another with philosophy and good discourse we do
not introduce anything that may rather prove an uneasy hindrance to
the conversation than promote it. For not only those are fools, who, as
Euripides says, having safety at home and in their own power, yet would
hire some from abroad; but those too who, having pleasantness enough
within, are eager after some external pastimes to comfort and delight
them. That extraordinary piece of honor which the Persian king showed
Antalcidas the Spartan seemed rude and uncivil, when he dipped a garland
composed of crocus and roses in ointment, and sent it him to wear, by
that dipping putting a slight upon and spoiling the natural sweetness
and beauty of the flowers. He doth as bad, who having a Muse in his own
breast, and all the pleasantness that would fit an entertainment, will
have pipes and harps play, and by that external adventitious noise
destroy all the sweetness that was proper and his own. But in short, all
ear-delights are fittest then, when the company begins to be disturbed,
to fall out, and quarrel, for then they may prevent raillery