And in such cases almost all men take to saying something ridiculousabout their opponent, and there is no man who is in the habit oflaughing at another who does not miss virtue and earnestnessaltogether, or lose the better half of greatness. Wherefore let no oneutter any taunting word at a temple, or at the public sacrifices, orat games, or in the agora, or in a court of justice, or in anypublic assembly. And let the magistrate who presides on theseoccasions chastise an offender, and he shall be blameless; but if hefails in doing so, he shall not claim the prize of virtue; for he isone who heeds not the laws, and does not do what the legislatorcommands. And if in any other place any one indulges in these sortof revilings, whether he has begun the quarrel or is only retaliating,let any elder who is present support the law, and control with blowsthose who indulge in passion, which is another great evil; and if hedo not, let him be liable to pay the appointed penalty. And we saynow, that he who deals in reproaches against others cannot reproachthem without attempting to ridicule them; and this, when done in amoment of anger, is what we make matter of reproach against him. Butthen, do we admit into our state the comic writers who are so fondof making mankind ridiculous, if they attempt in a good-natured mannerto turn the laugh against our citizens? or do we draw thedistinction of jest and earnest, and allow a man to make use ofridicule in jest and without anger about any thing or person; thoughas we were saying, not if he be angry have a set purpose? We forbidearnest-that is unalterably fixed; but we have still to say who are tobe sanctioned or not to be sanctioned by the law in the employmentof innocent humour. A comic poet, or maker of iambic or satiricallyric verse, shall not be permitted to ridicule any of the citizens,either by word or likeness, either in anger or without anger. And ifany one is disobedient, the judges shall either at once expel him fromthe country, or he shall pay a fine of three minae, which shall bededicated to the God who presides over the contests. Those only whohave received permission shall be allowed to write verses at oneanother, but they shall be without anger and in jest; in anger andin serious earnest they shall not be allowed. The decision of thismatter shall be left to the superintendent of the general education ofthe young, and whatever he may license, the writer shall be allowed toproduce, and whatever he rejects let not the poet himself exhibit,or ever teach anybody else, slave or freeman, under the penalty ofbeing dishonoured, and held disobedient to the laws.
Now he is not to be pitied who is hungry, or who suffers anybodily pain, but he who is temperate, or has some other virtue, orpart of a virtue, and at the same time suffers from misfortune; itwould be an extraordinary thing if such an one, whether slave orfreeman, were utterly forsaken and fell into the extremes of povertyin any tolerably well-ordered city or government. Wherefore thelegislator may safely make a law applicable to such cases in thefollowing terms:-Let there be no beggars in our state; and ifanybody begs, seeking to pick up a livelihood by unavailing prayers,let the wardens of the agora turn him out of the agora, and thewardens of the city out of the city, and the wardens of the countrysend him out of any other parts of the land across the border, inorder that the land may be cleared of this sort of animal.
