Neither God, nor a man who has understanding, will ever advise anyone to neglect his parents. To a discourse concerning the honour anddishonour of parents, a prelude such as the following, about theservice of the Gods, will be a suitable introduction:-There areancient customs about the Gods which are universal, and they are oftwo kinds: some of the Gods we see with our eyes and we honour them,of others we honour the images, raising statues of them which weadore; and though they are lifeless, yet we imagine that the livingGods have a good will and gratitude to us on this account. Now, if aman has a father or mother, or their fathers or mothers treasured upin his house stricken in years, let him consider that no statue can bemore potent to grant his requests than they are, who are sitting athis hearth if only he knows how to show true service to them.
Cle. And what do you call the true mode of service?
Ath. I will tell you, O my friend, for such things are worthlistening to.
Cle. Proceed.
Ath. Oedipus, as tradition says, when dishonoured by his sons,invoked on them curses which every one declares to have been heard andratified by the Gods, and Amyntor in his wrath invoked curses on hisson Phoenix, and Theseus upon Hippolytus, and innumerable othershave also called down wrath upon their children, whence it is clearthat the Gods listen to the imprecations of parents; for the curses ofparents are, as they ought to be, mighty against their children asno others are. And shall we suppose that the prayers of a father ormother who is specially dishonoured by his or her children, areheard by the Gods in accordance with nature; and that if a parent ishonoured by them, and in the gladness of his heart earnestlyentreats the Gods in his prayers to do them good, he is not equallyheard, and that they do not minister to his request? If not, theywould be very unjust ministers of good, and that we affirm to becontrary to their nature.
Cle. Certainly.
Ath. May we not think, as I was saying just now, that we can possessno image which is more honoured by the Gods, than that of a fatheror grandfather, or of a mother stricken in years? whom when a manhonours, the heart of the God rejoices, and he is ready to answertheir prayers. And, truly, the figure of an ancestor is a wonderfulthing, far higher than that of a lifeless image. For the living,when they are honoured by us, join in our prayers, and when they aredishonoured, they utter imprecations against us; but lifelessobjects do neither. And therefore, if a man makes a right use of hisfather and grandfather and other aged relations, he will have imageswhich above all others will win him the favour of the Gods.
Cle. Excellent.
Ath. Every man of any understanding fears and respects the prayersof parents, knowing well that many times and to many persons they havebeen accomplished. Now these things being thus ordered by nature, goodmen think it a blessing from heaven if their parents live to old ageand reach the utmost limit of human life, or if taken away beforetheir time they are deeply regretted by them; but to bad men parentsare always a cause of terror. Wherefore let every man honour withevery sort of lawful honour his own parents, agreeably to what has nowbeen said. But if this prelude be an unmeaning sound in the cars ofany one, let the law follow, which may be rightly imposed in theseterms:-If any one in this city be not sufficiently careful of hisparents, and do not regard and gratify in every respect their wishesmore than those of his sons and of his other offspring or ofhimself-let him who experiences this sort of treatment either comehimself, or send some one to inform the three eldest guardians ofthe law, and three of the women who have the care of marriages; andlet them look to the matter and punish youthful evil-doers withstripes and bonds if they are under thirty years of age, that is tosay, if they be men, or if they be women, let them undergo the samepunishment up to forty years of age. But if, when they are stillmore advanced in years, they continue the same neglect of theirparents, and do any hurt to any of them, let them be brought beforea court in which every single one of the eldest citizens shall bethe judges, and if the offender be convicted, let the courtdetermine what he ought to pay or suffer, and any penalty may beimposed on him which a man can pay or suffer. If the person who hasbeen wronged be unable to inform the magistrates, let any freemanwho hears of his case inform, and if he do not, he shall be deemedbase, and shall be liable to have a suit for damage brought againsthim by any one who likes. And if a slave inform, he shall receivefreedom; and if he be the slave of the injurer or injured party, heshall be set free by the magistrates, or if he belong to any othercitizen, the public shall pay a price on his behalf to the owner;and let the magistrates take heed that no one wrongs him out ofrevenge, because he has given information.
